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[
"Jonas Salk",
"Polio research",
"How did Salk get involved in Polio research?",
"Salk became ambitious for his own lab",
"Where was his lab located?",
"University of Pittsburgh,",
"Did anyone assist with his research?",
"assisted by the staff at the D.T. Watson Home for Crippled Children,",
"How did he fund his research?",
"involving 100 million contributors to the March of Dimes,",
"Did his research lead to a vaccine being made?",
"Salk's inactivated polio vaccine was the first vaccine for the disease;",
"What year was the vaccine introduced for use?",
"1955."
] | C_0d883b82d4fd49f688fb464ba3da5d55_0 | Are there any other interesting aspects about this article? | 7 | Besides Jonas Salk's Polio research, are there any other interesting aspects about this article? | Jonas Salk | In 1947, Salk became ambitious for his own lab and was granted one at the University of Pittsburgh, but the lab was smaller than he had hoped and he found the rules imposed by the university restrictive. In 1948, Harry Weaver, the director of research at the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis, contacted Salk. He asked Salk to find out if there were more types of polio than the three then known, offering additional space, equipment and researchers. For the first year he gathered supplies and researchers including Julius Youngner, Byron Bennett, L. James Lewis, and secretary Lorraine Friedman joined Salk's team, as well. As time went on, Salk began securing grants from the Mellon family and was able to build a working virology laboratory. He later joined the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis's polio project established by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Extensive publicity and fear of polio led to much increased funding, $67 million by 1955, but research continued on dangerous live vaccines. Salk decided to use the safer 'killed' virus, instead of weakened forms of strains of polio viruses like the ones used contemporarily by Albert Sabin, who was developing an oral vaccine. After successful tests on laboratory animals, on July 2, 1952, assisted by the staff at the D.T. Watson Home for Crippled Children, Salk injected 43 children with his killed-virus vaccine. A few weeks later, Salk injected children at the Polk State School for the retarded and feeble-minded. In 1954 he tested the vaccine on about one million children, known as the polio pioneers. The vaccine was announced as safe on April 12, 1955. The project became large, involving 100 million contributors to the March of Dimes, and 7 million volunteers. The foundation allowed itself to go into debt to finance the final research required to develop the Salk vaccine. Salk worked incessantly for two and a half years. Salk's inactivated polio vaccine was the first vaccine for the disease; it came into use in 1955. It is on the World Health Organization's List of Essential Medicines, the most effective and safe medicines needed in a health system. CANNOTANSWER | It is on the World Health Organization's List of Essential Medicines, the most effective and safe medicines needed in a health system. | Jonas Edward Salk (; born Jonas Salk; October 28, 1914June 23, 1995) was an American virologist and medical researcher who developed one of the first successful polio vaccines. He was born in New York City and attended the City College of New York and New York University School of Medicine.
In 1947, Salk accepted a professorship in the School of Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh. It was there that he undertook a project to determine the number of different types of poliovirus, starting in 1948. For the next seven years, Salk devoted himself towards developing a vaccine against polio.
Salk was immediately hailed as a "miracle worker" when the vaccine's success was first made public in April 1955, and chose to not patent the vaccine or seek any profit from it in order to maximize its global distribution. The National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis and the University of Pittsburgh looked into patenting the vaccine but, since Salk's techniques were not novel, their patent attorney said "If there were any patentable novelty to be found in this phase it would lie within an extremely narrow scope and would be of doubtful value." An immediate rush to vaccinate began in both the United States and around the world. Many countries began polio immunization campaigns using Salk's vaccine, including Canada, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, West Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and Belgium. By 1959, the Salk vaccine had reached about 90 countries. An attenuated live oral polio vaccine was developed by Albert Sabin, coming into commercial use in 1961. Less than 25 years after the release of Salk's vaccine, domestic transmission of polio had been eliminated in the United States.
In 1963, Salk founded the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla, California, which is today a center for medical and scientific research. He continued to conduct research and publish books in his later years, focusing in his last years on the search for a vaccine against HIV. Salk also campaigned vigorously for mandatory vaccination throughout the rest of his life, calling the universal vaccination of children against disease a "moral commitment". Salk's personal papers are today stored in Geisel Library at the University of California, San Diego.
Early life and education
Jonas Salk was born in New York City to Daniel and Dora (née Press) Salk. His parents were Ashkenazi Jewish; Daniel was born in New Jersey to immigrant parents and Dora, who was born in Minsk, emigrated when she was twelve. Salk's parents did not receive extensive formal education. Jonas had two younger brothers, Herman and Lee, a renowned child psychologist. The family moved from East Harlem to 853 Elsmere Place, the Bronx, with some time spent in Queens at 439 Beach 69th Street, Arverne.
When he was 13, Salk entered Townsend Harris High School, a public school for intellectually gifted students. Named after the founder of City College of New York (CCNY), it was, wrote his biographer, Dr. David Oshinsky, "a launching pad for the talented sons of immigrant parents who lacked the money—and pedigree—to attend a top private school." In high school "he was known as a perfectionist ... who read everything he could lay his hands on," according to one of his fellow students. Students had to cram a four-year curriculum into just three years. As a result, most dropped out or flunked out, despite the school's motto "study, study, study." Of the students who graduated, however, most had the grades to enroll in CCNY, noted for being a highly competitive college.
Education
Salk enrolled in CCNY, from which he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry in 1934. Oshinsky writes that "for working-class immigrant families, City College represented the apex of public higher education. Getting in was tough, but tuition was free. Competition was intense, but the rules were fairly applied. No one got an advantage based on an accident of birth."
At his mother's urging, he put aside aspirations of becoming a lawyer and instead concentrated on classes necessary for admission to medical school. However, according to Oshinsky, the facilities at City College were "barely second rate." There were no research laboratories. The library was inadequate. The faculty contained few noted scholars. "What made the place special," he writes, "was the student body that had fought so hard to get there... driven by their parents.... From these ranks, of the 1930s and 1940s, emerged a wealth of intellectual talent, including more Nobel Prize winners—eight—and PhD recipients than any other public college except the University of California at Berkeley." Salk entered CCNY at the age of 15, a "common age for a freshman who had skipped multiple grades along the way."
As a child, Salk did not show any interest in medicine or science in general. He said in an interview with the Academy of Achievement, "As a child I was not interested in science. I was merely interested in things human, the human side of nature, if you like, and I continue to be interested in that."
Medical school
After City College, Salk enrolled in New York University to study medicine. According to Oshinsky, NYU based its modest reputation on famous alumni, such as Walter Reed, who helped conquer yellow fever. Tuition was "comparatively low, better still, it did not discriminate against Jews... while most of the surrounding medical schools—Cornell, Columbia, University of Pennsylvania, and Yale—had rigid quotas in place." Yale, for example, accepted 76 applicants in 1935 out of a pool of 501. Although 200 of the applicants were Jewish, only five got in. During his years at New York University Medical School, Salk worked as a laboratory technician during the school year and as a camp counselor in the summer.
During Salk's medical studies, he stood out from his peers, according to Bookchin, "not just because of his continued academic prowess—he was Alpha Omega Alpha, the Phi Beta Kappa Society of medical education—but because he had decided he did not want to practice medicine." Instead, he became absorbed in research, even taking a year off to study biochemistry. He later focused more of his studies on bacteriology, which had replaced medicine as his primary interest. He said his desire was to help humankind in general rather than single patients. "It was the laboratory work, in particular, that gave new direction to his life."
Salk has said: "My intention was to go to medical school, and then become a medical scientist. I did not intend to practice medicine, although in medical school, and in my internship, I did all the things that were necessary to qualify me in that regard. I had opportunities along the way to drop the idea of medicine and go into science. At one point at the end of my first year of medical school, I received an opportunity to spend a year in research and teaching in biochemistry, which I did. And at the end of that year, I was told that I could, if I wished, switch and get a Ph.D. in biochemistry, but my preference was to stay with medicine. And, I believe that this is all linked to my original ambition, or desire, which was to be of some help to humankind, so to speak, in a larger sense than just on a one-to-one basis."
Concerning his last year of medical school, Salk said: "I had an opportunity to spend time in elective periods in my last year in medical school, in a laboratory that was involved in studies on influenza. The influenza virus had just been discovered about a few years before that. And, I saw the opportunity at that time to test the question as to whether we could destroy the virus infectivity and still immunize. And so, by carefully designed experiments, we found it was possible to do so."
Postgraduate research and early laboratory work
In 1941, during his postgraduate work in virology, Salk chose a two-month elective to work in the Thomas Francis' laboratory at the University of Michigan. Francis had recently joined the faculty of the medical school after working for the Rockefeller Foundation, where he had discovered the type B influenza virus. According to Bookchin, "the two-month stint in Francis's lab was Salk's first introduction to the world of virology—and he was hooked." After graduating from medical school, Salk began his residency at New York's prestigious Mount Sinai Hospital, where he again worked in Francis's laboratory. Salk then worked at the University of Michigan School of Public Health with Francis, on an army-commissioned project in Michigan to develop an influenza vaccine. He and Francis eventually perfected a vaccine that was soon widely used at army bases, where Salk discovered and isolated one of the strains of influenza that was included in the final vaccine.
Polio research
In 1947, Salk became ambitious for his own lab and was granted one at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, but the lab was smaller than he had hoped and he found the rules imposed by the university restrictive.
In 1948, Harry Weaver, the director of research at the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis, contacted Salk. He asked Salk to find out if there were more types of polio than the three then known, offering additional space, equipment and researchers. For the first year he gathered supplies and researchers including Julius Youngner, Byron Bennett, L. James Lewis, and secretary Lorraine Friedman joined Salk's team, as well. As time went on, Salk began securing grants from the Mellon family and was able to build a working virology laboratory. He later joined the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis's polio project established by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Extensive publicity and fear of polio led to much increased funding, $67 million by 1955, but research continued on dangerous live vaccines.
Salk decided to use the safer 'killed' virus, instead of weakened forms of strains of polio viruses like the ones used contemporaneously by Albert Sabin, who was developing an oral vaccine.
After successful tests on laboratory animals, on July 2, 1952, assisted by the staff at the D.T. Watson Home for Crippled Children (now the Watson Institute), Salk injected 43 children with his killed-virus vaccine. A few weeks later, Salk injected children at the Polk State School for the Retarded and Feeble-minded. He vaccinated his own children in 1953. In 1954 he tested the vaccine on about one million children, known as the polio pioneers. The vaccine was announced as safe on April 12, 1955.
The project became large, involving 100 million contributors to the March of Dimes, and 7 million volunteers. The foundation allowed itself to go into debt to finance the final research required to develop the Salk vaccine. Salk worked incessantly for two-and-a-half years.
Salk's inactivated polio vaccine came into use in 1955. It is on the World Health Organization's List of Essential Medicines.
Becoming a public figure
Celebrity versus privacy
Salk preferred not to have his career as a scientist affected by too much personal attention, as he had always tried to remain independent and private in his research and life, but this proved to be impossible. "Young man, a great tragedy has befallen you—you've lost your anonymity", the television personality Ed Murrow said to Salk shortly after the onslaught of media attention. When Murrow asked him, "Who owns this patent?", Salk replied, "Well, the people I would say. There is no patent. Could you patent the sun?" The vaccine is calculated to be worth $7 billion had it been patented. However, lawyers from the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis did look into the possibility of a patent, but ultimately determined that the vaccine was not a patentable invention because of prior art.
Salk served on the board of directors of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.
Author Jon Cohen noted, "Jonas Salk made scientists and journalists alike go goofy. As one of the only living scientists whose face was known the world over, Salk, in the public's eye, had a superstar aura. Airplane pilots would announce that he was on board and passengers would burst into applause. Hotels routinely would upgrade him into their penthouse suites. A meal at a restaurant inevitably meant an interruption from an admirer, and scientists approached him with drop-jawed wonder as though some of the stardust might rub off."
For the most part, however, Salk was "appalled at the demands on the public figure he has become and resentful of what he considers to be the invasion of his privacy", wrote The New York Times, a few months after his vaccine announcement. The Times article noted, "at 40, the once obscure scientist ... was lifted from his laboratory almost to the level of a folk hero." He received a presidential citation, a score of awards, four honorary degrees, half a dozen foreign decorations, and letters from thousands of fellow citizens. His alma mater, City College of New York, gave him an honorary degree as Doctor of Laws. But "despite such very nice tributes", The New York Times wrote, "Salk is profoundly disturbed by the torrent of fame that has descended upon him. ... He talks continually about getting out of the limelight and back to his laboratory ... because of his genuine distaste for publicity, which he believes is inappropriate for a scientist."
During a 1980 interview, 25 years later, he said, "It's as if I've been a public property ever since, having to respond to external, as well as internal, impulses. ... It's brought me enormous gratification, opened many opportunities, but at the same time placed many burdens on me. It altered my career, my relationships with colleagues; I am a public figure, no longer one of them."
Maintaining his individuality
"If Salk the scientist sounds austere", wrote The New York Times, "Salk the man is a person of great warmth and tremendous enthusiasm. People who meet him generally like him." A Washington newspaper correspondent commented, "He could sell me the Brooklyn Bridge, and I never bought anything before." Award-winning geneticist Walter Nelson-Rees called him "a renaissance scientist: brilliant, sophisticated, driven ... a fantastic creature."
He enjoys talking to people he likes, and "he likes a lot of people", wrote the Times. "He talks quickly, articulately, and often in complete paragraphs." And "He has very little perceptible interest in the things that interest most people—such as making money." That belongs "in the category of mink coats and Cadillacs—unnecessary", he said.
Establishing the Salk Institute
In the years after Salk's discovery, many supporters, in particular the National Foundation, "helped him build his dream of a research complex for the investigation of biological phenomena 'from cell to society'." Called the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, it opened in 1963 in the San Diego neighborhood of La Jolla, in a purpose-built facility designed by the architect Louis Kahn. Salk believed that the institution would help new and upcoming scientists along in their careers, as he said himself, "I thought how nice it would be if a place like this existed and I was invited to work there."
In 1966, Salk described his "ambitious plan for the creation of a kind of Socratic academy where the supposedly alienated two cultures of science and humanism will have a favorable atmosphere for cross-fertilization." Author and journalist Howard Taubman explained:
The New York Times, in a 1980 article celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Salk vaccine, described the current workings at the facility:
At the institute, a magnificent complex of laboratories and study units set on a bluff overlooking the Pacific, Dr. Salk holds the titles of founding director and resident fellow. His own laboratory group is concerned with the immunologic aspects of cancer and the mechanisms of autoimmune disease, such as multiple sclerosis, in which the immune system attacks the body's own tissues.
In an interview about his future hopes at the institute, he said, "In the end, what may have more significance is my creation of the institute and what will come out of it, because of its example as a place for excellence, a creative environment for creative minds."
Francis Crick, codiscoverer of the structure of the DNA molecule, was a leading professor at the institute until his death in 2004.
The institute also served as the basis for Bruno Latour and Steve Woolgar's 1979 book Laboratory Life: The Construction of Scientific Facts.
AIDS vaccine work
Beginning in the mid-1980s, Salk engaged in research to develop a vaccine for AIDS. He cofounded The Immune Response Corporation (IRC) with Kevin Kimberlin and patented Remune, an immunologic therapy, but was unable to secure liability insurance for the product. The project was discontinued in 2007, twelve years after Salk's death.
Salk's "biophilosophy"
In 1966, The New York Times referred to him as the "Father of Biophilosophy." According to Times journalist and author Howard Taubman, "he never forgets ... there is a vast amount of darkness for man to penetrate. As a biologist, he believes that his science is on the frontier of tremendous new discoveries; and as a philosopher, he is convinced that humanists and artists have joined the scientists to achieve an understanding of man in all his physical, mental and spiritual complexity. Such interchanges might lead, he would hope, to a new and important school of thinkers he would designate as biophilosophers." Salk told his cousin, Joel Kassiday, at a meeting of the Congressional Clearinghouse on the Future on Capitol Hill in 1984 that he was optimistic that ways to prevent most human and animal diseases would eventually be developed. Salk said people must be prepared to take prudent risks, since "a risk-free society would become a dead-end society" without progress.
Salk describes his "biophilosophy" as the application of a "biological, evolutionary point of view to philosophical, cultural, social and psychological problems." He went into more detail in two of his books, Man Unfolding, and The Survival of the Wisest. In an interview in 1980, he described his thoughts on the subject, including his feeling that a sharp rise and an expected leveling off in the human population would take place and eventually bring a change in human attitudes:
I think of biological knowledge as providing useful analogies for understanding human nature. ... People think of biology in terms of such practical matters as drugs, but its contribution to knowledge about living systems and ourselves will in the future be equally important. ... In the past epoch, man was concerned with death, high mortality; his attitudes were antideath, antidisease", he says. "In the future, his attitudes will be expressed in terms of prolife and prohealth. The past was dominated by death control; in the future, birth control will be more important. These changes we're observing are part of a natural order and to be expected from our capacity to adapt. It's much more important to cooperate and collaborate. We are the co-authors with nature of our destiny.
His definition of a "biophilosopher" is "Someone who draws upon the scriptures of nature, recognizing that we are the product of the process of evolution, and understands that we have become the process itself, through the emergence and evolution of our consciousness, our awareness, our capacity to imagine and anticipate the future, and to choose from among alternatives."
Just prior to his death, Salk was working on a new book along the theme of biophilosophy, privately reported to be titled Millennium of the Mind.
Personal life and death
The day after his graduation from medical school in 1939, Salk married Donna Lindsay, a master's candidate at the New York College of Social Work. David Oshinsky writes that Donna's father, Elmer Lindsay, "a wealthy Manhattan dentist, viewed Salk as a social inferior, several cuts below Donna's former suitors." Eventually, her father agreed to the marriage on two conditions: first, Salk must wait until he could be listed as an official M.D. on the wedding invitations, and second, he must improve his "rather pedestrian status" by giving himself a middle name."
They had three children: Peter (who also became a physician and is now a part-time professor of infectious diseases at the University of Pittsburgh), Darrell, and Jonathan Salk. In 1968, they divorced and, in 1970, Salk married French painter Françoise Gilot.
Jonas Salk died from heart failure at the age of 80 on June 23, 1995, in La Jolla, and was buried at El Camino Memorial Park in San Diego.
Honors and recognition
1955, one month after the vaccine announcement, he was honored by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, where he was given their "highest award for services" by Governor George M. Leader, Meritorious Service Medal, where the governor added,
... in recognition of his 'historical medical' discovery ... Dr. Salk's achievement is meritorious service of the highest magnitude and dimension for the commonwealth, the country and mankind." The governor, who had three children, said that "as a parent he was 'humbly thankful to Dr. Salk,' and as Governor, 'proud to pay him tribute'.
1955, City University of New York creates the Salk Scholarship fund which it awards to multiple outstanding pre-med students each year
1956, awarded the Lasker Award
1957, the Municipal Hospital building, where Salk conducted his polio research at the University of Pittsburgh, is renamed Jonas Salk Hall and is home to the university's School of Pharmacy and Dentistry.
1958, awarded the James D. Bruce Memorial Award
1958, elected to the Polio Hall of Fame, which was dedicated in Warm Springs, Georgia
1975, awarded the Jawaharlal Nehru Award and the Congressional Gold Medal
1976, awarded the Academy of Achievement's Golden Plate Award
1976, named the Humanist of the Year by the American Humanist Association
1977, awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Jimmy Carter, with the following statement accompanying the medal:
Because of Doctor Jonas E. Salk, our country is free from the cruel epidemics of poliomyelitis that once struck almost yearly. Because of his tireless work, untold hundreds of thousands who might have been crippled are sound in body today. These are Doctor Salk's true honors, and there is no way to add to them. This Medal of Freedom can only express our gratitude, and our deepest thanks.
1981, decorated by the Italian government on January 3 as a Grand Officer of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic
1996, the March of Dimes Foundation created an annual $250,000 cash "Prize" to outstanding biologists as a tribute to Salk.
2006, the United States Postal Service issued a 63-cent Distinguished Americans series postage stamp in his honor.
2007, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and First Lady Maria Shriver inducted Salk into the California Hall of Fame.
2009, BBYO boys chapter chartered in his honor in Scottsdale, Arizona, Named "Jonas Salk AZA #2357"
Schools in Mesa, Arizona; Spokane, Washington; Tulsa, Oklahoma; Bolingbrook, Illinois; Levittown, New York; Old Bridge, New Jersey; Merrillville, Indiana; Sacramento, California ; and Mira Mesa, California ; are named after him.
2012, October 24, in honor of his birthday, has been named "World Polio Day", and was originated by Rotary International over a decade earlier.
2014, On the 100th anniversary of Salk's birth, a Google Doodle was created to honor the physician and medical researcher. The doodle shows happy and healthy children and adults playing and going about their lives with two children hold up a sign saying, "Thank you, Dr. Salk!"
Documentary films
In early 2009, the American Public Broadcasting Service aired its new documentary film, American Experience: The Polio Crusade. The documentary, available on DVD, can also be viewed online at PBS's website.
On April 12, 2010, to help celebrate the 55th anniversary of the Salk vaccine, a new 66-minute documentary, The Shot Felt 'Round the World, had its world premiere. Directed by Tjardus Greidanus and produced by Laura Davis, the documentary was conceived by Hollywood screenwriter and producer Carl Kurlander to bring "a fresh perspective on the era."
In 2014, actor and director Robert Redford, who was once struck with a mild case of polio when he was a child, directed a documentary about the Salk Institute in La Jolla.
In Chapter 10 of the 2018 season of Genius Michael McElhatton portrays Salk in a short cameo where he is on a date with Françoise Gilot.
Salk's book publications
Man Unfolding (1972)
Survival of the Wisest (1973)
World Population and Human Values: A New Reality (1981)
Anatomy of Reality: Merging of Intuition and Reason (1983)
References
Further reading
Jacobs, Charlotte DeCroes. Jonas Salk: A Life, Oxford Univ. Press (2015), scholarly biography
Kluger, Jeffrey. Splendid Solution: Jonas Salk and the Conquest of Polio, Berkley Books (2006), history of the polio vaccine
Weintraub, B. "Jonas Salk (1914-1995) and the first vacccine against polio." Israel Chemist and Engineer. July 2020, iss. 6. p31-34
External links
The American Experience: The Polio Crusade video, 1 hr. by PBS
"Legacy of Salk Institute", video, 30 minutes, history of Salk vaccine
"Polio Vaccine" intro., Britannica, video, 1 minute
Jonas Salk Legacy Foundation
Jonas Salk Trust
Salk Institute for Biological Studies
Documents regarding Jonas Salk and the Salk Polio Vaccine, Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library
1985 Open Mind interview with Richard D. Heffner: Man Evolving...
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette feature on Jonas Salk and the Polio cure 50 years later
The Salk School of Science (New York, New York)
Patent US Patent 5,256,767 : Vaccine against HIV
Register of Jonas Salk Papers, 1926–1991 – MSS 1, held in the UC San Diego Library's Special Collections & Archives
1914 births
1995 deaths
20th-century American physicians
American epidemiologists
American humanists
American medical researchers
American people of Belarusian-Jewish descent
American virologists
American Ashkenazi Jews
Burials in California
City College of New York alumni
Congressional Gold Medal recipients
Grand Officers of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic
History of medicine
Jewish American scientists
Jewish humanists
New York University School of Medicine alumni
People from East Harlem
People from San Diego
Physicians from New York City
Polio
Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients
Recipients of the Lasker-DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award
Salk Institute for Biological Studies
Salk Institute for Biological Studies people
Scientists from New York City
Scientists from Pittsburgh
Townsend Harris High School alumni
University of Michigan faculty
University of Pittsburgh faculty
Vaccinologists
20th-century American Jews | 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"
] |
[
"Jonas Salk",
"Polio research",
"How did Salk get involved in Polio research?",
"Salk became ambitious for his own lab",
"Where was his lab located?",
"University of Pittsburgh,",
"Did anyone assist with his research?",
"assisted by the staff at the D.T. Watson Home for Crippled Children,",
"How did he fund his research?",
"involving 100 million contributors to the March of Dimes,",
"Did his research lead to a vaccine being made?",
"Salk's inactivated polio vaccine was the first vaccine for the disease;",
"What year was the vaccine introduced for use?",
"1955.",
"Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?",
"It is on the World Health Organization's List of Essential Medicines, the most effective and safe medicines needed in a health system."
] | C_0d883b82d4fd49f688fb464ba3da5d55_0 | How long did it take Salk to finish his polio vaccine? | 8 | How long did it take Jonas Salk to finish his polio vaccine? | Jonas Salk | In 1947, Salk became ambitious for his own lab and was granted one at the University of Pittsburgh, but the lab was smaller than he had hoped and he found the rules imposed by the university restrictive. In 1948, Harry Weaver, the director of research at the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis, contacted Salk. He asked Salk to find out if there were more types of polio than the three then known, offering additional space, equipment and researchers. For the first year he gathered supplies and researchers including Julius Youngner, Byron Bennett, L. James Lewis, and secretary Lorraine Friedman joined Salk's team, as well. As time went on, Salk began securing grants from the Mellon family and was able to build a working virology laboratory. He later joined the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis's polio project established by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Extensive publicity and fear of polio led to much increased funding, $67 million by 1955, but research continued on dangerous live vaccines. Salk decided to use the safer 'killed' virus, instead of weakened forms of strains of polio viruses like the ones used contemporarily by Albert Sabin, who was developing an oral vaccine. After successful tests on laboratory animals, on July 2, 1952, assisted by the staff at the D.T. Watson Home for Crippled Children, Salk injected 43 children with his killed-virus vaccine. A few weeks later, Salk injected children at the Polk State School for the retarded and feeble-minded. In 1954 he tested the vaccine on about one million children, known as the polio pioneers. The vaccine was announced as safe on April 12, 1955. The project became large, involving 100 million contributors to the March of Dimes, and 7 million volunteers. The foundation allowed itself to go into debt to finance the final research required to develop the Salk vaccine. Salk worked incessantly for two and a half years. Salk's inactivated polio vaccine was the first vaccine for the disease; it came into use in 1955. It is on the World Health Organization's List of Essential Medicines, the most effective and safe medicines needed in a health system. CANNOTANSWER | Salk worked incessantly for two and a half years. | Jonas Edward Salk (; born Jonas Salk; October 28, 1914June 23, 1995) was an American virologist and medical researcher who developed one of the first successful polio vaccines. He was born in New York City and attended the City College of New York and New York University School of Medicine.
In 1947, Salk accepted a professorship in the School of Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh. It was there that he undertook a project to determine the number of different types of poliovirus, starting in 1948. For the next seven years, Salk devoted himself towards developing a vaccine against polio.
Salk was immediately hailed as a "miracle worker" when the vaccine's success was first made public in April 1955, and chose to not patent the vaccine or seek any profit from it in order to maximize its global distribution. The National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis and the University of Pittsburgh looked into patenting the vaccine but, since Salk's techniques were not novel, their patent attorney said "If there were any patentable novelty to be found in this phase it would lie within an extremely narrow scope and would be of doubtful value." An immediate rush to vaccinate began in both the United States and around the world. Many countries began polio immunization campaigns using Salk's vaccine, including Canada, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, West Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and Belgium. By 1959, the Salk vaccine had reached about 90 countries. An attenuated live oral polio vaccine was developed by Albert Sabin, coming into commercial use in 1961. Less than 25 years after the release of Salk's vaccine, domestic transmission of polio had been eliminated in the United States.
In 1963, Salk founded the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla, California, which is today a center for medical and scientific research. He continued to conduct research and publish books in his later years, focusing in his last years on the search for a vaccine against HIV. Salk also campaigned vigorously for mandatory vaccination throughout the rest of his life, calling the universal vaccination of children against disease a "moral commitment". Salk's personal papers are today stored in Geisel Library at the University of California, San Diego.
Early life and education
Jonas Salk was born in New York City to Daniel and Dora (née Press) Salk. His parents were Ashkenazi Jewish; Daniel was born in New Jersey to immigrant parents and Dora, who was born in Minsk, emigrated when she was twelve. Salk's parents did not receive extensive formal education. Jonas had two younger brothers, Herman and Lee, a renowned child psychologist. The family moved from East Harlem to 853 Elsmere Place, the Bronx, with some time spent in Queens at 439 Beach 69th Street, Arverne.
When he was 13, Salk entered Townsend Harris High School, a public school for intellectually gifted students. Named after the founder of City College of New York (CCNY), it was, wrote his biographer, Dr. David Oshinsky, "a launching pad for the talented sons of immigrant parents who lacked the money—and pedigree—to attend a top private school." In high school "he was known as a perfectionist ... who read everything he could lay his hands on," according to one of his fellow students. Students had to cram a four-year curriculum into just three years. As a result, most dropped out or flunked out, despite the school's motto "study, study, study." Of the students who graduated, however, most had the grades to enroll in CCNY, noted for being a highly competitive college.
Education
Salk enrolled in CCNY, from which he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry in 1934. Oshinsky writes that "for working-class immigrant families, City College represented the apex of public higher education. Getting in was tough, but tuition was free. Competition was intense, but the rules were fairly applied. No one got an advantage based on an accident of birth."
At his mother's urging, he put aside aspirations of becoming a lawyer and instead concentrated on classes necessary for admission to medical school. However, according to Oshinsky, the facilities at City College were "barely second rate." There were no research laboratories. The library was inadequate. The faculty contained few noted scholars. "What made the place special," he writes, "was the student body that had fought so hard to get there... driven by their parents.... From these ranks, of the 1930s and 1940s, emerged a wealth of intellectual talent, including more Nobel Prize winners—eight—and PhD recipients than any other public college except the University of California at Berkeley." Salk entered CCNY at the age of 15, a "common age for a freshman who had skipped multiple grades along the way."
As a child, Salk did not show any interest in medicine or science in general. He said in an interview with the Academy of Achievement, "As a child I was not interested in science. I was merely interested in things human, the human side of nature, if you like, and I continue to be interested in that."
Medical school
After City College, Salk enrolled in New York University to study medicine. According to Oshinsky, NYU based its modest reputation on famous alumni, such as Walter Reed, who helped conquer yellow fever. Tuition was "comparatively low, better still, it did not discriminate against Jews... while most of the surrounding medical schools—Cornell, Columbia, University of Pennsylvania, and Yale—had rigid quotas in place." Yale, for example, accepted 76 applicants in 1935 out of a pool of 501. Although 200 of the applicants were Jewish, only five got in. During his years at New York University Medical School, Salk worked as a laboratory technician during the school year and as a camp counselor in the summer.
During Salk's medical studies, he stood out from his peers, according to Bookchin, "not just because of his continued academic prowess—he was Alpha Omega Alpha, the Phi Beta Kappa Society of medical education—but because he had decided he did not want to practice medicine." Instead, he became absorbed in research, even taking a year off to study biochemistry. He later focused more of his studies on bacteriology, which had replaced medicine as his primary interest. He said his desire was to help humankind in general rather than single patients. "It was the laboratory work, in particular, that gave new direction to his life."
Salk has said: "My intention was to go to medical school, and then become a medical scientist. I did not intend to practice medicine, although in medical school, and in my internship, I did all the things that were necessary to qualify me in that regard. I had opportunities along the way to drop the idea of medicine and go into science. At one point at the end of my first year of medical school, I received an opportunity to spend a year in research and teaching in biochemistry, which I did. And at the end of that year, I was told that I could, if I wished, switch and get a Ph.D. in biochemistry, but my preference was to stay with medicine. And, I believe that this is all linked to my original ambition, or desire, which was to be of some help to humankind, so to speak, in a larger sense than just on a one-to-one basis."
Concerning his last year of medical school, Salk said: "I had an opportunity to spend time in elective periods in my last year in medical school, in a laboratory that was involved in studies on influenza. The influenza virus had just been discovered about a few years before that. And, I saw the opportunity at that time to test the question as to whether we could destroy the virus infectivity and still immunize. And so, by carefully designed experiments, we found it was possible to do so."
Postgraduate research and early laboratory work
In 1941, during his postgraduate work in virology, Salk chose a two-month elective to work in the Thomas Francis' laboratory at the University of Michigan. Francis had recently joined the faculty of the medical school after working for the Rockefeller Foundation, where he had discovered the type B influenza virus. According to Bookchin, "the two-month stint in Francis's lab was Salk's first introduction to the world of virology—and he was hooked." After graduating from medical school, Salk began his residency at New York's prestigious Mount Sinai Hospital, where he again worked in Francis's laboratory. Salk then worked at the University of Michigan School of Public Health with Francis, on an army-commissioned project in Michigan to develop an influenza vaccine. He and Francis eventually perfected a vaccine that was soon widely used at army bases, where Salk discovered and isolated one of the strains of influenza that was included in the final vaccine.
Polio research
In 1947, Salk became ambitious for his own lab and was granted one at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, but the lab was smaller than he had hoped and he found the rules imposed by the university restrictive.
In 1948, Harry Weaver, the director of research at the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis, contacted Salk. He asked Salk to find out if there were more types of polio than the three then known, offering additional space, equipment and researchers. For the first year he gathered supplies and researchers including Julius Youngner, Byron Bennett, L. James Lewis, and secretary Lorraine Friedman joined Salk's team, as well. As time went on, Salk began securing grants from the Mellon family and was able to build a working virology laboratory. He later joined the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis's polio project established by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Extensive publicity and fear of polio led to much increased funding, $67 million by 1955, but research continued on dangerous live vaccines.
Salk decided to use the safer 'killed' virus, instead of weakened forms of strains of polio viruses like the ones used contemporaneously by Albert Sabin, who was developing an oral vaccine.
After successful tests on laboratory animals, on July 2, 1952, assisted by the staff at the D.T. Watson Home for Crippled Children (now the Watson Institute), Salk injected 43 children with his killed-virus vaccine. A few weeks later, Salk injected children at the Polk State School for the Retarded and Feeble-minded. He vaccinated his own children in 1953. In 1954 he tested the vaccine on about one million children, known as the polio pioneers. The vaccine was announced as safe on April 12, 1955.
The project became large, involving 100 million contributors to the March of Dimes, and 7 million volunteers. The foundation allowed itself to go into debt to finance the final research required to develop the Salk vaccine. Salk worked incessantly for two-and-a-half years.
Salk's inactivated polio vaccine came into use in 1955. It is on the World Health Organization's List of Essential Medicines.
Becoming a public figure
Celebrity versus privacy
Salk preferred not to have his career as a scientist affected by too much personal attention, as he had always tried to remain independent and private in his research and life, but this proved to be impossible. "Young man, a great tragedy has befallen you—you've lost your anonymity", the television personality Ed Murrow said to Salk shortly after the onslaught of media attention. When Murrow asked him, "Who owns this patent?", Salk replied, "Well, the people I would say. There is no patent. Could you patent the sun?" The vaccine is calculated to be worth $7 billion had it been patented. However, lawyers from the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis did look into the possibility of a patent, but ultimately determined that the vaccine was not a patentable invention because of prior art.
Salk served on the board of directors of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.
Author Jon Cohen noted, "Jonas Salk made scientists and journalists alike go goofy. As one of the only living scientists whose face was known the world over, Salk, in the public's eye, had a superstar aura. Airplane pilots would announce that he was on board and passengers would burst into applause. Hotels routinely would upgrade him into their penthouse suites. A meal at a restaurant inevitably meant an interruption from an admirer, and scientists approached him with drop-jawed wonder as though some of the stardust might rub off."
For the most part, however, Salk was "appalled at the demands on the public figure he has become and resentful of what he considers to be the invasion of his privacy", wrote The New York Times, a few months after his vaccine announcement. The Times article noted, "at 40, the once obscure scientist ... was lifted from his laboratory almost to the level of a folk hero." He received a presidential citation, a score of awards, four honorary degrees, half a dozen foreign decorations, and letters from thousands of fellow citizens. His alma mater, City College of New York, gave him an honorary degree as Doctor of Laws. But "despite such very nice tributes", The New York Times wrote, "Salk is profoundly disturbed by the torrent of fame that has descended upon him. ... He talks continually about getting out of the limelight and back to his laboratory ... because of his genuine distaste for publicity, which he believes is inappropriate for a scientist."
During a 1980 interview, 25 years later, he said, "It's as if I've been a public property ever since, having to respond to external, as well as internal, impulses. ... It's brought me enormous gratification, opened many opportunities, but at the same time placed many burdens on me. It altered my career, my relationships with colleagues; I am a public figure, no longer one of them."
Maintaining his individuality
"If Salk the scientist sounds austere", wrote The New York Times, "Salk the man is a person of great warmth and tremendous enthusiasm. People who meet him generally like him." A Washington newspaper correspondent commented, "He could sell me the Brooklyn Bridge, and I never bought anything before." Award-winning geneticist Walter Nelson-Rees called him "a renaissance scientist: brilliant, sophisticated, driven ... a fantastic creature."
He enjoys talking to people he likes, and "he likes a lot of people", wrote the Times. "He talks quickly, articulately, and often in complete paragraphs." And "He has very little perceptible interest in the things that interest most people—such as making money." That belongs "in the category of mink coats and Cadillacs—unnecessary", he said.
Establishing the Salk Institute
In the years after Salk's discovery, many supporters, in particular the National Foundation, "helped him build his dream of a research complex for the investigation of biological phenomena 'from cell to society'." Called the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, it opened in 1963 in the San Diego neighborhood of La Jolla, in a purpose-built facility designed by the architect Louis Kahn. Salk believed that the institution would help new and upcoming scientists along in their careers, as he said himself, "I thought how nice it would be if a place like this existed and I was invited to work there."
In 1966, Salk described his "ambitious plan for the creation of a kind of Socratic academy where the supposedly alienated two cultures of science and humanism will have a favorable atmosphere for cross-fertilization." Author and journalist Howard Taubman explained:
The New York Times, in a 1980 article celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Salk vaccine, described the current workings at the facility:
At the institute, a magnificent complex of laboratories and study units set on a bluff overlooking the Pacific, Dr. Salk holds the titles of founding director and resident fellow. His own laboratory group is concerned with the immunologic aspects of cancer and the mechanisms of autoimmune disease, such as multiple sclerosis, in which the immune system attacks the body's own tissues.
In an interview about his future hopes at the institute, he said, "In the end, what may have more significance is my creation of the institute and what will come out of it, because of its example as a place for excellence, a creative environment for creative minds."
Francis Crick, codiscoverer of the structure of the DNA molecule, was a leading professor at the institute until his death in 2004.
The institute also served as the basis for Bruno Latour and Steve Woolgar's 1979 book Laboratory Life: The Construction of Scientific Facts.
AIDS vaccine work
Beginning in the mid-1980s, Salk engaged in research to develop a vaccine for AIDS. He cofounded The Immune Response Corporation (IRC) with Kevin Kimberlin and patented Remune, an immunologic therapy, but was unable to secure liability insurance for the product. The project was discontinued in 2007, twelve years after Salk's death.
Salk's "biophilosophy"
In 1966, The New York Times referred to him as the "Father of Biophilosophy." According to Times journalist and author Howard Taubman, "he never forgets ... there is a vast amount of darkness for man to penetrate. As a biologist, he believes that his science is on the frontier of tremendous new discoveries; and as a philosopher, he is convinced that humanists and artists have joined the scientists to achieve an understanding of man in all his physical, mental and spiritual complexity. Such interchanges might lead, he would hope, to a new and important school of thinkers he would designate as biophilosophers." Salk told his cousin, Joel Kassiday, at a meeting of the Congressional Clearinghouse on the Future on Capitol Hill in 1984 that he was optimistic that ways to prevent most human and animal diseases would eventually be developed. Salk said people must be prepared to take prudent risks, since "a risk-free society would become a dead-end society" without progress.
Salk describes his "biophilosophy" as the application of a "biological, evolutionary point of view to philosophical, cultural, social and psychological problems." He went into more detail in two of his books, Man Unfolding, and The Survival of the Wisest. In an interview in 1980, he described his thoughts on the subject, including his feeling that a sharp rise and an expected leveling off in the human population would take place and eventually bring a change in human attitudes:
I think of biological knowledge as providing useful analogies for understanding human nature. ... People think of biology in terms of such practical matters as drugs, but its contribution to knowledge about living systems and ourselves will in the future be equally important. ... In the past epoch, man was concerned with death, high mortality; his attitudes were antideath, antidisease", he says. "In the future, his attitudes will be expressed in terms of prolife and prohealth. The past was dominated by death control; in the future, birth control will be more important. These changes we're observing are part of a natural order and to be expected from our capacity to adapt. It's much more important to cooperate and collaborate. We are the co-authors with nature of our destiny.
His definition of a "biophilosopher" is "Someone who draws upon the scriptures of nature, recognizing that we are the product of the process of evolution, and understands that we have become the process itself, through the emergence and evolution of our consciousness, our awareness, our capacity to imagine and anticipate the future, and to choose from among alternatives."
Just prior to his death, Salk was working on a new book along the theme of biophilosophy, privately reported to be titled Millennium of the Mind.
Personal life and death
The day after his graduation from medical school in 1939, Salk married Donna Lindsay, a master's candidate at the New York College of Social Work. David Oshinsky writes that Donna's father, Elmer Lindsay, "a wealthy Manhattan dentist, viewed Salk as a social inferior, several cuts below Donna's former suitors." Eventually, her father agreed to the marriage on two conditions: first, Salk must wait until he could be listed as an official M.D. on the wedding invitations, and second, he must improve his "rather pedestrian status" by giving himself a middle name."
They had three children: Peter (who also became a physician and is now a part-time professor of infectious diseases at the University of Pittsburgh), Darrell, and Jonathan Salk. In 1968, they divorced and, in 1970, Salk married French painter Françoise Gilot.
Jonas Salk died from heart failure at the age of 80 on June 23, 1995, in La Jolla, and was buried at El Camino Memorial Park in San Diego.
Honors and recognition
1955, one month after the vaccine announcement, he was honored by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, where he was given their "highest award for services" by Governor George M. Leader, Meritorious Service Medal, where the governor added,
... in recognition of his 'historical medical' discovery ... Dr. Salk's achievement is meritorious service of the highest magnitude and dimension for the commonwealth, the country and mankind." The governor, who had three children, said that "as a parent he was 'humbly thankful to Dr. Salk,' and as Governor, 'proud to pay him tribute'.
1955, City University of New York creates the Salk Scholarship fund which it awards to multiple outstanding pre-med students each year
1956, awarded the Lasker Award
1957, the Municipal Hospital building, where Salk conducted his polio research at the University of Pittsburgh, is renamed Jonas Salk Hall and is home to the university's School of Pharmacy and Dentistry.
1958, awarded the James D. Bruce Memorial Award
1958, elected to the Polio Hall of Fame, which was dedicated in Warm Springs, Georgia
1975, awarded the Jawaharlal Nehru Award and the Congressional Gold Medal
1976, awarded the Academy of Achievement's Golden Plate Award
1976, named the Humanist of the Year by the American Humanist Association
1977, awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Jimmy Carter, with the following statement accompanying the medal:
Because of Doctor Jonas E. Salk, our country is free from the cruel epidemics of poliomyelitis that once struck almost yearly. Because of his tireless work, untold hundreds of thousands who might have been crippled are sound in body today. These are Doctor Salk's true honors, and there is no way to add to them. This Medal of Freedom can only express our gratitude, and our deepest thanks.
1981, decorated by the Italian government on January 3 as a Grand Officer of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic
1996, the March of Dimes Foundation created an annual $250,000 cash "Prize" to outstanding biologists as a tribute to Salk.
2006, the United States Postal Service issued a 63-cent Distinguished Americans series postage stamp in his honor.
2007, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and First Lady Maria Shriver inducted Salk into the California Hall of Fame.
2009, BBYO boys chapter chartered in his honor in Scottsdale, Arizona, Named "Jonas Salk AZA #2357"
Schools in Mesa, Arizona; Spokane, Washington; Tulsa, Oklahoma; Bolingbrook, Illinois; Levittown, New York; Old Bridge, New Jersey; Merrillville, Indiana; Sacramento, California ; and Mira Mesa, California ; are named after him.
2012, October 24, in honor of his birthday, has been named "World Polio Day", and was originated by Rotary International over a decade earlier.
2014, On the 100th anniversary of Salk's birth, a Google Doodle was created to honor the physician and medical researcher. The doodle shows happy and healthy children and adults playing and going about their lives with two children hold up a sign saying, "Thank you, Dr. Salk!"
Documentary films
In early 2009, the American Public Broadcasting Service aired its new documentary film, American Experience: The Polio Crusade. The documentary, available on DVD, can also be viewed online at PBS's website.
On April 12, 2010, to help celebrate the 55th anniversary of the Salk vaccine, a new 66-minute documentary, The Shot Felt 'Round the World, had its world premiere. Directed by Tjardus Greidanus and produced by Laura Davis, the documentary was conceived by Hollywood screenwriter and producer Carl Kurlander to bring "a fresh perspective on the era."
In 2014, actor and director Robert Redford, who was once struck with a mild case of polio when he was a child, directed a documentary about the Salk Institute in La Jolla.
In Chapter 10 of the 2018 season of Genius Michael McElhatton portrays Salk in a short cameo where he is on a date with Françoise Gilot.
Salk's book publications
Man Unfolding (1972)
Survival of the Wisest (1973)
World Population and Human Values: A New Reality (1981)
Anatomy of Reality: Merging of Intuition and Reason (1983)
References
Further reading
Jacobs, Charlotte DeCroes. Jonas Salk: A Life, Oxford Univ. Press (2015), scholarly biography
Kluger, Jeffrey. Splendid Solution: Jonas Salk and the Conquest of Polio, Berkley Books (2006), history of the polio vaccine
Weintraub, B. "Jonas Salk (1914-1995) and the first vacccine against polio." Israel Chemist and Engineer. July 2020, iss. 6. p31-34
External links
The American Experience: The Polio Crusade video, 1 hr. by PBS
"Legacy of Salk Institute", video, 30 minutes, history of Salk vaccine
"Polio Vaccine" intro., Britannica, video, 1 minute
Jonas Salk Legacy Foundation
Jonas Salk Trust
Salk Institute for Biological Studies
Documents regarding Jonas Salk and the Salk Polio Vaccine, Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library
1985 Open Mind interview with Richard D. Heffner: Man Evolving...
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette feature on Jonas Salk and the Polio cure 50 years later
The Salk School of Science (New York, New York)
Patent US Patent 5,256,767 : Vaccine against HIV
Register of Jonas Salk Papers, 1926–1991 – MSS 1, held in the UC San Diego Library's Special Collections & Archives
1914 births
1995 deaths
20th-century American physicians
American epidemiologists
American humanists
American medical researchers
American people of Belarusian-Jewish descent
American virologists
American Ashkenazi Jews
Burials in California
City College of New York alumni
Congressional Gold Medal recipients
Grand Officers of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic
History of medicine
Jewish American scientists
Jewish humanists
New York University School of Medicine alumni
People from East Harlem
People from San Diego
Physicians from New York City
Polio
Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients
Recipients of the Lasker-DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award
Salk Institute for Biological Studies
Salk Institute for Biological Studies people
Scientists from New York City
Scientists from Pittsburgh
Townsend Harris High School alumni
University of Michigan faculty
University of Pittsburgh faculty
Vaccinologists
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"Polio (Infantile paralysis or poliomyelitis) epidemics were a concern during the summer months for children globally, with records of polio from the Egyptians and Greeks to the 1950s epidemics. Two U.S. virologists, Jonas Salk of the University of Pittsburgh and Albert B. Sabin of the University of Cincinnati emerged as the most prominent among dozens of American researchers on the quest for a polio vaccine.\n\nSalk's vaccine\nBy 1950, Jonas Salk had tested both live attenuated polio vaccines and formaldehyde-killed polio vaccines in monkeys and by 1952, began testing on humans. The killed vaccine, with proper filtration of the biological culture, was found to be effective. A problem with this vaccine was the perception that to be adequately protected; a child needed three properly spaced injections and a recommended booster shot every year, which was expensive. However, Jonas Salk stated in interviews that this perception was not true. The Salk vaccine was the first polio vaccine to receive approval of the U.S. government and was used in the United States until 1961, when the Sabin vaccine was recommended to replace it.\n\nSabin's vaccine\nAlbert Sabin, a virologist who publicly disagreed with Salk and his killed vaccine, worked on creating a vaccine with live attenuated vaccines. In January 1956, despite Cold War tensions, Mikhail Chumakov, the director of Moscow's Polio Research Institute, along with his wife virologist Marina Voroshilova, and his colleague Anatoli Smorodentsev, traveled to the U.S. in order to study the Salk vaccine. They also visited the laboratory of Albert Sabin. With the clearance of the FBI, Sabin flew to Leningrad in June 1956. As a result of the cooperation between Sabin and Chumakov, Sabin was able to test his attenuated vaccine in the USSR when funding in America became unavailable. Sabin's work behind the Iron Curtain led to the determination that the Sabin–Chumakov vaccine was safe and effective.\n\nCold war tensions\n\nCold War tensions caused Western scientists to discount reports from the Russians about the effectiveness of the Sabin vaccine. However, mass vaccinations of Sabin's vaccine spread throughout Eastern Europe from 1960 to 1963. Just as some Soviet virologists did not trust the American Salk vaccine, Americans had similar reservations about the Sabin vaccine. However, other Soviet virologists argued that the Salk vaccine could be considered safe because the Americans had tested it on their own people, and that the Sabin vaccine must be potentially dangerous because the Americans did not want to test it on their own society.\n\nFederal licensing\nThe documented achievement of the Sabin–Chumakov collaboration eventually overcame the ideological differences of the Cold War. Their oral live-virus vaccine became federally licensed in 1962, and was used for over three decades to help eliminate polio globally, replacing the Salk vaccine. Using these vaccines, the threat of polio remains a serious threat only in parts of Pakistan and Afghanistan.\n\nReferences\n\nPolio\nVaccination\nPolio\nAftermath of World War II\nSoviet Union–United States relations\nHealth in the Soviet Union",
"Jonas Salk (1914–1995) was the developer of the first effective polio vaccine.\n\nSalk may also refer to:\n\n Designation for the inactivated (dead) poliovirus form of polio vaccine\n Lee Salk (1926–1992), psychologist and author\n Salk Institute for Biological Studies, a research institute in La Jolla, California, USA\n Salk School of Science, middle school in Manhattan\n Salk Hall\n\nSee also \n SALC (disambiguation)"
] |
[
"Don Hutson",
"Early years and college"
] | C_33ad5df440d3461ebd4cbc975e70cf13_1 | What was His early life like? | 1 | What was Don Hutson's early life like? | Don Hutson | Hutson was born on January 31, 1913, in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, one of three sons of Roy B. Hutson and Mabel Clark Hutson. While a Boy Scout, he played with snakes. He said that's where he got his quickness and agility. As a teenager Hutson played baseball for Pine Bluff's town team. As a senior at Pine Bluff High School he was an all-state basketball player, which he said was his favorite sport. "I'm like most [athletes]," he said. "I'd rather see football, but I'd rather play basketball." Hutson played one year of football at Pine Bluff. Hutson played at end for coach Frank Thomas's Alabama Crimson Tide football team from 1932 to 1934. Bear Bryant, future long-time coach of the Tide, was the self-described "other end" on the Tide in 1933 and 1934. Bryant once remarked, "...he was something to see even then. We'd hitchhike to Pine Bluff just to watch him play. I saw him catch five touchdown passes in one game in high school." Sportswriter Morgan Blake ranked the undefeated 1934 Tide as the best team he ever saw. Hutson's College Football Hall of Fame profile reads: "Fluid in motion, wondrously elusive with the fake, inventive in his patterns and magnificently at ease when catching the ball ... Hutson and fellow Hall of Famer Millard "Dixie" Howell became football's most celebrated passing combination." Hutson had six catches for 165 yards, including two touchdowns of 54 and 59 yards in the 1935 Rose Bowl against Stanford. He also scored the winning touchdown over Robert Neyland's Tennessee Volunteers on an end-around. Hutson was recognized as a first-team All-American for six different organizations and received a second-team selection by one other. In an attempt to name retroactive Heisman Trophy winners before its first year of 1936, Hutson was awarded it for 1934 by the National Football Foundation. Georgia Tech coach Bill Alexander once said, "All Don Hutson can do is beat you with clever hands and the most baffling change of pace I've ever seen." CANNOTANSWER | Hutson was born on January 31, 1913, in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, one of three sons of Roy B. Hutson and Mabel Clark Hutson. | Donald Montgomery Hutson (January 31, 1913 – June 26, 1997) was an American professional football player and assistant coach in the National Football League (NFL). He played as an end and spent his entire 11-year professional career with the Green Bay Packers. Under head coach Curly Lambeau, Hutson led the Packers to four NFL Championship Games, winning three: 1936, 1939, and 1944.
Hutson joined the Packers in 1935 and played 11 seasons before he retired in 1945. He led the league in receiving yards in seven separate seasons and in receiving touchdowns in nine. A talented safety on defense, he also led the NFL in interceptions in 1940. Hutson was an eight-time All-Pro selection, a four-time All-Star, and was twice awarded the Joe F. Carr Trophy as the NFL Most Valuable Player.
Hutson is considered to have been the first modern wide receiver, and is credited with creating many of the modern pass routes used in the NFL today. He was the dominant receiver of his day, and is widely considered one of the greatest receivers in NFL history. Hutson was the first 1,000 yard receiver in the NFL. He held almost all major receiving records at the time of his retirement, including career receptions, yards, and touchdowns. He was inducted as a charter member of both the College Football Hall of Fame and the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Hutson's number 14 was the first jersey retired by the Packers, and he is a member of the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame. In 1969, Hutson was selected to the National Football League 50th Anniversary All-Time Team as one of the greatest players of the NFL's first 50 years. In 1994, Hutson was selected to the National Football League 75th Anniversary All-Time Team as one of the greatest players of the NFL's first 75 years. In 2019, he was unanimously selected to the NFL 100th Anniversary All-Time Team as one of the greatest players of the NFL's first 100 years.
Early years and college
Hutson was born on January 31, 1913, in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, one of three sons of Roy B. Hutson and Mabel Clark Hutson. While a Boy Scout, he played with snakes. He said that is where he got his quickness and agility. As a teenager Hutson played baseball for Pine Bluff's town team. As a senior at Pine Bluff High School he was an all-state basketball player, which he said was his favorite sport. "I'm like most [athletes]," he said. "I'd rather see football, but I'd rather play basketball." Hutson played one year of football at Pine Bluff.
Hutson played at end for coach Frank Thomas's Alabama Crimson Tide football team from 1932 to 1934. Bear Bryant, future long-time coach of the Tide, was the self-described "other end" on the Tide in 1933 and 1934. Bryant once remarked, "...he was something to see even then. We'd hitchhike to Pine Bluff just to watch him play. I saw him catch five touchdown passes in one game in high school."
Sportswriter Morgan Blake ranked the undefeated 1934 Tide as the best team he ever saw. Hutson's College Football Hall of Fame profile reads: "Fluid in motion, wondrously elusive with the fake, inventive in his patterns and magnificently at ease when catching the ball ... Hutson and fellow Hall of Famer Millard "Dixie" Howell became football's most celebrated passing combination." Hutson had six catches for 165 yards, including two touchdowns of 54 and 59 yards in the 1935 Rose Bowl against Stanford. He also scored the winning touchdown over Robert Neyland's Tennessee Volunteers on an end-around.
Hutson was recognized as a first-team All-American for six different organizations and received a second-team selection by one other. In an attempt to name retroactive Heisman Trophy winners before its first year of 1936, Hutson was awarded it for 1934 by the National Football Foundation. Georgia Tech coach Bill Alexander once said, "All Don Hutson can do is beat you with clever hands and the most baffling change of pace I've ever seen."
NFL career
When he graduated from Alabama, Hutson did not plan on playing professionally. In those days, the NFL was not highly regarded in the South compared to college football. But Green Bay Packers head coach Curly Lambeau saw Hutson as the perfect receiver for his passing attack, which at the time was headed by quarterback Arnie Herber and end John "Blood" McNally. By this time, a number of teams, including Alabama, were experimenting with spreading the field by moving one end far out near the sideline, drawing the defense away from running plays and leaving them more open on passing ones. Hutson had thrived in this scheme, leading Lambeau to conclude that he would be the perfect fit for Green Bay's offense.
Before the draft existed, college players could sign with any team they wanted, and while Hutson did sign a contract with Green Bay, he had also signed a contract with the NFL's Brooklyn Dodgers. Both contracts came to the NFL office at the same time, and NFL president Joseph Carr declared that Hutson would go to Green Bay, as the Green Bay contract had an earlier date of signing. Hutson later stated he chose the Packers because they offered the most money—$300 a game. "That was far and above what they had ever paid a player," said Hutson. "Each week they'd give me a check for $150 from one bank and $150 from another so nobody would know how much I was getting paid."
Split end
Hutson's first catch as a professional was on an 83-yard touchdown pass from Herber on the first play from scrimmage against the Chicago Bears, in the second game of the 1935 season. It was the only score of the game as the Packers won 7–0. He caught six touchdowns total in his rookie season, which led the league. It was the first in a string of four straight seasons and nine seasons total that Hutson led the league in touchdown receptions. The next season the Packers won their fourth league title, with a 21–6 win over the Boston Redskins in the 1936 NFL Championship Game. Hutson scored the first touchdown of the game, on a 48-yard pass from Herber in the first quarter. Hutson completed the season with 34 receptions for 536 yards and eight touchdowns, which were all league records, and helped Herber set the NFL season passing yards record. Hutson's yardage record was broken the next season by Chicago Cardinals receiver Gaynell Tinsley, who challenged Hutson over the next few years for the title of best receiver in the NFL.
In 1938, Hutson had nine touchdown receptions, again setting the league record, as he led the Packers to another NFL Championship Game, this time against the New York Giants. However, a knee injury he suffered four weeks earlier kept him out of the game's starting lineup. He entered as a substitute three separate times late in the game but was unable to be a factor, catching no passes as Green Bay was defeated 23–17.
Hutson reclaimed the season receiving yards record from Tinsley in 1939 by catching 34 passes for 846 yards—an average of 24.9 yards per reception, the highest of his career. He again led the Packers to the championship game, for a rematch against the Giants. This time Green Bay was victorious, with a 27–0 shutout win. Hutson had two receptions in the game for 21 yards and a rushing attempt that went for three yards.
In 1940, Hutson scored seven touchdowns and kicked 15 extra points to lead the league in scoring by edging out Rams fullback Johnny Drake by a single point. On September 29, Hutson caught his 38th career touchdown pass, breaking Johnny Blood's record. With 99 touchdown receptions for his career, he remained the record holder for almost 50 years, until surpassed by the last touchdown of Steve Largent's career in 1989.
In 1941, Hutson became the first receiver to catch 50 passes in a season, doing so while again leading the league in receptions, receiving yards, and touchdowns. He also scored two rushing touchdowns, for a total of 12. After the season, he was awarded the Joe F. Carr Trophy as the league's most valuable player. He received six of the nine first place votes, finishing ahead of his quarterback Cecil Isbell, who received two first place votes.
Hutson repeated as league MVP in 1942 as he shattered most of his own records; he caught 74 passes for 1,211 yards and 17 touchdowns and averaged over 110 receiving yards per game. This was the first time a receiver had reached the 1,000 yard milestone. He again received six of nine first place votes for the Joe F. Carr Trophy. "The selection did not rest alone on his great pass catching ability," reasoned the selection committee. "Also considered were his nuisance value as a disrupter of enemy defenses and his ability to transform the Packers into a confident, powerful aggregation in clutch situations." His production helped Isbell become the first NFL quarterback to throw for over 2,000 yards in a season.
In February 1943, Hutson announced his retirement from football due to a lingering chest injury. He changed his mind and returned for the 1943 season, however, and caught 47 passes for 776 yards and eleven touchdowns, leading the league in all three. He also threw his first and only completed pass of his career: a 38-yard touchdown pass to Harry Jacunski against the Bears. Additionally, he successfully kicked 36 extra points on 36 tries, and had an 83-yard interception return touchdown. After the season Hutson again announced his intention to retire as a player, this time to be an assistant coach for the Packers. He once again returned as a player in 1944 and again led the league with 58 receptions, 866 yards, and nine touchdowns, while also serving as assistant coach. He led the Packers to the 1944 NFL Championship Game against the Giants and caught two passes for 47 yards, as the Packers won their third and final championship with Hutson, 14–7.
For the third time in as many years Hutson announced his retirement, and for the third time he returned as a player in 1945. A sportswriter for The Pittsburgh Press jokingly declared Hutson "holder of the world's record for coming out of retirement." In a week three, 57–21 blowout win against the Detroit Lions, Hutson set an NFL record with four touchdown receptions in a game, all of them coming in the second quarter. He also kicked five extra points in the quarter, for a total of 29 points, which as of 2015 remains a record for points by a player in a single quarter.
In all, Hutson caught 488 passes for 7,991 yards and 99 touchdowns. He rushed for three touchdowns, scored two touchdowns on blocked punts, and had an interception return touchdown for a career total of 105. He scored at least six receiving touchdowns in each of his 11 seasons. Hutson led the NFL in receptions eight times, including five consecutive times: 1941 to 1945. He led the NFL in receiving yards seven times, including four straight times: 1941 to 1944. He led the NFL in scoring five times: 1941 to 1945. As of 2016, Hutson still holds the highest career average touchdowns per game for a receiver, at 0.85. Hutson's single season record of 17 touchdown receptions in 1942 stood for 42 years until broken by receiver Mark Clayton in 1984, a year in which Miami's quarterback Dan Marino had more completions (362) than the entire 1942 Packers team's pass attempts (330). His four receiving touchdowns in a game has been surpassed three times and tied several times, but his four in a single quarter has yet to be matched. His record 99 touchdown receptions stood for 44 years, well into the modern era. In his 11-year professional career, Hutson never missed a game due to injury. He invented many pass routes still in use today, including the chair route.
At his peak, Hutson was a challenge to defend, mainly because no one had ever seen anything like him in the NFL before. Even when opposing defenses deployed their best defender or multiple defenders against Hutson, he was almost always able to break free. Hutson's ability to beat defenders was remarkable considering he played in an era when there were far fewer restrictions on how and when a defender could legally hit a receiver. It was initially thought that the 6-1, 185-pound Hutson was too fragile for the NFL. However, according to Tony Canadeo, who played alongside Hutson from 1941 to 1944, Hutson was as skilled going over the middle as he was going deep.
Defense and special teams
For many of his 11 seasons, Hutson was also the Packers' kicker. He added 172 extra points on 183 attempts and seven field goals on 15 attempts for another league record 823 points. He led the league in extra points made and attempted in 1941, 1942 and 1945 and in field goals made in 1943. As did almost all players in his day, Hutson played both offense and defense. On defense, he played safety and intercepted 30 passes over the final six years of his career. His highest season total was in 1943, when he intercepted eight passes in ten games. In 1940, he led the NFL with six interceptions.
Hutson was a player-coach during the last two seasons of his playing career. After his retirement as a player, Hutson remained on the Packers staff as an assistant until 1948.
Personal and later life
From an early age Hutson was interested in business. "At the university [of Alabama], I was the only athlete in the business school," he said. "The only reason I wanted to play pro sports was to get a stake." While both were students at Alabama, he partnered with Bear Bryant to operate a laundromat in Tuscaloosa called Captain Kidd Cleaners. However, neither were educated in laundering, and they sold the business after two years. While in Green Bay, Hutson opened the Packer Playdium bowling alley, which proved so successful that he twice considered retirement from football to fully dedicate his time to its operation. He then started the Hutson Motor Car Co. dealership and in 1951 purchased Chevrolet and Cadillac agencies in Racine, Wisconsin. "I never aimed for automobiles," said Hutson. "That just happened to be the thing I got into. I just wanted to run a business, any business. He also served on the Packers board of directors from 1952 to 1980, when he was elected a director emeritus.
After he retired from the dealership business, Hutson settled in Rancho Mirage, California, where he lived until his death on June 26, 1997, at the age of 84.
Honors and recognition
Hutson has been honored in a variety of ways. He was elected to the Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame as a charter member in 1951, and the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame in 1968, also as an initial member. His number 14 was the first number retired by the Packers, in a public ceremony at a game at City Stadium on December 2, 1951. Hutson Street in the Packerland Industrial Park in Green Bay is named for him, and in 1994 the Packers named their new state-of-the-art indoor practice facility across the street from Lambeau Field the "Don Hutson Center."
Hutson was inducted as a charter member of both the College Football Hall of Fame in 1951, and Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1963. His college career made him a unanimous choice for the Associated Press Southeast Area All-Time football team 1920–1969 era. Hutson is a member of the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame, inducted in 1972 along with his quarterbacks, Arnie Herber and Cecil Isbell. There is a park named after him in his hometown of Pine Bluff, Arkansas. On the occasion of his 75th birthday he performed the ceremonial coin toss of Super Bowl XXII to end the pregame ceremonies. Hutson was named to the NFL's 1930s All-Decade Team and 50th Anniversary Team in 1970, and in 1994 he was named to the NFL 75th Anniversary All-Time Team. In 1999, he was ranked sixth on The Sporting News list of the 100 Greatest Football Players, the highest-ranking Packer and the highest-ranking pre–World War II player. In 2012, the NFL Network named Hutson the greatest Green Bay Packer of all time.
In 2005, the Flagstad family of Green Bay donated to the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame an authentic Packers No. 14 jersey worn by Hutson. The jersey was found in a trunk of old uniforms in 1946 at the Rockwood Lodge, the Packers' summer training camp from 1946 to 1949, owned by Melvin and Helen Flagstad. The jersey, a rare NFL artifact valued at over $17,000, was donated by son Daniel Flagstad in memory of his parents.
Hutson's most productive seasons were from 1942 to 1945, a time in which the NFL was severely depleted with many of its most talented players and prospective college athletes serving in the military during World War II. Hutson was classified I-A for the military draft, but had three daughters, so was able to avoid conscription. On the notion that Hutson exploited watered-down defenses, former Packers Hall of Fame running back Paul Hornung responded as such: "I'm a believer. Am I a believer! You know what Hutson would do in this league today? The same things he did when he played."
NFL records
As of the end of the 2017 NFL season, Hutson still holds the following records: most seasons leading league in pass receptions (8), most consecutive seasons leading league in pass receptions (5), most seasons leading league in pass receiving yards gained (7), most consecutive seasons leading league in pass receiving yards gained (4), most seasons leading league in pass receiving touchdowns (9), most seasons leading the league in total touchdowns (8), Most consecutive seasons leading league in pass receiving touchdowns (5), most seasons leading league in scoring (5, now tied), and most consecutive seasons leading league in scoring (5). Sportswriter Zipp Newman referred to Hutson as "the Ty Cobb of the gridiron."
Records held as of retirement:
Most seasons led league, scoring: 5*
Most consecutive seasons led league, scoring: 5*
Most touchdowns scored in a quarter: 4*
Most touchdown receptions in a quarter: 4*
Most points scored in a quarter: 29*
Most seasons led league, touchdowns: 8*
Most consecutive seasons led league, touchdowns: 4*
Most seasons led league, receiving touchdowns: 9*
Most consecutive seasons led league, receiving touchdowns: 5*
Most seasons led league, receptions: 8*
Most consecutive seasons led league, receptions: 5*
Most seasons led league, receiving yards: 7*
Most consecutive seasons led league, receiving yards: 4*
Most receptions, career: 488
Most receptions, season: 74
Most receptions, game: 14
Most receiving yards, career: 7,991
Most receiving yards, season: 1,211
Most receiving yards, game: 209
Most receiving touchdowns, career: 99
Most touchdowns, season: 17
Most touchdowns, game: 4
Most points scored in a calendar month: 74 (Four games in October 1945)
Note: * = remains an NFL record as of 2017 season
NFL career statistics
Regular season
Notes
References
General
Footnotes
Further reading
Eisenberg, John (2009), That First Season: How Vince Lombardi Took the Worst Team in the NFL and Set It on the Path to Glory. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
Poling, Jerry (2006), After They Were Packers: The Super Bowl XXXI Champs & Other Green Bay Legends. Big Earth Publishing.
External links
1913 births
1997 deaths
American football ends
American football wide receivers
Alabama Crimson Tide football players
Green Bay Packers coaches
Green Bay Packers players
All-American college football players
College Football Hall of Fame inductees
National Football League players with retired numbers
Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees
Sportspeople from Pine Bluff, Arkansas
People from Rancho Mirage, California
Players of American football from Arkansas
National Football League Most Valuable Player Award winners | true | [
"\"O What a Savior\" is a Southern gospel song penned by the Free Will Baptist musician Marvin P. Dalton in 1948.\n\nLyrics\nOnce I was straying in sin's dark valley,\nNo hope within could I see,\nHe searched through Heaven, and found a Savior\nTo save a poor lost soul like me.\n\nO what a Savior, O hallelujah!\nHis heart was broken on Calvary,\nHis hands were nail scarred,\nHis side was riven,\nHe gave His life-blood for even me.\n\nHe left the Father with all His riches,\nWith calmness sweet and serene,\nCame down from Heaven and gave His life-blood,\nTo make the vilest sinner clean.\n\nO what a Savior, O hallelujah!\nHis heart was broken on Calvary,\nHis hands were nail scarred,\nHis side was riven,\nHe gave His life-blood for even me.\n\nDeath's chilly waters I'll soon be crossing,\nHis hand will lead me safe o're,\nI'll join the chorus in that bright city,\nAnd sing up there forever more.\n\nO what a Savior, O hallelujah!\nHis heart was broken on Calvary,\nHis hands were nail scarred,\nHis side was riven,\nHe gave His life-blood for even me.\n\nReferences\n O What a Savior as sung by the Cathedrals\n O What a Savior as sung by Ernie Haase & Signature Sound\n\nSouthern gospel songs",
"Si-cology 1 is an autobiography by American television personality Silas Robertson, co-written by Mark Schlabach. It was first published on September 3, 2013 and has already become a bestseller. In this book Si talks about his life. He talks about what life was like for him as a young boy living in Louisiana, how he went overseas to Vietnam as a soldier during the war, to what his life is like being Uncle Si on A&E show Duck Dynasty.\n\nReferences\n\nRobertson, Si\n2013 non-fiction books"
] |
[
"Don Hutson",
"Early years and college",
"What was His early life like?",
"Hutson was born on January 31, 1913, in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, one of three sons of Roy B. Hutson and Mabel Clark Hutson."
] | C_33ad5df440d3461ebd4cbc975e70cf13_1 | where di he go to school? | 2 | Where did Don Hutson go to school? | Don Hutson | Hutson was born on January 31, 1913, in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, one of three sons of Roy B. Hutson and Mabel Clark Hutson. While a Boy Scout, he played with snakes. He said that's where he got his quickness and agility. As a teenager Hutson played baseball for Pine Bluff's town team. As a senior at Pine Bluff High School he was an all-state basketball player, which he said was his favorite sport. "I'm like most [athletes]," he said. "I'd rather see football, but I'd rather play basketball." Hutson played one year of football at Pine Bluff. Hutson played at end for coach Frank Thomas's Alabama Crimson Tide football team from 1932 to 1934. Bear Bryant, future long-time coach of the Tide, was the self-described "other end" on the Tide in 1933 and 1934. Bryant once remarked, "...he was something to see even then. We'd hitchhike to Pine Bluff just to watch him play. I saw him catch five touchdown passes in one game in high school." Sportswriter Morgan Blake ranked the undefeated 1934 Tide as the best team he ever saw. Hutson's College Football Hall of Fame profile reads: "Fluid in motion, wondrously elusive with the fake, inventive in his patterns and magnificently at ease when catching the ball ... Hutson and fellow Hall of Famer Millard "Dixie" Howell became football's most celebrated passing combination." Hutson had six catches for 165 yards, including two touchdowns of 54 and 59 yards in the 1935 Rose Bowl against Stanford. He also scored the winning touchdown over Robert Neyland's Tennessee Volunteers on an end-around. Hutson was recognized as a first-team All-American for six different organizations and received a second-team selection by one other. In an attempt to name retroactive Heisman Trophy winners before its first year of 1936, Hutson was awarded it for 1934 by the National Football Foundation. Georgia Tech coach Bill Alexander once said, "All Don Hutson can do is beat you with clever hands and the most baffling change of pace I've ever seen." CANNOTANSWER | As a senior at Pine Bluff High School he was an all-state basketball player, which he said was his favorite sport. "I'm like most [athletes]," | Donald Montgomery Hutson (January 31, 1913 – June 26, 1997) was an American professional football player and assistant coach in the National Football League (NFL). He played as an end and spent his entire 11-year professional career with the Green Bay Packers. Under head coach Curly Lambeau, Hutson led the Packers to four NFL Championship Games, winning three: 1936, 1939, and 1944.
Hutson joined the Packers in 1935 and played 11 seasons before he retired in 1945. He led the league in receiving yards in seven separate seasons and in receiving touchdowns in nine. A talented safety on defense, he also led the NFL in interceptions in 1940. Hutson was an eight-time All-Pro selection, a four-time All-Star, and was twice awarded the Joe F. Carr Trophy as the NFL Most Valuable Player.
Hutson is considered to have been the first modern wide receiver, and is credited with creating many of the modern pass routes used in the NFL today. He was the dominant receiver of his day, and is widely considered one of the greatest receivers in NFL history. Hutson was the first 1,000 yard receiver in the NFL. He held almost all major receiving records at the time of his retirement, including career receptions, yards, and touchdowns. He was inducted as a charter member of both the College Football Hall of Fame and the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Hutson's number 14 was the first jersey retired by the Packers, and he is a member of the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame. In 1969, Hutson was selected to the National Football League 50th Anniversary All-Time Team as one of the greatest players of the NFL's first 50 years. In 1994, Hutson was selected to the National Football League 75th Anniversary All-Time Team as one of the greatest players of the NFL's first 75 years. In 2019, he was unanimously selected to the NFL 100th Anniversary All-Time Team as one of the greatest players of the NFL's first 100 years.
Early years and college
Hutson was born on January 31, 1913, in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, one of three sons of Roy B. Hutson and Mabel Clark Hutson. While a Boy Scout, he played with snakes. He said that is where he got his quickness and agility. As a teenager Hutson played baseball for Pine Bluff's town team. As a senior at Pine Bluff High School he was an all-state basketball player, which he said was his favorite sport. "I'm like most [athletes]," he said. "I'd rather see football, but I'd rather play basketball." Hutson played one year of football at Pine Bluff.
Hutson played at end for coach Frank Thomas's Alabama Crimson Tide football team from 1932 to 1934. Bear Bryant, future long-time coach of the Tide, was the self-described "other end" on the Tide in 1933 and 1934. Bryant once remarked, "...he was something to see even then. We'd hitchhike to Pine Bluff just to watch him play. I saw him catch five touchdown passes in one game in high school."
Sportswriter Morgan Blake ranked the undefeated 1934 Tide as the best team he ever saw. Hutson's College Football Hall of Fame profile reads: "Fluid in motion, wondrously elusive with the fake, inventive in his patterns and magnificently at ease when catching the ball ... Hutson and fellow Hall of Famer Millard "Dixie" Howell became football's most celebrated passing combination." Hutson had six catches for 165 yards, including two touchdowns of 54 and 59 yards in the 1935 Rose Bowl against Stanford. He also scored the winning touchdown over Robert Neyland's Tennessee Volunteers on an end-around.
Hutson was recognized as a first-team All-American for six different organizations and received a second-team selection by one other. In an attempt to name retroactive Heisman Trophy winners before its first year of 1936, Hutson was awarded it for 1934 by the National Football Foundation. Georgia Tech coach Bill Alexander once said, "All Don Hutson can do is beat you with clever hands and the most baffling change of pace I've ever seen."
NFL career
When he graduated from Alabama, Hutson did not plan on playing professionally. In those days, the NFL was not highly regarded in the South compared to college football. But Green Bay Packers head coach Curly Lambeau saw Hutson as the perfect receiver for his passing attack, which at the time was headed by quarterback Arnie Herber and end John "Blood" McNally. By this time, a number of teams, including Alabama, were experimenting with spreading the field by moving one end far out near the sideline, drawing the defense away from running plays and leaving them more open on passing ones. Hutson had thrived in this scheme, leading Lambeau to conclude that he would be the perfect fit for Green Bay's offense.
Before the draft existed, college players could sign with any team they wanted, and while Hutson did sign a contract with Green Bay, he had also signed a contract with the NFL's Brooklyn Dodgers. Both contracts came to the NFL office at the same time, and NFL president Joseph Carr declared that Hutson would go to Green Bay, as the Green Bay contract had an earlier date of signing. Hutson later stated he chose the Packers because they offered the most money—$300 a game. "That was far and above what they had ever paid a player," said Hutson. "Each week they'd give me a check for $150 from one bank and $150 from another so nobody would know how much I was getting paid."
Split end
Hutson's first catch as a professional was on an 83-yard touchdown pass from Herber on the first play from scrimmage against the Chicago Bears, in the second game of the 1935 season. It was the only score of the game as the Packers won 7–0. He caught six touchdowns total in his rookie season, which led the league. It was the first in a string of four straight seasons and nine seasons total that Hutson led the league in touchdown receptions. The next season the Packers won their fourth league title, with a 21–6 win over the Boston Redskins in the 1936 NFL Championship Game. Hutson scored the first touchdown of the game, on a 48-yard pass from Herber in the first quarter. Hutson completed the season with 34 receptions for 536 yards and eight touchdowns, which were all league records, and helped Herber set the NFL season passing yards record. Hutson's yardage record was broken the next season by Chicago Cardinals receiver Gaynell Tinsley, who challenged Hutson over the next few years for the title of best receiver in the NFL.
In 1938, Hutson had nine touchdown receptions, again setting the league record, as he led the Packers to another NFL Championship Game, this time against the New York Giants. However, a knee injury he suffered four weeks earlier kept him out of the game's starting lineup. He entered as a substitute three separate times late in the game but was unable to be a factor, catching no passes as Green Bay was defeated 23–17.
Hutson reclaimed the season receiving yards record from Tinsley in 1939 by catching 34 passes for 846 yards—an average of 24.9 yards per reception, the highest of his career. He again led the Packers to the championship game, for a rematch against the Giants. This time Green Bay was victorious, with a 27–0 shutout win. Hutson had two receptions in the game for 21 yards and a rushing attempt that went for three yards.
In 1940, Hutson scored seven touchdowns and kicked 15 extra points to lead the league in scoring by edging out Rams fullback Johnny Drake by a single point. On September 29, Hutson caught his 38th career touchdown pass, breaking Johnny Blood's record. With 99 touchdown receptions for his career, he remained the record holder for almost 50 years, until surpassed by the last touchdown of Steve Largent's career in 1989.
In 1941, Hutson became the first receiver to catch 50 passes in a season, doing so while again leading the league in receptions, receiving yards, and touchdowns. He also scored two rushing touchdowns, for a total of 12. After the season, he was awarded the Joe F. Carr Trophy as the league's most valuable player. He received six of the nine first place votes, finishing ahead of his quarterback Cecil Isbell, who received two first place votes.
Hutson repeated as league MVP in 1942 as he shattered most of his own records; he caught 74 passes for 1,211 yards and 17 touchdowns and averaged over 110 receiving yards per game. This was the first time a receiver had reached the 1,000 yard milestone. He again received six of nine first place votes for the Joe F. Carr Trophy. "The selection did not rest alone on his great pass catching ability," reasoned the selection committee. "Also considered were his nuisance value as a disrupter of enemy defenses and his ability to transform the Packers into a confident, powerful aggregation in clutch situations." His production helped Isbell become the first NFL quarterback to throw for over 2,000 yards in a season.
In February 1943, Hutson announced his retirement from football due to a lingering chest injury. He changed his mind and returned for the 1943 season, however, and caught 47 passes for 776 yards and eleven touchdowns, leading the league in all three. He also threw his first and only completed pass of his career: a 38-yard touchdown pass to Harry Jacunski against the Bears. Additionally, he successfully kicked 36 extra points on 36 tries, and had an 83-yard interception return touchdown. After the season Hutson again announced his intention to retire as a player, this time to be an assistant coach for the Packers. He once again returned as a player in 1944 and again led the league with 58 receptions, 866 yards, and nine touchdowns, while also serving as assistant coach. He led the Packers to the 1944 NFL Championship Game against the Giants and caught two passes for 47 yards, as the Packers won their third and final championship with Hutson, 14–7.
For the third time in as many years Hutson announced his retirement, and for the third time he returned as a player in 1945. A sportswriter for The Pittsburgh Press jokingly declared Hutson "holder of the world's record for coming out of retirement." In a week three, 57–21 blowout win against the Detroit Lions, Hutson set an NFL record with four touchdown receptions in a game, all of them coming in the second quarter. He also kicked five extra points in the quarter, for a total of 29 points, which as of 2015 remains a record for points by a player in a single quarter.
In all, Hutson caught 488 passes for 7,991 yards and 99 touchdowns. He rushed for three touchdowns, scored two touchdowns on blocked punts, and had an interception return touchdown for a career total of 105. He scored at least six receiving touchdowns in each of his 11 seasons. Hutson led the NFL in receptions eight times, including five consecutive times: 1941 to 1945. He led the NFL in receiving yards seven times, including four straight times: 1941 to 1944. He led the NFL in scoring five times: 1941 to 1945. As of 2016, Hutson still holds the highest career average touchdowns per game for a receiver, at 0.85. Hutson's single season record of 17 touchdown receptions in 1942 stood for 42 years until broken by receiver Mark Clayton in 1984, a year in which Miami's quarterback Dan Marino had more completions (362) than the entire 1942 Packers team's pass attempts (330). His four receiving touchdowns in a game has been surpassed three times and tied several times, but his four in a single quarter has yet to be matched. His record 99 touchdown receptions stood for 44 years, well into the modern era. In his 11-year professional career, Hutson never missed a game due to injury. He invented many pass routes still in use today, including the chair route.
At his peak, Hutson was a challenge to defend, mainly because no one had ever seen anything like him in the NFL before. Even when opposing defenses deployed their best defender or multiple defenders against Hutson, he was almost always able to break free. Hutson's ability to beat defenders was remarkable considering he played in an era when there were far fewer restrictions on how and when a defender could legally hit a receiver. It was initially thought that the 6-1, 185-pound Hutson was too fragile for the NFL. However, according to Tony Canadeo, who played alongside Hutson from 1941 to 1944, Hutson was as skilled going over the middle as he was going deep.
Defense and special teams
For many of his 11 seasons, Hutson was also the Packers' kicker. He added 172 extra points on 183 attempts and seven field goals on 15 attempts for another league record 823 points. He led the league in extra points made and attempted in 1941, 1942 and 1945 and in field goals made in 1943. As did almost all players in his day, Hutson played both offense and defense. On defense, he played safety and intercepted 30 passes over the final six years of his career. His highest season total was in 1943, when he intercepted eight passes in ten games. In 1940, he led the NFL with six interceptions.
Hutson was a player-coach during the last two seasons of his playing career. After his retirement as a player, Hutson remained on the Packers staff as an assistant until 1948.
Personal and later life
From an early age Hutson was interested in business. "At the university [of Alabama], I was the only athlete in the business school," he said. "The only reason I wanted to play pro sports was to get a stake." While both were students at Alabama, he partnered with Bear Bryant to operate a laundromat in Tuscaloosa called Captain Kidd Cleaners. However, neither were educated in laundering, and they sold the business after two years. While in Green Bay, Hutson opened the Packer Playdium bowling alley, which proved so successful that he twice considered retirement from football to fully dedicate his time to its operation. He then started the Hutson Motor Car Co. dealership and in 1951 purchased Chevrolet and Cadillac agencies in Racine, Wisconsin. "I never aimed for automobiles," said Hutson. "That just happened to be the thing I got into. I just wanted to run a business, any business. He also served on the Packers board of directors from 1952 to 1980, when he was elected a director emeritus.
After he retired from the dealership business, Hutson settled in Rancho Mirage, California, where he lived until his death on June 26, 1997, at the age of 84.
Honors and recognition
Hutson has been honored in a variety of ways. He was elected to the Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame as a charter member in 1951, and the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame in 1968, also as an initial member. His number 14 was the first number retired by the Packers, in a public ceremony at a game at City Stadium on December 2, 1951. Hutson Street in the Packerland Industrial Park in Green Bay is named for him, and in 1994 the Packers named their new state-of-the-art indoor practice facility across the street from Lambeau Field the "Don Hutson Center."
Hutson was inducted as a charter member of both the College Football Hall of Fame in 1951, and Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1963. His college career made him a unanimous choice for the Associated Press Southeast Area All-Time football team 1920–1969 era. Hutson is a member of the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame, inducted in 1972 along with his quarterbacks, Arnie Herber and Cecil Isbell. There is a park named after him in his hometown of Pine Bluff, Arkansas. On the occasion of his 75th birthday he performed the ceremonial coin toss of Super Bowl XXII to end the pregame ceremonies. Hutson was named to the NFL's 1930s All-Decade Team and 50th Anniversary Team in 1970, and in 1994 he was named to the NFL 75th Anniversary All-Time Team. In 1999, he was ranked sixth on The Sporting News list of the 100 Greatest Football Players, the highest-ranking Packer and the highest-ranking pre–World War II player. In 2012, the NFL Network named Hutson the greatest Green Bay Packer of all time.
In 2005, the Flagstad family of Green Bay donated to the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame an authentic Packers No. 14 jersey worn by Hutson. The jersey was found in a trunk of old uniforms in 1946 at the Rockwood Lodge, the Packers' summer training camp from 1946 to 1949, owned by Melvin and Helen Flagstad. The jersey, a rare NFL artifact valued at over $17,000, was donated by son Daniel Flagstad in memory of his parents.
Hutson's most productive seasons were from 1942 to 1945, a time in which the NFL was severely depleted with many of its most talented players and prospective college athletes serving in the military during World War II. Hutson was classified I-A for the military draft, but had three daughters, so was able to avoid conscription. On the notion that Hutson exploited watered-down defenses, former Packers Hall of Fame running back Paul Hornung responded as such: "I'm a believer. Am I a believer! You know what Hutson would do in this league today? The same things he did when he played."
NFL records
As of the end of the 2017 NFL season, Hutson still holds the following records: most seasons leading league in pass receptions (8), most consecutive seasons leading league in pass receptions (5), most seasons leading league in pass receiving yards gained (7), most consecutive seasons leading league in pass receiving yards gained (4), most seasons leading league in pass receiving touchdowns (9), most seasons leading the league in total touchdowns (8), Most consecutive seasons leading league in pass receiving touchdowns (5), most seasons leading league in scoring (5, now tied), and most consecutive seasons leading league in scoring (5). Sportswriter Zipp Newman referred to Hutson as "the Ty Cobb of the gridiron."
Records held as of retirement:
Most seasons led league, scoring: 5*
Most consecutive seasons led league, scoring: 5*
Most touchdowns scored in a quarter: 4*
Most touchdown receptions in a quarter: 4*
Most points scored in a quarter: 29*
Most seasons led league, touchdowns: 8*
Most consecutive seasons led league, touchdowns: 4*
Most seasons led league, receiving touchdowns: 9*
Most consecutive seasons led league, receiving touchdowns: 5*
Most seasons led league, receptions: 8*
Most consecutive seasons led league, receptions: 5*
Most seasons led league, receiving yards: 7*
Most consecutive seasons led league, receiving yards: 4*
Most receptions, career: 488
Most receptions, season: 74
Most receptions, game: 14
Most receiving yards, career: 7,991
Most receiving yards, season: 1,211
Most receiving yards, game: 209
Most receiving touchdowns, career: 99
Most touchdowns, season: 17
Most touchdowns, game: 4
Most points scored in a calendar month: 74 (Four games in October 1945)
Note: * = remains an NFL record as of 2017 season
NFL career statistics
Regular season
Notes
References
General
Footnotes
Further reading
Eisenberg, John (2009), That First Season: How Vince Lombardi Took the Worst Team in the NFL and Set It on the Path to Glory. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
Poling, Jerry (2006), After They Were Packers: The Super Bowl XXXI Champs & Other Green Bay Legends. Big Earth Publishing.
External links
1913 births
1997 deaths
American football ends
American football wide receivers
Alabama Crimson Tide football players
Green Bay Packers coaches
Green Bay Packers players
All-American college football players
College Football Hall of Fame inductees
National Football League players with retired numbers
Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees
Sportspeople from Pine Bluff, Arkansas
People from Rancho Mirage, California
Players of American football from Arkansas
National Football League Most Valuable Player Award winners | true | [
"The Russian Game () is a 2007 Russian comedy film directed by Pavel Chukhray.\n\nPlot \nThe film tells about the Italian card cheater Lukino Forza, whom his creditors found and forced to sign a mortgage on everything he possesses. He was given a week during which he must collect debts, otherwise he will go to jail, and he decides to go to Russia, where he plans to use his talents.\n\nCast \n Sergey Makovetskiy\n Sergey Garmash\n Andrey Merzlikin\n Giuliano Di Capua\n Dmitriy Vysotskiy\n Avangard Leontev\n Ignat Akrachkov\n Yuriy Maslak\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links \n \n\n2007 films\nRussian-language films\nRussian comedy films\nRussian films\n2007 comedy films",
"Fabio Alisei (born Fabio Borghini in Genoa, Italy, 4 June 1975) is an Italian radio host. He is known for having conduct the radio programs Lo Zoo di 105 on Radio 105 Network and Asganaway on Radio Deejay.\n\nCareer\n\nEarly career\nHe graduated at a grammar school. He has also supported some examinations in the Faculty of Letters in Genoa. Since 1995, he has been playing the piano and in 2002 he attended a music school equated with the Conservatorio Paganini in Genoa. After secondary school, he became a musician and composer. He has worked with the theater Campopisano in Genoa.\nFrom 1994 to 1999, he worked as an animator and head of animation in resorts in Italy and abroad, where he met the radio host Max Laudadio with whom he began a collaboration.\nIn 1999 he started working for television, the satellite channel Match Music, based in Verona. For nearly a year he worked as an author of the \"Bar Show\", hosted by Max Laudadio. Then, for three years, he wrote and performed with Paolo Noise the program Neuromachine, which had a format of prank phone calls on air. It met with little success.\n\nRadio 105 Network\nIn 2002 he wrote and starred in gags and services for Rai 2, in an afternoon format titled \"My Compilation - Revolution\". During this period he met Marco Mazzoli, his companion for adventure on radio since 2003 with Lo Zoo di 105.\n\nRadio Deejay\nIn January 2011, with Paolo Noise and Mago Wender, leaves Radio 105 Network to go to Radio Deejay, where from 25 January lead transmission Trun Trin Tran on DeeJay TV.\nHe's co-host of the programs: 50 Songs and Asganaway with Albertino, Noise and Wender and Sabato Sega with Wender.\nHe worked for Radio Deejay until February 2015.\n\nReturn to Radio 105 Network\nIn 2015 he returned to co-host the famous radio program Lo Zoo di 105.\n\nOther Projects\nIn June 2008 he published his first book titled Tutto a posto e niente in ordine.\n\nFilmography\n\nMovies\n On Air: Storia di un successo (2016)\n\nTV Series\n Via Massena, (2011-2012)\n\nReferences\n\nItalian radio presenters\nMass media people from Genoa\nLiving people\n1975 births\nItalian Roman Catholics"
] |
[
"Don Hutson",
"Early years and college",
"What was His early life like?",
"Hutson was born on January 31, 1913, in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, one of three sons of Roy B. Hutson and Mabel Clark Hutson.",
"where di he go to school?",
"As a senior at Pine Bluff High School he was an all-state basketball player, which he said was his favorite sport. \"I'm like most [athletes],\""
] | C_33ad5df440d3461ebd4cbc975e70cf13_1 | Did he get any scholarships? | 3 | Did Don Hutson get any scholarships? | Don Hutson | Hutson was born on January 31, 1913, in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, one of three sons of Roy B. Hutson and Mabel Clark Hutson. While a Boy Scout, he played with snakes. He said that's where he got his quickness and agility. As a teenager Hutson played baseball for Pine Bluff's town team. As a senior at Pine Bluff High School he was an all-state basketball player, which he said was his favorite sport. "I'm like most [athletes]," he said. "I'd rather see football, but I'd rather play basketball." Hutson played one year of football at Pine Bluff. Hutson played at end for coach Frank Thomas's Alabama Crimson Tide football team from 1932 to 1934. Bear Bryant, future long-time coach of the Tide, was the self-described "other end" on the Tide in 1933 and 1934. Bryant once remarked, "...he was something to see even then. We'd hitchhike to Pine Bluff just to watch him play. I saw him catch five touchdown passes in one game in high school." Sportswriter Morgan Blake ranked the undefeated 1934 Tide as the best team he ever saw. Hutson's College Football Hall of Fame profile reads: "Fluid in motion, wondrously elusive with the fake, inventive in his patterns and magnificently at ease when catching the ball ... Hutson and fellow Hall of Famer Millard "Dixie" Howell became football's most celebrated passing combination." Hutson had six catches for 165 yards, including two touchdowns of 54 and 59 yards in the 1935 Rose Bowl against Stanford. He also scored the winning touchdown over Robert Neyland's Tennessee Volunteers on an end-around. Hutson was recognized as a first-team All-American for six different organizations and received a second-team selection by one other. In an attempt to name retroactive Heisman Trophy winners before its first year of 1936, Hutson was awarded it for 1934 by the National Football Foundation. Georgia Tech coach Bill Alexander once said, "All Don Hutson can do is beat you with clever hands and the most baffling change of pace I've ever seen." CANNOTANSWER | CANNOTANSWER | Donald Montgomery Hutson (January 31, 1913 – June 26, 1997) was an American professional football player and assistant coach in the National Football League (NFL). He played as an end and spent his entire 11-year professional career with the Green Bay Packers. Under head coach Curly Lambeau, Hutson led the Packers to four NFL Championship Games, winning three: 1936, 1939, and 1944.
Hutson joined the Packers in 1935 and played 11 seasons before he retired in 1945. He led the league in receiving yards in seven separate seasons and in receiving touchdowns in nine. A talented safety on defense, he also led the NFL in interceptions in 1940. Hutson was an eight-time All-Pro selection, a four-time All-Star, and was twice awarded the Joe F. Carr Trophy as the NFL Most Valuable Player.
Hutson is considered to have been the first modern wide receiver, and is credited with creating many of the modern pass routes used in the NFL today. He was the dominant receiver of his day, and is widely considered one of the greatest receivers in NFL history. Hutson was the first 1,000 yard receiver in the NFL. He held almost all major receiving records at the time of his retirement, including career receptions, yards, and touchdowns. He was inducted as a charter member of both the College Football Hall of Fame and the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Hutson's number 14 was the first jersey retired by the Packers, and he is a member of the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame. In 1969, Hutson was selected to the National Football League 50th Anniversary All-Time Team as one of the greatest players of the NFL's first 50 years. In 1994, Hutson was selected to the National Football League 75th Anniversary All-Time Team as one of the greatest players of the NFL's first 75 years. In 2019, he was unanimously selected to the NFL 100th Anniversary All-Time Team as one of the greatest players of the NFL's first 100 years.
Early years and college
Hutson was born on January 31, 1913, in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, one of three sons of Roy B. Hutson and Mabel Clark Hutson. While a Boy Scout, he played with snakes. He said that is where he got his quickness and agility. As a teenager Hutson played baseball for Pine Bluff's town team. As a senior at Pine Bluff High School he was an all-state basketball player, which he said was his favorite sport. "I'm like most [athletes]," he said. "I'd rather see football, but I'd rather play basketball." Hutson played one year of football at Pine Bluff.
Hutson played at end for coach Frank Thomas's Alabama Crimson Tide football team from 1932 to 1934. Bear Bryant, future long-time coach of the Tide, was the self-described "other end" on the Tide in 1933 and 1934. Bryant once remarked, "...he was something to see even then. We'd hitchhike to Pine Bluff just to watch him play. I saw him catch five touchdown passes in one game in high school."
Sportswriter Morgan Blake ranked the undefeated 1934 Tide as the best team he ever saw. Hutson's College Football Hall of Fame profile reads: "Fluid in motion, wondrously elusive with the fake, inventive in his patterns and magnificently at ease when catching the ball ... Hutson and fellow Hall of Famer Millard "Dixie" Howell became football's most celebrated passing combination." Hutson had six catches for 165 yards, including two touchdowns of 54 and 59 yards in the 1935 Rose Bowl against Stanford. He also scored the winning touchdown over Robert Neyland's Tennessee Volunteers on an end-around.
Hutson was recognized as a first-team All-American for six different organizations and received a second-team selection by one other. In an attempt to name retroactive Heisman Trophy winners before its first year of 1936, Hutson was awarded it for 1934 by the National Football Foundation. Georgia Tech coach Bill Alexander once said, "All Don Hutson can do is beat you with clever hands and the most baffling change of pace I've ever seen."
NFL career
When he graduated from Alabama, Hutson did not plan on playing professionally. In those days, the NFL was not highly regarded in the South compared to college football. But Green Bay Packers head coach Curly Lambeau saw Hutson as the perfect receiver for his passing attack, which at the time was headed by quarterback Arnie Herber and end John "Blood" McNally. By this time, a number of teams, including Alabama, were experimenting with spreading the field by moving one end far out near the sideline, drawing the defense away from running plays and leaving them more open on passing ones. Hutson had thrived in this scheme, leading Lambeau to conclude that he would be the perfect fit for Green Bay's offense.
Before the draft existed, college players could sign with any team they wanted, and while Hutson did sign a contract with Green Bay, he had also signed a contract with the NFL's Brooklyn Dodgers. Both contracts came to the NFL office at the same time, and NFL president Joseph Carr declared that Hutson would go to Green Bay, as the Green Bay contract had an earlier date of signing. Hutson later stated he chose the Packers because they offered the most money—$300 a game. "That was far and above what they had ever paid a player," said Hutson. "Each week they'd give me a check for $150 from one bank and $150 from another so nobody would know how much I was getting paid."
Split end
Hutson's first catch as a professional was on an 83-yard touchdown pass from Herber on the first play from scrimmage against the Chicago Bears, in the second game of the 1935 season. It was the only score of the game as the Packers won 7–0. He caught six touchdowns total in his rookie season, which led the league. It was the first in a string of four straight seasons and nine seasons total that Hutson led the league in touchdown receptions. The next season the Packers won their fourth league title, with a 21–6 win over the Boston Redskins in the 1936 NFL Championship Game. Hutson scored the first touchdown of the game, on a 48-yard pass from Herber in the first quarter. Hutson completed the season with 34 receptions for 536 yards and eight touchdowns, which were all league records, and helped Herber set the NFL season passing yards record. Hutson's yardage record was broken the next season by Chicago Cardinals receiver Gaynell Tinsley, who challenged Hutson over the next few years for the title of best receiver in the NFL.
In 1938, Hutson had nine touchdown receptions, again setting the league record, as he led the Packers to another NFL Championship Game, this time against the New York Giants. However, a knee injury he suffered four weeks earlier kept him out of the game's starting lineup. He entered as a substitute three separate times late in the game but was unable to be a factor, catching no passes as Green Bay was defeated 23–17.
Hutson reclaimed the season receiving yards record from Tinsley in 1939 by catching 34 passes for 846 yards—an average of 24.9 yards per reception, the highest of his career. He again led the Packers to the championship game, for a rematch against the Giants. This time Green Bay was victorious, with a 27–0 shutout win. Hutson had two receptions in the game for 21 yards and a rushing attempt that went for three yards.
In 1940, Hutson scored seven touchdowns and kicked 15 extra points to lead the league in scoring by edging out Rams fullback Johnny Drake by a single point. On September 29, Hutson caught his 38th career touchdown pass, breaking Johnny Blood's record. With 99 touchdown receptions for his career, he remained the record holder for almost 50 years, until surpassed by the last touchdown of Steve Largent's career in 1989.
In 1941, Hutson became the first receiver to catch 50 passes in a season, doing so while again leading the league in receptions, receiving yards, and touchdowns. He also scored two rushing touchdowns, for a total of 12. After the season, he was awarded the Joe F. Carr Trophy as the league's most valuable player. He received six of the nine first place votes, finishing ahead of his quarterback Cecil Isbell, who received two first place votes.
Hutson repeated as league MVP in 1942 as he shattered most of his own records; he caught 74 passes for 1,211 yards and 17 touchdowns and averaged over 110 receiving yards per game. This was the first time a receiver had reached the 1,000 yard milestone. He again received six of nine first place votes for the Joe F. Carr Trophy. "The selection did not rest alone on his great pass catching ability," reasoned the selection committee. "Also considered were his nuisance value as a disrupter of enemy defenses and his ability to transform the Packers into a confident, powerful aggregation in clutch situations." His production helped Isbell become the first NFL quarterback to throw for over 2,000 yards in a season.
In February 1943, Hutson announced his retirement from football due to a lingering chest injury. He changed his mind and returned for the 1943 season, however, and caught 47 passes for 776 yards and eleven touchdowns, leading the league in all three. He also threw his first and only completed pass of his career: a 38-yard touchdown pass to Harry Jacunski against the Bears. Additionally, he successfully kicked 36 extra points on 36 tries, and had an 83-yard interception return touchdown. After the season Hutson again announced his intention to retire as a player, this time to be an assistant coach for the Packers. He once again returned as a player in 1944 and again led the league with 58 receptions, 866 yards, and nine touchdowns, while also serving as assistant coach. He led the Packers to the 1944 NFL Championship Game against the Giants and caught two passes for 47 yards, as the Packers won their third and final championship with Hutson, 14–7.
For the third time in as many years Hutson announced his retirement, and for the third time he returned as a player in 1945. A sportswriter for The Pittsburgh Press jokingly declared Hutson "holder of the world's record for coming out of retirement." In a week three, 57–21 blowout win against the Detroit Lions, Hutson set an NFL record with four touchdown receptions in a game, all of them coming in the second quarter. He also kicked five extra points in the quarter, for a total of 29 points, which as of 2015 remains a record for points by a player in a single quarter.
In all, Hutson caught 488 passes for 7,991 yards and 99 touchdowns. He rushed for three touchdowns, scored two touchdowns on blocked punts, and had an interception return touchdown for a career total of 105. He scored at least six receiving touchdowns in each of his 11 seasons. Hutson led the NFL in receptions eight times, including five consecutive times: 1941 to 1945. He led the NFL in receiving yards seven times, including four straight times: 1941 to 1944. He led the NFL in scoring five times: 1941 to 1945. As of 2016, Hutson still holds the highest career average touchdowns per game for a receiver, at 0.85. Hutson's single season record of 17 touchdown receptions in 1942 stood for 42 years until broken by receiver Mark Clayton in 1984, a year in which Miami's quarterback Dan Marino had more completions (362) than the entire 1942 Packers team's pass attempts (330). His four receiving touchdowns in a game has been surpassed three times and tied several times, but his four in a single quarter has yet to be matched. His record 99 touchdown receptions stood for 44 years, well into the modern era. In his 11-year professional career, Hutson never missed a game due to injury. He invented many pass routes still in use today, including the chair route.
At his peak, Hutson was a challenge to defend, mainly because no one had ever seen anything like him in the NFL before. Even when opposing defenses deployed their best defender or multiple defenders against Hutson, he was almost always able to break free. Hutson's ability to beat defenders was remarkable considering he played in an era when there were far fewer restrictions on how and when a defender could legally hit a receiver. It was initially thought that the 6-1, 185-pound Hutson was too fragile for the NFL. However, according to Tony Canadeo, who played alongside Hutson from 1941 to 1944, Hutson was as skilled going over the middle as he was going deep.
Defense and special teams
For many of his 11 seasons, Hutson was also the Packers' kicker. He added 172 extra points on 183 attempts and seven field goals on 15 attempts for another league record 823 points. He led the league in extra points made and attempted in 1941, 1942 and 1945 and in field goals made in 1943. As did almost all players in his day, Hutson played both offense and defense. On defense, he played safety and intercepted 30 passes over the final six years of his career. His highest season total was in 1943, when he intercepted eight passes in ten games. In 1940, he led the NFL with six interceptions.
Hutson was a player-coach during the last two seasons of his playing career. After his retirement as a player, Hutson remained on the Packers staff as an assistant until 1948.
Personal and later life
From an early age Hutson was interested in business. "At the university [of Alabama], I was the only athlete in the business school," he said. "The only reason I wanted to play pro sports was to get a stake." While both were students at Alabama, he partnered with Bear Bryant to operate a laundromat in Tuscaloosa called Captain Kidd Cleaners. However, neither were educated in laundering, and they sold the business after two years. While in Green Bay, Hutson opened the Packer Playdium bowling alley, which proved so successful that he twice considered retirement from football to fully dedicate his time to its operation. He then started the Hutson Motor Car Co. dealership and in 1951 purchased Chevrolet and Cadillac agencies in Racine, Wisconsin. "I never aimed for automobiles," said Hutson. "That just happened to be the thing I got into. I just wanted to run a business, any business. He also served on the Packers board of directors from 1952 to 1980, when he was elected a director emeritus.
After he retired from the dealership business, Hutson settled in Rancho Mirage, California, where he lived until his death on June 26, 1997, at the age of 84.
Honors and recognition
Hutson has been honored in a variety of ways. He was elected to the Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame as a charter member in 1951, and the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame in 1968, also as an initial member. His number 14 was the first number retired by the Packers, in a public ceremony at a game at City Stadium on December 2, 1951. Hutson Street in the Packerland Industrial Park in Green Bay is named for him, and in 1994 the Packers named their new state-of-the-art indoor practice facility across the street from Lambeau Field the "Don Hutson Center."
Hutson was inducted as a charter member of both the College Football Hall of Fame in 1951, and Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1963. His college career made him a unanimous choice for the Associated Press Southeast Area All-Time football team 1920–1969 era. Hutson is a member of the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame, inducted in 1972 along with his quarterbacks, Arnie Herber and Cecil Isbell. There is a park named after him in his hometown of Pine Bluff, Arkansas. On the occasion of his 75th birthday he performed the ceremonial coin toss of Super Bowl XXII to end the pregame ceremonies. Hutson was named to the NFL's 1930s All-Decade Team and 50th Anniversary Team in 1970, and in 1994 he was named to the NFL 75th Anniversary All-Time Team. In 1999, he was ranked sixth on The Sporting News list of the 100 Greatest Football Players, the highest-ranking Packer and the highest-ranking pre–World War II player. In 2012, the NFL Network named Hutson the greatest Green Bay Packer of all time.
In 2005, the Flagstad family of Green Bay donated to the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame an authentic Packers No. 14 jersey worn by Hutson. The jersey was found in a trunk of old uniforms in 1946 at the Rockwood Lodge, the Packers' summer training camp from 1946 to 1949, owned by Melvin and Helen Flagstad. The jersey, a rare NFL artifact valued at over $17,000, was donated by son Daniel Flagstad in memory of his parents.
Hutson's most productive seasons were from 1942 to 1945, a time in which the NFL was severely depleted with many of its most talented players and prospective college athletes serving in the military during World War II. Hutson was classified I-A for the military draft, but had three daughters, so was able to avoid conscription. On the notion that Hutson exploited watered-down defenses, former Packers Hall of Fame running back Paul Hornung responded as such: "I'm a believer. Am I a believer! You know what Hutson would do in this league today? The same things he did when he played."
NFL records
As of the end of the 2017 NFL season, Hutson still holds the following records: most seasons leading league in pass receptions (8), most consecutive seasons leading league in pass receptions (5), most seasons leading league in pass receiving yards gained (7), most consecutive seasons leading league in pass receiving yards gained (4), most seasons leading league in pass receiving touchdowns (9), most seasons leading the league in total touchdowns (8), Most consecutive seasons leading league in pass receiving touchdowns (5), most seasons leading league in scoring (5, now tied), and most consecutive seasons leading league in scoring (5). Sportswriter Zipp Newman referred to Hutson as "the Ty Cobb of the gridiron."
Records held as of retirement:
Most seasons led league, scoring: 5*
Most consecutive seasons led league, scoring: 5*
Most touchdowns scored in a quarter: 4*
Most touchdown receptions in a quarter: 4*
Most points scored in a quarter: 29*
Most seasons led league, touchdowns: 8*
Most consecutive seasons led league, touchdowns: 4*
Most seasons led league, receiving touchdowns: 9*
Most consecutive seasons led league, receiving touchdowns: 5*
Most seasons led league, receptions: 8*
Most consecutive seasons led league, receptions: 5*
Most seasons led league, receiving yards: 7*
Most consecutive seasons led league, receiving yards: 4*
Most receptions, career: 488
Most receptions, season: 74
Most receptions, game: 14
Most receiving yards, career: 7,991
Most receiving yards, season: 1,211
Most receiving yards, game: 209
Most receiving touchdowns, career: 99
Most touchdowns, season: 17
Most touchdowns, game: 4
Most points scored in a calendar month: 74 (Four games in October 1945)
Note: * = remains an NFL record as of 2017 season
NFL career statistics
Regular season
Notes
References
General
Footnotes
Further reading
Eisenberg, John (2009), That First Season: How Vince Lombardi Took the Worst Team in the NFL and Set It on the Path to Glory. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
Poling, Jerry (2006), After They Were Packers: The Super Bowl XXXI Champs & Other Green Bay Legends. Big Earth Publishing.
External links
1913 births
1997 deaths
American football ends
American football wide receivers
Alabama Crimson Tide football players
Green Bay Packers coaches
Green Bay Packers players
All-American college football players
College Football Hall of Fame inductees
National Football League players with retired numbers
Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees
Sportspeople from Pine Bluff, Arkansas
People from Rancho Mirage, California
Players of American football from Arkansas
National Football League Most Valuable Player Award winners | false | [
"The Taiwan Scholarship is a scholarship for international students who possess prior excellent academic performance and good moral character. The program began in 2004 as the jointly established Scholarship Program of Taiwan funded by the Government of the Republic of China's Ministry of Education, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Economic Affairs, and Ministry of Science and Technology of the Executive Yuan. Currently, there are four types of scholarship programs: MOE Scholarships, MOFA Scholarships, MOEA scholarships and NSC Scholarships. \n\nTaiwan Scholarships fund two to four years of study at any university in Taiwan and are applicable to any field of study. Different scholarships may cover different types of expenses including tuition, room and board, textbooks, round-trip tickets and medical insurance. However, all of these scholarships provide students with a monthly stipend. Approximately 400 scholars are selected each year. The majority of Scholars choose to attend either National Taiwan University, National Chengchi University, National Cheng Kung University, or one of the other major Taipei institutions, but scholars have attended a wide range of universities throughout Taiwan.\n\nSee also\nScholarships in Taiwan\nTaipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office\nHuayu Enrichment Scholarship\nList of universities in Taiwan\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\nhttp://english.moe.gov.tw/ct.asp?xItem=6798&CtNode=10632&mp=1\n\nScholarships in Taiwan\nInternational educational organizations\nStudent exchange\nGovernment scholarships",
"The Children's Scholarship Fund is a privately funded tuition assistance program in the United States. The fund provides scholarships enabling low-income children to attend private schools. More than 25,700 students in Kindergarten to 8th Grade receive the fund's scholarships. It was founded in 1998 by Theodore J. Forstmann and John T. Walton.\n\nHistory\nForstmann and the late John Walton met as donors to the Washington Scholarship Fund (WSF), founded in 1993 to provide scholarships for low-income families in Washington D.C. When more than 8,000 applications applied to WSF for the 1998-99 school year the two men realized there was substantial demand among poorer families for alternatives to the public school system.\n\nThis need in Washington convinced Ted and John that low-income parents everywhere would welcome the opportunity to choose a private or parochial school over their assigned public school, even if it meant they had to pay a portion of the tuition themselves. After the DC scholarships were awarded, they began thinking of a way to take the program nationwide and truly open the doors of educational opportunity. John and Ted first announced the formation of the Children's Scholarship Fund at the New York Public Library on June 9, 1998. Then Ted, John and CSF's new staff traveled across the country to secure partnerships in major cities and states. Once the partner programs were in place, CSF began to get the word out to parents through local community organizations, churches, and the private schools themselves, and scholarship applications began to roll in. The demand for scholarships was much higher than anticipated. By the March 31 deadline, the parents of more than 1.25 million children had applied.\n\nAn astonishing 43% of the eligible population in Newark, NJ, applied for scholarships. In New York, 168,000 applications came in – representing 32% of those eligible to apply. Other cities with especially notable numbers of applications included Los Angeles (26% of those eligible), Baltimore (38%), St. Louis (32%), and Philadelphia (35%). Parents all over the country were sending the same message: they wanted alternatives for their children's education, and they were willing to pay something out of their own pockets to get it.\n\nOn April 21, 1999, the first Children's Scholarship Fund scholarships were awarded to 40,000 children all across America. Ceremonies were held in New York, Los Angeles, and many other CSF cities. In New York, Ted Forstmann explained his goal for the scholarships, saying, \"Every child, regardless of their parents' income, should have access to a quality education – an education that will not only prepare them for successful private lives, but help them to build cohesive communities and a strong democracy.\"\n\nPresent\n\nOriginally, CSF was planned as a four-year program, and families were not promised anything beyond that. But it quickly became obvious that to truly ensure the children would gain a solid foundation, funding would have to continue through the 8th grade. So, after the first four years, CSF went back to the partner programs and donors in an attempt to extend the original awards through 8th grade and allow younger siblings to get scholarships, too. Most of the partner programs not only agreed to extend the original scholarships through 8th grade and add siblings – they also awarded brand new scholarships.\n\nToday, many of the CSF partner programs continue to offer new scholarships annually. The CSF national headquarters in New York administers more than 8,000 scholarships in New York City, as well as providing matching funds and program support for the partner programs nationwide.\n\nSince inception, CSF has awarded $654 million in scholarships to 152,000 needy children. In the 2012-13 school year, more than 25,700 children in 30 partner programs across the country are using CSF scholarships to attend private school. Of the students who receive CSF scholarships, 92 percent graduate high school on time, and 90 percent enroll in college.\n\nReferences\n\nChildren's Scholarship Fund\n\nEducational charities based in the United States\nOrganizations established in 1998\n1998 establishments in the United States"
] |
[
"Don Hutson",
"Early years and college",
"What was His early life like?",
"Hutson was born on January 31, 1913, in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, one of three sons of Roy B. Hutson and Mabel Clark Hutson.",
"where di he go to school?",
"As a senior at Pine Bluff High School he was an all-state basketball player, which he said was his favorite sport. \"I'm like most [athletes],\"",
"Did he get any scholarships?",
"I don't know."
] | C_33ad5df440d3461ebd4cbc975e70cf13_1 | did he go to college? | 4 | did Don Hutson go to college? | Don Hutson | Hutson was born on January 31, 1913, in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, one of three sons of Roy B. Hutson and Mabel Clark Hutson. While a Boy Scout, he played with snakes. He said that's where he got his quickness and agility. As a teenager Hutson played baseball for Pine Bluff's town team. As a senior at Pine Bluff High School he was an all-state basketball player, which he said was his favorite sport. "I'm like most [athletes]," he said. "I'd rather see football, but I'd rather play basketball." Hutson played one year of football at Pine Bluff. Hutson played at end for coach Frank Thomas's Alabama Crimson Tide football team from 1932 to 1934. Bear Bryant, future long-time coach of the Tide, was the self-described "other end" on the Tide in 1933 and 1934. Bryant once remarked, "...he was something to see even then. We'd hitchhike to Pine Bluff just to watch him play. I saw him catch five touchdown passes in one game in high school." Sportswriter Morgan Blake ranked the undefeated 1934 Tide as the best team he ever saw. Hutson's College Football Hall of Fame profile reads: "Fluid in motion, wondrously elusive with the fake, inventive in his patterns and magnificently at ease when catching the ball ... Hutson and fellow Hall of Famer Millard "Dixie" Howell became football's most celebrated passing combination." Hutson had six catches for 165 yards, including two touchdowns of 54 and 59 yards in the 1935 Rose Bowl against Stanford. He also scored the winning touchdown over Robert Neyland's Tennessee Volunteers on an end-around. Hutson was recognized as a first-team All-American for six different organizations and received a second-team selection by one other. In an attempt to name retroactive Heisman Trophy winners before its first year of 1936, Hutson was awarded it for 1934 by the National Football Foundation. Georgia Tech coach Bill Alexander once said, "All Don Hutson can do is beat you with clever hands and the most baffling change of pace I've ever seen." CANNOTANSWER | Hutson was awarded it for 1934 by the National Football Foundation. | Donald Montgomery Hutson (January 31, 1913 – June 26, 1997) was an American professional football player and assistant coach in the National Football League (NFL). He played as an end and spent his entire 11-year professional career with the Green Bay Packers. Under head coach Curly Lambeau, Hutson led the Packers to four NFL Championship Games, winning three: 1936, 1939, and 1944.
Hutson joined the Packers in 1935 and played 11 seasons before he retired in 1945. He led the league in receiving yards in seven separate seasons and in receiving touchdowns in nine. A talented safety on defense, he also led the NFL in interceptions in 1940. Hutson was an eight-time All-Pro selection, a four-time All-Star, and was twice awarded the Joe F. Carr Trophy as the NFL Most Valuable Player.
Hutson is considered to have been the first modern wide receiver, and is credited with creating many of the modern pass routes used in the NFL today. He was the dominant receiver of his day, and is widely considered one of the greatest receivers in NFL history. Hutson was the first 1,000 yard receiver in the NFL. He held almost all major receiving records at the time of his retirement, including career receptions, yards, and touchdowns. He was inducted as a charter member of both the College Football Hall of Fame and the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Hutson's number 14 was the first jersey retired by the Packers, and he is a member of the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame. In 1969, Hutson was selected to the National Football League 50th Anniversary All-Time Team as one of the greatest players of the NFL's first 50 years. In 1994, Hutson was selected to the National Football League 75th Anniversary All-Time Team as one of the greatest players of the NFL's first 75 years. In 2019, he was unanimously selected to the NFL 100th Anniversary All-Time Team as one of the greatest players of the NFL's first 100 years.
Early years and college
Hutson was born on January 31, 1913, in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, one of three sons of Roy B. Hutson and Mabel Clark Hutson. While a Boy Scout, he played with snakes. He said that is where he got his quickness and agility. As a teenager Hutson played baseball for Pine Bluff's town team. As a senior at Pine Bluff High School he was an all-state basketball player, which he said was his favorite sport. "I'm like most [athletes]," he said. "I'd rather see football, but I'd rather play basketball." Hutson played one year of football at Pine Bluff.
Hutson played at end for coach Frank Thomas's Alabama Crimson Tide football team from 1932 to 1934. Bear Bryant, future long-time coach of the Tide, was the self-described "other end" on the Tide in 1933 and 1934. Bryant once remarked, "...he was something to see even then. We'd hitchhike to Pine Bluff just to watch him play. I saw him catch five touchdown passes in one game in high school."
Sportswriter Morgan Blake ranked the undefeated 1934 Tide as the best team he ever saw. Hutson's College Football Hall of Fame profile reads: "Fluid in motion, wondrously elusive with the fake, inventive in his patterns and magnificently at ease when catching the ball ... Hutson and fellow Hall of Famer Millard "Dixie" Howell became football's most celebrated passing combination." Hutson had six catches for 165 yards, including two touchdowns of 54 and 59 yards in the 1935 Rose Bowl against Stanford. He also scored the winning touchdown over Robert Neyland's Tennessee Volunteers on an end-around.
Hutson was recognized as a first-team All-American for six different organizations and received a second-team selection by one other. In an attempt to name retroactive Heisman Trophy winners before its first year of 1936, Hutson was awarded it for 1934 by the National Football Foundation. Georgia Tech coach Bill Alexander once said, "All Don Hutson can do is beat you with clever hands and the most baffling change of pace I've ever seen."
NFL career
When he graduated from Alabama, Hutson did not plan on playing professionally. In those days, the NFL was not highly regarded in the South compared to college football. But Green Bay Packers head coach Curly Lambeau saw Hutson as the perfect receiver for his passing attack, which at the time was headed by quarterback Arnie Herber and end John "Blood" McNally. By this time, a number of teams, including Alabama, were experimenting with spreading the field by moving one end far out near the sideline, drawing the defense away from running plays and leaving them more open on passing ones. Hutson had thrived in this scheme, leading Lambeau to conclude that he would be the perfect fit for Green Bay's offense.
Before the draft existed, college players could sign with any team they wanted, and while Hutson did sign a contract with Green Bay, he had also signed a contract with the NFL's Brooklyn Dodgers. Both contracts came to the NFL office at the same time, and NFL president Joseph Carr declared that Hutson would go to Green Bay, as the Green Bay contract had an earlier date of signing. Hutson later stated he chose the Packers because they offered the most money—$300 a game. "That was far and above what they had ever paid a player," said Hutson. "Each week they'd give me a check for $150 from one bank and $150 from another so nobody would know how much I was getting paid."
Split end
Hutson's first catch as a professional was on an 83-yard touchdown pass from Herber on the first play from scrimmage against the Chicago Bears, in the second game of the 1935 season. It was the only score of the game as the Packers won 7–0. He caught six touchdowns total in his rookie season, which led the league. It was the first in a string of four straight seasons and nine seasons total that Hutson led the league in touchdown receptions. The next season the Packers won their fourth league title, with a 21–6 win over the Boston Redskins in the 1936 NFL Championship Game. Hutson scored the first touchdown of the game, on a 48-yard pass from Herber in the first quarter. Hutson completed the season with 34 receptions for 536 yards and eight touchdowns, which were all league records, and helped Herber set the NFL season passing yards record. Hutson's yardage record was broken the next season by Chicago Cardinals receiver Gaynell Tinsley, who challenged Hutson over the next few years for the title of best receiver in the NFL.
In 1938, Hutson had nine touchdown receptions, again setting the league record, as he led the Packers to another NFL Championship Game, this time against the New York Giants. However, a knee injury he suffered four weeks earlier kept him out of the game's starting lineup. He entered as a substitute three separate times late in the game but was unable to be a factor, catching no passes as Green Bay was defeated 23–17.
Hutson reclaimed the season receiving yards record from Tinsley in 1939 by catching 34 passes for 846 yards—an average of 24.9 yards per reception, the highest of his career. He again led the Packers to the championship game, for a rematch against the Giants. This time Green Bay was victorious, with a 27–0 shutout win. Hutson had two receptions in the game for 21 yards and a rushing attempt that went for three yards.
In 1940, Hutson scored seven touchdowns and kicked 15 extra points to lead the league in scoring by edging out Rams fullback Johnny Drake by a single point. On September 29, Hutson caught his 38th career touchdown pass, breaking Johnny Blood's record. With 99 touchdown receptions for his career, he remained the record holder for almost 50 years, until surpassed by the last touchdown of Steve Largent's career in 1989.
In 1941, Hutson became the first receiver to catch 50 passes in a season, doing so while again leading the league in receptions, receiving yards, and touchdowns. He also scored two rushing touchdowns, for a total of 12. After the season, he was awarded the Joe F. Carr Trophy as the league's most valuable player. He received six of the nine first place votes, finishing ahead of his quarterback Cecil Isbell, who received two first place votes.
Hutson repeated as league MVP in 1942 as he shattered most of his own records; he caught 74 passes for 1,211 yards and 17 touchdowns and averaged over 110 receiving yards per game. This was the first time a receiver had reached the 1,000 yard milestone. He again received six of nine first place votes for the Joe F. Carr Trophy. "The selection did not rest alone on his great pass catching ability," reasoned the selection committee. "Also considered were his nuisance value as a disrupter of enemy defenses and his ability to transform the Packers into a confident, powerful aggregation in clutch situations." His production helped Isbell become the first NFL quarterback to throw for over 2,000 yards in a season.
In February 1943, Hutson announced his retirement from football due to a lingering chest injury. He changed his mind and returned for the 1943 season, however, and caught 47 passes for 776 yards and eleven touchdowns, leading the league in all three. He also threw his first and only completed pass of his career: a 38-yard touchdown pass to Harry Jacunski against the Bears. Additionally, he successfully kicked 36 extra points on 36 tries, and had an 83-yard interception return touchdown. After the season Hutson again announced his intention to retire as a player, this time to be an assistant coach for the Packers. He once again returned as a player in 1944 and again led the league with 58 receptions, 866 yards, and nine touchdowns, while also serving as assistant coach. He led the Packers to the 1944 NFL Championship Game against the Giants and caught two passes for 47 yards, as the Packers won their third and final championship with Hutson, 14–7.
For the third time in as many years Hutson announced his retirement, and for the third time he returned as a player in 1945. A sportswriter for The Pittsburgh Press jokingly declared Hutson "holder of the world's record for coming out of retirement." In a week three, 57–21 blowout win against the Detroit Lions, Hutson set an NFL record with four touchdown receptions in a game, all of them coming in the second quarter. He also kicked five extra points in the quarter, for a total of 29 points, which as of 2015 remains a record for points by a player in a single quarter.
In all, Hutson caught 488 passes for 7,991 yards and 99 touchdowns. He rushed for three touchdowns, scored two touchdowns on blocked punts, and had an interception return touchdown for a career total of 105. He scored at least six receiving touchdowns in each of his 11 seasons. Hutson led the NFL in receptions eight times, including five consecutive times: 1941 to 1945. He led the NFL in receiving yards seven times, including four straight times: 1941 to 1944. He led the NFL in scoring five times: 1941 to 1945. As of 2016, Hutson still holds the highest career average touchdowns per game for a receiver, at 0.85. Hutson's single season record of 17 touchdown receptions in 1942 stood for 42 years until broken by receiver Mark Clayton in 1984, a year in which Miami's quarterback Dan Marino had more completions (362) than the entire 1942 Packers team's pass attempts (330). His four receiving touchdowns in a game has been surpassed three times and tied several times, but his four in a single quarter has yet to be matched. His record 99 touchdown receptions stood for 44 years, well into the modern era. In his 11-year professional career, Hutson never missed a game due to injury. He invented many pass routes still in use today, including the chair route.
At his peak, Hutson was a challenge to defend, mainly because no one had ever seen anything like him in the NFL before. Even when opposing defenses deployed their best defender or multiple defenders against Hutson, he was almost always able to break free. Hutson's ability to beat defenders was remarkable considering he played in an era when there were far fewer restrictions on how and when a defender could legally hit a receiver. It was initially thought that the 6-1, 185-pound Hutson was too fragile for the NFL. However, according to Tony Canadeo, who played alongside Hutson from 1941 to 1944, Hutson was as skilled going over the middle as he was going deep.
Defense and special teams
For many of his 11 seasons, Hutson was also the Packers' kicker. He added 172 extra points on 183 attempts and seven field goals on 15 attempts for another league record 823 points. He led the league in extra points made and attempted in 1941, 1942 and 1945 and in field goals made in 1943. As did almost all players in his day, Hutson played both offense and defense. On defense, he played safety and intercepted 30 passes over the final six years of his career. His highest season total was in 1943, when he intercepted eight passes in ten games. In 1940, he led the NFL with six interceptions.
Hutson was a player-coach during the last two seasons of his playing career. After his retirement as a player, Hutson remained on the Packers staff as an assistant until 1948.
Personal and later life
From an early age Hutson was interested in business. "At the university [of Alabama], I was the only athlete in the business school," he said. "The only reason I wanted to play pro sports was to get a stake." While both were students at Alabama, he partnered with Bear Bryant to operate a laundromat in Tuscaloosa called Captain Kidd Cleaners. However, neither were educated in laundering, and they sold the business after two years. While in Green Bay, Hutson opened the Packer Playdium bowling alley, which proved so successful that he twice considered retirement from football to fully dedicate his time to its operation. He then started the Hutson Motor Car Co. dealership and in 1951 purchased Chevrolet and Cadillac agencies in Racine, Wisconsin. "I never aimed for automobiles," said Hutson. "That just happened to be the thing I got into. I just wanted to run a business, any business. He also served on the Packers board of directors from 1952 to 1980, when he was elected a director emeritus.
After he retired from the dealership business, Hutson settled in Rancho Mirage, California, where he lived until his death on June 26, 1997, at the age of 84.
Honors and recognition
Hutson has been honored in a variety of ways. He was elected to the Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame as a charter member in 1951, and the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame in 1968, also as an initial member. His number 14 was the first number retired by the Packers, in a public ceremony at a game at City Stadium on December 2, 1951. Hutson Street in the Packerland Industrial Park in Green Bay is named for him, and in 1994 the Packers named their new state-of-the-art indoor practice facility across the street from Lambeau Field the "Don Hutson Center."
Hutson was inducted as a charter member of both the College Football Hall of Fame in 1951, and Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1963. His college career made him a unanimous choice for the Associated Press Southeast Area All-Time football team 1920–1969 era. Hutson is a member of the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame, inducted in 1972 along with his quarterbacks, Arnie Herber and Cecil Isbell. There is a park named after him in his hometown of Pine Bluff, Arkansas. On the occasion of his 75th birthday he performed the ceremonial coin toss of Super Bowl XXII to end the pregame ceremonies. Hutson was named to the NFL's 1930s All-Decade Team and 50th Anniversary Team in 1970, and in 1994 he was named to the NFL 75th Anniversary All-Time Team. In 1999, he was ranked sixth on The Sporting News list of the 100 Greatest Football Players, the highest-ranking Packer and the highest-ranking pre–World War II player. In 2012, the NFL Network named Hutson the greatest Green Bay Packer of all time.
In 2005, the Flagstad family of Green Bay donated to the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame an authentic Packers No. 14 jersey worn by Hutson. The jersey was found in a trunk of old uniforms in 1946 at the Rockwood Lodge, the Packers' summer training camp from 1946 to 1949, owned by Melvin and Helen Flagstad. The jersey, a rare NFL artifact valued at over $17,000, was donated by son Daniel Flagstad in memory of his parents.
Hutson's most productive seasons were from 1942 to 1945, a time in which the NFL was severely depleted with many of its most talented players and prospective college athletes serving in the military during World War II. Hutson was classified I-A for the military draft, but had three daughters, so was able to avoid conscription. On the notion that Hutson exploited watered-down defenses, former Packers Hall of Fame running back Paul Hornung responded as such: "I'm a believer. Am I a believer! You know what Hutson would do in this league today? The same things he did when he played."
NFL records
As of the end of the 2017 NFL season, Hutson still holds the following records: most seasons leading league in pass receptions (8), most consecutive seasons leading league in pass receptions (5), most seasons leading league in pass receiving yards gained (7), most consecutive seasons leading league in pass receiving yards gained (4), most seasons leading league in pass receiving touchdowns (9), most seasons leading the league in total touchdowns (8), Most consecutive seasons leading league in pass receiving touchdowns (5), most seasons leading league in scoring (5, now tied), and most consecutive seasons leading league in scoring (5). Sportswriter Zipp Newman referred to Hutson as "the Ty Cobb of the gridiron."
Records held as of retirement:
Most seasons led league, scoring: 5*
Most consecutive seasons led league, scoring: 5*
Most touchdowns scored in a quarter: 4*
Most touchdown receptions in a quarter: 4*
Most points scored in a quarter: 29*
Most seasons led league, touchdowns: 8*
Most consecutive seasons led league, touchdowns: 4*
Most seasons led league, receiving touchdowns: 9*
Most consecutive seasons led league, receiving touchdowns: 5*
Most seasons led league, receptions: 8*
Most consecutive seasons led league, receptions: 5*
Most seasons led league, receiving yards: 7*
Most consecutive seasons led league, receiving yards: 4*
Most receptions, career: 488
Most receptions, season: 74
Most receptions, game: 14
Most receiving yards, career: 7,991
Most receiving yards, season: 1,211
Most receiving yards, game: 209
Most receiving touchdowns, career: 99
Most touchdowns, season: 17
Most touchdowns, game: 4
Most points scored in a calendar month: 74 (Four games in October 1945)
Note: * = remains an NFL record as of 2017 season
NFL career statistics
Regular season
Notes
References
General
Footnotes
Further reading
Eisenberg, John (2009), That First Season: How Vince Lombardi Took the Worst Team in the NFL and Set It on the Path to Glory. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
Poling, Jerry (2006), After They Were Packers: The Super Bowl XXXI Champs & Other Green Bay Legends. Big Earth Publishing.
External links
1913 births
1997 deaths
American football ends
American football wide receivers
Alabama Crimson Tide football players
Green Bay Packers coaches
Green Bay Packers players
All-American college football players
College Football Hall of Fame inductees
National Football League players with retired numbers
Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees
Sportspeople from Pine Bluff, Arkansas
People from Rancho Mirage, California
Players of American football from Arkansas
National Football League Most Valuable Player Award winners | true | [
"California Concordia College existed in Oakland, California, United States from 1906 until 1973.\n\nAmong the presidents of California Concordia College was Johann Theodore Gotthold Brohm Jr.\n\nCalifornia Concordia College and the Academy of California College were located at 2365 Camden Street, Oakland, California. Some of the school buildings still exist at this location, but older buildings that housed the earlier classrooms and later the dormitories are gone. The site is now the location of the Spectrum Center Camden Campus, a provider of special education services.\n\nThe \"Academy\" was the official name for the high school. California Concordia was a six-year institution patterned after the German gymnasium. This provided four years of high school, plus two years of junior college. Years in the school took their names from Latin numbers and referred to the years to go before graduation. The classes were named:\n\n Sexta - 6 years to go; high school freshman\n Qunita - 5 years to go; high school sophomore\n Quarta - 4 years to go; high school junior\n Tertia - 3 years to go; high school senior\n Secunda - 2 years to go; college freshman\n Prima - 1 year to go; college sophomore\n\nThose in Sexta were usually hazed in a mild way by upperclassmen. In addition, those in Sexta were required to do a certain amount of clean-up work around the school, such as picking up trash.\n\nMost students, even high school freshmen, lived in dormitories. High school students were supervised by \"proctors\" (selected high school seniors in Tertia). High school students were required to study for two hours each night in their study rooms from 7:00 to 9:00 pm. Students could not leave their rooms for any reason without permission. This requirement came as quite a shock to those in Sexta (freshmen) on their first night, when they were caught and scolded by a proctor when they left their study room to go to the bathroom without permission. Seniors (those in Tertia) were allowed one night off where they did not need to be in their study hall.\n\nFrom 9:00 to 9:30 pm all students gathered for a chapel service. From 9:30 to 10 pm, high school students were free to roam, and sometimes went to the local Lucky Supermarket to purchase snacks. All high school students were required to be in bed with lights out by 10:00 pm. There were generally five students in each dormitory room. The room had two sections: a bedroom area and (across the hallway) another room for studying. Four beds, including at least one bunk bed, were in the bedroom, and four or five desks were in the study room\n\nA few interesting words used by Concordia students were \"fink\" and \"rack.\" To \"fink\" meant to \"sing like a canary\" or \"squeal.\" A student who finked told everything he knew about a misbehavior committed by another student. \"Rack\" was actually an official term used by proctors and administrators who lived on campus in the dormitories with students. When students misbehaved they were racked (punished). Proctors held a meeting once a week and decided which students, if any, deserved to be racked. If a student were racked, he might be forbidden from leaving the campus grounds, even during normal free time School hours were from 7:30 am to 3:30 pm. After 3:30 pm and until 7:00 pm, students could normally explore the local area surrounding the school, for example, to go to a local store to buy a snack. However, if a student were racked for the week, he could not do so.\n\nProctors made their rounds in the morning to make sure beds were made and inspected rooms in the evening to ensure that students were in bed by 10:00 pm. Often after the proctors left a room at night, the room lights would go back on and students enjoyed studying their National Geographic magazines. Student might be racked if they failed to make their beds or did not make them neatly enough.\n\nAlthough California Concordia College no longer exists, it does receive some recognition by Concordia University Irvine. This is also the location of its old academic records.\n\nSources\n\nExternal links \n Photos of old campus\n\nEducational institutions disestablished in 1973\nDefunct private universities and colleges in California\nEducational institutions established in 1906\n1906 establishments in California\n1973 disestablishments in California\nUniversities and colleges affiliated with the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod",
"Kyree Walker (born November 20, 2000) is an American professional basketball player for the Capital City Go-Go of the NBA G League. At the high school level, he played for Moreau Catholic High School in Hayward, California before transferring to Hillcrest Prep Academy. A former MaxPreps National Freshman of the Year, Walker was a five-star recruit.\n\nEarly life and high school career\nIn eighth grade, Walker drew national attention for his slam dunks in highlight videos. He often faced older competition, including high school seniors, in middle school with his Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) team Oakland Soldiers. As a high school freshman, Walker played basketball for Moreau Catholic High School in Hayward, California, averaging 21.3 points, 6.5 rebounds and four assists per game. After leading his team to a California Interscholastic Federation Division II runner-up finish, he was named MaxPreps National Freshman of the Year. Entering his sophomore season, Walker transferred to Hillcrest Prep, a basketball program in Phoenix, Arizona, with his father, Khari, joining the coaching staff. On October 25, 2019, during his senior year, he left Hillcrest Prep, intending to move to the college or professional level. In December 2019, Walker graduated from high school but did not play high school basketball while weighing his options.\n\nRecruiting\nOn June 30, 2017, Walker committed to play college basketball for Arizona State over several other NCAA Division I offers. At the time, he was considered a five-star recruit and a top five player in the 2020 class by major recruiting services. On October 21, 2018, Walker decommitted from Arizona State. On April 20, 2020, as a four-star recruit, he announced that he would forego college basketball.\n\nProfessional career\n\nCapital City Go-Go (2021–present)\nWalker joined Chameleon BX to prepare for the 2021 NBA draft. For the 2021-22 season, he signed with the Capital City Go-Go of the NBA G League, joining the team after a successful tryout.\n\nPersonal life\nIn 2018, Walker's mother, Barrissa Gardner, was diagnosed with breast cancer but achieved remission in the following months.\n\nReferences\n\n2000 births\nLiving people\n21st-century African-American sportspeople\nAfrican-American basketball players\nAmerican men's basketball players\nBasketball players from Oakland, California\nCapital City Go-Go players\nSmall forwards\nTwitch (service) streamers"
] |
[
"Don Hutson",
"Early years and college",
"What was His early life like?",
"Hutson was born on January 31, 1913, in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, one of three sons of Roy B. Hutson and Mabel Clark Hutson.",
"where di he go to school?",
"As a senior at Pine Bluff High School he was an all-state basketball player, which he said was his favorite sport. \"I'm like most [athletes],\"",
"Did he get any scholarships?",
"I don't know.",
"did he go to college?",
"Hutson was awarded it for 1934 by the National Football Foundation."
] | C_33ad5df440d3461ebd4cbc975e70cf13_1 | did he study in college? | 5 | did Don Hutson study in college? | Don Hutson | Hutson was born on January 31, 1913, in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, one of three sons of Roy B. Hutson and Mabel Clark Hutson. While a Boy Scout, he played with snakes. He said that's where he got his quickness and agility. As a teenager Hutson played baseball for Pine Bluff's town team. As a senior at Pine Bluff High School he was an all-state basketball player, which he said was his favorite sport. "I'm like most [athletes]," he said. "I'd rather see football, but I'd rather play basketball." Hutson played one year of football at Pine Bluff. Hutson played at end for coach Frank Thomas's Alabama Crimson Tide football team from 1932 to 1934. Bear Bryant, future long-time coach of the Tide, was the self-described "other end" on the Tide in 1933 and 1934. Bryant once remarked, "...he was something to see even then. We'd hitchhike to Pine Bluff just to watch him play. I saw him catch five touchdown passes in one game in high school." Sportswriter Morgan Blake ranked the undefeated 1934 Tide as the best team he ever saw. Hutson's College Football Hall of Fame profile reads: "Fluid in motion, wondrously elusive with the fake, inventive in his patterns and magnificently at ease when catching the ball ... Hutson and fellow Hall of Famer Millard "Dixie" Howell became football's most celebrated passing combination." Hutson had six catches for 165 yards, including two touchdowns of 54 and 59 yards in the 1935 Rose Bowl against Stanford. He also scored the winning touchdown over Robert Neyland's Tennessee Volunteers on an end-around. Hutson was recognized as a first-team All-American for six different organizations and received a second-team selection by one other. In an attempt to name retroactive Heisman Trophy winners before its first year of 1936, Hutson was awarded it for 1934 by the National Football Foundation. Georgia Tech coach Bill Alexander once said, "All Don Hutson can do is beat you with clever hands and the most baffling change of pace I've ever seen." CANNOTANSWER | CANNOTANSWER | Donald Montgomery Hutson (January 31, 1913 – June 26, 1997) was an American professional football player and assistant coach in the National Football League (NFL). He played as an end and spent his entire 11-year professional career with the Green Bay Packers. Under head coach Curly Lambeau, Hutson led the Packers to four NFL Championship Games, winning three: 1936, 1939, and 1944.
Hutson joined the Packers in 1935 and played 11 seasons before he retired in 1945. He led the league in receiving yards in seven separate seasons and in receiving touchdowns in nine. A talented safety on defense, he also led the NFL in interceptions in 1940. Hutson was an eight-time All-Pro selection, a four-time All-Star, and was twice awarded the Joe F. Carr Trophy as the NFL Most Valuable Player.
Hutson is considered to have been the first modern wide receiver, and is credited with creating many of the modern pass routes used in the NFL today. He was the dominant receiver of his day, and is widely considered one of the greatest receivers in NFL history. Hutson was the first 1,000 yard receiver in the NFL. He held almost all major receiving records at the time of his retirement, including career receptions, yards, and touchdowns. He was inducted as a charter member of both the College Football Hall of Fame and the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Hutson's number 14 was the first jersey retired by the Packers, and he is a member of the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame. In 1969, Hutson was selected to the National Football League 50th Anniversary All-Time Team as one of the greatest players of the NFL's first 50 years. In 1994, Hutson was selected to the National Football League 75th Anniversary All-Time Team as one of the greatest players of the NFL's first 75 years. In 2019, he was unanimously selected to the NFL 100th Anniversary All-Time Team as one of the greatest players of the NFL's first 100 years.
Early years and college
Hutson was born on January 31, 1913, in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, one of three sons of Roy B. Hutson and Mabel Clark Hutson. While a Boy Scout, he played with snakes. He said that is where he got his quickness and agility. As a teenager Hutson played baseball for Pine Bluff's town team. As a senior at Pine Bluff High School he was an all-state basketball player, which he said was his favorite sport. "I'm like most [athletes]," he said. "I'd rather see football, but I'd rather play basketball." Hutson played one year of football at Pine Bluff.
Hutson played at end for coach Frank Thomas's Alabama Crimson Tide football team from 1932 to 1934. Bear Bryant, future long-time coach of the Tide, was the self-described "other end" on the Tide in 1933 and 1934. Bryant once remarked, "...he was something to see even then. We'd hitchhike to Pine Bluff just to watch him play. I saw him catch five touchdown passes in one game in high school."
Sportswriter Morgan Blake ranked the undefeated 1934 Tide as the best team he ever saw. Hutson's College Football Hall of Fame profile reads: "Fluid in motion, wondrously elusive with the fake, inventive in his patterns and magnificently at ease when catching the ball ... Hutson and fellow Hall of Famer Millard "Dixie" Howell became football's most celebrated passing combination." Hutson had six catches for 165 yards, including two touchdowns of 54 and 59 yards in the 1935 Rose Bowl against Stanford. He also scored the winning touchdown over Robert Neyland's Tennessee Volunteers on an end-around.
Hutson was recognized as a first-team All-American for six different organizations and received a second-team selection by one other. In an attempt to name retroactive Heisman Trophy winners before its first year of 1936, Hutson was awarded it for 1934 by the National Football Foundation. Georgia Tech coach Bill Alexander once said, "All Don Hutson can do is beat you with clever hands and the most baffling change of pace I've ever seen."
NFL career
When he graduated from Alabama, Hutson did not plan on playing professionally. In those days, the NFL was not highly regarded in the South compared to college football. But Green Bay Packers head coach Curly Lambeau saw Hutson as the perfect receiver for his passing attack, which at the time was headed by quarterback Arnie Herber and end John "Blood" McNally. By this time, a number of teams, including Alabama, were experimenting with spreading the field by moving one end far out near the sideline, drawing the defense away from running plays and leaving them more open on passing ones. Hutson had thrived in this scheme, leading Lambeau to conclude that he would be the perfect fit for Green Bay's offense.
Before the draft existed, college players could sign with any team they wanted, and while Hutson did sign a contract with Green Bay, he had also signed a contract with the NFL's Brooklyn Dodgers. Both contracts came to the NFL office at the same time, and NFL president Joseph Carr declared that Hutson would go to Green Bay, as the Green Bay contract had an earlier date of signing. Hutson later stated he chose the Packers because they offered the most money—$300 a game. "That was far and above what they had ever paid a player," said Hutson. "Each week they'd give me a check for $150 from one bank and $150 from another so nobody would know how much I was getting paid."
Split end
Hutson's first catch as a professional was on an 83-yard touchdown pass from Herber on the first play from scrimmage against the Chicago Bears, in the second game of the 1935 season. It was the only score of the game as the Packers won 7–0. He caught six touchdowns total in his rookie season, which led the league. It was the first in a string of four straight seasons and nine seasons total that Hutson led the league in touchdown receptions. The next season the Packers won their fourth league title, with a 21–6 win over the Boston Redskins in the 1936 NFL Championship Game. Hutson scored the first touchdown of the game, on a 48-yard pass from Herber in the first quarter. Hutson completed the season with 34 receptions for 536 yards and eight touchdowns, which were all league records, and helped Herber set the NFL season passing yards record. Hutson's yardage record was broken the next season by Chicago Cardinals receiver Gaynell Tinsley, who challenged Hutson over the next few years for the title of best receiver in the NFL.
In 1938, Hutson had nine touchdown receptions, again setting the league record, as he led the Packers to another NFL Championship Game, this time against the New York Giants. However, a knee injury he suffered four weeks earlier kept him out of the game's starting lineup. He entered as a substitute three separate times late in the game but was unable to be a factor, catching no passes as Green Bay was defeated 23–17.
Hutson reclaimed the season receiving yards record from Tinsley in 1939 by catching 34 passes for 846 yards—an average of 24.9 yards per reception, the highest of his career. He again led the Packers to the championship game, for a rematch against the Giants. This time Green Bay was victorious, with a 27–0 shutout win. Hutson had two receptions in the game for 21 yards and a rushing attempt that went for three yards.
In 1940, Hutson scored seven touchdowns and kicked 15 extra points to lead the league in scoring by edging out Rams fullback Johnny Drake by a single point. On September 29, Hutson caught his 38th career touchdown pass, breaking Johnny Blood's record. With 99 touchdown receptions for his career, he remained the record holder for almost 50 years, until surpassed by the last touchdown of Steve Largent's career in 1989.
In 1941, Hutson became the first receiver to catch 50 passes in a season, doing so while again leading the league in receptions, receiving yards, and touchdowns. He also scored two rushing touchdowns, for a total of 12. After the season, he was awarded the Joe F. Carr Trophy as the league's most valuable player. He received six of the nine first place votes, finishing ahead of his quarterback Cecil Isbell, who received two first place votes.
Hutson repeated as league MVP in 1942 as he shattered most of his own records; he caught 74 passes for 1,211 yards and 17 touchdowns and averaged over 110 receiving yards per game. This was the first time a receiver had reached the 1,000 yard milestone. He again received six of nine first place votes for the Joe F. Carr Trophy. "The selection did not rest alone on his great pass catching ability," reasoned the selection committee. "Also considered were his nuisance value as a disrupter of enemy defenses and his ability to transform the Packers into a confident, powerful aggregation in clutch situations." His production helped Isbell become the first NFL quarterback to throw for over 2,000 yards in a season.
In February 1943, Hutson announced his retirement from football due to a lingering chest injury. He changed his mind and returned for the 1943 season, however, and caught 47 passes for 776 yards and eleven touchdowns, leading the league in all three. He also threw his first and only completed pass of his career: a 38-yard touchdown pass to Harry Jacunski against the Bears. Additionally, he successfully kicked 36 extra points on 36 tries, and had an 83-yard interception return touchdown. After the season Hutson again announced his intention to retire as a player, this time to be an assistant coach for the Packers. He once again returned as a player in 1944 and again led the league with 58 receptions, 866 yards, and nine touchdowns, while also serving as assistant coach. He led the Packers to the 1944 NFL Championship Game against the Giants and caught two passes for 47 yards, as the Packers won their third and final championship with Hutson, 14–7.
For the third time in as many years Hutson announced his retirement, and for the third time he returned as a player in 1945. A sportswriter for The Pittsburgh Press jokingly declared Hutson "holder of the world's record for coming out of retirement." In a week three, 57–21 blowout win against the Detroit Lions, Hutson set an NFL record with four touchdown receptions in a game, all of them coming in the second quarter. He also kicked five extra points in the quarter, for a total of 29 points, which as of 2015 remains a record for points by a player in a single quarter.
In all, Hutson caught 488 passes for 7,991 yards and 99 touchdowns. He rushed for three touchdowns, scored two touchdowns on blocked punts, and had an interception return touchdown for a career total of 105. He scored at least six receiving touchdowns in each of his 11 seasons. Hutson led the NFL in receptions eight times, including five consecutive times: 1941 to 1945. He led the NFL in receiving yards seven times, including four straight times: 1941 to 1944. He led the NFL in scoring five times: 1941 to 1945. As of 2016, Hutson still holds the highest career average touchdowns per game for a receiver, at 0.85. Hutson's single season record of 17 touchdown receptions in 1942 stood for 42 years until broken by receiver Mark Clayton in 1984, a year in which Miami's quarterback Dan Marino had more completions (362) than the entire 1942 Packers team's pass attempts (330). His four receiving touchdowns in a game has been surpassed three times and tied several times, but his four in a single quarter has yet to be matched. His record 99 touchdown receptions stood for 44 years, well into the modern era. In his 11-year professional career, Hutson never missed a game due to injury. He invented many pass routes still in use today, including the chair route.
At his peak, Hutson was a challenge to defend, mainly because no one had ever seen anything like him in the NFL before. Even when opposing defenses deployed their best defender or multiple defenders against Hutson, he was almost always able to break free. Hutson's ability to beat defenders was remarkable considering he played in an era when there were far fewer restrictions on how and when a defender could legally hit a receiver. It was initially thought that the 6-1, 185-pound Hutson was too fragile for the NFL. However, according to Tony Canadeo, who played alongside Hutson from 1941 to 1944, Hutson was as skilled going over the middle as he was going deep.
Defense and special teams
For many of his 11 seasons, Hutson was also the Packers' kicker. He added 172 extra points on 183 attempts and seven field goals on 15 attempts for another league record 823 points. He led the league in extra points made and attempted in 1941, 1942 and 1945 and in field goals made in 1943. As did almost all players in his day, Hutson played both offense and defense. On defense, he played safety and intercepted 30 passes over the final six years of his career. His highest season total was in 1943, when he intercepted eight passes in ten games. In 1940, he led the NFL with six interceptions.
Hutson was a player-coach during the last two seasons of his playing career. After his retirement as a player, Hutson remained on the Packers staff as an assistant until 1948.
Personal and later life
From an early age Hutson was interested in business. "At the university [of Alabama], I was the only athlete in the business school," he said. "The only reason I wanted to play pro sports was to get a stake." While both were students at Alabama, he partnered with Bear Bryant to operate a laundromat in Tuscaloosa called Captain Kidd Cleaners. However, neither were educated in laundering, and they sold the business after two years. While in Green Bay, Hutson opened the Packer Playdium bowling alley, which proved so successful that he twice considered retirement from football to fully dedicate his time to its operation. He then started the Hutson Motor Car Co. dealership and in 1951 purchased Chevrolet and Cadillac agencies in Racine, Wisconsin. "I never aimed for automobiles," said Hutson. "That just happened to be the thing I got into. I just wanted to run a business, any business. He also served on the Packers board of directors from 1952 to 1980, when he was elected a director emeritus.
After he retired from the dealership business, Hutson settled in Rancho Mirage, California, where he lived until his death on June 26, 1997, at the age of 84.
Honors and recognition
Hutson has been honored in a variety of ways. He was elected to the Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame as a charter member in 1951, and the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame in 1968, also as an initial member. His number 14 was the first number retired by the Packers, in a public ceremony at a game at City Stadium on December 2, 1951. Hutson Street in the Packerland Industrial Park in Green Bay is named for him, and in 1994 the Packers named their new state-of-the-art indoor practice facility across the street from Lambeau Field the "Don Hutson Center."
Hutson was inducted as a charter member of both the College Football Hall of Fame in 1951, and Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1963. His college career made him a unanimous choice for the Associated Press Southeast Area All-Time football team 1920–1969 era. Hutson is a member of the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame, inducted in 1972 along with his quarterbacks, Arnie Herber and Cecil Isbell. There is a park named after him in his hometown of Pine Bluff, Arkansas. On the occasion of his 75th birthday he performed the ceremonial coin toss of Super Bowl XXII to end the pregame ceremonies. Hutson was named to the NFL's 1930s All-Decade Team and 50th Anniversary Team in 1970, and in 1994 he was named to the NFL 75th Anniversary All-Time Team. In 1999, he was ranked sixth on The Sporting News list of the 100 Greatest Football Players, the highest-ranking Packer and the highest-ranking pre–World War II player. In 2012, the NFL Network named Hutson the greatest Green Bay Packer of all time.
In 2005, the Flagstad family of Green Bay donated to the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame an authentic Packers No. 14 jersey worn by Hutson. The jersey was found in a trunk of old uniforms in 1946 at the Rockwood Lodge, the Packers' summer training camp from 1946 to 1949, owned by Melvin and Helen Flagstad. The jersey, a rare NFL artifact valued at over $17,000, was donated by son Daniel Flagstad in memory of his parents.
Hutson's most productive seasons were from 1942 to 1945, a time in which the NFL was severely depleted with many of its most talented players and prospective college athletes serving in the military during World War II. Hutson was classified I-A for the military draft, but had three daughters, so was able to avoid conscription. On the notion that Hutson exploited watered-down defenses, former Packers Hall of Fame running back Paul Hornung responded as such: "I'm a believer. Am I a believer! You know what Hutson would do in this league today? The same things he did when he played."
NFL records
As of the end of the 2017 NFL season, Hutson still holds the following records: most seasons leading league in pass receptions (8), most consecutive seasons leading league in pass receptions (5), most seasons leading league in pass receiving yards gained (7), most consecutive seasons leading league in pass receiving yards gained (4), most seasons leading league in pass receiving touchdowns (9), most seasons leading the league in total touchdowns (8), Most consecutive seasons leading league in pass receiving touchdowns (5), most seasons leading league in scoring (5, now tied), and most consecutive seasons leading league in scoring (5). Sportswriter Zipp Newman referred to Hutson as "the Ty Cobb of the gridiron."
Records held as of retirement:
Most seasons led league, scoring: 5*
Most consecutive seasons led league, scoring: 5*
Most touchdowns scored in a quarter: 4*
Most touchdown receptions in a quarter: 4*
Most points scored in a quarter: 29*
Most seasons led league, touchdowns: 8*
Most consecutive seasons led league, touchdowns: 4*
Most seasons led league, receiving touchdowns: 9*
Most consecutive seasons led league, receiving touchdowns: 5*
Most seasons led league, receptions: 8*
Most consecutive seasons led league, receptions: 5*
Most seasons led league, receiving yards: 7*
Most consecutive seasons led league, receiving yards: 4*
Most receptions, career: 488
Most receptions, season: 74
Most receptions, game: 14
Most receiving yards, career: 7,991
Most receiving yards, season: 1,211
Most receiving yards, game: 209
Most receiving touchdowns, career: 99
Most touchdowns, season: 17
Most touchdowns, game: 4
Most points scored in a calendar month: 74 (Four games in October 1945)
Note: * = remains an NFL record as of 2017 season
NFL career statistics
Regular season
Notes
References
General
Footnotes
Further reading
Eisenberg, John (2009), That First Season: How Vince Lombardi Took the Worst Team in the NFL and Set It on the Path to Glory. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
Poling, Jerry (2006), After They Were Packers: The Super Bowl XXXI Champs & Other Green Bay Legends. Big Earth Publishing.
External links
1913 births
1997 deaths
American football ends
American football wide receivers
Alabama Crimson Tide football players
Green Bay Packers coaches
Green Bay Packers players
All-American college football players
College Football Hall of Fame inductees
National Football League players with retired numbers
Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees
Sportspeople from Pine Bluff, Arkansas
People from Rancho Mirage, California
Players of American football from Arkansas
National Football League Most Valuable Player Award winners | false | [
"Nicholas Taylor (born 20 March 1996) is an English first-class cricketer and mathematician.\n\nTaylor was born at Huntingdon in March 1996. He was educated at The Perse School, before going up to St Catherine's College, Oxford to study mathematics. While studying at Oxford, he made a single appearance in first-class cricket for Oxford University against Cambridge University in The University Match at Cambridge in 2017. From Oxford, Taylor went on to Clare College at the University of Cambridge to study for a doctorate in plant sciences. While at Cambridge, Taylor played in the 2019 University Match for Cambridge, scoring 59 runs in the Cambridge second innings, having been dismissed without scoring by Toby Pettman. He was chosen to captain Cambridge for the 2020 season, which was disrupted due to the COVID-19 pandemic in England, but did captain the university in its final Varsity Match with first-class status.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n\n1996 births\nLiving people\nPeople from Huntingdon\nPeople educated at The Perse School\nAlumni of St Catherine's College, Oxford\nEnglish cricketers\nOxford University cricketers\nAlumni of Clare College, Cambridge\nCambridge University cricketers",
"Nicholas Foran was the Roman Catholic Bishop of Waterford and Lismore.\nBorn in Butlerstown, Co. Waterford, he studied locally and went to Maynooth College to study for the priesthood. He was ordained in 1808, moving back to Waterford where he was Professor in the Diocesan College, in 1814 he was appointed president of St. John's College, Waterford. He served as parish priest in Lismore and then in Dungarvan, County Waterford.\n\nHe was elected President of Maynooth College in 1834, but declined to take the position, and was also offered the position of Bishop of Galway but did not accept due to ill health. In 1837 he was appointed Bishop of Waterford and Lismore.\n\nHe died suddenly on 11 May 1855 at Dr. Hally's house in Dungarvan.\n\nReferences\n\n1855 deaths\nPeople from County Waterford\nAlumni of St Patrick's College, Maynooth\nRoman Catholic bishops of Waterford and Lismore\nYear of birth missing"
] |
[
"Don Hutson",
"Early years and college",
"What was His early life like?",
"Hutson was born on January 31, 1913, in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, one of three sons of Roy B. Hutson and Mabel Clark Hutson.",
"where di he go to school?",
"As a senior at Pine Bluff High School he was an all-state basketball player, which he said was his favorite sport. \"I'm like most [athletes],\"",
"Did he get any scholarships?",
"I don't know.",
"did he go to college?",
"Hutson was awarded it for 1934 by the National Football Foundation.",
"did he study in college?",
"I don't know."
] | C_33ad5df440d3461ebd4cbc975e70cf13_1 | did he have any later education after high school? | 6 | did Don Hutson have any later education after high school? | Don Hutson | Hutson was born on January 31, 1913, in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, one of three sons of Roy B. Hutson and Mabel Clark Hutson. While a Boy Scout, he played with snakes. He said that's where he got his quickness and agility. As a teenager Hutson played baseball for Pine Bluff's town team. As a senior at Pine Bluff High School he was an all-state basketball player, which he said was his favorite sport. "I'm like most [athletes]," he said. "I'd rather see football, but I'd rather play basketball." Hutson played one year of football at Pine Bluff. Hutson played at end for coach Frank Thomas's Alabama Crimson Tide football team from 1932 to 1934. Bear Bryant, future long-time coach of the Tide, was the self-described "other end" on the Tide in 1933 and 1934. Bryant once remarked, "...he was something to see even then. We'd hitchhike to Pine Bluff just to watch him play. I saw him catch five touchdown passes in one game in high school." Sportswriter Morgan Blake ranked the undefeated 1934 Tide as the best team he ever saw. Hutson's College Football Hall of Fame profile reads: "Fluid in motion, wondrously elusive with the fake, inventive in his patterns and magnificently at ease when catching the ball ... Hutson and fellow Hall of Famer Millard "Dixie" Howell became football's most celebrated passing combination." Hutson had six catches for 165 yards, including two touchdowns of 54 and 59 yards in the 1935 Rose Bowl against Stanford. He also scored the winning touchdown over Robert Neyland's Tennessee Volunteers on an end-around. Hutson was recognized as a first-team All-American for six different organizations and received a second-team selection by one other. In an attempt to name retroactive Heisman Trophy winners before its first year of 1936, Hutson was awarded it for 1934 by the National Football Foundation. Georgia Tech coach Bill Alexander once said, "All Don Hutson can do is beat you with clever hands and the most baffling change of pace I've ever seen." CANNOTANSWER | Hutson's College Football Hall of Fame profile reads: "Fluid in motion, wondrously elusive with the fake, inventive in his patterns and magnificently at ease when catching the ball | Donald Montgomery Hutson (January 31, 1913 – June 26, 1997) was an American professional football player and assistant coach in the National Football League (NFL). He played as an end and spent his entire 11-year professional career with the Green Bay Packers. Under head coach Curly Lambeau, Hutson led the Packers to four NFL Championship Games, winning three: 1936, 1939, and 1944.
Hutson joined the Packers in 1935 and played 11 seasons before he retired in 1945. He led the league in receiving yards in seven separate seasons and in receiving touchdowns in nine. A talented safety on defense, he also led the NFL in interceptions in 1940. Hutson was an eight-time All-Pro selection, a four-time All-Star, and was twice awarded the Joe F. Carr Trophy as the NFL Most Valuable Player.
Hutson is considered to have been the first modern wide receiver, and is credited with creating many of the modern pass routes used in the NFL today. He was the dominant receiver of his day, and is widely considered one of the greatest receivers in NFL history. Hutson was the first 1,000 yard receiver in the NFL. He held almost all major receiving records at the time of his retirement, including career receptions, yards, and touchdowns. He was inducted as a charter member of both the College Football Hall of Fame and the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Hutson's number 14 was the first jersey retired by the Packers, and he is a member of the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame. In 1969, Hutson was selected to the National Football League 50th Anniversary All-Time Team as one of the greatest players of the NFL's first 50 years. In 1994, Hutson was selected to the National Football League 75th Anniversary All-Time Team as one of the greatest players of the NFL's first 75 years. In 2019, he was unanimously selected to the NFL 100th Anniversary All-Time Team as one of the greatest players of the NFL's first 100 years.
Early years and college
Hutson was born on January 31, 1913, in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, one of three sons of Roy B. Hutson and Mabel Clark Hutson. While a Boy Scout, he played with snakes. He said that is where he got his quickness and agility. As a teenager Hutson played baseball for Pine Bluff's town team. As a senior at Pine Bluff High School he was an all-state basketball player, which he said was his favorite sport. "I'm like most [athletes]," he said. "I'd rather see football, but I'd rather play basketball." Hutson played one year of football at Pine Bluff.
Hutson played at end for coach Frank Thomas's Alabama Crimson Tide football team from 1932 to 1934. Bear Bryant, future long-time coach of the Tide, was the self-described "other end" on the Tide in 1933 and 1934. Bryant once remarked, "...he was something to see even then. We'd hitchhike to Pine Bluff just to watch him play. I saw him catch five touchdown passes in one game in high school."
Sportswriter Morgan Blake ranked the undefeated 1934 Tide as the best team he ever saw. Hutson's College Football Hall of Fame profile reads: "Fluid in motion, wondrously elusive with the fake, inventive in his patterns and magnificently at ease when catching the ball ... Hutson and fellow Hall of Famer Millard "Dixie" Howell became football's most celebrated passing combination." Hutson had six catches for 165 yards, including two touchdowns of 54 and 59 yards in the 1935 Rose Bowl against Stanford. He also scored the winning touchdown over Robert Neyland's Tennessee Volunteers on an end-around.
Hutson was recognized as a first-team All-American for six different organizations and received a second-team selection by one other. In an attempt to name retroactive Heisman Trophy winners before its first year of 1936, Hutson was awarded it for 1934 by the National Football Foundation. Georgia Tech coach Bill Alexander once said, "All Don Hutson can do is beat you with clever hands and the most baffling change of pace I've ever seen."
NFL career
When he graduated from Alabama, Hutson did not plan on playing professionally. In those days, the NFL was not highly regarded in the South compared to college football. But Green Bay Packers head coach Curly Lambeau saw Hutson as the perfect receiver for his passing attack, which at the time was headed by quarterback Arnie Herber and end John "Blood" McNally. By this time, a number of teams, including Alabama, were experimenting with spreading the field by moving one end far out near the sideline, drawing the defense away from running plays and leaving them more open on passing ones. Hutson had thrived in this scheme, leading Lambeau to conclude that he would be the perfect fit for Green Bay's offense.
Before the draft existed, college players could sign with any team they wanted, and while Hutson did sign a contract with Green Bay, he had also signed a contract with the NFL's Brooklyn Dodgers. Both contracts came to the NFL office at the same time, and NFL president Joseph Carr declared that Hutson would go to Green Bay, as the Green Bay contract had an earlier date of signing. Hutson later stated he chose the Packers because they offered the most money—$300 a game. "That was far and above what they had ever paid a player," said Hutson. "Each week they'd give me a check for $150 from one bank and $150 from another so nobody would know how much I was getting paid."
Split end
Hutson's first catch as a professional was on an 83-yard touchdown pass from Herber on the first play from scrimmage against the Chicago Bears, in the second game of the 1935 season. It was the only score of the game as the Packers won 7–0. He caught six touchdowns total in his rookie season, which led the league. It was the first in a string of four straight seasons and nine seasons total that Hutson led the league in touchdown receptions. The next season the Packers won their fourth league title, with a 21–6 win over the Boston Redskins in the 1936 NFL Championship Game. Hutson scored the first touchdown of the game, on a 48-yard pass from Herber in the first quarter. Hutson completed the season with 34 receptions for 536 yards and eight touchdowns, which were all league records, and helped Herber set the NFL season passing yards record. Hutson's yardage record was broken the next season by Chicago Cardinals receiver Gaynell Tinsley, who challenged Hutson over the next few years for the title of best receiver in the NFL.
In 1938, Hutson had nine touchdown receptions, again setting the league record, as he led the Packers to another NFL Championship Game, this time against the New York Giants. However, a knee injury he suffered four weeks earlier kept him out of the game's starting lineup. He entered as a substitute three separate times late in the game but was unable to be a factor, catching no passes as Green Bay was defeated 23–17.
Hutson reclaimed the season receiving yards record from Tinsley in 1939 by catching 34 passes for 846 yards—an average of 24.9 yards per reception, the highest of his career. He again led the Packers to the championship game, for a rematch against the Giants. This time Green Bay was victorious, with a 27–0 shutout win. Hutson had two receptions in the game for 21 yards and a rushing attempt that went for three yards.
In 1940, Hutson scored seven touchdowns and kicked 15 extra points to lead the league in scoring by edging out Rams fullback Johnny Drake by a single point. On September 29, Hutson caught his 38th career touchdown pass, breaking Johnny Blood's record. With 99 touchdown receptions for his career, he remained the record holder for almost 50 years, until surpassed by the last touchdown of Steve Largent's career in 1989.
In 1941, Hutson became the first receiver to catch 50 passes in a season, doing so while again leading the league in receptions, receiving yards, and touchdowns. He also scored two rushing touchdowns, for a total of 12. After the season, he was awarded the Joe F. Carr Trophy as the league's most valuable player. He received six of the nine first place votes, finishing ahead of his quarterback Cecil Isbell, who received two first place votes.
Hutson repeated as league MVP in 1942 as he shattered most of his own records; he caught 74 passes for 1,211 yards and 17 touchdowns and averaged over 110 receiving yards per game. This was the first time a receiver had reached the 1,000 yard milestone. He again received six of nine first place votes for the Joe F. Carr Trophy. "The selection did not rest alone on his great pass catching ability," reasoned the selection committee. "Also considered were his nuisance value as a disrupter of enemy defenses and his ability to transform the Packers into a confident, powerful aggregation in clutch situations." His production helped Isbell become the first NFL quarterback to throw for over 2,000 yards in a season.
In February 1943, Hutson announced his retirement from football due to a lingering chest injury. He changed his mind and returned for the 1943 season, however, and caught 47 passes for 776 yards and eleven touchdowns, leading the league in all three. He also threw his first and only completed pass of his career: a 38-yard touchdown pass to Harry Jacunski against the Bears. Additionally, he successfully kicked 36 extra points on 36 tries, and had an 83-yard interception return touchdown. After the season Hutson again announced his intention to retire as a player, this time to be an assistant coach for the Packers. He once again returned as a player in 1944 and again led the league with 58 receptions, 866 yards, and nine touchdowns, while also serving as assistant coach. He led the Packers to the 1944 NFL Championship Game against the Giants and caught two passes for 47 yards, as the Packers won their third and final championship with Hutson, 14–7.
For the third time in as many years Hutson announced his retirement, and for the third time he returned as a player in 1945. A sportswriter for The Pittsburgh Press jokingly declared Hutson "holder of the world's record for coming out of retirement." In a week three, 57–21 blowout win against the Detroit Lions, Hutson set an NFL record with four touchdown receptions in a game, all of them coming in the second quarter. He also kicked five extra points in the quarter, for a total of 29 points, which as of 2015 remains a record for points by a player in a single quarter.
In all, Hutson caught 488 passes for 7,991 yards and 99 touchdowns. He rushed for three touchdowns, scored two touchdowns on blocked punts, and had an interception return touchdown for a career total of 105. He scored at least six receiving touchdowns in each of his 11 seasons. Hutson led the NFL in receptions eight times, including five consecutive times: 1941 to 1945. He led the NFL in receiving yards seven times, including four straight times: 1941 to 1944. He led the NFL in scoring five times: 1941 to 1945. As of 2016, Hutson still holds the highest career average touchdowns per game for a receiver, at 0.85. Hutson's single season record of 17 touchdown receptions in 1942 stood for 42 years until broken by receiver Mark Clayton in 1984, a year in which Miami's quarterback Dan Marino had more completions (362) than the entire 1942 Packers team's pass attempts (330). His four receiving touchdowns in a game has been surpassed three times and tied several times, but his four in a single quarter has yet to be matched. His record 99 touchdown receptions stood for 44 years, well into the modern era. In his 11-year professional career, Hutson never missed a game due to injury. He invented many pass routes still in use today, including the chair route.
At his peak, Hutson was a challenge to defend, mainly because no one had ever seen anything like him in the NFL before. Even when opposing defenses deployed their best defender or multiple defenders against Hutson, he was almost always able to break free. Hutson's ability to beat defenders was remarkable considering he played in an era when there were far fewer restrictions on how and when a defender could legally hit a receiver. It was initially thought that the 6-1, 185-pound Hutson was too fragile for the NFL. However, according to Tony Canadeo, who played alongside Hutson from 1941 to 1944, Hutson was as skilled going over the middle as he was going deep.
Defense and special teams
For many of his 11 seasons, Hutson was also the Packers' kicker. He added 172 extra points on 183 attempts and seven field goals on 15 attempts for another league record 823 points. He led the league in extra points made and attempted in 1941, 1942 and 1945 and in field goals made in 1943. As did almost all players in his day, Hutson played both offense and defense. On defense, he played safety and intercepted 30 passes over the final six years of his career. His highest season total was in 1943, when he intercepted eight passes in ten games. In 1940, he led the NFL with six interceptions.
Hutson was a player-coach during the last two seasons of his playing career. After his retirement as a player, Hutson remained on the Packers staff as an assistant until 1948.
Personal and later life
From an early age Hutson was interested in business. "At the university [of Alabama], I was the only athlete in the business school," he said. "The only reason I wanted to play pro sports was to get a stake." While both were students at Alabama, he partnered with Bear Bryant to operate a laundromat in Tuscaloosa called Captain Kidd Cleaners. However, neither were educated in laundering, and they sold the business after two years. While in Green Bay, Hutson opened the Packer Playdium bowling alley, which proved so successful that he twice considered retirement from football to fully dedicate his time to its operation. He then started the Hutson Motor Car Co. dealership and in 1951 purchased Chevrolet and Cadillac agencies in Racine, Wisconsin. "I never aimed for automobiles," said Hutson. "That just happened to be the thing I got into. I just wanted to run a business, any business. He also served on the Packers board of directors from 1952 to 1980, when he was elected a director emeritus.
After he retired from the dealership business, Hutson settled in Rancho Mirage, California, where he lived until his death on June 26, 1997, at the age of 84.
Honors and recognition
Hutson has been honored in a variety of ways. He was elected to the Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame as a charter member in 1951, and the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame in 1968, also as an initial member. His number 14 was the first number retired by the Packers, in a public ceremony at a game at City Stadium on December 2, 1951. Hutson Street in the Packerland Industrial Park in Green Bay is named for him, and in 1994 the Packers named their new state-of-the-art indoor practice facility across the street from Lambeau Field the "Don Hutson Center."
Hutson was inducted as a charter member of both the College Football Hall of Fame in 1951, and Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1963. His college career made him a unanimous choice for the Associated Press Southeast Area All-Time football team 1920–1969 era. Hutson is a member of the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame, inducted in 1972 along with his quarterbacks, Arnie Herber and Cecil Isbell. There is a park named after him in his hometown of Pine Bluff, Arkansas. On the occasion of his 75th birthday he performed the ceremonial coin toss of Super Bowl XXII to end the pregame ceremonies. Hutson was named to the NFL's 1930s All-Decade Team and 50th Anniversary Team in 1970, and in 1994 he was named to the NFL 75th Anniversary All-Time Team. In 1999, he was ranked sixth on The Sporting News list of the 100 Greatest Football Players, the highest-ranking Packer and the highest-ranking pre–World War II player. In 2012, the NFL Network named Hutson the greatest Green Bay Packer of all time.
In 2005, the Flagstad family of Green Bay donated to the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame an authentic Packers No. 14 jersey worn by Hutson. The jersey was found in a trunk of old uniforms in 1946 at the Rockwood Lodge, the Packers' summer training camp from 1946 to 1949, owned by Melvin and Helen Flagstad. The jersey, a rare NFL artifact valued at over $17,000, was donated by son Daniel Flagstad in memory of his parents.
Hutson's most productive seasons were from 1942 to 1945, a time in which the NFL was severely depleted with many of its most talented players and prospective college athletes serving in the military during World War II. Hutson was classified I-A for the military draft, but had three daughters, so was able to avoid conscription. On the notion that Hutson exploited watered-down defenses, former Packers Hall of Fame running back Paul Hornung responded as such: "I'm a believer. Am I a believer! You know what Hutson would do in this league today? The same things he did when he played."
NFL records
As of the end of the 2017 NFL season, Hutson still holds the following records: most seasons leading league in pass receptions (8), most consecutive seasons leading league in pass receptions (5), most seasons leading league in pass receiving yards gained (7), most consecutive seasons leading league in pass receiving yards gained (4), most seasons leading league in pass receiving touchdowns (9), most seasons leading the league in total touchdowns (8), Most consecutive seasons leading league in pass receiving touchdowns (5), most seasons leading league in scoring (5, now tied), and most consecutive seasons leading league in scoring (5). Sportswriter Zipp Newman referred to Hutson as "the Ty Cobb of the gridiron."
Records held as of retirement:
Most seasons led league, scoring: 5*
Most consecutive seasons led league, scoring: 5*
Most touchdowns scored in a quarter: 4*
Most touchdown receptions in a quarter: 4*
Most points scored in a quarter: 29*
Most seasons led league, touchdowns: 8*
Most consecutive seasons led league, touchdowns: 4*
Most seasons led league, receiving touchdowns: 9*
Most consecutive seasons led league, receiving touchdowns: 5*
Most seasons led league, receptions: 8*
Most consecutive seasons led league, receptions: 5*
Most seasons led league, receiving yards: 7*
Most consecutive seasons led league, receiving yards: 4*
Most receptions, career: 488
Most receptions, season: 74
Most receptions, game: 14
Most receiving yards, career: 7,991
Most receiving yards, season: 1,211
Most receiving yards, game: 209
Most receiving touchdowns, career: 99
Most touchdowns, season: 17
Most touchdowns, game: 4
Most points scored in a calendar month: 74 (Four games in October 1945)
Note: * = remains an NFL record as of 2017 season
NFL career statistics
Regular season
Notes
References
General
Footnotes
Further reading
Eisenberg, John (2009), That First Season: How Vince Lombardi Took the Worst Team in the NFL and Set It on the Path to Glory. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
Poling, Jerry (2006), After They Were Packers: The Super Bowl XXXI Champs & Other Green Bay Legends. Big Earth Publishing.
External links
1913 births
1997 deaths
American football ends
American football wide receivers
Alabama Crimson Tide football players
Green Bay Packers coaches
Green Bay Packers players
All-American college football players
College Football Hall of Fame inductees
National Football League players with retired numbers
Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees
Sportspeople from Pine Bluff, Arkansas
People from Rancho Mirage, California
Players of American football from Arkansas
National Football League Most Valuable Player Award winners | true | [
"West Hartford Public Schools provides education for West Hartford, Hartford County, Connecticut, United States.\n\nHigh schools \n Conard High School\n Hall High School\n\nMiddle schools \n Bristow Middle School\n King Philip Middle School\n Sedgwick Middle School\n\nStudents are assigned based on the location of their residence to either King Phillip or Sedgwick Middle School. Matriculation to Bristow is based on a lottery. Bristow is the smallest of the three middle schools.\n\nElementary schools \n Aiken\n Braeburn\n Bugbee\n Charter Oak\n Duffy\n Morley\n Norfeldt\n Smith\n Webster Hill\n Whiting Lane\n Wolcott\n\nBudget\n\n2021\nIn March 2021, superintendent Tom Moore proposed a $176.3 million budget for the 2021-2022 academic year, an increase of 2.28% or $3.93 million. Increases in the budget are a result of salary increases, student outplacement, and transportation for additional busses for special education needs.\n\nDemographics\n\nAs of October 1, 2018, the student population was 0.1% American Indian, 10.9% Asian, 8.1% Black, 19.4% Hispanic (of any race), 0.1% Native Hawaiian, 56.5% White, or 4.9% two or more races.\n\nControversies\n\nHigh School Mascots and Nicknames\nIn 2015, the Board of Education voted to allow Conard and Hall high schools to keep their nicknames, Chieftain and Warrior, respectively, \"provided all Native American imagery, including mascots, were eliminated.\" \n\nIn 2022, the Board voted to end the use of the nicknames. A new state law would have cut some education funding if \"an intramural or interscholastic athletic team associated with such school, uses any name, symbol or image that depicts, refers to or is associated with a state or federally recognized Native American tribe or a Native American individual, custom or tradition, as a mascot, nickname, logo or team name.” The schools will choose new nicknames.\n\nLater high school start times\nIn November 2019 the board of education removed a plan to have to schools start at a later start time. The claim is that later start times for high school students is more beneficial for their mental and physical health. The cost of transportation would exceed $2 million if high school and middle school started at 8:15. The issue was brought up again at a board of education meeting in February 2020. At this meeting the West Hartford board of education supports a statewide move to require that students in grades 6-12 to begin academic classes no earlier than 8:30 a.m. so they can arrive at school “healthy, awake, alert, and ready to learn.”\n\nSuperintendents\n\n Tom Moore, 2014-2022. Moore was named the 2022 Superintendent of the Year by the Connecticut Association of Public School Superintendents.\n Dr. Karen List, 2009-2014\n Dr. David P. Sklarz, 1995-2009\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n Official website\n\nWest Hartford, Connecticut\nEducation in Hartford County, Connecticut\nSchool districts in Connecticut",
"Peter Adam Emelianchik, (born November 19, 1943) is a retired American football player. Emelianchik is one of two players to have played football at Abraham Lincoln High School in Brooklyn and reach the National Football League.\n\nHe played tight end for Dodge City Junior College in 1961 and 1962. In 1962, he was voted Junior College All American. He then played for the University of Richmond Spiders in 1963 and 1964. Emelianchik was voted all-Southern Conference at end as a junior in 1963, but was injured during his senior year and not drafted by any NFL teams. He was signed as a free agent by the Philadelphia Eagles in , and played on special teams in the last regular season game against the Cleveland Browns but did not record any statistics.\n\nEmelianchik returned to the Eagles for training camp in , and even caught a touchdown pass from John Huarte in a preseason game, but did not make the team.\n\nHis football career ended when he was the first player cut in training camp by the New York Giants in .\n\nAfter his football career, Emelianchik taught physical education at James J. Reynolds Jr. High School in Brooklyn, NY.\n\nIn 2017, Emelianchik was inducted into the Dodge City Junior College Athletics Hall of Fame.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n \n\n1943 births\nLiving people\nAmerican people of Ukrainian descent\nSportspeople from Brooklyn\nAmerican football tight ends\nAbraham Lincoln High School (Brooklyn) alumni\nRichmond Spiders football players\nPhiladelphia Eagles players\nPlayers of American football from New York (state)"
] |
[
"Don Hutson",
"Early years and college",
"What was His early life like?",
"Hutson was born on January 31, 1913, in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, one of three sons of Roy B. Hutson and Mabel Clark Hutson.",
"where di he go to school?",
"As a senior at Pine Bluff High School he was an all-state basketball player, which he said was his favorite sport. \"I'm like most [athletes],\"",
"Did he get any scholarships?",
"I don't know.",
"did he go to college?",
"Hutson was awarded it for 1934 by the National Football Foundation.",
"did he study in college?",
"I don't know.",
"did he have any later education after high school?",
"Hutson's College Football Hall of Fame profile reads: \"Fluid in motion, wondrously elusive with the fake, inventive in his patterns and magnificently at ease when catching the ball"
] | C_33ad5df440d3461ebd4cbc975e70cf13_1 | who did he first sign with? | 7 | who did Don Hutson first sign with? | Don Hutson | Hutson was born on January 31, 1913, in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, one of three sons of Roy B. Hutson and Mabel Clark Hutson. While a Boy Scout, he played with snakes. He said that's where he got his quickness and agility. As a teenager Hutson played baseball for Pine Bluff's town team. As a senior at Pine Bluff High School he was an all-state basketball player, which he said was his favorite sport. "I'm like most [athletes]," he said. "I'd rather see football, but I'd rather play basketball." Hutson played one year of football at Pine Bluff. Hutson played at end for coach Frank Thomas's Alabama Crimson Tide football team from 1932 to 1934. Bear Bryant, future long-time coach of the Tide, was the self-described "other end" on the Tide in 1933 and 1934. Bryant once remarked, "...he was something to see even then. We'd hitchhike to Pine Bluff just to watch him play. I saw him catch five touchdown passes in one game in high school." Sportswriter Morgan Blake ranked the undefeated 1934 Tide as the best team he ever saw. Hutson's College Football Hall of Fame profile reads: "Fluid in motion, wondrously elusive with the fake, inventive in his patterns and magnificently at ease when catching the ball ... Hutson and fellow Hall of Famer Millard "Dixie" Howell became football's most celebrated passing combination." Hutson had six catches for 165 yards, including two touchdowns of 54 and 59 yards in the 1935 Rose Bowl against Stanford. He also scored the winning touchdown over Robert Neyland's Tennessee Volunteers on an end-around. Hutson was recognized as a first-team All-American for six different organizations and received a second-team selection by one other. In an attempt to name retroactive Heisman Trophy winners before its first year of 1936, Hutson was awarded it for 1934 by the National Football Foundation. Georgia Tech coach Bill Alexander once said, "All Don Hutson can do is beat you with clever hands and the most baffling change of pace I've ever seen." CANNOTANSWER | CANNOTANSWER | Donald Montgomery Hutson (January 31, 1913 – June 26, 1997) was an American professional football player and assistant coach in the National Football League (NFL). He played as an end and spent his entire 11-year professional career with the Green Bay Packers. Under head coach Curly Lambeau, Hutson led the Packers to four NFL Championship Games, winning three: 1936, 1939, and 1944.
Hutson joined the Packers in 1935 and played 11 seasons before he retired in 1945. He led the league in receiving yards in seven separate seasons and in receiving touchdowns in nine. A talented safety on defense, he also led the NFL in interceptions in 1940. Hutson was an eight-time All-Pro selection, a four-time All-Star, and was twice awarded the Joe F. Carr Trophy as the NFL Most Valuable Player.
Hutson is considered to have been the first modern wide receiver, and is credited with creating many of the modern pass routes used in the NFL today. He was the dominant receiver of his day, and is widely considered one of the greatest receivers in NFL history. Hutson was the first 1,000 yard receiver in the NFL. He held almost all major receiving records at the time of his retirement, including career receptions, yards, and touchdowns. He was inducted as a charter member of both the College Football Hall of Fame and the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Hutson's number 14 was the first jersey retired by the Packers, and he is a member of the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame. In 1969, Hutson was selected to the National Football League 50th Anniversary All-Time Team as one of the greatest players of the NFL's first 50 years. In 1994, Hutson was selected to the National Football League 75th Anniversary All-Time Team as one of the greatest players of the NFL's first 75 years. In 2019, he was unanimously selected to the NFL 100th Anniversary All-Time Team as one of the greatest players of the NFL's first 100 years.
Early years and college
Hutson was born on January 31, 1913, in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, one of three sons of Roy B. Hutson and Mabel Clark Hutson. While a Boy Scout, he played with snakes. He said that is where he got his quickness and agility. As a teenager Hutson played baseball for Pine Bluff's town team. As a senior at Pine Bluff High School he was an all-state basketball player, which he said was his favorite sport. "I'm like most [athletes]," he said. "I'd rather see football, but I'd rather play basketball." Hutson played one year of football at Pine Bluff.
Hutson played at end for coach Frank Thomas's Alabama Crimson Tide football team from 1932 to 1934. Bear Bryant, future long-time coach of the Tide, was the self-described "other end" on the Tide in 1933 and 1934. Bryant once remarked, "...he was something to see even then. We'd hitchhike to Pine Bluff just to watch him play. I saw him catch five touchdown passes in one game in high school."
Sportswriter Morgan Blake ranked the undefeated 1934 Tide as the best team he ever saw. Hutson's College Football Hall of Fame profile reads: "Fluid in motion, wondrously elusive with the fake, inventive in his patterns and magnificently at ease when catching the ball ... Hutson and fellow Hall of Famer Millard "Dixie" Howell became football's most celebrated passing combination." Hutson had six catches for 165 yards, including two touchdowns of 54 and 59 yards in the 1935 Rose Bowl against Stanford. He also scored the winning touchdown over Robert Neyland's Tennessee Volunteers on an end-around.
Hutson was recognized as a first-team All-American for six different organizations and received a second-team selection by one other. In an attempt to name retroactive Heisman Trophy winners before its first year of 1936, Hutson was awarded it for 1934 by the National Football Foundation. Georgia Tech coach Bill Alexander once said, "All Don Hutson can do is beat you with clever hands and the most baffling change of pace I've ever seen."
NFL career
When he graduated from Alabama, Hutson did not plan on playing professionally. In those days, the NFL was not highly regarded in the South compared to college football. But Green Bay Packers head coach Curly Lambeau saw Hutson as the perfect receiver for his passing attack, which at the time was headed by quarterback Arnie Herber and end John "Blood" McNally. By this time, a number of teams, including Alabama, were experimenting with spreading the field by moving one end far out near the sideline, drawing the defense away from running plays and leaving them more open on passing ones. Hutson had thrived in this scheme, leading Lambeau to conclude that he would be the perfect fit for Green Bay's offense.
Before the draft existed, college players could sign with any team they wanted, and while Hutson did sign a contract with Green Bay, he had also signed a contract with the NFL's Brooklyn Dodgers. Both contracts came to the NFL office at the same time, and NFL president Joseph Carr declared that Hutson would go to Green Bay, as the Green Bay contract had an earlier date of signing. Hutson later stated he chose the Packers because they offered the most money—$300 a game. "That was far and above what they had ever paid a player," said Hutson. "Each week they'd give me a check for $150 from one bank and $150 from another so nobody would know how much I was getting paid."
Split end
Hutson's first catch as a professional was on an 83-yard touchdown pass from Herber on the first play from scrimmage against the Chicago Bears, in the second game of the 1935 season. It was the only score of the game as the Packers won 7–0. He caught six touchdowns total in his rookie season, which led the league. It was the first in a string of four straight seasons and nine seasons total that Hutson led the league in touchdown receptions. The next season the Packers won their fourth league title, with a 21–6 win over the Boston Redskins in the 1936 NFL Championship Game. Hutson scored the first touchdown of the game, on a 48-yard pass from Herber in the first quarter. Hutson completed the season with 34 receptions for 536 yards and eight touchdowns, which were all league records, and helped Herber set the NFL season passing yards record. Hutson's yardage record was broken the next season by Chicago Cardinals receiver Gaynell Tinsley, who challenged Hutson over the next few years for the title of best receiver in the NFL.
In 1938, Hutson had nine touchdown receptions, again setting the league record, as he led the Packers to another NFL Championship Game, this time against the New York Giants. However, a knee injury he suffered four weeks earlier kept him out of the game's starting lineup. He entered as a substitute three separate times late in the game but was unable to be a factor, catching no passes as Green Bay was defeated 23–17.
Hutson reclaimed the season receiving yards record from Tinsley in 1939 by catching 34 passes for 846 yards—an average of 24.9 yards per reception, the highest of his career. He again led the Packers to the championship game, for a rematch against the Giants. This time Green Bay was victorious, with a 27–0 shutout win. Hutson had two receptions in the game for 21 yards and a rushing attempt that went for three yards.
In 1940, Hutson scored seven touchdowns and kicked 15 extra points to lead the league in scoring by edging out Rams fullback Johnny Drake by a single point. On September 29, Hutson caught his 38th career touchdown pass, breaking Johnny Blood's record. With 99 touchdown receptions for his career, he remained the record holder for almost 50 years, until surpassed by the last touchdown of Steve Largent's career in 1989.
In 1941, Hutson became the first receiver to catch 50 passes in a season, doing so while again leading the league in receptions, receiving yards, and touchdowns. He also scored two rushing touchdowns, for a total of 12. After the season, he was awarded the Joe F. Carr Trophy as the league's most valuable player. He received six of the nine first place votes, finishing ahead of his quarterback Cecil Isbell, who received two first place votes.
Hutson repeated as league MVP in 1942 as he shattered most of his own records; he caught 74 passes for 1,211 yards and 17 touchdowns and averaged over 110 receiving yards per game. This was the first time a receiver had reached the 1,000 yard milestone. He again received six of nine first place votes for the Joe F. Carr Trophy. "The selection did not rest alone on his great pass catching ability," reasoned the selection committee. "Also considered were his nuisance value as a disrupter of enemy defenses and his ability to transform the Packers into a confident, powerful aggregation in clutch situations." His production helped Isbell become the first NFL quarterback to throw for over 2,000 yards in a season.
In February 1943, Hutson announced his retirement from football due to a lingering chest injury. He changed his mind and returned for the 1943 season, however, and caught 47 passes for 776 yards and eleven touchdowns, leading the league in all three. He also threw his first and only completed pass of his career: a 38-yard touchdown pass to Harry Jacunski against the Bears. Additionally, he successfully kicked 36 extra points on 36 tries, and had an 83-yard interception return touchdown. After the season Hutson again announced his intention to retire as a player, this time to be an assistant coach for the Packers. He once again returned as a player in 1944 and again led the league with 58 receptions, 866 yards, and nine touchdowns, while also serving as assistant coach. He led the Packers to the 1944 NFL Championship Game against the Giants and caught two passes for 47 yards, as the Packers won their third and final championship with Hutson, 14–7.
For the third time in as many years Hutson announced his retirement, and for the third time he returned as a player in 1945. A sportswriter for The Pittsburgh Press jokingly declared Hutson "holder of the world's record for coming out of retirement." In a week three, 57–21 blowout win against the Detroit Lions, Hutson set an NFL record with four touchdown receptions in a game, all of them coming in the second quarter. He also kicked five extra points in the quarter, for a total of 29 points, which as of 2015 remains a record for points by a player in a single quarter.
In all, Hutson caught 488 passes for 7,991 yards and 99 touchdowns. He rushed for three touchdowns, scored two touchdowns on blocked punts, and had an interception return touchdown for a career total of 105. He scored at least six receiving touchdowns in each of his 11 seasons. Hutson led the NFL in receptions eight times, including five consecutive times: 1941 to 1945. He led the NFL in receiving yards seven times, including four straight times: 1941 to 1944. He led the NFL in scoring five times: 1941 to 1945. As of 2016, Hutson still holds the highest career average touchdowns per game for a receiver, at 0.85. Hutson's single season record of 17 touchdown receptions in 1942 stood for 42 years until broken by receiver Mark Clayton in 1984, a year in which Miami's quarterback Dan Marino had more completions (362) than the entire 1942 Packers team's pass attempts (330). His four receiving touchdowns in a game has been surpassed three times and tied several times, but his four in a single quarter has yet to be matched. His record 99 touchdown receptions stood for 44 years, well into the modern era. In his 11-year professional career, Hutson never missed a game due to injury. He invented many pass routes still in use today, including the chair route.
At his peak, Hutson was a challenge to defend, mainly because no one had ever seen anything like him in the NFL before. Even when opposing defenses deployed their best defender or multiple defenders against Hutson, he was almost always able to break free. Hutson's ability to beat defenders was remarkable considering he played in an era when there were far fewer restrictions on how and when a defender could legally hit a receiver. It was initially thought that the 6-1, 185-pound Hutson was too fragile for the NFL. However, according to Tony Canadeo, who played alongside Hutson from 1941 to 1944, Hutson was as skilled going over the middle as he was going deep.
Defense and special teams
For many of his 11 seasons, Hutson was also the Packers' kicker. He added 172 extra points on 183 attempts and seven field goals on 15 attempts for another league record 823 points. He led the league in extra points made and attempted in 1941, 1942 and 1945 and in field goals made in 1943. As did almost all players in his day, Hutson played both offense and defense. On defense, he played safety and intercepted 30 passes over the final six years of his career. His highest season total was in 1943, when he intercepted eight passes in ten games. In 1940, he led the NFL with six interceptions.
Hutson was a player-coach during the last two seasons of his playing career. After his retirement as a player, Hutson remained on the Packers staff as an assistant until 1948.
Personal and later life
From an early age Hutson was interested in business. "At the university [of Alabama], I was the only athlete in the business school," he said. "The only reason I wanted to play pro sports was to get a stake." While both were students at Alabama, he partnered with Bear Bryant to operate a laundromat in Tuscaloosa called Captain Kidd Cleaners. However, neither were educated in laundering, and they sold the business after two years. While in Green Bay, Hutson opened the Packer Playdium bowling alley, which proved so successful that he twice considered retirement from football to fully dedicate his time to its operation. He then started the Hutson Motor Car Co. dealership and in 1951 purchased Chevrolet and Cadillac agencies in Racine, Wisconsin. "I never aimed for automobiles," said Hutson. "That just happened to be the thing I got into. I just wanted to run a business, any business. He also served on the Packers board of directors from 1952 to 1980, when he was elected a director emeritus.
After he retired from the dealership business, Hutson settled in Rancho Mirage, California, where he lived until his death on June 26, 1997, at the age of 84.
Honors and recognition
Hutson has been honored in a variety of ways. He was elected to the Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame as a charter member in 1951, and the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame in 1968, also as an initial member. His number 14 was the first number retired by the Packers, in a public ceremony at a game at City Stadium on December 2, 1951. Hutson Street in the Packerland Industrial Park in Green Bay is named for him, and in 1994 the Packers named their new state-of-the-art indoor practice facility across the street from Lambeau Field the "Don Hutson Center."
Hutson was inducted as a charter member of both the College Football Hall of Fame in 1951, and Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1963. His college career made him a unanimous choice for the Associated Press Southeast Area All-Time football team 1920–1969 era. Hutson is a member of the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame, inducted in 1972 along with his quarterbacks, Arnie Herber and Cecil Isbell. There is a park named after him in his hometown of Pine Bluff, Arkansas. On the occasion of his 75th birthday he performed the ceremonial coin toss of Super Bowl XXII to end the pregame ceremonies. Hutson was named to the NFL's 1930s All-Decade Team and 50th Anniversary Team in 1970, and in 1994 he was named to the NFL 75th Anniversary All-Time Team. In 1999, he was ranked sixth on The Sporting News list of the 100 Greatest Football Players, the highest-ranking Packer and the highest-ranking pre–World War II player. In 2012, the NFL Network named Hutson the greatest Green Bay Packer of all time.
In 2005, the Flagstad family of Green Bay donated to the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame an authentic Packers No. 14 jersey worn by Hutson. The jersey was found in a trunk of old uniforms in 1946 at the Rockwood Lodge, the Packers' summer training camp from 1946 to 1949, owned by Melvin and Helen Flagstad. The jersey, a rare NFL artifact valued at over $17,000, was donated by son Daniel Flagstad in memory of his parents.
Hutson's most productive seasons were from 1942 to 1945, a time in which the NFL was severely depleted with many of its most talented players and prospective college athletes serving in the military during World War II. Hutson was classified I-A for the military draft, but had three daughters, so was able to avoid conscription. On the notion that Hutson exploited watered-down defenses, former Packers Hall of Fame running back Paul Hornung responded as such: "I'm a believer. Am I a believer! You know what Hutson would do in this league today? The same things he did when he played."
NFL records
As of the end of the 2017 NFL season, Hutson still holds the following records: most seasons leading league in pass receptions (8), most consecutive seasons leading league in pass receptions (5), most seasons leading league in pass receiving yards gained (7), most consecutive seasons leading league in pass receiving yards gained (4), most seasons leading league in pass receiving touchdowns (9), most seasons leading the league in total touchdowns (8), Most consecutive seasons leading league in pass receiving touchdowns (5), most seasons leading league in scoring (5, now tied), and most consecutive seasons leading league in scoring (5). Sportswriter Zipp Newman referred to Hutson as "the Ty Cobb of the gridiron."
Records held as of retirement:
Most seasons led league, scoring: 5*
Most consecutive seasons led league, scoring: 5*
Most touchdowns scored in a quarter: 4*
Most touchdown receptions in a quarter: 4*
Most points scored in a quarter: 29*
Most seasons led league, touchdowns: 8*
Most consecutive seasons led league, touchdowns: 4*
Most seasons led league, receiving touchdowns: 9*
Most consecutive seasons led league, receiving touchdowns: 5*
Most seasons led league, receptions: 8*
Most consecutive seasons led league, receptions: 5*
Most seasons led league, receiving yards: 7*
Most consecutive seasons led league, receiving yards: 4*
Most receptions, career: 488
Most receptions, season: 74
Most receptions, game: 14
Most receiving yards, career: 7,991
Most receiving yards, season: 1,211
Most receiving yards, game: 209
Most receiving touchdowns, career: 99
Most touchdowns, season: 17
Most touchdowns, game: 4
Most points scored in a calendar month: 74 (Four games in October 1945)
Note: * = remains an NFL record as of 2017 season
NFL career statistics
Regular season
Notes
References
General
Footnotes
Further reading
Eisenberg, John (2009), That First Season: How Vince Lombardi Took the Worst Team in the NFL and Set It on the Path to Glory. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
Poling, Jerry (2006), After They Were Packers: The Super Bowl XXXI Champs & Other Green Bay Legends. Big Earth Publishing.
External links
1913 births
1997 deaths
American football ends
American football wide receivers
Alabama Crimson Tide football players
Green Bay Packers coaches
Green Bay Packers players
All-American college football players
College Football Hall of Fame inductees
National Football League players with retired numbers
Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees
Sportspeople from Pine Bluff, Arkansas
People from Rancho Mirage, California
Players of American football from Arkansas
National Football League Most Valuable Player Award winners | false | [
"Each year, USA Today, an American newspaper, awards outstanding high-school baseball players with a place on its All-USA High School Baseball Team. The newspaper names athletes whom they believe to be the best baseball players from high schools across the United States. The newspaper has named a team every year since 1998.\n\nIn 1989, USA Today began naming an annual USA Today High School Baseball Player of the Year and an annual USA Today High School Baseball Coach of the Year.\n\nIn 1998, the paper also began naming an annual USA Today All-USA High School Baseball Team of nine to 11 players, with one member of the team designated the USA Today High School Baseball Player of the Year.\n\nUSA Today High School Players and Coaches of the Year (1989–1997)\nSee footnote\n\n1995 team\nCoach of the Year: Phil Clark (Germantown High School, Germantown, TN)\n\nHutchinson did not sign with the Braves, who drafted him with the 26th pick of the 1995 draft in the 1st round. Re-entered the MLB draft after attending Stanford and was selected with the 48th pick of the 1998 draft in the 2nd round by the Cardinals.\nHood did not sign with the Twins, who drafted him with the 100th pick of the 1995 draft in the 4th round. Re-entered the MLB draft after attending Georgia Tech and was selected with the 181st pick of the 1998 draft in the 6th round by the Angels.\nValent did not sign with the Tigers, who drafted him with the 714th pick of the 1995 draft in the 26th round. Re-entered the MLB draft after attending UCLA and was selected with the 42nd pick of the 1998 draft in the supplemental 1st round by the Phillies.\n\nPlayer, Coach, and Team of the Year (1998–2003)\nSee footnote\nNote: The first player (in boldface) in each list is the Player of the Year for that season.\n\n1998 team\nCoach of the Year: James Patrick (Clovis High School, Clovis, California)\n\n Henson attended Michigan on a football scholarship while playing in the Yankees minor league system. Retired from baseball in 2004 to pursue football career full-time.\n Teixeira did not sign with the Red Sox, who drafted him with the 265th pick of the 1998 draft in the 9th round. Re-entered the MLB draft after attending Georgia Tech and was selected 5th overall in the 2001 draft by the Rangers.\n\n1999 team\nCoach of the Year: Rocky Manuel (Bellaire High School, Houston, TX)\n\n Osborn did not sign with the Anaheim Angels (now the Los Angeles Angels) who drafted him with 671st Pick of the 1999 draft in the 22nd round. Re-enter the MLB draft after attending University of Florida and was selected 72nd Pick of the 2002 draft in the 2nd Round by the Indians.\n\n2000 team\nCoach of the Year: Sam Blalock (Rancho Bernardo High School, San Diego, CA)\n\n Harrington did not signed with Rockies and re-enter in the MLB Draft the following year.\n\n2001 team\nCoach of the Year: Kenny Kendrena (Bishop Amat High School, La Puente, CA)\n\n Putnam was not chosen in the 2001 MLB Draft. Re-enter the MLB draft after attending Stanford University and was selected 36th pick of the 2004 draft in the Supplemental 1st Round by the (A's).\n Crosby was drafted as the 53rd Pick of the 2001 MLB Draft of 2nd Round by Royals and attended Clemson University on a football scholarship. Played briefly in Royal's minor league system before deciding in returning to Clemson to pursue football full-time.\n\n2002 team\nCoach of the Year: Rick Carpenter (Elkins High School, Missouri City, TX)\n\nClement did not signed with Twins who drafted him with 362nd pick of the 2002 draft in the 12th round. Re-enter the MLB draft after attending USC and was selected 5th pick of the 2005 draft in the 1st Round by the Mariners.\nMayberry did not signed with Mariners who drafted him with 28th pick of the 2002 draft in the 1st round. Re-enter the MLB draft after attending Stanford University and was selected 19th pick of the 2005 draft in the 1st Round by the Rangers.\n\n2003 team\nCoach of the Year: Tom Meusborn (Chatsworth High School, Chatsworth, CA)\n\nPlayer, Coach, and Team of the Year (2004–present)\nSee footnote\nNote: The 2004–2007 teams were selected by USA Today's Christopher Lawlor after consultation with analysts, pro scouts, coaches and writers.\nNote: The first player (in boldface) in each list is the Player of the Year for that season.\n\n2004 team\nCoach of the Year: Bobby Howard (Columbus High School, Columbus, GA)\n\nTaylor was not chosen in the 2004 MLB Draft. Re-enter the MLB draft after attending Stanford University and was selected 73rd Pick of the 2007 draft in the 5th Round by the Phillies.\n\n2005 team\nCoach of the Year: Tony Rasmus, Russell County (Seale, Alabama)\n\n Henry briefly played in the minor league systems of the Yankees and Phillies before pursuing basketball full-time by attending colleges at Memphis and Kansas.\nPutnam did not sign with the Tigers, who drafted him with 1140th pick of the 2005 draft in the 38th round. Re-entered the MLB draft after attending University of Michigan and was selected 171st pick of the 2008 draft in the fifth round by the Indians.\n\n2006 team\nCoach of the Year: Ron Eastman (The Woodlands High School, The Woodlands, TX)\n\n2007 team\nCoach of the Year: Jerry Boatner (West Lauderdale High School, Collinsville, MS)\n\n2008 team\nCoach of the Year: Todd Fitz-Gerald (American Heritage School, Plantation, FL)\n\nCole did not sign with the Yankees, who drafted him with 28th pick of the 2008 draft in the 1st round. Re-entered the MLB draft after attending UCLA and was selected 1st pick of the 2011 draft in the First round by the Pirates.\n\n2009 team\nCoach of the Year: Phil Forbes (Menchville High School, Newport News, VA)\n\n John went Undrafted in 2009 MLB Draft and officially attended the Oklahoma in the fall of 2009. He re-entered the MLB draft after attending Oklahoma and was selected 214th pick of the 2012 draft in the 6th Round by the Tigers.\n Williams did not signed with Rangers who drafted him with 964th pick of the 2009 draft in the 32nd round. He re-entered the MLB draft after attending Middle Georgia College and was selected 319th pick of the 2010 draft in the 10th Round by the Cardinals.\n\n2010 team\nCoach of the Year: Larry Knight (Sumrall High School, Sumrall, MS)\n\n Bennett went Undrafted in 2010 MLB Draft and officially attending Tennessee in the fall of 2010. Will be eligible to re-enter the MLB Draft in 2013.\n Bryant did not signed with Blue Jays who drafted him with 546th pick of the 2010 draft in the 18th round by officially attending University of San Diego in the fall of 2010. Will be eligible to re-enter the MLB Draft in 2013.\n Covey did not signed with Brewers who drafted him with 14th pick of the 2010 draft in the 1st round by officially attending University of San Diego in the fall of 2010. Will be eligible to re-enter the MLB Draft in 2013.\n\n2011 team\nCoach of the Year: Rich Bielski (Archbishop McCarthy High School, Fort Lauderdale, FL)\n\n Cron did not sign with the Mariners, who drafted him with the 92nd pick of the 2011 draft in the 3rd round. He chose instead to attend TCU in the fall of 2011, and will be eligible to re-enter the MLB Draft in 2014.\n Mitsui did not sign with the Rays, who drafted him with the 390th pick of the 2011 draft in the 12th round. He chose to attend Washington in the fall of 2011, and will be eligible to re-enter the MLB Draft in 2014.\n Montgomery went undrafted in the 2011 MLB Draft. He chose to attend South Carolina in the fall of 2011, and will be eligible to re-enter the MLB Draft in 2014\n\n2012 team\nCoach of the Year: Nick Day (Bishop Gorman High School, Las Vegas, NV)\n\n Kaprelian did not sign with the Mariners, who drafted him with the 1211th pick of the 2012 draft in the 40th round. He chose instead to attend UCLA in the fall of 2012, and wasn't drafted by the New York Yankees in the first round of the MLB Draft in 2015.\n T. Hawkins did not sign with the Rays, who drafted him with the 392nd pick of the 2012 draft in the 12th round. He chose instead to attend Oklahoma in the fall of 2012, and will be eligible to re-enter the MLB Draft in 2015.\n Moore did not sign with the Yankees, who drafted him with the 787th pick of the 2012 draft in the 25th round. He chose instead to attend UCLA in the fall of 2012, and will be eligible to re-enter the MLB Draft in 2015.\n\nSee also\n\nABCA/Rawlings High School All-America Baseball Team\nUSA Today All-USA High School Basketball Team\nUSA Today All-USA High School Football Team\nUSA Today Minor League Player of the Year Award\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\nUSA Today Index Page\n\nBaseball trophies and awards in the United States\nHigh school baseball in the United States\nUSA Today\nAwards by newspapers\nAwards established in 1998",
"The 1992 Major League Baseball draft took place on June 1, 1992, through a conference call involving all 28 MLB teams of the time. Phil Nevin of Cal State Fullerton was the first overall selection, chosen by the Houston Astros. Derek Jeter, selected for the National Baseball Hall of Fame in January 2020, was selected by the New York Yankees with the sixth selection. In addition to Nevin, Paul Shuey, B. J. Wallace, Jeffrey Hammonds, and Chad Mottola were selected ahead of Jeter.\n\nBackground\nThe 1993 expansion Colorado Rockies and Florida Marlins participated in the MLB Draft for the first time in 1992.\n\nWith the first overall selections of the previous two drafts, Chipper Jones and Brien Taylor, receiving signing bonuses of $1.2 million ($ in current dollar terms) and $1.55 million ($ in current dollar terms) respectively, salary demands of new players became a factor in the 1992 draft. Prior to the draft, Jeffrey Hammonds of the Stanford Cardinal baseball team sought a signing bonus of $1.8 million ($ in current dollar terms). Derek Jeter, a high school player who had a commitment to play college baseball at the University of Michigan, was believed to be seeking a bonus of at least $1 million ($ in current dollar terms) to forego college.\n\nThe Astros, holding the first overall selection, were keenly aware of the bonus demands of Hammonds and Jeter, as they were unable to sign their first-round pick in the 1991 MLB draft, John Burke, who held out for a bonus of $500,000 ($ in current dollar terms) as the sixth overall selection. They selected Phil Nevin, the 1992 College World Series Most Outstanding Player, with the first overall selection. In addition to perceiving Nevin as close to MLB-ready, needing little development in minor league baseball, Nevin also did not seek a large signing bonus. He agreed to sign with the Astros for $700,000 ($ in current dollar terms). Astros' scout Hal Newhouser quit in protest, as he had insisted to Astros' management that they should choose Jeter.\n\nThe teams with the first four selections, the Astros, Cleveland Indians, Montreal Expos, and Baltimore Orioles, had the four lowest payrolls in MLB. The Cleveland Indians selected Paul Shuey out of the University of North Carolina with the second selection, who they projected could develop into a closer comparable to Rob Dibble. The Expos, who preferred Hammonds, drafted B. J. Wallace instead, as they were unable to afford Hammonds' salary demands. The Orioles selected Hammonds with the fourth overall selection; he signed with the Orioles for $975,000 ($ in current dollar terms), the largest signing bonus given out in the 1992 Draft. With the fifth pick, the Reds chose Chad Mottola from the University of Central Florida (UCF), making Mottola the first UCF athlete to be chosen in the first round of a professional sports draft. He signed with the Reds the day of the draft for $400,000 ($ in current dollar terms).\n\nYankees scout Dick Groch, assigned to scout in the Midwest, watched Jeter participate in an all-star camp held at Western Michigan University, and came away sold by Jeter's talent. Though the Yankees were also concerned that Jeter might attend college, Grouch convinced the team to select Jeter. Regarding the possibility Jeter would attend Michigan, Groch said \"the only place Derek Jeter's going is to Cooperstown\", referring to the home city of the Baseball Hall of Fame. Jeter signed with the Yankees for $800,000 ($ in current dollar terms).\n\nScott Boras advised Charles Johnson and Michael Tucker. Those players fell in the first round as their perceived salary demands were too high for many teams.\n\nFirst round selections\n\nSources: 1st Round of the 1992 MLB June Amateur Draft Baseball-Reference.com\n\nCompensation picks\n\nOther notable players\n\nJon Lieber, 2nd round, 44th overall by the Pittsburgh Pirates\nBob Wolcott, 2nd round, 52nd overall by the Seattle Mariners\nTodd Helton, 2nd round, 55th overall by the San Diego Padres, but did not sign\nJason Giambi, 2nd round, 58th overall by the Oakland Athletics\nJamie Howard, 2nd round, 59th overall by the Atlanta Braves\nChris Widger, 3rd round, 82nd overall by the Seattle Mariners\nChris Gomez, 3rd round, 84th overall by the Detroit Tigers\nDoug Mirabelli, 5th round, 131st overall by the San Francisco Giants\nJosé Vidro, 6th round, 155th overall by the Montreal Expos\nAaron Fultz, 6th round, 159th overall by the San Francisco Giants\nBill Simas, 6th round, 160th overall by the California Angels\nScott Karl, 6th round, 164th overall by the Milwaukee Brewers\nJamie Walker, 10th round, 265th overall by the Houston Astros\nFrank Catalanotto, 10th round, 280th overall by the Detroit Tigers\nScot McCloughan, 10th round, 289th overall by the Toronto Blue Jays\nCasey Blake, 11th round, 305th overall by the Philadelphia Phillies, but did not sign\nCraig Counsell, 11th round, 319th overall by the Colorado Rockies\nBobby Higginson, 12th round, 336th overall by the Detroit Tigers\nDoug Mientkiewicz, 12th round, 345th overall by the Toronto Blue Jays, but did not sign\nDarin Erstad, 13th round, 357th overall by the New York Mets, but did not sign\nMark Hendrickson, 13th round, 369th overall by the Atlanta Braves, but did not sign\nTodd Greene, 14th round, 391st overall by the St. Louis Cardinals\nJuan Acevedo, 14th round, 403rd overall by the Colorado Rockies\nScott Schoeneweis, 15th round, 407th overall by the Montreal Expos, but did not sign\nJosé Cruz, Jr., 15th round, 425th overall by the Atlanta Braves, but did not sign\nBubba Trammell, 15th round, 436th overall by the Baltimore Orioles, but did not sign\nBobby Bonds, Jr., 18th round, 505th overall by the San Diego Padres\nRyan Franklin, 23rd round, 642nd overall by the Seattle Mariners\nMike DeJean, 24th round, 662nd overall by the New York Yankees\nGeoff Jenkins, 24th round, 673rd overall by the San Diego Padres, but did not sign\nRich Aurilia, 24th round, 678th overall by the Texas Rangers\nQuinton McCracken, 25th round, 711th overall by the Colorado Rockies\nMark Brandenburg, 26th round by the Texas Rangers\nMatt Morris, 26th round, 724th overall by the Milwaukee Brewers, but did not sign\nBrendan Donnelly, 27th round, 764th overall by the Chicago White Sox\nJoe McEwing, 28th round, 783rd overall by the St. Louis Cardinals\nBob Howry, 29th round, 797th overall by the Houston Astros, but did not sign\nRaúl Ibañez, 36th round, 1006th overall by the Seattle Mariners\nT. J. Mathews, 36th round, 1007th overall by the St. Louis Cardinals\nGary Matthews, Jr., 38th round, 1074th overall by the Minnesota Twins, but did not sign\nScott Sullivan, 39th round, 1088th overall by the Milwaukee Brewers, but did not sign\nMark Redman, 41st round, 1148th overall by the Detroit Tigers, but did not sign\nJermaine Dye, 43rd round, 1210th overall by the Texas Rangers, but did not sign\nRobert Fick, 45th round, 1264th overall by the Oakland Athletics, but did not sign\nTim Cossins, 45th round, 1267th overall by the Pittsburgh Pirates, but did not sign\nMike Lowell, 48th round, 1352nd overall by the Chicago White Sox, but did not sign\nMarvin Benard, 50th round, 1391st overall by the San Francisco Giants\n\nNBA players drafted\n Erick Strickland, 31st round, 880th overall by the Florida Marlins\n\nNFL players drafted \n John Lynch, 2nd round, 66th overall by the Florida Marlins\n Danan Hughes, 3rd round, 79th overall by the Milwaukee Brewers\n Robert Chancey, 6th round by the Baltimore Orioles\n Danny Kanell, 19th round, 528th overall by the Milwaukee Brewers, but did not sign\n Lawyer Milloy, 29th round, 798th overall by the Cleveland Indians, but did not sign\n Terrell Buckley, 38th round, 1069th overall by the Atlanta Braves\n Mark Brunell, 44th round, 1237th overall by the Atlanta Braves, but did not sign\n Bert Emanuel, 49th round, 1379th overall by the Pittsburgh Pirates, but did not sign\n\nSee also\n\n List of first overall Major League Baseball draft picks\n\nExternal links\n Complete draft list from The Baseball Cube database\n\nReferences\n\nMajor League Baseball Draft, 1992\nMajor League Baseball draft"
] |
[
"Women in Syria",
"Federation of Northern Syria - Rojava"
] | C_86032edaa18549ff92e85a8f4e7eefe4_0 | What is the federation of Norther Syria? | 1 | What is the federation of Norther Syria? | Women in Syria | With the Syrian Civil War, the Kurdish populated area in Northern Syria has gained de facto autonomy as the Federation of Northern Syria - Rojava, with the leading political actor being the progressive Democratic Union Party (PYD). Kurdish women have several armed and non-armed organizations in Rojava, and enhancing women's rights is a major focus of the political and societal agenda. Kurdish female fighters in the Women's Protection Units (YPJ) played a key role during the Siege of Kobani and in rescuing Yazidis trapped on Mount Sinjar, and their achievements have attracted international attention as a rare example of strong female achievement in a region in which women are heavily repressed. The civil laws of Syria are valid in Rojava, as far as they do not conflict with the Constitution of Rojava. One notable example for amendment is personal status law, in Syria still Sharia-based, where Rojava introduced civil law and proclaims absolute equality of women under the law and a ban on forced marriage as well as polygamy was introduced, while underage marriage was outlawed as well. For the first time in Syrian history, civil marriage is being allowed and promoted, a significant move towards a secular open society and intermarriage between people of different religious backgrounds. The legal efforts to reduce cases of underage marriage, polygamy and honor killings are underpinned by comprehensive public awareness campaigns. In every town and village, a women's house is established. These are community centers run by women, providing services to survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault and other forms of harm. These services include counseling, family mediation, legal support, and coordinating safe houses for women and children. Classes on economic independence and social empowerment programs are also held at women's houses. All administrative organs in Rojava are required to have male and female co-chairs, and forty percent of the members of any governing body in Rojava must be female. An estimated 25 percent of the Asayish police force of the Rojava cantons are women, and joining the Asayish is described in international media as a huge act of personal and societal liberation from an extremely patriarchical background, for ethnic Kurdish and ethnic Arab women alike. The PYD's political agenda of "trying to break the honor-based religious and tribal rules that confine women" is controversial in conservative quarters of society. CANNOTANSWER | With the Syrian Civil War, the Kurdish populated area in Northern Syria has gained de facto autonomy as the Federation of Northern Syria | Women in Syria constitute 49.4% of Syria's population, and are active participants not only in everyday life, but also in the socio-political fields.
History
In the 20th century a movement for women's rights developed in Syria, made up largely of upper-class, educated women. In 1919, Naziq al-Abid founded Noor al-Fayha (Light of Damascus), the city's first women's organization, alongside an affiliated publication of the same name. She was made an honorary general of the Syrian Army after fighting in the Battle of Maysaloun, and in 1922 she founded the Syrian Red Crescent. In 1928 Lebanese-Syrian feminist Nazira Zain al-Din, one of the first people to critically reinterpret the Quran from a feminist perspective, published a book condemning the practice of veiling or hijab, arguing that Islam requires women to be treated equally with men. In 1930, the First Eastern Women's Congress was hosted in Damascus.
In 1963 the Ba'ath Party took power in Syria, and pledged full equality between women and men as well as full workforce participation for women.
In 1967 Syrian women formed a quasi-governmental organization called the General Union of Syrian Women (GUSW), a coalition of women's welfare societies, educational associations, and voluntary councils intended to achieve equal opportunity for women in Syria.
The year 2011 marked the beginning of the Syrian Civil War, where many civilians have fallen victim to attacks targeted at hospitals, schools, and infrastructure. Extremist rebel groups, such as Jabhat al-Nusra and ISIS, have enforced strict policies restricting freedoms of women in territories they control.
After the outbreak of civil war, some Syrian women have joined all-female brigade units in the Syrian Arab Army, the Democratic Union Party, and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, taking on roles such as snipers, frontline units, or police.
Legal rights
While Syria has developed some fairly secular features during independence in the second half of the 20th century, personal status law is still based on Sharia and applied by Sharia Courts. Syria has a dual legal system which includes both secular and religious courts. Marriage contracts are between the groom and the bride's father, and Syrian law does not recognize the concept of marital rape.
Syrian women are legally allowed to participate in everyday life, although they are not guaranteed a spot in being part of political, social, cultural and economic categories. The legal marriage for females in Syria is seventeen years old and eighteen for males. Women are technically allowed to have a say in what the agreements are between them and the groom. Although, since this contract has to be signed by the groom and the male guardian of the bride, her wishes are rarely met. On the other hand, of marriage, the divorce laws are unique in Syria. Women are in fact allowed to file for divorce except it is a long drawn out process and she must get consent from her husband. There are some circumstances in which the woman can apply for a divorce through the judicial system. In order to do this, she must prove that her husband has abused her or neglected his other duties as a husband. If a man wants to divorce a woman, all he has to do is go to court and orally demand a divorce three times, then the court will order him a divorce.
Education
The early schooling in Syria starts at six years old and ends at the age of eighteen. In Syrian universities, women and men attend the same classes. Between 1970 and the late 1990s, the female population in schools dramatically increased. This increase included the early school years, along with the upper-level schools such as universities and higher education. Although the number of women has increased, there are still ninety five women to every one hundred men. Although many women start going to school, the dropout rate for women is much higher than for men.
The literacy rate for women is 74.2 percent and 91 percent for men. The rate of females over 25 with secondary education is 29.0 percent.
Politics
In Syria, women in Syria were first allowed to vote and received universal suffrage in 1953. In the 1950s, Thuraya Al-Hafez ran for Parliament, but was not elected. By 1971, women held four out of the 173 seats.
The current president of Syria is a male. There are also two vice presidents (including female vice president Najah al-Attar since 2006), a prime minister and a cabinet. As of 2012, in the national parliament men held 88% of the seats while women held 12%. The Syrian Parliament was previously led by female Speaker Hadiya Khalaf Abbas, the first woman to have held that position.
President Assad's political and media adviser is Bouthaina Shaaban. Shaaban served as the first Minister of Expatriates for the Syrian Arab Republic, between 2003 and 2008, and she has been described as the Syrian government's face to the outside world.
Of the civil society representatives among the 150 members of the Syrian Constitutional Committee, which was assembled in 2019 by the Syria Envoy of the United Nations, Syrian women comprise around 30%. Several renowned Syrian women, such as academic Bassma Kodmani, Sabah Hallak of the Syrian Women's League, the law professor Amal Yazji or the judge Iman Shahoud, sit on the committee's influential 'Small' or Drafting Body.
Role in economy and in the military
In 1989 the Syrian government passed a law requiring factories and public institutions to provide on-site childcare.
However, women's involvement in the workforce is low; according to World Bank, as of 2014, women made up 16.4% of the labor force.
Women are not conscripted in the military, but may serve voluntarily. The female militias of Syria are trained to fight for the Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad. A video was found dating back to the 1980s with female soldiers showing their pride and protectiveness toward Assad's father. "Because women are rarely involved in the armed side of the revolution, they are much less likely to get stopped, searched, or hassled at government checkpoints. This has proved crucial in distributing humanitarian aid throughout Syria."
Women's health
Between 2010 and 2015, the average life expectancy at birth for women in Syria is 77.7 years, compared with 74.5 years for men.
Impact of the conflict on Syria's women
Since the conflict erupted in 2011, women in Syria, namely in conflict zones, have been facing violence, sexual assault, forced displacement, detension, domestic violence, child marriage and other violations of their rights.
During the years of conflict, insecurity and the economic collapse significantly increased the vulnerability of women and girls. In addition, many girls were left without schooling or access to healthcare services. The enrolment rate for primary education was 61% in 2013, with 61.1% of the total number being female, while for secondary education, the rate was 44% in 2013 - 43.8% for female.
In 2015, the United Nations gathered evidence of systematic sexual assault of women and girls by combatants in Syria, and this was escalated by the Islamic State (ISIL) and other terrorist organizations.
Crime against women
Honor killings
Honor killings take place in Syria in situations where women are deemed to have brought shame to the family, affecting the family's 'reputation' in the community. Some estimates suggest that more than 200 honor killings occur every year in Syria.
Forced and child marriage
The conflict in Syria has led to an increase in child marriages. The harsh living conditions, the insecurity, and the fear of rape, have led families to force their daughters into early marriages.
As a result of early marriage, many girls in Syria are forbidden from completing their studies because when a girl is married she is only expected to be a good wife and a good mother as well. Child marriage can influence physical and mental health badly. Physical damage can be related to child bearing specially for women under 18 years old and the possibility for not being able to give birth later in life, and in extreme cases it can lead to death. Psychological factors can be defined as difficulties in interacting with the husband or not having enough awareness about marriage life and its responsibilities.
Domestic Violence
A study covering the low-income women in Aleppo, an area where domestic abuse is more likely due to the tribal nature of the area, shows that physical abuse (battering at least 3 times in the last year) was found in 23% of the investigated women in 2003, 26% amongst married women. Regular abuse (battering at least once weekly) was found in 3.3% of married women, with no regular abused reported by non-married women. The prevalence of physical abuse amongst country residents was 44.3% compared to 18.8% amongst city residents. In most cases (87.4%) the abuse was inflicted by the husband, and in 9.5% of cases, the abuse was inflicted by more than one person. Correlates of physical abuse were women's education, religion, age, marital status, economic status, mental distress, smoking and residence.
Federation of Northern Syria - Rojava
With the Syrian Civil War, the Kurdish populated area in Northern Syria has gained de facto autonomy as the Federation of Northern Syria - Rojava, with the leading political actor being the progressive Democratic Union Party (PYD). Kurdish women have several armed and non-armed organizations in Rojava, and enhancing women's rights is a major focus of the political and societal agenda. Kurdish female fighters in the Women's Protection Units (YPJ) played a key role during the Siege of Kobani and in rescuing Yazidis trapped on Mount Sinjar, and their achievements have attracted international attention as a rare example of strong female achievement in a region in which women are heavily repressed.
The civil laws of Syria are valid in Rojava, as far as they do not conflict with the Constitution of Rojava. One notable example for amendment is personal status law, in Syria still Sharia-based, where Rojava introduced civil law and proclaims absolute equality of women under the law and a ban on forced marriage as well as polygamy was introduced, while underage marriage was outlawed as well. For the first time in Syrian history, civil marriage is being allowed and promoted, a significant move towards a secular open society and intermarriage between people of different religious backgrounds.
The legal efforts to reduce cases of underage marriage, polygamy and honor killings are underpinned by comprehensive public awareness campaigns. In every town and village, a women's house is established. These are community centers run by women, providing services to survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault and other forms of harm. These services include counseling, family mediation, legal support, and coordinating safe houses for women and children. Classes on economic independence and social empowerment programs are also held at women's houses.
All administrative organs in Rojava are required to have male and female co-chairs, and forty percent of the members of any governing body in Rojava must be female. An estimated 25 percent of the Asayish police force of the Rojava cantons are women, and joining the Asayish is described in international media as a huge act of personal and societal liberation from an extremely patriarchical background, for ethnic Kurdish and ethnic Arab women alike.
The PYD's political agenda of "trying to break the honor-based religious and tribal rules that confine women" is controversial in conservative quarters of society.
Notable women
Hadiya Khalaf Abbas, Speaker of the People's Council of Syria (since 2016).
Asya Abdullah is the co-chairwoman of the Democratic Union Party (PYD), the leading political party in Rojava.
Asma al-Assad, the First Lady of Syria and the wife of the current President Assad
Najah al-Attar, Vice President of Syria (since 2006).
Randa Kassis, President of The Astana Platform of the Syrian opposition.
Suheir Atassi, Vice President of the opposition government.
Samar Al Dayyoub, literary critic and writer
Khawla Dunia, opposition activist and poet
Îlham Ehmed is co-chairwoman of the Syrian Democratic Council.
Hêvî Îbrahîm is the prime minister of Afrin Canton.
Samira Khalil, dissident
Ulfat Idilbi, best-selling Arabic-language novelist.
Assala Nasri is a musical artist
Souad Nawfal, opposition activist and schoolteacher.
Rasha Omran, poet
Bouthaina Shaaban, Bashar al-Assad's political adviser and previous Minister of Expatriates
Muna Wassef, theater, television, and film actress.
Hediya Yousef is an ex-guerilla and co-chairwoman of the executive committee of the Federation of Northern Syria – Rojava.
Razan Zaitouneh, human rights lawyer and activist.
References
External links
Survey: Discrimination against Women in Syrian Society (I/II). Awareness of Women Rights and Freedoms, The Day After Association, August 2017
Survey: Discrimination Against Women in Syrian Society (II/II): Perception of Domestic Violence, The Day After Association, August 2017
Asian women | true | [
"Heikki Saari (alias \"Mörkö\", \"kermis\" or \"kmn\") (born on 8 September 1984 and originating from Veteli, Finland) is the current drummer for Whorion and Finntroll. He is also the live drummer for Tuoni and former drummer of Norther and Amberian Dawn. He started playing drums around 1987 and influences include Scarve, Opeth, Soilwork, Ensiferum, Disarmonia Mundi, Dream Theater, Meshuggah, Annihilator, Deathchain, Hate Eternal, Rotten Sound, Rytmihäiriö, Sevendust, and Wintersun.\n\nDiscography\n\nwith Whorion\nFall of Atlas\nThe Reign Of The Seventh Sector\n\nwith Norther\nFrozen Angel (single for the movie Vares 2: Jäätynyt Enkeli)\nNo Way Back EP\nN\n\nwith Finntroll \nVredesvävd\n\nwith Virtuocity\n(Played under the pseudonym Joey Edith)\nNorthern Twilight Symphony\n\nwith Atheme One\n\nAtheme One has recorded a four-song promotional EP and two songs, titled \"Dreamchaser\" and \"World of Insanity\", are available for download. Currently band is not working anymore under this title, but under name of Amberian Dawn with a different drummer as Heikki left the band at the end of 2006.\n\nSession Work\nHeikki was recruited by Scottish metal band Hellbound, along with Aleksi Sihvonen from Norther, on their debut EP.\n\nSince 2017, he has been the live session drummer for Wintersun.\n\nExternal links\nWhorion website\nHeikki's Youtube channel\nOfficial Norther website\nOfficial Norther MySpace -profile\nEndlessWar, an extensive fansite\nOfficial Amberian Dawn website\n NORTHER - the Finnish Breeze fansite\nRussian Norther Fansite\nOfficial hellhole of Heikki Saari\n\nReferences / Notes\nAll of the information in this article was compiled from information on the Official Norther website, the Official Norther Forum, and the EndlessWar member information page. Photo found at Spinefarm Records press area.\n\n1984 births\nPeople from Hyvinkää\nLiving people\nFinnish heavy metal drummers\nAmberian Dawn members\n21st-century drummers\nNorther members\nFinntroll members",
"The Syrian Arab Handball Federation (SAHF) is the administrative and controlling body for handball in Syrian Arab Republic. SAHF is a member of the Asian Handball Federation (AHF) and member of the International Handball Federation (IHF) since 1962.\n\nNational teams\n Syria men's national handball team\n Syria women's national handball team\n\nCompetitions hosted\n 1994 Asian Men's Junior Handball Championship\n 1988 Asian Men's Junior Handball Championship\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n Syria at the IHF website.\n Syria at the AHF website.\n\nSports organizations established in 1961\n1961 establishments in Syria\nHandball governing bodies\nHandball in Syria\nSports governing bodies in Syria\nAsian Handball Federation\nNational members of the International Handball Federation"
] |
[
"Women in Syria",
"Federation of Northern Syria - Rojava",
"What is the federation of Norther Syria?",
"With the Syrian Civil War, the Kurdish populated area in Northern Syria has gained de facto autonomy as the Federation of Northern Syria"
] | C_86032edaa18549ff92e85a8f4e7eefe4_0 | What is Rojava? | 2 | What is Rojava? | Women in Syria | With the Syrian Civil War, the Kurdish populated area in Northern Syria has gained de facto autonomy as the Federation of Northern Syria - Rojava, with the leading political actor being the progressive Democratic Union Party (PYD). Kurdish women have several armed and non-armed organizations in Rojava, and enhancing women's rights is a major focus of the political and societal agenda. Kurdish female fighters in the Women's Protection Units (YPJ) played a key role during the Siege of Kobani and in rescuing Yazidis trapped on Mount Sinjar, and their achievements have attracted international attention as a rare example of strong female achievement in a region in which women are heavily repressed. The civil laws of Syria are valid in Rojava, as far as they do not conflict with the Constitution of Rojava. One notable example for amendment is personal status law, in Syria still Sharia-based, where Rojava introduced civil law and proclaims absolute equality of women under the law and a ban on forced marriage as well as polygamy was introduced, while underage marriage was outlawed as well. For the first time in Syrian history, civil marriage is being allowed and promoted, a significant move towards a secular open society and intermarriage between people of different religious backgrounds. The legal efforts to reduce cases of underage marriage, polygamy and honor killings are underpinned by comprehensive public awareness campaigns. In every town and village, a women's house is established. These are community centers run by women, providing services to survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault and other forms of harm. These services include counseling, family mediation, legal support, and coordinating safe houses for women and children. Classes on economic independence and social empowerment programs are also held at women's houses. All administrative organs in Rojava are required to have male and female co-chairs, and forty percent of the members of any governing body in Rojava must be female. An estimated 25 percent of the Asayish police force of the Rojava cantons are women, and joining the Asayish is described in international media as a huge act of personal and societal liberation from an extremely patriarchical background, for ethnic Kurdish and ethnic Arab women alike. The PYD's political agenda of "trying to break the honor-based religious and tribal rules that confine women" is controversial in conservative quarters of society. CANNOTANSWER | the Federation of Northern Syria - Rojava, | Women in Syria constitute 49.4% of Syria's population, and are active participants not only in everyday life, but also in the socio-political fields.
History
In the 20th century a movement for women's rights developed in Syria, made up largely of upper-class, educated women. In 1919, Naziq al-Abid founded Noor al-Fayha (Light of Damascus), the city's first women's organization, alongside an affiliated publication of the same name. She was made an honorary general of the Syrian Army after fighting in the Battle of Maysaloun, and in 1922 she founded the Syrian Red Crescent. In 1928 Lebanese-Syrian feminist Nazira Zain al-Din, one of the first people to critically reinterpret the Quran from a feminist perspective, published a book condemning the practice of veiling or hijab, arguing that Islam requires women to be treated equally with men. In 1930, the First Eastern Women's Congress was hosted in Damascus.
In 1963 the Ba'ath Party took power in Syria, and pledged full equality between women and men as well as full workforce participation for women.
In 1967 Syrian women formed a quasi-governmental organization called the General Union of Syrian Women (GUSW), a coalition of women's welfare societies, educational associations, and voluntary councils intended to achieve equal opportunity for women in Syria.
The year 2011 marked the beginning of the Syrian Civil War, where many civilians have fallen victim to attacks targeted at hospitals, schools, and infrastructure. Extremist rebel groups, such as Jabhat al-Nusra and ISIS, have enforced strict policies restricting freedoms of women in territories they control.
After the outbreak of civil war, some Syrian women have joined all-female brigade units in the Syrian Arab Army, the Democratic Union Party, and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, taking on roles such as snipers, frontline units, or police.
Legal rights
While Syria has developed some fairly secular features during independence in the second half of the 20th century, personal status law is still based on Sharia and applied by Sharia Courts. Syria has a dual legal system which includes both secular and religious courts. Marriage contracts are between the groom and the bride's father, and Syrian law does not recognize the concept of marital rape.
Syrian women are legally allowed to participate in everyday life, although they are not guaranteed a spot in being part of political, social, cultural and economic categories. The legal marriage for females in Syria is seventeen years old and eighteen for males. Women are technically allowed to have a say in what the agreements are between them and the groom. Although, since this contract has to be signed by the groom and the male guardian of the bride, her wishes are rarely met. On the other hand, of marriage, the divorce laws are unique in Syria. Women are in fact allowed to file for divorce except it is a long drawn out process and she must get consent from her husband. There are some circumstances in which the woman can apply for a divorce through the judicial system. In order to do this, she must prove that her husband has abused her or neglected his other duties as a husband. If a man wants to divorce a woman, all he has to do is go to court and orally demand a divorce three times, then the court will order him a divorce.
Education
The early schooling in Syria starts at six years old and ends at the age of eighteen. In Syrian universities, women and men attend the same classes. Between 1970 and the late 1990s, the female population in schools dramatically increased. This increase included the early school years, along with the upper-level schools such as universities and higher education. Although the number of women has increased, there are still ninety five women to every one hundred men. Although many women start going to school, the dropout rate for women is much higher than for men.
The literacy rate for women is 74.2 percent and 91 percent for men. The rate of females over 25 with secondary education is 29.0 percent.
Politics
In Syria, women in Syria were first allowed to vote and received universal suffrage in 1953. In the 1950s, Thuraya Al-Hafez ran for Parliament, but was not elected. By 1971, women held four out of the 173 seats.
The current president of Syria is a male. There are also two vice presidents (including female vice president Najah al-Attar since 2006), a prime minister and a cabinet. As of 2012, in the national parliament men held 88% of the seats while women held 12%. The Syrian Parliament was previously led by female Speaker Hadiya Khalaf Abbas, the first woman to have held that position.
President Assad's political and media adviser is Bouthaina Shaaban. Shaaban served as the first Minister of Expatriates for the Syrian Arab Republic, between 2003 and 2008, and she has been described as the Syrian government's face to the outside world.
Of the civil society representatives among the 150 members of the Syrian Constitutional Committee, which was assembled in 2019 by the Syria Envoy of the United Nations, Syrian women comprise around 30%. Several renowned Syrian women, such as academic Bassma Kodmani, Sabah Hallak of the Syrian Women's League, the law professor Amal Yazji or the judge Iman Shahoud, sit on the committee's influential 'Small' or Drafting Body.
Role in economy and in the military
In 1989 the Syrian government passed a law requiring factories and public institutions to provide on-site childcare.
However, women's involvement in the workforce is low; according to World Bank, as of 2014, women made up 16.4% of the labor force.
Women are not conscripted in the military, but may serve voluntarily. The female militias of Syria are trained to fight for the Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad. A video was found dating back to the 1980s with female soldiers showing their pride and protectiveness toward Assad's father. "Because women are rarely involved in the armed side of the revolution, they are much less likely to get stopped, searched, or hassled at government checkpoints. This has proved crucial in distributing humanitarian aid throughout Syria."
Women's health
Between 2010 and 2015, the average life expectancy at birth for women in Syria is 77.7 years, compared with 74.5 years for men.
Impact of the conflict on Syria's women
Since the conflict erupted in 2011, women in Syria, namely in conflict zones, have been facing violence, sexual assault, forced displacement, detension, domestic violence, child marriage and other violations of their rights.
During the years of conflict, insecurity and the economic collapse significantly increased the vulnerability of women and girls. In addition, many girls were left without schooling or access to healthcare services. The enrolment rate for primary education was 61% in 2013, with 61.1% of the total number being female, while for secondary education, the rate was 44% in 2013 - 43.8% for female.
In 2015, the United Nations gathered evidence of systematic sexual assault of women and girls by combatants in Syria, and this was escalated by the Islamic State (ISIL) and other terrorist organizations.
Crime against women
Honor killings
Honor killings take place in Syria in situations where women are deemed to have brought shame to the family, affecting the family's 'reputation' in the community. Some estimates suggest that more than 200 honor killings occur every year in Syria.
Forced and child marriage
The conflict in Syria has led to an increase in child marriages. The harsh living conditions, the insecurity, and the fear of rape, have led families to force their daughters into early marriages.
As a result of early marriage, many girls in Syria are forbidden from completing their studies because when a girl is married she is only expected to be a good wife and a good mother as well. Child marriage can influence physical and mental health badly. Physical damage can be related to child bearing specially for women under 18 years old and the possibility for not being able to give birth later in life, and in extreme cases it can lead to death. Psychological factors can be defined as difficulties in interacting with the husband or not having enough awareness about marriage life and its responsibilities.
Domestic Violence
A study covering the low-income women in Aleppo, an area where domestic abuse is more likely due to the tribal nature of the area, shows that physical abuse (battering at least 3 times in the last year) was found in 23% of the investigated women in 2003, 26% amongst married women. Regular abuse (battering at least once weekly) was found in 3.3% of married women, with no regular abused reported by non-married women. The prevalence of physical abuse amongst country residents was 44.3% compared to 18.8% amongst city residents. In most cases (87.4%) the abuse was inflicted by the husband, and in 9.5% of cases, the abuse was inflicted by more than one person. Correlates of physical abuse were women's education, religion, age, marital status, economic status, mental distress, smoking and residence.
Federation of Northern Syria - Rojava
With the Syrian Civil War, the Kurdish populated area in Northern Syria has gained de facto autonomy as the Federation of Northern Syria - Rojava, with the leading political actor being the progressive Democratic Union Party (PYD). Kurdish women have several armed and non-armed organizations in Rojava, and enhancing women's rights is a major focus of the political and societal agenda. Kurdish female fighters in the Women's Protection Units (YPJ) played a key role during the Siege of Kobani and in rescuing Yazidis trapped on Mount Sinjar, and their achievements have attracted international attention as a rare example of strong female achievement in a region in which women are heavily repressed.
The civil laws of Syria are valid in Rojava, as far as they do not conflict with the Constitution of Rojava. One notable example for amendment is personal status law, in Syria still Sharia-based, where Rojava introduced civil law and proclaims absolute equality of women under the law and a ban on forced marriage as well as polygamy was introduced, while underage marriage was outlawed as well. For the first time in Syrian history, civil marriage is being allowed and promoted, a significant move towards a secular open society and intermarriage between people of different religious backgrounds.
The legal efforts to reduce cases of underage marriage, polygamy and honor killings are underpinned by comprehensive public awareness campaigns. In every town and village, a women's house is established. These are community centers run by women, providing services to survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault and other forms of harm. These services include counseling, family mediation, legal support, and coordinating safe houses for women and children. Classes on economic independence and social empowerment programs are also held at women's houses.
All administrative organs in Rojava are required to have male and female co-chairs, and forty percent of the members of any governing body in Rojava must be female. An estimated 25 percent of the Asayish police force of the Rojava cantons are women, and joining the Asayish is described in international media as a huge act of personal and societal liberation from an extremely patriarchical background, for ethnic Kurdish and ethnic Arab women alike.
The PYD's political agenda of "trying to break the honor-based religious and tribal rules that confine women" is controversial in conservative quarters of society.
Notable women
Hadiya Khalaf Abbas, Speaker of the People's Council of Syria (since 2016).
Asya Abdullah is the co-chairwoman of the Democratic Union Party (PYD), the leading political party in Rojava.
Asma al-Assad, the First Lady of Syria and the wife of the current President Assad
Najah al-Attar, Vice President of Syria (since 2006).
Randa Kassis, President of The Astana Platform of the Syrian opposition.
Suheir Atassi, Vice President of the opposition government.
Samar Al Dayyoub, literary critic and writer
Khawla Dunia, opposition activist and poet
Îlham Ehmed is co-chairwoman of the Syrian Democratic Council.
Hêvî Îbrahîm is the prime minister of Afrin Canton.
Samira Khalil, dissident
Ulfat Idilbi, best-selling Arabic-language novelist.
Assala Nasri is a musical artist
Souad Nawfal, opposition activist and schoolteacher.
Rasha Omran, poet
Bouthaina Shaaban, Bashar al-Assad's political adviser and previous Minister of Expatriates
Muna Wassef, theater, television, and film actress.
Hediya Yousef is an ex-guerilla and co-chairwoman of the executive committee of the Federation of Northern Syria – Rojava.
Razan Zaitouneh, human rights lawyer and activist.
References
External links
Survey: Discrimination against Women in Syrian Society (I/II). Awareness of Women Rights and Freedoms, The Day After Association, August 2017
Survey: Discrimination Against Women in Syrian Society (II/II): Perception of Domestic Violence, The Day After Association, August 2017
Asian women | true | [
"The Rojava Information Center (RIC) () is a news agency in Syria. Its headquarters are located in Qamishli. It was founded by foreign volunteers in Rojava (Thomas McClure, Joan Garcia, Koni Docolomansky and Chloé Troadec) in reaction to the December 2018 announcement of US president Donald Trump of a US military withdrawal from Rojava. The project creators were worried there might be another war and in their perception there was little foreign media present at the time. During the Turkish invasion of Afrin, the RIC began to provide information to a wide range of foreign reporters.\n\nThe aim of the RIC is to provide foreign journalists with information from the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (NES), better known as Rojava.\n\nRojava Information Center describes Rojava as \"An organization which follows path of socialist revolutionary named Abdullah Öcalan\" who is the founder of PKK.\n\nReferences \n\nNews agencies based in Syria\nMass media in Syria",
"My Sunset-Land ROJAVA is the fifth solo album of the Kurdish Kamancheh player Shahriyar Jamshidi. This self-published project released in hard-copy and digital formats.\n\nMy Sunset-Land ROJAVA is a full-length instrumental album for Kamancheh consists of nine tracks - two composed music and seven improvisation music, based on micro-tonal West Asian from Kurdish region.\n\nMy Sunset-Land ROJAVA highlights the roles of women in revolutionary resistances in the western Kurdistan Rojava in recent years; the album is dedicated to women of Kurdistan who lost their life to free Rojava. The song Viyan is in memory of the Kurdish singer Viyan Peyman and track nine Tears Of Shingal commemorates the Sinjar massacre where hundreds of innocent people were sacrificed by ISIL.\n\nTrack listing\n\nPersonal\nShahriyar Jamshidi - Composition and Kamancheh\n L. Stuart Young - Recording & Mixing\n Fedge - Mastering\n Zehra Doğan – Artwork\n Jef Rabillon - Photographer \n Roxana Khoshravesh – Layout\n HÎra Çavken & Mitchell Fillion - Video\n\nReferences\n\nInstrumental albums\n2020 albums\nShahriyar Jamshidi albums\nWorld music albums"
] |
[
"Women in Syria",
"Federation of Northern Syria - Rojava",
"What is the federation of Norther Syria?",
"With the Syrian Civil War, the Kurdish populated area in Northern Syria has gained de facto autonomy as the Federation of Northern Syria",
"What is Rojava?",
"the Federation of Northern Syria - Rojava,"
] | C_86032edaa18549ff92e85a8f4e7eefe4_0 | Are there any other interesting aspects about this article? | 3 | Besides Northern Syria gaining de facto autonomy, are there any other interesting aspects about this article? | Women in Syria | With the Syrian Civil War, the Kurdish populated area in Northern Syria has gained de facto autonomy as the Federation of Northern Syria - Rojava, with the leading political actor being the progressive Democratic Union Party (PYD). Kurdish women have several armed and non-armed organizations in Rojava, and enhancing women's rights is a major focus of the political and societal agenda. Kurdish female fighters in the Women's Protection Units (YPJ) played a key role during the Siege of Kobani and in rescuing Yazidis trapped on Mount Sinjar, and their achievements have attracted international attention as a rare example of strong female achievement in a region in which women are heavily repressed. The civil laws of Syria are valid in Rojava, as far as they do not conflict with the Constitution of Rojava. One notable example for amendment is personal status law, in Syria still Sharia-based, where Rojava introduced civil law and proclaims absolute equality of women under the law and a ban on forced marriage as well as polygamy was introduced, while underage marriage was outlawed as well. For the first time in Syrian history, civil marriage is being allowed and promoted, a significant move towards a secular open society and intermarriage between people of different religious backgrounds. The legal efforts to reduce cases of underage marriage, polygamy and honor killings are underpinned by comprehensive public awareness campaigns. In every town and village, a women's house is established. These are community centers run by women, providing services to survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault and other forms of harm. These services include counseling, family mediation, legal support, and coordinating safe houses for women and children. Classes on economic independence and social empowerment programs are also held at women's houses. All administrative organs in Rojava are required to have male and female co-chairs, and forty percent of the members of any governing body in Rojava must be female. An estimated 25 percent of the Asayish police force of the Rojava cantons are women, and joining the Asayish is described in international media as a huge act of personal and societal liberation from an extremely patriarchical background, for ethnic Kurdish and ethnic Arab women alike. The PYD's political agenda of "trying to break the honor-based religious and tribal rules that confine women" is controversial in conservative quarters of society. CANNOTANSWER | The civil laws of Syria are valid in Rojava, as far as they do not conflict with the Constitution of Rojava. | Women in Syria constitute 49.4% of Syria's population, and are active participants not only in everyday life, but also in the socio-political fields.
History
In the 20th century a movement for women's rights developed in Syria, made up largely of upper-class, educated women. In 1919, Naziq al-Abid founded Noor al-Fayha (Light of Damascus), the city's first women's organization, alongside an affiliated publication of the same name. She was made an honorary general of the Syrian Army after fighting in the Battle of Maysaloun, and in 1922 she founded the Syrian Red Crescent. In 1928 Lebanese-Syrian feminist Nazira Zain al-Din, one of the first people to critically reinterpret the Quran from a feminist perspective, published a book condemning the practice of veiling or hijab, arguing that Islam requires women to be treated equally with men. In 1930, the First Eastern Women's Congress was hosted in Damascus.
In 1963 the Ba'ath Party took power in Syria, and pledged full equality between women and men as well as full workforce participation for women.
In 1967 Syrian women formed a quasi-governmental organization called the General Union of Syrian Women (GUSW), a coalition of women's welfare societies, educational associations, and voluntary councils intended to achieve equal opportunity for women in Syria.
The year 2011 marked the beginning of the Syrian Civil War, where many civilians have fallen victim to attacks targeted at hospitals, schools, and infrastructure. Extremist rebel groups, such as Jabhat al-Nusra and ISIS, have enforced strict policies restricting freedoms of women in territories they control.
After the outbreak of civil war, some Syrian women have joined all-female brigade units in the Syrian Arab Army, the Democratic Union Party, and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, taking on roles such as snipers, frontline units, or police.
Legal rights
While Syria has developed some fairly secular features during independence in the second half of the 20th century, personal status law is still based on Sharia and applied by Sharia Courts. Syria has a dual legal system which includes both secular and religious courts. Marriage contracts are between the groom and the bride's father, and Syrian law does not recognize the concept of marital rape.
Syrian women are legally allowed to participate in everyday life, although they are not guaranteed a spot in being part of political, social, cultural and economic categories. The legal marriage for females in Syria is seventeen years old and eighteen for males. Women are technically allowed to have a say in what the agreements are between them and the groom. Although, since this contract has to be signed by the groom and the male guardian of the bride, her wishes are rarely met. On the other hand, of marriage, the divorce laws are unique in Syria. Women are in fact allowed to file for divorce except it is a long drawn out process and she must get consent from her husband. There are some circumstances in which the woman can apply for a divorce through the judicial system. In order to do this, she must prove that her husband has abused her or neglected his other duties as a husband. If a man wants to divorce a woman, all he has to do is go to court and orally demand a divorce three times, then the court will order him a divorce.
Education
The early schooling in Syria starts at six years old and ends at the age of eighteen. In Syrian universities, women and men attend the same classes. Between 1970 and the late 1990s, the female population in schools dramatically increased. This increase included the early school years, along with the upper-level schools such as universities and higher education. Although the number of women has increased, there are still ninety five women to every one hundred men. Although many women start going to school, the dropout rate for women is much higher than for men.
The literacy rate for women is 74.2 percent and 91 percent for men. The rate of females over 25 with secondary education is 29.0 percent.
Politics
In Syria, women in Syria were first allowed to vote and received universal suffrage in 1953. In the 1950s, Thuraya Al-Hafez ran for Parliament, but was not elected. By 1971, women held four out of the 173 seats.
The current president of Syria is a male. There are also two vice presidents (including female vice president Najah al-Attar since 2006), a prime minister and a cabinet. As of 2012, in the national parliament men held 88% of the seats while women held 12%. The Syrian Parliament was previously led by female Speaker Hadiya Khalaf Abbas, the first woman to have held that position.
President Assad's political and media adviser is Bouthaina Shaaban. Shaaban served as the first Minister of Expatriates for the Syrian Arab Republic, between 2003 and 2008, and she has been described as the Syrian government's face to the outside world.
Of the civil society representatives among the 150 members of the Syrian Constitutional Committee, which was assembled in 2019 by the Syria Envoy of the United Nations, Syrian women comprise around 30%. Several renowned Syrian women, such as academic Bassma Kodmani, Sabah Hallak of the Syrian Women's League, the law professor Amal Yazji or the judge Iman Shahoud, sit on the committee's influential 'Small' or Drafting Body.
Role in economy and in the military
In 1989 the Syrian government passed a law requiring factories and public institutions to provide on-site childcare.
However, women's involvement in the workforce is low; according to World Bank, as of 2014, women made up 16.4% of the labor force.
Women are not conscripted in the military, but may serve voluntarily. The female militias of Syria are trained to fight for the Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad. A video was found dating back to the 1980s with female soldiers showing their pride and protectiveness toward Assad's father. "Because women are rarely involved in the armed side of the revolution, they are much less likely to get stopped, searched, or hassled at government checkpoints. This has proved crucial in distributing humanitarian aid throughout Syria."
Women's health
Between 2010 and 2015, the average life expectancy at birth for women in Syria is 77.7 years, compared with 74.5 years for men.
Impact of the conflict on Syria's women
Since the conflict erupted in 2011, women in Syria, namely in conflict zones, have been facing violence, sexual assault, forced displacement, detension, domestic violence, child marriage and other violations of their rights.
During the years of conflict, insecurity and the economic collapse significantly increased the vulnerability of women and girls. In addition, many girls were left without schooling or access to healthcare services. The enrolment rate for primary education was 61% in 2013, with 61.1% of the total number being female, while for secondary education, the rate was 44% in 2013 - 43.8% for female.
In 2015, the United Nations gathered evidence of systematic sexual assault of women and girls by combatants in Syria, and this was escalated by the Islamic State (ISIL) and other terrorist organizations.
Crime against women
Honor killings
Honor killings take place in Syria in situations where women are deemed to have brought shame to the family, affecting the family's 'reputation' in the community. Some estimates suggest that more than 200 honor killings occur every year in Syria.
Forced and child marriage
The conflict in Syria has led to an increase in child marriages. The harsh living conditions, the insecurity, and the fear of rape, have led families to force their daughters into early marriages.
As a result of early marriage, many girls in Syria are forbidden from completing their studies because when a girl is married she is only expected to be a good wife and a good mother as well. Child marriage can influence physical and mental health badly. Physical damage can be related to child bearing specially for women under 18 years old and the possibility for not being able to give birth later in life, and in extreme cases it can lead to death. Psychological factors can be defined as difficulties in interacting with the husband or not having enough awareness about marriage life and its responsibilities.
Domestic Violence
A study covering the low-income women in Aleppo, an area where domestic abuse is more likely due to the tribal nature of the area, shows that physical abuse (battering at least 3 times in the last year) was found in 23% of the investigated women in 2003, 26% amongst married women. Regular abuse (battering at least once weekly) was found in 3.3% of married women, with no regular abused reported by non-married women. The prevalence of physical abuse amongst country residents was 44.3% compared to 18.8% amongst city residents. In most cases (87.4%) the abuse was inflicted by the husband, and in 9.5% of cases, the abuse was inflicted by more than one person. Correlates of physical abuse were women's education, religion, age, marital status, economic status, mental distress, smoking and residence.
Federation of Northern Syria - Rojava
With the Syrian Civil War, the Kurdish populated area in Northern Syria has gained de facto autonomy as the Federation of Northern Syria - Rojava, with the leading political actor being the progressive Democratic Union Party (PYD). Kurdish women have several armed and non-armed organizations in Rojava, and enhancing women's rights is a major focus of the political and societal agenda. Kurdish female fighters in the Women's Protection Units (YPJ) played a key role during the Siege of Kobani and in rescuing Yazidis trapped on Mount Sinjar, and their achievements have attracted international attention as a rare example of strong female achievement in a region in which women are heavily repressed.
The civil laws of Syria are valid in Rojava, as far as they do not conflict with the Constitution of Rojava. One notable example for amendment is personal status law, in Syria still Sharia-based, where Rojava introduced civil law and proclaims absolute equality of women under the law and a ban on forced marriage as well as polygamy was introduced, while underage marriage was outlawed as well. For the first time in Syrian history, civil marriage is being allowed and promoted, a significant move towards a secular open society and intermarriage between people of different religious backgrounds.
The legal efforts to reduce cases of underage marriage, polygamy and honor killings are underpinned by comprehensive public awareness campaigns. In every town and village, a women's house is established. These are community centers run by women, providing services to survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault and other forms of harm. These services include counseling, family mediation, legal support, and coordinating safe houses for women and children. Classes on economic independence and social empowerment programs are also held at women's houses.
All administrative organs in Rojava are required to have male and female co-chairs, and forty percent of the members of any governing body in Rojava must be female. An estimated 25 percent of the Asayish police force of the Rojava cantons are women, and joining the Asayish is described in international media as a huge act of personal and societal liberation from an extremely patriarchical background, for ethnic Kurdish and ethnic Arab women alike.
The PYD's political agenda of "trying to break the honor-based religious and tribal rules that confine women" is controversial in conservative quarters of society.
Notable women
Hadiya Khalaf Abbas, Speaker of the People's Council of Syria (since 2016).
Asya Abdullah is the co-chairwoman of the Democratic Union Party (PYD), the leading political party in Rojava.
Asma al-Assad, the First Lady of Syria and the wife of the current President Assad
Najah al-Attar, Vice President of Syria (since 2006).
Randa Kassis, President of The Astana Platform of the Syrian opposition.
Suheir Atassi, Vice President of the opposition government.
Samar Al Dayyoub, literary critic and writer
Khawla Dunia, opposition activist and poet
Îlham Ehmed is co-chairwoman of the Syrian Democratic Council.
Hêvî Îbrahîm is the prime minister of Afrin Canton.
Samira Khalil, dissident
Ulfat Idilbi, best-selling Arabic-language novelist.
Assala Nasri is a musical artist
Souad Nawfal, opposition activist and schoolteacher.
Rasha Omran, poet
Bouthaina Shaaban, Bashar al-Assad's political adviser and previous Minister of Expatriates
Muna Wassef, theater, television, and film actress.
Hediya Yousef is an ex-guerilla and co-chairwoman of the executive committee of the Federation of Northern Syria – Rojava.
Razan Zaitouneh, human rights lawyer and activist.
References
External links
Survey: Discrimination against Women in Syrian Society (I/II). Awareness of Women Rights and Freedoms, The Day After Association, August 2017
Survey: Discrimination Against Women in Syrian Society (II/II): Perception of Domestic Violence, The Day After Association, August 2017
Asian women | 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"
] |
[
"Women in Syria",
"Federation of Northern Syria - Rojava",
"What is the federation of Norther Syria?",
"With the Syrian Civil War, the Kurdish populated area in Northern Syria has gained de facto autonomy as the Federation of Northern Syria",
"What is Rojava?",
"the Federation of Northern Syria - Rojava,",
"Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?",
"The civil laws of Syria are valid in Rojava, as far as they do not conflict with the Constitution of Rojava."
] | C_86032edaa18549ff92e85a8f4e7eefe4_0 | Is Rojava separate from Syria? | 4 | Is Rojava separate from Syria? | Women in Syria | With the Syrian Civil War, the Kurdish populated area in Northern Syria has gained de facto autonomy as the Federation of Northern Syria - Rojava, with the leading political actor being the progressive Democratic Union Party (PYD). Kurdish women have several armed and non-armed organizations in Rojava, and enhancing women's rights is a major focus of the political and societal agenda. Kurdish female fighters in the Women's Protection Units (YPJ) played a key role during the Siege of Kobani and in rescuing Yazidis trapped on Mount Sinjar, and their achievements have attracted international attention as a rare example of strong female achievement in a region in which women are heavily repressed. The civil laws of Syria are valid in Rojava, as far as they do not conflict with the Constitution of Rojava. One notable example for amendment is personal status law, in Syria still Sharia-based, where Rojava introduced civil law and proclaims absolute equality of women under the law and a ban on forced marriage as well as polygamy was introduced, while underage marriage was outlawed as well. For the first time in Syrian history, civil marriage is being allowed and promoted, a significant move towards a secular open society and intermarriage between people of different religious backgrounds. The legal efforts to reduce cases of underage marriage, polygamy and honor killings are underpinned by comprehensive public awareness campaigns. In every town and village, a women's house is established. These are community centers run by women, providing services to survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault and other forms of harm. These services include counseling, family mediation, legal support, and coordinating safe houses for women and children. Classes on economic independence and social empowerment programs are also held at women's houses. All administrative organs in Rojava are required to have male and female co-chairs, and forty percent of the members of any governing body in Rojava must be female. An estimated 25 percent of the Asayish police force of the Rojava cantons are women, and joining the Asayish is described in international media as a huge act of personal and societal liberation from an extremely patriarchical background, for ethnic Kurdish and ethnic Arab women alike. The PYD's political agenda of "trying to break the honor-based religious and tribal rules that confine women" is controversial in conservative quarters of society. CANNOTANSWER | Federation of Northern Syria - Rojava, | Women in Syria constitute 49.4% of Syria's population, and are active participants not only in everyday life, but also in the socio-political fields.
History
In the 20th century a movement for women's rights developed in Syria, made up largely of upper-class, educated women. In 1919, Naziq al-Abid founded Noor al-Fayha (Light of Damascus), the city's first women's organization, alongside an affiliated publication of the same name. She was made an honorary general of the Syrian Army after fighting in the Battle of Maysaloun, and in 1922 she founded the Syrian Red Crescent. In 1928 Lebanese-Syrian feminist Nazira Zain al-Din, one of the first people to critically reinterpret the Quran from a feminist perspective, published a book condemning the practice of veiling or hijab, arguing that Islam requires women to be treated equally with men. In 1930, the First Eastern Women's Congress was hosted in Damascus.
In 1963 the Ba'ath Party took power in Syria, and pledged full equality between women and men as well as full workforce participation for women.
In 1967 Syrian women formed a quasi-governmental organization called the General Union of Syrian Women (GUSW), a coalition of women's welfare societies, educational associations, and voluntary councils intended to achieve equal opportunity for women in Syria.
The year 2011 marked the beginning of the Syrian Civil War, where many civilians have fallen victim to attacks targeted at hospitals, schools, and infrastructure. Extremist rebel groups, such as Jabhat al-Nusra and ISIS, have enforced strict policies restricting freedoms of women in territories they control.
After the outbreak of civil war, some Syrian women have joined all-female brigade units in the Syrian Arab Army, the Democratic Union Party, and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, taking on roles such as snipers, frontline units, or police.
Legal rights
While Syria has developed some fairly secular features during independence in the second half of the 20th century, personal status law is still based on Sharia and applied by Sharia Courts. Syria has a dual legal system which includes both secular and religious courts. Marriage contracts are between the groom and the bride's father, and Syrian law does not recognize the concept of marital rape.
Syrian women are legally allowed to participate in everyday life, although they are not guaranteed a spot in being part of political, social, cultural and economic categories. The legal marriage for females in Syria is seventeen years old and eighteen for males. Women are technically allowed to have a say in what the agreements are between them and the groom. Although, since this contract has to be signed by the groom and the male guardian of the bride, her wishes are rarely met. On the other hand, of marriage, the divorce laws are unique in Syria. Women are in fact allowed to file for divorce except it is a long drawn out process and she must get consent from her husband. There are some circumstances in which the woman can apply for a divorce through the judicial system. In order to do this, she must prove that her husband has abused her or neglected his other duties as a husband. If a man wants to divorce a woman, all he has to do is go to court and orally demand a divorce three times, then the court will order him a divorce.
Education
The early schooling in Syria starts at six years old and ends at the age of eighteen. In Syrian universities, women and men attend the same classes. Between 1970 and the late 1990s, the female population in schools dramatically increased. This increase included the early school years, along with the upper-level schools such as universities and higher education. Although the number of women has increased, there are still ninety five women to every one hundred men. Although many women start going to school, the dropout rate for women is much higher than for men.
The literacy rate for women is 74.2 percent and 91 percent for men. The rate of females over 25 with secondary education is 29.0 percent.
Politics
In Syria, women in Syria were first allowed to vote and received universal suffrage in 1953. In the 1950s, Thuraya Al-Hafez ran for Parliament, but was not elected. By 1971, women held four out of the 173 seats.
The current president of Syria is a male. There are also two vice presidents (including female vice president Najah al-Attar since 2006), a prime minister and a cabinet. As of 2012, in the national parliament men held 88% of the seats while women held 12%. The Syrian Parliament was previously led by female Speaker Hadiya Khalaf Abbas, the first woman to have held that position.
President Assad's political and media adviser is Bouthaina Shaaban. Shaaban served as the first Minister of Expatriates for the Syrian Arab Republic, between 2003 and 2008, and she has been described as the Syrian government's face to the outside world.
Of the civil society representatives among the 150 members of the Syrian Constitutional Committee, which was assembled in 2019 by the Syria Envoy of the United Nations, Syrian women comprise around 30%. Several renowned Syrian women, such as academic Bassma Kodmani, Sabah Hallak of the Syrian Women's League, the law professor Amal Yazji or the judge Iman Shahoud, sit on the committee's influential 'Small' or Drafting Body.
Role in economy and in the military
In 1989 the Syrian government passed a law requiring factories and public institutions to provide on-site childcare.
However, women's involvement in the workforce is low; according to World Bank, as of 2014, women made up 16.4% of the labor force.
Women are not conscripted in the military, but may serve voluntarily. The female militias of Syria are trained to fight for the Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad. A video was found dating back to the 1980s with female soldiers showing their pride and protectiveness toward Assad's father. "Because women are rarely involved in the armed side of the revolution, they are much less likely to get stopped, searched, or hassled at government checkpoints. This has proved crucial in distributing humanitarian aid throughout Syria."
Women's health
Between 2010 and 2015, the average life expectancy at birth for women in Syria is 77.7 years, compared with 74.5 years for men.
Impact of the conflict on Syria's women
Since the conflict erupted in 2011, women in Syria, namely in conflict zones, have been facing violence, sexual assault, forced displacement, detension, domestic violence, child marriage and other violations of their rights.
During the years of conflict, insecurity and the economic collapse significantly increased the vulnerability of women and girls. In addition, many girls were left without schooling or access to healthcare services. The enrolment rate for primary education was 61% in 2013, with 61.1% of the total number being female, while for secondary education, the rate was 44% in 2013 - 43.8% for female.
In 2015, the United Nations gathered evidence of systematic sexual assault of women and girls by combatants in Syria, and this was escalated by the Islamic State (ISIL) and other terrorist organizations.
Crime against women
Honor killings
Honor killings take place in Syria in situations where women are deemed to have brought shame to the family, affecting the family's 'reputation' in the community. Some estimates suggest that more than 200 honor killings occur every year in Syria.
Forced and child marriage
The conflict in Syria has led to an increase in child marriages. The harsh living conditions, the insecurity, and the fear of rape, have led families to force their daughters into early marriages.
As a result of early marriage, many girls in Syria are forbidden from completing their studies because when a girl is married she is only expected to be a good wife and a good mother as well. Child marriage can influence physical and mental health badly. Physical damage can be related to child bearing specially for women under 18 years old and the possibility for not being able to give birth later in life, and in extreme cases it can lead to death. Psychological factors can be defined as difficulties in interacting with the husband or not having enough awareness about marriage life and its responsibilities.
Domestic Violence
A study covering the low-income women in Aleppo, an area where domestic abuse is more likely due to the tribal nature of the area, shows that physical abuse (battering at least 3 times in the last year) was found in 23% of the investigated women in 2003, 26% amongst married women. Regular abuse (battering at least once weekly) was found in 3.3% of married women, with no regular abused reported by non-married women. The prevalence of physical abuse amongst country residents was 44.3% compared to 18.8% amongst city residents. In most cases (87.4%) the abuse was inflicted by the husband, and in 9.5% of cases, the abuse was inflicted by more than one person. Correlates of physical abuse were women's education, religion, age, marital status, economic status, mental distress, smoking and residence.
Federation of Northern Syria - Rojava
With the Syrian Civil War, the Kurdish populated area in Northern Syria has gained de facto autonomy as the Federation of Northern Syria - Rojava, with the leading political actor being the progressive Democratic Union Party (PYD). Kurdish women have several armed and non-armed organizations in Rojava, and enhancing women's rights is a major focus of the political and societal agenda. Kurdish female fighters in the Women's Protection Units (YPJ) played a key role during the Siege of Kobani and in rescuing Yazidis trapped on Mount Sinjar, and their achievements have attracted international attention as a rare example of strong female achievement in a region in which women are heavily repressed.
The civil laws of Syria are valid in Rojava, as far as they do not conflict with the Constitution of Rojava. One notable example for amendment is personal status law, in Syria still Sharia-based, where Rojava introduced civil law and proclaims absolute equality of women under the law and a ban on forced marriage as well as polygamy was introduced, while underage marriage was outlawed as well. For the first time in Syrian history, civil marriage is being allowed and promoted, a significant move towards a secular open society and intermarriage between people of different religious backgrounds.
The legal efforts to reduce cases of underage marriage, polygamy and honor killings are underpinned by comprehensive public awareness campaigns. In every town and village, a women's house is established. These are community centers run by women, providing services to survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault and other forms of harm. These services include counseling, family mediation, legal support, and coordinating safe houses for women and children. Classes on economic independence and social empowerment programs are also held at women's houses.
All administrative organs in Rojava are required to have male and female co-chairs, and forty percent of the members of any governing body in Rojava must be female. An estimated 25 percent of the Asayish police force of the Rojava cantons are women, and joining the Asayish is described in international media as a huge act of personal and societal liberation from an extremely patriarchical background, for ethnic Kurdish and ethnic Arab women alike.
The PYD's political agenda of "trying to break the honor-based religious and tribal rules that confine women" is controversial in conservative quarters of society.
Notable women
Hadiya Khalaf Abbas, Speaker of the People's Council of Syria (since 2016).
Asya Abdullah is the co-chairwoman of the Democratic Union Party (PYD), the leading political party in Rojava.
Asma al-Assad, the First Lady of Syria and the wife of the current President Assad
Najah al-Attar, Vice President of Syria (since 2006).
Randa Kassis, President of The Astana Platform of the Syrian opposition.
Suheir Atassi, Vice President of the opposition government.
Samar Al Dayyoub, literary critic and writer
Khawla Dunia, opposition activist and poet
Îlham Ehmed is co-chairwoman of the Syrian Democratic Council.
Hêvî Îbrahîm is the prime minister of Afrin Canton.
Samira Khalil, dissident
Ulfat Idilbi, best-selling Arabic-language novelist.
Assala Nasri is a musical artist
Souad Nawfal, opposition activist and schoolteacher.
Rasha Omran, poet
Bouthaina Shaaban, Bashar al-Assad's political adviser and previous Minister of Expatriates
Muna Wassef, theater, television, and film actress.
Hediya Yousef is an ex-guerilla and co-chairwoman of the executive committee of the Federation of Northern Syria – Rojava.
Razan Zaitouneh, human rights lawyer and activist.
References
External links
Survey: Discrimination against Women in Syrian Society (I/II). Awareness of Women Rights and Freedoms, The Day After Association, August 2017
Survey: Discrimination Against Women in Syrian Society (II/II): Perception of Domestic Violence, The Day After Association, August 2017
Asian women | true | [
"The Rojava Information Center (RIC) () is a news agency in Syria. Its headquarters are located in Qamishli. It was founded by foreign volunteers in Rojava (Thomas McClure, Joan Garcia, Koni Docolomansky and Chloé Troadec) in reaction to the December 2018 announcement of US president Donald Trump of a US military withdrawal from Rojava. The project creators were worried there might be another war and in their perception there was little foreign media present at the time. During the Turkish invasion of Afrin, the RIC began to provide information to a wide range of foreign reporters.\n\nThe aim of the RIC is to provide foreign journalists with information from the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (NES), better known as Rojava.\n\nRojava Information Center describes Rojava as \"An organization which follows path of socialist revolutionary named Abdullah Öcalan\" who is the founder of PKK.\n\nReferences \n\nNews agencies based in Syria\nMass media in Syria",
"Hediya Yousef (, ) is a Syrian-Kurdish politician who held the office of co-president of the Executive Council of Rojava from 17 March 2016 to 16 July 2018. Yousef is an ethnic Kurd, and served with fellow co-president Mansur Selum, an ethnic Arab.\n\nEarly life\n \nIn her twenties, Yousef, then a guerilla, had been imprisoned by the Assad government for two years in Damascus on charges of having been a member of a secret organization aiming to break up Syria.\n\nCo-presidency of Jazeera Canton\nYousef first held the office of co-president of Jazeera Canton in the northeast of the newly established Rojava federation. Yousef served as co-president with fellow co-president Humeydi Daham al-Hadi, an Arab tribal leader. Yousef's office was located in the former headquarters of the state-owned Syrian Petroleum Company in the oil-rich city of Rmelan, the city where the Rojava federation had been declared.\n\n\"Co-governance\" and Kurdish-Arab cooperation\n\nDuring her tenure as co-president, Yousef worked towards greater inter-sectarian cooperation particularly between Kurds and Arabs. The Rojava federation, Yousef said, \"is something beyond the nation-state. It's a place where all people, all minorities, and all genders are equally represented.\" Also during her tenure, Yousef pursued the policy of \"co-governance\" which, as she explained in an interview, ensures that \"every position at every level of government in Rojava . . . includes a female equivalent of equal authority.\"\n\nCo-presidency of the Rojava federation\nIn March 2016, Yousef was elected co-president of the Rojava federation. The federation covered about 16 percent of Syria's land area. In an interview upon her election, Yousef described the mission of the committee as creating \"a wider and more comprehensive system\" in the areas liberated from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) \"that [gives] rights to all the groups to represent themselves and to form their own administrations.\"\n\nReferring to the principle of co-governance's attempt to ensure that Syria is government so as to include the country's many ethnic groups (predominantly Arabs and Kurds), Abdulsalem Mohammed said that \"Hediya [Yousef] represents Rojava and [Mansur] Selam represents northern Syria.\" Mohammed, a Kurdish teacher and activist from Qamishli, added that \"This is based on the principle of our co-chair system and different nations, and equality between women and men.\"\n\n\"Democratic confederalism\" and Kurdish separatism\nIn addition to supporting the policy of \"co-governance,\" Yousef also supports the policy of \"democratic confederalism\" which honorary Group of Communities in Kurdistan leader Abdullah Ocalan wrote in 2005 was \"not a State system [but] the democratic system of a people without a State.\" Yousef has spoken in support of Western intervention in the Syrian civil war but, in line with her democratic confederalist beliefs, opposes intervention for the purposes of establishing a Kurdish state separate from Syria. \"We will not allow the fragmentation of Syria,\" she said in July 2016. \"We want the democratization of Syria.\"\n\nThe Unification of Rojava\nAs the Syrian civil war unfolded and the Rojava federation emerged, Yousef voiced her \"desire for Manbij [a city in the Governorate of Aleppo then occupied by ISIL forces] to be part of the democratic federal area [of Rojava] after its liberation.\" This was part of a wider campaign to unify the cantons of Rojava into a contiguous federation.\n\nEarly offensives\n\nThroughout June 2016, roughly three months after Yousef became co-president, U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) carried out a campaign to liberate the territories still held by ISIL in northern Syria and to unify the cantons. On June 10, less than a week after liberated eight surrounding villages and the Manbij Military Council cut off ISIL's supply route between Manbij and the de facto ISIL capital of Raqqa, the SDF captured the city of Osajli Ten days later, the SDF captured Arima.\n\nThe liberation of Manbij\n\nIn July 2016, roughly one and a half months after the launch of the Manbij offensive by the SDF during which Osajli, Arima, and other cities were captures, ISIL suffered heavy losses in the west and north of the city of Manbij despite repeated attempts to break the SDF siege. As ISIL's expulsion from the city neared, Yousef announced that Manbij, a city of strategic importance, would soon join the Rojava federation via a popular referendum. The incorporation of Manbij would be a significant step toward uniting the currently non-contiguous Rojava federation cantons of Afrin and Kobani.\n\nOn Thursday July 21, 2016, the Syrian Democratic Forces gave ISIL forces a 48-hour ultimatum to leave Manbij. ISIL refused the ultimatum, and clashes broke out on Friday. By Monday the 25th, the Manbij Military Council (MMC), aligned with the SDF, had gained control of a majority of the city. By August 5, the MMC had captured roughly 80 percent of the city. On August 6, Syrian Democratic Forces declares that they had gained \"almost complete control\" of the city. Manbij was liberated on August 15, 2016.\n\nThe al-Bab offensive\n\nShortly after the liberation of Manbij, the \"al-Bab Military Council\" was created for the planned offensive to liberate the city of Al-Bab from the ISIL.\n\nReferences\n\n21st-century Syrian women politicians\nDemocratic Union Party (Syria) politicians\nLiving people\nPeople of the Syrian civil war\nSyrian Kurdish politicians\nKurdish women in politics\nYear of birth missing (living people)"
] |
[
"Women in Syria",
"Federation of Northern Syria - Rojava",
"What is the federation of Norther Syria?",
"With the Syrian Civil War, the Kurdish populated area in Northern Syria has gained de facto autonomy as the Federation of Northern Syria",
"What is Rojava?",
"the Federation of Northern Syria - Rojava,",
"Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?",
"The civil laws of Syria are valid in Rojava, as far as they do not conflict with the Constitution of Rojava.",
"Is Rojava separate from Syria?",
"Federation of Northern Syria - Rojava,"
] | C_86032edaa18549ff92e85a8f4e7eefe4_0 | What is different about norther Syria? | 5 | What is different about norther Syria compared to Syria? | Women in Syria | With the Syrian Civil War, the Kurdish populated area in Northern Syria has gained de facto autonomy as the Federation of Northern Syria - Rojava, with the leading political actor being the progressive Democratic Union Party (PYD). Kurdish women have several armed and non-armed organizations in Rojava, and enhancing women's rights is a major focus of the political and societal agenda. Kurdish female fighters in the Women's Protection Units (YPJ) played a key role during the Siege of Kobani and in rescuing Yazidis trapped on Mount Sinjar, and their achievements have attracted international attention as a rare example of strong female achievement in a region in which women are heavily repressed. The civil laws of Syria are valid in Rojava, as far as they do not conflict with the Constitution of Rojava. One notable example for amendment is personal status law, in Syria still Sharia-based, where Rojava introduced civil law and proclaims absolute equality of women under the law and a ban on forced marriage as well as polygamy was introduced, while underage marriage was outlawed as well. For the first time in Syrian history, civil marriage is being allowed and promoted, a significant move towards a secular open society and intermarriage between people of different religious backgrounds. The legal efforts to reduce cases of underage marriage, polygamy and honor killings are underpinned by comprehensive public awareness campaigns. In every town and village, a women's house is established. These are community centers run by women, providing services to survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault and other forms of harm. These services include counseling, family mediation, legal support, and coordinating safe houses for women and children. Classes on economic independence and social empowerment programs are also held at women's houses. All administrative organs in Rojava are required to have male and female co-chairs, and forty percent of the members of any governing body in Rojava must be female. An estimated 25 percent of the Asayish police force of the Rojava cantons are women, and joining the Asayish is described in international media as a huge act of personal and societal liberation from an extremely patriarchical background, for ethnic Kurdish and ethnic Arab women alike. The PYD's political agenda of "trying to break the honor-based religious and tribal rules that confine women" is controversial in conservative quarters of society. CANNOTANSWER | Rojava, with the leading political actor being the progressive Democratic Union Party (PYD). | Women in Syria constitute 49.4% of Syria's population, and are active participants not only in everyday life, but also in the socio-political fields.
History
In the 20th century a movement for women's rights developed in Syria, made up largely of upper-class, educated women. In 1919, Naziq al-Abid founded Noor al-Fayha (Light of Damascus), the city's first women's organization, alongside an affiliated publication of the same name. She was made an honorary general of the Syrian Army after fighting in the Battle of Maysaloun, and in 1922 she founded the Syrian Red Crescent. In 1928 Lebanese-Syrian feminist Nazira Zain al-Din, one of the first people to critically reinterpret the Quran from a feminist perspective, published a book condemning the practice of veiling or hijab, arguing that Islam requires women to be treated equally with men. In 1930, the First Eastern Women's Congress was hosted in Damascus.
In 1963 the Ba'ath Party took power in Syria, and pledged full equality between women and men as well as full workforce participation for women.
In 1967 Syrian women formed a quasi-governmental organization called the General Union of Syrian Women (GUSW), a coalition of women's welfare societies, educational associations, and voluntary councils intended to achieve equal opportunity for women in Syria.
The year 2011 marked the beginning of the Syrian Civil War, where many civilians have fallen victim to attacks targeted at hospitals, schools, and infrastructure. Extremist rebel groups, such as Jabhat al-Nusra and ISIS, have enforced strict policies restricting freedoms of women in territories they control.
After the outbreak of civil war, some Syrian women have joined all-female brigade units in the Syrian Arab Army, the Democratic Union Party, and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, taking on roles such as snipers, frontline units, or police.
Legal rights
While Syria has developed some fairly secular features during independence in the second half of the 20th century, personal status law is still based on Sharia and applied by Sharia Courts. Syria has a dual legal system which includes both secular and religious courts. Marriage contracts are between the groom and the bride's father, and Syrian law does not recognize the concept of marital rape.
Syrian women are legally allowed to participate in everyday life, although they are not guaranteed a spot in being part of political, social, cultural and economic categories. The legal marriage for females in Syria is seventeen years old and eighteen for males. Women are technically allowed to have a say in what the agreements are between them and the groom. Although, since this contract has to be signed by the groom and the male guardian of the bride, her wishes are rarely met. On the other hand, of marriage, the divorce laws are unique in Syria. Women are in fact allowed to file for divorce except it is a long drawn out process and she must get consent from her husband. There are some circumstances in which the woman can apply for a divorce through the judicial system. In order to do this, she must prove that her husband has abused her or neglected his other duties as a husband. If a man wants to divorce a woman, all he has to do is go to court and orally demand a divorce three times, then the court will order him a divorce.
Education
The early schooling in Syria starts at six years old and ends at the age of eighteen. In Syrian universities, women and men attend the same classes. Between 1970 and the late 1990s, the female population in schools dramatically increased. This increase included the early school years, along with the upper-level schools such as universities and higher education. Although the number of women has increased, there are still ninety five women to every one hundred men. Although many women start going to school, the dropout rate for women is much higher than for men.
The literacy rate for women is 74.2 percent and 91 percent for men. The rate of females over 25 with secondary education is 29.0 percent.
Politics
In Syria, women in Syria were first allowed to vote and received universal suffrage in 1953. In the 1950s, Thuraya Al-Hafez ran for Parliament, but was not elected. By 1971, women held four out of the 173 seats.
The current president of Syria is a male. There are also two vice presidents (including female vice president Najah al-Attar since 2006), a prime minister and a cabinet. As of 2012, in the national parliament men held 88% of the seats while women held 12%. The Syrian Parliament was previously led by female Speaker Hadiya Khalaf Abbas, the first woman to have held that position.
President Assad's political and media adviser is Bouthaina Shaaban. Shaaban served as the first Minister of Expatriates for the Syrian Arab Republic, between 2003 and 2008, and she has been described as the Syrian government's face to the outside world.
Of the civil society representatives among the 150 members of the Syrian Constitutional Committee, which was assembled in 2019 by the Syria Envoy of the United Nations, Syrian women comprise around 30%. Several renowned Syrian women, such as academic Bassma Kodmani, Sabah Hallak of the Syrian Women's League, the law professor Amal Yazji or the judge Iman Shahoud, sit on the committee's influential 'Small' or Drafting Body.
Role in economy and in the military
In 1989 the Syrian government passed a law requiring factories and public institutions to provide on-site childcare.
However, women's involvement in the workforce is low; according to World Bank, as of 2014, women made up 16.4% of the labor force.
Women are not conscripted in the military, but may serve voluntarily. The female militias of Syria are trained to fight for the Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad. A video was found dating back to the 1980s with female soldiers showing their pride and protectiveness toward Assad's father. "Because women are rarely involved in the armed side of the revolution, they are much less likely to get stopped, searched, or hassled at government checkpoints. This has proved crucial in distributing humanitarian aid throughout Syria."
Women's health
Between 2010 and 2015, the average life expectancy at birth for women in Syria is 77.7 years, compared with 74.5 years for men.
Impact of the conflict on Syria's women
Since the conflict erupted in 2011, women in Syria, namely in conflict zones, have been facing violence, sexual assault, forced displacement, detension, domestic violence, child marriage and other violations of their rights.
During the years of conflict, insecurity and the economic collapse significantly increased the vulnerability of women and girls. In addition, many girls were left without schooling or access to healthcare services. The enrolment rate for primary education was 61% in 2013, with 61.1% of the total number being female, while for secondary education, the rate was 44% in 2013 - 43.8% for female.
In 2015, the United Nations gathered evidence of systematic sexual assault of women and girls by combatants in Syria, and this was escalated by the Islamic State (ISIL) and other terrorist organizations.
Crime against women
Honor killings
Honor killings take place in Syria in situations where women are deemed to have brought shame to the family, affecting the family's 'reputation' in the community. Some estimates suggest that more than 200 honor killings occur every year in Syria.
Forced and child marriage
The conflict in Syria has led to an increase in child marriages. The harsh living conditions, the insecurity, and the fear of rape, have led families to force their daughters into early marriages.
As a result of early marriage, many girls in Syria are forbidden from completing their studies because when a girl is married she is only expected to be a good wife and a good mother as well. Child marriage can influence physical and mental health badly. Physical damage can be related to child bearing specially for women under 18 years old and the possibility for not being able to give birth later in life, and in extreme cases it can lead to death. Psychological factors can be defined as difficulties in interacting with the husband or not having enough awareness about marriage life and its responsibilities.
Domestic Violence
A study covering the low-income women in Aleppo, an area where domestic abuse is more likely due to the tribal nature of the area, shows that physical abuse (battering at least 3 times in the last year) was found in 23% of the investigated women in 2003, 26% amongst married women. Regular abuse (battering at least once weekly) was found in 3.3% of married women, with no regular abused reported by non-married women. The prevalence of physical abuse amongst country residents was 44.3% compared to 18.8% amongst city residents. In most cases (87.4%) the abuse was inflicted by the husband, and in 9.5% of cases, the abuse was inflicted by more than one person. Correlates of physical abuse were women's education, religion, age, marital status, economic status, mental distress, smoking and residence.
Federation of Northern Syria - Rojava
With the Syrian Civil War, the Kurdish populated area in Northern Syria has gained de facto autonomy as the Federation of Northern Syria - Rojava, with the leading political actor being the progressive Democratic Union Party (PYD). Kurdish women have several armed and non-armed organizations in Rojava, and enhancing women's rights is a major focus of the political and societal agenda. Kurdish female fighters in the Women's Protection Units (YPJ) played a key role during the Siege of Kobani and in rescuing Yazidis trapped on Mount Sinjar, and their achievements have attracted international attention as a rare example of strong female achievement in a region in which women are heavily repressed.
The civil laws of Syria are valid in Rojava, as far as they do not conflict with the Constitution of Rojava. One notable example for amendment is personal status law, in Syria still Sharia-based, where Rojava introduced civil law and proclaims absolute equality of women under the law and a ban on forced marriage as well as polygamy was introduced, while underage marriage was outlawed as well. For the first time in Syrian history, civil marriage is being allowed and promoted, a significant move towards a secular open society and intermarriage between people of different religious backgrounds.
The legal efforts to reduce cases of underage marriage, polygamy and honor killings are underpinned by comprehensive public awareness campaigns. In every town and village, a women's house is established. These are community centers run by women, providing services to survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault and other forms of harm. These services include counseling, family mediation, legal support, and coordinating safe houses for women and children. Classes on economic independence and social empowerment programs are also held at women's houses.
All administrative organs in Rojava are required to have male and female co-chairs, and forty percent of the members of any governing body in Rojava must be female. An estimated 25 percent of the Asayish police force of the Rojava cantons are women, and joining the Asayish is described in international media as a huge act of personal and societal liberation from an extremely patriarchical background, for ethnic Kurdish and ethnic Arab women alike.
The PYD's political agenda of "trying to break the honor-based religious and tribal rules that confine women" is controversial in conservative quarters of society.
Notable women
Hadiya Khalaf Abbas, Speaker of the People's Council of Syria (since 2016).
Asya Abdullah is the co-chairwoman of the Democratic Union Party (PYD), the leading political party in Rojava.
Asma al-Assad, the First Lady of Syria and the wife of the current President Assad
Najah al-Attar, Vice President of Syria (since 2006).
Randa Kassis, President of The Astana Platform of the Syrian opposition.
Suheir Atassi, Vice President of the opposition government.
Samar Al Dayyoub, literary critic and writer
Khawla Dunia, opposition activist and poet
Îlham Ehmed is co-chairwoman of the Syrian Democratic Council.
Hêvî Îbrahîm is the prime minister of Afrin Canton.
Samira Khalil, dissident
Ulfat Idilbi, best-selling Arabic-language novelist.
Assala Nasri is a musical artist
Souad Nawfal, opposition activist and schoolteacher.
Rasha Omran, poet
Bouthaina Shaaban, Bashar al-Assad's political adviser and previous Minister of Expatriates
Muna Wassef, theater, television, and film actress.
Hediya Yousef is an ex-guerilla and co-chairwoman of the executive committee of the Federation of Northern Syria – Rojava.
Razan Zaitouneh, human rights lawyer and activist.
References
External links
Survey: Discrimination against Women in Syrian Society (I/II). Awareness of Women Rights and Freedoms, The Day After Association, August 2017
Survey: Discrimination Against Women in Syrian Society (II/II): Perception of Domestic Violence, The Day After Association, August 2017
Asian women | true | [
"Heikki Saari (alias \"Mörkö\", \"kermis\" or \"kmn\") (born on 8 September 1984 and originating from Veteli, Finland) is the current drummer for Whorion and Finntroll. He is also the live drummer for Tuoni and former drummer of Norther and Amberian Dawn. He started playing drums around 1987 and influences include Scarve, Opeth, Soilwork, Ensiferum, Disarmonia Mundi, Dream Theater, Meshuggah, Annihilator, Deathchain, Hate Eternal, Rotten Sound, Rytmihäiriö, Sevendust, and Wintersun.\n\nDiscography\n\nwith Whorion\nFall of Atlas\nThe Reign Of The Seventh Sector\n\nwith Norther\nFrozen Angel (single for the movie Vares 2: Jäätynyt Enkeli)\nNo Way Back EP\nN\n\nwith Finntroll \nVredesvävd\n\nwith Virtuocity\n(Played under the pseudonym Joey Edith)\nNorthern Twilight Symphony\n\nwith Atheme One\n\nAtheme One has recorded a four-song promotional EP and two songs, titled \"Dreamchaser\" and \"World of Insanity\", are available for download. Currently band is not working anymore under this title, but under name of Amberian Dawn with a different drummer as Heikki left the band at the end of 2006.\n\nSession Work\nHeikki was recruited by Scottish metal band Hellbound, along with Aleksi Sihvonen from Norther, on their debut EP.\n\nSince 2017, he has been the live session drummer for Wintersun.\n\nExternal links\nWhorion website\nHeikki's Youtube channel\nOfficial Norther website\nOfficial Norther MySpace -profile\nEndlessWar, an extensive fansite\nOfficial Amberian Dawn website\n NORTHER - the Finnish Breeze fansite\nRussian Norther Fansite\nOfficial hellhole of Heikki Saari\n\nReferences / Notes\nAll of the information in this article was compiled from information on the Official Norther website, the Official Norther Forum, and the EndlessWar member information page. Photo found at Spinefarm Records press area.\n\n1984 births\nPeople from Hyvinkää\nLiving people\nFinnish heavy metal drummers\nAmberian Dawn members\n21st-century drummers\nNorther members\nFinntroll members",
"Daniel Freyberg (born 4 February 1982) is a Swedish-born Finnish heavy metal guitarist, best known as a former guitarist for Finnish metal band Children of Bodom and Bodom After Midnight. He is the current vocalist and guitarist of Naildown. He is also a former guitarist for Norther.\n\nDiscography\n\nWith Naildown\nEyes Wide Open (single – 2005)\nWorld Domination (2005)\nJudgement Ride (e-single – 2007)\nDreamcrusher (2007)\n\nWith Norther\nCircle Regenerated (2011)\n\nWith Children of Bodom\nHexed (2019)\n\nWith Bodom After Midnight\nPaint the Sky with Blood (2021)\n\nExternal links\nOfficial Norther website\nDaniel Freyberg at Metal from Finland\n\n1982 births\nChildren of Bodom members\nFinnish heavy metal guitarists\nFinnish heavy metal singers\nLiving people\nMusicians from Stockholm\nNorther members\nRhythm guitarists"
] |
[
"Women in Syria",
"Federation of Northern Syria - Rojava",
"What is the federation of Norther Syria?",
"With the Syrian Civil War, the Kurdish populated area in Northern Syria has gained de facto autonomy as the Federation of Northern Syria",
"What is Rojava?",
"the Federation of Northern Syria - Rojava,",
"Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?",
"The civil laws of Syria are valid in Rojava, as far as they do not conflict with the Constitution of Rojava.",
"Is Rojava separate from Syria?",
"Federation of Northern Syria - Rojava,",
"What is different about norther Syria?",
"Rojava, with the leading political actor being the progressive Democratic Union Party (PYD)."
] | C_86032edaa18549ff92e85a8f4e7eefe4_0 | How powerful is the PYD? | 6 | How powerful is the progressive Democratic Union Party PYD in Rojeva? | Women in Syria | With the Syrian Civil War, the Kurdish populated area in Northern Syria has gained de facto autonomy as the Federation of Northern Syria - Rojava, with the leading political actor being the progressive Democratic Union Party (PYD). Kurdish women have several armed and non-armed organizations in Rojava, and enhancing women's rights is a major focus of the political and societal agenda. Kurdish female fighters in the Women's Protection Units (YPJ) played a key role during the Siege of Kobani and in rescuing Yazidis trapped on Mount Sinjar, and their achievements have attracted international attention as a rare example of strong female achievement in a region in which women are heavily repressed. The civil laws of Syria are valid in Rojava, as far as they do not conflict with the Constitution of Rojava. One notable example for amendment is personal status law, in Syria still Sharia-based, where Rojava introduced civil law and proclaims absolute equality of women under the law and a ban on forced marriage as well as polygamy was introduced, while underage marriage was outlawed as well. For the first time in Syrian history, civil marriage is being allowed and promoted, a significant move towards a secular open society and intermarriage between people of different religious backgrounds. The legal efforts to reduce cases of underage marriage, polygamy and honor killings are underpinned by comprehensive public awareness campaigns. In every town and village, a women's house is established. These are community centers run by women, providing services to survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault and other forms of harm. These services include counseling, family mediation, legal support, and coordinating safe houses for women and children. Classes on economic independence and social empowerment programs are also held at women's houses. All administrative organs in Rojava are required to have male and female co-chairs, and forty percent of the members of any governing body in Rojava must be female. An estimated 25 percent of the Asayish police force of the Rojava cantons are women, and joining the Asayish is described in international media as a huge act of personal and societal liberation from an extremely patriarchical background, for ethnic Kurdish and ethnic Arab women alike. The PYD's political agenda of "trying to break the honor-based religious and tribal rules that confine women" is controversial in conservative quarters of society. CANNOTANSWER | Kurdish women have several armed and non-armed organizations in Rojava, and enhancing women's rights is a major focus of the political and societal agenda. | Women in Syria constitute 49.4% of Syria's population, and are active participants not only in everyday life, but also in the socio-political fields.
History
In the 20th century a movement for women's rights developed in Syria, made up largely of upper-class, educated women. In 1919, Naziq al-Abid founded Noor al-Fayha (Light of Damascus), the city's first women's organization, alongside an affiliated publication of the same name. She was made an honorary general of the Syrian Army after fighting in the Battle of Maysaloun, and in 1922 she founded the Syrian Red Crescent. In 1928 Lebanese-Syrian feminist Nazira Zain al-Din, one of the first people to critically reinterpret the Quran from a feminist perspective, published a book condemning the practice of veiling or hijab, arguing that Islam requires women to be treated equally with men. In 1930, the First Eastern Women's Congress was hosted in Damascus.
In 1963 the Ba'ath Party took power in Syria, and pledged full equality between women and men as well as full workforce participation for women.
In 1967 Syrian women formed a quasi-governmental organization called the General Union of Syrian Women (GUSW), a coalition of women's welfare societies, educational associations, and voluntary councils intended to achieve equal opportunity for women in Syria.
The year 2011 marked the beginning of the Syrian Civil War, where many civilians have fallen victim to attacks targeted at hospitals, schools, and infrastructure. Extremist rebel groups, such as Jabhat al-Nusra and ISIS, have enforced strict policies restricting freedoms of women in territories they control.
After the outbreak of civil war, some Syrian women have joined all-female brigade units in the Syrian Arab Army, the Democratic Union Party, and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, taking on roles such as snipers, frontline units, or police.
Legal rights
While Syria has developed some fairly secular features during independence in the second half of the 20th century, personal status law is still based on Sharia and applied by Sharia Courts. Syria has a dual legal system which includes both secular and religious courts. Marriage contracts are between the groom and the bride's father, and Syrian law does not recognize the concept of marital rape.
Syrian women are legally allowed to participate in everyday life, although they are not guaranteed a spot in being part of political, social, cultural and economic categories. The legal marriage for females in Syria is seventeen years old and eighteen for males. Women are technically allowed to have a say in what the agreements are between them and the groom. Although, since this contract has to be signed by the groom and the male guardian of the bride, her wishes are rarely met. On the other hand, of marriage, the divorce laws are unique in Syria. Women are in fact allowed to file for divorce except it is a long drawn out process and she must get consent from her husband. There are some circumstances in which the woman can apply for a divorce through the judicial system. In order to do this, she must prove that her husband has abused her or neglected his other duties as a husband. If a man wants to divorce a woman, all he has to do is go to court and orally demand a divorce three times, then the court will order him a divorce.
Education
The early schooling in Syria starts at six years old and ends at the age of eighteen. In Syrian universities, women and men attend the same classes. Between 1970 and the late 1990s, the female population in schools dramatically increased. This increase included the early school years, along with the upper-level schools such as universities and higher education. Although the number of women has increased, there are still ninety five women to every one hundred men. Although many women start going to school, the dropout rate for women is much higher than for men.
The literacy rate for women is 74.2 percent and 91 percent for men. The rate of females over 25 with secondary education is 29.0 percent.
Politics
In Syria, women in Syria were first allowed to vote and received universal suffrage in 1953. In the 1950s, Thuraya Al-Hafez ran for Parliament, but was not elected. By 1971, women held four out of the 173 seats.
The current president of Syria is a male. There are also two vice presidents (including female vice president Najah al-Attar since 2006), a prime minister and a cabinet. As of 2012, in the national parliament men held 88% of the seats while women held 12%. The Syrian Parliament was previously led by female Speaker Hadiya Khalaf Abbas, the first woman to have held that position.
President Assad's political and media adviser is Bouthaina Shaaban. Shaaban served as the first Minister of Expatriates for the Syrian Arab Republic, between 2003 and 2008, and she has been described as the Syrian government's face to the outside world.
Of the civil society representatives among the 150 members of the Syrian Constitutional Committee, which was assembled in 2019 by the Syria Envoy of the United Nations, Syrian women comprise around 30%. Several renowned Syrian women, such as academic Bassma Kodmani, Sabah Hallak of the Syrian Women's League, the law professor Amal Yazji or the judge Iman Shahoud, sit on the committee's influential 'Small' or Drafting Body.
Role in economy and in the military
In 1989 the Syrian government passed a law requiring factories and public institutions to provide on-site childcare.
However, women's involvement in the workforce is low; according to World Bank, as of 2014, women made up 16.4% of the labor force.
Women are not conscripted in the military, but may serve voluntarily. The female militias of Syria are trained to fight for the Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad. A video was found dating back to the 1980s with female soldiers showing their pride and protectiveness toward Assad's father. "Because women are rarely involved in the armed side of the revolution, they are much less likely to get stopped, searched, or hassled at government checkpoints. This has proved crucial in distributing humanitarian aid throughout Syria."
Women's health
Between 2010 and 2015, the average life expectancy at birth for women in Syria is 77.7 years, compared with 74.5 years for men.
Impact of the conflict on Syria's women
Since the conflict erupted in 2011, women in Syria, namely in conflict zones, have been facing violence, sexual assault, forced displacement, detension, domestic violence, child marriage and other violations of their rights.
During the years of conflict, insecurity and the economic collapse significantly increased the vulnerability of women and girls. In addition, many girls were left without schooling or access to healthcare services. The enrolment rate for primary education was 61% in 2013, with 61.1% of the total number being female, while for secondary education, the rate was 44% in 2013 - 43.8% for female.
In 2015, the United Nations gathered evidence of systematic sexual assault of women and girls by combatants in Syria, and this was escalated by the Islamic State (ISIL) and other terrorist organizations.
Crime against women
Honor killings
Honor killings take place in Syria in situations where women are deemed to have brought shame to the family, affecting the family's 'reputation' in the community. Some estimates suggest that more than 200 honor killings occur every year in Syria.
Forced and child marriage
The conflict in Syria has led to an increase in child marriages. The harsh living conditions, the insecurity, and the fear of rape, have led families to force their daughters into early marriages.
As a result of early marriage, many girls in Syria are forbidden from completing their studies because when a girl is married she is only expected to be a good wife and a good mother as well. Child marriage can influence physical and mental health badly. Physical damage can be related to child bearing specially for women under 18 years old and the possibility for not being able to give birth later in life, and in extreme cases it can lead to death. Psychological factors can be defined as difficulties in interacting with the husband or not having enough awareness about marriage life and its responsibilities.
Domestic Violence
A study covering the low-income women in Aleppo, an area where domestic abuse is more likely due to the tribal nature of the area, shows that physical abuse (battering at least 3 times in the last year) was found in 23% of the investigated women in 2003, 26% amongst married women. Regular abuse (battering at least once weekly) was found in 3.3% of married women, with no regular abused reported by non-married women. The prevalence of physical abuse amongst country residents was 44.3% compared to 18.8% amongst city residents. In most cases (87.4%) the abuse was inflicted by the husband, and in 9.5% of cases, the abuse was inflicted by more than one person. Correlates of physical abuse were women's education, religion, age, marital status, economic status, mental distress, smoking and residence.
Federation of Northern Syria - Rojava
With the Syrian Civil War, the Kurdish populated area in Northern Syria has gained de facto autonomy as the Federation of Northern Syria - Rojava, with the leading political actor being the progressive Democratic Union Party (PYD). Kurdish women have several armed and non-armed organizations in Rojava, and enhancing women's rights is a major focus of the political and societal agenda. Kurdish female fighters in the Women's Protection Units (YPJ) played a key role during the Siege of Kobani and in rescuing Yazidis trapped on Mount Sinjar, and their achievements have attracted international attention as a rare example of strong female achievement in a region in which women are heavily repressed.
The civil laws of Syria are valid in Rojava, as far as they do not conflict with the Constitution of Rojava. One notable example for amendment is personal status law, in Syria still Sharia-based, where Rojava introduced civil law and proclaims absolute equality of women under the law and a ban on forced marriage as well as polygamy was introduced, while underage marriage was outlawed as well. For the first time in Syrian history, civil marriage is being allowed and promoted, a significant move towards a secular open society and intermarriage between people of different religious backgrounds.
The legal efforts to reduce cases of underage marriage, polygamy and honor killings are underpinned by comprehensive public awareness campaigns. In every town and village, a women's house is established. These are community centers run by women, providing services to survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault and other forms of harm. These services include counseling, family mediation, legal support, and coordinating safe houses for women and children. Classes on economic independence and social empowerment programs are also held at women's houses.
All administrative organs in Rojava are required to have male and female co-chairs, and forty percent of the members of any governing body in Rojava must be female. An estimated 25 percent of the Asayish police force of the Rojava cantons are women, and joining the Asayish is described in international media as a huge act of personal and societal liberation from an extremely patriarchical background, for ethnic Kurdish and ethnic Arab women alike.
The PYD's political agenda of "trying to break the honor-based religious and tribal rules that confine women" is controversial in conservative quarters of society.
Notable women
Hadiya Khalaf Abbas, Speaker of the People's Council of Syria (since 2016).
Asya Abdullah is the co-chairwoman of the Democratic Union Party (PYD), the leading political party in Rojava.
Asma al-Assad, the First Lady of Syria and the wife of the current President Assad
Najah al-Attar, Vice President of Syria (since 2006).
Randa Kassis, President of The Astana Platform of the Syrian opposition.
Suheir Atassi, Vice President of the opposition government.
Samar Al Dayyoub, literary critic and writer
Khawla Dunia, opposition activist and poet
Îlham Ehmed is co-chairwoman of the Syrian Democratic Council.
Hêvî Îbrahîm is the prime minister of Afrin Canton.
Samira Khalil, dissident
Ulfat Idilbi, best-selling Arabic-language novelist.
Assala Nasri is a musical artist
Souad Nawfal, opposition activist and schoolteacher.
Rasha Omran, poet
Bouthaina Shaaban, Bashar al-Assad's political adviser and previous Minister of Expatriates
Muna Wassef, theater, television, and film actress.
Hediya Yousef is an ex-guerilla and co-chairwoman of the executive committee of the Federation of Northern Syria – Rojava.
Razan Zaitouneh, human rights lawyer and activist.
References
External links
Survey: Discrimination against Women in Syrian Society (I/II). Awareness of Women Rights and Freedoms, The Day After Association, August 2017
Survey: Discrimination Against Women in Syrian Society (II/II): Perception of Domestic Violence, The Day After Association, August 2017
Asian women | true | [
"A pyrin domain (PYD, also known as PAAD/DAPIN) is a protein domain and a subclass of protein motif known as the death fold, the 4th and most recently discovered member of the death domain superfamily (DDF). It was originally discovered in the pyrin protein, or marenostrin, encoded by MEFV. The mutation of the MEFV gene is the cause of the disease known as Familial Mediterranean Fever. The domain is encoded in 23 human proteins and at least 31 mouse genes.\n\nProteins containing a pyrin domain are frequently involved in programmed cell death processes including pyroptosis and apoptosis. Proteins that possess a pyrin domain interact with the pyrin domains in other proteins to form of multi-protein complexes called inflammasomes and to trigger downstream immune responses.\n\nStructure \nPyrin domains are a ~90 amino acid motif present only at the N-terminus of proteins. The core is made of highly conserved hydrophobic residues surrounded by five or six alpha helices with α1→2 linkages. The hydrophobic core allows self-oligomerization into punctate or speck filamentous formations. Polar residues on the surface of the domain allow the formation of the characteristic homotypic PYD-PYD interactions. Acidic residues are typically located in the α2 and α3 helices while basic residues are located on the α1 and α4 helices. Compared to other members of the DDF they contain a distinctly elongated α2-α3 loop. This loop, especially α3, is highly variable among PYDs of different proteins which allows binding specificity with other PYDs of the same type.\n\nFunction \nProteins containing PYD domains function as cytosolic pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) that sense danger-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs) and pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs). Homotypic interactions between PYD domains in receptor and adaptor proteins trigger downstream inflammasome formation.\n\nFirst, receptor proteins (such as NLRs and ALRs) are activated by their putative DAMP or PAMP ligand. These receptors undergo a conformational change exposing their PYD domain. Generally, an adaptor protein (ASC) containing both a PYD and a caspase recruitment domain (CARD) is recruited forming a PYD-PYD electrostatic interaction with the receptor's domain. More ASC-PYDs spontaneously self-oligomerize and forming a multi-protein complex called an inflammasome. Pro-caspase-1 and caspase-8 are activated through an induced proximity mechanism. Caspases can then cascade to multiple downstream pathways to trigger pyroptosis and secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines.\n\nTypes \nTypes of proteins containing a PYD domain include an adaptor, apoptosis-associated speck-like protein containing a CARD (ASC), regulatory proteins like pyrin or pyrin-only proteins (POPs), receptors such as NOD-like receptors containing a pyrin domain (NRLPs) and AIM2-like receptors (ALRs).\n\nASC \nASC is an adaptor protein and is part of apoptosis, pro-caspase 1 recruitment and activation, as well as NF-κB transcription factor activation. ASC contains only two domains: the PYD domain at the N-terminus and a CARD (caspase recruitment domain) at the C-terminus. Pyrin domain interactions between ASC leads to oligomerization forming puncta or \"specks\" that become visible microscopically. The CARD domain recruits pro-caspase-1 which undergoes proximity induced autocleavage to form the active caspase-1 which in turn triggers maturation of IL-1β and IL-18.\n\nNLRPs \nNOD-like receptors exist in an inactive form until a conformational change is induced by their ligand. Some NLRs such as NLRP1 and NLRP2 have a straightforward mechanism by which the receptor binds to a PAMP triggering its activation, oligomerization and PYD-PYD ASC recruitment. In contrast, NLRP3 (also known as cryopyrin) is the most well-studied NLR with a pyrin domain and has several diverse agonists. Proposed methods of its activation are more nuanced with intermediate effectors instead of a direct ligand-receptor interaction. An efflux of ATP due to tissue damage leading to an increase in Ca2+, mitochondrial reactive oxygen species production due to cellular stress and lysosomal rupture releasing excess H+ have all been proposed to inhibit different cofactors that normally inactivate NLRP3.\n\nALRs \nAbsent in melanoma 2-like receptors function as recognition of foreign double stranded DNA. Two ALRs with pyrin domains, AIM2 and IFI16, assemble inflammasomes; AIM2 in the cytosol and IFI16 moves between the nucleus and cytosol functioning as a nuclear pathogen sensor. Unlike NLRPs which function in cytosolic PAMP and DAMP recognition, ALRs mainly act within the nucleus oligomerizing along the DNA staircase.\n\nPOPs \nPyrin-only proteins are unlike other PYD-containing proteins which contain a pyrin domain with one or more other domains. Different POPs have electrostatic and structural similarities to the specific pyrin domains they regulate. Most are encoded near the same genes as the pyrin-containing proteins they inhibit; POP1 and POP2 are postulated to have arisen by exon duplication. Since most inflammasomes are formed by aggregation due to PYD-PYD interactions, POPs instead bind to PYD domains preventing polymerization and therefore regulating and/or resolving inflammation response.\n\nReferences \n\nProtein domains",
"The Democratic Union Party ( (PYD) ; ; ) is a Kurdish left wing political party established on 20 September 2003 in northern Syria. It is a founding member of the National Coordination Body for Democratic Change, and is described by the Carnegie Middle East Center as \"one of the most important Kurdish opposition parties in Syria\". It is the leading political party among Syrian Kurds. The PYD was established as a Syrian branch of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in 2003, and both organizations are still closely affiliated through the Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK).\n\nIdeology\nOn its website, the PYD describes itself as believing in \"social equality, justice and the freedom of belief\" as well as \"pluralism and the freedom of political parties\". It describes itself as \"striving for a democratic solution that includes the recognition of cultural, national and political rights, and develops and enhances their peaceful struggle to be able to govern themselves in a multicultural, democratic society.\" The PYD is a member of the Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK) and also a consultative member of the Socialist International. The PYD and the PKK are closely affiliated through the Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK). The PYD has adopted democratic confederalism as its main ideology and have implemented the ideas of Murray Bookchin and Abdullah Öcalan in the AANES, where hundreds of neighborhood-based communes have established across the regions of Rojava.\n\nLike its sister organisations in the KCK umbrella, the PYD is critical of nationalism, including Kurdish nationalism, in contrast to the Kurdish nationalist aims of the Kurdish National Council.\n\nHistory\n\nOrigins and foundation\n\nIn order to exert pressure on regional rivals, former Syrian President Hafez al-Assad supported Kurdish factions in neighboring Iraqi and Turkish Kurdistan. In 1975, Assad offered the Iraqi Kurdish leader Jalal Talabani a safe haven in Damascus to form his new Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) Party. From the 1980s until the late 1990s, Assad also supported the PKK against his regional rival Turkey, similarly providing a safe haven for PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan and allowing the PKK to use Syrian Kurdistan as a base of operations.\n\nIn 1998, the Syrian government banned Kurdish political parties and organizations, including the PUK and PKK, withdrawing its support and forcing them to leave Syria. During a meeting in Kobane in October 1998, Öcalan attempted to lay the foundations of a new party, which aim was obstructed by the Syrian secret service. In 2003, a second attempt led to the establishment of the PYD by Syrian Kurds. At the same year, Salih Muslim left the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Syria (KDP-S), an affiliate of the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iraq, and joined the newly-formed PYD.\n\nUnderground activism and state repression (2004–2010)\nPYD members suffered years of violent repression at the hands of the Syrian government. Though Syrian security forces had already for several years been targeting members of Kurdish political parties and organizations, the PYD came under intensified persecution in the aftermath of the 2004 Qamishli riots. According to Human Rights Watch, the Syrian government saw the party as a particular threat due to its \"ability to mobilise large crowds\", and suspected it of organising numerous demonstrations. Therefore, many PYD activists imprisoned in the aftermath of the uprising were not given the amnesty that Bashar al-Assad granted other Kurdish detainees as a later goodwill gesture.\n\nOn 2 November 2007, PYD activists organised large demonstrations in Qamishli and Kobanê, drawing hundreds of Kurds to protest Turkish threats to invade Iraqi Kurdistan, and Syria's support of Turkey. Security forces—including a unit brought from Damascus—fired tear gas in an effort to disperse the crowds. After some protesters threw stones, the police opened fire with live ammunition, killing one and injuring at least two more. Dozens (including women and children) were detained in the ensuing police crackdown. Most were soon released, but 15 activists—three of them PYD officials—remained imprisoned and were sent before a military court on various charges.\n\nFrom 2006 to 14 April 2009, at least two dozen PYD activists were formally tried before a special security court, some receiving sentences from five to seven years on charges of membership in a \"secret organisation\" and seeking \"to cut off part of Syrian land to join it to another country\". Many others were detained, often in severe conditions and without basic legal rights—some of those released reported being kept in extended solitary confinement and even being subjected to physical and psychological torture. Syrian security forces also often continued to harass activists and their families following their release. While similar methods were employed against many Kurdish prisoners and activists in Syria, Human Rights Watch noted that the security forces tended to reserve their harshest treatments for PYD members.\n\nConflict in Syria (2011–present)\n\nStance in early stages of the conflict (March 2011–July 2012)\n\nWith the outbreak of anti-government demonstrations across Syria in early 2011, the PYD joined the Kurdish Patriotic Movement in May, was a founding member of the National Coordination Body for Democratic Change in July, and of the KCK-aligned People's Council of Western Kurdistan in December. Unlike most other Kurdish Syrian parties, it did not join the Kurdish National Council (KNC) when it was formed in October 2011, but agreed on cooperation with the KNC and as a result, the Kurdish Supreme Committee was founded. The PYD adopted a critical stance toward both the Syrian government and the Syrian opposition, including the Syrian National Council (SNC), which it accused of acting in Turkey's interests. The SNC's unwillingness to support Kurdish autonomy led all but one of its Kurdish parties to leave by February 2012. Over 640 PYD-linked prisoners were released by the Syrian security apparatus in 2011, most of whom returned to the north.\n\nAssertion of control in Northeastern Syria (July 2012–July 2013)\n\nIn mid-2012 the People's Council of Western Kurdistan signed an agreement with the Kurdish National Council (KNC), forming a joint Kurdish Supreme Council (Kurdish Supreme Committee) and agreeing to cooperate on security for Kurdish areas, forming People's Protection Units (YPG). This followed an \"operational decision made by the Assad government in mid-July 2012 to withdraw the majority of its forces from Syria's Kurdish areas\" (leaving a strong presence only in Qamishli and Al-Hasakah), prompted by a major opposition offensive against the capital Damascus. According to the Carnegie Middle East Center, \"Despite these agreements, the Kurdish National Council has accused the PYD of attacking Kurdish demonstrators, kidnapping members of other Kurdish opposition parties, and setting up armed checkpoints along the border with Turkey.\" In mid-2012 Reuters cited unconfirmed reports that the towns of Amuda, Derik, Kobani and Afrin were under PYD control. Abdelbasset Seida, head of the opposition Syrian National Council claimed in July 2012 after a meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu that the Syrian Army had handed over control of certain parts of northeastern Syria to the PYD. The PYD's alleged control over certain areas was said to have led to disputes and clashes between the PYD, the KNC, and the Syrian National Council.\n\nThe PYD soon became the dominant force in the Kurdish opposition, with its members running checkpoints on major roads and entrances to Kurdish cities. Under the agreement with the KNC, cities that fall under the control of Syrian Kurdish forces would be ruled jointly by the PYD and the KNC until an election can be held. However, the PYD quickly abandoned the coalition with Kurdish nationalists for the aim of creating a polyethnic and progressive society and polity in the Rojava region.\n\nMoves toward official autonomy (July 2013–present)\n\nIn November 2013, the PYD announced an interim government, divided into three non-contiguous autonomous areas or cantons, Afrin, Jazira and Kobani. Leftist media commented that \"Kurdish rebels are establishing self-rule in war-torn Syria, resembling the Zapatista experience and providing a democratic alternative for the region.\"\n\nThe polyethnic Movement for a Democratic Society (TEV-DEM), led by the Democratic Union Party (PYD), is the political coalition governing Rojava. According to Zaher Baher of the Haringey Solidarity Group, the PYD-led TEV-DEM has been \"the most successful organ\" in Rojava because it has the \"determination and power\" to change things, it includes many people who \"believe in working voluntarily at all levels of service to make the event/experiment successful\".\n\nThe Rojava system of community government is focused on direct democracy. The system has been described as pursuing \"a bottom-up, Athenian-style direct form of democratic governance\", contrasting the local communities taking on responsibility versus the strong central governments favoured by many states. In this model, states become less relevant and people govern through councils. Its programme immediately aimed to be \"very inclusive\" and people from a range of different backgrounds became involved, including Kurds, Arabs, Assyrians, Syrian Turkmen and Yazidis (from Muslim, Christian, and Yazidi religious groups). It sought to \"establish a variety of groups, committees and communes on the streets in neighborhoods, villages, counties and small and big towns everywhere\". The purpose of these groups was to meet \"every week to talk about the problems people face where they live\". The representatives of the different community groups meet 'in the main group in the villages or towns called the \"House of the People\"'. As a September 2015 report in The New York Times observed:\n\nThe civil laws of Syria are valid in Rojava, as far as they do not conflict with the Constitution of Rojava. One notable example for amendment is the family law, where Rojava proclaims absolute equality of women under the law and a ban on polygamy. For the first time in Syrian history, civil marriage is being allowed and promoted, a significant move towards a secular open society and intermarriage between people of different religious backgrounds.\n\nIn 2012, the PYD launched what it originally called the Social Economy Plan, later renamed the People's Economy Plan (PEP). The PEP's policies are based primarily on the work of Abdullah Öcalan and ultimately seek to move beyond capitalism in favor of democratic confederalism. Private property and entrepreneurship are protected under the principle of \"ownership by use\", although accountable to the democratic will of locally organized councils. Dr Dara Kurdaxi, a Rojavan economist, has said that: \"The method in Rojava is not so much against private property, but rather has the goal of putting private property in the service of all the peoples who live in Rojava.\"\n\nInternational relations\n\nTurkey\n\nWhile the Turkish state now vehemently opposes the PYD, this wasn't always the case. During the early years of the Syrian civil war, Turkish government ministers met PYD leader Salih Muslim several times. Muslim held talks with Turkish officials in July 2013 in regards to its movement for autonomy within Syria. According to some officials, Turkey's demands included that the PYD not seek an autonomous region through violence, not harm Turkish border security, and be firmly opposed to the Syrian government.\n\nThe Turkish government's relationship with the Kurds deteriorated during the Siege of Kobanî, when it was accused of facilitating the advance of the Islamic State, leading to the 2014 Kobanî protests. The Kurdish-Turkish peace process broke down soon after, leading to a resumption of the Kurdish-Turkish conflict, this time with a Syrian dimension.\n\nAfter Turkey changed its view towards the PYD, it characterised it as being the Syrian branch of the PKK. Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said that he would not allow the creation of an autonomous area in Syrian Kurdistan.\n\nSince this time, the Turkish government has refused to countenance any PYD presence at the various Syrian peace talks. In August 2016, Erdogan said that \"extermination of the PYD\" is a policy aim of the government of Turkey. On 20 January 2018, Turkey began Operation Olive Branch against the PYD-governed Afrin Canton in the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria.\n\nUnited States\nWhile supporting the SDF militarily since the Siege of Kobanî, the United States gives no diplomatic support to the AANES, excluding it from peace talks at the behest of its NATO ally Turkey. While US officials liaise with the PYD, they don't accept its requests for representation at these talks.\n\nBy allying itself with PYD, the United States has created tension with the Turkish government, and has had to go out of its way to appease its NATO ally. During his time as president of the United States, Barack Obama had to make a number of personal phone calls to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to appease the outraged Turkish leader. What is more, on the 6 November 2018, U.S Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs, Matthew Palmer, announced U.S bounties on three leaders of the PKK, Murat Karayilan, Cemil Bayik, and Duran Kalkan. The value of the three bounties combined is $12 million. The announcement of the bounties—a move strongly praised by the Turkish regime—represents a potential conflict in policy, with the U.S fighting alongside YPJ-YPG, while actively looking to capture members of the PKK.\n\nGermany\nIn Germany, there is a ban on PKK symbols that, as of March 2017, is officially extended the YPG and YPJ flags and symbols. Certain German states will prosecute German citizens for posting YPJ-YPG symbols on social media, or bringing their flags to protests.\n\nSyrian Arab Army \nThe PYD is also accused of working with the Assad government in Syria. This allegation was initially disputed by the PYD and it's affiliates, but by 2019, an alliance had been forged by the AANES and the Syrian Arab Army, due to their common enemy in Turkey.\n\nSee also\n Kurdistan Democratic Solution Party\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n\nAldar Khalil: \"Syria's Kurds Are Not the PKK\", Foreign Policy, 15 May 2017\n\n \nApoist organizations in Syria\nKurdish irredentism\nKurdish organisations\nNational liberation movements\nPeople's Protection Units\nPolitical parties in Syria\nLibertarian socialist parties"
] |
[
"Women in Syria",
"Federation of Northern Syria - Rojava",
"What is the federation of Norther Syria?",
"With the Syrian Civil War, the Kurdish populated area in Northern Syria has gained de facto autonomy as the Federation of Northern Syria",
"What is Rojava?",
"the Federation of Northern Syria - Rojava,",
"Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?",
"The civil laws of Syria are valid in Rojava, as far as they do not conflict with the Constitution of Rojava.",
"Is Rojava separate from Syria?",
"Federation of Northern Syria - Rojava,",
"What is different about norther Syria?",
"Rojava, with the leading political actor being the progressive Democratic Union Party (PYD).",
"How powerful is the PYD?",
"Kurdish women have several armed and non-armed organizations in Rojava, and enhancing women's rights is a major focus of the political and societal agenda."
] | C_86032edaa18549ff92e85a8f4e7eefe4_0 | Has the PYD been successful? | 7 | Has the progressive Democratic Union Party PYD in Rojeva been successful? | Women in Syria | With the Syrian Civil War, the Kurdish populated area in Northern Syria has gained de facto autonomy as the Federation of Northern Syria - Rojava, with the leading political actor being the progressive Democratic Union Party (PYD). Kurdish women have several armed and non-armed organizations in Rojava, and enhancing women's rights is a major focus of the political and societal agenda. Kurdish female fighters in the Women's Protection Units (YPJ) played a key role during the Siege of Kobani and in rescuing Yazidis trapped on Mount Sinjar, and their achievements have attracted international attention as a rare example of strong female achievement in a region in which women are heavily repressed. The civil laws of Syria are valid in Rojava, as far as they do not conflict with the Constitution of Rojava. One notable example for amendment is personal status law, in Syria still Sharia-based, where Rojava introduced civil law and proclaims absolute equality of women under the law and a ban on forced marriage as well as polygamy was introduced, while underage marriage was outlawed as well. For the first time in Syrian history, civil marriage is being allowed and promoted, a significant move towards a secular open society and intermarriage between people of different religious backgrounds. The legal efforts to reduce cases of underage marriage, polygamy and honor killings are underpinned by comprehensive public awareness campaigns. In every town and village, a women's house is established. These are community centers run by women, providing services to survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault and other forms of harm. These services include counseling, family mediation, legal support, and coordinating safe houses for women and children. Classes on economic independence and social empowerment programs are also held at women's houses. All administrative organs in Rojava are required to have male and female co-chairs, and forty percent of the members of any governing body in Rojava must be female. An estimated 25 percent of the Asayish police force of the Rojava cantons are women, and joining the Asayish is described in international media as a huge act of personal and societal liberation from an extremely patriarchical background, for ethnic Kurdish and ethnic Arab women alike. The PYD's political agenda of "trying to break the honor-based religious and tribal rules that confine women" is controversial in conservative quarters of society. CANNOTANSWER | CANNOTANSWER | Women in Syria constitute 49.4% of Syria's population, and are active participants not only in everyday life, but also in the socio-political fields.
History
In the 20th century a movement for women's rights developed in Syria, made up largely of upper-class, educated women. In 1919, Naziq al-Abid founded Noor al-Fayha (Light of Damascus), the city's first women's organization, alongside an affiliated publication of the same name. She was made an honorary general of the Syrian Army after fighting in the Battle of Maysaloun, and in 1922 she founded the Syrian Red Crescent. In 1928 Lebanese-Syrian feminist Nazira Zain al-Din, one of the first people to critically reinterpret the Quran from a feminist perspective, published a book condemning the practice of veiling or hijab, arguing that Islam requires women to be treated equally with men. In 1930, the First Eastern Women's Congress was hosted in Damascus.
In 1963 the Ba'ath Party took power in Syria, and pledged full equality between women and men as well as full workforce participation for women.
In 1967 Syrian women formed a quasi-governmental organization called the General Union of Syrian Women (GUSW), a coalition of women's welfare societies, educational associations, and voluntary councils intended to achieve equal opportunity for women in Syria.
The year 2011 marked the beginning of the Syrian Civil War, where many civilians have fallen victim to attacks targeted at hospitals, schools, and infrastructure. Extremist rebel groups, such as Jabhat al-Nusra and ISIS, have enforced strict policies restricting freedoms of women in territories they control.
After the outbreak of civil war, some Syrian women have joined all-female brigade units in the Syrian Arab Army, the Democratic Union Party, and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, taking on roles such as snipers, frontline units, or police.
Legal rights
While Syria has developed some fairly secular features during independence in the second half of the 20th century, personal status law is still based on Sharia and applied by Sharia Courts. Syria has a dual legal system which includes both secular and religious courts. Marriage contracts are between the groom and the bride's father, and Syrian law does not recognize the concept of marital rape.
Syrian women are legally allowed to participate in everyday life, although they are not guaranteed a spot in being part of political, social, cultural and economic categories. The legal marriage for females in Syria is seventeen years old and eighteen for males. Women are technically allowed to have a say in what the agreements are between them and the groom. Although, since this contract has to be signed by the groom and the male guardian of the bride, her wishes are rarely met. On the other hand, of marriage, the divorce laws are unique in Syria. Women are in fact allowed to file for divorce except it is a long drawn out process and she must get consent from her husband. There are some circumstances in which the woman can apply for a divorce through the judicial system. In order to do this, she must prove that her husband has abused her or neglected his other duties as a husband. If a man wants to divorce a woman, all he has to do is go to court and orally demand a divorce three times, then the court will order him a divorce.
Education
The early schooling in Syria starts at six years old and ends at the age of eighteen. In Syrian universities, women and men attend the same classes. Between 1970 and the late 1990s, the female population in schools dramatically increased. This increase included the early school years, along with the upper-level schools such as universities and higher education. Although the number of women has increased, there are still ninety five women to every one hundred men. Although many women start going to school, the dropout rate for women is much higher than for men.
The literacy rate for women is 74.2 percent and 91 percent for men. The rate of females over 25 with secondary education is 29.0 percent.
Politics
In Syria, women in Syria were first allowed to vote and received universal suffrage in 1953. In the 1950s, Thuraya Al-Hafez ran for Parliament, but was not elected. By 1971, women held four out of the 173 seats.
The current president of Syria is a male. There are also two vice presidents (including female vice president Najah al-Attar since 2006), a prime minister and a cabinet. As of 2012, in the national parliament men held 88% of the seats while women held 12%. The Syrian Parliament was previously led by female Speaker Hadiya Khalaf Abbas, the first woman to have held that position.
President Assad's political and media adviser is Bouthaina Shaaban. Shaaban served as the first Minister of Expatriates for the Syrian Arab Republic, between 2003 and 2008, and she has been described as the Syrian government's face to the outside world.
Of the civil society representatives among the 150 members of the Syrian Constitutional Committee, which was assembled in 2019 by the Syria Envoy of the United Nations, Syrian women comprise around 30%. Several renowned Syrian women, such as academic Bassma Kodmani, Sabah Hallak of the Syrian Women's League, the law professor Amal Yazji or the judge Iman Shahoud, sit on the committee's influential 'Small' or Drafting Body.
Role in economy and in the military
In 1989 the Syrian government passed a law requiring factories and public institutions to provide on-site childcare.
However, women's involvement in the workforce is low; according to World Bank, as of 2014, women made up 16.4% of the labor force.
Women are not conscripted in the military, but may serve voluntarily. The female militias of Syria are trained to fight for the Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad. A video was found dating back to the 1980s with female soldiers showing their pride and protectiveness toward Assad's father. "Because women are rarely involved in the armed side of the revolution, they are much less likely to get stopped, searched, or hassled at government checkpoints. This has proved crucial in distributing humanitarian aid throughout Syria."
Women's health
Between 2010 and 2015, the average life expectancy at birth for women in Syria is 77.7 years, compared with 74.5 years for men.
Impact of the conflict on Syria's women
Since the conflict erupted in 2011, women in Syria, namely in conflict zones, have been facing violence, sexual assault, forced displacement, detension, domestic violence, child marriage and other violations of their rights.
During the years of conflict, insecurity and the economic collapse significantly increased the vulnerability of women and girls. In addition, many girls were left without schooling or access to healthcare services. The enrolment rate for primary education was 61% in 2013, with 61.1% of the total number being female, while for secondary education, the rate was 44% in 2013 - 43.8% for female.
In 2015, the United Nations gathered evidence of systematic sexual assault of women and girls by combatants in Syria, and this was escalated by the Islamic State (ISIL) and other terrorist organizations.
Crime against women
Honor killings
Honor killings take place in Syria in situations where women are deemed to have brought shame to the family, affecting the family's 'reputation' in the community. Some estimates suggest that more than 200 honor killings occur every year in Syria.
Forced and child marriage
The conflict in Syria has led to an increase in child marriages. The harsh living conditions, the insecurity, and the fear of rape, have led families to force their daughters into early marriages.
As a result of early marriage, many girls in Syria are forbidden from completing their studies because when a girl is married she is only expected to be a good wife and a good mother as well. Child marriage can influence physical and mental health badly. Physical damage can be related to child bearing specially for women under 18 years old and the possibility for not being able to give birth later in life, and in extreme cases it can lead to death. Psychological factors can be defined as difficulties in interacting with the husband or not having enough awareness about marriage life and its responsibilities.
Domestic Violence
A study covering the low-income women in Aleppo, an area where domestic abuse is more likely due to the tribal nature of the area, shows that physical abuse (battering at least 3 times in the last year) was found in 23% of the investigated women in 2003, 26% amongst married women. Regular abuse (battering at least once weekly) was found in 3.3% of married women, with no regular abused reported by non-married women. The prevalence of physical abuse amongst country residents was 44.3% compared to 18.8% amongst city residents. In most cases (87.4%) the abuse was inflicted by the husband, and in 9.5% of cases, the abuse was inflicted by more than one person. Correlates of physical abuse were women's education, religion, age, marital status, economic status, mental distress, smoking and residence.
Federation of Northern Syria - Rojava
With the Syrian Civil War, the Kurdish populated area in Northern Syria has gained de facto autonomy as the Federation of Northern Syria - Rojava, with the leading political actor being the progressive Democratic Union Party (PYD). Kurdish women have several armed and non-armed organizations in Rojava, and enhancing women's rights is a major focus of the political and societal agenda. Kurdish female fighters in the Women's Protection Units (YPJ) played a key role during the Siege of Kobani and in rescuing Yazidis trapped on Mount Sinjar, and their achievements have attracted international attention as a rare example of strong female achievement in a region in which women are heavily repressed.
The civil laws of Syria are valid in Rojava, as far as they do not conflict with the Constitution of Rojava. One notable example for amendment is personal status law, in Syria still Sharia-based, where Rojava introduced civil law and proclaims absolute equality of women under the law and a ban on forced marriage as well as polygamy was introduced, while underage marriage was outlawed as well. For the first time in Syrian history, civil marriage is being allowed and promoted, a significant move towards a secular open society and intermarriage between people of different religious backgrounds.
The legal efforts to reduce cases of underage marriage, polygamy and honor killings are underpinned by comprehensive public awareness campaigns. In every town and village, a women's house is established. These are community centers run by women, providing services to survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault and other forms of harm. These services include counseling, family mediation, legal support, and coordinating safe houses for women and children. Classes on economic independence and social empowerment programs are also held at women's houses.
All administrative organs in Rojava are required to have male and female co-chairs, and forty percent of the members of any governing body in Rojava must be female. An estimated 25 percent of the Asayish police force of the Rojava cantons are women, and joining the Asayish is described in international media as a huge act of personal and societal liberation from an extremely patriarchical background, for ethnic Kurdish and ethnic Arab women alike.
The PYD's political agenda of "trying to break the honor-based religious and tribal rules that confine women" is controversial in conservative quarters of society.
Notable women
Hadiya Khalaf Abbas, Speaker of the People's Council of Syria (since 2016).
Asya Abdullah is the co-chairwoman of the Democratic Union Party (PYD), the leading political party in Rojava.
Asma al-Assad, the First Lady of Syria and the wife of the current President Assad
Najah al-Attar, Vice President of Syria (since 2006).
Randa Kassis, President of The Astana Platform of the Syrian opposition.
Suheir Atassi, Vice President of the opposition government.
Samar Al Dayyoub, literary critic and writer
Khawla Dunia, opposition activist and poet
Îlham Ehmed is co-chairwoman of the Syrian Democratic Council.
Hêvî Îbrahîm is the prime minister of Afrin Canton.
Samira Khalil, dissident
Ulfat Idilbi, best-selling Arabic-language novelist.
Assala Nasri is a musical artist
Souad Nawfal, opposition activist and schoolteacher.
Rasha Omran, poet
Bouthaina Shaaban, Bashar al-Assad's political adviser and previous Minister of Expatriates
Muna Wassef, theater, television, and film actress.
Hediya Yousef is an ex-guerilla and co-chairwoman of the executive committee of the Federation of Northern Syria – Rojava.
Razan Zaitouneh, human rights lawyer and activist.
References
External links
Survey: Discrimination against Women in Syrian Society (I/II). Awareness of Women Rights and Freedoms, The Day After Association, August 2017
Survey: Discrimination Against Women in Syrian Society (II/II): Perception of Domestic Violence, The Day After Association, August 2017
Asian women | false | [
"The Democratic Union Party ( (PYD) ; ; ) is a Kurdish left wing political party established on 20 September 2003 in northern Syria. It is a founding member of the National Coordination Body for Democratic Change, and is described by the Carnegie Middle East Center as \"one of the most important Kurdish opposition parties in Syria\". It is the leading political party among Syrian Kurds. The PYD was established as a Syrian branch of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in 2003, and both organizations are still closely affiliated through the Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK).\n\nIdeology\nOn its website, the PYD describes itself as believing in \"social equality, justice and the freedom of belief\" as well as \"pluralism and the freedom of political parties\". It describes itself as \"striving for a democratic solution that includes the recognition of cultural, national and political rights, and develops and enhances their peaceful struggle to be able to govern themselves in a multicultural, democratic society.\" The PYD is a member of the Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK) and also a consultative member of the Socialist International. The PYD and the PKK are closely affiliated through the Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK). The PYD has adopted democratic confederalism as its main ideology and have implemented the ideas of Murray Bookchin and Abdullah Öcalan in the AANES, where hundreds of neighborhood-based communes have established across the regions of Rojava.\n\nLike its sister organisations in the KCK umbrella, the PYD is critical of nationalism, including Kurdish nationalism, in contrast to the Kurdish nationalist aims of the Kurdish National Council.\n\nHistory\n\nOrigins and foundation\n\nIn order to exert pressure on regional rivals, former Syrian President Hafez al-Assad supported Kurdish factions in neighboring Iraqi and Turkish Kurdistan. In 1975, Assad offered the Iraqi Kurdish leader Jalal Talabani a safe haven in Damascus to form his new Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) Party. From the 1980s until the late 1990s, Assad also supported the PKK against his regional rival Turkey, similarly providing a safe haven for PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan and allowing the PKK to use Syrian Kurdistan as a base of operations.\n\nIn 1998, the Syrian government banned Kurdish political parties and organizations, including the PUK and PKK, withdrawing its support and forcing them to leave Syria. During a meeting in Kobane in October 1998, Öcalan attempted to lay the foundations of a new party, which aim was obstructed by the Syrian secret service. In 2003, a second attempt led to the establishment of the PYD by Syrian Kurds. At the same year, Salih Muslim left the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Syria (KDP-S), an affiliate of the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iraq, and joined the newly-formed PYD.\n\nUnderground activism and state repression (2004–2010)\nPYD members suffered years of violent repression at the hands of the Syrian government. Though Syrian security forces had already for several years been targeting members of Kurdish political parties and organizations, the PYD came under intensified persecution in the aftermath of the 2004 Qamishli riots. According to Human Rights Watch, the Syrian government saw the party as a particular threat due to its \"ability to mobilise large crowds\", and suspected it of organising numerous demonstrations. Therefore, many PYD activists imprisoned in the aftermath of the uprising were not given the amnesty that Bashar al-Assad granted other Kurdish detainees as a later goodwill gesture.\n\nOn 2 November 2007, PYD activists organised large demonstrations in Qamishli and Kobanê, drawing hundreds of Kurds to protest Turkish threats to invade Iraqi Kurdistan, and Syria's support of Turkey. Security forces—including a unit brought from Damascus—fired tear gas in an effort to disperse the crowds. After some protesters threw stones, the police opened fire with live ammunition, killing one and injuring at least two more. Dozens (including women and children) were detained in the ensuing police crackdown. Most were soon released, but 15 activists—three of them PYD officials—remained imprisoned and were sent before a military court on various charges.\n\nFrom 2006 to 14 April 2009, at least two dozen PYD activists were formally tried before a special security court, some receiving sentences from five to seven years on charges of membership in a \"secret organisation\" and seeking \"to cut off part of Syrian land to join it to another country\". Many others were detained, often in severe conditions and without basic legal rights—some of those released reported being kept in extended solitary confinement and even being subjected to physical and psychological torture. Syrian security forces also often continued to harass activists and their families following their release. While similar methods were employed against many Kurdish prisoners and activists in Syria, Human Rights Watch noted that the security forces tended to reserve their harshest treatments for PYD members.\n\nConflict in Syria (2011–present)\n\nStance in early stages of the conflict (March 2011–July 2012)\n\nWith the outbreak of anti-government demonstrations across Syria in early 2011, the PYD joined the Kurdish Patriotic Movement in May, was a founding member of the National Coordination Body for Democratic Change in July, and of the KCK-aligned People's Council of Western Kurdistan in December. Unlike most other Kurdish Syrian parties, it did not join the Kurdish National Council (KNC) when it was formed in October 2011, but agreed on cooperation with the KNC and as a result, the Kurdish Supreme Committee was founded. The PYD adopted a critical stance toward both the Syrian government and the Syrian opposition, including the Syrian National Council (SNC), which it accused of acting in Turkey's interests. The SNC's unwillingness to support Kurdish autonomy led all but one of its Kurdish parties to leave by February 2012. Over 640 PYD-linked prisoners were released by the Syrian security apparatus in 2011, most of whom returned to the north.\n\nAssertion of control in Northeastern Syria (July 2012–July 2013)\n\nIn mid-2012 the People's Council of Western Kurdistan signed an agreement with the Kurdish National Council (KNC), forming a joint Kurdish Supreme Council (Kurdish Supreme Committee) and agreeing to cooperate on security for Kurdish areas, forming People's Protection Units (YPG). This followed an \"operational decision made by the Assad government in mid-July 2012 to withdraw the majority of its forces from Syria's Kurdish areas\" (leaving a strong presence only in Qamishli and Al-Hasakah), prompted by a major opposition offensive against the capital Damascus. According to the Carnegie Middle East Center, \"Despite these agreements, the Kurdish National Council has accused the PYD of attacking Kurdish demonstrators, kidnapping members of other Kurdish opposition parties, and setting up armed checkpoints along the border with Turkey.\" In mid-2012 Reuters cited unconfirmed reports that the towns of Amuda, Derik, Kobani and Afrin were under PYD control. Abdelbasset Seida, head of the opposition Syrian National Council claimed in July 2012 after a meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu that the Syrian Army had handed over control of certain parts of northeastern Syria to the PYD. The PYD's alleged control over certain areas was said to have led to disputes and clashes between the PYD, the KNC, and the Syrian National Council.\n\nThe PYD soon became the dominant force in the Kurdish opposition, with its members running checkpoints on major roads and entrances to Kurdish cities. Under the agreement with the KNC, cities that fall under the control of Syrian Kurdish forces would be ruled jointly by the PYD and the KNC until an election can be held. However, the PYD quickly abandoned the coalition with Kurdish nationalists for the aim of creating a polyethnic and progressive society and polity in the Rojava region.\n\nMoves toward official autonomy (July 2013–present)\n\nIn November 2013, the PYD announced an interim government, divided into three non-contiguous autonomous areas or cantons, Afrin, Jazira and Kobani. Leftist media commented that \"Kurdish rebels are establishing self-rule in war-torn Syria, resembling the Zapatista experience and providing a democratic alternative for the region.\"\n\nThe polyethnic Movement for a Democratic Society (TEV-DEM), led by the Democratic Union Party (PYD), is the political coalition governing Rojava. According to Zaher Baher of the Haringey Solidarity Group, the PYD-led TEV-DEM has been \"the most successful organ\" in Rojava because it has the \"determination and power\" to change things, it includes many people who \"believe in working voluntarily at all levels of service to make the event/experiment successful\".\n\nThe Rojava system of community government is focused on direct democracy. The system has been described as pursuing \"a bottom-up, Athenian-style direct form of democratic governance\", contrasting the local communities taking on responsibility versus the strong central governments favoured by many states. In this model, states become less relevant and people govern through councils. Its programme immediately aimed to be \"very inclusive\" and people from a range of different backgrounds became involved, including Kurds, Arabs, Assyrians, Syrian Turkmen and Yazidis (from Muslim, Christian, and Yazidi religious groups). It sought to \"establish a variety of groups, committees and communes on the streets in neighborhoods, villages, counties and small and big towns everywhere\". The purpose of these groups was to meet \"every week to talk about the problems people face where they live\". The representatives of the different community groups meet 'in the main group in the villages or towns called the \"House of the People\"'. As a September 2015 report in The New York Times observed:\n\nThe civil laws of Syria are valid in Rojava, as far as they do not conflict with the Constitution of Rojava. One notable example for amendment is the family law, where Rojava proclaims absolute equality of women under the law and a ban on polygamy. For the first time in Syrian history, civil marriage is being allowed and promoted, a significant move towards a secular open society and intermarriage between people of different religious backgrounds.\n\nIn 2012, the PYD launched what it originally called the Social Economy Plan, later renamed the People's Economy Plan (PEP). The PEP's policies are based primarily on the work of Abdullah Öcalan and ultimately seek to move beyond capitalism in favor of democratic confederalism. Private property and entrepreneurship are protected under the principle of \"ownership by use\", although accountable to the democratic will of locally organized councils. Dr Dara Kurdaxi, a Rojavan economist, has said that: \"The method in Rojava is not so much against private property, but rather has the goal of putting private property in the service of all the peoples who live in Rojava.\"\n\nInternational relations\n\nTurkey\n\nWhile the Turkish state now vehemently opposes the PYD, this wasn't always the case. During the early years of the Syrian civil war, Turkish government ministers met PYD leader Salih Muslim several times. Muslim held talks with Turkish officials in July 2013 in regards to its movement for autonomy within Syria. According to some officials, Turkey's demands included that the PYD not seek an autonomous region through violence, not harm Turkish border security, and be firmly opposed to the Syrian government.\n\nThe Turkish government's relationship with the Kurds deteriorated during the Siege of Kobanî, when it was accused of facilitating the advance of the Islamic State, leading to the 2014 Kobanî protests. The Kurdish-Turkish peace process broke down soon after, leading to a resumption of the Kurdish-Turkish conflict, this time with a Syrian dimension.\n\nAfter Turkey changed its view towards the PYD, it characterised it as being the Syrian branch of the PKK. Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said that he would not allow the creation of an autonomous area in Syrian Kurdistan.\n\nSince this time, the Turkish government has refused to countenance any PYD presence at the various Syrian peace talks. In August 2016, Erdogan said that \"extermination of the PYD\" is a policy aim of the government of Turkey. On 20 January 2018, Turkey began Operation Olive Branch against the PYD-governed Afrin Canton in the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria.\n\nUnited States\nWhile supporting the SDF militarily since the Siege of Kobanî, the United States gives no diplomatic support to the AANES, excluding it from peace talks at the behest of its NATO ally Turkey. While US officials liaise with the PYD, they don't accept its requests for representation at these talks.\n\nBy allying itself with PYD, the United States has created tension with the Turkish government, and has had to go out of its way to appease its NATO ally. During his time as president of the United States, Barack Obama had to make a number of personal phone calls to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to appease the outraged Turkish leader. What is more, on the 6 November 2018, U.S Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs, Matthew Palmer, announced U.S bounties on three leaders of the PKK, Murat Karayilan, Cemil Bayik, and Duran Kalkan. The value of the three bounties combined is $12 million. The announcement of the bounties—a move strongly praised by the Turkish regime—represents a potential conflict in policy, with the U.S fighting alongside YPJ-YPG, while actively looking to capture members of the PKK.\n\nGermany\nIn Germany, there is a ban on PKK symbols that, as of March 2017, is officially extended the YPG and YPJ flags and symbols. Certain German states will prosecute German citizens for posting YPJ-YPG symbols on social media, or bringing their flags to protests.\n\nSyrian Arab Army \nThe PYD is also accused of working with the Assad government in Syria. This allegation was initially disputed by the PYD and it's affiliates, but by 2019, an alliance had been forged by the AANES and the Syrian Arab Army, due to their common enemy in Turkey.\n\nSee also\n Kurdistan Democratic Solution Party\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n\nAldar Khalil: \"Syria's Kurds Are Not the PKK\", Foreign Policy, 15 May 2017\n\n \nApoist organizations in Syria\nKurdish irredentism\nKurdish organisations\nNational liberation movements\nPeople's Protection Units\nPolitical parties in Syria\nLibertarian socialist parties",
"The Kurdish National Council (KNC, , ENKS; al-Majlis al-Waṭaniyy Al-Kurdi) is a Syrian Kurdish political party. While the KNC had initially more international support than the ruling Democratic Union Party (PYD) during the early years of the Syrian civil war and a strong supporter basis among some Syrian Kurdish refugees, the overwhelming popular support the PYD enjoys has eroded support for the KNC in Syrian Kurdistan, losing almost all popular support.\n\nSince 2012, the alleged authoritarian and Kurdish nationalist politics of the KNC has led many political parties to leave it. Over the years, its membership has shrunk and it has lost many of its supporters. Among the factions that left the KNC were the Kurdish Democratic Progressive Party in 2015, and the parties in the Kurdish National Alliance in Syria and the Syrian Yazidi Council in 2016. As a result, the KNC had only two seats left in the Syrian Democratic Council by 2017.\n\nHistory \nThe Kurdish National Council was founded in Erbil on the 26 October 2011, under the sponsorship of Kurdistan Region President Massoud Barzani, following the earlier creation of the Syrian National Council. The organization was originally composed of 11 Syrian Kurdish parties, however, by May 2012 this had grown to 15. \n\nSeveral KNC parties have also on occasion come into conflict with other Kurdish groups like the Democratic Union Party (PYD). In order to reduce tensions, Massoud Barzani mediated between the two groups in July 2012 at a diplomatic meeting in Erbil. As a result, the PYD and some other Kurdish groups joined with the Kurdish National Council to form the Kurdish Supreme Committee along with a popular defence force to defend Syrian Kurdistan. The agreement became obsolete when the PYD with several pro-federal Kurdish parties abandoned the coalition after they accused the KNC of allying with Syrian rebels that were attacking Kurdish cities. Later, the PYD with other Kurdish, Arab and Assyrian parties made a deal for the aim of creating a polyethnic and progressive society and policy in the Rojava region, creating the Movement for a Democratic Society (TEV-DEM).\n\nCriticism and conflict with the PYD\n\nThe Kurdish National Council has been criticized by PYD supporters in Syrian Kurdistan. The KNC has been accused by PYD supporters of working with Turkey and the Syrian opposition forces against the Federation of Northern Syria – Rojava (NSR). In 2016, some KNC leaders and members were accused by ruling PYD authorities of corruption, money laundering, spying, making propaganda for Turkey and involving in assassinations of NSR authorities and politicians. The KNC have refused to formally join the PYD-led NSR administration citing PYD persecution of political opponents. The KNC leader Ibrahim Biro said in his interview on Turkish pro-government Sabah newspaper that PYD is ruling in a dictatorial manner committing gross human rights violations in the process and that western countries are overlooking these violations in using PKK against ISIS, he also stressed that Western countries should start supporting their own forces instead of PYD and other NSR entities. KNC members and leaders have had meetings with Turkish authorities, citing need for dialogue with Turkey, if Kurds are to gain autonomy from Damascus.\n\nThere have been several demonstrations held by KNC supporters against PYD citing PYD refusal to share power and ongoing persecution of Kurdish political opposition. Some observers have had difficulties understanding the KNC. Carl Drott, a sociology researcher at the University of Oxford, said in his interview on Ara News that \"it is hard to know what the KNC actually wants. There is a fundamental contradiction between the Kurdish nationalist ideology of the KNC and the political project of its Syrian allies (Syrian opposition). Sometimes it seems that the only consistent policy of the KNC is to oppose anything that the PYD does\". The PYD members have described the KNC as \"an enemy of the peoples of Syria.\" The KNC meanwhile have described the PYD as dictators and tyrants and accused them of betraying Kurds in Syria by working with Assad and replacing one dictatorship with their own.\n\nOn 13 August 2016, Asayish arrested Ibrahim Biro, leader of the KNC and the Kurdish Union (Yekîtî) Party, in Qamishli and took him to an unknown location. At the same day, reporter Wedat Hussein Ali who was working for Roj TV, a TV channel linked to the PKK, had been killed in KDP-controlled area. Some ARA News journalists alluded that the two incidents might be linked to the rivalry between the PKK and KDP, which support the PYD and KNC, respectively. After Biro's detention, dozens who belonged to Yekîtî Party, organized a sit-in in front of the city's PYD office to condemn the arrest, while PYD supporters took the South Kurdistan flag, symbol of both KNC as well as KDP, from the Yekîtî Party's office in southern Qamishli. Biro was released the next day, claiming that he had been detained for the KNC's \"political activities\" and that the PYD would fail, because \"it is impossible for the people of Syria to accept another dictatorship.\" He subsequently sought asylum in Dohuk with the KDP, though he said he would return to Rojava.\n\nAccording to SOHR, the Asayish arrested further Yekîtî Party and KDPS members in Amuda and the Afrin Canton on 16 August, most prominently Yekîtî politician Anwar Naso. The arrests prompted further sit-ins and protests by KNC supporters. Most of the arrested KNC members, among them Anwar Naso, were released a few hours later. The rest of them were released on 24 November 2016.\n\nAfter the outbreak of the Battle of al-Hasakah between pro-government and pro-PYD forces on the same day of August 2016, the KNC condemned the Syrian government for their attacks on civilians and urged both sides to stop fighting. At the same time, however, KNC politicians also said that the PYD should allow the Rojava Peshmerga into the city to protect the Kurdish population and that, at best, the government should be driven from Rojava.\n\nOn 19 September, the Syrian Yazidi Council left both the KNC as well as the Syrian National Council after months of tension over the \"failure to acknowledge the SNC's Arabism and Islamism problems\" and the lack of representation for Yazidis within the Syrian opposition.\n\nOn 25 October, the Kurdish National Council condemned the \"indiscriminate\" Turkish bombings on populated towns such as Jandairis and other towns in the northern Aleppo Governorate. The council stated that \"the Turkish Army and allied Islamist rebels have been killing civilians, carrying out indiscriminate shelling and airstrikes on populated areas.\" and demanded the Turkish Armed Forces to withdraw its forces. A KNC member also denounced the Turkish focus on attacking the Syrian Democratic Forces as part of the Turkish military intervention in Syria.\n\nOn 24 November, Asayish released some KNC politicians and many activists with the rest to be released \"in the following days\". Zara Salih of the Yekîtî Party said that his party saw \"this first step as a positive sign and a good start\" and that his party's leadership is \"ready to begin negotiations with PYD and the Movement for a Democratic Society, to reach a new deal.\"\n\nOn 30 March 2017, the Kurdish National Council withdrew from the High Negotiations Committee in protest of the HNC's policies. An official in the Kurdish Unity Party, part of the KNC, stated that \"The Syrian opposition are against federalism and constitutional Kurdish national rights, and they want to delay discussing Kurdish rights in the future.\"\n\nOn 30 April, the Afrin branch of the Kurdish National Council released a statement condemning the April 2017 Turkish airstrikes in Syria and Iraq. \"We condemn and denounce the Turkish aggression and demand the government of Ankara to stop the [attacks] immediately, we also ask PYD [Democratic Union Party] authorities to change its approach and authoritarian behavior and move towards a national and responsible approach to serve the unity of the Kurds and the Kurdish project in the face of challenges and serious risks in the present time and in the future for our Kurdish people\", the council stated.\n\nIdeology \nAlthough the KNC has joined the Syrian National Coalition and is a part of the Syrian opposition, there are some key differences between the KNC and the SNC over their approach to the issue of decentralization, with the KNC pressing for Kurdish autonomy, whereas the SNC has rejected anything more than administrative decentralization. The issue of federalism and autonomy is also a point of contention for KNC and PYD, even though both parties have very similar aims. As such, the KNC has condemned the PYD's declaration of a federation in northern Syria as an attempt to break up Syria without previous \"debate and democratic participation\". The KNC further claimed that \"it strictly opposes any attempt to impose federalism on the Syrian people without a preceding discussion\". These statements have raised confusion among some mostly pro-PYD observers, with Carl Drott, a sociology researcher at the University of Oxford, commenting that \"It is hard to know what the KNC actually wants. There is a fundamental contradiction between the Kurdish nationalist ideology of the KNC and the political project of its Syrian allies. Sometimes it seems that the only consistent policy of the KNC is to oppose anything that the PYD does.\" Some Syrian Kurdish refugees in Iraqi Kurdistan, who are believed to mostly support the KNC, have been also critical of the federalism declaration by PYD. Some of them fear that further tensions in Syria would arise as result of the declaration, while they simply wish for an end of hostilities. Despite these divisions about how to implement Kurdish autonomy, the KNC still generally supports federalism. This was shown when Syrian opposition leader Michel Kilo outright condemned any attempt of Kurds to establish federalism in Syria, negatively comparing them to Israel. The KNC reacted to the statement in which it accused Kilo of racism and acting to please Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Turkey. Nevertheless, the KNC also argued that the Kurds still had friends among the Syrian National Coalition, thereby reiterating their general support for the Syrian opposition in the wider struggle against Assad who they consider the greatest issue facing Kurds in Syria and a common enemy for both Arab and Kurdish opposition.\n\nMilitary wing\n\nThe KNC leader claimed that partially in response to the military power of the PYD, the KNC formed its own paramilitary wing, the Rojava Peshmerga. According to the claims of Ibrahim Biro, the Rojava Peshmergas are mostly recruited from Syrian Kurdish refugees and Syrian Army deserters in Kurdistan Region. Trained by Iraqi Peshmerga and Zeravani under Major General Bahjat Taymas, the Rojava Peshmerga had a claimed strength of 3,000 fighters by June 2016 and 5,000 by December 2018. Their primary purpose has been defending Kurdish areas, and fighting the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant together with other local forces.\n\nDue to the political tensions between the PYD and the KNC, and low manpower compared to the People's Protection Units, the Rojava Peshmerga have not been able to enter Syria. In the course of the Siege of Kobanî, the KNC offered to send 200 fighters to support the city's defenses, but its offer was rejected by the PYD as the latter wanted all Kurdish units to fight as part of the YPG and the YPJ. The KNC leader has several times claimed that the YPG even hindered the KNC's Peshmerga who had been trained in Iraqi Kurdistan from entering Rojava at all. Since the formation of the Syrian Democratic Forces, the YPG officials have stated that the Rojava Peshmergas are welcome to join and fight under SDF command. Despite discussions about possibly joining, the KNC have so far rejected joining SF and thus fighting under pro-PYD forces. Ibrahim Biro stated among other reasons for this that \"they\" [the SDF] have a good relation with the Syrian regime, that's why we cannot join them.\" Despite their tensions with the PYD, however, the KNC has also rejected inquires of Syrian opposition groups to send the Rojava Peshmerga to Azaz to defend the city against both ISIL as well as the YPG during the Northern Aleppo offensive. Bahjat Taymas declared that the Rojava Peshmerga \"don't want to fight Kurds, only ISIS.\"\n\nBetween 2016 and 2018, the Rojava Peshmergas were mostly fighting ISIL in Iraq.\n\nOn 2 March 2017, there were clashes between the Rojava Peshmerga and Yezidi militias affiliated with PKK in Sinjar resulting in the deaths of five as well as two militants affiliated to the PKK who attempted to prevent the clashes. At least four Peshmergas were also injured in the clashes.\n\nOn 17 December 2018, US envoy to Syria James Jeffrey informed the press that some Rojava Peshmergas have been deployed across the Iraq–Syria border. The disputes between the PYD and the KNC, however, prevent the Rojava Peshmergas from entering Rojava despite the involvement of the international community. One of the main obstacles have been the KNC's links with Turkey and the fear of local people believed to be PYD-supporters that the Peshmergas could be used against Rojava in future. The KNC states that the PYD oppose Rojava peshmerga because they want to maintain monopoly on power and that the PYD fears that the Rojava peshmerga could hinder the PYD's enforcement of authoritarian rule over Kurdish areas in Syria. While described as mercenaries for Turkey by pro-PYD supporters, the Rojava peshmerga and their KNC administration in turn accuse the PYD of being mercenaries for Iran and too close to Assad whose family has oppressed Kurds for half a century. They explain their own links to Turkey as a geopolitical necessity if Kurds in Syria are to gain autonomy from Damascus.\n\nParties within the ENKS\n\nSee also\n Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria\n Rojava conflict\n\nReferences\n\nBibliography \n\n2011 establishments in Syria\nKurdish nationalism in Syria\nKurdish nationalist organizations\nKurdish political parties in Syria\nKurdish political party alliances\nKurdish secession in Syria\nNational Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces\nOrganizations based in Syria\nOrganizations established in 2011\nPolitical parties in the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria\nPolitical party alliances in Syria"
] |
[
"Women in Syria",
"Federation of Northern Syria - Rojava",
"What is the federation of Norther Syria?",
"With the Syrian Civil War, the Kurdish populated area in Northern Syria has gained de facto autonomy as the Federation of Northern Syria",
"What is Rojava?",
"the Federation of Northern Syria - Rojava,",
"Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?",
"The civil laws of Syria are valid in Rojava, as far as they do not conflict with the Constitution of Rojava.",
"Is Rojava separate from Syria?",
"Federation of Northern Syria - Rojava,",
"What is different about norther Syria?",
"Rojava, with the leading political actor being the progressive Democratic Union Party (PYD).",
"How powerful is the PYD?",
"Kurdish women have several armed and non-armed organizations in Rojava, and enhancing women's rights is a major focus of the political and societal agenda.",
"Has the PYD been successful?",
"I don't know."
] | C_86032edaa18549ff92e85a8f4e7eefe4_0 | What else does the PYD do? | 8 | Besides enhancing women's rights, what else does the progressive Democratic Union Party PYD in Rojeva do? | Women in Syria | With the Syrian Civil War, the Kurdish populated area in Northern Syria has gained de facto autonomy as the Federation of Northern Syria - Rojava, with the leading political actor being the progressive Democratic Union Party (PYD). Kurdish women have several armed and non-armed organizations in Rojava, and enhancing women's rights is a major focus of the political and societal agenda. Kurdish female fighters in the Women's Protection Units (YPJ) played a key role during the Siege of Kobani and in rescuing Yazidis trapped on Mount Sinjar, and their achievements have attracted international attention as a rare example of strong female achievement in a region in which women are heavily repressed. The civil laws of Syria are valid in Rojava, as far as they do not conflict with the Constitution of Rojava. One notable example for amendment is personal status law, in Syria still Sharia-based, where Rojava introduced civil law and proclaims absolute equality of women under the law and a ban on forced marriage as well as polygamy was introduced, while underage marriage was outlawed as well. For the first time in Syrian history, civil marriage is being allowed and promoted, a significant move towards a secular open society and intermarriage between people of different religious backgrounds. The legal efforts to reduce cases of underage marriage, polygamy and honor killings are underpinned by comprehensive public awareness campaigns. In every town and village, a women's house is established. These are community centers run by women, providing services to survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault and other forms of harm. These services include counseling, family mediation, legal support, and coordinating safe houses for women and children. Classes on economic independence and social empowerment programs are also held at women's houses. All administrative organs in Rojava are required to have male and female co-chairs, and forty percent of the members of any governing body in Rojava must be female. An estimated 25 percent of the Asayish police force of the Rojava cantons are women, and joining the Asayish is described in international media as a huge act of personal and societal liberation from an extremely patriarchical background, for ethnic Kurdish and ethnic Arab women alike. The PYD's political agenda of "trying to break the honor-based religious and tribal rules that confine women" is controversial in conservative quarters of society. CANNOTANSWER | CANNOTANSWER | Women in Syria constitute 49.4% of Syria's population, and are active participants not only in everyday life, but also in the socio-political fields.
History
In the 20th century a movement for women's rights developed in Syria, made up largely of upper-class, educated women. In 1919, Naziq al-Abid founded Noor al-Fayha (Light of Damascus), the city's first women's organization, alongside an affiliated publication of the same name. She was made an honorary general of the Syrian Army after fighting in the Battle of Maysaloun, and in 1922 she founded the Syrian Red Crescent. In 1928 Lebanese-Syrian feminist Nazira Zain al-Din, one of the first people to critically reinterpret the Quran from a feminist perspective, published a book condemning the practice of veiling or hijab, arguing that Islam requires women to be treated equally with men. In 1930, the First Eastern Women's Congress was hosted in Damascus.
In 1963 the Ba'ath Party took power in Syria, and pledged full equality between women and men as well as full workforce participation for women.
In 1967 Syrian women formed a quasi-governmental organization called the General Union of Syrian Women (GUSW), a coalition of women's welfare societies, educational associations, and voluntary councils intended to achieve equal opportunity for women in Syria.
The year 2011 marked the beginning of the Syrian Civil War, where many civilians have fallen victim to attacks targeted at hospitals, schools, and infrastructure. Extremist rebel groups, such as Jabhat al-Nusra and ISIS, have enforced strict policies restricting freedoms of women in territories they control.
After the outbreak of civil war, some Syrian women have joined all-female brigade units in the Syrian Arab Army, the Democratic Union Party, and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, taking on roles such as snipers, frontline units, or police.
Legal rights
While Syria has developed some fairly secular features during independence in the second half of the 20th century, personal status law is still based on Sharia and applied by Sharia Courts. Syria has a dual legal system which includes both secular and religious courts. Marriage contracts are between the groom and the bride's father, and Syrian law does not recognize the concept of marital rape.
Syrian women are legally allowed to participate in everyday life, although they are not guaranteed a spot in being part of political, social, cultural and economic categories. The legal marriage for females in Syria is seventeen years old and eighteen for males. Women are technically allowed to have a say in what the agreements are between them and the groom. Although, since this contract has to be signed by the groom and the male guardian of the bride, her wishes are rarely met. On the other hand, of marriage, the divorce laws are unique in Syria. Women are in fact allowed to file for divorce except it is a long drawn out process and she must get consent from her husband. There are some circumstances in which the woman can apply for a divorce through the judicial system. In order to do this, she must prove that her husband has abused her or neglected his other duties as a husband. If a man wants to divorce a woman, all he has to do is go to court and orally demand a divorce three times, then the court will order him a divorce.
Education
The early schooling in Syria starts at six years old and ends at the age of eighteen. In Syrian universities, women and men attend the same classes. Between 1970 and the late 1990s, the female population in schools dramatically increased. This increase included the early school years, along with the upper-level schools such as universities and higher education. Although the number of women has increased, there are still ninety five women to every one hundred men. Although many women start going to school, the dropout rate for women is much higher than for men.
The literacy rate for women is 74.2 percent and 91 percent for men. The rate of females over 25 with secondary education is 29.0 percent.
Politics
In Syria, women in Syria were first allowed to vote and received universal suffrage in 1953. In the 1950s, Thuraya Al-Hafez ran for Parliament, but was not elected. By 1971, women held four out of the 173 seats.
The current president of Syria is a male. There are also two vice presidents (including female vice president Najah al-Attar since 2006), a prime minister and a cabinet. As of 2012, in the national parliament men held 88% of the seats while women held 12%. The Syrian Parliament was previously led by female Speaker Hadiya Khalaf Abbas, the first woman to have held that position.
President Assad's political and media adviser is Bouthaina Shaaban. Shaaban served as the first Minister of Expatriates for the Syrian Arab Republic, between 2003 and 2008, and she has been described as the Syrian government's face to the outside world.
Of the civil society representatives among the 150 members of the Syrian Constitutional Committee, which was assembled in 2019 by the Syria Envoy of the United Nations, Syrian women comprise around 30%. Several renowned Syrian women, such as academic Bassma Kodmani, Sabah Hallak of the Syrian Women's League, the law professor Amal Yazji or the judge Iman Shahoud, sit on the committee's influential 'Small' or Drafting Body.
Role in economy and in the military
In 1989 the Syrian government passed a law requiring factories and public institutions to provide on-site childcare.
However, women's involvement in the workforce is low; according to World Bank, as of 2014, women made up 16.4% of the labor force.
Women are not conscripted in the military, but may serve voluntarily. The female militias of Syria are trained to fight for the Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad. A video was found dating back to the 1980s with female soldiers showing their pride and protectiveness toward Assad's father. "Because women are rarely involved in the armed side of the revolution, they are much less likely to get stopped, searched, or hassled at government checkpoints. This has proved crucial in distributing humanitarian aid throughout Syria."
Women's health
Between 2010 and 2015, the average life expectancy at birth for women in Syria is 77.7 years, compared with 74.5 years for men.
Impact of the conflict on Syria's women
Since the conflict erupted in 2011, women in Syria, namely in conflict zones, have been facing violence, sexual assault, forced displacement, detension, domestic violence, child marriage and other violations of their rights.
During the years of conflict, insecurity and the economic collapse significantly increased the vulnerability of women and girls. In addition, many girls were left without schooling or access to healthcare services. The enrolment rate for primary education was 61% in 2013, with 61.1% of the total number being female, while for secondary education, the rate was 44% in 2013 - 43.8% for female.
In 2015, the United Nations gathered evidence of systematic sexual assault of women and girls by combatants in Syria, and this was escalated by the Islamic State (ISIL) and other terrorist organizations.
Crime against women
Honor killings
Honor killings take place in Syria in situations where women are deemed to have brought shame to the family, affecting the family's 'reputation' in the community. Some estimates suggest that more than 200 honor killings occur every year in Syria.
Forced and child marriage
The conflict in Syria has led to an increase in child marriages. The harsh living conditions, the insecurity, and the fear of rape, have led families to force their daughters into early marriages.
As a result of early marriage, many girls in Syria are forbidden from completing their studies because when a girl is married she is only expected to be a good wife and a good mother as well. Child marriage can influence physical and mental health badly. Physical damage can be related to child bearing specially for women under 18 years old and the possibility for not being able to give birth later in life, and in extreme cases it can lead to death. Psychological factors can be defined as difficulties in interacting with the husband or not having enough awareness about marriage life and its responsibilities.
Domestic Violence
A study covering the low-income women in Aleppo, an area where domestic abuse is more likely due to the tribal nature of the area, shows that physical abuse (battering at least 3 times in the last year) was found in 23% of the investigated women in 2003, 26% amongst married women. Regular abuse (battering at least once weekly) was found in 3.3% of married women, with no regular abused reported by non-married women. The prevalence of physical abuse amongst country residents was 44.3% compared to 18.8% amongst city residents. In most cases (87.4%) the abuse was inflicted by the husband, and in 9.5% of cases, the abuse was inflicted by more than one person. Correlates of physical abuse were women's education, religion, age, marital status, economic status, mental distress, smoking and residence.
Federation of Northern Syria - Rojava
With the Syrian Civil War, the Kurdish populated area in Northern Syria has gained de facto autonomy as the Federation of Northern Syria - Rojava, with the leading political actor being the progressive Democratic Union Party (PYD). Kurdish women have several armed and non-armed organizations in Rojava, and enhancing women's rights is a major focus of the political and societal agenda. Kurdish female fighters in the Women's Protection Units (YPJ) played a key role during the Siege of Kobani and in rescuing Yazidis trapped on Mount Sinjar, and their achievements have attracted international attention as a rare example of strong female achievement in a region in which women are heavily repressed.
The civil laws of Syria are valid in Rojava, as far as they do not conflict with the Constitution of Rojava. One notable example for amendment is personal status law, in Syria still Sharia-based, where Rojava introduced civil law and proclaims absolute equality of women under the law and a ban on forced marriage as well as polygamy was introduced, while underage marriage was outlawed as well. For the first time in Syrian history, civil marriage is being allowed and promoted, a significant move towards a secular open society and intermarriage between people of different religious backgrounds.
The legal efforts to reduce cases of underage marriage, polygamy and honor killings are underpinned by comprehensive public awareness campaigns. In every town and village, a women's house is established. These are community centers run by women, providing services to survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault and other forms of harm. These services include counseling, family mediation, legal support, and coordinating safe houses for women and children. Classes on economic independence and social empowerment programs are also held at women's houses.
All administrative organs in Rojava are required to have male and female co-chairs, and forty percent of the members of any governing body in Rojava must be female. An estimated 25 percent of the Asayish police force of the Rojava cantons are women, and joining the Asayish is described in international media as a huge act of personal and societal liberation from an extremely patriarchical background, for ethnic Kurdish and ethnic Arab women alike.
The PYD's political agenda of "trying to break the honor-based religious and tribal rules that confine women" is controversial in conservative quarters of society.
Notable women
Hadiya Khalaf Abbas, Speaker of the People's Council of Syria (since 2016).
Asya Abdullah is the co-chairwoman of the Democratic Union Party (PYD), the leading political party in Rojava.
Asma al-Assad, the First Lady of Syria and the wife of the current President Assad
Najah al-Attar, Vice President of Syria (since 2006).
Randa Kassis, President of The Astana Platform of the Syrian opposition.
Suheir Atassi, Vice President of the opposition government.
Samar Al Dayyoub, literary critic and writer
Khawla Dunia, opposition activist and poet
Îlham Ehmed is co-chairwoman of the Syrian Democratic Council.
Hêvî Îbrahîm is the prime minister of Afrin Canton.
Samira Khalil, dissident
Ulfat Idilbi, best-selling Arabic-language novelist.
Assala Nasri is a musical artist
Souad Nawfal, opposition activist and schoolteacher.
Rasha Omran, poet
Bouthaina Shaaban, Bashar al-Assad's political adviser and previous Minister of Expatriates
Muna Wassef, theater, television, and film actress.
Hediya Yousef is an ex-guerilla and co-chairwoman of the executive committee of the Federation of Northern Syria – Rojava.
Razan Zaitouneh, human rights lawyer and activist.
References
External links
Survey: Discrimination against Women in Syrian Society (I/II). Awareness of Women Rights and Freedoms, The Day After Association, August 2017
Survey: Discrimination Against Women in Syrian Society (II/II): Perception of Domestic Violence, The Day After Association, August 2017
Asian women | false | [
"The Kurdish National Council (KNC, , ENKS; al-Majlis al-Waṭaniyy Al-Kurdi) is a Syrian Kurdish political party. While the KNC had initially more international support than the ruling Democratic Union Party (PYD) during the early years of the Syrian civil war and a strong supporter basis among some Syrian Kurdish refugees, the overwhelming popular support the PYD enjoys has eroded support for the KNC in Syrian Kurdistan, losing almost all popular support.\n\nSince 2012, the alleged authoritarian and Kurdish nationalist politics of the KNC has led many political parties to leave it. Over the years, its membership has shrunk and it has lost many of its supporters. Among the factions that left the KNC were the Kurdish Democratic Progressive Party in 2015, and the parties in the Kurdish National Alliance in Syria and the Syrian Yazidi Council in 2016. As a result, the KNC had only two seats left in the Syrian Democratic Council by 2017.\n\nHistory \nThe Kurdish National Council was founded in Erbil on the 26 October 2011, under the sponsorship of Kurdistan Region President Massoud Barzani, following the earlier creation of the Syrian National Council. The organization was originally composed of 11 Syrian Kurdish parties, however, by May 2012 this had grown to 15. \n\nSeveral KNC parties have also on occasion come into conflict with other Kurdish groups like the Democratic Union Party (PYD). In order to reduce tensions, Massoud Barzani mediated between the two groups in July 2012 at a diplomatic meeting in Erbil. As a result, the PYD and some other Kurdish groups joined with the Kurdish National Council to form the Kurdish Supreme Committee along with a popular defence force to defend Syrian Kurdistan. The agreement became obsolete when the PYD with several pro-federal Kurdish parties abandoned the coalition after they accused the KNC of allying with Syrian rebels that were attacking Kurdish cities. Later, the PYD with other Kurdish, Arab and Assyrian parties made a deal for the aim of creating a polyethnic and progressive society and policy in the Rojava region, creating the Movement for a Democratic Society (TEV-DEM).\n\nCriticism and conflict with the PYD\n\nThe Kurdish National Council has been criticized by PYD supporters in Syrian Kurdistan. The KNC has been accused by PYD supporters of working with Turkey and the Syrian opposition forces against the Federation of Northern Syria – Rojava (NSR). In 2016, some KNC leaders and members were accused by ruling PYD authorities of corruption, money laundering, spying, making propaganda for Turkey and involving in assassinations of NSR authorities and politicians. The KNC have refused to formally join the PYD-led NSR administration citing PYD persecution of political opponents. The KNC leader Ibrahim Biro said in his interview on Turkish pro-government Sabah newspaper that PYD is ruling in a dictatorial manner committing gross human rights violations in the process and that western countries are overlooking these violations in using PKK against ISIS, he also stressed that Western countries should start supporting their own forces instead of PYD and other NSR entities. KNC members and leaders have had meetings with Turkish authorities, citing need for dialogue with Turkey, if Kurds are to gain autonomy from Damascus.\n\nThere have been several demonstrations held by KNC supporters against PYD citing PYD refusal to share power and ongoing persecution of Kurdish political opposition. Some observers have had difficulties understanding the KNC. Carl Drott, a sociology researcher at the University of Oxford, said in his interview on Ara News that \"it is hard to know what the KNC actually wants. There is a fundamental contradiction between the Kurdish nationalist ideology of the KNC and the political project of its Syrian allies (Syrian opposition). Sometimes it seems that the only consistent policy of the KNC is to oppose anything that the PYD does\". The PYD members have described the KNC as \"an enemy of the peoples of Syria.\" The KNC meanwhile have described the PYD as dictators and tyrants and accused them of betraying Kurds in Syria by working with Assad and replacing one dictatorship with their own.\n\nOn 13 August 2016, Asayish arrested Ibrahim Biro, leader of the KNC and the Kurdish Union (Yekîtî) Party, in Qamishli and took him to an unknown location. At the same day, reporter Wedat Hussein Ali who was working for Roj TV, a TV channel linked to the PKK, had been killed in KDP-controlled area. Some ARA News journalists alluded that the two incidents might be linked to the rivalry between the PKK and KDP, which support the PYD and KNC, respectively. After Biro's detention, dozens who belonged to Yekîtî Party, organized a sit-in in front of the city's PYD office to condemn the arrest, while PYD supporters took the South Kurdistan flag, symbol of both KNC as well as KDP, from the Yekîtî Party's office in southern Qamishli. Biro was released the next day, claiming that he had been detained for the KNC's \"political activities\" and that the PYD would fail, because \"it is impossible for the people of Syria to accept another dictatorship.\" He subsequently sought asylum in Dohuk with the KDP, though he said he would return to Rojava.\n\nAccording to SOHR, the Asayish arrested further Yekîtî Party and KDPS members in Amuda and the Afrin Canton on 16 August, most prominently Yekîtî politician Anwar Naso. The arrests prompted further sit-ins and protests by KNC supporters. Most of the arrested KNC members, among them Anwar Naso, were released a few hours later. The rest of them were released on 24 November 2016.\n\nAfter the outbreak of the Battle of al-Hasakah between pro-government and pro-PYD forces on the same day of August 2016, the KNC condemned the Syrian government for their attacks on civilians and urged both sides to stop fighting. At the same time, however, KNC politicians also said that the PYD should allow the Rojava Peshmerga into the city to protect the Kurdish population and that, at best, the government should be driven from Rojava.\n\nOn 19 September, the Syrian Yazidi Council left both the KNC as well as the Syrian National Council after months of tension over the \"failure to acknowledge the SNC's Arabism and Islamism problems\" and the lack of representation for Yazidis within the Syrian opposition.\n\nOn 25 October, the Kurdish National Council condemned the \"indiscriminate\" Turkish bombings on populated towns such as Jandairis and other towns in the northern Aleppo Governorate. The council stated that \"the Turkish Army and allied Islamist rebels have been killing civilians, carrying out indiscriminate shelling and airstrikes on populated areas.\" and demanded the Turkish Armed Forces to withdraw its forces. A KNC member also denounced the Turkish focus on attacking the Syrian Democratic Forces as part of the Turkish military intervention in Syria.\n\nOn 24 November, Asayish released some KNC politicians and many activists with the rest to be released \"in the following days\". Zara Salih of the Yekîtî Party said that his party saw \"this first step as a positive sign and a good start\" and that his party's leadership is \"ready to begin negotiations with PYD and the Movement for a Democratic Society, to reach a new deal.\"\n\nOn 30 March 2017, the Kurdish National Council withdrew from the High Negotiations Committee in protest of the HNC's policies. An official in the Kurdish Unity Party, part of the KNC, stated that \"The Syrian opposition are against federalism and constitutional Kurdish national rights, and they want to delay discussing Kurdish rights in the future.\"\n\nOn 30 April, the Afrin branch of the Kurdish National Council released a statement condemning the April 2017 Turkish airstrikes in Syria and Iraq. \"We condemn and denounce the Turkish aggression and demand the government of Ankara to stop the [attacks] immediately, we also ask PYD [Democratic Union Party] authorities to change its approach and authoritarian behavior and move towards a national and responsible approach to serve the unity of the Kurds and the Kurdish project in the face of challenges and serious risks in the present time and in the future for our Kurdish people\", the council stated.\n\nIdeology \nAlthough the KNC has joined the Syrian National Coalition and is a part of the Syrian opposition, there are some key differences between the KNC and the SNC over their approach to the issue of decentralization, with the KNC pressing for Kurdish autonomy, whereas the SNC has rejected anything more than administrative decentralization. The issue of federalism and autonomy is also a point of contention for KNC and PYD, even though both parties have very similar aims. As such, the KNC has condemned the PYD's declaration of a federation in northern Syria as an attempt to break up Syria without previous \"debate and democratic participation\". The KNC further claimed that \"it strictly opposes any attempt to impose federalism on the Syrian people without a preceding discussion\". These statements have raised confusion among some mostly pro-PYD observers, with Carl Drott, a sociology researcher at the University of Oxford, commenting that \"It is hard to know what the KNC actually wants. There is a fundamental contradiction between the Kurdish nationalist ideology of the KNC and the political project of its Syrian allies. Sometimes it seems that the only consistent policy of the KNC is to oppose anything that the PYD does.\" Some Syrian Kurdish refugees in Iraqi Kurdistan, who are believed to mostly support the KNC, have been also critical of the federalism declaration by PYD. Some of them fear that further tensions in Syria would arise as result of the declaration, while they simply wish for an end of hostilities. Despite these divisions about how to implement Kurdish autonomy, the KNC still generally supports federalism. This was shown when Syrian opposition leader Michel Kilo outright condemned any attempt of Kurds to establish federalism in Syria, negatively comparing them to Israel. The KNC reacted to the statement in which it accused Kilo of racism and acting to please Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Turkey. Nevertheless, the KNC also argued that the Kurds still had friends among the Syrian National Coalition, thereby reiterating their general support for the Syrian opposition in the wider struggle against Assad who they consider the greatest issue facing Kurds in Syria and a common enemy for both Arab and Kurdish opposition.\n\nMilitary wing\n\nThe KNC leader claimed that partially in response to the military power of the PYD, the KNC formed its own paramilitary wing, the Rojava Peshmerga. According to the claims of Ibrahim Biro, the Rojava Peshmergas are mostly recruited from Syrian Kurdish refugees and Syrian Army deserters in Kurdistan Region. Trained by Iraqi Peshmerga and Zeravani under Major General Bahjat Taymas, the Rojava Peshmerga had a claimed strength of 3,000 fighters by June 2016 and 5,000 by December 2018. Their primary purpose has been defending Kurdish areas, and fighting the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant together with other local forces.\n\nDue to the political tensions between the PYD and the KNC, and low manpower compared to the People's Protection Units, the Rojava Peshmerga have not been able to enter Syria. In the course of the Siege of Kobanî, the KNC offered to send 200 fighters to support the city's defenses, but its offer was rejected by the PYD as the latter wanted all Kurdish units to fight as part of the YPG and the YPJ. The KNC leader has several times claimed that the YPG even hindered the KNC's Peshmerga who had been trained in Iraqi Kurdistan from entering Rojava at all. Since the formation of the Syrian Democratic Forces, the YPG officials have stated that the Rojava Peshmergas are welcome to join and fight under SDF command. Despite discussions about possibly joining, the KNC have so far rejected joining SF and thus fighting under pro-PYD forces. Ibrahim Biro stated among other reasons for this that \"they\" [the SDF] have a good relation with the Syrian regime, that's why we cannot join them.\" Despite their tensions with the PYD, however, the KNC has also rejected inquires of Syrian opposition groups to send the Rojava Peshmerga to Azaz to defend the city against both ISIL as well as the YPG during the Northern Aleppo offensive. Bahjat Taymas declared that the Rojava Peshmerga \"don't want to fight Kurds, only ISIS.\"\n\nBetween 2016 and 2018, the Rojava Peshmergas were mostly fighting ISIL in Iraq.\n\nOn 2 March 2017, there were clashes between the Rojava Peshmerga and Yezidi militias affiliated with PKK in Sinjar resulting in the deaths of five as well as two militants affiliated to the PKK who attempted to prevent the clashes. At least four Peshmergas were also injured in the clashes.\n\nOn 17 December 2018, US envoy to Syria James Jeffrey informed the press that some Rojava Peshmergas have been deployed across the Iraq–Syria border. The disputes between the PYD and the KNC, however, prevent the Rojava Peshmergas from entering Rojava despite the involvement of the international community. One of the main obstacles have been the KNC's links with Turkey and the fear of local people believed to be PYD-supporters that the Peshmergas could be used against Rojava in future. The KNC states that the PYD oppose Rojava peshmerga because they want to maintain monopoly on power and that the PYD fears that the Rojava peshmerga could hinder the PYD's enforcement of authoritarian rule over Kurdish areas in Syria. While described as mercenaries for Turkey by pro-PYD supporters, the Rojava peshmerga and their KNC administration in turn accuse the PYD of being mercenaries for Iran and too close to Assad whose family has oppressed Kurds for half a century. They explain their own links to Turkey as a geopolitical necessity if Kurds in Syria are to gain autonomy from Damascus.\n\nParties within the ENKS\n\nSee also\n Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria\n Rojava conflict\n\nReferences\n\nBibliography \n\n2011 establishments in Syria\nKurdish nationalism in Syria\nKurdish nationalist organizations\nKurdish political parties in Syria\nKurdish political party alliances\nKurdish secession in Syria\nNational Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces\nOrganizations based in Syria\nOrganizations established in 2011\nPolitical parties in the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria\nPolitical party alliances in Syria",
"PYD or pyd may refer to:\n\n \"PYD\" (song), a 2013 single by Justin Bieber\n Democratic Union Party (Syria) (Partiya Yekîtiya Demokrat), a Kurdish Syrian political party\n Pyrin domain (PYD), or the protein domain\n Positive youth development\n .pyd, a file extension for the Python programming language"
] |
[
"Women in Syria",
"Federation of Northern Syria - Rojava",
"What is the federation of Norther Syria?",
"With the Syrian Civil War, the Kurdish populated area in Northern Syria has gained de facto autonomy as the Federation of Northern Syria",
"What is Rojava?",
"the Federation of Northern Syria - Rojava,",
"Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?",
"The civil laws of Syria are valid in Rojava, as far as they do not conflict with the Constitution of Rojava.",
"Is Rojava separate from Syria?",
"Federation of Northern Syria - Rojava,",
"What is different about norther Syria?",
"Rojava, with the leading political actor being the progressive Democratic Union Party (PYD).",
"How powerful is the PYD?",
"Kurdish women have several armed and non-armed organizations in Rojava, and enhancing women's rights is a major focus of the political and societal agenda.",
"Has the PYD been successful?",
"I don't know.",
"What else does the PYD do?",
"I don't know."
] | C_86032edaa18549ff92e85a8f4e7eefe4_0 | Is there conflict in the north? | 9 | Is there conflict in the north Syria? | Women in Syria | With the Syrian Civil War, the Kurdish populated area in Northern Syria has gained de facto autonomy as the Federation of Northern Syria - Rojava, with the leading political actor being the progressive Democratic Union Party (PYD). Kurdish women have several armed and non-armed organizations in Rojava, and enhancing women's rights is a major focus of the political and societal agenda. Kurdish female fighters in the Women's Protection Units (YPJ) played a key role during the Siege of Kobani and in rescuing Yazidis trapped on Mount Sinjar, and their achievements have attracted international attention as a rare example of strong female achievement in a region in which women are heavily repressed. The civil laws of Syria are valid in Rojava, as far as they do not conflict with the Constitution of Rojava. One notable example for amendment is personal status law, in Syria still Sharia-based, where Rojava introduced civil law and proclaims absolute equality of women under the law and a ban on forced marriage as well as polygamy was introduced, while underage marriage was outlawed as well. For the first time in Syrian history, civil marriage is being allowed and promoted, a significant move towards a secular open society and intermarriage between people of different religious backgrounds. The legal efforts to reduce cases of underage marriage, polygamy and honor killings are underpinned by comprehensive public awareness campaigns. In every town and village, a women's house is established. These are community centers run by women, providing services to survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault and other forms of harm. These services include counseling, family mediation, legal support, and coordinating safe houses for women and children. Classes on economic independence and social empowerment programs are also held at women's houses. All administrative organs in Rojava are required to have male and female co-chairs, and forty percent of the members of any governing body in Rojava must be female. An estimated 25 percent of the Asayish police force of the Rojava cantons are women, and joining the Asayish is described in international media as a huge act of personal and societal liberation from an extremely patriarchical background, for ethnic Kurdish and ethnic Arab women alike. The PYD's political agenda of "trying to break the honor-based religious and tribal rules that confine women" is controversial in conservative quarters of society. CANNOTANSWER | The civil laws of Syria are valid in Rojava, as far as they do not conflict with the Constitution of Rojava. | Women in Syria constitute 49.4% of Syria's population, and are active participants not only in everyday life, but also in the socio-political fields.
History
In the 20th century a movement for women's rights developed in Syria, made up largely of upper-class, educated women. In 1919, Naziq al-Abid founded Noor al-Fayha (Light of Damascus), the city's first women's organization, alongside an affiliated publication of the same name. She was made an honorary general of the Syrian Army after fighting in the Battle of Maysaloun, and in 1922 she founded the Syrian Red Crescent. In 1928 Lebanese-Syrian feminist Nazira Zain al-Din, one of the first people to critically reinterpret the Quran from a feminist perspective, published a book condemning the practice of veiling or hijab, arguing that Islam requires women to be treated equally with men. In 1930, the First Eastern Women's Congress was hosted in Damascus.
In 1963 the Ba'ath Party took power in Syria, and pledged full equality between women and men as well as full workforce participation for women.
In 1967 Syrian women formed a quasi-governmental organization called the General Union of Syrian Women (GUSW), a coalition of women's welfare societies, educational associations, and voluntary councils intended to achieve equal opportunity for women in Syria.
The year 2011 marked the beginning of the Syrian Civil War, where many civilians have fallen victim to attacks targeted at hospitals, schools, and infrastructure. Extremist rebel groups, such as Jabhat al-Nusra and ISIS, have enforced strict policies restricting freedoms of women in territories they control.
After the outbreak of civil war, some Syrian women have joined all-female brigade units in the Syrian Arab Army, the Democratic Union Party, and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, taking on roles such as snipers, frontline units, or police.
Legal rights
While Syria has developed some fairly secular features during independence in the second half of the 20th century, personal status law is still based on Sharia and applied by Sharia Courts. Syria has a dual legal system which includes both secular and religious courts. Marriage contracts are between the groom and the bride's father, and Syrian law does not recognize the concept of marital rape.
Syrian women are legally allowed to participate in everyday life, although they are not guaranteed a spot in being part of political, social, cultural and economic categories. The legal marriage for females in Syria is seventeen years old and eighteen for males. Women are technically allowed to have a say in what the agreements are between them and the groom. Although, since this contract has to be signed by the groom and the male guardian of the bride, her wishes are rarely met. On the other hand, of marriage, the divorce laws are unique in Syria. Women are in fact allowed to file for divorce except it is a long drawn out process and she must get consent from her husband. There are some circumstances in which the woman can apply for a divorce through the judicial system. In order to do this, she must prove that her husband has abused her or neglected his other duties as a husband. If a man wants to divorce a woman, all he has to do is go to court and orally demand a divorce three times, then the court will order him a divorce.
Education
The early schooling in Syria starts at six years old and ends at the age of eighteen. In Syrian universities, women and men attend the same classes. Between 1970 and the late 1990s, the female population in schools dramatically increased. This increase included the early school years, along with the upper-level schools such as universities and higher education. Although the number of women has increased, there are still ninety five women to every one hundred men. Although many women start going to school, the dropout rate for women is much higher than for men.
The literacy rate for women is 74.2 percent and 91 percent for men. The rate of females over 25 with secondary education is 29.0 percent.
Politics
In Syria, women in Syria were first allowed to vote and received universal suffrage in 1953. In the 1950s, Thuraya Al-Hafez ran for Parliament, but was not elected. By 1971, women held four out of the 173 seats.
The current president of Syria is a male. There are also two vice presidents (including female vice president Najah al-Attar since 2006), a prime minister and a cabinet. As of 2012, in the national parliament men held 88% of the seats while women held 12%. The Syrian Parliament was previously led by female Speaker Hadiya Khalaf Abbas, the first woman to have held that position.
President Assad's political and media adviser is Bouthaina Shaaban. Shaaban served as the first Minister of Expatriates for the Syrian Arab Republic, between 2003 and 2008, and she has been described as the Syrian government's face to the outside world.
Of the civil society representatives among the 150 members of the Syrian Constitutional Committee, which was assembled in 2019 by the Syria Envoy of the United Nations, Syrian women comprise around 30%. Several renowned Syrian women, such as academic Bassma Kodmani, Sabah Hallak of the Syrian Women's League, the law professor Amal Yazji or the judge Iman Shahoud, sit on the committee's influential 'Small' or Drafting Body.
Role in economy and in the military
In 1989 the Syrian government passed a law requiring factories and public institutions to provide on-site childcare.
However, women's involvement in the workforce is low; according to World Bank, as of 2014, women made up 16.4% of the labor force.
Women are not conscripted in the military, but may serve voluntarily. The female militias of Syria are trained to fight for the Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad. A video was found dating back to the 1980s with female soldiers showing their pride and protectiveness toward Assad's father. "Because women are rarely involved in the armed side of the revolution, they are much less likely to get stopped, searched, or hassled at government checkpoints. This has proved crucial in distributing humanitarian aid throughout Syria."
Women's health
Between 2010 and 2015, the average life expectancy at birth for women in Syria is 77.7 years, compared with 74.5 years for men.
Impact of the conflict on Syria's women
Since the conflict erupted in 2011, women in Syria, namely in conflict zones, have been facing violence, sexual assault, forced displacement, detension, domestic violence, child marriage and other violations of their rights.
During the years of conflict, insecurity and the economic collapse significantly increased the vulnerability of women and girls. In addition, many girls were left without schooling or access to healthcare services. The enrolment rate for primary education was 61% in 2013, with 61.1% of the total number being female, while for secondary education, the rate was 44% in 2013 - 43.8% for female.
In 2015, the United Nations gathered evidence of systematic sexual assault of women and girls by combatants in Syria, and this was escalated by the Islamic State (ISIL) and other terrorist organizations.
Crime against women
Honor killings
Honor killings take place in Syria in situations where women are deemed to have brought shame to the family, affecting the family's 'reputation' in the community. Some estimates suggest that more than 200 honor killings occur every year in Syria.
Forced and child marriage
The conflict in Syria has led to an increase in child marriages. The harsh living conditions, the insecurity, and the fear of rape, have led families to force their daughters into early marriages.
As a result of early marriage, many girls in Syria are forbidden from completing their studies because when a girl is married she is only expected to be a good wife and a good mother as well. Child marriage can influence physical and mental health badly. Physical damage can be related to child bearing specially for women under 18 years old and the possibility for not being able to give birth later in life, and in extreme cases it can lead to death. Psychological factors can be defined as difficulties in interacting with the husband or not having enough awareness about marriage life and its responsibilities.
Domestic Violence
A study covering the low-income women in Aleppo, an area where domestic abuse is more likely due to the tribal nature of the area, shows that physical abuse (battering at least 3 times in the last year) was found in 23% of the investigated women in 2003, 26% amongst married women. Regular abuse (battering at least once weekly) was found in 3.3% of married women, with no regular abused reported by non-married women. The prevalence of physical abuse amongst country residents was 44.3% compared to 18.8% amongst city residents. In most cases (87.4%) the abuse was inflicted by the husband, and in 9.5% of cases, the abuse was inflicted by more than one person. Correlates of physical abuse were women's education, religion, age, marital status, economic status, mental distress, smoking and residence.
Federation of Northern Syria - Rojava
With the Syrian Civil War, the Kurdish populated area in Northern Syria has gained de facto autonomy as the Federation of Northern Syria - Rojava, with the leading political actor being the progressive Democratic Union Party (PYD). Kurdish women have several armed and non-armed organizations in Rojava, and enhancing women's rights is a major focus of the political and societal agenda. Kurdish female fighters in the Women's Protection Units (YPJ) played a key role during the Siege of Kobani and in rescuing Yazidis trapped on Mount Sinjar, and their achievements have attracted international attention as a rare example of strong female achievement in a region in which women are heavily repressed.
The civil laws of Syria are valid in Rojava, as far as they do not conflict with the Constitution of Rojava. One notable example for amendment is personal status law, in Syria still Sharia-based, where Rojava introduced civil law and proclaims absolute equality of women under the law and a ban on forced marriage as well as polygamy was introduced, while underage marriage was outlawed as well. For the first time in Syrian history, civil marriage is being allowed and promoted, a significant move towards a secular open society and intermarriage between people of different religious backgrounds.
The legal efforts to reduce cases of underage marriage, polygamy and honor killings are underpinned by comprehensive public awareness campaigns. In every town and village, a women's house is established. These are community centers run by women, providing services to survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault and other forms of harm. These services include counseling, family mediation, legal support, and coordinating safe houses for women and children. Classes on economic independence and social empowerment programs are also held at women's houses.
All administrative organs in Rojava are required to have male and female co-chairs, and forty percent of the members of any governing body in Rojava must be female. An estimated 25 percent of the Asayish police force of the Rojava cantons are women, and joining the Asayish is described in international media as a huge act of personal and societal liberation from an extremely patriarchical background, for ethnic Kurdish and ethnic Arab women alike.
The PYD's political agenda of "trying to break the honor-based religious and tribal rules that confine women" is controversial in conservative quarters of society.
Notable women
Hadiya Khalaf Abbas, Speaker of the People's Council of Syria (since 2016).
Asya Abdullah is the co-chairwoman of the Democratic Union Party (PYD), the leading political party in Rojava.
Asma al-Assad, the First Lady of Syria and the wife of the current President Assad
Najah al-Attar, Vice President of Syria (since 2006).
Randa Kassis, President of The Astana Platform of the Syrian opposition.
Suheir Atassi, Vice President of the opposition government.
Samar Al Dayyoub, literary critic and writer
Khawla Dunia, opposition activist and poet
Îlham Ehmed is co-chairwoman of the Syrian Democratic Council.
Hêvî Îbrahîm is the prime minister of Afrin Canton.
Samira Khalil, dissident
Ulfat Idilbi, best-selling Arabic-language novelist.
Assala Nasri is a musical artist
Souad Nawfal, opposition activist and schoolteacher.
Rasha Omran, poet
Bouthaina Shaaban, Bashar al-Assad's political adviser and previous Minister of Expatriates
Muna Wassef, theater, television, and film actress.
Hediya Yousef is an ex-guerilla and co-chairwoman of the executive committee of the Federation of Northern Syria – Rojava.
Razan Zaitouneh, human rights lawyer and activist.
References
External links
Survey: Discrimination against Women in Syrian Society (I/II). Awareness of Women Rights and Freedoms, The Day After Association, August 2017
Survey: Discrimination Against Women in Syrian Society (II/II): Perception of Domestic Violence, The Day After Association, August 2017
Asian women | true | [
"Women in North Macedonia are women who live in or are from North Macedonia. They live in a society in North Macedonia that is customarily patriarchal. Being in a country that was ravaged by internal conflict known as the 2001 insurgency in North Macedonia, North Macedonia's women played roles in peacebuilding during time periods classified as the pre-conflict period, the conflict period, and the post-conflict period.\n\nTraditionally, the women of North Macedonia perform domestic work. In the field of academics, some women from North Macedonia focus in the study of Humanities. Some women in North Macedonia hold positions of authority. Women receive \"inheritance\" through the dowry system, because inheritance is traditionally transferred to male heirs. Some modern-day women receive inheritance that is divided among siblings by their parents. The traditional way women greet each other involves exchanging kisses. Traditional medicine is handled by some women of the older generation, who act as faith healers, healing people against illnesses caused by the so-called \"evil eye.\"\n\nNorth Macedonia made marital rape illegal in 1996.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n\n \nMacedonian women\nNorth Macedonia",
"In sociology, intragroup conflict (or infighting) refers to conflict between two or more members of the same group or team. In recent years, intragroup conflict has received a large amount of attention in conflict and group dynamics literature. This increase in interest in studying intragroup conflict may be a natural corollary of the ubiquitous use of work groups and work teams across all levels of organizations, including decision-making task forces, project groups, or production teams. Jehn identified two main types of intragroup conflict: task conflict and relationship (or emotional) conflict (e.g., differences in personal values).\n\nAntecedents \nThere are a number of antecedents of intragroup conflict. While not an exhaustive list, researchers have identified a number of antecedents of intragroup conflict, including low task or goal uncertainty, increased group size, increased diversity (i.e., gender, age, race), lack of information sharing, and high task interdependence.\n\nMeasuring \nJehn developed the Intragroup Conflict Scale (ICS) to measure the two types of intragroup conflicts (i.e., task and relationship conflict). The ICS consists of eight 7-point Likert scale items which assess intragroup conflict. This scale has been applied in a number of contexts including decision making groups and groups in the moving industry. Furthermore, this scale has high construct and predictive validity.\n\nGroup outcomes \nA recent meta-analysis of 116 empirical studies, examining 8,880 groups, revealed a complex relationship between intragroup conflict and group outcomes. That is, effects of intragroup conflict on group performance or outcome is moderated by a number of factors including the context under which it is examined and the type of outcome. One of the prominent findings from the meta-analysis is that task conflict has a less negative relationship (and at times even positive) with group performance and outcomes than believed previously. The results also showed that intragroup conflict is not always negative or detrimental to group performance; for example, task conflict has been related positively to group performance and outcomes when such conflict occurs in management groups.\n\nTask conflict\nTask conflict goes hand in hand with intragroup conflict because task conflict mostly occurs in workplace or group environments. In a business or workplace environment task conflict involves two parties who are unable to reach an agreement or move forward on the task at hand due to differing needs or perspectives. There are essentially three components of task conflict. The first is behavioral. It occurs when someone interferes with your goals or objectives. For example, you wish to keep your work desk neat and tidy, but your coworker keeps leaving piles of paper all over it. The second component is cognitive. It is a disagreement between you and someone else due to a divergence between your interests, needs and objectives and the other person's interests, needs and objectives. For example, let's say you and a fellow researcher both need to use the company's supercomputer to process data on separate research projects. You each disagree about which research project has priority because it is in both of your interests to finish first, but only one of you can Affective component is the third and final task conflict component. Affect means 'emotional feelings,' and in the cause of conflict, it means negative feelings such as anger, resentment and aggression. Getting into a fight with a coworker over personal resentments is a perfect example.\n\nThere is no way to avoid conflict in the workplace. However, there are benefits to conflict in the workplace. A small amount of task conflict is considered healthy for the business because it stimulates creativity. The more an employee thinks about something the better the outcome is. Different perspectives and constant discussions in the work environment creates healthy competition. When there is healthy competition in the workplace it creates for a more interesting atmosphere. When handled with care, task conflict can in fact benefit the business.\n\nSee also \n Group conflict\n Narcissism of small differences\n Vote-splitting\n\nReferences \n\nhttp://education-portal.com/academy/lesson/what-is-task-conflict-definition-lesson-quiz.html#lesson\n\nGroup processes"
] |
[
"Canadian comics",
"Age of comic strips (1920s-1930s)"
] | C_355680f212734b4daa071770ae0249c6_0 | What was one of the first success in comics during the 1920's and 1930;s? | 1 | What was one of the first successes in comics during the 1920's and 1930's? | Canadian comics | Canadian cartoonists often found it hard to succeed in the field of comic strips without moving to the US, but in 1921, Jimmy Frise, one of Ernest Hemingway's drinking buddies during the journalist's days in Toronto, sold Life's Little Comedies to the Toronto Star's Star Weekly. This strip was later retitled Birdseye Center, and became the longest-running strip in English Canadian history. In 1947, Frise brought the strip to the Montreal Standard, where it was renamed Juniper Junction. Nova Scotia-born artist J. R. Williams single-panel strip about rural and small-town life, Out Our Way, began in 1922 and was syndicated in 700 newspapers at its peak. Two new comic strips appeared on the same day in 1929 in American newspapers and fed the public's desire for escapist entertainment at the dawn of the Great Depression. They were the first non-humorous adventure strips, and both were adaptations. One was Buck Rogers; the other, Tarzan, by Halifax native Hal Foster, who had worked as illustrator for catalogues from Eaton's and the Hudson's Bay Company before moving to the US in his late 20s. Other adventure strips soon followed and paved the way for the genre diversity that was seen in comic strips in the 1930s. In 1937, Foster began his own strip, Prince Valiant, which has become his best-known work for Foster's dextrous, realistic artwork. After struggling to support himself at various Toronto-based publications, Richard Taylor, under the pen name "Ric", became a regular at The New Yorker and relocated to the US, where the pay and opportunities for cartoonists were better. The Toronto Telegram began to run Men of the Mounted in 1933, the first home-grown adventure strip, written by Ted McCall and drawn by Harry Hall. McCall later penned the strip Robin Hood and Company, which made its appearance in comic books when McCall founded Anglo-American Publishing in 1941. CANNOTANSWER | in 1921, Jimmy Frise, one of Ernest Hemingway's drinking buddies during the journalist's days in Toronto, sold Life's Little Comedies | Canadian comics refers to comics and cartooning by citizens of Canada or permanent residents of Canada regardless of residence. Canada has two official languages, and distinct comics cultures have developed in English and French Canada. The English tends to follow American trends, and the French, Franco-Belgian ones, with little crossover between the two cultures. Canadian comics run the gamut of comics forms, including editorial cartooning, comic strips, comic books, graphic novels, and webcomics, and are published in newspapers, magazines, books, and online. They have received attention in international comics communities and have received support from the federal and provincial governments, including grants from the Canada Council for the Arts. There are comics publishers throughout the country, as well as large small press, self-publishing, and minicomics communities.
In English Canada many cartoonists, from Hal Foster to Todd McFarlane, have sought to further their careers by moving to the United States; since the late 20th century increasing numbers have gained international attention while staying in Canada. During World War II, trade restrictions led to the flourishing of a domestic comic book industry, whose black-and-white "Canadian Whites" contained original stories of heroes such as Nelvana of the Northern Lights as well as American scripts redrawn by Canadian artists. The war's end saw American imports and domestic censorship lead to the death of this industry. The alternative and small press communities grew in the 1970s, and by the end of the century Dave Sim's Cerebus and Chester Brown's comics, amongst others, gained international audiences and critical acclaim, and Drawn & Quarterly became a leader in arts-comics publishing. In the 21st century, comics have gained wider audiences and higher levels of recognition, especially in the form of graphic novels and webcomics.
In French Canada indigenous comics are called BDQ or () Cartoons with speech balloons in Quebec date to the late 1700s. BDQ have alternately flourished and languished throughout Quebec's history as the small domestic market has found it difficult to compete with foreign imports. Many cartoonists from Quebec have made their careers in the United States. Since the Springtime of BDQ in the 1970s native comics magazines, such as Croc and Safarir, and comics albums have become more common, though they account for only 5% of total sales in the province. Since the turn of the 21st century cartoonists such as Michel Rabagliati, Guy Delisle, and the team of Dubuc and Delaf have seen international success in French-speaking Europe and in translation. Éditions Mille-Îles and La Pastèque are amongst the domestic publishers that have become increasingly common.
History
English Canada
Early history (1759–1910s)
Brigadier-General George Townshend's cartoons lampooning General James Wolfe in 1759 are recognized as the first examples of political cartooning in Canadian history. Cartoons did not have a regular forum in Canada until John Henry Walker's short-lived weekly Punch in Canada débuted in Montreal in 1849. The magazine was a Canadian version of Britain's humorous Punch and featured cartoons by Walker. It paved the way for a number of similar short-lived publications, until the success of the more straight-laced Canadian Illustrated News, published by George-Édouard Desbarats beginning in 1869, soon after Canadian Confederation.
In 1873, John Wilson Bengough founded Grip, a humour magazine in the style of Punch and the American Harper's Weekly. It featured a large number of cartoons, especially Bengough's own. The cartoons tended to be political, and Prime Minister John A. Macdonald and Métis rebel leader Louis Riel were favourite targets. The Pacific Scandal in the early 1870s gave Bengough much fodder to raise his reputation as a political caricaturist. According to historian John Bell, while Bengough was probably the most significant pre-20th-century Canadian cartoonist, Henri Julien was likely the most accomplished. Published widely both at home and abroad, Julien's cartoons appeared in periodicals such as Harper's Weekly and Le Monde illustré. In 1888, he gained employment at the Montreal Star and became the first full-time newspaper cartoonist in Canada.
Palmer Cox, a Canadian expatriate in the United States, at this time created The Brownies, a popular, widely merchandised phenomenon whose first book collection sold over a million copies. Cox began a Brownies comic strip in 1898 that was one of the earliest English-language strips, and had begun to use speech balloons by the time it ended in 1907.
Age of comic strips (1920s–1930s)
Canadian cartoonists often found it hard to succeed in the field of comic strips without moving to the US, but in 1921, Jimmy Frise, one of Ernest Hemingway's drinking buddies during the journalist's days in Toronto, sold Life's Little Comedies to the Toronto Stars Star Weekly. This strip was later retitled Birdseye Center, and became the longest-running strip in English Canadian history. In 1947, Frise brought the strip to the Montreal Standard, where it was renamed Juniper Junction. Nova Scotia-born artist J. R. Williams single-panel strip about rural and small-town life, Out Our Way, began in 1922 and was syndicated in 700 newspapers at its peak.
Two new comic strips appeared on the same day in 1929 in American newspapers and fed the public's desire for escapist entertainment at the dawn of the Great Depression. They were the first non-humorous adventure strips, and both were adaptations. One was Buck Rogers; the other, Tarzan, by Halifax native Hal Foster, who had worked as illustrator for catalogues from Eaton's and the Hudson's Bay Company before moving to the US in his late 20s. Other adventure strips soon followed and paved the way for the genre diversity that was seen in comic strips in the 1930s. In 1937, Foster began his own strip, Prince Valiant, which has become his best-known work for Foster's dextrous, realistic artwork. After struggling to support himself at various Toronto-based publications, Richard Taylor, under the pen name "Ric", became a regular at The New Yorker and relocated to the US, where the pay and opportunities for cartoonists were better.
The Toronto Telegram began to run Men of the Mounted in 1933, the first home-grown adventure strip, written by Ted McCall and drawn by Harry Hall. McCall later penned the strip Robin Hood and Company, which made its appearance in comic books when McCall founded Anglo-American Publishing in 1941.
Golden age: Canadian Whites (1940s)
The Golden Age of Comic Books and subsequent superhero boom began with the release in June 1938 of Action Comics #1. The cover story was the first appearance of Superman, drawn by Toronto-born Joe Shuster. Shuster modeled Superman's Metropolis after his memories of Toronto, and the newspaper Clark Kent worked for after the Toronto Daily Star, which he had delivered as a child. These comics crossed the border and quickly gained Canadian fans as well.
In December 1940, the War Exchange Conservation Act was passed. It restricted the importation of goods from the US that were deemed non-essential to combat the trade deficit Canada had with its neighbours to the south. American comic books were casualties of the Act. In 1941, to fill the void, a number of Canadian comic book publishers sprang up, starting in March with Anglo-American Publishing in Toronto and Maple Leaf Publishing in Vancouver. Adrian Dingle's Hillborough Studios and Bell Features soon joined them. The comics printed by these companies had colour covers, but the innards were in black-and-white, and thus collectors call them Canadian Whites. Superheroes stories were prominent, and the "Whites" often relied on serials to keep readers coming back for more.
Better Comics from Maple Leaf and Robin Hood and Company from Anglo-American were the first titles to hit the stands. Robin Hood was a tabloid-sized comic strip reprint magazine, while Better was made up of original material in traditional comic-book format, and thus can be said to be the first true Canadian comic book. It included the appearance of the first Canadian superhero, Vernon Miller's Iron Man. John Stables, under the pen name John St. Ables, was responsible for Brok Windsors debut in Better in the spring of 1944—a fantasy-adventure set far in the "land beyond the mists" in the Canadian North. The success of Better led to a proliferation of titles from Maple Leaf.
The driving creative forces behind Anglo-American were Ted McCall, the writer of the Men of the Mounted and Robin Hood strips, and artist Ed Furness. The pair created a number of heroes with such names as Freelance, Purple Rider, Red Rover, and Commander Steel. Anglo-American also published stories based on imported American scripts bought from Fawcett Publications, with fresh artwork by Canadians to bypass trade restrictions. Captain Marvel and Bulletman were amongst the characters that had Canadian adaptations. Anglo-American published a large number of titles, including Freelance, Grand Slam, Three Aces, Whiz, Captain Marvel and Atom Smasher, but relied less on serials, and was less patriotically Canadian than its rival publishers. It employed a number of talented artists, but they were kept to a "house style" of drawing, in the vein of Captain Marvel's C. C. Beck.
In August 1941, three unemployed artists, Adrian Dingle and André and René Kulbach, formed Hillborough Studios to publish their own work. They started with Triumph-Adventure Comics, whose star was Canada's first female superhero, Nelvana of the Northern Lights, who appeared several months before Wonder Woman did in the US. Nelvana was inspired by tribal stories brought back from the Arctic Group of Seven painter Franz Johnston. The popular fur-miniskirted superheroine was a powerful Inuit mythological figure, daughter of a mortal woman and Koliak the Mighty, King of the Northern Lights. She had telepathic powers and was able to ride the Northern Lights at the speed of light, turn invisible, and melt metal.
In March 1942, Dingle and most of the Hillborough staff moved with Nelvana to Toronto-based Bell Features, which had begun publishing comics in September 1941 with the first issue of the successful Wow Comics—in colour at first, but Bell soon switched to the familiar "White" format. Bell was the most prolific of the Canadian comic-book publishers. Its comics were drawn by a large pool of artists, including freelancers, adolescents, and women, and were unabashedly Canadian. Aside from Nelvana, there were Edmund Legault's Dixon of the Mounted, Jerry Lazare's Phantom Rider, and Fred Kelly's Doc Stearne. Leo Bachle's Johnny Canuck was the second Canadian national hero, and debuted in Bell's Dime Comics in February 1942.
The new Canadian comics were successful; Bell reached accumulated weekly sales of 100,000 by 1943. By this time, Educational Projects of Montréal had joined, selling comics in the "White" format. Educational specialized in a different sort of fare: biographies of prime ministers, cases of the RCMP, and historical tales, drawn by accomplished artists including George M. Rae and Sid Barron. Educational's Canadian Heroes earned endorsements from cabinet ministers and appealed to parents and educators, but was not as appealing to the kids it was aimed at until Rae convinced publisher Harry J. Halperin to allow him to include a fictional character, Canada Jack—a hero who battled Nazis.
With the end of World War II in 1945, Canadian comic-book publishing faced competition from American publishers again. Educational and latecomer Feature Publications folded immediately. Maple Leaf tried to compete by switching to colour and by trying to break into the British market. Anglo-American and another newcomer, Al Rucker Publications, tried to compete directly with the Americans, and even achieved distribution in the US. By the end of 1946 it was clear that the remaining publishers could not compete, and for the time being original comic-book publishing came to an end in Canada, although some publishers like Bell Features survived by republishing American books until the War Exchange Conservation Act was officially abolished in 1951. The cartoonists who insisted on drawing for a living faced several choices: some moved across the border to attempt to make it with the American publishers, and some moved into illustration work, as Jerry Lazare, Vernon Miller, Jack Tremblay, and Harold Bennett did. Another avenue was the route Sid Barron followed into political cartooning. By 1949, out of 176 comics titles on the newsstand, only 23 were Canadian.
Post-war (late 1940s–early 1970s)
With the end of most original Canadian comic book publishing in 1947, Canada's superheroes disappeared, and the country entered a phase of foreign comic book domination. In November 1948, a crime comics scare hit the country when a pair of voracious comic book readers in Dawson Creek, British Columbia, shot at a random car while playing highwaymen, fatally wounding a passenger. When authorities discovered their taste for comic books, media attention focused on the emerging crime comics genre as an influence on juvenile delinquency. A bill to amend Section 207 of the Criminal Code was drafted, and passed unanimously, making it an offense to make, print, publish, distribute, sell, or own "any magazine, periodical or book which exclusively or substantially comprises matter depicting pictorially the commission of crimes, real or fictitious", on 10 December 1949. Comics publishers across Canada banded together to create the Comic Magazine Industry Association of Canada (CMIAC), a Canadian industry self-censoring body similar to the American Comics Code Authority that would be formed a few years later in response to a similar crime comics scare in the U.S. Purely by coincidence, the Netherlands had experienced a near-similar comics related incident at almost the exact same time with an equally lethal outcome, and causing a similar popular reaction, but in this case the authorities refrained from taking the drastic legal actions, their Canadian counterparts did.
Superior Publishers, however, defied the ban, while also moving into the U.S. market. Watchdogs turned up the heat, and in 1953 a distributor was found guilty of distributing obscenities. Some of Superior's titles found themselves in Fredric Wertham's notorious and influential diatribe on the influence comics had on juvenile delinquency, Seduction of the Innocent, published in 1954. The United States Senate Subcommittee on Juvenile Delinquency, established in 1953, had public hearings a few months later, and called upon Kamloops, British Columbia Member of Parliament E. Davie Fulton, one of Superior publisher William Zimmerman's most outspoken enemies, as a witness. The Comics Code Authority was soon formed, and Superior, like fellow American publisher EC Comics, saw their sales dwindle throughout 1955. Prosecutions increased throughout Canada, with Superior successfully defending themselves in one, and another supposedly comics-related murder was reported in Westville, Nova Scotia. Superior shut its doors in 1956, and until the 1970s, English Canadian newsstand comic book publishing was no more, although a number of "giveaway" comics continued to be produced by Orville ' Productions and Owen McCarron's Comic Book World, who produced the educational and cautionary comics for governments and corporations, aimed at kids and teens.
The crackdown was not aimed at comic strips, however, and several notable new ones appeared, like Lew Saw's One-Up, Winslow Mortimer's Larry Brannon and Al Beaton's Ookpik. After Jimmy Frise's death in 1948, Juniper Junction was taken over by Doug Wright, "one of Canada's best post-war comic-strip artists". He would continue with the strip until 1968, while also working on his own Nipper from 1949. In 1967, Nipper became Doug Wright's Family when Wright moved from Montreal to Ontario, and the popular strip continued until 1980. The Doug Wright Awards were inaugurated in his honour in 2005. From 1948 to 1972, James Simpkins' cartoon Jasper the Bear appeared continuously in Maclean's magazine. Jasper was hugely popular across Canada and was used, and is still today, as the symbol for Jasper National Park.
To express his anger at the US military's nuclear tests in the Bikini Atoll in 1946 English-born artist Laurence Hyde produced a wordless novel in 1951 called Southern Cross. In 118 silent pages, the book depicts atomic testing by the US military and its effects Polynesian island inhabitants. While it had no direct effect on comics at the time, it has come to be seen as a precursor to the Canadian graphic novel.
Early editorial cartooning lacked a local flavour, tending to be a pale imitation of American examples. It tended to be cheery, non-confrontational, and supported good causes. Following the War it broke from typical American clichés and took on more of a savage bite, especially compared to the more allegorical tendencies of American editorial cartoons. At Le Devoir, Robert Lapalme was the first to cartoon in this particularly Canadian idiom, and in 1963 organized an International Salon of Caricature and Cartoon in Montreal. Lapalme was later followed by Duncan Macpherson at the Toronto Star, Leonard Norris at the Vancouver Sun and Ed McNally at the Montreal Star. These cartoonists frequently took political positions contrary to those of the papers in which they were published. Macpherson drew a cartoon of John Diefenbaker as Marie Antoinette saying "Let them eat cake" in response to the Prime Minister's cancelling the Avro Arrow project, which historian Pierre Burton has called the beginning of Canadians' disillusionment with Diefenbaker's government. Macpherson in particular fought fiercely for editorial independence, challenging his editors and threatening to quit the Star if not given his way, which paved a new path for other cartoonists to follow.
In the spring of 1966, Canada saw its first specialty comic shop open its doors on Queen Street West, Toronto: Viking Bookshop, established by "Captain George" Henderson. Entirely unfamiliar with the new phenomenon, the store was dubbed "the campiest store in town" by Toronto Star reporter Robert Fulford. No longer in existence, Viking Bookshop is currently the earliest known such specialty comic book store in North-America (or worldwide for that matter), predating the oldest known US comic book store, Gary Arlington's San Francisco Comic Book Company (est. April 1968), by two years. One year later, in May 1967, the store was renamed Memory Lane Books after it had relocated to Markham Street in the same city, and as such became an inspiration for pioneering retailer Harry Kremer and Bill Johnson to open Now & Then Books in Kitchener, Ontario. Its newsletter, the Now and Then Times, published early work by the young Dave Sim in its inaugural issue in 1972, and later employed him from 1976 to 1977.
In the late 1960s, along with the countercultural movement, a new form of comic art appeared from the avant-garde and literary scenes—underground comics (or "comix") aimed at an adult audience. Early examples appeared in certain magazines, but an early precursor of Canadian underground comic books was Scraptures, as a special issue of the Toronto avant-garde literary magazine grOnk in 1967. In 1969, Canada saw its first true underground comics, with SFU Komix and Snore Comix. These comix drew their inspiration from the American underground movement that exploded after the release of Robert Crumb's Zap in early 1968. Martin Vaugh-James produced an early graphic novel when he had Elephant released by Press Porcépic in 1970. The underground movement paralleled that of the US, in that it peaked from 1970 to 1972 with the peak of the counterculture, and witnessed a sharp decline afterward. Saskatoon, Saskatchewan's Dave Geary and Vancouver, British Columbia's Rand Holmes were key figures, Holmes being the creator of the Harold Hedd comic strip.
Humour magazine Fuddle Duddle, named after a famous euphemism by then-Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, was a short lived attempt at a Canadian Mad-style satirical magazine. It was the first comic book of Canadian content to be available on newsstands since 1956. Two of its contributors, Peter Evans and Stanley Berneche, would soon go on to bring superheroes back to Canada for the first time since the demise of Nelvana in 1947, with Captain Canuck.
The fan press and fandom grew throughout this period, and was bolstered when Patrick Loubert and Michael Hirsh, the founders of the animation company Nelvana, published of The Great Canadian Comic Books in 1971, a book-length study of the Bell Features comics, and the touring of a related exhibition mounted by the National Gallery of Canada, Comic Art Traditions in Canada, 1941-45, which together served to introduce English-Canadian comics creators and fans to their lost heritage.
Towards the middle of the 1970s, comics aimed at children gradually disappeared. The new breed of underground, alternative and independent comics was aimed at a more mature audience, which ran counter to the public's perception, as well as to legal restrictions. The first wave of alternative comics in the seventies was largely made up of science fiction and fantasy comics, made by budding cartoonists like Gene Day, Dave Sim, Augustine Funnell, Jim Craig, Ken Steacy, Dean Motter, and Vincent Marchesano.
New wave (mid-1970s–1980s)
The mid-1970s saw the beginning of a new wave of Canadian comics, one in which the creators chose to remain in Canada, rather than seeking their fortunes south of the border. Richard Comely's Captain Canuck appeared in July 1975, the first appearance of a non-satirical superhero in Canada since the 1940s. During the 1950s and 1960s, the idea of native comics seemed unattainable to Canadian kids, and the appearance of Captain Canuck gave these kids the optimism to make their own. This was followed up with James Waley's more professional, newsstand-distributed Orb, which featured a number of talents that would later take part in the North American comics scene.
The comics magazines showing up in Canada at the time suffered from promotion and distribution problems, however, getting most of their support from the fan press. Phil Seuling's California-based comics distributor Bud Plant was supportive of these underground and alternative comics, though, and helped get them into stores. Eventually, distributors like Bud Plant and the emergence of specialty comic shops would form a distribution network for small press comics that would thrive independently of the traditional newsstands.
The world of comic strips saw a number of works pop up. Ben Wicks was doing The Outsiders and Wicks, Jim Unger's Herman debuted in 1975, and Ted Martin's Pavlov in 1979. In 1978, Lynn Johnston, living in Lynn Lake, Manitoba, began For Better or For Worse, which was noted for following the lives of the Patterson family as they grew older in real time, and dealt with real-life issues. The strip based a number of its storylines on Johnston's real-life experiences with her own family, as well as social issues such as the midlife crisis, divorce, the coming out of a gay character, child abuse, and death. In 1985, she became the first female cartoonist to win a Reuben Award, and the Friends of Lulu added her to the Women Cartoonists Hall of Fame in 2002. The strip was very popular, appearing in over 2000 newspapers in 25 countries.
Editorial cartoonists held considerable sway between the 1950s through the 1970s. Former Prime Minister Joe Clark has been quoted that he lost votes in the election of 1980 due to political cartoons about him. They have also experienced the fear of censorship through the courts, or "libel chill". In 1979, Robert Bierman and the Victoria Times was the subject of a libel suit when he criticized the policies of William Vander Zalm, the British Columbia Minister of Human Resources, with a cartoon of the Minister pulling the wings off flies. When the courts ruled in Vander Zalm's favour, newspapers across the nation ran their own versions of the cartoon in support, until the BC Court of Appeal reversed the ruling in 1980, deeming the cartoon "fair comment". It was later acquired by the National Archives of Canada.
Captain Canuck and Orb both folded by 1976, but in Kitchener, Ontario in December 1977, Dave Sim's independent comic book Cerebus debuted, and would become the longest-lived original Canadian comic book. Benefiting from distribution in the emerging comic shop market, it started as a Howard the Duck-like parody of Barry Windsor-Smith's Conan the Barbarian comics. The story eventually grew to fit Sim's expanding ambitions, both in content and technique, with its earth-pig protagonist getting embroiled in politics, becoming prime minister of a powerful city-state, then a Pope who ascends to the moon—all within the first third of its projected 300-issue run. Sim came to conceive the series as a self-enclosed story, which itself would be divided into novels—or graphic novels, which were gaining in prominence in the North American comic book world in the 1980s and 1990s. While Sim and his partner Gerhard's technical achievements impressed and influenced his peers, Sim also spoke out for creators' rights, promoted his peers and up-and-coming creators, and fiercely promoted self-publishing as an ideal. Americans Jeff Smith with Bone and Terry Moore with Strangers in Paradise took Sim's cue, as did Canadian M'Oak (Mark Oakley) with his long-running Thieves and Kings. Eddie Campbell took Sim's personal advice to self-publish the collected From Hell at the turn of the century. Sim also stirred considerable controversy, sometimes with the content of Cerebus, and sometimes with his editorials and personal interactions.
David Boswell was amongst those in the 1980s who made the jump from the fanzine world when he began self-publishing Reid Fleming, World's Toughest Milkman in 1980. From out of the same scene, Bill Marks started publishing the anthology Vortex in Toronto in 1982. Marks' Vortex Comics expanded into publishing other comics. The publisher gained publicity for Mister X, which employed the talents of Dean Motter, Gilberto and Jaime Hernandez and, later, Torontonians Seth and Jeffrey Morgan. Most notably, Marks picked up Chester Brown's Yummy Fur, a taboo-breaking series which started in 1983 as a self-published, photocopied minicomic. It had generated some buzz, and Vortex started publishing it professionally at the end of 1986. Yummy Furs stories were a mix of genres, with the improvised, surreal Ed the Happy Clown, straight adaptations of the Gospels, and revealing, bare-all autobiographical stories. Brown would become a major figure in Canadian comics.
As the content of comics matured throughout the 1980s, they became the subject of increasing scrutiny. In 1986, Calgary comic shop Comic Legends was raided and charged with obscenity. In response, Derek McCulloch and Paul Stockton of Strawberry Jam Comics established the Comic Legends Legal Defense Fund to help retailers, distributors, publishers, and creators fight against obscenity charges. To raise funds, they published two True North anthologies of Canadian talent.
During this time, large numbers of Canadian artists were making waves in the American comic book market as well, such as John Byrne, Gene Day and his brother Dan, Jim Craig, Rand Holmes, Geof Isherwood, Ken Steacy, Dean Motter, George Freeman and Dave Ross. Byrne was particularly popular for his work on X-Men, and also originated Alpha Flight, about a team of Canadian superheroes.
1990s
In 1990, Montreal-based publisher Drawn & Quarterly began with an anthology title also named Drawn & Quarterly. It quickly picked up a number of other titles, such as Julie Doucet's semi-autobiographical, bilingual Dirty Plotte, which, like Yummy Fur, had started out as a minicomic; Seth's Palookaville; illegal resident from the US Joe Matt's Peepshow; and Yummy Fur, which made the jump with its twenty-fifth issue. At the time, an autobiographical comics trend took place. Brown, Seth and Matt in particular were thought of as a Toronto comics rat pack, depicting one another in their comics and doing signings and interviews together.
Drawn & Quarterly was at the forefront of the maturation comic books saw in the 1990s, publishing and promoting the works of adult-oriented Canadian and international artists. The publisher avoided genres like superheroes, which publisher Chris Oliveros saw as stifling comics' growth. These comics had artistic aspirations, and graphic novels became increasingly prominent, with Brown's autobiographical The Playboy and I Never Liked You, and Seth's faux-autobiographical It's a Good Life, If You Don't Weaken garnering considerable attention.
Todd McFarlane from Calgary had been making waves since the late 1980s illustrating comics for DC and Marvel Comics, becoming a fan favourite writer/artist for Spider-Man. He eventually left to co-found the creator-owned comics publishing collective Image Comics, where he debuted the enormously successful Spawn. Spawn holds the record for most copies sold of an independent comic, and was the most financially successful comics franchise of the decade.
21st century
At the dawn of the 21st Century, the comics industry had changed considerably. The graphic novel had come into its own, and traditional comics sales dropped significantly. Louis Riel, who had been a major target of John Bengough's caricatures in the early days of Confederation, was the protagonist in Chester Brown's award-winning, best-selling "comic-strip biography". With his graphic novels and book collections, he gained a wider audience than he had with his serial comic books, and he abandoned serial comics entirely to focus on original graphic novels after Louis Riel. Greater appreciation of the artform was shown when Brown and Seth became recipients of grants from the Canada Council for the Arts. Dave Sim's Cerebus completed its planned 26-year, 300-issue run in 2004.
Foreign comics, especially Japanese, became quite successful in Canada, and stood out for gaining large numbers of female fans, who had traditionally stayed away from comic books. They also had a significant influence on artists such as Bryan Lee O'Malley and his Scott Pilgrim series. Due to differing social norms, the content of these comics are sometimes censored or ran afoul of Canadian customs officials. Incidental nudity could be interpreted by them as child pornography and result in jail terms.
Drawn & Quarterly has become known as a house for art comics, translations of non-English works, like Montrealer Michel Rabagliati's Paul series, and archive editions of classic comics, such as Wright's Little Nipper. The publisher has earned a reputation for the special attention they put into book design, and has played a pivotal rôle in shaping comics' rise in artistic prominence, and in getting comics into mainstream book stores in both Canada and the US. D&Q publisher Chris Oliveros, along with Art Spiegelman, lobbied bookstores to include a section for graphic novels, which would be subdivided by subject.
Webcomics, such as Kate Beaton's Hark! A Vagrant, Ryan Sohmer and Lar deSouza's Looking for Group, and Karl Kerschl's The Abominable Charles Christopher, became an increasingly popular outlet for Canadian cartoonists. The popularity of Beaton's work has led to it being published in book form, with Time magazine placing it in the top 10 fiction books of 2011.
The comics community in Canada has grown, and has grown appreciative of its talent, celebrating it with awards such as the Doug Wrights and Joe Shusters, as well as with classy events such as the international Toronto Comic Arts Festival, which has been cosponsored by the Toronto Public Library since 2009.
French Canada
The comics of Québec, also known as "BDQ" (bande dessinée québécoise), have followed a different path than those of English Canada. While newspapers tend to populate their funny pages with syndicated American comic strips, in general comics there have followed Franco-Belgian comics, with The Adventures of Tintin and Asterix being particularly popular and influential. Comics also tend to be printed in the comic album format that is popular in Europe. Aside from humorous parodies, there is no superhero tradition in Québec comics.
Early history (1790s–1960s)
Québec comics have alternately flourished and languished, seeing several brief periods of intense activity followed by long periods of inundation with foreign content. Comics first appeared in the humour pages of newspapers in the 19th century, following the trends coming from Europe. In the late 19th Century, Henri Julien published two books of political caricatures, L'album drolatique du journal Le Farceur, after which the number of cartoonists began to increase in newspapers in Québec City and Montreal. 1904 saw, in the newspaper La Patrie, the publication of Les Aventures de Timothée (The Adventures of Timothée) by Albéric Bourgeois. This is said to be the first French-language comic to feature speech balloons. Joseph Charlebois's comic-strip adaptation of Le Père Ladébauche (Father Debauchery) also debuted in 1904, in La Presse, a popular strip that would last until 1957.
Raoul Barré had the first comic strip to appear in a Québec daily newspaper in 1902, called "Pour un dîner de Noël" ("For a Christmas Dinner"). In 1912, he created a strip called Noahzark Hotel for the New York-based McClure Syndicate, which he brought to La Patrie in French the next year. Soon after he moved into animation, becoming an innovative pioneer in the field.
Québécois cartoonists would propose a number of strips to compete with the American strips that dominated the Sundays and dailies. The native Québec presence on those pages would become more dominant after 1940, however, with the introduction of the War Exchange Conservation Act, which restricted the import of foreign strips. Albert Chartier created the comical character Onésime in 1943, a strip that would have the longest run of any in Québec. After World War II, during the Great Darkness, comics publication became dominated with religious comics, most of which were imported from the US. Native Québec comics did flourish for a brief period between 1955 and 1960, however, but were soon replaced again with American content, while also facing competition from the new Franco-Belgian publications, which appeared in full-colour, and by the mid-1960s had put the local Catholic publications out of business.
Springtime of BDQ (1970s–present)
The revolutionary 1960s and the Quiet Revolution in Québéc saw a new vigour in BDQ. What Georges Raby called the Spring of Québécois comics (printemps de la BD québécoise) is said to have begun in 1968 with the creation of the group Chiendent, who published in La Presse and Dimanche-Magazine. Jacques Hurtubise (Zyx), Réal Godbout, Gilles Thibault, and Jacques Boivin were particularly notable cartoonists, and numerous short-lived publications with strange names appeared, like Ma®de in Québec and L'Hydrocéphale illustré. The comics no longer focused on younger audiences, instead seeking confrontation or experimenting with graphics, drawing influence from French comics for mature audiences like those published in Pilote magazine, as well as translations of American undergrounds, translations of which were published in the journal Mainmise. During the 1970s, BDQ were sometimes called "BDK", bande dessinée kébécoise.
In 1979, Jacques Hurtubise, Pierre Huet and Hélène Fleury would establish the long-lived, satirical Croc, which published many leading talents of the era, many of whom were able to launch their careers through the magazine's help. Croc begat another magazine, Titanic, dedicated to comic strips, and in 1987, Safarir, a Mad-like publication patterned after the French Hara-Kiri, rose in competition with Croc. By the mid-1980s, a number of professional comics publishers began to flourish.
In Montreal in the 1980s and 1990s, in parallel to mainstream humour magazines, a healthy underground scene developed, and self-published fanzines proliferated. Julie Doucet, Henriette Valium, Luc Giard, Éric Thériault, Gavin McInnes and Siris were among the names that were discovered in the small press publications.
In the 21st Century, Michel Rabagliati and his semi-autobiographical Paul series has seen Tintin-like sales levels in Québec, and his books have been published in English by Drawn & Quarterly.
Around the turn of the century, the government of Québec mandated La Fondation du 9e art ("The 9th Art Foundation") to promote francophone cartoonists in North America. There have also emerged events such as the Festival de la bande dessinée francophone de Québec in Québec City and la Zone internationale du neuvième art (ZINA).
Publication, promotion and distribution
As in the US, large Canadian newspapers typically have a page of comic strips in their daily editions and a full-colour Sunday comics section on Saturdays or Sundays. Editorial cartoonists are also common; the Association of Canadian Editorial Cartoonists is a professional association founded in 1988 to promote their interests.
There are a number of English- and French-language publishers active in Canadian comics. Drawn & Quarterly is a Montreal-based English-language publisher of arts comics, translations, and classic comic reprints. Founded by Chris Oliveros in 1990, Drawn & Quarterly is one of the most influential publishers in alternative comics. Arcana Studio of British Columbia publishes a large number of titles, and Koyama Press joined the fray in 2007. In French, Les 400 coups, Mécanique Générale, La Pastèque and the Québec arm of Glénat are amongst the active publishers. The small press has played an important rôle; self-publishing is a common means of putting out comics, largely influenced by the success of Dave Sim's Cerebus. Minicomics another form that has remained popular since the 1980s, when Chester Brown and Julie Doucet got started by distributing self-published photocopied comics. The minicomics scene has been spurred on by Broken Pencil, a magazine dedicated to promoting the zines.
A number of fan conventions are held throughout Canada, including the Central Canada Comic Con, Fan Expo Canada, Montreal Comiccon, Paradise Comics Toronto Comicon, Ottawa Comiccon, and Toronto Comicon. The Toronto Comic Arts Festival (TCAF), modeled after European festivals such as Angoulême and the American Small Press Expo, has grown since 2003, and since 2009 has enjoyed the support of the Toronto Public Library.
Awards
A number of awards for Canadian comics and cartooning have appeared, especially since the beginning of the 21st Century.
The National Newspaper Awards was established in 1949 with a category for Editorial Cartooning honouring those that "embody an idea made clearly apparent, good drawing, and striking pictorial effect in the public interest". The award's first recipient was Jack Booth of The Globe and Mail.
The Bédélys Prize () has been awarded to French-language comics since 2000. It comes with bursaries for the Prix Bédélys Québec (for Best Book from Québec) and Prix Bédélys Fanzine.
Since 2005 the Joe Shuster Awards have been handed out by the Canadian Comic Book Creator Awards Association, named after the Toronto-born co-creator of Superman. It is open to all Canadians, including those living abroad, as well as permanent residents, for comics in any language. Along with awards for Outstanding Cartoonist, Outstanding Writer, Outstanding Artist and others, it also features the Joe Shuster Hall of Fame, and the Harry Kremer Retailer Award, named after the founder of Canada's oldest surviving comic shop.
The Doug Wright Awards also began in 2005. Awards are given for Best Book, Best Emerging Talent, and since 2008 the Pigskin Peters Award for non-narrative (or nominally-narrative) comics; Pigskin Peters was a character in Jimmy Frise's Birdseye Center. The Doug Wright Awards also inducts cartoonists into Giants of the North: The Canadian Cartoonist Hall of Fame.
Academia
From the 1990s onward an increasing amount of literature on Canadian comics has appeared, in both official languages. Books such as Guardians of the North (1992) and Invaders from the North (2006) appeared by comics historian John Bell, who became senior archivist at Library and Archives Canada in Ottawa. American magazine Alter Ego ran a special issue on Canadian comics in 2004. In French, Michel Viau wrote a book on francophone comics called BDQ: Répertoire des publications de bandes dessinées au Québec des origines à nos jours (2000). Bart Beaty and Jeet Heer have been writing about comics academically and professionally, and regularly have articles educating the public on comics published in newspapers such as the National Post and the Boston Globe, as well as comics and literary magazines. Canadian feminist scholars such as Mary Louise Adams, Mona Gleason, and Janice Dickin McGinnis have done research into the anti-crime comics campaigns of the late 1940s and 1950s, from the point of view of the moral panic and social and legal history of the era, and the sociology of sexuality.
See also
List of Canadian comics creators
Canadian humour
Culture of Canada
Comic book collecting
Comics! was a Canadian television program
History of Canadian animation
Prisoners of Gravity
References
Works cited
Further reading
English
French
External links
Guardians of the North: a history of Canadian superheroes (National Library & Archives of Canada)
Beyond The Funnies at Library and Archives Canada
History of Comic Books in English Canada
Association of Canadian Editorial Cartoonists website
The Joe Shuster Canadian Comics Awards
List of links to Canadian webcomics
Sequential : A Canadian Comics News & Culture Blog
Golden Age Canadian Comics
Digital Comic Museum (scans of presumed public domain Canadian comics)
Cultural history of Canada
History of comics | true | [
"Captain Marvel Adventures was a long running comic book anthology series by Fawcett Comics, starring Captain Marvel during the Golden Age of Comic Books.\n\nPublication history\nThe series was the first solo series starring the superhero after he was the star of the anthology title Whiz Comics. It was first released in 1941. The premiere issue was written and drawn by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby. The series was a huge success at the time. It sold 14 million copies in 1944, and was at one point being published bi-weekly with a circulation of 1.3 million copies an issue. Several issues of Captain Marvel Adventures included a blurb on their covers proclaiming the series the \"Largest Circulation of Any Comic Magazine\". The series would be cancelled with issue #150 in November 1953. \n\nOutside of Captain Marvel stories, there were other featured character stories within the anthology every now and then, like Captain Kid. \n\nOtto Binder and C.C. Beck introduced supervillains like Ibac in issue #18, Mister Mind and the Monster Society of Evil in issue #26 and Mister Atom in issue #78, which would remain recurring antagonists for the superhero. The series' most significant debut was introducing Mary Marvel in issue #18, along with the formation of the Marvel Family. Also introduced was Mr. Tawky Tawny in issue #79.\n\nLegacy\nThe success of the comic series lead DC Comics to file a lawsuit on Fawcett Comics regarding the character being too similar to Superman,Fawcett would forfeit the lawsuit, and DC would win. Many lawyers say Fawcett might have won, if they hadn't given up.\n\nCollected editions\n The Monster Society of Evil: Deluxe Limited Collector's Edition (1989, American Nostalgia Library, ). Compiled and designed by Mike Higgs. Reprints the entire \"Monster Society of Evil\" story arc that ran for two years in Captain Marvel Adventures #22–46 (1943–1945), in which Captain Marvel meets Mister Mind and the Monster Society of Evil. This oversized, slipcased hardcover book was strictly limited to 3,000 numbered copies.\n\nReferences\n\n1941 comics debuts\n1953 comics endings\nMagazines established in 1941\nMagazines disestablished in 1953\nFawcett Comics titles\nGolden Age comics titles\nComics magazines published in the United States\nCaptain Marvel (DC Comics)",
"Leading Comics is a 1942-1955 comic book published by what is now DC Comics during the 1940s and early 1950s, a period known to fans and historians as the Golden Age of Comic Books.\n\nAt the title's inception, DC was actually two companies, National Comics (later National Periodical Publications) and All-American Publications. National and All-American shared some ownership and advertised and co-branded their comics as if they were one company. They also collaborated on All Star Comics, an All-American publication which featured the Justice Society of America, a super hero team including characters from both companies' stables, e.g., The Spectre and Starman from National, The Flash and Green Lantern from All-American.\n\nGiven the success of the JSA, National decided to develop a team title of its own—this became Leading Comics, #1 (Winter 1941–42) of which debuted the Seven Soldiers of Victory, a team made up exclusively of characters from National's anthology publications: More Fun Comics, Adventure Comics, Action Comics, Detective Comics, and Star-Spangled Comics. Like its predecessor All Star Comics, each issue of Leading was taken up with a single adventure of the SSOV broken into multiple chapters, each featuring one or two heroes. However, the heroes of the SSOV were hardly the company's most popular characters—most of those already being members of the JSA—and the strip lasted through only the first fourteen issues of Leading.\n\nWhen the superhero genre faded in popularity in the late 1940s, DC Comics decided to focus more on other genres, such as science fiction, westerns, humor and romance. Leading Comics led the charge as the first DC title to drop its superheroes. With its Summer 1945 issue #15, Leading switched to talking animals, with the introduction of Nero Fox (a fox who was billed as the \"jive-jumpin' emperor of ancient Rome\"). In issue #23 (February–March 1947), Nero Fox was dropped as the cover-featured first story in each issue, to be replaced by Peter Porkchops, a pig (created by Otto Feuer), in his first appearance. Peter appeared in Leading Comics (retitled Leading Screen Comics with #34 in 1948) regularly until issue #77 (August–September 1955).\n\nLeading Screen Comics ended with issue #77 (August–September 1955).\n\nReferences\n\nComics magazines published in the United States\nGolden Age comics titles\n1941 comics debuts\n1955 comics endings\nDC Comics titles\nMagazines established in 1941\nMagazines disestablished in 1955"
] |
[
"Canadian comics",
"Age of comic strips (1920s-1930s)",
"What was one of the first success in comics during the 1920's and 1930;s?",
"in 1921, Jimmy Frise, one of Ernest Hemingway's drinking buddies during the journalist's days in Toronto, sold Life's Little Comedies"
] | C_355680f212734b4daa071770ae0249c6_0 | Who did he sell it to? | 2 | Who did Jimmy Frise sell Life's Little Comedies to? | Canadian comics | Canadian cartoonists often found it hard to succeed in the field of comic strips without moving to the US, but in 1921, Jimmy Frise, one of Ernest Hemingway's drinking buddies during the journalist's days in Toronto, sold Life's Little Comedies to the Toronto Star's Star Weekly. This strip was later retitled Birdseye Center, and became the longest-running strip in English Canadian history. In 1947, Frise brought the strip to the Montreal Standard, where it was renamed Juniper Junction. Nova Scotia-born artist J. R. Williams single-panel strip about rural and small-town life, Out Our Way, began in 1922 and was syndicated in 700 newspapers at its peak. Two new comic strips appeared on the same day in 1929 in American newspapers and fed the public's desire for escapist entertainment at the dawn of the Great Depression. They were the first non-humorous adventure strips, and both were adaptations. One was Buck Rogers; the other, Tarzan, by Halifax native Hal Foster, who had worked as illustrator for catalogues from Eaton's and the Hudson's Bay Company before moving to the US in his late 20s. Other adventure strips soon followed and paved the way for the genre diversity that was seen in comic strips in the 1930s. In 1937, Foster began his own strip, Prince Valiant, which has become his best-known work for Foster's dextrous, realistic artwork. After struggling to support himself at various Toronto-based publications, Richard Taylor, under the pen name "Ric", became a regular at The New Yorker and relocated to the US, where the pay and opportunities for cartoonists were better. The Toronto Telegram began to run Men of the Mounted in 1933, the first home-grown adventure strip, written by Ted McCall and drawn by Harry Hall. McCall later penned the strip Robin Hood and Company, which made its appearance in comic books when McCall founded Anglo-American Publishing in 1941. CANNOTANSWER | to the Toronto Star's Star Weekly. | Canadian comics refers to comics and cartooning by citizens of Canada or permanent residents of Canada regardless of residence. Canada has two official languages, and distinct comics cultures have developed in English and French Canada. The English tends to follow American trends, and the French, Franco-Belgian ones, with little crossover between the two cultures. Canadian comics run the gamut of comics forms, including editorial cartooning, comic strips, comic books, graphic novels, and webcomics, and are published in newspapers, magazines, books, and online. They have received attention in international comics communities and have received support from the federal and provincial governments, including grants from the Canada Council for the Arts. There are comics publishers throughout the country, as well as large small press, self-publishing, and minicomics communities.
In English Canada many cartoonists, from Hal Foster to Todd McFarlane, have sought to further their careers by moving to the United States; since the late 20th century increasing numbers have gained international attention while staying in Canada. During World War II, trade restrictions led to the flourishing of a domestic comic book industry, whose black-and-white "Canadian Whites" contained original stories of heroes such as Nelvana of the Northern Lights as well as American scripts redrawn by Canadian artists. The war's end saw American imports and domestic censorship lead to the death of this industry. The alternative and small press communities grew in the 1970s, and by the end of the century Dave Sim's Cerebus and Chester Brown's comics, amongst others, gained international audiences and critical acclaim, and Drawn & Quarterly became a leader in arts-comics publishing. In the 21st century, comics have gained wider audiences and higher levels of recognition, especially in the form of graphic novels and webcomics.
In French Canada indigenous comics are called BDQ or () Cartoons with speech balloons in Quebec date to the late 1700s. BDQ have alternately flourished and languished throughout Quebec's history as the small domestic market has found it difficult to compete with foreign imports. Many cartoonists from Quebec have made their careers in the United States. Since the Springtime of BDQ in the 1970s native comics magazines, such as Croc and Safarir, and comics albums have become more common, though they account for only 5% of total sales in the province. Since the turn of the 21st century cartoonists such as Michel Rabagliati, Guy Delisle, and the team of Dubuc and Delaf have seen international success in French-speaking Europe and in translation. Éditions Mille-Îles and La Pastèque are amongst the domestic publishers that have become increasingly common.
History
English Canada
Early history (1759–1910s)
Brigadier-General George Townshend's cartoons lampooning General James Wolfe in 1759 are recognized as the first examples of political cartooning in Canadian history. Cartoons did not have a regular forum in Canada until John Henry Walker's short-lived weekly Punch in Canada débuted in Montreal in 1849. The magazine was a Canadian version of Britain's humorous Punch and featured cartoons by Walker. It paved the way for a number of similar short-lived publications, until the success of the more straight-laced Canadian Illustrated News, published by George-Édouard Desbarats beginning in 1869, soon after Canadian Confederation.
In 1873, John Wilson Bengough founded Grip, a humour magazine in the style of Punch and the American Harper's Weekly. It featured a large number of cartoons, especially Bengough's own. The cartoons tended to be political, and Prime Minister John A. Macdonald and Métis rebel leader Louis Riel were favourite targets. The Pacific Scandal in the early 1870s gave Bengough much fodder to raise his reputation as a political caricaturist. According to historian John Bell, while Bengough was probably the most significant pre-20th-century Canadian cartoonist, Henri Julien was likely the most accomplished. Published widely both at home and abroad, Julien's cartoons appeared in periodicals such as Harper's Weekly and Le Monde illustré. In 1888, he gained employment at the Montreal Star and became the first full-time newspaper cartoonist in Canada.
Palmer Cox, a Canadian expatriate in the United States, at this time created The Brownies, a popular, widely merchandised phenomenon whose first book collection sold over a million copies. Cox began a Brownies comic strip in 1898 that was one of the earliest English-language strips, and had begun to use speech balloons by the time it ended in 1907.
Age of comic strips (1920s–1930s)
Canadian cartoonists often found it hard to succeed in the field of comic strips without moving to the US, but in 1921, Jimmy Frise, one of Ernest Hemingway's drinking buddies during the journalist's days in Toronto, sold Life's Little Comedies to the Toronto Stars Star Weekly. This strip was later retitled Birdseye Center, and became the longest-running strip in English Canadian history. In 1947, Frise brought the strip to the Montreal Standard, where it was renamed Juniper Junction. Nova Scotia-born artist J. R. Williams single-panel strip about rural and small-town life, Out Our Way, began in 1922 and was syndicated in 700 newspapers at its peak.
Two new comic strips appeared on the same day in 1929 in American newspapers and fed the public's desire for escapist entertainment at the dawn of the Great Depression. They were the first non-humorous adventure strips, and both were adaptations. One was Buck Rogers; the other, Tarzan, by Halifax native Hal Foster, who had worked as illustrator for catalogues from Eaton's and the Hudson's Bay Company before moving to the US in his late 20s. Other adventure strips soon followed and paved the way for the genre diversity that was seen in comic strips in the 1930s. In 1937, Foster began his own strip, Prince Valiant, which has become his best-known work for Foster's dextrous, realistic artwork. After struggling to support himself at various Toronto-based publications, Richard Taylor, under the pen name "Ric", became a regular at The New Yorker and relocated to the US, where the pay and opportunities for cartoonists were better.
The Toronto Telegram began to run Men of the Mounted in 1933, the first home-grown adventure strip, written by Ted McCall and drawn by Harry Hall. McCall later penned the strip Robin Hood and Company, which made its appearance in comic books when McCall founded Anglo-American Publishing in 1941.
Golden age: Canadian Whites (1940s)
The Golden Age of Comic Books and subsequent superhero boom began with the release in June 1938 of Action Comics #1. The cover story was the first appearance of Superman, drawn by Toronto-born Joe Shuster. Shuster modeled Superman's Metropolis after his memories of Toronto, and the newspaper Clark Kent worked for after the Toronto Daily Star, which he had delivered as a child. These comics crossed the border and quickly gained Canadian fans as well.
In December 1940, the War Exchange Conservation Act was passed. It restricted the importation of goods from the US that were deemed non-essential to combat the trade deficit Canada had with its neighbours to the south. American comic books were casualties of the Act. In 1941, to fill the void, a number of Canadian comic book publishers sprang up, starting in March with Anglo-American Publishing in Toronto and Maple Leaf Publishing in Vancouver. Adrian Dingle's Hillborough Studios and Bell Features soon joined them. The comics printed by these companies had colour covers, but the innards were in black-and-white, and thus collectors call them Canadian Whites. Superheroes stories were prominent, and the "Whites" often relied on serials to keep readers coming back for more.
Better Comics from Maple Leaf and Robin Hood and Company from Anglo-American were the first titles to hit the stands. Robin Hood was a tabloid-sized comic strip reprint magazine, while Better was made up of original material in traditional comic-book format, and thus can be said to be the first true Canadian comic book. It included the appearance of the first Canadian superhero, Vernon Miller's Iron Man. John Stables, under the pen name John St. Ables, was responsible for Brok Windsors debut in Better in the spring of 1944—a fantasy-adventure set far in the "land beyond the mists" in the Canadian North. The success of Better led to a proliferation of titles from Maple Leaf.
The driving creative forces behind Anglo-American were Ted McCall, the writer of the Men of the Mounted and Robin Hood strips, and artist Ed Furness. The pair created a number of heroes with such names as Freelance, Purple Rider, Red Rover, and Commander Steel. Anglo-American also published stories based on imported American scripts bought from Fawcett Publications, with fresh artwork by Canadians to bypass trade restrictions. Captain Marvel and Bulletman were amongst the characters that had Canadian adaptations. Anglo-American published a large number of titles, including Freelance, Grand Slam, Three Aces, Whiz, Captain Marvel and Atom Smasher, but relied less on serials, and was less patriotically Canadian than its rival publishers. It employed a number of talented artists, but they were kept to a "house style" of drawing, in the vein of Captain Marvel's C. C. Beck.
In August 1941, three unemployed artists, Adrian Dingle and André and René Kulbach, formed Hillborough Studios to publish their own work. They started with Triumph-Adventure Comics, whose star was Canada's first female superhero, Nelvana of the Northern Lights, who appeared several months before Wonder Woman did in the US. Nelvana was inspired by tribal stories brought back from the Arctic Group of Seven painter Franz Johnston. The popular fur-miniskirted superheroine was a powerful Inuit mythological figure, daughter of a mortal woman and Koliak the Mighty, King of the Northern Lights. She had telepathic powers and was able to ride the Northern Lights at the speed of light, turn invisible, and melt metal.
In March 1942, Dingle and most of the Hillborough staff moved with Nelvana to Toronto-based Bell Features, which had begun publishing comics in September 1941 with the first issue of the successful Wow Comics—in colour at first, but Bell soon switched to the familiar "White" format. Bell was the most prolific of the Canadian comic-book publishers. Its comics were drawn by a large pool of artists, including freelancers, adolescents, and women, and were unabashedly Canadian. Aside from Nelvana, there were Edmund Legault's Dixon of the Mounted, Jerry Lazare's Phantom Rider, and Fred Kelly's Doc Stearne. Leo Bachle's Johnny Canuck was the second Canadian national hero, and debuted in Bell's Dime Comics in February 1942.
The new Canadian comics were successful; Bell reached accumulated weekly sales of 100,000 by 1943. By this time, Educational Projects of Montréal had joined, selling comics in the "White" format. Educational specialized in a different sort of fare: biographies of prime ministers, cases of the RCMP, and historical tales, drawn by accomplished artists including George M. Rae and Sid Barron. Educational's Canadian Heroes earned endorsements from cabinet ministers and appealed to parents and educators, but was not as appealing to the kids it was aimed at until Rae convinced publisher Harry J. Halperin to allow him to include a fictional character, Canada Jack—a hero who battled Nazis.
With the end of World War II in 1945, Canadian comic-book publishing faced competition from American publishers again. Educational and latecomer Feature Publications folded immediately. Maple Leaf tried to compete by switching to colour and by trying to break into the British market. Anglo-American and another newcomer, Al Rucker Publications, tried to compete directly with the Americans, and even achieved distribution in the US. By the end of 1946 it was clear that the remaining publishers could not compete, and for the time being original comic-book publishing came to an end in Canada, although some publishers like Bell Features survived by republishing American books until the War Exchange Conservation Act was officially abolished in 1951. The cartoonists who insisted on drawing for a living faced several choices: some moved across the border to attempt to make it with the American publishers, and some moved into illustration work, as Jerry Lazare, Vernon Miller, Jack Tremblay, and Harold Bennett did. Another avenue was the route Sid Barron followed into political cartooning. By 1949, out of 176 comics titles on the newsstand, only 23 were Canadian.
Post-war (late 1940s–early 1970s)
With the end of most original Canadian comic book publishing in 1947, Canada's superheroes disappeared, and the country entered a phase of foreign comic book domination. In November 1948, a crime comics scare hit the country when a pair of voracious comic book readers in Dawson Creek, British Columbia, shot at a random car while playing highwaymen, fatally wounding a passenger. When authorities discovered their taste for comic books, media attention focused on the emerging crime comics genre as an influence on juvenile delinquency. A bill to amend Section 207 of the Criminal Code was drafted, and passed unanimously, making it an offense to make, print, publish, distribute, sell, or own "any magazine, periodical or book which exclusively or substantially comprises matter depicting pictorially the commission of crimes, real or fictitious", on 10 December 1949. Comics publishers across Canada banded together to create the Comic Magazine Industry Association of Canada (CMIAC), a Canadian industry self-censoring body similar to the American Comics Code Authority that would be formed a few years later in response to a similar crime comics scare in the U.S. Purely by coincidence, the Netherlands had experienced a near-similar comics related incident at almost the exact same time with an equally lethal outcome, and causing a similar popular reaction, but in this case the authorities refrained from taking the drastic legal actions, their Canadian counterparts did.
Superior Publishers, however, defied the ban, while also moving into the U.S. market. Watchdogs turned up the heat, and in 1953 a distributor was found guilty of distributing obscenities. Some of Superior's titles found themselves in Fredric Wertham's notorious and influential diatribe on the influence comics had on juvenile delinquency, Seduction of the Innocent, published in 1954. The United States Senate Subcommittee on Juvenile Delinquency, established in 1953, had public hearings a few months later, and called upon Kamloops, British Columbia Member of Parliament E. Davie Fulton, one of Superior publisher William Zimmerman's most outspoken enemies, as a witness. The Comics Code Authority was soon formed, and Superior, like fellow American publisher EC Comics, saw their sales dwindle throughout 1955. Prosecutions increased throughout Canada, with Superior successfully defending themselves in one, and another supposedly comics-related murder was reported in Westville, Nova Scotia. Superior shut its doors in 1956, and until the 1970s, English Canadian newsstand comic book publishing was no more, although a number of "giveaway" comics continued to be produced by Orville ' Productions and Owen McCarron's Comic Book World, who produced the educational and cautionary comics for governments and corporations, aimed at kids and teens.
The crackdown was not aimed at comic strips, however, and several notable new ones appeared, like Lew Saw's One-Up, Winslow Mortimer's Larry Brannon and Al Beaton's Ookpik. After Jimmy Frise's death in 1948, Juniper Junction was taken over by Doug Wright, "one of Canada's best post-war comic-strip artists". He would continue with the strip until 1968, while also working on his own Nipper from 1949. In 1967, Nipper became Doug Wright's Family when Wright moved from Montreal to Ontario, and the popular strip continued until 1980. The Doug Wright Awards were inaugurated in his honour in 2005. From 1948 to 1972, James Simpkins' cartoon Jasper the Bear appeared continuously in Maclean's magazine. Jasper was hugely popular across Canada and was used, and is still today, as the symbol for Jasper National Park.
To express his anger at the US military's nuclear tests in the Bikini Atoll in 1946 English-born artist Laurence Hyde produced a wordless novel in 1951 called Southern Cross. In 118 silent pages, the book depicts atomic testing by the US military and its effects Polynesian island inhabitants. While it had no direct effect on comics at the time, it has come to be seen as a precursor to the Canadian graphic novel.
Early editorial cartooning lacked a local flavour, tending to be a pale imitation of American examples. It tended to be cheery, non-confrontational, and supported good causes. Following the War it broke from typical American clichés and took on more of a savage bite, especially compared to the more allegorical tendencies of American editorial cartoons. At Le Devoir, Robert Lapalme was the first to cartoon in this particularly Canadian idiom, and in 1963 organized an International Salon of Caricature and Cartoon in Montreal. Lapalme was later followed by Duncan Macpherson at the Toronto Star, Leonard Norris at the Vancouver Sun and Ed McNally at the Montreal Star. These cartoonists frequently took political positions contrary to those of the papers in which they were published. Macpherson drew a cartoon of John Diefenbaker as Marie Antoinette saying "Let them eat cake" in response to the Prime Minister's cancelling the Avro Arrow project, which historian Pierre Burton has called the beginning of Canadians' disillusionment with Diefenbaker's government. Macpherson in particular fought fiercely for editorial independence, challenging his editors and threatening to quit the Star if not given his way, which paved a new path for other cartoonists to follow.
In the spring of 1966, Canada saw its first specialty comic shop open its doors on Queen Street West, Toronto: Viking Bookshop, established by "Captain George" Henderson. Entirely unfamiliar with the new phenomenon, the store was dubbed "the campiest store in town" by Toronto Star reporter Robert Fulford. No longer in existence, Viking Bookshop is currently the earliest known such specialty comic book store in North-America (or worldwide for that matter), predating the oldest known US comic book store, Gary Arlington's San Francisco Comic Book Company (est. April 1968), by two years. One year later, in May 1967, the store was renamed Memory Lane Books after it had relocated to Markham Street in the same city, and as such became an inspiration for pioneering retailer Harry Kremer and Bill Johnson to open Now & Then Books in Kitchener, Ontario. Its newsletter, the Now and Then Times, published early work by the young Dave Sim in its inaugural issue in 1972, and later employed him from 1976 to 1977.
In the late 1960s, along with the countercultural movement, a new form of comic art appeared from the avant-garde and literary scenes—underground comics (or "comix") aimed at an adult audience. Early examples appeared in certain magazines, but an early precursor of Canadian underground comic books was Scraptures, as a special issue of the Toronto avant-garde literary magazine grOnk in 1967. In 1969, Canada saw its first true underground comics, with SFU Komix and Snore Comix. These comix drew their inspiration from the American underground movement that exploded after the release of Robert Crumb's Zap in early 1968. Martin Vaugh-James produced an early graphic novel when he had Elephant released by Press Porcépic in 1970. The underground movement paralleled that of the US, in that it peaked from 1970 to 1972 with the peak of the counterculture, and witnessed a sharp decline afterward. Saskatoon, Saskatchewan's Dave Geary and Vancouver, British Columbia's Rand Holmes were key figures, Holmes being the creator of the Harold Hedd comic strip.
Humour magazine Fuddle Duddle, named after a famous euphemism by then-Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, was a short lived attempt at a Canadian Mad-style satirical magazine. It was the first comic book of Canadian content to be available on newsstands since 1956. Two of its contributors, Peter Evans and Stanley Berneche, would soon go on to bring superheroes back to Canada for the first time since the demise of Nelvana in 1947, with Captain Canuck.
The fan press and fandom grew throughout this period, and was bolstered when Patrick Loubert and Michael Hirsh, the founders of the animation company Nelvana, published of The Great Canadian Comic Books in 1971, a book-length study of the Bell Features comics, and the touring of a related exhibition mounted by the National Gallery of Canada, Comic Art Traditions in Canada, 1941-45, which together served to introduce English-Canadian comics creators and fans to their lost heritage.
Towards the middle of the 1970s, comics aimed at children gradually disappeared. The new breed of underground, alternative and independent comics was aimed at a more mature audience, which ran counter to the public's perception, as well as to legal restrictions. The first wave of alternative comics in the seventies was largely made up of science fiction and fantasy comics, made by budding cartoonists like Gene Day, Dave Sim, Augustine Funnell, Jim Craig, Ken Steacy, Dean Motter, and Vincent Marchesano.
New wave (mid-1970s–1980s)
The mid-1970s saw the beginning of a new wave of Canadian comics, one in which the creators chose to remain in Canada, rather than seeking their fortunes south of the border. Richard Comely's Captain Canuck appeared in July 1975, the first appearance of a non-satirical superhero in Canada since the 1940s. During the 1950s and 1960s, the idea of native comics seemed unattainable to Canadian kids, and the appearance of Captain Canuck gave these kids the optimism to make their own. This was followed up with James Waley's more professional, newsstand-distributed Orb, which featured a number of talents that would later take part in the North American comics scene.
The comics magazines showing up in Canada at the time suffered from promotion and distribution problems, however, getting most of their support from the fan press. Phil Seuling's California-based comics distributor Bud Plant was supportive of these underground and alternative comics, though, and helped get them into stores. Eventually, distributors like Bud Plant and the emergence of specialty comic shops would form a distribution network for small press comics that would thrive independently of the traditional newsstands.
The world of comic strips saw a number of works pop up. Ben Wicks was doing The Outsiders and Wicks, Jim Unger's Herman debuted in 1975, and Ted Martin's Pavlov in 1979. In 1978, Lynn Johnston, living in Lynn Lake, Manitoba, began For Better or For Worse, which was noted for following the lives of the Patterson family as they grew older in real time, and dealt with real-life issues. The strip based a number of its storylines on Johnston's real-life experiences with her own family, as well as social issues such as the midlife crisis, divorce, the coming out of a gay character, child abuse, and death. In 1985, she became the first female cartoonist to win a Reuben Award, and the Friends of Lulu added her to the Women Cartoonists Hall of Fame in 2002. The strip was very popular, appearing in over 2000 newspapers in 25 countries.
Editorial cartoonists held considerable sway between the 1950s through the 1970s. Former Prime Minister Joe Clark has been quoted that he lost votes in the election of 1980 due to political cartoons about him. They have also experienced the fear of censorship through the courts, or "libel chill". In 1979, Robert Bierman and the Victoria Times was the subject of a libel suit when he criticized the policies of William Vander Zalm, the British Columbia Minister of Human Resources, with a cartoon of the Minister pulling the wings off flies. When the courts ruled in Vander Zalm's favour, newspapers across the nation ran their own versions of the cartoon in support, until the BC Court of Appeal reversed the ruling in 1980, deeming the cartoon "fair comment". It was later acquired by the National Archives of Canada.
Captain Canuck and Orb both folded by 1976, but in Kitchener, Ontario in December 1977, Dave Sim's independent comic book Cerebus debuted, and would become the longest-lived original Canadian comic book. Benefiting from distribution in the emerging comic shop market, it started as a Howard the Duck-like parody of Barry Windsor-Smith's Conan the Barbarian comics. The story eventually grew to fit Sim's expanding ambitions, both in content and technique, with its earth-pig protagonist getting embroiled in politics, becoming prime minister of a powerful city-state, then a Pope who ascends to the moon—all within the first third of its projected 300-issue run. Sim came to conceive the series as a self-enclosed story, which itself would be divided into novels—or graphic novels, which were gaining in prominence in the North American comic book world in the 1980s and 1990s. While Sim and his partner Gerhard's technical achievements impressed and influenced his peers, Sim also spoke out for creators' rights, promoted his peers and up-and-coming creators, and fiercely promoted self-publishing as an ideal. Americans Jeff Smith with Bone and Terry Moore with Strangers in Paradise took Sim's cue, as did Canadian M'Oak (Mark Oakley) with his long-running Thieves and Kings. Eddie Campbell took Sim's personal advice to self-publish the collected From Hell at the turn of the century. Sim also stirred considerable controversy, sometimes with the content of Cerebus, and sometimes with his editorials and personal interactions.
David Boswell was amongst those in the 1980s who made the jump from the fanzine world when he began self-publishing Reid Fleming, World's Toughest Milkman in 1980. From out of the same scene, Bill Marks started publishing the anthology Vortex in Toronto in 1982. Marks' Vortex Comics expanded into publishing other comics. The publisher gained publicity for Mister X, which employed the talents of Dean Motter, Gilberto and Jaime Hernandez and, later, Torontonians Seth and Jeffrey Morgan. Most notably, Marks picked up Chester Brown's Yummy Fur, a taboo-breaking series which started in 1983 as a self-published, photocopied minicomic. It had generated some buzz, and Vortex started publishing it professionally at the end of 1986. Yummy Furs stories were a mix of genres, with the improvised, surreal Ed the Happy Clown, straight adaptations of the Gospels, and revealing, bare-all autobiographical stories. Brown would become a major figure in Canadian comics.
As the content of comics matured throughout the 1980s, they became the subject of increasing scrutiny. In 1986, Calgary comic shop Comic Legends was raided and charged with obscenity. In response, Derek McCulloch and Paul Stockton of Strawberry Jam Comics established the Comic Legends Legal Defense Fund to help retailers, distributors, publishers, and creators fight against obscenity charges. To raise funds, they published two True North anthologies of Canadian talent.
During this time, large numbers of Canadian artists were making waves in the American comic book market as well, such as John Byrne, Gene Day and his brother Dan, Jim Craig, Rand Holmes, Geof Isherwood, Ken Steacy, Dean Motter, George Freeman and Dave Ross. Byrne was particularly popular for his work on X-Men, and also originated Alpha Flight, about a team of Canadian superheroes.
1990s
In 1990, Montreal-based publisher Drawn & Quarterly began with an anthology title also named Drawn & Quarterly. It quickly picked up a number of other titles, such as Julie Doucet's semi-autobiographical, bilingual Dirty Plotte, which, like Yummy Fur, had started out as a minicomic; Seth's Palookaville; illegal resident from the US Joe Matt's Peepshow; and Yummy Fur, which made the jump with its twenty-fifth issue. At the time, an autobiographical comics trend took place. Brown, Seth and Matt in particular were thought of as a Toronto comics rat pack, depicting one another in their comics and doing signings and interviews together.
Drawn & Quarterly was at the forefront of the maturation comic books saw in the 1990s, publishing and promoting the works of adult-oriented Canadian and international artists. The publisher avoided genres like superheroes, which publisher Chris Oliveros saw as stifling comics' growth. These comics had artistic aspirations, and graphic novels became increasingly prominent, with Brown's autobiographical The Playboy and I Never Liked You, and Seth's faux-autobiographical It's a Good Life, If You Don't Weaken garnering considerable attention.
Todd McFarlane from Calgary had been making waves since the late 1980s illustrating comics for DC and Marvel Comics, becoming a fan favourite writer/artist for Spider-Man. He eventually left to co-found the creator-owned comics publishing collective Image Comics, where he debuted the enormously successful Spawn. Spawn holds the record for most copies sold of an independent comic, and was the most financially successful comics franchise of the decade.
21st century
At the dawn of the 21st Century, the comics industry had changed considerably. The graphic novel had come into its own, and traditional comics sales dropped significantly. Louis Riel, who had been a major target of John Bengough's caricatures in the early days of Confederation, was the protagonist in Chester Brown's award-winning, best-selling "comic-strip biography". With his graphic novels and book collections, he gained a wider audience than he had with his serial comic books, and he abandoned serial comics entirely to focus on original graphic novels after Louis Riel. Greater appreciation of the artform was shown when Brown and Seth became recipients of grants from the Canada Council for the Arts. Dave Sim's Cerebus completed its planned 26-year, 300-issue run in 2004.
Foreign comics, especially Japanese, became quite successful in Canada, and stood out for gaining large numbers of female fans, who had traditionally stayed away from comic books. They also had a significant influence on artists such as Bryan Lee O'Malley and his Scott Pilgrim series. Due to differing social norms, the content of these comics are sometimes censored or ran afoul of Canadian customs officials. Incidental nudity could be interpreted by them as child pornography and result in jail terms.
Drawn & Quarterly has become known as a house for art comics, translations of non-English works, like Montrealer Michel Rabagliati's Paul series, and archive editions of classic comics, such as Wright's Little Nipper. The publisher has earned a reputation for the special attention they put into book design, and has played a pivotal rôle in shaping comics' rise in artistic prominence, and in getting comics into mainstream book stores in both Canada and the US. D&Q publisher Chris Oliveros, along with Art Spiegelman, lobbied bookstores to include a section for graphic novels, which would be subdivided by subject.
Webcomics, such as Kate Beaton's Hark! A Vagrant, Ryan Sohmer and Lar deSouza's Looking for Group, and Karl Kerschl's The Abominable Charles Christopher, became an increasingly popular outlet for Canadian cartoonists. The popularity of Beaton's work has led to it being published in book form, with Time magazine placing it in the top 10 fiction books of 2011.
The comics community in Canada has grown, and has grown appreciative of its talent, celebrating it with awards such as the Doug Wrights and Joe Shusters, as well as with classy events such as the international Toronto Comic Arts Festival, which has been cosponsored by the Toronto Public Library since 2009.
French Canada
The comics of Québec, also known as "BDQ" (bande dessinée québécoise), have followed a different path than those of English Canada. While newspapers tend to populate their funny pages with syndicated American comic strips, in general comics there have followed Franco-Belgian comics, with The Adventures of Tintin and Asterix being particularly popular and influential. Comics also tend to be printed in the comic album format that is popular in Europe. Aside from humorous parodies, there is no superhero tradition in Québec comics.
Early history (1790s–1960s)
Québec comics have alternately flourished and languished, seeing several brief periods of intense activity followed by long periods of inundation with foreign content. Comics first appeared in the humour pages of newspapers in the 19th century, following the trends coming from Europe. In the late 19th Century, Henri Julien published two books of political caricatures, L'album drolatique du journal Le Farceur, after which the number of cartoonists began to increase in newspapers in Québec City and Montreal. 1904 saw, in the newspaper La Patrie, the publication of Les Aventures de Timothée (The Adventures of Timothée) by Albéric Bourgeois. This is said to be the first French-language comic to feature speech balloons. Joseph Charlebois's comic-strip adaptation of Le Père Ladébauche (Father Debauchery) also debuted in 1904, in La Presse, a popular strip that would last until 1957.
Raoul Barré had the first comic strip to appear in a Québec daily newspaper in 1902, called "Pour un dîner de Noël" ("For a Christmas Dinner"). In 1912, he created a strip called Noahzark Hotel for the New York-based McClure Syndicate, which he brought to La Patrie in French the next year. Soon after he moved into animation, becoming an innovative pioneer in the field.
Québécois cartoonists would propose a number of strips to compete with the American strips that dominated the Sundays and dailies. The native Québec presence on those pages would become more dominant after 1940, however, with the introduction of the War Exchange Conservation Act, which restricted the import of foreign strips. Albert Chartier created the comical character Onésime in 1943, a strip that would have the longest run of any in Québec. After World War II, during the Great Darkness, comics publication became dominated with religious comics, most of which were imported from the US. Native Québec comics did flourish for a brief period between 1955 and 1960, however, but were soon replaced again with American content, while also facing competition from the new Franco-Belgian publications, which appeared in full-colour, and by the mid-1960s had put the local Catholic publications out of business.
Springtime of BDQ (1970s–present)
The revolutionary 1960s and the Quiet Revolution in Québéc saw a new vigour in BDQ. What Georges Raby called the Spring of Québécois comics (printemps de la BD québécoise) is said to have begun in 1968 with the creation of the group Chiendent, who published in La Presse and Dimanche-Magazine. Jacques Hurtubise (Zyx), Réal Godbout, Gilles Thibault, and Jacques Boivin were particularly notable cartoonists, and numerous short-lived publications with strange names appeared, like Ma®de in Québec and L'Hydrocéphale illustré. The comics no longer focused on younger audiences, instead seeking confrontation or experimenting with graphics, drawing influence from French comics for mature audiences like those published in Pilote magazine, as well as translations of American undergrounds, translations of which were published in the journal Mainmise. During the 1970s, BDQ were sometimes called "BDK", bande dessinée kébécoise.
In 1979, Jacques Hurtubise, Pierre Huet and Hélène Fleury would establish the long-lived, satirical Croc, which published many leading talents of the era, many of whom were able to launch their careers through the magazine's help. Croc begat another magazine, Titanic, dedicated to comic strips, and in 1987, Safarir, a Mad-like publication patterned after the French Hara-Kiri, rose in competition with Croc. By the mid-1980s, a number of professional comics publishers began to flourish.
In Montreal in the 1980s and 1990s, in parallel to mainstream humour magazines, a healthy underground scene developed, and self-published fanzines proliferated. Julie Doucet, Henriette Valium, Luc Giard, Éric Thériault, Gavin McInnes and Siris were among the names that were discovered in the small press publications.
In the 21st Century, Michel Rabagliati and his semi-autobiographical Paul series has seen Tintin-like sales levels in Québec, and his books have been published in English by Drawn & Quarterly.
Around the turn of the century, the government of Québec mandated La Fondation du 9e art ("The 9th Art Foundation") to promote francophone cartoonists in North America. There have also emerged events such as the Festival de la bande dessinée francophone de Québec in Québec City and la Zone internationale du neuvième art (ZINA).
Publication, promotion and distribution
As in the US, large Canadian newspapers typically have a page of comic strips in their daily editions and a full-colour Sunday comics section on Saturdays or Sundays. Editorial cartoonists are also common; the Association of Canadian Editorial Cartoonists is a professional association founded in 1988 to promote their interests.
There are a number of English- and French-language publishers active in Canadian comics. Drawn & Quarterly is a Montreal-based English-language publisher of arts comics, translations, and classic comic reprints. Founded by Chris Oliveros in 1990, Drawn & Quarterly is one of the most influential publishers in alternative comics. Arcana Studio of British Columbia publishes a large number of titles, and Koyama Press joined the fray in 2007. In French, Les 400 coups, Mécanique Générale, La Pastèque and the Québec arm of Glénat are amongst the active publishers. The small press has played an important rôle; self-publishing is a common means of putting out comics, largely influenced by the success of Dave Sim's Cerebus. Minicomics another form that has remained popular since the 1980s, when Chester Brown and Julie Doucet got started by distributing self-published photocopied comics. The minicomics scene has been spurred on by Broken Pencil, a magazine dedicated to promoting the zines.
A number of fan conventions are held throughout Canada, including the Central Canada Comic Con, Fan Expo Canada, Montreal Comiccon, Paradise Comics Toronto Comicon, Ottawa Comiccon, and Toronto Comicon. The Toronto Comic Arts Festival (TCAF), modeled after European festivals such as Angoulême and the American Small Press Expo, has grown since 2003, and since 2009 has enjoyed the support of the Toronto Public Library.
Awards
A number of awards for Canadian comics and cartooning have appeared, especially since the beginning of the 21st Century.
The National Newspaper Awards was established in 1949 with a category for Editorial Cartooning honouring those that "embody an idea made clearly apparent, good drawing, and striking pictorial effect in the public interest". The award's first recipient was Jack Booth of The Globe and Mail.
The Bédélys Prize () has been awarded to French-language comics since 2000. It comes with bursaries for the Prix Bédélys Québec (for Best Book from Québec) and Prix Bédélys Fanzine.
Since 2005 the Joe Shuster Awards have been handed out by the Canadian Comic Book Creator Awards Association, named after the Toronto-born co-creator of Superman. It is open to all Canadians, including those living abroad, as well as permanent residents, for comics in any language. Along with awards for Outstanding Cartoonist, Outstanding Writer, Outstanding Artist and others, it also features the Joe Shuster Hall of Fame, and the Harry Kremer Retailer Award, named after the founder of Canada's oldest surviving comic shop.
The Doug Wright Awards also began in 2005. Awards are given for Best Book, Best Emerging Talent, and since 2008 the Pigskin Peters Award for non-narrative (or nominally-narrative) comics; Pigskin Peters was a character in Jimmy Frise's Birdseye Center. The Doug Wright Awards also inducts cartoonists into Giants of the North: The Canadian Cartoonist Hall of Fame.
Academia
From the 1990s onward an increasing amount of literature on Canadian comics has appeared, in both official languages. Books such as Guardians of the North (1992) and Invaders from the North (2006) appeared by comics historian John Bell, who became senior archivist at Library and Archives Canada in Ottawa. American magazine Alter Ego ran a special issue on Canadian comics in 2004. In French, Michel Viau wrote a book on francophone comics called BDQ: Répertoire des publications de bandes dessinées au Québec des origines à nos jours (2000). Bart Beaty and Jeet Heer have been writing about comics academically and professionally, and regularly have articles educating the public on comics published in newspapers such as the National Post and the Boston Globe, as well as comics and literary magazines. Canadian feminist scholars such as Mary Louise Adams, Mona Gleason, and Janice Dickin McGinnis have done research into the anti-crime comics campaigns of the late 1940s and 1950s, from the point of view of the moral panic and social and legal history of the era, and the sociology of sexuality.
See also
List of Canadian comics creators
Canadian humour
Culture of Canada
Comic book collecting
Comics! was a Canadian television program
History of Canadian animation
Prisoners of Gravity
References
Works cited
Further reading
English
French
External links
Guardians of the North: a history of Canadian superheroes (National Library & Archives of Canada)
Beyond The Funnies at Library and Archives Canada
History of Comic Books in English Canada
Association of Canadian Editorial Cartoonists website
The Joe Shuster Canadian Comics Awards
List of links to Canadian webcomics
Sequential : A Canadian Comics News & Culture Blog
Golden Age Canadian Comics
Digital Comic Museum (scans of presumed public domain Canadian comics)
Cultural history of Canada
History of comics | false | [
"Dr. Helmut Sell (1898–1956) and his wife Annemarie (1896–1972) were German Holocaust rescuers living in Berlin during the Third Reich. In 1981, they were posthumously honored as \"Righteous among the Nations\" by Yad Vashem at a ceremony in Jerusalem. In October 2002, the medal was finally presented to the children of the Sells at a ceremony in Schenectady, New York.\n\nDr. Sell owned a small factory for fine mechanical parts at the Englische Strasse in Berlin-Dahlem. In March 1943, he hired as a delivery boy a Jewish youth who had been living illegally on the streets of Berlin since May 1942. Dr. Sell did not realize at the time that the boy, who showed up dressed in a Hitler Youth uniform, was a disguised Jew. When, three weeks later, the boy, Ezra Ben Gershom, confided his true identity, Sell responded by identifying himself as an old-time Social Democrat and a sworn enemy of the Nazi regime.\n\nSell arranged forged travel documents for the boy, which purported to prove that he was going to Vienna at the behest of the German armaments industry. On the last nights before the journey, he sheltered Gershom in his own home in Potsdam, and provided him with food and counsel. Dr. Sell's wife Annemarie was also party to the secret.\n\nOn May 28, 1981, Yad Vashem recognized Dr. Helmuth and Annemarie Sell as Righteous Among the Nations.\n\nReferences\n\nGerman Righteous Among the Nations\n1898 births\n1956 deaths\n1896 births\n1972 deaths",
"Piet Derksen (1913 in Rotterdam – 24 February 1996 in Westerhoven) was a Dutch businessman who founded Center Parcs. A devout Catholic, he was also a philanthropist donating all his fortune to various causes.\n\nCompany\nHis father thought he was reading too much, so he said to his son that he should go and play tennis. Pieter listened to the advice of his father, but he generally saw the economical aspect of tennis. He borrowed money from his family and built a tennis court near Kralingen with it.\n\nLater on, Pieter had the idea to sell his tennis court and start a sport store \"Sporthuis-centrum\" or translated to English \"Sporthouse-centre\". He bought a tent factory in North Brabant. Due to the increase of economical welfare the public's demand for bigger and better tents was increasing. Pieter came to the idea to rent full accommodated tents on a piece of land near Reuver. This was a great success, so the tents were rapidly replaced by bungalows. In 1978 Pieter decided to sell his sports store concern. He did this so he could fully concentrate himself on the company \"Sporthuis Centrum\".[2] He even built a house for himself on park \"De Kempervennen\" near Eindhoven. He did this because he believed it was better to see your company work, and also to stay closer to your customers\n\nReferences\n\n1913 births\n1996 deaths\nBusinesspeople from Rotterdam\nCenter Parcs\nDutch traditionalist Catholics"
] |
[
"Canadian comics",
"Age of comic strips (1920s-1930s)",
"What was one of the first success in comics during the 1920's and 1930;s?",
"in 1921, Jimmy Frise, one of Ernest Hemingway's drinking buddies during the journalist's days in Toronto, sold Life's Little Comedies",
"Who did he sell it to?",
"to the Toronto Star's Star Weekly."
] | C_355680f212734b4daa071770ae0249c6_0 | What was the most successful comic strip during that time? | 3 | What was the most successful comic strip during the 1920's? | Canadian comics | Canadian cartoonists often found it hard to succeed in the field of comic strips without moving to the US, but in 1921, Jimmy Frise, one of Ernest Hemingway's drinking buddies during the journalist's days in Toronto, sold Life's Little Comedies to the Toronto Star's Star Weekly. This strip was later retitled Birdseye Center, and became the longest-running strip in English Canadian history. In 1947, Frise brought the strip to the Montreal Standard, where it was renamed Juniper Junction. Nova Scotia-born artist J. R. Williams single-panel strip about rural and small-town life, Out Our Way, began in 1922 and was syndicated in 700 newspapers at its peak. Two new comic strips appeared on the same day in 1929 in American newspapers and fed the public's desire for escapist entertainment at the dawn of the Great Depression. They were the first non-humorous adventure strips, and both were adaptations. One was Buck Rogers; the other, Tarzan, by Halifax native Hal Foster, who had worked as illustrator for catalogues from Eaton's and the Hudson's Bay Company before moving to the US in his late 20s. Other adventure strips soon followed and paved the way for the genre diversity that was seen in comic strips in the 1930s. In 1937, Foster began his own strip, Prince Valiant, which has become his best-known work for Foster's dextrous, realistic artwork. After struggling to support himself at various Toronto-based publications, Richard Taylor, under the pen name "Ric", became a regular at The New Yorker and relocated to the US, where the pay and opportunities for cartoonists were better. The Toronto Telegram began to run Men of the Mounted in 1933, the first home-grown adventure strip, written by Ted McCall and drawn by Harry Hall. McCall later penned the strip Robin Hood and Company, which made its appearance in comic books when McCall founded Anglo-American Publishing in 1941. CANNOTANSWER | J. R. Williams single-panel strip about rural and small-town life, Out Our Way, began in 1922 and was syndicated in 700 newspapers at its peak. | Canadian comics refers to comics and cartooning by citizens of Canada or permanent residents of Canada regardless of residence. Canada has two official languages, and distinct comics cultures have developed in English and French Canada. The English tends to follow American trends, and the French, Franco-Belgian ones, with little crossover between the two cultures. Canadian comics run the gamut of comics forms, including editorial cartooning, comic strips, comic books, graphic novels, and webcomics, and are published in newspapers, magazines, books, and online. They have received attention in international comics communities and have received support from the federal and provincial governments, including grants from the Canada Council for the Arts. There are comics publishers throughout the country, as well as large small press, self-publishing, and minicomics communities.
In English Canada many cartoonists, from Hal Foster to Todd McFarlane, have sought to further their careers by moving to the United States; since the late 20th century increasing numbers have gained international attention while staying in Canada. During World War II, trade restrictions led to the flourishing of a domestic comic book industry, whose black-and-white "Canadian Whites" contained original stories of heroes such as Nelvana of the Northern Lights as well as American scripts redrawn by Canadian artists. The war's end saw American imports and domestic censorship lead to the death of this industry. The alternative and small press communities grew in the 1970s, and by the end of the century Dave Sim's Cerebus and Chester Brown's comics, amongst others, gained international audiences and critical acclaim, and Drawn & Quarterly became a leader in arts-comics publishing. In the 21st century, comics have gained wider audiences and higher levels of recognition, especially in the form of graphic novels and webcomics.
In French Canada indigenous comics are called BDQ or () Cartoons with speech balloons in Quebec date to the late 1700s. BDQ have alternately flourished and languished throughout Quebec's history as the small domestic market has found it difficult to compete with foreign imports. Many cartoonists from Quebec have made their careers in the United States. Since the Springtime of BDQ in the 1970s native comics magazines, such as Croc and Safarir, and comics albums have become more common, though they account for only 5% of total sales in the province. Since the turn of the 21st century cartoonists such as Michel Rabagliati, Guy Delisle, and the team of Dubuc and Delaf have seen international success in French-speaking Europe and in translation. Éditions Mille-Îles and La Pastèque are amongst the domestic publishers that have become increasingly common.
History
English Canada
Early history (1759–1910s)
Brigadier-General George Townshend's cartoons lampooning General James Wolfe in 1759 are recognized as the first examples of political cartooning in Canadian history. Cartoons did not have a regular forum in Canada until John Henry Walker's short-lived weekly Punch in Canada débuted in Montreal in 1849. The magazine was a Canadian version of Britain's humorous Punch and featured cartoons by Walker. It paved the way for a number of similar short-lived publications, until the success of the more straight-laced Canadian Illustrated News, published by George-Édouard Desbarats beginning in 1869, soon after Canadian Confederation.
In 1873, John Wilson Bengough founded Grip, a humour magazine in the style of Punch and the American Harper's Weekly. It featured a large number of cartoons, especially Bengough's own. The cartoons tended to be political, and Prime Minister John A. Macdonald and Métis rebel leader Louis Riel were favourite targets. The Pacific Scandal in the early 1870s gave Bengough much fodder to raise his reputation as a political caricaturist. According to historian John Bell, while Bengough was probably the most significant pre-20th-century Canadian cartoonist, Henri Julien was likely the most accomplished. Published widely both at home and abroad, Julien's cartoons appeared in periodicals such as Harper's Weekly and Le Monde illustré. In 1888, he gained employment at the Montreal Star and became the first full-time newspaper cartoonist in Canada.
Palmer Cox, a Canadian expatriate in the United States, at this time created The Brownies, a popular, widely merchandised phenomenon whose first book collection sold over a million copies. Cox began a Brownies comic strip in 1898 that was one of the earliest English-language strips, and had begun to use speech balloons by the time it ended in 1907.
Age of comic strips (1920s–1930s)
Canadian cartoonists often found it hard to succeed in the field of comic strips without moving to the US, but in 1921, Jimmy Frise, one of Ernest Hemingway's drinking buddies during the journalist's days in Toronto, sold Life's Little Comedies to the Toronto Stars Star Weekly. This strip was later retitled Birdseye Center, and became the longest-running strip in English Canadian history. In 1947, Frise brought the strip to the Montreal Standard, where it was renamed Juniper Junction. Nova Scotia-born artist J. R. Williams single-panel strip about rural and small-town life, Out Our Way, began in 1922 and was syndicated in 700 newspapers at its peak.
Two new comic strips appeared on the same day in 1929 in American newspapers and fed the public's desire for escapist entertainment at the dawn of the Great Depression. They were the first non-humorous adventure strips, and both were adaptations. One was Buck Rogers; the other, Tarzan, by Halifax native Hal Foster, who had worked as illustrator for catalogues from Eaton's and the Hudson's Bay Company before moving to the US in his late 20s. Other adventure strips soon followed and paved the way for the genre diversity that was seen in comic strips in the 1930s. In 1937, Foster began his own strip, Prince Valiant, which has become his best-known work for Foster's dextrous, realistic artwork. After struggling to support himself at various Toronto-based publications, Richard Taylor, under the pen name "Ric", became a regular at The New Yorker and relocated to the US, where the pay and opportunities for cartoonists were better.
The Toronto Telegram began to run Men of the Mounted in 1933, the first home-grown adventure strip, written by Ted McCall and drawn by Harry Hall. McCall later penned the strip Robin Hood and Company, which made its appearance in comic books when McCall founded Anglo-American Publishing in 1941.
Golden age: Canadian Whites (1940s)
The Golden Age of Comic Books and subsequent superhero boom began with the release in June 1938 of Action Comics #1. The cover story was the first appearance of Superman, drawn by Toronto-born Joe Shuster. Shuster modeled Superman's Metropolis after his memories of Toronto, and the newspaper Clark Kent worked for after the Toronto Daily Star, which he had delivered as a child. These comics crossed the border and quickly gained Canadian fans as well.
In December 1940, the War Exchange Conservation Act was passed. It restricted the importation of goods from the US that were deemed non-essential to combat the trade deficit Canada had with its neighbours to the south. American comic books were casualties of the Act. In 1941, to fill the void, a number of Canadian comic book publishers sprang up, starting in March with Anglo-American Publishing in Toronto and Maple Leaf Publishing in Vancouver. Adrian Dingle's Hillborough Studios and Bell Features soon joined them. The comics printed by these companies had colour covers, but the innards were in black-and-white, and thus collectors call them Canadian Whites. Superheroes stories were prominent, and the "Whites" often relied on serials to keep readers coming back for more.
Better Comics from Maple Leaf and Robin Hood and Company from Anglo-American were the first titles to hit the stands. Robin Hood was a tabloid-sized comic strip reprint magazine, while Better was made up of original material in traditional comic-book format, and thus can be said to be the first true Canadian comic book. It included the appearance of the first Canadian superhero, Vernon Miller's Iron Man. John Stables, under the pen name John St. Ables, was responsible for Brok Windsors debut in Better in the spring of 1944—a fantasy-adventure set far in the "land beyond the mists" in the Canadian North. The success of Better led to a proliferation of titles from Maple Leaf.
The driving creative forces behind Anglo-American were Ted McCall, the writer of the Men of the Mounted and Robin Hood strips, and artist Ed Furness. The pair created a number of heroes with such names as Freelance, Purple Rider, Red Rover, and Commander Steel. Anglo-American also published stories based on imported American scripts bought from Fawcett Publications, with fresh artwork by Canadians to bypass trade restrictions. Captain Marvel and Bulletman were amongst the characters that had Canadian adaptations. Anglo-American published a large number of titles, including Freelance, Grand Slam, Three Aces, Whiz, Captain Marvel and Atom Smasher, but relied less on serials, and was less patriotically Canadian than its rival publishers. It employed a number of talented artists, but they were kept to a "house style" of drawing, in the vein of Captain Marvel's C. C. Beck.
In August 1941, three unemployed artists, Adrian Dingle and André and René Kulbach, formed Hillborough Studios to publish their own work. They started with Triumph-Adventure Comics, whose star was Canada's first female superhero, Nelvana of the Northern Lights, who appeared several months before Wonder Woman did in the US. Nelvana was inspired by tribal stories brought back from the Arctic Group of Seven painter Franz Johnston. The popular fur-miniskirted superheroine was a powerful Inuit mythological figure, daughter of a mortal woman and Koliak the Mighty, King of the Northern Lights. She had telepathic powers and was able to ride the Northern Lights at the speed of light, turn invisible, and melt metal.
In March 1942, Dingle and most of the Hillborough staff moved with Nelvana to Toronto-based Bell Features, which had begun publishing comics in September 1941 with the first issue of the successful Wow Comics—in colour at first, but Bell soon switched to the familiar "White" format. Bell was the most prolific of the Canadian comic-book publishers. Its comics were drawn by a large pool of artists, including freelancers, adolescents, and women, and were unabashedly Canadian. Aside from Nelvana, there were Edmund Legault's Dixon of the Mounted, Jerry Lazare's Phantom Rider, and Fred Kelly's Doc Stearne. Leo Bachle's Johnny Canuck was the second Canadian national hero, and debuted in Bell's Dime Comics in February 1942.
The new Canadian comics were successful; Bell reached accumulated weekly sales of 100,000 by 1943. By this time, Educational Projects of Montréal had joined, selling comics in the "White" format. Educational specialized in a different sort of fare: biographies of prime ministers, cases of the RCMP, and historical tales, drawn by accomplished artists including George M. Rae and Sid Barron. Educational's Canadian Heroes earned endorsements from cabinet ministers and appealed to parents and educators, but was not as appealing to the kids it was aimed at until Rae convinced publisher Harry J. Halperin to allow him to include a fictional character, Canada Jack—a hero who battled Nazis.
With the end of World War II in 1945, Canadian comic-book publishing faced competition from American publishers again. Educational and latecomer Feature Publications folded immediately. Maple Leaf tried to compete by switching to colour and by trying to break into the British market. Anglo-American and another newcomer, Al Rucker Publications, tried to compete directly with the Americans, and even achieved distribution in the US. By the end of 1946 it was clear that the remaining publishers could not compete, and for the time being original comic-book publishing came to an end in Canada, although some publishers like Bell Features survived by republishing American books until the War Exchange Conservation Act was officially abolished in 1951. The cartoonists who insisted on drawing for a living faced several choices: some moved across the border to attempt to make it with the American publishers, and some moved into illustration work, as Jerry Lazare, Vernon Miller, Jack Tremblay, and Harold Bennett did. Another avenue was the route Sid Barron followed into political cartooning. By 1949, out of 176 comics titles on the newsstand, only 23 were Canadian.
Post-war (late 1940s–early 1970s)
With the end of most original Canadian comic book publishing in 1947, Canada's superheroes disappeared, and the country entered a phase of foreign comic book domination. In November 1948, a crime comics scare hit the country when a pair of voracious comic book readers in Dawson Creek, British Columbia, shot at a random car while playing highwaymen, fatally wounding a passenger. When authorities discovered their taste for comic books, media attention focused on the emerging crime comics genre as an influence on juvenile delinquency. A bill to amend Section 207 of the Criminal Code was drafted, and passed unanimously, making it an offense to make, print, publish, distribute, sell, or own "any magazine, periodical or book which exclusively or substantially comprises matter depicting pictorially the commission of crimes, real or fictitious", on 10 December 1949. Comics publishers across Canada banded together to create the Comic Magazine Industry Association of Canada (CMIAC), a Canadian industry self-censoring body similar to the American Comics Code Authority that would be formed a few years later in response to a similar crime comics scare in the U.S. Purely by coincidence, the Netherlands had experienced a near-similar comics related incident at almost the exact same time with an equally lethal outcome, and causing a similar popular reaction, but in this case the authorities refrained from taking the drastic legal actions, their Canadian counterparts did.
Superior Publishers, however, defied the ban, while also moving into the U.S. market. Watchdogs turned up the heat, and in 1953 a distributor was found guilty of distributing obscenities. Some of Superior's titles found themselves in Fredric Wertham's notorious and influential diatribe on the influence comics had on juvenile delinquency, Seduction of the Innocent, published in 1954. The United States Senate Subcommittee on Juvenile Delinquency, established in 1953, had public hearings a few months later, and called upon Kamloops, British Columbia Member of Parliament E. Davie Fulton, one of Superior publisher William Zimmerman's most outspoken enemies, as a witness. The Comics Code Authority was soon formed, and Superior, like fellow American publisher EC Comics, saw their sales dwindle throughout 1955. Prosecutions increased throughout Canada, with Superior successfully defending themselves in one, and another supposedly comics-related murder was reported in Westville, Nova Scotia. Superior shut its doors in 1956, and until the 1970s, English Canadian newsstand comic book publishing was no more, although a number of "giveaway" comics continued to be produced by Orville ' Productions and Owen McCarron's Comic Book World, who produced the educational and cautionary comics for governments and corporations, aimed at kids and teens.
The crackdown was not aimed at comic strips, however, and several notable new ones appeared, like Lew Saw's One-Up, Winslow Mortimer's Larry Brannon and Al Beaton's Ookpik. After Jimmy Frise's death in 1948, Juniper Junction was taken over by Doug Wright, "one of Canada's best post-war comic-strip artists". He would continue with the strip until 1968, while also working on his own Nipper from 1949. In 1967, Nipper became Doug Wright's Family when Wright moved from Montreal to Ontario, and the popular strip continued until 1980. The Doug Wright Awards were inaugurated in his honour in 2005. From 1948 to 1972, James Simpkins' cartoon Jasper the Bear appeared continuously in Maclean's magazine. Jasper was hugely popular across Canada and was used, and is still today, as the symbol for Jasper National Park.
To express his anger at the US military's nuclear tests in the Bikini Atoll in 1946 English-born artist Laurence Hyde produced a wordless novel in 1951 called Southern Cross. In 118 silent pages, the book depicts atomic testing by the US military and its effects Polynesian island inhabitants. While it had no direct effect on comics at the time, it has come to be seen as a precursor to the Canadian graphic novel.
Early editorial cartooning lacked a local flavour, tending to be a pale imitation of American examples. It tended to be cheery, non-confrontational, and supported good causes. Following the War it broke from typical American clichés and took on more of a savage bite, especially compared to the more allegorical tendencies of American editorial cartoons. At Le Devoir, Robert Lapalme was the first to cartoon in this particularly Canadian idiom, and in 1963 organized an International Salon of Caricature and Cartoon in Montreal. Lapalme was later followed by Duncan Macpherson at the Toronto Star, Leonard Norris at the Vancouver Sun and Ed McNally at the Montreal Star. These cartoonists frequently took political positions contrary to those of the papers in which they were published. Macpherson drew a cartoon of John Diefenbaker as Marie Antoinette saying "Let them eat cake" in response to the Prime Minister's cancelling the Avro Arrow project, which historian Pierre Burton has called the beginning of Canadians' disillusionment with Diefenbaker's government. Macpherson in particular fought fiercely for editorial independence, challenging his editors and threatening to quit the Star if not given his way, which paved a new path for other cartoonists to follow.
In the spring of 1966, Canada saw its first specialty comic shop open its doors on Queen Street West, Toronto: Viking Bookshop, established by "Captain George" Henderson. Entirely unfamiliar with the new phenomenon, the store was dubbed "the campiest store in town" by Toronto Star reporter Robert Fulford. No longer in existence, Viking Bookshop is currently the earliest known such specialty comic book store in North-America (or worldwide for that matter), predating the oldest known US comic book store, Gary Arlington's San Francisco Comic Book Company (est. April 1968), by two years. One year later, in May 1967, the store was renamed Memory Lane Books after it had relocated to Markham Street in the same city, and as such became an inspiration for pioneering retailer Harry Kremer and Bill Johnson to open Now & Then Books in Kitchener, Ontario. Its newsletter, the Now and Then Times, published early work by the young Dave Sim in its inaugural issue in 1972, and later employed him from 1976 to 1977.
In the late 1960s, along with the countercultural movement, a new form of comic art appeared from the avant-garde and literary scenes—underground comics (or "comix") aimed at an adult audience. Early examples appeared in certain magazines, but an early precursor of Canadian underground comic books was Scraptures, as a special issue of the Toronto avant-garde literary magazine grOnk in 1967. In 1969, Canada saw its first true underground comics, with SFU Komix and Snore Comix. These comix drew their inspiration from the American underground movement that exploded after the release of Robert Crumb's Zap in early 1968. Martin Vaugh-James produced an early graphic novel when he had Elephant released by Press Porcépic in 1970. The underground movement paralleled that of the US, in that it peaked from 1970 to 1972 with the peak of the counterculture, and witnessed a sharp decline afterward. Saskatoon, Saskatchewan's Dave Geary and Vancouver, British Columbia's Rand Holmes were key figures, Holmes being the creator of the Harold Hedd comic strip.
Humour magazine Fuddle Duddle, named after a famous euphemism by then-Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, was a short lived attempt at a Canadian Mad-style satirical magazine. It was the first comic book of Canadian content to be available on newsstands since 1956. Two of its contributors, Peter Evans and Stanley Berneche, would soon go on to bring superheroes back to Canada for the first time since the demise of Nelvana in 1947, with Captain Canuck.
The fan press and fandom grew throughout this period, and was bolstered when Patrick Loubert and Michael Hirsh, the founders of the animation company Nelvana, published of The Great Canadian Comic Books in 1971, a book-length study of the Bell Features comics, and the touring of a related exhibition mounted by the National Gallery of Canada, Comic Art Traditions in Canada, 1941-45, which together served to introduce English-Canadian comics creators and fans to their lost heritage.
Towards the middle of the 1970s, comics aimed at children gradually disappeared. The new breed of underground, alternative and independent comics was aimed at a more mature audience, which ran counter to the public's perception, as well as to legal restrictions. The first wave of alternative comics in the seventies was largely made up of science fiction and fantasy comics, made by budding cartoonists like Gene Day, Dave Sim, Augustine Funnell, Jim Craig, Ken Steacy, Dean Motter, and Vincent Marchesano.
New wave (mid-1970s–1980s)
The mid-1970s saw the beginning of a new wave of Canadian comics, one in which the creators chose to remain in Canada, rather than seeking their fortunes south of the border. Richard Comely's Captain Canuck appeared in July 1975, the first appearance of a non-satirical superhero in Canada since the 1940s. During the 1950s and 1960s, the idea of native comics seemed unattainable to Canadian kids, and the appearance of Captain Canuck gave these kids the optimism to make their own. This was followed up with James Waley's more professional, newsstand-distributed Orb, which featured a number of talents that would later take part in the North American comics scene.
The comics magazines showing up in Canada at the time suffered from promotion and distribution problems, however, getting most of their support from the fan press. Phil Seuling's California-based comics distributor Bud Plant was supportive of these underground and alternative comics, though, and helped get them into stores. Eventually, distributors like Bud Plant and the emergence of specialty comic shops would form a distribution network for small press comics that would thrive independently of the traditional newsstands.
The world of comic strips saw a number of works pop up. Ben Wicks was doing The Outsiders and Wicks, Jim Unger's Herman debuted in 1975, and Ted Martin's Pavlov in 1979. In 1978, Lynn Johnston, living in Lynn Lake, Manitoba, began For Better or For Worse, which was noted for following the lives of the Patterson family as they grew older in real time, and dealt with real-life issues. The strip based a number of its storylines on Johnston's real-life experiences with her own family, as well as social issues such as the midlife crisis, divorce, the coming out of a gay character, child abuse, and death. In 1985, she became the first female cartoonist to win a Reuben Award, and the Friends of Lulu added her to the Women Cartoonists Hall of Fame in 2002. The strip was very popular, appearing in over 2000 newspapers in 25 countries.
Editorial cartoonists held considerable sway between the 1950s through the 1970s. Former Prime Minister Joe Clark has been quoted that he lost votes in the election of 1980 due to political cartoons about him. They have also experienced the fear of censorship through the courts, or "libel chill". In 1979, Robert Bierman and the Victoria Times was the subject of a libel suit when he criticized the policies of William Vander Zalm, the British Columbia Minister of Human Resources, with a cartoon of the Minister pulling the wings off flies. When the courts ruled in Vander Zalm's favour, newspapers across the nation ran their own versions of the cartoon in support, until the BC Court of Appeal reversed the ruling in 1980, deeming the cartoon "fair comment". It was later acquired by the National Archives of Canada.
Captain Canuck and Orb both folded by 1976, but in Kitchener, Ontario in December 1977, Dave Sim's independent comic book Cerebus debuted, and would become the longest-lived original Canadian comic book. Benefiting from distribution in the emerging comic shop market, it started as a Howard the Duck-like parody of Barry Windsor-Smith's Conan the Barbarian comics. The story eventually grew to fit Sim's expanding ambitions, both in content and technique, with its earth-pig protagonist getting embroiled in politics, becoming prime minister of a powerful city-state, then a Pope who ascends to the moon—all within the first third of its projected 300-issue run. Sim came to conceive the series as a self-enclosed story, which itself would be divided into novels—or graphic novels, which were gaining in prominence in the North American comic book world in the 1980s and 1990s. While Sim and his partner Gerhard's technical achievements impressed and influenced his peers, Sim also spoke out for creators' rights, promoted his peers and up-and-coming creators, and fiercely promoted self-publishing as an ideal. Americans Jeff Smith with Bone and Terry Moore with Strangers in Paradise took Sim's cue, as did Canadian M'Oak (Mark Oakley) with his long-running Thieves and Kings. Eddie Campbell took Sim's personal advice to self-publish the collected From Hell at the turn of the century. Sim also stirred considerable controversy, sometimes with the content of Cerebus, and sometimes with his editorials and personal interactions.
David Boswell was amongst those in the 1980s who made the jump from the fanzine world when he began self-publishing Reid Fleming, World's Toughest Milkman in 1980. From out of the same scene, Bill Marks started publishing the anthology Vortex in Toronto in 1982. Marks' Vortex Comics expanded into publishing other comics. The publisher gained publicity for Mister X, which employed the talents of Dean Motter, Gilberto and Jaime Hernandez and, later, Torontonians Seth and Jeffrey Morgan. Most notably, Marks picked up Chester Brown's Yummy Fur, a taboo-breaking series which started in 1983 as a self-published, photocopied minicomic. It had generated some buzz, and Vortex started publishing it professionally at the end of 1986. Yummy Furs stories were a mix of genres, with the improvised, surreal Ed the Happy Clown, straight adaptations of the Gospels, and revealing, bare-all autobiographical stories. Brown would become a major figure in Canadian comics.
As the content of comics matured throughout the 1980s, they became the subject of increasing scrutiny. In 1986, Calgary comic shop Comic Legends was raided and charged with obscenity. In response, Derek McCulloch and Paul Stockton of Strawberry Jam Comics established the Comic Legends Legal Defense Fund to help retailers, distributors, publishers, and creators fight against obscenity charges. To raise funds, they published two True North anthologies of Canadian talent.
During this time, large numbers of Canadian artists were making waves in the American comic book market as well, such as John Byrne, Gene Day and his brother Dan, Jim Craig, Rand Holmes, Geof Isherwood, Ken Steacy, Dean Motter, George Freeman and Dave Ross. Byrne was particularly popular for his work on X-Men, and also originated Alpha Flight, about a team of Canadian superheroes.
1990s
In 1990, Montreal-based publisher Drawn & Quarterly began with an anthology title also named Drawn & Quarterly. It quickly picked up a number of other titles, such as Julie Doucet's semi-autobiographical, bilingual Dirty Plotte, which, like Yummy Fur, had started out as a minicomic; Seth's Palookaville; illegal resident from the US Joe Matt's Peepshow; and Yummy Fur, which made the jump with its twenty-fifth issue. At the time, an autobiographical comics trend took place. Brown, Seth and Matt in particular were thought of as a Toronto comics rat pack, depicting one another in their comics and doing signings and interviews together.
Drawn & Quarterly was at the forefront of the maturation comic books saw in the 1990s, publishing and promoting the works of adult-oriented Canadian and international artists. The publisher avoided genres like superheroes, which publisher Chris Oliveros saw as stifling comics' growth. These comics had artistic aspirations, and graphic novels became increasingly prominent, with Brown's autobiographical The Playboy and I Never Liked You, and Seth's faux-autobiographical It's a Good Life, If You Don't Weaken garnering considerable attention.
Todd McFarlane from Calgary had been making waves since the late 1980s illustrating comics for DC and Marvel Comics, becoming a fan favourite writer/artist for Spider-Man. He eventually left to co-found the creator-owned comics publishing collective Image Comics, where he debuted the enormously successful Spawn. Spawn holds the record for most copies sold of an independent comic, and was the most financially successful comics franchise of the decade.
21st century
At the dawn of the 21st Century, the comics industry had changed considerably. The graphic novel had come into its own, and traditional comics sales dropped significantly. Louis Riel, who had been a major target of John Bengough's caricatures in the early days of Confederation, was the protagonist in Chester Brown's award-winning, best-selling "comic-strip biography". With his graphic novels and book collections, he gained a wider audience than he had with his serial comic books, and he abandoned serial comics entirely to focus on original graphic novels after Louis Riel. Greater appreciation of the artform was shown when Brown and Seth became recipients of grants from the Canada Council for the Arts. Dave Sim's Cerebus completed its planned 26-year, 300-issue run in 2004.
Foreign comics, especially Japanese, became quite successful in Canada, and stood out for gaining large numbers of female fans, who had traditionally stayed away from comic books. They also had a significant influence on artists such as Bryan Lee O'Malley and his Scott Pilgrim series. Due to differing social norms, the content of these comics are sometimes censored or ran afoul of Canadian customs officials. Incidental nudity could be interpreted by them as child pornography and result in jail terms.
Drawn & Quarterly has become known as a house for art comics, translations of non-English works, like Montrealer Michel Rabagliati's Paul series, and archive editions of classic comics, such as Wright's Little Nipper. The publisher has earned a reputation for the special attention they put into book design, and has played a pivotal rôle in shaping comics' rise in artistic prominence, and in getting comics into mainstream book stores in both Canada and the US. D&Q publisher Chris Oliveros, along with Art Spiegelman, lobbied bookstores to include a section for graphic novels, which would be subdivided by subject.
Webcomics, such as Kate Beaton's Hark! A Vagrant, Ryan Sohmer and Lar deSouza's Looking for Group, and Karl Kerschl's The Abominable Charles Christopher, became an increasingly popular outlet for Canadian cartoonists. The popularity of Beaton's work has led to it being published in book form, with Time magazine placing it in the top 10 fiction books of 2011.
The comics community in Canada has grown, and has grown appreciative of its talent, celebrating it with awards such as the Doug Wrights and Joe Shusters, as well as with classy events such as the international Toronto Comic Arts Festival, which has been cosponsored by the Toronto Public Library since 2009.
French Canada
The comics of Québec, also known as "BDQ" (bande dessinée québécoise), have followed a different path than those of English Canada. While newspapers tend to populate their funny pages with syndicated American comic strips, in general comics there have followed Franco-Belgian comics, with The Adventures of Tintin and Asterix being particularly popular and influential. Comics also tend to be printed in the comic album format that is popular in Europe. Aside from humorous parodies, there is no superhero tradition in Québec comics.
Early history (1790s–1960s)
Québec comics have alternately flourished and languished, seeing several brief periods of intense activity followed by long periods of inundation with foreign content. Comics first appeared in the humour pages of newspapers in the 19th century, following the trends coming from Europe. In the late 19th Century, Henri Julien published two books of political caricatures, L'album drolatique du journal Le Farceur, after which the number of cartoonists began to increase in newspapers in Québec City and Montreal. 1904 saw, in the newspaper La Patrie, the publication of Les Aventures de Timothée (The Adventures of Timothée) by Albéric Bourgeois. This is said to be the first French-language comic to feature speech balloons. Joseph Charlebois's comic-strip adaptation of Le Père Ladébauche (Father Debauchery) also debuted in 1904, in La Presse, a popular strip that would last until 1957.
Raoul Barré had the first comic strip to appear in a Québec daily newspaper in 1902, called "Pour un dîner de Noël" ("For a Christmas Dinner"). In 1912, he created a strip called Noahzark Hotel for the New York-based McClure Syndicate, which he brought to La Patrie in French the next year. Soon after he moved into animation, becoming an innovative pioneer in the field.
Québécois cartoonists would propose a number of strips to compete with the American strips that dominated the Sundays and dailies. The native Québec presence on those pages would become more dominant after 1940, however, with the introduction of the War Exchange Conservation Act, which restricted the import of foreign strips. Albert Chartier created the comical character Onésime in 1943, a strip that would have the longest run of any in Québec. After World War II, during the Great Darkness, comics publication became dominated with religious comics, most of which were imported from the US. Native Québec comics did flourish for a brief period between 1955 and 1960, however, but were soon replaced again with American content, while also facing competition from the new Franco-Belgian publications, which appeared in full-colour, and by the mid-1960s had put the local Catholic publications out of business.
Springtime of BDQ (1970s–present)
The revolutionary 1960s and the Quiet Revolution in Québéc saw a new vigour in BDQ. What Georges Raby called the Spring of Québécois comics (printemps de la BD québécoise) is said to have begun in 1968 with the creation of the group Chiendent, who published in La Presse and Dimanche-Magazine. Jacques Hurtubise (Zyx), Réal Godbout, Gilles Thibault, and Jacques Boivin were particularly notable cartoonists, and numerous short-lived publications with strange names appeared, like Ma®de in Québec and L'Hydrocéphale illustré. The comics no longer focused on younger audiences, instead seeking confrontation or experimenting with graphics, drawing influence from French comics for mature audiences like those published in Pilote magazine, as well as translations of American undergrounds, translations of which were published in the journal Mainmise. During the 1970s, BDQ were sometimes called "BDK", bande dessinée kébécoise.
In 1979, Jacques Hurtubise, Pierre Huet and Hélène Fleury would establish the long-lived, satirical Croc, which published many leading talents of the era, many of whom were able to launch their careers through the magazine's help. Croc begat another magazine, Titanic, dedicated to comic strips, and in 1987, Safarir, a Mad-like publication patterned after the French Hara-Kiri, rose in competition with Croc. By the mid-1980s, a number of professional comics publishers began to flourish.
In Montreal in the 1980s and 1990s, in parallel to mainstream humour magazines, a healthy underground scene developed, and self-published fanzines proliferated. Julie Doucet, Henriette Valium, Luc Giard, Éric Thériault, Gavin McInnes and Siris were among the names that were discovered in the small press publications.
In the 21st Century, Michel Rabagliati and his semi-autobiographical Paul series has seen Tintin-like sales levels in Québec, and his books have been published in English by Drawn & Quarterly.
Around the turn of the century, the government of Québec mandated La Fondation du 9e art ("The 9th Art Foundation") to promote francophone cartoonists in North America. There have also emerged events such as the Festival de la bande dessinée francophone de Québec in Québec City and la Zone internationale du neuvième art (ZINA).
Publication, promotion and distribution
As in the US, large Canadian newspapers typically have a page of comic strips in their daily editions and a full-colour Sunday comics section on Saturdays or Sundays. Editorial cartoonists are also common; the Association of Canadian Editorial Cartoonists is a professional association founded in 1988 to promote their interests.
There are a number of English- and French-language publishers active in Canadian comics. Drawn & Quarterly is a Montreal-based English-language publisher of arts comics, translations, and classic comic reprints. Founded by Chris Oliveros in 1990, Drawn & Quarterly is one of the most influential publishers in alternative comics. Arcana Studio of British Columbia publishes a large number of titles, and Koyama Press joined the fray in 2007. In French, Les 400 coups, Mécanique Générale, La Pastèque and the Québec arm of Glénat are amongst the active publishers. The small press has played an important rôle; self-publishing is a common means of putting out comics, largely influenced by the success of Dave Sim's Cerebus. Minicomics another form that has remained popular since the 1980s, when Chester Brown and Julie Doucet got started by distributing self-published photocopied comics. The minicomics scene has been spurred on by Broken Pencil, a magazine dedicated to promoting the zines.
A number of fan conventions are held throughout Canada, including the Central Canada Comic Con, Fan Expo Canada, Montreal Comiccon, Paradise Comics Toronto Comicon, Ottawa Comiccon, and Toronto Comicon. The Toronto Comic Arts Festival (TCAF), modeled after European festivals such as Angoulême and the American Small Press Expo, has grown since 2003, and since 2009 has enjoyed the support of the Toronto Public Library.
Awards
A number of awards for Canadian comics and cartooning have appeared, especially since the beginning of the 21st Century.
The National Newspaper Awards was established in 1949 with a category for Editorial Cartooning honouring those that "embody an idea made clearly apparent, good drawing, and striking pictorial effect in the public interest". The award's first recipient was Jack Booth of The Globe and Mail.
The Bédélys Prize () has been awarded to French-language comics since 2000. It comes with bursaries for the Prix Bédélys Québec (for Best Book from Québec) and Prix Bédélys Fanzine.
Since 2005 the Joe Shuster Awards have been handed out by the Canadian Comic Book Creator Awards Association, named after the Toronto-born co-creator of Superman. It is open to all Canadians, including those living abroad, as well as permanent residents, for comics in any language. Along with awards for Outstanding Cartoonist, Outstanding Writer, Outstanding Artist and others, it also features the Joe Shuster Hall of Fame, and the Harry Kremer Retailer Award, named after the founder of Canada's oldest surviving comic shop.
The Doug Wright Awards also began in 2005. Awards are given for Best Book, Best Emerging Talent, and since 2008 the Pigskin Peters Award for non-narrative (or nominally-narrative) comics; Pigskin Peters was a character in Jimmy Frise's Birdseye Center. The Doug Wright Awards also inducts cartoonists into Giants of the North: The Canadian Cartoonist Hall of Fame.
Academia
From the 1990s onward an increasing amount of literature on Canadian comics has appeared, in both official languages. Books such as Guardians of the North (1992) and Invaders from the North (2006) appeared by comics historian John Bell, who became senior archivist at Library and Archives Canada in Ottawa. American magazine Alter Ego ran a special issue on Canadian comics in 2004. In French, Michel Viau wrote a book on francophone comics called BDQ: Répertoire des publications de bandes dessinées au Québec des origines à nos jours (2000). Bart Beaty and Jeet Heer have been writing about comics academically and professionally, and regularly have articles educating the public on comics published in newspapers such as the National Post and the Boston Globe, as well as comics and literary magazines. Canadian feminist scholars such as Mary Louise Adams, Mona Gleason, and Janice Dickin McGinnis have done research into the anti-crime comics campaigns of the late 1940s and 1950s, from the point of view of the moral panic and social and legal history of the era, and the sociology of sexuality.
See also
List of Canadian comics creators
Canadian humour
Culture of Canada
Comic book collecting
Comics! was a Canadian television program
History of Canadian animation
Prisoners of Gravity
References
Works cited
Further reading
English
French
External links
Guardians of the North: a history of Canadian superheroes (National Library & Archives of Canada)
Beyond The Funnies at Library and Archives Canada
History of Comic Books in English Canada
Association of Canadian Editorial Cartoonists website
The Joe Shuster Canadian Comics Awards
List of links to Canadian webcomics
Sequential : A Canadian Comics News & Culture Blog
Golden Age Canadian Comics
Digital Comic Museum (scans of presumed public domain Canadian comics)
Cultural history of Canada
History of comics | false | [
"Moomin (; ) is a comic strip created by Tove Jansson, and followed up by Lars Jansson, featuring their Moomin family of characters. The first comic strip, entitled (Moomintroll and The End of The World) was a short-lived project for the children's section of the Finland-Swedish leftist newspaper Ny Tid. It was written between 1947 and 1948, at the request of the editor, a friend of Jansson's, Atos Wirtanen. The series was published with two new strips weekly, and was mainly an adaptation of Comet in Moominland. The series has been reprinted in book form under the name (The World is Ending) by the newspaper.\n\nThe main series of Moomin comic strips were made directly for the British market: they were spread by the British Associated Newspapers comic strip syndicate and the original publisher was the Evening News newspaper. The series originally appeared in newspapers from 1954 to 1975. At its peak, Moomin appeared in over 40 countries and about 120 papers, with over 20 million readers daily, making it the most successful Finnish comic strip ever published. Tove and Lars Jansson received the Finnish Comic Strip Association's \"Puupää-hattu\" award in 1980.\n\nIn the 1990s, a comic book version of Moomin was produced in Scandinavia after Dennis Livson and Lars Jansson's Moomin animated series was shown on television. The Janssons had no involvement in these comic books. However, in the wake of the comic books success, two new Moomin comic strips were launched under the artistic and content oversight of Lars and his daughter, Sophia Jansson-Zambra. Sophia now provides sole oversight for the strips. The original comic strip stories made by Tove Jansson and Lars Jansson has had adaptations including Moomin (1990) anime series and the 2014 animated film based on Moomin on the Riviera comic strip story.\n\nHistory\nThe comic strip was born, when Charles Sutton, the leader of the Associated Newspapers syndicate contacted Tove Jansson. Jannson's first Moomin books Comet in Moominland (1946) and Finn Family Moomintroll (1948) had already been translated to English and had been successful in the United Kingdom. In a letter to Jansson in January 1952, Sutton asked if she was willing to transfer the Moomins to comic strip format:\nIt has come to my mind, that your \"Moomin\" family could make an interesting comic strip, which would not necessarily be aimed at children. It is obvious that the Moomin family appeals to children, but we think these wonderful creatures could be used in comic strip form to satirise our so-called civilised lifestyle.\nAt the time, Tove Jansson had already had experience in drawing Moomin comic strips. She had already published a long comic strip story Mumintrollet och jordens undergång in the Finland-Swedish Ny Tid newspaper in 1947, which was loosely based on her book Comet in Moominland. The comic strip attracted strong criticism from the left-wing readers of the newspaper, who thought the Moomins were too bourgeois, and the newspaper did not order any more comic strips from Jansson. After Sutton's offer, Jansson made a seven-year contract to draw Moomin comic strips in June 1952. Before the comic was published, Jansson developed the strip together with the comic press of Associated Newspapers, and particularly Charles Sutton guided the artist in great detail. For a time, the syndicate sought a separate writer for the strip, but in the end, the decision was that Jansson would both write and draw the strip herself.\n\nThe newspaper that would publish the Moomin comic strip ended up being Evening News, part of the Associated Newspapers syndicate, which was the largest afternoon newspaper at the time, with a circulation of 12 million. The comic strip Moomin was first published in the newspaper on 20 September 1954. Sutton had organised a very prominent advertisement campaign to support the start of the new comic strip. The strip was quickly sold to other countries, particularly the Nordic countries. In Finland, the strip started on 21 April 1955 in Ilta-Sanomat, the largest afternoon newspaper in the country. In the same year, the strip also started in the Swedish-language local newspapers Västra Nyland and Vasabladet, and in 1957 in Åbo Underrättelser. Most newspapers publishing the Moomin comic strip were European, but it was also published in more distant places. In North America, it was finally sold to the Canadian Toronto Daily Star, but in the United States, no newspaper worthy of note accepted it on its pages.\n\nList of comic strip stories\nThe strip was divided into episodes, each with distinct titles and storylines.\n\nRepublication\nThe comic strips are currently being republished in a set of hardback books, in original publication order, by Canadian publisher Drawn & Quarterly. The first 5 volumes collect the Tove and Tove/Lars strips, and are titled Moomin: The Complete Tove Jansson Comic Strip. The 6th and subsequent volumes collects Lars' strips, and are titled Moomin: The Complete Lars Jansson Comic Strip.\n\nAdaptations\nThe Moomin (1990) anime series featured several episodes, which are loose adaptations based on comic strip stories, while several characters from comic strips are featured in the anime series as well. The second season, known as sequel anime series in Japan, has also several episodes based on the comic strip stories more rather than original novels made by Tove Jansson. Notably, few episodes featured time traveling with the time machine, that has accidentally created by Moominpapa. Both of seasons' episodes are directed by Hiroshi Saitô and Masayuki Kojima.\n\nAnimated film\n\nThe 2014 traditional animated comedy film directed by Xavier Picard and produced by Hanna Hemilä, is based on the Moomin on the Riviera comic strip story and has been first released on 10 October 2014 in Finland to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Tove Jansson's birth. The film is heavily faithful to the original comic strip story, while it features some elements from other comic strip stories and adds several characters who didn't appear in the original story to the film such as Little My and Snufkin.\n\nReferences\n\nFinnish comic strips\n1947 comics debuts\nComics characters introduced in 1947\nFictional Finnish people\nMoomin series\nFantasy comics\nHumor comics\nSatirical comics",
"Abie the Agent was a popular American comic strip about a Jewish car salesman by Harry Hershfield. It debuted in 1914.\n\nPublication history \nWhen Hershfield had success with a Yiddish character in his comic strip Desperate Desmond, he was encouraged by his editor to create a new strip concerning Yiddishism and Jewish immigrants in the United States. The strip debuted in the New York Journal on February 2, 1914.\n\nThe strip became popular and other cartoons were made. The titles were \"Iska Worreh\" (Aug 5) and \"Abie Kabibble Outwitting His Rival\" (Sept 23).\n\nAfter the strip dated January 24, 1932, the comic strip went on hiatus, due to a contract dispute between Hershfield and the syndicate, International Feature Service. The strip resumed in 1935 with the King Features Syndicate and ran until 1940.\n\nThe Sunday page included a topper. This was called Phooey Fables in January 1926, Dictated But Not Read from February until the end of 1926, and Homeless Hector from 1927 until the hiatus in 1932.\n\nCharacters and story\nAbraham Kabibble, known as Abie the Agent, was the first Jewish protagonist of an American comic strip. Abie’s humorous caricature was a rebuttal of some of the Jewish stereotypes in caricatures, and represented a moderately successful middle-class immigrant. Abie and his friends had many typical Jewish characteristics, such as their names or their use of Yiddish words and accents, they also lacked many of the negative or malicious elements, such as exaggerated physical traits, found in the depictions of Jews from this time. Abie was in many ways indistinguishable from other Americans, and he was a prime example of the belief in the integration of German Jews into U.S. society. During 1917, the character enlisted in the United States Army to help the U.S. forces in World War I.\n\nThe character lost many of his more typical Jewish characteristics over the decades, showing his successful integration but also slowly diminishing the particular features of this comic strip. The comic was produced by a Jewish artist, but can be considered discriminatory since it arguably only tried to promote the assimilation of Jews as Americans, at the same time distinguishing them from other ethnicities like Mexicans or African Americans who were often depicted negatively. That, however, was the focus of the strip.\n\nIn popular culture \nAn indication of the strip's popularity was the reference to ‘Abe Kabibble’ in the 1930 Marx Brothers movie Animal Crackers.\n\nSee also\nEdge City\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\nHershfield biography at Comiclopedia\nIMDb entry for Abie Kabibble Outwitted His Rival cartoon\nIMDb entry for Iska Worreh cartoon\n\nAmerican comic strips\nFictional American Jews\nFictional salespeople\nGag-a-day comics\n1914 comics debuts\n1940 comics endings\nAmerican comics characters\nMale characters in comics\nComics characters introduced in 1914\nComic strips started in the 1910s"
] |
[
"Canadian comics",
"Age of comic strips (1920s-1930s)",
"What was one of the first success in comics during the 1920's and 1930;s?",
"in 1921, Jimmy Frise, one of Ernest Hemingway's drinking buddies during the journalist's days in Toronto, sold Life's Little Comedies",
"Who did he sell it to?",
"to the Toronto Star's Star Weekly.",
"What was the most successful comic strip during that time?",
"J. R. Williams single-panel strip about rural and small-town life, Out Our Way, began in 1922 and was syndicated in 700 newspapers at its peak."
] | C_355680f212734b4daa071770ae0249c6_0 | Were comic strips primarily political? | 4 | Were 1920's comic strips primarily political? | Canadian comics | Canadian cartoonists often found it hard to succeed in the field of comic strips without moving to the US, but in 1921, Jimmy Frise, one of Ernest Hemingway's drinking buddies during the journalist's days in Toronto, sold Life's Little Comedies to the Toronto Star's Star Weekly. This strip was later retitled Birdseye Center, and became the longest-running strip in English Canadian history. In 1947, Frise brought the strip to the Montreal Standard, where it was renamed Juniper Junction. Nova Scotia-born artist J. R. Williams single-panel strip about rural and small-town life, Out Our Way, began in 1922 and was syndicated in 700 newspapers at its peak. Two new comic strips appeared on the same day in 1929 in American newspapers and fed the public's desire for escapist entertainment at the dawn of the Great Depression. They were the first non-humorous adventure strips, and both were adaptations. One was Buck Rogers; the other, Tarzan, by Halifax native Hal Foster, who had worked as illustrator for catalogues from Eaton's and the Hudson's Bay Company before moving to the US in his late 20s. Other adventure strips soon followed and paved the way for the genre diversity that was seen in comic strips in the 1930s. In 1937, Foster began his own strip, Prince Valiant, which has become his best-known work for Foster's dextrous, realistic artwork. After struggling to support himself at various Toronto-based publications, Richard Taylor, under the pen name "Ric", became a regular at The New Yorker and relocated to the US, where the pay and opportunities for cartoonists were better. The Toronto Telegram began to run Men of the Mounted in 1933, the first home-grown adventure strip, written by Ted McCall and drawn by Harry Hall. McCall later penned the strip Robin Hood and Company, which made its appearance in comic books when McCall founded Anglo-American Publishing in 1941. CANNOTANSWER | They were the first non-humorous adventure strips, | Canadian comics refers to comics and cartooning by citizens of Canada or permanent residents of Canada regardless of residence. Canada has two official languages, and distinct comics cultures have developed in English and French Canada. The English tends to follow American trends, and the French, Franco-Belgian ones, with little crossover between the two cultures. Canadian comics run the gamut of comics forms, including editorial cartooning, comic strips, comic books, graphic novels, and webcomics, and are published in newspapers, magazines, books, and online. They have received attention in international comics communities and have received support from the federal and provincial governments, including grants from the Canada Council for the Arts. There are comics publishers throughout the country, as well as large small press, self-publishing, and minicomics communities.
In English Canada many cartoonists, from Hal Foster to Todd McFarlane, have sought to further their careers by moving to the United States; since the late 20th century increasing numbers have gained international attention while staying in Canada. During World War II, trade restrictions led to the flourishing of a domestic comic book industry, whose black-and-white "Canadian Whites" contained original stories of heroes such as Nelvana of the Northern Lights as well as American scripts redrawn by Canadian artists. The war's end saw American imports and domestic censorship lead to the death of this industry. The alternative and small press communities grew in the 1970s, and by the end of the century Dave Sim's Cerebus and Chester Brown's comics, amongst others, gained international audiences and critical acclaim, and Drawn & Quarterly became a leader in arts-comics publishing. In the 21st century, comics have gained wider audiences and higher levels of recognition, especially in the form of graphic novels and webcomics.
In French Canada indigenous comics are called BDQ or () Cartoons with speech balloons in Quebec date to the late 1700s. BDQ have alternately flourished and languished throughout Quebec's history as the small domestic market has found it difficult to compete with foreign imports. Many cartoonists from Quebec have made their careers in the United States. Since the Springtime of BDQ in the 1970s native comics magazines, such as Croc and Safarir, and comics albums have become more common, though they account for only 5% of total sales in the province. Since the turn of the 21st century cartoonists such as Michel Rabagliati, Guy Delisle, and the team of Dubuc and Delaf have seen international success in French-speaking Europe and in translation. Éditions Mille-Îles and La Pastèque are amongst the domestic publishers that have become increasingly common.
History
English Canada
Early history (1759–1910s)
Brigadier-General George Townshend's cartoons lampooning General James Wolfe in 1759 are recognized as the first examples of political cartooning in Canadian history. Cartoons did not have a regular forum in Canada until John Henry Walker's short-lived weekly Punch in Canada débuted in Montreal in 1849. The magazine was a Canadian version of Britain's humorous Punch and featured cartoons by Walker. It paved the way for a number of similar short-lived publications, until the success of the more straight-laced Canadian Illustrated News, published by George-Édouard Desbarats beginning in 1869, soon after Canadian Confederation.
In 1873, John Wilson Bengough founded Grip, a humour magazine in the style of Punch and the American Harper's Weekly. It featured a large number of cartoons, especially Bengough's own. The cartoons tended to be political, and Prime Minister John A. Macdonald and Métis rebel leader Louis Riel were favourite targets. The Pacific Scandal in the early 1870s gave Bengough much fodder to raise his reputation as a political caricaturist. According to historian John Bell, while Bengough was probably the most significant pre-20th-century Canadian cartoonist, Henri Julien was likely the most accomplished. Published widely both at home and abroad, Julien's cartoons appeared in periodicals such as Harper's Weekly and Le Monde illustré. In 1888, he gained employment at the Montreal Star and became the first full-time newspaper cartoonist in Canada.
Palmer Cox, a Canadian expatriate in the United States, at this time created The Brownies, a popular, widely merchandised phenomenon whose first book collection sold over a million copies. Cox began a Brownies comic strip in 1898 that was one of the earliest English-language strips, and had begun to use speech balloons by the time it ended in 1907.
Age of comic strips (1920s–1930s)
Canadian cartoonists often found it hard to succeed in the field of comic strips without moving to the US, but in 1921, Jimmy Frise, one of Ernest Hemingway's drinking buddies during the journalist's days in Toronto, sold Life's Little Comedies to the Toronto Stars Star Weekly. This strip was later retitled Birdseye Center, and became the longest-running strip in English Canadian history. In 1947, Frise brought the strip to the Montreal Standard, where it was renamed Juniper Junction. Nova Scotia-born artist J. R. Williams single-panel strip about rural and small-town life, Out Our Way, began in 1922 and was syndicated in 700 newspapers at its peak.
Two new comic strips appeared on the same day in 1929 in American newspapers and fed the public's desire for escapist entertainment at the dawn of the Great Depression. They were the first non-humorous adventure strips, and both were adaptations. One was Buck Rogers; the other, Tarzan, by Halifax native Hal Foster, who had worked as illustrator for catalogues from Eaton's and the Hudson's Bay Company before moving to the US in his late 20s. Other adventure strips soon followed and paved the way for the genre diversity that was seen in comic strips in the 1930s. In 1937, Foster began his own strip, Prince Valiant, which has become his best-known work for Foster's dextrous, realistic artwork. After struggling to support himself at various Toronto-based publications, Richard Taylor, under the pen name "Ric", became a regular at The New Yorker and relocated to the US, where the pay and opportunities for cartoonists were better.
The Toronto Telegram began to run Men of the Mounted in 1933, the first home-grown adventure strip, written by Ted McCall and drawn by Harry Hall. McCall later penned the strip Robin Hood and Company, which made its appearance in comic books when McCall founded Anglo-American Publishing in 1941.
Golden age: Canadian Whites (1940s)
The Golden Age of Comic Books and subsequent superhero boom began with the release in June 1938 of Action Comics #1. The cover story was the first appearance of Superman, drawn by Toronto-born Joe Shuster. Shuster modeled Superman's Metropolis after his memories of Toronto, and the newspaper Clark Kent worked for after the Toronto Daily Star, which he had delivered as a child. These comics crossed the border and quickly gained Canadian fans as well.
In December 1940, the War Exchange Conservation Act was passed. It restricted the importation of goods from the US that were deemed non-essential to combat the trade deficit Canada had with its neighbours to the south. American comic books were casualties of the Act. In 1941, to fill the void, a number of Canadian comic book publishers sprang up, starting in March with Anglo-American Publishing in Toronto and Maple Leaf Publishing in Vancouver. Adrian Dingle's Hillborough Studios and Bell Features soon joined them. The comics printed by these companies had colour covers, but the innards were in black-and-white, and thus collectors call them Canadian Whites. Superheroes stories were prominent, and the "Whites" often relied on serials to keep readers coming back for more.
Better Comics from Maple Leaf and Robin Hood and Company from Anglo-American were the first titles to hit the stands. Robin Hood was a tabloid-sized comic strip reprint magazine, while Better was made up of original material in traditional comic-book format, and thus can be said to be the first true Canadian comic book. It included the appearance of the first Canadian superhero, Vernon Miller's Iron Man. John Stables, under the pen name John St. Ables, was responsible for Brok Windsors debut in Better in the spring of 1944—a fantasy-adventure set far in the "land beyond the mists" in the Canadian North. The success of Better led to a proliferation of titles from Maple Leaf.
The driving creative forces behind Anglo-American were Ted McCall, the writer of the Men of the Mounted and Robin Hood strips, and artist Ed Furness. The pair created a number of heroes with such names as Freelance, Purple Rider, Red Rover, and Commander Steel. Anglo-American also published stories based on imported American scripts bought from Fawcett Publications, with fresh artwork by Canadians to bypass trade restrictions. Captain Marvel and Bulletman were amongst the characters that had Canadian adaptations. Anglo-American published a large number of titles, including Freelance, Grand Slam, Three Aces, Whiz, Captain Marvel and Atom Smasher, but relied less on serials, and was less patriotically Canadian than its rival publishers. It employed a number of talented artists, but they were kept to a "house style" of drawing, in the vein of Captain Marvel's C. C. Beck.
In August 1941, three unemployed artists, Adrian Dingle and André and René Kulbach, formed Hillborough Studios to publish their own work. They started with Triumph-Adventure Comics, whose star was Canada's first female superhero, Nelvana of the Northern Lights, who appeared several months before Wonder Woman did in the US. Nelvana was inspired by tribal stories brought back from the Arctic Group of Seven painter Franz Johnston. The popular fur-miniskirted superheroine was a powerful Inuit mythological figure, daughter of a mortal woman and Koliak the Mighty, King of the Northern Lights. She had telepathic powers and was able to ride the Northern Lights at the speed of light, turn invisible, and melt metal.
In March 1942, Dingle and most of the Hillborough staff moved with Nelvana to Toronto-based Bell Features, which had begun publishing comics in September 1941 with the first issue of the successful Wow Comics—in colour at first, but Bell soon switched to the familiar "White" format. Bell was the most prolific of the Canadian comic-book publishers. Its comics were drawn by a large pool of artists, including freelancers, adolescents, and women, and were unabashedly Canadian. Aside from Nelvana, there were Edmund Legault's Dixon of the Mounted, Jerry Lazare's Phantom Rider, and Fred Kelly's Doc Stearne. Leo Bachle's Johnny Canuck was the second Canadian national hero, and debuted in Bell's Dime Comics in February 1942.
The new Canadian comics were successful; Bell reached accumulated weekly sales of 100,000 by 1943. By this time, Educational Projects of Montréal had joined, selling comics in the "White" format. Educational specialized in a different sort of fare: biographies of prime ministers, cases of the RCMP, and historical tales, drawn by accomplished artists including George M. Rae and Sid Barron. Educational's Canadian Heroes earned endorsements from cabinet ministers and appealed to parents and educators, but was not as appealing to the kids it was aimed at until Rae convinced publisher Harry J. Halperin to allow him to include a fictional character, Canada Jack—a hero who battled Nazis.
With the end of World War II in 1945, Canadian comic-book publishing faced competition from American publishers again. Educational and latecomer Feature Publications folded immediately. Maple Leaf tried to compete by switching to colour and by trying to break into the British market. Anglo-American and another newcomer, Al Rucker Publications, tried to compete directly with the Americans, and even achieved distribution in the US. By the end of 1946 it was clear that the remaining publishers could not compete, and for the time being original comic-book publishing came to an end in Canada, although some publishers like Bell Features survived by republishing American books until the War Exchange Conservation Act was officially abolished in 1951. The cartoonists who insisted on drawing for a living faced several choices: some moved across the border to attempt to make it with the American publishers, and some moved into illustration work, as Jerry Lazare, Vernon Miller, Jack Tremblay, and Harold Bennett did. Another avenue was the route Sid Barron followed into political cartooning. By 1949, out of 176 comics titles on the newsstand, only 23 were Canadian.
Post-war (late 1940s–early 1970s)
With the end of most original Canadian comic book publishing in 1947, Canada's superheroes disappeared, and the country entered a phase of foreign comic book domination. In November 1948, a crime comics scare hit the country when a pair of voracious comic book readers in Dawson Creek, British Columbia, shot at a random car while playing highwaymen, fatally wounding a passenger. When authorities discovered their taste for comic books, media attention focused on the emerging crime comics genre as an influence on juvenile delinquency. A bill to amend Section 207 of the Criminal Code was drafted, and passed unanimously, making it an offense to make, print, publish, distribute, sell, or own "any magazine, periodical or book which exclusively or substantially comprises matter depicting pictorially the commission of crimes, real or fictitious", on 10 December 1949. Comics publishers across Canada banded together to create the Comic Magazine Industry Association of Canada (CMIAC), a Canadian industry self-censoring body similar to the American Comics Code Authority that would be formed a few years later in response to a similar crime comics scare in the U.S. Purely by coincidence, the Netherlands had experienced a near-similar comics related incident at almost the exact same time with an equally lethal outcome, and causing a similar popular reaction, but in this case the authorities refrained from taking the drastic legal actions, their Canadian counterparts did.
Superior Publishers, however, defied the ban, while also moving into the U.S. market. Watchdogs turned up the heat, and in 1953 a distributor was found guilty of distributing obscenities. Some of Superior's titles found themselves in Fredric Wertham's notorious and influential diatribe on the influence comics had on juvenile delinquency, Seduction of the Innocent, published in 1954. The United States Senate Subcommittee on Juvenile Delinquency, established in 1953, had public hearings a few months later, and called upon Kamloops, British Columbia Member of Parliament E. Davie Fulton, one of Superior publisher William Zimmerman's most outspoken enemies, as a witness. The Comics Code Authority was soon formed, and Superior, like fellow American publisher EC Comics, saw their sales dwindle throughout 1955. Prosecutions increased throughout Canada, with Superior successfully defending themselves in one, and another supposedly comics-related murder was reported in Westville, Nova Scotia. Superior shut its doors in 1956, and until the 1970s, English Canadian newsstand comic book publishing was no more, although a number of "giveaway" comics continued to be produced by Orville ' Productions and Owen McCarron's Comic Book World, who produced the educational and cautionary comics for governments and corporations, aimed at kids and teens.
The crackdown was not aimed at comic strips, however, and several notable new ones appeared, like Lew Saw's One-Up, Winslow Mortimer's Larry Brannon and Al Beaton's Ookpik. After Jimmy Frise's death in 1948, Juniper Junction was taken over by Doug Wright, "one of Canada's best post-war comic-strip artists". He would continue with the strip until 1968, while also working on his own Nipper from 1949. In 1967, Nipper became Doug Wright's Family when Wright moved from Montreal to Ontario, and the popular strip continued until 1980. The Doug Wright Awards were inaugurated in his honour in 2005. From 1948 to 1972, James Simpkins' cartoon Jasper the Bear appeared continuously in Maclean's magazine. Jasper was hugely popular across Canada and was used, and is still today, as the symbol for Jasper National Park.
To express his anger at the US military's nuclear tests in the Bikini Atoll in 1946 English-born artist Laurence Hyde produced a wordless novel in 1951 called Southern Cross. In 118 silent pages, the book depicts atomic testing by the US military and its effects Polynesian island inhabitants. While it had no direct effect on comics at the time, it has come to be seen as a precursor to the Canadian graphic novel.
Early editorial cartooning lacked a local flavour, tending to be a pale imitation of American examples. It tended to be cheery, non-confrontational, and supported good causes. Following the War it broke from typical American clichés and took on more of a savage bite, especially compared to the more allegorical tendencies of American editorial cartoons. At Le Devoir, Robert Lapalme was the first to cartoon in this particularly Canadian idiom, and in 1963 organized an International Salon of Caricature and Cartoon in Montreal. Lapalme was later followed by Duncan Macpherson at the Toronto Star, Leonard Norris at the Vancouver Sun and Ed McNally at the Montreal Star. These cartoonists frequently took political positions contrary to those of the papers in which they were published. Macpherson drew a cartoon of John Diefenbaker as Marie Antoinette saying "Let them eat cake" in response to the Prime Minister's cancelling the Avro Arrow project, which historian Pierre Burton has called the beginning of Canadians' disillusionment with Diefenbaker's government. Macpherson in particular fought fiercely for editorial independence, challenging his editors and threatening to quit the Star if not given his way, which paved a new path for other cartoonists to follow.
In the spring of 1966, Canada saw its first specialty comic shop open its doors on Queen Street West, Toronto: Viking Bookshop, established by "Captain George" Henderson. Entirely unfamiliar with the new phenomenon, the store was dubbed "the campiest store in town" by Toronto Star reporter Robert Fulford. No longer in existence, Viking Bookshop is currently the earliest known such specialty comic book store in North-America (or worldwide for that matter), predating the oldest known US comic book store, Gary Arlington's San Francisco Comic Book Company (est. April 1968), by two years. One year later, in May 1967, the store was renamed Memory Lane Books after it had relocated to Markham Street in the same city, and as such became an inspiration for pioneering retailer Harry Kremer and Bill Johnson to open Now & Then Books in Kitchener, Ontario. Its newsletter, the Now and Then Times, published early work by the young Dave Sim in its inaugural issue in 1972, and later employed him from 1976 to 1977.
In the late 1960s, along with the countercultural movement, a new form of comic art appeared from the avant-garde and literary scenes—underground comics (or "comix") aimed at an adult audience. Early examples appeared in certain magazines, but an early precursor of Canadian underground comic books was Scraptures, as a special issue of the Toronto avant-garde literary magazine grOnk in 1967. In 1969, Canada saw its first true underground comics, with SFU Komix and Snore Comix. These comix drew their inspiration from the American underground movement that exploded after the release of Robert Crumb's Zap in early 1968. Martin Vaugh-James produced an early graphic novel when he had Elephant released by Press Porcépic in 1970. The underground movement paralleled that of the US, in that it peaked from 1970 to 1972 with the peak of the counterculture, and witnessed a sharp decline afterward. Saskatoon, Saskatchewan's Dave Geary and Vancouver, British Columbia's Rand Holmes were key figures, Holmes being the creator of the Harold Hedd comic strip.
Humour magazine Fuddle Duddle, named after a famous euphemism by then-Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, was a short lived attempt at a Canadian Mad-style satirical magazine. It was the first comic book of Canadian content to be available on newsstands since 1956. Two of its contributors, Peter Evans and Stanley Berneche, would soon go on to bring superheroes back to Canada for the first time since the demise of Nelvana in 1947, with Captain Canuck.
The fan press and fandom grew throughout this period, and was bolstered when Patrick Loubert and Michael Hirsh, the founders of the animation company Nelvana, published of The Great Canadian Comic Books in 1971, a book-length study of the Bell Features comics, and the touring of a related exhibition mounted by the National Gallery of Canada, Comic Art Traditions in Canada, 1941-45, which together served to introduce English-Canadian comics creators and fans to their lost heritage.
Towards the middle of the 1970s, comics aimed at children gradually disappeared. The new breed of underground, alternative and independent comics was aimed at a more mature audience, which ran counter to the public's perception, as well as to legal restrictions. The first wave of alternative comics in the seventies was largely made up of science fiction and fantasy comics, made by budding cartoonists like Gene Day, Dave Sim, Augustine Funnell, Jim Craig, Ken Steacy, Dean Motter, and Vincent Marchesano.
New wave (mid-1970s–1980s)
The mid-1970s saw the beginning of a new wave of Canadian comics, one in which the creators chose to remain in Canada, rather than seeking their fortunes south of the border. Richard Comely's Captain Canuck appeared in July 1975, the first appearance of a non-satirical superhero in Canada since the 1940s. During the 1950s and 1960s, the idea of native comics seemed unattainable to Canadian kids, and the appearance of Captain Canuck gave these kids the optimism to make their own. This was followed up with James Waley's more professional, newsstand-distributed Orb, which featured a number of talents that would later take part in the North American comics scene.
The comics magazines showing up in Canada at the time suffered from promotion and distribution problems, however, getting most of their support from the fan press. Phil Seuling's California-based comics distributor Bud Plant was supportive of these underground and alternative comics, though, and helped get them into stores. Eventually, distributors like Bud Plant and the emergence of specialty comic shops would form a distribution network for small press comics that would thrive independently of the traditional newsstands.
The world of comic strips saw a number of works pop up. Ben Wicks was doing The Outsiders and Wicks, Jim Unger's Herman debuted in 1975, and Ted Martin's Pavlov in 1979. In 1978, Lynn Johnston, living in Lynn Lake, Manitoba, began For Better or For Worse, which was noted for following the lives of the Patterson family as they grew older in real time, and dealt with real-life issues. The strip based a number of its storylines on Johnston's real-life experiences with her own family, as well as social issues such as the midlife crisis, divorce, the coming out of a gay character, child abuse, and death. In 1985, she became the first female cartoonist to win a Reuben Award, and the Friends of Lulu added her to the Women Cartoonists Hall of Fame in 2002. The strip was very popular, appearing in over 2000 newspapers in 25 countries.
Editorial cartoonists held considerable sway between the 1950s through the 1970s. Former Prime Minister Joe Clark has been quoted that he lost votes in the election of 1980 due to political cartoons about him. They have also experienced the fear of censorship through the courts, or "libel chill". In 1979, Robert Bierman and the Victoria Times was the subject of a libel suit when he criticized the policies of William Vander Zalm, the British Columbia Minister of Human Resources, with a cartoon of the Minister pulling the wings off flies. When the courts ruled in Vander Zalm's favour, newspapers across the nation ran their own versions of the cartoon in support, until the BC Court of Appeal reversed the ruling in 1980, deeming the cartoon "fair comment". It was later acquired by the National Archives of Canada.
Captain Canuck and Orb both folded by 1976, but in Kitchener, Ontario in December 1977, Dave Sim's independent comic book Cerebus debuted, and would become the longest-lived original Canadian comic book. Benefiting from distribution in the emerging comic shop market, it started as a Howard the Duck-like parody of Barry Windsor-Smith's Conan the Barbarian comics. The story eventually grew to fit Sim's expanding ambitions, both in content and technique, with its earth-pig protagonist getting embroiled in politics, becoming prime minister of a powerful city-state, then a Pope who ascends to the moon—all within the first third of its projected 300-issue run. Sim came to conceive the series as a self-enclosed story, which itself would be divided into novels—or graphic novels, which were gaining in prominence in the North American comic book world in the 1980s and 1990s. While Sim and his partner Gerhard's technical achievements impressed and influenced his peers, Sim also spoke out for creators' rights, promoted his peers and up-and-coming creators, and fiercely promoted self-publishing as an ideal. Americans Jeff Smith with Bone and Terry Moore with Strangers in Paradise took Sim's cue, as did Canadian M'Oak (Mark Oakley) with his long-running Thieves and Kings. Eddie Campbell took Sim's personal advice to self-publish the collected From Hell at the turn of the century. Sim also stirred considerable controversy, sometimes with the content of Cerebus, and sometimes with his editorials and personal interactions.
David Boswell was amongst those in the 1980s who made the jump from the fanzine world when he began self-publishing Reid Fleming, World's Toughest Milkman in 1980. From out of the same scene, Bill Marks started publishing the anthology Vortex in Toronto in 1982. Marks' Vortex Comics expanded into publishing other comics. The publisher gained publicity for Mister X, which employed the talents of Dean Motter, Gilberto and Jaime Hernandez and, later, Torontonians Seth and Jeffrey Morgan. Most notably, Marks picked up Chester Brown's Yummy Fur, a taboo-breaking series which started in 1983 as a self-published, photocopied minicomic. It had generated some buzz, and Vortex started publishing it professionally at the end of 1986. Yummy Furs stories were a mix of genres, with the improvised, surreal Ed the Happy Clown, straight adaptations of the Gospels, and revealing, bare-all autobiographical stories. Brown would become a major figure in Canadian comics.
As the content of comics matured throughout the 1980s, they became the subject of increasing scrutiny. In 1986, Calgary comic shop Comic Legends was raided and charged with obscenity. In response, Derek McCulloch and Paul Stockton of Strawberry Jam Comics established the Comic Legends Legal Defense Fund to help retailers, distributors, publishers, and creators fight against obscenity charges. To raise funds, they published two True North anthologies of Canadian talent.
During this time, large numbers of Canadian artists were making waves in the American comic book market as well, such as John Byrne, Gene Day and his brother Dan, Jim Craig, Rand Holmes, Geof Isherwood, Ken Steacy, Dean Motter, George Freeman and Dave Ross. Byrne was particularly popular for his work on X-Men, and also originated Alpha Flight, about a team of Canadian superheroes.
1990s
In 1990, Montreal-based publisher Drawn & Quarterly began with an anthology title also named Drawn & Quarterly. It quickly picked up a number of other titles, such as Julie Doucet's semi-autobiographical, bilingual Dirty Plotte, which, like Yummy Fur, had started out as a minicomic; Seth's Palookaville; illegal resident from the US Joe Matt's Peepshow; and Yummy Fur, which made the jump with its twenty-fifth issue. At the time, an autobiographical comics trend took place. Brown, Seth and Matt in particular were thought of as a Toronto comics rat pack, depicting one another in their comics and doing signings and interviews together.
Drawn & Quarterly was at the forefront of the maturation comic books saw in the 1990s, publishing and promoting the works of adult-oriented Canadian and international artists. The publisher avoided genres like superheroes, which publisher Chris Oliveros saw as stifling comics' growth. These comics had artistic aspirations, and graphic novels became increasingly prominent, with Brown's autobiographical The Playboy and I Never Liked You, and Seth's faux-autobiographical It's a Good Life, If You Don't Weaken garnering considerable attention.
Todd McFarlane from Calgary had been making waves since the late 1980s illustrating comics for DC and Marvel Comics, becoming a fan favourite writer/artist for Spider-Man. He eventually left to co-found the creator-owned comics publishing collective Image Comics, where he debuted the enormously successful Spawn. Spawn holds the record for most copies sold of an independent comic, and was the most financially successful comics franchise of the decade.
21st century
At the dawn of the 21st Century, the comics industry had changed considerably. The graphic novel had come into its own, and traditional comics sales dropped significantly. Louis Riel, who had been a major target of John Bengough's caricatures in the early days of Confederation, was the protagonist in Chester Brown's award-winning, best-selling "comic-strip biography". With his graphic novels and book collections, he gained a wider audience than he had with his serial comic books, and he abandoned serial comics entirely to focus on original graphic novels after Louis Riel. Greater appreciation of the artform was shown when Brown and Seth became recipients of grants from the Canada Council for the Arts. Dave Sim's Cerebus completed its planned 26-year, 300-issue run in 2004.
Foreign comics, especially Japanese, became quite successful in Canada, and stood out for gaining large numbers of female fans, who had traditionally stayed away from comic books. They also had a significant influence on artists such as Bryan Lee O'Malley and his Scott Pilgrim series. Due to differing social norms, the content of these comics are sometimes censored or ran afoul of Canadian customs officials. Incidental nudity could be interpreted by them as child pornography and result in jail terms.
Drawn & Quarterly has become known as a house for art comics, translations of non-English works, like Montrealer Michel Rabagliati's Paul series, and archive editions of classic comics, such as Wright's Little Nipper. The publisher has earned a reputation for the special attention they put into book design, and has played a pivotal rôle in shaping comics' rise in artistic prominence, and in getting comics into mainstream book stores in both Canada and the US. D&Q publisher Chris Oliveros, along with Art Spiegelman, lobbied bookstores to include a section for graphic novels, which would be subdivided by subject.
Webcomics, such as Kate Beaton's Hark! A Vagrant, Ryan Sohmer and Lar deSouza's Looking for Group, and Karl Kerschl's The Abominable Charles Christopher, became an increasingly popular outlet for Canadian cartoonists. The popularity of Beaton's work has led to it being published in book form, with Time magazine placing it in the top 10 fiction books of 2011.
The comics community in Canada has grown, and has grown appreciative of its talent, celebrating it with awards such as the Doug Wrights and Joe Shusters, as well as with classy events such as the international Toronto Comic Arts Festival, which has been cosponsored by the Toronto Public Library since 2009.
French Canada
The comics of Québec, also known as "BDQ" (bande dessinée québécoise), have followed a different path than those of English Canada. While newspapers tend to populate their funny pages with syndicated American comic strips, in general comics there have followed Franco-Belgian comics, with The Adventures of Tintin and Asterix being particularly popular and influential. Comics also tend to be printed in the comic album format that is popular in Europe. Aside from humorous parodies, there is no superhero tradition in Québec comics.
Early history (1790s–1960s)
Québec comics have alternately flourished and languished, seeing several brief periods of intense activity followed by long periods of inundation with foreign content. Comics first appeared in the humour pages of newspapers in the 19th century, following the trends coming from Europe. In the late 19th Century, Henri Julien published two books of political caricatures, L'album drolatique du journal Le Farceur, after which the number of cartoonists began to increase in newspapers in Québec City and Montreal. 1904 saw, in the newspaper La Patrie, the publication of Les Aventures de Timothée (The Adventures of Timothée) by Albéric Bourgeois. This is said to be the first French-language comic to feature speech balloons. Joseph Charlebois's comic-strip adaptation of Le Père Ladébauche (Father Debauchery) also debuted in 1904, in La Presse, a popular strip that would last until 1957.
Raoul Barré had the first comic strip to appear in a Québec daily newspaper in 1902, called "Pour un dîner de Noël" ("For a Christmas Dinner"). In 1912, he created a strip called Noahzark Hotel for the New York-based McClure Syndicate, which he brought to La Patrie in French the next year. Soon after he moved into animation, becoming an innovative pioneer in the field.
Québécois cartoonists would propose a number of strips to compete with the American strips that dominated the Sundays and dailies. The native Québec presence on those pages would become more dominant after 1940, however, with the introduction of the War Exchange Conservation Act, which restricted the import of foreign strips. Albert Chartier created the comical character Onésime in 1943, a strip that would have the longest run of any in Québec. After World War II, during the Great Darkness, comics publication became dominated with religious comics, most of which were imported from the US. Native Québec comics did flourish for a brief period between 1955 and 1960, however, but were soon replaced again with American content, while also facing competition from the new Franco-Belgian publications, which appeared in full-colour, and by the mid-1960s had put the local Catholic publications out of business.
Springtime of BDQ (1970s–present)
The revolutionary 1960s and the Quiet Revolution in Québéc saw a new vigour in BDQ. What Georges Raby called the Spring of Québécois comics (printemps de la BD québécoise) is said to have begun in 1968 with the creation of the group Chiendent, who published in La Presse and Dimanche-Magazine. Jacques Hurtubise (Zyx), Réal Godbout, Gilles Thibault, and Jacques Boivin were particularly notable cartoonists, and numerous short-lived publications with strange names appeared, like Ma®de in Québec and L'Hydrocéphale illustré. The comics no longer focused on younger audiences, instead seeking confrontation or experimenting with graphics, drawing influence from French comics for mature audiences like those published in Pilote magazine, as well as translations of American undergrounds, translations of which were published in the journal Mainmise. During the 1970s, BDQ were sometimes called "BDK", bande dessinée kébécoise.
In 1979, Jacques Hurtubise, Pierre Huet and Hélène Fleury would establish the long-lived, satirical Croc, which published many leading talents of the era, many of whom were able to launch their careers through the magazine's help. Croc begat another magazine, Titanic, dedicated to comic strips, and in 1987, Safarir, a Mad-like publication patterned after the French Hara-Kiri, rose in competition with Croc. By the mid-1980s, a number of professional comics publishers began to flourish.
In Montreal in the 1980s and 1990s, in parallel to mainstream humour magazines, a healthy underground scene developed, and self-published fanzines proliferated. Julie Doucet, Henriette Valium, Luc Giard, Éric Thériault, Gavin McInnes and Siris were among the names that were discovered in the small press publications.
In the 21st Century, Michel Rabagliati and his semi-autobiographical Paul series has seen Tintin-like sales levels in Québec, and his books have been published in English by Drawn & Quarterly.
Around the turn of the century, the government of Québec mandated La Fondation du 9e art ("The 9th Art Foundation") to promote francophone cartoonists in North America. There have also emerged events such as the Festival de la bande dessinée francophone de Québec in Québec City and la Zone internationale du neuvième art (ZINA).
Publication, promotion and distribution
As in the US, large Canadian newspapers typically have a page of comic strips in their daily editions and a full-colour Sunday comics section on Saturdays or Sundays. Editorial cartoonists are also common; the Association of Canadian Editorial Cartoonists is a professional association founded in 1988 to promote their interests.
There are a number of English- and French-language publishers active in Canadian comics. Drawn & Quarterly is a Montreal-based English-language publisher of arts comics, translations, and classic comic reprints. Founded by Chris Oliveros in 1990, Drawn & Quarterly is one of the most influential publishers in alternative comics. Arcana Studio of British Columbia publishes a large number of titles, and Koyama Press joined the fray in 2007. In French, Les 400 coups, Mécanique Générale, La Pastèque and the Québec arm of Glénat are amongst the active publishers. The small press has played an important rôle; self-publishing is a common means of putting out comics, largely influenced by the success of Dave Sim's Cerebus. Minicomics another form that has remained popular since the 1980s, when Chester Brown and Julie Doucet got started by distributing self-published photocopied comics. The minicomics scene has been spurred on by Broken Pencil, a magazine dedicated to promoting the zines.
A number of fan conventions are held throughout Canada, including the Central Canada Comic Con, Fan Expo Canada, Montreal Comiccon, Paradise Comics Toronto Comicon, Ottawa Comiccon, and Toronto Comicon. The Toronto Comic Arts Festival (TCAF), modeled after European festivals such as Angoulême and the American Small Press Expo, has grown since 2003, and since 2009 has enjoyed the support of the Toronto Public Library.
Awards
A number of awards for Canadian comics and cartooning have appeared, especially since the beginning of the 21st Century.
The National Newspaper Awards was established in 1949 with a category for Editorial Cartooning honouring those that "embody an idea made clearly apparent, good drawing, and striking pictorial effect in the public interest". The award's first recipient was Jack Booth of The Globe and Mail.
The Bédélys Prize () has been awarded to French-language comics since 2000. It comes with bursaries for the Prix Bédélys Québec (for Best Book from Québec) and Prix Bédélys Fanzine.
Since 2005 the Joe Shuster Awards have been handed out by the Canadian Comic Book Creator Awards Association, named after the Toronto-born co-creator of Superman. It is open to all Canadians, including those living abroad, as well as permanent residents, for comics in any language. Along with awards for Outstanding Cartoonist, Outstanding Writer, Outstanding Artist and others, it also features the Joe Shuster Hall of Fame, and the Harry Kremer Retailer Award, named after the founder of Canada's oldest surviving comic shop.
The Doug Wright Awards also began in 2005. Awards are given for Best Book, Best Emerging Talent, and since 2008 the Pigskin Peters Award for non-narrative (or nominally-narrative) comics; Pigskin Peters was a character in Jimmy Frise's Birdseye Center. The Doug Wright Awards also inducts cartoonists into Giants of the North: The Canadian Cartoonist Hall of Fame.
Academia
From the 1990s onward an increasing amount of literature on Canadian comics has appeared, in both official languages. Books such as Guardians of the North (1992) and Invaders from the North (2006) appeared by comics historian John Bell, who became senior archivist at Library and Archives Canada in Ottawa. American magazine Alter Ego ran a special issue on Canadian comics in 2004. In French, Michel Viau wrote a book on francophone comics called BDQ: Répertoire des publications de bandes dessinées au Québec des origines à nos jours (2000). Bart Beaty and Jeet Heer have been writing about comics academically and professionally, and regularly have articles educating the public on comics published in newspapers such as the National Post and the Boston Globe, as well as comics and literary magazines. Canadian feminist scholars such as Mary Louise Adams, Mona Gleason, and Janice Dickin McGinnis have done research into the anti-crime comics campaigns of the late 1940s and 1950s, from the point of view of the moral panic and social and legal history of the era, and the sociology of sexuality.
See also
List of Canadian comics creators
Canadian humour
Culture of Canada
Comic book collecting
Comics! was a Canadian television program
History of Canadian animation
Prisoners of Gravity
References
Works cited
Further reading
English
French
External links
Guardians of the North: a history of Canadian superheroes (National Library & Archives of Canada)
Beyond The Funnies at Library and Archives Canada
History of Comic Books in English Canada
Association of Canadian Editorial Cartoonists website
The Joe Shuster Canadian Comics Awards
List of links to Canadian webcomics
Sequential : A Canadian Comics News & Culture Blog
Golden Age Canadian Comics
Digital Comic Museum (scans of presumed public domain Canadian comics)
Cultural history of Canada
History of comics | true | [
"Girighiz is an Italian comic strip created by Enzo Lunari.\n\nBackground \nGirighiz first appeared in August 1965, in the comic magazine Linus.\n\nSet in the prehistoric age, the cartoon strip, unlike Johnny Hart's similar BC, is openly political and satirical.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links \n\nItalian comics titles\nItalian comic strips\nComics characters introduced in 1965\n1965 comics debuts\nComic strips ended in the 1990s\nHumor comics\nSatirical comics\nPolitical comic strips\nGag-a-day comics\nFictional prehistoric characters\nComics set in prehistory\nItalian comics characters",
"The following is a list of comic strips. Dates after names indicate the time frames when the strips appeared. There is usually a fair degree of accuracy about a start date, but because of rights being transferred or the very gradual loss of appeal of a particular strip, the termination date is sometimes uncertain. In the event a strip has its own page, the originator of the strip is listed. Otherwise, all creators who worked on a strip are listed. Many of characters appeared in both strip and comic book format as well as in other media.\n\nThe word Reuben after a name identifies winners of the National Cartoonists Society's Reuben Award for Outstanding Cartoonist of the Year, but many of leading strip artists worked in the years before the first Reuben and Billy DeBeck Awards in 1946.\n\nWebcomics are comic strips that exist only on the World Wide Web and are not created primarily for newspapers or magazines. Primary sites for webcomics are Modern Tales, Serializer and KeenSpot.\n\nLists of comic strips\nThe following lists include only newspaper comic strips:\n List of newspaper comic strips A–F\n List of newspaper comic strips G–O\n List of newspaper comic strips P–Z\n\nSee also\nCartoonist\nComic strip\nDoodle\nList of British comic strips\nList of webcomics\nWebcomic\n\nReferences\n\nSources\nStrickler, Dave. Syndicated Comic Strips and Artists, 1924–1995: The Complete Index. Cambria, California: Comics Access, 1995. \n\nNewspaper"
] |
[
"Syd Barrett",
"London Underground, Blackhill Enterprises and gigs"
] | C_6d0e8aa901f54f6587b8dd457957ea6a_1 | What did he do in London Underground? | 1 | What did Syd Barrett do in London Underground? | Syd Barrett | While Pink Floyd began by playing cover versions of American R&B songs, by 1966 they had carved out their own style of improvised rock and roll, which drew as much from improvised jazz. After Bob Klose departed from the band, the band's direction changed. However, the change was not instantaneous, with more improvising on the guitars and keyboards. Mason reflected, "It always felt to me that most of the ideas were emanating from Syd at the time." At this time, Barrett's reading reputedly included: Grimm's Fairy Tales, Tolkien's The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings, Carlos Castaneda's The Teachings of Don Juan, and The I-Ching. During this period, Barrett wrote most of the songs for Pink Floyd's first album, and also songs that would later appear on his solo albums. In 1966, a new rock concert venue, the UFO (pronounced as "you-foe"), opened in London and quickly became a haven for British psychedelic music. Pink Floyd, the house band, was its most popular attraction and after making appearances at the rival Roundhouse, became the most popular musical group of the "London Underground" psychedelic music scene. By the end of 1966, Pink Floyd had gained a reliable management team in Andrew King and Peter Jenner. Towards the end of October 1966, Pink Floyd, with King and Jenner, set up Blackhill Enterprises, to manage the group's finances. Blackhill was staffed by lodgers Jenner found in his Edbrooke Road house, and among others, Barrett's flatmate, Peter Wynne Wilson (who became road manager, however, since he had more experience in lighting, he was also lighting assistant). King and Jenner wanted to prepare some demo recordings for a possible record deal, so at the end of October, they booked a session at Thompson Private Recording Studio, in Hemel Hempstead. King said of the demos: "That was the first time I realised they were going to write all their own material, Syd just turned into a songwriter, it seemed like overnight." King and Jenner befriended American expatriate Joe Boyd, the promoter of the UFO Club, who was making a name for himself as one of the more important entrepreneurs on the British music scene. The newly hired booking agent, Bryan Morrison, and Boyd had proposed sending in better quality recordings. From Morrison's agency the band played a gig outside London for the first time. In November, the band performed the first (of many) strangely named concerts: Philadelic Music for Simian Hominids, a multimedia event arranged by the group's former landlord, Mike Leonard, at Hornsey College of Art. They performed at the Free School for the following two weeks, before performing at the Psychodelphia Versus Ian Smith event at the Roundhouse in December, arranged by the Majority Rule for Rhodesia Campaign, and an Oxfam benefit at the Albert Hall (the band's biggest venue up to this point). CANNOTANSWER | became the most popular musical group of the "London Underground" psychedelic music scene. | Roger Keith "Syd" Barrett (6 January 1946 – 7 July 2006) was an English singer, songwriter, and musician who co-founded the rock band Pink Floyd in 1965. Barrett was their original frontman and primary songwriter, becoming known for his whimsical psychedelia, English-accented singing, literary influences, and stream-of-consciousness writing style. As a guitarist, he was influential for his free-form playing and for employing dissonance, distortion, echo, feedback, and other studio effects.
Originally trained as a painter, Barrett was musically active for less than ten years. With Pink Floyd, he recorded four singles, their debut album The Piper at the Gates of Dawn (1967), portions of their second album A Saucerful of Secrets (1968), and several unreleased songs. In April 1968, Barrett was ousted from the band amid speculation of mental illness and his excessive use of psychedelic drugs. He began a brief solo career in 1969 with the single "Octopus" and followed with the albums The Madcap Laughs (1970) and Barrett (1970), recorded with the aid of several members of Pink Floyd.
In 1972, Barrett left the music industry, retired from public life and strictly guarded his privacy until his death. He continued painting and dedicated himself to gardening. Pink Floyd recorded several tributes and homages to him, including the 1975 song suite "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" and the 1979 rock opera The Wall. In 1988, EMI released an album of unreleased tracks and outtakes, Opel, with Barrett's approval. In 1996, Barrett was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Pink Floyd. He died of pancreatic cancer in 2006.
Life and career
Early years
Roger Keith Barrett was born on 6 January 1946 in Cambridge, Cambridgeshire to a middle-class family living at 60 Glisson Road. He was the fourth of five children. His father, Arthur Max Barrett, was a prominent pathologist and was said to be related to Elizabeth Garrett Anderson through Max's maternal grandmother Ellen Garrett. In 1951, his family moved to 183 Hills Road.
Barrett played piano occasionally but usually preferred writing and drawing. He bought a ukulele aged 10, a banjo at 11 and a Hofner acoustic guitar at 14. A year after he purchased his first acoustic guitar, he bought his first electric guitar and built his own amplifier. One story of how Barrett acquired the nickname "Syd" is that at the age of 14 he was named after an old local Cambridge jazz double bassist, Sid "The Beat" Barrett, which claims Syd Barrett changed the spelling to differentiate himself from his namesake.
Another account is that when he was 13, his schoolmates nicknamed him "Syd" after he showed up to a field day at Abington Scout site wearing a flat cap instead of his Scout beret because "Syd" was a "working-class" name. He used both names interchangeably for several years. His sister Rosemary said: "He was never Syd at home. He would never have allowed it." He was a Scout with the 7th Cambridge troop and went on to be a patrol leader.
At one point at Morley Memorial Junior School he was taught by the mother of future Pink Floyd bassist Roger Waters. Later, in 1957, he attended Cambridgeshire High School for Boys with Waters. His father died of cancer on 11 December 1961, less than a month before Barrett's 16th birthday. On this date, Barrett left the entry in his diary blank. By this time, his brothers and sisters had left home and his mother decided to rent out rooms to lodgers.
Eager to help her son recover from his grief, Barrett's mother encouraged the band in which he played, Geoff Mott and the Mottoes, a band which Barrett formed, to perform in their front room. Waters and Barrett were childhood friends, and Waters often visited such gigs. At one point, Waters organised a gig, a CND benefit at Friends Meeting House on 11 March 1962, but shortly afterwards Geoff Mott joined the Boston Crabs, and the Mottoes broke up.
In September 1962, Barrett had taken a place at the art department of the Cambridgeshire College of Arts and Technology, where he met David Gilmour. In late 1962 and early 1963, the Beatles made an impact on Barrett, and he began to play Beatles songs at parties and at picnics. In 1963, Barrett became a Rolling Stones fan and, with then-girlfriend Libby Gausden, saw them perform at a village hall in Cambridgeshire.
At this point, Barrett started writing songs; one friend recalls hearing "Effervescing Elephant" (later to be recorded on his solo album Barrett). Also around this time, Barrett and Gilmour occasionally played acoustic gigs together. Barrett had played bass guitar with Those Without in mid-1963 and bass and guitar with the Hollerin' Blues the next summer. In 1964, Barrett and Gausden saw Bob Dylan perform. After this performance, Barrett was inspired to write "Bob Dylan Blues". Barrett, now thinking about his future, decided to apply for Camberwell College of Arts in London. He enrolled in the college in the summer of 1964 to study painting.
Pink Floyd years (1965–1968)
Starting in 1964, the band that would become Pink Floyd evolved through various line-up and name changes including "The Abdabs", "The Screaming Abdabs", "Sigma 6", and "The Meggadeaths". In 1965, Barrett joined them as the Tea Set (sometimes spelled T-Set). When they found themselves playing a concert with another band of the same name, Barrett came up with "The Pink Floyd Sound" (also known as "The Pink Floyd Blues Band", later "The Pink Floyd"). During 1965, they went into a studio for the first time, when a friend of Richard Wright's gave the band free time to record.
During this summer Barrett had his first LSD trip in the garden of friend Dave Gale, with Ian Moore and Storm Thorgerson. During one trip, Barrett and another friend, Paul Charrier, ended up naked in the bath, reciting: "No rules, no rules". That summer, as a result of the continued drug use, the band became absorbed in Sant Mat, a Sikh sect. Storm Thorgerson (then living on Earlham Street) and Barrett went to a London hotel to meet the sect's guru; Thorgerson managed to join the sect; Barrett, however, was deemed too young to join. Thorgerson sees this as a deeply important event in Barrett's life, as he was extremely upset by the rejection. While living near his friends, Barrett decided to write more songs ("Bike" was written around this time).
London Underground, Blackhill Enterprises and gigs
While Pink Floyd began by playing cover versions of American R&B songs, by 1966 they had carved out their own style of improvised rock and roll, which drew as much from improvised jazz. After Bob Klose departed from the band, the band's direction changed. However, the change was not instantaneous, with more improvising on the guitars and keyboards. Drummer Nick Mason reflected, "It always felt to me that most of the ideas were emanating from Syd at the time."
At this time, Barrett's reading reputedly included Grimm's Fairy Tales, Tolkien's The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings, and The I-Ching. During this period, Barrett wrote most of the songs for Pink Floyd's first album, and also songs that would later appear on his solo albums. In 1966, a new rock concert venue, the UFO (pronounced as "you-foe"), opened in London and quickly became a haven for British psychedelic music. Pink Floyd, the house band, was its most popular attraction and after making appearances at the rival Roundhouse, became the most popular musical group of the "London Underground" psychedelic music scene.
By the end of 1966, Pink Floyd had gained a reliable management team in Andrew King and Peter Jenner. Towards the end of October 1966, Pink Floyd, with King and Jenner, set up Blackhill Enterprises, to manage the group's finances. Blackhill was staffed by lodgers Jenner found in his Edbrooke Road house, and among others, Barrett's flatmate, Peter Wynne Wilson (who became road manager, however, since he had more experience in lighting, he was also lighting assistant). King and Jenner wanted to prepare some demo recordings for a possible record deal, so at the end of October, they booked a session at Thompson Private Recording Studio, in Hemel Hempstead. King said of the demos: "That was the first time I realised they were going to write all their own material, Syd just turned into a songwriter, it seemed like overnight."
King and Jenner befriended American expatriate Joe Boyd, the promoter of the UFO Club, who was making a name for himself as one of the more important entrepreneurs on the British music scene. The newly hired booking agent, Bryan Morrison, and Boyd had proposed sending in better quality recordings. From Morrison's agency the band played a gig outside London for the first time. In November, the band performed the first (of many) strangely named concerts: Philadelic Music for Simian Hominids, a multimedia event arranged by the group's former landlord, Mike Leonard, at Hornsey College of Art. They performed at the Free School for the following two weeks, before performing at the Psychodelphia Versus Ian Smith event at the Roundhouse in December, arranged by the Majority Rule for Rhodesia Campaign, and an Oxfam benefit at the Albert Hall (the band's biggest venue up to this point).
Tonite Lets All Make Love in London
At the beginning of 1967, Barrett was dating Jenny Spires (who would later marry future Stars member Jack Monck). However, unknown to Barrett, Spires had an affair with Peter Whitehead. Spires convinced Whitehead (who thought the band sounded like "bad Schoenberg") to use Pink Floyd in a film about the swinging London scene. So at the cost of £80 (), in January, Whitehead took the band into John Wood's Sound Techniques in Chelsea, with promoter Joe Boyd in tow. Here, the band recorded a 16-minute version of "Interstellar Overdrive" and another composition, "Nick's Boogie". Whitehead had filmed this recording, which was used in the film Tonite Lets All Make Love in London and later on the video release of London '66–'67. Whitehead later commented about the band that: "They were just completely welded together, just like a jazz group".
The Piper at the Gates of Dawn
Boyd attempted to sign the band with Polydor Records. However, Morrison had convinced King and Jenner to try to start a bidding war between Polydor and EMI. In late January, Boyd produced a recording session for the group, with them returning to Sound Techniques in Chelsea again. After the bidding war idea was finished, Pink Floyd signed with EMI. Unusual for the time, the deal included recording an album, which meant the band had unlimited studio time at EMI Studios in return for a smaller royalty percentage. The band then attempted to re-record "Arnold Layne", but the Boyd version from January was released instead.
The band's first studio album, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, was recorded intermittently between February and July 1967 in Studio 3 at Abbey Road Studios, and produced by former Beatles engineer Norman Smith. By the time the album was released on 4 August, "Arnold Layne" (which was released months earlier, on 11 March) had reached number 20 on the British singles charts, despite being banned by Radio London, and the follow-up single, "See Emily Play", had peaked at number 5. The album was successful in the UK, hitting number 6 on the British album charts. Their first three singles (including their third, "Apples and Oranges"), were written by Barrett, who also was the principal visionary/author of their critically acclaimed 1967 debut album. Of the eleven songs on Piper, Barrett wrote eight and co-wrote another two.
Health problems
Through late 1967 and early 1968, Barrett became increasingly erratic, partly as a consequence of his reported heavy use of psychedelic drugs such as LSD. There is also speculation that he suffered from schizophrenia. Once described as joyful, friendly, and extroverted, he became increasingly depressed and withdrawn, and experienced hallucinations, disorganised speech, memory lapses, intense mood swings, and periods of catatonia. Although the changes began gradually, he went missing for a long weekend and, according to several friends, including Wright, came back "a completely different person".
One of the striking features of his change was the development of a blank, dead-eyed stare. Barrett did not recognise friends, and often did not know where he was; on a tour of Los Angeles, Barrett is said to have exclaimed, "Gee, it sure is nice to be in Las Vegas!" Many reports described him on stage, strumming one chord through the entire concert, or not playing at all. At a show in Santa Monica, Barrett slowly detuned his guitar.
Interviewed on Pat Boone's show during the tour, Barrett replied with a "blank and totally mute stare"; according to Mason, "Syd wasn't into moving his lips that day." Barrett exhibited similar behaviour during the band's first appearance on Dick Clark's television show American Bandstand. Surviving footage of this appearance shows Barrett miming his parts competently; however, during a group interview afterwards, Barrett gave terse answers. During this time, Barrett would often forget to bring his guitar to sessions, damage equipment and was occasionally unable to hold his plectrum. Before a performance in late 1967, Barrett reportedly crushed Mandrax tranquilliser tablets and a tube of Brylcreem into his hair, which melted down his face under the heat of the stage lighting, making him look like "a guttered candle". Mason disputed the Mandrax portion of this story, stating that "Syd would never waste good mandies".
Departure from Pink Floyd
During Pink Floyd's UK tour with Jimi Hendrix in November 1967, guitarist David O'List from the Nice substituted for Barrett on several occasions when he was unable to perform or failed to appear. Around Christmas, Pink Floyd asked Barrett's schoolfriend David Gilmour to join as a second guitarist to cover for Barrett. For a handful of shows, Gilmour played and sang while Barrett wandered around on stage, occasionally joining the performance. The other band members grew tired of Barrett's antics and, on 26 January 1968, when Waters was driving on the way to a show at Southampton University, they elected not to pick Barrett up. One person in the car said, "Shall we pick Syd up?" and another said, "Let's not bother." As Barrett had written the bulk of the band's material, the plan was to retain him as a non-touring member, as the Beach Boys had done with Brian Wilson, but this proved impractical.
According to Waters, Barrett came to what was to be their last practice session with a new song he had dubbed "Have You Got It Yet?". The song seemed simple when he first presented it, but it soon became impossibly difficult to learn; the band eventually realised that Barrett was changing the arrangement as they played, and that Barrett was playing a joke on them. Waters called it "a real act of mad genius".
Of the songs Barrett wrote for Pink Floyd after The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, only "Jugband Blues" was included on their album, A Saucerful of Secrets (1968). "Apples and Oranges" became an unsuccessful single, and "Scream Thy Last Scream" and "Vegetable Man", remained unreleased until 2016 in The Early Years 1965–1972 box set, as they were deemed too dark and unsettling. Barrett played guitar on the Saucerful of Secrets tracks "Remember a Day" and "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun".
Feeling guilty, the members of Pink Floyd were unable to bring themselves to definitively tell Barrett that he was no longer in the band. According to Wright, who lived with Barrett at the time, he told Barrett he was going out to buy cigarettes when leaving to play a show. He would return hours later to find Barrett in the same position, sometimes with a cigarette burned completely down between his fingers (an incident later referenced in Pink Floyd's concert film The Wall). Emerging from catatonia and unaware that a long period of time had elapsed, Barrett would ask, "Have you got the cigarettes?".
Barrett supposedly spent time outside the recording studio, in the reception area, waiting to be invited in. He also came to a few performances and glared at Gilmour. On 6 April 1968, Pink Floyd officially announced that Barrett was no longer a member, the same day their contract with Blackhill Enterprises was terminated. Considering him as the band's musical leader, Blackhill Enterprises retained Barrett.
Solo years (1968–1972)
After leaving Pink Floyd, Barrett was out of the public eye for a year. In 1969, at the behest of EMI and Harvest Records, he embarked on a brief solo career, releasing two solo albums, The Madcap Laughs and Barrett (both 1970), and a single, "Octopus". Some songs, "Terrapin", "Maisie" and "Bob Dylan Blues", reflected Barrett's early interest in the blues.
The Madcap Laughs
After Barrett left Pink Floyd, Jenner followed suit. He led Barrett into EMI Studios to record some tracks in May that would later be released on Barrett's first solo album, The Madcap Laughs. However, Jenner said: "I had seriously underestimated the difficulties of working with him". By the sessions of June and July, most of the tracks were in better shape; however, shortly after the July sessions, Barrett broke up with girlfriend Lindsay Corner and went on a drive around Britain in his Mini, ending up in psychiatric care in Cambridge. During New Year 1969, a somewhat recovered Barrett had taken up tenancy in a flat on Egerton Gardens, South Kensington, London, with the postmodernist artist Duggie Fields. Here, Barrett's flat was so close to Gilmour's that Gilmour could look right into Barrett's kitchen. Deciding to return to music, Barrett contacted EMI and was passed to Malcolm Jones, the then-head of EMI's new prog rock label, Harvest (after Norman Smith and Jenner declined to produce Barrett's record, Jones produced it). Barrett wanted to recover the Jenner-produced sessions recordings; several of the tracks were improved upon.
The Jones-produced sessions started in April 1969 at EMI Studios. After the first of these sessions, Barrett brought in friends to help out: Humble Pie drummer Jerry Shirley, and Jokers Wild (Gilmour's old band) drummer Willie Wilson. For the sessions, Gilmour played bass. Talking to Barrett wasn't easy, said Jones: "It was a case of following him, not playing with him. They were seeing and then playing so they were always a note behind". A few tracks on the album feature overdubs by members of the band Soft Machine. During this time, Barrett also played guitar on the sessions for Soft Machine founder Kevin Ayers' debut LP Joy of a Toy, although his performance on "Religious Experience" (later titled "Singing a Song in the Morning") was not released until the album was reissued in 2003. One time, Barrett had told his flatmate that he was going off "for an afternoon drive". However, he followed Pink Floyd to Ibiza (according to legend, he skipped check-ins and customs, ran onto the runway and attempted to flag down a jet). One of his friends, J. Ryan Eaves, bass player for the short-lived but influential Manchester band York's Ensemble, later spotted him on a beach wearing messed-up clothes and with a carrier bag full of money. By this point, during the trip, Barrett had asked Gilmour for his help in the recording sessions.
After two of the Gilmour/Waters-produced sessions, they remade one track from the Soft Machine overdubs and recorded three tracks. These sessions came to a minor halt when Gilmour and Waters were mixing Pink Floyd's newly recorded album, Ummagumma, to Barrett's dismay. However, through the end of July, they managed to record three more tracks. The problem with the recording was that the songs were recorded as Barrett played them "live" in studio. On the released versions a number of them have false starts and commentaries from Barrett. Despite the track being closer to complete and better produced, Gilmour and Waters left the Jones-produced track "Opel" off Madcap.
Gilmour later said of the sessions for The Madcap Laughs:
Upon the album's release in January 1970, Malcolm Jones was shocked by the substandard musicianship on the Gilmour and Waters-produced songs: "I felt angry. It's like dirty linen in public and very unnecessary and unkind." Gilmour said: "Perhaps we were trying to show what Syd was really like. But perhaps we were trying to punish him." Waters was more positive: "Syd is a genius."
Barrett said "It's quite nice but I'd be very surprised if it did anything if I were to drop dead. I don't think it would stand as my last statement."
Evelyn "Iggy the Eskimo" Rose (1947–2017) appeared nude on the back of the album's inner sleeve.
Barrett
The second album, Barrett, was recorded more sporadically than the first, with sessions taking place between February and July 1970. The album was produced by David Gilmour, and featured Gilmour on bass guitar, Richard Wright on keyboard and Humble Pie drummer Jerry Shirley. The first two songs attempted were for Barrett to play and/or sing to an existing backing track. However, Gilmour thought they were losing the "Barrett-ness". One track ("Rats") was originally recorded with Barrett on his own. That would later be overdubbed by musicians, despite the changing tempos. Shirley said of Barrett's playing: "He would never play the same tune twice. Sometimes Syd couldn't play anything that made sense; other times what he'd play was absolute magic." At times Barrett, who experienced synaesthesia, would say: "Perhaps we could make the middle darker and maybe the end a bit middle afternoonish. At the moment it's too windy and icy".
These sessions were happening while Pink Floyd had just begun to work on Atom Heart Mother. On various occasions, Barrett went to "spy" on the band as they recorded their album.
Wright said of the Barrett sessions:
Performances
Despite the numerous recording dates for his solo albums, Barrett undertook very little musical activity between 1968 and 1972 outside the studio. On 24 February 1970, he appeared on John Peel's BBC radio programme Top Gear playing five songs—only one of which had been previously released. Three would be re-recorded for the Barrett album, while the song "Two of a Kind" was a one-off performance (possibly written by Richard Wright). Barrett was accompanied on this session by Gilmour and Shirley who played bass and percussion, respectively.
Gilmour and Shirley also backed Barrett for his one and only live concert during this period. The gig took place on 6 June 1970 at the Olympia Exhibition Hall as part of a Music and Fashion Festival. The trio performed four songs, "Terrapin", "Gigolo Aunt", "Effervescing Elephant" and "Octopus". Poor mixing left the vocals barely audible until part-way through the last number. At the end of the fourth song, Barrett unexpectedly but politely put down his guitar and walked off the stage. The performance has been bootlegged. Barrett made one last appearance on BBC Radio, recording three songs at their studios on 16 February 1971. All three came from the Barrett album. After this session, he took a hiatus from his music career that lasted more than a year, although in an extensive interview with Mick Rock and Rolling Stone in December, he discussed himself at length, showed off his new 12-string guitar, talked about touring with Jimi Hendrix and stated that he was frustrated in terms of his musical work because of his inability to find anyone good to play with.
Later years (1972–2006)
Stars and final recordings
In February 1972, after a few guest spots in Cambridge with ex-Pink Fairies member Twink on drums and Jack Monck on bass using the name The Last Minute Put Together Boogie Band (backing visiting blues musician Eddie "Guitar" Burns and also featuring Henry Cow guitarist Fred Frith), the trio formed a short-lived band called Stars. Though they were initially well received at gigs in the Dandelion coffee bar and the town's Market Square, one of their gigs at the Corn Exchange in Cambridge with MC5 proved to be disastrous. A few days after this final show, Twink recalled that Barrett stopped him on the street, showed him a scathing review of the gig they had played, and quit on the spot, despite having played at least one subsequent gig at the same venue supporting Nektar.
Free from his EMI contract on 9 May 1972, Barrett signed a document that ended his association with Pink Floyd, and any financial interest in future recordings. He attended an informal jazz and poetry performance by Pete Brown and former Cream bassist Jack Bruce in October 1973. Brown arrived at the show late, and saw that Bruce was already onstage, along with "a guitarist I vaguely recognised", playing the Horace Silver tune "Doodlin'". Later in the show, Brown read out a poem, which he dedicated to Syd, because, "he's here in Cambridge, and he's one of the best songwriters in the country" when, to his surprise, the guitar player from earlier in the show stood up and said, "No I'm not". By the end of 1973, Barrett had returned to live in London, staying at various hotels and, in December of that year, settling in at Chelsea Cloisters. He had little contact with others, apart from his regular visits to his management's offices to collect his royalties, and the occasional visit from his sister Rosemary.
In August 1974, Jenner persuaded Barrett to return to Abbey Road Studios in hope of recording another album. According to John Leckie, who engineered these sessions, even at this point Syd still "looked like he did when he was younger ... long haired". The sessions lasted three days and consisted of blues rhythm tracks with tentative and disjointed guitar overdubs. Barrett recorded eleven tracks, the only one of which to be titled was "If You Go, Don't Be Slow". Once again, Barrett withdrew from the music industry, but this time for good. He sold the rights to his solo albums back to the record label and moved into a London hotel. During this period, several attempts to employ him as a record producer (including one by Jamie Reid on behalf of the Sex Pistols, and another by the Damned, who wanted him to produce their second album) were fruitless.
Wish You Were Here sessions
Barrett visited the members of Pink Floyd in 1975 during the recording sessions for their ninth album, Wish You Were Here. He attended the Abbey Road session unannounced, and watched the band working on the final mix of "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" — a song about him. By that time, Barrett, then 29, had become overweight and had shaved off all of his hair (including his eyebrows), and his former bandmates did not initially recognise him. Barrett spent part of the session brushing his teeth. Waters asked him what he thought of the song and he said that it "sounds a bit old". He is reported to have briefly attended the reception for Gilmour's wedding to Ginger that immediately followed the recording sessions, but Gilmour said he had no recollection of this.
A few years later, Waters saw Barrett in the department store Harrods; Barrett ran outside, dropping his bags. It was the last time any member of Pink Floyd saw him.
Withdrawal to Cambridge
In 1978, when Barrett's money ran out, he moved back to Cambridge to live with his mother. He returned to live in London for a few weeks in 1982, but soon returned to Cambridge permanently. Barrett walked the from London to Cambridge. Until his death, he received royalties from his work with Pink Floyd; Gilmour said, "I made sure the money got to him." In 1996, Barrett was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Pink Floyd. He did not attend the ceremony.
According to biographer and journalist Tim Willis, Barrett, who had reverted to using his original name Roger, continued to live in his late mother's semi-detached home, and had returned to painting, creating large abstract canvases. He was also said to have been an avid gardener. His main point of contact with the outside world was his sister, Rosemary, who lived nearby. He was reclusive, and his physical health declined, as he suffered from stomach ulcers and type 2 diabetes.
Although Barrett had not appeared or spoken in public since the mid-1970s, reporters and fans travelled to Cambridge seeking him, despite public appeals from his family. Apparently, Barrett did not like being reminded about his musical career and the other members of Pink Floyd had no direct contact with him. However, he did visit his sister's house in November 2001 to watch the BBC Omnibus documentary made about him; reportedly he found some of it "a bit noisy", enjoyed seeing Mike Leonard again, calling him his "teacher", and enjoyed hearing "See Emily Play".
Barrett made a final public acknowledgement of his musical past in 2002, his first since the 1970s, when he autographed 320 copies of photographer Mick Rock's book Psychedelic Renegades, which contained a number of photos of Barrett. Rock was perhaps the last person in the music industry with whom Barrett kept in contact. In 1971, Rock conducted Barrett's final interview before his retirement from the music industry. Barrett visited Rock in London several times for tea and conversation in 1978. They had not spoken in more than 20 years when Rock approached Barrett to autograph his photography book, and Barrett uncharacteristically agreed. Having reverted to his birth name, he autographed the book "Barrett".
Death and aftermath
Barrett died at home in Cambridge on 7 July 2006 aged 60, from pancreatic cancer. He was cremated. In 2006, his home in St. Margaret's Square, Cambridge, was put on the market and reportedly attracted considerable interest. After over 100 showings, many to fans, it was sold to a French couple who reportedly knew nothing about Barrett. On 28 November 2006, Barrett's other possessions were sold at an auction at Cheffins auction house in Cambridge, raising £120,000 for charity. Items sold included paintings, scrapbooks and everyday items that Barrett had decorated. NME produced a tribute issue to Barrett a week later with a photo of him on the cover. In an interview with The Sunday Times, Barrett's sister said that he had written an unpublished book about the history of art.
In response to the news of Barrett's death, Gilmour said:
According to local newspapers, Barrett left approximately £1.7 million to his two brothers and two sisters. This sum was apparently largely acquired from royalties from Pink Floyd compilations and live recordings featuring songs he had written while with the band. A tribute concert called "Madcap's Last Laugh" was held at the Barbican Centre, London, on 10 May 2007 with Robyn Hitchcock, Captain Sensible, Damon Albarn, Chrissie Hynde, Kevin Ayers and his Pink Floyd bandmates performing. A series of events called The City Wakes was held in Cambridge in October 2008 to celebrate Barrett's life, art, and music. Barrett's sister, Rosemary Breen, supported this, the first series of official events in memory of her brother. After the festival's success, arts charity Escape Artists announced plans to create a centre in Cambridge, using art to help people suffering from mental health problems. A memorial bench has been placed in the Botanic Gardens in Cambridge and a more prominent tribute is planned in the city.
Legacy
Compilations
In 1988, EMI Records (after constant pressure from Malcolm Jones) released an album of Barrett's studio out-takes and previously unreleased material recorded from 1968 to 1970 under the title Opel. The disc was originally set to include the unreleased Barrett Pink Floyd songs "Scream Thy Last Scream" and "Vegetable Man", which had been remixed for the album by Jones, but the band pulled the two songs before Opel was finalised. In 1993 EMI issued another release, Crazy Diamond, a boxed set of all three albums, each with further out-takes from his solo sessions that illustrated Barrett's inability or refusal to play a song the same way twice. EMI also released The Best of Syd Barrett: Wouldn't You Miss Me? in the UK on 16 April 2001 and in the US on 11 September 2001. This was the first time his song "Bob Dylan Blues" was officially released, taken from a demo tape that Gilmour had kept after an early 1970s session. Gilmour kept the tape, which also contains the unreleased "Living Alone" from the Barrett sessions. In October 2010 Harvest/EMI and Capitol Records released An Introduction to Syd Barrett—a collection of both his Pink Floyd and remastered solo work. The 2010 compilation An Introduction to Syd Barrett includes the downloadable bonus track "Rhamadan", a 20-minute track recorded at one of Syd's earliest solo sessions, in May 1968. In 2011, it was announced that a vinyl double album version would be issued for Record Store Day.
Bootleg editions of Barrett's live and solo material exist. For years the "off air" recordings of the BBC sessions with Barrett's Pink Floyd circulated, until an engineer who had taken a tape of the early Pink Floyd gave it back to the BBC—which played it during a tribute to John Peel on their website. During this tribute, the first Peel programme (Top Gear) was aired in its entirety. This show featured the 1967 live versions of "Flaming", "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun", and a brief 90-second snippet of the instrumental "Reaction in G". In 2012, engineer Andy Jackson said he had found "a huge box of assorted tapes", in Mason's possession, containing versions of R&B songs that (the Barrett-era) Pink Floyd played in their early years.
Creative impact
Barrett wrote most of Pink Floyd's early material. According to critic Steven Hyden, even after Barrett left the band, Barrett's spirit "haunted" their records, and their most popular work "drew on the power of what Barrett signified".
Barrett was an innovative guitarist, using extended techniques and exploring the musical and sonic possibilities of dissonance, distortion, feedback, the echo machine, tapes and other effects; his experimentation was partly inspired by free improvisation guitarist Keith Rowe of the group AMM, active at the time in London. One of Barrett's trademarks was playing his guitar through an old echo box while sliding a Zippo lighter up and down the fret-board to create the mysterious, otherworldly sounds that became associated with the group. Barrett was known to have used Binson delay units to achieve his trademark echo sounds. Daevid Allen, founder member of Soft Machine and Gong, cited Barrett's use of slide guitar with echo as a key inspiration for his own "glissando guitar" style.
Barrett's recordings both with Pink Floyd and in later solo albums were delivered with a strongly British-accented vocal delivery, specifically that of southern England. He was described by Guardian writer Nick Kent as having a "quintessential English style of vocal projection". David Bowie said that Barrett, along with Anthony Newley, was the first person he had heard sing rock or pop music with a British accent.
Barrett's free-form sequences of "sonic carpets" pioneered a new way to play the rock guitar. He played several different guitars during his tenure, including an old Harmony hollowbody electric, a Harmony acoustic, a Fender acoustic, a single-coil Danelectro 59 DC, several different Fender Telecasters and a white Fender Stratocaster in late 1967. A silver Fender Esquire with mirrored discs glued to the body was the guitar he was most often associated with and the guitar he "felt most close to". The mirrored Esquire was traded for a black Telecaster Custom, in 1968. Its whereabouts are currently unknown.
Influence
Many artists have acknowledged Barrett's influence on their work. Paul McCartney, Pete Townshend, Blur, Kevin Ayers, Gong, Marc Bolan, Tangerine Dream, Genesis P-Orridge, Julian Cope, Pere Ubu, Jeff Mangum, The Olivia Tremor Control, The Flaming Lips, Animal Collective, John Maus, Paul Weller, Roger Miller, East Bay Ray, Cedric Bixler-Zavala, and David Bowie were inspired by Barrett; Jimmy Page, Brian Eno, Sex Pistols, and The Damned all expressed interest in working with him at some point during the 1970s. Bowie recorded a cover of "See Emily Play" on his 1973 album Pin Ups. The track "Grass", from XTC's album Skylarking was influenced when Andy Partridge let fellow band member Colin Moulding borrow his Barrett records. Robyn Hitchcock's career was dedicated to being Barrett-esque; he even played "Dominoes" for the 2001 BBC documentary The Pink Floyd and Syd Barrett Story.
Barrett also had an influence on alternative and punk music in general. According to critic John Harris:
To understand his place in modern music you probably have to first go back to punk rock and its misguided attempt to kick aside what remained of the psychedelic 1960s. Given that the Clash and Sex Pistols had made brutal social commentary obligatory, there seemed little room for any of the creative exotica that had defined the Love Decade – until, slowly but surely, singing about dead-end lives and dole queues began to pall, and at least some of the previous generation were rehabilitated. Barrett was the best example: having crashed out of Pink Floyd before the advent of indulgent "progressive" rock, and succumbed to a fate that appealed to the punk generation's nihilism, he underwent a revival.
Barrett's decline had a profound effect on Waters' songwriting, and the theme of mental illness permeated the later Pink Floyd albums The Dark Side of the Moon (1973), Wish You Were Here (1975) and The Wall (1979). The reference to a "steel rail" in the song "Wish You Were Here" – "can you tell a green field from a cold steel rail?" – references a recurring theme in Barrett's song "If It's In You" from The Madcap Laughs. The song suite "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" from Wish You Were Here is also a tribute to Barrett.
In 1987, an album of Barrett cover songs called Beyond the Wildwood was released. The album was a collection of cover songs from Barrett's tenure with Pink Floyd and from his solo career. Artists appearing were UK and US indie bands including The Shamen, Opal, The Soup Dragons, and Plasticland.
Other artists who have written tributes to Barrett include his contemporary Kevin Ayers, who wrote "O Wot a Dream" in his honour (Barrett provided guitar to an early version of Ayers' song "Religious Experience: Singing a Song in the Morning"). Robyn Hitchcock has covered many of his songs live and on record and paid homage to his forebear with the song "(Feels Like) 1974". Phish covered "Bike", "No Good Trying", "Love You", "Baby Lemonade" and "Terrapin". The Television Personalities' single "I Know Where Syd Barrett Lives" from their 1981 album And Don't the Kids Love It is another tribute. In 2008, The Trash Can Sinatras released a single in tribute to the life and work of Syd Barrett called "Oranges and Apples", from their 2009 album In the Music. Proceeds from the single go to the Syd Barrett Trust in support of arts in mental health.
Johnny Depp showed interest in a biographical film based on Barrett's life. Barrett is portrayed briefly in the opening scene of Tom Stoppard's play Rock 'n' Roll (2006), performing "Golden Hair". His life and music, including the disastrous Cambridge Corn Exchange concert and his later reclusive lifestyle, are a recurring motif in the work. Barrett died during the play's run in London.
In 2016, in correspondence with the 70th anniversary birthday, The Theatre of the Absurd, an Italian independent artists group, published a short movie in honour of Barrett named Eclipse, with actor-director Edgar Blake in the role of Barrett. Some footage from this movie was also shown at Syd Barrett – A Celebration during Men on the Border's tribute: the show took place at the Cambridge Corn Exchange, with the participation of Barrett's family and old friends.
For 2017 TV series Legion creator Noah Hawley named one of the characters after Barrett, whose music was an important influence on the series.
In The X-Files season nine episode, "Lord of the Flies" (2001), a powerful mutant, Dylan Lokensgard (Hank Harris), has several posters of Syd Barrett on his bedroom wall, and listens to "It's No Good Trying" and "Terrapin" from The Madcap Laughs.
He recites the line, "A dream in a mist of gray", from Barrett's song "Opel", saying of the singer, "He was, like, this brilliant guy that no-one understood".
Barrett's influence on the genesis of psychedelia was considered in a chapter entitled 'Astronauts of Inner Space: Syd Barrett, Nick Drake and the Birth of Psychedelia' in Guy Mankowski's book 'Albion's Secret History: Snapshots of England's Pop Rebels and Outsiders.'
Health
Members of Barrett's family denied that he had suffered from mental illness. Asked if Barrett may have had Asperger's syndrome, his sister Rosemary Breen said that he and his siblings were "all on the spectrum". She also stated that, contrary to common misconception, Barrett neither suffered from mental illness nor had he received treatment for it since they had resumed regular contact in the 1980s. Breen said he had spent some time in a private "home for lost souls"—Greenwoods in Essex—but that there was no formal therapy programme there. Some years later, Barrett agreed to sessions with a psychiatrist at Fulbourn psychiatric hospital in Cambridge, but Breen said that neither medication nor therapy was considered appropriate. Breen also denied Barrett was a recluse or that he was vague about his past: "Roger may have been a bit selfish—or rather self-absorbed—but when people called him a recluse they were really only projecting their own disappointment. He knew what they wanted, but he wasn't willing to give it to them." In 1996, Wright said that Barrett's mother told the members of Pink Floyd to not contact him because being reminded of the band would make him depressed for weeks.
In the 1960s, Barrett used psychedelic drugs, especially LSD, and there are theories he subsequently suffered from schizophrenia. Wright asserted that Barrett's problems stemmed from a massive overdose of acid, as the change in his personality and behaviour came on suddenly. However, Waters maintains that Barrett suffered "without a doubt" from schizophrenia. In an article published in 2006, Gilmour was quoted as saying: "In my opinion, his nervous breakdown would have happened anyway. It was a deep-rooted thing. But I'll say the psychedelic experience might well have acted as a catalyst. Still, I just don't think he could deal with the vision of success and all the things that went with it." According to Gilmour in a 1974 interview, the other members of Pink Floyd approached psychiatrist R. D. Laing with the "Barrett problem". After hearing a tape of a Barrett conversation, Laing declared him "incurable".
In Saucerful of Secrets: The Pink Floyd Odyssey, author Nicholas Schaffner interviewed people who knew Barrett before and during his Pink Floyd days, including friends Peter and Susan Wynne-Wilson, artist Duggie Fields (with whom Barrett shared a flat during the late 1960s), June Bolan, and Storm Thorgerson. Bolan became concerned when Syd "kept his girlfriend under lock and key for three days, occasionally shoving a ration of biscuits under the door". A claim of cruelty against Barrett committed by the groupies and hangers-on who frequented his apartment during this period was described by writer and critic Jonathan Meades. "I went [to Barrett's flat] to see Harry and there was this terrible noise. It sounded like heating pipes shaking. I said, 'What's up?' and he sort of giggled and said, 'That's Syd having a bad trip. We put him in the linen cupboard'". Storm Thorgerson responded to this claim by stating "I do not remember locking Syd up in a cupboard. It sounds to me like pure fantasy, like Jonathan Meades was on dope himself."
Other friends state that Barrett's flatmates, who had also taken LSD, thought of Barrett as a genius or a deity, and were spiking his morning coffee every day without his knowledge, leaving him in a never-ending trip. He was later rescued from that flat by friends and moved elsewhere, but his erratic behaviour continued. According to Thorgerson, "On one occasion, I had to pull him [Barrett] off [his girlfriend] Lindsay because he was beating her over the head with a mandolin". On one occasion, Barrett threw a woman called Gilly across the room, because she refused to go to Gilmour's house.
Personal life
According to his sister, Rosemary, Barrett took up photography and sometimes they went to the seaside together. She also said he took a keen interest in art and horticulture and continued to devote himself to painting:
Barrett had relationships with various women, such as Libby Gausden; Lindsay Korner; Jenny Spires; and Pakistani-born Evelyn "Iggy" Rose (1947–2017) (aka "Iggy the Eskimo", "Iggy the Inuit"), who appeared on the back cover of The Madcap Laughs. He never married or had children, though he was briefly engaged to marry Gayla Pinion and planned to relocate to Oxford.
Discography
Solo albums
The Madcap Laughs (1970)
Barrett (1970)
with Pink Floyd
The Piper at the Gates of Dawn (1967)
A Saucerful of Secrets (1968)
1965: Their First Recordings (2015)
The Early Years 1965–1972 (2016)
Filmography
Syd Barrett's First Trip (1966) directed by Nigel Lesmoir-Gordon
London '66–'67 (1967)
Tonite Lets All Make Love in London (1967)
The Pink Floyd and Syd Barrett Story (2003)
See also
List of songs recorded by Syd Barrett
List of songs about or referencing Syd Barrett
References
Informational notes
Citations
Bibliography
External links
The Official Syd Barrett Website
The Syd Barrett Archives
Syd Barrett Pink Floyd blog
The Holy Church of Iggy the Inuit blog
1946 births
2006 deaths
20th-century English composers
20th-century English painters
20th-century English male singers
21st-century English painters
Alumni of Anglia Ruskin University
Alumni of Camberwell College of Arts
Blues rock musicians
Capitol Records artists
Deaths from cancer in England
Deaths from pancreatic cancer
EMI Records artists
English experimental musicians
English male painters
English rock guitarists
English rock singers
English male singer-songwriters
Experimental composers
Experimental guitarists
Harvest Records artists
Lead guitarists
Musicians from Cambridgeshire
Outsider musicians
People from Cambridge
People with schizophrenia
Pink Floyd members
Protopunk musicians
Psychedelic drug advocates
Psychedelic folk musicians
Psychedelic rock musicians
Rhythm guitarists
Slide guitarists
English male guitarists
20th-century British guitarists | true | [
"P.C.T is a London-based independent recording artist/producer who produces Hip-Hop/Rap music (with Electronic influences). \"P\" has released singles, freestyles, an EP and performed around Greater London.\n\nHistory\n\nEarly life\nGrowing up in London, UK, P.C.T first did music as a hobby at school through recorder and guitar lessons (before writing his own songs). After getting more into football, 'P' got back into music before it grew into a genuine passion.\n\nFormation\nAfter noticing a lack of originality in the industry, P began to produce and perform new songs. After building his music industry knowledge through part-time work as a roadie/A&R for a popular DJ, P continued to improve as a producer before studying music/film/business, after which he established his own independent record label.\n\nDMR Era\nP's first \"freestyle\"/unofficial promotional single, \"You Know What To Do\", was played by DJs on numerous underground radio stations during Winter 2004. His second unofficial promo single, \"D.M.B.G.S\" (a collaboration with local producer Poppa Sprinkle), was played by various DJs on both underground and commercial radio stations (including DJ 279 and Phoebe One on Choice FM, Dan Greenpeace on XFM and others). The track was also played at nightclubs in Leicester Square / London during Summer 2005.\n\nP's third promo single, \"Block To The Bar\", a collaboration with local producers Dnyce and Strategy, was played by DJs on various underground stations from Spring 2006 onwards.\n\nP's fourth promo single, \"Life Is A Gift\" (a collaboration with Liverpool-based artists Defiance, Young Kof and Pyro), was played on stations such as BBC Radio 1Xtra and numerous underground ones after its release as a free download in Summer 2006.\n\nP's first official single, \"Here We Go (Finally)\", was released in Spring 2007 and its promotional music video aired on Sky TV channels such as Channel U and BEN Television.\n\nP's second single, \"Keep It Gully (V.2)\", released in Spring 2008, was played on commercial stations by DJs such as Huw Stephens on BBC Radio 1 (it was also played by other DJs on various underground ones).\n\nP's third single, the Summer 2008 release \"Shooting Star\", was played on stations such as BBC Radio 1Xtra and various underground ones.\n\nP's fourth single, \"Drift Away\", was given a limited release from Summer 2010 (a month after The Digital Lyrical Miracle EP that it appeared on) until 14 October 2015 (because of an ongoing legal action to have it removed from sale by German digital distributor 'Dance All Day GmbH', who breached its contract with DMR)...\n\nP's fifth single, \"Bubbles Go Bang\", released in Winter 2011, was broadcast on commercial stations such as Kiss and its video aired on TV channels such as The Box UK and Virgin TV.\n\nP's sixth single, \"My Desire\", released in Spring 2012, was aired on commercial stations such as Kiss and its video also aired on channels such as Kiss TV.\n\nP has appeared in publications such as RWD (2010), Touch Magazine (2007), What's Poppin''' (2006), Invincible Magazine (2006) and StreetCred'' Magazine. However, having been on a hiatus from music production since 2012, he is currently working on an EP and tour set for release/commencement in 2021.\n\nMusical Style\nP's music has an eclectic taste-inspired futuristic-yet-relateable sound, via its electronic elements and the experimental , humour-tinged lyrical style that underpins it. Its themes include life, the world, people etc.\n\nDiscography\n\nEPs\n\nSingles\n\nCovers/Freestyles\n\"You Know What To Do\", backing music originally \"Drop It Like It's Hot\" by Snoop Dogg featuring Pharrell.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\nOfficial Website\nBBC Radio 1 Huw Stephens Show Tracklisting\nSBTV \"My Desire\" Video Post\n\nUnderground rappers\nBritish record producers\nBritish songwriters\nBlack British male rappers\nLiving people\nYear of birth missing (living people)",
"Michael William Tuke Brown, (born 14 April 1964) was the Commissioner of Transport for London. He was appointed in September 2015 by then mayor Boris Johnson.\n\nFollowing the November 2016 Croydon tram derailment, he was one of two top Transport for London (TfL) officials to decline a performance bonus.\n\nCareer\nBrown started work for London Underground in 1989, rising to become its Chief Operating Officer in 2003. From 2008 to 2010 he moved to be Managing Director of Heathrow Airport. In 2010, he was appointed Managing Director of London Underground and London Rail. On 16 July 2015, he became Interim Commissioner of Transport for London after the departure of Sir Peter Hendy.\n\n, Brown is a board member of London and Partners, chair of the Strategic Transport Apprenticeship Taskforce, and chair of the National Skills Academy for Rail.\n\nIn October 2019, TfL announced that Brown would be leaving his role as Commissioner in May 2020 to chair the Delivery Authority for the restoration of the Houses of Parliament.\n\nHonours and awards\n\nBrown was appointed Member of the Royal Victorian Order (MVO) in the 2002 Birthday Honours \"for services to the Golden Jubilee\" for his work at TfL during what has been called \"one of the Underground’s greatest-ever organisational challenges\".\n\nIn 2016, he was awarded an honorary doctorate (LL.D.) by his alma mater, Queen's University Belfast, \"for distinction in public service\".\n\nReferences\n\nLiving people\nAlumni of Queen's University Belfast\nMembers of the Royal Victorian Order\nPeople associated with transport in London\nTransport for London\n1964 births"
] |
[
"Syd Barrett",
"London Underground, Blackhill Enterprises and gigs",
"What did he do in London Underground?",
"became the most popular musical group of the \"London Underground\" psychedelic music scene."
] | C_6d0e8aa901f54f6587b8dd457957ea6a_1 | How did they become the most popular musical group? | 2 | How did London Underground become the most popular musical group? | Syd Barrett | While Pink Floyd began by playing cover versions of American R&B songs, by 1966 they had carved out their own style of improvised rock and roll, which drew as much from improvised jazz. After Bob Klose departed from the band, the band's direction changed. However, the change was not instantaneous, with more improvising on the guitars and keyboards. Mason reflected, "It always felt to me that most of the ideas were emanating from Syd at the time." At this time, Barrett's reading reputedly included: Grimm's Fairy Tales, Tolkien's The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings, Carlos Castaneda's The Teachings of Don Juan, and The I-Ching. During this period, Barrett wrote most of the songs for Pink Floyd's first album, and also songs that would later appear on his solo albums. In 1966, a new rock concert venue, the UFO (pronounced as "you-foe"), opened in London and quickly became a haven for British psychedelic music. Pink Floyd, the house band, was its most popular attraction and after making appearances at the rival Roundhouse, became the most popular musical group of the "London Underground" psychedelic music scene. By the end of 1966, Pink Floyd had gained a reliable management team in Andrew King and Peter Jenner. Towards the end of October 1966, Pink Floyd, with King and Jenner, set up Blackhill Enterprises, to manage the group's finances. Blackhill was staffed by lodgers Jenner found in his Edbrooke Road house, and among others, Barrett's flatmate, Peter Wynne Wilson (who became road manager, however, since he had more experience in lighting, he was also lighting assistant). King and Jenner wanted to prepare some demo recordings for a possible record deal, so at the end of October, they booked a session at Thompson Private Recording Studio, in Hemel Hempstead. King said of the demos: "That was the first time I realised they were going to write all their own material, Syd just turned into a songwriter, it seemed like overnight." King and Jenner befriended American expatriate Joe Boyd, the promoter of the UFO Club, who was making a name for himself as one of the more important entrepreneurs on the British music scene. The newly hired booking agent, Bryan Morrison, and Boyd had proposed sending in better quality recordings. From Morrison's agency the band played a gig outside London for the first time. In November, the band performed the first (of many) strangely named concerts: Philadelic Music for Simian Hominids, a multimedia event arranged by the group's former landlord, Mike Leonard, at Hornsey College of Art. They performed at the Free School for the following two weeks, before performing at the Psychodelphia Versus Ian Smith event at the Roundhouse in December, arranged by the Majority Rule for Rhodesia Campaign, and an Oxfam benefit at the Albert Hall (the band's biggest venue up to this point). CANNOTANSWER | In 1966, a new rock concert venue, the UFO (pronounced as "you-foe"), opened in London and quickly became a haven for British psychedelic music. | Roger Keith "Syd" Barrett (6 January 1946 – 7 July 2006) was an English singer, songwriter, and musician who co-founded the rock band Pink Floyd in 1965. Barrett was their original frontman and primary songwriter, becoming known for his whimsical psychedelia, English-accented singing, literary influences, and stream-of-consciousness writing style. As a guitarist, he was influential for his free-form playing and for employing dissonance, distortion, echo, feedback, and other studio effects.
Originally trained as a painter, Barrett was musically active for less than ten years. With Pink Floyd, he recorded four singles, their debut album The Piper at the Gates of Dawn (1967), portions of their second album A Saucerful of Secrets (1968), and several unreleased songs. In April 1968, Barrett was ousted from the band amid speculation of mental illness and his excessive use of psychedelic drugs. He began a brief solo career in 1969 with the single "Octopus" and followed with the albums The Madcap Laughs (1970) and Barrett (1970), recorded with the aid of several members of Pink Floyd.
In 1972, Barrett left the music industry, retired from public life and strictly guarded his privacy until his death. He continued painting and dedicated himself to gardening. Pink Floyd recorded several tributes and homages to him, including the 1975 song suite "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" and the 1979 rock opera The Wall. In 1988, EMI released an album of unreleased tracks and outtakes, Opel, with Barrett's approval. In 1996, Barrett was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Pink Floyd. He died of pancreatic cancer in 2006.
Life and career
Early years
Roger Keith Barrett was born on 6 January 1946 in Cambridge, Cambridgeshire to a middle-class family living at 60 Glisson Road. He was the fourth of five children. His father, Arthur Max Barrett, was a prominent pathologist and was said to be related to Elizabeth Garrett Anderson through Max's maternal grandmother Ellen Garrett. In 1951, his family moved to 183 Hills Road.
Barrett played piano occasionally but usually preferred writing and drawing. He bought a ukulele aged 10, a banjo at 11 and a Hofner acoustic guitar at 14. A year after he purchased his first acoustic guitar, he bought his first electric guitar and built his own amplifier. One story of how Barrett acquired the nickname "Syd" is that at the age of 14 he was named after an old local Cambridge jazz double bassist, Sid "The Beat" Barrett, which claims Syd Barrett changed the spelling to differentiate himself from his namesake.
Another account is that when he was 13, his schoolmates nicknamed him "Syd" after he showed up to a field day at Abington Scout site wearing a flat cap instead of his Scout beret because "Syd" was a "working-class" name. He used both names interchangeably for several years. His sister Rosemary said: "He was never Syd at home. He would never have allowed it." He was a Scout with the 7th Cambridge troop and went on to be a patrol leader.
At one point at Morley Memorial Junior School he was taught by the mother of future Pink Floyd bassist Roger Waters. Later, in 1957, he attended Cambridgeshire High School for Boys with Waters. His father died of cancer on 11 December 1961, less than a month before Barrett's 16th birthday. On this date, Barrett left the entry in his diary blank. By this time, his brothers and sisters had left home and his mother decided to rent out rooms to lodgers.
Eager to help her son recover from his grief, Barrett's mother encouraged the band in which he played, Geoff Mott and the Mottoes, a band which Barrett formed, to perform in their front room. Waters and Barrett were childhood friends, and Waters often visited such gigs. At one point, Waters organised a gig, a CND benefit at Friends Meeting House on 11 March 1962, but shortly afterwards Geoff Mott joined the Boston Crabs, and the Mottoes broke up.
In September 1962, Barrett had taken a place at the art department of the Cambridgeshire College of Arts and Technology, where he met David Gilmour. In late 1962 and early 1963, the Beatles made an impact on Barrett, and he began to play Beatles songs at parties and at picnics. In 1963, Barrett became a Rolling Stones fan and, with then-girlfriend Libby Gausden, saw them perform at a village hall in Cambridgeshire.
At this point, Barrett started writing songs; one friend recalls hearing "Effervescing Elephant" (later to be recorded on his solo album Barrett). Also around this time, Barrett and Gilmour occasionally played acoustic gigs together. Barrett had played bass guitar with Those Without in mid-1963 and bass and guitar with the Hollerin' Blues the next summer. In 1964, Barrett and Gausden saw Bob Dylan perform. After this performance, Barrett was inspired to write "Bob Dylan Blues". Barrett, now thinking about his future, decided to apply for Camberwell College of Arts in London. He enrolled in the college in the summer of 1964 to study painting.
Pink Floyd years (1965–1968)
Starting in 1964, the band that would become Pink Floyd evolved through various line-up and name changes including "The Abdabs", "The Screaming Abdabs", "Sigma 6", and "The Meggadeaths". In 1965, Barrett joined them as the Tea Set (sometimes spelled T-Set). When they found themselves playing a concert with another band of the same name, Barrett came up with "The Pink Floyd Sound" (also known as "The Pink Floyd Blues Band", later "The Pink Floyd"). During 1965, they went into a studio for the first time, when a friend of Richard Wright's gave the band free time to record.
During this summer Barrett had his first LSD trip in the garden of friend Dave Gale, with Ian Moore and Storm Thorgerson. During one trip, Barrett and another friend, Paul Charrier, ended up naked in the bath, reciting: "No rules, no rules". That summer, as a result of the continued drug use, the band became absorbed in Sant Mat, a Sikh sect. Storm Thorgerson (then living on Earlham Street) and Barrett went to a London hotel to meet the sect's guru; Thorgerson managed to join the sect; Barrett, however, was deemed too young to join. Thorgerson sees this as a deeply important event in Barrett's life, as he was extremely upset by the rejection. While living near his friends, Barrett decided to write more songs ("Bike" was written around this time).
London Underground, Blackhill Enterprises and gigs
While Pink Floyd began by playing cover versions of American R&B songs, by 1966 they had carved out their own style of improvised rock and roll, which drew as much from improvised jazz. After Bob Klose departed from the band, the band's direction changed. However, the change was not instantaneous, with more improvising on the guitars and keyboards. Drummer Nick Mason reflected, "It always felt to me that most of the ideas were emanating from Syd at the time."
At this time, Barrett's reading reputedly included Grimm's Fairy Tales, Tolkien's The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings, and The I-Ching. During this period, Barrett wrote most of the songs for Pink Floyd's first album, and also songs that would later appear on his solo albums. In 1966, a new rock concert venue, the UFO (pronounced as "you-foe"), opened in London and quickly became a haven for British psychedelic music. Pink Floyd, the house band, was its most popular attraction and after making appearances at the rival Roundhouse, became the most popular musical group of the "London Underground" psychedelic music scene.
By the end of 1966, Pink Floyd had gained a reliable management team in Andrew King and Peter Jenner. Towards the end of October 1966, Pink Floyd, with King and Jenner, set up Blackhill Enterprises, to manage the group's finances. Blackhill was staffed by lodgers Jenner found in his Edbrooke Road house, and among others, Barrett's flatmate, Peter Wynne Wilson (who became road manager, however, since he had more experience in lighting, he was also lighting assistant). King and Jenner wanted to prepare some demo recordings for a possible record deal, so at the end of October, they booked a session at Thompson Private Recording Studio, in Hemel Hempstead. King said of the demos: "That was the first time I realised they were going to write all their own material, Syd just turned into a songwriter, it seemed like overnight."
King and Jenner befriended American expatriate Joe Boyd, the promoter of the UFO Club, who was making a name for himself as one of the more important entrepreneurs on the British music scene. The newly hired booking agent, Bryan Morrison, and Boyd had proposed sending in better quality recordings. From Morrison's agency the band played a gig outside London for the first time. In November, the band performed the first (of many) strangely named concerts: Philadelic Music for Simian Hominids, a multimedia event arranged by the group's former landlord, Mike Leonard, at Hornsey College of Art. They performed at the Free School for the following two weeks, before performing at the Psychodelphia Versus Ian Smith event at the Roundhouse in December, arranged by the Majority Rule for Rhodesia Campaign, and an Oxfam benefit at the Albert Hall (the band's biggest venue up to this point).
Tonite Lets All Make Love in London
At the beginning of 1967, Barrett was dating Jenny Spires (who would later marry future Stars member Jack Monck). However, unknown to Barrett, Spires had an affair with Peter Whitehead. Spires convinced Whitehead (who thought the band sounded like "bad Schoenberg") to use Pink Floyd in a film about the swinging London scene. So at the cost of £80 (), in January, Whitehead took the band into John Wood's Sound Techniques in Chelsea, with promoter Joe Boyd in tow. Here, the band recorded a 16-minute version of "Interstellar Overdrive" and another composition, "Nick's Boogie". Whitehead had filmed this recording, which was used in the film Tonite Lets All Make Love in London and later on the video release of London '66–'67. Whitehead later commented about the band that: "They were just completely welded together, just like a jazz group".
The Piper at the Gates of Dawn
Boyd attempted to sign the band with Polydor Records. However, Morrison had convinced King and Jenner to try to start a bidding war between Polydor and EMI. In late January, Boyd produced a recording session for the group, with them returning to Sound Techniques in Chelsea again. After the bidding war idea was finished, Pink Floyd signed with EMI. Unusual for the time, the deal included recording an album, which meant the band had unlimited studio time at EMI Studios in return for a smaller royalty percentage. The band then attempted to re-record "Arnold Layne", but the Boyd version from January was released instead.
The band's first studio album, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, was recorded intermittently between February and July 1967 in Studio 3 at Abbey Road Studios, and produced by former Beatles engineer Norman Smith. By the time the album was released on 4 August, "Arnold Layne" (which was released months earlier, on 11 March) had reached number 20 on the British singles charts, despite being banned by Radio London, and the follow-up single, "See Emily Play", had peaked at number 5. The album was successful in the UK, hitting number 6 on the British album charts. Their first three singles (including their third, "Apples and Oranges"), were written by Barrett, who also was the principal visionary/author of their critically acclaimed 1967 debut album. Of the eleven songs on Piper, Barrett wrote eight and co-wrote another two.
Health problems
Through late 1967 and early 1968, Barrett became increasingly erratic, partly as a consequence of his reported heavy use of psychedelic drugs such as LSD. There is also speculation that he suffered from schizophrenia. Once described as joyful, friendly, and extroverted, he became increasingly depressed and withdrawn, and experienced hallucinations, disorganised speech, memory lapses, intense mood swings, and periods of catatonia. Although the changes began gradually, he went missing for a long weekend and, according to several friends, including Wright, came back "a completely different person".
One of the striking features of his change was the development of a blank, dead-eyed stare. Barrett did not recognise friends, and often did not know where he was; on a tour of Los Angeles, Barrett is said to have exclaimed, "Gee, it sure is nice to be in Las Vegas!" Many reports described him on stage, strumming one chord through the entire concert, or not playing at all. At a show in Santa Monica, Barrett slowly detuned his guitar.
Interviewed on Pat Boone's show during the tour, Barrett replied with a "blank and totally mute stare"; according to Mason, "Syd wasn't into moving his lips that day." Barrett exhibited similar behaviour during the band's first appearance on Dick Clark's television show American Bandstand. Surviving footage of this appearance shows Barrett miming his parts competently; however, during a group interview afterwards, Barrett gave terse answers. During this time, Barrett would often forget to bring his guitar to sessions, damage equipment and was occasionally unable to hold his plectrum. Before a performance in late 1967, Barrett reportedly crushed Mandrax tranquilliser tablets and a tube of Brylcreem into his hair, which melted down his face under the heat of the stage lighting, making him look like "a guttered candle". Mason disputed the Mandrax portion of this story, stating that "Syd would never waste good mandies".
Departure from Pink Floyd
During Pink Floyd's UK tour with Jimi Hendrix in November 1967, guitarist David O'List from the Nice substituted for Barrett on several occasions when he was unable to perform or failed to appear. Around Christmas, Pink Floyd asked Barrett's schoolfriend David Gilmour to join as a second guitarist to cover for Barrett. For a handful of shows, Gilmour played and sang while Barrett wandered around on stage, occasionally joining the performance. The other band members grew tired of Barrett's antics and, on 26 January 1968, when Waters was driving on the way to a show at Southampton University, they elected not to pick Barrett up. One person in the car said, "Shall we pick Syd up?" and another said, "Let's not bother." As Barrett had written the bulk of the band's material, the plan was to retain him as a non-touring member, as the Beach Boys had done with Brian Wilson, but this proved impractical.
According to Waters, Barrett came to what was to be their last practice session with a new song he had dubbed "Have You Got It Yet?". The song seemed simple when he first presented it, but it soon became impossibly difficult to learn; the band eventually realised that Barrett was changing the arrangement as they played, and that Barrett was playing a joke on them. Waters called it "a real act of mad genius".
Of the songs Barrett wrote for Pink Floyd after The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, only "Jugband Blues" was included on their album, A Saucerful of Secrets (1968). "Apples and Oranges" became an unsuccessful single, and "Scream Thy Last Scream" and "Vegetable Man", remained unreleased until 2016 in The Early Years 1965–1972 box set, as they were deemed too dark and unsettling. Barrett played guitar on the Saucerful of Secrets tracks "Remember a Day" and "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun".
Feeling guilty, the members of Pink Floyd were unable to bring themselves to definitively tell Barrett that he was no longer in the band. According to Wright, who lived with Barrett at the time, he told Barrett he was going out to buy cigarettes when leaving to play a show. He would return hours later to find Barrett in the same position, sometimes with a cigarette burned completely down between his fingers (an incident later referenced in Pink Floyd's concert film The Wall). Emerging from catatonia and unaware that a long period of time had elapsed, Barrett would ask, "Have you got the cigarettes?".
Barrett supposedly spent time outside the recording studio, in the reception area, waiting to be invited in. He also came to a few performances and glared at Gilmour. On 6 April 1968, Pink Floyd officially announced that Barrett was no longer a member, the same day their contract with Blackhill Enterprises was terminated. Considering him as the band's musical leader, Blackhill Enterprises retained Barrett.
Solo years (1968–1972)
After leaving Pink Floyd, Barrett was out of the public eye for a year. In 1969, at the behest of EMI and Harvest Records, he embarked on a brief solo career, releasing two solo albums, The Madcap Laughs and Barrett (both 1970), and a single, "Octopus". Some songs, "Terrapin", "Maisie" and "Bob Dylan Blues", reflected Barrett's early interest in the blues.
The Madcap Laughs
After Barrett left Pink Floyd, Jenner followed suit. He led Barrett into EMI Studios to record some tracks in May that would later be released on Barrett's first solo album, The Madcap Laughs. However, Jenner said: "I had seriously underestimated the difficulties of working with him". By the sessions of June and July, most of the tracks were in better shape; however, shortly after the July sessions, Barrett broke up with girlfriend Lindsay Corner and went on a drive around Britain in his Mini, ending up in psychiatric care in Cambridge. During New Year 1969, a somewhat recovered Barrett had taken up tenancy in a flat on Egerton Gardens, South Kensington, London, with the postmodernist artist Duggie Fields. Here, Barrett's flat was so close to Gilmour's that Gilmour could look right into Barrett's kitchen. Deciding to return to music, Barrett contacted EMI and was passed to Malcolm Jones, the then-head of EMI's new prog rock label, Harvest (after Norman Smith and Jenner declined to produce Barrett's record, Jones produced it). Barrett wanted to recover the Jenner-produced sessions recordings; several of the tracks were improved upon.
The Jones-produced sessions started in April 1969 at EMI Studios. After the first of these sessions, Barrett brought in friends to help out: Humble Pie drummer Jerry Shirley, and Jokers Wild (Gilmour's old band) drummer Willie Wilson. For the sessions, Gilmour played bass. Talking to Barrett wasn't easy, said Jones: "It was a case of following him, not playing with him. They were seeing and then playing so they were always a note behind". A few tracks on the album feature overdubs by members of the band Soft Machine. During this time, Barrett also played guitar on the sessions for Soft Machine founder Kevin Ayers' debut LP Joy of a Toy, although his performance on "Religious Experience" (later titled "Singing a Song in the Morning") was not released until the album was reissued in 2003. One time, Barrett had told his flatmate that he was going off "for an afternoon drive". However, he followed Pink Floyd to Ibiza (according to legend, he skipped check-ins and customs, ran onto the runway and attempted to flag down a jet). One of his friends, J. Ryan Eaves, bass player for the short-lived but influential Manchester band York's Ensemble, later spotted him on a beach wearing messed-up clothes and with a carrier bag full of money. By this point, during the trip, Barrett had asked Gilmour for his help in the recording sessions.
After two of the Gilmour/Waters-produced sessions, they remade one track from the Soft Machine overdubs and recorded three tracks. These sessions came to a minor halt when Gilmour and Waters were mixing Pink Floyd's newly recorded album, Ummagumma, to Barrett's dismay. However, through the end of July, they managed to record three more tracks. The problem with the recording was that the songs were recorded as Barrett played them "live" in studio. On the released versions a number of them have false starts and commentaries from Barrett. Despite the track being closer to complete and better produced, Gilmour and Waters left the Jones-produced track "Opel" off Madcap.
Gilmour later said of the sessions for The Madcap Laughs:
Upon the album's release in January 1970, Malcolm Jones was shocked by the substandard musicianship on the Gilmour and Waters-produced songs: "I felt angry. It's like dirty linen in public and very unnecessary and unkind." Gilmour said: "Perhaps we were trying to show what Syd was really like. But perhaps we were trying to punish him." Waters was more positive: "Syd is a genius."
Barrett said "It's quite nice but I'd be very surprised if it did anything if I were to drop dead. I don't think it would stand as my last statement."
Evelyn "Iggy the Eskimo" Rose (1947–2017) appeared nude on the back of the album's inner sleeve.
Barrett
The second album, Barrett, was recorded more sporadically than the first, with sessions taking place between February and July 1970. The album was produced by David Gilmour, and featured Gilmour on bass guitar, Richard Wright on keyboard and Humble Pie drummer Jerry Shirley. The first two songs attempted were for Barrett to play and/or sing to an existing backing track. However, Gilmour thought they were losing the "Barrett-ness". One track ("Rats") was originally recorded with Barrett on his own. That would later be overdubbed by musicians, despite the changing tempos. Shirley said of Barrett's playing: "He would never play the same tune twice. Sometimes Syd couldn't play anything that made sense; other times what he'd play was absolute magic." At times Barrett, who experienced synaesthesia, would say: "Perhaps we could make the middle darker and maybe the end a bit middle afternoonish. At the moment it's too windy and icy".
These sessions were happening while Pink Floyd had just begun to work on Atom Heart Mother. On various occasions, Barrett went to "spy" on the band as they recorded their album.
Wright said of the Barrett sessions:
Performances
Despite the numerous recording dates for his solo albums, Barrett undertook very little musical activity between 1968 and 1972 outside the studio. On 24 February 1970, he appeared on John Peel's BBC radio programme Top Gear playing five songs—only one of which had been previously released. Three would be re-recorded for the Barrett album, while the song "Two of a Kind" was a one-off performance (possibly written by Richard Wright). Barrett was accompanied on this session by Gilmour and Shirley who played bass and percussion, respectively.
Gilmour and Shirley also backed Barrett for his one and only live concert during this period. The gig took place on 6 June 1970 at the Olympia Exhibition Hall as part of a Music and Fashion Festival. The trio performed four songs, "Terrapin", "Gigolo Aunt", "Effervescing Elephant" and "Octopus". Poor mixing left the vocals barely audible until part-way through the last number. At the end of the fourth song, Barrett unexpectedly but politely put down his guitar and walked off the stage. The performance has been bootlegged. Barrett made one last appearance on BBC Radio, recording three songs at their studios on 16 February 1971. All three came from the Barrett album. After this session, he took a hiatus from his music career that lasted more than a year, although in an extensive interview with Mick Rock and Rolling Stone in December, he discussed himself at length, showed off his new 12-string guitar, talked about touring with Jimi Hendrix and stated that he was frustrated in terms of his musical work because of his inability to find anyone good to play with.
Later years (1972–2006)
Stars and final recordings
In February 1972, after a few guest spots in Cambridge with ex-Pink Fairies member Twink on drums and Jack Monck on bass using the name The Last Minute Put Together Boogie Band (backing visiting blues musician Eddie "Guitar" Burns and also featuring Henry Cow guitarist Fred Frith), the trio formed a short-lived band called Stars. Though they were initially well received at gigs in the Dandelion coffee bar and the town's Market Square, one of their gigs at the Corn Exchange in Cambridge with MC5 proved to be disastrous. A few days after this final show, Twink recalled that Barrett stopped him on the street, showed him a scathing review of the gig they had played, and quit on the spot, despite having played at least one subsequent gig at the same venue supporting Nektar.
Free from his EMI contract on 9 May 1972, Barrett signed a document that ended his association with Pink Floyd, and any financial interest in future recordings. He attended an informal jazz and poetry performance by Pete Brown and former Cream bassist Jack Bruce in October 1973. Brown arrived at the show late, and saw that Bruce was already onstage, along with "a guitarist I vaguely recognised", playing the Horace Silver tune "Doodlin'". Later in the show, Brown read out a poem, which he dedicated to Syd, because, "he's here in Cambridge, and he's one of the best songwriters in the country" when, to his surprise, the guitar player from earlier in the show stood up and said, "No I'm not". By the end of 1973, Barrett had returned to live in London, staying at various hotels and, in December of that year, settling in at Chelsea Cloisters. He had little contact with others, apart from his regular visits to his management's offices to collect his royalties, and the occasional visit from his sister Rosemary.
In August 1974, Jenner persuaded Barrett to return to Abbey Road Studios in hope of recording another album. According to John Leckie, who engineered these sessions, even at this point Syd still "looked like he did when he was younger ... long haired". The sessions lasted three days and consisted of blues rhythm tracks with tentative and disjointed guitar overdubs. Barrett recorded eleven tracks, the only one of which to be titled was "If You Go, Don't Be Slow". Once again, Barrett withdrew from the music industry, but this time for good. He sold the rights to his solo albums back to the record label and moved into a London hotel. During this period, several attempts to employ him as a record producer (including one by Jamie Reid on behalf of the Sex Pistols, and another by the Damned, who wanted him to produce their second album) were fruitless.
Wish You Were Here sessions
Barrett visited the members of Pink Floyd in 1975 during the recording sessions for their ninth album, Wish You Were Here. He attended the Abbey Road session unannounced, and watched the band working on the final mix of "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" — a song about him. By that time, Barrett, then 29, had become overweight and had shaved off all of his hair (including his eyebrows), and his former bandmates did not initially recognise him. Barrett spent part of the session brushing his teeth. Waters asked him what he thought of the song and he said that it "sounds a bit old". He is reported to have briefly attended the reception for Gilmour's wedding to Ginger that immediately followed the recording sessions, but Gilmour said he had no recollection of this.
A few years later, Waters saw Barrett in the department store Harrods; Barrett ran outside, dropping his bags. It was the last time any member of Pink Floyd saw him.
Withdrawal to Cambridge
In 1978, when Barrett's money ran out, he moved back to Cambridge to live with his mother. He returned to live in London for a few weeks in 1982, but soon returned to Cambridge permanently. Barrett walked the from London to Cambridge. Until his death, he received royalties from his work with Pink Floyd; Gilmour said, "I made sure the money got to him." In 1996, Barrett was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Pink Floyd. He did not attend the ceremony.
According to biographer and journalist Tim Willis, Barrett, who had reverted to using his original name Roger, continued to live in his late mother's semi-detached home, and had returned to painting, creating large abstract canvases. He was also said to have been an avid gardener. His main point of contact with the outside world was his sister, Rosemary, who lived nearby. He was reclusive, and his physical health declined, as he suffered from stomach ulcers and type 2 diabetes.
Although Barrett had not appeared or spoken in public since the mid-1970s, reporters and fans travelled to Cambridge seeking him, despite public appeals from his family. Apparently, Barrett did not like being reminded about his musical career and the other members of Pink Floyd had no direct contact with him. However, he did visit his sister's house in November 2001 to watch the BBC Omnibus documentary made about him; reportedly he found some of it "a bit noisy", enjoyed seeing Mike Leonard again, calling him his "teacher", and enjoyed hearing "See Emily Play".
Barrett made a final public acknowledgement of his musical past in 2002, his first since the 1970s, when he autographed 320 copies of photographer Mick Rock's book Psychedelic Renegades, which contained a number of photos of Barrett. Rock was perhaps the last person in the music industry with whom Barrett kept in contact. In 1971, Rock conducted Barrett's final interview before his retirement from the music industry. Barrett visited Rock in London several times for tea and conversation in 1978. They had not spoken in more than 20 years when Rock approached Barrett to autograph his photography book, and Barrett uncharacteristically agreed. Having reverted to his birth name, he autographed the book "Barrett".
Death and aftermath
Barrett died at home in Cambridge on 7 July 2006 aged 60, from pancreatic cancer. He was cremated. In 2006, his home in St. Margaret's Square, Cambridge, was put on the market and reportedly attracted considerable interest. After over 100 showings, many to fans, it was sold to a French couple who reportedly knew nothing about Barrett. On 28 November 2006, Barrett's other possessions were sold at an auction at Cheffins auction house in Cambridge, raising £120,000 for charity. Items sold included paintings, scrapbooks and everyday items that Barrett had decorated. NME produced a tribute issue to Barrett a week later with a photo of him on the cover. In an interview with The Sunday Times, Barrett's sister said that he had written an unpublished book about the history of art.
In response to the news of Barrett's death, Gilmour said:
According to local newspapers, Barrett left approximately £1.7 million to his two brothers and two sisters. This sum was apparently largely acquired from royalties from Pink Floyd compilations and live recordings featuring songs he had written while with the band. A tribute concert called "Madcap's Last Laugh" was held at the Barbican Centre, London, on 10 May 2007 with Robyn Hitchcock, Captain Sensible, Damon Albarn, Chrissie Hynde, Kevin Ayers and his Pink Floyd bandmates performing. A series of events called The City Wakes was held in Cambridge in October 2008 to celebrate Barrett's life, art, and music. Barrett's sister, Rosemary Breen, supported this, the first series of official events in memory of her brother. After the festival's success, arts charity Escape Artists announced plans to create a centre in Cambridge, using art to help people suffering from mental health problems. A memorial bench has been placed in the Botanic Gardens in Cambridge and a more prominent tribute is planned in the city.
Legacy
Compilations
In 1988, EMI Records (after constant pressure from Malcolm Jones) released an album of Barrett's studio out-takes and previously unreleased material recorded from 1968 to 1970 under the title Opel. The disc was originally set to include the unreleased Barrett Pink Floyd songs "Scream Thy Last Scream" and "Vegetable Man", which had been remixed for the album by Jones, but the band pulled the two songs before Opel was finalised. In 1993 EMI issued another release, Crazy Diamond, a boxed set of all three albums, each with further out-takes from his solo sessions that illustrated Barrett's inability or refusal to play a song the same way twice. EMI also released The Best of Syd Barrett: Wouldn't You Miss Me? in the UK on 16 April 2001 and in the US on 11 September 2001. This was the first time his song "Bob Dylan Blues" was officially released, taken from a demo tape that Gilmour had kept after an early 1970s session. Gilmour kept the tape, which also contains the unreleased "Living Alone" from the Barrett sessions. In October 2010 Harvest/EMI and Capitol Records released An Introduction to Syd Barrett—a collection of both his Pink Floyd and remastered solo work. The 2010 compilation An Introduction to Syd Barrett includes the downloadable bonus track "Rhamadan", a 20-minute track recorded at one of Syd's earliest solo sessions, in May 1968. In 2011, it was announced that a vinyl double album version would be issued for Record Store Day.
Bootleg editions of Barrett's live and solo material exist. For years the "off air" recordings of the BBC sessions with Barrett's Pink Floyd circulated, until an engineer who had taken a tape of the early Pink Floyd gave it back to the BBC—which played it during a tribute to John Peel on their website. During this tribute, the first Peel programme (Top Gear) was aired in its entirety. This show featured the 1967 live versions of "Flaming", "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun", and a brief 90-second snippet of the instrumental "Reaction in G". In 2012, engineer Andy Jackson said he had found "a huge box of assorted tapes", in Mason's possession, containing versions of R&B songs that (the Barrett-era) Pink Floyd played in their early years.
Creative impact
Barrett wrote most of Pink Floyd's early material. According to critic Steven Hyden, even after Barrett left the band, Barrett's spirit "haunted" their records, and their most popular work "drew on the power of what Barrett signified".
Barrett was an innovative guitarist, using extended techniques and exploring the musical and sonic possibilities of dissonance, distortion, feedback, the echo machine, tapes and other effects; his experimentation was partly inspired by free improvisation guitarist Keith Rowe of the group AMM, active at the time in London. One of Barrett's trademarks was playing his guitar through an old echo box while sliding a Zippo lighter up and down the fret-board to create the mysterious, otherworldly sounds that became associated with the group. Barrett was known to have used Binson delay units to achieve his trademark echo sounds. Daevid Allen, founder member of Soft Machine and Gong, cited Barrett's use of slide guitar with echo as a key inspiration for his own "glissando guitar" style.
Barrett's recordings both with Pink Floyd and in later solo albums were delivered with a strongly British-accented vocal delivery, specifically that of southern England. He was described by Guardian writer Nick Kent as having a "quintessential English style of vocal projection". David Bowie said that Barrett, along with Anthony Newley, was the first person he had heard sing rock or pop music with a British accent.
Barrett's free-form sequences of "sonic carpets" pioneered a new way to play the rock guitar. He played several different guitars during his tenure, including an old Harmony hollowbody electric, a Harmony acoustic, a Fender acoustic, a single-coil Danelectro 59 DC, several different Fender Telecasters and a white Fender Stratocaster in late 1967. A silver Fender Esquire with mirrored discs glued to the body was the guitar he was most often associated with and the guitar he "felt most close to". The mirrored Esquire was traded for a black Telecaster Custom, in 1968. Its whereabouts are currently unknown.
Influence
Many artists have acknowledged Barrett's influence on their work. Paul McCartney, Pete Townshend, Blur, Kevin Ayers, Gong, Marc Bolan, Tangerine Dream, Genesis P-Orridge, Julian Cope, Pere Ubu, Jeff Mangum, The Olivia Tremor Control, The Flaming Lips, Animal Collective, John Maus, Paul Weller, Roger Miller, East Bay Ray, Cedric Bixler-Zavala, and David Bowie were inspired by Barrett; Jimmy Page, Brian Eno, Sex Pistols, and The Damned all expressed interest in working with him at some point during the 1970s. Bowie recorded a cover of "See Emily Play" on his 1973 album Pin Ups. The track "Grass", from XTC's album Skylarking was influenced when Andy Partridge let fellow band member Colin Moulding borrow his Barrett records. Robyn Hitchcock's career was dedicated to being Barrett-esque; he even played "Dominoes" for the 2001 BBC documentary The Pink Floyd and Syd Barrett Story.
Barrett also had an influence on alternative and punk music in general. According to critic John Harris:
To understand his place in modern music you probably have to first go back to punk rock and its misguided attempt to kick aside what remained of the psychedelic 1960s. Given that the Clash and Sex Pistols had made brutal social commentary obligatory, there seemed little room for any of the creative exotica that had defined the Love Decade – until, slowly but surely, singing about dead-end lives and dole queues began to pall, and at least some of the previous generation were rehabilitated. Barrett was the best example: having crashed out of Pink Floyd before the advent of indulgent "progressive" rock, and succumbed to a fate that appealed to the punk generation's nihilism, he underwent a revival.
Barrett's decline had a profound effect on Waters' songwriting, and the theme of mental illness permeated the later Pink Floyd albums The Dark Side of the Moon (1973), Wish You Were Here (1975) and The Wall (1979). The reference to a "steel rail" in the song "Wish You Were Here" – "can you tell a green field from a cold steel rail?" – references a recurring theme in Barrett's song "If It's In You" from The Madcap Laughs. The song suite "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" from Wish You Were Here is also a tribute to Barrett.
In 1987, an album of Barrett cover songs called Beyond the Wildwood was released. The album was a collection of cover songs from Barrett's tenure with Pink Floyd and from his solo career. Artists appearing were UK and US indie bands including The Shamen, Opal, The Soup Dragons, and Plasticland.
Other artists who have written tributes to Barrett include his contemporary Kevin Ayers, who wrote "O Wot a Dream" in his honour (Barrett provided guitar to an early version of Ayers' song "Religious Experience: Singing a Song in the Morning"). Robyn Hitchcock has covered many of his songs live and on record and paid homage to his forebear with the song "(Feels Like) 1974". Phish covered "Bike", "No Good Trying", "Love You", "Baby Lemonade" and "Terrapin". The Television Personalities' single "I Know Where Syd Barrett Lives" from their 1981 album And Don't the Kids Love It is another tribute. In 2008, The Trash Can Sinatras released a single in tribute to the life and work of Syd Barrett called "Oranges and Apples", from their 2009 album In the Music. Proceeds from the single go to the Syd Barrett Trust in support of arts in mental health.
Johnny Depp showed interest in a biographical film based on Barrett's life. Barrett is portrayed briefly in the opening scene of Tom Stoppard's play Rock 'n' Roll (2006), performing "Golden Hair". His life and music, including the disastrous Cambridge Corn Exchange concert and his later reclusive lifestyle, are a recurring motif in the work. Barrett died during the play's run in London.
In 2016, in correspondence with the 70th anniversary birthday, The Theatre of the Absurd, an Italian independent artists group, published a short movie in honour of Barrett named Eclipse, with actor-director Edgar Blake in the role of Barrett. Some footage from this movie was also shown at Syd Barrett – A Celebration during Men on the Border's tribute: the show took place at the Cambridge Corn Exchange, with the participation of Barrett's family and old friends.
For 2017 TV series Legion creator Noah Hawley named one of the characters after Barrett, whose music was an important influence on the series.
In The X-Files season nine episode, "Lord of the Flies" (2001), a powerful mutant, Dylan Lokensgard (Hank Harris), has several posters of Syd Barrett on his bedroom wall, and listens to "It's No Good Trying" and "Terrapin" from The Madcap Laughs.
He recites the line, "A dream in a mist of gray", from Barrett's song "Opel", saying of the singer, "He was, like, this brilliant guy that no-one understood".
Barrett's influence on the genesis of psychedelia was considered in a chapter entitled 'Astronauts of Inner Space: Syd Barrett, Nick Drake and the Birth of Psychedelia' in Guy Mankowski's book 'Albion's Secret History: Snapshots of England's Pop Rebels and Outsiders.'
Health
Members of Barrett's family denied that he had suffered from mental illness. Asked if Barrett may have had Asperger's syndrome, his sister Rosemary Breen said that he and his siblings were "all on the spectrum". She also stated that, contrary to common misconception, Barrett neither suffered from mental illness nor had he received treatment for it since they had resumed regular contact in the 1980s. Breen said he had spent some time in a private "home for lost souls"—Greenwoods in Essex—but that there was no formal therapy programme there. Some years later, Barrett agreed to sessions with a psychiatrist at Fulbourn psychiatric hospital in Cambridge, but Breen said that neither medication nor therapy was considered appropriate. Breen also denied Barrett was a recluse or that he was vague about his past: "Roger may have been a bit selfish—or rather self-absorbed—but when people called him a recluse they were really only projecting their own disappointment. He knew what they wanted, but he wasn't willing to give it to them." In 1996, Wright said that Barrett's mother told the members of Pink Floyd to not contact him because being reminded of the band would make him depressed for weeks.
In the 1960s, Barrett used psychedelic drugs, especially LSD, and there are theories he subsequently suffered from schizophrenia. Wright asserted that Barrett's problems stemmed from a massive overdose of acid, as the change in his personality and behaviour came on suddenly. However, Waters maintains that Barrett suffered "without a doubt" from schizophrenia. In an article published in 2006, Gilmour was quoted as saying: "In my opinion, his nervous breakdown would have happened anyway. It was a deep-rooted thing. But I'll say the psychedelic experience might well have acted as a catalyst. Still, I just don't think he could deal with the vision of success and all the things that went with it." According to Gilmour in a 1974 interview, the other members of Pink Floyd approached psychiatrist R. D. Laing with the "Barrett problem". After hearing a tape of a Barrett conversation, Laing declared him "incurable".
In Saucerful of Secrets: The Pink Floyd Odyssey, author Nicholas Schaffner interviewed people who knew Barrett before and during his Pink Floyd days, including friends Peter and Susan Wynne-Wilson, artist Duggie Fields (with whom Barrett shared a flat during the late 1960s), June Bolan, and Storm Thorgerson. Bolan became concerned when Syd "kept his girlfriend under lock and key for three days, occasionally shoving a ration of biscuits under the door". A claim of cruelty against Barrett committed by the groupies and hangers-on who frequented his apartment during this period was described by writer and critic Jonathan Meades. "I went [to Barrett's flat] to see Harry and there was this terrible noise. It sounded like heating pipes shaking. I said, 'What's up?' and he sort of giggled and said, 'That's Syd having a bad trip. We put him in the linen cupboard'". Storm Thorgerson responded to this claim by stating "I do not remember locking Syd up in a cupboard. It sounds to me like pure fantasy, like Jonathan Meades was on dope himself."
Other friends state that Barrett's flatmates, who had also taken LSD, thought of Barrett as a genius or a deity, and were spiking his morning coffee every day without his knowledge, leaving him in a never-ending trip. He was later rescued from that flat by friends and moved elsewhere, but his erratic behaviour continued. According to Thorgerson, "On one occasion, I had to pull him [Barrett] off [his girlfriend] Lindsay because he was beating her over the head with a mandolin". On one occasion, Barrett threw a woman called Gilly across the room, because she refused to go to Gilmour's house.
Personal life
According to his sister, Rosemary, Barrett took up photography and sometimes they went to the seaside together. She also said he took a keen interest in art and horticulture and continued to devote himself to painting:
Barrett had relationships with various women, such as Libby Gausden; Lindsay Korner; Jenny Spires; and Pakistani-born Evelyn "Iggy" Rose (1947–2017) (aka "Iggy the Eskimo", "Iggy the Inuit"), who appeared on the back cover of The Madcap Laughs. He never married or had children, though he was briefly engaged to marry Gayla Pinion and planned to relocate to Oxford.
Discography
Solo albums
The Madcap Laughs (1970)
Barrett (1970)
with Pink Floyd
The Piper at the Gates of Dawn (1967)
A Saucerful of Secrets (1968)
1965: Their First Recordings (2015)
The Early Years 1965–1972 (2016)
Filmography
Syd Barrett's First Trip (1966) directed by Nigel Lesmoir-Gordon
London '66–'67 (1967)
Tonite Lets All Make Love in London (1967)
The Pink Floyd and Syd Barrett Story (2003)
See also
List of songs recorded by Syd Barrett
List of songs about or referencing Syd Barrett
References
Informational notes
Citations
Bibliography
External links
The Official Syd Barrett Website
The Syd Barrett Archives
Syd Barrett Pink Floyd blog
The Holy Church of Iggy the Inuit blog
1946 births
2006 deaths
20th-century English composers
20th-century English painters
20th-century English male singers
21st-century English painters
Alumni of Anglia Ruskin University
Alumni of Camberwell College of Arts
Blues rock musicians
Capitol Records artists
Deaths from cancer in England
Deaths from pancreatic cancer
EMI Records artists
English experimental musicians
English male painters
English rock guitarists
English rock singers
English male singer-songwriters
Experimental composers
Experimental guitarists
Harvest Records artists
Lead guitarists
Musicians from Cambridgeshire
Outsider musicians
People from Cambridge
People with schizophrenia
Pink Floyd members
Protopunk musicians
Psychedelic drug advocates
Psychedelic folk musicians
Psychedelic rock musicians
Rhythm guitarists
Slide guitarists
English male guitarists
20th-century British guitarists | true | [
"Naujieji Lietuviai fm 2020 m kaune(NL) (meaning \"New Lithuanians\" in Lithuanian) was a musical group in Lithuania. It was established in 2003.\n\nThe project consisted of 15 musicians, with core persons being Gintaras Reklaitis (music, texts, vocals) and (texts, ideas, vocals, group manager). It was supported by the girl group 69 Danguje (vocals, choreography).\n\nIn 2003 they made their name with the song Pasitusinam!, a parody on the political life in Lithuania.\n\nIn 2005 the TV 1 channel declared their song Afigenai to be the most popular song and videoclip of the year. In addition, in 2006 Pravda Magazine, it recognized \"afigenai\" to be the best neologism of year 2005.\n\nThe group garnered their popularity primarily over the internet: radio stations did not play their songs due to the liberal use of obscenities.\n\nIn 2006 the group authored two albums, 001 and 002. In 2007 one of them claimed to become gold and one platinum.\n\nIn 2007 NL was disbanded amid a dispute, and Egidijus Remeikis and Egmontas Bžeskas, together with entrepreneur Ugnius Kiguolis, created the Tipo Grupe group.\n\nOn the night August 22–23, 1:45am, 2008, two group members, Egidijus Remeikis and Jevgenijus Snytkinas died in car accident in Kaunas. After that Tipo Grupe effectively ceased to exist.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\nYoutube account NaujiejiLietuviai\n\nLithuanian pop music groups\n2003 establishments in Lithuania\nMusical groups established in 2003\nMusical groups established in 2007",
"Sonidero Nacional is a musical collective from Monterrey. They fuse different musical styles such as hip hop, reggae and electronica with the tropical rhythms of cumbia, vallenato, ska and afrobeat, thereby creating a new, more international form of cumbia. They are pioneers of the Avanzada Regia musical movement. They have performed at festivals such as the Vive Latino festival in Mexico City and the Festival Internacional de Puebla. One of their most well-known songs is a tribute that they did to the norteña group Bronco, called Grande de Cadera, which was released on the tribute album Tributo al más grande alongside various other covers done by other famous Mexican groups.\n\nThey are also known for the remixes they have done of many popular songs such as Perfecta by Julieta Venegas and Miranda!.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links \n Official myspace\n Interview with the members of the group\n A review of a mixtape made by Sonidero Nacional\n\nMusical groups from Monterrey"
] |
[
"Syd Barrett",
"London Underground, Blackhill Enterprises and gigs",
"What did he do in London Underground?",
"became the most popular musical group of the \"London Underground\" psychedelic music scene.",
"How did they become the most popular musical group?",
"In 1966, a new rock concert venue, the UFO (pronounced as \"you-foe\"), opened in London and quickly became a haven for British psychedelic music."
] | C_6d0e8aa901f54f6587b8dd457957ea6a_1 | What did they have to do with Syd Barrett? | 3 | What did London Underground have to do with Syd Barrett? | Syd Barrett | While Pink Floyd began by playing cover versions of American R&B songs, by 1966 they had carved out their own style of improvised rock and roll, which drew as much from improvised jazz. After Bob Klose departed from the band, the band's direction changed. However, the change was not instantaneous, with more improvising on the guitars and keyboards. Mason reflected, "It always felt to me that most of the ideas were emanating from Syd at the time." At this time, Barrett's reading reputedly included: Grimm's Fairy Tales, Tolkien's The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings, Carlos Castaneda's The Teachings of Don Juan, and The I-Ching. During this period, Barrett wrote most of the songs for Pink Floyd's first album, and also songs that would later appear on his solo albums. In 1966, a new rock concert venue, the UFO (pronounced as "you-foe"), opened in London and quickly became a haven for British psychedelic music. Pink Floyd, the house band, was its most popular attraction and after making appearances at the rival Roundhouse, became the most popular musical group of the "London Underground" psychedelic music scene. By the end of 1966, Pink Floyd had gained a reliable management team in Andrew King and Peter Jenner. Towards the end of October 1966, Pink Floyd, with King and Jenner, set up Blackhill Enterprises, to manage the group's finances. Blackhill was staffed by lodgers Jenner found in his Edbrooke Road house, and among others, Barrett's flatmate, Peter Wynne Wilson (who became road manager, however, since he had more experience in lighting, he was also lighting assistant). King and Jenner wanted to prepare some demo recordings for a possible record deal, so at the end of October, they booked a session at Thompson Private Recording Studio, in Hemel Hempstead. King said of the demos: "That was the first time I realised they were going to write all their own material, Syd just turned into a songwriter, it seemed like overnight." King and Jenner befriended American expatriate Joe Boyd, the promoter of the UFO Club, who was making a name for himself as one of the more important entrepreneurs on the British music scene. The newly hired booking agent, Bryan Morrison, and Boyd had proposed sending in better quality recordings. From Morrison's agency the band played a gig outside London for the first time. In November, the band performed the first (of many) strangely named concerts: Philadelic Music for Simian Hominids, a multimedia event arranged by the group's former landlord, Mike Leonard, at Hornsey College of Art. They performed at the Free School for the following two weeks, before performing at the Psychodelphia Versus Ian Smith event at the Roundhouse in December, arranged by the Majority Rule for Rhodesia Campaign, and an Oxfam benefit at the Albert Hall (the band's biggest venue up to this point). CANNOTANSWER | Pink Floyd, the house band, was its most popular attraction and | Roger Keith "Syd" Barrett (6 January 1946 – 7 July 2006) was an English singer, songwriter, and musician who co-founded the rock band Pink Floyd in 1965. Barrett was their original frontman and primary songwriter, becoming known for his whimsical psychedelia, English-accented singing, literary influences, and stream-of-consciousness writing style. As a guitarist, he was influential for his free-form playing and for employing dissonance, distortion, echo, feedback, and other studio effects.
Originally trained as a painter, Barrett was musically active for less than ten years. With Pink Floyd, he recorded four singles, their debut album The Piper at the Gates of Dawn (1967), portions of their second album A Saucerful of Secrets (1968), and several unreleased songs. In April 1968, Barrett was ousted from the band amid speculation of mental illness and his excessive use of psychedelic drugs. He began a brief solo career in 1969 with the single "Octopus" and followed with the albums The Madcap Laughs (1970) and Barrett (1970), recorded with the aid of several members of Pink Floyd.
In 1972, Barrett left the music industry, retired from public life and strictly guarded his privacy until his death. He continued painting and dedicated himself to gardening. Pink Floyd recorded several tributes and homages to him, including the 1975 song suite "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" and the 1979 rock opera The Wall. In 1988, EMI released an album of unreleased tracks and outtakes, Opel, with Barrett's approval. In 1996, Barrett was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Pink Floyd. He died of pancreatic cancer in 2006.
Life and career
Early years
Roger Keith Barrett was born on 6 January 1946 in Cambridge, Cambridgeshire to a middle-class family living at 60 Glisson Road. He was the fourth of five children. His father, Arthur Max Barrett, was a prominent pathologist and was said to be related to Elizabeth Garrett Anderson through Max's maternal grandmother Ellen Garrett. In 1951, his family moved to 183 Hills Road.
Barrett played piano occasionally but usually preferred writing and drawing. He bought a ukulele aged 10, a banjo at 11 and a Hofner acoustic guitar at 14. A year after he purchased his first acoustic guitar, he bought his first electric guitar and built his own amplifier. One story of how Barrett acquired the nickname "Syd" is that at the age of 14 he was named after an old local Cambridge jazz double bassist, Sid "The Beat" Barrett, which claims Syd Barrett changed the spelling to differentiate himself from his namesake.
Another account is that when he was 13, his schoolmates nicknamed him "Syd" after he showed up to a field day at Abington Scout site wearing a flat cap instead of his Scout beret because "Syd" was a "working-class" name. He used both names interchangeably for several years. His sister Rosemary said: "He was never Syd at home. He would never have allowed it." He was a Scout with the 7th Cambridge troop and went on to be a patrol leader.
At one point at Morley Memorial Junior School he was taught by the mother of future Pink Floyd bassist Roger Waters. Later, in 1957, he attended Cambridgeshire High School for Boys with Waters. His father died of cancer on 11 December 1961, less than a month before Barrett's 16th birthday. On this date, Barrett left the entry in his diary blank. By this time, his brothers and sisters had left home and his mother decided to rent out rooms to lodgers.
Eager to help her son recover from his grief, Barrett's mother encouraged the band in which he played, Geoff Mott and the Mottoes, a band which Barrett formed, to perform in their front room. Waters and Barrett were childhood friends, and Waters often visited such gigs. At one point, Waters organised a gig, a CND benefit at Friends Meeting House on 11 March 1962, but shortly afterwards Geoff Mott joined the Boston Crabs, and the Mottoes broke up.
In September 1962, Barrett had taken a place at the art department of the Cambridgeshire College of Arts and Technology, where he met David Gilmour. In late 1962 and early 1963, the Beatles made an impact on Barrett, and he began to play Beatles songs at parties and at picnics. In 1963, Barrett became a Rolling Stones fan and, with then-girlfriend Libby Gausden, saw them perform at a village hall in Cambridgeshire.
At this point, Barrett started writing songs; one friend recalls hearing "Effervescing Elephant" (later to be recorded on his solo album Barrett). Also around this time, Barrett and Gilmour occasionally played acoustic gigs together. Barrett had played bass guitar with Those Without in mid-1963 and bass and guitar with the Hollerin' Blues the next summer. In 1964, Barrett and Gausden saw Bob Dylan perform. After this performance, Barrett was inspired to write "Bob Dylan Blues". Barrett, now thinking about his future, decided to apply for Camberwell College of Arts in London. He enrolled in the college in the summer of 1964 to study painting.
Pink Floyd years (1965–1968)
Starting in 1964, the band that would become Pink Floyd evolved through various line-up and name changes including "The Abdabs", "The Screaming Abdabs", "Sigma 6", and "The Meggadeaths". In 1965, Barrett joined them as the Tea Set (sometimes spelled T-Set). When they found themselves playing a concert with another band of the same name, Barrett came up with "The Pink Floyd Sound" (also known as "The Pink Floyd Blues Band", later "The Pink Floyd"). During 1965, they went into a studio for the first time, when a friend of Richard Wright's gave the band free time to record.
During this summer Barrett had his first LSD trip in the garden of friend Dave Gale, with Ian Moore and Storm Thorgerson. During one trip, Barrett and another friend, Paul Charrier, ended up naked in the bath, reciting: "No rules, no rules". That summer, as a result of the continued drug use, the band became absorbed in Sant Mat, a Sikh sect. Storm Thorgerson (then living on Earlham Street) and Barrett went to a London hotel to meet the sect's guru; Thorgerson managed to join the sect; Barrett, however, was deemed too young to join. Thorgerson sees this as a deeply important event in Barrett's life, as he was extremely upset by the rejection. While living near his friends, Barrett decided to write more songs ("Bike" was written around this time).
London Underground, Blackhill Enterprises and gigs
While Pink Floyd began by playing cover versions of American R&B songs, by 1966 they had carved out their own style of improvised rock and roll, which drew as much from improvised jazz. After Bob Klose departed from the band, the band's direction changed. However, the change was not instantaneous, with more improvising on the guitars and keyboards. Drummer Nick Mason reflected, "It always felt to me that most of the ideas were emanating from Syd at the time."
At this time, Barrett's reading reputedly included Grimm's Fairy Tales, Tolkien's The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings, and The I-Ching. During this period, Barrett wrote most of the songs for Pink Floyd's first album, and also songs that would later appear on his solo albums. In 1966, a new rock concert venue, the UFO (pronounced as "you-foe"), opened in London and quickly became a haven for British psychedelic music. Pink Floyd, the house band, was its most popular attraction and after making appearances at the rival Roundhouse, became the most popular musical group of the "London Underground" psychedelic music scene.
By the end of 1966, Pink Floyd had gained a reliable management team in Andrew King and Peter Jenner. Towards the end of October 1966, Pink Floyd, with King and Jenner, set up Blackhill Enterprises, to manage the group's finances. Blackhill was staffed by lodgers Jenner found in his Edbrooke Road house, and among others, Barrett's flatmate, Peter Wynne Wilson (who became road manager, however, since he had more experience in lighting, he was also lighting assistant). King and Jenner wanted to prepare some demo recordings for a possible record deal, so at the end of October, they booked a session at Thompson Private Recording Studio, in Hemel Hempstead. King said of the demos: "That was the first time I realised they were going to write all their own material, Syd just turned into a songwriter, it seemed like overnight."
King and Jenner befriended American expatriate Joe Boyd, the promoter of the UFO Club, who was making a name for himself as one of the more important entrepreneurs on the British music scene. The newly hired booking agent, Bryan Morrison, and Boyd had proposed sending in better quality recordings. From Morrison's agency the band played a gig outside London for the first time. In November, the band performed the first (of many) strangely named concerts: Philadelic Music for Simian Hominids, a multimedia event arranged by the group's former landlord, Mike Leonard, at Hornsey College of Art. They performed at the Free School for the following two weeks, before performing at the Psychodelphia Versus Ian Smith event at the Roundhouse in December, arranged by the Majority Rule for Rhodesia Campaign, and an Oxfam benefit at the Albert Hall (the band's biggest venue up to this point).
Tonite Lets All Make Love in London
At the beginning of 1967, Barrett was dating Jenny Spires (who would later marry future Stars member Jack Monck). However, unknown to Barrett, Spires had an affair with Peter Whitehead. Spires convinced Whitehead (who thought the band sounded like "bad Schoenberg") to use Pink Floyd in a film about the swinging London scene. So at the cost of £80 (), in January, Whitehead took the band into John Wood's Sound Techniques in Chelsea, with promoter Joe Boyd in tow. Here, the band recorded a 16-minute version of "Interstellar Overdrive" and another composition, "Nick's Boogie". Whitehead had filmed this recording, which was used in the film Tonite Lets All Make Love in London and later on the video release of London '66–'67. Whitehead later commented about the band that: "They were just completely welded together, just like a jazz group".
The Piper at the Gates of Dawn
Boyd attempted to sign the band with Polydor Records. However, Morrison had convinced King and Jenner to try to start a bidding war between Polydor and EMI. In late January, Boyd produced a recording session for the group, with them returning to Sound Techniques in Chelsea again. After the bidding war idea was finished, Pink Floyd signed with EMI. Unusual for the time, the deal included recording an album, which meant the band had unlimited studio time at EMI Studios in return for a smaller royalty percentage. The band then attempted to re-record "Arnold Layne", but the Boyd version from January was released instead.
The band's first studio album, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, was recorded intermittently between February and July 1967 in Studio 3 at Abbey Road Studios, and produced by former Beatles engineer Norman Smith. By the time the album was released on 4 August, "Arnold Layne" (which was released months earlier, on 11 March) had reached number 20 on the British singles charts, despite being banned by Radio London, and the follow-up single, "See Emily Play", had peaked at number 5. The album was successful in the UK, hitting number 6 on the British album charts. Their first three singles (including their third, "Apples and Oranges"), were written by Barrett, who also was the principal visionary/author of their critically acclaimed 1967 debut album. Of the eleven songs on Piper, Barrett wrote eight and co-wrote another two.
Health problems
Through late 1967 and early 1968, Barrett became increasingly erratic, partly as a consequence of his reported heavy use of psychedelic drugs such as LSD. There is also speculation that he suffered from schizophrenia. Once described as joyful, friendly, and extroverted, he became increasingly depressed and withdrawn, and experienced hallucinations, disorganised speech, memory lapses, intense mood swings, and periods of catatonia. Although the changes began gradually, he went missing for a long weekend and, according to several friends, including Wright, came back "a completely different person".
One of the striking features of his change was the development of a blank, dead-eyed stare. Barrett did not recognise friends, and often did not know where he was; on a tour of Los Angeles, Barrett is said to have exclaimed, "Gee, it sure is nice to be in Las Vegas!" Many reports described him on stage, strumming one chord through the entire concert, or not playing at all. At a show in Santa Monica, Barrett slowly detuned his guitar.
Interviewed on Pat Boone's show during the tour, Barrett replied with a "blank and totally mute stare"; according to Mason, "Syd wasn't into moving his lips that day." Barrett exhibited similar behaviour during the band's first appearance on Dick Clark's television show American Bandstand. Surviving footage of this appearance shows Barrett miming his parts competently; however, during a group interview afterwards, Barrett gave terse answers. During this time, Barrett would often forget to bring his guitar to sessions, damage equipment and was occasionally unable to hold his plectrum. Before a performance in late 1967, Barrett reportedly crushed Mandrax tranquilliser tablets and a tube of Brylcreem into his hair, which melted down his face under the heat of the stage lighting, making him look like "a guttered candle". Mason disputed the Mandrax portion of this story, stating that "Syd would never waste good mandies".
Departure from Pink Floyd
During Pink Floyd's UK tour with Jimi Hendrix in November 1967, guitarist David O'List from the Nice substituted for Barrett on several occasions when he was unable to perform or failed to appear. Around Christmas, Pink Floyd asked Barrett's schoolfriend David Gilmour to join as a second guitarist to cover for Barrett. For a handful of shows, Gilmour played and sang while Barrett wandered around on stage, occasionally joining the performance. The other band members grew tired of Barrett's antics and, on 26 January 1968, when Waters was driving on the way to a show at Southampton University, they elected not to pick Barrett up. One person in the car said, "Shall we pick Syd up?" and another said, "Let's not bother." As Barrett had written the bulk of the band's material, the plan was to retain him as a non-touring member, as the Beach Boys had done with Brian Wilson, but this proved impractical.
According to Waters, Barrett came to what was to be their last practice session with a new song he had dubbed "Have You Got It Yet?". The song seemed simple when he first presented it, but it soon became impossibly difficult to learn; the band eventually realised that Barrett was changing the arrangement as they played, and that Barrett was playing a joke on them. Waters called it "a real act of mad genius".
Of the songs Barrett wrote for Pink Floyd after The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, only "Jugband Blues" was included on their album, A Saucerful of Secrets (1968). "Apples and Oranges" became an unsuccessful single, and "Scream Thy Last Scream" and "Vegetable Man", remained unreleased until 2016 in The Early Years 1965–1972 box set, as they were deemed too dark and unsettling. Barrett played guitar on the Saucerful of Secrets tracks "Remember a Day" and "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun".
Feeling guilty, the members of Pink Floyd were unable to bring themselves to definitively tell Barrett that he was no longer in the band. According to Wright, who lived with Barrett at the time, he told Barrett he was going out to buy cigarettes when leaving to play a show. He would return hours later to find Barrett in the same position, sometimes with a cigarette burned completely down between his fingers (an incident later referenced in Pink Floyd's concert film The Wall). Emerging from catatonia and unaware that a long period of time had elapsed, Barrett would ask, "Have you got the cigarettes?".
Barrett supposedly spent time outside the recording studio, in the reception area, waiting to be invited in. He also came to a few performances and glared at Gilmour. On 6 April 1968, Pink Floyd officially announced that Barrett was no longer a member, the same day their contract with Blackhill Enterprises was terminated. Considering him as the band's musical leader, Blackhill Enterprises retained Barrett.
Solo years (1968–1972)
After leaving Pink Floyd, Barrett was out of the public eye for a year. In 1969, at the behest of EMI and Harvest Records, he embarked on a brief solo career, releasing two solo albums, The Madcap Laughs and Barrett (both 1970), and a single, "Octopus". Some songs, "Terrapin", "Maisie" and "Bob Dylan Blues", reflected Barrett's early interest in the blues.
The Madcap Laughs
After Barrett left Pink Floyd, Jenner followed suit. He led Barrett into EMI Studios to record some tracks in May that would later be released on Barrett's first solo album, The Madcap Laughs. However, Jenner said: "I had seriously underestimated the difficulties of working with him". By the sessions of June and July, most of the tracks were in better shape; however, shortly after the July sessions, Barrett broke up with girlfriend Lindsay Corner and went on a drive around Britain in his Mini, ending up in psychiatric care in Cambridge. During New Year 1969, a somewhat recovered Barrett had taken up tenancy in a flat on Egerton Gardens, South Kensington, London, with the postmodernist artist Duggie Fields. Here, Barrett's flat was so close to Gilmour's that Gilmour could look right into Barrett's kitchen. Deciding to return to music, Barrett contacted EMI and was passed to Malcolm Jones, the then-head of EMI's new prog rock label, Harvest (after Norman Smith and Jenner declined to produce Barrett's record, Jones produced it). Barrett wanted to recover the Jenner-produced sessions recordings; several of the tracks were improved upon.
The Jones-produced sessions started in April 1969 at EMI Studios. After the first of these sessions, Barrett brought in friends to help out: Humble Pie drummer Jerry Shirley, and Jokers Wild (Gilmour's old band) drummer Willie Wilson. For the sessions, Gilmour played bass. Talking to Barrett wasn't easy, said Jones: "It was a case of following him, not playing with him. They were seeing and then playing so they were always a note behind". A few tracks on the album feature overdubs by members of the band Soft Machine. During this time, Barrett also played guitar on the sessions for Soft Machine founder Kevin Ayers' debut LP Joy of a Toy, although his performance on "Religious Experience" (later titled "Singing a Song in the Morning") was not released until the album was reissued in 2003. One time, Barrett had told his flatmate that he was going off "for an afternoon drive". However, he followed Pink Floyd to Ibiza (according to legend, he skipped check-ins and customs, ran onto the runway and attempted to flag down a jet). One of his friends, J. Ryan Eaves, bass player for the short-lived but influential Manchester band York's Ensemble, later spotted him on a beach wearing messed-up clothes and with a carrier bag full of money. By this point, during the trip, Barrett had asked Gilmour for his help in the recording sessions.
After two of the Gilmour/Waters-produced sessions, they remade one track from the Soft Machine overdubs and recorded three tracks. These sessions came to a minor halt when Gilmour and Waters were mixing Pink Floyd's newly recorded album, Ummagumma, to Barrett's dismay. However, through the end of July, they managed to record three more tracks. The problem with the recording was that the songs were recorded as Barrett played them "live" in studio. On the released versions a number of them have false starts and commentaries from Barrett. Despite the track being closer to complete and better produced, Gilmour and Waters left the Jones-produced track "Opel" off Madcap.
Gilmour later said of the sessions for The Madcap Laughs:
Upon the album's release in January 1970, Malcolm Jones was shocked by the substandard musicianship on the Gilmour and Waters-produced songs: "I felt angry. It's like dirty linen in public and very unnecessary and unkind." Gilmour said: "Perhaps we were trying to show what Syd was really like. But perhaps we were trying to punish him." Waters was more positive: "Syd is a genius."
Barrett said "It's quite nice but I'd be very surprised if it did anything if I were to drop dead. I don't think it would stand as my last statement."
Evelyn "Iggy the Eskimo" Rose (1947–2017) appeared nude on the back of the album's inner sleeve.
Barrett
The second album, Barrett, was recorded more sporadically than the first, with sessions taking place between February and July 1970. The album was produced by David Gilmour, and featured Gilmour on bass guitar, Richard Wright on keyboard and Humble Pie drummer Jerry Shirley. The first two songs attempted were for Barrett to play and/or sing to an existing backing track. However, Gilmour thought they were losing the "Barrett-ness". One track ("Rats") was originally recorded with Barrett on his own. That would later be overdubbed by musicians, despite the changing tempos. Shirley said of Barrett's playing: "He would never play the same tune twice. Sometimes Syd couldn't play anything that made sense; other times what he'd play was absolute magic." At times Barrett, who experienced synaesthesia, would say: "Perhaps we could make the middle darker and maybe the end a bit middle afternoonish. At the moment it's too windy and icy".
These sessions were happening while Pink Floyd had just begun to work on Atom Heart Mother. On various occasions, Barrett went to "spy" on the band as they recorded their album.
Wright said of the Barrett sessions:
Performances
Despite the numerous recording dates for his solo albums, Barrett undertook very little musical activity between 1968 and 1972 outside the studio. On 24 February 1970, he appeared on John Peel's BBC radio programme Top Gear playing five songs—only one of which had been previously released. Three would be re-recorded for the Barrett album, while the song "Two of a Kind" was a one-off performance (possibly written by Richard Wright). Barrett was accompanied on this session by Gilmour and Shirley who played bass and percussion, respectively.
Gilmour and Shirley also backed Barrett for his one and only live concert during this period. The gig took place on 6 June 1970 at the Olympia Exhibition Hall as part of a Music and Fashion Festival. The trio performed four songs, "Terrapin", "Gigolo Aunt", "Effervescing Elephant" and "Octopus". Poor mixing left the vocals barely audible until part-way through the last number. At the end of the fourth song, Barrett unexpectedly but politely put down his guitar and walked off the stage. The performance has been bootlegged. Barrett made one last appearance on BBC Radio, recording three songs at their studios on 16 February 1971. All three came from the Barrett album. After this session, he took a hiatus from his music career that lasted more than a year, although in an extensive interview with Mick Rock and Rolling Stone in December, he discussed himself at length, showed off his new 12-string guitar, talked about touring with Jimi Hendrix and stated that he was frustrated in terms of his musical work because of his inability to find anyone good to play with.
Later years (1972–2006)
Stars and final recordings
In February 1972, after a few guest spots in Cambridge with ex-Pink Fairies member Twink on drums and Jack Monck on bass using the name The Last Minute Put Together Boogie Band (backing visiting blues musician Eddie "Guitar" Burns and also featuring Henry Cow guitarist Fred Frith), the trio formed a short-lived band called Stars. Though they were initially well received at gigs in the Dandelion coffee bar and the town's Market Square, one of their gigs at the Corn Exchange in Cambridge with MC5 proved to be disastrous. A few days after this final show, Twink recalled that Barrett stopped him on the street, showed him a scathing review of the gig they had played, and quit on the spot, despite having played at least one subsequent gig at the same venue supporting Nektar.
Free from his EMI contract on 9 May 1972, Barrett signed a document that ended his association with Pink Floyd, and any financial interest in future recordings. He attended an informal jazz and poetry performance by Pete Brown and former Cream bassist Jack Bruce in October 1973. Brown arrived at the show late, and saw that Bruce was already onstage, along with "a guitarist I vaguely recognised", playing the Horace Silver tune "Doodlin'". Later in the show, Brown read out a poem, which he dedicated to Syd, because, "he's here in Cambridge, and he's one of the best songwriters in the country" when, to his surprise, the guitar player from earlier in the show stood up and said, "No I'm not". By the end of 1973, Barrett had returned to live in London, staying at various hotels and, in December of that year, settling in at Chelsea Cloisters. He had little contact with others, apart from his regular visits to his management's offices to collect his royalties, and the occasional visit from his sister Rosemary.
In August 1974, Jenner persuaded Barrett to return to Abbey Road Studios in hope of recording another album. According to John Leckie, who engineered these sessions, even at this point Syd still "looked like he did when he was younger ... long haired". The sessions lasted three days and consisted of blues rhythm tracks with tentative and disjointed guitar overdubs. Barrett recorded eleven tracks, the only one of which to be titled was "If You Go, Don't Be Slow". Once again, Barrett withdrew from the music industry, but this time for good. He sold the rights to his solo albums back to the record label and moved into a London hotel. During this period, several attempts to employ him as a record producer (including one by Jamie Reid on behalf of the Sex Pistols, and another by the Damned, who wanted him to produce their second album) were fruitless.
Wish You Were Here sessions
Barrett visited the members of Pink Floyd in 1975 during the recording sessions for their ninth album, Wish You Were Here. He attended the Abbey Road session unannounced, and watched the band working on the final mix of "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" — a song about him. By that time, Barrett, then 29, had become overweight and had shaved off all of his hair (including his eyebrows), and his former bandmates did not initially recognise him. Barrett spent part of the session brushing his teeth. Waters asked him what he thought of the song and he said that it "sounds a bit old". He is reported to have briefly attended the reception for Gilmour's wedding to Ginger that immediately followed the recording sessions, but Gilmour said he had no recollection of this.
A few years later, Waters saw Barrett in the department store Harrods; Barrett ran outside, dropping his bags. It was the last time any member of Pink Floyd saw him.
Withdrawal to Cambridge
In 1978, when Barrett's money ran out, he moved back to Cambridge to live with his mother. He returned to live in London for a few weeks in 1982, but soon returned to Cambridge permanently. Barrett walked the from London to Cambridge. Until his death, he received royalties from his work with Pink Floyd; Gilmour said, "I made sure the money got to him." In 1996, Barrett was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Pink Floyd. He did not attend the ceremony.
According to biographer and journalist Tim Willis, Barrett, who had reverted to using his original name Roger, continued to live in his late mother's semi-detached home, and had returned to painting, creating large abstract canvases. He was also said to have been an avid gardener. His main point of contact with the outside world was his sister, Rosemary, who lived nearby. He was reclusive, and his physical health declined, as he suffered from stomach ulcers and type 2 diabetes.
Although Barrett had not appeared or spoken in public since the mid-1970s, reporters and fans travelled to Cambridge seeking him, despite public appeals from his family. Apparently, Barrett did not like being reminded about his musical career and the other members of Pink Floyd had no direct contact with him. However, he did visit his sister's house in November 2001 to watch the BBC Omnibus documentary made about him; reportedly he found some of it "a bit noisy", enjoyed seeing Mike Leonard again, calling him his "teacher", and enjoyed hearing "See Emily Play".
Barrett made a final public acknowledgement of his musical past in 2002, his first since the 1970s, when he autographed 320 copies of photographer Mick Rock's book Psychedelic Renegades, which contained a number of photos of Barrett. Rock was perhaps the last person in the music industry with whom Barrett kept in contact. In 1971, Rock conducted Barrett's final interview before his retirement from the music industry. Barrett visited Rock in London several times for tea and conversation in 1978. They had not spoken in more than 20 years when Rock approached Barrett to autograph his photography book, and Barrett uncharacteristically agreed. Having reverted to his birth name, he autographed the book "Barrett".
Death and aftermath
Barrett died at home in Cambridge on 7 July 2006 aged 60, from pancreatic cancer. He was cremated. In 2006, his home in St. Margaret's Square, Cambridge, was put on the market and reportedly attracted considerable interest. After over 100 showings, many to fans, it was sold to a French couple who reportedly knew nothing about Barrett. On 28 November 2006, Barrett's other possessions were sold at an auction at Cheffins auction house in Cambridge, raising £120,000 for charity. Items sold included paintings, scrapbooks and everyday items that Barrett had decorated. NME produced a tribute issue to Barrett a week later with a photo of him on the cover. In an interview with The Sunday Times, Barrett's sister said that he had written an unpublished book about the history of art.
In response to the news of Barrett's death, Gilmour said:
According to local newspapers, Barrett left approximately £1.7 million to his two brothers and two sisters. This sum was apparently largely acquired from royalties from Pink Floyd compilations and live recordings featuring songs he had written while with the band. A tribute concert called "Madcap's Last Laugh" was held at the Barbican Centre, London, on 10 May 2007 with Robyn Hitchcock, Captain Sensible, Damon Albarn, Chrissie Hynde, Kevin Ayers and his Pink Floyd bandmates performing. A series of events called The City Wakes was held in Cambridge in October 2008 to celebrate Barrett's life, art, and music. Barrett's sister, Rosemary Breen, supported this, the first series of official events in memory of her brother. After the festival's success, arts charity Escape Artists announced plans to create a centre in Cambridge, using art to help people suffering from mental health problems. A memorial bench has been placed in the Botanic Gardens in Cambridge and a more prominent tribute is planned in the city.
Legacy
Compilations
In 1988, EMI Records (after constant pressure from Malcolm Jones) released an album of Barrett's studio out-takes and previously unreleased material recorded from 1968 to 1970 under the title Opel. The disc was originally set to include the unreleased Barrett Pink Floyd songs "Scream Thy Last Scream" and "Vegetable Man", which had been remixed for the album by Jones, but the band pulled the two songs before Opel was finalised. In 1993 EMI issued another release, Crazy Diamond, a boxed set of all three albums, each with further out-takes from his solo sessions that illustrated Barrett's inability or refusal to play a song the same way twice. EMI also released The Best of Syd Barrett: Wouldn't You Miss Me? in the UK on 16 April 2001 and in the US on 11 September 2001. This was the first time his song "Bob Dylan Blues" was officially released, taken from a demo tape that Gilmour had kept after an early 1970s session. Gilmour kept the tape, which also contains the unreleased "Living Alone" from the Barrett sessions. In October 2010 Harvest/EMI and Capitol Records released An Introduction to Syd Barrett—a collection of both his Pink Floyd and remastered solo work. The 2010 compilation An Introduction to Syd Barrett includes the downloadable bonus track "Rhamadan", a 20-minute track recorded at one of Syd's earliest solo sessions, in May 1968. In 2011, it was announced that a vinyl double album version would be issued for Record Store Day.
Bootleg editions of Barrett's live and solo material exist. For years the "off air" recordings of the BBC sessions with Barrett's Pink Floyd circulated, until an engineer who had taken a tape of the early Pink Floyd gave it back to the BBC—which played it during a tribute to John Peel on their website. During this tribute, the first Peel programme (Top Gear) was aired in its entirety. This show featured the 1967 live versions of "Flaming", "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun", and a brief 90-second snippet of the instrumental "Reaction in G". In 2012, engineer Andy Jackson said he had found "a huge box of assorted tapes", in Mason's possession, containing versions of R&B songs that (the Barrett-era) Pink Floyd played in their early years.
Creative impact
Barrett wrote most of Pink Floyd's early material. According to critic Steven Hyden, even after Barrett left the band, Barrett's spirit "haunted" their records, and their most popular work "drew on the power of what Barrett signified".
Barrett was an innovative guitarist, using extended techniques and exploring the musical and sonic possibilities of dissonance, distortion, feedback, the echo machine, tapes and other effects; his experimentation was partly inspired by free improvisation guitarist Keith Rowe of the group AMM, active at the time in London. One of Barrett's trademarks was playing his guitar through an old echo box while sliding a Zippo lighter up and down the fret-board to create the mysterious, otherworldly sounds that became associated with the group. Barrett was known to have used Binson delay units to achieve his trademark echo sounds. Daevid Allen, founder member of Soft Machine and Gong, cited Barrett's use of slide guitar with echo as a key inspiration for his own "glissando guitar" style.
Barrett's recordings both with Pink Floyd and in later solo albums were delivered with a strongly British-accented vocal delivery, specifically that of southern England. He was described by Guardian writer Nick Kent as having a "quintessential English style of vocal projection". David Bowie said that Barrett, along with Anthony Newley, was the first person he had heard sing rock or pop music with a British accent.
Barrett's free-form sequences of "sonic carpets" pioneered a new way to play the rock guitar. He played several different guitars during his tenure, including an old Harmony hollowbody electric, a Harmony acoustic, a Fender acoustic, a single-coil Danelectro 59 DC, several different Fender Telecasters and a white Fender Stratocaster in late 1967. A silver Fender Esquire with mirrored discs glued to the body was the guitar he was most often associated with and the guitar he "felt most close to". The mirrored Esquire was traded for a black Telecaster Custom, in 1968. Its whereabouts are currently unknown.
Influence
Many artists have acknowledged Barrett's influence on their work. Paul McCartney, Pete Townshend, Blur, Kevin Ayers, Gong, Marc Bolan, Tangerine Dream, Genesis P-Orridge, Julian Cope, Pere Ubu, Jeff Mangum, The Olivia Tremor Control, The Flaming Lips, Animal Collective, John Maus, Paul Weller, Roger Miller, East Bay Ray, Cedric Bixler-Zavala, and David Bowie were inspired by Barrett; Jimmy Page, Brian Eno, Sex Pistols, and The Damned all expressed interest in working with him at some point during the 1970s. Bowie recorded a cover of "See Emily Play" on his 1973 album Pin Ups. The track "Grass", from XTC's album Skylarking was influenced when Andy Partridge let fellow band member Colin Moulding borrow his Barrett records. Robyn Hitchcock's career was dedicated to being Barrett-esque; he even played "Dominoes" for the 2001 BBC documentary The Pink Floyd and Syd Barrett Story.
Barrett also had an influence on alternative and punk music in general. According to critic John Harris:
To understand his place in modern music you probably have to first go back to punk rock and its misguided attempt to kick aside what remained of the psychedelic 1960s. Given that the Clash and Sex Pistols had made brutal social commentary obligatory, there seemed little room for any of the creative exotica that had defined the Love Decade – until, slowly but surely, singing about dead-end lives and dole queues began to pall, and at least some of the previous generation were rehabilitated. Barrett was the best example: having crashed out of Pink Floyd before the advent of indulgent "progressive" rock, and succumbed to a fate that appealed to the punk generation's nihilism, he underwent a revival.
Barrett's decline had a profound effect on Waters' songwriting, and the theme of mental illness permeated the later Pink Floyd albums The Dark Side of the Moon (1973), Wish You Were Here (1975) and The Wall (1979). The reference to a "steel rail" in the song "Wish You Were Here" – "can you tell a green field from a cold steel rail?" – references a recurring theme in Barrett's song "If It's In You" from The Madcap Laughs. The song suite "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" from Wish You Were Here is also a tribute to Barrett.
In 1987, an album of Barrett cover songs called Beyond the Wildwood was released. The album was a collection of cover songs from Barrett's tenure with Pink Floyd and from his solo career. Artists appearing were UK and US indie bands including The Shamen, Opal, The Soup Dragons, and Plasticland.
Other artists who have written tributes to Barrett include his contemporary Kevin Ayers, who wrote "O Wot a Dream" in his honour (Barrett provided guitar to an early version of Ayers' song "Religious Experience: Singing a Song in the Morning"). Robyn Hitchcock has covered many of his songs live and on record and paid homage to his forebear with the song "(Feels Like) 1974". Phish covered "Bike", "No Good Trying", "Love You", "Baby Lemonade" and "Terrapin". The Television Personalities' single "I Know Where Syd Barrett Lives" from their 1981 album And Don't the Kids Love It is another tribute. In 2008, The Trash Can Sinatras released a single in tribute to the life and work of Syd Barrett called "Oranges and Apples", from their 2009 album In the Music. Proceeds from the single go to the Syd Barrett Trust in support of arts in mental health.
Johnny Depp showed interest in a biographical film based on Barrett's life. Barrett is portrayed briefly in the opening scene of Tom Stoppard's play Rock 'n' Roll (2006), performing "Golden Hair". His life and music, including the disastrous Cambridge Corn Exchange concert and his later reclusive lifestyle, are a recurring motif in the work. Barrett died during the play's run in London.
In 2016, in correspondence with the 70th anniversary birthday, The Theatre of the Absurd, an Italian independent artists group, published a short movie in honour of Barrett named Eclipse, with actor-director Edgar Blake in the role of Barrett. Some footage from this movie was also shown at Syd Barrett – A Celebration during Men on the Border's tribute: the show took place at the Cambridge Corn Exchange, with the participation of Barrett's family and old friends.
For 2017 TV series Legion creator Noah Hawley named one of the characters after Barrett, whose music was an important influence on the series.
In The X-Files season nine episode, "Lord of the Flies" (2001), a powerful mutant, Dylan Lokensgard (Hank Harris), has several posters of Syd Barrett on his bedroom wall, and listens to "It's No Good Trying" and "Terrapin" from The Madcap Laughs.
He recites the line, "A dream in a mist of gray", from Barrett's song "Opel", saying of the singer, "He was, like, this brilliant guy that no-one understood".
Barrett's influence on the genesis of psychedelia was considered in a chapter entitled 'Astronauts of Inner Space: Syd Barrett, Nick Drake and the Birth of Psychedelia' in Guy Mankowski's book 'Albion's Secret History: Snapshots of England's Pop Rebels and Outsiders.'
Health
Members of Barrett's family denied that he had suffered from mental illness. Asked if Barrett may have had Asperger's syndrome, his sister Rosemary Breen said that he and his siblings were "all on the spectrum". She also stated that, contrary to common misconception, Barrett neither suffered from mental illness nor had he received treatment for it since they had resumed regular contact in the 1980s. Breen said he had spent some time in a private "home for lost souls"—Greenwoods in Essex—but that there was no formal therapy programme there. Some years later, Barrett agreed to sessions with a psychiatrist at Fulbourn psychiatric hospital in Cambridge, but Breen said that neither medication nor therapy was considered appropriate. Breen also denied Barrett was a recluse or that he was vague about his past: "Roger may have been a bit selfish—or rather self-absorbed—but when people called him a recluse they were really only projecting their own disappointment. He knew what they wanted, but he wasn't willing to give it to them." In 1996, Wright said that Barrett's mother told the members of Pink Floyd to not contact him because being reminded of the band would make him depressed for weeks.
In the 1960s, Barrett used psychedelic drugs, especially LSD, and there are theories he subsequently suffered from schizophrenia. Wright asserted that Barrett's problems stemmed from a massive overdose of acid, as the change in his personality and behaviour came on suddenly. However, Waters maintains that Barrett suffered "without a doubt" from schizophrenia. In an article published in 2006, Gilmour was quoted as saying: "In my opinion, his nervous breakdown would have happened anyway. It was a deep-rooted thing. But I'll say the psychedelic experience might well have acted as a catalyst. Still, I just don't think he could deal with the vision of success and all the things that went with it." According to Gilmour in a 1974 interview, the other members of Pink Floyd approached psychiatrist R. D. Laing with the "Barrett problem". After hearing a tape of a Barrett conversation, Laing declared him "incurable".
In Saucerful of Secrets: The Pink Floyd Odyssey, author Nicholas Schaffner interviewed people who knew Barrett before and during his Pink Floyd days, including friends Peter and Susan Wynne-Wilson, artist Duggie Fields (with whom Barrett shared a flat during the late 1960s), June Bolan, and Storm Thorgerson. Bolan became concerned when Syd "kept his girlfriend under lock and key for three days, occasionally shoving a ration of biscuits under the door". A claim of cruelty against Barrett committed by the groupies and hangers-on who frequented his apartment during this period was described by writer and critic Jonathan Meades. "I went [to Barrett's flat] to see Harry and there was this terrible noise. It sounded like heating pipes shaking. I said, 'What's up?' and he sort of giggled and said, 'That's Syd having a bad trip. We put him in the linen cupboard'". Storm Thorgerson responded to this claim by stating "I do not remember locking Syd up in a cupboard. It sounds to me like pure fantasy, like Jonathan Meades was on dope himself."
Other friends state that Barrett's flatmates, who had also taken LSD, thought of Barrett as a genius or a deity, and were spiking his morning coffee every day without his knowledge, leaving him in a never-ending trip. He was later rescued from that flat by friends and moved elsewhere, but his erratic behaviour continued. According to Thorgerson, "On one occasion, I had to pull him [Barrett] off [his girlfriend] Lindsay because he was beating her over the head with a mandolin". On one occasion, Barrett threw a woman called Gilly across the room, because she refused to go to Gilmour's house.
Personal life
According to his sister, Rosemary, Barrett took up photography and sometimes they went to the seaside together. She also said he took a keen interest in art and horticulture and continued to devote himself to painting:
Barrett had relationships with various women, such as Libby Gausden; Lindsay Korner; Jenny Spires; and Pakistani-born Evelyn "Iggy" Rose (1947–2017) (aka "Iggy the Eskimo", "Iggy the Inuit"), who appeared on the back cover of The Madcap Laughs. He never married or had children, though he was briefly engaged to marry Gayla Pinion and planned to relocate to Oxford.
Discography
Solo albums
The Madcap Laughs (1970)
Barrett (1970)
with Pink Floyd
The Piper at the Gates of Dawn (1967)
A Saucerful of Secrets (1968)
1965: Their First Recordings (2015)
The Early Years 1965–1972 (2016)
Filmography
Syd Barrett's First Trip (1966) directed by Nigel Lesmoir-Gordon
London '66–'67 (1967)
Tonite Lets All Make Love in London (1967)
The Pink Floyd and Syd Barrett Story (2003)
See also
List of songs recorded by Syd Barrett
List of songs about or referencing Syd Barrett
References
Informational notes
Citations
Bibliography
External links
The Official Syd Barrett Website
The Syd Barrett Archives
Syd Barrett Pink Floyd blog
The Holy Church of Iggy the Inuit blog
1946 births
2006 deaths
20th-century English composers
20th-century English painters
20th-century English male singers
21st-century English painters
Alumni of Anglia Ruskin University
Alumni of Camberwell College of Arts
Blues rock musicians
Capitol Records artists
Deaths from cancer in England
Deaths from pancreatic cancer
EMI Records artists
English experimental musicians
English male painters
English rock guitarists
English rock singers
English male singer-songwriters
Experimental composers
Experimental guitarists
Harvest Records artists
Lead guitarists
Musicians from Cambridgeshire
Outsider musicians
People from Cambridge
People with schizophrenia
Pink Floyd members
Protopunk musicians
Psychedelic drug advocates
Psychedelic folk musicians
Psychedelic rock musicians
Rhythm guitarists
Slide guitarists
English male guitarists
20th-century British guitarists | true | [
"\"Here I Go\" is a song by former singer/songwriter of Pink Floyd, Syd Barrett and is the sixth track on his first solo album, The Madcap Laughs.\n\nThe song tells the story in which the narrator's girlfriend leaves him because \"a big band is far better\" (possibly Barrett's former band Pink Floyd) than himself. He attempts to win her back by writing her a song, but when he goes to her house to show it to her, he instead finds himself falling in love with her sister.\n\nRecording\nDuring the recording sessions for The Madcap Laughs, for the session on 17 April 1969, Barrett brought in fellow musicians Jerry Shirley, drummer with Humble Pie, and Willie Wilson, Jokers Wild's drummer, although for this occasion he was playing bass. Working in Abbey Road Studio 2, the musicians recorded \"No Man's Land\" together, then they recorded a song Barrett had written in a few minutes, \"Here I Go\" – the song required no overdubs of any kind. The session for these two songs only lasted three hours.\n\nAbout 40 years later, for release on An Introduction to Syd Barrett, David Gilmour added bass to one track, \"Here I Go\".\n\nPersonnel\nSyd Barrett – vocals, acoustic and electric guitars\n\nWith:\nJerry Shirley – drums\nWillie Wilson – bass\nDavid Gilmour – bass (re-release on An Introduction to Syd Barrett)\n\nReferences\n\nSyd Barrett songs\nSongs written by Syd Barrett\nExperimental rock songs\n1970 songs",
"Stars were a short-lived British supergroup that played a small number of live concerts in Cambridge in February 1972. Its members were Syd Barrett on guitar, Twink on drums, and Jack Monck on bass.\n\nBeginnings\nAfter a spell in Morocco, Twink (ex-Pink Fairies) moved to Cambridge and worked with the 'Last Minute Put Together Boogie Band', initially with vocalist/guitarist Bruce Michael Paine (ex-Apple Pie & star of the San Francisco production of 'Hair') and John 'Honk' Lodge (Junior's Eyes, Quiver) playing bass. The Last Minute Put Together Boogie Band, now with ex-Delivery bass player Jack Monck, backed American Blues guitarist Eddie \"Guitar\" Burns at King's College Cellar on 26 January 1972. Jack's wife Jenny Spires, a friend of Twink's and former girlfriend of Syd Barrett (ex-Pink Floyd), went with Syd down to the gig and he brought his guitar along and jammed with them in the last set. At the \"Six Hour Technicolor Dream\" at the Cambridge Corn Exchange the next day (27 January), the Last Minute Put Together Boogie Band, with guests Fred Frith and Syd Barrett, played on a bill with Hawkwind and the Pink Fairies. The Boogie Band played five tracks before being joined on stage by Syd for a further three.\n\nWithin the next day or two Jenny, Jack & Twink said 'wouldn't it be great to get Syd playing again'. Twink recalled:\n\nThis gig was recorded, and while one mastertape was confiscated by EMI in 1985, another copy surfaced in 2005. In June 2010 this tape was offered for auction but failed to reach its reserve price. It was then purchased by the Easy Action label, who also hold the tapes of the Pink Fairies and Hawkwind sets from the same show. Easy Action released the Hawkwind set as an album licensed from EMI Music in 2012, and released the Last Minute Put Together Boogie Band tape as an album entitled Six Hour Technicolor Dream in June 2014.\n\nPerformances\nAll 'Stars' performances contained Barrett-era Pink Floyd songs and tracks from Barrett's 1970 solo albums The Madcap Laughs and Barrett. The posters for the MC5 / Skin Alley gig also billed an appearance from a new line-up of the Last Minute Put Together Boogie Band - Bruce Paine, Rick Fenn, Bill Gray & Gary Luvaglia. Paine went on to join Steamhammer for a tour of Europe in late 1972 before returning to the United States.\n\nStars roadie and occasional bass player Joly MacFie said:\n\nHollingworth wrote:\n\nJack Monck, speaking in 2001, agreed that the gig was below-par:\n\nThe Terrapin fanzine was more charitable in its review of what it called Syd's Final Performance (January 1973).\n\nThe damage had already been done when Barrett read the Melody Maker review the following week, despite Joly's assertion that the Cambridge Corn Exchange gig with Nektar, two days later, was an improvement - a claim which Twink seemed to back up:\n\nGuitarist Bernie Elliott was the musician recruited for the Syd-less Stars gigs, alternatively recalled as having been at Seymour Hall in London.Oxford, Essex Uni. At some point during 1972, Twink, Monck, Dan Kelleher (guitar/keyboards) and George Bacon (guitar) completed a recording session at London's Polydor Studios, with one song later surfacing on a 1991 compilation album. In late 1972, Monck started a new band called Rocks Off with Rusty Burnhill.\n\nAftermath\nShortly thereafter Syd Barrett left music and his public life altogether and began living in seclusion, but not before Syd performed with Jack Bruce in Cambridge during the Summer of 1973. A night of poetry and music was arranged by Bruce and his writing partner Pete Brown, and when Brown arrived at the gig (having been delayed) he found Bruce jamming with local musicians, one of whom he recalled was playing acoustic jazz guitar. When Brown started his poetry reading, he dedicated one to Syd Barrett, stating that he started the Psychedelic movement in England—only to then see the man with the guitar stand up and say, \"No I didn't.\" Brown only then realized this was Barrett himself. This appears to be the last time he ever performed in public.\n\nRecordings of Stars performances were made but remain lost. American photographer Victor Kraft is known to have recorded (and photographed) the Dandelion gigs, but after his death in 1976 his possessions were removed from his flat by his Cambridge landlord. As mentioned above, the concert with Nektar was recorded but the tapes were lost, although the Boogie Band show with Hawkwind and the Pink Fairies still exists, and a recording of the Eddie \"Guitar\" Burns gig is also rumoured to have survived. Twink also claimed that Syd had recorded all of their rehearsals on cassette and kept the tapes, but their fate is unknown. Roy Hollingworth, told of the cause of Stars' breakup several years later, was deeply upset. \"It was never my intention to harm Syd because I was his biggest fan. He was one of my heroes. I wrote about what I saw and heard as sensitively as I could and it certainly wasn't meant to be a big put down. A little piece of me died that night too. But on a personal level if it hurt Syd I'm very sorry. Ideally, I'd have loved it if he had made a great comeback and gone on and on and on.\"\n\nKnown 'Stars' appearances\n Saturday 29 January 1972 – The Dandelion Coffee Bar, Cambridge\n Saturday 5 February 1972 – The Dandelion Coffee Bar, Cambridge\n Saturday 12 February 1972 – Petty Cury (near the Market Square), Cambridge\n February 1972 – The Dandelion Coffee Bar, Cambridge\n Thursday 24 February 1972 – The Corn Exchange, Cambridge (with MC5 & Skin Alley)\n Saturday 26 February 1972 – The Corn Exchange, Cambridge (with Nektar)\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n 'Poster' for the Cambridge Corn Exchange concerts\n\nEnglish rock music groups\nMusical groups established in 1972\nMusical groups disestablished in 1972\nMusical groups from Cambridge\nSyd Barrett"
] |
[
"Syd Barrett",
"London Underground, Blackhill Enterprises and gigs",
"What did he do in London Underground?",
"became the most popular musical group of the \"London Underground\" psychedelic music scene.",
"How did they become the most popular musical group?",
"In 1966, a new rock concert venue, the UFO (pronounced as \"you-foe\"), opened in London and quickly became a haven for British psychedelic music.",
"What did they have to do with Syd Barrett?",
"Pink Floyd, the house band, was its most popular attraction and"
] | C_6d0e8aa901f54f6587b8dd457957ea6a_1 | Did Barrett create any more albums? | 4 | Did Syd Barrett create any more albums besides albums with London Underground? | Syd Barrett | While Pink Floyd began by playing cover versions of American R&B songs, by 1966 they had carved out their own style of improvised rock and roll, which drew as much from improvised jazz. After Bob Klose departed from the band, the band's direction changed. However, the change was not instantaneous, with more improvising on the guitars and keyboards. Mason reflected, "It always felt to me that most of the ideas were emanating from Syd at the time." At this time, Barrett's reading reputedly included: Grimm's Fairy Tales, Tolkien's The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings, Carlos Castaneda's The Teachings of Don Juan, and The I-Ching. During this period, Barrett wrote most of the songs for Pink Floyd's first album, and also songs that would later appear on his solo albums. In 1966, a new rock concert venue, the UFO (pronounced as "you-foe"), opened in London and quickly became a haven for British psychedelic music. Pink Floyd, the house band, was its most popular attraction and after making appearances at the rival Roundhouse, became the most popular musical group of the "London Underground" psychedelic music scene. By the end of 1966, Pink Floyd had gained a reliable management team in Andrew King and Peter Jenner. Towards the end of October 1966, Pink Floyd, with King and Jenner, set up Blackhill Enterprises, to manage the group's finances. Blackhill was staffed by lodgers Jenner found in his Edbrooke Road house, and among others, Barrett's flatmate, Peter Wynne Wilson (who became road manager, however, since he had more experience in lighting, he was also lighting assistant). King and Jenner wanted to prepare some demo recordings for a possible record deal, so at the end of October, they booked a session at Thompson Private Recording Studio, in Hemel Hempstead. King said of the demos: "That was the first time I realised they were going to write all their own material, Syd just turned into a songwriter, it seemed like overnight." King and Jenner befriended American expatriate Joe Boyd, the promoter of the UFO Club, who was making a name for himself as one of the more important entrepreneurs on the British music scene. The newly hired booking agent, Bryan Morrison, and Boyd had proposed sending in better quality recordings. From Morrison's agency the band played a gig outside London for the first time. In November, the band performed the first (of many) strangely named concerts: Philadelic Music for Simian Hominids, a multimedia event arranged by the group's former landlord, Mike Leonard, at Hornsey College of Art. They performed at the Free School for the following two weeks, before performing at the Psychodelphia Versus Ian Smith event at the Roundhouse in December, arranged by the Majority Rule for Rhodesia Campaign, and an Oxfam benefit at the Albert Hall (the band's biggest venue up to this point). CANNOTANSWER | and after making appearances at the rival Roundhouse, became the most popular musical group of the "London Underground" psychedelic music scene. | Roger Keith "Syd" Barrett (6 January 1946 – 7 July 2006) was an English singer, songwriter, and musician who co-founded the rock band Pink Floyd in 1965. Barrett was their original frontman and primary songwriter, becoming known for his whimsical psychedelia, English-accented singing, literary influences, and stream-of-consciousness writing style. As a guitarist, he was influential for his free-form playing and for employing dissonance, distortion, echo, feedback, and other studio effects.
Originally trained as a painter, Barrett was musically active for less than ten years. With Pink Floyd, he recorded four singles, their debut album The Piper at the Gates of Dawn (1967), portions of their second album A Saucerful of Secrets (1968), and several unreleased songs. In April 1968, Barrett was ousted from the band amid speculation of mental illness and his excessive use of psychedelic drugs. He began a brief solo career in 1969 with the single "Octopus" and followed with the albums The Madcap Laughs (1970) and Barrett (1970), recorded with the aid of several members of Pink Floyd.
In 1972, Barrett left the music industry, retired from public life and strictly guarded his privacy until his death. He continued painting and dedicated himself to gardening. Pink Floyd recorded several tributes and homages to him, including the 1975 song suite "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" and the 1979 rock opera The Wall. In 1988, EMI released an album of unreleased tracks and outtakes, Opel, with Barrett's approval. In 1996, Barrett was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Pink Floyd. He died of pancreatic cancer in 2006.
Life and career
Early years
Roger Keith Barrett was born on 6 January 1946 in Cambridge, Cambridgeshire to a middle-class family living at 60 Glisson Road. He was the fourth of five children. His father, Arthur Max Barrett, was a prominent pathologist and was said to be related to Elizabeth Garrett Anderson through Max's maternal grandmother Ellen Garrett. In 1951, his family moved to 183 Hills Road.
Barrett played piano occasionally but usually preferred writing and drawing. He bought a ukulele aged 10, a banjo at 11 and a Hofner acoustic guitar at 14. A year after he purchased his first acoustic guitar, he bought his first electric guitar and built his own amplifier. One story of how Barrett acquired the nickname "Syd" is that at the age of 14 he was named after an old local Cambridge jazz double bassist, Sid "The Beat" Barrett, which claims Syd Barrett changed the spelling to differentiate himself from his namesake.
Another account is that when he was 13, his schoolmates nicknamed him "Syd" after he showed up to a field day at Abington Scout site wearing a flat cap instead of his Scout beret because "Syd" was a "working-class" name. He used both names interchangeably for several years. His sister Rosemary said: "He was never Syd at home. He would never have allowed it." He was a Scout with the 7th Cambridge troop and went on to be a patrol leader.
At one point at Morley Memorial Junior School he was taught by the mother of future Pink Floyd bassist Roger Waters. Later, in 1957, he attended Cambridgeshire High School for Boys with Waters. His father died of cancer on 11 December 1961, less than a month before Barrett's 16th birthday. On this date, Barrett left the entry in his diary blank. By this time, his brothers and sisters had left home and his mother decided to rent out rooms to lodgers.
Eager to help her son recover from his grief, Barrett's mother encouraged the band in which he played, Geoff Mott and the Mottoes, a band which Barrett formed, to perform in their front room. Waters and Barrett were childhood friends, and Waters often visited such gigs. At one point, Waters organised a gig, a CND benefit at Friends Meeting House on 11 March 1962, but shortly afterwards Geoff Mott joined the Boston Crabs, and the Mottoes broke up.
In September 1962, Barrett had taken a place at the art department of the Cambridgeshire College of Arts and Technology, where he met David Gilmour. In late 1962 and early 1963, the Beatles made an impact on Barrett, and he began to play Beatles songs at parties and at picnics. In 1963, Barrett became a Rolling Stones fan and, with then-girlfriend Libby Gausden, saw them perform at a village hall in Cambridgeshire.
At this point, Barrett started writing songs; one friend recalls hearing "Effervescing Elephant" (later to be recorded on his solo album Barrett). Also around this time, Barrett and Gilmour occasionally played acoustic gigs together. Barrett had played bass guitar with Those Without in mid-1963 and bass and guitar with the Hollerin' Blues the next summer. In 1964, Barrett and Gausden saw Bob Dylan perform. After this performance, Barrett was inspired to write "Bob Dylan Blues". Barrett, now thinking about his future, decided to apply for Camberwell College of Arts in London. He enrolled in the college in the summer of 1964 to study painting.
Pink Floyd years (1965–1968)
Starting in 1964, the band that would become Pink Floyd evolved through various line-up and name changes including "The Abdabs", "The Screaming Abdabs", "Sigma 6", and "The Meggadeaths". In 1965, Barrett joined them as the Tea Set (sometimes spelled T-Set). When they found themselves playing a concert with another band of the same name, Barrett came up with "The Pink Floyd Sound" (also known as "The Pink Floyd Blues Band", later "The Pink Floyd"). During 1965, they went into a studio for the first time, when a friend of Richard Wright's gave the band free time to record.
During this summer Barrett had his first LSD trip in the garden of friend Dave Gale, with Ian Moore and Storm Thorgerson. During one trip, Barrett and another friend, Paul Charrier, ended up naked in the bath, reciting: "No rules, no rules". That summer, as a result of the continued drug use, the band became absorbed in Sant Mat, a Sikh sect. Storm Thorgerson (then living on Earlham Street) and Barrett went to a London hotel to meet the sect's guru; Thorgerson managed to join the sect; Barrett, however, was deemed too young to join. Thorgerson sees this as a deeply important event in Barrett's life, as he was extremely upset by the rejection. While living near his friends, Barrett decided to write more songs ("Bike" was written around this time).
London Underground, Blackhill Enterprises and gigs
While Pink Floyd began by playing cover versions of American R&B songs, by 1966 they had carved out their own style of improvised rock and roll, which drew as much from improvised jazz. After Bob Klose departed from the band, the band's direction changed. However, the change was not instantaneous, with more improvising on the guitars and keyboards. Drummer Nick Mason reflected, "It always felt to me that most of the ideas were emanating from Syd at the time."
At this time, Barrett's reading reputedly included Grimm's Fairy Tales, Tolkien's The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings, and The I-Ching. During this period, Barrett wrote most of the songs for Pink Floyd's first album, and also songs that would later appear on his solo albums. In 1966, a new rock concert venue, the UFO (pronounced as "you-foe"), opened in London and quickly became a haven for British psychedelic music. Pink Floyd, the house band, was its most popular attraction and after making appearances at the rival Roundhouse, became the most popular musical group of the "London Underground" psychedelic music scene.
By the end of 1966, Pink Floyd had gained a reliable management team in Andrew King and Peter Jenner. Towards the end of October 1966, Pink Floyd, with King and Jenner, set up Blackhill Enterprises, to manage the group's finances. Blackhill was staffed by lodgers Jenner found in his Edbrooke Road house, and among others, Barrett's flatmate, Peter Wynne Wilson (who became road manager, however, since he had more experience in lighting, he was also lighting assistant). King and Jenner wanted to prepare some demo recordings for a possible record deal, so at the end of October, they booked a session at Thompson Private Recording Studio, in Hemel Hempstead. King said of the demos: "That was the first time I realised they were going to write all their own material, Syd just turned into a songwriter, it seemed like overnight."
King and Jenner befriended American expatriate Joe Boyd, the promoter of the UFO Club, who was making a name for himself as one of the more important entrepreneurs on the British music scene. The newly hired booking agent, Bryan Morrison, and Boyd had proposed sending in better quality recordings. From Morrison's agency the band played a gig outside London for the first time. In November, the band performed the first (of many) strangely named concerts: Philadelic Music for Simian Hominids, a multimedia event arranged by the group's former landlord, Mike Leonard, at Hornsey College of Art. They performed at the Free School for the following two weeks, before performing at the Psychodelphia Versus Ian Smith event at the Roundhouse in December, arranged by the Majority Rule for Rhodesia Campaign, and an Oxfam benefit at the Albert Hall (the band's biggest venue up to this point).
Tonite Lets All Make Love in London
At the beginning of 1967, Barrett was dating Jenny Spires (who would later marry future Stars member Jack Monck). However, unknown to Barrett, Spires had an affair with Peter Whitehead. Spires convinced Whitehead (who thought the band sounded like "bad Schoenberg") to use Pink Floyd in a film about the swinging London scene. So at the cost of £80 (), in January, Whitehead took the band into John Wood's Sound Techniques in Chelsea, with promoter Joe Boyd in tow. Here, the band recorded a 16-minute version of "Interstellar Overdrive" and another composition, "Nick's Boogie". Whitehead had filmed this recording, which was used in the film Tonite Lets All Make Love in London and later on the video release of London '66–'67. Whitehead later commented about the band that: "They were just completely welded together, just like a jazz group".
The Piper at the Gates of Dawn
Boyd attempted to sign the band with Polydor Records. However, Morrison had convinced King and Jenner to try to start a bidding war between Polydor and EMI. In late January, Boyd produced a recording session for the group, with them returning to Sound Techniques in Chelsea again. After the bidding war idea was finished, Pink Floyd signed with EMI. Unusual for the time, the deal included recording an album, which meant the band had unlimited studio time at EMI Studios in return for a smaller royalty percentage. The band then attempted to re-record "Arnold Layne", but the Boyd version from January was released instead.
The band's first studio album, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, was recorded intermittently between February and July 1967 in Studio 3 at Abbey Road Studios, and produced by former Beatles engineer Norman Smith. By the time the album was released on 4 August, "Arnold Layne" (which was released months earlier, on 11 March) had reached number 20 on the British singles charts, despite being banned by Radio London, and the follow-up single, "See Emily Play", had peaked at number 5. The album was successful in the UK, hitting number 6 on the British album charts. Their first three singles (including their third, "Apples and Oranges"), were written by Barrett, who also was the principal visionary/author of their critically acclaimed 1967 debut album. Of the eleven songs on Piper, Barrett wrote eight and co-wrote another two.
Health problems
Through late 1967 and early 1968, Barrett became increasingly erratic, partly as a consequence of his reported heavy use of psychedelic drugs such as LSD. There is also speculation that he suffered from schizophrenia. Once described as joyful, friendly, and extroverted, he became increasingly depressed and withdrawn, and experienced hallucinations, disorganised speech, memory lapses, intense mood swings, and periods of catatonia. Although the changes began gradually, he went missing for a long weekend and, according to several friends, including Wright, came back "a completely different person".
One of the striking features of his change was the development of a blank, dead-eyed stare. Barrett did not recognise friends, and often did not know where he was; on a tour of Los Angeles, Barrett is said to have exclaimed, "Gee, it sure is nice to be in Las Vegas!" Many reports described him on stage, strumming one chord through the entire concert, or not playing at all. At a show in Santa Monica, Barrett slowly detuned his guitar.
Interviewed on Pat Boone's show during the tour, Barrett replied with a "blank and totally mute stare"; according to Mason, "Syd wasn't into moving his lips that day." Barrett exhibited similar behaviour during the band's first appearance on Dick Clark's television show American Bandstand. Surviving footage of this appearance shows Barrett miming his parts competently; however, during a group interview afterwards, Barrett gave terse answers. During this time, Barrett would often forget to bring his guitar to sessions, damage equipment and was occasionally unable to hold his plectrum. Before a performance in late 1967, Barrett reportedly crushed Mandrax tranquilliser tablets and a tube of Brylcreem into his hair, which melted down his face under the heat of the stage lighting, making him look like "a guttered candle". Mason disputed the Mandrax portion of this story, stating that "Syd would never waste good mandies".
Departure from Pink Floyd
During Pink Floyd's UK tour with Jimi Hendrix in November 1967, guitarist David O'List from the Nice substituted for Barrett on several occasions when he was unable to perform or failed to appear. Around Christmas, Pink Floyd asked Barrett's schoolfriend David Gilmour to join as a second guitarist to cover for Barrett. For a handful of shows, Gilmour played and sang while Barrett wandered around on stage, occasionally joining the performance. The other band members grew tired of Barrett's antics and, on 26 January 1968, when Waters was driving on the way to a show at Southampton University, they elected not to pick Barrett up. One person in the car said, "Shall we pick Syd up?" and another said, "Let's not bother." As Barrett had written the bulk of the band's material, the plan was to retain him as a non-touring member, as the Beach Boys had done with Brian Wilson, but this proved impractical.
According to Waters, Barrett came to what was to be their last practice session with a new song he had dubbed "Have You Got It Yet?". The song seemed simple when he first presented it, but it soon became impossibly difficult to learn; the band eventually realised that Barrett was changing the arrangement as they played, and that Barrett was playing a joke on them. Waters called it "a real act of mad genius".
Of the songs Barrett wrote for Pink Floyd after The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, only "Jugband Blues" was included on their album, A Saucerful of Secrets (1968). "Apples and Oranges" became an unsuccessful single, and "Scream Thy Last Scream" and "Vegetable Man", remained unreleased until 2016 in The Early Years 1965–1972 box set, as they were deemed too dark and unsettling. Barrett played guitar on the Saucerful of Secrets tracks "Remember a Day" and "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun".
Feeling guilty, the members of Pink Floyd were unable to bring themselves to definitively tell Barrett that he was no longer in the band. According to Wright, who lived with Barrett at the time, he told Barrett he was going out to buy cigarettes when leaving to play a show. He would return hours later to find Barrett in the same position, sometimes with a cigarette burned completely down between his fingers (an incident later referenced in Pink Floyd's concert film The Wall). Emerging from catatonia and unaware that a long period of time had elapsed, Barrett would ask, "Have you got the cigarettes?".
Barrett supposedly spent time outside the recording studio, in the reception area, waiting to be invited in. He also came to a few performances and glared at Gilmour. On 6 April 1968, Pink Floyd officially announced that Barrett was no longer a member, the same day their contract with Blackhill Enterprises was terminated. Considering him as the band's musical leader, Blackhill Enterprises retained Barrett.
Solo years (1968–1972)
After leaving Pink Floyd, Barrett was out of the public eye for a year. In 1969, at the behest of EMI and Harvest Records, he embarked on a brief solo career, releasing two solo albums, The Madcap Laughs and Barrett (both 1970), and a single, "Octopus". Some songs, "Terrapin", "Maisie" and "Bob Dylan Blues", reflected Barrett's early interest in the blues.
The Madcap Laughs
After Barrett left Pink Floyd, Jenner followed suit. He led Barrett into EMI Studios to record some tracks in May that would later be released on Barrett's first solo album, The Madcap Laughs. However, Jenner said: "I had seriously underestimated the difficulties of working with him". By the sessions of June and July, most of the tracks were in better shape; however, shortly after the July sessions, Barrett broke up with girlfriend Lindsay Corner and went on a drive around Britain in his Mini, ending up in psychiatric care in Cambridge. During New Year 1969, a somewhat recovered Barrett had taken up tenancy in a flat on Egerton Gardens, South Kensington, London, with the postmodernist artist Duggie Fields. Here, Barrett's flat was so close to Gilmour's that Gilmour could look right into Barrett's kitchen. Deciding to return to music, Barrett contacted EMI and was passed to Malcolm Jones, the then-head of EMI's new prog rock label, Harvest (after Norman Smith and Jenner declined to produce Barrett's record, Jones produced it). Barrett wanted to recover the Jenner-produced sessions recordings; several of the tracks were improved upon.
The Jones-produced sessions started in April 1969 at EMI Studios. After the first of these sessions, Barrett brought in friends to help out: Humble Pie drummer Jerry Shirley, and Jokers Wild (Gilmour's old band) drummer Willie Wilson. For the sessions, Gilmour played bass. Talking to Barrett wasn't easy, said Jones: "It was a case of following him, not playing with him. They were seeing and then playing so they were always a note behind". A few tracks on the album feature overdubs by members of the band Soft Machine. During this time, Barrett also played guitar on the sessions for Soft Machine founder Kevin Ayers' debut LP Joy of a Toy, although his performance on "Religious Experience" (later titled "Singing a Song in the Morning") was not released until the album was reissued in 2003. One time, Barrett had told his flatmate that he was going off "for an afternoon drive". However, he followed Pink Floyd to Ibiza (according to legend, he skipped check-ins and customs, ran onto the runway and attempted to flag down a jet). One of his friends, J. Ryan Eaves, bass player for the short-lived but influential Manchester band York's Ensemble, later spotted him on a beach wearing messed-up clothes and with a carrier bag full of money. By this point, during the trip, Barrett had asked Gilmour for his help in the recording sessions.
After two of the Gilmour/Waters-produced sessions, they remade one track from the Soft Machine overdubs and recorded three tracks. These sessions came to a minor halt when Gilmour and Waters were mixing Pink Floyd's newly recorded album, Ummagumma, to Barrett's dismay. However, through the end of July, they managed to record three more tracks. The problem with the recording was that the songs were recorded as Barrett played them "live" in studio. On the released versions a number of them have false starts and commentaries from Barrett. Despite the track being closer to complete and better produced, Gilmour and Waters left the Jones-produced track "Opel" off Madcap.
Gilmour later said of the sessions for The Madcap Laughs:
Upon the album's release in January 1970, Malcolm Jones was shocked by the substandard musicianship on the Gilmour and Waters-produced songs: "I felt angry. It's like dirty linen in public and very unnecessary and unkind." Gilmour said: "Perhaps we were trying to show what Syd was really like. But perhaps we were trying to punish him." Waters was more positive: "Syd is a genius."
Barrett said "It's quite nice but I'd be very surprised if it did anything if I were to drop dead. I don't think it would stand as my last statement."
Evelyn "Iggy the Eskimo" Rose (1947–2017) appeared nude on the back of the album's inner sleeve.
Barrett
The second album, Barrett, was recorded more sporadically than the first, with sessions taking place between February and July 1970. The album was produced by David Gilmour, and featured Gilmour on bass guitar, Richard Wright on keyboard and Humble Pie drummer Jerry Shirley. The first two songs attempted were for Barrett to play and/or sing to an existing backing track. However, Gilmour thought they were losing the "Barrett-ness". One track ("Rats") was originally recorded with Barrett on his own. That would later be overdubbed by musicians, despite the changing tempos. Shirley said of Barrett's playing: "He would never play the same tune twice. Sometimes Syd couldn't play anything that made sense; other times what he'd play was absolute magic." At times Barrett, who experienced synaesthesia, would say: "Perhaps we could make the middle darker and maybe the end a bit middle afternoonish. At the moment it's too windy and icy".
These sessions were happening while Pink Floyd had just begun to work on Atom Heart Mother. On various occasions, Barrett went to "spy" on the band as they recorded their album.
Wright said of the Barrett sessions:
Performances
Despite the numerous recording dates for his solo albums, Barrett undertook very little musical activity between 1968 and 1972 outside the studio. On 24 February 1970, he appeared on John Peel's BBC radio programme Top Gear playing five songs—only one of which had been previously released. Three would be re-recorded for the Barrett album, while the song "Two of a Kind" was a one-off performance (possibly written by Richard Wright). Barrett was accompanied on this session by Gilmour and Shirley who played bass and percussion, respectively.
Gilmour and Shirley also backed Barrett for his one and only live concert during this period. The gig took place on 6 June 1970 at the Olympia Exhibition Hall as part of a Music and Fashion Festival. The trio performed four songs, "Terrapin", "Gigolo Aunt", "Effervescing Elephant" and "Octopus". Poor mixing left the vocals barely audible until part-way through the last number. At the end of the fourth song, Barrett unexpectedly but politely put down his guitar and walked off the stage. The performance has been bootlegged. Barrett made one last appearance on BBC Radio, recording three songs at their studios on 16 February 1971. All three came from the Barrett album. After this session, he took a hiatus from his music career that lasted more than a year, although in an extensive interview with Mick Rock and Rolling Stone in December, he discussed himself at length, showed off his new 12-string guitar, talked about touring with Jimi Hendrix and stated that he was frustrated in terms of his musical work because of his inability to find anyone good to play with.
Later years (1972–2006)
Stars and final recordings
In February 1972, after a few guest spots in Cambridge with ex-Pink Fairies member Twink on drums and Jack Monck on bass using the name The Last Minute Put Together Boogie Band (backing visiting blues musician Eddie "Guitar" Burns and also featuring Henry Cow guitarist Fred Frith), the trio formed a short-lived band called Stars. Though they were initially well received at gigs in the Dandelion coffee bar and the town's Market Square, one of their gigs at the Corn Exchange in Cambridge with MC5 proved to be disastrous. A few days after this final show, Twink recalled that Barrett stopped him on the street, showed him a scathing review of the gig they had played, and quit on the spot, despite having played at least one subsequent gig at the same venue supporting Nektar.
Free from his EMI contract on 9 May 1972, Barrett signed a document that ended his association with Pink Floyd, and any financial interest in future recordings. He attended an informal jazz and poetry performance by Pete Brown and former Cream bassist Jack Bruce in October 1973. Brown arrived at the show late, and saw that Bruce was already onstage, along with "a guitarist I vaguely recognised", playing the Horace Silver tune "Doodlin'". Later in the show, Brown read out a poem, which he dedicated to Syd, because, "he's here in Cambridge, and he's one of the best songwriters in the country" when, to his surprise, the guitar player from earlier in the show stood up and said, "No I'm not". By the end of 1973, Barrett had returned to live in London, staying at various hotels and, in December of that year, settling in at Chelsea Cloisters. He had little contact with others, apart from his regular visits to his management's offices to collect his royalties, and the occasional visit from his sister Rosemary.
In August 1974, Jenner persuaded Barrett to return to Abbey Road Studios in hope of recording another album. According to John Leckie, who engineered these sessions, even at this point Syd still "looked like he did when he was younger ... long haired". The sessions lasted three days and consisted of blues rhythm tracks with tentative and disjointed guitar overdubs. Barrett recorded eleven tracks, the only one of which to be titled was "If You Go, Don't Be Slow". Once again, Barrett withdrew from the music industry, but this time for good. He sold the rights to his solo albums back to the record label and moved into a London hotel. During this period, several attempts to employ him as a record producer (including one by Jamie Reid on behalf of the Sex Pistols, and another by the Damned, who wanted him to produce their second album) were fruitless.
Wish You Were Here sessions
Barrett visited the members of Pink Floyd in 1975 during the recording sessions for their ninth album, Wish You Were Here. He attended the Abbey Road session unannounced, and watched the band working on the final mix of "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" — a song about him. By that time, Barrett, then 29, had become overweight and had shaved off all of his hair (including his eyebrows), and his former bandmates did not initially recognise him. Barrett spent part of the session brushing his teeth. Waters asked him what he thought of the song and he said that it "sounds a bit old". He is reported to have briefly attended the reception for Gilmour's wedding to Ginger that immediately followed the recording sessions, but Gilmour said he had no recollection of this.
A few years later, Waters saw Barrett in the department store Harrods; Barrett ran outside, dropping his bags. It was the last time any member of Pink Floyd saw him.
Withdrawal to Cambridge
In 1978, when Barrett's money ran out, he moved back to Cambridge to live with his mother. He returned to live in London for a few weeks in 1982, but soon returned to Cambridge permanently. Barrett walked the from London to Cambridge. Until his death, he received royalties from his work with Pink Floyd; Gilmour said, "I made sure the money got to him." In 1996, Barrett was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Pink Floyd. He did not attend the ceremony.
According to biographer and journalist Tim Willis, Barrett, who had reverted to using his original name Roger, continued to live in his late mother's semi-detached home, and had returned to painting, creating large abstract canvases. He was also said to have been an avid gardener. His main point of contact with the outside world was his sister, Rosemary, who lived nearby. He was reclusive, and his physical health declined, as he suffered from stomach ulcers and type 2 diabetes.
Although Barrett had not appeared or spoken in public since the mid-1970s, reporters and fans travelled to Cambridge seeking him, despite public appeals from his family. Apparently, Barrett did not like being reminded about his musical career and the other members of Pink Floyd had no direct contact with him. However, he did visit his sister's house in November 2001 to watch the BBC Omnibus documentary made about him; reportedly he found some of it "a bit noisy", enjoyed seeing Mike Leonard again, calling him his "teacher", and enjoyed hearing "See Emily Play".
Barrett made a final public acknowledgement of his musical past in 2002, his first since the 1970s, when he autographed 320 copies of photographer Mick Rock's book Psychedelic Renegades, which contained a number of photos of Barrett. Rock was perhaps the last person in the music industry with whom Barrett kept in contact. In 1971, Rock conducted Barrett's final interview before his retirement from the music industry. Barrett visited Rock in London several times for tea and conversation in 1978. They had not spoken in more than 20 years when Rock approached Barrett to autograph his photography book, and Barrett uncharacteristically agreed. Having reverted to his birth name, he autographed the book "Barrett".
Death and aftermath
Barrett died at home in Cambridge on 7 July 2006 aged 60, from pancreatic cancer. He was cremated. In 2006, his home in St. Margaret's Square, Cambridge, was put on the market and reportedly attracted considerable interest. After over 100 showings, many to fans, it was sold to a French couple who reportedly knew nothing about Barrett. On 28 November 2006, Barrett's other possessions were sold at an auction at Cheffins auction house in Cambridge, raising £120,000 for charity. Items sold included paintings, scrapbooks and everyday items that Barrett had decorated. NME produced a tribute issue to Barrett a week later with a photo of him on the cover. In an interview with The Sunday Times, Barrett's sister said that he had written an unpublished book about the history of art.
In response to the news of Barrett's death, Gilmour said:
According to local newspapers, Barrett left approximately £1.7 million to his two brothers and two sisters. This sum was apparently largely acquired from royalties from Pink Floyd compilations and live recordings featuring songs he had written while with the band. A tribute concert called "Madcap's Last Laugh" was held at the Barbican Centre, London, on 10 May 2007 with Robyn Hitchcock, Captain Sensible, Damon Albarn, Chrissie Hynde, Kevin Ayers and his Pink Floyd bandmates performing. A series of events called The City Wakes was held in Cambridge in October 2008 to celebrate Barrett's life, art, and music. Barrett's sister, Rosemary Breen, supported this, the first series of official events in memory of her brother. After the festival's success, arts charity Escape Artists announced plans to create a centre in Cambridge, using art to help people suffering from mental health problems. A memorial bench has been placed in the Botanic Gardens in Cambridge and a more prominent tribute is planned in the city.
Legacy
Compilations
In 1988, EMI Records (after constant pressure from Malcolm Jones) released an album of Barrett's studio out-takes and previously unreleased material recorded from 1968 to 1970 under the title Opel. The disc was originally set to include the unreleased Barrett Pink Floyd songs "Scream Thy Last Scream" and "Vegetable Man", which had been remixed for the album by Jones, but the band pulled the two songs before Opel was finalised. In 1993 EMI issued another release, Crazy Diamond, a boxed set of all three albums, each with further out-takes from his solo sessions that illustrated Barrett's inability or refusal to play a song the same way twice. EMI also released The Best of Syd Barrett: Wouldn't You Miss Me? in the UK on 16 April 2001 and in the US on 11 September 2001. This was the first time his song "Bob Dylan Blues" was officially released, taken from a demo tape that Gilmour had kept after an early 1970s session. Gilmour kept the tape, which also contains the unreleased "Living Alone" from the Barrett sessions. In October 2010 Harvest/EMI and Capitol Records released An Introduction to Syd Barrett—a collection of both his Pink Floyd and remastered solo work. The 2010 compilation An Introduction to Syd Barrett includes the downloadable bonus track "Rhamadan", a 20-minute track recorded at one of Syd's earliest solo sessions, in May 1968. In 2011, it was announced that a vinyl double album version would be issued for Record Store Day.
Bootleg editions of Barrett's live and solo material exist. For years the "off air" recordings of the BBC sessions with Barrett's Pink Floyd circulated, until an engineer who had taken a tape of the early Pink Floyd gave it back to the BBC—which played it during a tribute to John Peel on their website. During this tribute, the first Peel programme (Top Gear) was aired in its entirety. This show featured the 1967 live versions of "Flaming", "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun", and a brief 90-second snippet of the instrumental "Reaction in G". In 2012, engineer Andy Jackson said he had found "a huge box of assorted tapes", in Mason's possession, containing versions of R&B songs that (the Barrett-era) Pink Floyd played in their early years.
Creative impact
Barrett wrote most of Pink Floyd's early material. According to critic Steven Hyden, even after Barrett left the band, Barrett's spirit "haunted" their records, and their most popular work "drew on the power of what Barrett signified".
Barrett was an innovative guitarist, using extended techniques and exploring the musical and sonic possibilities of dissonance, distortion, feedback, the echo machine, tapes and other effects; his experimentation was partly inspired by free improvisation guitarist Keith Rowe of the group AMM, active at the time in London. One of Barrett's trademarks was playing his guitar through an old echo box while sliding a Zippo lighter up and down the fret-board to create the mysterious, otherworldly sounds that became associated with the group. Barrett was known to have used Binson delay units to achieve his trademark echo sounds. Daevid Allen, founder member of Soft Machine and Gong, cited Barrett's use of slide guitar with echo as a key inspiration for his own "glissando guitar" style.
Barrett's recordings both with Pink Floyd and in later solo albums were delivered with a strongly British-accented vocal delivery, specifically that of southern England. He was described by Guardian writer Nick Kent as having a "quintessential English style of vocal projection". David Bowie said that Barrett, along with Anthony Newley, was the first person he had heard sing rock or pop music with a British accent.
Barrett's free-form sequences of "sonic carpets" pioneered a new way to play the rock guitar. He played several different guitars during his tenure, including an old Harmony hollowbody electric, a Harmony acoustic, a Fender acoustic, a single-coil Danelectro 59 DC, several different Fender Telecasters and a white Fender Stratocaster in late 1967. A silver Fender Esquire with mirrored discs glued to the body was the guitar he was most often associated with and the guitar he "felt most close to". The mirrored Esquire was traded for a black Telecaster Custom, in 1968. Its whereabouts are currently unknown.
Influence
Many artists have acknowledged Barrett's influence on their work. Paul McCartney, Pete Townshend, Blur, Kevin Ayers, Gong, Marc Bolan, Tangerine Dream, Genesis P-Orridge, Julian Cope, Pere Ubu, Jeff Mangum, The Olivia Tremor Control, The Flaming Lips, Animal Collective, John Maus, Paul Weller, Roger Miller, East Bay Ray, Cedric Bixler-Zavala, and David Bowie were inspired by Barrett; Jimmy Page, Brian Eno, Sex Pistols, and The Damned all expressed interest in working with him at some point during the 1970s. Bowie recorded a cover of "See Emily Play" on his 1973 album Pin Ups. The track "Grass", from XTC's album Skylarking was influenced when Andy Partridge let fellow band member Colin Moulding borrow his Barrett records. Robyn Hitchcock's career was dedicated to being Barrett-esque; he even played "Dominoes" for the 2001 BBC documentary The Pink Floyd and Syd Barrett Story.
Barrett also had an influence on alternative and punk music in general. According to critic John Harris:
To understand his place in modern music you probably have to first go back to punk rock and its misguided attempt to kick aside what remained of the psychedelic 1960s. Given that the Clash and Sex Pistols had made brutal social commentary obligatory, there seemed little room for any of the creative exotica that had defined the Love Decade – until, slowly but surely, singing about dead-end lives and dole queues began to pall, and at least some of the previous generation were rehabilitated. Barrett was the best example: having crashed out of Pink Floyd before the advent of indulgent "progressive" rock, and succumbed to a fate that appealed to the punk generation's nihilism, he underwent a revival.
Barrett's decline had a profound effect on Waters' songwriting, and the theme of mental illness permeated the later Pink Floyd albums The Dark Side of the Moon (1973), Wish You Were Here (1975) and The Wall (1979). The reference to a "steel rail" in the song "Wish You Were Here" – "can you tell a green field from a cold steel rail?" – references a recurring theme in Barrett's song "If It's In You" from The Madcap Laughs. The song suite "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" from Wish You Were Here is also a tribute to Barrett.
In 1987, an album of Barrett cover songs called Beyond the Wildwood was released. The album was a collection of cover songs from Barrett's tenure with Pink Floyd and from his solo career. Artists appearing were UK and US indie bands including The Shamen, Opal, The Soup Dragons, and Plasticland.
Other artists who have written tributes to Barrett include his contemporary Kevin Ayers, who wrote "O Wot a Dream" in his honour (Barrett provided guitar to an early version of Ayers' song "Religious Experience: Singing a Song in the Morning"). Robyn Hitchcock has covered many of his songs live and on record and paid homage to his forebear with the song "(Feels Like) 1974". Phish covered "Bike", "No Good Trying", "Love You", "Baby Lemonade" and "Terrapin". The Television Personalities' single "I Know Where Syd Barrett Lives" from their 1981 album And Don't the Kids Love It is another tribute. In 2008, The Trash Can Sinatras released a single in tribute to the life and work of Syd Barrett called "Oranges and Apples", from their 2009 album In the Music. Proceeds from the single go to the Syd Barrett Trust in support of arts in mental health.
Johnny Depp showed interest in a biographical film based on Barrett's life. Barrett is portrayed briefly in the opening scene of Tom Stoppard's play Rock 'n' Roll (2006), performing "Golden Hair". His life and music, including the disastrous Cambridge Corn Exchange concert and his later reclusive lifestyle, are a recurring motif in the work. Barrett died during the play's run in London.
In 2016, in correspondence with the 70th anniversary birthday, The Theatre of the Absurd, an Italian independent artists group, published a short movie in honour of Barrett named Eclipse, with actor-director Edgar Blake in the role of Barrett. Some footage from this movie was also shown at Syd Barrett – A Celebration during Men on the Border's tribute: the show took place at the Cambridge Corn Exchange, with the participation of Barrett's family and old friends.
For 2017 TV series Legion creator Noah Hawley named one of the characters after Barrett, whose music was an important influence on the series.
In The X-Files season nine episode, "Lord of the Flies" (2001), a powerful mutant, Dylan Lokensgard (Hank Harris), has several posters of Syd Barrett on his bedroom wall, and listens to "It's No Good Trying" and "Terrapin" from The Madcap Laughs.
He recites the line, "A dream in a mist of gray", from Barrett's song "Opel", saying of the singer, "He was, like, this brilliant guy that no-one understood".
Barrett's influence on the genesis of psychedelia was considered in a chapter entitled 'Astronauts of Inner Space: Syd Barrett, Nick Drake and the Birth of Psychedelia' in Guy Mankowski's book 'Albion's Secret History: Snapshots of England's Pop Rebels and Outsiders.'
Health
Members of Barrett's family denied that he had suffered from mental illness. Asked if Barrett may have had Asperger's syndrome, his sister Rosemary Breen said that he and his siblings were "all on the spectrum". She also stated that, contrary to common misconception, Barrett neither suffered from mental illness nor had he received treatment for it since they had resumed regular contact in the 1980s. Breen said he had spent some time in a private "home for lost souls"—Greenwoods in Essex—but that there was no formal therapy programme there. Some years later, Barrett agreed to sessions with a psychiatrist at Fulbourn psychiatric hospital in Cambridge, but Breen said that neither medication nor therapy was considered appropriate. Breen also denied Barrett was a recluse or that he was vague about his past: "Roger may have been a bit selfish—or rather self-absorbed—but when people called him a recluse they were really only projecting their own disappointment. He knew what they wanted, but he wasn't willing to give it to them." In 1996, Wright said that Barrett's mother told the members of Pink Floyd to not contact him because being reminded of the band would make him depressed for weeks.
In the 1960s, Barrett used psychedelic drugs, especially LSD, and there are theories he subsequently suffered from schizophrenia. Wright asserted that Barrett's problems stemmed from a massive overdose of acid, as the change in his personality and behaviour came on suddenly. However, Waters maintains that Barrett suffered "without a doubt" from schizophrenia. In an article published in 2006, Gilmour was quoted as saying: "In my opinion, his nervous breakdown would have happened anyway. It was a deep-rooted thing. But I'll say the psychedelic experience might well have acted as a catalyst. Still, I just don't think he could deal with the vision of success and all the things that went with it." According to Gilmour in a 1974 interview, the other members of Pink Floyd approached psychiatrist R. D. Laing with the "Barrett problem". After hearing a tape of a Barrett conversation, Laing declared him "incurable".
In Saucerful of Secrets: The Pink Floyd Odyssey, author Nicholas Schaffner interviewed people who knew Barrett before and during his Pink Floyd days, including friends Peter and Susan Wynne-Wilson, artist Duggie Fields (with whom Barrett shared a flat during the late 1960s), June Bolan, and Storm Thorgerson. Bolan became concerned when Syd "kept his girlfriend under lock and key for three days, occasionally shoving a ration of biscuits under the door". A claim of cruelty against Barrett committed by the groupies and hangers-on who frequented his apartment during this period was described by writer and critic Jonathan Meades. "I went [to Barrett's flat] to see Harry and there was this terrible noise. It sounded like heating pipes shaking. I said, 'What's up?' and he sort of giggled and said, 'That's Syd having a bad trip. We put him in the linen cupboard'". Storm Thorgerson responded to this claim by stating "I do not remember locking Syd up in a cupboard. It sounds to me like pure fantasy, like Jonathan Meades was on dope himself."
Other friends state that Barrett's flatmates, who had also taken LSD, thought of Barrett as a genius or a deity, and were spiking his morning coffee every day without his knowledge, leaving him in a never-ending trip. He was later rescued from that flat by friends and moved elsewhere, but his erratic behaviour continued. According to Thorgerson, "On one occasion, I had to pull him [Barrett] off [his girlfriend] Lindsay because he was beating her over the head with a mandolin". On one occasion, Barrett threw a woman called Gilly across the room, because she refused to go to Gilmour's house.
Personal life
According to his sister, Rosemary, Barrett took up photography and sometimes they went to the seaside together. She also said he took a keen interest in art and horticulture and continued to devote himself to painting:
Barrett had relationships with various women, such as Libby Gausden; Lindsay Korner; Jenny Spires; and Pakistani-born Evelyn "Iggy" Rose (1947–2017) (aka "Iggy the Eskimo", "Iggy the Inuit"), who appeared on the back cover of The Madcap Laughs. He never married or had children, though he was briefly engaged to marry Gayla Pinion and planned to relocate to Oxford.
Discography
Solo albums
The Madcap Laughs (1970)
Barrett (1970)
with Pink Floyd
The Piper at the Gates of Dawn (1967)
A Saucerful of Secrets (1968)
1965: Their First Recordings (2015)
The Early Years 1965–1972 (2016)
Filmography
Syd Barrett's First Trip (1966) directed by Nigel Lesmoir-Gordon
London '66–'67 (1967)
Tonite Lets All Make Love in London (1967)
The Pink Floyd and Syd Barrett Story (2003)
See also
List of songs recorded by Syd Barrett
List of songs about or referencing Syd Barrett
References
Informational notes
Citations
Bibliography
External links
The Official Syd Barrett Website
The Syd Barrett Archives
Syd Barrett Pink Floyd blog
The Holy Church of Iggy the Inuit blog
1946 births
2006 deaths
20th-century English composers
20th-century English painters
20th-century English male singers
21st-century English painters
Alumni of Anglia Ruskin University
Alumni of Camberwell College of Arts
Blues rock musicians
Capitol Records artists
Deaths from cancer in England
Deaths from pancreatic cancer
EMI Records artists
English experimental musicians
English male painters
English rock guitarists
English rock singers
English male singer-songwriters
Experimental composers
Experimental guitarists
Harvest Records artists
Lead guitarists
Musicians from Cambridgeshire
Outsider musicians
People from Cambridge
People with schizophrenia
Pink Floyd members
Protopunk musicians
Psychedelic drug advocates
Psychedelic folk musicians
Psychedelic rock musicians
Rhythm guitarists
Slide guitarists
English male guitarists
20th-century British guitarists | true | [
"Syd Barrett is a 1974 double-album pairing of Syd Barrett's two solo albums, The Madcap Laughs and Barrett, both originally released in the UK in 1970.\n\nCover\nDuring the summer of 1965, Barrett had his first acid trip in the garden of his friend Dave Gale, with Ian Moore and Storm Thorgerson. While on the influence of the acid, Barrett had placed an orange, plum and a matchbox into a corner, while staring at the fruit, which he claimed symbolized \"Venus and Jupiter\". Thorgerson used this imagery when he added these items to the cover of Syd Barrett.\n\nRelease\nAfter the unexpectedly massive success of Pink Floyd's The Dark Side of the Moon, EMI re-issued the Barrett-era albums The Piper at the Gates of Dawn and A Saucerful of Secrets as A Nice Pair in the hope that fans would be interested in the band's earlier work with Barrett. Once that was a success, primarily in the US where neither album had been issued initially, Syd Barrett was compiled to meet demand.\n\nAs a result, The Madcap Laughs/Barrett (as it was titled in the US) made number 163, giving Barrett his only US chart album. Village Voice critic Robert Christgau wrote of the album: \"Admittedly, a lot of what results is worthy of the wimp-turned-acid-casualty Barrett is. But a lot of it is funny, charming, catchy--whimsy at its best... I know damn well it gives me more pleasure than The Dark Side of the Moon.\"\n\nTrack listing\nAll songs by Syd Barrett, except where noted.\n\nDisc 1 – The Madcap Laughs\nSide one\n \"Terrapin\" – 5:04\n \"No Good Trying\" – 3:26\n \"Love You\" – 2:30\n \"No Man's Land\" – 3:03\n \"Dark Globe\" – 2:02\n \"Here I Go\" – 3:11\nSide two\n\"Octopus\" – 3:47\n \"Golden Hair\" (Syd Barrett/James Joyce) – 1:59\n \"Long Gone\" – 2:50\n \"She Took a Long Cold Look\" – 1:55\n \"Feel\" – 2:17\n \"If it's in You\" – 2:26\n \"Late Night\" – 3:11\n\nDisc 2 – Barrett\nSide one\n \"Baby Lemonade\" – 4:11\n \"Love Song\" – 3:05\n \"Dominoes\" – 4:09\n \"It is Obvious\" – 3:00\n \"Rats\" – 3:02\n \"Maisie\" – 2:51\nSide two\n\"Gigolo Aunt\" – 5:47\n \"Waving My Arms in the Air\" – 2:07\n \"I Never Lied to You\" – 1:52\n \"Wined and Dined\" – 2:59\n \"Wolfpack\" – 3:41\n \"Effervescing Elephant\" – 1:54\n\nCharts\nAlbum - Billboard\n\nReferences \n\nSyd Barrett albums\n1974 compilation albums\nAlbums produced by David Gilmour\nAlbums produced by Richard Wright (musician)\nHarvest Records compilation albums\nEMI Records compilation albums\nAlbums with cover art by Hipgnosis",
"Syd Barrett (1946–2006) was an English musician who recorded 37 songs during his short two-year solo career. One of the founding members of English rock band Pink Floyd, he was the dominant force in their early years, writing the majority of the material on their debut album, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, contributing to their second, A Saucerful of Secrets, and recording several unreleased songs with them. As a result of Barrett's increasing mental illness, guitarist David Gilmour was hired as his possible replacement. When his condition worsened, he was officially excluded from Pink Floyd in April 1968. After his departure, Barrett recorded two solo albums, both released in 1970, until he left the music business in 1972.\n\nBarrett returned to the studio in 1969 to begin work on his first solo album, The Madcap Laughs. His only single, \"Octopus\", was released in November 1969. Work on The Madcap Laughs proved difficult, going through five different producers, including former Pink Floyd bandmates David Gilmour and Roger Waters, and Barrett himself. Released in January 1970, the album received positive reviews from critics and enjoyed moderate commercial success, reaching number 40 in the UK charts. Two months later, Barrett began recording his second and final solo album, Barrett. Produced by Pink Floyd members David Gilmour and Richard Wright, the sessions were recorded more sporadically than The Madcap Laughs. Barrett was released in November 1970, but failed to chart; no singles were issued from the album. Two years later, Barrett signed a document ending his association with Pink Floyd and any financial interest in future recordings and left the music business. The Madcap Laughs and Barrett were paired and released as Syd Barrett in 1974. Barrett made almost no public appearances for the remainder of his life, and after suffering from Type 2 diabetes for several years, died at his home in Cambridge, England, in 2006 at age 60.\n\nSeveral compilation albums of Barrett's songs were released before and after his death. The first of these, The Peel Session, an EP containing recordings Barrett performed for the John Peel Top Gear show on 24 February 1970, contains the unreleased song \"Two of a Kind\". In 1988, Barrett approved the release of Opel, a compilation that contained several unreleased songs and alternate takes of recordings from sessions for his two solo albums. The 1993 box set Crazy Diamond included his solo albums, Opel, and more alternate takes. The compilation album Wouldn't You Miss Me? followed suit, and contained Barrett's highly sought-after \"Bob Dylan Blues\". The song, along with \"Terrapin\" from The Madcap Laughs and \"Maisie\" from Barrett, reflect Barrett's early interest in the blues. The next greatest hits album, An Introduction to Syd Barrett, contained the previously unreleased twenty minute instrumental \"Rhamadan\" as a CD bonus track. In 2016, Barrett's Pink Floyd-era songs \"In the Beechwoods\", \"Vegetable Man\", and \"Scream Thy Last Scream\" were officially released on the Pink Floyd compilation box set The Early Years 1965–1972; they were meant to be released earlier but were blocked by Pink Floyd.\n\nList\n\nAll songs written by Syd Barrett, except where noted.\n\nNotes\n\nReferences\n\nBibliography\n\nSee also\nSyd Barrett discography\nList of songs recorded by Pink Floyd\nList of unreleased songs recorded by Pink Floyd\n\n \nBarrett, Syd"
] |
[
"Syd Barrett",
"London Underground, Blackhill Enterprises and gigs",
"What did he do in London Underground?",
"became the most popular musical group of the \"London Underground\" psychedelic music scene.",
"How did they become the most popular musical group?",
"In 1966, a new rock concert venue, the UFO (pronounced as \"you-foe\"), opened in London and quickly became a haven for British psychedelic music.",
"What did they have to do with Syd Barrett?",
"Pink Floyd, the house band, was its most popular attraction and",
"Did Barrett create any more albums?",
"and after making appearances at the rival Roundhouse, became the most popular musical group of the \"London Underground\" psychedelic music scene."
] | C_6d0e8aa901f54f6587b8dd457957ea6a_1 | Did it reach bill board charts? | 5 | Did a London Underground album reach bill board charts? | Syd Barrett | While Pink Floyd began by playing cover versions of American R&B songs, by 1966 they had carved out their own style of improvised rock and roll, which drew as much from improvised jazz. After Bob Klose departed from the band, the band's direction changed. However, the change was not instantaneous, with more improvising on the guitars and keyboards. Mason reflected, "It always felt to me that most of the ideas were emanating from Syd at the time." At this time, Barrett's reading reputedly included: Grimm's Fairy Tales, Tolkien's The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings, Carlos Castaneda's The Teachings of Don Juan, and The I-Ching. During this period, Barrett wrote most of the songs for Pink Floyd's first album, and also songs that would later appear on his solo albums. In 1966, a new rock concert venue, the UFO (pronounced as "you-foe"), opened in London and quickly became a haven for British psychedelic music. Pink Floyd, the house band, was its most popular attraction and after making appearances at the rival Roundhouse, became the most popular musical group of the "London Underground" psychedelic music scene. By the end of 1966, Pink Floyd had gained a reliable management team in Andrew King and Peter Jenner. Towards the end of October 1966, Pink Floyd, with King and Jenner, set up Blackhill Enterprises, to manage the group's finances. Blackhill was staffed by lodgers Jenner found in his Edbrooke Road house, and among others, Barrett's flatmate, Peter Wynne Wilson (who became road manager, however, since he had more experience in lighting, he was also lighting assistant). King and Jenner wanted to prepare some demo recordings for a possible record deal, so at the end of October, they booked a session at Thompson Private Recording Studio, in Hemel Hempstead. King said of the demos: "That was the first time I realised they were going to write all their own material, Syd just turned into a songwriter, it seemed like overnight." King and Jenner befriended American expatriate Joe Boyd, the promoter of the UFO Club, who was making a name for himself as one of the more important entrepreneurs on the British music scene. The newly hired booking agent, Bryan Morrison, and Boyd had proposed sending in better quality recordings. From Morrison's agency the band played a gig outside London for the first time. In November, the band performed the first (of many) strangely named concerts: Philadelic Music for Simian Hominids, a multimedia event arranged by the group's former landlord, Mike Leonard, at Hornsey College of Art. They performed at the Free School for the following two weeks, before performing at the Psychodelphia Versus Ian Smith event at the Roundhouse in December, arranged by the Majority Rule for Rhodesia Campaign, and an Oxfam benefit at the Albert Hall (the band's biggest venue up to this point). CANNOTANSWER | CANNOTANSWER | Roger Keith "Syd" Barrett (6 January 1946 – 7 July 2006) was an English singer, songwriter, and musician who co-founded the rock band Pink Floyd in 1965. Barrett was their original frontman and primary songwriter, becoming known for his whimsical psychedelia, English-accented singing, literary influences, and stream-of-consciousness writing style. As a guitarist, he was influential for his free-form playing and for employing dissonance, distortion, echo, feedback, and other studio effects.
Originally trained as a painter, Barrett was musically active for less than ten years. With Pink Floyd, he recorded four singles, their debut album The Piper at the Gates of Dawn (1967), portions of their second album A Saucerful of Secrets (1968), and several unreleased songs. In April 1968, Barrett was ousted from the band amid speculation of mental illness and his excessive use of psychedelic drugs. He began a brief solo career in 1969 with the single "Octopus" and followed with the albums The Madcap Laughs (1970) and Barrett (1970), recorded with the aid of several members of Pink Floyd.
In 1972, Barrett left the music industry, retired from public life and strictly guarded his privacy until his death. He continued painting and dedicated himself to gardening. Pink Floyd recorded several tributes and homages to him, including the 1975 song suite "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" and the 1979 rock opera The Wall. In 1988, EMI released an album of unreleased tracks and outtakes, Opel, with Barrett's approval. In 1996, Barrett was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Pink Floyd. He died of pancreatic cancer in 2006.
Life and career
Early years
Roger Keith Barrett was born on 6 January 1946 in Cambridge, Cambridgeshire to a middle-class family living at 60 Glisson Road. He was the fourth of five children. His father, Arthur Max Barrett, was a prominent pathologist and was said to be related to Elizabeth Garrett Anderson through Max's maternal grandmother Ellen Garrett. In 1951, his family moved to 183 Hills Road.
Barrett played piano occasionally but usually preferred writing and drawing. He bought a ukulele aged 10, a banjo at 11 and a Hofner acoustic guitar at 14. A year after he purchased his first acoustic guitar, he bought his first electric guitar and built his own amplifier. One story of how Barrett acquired the nickname "Syd" is that at the age of 14 he was named after an old local Cambridge jazz double bassist, Sid "The Beat" Barrett, which claims Syd Barrett changed the spelling to differentiate himself from his namesake.
Another account is that when he was 13, his schoolmates nicknamed him "Syd" after he showed up to a field day at Abington Scout site wearing a flat cap instead of his Scout beret because "Syd" was a "working-class" name. He used both names interchangeably for several years. His sister Rosemary said: "He was never Syd at home. He would never have allowed it." He was a Scout with the 7th Cambridge troop and went on to be a patrol leader.
At one point at Morley Memorial Junior School he was taught by the mother of future Pink Floyd bassist Roger Waters. Later, in 1957, he attended Cambridgeshire High School for Boys with Waters. His father died of cancer on 11 December 1961, less than a month before Barrett's 16th birthday. On this date, Barrett left the entry in his diary blank. By this time, his brothers and sisters had left home and his mother decided to rent out rooms to lodgers.
Eager to help her son recover from his grief, Barrett's mother encouraged the band in which he played, Geoff Mott and the Mottoes, a band which Barrett formed, to perform in their front room. Waters and Barrett were childhood friends, and Waters often visited such gigs. At one point, Waters organised a gig, a CND benefit at Friends Meeting House on 11 March 1962, but shortly afterwards Geoff Mott joined the Boston Crabs, and the Mottoes broke up.
In September 1962, Barrett had taken a place at the art department of the Cambridgeshire College of Arts and Technology, where he met David Gilmour. In late 1962 and early 1963, the Beatles made an impact on Barrett, and he began to play Beatles songs at parties and at picnics. In 1963, Barrett became a Rolling Stones fan and, with then-girlfriend Libby Gausden, saw them perform at a village hall in Cambridgeshire.
At this point, Barrett started writing songs; one friend recalls hearing "Effervescing Elephant" (later to be recorded on his solo album Barrett). Also around this time, Barrett and Gilmour occasionally played acoustic gigs together. Barrett had played bass guitar with Those Without in mid-1963 and bass and guitar with the Hollerin' Blues the next summer. In 1964, Barrett and Gausden saw Bob Dylan perform. After this performance, Barrett was inspired to write "Bob Dylan Blues". Barrett, now thinking about his future, decided to apply for Camberwell College of Arts in London. He enrolled in the college in the summer of 1964 to study painting.
Pink Floyd years (1965–1968)
Starting in 1964, the band that would become Pink Floyd evolved through various line-up and name changes including "The Abdabs", "The Screaming Abdabs", "Sigma 6", and "The Meggadeaths". In 1965, Barrett joined them as the Tea Set (sometimes spelled T-Set). When they found themselves playing a concert with another band of the same name, Barrett came up with "The Pink Floyd Sound" (also known as "The Pink Floyd Blues Band", later "The Pink Floyd"). During 1965, they went into a studio for the first time, when a friend of Richard Wright's gave the band free time to record.
During this summer Barrett had his first LSD trip in the garden of friend Dave Gale, with Ian Moore and Storm Thorgerson. During one trip, Barrett and another friend, Paul Charrier, ended up naked in the bath, reciting: "No rules, no rules". That summer, as a result of the continued drug use, the band became absorbed in Sant Mat, a Sikh sect. Storm Thorgerson (then living on Earlham Street) and Barrett went to a London hotel to meet the sect's guru; Thorgerson managed to join the sect; Barrett, however, was deemed too young to join. Thorgerson sees this as a deeply important event in Barrett's life, as he was extremely upset by the rejection. While living near his friends, Barrett decided to write more songs ("Bike" was written around this time).
London Underground, Blackhill Enterprises and gigs
While Pink Floyd began by playing cover versions of American R&B songs, by 1966 they had carved out their own style of improvised rock and roll, which drew as much from improvised jazz. After Bob Klose departed from the band, the band's direction changed. However, the change was not instantaneous, with more improvising on the guitars and keyboards. Drummer Nick Mason reflected, "It always felt to me that most of the ideas were emanating from Syd at the time."
At this time, Barrett's reading reputedly included Grimm's Fairy Tales, Tolkien's The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings, and The I-Ching. During this period, Barrett wrote most of the songs for Pink Floyd's first album, and also songs that would later appear on his solo albums. In 1966, a new rock concert venue, the UFO (pronounced as "you-foe"), opened in London and quickly became a haven for British psychedelic music. Pink Floyd, the house band, was its most popular attraction and after making appearances at the rival Roundhouse, became the most popular musical group of the "London Underground" psychedelic music scene.
By the end of 1966, Pink Floyd had gained a reliable management team in Andrew King and Peter Jenner. Towards the end of October 1966, Pink Floyd, with King and Jenner, set up Blackhill Enterprises, to manage the group's finances. Blackhill was staffed by lodgers Jenner found in his Edbrooke Road house, and among others, Barrett's flatmate, Peter Wynne Wilson (who became road manager, however, since he had more experience in lighting, he was also lighting assistant). King and Jenner wanted to prepare some demo recordings for a possible record deal, so at the end of October, they booked a session at Thompson Private Recording Studio, in Hemel Hempstead. King said of the demos: "That was the first time I realised they were going to write all their own material, Syd just turned into a songwriter, it seemed like overnight."
King and Jenner befriended American expatriate Joe Boyd, the promoter of the UFO Club, who was making a name for himself as one of the more important entrepreneurs on the British music scene. The newly hired booking agent, Bryan Morrison, and Boyd had proposed sending in better quality recordings. From Morrison's agency the band played a gig outside London for the first time. In November, the band performed the first (of many) strangely named concerts: Philadelic Music for Simian Hominids, a multimedia event arranged by the group's former landlord, Mike Leonard, at Hornsey College of Art. They performed at the Free School for the following two weeks, before performing at the Psychodelphia Versus Ian Smith event at the Roundhouse in December, arranged by the Majority Rule for Rhodesia Campaign, and an Oxfam benefit at the Albert Hall (the band's biggest venue up to this point).
Tonite Lets All Make Love in London
At the beginning of 1967, Barrett was dating Jenny Spires (who would later marry future Stars member Jack Monck). However, unknown to Barrett, Spires had an affair with Peter Whitehead. Spires convinced Whitehead (who thought the band sounded like "bad Schoenberg") to use Pink Floyd in a film about the swinging London scene. So at the cost of £80 (), in January, Whitehead took the band into John Wood's Sound Techniques in Chelsea, with promoter Joe Boyd in tow. Here, the band recorded a 16-minute version of "Interstellar Overdrive" and another composition, "Nick's Boogie". Whitehead had filmed this recording, which was used in the film Tonite Lets All Make Love in London and later on the video release of London '66–'67. Whitehead later commented about the band that: "They were just completely welded together, just like a jazz group".
The Piper at the Gates of Dawn
Boyd attempted to sign the band with Polydor Records. However, Morrison had convinced King and Jenner to try to start a bidding war between Polydor and EMI. In late January, Boyd produced a recording session for the group, with them returning to Sound Techniques in Chelsea again. After the bidding war idea was finished, Pink Floyd signed with EMI. Unusual for the time, the deal included recording an album, which meant the band had unlimited studio time at EMI Studios in return for a smaller royalty percentage. The band then attempted to re-record "Arnold Layne", but the Boyd version from January was released instead.
The band's first studio album, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, was recorded intermittently between February and July 1967 in Studio 3 at Abbey Road Studios, and produced by former Beatles engineer Norman Smith. By the time the album was released on 4 August, "Arnold Layne" (which was released months earlier, on 11 March) had reached number 20 on the British singles charts, despite being banned by Radio London, and the follow-up single, "See Emily Play", had peaked at number 5. The album was successful in the UK, hitting number 6 on the British album charts. Their first three singles (including their third, "Apples and Oranges"), were written by Barrett, who also was the principal visionary/author of their critically acclaimed 1967 debut album. Of the eleven songs on Piper, Barrett wrote eight and co-wrote another two.
Health problems
Through late 1967 and early 1968, Barrett became increasingly erratic, partly as a consequence of his reported heavy use of psychedelic drugs such as LSD. There is also speculation that he suffered from schizophrenia. Once described as joyful, friendly, and extroverted, he became increasingly depressed and withdrawn, and experienced hallucinations, disorganised speech, memory lapses, intense mood swings, and periods of catatonia. Although the changes began gradually, he went missing for a long weekend and, according to several friends, including Wright, came back "a completely different person".
One of the striking features of his change was the development of a blank, dead-eyed stare. Barrett did not recognise friends, and often did not know where he was; on a tour of Los Angeles, Barrett is said to have exclaimed, "Gee, it sure is nice to be in Las Vegas!" Many reports described him on stage, strumming one chord through the entire concert, or not playing at all. At a show in Santa Monica, Barrett slowly detuned his guitar.
Interviewed on Pat Boone's show during the tour, Barrett replied with a "blank and totally mute stare"; according to Mason, "Syd wasn't into moving his lips that day." Barrett exhibited similar behaviour during the band's first appearance on Dick Clark's television show American Bandstand. Surviving footage of this appearance shows Barrett miming his parts competently; however, during a group interview afterwards, Barrett gave terse answers. During this time, Barrett would often forget to bring his guitar to sessions, damage equipment and was occasionally unable to hold his plectrum. Before a performance in late 1967, Barrett reportedly crushed Mandrax tranquilliser tablets and a tube of Brylcreem into his hair, which melted down his face under the heat of the stage lighting, making him look like "a guttered candle". Mason disputed the Mandrax portion of this story, stating that "Syd would never waste good mandies".
Departure from Pink Floyd
During Pink Floyd's UK tour with Jimi Hendrix in November 1967, guitarist David O'List from the Nice substituted for Barrett on several occasions when he was unable to perform or failed to appear. Around Christmas, Pink Floyd asked Barrett's schoolfriend David Gilmour to join as a second guitarist to cover for Barrett. For a handful of shows, Gilmour played and sang while Barrett wandered around on stage, occasionally joining the performance. The other band members grew tired of Barrett's antics and, on 26 January 1968, when Waters was driving on the way to a show at Southampton University, they elected not to pick Barrett up. One person in the car said, "Shall we pick Syd up?" and another said, "Let's not bother." As Barrett had written the bulk of the band's material, the plan was to retain him as a non-touring member, as the Beach Boys had done with Brian Wilson, but this proved impractical.
According to Waters, Barrett came to what was to be their last practice session with a new song he had dubbed "Have You Got It Yet?". The song seemed simple when he first presented it, but it soon became impossibly difficult to learn; the band eventually realised that Barrett was changing the arrangement as they played, and that Barrett was playing a joke on them. Waters called it "a real act of mad genius".
Of the songs Barrett wrote for Pink Floyd after The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, only "Jugband Blues" was included on their album, A Saucerful of Secrets (1968). "Apples and Oranges" became an unsuccessful single, and "Scream Thy Last Scream" and "Vegetable Man", remained unreleased until 2016 in The Early Years 1965–1972 box set, as they were deemed too dark and unsettling. Barrett played guitar on the Saucerful of Secrets tracks "Remember a Day" and "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun".
Feeling guilty, the members of Pink Floyd were unable to bring themselves to definitively tell Barrett that he was no longer in the band. According to Wright, who lived with Barrett at the time, he told Barrett he was going out to buy cigarettes when leaving to play a show. He would return hours later to find Barrett in the same position, sometimes with a cigarette burned completely down between his fingers (an incident later referenced in Pink Floyd's concert film The Wall). Emerging from catatonia and unaware that a long period of time had elapsed, Barrett would ask, "Have you got the cigarettes?".
Barrett supposedly spent time outside the recording studio, in the reception area, waiting to be invited in. He also came to a few performances and glared at Gilmour. On 6 April 1968, Pink Floyd officially announced that Barrett was no longer a member, the same day their contract with Blackhill Enterprises was terminated. Considering him as the band's musical leader, Blackhill Enterprises retained Barrett.
Solo years (1968–1972)
After leaving Pink Floyd, Barrett was out of the public eye for a year. In 1969, at the behest of EMI and Harvest Records, he embarked on a brief solo career, releasing two solo albums, The Madcap Laughs and Barrett (both 1970), and a single, "Octopus". Some songs, "Terrapin", "Maisie" and "Bob Dylan Blues", reflected Barrett's early interest in the blues.
The Madcap Laughs
After Barrett left Pink Floyd, Jenner followed suit. He led Barrett into EMI Studios to record some tracks in May that would later be released on Barrett's first solo album, The Madcap Laughs. However, Jenner said: "I had seriously underestimated the difficulties of working with him". By the sessions of June and July, most of the tracks were in better shape; however, shortly after the July sessions, Barrett broke up with girlfriend Lindsay Corner and went on a drive around Britain in his Mini, ending up in psychiatric care in Cambridge. During New Year 1969, a somewhat recovered Barrett had taken up tenancy in a flat on Egerton Gardens, South Kensington, London, with the postmodernist artist Duggie Fields. Here, Barrett's flat was so close to Gilmour's that Gilmour could look right into Barrett's kitchen. Deciding to return to music, Barrett contacted EMI and was passed to Malcolm Jones, the then-head of EMI's new prog rock label, Harvest (after Norman Smith and Jenner declined to produce Barrett's record, Jones produced it). Barrett wanted to recover the Jenner-produced sessions recordings; several of the tracks were improved upon.
The Jones-produced sessions started in April 1969 at EMI Studios. After the first of these sessions, Barrett brought in friends to help out: Humble Pie drummer Jerry Shirley, and Jokers Wild (Gilmour's old band) drummer Willie Wilson. For the sessions, Gilmour played bass. Talking to Barrett wasn't easy, said Jones: "It was a case of following him, not playing with him. They were seeing and then playing so they were always a note behind". A few tracks on the album feature overdubs by members of the band Soft Machine. During this time, Barrett also played guitar on the sessions for Soft Machine founder Kevin Ayers' debut LP Joy of a Toy, although his performance on "Religious Experience" (later titled "Singing a Song in the Morning") was not released until the album was reissued in 2003. One time, Barrett had told his flatmate that he was going off "for an afternoon drive". However, he followed Pink Floyd to Ibiza (according to legend, he skipped check-ins and customs, ran onto the runway and attempted to flag down a jet). One of his friends, J. Ryan Eaves, bass player for the short-lived but influential Manchester band York's Ensemble, later spotted him on a beach wearing messed-up clothes and with a carrier bag full of money. By this point, during the trip, Barrett had asked Gilmour for his help in the recording sessions.
After two of the Gilmour/Waters-produced sessions, they remade one track from the Soft Machine overdubs and recorded three tracks. These sessions came to a minor halt when Gilmour and Waters were mixing Pink Floyd's newly recorded album, Ummagumma, to Barrett's dismay. However, through the end of July, they managed to record three more tracks. The problem with the recording was that the songs were recorded as Barrett played them "live" in studio. On the released versions a number of them have false starts and commentaries from Barrett. Despite the track being closer to complete and better produced, Gilmour and Waters left the Jones-produced track "Opel" off Madcap.
Gilmour later said of the sessions for The Madcap Laughs:
Upon the album's release in January 1970, Malcolm Jones was shocked by the substandard musicianship on the Gilmour and Waters-produced songs: "I felt angry. It's like dirty linen in public and very unnecessary and unkind." Gilmour said: "Perhaps we were trying to show what Syd was really like. But perhaps we were trying to punish him." Waters was more positive: "Syd is a genius."
Barrett said "It's quite nice but I'd be very surprised if it did anything if I were to drop dead. I don't think it would stand as my last statement."
Evelyn "Iggy the Eskimo" Rose (1947–2017) appeared nude on the back of the album's inner sleeve.
Barrett
The second album, Barrett, was recorded more sporadically than the first, with sessions taking place between February and July 1970. The album was produced by David Gilmour, and featured Gilmour on bass guitar, Richard Wright on keyboard and Humble Pie drummer Jerry Shirley. The first two songs attempted were for Barrett to play and/or sing to an existing backing track. However, Gilmour thought they were losing the "Barrett-ness". One track ("Rats") was originally recorded with Barrett on his own. That would later be overdubbed by musicians, despite the changing tempos. Shirley said of Barrett's playing: "He would never play the same tune twice. Sometimes Syd couldn't play anything that made sense; other times what he'd play was absolute magic." At times Barrett, who experienced synaesthesia, would say: "Perhaps we could make the middle darker and maybe the end a bit middle afternoonish. At the moment it's too windy and icy".
These sessions were happening while Pink Floyd had just begun to work on Atom Heart Mother. On various occasions, Barrett went to "spy" on the band as they recorded their album.
Wright said of the Barrett sessions:
Performances
Despite the numerous recording dates for his solo albums, Barrett undertook very little musical activity between 1968 and 1972 outside the studio. On 24 February 1970, he appeared on John Peel's BBC radio programme Top Gear playing five songs—only one of which had been previously released. Three would be re-recorded for the Barrett album, while the song "Two of a Kind" was a one-off performance (possibly written by Richard Wright). Barrett was accompanied on this session by Gilmour and Shirley who played bass and percussion, respectively.
Gilmour and Shirley also backed Barrett for his one and only live concert during this period. The gig took place on 6 June 1970 at the Olympia Exhibition Hall as part of a Music and Fashion Festival. The trio performed four songs, "Terrapin", "Gigolo Aunt", "Effervescing Elephant" and "Octopus". Poor mixing left the vocals barely audible until part-way through the last number. At the end of the fourth song, Barrett unexpectedly but politely put down his guitar and walked off the stage. The performance has been bootlegged. Barrett made one last appearance on BBC Radio, recording three songs at their studios on 16 February 1971. All three came from the Barrett album. After this session, he took a hiatus from his music career that lasted more than a year, although in an extensive interview with Mick Rock and Rolling Stone in December, he discussed himself at length, showed off his new 12-string guitar, talked about touring with Jimi Hendrix and stated that he was frustrated in terms of his musical work because of his inability to find anyone good to play with.
Later years (1972–2006)
Stars and final recordings
In February 1972, after a few guest spots in Cambridge with ex-Pink Fairies member Twink on drums and Jack Monck on bass using the name The Last Minute Put Together Boogie Band (backing visiting blues musician Eddie "Guitar" Burns and also featuring Henry Cow guitarist Fred Frith), the trio formed a short-lived band called Stars. Though they were initially well received at gigs in the Dandelion coffee bar and the town's Market Square, one of their gigs at the Corn Exchange in Cambridge with MC5 proved to be disastrous. A few days after this final show, Twink recalled that Barrett stopped him on the street, showed him a scathing review of the gig they had played, and quit on the spot, despite having played at least one subsequent gig at the same venue supporting Nektar.
Free from his EMI contract on 9 May 1972, Barrett signed a document that ended his association with Pink Floyd, and any financial interest in future recordings. He attended an informal jazz and poetry performance by Pete Brown and former Cream bassist Jack Bruce in October 1973. Brown arrived at the show late, and saw that Bruce was already onstage, along with "a guitarist I vaguely recognised", playing the Horace Silver tune "Doodlin'". Later in the show, Brown read out a poem, which he dedicated to Syd, because, "he's here in Cambridge, and he's one of the best songwriters in the country" when, to his surprise, the guitar player from earlier in the show stood up and said, "No I'm not". By the end of 1973, Barrett had returned to live in London, staying at various hotels and, in December of that year, settling in at Chelsea Cloisters. He had little contact with others, apart from his regular visits to his management's offices to collect his royalties, and the occasional visit from his sister Rosemary.
In August 1974, Jenner persuaded Barrett to return to Abbey Road Studios in hope of recording another album. According to John Leckie, who engineered these sessions, even at this point Syd still "looked like he did when he was younger ... long haired". The sessions lasted three days and consisted of blues rhythm tracks with tentative and disjointed guitar overdubs. Barrett recorded eleven tracks, the only one of which to be titled was "If You Go, Don't Be Slow". Once again, Barrett withdrew from the music industry, but this time for good. He sold the rights to his solo albums back to the record label and moved into a London hotel. During this period, several attempts to employ him as a record producer (including one by Jamie Reid on behalf of the Sex Pistols, and another by the Damned, who wanted him to produce their second album) were fruitless.
Wish You Were Here sessions
Barrett visited the members of Pink Floyd in 1975 during the recording sessions for their ninth album, Wish You Were Here. He attended the Abbey Road session unannounced, and watched the band working on the final mix of "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" — a song about him. By that time, Barrett, then 29, had become overweight and had shaved off all of his hair (including his eyebrows), and his former bandmates did not initially recognise him. Barrett spent part of the session brushing his teeth. Waters asked him what he thought of the song and he said that it "sounds a bit old". He is reported to have briefly attended the reception for Gilmour's wedding to Ginger that immediately followed the recording sessions, but Gilmour said he had no recollection of this.
A few years later, Waters saw Barrett in the department store Harrods; Barrett ran outside, dropping his bags. It was the last time any member of Pink Floyd saw him.
Withdrawal to Cambridge
In 1978, when Barrett's money ran out, he moved back to Cambridge to live with his mother. He returned to live in London for a few weeks in 1982, but soon returned to Cambridge permanently. Barrett walked the from London to Cambridge. Until his death, he received royalties from his work with Pink Floyd; Gilmour said, "I made sure the money got to him." In 1996, Barrett was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Pink Floyd. He did not attend the ceremony.
According to biographer and journalist Tim Willis, Barrett, who had reverted to using his original name Roger, continued to live in his late mother's semi-detached home, and had returned to painting, creating large abstract canvases. He was also said to have been an avid gardener. His main point of contact with the outside world was his sister, Rosemary, who lived nearby. He was reclusive, and his physical health declined, as he suffered from stomach ulcers and type 2 diabetes.
Although Barrett had not appeared or spoken in public since the mid-1970s, reporters and fans travelled to Cambridge seeking him, despite public appeals from his family. Apparently, Barrett did not like being reminded about his musical career and the other members of Pink Floyd had no direct contact with him. However, he did visit his sister's house in November 2001 to watch the BBC Omnibus documentary made about him; reportedly he found some of it "a bit noisy", enjoyed seeing Mike Leonard again, calling him his "teacher", and enjoyed hearing "See Emily Play".
Barrett made a final public acknowledgement of his musical past in 2002, his first since the 1970s, when he autographed 320 copies of photographer Mick Rock's book Psychedelic Renegades, which contained a number of photos of Barrett. Rock was perhaps the last person in the music industry with whom Barrett kept in contact. In 1971, Rock conducted Barrett's final interview before his retirement from the music industry. Barrett visited Rock in London several times for tea and conversation in 1978. They had not spoken in more than 20 years when Rock approached Barrett to autograph his photography book, and Barrett uncharacteristically agreed. Having reverted to his birth name, he autographed the book "Barrett".
Death and aftermath
Barrett died at home in Cambridge on 7 July 2006 aged 60, from pancreatic cancer. He was cremated. In 2006, his home in St. Margaret's Square, Cambridge, was put on the market and reportedly attracted considerable interest. After over 100 showings, many to fans, it was sold to a French couple who reportedly knew nothing about Barrett. On 28 November 2006, Barrett's other possessions were sold at an auction at Cheffins auction house in Cambridge, raising £120,000 for charity. Items sold included paintings, scrapbooks and everyday items that Barrett had decorated. NME produced a tribute issue to Barrett a week later with a photo of him on the cover. In an interview with The Sunday Times, Barrett's sister said that he had written an unpublished book about the history of art.
In response to the news of Barrett's death, Gilmour said:
According to local newspapers, Barrett left approximately £1.7 million to his two brothers and two sisters. This sum was apparently largely acquired from royalties from Pink Floyd compilations and live recordings featuring songs he had written while with the band. A tribute concert called "Madcap's Last Laugh" was held at the Barbican Centre, London, on 10 May 2007 with Robyn Hitchcock, Captain Sensible, Damon Albarn, Chrissie Hynde, Kevin Ayers and his Pink Floyd bandmates performing. A series of events called The City Wakes was held in Cambridge in October 2008 to celebrate Barrett's life, art, and music. Barrett's sister, Rosemary Breen, supported this, the first series of official events in memory of her brother. After the festival's success, arts charity Escape Artists announced plans to create a centre in Cambridge, using art to help people suffering from mental health problems. A memorial bench has been placed in the Botanic Gardens in Cambridge and a more prominent tribute is planned in the city.
Legacy
Compilations
In 1988, EMI Records (after constant pressure from Malcolm Jones) released an album of Barrett's studio out-takes and previously unreleased material recorded from 1968 to 1970 under the title Opel. The disc was originally set to include the unreleased Barrett Pink Floyd songs "Scream Thy Last Scream" and "Vegetable Man", which had been remixed for the album by Jones, but the band pulled the two songs before Opel was finalised. In 1993 EMI issued another release, Crazy Diamond, a boxed set of all three albums, each with further out-takes from his solo sessions that illustrated Barrett's inability or refusal to play a song the same way twice. EMI also released The Best of Syd Barrett: Wouldn't You Miss Me? in the UK on 16 April 2001 and in the US on 11 September 2001. This was the first time his song "Bob Dylan Blues" was officially released, taken from a demo tape that Gilmour had kept after an early 1970s session. Gilmour kept the tape, which also contains the unreleased "Living Alone" from the Barrett sessions. In October 2010 Harvest/EMI and Capitol Records released An Introduction to Syd Barrett—a collection of both his Pink Floyd and remastered solo work. The 2010 compilation An Introduction to Syd Barrett includes the downloadable bonus track "Rhamadan", a 20-minute track recorded at one of Syd's earliest solo sessions, in May 1968. In 2011, it was announced that a vinyl double album version would be issued for Record Store Day.
Bootleg editions of Barrett's live and solo material exist. For years the "off air" recordings of the BBC sessions with Barrett's Pink Floyd circulated, until an engineer who had taken a tape of the early Pink Floyd gave it back to the BBC—which played it during a tribute to John Peel on their website. During this tribute, the first Peel programme (Top Gear) was aired in its entirety. This show featured the 1967 live versions of "Flaming", "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun", and a brief 90-second snippet of the instrumental "Reaction in G". In 2012, engineer Andy Jackson said he had found "a huge box of assorted tapes", in Mason's possession, containing versions of R&B songs that (the Barrett-era) Pink Floyd played in their early years.
Creative impact
Barrett wrote most of Pink Floyd's early material. According to critic Steven Hyden, even after Barrett left the band, Barrett's spirit "haunted" their records, and their most popular work "drew on the power of what Barrett signified".
Barrett was an innovative guitarist, using extended techniques and exploring the musical and sonic possibilities of dissonance, distortion, feedback, the echo machine, tapes and other effects; his experimentation was partly inspired by free improvisation guitarist Keith Rowe of the group AMM, active at the time in London. One of Barrett's trademarks was playing his guitar through an old echo box while sliding a Zippo lighter up and down the fret-board to create the mysterious, otherworldly sounds that became associated with the group. Barrett was known to have used Binson delay units to achieve his trademark echo sounds. Daevid Allen, founder member of Soft Machine and Gong, cited Barrett's use of slide guitar with echo as a key inspiration for his own "glissando guitar" style.
Barrett's recordings both with Pink Floyd and in later solo albums were delivered with a strongly British-accented vocal delivery, specifically that of southern England. He was described by Guardian writer Nick Kent as having a "quintessential English style of vocal projection". David Bowie said that Barrett, along with Anthony Newley, was the first person he had heard sing rock or pop music with a British accent.
Barrett's free-form sequences of "sonic carpets" pioneered a new way to play the rock guitar. He played several different guitars during his tenure, including an old Harmony hollowbody electric, a Harmony acoustic, a Fender acoustic, a single-coil Danelectro 59 DC, several different Fender Telecasters and a white Fender Stratocaster in late 1967. A silver Fender Esquire with mirrored discs glued to the body was the guitar he was most often associated with and the guitar he "felt most close to". The mirrored Esquire was traded for a black Telecaster Custom, in 1968. Its whereabouts are currently unknown.
Influence
Many artists have acknowledged Barrett's influence on their work. Paul McCartney, Pete Townshend, Blur, Kevin Ayers, Gong, Marc Bolan, Tangerine Dream, Genesis P-Orridge, Julian Cope, Pere Ubu, Jeff Mangum, The Olivia Tremor Control, The Flaming Lips, Animal Collective, John Maus, Paul Weller, Roger Miller, East Bay Ray, Cedric Bixler-Zavala, and David Bowie were inspired by Barrett; Jimmy Page, Brian Eno, Sex Pistols, and The Damned all expressed interest in working with him at some point during the 1970s. Bowie recorded a cover of "See Emily Play" on his 1973 album Pin Ups. The track "Grass", from XTC's album Skylarking was influenced when Andy Partridge let fellow band member Colin Moulding borrow his Barrett records. Robyn Hitchcock's career was dedicated to being Barrett-esque; he even played "Dominoes" for the 2001 BBC documentary The Pink Floyd and Syd Barrett Story.
Barrett also had an influence on alternative and punk music in general. According to critic John Harris:
To understand his place in modern music you probably have to first go back to punk rock and its misguided attempt to kick aside what remained of the psychedelic 1960s. Given that the Clash and Sex Pistols had made brutal social commentary obligatory, there seemed little room for any of the creative exotica that had defined the Love Decade – until, slowly but surely, singing about dead-end lives and dole queues began to pall, and at least some of the previous generation were rehabilitated. Barrett was the best example: having crashed out of Pink Floyd before the advent of indulgent "progressive" rock, and succumbed to a fate that appealed to the punk generation's nihilism, he underwent a revival.
Barrett's decline had a profound effect on Waters' songwriting, and the theme of mental illness permeated the later Pink Floyd albums The Dark Side of the Moon (1973), Wish You Were Here (1975) and The Wall (1979). The reference to a "steel rail" in the song "Wish You Were Here" – "can you tell a green field from a cold steel rail?" – references a recurring theme in Barrett's song "If It's In You" from The Madcap Laughs. The song suite "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" from Wish You Were Here is also a tribute to Barrett.
In 1987, an album of Barrett cover songs called Beyond the Wildwood was released. The album was a collection of cover songs from Barrett's tenure with Pink Floyd and from his solo career. Artists appearing were UK and US indie bands including The Shamen, Opal, The Soup Dragons, and Plasticland.
Other artists who have written tributes to Barrett include his contemporary Kevin Ayers, who wrote "O Wot a Dream" in his honour (Barrett provided guitar to an early version of Ayers' song "Religious Experience: Singing a Song in the Morning"). Robyn Hitchcock has covered many of his songs live and on record and paid homage to his forebear with the song "(Feels Like) 1974". Phish covered "Bike", "No Good Trying", "Love You", "Baby Lemonade" and "Terrapin". The Television Personalities' single "I Know Where Syd Barrett Lives" from their 1981 album And Don't the Kids Love It is another tribute. In 2008, The Trash Can Sinatras released a single in tribute to the life and work of Syd Barrett called "Oranges and Apples", from their 2009 album In the Music. Proceeds from the single go to the Syd Barrett Trust in support of arts in mental health.
Johnny Depp showed interest in a biographical film based on Barrett's life. Barrett is portrayed briefly in the opening scene of Tom Stoppard's play Rock 'n' Roll (2006), performing "Golden Hair". His life and music, including the disastrous Cambridge Corn Exchange concert and his later reclusive lifestyle, are a recurring motif in the work. Barrett died during the play's run in London.
In 2016, in correspondence with the 70th anniversary birthday, The Theatre of the Absurd, an Italian independent artists group, published a short movie in honour of Barrett named Eclipse, with actor-director Edgar Blake in the role of Barrett. Some footage from this movie was also shown at Syd Barrett – A Celebration during Men on the Border's tribute: the show took place at the Cambridge Corn Exchange, with the participation of Barrett's family and old friends.
For 2017 TV series Legion creator Noah Hawley named one of the characters after Barrett, whose music was an important influence on the series.
In The X-Files season nine episode, "Lord of the Flies" (2001), a powerful mutant, Dylan Lokensgard (Hank Harris), has several posters of Syd Barrett on his bedroom wall, and listens to "It's No Good Trying" and "Terrapin" from The Madcap Laughs.
He recites the line, "A dream in a mist of gray", from Barrett's song "Opel", saying of the singer, "He was, like, this brilliant guy that no-one understood".
Barrett's influence on the genesis of psychedelia was considered in a chapter entitled 'Astronauts of Inner Space: Syd Barrett, Nick Drake and the Birth of Psychedelia' in Guy Mankowski's book 'Albion's Secret History: Snapshots of England's Pop Rebels and Outsiders.'
Health
Members of Barrett's family denied that he had suffered from mental illness. Asked if Barrett may have had Asperger's syndrome, his sister Rosemary Breen said that he and his siblings were "all on the spectrum". She also stated that, contrary to common misconception, Barrett neither suffered from mental illness nor had he received treatment for it since they had resumed regular contact in the 1980s. Breen said he had spent some time in a private "home for lost souls"—Greenwoods in Essex—but that there was no formal therapy programme there. Some years later, Barrett agreed to sessions with a psychiatrist at Fulbourn psychiatric hospital in Cambridge, but Breen said that neither medication nor therapy was considered appropriate. Breen also denied Barrett was a recluse or that he was vague about his past: "Roger may have been a bit selfish—or rather self-absorbed—but when people called him a recluse they were really only projecting their own disappointment. He knew what they wanted, but he wasn't willing to give it to them." In 1996, Wright said that Barrett's mother told the members of Pink Floyd to not contact him because being reminded of the band would make him depressed for weeks.
In the 1960s, Barrett used psychedelic drugs, especially LSD, and there are theories he subsequently suffered from schizophrenia. Wright asserted that Barrett's problems stemmed from a massive overdose of acid, as the change in his personality and behaviour came on suddenly. However, Waters maintains that Barrett suffered "without a doubt" from schizophrenia. In an article published in 2006, Gilmour was quoted as saying: "In my opinion, his nervous breakdown would have happened anyway. It was a deep-rooted thing. But I'll say the psychedelic experience might well have acted as a catalyst. Still, I just don't think he could deal with the vision of success and all the things that went with it." According to Gilmour in a 1974 interview, the other members of Pink Floyd approached psychiatrist R. D. Laing with the "Barrett problem". After hearing a tape of a Barrett conversation, Laing declared him "incurable".
In Saucerful of Secrets: The Pink Floyd Odyssey, author Nicholas Schaffner interviewed people who knew Barrett before and during his Pink Floyd days, including friends Peter and Susan Wynne-Wilson, artist Duggie Fields (with whom Barrett shared a flat during the late 1960s), June Bolan, and Storm Thorgerson. Bolan became concerned when Syd "kept his girlfriend under lock and key for three days, occasionally shoving a ration of biscuits under the door". A claim of cruelty against Barrett committed by the groupies and hangers-on who frequented his apartment during this period was described by writer and critic Jonathan Meades. "I went [to Barrett's flat] to see Harry and there was this terrible noise. It sounded like heating pipes shaking. I said, 'What's up?' and he sort of giggled and said, 'That's Syd having a bad trip. We put him in the linen cupboard'". Storm Thorgerson responded to this claim by stating "I do not remember locking Syd up in a cupboard. It sounds to me like pure fantasy, like Jonathan Meades was on dope himself."
Other friends state that Barrett's flatmates, who had also taken LSD, thought of Barrett as a genius or a deity, and were spiking his morning coffee every day without his knowledge, leaving him in a never-ending trip. He was later rescued from that flat by friends and moved elsewhere, but his erratic behaviour continued. According to Thorgerson, "On one occasion, I had to pull him [Barrett] off [his girlfriend] Lindsay because he was beating her over the head with a mandolin". On one occasion, Barrett threw a woman called Gilly across the room, because she refused to go to Gilmour's house.
Personal life
According to his sister, Rosemary, Barrett took up photography and sometimes they went to the seaside together. She also said he took a keen interest in art and horticulture and continued to devote himself to painting:
Barrett had relationships with various women, such as Libby Gausden; Lindsay Korner; Jenny Spires; and Pakistani-born Evelyn "Iggy" Rose (1947–2017) (aka "Iggy the Eskimo", "Iggy the Inuit"), who appeared on the back cover of The Madcap Laughs. He never married or had children, though he was briefly engaged to marry Gayla Pinion and planned to relocate to Oxford.
Discography
Solo albums
The Madcap Laughs (1970)
Barrett (1970)
with Pink Floyd
The Piper at the Gates of Dawn (1967)
A Saucerful of Secrets (1968)
1965: Their First Recordings (2015)
The Early Years 1965–1972 (2016)
Filmography
Syd Barrett's First Trip (1966) directed by Nigel Lesmoir-Gordon
London '66–'67 (1967)
Tonite Lets All Make Love in London (1967)
The Pink Floyd and Syd Barrett Story (2003)
See also
List of songs recorded by Syd Barrett
List of songs about or referencing Syd Barrett
References
Informational notes
Citations
Bibliography
External links
The Official Syd Barrett Website
The Syd Barrett Archives
Syd Barrett Pink Floyd blog
The Holy Church of Iggy the Inuit blog
1946 births
2006 deaths
20th-century English composers
20th-century English painters
20th-century English male singers
21st-century English painters
Alumni of Anglia Ruskin University
Alumni of Camberwell College of Arts
Blues rock musicians
Capitol Records artists
Deaths from cancer in England
Deaths from pancreatic cancer
EMI Records artists
English experimental musicians
English male painters
English rock guitarists
English rock singers
English male singer-songwriters
Experimental composers
Experimental guitarists
Harvest Records artists
Lead guitarists
Musicians from Cambridgeshire
Outsider musicians
People from Cambridge
People with schizophrenia
Pink Floyd members
Protopunk musicians
Psychedelic drug advocates
Psychedelic folk musicians
Psychedelic rock musicians
Rhythm guitarists
Slide guitarists
English male guitarists
20th-century British guitarists | false | [
"Barricades & Brickwalls is the second studio album by Australian country music singer Kasey Chambers released in Australia on 3 September 2001 by Essence Records and on 12 February 2002 on Warner Bros. Records in the U.S. The album was mainly written by Chambers with help from Worm Werchon and her father Bill Chambers. Barricades & Brickwalls debuted in the top ten on the Australian ARIA Albums Chart, and sales were considerably high of those of Chambers first album, The Captain (1999). Its singles were successful in most music markets, \"Not Pretty Enough\", the most successful song from the album gave Chambers her first number-one single in Australia and reached #4 in New Zealand. Other singles includes \"Runaway Train\", \"On a Bad Day\", \"Million Tears\" and \"If I Were You\". The commercial success of the album led the album to eight nominations at the ARIA Awards.\n\nThe song \"Not Pretty Enough\" reached number-one on the Australian ARIA charts, going double platinum, and Chambers became the first musical act in Australian history to have an album and single sit at the top of the charts at the same time. The singles \"Million Tears\" and \"If I Were You\" would later reach the top forty charts. The album did not reach quite the same audience in the United States, not quite hitting the Billboard Hot 100. It did, however, reach the top of the Heatseekers chart as well as hitting the top 20 country albums. The track \"Crossfire\" features The Living End.\n\nThe album would end up going platinum in 2002, becoming the highest selling album by an Australian artist in that year, along with the highest selling single. Chambers, because of the success of this album, won \"Best Country Album,\" \"Best Female Artist,\" and \"Album of the Year\" at the 2002 ARIA awards. In October 2010, the album was listed in the top 40 in the book, 100 Best Australian Albums.\n\nTrack listing\n\nCharts\n\nYear-end charts\n\nDecade-end chart\n\nCertifications\n\nReferences\n\n2001 albums\nARIA Award-winning albums\nKasey Chambers albums",
"\"Oh Baby!\" is a song by the Dutch group Twenty 4 Seven. It was released as the first single from their third album, I Wanna Show You. The video was shot in London, and filmed by director Steve Walker. A midtempo ballad, \"Oh Baby\" did not have the same impact on the charts as the group's previous singles, although it did reach the top 40 charts in several European countries.\n\nCharts\n\nWeekly charts\n\nYear-end charts\n\nReferences\n\n1994 singles\n1994 songs\nTwenty 4 Seven songs\n1990s ballads\nPop ballads\nCNR Music singles\nZYX Music singles"
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"Muhammad Ali Jinnah",
"Background to independence"
] | C_670c31028fec474ba4b03bb9172df90c_0 | what was the background to independence? | 1 | What was Muhammad Ali Jinnah's Background to Independence? | Muhammad Ali Jinnah | Until the late 1930s, most Muslims of the British Raj expected, upon independence, to be part of a unitary state encompassing all of British India, as did the Hindus and others who advocated self-government. Despite this, other nationalist proposals were being made. In a speech given at Allahabad to a League session in 1930, Sir Muhammad Iqbal called for a state for Muslims in British India. Choudhary Rahmat Ali published a pamphlet in 1933 advocating a state "Pakistan" in the Indus Valley, with other names given to Muslim-majority areas elsewhere in India. Jinnah and Iqbal corresponded in 1936 and 1937; in subsequent years, Jinnah credited Iqbal as his mentor, and used Iqbal's imagery and rhetoric in his speeches. Although many leaders of the Congress sought a strong central government for an Indian state, some Muslim politicians, including Jinnah, were unwilling to accept this without powerful protections for their community. Other Muslims supported the Congress, which officially advocated a secular state upon independence, though the traditionalist wing (including politicians such as Madan Mohan Malaviya and Vallabhbhai Patel) believed that an independent India should enact laws such as banning the killing of cows and making Hindi a national language. The failure of the Congress leadership to disavow Hindu communalists worried Congress-supporting Muslims. Nevertheless, the Congress enjoyed considerable Muslim support up to about 1937. Events which separated the communities included the failed attempt to form a coalition government including the Congress and the League in the United Provinces following the 1937 election. According to historian Ian Talbot, "The provincial Congress governments made no effort to understand and respect their Muslim populations' cultural and religious sensibilities. The Muslim League's claims that it alone could safeguard Muslim interests thus received a major boost. Significantly it was only after this period of Congress rule that it [the League] took up the demand for a Pakistan state ..." Balraj Puri in his journal article about Jinnah suggests that the Muslim League president, after the 1937 vote, turned to the idea of partition in "sheer desperation". Historian Akbar S. Ahmed suggests that Jinnah abandoned hope of reconciliation with the Congress as he "rediscover[ed] his own Islamic roots, his own sense of identity, of culture and history, which would come increasingly to the fore in the final years of his life". Jinnah also increasingly adopted Muslim dress in the late 1930s. In the wake of the 1937 balloting, Jinnah demanded that the question of power sharing be settled on an all-India basis, and that he, as president of the League, be accepted as the sole spokesman for the Muslim community. CANNOTANSWER | Until the late 1930s, most Muslims of the British Raj expected, upon independence, to be part of a unitary state encompassing all of British India, | Muhammad Ali Jinnah (born Mahomedali Jinnahbhai; 25 December 1876 – 11 September 1948) was a barrister, politician and the founder of Pakistan. Jinnah served as the leader of the All-India Muslim League from 1913 until the inception of Pakistan on 14 August 1947, and then as the Dominion of Pakistan's first governor-general until his death. He is revered in Pakistan as the Quaid-i-Azam ("Great Leader") and Baba-i-Qaum ("Father of the Nation"). His birthday is observed as a national holiday in Pakistan.
Born at Wazir Mansion in Karachi, Jinnah was trained as a barrister at Lincoln's Inn in London, England. Upon his return to British India, he enrolled at the Bombay High Court, and took an interest in national politics, which eventually replaced his legal practice. Jinnah rose to prominence in the Indian National Congress in the first two decades of the 20th century. In these early years of his political career, Jinnah advocated Hindu–Muslim unity, helping to shape the 1916 Lucknow Pact between the Congress and the All-India Muslim League, in which Jinnah had also become prominent. Jinnah became a key leader in the All-India Home Rule League, and proposed a fourteen-point constitutional reform plan to safeguard the political rights of Muslims in the Indian subcontinent. In 1920, however, Jinnah resigned from the Congress when it agreed to follow a campaign of satyagraha, which he regarded as political anarchy.
By 1940, Jinnah had come to believe that the Muslims of the subcontinent should have their own state to avoid the possible marginalised status they may gain in an independent Hindu–Muslim state. In that year, the Muslim League, led by Jinnah, passed the Lahore Resolution, demanding a separate nation for British Indian Muslims. During the Second World War, the League gained strength while leaders of the Congress were imprisoned, and in the provincial elections held shortly after the war, it won most of the seats reserved for Muslims. Ultimately, the Congress and the Muslim League could not reach a power-sharing formula that would allow the entirety of British India to be united as a single state following independence, leading all parties to agree instead to the independence of a predominantly Hindu India, and for a Muslim-majority state of Pakistan.
As the first Governor-General of Pakistan, Jinnah worked to establish the new nation's government and policies, and to aid the millions of Muslim migrants who had emigrated from neighbouring India to Pakistan after the two states' independence, personally supervising the establishment of refugee camps. Jinnah died at age 71 in September 1948, just over a year after Pakistan gained independence from the United Kingdom. He left a deep and respected legacy in Pakistan. Innumerable streets, roads and localities in the world are named after Jinnah. Several universities and public buildings in Pakistan bear Jinnah's name. According to his biographer, Stanley Wolpert, Jinnah remains Pakistan's greatest leader.
Early years
Family and childhood
Jinnah's given name at birth was Mahomedali Jinnahbhai, and he likely was born in 1876, to Jinnahbhai Poonja and his wife Mithibai, in a rented apartment on the second floor of Wazir Mansion near Karachi, now in Sindh, Pakistan but then within the Bombay Presidency of British India. Jinnah's family was from a Gujarati Khoja Shi’a Muslim background, though Jinnah later followed the Twelver Shi'a teachings. After his death, his relatives and other witnesses claimed that he had converted in later life to the Sunni sect of Islam. His sectarian affiliation at the time of his death was disputed in multiple court cases. Jinnah was from a wealthy merchant background, his father was a merchant and was born to a family of textile weavers in the village of Paneli in the princely state of Gondal (Kathiawar, Gujarat); his mother was also of that village. They had moved to Karachi in 1875, having married before their departure. Karachi was then enjoying an economic boom: the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 meant it was 200 nautical miles closer to Europe for shipping than Bombay. Jinnah was the second child; he had three brothers and three sisters, including his younger sister Fatima Jinnah. The parents were native Gujarati speakers, and the children also came to speak Kutchi and English. Jinnah was not fluent in Gujarati, his mother-tongue, nor in Urdu; he was more fluent in English. Except for Fatima, little is known of his siblings, where they settled or if they met with their brother as he advanced in his legal and political careers.
As a boy, Jinnah lived for a time in Bombay with an aunt and may have attended the Gokal Das Tej Primary School there, later on studying at the Cathedral and John Connon School. In Karachi, he attended the Sindh-Madrasa-tul-Islam and the Christian Missionary Society High School. He gained his matriculation from Bombay University at the high school. In his later years and especially after his death, a large number of stories about the boyhood of Pakistan's founder were circulated: that he spent all his spare time at the police court, listening to the proceedings, and that he studied his books by the glow of street lights for lack of other illumination. His official biographer, Hector Bolitho, writing in 1954, interviewed surviving boyhood associates, and obtained a tale that the young Jinnah discouraged other children from playing marbles in the dust, urging them to rise up, keep their hands and clothes clean, and play cricket instead.
Education in England
In 1892, Sir Frederick Leigh Croft, a business associate of Jinnahbhai Poonja, offered young Jinnah a London apprenticeship with his firm, Graham's Shipping and Trading Company. He accepted the position despite the opposition of his mother, who before he left, had him enter an arranged marriage with his cousin, two years his junior from the ancestral village of Paneli, Emibai Jinnah. Jinnah's mother and first wife both died during his absence in England. Although the apprenticeship in London was considered a great opportunity for Jinnah, one reason for sending him overseas was a legal proceeding against his father, which placed the family's property at risk of being sequestered by the court. In 1893, the Jinnahbhai family moved to Bombay.
Soon after his arrival in London, Jinnah gave up the business apprenticeship in order to study law, enraging his father, who had, before his departure, given him enough money to live for three years. The aspiring barrister joined Lincoln's Inn, later stating that the reason he chose Lincoln's over the other Inns of Court was that over the main entrance to Lincoln's Inn were the names of the world's great lawgivers, including Muhammad. Jinnah's biographer Stanley Wolpert notes that there is no such inscription, but inside (covering the wall at one end of New Hall, also called the Great Hall, which is where students, Bar and Bench lunch and dine) is a mural showing Muhammad and other lawgivers, and speculates that Jinnah may have edited the story in his own mind to avoid mentioning a pictorial depiction which would be offensive to many Muslims. Jinnah's legal education followed the pupillage (legal apprenticeship) system, which had been in force there for centuries. To gain knowledge of the law, he followed an established barrister and learned from what he did, as well as from studying lawbooks. During this period, he shortened his name to Muhammad Ali Jinnah.
During his student years in England, Jinnah was influenced by 19th-century British liberalism, like many other future Indian independence leaders. His main intellectual references were peoples like Bentham, Mill, Spencer, and Comte. This political education included exposure to the idea of the democratic nation, and progressive politics. He became an admirer of the Parsi British Indian political leaders Dadabhai Naoroji and Sir Pherozeshah Mehta. Naoroji had become the first British Member of Parliament of Indian extraction shortly before Jinnah's arrival, triumphing with a majority of three votes in Finsbury Central. Jinnah listened to Naoroji's maiden speech in the House of Commons from the visitor's gallery.
The Western world not only inspired Jinnah in his political life, but also greatly influenced his personal preferences, particularly when it came to dress. Jinnah abandoned local garb for Western-style clothing, and throughout his life he was always impeccably dressed in public. His suits were designed by Savile Row tailor Henry Poole & Co. He came to own over 200 suits, which he wore with heavily starched shirts with detachable collars, and as a barrister took pride in never wearing the same silk tie twice. Even when he was dying, he insisted on being formally dressed, "I will not travel in my pyjamas." In his later years he was usually seen wearing a Karakul hat which subsequently came to be known as the "Jinnah cap".
Dissatisfied with the law, Jinnah briefly embarked on a stage career with a Shakespearean company, but resigned after receiving a stern letter from his father. In 1895, at age 19, he became the youngest British Indian to be called to the bar in England. Although he returned to Karachi, he remained there only a short time before moving to Bombay.
Legal and early political career
Barrister
At the age of 20, Jinnah began his practice in Bombay, the only Muslim barrister in the city. English had become his principal language and would remain so throughout his life. His first three years in the law, from 1897 to 1900, brought him few briefs. His first step towards a brighter career occurred when the acting Advocate General of Bombay, John Molesworth MacPherson, invited Jinnah to work from his chambers. In 1900, P. H. Dastoor, a Bombay presidency magistrate, left the post temporarily and Jinnah succeeded in getting the interim position. After his six-month appointment period, Jinnah was offered a permanent position on a 1,500 rupee per month salary. Jinnah politely declined the offer, stating that he planned to earn 1,500 rupees a day—a huge sum at that time—which he eventually did. Nevertheless, as Governor-General of Pakistan, he would refuse to accept a large salary, fixing it at 1 rupee per month.
As a lawyer, Jinnah gained fame for his skilled handling of the 1908 "Caucus Case". This controversy arose out of Bombay municipal elections, which Indians alleged were rigged by a "caucus" of Europeans to keep Sir Pherozeshah Mehta out of the council. Jinnah gained great esteem from leading the case for Sir Pherozeshah, himself a noted barrister. Although Jinnah did not win the Caucus Case, he posted a successful record, becoming well known for his advocacy and legal logic. In 1908, his factional foe in the Indian National Congress, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, was arrested for sedition. Before Tilak unsuccessfully represented himself at trial, he engaged Jinnah in an attempt to secure his release on bail. Jinnah did not succeed, but obtained an acquittal for Tilak when he was charged with sedition again in 1916.
One of Jinnah's fellow barristers from the Bombay High Court remembered that "Jinnah's faith in himself was incredible"; he recalled that on being admonished by a judge with "Mr. Jinnah, remember that you are not addressing a third-class magistrate", Jinnah shot back, "My Lord, allow me to warn you that you are not addressing a third-class pleader." Another of his fellow barristers described him, saying:
Trade unionist
Jinnah was also a supporter of working class causes and an active trade unionist. He was elected President of All India Postal Staff Union in 1925 whose membership was 70,000. According to All Pakistan Labour Federation's publication Productive Role of Trade Unions and Industrial Relations, being a member of Legislative Assembly, Jinnah pleaded forcefully for rights of workers and struggled for getting a "living wage and fair conditions" for them. He also played an important role in enactment of Trade Union act of 1926 which gave trade union movement legal cover to organise themselves.
Rising leader
In 1857, many Indians had risen in revolt against British rule. In the aftermath of the conflict, some Anglo-Indians, as well as Indians in Britain, called for greater self-government for the subcontinent, resulting in the founding of the Indian National Congress in 1885. Most founding members had been educated in Britain, and were content with the minimal reform efforts being made by the government. Muslims were not enthusiastic about calls for democratic institutions in British India, as they constituted a quarter to a third of the population, outnumbered by the Hindus. Early meetings of the Congress contained a minority of Muslims, mostly from the elite.
Jinnah devoted much of his time to his law practice in the early 1900s, but remained politically involved. Jinnah began political life by attending the Congress's twentieth annual meeting, in Bombay in December 1904. He was a member of the moderate group in the Congress, favouring Hindu–Muslim unity in achieving self-government, and following such leaders as Mehta, Naoroji, and Gopal Krishna Gokhale. They were opposed by leaders such as Tilak and Lala Lajpat Rai, who sought quick action towards independence. In 1906, a delegation of Muslim leaders, known as the Simla Delegation, headed by the Aga Khan called on the new Viceroy of India, Lord Minto, to assure him of their loyalty and to ask for assurances that in any political reforms they would be protected from the "unsympathetic [Hindu] majority". Dissatisfied with this, Jinnah wrote a letter to the editor of the newspaper Gujarati, asking what right the members of the delegation had to speak for Indian Muslims, as they were unelected and self-appointed. When many of the same leaders met in Dacca in December of that year to form the All-India Muslim League to advocate for their community's interests, Jinnah was again opposed. The Aga Khan later wrote that it was "freakishly ironic" that Jinnah, who would lead the League to independence, "came out in bitter hostility toward all that I and my friends had done ... He said that our principle of separate electorates was dividing the nation against itself." In its earliest years, however, the League was not influential; Minto refused to consider it as the Muslim community's representative, and it was ineffective in preventing the 1911 repeal of the partition of Bengal, an action seen as a blow to Muslim interests.
Although Jinnah initially opposed separate electorates for Muslims, he used this means to gain his first elective office in 1909, as Bombay's Muslim representative on the Imperial Legislative Council. He was a compromise candidate when two older, better-known Muslims who were seeking the post deadlocked. The council, which had been expanded to 60 members as part of reforms enacted by Minto, recommended legislation to the Viceroy. Only officials could vote in the council; non-official members, such as Jinnah, had no vote. Throughout his legal career, Jinnah practised probate law (with many clients from India's nobility), and in 1911 introduced the Wakf Validation Act to place Muslim religious trusts on a sound legal footing under British Indian law. Two years later, the measure passed, the first act sponsored by non-officials to pass the council and be enacted by the Viceroy. Jinnah was also appointed to a committee which helped to establish the Indian Military Academy in Dehra Dun.
In December 1912, Jinnah addressed the annual meeting of the Muslim League although he was not yet a member. He joined the following year, although he remained a member of the Congress as well and stressed that League membership took second priority to the "greater national cause" of an independent India. In April 1913, he again went to Britain, with Gokhale, to meet with officials on behalf of the Congress. Gokhale, a Hindu, later stated that Jinnah "has true stuff in him, and that freedom from all sectarian prejudice which will make him the best ambassador of Hindu–Muslim Unity". Jinnah led another delegation of the Congress to London in 1914, but due to the start of the First World War in August 1914, found officials little interested in Indian reforms. By coincidence, he was in Britain at the same time as a man who would become a great political rival of his, Mohandas Gandhi, a Hindu lawyer who had become well known for advocating satyagraha, non-violent non-co-operation, while in South Africa. Jinnah attended a reception for Gandhi where the two men met and talked with each other for the first time. Shortly afterwords, Jinnah returned home to India in January 1915.
Farewell to Congress
Jinnah's moderate faction in the Congress was undermined by the deaths of Mehta and Gokhale in 1915; he was further isolated by the fact that Naoroji was in London, where he remained until his death in 1917. Nevertheless, Jinnah worked to bring the Congress and League together. In 1916, with Jinnah now president of the Muslim League, the two organisations signed the Lucknow Pact, setting quotas for Muslim and Hindu representation in the various provinces. Although the pact was never fully implemented, its signing ushered in a period of co-operation between the Congress and the League.
During the war, Jinnah joined other Indian moderates in supporting the British war effort, hoping that Indians would be rewarded with political freedoms. Jinnah played an important role in the founding of the All India Home Rule League in 1916. Along with political leaders Annie Besant and Tilak, Jinnah demanded "home rule" for India—the status of a self-governing dominion in the Empire similar to Canada, New Zealand and Australia, although, with the war, Britain's politicians were not interested in considering Indian constitutional reform. British Cabinet minister Edwin Montagu recalled Jinnah in his memoirs, "young, perfectly mannered, impressive-looking, armed to the teeth with dialectics, and insistent on the whole of his scheme".
In 1918, Jinnah married his second wife Rattanbai Petit ("Ruttie"), 24 years his junior. She was the fashionable young daughter of his friend Sir Dinshaw Petit, and was part of an elite Parsi family of Bombay. There was great opposition to the marriage from Rattanbai's family and the Parsi community, as well as from some Muslim religious leaders. Rattanbai defied her family and nominally converted to Islam, adopting (though never using) the name Maryam Jinnah, resulting in a permanent estrangement from her family and Parsi society. The couple resided at South Court Mansion in Bombay, and frequently travelled across India and Europe. The couple's only child, daughter Dina, was born on 15 August 1919. The couple separated prior to Ruttie's death in 1929, and subsequently Jinnah's sister Fatima looked after him and his child.
Relations between Indians and British were strained in 1919 when the Imperial Legislative Council extended emergency wartime restrictions on civil liberties; Jinnah resigned from it when it did. There was unrest across India, which worsened after the Jallianwala Bagh massacre in Amritsar, in which British troops fired upon a protest meeting, killing hundreds. In the wake of Amritsar, Gandhi, who had returned to India and become a widely respected leader and highly influential in the Congress, called for satyagraha against the British. Gandhi's proposal gained broad Hindu support, and was also attractive to many Muslims of the Khilafat faction. These Muslims, supported by Gandhi, sought retention of the Ottoman caliphate, which supplied spiritual leadership to many Muslims. The caliph was the Ottoman Emperor, who would be deprived of both offices following his nation's defeat in the First World War. Gandhi had achieved considerable popularity among Muslims because of his work during the war on behalf of killed or imprisoned Muslims. Unlike Jinnah and other leaders of the Congress, Gandhi did not wear western-style clothing, did his best to use an Indian language instead of English, and was deeply rooted in Indian culture. Gandhi's local style of leadership gained great popularity with the Indian people. Jinnah criticised Gandhi's Khilafat advocacy, which he saw as an endorsement of religious zealotry. Jinnah regarded Gandhi's proposed satyagraha campaign as political anarchy, and believed that self-government should be secured through constitutional means. He opposed Gandhi, but the tide of Indian opinion was against him. At the 1920 session of the Congress in Nagpur, Jinnah was shouted down by the delegates, who passed Gandhi's proposal, pledging satyagraha until India was independent. Jinnah did not attend the subsequent League meeting, held in the same city, which passed a similar resolution. Because of the action of the Congress in endorsing Gandhi's campaign, Jinnah resigned from it, leaving all positions except in the Muslim League.
Wilderness years; interlude in England
The alliance between Gandhi and the Khilafat faction did not last long, and the campaign of resistance proved less effective than hoped, as India's institutions continued to function. Jinnah sought alternative political ideas, and contemplated organising a new political party as a rival to the Congress. In September 1923, Jinnah was elected as Muslim member for Bombay in the new Central Legislative Assembly. He showed much skill as a parliamentarian, organising many Indian members to work with the Swaraj Party, and continued to press demands for full responsible government. In 1925, as recognition for his legislative activities, he was offered a knighthood by Lord Reading, who was retiring from the Viceroyalty. He replied: "I prefer to be plain Mr Jinnah."
In 1927, the British Government, under Conservative Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin, undertook a decennial review of Indian policy mandated by the Government of India Act 1919. The review began two years early as Baldwin feared he would lose the next election (which he did, in 1929). The Cabinet was influenced by minister Winston Churchill, who strongly opposed self-government for India, and members hoped that by having the commission appointed early, the policies for India which they favoured would survive their government. The resulting commission, led by Liberal MP John Simon, though with a majority of Conservatives, arrived in India in March 1928. They were met with a boycott by India's leaders, Muslim and Hindu alike, angered at the British refusal to include their representatives on the commission. A minority of Muslims, though, withdrew from the League, choosing to welcome the Simon Commission and repudiating Jinnah. Most members of the League's executive council remained loyal to Jinnah, attending the League meeting in December 1927 and January 1928 which confirmed him as the League's permanent president. At that session, Jinnah told the delegates that "A constitutional war has been declared on Great Britain. Negotiations for a settlement are not to come from our side ... By appointing an exclusively white Commission, [Secretary of State for India] Lord Birkenhead has declared our unfitness for self-government."
Birkenhead in 1928 challenged Indians to come up with their own proposal for constitutional change for India; in response, the Congress convened a committee under the leadership of Motilal Nehru. The Nehru Report favoured constituencies based on geography on the ground that being dependent on each other for election would bind the communities closer together. Jinnah, though he believed separate electorates, based on religion, necessary to ensure Muslims had a voice in the government, was willing to compromise on this point, but talks between the two parties failed. He put forth proposals that he hoped might satisfy a broad range of Muslims and reunite the League, calling for mandatory representation for Muslims in legislatures and cabinets. These became known as his Fourteen Points. He could not secure adoption of the Fourteen Points, as the League meeting in Delhi at which he hoped to gain a vote instead dissolved into chaotic argument.
After Baldwin was defeated at the 1929 British parliamentary election, Ramsay MacDonald of the Labour Party became prime minister. MacDonald desired a conference of Indian and British leaders in London to discuss India's future, a course of action supported by Jinnah. Three Round Table Conferences followed over as many years, none of which resulted in a settlement. Jinnah was a delegate to the first two conferences, but was not invited to the last. He remained in Britain for most of the period 1930 through 1934, practising as a barrister before the Privy Council, where he dealt with a number of India-related cases. His biographers disagree over why he remained so long in Britain—Wolpert asserts that had Jinnah been made a Law Lord, he would have stayed for life, and that Jinnah alternatively sought a parliamentary seat. Early biographer Hector Bolitho denied that Jinnah sought to enter the British Parliament, while Jaswant Singh deems Jinnah's time in Britain as a break or sabbatical from the Indian struggle. Bolitho called this period "Jinnah's years of order and contemplation, wedged in between the time of early struggle, and the final storm of conquest".
In 1931, Fatima Jinnah joined her brother in England. From then on, Muhammad Jinnah would receive personal care and support from her as he aged and began to suffer from the lung ailments which would kill him. She lived and travelled with him, and became a close advisor. Muhammad Jinnah's daughter, Dina, was educated in England and India. Jinnah later became estranged from Dina after she decided to marry a Parsi, Neville Wadia from a prominent Parsi business family. Wadia is the son Sir Ness Wadia and Evelyne Clara Powell. When Jinnah urged Dina to marry a Muslim, she reminded him that he had married a woman not raised in his faith. Jinnah continued to correspond cordially with his daughter, but their personal relationship was strained, and she did not come to Pakistan in his lifetime, but only for his funeral.
Return to politics
The early 1930s saw a resurgence in Indian Muslim nationalism, which came to a head with the Pakistan Declaration. In 1933, Indian Muslims, especially from the United Provinces, began to urge Jinnah to return and take up again his leadership of the Muslim League, an organisation which had fallen into inactivity. He remained titular president of the League, but declined to travel to India to preside over its 1933 session in April, writing that he could not possibly return there until the end of the year.
Among those who met with Jinnah to seek his return was Liaquat Ali Khan, who would be a major political associate of Jinnah in the years to come and the first Prime Minister of Pakistan. At Jinnah's request, Liaquat discussed the return with a large number of Muslim politicians and confirmed his recommendation to Jinnah. In early 1934, Jinnah relocated to the subcontinent, though he shuttled between London and India on business for the next few years, selling his house in Hampstead and closing his legal practice in Britain.
Muslims of Bombay elected Jinnah, though then absent in London, as their representative to the Central Legislative Assembly in October 1934. The British Parliament's Government of India Act 1935 gave considerable power to India's provinces, with a weak central parliament in New Delhi, which had no authority over such matters as foreign policy, defence, and much of the budget. Full power remained in the hands of the Viceroy, however, who could dissolve legislatures and rule by decree. The League reluctantly accepted the scheme, though expressing reservations about the weak parliament. The Congress was much better prepared for the provincial elections in 1937, and the League failed to win a majority even of the Muslim seats in any of the provinces where members of that faith held a majority. It did win a majority of the Muslim seats in Delhi, but could not form a government anywhere, though it was part of the ruling coalition in Bengal. The Congress and its allies formed the government even in the North-West Frontier Province (N.W.F.P.), where the League won no seats despite the fact that almost all residents were Muslim.
According to Jaswant Singh, "the events of 1937 had a tremendous, almost a traumatic effect upon Jinnah". Despite his beliefs of twenty years that Muslims could protect their rights in a united India through separate electorates, provincial boundaries drawn to preserve Muslim majorities, and by other protections of minority rights, Muslim voters had failed to unite, with the issues Jinnah hoped to bring forward lost amid factional fighting. Singh notes the effect of the 1937 elections on Muslim political opinion, "when the Congress formed a government with almost all of the Muslim MLAs sitting on the Opposition benches, non-Congress Muslims were suddenly faced with this stark reality of near-total political powerlessness. It was brought home to them, like a bolt of lightning, that even if the Congress did not win a single Muslim seat ... as long as it won an absolute majority in the House, on the strength of the general seats, it could and would form a government entirely on its own ..."
In the next two years, Jinnah worked to build support among Muslims for the League. He secured the right to speak for the Muslim-led Bengali and Punjabi provincial governments in the central government in New Delhi ("the centre"). He worked to expand the League, reducing the cost of membership to two annas (⅛ of a rupee), half of what it cost to join the Congress. He restructured the League along the lines of the Congress, putting most power in a Working Committee, which he appointed. By December 1939, Liaquat estimated that the League had three million two-anna members.
Struggle for Pakistan
Background to independence
Until the late 1930s, most Muslims of the British Raj expected, upon independence, to be part of a unitary state encompassing all of British India, as did the Hindus and others who advocated self-government. Despite this, other nationalist proposals were being made. In a speech given at Allahabad to a League session in 1930, Sir Muhammad Iqbal called for a state for Muslims in British India. Choudhary Rahmat Ali published a pamphlet in 1933 advocating a state "Pakistan" in the Indus Valley, with other names given to Muslim-majority areas elsewhere in India. Jinnah and Iqbal corresponded in 1936 and 1937; in subsequent years, Jinnah credited Iqbal as his mentor, and used Iqbal's imagery and rhetoric in his speeches.
Although many leaders of the Congress sought a strong central government for an Indian state, some Muslim politicians, including Jinnah, were unwilling to accept this without powerful protections for their community. Other Muslims supported the Congress, which officially advocated a secular state upon independence, though the traditionalist wing (including politicians such as Madan Mohan Malaviya and Vallabhbhai Patel) believed that an independent India should enact laws such as banning the killing of cows and making Hindi a national language. The failure of the Congress leadership to disavow Hindu communalists worried Congress-supporting Muslims. Nevertheless, the Congress enjoyed considerable Muslim support up to about 1937.
Events which separated the communities included the failed attempt to form a coalition government including the Congress and the League in the United Provinces following the 1937 election. According to historian Ian Talbot, "The provincial Congress governments made no effort to understand and respect their Muslim populations' cultural and religious sensibilities. The Muslim League's claims that it alone could safeguard Muslim interests thus received a major boost. Significantly it was only after this period of Congress rule that it [the League] took up the demand for a Pakistan state ..."
Balraj Puri in his journal article about Jinnah suggests that the Muslim League president, after the 1937 vote, turned to the idea of partition in "sheer desperation". Historian Akbar S. Ahmed suggests that Jinnah abandoned hope of reconciliation with the Congress as he "rediscover[ed] his own Islamic roots, his own sense of identity, of culture and history, which would come increasingly to the fore in the final years of his life". Jinnah also increasingly adopted Muslim dress in the late 1930s. In the wake of the 1937 balloting, Jinnah demanded that the question of power sharing be settled on an all-India basis, and that he, as president of the League, be accepted as the sole spokesman for the Muslim community.
Iqbal's influence on Jinnah
The well documented influence of Iqbal on Jinnah, with regard to taking the lead in creating Pakistan, has been described as "significant", "powerful" and even "unquestionable" by scholars. Iqbal has also been cited as an influential force in convincing Jinnah to end his self-imposed exile in London and re-enter the politics of India. Initially, however, Iqbal and Jinnah were opponents, as Iqbal believed Jinnah did not care about the crises confronting the Muslim community during the British Raj. According to Akbar S. Ahmed, this began to change during Iqbal's final years prior to his death in 1938. Iqbal gradually succeeded in converting Jinnah over to his view, who eventually accepted Iqbal as his "mentor". Ahmed comments that in his annotations to Iqbal's letters, Jinnah expressed solidarity with Iqbal's view: that Indian Muslims required a separate homeland.
Iqbal's influence also gave Jinnah a deeper appreciation for Muslim identity. The evidence of this influence began to be revealed from 1937 onwards. Jinnah not only began to echo Iqbal in his speeches, he started using Islamic symbolism and began directing his addresses to the underprivileged. Ahmed noted a change in Jinnah's words: while he still advocated freedom of religion and protection of the minorities, the model he was now aspiring to was that of the Prophet Muhammad, rather than that of a secular politician. Ahmed further avers that those scholars who have painted the later Jinnah as secular have misread his speeches which, he argues, must be read in the context of Islamic history and culture. Accordingly, Jinnah's imagery of the Pakistan began to become clear that it was to have an Islamic nature. This change has been seen to last for the rest of Jinnah's life. He continued to borrow ideas "directly from Iqbal—including his thoughts on Muslim unity, on Islamic ideals of liberty, justice and equality, on economics, and even on practices such as prayers".
In a speech in 1940, two years after the death of Iqbal, Jinnah expressed his preference for implementing Iqbal's vision for an Islamic Pakistan even if it meant he himself would never lead a nation. Jinnah stated, "If I live to see the ideal of a Muslim state being achieved in India, and I was then offered to make a choice between the works of Iqbal and the rulership of the Muslim state, I would prefer the former."
Second World War and Lahore Resolution
On 3 September 1939, British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain announced the commencement of war with Nazi Germany. The following day, the Viceroy, Lord Linlithgow, without consulting Indian political leaders, announced that India had entered the war along with Britain. There were widespread protests in India. After meeting with Jinnah and with Gandhi, Linlithgow announced that negotiations on self-government were suspended for the duration of the war. The Congress on 14 September demanded immediate independence with a constituent assembly to decide a constitution; when this was refused, its eight provincial governments resigned on 10 November and governors in those provinces thereafter ruled by decree for the remainder of the war. Jinnah, on the other hand, was more willing to accommodate the British, and they in turn increasingly recognised him and the League as the representatives of India's Muslims. Jinnah later stated, "after the war began, ... I was treated on the same basis as Mr Gandhi. I was wonderstruck why I was promoted and given a place side by side with Mr Gandhi." Although the League did not actively support the British war effort, neither did they try to obstruct it.
With the British and Muslims to some extent co-operating, the Viceroy asked Jinnah for an expression of the Muslim League's position on self-government, confident that it would differ greatly from that of the Congress. To come up with such a position, the League's Working Committee met for four days in February 1940 to set out terms of reference to a constitutional sub-committee. The Working Committee asked that the sub-committee return with a proposal that would result in "independent dominions in direct relationship with Great Britain" where Muslims were dominant. On 6 February, Jinnah informed the Viceroy that the Muslim League would be demanding partition instead of the federation contemplated in the 1935 Act. The Lahore Resolution (sometimes called the "Pakistan Resolution", although it does not contain that name), based on the sub-committee's work, embraced the Two-Nation Theory and called for a union of the Muslim-majority provinces in the northwest of British India, with complete autonomy. Similar rights were to be granted to the Muslim-majority areas in the east, and unspecified protections given to Muslim minorities in other provinces. The resolution was passed by the League session in Lahore on 23 March 1940.
Gandhi's reaction to the Lahore Resolution was muted; he called it "baffling", but told his disciples that Muslims, in common with other people of India, had the right to self-determination. Leaders of the Congress were more vocal; Jawaharlal Nehru referred to Lahore as "Jinnah's fantastic proposals" while Chakravarti Rajagopalachari deemed Jinnah's views on partition "a sign of a diseased mentality". Linlithgow met with Jinnah in June 1940, soon after Winston Churchill became the British prime minister, and in August offered both the Congress and the League a deal whereby in exchange for full support for the war, Linlithgow would allow Indian representation on his major war councils. The Viceroy promised a representative body after the war to determine India's future, and that no future settlement would be imposed over the objections of a large part of the population. This was satisfactory to neither the Congress nor the League, though Jinnah was pleased that the British had moved towards recognising Jinnah as the representative of the Muslim community's interests. Jinnah was reluctant to make specific proposals as to the boundaries of Pakistan, or its relationships with Britain and with the rest of the subcontinent, fearing that any precise plan would divide the League.
The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941 brought the United States into the war. In the following months, the Japanese advanced in Southeast Asia, and the British Cabinet sent a mission led by Sir Stafford Cripps to try to conciliate the Indians and cause them to fully back the war. Cripps proposed giving some provinces what was dubbed the "local option" to remain outside of an Indian central government either for a period of time or permanently, to become dominions on their own or be part of another confederation. The Muslim League was far from certain of winning the legislative votes that would be required for mixed provinces such as Bengal and Punjab to secede, and Jinnah rejected the proposals as not sufficiently recognising Pakistan's right to exist. The Congress also rejected the Cripps plan, demanding immediate concessions which Cripps was not prepared to give. Despite the rejection, Jinnah and the League saw the Cripps proposal as recognising Pakistan in principle.
The Congress followed the failed Cripps mission by demanding, in August 1942, that the British immediately "Quit India", proclaiming a mass campaign of satyagraha until they did. The British promptly arrested most major leaders of the Congress and imprisoned them for the remainder of the war. Gandhi, however, was placed on house arrest in one of the Aga Khan's palaces prior to his release for health reasons in 1944. With the Congress leaders absent from the political scene, Jinnah warned against the threat of Hindu domination and maintained his Pakistan demand without going into great detail about what that would entail. Jinnah also worked to increase the League's political control at the provincial level. He helped to found the newspaper Dawn in the early 1940s in Delhi; it helped to spread the League's message and eventually became the major English-language newspaper of Pakistan.
In September 1944, Jinnah hosted Gandhi, recently released from confinement, at his home on Malabar Hill in Bombay. Two weeks of talks between them followed, which resulted in no agreement. Jinnah insisted on Pakistan being conceded prior to the British departure and to come into being immediately, while Gandhi proposed that plebiscites on partition occur sometime after a united India gained its independence. In early 1945, Liaquat and the Congress leader Bhulabhai Desai met, with Jinnah's approval, and agreed that after the war, the Congress and the League should form an interim government with the members of the Executive Council of the Viceroy to be nominated by the Congress and the League in equal numbers. When the Congress leadership were released from prison in June 1945, they repudiated the agreement and censured Desai for acting without proper authority.
Postwar
Field Marshal Viscount Wavell succeeded Linlithgow as Viceroy in 1943. In June 1945, following the release of the Congress leaders, Wavell called for a conference, and invited the leading figures from the various communities to meet with him at Simla. He proposed a temporary government along the lines which Liaquat and Desai had agreed. However, Wavell was unwilling to guarantee that only the League's candidates would be placed in the seats reserved for Muslims. All other invited groups submitted lists of candidates to the Viceroy. Wavell cut the conference short in mid-July without further seeking an agreement; with a British general election imminent, Churchill's government did not feel it could proceed.
British voters returned Clement Attlee and his Labour Party to government later in July. Attlee and his Secretary of State for India, Lord Frederick Pethick-Lawrence, immediately ordered a review of the Indian situation. Jinnah had no comment on the change of government, but called a meeting of his Working Committee and issued a statement calling for new elections in India. The League held influence at the provincial level in the Muslim-majority states mostly by alliance, and Jinnah believed that, given the opportunity, the League would improve its electoral standing and lend added support to his claim to be the sole spokesman for the Muslims. Wavell returned to India in September after consultation with his new masters in London; elections, both for the centre and for the provinces, were announced soon after. The British indicated that formation of a constitution-making body would follow the votes.
The Muslim League declared that they would campaign on a single issue: Pakistan. Speaking in Ahmedabad, Jinnah echoed this, "Pakistan is a matter of life or death for us." In the December 1945 elections for the Constituent Assembly of India, the League won every seat reserved for Muslims. In the provincial elections in January 1946, the League took 75% of the Muslim vote, an increase from 4.4% in 1937. According to his biographer Bolitho, "This was Jinnah's glorious hour: his arduous political campaigns, his robust beliefs and claims, were at last justified." Wolpert wrote that the League election showing "appeared to prove the universal appeal of Pakistan among Muslims of the subcontinent". The Congress dominated the central assembly nevertheless, though it lost four seats from its previous strength.
In February 1946, the British Cabinet resolved to send a delegation to India to negotiate with leaders there. This Cabinet Mission included Cripps and Pethick-Lawrence. The highest-level delegation to try to break the deadlock, it arrived in New Delhi in late March. Little negotiation had been done since the previous October because of the elections in India. The British in May released a plan for a united Indian state comprising substantially autonomous provinces, and called for "groups" of provinces formed on the basis of religion. Matters such as defence, external relations and communications would be handled by a central authority. Provinces would have the option of leaving the union entirely, and there would be an interim government with representation from the Congress and the League. Jinnah and his Working Committee accepted this plan in June, but it fell apart over the question of how many members of the interim government the Congress and the League would have, and over the Congress's desire to include a Muslim member in its representation. Before leaving India, the British ministers stated that they intended to inaugurate an interim government even if one of the major groups was unwilling to participate.
The Congress soon joined the new Indian ministry. The League was slower to do so, not entering until October 1946. In agreeing to have the League join the government, Jinnah abandoned his demands for parity with the Congress and a veto on matters concerning Muslims. The new ministry met amid a backdrop of rioting, especially in Calcutta. The Congress wanted the Viceroy to immediately summon the constituent assembly and begin the work of writing a constitution and felt that the League ministers should either join in the request or resign from the government. Wavell attempted to save the situation by flying leaders such as Jinnah, Liaquat, and Jawaharlal Nehru to London in December 1946. At the end of the talks, participants issued a statement that the constitution would not be forced on any unwilling parts of India. On the way back from London, Jinnah and Liaquat stopped in Cairo for several days of pan-Islamic meetings.
The Congress endorsed the joint statement from the London conference over the angry dissent from some elements. The League refused to do so, and took no part in the constitutional discussions. Jinnah had been willing to consider some continued links to Hindustan (as the Hindu-majority state which would be formed on partition was sometimes referred to), such as a joint military or communications. However, by December 1946, he insisted on a fully sovereign Pakistan with dominion status.
Following the failure of the London trip, Jinnah was in no hurry to reach an agreement, considering that time would allow him to gain the undivided provinces of Bengal and Punjab for Pakistan, but these wealthy, populous provinces had sizeable non-Muslim minorities, complicating a settlement. The Attlee ministry desired a rapid British departure from the subcontinent, but had little confidence in Wavell to achieve that end. Beginning in December 1946, British officials began looking for a viceregal successor to Wavell, and soon fixed on Admiral Lord Mountbatten of Burma, a war leader popular among Conservatives as the great-grandson of Queen Victoria and among Labour for his political views.
Mountbatten and independence
On 20 February 1947, Attlee announced Mountbatten's appointment, and that Britain would transfer power in India not later than June 1948. Mountbatten took office as Viceroy on 24 March 1947, two days after his arrival in India. By then, the Congress had come around to the idea of partition. Nehru stated in 1960, "the truth is that we were tired men and we were getting on in years ... The plan for partition offered a way out and we took it." Leaders of the Congress decided that having loosely tied Muslim-majority provinces as part of a future India was not worth the loss of the powerful government at the centre which they desired. However, the Congress insisted that if Pakistan were to become independent, Bengal and Punjab would have to be divided.
Mountbatten had been warned in his briefing papers that Jinnah would be his "toughest customer" who had proved a chronic nuisance because "no one in this country [India] had so far gotten into Jinnah's mind". The men met over six days beginning on 5 April. The sessions began lightly when Jinnah, photographed between Louis and Edwina Mountbatten, quipped "A rose between two thorns" which the Viceroy took, perhaps gratuitously, as evidence that the Muslim leader had pre-planned his joke but had expected the vicereine to stand in the middle. Mountbatten was not favourably impressed with Jinnah, repeatedly expressing frustration to his staff about Jinnah's insistence on Pakistan in the face of all argument.
Jinnah feared that at the end of the British presence in the subcontinent, they would turn control over to the Congress-dominated constituent assembly, putting Muslims at a disadvantage in attempting to win autonomy. He demanded that Mountbatten divide the army prior to independence, which would take at least a year. Mountbatten had hoped that the post-independence arrangements would include a common defence force, but Jinnah saw it as essential that a sovereign state should have its own forces. Mountbatten met with Liaquat the day of his final session with Jinnah, and concluded, as he told Attlee and the Cabinet in May, that "it had become clear that the Muslim League would resort to arms if Pakistan in some form were not conceded." The Viceroy was also influenced by negative Muslim reaction to the constitutional report of the assembly, which envisioned broad powers for the post-independence central government.
On 2 June, the final plan was given by the Viceroy to Indian leaders: on 15 August, the British would turn over power to two dominions. The provinces would vote on whether to continue in the existing constituent assembly or to have a new one, that is, to join Pakistan. Bengal and Punjab would also vote, both on the question of which assembly to join, and on the partition. A boundary commission would determine the final lines in the partitioned provinces. Plebiscites would take place in the North-West Frontier Province (which did not have a League government despite an overwhelmingly Muslim population), and in the majority-Muslim Sylhet district of Assam, adjacent to eastern Bengal. On 3 June, Mountbatten, Nehru, Jinnah and Sikh leader Baldev Singh made the formal announcement by radio. Jinnah concluded his address with "Pakistan Zindabad " (Long live Pakistan), which was not in the script. In the weeks which followed Punjab and Bengal cast the votes which resulted in partition. Sylhet and the N.W.F.P. voted to cast their lots with Pakistan, a decision joined by the assemblies in Sind and Baluchistan.
On 4 July 1947, Liaquat asked Mountbatten on Jinnah's behalf to recommend to the British king, George VI, that Jinnah be appointed Pakistan's first governor-general. This request angered Mountbatten, who had hoped to have that position in both dominions—he would be India's first post-independence governor-general—but Jinnah felt that Mountbatten would be likely to favour the new Hindu-majority state because of his closeness to Nehru. In addition, the governor-general would initially be a powerful figure, and Jinnah did not trust anyone else to take that office. Although the Boundary Commission, led by British lawyer Sir Cyril Radcliffe, had not yet reported, there were already massive movements of populations between the nations-to-be, as well as sectarian violence. Jinnah arranged to sell his house in Bombay and procured a new one in Karachi. On 7 August, Jinnah, with his sister and close staff, flew from Delhi to Karachi in Mountbatten's plane, and as the plane taxied, he was heard to murmur, "That's the end of that." On 11 August, he presided over the new constituent assembly for Pakistan at Karachi, and addressed them, "You are free; you are free to go to your temples, you are free to go to your mosques or to any other place of worship in this State of Pakistan ... You may belong to any religion or caste or creed—that has nothing to do with the business of the State ... I think we should keep that in front of us as our ideal and you will find that in course of time Hindus would cease to be Hindus and Muslims would cease to be Muslims, not in the religious sense, because that is the personal faith of each individual, but in the political sense as citizens of the State." On 14 August, Pakistan became independent; Jinnah led the celebrations in Karachi. One observer wrote, "here indeed is Pakistan's King Emperor, Archbishop of Canterbury, Speaker and Prime Minister concentrated into one formidable Quaid-e-Azam."
Governor-General
The Radcliffe Commission, dividing Bengal and Punjab, completed its work and reported to Mountbatten on 12 August; the last Viceroy held the maps until the 17th, not wanting to spoil the independence celebrations in both nations. There had already been ethnically charged violence and movement of populations; publication of the Radcliffe Line dividing the new nations sparked mass migration, murder, and ethnic cleansing. Many on the "wrong side" of the lines fled or were murdered, or murdered others, hoping to make facts on the ground which would reverse the commission's verdict. Radcliffe wrote in his report that he knew that neither side would be happy with his award; he declined his fee for the work. Christopher Beaumont, Radcliffe's private secretary, later wrote that Mountbatten "must take the blame—though not the sole blame—for the massacres in the Punjab in which between 500,000 to a million men, women and children perished". As many as 14,500,000 people relocated between India and Pakistan during and after partition. Jinnah did what he could for the eight million people who migrated to Pakistan; although by now over 70 and frail from lung ailments, he travelled across West Pakistan and personally supervised the provision of aid. According to Ahmed, "What Pakistan needed desperately in those early months was a symbol of the state, one that would unify people and give them the courage and resolve to succeed."
Among the restive regions of the new nation was the North-West Frontier Province. The referendum there in July 1947 had been tainted by low turnout as less than 10 per cent of the population were allowed to vote. On 22 August 1947, just after a week of becoming governor general, Jinnah dissolved the elected government of Dr. Khan Abdul Jabbar Khan. Later on, Abdul Qayyum Khan was put in place by Jinnah in the Pashtun-dominated province despite him being a Kashmiri. On 12 August 1948 the Babrra massacre in Charsadda occurred resulting in the death of 400 people aligned with the Khudai Khidmatgar movement.
Along with Liaquat and Abdur Rab Nishtar, Jinnah represented Pakistan's interests in the Division Council to appropriately divide public assets between India and Pakistan. Pakistan was supposed to receive one-sixth of the pre-independence government's assets, carefully divided by agreement, even specifying how many sheets of paper each side would receive. The new Indian state, however, was slow to deliver, hoping for the collapse of the nascent Pakistani government, and reunion. Few members of the Indian Civil Service and the Indian Police Service had chosen Pakistan, resulting in staff shortages. Partition meant that for some farmers, the markets to sell their crops were on the other side of an international border. There were shortages of machinery, not all of which was made in Pakistan. In addition to the massive refugee problem, the new government sought to save abandoned crops, establish security in a chaotic situation, and provide basic services. According to economist Yasmeen Niaz Mohiuddin in her study of Pakistan, "although Pakistan was born in bloodshed and turmoil, it survived in the initial and difficult months after partition only because of the tremendous sacrifices made by its people and the selfless efforts of its great leader."
The Indian Princely States were advised by the departing British to choose whether to join Pakistan or India. Most did so prior to independence, but the holdouts contributed to what have become lasting divisions between the two nations. Indian leaders were angered at Jinnah's attempts to convince the princes of Jodhpur, Udaipur, Bhopal and Indore to accede to Pakistan—the latter three princely states did not border Pakistan. Jodhpur bordered it and had both a Hindu majority population and a Hindu ruler. The coastal princely state of Junagadh, which had a majority-Hindu population, did accede to Pakistan in September 1947, with its ruler's dewan, Sir Shah Nawaz Bhutto, personally delivering the accession papers to Jinnah. But the two states that were subject to the suzerainty of Junagadh—Mangrol and Babariawad—declared their independence from Junagadh and acceded to India. In response, the nawab of Junagadh militarily occupied the two states. Subsequently, the Indian army occupied the principality in November, forcing its former leaders, including Bhutto, to flee to Pakistan, beginning the politically powerful Bhutto family.
The most contentious of the disputes was, and continues to be, that over the princely state of Kashmir. It had a Muslim-majority population and a Hindu maharaja, Sir Hari Singh, who stalled his decision on which nation to join. With the population in revolt in October 1947, aided by Pakistani irregulars, the maharaja acceded to India; Indian troops were airlifted in. Jinnah objected to this action, and ordered that Pakistani troops move into Kashmir. The Pakistani Army was still commanded by British officers, and the commanding officer, General Sir Douglas Gracey, refused the order, stating that he would not move into what he considered the territory of another nation without approval from higher authority, which was not forthcoming. Jinnah withdrew the order. This did not stop the violence there, which broke into Indo-Pakistani War of 1947.
Some historians allege that Jinnah's courting the rulers of Hindu-majority states and his gambit with Junagadh are evidence of ill-intent towards India, as Jinnah had promoted separation by religion, yet tried to gain the accession of Hindu-majority states. In his book Patel: A Life, Rajmohan Gandhi asserts that Jinnah hoped for a plebiscite in Junagadh, knowing Pakistan would lose, in the hope the principle would be established for Kashmir. However, when Mountbatten proposed to Jinnah that, in all the princely States where the ruler did not accede to a Dominion corresponding to the majority population (which would have included Junagadh, Hyderabad and Kashmir), the accession should be decided by an 'impartial reference to the will of the people', Jinnah rejected the offer.
Despite the United Nations Security Council Resolution 47, issued at India's request for a plebiscite in Kashmir after the withdrawal of Pakistani forces, this has never occurred.
In January 1948, the Indian government finally agreed to pay Pakistan its share of British India's assets. They were impelled by Gandhi, who threatened a fast until death. Only days later, on 30 January, Gandhi was assassinated by Nathuram Godse, a Hindu nationalist, who believed that Gandhi was pro-Muslim. After hearing about Gandhi's murder on the following day, Jinnah publicly made a brief statement of condolence, calling Gandhi "one of the greatest men produced by the Hindu community".
In February 1948, in a radio talk broadcast addressed to the people of the US, Jinnah expressed his views regarding Pakistan's constitution to be in the following way:
In March, Jinnah, despite his declining health, made his only post-independence visit to East Pakistan. In a speech before a crowd estimated at 300,000, Jinnah stated (in English) that Urdu alone should be the national language, believing a single language was needed for a nation to remain united. The Bengali-speaking people of East Pakistan strongly opposed this policy, and in 1971 the official language issue was a factor in the region's secession to form the country of Bangladesh.
Illness and death
From the 1930s, Jinnah suffered from tuberculosis; only his sister and a few others close to him were aware of his condition. Jinnah believed public knowledge of his lung ailments would hurt him politically. In a 1938 letter, he wrote to a supporter that "you must have read in the papers how during my tours ... I suffered, which was not because there was anything wrong with me, but the irregularities [of the schedule] and over-strain told upon my health". Many years later, Mountbatten stated that if he had known Jinnah was so physically ill, he would have stalled, hoping Jinnah's death would avert partition. Fatima Jinnah later wrote, "even in his hour of triumph, the Quaid-e-Azam was gravely ill ... He worked in a frenzy to consolidate Pakistan. And, of course, he totally neglected his health ..." Jinnah worked with a tin of Craven "A" cigarettes at his desk, of which he had smoked 50 or more a day for the previous 30 years, as well as a box of Cuban cigars. As his health got worse, he took longer and longer rest breaks in the private wing of Government House in Karachi, where only he, Fatima and the servants were allowed.
In June 1948, he and Fatima flew to Quetta, in the mountains of Balochistan, where the weather was cooler than in Karachi. He could not completely rest there, addressing the officers at the Command and Staff College saying, "you, along with the other Forces of Pakistan, are the custodians of the life, property and honour of the people of Pakistan." He returned to Karachi for the 1 July opening ceremony for the State Bank of Pakistan, at which he spoke. A reception by the Canadian trade commissioner that evening in honour of Dominion Day was the last public event he attended.
On 6 July 1948, Jinnah returned to Quetta, but at the advice of doctors, soon journeyed to an even higher retreat at Ziarat. Jinnah had always been reluctant to undergo medical treatment but realising his condition was getting worse, the Pakistani government sent the best doctors it could find to treat him. Tests confirmed tuberculosis, and also showed evidence of advanced lung cancer. He was treated with the new "miracle drug" of streptomycin, but it did not help. Jinnah's condition continued to deteriorate despite the Eid prayers of his people. He was moved to the lower altitude of Quetta on 13 August, the eve of Independence Day, for which a ghost-written statement for him was released. Despite an increase in appetite (he then weighed just over ), it was clear to his doctors that if he was to return to Karachi in life, he would have to do so very soon. Jinnah, however, was reluctant to go, not wishing his aides to see him as an invalid on a stretcher.
By 9 September, Jinnah had also developed pneumonia. Doctors urged him to return to Karachi, where he could receive better care, and with his agreement, he was flown there on the morning of 11 September. Dr Ilahi Bux, his personal physician, believed that Jinnah's change of mind was caused by foreknowledge of death. The plane landed at Karachi that afternoon, to be met by Jinnah's limousine, and an ambulance into which Jinnah's stretcher was placed. The ambulance broke down on the road into town, and the Governor-General and those with him waited for another to arrive; he could not be placed in the car as he could not sit up. They waited by the roadside in oppressive heat as trucks and buses passed by, unsuitable for transporting the dying man and with their occupants not knowing of Jinnah's presence. After an hour, the replacement ambulance came, and transported Jinnah to Government House, arriving there over two hours after the landing. Jinnah died later that night at 10:20 pm at his home in Karachi on 11 September 1948 at the age of 71, just over a year after Pakistan's creation.
Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru stated upon Jinnah's death, "How shall we judge him? I have been very angry with him often during the past years. But now there is no bitterness in my thought of him, only a great sadness for all that has been ... he succeeded in his quest and gained his objective, but at what a cost and with what a difference from what he had imagined." Jinnah was buried on 12 September 1948 amid official mourning in both India and Pakistan; a million people gathered for his funeral led by Shabbir Ahmad Usmani. Indian Governor-General Rajagopalachari cancelled an official reception that day in honour of the late leader. Today, Jinnah rests in a large marble mausoleum, Mazar-e-Quaid, in Karachi.
Aftermath
In the 1965 presidential election, Fatima Jinnah, by then known as Madar-e-Millat ("Mother of the Nation"), became the presidential candidate of a coalition of political parties that opposed the rule of President Ayub Khan, but was not successful.
The Jinnah House in Malabar Hill, Bombay, is in the possession of the Government of India, but the issue of its ownership has been disputed by the Government of Pakistan. Jinnah had personally requested Prime Minister Nehru to preserve the house, hoping one day he could return to Bombay. There are proposals for the house to be offered to the government of Pakistan to establish a consulate in the city as a goodwill gesture, but Dina Wadia had also staked a claim on the property.
After Jinnah died, his sister Fatima asked the court to execute Jinnah's will under Shia Islamic law. This subsequently became part of the argument in Pakistan about Jinnah's religious affiliation. Vali Nasr says Jinnah "was an Ismaili by birth and a Twelver Shia by confession, though not a religiously observant man." In a 1970 legal challenge, Hussain Ali Ganji Walji claimed Jinnah had converted to Sunni Islam. Witness Syed Sharifuddin Pirzada stated in court that Jinnah converted to Sunni Islam in 1901 when his sisters married Sunnis. In 1970, Liaquat Ali Khan and Fatima Jinnah's joint affidavit that Jinnah was Shia was rejected. But in 1976 the court rejected Walji's claim that Jinnah was Sunni; effectively accepting him as a Shia. In 1984 a high court bench reversed the 1976 verdict and maintained that "the Quaid was definitely not a Shia", which suggested that Jinnah was Sunni. According to the journalist Khaled Ahmed, Jinnah publicly had a non-sectarian stance and "was at pains to gather the Muslims of India under the banner of a general Muslim faith and not under a divisive sectarian identity." Liaquat H. Merchant, Jinnah's grandnephew, writes that "the Quaid was not a Shia; he was also not a Sunni, he was simply a Muslim". An eminent lawyer who practised in the Bombay High Court until 1940 testified that Jinnah used to pray as an orthodox Sunni. According to Akbar Ahmed, Jinnah became a firm Sunni Muslim by the end of his life.
Beliefs and personal life
Jinnah admired Kemal Ataturk, and it is reported that he talked of nothing but Ataturk to his daughter Dina, who was 13 at that time, for many days.
Jinnah professed to be a Muslim. Despite this, he is reported to have claimed to have "never visited a mosque" and being ignorant of customary mosque behaviour, as well as eating pork and drinking alcohol which is contrary to a halal diet and considered haram.
Legacy
Jinnah's legacy is Pakistan. According to Mohiuddin, "He was and continues to be as highly honored in Pakistan as [first US president] George Washington is in the United States ... Pakistan owes its very existence to his drive, tenacity, and judgment ... Jinnah's importance in the creation of Pakistan was monumental and immeasurable." Stanley Wolpert, giving a speech in honour of Jinnah in 1998, deemed him Pakistan's greatest leader.
According to Jaswant Singh, "With Jinnah's death Pakistan lost its moorings. In India there will not easily arrive another Gandhi, nor in Pakistan another Jinnah." Malik writes, "As long as Jinnah was alive, he could persuade and even pressure regional leaders toward greater mutual accommodation, but after his death, the lack of consensus on the distribution of political power and economic resources often turned controversial." According to Mohiuddin, "Jinnah's death deprived Pakistan of a leader who could have enhanced stability and democratic governance ... The rocky road to democracy in Pakistan and the relatively smooth one in India can in some measure be ascribed to Pakistan's tragedy of losing an incorruptible and highly revered leader so soon after independence."
His birthday is observed as a national holiday, Quaid-e-Azam Day, in Pakistan. Jinnah earned the title Quaid-e-Azam (meaning "Great Leader"). His other title is Baba-i-Qaum (Father of the Nation). The former title was reportedly given to Jinnah at first by Mian Ferozuddin Ahmed. It became an official title by effect of a resolution passed on 11 August 1947 by Liaquat Ali Khan in the Pakistan Constituent Assembly. There are some sources which endorse that Gandhi gave him that title. Within a few days of Pakistan's creation Jinnah's name was read in the khutba at mosques as Amir-ul-Millat, a traditional title of Muslim rulers.
The civil awards of Pakistan includes an 'Order of Quaid-i-Azam'. The Jinnah Society also confers the 'Jinnah Award' annually to a person that renders outstanding and meritorious services to Pakistan and its people. Jinnah is depicted on all Pakistani rupee currency, and is the namesake of many Pakistani public institutions. The former Quaid-i-Azam International Airport in Karachi, now called the Jinnah International Airport, is Pakistan's busiest. One of the largest streets in the Turkish capital Ankara, Cinnah Caddesi, is named after him, as is the Mohammad Ali Jenah Expressway in Tehran, Iran. The royalist government of Iran also released a stamp commemorating the centennial of Jinnah's birth in 1976. In Chicago, a portion of Devon Avenue was named "Mohammed Ali Jinnah Way". A section of Coney Island Avenue in Brooklyn, New York was also named 'Muhammad Ali Jinnah Way' in honour of the founder of Pakistan. The Mazar-e-Quaid, Jinnah's mausoleum, is among Karachi's landmarks. The "Jinnah Tower" in Guntur, Andhra Pradesh, India, was built to commemorate Jinnah.
There is a considerable amount of scholarship on Jinnah which stems from Pakistan; according to Akbar S. Ahmed, it is not widely read outside the country and usually avoids even the slightest criticism of Jinnah. According to Ahmed, some books published about Jinnah outside Pakistan mention that he consumed alcohol, but this is omitted from books published inside Pakistan. Ahmed suggests that depicting the Quaid drinking would weaken Jinnah's Islamic identity, and by extension, Pakistan's. Some sources allege he gave up alcohol near the end of his life. Yahya Bakhtiar, who observed Jinnah at close quarters, concluded that Jinnah was a "very sincere, deeply committed and dedicated Mussalman."
According to historian Ayesha Jalal, while there is a tendency towards hagiography in the Pakistani view of Jinnah, in India he is viewed negatively. Ahmed deems Jinnah "the most maligned person in recent Indian history ... In India, many see him as the demon who divided the land." Even many Indian Muslims see Jinnah negatively, blaming him for their woes as a minority in that state. Some historians such as Jalal and H. M. Seervai assert that Jinnah never wanted the partition of India—it was the outcome of the Congress leaders being unwilling to share power with the Muslim League. They contend that Jinnah only used the Pakistan demand in an attempt to mobilise support to obtain significant political rights for Muslims. Francis Mudie, the last British Governor of Sindh, in Jinnah's honour once said:
In judging Jinnah, we must remember what he was up against. He had against him not only the wealth and brains of the Hindus, but also nearly the whole of British officialdom, and most of the Home politicians, who made the great mistake of refusing to take Pakistan seriously. Never was his position really examined.
Jinnah has gained the admiration of Indian nationalist politicians such as Lal Krishna Advani, whose comments praising Jinnah caused an uproar in his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Indian politician Jaswant Singh's book Jinnah: India, Partition, Independence (2009) caused controversy in India. The book was based on Jinnah's ideology and alleged that Nehru's desire for a powerful centre led to Partition. Upon the book release, Singh was expelled from his membership of Bharatiya Janata Party, to which he responded that BJP is "narrow-minded" and has "limited thoughts".
Jinnah was the central figure of the 1998 film Jinnah, which was based on Jinnah's life and his struggle for the creation of Pakistan. Christopher Lee, who portrayed Jinnah, called his performance the best of his career. The 1954 Hector Bolitho's book Jinnah: Creator of Pakistan prompted Fatima Jinnah to release a book, titled My Brother (1987), as she thought that Bolitho's book had failed to express the political aspects of Jinnah. The book received positive reception in Pakistan. Jinnah of Pakistan (1984) by Stanley Wolpert is regarded as one of the best biographical books on Jinnah.
The view of Jinnah in the West has been shaped to some extent by his portrayal in Sir Richard Attenborough's 1982 film, Gandhi. The film was dedicated to Nehru and Mountbatten and was given considerable support by Nehru's daughter, the Indian prime minister, Indira Gandhi. It portrays Jinnah (played by Alyque Padamsee) in an unflattering light, who seems to act out of jealousy of Gandhi. Padamsee later stated that his portrayal was not historically accurate. In a journal article on Pakistan's first governor-general, historian R. J. Moore wrote that Jinnah is universally recognised as central to the creation of Pakistan. Stanley Wolpert summarises the profound effect that Jinnah had on the world:
See also
List of peace activists
List of civil rights leaders
Notes
Citations
References
Bibliography
Further reading
Journals and other media
External links
Mohammad Ali Jinnah Official Page
Correspondence with the Muslim League – 1946 – UK Parliament Living Heritage
Quotes from the Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah
Mohammad Ali Jinnah Biography
Government of Pakistan Website
Address to the First Constituent Assembly of Pakistan on 11 August 1947
1876 births
1948 deaths
Pakistani Muslims
Converts to Sunni Islam from Shia Islam
Pakistani former Shia Muslims
Pakistani Sunni Muslims
20th-century deaths from tuberculosis
All India Muslim League members
Alumni of the Inns of Court School of Law
Cathedral and John Connon School alumni
Church Mission School alumni
Governors-General of Pakistan
Indian National Congress politicians
Indian newspaper founders
Muhammad Ali
Lawyers from Karachi
Members of Central Legislative Assembly of India
Members of Lincoln's Inn
Members of the Fabian Society
Members of the Imperial Legislative Council of India
Members of the Pakistan Philosophical Congress
National symbols of Pakistan
Pakistani barristers
Pakistani expatriates in England
Pakistani MNAs 1947–1954
Pakistani newspaper founders
Pakistani people of Gujarati descent
Partition of India
Presidents of Pakistan
Politicians from Karachi
Sindh Madressatul Islam University alumni
Tuberculosis deaths in Pakistan
University of Mumbai alumni
Infectious disease deaths in Sindh | true | [
"Independence , a 35-ton schooner, was the first ship constructed in South Australian waters. The crew of the visiting American sealing brig , under the command of Capt. Isaac Pendleton, built her between April and August 1803 at what is now known as American River on Kangaroo Island. Daniel Wright, the ship's carpenter, was in charge of the construction of the Independence at the mouth of Ship Creek, 800m west of the present-day American River oval.\n\nOn 15 June 1805, Independence set sail from Sydney for the Antipodes Islands (860 km south east of Dunedin New Zealand) and was never seen again. The Sydney Gazette reported the loss on 16 March 1806.\n\nPrehistory\nIn 1802, Capt. Isaac Pendleton of Stonington, Connecticut was commissioned by Fanning & Coles of New York to sail Union to the waters of New Holland in search of seal skins. \"Her commander (Captain Isaac Pendleton) was …left unrestricted, and at perfect liberty to act on all occasions as his judgment should direct, to make the most profitable voyage he could of it for his owners.\" In early 1803, whilst sealing in King George Sound near what is now Albany, Western Australia Pendleton met the French explorer, Nicolas Baudin, who recommended Kangaroo Island as a place where seals could be found in plenitude.\n\nArriving in what is now known as Eastern Cove on the north coast of Kangaroo Island, Pendleton took the decision to winter here and, presumably to increase the quantity of skins that could be taken to Sydney, construct a smaller vessel to work alongside Union in its sealing activities.\n\nConstruction and Use\nAs was common practice at the time, Union carried the frame of a small schooner. This, possibly with the addition of some locally sourced timber, was used to build a smaller vessel. It appears that Baudin had lost a longboat whilst surveying the coastline of Kangaroo Island and his carpenters had found suitable timber to rebuild the longboat near what is now the town of American River. As the new vessel was to be smaller than Union, it would have better access to shallow waters. Thus was born Independence.\n\nNo original plans of Independence are known to exist. In fact, it is possible the original Independence was built without plans. \n\nThe two ships sealed together, working around southern Australia and then shipped their seal furs to buyers including some in China, “The ship Union, and schooner Independence are expected to sail this day for China.“ from the Sydney Gazette 1804. The Union was lost a sea with all hands in 1804 off the coast of Fiji.\n\nReconstruction\nIn May 2013, the Rebuild Independence Group, a volunteer group based in American River, was formed to set about reconstructing the Independence.\n\nReferences\n\nMaritime history of Australia\nHistory of South Australia\nHistory of New South Wales\nShips of South Australia\nShips built in South Australia\nMissing ships of Australia\nShips lost with all hands\nKangaroo Island",
"The de jure independence of Bulgaria (, Nezavisimost na Balgaria) from the Ottoman Empire was proclaimed on in the old capital of Tarnovo by Prince Ferdinand of Bulgaria, who afterwards took the title \"Tsar\".\n\nBackground\nBulgaria had been a widely autonomous principality since , when it was liberated from Ottoman rule in the wake of the Russo-Turkish War (1877–78). Although it was still technically under the suzerainty of the Sublime Porte, this was a legal fiction that Bulgaria only acknowledged in a formal way. It acted largely as a de facto independent state. On , it had unified with the Bulgarian-majority Ottoman autonomous province of Eastern Rumelia. \n\nAfter the liberation, Bulgaria's main external goal was the unification of all Bulgarian-inhabited areas under foreign rule into a single Bulgarian state: the main targets of Bulgarian irredentism were Macedonia and southern Thrace, which continued to be part of the Ottoman realm. In order to join an anti-Ottoman alliance and claim those territories by war, however, Bulgaria had to proclaim its independence first. This would constitute a violation of the Treaty of Berlin's terms, an act unlikely to be approved by the Great Powers.\n\nThe chaos that ensued in the Ottoman Empire following the Young Turk Revolution of 1908 provided suitable conditions for the Bulgarian proclamation of independence. Many of the Great Powers had also abandoned their support for the Ottomans, looking for territorial gains instead: Austria-Hungary was hoping to annex the Bosnia Vilayet, the United Kingdom was looking to seize the empire's Arab territories in the east, and the Russian Empire's main target was control over the Turkish Straits. In September 1908 at a meeting in Buchlov (, contemporary Czech Republic), envoys of Austria-Hungary and Russia supported each other's plans and agreed not to hinder Bulgaria's proclamation of independence which was likely to take place.\n\nTowards the middle of September, the democratic government of Aleksandar Malinov had decided that the suitable moment was near. , Ferdinand arrived at Rousse from a break in his Hungarian mansion. He was awaited there by the government to discuss the final decision on board the Krum ship. The delegation then took the train to Tarnovo, where the official proclamation would take place. According to recent research, it was at the Dve Mogili railway station that the manifesto of independence was completed on .\n\nIndependence\nThe independence of Bulgaria was formally proclaimed at the Holy Forty Martyrs Church in Tarnovo. As part of the proclamation, Ferdinand raised Bulgaria from a principality to a kingdom, increasing its international prestige. Ferdinand changed his title from knyaz (prince) to tsar (king), and the country would be ready to join the Balkan League and fight the Ottoman Empire in what would become the First Balkan War of 1912–1913.\n\nBulgaria's declaration of independence was followed by Austria-Hungary's annexation of Bosnia the following day and Greece's union with the Cretan State (unrecognized until 1913). With the two countries' joint violation of the Treaty of Berlin and the dominant support among European countries, the independence of Bulgaria was internationally recognized by the spring of 1909. The Ottoman Empire did not demand any financial compensation from Bulgaria, which took over the railways run by the Oriental Railway Company and the taxes in Eastern Rumelia. Russia cancelled forty years of payments the Ottomans owed on the indemnity for the war of 1877–78. This amounted to 125,000,000 francs (out of a total indemnity of 802,000,000 francs). In turn Bulgaria agreed to transfer its tribute payments—85,000,000 francs over 85 years—to Russia.\n\nBulgaria's Independence Day is subsequently celebrated annually on 22 September.\n\nNotes\n\nReferences\n\n \n\n \n \n \n\n1908 in Bulgaria\nDeclarations of independence\nOctober 1908 events\n1908 in politics\n1908 documents\nBulgaria–Ottoman Empire relations"
] |
[
"Muhammad Ali Jinnah",
"Background to independence",
"what was the background to independence?",
"Until the late 1930s, most Muslims of the British Raj expected, upon independence, to be part of a unitary state encompassing all of British India,"
] | C_670c31028fec474ba4b03bb9172df90c_0 | was that what happened? | 2 | Did the state encompass all of British India? | Muhammad Ali Jinnah | Until the late 1930s, most Muslims of the British Raj expected, upon independence, to be part of a unitary state encompassing all of British India, as did the Hindus and others who advocated self-government. Despite this, other nationalist proposals were being made. In a speech given at Allahabad to a League session in 1930, Sir Muhammad Iqbal called for a state for Muslims in British India. Choudhary Rahmat Ali published a pamphlet in 1933 advocating a state "Pakistan" in the Indus Valley, with other names given to Muslim-majority areas elsewhere in India. Jinnah and Iqbal corresponded in 1936 and 1937; in subsequent years, Jinnah credited Iqbal as his mentor, and used Iqbal's imagery and rhetoric in his speeches. Although many leaders of the Congress sought a strong central government for an Indian state, some Muslim politicians, including Jinnah, were unwilling to accept this without powerful protections for their community. Other Muslims supported the Congress, which officially advocated a secular state upon independence, though the traditionalist wing (including politicians such as Madan Mohan Malaviya and Vallabhbhai Patel) believed that an independent India should enact laws such as banning the killing of cows and making Hindi a national language. The failure of the Congress leadership to disavow Hindu communalists worried Congress-supporting Muslims. Nevertheless, the Congress enjoyed considerable Muslim support up to about 1937. Events which separated the communities included the failed attempt to form a coalition government including the Congress and the League in the United Provinces following the 1937 election. According to historian Ian Talbot, "The provincial Congress governments made no effort to understand and respect their Muslim populations' cultural and religious sensibilities. The Muslim League's claims that it alone could safeguard Muslim interests thus received a major boost. Significantly it was only after this period of Congress rule that it [the League] took up the demand for a Pakistan state ..." Balraj Puri in his journal article about Jinnah suggests that the Muslim League president, after the 1937 vote, turned to the idea of partition in "sheer desperation". Historian Akbar S. Ahmed suggests that Jinnah abandoned hope of reconciliation with the Congress as he "rediscover[ed] his own Islamic roots, his own sense of identity, of culture and history, which would come increasingly to the fore in the final years of his life". Jinnah also increasingly adopted Muslim dress in the late 1930s. In the wake of the 1937 balloting, Jinnah demanded that the question of power sharing be settled on an all-India basis, and that he, as president of the League, be accepted as the sole spokesman for the Muslim community. CANNOTANSWER | In a speech given at Allahabad to a League session in 1930, Sir Muhammad Iqbal called for a state for Muslims in British India. | Muhammad Ali Jinnah (born Mahomedali Jinnahbhai; 25 December 1876 – 11 September 1948) was a barrister, politician and the founder of Pakistan. Jinnah served as the leader of the All-India Muslim League from 1913 until the inception of Pakistan on 14 August 1947, and then as the Dominion of Pakistan's first governor-general until his death. He is revered in Pakistan as the Quaid-i-Azam ("Great Leader") and Baba-i-Qaum ("Father of the Nation"). His birthday is observed as a national holiday in Pakistan.
Born at Wazir Mansion in Karachi, Jinnah was trained as a barrister at Lincoln's Inn in London, England. Upon his return to British India, he enrolled at the Bombay High Court, and took an interest in national politics, which eventually replaced his legal practice. Jinnah rose to prominence in the Indian National Congress in the first two decades of the 20th century. In these early years of his political career, Jinnah advocated Hindu–Muslim unity, helping to shape the 1916 Lucknow Pact between the Congress and the All-India Muslim League, in which Jinnah had also become prominent. Jinnah became a key leader in the All-India Home Rule League, and proposed a fourteen-point constitutional reform plan to safeguard the political rights of Muslims in the Indian subcontinent. In 1920, however, Jinnah resigned from the Congress when it agreed to follow a campaign of satyagraha, which he regarded as political anarchy.
By 1940, Jinnah had come to believe that the Muslims of the subcontinent should have their own state to avoid the possible marginalised status they may gain in an independent Hindu–Muslim state. In that year, the Muslim League, led by Jinnah, passed the Lahore Resolution, demanding a separate nation for British Indian Muslims. During the Second World War, the League gained strength while leaders of the Congress were imprisoned, and in the provincial elections held shortly after the war, it won most of the seats reserved for Muslims. Ultimately, the Congress and the Muslim League could not reach a power-sharing formula that would allow the entirety of British India to be united as a single state following independence, leading all parties to agree instead to the independence of a predominantly Hindu India, and for a Muslim-majority state of Pakistan.
As the first Governor-General of Pakistan, Jinnah worked to establish the new nation's government and policies, and to aid the millions of Muslim migrants who had emigrated from neighbouring India to Pakistan after the two states' independence, personally supervising the establishment of refugee camps. Jinnah died at age 71 in September 1948, just over a year after Pakistan gained independence from the United Kingdom. He left a deep and respected legacy in Pakistan. Innumerable streets, roads and localities in the world are named after Jinnah. Several universities and public buildings in Pakistan bear Jinnah's name. According to his biographer, Stanley Wolpert, Jinnah remains Pakistan's greatest leader.
Early years
Family and childhood
Jinnah's given name at birth was Mahomedali Jinnahbhai, and he likely was born in 1876, to Jinnahbhai Poonja and his wife Mithibai, in a rented apartment on the second floor of Wazir Mansion near Karachi, now in Sindh, Pakistan but then within the Bombay Presidency of British India. Jinnah's family was from a Gujarati Khoja Shi’a Muslim background, though Jinnah later followed the Twelver Shi'a teachings. After his death, his relatives and other witnesses claimed that he had converted in later life to the Sunni sect of Islam. His sectarian affiliation at the time of his death was disputed in multiple court cases. Jinnah was from a wealthy merchant background, his father was a merchant and was born to a family of textile weavers in the village of Paneli in the princely state of Gondal (Kathiawar, Gujarat); his mother was also of that village. They had moved to Karachi in 1875, having married before their departure. Karachi was then enjoying an economic boom: the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 meant it was 200 nautical miles closer to Europe for shipping than Bombay. Jinnah was the second child; he had three brothers and three sisters, including his younger sister Fatima Jinnah. The parents were native Gujarati speakers, and the children also came to speak Kutchi and English. Jinnah was not fluent in Gujarati, his mother-tongue, nor in Urdu; he was more fluent in English. Except for Fatima, little is known of his siblings, where they settled or if they met with their brother as he advanced in his legal and political careers.
As a boy, Jinnah lived for a time in Bombay with an aunt and may have attended the Gokal Das Tej Primary School there, later on studying at the Cathedral and John Connon School. In Karachi, he attended the Sindh-Madrasa-tul-Islam and the Christian Missionary Society High School. He gained his matriculation from Bombay University at the high school. In his later years and especially after his death, a large number of stories about the boyhood of Pakistan's founder were circulated: that he spent all his spare time at the police court, listening to the proceedings, and that he studied his books by the glow of street lights for lack of other illumination. His official biographer, Hector Bolitho, writing in 1954, interviewed surviving boyhood associates, and obtained a tale that the young Jinnah discouraged other children from playing marbles in the dust, urging them to rise up, keep their hands and clothes clean, and play cricket instead.
Education in England
In 1892, Sir Frederick Leigh Croft, a business associate of Jinnahbhai Poonja, offered young Jinnah a London apprenticeship with his firm, Graham's Shipping and Trading Company. He accepted the position despite the opposition of his mother, who before he left, had him enter an arranged marriage with his cousin, two years his junior from the ancestral village of Paneli, Emibai Jinnah. Jinnah's mother and first wife both died during his absence in England. Although the apprenticeship in London was considered a great opportunity for Jinnah, one reason for sending him overseas was a legal proceeding against his father, which placed the family's property at risk of being sequestered by the court. In 1893, the Jinnahbhai family moved to Bombay.
Soon after his arrival in London, Jinnah gave up the business apprenticeship in order to study law, enraging his father, who had, before his departure, given him enough money to live for three years. The aspiring barrister joined Lincoln's Inn, later stating that the reason he chose Lincoln's over the other Inns of Court was that over the main entrance to Lincoln's Inn were the names of the world's great lawgivers, including Muhammad. Jinnah's biographer Stanley Wolpert notes that there is no such inscription, but inside (covering the wall at one end of New Hall, also called the Great Hall, which is where students, Bar and Bench lunch and dine) is a mural showing Muhammad and other lawgivers, and speculates that Jinnah may have edited the story in his own mind to avoid mentioning a pictorial depiction which would be offensive to many Muslims. Jinnah's legal education followed the pupillage (legal apprenticeship) system, which had been in force there for centuries. To gain knowledge of the law, he followed an established barrister and learned from what he did, as well as from studying lawbooks. During this period, he shortened his name to Muhammad Ali Jinnah.
During his student years in England, Jinnah was influenced by 19th-century British liberalism, like many other future Indian independence leaders. His main intellectual references were peoples like Bentham, Mill, Spencer, and Comte. This political education included exposure to the idea of the democratic nation, and progressive politics. He became an admirer of the Parsi British Indian political leaders Dadabhai Naoroji and Sir Pherozeshah Mehta. Naoroji had become the first British Member of Parliament of Indian extraction shortly before Jinnah's arrival, triumphing with a majority of three votes in Finsbury Central. Jinnah listened to Naoroji's maiden speech in the House of Commons from the visitor's gallery.
The Western world not only inspired Jinnah in his political life, but also greatly influenced his personal preferences, particularly when it came to dress. Jinnah abandoned local garb for Western-style clothing, and throughout his life he was always impeccably dressed in public. His suits were designed by Savile Row tailor Henry Poole & Co. He came to own over 200 suits, which he wore with heavily starched shirts with detachable collars, and as a barrister took pride in never wearing the same silk tie twice. Even when he was dying, he insisted on being formally dressed, "I will not travel in my pyjamas." In his later years he was usually seen wearing a Karakul hat which subsequently came to be known as the "Jinnah cap".
Dissatisfied with the law, Jinnah briefly embarked on a stage career with a Shakespearean company, but resigned after receiving a stern letter from his father. In 1895, at age 19, he became the youngest British Indian to be called to the bar in England. Although he returned to Karachi, he remained there only a short time before moving to Bombay.
Legal and early political career
Barrister
At the age of 20, Jinnah began his practice in Bombay, the only Muslim barrister in the city. English had become his principal language and would remain so throughout his life. His first three years in the law, from 1897 to 1900, brought him few briefs. His first step towards a brighter career occurred when the acting Advocate General of Bombay, John Molesworth MacPherson, invited Jinnah to work from his chambers. In 1900, P. H. Dastoor, a Bombay presidency magistrate, left the post temporarily and Jinnah succeeded in getting the interim position. After his six-month appointment period, Jinnah was offered a permanent position on a 1,500 rupee per month salary. Jinnah politely declined the offer, stating that he planned to earn 1,500 rupees a day—a huge sum at that time—which he eventually did. Nevertheless, as Governor-General of Pakistan, he would refuse to accept a large salary, fixing it at 1 rupee per month.
As a lawyer, Jinnah gained fame for his skilled handling of the 1908 "Caucus Case". This controversy arose out of Bombay municipal elections, which Indians alleged were rigged by a "caucus" of Europeans to keep Sir Pherozeshah Mehta out of the council. Jinnah gained great esteem from leading the case for Sir Pherozeshah, himself a noted barrister. Although Jinnah did not win the Caucus Case, he posted a successful record, becoming well known for his advocacy and legal logic. In 1908, his factional foe in the Indian National Congress, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, was arrested for sedition. Before Tilak unsuccessfully represented himself at trial, he engaged Jinnah in an attempt to secure his release on bail. Jinnah did not succeed, but obtained an acquittal for Tilak when he was charged with sedition again in 1916.
One of Jinnah's fellow barristers from the Bombay High Court remembered that "Jinnah's faith in himself was incredible"; he recalled that on being admonished by a judge with "Mr. Jinnah, remember that you are not addressing a third-class magistrate", Jinnah shot back, "My Lord, allow me to warn you that you are not addressing a third-class pleader." Another of his fellow barristers described him, saying:
Trade unionist
Jinnah was also a supporter of working class causes and an active trade unionist. He was elected President of All India Postal Staff Union in 1925 whose membership was 70,000. According to All Pakistan Labour Federation's publication Productive Role of Trade Unions and Industrial Relations, being a member of Legislative Assembly, Jinnah pleaded forcefully for rights of workers and struggled for getting a "living wage and fair conditions" for them. He also played an important role in enactment of Trade Union act of 1926 which gave trade union movement legal cover to organise themselves.
Rising leader
In 1857, many Indians had risen in revolt against British rule. In the aftermath of the conflict, some Anglo-Indians, as well as Indians in Britain, called for greater self-government for the subcontinent, resulting in the founding of the Indian National Congress in 1885. Most founding members had been educated in Britain, and were content with the minimal reform efforts being made by the government. Muslims were not enthusiastic about calls for democratic institutions in British India, as they constituted a quarter to a third of the population, outnumbered by the Hindus. Early meetings of the Congress contained a minority of Muslims, mostly from the elite.
Jinnah devoted much of his time to his law practice in the early 1900s, but remained politically involved. Jinnah began political life by attending the Congress's twentieth annual meeting, in Bombay in December 1904. He was a member of the moderate group in the Congress, favouring Hindu–Muslim unity in achieving self-government, and following such leaders as Mehta, Naoroji, and Gopal Krishna Gokhale. They were opposed by leaders such as Tilak and Lala Lajpat Rai, who sought quick action towards independence. In 1906, a delegation of Muslim leaders, known as the Simla Delegation, headed by the Aga Khan called on the new Viceroy of India, Lord Minto, to assure him of their loyalty and to ask for assurances that in any political reforms they would be protected from the "unsympathetic [Hindu] majority". Dissatisfied with this, Jinnah wrote a letter to the editor of the newspaper Gujarati, asking what right the members of the delegation had to speak for Indian Muslims, as they were unelected and self-appointed. When many of the same leaders met in Dacca in December of that year to form the All-India Muslim League to advocate for their community's interests, Jinnah was again opposed. The Aga Khan later wrote that it was "freakishly ironic" that Jinnah, who would lead the League to independence, "came out in bitter hostility toward all that I and my friends had done ... He said that our principle of separate electorates was dividing the nation against itself." In its earliest years, however, the League was not influential; Minto refused to consider it as the Muslim community's representative, and it was ineffective in preventing the 1911 repeal of the partition of Bengal, an action seen as a blow to Muslim interests.
Although Jinnah initially opposed separate electorates for Muslims, he used this means to gain his first elective office in 1909, as Bombay's Muslim representative on the Imperial Legislative Council. He was a compromise candidate when two older, better-known Muslims who were seeking the post deadlocked. The council, which had been expanded to 60 members as part of reforms enacted by Minto, recommended legislation to the Viceroy. Only officials could vote in the council; non-official members, such as Jinnah, had no vote. Throughout his legal career, Jinnah practised probate law (with many clients from India's nobility), and in 1911 introduced the Wakf Validation Act to place Muslim religious trusts on a sound legal footing under British Indian law. Two years later, the measure passed, the first act sponsored by non-officials to pass the council and be enacted by the Viceroy. Jinnah was also appointed to a committee which helped to establish the Indian Military Academy in Dehra Dun.
In December 1912, Jinnah addressed the annual meeting of the Muslim League although he was not yet a member. He joined the following year, although he remained a member of the Congress as well and stressed that League membership took second priority to the "greater national cause" of an independent India. In April 1913, he again went to Britain, with Gokhale, to meet with officials on behalf of the Congress. Gokhale, a Hindu, later stated that Jinnah "has true stuff in him, and that freedom from all sectarian prejudice which will make him the best ambassador of Hindu–Muslim Unity". Jinnah led another delegation of the Congress to London in 1914, but due to the start of the First World War in August 1914, found officials little interested in Indian reforms. By coincidence, he was in Britain at the same time as a man who would become a great political rival of his, Mohandas Gandhi, a Hindu lawyer who had become well known for advocating satyagraha, non-violent non-co-operation, while in South Africa. Jinnah attended a reception for Gandhi where the two men met and talked with each other for the first time. Shortly afterwords, Jinnah returned home to India in January 1915.
Farewell to Congress
Jinnah's moderate faction in the Congress was undermined by the deaths of Mehta and Gokhale in 1915; he was further isolated by the fact that Naoroji was in London, where he remained until his death in 1917. Nevertheless, Jinnah worked to bring the Congress and League together. In 1916, with Jinnah now president of the Muslim League, the two organisations signed the Lucknow Pact, setting quotas for Muslim and Hindu representation in the various provinces. Although the pact was never fully implemented, its signing ushered in a period of co-operation between the Congress and the League.
During the war, Jinnah joined other Indian moderates in supporting the British war effort, hoping that Indians would be rewarded with political freedoms. Jinnah played an important role in the founding of the All India Home Rule League in 1916. Along with political leaders Annie Besant and Tilak, Jinnah demanded "home rule" for India—the status of a self-governing dominion in the Empire similar to Canada, New Zealand and Australia, although, with the war, Britain's politicians were not interested in considering Indian constitutional reform. British Cabinet minister Edwin Montagu recalled Jinnah in his memoirs, "young, perfectly mannered, impressive-looking, armed to the teeth with dialectics, and insistent on the whole of his scheme".
In 1918, Jinnah married his second wife Rattanbai Petit ("Ruttie"), 24 years his junior. She was the fashionable young daughter of his friend Sir Dinshaw Petit, and was part of an elite Parsi family of Bombay. There was great opposition to the marriage from Rattanbai's family and the Parsi community, as well as from some Muslim religious leaders. Rattanbai defied her family and nominally converted to Islam, adopting (though never using) the name Maryam Jinnah, resulting in a permanent estrangement from her family and Parsi society. The couple resided at South Court Mansion in Bombay, and frequently travelled across India and Europe. The couple's only child, daughter Dina, was born on 15 August 1919. The couple separated prior to Ruttie's death in 1929, and subsequently Jinnah's sister Fatima looked after him and his child.
Relations between Indians and British were strained in 1919 when the Imperial Legislative Council extended emergency wartime restrictions on civil liberties; Jinnah resigned from it when it did. There was unrest across India, which worsened after the Jallianwala Bagh massacre in Amritsar, in which British troops fired upon a protest meeting, killing hundreds. In the wake of Amritsar, Gandhi, who had returned to India and become a widely respected leader and highly influential in the Congress, called for satyagraha against the British. Gandhi's proposal gained broad Hindu support, and was also attractive to many Muslims of the Khilafat faction. These Muslims, supported by Gandhi, sought retention of the Ottoman caliphate, which supplied spiritual leadership to many Muslims. The caliph was the Ottoman Emperor, who would be deprived of both offices following his nation's defeat in the First World War. Gandhi had achieved considerable popularity among Muslims because of his work during the war on behalf of killed or imprisoned Muslims. Unlike Jinnah and other leaders of the Congress, Gandhi did not wear western-style clothing, did his best to use an Indian language instead of English, and was deeply rooted in Indian culture. Gandhi's local style of leadership gained great popularity with the Indian people. Jinnah criticised Gandhi's Khilafat advocacy, which he saw as an endorsement of religious zealotry. Jinnah regarded Gandhi's proposed satyagraha campaign as political anarchy, and believed that self-government should be secured through constitutional means. He opposed Gandhi, but the tide of Indian opinion was against him. At the 1920 session of the Congress in Nagpur, Jinnah was shouted down by the delegates, who passed Gandhi's proposal, pledging satyagraha until India was independent. Jinnah did not attend the subsequent League meeting, held in the same city, which passed a similar resolution. Because of the action of the Congress in endorsing Gandhi's campaign, Jinnah resigned from it, leaving all positions except in the Muslim League.
Wilderness years; interlude in England
The alliance between Gandhi and the Khilafat faction did not last long, and the campaign of resistance proved less effective than hoped, as India's institutions continued to function. Jinnah sought alternative political ideas, and contemplated organising a new political party as a rival to the Congress. In September 1923, Jinnah was elected as Muslim member for Bombay in the new Central Legislative Assembly. He showed much skill as a parliamentarian, organising many Indian members to work with the Swaraj Party, and continued to press demands for full responsible government. In 1925, as recognition for his legislative activities, he was offered a knighthood by Lord Reading, who was retiring from the Viceroyalty. He replied: "I prefer to be plain Mr Jinnah."
In 1927, the British Government, under Conservative Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin, undertook a decennial review of Indian policy mandated by the Government of India Act 1919. The review began two years early as Baldwin feared he would lose the next election (which he did, in 1929). The Cabinet was influenced by minister Winston Churchill, who strongly opposed self-government for India, and members hoped that by having the commission appointed early, the policies for India which they favoured would survive their government. The resulting commission, led by Liberal MP John Simon, though with a majority of Conservatives, arrived in India in March 1928. They were met with a boycott by India's leaders, Muslim and Hindu alike, angered at the British refusal to include their representatives on the commission. A minority of Muslims, though, withdrew from the League, choosing to welcome the Simon Commission and repudiating Jinnah. Most members of the League's executive council remained loyal to Jinnah, attending the League meeting in December 1927 and January 1928 which confirmed him as the League's permanent president. At that session, Jinnah told the delegates that "A constitutional war has been declared on Great Britain. Negotiations for a settlement are not to come from our side ... By appointing an exclusively white Commission, [Secretary of State for India] Lord Birkenhead has declared our unfitness for self-government."
Birkenhead in 1928 challenged Indians to come up with their own proposal for constitutional change for India; in response, the Congress convened a committee under the leadership of Motilal Nehru. The Nehru Report favoured constituencies based on geography on the ground that being dependent on each other for election would bind the communities closer together. Jinnah, though he believed separate electorates, based on religion, necessary to ensure Muslims had a voice in the government, was willing to compromise on this point, but talks between the two parties failed. He put forth proposals that he hoped might satisfy a broad range of Muslims and reunite the League, calling for mandatory representation for Muslims in legislatures and cabinets. These became known as his Fourteen Points. He could not secure adoption of the Fourteen Points, as the League meeting in Delhi at which he hoped to gain a vote instead dissolved into chaotic argument.
After Baldwin was defeated at the 1929 British parliamentary election, Ramsay MacDonald of the Labour Party became prime minister. MacDonald desired a conference of Indian and British leaders in London to discuss India's future, a course of action supported by Jinnah. Three Round Table Conferences followed over as many years, none of which resulted in a settlement. Jinnah was a delegate to the first two conferences, but was not invited to the last. He remained in Britain for most of the period 1930 through 1934, practising as a barrister before the Privy Council, where he dealt with a number of India-related cases. His biographers disagree over why he remained so long in Britain—Wolpert asserts that had Jinnah been made a Law Lord, he would have stayed for life, and that Jinnah alternatively sought a parliamentary seat. Early biographer Hector Bolitho denied that Jinnah sought to enter the British Parliament, while Jaswant Singh deems Jinnah's time in Britain as a break or sabbatical from the Indian struggle. Bolitho called this period "Jinnah's years of order and contemplation, wedged in between the time of early struggle, and the final storm of conquest".
In 1931, Fatima Jinnah joined her brother in England. From then on, Muhammad Jinnah would receive personal care and support from her as he aged and began to suffer from the lung ailments which would kill him. She lived and travelled with him, and became a close advisor. Muhammad Jinnah's daughter, Dina, was educated in England and India. Jinnah later became estranged from Dina after she decided to marry a Parsi, Neville Wadia from a prominent Parsi business family. Wadia is the son Sir Ness Wadia and Evelyne Clara Powell. When Jinnah urged Dina to marry a Muslim, she reminded him that he had married a woman not raised in his faith. Jinnah continued to correspond cordially with his daughter, but their personal relationship was strained, and she did not come to Pakistan in his lifetime, but only for his funeral.
Return to politics
The early 1930s saw a resurgence in Indian Muslim nationalism, which came to a head with the Pakistan Declaration. In 1933, Indian Muslims, especially from the United Provinces, began to urge Jinnah to return and take up again his leadership of the Muslim League, an organisation which had fallen into inactivity. He remained titular president of the League, but declined to travel to India to preside over its 1933 session in April, writing that he could not possibly return there until the end of the year.
Among those who met with Jinnah to seek his return was Liaquat Ali Khan, who would be a major political associate of Jinnah in the years to come and the first Prime Minister of Pakistan. At Jinnah's request, Liaquat discussed the return with a large number of Muslim politicians and confirmed his recommendation to Jinnah. In early 1934, Jinnah relocated to the subcontinent, though he shuttled between London and India on business for the next few years, selling his house in Hampstead and closing his legal practice in Britain.
Muslims of Bombay elected Jinnah, though then absent in London, as their representative to the Central Legislative Assembly in October 1934. The British Parliament's Government of India Act 1935 gave considerable power to India's provinces, with a weak central parliament in New Delhi, which had no authority over such matters as foreign policy, defence, and much of the budget. Full power remained in the hands of the Viceroy, however, who could dissolve legislatures and rule by decree. The League reluctantly accepted the scheme, though expressing reservations about the weak parliament. The Congress was much better prepared for the provincial elections in 1937, and the League failed to win a majority even of the Muslim seats in any of the provinces where members of that faith held a majority. It did win a majority of the Muslim seats in Delhi, but could not form a government anywhere, though it was part of the ruling coalition in Bengal. The Congress and its allies formed the government even in the North-West Frontier Province (N.W.F.P.), where the League won no seats despite the fact that almost all residents were Muslim.
According to Jaswant Singh, "the events of 1937 had a tremendous, almost a traumatic effect upon Jinnah". Despite his beliefs of twenty years that Muslims could protect their rights in a united India through separate electorates, provincial boundaries drawn to preserve Muslim majorities, and by other protections of minority rights, Muslim voters had failed to unite, with the issues Jinnah hoped to bring forward lost amid factional fighting. Singh notes the effect of the 1937 elections on Muslim political opinion, "when the Congress formed a government with almost all of the Muslim MLAs sitting on the Opposition benches, non-Congress Muslims were suddenly faced with this stark reality of near-total political powerlessness. It was brought home to them, like a bolt of lightning, that even if the Congress did not win a single Muslim seat ... as long as it won an absolute majority in the House, on the strength of the general seats, it could and would form a government entirely on its own ..."
In the next two years, Jinnah worked to build support among Muslims for the League. He secured the right to speak for the Muslim-led Bengali and Punjabi provincial governments in the central government in New Delhi ("the centre"). He worked to expand the League, reducing the cost of membership to two annas (⅛ of a rupee), half of what it cost to join the Congress. He restructured the League along the lines of the Congress, putting most power in a Working Committee, which he appointed. By December 1939, Liaquat estimated that the League had three million two-anna members.
Struggle for Pakistan
Background to independence
Until the late 1930s, most Muslims of the British Raj expected, upon independence, to be part of a unitary state encompassing all of British India, as did the Hindus and others who advocated self-government. Despite this, other nationalist proposals were being made. In a speech given at Allahabad to a League session in 1930, Sir Muhammad Iqbal called for a state for Muslims in British India. Choudhary Rahmat Ali published a pamphlet in 1933 advocating a state "Pakistan" in the Indus Valley, with other names given to Muslim-majority areas elsewhere in India. Jinnah and Iqbal corresponded in 1936 and 1937; in subsequent years, Jinnah credited Iqbal as his mentor, and used Iqbal's imagery and rhetoric in his speeches.
Although many leaders of the Congress sought a strong central government for an Indian state, some Muslim politicians, including Jinnah, were unwilling to accept this without powerful protections for their community. Other Muslims supported the Congress, which officially advocated a secular state upon independence, though the traditionalist wing (including politicians such as Madan Mohan Malaviya and Vallabhbhai Patel) believed that an independent India should enact laws such as banning the killing of cows and making Hindi a national language. The failure of the Congress leadership to disavow Hindu communalists worried Congress-supporting Muslims. Nevertheless, the Congress enjoyed considerable Muslim support up to about 1937.
Events which separated the communities included the failed attempt to form a coalition government including the Congress and the League in the United Provinces following the 1937 election. According to historian Ian Talbot, "The provincial Congress governments made no effort to understand and respect their Muslim populations' cultural and religious sensibilities. The Muslim League's claims that it alone could safeguard Muslim interests thus received a major boost. Significantly it was only after this period of Congress rule that it [the League] took up the demand for a Pakistan state ..."
Balraj Puri in his journal article about Jinnah suggests that the Muslim League president, after the 1937 vote, turned to the idea of partition in "sheer desperation". Historian Akbar S. Ahmed suggests that Jinnah abandoned hope of reconciliation with the Congress as he "rediscover[ed] his own Islamic roots, his own sense of identity, of culture and history, which would come increasingly to the fore in the final years of his life". Jinnah also increasingly adopted Muslim dress in the late 1930s. In the wake of the 1937 balloting, Jinnah demanded that the question of power sharing be settled on an all-India basis, and that he, as president of the League, be accepted as the sole spokesman for the Muslim community.
Iqbal's influence on Jinnah
The well documented influence of Iqbal on Jinnah, with regard to taking the lead in creating Pakistan, has been described as "significant", "powerful" and even "unquestionable" by scholars. Iqbal has also been cited as an influential force in convincing Jinnah to end his self-imposed exile in London and re-enter the politics of India. Initially, however, Iqbal and Jinnah were opponents, as Iqbal believed Jinnah did not care about the crises confronting the Muslim community during the British Raj. According to Akbar S. Ahmed, this began to change during Iqbal's final years prior to his death in 1938. Iqbal gradually succeeded in converting Jinnah over to his view, who eventually accepted Iqbal as his "mentor". Ahmed comments that in his annotations to Iqbal's letters, Jinnah expressed solidarity with Iqbal's view: that Indian Muslims required a separate homeland.
Iqbal's influence also gave Jinnah a deeper appreciation for Muslim identity. The evidence of this influence began to be revealed from 1937 onwards. Jinnah not only began to echo Iqbal in his speeches, he started using Islamic symbolism and began directing his addresses to the underprivileged. Ahmed noted a change in Jinnah's words: while he still advocated freedom of religion and protection of the minorities, the model he was now aspiring to was that of the Prophet Muhammad, rather than that of a secular politician. Ahmed further avers that those scholars who have painted the later Jinnah as secular have misread his speeches which, he argues, must be read in the context of Islamic history and culture. Accordingly, Jinnah's imagery of the Pakistan began to become clear that it was to have an Islamic nature. This change has been seen to last for the rest of Jinnah's life. He continued to borrow ideas "directly from Iqbal—including his thoughts on Muslim unity, on Islamic ideals of liberty, justice and equality, on economics, and even on practices such as prayers".
In a speech in 1940, two years after the death of Iqbal, Jinnah expressed his preference for implementing Iqbal's vision for an Islamic Pakistan even if it meant he himself would never lead a nation. Jinnah stated, "If I live to see the ideal of a Muslim state being achieved in India, and I was then offered to make a choice between the works of Iqbal and the rulership of the Muslim state, I would prefer the former."
Second World War and Lahore Resolution
On 3 September 1939, British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain announced the commencement of war with Nazi Germany. The following day, the Viceroy, Lord Linlithgow, without consulting Indian political leaders, announced that India had entered the war along with Britain. There were widespread protests in India. After meeting with Jinnah and with Gandhi, Linlithgow announced that negotiations on self-government were suspended for the duration of the war. The Congress on 14 September demanded immediate independence with a constituent assembly to decide a constitution; when this was refused, its eight provincial governments resigned on 10 November and governors in those provinces thereafter ruled by decree for the remainder of the war. Jinnah, on the other hand, was more willing to accommodate the British, and they in turn increasingly recognised him and the League as the representatives of India's Muslims. Jinnah later stated, "after the war began, ... I was treated on the same basis as Mr Gandhi. I was wonderstruck why I was promoted and given a place side by side with Mr Gandhi." Although the League did not actively support the British war effort, neither did they try to obstruct it.
With the British and Muslims to some extent co-operating, the Viceroy asked Jinnah for an expression of the Muslim League's position on self-government, confident that it would differ greatly from that of the Congress. To come up with such a position, the League's Working Committee met for four days in February 1940 to set out terms of reference to a constitutional sub-committee. The Working Committee asked that the sub-committee return with a proposal that would result in "independent dominions in direct relationship with Great Britain" where Muslims were dominant. On 6 February, Jinnah informed the Viceroy that the Muslim League would be demanding partition instead of the federation contemplated in the 1935 Act. The Lahore Resolution (sometimes called the "Pakistan Resolution", although it does not contain that name), based on the sub-committee's work, embraced the Two-Nation Theory and called for a union of the Muslim-majority provinces in the northwest of British India, with complete autonomy. Similar rights were to be granted to the Muslim-majority areas in the east, and unspecified protections given to Muslim minorities in other provinces. The resolution was passed by the League session in Lahore on 23 March 1940.
Gandhi's reaction to the Lahore Resolution was muted; he called it "baffling", but told his disciples that Muslims, in common with other people of India, had the right to self-determination. Leaders of the Congress were more vocal; Jawaharlal Nehru referred to Lahore as "Jinnah's fantastic proposals" while Chakravarti Rajagopalachari deemed Jinnah's views on partition "a sign of a diseased mentality". Linlithgow met with Jinnah in June 1940, soon after Winston Churchill became the British prime minister, and in August offered both the Congress and the League a deal whereby in exchange for full support for the war, Linlithgow would allow Indian representation on his major war councils. The Viceroy promised a representative body after the war to determine India's future, and that no future settlement would be imposed over the objections of a large part of the population. This was satisfactory to neither the Congress nor the League, though Jinnah was pleased that the British had moved towards recognising Jinnah as the representative of the Muslim community's interests. Jinnah was reluctant to make specific proposals as to the boundaries of Pakistan, or its relationships with Britain and with the rest of the subcontinent, fearing that any precise plan would divide the League.
The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941 brought the United States into the war. In the following months, the Japanese advanced in Southeast Asia, and the British Cabinet sent a mission led by Sir Stafford Cripps to try to conciliate the Indians and cause them to fully back the war. Cripps proposed giving some provinces what was dubbed the "local option" to remain outside of an Indian central government either for a period of time or permanently, to become dominions on their own or be part of another confederation. The Muslim League was far from certain of winning the legislative votes that would be required for mixed provinces such as Bengal and Punjab to secede, and Jinnah rejected the proposals as not sufficiently recognising Pakistan's right to exist. The Congress also rejected the Cripps plan, demanding immediate concessions which Cripps was not prepared to give. Despite the rejection, Jinnah and the League saw the Cripps proposal as recognising Pakistan in principle.
The Congress followed the failed Cripps mission by demanding, in August 1942, that the British immediately "Quit India", proclaiming a mass campaign of satyagraha until they did. The British promptly arrested most major leaders of the Congress and imprisoned them for the remainder of the war. Gandhi, however, was placed on house arrest in one of the Aga Khan's palaces prior to his release for health reasons in 1944. With the Congress leaders absent from the political scene, Jinnah warned against the threat of Hindu domination and maintained his Pakistan demand without going into great detail about what that would entail. Jinnah also worked to increase the League's political control at the provincial level. He helped to found the newspaper Dawn in the early 1940s in Delhi; it helped to spread the League's message and eventually became the major English-language newspaper of Pakistan.
In September 1944, Jinnah hosted Gandhi, recently released from confinement, at his home on Malabar Hill in Bombay. Two weeks of talks between them followed, which resulted in no agreement. Jinnah insisted on Pakistan being conceded prior to the British departure and to come into being immediately, while Gandhi proposed that plebiscites on partition occur sometime after a united India gained its independence. In early 1945, Liaquat and the Congress leader Bhulabhai Desai met, with Jinnah's approval, and agreed that after the war, the Congress and the League should form an interim government with the members of the Executive Council of the Viceroy to be nominated by the Congress and the League in equal numbers. When the Congress leadership were released from prison in June 1945, they repudiated the agreement and censured Desai for acting without proper authority.
Postwar
Field Marshal Viscount Wavell succeeded Linlithgow as Viceroy in 1943. In June 1945, following the release of the Congress leaders, Wavell called for a conference, and invited the leading figures from the various communities to meet with him at Simla. He proposed a temporary government along the lines which Liaquat and Desai had agreed. However, Wavell was unwilling to guarantee that only the League's candidates would be placed in the seats reserved for Muslims. All other invited groups submitted lists of candidates to the Viceroy. Wavell cut the conference short in mid-July without further seeking an agreement; with a British general election imminent, Churchill's government did not feel it could proceed.
British voters returned Clement Attlee and his Labour Party to government later in July. Attlee and his Secretary of State for India, Lord Frederick Pethick-Lawrence, immediately ordered a review of the Indian situation. Jinnah had no comment on the change of government, but called a meeting of his Working Committee and issued a statement calling for new elections in India. The League held influence at the provincial level in the Muslim-majority states mostly by alliance, and Jinnah believed that, given the opportunity, the League would improve its electoral standing and lend added support to his claim to be the sole spokesman for the Muslims. Wavell returned to India in September after consultation with his new masters in London; elections, both for the centre and for the provinces, were announced soon after. The British indicated that formation of a constitution-making body would follow the votes.
The Muslim League declared that they would campaign on a single issue: Pakistan. Speaking in Ahmedabad, Jinnah echoed this, "Pakistan is a matter of life or death for us." In the December 1945 elections for the Constituent Assembly of India, the League won every seat reserved for Muslims. In the provincial elections in January 1946, the League took 75% of the Muslim vote, an increase from 4.4% in 1937. According to his biographer Bolitho, "This was Jinnah's glorious hour: his arduous political campaigns, his robust beliefs and claims, were at last justified." Wolpert wrote that the League election showing "appeared to prove the universal appeal of Pakistan among Muslims of the subcontinent". The Congress dominated the central assembly nevertheless, though it lost four seats from its previous strength.
In February 1946, the British Cabinet resolved to send a delegation to India to negotiate with leaders there. This Cabinet Mission included Cripps and Pethick-Lawrence. The highest-level delegation to try to break the deadlock, it arrived in New Delhi in late March. Little negotiation had been done since the previous October because of the elections in India. The British in May released a plan for a united Indian state comprising substantially autonomous provinces, and called for "groups" of provinces formed on the basis of religion. Matters such as defence, external relations and communications would be handled by a central authority. Provinces would have the option of leaving the union entirely, and there would be an interim government with representation from the Congress and the League. Jinnah and his Working Committee accepted this plan in June, but it fell apart over the question of how many members of the interim government the Congress and the League would have, and over the Congress's desire to include a Muslim member in its representation. Before leaving India, the British ministers stated that they intended to inaugurate an interim government even if one of the major groups was unwilling to participate.
The Congress soon joined the new Indian ministry. The League was slower to do so, not entering until October 1946. In agreeing to have the League join the government, Jinnah abandoned his demands for parity with the Congress and a veto on matters concerning Muslims. The new ministry met amid a backdrop of rioting, especially in Calcutta. The Congress wanted the Viceroy to immediately summon the constituent assembly and begin the work of writing a constitution and felt that the League ministers should either join in the request or resign from the government. Wavell attempted to save the situation by flying leaders such as Jinnah, Liaquat, and Jawaharlal Nehru to London in December 1946. At the end of the talks, participants issued a statement that the constitution would not be forced on any unwilling parts of India. On the way back from London, Jinnah and Liaquat stopped in Cairo for several days of pan-Islamic meetings.
The Congress endorsed the joint statement from the London conference over the angry dissent from some elements. The League refused to do so, and took no part in the constitutional discussions. Jinnah had been willing to consider some continued links to Hindustan (as the Hindu-majority state which would be formed on partition was sometimes referred to), such as a joint military or communications. However, by December 1946, he insisted on a fully sovereign Pakistan with dominion status.
Following the failure of the London trip, Jinnah was in no hurry to reach an agreement, considering that time would allow him to gain the undivided provinces of Bengal and Punjab for Pakistan, but these wealthy, populous provinces had sizeable non-Muslim minorities, complicating a settlement. The Attlee ministry desired a rapid British departure from the subcontinent, but had little confidence in Wavell to achieve that end. Beginning in December 1946, British officials began looking for a viceregal successor to Wavell, and soon fixed on Admiral Lord Mountbatten of Burma, a war leader popular among Conservatives as the great-grandson of Queen Victoria and among Labour for his political views.
Mountbatten and independence
On 20 February 1947, Attlee announced Mountbatten's appointment, and that Britain would transfer power in India not later than June 1948. Mountbatten took office as Viceroy on 24 March 1947, two days after his arrival in India. By then, the Congress had come around to the idea of partition. Nehru stated in 1960, "the truth is that we were tired men and we were getting on in years ... The plan for partition offered a way out and we took it." Leaders of the Congress decided that having loosely tied Muslim-majority provinces as part of a future India was not worth the loss of the powerful government at the centre which they desired. However, the Congress insisted that if Pakistan were to become independent, Bengal and Punjab would have to be divided.
Mountbatten had been warned in his briefing papers that Jinnah would be his "toughest customer" who had proved a chronic nuisance because "no one in this country [India] had so far gotten into Jinnah's mind". The men met over six days beginning on 5 April. The sessions began lightly when Jinnah, photographed between Louis and Edwina Mountbatten, quipped "A rose between two thorns" which the Viceroy took, perhaps gratuitously, as evidence that the Muslim leader had pre-planned his joke but had expected the vicereine to stand in the middle. Mountbatten was not favourably impressed with Jinnah, repeatedly expressing frustration to his staff about Jinnah's insistence on Pakistan in the face of all argument.
Jinnah feared that at the end of the British presence in the subcontinent, they would turn control over to the Congress-dominated constituent assembly, putting Muslims at a disadvantage in attempting to win autonomy. He demanded that Mountbatten divide the army prior to independence, which would take at least a year. Mountbatten had hoped that the post-independence arrangements would include a common defence force, but Jinnah saw it as essential that a sovereign state should have its own forces. Mountbatten met with Liaquat the day of his final session with Jinnah, and concluded, as he told Attlee and the Cabinet in May, that "it had become clear that the Muslim League would resort to arms if Pakistan in some form were not conceded." The Viceroy was also influenced by negative Muslim reaction to the constitutional report of the assembly, which envisioned broad powers for the post-independence central government.
On 2 June, the final plan was given by the Viceroy to Indian leaders: on 15 August, the British would turn over power to two dominions. The provinces would vote on whether to continue in the existing constituent assembly or to have a new one, that is, to join Pakistan. Bengal and Punjab would also vote, both on the question of which assembly to join, and on the partition. A boundary commission would determine the final lines in the partitioned provinces. Plebiscites would take place in the North-West Frontier Province (which did not have a League government despite an overwhelmingly Muslim population), and in the majority-Muslim Sylhet district of Assam, adjacent to eastern Bengal. On 3 June, Mountbatten, Nehru, Jinnah and Sikh leader Baldev Singh made the formal announcement by radio. Jinnah concluded his address with "Pakistan Zindabad " (Long live Pakistan), which was not in the script. In the weeks which followed Punjab and Bengal cast the votes which resulted in partition. Sylhet and the N.W.F.P. voted to cast their lots with Pakistan, a decision joined by the assemblies in Sind and Baluchistan.
On 4 July 1947, Liaquat asked Mountbatten on Jinnah's behalf to recommend to the British king, George VI, that Jinnah be appointed Pakistan's first governor-general. This request angered Mountbatten, who had hoped to have that position in both dominions—he would be India's first post-independence governor-general—but Jinnah felt that Mountbatten would be likely to favour the new Hindu-majority state because of his closeness to Nehru. In addition, the governor-general would initially be a powerful figure, and Jinnah did not trust anyone else to take that office. Although the Boundary Commission, led by British lawyer Sir Cyril Radcliffe, had not yet reported, there were already massive movements of populations between the nations-to-be, as well as sectarian violence. Jinnah arranged to sell his house in Bombay and procured a new one in Karachi. On 7 August, Jinnah, with his sister and close staff, flew from Delhi to Karachi in Mountbatten's plane, and as the plane taxied, he was heard to murmur, "That's the end of that." On 11 August, he presided over the new constituent assembly for Pakistan at Karachi, and addressed them, "You are free; you are free to go to your temples, you are free to go to your mosques or to any other place of worship in this State of Pakistan ... You may belong to any religion or caste or creed—that has nothing to do with the business of the State ... I think we should keep that in front of us as our ideal and you will find that in course of time Hindus would cease to be Hindus and Muslims would cease to be Muslims, not in the religious sense, because that is the personal faith of each individual, but in the political sense as citizens of the State." On 14 August, Pakistan became independent; Jinnah led the celebrations in Karachi. One observer wrote, "here indeed is Pakistan's King Emperor, Archbishop of Canterbury, Speaker and Prime Minister concentrated into one formidable Quaid-e-Azam."
Governor-General
The Radcliffe Commission, dividing Bengal and Punjab, completed its work and reported to Mountbatten on 12 August; the last Viceroy held the maps until the 17th, not wanting to spoil the independence celebrations in both nations. There had already been ethnically charged violence and movement of populations; publication of the Radcliffe Line dividing the new nations sparked mass migration, murder, and ethnic cleansing. Many on the "wrong side" of the lines fled or were murdered, or murdered others, hoping to make facts on the ground which would reverse the commission's verdict. Radcliffe wrote in his report that he knew that neither side would be happy with his award; he declined his fee for the work. Christopher Beaumont, Radcliffe's private secretary, later wrote that Mountbatten "must take the blame—though not the sole blame—for the massacres in the Punjab in which between 500,000 to a million men, women and children perished". As many as 14,500,000 people relocated between India and Pakistan during and after partition. Jinnah did what he could for the eight million people who migrated to Pakistan; although by now over 70 and frail from lung ailments, he travelled across West Pakistan and personally supervised the provision of aid. According to Ahmed, "What Pakistan needed desperately in those early months was a symbol of the state, one that would unify people and give them the courage and resolve to succeed."
Among the restive regions of the new nation was the North-West Frontier Province. The referendum there in July 1947 had been tainted by low turnout as less than 10 per cent of the population were allowed to vote. On 22 August 1947, just after a week of becoming governor general, Jinnah dissolved the elected government of Dr. Khan Abdul Jabbar Khan. Later on, Abdul Qayyum Khan was put in place by Jinnah in the Pashtun-dominated province despite him being a Kashmiri. On 12 August 1948 the Babrra massacre in Charsadda occurred resulting in the death of 400 people aligned with the Khudai Khidmatgar movement.
Along with Liaquat and Abdur Rab Nishtar, Jinnah represented Pakistan's interests in the Division Council to appropriately divide public assets between India and Pakistan. Pakistan was supposed to receive one-sixth of the pre-independence government's assets, carefully divided by agreement, even specifying how many sheets of paper each side would receive. The new Indian state, however, was slow to deliver, hoping for the collapse of the nascent Pakistani government, and reunion. Few members of the Indian Civil Service and the Indian Police Service had chosen Pakistan, resulting in staff shortages. Partition meant that for some farmers, the markets to sell their crops were on the other side of an international border. There were shortages of machinery, not all of which was made in Pakistan. In addition to the massive refugee problem, the new government sought to save abandoned crops, establish security in a chaotic situation, and provide basic services. According to economist Yasmeen Niaz Mohiuddin in her study of Pakistan, "although Pakistan was born in bloodshed and turmoil, it survived in the initial and difficult months after partition only because of the tremendous sacrifices made by its people and the selfless efforts of its great leader."
The Indian Princely States were advised by the departing British to choose whether to join Pakistan or India. Most did so prior to independence, but the holdouts contributed to what have become lasting divisions between the two nations. Indian leaders were angered at Jinnah's attempts to convince the princes of Jodhpur, Udaipur, Bhopal and Indore to accede to Pakistan—the latter three princely states did not border Pakistan. Jodhpur bordered it and had both a Hindu majority population and a Hindu ruler. The coastal princely state of Junagadh, which had a majority-Hindu population, did accede to Pakistan in September 1947, with its ruler's dewan, Sir Shah Nawaz Bhutto, personally delivering the accession papers to Jinnah. But the two states that were subject to the suzerainty of Junagadh—Mangrol and Babariawad—declared their independence from Junagadh and acceded to India. In response, the nawab of Junagadh militarily occupied the two states. Subsequently, the Indian army occupied the principality in November, forcing its former leaders, including Bhutto, to flee to Pakistan, beginning the politically powerful Bhutto family.
The most contentious of the disputes was, and continues to be, that over the princely state of Kashmir. It had a Muslim-majority population and a Hindu maharaja, Sir Hari Singh, who stalled his decision on which nation to join. With the population in revolt in October 1947, aided by Pakistani irregulars, the maharaja acceded to India; Indian troops were airlifted in. Jinnah objected to this action, and ordered that Pakistani troops move into Kashmir. The Pakistani Army was still commanded by British officers, and the commanding officer, General Sir Douglas Gracey, refused the order, stating that he would not move into what he considered the territory of another nation without approval from higher authority, which was not forthcoming. Jinnah withdrew the order. This did not stop the violence there, which broke into Indo-Pakistani War of 1947.
Some historians allege that Jinnah's courting the rulers of Hindu-majority states and his gambit with Junagadh are evidence of ill-intent towards India, as Jinnah had promoted separation by religion, yet tried to gain the accession of Hindu-majority states. In his book Patel: A Life, Rajmohan Gandhi asserts that Jinnah hoped for a plebiscite in Junagadh, knowing Pakistan would lose, in the hope the principle would be established for Kashmir. However, when Mountbatten proposed to Jinnah that, in all the princely States where the ruler did not accede to a Dominion corresponding to the majority population (which would have included Junagadh, Hyderabad and Kashmir), the accession should be decided by an 'impartial reference to the will of the people', Jinnah rejected the offer.
Despite the United Nations Security Council Resolution 47, issued at India's request for a plebiscite in Kashmir after the withdrawal of Pakistani forces, this has never occurred.
In January 1948, the Indian government finally agreed to pay Pakistan its share of British India's assets. They were impelled by Gandhi, who threatened a fast until death. Only days later, on 30 January, Gandhi was assassinated by Nathuram Godse, a Hindu nationalist, who believed that Gandhi was pro-Muslim. After hearing about Gandhi's murder on the following day, Jinnah publicly made a brief statement of condolence, calling Gandhi "one of the greatest men produced by the Hindu community".
In February 1948, in a radio talk broadcast addressed to the people of the US, Jinnah expressed his views regarding Pakistan's constitution to be in the following way:
In March, Jinnah, despite his declining health, made his only post-independence visit to East Pakistan. In a speech before a crowd estimated at 300,000, Jinnah stated (in English) that Urdu alone should be the national language, believing a single language was needed for a nation to remain united. The Bengali-speaking people of East Pakistan strongly opposed this policy, and in 1971 the official language issue was a factor in the region's secession to form the country of Bangladesh.
Illness and death
From the 1930s, Jinnah suffered from tuberculosis; only his sister and a few others close to him were aware of his condition. Jinnah believed public knowledge of his lung ailments would hurt him politically. In a 1938 letter, he wrote to a supporter that "you must have read in the papers how during my tours ... I suffered, which was not because there was anything wrong with me, but the irregularities [of the schedule] and over-strain told upon my health". Many years later, Mountbatten stated that if he had known Jinnah was so physically ill, he would have stalled, hoping Jinnah's death would avert partition. Fatima Jinnah later wrote, "even in his hour of triumph, the Quaid-e-Azam was gravely ill ... He worked in a frenzy to consolidate Pakistan. And, of course, he totally neglected his health ..." Jinnah worked with a tin of Craven "A" cigarettes at his desk, of which he had smoked 50 or more a day for the previous 30 years, as well as a box of Cuban cigars. As his health got worse, he took longer and longer rest breaks in the private wing of Government House in Karachi, where only he, Fatima and the servants were allowed.
In June 1948, he and Fatima flew to Quetta, in the mountains of Balochistan, where the weather was cooler than in Karachi. He could not completely rest there, addressing the officers at the Command and Staff College saying, "you, along with the other Forces of Pakistan, are the custodians of the life, property and honour of the people of Pakistan." He returned to Karachi for the 1 July opening ceremony for the State Bank of Pakistan, at which he spoke. A reception by the Canadian trade commissioner that evening in honour of Dominion Day was the last public event he attended.
On 6 July 1948, Jinnah returned to Quetta, but at the advice of doctors, soon journeyed to an even higher retreat at Ziarat. Jinnah had always been reluctant to undergo medical treatment but realising his condition was getting worse, the Pakistani government sent the best doctors it could find to treat him. Tests confirmed tuberculosis, and also showed evidence of advanced lung cancer. He was treated with the new "miracle drug" of streptomycin, but it did not help. Jinnah's condition continued to deteriorate despite the Eid prayers of his people. He was moved to the lower altitude of Quetta on 13 August, the eve of Independence Day, for which a ghost-written statement for him was released. Despite an increase in appetite (he then weighed just over ), it was clear to his doctors that if he was to return to Karachi in life, he would have to do so very soon. Jinnah, however, was reluctant to go, not wishing his aides to see him as an invalid on a stretcher.
By 9 September, Jinnah had also developed pneumonia. Doctors urged him to return to Karachi, where he could receive better care, and with his agreement, he was flown there on the morning of 11 September. Dr Ilahi Bux, his personal physician, believed that Jinnah's change of mind was caused by foreknowledge of death. The plane landed at Karachi that afternoon, to be met by Jinnah's limousine, and an ambulance into which Jinnah's stretcher was placed. The ambulance broke down on the road into town, and the Governor-General and those with him waited for another to arrive; he could not be placed in the car as he could not sit up. They waited by the roadside in oppressive heat as trucks and buses passed by, unsuitable for transporting the dying man and with their occupants not knowing of Jinnah's presence. After an hour, the replacement ambulance came, and transported Jinnah to Government House, arriving there over two hours after the landing. Jinnah died later that night at 10:20 pm at his home in Karachi on 11 September 1948 at the age of 71, just over a year after Pakistan's creation.
Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru stated upon Jinnah's death, "How shall we judge him? I have been very angry with him often during the past years. But now there is no bitterness in my thought of him, only a great sadness for all that has been ... he succeeded in his quest and gained his objective, but at what a cost and with what a difference from what he had imagined." Jinnah was buried on 12 September 1948 amid official mourning in both India and Pakistan; a million people gathered for his funeral led by Shabbir Ahmad Usmani. Indian Governor-General Rajagopalachari cancelled an official reception that day in honour of the late leader. Today, Jinnah rests in a large marble mausoleum, Mazar-e-Quaid, in Karachi.
Aftermath
In the 1965 presidential election, Fatima Jinnah, by then known as Madar-e-Millat ("Mother of the Nation"), became the presidential candidate of a coalition of political parties that opposed the rule of President Ayub Khan, but was not successful.
The Jinnah House in Malabar Hill, Bombay, is in the possession of the Government of India, but the issue of its ownership has been disputed by the Government of Pakistan. Jinnah had personally requested Prime Minister Nehru to preserve the house, hoping one day he could return to Bombay. There are proposals for the house to be offered to the government of Pakistan to establish a consulate in the city as a goodwill gesture, but Dina Wadia had also staked a claim on the property.
After Jinnah died, his sister Fatima asked the court to execute Jinnah's will under Shia Islamic law. This subsequently became part of the argument in Pakistan about Jinnah's religious affiliation. Vali Nasr says Jinnah "was an Ismaili by birth and a Twelver Shia by confession, though not a religiously observant man." In a 1970 legal challenge, Hussain Ali Ganji Walji claimed Jinnah had converted to Sunni Islam. Witness Syed Sharifuddin Pirzada stated in court that Jinnah converted to Sunni Islam in 1901 when his sisters married Sunnis. In 1970, Liaquat Ali Khan and Fatima Jinnah's joint affidavit that Jinnah was Shia was rejected. But in 1976 the court rejected Walji's claim that Jinnah was Sunni; effectively accepting him as a Shia. In 1984 a high court bench reversed the 1976 verdict and maintained that "the Quaid was definitely not a Shia", which suggested that Jinnah was Sunni. According to the journalist Khaled Ahmed, Jinnah publicly had a non-sectarian stance and "was at pains to gather the Muslims of India under the banner of a general Muslim faith and not under a divisive sectarian identity." Liaquat H. Merchant, Jinnah's grandnephew, writes that "the Quaid was not a Shia; he was also not a Sunni, he was simply a Muslim". An eminent lawyer who practised in the Bombay High Court until 1940 testified that Jinnah used to pray as an orthodox Sunni. According to Akbar Ahmed, Jinnah became a firm Sunni Muslim by the end of his life.
Beliefs and personal life
Jinnah admired Kemal Ataturk, and it is reported that he talked of nothing but Ataturk to his daughter Dina, who was 13 at that time, for many days.
Jinnah professed to be a Muslim. Despite this, he is reported to have claimed to have "never visited a mosque" and being ignorant of customary mosque behaviour, as well as eating pork and drinking alcohol which is contrary to a halal diet and considered haram.
Legacy
Jinnah's legacy is Pakistan. According to Mohiuddin, "He was and continues to be as highly honored in Pakistan as [first US president] George Washington is in the United States ... Pakistan owes its very existence to his drive, tenacity, and judgment ... Jinnah's importance in the creation of Pakistan was monumental and immeasurable." Stanley Wolpert, giving a speech in honour of Jinnah in 1998, deemed him Pakistan's greatest leader.
According to Jaswant Singh, "With Jinnah's death Pakistan lost its moorings. In India there will not easily arrive another Gandhi, nor in Pakistan another Jinnah." Malik writes, "As long as Jinnah was alive, he could persuade and even pressure regional leaders toward greater mutual accommodation, but after his death, the lack of consensus on the distribution of political power and economic resources often turned controversial." According to Mohiuddin, "Jinnah's death deprived Pakistan of a leader who could have enhanced stability and democratic governance ... The rocky road to democracy in Pakistan and the relatively smooth one in India can in some measure be ascribed to Pakistan's tragedy of losing an incorruptible and highly revered leader so soon after independence."
His birthday is observed as a national holiday, Quaid-e-Azam Day, in Pakistan. Jinnah earned the title Quaid-e-Azam (meaning "Great Leader"). His other title is Baba-i-Qaum (Father of the Nation). The former title was reportedly given to Jinnah at first by Mian Ferozuddin Ahmed. It became an official title by effect of a resolution passed on 11 August 1947 by Liaquat Ali Khan in the Pakistan Constituent Assembly. There are some sources which endorse that Gandhi gave him that title. Within a few days of Pakistan's creation Jinnah's name was read in the khutba at mosques as Amir-ul-Millat, a traditional title of Muslim rulers.
The civil awards of Pakistan includes an 'Order of Quaid-i-Azam'. The Jinnah Society also confers the 'Jinnah Award' annually to a person that renders outstanding and meritorious services to Pakistan and its people. Jinnah is depicted on all Pakistani rupee currency, and is the namesake of many Pakistani public institutions. The former Quaid-i-Azam International Airport in Karachi, now called the Jinnah International Airport, is Pakistan's busiest. One of the largest streets in the Turkish capital Ankara, Cinnah Caddesi, is named after him, as is the Mohammad Ali Jenah Expressway in Tehran, Iran. The royalist government of Iran also released a stamp commemorating the centennial of Jinnah's birth in 1976. In Chicago, a portion of Devon Avenue was named "Mohammed Ali Jinnah Way". A section of Coney Island Avenue in Brooklyn, New York was also named 'Muhammad Ali Jinnah Way' in honour of the founder of Pakistan. The Mazar-e-Quaid, Jinnah's mausoleum, is among Karachi's landmarks. The "Jinnah Tower" in Guntur, Andhra Pradesh, India, was built to commemorate Jinnah.
There is a considerable amount of scholarship on Jinnah which stems from Pakistan; according to Akbar S. Ahmed, it is not widely read outside the country and usually avoids even the slightest criticism of Jinnah. According to Ahmed, some books published about Jinnah outside Pakistan mention that he consumed alcohol, but this is omitted from books published inside Pakistan. Ahmed suggests that depicting the Quaid drinking would weaken Jinnah's Islamic identity, and by extension, Pakistan's. Some sources allege he gave up alcohol near the end of his life. Yahya Bakhtiar, who observed Jinnah at close quarters, concluded that Jinnah was a "very sincere, deeply committed and dedicated Mussalman."
According to historian Ayesha Jalal, while there is a tendency towards hagiography in the Pakistani view of Jinnah, in India he is viewed negatively. Ahmed deems Jinnah "the most maligned person in recent Indian history ... In India, many see him as the demon who divided the land." Even many Indian Muslims see Jinnah negatively, blaming him for their woes as a minority in that state. Some historians such as Jalal and H. M. Seervai assert that Jinnah never wanted the partition of India—it was the outcome of the Congress leaders being unwilling to share power with the Muslim League. They contend that Jinnah only used the Pakistan demand in an attempt to mobilise support to obtain significant political rights for Muslims. Francis Mudie, the last British Governor of Sindh, in Jinnah's honour once said:
In judging Jinnah, we must remember what he was up against. He had against him not only the wealth and brains of the Hindus, but also nearly the whole of British officialdom, and most of the Home politicians, who made the great mistake of refusing to take Pakistan seriously. Never was his position really examined.
Jinnah has gained the admiration of Indian nationalist politicians such as Lal Krishna Advani, whose comments praising Jinnah caused an uproar in his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Indian politician Jaswant Singh's book Jinnah: India, Partition, Independence (2009) caused controversy in India. The book was based on Jinnah's ideology and alleged that Nehru's desire for a powerful centre led to Partition. Upon the book release, Singh was expelled from his membership of Bharatiya Janata Party, to which he responded that BJP is "narrow-minded" and has "limited thoughts".
Jinnah was the central figure of the 1998 film Jinnah, which was based on Jinnah's life and his struggle for the creation of Pakistan. Christopher Lee, who portrayed Jinnah, called his performance the best of his career. The 1954 Hector Bolitho's book Jinnah: Creator of Pakistan prompted Fatima Jinnah to release a book, titled My Brother (1987), as she thought that Bolitho's book had failed to express the political aspects of Jinnah. The book received positive reception in Pakistan. Jinnah of Pakistan (1984) by Stanley Wolpert is regarded as one of the best biographical books on Jinnah.
The view of Jinnah in the West has been shaped to some extent by his portrayal in Sir Richard Attenborough's 1982 film, Gandhi. The film was dedicated to Nehru and Mountbatten and was given considerable support by Nehru's daughter, the Indian prime minister, Indira Gandhi. It portrays Jinnah (played by Alyque Padamsee) in an unflattering light, who seems to act out of jealousy of Gandhi. Padamsee later stated that his portrayal was not historically accurate. In a journal article on Pakistan's first governor-general, historian R. J. Moore wrote that Jinnah is universally recognised as central to the creation of Pakistan. Stanley Wolpert summarises the profound effect that Jinnah had on the world:
See also
List of peace activists
List of civil rights leaders
Notes
Citations
References
Bibliography
Further reading
Journals and other media
External links
Mohammad Ali Jinnah Official Page
Correspondence with the Muslim League – 1946 – UK Parliament Living Heritage
Quotes from the Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah
Mohammad Ali Jinnah Biography
Government of Pakistan Website
Address to the First Constituent Assembly of Pakistan on 11 August 1947
1876 births
1948 deaths
Pakistani Muslims
Converts to Sunni Islam from Shia Islam
Pakistani former Shia Muslims
Pakistani Sunni Muslims
20th-century deaths from tuberculosis
All India Muslim League members
Alumni of the Inns of Court School of Law
Cathedral and John Connon School alumni
Church Mission School alumni
Governors-General of Pakistan
Indian National Congress politicians
Indian newspaper founders
Muhammad Ali
Lawyers from Karachi
Members of Central Legislative Assembly of India
Members of Lincoln's Inn
Members of the Fabian Society
Members of the Imperial Legislative Council of India
Members of the Pakistan Philosophical Congress
National symbols of Pakistan
Pakistani barristers
Pakistani expatriates in England
Pakistani MNAs 1947–1954
Pakistani newspaper founders
Pakistani people of Gujarati descent
Partition of India
Presidents of Pakistan
Politicians from Karachi
Sindh Madressatul Islam University alumni
Tuberculosis deaths in Pakistan
University of Mumbai alumni
Infectious disease deaths in Sindh | true | [
"Don Juan Manuel's Tales of Count Lucanor, in Spanish Libro de los ejemplos del conde Lucanor y de Patronio (Book of the Examples of Count Lucanor and of Patronio), also commonly known as El Conde Lucanor, Libro de Patronio, or Libro de los ejemplos (original Old Castilian: Libro de los enxiemplos del Conde Lucanor et de Patronio), is one of the earliest works of prose in Castilian Spanish. It was first written in 1335.\n\nThe book is divided into four parts. The first and most well-known part is a series of 51 short stories (some no more than a page or two) drawn from various sources, such as Aesop and other classical writers, and Arabic folktales.\n\nTales of Count Lucanor was first printed in 1575 when it was published at Seville under the auspices of Argote de Molina. It was again printed at Madrid in 1642, after which it lay forgotten for nearly two centuries.\n\nPurpose and structure\n\nA didactic, moralistic purpose, which would color so much of the Spanish literature to follow (see Novela picaresca), is the mark of this book. Count Lucanor engages in conversation with his advisor Patronio, putting to him a problem (\"Some man has made me a proposition...\" or \"I fear that such and such person intends to...\") and asking for advice. Patronio responds always with the greatest humility, claiming not to wish to offer advice to so illustrious a person as the Count, but offering to tell him a story of which the Count's problem reminds him. (Thus, the stories are \"examples\" [ejemplos] of wise action.) At the end he advises the Count to do as the protagonist of his story did.\n\nEach chapter ends in more or less the same way, with slight variations on: \"And this pleased the Count greatly and he did just so, and found it well. And Don Johán (Juan) saw that this example was very good, and had it written in this book, and composed the following verses.\" A rhymed couplet closes, giving the moral of the story.\n\nOrigin of stories and influence on later literature\nMany of the stories written in the book are the first examples written in a modern European language of various stories, which many other writers would use in the proceeding centuries. Many of the stories he included were themselves derived from other stories, coming from western and Arab sources.\n\nShakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew has the basic elements of Tale 35, \"What Happened to a Young Man Who Married a Strong and Ill-tempered Woman\".\n\nTale 32, \"What Happened to the King and the Tricksters Who Made Cloth\" tells the story that Hans Christian Andersen made popular as The Emperor's New Clothes.\n\nStory 7, \"What Happened to a Woman Named Truhana\", a version of Aesop's The Milkmaid and Her Pail, was claimed by Max Müller to originate in the Hindu cycle Panchatantra.\n\nTale 2, \"What happened to a good Man and his Son, leading a beast to market,\" is the familiar fable The miller, his son and the donkey.\n\nIn 2016, Baroque Decay released a game under the name \"The Count Lucanor\". As well as some protagonists' names, certain events from the books inspired past events in the game.\n\nThe stories\n\nThe book opens with a prologue which introduces the characters of the Count and Patronio. The titles in the following list are those given in Keller and Keating's 1977 translation into English. James York's 1868 translation into English gives a significantly different ordering of the stories and omits the fifty-first.\n\n What Happened to a King and His Favorite \n What Happened to a Good Man and His Son \n How King Richard of England Leapt into the Sea against the Moors\n What a Genoese Said to His Soul When He Was about to Die \n What Happened to a Fox and a Crow Who Had a Piece of Cheese in His Beak\n How the Swallow Warned the Other Birds When She Saw Flax Being Sown \n What Happened to a Woman Named Truhana \n What Happened to a Man Whose Liver Had to Be Washed \n What Happened to Two Horses Which Were Thrown to the Lion \n What Happened to a Man Who on Account of Poverty and Lack of Other Food Was Eating Bitter Lentils \n What Happened to a Dean of Santiago de Compostela and Don Yllán, the Grand Master of Toledo\n What Happened to the Fox and the Rooster \n What Happened to a Man Who Was Hunting Partridges \n The Miracle of Saint Dominick When He Preached against the Usurer \n What Happened to Lorenzo Suárez at the Siege of Seville \n The Reply that count Fernán González Gave to His Relative Núño Laynes \n What Happened to a Very Hungry Man Who Was Half-heartedly Invited to Dinner \n What Happened to Pero Meléndez de Valdés When He Broke His Leg \n What Happened to the Crows and the Owls \n What Happened to a King for Whom a Man Promised to Perform Alchemy \n What Happened to a Young King and a Philosopher to Whom his Father Commended Him \n What Happened to the Lion and the Bull \n How the Ants Provide for Themselves \n What Happened to the King Who Wanted to Test His Three Sons \n What Happened to the Count of Provence and How He Was Freed from Prison by the Advice of Saladin\n What Happened to the Tree of Lies \n What Happened to an Emperor and to Don Alvarfáñez Minaya and Their Wives \n What Happened in Granada to Don Lorenzo Suárez Gallinato When He Beheaded the Renegade Chaplain \n What Happened to a Fox Who Lay down in the Street to Play Dead \n What Happened to King Abenabet of Seville and Ramayquía His Wife \n How a Cardinal Judged between the Canons of Paris and the Friars Minor \n What Happened to the King and the Tricksters Who Made Cloth \n What Happened to Don Juan Manuel's Saker Falcon and an Eagle and a Heron \n What Happened to a Blind Man Who Was Leading Another \n What Happened to a Young Man Who Married a Strong and Ill-tempered Woman\n What Happened to a Merchant When He Found His Son and His Wife Sleeping Together \n What Happened to Count Fernán González with His Men after He Had Won the Battle of Hacinas \n What Happened to a Man Who Was Loaded down with Precious Stones and Drowned in the River \n What Happened to a Man and a Swallow and a Sparrow \n Why the Seneschal of Carcassonne Lost His Soul \n What Happened to a King of Córdova Named Al-Haquem \n What Happened to a Woman of Sham Piety \n What Happened to Good and Evil and the Wise Man and the Madman \n What Happened to Don Pero Núñez the Loyal, to Don Ruy González de Zavallos, and to Don Gutier Roiz de Blaguiello with Don Rodrigo the Generous \n What Happened to a Man Who Became the Devil's Friend and Vassal \n What Happened to a Philosopher who by Accident Went down a Street Where Prostitutes Lived \n What Befell a Moor and His Sister Who Pretended That She Was Timid \n What Happened to a Man Who Tested His Friends \n What Happened to the Man Whom They Cast out Naked on an Island When They Took away from Him the Kingdom He Ruled \n What Happened to Saladin and a Lady, the Wife of a Knight Who Was His Vassal \n What Happened to a Christian King Who Was Very Powerful and Haughty\n\nReferences\n\nNotes\n\nBibliography\n\n Sturm, Harlan\n\n Wacks, David\n\nExternal links\n\nThe Internet Archive provides free access to the 1868 translation by James York.\nJSTOR has the to the 1977 translation by Keller and Keating.\nSelections in English and Spanish (pedagogical edition) with introduction, notes, and bibliography in Open Iberia/América (open access teaching anthology)\n\n14th-century books\nSpanish literature\n1335 books",
"\"What Happened to Us\" is a song by Australian recording artist Jessica Mauboy, featuring English recording artist Jay Sean. It was written by Sean, Josh Alexander, Billy Steinberg, Jeremy Skaller, Rob Larow, Khaled Rohaim and Israel Cruz. \"What Happened to Us\" was leaked online in October 2010, and was released on 10 March 2011, as the third single from Mauboy's second studio album, Get 'Em Girls (2010). The song received positive reviews from critics.\n\nA remix of \"What Happened to Us\" made by production team OFM, was released on 11 April 2011. A different version of the song which features Stan Walker, was released on 29 May 2011. \"What Happened to Us\" charted on the ARIA Singles Chart at number 14 and was certified platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). An accompanying music video was directed by Mark Alston, and reminisces on a former relationship between Mauboy and Sean.\n\nProduction and release\n\n\"What Happened to Us\" was written by Josh Alexander, Billy Steinberg, Jeremy Skaller, Rob Larow, Khaled Rohaim, Israel Cruz and Jay Sean. It was produced by Skaller, Cruz, Rohaim and Bobby Bass. The song uses C, D, and B minor chords in the chorus. \"What Happened to Us\" was sent to contemporary hit radio in Australia on 14 February 2011. The cover art for the song was revealed on 22 February on Mauboy's official Facebook page. A CD release was available for purchase via her official website on 10 March, for one week only. It was released digitally the following day.\n\nReception\nMajhid Heath from ABC Online Indigenous called the song a \"Jordin Sparks-esque duet\", and wrote that it \"has a nice innocence to it that rings true to the experience of losing a first love.\" Chris Urankar from Nine to Five wrote that it as a \"mid-tempo duet ballad\" which signifies Mauboy's strength as a global player. On 21 March 2011, \"What Happened to Us\" debuted at number 30 on the ARIA Singles Chart, and peaked at number 14 the following week. The song was certified platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA), for selling 70,000 copies. \"What Happened to Us\" spent a total of ten weeks in the ARIA top fifty.\n\nMusic video\n\nBackground\nThe music video for the song was shot in the Elizabeth Bay House in Sydney on 26 November 2010. The video was shot during Sean's visit to Australia for the Summerbeatz tour. During an interview with The Daily Telegraph while on the set of the video, Sean said \"the song is sick! ... Jessica's voice is amazing and we're shooting [the video] in this ridiculously beautiful mansion overlooking the harbour.\" The video was directed by Mark Alston, who had previously directed the video for Mauboy's single \"Let Me Be Me\" (2009). It premiered on YouTube on 10 February 2011.\n\nSynopsis and reception\nThe video begins showing Mauboy who appears to be sitting on a yellow antique couch in a mansion, wearing a purple dress. As the video progresses, scenes of memories are displayed of Mauboy and her love interest, played by Sean, spending time there previously. It then cuts to the scenes where Sean appears in the main entrance room of the mansion. The final scene shows Mauboy outdoors in a gold dress, surrounded by green grass and trees. She is later joined by Sean who appears in a black suit and a white shirt, and together they sing the chorus of the song to each other. David Lim of Feed Limmy wrote that the video is \"easily the best thing our R&B princess has committed to film – ever\" and praised the \"mansion and wondrous interior décor\". He also commended Mauboy for choosing Australian talent to direct the video instead of American directors, which she had used for her previous two music videos. Since its release, the video has received over two million views on Vevo.\n\nLive performances\nMauboy performed \"What Happened to Us\" live for the first time during her YouTube Live Sessions program on 4 December 2010. She also appeared on Adam Hills in Gordon Street Tonight on 23 February 2011 for an interview and later performed the song. On 15 March 2011, Mauboy performed \"What Happened to Us\" on Sunrise. She also performed the song with Stan Walker during the Australian leg of Chris Brown's F.A.M.E. Tour in April 2011. Mauboy and Walker later performed \"What Happened to Us\" on Dancing with the Stars Australia on 29 May 2011. From November 2013 to February 2014, \"What Happened to Us\" was part of the set list of the To the End of the Earth Tour, Mauboy's second headlining tour of Australia, with Nathaniel Willemse singing Sean's part.\n\nTrack listing\n\nDigital download\n \"What Happened to Us\" featuring Jay Sean – 3:19\n \"What Happened to Us\" featuring Jay Sean (Sgt Slick Remix) – 6:33\n \"What Happened to Us\" featuring Jay Sean (Just Witness Remix) – 3:45\n\nCD single\n \"What Happened to Us\" featuring Jay Sean (Album Version) – 3:19\n \"What Happened to Us\" featuring Jay Sean (Sgt Slick Remix) – 6:33\n \"What Happened to Us\" featuring Jay Sean (OFM Remix) – 3:39\n\nDigital download – Remix\n \"What Happened to Us\" featuring Jay Sean (OFM Remix) – 3:38\n\nDigital download\n \"What Happened to Us\" featuring Stan Walker – 3:20\n\nPersonnel\nSongwriting – Josh Alexander, Billy Steinberg, Jeremy Skaller, Rob Larow, Khaled Rohaim, Israel Cruz, Jay Sean\nProduction – Jeremy Skaller, Bobby Bass\nAdditional production – Israel Cruz, Khaled Rohaim\nLead vocals – Jessica Mauboy, Jay Sean\nMixing – Phil Tan\nAdditional mixing – Damien Lewis\nMastering – Tom Coyne \nSource:\n\nCharts\n\nWeekly chart\n\nYear-end chart\n\nCertification\n\nRadio dates and release history\n\nReferences\n\n2010 songs\n2011 singles\nJessica Mauboy songs\nJay Sean songs\nSongs written by Billy Steinberg\nSongs written by Jay Sean\nSongs written by Josh Alexander\nSongs written by Israel Cruz\nVocal duets\nSony Music Australia singles\nSongs written by Khaled Rohaim"
] |
[
"Muhammad Ali Jinnah",
"Background to independence",
"what was the background to independence?",
"Until the late 1930s, most Muslims of the British Raj expected, upon independence, to be part of a unitary state encompassing all of British India,",
"was that what happened?",
"In a speech given at Allahabad to a League session in 1930, Sir Muhammad Iqbal called for a state for Muslims in British India."
] | C_670c31028fec474ba4b03bb9172df90c_0 | what happened from this? | 3 | What happened after the speech? | Muhammad Ali Jinnah | Until the late 1930s, most Muslims of the British Raj expected, upon independence, to be part of a unitary state encompassing all of British India, as did the Hindus and others who advocated self-government. Despite this, other nationalist proposals were being made. In a speech given at Allahabad to a League session in 1930, Sir Muhammad Iqbal called for a state for Muslims in British India. Choudhary Rahmat Ali published a pamphlet in 1933 advocating a state "Pakistan" in the Indus Valley, with other names given to Muslim-majority areas elsewhere in India. Jinnah and Iqbal corresponded in 1936 and 1937; in subsequent years, Jinnah credited Iqbal as his mentor, and used Iqbal's imagery and rhetoric in his speeches. Although many leaders of the Congress sought a strong central government for an Indian state, some Muslim politicians, including Jinnah, were unwilling to accept this without powerful protections for their community. Other Muslims supported the Congress, which officially advocated a secular state upon independence, though the traditionalist wing (including politicians such as Madan Mohan Malaviya and Vallabhbhai Patel) believed that an independent India should enact laws such as banning the killing of cows and making Hindi a national language. The failure of the Congress leadership to disavow Hindu communalists worried Congress-supporting Muslims. Nevertheless, the Congress enjoyed considerable Muslim support up to about 1937. Events which separated the communities included the failed attempt to form a coalition government including the Congress and the League in the United Provinces following the 1937 election. According to historian Ian Talbot, "The provincial Congress governments made no effort to understand and respect their Muslim populations' cultural and religious sensibilities. The Muslim League's claims that it alone could safeguard Muslim interests thus received a major boost. Significantly it was only after this period of Congress rule that it [the League] took up the demand for a Pakistan state ..." Balraj Puri in his journal article about Jinnah suggests that the Muslim League president, after the 1937 vote, turned to the idea of partition in "sheer desperation". Historian Akbar S. Ahmed suggests that Jinnah abandoned hope of reconciliation with the Congress as he "rediscover[ed] his own Islamic roots, his own sense of identity, of culture and history, which would come increasingly to the fore in the final years of his life". Jinnah also increasingly adopted Muslim dress in the late 1930s. In the wake of the 1937 balloting, Jinnah demanded that the question of power sharing be settled on an all-India basis, and that he, as president of the League, be accepted as the sole spokesman for the Muslim community. CANNOTANSWER | Choudhary Rahmat Ali published a pamphlet in 1933 advocating a state "Pakistan" | Muhammad Ali Jinnah (born Mahomedali Jinnahbhai; 25 December 1876 – 11 September 1948) was a barrister, politician and the founder of Pakistan. Jinnah served as the leader of the All-India Muslim League from 1913 until the inception of Pakistan on 14 August 1947, and then as the Dominion of Pakistan's first governor-general until his death. He is revered in Pakistan as the Quaid-i-Azam ("Great Leader") and Baba-i-Qaum ("Father of the Nation"). His birthday is observed as a national holiday in Pakistan.
Born at Wazir Mansion in Karachi, Jinnah was trained as a barrister at Lincoln's Inn in London, England. Upon his return to British India, he enrolled at the Bombay High Court, and took an interest in national politics, which eventually replaced his legal practice. Jinnah rose to prominence in the Indian National Congress in the first two decades of the 20th century. In these early years of his political career, Jinnah advocated Hindu–Muslim unity, helping to shape the 1916 Lucknow Pact between the Congress and the All-India Muslim League, in which Jinnah had also become prominent. Jinnah became a key leader in the All-India Home Rule League, and proposed a fourteen-point constitutional reform plan to safeguard the political rights of Muslims in the Indian subcontinent. In 1920, however, Jinnah resigned from the Congress when it agreed to follow a campaign of satyagraha, which he regarded as political anarchy.
By 1940, Jinnah had come to believe that the Muslims of the subcontinent should have their own state to avoid the possible marginalised status they may gain in an independent Hindu–Muslim state. In that year, the Muslim League, led by Jinnah, passed the Lahore Resolution, demanding a separate nation for British Indian Muslims. During the Second World War, the League gained strength while leaders of the Congress were imprisoned, and in the provincial elections held shortly after the war, it won most of the seats reserved for Muslims. Ultimately, the Congress and the Muslim League could not reach a power-sharing formula that would allow the entirety of British India to be united as a single state following independence, leading all parties to agree instead to the independence of a predominantly Hindu India, and for a Muslim-majority state of Pakistan.
As the first Governor-General of Pakistan, Jinnah worked to establish the new nation's government and policies, and to aid the millions of Muslim migrants who had emigrated from neighbouring India to Pakistan after the two states' independence, personally supervising the establishment of refugee camps. Jinnah died at age 71 in September 1948, just over a year after Pakistan gained independence from the United Kingdom. He left a deep and respected legacy in Pakistan. Innumerable streets, roads and localities in the world are named after Jinnah. Several universities and public buildings in Pakistan bear Jinnah's name. According to his biographer, Stanley Wolpert, Jinnah remains Pakistan's greatest leader.
Early years
Family and childhood
Jinnah's given name at birth was Mahomedali Jinnahbhai, and he likely was born in 1876, to Jinnahbhai Poonja and his wife Mithibai, in a rented apartment on the second floor of Wazir Mansion near Karachi, now in Sindh, Pakistan but then within the Bombay Presidency of British India. Jinnah's family was from a Gujarati Khoja Shi’a Muslim background, though Jinnah later followed the Twelver Shi'a teachings. After his death, his relatives and other witnesses claimed that he had converted in later life to the Sunni sect of Islam. His sectarian affiliation at the time of his death was disputed in multiple court cases. Jinnah was from a wealthy merchant background, his father was a merchant and was born to a family of textile weavers in the village of Paneli in the princely state of Gondal (Kathiawar, Gujarat); his mother was also of that village. They had moved to Karachi in 1875, having married before their departure. Karachi was then enjoying an economic boom: the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 meant it was 200 nautical miles closer to Europe for shipping than Bombay. Jinnah was the second child; he had three brothers and three sisters, including his younger sister Fatima Jinnah. The parents were native Gujarati speakers, and the children also came to speak Kutchi and English. Jinnah was not fluent in Gujarati, his mother-tongue, nor in Urdu; he was more fluent in English. Except for Fatima, little is known of his siblings, where they settled or if they met with their brother as he advanced in his legal and political careers.
As a boy, Jinnah lived for a time in Bombay with an aunt and may have attended the Gokal Das Tej Primary School there, later on studying at the Cathedral and John Connon School. In Karachi, he attended the Sindh-Madrasa-tul-Islam and the Christian Missionary Society High School. He gained his matriculation from Bombay University at the high school. In his later years and especially after his death, a large number of stories about the boyhood of Pakistan's founder were circulated: that he spent all his spare time at the police court, listening to the proceedings, and that he studied his books by the glow of street lights for lack of other illumination. His official biographer, Hector Bolitho, writing in 1954, interviewed surviving boyhood associates, and obtained a tale that the young Jinnah discouraged other children from playing marbles in the dust, urging them to rise up, keep their hands and clothes clean, and play cricket instead.
Education in England
In 1892, Sir Frederick Leigh Croft, a business associate of Jinnahbhai Poonja, offered young Jinnah a London apprenticeship with his firm, Graham's Shipping and Trading Company. He accepted the position despite the opposition of his mother, who before he left, had him enter an arranged marriage with his cousin, two years his junior from the ancestral village of Paneli, Emibai Jinnah. Jinnah's mother and first wife both died during his absence in England. Although the apprenticeship in London was considered a great opportunity for Jinnah, one reason for sending him overseas was a legal proceeding against his father, which placed the family's property at risk of being sequestered by the court. In 1893, the Jinnahbhai family moved to Bombay.
Soon after his arrival in London, Jinnah gave up the business apprenticeship in order to study law, enraging his father, who had, before his departure, given him enough money to live for three years. The aspiring barrister joined Lincoln's Inn, later stating that the reason he chose Lincoln's over the other Inns of Court was that over the main entrance to Lincoln's Inn were the names of the world's great lawgivers, including Muhammad. Jinnah's biographer Stanley Wolpert notes that there is no such inscription, but inside (covering the wall at one end of New Hall, also called the Great Hall, which is where students, Bar and Bench lunch and dine) is a mural showing Muhammad and other lawgivers, and speculates that Jinnah may have edited the story in his own mind to avoid mentioning a pictorial depiction which would be offensive to many Muslims. Jinnah's legal education followed the pupillage (legal apprenticeship) system, which had been in force there for centuries. To gain knowledge of the law, he followed an established barrister and learned from what he did, as well as from studying lawbooks. During this period, he shortened his name to Muhammad Ali Jinnah.
During his student years in England, Jinnah was influenced by 19th-century British liberalism, like many other future Indian independence leaders. His main intellectual references were peoples like Bentham, Mill, Spencer, and Comte. This political education included exposure to the idea of the democratic nation, and progressive politics. He became an admirer of the Parsi British Indian political leaders Dadabhai Naoroji and Sir Pherozeshah Mehta. Naoroji had become the first British Member of Parliament of Indian extraction shortly before Jinnah's arrival, triumphing with a majority of three votes in Finsbury Central. Jinnah listened to Naoroji's maiden speech in the House of Commons from the visitor's gallery.
The Western world not only inspired Jinnah in his political life, but also greatly influenced his personal preferences, particularly when it came to dress. Jinnah abandoned local garb for Western-style clothing, and throughout his life he was always impeccably dressed in public. His suits were designed by Savile Row tailor Henry Poole & Co. He came to own over 200 suits, which he wore with heavily starched shirts with detachable collars, and as a barrister took pride in never wearing the same silk tie twice. Even when he was dying, he insisted on being formally dressed, "I will not travel in my pyjamas." In his later years he was usually seen wearing a Karakul hat which subsequently came to be known as the "Jinnah cap".
Dissatisfied with the law, Jinnah briefly embarked on a stage career with a Shakespearean company, but resigned after receiving a stern letter from his father. In 1895, at age 19, he became the youngest British Indian to be called to the bar in England. Although he returned to Karachi, he remained there only a short time before moving to Bombay.
Legal and early political career
Barrister
At the age of 20, Jinnah began his practice in Bombay, the only Muslim barrister in the city. English had become his principal language and would remain so throughout his life. His first three years in the law, from 1897 to 1900, brought him few briefs. His first step towards a brighter career occurred when the acting Advocate General of Bombay, John Molesworth MacPherson, invited Jinnah to work from his chambers. In 1900, P. H. Dastoor, a Bombay presidency magistrate, left the post temporarily and Jinnah succeeded in getting the interim position. After his six-month appointment period, Jinnah was offered a permanent position on a 1,500 rupee per month salary. Jinnah politely declined the offer, stating that he planned to earn 1,500 rupees a day—a huge sum at that time—which he eventually did. Nevertheless, as Governor-General of Pakistan, he would refuse to accept a large salary, fixing it at 1 rupee per month.
As a lawyer, Jinnah gained fame for his skilled handling of the 1908 "Caucus Case". This controversy arose out of Bombay municipal elections, which Indians alleged were rigged by a "caucus" of Europeans to keep Sir Pherozeshah Mehta out of the council. Jinnah gained great esteem from leading the case for Sir Pherozeshah, himself a noted barrister. Although Jinnah did not win the Caucus Case, he posted a successful record, becoming well known for his advocacy and legal logic. In 1908, his factional foe in the Indian National Congress, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, was arrested for sedition. Before Tilak unsuccessfully represented himself at trial, he engaged Jinnah in an attempt to secure his release on bail. Jinnah did not succeed, but obtained an acquittal for Tilak when he was charged with sedition again in 1916.
One of Jinnah's fellow barristers from the Bombay High Court remembered that "Jinnah's faith in himself was incredible"; he recalled that on being admonished by a judge with "Mr. Jinnah, remember that you are not addressing a third-class magistrate", Jinnah shot back, "My Lord, allow me to warn you that you are not addressing a third-class pleader." Another of his fellow barristers described him, saying:
Trade unionist
Jinnah was also a supporter of working class causes and an active trade unionist. He was elected President of All India Postal Staff Union in 1925 whose membership was 70,000. According to All Pakistan Labour Federation's publication Productive Role of Trade Unions and Industrial Relations, being a member of Legislative Assembly, Jinnah pleaded forcefully for rights of workers and struggled for getting a "living wage and fair conditions" for them. He also played an important role in enactment of Trade Union act of 1926 which gave trade union movement legal cover to organise themselves.
Rising leader
In 1857, many Indians had risen in revolt against British rule. In the aftermath of the conflict, some Anglo-Indians, as well as Indians in Britain, called for greater self-government for the subcontinent, resulting in the founding of the Indian National Congress in 1885. Most founding members had been educated in Britain, and were content with the minimal reform efforts being made by the government. Muslims were not enthusiastic about calls for democratic institutions in British India, as they constituted a quarter to a third of the population, outnumbered by the Hindus. Early meetings of the Congress contained a minority of Muslims, mostly from the elite.
Jinnah devoted much of his time to his law practice in the early 1900s, but remained politically involved. Jinnah began political life by attending the Congress's twentieth annual meeting, in Bombay in December 1904. He was a member of the moderate group in the Congress, favouring Hindu–Muslim unity in achieving self-government, and following such leaders as Mehta, Naoroji, and Gopal Krishna Gokhale. They were opposed by leaders such as Tilak and Lala Lajpat Rai, who sought quick action towards independence. In 1906, a delegation of Muslim leaders, known as the Simla Delegation, headed by the Aga Khan called on the new Viceroy of India, Lord Minto, to assure him of their loyalty and to ask for assurances that in any political reforms they would be protected from the "unsympathetic [Hindu] majority". Dissatisfied with this, Jinnah wrote a letter to the editor of the newspaper Gujarati, asking what right the members of the delegation had to speak for Indian Muslims, as they were unelected and self-appointed. When many of the same leaders met in Dacca in December of that year to form the All-India Muslim League to advocate for their community's interests, Jinnah was again opposed. The Aga Khan later wrote that it was "freakishly ironic" that Jinnah, who would lead the League to independence, "came out in bitter hostility toward all that I and my friends had done ... He said that our principle of separate electorates was dividing the nation against itself." In its earliest years, however, the League was not influential; Minto refused to consider it as the Muslim community's representative, and it was ineffective in preventing the 1911 repeal of the partition of Bengal, an action seen as a blow to Muslim interests.
Although Jinnah initially opposed separate electorates for Muslims, he used this means to gain his first elective office in 1909, as Bombay's Muslim representative on the Imperial Legislative Council. He was a compromise candidate when two older, better-known Muslims who were seeking the post deadlocked. The council, which had been expanded to 60 members as part of reforms enacted by Minto, recommended legislation to the Viceroy. Only officials could vote in the council; non-official members, such as Jinnah, had no vote. Throughout his legal career, Jinnah practised probate law (with many clients from India's nobility), and in 1911 introduced the Wakf Validation Act to place Muslim religious trusts on a sound legal footing under British Indian law. Two years later, the measure passed, the first act sponsored by non-officials to pass the council and be enacted by the Viceroy. Jinnah was also appointed to a committee which helped to establish the Indian Military Academy in Dehra Dun.
In December 1912, Jinnah addressed the annual meeting of the Muslim League although he was not yet a member. He joined the following year, although he remained a member of the Congress as well and stressed that League membership took second priority to the "greater national cause" of an independent India. In April 1913, he again went to Britain, with Gokhale, to meet with officials on behalf of the Congress. Gokhale, a Hindu, later stated that Jinnah "has true stuff in him, and that freedom from all sectarian prejudice which will make him the best ambassador of Hindu–Muslim Unity". Jinnah led another delegation of the Congress to London in 1914, but due to the start of the First World War in August 1914, found officials little interested in Indian reforms. By coincidence, he was in Britain at the same time as a man who would become a great political rival of his, Mohandas Gandhi, a Hindu lawyer who had become well known for advocating satyagraha, non-violent non-co-operation, while in South Africa. Jinnah attended a reception for Gandhi where the two men met and talked with each other for the first time. Shortly afterwords, Jinnah returned home to India in January 1915.
Farewell to Congress
Jinnah's moderate faction in the Congress was undermined by the deaths of Mehta and Gokhale in 1915; he was further isolated by the fact that Naoroji was in London, where he remained until his death in 1917. Nevertheless, Jinnah worked to bring the Congress and League together. In 1916, with Jinnah now president of the Muslim League, the two organisations signed the Lucknow Pact, setting quotas for Muslim and Hindu representation in the various provinces. Although the pact was never fully implemented, its signing ushered in a period of co-operation between the Congress and the League.
During the war, Jinnah joined other Indian moderates in supporting the British war effort, hoping that Indians would be rewarded with political freedoms. Jinnah played an important role in the founding of the All India Home Rule League in 1916. Along with political leaders Annie Besant and Tilak, Jinnah demanded "home rule" for India—the status of a self-governing dominion in the Empire similar to Canada, New Zealand and Australia, although, with the war, Britain's politicians were not interested in considering Indian constitutional reform. British Cabinet minister Edwin Montagu recalled Jinnah in his memoirs, "young, perfectly mannered, impressive-looking, armed to the teeth with dialectics, and insistent on the whole of his scheme".
In 1918, Jinnah married his second wife Rattanbai Petit ("Ruttie"), 24 years his junior. She was the fashionable young daughter of his friend Sir Dinshaw Petit, and was part of an elite Parsi family of Bombay. There was great opposition to the marriage from Rattanbai's family and the Parsi community, as well as from some Muslim religious leaders. Rattanbai defied her family and nominally converted to Islam, adopting (though never using) the name Maryam Jinnah, resulting in a permanent estrangement from her family and Parsi society. The couple resided at South Court Mansion in Bombay, and frequently travelled across India and Europe. The couple's only child, daughter Dina, was born on 15 August 1919. The couple separated prior to Ruttie's death in 1929, and subsequently Jinnah's sister Fatima looked after him and his child.
Relations between Indians and British were strained in 1919 when the Imperial Legislative Council extended emergency wartime restrictions on civil liberties; Jinnah resigned from it when it did. There was unrest across India, which worsened after the Jallianwala Bagh massacre in Amritsar, in which British troops fired upon a protest meeting, killing hundreds. In the wake of Amritsar, Gandhi, who had returned to India and become a widely respected leader and highly influential in the Congress, called for satyagraha against the British. Gandhi's proposal gained broad Hindu support, and was also attractive to many Muslims of the Khilafat faction. These Muslims, supported by Gandhi, sought retention of the Ottoman caliphate, which supplied spiritual leadership to many Muslims. The caliph was the Ottoman Emperor, who would be deprived of both offices following his nation's defeat in the First World War. Gandhi had achieved considerable popularity among Muslims because of his work during the war on behalf of killed or imprisoned Muslims. Unlike Jinnah and other leaders of the Congress, Gandhi did not wear western-style clothing, did his best to use an Indian language instead of English, and was deeply rooted in Indian culture. Gandhi's local style of leadership gained great popularity with the Indian people. Jinnah criticised Gandhi's Khilafat advocacy, which he saw as an endorsement of religious zealotry. Jinnah regarded Gandhi's proposed satyagraha campaign as political anarchy, and believed that self-government should be secured through constitutional means. He opposed Gandhi, but the tide of Indian opinion was against him. At the 1920 session of the Congress in Nagpur, Jinnah was shouted down by the delegates, who passed Gandhi's proposal, pledging satyagraha until India was independent. Jinnah did not attend the subsequent League meeting, held in the same city, which passed a similar resolution. Because of the action of the Congress in endorsing Gandhi's campaign, Jinnah resigned from it, leaving all positions except in the Muslim League.
Wilderness years; interlude in England
The alliance between Gandhi and the Khilafat faction did not last long, and the campaign of resistance proved less effective than hoped, as India's institutions continued to function. Jinnah sought alternative political ideas, and contemplated organising a new political party as a rival to the Congress. In September 1923, Jinnah was elected as Muslim member for Bombay in the new Central Legislative Assembly. He showed much skill as a parliamentarian, organising many Indian members to work with the Swaraj Party, and continued to press demands for full responsible government. In 1925, as recognition for his legislative activities, he was offered a knighthood by Lord Reading, who was retiring from the Viceroyalty. He replied: "I prefer to be plain Mr Jinnah."
In 1927, the British Government, under Conservative Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin, undertook a decennial review of Indian policy mandated by the Government of India Act 1919. The review began two years early as Baldwin feared he would lose the next election (which he did, in 1929). The Cabinet was influenced by minister Winston Churchill, who strongly opposed self-government for India, and members hoped that by having the commission appointed early, the policies for India which they favoured would survive their government. The resulting commission, led by Liberal MP John Simon, though with a majority of Conservatives, arrived in India in March 1928. They were met with a boycott by India's leaders, Muslim and Hindu alike, angered at the British refusal to include their representatives on the commission. A minority of Muslims, though, withdrew from the League, choosing to welcome the Simon Commission and repudiating Jinnah. Most members of the League's executive council remained loyal to Jinnah, attending the League meeting in December 1927 and January 1928 which confirmed him as the League's permanent president. At that session, Jinnah told the delegates that "A constitutional war has been declared on Great Britain. Negotiations for a settlement are not to come from our side ... By appointing an exclusively white Commission, [Secretary of State for India] Lord Birkenhead has declared our unfitness for self-government."
Birkenhead in 1928 challenged Indians to come up with their own proposal for constitutional change for India; in response, the Congress convened a committee under the leadership of Motilal Nehru. The Nehru Report favoured constituencies based on geography on the ground that being dependent on each other for election would bind the communities closer together. Jinnah, though he believed separate electorates, based on religion, necessary to ensure Muslims had a voice in the government, was willing to compromise on this point, but talks between the two parties failed. He put forth proposals that he hoped might satisfy a broad range of Muslims and reunite the League, calling for mandatory representation for Muslims in legislatures and cabinets. These became known as his Fourteen Points. He could not secure adoption of the Fourteen Points, as the League meeting in Delhi at which he hoped to gain a vote instead dissolved into chaotic argument.
After Baldwin was defeated at the 1929 British parliamentary election, Ramsay MacDonald of the Labour Party became prime minister. MacDonald desired a conference of Indian and British leaders in London to discuss India's future, a course of action supported by Jinnah. Three Round Table Conferences followed over as many years, none of which resulted in a settlement. Jinnah was a delegate to the first two conferences, but was not invited to the last. He remained in Britain for most of the period 1930 through 1934, practising as a barrister before the Privy Council, where he dealt with a number of India-related cases. His biographers disagree over why he remained so long in Britain—Wolpert asserts that had Jinnah been made a Law Lord, he would have stayed for life, and that Jinnah alternatively sought a parliamentary seat. Early biographer Hector Bolitho denied that Jinnah sought to enter the British Parliament, while Jaswant Singh deems Jinnah's time in Britain as a break or sabbatical from the Indian struggle. Bolitho called this period "Jinnah's years of order and contemplation, wedged in between the time of early struggle, and the final storm of conquest".
In 1931, Fatima Jinnah joined her brother in England. From then on, Muhammad Jinnah would receive personal care and support from her as he aged and began to suffer from the lung ailments which would kill him. She lived and travelled with him, and became a close advisor. Muhammad Jinnah's daughter, Dina, was educated in England and India. Jinnah later became estranged from Dina after she decided to marry a Parsi, Neville Wadia from a prominent Parsi business family. Wadia is the son Sir Ness Wadia and Evelyne Clara Powell. When Jinnah urged Dina to marry a Muslim, she reminded him that he had married a woman not raised in his faith. Jinnah continued to correspond cordially with his daughter, but their personal relationship was strained, and she did not come to Pakistan in his lifetime, but only for his funeral.
Return to politics
The early 1930s saw a resurgence in Indian Muslim nationalism, which came to a head with the Pakistan Declaration. In 1933, Indian Muslims, especially from the United Provinces, began to urge Jinnah to return and take up again his leadership of the Muslim League, an organisation which had fallen into inactivity. He remained titular president of the League, but declined to travel to India to preside over its 1933 session in April, writing that he could not possibly return there until the end of the year.
Among those who met with Jinnah to seek his return was Liaquat Ali Khan, who would be a major political associate of Jinnah in the years to come and the first Prime Minister of Pakistan. At Jinnah's request, Liaquat discussed the return with a large number of Muslim politicians and confirmed his recommendation to Jinnah. In early 1934, Jinnah relocated to the subcontinent, though he shuttled between London and India on business for the next few years, selling his house in Hampstead and closing his legal practice in Britain.
Muslims of Bombay elected Jinnah, though then absent in London, as their representative to the Central Legislative Assembly in October 1934. The British Parliament's Government of India Act 1935 gave considerable power to India's provinces, with a weak central parliament in New Delhi, which had no authority over such matters as foreign policy, defence, and much of the budget. Full power remained in the hands of the Viceroy, however, who could dissolve legislatures and rule by decree. The League reluctantly accepted the scheme, though expressing reservations about the weak parliament. The Congress was much better prepared for the provincial elections in 1937, and the League failed to win a majority even of the Muslim seats in any of the provinces where members of that faith held a majority. It did win a majority of the Muslim seats in Delhi, but could not form a government anywhere, though it was part of the ruling coalition in Bengal. The Congress and its allies formed the government even in the North-West Frontier Province (N.W.F.P.), where the League won no seats despite the fact that almost all residents were Muslim.
According to Jaswant Singh, "the events of 1937 had a tremendous, almost a traumatic effect upon Jinnah". Despite his beliefs of twenty years that Muslims could protect their rights in a united India through separate electorates, provincial boundaries drawn to preserve Muslim majorities, and by other protections of minority rights, Muslim voters had failed to unite, with the issues Jinnah hoped to bring forward lost amid factional fighting. Singh notes the effect of the 1937 elections on Muslim political opinion, "when the Congress formed a government with almost all of the Muslim MLAs sitting on the Opposition benches, non-Congress Muslims were suddenly faced with this stark reality of near-total political powerlessness. It was brought home to them, like a bolt of lightning, that even if the Congress did not win a single Muslim seat ... as long as it won an absolute majority in the House, on the strength of the general seats, it could and would form a government entirely on its own ..."
In the next two years, Jinnah worked to build support among Muslims for the League. He secured the right to speak for the Muslim-led Bengali and Punjabi provincial governments in the central government in New Delhi ("the centre"). He worked to expand the League, reducing the cost of membership to two annas (⅛ of a rupee), half of what it cost to join the Congress. He restructured the League along the lines of the Congress, putting most power in a Working Committee, which he appointed. By December 1939, Liaquat estimated that the League had three million two-anna members.
Struggle for Pakistan
Background to independence
Until the late 1930s, most Muslims of the British Raj expected, upon independence, to be part of a unitary state encompassing all of British India, as did the Hindus and others who advocated self-government. Despite this, other nationalist proposals were being made. In a speech given at Allahabad to a League session in 1930, Sir Muhammad Iqbal called for a state for Muslims in British India. Choudhary Rahmat Ali published a pamphlet in 1933 advocating a state "Pakistan" in the Indus Valley, with other names given to Muslim-majority areas elsewhere in India. Jinnah and Iqbal corresponded in 1936 and 1937; in subsequent years, Jinnah credited Iqbal as his mentor, and used Iqbal's imagery and rhetoric in his speeches.
Although many leaders of the Congress sought a strong central government for an Indian state, some Muslim politicians, including Jinnah, were unwilling to accept this without powerful protections for their community. Other Muslims supported the Congress, which officially advocated a secular state upon independence, though the traditionalist wing (including politicians such as Madan Mohan Malaviya and Vallabhbhai Patel) believed that an independent India should enact laws such as banning the killing of cows and making Hindi a national language. The failure of the Congress leadership to disavow Hindu communalists worried Congress-supporting Muslims. Nevertheless, the Congress enjoyed considerable Muslim support up to about 1937.
Events which separated the communities included the failed attempt to form a coalition government including the Congress and the League in the United Provinces following the 1937 election. According to historian Ian Talbot, "The provincial Congress governments made no effort to understand and respect their Muslim populations' cultural and religious sensibilities. The Muslim League's claims that it alone could safeguard Muslim interests thus received a major boost. Significantly it was only after this period of Congress rule that it [the League] took up the demand for a Pakistan state ..."
Balraj Puri in his journal article about Jinnah suggests that the Muslim League president, after the 1937 vote, turned to the idea of partition in "sheer desperation". Historian Akbar S. Ahmed suggests that Jinnah abandoned hope of reconciliation with the Congress as he "rediscover[ed] his own Islamic roots, his own sense of identity, of culture and history, which would come increasingly to the fore in the final years of his life". Jinnah also increasingly adopted Muslim dress in the late 1930s. In the wake of the 1937 balloting, Jinnah demanded that the question of power sharing be settled on an all-India basis, and that he, as president of the League, be accepted as the sole spokesman for the Muslim community.
Iqbal's influence on Jinnah
The well documented influence of Iqbal on Jinnah, with regard to taking the lead in creating Pakistan, has been described as "significant", "powerful" and even "unquestionable" by scholars. Iqbal has also been cited as an influential force in convincing Jinnah to end his self-imposed exile in London and re-enter the politics of India. Initially, however, Iqbal and Jinnah were opponents, as Iqbal believed Jinnah did not care about the crises confronting the Muslim community during the British Raj. According to Akbar S. Ahmed, this began to change during Iqbal's final years prior to his death in 1938. Iqbal gradually succeeded in converting Jinnah over to his view, who eventually accepted Iqbal as his "mentor". Ahmed comments that in his annotations to Iqbal's letters, Jinnah expressed solidarity with Iqbal's view: that Indian Muslims required a separate homeland.
Iqbal's influence also gave Jinnah a deeper appreciation for Muslim identity. The evidence of this influence began to be revealed from 1937 onwards. Jinnah not only began to echo Iqbal in his speeches, he started using Islamic symbolism and began directing his addresses to the underprivileged. Ahmed noted a change in Jinnah's words: while he still advocated freedom of religion and protection of the minorities, the model he was now aspiring to was that of the Prophet Muhammad, rather than that of a secular politician. Ahmed further avers that those scholars who have painted the later Jinnah as secular have misread his speeches which, he argues, must be read in the context of Islamic history and culture. Accordingly, Jinnah's imagery of the Pakistan began to become clear that it was to have an Islamic nature. This change has been seen to last for the rest of Jinnah's life. He continued to borrow ideas "directly from Iqbal—including his thoughts on Muslim unity, on Islamic ideals of liberty, justice and equality, on economics, and even on practices such as prayers".
In a speech in 1940, two years after the death of Iqbal, Jinnah expressed his preference for implementing Iqbal's vision for an Islamic Pakistan even if it meant he himself would never lead a nation. Jinnah stated, "If I live to see the ideal of a Muslim state being achieved in India, and I was then offered to make a choice between the works of Iqbal and the rulership of the Muslim state, I would prefer the former."
Second World War and Lahore Resolution
On 3 September 1939, British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain announced the commencement of war with Nazi Germany. The following day, the Viceroy, Lord Linlithgow, without consulting Indian political leaders, announced that India had entered the war along with Britain. There were widespread protests in India. After meeting with Jinnah and with Gandhi, Linlithgow announced that negotiations on self-government were suspended for the duration of the war. The Congress on 14 September demanded immediate independence with a constituent assembly to decide a constitution; when this was refused, its eight provincial governments resigned on 10 November and governors in those provinces thereafter ruled by decree for the remainder of the war. Jinnah, on the other hand, was more willing to accommodate the British, and they in turn increasingly recognised him and the League as the representatives of India's Muslims. Jinnah later stated, "after the war began, ... I was treated on the same basis as Mr Gandhi. I was wonderstruck why I was promoted and given a place side by side with Mr Gandhi." Although the League did not actively support the British war effort, neither did they try to obstruct it.
With the British and Muslims to some extent co-operating, the Viceroy asked Jinnah for an expression of the Muslim League's position on self-government, confident that it would differ greatly from that of the Congress. To come up with such a position, the League's Working Committee met for four days in February 1940 to set out terms of reference to a constitutional sub-committee. The Working Committee asked that the sub-committee return with a proposal that would result in "independent dominions in direct relationship with Great Britain" where Muslims were dominant. On 6 February, Jinnah informed the Viceroy that the Muslim League would be demanding partition instead of the federation contemplated in the 1935 Act. The Lahore Resolution (sometimes called the "Pakistan Resolution", although it does not contain that name), based on the sub-committee's work, embraced the Two-Nation Theory and called for a union of the Muslim-majority provinces in the northwest of British India, with complete autonomy. Similar rights were to be granted to the Muslim-majority areas in the east, and unspecified protections given to Muslim minorities in other provinces. The resolution was passed by the League session in Lahore on 23 March 1940.
Gandhi's reaction to the Lahore Resolution was muted; he called it "baffling", but told his disciples that Muslims, in common with other people of India, had the right to self-determination. Leaders of the Congress were more vocal; Jawaharlal Nehru referred to Lahore as "Jinnah's fantastic proposals" while Chakravarti Rajagopalachari deemed Jinnah's views on partition "a sign of a diseased mentality". Linlithgow met with Jinnah in June 1940, soon after Winston Churchill became the British prime minister, and in August offered both the Congress and the League a deal whereby in exchange for full support for the war, Linlithgow would allow Indian representation on his major war councils. The Viceroy promised a representative body after the war to determine India's future, and that no future settlement would be imposed over the objections of a large part of the population. This was satisfactory to neither the Congress nor the League, though Jinnah was pleased that the British had moved towards recognising Jinnah as the representative of the Muslim community's interests. Jinnah was reluctant to make specific proposals as to the boundaries of Pakistan, or its relationships with Britain and with the rest of the subcontinent, fearing that any precise plan would divide the League.
The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941 brought the United States into the war. In the following months, the Japanese advanced in Southeast Asia, and the British Cabinet sent a mission led by Sir Stafford Cripps to try to conciliate the Indians and cause them to fully back the war. Cripps proposed giving some provinces what was dubbed the "local option" to remain outside of an Indian central government either for a period of time or permanently, to become dominions on their own or be part of another confederation. The Muslim League was far from certain of winning the legislative votes that would be required for mixed provinces such as Bengal and Punjab to secede, and Jinnah rejected the proposals as not sufficiently recognising Pakistan's right to exist. The Congress also rejected the Cripps plan, demanding immediate concessions which Cripps was not prepared to give. Despite the rejection, Jinnah and the League saw the Cripps proposal as recognising Pakistan in principle.
The Congress followed the failed Cripps mission by demanding, in August 1942, that the British immediately "Quit India", proclaiming a mass campaign of satyagraha until they did. The British promptly arrested most major leaders of the Congress and imprisoned them for the remainder of the war. Gandhi, however, was placed on house arrest in one of the Aga Khan's palaces prior to his release for health reasons in 1944. With the Congress leaders absent from the political scene, Jinnah warned against the threat of Hindu domination and maintained his Pakistan demand without going into great detail about what that would entail. Jinnah also worked to increase the League's political control at the provincial level. He helped to found the newspaper Dawn in the early 1940s in Delhi; it helped to spread the League's message and eventually became the major English-language newspaper of Pakistan.
In September 1944, Jinnah hosted Gandhi, recently released from confinement, at his home on Malabar Hill in Bombay. Two weeks of talks between them followed, which resulted in no agreement. Jinnah insisted on Pakistan being conceded prior to the British departure and to come into being immediately, while Gandhi proposed that plebiscites on partition occur sometime after a united India gained its independence. In early 1945, Liaquat and the Congress leader Bhulabhai Desai met, with Jinnah's approval, and agreed that after the war, the Congress and the League should form an interim government with the members of the Executive Council of the Viceroy to be nominated by the Congress and the League in equal numbers. When the Congress leadership were released from prison in June 1945, they repudiated the agreement and censured Desai for acting without proper authority.
Postwar
Field Marshal Viscount Wavell succeeded Linlithgow as Viceroy in 1943. In June 1945, following the release of the Congress leaders, Wavell called for a conference, and invited the leading figures from the various communities to meet with him at Simla. He proposed a temporary government along the lines which Liaquat and Desai had agreed. However, Wavell was unwilling to guarantee that only the League's candidates would be placed in the seats reserved for Muslims. All other invited groups submitted lists of candidates to the Viceroy. Wavell cut the conference short in mid-July without further seeking an agreement; with a British general election imminent, Churchill's government did not feel it could proceed.
British voters returned Clement Attlee and his Labour Party to government later in July. Attlee and his Secretary of State for India, Lord Frederick Pethick-Lawrence, immediately ordered a review of the Indian situation. Jinnah had no comment on the change of government, but called a meeting of his Working Committee and issued a statement calling for new elections in India. The League held influence at the provincial level in the Muslim-majority states mostly by alliance, and Jinnah believed that, given the opportunity, the League would improve its electoral standing and lend added support to his claim to be the sole spokesman for the Muslims. Wavell returned to India in September after consultation with his new masters in London; elections, both for the centre and for the provinces, were announced soon after. The British indicated that formation of a constitution-making body would follow the votes.
The Muslim League declared that they would campaign on a single issue: Pakistan. Speaking in Ahmedabad, Jinnah echoed this, "Pakistan is a matter of life or death for us." In the December 1945 elections for the Constituent Assembly of India, the League won every seat reserved for Muslims. In the provincial elections in January 1946, the League took 75% of the Muslim vote, an increase from 4.4% in 1937. According to his biographer Bolitho, "This was Jinnah's glorious hour: his arduous political campaigns, his robust beliefs and claims, were at last justified." Wolpert wrote that the League election showing "appeared to prove the universal appeal of Pakistan among Muslims of the subcontinent". The Congress dominated the central assembly nevertheless, though it lost four seats from its previous strength.
In February 1946, the British Cabinet resolved to send a delegation to India to negotiate with leaders there. This Cabinet Mission included Cripps and Pethick-Lawrence. The highest-level delegation to try to break the deadlock, it arrived in New Delhi in late March. Little negotiation had been done since the previous October because of the elections in India. The British in May released a plan for a united Indian state comprising substantially autonomous provinces, and called for "groups" of provinces formed on the basis of religion. Matters such as defence, external relations and communications would be handled by a central authority. Provinces would have the option of leaving the union entirely, and there would be an interim government with representation from the Congress and the League. Jinnah and his Working Committee accepted this plan in June, but it fell apart over the question of how many members of the interim government the Congress and the League would have, and over the Congress's desire to include a Muslim member in its representation. Before leaving India, the British ministers stated that they intended to inaugurate an interim government even if one of the major groups was unwilling to participate.
The Congress soon joined the new Indian ministry. The League was slower to do so, not entering until October 1946. In agreeing to have the League join the government, Jinnah abandoned his demands for parity with the Congress and a veto on matters concerning Muslims. The new ministry met amid a backdrop of rioting, especially in Calcutta. The Congress wanted the Viceroy to immediately summon the constituent assembly and begin the work of writing a constitution and felt that the League ministers should either join in the request or resign from the government. Wavell attempted to save the situation by flying leaders such as Jinnah, Liaquat, and Jawaharlal Nehru to London in December 1946. At the end of the talks, participants issued a statement that the constitution would not be forced on any unwilling parts of India. On the way back from London, Jinnah and Liaquat stopped in Cairo for several days of pan-Islamic meetings.
The Congress endorsed the joint statement from the London conference over the angry dissent from some elements. The League refused to do so, and took no part in the constitutional discussions. Jinnah had been willing to consider some continued links to Hindustan (as the Hindu-majority state which would be formed on partition was sometimes referred to), such as a joint military or communications. However, by December 1946, he insisted on a fully sovereign Pakistan with dominion status.
Following the failure of the London trip, Jinnah was in no hurry to reach an agreement, considering that time would allow him to gain the undivided provinces of Bengal and Punjab for Pakistan, but these wealthy, populous provinces had sizeable non-Muslim minorities, complicating a settlement. The Attlee ministry desired a rapid British departure from the subcontinent, but had little confidence in Wavell to achieve that end. Beginning in December 1946, British officials began looking for a viceregal successor to Wavell, and soon fixed on Admiral Lord Mountbatten of Burma, a war leader popular among Conservatives as the great-grandson of Queen Victoria and among Labour for his political views.
Mountbatten and independence
On 20 February 1947, Attlee announced Mountbatten's appointment, and that Britain would transfer power in India not later than June 1948. Mountbatten took office as Viceroy on 24 March 1947, two days after his arrival in India. By then, the Congress had come around to the idea of partition. Nehru stated in 1960, "the truth is that we were tired men and we were getting on in years ... The plan for partition offered a way out and we took it." Leaders of the Congress decided that having loosely tied Muslim-majority provinces as part of a future India was not worth the loss of the powerful government at the centre which they desired. However, the Congress insisted that if Pakistan were to become independent, Bengal and Punjab would have to be divided.
Mountbatten had been warned in his briefing papers that Jinnah would be his "toughest customer" who had proved a chronic nuisance because "no one in this country [India] had so far gotten into Jinnah's mind". The men met over six days beginning on 5 April. The sessions began lightly when Jinnah, photographed between Louis and Edwina Mountbatten, quipped "A rose between two thorns" which the Viceroy took, perhaps gratuitously, as evidence that the Muslim leader had pre-planned his joke but had expected the vicereine to stand in the middle. Mountbatten was not favourably impressed with Jinnah, repeatedly expressing frustration to his staff about Jinnah's insistence on Pakistan in the face of all argument.
Jinnah feared that at the end of the British presence in the subcontinent, they would turn control over to the Congress-dominated constituent assembly, putting Muslims at a disadvantage in attempting to win autonomy. He demanded that Mountbatten divide the army prior to independence, which would take at least a year. Mountbatten had hoped that the post-independence arrangements would include a common defence force, but Jinnah saw it as essential that a sovereign state should have its own forces. Mountbatten met with Liaquat the day of his final session with Jinnah, and concluded, as he told Attlee and the Cabinet in May, that "it had become clear that the Muslim League would resort to arms if Pakistan in some form were not conceded." The Viceroy was also influenced by negative Muslim reaction to the constitutional report of the assembly, which envisioned broad powers for the post-independence central government.
On 2 June, the final plan was given by the Viceroy to Indian leaders: on 15 August, the British would turn over power to two dominions. The provinces would vote on whether to continue in the existing constituent assembly or to have a new one, that is, to join Pakistan. Bengal and Punjab would also vote, both on the question of which assembly to join, and on the partition. A boundary commission would determine the final lines in the partitioned provinces. Plebiscites would take place in the North-West Frontier Province (which did not have a League government despite an overwhelmingly Muslim population), and in the majority-Muslim Sylhet district of Assam, adjacent to eastern Bengal. On 3 June, Mountbatten, Nehru, Jinnah and Sikh leader Baldev Singh made the formal announcement by radio. Jinnah concluded his address with "Pakistan Zindabad " (Long live Pakistan), which was not in the script. In the weeks which followed Punjab and Bengal cast the votes which resulted in partition. Sylhet and the N.W.F.P. voted to cast their lots with Pakistan, a decision joined by the assemblies in Sind and Baluchistan.
On 4 July 1947, Liaquat asked Mountbatten on Jinnah's behalf to recommend to the British king, George VI, that Jinnah be appointed Pakistan's first governor-general. This request angered Mountbatten, who had hoped to have that position in both dominions—he would be India's first post-independence governor-general—but Jinnah felt that Mountbatten would be likely to favour the new Hindu-majority state because of his closeness to Nehru. In addition, the governor-general would initially be a powerful figure, and Jinnah did not trust anyone else to take that office. Although the Boundary Commission, led by British lawyer Sir Cyril Radcliffe, had not yet reported, there were already massive movements of populations between the nations-to-be, as well as sectarian violence. Jinnah arranged to sell his house in Bombay and procured a new one in Karachi. On 7 August, Jinnah, with his sister and close staff, flew from Delhi to Karachi in Mountbatten's plane, and as the plane taxied, he was heard to murmur, "That's the end of that." On 11 August, he presided over the new constituent assembly for Pakistan at Karachi, and addressed them, "You are free; you are free to go to your temples, you are free to go to your mosques or to any other place of worship in this State of Pakistan ... You may belong to any religion or caste or creed—that has nothing to do with the business of the State ... I think we should keep that in front of us as our ideal and you will find that in course of time Hindus would cease to be Hindus and Muslims would cease to be Muslims, not in the religious sense, because that is the personal faith of each individual, but in the political sense as citizens of the State." On 14 August, Pakistan became independent; Jinnah led the celebrations in Karachi. One observer wrote, "here indeed is Pakistan's King Emperor, Archbishop of Canterbury, Speaker and Prime Minister concentrated into one formidable Quaid-e-Azam."
Governor-General
The Radcliffe Commission, dividing Bengal and Punjab, completed its work and reported to Mountbatten on 12 August; the last Viceroy held the maps until the 17th, not wanting to spoil the independence celebrations in both nations. There had already been ethnically charged violence and movement of populations; publication of the Radcliffe Line dividing the new nations sparked mass migration, murder, and ethnic cleansing. Many on the "wrong side" of the lines fled or were murdered, or murdered others, hoping to make facts on the ground which would reverse the commission's verdict. Radcliffe wrote in his report that he knew that neither side would be happy with his award; he declined his fee for the work. Christopher Beaumont, Radcliffe's private secretary, later wrote that Mountbatten "must take the blame—though not the sole blame—for the massacres in the Punjab in which between 500,000 to a million men, women and children perished". As many as 14,500,000 people relocated between India and Pakistan during and after partition. Jinnah did what he could for the eight million people who migrated to Pakistan; although by now over 70 and frail from lung ailments, he travelled across West Pakistan and personally supervised the provision of aid. According to Ahmed, "What Pakistan needed desperately in those early months was a symbol of the state, one that would unify people and give them the courage and resolve to succeed."
Among the restive regions of the new nation was the North-West Frontier Province. The referendum there in July 1947 had been tainted by low turnout as less than 10 per cent of the population were allowed to vote. On 22 August 1947, just after a week of becoming governor general, Jinnah dissolved the elected government of Dr. Khan Abdul Jabbar Khan. Later on, Abdul Qayyum Khan was put in place by Jinnah in the Pashtun-dominated province despite him being a Kashmiri. On 12 August 1948 the Babrra massacre in Charsadda occurred resulting in the death of 400 people aligned with the Khudai Khidmatgar movement.
Along with Liaquat and Abdur Rab Nishtar, Jinnah represented Pakistan's interests in the Division Council to appropriately divide public assets between India and Pakistan. Pakistan was supposed to receive one-sixth of the pre-independence government's assets, carefully divided by agreement, even specifying how many sheets of paper each side would receive. The new Indian state, however, was slow to deliver, hoping for the collapse of the nascent Pakistani government, and reunion. Few members of the Indian Civil Service and the Indian Police Service had chosen Pakistan, resulting in staff shortages. Partition meant that for some farmers, the markets to sell their crops were on the other side of an international border. There were shortages of machinery, not all of which was made in Pakistan. In addition to the massive refugee problem, the new government sought to save abandoned crops, establish security in a chaotic situation, and provide basic services. According to economist Yasmeen Niaz Mohiuddin in her study of Pakistan, "although Pakistan was born in bloodshed and turmoil, it survived in the initial and difficult months after partition only because of the tremendous sacrifices made by its people and the selfless efforts of its great leader."
The Indian Princely States were advised by the departing British to choose whether to join Pakistan or India. Most did so prior to independence, but the holdouts contributed to what have become lasting divisions between the two nations. Indian leaders were angered at Jinnah's attempts to convince the princes of Jodhpur, Udaipur, Bhopal and Indore to accede to Pakistan—the latter three princely states did not border Pakistan. Jodhpur bordered it and had both a Hindu majority population and a Hindu ruler. The coastal princely state of Junagadh, which had a majority-Hindu population, did accede to Pakistan in September 1947, with its ruler's dewan, Sir Shah Nawaz Bhutto, personally delivering the accession papers to Jinnah. But the two states that were subject to the suzerainty of Junagadh—Mangrol and Babariawad—declared their independence from Junagadh and acceded to India. In response, the nawab of Junagadh militarily occupied the two states. Subsequently, the Indian army occupied the principality in November, forcing its former leaders, including Bhutto, to flee to Pakistan, beginning the politically powerful Bhutto family.
The most contentious of the disputes was, and continues to be, that over the princely state of Kashmir. It had a Muslim-majority population and a Hindu maharaja, Sir Hari Singh, who stalled his decision on which nation to join. With the population in revolt in October 1947, aided by Pakistani irregulars, the maharaja acceded to India; Indian troops were airlifted in. Jinnah objected to this action, and ordered that Pakistani troops move into Kashmir. The Pakistani Army was still commanded by British officers, and the commanding officer, General Sir Douglas Gracey, refused the order, stating that he would not move into what he considered the territory of another nation without approval from higher authority, which was not forthcoming. Jinnah withdrew the order. This did not stop the violence there, which broke into Indo-Pakistani War of 1947.
Some historians allege that Jinnah's courting the rulers of Hindu-majority states and his gambit with Junagadh are evidence of ill-intent towards India, as Jinnah had promoted separation by religion, yet tried to gain the accession of Hindu-majority states. In his book Patel: A Life, Rajmohan Gandhi asserts that Jinnah hoped for a plebiscite in Junagadh, knowing Pakistan would lose, in the hope the principle would be established for Kashmir. However, when Mountbatten proposed to Jinnah that, in all the princely States where the ruler did not accede to a Dominion corresponding to the majority population (which would have included Junagadh, Hyderabad and Kashmir), the accession should be decided by an 'impartial reference to the will of the people', Jinnah rejected the offer.
Despite the United Nations Security Council Resolution 47, issued at India's request for a plebiscite in Kashmir after the withdrawal of Pakistani forces, this has never occurred.
In January 1948, the Indian government finally agreed to pay Pakistan its share of British India's assets. They were impelled by Gandhi, who threatened a fast until death. Only days later, on 30 January, Gandhi was assassinated by Nathuram Godse, a Hindu nationalist, who believed that Gandhi was pro-Muslim. After hearing about Gandhi's murder on the following day, Jinnah publicly made a brief statement of condolence, calling Gandhi "one of the greatest men produced by the Hindu community".
In February 1948, in a radio talk broadcast addressed to the people of the US, Jinnah expressed his views regarding Pakistan's constitution to be in the following way:
In March, Jinnah, despite his declining health, made his only post-independence visit to East Pakistan. In a speech before a crowd estimated at 300,000, Jinnah stated (in English) that Urdu alone should be the national language, believing a single language was needed for a nation to remain united. The Bengali-speaking people of East Pakistan strongly opposed this policy, and in 1971 the official language issue was a factor in the region's secession to form the country of Bangladesh.
Illness and death
From the 1930s, Jinnah suffered from tuberculosis; only his sister and a few others close to him were aware of his condition. Jinnah believed public knowledge of his lung ailments would hurt him politically. In a 1938 letter, he wrote to a supporter that "you must have read in the papers how during my tours ... I suffered, which was not because there was anything wrong with me, but the irregularities [of the schedule] and over-strain told upon my health". Many years later, Mountbatten stated that if he had known Jinnah was so physically ill, he would have stalled, hoping Jinnah's death would avert partition. Fatima Jinnah later wrote, "even in his hour of triumph, the Quaid-e-Azam was gravely ill ... He worked in a frenzy to consolidate Pakistan. And, of course, he totally neglected his health ..." Jinnah worked with a tin of Craven "A" cigarettes at his desk, of which he had smoked 50 or more a day for the previous 30 years, as well as a box of Cuban cigars. As his health got worse, he took longer and longer rest breaks in the private wing of Government House in Karachi, where only he, Fatima and the servants were allowed.
In June 1948, he and Fatima flew to Quetta, in the mountains of Balochistan, where the weather was cooler than in Karachi. He could not completely rest there, addressing the officers at the Command and Staff College saying, "you, along with the other Forces of Pakistan, are the custodians of the life, property and honour of the people of Pakistan." He returned to Karachi for the 1 July opening ceremony for the State Bank of Pakistan, at which he spoke. A reception by the Canadian trade commissioner that evening in honour of Dominion Day was the last public event he attended.
On 6 July 1948, Jinnah returned to Quetta, but at the advice of doctors, soon journeyed to an even higher retreat at Ziarat. Jinnah had always been reluctant to undergo medical treatment but realising his condition was getting worse, the Pakistani government sent the best doctors it could find to treat him. Tests confirmed tuberculosis, and also showed evidence of advanced lung cancer. He was treated with the new "miracle drug" of streptomycin, but it did not help. Jinnah's condition continued to deteriorate despite the Eid prayers of his people. He was moved to the lower altitude of Quetta on 13 August, the eve of Independence Day, for which a ghost-written statement for him was released. Despite an increase in appetite (he then weighed just over ), it was clear to his doctors that if he was to return to Karachi in life, he would have to do so very soon. Jinnah, however, was reluctant to go, not wishing his aides to see him as an invalid on a stretcher.
By 9 September, Jinnah had also developed pneumonia. Doctors urged him to return to Karachi, where he could receive better care, and with his agreement, he was flown there on the morning of 11 September. Dr Ilahi Bux, his personal physician, believed that Jinnah's change of mind was caused by foreknowledge of death. The plane landed at Karachi that afternoon, to be met by Jinnah's limousine, and an ambulance into which Jinnah's stretcher was placed. The ambulance broke down on the road into town, and the Governor-General and those with him waited for another to arrive; he could not be placed in the car as he could not sit up. They waited by the roadside in oppressive heat as trucks and buses passed by, unsuitable for transporting the dying man and with their occupants not knowing of Jinnah's presence. After an hour, the replacement ambulance came, and transported Jinnah to Government House, arriving there over two hours after the landing. Jinnah died later that night at 10:20 pm at his home in Karachi on 11 September 1948 at the age of 71, just over a year after Pakistan's creation.
Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru stated upon Jinnah's death, "How shall we judge him? I have been very angry with him often during the past years. But now there is no bitterness in my thought of him, only a great sadness for all that has been ... he succeeded in his quest and gained his objective, but at what a cost and with what a difference from what he had imagined." Jinnah was buried on 12 September 1948 amid official mourning in both India and Pakistan; a million people gathered for his funeral led by Shabbir Ahmad Usmani. Indian Governor-General Rajagopalachari cancelled an official reception that day in honour of the late leader. Today, Jinnah rests in a large marble mausoleum, Mazar-e-Quaid, in Karachi.
Aftermath
In the 1965 presidential election, Fatima Jinnah, by then known as Madar-e-Millat ("Mother of the Nation"), became the presidential candidate of a coalition of political parties that opposed the rule of President Ayub Khan, but was not successful.
The Jinnah House in Malabar Hill, Bombay, is in the possession of the Government of India, but the issue of its ownership has been disputed by the Government of Pakistan. Jinnah had personally requested Prime Minister Nehru to preserve the house, hoping one day he could return to Bombay. There are proposals for the house to be offered to the government of Pakistan to establish a consulate in the city as a goodwill gesture, but Dina Wadia had also staked a claim on the property.
After Jinnah died, his sister Fatima asked the court to execute Jinnah's will under Shia Islamic law. This subsequently became part of the argument in Pakistan about Jinnah's religious affiliation. Vali Nasr says Jinnah "was an Ismaili by birth and a Twelver Shia by confession, though not a religiously observant man." In a 1970 legal challenge, Hussain Ali Ganji Walji claimed Jinnah had converted to Sunni Islam. Witness Syed Sharifuddin Pirzada stated in court that Jinnah converted to Sunni Islam in 1901 when his sisters married Sunnis. In 1970, Liaquat Ali Khan and Fatima Jinnah's joint affidavit that Jinnah was Shia was rejected. But in 1976 the court rejected Walji's claim that Jinnah was Sunni; effectively accepting him as a Shia. In 1984 a high court bench reversed the 1976 verdict and maintained that "the Quaid was definitely not a Shia", which suggested that Jinnah was Sunni. According to the journalist Khaled Ahmed, Jinnah publicly had a non-sectarian stance and "was at pains to gather the Muslims of India under the banner of a general Muslim faith and not under a divisive sectarian identity." Liaquat H. Merchant, Jinnah's grandnephew, writes that "the Quaid was not a Shia; he was also not a Sunni, he was simply a Muslim". An eminent lawyer who practised in the Bombay High Court until 1940 testified that Jinnah used to pray as an orthodox Sunni. According to Akbar Ahmed, Jinnah became a firm Sunni Muslim by the end of his life.
Beliefs and personal life
Jinnah admired Kemal Ataturk, and it is reported that he talked of nothing but Ataturk to his daughter Dina, who was 13 at that time, for many days.
Jinnah professed to be a Muslim. Despite this, he is reported to have claimed to have "never visited a mosque" and being ignorant of customary mosque behaviour, as well as eating pork and drinking alcohol which is contrary to a halal diet and considered haram.
Legacy
Jinnah's legacy is Pakistan. According to Mohiuddin, "He was and continues to be as highly honored in Pakistan as [first US president] George Washington is in the United States ... Pakistan owes its very existence to his drive, tenacity, and judgment ... Jinnah's importance in the creation of Pakistan was monumental and immeasurable." Stanley Wolpert, giving a speech in honour of Jinnah in 1998, deemed him Pakistan's greatest leader.
According to Jaswant Singh, "With Jinnah's death Pakistan lost its moorings. In India there will not easily arrive another Gandhi, nor in Pakistan another Jinnah." Malik writes, "As long as Jinnah was alive, he could persuade and even pressure regional leaders toward greater mutual accommodation, but after his death, the lack of consensus on the distribution of political power and economic resources often turned controversial." According to Mohiuddin, "Jinnah's death deprived Pakistan of a leader who could have enhanced stability and democratic governance ... The rocky road to democracy in Pakistan and the relatively smooth one in India can in some measure be ascribed to Pakistan's tragedy of losing an incorruptible and highly revered leader so soon after independence."
His birthday is observed as a national holiday, Quaid-e-Azam Day, in Pakistan. Jinnah earned the title Quaid-e-Azam (meaning "Great Leader"). His other title is Baba-i-Qaum (Father of the Nation). The former title was reportedly given to Jinnah at first by Mian Ferozuddin Ahmed. It became an official title by effect of a resolution passed on 11 August 1947 by Liaquat Ali Khan in the Pakistan Constituent Assembly. There are some sources which endorse that Gandhi gave him that title. Within a few days of Pakistan's creation Jinnah's name was read in the khutba at mosques as Amir-ul-Millat, a traditional title of Muslim rulers.
The civil awards of Pakistan includes an 'Order of Quaid-i-Azam'. The Jinnah Society also confers the 'Jinnah Award' annually to a person that renders outstanding and meritorious services to Pakistan and its people. Jinnah is depicted on all Pakistani rupee currency, and is the namesake of many Pakistani public institutions. The former Quaid-i-Azam International Airport in Karachi, now called the Jinnah International Airport, is Pakistan's busiest. One of the largest streets in the Turkish capital Ankara, Cinnah Caddesi, is named after him, as is the Mohammad Ali Jenah Expressway in Tehran, Iran. The royalist government of Iran also released a stamp commemorating the centennial of Jinnah's birth in 1976. In Chicago, a portion of Devon Avenue was named "Mohammed Ali Jinnah Way". A section of Coney Island Avenue in Brooklyn, New York was also named 'Muhammad Ali Jinnah Way' in honour of the founder of Pakistan. The Mazar-e-Quaid, Jinnah's mausoleum, is among Karachi's landmarks. The "Jinnah Tower" in Guntur, Andhra Pradesh, India, was built to commemorate Jinnah.
There is a considerable amount of scholarship on Jinnah which stems from Pakistan; according to Akbar S. Ahmed, it is not widely read outside the country and usually avoids even the slightest criticism of Jinnah. According to Ahmed, some books published about Jinnah outside Pakistan mention that he consumed alcohol, but this is omitted from books published inside Pakistan. Ahmed suggests that depicting the Quaid drinking would weaken Jinnah's Islamic identity, and by extension, Pakistan's. Some sources allege he gave up alcohol near the end of his life. Yahya Bakhtiar, who observed Jinnah at close quarters, concluded that Jinnah was a "very sincere, deeply committed and dedicated Mussalman."
According to historian Ayesha Jalal, while there is a tendency towards hagiography in the Pakistani view of Jinnah, in India he is viewed negatively. Ahmed deems Jinnah "the most maligned person in recent Indian history ... In India, many see him as the demon who divided the land." Even many Indian Muslims see Jinnah negatively, blaming him for their woes as a minority in that state. Some historians such as Jalal and H. M. Seervai assert that Jinnah never wanted the partition of India—it was the outcome of the Congress leaders being unwilling to share power with the Muslim League. They contend that Jinnah only used the Pakistan demand in an attempt to mobilise support to obtain significant political rights for Muslims. Francis Mudie, the last British Governor of Sindh, in Jinnah's honour once said:
In judging Jinnah, we must remember what he was up against. He had against him not only the wealth and brains of the Hindus, but also nearly the whole of British officialdom, and most of the Home politicians, who made the great mistake of refusing to take Pakistan seriously. Never was his position really examined.
Jinnah has gained the admiration of Indian nationalist politicians such as Lal Krishna Advani, whose comments praising Jinnah caused an uproar in his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Indian politician Jaswant Singh's book Jinnah: India, Partition, Independence (2009) caused controversy in India. The book was based on Jinnah's ideology and alleged that Nehru's desire for a powerful centre led to Partition. Upon the book release, Singh was expelled from his membership of Bharatiya Janata Party, to which he responded that BJP is "narrow-minded" and has "limited thoughts".
Jinnah was the central figure of the 1998 film Jinnah, which was based on Jinnah's life and his struggle for the creation of Pakistan. Christopher Lee, who portrayed Jinnah, called his performance the best of his career. The 1954 Hector Bolitho's book Jinnah: Creator of Pakistan prompted Fatima Jinnah to release a book, titled My Brother (1987), as she thought that Bolitho's book had failed to express the political aspects of Jinnah. The book received positive reception in Pakistan. Jinnah of Pakistan (1984) by Stanley Wolpert is regarded as one of the best biographical books on Jinnah.
The view of Jinnah in the West has been shaped to some extent by his portrayal in Sir Richard Attenborough's 1982 film, Gandhi. The film was dedicated to Nehru and Mountbatten and was given considerable support by Nehru's daughter, the Indian prime minister, Indira Gandhi. It portrays Jinnah (played by Alyque Padamsee) in an unflattering light, who seems to act out of jealousy of Gandhi. Padamsee later stated that his portrayal was not historically accurate. In a journal article on Pakistan's first governor-general, historian R. J. Moore wrote that Jinnah is universally recognised as central to the creation of Pakistan. Stanley Wolpert summarises the profound effect that Jinnah had on the world:
See also
List of peace activists
List of civil rights leaders
Notes
Citations
References
Bibliography
Further reading
Journals and other media
External links
Mohammad Ali Jinnah Official Page
Correspondence with the Muslim League – 1946 – UK Parliament Living Heritage
Quotes from the Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah
Mohammad Ali Jinnah Biography
Government of Pakistan Website
Address to the First Constituent Assembly of Pakistan on 11 August 1947
1876 births
1948 deaths
Pakistani Muslims
Converts to Sunni Islam from Shia Islam
Pakistani former Shia Muslims
Pakistani Sunni Muslims
20th-century deaths from tuberculosis
All India Muslim League members
Alumni of the Inns of Court School of Law
Cathedral and John Connon School alumni
Church Mission School alumni
Governors-General of Pakistan
Indian National Congress politicians
Indian newspaper founders
Muhammad Ali
Lawyers from Karachi
Members of Central Legislative Assembly of India
Members of Lincoln's Inn
Members of the Fabian Society
Members of the Imperial Legislative Council of India
Members of the Pakistan Philosophical Congress
National symbols of Pakistan
Pakistani barristers
Pakistani expatriates in England
Pakistani MNAs 1947–1954
Pakistani newspaper founders
Pakistani people of Gujarati descent
Partition of India
Presidents of Pakistan
Politicians from Karachi
Sindh Madressatul Islam University alumni
Tuberculosis deaths in Pakistan
University of Mumbai alumni
Infectious disease deaths in Sindh | true | [
"What Happened may refer to:\n\n What Happened (Clinton book), 2017 book by Hillary Clinton\n What Happened (McClellan book), 2008 autobiography by Scott McClellan\n \"What Happened\", a song by Sublime from the album 40oz. to Freedom\n \"What Happened\", an episode of One Day at a Time (2017 TV series)\n\nSee also\nWhat's Happening (disambiguation)",
"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"
] |
[
"Muhammad Ali Jinnah",
"Background to independence",
"what was the background to independence?",
"Until the late 1930s, most Muslims of the British Raj expected, upon independence, to be part of a unitary state encompassing all of British India,",
"was that what happened?",
"In a speech given at Allahabad to a League session in 1930, Sir Muhammad Iqbal called for a state for Muslims in British India.",
"what happened from this?",
"Choudhary Rahmat Ali published a pamphlet in 1933 advocating a state \"Pakistan\""
] | C_670c31028fec474ba4b03bb9172df90c_0 | what was the reception of the pamphlet? | 4 | How was the pamphlet received? | Muhammad Ali Jinnah | Until the late 1930s, most Muslims of the British Raj expected, upon independence, to be part of a unitary state encompassing all of British India, as did the Hindus and others who advocated self-government. Despite this, other nationalist proposals were being made. In a speech given at Allahabad to a League session in 1930, Sir Muhammad Iqbal called for a state for Muslims in British India. Choudhary Rahmat Ali published a pamphlet in 1933 advocating a state "Pakistan" in the Indus Valley, with other names given to Muslim-majority areas elsewhere in India. Jinnah and Iqbal corresponded in 1936 and 1937; in subsequent years, Jinnah credited Iqbal as his mentor, and used Iqbal's imagery and rhetoric in his speeches. Although many leaders of the Congress sought a strong central government for an Indian state, some Muslim politicians, including Jinnah, were unwilling to accept this without powerful protections for their community. Other Muslims supported the Congress, which officially advocated a secular state upon independence, though the traditionalist wing (including politicians such as Madan Mohan Malaviya and Vallabhbhai Patel) believed that an independent India should enact laws such as banning the killing of cows and making Hindi a national language. The failure of the Congress leadership to disavow Hindu communalists worried Congress-supporting Muslims. Nevertheless, the Congress enjoyed considerable Muslim support up to about 1937. Events which separated the communities included the failed attempt to form a coalition government including the Congress and the League in the United Provinces following the 1937 election. According to historian Ian Talbot, "The provincial Congress governments made no effort to understand and respect their Muslim populations' cultural and religious sensibilities. The Muslim League's claims that it alone could safeguard Muslim interests thus received a major boost. Significantly it was only after this period of Congress rule that it [the League] took up the demand for a Pakistan state ..." Balraj Puri in his journal article about Jinnah suggests that the Muslim League president, after the 1937 vote, turned to the idea of partition in "sheer desperation". Historian Akbar S. Ahmed suggests that Jinnah abandoned hope of reconciliation with the Congress as he "rediscover[ed] his own Islamic roots, his own sense of identity, of culture and history, which would come increasingly to the fore in the final years of his life". Jinnah also increasingly adopted Muslim dress in the late 1930s. In the wake of the 1937 balloting, Jinnah demanded that the question of power sharing be settled on an all-India basis, and that he, as president of the League, be accepted as the sole spokesman for the Muslim community. CANNOTANSWER | Although many leaders of the Congress sought a strong central government for an Indian state, some Muslim politicians, including Jinnah, were unwilling to accept this | Muhammad Ali Jinnah (born Mahomedali Jinnahbhai; 25 December 1876 – 11 September 1948) was a barrister, politician and the founder of Pakistan. Jinnah served as the leader of the All-India Muslim League from 1913 until the inception of Pakistan on 14 August 1947, and then as the Dominion of Pakistan's first governor-general until his death. He is revered in Pakistan as the Quaid-i-Azam ("Great Leader") and Baba-i-Qaum ("Father of the Nation"). His birthday is observed as a national holiday in Pakistan.
Born at Wazir Mansion in Karachi, Jinnah was trained as a barrister at Lincoln's Inn in London, England. Upon his return to British India, he enrolled at the Bombay High Court, and took an interest in national politics, which eventually replaced his legal practice. Jinnah rose to prominence in the Indian National Congress in the first two decades of the 20th century. In these early years of his political career, Jinnah advocated Hindu–Muslim unity, helping to shape the 1916 Lucknow Pact between the Congress and the All-India Muslim League, in which Jinnah had also become prominent. Jinnah became a key leader in the All-India Home Rule League, and proposed a fourteen-point constitutional reform plan to safeguard the political rights of Muslims in the Indian subcontinent. In 1920, however, Jinnah resigned from the Congress when it agreed to follow a campaign of satyagraha, which he regarded as political anarchy.
By 1940, Jinnah had come to believe that the Muslims of the subcontinent should have their own state to avoid the possible marginalised status they may gain in an independent Hindu–Muslim state. In that year, the Muslim League, led by Jinnah, passed the Lahore Resolution, demanding a separate nation for British Indian Muslims. During the Second World War, the League gained strength while leaders of the Congress were imprisoned, and in the provincial elections held shortly after the war, it won most of the seats reserved for Muslims. Ultimately, the Congress and the Muslim League could not reach a power-sharing formula that would allow the entirety of British India to be united as a single state following independence, leading all parties to agree instead to the independence of a predominantly Hindu India, and for a Muslim-majority state of Pakistan.
As the first Governor-General of Pakistan, Jinnah worked to establish the new nation's government and policies, and to aid the millions of Muslim migrants who had emigrated from neighbouring India to Pakistan after the two states' independence, personally supervising the establishment of refugee camps. Jinnah died at age 71 in September 1948, just over a year after Pakistan gained independence from the United Kingdom. He left a deep and respected legacy in Pakistan. Innumerable streets, roads and localities in the world are named after Jinnah. Several universities and public buildings in Pakistan bear Jinnah's name. According to his biographer, Stanley Wolpert, Jinnah remains Pakistan's greatest leader.
Early years
Family and childhood
Jinnah's given name at birth was Mahomedali Jinnahbhai, and he likely was born in 1876, to Jinnahbhai Poonja and his wife Mithibai, in a rented apartment on the second floor of Wazir Mansion near Karachi, now in Sindh, Pakistan but then within the Bombay Presidency of British India. Jinnah's family was from a Gujarati Khoja Shi’a Muslim background, though Jinnah later followed the Twelver Shi'a teachings. After his death, his relatives and other witnesses claimed that he had converted in later life to the Sunni sect of Islam. His sectarian affiliation at the time of his death was disputed in multiple court cases. Jinnah was from a wealthy merchant background, his father was a merchant and was born to a family of textile weavers in the village of Paneli in the princely state of Gondal (Kathiawar, Gujarat); his mother was also of that village. They had moved to Karachi in 1875, having married before their departure. Karachi was then enjoying an economic boom: the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 meant it was 200 nautical miles closer to Europe for shipping than Bombay. Jinnah was the second child; he had three brothers and three sisters, including his younger sister Fatima Jinnah. The parents were native Gujarati speakers, and the children also came to speak Kutchi and English. Jinnah was not fluent in Gujarati, his mother-tongue, nor in Urdu; he was more fluent in English. Except for Fatima, little is known of his siblings, where they settled or if they met with their brother as he advanced in his legal and political careers.
As a boy, Jinnah lived for a time in Bombay with an aunt and may have attended the Gokal Das Tej Primary School there, later on studying at the Cathedral and John Connon School. In Karachi, he attended the Sindh-Madrasa-tul-Islam and the Christian Missionary Society High School. He gained his matriculation from Bombay University at the high school. In his later years and especially after his death, a large number of stories about the boyhood of Pakistan's founder were circulated: that he spent all his spare time at the police court, listening to the proceedings, and that he studied his books by the glow of street lights for lack of other illumination. His official biographer, Hector Bolitho, writing in 1954, interviewed surviving boyhood associates, and obtained a tale that the young Jinnah discouraged other children from playing marbles in the dust, urging them to rise up, keep their hands and clothes clean, and play cricket instead.
Education in England
In 1892, Sir Frederick Leigh Croft, a business associate of Jinnahbhai Poonja, offered young Jinnah a London apprenticeship with his firm, Graham's Shipping and Trading Company. He accepted the position despite the opposition of his mother, who before he left, had him enter an arranged marriage with his cousin, two years his junior from the ancestral village of Paneli, Emibai Jinnah. Jinnah's mother and first wife both died during his absence in England. Although the apprenticeship in London was considered a great opportunity for Jinnah, one reason for sending him overseas was a legal proceeding against his father, which placed the family's property at risk of being sequestered by the court. In 1893, the Jinnahbhai family moved to Bombay.
Soon after his arrival in London, Jinnah gave up the business apprenticeship in order to study law, enraging his father, who had, before his departure, given him enough money to live for three years. The aspiring barrister joined Lincoln's Inn, later stating that the reason he chose Lincoln's over the other Inns of Court was that over the main entrance to Lincoln's Inn were the names of the world's great lawgivers, including Muhammad. Jinnah's biographer Stanley Wolpert notes that there is no such inscription, but inside (covering the wall at one end of New Hall, also called the Great Hall, which is where students, Bar and Bench lunch and dine) is a mural showing Muhammad and other lawgivers, and speculates that Jinnah may have edited the story in his own mind to avoid mentioning a pictorial depiction which would be offensive to many Muslims. Jinnah's legal education followed the pupillage (legal apprenticeship) system, which had been in force there for centuries. To gain knowledge of the law, he followed an established barrister and learned from what he did, as well as from studying lawbooks. During this period, he shortened his name to Muhammad Ali Jinnah.
During his student years in England, Jinnah was influenced by 19th-century British liberalism, like many other future Indian independence leaders. His main intellectual references were peoples like Bentham, Mill, Spencer, and Comte. This political education included exposure to the idea of the democratic nation, and progressive politics. He became an admirer of the Parsi British Indian political leaders Dadabhai Naoroji and Sir Pherozeshah Mehta. Naoroji had become the first British Member of Parliament of Indian extraction shortly before Jinnah's arrival, triumphing with a majority of three votes in Finsbury Central. Jinnah listened to Naoroji's maiden speech in the House of Commons from the visitor's gallery.
The Western world not only inspired Jinnah in his political life, but also greatly influenced his personal preferences, particularly when it came to dress. Jinnah abandoned local garb for Western-style clothing, and throughout his life he was always impeccably dressed in public. His suits were designed by Savile Row tailor Henry Poole & Co. He came to own over 200 suits, which he wore with heavily starched shirts with detachable collars, and as a barrister took pride in never wearing the same silk tie twice. Even when he was dying, he insisted on being formally dressed, "I will not travel in my pyjamas." In his later years he was usually seen wearing a Karakul hat which subsequently came to be known as the "Jinnah cap".
Dissatisfied with the law, Jinnah briefly embarked on a stage career with a Shakespearean company, but resigned after receiving a stern letter from his father. In 1895, at age 19, he became the youngest British Indian to be called to the bar in England. Although he returned to Karachi, he remained there only a short time before moving to Bombay.
Legal and early political career
Barrister
At the age of 20, Jinnah began his practice in Bombay, the only Muslim barrister in the city. English had become his principal language and would remain so throughout his life. His first three years in the law, from 1897 to 1900, brought him few briefs. His first step towards a brighter career occurred when the acting Advocate General of Bombay, John Molesworth MacPherson, invited Jinnah to work from his chambers. In 1900, P. H. Dastoor, a Bombay presidency magistrate, left the post temporarily and Jinnah succeeded in getting the interim position. After his six-month appointment period, Jinnah was offered a permanent position on a 1,500 rupee per month salary. Jinnah politely declined the offer, stating that he planned to earn 1,500 rupees a day—a huge sum at that time—which he eventually did. Nevertheless, as Governor-General of Pakistan, he would refuse to accept a large salary, fixing it at 1 rupee per month.
As a lawyer, Jinnah gained fame for his skilled handling of the 1908 "Caucus Case". This controversy arose out of Bombay municipal elections, which Indians alleged were rigged by a "caucus" of Europeans to keep Sir Pherozeshah Mehta out of the council. Jinnah gained great esteem from leading the case for Sir Pherozeshah, himself a noted barrister. Although Jinnah did not win the Caucus Case, he posted a successful record, becoming well known for his advocacy and legal logic. In 1908, his factional foe in the Indian National Congress, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, was arrested for sedition. Before Tilak unsuccessfully represented himself at trial, he engaged Jinnah in an attempt to secure his release on bail. Jinnah did not succeed, but obtained an acquittal for Tilak when he was charged with sedition again in 1916.
One of Jinnah's fellow barristers from the Bombay High Court remembered that "Jinnah's faith in himself was incredible"; he recalled that on being admonished by a judge with "Mr. Jinnah, remember that you are not addressing a third-class magistrate", Jinnah shot back, "My Lord, allow me to warn you that you are not addressing a third-class pleader." Another of his fellow barristers described him, saying:
Trade unionist
Jinnah was also a supporter of working class causes and an active trade unionist. He was elected President of All India Postal Staff Union in 1925 whose membership was 70,000. According to All Pakistan Labour Federation's publication Productive Role of Trade Unions and Industrial Relations, being a member of Legislative Assembly, Jinnah pleaded forcefully for rights of workers and struggled for getting a "living wage and fair conditions" for them. He also played an important role in enactment of Trade Union act of 1926 which gave trade union movement legal cover to organise themselves.
Rising leader
In 1857, many Indians had risen in revolt against British rule. In the aftermath of the conflict, some Anglo-Indians, as well as Indians in Britain, called for greater self-government for the subcontinent, resulting in the founding of the Indian National Congress in 1885. Most founding members had been educated in Britain, and were content with the minimal reform efforts being made by the government. Muslims were not enthusiastic about calls for democratic institutions in British India, as they constituted a quarter to a third of the population, outnumbered by the Hindus. Early meetings of the Congress contained a minority of Muslims, mostly from the elite.
Jinnah devoted much of his time to his law practice in the early 1900s, but remained politically involved. Jinnah began political life by attending the Congress's twentieth annual meeting, in Bombay in December 1904. He was a member of the moderate group in the Congress, favouring Hindu–Muslim unity in achieving self-government, and following such leaders as Mehta, Naoroji, and Gopal Krishna Gokhale. They were opposed by leaders such as Tilak and Lala Lajpat Rai, who sought quick action towards independence. In 1906, a delegation of Muslim leaders, known as the Simla Delegation, headed by the Aga Khan called on the new Viceroy of India, Lord Minto, to assure him of their loyalty and to ask for assurances that in any political reforms they would be protected from the "unsympathetic [Hindu] majority". Dissatisfied with this, Jinnah wrote a letter to the editor of the newspaper Gujarati, asking what right the members of the delegation had to speak for Indian Muslims, as they were unelected and self-appointed. When many of the same leaders met in Dacca in December of that year to form the All-India Muslim League to advocate for their community's interests, Jinnah was again opposed. The Aga Khan later wrote that it was "freakishly ironic" that Jinnah, who would lead the League to independence, "came out in bitter hostility toward all that I and my friends had done ... He said that our principle of separate electorates was dividing the nation against itself." In its earliest years, however, the League was not influential; Minto refused to consider it as the Muslim community's representative, and it was ineffective in preventing the 1911 repeal of the partition of Bengal, an action seen as a blow to Muslim interests.
Although Jinnah initially opposed separate electorates for Muslims, he used this means to gain his first elective office in 1909, as Bombay's Muslim representative on the Imperial Legislative Council. He was a compromise candidate when two older, better-known Muslims who were seeking the post deadlocked. The council, which had been expanded to 60 members as part of reforms enacted by Minto, recommended legislation to the Viceroy. Only officials could vote in the council; non-official members, such as Jinnah, had no vote. Throughout his legal career, Jinnah practised probate law (with many clients from India's nobility), and in 1911 introduced the Wakf Validation Act to place Muslim religious trusts on a sound legal footing under British Indian law. Two years later, the measure passed, the first act sponsored by non-officials to pass the council and be enacted by the Viceroy. Jinnah was also appointed to a committee which helped to establish the Indian Military Academy in Dehra Dun.
In December 1912, Jinnah addressed the annual meeting of the Muslim League although he was not yet a member. He joined the following year, although he remained a member of the Congress as well and stressed that League membership took second priority to the "greater national cause" of an independent India. In April 1913, he again went to Britain, with Gokhale, to meet with officials on behalf of the Congress. Gokhale, a Hindu, later stated that Jinnah "has true stuff in him, and that freedom from all sectarian prejudice which will make him the best ambassador of Hindu–Muslim Unity". Jinnah led another delegation of the Congress to London in 1914, but due to the start of the First World War in August 1914, found officials little interested in Indian reforms. By coincidence, he was in Britain at the same time as a man who would become a great political rival of his, Mohandas Gandhi, a Hindu lawyer who had become well known for advocating satyagraha, non-violent non-co-operation, while in South Africa. Jinnah attended a reception for Gandhi where the two men met and talked with each other for the first time. Shortly afterwords, Jinnah returned home to India in January 1915.
Farewell to Congress
Jinnah's moderate faction in the Congress was undermined by the deaths of Mehta and Gokhale in 1915; he was further isolated by the fact that Naoroji was in London, where he remained until his death in 1917. Nevertheless, Jinnah worked to bring the Congress and League together. In 1916, with Jinnah now president of the Muslim League, the two organisations signed the Lucknow Pact, setting quotas for Muslim and Hindu representation in the various provinces. Although the pact was never fully implemented, its signing ushered in a period of co-operation between the Congress and the League.
During the war, Jinnah joined other Indian moderates in supporting the British war effort, hoping that Indians would be rewarded with political freedoms. Jinnah played an important role in the founding of the All India Home Rule League in 1916. Along with political leaders Annie Besant and Tilak, Jinnah demanded "home rule" for India—the status of a self-governing dominion in the Empire similar to Canada, New Zealand and Australia, although, with the war, Britain's politicians were not interested in considering Indian constitutional reform. British Cabinet minister Edwin Montagu recalled Jinnah in his memoirs, "young, perfectly mannered, impressive-looking, armed to the teeth with dialectics, and insistent on the whole of his scheme".
In 1918, Jinnah married his second wife Rattanbai Petit ("Ruttie"), 24 years his junior. She was the fashionable young daughter of his friend Sir Dinshaw Petit, and was part of an elite Parsi family of Bombay. There was great opposition to the marriage from Rattanbai's family and the Parsi community, as well as from some Muslim religious leaders. Rattanbai defied her family and nominally converted to Islam, adopting (though never using) the name Maryam Jinnah, resulting in a permanent estrangement from her family and Parsi society. The couple resided at South Court Mansion in Bombay, and frequently travelled across India and Europe. The couple's only child, daughter Dina, was born on 15 August 1919. The couple separated prior to Ruttie's death in 1929, and subsequently Jinnah's sister Fatima looked after him and his child.
Relations between Indians and British were strained in 1919 when the Imperial Legislative Council extended emergency wartime restrictions on civil liberties; Jinnah resigned from it when it did. There was unrest across India, which worsened after the Jallianwala Bagh massacre in Amritsar, in which British troops fired upon a protest meeting, killing hundreds. In the wake of Amritsar, Gandhi, who had returned to India and become a widely respected leader and highly influential in the Congress, called for satyagraha against the British. Gandhi's proposal gained broad Hindu support, and was also attractive to many Muslims of the Khilafat faction. These Muslims, supported by Gandhi, sought retention of the Ottoman caliphate, which supplied spiritual leadership to many Muslims. The caliph was the Ottoman Emperor, who would be deprived of both offices following his nation's defeat in the First World War. Gandhi had achieved considerable popularity among Muslims because of his work during the war on behalf of killed or imprisoned Muslims. Unlike Jinnah and other leaders of the Congress, Gandhi did not wear western-style clothing, did his best to use an Indian language instead of English, and was deeply rooted in Indian culture. Gandhi's local style of leadership gained great popularity with the Indian people. Jinnah criticised Gandhi's Khilafat advocacy, which he saw as an endorsement of religious zealotry. Jinnah regarded Gandhi's proposed satyagraha campaign as political anarchy, and believed that self-government should be secured through constitutional means. He opposed Gandhi, but the tide of Indian opinion was against him. At the 1920 session of the Congress in Nagpur, Jinnah was shouted down by the delegates, who passed Gandhi's proposal, pledging satyagraha until India was independent. Jinnah did not attend the subsequent League meeting, held in the same city, which passed a similar resolution. Because of the action of the Congress in endorsing Gandhi's campaign, Jinnah resigned from it, leaving all positions except in the Muslim League.
Wilderness years; interlude in England
The alliance between Gandhi and the Khilafat faction did not last long, and the campaign of resistance proved less effective than hoped, as India's institutions continued to function. Jinnah sought alternative political ideas, and contemplated organising a new political party as a rival to the Congress. In September 1923, Jinnah was elected as Muslim member for Bombay in the new Central Legislative Assembly. He showed much skill as a parliamentarian, organising many Indian members to work with the Swaraj Party, and continued to press demands for full responsible government. In 1925, as recognition for his legislative activities, he was offered a knighthood by Lord Reading, who was retiring from the Viceroyalty. He replied: "I prefer to be plain Mr Jinnah."
In 1927, the British Government, under Conservative Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin, undertook a decennial review of Indian policy mandated by the Government of India Act 1919. The review began two years early as Baldwin feared he would lose the next election (which he did, in 1929). The Cabinet was influenced by minister Winston Churchill, who strongly opposed self-government for India, and members hoped that by having the commission appointed early, the policies for India which they favoured would survive their government. The resulting commission, led by Liberal MP John Simon, though with a majority of Conservatives, arrived in India in March 1928. They were met with a boycott by India's leaders, Muslim and Hindu alike, angered at the British refusal to include their representatives on the commission. A minority of Muslims, though, withdrew from the League, choosing to welcome the Simon Commission and repudiating Jinnah. Most members of the League's executive council remained loyal to Jinnah, attending the League meeting in December 1927 and January 1928 which confirmed him as the League's permanent president. At that session, Jinnah told the delegates that "A constitutional war has been declared on Great Britain. Negotiations for a settlement are not to come from our side ... By appointing an exclusively white Commission, [Secretary of State for India] Lord Birkenhead has declared our unfitness for self-government."
Birkenhead in 1928 challenged Indians to come up with their own proposal for constitutional change for India; in response, the Congress convened a committee under the leadership of Motilal Nehru. The Nehru Report favoured constituencies based on geography on the ground that being dependent on each other for election would bind the communities closer together. Jinnah, though he believed separate electorates, based on religion, necessary to ensure Muslims had a voice in the government, was willing to compromise on this point, but talks between the two parties failed. He put forth proposals that he hoped might satisfy a broad range of Muslims and reunite the League, calling for mandatory representation for Muslims in legislatures and cabinets. These became known as his Fourteen Points. He could not secure adoption of the Fourteen Points, as the League meeting in Delhi at which he hoped to gain a vote instead dissolved into chaotic argument.
After Baldwin was defeated at the 1929 British parliamentary election, Ramsay MacDonald of the Labour Party became prime minister. MacDonald desired a conference of Indian and British leaders in London to discuss India's future, a course of action supported by Jinnah. Three Round Table Conferences followed over as many years, none of which resulted in a settlement. Jinnah was a delegate to the first two conferences, but was not invited to the last. He remained in Britain for most of the period 1930 through 1934, practising as a barrister before the Privy Council, where he dealt with a number of India-related cases. His biographers disagree over why he remained so long in Britain—Wolpert asserts that had Jinnah been made a Law Lord, he would have stayed for life, and that Jinnah alternatively sought a parliamentary seat. Early biographer Hector Bolitho denied that Jinnah sought to enter the British Parliament, while Jaswant Singh deems Jinnah's time in Britain as a break or sabbatical from the Indian struggle. Bolitho called this period "Jinnah's years of order and contemplation, wedged in between the time of early struggle, and the final storm of conquest".
In 1931, Fatima Jinnah joined her brother in England. From then on, Muhammad Jinnah would receive personal care and support from her as he aged and began to suffer from the lung ailments which would kill him. She lived and travelled with him, and became a close advisor. Muhammad Jinnah's daughter, Dina, was educated in England and India. Jinnah later became estranged from Dina after she decided to marry a Parsi, Neville Wadia from a prominent Parsi business family. Wadia is the son Sir Ness Wadia and Evelyne Clara Powell. When Jinnah urged Dina to marry a Muslim, she reminded him that he had married a woman not raised in his faith. Jinnah continued to correspond cordially with his daughter, but their personal relationship was strained, and she did not come to Pakistan in his lifetime, but only for his funeral.
Return to politics
The early 1930s saw a resurgence in Indian Muslim nationalism, which came to a head with the Pakistan Declaration. In 1933, Indian Muslims, especially from the United Provinces, began to urge Jinnah to return and take up again his leadership of the Muslim League, an organisation which had fallen into inactivity. He remained titular president of the League, but declined to travel to India to preside over its 1933 session in April, writing that he could not possibly return there until the end of the year.
Among those who met with Jinnah to seek his return was Liaquat Ali Khan, who would be a major political associate of Jinnah in the years to come and the first Prime Minister of Pakistan. At Jinnah's request, Liaquat discussed the return with a large number of Muslim politicians and confirmed his recommendation to Jinnah. In early 1934, Jinnah relocated to the subcontinent, though he shuttled between London and India on business for the next few years, selling his house in Hampstead and closing his legal practice in Britain.
Muslims of Bombay elected Jinnah, though then absent in London, as their representative to the Central Legislative Assembly in October 1934. The British Parliament's Government of India Act 1935 gave considerable power to India's provinces, with a weak central parliament in New Delhi, which had no authority over such matters as foreign policy, defence, and much of the budget. Full power remained in the hands of the Viceroy, however, who could dissolve legislatures and rule by decree. The League reluctantly accepted the scheme, though expressing reservations about the weak parliament. The Congress was much better prepared for the provincial elections in 1937, and the League failed to win a majority even of the Muslim seats in any of the provinces where members of that faith held a majority. It did win a majority of the Muslim seats in Delhi, but could not form a government anywhere, though it was part of the ruling coalition in Bengal. The Congress and its allies formed the government even in the North-West Frontier Province (N.W.F.P.), where the League won no seats despite the fact that almost all residents were Muslim.
According to Jaswant Singh, "the events of 1937 had a tremendous, almost a traumatic effect upon Jinnah". Despite his beliefs of twenty years that Muslims could protect their rights in a united India through separate electorates, provincial boundaries drawn to preserve Muslim majorities, and by other protections of minority rights, Muslim voters had failed to unite, with the issues Jinnah hoped to bring forward lost amid factional fighting. Singh notes the effect of the 1937 elections on Muslim political opinion, "when the Congress formed a government with almost all of the Muslim MLAs sitting on the Opposition benches, non-Congress Muslims were suddenly faced with this stark reality of near-total political powerlessness. It was brought home to them, like a bolt of lightning, that even if the Congress did not win a single Muslim seat ... as long as it won an absolute majority in the House, on the strength of the general seats, it could and would form a government entirely on its own ..."
In the next two years, Jinnah worked to build support among Muslims for the League. He secured the right to speak for the Muslim-led Bengali and Punjabi provincial governments in the central government in New Delhi ("the centre"). He worked to expand the League, reducing the cost of membership to two annas (⅛ of a rupee), half of what it cost to join the Congress. He restructured the League along the lines of the Congress, putting most power in a Working Committee, which he appointed. By December 1939, Liaquat estimated that the League had three million two-anna members.
Struggle for Pakistan
Background to independence
Until the late 1930s, most Muslims of the British Raj expected, upon independence, to be part of a unitary state encompassing all of British India, as did the Hindus and others who advocated self-government. Despite this, other nationalist proposals were being made. In a speech given at Allahabad to a League session in 1930, Sir Muhammad Iqbal called for a state for Muslims in British India. Choudhary Rahmat Ali published a pamphlet in 1933 advocating a state "Pakistan" in the Indus Valley, with other names given to Muslim-majority areas elsewhere in India. Jinnah and Iqbal corresponded in 1936 and 1937; in subsequent years, Jinnah credited Iqbal as his mentor, and used Iqbal's imagery and rhetoric in his speeches.
Although many leaders of the Congress sought a strong central government for an Indian state, some Muslim politicians, including Jinnah, were unwilling to accept this without powerful protections for their community. Other Muslims supported the Congress, which officially advocated a secular state upon independence, though the traditionalist wing (including politicians such as Madan Mohan Malaviya and Vallabhbhai Patel) believed that an independent India should enact laws such as banning the killing of cows and making Hindi a national language. The failure of the Congress leadership to disavow Hindu communalists worried Congress-supporting Muslims. Nevertheless, the Congress enjoyed considerable Muslim support up to about 1937.
Events which separated the communities included the failed attempt to form a coalition government including the Congress and the League in the United Provinces following the 1937 election. According to historian Ian Talbot, "The provincial Congress governments made no effort to understand and respect their Muslim populations' cultural and religious sensibilities. The Muslim League's claims that it alone could safeguard Muslim interests thus received a major boost. Significantly it was only after this period of Congress rule that it [the League] took up the demand for a Pakistan state ..."
Balraj Puri in his journal article about Jinnah suggests that the Muslim League president, after the 1937 vote, turned to the idea of partition in "sheer desperation". Historian Akbar S. Ahmed suggests that Jinnah abandoned hope of reconciliation with the Congress as he "rediscover[ed] his own Islamic roots, his own sense of identity, of culture and history, which would come increasingly to the fore in the final years of his life". Jinnah also increasingly adopted Muslim dress in the late 1930s. In the wake of the 1937 balloting, Jinnah demanded that the question of power sharing be settled on an all-India basis, and that he, as president of the League, be accepted as the sole spokesman for the Muslim community.
Iqbal's influence on Jinnah
The well documented influence of Iqbal on Jinnah, with regard to taking the lead in creating Pakistan, has been described as "significant", "powerful" and even "unquestionable" by scholars. Iqbal has also been cited as an influential force in convincing Jinnah to end his self-imposed exile in London and re-enter the politics of India. Initially, however, Iqbal and Jinnah were opponents, as Iqbal believed Jinnah did not care about the crises confronting the Muslim community during the British Raj. According to Akbar S. Ahmed, this began to change during Iqbal's final years prior to his death in 1938. Iqbal gradually succeeded in converting Jinnah over to his view, who eventually accepted Iqbal as his "mentor". Ahmed comments that in his annotations to Iqbal's letters, Jinnah expressed solidarity with Iqbal's view: that Indian Muslims required a separate homeland.
Iqbal's influence also gave Jinnah a deeper appreciation for Muslim identity. The evidence of this influence began to be revealed from 1937 onwards. Jinnah not only began to echo Iqbal in his speeches, he started using Islamic symbolism and began directing his addresses to the underprivileged. Ahmed noted a change in Jinnah's words: while he still advocated freedom of religion and protection of the minorities, the model he was now aspiring to was that of the Prophet Muhammad, rather than that of a secular politician. Ahmed further avers that those scholars who have painted the later Jinnah as secular have misread his speeches which, he argues, must be read in the context of Islamic history and culture. Accordingly, Jinnah's imagery of the Pakistan began to become clear that it was to have an Islamic nature. This change has been seen to last for the rest of Jinnah's life. He continued to borrow ideas "directly from Iqbal—including his thoughts on Muslim unity, on Islamic ideals of liberty, justice and equality, on economics, and even on practices such as prayers".
In a speech in 1940, two years after the death of Iqbal, Jinnah expressed his preference for implementing Iqbal's vision for an Islamic Pakistan even if it meant he himself would never lead a nation. Jinnah stated, "If I live to see the ideal of a Muslim state being achieved in India, and I was then offered to make a choice between the works of Iqbal and the rulership of the Muslim state, I would prefer the former."
Second World War and Lahore Resolution
On 3 September 1939, British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain announced the commencement of war with Nazi Germany. The following day, the Viceroy, Lord Linlithgow, without consulting Indian political leaders, announced that India had entered the war along with Britain. There were widespread protests in India. After meeting with Jinnah and with Gandhi, Linlithgow announced that negotiations on self-government were suspended for the duration of the war. The Congress on 14 September demanded immediate independence with a constituent assembly to decide a constitution; when this was refused, its eight provincial governments resigned on 10 November and governors in those provinces thereafter ruled by decree for the remainder of the war. Jinnah, on the other hand, was more willing to accommodate the British, and they in turn increasingly recognised him and the League as the representatives of India's Muslims. Jinnah later stated, "after the war began, ... I was treated on the same basis as Mr Gandhi. I was wonderstruck why I was promoted and given a place side by side with Mr Gandhi." Although the League did not actively support the British war effort, neither did they try to obstruct it.
With the British and Muslims to some extent co-operating, the Viceroy asked Jinnah for an expression of the Muslim League's position on self-government, confident that it would differ greatly from that of the Congress. To come up with such a position, the League's Working Committee met for four days in February 1940 to set out terms of reference to a constitutional sub-committee. The Working Committee asked that the sub-committee return with a proposal that would result in "independent dominions in direct relationship with Great Britain" where Muslims were dominant. On 6 February, Jinnah informed the Viceroy that the Muslim League would be demanding partition instead of the federation contemplated in the 1935 Act. The Lahore Resolution (sometimes called the "Pakistan Resolution", although it does not contain that name), based on the sub-committee's work, embraced the Two-Nation Theory and called for a union of the Muslim-majority provinces in the northwest of British India, with complete autonomy. Similar rights were to be granted to the Muslim-majority areas in the east, and unspecified protections given to Muslim minorities in other provinces. The resolution was passed by the League session in Lahore on 23 March 1940.
Gandhi's reaction to the Lahore Resolution was muted; he called it "baffling", but told his disciples that Muslims, in common with other people of India, had the right to self-determination. Leaders of the Congress were more vocal; Jawaharlal Nehru referred to Lahore as "Jinnah's fantastic proposals" while Chakravarti Rajagopalachari deemed Jinnah's views on partition "a sign of a diseased mentality". Linlithgow met with Jinnah in June 1940, soon after Winston Churchill became the British prime minister, and in August offered both the Congress and the League a deal whereby in exchange for full support for the war, Linlithgow would allow Indian representation on his major war councils. The Viceroy promised a representative body after the war to determine India's future, and that no future settlement would be imposed over the objections of a large part of the population. This was satisfactory to neither the Congress nor the League, though Jinnah was pleased that the British had moved towards recognising Jinnah as the representative of the Muslim community's interests. Jinnah was reluctant to make specific proposals as to the boundaries of Pakistan, or its relationships with Britain and with the rest of the subcontinent, fearing that any precise plan would divide the League.
The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941 brought the United States into the war. In the following months, the Japanese advanced in Southeast Asia, and the British Cabinet sent a mission led by Sir Stafford Cripps to try to conciliate the Indians and cause them to fully back the war. Cripps proposed giving some provinces what was dubbed the "local option" to remain outside of an Indian central government either for a period of time or permanently, to become dominions on their own or be part of another confederation. The Muslim League was far from certain of winning the legislative votes that would be required for mixed provinces such as Bengal and Punjab to secede, and Jinnah rejected the proposals as not sufficiently recognising Pakistan's right to exist. The Congress also rejected the Cripps plan, demanding immediate concessions which Cripps was not prepared to give. Despite the rejection, Jinnah and the League saw the Cripps proposal as recognising Pakistan in principle.
The Congress followed the failed Cripps mission by demanding, in August 1942, that the British immediately "Quit India", proclaiming a mass campaign of satyagraha until they did. The British promptly arrested most major leaders of the Congress and imprisoned them for the remainder of the war. Gandhi, however, was placed on house arrest in one of the Aga Khan's palaces prior to his release for health reasons in 1944. With the Congress leaders absent from the political scene, Jinnah warned against the threat of Hindu domination and maintained his Pakistan demand without going into great detail about what that would entail. Jinnah also worked to increase the League's political control at the provincial level. He helped to found the newspaper Dawn in the early 1940s in Delhi; it helped to spread the League's message and eventually became the major English-language newspaper of Pakistan.
In September 1944, Jinnah hosted Gandhi, recently released from confinement, at his home on Malabar Hill in Bombay. Two weeks of talks between them followed, which resulted in no agreement. Jinnah insisted on Pakistan being conceded prior to the British departure and to come into being immediately, while Gandhi proposed that plebiscites on partition occur sometime after a united India gained its independence. In early 1945, Liaquat and the Congress leader Bhulabhai Desai met, with Jinnah's approval, and agreed that after the war, the Congress and the League should form an interim government with the members of the Executive Council of the Viceroy to be nominated by the Congress and the League in equal numbers. When the Congress leadership were released from prison in June 1945, they repudiated the agreement and censured Desai for acting without proper authority.
Postwar
Field Marshal Viscount Wavell succeeded Linlithgow as Viceroy in 1943. In June 1945, following the release of the Congress leaders, Wavell called for a conference, and invited the leading figures from the various communities to meet with him at Simla. He proposed a temporary government along the lines which Liaquat and Desai had agreed. However, Wavell was unwilling to guarantee that only the League's candidates would be placed in the seats reserved for Muslims. All other invited groups submitted lists of candidates to the Viceroy. Wavell cut the conference short in mid-July without further seeking an agreement; with a British general election imminent, Churchill's government did not feel it could proceed.
British voters returned Clement Attlee and his Labour Party to government later in July. Attlee and his Secretary of State for India, Lord Frederick Pethick-Lawrence, immediately ordered a review of the Indian situation. Jinnah had no comment on the change of government, but called a meeting of his Working Committee and issued a statement calling for new elections in India. The League held influence at the provincial level in the Muslim-majority states mostly by alliance, and Jinnah believed that, given the opportunity, the League would improve its electoral standing and lend added support to his claim to be the sole spokesman for the Muslims. Wavell returned to India in September after consultation with his new masters in London; elections, both for the centre and for the provinces, were announced soon after. The British indicated that formation of a constitution-making body would follow the votes.
The Muslim League declared that they would campaign on a single issue: Pakistan. Speaking in Ahmedabad, Jinnah echoed this, "Pakistan is a matter of life or death for us." In the December 1945 elections for the Constituent Assembly of India, the League won every seat reserved for Muslims. In the provincial elections in January 1946, the League took 75% of the Muslim vote, an increase from 4.4% in 1937. According to his biographer Bolitho, "This was Jinnah's glorious hour: his arduous political campaigns, his robust beliefs and claims, were at last justified." Wolpert wrote that the League election showing "appeared to prove the universal appeal of Pakistan among Muslims of the subcontinent". The Congress dominated the central assembly nevertheless, though it lost four seats from its previous strength.
In February 1946, the British Cabinet resolved to send a delegation to India to negotiate with leaders there. This Cabinet Mission included Cripps and Pethick-Lawrence. The highest-level delegation to try to break the deadlock, it arrived in New Delhi in late March. Little negotiation had been done since the previous October because of the elections in India. The British in May released a plan for a united Indian state comprising substantially autonomous provinces, and called for "groups" of provinces formed on the basis of religion. Matters such as defence, external relations and communications would be handled by a central authority. Provinces would have the option of leaving the union entirely, and there would be an interim government with representation from the Congress and the League. Jinnah and his Working Committee accepted this plan in June, but it fell apart over the question of how many members of the interim government the Congress and the League would have, and over the Congress's desire to include a Muslim member in its representation. Before leaving India, the British ministers stated that they intended to inaugurate an interim government even if one of the major groups was unwilling to participate.
The Congress soon joined the new Indian ministry. The League was slower to do so, not entering until October 1946. In agreeing to have the League join the government, Jinnah abandoned his demands for parity with the Congress and a veto on matters concerning Muslims. The new ministry met amid a backdrop of rioting, especially in Calcutta. The Congress wanted the Viceroy to immediately summon the constituent assembly and begin the work of writing a constitution and felt that the League ministers should either join in the request or resign from the government. Wavell attempted to save the situation by flying leaders such as Jinnah, Liaquat, and Jawaharlal Nehru to London in December 1946. At the end of the talks, participants issued a statement that the constitution would not be forced on any unwilling parts of India. On the way back from London, Jinnah and Liaquat stopped in Cairo for several days of pan-Islamic meetings.
The Congress endorsed the joint statement from the London conference over the angry dissent from some elements. The League refused to do so, and took no part in the constitutional discussions. Jinnah had been willing to consider some continued links to Hindustan (as the Hindu-majority state which would be formed on partition was sometimes referred to), such as a joint military or communications. However, by December 1946, he insisted on a fully sovereign Pakistan with dominion status.
Following the failure of the London trip, Jinnah was in no hurry to reach an agreement, considering that time would allow him to gain the undivided provinces of Bengal and Punjab for Pakistan, but these wealthy, populous provinces had sizeable non-Muslim minorities, complicating a settlement. The Attlee ministry desired a rapid British departure from the subcontinent, but had little confidence in Wavell to achieve that end. Beginning in December 1946, British officials began looking for a viceregal successor to Wavell, and soon fixed on Admiral Lord Mountbatten of Burma, a war leader popular among Conservatives as the great-grandson of Queen Victoria and among Labour for his political views.
Mountbatten and independence
On 20 February 1947, Attlee announced Mountbatten's appointment, and that Britain would transfer power in India not later than June 1948. Mountbatten took office as Viceroy on 24 March 1947, two days after his arrival in India. By then, the Congress had come around to the idea of partition. Nehru stated in 1960, "the truth is that we were tired men and we were getting on in years ... The plan for partition offered a way out and we took it." Leaders of the Congress decided that having loosely tied Muslim-majority provinces as part of a future India was not worth the loss of the powerful government at the centre which they desired. However, the Congress insisted that if Pakistan were to become independent, Bengal and Punjab would have to be divided.
Mountbatten had been warned in his briefing papers that Jinnah would be his "toughest customer" who had proved a chronic nuisance because "no one in this country [India] had so far gotten into Jinnah's mind". The men met over six days beginning on 5 April. The sessions began lightly when Jinnah, photographed between Louis and Edwina Mountbatten, quipped "A rose between two thorns" which the Viceroy took, perhaps gratuitously, as evidence that the Muslim leader had pre-planned his joke but had expected the vicereine to stand in the middle. Mountbatten was not favourably impressed with Jinnah, repeatedly expressing frustration to his staff about Jinnah's insistence on Pakistan in the face of all argument.
Jinnah feared that at the end of the British presence in the subcontinent, they would turn control over to the Congress-dominated constituent assembly, putting Muslims at a disadvantage in attempting to win autonomy. He demanded that Mountbatten divide the army prior to independence, which would take at least a year. Mountbatten had hoped that the post-independence arrangements would include a common defence force, but Jinnah saw it as essential that a sovereign state should have its own forces. Mountbatten met with Liaquat the day of his final session with Jinnah, and concluded, as he told Attlee and the Cabinet in May, that "it had become clear that the Muslim League would resort to arms if Pakistan in some form were not conceded." The Viceroy was also influenced by negative Muslim reaction to the constitutional report of the assembly, which envisioned broad powers for the post-independence central government.
On 2 June, the final plan was given by the Viceroy to Indian leaders: on 15 August, the British would turn over power to two dominions. The provinces would vote on whether to continue in the existing constituent assembly or to have a new one, that is, to join Pakistan. Bengal and Punjab would also vote, both on the question of which assembly to join, and on the partition. A boundary commission would determine the final lines in the partitioned provinces. Plebiscites would take place in the North-West Frontier Province (which did not have a League government despite an overwhelmingly Muslim population), and in the majority-Muslim Sylhet district of Assam, adjacent to eastern Bengal. On 3 June, Mountbatten, Nehru, Jinnah and Sikh leader Baldev Singh made the formal announcement by radio. Jinnah concluded his address with "Pakistan Zindabad " (Long live Pakistan), which was not in the script. In the weeks which followed Punjab and Bengal cast the votes which resulted in partition. Sylhet and the N.W.F.P. voted to cast their lots with Pakistan, a decision joined by the assemblies in Sind and Baluchistan.
On 4 July 1947, Liaquat asked Mountbatten on Jinnah's behalf to recommend to the British king, George VI, that Jinnah be appointed Pakistan's first governor-general. This request angered Mountbatten, who had hoped to have that position in both dominions—he would be India's first post-independence governor-general—but Jinnah felt that Mountbatten would be likely to favour the new Hindu-majority state because of his closeness to Nehru. In addition, the governor-general would initially be a powerful figure, and Jinnah did not trust anyone else to take that office. Although the Boundary Commission, led by British lawyer Sir Cyril Radcliffe, had not yet reported, there were already massive movements of populations between the nations-to-be, as well as sectarian violence. Jinnah arranged to sell his house in Bombay and procured a new one in Karachi. On 7 August, Jinnah, with his sister and close staff, flew from Delhi to Karachi in Mountbatten's plane, and as the plane taxied, he was heard to murmur, "That's the end of that." On 11 August, he presided over the new constituent assembly for Pakistan at Karachi, and addressed them, "You are free; you are free to go to your temples, you are free to go to your mosques or to any other place of worship in this State of Pakistan ... You may belong to any religion or caste or creed—that has nothing to do with the business of the State ... I think we should keep that in front of us as our ideal and you will find that in course of time Hindus would cease to be Hindus and Muslims would cease to be Muslims, not in the religious sense, because that is the personal faith of each individual, but in the political sense as citizens of the State." On 14 August, Pakistan became independent; Jinnah led the celebrations in Karachi. One observer wrote, "here indeed is Pakistan's King Emperor, Archbishop of Canterbury, Speaker and Prime Minister concentrated into one formidable Quaid-e-Azam."
Governor-General
The Radcliffe Commission, dividing Bengal and Punjab, completed its work and reported to Mountbatten on 12 August; the last Viceroy held the maps until the 17th, not wanting to spoil the independence celebrations in both nations. There had already been ethnically charged violence and movement of populations; publication of the Radcliffe Line dividing the new nations sparked mass migration, murder, and ethnic cleansing. Many on the "wrong side" of the lines fled or were murdered, or murdered others, hoping to make facts on the ground which would reverse the commission's verdict. Radcliffe wrote in his report that he knew that neither side would be happy with his award; he declined his fee for the work. Christopher Beaumont, Radcliffe's private secretary, later wrote that Mountbatten "must take the blame—though not the sole blame—for the massacres in the Punjab in which between 500,000 to a million men, women and children perished". As many as 14,500,000 people relocated between India and Pakistan during and after partition. Jinnah did what he could for the eight million people who migrated to Pakistan; although by now over 70 and frail from lung ailments, he travelled across West Pakistan and personally supervised the provision of aid. According to Ahmed, "What Pakistan needed desperately in those early months was a symbol of the state, one that would unify people and give them the courage and resolve to succeed."
Among the restive regions of the new nation was the North-West Frontier Province. The referendum there in July 1947 had been tainted by low turnout as less than 10 per cent of the population were allowed to vote. On 22 August 1947, just after a week of becoming governor general, Jinnah dissolved the elected government of Dr. Khan Abdul Jabbar Khan. Later on, Abdul Qayyum Khan was put in place by Jinnah in the Pashtun-dominated province despite him being a Kashmiri. On 12 August 1948 the Babrra massacre in Charsadda occurred resulting in the death of 400 people aligned with the Khudai Khidmatgar movement.
Along with Liaquat and Abdur Rab Nishtar, Jinnah represented Pakistan's interests in the Division Council to appropriately divide public assets between India and Pakistan. Pakistan was supposed to receive one-sixth of the pre-independence government's assets, carefully divided by agreement, even specifying how many sheets of paper each side would receive. The new Indian state, however, was slow to deliver, hoping for the collapse of the nascent Pakistani government, and reunion. Few members of the Indian Civil Service and the Indian Police Service had chosen Pakistan, resulting in staff shortages. Partition meant that for some farmers, the markets to sell their crops were on the other side of an international border. There were shortages of machinery, not all of which was made in Pakistan. In addition to the massive refugee problem, the new government sought to save abandoned crops, establish security in a chaotic situation, and provide basic services. According to economist Yasmeen Niaz Mohiuddin in her study of Pakistan, "although Pakistan was born in bloodshed and turmoil, it survived in the initial and difficult months after partition only because of the tremendous sacrifices made by its people and the selfless efforts of its great leader."
The Indian Princely States were advised by the departing British to choose whether to join Pakistan or India. Most did so prior to independence, but the holdouts contributed to what have become lasting divisions between the two nations. Indian leaders were angered at Jinnah's attempts to convince the princes of Jodhpur, Udaipur, Bhopal and Indore to accede to Pakistan—the latter three princely states did not border Pakistan. Jodhpur bordered it and had both a Hindu majority population and a Hindu ruler. The coastal princely state of Junagadh, which had a majority-Hindu population, did accede to Pakistan in September 1947, with its ruler's dewan, Sir Shah Nawaz Bhutto, personally delivering the accession papers to Jinnah. But the two states that were subject to the suzerainty of Junagadh—Mangrol and Babariawad—declared their independence from Junagadh and acceded to India. In response, the nawab of Junagadh militarily occupied the two states. Subsequently, the Indian army occupied the principality in November, forcing its former leaders, including Bhutto, to flee to Pakistan, beginning the politically powerful Bhutto family.
The most contentious of the disputes was, and continues to be, that over the princely state of Kashmir. It had a Muslim-majority population and a Hindu maharaja, Sir Hari Singh, who stalled his decision on which nation to join. With the population in revolt in October 1947, aided by Pakistani irregulars, the maharaja acceded to India; Indian troops were airlifted in. Jinnah objected to this action, and ordered that Pakistani troops move into Kashmir. The Pakistani Army was still commanded by British officers, and the commanding officer, General Sir Douglas Gracey, refused the order, stating that he would not move into what he considered the territory of another nation without approval from higher authority, which was not forthcoming. Jinnah withdrew the order. This did not stop the violence there, which broke into Indo-Pakistani War of 1947.
Some historians allege that Jinnah's courting the rulers of Hindu-majority states and his gambit with Junagadh are evidence of ill-intent towards India, as Jinnah had promoted separation by religion, yet tried to gain the accession of Hindu-majority states. In his book Patel: A Life, Rajmohan Gandhi asserts that Jinnah hoped for a plebiscite in Junagadh, knowing Pakistan would lose, in the hope the principle would be established for Kashmir. However, when Mountbatten proposed to Jinnah that, in all the princely States where the ruler did not accede to a Dominion corresponding to the majority population (which would have included Junagadh, Hyderabad and Kashmir), the accession should be decided by an 'impartial reference to the will of the people', Jinnah rejected the offer.
Despite the United Nations Security Council Resolution 47, issued at India's request for a plebiscite in Kashmir after the withdrawal of Pakistani forces, this has never occurred.
In January 1948, the Indian government finally agreed to pay Pakistan its share of British India's assets. They were impelled by Gandhi, who threatened a fast until death. Only days later, on 30 January, Gandhi was assassinated by Nathuram Godse, a Hindu nationalist, who believed that Gandhi was pro-Muslim. After hearing about Gandhi's murder on the following day, Jinnah publicly made a brief statement of condolence, calling Gandhi "one of the greatest men produced by the Hindu community".
In February 1948, in a radio talk broadcast addressed to the people of the US, Jinnah expressed his views regarding Pakistan's constitution to be in the following way:
In March, Jinnah, despite his declining health, made his only post-independence visit to East Pakistan. In a speech before a crowd estimated at 300,000, Jinnah stated (in English) that Urdu alone should be the national language, believing a single language was needed for a nation to remain united. The Bengali-speaking people of East Pakistan strongly opposed this policy, and in 1971 the official language issue was a factor in the region's secession to form the country of Bangladesh.
Illness and death
From the 1930s, Jinnah suffered from tuberculosis; only his sister and a few others close to him were aware of his condition. Jinnah believed public knowledge of his lung ailments would hurt him politically. In a 1938 letter, he wrote to a supporter that "you must have read in the papers how during my tours ... I suffered, which was not because there was anything wrong with me, but the irregularities [of the schedule] and over-strain told upon my health". Many years later, Mountbatten stated that if he had known Jinnah was so physically ill, he would have stalled, hoping Jinnah's death would avert partition. Fatima Jinnah later wrote, "even in his hour of triumph, the Quaid-e-Azam was gravely ill ... He worked in a frenzy to consolidate Pakistan. And, of course, he totally neglected his health ..." Jinnah worked with a tin of Craven "A" cigarettes at his desk, of which he had smoked 50 or more a day for the previous 30 years, as well as a box of Cuban cigars. As his health got worse, he took longer and longer rest breaks in the private wing of Government House in Karachi, where only he, Fatima and the servants were allowed.
In June 1948, he and Fatima flew to Quetta, in the mountains of Balochistan, where the weather was cooler than in Karachi. He could not completely rest there, addressing the officers at the Command and Staff College saying, "you, along with the other Forces of Pakistan, are the custodians of the life, property and honour of the people of Pakistan." He returned to Karachi for the 1 July opening ceremony for the State Bank of Pakistan, at which he spoke. A reception by the Canadian trade commissioner that evening in honour of Dominion Day was the last public event he attended.
On 6 July 1948, Jinnah returned to Quetta, but at the advice of doctors, soon journeyed to an even higher retreat at Ziarat. Jinnah had always been reluctant to undergo medical treatment but realising his condition was getting worse, the Pakistani government sent the best doctors it could find to treat him. Tests confirmed tuberculosis, and also showed evidence of advanced lung cancer. He was treated with the new "miracle drug" of streptomycin, but it did not help. Jinnah's condition continued to deteriorate despite the Eid prayers of his people. He was moved to the lower altitude of Quetta on 13 August, the eve of Independence Day, for which a ghost-written statement for him was released. Despite an increase in appetite (he then weighed just over ), it was clear to his doctors that if he was to return to Karachi in life, he would have to do so very soon. Jinnah, however, was reluctant to go, not wishing his aides to see him as an invalid on a stretcher.
By 9 September, Jinnah had also developed pneumonia. Doctors urged him to return to Karachi, where he could receive better care, and with his agreement, he was flown there on the morning of 11 September. Dr Ilahi Bux, his personal physician, believed that Jinnah's change of mind was caused by foreknowledge of death. The plane landed at Karachi that afternoon, to be met by Jinnah's limousine, and an ambulance into which Jinnah's stretcher was placed. The ambulance broke down on the road into town, and the Governor-General and those with him waited for another to arrive; he could not be placed in the car as he could not sit up. They waited by the roadside in oppressive heat as trucks and buses passed by, unsuitable for transporting the dying man and with their occupants not knowing of Jinnah's presence. After an hour, the replacement ambulance came, and transported Jinnah to Government House, arriving there over two hours after the landing. Jinnah died later that night at 10:20 pm at his home in Karachi on 11 September 1948 at the age of 71, just over a year after Pakistan's creation.
Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru stated upon Jinnah's death, "How shall we judge him? I have been very angry with him often during the past years. But now there is no bitterness in my thought of him, only a great sadness for all that has been ... he succeeded in his quest and gained his objective, but at what a cost and with what a difference from what he had imagined." Jinnah was buried on 12 September 1948 amid official mourning in both India and Pakistan; a million people gathered for his funeral led by Shabbir Ahmad Usmani. Indian Governor-General Rajagopalachari cancelled an official reception that day in honour of the late leader. Today, Jinnah rests in a large marble mausoleum, Mazar-e-Quaid, in Karachi.
Aftermath
In the 1965 presidential election, Fatima Jinnah, by then known as Madar-e-Millat ("Mother of the Nation"), became the presidential candidate of a coalition of political parties that opposed the rule of President Ayub Khan, but was not successful.
The Jinnah House in Malabar Hill, Bombay, is in the possession of the Government of India, but the issue of its ownership has been disputed by the Government of Pakistan. Jinnah had personally requested Prime Minister Nehru to preserve the house, hoping one day he could return to Bombay. There are proposals for the house to be offered to the government of Pakistan to establish a consulate in the city as a goodwill gesture, but Dina Wadia had also staked a claim on the property.
After Jinnah died, his sister Fatima asked the court to execute Jinnah's will under Shia Islamic law. This subsequently became part of the argument in Pakistan about Jinnah's religious affiliation. Vali Nasr says Jinnah "was an Ismaili by birth and a Twelver Shia by confession, though not a religiously observant man." In a 1970 legal challenge, Hussain Ali Ganji Walji claimed Jinnah had converted to Sunni Islam. Witness Syed Sharifuddin Pirzada stated in court that Jinnah converted to Sunni Islam in 1901 when his sisters married Sunnis. In 1970, Liaquat Ali Khan and Fatima Jinnah's joint affidavit that Jinnah was Shia was rejected. But in 1976 the court rejected Walji's claim that Jinnah was Sunni; effectively accepting him as a Shia. In 1984 a high court bench reversed the 1976 verdict and maintained that "the Quaid was definitely not a Shia", which suggested that Jinnah was Sunni. According to the journalist Khaled Ahmed, Jinnah publicly had a non-sectarian stance and "was at pains to gather the Muslims of India under the banner of a general Muslim faith and not under a divisive sectarian identity." Liaquat H. Merchant, Jinnah's grandnephew, writes that "the Quaid was not a Shia; he was also not a Sunni, he was simply a Muslim". An eminent lawyer who practised in the Bombay High Court until 1940 testified that Jinnah used to pray as an orthodox Sunni. According to Akbar Ahmed, Jinnah became a firm Sunni Muslim by the end of his life.
Beliefs and personal life
Jinnah admired Kemal Ataturk, and it is reported that he talked of nothing but Ataturk to his daughter Dina, who was 13 at that time, for many days.
Jinnah professed to be a Muslim. Despite this, he is reported to have claimed to have "never visited a mosque" and being ignorant of customary mosque behaviour, as well as eating pork and drinking alcohol which is contrary to a halal diet and considered haram.
Legacy
Jinnah's legacy is Pakistan. According to Mohiuddin, "He was and continues to be as highly honored in Pakistan as [first US president] George Washington is in the United States ... Pakistan owes its very existence to his drive, tenacity, and judgment ... Jinnah's importance in the creation of Pakistan was monumental and immeasurable." Stanley Wolpert, giving a speech in honour of Jinnah in 1998, deemed him Pakistan's greatest leader.
According to Jaswant Singh, "With Jinnah's death Pakistan lost its moorings. In India there will not easily arrive another Gandhi, nor in Pakistan another Jinnah." Malik writes, "As long as Jinnah was alive, he could persuade and even pressure regional leaders toward greater mutual accommodation, but after his death, the lack of consensus on the distribution of political power and economic resources often turned controversial." According to Mohiuddin, "Jinnah's death deprived Pakistan of a leader who could have enhanced stability and democratic governance ... The rocky road to democracy in Pakistan and the relatively smooth one in India can in some measure be ascribed to Pakistan's tragedy of losing an incorruptible and highly revered leader so soon after independence."
His birthday is observed as a national holiday, Quaid-e-Azam Day, in Pakistan. Jinnah earned the title Quaid-e-Azam (meaning "Great Leader"). His other title is Baba-i-Qaum (Father of the Nation). The former title was reportedly given to Jinnah at first by Mian Ferozuddin Ahmed. It became an official title by effect of a resolution passed on 11 August 1947 by Liaquat Ali Khan in the Pakistan Constituent Assembly. There are some sources which endorse that Gandhi gave him that title. Within a few days of Pakistan's creation Jinnah's name was read in the khutba at mosques as Amir-ul-Millat, a traditional title of Muslim rulers.
The civil awards of Pakistan includes an 'Order of Quaid-i-Azam'. The Jinnah Society also confers the 'Jinnah Award' annually to a person that renders outstanding and meritorious services to Pakistan and its people. Jinnah is depicted on all Pakistani rupee currency, and is the namesake of many Pakistani public institutions. The former Quaid-i-Azam International Airport in Karachi, now called the Jinnah International Airport, is Pakistan's busiest. One of the largest streets in the Turkish capital Ankara, Cinnah Caddesi, is named after him, as is the Mohammad Ali Jenah Expressway in Tehran, Iran. The royalist government of Iran also released a stamp commemorating the centennial of Jinnah's birth in 1976. In Chicago, a portion of Devon Avenue was named "Mohammed Ali Jinnah Way". A section of Coney Island Avenue in Brooklyn, New York was also named 'Muhammad Ali Jinnah Way' in honour of the founder of Pakistan. The Mazar-e-Quaid, Jinnah's mausoleum, is among Karachi's landmarks. The "Jinnah Tower" in Guntur, Andhra Pradesh, India, was built to commemorate Jinnah.
There is a considerable amount of scholarship on Jinnah which stems from Pakistan; according to Akbar S. Ahmed, it is not widely read outside the country and usually avoids even the slightest criticism of Jinnah. According to Ahmed, some books published about Jinnah outside Pakistan mention that he consumed alcohol, but this is omitted from books published inside Pakistan. Ahmed suggests that depicting the Quaid drinking would weaken Jinnah's Islamic identity, and by extension, Pakistan's. Some sources allege he gave up alcohol near the end of his life. Yahya Bakhtiar, who observed Jinnah at close quarters, concluded that Jinnah was a "very sincere, deeply committed and dedicated Mussalman."
According to historian Ayesha Jalal, while there is a tendency towards hagiography in the Pakistani view of Jinnah, in India he is viewed negatively. Ahmed deems Jinnah "the most maligned person in recent Indian history ... In India, many see him as the demon who divided the land." Even many Indian Muslims see Jinnah negatively, blaming him for their woes as a minority in that state. Some historians such as Jalal and H. M. Seervai assert that Jinnah never wanted the partition of India—it was the outcome of the Congress leaders being unwilling to share power with the Muslim League. They contend that Jinnah only used the Pakistan demand in an attempt to mobilise support to obtain significant political rights for Muslims. Francis Mudie, the last British Governor of Sindh, in Jinnah's honour once said:
In judging Jinnah, we must remember what he was up against. He had against him not only the wealth and brains of the Hindus, but also nearly the whole of British officialdom, and most of the Home politicians, who made the great mistake of refusing to take Pakistan seriously. Never was his position really examined.
Jinnah has gained the admiration of Indian nationalist politicians such as Lal Krishna Advani, whose comments praising Jinnah caused an uproar in his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Indian politician Jaswant Singh's book Jinnah: India, Partition, Independence (2009) caused controversy in India. The book was based on Jinnah's ideology and alleged that Nehru's desire for a powerful centre led to Partition. Upon the book release, Singh was expelled from his membership of Bharatiya Janata Party, to which he responded that BJP is "narrow-minded" and has "limited thoughts".
Jinnah was the central figure of the 1998 film Jinnah, which was based on Jinnah's life and his struggle for the creation of Pakistan. Christopher Lee, who portrayed Jinnah, called his performance the best of his career. The 1954 Hector Bolitho's book Jinnah: Creator of Pakistan prompted Fatima Jinnah to release a book, titled My Brother (1987), as she thought that Bolitho's book had failed to express the political aspects of Jinnah. The book received positive reception in Pakistan. Jinnah of Pakistan (1984) by Stanley Wolpert is regarded as one of the best biographical books on Jinnah.
The view of Jinnah in the West has been shaped to some extent by his portrayal in Sir Richard Attenborough's 1982 film, Gandhi. The film was dedicated to Nehru and Mountbatten and was given considerable support by Nehru's daughter, the Indian prime minister, Indira Gandhi. It portrays Jinnah (played by Alyque Padamsee) in an unflattering light, who seems to act out of jealousy of Gandhi. Padamsee later stated that his portrayal was not historically accurate. In a journal article on Pakistan's first governor-general, historian R. J. Moore wrote that Jinnah is universally recognised as central to the creation of Pakistan. Stanley Wolpert summarises the profound effect that Jinnah had on the world:
See also
List of peace activists
List of civil rights leaders
Notes
Citations
References
Bibliography
Further reading
Journals and other media
External links
Mohammad Ali Jinnah Official Page
Correspondence with the Muslim League – 1946 – UK Parliament Living Heritage
Quotes from the Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah
Mohammad Ali Jinnah Biography
Government of Pakistan Website
Address to the First Constituent Assembly of Pakistan on 11 August 1947
1876 births
1948 deaths
Pakistani Muslims
Converts to Sunni Islam from Shia Islam
Pakistani former Shia Muslims
Pakistani Sunni Muslims
20th-century deaths from tuberculosis
All India Muslim League members
Alumni of the Inns of Court School of Law
Cathedral and John Connon School alumni
Church Mission School alumni
Governors-General of Pakistan
Indian National Congress politicians
Indian newspaper founders
Muhammad Ali
Lawyers from Karachi
Members of Central Legislative Assembly of India
Members of Lincoln's Inn
Members of the Fabian Society
Members of the Imperial Legislative Council of India
Members of the Pakistan Philosophical Congress
National symbols of Pakistan
Pakistani barristers
Pakistani expatriates in England
Pakistani MNAs 1947–1954
Pakistani newspaper founders
Pakistani people of Gujarati descent
Partition of India
Presidents of Pakistan
Politicians from Karachi
Sindh Madressatul Islam University alumni
Tuberculosis deaths in Pakistan
University of Mumbai alumni
Infectious disease deaths in Sindh | true | [
"Was soll das Volk vom dritten Geschlecht wissen (\"What the people should know about the third sex\") was a pamphlet about gay people in early twentieth-century Germany.\n\nPublished in 1901, the pamphlet was written by Magnus Hirschfeld, a doctor at the Scientific-Humanitarian Committee in Berlin. Written during the first homosexual movement, it argued that gay people were sexually intermediate, and constituted a third sex within society who deserved equal rights under German law. It was written for a popular audience, rather than a medical or scientific one, and simplified a number of Hirschfeld's theories on human sexuality.\n\nThe pamphlet was popular and amassed over 50,000 copies in print. The book was controversial, with several women who read the pamphlets wishing to procure writs against Hirschfeld for the pamphlet's contents.\n\nAn abridged and translated copy of the work was published in 1923 British Society for the Study of Sex Psychology within the title The Problem of Sexual Inversion.\n\nSee also \nDas 3. Geschlecht (1930-1932), a transgender-themed magazine\n\nNotes\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links \nRead aloud (on Wikimedia Commons)\n\nFirst homosexual movement\n1901 works\nLGBT history in Germany\n1900s LGBT literature",
"Pamphlet wars refer to any protracted argument or discussion through printed medium, especially between the time the printing press became common, and when state intervention like copyright laws made such public discourse more difficult. The purpose was to defend or attack a certain perspective or idea. Pamphlet wars have occurred multiple times throughout history, as both social and political platforms. Pamphlet wars became viable platforms for this protracted discussion with the advent and spread of the printing press. Cheap printing presses, and increased literacy made the late 17th century a key stepping stone for the development of pamphlet wars, a period of prolific use of this type of debate. Over 2200 pamphlets were published between 1600–1715 alone. \n\nPamphlet wars are generally credited for powering many key social changes of the era, including the Reformation and the Revolution Controversy, the English philosophical debate set off by the French Revolution.\n\nHistory of the pamphlet in England \n\nThe growth of British literature started in the 1520s. It was generally used in this decade and several following for debates over different religious practices. It was a pattern in Europe that the press was used in order to war over religion, and England was no exception. Henry VIII used literature to try to rewrite history, attempting to justify his break from Rome and the Catholic Church.\nDuring the subsequent reigns of Edward and Mary, literature was used not only for religious purposes, but also as a sort of propaganda war. The written word had enormous potential to sway the common opinion.\nIn the 1560s, print was first used for conveying news. In 1562, the first pamphlets were reported, which discussed the English forces sent to aid the French Huguenots. In 1569, pamphlets were again used to report the revolt of the Northern Earls and the Rebellion of 1569.\nBeginning in the 1580s pamphlets began to replace broadsheet ballads as the means to convey news to the general public. The pamphlet gained more and more popularity over the next century until 1688, by which time it was the main way to gain public support for an idea.\nAfter the Glorious Revolution, the pamphlet lost some popularity due to the emergence of newspapers and periodicals, but continued to be an important factor, as illustrated by the Revolution Controversy a full century later in the 1790s.\n\nPamphlet printing\n\nComing from a Latin word, \"pamphlet\" literally means \"small book.\" In the early days of printing, the format of the book or pamphlet depended on the size of the paper used and the number of times it was folded. If a page was only folded once, it was called a folio. If it was folded twice, it was known as a quarto. An octave was a paper folded three times. A pamphlet was usually 1-12 sheets of paper folded in quarto, or 8-96 pages. It was sold for one or two pennies apiece.\nThe printing of a pamphlet involved many people: the author, the printer, suppliers, print-makers, compositor, correctors, pressmen, binders, and distributors. Once the pamphleteer had written the pamphlet, it was sent to the printing house to be corrected, set into type, and printed. The papers were then given to the printer's warehouse-keeper, who bundled the copies and sent them to the bookseller, who was probably the one financing the printing. He was responsible to bind the pamphlets, usually by sewing them, and then sold them wholesale to individual bookselling vendors. The booksellers then sold them from a stall in the marketplace.\n\nPamphlet subjects \n\nPamphlets began as the means of conveyance for religious debates, and therefore religious topics were one of the main subjects they dealt with. The definition of a pamphlet came to mean a short work dealing with social, political, or religious issues. Typical topics included the Civil war, Church of England doctrines, Acts of Parliament, the Popish Plot (see below), the Stuart Era, and Cromwell propaganda.\nIn addition, pamphlets were also used for romantic fiction, autobiography, scurrilous personal abuse, and social criticism. They contained much of the propaganda of the 17th century in the midst of the religious and political turmoil. They were also used for debates between the Puritans and the Anglican. During the Glorious Revolution, pamphlets were political weapons.\n\nAuthors \n\nThere were many authors of pamphlets. However some of the more popular authors include Daniel Defoe, Thomas Hobbes, Jonathan Swift, John Milton, and Samuel Pepys. Also included in the midst are Thomas Nashe, Joseph Addison, Richard Steele, and Matthew Prior.\nIn 1591–1592, Robert Greene released a series of pamphlets which later inspired many other authors including Thomas Middleton and Thomas Dekker.\n\nCritics \nPamphlets, along with their vast popularity, received criticism. There were many in the time period who believed that pamphlets were full of foolishness. They thought the pamphlets were not good enough literature and that they would turn people from \"good\" writing. They believed that pamphlets would be the end of the great volumes of literature and that great writing would be forgotten.\n\nNews reporting\nPamphlets made a great difference in the way news was reported to the general public. With the publication of pamphlets, it was no longer difficult for people to hear of events taking place far away. The closer the occurrence was to London, the easier and faster people heard of it. For example, the Battle of Edgehill took place on 23 October 1642. The first pamphlet reporting the incident was printed on 25 October 24 hours after some of the orders reported had been given. While not entirely accurate, and hurriedly made, the pamphlet nonetheless was able to tell the general public what had happened in the battle. A more accurate, specific, and readable account was available in a pamphlet printed on 26 October, and the \"authorized\" version was available only five days after the battle took place.\n\nMarprelate pamphlets \nIn 1588, a series of pamphlets marked the turning point for the Puritans, dividing them from other Protestants in the country. These pamphlets set forth Puritan doctrines and aroused a lot of controversy. The authors wrote under the pseudonym of Martin Marprelate, and his two sons of the same name. The true authors were never discovered.\nThe series of pamphlets was written with the aim to provoke a response from authorities in regards to action they wanted taken against censorship. The series was among the first to engage the audience, asking questions and addressing the reader directly.\n\nEarly pamphlet wars\n\nElizabethan pamphlet wars\nAs a means of forming or swaying public opinion, pamphlets like these had a in both influencing society, and the content being influenced by society. During the 16th century and continuing for a short while in the early 17th century in England there was rise in the use of pamphlet wars to discuss a myriad of issues spanning from the civil war, to religious freedoms and the roles of women in society. The Queen herself participated in these discussions, making sure that she was widely read and understood by her people in order to gain favor and establish herself as the monarch despite being a woman. Examples of her use of this medium appear in To the Troops at Tilbury written in 1588, On Mary's Execution written in 1586, and many more. Another famous writer of this period to take advantage of the pamphlet was Emilia Lanier, famous for her arguments about the role of women. A common idea promoted by many literary works and the general attitude towards females, Lanier's work \"Eve's Apology in Defense of Women\" refuted the belief that Eve is responsible for the fall of man. A very uncommon and unpopular stance to take, Lanier accomplishes her defense through structuring it as an apology, one of the earliest subversive feminist texts. Similarly, Francis Bacon wrote his Essays to promote his idea of morality and other complicated social issues. For example, his work, \"Of Love\" examines the various understandings of the concept of love, particularly as it was perceived during the Elizabethan era.\n\nEikon Series \n\nIn 1649, and until 1651, some five pamphlets were published in a debate about the execution of Charles I, the king of Ireland, Scotland, and England. The king himself, pre-death, wrote the first pamphlet in the discussion (Eikon Basilike: The Portraiture of His Sacred Majesty in His Solitudes and Sufferings), painting himself a martyr. In the following months, what came to be known as the \"Eikon\" series were published: Eikon Alethine, Eikon e Pistes, Eikonoklastes, and Eikon Aklastos, (\"eikon is greek for \"image). all alternately attacking or defending the idea surrounding the king's death and his own pamphlet. This war of words was about preserving or erasing the memory and thoughts of Charles I. It was a battle about the significance of his execution, and the execution of a monarch in general, which was seen as an execution of the personification of law and power.\n\nPopish Plot and Elizabeth Cellier \n\nIn the 1680s, after being acquitted of the \"Meal-Tub Plot\" for which she was accused, Elizabeth Cellier wrote Malice Defeated, which, along with The Matchless Picaro, sparked a pamphlet war surrounding debate of the ascension of a Catholic king to the throne. She, and many associates, published several dozen works regarding the issues of their time in dealing with the Popish Plot. The repercussions of Cellier's writings were widespread as members of her company were arrested and punished. Cellier herself was convicted of libel and received harsh punishment, including being stoned and imprisoned for a time.\n\nEffects \nThese early pamphlet wars served to change the way literary, and even social, conversations were viewed and carried out. They also created new ways of conversation, and new styles of language. Elizabeth Cellier was also a key figure in her defiance of normal gender roles and willingness to publicly submit her writings and vocalize her views. Throughout history they have allowed for discussion on a widespread and influential level.\n\nNotes\n\nReferences \n Grossman, Marshall. Pamphlet Wars: To Kill a King! 29 February 2012.\n Winkelman, Carol L. The discourse of conflict and resistance: Elizabeth Cellier and the seventeenth-century pamphlet wars. The University of Michigan, 1992.\n https://web.archive.org/web/20171002012903/http://www.newberry.org/british-pamphlets-17th-century\n\nPolitical debates\nPropaganda\nPamphlets\nSocial media"
] |
[
"Queens of the Stone Age",
"Songs for the Deaf, mainstream exposure and Oliveri's departure (2001-2004)"
] | C_d405e5d5e7864c139756931c9fae6138_0 | Why did Oliveri leave? | 1 | Why did Oliveri leave the band Queens of the Stone Age ? | Queens of the Stone Age | Foo Fighters frontman and former Nirvana drummer, Dave Grohl, joined in late 2001 to record drums for their third album. Songs for the Deaf was released in August 2002, again featuring Lanegan, along with former A Perfect Circle guitarist Troy Van Leeuwen to the touring line-up following the album's release. Also featured on Songs for the Deaf for the final track "Mosquito Song" were former A Perfect Circle bassist Paz Lenchantin on viola and piano, and Dean Ween on guitar. This record was supposed to sound bizarre--like lightning in a bottle. We also were extremely fucked up. It even sounds that way to me, like a crazy person. The radio interludes are supposed to be like the drive from L.A. to Joshua Tree, a drive that makes you feel like you're letting go--more David Lynch with every mile. Songs for the Deaf was a critical hit and was certified gold in 2003, with sales of over 900,000. The singles "No One Knows" and "Go with the Flow" became hits on radio and MTV, with the former just outside the Billboard Top 40. "No One Knows" and "Go with the Flow" were also featured on the first iterations of the popular video games Guitar Hero and Rock Band (respectively). The Songs for the Deaf tour culminated in a string of headline dates in Australia in January 2004. Grohl returned to his other projects and was replaced on the European leg of the tour by former Danzig drummer Joey Castillo, who joined the band full-time. After the tour, Homme fired Oliveri, as he was convinced that Oliveri had been physically abusive to his girlfriend: "A couple years ago, I spoke to Nick about a rumor I heard. I said, 'If I ever find out that this is true, I can't know you, man.'" Homme considered breaking up the band after firing Oliveri, but found a new determination to continue. Oliveri countered in the press that the band had been "poisoned by hunger for power" and that without him, they were "Queens Lite." He later softened his opinion and said: "My relationship with Josh is good. The new Queens record kicks ass." The two reportedly are still friends and as of October 2006, Oliveri was interested in rejoining the band. Oliveri later contributed to a Queens of the Stone Age for the first time in nine years, contributing backing vocals to the band's sixth album, ...Like Clockwork. CANNOTANSWER | After the tour, Homme fired Oliveri, as he was convinced that Oliveri had been physically abusive to his girlfriend: " | Queens of the Stone Age (commonly abbreviated QOTSA) is an American rock band formed in 1996 in Palm Desert, California. The band was founded by vocalist and guitarist Josh Homme, who has been the only constant member throughout multiple line-up changes. The current line-up consists of Homme alongside Troy Van Leeuwen (guitar, lap steel, keyboard, percussion, backing vocals), Michael Shuman (bass guitar, keyboard, backing vocals), Dean Fertita (keyboards, guitar, percussion, backing vocals), and Jon Theodore (drums, percussion). The band also have a large pool of contributors and collaborators. Queens of the Stone Age are known for their blues, Krautrock and electronica-influenced style of riff-oriented and rhythmic hard rock music, coupled with Homme's distinct falsetto vocals and unorthodox guitar scales.
Formed after the dissolution of Homme's previous band Kyuss, the band originated from the Palm Desert music scene. Their self-titled debut album was recorded with former Kyuss members Alfredo Hernández on drums and Homme on all other instruments. It was well received by critics for its stoner rock sound which Homme has described as "robot rock". Nick Oliveri and Mark Lanegan joined as additional vocalists for Rated R, which was commercially and critically successful. Rated R diversified their musical palette with forays into psychedelic rock, punk rock and heavy metal, and featured their breakout single "Feel Good Hit of the Summer". Songs for the Deaf was released in 2002 to universal acclaim and commercial success, and featured Dave Grohl on drums and contributions from Alain Johannes and Natasha Shneider. By this time, the band had achieved considerable international recognition, and have since embarked on successive world tours. Following Oliveri and Lanegan's departures, Homme was the primary singer for 2005's Lullabies to Paralyze and 2007's electronic-influenced Era Vulgaris.
After a few years of inactivity, the more sombre and introspective ...Like Clockwork was released in 2013 to critical acclaim. The band released Villains in 2017 with Mark Ronson as producer.
The band have been nominated for Grammy Awards seven times; four times for Best Hard Rock Performance, twice for Best Rock Album, and once for Best Rock Performance.
History
Formation and debut album (1996–1999)
After the breakup of his previous band, Kyuss, in 1995, Josh Homme briefly joined Screaming Trees as a touring guitarist, before deciding to form a new band, Gamma Ray. In 1996 they released the eponymous Gamma Ray EP, featuring "Born to Hula" and "If Only Everything" (which would later appear on their self-titled debut as "If Only"). The EP featured Matt Cameron of Soundgarden and Pearl Jam, Van Conner from Screaming Trees, and percussionist Victor Indrizzo.
Gamma Ray changed their name in 1997 after the German power metal band Gamma Ray threatened to sue. The name "Queens of the Stone Age" came from a nickname given to Kyuss by their producer Chris Goss. Homme said of the name: "Kings would be too macho. The Kings of the Stone Age wear armor and have axes and wrestle. The Queens of the Stone Age hang out with the Kings of the Stone Age's girlfriends when they wrestle ... Rock should be heavy enough for the boys and sweet enough for the girls. That way everyone's happy and it's more of a party. Kings of the Stone Age is too lopsided."
The first release under the Queens of the Stone Age name was the song "18 A.D.," released on the compilation album Burn One Up! Music for Stoners which featured members of the Dutch stoner rock band Beaver. The band's first live appearance was on November 20, 1997, at OK Hotel in Seattle, Washington, with Cameron on drums, Mike Johnson of Dinosaur Jr. on bass and John McBain of Monster Magnet on guitar. In December that year, the band released a split EP, Kyuss/Queens of the Stone Age, which featured three tracks from the Gamma Ray sessions as well as three Kyuss tracks recorded in 1995 prior to their breakup.
Queens of the Stone Age released their self-titled debut in 1998 on Stone Gossard's and Regan Hagar's label Loosegroove Records, and on vinyl by Man's Ruin Records. Homme played guitar and bass on the album (the latter credited to Homme's alter-ego Carlo Von Sexron), Alfredo Hernández on the drums, and several other contributions by Chris Goss and Hutch. Homme reportedly asked Screaming Trees vocalist Mark Lanegan to appear on the record, but he was unable due to other commitments.
Soon after the recording sessions were finished for the album, former Kyuss bassist Nick Oliveri joined the group, and touring commenced with a band consisting entirely of ex-Kyuss members. Guitarist Dave Catching joined shortly after. From this point forward, the band's line-up would change frequently; by the time their second album was being recorded, Hernández had left the group to play in other bands.
Rated R (2000–2001)
2000's Rated R featured myriad musicians familiar with Homme and Oliveri's work and "crew" of sorts: among others, drummers Nick Lucero and Gene Trautmann, guitarists Dave Catching, Brendon McNichol, and Chris Goss contributed, and even Judas Priest frontman Rob Halford, recording next door, stepped in for a guest spot on "Feel Good Hit of the Summer."
The album garnered positive reviews and received a lot more attention than their debut, despite the fact that the lyrics to "Feel Good Hit of the Summer" were deemed by mega-retailer Walmart to promote drug use, almost causing the record to get pulled from store shelves. The success of the record also earned the band notable opening slots with The Smashing Pumpkins, Foo Fighters, Hole, and a place at Ozzfest 2000. It was during this time that Homme stated:
During the 2001 Rock in Rio show, bassist Nick Oliveri was arrested after performing on stage naked, with only his bass guitar covering his genitals. Oliveri apologized to officials, saying that he did not know it was a crime in Brazil.
Following his work on Rated R, former Screaming Trees vocalist Mark Lanegan joined the band as a full-time member, a position he held until early 2005.
Towards the end of the Rated R tour, the band's performance at the 2001 Rock am Ring festival in Germany was, according to Homme, "the worst show we've ever played and it was in front of 40,000 people." The band decided to tattoo themselves with the starting time of the performance, "Freitag 4:15." As Oliveri explained:
Songs for the Deaf, mainstream exposure and Oliveri's departure (2001–2004)
Foo Fighters frontman and former Nirvana drummer, Dave Grohl, joined in late 2001 to record drums for their third album. Songs for the Deaf was released in August 2002, again featuring Lanegan, along with former A Perfect Circle guitarist Troy Van Leeuwen to the touring line-up following the album's release. Also featured on Songs for the Deaf for the final track "Mosquito Song" were former A Perfect Circle bassist Paz Lenchantin on viola and piano, and Dean Ween on guitar.
Songs for the Deaf was a critical hit and was certified gold in 2003, with sales of over 900,000. The singles "No One Knows" and "Go with the Flow" became hits on radio and MTV, with the former just outside the Billboard Top 40. "No One Knows" and "Go with the Flow" were also featured on the first iterations of the popular video games Guitar Hero and Rock Band (respectively). The song "You Think I Ain't Worth a Dollar, But I Feel Like a Millionaire" was featured as the theme song in Naughty Dog's "Jak X: Combat Racing" in 2005 along with "A Song For The Dead".
The Songs for the Deaf tour culminated in a string of headline dates in Australia in January 2004. Grohl returned to his other projects and was replaced on the European leg of the tour by former Danzig drummer Joey Castillo, who joined the band full-time. After the tour, Homme fired Oliveri, as he was convinced that Oliveri had been physically abusive to his girlfriend: "A couple years ago, I spoke to Nick about a rumor I heard. I said, 'If I ever find out that this is true, I can't know you, man.'" Homme considered breaking up the band after firing Oliveri, but found a new determination to continue. Oliveri countered in the press that the band had been "poisoned by hunger for power" and that without him, they were "Queens Lite." He later softened his opinion and said: "My relationship with Josh is good. The new Queens record kicks ass." The two reportedly are still friends and as of October 2006, Oliveri was interested in rejoining the band. Oliveri later contributed to a Queens of the Stone Age for the first time in nine years, contributing backing vocals to the band's sixth album, ...Like Clockwork.
Lullabies to Paralyze (2004–2006)
In late 2004, Homme, along with Eleven multi-instrumentalist Alain Johannes and remaining band members Van Leeuwen and Castillo recorded the Queens' fourth studio album, Lullabies to Paralyze, a title taken from a lyric in "Mosquito Song" from their previous album. The album featured guests including ZZ Top's Billy Gibbons. Despite Lanegan reportedly turning down an invitation to remain with the band, he recorded vocals on new tracks (notably the solo vocalist on the opening track "This Lullaby") and appeared on the supporting tour as scheduling and his health permitted.
Lullabies to Paralyze was leaked onto the internet in February 2005 and was aired by Triple J radio in Australia on March 3, 2005 as an unsubstantiated 'World Premiere'. It was then officially released on Tuesday, March 22, 2005 in the US, debuting in the number 5 slot on the Billboard Music Chart, the greatest debut of any Queens record until ...Like Clockwork debuted at number 1 in June 2013.
On May 14, 2005, the group was the musical guest on Saturday Night Live, hosted by Will Ferrell. One of Ferrell's popular Saturday Night Live characters, fictional Blue Öyster Cult cowbellist Gene Frenkle, made a re-appearance on the show, playing with the Queens on their first song of the night, "Little Sister." Frenkle played the song's wood block part using a cowbell along with the band.
On November 22, 2005, Queens of the Stone Age released a live album/DVD set, Over the Years and Through the Woods, featuring a live concert filmed in London, England, and bonus features which included rare videos of songs from 1998 to 2005. In 2005, the group supported Nine Inch Nails on their North American tour of With Teeth along with Autolux (for the first half of the tour) and Death from Above 1979 (for the second). NIN's guitarist Aaron North appeared as an onstage guest with the Queens for the songs "Born to Hula," "Regular John," "Avon," "Monsters in the Parasol" and "Long, Slow Goodbye" at the Wiltern LG in Los Angeles on December 19 and 20, 2005.
Another onstage guest for the December 20 performance was Homme's former Kyuss bandmate John Garcia, the first time that Homme and Garcia had played together since 1997. As a special encore they performed three Kyuss songs: "Thumb," "Hurricane" and "Supa Scoopa and Mighty Scoop." Homme stated that the band's lowest point was during the Lullabies era, but that the record "took the lead jacket off" the band following the firing of Oliveri in 2004.
Era Vulgaris and death of Shneider (2007–2008)
On Valentine's Day 2007, the band's official website announced the new album would be titled Era Vulgaris, and would be released in June. Later in February, teaser videos surfaced showing Homme, Castillo, Van Leeuwen and Johannes in studio. Several sites reported that the album would include many guest vocalists, including Trent Reznor from Nine Inch Nails, Julian Casablancas from The Strokes, Mark Lanegan, Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top, and deceased humorist Erma Bombeck. Death from Above 1979 bassist Jesse F. Keeler had been expected to play bass on the studio recording of the album, but not to tour; however, due to schedule conflicts, he stated he would not be appearing on the album.
Era Vulgaris was completed in early April 2007 and released June 12, 2007 in the US. The tracks "Sick, Sick, Sick" and "3's & 7's" were released as singles in early June. Homme has described the record as "dark, hard, and electrical, sort of like a construction worker." When asked about the vocals on the record, specifically the different style of singing that Homme used, he replied:
Bassist Michael Shuman (Wires On Fire, Jubilee and Mini Mansions) and keyboardist Dean Fertita (The Waxwings, The Dead Weather) took over touring duties from Alain Johannes and Natasha Shneider, respectively. In July 2007, Van Leeuwen stated the band had written new material, "still in its infancy" which Homme later suggested might be released as an EP. Following a subsequent interview with Homme, The Globe and Mail reported that the EP "could contain as many as 10 B-sides recorded during the Era Vulgaris sessions." It was later reported that the EP would not be released due to the record label's unwillingness to put out another QOTSA release at that time.
The band began a North American Tour in 2007, which they named the "Duluth Tour" because they were going to many small towns and cities they had never played before, such as Duluth, Minnesota. The tour was extended to other areas, such as the United Kingdom, where the band played more shows than on any of their previous UK tours. The band toured in Australia in late March to early April 2008, on the V festival tour, including a string of side shows. Throughout the beginning of May 2008, the band completed the Canadian leg of its touring.
In November 2007, Queens of the Stone Age performed a semi-acoustic set in an underground salt mine in Germany, performing a selection of hits, rarities, covers and an unreleased song named "Cathedral City." A DVD of the concert was planned but aside from a trailer promoting the DVD and a number of photographs, no footage of the concert has been released.
On July 2, 2008, Queens of the Stone Age's former keyboardist Natasha Shneider died of lung cancer at the age of 52. The news broke with a message posted on the MySpace page of the band Sweethead, of which Natasha's close friend and former bandmate Troy Van Leeuwen is a member. The band's homepage was updated with a memorial message by Homme replacing the normal front page. The band performed a concert in celebration of Natasha Shneider's life at the Henry Fonda Theatre in Los Angeles on August 16, 2008. They were joined on stage by Shneider's husband Alain Johannes, Jack Black and Kyle Gass, Matt Cameron, Brody Dalle, Jesse Hughes, Chris Goss and PJ Harvey, playing a variety of QOTSA and non-QOTSA songs, including covers of songs from bands such as Cream and The Doors. Tenacious D and PJ Harvey also performed acoustic sets at the show. Proceeds from the concert went to defray the costs associated with Natasha's illness.
On August 22 and 23, 2008, Queens of the Stone Age performed the last shows of their Era Vulgaris tour at the Reading and Leeds Festivals in the UK, and Josh Homme announced in an interview with the BBC and during the show that he would be returning to the studio to work on the next album.
Homme's health issues, debut re-release and promotional tour (2009–2011)
During 2009 and 2010, band members worked on side projects during the down time. Troy Van Leeuwen started up a new band, Sweethead. Joey Castillo played for Eagles of Death Metal on their Heart On tour. Bassist Michael Shuman continued his work as drummer and vocalist with Mini Mansions, while Dean Fertita became the guitarist/keyboardist for Jack White's newest group, The Dead Weather. Josh Homme formed supergroup Them Crooked Vultures with Dave Grohl and John Paul Jones. After Them Crooked Vultures finished touring in June, the band toured and released a two-CD deluxe edition of Rated R on August 3, 2010. This edition featured the original CD along with six B-sides and live recordings from the band's Reading performance in 2000.
In 2010, Homme suffered from complications during a botched knee surgery, during which his heart stopped for a short time due to asphyxiation; doctors had to use a defibrillator to revive him. Following this, he was bedridden for four months and plunged into a deep depression, during which he considered giving up his music career altogether. He elaborated on this experience further in an interview on Marc Maron's WTF podcast, explaining that he had contracted a methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infection which his immune system could not fight due to stress. Homme has since said that the experience contributed greatly to the writing and recording of ...Like Clockwork.
After Homme recovered, Queens of the Stone Age released a remastered version of their self-titled debut album in early 2011, and performed the album in its entirety in a promotional tour. The band performed on Conan on April 14, and later played at the Australian music festival Soundwave. Throughout the summer of 2011, the band appeared at various European festivals, including the Glastonbury Festival, in Somerset, UK. They also played at Pearl Jam's 20th Anniversary Festival at Alpine Valley in East Troy, WI on September 3 and 4, 2011, which would be their last with drummer Joey Castillo.
...Like Clockwork (2011–2014)
Plans to record a follow-up to Era Vulgaris had been mentioned since 2008, but recording would not begin until August 2012. In March 2011, Homme stated, "Doing the rehearsals for the first record is really defining the new one. It's been turning the new record into something else. What we were doing was bluesy, and now it's turned into this trancey, broken thing. The robots are coming home!" According to Homme, the album would be finished by the end of 2012. He explained to BBC Radio 1, "We're going to take our one last break that we would get for a month, come back and do Glastonbury, then immediately jump in the studio. Our record will be done by the end of the year. We have enough songs."
In November 2011, frequent collaborator Alain Johannes stated in regard to his studio work with the band: "We had a late night with Queens of the Stone Age again. [...] Just putting in days, super top secret, but it's going to be amazing. I'm really excited about it. [...] Once we start the process, it goes to completion. So I can't say exactly when, but it's a really good start."
On August 20, 2012, the band stated via a Facebook status update that they were "recording" their new album.
In September 2012, it was revealed that Homme and producer Dave Sardy co-wrote and recorded a song entitled "Nobody To Love," which is featured during the end credits of the film End of Watch.
In November 2012, Homme informed BBC's Zane Lowe that Joey Castillo had left the band and that drums on the new album would be performed by Dave Grohl, who also performed on Songs for the Deaf. Homme also confirmed with Lowe that the album would be released prior to their performance at the Download Festival in June 2013. In addition to Grohl, other former members contributing to the album include former bassists Nick Oliveri and Johannes, and vocalist Mark Lanegan.
A number of collaborations from different musicians were announced for ...Like Clockwork, including Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor, Scissor Sisters frontman Jake Shears, Brody Dalle, and Elton John.
In early 2013, Homme and fellow Queens contributors including Alain Johannes and Chris Goss recorded for the soundtrack of Dave Grohl's Sound City: Real to Reel. Goss, Johannes and Homme were on three tracks each. Josh's notably included a collaboration with Grohl and Trent Reznor called Mantra, and he was also featured in the film in an interview segment. Goss and Johannes were both featured members in the Sound City Players, playing Masters of Reality, Eleven, and Desert Sessions songs, as well as their penned tunes from the soundtrack. Former Kyuss bassist Scott Reeder also contributed to the soundtrack.
In March 2013, Queens of the Stone Age announced that the new album, entitled ...Like Clockwork, would be released in June 2013 on Matador Records. A press release, issued by Matador at 9:00am EST on March 26, 2013, revealed further details of the album, including further guest appearances: Alex Turner of Arctic Monkeys and UNKLE's James Lavelle. In addition to Grohl's contribution, the record also features performances by former drummer Castillo, as well as tracks by new drummer Jon Theodore (ex-The Mars Volta, One Day as a Lion). Queens of the Stone Age premiered a new song, "My God Is The Sun", at Lollapalooza Brasil on March 30, 2013, a performance in which Theodore made his live debut. The studio version of the song premiered on Lowe's BBC Radio 1 program on April 8, 2013.
...Like Clockwork was released on June 3, 2013 on Matador Records in the UK and on June 4 in the United States. Self-produced by the band, it is the first Queens of the Stone Age album to feature full contributions from bassist Michael Shuman and keyboardist and guitarist Dean Fertita. The album debuted in the number one position in the US and is the first QOTSA album to achieve this ranking.
Following a performance by QOTSA at the Jay Z-owned Made In America Festival in the summer of 2013, Homme made comments about the rap star during a radio interview with CBC Radio 2's Strombo Show. Homme explained that his band was frisked by the event's security team prior to the performance and referred to Jay Z's personal interaction with the band as a marketing stunt. Homme stated:
The ...Like Clockwork tour culminated with a Halloween party at The Forum in Los Angeles, featuring guests such as The Kills, JD McPherson and Nick Oliveri's band Uncontrollable. The band's performance featured an appearance from Oliveri who played songs with them during the encore set, including songs such as "Auto Pilot" and "Quick and to the Pointless" which had not been performed in a decade.
Villains (2014–2018)
The band performed with Nine Inch Nails, Lindsey Buckingham and Dave Grohl at the 56th Annual Grammy Awards. The band went on a joint headline tour of Australia with Nine Inch Nails in 2014.
In January 2014, Homme told Rolling Stone magazine the band would start recording a new album when they finished their tour for ...Like Clockwork. In June 2014, Homme performed a solo acoustic show at James Lavelle's Meltdown festival, featuring guest performances from Troy Van Leeuwen and Mark Lanegan. During this gig, Homme played a new song called "Villains of Circumstance," which was performed again at another acoustic set in 2016. The band indicated in February 2015, when it was announced they are to play Rock in Rio 2015 in Rio de Janeiro in September, that they were about to record a new album. Despite this, in March 2016, Michael Shuman revealed that the band were on a break.
During this period, the members of the band worked on various other projects. Josh Homme and Dean Fertita contributed to Iggy Pop's 2016 album Post Pop Depression and subsequent tour, while Troy van Leeuwen joined the rock supergroup Gone Is Gone with plans to release an EP and a studio album. In May 2016, Van Leeuwen announced plans to record Queens of the Stone Age's seventh studio album "sometime this year."
In January 2017, Troy Sanders from Mastodon and Gone Is Gone said Queens of the Stone Age will release a new album later in the year. Following this, the band posted several photos on social media featuring their studio and announced that they would be performing at the Fuji Rock Festival in July, their first performance in Japan since 2003. The band updated their social media accounts with a new logo and the words "Coming Twentyfive" on April 6, 2017, and announced a tour of Australia and New Zealand to begin in July.
On June 14, 2017, Queens of the Stone Age announced their new album Villains which was released on August 25, 2017. The teaser trailer took the form of a comedy skit featuring the band performing a polygraph test with Liam Lynch along with an appearance of the album's producer Mark Ronson, and featured a snippet of the song "Feet Don't Fail Me." The first single, "The Way You Used to Do," was released the following day along with the announcement of a world tour. The second advance single from the album, "The Evil Has Landed," was released August 10, 2017.
On October 24, 2017, as part of the Villains tour, the band headlined Madison Square Garden for the first time, having opened for Nine Inch Nails there in 2005, and for Red Hot Chili Peppers in 2003. Homme said he was "stoked". Three sets of free tickets to this show were hidden at three stations along the Q line of the New York City Subway.
On December 9, 2017, while on stage during the KROQ Acoustic Christmas concert in Inglewood, California, Homme kicked a photographer's camera into her face, resulting in injuries for which she later received medical treatment. Homme, who was under the influence of alcohol at the time, later apologized through a video on the band's Instagram page, saying, "I hope you're okay, and I'm truly sorry. And I understand you have to do whatever you have to do. I just want you to know that I'm sorry. Goodnight, godspeed."
Eighth studio album (2019–present)
In an interview with eonmusic in June 2019, Billy Gibbons announced that he has contributed to a new Queens of the Stone Age album that is set to be further announced by Homme later in the future. Gibbons also confirmed that Dave Grohl is involved in the recording sessions. Gibbons was later confirmed to be a contributor to Desert Sessions vol. 11 & 12, while Grohl denied the rumors, saying that he and Homme had only spent time together "riding motorcycles and eating waffles."
Musical style
Throughout its career, the band has been described as alternative rock, stoner rock, alternative metal, hard rock, and nu metal. Homme has described the band's self-titled debut album as driving music, angular and recorded dry, with the album featuring solid and repetitive riffs in its song structure. Rolling Stone magazine also noted a "connection between American meat-and-potatoes macho rock of the early 1970s, like Blue Cheer and Grand Funk Railroad, and the precision-timing drones in German rock of the same period." The band's following album - Rated R - contained a wider variety of instruments, several recording guests and lead vocals shared by Homme, Oliveri and Lanegan. Homme has also commented that "Our first record announced our sound. This one added that we're different and weird." The band continued to experiment on their third album, Songs for the Deaf, which also featured a line-up including three lead vocalists, many guest appearances and wide range of instrumentation, including horn and string sections. Homme has described Lullabies to Paralyze as a "dark" album, which includes imagery inspired by The Brothers Grimm folk and fairy tales. In 2005, Homme explained, "Where the poetry seems to be is when you start in the dark and reach for the light—that's what makes it not depressing to me..." The album changed gears from the band's previous distinct "driving" sound, much due to the departure of longtime member Nick Oliveri. The band almost exclusively used semi hollow body guitars during the making of the record. With Era Vulgaris the band continued to develop their signature sound with more dance-oriented elements and electronic influences, while Homme has currently gone back to being the only lead vocalist in the band and uses more distinct vocal melodies.
Homme has on numerous occasions described their music as "rock versions of electronic music," stating that he takes inspiration from the repetitive nature of electronic trance music along with various forms of dance music, hip hop, trip hop and Krautrock. This heavy rock style mixed with the structure of electronic music has been dubbed by Homme as "robot rock" in an interview with KUNO-TV at the Roskilde Festival 2001.
Homme has described aspects of his distinctive guitar playing style. He demonstrated the 'Josh Homme scale', which he claimed was the result of years playing and altering the blues scale. The scale has the intervals 1, b3, 3, b5, 5, 6, b7. His scale is the half whole scale with the second degree (b2) omitted. In the same interview Homme referenced some of his earlier influences on his playing, citing both polka guitar styles and the techniques of Jimi Hendrix.
Members
Current
Josh Homme – lead vocals, guitar, piano (1996–present), bass (1996–1998, 2004–2007)
Troy Van Leeuwen – guitar, lap steel guitar, keyboards, synthesizers, percussion, backing vocals (2002–present), bass (2005–2006)
Michael Shuman – bass, synthesizers, backing vocals (2007–present)
Dean Fertita – keyboards, synthesizers, guitar, percussion, backing vocals (2007–present)
Jon Theodore – drums, percussion, samplers (2013–present)
Former
Alfredo Hernández – drums, percussion (1998–1999)
Nick Oliveri – bass, co-lead and backing vocals (1998–2004)
Mark Lanegan – co-lead and backing vocals (2001–2005), keyboards (2005)
Dave Grohl – drums, percussion (2001–2002, official member; 2013, session member)
Joey Castillo – drums, percussion (2002–2012)
Alain Johannes – bass, backing vocals, guitar (2005–2007)
Natasha Shneider – keyboards, backing vocals (2005–2006)
Touring musicians
Dave Catching – guitar, keyboards, lap steel (1998–2000)
Peter Stahl - co-lead and backing vocals (1998-1999)
Gene Trautmann – drums, percussion (1999–2001)
Brendon McNichol – guitar, keyboards, lap steel (2000–2002)
Dan Druff – bass, guitar, backing vocals (2004–2005)
Frequent collaborators
Discography
Queens of the Stone Age (1998)
Rated R (2000)
Songs for the Deaf (2002)
Lullabies to Paralyze (2005)
Era Vulgaris (2007)
...Like Clockwork (2013)
Villains (2017)
Tours
Queens of the Stone Age Tour (1998–1999)
Rated R Tour (2000–2001)
Songs for the Deaf Tour (2002–2004)
Lullabies to Paralyze Tour (2005–2006)
Era Vulgaris Tour (2007–2008)
Queens of the Stone Age Re-Release Tour (2011)
...Like Clockwork Tour (2013–14)
Villains World Tour (2017–2018)
Awards and nominations
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"
|-
! scope="col" | Award
! scope="col" | Year
! scope="col" | Nominee(s)
! scope="col" | Category
! scope="col" | Result
! scope="col" class="unsortable"|
|-
! scope="row"|Kerrang! Awards
| 2000
| rowspan=2|Themselves
| Best International Newcomer
|
|
|-
!scope="row"|Žebřík Music Awards
| 2002
| Best International Surprise
|
|
At the 2001 NME Awards, the band was nominated for Best Metal Act. At the 2004 awards ceremony, they won Best Live Band.
In 2003, their music video for "Go With the Flow" was nominated for three MTV Video Music Awards: Art Direction, Breakthrough Video, and Best Special Effects in a Video. It won only the last category.
See also
Palm Desert Scene
References
External links
Alternative rock groups from California
American alternative metal musical groups
Hard rock musical groups from California
Musical groups established in 1996
Musical groups from Riverside County, California
Musical quintets
Kerrang! Awards winners
Palm Desert, California
1996 establishments in California
Stoner rock musical groups | true | [
"Death Acoustic is a solo acoustic record by American musician Nick Oliveri. The album contains mostly cover songs of bands Oliveri is involved in directly or is a fan of. Bands covered include Raw Power, GG Allin, Moistboyz, Kyuss, Queens of the Stone Age, The Misfits, and The Dwarves.\n\nOn January 15, 2010 the album was nominated for a High Times 2010 Doobie Award in the \"Best Alternative Rock Artist\" category. The winning nominees were awarded on March 21, 2010.\n\nTrack listing\n\"Start A Fight\" - 2:22 (Mauro)\n\"Invisible Like The Sky\" - 2:46 (Oliveri)\n\"Dairy Queen\" - 2:49 (Dahlia)\n\"I'm Gonna Leave You\" - 3:28 (Homme/Oliveri)\n\"Love Has Passed Me By\" - 3:07 (Kyuss)\n\"U Blow\" - 4:29 (Dickie Moist/Mickey Moist)\n\"Hybrid Moments\" - 2:08 (Glenn Danzig)\n\"Unless I Can Kill\" - 1:37 (Oliveri)\n\"Follow Me\" - 2:07 (Dahlia)\n\"Outlaw Scumfuc\" - 5:24 (GG Allin/Oliveri)\n\nCredits\nRecorded and produced by Nick Oliveri except \"Outlaw Scumfuc\" recorded by Bradley Cook\nAdditional guitar on \"Outlaw Scumfuc\" by Chris Henry\nMastered by Rock O'neil at Turtlerock\nDesign and layout Carl Whitbread\n\nReferences\n\n2009 albums\nNick Oliveri albums",
"Leave Me Alone is the debut album of Nick Oliveri's Uncontrollable, a solo project created by Nick Oliveri (Kyuss, Queens of the Stone Age, Dwarves, Mondo Generator) released in 2014 on Schnitzel Records.\n\nIt was recorded in 2013 at Thunder Underground Studios in Palm Springs, California by Harper Hug & Trevor Whatever. Nick Oliveri performs all of the instruments (vocals, guitar, bass & drums) on the album as well as all of the production & writing of the songs. He also recruited guest performers in such as Blag Dahlia of The Dwarves & Motörhead's Phil Campbell. The album is dedicated to deceased Eyehategod drummer Joey LaCaze.\n\nTrack listing\n\nCredits\nNick Oliveri – lead vocals, guitar, acoustic guitar on \"Leave Me Alone\", bass guitar & drums\n\nAdditional musicians\nDean Ween – lead guitar on \"Human Cannonball Explodes\"\nStephen Haas – lead guitar on \"Keep Me in the Loop\"\nLightnin' Woodcock – lead guitar on \"Luv Is Fiction\"\nMarc Diamond – lead guitar on \"Luv Is Fiction\" & \"Come and You're Gone\" \nBlag Dahlia – chorus vocals on \"Come and You're Gone\"\nPhil Campbell – lead guitar on \"The Robot Man\"\n\"Rex Everything\" – lead guitar on \"Get Lost (With Me)\"\nBruno Fevery – lead guitar on \"The Void\"\nMike Pygmie – lead guitar on \"Death Leads The Way\"\n\nAdditional personnel\nHarper Hug & Trevor Whatever – recording\nMathias Schneeberger – mastering\nNere Neska – artwork\n\nAdditional credits\nAll songs written by Nick Oliveri & published by Natural Light Music.\n\nCredits taken from liner notes.\n\nReferences\n\n2014 albums\nNick Oliveri albums"
] |
[
"Queens of the Stone Age",
"Songs for the Deaf, mainstream exposure and Oliveri's departure (2001-2004)",
"Why did Oliveri leave?",
"After the tour, Homme fired Oliveri, as he was convinced that Oliveri had been physically abusive to his girlfriend: \""
] | C_d405e5d5e7864c139756931c9fae6138_0 | What kind of mainstream exposure did they have? | 2 | What kind of mainstream exposure did Queens of the Stone Age have? | Queens of the Stone Age | Foo Fighters frontman and former Nirvana drummer, Dave Grohl, joined in late 2001 to record drums for their third album. Songs for the Deaf was released in August 2002, again featuring Lanegan, along with former A Perfect Circle guitarist Troy Van Leeuwen to the touring line-up following the album's release. Also featured on Songs for the Deaf for the final track "Mosquito Song" were former A Perfect Circle bassist Paz Lenchantin on viola and piano, and Dean Ween on guitar. This record was supposed to sound bizarre--like lightning in a bottle. We also were extremely fucked up. It even sounds that way to me, like a crazy person. The radio interludes are supposed to be like the drive from L.A. to Joshua Tree, a drive that makes you feel like you're letting go--more David Lynch with every mile. Songs for the Deaf was a critical hit and was certified gold in 2003, with sales of over 900,000. The singles "No One Knows" and "Go with the Flow" became hits on radio and MTV, with the former just outside the Billboard Top 40. "No One Knows" and "Go with the Flow" were also featured on the first iterations of the popular video games Guitar Hero and Rock Band (respectively). The Songs for the Deaf tour culminated in a string of headline dates in Australia in January 2004. Grohl returned to his other projects and was replaced on the European leg of the tour by former Danzig drummer Joey Castillo, who joined the band full-time. After the tour, Homme fired Oliveri, as he was convinced that Oliveri had been physically abusive to his girlfriend: "A couple years ago, I spoke to Nick about a rumor I heard. I said, 'If I ever find out that this is true, I can't know you, man.'" Homme considered breaking up the band after firing Oliveri, but found a new determination to continue. Oliveri countered in the press that the band had been "poisoned by hunger for power" and that without him, they were "Queens Lite." He later softened his opinion and said: "My relationship with Josh is good. The new Queens record kicks ass." The two reportedly are still friends and as of October 2006, Oliveri was interested in rejoining the band. Oliveri later contributed to a Queens of the Stone Age for the first time in nine years, contributing backing vocals to the band's sixth album, ...Like Clockwork. CANNOTANSWER | Songs for the Deaf was a critical hit and was certified gold in 2003, with sales of over 900,000. | Queens of the Stone Age (commonly abbreviated QOTSA) is an American rock band formed in 1996 in Palm Desert, California. The band was founded by vocalist and guitarist Josh Homme, who has been the only constant member throughout multiple line-up changes. The current line-up consists of Homme alongside Troy Van Leeuwen (guitar, lap steel, keyboard, percussion, backing vocals), Michael Shuman (bass guitar, keyboard, backing vocals), Dean Fertita (keyboards, guitar, percussion, backing vocals), and Jon Theodore (drums, percussion). The band also have a large pool of contributors and collaborators. Queens of the Stone Age are known for their blues, Krautrock and electronica-influenced style of riff-oriented and rhythmic hard rock music, coupled with Homme's distinct falsetto vocals and unorthodox guitar scales.
Formed after the dissolution of Homme's previous band Kyuss, the band originated from the Palm Desert music scene. Their self-titled debut album was recorded with former Kyuss members Alfredo Hernández on drums and Homme on all other instruments. It was well received by critics for its stoner rock sound which Homme has described as "robot rock". Nick Oliveri and Mark Lanegan joined as additional vocalists for Rated R, which was commercially and critically successful. Rated R diversified their musical palette with forays into psychedelic rock, punk rock and heavy metal, and featured their breakout single "Feel Good Hit of the Summer". Songs for the Deaf was released in 2002 to universal acclaim and commercial success, and featured Dave Grohl on drums and contributions from Alain Johannes and Natasha Shneider. By this time, the band had achieved considerable international recognition, and have since embarked on successive world tours. Following Oliveri and Lanegan's departures, Homme was the primary singer for 2005's Lullabies to Paralyze and 2007's electronic-influenced Era Vulgaris.
After a few years of inactivity, the more sombre and introspective ...Like Clockwork was released in 2013 to critical acclaim. The band released Villains in 2017 with Mark Ronson as producer.
The band have been nominated for Grammy Awards seven times; four times for Best Hard Rock Performance, twice for Best Rock Album, and once for Best Rock Performance.
History
Formation and debut album (1996–1999)
After the breakup of his previous band, Kyuss, in 1995, Josh Homme briefly joined Screaming Trees as a touring guitarist, before deciding to form a new band, Gamma Ray. In 1996 they released the eponymous Gamma Ray EP, featuring "Born to Hula" and "If Only Everything" (which would later appear on their self-titled debut as "If Only"). The EP featured Matt Cameron of Soundgarden and Pearl Jam, Van Conner from Screaming Trees, and percussionist Victor Indrizzo.
Gamma Ray changed their name in 1997 after the German power metal band Gamma Ray threatened to sue. The name "Queens of the Stone Age" came from a nickname given to Kyuss by their producer Chris Goss. Homme said of the name: "Kings would be too macho. The Kings of the Stone Age wear armor and have axes and wrestle. The Queens of the Stone Age hang out with the Kings of the Stone Age's girlfriends when they wrestle ... Rock should be heavy enough for the boys and sweet enough for the girls. That way everyone's happy and it's more of a party. Kings of the Stone Age is too lopsided."
The first release under the Queens of the Stone Age name was the song "18 A.D.," released on the compilation album Burn One Up! Music for Stoners which featured members of the Dutch stoner rock band Beaver. The band's first live appearance was on November 20, 1997, at OK Hotel in Seattle, Washington, with Cameron on drums, Mike Johnson of Dinosaur Jr. on bass and John McBain of Monster Magnet on guitar. In December that year, the band released a split EP, Kyuss/Queens of the Stone Age, which featured three tracks from the Gamma Ray sessions as well as three Kyuss tracks recorded in 1995 prior to their breakup.
Queens of the Stone Age released their self-titled debut in 1998 on Stone Gossard's and Regan Hagar's label Loosegroove Records, and on vinyl by Man's Ruin Records. Homme played guitar and bass on the album (the latter credited to Homme's alter-ego Carlo Von Sexron), Alfredo Hernández on the drums, and several other contributions by Chris Goss and Hutch. Homme reportedly asked Screaming Trees vocalist Mark Lanegan to appear on the record, but he was unable due to other commitments.
Soon after the recording sessions were finished for the album, former Kyuss bassist Nick Oliveri joined the group, and touring commenced with a band consisting entirely of ex-Kyuss members. Guitarist Dave Catching joined shortly after. From this point forward, the band's line-up would change frequently; by the time their second album was being recorded, Hernández had left the group to play in other bands.
Rated R (2000–2001)
2000's Rated R featured myriad musicians familiar with Homme and Oliveri's work and "crew" of sorts: among others, drummers Nick Lucero and Gene Trautmann, guitarists Dave Catching, Brendon McNichol, and Chris Goss contributed, and even Judas Priest frontman Rob Halford, recording next door, stepped in for a guest spot on "Feel Good Hit of the Summer."
The album garnered positive reviews and received a lot more attention than their debut, despite the fact that the lyrics to "Feel Good Hit of the Summer" were deemed by mega-retailer Walmart to promote drug use, almost causing the record to get pulled from store shelves. The success of the record also earned the band notable opening slots with The Smashing Pumpkins, Foo Fighters, Hole, and a place at Ozzfest 2000. It was during this time that Homme stated:
During the 2001 Rock in Rio show, bassist Nick Oliveri was arrested after performing on stage naked, with only his bass guitar covering his genitals. Oliveri apologized to officials, saying that he did not know it was a crime in Brazil.
Following his work on Rated R, former Screaming Trees vocalist Mark Lanegan joined the band as a full-time member, a position he held until early 2005.
Towards the end of the Rated R tour, the band's performance at the 2001 Rock am Ring festival in Germany was, according to Homme, "the worst show we've ever played and it was in front of 40,000 people." The band decided to tattoo themselves with the starting time of the performance, "Freitag 4:15." As Oliveri explained:
Songs for the Deaf, mainstream exposure and Oliveri's departure (2001–2004)
Foo Fighters frontman and former Nirvana drummer, Dave Grohl, joined in late 2001 to record drums for their third album. Songs for the Deaf was released in August 2002, again featuring Lanegan, along with former A Perfect Circle guitarist Troy Van Leeuwen to the touring line-up following the album's release. Also featured on Songs for the Deaf for the final track "Mosquito Song" were former A Perfect Circle bassist Paz Lenchantin on viola and piano, and Dean Ween on guitar.
Songs for the Deaf was a critical hit and was certified gold in 2003, with sales of over 900,000. The singles "No One Knows" and "Go with the Flow" became hits on radio and MTV, with the former just outside the Billboard Top 40. "No One Knows" and "Go with the Flow" were also featured on the first iterations of the popular video games Guitar Hero and Rock Band (respectively). The song "You Think I Ain't Worth a Dollar, But I Feel Like a Millionaire" was featured as the theme song in Naughty Dog's "Jak X: Combat Racing" in 2005 along with "A Song For The Dead".
The Songs for the Deaf tour culminated in a string of headline dates in Australia in January 2004. Grohl returned to his other projects and was replaced on the European leg of the tour by former Danzig drummer Joey Castillo, who joined the band full-time. After the tour, Homme fired Oliveri, as he was convinced that Oliveri had been physically abusive to his girlfriend: "A couple years ago, I spoke to Nick about a rumor I heard. I said, 'If I ever find out that this is true, I can't know you, man.'" Homme considered breaking up the band after firing Oliveri, but found a new determination to continue. Oliveri countered in the press that the band had been "poisoned by hunger for power" and that without him, they were "Queens Lite." He later softened his opinion and said: "My relationship with Josh is good. The new Queens record kicks ass." The two reportedly are still friends and as of October 2006, Oliveri was interested in rejoining the band. Oliveri later contributed to a Queens of the Stone Age for the first time in nine years, contributing backing vocals to the band's sixth album, ...Like Clockwork.
Lullabies to Paralyze (2004–2006)
In late 2004, Homme, along with Eleven multi-instrumentalist Alain Johannes and remaining band members Van Leeuwen and Castillo recorded the Queens' fourth studio album, Lullabies to Paralyze, a title taken from a lyric in "Mosquito Song" from their previous album. The album featured guests including ZZ Top's Billy Gibbons. Despite Lanegan reportedly turning down an invitation to remain with the band, he recorded vocals on new tracks (notably the solo vocalist on the opening track "This Lullaby") and appeared on the supporting tour as scheduling and his health permitted.
Lullabies to Paralyze was leaked onto the internet in February 2005 and was aired by Triple J radio in Australia on March 3, 2005 as an unsubstantiated 'World Premiere'. It was then officially released on Tuesday, March 22, 2005 in the US, debuting in the number 5 slot on the Billboard Music Chart, the greatest debut of any Queens record until ...Like Clockwork debuted at number 1 in June 2013.
On May 14, 2005, the group was the musical guest on Saturday Night Live, hosted by Will Ferrell. One of Ferrell's popular Saturday Night Live characters, fictional Blue Öyster Cult cowbellist Gene Frenkle, made a re-appearance on the show, playing with the Queens on their first song of the night, "Little Sister." Frenkle played the song's wood block part using a cowbell along with the band.
On November 22, 2005, Queens of the Stone Age released a live album/DVD set, Over the Years and Through the Woods, featuring a live concert filmed in London, England, and bonus features which included rare videos of songs from 1998 to 2005. In 2005, the group supported Nine Inch Nails on their North American tour of With Teeth along with Autolux (for the first half of the tour) and Death from Above 1979 (for the second). NIN's guitarist Aaron North appeared as an onstage guest with the Queens for the songs "Born to Hula," "Regular John," "Avon," "Monsters in the Parasol" and "Long, Slow Goodbye" at the Wiltern LG in Los Angeles on December 19 and 20, 2005.
Another onstage guest for the December 20 performance was Homme's former Kyuss bandmate John Garcia, the first time that Homme and Garcia had played together since 1997. As a special encore they performed three Kyuss songs: "Thumb," "Hurricane" and "Supa Scoopa and Mighty Scoop." Homme stated that the band's lowest point was during the Lullabies era, but that the record "took the lead jacket off" the band following the firing of Oliveri in 2004.
Era Vulgaris and death of Shneider (2007–2008)
On Valentine's Day 2007, the band's official website announced the new album would be titled Era Vulgaris, and would be released in June. Later in February, teaser videos surfaced showing Homme, Castillo, Van Leeuwen and Johannes in studio. Several sites reported that the album would include many guest vocalists, including Trent Reznor from Nine Inch Nails, Julian Casablancas from The Strokes, Mark Lanegan, Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top, and deceased humorist Erma Bombeck. Death from Above 1979 bassist Jesse F. Keeler had been expected to play bass on the studio recording of the album, but not to tour; however, due to schedule conflicts, he stated he would not be appearing on the album.
Era Vulgaris was completed in early April 2007 and released June 12, 2007 in the US. The tracks "Sick, Sick, Sick" and "3's & 7's" were released as singles in early June. Homme has described the record as "dark, hard, and electrical, sort of like a construction worker." When asked about the vocals on the record, specifically the different style of singing that Homme used, he replied:
Bassist Michael Shuman (Wires On Fire, Jubilee and Mini Mansions) and keyboardist Dean Fertita (The Waxwings, The Dead Weather) took over touring duties from Alain Johannes and Natasha Shneider, respectively. In July 2007, Van Leeuwen stated the band had written new material, "still in its infancy" which Homme later suggested might be released as an EP. Following a subsequent interview with Homme, The Globe and Mail reported that the EP "could contain as many as 10 B-sides recorded during the Era Vulgaris sessions." It was later reported that the EP would not be released due to the record label's unwillingness to put out another QOTSA release at that time.
The band began a North American Tour in 2007, which they named the "Duluth Tour" because they were going to many small towns and cities they had never played before, such as Duluth, Minnesota. The tour was extended to other areas, such as the United Kingdom, where the band played more shows than on any of their previous UK tours. The band toured in Australia in late March to early April 2008, on the V festival tour, including a string of side shows. Throughout the beginning of May 2008, the band completed the Canadian leg of its touring.
In November 2007, Queens of the Stone Age performed a semi-acoustic set in an underground salt mine in Germany, performing a selection of hits, rarities, covers and an unreleased song named "Cathedral City." A DVD of the concert was planned but aside from a trailer promoting the DVD and a number of photographs, no footage of the concert has been released.
On July 2, 2008, Queens of the Stone Age's former keyboardist Natasha Shneider died of lung cancer at the age of 52. The news broke with a message posted on the MySpace page of the band Sweethead, of which Natasha's close friend and former bandmate Troy Van Leeuwen is a member. The band's homepage was updated with a memorial message by Homme replacing the normal front page. The band performed a concert in celebration of Natasha Shneider's life at the Henry Fonda Theatre in Los Angeles on August 16, 2008. They were joined on stage by Shneider's husband Alain Johannes, Jack Black and Kyle Gass, Matt Cameron, Brody Dalle, Jesse Hughes, Chris Goss and PJ Harvey, playing a variety of QOTSA and non-QOTSA songs, including covers of songs from bands such as Cream and The Doors. Tenacious D and PJ Harvey also performed acoustic sets at the show. Proceeds from the concert went to defray the costs associated with Natasha's illness.
On August 22 and 23, 2008, Queens of the Stone Age performed the last shows of their Era Vulgaris tour at the Reading and Leeds Festivals in the UK, and Josh Homme announced in an interview with the BBC and during the show that he would be returning to the studio to work on the next album.
Homme's health issues, debut re-release and promotional tour (2009–2011)
During 2009 and 2010, band members worked on side projects during the down time. Troy Van Leeuwen started up a new band, Sweethead. Joey Castillo played for Eagles of Death Metal on their Heart On tour. Bassist Michael Shuman continued his work as drummer and vocalist with Mini Mansions, while Dean Fertita became the guitarist/keyboardist for Jack White's newest group, The Dead Weather. Josh Homme formed supergroup Them Crooked Vultures with Dave Grohl and John Paul Jones. After Them Crooked Vultures finished touring in June, the band toured and released a two-CD deluxe edition of Rated R on August 3, 2010. This edition featured the original CD along with six B-sides and live recordings from the band's Reading performance in 2000.
In 2010, Homme suffered from complications during a botched knee surgery, during which his heart stopped for a short time due to asphyxiation; doctors had to use a defibrillator to revive him. Following this, he was bedridden for four months and plunged into a deep depression, during which he considered giving up his music career altogether. He elaborated on this experience further in an interview on Marc Maron's WTF podcast, explaining that he had contracted a methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infection which his immune system could not fight due to stress. Homme has since said that the experience contributed greatly to the writing and recording of ...Like Clockwork.
After Homme recovered, Queens of the Stone Age released a remastered version of their self-titled debut album in early 2011, and performed the album in its entirety in a promotional tour. The band performed on Conan on April 14, and later played at the Australian music festival Soundwave. Throughout the summer of 2011, the band appeared at various European festivals, including the Glastonbury Festival, in Somerset, UK. They also played at Pearl Jam's 20th Anniversary Festival at Alpine Valley in East Troy, WI on September 3 and 4, 2011, which would be their last with drummer Joey Castillo.
...Like Clockwork (2011–2014)
Plans to record a follow-up to Era Vulgaris had been mentioned since 2008, but recording would not begin until August 2012. In March 2011, Homme stated, "Doing the rehearsals for the first record is really defining the new one. It's been turning the new record into something else. What we were doing was bluesy, and now it's turned into this trancey, broken thing. The robots are coming home!" According to Homme, the album would be finished by the end of 2012. He explained to BBC Radio 1, "We're going to take our one last break that we would get for a month, come back and do Glastonbury, then immediately jump in the studio. Our record will be done by the end of the year. We have enough songs."
In November 2011, frequent collaborator Alain Johannes stated in regard to his studio work with the band: "We had a late night with Queens of the Stone Age again. [...] Just putting in days, super top secret, but it's going to be amazing. I'm really excited about it. [...] Once we start the process, it goes to completion. So I can't say exactly when, but it's a really good start."
On August 20, 2012, the band stated via a Facebook status update that they were "recording" their new album.
In September 2012, it was revealed that Homme and producer Dave Sardy co-wrote and recorded a song entitled "Nobody To Love," which is featured during the end credits of the film End of Watch.
In November 2012, Homme informed BBC's Zane Lowe that Joey Castillo had left the band and that drums on the new album would be performed by Dave Grohl, who also performed on Songs for the Deaf. Homme also confirmed with Lowe that the album would be released prior to their performance at the Download Festival in June 2013. In addition to Grohl, other former members contributing to the album include former bassists Nick Oliveri and Johannes, and vocalist Mark Lanegan.
A number of collaborations from different musicians were announced for ...Like Clockwork, including Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor, Scissor Sisters frontman Jake Shears, Brody Dalle, and Elton John.
In early 2013, Homme and fellow Queens contributors including Alain Johannes and Chris Goss recorded for the soundtrack of Dave Grohl's Sound City: Real to Reel. Goss, Johannes and Homme were on three tracks each. Josh's notably included a collaboration with Grohl and Trent Reznor called Mantra, and he was also featured in the film in an interview segment. Goss and Johannes were both featured members in the Sound City Players, playing Masters of Reality, Eleven, and Desert Sessions songs, as well as their penned tunes from the soundtrack. Former Kyuss bassist Scott Reeder also contributed to the soundtrack.
In March 2013, Queens of the Stone Age announced that the new album, entitled ...Like Clockwork, would be released in June 2013 on Matador Records. A press release, issued by Matador at 9:00am EST on March 26, 2013, revealed further details of the album, including further guest appearances: Alex Turner of Arctic Monkeys and UNKLE's James Lavelle. In addition to Grohl's contribution, the record also features performances by former drummer Castillo, as well as tracks by new drummer Jon Theodore (ex-The Mars Volta, One Day as a Lion). Queens of the Stone Age premiered a new song, "My God Is The Sun", at Lollapalooza Brasil on March 30, 2013, a performance in which Theodore made his live debut. The studio version of the song premiered on Lowe's BBC Radio 1 program on April 8, 2013.
...Like Clockwork was released on June 3, 2013 on Matador Records in the UK and on June 4 in the United States. Self-produced by the band, it is the first Queens of the Stone Age album to feature full contributions from bassist Michael Shuman and keyboardist and guitarist Dean Fertita. The album debuted in the number one position in the US and is the first QOTSA album to achieve this ranking.
Following a performance by QOTSA at the Jay Z-owned Made In America Festival in the summer of 2013, Homme made comments about the rap star during a radio interview with CBC Radio 2's Strombo Show. Homme explained that his band was frisked by the event's security team prior to the performance and referred to Jay Z's personal interaction with the band as a marketing stunt. Homme stated:
The ...Like Clockwork tour culminated with a Halloween party at The Forum in Los Angeles, featuring guests such as The Kills, JD McPherson and Nick Oliveri's band Uncontrollable. The band's performance featured an appearance from Oliveri who played songs with them during the encore set, including songs such as "Auto Pilot" and "Quick and to the Pointless" which had not been performed in a decade.
Villains (2014–2018)
The band performed with Nine Inch Nails, Lindsey Buckingham and Dave Grohl at the 56th Annual Grammy Awards. The band went on a joint headline tour of Australia with Nine Inch Nails in 2014.
In January 2014, Homme told Rolling Stone magazine the band would start recording a new album when they finished their tour for ...Like Clockwork. In June 2014, Homme performed a solo acoustic show at James Lavelle's Meltdown festival, featuring guest performances from Troy Van Leeuwen and Mark Lanegan. During this gig, Homme played a new song called "Villains of Circumstance," which was performed again at another acoustic set in 2016. The band indicated in February 2015, when it was announced they are to play Rock in Rio 2015 in Rio de Janeiro in September, that they were about to record a new album. Despite this, in March 2016, Michael Shuman revealed that the band were on a break.
During this period, the members of the band worked on various other projects. Josh Homme and Dean Fertita contributed to Iggy Pop's 2016 album Post Pop Depression and subsequent tour, while Troy van Leeuwen joined the rock supergroup Gone Is Gone with plans to release an EP and a studio album. In May 2016, Van Leeuwen announced plans to record Queens of the Stone Age's seventh studio album "sometime this year."
In January 2017, Troy Sanders from Mastodon and Gone Is Gone said Queens of the Stone Age will release a new album later in the year. Following this, the band posted several photos on social media featuring their studio and announced that they would be performing at the Fuji Rock Festival in July, their first performance in Japan since 2003. The band updated their social media accounts with a new logo and the words "Coming Twentyfive" on April 6, 2017, and announced a tour of Australia and New Zealand to begin in July.
On June 14, 2017, Queens of the Stone Age announced their new album Villains which was released on August 25, 2017. The teaser trailer took the form of a comedy skit featuring the band performing a polygraph test with Liam Lynch along with an appearance of the album's producer Mark Ronson, and featured a snippet of the song "Feet Don't Fail Me." The first single, "The Way You Used to Do," was released the following day along with the announcement of a world tour. The second advance single from the album, "The Evil Has Landed," was released August 10, 2017.
On October 24, 2017, as part of the Villains tour, the band headlined Madison Square Garden for the first time, having opened for Nine Inch Nails there in 2005, and for Red Hot Chili Peppers in 2003. Homme said he was "stoked". Three sets of free tickets to this show were hidden at three stations along the Q line of the New York City Subway.
On December 9, 2017, while on stage during the KROQ Acoustic Christmas concert in Inglewood, California, Homme kicked a photographer's camera into her face, resulting in injuries for which she later received medical treatment. Homme, who was under the influence of alcohol at the time, later apologized through a video on the band's Instagram page, saying, "I hope you're okay, and I'm truly sorry. And I understand you have to do whatever you have to do. I just want you to know that I'm sorry. Goodnight, godspeed."
Eighth studio album (2019–present)
In an interview with eonmusic in June 2019, Billy Gibbons announced that he has contributed to a new Queens of the Stone Age album that is set to be further announced by Homme later in the future. Gibbons also confirmed that Dave Grohl is involved in the recording sessions. Gibbons was later confirmed to be a contributor to Desert Sessions vol. 11 & 12, while Grohl denied the rumors, saying that he and Homme had only spent time together "riding motorcycles and eating waffles."
Musical style
Throughout its career, the band has been described as alternative rock, stoner rock, alternative metal, hard rock, and nu metal. Homme has described the band's self-titled debut album as driving music, angular and recorded dry, with the album featuring solid and repetitive riffs in its song structure. Rolling Stone magazine also noted a "connection between American meat-and-potatoes macho rock of the early 1970s, like Blue Cheer and Grand Funk Railroad, and the precision-timing drones in German rock of the same period." The band's following album - Rated R - contained a wider variety of instruments, several recording guests and lead vocals shared by Homme, Oliveri and Lanegan. Homme has also commented that "Our first record announced our sound. This one added that we're different and weird." The band continued to experiment on their third album, Songs for the Deaf, which also featured a line-up including three lead vocalists, many guest appearances and wide range of instrumentation, including horn and string sections. Homme has described Lullabies to Paralyze as a "dark" album, which includes imagery inspired by The Brothers Grimm folk and fairy tales. In 2005, Homme explained, "Where the poetry seems to be is when you start in the dark and reach for the light—that's what makes it not depressing to me..." The album changed gears from the band's previous distinct "driving" sound, much due to the departure of longtime member Nick Oliveri. The band almost exclusively used semi hollow body guitars during the making of the record. With Era Vulgaris the band continued to develop their signature sound with more dance-oriented elements and electronic influences, while Homme has currently gone back to being the only lead vocalist in the band and uses more distinct vocal melodies.
Homme has on numerous occasions described their music as "rock versions of electronic music," stating that he takes inspiration from the repetitive nature of electronic trance music along with various forms of dance music, hip hop, trip hop and Krautrock. This heavy rock style mixed with the structure of electronic music has been dubbed by Homme as "robot rock" in an interview with KUNO-TV at the Roskilde Festival 2001.
Homme has described aspects of his distinctive guitar playing style. He demonstrated the 'Josh Homme scale', which he claimed was the result of years playing and altering the blues scale. The scale has the intervals 1, b3, 3, b5, 5, 6, b7. His scale is the half whole scale with the second degree (b2) omitted. In the same interview Homme referenced some of his earlier influences on his playing, citing both polka guitar styles and the techniques of Jimi Hendrix.
Members
Current
Josh Homme – lead vocals, guitar, piano (1996–present), bass (1996–1998, 2004–2007)
Troy Van Leeuwen – guitar, lap steel guitar, keyboards, synthesizers, percussion, backing vocals (2002–present), bass (2005–2006)
Michael Shuman – bass, synthesizers, backing vocals (2007–present)
Dean Fertita – keyboards, synthesizers, guitar, percussion, backing vocals (2007–present)
Jon Theodore – drums, percussion, samplers (2013–present)
Former
Alfredo Hernández – drums, percussion (1998–1999)
Nick Oliveri – bass, co-lead and backing vocals (1998–2004)
Mark Lanegan – co-lead and backing vocals (2001–2005), keyboards (2005)
Dave Grohl – drums, percussion (2001–2002, official member; 2013, session member)
Joey Castillo – drums, percussion (2002–2012)
Alain Johannes – bass, backing vocals, guitar (2005–2007)
Natasha Shneider – keyboards, backing vocals (2005–2006)
Touring musicians
Dave Catching – guitar, keyboards, lap steel (1998–2000)
Peter Stahl - co-lead and backing vocals (1998-1999)
Gene Trautmann – drums, percussion (1999–2001)
Brendon McNichol – guitar, keyboards, lap steel (2000–2002)
Dan Druff – bass, guitar, backing vocals (2004–2005)
Frequent collaborators
Discography
Queens of the Stone Age (1998)
Rated R (2000)
Songs for the Deaf (2002)
Lullabies to Paralyze (2005)
Era Vulgaris (2007)
...Like Clockwork (2013)
Villains (2017)
Tours
Queens of the Stone Age Tour (1998–1999)
Rated R Tour (2000–2001)
Songs for the Deaf Tour (2002–2004)
Lullabies to Paralyze Tour (2005–2006)
Era Vulgaris Tour (2007–2008)
Queens of the Stone Age Re-Release Tour (2011)
...Like Clockwork Tour (2013–14)
Villains World Tour (2017–2018)
Awards and nominations
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"
|-
! scope="col" | Award
! scope="col" | Year
! scope="col" | Nominee(s)
! scope="col" | Category
! scope="col" | Result
! scope="col" class="unsortable"|
|-
! scope="row"|Kerrang! Awards
| 2000
| rowspan=2|Themselves
| Best International Newcomer
|
|
|-
!scope="row"|Žebřík Music Awards
| 2002
| Best International Surprise
|
|
At the 2001 NME Awards, the band was nominated for Best Metal Act. At the 2004 awards ceremony, they won Best Live Band.
In 2003, their music video for "Go With the Flow" was nominated for three MTV Video Music Awards: Art Direction, Breakthrough Video, and Best Special Effects in a Video. It won only the last category.
See also
Palm Desert Scene
References
External links
Alternative rock groups from California
American alternative metal musical groups
Hard rock musical groups from California
Musical groups established in 1996
Musical groups from Riverside County, California
Musical quintets
Kerrang! Awards winners
Palm Desert, California
1996 establishments in California
Stoner rock musical groups | true | [
"Biomarkers in analytical chemistry and in environmental science are chemicals, metabolites, susceptibility characteristics, or changes in the body that relate to the exposure of an organism to a chemical. They have the ability to identify if an exposure has occurred, the route of exposure, the pathway of exposure, and the resulting effects of the exposure. The use of biomarkers in exposure studies is also referred to as biomonitoring. When dealing with exposure assessment, there are three types of biomarkers that can be useful, biomarkers of susceptibility, biomarkers of exposure, and biomarkers of effect. Biomarkers of exposure are the most widely used because they can provide information on the route, pathway, and sometimes, even the source of exposure.\n\nBiomarkers of susceptibility\nBiomarkers of susceptibility are indicators of the natural characteristics of an organism that make it more susceptible to the effects of an exposure to a chemical. They can help define what sensitivities are more susceptible as well as critical times when exposures can be most detrimental. For example, the exhalation strength of an asthmatic will indicate how susceptible that person would be to the respiratory effects of exposure to brevetoxin, the toxic compound produced during a red tide.\n\nBiomarkers of exposure\nBiomarkers of exposure are the actual chemicals, or chemical metabolites, that can be measured in the body or after excretion from the body to determine different characteristics of an organism’s exposure. For example, a person or fish’s blood can be tested to see the levels of lead and therefore determine the exposure.\n\nBiomarkers of effect\nBiomarkers of effect are the quantifiable changes that an individual endures, which indicates an exposure to a compound and may indicate a resulting health effect. For example, after exposure to DDT, an organochlorine insecticide known to cause problems in the reproductive system, a woman may experience miscarriages, which can be linked to her previous exposure.\n\nBiomarkers of exposure are the most widely used because they can provide information on the route, pathway, and sometimes, even the source of exposure. These indicators also allow researchers to work forward in time to determine an exposure, and prevent it from causing further damage. This is unlike biomarkers of effect, in which a scientist may work backwards to determine if and what kind of exposure took place, but may be too late to change anything. However, biomarkers of effect are useful for future studies on the chemical(s) of interest and the results may aid in stricter laws or guidelines regarding the chemical(s).\n\nBiomarkers must be evaluated in terms of their ability to predict and quantify exposure and dose. There are certain properties that are desirable when linking a biomarker with an exposure. These include high specificity (one exposure to one biomarker), linear relationship across time, strong correlation with a health effect, inexpensive study, and consistency (the same exposure will produce the same concentration of the biomarker every time). Without these ideal characteristics, the use of biomarkers as a strong predictor of exposure has limitations.\n\nMany different classes of compounds can be measured in different tissues and parts of the body. From breath to hair to saliva, almost every tissue in the body has been tested as a biomarker of exposure and almost every major environmental pollutant can be identified by biomarkers, including volatile organic chemicals (VOCs) and metals like arsenic or lead. It all depends on the chemical structures and reactivity of the compound with the makeup of its storage space. The following table identifies major environmental pollutants and their biomarker tissue or organ\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n'Biomarkers for the assessment of exposure and toxicity in children' , 2000 grant archives Retrieved .\nNational biomonitoring program CDC Retrieved .\n\nEnvironmental chemistry",
"Sidestream smoke is smoke which goes into the air directly from a burning cigarette, cigar, or smoking pipe. Sidestream smoke is the main component (around 85%) of second-hand smoke (SHS), also known as Environmental Tobacco Smoke (ETS) or passive smoking. The relative quantity of chemical constituents of sidestream smoke are different from those of directly inhaled (\"mainstream\") smoke, although their chemical composition is similar. Sidestream smoke has been classified as a Class A carcinogen by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.\n\nContents\nLike mainstream smoke, sidestream tobacco smoke is made up of many components including carbon monoxide, tar, nicotine, ammonia, benzene, cadmium and 4-aminobiphenyl. Some of the other compounds found in sidestream smoke are: vinylchloride, hydrogen cyanide, arsenic, acrolein, acetaldehyde, formaldehyde, catechol, cresol, hydroquinone, lead, methyl ethyl ketone, nitric oxide, phenol, styrene, toluene, and butane. Exposure to sidestream smoke yields higher concentrations of these compounds as well as increased concentrations of carboxyhemoglobin, nicotine, and cotinine in the blood. When comparing sidestream and mainstream condensate, sidestream has 2–6 times more condensate per gram than mainstream smoke. Due to the incomplete combustion process responsible for the creation of sidestream smoke, there may be exposure to higher concentrations of carcinogens than are typically inhaled directly.\n\nRisks\nThere are over 250 toxins and carcinogens in cigarette smoke. The risks of developing lung cancer, brain tumors, and acute myeloid leukemia and the incidence of heart disease and benign respiratory diseases increase with the inhalation of sidestream smoke. Additionally, the chance of developing breast cancer and cervical cancer also increases with the inhalation of sidestream smoke.\n\nEvidence has shown that sidestream smoke may be more harmful, per gram, than mainstream smoke. However, sidesmoke is inhaled in far lesser amounts than mainstream smoke in people who smoke tobacco.\n\nThe relative risk of cardiovascular disease is 1.2–1.3 with exposure to sidestream smoke due to the cyanide present in the smoke. There is also evidence that sidestream smoke causes negative effects in children, both behaviorally and cognitively. One study found that higher levels of cotinine in children were correlated with a decreased ability to perform in reading and math.\n\nFactors such as age, gender and different occupations put a person at risk for bladder cancer - smoking is the only other known risk. 4-aminobiphenyl (4-ABP) is an integral component in tobacco smoke, as well as a risk factor for bladder cancer. Sidestream smoke puts individuals at an increased risk of bladder cancer because the 4-ABP concentrations are over ten times that of mainstream smoke.\n\nSocial effects\nA non-smoker who is inhaling sidestream or second-hand smoke has a 30% greater risk of getting lung cancer at some point in their lives. Exposure to second hand or sidestream smoke has been associated with people who have not smoked before.\n\nThe US Environmental Protection Agency estimates sidestream smoke causes approximately 3,000 lung cancer deaths and 62,000 deaths from heart disease in non-smokers every year in the United States.\n\nChildren\nA child's exposure to contaminants in the air can have detrimental health effects including heightened risk of respiratory tract infections, increased likelihood of childhood asthma, behavioural problems and reduced neurocognitive abilities. Exposure to mainstream and sidestream smoke in childhood poses an increased risk of coughing, wheezing, and mucus production. Studies on rats have shown that those who were exposed to sidestream smoke while in utero and following the period directly after, had differences in airway sensitivity in comparison to those that had been exposed to sidestream smoke only while in utero or only following the period after.\n\nTest tubes\nA reduction in glutathione levels was observed following exposure to sidestream smoke in vitro. Glutathione is an antioxidant which resides in the lung after development. Exposure to sidestream smoke for as little as twenty minutes can lead to an increase in contaminant particles within human small airway epithelial cells (SAEC). Cells exposed to sidestream smoke experienced oxidative stress, which further allowed for DNA damage as well as cell transformation and an uncontrolled cell proliferation. Such DNA mutations and uncontrolled cell division resulting from exposure to sidestream smoke may result in cancerous tumours.\n\nToxicological experiments\nDuring the 1980s the Philip Morris Tobacco Company carried out research on sidestream smoke at the Institut für Biologische Forschung, although this was not voluntarily published. This study found that sidestream smoke is nearly four times more toxic than mainstream smoke per metric gramme. They also found that sidestream condensate was nearly three times more toxic than mainstream smoke as well as 2–6 times more tumourigenic per gram than mainstream condensate when applied to the skin of a mouse; results also showed that sidestream smoke hinders an animal's ability to reach a weight that is considered normal. The research team concluded that the only way to protect oneself from sidestream smoke was to be in smoke-free public places and workspaces.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\nEnvironmental Protection Agency website\n\nSmoke\nSmoking"
] |
[
"Queens of the Stone Age",
"Songs for the Deaf, mainstream exposure and Oliveri's departure (2001-2004)",
"Why did Oliveri leave?",
"After the tour, Homme fired Oliveri, as he was convinced that Oliveri had been physically abusive to his girlfriend: \"",
"What kind of mainstream exposure did they have?",
"Songs for the Deaf was a critical hit and was certified gold in 2003, with sales of over 900,000."
] | C_d405e5d5e7864c139756931c9fae6138_0 | Who produced the album? | 3 | Who produced the album Songs for the Deaf by Queens of the Stone Age ? | Queens of the Stone Age | Foo Fighters frontman and former Nirvana drummer, Dave Grohl, joined in late 2001 to record drums for their third album. Songs for the Deaf was released in August 2002, again featuring Lanegan, along with former A Perfect Circle guitarist Troy Van Leeuwen to the touring line-up following the album's release. Also featured on Songs for the Deaf for the final track "Mosquito Song" were former A Perfect Circle bassist Paz Lenchantin on viola and piano, and Dean Ween on guitar. This record was supposed to sound bizarre--like lightning in a bottle. We also were extremely fucked up. It even sounds that way to me, like a crazy person. The radio interludes are supposed to be like the drive from L.A. to Joshua Tree, a drive that makes you feel like you're letting go--more David Lynch with every mile. Songs for the Deaf was a critical hit and was certified gold in 2003, with sales of over 900,000. The singles "No One Knows" and "Go with the Flow" became hits on radio and MTV, with the former just outside the Billboard Top 40. "No One Knows" and "Go with the Flow" were also featured on the first iterations of the popular video games Guitar Hero and Rock Band (respectively). The Songs for the Deaf tour culminated in a string of headline dates in Australia in January 2004. Grohl returned to his other projects and was replaced on the European leg of the tour by former Danzig drummer Joey Castillo, who joined the band full-time. After the tour, Homme fired Oliveri, as he was convinced that Oliveri had been physically abusive to his girlfriend: "A couple years ago, I spoke to Nick about a rumor I heard. I said, 'If I ever find out that this is true, I can't know you, man.'" Homme considered breaking up the band after firing Oliveri, but found a new determination to continue. Oliveri countered in the press that the band had been "poisoned by hunger for power" and that without him, they were "Queens Lite." He later softened his opinion and said: "My relationship with Josh is good. The new Queens record kicks ass." The two reportedly are still friends and as of October 2006, Oliveri was interested in rejoining the band. Oliveri later contributed to a Queens of the Stone Age for the first time in nine years, contributing backing vocals to the band's sixth album, ...Like Clockwork. CANNOTANSWER | CANNOTANSWER | Queens of the Stone Age (commonly abbreviated QOTSA) is an American rock band formed in 1996 in Palm Desert, California. The band was founded by vocalist and guitarist Josh Homme, who has been the only constant member throughout multiple line-up changes. The current line-up consists of Homme alongside Troy Van Leeuwen (guitar, lap steel, keyboard, percussion, backing vocals), Michael Shuman (bass guitar, keyboard, backing vocals), Dean Fertita (keyboards, guitar, percussion, backing vocals), and Jon Theodore (drums, percussion). The band also have a large pool of contributors and collaborators. Queens of the Stone Age are known for their blues, Krautrock and electronica-influenced style of riff-oriented and rhythmic hard rock music, coupled with Homme's distinct falsetto vocals and unorthodox guitar scales.
Formed after the dissolution of Homme's previous band Kyuss, the band originated from the Palm Desert music scene. Their self-titled debut album was recorded with former Kyuss members Alfredo Hernández on drums and Homme on all other instruments. It was well received by critics for its stoner rock sound which Homme has described as "robot rock". Nick Oliveri and Mark Lanegan joined as additional vocalists for Rated R, which was commercially and critically successful. Rated R diversified their musical palette with forays into psychedelic rock, punk rock and heavy metal, and featured their breakout single "Feel Good Hit of the Summer". Songs for the Deaf was released in 2002 to universal acclaim and commercial success, and featured Dave Grohl on drums and contributions from Alain Johannes and Natasha Shneider. By this time, the band had achieved considerable international recognition, and have since embarked on successive world tours. Following Oliveri and Lanegan's departures, Homme was the primary singer for 2005's Lullabies to Paralyze and 2007's electronic-influenced Era Vulgaris.
After a few years of inactivity, the more sombre and introspective ...Like Clockwork was released in 2013 to critical acclaim. The band released Villains in 2017 with Mark Ronson as producer.
The band have been nominated for Grammy Awards seven times; four times for Best Hard Rock Performance, twice for Best Rock Album, and once for Best Rock Performance.
History
Formation and debut album (1996–1999)
After the breakup of his previous band, Kyuss, in 1995, Josh Homme briefly joined Screaming Trees as a touring guitarist, before deciding to form a new band, Gamma Ray. In 1996 they released the eponymous Gamma Ray EP, featuring "Born to Hula" and "If Only Everything" (which would later appear on their self-titled debut as "If Only"). The EP featured Matt Cameron of Soundgarden and Pearl Jam, Van Conner from Screaming Trees, and percussionist Victor Indrizzo.
Gamma Ray changed their name in 1997 after the German power metal band Gamma Ray threatened to sue. The name "Queens of the Stone Age" came from a nickname given to Kyuss by their producer Chris Goss. Homme said of the name: "Kings would be too macho. The Kings of the Stone Age wear armor and have axes and wrestle. The Queens of the Stone Age hang out with the Kings of the Stone Age's girlfriends when they wrestle ... Rock should be heavy enough for the boys and sweet enough for the girls. That way everyone's happy and it's more of a party. Kings of the Stone Age is too lopsided."
The first release under the Queens of the Stone Age name was the song "18 A.D.," released on the compilation album Burn One Up! Music for Stoners which featured members of the Dutch stoner rock band Beaver. The band's first live appearance was on November 20, 1997, at OK Hotel in Seattle, Washington, with Cameron on drums, Mike Johnson of Dinosaur Jr. on bass and John McBain of Monster Magnet on guitar. In December that year, the band released a split EP, Kyuss/Queens of the Stone Age, which featured three tracks from the Gamma Ray sessions as well as three Kyuss tracks recorded in 1995 prior to their breakup.
Queens of the Stone Age released their self-titled debut in 1998 on Stone Gossard's and Regan Hagar's label Loosegroove Records, and on vinyl by Man's Ruin Records. Homme played guitar and bass on the album (the latter credited to Homme's alter-ego Carlo Von Sexron), Alfredo Hernández on the drums, and several other contributions by Chris Goss and Hutch. Homme reportedly asked Screaming Trees vocalist Mark Lanegan to appear on the record, but he was unable due to other commitments.
Soon after the recording sessions were finished for the album, former Kyuss bassist Nick Oliveri joined the group, and touring commenced with a band consisting entirely of ex-Kyuss members. Guitarist Dave Catching joined shortly after. From this point forward, the band's line-up would change frequently; by the time their second album was being recorded, Hernández had left the group to play in other bands.
Rated R (2000–2001)
2000's Rated R featured myriad musicians familiar with Homme and Oliveri's work and "crew" of sorts: among others, drummers Nick Lucero and Gene Trautmann, guitarists Dave Catching, Brendon McNichol, and Chris Goss contributed, and even Judas Priest frontman Rob Halford, recording next door, stepped in for a guest spot on "Feel Good Hit of the Summer."
The album garnered positive reviews and received a lot more attention than their debut, despite the fact that the lyrics to "Feel Good Hit of the Summer" were deemed by mega-retailer Walmart to promote drug use, almost causing the record to get pulled from store shelves. The success of the record also earned the band notable opening slots with The Smashing Pumpkins, Foo Fighters, Hole, and a place at Ozzfest 2000. It was during this time that Homme stated:
During the 2001 Rock in Rio show, bassist Nick Oliveri was arrested after performing on stage naked, with only his bass guitar covering his genitals. Oliveri apologized to officials, saying that he did not know it was a crime in Brazil.
Following his work on Rated R, former Screaming Trees vocalist Mark Lanegan joined the band as a full-time member, a position he held until early 2005.
Towards the end of the Rated R tour, the band's performance at the 2001 Rock am Ring festival in Germany was, according to Homme, "the worst show we've ever played and it was in front of 40,000 people." The band decided to tattoo themselves with the starting time of the performance, "Freitag 4:15." As Oliveri explained:
Songs for the Deaf, mainstream exposure and Oliveri's departure (2001–2004)
Foo Fighters frontman and former Nirvana drummer, Dave Grohl, joined in late 2001 to record drums for their third album. Songs for the Deaf was released in August 2002, again featuring Lanegan, along with former A Perfect Circle guitarist Troy Van Leeuwen to the touring line-up following the album's release. Also featured on Songs for the Deaf for the final track "Mosquito Song" were former A Perfect Circle bassist Paz Lenchantin on viola and piano, and Dean Ween on guitar.
Songs for the Deaf was a critical hit and was certified gold in 2003, with sales of over 900,000. The singles "No One Knows" and "Go with the Flow" became hits on radio and MTV, with the former just outside the Billboard Top 40. "No One Knows" and "Go with the Flow" were also featured on the first iterations of the popular video games Guitar Hero and Rock Band (respectively). The song "You Think I Ain't Worth a Dollar, But I Feel Like a Millionaire" was featured as the theme song in Naughty Dog's "Jak X: Combat Racing" in 2005 along with "A Song For The Dead".
The Songs for the Deaf tour culminated in a string of headline dates in Australia in January 2004. Grohl returned to his other projects and was replaced on the European leg of the tour by former Danzig drummer Joey Castillo, who joined the band full-time. After the tour, Homme fired Oliveri, as he was convinced that Oliveri had been physically abusive to his girlfriend: "A couple years ago, I spoke to Nick about a rumor I heard. I said, 'If I ever find out that this is true, I can't know you, man.'" Homme considered breaking up the band after firing Oliveri, but found a new determination to continue. Oliveri countered in the press that the band had been "poisoned by hunger for power" and that without him, they were "Queens Lite." He later softened his opinion and said: "My relationship with Josh is good. The new Queens record kicks ass." The two reportedly are still friends and as of October 2006, Oliveri was interested in rejoining the band. Oliveri later contributed to a Queens of the Stone Age for the first time in nine years, contributing backing vocals to the band's sixth album, ...Like Clockwork.
Lullabies to Paralyze (2004–2006)
In late 2004, Homme, along with Eleven multi-instrumentalist Alain Johannes and remaining band members Van Leeuwen and Castillo recorded the Queens' fourth studio album, Lullabies to Paralyze, a title taken from a lyric in "Mosquito Song" from their previous album. The album featured guests including ZZ Top's Billy Gibbons. Despite Lanegan reportedly turning down an invitation to remain with the band, he recorded vocals on new tracks (notably the solo vocalist on the opening track "This Lullaby") and appeared on the supporting tour as scheduling and his health permitted.
Lullabies to Paralyze was leaked onto the internet in February 2005 and was aired by Triple J radio in Australia on March 3, 2005 as an unsubstantiated 'World Premiere'. It was then officially released on Tuesday, March 22, 2005 in the US, debuting in the number 5 slot on the Billboard Music Chart, the greatest debut of any Queens record until ...Like Clockwork debuted at number 1 in June 2013.
On May 14, 2005, the group was the musical guest on Saturday Night Live, hosted by Will Ferrell. One of Ferrell's popular Saturday Night Live characters, fictional Blue Öyster Cult cowbellist Gene Frenkle, made a re-appearance on the show, playing with the Queens on their first song of the night, "Little Sister." Frenkle played the song's wood block part using a cowbell along with the band.
On November 22, 2005, Queens of the Stone Age released a live album/DVD set, Over the Years and Through the Woods, featuring a live concert filmed in London, England, and bonus features which included rare videos of songs from 1998 to 2005. In 2005, the group supported Nine Inch Nails on their North American tour of With Teeth along with Autolux (for the first half of the tour) and Death from Above 1979 (for the second). NIN's guitarist Aaron North appeared as an onstage guest with the Queens for the songs "Born to Hula," "Regular John," "Avon," "Monsters in the Parasol" and "Long, Slow Goodbye" at the Wiltern LG in Los Angeles on December 19 and 20, 2005.
Another onstage guest for the December 20 performance was Homme's former Kyuss bandmate John Garcia, the first time that Homme and Garcia had played together since 1997. As a special encore they performed three Kyuss songs: "Thumb," "Hurricane" and "Supa Scoopa and Mighty Scoop." Homme stated that the band's lowest point was during the Lullabies era, but that the record "took the lead jacket off" the band following the firing of Oliveri in 2004.
Era Vulgaris and death of Shneider (2007–2008)
On Valentine's Day 2007, the band's official website announced the new album would be titled Era Vulgaris, and would be released in June. Later in February, teaser videos surfaced showing Homme, Castillo, Van Leeuwen and Johannes in studio. Several sites reported that the album would include many guest vocalists, including Trent Reznor from Nine Inch Nails, Julian Casablancas from The Strokes, Mark Lanegan, Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top, and deceased humorist Erma Bombeck. Death from Above 1979 bassist Jesse F. Keeler had been expected to play bass on the studio recording of the album, but not to tour; however, due to schedule conflicts, he stated he would not be appearing on the album.
Era Vulgaris was completed in early April 2007 and released June 12, 2007 in the US. The tracks "Sick, Sick, Sick" and "3's & 7's" were released as singles in early June. Homme has described the record as "dark, hard, and electrical, sort of like a construction worker." When asked about the vocals on the record, specifically the different style of singing that Homme used, he replied:
Bassist Michael Shuman (Wires On Fire, Jubilee and Mini Mansions) and keyboardist Dean Fertita (The Waxwings, The Dead Weather) took over touring duties from Alain Johannes and Natasha Shneider, respectively. In July 2007, Van Leeuwen stated the band had written new material, "still in its infancy" which Homme later suggested might be released as an EP. Following a subsequent interview with Homme, The Globe and Mail reported that the EP "could contain as many as 10 B-sides recorded during the Era Vulgaris sessions." It was later reported that the EP would not be released due to the record label's unwillingness to put out another QOTSA release at that time.
The band began a North American Tour in 2007, which they named the "Duluth Tour" because they were going to many small towns and cities they had never played before, such as Duluth, Minnesota. The tour was extended to other areas, such as the United Kingdom, where the band played more shows than on any of their previous UK tours. The band toured in Australia in late March to early April 2008, on the V festival tour, including a string of side shows. Throughout the beginning of May 2008, the band completed the Canadian leg of its touring.
In November 2007, Queens of the Stone Age performed a semi-acoustic set in an underground salt mine in Germany, performing a selection of hits, rarities, covers and an unreleased song named "Cathedral City." A DVD of the concert was planned but aside from a trailer promoting the DVD and a number of photographs, no footage of the concert has been released.
On July 2, 2008, Queens of the Stone Age's former keyboardist Natasha Shneider died of lung cancer at the age of 52. The news broke with a message posted on the MySpace page of the band Sweethead, of which Natasha's close friend and former bandmate Troy Van Leeuwen is a member. The band's homepage was updated with a memorial message by Homme replacing the normal front page. The band performed a concert in celebration of Natasha Shneider's life at the Henry Fonda Theatre in Los Angeles on August 16, 2008. They were joined on stage by Shneider's husband Alain Johannes, Jack Black and Kyle Gass, Matt Cameron, Brody Dalle, Jesse Hughes, Chris Goss and PJ Harvey, playing a variety of QOTSA and non-QOTSA songs, including covers of songs from bands such as Cream and The Doors. Tenacious D and PJ Harvey also performed acoustic sets at the show. Proceeds from the concert went to defray the costs associated with Natasha's illness.
On August 22 and 23, 2008, Queens of the Stone Age performed the last shows of their Era Vulgaris tour at the Reading and Leeds Festivals in the UK, and Josh Homme announced in an interview with the BBC and during the show that he would be returning to the studio to work on the next album.
Homme's health issues, debut re-release and promotional tour (2009–2011)
During 2009 and 2010, band members worked on side projects during the down time. Troy Van Leeuwen started up a new band, Sweethead. Joey Castillo played for Eagles of Death Metal on their Heart On tour. Bassist Michael Shuman continued his work as drummer and vocalist with Mini Mansions, while Dean Fertita became the guitarist/keyboardist for Jack White's newest group, The Dead Weather. Josh Homme formed supergroup Them Crooked Vultures with Dave Grohl and John Paul Jones. After Them Crooked Vultures finished touring in June, the band toured and released a two-CD deluxe edition of Rated R on August 3, 2010. This edition featured the original CD along with six B-sides and live recordings from the band's Reading performance in 2000.
In 2010, Homme suffered from complications during a botched knee surgery, during which his heart stopped for a short time due to asphyxiation; doctors had to use a defibrillator to revive him. Following this, he was bedridden for four months and plunged into a deep depression, during which he considered giving up his music career altogether. He elaborated on this experience further in an interview on Marc Maron's WTF podcast, explaining that he had contracted a methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infection which his immune system could not fight due to stress. Homme has since said that the experience contributed greatly to the writing and recording of ...Like Clockwork.
After Homme recovered, Queens of the Stone Age released a remastered version of their self-titled debut album in early 2011, and performed the album in its entirety in a promotional tour. The band performed on Conan on April 14, and later played at the Australian music festival Soundwave. Throughout the summer of 2011, the band appeared at various European festivals, including the Glastonbury Festival, in Somerset, UK. They also played at Pearl Jam's 20th Anniversary Festival at Alpine Valley in East Troy, WI on September 3 and 4, 2011, which would be their last with drummer Joey Castillo.
...Like Clockwork (2011–2014)
Plans to record a follow-up to Era Vulgaris had been mentioned since 2008, but recording would not begin until August 2012. In March 2011, Homme stated, "Doing the rehearsals for the first record is really defining the new one. It's been turning the new record into something else. What we were doing was bluesy, and now it's turned into this trancey, broken thing. The robots are coming home!" According to Homme, the album would be finished by the end of 2012. He explained to BBC Radio 1, "We're going to take our one last break that we would get for a month, come back and do Glastonbury, then immediately jump in the studio. Our record will be done by the end of the year. We have enough songs."
In November 2011, frequent collaborator Alain Johannes stated in regard to his studio work with the band: "We had a late night with Queens of the Stone Age again. [...] Just putting in days, super top secret, but it's going to be amazing. I'm really excited about it. [...] Once we start the process, it goes to completion. So I can't say exactly when, but it's a really good start."
On August 20, 2012, the band stated via a Facebook status update that they were "recording" their new album.
In September 2012, it was revealed that Homme and producer Dave Sardy co-wrote and recorded a song entitled "Nobody To Love," which is featured during the end credits of the film End of Watch.
In November 2012, Homme informed BBC's Zane Lowe that Joey Castillo had left the band and that drums on the new album would be performed by Dave Grohl, who also performed on Songs for the Deaf. Homme also confirmed with Lowe that the album would be released prior to their performance at the Download Festival in June 2013. In addition to Grohl, other former members contributing to the album include former bassists Nick Oliveri and Johannes, and vocalist Mark Lanegan.
A number of collaborations from different musicians were announced for ...Like Clockwork, including Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor, Scissor Sisters frontman Jake Shears, Brody Dalle, and Elton John.
In early 2013, Homme and fellow Queens contributors including Alain Johannes and Chris Goss recorded for the soundtrack of Dave Grohl's Sound City: Real to Reel. Goss, Johannes and Homme were on three tracks each. Josh's notably included a collaboration with Grohl and Trent Reznor called Mantra, and he was also featured in the film in an interview segment. Goss and Johannes were both featured members in the Sound City Players, playing Masters of Reality, Eleven, and Desert Sessions songs, as well as their penned tunes from the soundtrack. Former Kyuss bassist Scott Reeder also contributed to the soundtrack.
In March 2013, Queens of the Stone Age announced that the new album, entitled ...Like Clockwork, would be released in June 2013 on Matador Records. A press release, issued by Matador at 9:00am EST on March 26, 2013, revealed further details of the album, including further guest appearances: Alex Turner of Arctic Monkeys and UNKLE's James Lavelle. In addition to Grohl's contribution, the record also features performances by former drummer Castillo, as well as tracks by new drummer Jon Theodore (ex-The Mars Volta, One Day as a Lion). Queens of the Stone Age premiered a new song, "My God Is The Sun", at Lollapalooza Brasil on March 30, 2013, a performance in which Theodore made his live debut. The studio version of the song premiered on Lowe's BBC Radio 1 program on April 8, 2013.
...Like Clockwork was released on June 3, 2013 on Matador Records in the UK and on June 4 in the United States. Self-produced by the band, it is the first Queens of the Stone Age album to feature full contributions from bassist Michael Shuman and keyboardist and guitarist Dean Fertita. The album debuted in the number one position in the US and is the first QOTSA album to achieve this ranking.
Following a performance by QOTSA at the Jay Z-owned Made In America Festival in the summer of 2013, Homme made comments about the rap star during a radio interview with CBC Radio 2's Strombo Show. Homme explained that his band was frisked by the event's security team prior to the performance and referred to Jay Z's personal interaction with the band as a marketing stunt. Homme stated:
The ...Like Clockwork tour culminated with a Halloween party at The Forum in Los Angeles, featuring guests such as The Kills, JD McPherson and Nick Oliveri's band Uncontrollable. The band's performance featured an appearance from Oliveri who played songs with them during the encore set, including songs such as "Auto Pilot" and "Quick and to the Pointless" which had not been performed in a decade.
Villains (2014–2018)
The band performed with Nine Inch Nails, Lindsey Buckingham and Dave Grohl at the 56th Annual Grammy Awards. The band went on a joint headline tour of Australia with Nine Inch Nails in 2014.
In January 2014, Homme told Rolling Stone magazine the band would start recording a new album when they finished their tour for ...Like Clockwork. In June 2014, Homme performed a solo acoustic show at James Lavelle's Meltdown festival, featuring guest performances from Troy Van Leeuwen and Mark Lanegan. During this gig, Homme played a new song called "Villains of Circumstance," which was performed again at another acoustic set in 2016. The band indicated in February 2015, when it was announced they are to play Rock in Rio 2015 in Rio de Janeiro in September, that they were about to record a new album. Despite this, in March 2016, Michael Shuman revealed that the band were on a break.
During this period, the members of the band worked on various other projects. Josh Homme and Dean Fertita contributed to Iggy Pop's 2016 album Post Pop Depression and subsequent tour, while Troy van Leeuwen joined the rock supergroup Gone Is Gone with plans to release an EP and a studio album. In May 2016, Van Leeuwen announced plans to record Queens of the Stone Age's seventh studio album "sometime this year."
In January 2017, Troy Sanders from Mastodon and Gone Is Gone said Queens of the Stone Age will release a new album later in the year. Following this, the band posted several photos on social media featuring their studio and announced that they would be performing at the Fuji Rock Festival in July, their first performance in Japan since 2003. The band updated their social media accounts with a new logo and the words "Coming Twentyfive" on April 6, 2017, and announced a tour of Australia and New Zealand to begin in July.
On June 14, 2017, Queens of the Stone Age announced their new album Villains which was released on August 25, 2017. The teaser trailer took the form of a comedy skit featuring the band performing a polygraph test with Liam Lynch along with an appearance of the album's producer Mark Ronson, and featured a snippet of the song "Feet Don't Fail Me." The first single, "The Way You Used to Do," was released the following day along with the announcement of a world tour. The second advance single from the album, "The Evil Has Landed," was released August 10, 2017.
On October 24, 2017, as part of the Villains tour, the band headlined Madison Square Garden for the first time, having opened for Nine Inch Nails there in 2005, and for Red Hot Chili Peppers in 2003. Homme said he was "stoked". Three sets of free tickets to this show were hidden at three stations along the Q line of the New York City Subway.
On December 9, 2017, while on stage during the KROQ Acoustic Christmas concert in Inglewood, California, Homme kicked a photographer's camera into her face, resulting in injuries for which she later received medical treatment. Homme, who was under the influence of alcohol at the time, later apologized through a video on the band's Instagram page, saying, "I hope you're okay, and I'm truly sorry. And I understand you have to do whatever you have to do. I just want you to know that I'm sorry. Goodnight, godspeed."
Eighth studio album (2019–present)
In an interview with eonmusic in June 2019, Billy Gibbons announced that he has contributed to a new Queens of the Stone Age album that is set to be further announced by Homme later in the future. Gibbons also confirmed that Dave Grohl is involved in the recording sessions. Gibbons was later confirmed to be a contributor to Desert Sessions vol. 11 & 12, while Grohl denied the rumors, saying that he and Homme had only spent time together "riding motorcycles and eating waffles."
Musical style
Throughout its career, the band has been described as alternative rock, stoner rock, alternative metal, hard rock, and nu metal. Homme has described the band's self-titled debut album as driving music, angular and recorded dry, with the album featuring solid and repetitive riffs in its song structure. Rolling Stone magazine also noted a "connection between American meat-and-potatoes macho rock of the early 1970s, like Blue Cheer and Grand Funk Railroad, and the precision-timing drones in German rock of the same period." The band's following album - Rated R - contained a wider variety of instruments, several recording guests and lead vocals shared by Homme, Oliveri and Lanegan. Homme has also commented that "Our first record announced our sound. This one added that we're different and weird." The band continued to experiment on their third album, Songs for the Deaf, which also featured a line-up including three lead vocalists, many guest appearances and wide range of instrumentation, including horn and string sections. Homme has described Lullabies to Paralyze as a "dark" album, which includes imagery inspired by The Brothers Grimm folk and fairy tales. In 2005, Homme explained, "Where the poetry seems to be is when you start in the dark and reach for the light—that's what makes it not depressing to me..." The album changed gears from the band's previous distinct "driving" sound, much due to the departure of longtime member Nick Oliveri. The band almost exclusively used semi hollow body guitars during the making of the record. With Era Vulgaris the band continued to develop their signature sound with more dance-oriented elements and electronic influences, while Homme has currently gone back to being the only lead vocalist in the band and uses more distinct vocal melodies.
Homme has on numerous occasions described their music as "rock versions of electronic music," stating that he takes inspiration from the repetitive nature of electronic trance music along with various forms of dance music, hip hop, trip hop and Krautrock. This heavy rock style mixed with the structure of electronic music has been dubbed by Homme as "robot rock" in an interview with KUNO-TV at the Roskilde Festival 2001.
Homme has described aspects of his distinctive guitar playing style. He demonstrated the 'Josh Homme scale', which he claimed was the result of years playing and altering the blues scale. The scale has the intervals 1, b3, 3, b5, 5, 6, b7. His scale is the half whole scale with the second degree (b2) omitted. In the same interview Homme referenced some of his earlier influences on his playing, citing both polka guitar styles and the techniques of Jimi Hendrix.
Members
Current
Josh Homme – lead vocals, guitar, piano (1996–present), bass (1996–1998, 2004–2007)
Troy Van Leeuwen – guitar, lap steel guitar, keyboards, synthesizers, percussion, backing vocals (2002–present), bass (2005–2006)
Michael Shuman – bass, synthesizers, backing vocals (2007–present)
Dean Fertita – keyboards, synthesizers, guitar, percussion, backing vocals (2007–present)
Jon Theodore – drums, percussion, samplers (2013–present)
Former
Alfredo Hernández – drums, percussion (1998–1999)
Nick Oliveri – bass, co-lead and backing vocals (1998–2004)
Mark Lanegan – co-lead and backing vocals (2001–2005), keyboards (2005)
Dave Grohl – drums, percussion (2001–2002, official member; 2013, session member)
Joey Castillo – drums, percussion (2002–2012)
Alain Johannes – bass, backing vocals, guitar (2005–2007)
Natasha Shneider – keyboards, backing vocals (2005–2006)
Touring musicians
Dave Catching – guitar, keyboards, lap steel (1998–2000)
Peter Stahl - co-lead and backing vocals (1998-1999)
Gene Trautmann – drums, percussion (1999–2001)
Brendon McNichol – guitar, keyboards, lap steel (2000–2002)
Dan Druff – bass, guitar, backing vocals (2004–2005)
Frequent collaborators
Discography
Queens of the Stone Age (1998)
Rated R (2000)
Songs for the Deaf (2002)
Lullabies to Paralyze (2005)
Era Vulgaris (2007)
...Like Clockwork (2013)
Villains (2017)
Tours
Queens of the Stone Age Tour (1998–1999)
Rated R Tour (2000–2001)
Songs for the Deaf Tour (2002–2004)
Lullabies to Paralyze Tour (2005–2006)
Era Vulgaris Tour (2007–2008)
Queens of the Stone Age Re-Release Tour (2011)
...Like Clockwork Tour (2013–14)
Villains World Tour (2017–2018)
Awards and nominations
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"
|-
! scope="col" | Award
! scope="col" | Year
! scope="col" | Nominee(s)
! scope="col" | Category
! scope="col" | Result
! scope="col" class="unsortable"|
|-
! scope="row"|Kerrang! Awards
| 2000
| rowspan=2|Themselves
| Best International Newcomer
|
|
|-
!scope="row"|Žebřík Music Awards
| 2002
| Best International Surprise
|
|
At the 2001 NME Awards, the band was nominated for Best Metal Act. At the 2004 awards ceremony, they won Best Live Band.
In 2003, their music video for "Go With the Flow" was nominated for three MTV Video Music Awards: Art Direction, Breakthrough Video, and Best Special Effects in a Video. It won only the last category.
See also
Palm Desert Scene
References
External links
Alternative rock groups from California
American alternative metal musical groups
Hard rock musical groups from California
Musical groups established in 1996
Musical groups from Riverside County, California
Musical quintets
Kerrang! Awards winners
Palm Desert, California
1996 establishments in California
Stoner rock musical groups | false | [
"Who's the Boss is the 2006 compilation album by St. Lunatics. A few songs on the album date back to early St. Lunatics music in 1996. The album includes appearances by all the St. Lunatics including Ali, City Spud, Kyjuan, Lil T (now Murphy Lee) & Nelly. The album was released in the United States on February 21, 2006. The album was not released under Universal Music/Derrty Entertainment and was not supported by Nelly. Rather, this was an album released by the owner of the original music, not endorsed by Nelly.\n\nTrack listing\n \"Intro\"\n \"Gimme What U Got\" (produced by Jason \"Jay E\" Epperson)\n \"Sticky Now\" (produced by Jason \"Jay E\" Epperson)\n \"Ice-E\" (produced by Jason \"Jay E\" Epperson)\n \"Joyous Occasion\" (produced by Lavell \"City Spud\" Webb)\n \"Who's the Boss\" (produced by Jason \"Jay E\" Epperson)\n \"Got Myself a Date\" (produced by Lavell \"City Spud\" Webb)\n \"Check the Rhyme\" (produced by Jason \"Jay E\" Epperson)\n \"Gimme What U Got (remix)\" (produced by Jason \"Jay E\" Epperson)\n \"Tonight\" (produced by Lavell \"City Spud\" Webb)\n \"Check the Rhyme (remix)\" (produced by Jason \"Jay E\" Epperson)\n\nSamples\n \"Gimme What U Got (Remix)\" contains elements of the recording \"Strawberry Letter 23\" by The Brothers Johnson.\n \"Who's the Boss\" contains elements of the recording \"Don't Look Any Further\" by Dennis Edwards featuring Siedah Garrett.\n\nReferences\n\nNelly albums\n2006 compilation albums",
"Black Hollywood is the third album by Hip Hop duo Camp Lo, released on July 24, 2007, on Good Hands Records. It is the duo's first album in five years. The album is entirely produced by long-time collaborator Ski, who produced the majority of the group's first two albums, Uptown Saturday Night and Let's Do It Again. The album features guest appearances from Ski and Jungle Brown, who appeared on the duo's debut. The album's first official single is the title track \"Black Hollywood\" .\n\nThe album's original title was A Piece of the Action, a reference to the Sidney Poitier-Bill Cosby film A Piece of the Action. The group's previous albums were also named after films starring Poitier and Cosby. The song \"Ganja Lounge\" contains a sample from the voiceover at the beginning of the 1995 film Friday.\n\nTrack listing\n\nAlbum singles\n\nReferences\n\n2007 albums\nCamp Lo albums\nAlbums produced by Ski Beatz"
] |
[
"Queens of the Stone Age",
"Songs for the Deaf, mainstream exposure and Oliveri's departure (2001-2004)",
"Why did Oliveri leave?",
"After the tour, Homme fired Oliveri, as he was convinced that Oliveri had been physically abusive to his girlfriend: \"",
"What kind of mainstream exposure did they have?",
"Songs for the Deaf was a critical hit and was certified gold in 2003, with sales of over 900,000.",
"Who produced the album?",
"I don't know."
] | C_d405e5d5e7864c139756931c9fae6138_0 | Are there any other interesting aspects about this article? | 4 | Are there any other interesting aspects about this article other than why Oliveri left the band ? | Queens of the Stone Age | Foo Fighters frontman and former Nirvana drummer, Dave Grohl, joined in late 2001 to record drums for their third album. Songs for the Deaf was released in August 2002, again featuring Lanegan, along with former A Perfect Circle guitarist Troy Van Leeuwen to the touring line-up following the album's release. Also featured on Songs for the Deaf for the final track "Mosquito Song" were former A Perfect Circle bassist Paz Lenchantin on viola and piano, and Dean Ween on guitar. This record was supposed to sound bizarre--like lightning in a bottle. We also were extremely fucked up. It even sounds that way to me, like a crazy person. The radio interludes are supposed to be like the drive from L.A. to Joshua Tree, a drive that makes you feel like you're letting go--more David Lynch with every mile. Songs for the Deaf was a critical hit and was certified gold in 2003, with sales of over 900,000. The singles "No One Knows" and "Go with the Flow" became hits on radio and MTV, with the former just outside the Billboard Top 40. "No One Knows" and "Go with the Flow" were also featured on the first iterations of the popular video games Guitar Hero and Rock Band (respectively). The Songs for the Deaf tour culminated in a string of headline dates in Australia in January 2004. Grohl returned to his other projects and was replaced on the European leg of the tour by former Danzig drummer Joey Castillo, who joined the band full-time. After the tour, Homme fired Oliveri, as he was convinced that Oliveri had been physically abusive to his girlfriend: "A couple years ago, I spoke to Nick about a rumor I heard. I said, 'If I ever find out that this is true, I can't know you, man.'" Homme considered breaking up the band after firing Oliveri, but found a new determination to continue. Oliveri countered in the press that the band had been "poisoned by hunger for power" and that without him, they were "Queens Lite." He later softened his opinion and said: "My relationship with Josh is good. The new Queens record kicks ass." The two reportedly are still friends and as of October 2006, Oliveri was interested in rejoining the band. Oliveri later contributed to a Queens of the Stone Age for the first time in nine years, contributing backing vocals to the band's sixth album, ...Like Clockwork. CANNOTANSWER | The Songs for the Deaf tour culminated in a string of headline dates in Australia in January 2004. | Queens of the Stone Age (commonly abbreviated QOTSA) is an American rock band formed in 1996 in Palm Desert, California. The band was founded by vocalist and guitarist Josh Homme, who has been the only constant member throughout multiple line-up changes. The current line-up consists of Homme alongside Troy Van Leeuwen (guitar, lap steel, keyboard, percussion, backing vocals), Michael Shuman (bass guitar, keyboard, backing vocals), Dean Fertita (keyboards, guitar, percussion, backing vocals), and Jon Theodore (drums, percussion). The band also have a large pool of contributors and collaborators. Queens of the Stone Age are known for their blues, Krautrock and electronica-influenced style of riff-oriented and rhythmic hard rock music, coupled with Homme's distinct falsetto vocals and unorthodox guitar scales.
Formed after the dissolution of Homme's previous band Kyuss, the band originated from the Palm Desert music scene. Their self-titled debut album was recorded with former Kyuss members Alfredo Hernández on drums and Homme on all other instruments. It was well received by critics for its stoner rock sound which Homme has described as "robot rock". Nick Oliveri and Mark Lanegan joined as additional vocalists for Rated R, which was commercially and critically successful. Rated R diversified their musical palette with forays into psychedelic rock, punk rock and heavy metal, and featured their breakout single "Feel Good Hit of the Summer". Songs for the Deaf was released in 2002 to universal acclaim and commercial success, and featured Dave Grohl on drums and contributions from Alain Johannes and Natasha Shneider. By this time, the band had achieved considerable international recognition, and have since embarked on successive world tours. Following Oliveri and Lanegan's departures, Homme was the primary singer for 2005's Lullabies to Paralyze and 2007's electronic-influenced Era Vulgaris.
After a few years of inactivity, the more sombre and introspective ...Like Clockwork was released in 2013 to critical acclaim. The band released Villains in 2017 with Mark Ronson as producer.
The band have been nominated for Grammy Awards seven times; four times for Best Hard Rock Performance, twice for Best Rock Album, and once for Best Rock Performance.
History
Formation and debut album (1996–1999)
After the breakup of his previous band, Kyuss, in 1995, Josh Homme briefly joined Screaming Trees as a touring guitarist, before deciding to form a new band, Gamma Ray. In 1996 they released the eponymous Gamma Ray EP, featuring "Born to Hula" and "If Only Everything" (which would later appear on their self-titled debut as "If Only"). The EP featured Matt Cameron of Soundgarden and Pearl Jam, Van Conner from Screaming Trees, and percussionist Victor Indrizzo.
Gamma Ray changed their name in 1997 after the German power metal band Gamma Ray threatened to sue. The name "Queens of the Stone Age" came from a nickname given to Kyuss by their producer Chris Goss. Homme said of the name: "Kings would be too macho. The Kings of the Stone Age wear armor and have axes and wrestle. The Queens of the Stone Age hang out with the Kings of the Stone Age's girlfriends when they wrestle ... Rock should be heavy enough for the boys and sweet enough for the girls. That way everyone's happy and it's more of a party. Kings of the Stone Age is too lopsided."
The first release under the Queens of the Stone Age name was the song "18 A.D.," released on the compilation album Burn One Up! Music for Stoners which featured members of the Dutch stoner rock band Beaver. The band's first live appearance was on November 20, 1997, at OK Hotel in Seattle, Washington, with Cameron on drums, Mike Johnson of Dinosaur Jr. on bass and John McBain of Monster Magnet on guitar. In December that year, the band released a split EP, Kyuss/Queens of the Stone Age, which featured three tracks from the Gamma Ray sessions as well as three Kyuss tracks recorded in 1995 prior to their breakup.
Queens of the Stone Age released their self-titled debut in 1998 on Stone Gossard's and Regan Hagar's label Loosegroove Records, and on vinyl by Man's Ruin Records. Homme played guitar and bass on the album (the latter credited to Homme's alter-ego Carlo Von Sexron), Alfredo Hernández on the drums, and several other contributions by Chris Goss and Hutch. Homme reportedly asked Screaming Trees vocalist Mark Lanegan to appear on the record, but he was unable due to other commitments.
Soon after the recording sessions were finished for the album, former Kyuss bassist Nick Oliveri joined the group, and touring commenced with a band consisting entirely of ex-Kyuss members. Guitarist Dave Catching joined shortly after. From this point forward, the band's line-up would change frequently; by the time their second album was being recorded, Hernández had left the group to play in other bands.
Rated R (2000–2001)
2000's Rated R featured myriad musicians familiar with Homme and Oliveri's work and "crew" of sorts: among others, drummers Nick Lucero and Gene Trautmann, guitarists Dave Catching, Brendon McNichol, and Chris Goss contributed, and even Judas Priest frontman Rob Halford, recording next door, stepped in for a guest spot on "Feel Good Hit of the Summer."
The album garnered positive reviews and received a lot more attention than their debut, despite the fact that the lyrics to "Feel Good Hit of the Summer" were deemed by mega-retailer Walmart to promote drug use, almost causing the record to get pulled from store shelves. The success of the record also earned the band notable opening slots with The Smashing Pumpkins, Foo Fighters, Hole, and a place at Ozzfest 2000. It was during this time that Homme stated:
During the 2001 Rock in Rio show, bassist Nick Oliveri was arrested after performing on stage naked, with only his bass guitar covering his genitals. Oliveri apologized to officials, saying that he did not know it was a crime in Brazil.
Following his work on Rated R, former Screaming Trees vocalist Mark Lanegan joined the band as a full-time member, a position he held until early 2005.
Towards the end of the Rated R tour, the band's performance at the 2001 Rock am Ring festival in Germany was, according to Homme, "the worst show we've ever played and it was in front of 40,000 people." The band decided to tattoo themselves with the starting time of the performance, "Freitag 4:15." As Oliveri explained:
Songs for the Deaf, mainstream exposure and Oliveri's departure (2001–2004)
Foo Fighters frontman and former Nirvana drummer, Dave Grohl, joined in late 2001 to record drums for their third album. Songs for the Deaf was released in August 2002, again featuring Lanegan, along with former A Perfect Circle guitarist Troy Van Leeuwen to the touring line-up following the album's release. Also featured on Songs for the Deaf for the final track "Mosquito Song" were former A Perfect Circle bassist Paz Lenchantin on viola and piano, and Dean Ween on guitar.
Songs for the Deaf was a critical hit and was certified gold in 2003, with sales of over 900,000. The singles "No One Knows" and "Go with the Flow" became hits on radio and MTV, with the former just outside the Billboard Top 40. "No One Knows" and "Go with the Flow" were also featured on the first iterations of the popular video games Guitar Hero and Rock Band (respectively). The song "You Think I Ain't Worth a Dollar, But I Feel Like a Millionaire" was featured as the theme song in Naughty Dog's "Jak X: Combat Racing" in 2005 along with "A Song For The Dead".
The Songs for the Deaf tour culminated in a string of headline dates in Australia in January 2004. Grohl returned to his other projects and was replaced on the European leg of the tour by former Danzig drummer Joey Castillo, who joined the band full-time. After the tour, Homme fired Oliveri, as he was convinced that Oliveri had been physically abusive to his girlfriend: "A couple years ago, I spoke to Nick about a rumor I heard. I said, 'If I ever find out that this is true, I can't know you, man.'" Homme considered breaking up the band after firing Oliveri, but found a new determination to continue. Oliveri countered in the press that the band had been "poisoned by hunger for power" and that without him, they were "Queens Lite." He later softened his opinion and said: "My relationship with Josh is good. The new Queens record kicks ass." The two reportedly are still friends and as of October 2006, Oliveri was interested in rejoining the band. Oliveri later contributed to a Queens of the Stone Age for the first time in nine years, contributing backing vocals to the band's sixth album, ...Like Clockwork.
Lullabies to Paralyze (2004–2006)
In late 2004, Homme, along with Eleven multi-instrumentalist Alain Johannes and remaining band members Van Leeuwen and Castillo recorded the Queens' fourth studio album, Lullabies to Paralyze, a title taken from a lyric in "Mosquito Song" from their previous album. The album featured guests including ZZ Top's Billy Gibbons. Despite Lanegan reportedly turning down an invitation to remain with the band, he recorded vocals on new tracks (notably the solo vocalist on the opening track "This Lullaby") and appeared on the supporting tour as scheduling and his health permitted.
Lullabies to Paralyze was leaked onto the internet in February 2005 and was aired by Triple J radio in Australia on March 3, 2005 as an unsubstantiated 'World Premiere'. It was then officially released on Tuesday, March 22, 2005 in the US, debuting in the number 5 slot on the Billboard Music Chart, the greatest debut of any Queens record until ...Like Clockwork debuted at number 1 in June 2013.
On May 14, 2005, the group was the musical guest on Saturday Night Live, hosted by Will Ferrell. One of Ferrell's popular Saturday Night Live characters, fictional Blue Öyster Cult cowbellist Gene Frenkle, made a re-appearance on the show, playing with the Queens on their first song of the night, "Little Sister." Frenkle played the song's wood block part using a cowbell along with the band.
On November 22, 2005, Queens of the Stone Age released a live album/DVD set, Over the Years and Through the Woods, featuring a live concert filmed in London, England, and bonus features which included rare videos of songs from 1998 to 2005. In 2005, the group supported Nine Inch Nails on their North American tour of With Teeth along with Autolux (for the first half of the tour) and Death from Above 1979 (for the second). NIN's guitarist Aaron North appeared as an onstage guest with the Queens for the songs "Born to Hula," "Regular John," "Avon," "Monsters in the Parasol" and "Long, Slow Goodbye" at the Wiltern LG in Los Angeles on December 19 and 20, 2005.
Another onstage guest for the December 20 performance was Homme's former Kyuss bandmate John Garcia, the first time that Homme and Garcia had played together since 1997. As a special encore they performed three Kyuss songs: "Thumb," "Hurricane" and "Supa Scoopa and Mighty Scoop." Homme stated that the band's lowest point was during the Lullabies era, but that the record "took the lead jacket off" the band following the firing of Oliveri in 2004.
Era Vulgaris and death of Shneider (2007–2008)
On Valentine's Day 2007, the band's official website announced the new album would be titled Era Vulgaris, and would be released in June. Later in February, teaser videos surfaced showing Homme, Castillo, Van Leeuwen and Johannes in studio. Several sites reported that the album would include many guest vocalists, including Trent Reznor from Nine Inch Nails, Julian Casablancas from The Strokes, Mark Lanegan, Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top, and deceased humorist Erma Bombeck. Death from Above 1979 bassist Jesse F. Keeler had been expected to play bass on the studio recording of the album, but not to tour; however, due to schedule conflicts, he stated he would not be appearing on the album.
Era Vulgaris was completed in early April 2007 and released June 12, 2007 in the US. The tracks "Sick, Sick, Sick" and "3's & 7's" were released as singles in early June. Homme has described the record as "dark, hard, and electrical, sort of like a construction worker." When asked about the vocals on the record, specifically the different style of singing that Homme used, he replied:
Bassist Michael Shuman (Wires On Fire, Jubilee and Mini Mansions) and keyboardist Dean Fertita (The Waxwings, The Dead Weather) took over touring duties from Alain Johannes and Natasha Shneider, respectively. In July 2007, Van Leeuwen stated the band had written new material, "still in its infancy" which Homme later suggested might be released as an EP. Following a subsequent interview with Homme, The Globe and Mail reported that the EP "could contain as many as 10 B-sides recorded during the Era Vulgaris sessions." It was later reported that the EP would not be released due to the record label's unwillingness to put out another QOTSA release at that time.
The band began a North American Tour in 2007, which they named the "Duluth Tour" because they were going to many small towns and cities they had never played before, such as Duluth, Minnesota. The tour was extended to other areas, such as the United Kingdom, where the band played more shows than on any of their previous UK tours. The band toured in Australia in late March to early April 2008, on the V festival tour, including a string of side shows. Throughout the beginning of May 2008, the band completed the Canadian leg of its touring.
In November 2007, Queens of the Stone Age performed a semi-acoustic set in an underground salt mine in Germany, performing a selection of hits, rarities, covers and an unreleased song named "Cathedral City." A DVD of the concert was planned but aside from a trailer promoting the DVD and a number of photographs, no footage of the concert has been released.
On July 2, 2008, Queens of the Stone Age's former keyboardist Natasha Shneider died of lung cancer at the age of 52. The news broke with a message posted on the MySpace page of the band Sweethead, of which Natasha's close friend and former bandmate Troy Van Leeuwen is a member. The band's homepage was updated with a memorial message by Homme replacing the normal front page. The band performed a concert in celebration of Natasha Shneider's life at the Henry Fonda Theatre in Los Angeles on August 16, 2008. They were joined on stage by Shneider's husband Alain Johannes, Jack Black and Kyle Gass, Matt Cameron, Brody Dalle, Jesse Hughes, Chris Goss and PJ Harvey, playing a variety of QOTSA and non-QOTSA songs, including covers of songs from bands such as Cream and The Doors. Tenacious D and PJ Harvey also performed acoustic sets at the show. Proceeds from the concert went to defray the costs associated with Natasha's illness.
On August 22 and 23, 2008, Queens of the Stone Age performed the last shows of their Era Vulgaris tour at the Reading and Leeds Festivals in the UK, and Josh Homme announced in an interview with the BBC and during the show that he would be returning to the studio to work on the next album.
Homme's health issues, debut re-release and promotional tour (2009–2011)
During 2009 and 2010, band members worked on side projects during the down time. Troy Van Leeuwen started up a new band, Sweethead. Joey Castillo played for Eagles of Death Metal on their Heart On tour. Bassist Michael Shuman continued his work as drummer and vocalist with Mini Mansions, while Dean Fertita became the guitarist/keyboardist for Jack White's newest group, The Dead Weather. Josh Homme formed supergroup Them Crooked Vultures with Dave Grohl and John Paul Jones. After Them Crooked Vultures finished touring in June, the band toured and released a two-CD deluxe edition of Rated R on August 3, 2010. This edition featured the original CD along with six B-sides and live recordings from the band's Reading performance in 2000.
In 2010, Homme suffered from complications during a botched knee surgery, during which his heart stopped for a short time due to asphyxiation; doctors had to use a defibrillator to revive him. Following this, he was bedridden for four months and plunged into a deep depression, during which he considered giving up his music career altogether. He elaborated on this experience further in an interview on Marc Maron's WTF podcast, explaining that he had contracted a methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infection which his immune system could not fight due to stress. Homme has since said that the experience contributed greatly to the writing and recording of ...Like Clockwork.
After Homme recovered, Queens of the Stone Age released a remastered version of their self-titled debut album in early 2011, and performed the album in its entirety in a promotional tour. The band performed on Conan on April 14, and later played at the Australian music festival Soundwave. Throughout the summer of 2011, the band appeared at various European festivals, including the Glastonbury Festival, in Somerset, UK. They also played at Pearl Jam's 20th Anniversary Festival at Alpine Valley in East Troy, WI on September 3 and 4, 2011, which would be their last with drummer Joey Castillo.
...Like Clockwork (2011–2014)
Plans to record a follow-up to Era Vulgaris had been mentioned since 2008, but recording would not begin until August 2012. In March 2011, Homme stated, "Doing the rehearsals for the first record is really defining the new one. It's been turning the new record into something else. What we were doing was bluesy, and now it's turned into this trancey, broken thing. The robots are coming home!" According to Homme, the album would be finished by the end of 2012. He explained to BBC Radio 1, "We're going to take our one last break that we would get for a month, come back and do Glastonbury, then immediately jump in the studio. Our record will be done by the end of the year. We have enough songs."
In November 2011, frequent collaborator Alain Johannes stated in regard to his studio work with the band: "We had a late night with Queens of the Stone Age again. [...] Just putting in days, super top secret, but it's going to be amazing. I'm really excited about it. [...] Once we start the process, it goes to completion. So I can't say exactly when, but it's a really good start."
On August 20, 2012, the band stated via a Facebook status update that they were "recording" their new album.
In September 2012, it was revealed that Homme and producer Dave Sardy co-wrote and recorded a song entitled "Nobody To Love," which is featured during the end credits of the film End of Watch.
In November 2012, Homme informed BBC's Zane Lowe that Joey Castillo had left the band and that drums on the new album would be performed by Dave Grohl, who also performed on Songs for the Deaf. Homme also confirmed with Lowe that the album would be released prior to their performance at the Download Festival in June 2013. In addition to Grohl, other former members contributing to the album include former bassists Nick Oliveri and Johannes, and vocalist Mark Lanegan.
A number of collaborations from different musicians were announced for ...Like Clockwork, including Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor, Scissor Sisters frontman Jake Shears, Brody Dalle, and Elton John.
In early 2013, Homme and fellow Queens contributors including Alain Johannes and Chris Goss recorded for the soundtrack of Dave Grohl's Sound City: Real to Reel. Goss, Johannes and Homme were on three tracks each. Josh's notably included a collaboration with Grohl and Trent Reznor called Mantra, and he was also featured in the film in an interview segment. Goss and Johannes were both featured members in the Sound City Players, playing Masters of Reality, Eleven, and Desert Sessions songs, as well as their penned tunes from the soundtrack. Former Kyuss bassist Scott Reeder also contributed to the soundtrack.
In March 2013, Queens of the Stone Age announced that the new album, entitled ...Like Clockwork, would be released in June 2013 on Matador Records. A press release, issued by Matador at 9:00am EST on March 26, 2013, revealed further details of the album, including further guest appearances: Alex Turner of Arctic Monkeys and UNKLE's James Lavelle. In addition to Grohl's contribution, the record also features performances by former drummer Castillo, as well as tracks by new drummer Jon Theodore (ex-The Mars Volta, One Day as a Lion). Queens of the Stone Age premiered a new song, "My God Is The Sun", at Lollapalooza Brasil on March 30, 2013, a performance in which Theodore made his live debut. The studio version of the song premiered on Lowe's BBC Radio 1 program on April 8, 2013.
...Like Clockwork was released on June 3, 2013 on Matador Records in the UK and on June 4 in the United States. Self-produced by the band, it is the first Queens of the Stone Age album to feature full contributions from bassist Michael Shuman and keyboardist and guitarist Dean Fertita. The album debuted in the number one position in the US and is the first QOTSA album to achieve this ranking.
Following a performance by QOTSA at the Jay Z-owned Made In America Festival in the summer of 2013, Homme made comments about the rap star during a radio interview with CBC Radio 2's Strombo Show. Homme explained that his band was frisked by the event's security team prior to the performance and referred to Jay Z's personal interaction with the band as a marketing stunt. Homme stated:
The ...Like Clockwork tour culminated with a Halloween party at The Forum in Los Angeles, featuring guests such as The Kills, JD McPherson and Nick Oliveri's band Uncontrollable. The band's performance featured an appearance from Oliveri who played songs with them during the encore set, including songs such as "Auto Pilot" and "Quick and to the Pointless" which had not been performed in a decade.
Villains (2014–2018)
The band performed with Nine Inch Nails, Lindsey Buckingham and Dave Grohl at the 56th Annual Grammy Awards. The band went on a joint headline tour of Australia with Nine Inch Nails in 2014.
In January 2014, Homme told Rolling Stone magazine the band would start recording a new album when they finished their tour for ...Like Clockwork. In June 2014, Homme performed a solo acoustic show at James Lavelle's Meltdown festival, featuring guest performances from Troy Van Leeuwen and Mark Lanegan. During this gig, Homme played a new song called "Villains of Circumstance," which was performed again at another acoustic set in 2016. The band indicated in February 2015, when it was announced they are to play Rock in Rio 2015 in Rio de Janeiro in September, that they were about to record a new album. Despite this, in March 2016, Michael Shuman revealed that the band were on a break.
During this period, the members of the band worked on various other projects. Josh Homme and Dean Fertita contributed to Iggy Pop's 2016 album Post Pop Depression and subsequent tour, while Troy van Leeuwen joined the rock supergroup Gone Is Gone with plans to release an EP and a studio album. In May 2016, Van Leeuwen announced plans to record Queens of the Stone Age's seventh studio album "sometime this year."
In January 2017, Troy Sanders from Mastodon and Gone Is Gone said Queens of the Stone Age will release a new album later in the year. Following this, the band posted several photos on social media featuring their studio and announced that they would be performing at the Fuji Rock Festival in July, their first performance in Japan since 2003. The band updated their social media accounts with a new logo and the words "Coming Twentyfive" on April 6, 2017, and announced a tour of Australia and New Zealand to begin in July.
On June 14, 2017, Queens of the Stone Age announced their new album Villains which was released on August 25, 2017. The teaser trailer took the form of a comedy skit featuring the band performing a polygraph test with Liam Lynch along with an appearance of the album's producer Mark Ronson, and featured a snippet of the song "Feet Don't Fail Me." The first single, "The Way You Used to Do," was released the following day along with the announcement of a world tour. The second advance single from the album, "The Evil Has Landed," was released August 10, 2017.
On October 24, 2017, as part of the Villains tour, the band headlined Madison Square Garden for the first time, having opened for Nine Inch Nails there in 2005, and for Red Hot Chili Peppers in 2003. Homme said he was "stoked". Three sets of free tickets to this show were hidden at three stations along the Q line of the New York City Subway.
On December 9, 2017, while on stage during the KROQ Acoustic Christmas concert in Inglewood, California, Homme kicked a photographer's camera into her face, resulting in injuries for which she later received medical treatment. Homme, who was under the influence of alcohol at the time, later apologized through a video on the band's Instagram page, saying, "I hope you're okay, and I'm truly sorry. And I understand you have to do whatever you have to do. I just want you to know that I'm sorry. Goodnight, godspeed."
Eighth studio album (2019–present)
In an interview with eonmusic in June 2019, Billy Gibbons announced that he has contributed to a new Queens of the Stone Age album that is set to be further announced by Homme later in the future. Gibbons also confirmed that Dave Grohl is involved in the recording sessions. Gibbons was later confirmed to be a contributor to Desert Sessions vol. 11 & 12, while Grohl denied the rumors, saying that he and Homme had only spent time together "riding motorcycles and eating waffles."
Musical style
Throughout its career, the band has been described as alternative rock, stoner rock, alternative metal, hard rock, and nu metal. Homme has described the band's self-titled debut album as driving music, angular and recorded dry, with the album featuring solid and repetitive riffs in its song structure. Rolling Stone magazine also noted a "connection between American meat-and-potatoes macho rock of the early 1970s, like Blue Cheer and Grand Funk Railroad, and the precision-timing drones in German rock of the same period." The band's following album - Rated R - contained a wider variety of instruments, several recording guests and lead vocals shared by Homme, Oliveri and Lanegan. Homme has also commented that "Our first record announced our sound. This one added that we're different and weird." The band continued to experiment on their third album, Songs for the Deaf, which also featured a line-up including three lead vocalists, many guest appearances and wide range of instrumentation, including horn and string sections. Homme has described Lullabies to Paralyze as a "dark" album, which includes imagery inspired by The Brothers Grimm folk and fairy tales. In 2005, Homme explained, "Where the poetry seems to be is when you start in the dark and reach for the light—that's what makes it not depressing to me..." The album changed gears from the band's previous distinct "driving" sound, much due to the departure of longtime member Nick Oliveri. The band almost exclusively used semi hollow body guitars during the making of the record. With Era Vulgaris the band continued to develop their signature sound with more dance-oriented elements and electronic influences, while Homme has currently gone back to being the only lead vocalist in the band and uses more distinct vocal melodies.
Homme has on numerous occasions described their music as "rock versions of electronic music," stating that he takes inspiration from the repetitive nature of electronic trance music along with various forms of dance music, hip hop, trip hop and Krautrock. This heavy rock style mixed with the structure of electronic music has been dubbed by Homme as "robot rock" in an interview with KUNO-TV at the Roskilde Festival 2001.
Homme has described aspects of his distinctive guitar playing style. He demonstrated the 'Josh Homme scale', which he claimed was the result of years playing and altering the blues scale. The scale has the intervals 1, b3, 3, b5, 5, 6, b7. His scale is the half whole scale with the second degree (b2) omitted. In the same interview Homme referenced some of his earlier influences on his playing, citing both polka guitar styles and the techniques of Jimi Hendrix.
Members
Current
Josh Homme – lead vocals, guitar, piano (1996–present), bass (1996–1998, 2004–2007)
Troy Van Leeuwen – guitar, lap steel guitar, keyboards, synthesizers, percussion, backing vocals (2002–present), bass (2005–2006)
Michael Shuman – bass, synthesizers, backing vocals (2007–present)
Dean Fertita – keyboards, synthesizers, guitar, percussion, backing vocals (2007–present)
Jon Theodore – drums, percussion, samplers (2013–present)
Former
Alfredo Hernández – drums, percussion (1998–1999)
Nick Oliveri – bass, co-lead and backing vocals (1998–2004)
Mark Lanegan – co-lead and backing vocals (2001–2005), keyboards (2005)
Dave Grohl – drums, percussion (2001–2002, official member; 2013, session member)
Joey Castillo – drums, percussion (2002–2012)
Alain Johannes – bass, backing vocals, guitar (2005–2007)
Natasha Shneider – keyboards, backing vocals (2005–2006)
Touring musicians
Dave Catching – guitar, keyboards, lap steel (1998–2000)
Peter Stahl - co-lead and backing vocals (1998-1999)
Gene Trautmann – drums, percussion (1999–2001)
Brendon McNichol – guitar, keyboards, lap steel (2000–2002)
Dan Druff – bass, guitar, backing vocals (2004–2005)
Frequent collaborators
Discography
Queens of the Stone Age (1998)
Rated R (2000)
Songs for the Deaf (2002)
Lullabies to Paralyze (2005)
Era Vulgaris (2007)
...Like Clockwork (2013)
Villains (2017)
Tours
Queens of the Stone Age Tour (1998–1999)
Rated R Tour (2000–2001)
Songs for the Deaf Tour (2002–2004)
Lullabies to Paralyze Tour (2005–2006)
Era Vulgaris Tour (2007–2008)
Queens of the Stone Age Re-Release Tour (2011)
...Like Clockwork Tour (2013–14)
Villains World Tour (2017–2018)
Awards and nominations
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"
|-
! scope="col" | Award
! scope="col" | Year
! scope="col" | Nominee(s)
! scope="col" | Category
! scope="col" | Result
! scope="col" class="unsortable"|
|-
! scope="row"|Kerrang! Awards
| 2000
| rowspan=2|Themselves
| Best International Newcomer
|
|
|-
!scope="row"|Žebřík Music Awards
| 2002
| Best International Surprise
|
|
At the 2001 NME Awards, the band was nominated for Best Metal Act. At the 2004 awards ceremony, they won Best Live Band.
In 2003, their music video for "Go With the Flow" was nominated for three MTV Video Music Awards: Art Direction, Breakthrough Video, and Best Special Effects in a Video. It won only the last category.
See also
Palm Desert Scene
References
External links
Alternative rock groups from California
American alternative metal musical groups
Hard rock musical groups from California
Musical groups established in 1996
Musical groups from Riverside County, California
Musical quintets
Kerrang! Awards winners
Palm Desert, California
1996 establishments in California
Stoner rock musical groups | 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"
] |
[
"Queens of the Stone Age",
"Songs for the Deaf, mainstream exposure and Oliveri's departure (2001-2004)",
"Why did Oliveri leave?",
"After the tour, Homme fired Oliveri, as he was convinced that Oliveri had been physically abusive to his girlfriend: \"",
"What kind of mainstream exposure did they have?",
"Songs for the Deaf was a critical hit and was certified gold in 2003, with sales of over 900,000.",
"Who produced the album?",
"I don't know.",
"Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?",
"The Songs for the Deaf tour culminated in a string of headline dates in Australia in January 2004."
] | C_d405e5d5e7864c139756931c9fae6138_0 | Was the tour successful? | 5 | Was the last Queen of the Stone Age tour with Oliveri successful? | Queens of the Stone Age | Foo Fighters frontman and former Nirvana drummer, Dave Grohl, joined in late 2001 to record drums for their third album. Songs for the Deaf was released in August 2002, again featuring Lanegan, along with former A Perfect Circle guitarist Troy Van Leeuwen to the touring line-up following the album's release. Also featured on Songs for the Deaf for the final track "Mosquito Song" were former A Perfect Circle bassist Paz Lenchantin on viola and piano, and Dean Ween on guitar. This record was supposed to sound bizarre--like lightning in a bottle. We also were extremely fucked up. It even sounds that way to me, like a crazy person. The radio interludes are supposed to be like the drive from L.A. to Joshua Tree, a drive that makes you feel like you're letting go--more David Lynch with every mile. Songs for the Deaf was a critical hit and was certified gold in 2003, with sales of over 900,000. The singles "No One Knows" and "Go with the Flow" became hits on radio and MTV, with the former just outside the Billboard Top 40. "No One Knows" and "Go with the Flow" were also featured on the first iterations of the popular video games Guitar Hero and Rock Band (respectively). The Songs for the Deaf tour culminated in a string of headline dates in Australia in January 2004. Grohl returned to his other projects and was replaced on the European leg of the tour by former Danzig drummer Joey Castillo, who joined the band full-time. After the tour, Homme fired Oliveri, as he was convinced that Oliveri had been physically abusive to his girlfriend: "A couple years ago, I spoke to Nick about a rumor I heard. I said, 'If I ever find out that this is true, I can't know you, man.'" Homme considered breaking up the band after firing Oliveri, but found a new determination to continue. Oliveri countered in the press that the band had been "poisoned by hunger for power" and that without him, they were "Queens Lite." He later softened his opinion and said: "My relationship with Josh is good. The new Queens record kicks ass." The two reportedly are still friends and as of October 2006, Oliveri was interested in rejoining the band. Oliveri later contributed to a Queens of the Stone Age for the first time in nine years, contributing backing vocals to the band's sixth album, ...Like Clockwork. CANNOTANSWER | Grohl returned to his other projects and was replaced on the European leg of the tour by former Danzig drummer Joey Castillo, | Queens of the Stone Age (commonly abbreviated QOTSA) is an American rock band formed in 1996 in Palm Desert, California. The band was founded by vocalist and guitarist Josh Homme, who has been the only constant member throughout multiple line-up changes. The current line-up consists of Homme alongside Troy Van Leeuwen (guitar, lap steel, keyboard, percussion, backing vocals), Michael Shuman (bass guitar, keyboard, backing vocals), Dean Fertita (keyboards, guitar, percussion, backing vocals), and Jon Theodore (drums, percussion). The band also have a large pool of contributors and collaborators. Queens of the Stone Age are known for their blues, Krautrock and electronica-influenced style of riff-oriented and rhythmic hard rock music, coupled with Homme's distinct falsetto vocals and unorthodox guitar scales.
Formed after the dissolution of Homme's previous band Kyuss, the band originated from the Palm Desert music scene. Their self-titled debut album was recorded with former Kyuss members Alfredo Hernández on drums and Homme on all other instruments. It was well received by critics for its stoner rock sound which Homme has described as "robot rock". Nick Oliveri and Mark Lanegan joined as additional vocalists for Rated R, which was commercially and critically successful. Rated R diversified their musical palette with forays into psychedelic rock, punk rock and heavy metal, and featured their breakout single "Feel Good Hit of the Summer". Songs for the Deaf was released in 2002 to universal acclaim and commercial success, and featured Dave Grohl on drums and contributions from Alain Johannes and Natasha Shneider. By this time, the band had achieved considerable international recognition, and have since embarked on successive world tours. Following Oliveri and Lanegan's departures, Homme was the primary singer for 2005's Lullabies to Paralyze and 2007's electronic-influenced Era Vulgaris.
After a few years of inactivity, the more sombre and introspective ...Like Clockwork was released in 2013 to critical acclaim. The band released Villains in 2017 with Mark Ronson as producer.
The band have been nominated for Grammy Awards seven times; four times for Best Hard Rock Performance, twice for Best Rock Album, and once for Best Rock Performance.
History
Formation and debut album (1996–1999)
After the breakup of his previous band, Kyuss, in 1995, Josh Homme briefly joined Screaming Trees as a touring guitarist, before deciding to form a new band, Gamma Ray. In 1996 they released the eponymous Gamma Ray EP, featuring "Born to Hula" and "If Only Everything" (which would later appear on their self-titled debut as "If Only"). The EP featured Matt Cameron of Soundgarden and Pearl Jam, Van Conner from Screaming Trees, and percussionist Victor Indrizzo.
Gamma Ray changed their name in 1997 after the German power metal band Gamma Ray threatened to sue. The name "Queens of the Stone Age" came from a nickname given to Kyuss by their producer Chris Goss. Homme said of the name: "Kings would be too macho. The Kings of the Stone Age wear armor and have axes and wrestle. The Queens of the Stone Age hang out with the Kings of the Stone Age's girlfriends when they wrestle ... Rock should be heavy enough for the boys and sweet enough for the girls. That way everyone's happy and it's more of a party. Kings of the Stone Age is too lopsided."
The first release under the Queens of the Stone Age name was the song "18 A.D.," released on the compilation album Burn One Up! Music for Stoners which featured members of the Dutch stoner rock band Beaver. The band's first live appearance was on November 20, 1997, at OK Hotel in Seattle, Washington, with Cameron on drums, Mike Johnson of Dinosaur Jr. on bass and John McBain of Monster Magnet on guitar. In December that year, the band released a split EP, Kyuss/Queens of the Stone Age, which featured three tracks from the Gamma Ray sessions as well as three Kyuss tracks recorded in 1995 prior to their breakup.
Queens of the Stone Age released their self-titled debut in 1998 on Stone Gossard's and Regan Hagar's label Loosegroove Records, and on vinyl by Man's Ruin Records. Homme played guitar and bass on the album (the latter credited to Homme's alter-ego Carlo Von Sexron), Alfredo Hernández on the drums, and several other contributions by Chris Goss and Hutch. Homme reportedly asked Screaming Trees vocalist Mark Lanegan to appear on the record, but he was unable due to other commitments.
Soon after the recording sessions were finished for the album, former Kyuss bassist Nick Oliveri joined the group, and touring commenced with a band consisting entirely of ex-Kyuss members. Guitarist Dave Catching joined shortly after. From this point forward, the band's line-up would change frequently; by the time their second album was being recorded, Hernández had left the group to play in other bands.
Rated R (2000–2001)
2000's Rated R featured myriad musicians familiar with Homme and Oliveri's work and "crew" of sorts: among others, drummers Nick Lucero and Gene Trautmann, guitarists Dave Catching, Brendon McNichol, and Chris Goss contributed, and even Judas Priest frontman Rob Halford, recording next door, stepped in for a guest spot on "Feel Good Hit of the Summer."
The album garnered positive reviews and received a lot more attention than their debut, despite the fact that the lyrics to "Feel Good Hit of the Summer" were deemed by mega-retailer Walmart to promote drug use, almost causing the record to get pulled from store shelves. The success of the record also earned the band notable opening slots with The Smashing Pumpkins, Foo Fighters, Hole, and a place at Ozzfest 2000. It was during this time that Homme stated:
During the 2001 Rock in Rio show, bassist Nick Oliveri was arrested after performing on stage naked, with only his bass guitar covering his genitals. Oliveri apologized to officials, saying that he did not know it was a crime in Brazil.
Following his work on Rated R, former Screaming Trees vocalist Mark Lanegan joined the band as a full-time member, a position he held until early 2005.
Towards the end of the Rated R tour, the band's performance at the 2001 Rock am Ring festival in Germany was, according to Homme, "the worst show we've ever played and it was in front of 40,000 people." The band decided to tattoo themselves with the starting time of the performance, "Freitag 4:15." As Oliveri explained:
Songs for the Deaf, mainstream exposure and Oliveri's departure (2001–2004)
Foo Fighters frontman and former Nirvana drummer, Dave Grohl, joined in late 2001 to record drums for their third album. Songs for the Deaf was released in August 2002, again featuring Lanegan, along with former A Perfect Circle guitarist Troy Van Leeuwen to the touring line-up following the album's release. Also featured on Songs for the Deaf for the final track "Mosquito Song" were former A Perfect Circle bassist Paz Lenchantin on viola and piano, and Dean Ween on guitar.
Songs for the Deaf was a critical hit and was certified gold in 2003, with sales of over 900,000. The singles "No One Knows" and "Go with the Flow" became hits on radio and MTV, with the former just outside the Billboard Top 40. "No One Knows" and "Go with the Flow" were also featured on the first iterations of the popular video games Guitar Hero and Rock Band (respectively). The song "You Think I Ain't Worth a Dollar, But I Feel Like a Millionaire" was featured as the theme song in Naughty Dog's "Jak X: Combat Racing" in 2005 along with "A Song For The Dead".
The Songs for the Deaf tour culminated in a string of headline dates in Australia in January 2004. Grohl returned to his other projects and was replaced on the European leg of the tour by former Danzig drummer Joey Castillo, who joined the band full-time. After the tour, Homme fired Oliveri, as he was convinced that Oliveri had been physically abusive to his girlfriend: "A couple years ago, I spoke to Nick about a rumor I heard. I said, 'If I ever find out that this is true, I can't know you, man.'" Homme considered breaking up the band after firing Oliveri, but found a new determination to continue. Oliveri countered in the press that the band had been "poisoned by hunger for power" and that without him, they were "Queens Lite." He later softened his opinion and said: "My relationship with Josh is good. The new Queens record kicks ass." The two reportedly are still friends and as of October 2006, Oliveri was interested in rejoining the band. Oliveri later contributed to a Queens of the Stone Age for the first time in nine years, contributing backing vocals to the band's sixth album, ...Like Clockwork.
Lullabies to Paralyze (2004–2006)
In late 2004, Homme, along with Eleven multi-instrumentalist Alain Johannes and remaining band members Van Leeuwen and Castillo recorded the Queens' fourth studio album, Lullabies to Paralyze, a title taken from a lyric in "Mosquito Song" from their previous album. The album featured guests including ZZ Top's Billy Gibbons. Despite Lanegan reportedly turning down an invitation to remain with the band, he recorded vocals on new tracks (notably the solo vocalist on the opening track "This Lullaby") and appeared on the supporting tour as scheduling and his health permitted.
Lullabies to Paralyze was leaked onto the internet in February 2005 and was aired by Triple J radio in Australia on March 3, 2005 as an unsubstantiated 'World Premiere'. It was then officially released on Tuesday, March 22, 2005 in the US, debuting in the number 5 slot on the Billboard Music Chart, the greatest debut of any Queens record until ...Like Clockwork debuted at number 1 in June 2013.
On May 14, 2005, the group was the musical guest on Saturday Night Live, hosted by Will Ferrell. One of Ferrell's popular Saturday Night Live characters, fictional Blue Öyster Cult cowbellist Gene Frenkle, made a re-appearance on the show, playing with the Queens on their first song of the night, "Little Sister." Frenkle played the song's wood block part using a cowbell along with the band.
On November 22, 2005, Queens of the Stone Age released a live album/DVD set, Over the Years and Through the Woods, featuring a live concert filmed in London, England, and bonus features which included rare videos of songs from 1998 to 2005. In 2005, the group supported Nine Inch Nails on their North American tour of With Teeth along with Autolux (for the first half of the tour) and Death from Above 1979 (for the second). NIN's guitarist Aaron North appeared as an onstage guest with the Queens for the songs "Born to Hula," "Regular John," "Avon," "Monsters in the Parasol" and "Long, Slow Goodbye" at the Wiltern LG in Los Angeles on December 19 and 20, 2005.
Another onstage guest for the December 20 performance was Homme's former Kyuss bandmate John Garcia, the first time that Homme and Garcia had played together since 1997. As a special encore they performed three Kyuss songs: "Thumb," "Hurricane" and "Supa Scoopa and Mighty Scoop." Homme stated that the band's lowest point was during the Lullabies era, but that the record "took the lead jacket off" the band following the firing of Oliveri in 2004.
Era Vulgaris and death of Shneider (2007–2008)
On Valentine's Day 2007, the band's official website announced the new album would be titled Era Vulgaris, and would be released in June. Later in February, teaser videos surfaced showing Homme, Castillo, Van Leeuwen and Johannes in studio. Several sites reported that the album would include many guest vocalists, including Trent Reznor from Nine Inch Nails, Julian Casablancas from The Strokes, Mark Lanegan, Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top, and deceased humorist Erma Bombeck. Death from Above 1979 bassist Jesse F. Keeler had been expected to play bass on the studio recording of the album, but not to tour; however, due to schedule conflicts, he stated he would not be appearing on the album.
Era Vulgaris was completed in early April 2007 and released June 12, 2007 in the US. The tracks "Sick, Sick, Sick" and "3's & 7's" were released as singles in early June. Homme has described the record as "dark, hard, and electrical, sort of like a construction worker." When asked about the vocals on the record, specifically the different style of singing that Homme used, he replied:
Bassist Michael Shuman (Wires On Fire, Jubilee and Mini Mansions) and keyboardist Dean Fertita (The Waxwings, The Dead Weather) took over touring duties from Alain Johannes and Natasha Shneider, respectively. In July 2007, Van Leeuwen stated the band had written new material, "still in its infancy" which Homme later suggested might be released as an EP. Following a subsequent interview with Homme, The Globe and Mail reported that the EP "could contain as many as 10 B-sides recorded during the Era Vulgaris sessions." It was later reported that the EP would not be released due to the record label's unwillingness to put out another QOTSA release at that time.
The band began a North American Tour in 2007, which they named the "Duluth Tour" because they were going to many small towns and cities they had never played before, such as Duluth, Minnesota. The tour was extended to other areas, such as the United Kingdom, where the band played more shows than on any of their previous UK tours. The band toured in Australia in late March to early April 2008, on the V festival tour, including a string of side shows. Throughout the beginning of May 2008, the band completed the Canadian leg of its touring.
In November 2007, Queens of the Stone Age performed a semi-acoustic set in an underground salt mine in Germany, performing a selection of hits, rarities, covers and an unreleased song named "Cathedral City." A DVD of the concert was planned but aside from a trailer promoting the DVD and a number of photographs, no footage of the concert has been released.
On July 2, 2008, Queens of the Stone Age's former keyboardist Natasha Shneider died of lung cancer at the age of 52. The news broke with a message posted on the MySpace page of the band Sweethead, of which Natasha's close friend and former bandmate Troy Van Leeuwen is a member. The band's homepage was updated with a memorial message by Homme replacing the normal front page. The band performed a concert in celebration of Natasha Shneider's life at the Henry Fonda Theatre in Los Angeles on August 16, 2008. They were joined on stage by Shneider's husband Alain Johannes, Jack Black and Kyle Gass, Matt Cameron, Brody Dalle, Jesse Hughes, Chris Goss and PJ Harvey, playing a variety of QOTSA and non-QOTSA songs, including covers of songs from bands such as Cream and The Doors. Tenacious D and PJ Harvey also performed acoustic sets at the show. Proceeds from the concert went to defray the costs associated with Natasha's illness.
On August 22 and 23, 2008, Queens of the Stone Age performed the last shows of their Era Vulgaris tour at the Reading and Leeds Festivals in the UK, and Josh Homme announced in an interview with the BBC and during the show that he would be returning to the studio to work on the next album.
Homme's health issues, debut re-release and promotional tour (2009–2011)
During 2009 and 2010, band members worked on side projects during the down time. Troy Van Leeuwen started up a new band, Sweethead. Joey Castillo played for Eagles of Death Metal on their Heart On tour. Bassist Michael Shuman continued his work as drummer and vocalist with Mini Mansions, while Dean Fertita became the guitarist/keyboardist for Jack White's newest group, The Dead Weather. Josh Homme formed supergroup Them Crooked Vultures with Dave Grohl and John Paul Jones. After Them Crooked Vultures finished touring in June, the band toured and released a two-CD deluxe edition of Rated R on August 3, 2010. This edition featured the original CD along with six B-sides and live recordings from the band's Reading performance in 2000.
In 2010, Homme suffered from complications during a botched knee surgery, during which his heart stopped for a short time due to asphyxiation; doctors had to use a defibrillator to revive him. Following this, he was bedridden for four months and plunged into a deep depression, during which he considered giving up his music career altogether. He elaborated on this experience further in an interview on Marc Maron's WTF podcast, explaining that he had contracted a methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infection which his immune system could not fight due to stress. Homme has since said that the experience contributed greatly to the writing and recording of ...Like Clockwork.
After Homme recovered, Queens of the Stone Age released a remastered version of their self-titled debut album in early 2011, and performed the album in its entirety in a promotional tour. The band performed on Conan on April 14, and later played at the Australian music festival Soundwave. Throughout the summer of 2011, the band appeared at various European festivals, including the Glastonbury Festival, in Somerset, UK. They also played at Pearl Jam's 20th Anniversary Festival at Alpine Valley in East Troy, WI on September 3 and 4, 2011, which would be their last with drummer Joey Castillo.
...Like Clockwork (2011–2014)
Plans to record a follow-up to Era Vulgaris had been mentioned since 2008, but recording would not begin until August 2012. In March 2011, Homme stated, "Doing the rehearsals for the first record is really defining the new one. It's been turning the new record into something else. What we were doing was bluesy, and now it's turned into this trancey, broken thing. The robots are coming home!" According to Homme, the album would be finished by the end of 2012. He explained to BBC Radio 1, "We're going to take our one last break that we would get for a month, come back and do Glastonbury, then immediately jump in the studio. Our record will be done by the end of the year. We have enough songs."
In November 2011, frequent collaborator Alain Johannes stated in regard to his studio work with the band: "We had a late night with Queens of the Stone Age again. [...] Just putting in days, super top secret, but it's going to be amazing. I'm really excited about it. [...] Once we start the process, it goes to completion. So I can't say exactly when, but it's a really good start."
On August 20, 2012, the band stated via a Facebook status update that they were "recording" their new album.
In September 2012, it was revealed that Homme and producer Dave Sardy co-wrote and recorded a song entitled "Nobody To Love," which is featured during the end credits of the film End of Watch.
In November 2012, Homme informed BBC's Zane Lowe that Joey Castillo had left the band and that drums on the new album would be performed by Dave Grohl, who also performed on Songs for the Deaf. Homme also confirmed with Lowe that the album would be released prior to their performance at the Download Festival in June 2013. In addition to Grohl, other former members contributing to the album include former bassists Nick Oliveri and Johannes, and vocalist Mark Lanegan.
A number of collaborations from different musicians were announced for ...Like Clockwork, including Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor, Scissor Sisters frontman Jake Shears, Brody Dalle, and Elton John.
In early 2013, Homme and fellow Queens contributors including Alain Johannes and Chris Goss recorded for the soundtrack of Dave Grohl's Sound City: Real to Reel. Goss, Johannes and Homme were on three tracks each. Josh's notably included a collaboration with Grohl and Trent Reznor called Mantra, and he was also featured in the film in an interview segment. Goss and Johannes were both featured members in the Sound City Players, playing Masters of Reality, Eleven, and Desert Sessions songs, as well as their penned tunes from the soundtrack. Former Kyuss bassist Scott Reeder also contributed to the soundtrack.
In March 2013, Queens of the Stone Age announced that the new album, entitled ...Like Clockwork, would be released in June 2013 on Matador Records. A press release, issued by Matador at 9:00am EST on March 26, 2013, revealed further details of the album, including further guest appearances: Alex Turner of Arctic Monkeys and UNKLE's James Lavelle. In addition to Grohl's contribution, the record also features performances by former drummer Castillo, as well as tracks by new drummer Jon Theodore (ex-The Mars Volta, One Day as a Lion). Queens of the Stone Age premiered a new song, "My God Is The Sun", at Lollapalooza Brasil on March 30, 2013, a performance in which Theodore made his live debut. The studio version of the song premiered on Lowe's BBC Radio 1 program on April 8, 2013.
...Like Clockwork was released on June 3, 2013 on Matador Records in the UK and on June 4 in the United States. Self-produced by the band, it is the first Queens of the Stone Age album to feature full contributions from bassist Michael Shuman and keyboardist and guitarist Dean Fertita. The album debuted in the number one position in the US and is the first QOTSA album to achieve this ranking.
Following a performance by QOTSA at the Jay Z-owned Made In America Festival in the summer of 2013, Homme made comments about the rap star during a radio interview with CBC Radio 2's Strombo Show. Homme explained that his band was frisked by the event's security team prior to the performance and referred to Jay Z's personal interaction with the band as a marketing stunt. Homme stated:
The ...Like Clockwork tour culminated with a Halloween party at The Forum in Los Angeles, featuring guests such as The Kills, JD McPherson and Nick Oliveri's band Uncontrollable. The band's performance featured an appearance from Oliveri who played songs with them during the encore set, including songs such as "Auto Pilot" and "Quick and to the Pointless" which had not been performed in a decade.
Villains (2014–2018)
The band performed with Nine Inch Nails, Lindsey Buckingham and Dave Grohl at the 56th Annual Grammy Awards. The band went on a joint headline tour of Australia with Nine Inch Nails in 2014.
In January 2014, Homme told Rolling Stone magazine the band would start recording a new album when they finished their tour for ...Like Clockwork. In June 2014, Homme performed a solo acoustic show at James Lavelle's Meltdown festival, featuring guest performances from Troy Van Leeuwen and Mark Lanegan. During this gig, Homme played a new song called "Villains of Circumstance," which was performed again at another acoustic set in 2016. The band indicated in February 2015, when it was announced they are to play Rock in Rio 2015 in Rio de Janeiro in September, that they were about to record a new album. Despite this, in March 2016, Michael Shuman revealed that the band were on a break.
During this period, the members of the band worked on various other projects. Josh Homme and Dean Fertita contributed to Iggy Pop's 2016 album Post Pop Depression and subsequent tour, while Troy van Leeuwen joined the rock supergroup Gone Is Gone with plans to release an EP and a studio album. In May 2016, Van Leeuwen announced plans to record Queens of the Stone Age's seventh studio album "sometime this year."
In January 2017, Troy Sanders from Mastodon and Gone Is Gone said Queens of the Stone Age will release a new album later in the year. Following this, the band posted several photos on social media featuring their studio and announced that they would be performing at the Fuji Rock Festival in July, their first performance in Japan since 2003. The band updated their social media accounts with a new logo and the words "Coming Twentyfive" on April 6, 2017, and announced a tour of Australia and New Zealand to begin in July.
On June 14, 2017, Queens of the Stone Age announced their new album Villains which was released on August 25, 2017. The teaser trailer took the form of a comedy skit featuring the band performing a polygraph test with Liam Lynch along with an appearance of the album's producer Mark Ronson, and featured a snippet of the song "Feet Don't Fail Me." The first single, "The Way You Used to Do," was released the following day along with the announcement of a world tour. The second advance single from the album, "The Evil Has Landed," was released August 10, 2017.
On October 24, 2017, as part of the Villains tour, the band headlined Madison Square Garden for the first time, having opened for Nine Inch Nails there in 2005, and for Red Hot Chili Peppers in 2003. Homme said he was "stoked". Three sets of free tickets to this show were hidden at three stations along the Q line of the New York City Subway.
On December 9, 2017, while on stage during the KROQ Acoustic Christmas concert in Inglewood, California, Homme kicked a photographer's camera into her face, resulting in injuries for which she later received medical treatment. Homme, who was under the influence of alcohol at the time, later apologized through a video on the band's Instagram page, saying, "I hope you're okay, and I'm truly sorry. And I understand you have to do whatever you have to do. I just want you to know that I'm sorry. Goodnight, godspeed."
Eighth studio album (2019–present)
In an interview with eonmusic in June 2019, Billy Gibbons announced that he has contributed to a new Queens of the Stone Age album that is set to be further announced by Homme later in the future. Gibbons also confirmed that Dave Grohl is involved in the recording sessions. Gibbons was later confirmed to be a contributor to Desert Sessions vol. 11 & 12, while Grohl denied the rumors, saying that he and Homme had only spent time together "riding motorcycles and eating waffles."
Musical style
Throughout its career, the band has been described as alternative rock, stoner rock, alternative metal, hard rock, and nu metal. Homme has described the band's self-titled debut album as driving music, angular and recorded dry, with the album featuring solid and repetitive riffs in its song structure. Rolling Stone magazine also noted a "connection between American meat-and-potatoes macho rock of the early 1970s, like Blue Cheer and Grand Funk Railroad, and the precision-timing drones in German rock of the same period." The band's following album - Rated R - contained a wider variety of instruments, several recording guests and lead vocals shared by Homme, Oliveri and Lanegan. Homme has also commented that "Our first record announced our sound. This one added that we're different and weird." The band continued to experiment on their third album, Songs for the Deaf, which also featured a line-up including three lead vocalists, many guest appearances and wide range of instrumentation, including horn and string sections. Homme has described Lullabies to Paralyze as a "dark" album, which includes imagery inspired by The Brothers Grimm folk and fairy tales. In 2005, Homme explained, "Where the poetry seems to be is when you start in the dark and reach for the light—that's what makes it not depressing to me..." The album changed gears from the band's previous distinct "driving" sound, much due to the departure of longtime member Nick Oliveri. The band almost exclusively used semi hollow body guitars during the making of the record. With Era Vulgaris the band continued to develop their signature sound with more dance-oriented elements and electronic influences, while Homme has currently gone back to being the only lead vocalist in the band and uses more distinct vocal melodies.
Homme has on numerous occasions described their music as "rock versions of electronic music," stating that he takes inspiration from the repetitive nature of electronic trance music along with various forms of dance music, hip hop, trip hop and Krautrock. This heavy rock style mixed with the structure of electronic music has been dubbed by Homme as "robot rock" in an interview with KUNO-TV at the Roskilde Festival 2001.
Homme has described aspects of his distinctive guitar playing style. He demonstrated the 'Josh Homme scale', which he claimed was the result of years playing and altering the blues scale. The scale has the intervals 1, b3, 3, b5, 5, 6, b7. His scale is the half whole scale with the second degree (b2) omitted. In the same interview Homme referenced some of his earlier influences on his playing, citing both polka guitar styles and the techniques of Jimi Hendrix.
Members
Current
Josh Homme – lead vocals, guitar, piano (1996–present), bass (1996–1998, 2004–2007)
Troy Van Leeuwen – guitar, lap steel guitar, keyboards, synthesizers, percussion, backing vocals (2002–present), bass (2005–2006)
Michael Shuman – bass, synthesizers, backing vocals (2007–present)
Dean Fertita – keyboards, synthesizers, guitar, percussion, backing vocals (2007–present)
Jon Theodore – drums, percussion, samplers (2013–present)
Former
Alfredo Hernández – drums, percussion (1998–1999)
Nick Oliveri – bass, co-lead and backing vocals (1998–2004)
Mark Lanegan – co-lead and backing vocals (2001–2005), keyboards (2005)
Dave Grohl – drums, percussion (2001–2002, official member; 2013, session member)
Joey Castillo – drums, percussion (2002–2012)
Alain Johannes – bass, backing vocals, guitar (2005–2007)
Natasha Shneider – keyboards, backing vocals (2005–2006)
Touring musicians
Dave Catching – guitar, keyboards, lap steel (1998–2000)
Peter Stahl - co-lead and backing vocals (1998-1999)
Gene Trautmann – drums, percussion (1999–2001)
Brendon McNichol – guitar, keyboards, lap steel (2000–2002)
Dan Druff – bass, guitar, backing vocals (2004–2005)
Frequent collaborators
Discography
Queens of the Stone Age (1998)
Rated R (2000)
Songs for the Deaf (2002)
Lullabies to Paralyze (2005)
Era Vulgaris (2007)
...Like Clockwork (2013)
Villains (2017)
Tours
Queens of the Stone Age Tour (1998–1999)
Rated R Tour (2000–2001)
Songs for the Deaf Tour (2002–2004)
Lullabies to Paralyze Tour (2005–2006)
Era Vulgaris Tour (2007–2008)
Queens of the Stone Age Re-Release Tour (2011)
...Like Clockwork Tour (2013–14)
Villains World Tour (2017–2018)
Awards and nominations
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"
|-
! scope="col" | Award
! scope="col" | Year
! scope="col" | Nominee(s)
! scope="col" | Category
! scope="col" | Result
! scope="col" class="unsortable"|
|-
! scope="row"|Kerrang! Awards
| 2000
| rowspan=2|Themselves
| Best International Newcomer
|
|
|-
!scope="row"|Žebřík Music Awards
| 2002
| Best International Surprise
|
|
At the 2001 NME Awards, the band was nominated for Best Metal Act. At the 2004 awards ceremony, they won Best Live Band.
In 2003, their music video for "Go With the Flow" was nominated for three MTV Video Music Awards: Art Direction, Breakthrough Video, and Best Special Effects in a Video. It won only the last category.
See also
Palm Desert Scene
References
External links
Alternative rock groups from California
American alternative metal musical groups
Hard rock musical groups from California
Musical groups established in 1996
Musical groups from Riverside County, California
Musical quintets
Kerrang! Awards winners
Palm Desert, California
1996 establishments in California
Stoner rock musical groups | true | [
"This is a list of the 1970 PGA Tour Qualifying School graduates.\n\nThe tournament was held in early November at Tucson Country Club in Tucson, Arizona for the first time. There were nine 54-hole district tournaments to determine the final field of 60 players for the final 72-hole qualifying tournament. 18 players earned their tour cards with Bob Barbarossa being medalist. There was a five-for-one playoff for the last card.\n\nThis was the first year that Greg Powers attempted to qualify for the PGA Tour at PGA Tour Qualifying Tournament. He was not successful. Australian player David Graham also attempted to qualify. However, he was not successful either.\n\nSources:\n\nReferences\n\nPGA Tour Qualifying School\nGolf in Arizona\nPGA Tour Qualifying School Graduates\nPGA Tour Qualifying School Graduates",
"This is a list of the Spring 1978 PGA Tour Qualifying School graduates. The top 25 players and ties graduated onto the PGA Tour. There were 150 players in the field.\n\nRegional qualifying for the northeast was held at Grossinger's Country Club in Liberty, New York. The field was 50 players. Mike Zach was medallist at 286 (+2). Overall, 17 players from the northeast regional moved on to final qualifying.\n\nBrothers Bob Byman and Ed Byman qualified for the finals. It was the 3rd attempt for Bob and the 5th attempt for Ed. Both missed qualifying by a shot the previous year. The professional Lance Ten Broeck also qualified for the finals. It was at least his second time at the PGA Tour Qualifying Tournament.\n\nTournament summary \nFinal qualifying was held at University of New Mexico course in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The event was held June 7–10. A number of notable golfers with successful amateur careers attempted to qualify for the tour. They included Bill Sander, the 1976 U.S. Amateur champion, Scott Simpson, the 1976 and 1977 NCAA champion in golf, and John Fought, the 1977 U.S. Amateur champion. After two rounds, 25th place was at 143 strokes. At this point Fought was the only one inside the prospective cut-off point with 142 strokes. Sander was at 146 strokes and Simpson was at 148 strokes. Ultimately from this group, only Sander moved on.\n\nIn his third attempt at PGA Tour Qualifying School, Adam Adams, Jr. successfully made it onto the PGA Tour. He tied for 4th place. In addition, Mike Zach, the medallist from the northeast regional, was also successful, finishing in a tie for 6th place. The Byman brothers also successfully qualified.\n\nList of graduates \n\nSource:\n\nReferences\n\n1978 1\nPGA Tour Qualifying School Graduates\nPGA Tour Qualifying School Graduates"
] |
[
"Queens of the Stone Age",
"Songs for the Deaf, mainstream exposure and Oliveri's departure (2001-2004)",
"Why did Oliveri leave?",
"After the tour, Homme fired Oliveri, as he was convinced that Oliveri had been physically abusive to his girlfriend: \"",
"What kind of mainstream exposure did they have?",
"Songs for the Deaf was a critical hit and was certified gold in 2003, with sales of over 900,000.",
"Who produced the album?",
"I don't know.",
"Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?",
"The Songs for the Deaf tour culminated in a string of headline dates in Australia in January 2004.",
"Was the tour successful?",
"Grohl returned to his other projects and was replaced on the European leg of the tour by former Danzig drummer Joey Castillo,"
] | C_d405e5d5e7864c139756931c9fae6138_0 | Why did Grohl leave? | 6 | Why did Grohl leave Queens of the Stone Age ? | Queens of the Stone Age | Foo Fighters frontman and former Nirvana drummer, Dave Grohl, joined in late 2001 to record drums for their third album. Songs for the Deaf was released in August 2002, again featuring Lanegan, along with former A Perfect Circle guitarist Troy Van Leeuwen to the touring line-up following the album's release. Also featured on Songs for the Deaf for the final track "Mosquito Song" were former A Perfect Circle bassist Paz Lenchantin on viola and piano, and Dean Ween on guitar. This record was supposed to sound bizarre--like lightning in a bottle. We also were extremely fucked up. It even sounds that way to me, like a crazy person. The radio interludes are supposed to be like the drive from L.A. to Joshua Tree, a drive that makes you feel like you're letting go--more David Lynch with every mile. Songs for the Deaf was a critical hit and was certified gold in 2003, with sales of over 900,000. The singles "No One Knows" and "Go with the Flow" became hits on radio and MTV, with the former just outside the Billboard Top 40. "No One Knows" and "Go with the Flow" were also featured on the first iterations of the popular video games Guitar Hero and Rock Band (respectively). The Songs for the Deaf tour culminated in a string of headline dates in Australia in January 2004. Grohl returned to his other projects and was replaced on the European leg of the tour by former Danzig drummer Joey Castillo, who joined the band full-time. After the tour, Homme fired Oliveri, as he was convinced that Oliveri had been physically abusive to his girlfriend: "A couple years ago, I spoke to Nick about a rumor I heard. I said, 'If I ever find out that this is true, I can't know you, man.'" Homme considered breaking up the band after firing Oliveri, but found a new determination to continue. Oliveri countered in the press that the band had been "poisoned by hunger for power" and that without him, they were "Queens Lite." He later softened his opinion and said: "My relationship with Josh is good. The new Queens record kicks ass." The two reportedly are still friends and as of October 2006, Oliveri was interested in rejoining the band. Oliveri later contributed to a Queens of the Stone Age for the first time in nine years, contributing backing vocals to the band's sixth album, ...Like Clockwork. CANNOTANSWER | CANNOTANSWER | Queens of the Stone Age (commonly abbreviated QOTSA) is an American rock band formed in 1996 in Palm Desert, California. The band was founded by vocalist and guitarist Josh Homme, who has been the only constant member throughout multiple line-up changes. The current line-up consists of Homme alongside Troy Van Leeuwen (guitar, lap steel, keyboard, percussion, backing vocals), Michael Shuman (bass guitar, keyboard, backing vocals), Dean Fertita (keyboards, guitar, percussion, backing vocals), and Jon Theodore (drums, percussion). The band also have a large pool of contributors and collaborators. Queens of the Stone Age are known for their blues, Krautrock and electronica-influenced style of riff-oriented and rhythmic hard rock music, coupled with Homme's distinct falsetto vocals and unorthodox guitar scales.
Formed after the dissolution of Homme's previous band Kyuss, the band originated from the Palm Desert music scene. Their self-titled debut album was recorded with former Kyuss members Alfredo Hernández on drums and Homme on all other instruments. It was well received by critics for its stoner rock sound which Homme has described as "robot rock". Nick Oliveri and Mark Lanegan joined as additional vocalists for Rated R, which was commercially and critically successful. Rated R diversified their musical palette with forays into psychedelic rock, punk rock and heavy metal, and featured their breakout single "Feel Good Hit of the Summer". Songs for the Deaf was released in 2002 to universal acclaim and commercial success, and featured Dave Grohl on drums and contributions from Alain Johannes and Natasha Shneider. By this time, the band had achieved considerable international recognition, and have since embarked on successive world tours. Following Oliveri and Lanegan's departures, Homme was the primary singer for 2005's Lullabies to Paralyze and 2007's electronic-influenced Era Vulgaris.
After a few years of inactivity, the more sombre and introspective ...Like Clockwork was released in 2013 to critical acclaim. The band released Villains in 2017 with Mark Ronson as producer.
The band have been nominated for Grammy Awards seven times; four times for Best Hard Rock Performance, twice for Best Rock Album, and once for Best Rock Performance.
History
Formation and debut album (1996–1999)
After the breakup of his previous band, Kyuss, in 1995, Josh Homme briefly joined Screaming Trees as a touring guitarist, before deciding to form a new band, Gamma Ray. In 1996 they released the eponymous Gamma Ray EP, featuring "Born to Hula" and "If Only Everything" (which would later appear on their self-titled debut as "If Only"). The EP featured Matt Cameron of Soundgarden and Pearl Jam, Van Conner from Screaming Trees, and percussionist Victor Indrizzo.
Gamma Ray changed their name in 1997 after the German power metal band Gamma Ray threatened to sue. The name "Queens of the Stone Age" came from a nickname given to Kyuss by their producer Chris Goss. Homme said of the name: "Kings would be too macho. The Kings of the Stone Age wear armor and have axes and wrestle. The Queens of the Stone Age hang out with the Kings of the Stone Age's girlfriends when they wrestle ... Rock should be heavy enough for the boys and sweet enough for the girls. That way everyone's happy and it's more of a party. Kings of the Stone Age is too lopsided."
The first release under the Queens of the Stone Age name was the song "18 A.D.," released on the compilation album Burn One Up! Music for Stoners which featured members of the Dutch stoner rock band Beaver. The band's first live appearance was on November 20, 1997, at OK Hotel in Seattle, Washington, with Cameron on drums, Mike Johnson of Dinosaur Jr. on bass and John McBain of Monster Magnet on guitar. In December that year, the band released a split EP, Kyuss/Queens of the Stone Age, which featured three tracks from the Gamma Ray sessions as well as three Kyuss tracks recorded in 1995 prior to their breakup.
Queens of the Stone Age released their self-titled debut in 1998 on Stone Gossard's and Regan Hagar's label Loosegroove Records, and on vinyl by Man's Ruin Records. Homme played guitar and bass on the album (the latter credited to Homme's alter-ego Carlo Von Sexron), Alfredo Hernández on the drums, and several other contributions by Chris Goss and Hutch. Homme reportedly asked Screaming Trees vocalist Mark Lanegan to appear on the record, but he was unable due to other commitments.
Soon after the recording sessions were finished for the album, former Kyuss bassist Nick Oliveri joined the group, and touring commenced with a band consisting entirely of ex-Kyuss members. Guitarist Dave Catching joined shortly after. From this point forward, the band's line-up would change frequently; by the time their second album was being recorded, Hernández had left the group to play in other bands.
Rated R (2000–2001)
2000's Rated R featured myriad musicians familiar with Homme and Oliveri's work and "crew" of sorts: among others, drummers Nick Lucero and Gene Trautmann, guitarists Dave Catching, Brendon McNichol, and Chris Goss contributed, and even Judas Priest frontman Rob Halford, recording next door, stepped in for a guest spot on "Feel Good Hit of the Summer."
The album garnered positive reviews and received a lot more attention than their debut, despite the fact that the lyrics to "Feel Good Hit of the Summer" were deemed by mega-retailer Walmart to promote drug use, almost causing the record to get pulled from store shelves. The success of the record also earned the band notable opening slots with The Smashing Pumpkins, Foo Fighters, Hole, and a place at Ozzfest 2000. It was during this time that Homme stated:
During the 2001 Rock in Rio show, bassist Nick Oliveri was arrested after performing on stage naked, with only his bass guitar covering his genitals. Oliveri apologized to officials, saying that he did not know it was a crime in Brazil.
Following his work on Rated R, former Screaming Trees vocalist Mark Lanegan joined the band as a full-time member, a position he held until early 2005.
Towards the end of the Rated R tour, the band's performance at the 2001 Rock am Ring festival in Germany was, according to Homme, "the worst show we've ever played and it was in front of 40,000 people." The band decided to tattoo themselves with the starting time of the performance, "Freitag 4:15." As Oliveri explained:
Songs for the Deaf, mainstream exposure and Oliveri's departure (2001–2004)
Foo Fighters frontman and former Nirvana drummer, Dave Grohl, joined in late 2001 to record drums for their third album. Songs for the Deaf was released in August 2002, again featuring Lanegan, along with former A Perfect Circle guitarist Troy Van Leeuwen to the touring line-up following the album's release. Also featured on Songs for the Deaf for the final track "Mosquito Song" were former A Perfect Circle bassist Paz Lenchantin on viola and piano, and Dean Ween on guitar.
Songs for the Deaf was a critical hit and was certified gold in 2003, with sales of over 900,000. The singles "No One Knows" and "Go with the Flow" became hits on radio and MTV, with the former just outside the Billboard Top 40. "No One Knows" and "Go with the Flow" were also featured on the first iterations of the popular video games Guitar Hero and Rock Band (respectively). The song "You Think I Ain't Worth a Dollar, But I Feel Like a Millionaire" was featured as the theme song in Naughty Dog's "Jak X: Combat Racing" in 2005 along with "A Song For The Dead".
The Songs for the Deaf tour culminated in a string of headline dates in Australia in January 2004. Grohl returned to his other projects and was replaced on the European leg of the tour by former Danzig drummer Joey Castillo, who joined the band full-time. After the tour, Homme fired Oliveri, as he was convinced that Oliveri had been physically abusive to his girlfriend: "A couple years ago, I spoke to Nick about a rumor I heard. I said, 'If I ever find out that this is true, I can't know you, man.'" Homme considered breaking up the band after firing Oliveri, but found a new determination to continue. Oliveri countered in the press that the band had been "poisoned by hunger for power" and that without him, they were "Queens Lite." He later softened his opinion and said: "My relationship with Josh is good. The new Queens record kicks ass." The two reportedly are still friends and as of October 2006, Oliveri was interested in rejoining the band. Oliveri later contributed to a Queens of the Stone Age for the first time in nine years, contributing backing vocals to the band's sixth album, ...Like Clockwork.
Lullabies to Paralyze (2004–2006)
In late 2004, Homme, along with Eleven multi-instrumentalist Alain Johannes and remaining band members Van Leeuwen and Castillo recorded the Queens' fourth studio album, Lullabies to Paralyze, a title taken from a lyric in "Mosquito Song" from their previous album. The album featured guests including ZZ Top's Billy Gibbons. Despite Lanegan reportedly turning down an invitation to remain with the band, he recorded vocals on new tracks (notably the solo vocalist on the opening track "This Lullaby") and appeared on the supporting tour as scheduling and his health permitted.
Lullabies to Paralyze was leaked onto the internet in February 2005 and was aired by Triple J radio in Australia on March 3, 2005 as an unsubstantiated 'World Premiere'. It was then officially released on Tuesday, March 22, 2005 in the US, debuting in the number 5 slot on the Billboard Music Chart, the greatest debut of any Queens record until ...Like Clockwork debuted at number 1 in June 2013.
On May 14, 2005, the group was the musical guest on Saturday Night Live, hosted by Will Ferrell. One of Ferrell's popular Saturday Night Live characters, fictional Blue Öyster Cult cowbellist Gene Frenkle, made a re-appearance on the show, playing with the Queens on their first song of the night, "Little Sister." Frenkle played the song's wood block part using a cowbell along with the band.
On November 22, 2005, Queens of the Stone Age released a live album/DVD set, Over the Years and Through the Woods, featuring a live concert filmed in London, England, and bonus features which included rare videos of songs from 1998 to 2005. In 2005, the group supported Nine Inch Nails on their North American tour of With Teeth along with Autolux (for the first half of the tour) and Death from Above 1979 (for the second). NIN's guitarist Aaron North appeared as an onstage guest with the Queens for the songs "Born to Hula," "Regular John," "Avon," "Monsters in the Parasol" and "Long, Slow Goodbye" at the Wiltern LG in Los Angeles on December 19 and 20, 2005.
Another onstage guest for the December 20 performance was Homme's former Kyuss bandmate John Garcia, the first time that Homme and Garcia had played together since 1997. As a special encore they performed three Kyuss songs: "Thumb," "Hurricane" and "Supa Scoopa and Mighty Scoop." Homme stated that the band's lowest point was during the Lullabies era, but that the record "took the lead jacket off" the band following the firing of Oliveri in 2004.
Era Vulgaris and death of Shneider (2007–2008)
On Valentine's Day 2007, the band's official website announced the new album would be titled Era Vulgaris, and would be released in June. Later in February, teaser videos surfaced showing Homme, Castillo, Van Leeuwen and Johannes in studio. Several sites reported that the album would include many guest vocalists, including Trent Reznor from Nine Inch Nails, Julian Casablancas from The Strokes, Mark Lanegan, Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top, and deceased humorist Erma Bombeck. Death from Above 1979 bassist Jesse F. Keeler had been expected to play bass on the studio recording of the album, but not to tour; however, due to schedule conflicts, he stated he would not be appearing on the album.
Era Vulgaris was completed in early April 2007 and released June 12, 2007 in the US. The tracks "Sick, Sick, Sick" and "3's & 7's" were released as singles in early June. Homme has described the record as "dark, hard, and electrical, sort of like a construction worker." When asked about the vocals on the record, specifically the different style of singing that Homme used, he replied:
Bassist Michael Shuman (Wires On Fire, Jubilee and Mini Mansions) and keyboardist Dean Fertita (The Waxwings, The Dead Weather) took over touring duties from Alain Johannes and Natasha Shneider, respectively. In July 2007, Van Leeuwen stated the band had written new material, "still in its infancy" which Homme later suggested might be released as an EP. Following a subsequent interview with Homme, The Globe and Mail reported that the EP "could contain as many as 10 B-sides recorded during the Era Vulgaris sessions." It was later reported that the EP would not be released due to the record label's unwillingness to put out another QOTSA release at that time.
The band began a North American Tour in 2007, which they named the "Duluth Tour" because they were going to many small towns and cities they had never played before, such as Duluth, Minnesota. The tour was extended to other areas, such as the United Kingdom, where the band played more shows than on any of their previous UK tours. The band toured in Australia in late March to early April 2008, on the V festival tour, including a string of side shows. Throughout the beginning of May 2008, the band completed the Canadian leg of its touring.
In November 2007, Queens of the Stone Age performed a semi-acoustic set in an underground salt mine in Germany, performing a selection of hits, rarities, covers and an unreleased song named "Cathedral City." A DVD of the concert was planned but aside from a trailer promoting the DVD and a number of photographs, no footage of the concert has been released.
On July 2, 2008, Queens of the Stone Age's former keyboardist Natasha Shneider died of lung cancer at the age of 52. The news broke with a message posted on the MySpace page of the band Sweethead, of which Natasha's close friend and former bandmate Troy Van Leeuwen is a member. The band's homepage was updated with a memorial message by Homme replacing the normal front page. The band performed a concert in celebration of Natasha Shneider's life at the Henry Fonda Theatre in Los Angeles on August 16, 2008. They were joined on stage by Shneider's husband Alain Johannes, Jack Black and Kyle Gass, Matt Cameron, Brody Dalle, Jesse Hughes, Chris Goss and PJ Harvey, playing a variety of QOTSA and non-QOTSA songs, including covers of songs from bands such as Cream and The Doors. Tenacious D and PJ Harvey also performed acoustic sets at the show. Proceeds from the concert went to defray the costs associated with Natasha's illness.
On August 22 and 23, 2008, Queens of the Stone Age performed the last shows of their Era Vulgaris tour at the Reading and Leeds Festivals in the UK, and Josh Homme announced in an interview with the BBC and during the show that he would be returning to the studio to work on the next album.
Homme's health issues, debut re-release and promotional tour (2009–2011)
During 2009 and 2010, band members worked on side projects during the down time. Troy Van Leeuwen started up a new band, Sweethead. Joey Castillo played for Eagles of Death Metal on their Heart On tour. Bassist Michael Shuman continued his work as drummer and vocalist with Mini Mansions, while Dean Fertita became the guitarist/keyboardist for Jack White's newest group, The Dead Weather. Josh Homme formed supergroup Them Crooked Vultures with Dave Grohl and John Paul Jones. After Them Crooked Vultures finished touring in June, the band toured and released a two-CD deluxe edition of Rated R on August 3, 2010. This edition featured the original CD along with six B-sides and live recordings from the band's Reading performance in 2000.
In 2010, Homme suffered from complications during a botched knee surgery, during which his heart stopped for a short time due to asphyxiation; doctors had to use a defibrillator to revive him. Following this, he was bedridden for four months and plunged into a deep depression, during which he considered giving up his music career altogether. He elaborated on this experience further in an interview on Marc Maron's WTF podcast, explaining that he had contracted a methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infection which his immune system could not fight due to stress. Homme has since said that the experience contributed greatly to the writing and recording of ...Like Clockwork.
After Homme recovered, Queens of the Stone Age released a remastered version of their self-titled debut album in early 2011, and performed the album in its entirety in a promotional tour. The band performed on Conan on April 14, and later played at the Australian music festival Soundwave. Throughout the summer of 2011, the band appeared at various European festivals, including the Glastonbury Festival, in Somerset, UK. They also played at Pearl Jam's 20th Anniversary Festival at Alpine Valley in East Troy, WI on September 3 and 4, 2011, which would be their last with drummer Joey Castillo.
...Like Clockwork (2011–2014)
Plans to record a follow-up to Era Vulgaris had been mentioned since 2008, but recording would not begin until August 2012. In March 2011, Homme stated, "Doing the rehearsals for the first record is really defining the new one. It's been turning the new record into something else. What we were doing was bluesy, and now it's turned into this trancey, broken thing. The robots are coming home!" According to Homme, the album would be finished by the end of 2012. He explained to BBC Radio 1, "We're going to take our one last break that we would get for a month, come back and do Glastonbury, then immediately jump in the studio. Our record will be done by the end of the year. We have enough songs."
In November 2011, frequent collaborator Alain Johannes stated in regard to his studio work with the band: "We had a late night with Queens of the Stone Age again. [...] Just putting in days, super top secret, but it's going to be amazing. I'm really excited about it. [...] Once we start the process, it goes to completion. So I can't say exactly when, but it's a really good start."
On August 20, 2012, the band stated via a Facebook status update that they were "recording" their new album.
In September 2012, it was revealed that Homme and producer Dave Sardy co-wrote and recorded a song entitled "Nobody To Love," which is featured during the end credits of the film End of Watch.
In November 2012, Homme informed BBC's Zane Lowe that Joey Castillo had left the band and that drums on the new album would be performed by Dave Grohl, who also performed on Songs for the Deaf. Homme also confirmed with Lowe that the album would be released prior to their performance at the Download Festival in June 2013. In addition to Grohl, other former members contributing to the album include former bassists Nick Oliveri and Johannes, and vocalist Mark Lanegan.
A number of collaborations from different musicians were announced for ...Like Clockwork, including Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor, Scissor Sisters frontman Jake Shears, Brody Dalle, and Elton John.
In early 2013, Homme and fellow Queens contributors including Alain Johannes and Chris Goss recorded for the soundtrack of Dave Grohl's Sound City: Real to Reel. Goss, Johannes and Homme were on three tracks each. Josh's notably included a collaboration with Grohl and Trent Reznor called Mantra, and he was also featured in the film in an interview segment. Goss and Johannes were both featured members in the Sound City Players, playing Masters of Reality, Eleven, and Desert Sessions songs, as well as their penned tunes from the soundtrack. Former Kyuss bassist Scott Reeder also contributed to the soundtrack.
In March 2013, Queens of the Stone Age announced that the new album, entitled ...Like Clockwork, would be released in June 2013 on Matador Records. A press release, issued by Matador at 9:00am EST on March 26, 2013, revealed further details of the album, including further guest appearances: Alex Turner of Arctic Monkeys and UNKLE's James Lavelle. In addition to Grohl's contribution, the record also features performances by former drummer Castillo, as well as tracks by new drummer Jon Theodore (ex-The Mars Volta, One Day as a Lion). Queens of the Stone Age premiered a new song, "My God Is The Sun", at Lollapalooza Brasil on March 30, 2013, a performance in which Theodore made his live debut. The studio version of the song premiered on Lowe's BBC Radio 1 program on April 8, 2013.
...Like Clockwork was released on June 3, 2013 on Matador Records in the UK and on June 4 in the United States. Self-produced by the band, it is the first Queens of the Stone Age album to feature full contributions from bassist Michael Shuman and keyboardist and guitarist Dean Fertita. The album debuted in the number one position in the US and is the first QOTSA album to achieve this ranking.
Following a performance by QOTSA at the Jay Z-owned Made In America Festival in the summer of 2013, Homme made comments about the rap star during a radio interview with CBC Radio 2's Strombo Show. Homme explained that his band was frisked by the event's security team prior to the performance and referred to Jay Z's personal interaction with the band as a marketing stunt. Homme stated:
The ...Like Clockwork tour culminated with a Halloween party at The Forum in Los Angeles, featuring guests such as The Kills, JD McPherson and Nick Oliveri's band Uncontrollable. The band's performance featured an appearance from Oliveri who played songs with them during the encore set, including songs such as "Auto Pilot" and "Quick and to the Pointless" which had not been performed in a decade.
Villains (2014–2018)
The band performed with Nine Inch Nails, Lindsey Buckingham and Dave Grohl at the 56th Annual Grammy Awards. The band went on a joint headline tour of Australia with Nine Inch Nails in 2014.
In January 2014, Homme told Rolling Stone magazine the band would start recording a new album when they finished their tour for ...Like Clockwork. In June 2014, Homme performed a solo acoustic show at James Lavelle's Meltdown festival, featuring guest performances from Troy Van Leeuwen and Mark Lanegan. During this gig, Homme played a new song called "Villains of Circumstance," which was performed again at another acoustic set in 2016. The band indicated in February 2015, when it was announced they are to play Rock in Rio 2015 in Rio de Janeiro in September, that they were about to record a new album. Despite this, in March 2016, Michael Shuman revealed that the band were on a break.
During this period, the members of the band worked on various other projects. Josh Homme and Dean Fertita contributed to Iggy Pop's 2016 album Post Pop Depression and subsequent tour, while Troy van Leeuwen joined the rock supergroup Gone Is Gone with plans to release an EP and a studio album. In May 2016, Van Leeuwen announced plans to record Queens of the Stone Age's seventh studio album "sometime this year."
In January 2017, Troy Sanders from Mastodon and Gone Is Gone said Queens of the Stone Age will release a new album later in the year. Following this, the band posted several photos on social media featuring their studio and announced that they would be performing at the Fuji Rock Festival in July, their first performance in Japan since 2003. The band updated their social media accounts with a new logo and the words "Coming Twentyfive" on April 6, 2017, and announced a tour of Australia and New Zealand to begin in July.
On June 14, 2017, Queens of the Stone Age announced their new album Villains which was released on August 25, 2017. The teaser trailer took the form of a comedy skit featuring the band performing a polygraph test with Liam Lynch along with an appearance of the album's producer Mark Ronson, and featured a snippet of the song "Feet Don't Fail Me." The first single, "The Way You Used to Do," was released the following day along with the announcement of a world tour. The second advance single from the album, "The Evil Has Landed," was released August 10, 2017.
On October 24, 2017, as part of the Villains tour, the band headlined Madison Square Garden for the first time, having opened for Nine Inch Nails there in 2005, and for Red Hot Chili Peppers in 2003. Homme said he was "stoked". Three sets of free tickets to this show were hidden at three stations along the Q line of the New York City Subway.
On December 9, 2017, while on stage during the KROQ Acoustic Christmas concert in Inglewood, California, Homme kicked a photographer's camera into her face, resulting in injuries for which she later received medical treatment. Homme, who was under the influence of alcohol at the time, later apologized through a video on the band's Instagram page, saying, "I hope you're okay, and I'm truly sorry. And I understand you have to do whatever you have to do. I just want you to know that I'm sorry. Goodnight, godspeed."
Eighth studio album (2019–present)
In an interview with eonmusic in June 2019, Billy Gibbons announced that he has contributed to a new Queens of the Stone Age album that is set to be further announced by Homme later in the future. Gibbons also confirmed that Dave Grohl is involved in the recording sessions. Gibbons was later confirmed to be a contributor to Desert Sessions vol. 11 & 12, while Grohl denied the rumors, saying that he and Homme had only spent time together "riding motorcycles and eating waffles."
Musical style
Throughout its career, the band has been described as alternative rock, stoner rock, alternative metal, hard rock, and nu metal. Homme has described the band's self-titled debut album as driving music, angular and recorded dry, with the album featuring solid and repetitive riffs in its song structure. Rolling Stone magazine also noted a "connection between American meat-and-potatoes macho rock of the early 1970s, like Blue Cheer and Grand Funk Railroad, and the precision-timing drones in German rock of the same period." The band's following album - Rated R - contained a wider variety of instruments, several recording guests and lead vocals shared by Homme, Oliveri and Lanegan. Homme has also commented that "Our first record announced our sound. This one added that we're different and weird." The band continued to experiment on their third album, Songs for the Deaf, which also featured a line-up including three lead vocalists, many guest appearances and wide range of instrumentation, including horn and string sections. Homme has described Lullabies to Paralyze as a "dark" album, which includes imagery inspired by The Brothers Grimm folk and fairy tales. In 2005, Homme explained, "Where the poetry seems to be is when you start in the dark and reach for the light—that's what makes it not depressing to me..." The album changed gears from the band's previous distinct "driving" sound, much due to the departure of longtime member Nick Oliveri. The band almost exclusively used semi hollow body guitars during the making of the record. With Era Vulgaris the band continued to develop their signature sound with more dance-oriented elements and electronic influences, while Homme has currently gone back to being the only lead vocalist in the band and uses more distinct vocal melodies.
Homme has on numerous occasions described their music as "rock versions of electronic music," stating that he takes inspiration from the repetitive nature of electronic trance music along with various forms of dance music, hip hop, trip hop and Krautrock. This heavy rock style mixed with the structure of electronic music has been dubbed by Homme as "robot rock" in an interview with KUNO-TV at the Roskilde Festival 2001.
Homme has described aspects of his distinctive guitar playing style. He demonstrated the 'Josh Homme scale', which he claimed was the result of years playing and altering the blues scale. The scale has the intervals 1, b3, 3, b5, 5, 6, b7. His scale is the half whole scale with the second degree (b2) omitted. In the same interview Homme referenced some of his earlier influences on his playing, citing both polka guitar styles and the techniques of Jimi Hendrix.
Members
Current
Josh Homme – lead vocals, guitar, piano (1996–present), bass (1996–1998, 2004–2007)
Troy Van Leeuwen – guitar, lap steel guitar, keyboards, synthesizers, percussion, backing vocals (2002–present), bass (2005–2006)
Michael Shuman – bass, synthesizers, backing vocals (2007–present)
Dean Fertita – keyboards, synthesizers, guitar, percussion, backing vocals (2007–present)
Jon Theodore – drums, percussion, samplers (2013–present)
Former
Alfredo Hernández – drums, percussion (1998–1999)
Nick Oliveri – bass, co-lead and backing vocals (1998–2004)
Mark Lanegan – co-lead and backing vocals (2001–2005), keyboards (2005)
Dave Grohl – drums, percussion (2001–2002, official member; 2013, session member)
Joey Castillo – drums, percussion (2002–2012)
Alain Johannes – bass, backing vocals, guitar (2005–2007)
Natasha Shneider – keyboards, backing vocals (2005–2006)
Touring musicians
Dave Catching – guitar, keyboards, lap steel (1998–2000)
Peter Stahl - co-lead and backing vocals (1998-1999)
Gene Trautmann – drums, percussion (1999–2001)
Brendon McNichol – guitar, keyboards, lap steel (2000–2002)
Dan Druff – bass, guitar, backing vocals (2004–2005)
Frequent collaborators
Discography
Queens of the Stone Age (1998)
Rated R (2000)
Songs for the Deaf (2002)
Lullabies to Paralyze (2005)
Era Vulgaris (2007)
...Like Clockwork (2013)
Villains (2017)
Tours
Queens of the Stone Age Tour (1998–1999)
Rated R Tour (2000–2001)
Songs for the Deaf Tour (2002–2004)
Lullabies to Paralyze Tour (2005–2006)
Era Vulgaris Tour (2007–2008)
Queens of the Stone Age Re-Release Tour (2011)
...Like Clockwork Tour (2013–14)
Villains World Tour (2017–2018)
Awards and nominations
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"
|-
! scope="col" | Award
! scope="col" | Year
! scope="col" | Nominee(s)
! scope="col" | Category
! scope="col" | Result
! scope="col" class="unsortable"|
|-
! scope="row"|Kerrang! Awards
| 2000
| rowspan=2|Themselves
| Best International Newcomer
|
|
|-
!scope="row"|Žebřík Music Awards
| 2002
| Best International Surprise
|
|
At the 2001 NME Awards, the band was nominated for Best Metal Act. At the 2004 awards ceremony, they won Best Live Band.
In 2003, their music video for "Go With the Flow" was nominated for three MTV Video Music Awards: Art Direction, Breakthrough Video, and Best Special Effects in a Video. It won only the last category.
See also
Palm Desert Scene
References
External links
Alternative rock groups from California
American alternative metal musical groups
Hard rock musical groups from California
Musical groups established in 1996
Musical groups from Riverside County, California
Musical quintets
Kerrang! Awards winners
Palm Desert, California
1996 establishments in California
Stoner rock musical groups | false | [
"\"Marigold\" (originally titled \"Color Pictures of a Marigold\") is a song written and composed by American rock musician Dave Grohl, that was first released on Pocketwatch, an album Grohl issued under the pseudonym Late! in 1992.\n\nA version was recorded and released in 1993 by Nirvana as a B-side to the \"Heart-Shaped Box\" single. A live version was later featured on the Foo Fighters' release Skin and Bones in 2006, garnering \"Marigold\" the distinction of being the only song released by both Nirvana and Foo Fighters, Grohl's two most distinguished bands.\n\nHistory\n\nPocketwatch\n\"Marigold\" was originally recorded by Dave Grohl during a session at Upland Studios in Arlington, Virginia with producer Barrett Jones on February 16, 1991, taking place a number of months after Grohl joined Nirvana. The session was executed in a similar way to how the Foo Fighters' debut album would later be conceived, with all vocal and instrumental parts done solely by Grohl. With Late! as the moniker, the session was combined with four songs recorded in the summer of 1991 to create the album Pocketwatch, released on Simple Machines in 1992 as part of the labels Tool Cassette Series. The song is listed in the liner notes under its original title, \"Color Pictures of a Marigold\" and is one of just two songs on the album to feature only vocals and guitar.\n\nNirvana\n\nIn February 1993, Grohl entered Pachyderm Studios in Cannon Falls, Minnesota with bandmates Kurt Cobain and Krist Novoselic, to record what would eventually become In Utero, the third and final studio album from Nirvana, produced by Steve Albini. Towards the end of the session, Grohl decided to re-record \"Marigold,\" this time with a more detailed arrangement including bass and drums. Like the Late! version, lead and backing vocals and guitar were done by Grohl, who also recorded the drum parts. Although Novoselic contributed bass, Cobain did not play on the released version. There were, however, versions of the song that Cobain did play on - these remain unreleased. The song did not make the final album, but would see limited release in August 1993 as a B-side, along with \"Milk It\", to \"Heart-Shaped Box\", the first single from In Utero (Grohl is credited for playing drums and singing lead vocal on \"Marigold\", but not guitar or backing vocal). The song would later appear on the third disc of the posthumous rarities box set With the Lights Out in 2004 and on 20th anniversary editions of the In Utero album in 2013. The song received some airplay on US alternative and active rock radio in 1996.\n\nFoo Fighters\n\n\"Marigold\" was performed live for the first time by Grohl during the Foo Fighters set at the Berkeley Community Theatre on July 14, 2006, and would be played throughout the rest of the tour. A performance the following month at Pantages Theatre in Hollywood, California, featuring the song with an eight piece band, was released on the live album Skin and Bones on November 7, 2006. This version, recorded over twelve years after the previous Nirvana version, garnered further recognition of the song. \"Marigold\" would be the third song taken from Pocketwatch to be re-recorded and released by the Foo Fighters, along with \"Winnebago\" and \"Friend of a Friend\".\n\nReleases and personnel\nThe following is a list of the only official releases to feature the song \"Marigold\" and the personnel that contributed to them.\n\nReferences\n\n Simple Machines: Tool Cassette Series\n LiveNirvana.com - Sessions History\n FooFightersLive.com - 2006 Tour History\nhttps://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/q-a-dave-grohl-on-kurts-last-days-and-the-making-of-in-utero-20130924\n\n1992 songs\nFoo Fighters songs\nNirvana (band) songs\nSongs written by Dave Grohl",
"Live at Wembley Stadium is a live video by the Foo Fighters, released on August 22, 2008, in Ireland and August 25, 2008, in the UK on DVD. It was also released in Australia on August 30, New Zealand on September 1, and Germany, Austria and Switzerland on September 5. It was released in the United States on November 18, 2008.\n\nIt was filmed during the band's two sold out shows at Wembley Stadium on Friday June 6 and Saturday June 7, 2008. The video features a combination of footage from both nights, including the second night's collaboration with special guests John Paul Jones (bass guitar) and Jimmy Page (guitar), formerly members of Led Zeppelin.\n\nThe video was also broadcast via satellite across the UK at Vue Cinemas on June 24, 2008. The video was shown in high definition with 5.1 surround sound, and was the same cut as the video release.\n\nThe release has been certified 3 times platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association and gold by the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand.\n\nThe image on the artwork was shot by the aerial camera above the crowd on Friday 6 June.\n\nTrack listing\nSome songs are taken from Friday's performance and some from Saturday's. This is identifiable in two ways. One is the underwear Grohl is wearing (Red on Friday, White on Saturday) which can be seen at points in the video, and secondly any shots containing rainfall are from Saturday, as it did not rain during Friday's performance.\n\n\"The Pretender\" (Dave Grohl, Taylor Hawkins, Nate Mendel, Chris Shiflett)\n\"Times Like These\" (Grohl, Hawkins, Mendel, Shiflett)\n\"No Way Back\" (Grohl, Hawkins, Mendel, Shiflett)\n\"Cheer Up, Boys (Your Make Up Is Running)\" (Grohl, Hawkins, Mendel, Shiflett)\n\"Learn to Fly\" (Grohl, Hawkins, Mendel)\n\"Long Road to Ruin\" (Grohl, Hawkins, Mendel, Shiflett)\n\"Breakout\" (Grohl, Hawkins, Mendel)\n\"Stacked Actors\"/\"Hocus Pocus\" (Grohl, Hawkins, Mendel)/(Jan Akkerman, Thijs van Leer)\n\"Skin and Bones\" (Grohl)\n\"Marigold\" (Grohl)\n\"My Hero\" (Grohl, Mendel, Pat Smear)\n\"Cold Day in the Sun\" (Hawkins)\n\"Everlong\" (Grohl)\n\"Monkey Wrench\" (Grohl, Mendel, Smear)\n\"All My Life\" (Grohl, Hawkins, Mendel, Shiflett)\n\"Rock and Roll\" (John Bonham, John Paul Jones, Jimmy Page, Robert Plant)\n\"Ramble On\" (Page, Plant)\n\"Best of You\" (Grohl, Hawkins, Mendel, Shiflett)\n\nNotes\n Tracks 8, 9, 13 and 14 recorded on Friday, June 6, 2008\n Tracks 1-7, 10-12 and 15-18 recorded on Saturday, June 7, 2008\n Multiple other songs were played across both nights but were omitted from the film;\n \"But, Honestly\", \"DOA\", and \"Generator\" were performed on June 6.\n \"Let It Die\" was performed on June 7.\n \"This Is a Call\" and \"Big Me\" were performed on both nights.\n \"Rock And Roll\" and \"Ramble On\" were only performed the second night.\n\nCharts\n\nPersonnel\n\nBand members\nDave Grohl – lead vocals, backing vocals, rhythm and lead guitar, drums on \"Rock and Roll\"\nNate Mendel – bass guitar\nTaylor Hawkins – drums, backing vocals, lead vocals on \"Cold Day in the Sun\" and \"Rock and Roll\"\nChris Shiflett – lead and rhythm guitar, backing vocals\n\nTouring Members\nPat Smear – guitar\nRami Jaffee – organ, keyboards, accordion\nJessy Greene – cello, violin, backing vocals\nDrew Hester – percussion, vibraphone\n\nSpecial guests\nJohn Paul Jones – bass guitar on \"Rock and Roll\" and \"Ramble On\"\nJimmy Page – guitar on \"Rock and Roll\" and \"Ramble On\"\n\nReferences\n\nFoo Fighters video albums\nLive albums recorded at Wembley Stadium\nLive video albums\n2008 live albums\n2008 video albums\nRCA Records live albums\nRCA Records video albums\nFoo Fighters live albums"
] |
[
"Phillip Phillips",
"Overview"
] | C_842643d2f85b4166a73adf4e8ea571f6_1 | What was his childhood like? | 1 | What was Phillip Phillips childhood like? | Phillip Phillips | Phillips auditioned in Savannah, Georgia. He sang "Superstition" by Stevie Wonder. The judges then asked him to perform a second song with his guitar, and he performed Michael Jackson's "Thriller." He advanced to the Hollywood rounds, and later to the Las Vegas round. On February 23, 2012, Phillips was chosen as one of the Top 25 semi-finalists, and was then voted into the Top 13. His performance style on the show has been compared to Dave Matthews, and he covered one of his songs, "The Stone," in the competition. When asked about Phillips' imitation of his style, Dave Matthews said: "More power to him, I don't mind," and added "He should kick my ass, [then] maybe I can retire and he can take over my band." Mentor Stevie Nicks said Phillips would have been good enough to join Fleetwood Mac back in 1975, after his performance of Jonny Lang's Still Rainin, which he received a standing ovation from the judges. After the Top 13 performance night, Phillips was taken to a doctor for possible kidney stones. He had eight procedures while he was on Idol, and considered quitting the show due to the pain. For his Top 3 performance, Phillips sang Bob Seger's "We've Got Tonight." For Top 4, he did a cover of Damien Rice's Volcano - which has been heralded as one of the best American Idol performances of all time. As the sole contestant who was never in jeopardy of elimination in any week of the competition, Phillips became the winner on the finale against Jessica Sanchez after a record-breaking 132 million votes were cast. His coronation song, "Home," was released after his performance, and had the biggest digital sales week for any Idol winner's coronation song. ^Note 1 Due to the judges using their one save on Jessica Sanchez, the Top 7 remained intact for another week. CANNOTANSWER | Phillips auditioned in Savannah, Georgia. He sang "Superstition" by Stevie Wonder. The judges then asked him to perform a second song with his guitar, and he performed Michael Jackson's "Thriller. | Phillip LaDon Phillips Jr. (born September 20, 1990) is an American musician, singer-songwriter who rose to fame after winning the eleventh season of American Idol on May 23, 2012. His coronation song, "Home", became the best-selling song in American Idol history. His debut album The World from the Side of the Moon was released on November 19, 2012 and was on the Billboard Top 200 album chart for 61 weeks. It has been certified Platinum by the RIAA. The album included the single "Gone, Gone, Gone." He followed up with Behind the Light, in 2014 with the lead single "Raging Fire." His third album, Collateral, was released in 2018 and included the songs "Into the Wild" and "Magnetic." Phillips toured with John Mayer, Gavin DeGraw, the Goo Goo Dolls and has shared the stage with Bruce Springsteen.
In the United States, Phillips has sold 7.5 million digital singles and has sold 2.7 million albums including album streaming equivalent units. He has over 600 million streams on Spotify and 1.2 billion streams on Pandora.
Early life
Phillips was born in Albany, Georgia, to Sheryl (Jacks) and Phillip LaDon "Donnie" Phillips, Sr. He moved with his family to Leesburg, Georgia when he was 12. He has two older sisters, LaDonna, the eldest, and Lacey. Phillips grew up in Sasser and Leesburg, and attended Lee County High School. He graduated from Albany Technical College with a major in Industrial Systems Technology, but missed the graduation ceremony due to his obligations to American Idol. Prior to appearing on American Idol, he worked at his family's pawn shop.
Phillips started playing music, particularly the guitar, when he was 14. He was mentored by his long-time friend and brother-in-law, Benjamin Neil, whom he credits for piquing his interest in music. In 2009, he formed the Phillip Phillips Band with Neil and another brother-in-law, Todd Urick, and performed in various local venues and events. He won a local singing competition, "Albany Star," in 2010.
Phillips' favorite singer is Jonny Lang. Other favorites include John Butler, Dave Matthews, and Damien Rice. He also enjoyed Mumford & Sons and Tool. He grew up listening mainly to '60s and '70s music such as Jimi Hendrix and Led Zeppelin; "Then as I got older I found Damien Rice and Dave Matthews and John Butler, which is what really set it off for me in terms of finding my voice as a musician." He has described his music as "jazz and rock alternative sound."
Prior to trying out for American Idol, Phillips also auditioned on the second season of America's Got Talent.
American Idol
Overview
Phillips auditioned in Savannah, Georgia. He sang "Superstition" by Stevie Wonder. One of the show's executive producers, Megan Michaels-Wolflick, stated "I remember the day in Savannah in 2011 when Phillip Phillips walked in the room and I thought, "This guy is going to win this season." As he walked in front of American Idol judges for his initial audition, Steven Tyler whispered to Jennifer Lopez, "I got a funny feeling about this." The judges asked him to perform a second song with his guitar, and he performed Michael Jackson's "Thriller." He advanced to the Hollywood rounds, and later to the Las Vegas round.
On February 23, 2012, Phillips was chosen as one of the Top 25 semi-finalists, and was voted into the Top 13.
His performance style on the show has been compared to Dave Matthews, and he covered one of his songs, "The Stone," in the competition. When asked about Phillips' imitation of his style, Dave Matthews said: "More power to him, I don't mind," and added "He should kick my ass, [then] maybe I can retire and he can take over my band." Mentor Stevie Nicks said Phillips would have been good enough to join Fleetwood Mac back in 1975, after his performance of Jonny Lang's "Still Rainin," for which he received a standing ovation from the judges.
After the Top 13 performance night, Phillips was taken to a doctor for possible kidney stones. He had eight procedures while he was performing on Idol, and considered quitting the show due to the pain.
For his Top 3 performance, Phillips sang Bob Seger's "We've Got Tonight." For Top 4, he did a cover of Damien Rice's "Volcano" - which has been heralded as one of the best American Idol performances of all time. As the sole contestant who was never in jeopardy of elimination in any week of the competition, Phillips became the winner on the finale against Jessica Sanchez after a record-breaking 132 million votes were cast. His coronation song, "Home," was released after his performance, and had the biggest digital sales week for any Idol winner's coronation song.
Phillips said, "It was crazy and it changed my life completely. I didn't know what to expect, I just loved playing music." "It never seemed like a competition. I always made sure I was having fun and the band was having a good time."
Music career
After winning American Idol, Phillips went on the American Idol LIVE Tour from July to September with the rest of the top ten finalists. He performed the National Anthem at the opening game of the 2012 World Series on October 24, 2012. On November 15, he joined forces with the PS22 chorus of Staten Island for a concert to raise money for those affected by Hurricane Sandy. He also performed at the National Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony on December 6, 2012.
Phillips' coronation song, "Home", was a great success with sales of over 5 million copies in the US. It has been used in NBC's coverage of the Olympics, L.A. Marathon, various commercials, film trailers, and TV shows. He performed "Home" on the PBS Independence Day celebration TV special, A Capitol Fourth. He appeared at the 83rd MLB All-Star Game held at Kansas City on July 10 and sang his coronation song. On October 9, 2012, he joined other musicians in the One World concert held in Syracuse University to honor the Dalai Lama. He also performed "Home" on the CNN Heroes special aired on December 2, 2012, and the CBS's A Home for the Holidays on December 19, 2012.
Phillip has performed on The Today Show and Good Morning America Concert Series, Late Show with David Letterman, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, The Tonight Show With Jay Leno, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Live With Kelly, The View, and Conan. He has also appeared at the American Music Awards and Billboard Music Awards.
Phillip Phillips made the Forbes Highest Earning American Idol list for each of the three years he was qualified. For the list published in January 2014 and January 2015, he ranked number three. For the list published January 2016, he ranked number four.
2012–13: The World from the Side of the Moon
Phillips released his debut album, The World from the Side of the Moon, on November 19, 2012. The album was produced by Gregg Wattenberg, with Phillips writing or co-writing the majority of the disc. On November 6, 2012, "Where We Came From" was released for sale in advance of the album, and was a free download on pre-orders. The album debuted at No. 4 in the Billboard 200 with sales of 169,000 copies, and was certified Platinum by RIAA in August 2013. The World From The Side Of The Moon was on the Billboard Top 200 album chart for 61 weeks. That puts in number two of all the debut albums by American Idol winners.
In January 2013, Phillip Phillips appeared on the cover of Billboard magazine with Interscope Records founder and CEO and American Idol mentor, Jimmy Iovine. "Phillip is a true artist and the fact that people are embracing his album shows they accept him as an artist." said Iovine.
On January 29, 2013, Phillips began a tour in North America as the opening act for Matchbox Twenty. He also headlined ten college dates in January with a four-piece acoustic band, and a further college tour with an electric band from March through May after his tour with Matchbox Twenty. Nine of his college tour dates were postponed due to a continuing health issue.
From July 6 to October 5, 2013, he toured as the opening act for John Mayer's Born and Raised World Tour, followed by his own college tour and then further dates with John Mayer until December 17. He also performed at the international music festival Rock in Rio, in Rio de Janeiro on September 21, the same day as John Mayer and Bruce Springsteen. In 2014, a solo tour of Canada was also scheduled, as well as other dates in the US.
The third single released from the album was "Where We Came From".
"Gone, Gone, Gone" from the album was released as a single on February 11, 2013. Phillips performed the song live on the March 14, 2013 edition of American Idol. "Gone, Gone, Gone" was also used as the twelfth season's "send-off" song, played as the backing track for the montages that highlight each week's eliminated finalist. The song was also used in the film, The Amazing Spider-Man 2.
Phillip Phillips capped off 2013 with a nomination from the American Music Awards for Best New Artist. He joined Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood as the only American Idol winners to receive this nomination.
2014–15: Behind the Light
In March 2013, Phillips stated that he was "always writing" and that his second studio album would be released sometime in 2014. The album, Behind the Light, was released on May 19, 2014. The debut single, "Raging Fire", from his second album was released digitally on March 3, 2014. The song was featured in the National Hockey League's Playoffs. Phillips received his first BMI pop music song writing award for "Raging Fire". A promotional single, "Fly", was released alongside the album's pre-order on April 22, 2014.
Phillips toured with O.A.R. in the summer of 2014. He also launched the Behind The Light Fall Tour 2014 in the U.S. to support his second album.
The second single released from the album was "Unpack Your Heart". The song was featured in a TV commercial for Ram 1500 trucks, which premiered at the 2014 American Music Awards.
In January 2015, Phillips filed a lawsuit against his label 19 Recordings, calling the producers manipulative and "oppressive". In June 2017, Phillips settled the dispute with the show's producers.
2016: American Idol finale, Invictus Games
On April 7, 2016 Phillips returned to the American Idol stage for the series finale and performed a tribute to David Bowie with four other winners; David Cook, Kris Allen, Lee Dewyze, and Nick Fradiani. Former Idol judge Simon Cowell said Phillip Phillips was the only contestant he liked after he left the show. Jennifer Lopez, who was a judge on the eleventh season, revealed that Phillips is her favorite American Idol winner.
He performed at the 2016 Invictus Games closing ceremony in Orlando, Florida on May 12, 2016.
On June 17, 2016, Phillips started a co-headlining tour with Matt Nathanson at the San Diego County Fair and ending on August 13 at the Wisconsin State Fair.
2017–2019: Collateral
During summer 2017, Phillips was the opening act on the Live Nation Goo Goo Dolls' Long Way Home tour.
On October 18, 2017, Phillips performed at the CMT Artists of the Year awards, where he did a cover of Sam Hunt's "Body Like a Back Road", which won Song of the Year.
Phillips released the single "Miles" to radio on August 11, 2017, through 19R/Interscope. It was the lead single to the new album.
Phillips' third studio album, Collateral was released January 19, 2018. Producer Ryan Hadlock has been Phillips' primary collaborator, and he also worked with Nathan Chapman, Jon Nite, John Paul White and Todd Clark, with whom he wrote the singles "Gone, Gone, Gone" and "Raging Fire". He performed "The Magnetic Tour" from February 9, 2018 to April 14, 2018 with over 40 shows to support the album.
In the summer of 2018, Phillips hit the road headlining his solo tour and a co-headlining tour with Gavin DeGraw including over 30 shows.
In September 2019, Phillips teamed with American Authors and Maddie Poppe on a new version of the song "Bring It on Home".
2020 - present: Return to American Idol and pandemic relief efforts
On May 3, 2020, Phillips returned to American Idol and opened the Top 10 by performing "Home". The episode "On with the Show: Homeward Bound" featured the theme of songs about home. The show was broadcast from homes of the participants due to the pandemic health crisis.
Phillips performed on the Idol alumni ensemble (including Alejandro Aranda, Fantasia, Gabby Barrett, Jordin Sparks, Katharine McPhee, Kellie Pickler, Laine Hardy, Lauren Alaina, Ruben Studdard and Scotty McCreery) for "We Are the World" with Lionel Richie on the season finale on May 17, 2020.
Phillips performed at pandemic relief efforts for Sendero Together for Texas and for the Phoebe Hospital Foundation to help support frontline medical heroes battling COVID-19 in southwest Georgia.
On July 17, 2021, Phillips performed "Home" in support of the Project Angel Food telethon. The telethon help raise $1M to sustain the expanded service to those in need, preparing and delivering over one million medically tailored meals.
Acting
In January 2018, Phillips appeared in an episode of Hawaii Five-0, playing a diamond smuggler.
Personal life
Phillips has suffered from a congenital kidney condition. Soon after American Idol finished, he had kidney stones removed as well as reconstructive surgery done on his kidney.
On December 26, 2014, Phillips announced his engagement to girlfriend Hannah Blackwell. The two were married at the Resora Plantation in Albany, Georgia on October 24, 2015.
On July 3, 2019, Phillips and Blackwell announced that they were expecting their first child, a son, in the fall. Patch Shepherd Phillips was born November 10, 2019.
In addition to his singing career he has supported organizations including the Sarah Foundation and the Gibson Flood Relief Campaign. as well being an ambassador for Brave Beginnings. He has also supported DoSomething, National Park Foundation, NCIRE - the Veterans Health Research Institute, Save The Music Foundation, and Habitat for Humanity.
Discography
The World from the Side of the Moon (2012)
Behind the Light (2014)
Collateral (2018)
Filmography
Concert Tours
American Idol Tour Summer 2012
College Tour Spring 2013
North Tour (2013) with Matchbox Twenty
Born and Raised World Tour (2013) with John Mayer
Canada Tour Spring 2014
With O.A.R. Summer Tour 2014
Behind The Light Fall Tour 2014
With Matt Nathanson Summer 2016
Long Way Home Tour (2017) with Goo Goo Dolls
The Magnetic Tour Spring 2018
With Gavin DeGraw Summer 2018
Jingle Bell Rock Tour Winter 2018
Awards and nominations
See also
List of Idols winners
References
External links
PhillPhill.com
Phillip Phillips on American Idol
1990 births
Living people
19 Recordings artists
21st-century American singers
American Idol winners
American folk singers
American male singer-songwriters
American pop guitarists
American pop rock singers
American rock guitarists
American male guitarists
American rock songwriters
American male actors
Interscope Records artists
Musicians from Albany, Georgia
People from Leesburg, Georgia
21st-century American guitarists
Guitarists from Georgia (U.S. state)
21st-century American male singers
Singer-songwriters from Georgia (U.S. state) | false | [
"Antonín Máša (22 July 1935 – 4 October 2001) was a Czech film director and screenwriter. His movie Hotel for Strangers competed in Cannes Film Festival.\n\nLife\nMáša was born in Višňová on 22 July 1935. He was a childhood friend with Pavel Juráček. They both went to study screenwriting at Film and TV School of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague.\n\nFilmography\n\nAs screenwriter\n A Place in the Group (1964)\n Courage for Every Day (1965)\n Holiday for a Dog (1980)\n What’s the Matter With You, Doctor? (1984)\n\nAs director\n Searching (1965)\n Hotel for Strangers (1967)\n Looking Back (1968)\n Rodeo (1972)\n Proč nevěřit na zázraky (1977)\n Silence of the Larks (1989)\n Were We Really Like This? (1990)\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n \n\n1935 births\n2001 deaths\nCzech film directors\nCzech screenwriters\nPeople from Příbram District\n20th-century screenwriters",
"Medieval Children is a book on the history of childhood written by English historian Nicholas Orme in 2001. It covers aspects of English children throughout the Middle Ages. The book addresses what is considered Philippe Ariès's central thesis in Centuries of Childhood, that there was no medieval understanding of childhood as a phase, an idea that critics have said Orme refutes successfully.\n\nSynopsis \n\n \n\nThe book uses a wide range of sources to refute Philippe Ariès's Centuries of Childhood famous theses of the medieval nonexistence of \"childhood\" as an idea and of apathetic medieval parenting. Orme states that childhood was a phase distinct from the rest of life, \"medieval children were ourselves, five hundred or a thousand years ago\" with parents who genuinely cherished and grieved for their children, similar to modern parents. The book's refutation of Ariès is diffuse, broaching his thesis but not other aspects of Centuries of Childhood. Orme uses examples from the English Middle Ages where Ariès uses the French. Orme's source materials include primers, journals, coroners' records, and shoes.\n\nOrme shows childhood to be expensive, with clothing like bibs and swaddlebands alongside books and community expenses. Children were breastfed and given special shoes to wear and items to chew. They would dress up, accidentally die while playing, and hurt animals.\n\nReception \n\nCritics Stephen Metcalf and Benjamin Schwarz separately agreed that the book successfully dismantled Ariès's thesis, its primary goal. The Atlantics Benjamin Schwarz called the book \"a model of accessible scholarly history\" and lauded its illustrations for an academic work. Slates Stephen Metcalf praised the book for its scholarship and utility, but criticized the book's timing and lack of imagination. He adds that Orme's language is \"phlegmatic and common-sensical\" where Ariès was \"oracular and tendentious\", which was used to make the era appear familiar or alien, respectively. The Economist criticized the exclusion of females from the book.\n\nReferences \n\nHistory books about England\n2001 non-fiction books\nHistory books about the Middle Ages\nHistory of childhood"
] |
[
"Phillip Phillips",
"Overview",
"What was his childhood like?",
"Phillips auditioned in Savannah, Georgia. He sang \"Superstition\" by Stevie Wonder. The judges then asked him to perform a second song with his guitar, and he performed Michael Jackson's \"Thriller."
] | C_842643d2f85b4166a73adf4e8ea571f6_1 | How did he get on American Idol? | 2 | How did Phillip Phillips get on American Idol? | Phillip Phillips | Phillips auditioned in Savannah, Georgia. He sang "Superstition" by Stevie Wonder. The judges then asked him to perform a second song with his guitar, and he performed Michael Jackson's "Thriller." He advanced to the Hollywood rounds, and later to the Las Vegas round. On February 23, 2012, Phillips was chosen as one of the Top 25 semi-finalists, and was then voted into the Top 13. His performance style on the show has been compared to Dave Matthews, and he covered one of his songs, "The Stone," in the competition. When asked about Phillips' imitation of his style, Dave Matthews said: "More power to him, I don't mind," and added "He should kick my ass, [then] maybe I can retire and he can take over my band." Mentor Stevie Nicks said Phillips would have been good enough to join Fleetwood Mac back in 1975, after his performance of Jonny Lang's Still Rainin, which he received a standing ovation from the judges. After the Top 13 performance night, Phillips was taken to a doctor for possible kidney stones. He had eight procedures while he was on Idol, and considered quitting the show due to the pain. For his Top 3 performance, Phillips sang Bob Seger's "We've Got Tonight." For Top 4, he did a cover of Damien Rice's Volcano - which has been heralded as one of the best American Idol performances of all time. As the sole contestant who was never in jeopardy of elimination in any week of the competition, Phillips became the winner on the finale against Jessica Sanchez after a record-breaking 132 million votes were cast. His coronation song, "Home," was released after his performance, and had the biggest digital sales week for any Idol winner's coronation song. ^Note 1 Due to the judges using their one save on Jessica Sanchez, the Top 7 remained intact for another week. CANNOTANSWER | " He advanced to the Hollywood rounds, and later to the Las Vegas round. On February 23, 2012, Phillips was chosen as one of the Top 25 semi-finalists, | Phillip LaDon Phillips Jr. (born September 20, 1990) is an American musician, singer-songwriter who rose to fame after winning the eleventh season of American Idol on May 23, 2012. His coronation song, "Home", became the best-selling song in American Idol history. His debut album The World from the Side of the Moon was released on November 19, 2012 and was on the Billboard Top 200 album chart for 61 weeks. It has been certified Platinum by the RIAA. The album included the single "Gone, Gone, Gone." He followed up with Behind the Light, in 2014 with the lead single "Raging Fire." His third album, Collateral, was released in 2018 and included the songs "Into the Wild" and "Magnetic." Phillips toured with John Mayer, Gavin DeGraw, the Goo Goo Dolls and has shared the stage with Bruce Springsteen.
In the United States, Phillips has sold 7.5 million digital singles and has sold 2.7 million albums including album streaming equivalent units. He has over 600 million streams on Spotify and 1.2 billion streams on Pandora.
Early life
Phillips was born in Albany, Georgia, to Sheryl (Jacks) and Phillip LaDon "Donnie" Phillips, Sr. He moved with his family to Leesburg, Georgia when he was 12. He has two older sisters, LaDonna, the eldest, and Lacey. Phillips grew up in Sasser and Leesburg, and attended Lee County High School. He graduated from Albany Technical College with a major in Industrial Systems Technology, but missed the graduation ceremony due to his obligations to American Idol. Prior to appearing on American Idol, he worked at his family's pawn shop.
Phillips started playing music, particularly the guitar, when he was 14. He was mentored by his long-time friend and brother-in-law, Benjamin Neil, whom he credits for piquing his interest in music. In 2009, he formed the Phillip Phillips Band with Neil and another brother-in-law, Todd Urick, and performed in various local venues and events. He won a local singing competition, "Albany Star," in 2010.
Phillips' favorite singer is Jonny Lang. Other favorites include John Butler, Dave Matthews, and Damien Rice. He also enjoyed Mumford & Sons and Tool. He grew up listening mainly to '60s and '70s music such as Jimi Hendrix and Led Zeppelin; "Then as I got older I found Damien Rice and Dave Matthews and John Butler, which is what really set it off for me in terms of finding my voice as a musician." He has described his music as "jazz and rock alternative sound."
Prior to trying out for American Idol, Phillips also auditioned on the second season of America's Got Talent.
American Idol
Overview
Phillips auditioned in Savannah, Georgia. He sang "Superstition" by Stevie Wonder. One of the show's executive producers, Megan Michaels-Wolflick, stated "I remember the day in Savannah in 2011 when Phillip Phillips walked in the room and I thought, "This guy is going to win this season." As he walked in front of American Idol judges for his initial audition, Steven Tyler whispered to Jennifer Lopez, "I got a funny feeling about this." The judges asked him to perform a second song with his guitar, and he performed Michael Jackson's "Thriller." He advanced to the Hollywood rounds, and later to the Las Vegas round.
On February 23, 2012, Phillips was chosen as one of the Top 25 semi-finalists, and was voted into the Top 13.
His performance style on the show has been compared to Dave Matthews, and he covered one of his songs, "The Stone," in the competition. When asked about Phillips' imitation of his style, Dave Matthews said: "More power to him, I don't mind," and added "He should kick my ass, [then] maybe I can retire and he can take over my band." Mentor Stevie Nicks said Phillips would have been good enough to join Fleetwood Mac back in 1975, after his performance of Jonny Lang's "Still Rainin," for which he received a standing ovation from the judges.
After the Top 13 performance night, Phillips was taken to a doctor for possible kidney stones. He had eight procedures while he was performing on Idol, and considered quitting the show due to the pain.
For his Top 3 performance, Phillips sang Bob Seger's "We've Got Tonight." For Top 4, he did a cover of Damien Rice's "Volcano" - which has been heralded as one of the best American Idol performances of all time. As the sole contestant who was never in jeopardy of elimination in any week of the competition, Phillips became the winner on the finale against Jessica Sanchez after a record-breaking 132 million votes were cast. His coronation song, "Home," was released after his performance, and had the biggest digital sales week for any Idol winner's coronation song.
Phillips said, "It was crazy and it changed my life completely. I didn't know what to expect, I just loved playing music." "It never seemed like a competition. I always made sure I was having fun and the band was having a good time."
Music career
After winning American Idol, Phillips went on the American Idol LIVE Tour from July to September with the rest of the top ten finalists. He performed the National Anthem at the opening game of the 2012 World Series on October 24, 2012. On November 15, he joined forces with the PS22 chorus of Staten Island for a concert to raise money for those affected by Hurricane Sandy. He also performed at the National Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony on December 6, 2012.
Phillips' coronation song, "Home", was a great success with sales of over 5 million copies in the US. It has been used in NBC's coverage of the Olympics, L.A. Marathon, various commercials, film trailers, and TV shows. He performed "Home" on the PBS Independence Day celebration TV special, A Capitol Fourth. He appeared at the 83rd MLB All-Star Game held at Kansas City on July 10 and sang his coronation song. On October 9, 2012, he joined other musicians in the One World concert held in Syracuse University to honor the Dalai Lama. He also performed "Home" on the CNN Heroes special aired on December 2, 2012, and the CBS's A Home for the Holidays on December 19, 2012.
Phillip has performed on The Today Show and Good Morning America Concert Series, Late Show with David Letterman, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, The Tonight Show With Jay Leno, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Live With Kelly, The View, and Conan. He has also appeared at the American Music Awards and Billboard Music Awards.
Phillip Phillips made the Forbes Highest Earning American Idol list for each of the three years he was qualified. For the list published in January 2014 and January 2015, he ranked number three. For the list published January 2016, he ranked number four.
2012–13: The World from the Side of the Moon
Phillips released his debut album, The World from the Side of the Moon, on November 19, 2012. The album was produced by Gregg Wattenberg, with Phillips writing or co-writing the majority of the disc. On November 6, 2012, "Where We Came From" was released for sale in advance of the album, and was a free download on pre-orders. The album debuted at No. 4 in the Billboard 200 with sales of 169,000 copies, and was certified Platinum by RIAA in August 2013. The World From The Side Of The Moon was on the Billboard Top 200 album chart for 61 weeks. That puts in number two of all the debut albums by American Idol winners.
In January 2013, Phillip Phillips appeared on the cover of Billboard magazine with Interscope Records founder and CEO and American Idol mentor, Jimmy Iovine. "Phillip is a true artist and the fact that people are embracing his album shows they accept him as an artist." said Iovine.
On January 29, 2013, Phillips began a tour in North America as the opening act for Matchbox Twenty. He also headlined ten college dates in January with a four-piece acoustic band, and a further college tour with an electric band from March through May after his tour with Matchbox Twenty. Nine of his college tour dates were postponed due to a continuing health issue.
From July 6 to October 5, 2013, he toured as the opening act for John Mayer's Born and Raised World Tour, followed by his own college tour and then further dates with John Mayer until December 17. He also performed at the international music festival Rock in Rio, in Rio de Janeiro on September 21, the same day as John Mayer and Bruce Springsteen. In 2014, a solo tour of Canada was also scheduled, as well as other dates in the US.
The third single released from the album was "Where We Came From".
"Gone, Gone, Gone" from the album was released as a single on February 11, 2013. Phillips performed the song live on the March 14, 2013 edition of American Idol. "Gone, Gone, Gone" was also used as the twelfth season's "send-off" song, played as the backing track for the montages that highlight each week's eliminated finalist. The song was also used in the film, The Amazing Spider-Man 2.
Phillip Phillips capped off 2013 with a nomination from the American Music Awards for Best New Artist. He joined Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood as the only American Idol winners to receive this nomination.
2014–15: Behind the Light
In March 2013, Phillips stated that he was "always writing" and that his second studio album would be released sometime in 2014. The album, Behind the Light, was released on May 19, 2014. The debut single, "Raging Fire", from his second album was released digitally on March 3, 2014. The song was featured in the National Hockey League's Playoffs. Phillips received his first BMI pop music song writing award for "Raging Fire". A promotional single, "Fly", was released alongside the album's pre-order on April 22, 2014.
Phillips toured with O.A.R. in the summer of 2014. He also launched the Behind The Light Fall Tour 2014 in the U.S. to support his second album.
The second single released from the album was "Unpack Your Heart". The song was featured in a TV commercial for Ram 1500 trucks, which premiered at the 2014 American Music Awards.
In January 2015, Phillips filed a lawsuit against his label 19 Recordings, calling the producers manipulative and "oppressive". In June 2017, Phillips settled the dispute with the show's producers.
2016: American Idol finale, Invictus Games
On April 7, 2016 Phillips returned to the American Idol stage for the series finale and performed a tribute to David Bowie with four other winners; David Cook, Kris Allen, Lee Dewyze, and Nick Fradiani. Former Idol judge Simon Cowell said Phillip Phillips was the only contestant he liked after he left the show. Jennifer Lopez, who was a judge on the eleventh season, revealed that Phillips is her favorite American Idol winner.
He performed at the 2016 Invictus Games closing ceremony in Orlando, Florida on May 12, 2016.
On June 17, 2016, Phillips started a co-headlining tour with Matt Nathanson at the San Diego County Fair and ending on August 13 at the Wisconsin State Fair.
2017–2019: Collateral
During summer 2017, Phillips was the opening act on the Live Nation Goo Goo Dolls' Long Way Home tour.
On October 18, 2017, Phillips performed at the CMT Artists of the Year awards, where he did a cover of Sam Hunt's "Body Like a Back Road", which won Song of the Year.
Phillips released the single "Miles" to radio on August 11, 2017, through 19R/Interscope. It was the lead single to the new album.
Phillips' third studio album, Collateral was released January 19, 2018. Producer Ryan Hadlock has been Phillips' primary collaborator, and he also worked with Nathan Chapman, Jon Nite, John Paul White and Todd Clark, with whom he wrote the singles "Gone, Gone, Gone" and "Raging Fire". He performed "The Magnetic Tour" from February 9, 2018 to April 14, 2018 with over 40 shows to support the album.
In the summer of 2018, Phillips hit the road headlining his solo tour and a co-headlining tour with Gavin DeGraw including over 30 shows.
In September 2019, Phillips teamed with American Authors and Maddie Poppe on a new version of the song "Bring It on Home".
2020 - present: Return to American Idol and pandemic relief efforts
On May 3, 2020, Phillips returned to American Idol and opened the Top 10 by performing "Home". The episode "On with the Show: Homeward Bound" featured the theme of songs about home. The show was broadcast from homes of the participants due to the pandemic health crisis.
Phillips performed on the Idol alumni ensemble (including Alejandro Aranda, Fantasia, Gabby Barrett, Jordin Sparks, Katharine McPhee, Kellie Pickler, Laine Hardy, Lauren Alaina, Ruben Studdard and Scotty McCreery) for "We Are the World" with Lionel Richie on the season finale on May 17, 2020.
Phillips performed at pandemic relief efforts for Sendero Together for Texas and for the Phoebe Hospital Foundation to help support frontline medical heroes battling COVID-19 in southwest Georgia.
On July 17, 2021, Phillips performed "Home" in support of the Project Angel Food telethon. The telethon help raise $1M to sustain the expanded service to those in need, preparing and delivering over one million medically tailored meals.
Acting
In January 2018, Phillips appeared in an episode of Hawaii Five-0, playing a diamond smuggler.
Personal life
Phillips has suffered from a congenital kidney condition. Soon after American Idol finished, he had kidney stones removed as well as reconstructive surgery done on his kidney.
On December 26, 2014, Phillips announced his engagement to girlfriend Hannah Blackwell. The two were married at the Resora Plantation in Albany, Georgia on October 24, 2015.
On July 3, 2019, Phillips and Blackwell announced that they were expecting their first child, a son, in the fall. Patch Shepherd Phillips was born November 10, 2019.
In addition to his singing career he has supported organizations including the Sarah Foundation and the Gibson Flood Relief Campaign. as well being an ambassador for Brave Beginnings. He has also supported DoSomething, National Park Foundation, NCIRE - the Veterans Health Research Institute, Save The Music Foundation, and Habitat for Humanity.
Discography
The World from the Side of the Moon (2012)
Behind the Light (2014)
Collateral (2018)
Filmography
Concert Tours
American Idol Tour Summer 2012
College Tour Spring 2013
North Tour (2013) with Matchbox Twenty
Born and Raised World Tour (2013) with John Mayer
Canada Tour Spring 2014
With O.A.R. Summer Tour 2014
Behind The Light Fall Tour 2014
With Matt Nathanson Summer 2016
Long Way Home Tour (2017) with Goo Goo Dolls
The Magnetic Tour Spring 2018
With Gavin DeGraw Summer 2018
Jingle Bell Rock Tour Winter 2018
Awards and nominations
See also
List of Idols winners
References
External links
PhillPhill.com
Phillip Phillips on American Idol
1990 births
Living people
19 Recordings artists
21st-century American singers
American Idol winners
American folk singers
American male singer-songwriters
American pop guitarists
American pop rock singers
American rock guitarists
American male guitarists
American rock songwriters
American male actors
Interscope Records artists
Musicians from Albany, Georgia
People from Leesburg, Georgia
21st-century American guitarists
Guitarists from Georgia (U.S. state)
21st-century American male singers
Singer-songwriters from Georgia (U.S. state) | false | [
"Clark Beckham (born May 15, 1992) is an American singer, songwriter and musician. He finished as the runner-up on the fourteenth season of American Idol.\n\nEarly life\nBeckham was born in Nashville, Tennessee, but grew up in White House, Tennessee. He is an only child. He graduated from Lee University with a degree in history. Clark got most of his musical experience playing in church and on street corners. In a Christian Post interview Beckham noted that he originally wanted to audition for American Idol at 18 years old, when it came to Nashville, but said that it was not in line with God's will at the time.\n\nCareer\n\nAmerican Idol\nBeckham auditioned for American Idol singing \"It's a Man's, Man's, Man's World\" by James Brown. He was the first contestant at the first city, Nashville, Tennessee, to sing in front of the judges. He passed the audition by a split decision: approved by Jennifer Lopez and Keith Urban, disapproved by Harry Connick Jr. During Hollywood week, he sang \"Let's Get It On\" and \"Try a Little Tenderness\". In the House of Blues showcase, he sang \"Georgia on My Mind\", earning his spot in the Top 24.\n\nWhen asked what one moment stands out for him, Beckham said the time Connick Jr. said, \"I don't think you could have done that any better\"—after Beckham's performance of Stevie Wonder's \"Superstition\". \"Harry's typically been tough on me,\" said Beckham. \"He's like a coach trying to get the best out of me. And I really appreciate that.\"\n\nPerformances on American Idol\n\nPost-Idol\nBeckham has been using his post-Idol expertise in the creation of a YouTube video channel about American Idol. In May 2021, he appeared on the Talent Recap show to discuss the nineteenth season finale. Beckham will also appear in the upcoming film An Old Song.\n\nDiscography\n\nAlbums\n 2013: Clark Beckham (EP)\n 2014: Songs About Her (EP)\n 2015: Champion\n 2015: American Idol Season 14: Best of Clark Beckham\n2018: Year One (EP)\n2020: Light Year\n\nAccolades\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n Clark Beckham on American Idol\n \n\n21st-century American singers\n1992 births\nAmerican Idol participants\nLiving people\nMusicians from Nashville, Tennessee\nPeople from White House, Tennessee\n21st-century American male singers",
"Blake Lewis is an EP by Blake Lewis, the runner-up on the sixth season of American Idol. It was released digitally on May 22, 2007.\n\nBackground\nThe EP is compiled of five studio versions of songs covered by Lewis from the American Idol official website. It features the Billboard Hot 100 hit, \"You Give Love a Bad Name\" which is originally by Bon Jovi, but heavily rearranged by Lewis during the Idol series.\n\nThe songs on the EP are from Lewis's performances throughout the Idol series. Each week, Lewis would perform a song on Idol and the day after he performed it, it would be put up on the American Idol official website for sale as a studio version. Lewis covered and amassed more songs by various established artists as he progressed to the Idol finale.\n\nRelease and chart performance\nThis EP is on iTunes Store for downloading and was also available as a \"bundle\" on the American Idol official website until June 20, 2007. The songs that did not make the EP's cut are also available for download as individual singles from both iTunes Store and the Idol official website.\n\nThe EP peaked at number three on the Billboard Top Digital Albums chart, having sold 46,000 units as of January 10, 2008.\n\nTrack listing\n\"You Give Love a Bad Name\" 3:08\n\"Time of the Season\" 2:48\n\"I Need to Know\" 2:29\n\"Lovesong\" 3:27\n\"When the Stars Go Blue\" 2:29\n\nFootnotes\n\n2007 debut EPs\nBlake Lewis albums\nCovers EPs"
] |
[
"Phillip Phillips",
"Overview",
"What was his childhood like?",
"Phillips auditioned in Savannah, Georgia. He sang \"Superstition\" by Stevie Wonder. The judges then asked him to perform a second song with his guitar, and he performed Michael Jackson's \"Thriller.",
"How did he get on American Idol?",
"\" He advanced to the Hollywood rounds, and later to the Las Vegas round. On February 23, 2012, Phillips was chosen as one of the Top 25 semi-finalists,"
] | C_842643d2f85b4166a73adf4e8ea571f6_1 | Did he make it to the next round? | 3 | Did Phillip Phillips make it to the next round of American Idol? | Phillip Phillips | Phillips auditioned in Savannah, Georgia. He sang "Superstition" by Stevie Wonder. The judges then asked him to perform a second song with his guitar, and he performed Michael Jackson's "Thriller." He advanced to the Hollywood rounds, and later to the Las Vegas round. On February 23, 2012, Phillips was chosen as one of the Top 25 semi-finalists, and was then voted into the Top 13. His performance style on the show has been compared to Dave Matthews, and he covered one of his songs, "The Stone," in the competition. When asked about Phillips' imitation of his style, Dave Matthews said: "More power to him, I don't mind," and added "He should kick my ass, [then] maybe I can retire and he can take over my band." Mentor Stevie Nicks said Phillips would have been good enough to join Fleetwood Mac back in 1975, after his performance of Jonny Lang's Still Rainin, which he received a standing ovation from the judges. After the Top 13 performance night, Phillips was taken to a doctor for possible kidney stones. He had eight procedures while he was on Idol, and considered quitting the show due to the pain. For his Top 3 performance, Phillips sang Bob Seger's "We've Got Tonight." For Top 4, he did a cover of Damien Rice's Volcano - which has been heralded as one of the best American Idol performances of all time. As the sole contestant who was never in jeopardy of elimination in any week of the competition, Phillips became the winner on the finale against Jessica Sanchez after a record-breaking 132 million votes were cast. His coronation song, "Home," was released after his performance, and had the biggest digital sales week for any Idol winner's coronation song. ^Note 1 Due to the judges using their one save on Jessica Sanchez, the Top 7 remained intact for another week. CANNOTANSWER | finalists, and was then voted into the Top 13. | Phillip LaDon Phillips Jr. (born September 20, 1990) is an American musician, singer-songwriter who rose to fame after winning the eleventh season of American Idol on May 23, 2012. His coronation song, "Home", became the best-selling song in American Idol history. His debut album The World from the Side of the Moon was released on November 19, 2012 and was on the Billboard Top 200 album chart for 61 weeks. It has been certified Platinum by the RIAA. The album included the single "Gone, Gone, Gone." He followed up with Behind the Light, in 2014 with the lead single "Raging Fire." His third album, Collateral, was released in 2018 and included the songs "Into the Wild" and "Magnetic." Phillips toured with John Mayer, Gavin DeGraw, the Goo Goo Dolls and has shared the stage with Bruce Springsteen.
In the United States, Phillips has sold 7.5 million digital singles and has sold 2.7 million albums including album streaming equivalent units. He has over 600 million streams on Spotify and 1.2 billion streams on Pandora.
Early life
Phillips was born in Albany, Georgia, to Sheryl (Jacks) and Phillip LaDon "Donnie" Phillips, Sr. He moved with his family to Leesburg, Georgia when he was 12. He has two older sisters, LaDonna, the eldest, and Lacey. Phillips grew up in Sasser and Leesburg, and attended Lee County High School. He graduated from Albany Technical College with a major in Industrial Systems Technology, but missed the graduation ceremony due to his obligations to American Idol. Prior to appearing on American Idol, he worked at his family's pawn shop.
Phillips started playing music, particularly the guitar, when he was 14. He was mentored by his long-time friend and brother-in-law, Benjamin Neil, whom he credits for piquing his interest in music. In 2009, he formed the Phillip Phillips Band with Neil and another brother-in-law, Todd Urick, and performed in various local venues and events. He won a local singing competition, "Albany Star," in 2010.
Phillips' favorite singer is Jonny Lang. Other favorites include John Butler, Dave Matthews, and Damien Rice. He also enjoyed Mumford & Sons and Tool. He grew up listening mainly to '60s and '70s music such as Jimi Hendrix and Led Zeppelin; "Then as I got older I found Damien Rice and Dave Matthews and John Butler, which is what really set it off for me in terms of finding my voice as a musician." He has described his music as "jazz and rock alternative sound."
Prior to trying out for American Idol, Phillips also auditioned on the second season of America's Got Talent.
American Idol
Overview
Phillips auditioned in Savannah, Georgia. He sang "Superstition" by Stevie Wonder. One of the show's executive producers, Megan Michaels-Wolflick, stated "I remember the day in Savannah in 2011 when Phillip Phillips walked in the room and I thought, "This guy is going to win this season." As he walked in front of American Idol judges for his initial audition, Steven Tyler whispered to Jennifer Lopez, "I got a funny feeling about this." The judges asked him to perform a second song with his guitar, and he performed Michael Jackson's "Thriller." He advanced to the Hollywood rounds, and later to the Las Vegas round.
On February 23, 2012, Phillips was chosen as one of the Top 25 semi-finalists, and was voted into the Top 13.
His performance style on the show has been compared to Dave Matthews, and he covered one of his songs, "The Stone," in the competition. When asked about Phillips' imitation of his style, Dave Matthews said: "More power to him, I don't mind," and added "He should kick my ass, [then] maybe I can retire and he can take over my band." Mentor Stevie Nicks said Phillips would have been good enough to join Fleetwood Mac back in 1975, after his performance of Jonny Lang's "Still Rainin," for which he received a standing ovation from the judges.
After the Top 13 performance night, Phillips was taken to a doctor for possible kidney stones. He had eight procedures while he was performing on Idol, and considered quitting the show due to the pain.
For his Top 3 performance, Phillips sang Bob Seger's "We've Got Tonight." For Top 4, he did a cover of Damien Rice's "Volcano" - which has been heralded as one of the best American Idol performances of all time. As the sole contestant who was never in jeopardy of elimination in any week of the competition, Phillips became the winner on the finale against Jessica Sanchez after a record-breaking 132 million votes were cast. His coronation song, "Home," was released after his performance, and had the biggest digital sales week for any Idol winner's coronation song.
Phillips said, "It was crazy and it changed my life completely. I didn't know what to expect, I just loved playing music." "It never seemed like a competition. I always made sure I was having fun and the band was having a good time."
Music career
After winning American Idol, Phillips went on the American Idol LIVE Tour from July to September with the rest of the top ten finalists. He performed the National Anthem at the opening game of the 2012 World Series on October 24, 2012. On November 15, he joined forces with the PS22 chorus of Staten Island for a concert to raise money for those affected by Hurricane Sandy. He also performed at the National Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony on December 6, 2012.
Phillips' coronation song, "Home", was a great success with sales of over 5 million copies in the US. It has been used in NBC's coverage of the Olympics, L.A. Marathon, various commercials, film trailers, and TV shows. He performed "Home" on the PBS Independence Day celebration TV special, A Capitol Fourth. He appeared at the 83rd MLB All-Star Game held at Kansas City on July 10 and sang his coronation song. On October 9, 2012, he joined other musicians in the One World concert held in Syracuse University to honor the Dalai Lama. He also performed "Home" on the CNN Heroes special aired on December 2, 2012, and the CBS's A Home for the Holidays on December 19, 2012.
Phillip has performed on The Today Show and Good Morning America Concert Series, Late Show with David Letterman, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, The Tonight Show With Jay Leno, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Live With Kelly, The View, and Conan. He has also appeared at the American Music Awards and Billboard Music Awards.
Phillip Phillips made the Forbes Highest Earning American Idol list for each of the three years he was qualified. For the list published in January 2014 and January 2015, he ranked number three. For the list published January 2016, he ranked number four.
2012–13: The World from the Side of the Moon
Phillips released his debut album, The World from the Side of the Moon, on November 19, 2012. The album was produced by Gregg Wattenberg, with Phillips writing or co-writing the majority of the disc. On November 6, 2012, "Where We Came From" was released for sale in advance of the album, and was a free download on pre-orders. The album debuted at No. 4 in the Billboard 200 with sales of 169,000 copies, and was certified Platinum by RIAA in August 2013. The World From The Side Of The Moon was on the Billboard Top 200 album chart for 61 weeks. That puts in number two of all the debut albums by American Idol winners.
In January 2013, Phillip Phillips appeared on the cover of Billboard magazine with Interscope Records founder and CEO and American Idol mentor, Jimmy Iovine. "Phillip is a true artist and the fact that people are embracing his album shows they accept him as an artist." said Iovine.
On January 29, 2013, Phillips began a tour in North America as the opening act for Matchbox Twenty. He also headlined ten college dates in January with a four-piece acoustic band, and a further college tour with an electric band from March through May after his tour with Matchbox Twenty. Nine of his college tour dates were postponed due to a continuing health issue.
From July 6 to October 5, 2013, he toured as the opening act for John Mayer's Born and Raised World Tour, followed by his own college tour and then further dates with John Mayer until December 17. He also performed at the international music festival Rock in Rio, in Rio de Janeiro on September 21, the same day as John Mayer and Bruce Springsteen. In 2014, a solo tour of Canada was also scheduled, as well as other dates in the US.
The third single released from the album was "Where We Came From".
"Gone, Gone, Gone" from the album was released as a single on February 11, 2013. Phillips performed the song live on the March 14, 2013 edition of American Idol. "Gone, Gone, Gone" was also used as the twelfth season's "send-off" song, played as the backing track for the montages that highlight each week's eliminated finalist. The song was also used in the film, The Amazing Spider-Man 2.
Phillip Phillips capped off 2013 with a nomination from the American Music Awards for Best New Artist. He joined Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood as the only American Idol winners to receive this nomination.
2014–15: Behind the Light
In March 2013, Phillips stated that he was "always writing" and that his second studio album would be released sometime in 2014. The album, Behind the Light, was released on May 19, 2014. The debut single, "Raging Fire", from his second album was released digitally on March 3, 2014. The song was featured in the National Hockey League's Playoffs. Phillips received his first BMI pop music song writing award for "Raging Fire". A promotional single, "Fly", was released alongside the album's pre-order on April 22, 2014.
Phillips toured with O.A.R. in the summer of 2014. He also launched the Behind The Light Fall Tour 2014 in the U.S. to support his second album.
The second single released from the album was "Unpack Your Heart". The song was featured in a TV commercial for Ram 1500 trucks, which premiered at the 2014 American Music Awards.
In January 2015, Phillips filed a lawsuit against his label 19 Recordings, calling the producers manipulative and "oppressive". In June 2017, Phillips settled the dispute with the show's producers.
2016: American Idol finale, Invictus Games
On April 7, 2016 Phillips returned to the American Idol stage for the series finale and performed a tribute to David Bowie with four other winners; David Cook, Kris Allen, Lee Dewyze, and Nick Fradiani. Former Idol judge Simon Cowell said Phillip Phillips was the only contestant he liked after he left the show. Jennifer Lopez, who was a judge on the eleventh season, revealed that Phillips is her favorite American Idol winner.
He performed at the 2016 Invictus Games closing ceremony in Orlando, Florida on May 12, 2016.
On June 17, 2016, Phillips started a co-headlining tour with Matt Nathanson at the San Diego County Fair and ending on August 13 at the Wisconsin State Fair.
2017–2019: Collateral
During summer 2017, Phillips was the opening act on the Live Nation Goo Goo Dolls' Long Way Home tour.
On October 18, 2017, Phillips performed at the CMT Artists of the Year awards, where he did a cover of Sam Hunt's "Body Like a Back Road", which won Song of the Year.
Phillips released the single "Miles" to radio on August 11, 2017, through 19R/Interscope. It was the lead single to the new album.
Phillips' third studio album, Collateral was released January 19, 2018. Producer Ryan Hadlock has been Phillips' primary collaborator, and he also worked with Nathan Chapman, Jon Nite, John Paul White and Todd Clark, with whom he wrote the singles "Gone, Gone, Gone" and "Raging Fire". He performed "The Magnetic Tour" from February 9, 2018 to April 14, 2018 with over 40 shows to support the album.
In the summer of 2018, Phillips hit the road headlining his solo tour and a co-headlining tour with Gavin DeGraw including over 30 shows.
In September 2019, Phillips teamed with American Authors and Maddie Poppe on a new version of the song "Bring It on Home".
2020 - present: Return to American Idol and pandemic relief efforts
On May 3, 2020, Phillips returned to American Idol and opened the Top 10 by performing "Home". The episode "On with the Show: Homeward Bound" featured the theme of songs about home. The show was broadcast from homes of the participants due to the pandemic health crisis.
Phillips performed on the Idol alumni ensemble (including Alejandro Aranda, Fantasia, Gabby Barrett, Jordin Sparks, Katharine McPhee, Kellie Pickler, Laine Hardy, Lauren Alaina, Ruben Studdard and Scotty McCreery) for "We Are the World" with Lionel Richie on the season finale on May 17, 2020.
Phillips performed at pandemic relief efforts for Sendero Together for Texas and for the Phoebe Hospital Foundation to help support frontline medical heroes battling COVID-19 in southwest Georgia.
On July 17, 2021, Phillips performed "Home" in support of the Project Angel Food telethon. The telethon help raise $1M to sustain the expanded service to those in need, preparing and delivering over one million medically tailored meals.
Acting
In January 2018, Phillips appeared in an episode of Hawaii Five-0, playing a diamond smuggler.
Personal life
Phillips has suffered from a congenital kidney condition. Soon after American Idol finished, he had kidney stones removed as well as reconstructive surgery done on his kidney.
On December 26, 2014, Phillips announced his engagement to girlfriend Hannah Blackwell. The two were married at the Resora Plantation in Albany, Georgia on October 24, 2015.
On July 3, 2019, Phillips and Blackwell announced that they were expecting their first child, a son, in the fall. Patch Shepherd Phillips was born November 10, 2019.
In addition to his singing career he has supported organizations including the Sarah Foundation and the Gibson Flood Relief Campaign. as well being an ambassador for Brave Beginnings. He has also supported DoSomething, National Park Foundation, NCIRE - the Veterans Health Research Institute, Save The Music Foundation, and Habitat for Humanity.
Discography
The World from the Side of the Moon (2012)
Behind the Light (2014)
Collateral (2018)
Filmography
Concert Tours
American Idol Tour Summer 2012
College Tour Spring 2013
North Tour (2013) with Matchbox Twenty
Born and Raised World Tour (2013) with John Mayer
Canada Tour Spring 2014
With O.A.R. Summer Tour 2014
Behind The Light Fall Tour 2014
With Matt Nathanson Summer 2016
Long Way Home Tour (2017) with Goo Goo Dolls
The Magnetic Tour Spring 2018
With Gavin DeGraw Summer 2018
Jingle Bell Rock Tour Winter 2018
Awards and nominations
See also
List of Idols winners
References
External links
PhillPhill.com
Phillip Phillips on American Idol
1990 births
Living people
19 Recordings artists
21st-century American singers
American Idol winners
American folk singers
American male singer-songwriters
American pop guitarists
American pop rock singers
American rock guitarists
American male guitarists
American rock songwriters
American male actors
Interscope Records artists
Musicians from Albany, Georgia
People from Leesburg, Georgia
21st-century American guitarists
Guitarists from Georgia (U.S. state)
21st-century American male singers
Singer-songwriters from Georgia (U.S. state) | false | [
"Xorge Carrillo (born April 12, 1989) is a Mexican professional baseball catcher for the Toros de Tijuana of the Mexican League and for the Águilas de Mexicali of the Liga Mexicana del Pacifico. He represented Mexico in the 2017 World Baseball Classic, 2019 Pan American Games Qualifier, and 2019 exhibition games against Japan.\n\nCareer\nCarrillo was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 28th round of the 2007 Major League Baseball draft out of McClintock High School, but did not sign. He was again drafted in the 29th round of the 2009 Major League Baseball draft out of Central Arizona College, this time by the Cleveland Indians, but again did not sign. He then went on to attend Arizona State University, where he played baseball for the Sun Devils. He was drafted for a third time in the 2010 Major League Baseball draft, selected in the 23rd round by the San Diego Padres, but for a third time did not sign and returned to ASU. He was drafted for a fourth time in the 14th round of the 2011 Major League Baseball draft by the New York Mets and agreed to sign with the club.\n\nHe made his professional debut with the Low-A Brooklyn Cyclones, appearing in 27 games for the club. In 2012, Carrillo played for the Single-A Savannah Sand Gnats, but only played in 11 games. He split the 2013 season between the High-A St. Lucie Mets and the Double-A Binghamton Mets, batting a cumulative .278/.331/.330 in 36 games for the two clubs. The next year, Carrillo split the year between Binghamton and the Triple-A Las Vegas 51s, slashing .285/.355/.357 with 2 home runs and 22 RBI. He was invited to Spring Training for the 2015 season, but did not make the club and was assigned to Binghamton, where he batted .240/.318/.382 in 94 games. In 2016, Carrillo spent the majority of the year in Binghamton, also playing in 5 games for Las Vegas with a cumulative batting line of .272/.347/.362 in 85 games. He was invited to Spring Training for a second time in 2017 but again did not make the team and was assigned to Las Vegas. With Las Vegas, Carrillo batted .270/.320/.425 with 9 home runs and 44 RBI before electing free agency on November 6, 2017.\n\nOn January 31, 2018, Carrillo signed a minor league contract with the Tampa Bay Rays organization and was invited to Spring Training. Carrillo did not make the club and was assigned to the Triple-A Durham Bulls. On July 3, 2018, Carrillo was assigned to the Toros de Tijuana of the Mexican League and finished the season with Tijuana. In 2019, Carrillo batted .307/.383/.458 in 63 games. Carrillo did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the Mexican League season because of the COVID-19 pandemic.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n\n1989 births\nLiving people\nÁguilas de Mexicali players\nBaseball players from Baja California\nBinghamton Mets players\nBrooklyn Cyclones players\nLas Vegas 51s players\nMexican expatriate baseball players in the United States\nMexican League baseball catchers\nSavannah Sand Gnats players\nSportspeople from Tijuana\nSt. Lucie Mets players\nToros de Tijuana players\n2017 World Baseball Classic players",
"Hotshot is a basketball shooting game. Played mainly in New England, hotshot may be played by one or more players. Hotshot is unique in that it is easy to provide handicaps for less experienced players, allowing them to compete with better shooters. Hotshot is also unique in that it may be manipulated to fit any time frame, from five minutes to over an hour.\n\nRules of play \nFirst, players choose a spot on the court from which to \"shoot for the ball\". Players each take a shot and the first to hit a shot successfully wins first possession of the ball. Once a player has won the ball, he chooses a number of spots, called \"hotspots\", on the court, from which to shoot. The number of hotspots to be chosen is determined before the game. No hotspot may be inside the key.\n\nOnce the player has chosen his hotspots, he proceeds to his first and takes five shots, keeping track of how many he has missed. On the fifth shot, or \"hotshot\", the player must prepare to make his own rebound as quickly as possible, because he will have to make a number of shots from wherever he recovers the ball. If he recovers the ball outside the three-point line, he may take his shots from wherever the ball passed over the three-point line; if the player made his \"hotshot\", he may take his shots from wherever the ball left the key, if it is outside the key when recovered. If the player hits all five of his hotspot shots, he receives a twenty-point bonus and need not recover his rebound, but may move on to his next hotspot.\n\nIf the player did not go five for five, the spot where the player recovers his rebound is known as the \"offspot.\" In order to proceed to his next hotspot, the player must make as many shots as he missed in the previous round in a row from his offspot. For example, if the player missed three shots from his hotspot, he must make three in a row from his offspot to proceed. If the player misses five shots from his offspot before making the necessary shots in a row, he receives a zero and may proceed to his next hotspot.\n\nOnce a player has shot from each of his hotspots, he adds up his score, then gives the ball to the next player.\n\nScoring \nWhen shooting from a hotspot, scoring is simple: a player receives five points for a hit shot, and zero points for a miss. When shooting from an offspot, a player must make the necessary number of shots in a row to score any points. If the player does succeed in making his necessary shots, he receives ten points minus twice the number of shots he missed from his offspot. For example, if the player missed two shots before completing his offspot round, he would receive 10 - 2*2 points, or 10 - 4 = 6 points for the offspot round.\n\nTournament play \nHotshot can also be a tournament. In tournaments the game is different from normal in a few ways. First players have only a minute to complete their turn, and must get their own rebounds on every shot and hotspots are worth different numbers of points depending on their distance from the basket. Also, offspot rounds are generally not part of tournaments. Players may get a bonus if they finish their round in less than a minute.\n\nAlternate versions \nPenalties - In some versions, a player receives a penalty for missing all five of his hotspot shots. The penalty varies from ten to twenty, and in some versions, the player does not get an offspot round but must move directly to his next hotspot.\n\n\"Sprees\" - In some versions, a player may choose to yell the word \"spree\" after making five out of five shots from his hotspot. Upon calling \"spree\", the player forfeits his twenty-point bonus, but may continue taking shots from his hotspot until he misses or reaches fifteen shots total (including the original five shots). Every shot is worth five points as if the hotspot round was still going, and thus a player may receive a maximum of 75 points total at one hotspot. If a player calls spree, he need not take an offspot round.\n\nHandicaps - In some versions, players must all shoot from the same hotspots. In others, players may choose their own, with experienced players choosing more challenging shots than the novices. This allows for novices to compete with more advanced players, evening out the playing field.\n\nSwitching turns - Sometimes, players shoot from all their hotspots before giving the ball to the next player. Sometimes, players may alternate after every hotspot. This is a personal choice and may be made before the game.\n\nReferences\n\nForms of basketball"
] |
[
"Phillip Phillips",
"Overview",
"What was his childhood like?",
"Phillips auditioned in Savannah, Georgia. He sang \"Superstition\" by Stevie Wonder. The judges then asked him to perform a second song with his guitar, and he performed Michael Jackson's \"Thriller.",
"How did he get on American Idol?",
"\" He advanced to the Hollywood rounds, and later to the Las Vegas round. On February 23, 2012, Phillips was chosen as one of the Top 25 semi-finalists,",
"Did he make it to the next round?",
"finalists, and was then voted into the Top 13."
] | C_842643d2f85b4166a73adf4e8ea571f6_1 | What happened after that? | 4 | What happened after Phillip Phillips was voted into the Top 13 of American Idol? | Phillip Phillips | Phillips auditioned in Savannah, Georgia. He sang "Superstition" by Stevie Wonder. The judges then asked him to perform a second song with his guitar, and he performed Michael Jackson's "Thriller." He advanced to the Hollywood rounds, and later to the Las Vegas round. On February 23, 2012, Phillips was chosen as one of the Top 25 semi-finalists, and was then voted into the Top 13. His performance style on the show has been compared to Dave Matthews, and he covered one of his songs, "The Stone," in the competition. When asked about Phillips' imitation of his style, Dave Matthews said: "More power to him, I don't mind," and added "He should kick my ass, [then] maybe I can retire and he can take over my band." Mentor Stevie Nicks said Phillips would have been good enough to join Fleetwood Mac back in 1975, after his performance of Jonny Lang's Still Rainin, which he received a standing ovation from the judges. After the Top 13 performance night, Phillips was taken to a doctor for possible kidney stones. He had eight procedures while he was on Idol, and considered quitting the show due to the pain. For his Top 3 performance, Phillips sang Bob Seger's "We've Got Tonight." For Top 4, he did a cover of Damien Rice's Volcano - which has been heralded as one of the best American Idol performances of all time. As the sole contestant who was never in jeopardy of elimination in any week of the competition, Phillips became the winner on the finale against Jessica Sanchez after a record-breaking 132 million votes were cast. His coronation song, "Home," was released after his performance, and had the biggest digital sales week for any Idol winner's coronation song. ^Note 1 Due to the judges using their one save on Jessica Sanchez, the Top 7 remained intact for another week. CANNOTANSWER | After the Top 13 performance night, Phillips was taken to a doctor for possible kidney stones. He had eight procedures while he was on Idol, | Phillip LaDon Phillips Jr. (born September 20, 1990) is an American musician, singer-songwriter who rose to fame after winning the eleventh season of American Idol on May 23, 2012. His coronation song, "Home", became the best-selling song in American Idol history. His debut album The World from the Side of the Moon was released on November 19, 2012 and was on the Billboard Top 200 album chart for 61 weeks. It has been certified Platinum by the RIAA. The album included the single "Gone, Gone, Gone." He followed up with Behind the Light, in 2014 with the lead single "Raging Fire." His third album, Collateral, was released in 2018 and included the songs "Into the Wild" and "Magnetic." Phillips toured with John Mayer, Gavin DeGraw, the Goo Goo Dolls and has shared the stage with Bruce Springsteen.
In the United States, Phillips has sold 7.5 million digital singles and has sold 2.7 million albums including album streaming equivalent units. He has over 600 million streams on Spotify and 1.2 billion streams on Pandora.
Early life
Phillips was born in Albany, Georgia, to Sheryl (Jacks) and Phillip LaDon "Donnie" Phillips, Sr. He moved with his family to Leesburg, Georgia when he was 12. He has two older sisters, LaDonna, the eldest, and Lacey. Phillips grew up in Sasser and Leesburg, and attended Lee County High School. He graduated from Albany Technical College with a major in Industrial Systems Technology, but missed the graduation ceremony due to his obligations to American Idol. Prior to appearing on American Idol, he worked at his family's pawn shop.
Phillips started playing music, particularly the guitar, when he was 14. He was mentored by his long-time friend and brother-in-law, Benjamin Neil, whom he credits for piquing his interest in music. In 2009, he formed the Phillip Phillips Band with Neil and another brother-in-law, Todd Urick, and performed in various local venues and events. He won a local singing competition, "Albany Star," in 2010.
Phillips' favorite singer is Jonny Lang. Other favorites include John Butler, Dave Matthews, and Damien Rice. He also enjoyed Mumford & Sons and Tool. He grew up listening mainly to '60s and '70s music such as Jimi Hendrix and Led Zeppelin; "Then as I got older I found Damien Rice and Dave Matthews and John Butler, which is what really set it off for me in terms of finding my voice as a musician." He has described his music as "jazz and rock alternative sound."
Prior to trying out for American Idol, Phillips also auditioned on the second season of America's Got Talent.
American Idol
Overview
Phillips auditioned in Savannah, Georgia. He sang "Superstition" by Stevie Wonder. One of the show's executive producers, Megan Michaels-Wolflick, stated "I remember the day in Savannah in 2011 when Phillip Phillips walked in the room and I thought, "This guy is going to win this season." As he walked in front of American Idol judges for his initial audition, Steven Tyler whispered to Jennifer Lopez, "I got a funny feeling about this." The judges asked him to perform a second song with his guitar, and he performed Michael Jackson's "Thriller." He advanced to the Hollywood rounds, and later to the Las Vegas round.
On February 23, 2012, Phillips was chosen as one of the Top 25 semi-finalists, and was voted into the Top 13.
His performance style on the show has been compared to Dave Matthews, and he covered one of his songs, "The Stone," in the competition. When asked about Phillips' imitation of his style, Dave Matthews said: "More power to him, I don't mind," and added "He should kick my ass, [then] maybe I can retire and he can take over my band." Mentor Stevie Nicks said Phillips would have been good enough to join Fleetwood Mac back in 1975, after his performance of Jonny Lang's "Still Rainin," for which he received a standing ovation from the judges.
After the Top 13 performance night, Phillips was taken to a doctor for possible kidney stones. He had eight procedures while he was performing on Idol, and considered quitting the show due to the pain.
For his Top 3 performance, Phillips sang Bob Seger's "We've Got Tonight." For Top 4, he did a cover of Damien Rice's "Volcano" - which has been heralded as one of the best American Idol performances of all time. As the sole contestant who was never in jeopardy of elimination in any week of the competition, Phillips became the winner on the finale against Jessica Sanchez after a record-breaking 132 million votes were cast. His coronation song, "Home," was released after his performance, and had the biggest digital sales week for any Idol winner's coronation song.
Phillips said, "It was crazy and it changed my life completely. I didn't know what to expect, I just loved playing music." "It never seemed like a competition. I always made sure I was having fun and the band was having a good time."
Music career
After winning American Idol, Phillips went on the American Idol LIVE Tour from July to September with the rest of the top ten finalists. He performed the National Anthem at the opening game of the 2012 World Series on October 24, 2012. On November 15, he joined forces with the PS22 chorus of Staten Island for a concert to raise money for those affected by Hurricane Sandy. He also performed at the National Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony on December 6, 2012.
Phillips' coronation song, "Home", was a great success with sales of over 5 million copies in the US. It has been used in NBC's coverage of the Olympics, L.A. Marathon, various commercials, film trailers, and TV shows. He performed "Home" on the PBS Independence Day celebration TV special, A Capitol Fourth. He appeared at the 83rd MLB All-Star Game held at Kansas City on July 10 and sang his coronation song. On October 9, 2012, he joined other musicians in the One World concert held in Syracuse University to honor the Dalai Lama. He also performed "Home" on the CNN Heroes special aired on December 2, 2012, and the CBS's A Home for the Holidays on December 19, 2012.
Phillip has performed on The Today Show and Good Morning America Concert Series, Late Show with David Letterman, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, The Tonight Show With Jay Leno, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Live With Kelly, The View, and Conan. He has also appeared at the American Music Awards and Billboard Music Awards.
Phillip Phillips made the Forbes Highest Earning American Idol list for each of the three years he was qualified. For the list published in January 2014 and January 2015, he ranked number three. For the list published January 2016, he ranked number four.
2012–13: The World from the Side of the Moon
Phillips released his debut album, The World from the Side of the Moon, on November 19, 2012. The album was produced by Gregg Wattenberg, with Phillips writing or co-writing the majority of the disc. On November 6, 2012, "Where We Came From" was released for sale in advance of the album, and was a free download on pre-orders. The album debuted at No. 4 in the Billboard 200 with sales of 169,000 copies, and was certified Platinum by RIAA in August 2013. The World From The Side Of The Moon was on the Billboard Top 200 album chart for 61 weeks. That puts in number two of all the debut albums by American Idol winners.
In January 2013, Phillip Phillips appeared on the cover of Billboard magazine with Interscope Records founder and CEO and American Idol mentor, Jimmy Iovine. "Phillip is a true artist and the fact that people are embracing his album shows they accept him as an artist." said Iovine.
On January 29, 2013, Phillips began a tour in North America as the opening act for Matchbox Twenty. He also headlined ten college dates in January with a four-piece acoustic band, and a further college tour with an electric band from March through May after his tour with Matchbox Twenty. Nine of his college tour dates were postponed due to a continuing health issue.
From July 6 to October 5, 2013, he toured as the opening act for John Mayer's Born and Raised World Tour, followed by his own college tour and then further dates with John Mayer until December 17. He also performed at the international music festival Rock in Rio, in Rio de Janeiro on September 21, the same day as John Mayer and Bruce Springsteen. In 2014, a solo tour of Canada was also scheduled, as well as other dates in the US.
The third single released from the album was "Where We Came From".
"Gone, Gone, Gone" from the album was released as a single on February 11, 2013. Phillips performed the song live on the March 14, 2013 edition of American Idol. "Gone, Gone, Gone" was also used as the twelfth season's "send-off" song, played as the backing track for the montages that highlight each week's eliminated finalist. The song was also used in the film, The Amazing Spider-Man 2.
Phillip Phillips capped off 2013 with a nomination from the American Music Awards for Best New Artist. He joined Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood as the only American Idol winners to receive this nomination.
2014–15: Behind the Light
In March 2013, Phillips stated that he was "always writing" and that his second studio album would be released sometime in 2014. The album, Behind the Light, was released on May 19, 2014. The debut single, "Raging Fire", from his second album was released digitally on March 3, 2014. The song was featured in the National Hockey League's Playoffs. Phillips received his first BMI pop music song writing award for "Raging Fire". A promotional single, "Fly", was released alongside the album's pre-order on April 22, 2014.
Phillips toured with O.A.R. in the summer of 2014. He also launched the Behind The Light Fall Tour 2014 in the U.S. to support his second album.
The second single released from the album was "Unpack Your Heart". The song was featured in a TV commercial for Ram 1500 trucks, which premiered at the 2014 American Music Awards.
In January 2015, Phillips filed a lawsuit against his label 19 Recordings, calling the producers manipulative and "oppressive". In June 2017, Phillips settled the dispute with the show's producers.
2016: American Idol finale, Invictus Games
On April 7, 2016 Phillips returned to the American Idol stage for the series finale and performed a tribute to David Bowie with four other winners; David Cook, Kris Allen, Lee Dewyze, and Nick Fradiani. Former Idol judge Simon Cowell said Phillip Phillips was the only contestant he liked after he left the show. Jennifer Lopez, who was a judge on the eleventh season, revealed that Phillips is her favorite American Idol winner.
He performed at the 2016 Invictus Games closing ceremony in Orlando, Florida on May 12, 2016.
On June 17, 2016, Phillips started a co-headlining tour with Matt Nathanson at the San Diego County Fair and ending on August 13 at the Wisconsin State Fair.
2017–2019: Collateral
During summer 2017, Phillips was the opening act on the Live Nation Goo Goo Dolls' Long Way Home tour.
On October 18, 2017, Phillips performed at the CMT Artists of the Year awards, where he did a cover of Sam Hunt's "Body Like a Back Road", which won Song of the Year.
Phillips released the single "Miles" to radio on August 11, 2017, through 19R/Interscope. It was the lead single to the new album.
Phillips' third studio album, Collateral was released January 19, 2018. Producer Ryan Hadlock has been Phillips' primary collaborator, and he also worked with Nathan Chapman, Jon Nite, John Paul White and Todd Clark, with whom he wrote the singles "Gone, Gone, Gone" and "Raging Fire". He performed "The Magnetic Tour" from February 9, 2018 to April 14, 2018 with over 40 shows to support the album.
In the summer of 2018, Phillips hit the road headlining his solo tour and a co-headlining tour with Gavin DeGraw including over 30 shows.
In September 2019, Phillips teamed with American Authors and Maddie Poppe on a new version of the song "Bring It on Home".
2020 - present: Return to American Idol and pandemic relief efforts
On May 3, 2020, Phillips returned to American Idol and opened the Top 10 by performing "Home". The episode "On with the Show: Homeward Bound" featured the theme of songs about home. The show was broadcast from homes of the participants due to the pandemic health crisis.
Phillips performed on the Idol alumni ensemble (including Alejandro Aranda, Fantasia, Gabby Barrett, Jordin Sparks, Katharine McPhee, Kellie Pickler, Laine Hardy, Lauren Alaina, Ruben Studdard and Scotty McCreery) for "We Are the World" with Lionel Richie on the season finale on May 17, 2020.
Phillips performed at pandemic relief efforts for Sendero Together for Texas and for the Phoebe Hospital Foundation to help support frontline medical heroes battling COVID-19 in southwest Georgia.
On July 17, 2021, Phillips performed "Home" in support of the Project Angel Food telethon. The telethon help raise $1M to sustain the expanded service to those in need, preparing and delivering over one million medically tailored meals.
Acting
In January 2018, Phillips appeared in an episode of Hawaii Five-0, playing a diamond smuggler.
Personal life
Phillips has suffered from a congenital kidney condition. Soon after American Idol finished, he had kidney stones removed as well as reconstructive surgery done on his kidney.
On December 26, 2014, Phillips announced his engagement to girlfriend Hannah Blackwell. The two were married at the Resora Plantation in Albany, Georgia on October 24, 2015.
On July 3, 2019, Phillips and Blackwell announced that they were expecting their first child, a son, in the fall. Patch Shepherd Phillips was born November 10, 2019.
In addition to his singing career he has supported organizations including the Sarah Foundation and the Gibson Flood Relief Campaign. as well being an ambassador for Brave Beginnings. He has also supported DoSomething, National Park Foundation, NCIRE - the Veterans Health Research Institute, Save The Music Foundation, and Habitat for Humanity.
Discography
The World from the Side of the Moon (2012)
Behind the Light (2014)
Collateral (2018)
Filmography
Concert Tours
American Idol Tour Summer 2012
College Tour Spring 2013
North Tour (2013) with Matchbox Twenty
Born and Raised World Tour (2013) with John Mayer
Canada Tour Spring 2014
With O.A.R. Summer Tour 2014
Behind The Light Fall Tour 2014
With Matt Nathanson Summer 2016
Long Way Home Tour (2017) with Goo Goo Dolls
The Magnetic Tour Spring 2018
With Gavin DeGraw Summer 2018
Jingle Bell Rock Tour Winter 2018
Awards and nominations
See also
List of Idols winners
References
External links
PhillPhill.com
Phillip Phillips on American Idol
1990 births
Living people
19 Recordings artists
21st-century American singers
American Idol winners
American folk singers
American male singer-songwriters
American pop guitarists
American pop rock singers
American rock guitarists
American male guitarists
American rock songwriters
American male actors
Interscope Records artists
Musicians from Albany, Georgia
People from Leesburg, Georgia
21st-century American guitarists
Guitarists from Georgia (U.S. state)
21st-century American male singers
Singer-songwriters from Georgia (U.S. state) | false | [
"Don Juan Manuel's Tales of Count Lucanor, in Spanish Libro de los ejemplos del conde Lucanor y de Patronio (Book of the Examples of Count Lucanor and of Patronio), also commonly known as El Conde Lucanor, Libro de Patronio, or Libro de los ejemplos (original Old Castilian: Libro de los enxiemplos del Conde Lucanor et de Patronio), is one of the earliest works of prose in Castilian Spanish. It was first written in 1335.\n\nThe book is divided into four parts. The first and most well-known part is a series of 51 short stories (some no more than a page or two) drawn from various sources, such as Aesop and other classical writers, and Arabic folktales.\n\nTales of Count Lucanor was first printed in 1575 when it was published at Seville under the auspices of Argote de Molina. It was again printed at Madrid in 1642, after which it lay forgotten for nearly two centuries.\n\nPurpose and structure\n\nA didactic, moralistic purpose, which would color so much of the Spanish literature to follow (see Novela picaresca), is the mark of this book. Count Lucanor engages in conversation with his advisor Patronio, putting to him a problem (\"Some man has made me a proposition...\" or \"I fear that such and such person intends to...\") and asking for advice. Patronio responds always with the greatest humility, claiming not to wish to offer advice to so illustrious a person as the Count, but offering to tell him a story of which the Count's problem reminds him. (Thus, the stories are \"examples\" [ejemplos] of wise action.) At the end he advises the Count to do as the protagonist of his story did.\n\nEach chapter ends in more or less the same way, with slight variations on: \"And this pleased the Count greatly and he did just so, and found it well. And Don Johán (Juan) saw that this example was very good, and had it written in this book, and composed the following verses.\" A rhymed couplet closes, giving the moral of the story.\n\nOrigin of stories and influence on later literature\nMany of the stories written in the book are the first examples written in a modern European language of various stories, which many other writers would use in the proceeding centuries. Many of the stories he included were themselves derived from other stories, coming from western and Arab sources.\n\nShakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew has the basic elements of Tale 35, \"What Happened to a Young Man Who Married a Strong and Ill-tempered Woman\".\n\nTale 32, \"What Happened to the King and the Tricksters Who Made Cloth\" tells the story that Hans Christian Andersen made popular as The Emperor's New Clothes.\n\nStory 7, \"What Happened to a Woman Named Truhana\", a version of Aesop's The Milkmaid and Her Pail, was claimed by Max Müller to originate in the Hindu cycle Panchatantra.\n\nTale 2, \"What happened to a good Man and his Son, leading a beast to market,\" is the familiar fable The miller, his son and the donkey.\n\nIn 2016, Baroque Decay released a game under the name \"The Count Lucanor\". As well as some protagonists' names, certain events from the books inspired past events in the game.\n\nThe stories\n\nThe book opens with a prologue which introduces the characters of the Count and Patronio. The titles in the following list are those given in Keller and Keating's 1977 translation into English. James York's 1868 translation into English gives a significantly different ordering of the stories and omits the fifty-first.\n\n What Happened to a King and His Favorite \n What Happened to a Good Man and His Son \n How King Richard of England Leapt into the Sea against the Moors\n What a Genoese Said to His Soul When He Was about to Die \n What Happened to a Fox and a Crow Who Had a Piece of Cheese in His Beak\n How the Swallow Warned the Other Birds When She Saw Flax Being Sown \n What Happened to a Woman Named Truhana \n What Happened to a Man Whose Liver Had to Be Washed \n What Happened to Two Horses Which Were Thrown to the Lion \n What Happened to a Man Who on Account of Poverty and Lack of Other Food Was Eating Bitter Lentils \n What Happened to a Dean of Santiago de Compostela and Don Yllán, the Grand Master of Toledo\n What Happened to the Fox and the Rooster \n What Happened to a Man Who Was Hunting Partridges \n The Miracle of Saint Dominick When He Preached against the Usurer \n What Happened to Lorenzo Suárez at the Siege of Seville \n The Reply that count Fernán González Gave to His Relative Núño Laynes \n What Happened to a Very Hungry Man Who Was Half-heartedly Invited to Dinner \n What Happened to Pero Meléndez de Valdés When He Broke His Leg \n What Happened to the Crows and the Owls \n What Happened to a King for Whom a Man Promised to Perform Alchemy \n What Happened to a Young King and a Philosopher to Whom his Father Commended Him \n What Happened to the Lion and the Bull \n How the Ants Provide for Themselves \n What Happened to the King Who Wanted to Test His Three Sons \n What Happened to the Count of Provence and How He Was Freed from Prison by the Advice of Saladin\n What Happened to the Tree of Lies \n What Happened to an Emperor and to Don Alvarfáñez Minaya and Their Wives \n What Happened in Granada to Don Lorenzo Suárez Gallinato When He Beheaded the Renegade Chaplain \n What Happened to a Fox Who Lay down in the Street to Play Dead \n What Happened to King Abenabet of Seville and Ramayquía His Wife \n How a Cardinal Judged between the Canons of Paris and the Friars Minor \n What Happened to the King and the Tricksters Who Made Cloth \n What Happened to Don Juan Manuel's Saker Falcon and an Eagle and a Heron \n What Happened to a Blind Man Who Was Leading Another \n What Happened to a Young Man Who Married a Strong and Ill-tempered Woman\n What Happened to a Merchant When He Found His Son and His Wife Sleeping Together \n What Happened to Count Fernán González with His Men after He Had Won the Battle of Hacinas \n What Happened to a Man Who Was Loaded down with Precious Stones and Drowned in the River \n What Happened to a Man and a Swallow and a Sparrow \n Why the Seneschal of Carcassonne Lost His Soul \n What Happened to a King of Córdova Named Al-Haquem \n What Happened to a Woman of Sham Piety \n What Happened to Good and Evil and the Wise Man and the Madman \n What Happened to Don Pero Núñez the Loyal, to Don Ruy González de Zavallos, and to Don Gutier Roiz de Blaguiello with Don Rodrigo the Generous \n What Happened to a Man Who Became the Devil's Friend and Vassal \n What Happened to a Philosopher who by Accident Went down a Street Where Prostitutes Lived \n What Befell a Moor and His Sister Who Pretended That She Was Timid \n What Happened to a Man Who Tested His Friends \n What Happened to the Man Whom They Cast out Naked on an Island When They Took away from Him the Kingdom He Ruled \n What Happened to Saladin and a Lady, the Wife of a Knight Who Was His Vassal \n What Happened to a Christian King Who Was Very Powerful and Haughty\n\nReferences\n\nNotes\n\nBibliography\n\n Sturm, Harlan\n\n Wacks, David\n\nExternal links\n\nThe Internet Archive provides free access to the 1868 translation by James York.\nJSTOR has the to the 1977 translation by Keller and Keating.\nSelections in English and Spanish (pedagogical edition) with introduction, notes, and bibliography in Open Iberia/América (open access teaching anthology)\n\n14th-century books\nSpanish literature\n1335 books",
"What Happened to Jones may refer to:\n What Happened to Jones (1897 play), a play by George Broadhurst\n What Happened to Jones (1915 film), a lost silent film\n What Happened to Jones (1920 film), a lost silent film\n What Happened to Jones (1926 film), a silent film comedy"
] |
[
"Phillip Phillips",
"Overview",
"What was his childhood like?",
"Phillips auditioned in Savannah, Georgia. He sang \"Superstition\" by Stevie Wonder. The judges then asked him to perform a second song with his guitar, and he performed Michael Jackson's \"Thriller.",
"How did he get on American Idol?",
"\" He advanced to the Hollywood rounds, and later to the Las Vegas round. On February 23, 2012, Phillips was chosen as one of the Top 25 semi-finalists,",
"Did he make it to the next round?",
"finalists, and was then voted into the Top 13.",
"What happened after that?",
"After the Top 13 performance night, Phillips was taken to a doctor for possible kidney stones. He had eight procedures while he was on Idol,"
] | C_842643d2f85b4166a73adf4e8ea571f6_1 | How many shows did eh do on American Idol? | 5 | How many shows did Phillip Phillips do on American Idol? | Phillip Phillips | Phillips auditioned in Savannah, Georgia. He sang "Superstition" by Stevie Wonder. The judges then asked him to perform a second song with his guitar, and he performed Michael Jackson's "Thriller." He advanced to the Hollywood rounds, and later to the Las Vegas round. On February 23, 2012, Phillips was chosen as one of the Top 25 semi-finalists, and was then voted into the Top 13. His performance style on the show has been compared to Dave Matthews, and he covered one of his songs, "The Stone," in the competition. When asked about Phillips' imitation of his style, Dave Matthews said: "More power to him, I don't mind," and added "He should kick my ass, [then] maybe I can retire and he can take over my band." Mentor Stevie Nicks said Phillips would have been good enough to join Fleetwood Mac back in 1975, after his performance of Jonny Lang's Still Rainin, which he received a standing ovation from the judges. After the Top 13 performance night, Phillips was taken to a doctor for possible kidney stones. He had eight procedures while he was on Idol, and considered quitting the show due to the pain. For his Top 3 performance, Phillips sang Bob Seger's "We've Got Tonight." For Top 4, he did a cover of Damien Rice's Volcano - which has been heralded as one of the best American Idol performances of all time. As the sole contestant who was never in jeopardy of elimination in any week of the competition, Phillips became the winner on the finale against Jessica Sanchez after a record-breaking 132 million votes were cast. His coronation song, "Home," was released after his performance, and had the biggest digital sales week for any Idol winner's coronation song. ^Note 1 Due to the judges using their one save on Jessica Sanchez, the Top 7 remained intact for another week. CANNOTANSWER | For his Top 3 performance, Phillips sang Bob Seger's "We've Got Tonight." For Top 4, he did a cover of Damien Rice's Volcano - | Phillip LaDon Phillips Jr. (born September 20, 1990) is an American musician, singer-songwriter who rose to fame after winning the eleventh season of American Idol on May 23, 2012. His coronation song, "Home", became the best-selling song in American Idol history. His debut album The World from the Side of the Moon was released on November 19, 2012 and was on the Billboard Top 200 album chart for 61 weeks. It has been certified Platinum by the RIAA. The album included the single "Gone, Gone, Gone." He followed up with Behind the Light, in 2014 with the lead single "Raging Fire." His third album, Collateral, was released in 2018 and included the songs "Into the Wild" and "Magnetic." Phillips toured with John Mayer, Gavin DeGraw, the Goo Goo Dolls and has shared the stage with Bruce Springsteen.
In the United States, Phillips has sold 7.5 million digital singles and has sold 2.7 million albums including album streaming equivalent units. He has over 600 million streams on Spotify and 1.2 billion streams on Pandora.
Early life
Phillips was born in Albany, Georgia, to Sheryl (Jacks) and Phillip LaDon "Donnie" Phillips, Sr. He moved with his family to Leesburg, Georgia when he was 12. He has two older sisters, LaDonna, the eldest, and Lacey. Phillips grew up in Sasser and Leesburg, and attended Lee County High School. He graduated from Albany Technical College with a major in Industrial Systems Technology, but missed the graduation ceremony due to his obligations to American Idol. Prior to appearing on American Idol, he worked at his family's pawn shop.
Phillips started playing music, particularly the guitar, when he was 14. He was mentored by his long-time friend and brother-in-law, Benjamin Neil, whom he credits for piquing his interest in music. In 2009, he formed the Phillip Phillips Band with Neil and another brother-in-law, Todd Urick, and performed in various local venues and events. He won a local singing competition, "Albany Star," in 2010.
Phillips' favorite singer is Jonny Lang. Other favorites include John Butler, Dave Matthews, and Damien Rice. He also enjoyed Mumford & Sons and Tool. He grew up listening mainly to '60s and '70s music such as Jimi Hendrix and Led Zeppelin; "Then as I got older I found Damien Rice and Dave Matthews and John Butler, which is what really set it off for me in terms of finding my voice as a musician." He has described his music as "jazz and rock alternative sound."
Prior to trying out for American Idol, Phillips also auditioned on the second season of America's Got Talent.
American Idol
Overview
Phillips auditioned in Savannah, Georgia. He sang "Superstition" by Stevie Wonder. One of the show's executive producers, Megan Michaels-Wolflick, stated "I remember the day in Savannah in 2011 when Phillip Phillips walked in the room and I thought, "This guy is going to win this season." As he walked in front of American Idol judges for his initial audition, Steven Tyler whispered to Jennifer Lopez, "I got a funny feeling about this." The judges asked him to perform a second song with his guitar, and he performed Michael Jackson's "Thriller." He advanced to the Hollywood rounds, and later to the Las Vegas round.
On February 23, 2012, Phillips was chosen as one of the Top 25 semi-finalists, and was voted into the Top 13.
His performance style on the show has been compared to Dave Matthews, and he covered one of his songs, "The Stone," in the competition. When asked about Phillips' imitation of his style, Dave Matthews said: "More power to him, I don't mind," and added "He should kick my ass, [then] maybe I can retire and he can take over my band." Mentor Stevie Nicks said Phillips would have been good enough to join Fleetwood Mac back in 1975, after his performance of Jonny Lang's "Still Rainin," for which he received a standing ovation from the judges.
After the Top 13 performance night, Phillips was taken to a doctor for possible kidney stones. He had eight procedures while he was performing on Idol, and considered quitting the show due to the pain.
For his Top 3 performance, Phillips sang Bob Seger's "We've Got Tonight." For Top 4, he did a cover of Damien Rice's "Volcano" - which has been heralded as one of the best American Idol performances of all time. As the sole contestant who was never in jeopardy of elimination in any week of the competition, Phillips became the winner on the finale against Jessica Sanchez after a record-breaking 132 million votes were cast. His coronation song, "Home," was released after his performance, and had the biggest digital sales week for any Idol winner's coronation song.
Phillips said, "It was crazy and it changed my life completely. I didn't know what to expect, I just loved playing music." "It never seemed like a competition. I always made sure I was having fun and the band was having a good time."
Music career
After winning American Idol, Phillips went on the American Idol LIVE Tour from July to September with the rest of the top ten finalists. He performed the National Anthem at the opening game of the 2012 World Series on October 24, 2012. On November 15, he joined forces with the PS22 chorus of Staten Island for a concert to raise money for those affected by Hurricane Sandy. He also performed at the National Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony on December 6, 2012.
Phillips' coronation song, "Home", was a great success with sales of over 5 million copies in the US. It has been used in NBC's coverage of the Olympics, L.A. Marathon, various commercials, film trailers, and TV shows. He performed "Home" on the PBS Independence Day celebration TV special, A Capitol Fourth. He appeared at the 83rd MLB All-Star Game held at Kansas City on July 10 and sang his coronation song. On October 9, 2012, he joined other musicians in the One World concert held in Syracuse University to honor the Dalai Lama. He also performed "Home" on the CNN Heroes special aired on December 2, 2012, and the CBS's A Home for the Holidays on December 19, 2012.
Phillip has performed on The Today Show and Good Morning America Concert Series, Late Show with David Letterman, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, The Tonight Show With Jay Leno, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Live With Kelly, The View, and Conan. He has also appeared at the American Music Awards and Billboard Music Awards.
Phillip Phillips made the Forbes Highest Earning American Idol list for each of the three years he was qualified. For the list published in January 2014 and January 2015, he ranked number three. For the list published January 2016, he ranked number four.
2012–13: The World from the Side of the Moon
Phillips released his debut album, The World from the Side of the Moon, on November 19, 2012. The album was produced by Gregg Wattenberg, with Phillips writing or co-writing the majority of the disc. On November 6, 2012, "Where We Came From" was released for sale in advance of the album, and was a free download on pre-orders. The album debuted at No. 4 in the Billboard 200 with sales of 169,000 copies, and was certified Platinum by RIAA in August 2013. The World From The Side Of The Moon was on the Billboard Top 200 album chart for 61 weeks. That puts in number two of all the debut albums by American Idol winners.
In January 2013, Phillip Phillips appeared on the cover of Billboard magazine with Interscope Records founder and CEO and American Idol mentor, Jimmy Iovine. "Phillip is a true artist and the fact that people are embracing his album shows they accept him as an artist." said Iovine.
On January 29, 2013, Phillips began a tour in North America as the opening act for Matchbox Twenty. He also headlined ten college dates in January with a four-piece acoustic band, and a further college tour with an electric band from March through May after his tour with Matchbox Twenty. Nine of his college tour dates were postponed due to a continuing health issue.
From July 6 to October 5, 2013, he toured as the opening act for John Mayer's Born and Raised World Tour, followed by his own college tour and then further dates with John Mayer until December 17. He also performed at the international music festival Rock in Rio, in Rio de Janeiro on September 21, the same day as John Mayer and Bruce Springsteen. In 2014, a solo tour of Canada was also scheduled, as well as other dates in the US.
The third single released from the album was "Where We Came From".
"Gone, Gone, Gone" from the album was released as a single on February 11, 2013. Phillips performed the song live on the March 14, 2013 edition of American Idol. "Gone, Gone, Gone" was also used as the twelfth season's "send-off" song, played as the backing track for the montages that highlight each week's eliminated finalist. The song was also used in the film, The Amazing Spider-Man 2.
Phillip Phillips capped off 2013 with a nomination from the American Music Awards for Best New Artist. He joined Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood as the only American Idol winners to receive this nomination.
2014–15: Behind the Light
In March 2013, Phillips stated that he was "always writing" and that his second studio album would be released sometime in 2014. The album, Behind the Light, was released on May 19, 2014. The debut single, "Raging Fire", from his second album was released digitally on March 3, 2014. The song was featured in the National Hockey League's Playoffs. Phillips received his first BMI pop music song writing award for "Raging Fire". A promotional single, "Fly", was released alongside the album's pre-order on April 22, 2014.
Phillips toured with O.A.R. in the summer of 2014. He also launched the Behind The Light Fall Tour 2014 in the U.S. to support his second album.
The second single released from the album was "Unpack Your Heart". The song was featured in a TV commercial for Ram 1500 trucks, which premiered at the 2014 American Music Awards.
In January 2015, Phillips filed a lawsuit against his label 19 Recordings, calling the producers manipulative and "oppressive". In June 2017, Phillips settled the dispute with the show's producers.
2016: American Idol finale, Invictus Games
On April 7, 2016 Phillips returned to the American Idol stage for the series finale and performed a tribute to David Bowie with four other winners; David Cook, Kris Allen, Lee Dewyze, and Nick Fradiani. Former Idol judge Simon Cowell said Phillip Phillips was the only contestant he liked after he left the show. Jennifer Lopez, who was a judge on the eleventh season, revealed that Phillips is her favorite American Idol winner.
He performed at the 2016 Invictus Games closing ceremony in Orlando, Florida on May 12, 2016.
On June 17, 2016, Phillips started a co-headlining tour with Matt Nathanson at the San Diego County Fair and ending on August 13 at the Wisconsin State Fair.
2017–2019: Collateral
During summer 2017, Phillips was the opening act on the Live Nation Goo Goo Dolls' Long Way Home tour.
On October 18, 2017, Phillips performed at the CMT Artists of the Year awards, where he did a cover of Sam Hunt's "Body Like a Back Road", which won Song of the Year.
Phillips released the single "Miles" to radio on August 11, 2017, through 19R/Interscope. It was the lead single to the new album.
Phillips' third studio album, Collateral was released January 19, 2018. Producer Ryan Hadlock has been Phillips' primary collaborator, and he also worked with Nathan Chapman, Jon Nite, John Paul White and Todd Clark, with whom he wrote the singles "Gone, Gone, Gone" and "Raging Fire". He performed "The Magnetic Tour" from February 9, 2018 to April 14, 2018 with over 40 shows to support the album.
In the summer of 2018, Phillips hit the road headlining his solo tour and a co-headlining tour with Gavin DeGraw including over 30 shows.
In September 2019, Phillips teamed with American Authors and Maddie Poppe on a new version of the song "Bring It on Home".
2020 - present: Return to American Idol and pandemic relief efforts
On May 3, 2020, Phillips returned to American Idol and opened the Top 10 by performing "Home". The episode "On with the Show: Homeward Bound" featured the theme of songs about home. The show was broadcast from homes of the participants due to the pandemic health crisis.
Phillips performed on the Idol alumni ensemble (including Alejandro Aranda, Fantasia, Gabby Barrett, Jordin Sparks, Katharine McPhee, Kellie Pickler, Laine Hardy, Lauren Alaina, Ruben Studdard and Scotty McCreery) for "We Are the World" with Lionel Richie on the season finale on May 17, 2020.
Phillips performed at pandemic relief efforts for Sendero Together for Texas and for the Phoebe Hospital Foundation to help support frontline medical heroes battling COVID-19 in southwest Georgia.
On July 17, 2021, Phillips performed "Home" in support of the Project Angel Food telethon. The telethon help raise $1M to sustain the expanded service to those in need, preparing and delivering over one million medically tailored meals.
Acting
In January 2018, Phillips appeared in an episode of Hawaii Five-0, playing a diamond smuggler.
Personal life
Phillips has suffered from a congenital kidney condition. Soon after American Idol finished, he had kidney stones removed as well as reconstructive surgery done on his kidney.
On December 26, 2014, Phillips announced his engagement to girlfriend Hannah Blackwell. The two were married at the Resora Plantation in Albany, Georgia on October 24, 2015.
On July 3, 2019, Phillips and Blackwell announced that they were expecting their first child, a son, in the fall. Patch Shepherd Phillips was born November 10, 2019.
In addition to his singing career he has supported organizations including the Sarah Foundation and the Gibson Flood Relief Campaign. as well being an ambassador for Brave Beginnings. He has also supported DoSomething, National Park Foundation, NCIRE - the Veterans Health Research Institute, Save The Music Foundation, and Habitat for Humanity.
Discography
The World from the Side of the Moon (2012)
Behind the Light (2014)
Collateral (2018)
Filmography
Concert Tours
American Idol Tour Summer 2012
College Tour Spring 2013
North Tour (2013) with Matchbox Twenty
Born and Raised World Tour (2013) with John Mayer
Canada Tour Spring 2014
With O.A.R. Summer Tour 2014
Behind The Light Fall Tour 2014
With Matt Nathanson Summer 2016
Long Way Home Tour (2017) with Goo Goo Dolls
The Magnetic Tour Spring 2018
With Gavin DeGraw Summer 2018
Jingle Bell Rock Tour Winter 2018
Awards and nominations
See also
List of Idols winners
References
External links
PhillPhill.com
Phillip Phillips on American Idol
1990 births
Living people
19 Recordings artists
21st-century American singers
American Idol winners
American folk singers
American male singer-songwriters
American pop guitarists
American pop rock singers
American rock guitarists
American male guitarists
American rock songwriters
American male actors
Interscope Records artists
Musicians from Albany, Georgia
People from Leesburg, Georgia
21st-century American guitarists
Guitarists from Georgia (U.S. state)
21st-century American male singers
Singer-songwriters from Georgia (U.S. state) | false | [
"\"Eh, Eh (Nothing Else I Can Say)\" is a song by American singer Lady Gaga, from her debut album, The Fame (2008). It was released as the third single from the album in Australia, New Zealand and selected European countries, and the fourth single in France. The song is a calypso-styled, mid-tempo ballad, and is about breaking up with one's old partner and finding someone new. \"Eh, Eh (Nothing Else I Can Say)\" received mixed reviews from US-based critics, who denoted it as \"dry and lifeless\", blaming it for halting the \"bad-girl party atmosphere\" of The Fame.\n\nFailing to match the popularity of her previous singles, the song peaked at number fifteen on the Australian ARIA Charts and at number nine on the RIANZ charts of New Zealand. It proved to be successful in Sweden, where it managed to peak at number two on the Sverigetopplistan chart, as well as in the Czech Republic, France, and Hungary, where it reached the top-ten of their respective charts. \"Eh, Eh (Nothing Else I Can Say)\" received Gold certifications for its sales in Australia, Denmark, New Zealand, and the United States.\n\nThe accompanying Italian-American 1950s-themed music video portrayed Gaga and her friends roaming around the streets of the Little Italy neighborhood of New York City, Gaga riding a Vespa and also singing the song while at home with her boyfriend. The video was noted for its contrasting portrayal of Gaga doing feminine work, as compared to her previous endeavours. She performed \"Eh, Eh (Nothing Else I Can Say)\" on her first headlining concert tour, The Fame Ball Tour, wearing a black-and-white leotard, and during the first legs of The Monster Ball Tour, while standing inside a giant gyroscope.\n\nBackground and composition\n\"Eh, Eh\" was written by Gaga with Martin Kierszenbaum, who also produced the track. It was recorded at Cherrytree Recording Studios in Santa Monica, California. In 2005, Kierszenbaum founded Cherrytree Records along with Jimmy Iovine, then chairman of Interscope Records. After signing a number of artists, he worked with then-unknown Gaga on her debut album, The Fame, producing and writing four songs with her, including the title track. One of these songs was \"Eh, Eh (Nothing Else I Can Say)\". During recording the track, Gaga fashioned a nickname for Kierszenbaum, called \"Cherry Cherry Boom Boom\". They kept the nickname in all the four songs they had worked on. Kierszenbaum later carried on the nickname in all his future projects. Other personnel working on the song included Tony Ugval, who did the audio engineering, Robert Orton for audio mixing and Gene Grimaldi, who mastered the song at Oasis Mastering Studios in Burbank, California.\n\nMusically, \"Eh, Eh (Nothing Else I Can Say)\" is credited as a ballad compared to the rest of the dance-fuelled tracks from The Fame. It is a 1980s-influenced synth-pop and bubblegum pop song, while incorporating the \"Eh, Eh\" hook from Rihanna's single \"Umbrella\", according to Freedom du Lac from The Washington Post. According to the sheet music published at Musicnotes.com by Sony/ATV Music Publishing, the song is set in the time signature of common time with a moderate tempo of 94 beats per minute. Gaga's vocal range spans from B3 to C5 with the main key in which the song is set being E major. The song follows in the chord progression of E–B–Fm–E–B–Fm. Gaga stated that the lyrics of \"Eh, Eh (Nothing Else I Can Say)\" are about love and she explained that \"'Eh, Eh' is my simple pop song about finding someone new and breaking up with the old boyfriend.\" Writer James E. Perone mentioned in his book The Album: A Guide to Pop Music's Most Provocative, Influential, and Important Creations that with the lyrics, Gaga maintained a focus on transitory relationships. Although the lyrics explained her former lover that she had found someone new and did not mean to hurt him with the news, the continuous repetition of the phrase \"nothing else I can say\" solidifies the transient nature of the relationship portrayed.\n\nCritical reception\n\nAlexis Petridis from The Guardian noted that \"Eh, Eh\" bears the influence of early 1990s Europop and \"is the first song in a long time that warrants comparison to the œuvre of Ace of Base. Matthew Chisling of AllMusic gave a negative review of the song saying \"The Fame has 'ballad,' however the breezy 'Eh, Eh' doesn't hold water on this album; rather, it feels dry and lifeless, something which holds this album back\". Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine said that \"the breezy island vibe and soft demeanor of 'Eh, Eh (Nothing Else I Can Say)' is hard to buy when sandwiched between songs like 'Poker Face' and 'Beautiful, Dirty, Rich.'\" In another article analyzing about the music videos released by Gaga, Oscar Moralde from Slant Magazine noted that \"Eh, Eh\" as a track \"is an intriguing case: rather than the tech-assisted sexy-androgynous dance pop that dominates a good chunk of The Fame, it and its sister tracks 'Brown Eyes' and 'Again Again' are evidence of a stripped-down, simpler, sincere Gaga.\n\nEvan Sawdey of PopMatters said that the song is the most embarrassing moment of the album and as a result makes the album come to an intermediate halt thus ruining the \"bad-girl party atmosphere\". Joey Guerra of the Houston Chronicle said that \"Eh, Eh\" is a bouncy standout with some vocal personality. He also added that \"[It] would have made a killer Spice Girls single.\" Genevieve Koski of The A.V. Club called the track scaled-back and criticized Gaga's vocal abilities in the song. Jon Caramanica of The New York Times called the song listless. Catherine P. Lewis from The Washington Post called the song a chirpy ballad. Christina Martin from The Meridian Star felt that the song, along with \"Summerboy\" from The Fame, is breezy and upbeat in nature. Matt Busekroos from Quinnipiac Chronicle said that the song seemed like filler.\n\nRelease and chart performance\n\"Eh, Eh (Nothing Else I Can Say)\" was first released in New Zealand on January 10, 2009, and later in Australia on January 30, 2009. \"Eh, Eh\" was the second most added song on Australian radio on the week beginning December 15, 2008. It first began to receive airplay on all Today Network stations. The song was confirmed as an Australian single on Lady Gaga's official website on January 15, 2009. An official remix was also posted on her website that day followed by another one featuring the official cover art. On March 5, 2009, a Pet Shop Boys remix—named as \"Random Soul Synthetic Mix\"—became available for free download on Gaga's Australian website. Synth-pop musician Frankmusik remixed the track for Gaga's 2010 album, The Remix, where he manipulated Gaga's vocals and created a dreamy quality with them, as noted by Nicki Escuedo from Phoenix New Times.\n\n\"Eh, Eh (Nothing Else I Can Say)\" debuted on the ARIA Singles Chart at number 38 on the issue of January 18, 2009. The following week it climbed to number 32 and ultimately peaked at number 15, on the issue of March 1, 2009, making it Gaga's third single to hit the top twenty there. After thirteen weeks on the chart, \"Eh, Eh\" was certified gold for shipment of 35,000 copies by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). In New Zealand, \"Eh, Eh\" debuted at number 40 on the issue dated January 19, 2009. The following weeks it continued its rise on the chart and ultimately peaked at number nine, spending three weeks there, and becoming her third consecutive top ten hit in New Zealand. The song was certified gold on May 24, 2009, by the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ), for shipment of 7,500 copies. The single reached a peak of number seven in France, and sold a total of 52,000 copies according to the SNEP.\n\nOn the Billboard issue dated February 21, 2009, \"Eh, Eh (Nothing Else I Can Say)\" debuted on the Canadian Hot 100 chart at number 68, despite not being released as a single, but dropped off the chart the following week. It entered the chart again for two weeks in August 2010. Although \"Eh, Eh (Nothing Else I Can Say)\" was not released in the United States, it received a gold certification from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for selling over 500,000 equivalent units. The song also debuted at number 20 on the Swedish Singles Chart for the issue dated April 2, 2009, and peaked at number two. On the Digital Songs chart of Sweden, it peaked at the top in its fourth week. The song debuted on the Danish Singles Chart at number 28 on May 15, 2009, and peaked at number 14. Due to the moderate chart performance in the European markets, \"Eh, Eh\" only reached a peak of number 40 on Billboards European Hot 100 Singles chart.\n\nMusic video\n\nBackground and synopsis\nThe Italian-American 1950s-inspired music video, directed by Joseph Kahn, was shot back to back with the video for the song \"LoveGame\" on the weekend of January 9–10, 2009 in Los Angeles. About the video, Gaga explained: \"I wanted to show a different side of myself — perhaps a more domestic girly side. And I wanted to create beautiful, stunning '50s futuristic fashion imagery that would burn holes in everyone's brains.\" She further clarified that for the fashion aspects in the video she wanted to go in an opposite direction to her usual image. She wanted a yellow based wardrobe believing the color to become a big hit in the fashion world in 2009.\n\nThe video starts out showing Little Italy, an icon of the Madonna and Child, and then Gaga riding a Vespa. The first twenty seconds are mainly full of camera shots of different men, Gaga, and the city. The singer roams around with some friends, laughing and joking in a restaurant, while she stands on the seat. Gaga then comes from around the block walking with her friends in pace and singing in the camera. Next, she is shown sleeping in a bed, and waking up to reveal pink high-heeled shoes. She sings and cooks for a man in a house while dancing. She irons clothes while the man is on the phone screaming at someone. The two harlequin Great Danes who appear at the start of her \"Poker Face\" music video, also appear in this one. Finally she lies on a sofa with her legs up on the man. One of the last scenes shows her in a yellow dress made of flowers and wearing a yellow watch while singing to the song with a unique hairstyle which shows her hair pulled up and folded over. Then the camera quickly goes back to her in bed.\n\nReception\nDavid Balls from Digital Spy noted Gaga's homage to her Italian-American roots in the video, but wondered if Gaga would \"overexpose herself\" with the video. Like his review of the single, Moralde found the video to be complementing the simplistic composition of the song. He believed that with the videos for previous singles, \"Just Dance\" and \"Poker Face\", Gaga's persona was established, but with the video for \"Eh, Eh\" she traversed her persona from the original Stefani Germanotta that she was born, to the character Lady Gaga. He explained: \"What's striking about it is how much it feels like Lady Gaga is playacting: the video has a nostalgic, dreamlike tone. Set in a stylized pastel 1950s Little Italy, the video plays heavily with stereotypical and historical shorthand as it displays moustached chefs, macho men in wife beaters, cute Vespas, and spaghetti and meatballs.\" He noted that with all of these activities, Gaga created an essential fashion dollhouse, by playing feminine characters.\n\nBut Gaga addressed the viewer directly in the video while singing the song, which led Moralde to deduce that \"She's not in the moment, but is instead playing a feminized role in a dreamlike space; this quality is accentuated by the bright and blown-out color palette, and the numerous shots of Gaga in bed or sleeping. The cumulative effect is that it asserts the Lady Gaga of the previous videos to be the real one, and the Gaga in 'Eh, Eh' is a character that she is playing.\" His view was shared by Chris Kingston from The Harvard Crimson who noted during the release of the music video for Gaga's 2010 single \"Telephone\", that the video shows \"the crazy party girl we know [...] actually has a weirdly girlish, domestic side.\" In The Oxford Handbook of Sound and Image in Digital Media, author Carol Vernallis divided Gaga's persona into three categories. The personality portrayed in the \"Eh, Eh\" video was named as \"Friendly Peer\" archetype; someone with a girl-next-door image and approachable behavior.\n\nLive performances\n\n\"Eh, Eh\" was first performed in a beatbox version at the Cherrytree Studios and was released on Gaga's first EP, The Cherrytree Sessions. \"Eh, Eh\" was majorly performed at Gaga's The Fame Ball Tour in the second segment. Gaga was dressed in a white body plate leotard with black lightning shaped stripes and wore a hat made of toppled dominoes. As the performance of previous song \"Money Honey\" ended Gaga appeared on the stage beside Space Cowboy on a Vespa whence the music for \"Eh, Eh\" starts. The backdrops change to reveal lightning shapes in contrast to the sunny nature of the song. Gaga sang the song in its actual form backed by vocals from DJ Space Cowboy who spun the music from a corner of the stage. As the song reached the chorus Gaga asked the crowd to join her while singing and wave their arms. The New York Times called the live performance listless. However, The Hollywood Reporter said of the performance that, \"In an age of too much information, one of the most refreshing things about Gaga is her mystery. She often hid behind shades, and her mostly incomprehensible, coy and semi-robotic stage patter did little to tell us who's that Lady.\"\n\nGaga also performed the song at the 2009 Glastonbury Festival. Although the show was part of The Fame Ball Tour, many elements were different from on usual tour dates. For \"Eh Eh\", Gaga wore a pyrotechnic bra that fired sparkle-flames from her breast area while singing the chorus. In September 2009, Gaga appeared in French television show Taratata, where she performed \"Eh, Eh\" on the piano, while wearing a red mask. \"Eh, Eh\" was also performed during the original version of The Monster Ball Tour, where the song signified the singer's rebirth as she descended from the top amidst white lights and mechanical fog. She wore a giant human sized gyroscope around her, which was developed by the Haus of Gaga and was named \"The Orbit\". The song was removed from the setlist in early 2010.\n\nTrack listing and formats\n\nAustralian CD Single (Extra Limited Edition)\n \"Eh, Eh (Nothing Else I Can Say)\" – 2:57\n \"Poker Face\" (Space Cowboy Remix) – 4:56\n\nFrench CD Single (Limited Edition)\n \"Eh, Eh (Nothing Else I Can Say)\" – 2:56\n \"Eh, Eh (Nothing Else I Can Say)\" [Pet Shop Boys Radio Mix] – 2:49\n \"Eh, Eh (Nothing Else I Can Say)\" [Random Soul Synthetic Club Remix] – 5:27\n\niTunes Remix Single\n \"Eh, Eh (Nothing Else I Can Say)\" [Random Soul Synthetic Club Remix] – 5:29\n \"Eh, Eh (Nothing Else I Can Say)\" [Pet Shop Boys Radio Mix] – 2:53\n\nItalian iTunes download\n \"Eh, Eh (Nothing Else I Can Say)\" [Electric Piano & Human Beatbox Version] – 3:03\n\niTunes Remix EP\n \"Eh, Eh (Nothing Else I Can Say)\" – 2:57\n \"Eh, Eh (Nothing Else I Can Say)\" [Pet Shop Boys Radio Mix] – 2:53\n \"Eh, Eh (Nothing Else I Can Say)\" [Bollywood Remix] – 3:29\n \"Eh, Eh (Nothing Else I Can Say)\" [FrankMusik 'Cut Snare Edit' Remix] – 3:50\n \"Eh, Eh (Nothing Else I Can Say)\" [Electric Piano & Human Beat Box Version] – 3:03\n \"Eh, Eh (Nothing Else I Can Say)\" [Mattafix Remix] – 3:21\n \"Eh, Eh (Nothing Else I Can Say)\" [Random Soul Synthetic Club Remix] – 5:29\n \"Eh, Eh (Nothing Else I Can Say)\" [Pet Shop Boys Club Remix] – 6:31\n\nCredits and personnel\nCredits adapted from the liner notes of The Fame.\n\nLady Gaga – vocals, songwriting\nMartin Kierszenbaum – songwriting, production\nTony Ugval – audio engineering\nRobert Orton – audio mixing\nGene Grimaldi – audio mastering at Oasis Mastering, Burbank, California\nRecorded at Cherrytree Recording Studios, Santa Monica, California\n\nCharts\n\nWeekly charts\n\nYear-end charts\n\nCertifications\n\nRelease history\n\nReferences\n\n2000s ballads\n2008 songs\n2009 singles\nBubblegum pop songs\nInterscope Records singles\nLady Gaga songs\nMusic videos directed by Joseph Kahn\nSongs written by Lady Gaga\nSongs written by Martin Kierszenbaum\nSynth-pop ballads\nbubblegum pop songs",
"An American Idol Christmas (also titled A Very Idol Christmas in Canada) is a Christmas television special for the television shows American Idol, American Juniors and Canadian Idol, but focused mostly on American Idol– the Canadian winner Ryan Malcolm was edited out in the American release, due to legal reasons. The special was broadcast on the Fox television network in the United States and CTV in Canada. It was first broadcast on November 25, 2003 in the United States. It featured some of the top finalists of American Idol's first season (Kelly Clarkson, Tamyra Gray, Christina Christian) and second season (Ruben Studdard, Clay Aiken, Kimberley Locke); Canadian Idol winner Ryan Malcolm (not shown in American version due to the upcoming World Idol); and the American Juniors. Since the episode was not a competition, none of the judges appeared because they were working on the next season's contestants. It was directed by Bruce Gowers, produced by 19 Entertainment, Fremantle Media North America, Cécile Frot-Coutaz, Simon Fuller, David Goffin, Nigel Lythgoe and Ken Warwick.\n\nSongs performed\n\n \"Blue Christmas\"\nRuben Studdard\n \"Perfect Christmas\"\nAmerican Juniors\n \"Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas\"\nRuben Studdard & Tamyra Gray\n \"Grown Up Christmas List\"\nKelly Clarkson\n\nAmerican Idol\nChristmas television specials\nCanadian Idol\nTelevision shows directed by Bruce Gowers"
] |
[
"Phillip Phillips",
"Overview",
"What was his childhood like?",
"Phillips auditioned in Savannah, Georgia. He sang \"Superstition\" by Stevie Wonder. The judges then asked him to perform a second song with his guitar, and he performed Michael Jackson's \"Thriller.",
"How did he get on American Idol?",
"\" He advanced to the Hollywood rounds, and later to the Las Vegas round. On February 23, 2012, Phillips was chosen as one of the Top 25 semi-finalists,",
"Did he make it to the next round?",
"finalists, and was then voted into the Top 13.",
"What happened after that?",
"After the Top 13 performance night, Phillips was taken to a doctor for possible kidney stones. He had eight procedures while he was on Idol,",
"How many shows did eh do on American Idol?",
"For his Top 3 performance, Phillips sang Bob Seger's \"We've Got Tonight.\" For Top 4, he did a cover of Damien Rice's Volcano -"
] | C_842643d2f85b4166a73adf4e8ea571f6_1 | Did he win them all? | 6 | Did Phillip Phillips win the Top 3 and Top 4 performances on American Idol? | Phillip Phillips | Phillips auditioned in Savannah, Georgia. He sang "Superstition" by Stevie Wonder. The judges then asked him to perform a second song with his guitar, and he performed Michael Jackson's "Thriller." He advanced to the Hollywood rounds, and later to the Las Vegas round. On February 23, 2012, Phillips was chosen as one of the Top 25 semi-finalists, and was then voted into the Top 13. His performance style on the show has been compared to Dave Matthews, and he covered one of his songs, "The Stone," in the competition. When asked about Phillips' imitation of his style, Dave Matthews said: "More power to him, I don't mind," and added "He should kick my ass, [then] maybe I can retire and he can take over my band." Mentor Stevie Nicks said Phillips would have been good enough to join Fleetwood Mac back in 1975, after his performance of Jonny Lang's Still Rainin, which he received a standing ovation from the judges. After the Top 13 performance night, Phillips was taken to a doctor for possible kidney stones. He had eight procedures while he was on Idol, and considered quitting the show due to the pain. For his Top 3 performance, Phillips sang Bob Seger's "We've Got Tonight." For Top 4, he did a cover of Damien Rice's Volcano - which has been heralded as one of the best American Idol performances of all time. As the sole contestant who was never in jeopardy of elimination in any week of the competition, Phillips became the winner on the finale against Jessica Sanchez after a record-breaking 132 million votes were cast. His coronation song, "Home," was released after his performance, and had the biggest digital sales week for any Idol winner's coronation song. ^Note 1 Due to the judges using their one save on Jessica Sanchez, the Top 7 remained intact for another week. CANNOTANSWER | Phillips became the winner on the finale against Jessica Sanchez after a record-breaking 132 million votes were cast. | Phillip LaDon Phillips Jr. (born September 20, 1990) is an American musician, singer-songwriter who rose to fame after winning the eleventh season of American Idol on May 23, 2012. His coronation song, "Home", became the best-selling song in American Idol history. His debut album The World from the Side of the Moon was released on November 19, 2012 and was on the Billboard Top 200 album chart for 61 weeks. It has been certified Platinum by the RIAA. The album included the single "Gone, Gone, Gone." He followed up with Behind the Light, in 2014 with the lead single "Raging Fire." His third album, Collateral, was released in 2018 and included the songs "Into the Wild" and "Magnetic." Phillips toured with John Mayer, Gavin DeGraw, the Goo Goo Dolls and has shared the stage with Bruce Springsteen.
In the United States, Phillips has sold 7.5 million digital singles and has sold 2.7 million albums including album streaming equivalent units. He has over 600 million streams on Spotify and 1.2 billion streams on Pandora.
Early life
Phillips was born in Albany, Georgia, to Sheryl (Jacks) and Phillip LaDon "Donnie" Phillips, Sr. He moved with his family to Leesburg, Georgia when he was 12. He has two older sisters, LaDonna, the eldest, and Lacey. Phillips grew up in Sasser and Leesburg, and attended Lee County High School. He graduated from Albany Technical College with a major in Industrial Systems Technology, but missed the graduation ceremony due to his obligations to American Idol. Prior to appearing on American Idol, he worked at his family's pawn shop.
Phillips started playing music, particularly the guitar, when he was 14. He was mentored by his long-time friend and brother-in-law, Benjamin Neil, whom he credits for piquing his interest in music. In 2009, he formed the Phillip Phillips Band with Neil and another brother-in-law, Todd Urick, and performed in various local venues and events. He won a local singing competition, "Albany Star," in 2010.
Phillips' favorite singer is Jonny Lang. Other favorites include John Butler, Dave Matthews, and Damien Rice. He also enjoyed Mumford & Sons and Tool. He grew up listening mainly to '60s and '70s music such as Jimi Hendrix and Led Zeppelin; "Then as I got older I found Damien Rice and Dave Matthews and John Butler, which is what really set it off for me in terms of finding my voice as a musician." He has described his music as "jazz and rock alternative sound."
Prior to trying out for American Idol, Phillips also auditioned on the second season of America's Got Talent.
American Idol
Overview
Phillips auditioned in Savannah, Georgia. He sang "Superstition" by Stevie Wonder. One of the show's executive producers, Megan Michaels-Wolflick, stated "I remember the day in Savannah in 2011 when Phillip Phillips walked in the room and I thought, "This guy is going to win this season." As he walked in front of American Idol judges for his initial audition, Steven Tyler whispered to Jennifer Lopez, "I got a funny feeling about this." The judges asked him to perform a second song with his guitar, and he performed Michael Jackson's "Thriller." He advanced to the Hollywood rounds, and later to the Las Vegas round.
On February 23, 2012, Phillips was chosen as one of the Top 25 semi-finalists, and was voted into the Top 13.
His performance style on the show has been compared to Dave Matthews, and he covered one of his songs, "The Stone," in the competition. When asked about Phillips' imitation of his style, Dave Matthews said: "More power to him, I don't mind," and added "He should kick my ass, [then] maybe I can retire and he can take over my band." Mentor Stevie Nicks said Phillips would have been good enough to join Fleetwood Mac back in 1975, after his performance of Jonny Lang's "Still Rainin," for which he received a standing ovation from the judges.
After the Top 13 performance night, Phillips was taken to a doctor for possible kidney stones. He had eight procedures while he was performing on Idol, and considered quitting the show due to the pain.
For his Top 3 performance, Phillips sang Bob Seger's "We've Got Tonight." For Top 4, he did a cover of Damien Rice's "Volcano" - which has been heralded as one of the best American Idol performances of all time. As the sole contestant who was never in jeopardy of elimination in any week of the competition, Phillips became the winner on the finale against Jessica Sanchez after a record-breaking 132 million votes were cast. His coronation song, "Home," was released after his performance, and had the biggest digital sales week for any Idol winner's coronation song.
Phillips said, "It was crazy and it changed my life completely. I didn't know what to expect, I just loved playing music." "It never seemed like a competition. I always made sure I was having fun and the band was having a good time."
Music career
After winning American Idol, Phillips went on the American Idol LIVE Tour from July to September with the rest of the top ten finalists. He performed the National Anthem at the opening game of the 2012 World Series on October 24, 2012. On November 15, he joined forces with the PS22 chorus of Staten Island for a concert to raise money for those affected by Hurricane Sandy. He also performed at the National Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony on December 6, 2012.
Phillips' coronation song, "Home", was a great success with sales of over 5 million copies in the US. It has been used in NBC's coverage of the Olympics, L.A. Marathon, various commercials, film trailers, and TV shows. He performed "Home" on the PBS Independence Day celebration TV special, A Capitol Fourth. He appeared at the 83rd MLB All-Star Game held at Kansas City on July 10 and sang his coronation song. On October 9, 2012, he joined other musicians in the One World concert held in Syracuse University to honor the Dalai Lama. He also performed "Home" on the CNN Heroes special aired on December 2, 2012, and the CBS's A Home for the Holidays on December 19, 2012.
Phillip has performed on The Today Show and Good Morning America Concert Series, Late Show with David Letterman, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, The Tonight Show With Jay Leno, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Live With Kelly, The View, and Conan. He has also appeared at the American Music Awards and Billboard Music Awards.
Phillip Phillips made the Forbes Highest Earning American Idol list for each of the three years he was qualified. For the list published in January 2014 and January 2015, he ranked number three. For the list published January 2016, he ranked number four.
2012–13: The World from the Side of the Moon
Phillips released his debut album, The World from the Side of the Moon, on November 19, 2012. The album was produced by Gregg Wattenberg, with Phillips writing or co-writing the majority of the disc. On November 6, 2012, "Where We Came From" was released for sale in advance of the album, and was a free download on pre-orders. The album debuted at No. 4 in the Billboard 200 with sales of 169,000 copies, and was certified Platinum by RIAA in August 2013. The World From The Side Of The Moon was on the Billboard Top 200 album chart for 61 weeks. That puts in number two of all the debut albums by American Idol winners.
In January 2013, Phillip Phillips appeared on the cover of Billboard magazine with Interscope Records founder and CEO and American Idol mentor, Jimmy Iovine. "Phillip is a true artist and the fact that people are embracing his album shows they accept him as an artist." said Iovine.
On January 29, 2013, Phillips began a tour in North America as the opening act for Matchbox Twenty. He also headlined ten college dates in January with a four-piece acoustic band, and a further college tour with an electric band from March through May after his tour with Matchbox Twenty. Nine of his college tour dates were postponed due to a continuing health issue.
From July 6 to October 5, 2013, he toured as the opening act for John Mayer's Born and Raised World Tour, followed by his own college tour and then further dates with John Mayer until December 17. He also performed at the international music festival Rock in Rio, in Rio de Janeiro on September 21, the same day as John Mayer and Bruce Springsteen. In 2014, a solo tour of Canada was also scheduled, as well as other dates in the US.
The third single released from the album was "Where We Came From".
"Gone, Gone, Gone" from the album was released as a single on February 11, 2013. Phillips performed the song live on the March 14, 2013 edition of American Idol. "Gone, Gone, Gone" was also used as the twelfth season's "send-off" song, played as the backing track for the montages that highlight each week's eliminated finalist. The song was also used in the film, The Amazing Spider-Man 2.
Phillip Phillips capped off 2013 with a nomination from the American Music Awards for Best New Artist. He joined Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood as the only American Idol winners to receive this nomination.
2014–15: Behind the Light
In March 2013, Phillips stated that he was "always writing" and that his second studio album would be released sometime in 2014. The album, Behind the Light, was released on May 19, 2014. The debut single, "Raging Fire", from his second album was released digitally on March 3, 2014. The song was featured in the National Hockey League's Playoffs. Phillips received his first BMI pop music song writing award for "Raging Fire". A promotional single, "Fly", was released alongside the album's pre-order on April 22, 2014.
Phillips toured with O.A.R. in the summer of 2014. He also launched the Behind The Light Fall Tour 2014 in the U.S. to support his second album.
The second single released from the album was "Unpack Your Heart". The song was featured in a TV commercial for Ram 1500 trucks, which premiered at the 2014 American Music Awards.
In January 2015, Phillips filed a lawsuit against his label 19 Recordings, calling the producers manipulative and "oppressive". In June 2017, Phillips settled the dispute with the show's producers.
2016: American Idol finale, Invictus Games
On April 7, 2016 Phillips returned to the American Idol stage for the series finale and performed a tribute to David Bowie with four other winners; David Cook, Kris Allen, Lee Dewyze, and Nick Fradiani. Former Idol judge Simon Cowell said Phillip Phillips was the only contestant he liked after he left the show. Jennifer Lopez, who was a judge on the eleventh season, revealed that Phillips is her favorite American Idol winner.
He performed at the 2016 Invictus Games closing ceremony in Orlando, Florida on May 12, 2016.
On June 17, 2016, Phillips started a co-headlining tour with Matt Nathanson at the San Diego County Fair and ending on August 13 at the Wisconsin State Fair.
2017–2019: Collateral
During summer 2017, Phillips was the opening act on the Live Nation Goo Goo Dolls' Long Way Home tour.
On October 18, 2017, Phillips performed at the CMT Artists of the Year awards, where he did a cover of Sam Hunt's "Body Like a Back Road", which won Song of the Year.
Phillips released the single "Miles" to radio on August 11, 2017, through 19R/Interscope. It was the lead single to the new album.
Phillips' third studio album, Collateral was released January 19, 2018. Producer Ryan Hadlock has been Phillips' primary collaborator, and he also worked with Nathan Chapman, Jon Nite, John Paul White and Todd Clark, with whom he wrote the singles "Gone, Gone, Gone" and "Raging Fire". He performed "The Magnetic Tour" from February 9, 2018 to April 14, 2018 with over 40 shows to support the album.
In the summer of 2018, Phillips hit the road headlining his solo tour and a co-headlining tour with Gavin DeGraw including over 30 shows.
In September 2019, Phillips teamed with American Authors and Maddie Poppe on a new version of the song "Bring It on Home".
2020 - present: Return to American Idol and pandemic relief efforts
On May 3, 2020, Phillips returned to American Idol and opened the Top 10 by performing "Home". The episode "On with the Show: Homeward Bound" featured the theme of songs about home. The show was broadcast from homes of the participants due to the pandemic health crisis.
Phillips performed on the Idol alumni ensemble (including Alejandro Aranda, Fantasia, Gabby Barrett, Jordin Sparks, Katharine McPhee, Kellie Pickler, Laine Hardy, Lauren Alaina, Ruben Studdard and Scotty McCreery) for "We Are the World" with Lionel Richie on the season finale on May 17, 2020.
Phillips performed at pandemic relief efforts for Sendero Together for Texas and for the Phoebe Hospital Foundation to help support frontline medical heroes battling COVID-19 in southwest Georgia.
On July 17, 2021, Phillips performed "Home" in support of the Project Angel Food telethon. The telethon help raise $1M to sustain the expanded service to those in need, preparing and delivering over one million medically tailored meals.
Acting
In January 2018, Phillips appeared in an episode of Hawaii Five-0, playing a diamond smuggler.
Personal life
Phillips has suffered from a congenital kidney condition. Soon after American Idol finished, he had kidney stones removed as well as reconstructive surgery done on his kidney.
On December 26, 2014, Phillips announced his engagement to girlfriend Hannah Blackwell. The two were married at the Resora Plantation in Albany, Georgia on October 24, 2015.
On July 3, 2019, Phillips and Blackwell announced that they were expecting their first child, a son, in the fall. Patch Shepherd Phillips was born November 10, 2019.
In addition to his singing career he has supported organizations including the Sarah Foundation and the Gibson Flood Relief Campaign. as well being an ambassador for Brave Beginnings. He has also supported DoSomething, National Park Foundation, NCIRE - the Veterans Health Research Institute, Save The Music Foundation, and Habitat for Humanity.
Discography
The World from the Side of the Moon (2012)
Behind the Light (2014)
Collateral (2018)
Filmography
Concert Tours
American Idol Tour Summer 2012
College Tour Spring 2013
North Tour (2013) with Matchbox Twenty
Born and Raised World Tour (2013) with John Mayer
Canada Tour Spring 2014
With O.A.R. Summer Tour 2014
Behind The Light Fall Tour 2014
With Matt Nathanson Summer 2016
Long Way Home Tour (2017) with Goo Goo Dolls
The Magnetic Tour Spring 2018
With Gavin DeGraw Summer 2018
Jingle Bell Rock Tour Winter 2018
Awards and nominations
See also
List of Idols winners
References
External links
PhillPhill.com
Phillip Phillips on American Idol
1990 births
Living people
19 Recordings artists
21st-century American singers
American Idol winners
American folk singers
American male singer-songwriters
American pop guitarists
American pop rock singers
American rock guitarists
American male guitarists
American rock songwriters
American male actors
Interscope Records artists
Musicians from Albany, Georgia
People from Leesburg, Georgia
21st-century American guitarists
Guitarists from Georgia (U.S. state)
21st-century American male singers
Singer-songwriters from Georgia (U.S. state) | true | [
"Anthony Gleeson was a dual player from Tralee, County Kerry. He played at full back for most of his career. Gleeson was unlucky not to have won any senior honors with Kerry, he missed out on the Munster Championship win in 1991 and despite playing in the first round in 1996 did not play another game and therefore did not receive a Munster medal. He did win a Munster Under 21 Championship in 1988. He also played underage hurling with Kerry in the late 80's, he was captain of the team in 1987 when they won the Leinster Minor B Championship. He gave up hurling at a young age to focus on football. He also played with the Kerry Vocational Schools team in the late 80's winning 2 All-Ireland Vocational Schools Championships in 1986 and 1987.\n\nAt club level he played football with John Mitchels. He had little success with the club failing to win a County Championship, he did however played in the 1989 final when John Mitchels were beaten by Laune Rangers. He played hurling with Austin Stacks and won a County Minor Championship with them in 1986. He also played with Dublin club St Vincents.\n\nReferences\n http://www.terracetalk.com/kerry-football/player/101/Anthony-Gleeson\n https://web.archive.org/web/20111009064219/http://munster.gaa.ie/history/u21f_teams/\n\n \n\nYear of birth missing (living people)\nLiving people\nDual players\nJohn Mitchels (Kerry) Gaelic footballers\nSt Vincents (Dublin) Gaelic footballers\nAustin Stacks hurlers\nKerry inter-county hurlers",
"The 2007 FedEx Cup Playoffs were held from August 23 to September 16. They consisted of four events. The events in order are The Barclays, Deutsche Bank Championship, BMW Championship and The Tour Championship. These were the first FedEx Cup playoffs being held. Tiger Woods won the playoffs and took home $10,000,000.\n\nThe point distribution can be seen here.\n\nRegular season rankings\n\nFor the full list see here\n\nThe Barclays\nThe Barclays was played August 23–26. 144 players were eligible to play but 6 of them did not enter. Of the 138 players who entered the tournament, 75 of them made the cut. The cut was even par. Steve Stricker won by shooting −16 to win the first ever FedEx Cup playoff event. Tiger Woods did not participate in the tournament. The top 120 players in the points standings advanced to the Deutsche Bank Championship.\n\nFull leaderboard\n\nDeutsche Bank Championship\nThe Deutsche Bank Championship was played from August 31 to September 3. 120 players were eligible to play but 4 of them did not enter. Of the 116 players who entered the tournament, 75 of them made the cut. The cut was 1 over-par. Phil Mickelson won by shooting −16. Tiger Woods finished tied for 2nd, two strokes behind Mickelson. The top 70 players in the points standings advanced to the BMW Championship.\n\nFull leaderboard\n\nBMW Championship\nThe BMW Championship was played September 6–9. 70 players were eligible to play but three of them did not enter. There was no cut for this tournament. Tiger Woods won by shooting −22. This was Tiger's 60th win on the PGA Tour. The top 30 players in the points standings advanced to The Tour Championship.\n\nFull leaderboard\n\nThe Tour Championship\nThe Tour Championship was played September 13–16. All 30 players eligible to play did so. There was no cut for this tournament. Tiger Woods won by shooting −23. This was Tiger's 61st win on the PGA Tour. He also won the FedEx Cup.\n\nFull leaderboard\n\nFinal leaderboard\n\nFor the full list see here\n\nTable of qualifying players\n\nTable key:\n\nFedEx Cup\nFedEx Cup Playoffs"
] |
[
"Phillip Phillips",
"Overview",
"What was his childhood like?",
"Phillips auditioned in Savannah, Georgia. He sang \"Superstition\" by Stevie Wonder. The judges then asked him to perform a second song with his guitar, and he performed Michael Jackson's \"Thriller.",
"How did he get on American Idol?",
"\" He advanced to the Hollywood rounds, and later to the Las Vegas round. On February 23, 2012, Phillips was chosen as one of the Top 25 semi-finalists,",
"Did he make it to the next round?",
"finalists, and was then voted into the Top 13.",
"What happened after that?",
"After the Top 13 performance night, Phillips was taken to a doctor for possible kidney stones. He had eight procedures while he was on Idol,",
"How many shows did eh do on American Idol?",
"For his Top 3 performance, Phillips sang Bob Seger's \"We've Got Tonight.\" For Top 4, he did a cover of Damien Rice's Volcano -",
"Did he win them all?",
"Phillips became the winner on the finale against Jessica Sanchez after a record-breaking 132 million votes were cast."
] | C_842643d2f85b4166a73adf4e8ea571f6_1 | What was the next thing he did right after American Idol? | 7 | What was the next thing Phillip Phillips did right after American Idol? | Phillip Phillips | Phillips auditioned in Savannah, Georgia. He sang "Superstition" by Stevie Wonder. The judges then asked him to perform a second song with his guitar, and he performed Michael Jackson's "Thriller." He advanced to the Hollywood rounds, and later to the Las Vegas round. On February 23, 2012, Phillips was chosen as one of the Top 25 semi-finalists, and was then voted into the Top 13. His performance style on the show has been compared to Dave Matthews, and he covered one of his songs, "The Stone," in the competition. When asked about Phillips' imitation of his style, Dave Matthews said: "More power to him, I don't mind," and added "He should kick my ass, [then] maybe I can retire and he can take over my band." Mentor Stevie Nicks said Phillips would have been good enough to join Fleetwood Mac back in 1975, after his performance of Jonny Lang's Still Rainin, which he received a standing ovation from the judges. After the Top 13 performance night, Phillips was taken to a doctor for possible kidney stones. He had eight procedures while he was on Idol, and considered quitting the show due to the pain. For his Top 3 performance, Phillips sang Bob Seger's "We've Got Tonight." For Top 4, he did a cover of Damien Rice's Volcano - which has been heralded as one of the best American Idol performances of all time. As the sole contestant who was never in jeopardy of elimination in any week of the competition, Phillips became the winner on the finale against Jessica Sanchez after a record-breaking 132 million votes were cast. His coronation song, "Home," was released after his performance, and had the biggest digital sales week for any Idol winner's coronation song. ^Note 1 Due to the judges using their one save on Jessica Sanchez, the Top 7 remained intact for another week. CANNOTANSWER | His coronation song, "Home," was released after his performance, and had the biggest digital sales week for any Idol winner's coronation song. | Phillip LaDon Phillips Jr. (born September 20, 1990) is an American musician, singer-songwriter who rose to fame after winning the eleventh season of American Idol on May 23, 2012. His coronation song, "Home", became the best-selling song in American Idol history. His debut album The World from the Side of the Moon was released on November 19, 2012 and was on the Billboard Top 200 album chart for 61 weeks. It has been certified Platinum by the RIAA. The album included the single "Gone, Gone, Gone." He followed up with Behind the Light, in 2014 with the lead single "Raging Fire." His third album, Collateral, was released in 2018 and included the songs "Into the Wild" and "Magnetic." Phillips toured with John Mayer, Gavin DeGraw, the Goo Goo Dolls and has shared the stage with Bruce Springsteen.
In the United States, Phillips has sold 7.5 million digital singles and has sold 2.7 million albums including album streaming equivalent units. He has over 600 million streams on Spotify and 1.2 billion streams on Pandora.
Early life
Phillips was born in Albany, Georgia, to Sheryl (Jacks) and Phillip LaDon "Donnie" Phillips, Sr. He moved with his family to Leesburg, Georgia when he was 12. He has two older sisters, LaDonna, the eldest, and Lacey. Phillips grew up in Sasser and Leesburg, and attended Lee County High School. He graduated from Albany Technical College with a major in Industrial Systems Technology, but missed the graduation ceremony due to his obligations to American Idol. Prior to appearing on American Idol, he worked at his family's pawn shop.
Phillips started playing music, particularly the guitar, when he was 14. He was mentored by his long-time friend and brother-in-law, Benjamin Neil, whom he credits for piquing his interest in music. In 2009, he formed the Phillip Phillips Band with Neil and another brother-in-law, Todd Urick, and performed in various local venues and events. He won a local singing competition, "Albany Star," in 2010.
Phillips' favorite singer is Jonny Lang. Other favorites include John Butler, Dave Matthews, and Damien Rice. He also enjoyed Mumford & Sons and Tool. He grew up listening mainly to '60s and '70s music such as Jimi Hendrix and Led Zeppelin; "Then as I got older I found Damien Rice and Dave Matthews and John Butler, which is what really set it off for me in terms of finding my voice as a musician." He has described his music as "jazz and rock alternative sound."
Prior to trying out for American Idol, Phillips also auditioned on the second season of America's Got Talent.
American Idol
Overview
Phillips auditioned in Savannah, Georgia. He sang "Superstition" by Stevie Wonder. One of the show's executive producers, Megan Michaels-Wolflick, stated "I remember the day in Savannah in 2011 when Phillip Phillips walked in the room and I thought, "This guy is going to win this season." As he walked in front of American Idol judges for his initial audition, Steven Tyler whispered to Jennifer Lopez, "I got a funny feeling about this." The judges asked him to perform a second song with his guitar, and he performed Michael Jackson's "Thriller." He advanced to the Hollywood rounds, and later to the Las Vegas round.
On February 23, 2012, Phillips was chosen as one of the Top 25 semi-finalists, and was voted into the Top 13.
His performance style on the show has been compared to Dave Matthews, and he covered one of his songs, "The Stone," in the competition. When asked about Phillips' imitation of his style, Dave Matthews said: "More power to him, I don't mind," and added "He should kick my ass, [then] maybe I can retire and he can take over my band." Mentor Stevie Nicks said Phillips would have been good enough to join Fleetwood Mac back in 1975, after his performance of Jonny Lang's "Still Rainin," for which he received a standing ovation from the judges.
After the Top 13 performance night, Phillips was taken to a doctor for possible kidney stones. He had eight procedures while he was performing on Idol, and considered quitting the show due to the pain.
For his Top 3 performance, Phillips sang Bob Seger's "We've Got Tonight." For Top 4, he did a cover of Damien Rice's "Volcano" - which has been heralded as one of the best American Idol performances of all time. As the sole contestant who was never in jeopardy of elimination in any week of the competition, Phillips became the winner on the finale against Jessica Sanchez after a record-breaking 132 million votes were cast. His coronation song, "Home," was released after his performance, and had the biggest digital sales week for any Idol winner's coronation song.
Phillips said, "It was crazy and it changed my life completely. I didn't know what to expect, I just loved playing music." "It never seemed like a competition. I always made sure I was having fun and the band was having a good time."
Music career
After winning American Idol, Phillips went on the American Idol LIVE Tour from July to September with the rest of the top ten finalists. He performed the National Anthem at the opening game of the 2012 World Series on October 24, 2012. On November 15, he joined forces with the PS22 chorus of Staten Island for a concert to raise money for those affected by Hurricane Sandy. He also performed at the National Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony on December 6, 2012.
Phillips' coronation song, "Home", was a great success with sales of over 5 million copies in the US. It has been used in NBC's coverage of the Olympics, L.A. Marathon, various commercials, film trailers, and TV shows. He performed "Home" on the PBS Independence Day celebration TV special, A Capitol Fourth. He appeared at the 83rd MLB All-Star Game held at Kansas City on July 10 and sang his coronation song. On October 9, 2012, he joined other musicians in the One World concert held in Syracuse University to honor the Dalai Lama. He also performed "Home" on the CNN Heroes special aired on December 2, 2012, and the CBS's A Home for the Holidays on December 19, 2012.
Phillip has performed on The Today Show and Good Morning America Concert Series, Late Show with David Letterman, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, The Tonight Show With Jay Leno, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Live With Kelly, The View, and Conan. He has also appeared at the American Music Awards and Billboard Music Awards.
Phillip Phillips made the Forbes Highest Earning American Idol list for each of the three years he was qualified. For the list published in January 2014 and January 2015, he ranked number three. For the list published January 2016, he ranked number four.
2012–13: The World from the Side of the Moon
Phillips released his debut album, The World from the Side of the Moon, on November 19, 2012. The album was produced by Gregg Wattenberg, with Phillips writing or co-writing the majority of the disc. On November 6, 2012, "Where We Came From" was released for sale in advance of the album, and was a free download on pre-orders. The album debuted at No. 4 in the Billboard 200 with sales of 169,000 copies, and was certified Platinum by RIAA in August 2013. The World From The Side Of The Moon was on the Billboard Top 200 album chart for 61 weeks. That puts in number two of all the debut albums by American Idol winners.
In January 2013, Phillip Phillips appeared on the cover of Billboard magazine with Interscope Records founder and CEO and American Idol mentor, Jimmy Iovine. "Phillip is a true artist and the fact that people are embracing his album shows they accept him as an artist." said Iovine.
On January 29, 2013, Phillips began a tour in North America as the opening act for Matchbox Twenty. He also headlined ten college dates in January with a four-piece acoustic band, and a further college tour with an electric band from March through May after his tour with Matchbox Twenty. Nine of his college tour dates were postponed due to a continuing health issue.
From July 6 to October 5, 2013, he toured as the opening act for John Mayer's Born and Raised World Tour, followed by his own college tour and then further dates with John Mayer until December 17. He also performed at the international music festival Rock in Rio, in Rio de Janeiro on September 21, the same day as John Mayer and Bruce Springsteen. In 2014, a solo tour of Canada was also scheduled, as well as other dates in the US.
The third single released from the album was "Where We Came From".
"Gone, Gone, Gone" from the album was released as a single on February 11, 2013. Phillips performed the song live on the March 14, 2013 edition of American Idol. "Gone, Gone, Gone" was also used as the twelfth season's "send-off" song, played as the backing track for the montages that highlight each week's eliminated finalist. The song was also used in the film, The Amazing Spider-Man 2.
Phillip Phillips capped off 2013 with a nomination from the American Music Awards for Best New Artist. He joined Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood as the only American Idol winners to receive this nomination.
2014–15: Behind the Light
In March 2013, Phillips stated that he was "always writing" and that his second studio album would be released sometime in 2014. The album, Behind the Light, was released on May 19, 2014. The debut single, "Raging Fire", from his second album was released digitally on March 3, 2014. The song was featured in the National Hockey League's Playoffs. Phillips received his first BMI pop music song writing award for "Raging Fire". A promotional single, "Fly", was released alongside the album's pre-order on April 22, 2014.
Phillips toured with O.A.R. in the summer of 2014. He also launched the Behind The Light Fall Tour 2014 in the U.S. to support his second album.
The second single released from the album was "Unpack Your Heart". The song was featured in a TV commercial for Ram 1500 trucks, which premiered at the 2014 American Music Awards.
In January 2015, Phillips filed a lawsuit against his label 19 Recordings, calling the producers manipulative and "oppressive". In June 2017, Phillips settled the dispute with the show's producers.
2016: American Idol finale, Invictus Games
On April 7, 2016 Phillips returned to the American Idol stage for the series finale and performed a tribute to David Bowie with four other winners; David Cook, Kris Allen, Lee Dewyze, and Nick Fradiani. Former Idol judge Simon Cowell said Phillip Phillips was the only contestant he liked after he left the show. Jennifer Lopez, who was a judge on the eleventh season, revealed that Phillips is her favorite American Idol winner.
He performed at the 2016 Invictus Games closing ceremony in Orlando, Florida on May 12, 2016.
On June 17, 2016, Phillips started a co-headlining tour with Matt Nathanson at the San Diego County Fair and ending on August 13 at the Wisconsin State Fair.
2017–2019: Collateral
During summer 2017, Phillips was the opening act on the Live Nation Goo Goo Dolls' Long Way Home tour.
On October 18, 2017, Phillips performed at the CMT Artists of the Year awards, where he did a cover of Sam Hunt's "Body Like a Back Road", which won Song of the Year.
Phillips released the single "Miles" to radio on August 11, 2017, through 19R/Interscope. It was the lead single to the new album.
Phillips' third studio album, Collateral was released January 19, 2018. Producer Ryan Hadlock has been Phillips' primary collaborator, and he also worked with Nathan Chapman, Jon Nite, John Paul White and Todd Clark, with whom he wrote the singles "Gone, Gone, Gone" and "Raging Fire". He performed "The Magnetic Tour" from February 9, 2018 to April 14, 2018 with over 40 shows to support the album.
In the summer of 2018, Phillips hit the road headlining his solo tour and a co-headlining tour with Gavin DeGraw including over 30 shows.
In September 2019, Phillips teamed with American Authors and Maddie Poppe on a new version of the song "Bring It on Home".
2020 - present: Return to American Idol and pandemic relief efforts
On May 3, 2020, Phillips returned to American Idol and opened the Top 10 by performing "Home". The episode "On with the Show: Homeward Bound" featured the theme of songs about home. The show was broadcast from homes of the participants due to the pandemic health crisis.
Phillips performed on the Idol alumni ensemble (including Alejandro Aranda, Fantasia, Gabby Barrett, Jordin Sparks, Katharine McPhee, Kellie Pickler, Laine Hardy, Lauren Alaina, Ruben Studdard and Scotty McCreery) for "We Are the World" with Lionel Richie on the season finale on May 17, 2020.
Phillips performed at pandemic relief efforts for Sendero Together for Texas and for the Phoebe Hospital Foundation to help support frontline medical heroes battling COVID-19 in southwest Georgia.
On July 17, 2021, Phillips performed "Home" in support of the Project Angel Food telethon. The telethon help raise $1M to sustain the expanded service to those in need, preparing and delivering over one million medically tailored meals.
Acting
In January 2018, Phillips appeared in an episode of Hawaii Five-0, playing a diamond smuggler.
Personal life
Phillips has suffered from a congenital kidney condition. Soon after American Idol finished, he had kidney stones removed as well as reconstructive surgery done on his kidney.
On December 26, 2014, Phillips announced his engagement to girlfriend Hannah Blackwell. The two were married at the Resora Plantation in Albany, Georgia on October 24, 2015.
On July 3, 2019, Phillips and Blackwell announced that they were expecting their first child, a son, in the fall. Patch Shepherd Phillips was born November 10, 2019.
In addition to his singing career he has supported organizations including the Sarah Foundation and the Gibson Flood Relief Campaign. as well being an ambassador for Brave Beginnings. He has also supported DoSomething, National Park Foundation, NCIRE - the Veterans Health Research Institute, Save The Music Foundation, and Habitat for Humanity.
Discography
The World from the Side of the Moon (2012)
Behind the Light (2014)
Collateral (2018)
Filmography
Concert Tours
American Idol Tour Summer 2012
College Tour Spring 2013
North Tour (2013) with Matchbox Twenty
Born and Raised World Tour (2013) with John Mayer
Canada Tour Spring 2014
With O.A.R. Summer Tour 2014
Behind The Light Fall Tour 2014
With Matt Nathanson Summer 2016
Long Way Home Tour (2017) with Goo Goo Dolls
The Magnetic Tour Spring 2018
With Gavin DeGraw Summer 2018
Jingle Bell Rock Tour Winter 2018
Awards and nominations
See also
List of Idols winners
References
External links
PhillPhill.com
Phillip Phillips on American Idol
1990 births
Living people
19 Recordings artists
21st-century American singers
American Idol winners
American folk singers
American male singer-songwriters
American pop guitarists
American pop rock singers
American rock guitarists
American male guitarists
American rock songwriters
American male actors
Interscope Records artists
Musicians from Albany, Georgia
People from Leesburg, Georgia
21st-century American guitarists
Guitarists from Georgia (U.S. state)
21st-century American male singers
Singer-songwriters from Georgia (U.S. state) | true | [
"Jermaine Jones (born November 3, 1986) is an American singer and actor from Pine Hill, New Jersey, who came in twelfth place after being disqualified from the eleventh season of American Idol.\n\nEarly life\nJones was born to Katrice Cornett and lives in Pine Hill, New Jersey. He attended Overbrook High School. He works as a vocal instructor. According to the official American Idol website, his musical influences are his mother and John Legend.\n\nAmerican Idol\nIn Las Vegas, he performed \"Make it Easy on Yourself\" with Richie Law and the judges advanced both to the next round.\n\nJones was not originally chosen for the top 24 semifinalist round, but he was called back after the top 24 selection filming, making him the 25th semi-finalist and thirteenth male semi-finalist. He is 6 feet 8 and a half inches tall and has been dubbed on the show as \"The Gentle Giant\" due to his height. In the semi-finals, he sang Luther Vandross's \"Dance with My Father\". He was one of the top five male vote getters and advanced to the top 13.\n\nOn March 13, 2012, it was announced that Jones would be disqualified from the competition after failing to disclose that he had been previously arrested on two separate occasions, one of them being a violent crime. He is the second and the final Idol contestant to be disqualified from the finals, after the same thing happened to Corey Clark in the second season. A clip of his rehearsal of \"Somewhere Out There\", was shown after his removal from the show and would have been his performance that night and a studio version was released on iTunes. As a result of his disqualification, Jones was not allowed to have any further involvement with the show and could not participate in the live finale with the other finalists.\n\nPerformances/results\n\n Jones was eliminated at the final judgement, but was reinstalled to make a Top 13 men.\n When Ryan Seacrest announced the results for this particular night, Jones was among the Bottom 3 Men but declared safe second, as Jeremy Rosado was declared as the bottom male vote getter.\n\nControversy\nOn March 14, 2012, Jones was disqualified from American Idol for concealing arrests and outstanding warrants. He denied that he had concealed his previous arrests, and had admitted that he had been arrested before. Critics accused the show of staging the disqualification to boost ratings. When asked about speculations that producers had prior knowledge of his criminal past and that the producers were simply out to exploit him on-air, Jones replied that \"I haven't even taken my mind into that and why they did what they did, because then I'll drive myself crazy\". A police official in a New Jersey town claimed he was the target of two arrest warrants said that the case wasn't big enough to merit going after him, and that for the show \"to expose, embarrass and interrogate a young man without an attorney in front of 40 million viewers was an outrage\".\n\nOn July 31, 2012, Jones pleaded guilty to the charges.\n\nPost Idol\nJones released the single \"All Around the World\" on July 19, 2012 on iTunes. He is also working on an independent movie titled The North Star, about an escaped slave who joins the Quaker abolitionist movement, which will star Jeremiah Trotter. He also said on his Twitter account that he would be auditioning for The Voice.\n\nDiscography\n\nSingles\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n Jermaine Jones on American Idol\n \n\n21st-century American singers\n1986 births\nAmerican Idol participants\n20th-century African-American male singers\nLiving people\nPeople from Pine Hill, New Jersey\nSingers from New Jersey\nPeople from Camden County, New Jersey\n21st-century American male singers\n21st-century African-American male singers",
"Lindsey Michelle Cardinale (born February 5, 1985) is an American country singer and university student who was the twelfth-place finalist on the fourth season of American Idol in 2005.\n\nCardinale was born in Hammond, Louisiana, to Agnes and Anthony Cardinale. In 1991, when she was six years old, she and her family moved to Ponchatoula. She has an older sister, Lori. She is a 2003 graduate of Ponchatoula High School, where she was a member of the advanced choir. During her run on American Idol, she was a university student majoring in radiology. In addition to singing, she also plays guitar, piano, drums, and the fiddle.\n\nAmerican Idol\nThe 19-year-old Cardinale auditioned in New Orleans with Karla Bonoff's \"Standing Right Next to Me\". In the Hollywood rounds, she sang \"Ain't No Mountain High Enough,\" \"I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch),\" (along with semi-finalist Melinda Lira and fellow finalist Jessica Sierra) and \"The Woman in Me (Needs the Man in You).\" She went on to the three-round semi-finals composed of the top 12 women and top 12 men. There she sang \"Standing Right Next to Me,\" \"I Try to Think About Elvis,\" and \"I Don't Want to Miss a Thing.\" She made it to the top 12 alongside 11 others. On March 16, 2005, she was voted off, after her performance of \"Knock on Wood\" during the 1960s-theme music week. Cardinale later freely admitted that she did not enjoy singing \"Knock on Wood\" and tried everything she could to get out of recording it for the subsequent American Idol compilation album, but ultimately had to accept it and record it. Cardinale was also included on the AI season four's charity single to benefit the Red Cross Tsunami Relief Fund, \"When You Tell Me That You Love Me,\" along with the other 11 finalists.\n\nAmerican Idol performances\n\nPost-Idol career\nCardinale appeared at Ponchatoula's Strawberry Festival shortly after her elimination; she thanked her hometown for their contributions that helped her place twelfth out of hundreds of thousands of auditions. However, her contract with 19 Entertainment prevented her from singing at the fair, so she played the drums instead. A year later at the festival, on April 8, 2006, Cardinale put on an hour-long show of cover tunes and original songs.\n\nCardinale became the model and spokesperson for the Bill Hood Automotive Family in Southern Louisiana. In 2006, she released a maxi single featuring the songs \"Drive\" and \"Nothin' Like a Dream\" in Germany in the Eurovision Song Contest.\n\nIn late 2007, it was announced that Cardinale had signed with Aria Records Nashville; she began work on her debut album with record producer Paul Jackson.\n\nShe returned to her college studies, but switched to double majors in journalism and psychology, with a minor in songwriting, at Belmont University; graduation was anticipated for 2011. She continues with occasional Idol-related performances, such as the American Christmas show at Lincoln Theatre in Napa County, California in 2009.\n\nIn early 2015, Cardinale signed with Silvercreek Records in Nashville.\n\nCardinale was a part of the \"American Christmas\" album and 2005 RCA album, \"The Showstoppers\". She is a member of Musicians On Call and St. Jude Partners of Hope.\n\nDiscography\nAlbums\nAmerican Idol Season 4: The Showstoppers (May 2005)\n\nSingles\n\"Nothin' Like a Dream\"\n\"Drive\"\n\"Let It Rain\" (featuring Stephen Cochran)\n\"Always on My Mind\"\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n\nLindsey Cardinale on Myspace\n\nLindsey Cardinale on Instagram\nLindsey Cardinale on Twitter\n\n1985 births\nAmerican child singers\nAmerican women country singers\nAmerican country singer-songwriters\nAmerican Idol participants\nLiving people\nAmerican fiddlers\nAmerican multi-instrumentalists\nBelmont University alumni\nSinger-songwriters from Louisiana\nPeople from Hammond, Louisiana\n21st-century American women guitarists\n21st-century American guitarists\nGuitarists from Louisiana\nPeople from Ponchatoula, Louisiana\n21st-century American drummers\n21st-century American women singers\nCountry musicians from Louisiana\n21st-century violinists\n21st-century American singers"
] |
[
"Phillip Phillips",
"Overview",
"What was his childhood like?",
"Phillips auditioned in Savannah, Georgia. He sang \"Superstition\" by Stevie Wonder. The judges then asked him to perform a second song with his guitar, and he performed Michael Jackson's \"Thriller.",
"How did he get on American Idol?",
"\" He advanced to the Hollywood rounds, and later to the Las Vegas round. On February 23, 2012, Phillips was chosen as one of the Top 25 semi-finalists,",
"Did he make it to the next round?",
"finalists, and was then voted into the Top 13.",
"What happened after that?",
"After the Top 13 performance night, Phillips was taken to a doctor for possible kidney stones. He had eight procedures while he was on Idol,",
"How many shows did eh do on American Idol?",
"For his Top 3 performance, Phillips sang Bob Seger's \"We've Got Tonight.\" For Top 4, he did a cover of Damien Rice's Volcano -",
"Did he win them all?",
"Phillips became the winner on the finale against Jessica Sanchez after a record-breaking 132 million votes were cast.",
"What was the next thing he did right after American Idol?",
"His coronation song, \"Home,\" was released after his performance, and had the biggest digital sales week for any Idol winner's coronation song."
] | C_842643d2f85b4166a73adf4e8ea571f6_1 | Does he have a band? | 8 | Does Phillip Phillips have a band? | Phillip Phillips | Phillips auditioned in Savannah, Georgia. He sang "Superstition" by Stevie Wonder. The judges then asked him to perform a second song with his guitar, and he performed Michael Jackson's "Thriller." He advanced to the Hollywood rounds, and later to the Las Vegas round. On February 23, 2012, Phillips was chosen as one of the Top 25 semi-finalists, and was then voted into the Top 13. His performance style on the show has been compared to Dave Matthews, and he covered one of his songs, "The Stone," in the competition. When asked about Phillips' imitation of his style, Dave Matthews said: "More power to him, I don't mind," and added "He should kick my ass, [then] maybe I can retire and he can take over my band." Mentor Stevie Nicks said Phillips would have been good enough to join Fleetwood Mac back in 1975, after his performance of Jonny Lang's Still Rainin, which he received a standing ovation from the judges. After the Top 13 performance night, Phillips was taken to a doctor for possible kidney stones. He had eight procedures while he was on Idol, and considered quitting the show due to the pain. For his Top 3 performance, Phillips sang Bob Seger's "We've Got Tonight." For Top 4, he did a cover of Damien Rice's Volcano - which has been heralded as one of the best American Idol performances of all time. As the sole contestant who was never in jeopardy of elimination in any week of the competition, Phillips became the winner on the finale against Jessica Sanchez after a record-breaking 132 million votes were cast. His coronation song, "Home," was released after his performance, and had the biggest digital sales week for any Idol winner's coronation song. ^Note 1 Due to the judges using their one save on Jessica Sanchez, the Top 7 remained intact for another week. CANNOTANSWER | CANNOTANSWER | Phillip LaDon Phillips Jr. (born September 20, 1990) is an American musician, singer-songwriter who rose to fame after winning the eleventh season of American Idol on May 23, 2012. His coronation song, "Home", became the best-selling song in American Idol history. His debut album The World from the Side of the Moon was released on November 19, 2012 and was on the Billboard Top 200 album chart for 61 weeks. It has been certified Platinum by the RIAA. The album included the single "Gone, Gone, Gone." He followed up with Behind the Light, in 2014 with the lead single "Raging Fire." His third album, Collateral, was released in 2018 and included the songs "Into the Wild" and "Magnetic." Phillips toured with John Mayer, Gavin DeGraw, the Goo Goo Dolls and has shared the stage with Bruce Springsteen.
In the United States, Phillips has sold 7.5 million digital singles and has sold 2.7 million albums including album streaming equivalent units. He has over 600 million streams on Spotify and 1.2 billion streams on Pandora.
Early life
Phillips was born in Albany, Georgia, to Sheryl (Jacks) and Phillip LaDon "Donnie" Phillips, Sr. He moved with his family to Leesburg, Georgia when he was 12. He has two older sisters, LaDonna, the eldest, and Lacey. Phillips grew up in Sasser and Leesburg, and attended Lee County High School. He graduated from Albany Technical College with a major in Industrial Systems Technology, but missed the graduation ceremony due to his obligations to American Idol. Prior to appearing on American Idol, he worked at his family's pawn shop.
Phillips started playing music, particularly the guitar, when he was 14. He was mentored by his long-time friend and brother-in-law, Benjamin Neil, whom he credits for piquing his interest in music. In 2009, he formed the Phillip Phillips Band with Neil and another brother-in-law, Todd Urick, and performed in various local venues and events. He won a local singing competition, "Albany Star," in 2010.
Phillips' favorite singer is Jonny Lang. Other favorites include John Butler, Dave Matthews, and Damien Rice. He also enjoyed Mumford & Sons and Tool. He grew up listening mainly to '60s and '70s music such as Jimi Hendrix and Led Zeppelin; "Then as I got older I found Damien Rice and Dave Matthews and John Butler, which is what really set it off for me in terms of finding my voice as a musician." He has described his music as "jazz and rock alternative sound."
Prior to trying out for American Idol, Phillips also auditioned on the second season of America's Got Talent.
American Idol
Overview
Phillips auditioned in Savannah, Georgia. He sang "Superstition" by Stevie Wonder. One of the show's executive producers, Megan Michaels-Wolflick, stated "I remember the day in Savannah in 2011 when Phillip Phillips walked in the room and I thought, "This guy is going to win this season." As he walked in front of American Idol judges for his initial audition, Steven Tyler whispered to Jennifer Lopez, "I got a funny feeling about this." The judges asked him to perform a second song with his guitar, and he performed Michael Jackson's "Thriller." He advanced to the Hollywood rounds, and later to the Las Vegas round.
On February 23, 2012, Phillips was chosen as one of the Top 25 semi-finalists, and was voted into the Top 13.
His performance style on the show has been compared to Dave Matthews, and he covered one of his songs, "The Stone," in the competition. When asked about Phillips' imitation of his style, Dave Matthews said: "More power to him, I don't mind," and added "He should kick my ass, [then] maybe I can retire and he can take over my band." Mentor Stevie Nicks said Phillips would have been good enough to join Fleetwood Mac back in 1975, after his performance of Jonny Lang's "Still Rainin," for which he received a standing ovation from the judges.
After the Top 13 performance night, Phillips was taken to a doctor for possible kidney stones. He had eight procedures while he was performing on Idol, and considered quitting the show due to the pain.
For his Top 3 performance, Phillips sang Bob Seger's "We've Got Tonight." For Top 4, he did a cover of Damien Rice's "Volcano" - which has been heralded as one of the best American Idol performances of all time. As the sole contestant who was never in jeopardy of elimination in any week of the competition, Phillips became the winner on the finale against Jessica Sanchez after a record-breaking 132 million votes were cast. His coronation song, "Home," was released after his performance, and had the biggest digital sales week for any Idol winner's coronation song.
Phillips said, "It was crazy and it changed my life completely. I didn't know what to expect, I just loved playing music." "It never seemed like a competition. I always made sure I was having fun and the band was having a good time."
Music career
After winning American Idol, Phillips went on the American Idol LIVE Tour from July to September with the rest of the top ten finalists. He performed the National Anthem at the opening game of the 2012 World Series on October 24, 2012. On November 15, he joined forces with the PS22 chorus of Staten Island for a concert to raise money for those affected by Hurricane Sandy. He also performed at the National Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony on December 6, 2012.
Phillips' coronation song, "Home", was a great success with sales of over 5 million copies in the US. It has been used in NBC's coverage of the Olympics, L.A. Marathon, various commercials, film trailers, and TV shows. He performed "Home" on the PBS Independence Day celebration TV special, A Capitol Fourth. He appeared at the 83rd MLB All-Star Game held at Kansas City on July 10 and sang his coronation song. On October 9, 2012, he joined other musicians in the One World concert held in Syracuse University to honor the Dalai Lama. He also performed "Home" on the CNN Heroes special aired on December 2, 2012, and the CBS's A Home for the Holidays on December 19, 2012.
Phillip has performed on The Today Show and Good Morning America Concert Series, Late Show with David Letterman, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, The Tonight Show With Jay Leno, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Live With Kelly, The View, and Conan. He has also appeared at the American Music Awards and Billboard Music Awards.
Phillip Phillips made the Forbes Highest Earning American Idol list for each of the three years he was qualified. For the list published in January 2014 and January 2015, he ranked number three. For the list published January 2016, he ranked number four.
2012–13: The World from the Side of the Moon
Phillips released his debut album, The World from the Side of the Moon, on November 19, 2012. The album was produced by Gregg Wattenberg, with Phillips writing or co-writing the majority of the disc. On November 6, 2012, "Where We Came From" was released for sale in advance of the album, and was a free download on pre-orders. The album debuted at No. 4 in the Billboard 200 with sales of 169,000 copies, and was certified Platinum by RIAA in August 2013. The World From The Side Of The Moon was on the Billboard Top 200 album chart for 61 weeks. That puts in number two of all the debut albums by American Idol winners.
In January 2013, Phillip Phillips appeared on the cover of Billboard magazine with Interscope Records founder and CEO and American Idol mentor, Jimmy Iovine. "Phillip is a true artist and the fact that people are embracing his album shows they accept him as an artist." said Iovine.
On January 29, 2013, Phillips began a tour in North America as the opening act for Matchbox Twenty. He also headlined ten college dates in January with a four-piece acoustic band, and a further college tour with an electric band from March through May after his tour with Matchbox Twenty. Nine of his college tour dates were postponed due to a continuing health issue.
From July 6 to October 5, 2013, he toured as the opening act for John Mayer's Born and Raised World Tour, followed by his own college tour and then further dates with John Mayer until December 17. He also performed at the international music festival Rock in Rio, in Rio de Janeiro on September 21, the same day as John Mayer and Bruce Springsteen. In 2014, a solo tour of Canada was also scheduled, as well as other dates in the US.
The third single released from the album was "Where We Came From".
"Gone, Gone, Gone" from the album was released as a single on February 11, 2013. Phillips performed the song live on the March 14, 2013 edition of American Idol. "Gone, Gone, Gone" was also used as the twelfth season's "send-off" song, played as the backing track for the montages that highlight each week's eliminated finalist. The song was also used in the film, The Amazing Spider-Man 2.
Phillip Phillips capped off 2013 with a nomination from the American Music Awards for Best New Artist. He joined Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood as the only American Idol winners to receive this nomination.
2014–15: Behind the Light
In March 2013, Phillips stated that he was "always writing" and that his second studio album would be released sometime in 2014. The album, Behind the Light, was released on May 19, 2014. The debut single, "Raging Fire", from his second album was released digitally on March 3, 2014. The song was featured in the National Hockey League's Playoffs. Phillips received his first BMI pop music song writing award for "Raging Fire". A promotional single, "Fly", was released alongside the album's pre-order on April 22, 2014.
Phillips toured with O.A.R. in the summer of 2014. He also launched the Behind The Light Fall Tour 2014 in the U.S. to support his second album.
The second single released from the album was "Unpack Your Heart". The song was featured in a TV commercial for Ram 1500 trucks, which premiered at the 2014 American Music Awards.
In January 2015, Phillips filed a lawsuit against his label 19 Recordings, calling the producers manipulative and "oppressive". In June 2017, Phillips settled the dispute with the show's producers.
2016: American Idol finale, Invictus Games
On April 7, 2016 Phillips returned to the American Idol stage for the series finale and performed a tribute to David Bowie with four other winners; David Cook, Kris Allen, Lee Dewyze, and Nick Fradiani. Former Idol judge Simon Cowell said Phillip Phillips was the only contestant he liked after he left the show. Jennifer Lopez, who was a judge on the eleventh season, revealed that Phillips is her favorite American Idol winner.
He performed at the 2016 Invictus Games closing ceremony in Orlando, Florida on May 12, 2016.
On June 17, 2016, Phillips started a co-headlining tour with Matt Nathanson at the San Diego County Fair and ending on August 13 at the Wisconsin State Fair.
2017–2019: Collateral
During summer 2017, Phillips was the opening act on the Live Nation Goo Goo Dolls' Long Way Home tour.
On October 18, 2017, Phillips performed at the CMT Artists of the Year awards, where he did a cover of Sam Hunt's "Body Like a Back Road", which won Song of the Year.
Phillips released the single "Miles" to radio on August 11, 2017, through 19R/Interscope. It was the lead single to the new album.
Phillips' third studio album, Collateral was released January 19, 2018. Producer Ryan Hadlock has been Phillips' primary collaborator, and he also worked with Nathan Chapman, Jon Nite, John Paul White and Todd Clark, with whom he wrote the singles "Gone, Gone, Gone" and "Raging Fire". He performed "The Magnetic Tour" from February 9, 2018 to April 14, 2018 with over 40 shows to support the album.
In the summer of 2018, Phillips hit the road headlining his solo tour and a co-headlining tour with Gavin DeGraw including over 30 shows.
In September 2019, Phillips teamed with American Authors and Maddie Poppe on a new version of the song "Bring It on Home".
2020 - present: Return to American Idol and pandemic relief efforts
On May 3, 2020, Phillips returned to American Idol and opened the Top 10 by performing "Home". The episode "On with the Show: Homeward Bound" featured the theme of songs about home. The show was broadcast from homes of the participants due to the pandemic health crisis.
Phillips performed on the Idol alumni ensemble (including Alejandro Aranda, Fantasia, Gabby Barrett, Jordin Sparks, Katharine McPhee, Kellie Pickler, Laine Hardy, Lauren Alaina, Ruben Studdard and Scotty McCreery) for "We Are the World" with Lionel Richie on the season finale on May 17, 2020.
Phillips performed at pandemic relief efforts for Sendero Together for Texas and for the Phoebe Hospital Foundation to help support frontline medical heroes battling COVID-19 in southwest Georgia.
On July 17, 2021, Phillips performed "Home" in support of the Project Angel Food telethon. The telethon help raise $1M to sustain the expanded service to those in need, preparing and delivering over one million medically tailored meals.
Acting
In January 2018, Phillips appeared in an episode of Hawaii Five-0, playing a diamond smuggler.
Personal life
Phillips has suffered from a congenital kidney condition. Soon after American Idol finished, he had kidney stones removed as well as reconstructive surgery done on his kidney.
On December 26, 2014, Phillips announced his engagement to girlfriend Hannah Blackwell. The two were married at the Resora Plantation in Albany, Georgia on October 24, 2015.
On July 3, 2019, Phillips and Blackwell announced that they were expecting their first child, a son, in the fall. Patch Shepherd Phillips was born November 10, 2019.
In addition to his singing career he has supported organizations including the Sarah Foundation and the Gibson Flood Relief Campaign. as well being an ambassador for Brave Beginnings. He has also supported DoSomething, National Park Foundation, NCIRE - the Veterans Health Research Institute, Save The Music Foundation, and Habitat for Humanity.
Discography
The World from the Side of the Moon (2012)
Behind the Light (2014)
Collateral (2018)
Filmography
Concert Tours
American Idol Tour Summer 2012
College Tour Spring 2013
North Tour (2013) with Matchbox Twenty
Born and Raised World Tour (2013) with John Mayer
Canada Tour Spring 2014
With O.A.R. Summer Tour 2014
Behind The Light Fall Tour 2014
With Matt Nathanson Summer 2016
Long Way Home Tour (2017) with Goo Goo Dolls
The Magnetic Tour Spring 2018
With Gavin DeGraw Summer 2018
Jingle Bell Rock Tour Winter 2018
Awards and nominations
See also
List of Idols winners
References
External links
PhillPhill.com
Phillip Phillips on American Idol
1990 births
Living people
19 Recordings artists
21st-century American singers
American Idol winners
American folk singers
American male singer-songwriters
American pop guitarists
American pop rock singers
American rock guitarists
American male guitarists
American rock songwriters
American male actors
Interscope Records artists
Musicians from Albany, Georgia
People from Leesburg, Georgia
21st-century American guitarists
Guitarists from Georgia (U.S. state)
21st-century American male singers
Singer-songwriters from Georgia (U.S. state) | false | [
"This is a comprehensive list of songs by English electronic alternative rock band Stateless that have been officially released. Since forming in 2003, the band have released two studio albums, and one extended play (EP). This list does not contain live versions or remixes released by the band.\n\nOriginal songs\n\nStateless",
"Hypocrisy is the act of pretending to have beliefs, opinions, virtues, feelings, qualities, or standards that one does not actually have.\n\nHypocrisy may also refer to:\n\n Hypocrisy (band), a melodic death metal band\n Hypocrisy (album), a 1999 album by melodic death metal band Hypocrisy\n Appeal to hypocrisy, a kind of logical fallacy\n\nSee also\nHypocrite (disambiguation)\nHippocrates (disambiguation)"
] |
[
"Phillip Phillips",
"Overview",
"What was his childhood like?",
"Phillips auditioned in Savannah, Georgia. He sang \"Superstition\" by Stevie Wonder. The judges then asked him to perform a second song with his guitar, and he performed Michael Jackson's \"Thriller.",
"How did he get on American Idol?",
"\" He advanced to the Hollywood rounds, and later to the Las Vegas round. On February 23, 2012, Phillips was chosen as one of the Top 25 semi-finalists,",
"Did he make it to the next round?",
"finalists, and was then voted into the Top 13.",
"What happened after that?",
"After the Top 13 performance night, Phillips was taken to a doctor for possible kidney stones. He had eight procedures while he was on Idol,",
"How many shows did eh do on American Idol?",
"For his Top 3 performance, Phillips sang Bob Seger's \"We've Got Tonight.\" For Top 4, he did a cover of Damien Rice's Volcano -",
"Did he win them all?",
"Phillips became the winner on the finale against Jessica Sanchez after a record-breaking 132 million votes were cast.",
"What was the next thing he did right after American Idol?",
"His coronation song, \"Home,\" was released after his performance, and had the biggest digital sales week for any Idol winner's coronation song.",
"Does he have a band?",
"I don't know."
] | C_842643d2f85b4166a73adf4e8ea571f6_1 | Anything else interesting about him? | 9 | Other than American Idol, is there anything else interesting about Phillip Phillips? | Phillip Phillips | Phillips auditioned in Savannah, Georgia. He sang "Superstition" by Stevie Wonder. The judges then asked him to perform a second song with his guitar, and he performed Michael Jackson's "Thriller." He advanced to the Hollywood rounds, and later to the Las Vegas round. On February 23, 2012, Phillips was chosen as one of the Top 25 semi-finalists, and was then voted into the Top 13. His performance style on the show has been compared to Dave Matthews, and he covered one of his songs, "The Stone," in the competition. When asked about Phillips' imitation of his style, Dave Matthews said: "More power to him, I don't mind," and added "He should kick my ass, [then] maybe I can retire and he can take over my band." Mentor Stevie Nicks said Phillips would have been good enough to join Fleetwood Mac back in 1975, after his performance of Jonny Lang's Still Rainin, which he received a standing ovation from the judges. After the Top 13 performance night, Phillips was taken to a doctor for possible kidney stones. He had eight procedures while he was on Idol, and considered quitting the show due to the pain. For his Top 3 performance, Phillips sang Bob Seger's "We've Got Tonight." For Top 4, he did a cover of Damien Rice's Volcano - which has been heralded as one of the best American Idol performances of all time. As the sole contestant who was never in jeopardy of elimination in any week of the competition, Phillips became the winner on the finale against Jessica Sanchez after a record-breaking 132 million votes were cast. His coronation song, "Home," was released after his performance, and had the biggest digital sales week for any Idol winner's coronation song. ^Note 1 Due to the judges using their one save on Jessica Sanchez, the Top 7 remained intact for another week. CANNOTANSWER | His performance style on the show has been compared to Dave Matthews, and he covered one of his songs, "The Stone," in the competition. | Phillip LaDon Phillips Jr. (born September 20, 1990) is an American musician, singer-songwriter who rose to fame after winning the eleventh season of American Idol on May 23, 2012. His coronation song, "Home", became the best-selling song in American Idol history. His debut album The World from the Side of the Moon was released on November 19, 2012 and was on the Billboard Top 200 album chart for 61 weeks. It has been certified Platinum by the RIAA. The album included the single "Gone, Gone, Gone." He followed up with Behind the Light, in 2014 with the lead single "Raging Fire." His third album, Collateral, was released in 2018 and included the songs "Into the Wild" and "Magnetic." Phillips toured with John Mayer, Gavin DeGraw, the Goo Goo Dolls and has shared the stage with Bruce Springsteen.
In the United States, Phillips has sold 7.5 million digital singles and has sold 2.7 million albums including album streaming equivalent units. He has over 600 million streams on Spotify and 1.2 billion streams on Pandora.
Early life
Phillips was born in Albany, Georgia, to Sheryl (Jacks) and Phillip LaDon "Donnie" Phillips, Sr. He moved with his family to Leesburg, Georgia when he was 12. He has two older sisters, LaDonna, the eldest, and Lacey. Phillips grew up in Sasser and Leesburg, and attended Lee County High School. He graduated from Albany Technical College with a major in Industrial Systems Technology, but missed the graduation ceremony due to his obligations to American Idol. Prior to appearing on American Idol, he worked at his family's pawn shop.
Phillips started playing music, particularly the guitar, when he was 14. He was mentored by his long-time friend and brother-in-law, Benjamin Neil, whom he credits for piquing his interest in music. In 2009, he formed the Phillip Phillips Band with Neil and another brother-in-law, Todd Urick, and performed in various local venues and events. He won a local singing competition, "Albany Star," in 2010.
Phillips' favorite singer is Jonny Lang. Other favorites include John Butler, Dave Matthews, and Damien Rice. He also enjoyed Mumford & Sons and Tool. He grew up listening mainly to '60s and '70s music such as Jimi Hendrix and Led Zeppelin; "Then as I got older I found Damien Rice and Dave Matthews and John Butler, which is what really set it off for me in terms of finding my voice as a musician." He has described his music as "jazz and rock alternative sound."
Prior to trying out for American Idol, Phillips also auditioned on the second season of America's Got Talent.
American Idol
Overview
Phillips auditioned in Savannah, Georgia. He sang "Superstition" by Stevie Wonder. One of the show's executive producers, Megan Michaels-Wolflick, stated "I remember the day in Savannah in 2011 when Phillip Phillips walked in the room and I thought, "This guy is going to win this season." As he walked in front of American Idol judges for his initial audition, Steven Tyler whispered to Jennifer Lopez, "I got a funny feeling about this." The judges asked him to perform a second song with his guitar, and he performed Michael Jackson's "Thriller." He advanced to the Hollywood rounds, and later to the Las Vegas round.
On February 23, 2012, Phillips was chosen as one of the Top 25 semi-finalists, and was voted into the Top 13.
His performance style on the show has been compared to Dave Matthews, and he covered one of his songs, "The Stone," in the competition. When asked about Phillips' imitation of his style, Dave Matthews said: "More power to him, I don't mind," and added "He should kick my ass, [then] maybe I can retire and he can take over my band." Mentor Stevie Nicks said Phillips would have been good enough to join Fleetwood Mac back in 1975, after his performance of Jonny Lang's "Still Rainin," for which he received a standing ovation from the judges.
After the Top 13 performance night, Phillips was taken to a doctor for possible kidney stones. He had eight procedures while he was performing on Idol, and considered quitting the show due to the pain.
For his Top 3 performance, Phillips sang Bob Seger's "We've Got Tonight." For Top 4, he did a cover of Damien Rice's "Volcano" - which has been heralded as one of the best American Idol performances of all time. As the sole contestant who was never in jeopardy of elimination in any week of the competition, Phillips became the winner on the finale against Jessica Sanchez after a record-breaking 132 million votes were cast. His coronation song, "Home," was released after his performance, and had the biggest digital sales week for any Idol winner's coronation song.
Phillips said, "It was crazy and it changed my life completely. I didn't know what to expect, I just loved playing music." "It never seemed like a competition. I always made sure I was having fun and the band was having a good time."
Music career
After winning American Idol, Phillips went on the American Idol LIVE Tour from July to September with the rest of the top ten finalists. He performed the National Anthem at the opening game of the 2012 World Series on October 24, 2012. On November 15, he joined forces with the PS22 chorus of Staten Island for a concert to raise money for those affected by Hurricane Sandy. He also performed at the National Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony on December 6, 2012.
Phillips' coronation song, "Home", was a great success with sales of over 5 million copies in the US. It has been used in NBC's coverage of the Olympics, L.A. Marathon, various commercials, film trailers, and TV shows. He performed "Home" on the PBS Independence Day celebration TV special, A Capitol Fourth. He appeared at the 83rd MLB All-Star Game held at Kansas City on July 10 and sang his coronation song. On October 9, 2012, he joined other musicians in the One World concert held in Syracuse University to honor the Dalai Lama. He also performed "Home" on the CNN Heroes special aired on December 2, 2012, and the CBS's A Home for the Holidays on December 19, 2012.
Phillip has performed on The Today Show and Good Morning America Concert Series, Late Show with David Letterman, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, The Tonight Show With Jay Leno, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Live With Kelly, The View, and Conan. He has also appeared at the American Music Awards and Billboard Music Awards.
Phillip Phillips made the Forbes Highest Earning American Idol list for each of the three years he was qualified. For the list published in January 2014 and January 2015, he ranked number three. For the list published January 2016, he ranked number four.
2012–13: The World from the Side of the Moon
Phillips released his debut album, The World from the Side of the Moon, on November 19, 2012. The album was produced by Gregg Wattenberg, with Phillips writing or co-writing the majority of the disc. On November 6, 2012, "Where We Came From" was released for sale in advance of the album, and was a free download on pre-orders. The album debuted at No. 4 in the Billboard 200 with sales of 169,000 copies, and was certified Platinum by RIAA in August 2013. The World From The Side Of The Moon was on the Billboard Top 200 album chart for 61 weeks. That puts in number two of all the debut albums by American Idol winners.
In January 2013, Phillip Phillips appeared on the cover of Billboard magazine with Interscope Records founder and CEO and American Idol mentor, Jimmy Iovine. "Phillip is a true artist and the fact that people are embracing his album shows they accept him as an artist." said Iovine.
On January 29, 2013, Phillips began a tour in North America as the opening act for Matchbox Twenty. He also headlined ten college dates in January with a four-piece acoustic band, and a further college tour with an electric band from March through May after his tour with Matchbox Twenty. Nine of his college tour dates were postponed due to a continuing health issue.
From July 6 to October 5, 2013, he toured as the opening act for John Mayer's Born and Raised World Tour, followed by his own college tour and then further dates with John Mayer until December 17. He also performed at the international music festival Rock in Rio, in Rio de Janeiro on September 21, the same day as John Mayer and Bruce Springsteen. In 2014, a solo tour of Canada was also scheduled, as well as other dates in the US.
The third single released from the album was "Where We Came From".
"Gone, Gone, Gone" from the album was released as a single on February 11, 2013. Phillips performed the song live on the March 14, 2013 edition of American Idol. "Gone, Gone, Gone" was also used as the twelfth season's "send-off" song, played as the backing track for the montages that highlight each week's eliminated finalist. The song was also used in the film, The Amazing Spider-Man 2.
Phillip Phillips capped off 2013 with a nomination from the American Music Awards for Best New Artist. He joined Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood as the only American Idol winners to receive this nomination.
2014–15: Behind the Light
In March 2013, Phillips stated that he was "always writing" and that his second studio album would be released sometime in 2014. The album, Behind the Light, was released on May 19, 2014. The debut single, "Raging Fire", from his second album was released digitally on March 3, 2014. The song was featured in the National Hockey League's Playoffs. Phillips received his first BMI pop music song writing award for "Raging Fire". A promotional single, "Fly", was released alongside the album's pre-order on April 22, 2014.
Phillips toured with O.A.R. in the summer of 2014. He also launched the Behind The Light Fall Tour 2014 in the U.S. to support his second album.
The second single released from the album was "Unpack Your Heart". The song was featured in a TV commercial for Ram 1500 trucks, which premiered at the 2014 American Music Awards.
In January 2015, Phillips filed a lawsuit against his label 19 Recordings, calling the producers manipulative and "oppressive". In June 2017, Phillips settled the dispute with the show's producers.
2016: American Idol finale, Invictus Games
On April 7, 2016 Phillips returned to the American Idol stage for the series finale and performed a tribute to David Bowie with four other winners; David Cook, Kris Allen, Lee Dewyze, and Nick Fradiani. Former Idol judge Simon Cowell said Phillip Phillips was the only contestant he liked after he left the show. Jennifer Lopez, who was a judge on the eleventh season, revealed that Phillips is her favorite American Idol winner.
He performed at the 2016 Invictus Games closing ceremony in Orlando, Florida on May 12, 2016.
On June 17, 2016, Phillips started a co-headlining tour with Matt Nathanson at the San Diego County Fair and ending on August 13 at the Wisconsin State Fair.
2017–2019: Collateral
During summer 2017, Phillips was the opening act on the Live Nation Goo Goo Dolls' Long Way Home tour.
On October 18, 2017, Phillips performed at the CMT Artists of the Year awards, where he did a cover of Sam Hunt's "Body Like a Back Road", which won Song of the Year.
Phillips released the single "Miles" to radio on August 11, 2017, through 19R/Interscope. It was the lead single to the new album.
Phillips' third studio album, Collateral was released January 19, 2018. Producer Ryan Hadlock has been Phillips' primary collaborator, and he also worked with Nathan Chapman, Jon Nite, John Paul White and Todd Clark, with whom he wrote the singles "Gone, Gone, Gone" and "Raging Fire". He performed "The Magnetic Tour" from February 9, 2018 to April 14, 2018 with over 40 shows to support the album.
In the summer of 2018, Phillips hit the road headlining his solo tour and a co-headlining tour with Gavin DeGraw including over 30 shows.
In September 2019, Phillips teamed with American Authors and Maddie Poppe on a new version of the song "Bring It on Home".
2020 - present: Return to American Idol and pandemic relief efforts
On May 3, 2020, Phillips returned to American Idol and opened the Top 10 by performing "Home". The episode "On with the Show: Homeward Bound" featured the theme of songs about home. The show was broadcast from homes of the participants due to the pandemic health crisis.
Phillips performed on the Idol alumni ensemble (including Alejandro Aranda, Fantasia, Gabby Barrett, Jordin Sparks, Katharine McPhee, Kellie Pickler, Laine Hardy, Lauren Alaina, Ruben Studdard and Scotty McCreery) for "We Are the World" with Lionel Richie on the season finale on May 17, 2020.
Phillips performed at pandemic relief efforts for Sendero Together for Texas and for the Phoebe Hospital Foundation to help support frontline medical heroes battling COVID-19 in southwest Georgia.
On July 17, 2021, Phillips performed "Home" in support of the Project Angel Food telethon. The telethon help raise $1M to sustain the expanded service to those in need, preparing and delivering over one million medically tailored meals.
Acting
In January 2018, Phillips appeared in an episode of Hawaii Five-0, playing a diamond smuggler.
Personal life
Phillips has suffered from a congenital kidney condition. Soon after American Idol finished, he had kidney stones removed as well as reconstructive surgery done on his kidney.
On December 26, 2014, Phillips announced his engagement to girlfriend Hannah Blackwell. The two were married at the Resora Plantation in Albany, Georgia on October 24, 2015.
On July 3, 2019, Phillips and Blackwell announced that they were expecting their first child, a son, in the fall. Patch Shepherd Phillips was born November 10, 2019.
In addition to his singing career he has supported organizations including the Sarah Foundation and the Gibson Flood Relief Campaign. as well being an ambassador for Brave Beginnings. He has also supported DoSomething, National Park Foundation, NCIRE - the Veterans Health Research Institute, Save The Music Foundation, and Habitat for Humanity.
Discography
The World from the Side of the Moon (2012)
Behind the Light (2014)
Collateral (2018)
Filmography
Concert Tours
American Idol Tour Summer 2012
College Tour Spring 2013
North Tour (2013) with Matchbox Twenty
Born and Raised World Tour (2013) with John Mayer
Canada Tour Spring 2014
With O.A.R. Summer Tour 2014
Behind The Light Fall Tour 2014
With Matt Nathanson Summer 2016
Long Way Home Tour (2017) with Goo Goo Dolls
The Magnetic Tour Spring 2018
With Gavin DeGraw Summer 2018
Jingle Bell Rock Tour Winter 2018
Awards and nominations
See also
List of Idols winners
References
External links
PhillPhill.com
Phillip Phillips on American Idol
1990 births
Living people
19 Recordings artists
21st-century American singers
American Idol winners
American folk singers
American male singer-songwriters
American pop guitarists
American pop rock singers
American rock guitarists
American male guitarists
American rock songwriters
American male actors
Interscope Records artists
Musicians from Albany, Georgia
People from Leesburg, Georgia
21st-century American guitarists
Guitarists from Georgia (U.S. state)
21st-century American male singers
Singer-songwriters from Georgia (U.S. state) | true | [
"\"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",
"\"How Interesting: A Tiny Man\" is a 2010 science fiction/magical realism short story by American writer Harlan Ellison. It was first published in Realms of Fantasy.\n\nPlot summary\nA scientist creates a tiny man. The tiny man is initially very popular, but then draws the hatred of the world, and so the tiny man must flee, together with the scientist (who is now likewise hated, for having created the tiny man).\n\nReception\n\"How Interesting: A Tiny Man\" won the 2010 Nebula Award for Best Short Story, tied with Kij Johnson's \"Ponies\". It was Ellison's final Nebula nomination and win, of his record-setting eight nominations and three wins.\n\nTor.com calls the story \"deceptively simple\", with \"execution (that) is flawless\" and a \"Geppetto-like\" narrator, while Publishers Weekly describes it as \"memorably depict(ing) humanity's smallness of spirit\". The SF Site, however, felt it was \"contrived and less than profound\".\n\nNick Mamatas compared \"How Interesting: A Tiny Man\" negatively to Ellison's other Nebula-winning short stories, and stated that the story's two mutually exclusive endings (in one, the tiny man is killed; in the other, he becomes God) are evocative of the process of writing short stories. Ben Peek considered it to be \"more allegory than (...) anything else\", and interpreted it as being about how the media \"give(s) everyone a voice\", and also about how Ellison was treated by science fiction fandom.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\nAudio version of ''How Interesting: A Tiny Man, at StarShipSofa\nHow Interesting: A Tiny Man, at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database\n\nNebula Award for Best Short Story-winning works\nShort stories by Harlan Ellison"
] |
[
"50 Cent",
"2002-2006: Rise to fame"
] | C_c5bdd69a096444ff8e00c23e110bdece_0 | What was his album when he rise to fame? | 1 | What was 50 Cent's album that rose him to fame? | 50 Cent | In 2002, Eminem heard Jackson's Guess Who's Back? CD, received from Jackson's attorney (who was working with Eminem's manager, Paul Rosenberg). Impressed, Eminem invited Jackson to fly to Los Angeles and introduced him to Dr. Dre. After signing a $1 million record deal, Jackson released No Mercy, No Fear. The mixtape featured one new track, "Wanksta", which appeared on Eminem's 8 Mile soundtrack. Jackson was also signed by Chris Lighty's Violator Management and Sha Money XL's Money Management Group. Jackson released his debut album, Get Rich or Die Tryin' (described by AllMusic as "probably the most hyped debut album by a rap artist in about a decade"), in February 2003. Rolling Stone noted its "dark synth grooves, buzzy keyboards and a persistently funky bounce", with Jackson complementing the production in "an unflappable, laid-back flow". It debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, selling 872,000 copies in its first four days. The lead single, "In da Club" (noted by The Source for its "blaring horns, funky organs, guitar riffs and sparse hand claps"), set a Billboard record as the most listened-to song in radio history within a week. Interscope gave Jackson his own label, G-Unit Records, in 2003. He signed Lloyd Banks, Tony Yayo and Young Buck as members of G-Unit, and The Game was later signed in a joint venture with Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment. In March 2005 Jackson's second commercial album, The Massacre, sold 1.14 million copies in its first four days (the highest in an abbreviated sales cycle) and was number one on the Billboard 200 for six weeks. He was the first solo artist with three singles in the Billboard top five in the same week with "Candy Shop", "Disco Inferno" and "How We Do". According to Rolling Stone, "50's secret weapon is his singing voice - the deceptively amateur-sounding tenor croon that he deploys on almost every chorus". After The Game's departure Jackson signed Olivia and rap veterans Mobb Deep to G-Unit Records, with Spider Loc, M.O.P., 40 Glocc and Young Hot Rod later joining the label, who all eventually departed the label. Jackson expressed an interest in working with rappers other than G-Unit, such as Lil' Scrappy of BME, LL Cool J of Def Jam, Mase of Bad Boy and Freeway of Roc-A-Fella, and recorded with several. CANNOTANSWER | In 2002, Eminem heard Jackson's Guess Who's Back? CD, received from Jackson's attorney ( | Curtis James Jackson III (born July 6, 1975), known professionally as 50 Cent, is an American rapper, actor and entrepreneur. Known for his impact in the hip hop industry, he has been described as a "master of the nuanced art of lyrical brevity".
Born in the South Jamaica neighborhood of Queens, Jackson began selling drugs at age 12 during the 1980s crack epidemic. He later began pursuing a musical career and in 2000 he produced Power of the Dollar for Columbia Records, but days before the planned release he was shot and the album was never released. In 2002, after 50 Cent released the compilation album Guess Who's Back?, he was discovered by Eminem and signed to Shady Records, under the aegis of Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment and Interscope Records.
With the aid of Eminem and Dr. Dre (who produced his first major-label album Get Rich or Die Tryin'), 50 Cent became one of the world's best selling rappers and rose to prominence as de facto leader of East Coast hip hop group G-Unit. In 2003, he founded G-Unit Records, signing his G-Unit associates Young Buck, Lloyd Banks and Tony Yayo. 50 Cent had similar commercial and critical success with his second album, The Massacre, which was released in 2005. He underwent musical changes by his fifth album, Animal Ambition (2014), and is currently working on his sixth studio album. He executive-produced and starred in the television series Power (2014–2020) and is slated to produce its spin-offs.
50 Cent has sold over 30 million albums worldwide and won several awards, including a Grammy Award, thirteen Billboard Music Awards, six World Music Awards, three American Music Awards and four BET Awards. As an actor, Jackson appeared in the semi-autobiographical film Get Rich or Die Tryin' (2005), the war film Home of the Brave (2006), and the crime thriller film Righteous Kill (2008). 50 Cent was ranked the sixth-best artist of the 2000s and the third-best rapper (behind Eminem and Nelly) by Billboard. Rolling Stone ranked Get Rich or Die Tryin and "In da Club" in its lists of the "100 Best Albums of the 2000s" and "100 Best Songs of the 2000s" at numbers 37 and 13, respectively.
Early life
Jackson was born in the borough of Queens, New York City, and raised in its South Jamaica neighborhood by his mother Sabrina. A drug dealer, Sabrina raised Jackson until she died in a fire when Jackson was 8. (online is excerpt only) Jackson revealed in an interview that his mother was a lesbian. After his mother's death and his father's departure, Jackson was raised by his grandmother.
He began boxing at about age 11, and when he was 14, a neighbor opened a boxing gym for local youth. "When I wasn't killing time in school, I was sparring in the gym or selling crack on the strip," Jackson remembered. He sold crack during primary school. "I was competitive in the ring and hip-hop is competitive too ... I think rappers condition themselves like boxers, so they all kind of feel like they're the champ."
At age 12, Jackson began dealing narcotics when his grandparents thought he was in after-school programs and brought guns and drug money to school. In the tenth grade, he was caught by metal detectors at Andrew Jackson High School: "I was embarrassed that I got arrested like that ... After I got arrested I stopped hiding it. I was telling my grandmother [openly], 'I sell drugs.'"
On June 29, 1994, Jackson was arrested for selling four vials of cocaine to an undercover police officer. He was arrested again three weeks later, when police searched his home and found heroin, ten ounces of crack cocaine, and a starting pistol. Although Jackson was sentenced to three to nine years in prison, he served six months in a boot camp and earned his GED. He has said that he did not use cocaine himself.The Smoking Gun: 50 Cent . The Smoking Gun (February 27, 2003). Accessed May 22, 2007. Jackson adopted the nickname "50 Cent" as a metaphor for change. The name was inspired by Kelvin Martin, a 1980s Brooklyn robber known as "50 Cent"; Jackson chose it "because it says everything I want it to say. I'm the same kind of person 50 Cent was. I provide for myself by any means."
Career
1996–2002: Rise to fame, shooting, and early mixtapes
Jackson began rapping in a friend's basement, where he used turntables to record over instrumentals. In 1996, a friend introduced him to Jam Master Jay of Run-DMC, who was establishing Jam Master Jay Records. Jay taught him how to count bars, write choruses, structure songs, and make records.Tarek, Shams (May 16, 2003). Jamaica's 'Own Bad Guy' 50 Cent Making Good in the Music Biz . Queens Press. Accessed May 22, 2007. Jackson's first appearance was on "React" with Onyx, for their 1998 album Shut 'Em Down. He credited Jam Master Jay for improving his ability to write hooks, and Jay produced Jackson's first (unreleased) album. In 1999, after Jackson left Jam Master Jay, the platinum-selling producers Trackmasters signed him to Columbia Records. They sent him to an upstate New York studio, where he produced thirty-six songs in two weeks; eighteen were included on his 2000 album, Power of the Dollar. Jackson founded Hollow Point Entertainment with former G-Unit member Bang 'Em Smurf.Williams, Houston (February 2004). Bang'em Smurf: Life after G-Unit. AllHipHop. Retrieved July 20, 2007.
Jackson's popularity began to grow after the successful, controversial underground single "How to Rob", which he wrote in a half-hour car ride to a studio.50 Cent. From Pieces to Weight Part 5 . MTV. Accessed May 22, 2007. The track comically describes how he would rob famous artists. Jackson explained the song's rationale: "There's a hundred artists on that label, you gotta separate yourself from that group and make yourself relevant". Rappers Jay-Z, Kurupt, Sticky Fingaz, Big Pun, DMX, Wyclef Jean, and the Wu-Tang Clan responded to the track, and Nas invited Jackson to join him on his Nastradamus tour. Although "How to Rob" was intended to be released with "Thug Love" (with Destiny's Child), two days before he was scheduled to film the "Thug Love" music video, Jackson was shot and hospitalized.
On May 24, 2000, Jackson was attacked by a gunman outside his grandmother's former home in South Jamaica. After getting into a friend's car, he was asked to return to the house to get some jewelry; his son was in the house, and his grandmother was in the front yard. Jackson returned to the back seat of the car, and another car pulled up nearby; an assailant walked up and fired nine shots at close range with a 9mm handgun. Jackson was shot in the hand, arm, hip, both legs, chest, and left cheek. His facial wound resulted in a swollen tongue, the loss of a wisdom tooth and a slightly slurred voice; his friend was wounded in the hand. They were driven to a hospital, where Jackson spent thirteen days. The alleged attacker, Darryl Baum, Mike Tyson's close friend and bodyguard, was killed three weeks later.
Jackson recalled the shooting: "It happens so fast that you don't even get a chance to shoot back .... I was scared the whole time ... I was looking in the rear-view mirror like, 'Oh shit, somebody shot me in the face! It burns, burns, burns.'" In his autobiography, From Pieces to Weight: Once upon a Time in Southside Queens, he wrote: "After I got shot nine times at close range and didn't die, I started to think that I must have a purpose in life ... How much more damage could that shell have done? Give me an inch in this direction or that one, and I'm gone". Jackson used a walker for six weeks and fully recovered after five months. When he left the hospital he stayed in the Poconos with his girlfriend and son, and his workout regime helped him develop a muscular physique.
In the hospital Jackson signed a publishing deal with Columbia Records before he was dropped from the label and blacklisted by the recording industry because of his song, "Ghetto Qu'ran". Unable to work in a U.S. studio, he went to Canada.Weiner, Jonah (April 2005). Dear Superstar: 50 Cent . Blender. Accessed May 22, 2007. With business partner Sha Money XL, Jackson recorded over thirty songs for mixtapes to build a reputation. In a HitQuarters interview, Marc Labelle of Shady Records A&R said that Jackson used the mixtape circuit to his advantage: "He took all the hottest beats from every artist and flipped them with better hooks. They then got into all the markets on the mixtapes and all the mixtape DJs were messing with them." Jackson's popularity increased, and in 2002 he released the mixtape Guess Who's Back?. He then released 50 Cent Is the Future backed by G-Unit, a mixtape revisiting material by Jay-Z and Raphael Saadiq.
===2002–2007: Mainstream breakthrough, Get Rich or Die Tryin''', and The Massacre===
In 2002, Eminem heard Jackson's Guess Who's Back? CD, received from Jackson's attorney (who was working with Eminem's manager, Paul Rosenberg). Impressed, Eminem invited Jackson to fly to Los Angeles and introduced him to Dr. Dre. After signing a $1 million record deal, Jackson released No Mercy, No Fear. The mixtape featured one new track, "Wanksta", which appeared on Eminem's 8 Mile soundtrack. Jackson was also signed by Chris Lighty's Violator Management and Sha Money XL's Money Management Group.
50 Cent released his debut album, Get Rich or Die Tryin' (described by AllMusic as "probably the most hyped debut album by a rap artist in about a decade"), in February 2003. Rolling Stone noted its "dark synth grooves, buzzy keyboards and a persistently funky bounce", with Jackson complementing the production in "an unflappable, laid-back flow". It debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, selling 872,000 copies in its first four days. The lead single, "In da Club" (noted by The Source for its "blaring horns, funky organs, guitar riffs and sparse hand claps"), set a Billboard record as the most listened-to song in radio history within a week.
Interscope gave Jackson his own label, G-Unit Records, in 2003. He signed Lloyd Banks, Tony Yayo and Young Buck as members of G-Unit, and The Game was later signed in a joint venture with Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment. In March 2005, 50 Cent's second commercial album, The Massacre, sold 1.14 million copies in its first four days (the highest in an abbreviated sales cycle) and was number one on the Billboard 200 for six weeks. He was the first solo artist with three singles in the Billboard top five in the same week with "Candy Shop", "Disco Inferno" and "How We Do". According to Rolling Stone, "50's secret weapon is his singing voice - the deceptively amateur-sounding tenor croon that he deploys on almost every chorus".
After The Game's departure Jackson signed Olivia and rap veterans Mobb Deep to G-Unit Records, with Spider Loc, M.O.P., 40 Glocc and Young Hot Rod later joining the label, who all eventually departed the label.Chery, Carl (May 27, 2005). Pulse Report: M.O.P. Signs to G-Unit . SOHH. Retrieved June 22, 2007. Jackson expressed an interest in working with rappers other than G-Unit, such as Lil' Scrappy of BME, LL Cool J of Def Jam, Mase of Bad Boy and Freeway of Roc-A-Fella, and recorded with several.
2007–2010: Curtis, sales battle with Kanye West, and Before I Self Destruct
In September 2007, 50 Cent released his third album, Curtis, which was inspired by his life before Get Rich or Die Tryin. It debuted at number two on the Billboard 200, selling 691,000 copies during its first week. It sold behind Kanye West's Graduation, released the same day; the outcome of this highly-publicized sales battle between Jackson and West has been accredited to the commercial decline of the gangsta rap and "bling era" style that previously dominated mainstream hip-hop.
On the September 10, 2008 episode of Total Request Live, Jackson said his fourth studio album, Before I Self Destruct, would be "done and released in November". He released "Ok, You're Right", produced by Dr. Dre for Before I Self Destruct, on May 18, 2009 and was scheduled to appear in a fall 2009 episode of VH1's Behind the Music. On September 3, 2009, Jackson posted a video for the Soundkillers' Phoenix- produced track, "Flight 187", introducing his mixtape and book (The 50th Law). The song, with lyrics inspiring speculation about tension between Jackson and Jay-Z, was a bonus track on the iTunes version of Before I Self Destruct. Before I Self Destruct was released on November 9, 2009.
2010–2015: New musical directions, new business ventures, and Animal Ambition
In a Contactmusic.com interview, Jackson said he was working on a Eurodance album, Black Magic, inspired by European nightclubs: "First they played hip-hop which suddenly changed to uptempo songs, known as Eurodance". He later said he had changed his next album to The Return of the Heartless Monster after writing different material when he returned home from the Invitation Tour in 2010, shelving Black Magic. On September 3, Jackson supported Eminem on his and Jay-Z's The Home & Home Tour, performing "Crack A Bottle" with Eminem and Dr. Dre amid rumors of tension between Jackson and Dre.
He "recorded 20 songs to a whole different album concept" before putting them aside, wanting his new album to have the "aggression" of Get Rich or Die Tryin. Jackson tweeted that the album was "80 percent done" and fans could expect it in the summer of 2011. It was ultimately delayed a year due to disagreements with Interscope Records, with Jackson saying that he would release it in November 2011 with a different title than Black Magic. Eminem would appear on the album, and Jackson said he was working with new producers such as Boi-1da and Alex da Kid. Cardiak, who produced Lloyd Banks' "Start It Up", confirmed that he produced a song for the upcoming album.
Jackson released a song, "Outlaw", from his fifth album on the Internet on June 16, 2011. The single, produced by Cardiak, was released on iTunes on July 19 (although Jackson tweeted that it was not the album's first single). The rapper planned to write a semi-autobiographical young-adult novel about bullying, different from his previous books which focused on his life and the rules of power. According to the book's publisher, the first-person novel (about a 13-year-old schoolyard bully "who finds redemption as he faces what he's done") was scheduled for publication in January 2012.
In a series of tweets, Jackson said that the delay of his fifth album was due to disagreements with Interscope Records, later suggesting that it would be released in November 2011 with his headphone line (SMS by 50). He speculated to MTV News about not renewing his five-album contract with Interscope: "I don't know ... It will all be clear in the negotiations following me turning this actual album in. And, of course, the performance and how they actually treat the work will determine whether you still want to stay in that position or not."
On June 20, 2011, Jackson announced the release of Before I Self Destruct II after his fifth album. Although he planned to shoot a music video for the fifth album's lead single, "I'm On It", on June 26 the video was never filmed. Jackson told Shade45, "I did four songs in Detroit with Eminem. I did two with Just Blaze, a Boi-1da joint, and I did something with Alex da Kid. We made two that are definite singles and the other two are the kinds of records that we been making, more aimed at my core audience, more aggressive, more of a different kind of energy to it." He released "Street King Energy Track #7" in September 2011 to promote Street King, his charity-based energy drink. An announcement that Jackson was shooting a music video for "Girls Go Wild", the fifth-album lead single featuring Jeremih, was made on September 28, 2011.Music Video News: IN PRODUCTION: 50 Cent f/ Jeremih – Colin Tilley . Video Static (September 28, 2011). Retrieved on October 25, 2011.
Jackson's fifth album, Street King Immortal, was initially scheduled for a summer 2012 release and postponed until November 13. Disagreements with Interscope Records about its release and promotion led to its temporary cancellation. Its first promo single, "New Day" with Dr. Dre and Alicia Keys, was released on July 27. The song was produced by Dr. Dre, mixed by Eminem and written by 50 Cent, Alicia Keys, Royce da 5'9" and Dr. Dre. A solo version by Keys was leaked by her husband, Swizz Beatz. "My Life", the album's second promo single (with Eminem and Maroon 5 lead singer Adam Levine), was released on November 26, 2012.
In January 2014, Jackson said he planned to release Animal Ambition in the first quarter of the year, followed by Street King Immortal. On February 20, he left Shady Records, Aftermath Entertainment, and Interscope, signing with Caroline and Capitol Music Group. According to Jackson, although he owed Interscope another album, he was released from his contract because of his friendship with Eminem and Dr. Dre: "I'm a special case and situation. It's also because of the leverage of having the strong relationships with Eminem and Dr. Dre. They don't want me to be uncomfortable. They value our friendship to the point that they would never want [to jeopardize] it over that little bit of money."
That day, he announced that Animal Ambition would be released on June 3 and released its first track. The song, "Funeral", was released with a video on Forbes.com. Produced by Jake One, it is a continuation of "50 Bars" from a previous album; two more tracks were scheduled for release on March 18. At South by Southwest in Austin, Texas, Jackson performed "Hold On" from the new album. That song and "Don't Worry 'Bout It" were released with accompanying videos on March 18. According to Jackson, prosperity would be a theme of the album: "This project, I had to search for a concept, a really good concept, in my perspective, and that was prosperity. I outlined all the things that would be a part of prosperity, positive and negative [for Animal Ambition]."
2015–present: Street King Immortal, bankruptcy, and departure from Interscope
On May 14, 2015, Jackson revealed in an interview that the first single from Street King Immortal, would be previewed Memorial Day weekend and would likely be released in June. Jackson released "Get Low" on May 20, 2015, as the intended first single from his sixth studio album, Street King Immortal. The song, produced by Remo the Hitmaker, features vocals from fellow American rappers 2 Chainz and T.I., as well as American singer Jeremih. He announced bankruptcy on July 13, 2015.
On March 31, 2017, Interscope Records released 50 Cent's final album for the label, a greatest hits album titled Best Of.
50 Cent was among hundreds of artists whose material was destroyed in the 2008 Universal fire.
In 2020, Jackson led the executive-producer duties for late rapper Pop Smoke's debut album, Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon, having been one of Pop Smoke's biggest inspirations. The album was released on July 3, 2020. Jackson curated the album, desiring to finish it after Pop had died. He contacted many of the artists involved, and also features on one of the album tracks, "The Woo", which became a top ten single.
In 2020, it was reported that Jackson was producing two television series for Starz, an anthology about hip hop and a biographical drama about sports agent Nicole Lynn.
In 2021, he became one of the headliners of the music festival Golden Sand in Riviera Maya.
In a July 2021 interview with The Independent, 50 Cent confirmed that he had officially decided to shelve his Street King Immortal album after it spent a decade in development hell. He even confirmed that he plans to release a completely new project.
In August 2021, he was confirmed to be starring in the upcoming The Expendables film.
On February 13, 2022, 50 Cent was a surprise performer in the Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show.
Awards
Artistry
Jackson cites Boogie Down Productions, Big Daddy Kane, The Juice Crew, EPMD and KRS-One as his rapping influences, while citing LL Cool J as an inspiration behind his writing of "21 Questions". Jackson also states that he drew influences from Nas, Rakim and The Notorious B.I.G. while working on Animal Ambition.
Business ventures
Jackson has had a highly successful business career. He is financially invested in a highly diversified variety of industries. Jackson is now involved in artist and talent management, record, television, and film production, footwear, apparel, fragrances, liquor, video games, mobile apps, book publishing, headphones, along with health drinks and dietary supplements. His broad business and investment portfolio contains investments in a variety of sectors including real estate, financial market investments, mining, boxing promotion, vodka, fragrances, consumer electronics and fashion.
He established his own record label G-Unit Records in 2003 following his mainstream success. In November 2003, he signed a five-year deal with Reebok to distribute a G-Unit Sneakers line for his G-Unit Clothing Company.Leeds, Jeff (December 26, 2004). $50 Million for 50 Cent . The New York Times. Retrieved June 9, 2007. In an interview, Jackson said his businesses had a habit of doing well as he saw all of his ventures both past and present as revolving around his alter ego.
Jackson has also started a book publishing imprint, G-Unit Books on January 4, 2007 at the Time Warner Building in New York. He has written a number of books including a memoir, From Pieces To Weight in 2005 where it sold 73,000 copies in hardcover and 14,000 copies in paperback; a crime novel and a book with Robert Greene titled The 50th Law, an urban take on The 48 Laws of Power. In November 2011, Jackson released 50 Cent's Playground, a young adult fiction novel about a bullied, violent boy and his gay mother.
One of Jackson's first business ventures was a partnership with Glacéau to create an enhanced water drink called Formula 50. In October 2004, Jackson became a beverage investor when he was given a minority share in the company in exchange for becoming a spokesperson after learning that he was a fan of the beverage. The health conscious Jackson noted that he first learned of the product while at a gym in Los Angeles, and stated that "they do such a good job making water taste good." After becoming a minority shareholder and celebrity spokesperson, Jackson worked with the company to create a new grape flavored "Formula 50" variant of VitaminWater and mentioned the drinks in various songs and interviews. In 2007, Coca-Cola purchased Glacéau for $4.1 billion and, according to Forbes, Jackson, who was a minority shareholder, earned $100 million from the deal after taxes.
Though he no longer has an equity stake in the company, Jackson continues to act as a spokesperson for VitaminWater, supporting the product including singing about it at the BET Awards and expressing his excitement over the company's continuing to allow his input on products.
He joined Right Guard to introduce a body spray (Pure 50 RGX) and endorsed Magic Stick condoms, planning to donate part of their proceeds to increasing HIV awareness. Jackson signed a multi-year deal with Steiner Sports to sell his memorabilia, and announced plans for a dietary-supplement company in conjunction with his film Spectacular Regret in August 2007.Jokesta (August 21, 2007). 50 Cent launches dietary supplement company. Def Sounds. Retrieved August 21, 2007.
Jackson has founded two film production companies: G-Unit Films in 2003 and Cheetah Vision in 2008.For The Record: Quick News on Eminem, Ciara, Ludacris, Ne-Yo, Slayer, Marilyn Manson, Nas, Public Enemy & More . MTV (March 23, 2007). Accessed May 22, 2007. Cheetah Vision produces low budget action thrillers for foreign film markets across the world. When G-Unit Films folded, he focused on Cheetah Vision and the company obtained $200 million in funding in 2010. In 2010, Jackson revived G-Unit Films, renaming the company to G-Unit Films and Television Inc. The company has joint ventures with Will Packer's production company Will Packer Productions and Universal Television. In over 18 months, Jackson has sold projects to six different networks. Among them was Power, a STARZ drama in which he not only co-stars but also serves as co-creator and executive producer. Power debuted in June 2014 and was renewed for a second season after one episode.
Jackson serves as a co‐star, co-creator and executive television producer of the STARZ network drama where he signed a 2-year contract with representation coming from the Agency for the Performing Arts. Ratings have been a success for Starz. with the second-season premiere being the highest-ever season with 1.43 million people tuning in live.
In 2002, Jackson filed an application with the United States Patent and Trademark Office to register the term "50 Cent" as a trademark for clothing, sound recordings, and live performances. The application was published in 2003, and registration issued in 2004. He has since filed for additional trademark registrations.
In July 2011, Jackson launched a philanthropic initiative to provide food for one billion starving people in Africa by 2016, joining Pure Growth Partners to introduce Street King. A portion of the proceeds from each Street King purchase would be used to provide a daily meal to an underprivileged child. The partnership coincides with Jackson's goal to feed a billion people in Africa during the next five years. "50 Cent and I share a common vision: to address the world's problems through smart and sustainable business models," said Chris Clarke, founder and CEO of Pure Growth Partners. "With the rampant starvation in Africa and hunger afflicting children worldwide, we need socially responsible businesses that affect real change now more than ever." Jackson said, "I'm inspired by Clarke's vision and innovative approaches to tackling serious issues. It's our mission with Street King to really change children's lives around the world."Langhorne, Cyrus. (August 13, 2011) 50 Cent On "Street King" Global Takeover, "I Need Your Support" . Sohh.Com. Retrieved on October 25, 2011. In 2011, he founded SMS Audio, a consumer-electronics company selling Street by 50 headphones, pledging to donate a portion of their sales to charity. In April 2015, SMS announced new co-branding deals with Reebok and Marvel. It added those to existing partnerships with Walt Disney Parks, Lucasfilm's Star Wars, and Intel.
In 2014, Jackson became a minority shareholder in Effen Vodka, a brand of vodka produced in the Netherlands, when he invested undisclosed amount in the company Sire Spirits LLC. He currently endorses the product via his live concert performances and social media. The rapper was asked to take part in two promotional bottle signings, one in Oak Creek and another in Sun Prairie. Jackson made an appearance at Liquor Warehouse in Syracuse, New York on April 25, 2015 where he reportedly sold 1,400 bottles (277 gallons) of Jackson's signature liquor brand. Liquor Warehouse's owner George Angeloro reportedly stocked 300 cases (1,800 bottles or 357 gallons) of Effen Vodka, which sells for $30 a bottle, prior to the event.
In December 2014, Jackson signed a $78 million deal with FRIGO Revolution Wear, a luxury underwear brand. The joint venture is partnered between Jackson, basketball player Carmelo Anthony, baseball player Derek Jeter and Mathias Ingvarsson, the former president of mattress company Tempur-Pedic. Jackson became the chief fashion designer for the brands single pair of Frigo boxers. In April 2015, Jackson mulled investing in Jamaica, exploring foreign investment opportunities on the island when he met with some local officials and had ongoing discussions on investment opportunities in the Montego Bay resort area.
Investments
Over the years, Jackson invested his earnings from music and celebrity endorsements in an array of privately controlled companies, real estate, and stocks and bonds. A portion of his investments lost value during the 2008 recession. In December 2008, he told the Canadian press that he had been affected by the recession, losing several million dollars in the stock market. Unable to sell his Connecticut mansion, Jackson postponed Before I Self-Destruct due to the severity of the economic downturn.
His Farmington mansion located on 50 Poplar Hill Drive that he tried to sell for years filed for bankruptcy in Connecticut in 2015 listed an asking price for that property in 2012 at $10 million but was valued at $8.3 million in 2015. He first tried to sell the house in 2007 for $18.5 million, and dropped the price several times in the next five years, when it was on and off the market.
In January 2011, Jackson reportedly made $10 million after using Twitter to promote a marketing company which he was part shareholder of. His endorsements company G Unit Brands Inc. revealed through a public SEC filing controls 12.9 per cent of H&H Imports, which is a parent company of TV Goods – the firm responsible for marketing his range of headphones, Sleek by 50 Cent. Jackson bought stock in the company on November 30, 2010, a week after it offered buyers 180 million shares at 17 cents each. Jackson later made a stock recommendation on Twitter, causing its share value to rise from four cents to nearly 50 cents (32p) each, closing on Monday at 39 cents (25p). Jackson was later investigated by the Securities and Exchange Commission for breaching securities laws following his tweet which may have constituted allegations of Insider trading via his Pump and dump stock investment strategy.
In 2013, Jackson became a minority investor in Hang w/, a live video broadcasting mobile app used by dozens of celebrities to broadcast their daily activities and chat with fans. The app was downloaded more than 1 million times since its launch in March 2013 and had more than 1 million users . Other minority celebrity investors include former NFL player Terrell Owens and record producer Timbaland.
Mining and heavy metals
In 2008, Jackson visited a platinum, palladium and iridium mine shaft in South Africa, and met with South African billionaire Patrice Motsepe in talks of purchasing an equity stake in the mine. After his meeting with Motsepe, Jackson considered purchasing equity in the mine and launching his own line of 50 Cent branded platinum.
Boxing promotion
On July 21, 2012, Jackson became a licensed boxing promoter when he formed his new company, TMT (The Money Team). Licensed to promote in New York, he was in the process of being licensed in Nevada (where most major fights are held in the U.S.). A former amateur boxer, Jackson signed gold medalist and former featherweight champion Yuriorkis Gamboa and middleweight Olympic medalist Andre Dirrell. On July 29, 2012, he and the boxer Floyd Mayweather, Jr., signed IBF featherweight champion Billy Dib. They unveiled plans to challenge the box-office dominance of mixed martial arts and change the landscape of boxing with TMT Promotions. Boxer Zab Judah also expressed interest in making a deal with Jackson. In December 2012, Mayweather and Jackson parted company, with Jackson taking over the promotion company and founding SMS Promotions with Gamboa, Dirrell, Dib, James Kirkland, Luis Olivares and Donte Strayhorn in his stable.
Bankruptcy
On July 13, 2015, Jackson filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Connecticut with a debt of $32,509,549.91. On July 17, 2015, the Court issued an order allowing a creditor to proceed with the punitive damages phase of a trial against Jackson in a New York state court, in connection with the alleged release of a private video. His assets were listed as between $10 million and $50 million in his bankruptcy petition, though he testified under oath that he is worth $4.4 million. Citing between $10 million and $50 million in debt, and the same amount in assets. Later in the week, Jackson's bankruptcy lawyers elucidated the court documents that legal fees and judgments exceeding $20 million over the past year were the primary cause of the filing.
His filings listed 32 entities that he has a stake in. The bankruptcy came days after a jury ordered him to pay $5 million to rapper Rick Ross's ex-girlfriend Lastonia Leviston for invading her privacy by posting online a sex tape of her and another man. In addition, Jackson lost a dispute over a failed business deal to come to fruition to his Sleek headphones, where Jackson invested more than $2 million. An ex-partner accused Jackson of later stealing the design of the "Sleek by 50" headphones, prompting a judge to award the partner more than $17.2 million. His Connecticut bankruptcy filing states that he owns seven cars valued at more than $500,000, including a 2010 Rolls Royce and a 1966 Chevrolet Coupe. His expenses of $108,000 a month include $5,000 for gardening along with a monthly income of $185,000, mainly from royalties and income from his external businesses and investments. The court filing says he also owes money to his stylist, his barber, and his fitness coach.
Other details in the bankruptcy documents included information about two deals that sold the right to collect royalties of on-air play of his music. Half the rights to his portfolio were sold to the British independent music publishing company Kobalt Music Group for $3 million and the other half for another $3 million with the sales of his albums allowing Jackson to own 100 percent of the rights to the master recordings while paying only for distribution. Zeisler & Zeisler, a Bridgeport law firm, represented 50 Cent in the bankruptcy, which later resulted in Jackson filing a $75 million lawsuit against his own lawyers. He stated that his lawyers did a terrible job of representing him, specifically citing the fallout of his failed venture with Sleek Audio headphones and accused Garvey Schubert Barer, a Wall Street law firm, of failing to "employ the requisite knowledge and skill necessary to confront the circumstances of the case."
Corporate positions
G-Unity Foundation Inc. – Founder
SMS Audio – CEO, founder
SK Energy – Founder
SMS Promotions – CEO, founder
Sire Spirits – Owner
Effen Vodka – former minority shareholder
Personal life
On October 13, 1996, Jackson's girlfriend, Shaniqua Tompkins, gave birth to son Marquise Jackson. Tompkins later sued Jackson for $50 million, saying he promised to take care of her for life. The suit, with 15 causes of action, was dismissed by a judge who called it "an unfortunate tale of a love relationship gone sour." The two have bickered for years, and have even taken their feud to social media many times.
Marquise's birth changed Jackson's outlook on life: "When my son came into my life, my priorities changed, because I wanted to have the relationship with him that I didn't have with my father". He credited his son for inspiring his career and being the "motivation to go in a different direction". Despite this, the two have endured a fractured relationship that began when Jackson and Tompkins separated in 2008. Their feud has been taken to social media numerous times, including in 2020 when Jackson disclosed that he "used to" love his son. Jackson has a tattooed "Marquise" with an axe on his right biceps ("The axe is 'cause I'm a warrior. I don't want him to be one, though"), and has "50", "Southside" and "Cold World" on his back: "I'm a product of that environment. It's on my back, though, so it's all behind me".
Jackson dated model Daphne Joy and had his second son, Sire Jackson, with her, on September 1, 2012. At the age of two years, Sire modeled for Kidz Safe, a headphone brand for kids, earning $700,000 through his contract.
In 2005, Jackson supported President George W. Bush after rapper Kanye West criticized Bush for a slow response to the victims of Hurricane Katrina. If his felony convictions did not prevent him from voting, he said, he would have voted for the president. Jackson later said that Bush "has less compassion than the average human. By all means, I don't aspire to be like George Bush." In September 2007, he told Time that although he would not endorse a candidate in 2008, he "liked Hillary [Clinton]".
Six months later, the rapper told MTV News that he had switched his support to Barack Obama after hearing him speak, but had lost interest in politics.MTV News, "50 cent Flip-flops: From Clinton to Obama," March 28, 2008 Asked his opinion of President Obama's May 9, 2012 endorsement of gay marriage, Jackson said, "I'm for it ... I've encouraged same-sex activities. I've engaged in fetish areas a couple times." He had been criticized for anti-gay comments in the past.Mariel Concepcion, GLAAD Calls Out 50 Cent For Anti-Gay Tweet , Billboard, September 10, 2010
Despite having numerous songs that reference drug and alcohol usage, Jackson remains teetotal, citing a bad experience with alcohol as his main reason.Forbes noted Jackson's wealth in 2007, ranking him second behind Jay-Z in the rap industry. He lives in a Farmington, Connecticut, mansion formerly owned by ex-boxer Mike Tyson, listing it for sale at $18.5 million to move closer to his son (who lives on Long Island with his ex-girlfriend). The mayor of Bridgeport, Connecticut declared October 12, 2007 "50 Cent Curtis Jackson Day", honoring the rapper with a proclamation and a key to the city. One of Jackson's New York homes, purchased in January 2007 for $2.4 million and the center of a lawsuit between Jackson and Shaniqua Tompkins, caught fire on May 31, 2008 while he was filming in Louisiana.
In December 2008, he told the Canadian press that he had lost several million dollars in the stock market and, unable to sell his Connecticut mansion, had postponed Before I Self-Destruct because of the economic downturn. Jackson won a lawsuit in November 2009 against Taco Bell over the fast-food chain's use of his name without permission.
In 2016, regarding a public feud with rapper Meek Mill, he commented, "You know, he's really not that bright. The easiest thing you can do is bring other people into the statements you're saying, right, while you're writing music."
Jackson endorsed Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton in the run-up for the 2016 U.S. presidential election. He rejected an offer of $500,000 from the Trump campaign to make an appearance on the candidate's behalf. However, he endorsed Donald Trump in 2020, due to his dislike of Joe Biden's tax plans. A week later, he retracted his endorsement, saying on Twitter "Fu*k Donald Trump, I never liked him", and endorsed Biden.
Legal issues, Drugs and assault convictions
On June 29, 1994, Jackson was arrested for selling four vials of cocaine to an undercover police officer. He was arrested again three weeks later, when police searched his home and found heroin, ten ounces of crack cocaine and a starter's pistol. Although Jackson was sentenced to three to nine years in prison, he served six months in a boot camp (where he earned his high-school equivalency diploma). According to him, he did not use cocaine.
Jackson and four members of his entourage were arrested shortly before 2 a.m. on December 31, 2002, when police found a .25-caliber handgun and a .45-caliber pistol in a parked car (which they searched due to its tinted windows) outside a Manhattan nightclub. The rapper was charged with two counts of criminal possession of a weapon.
Jackson was sentenced to two years' probation on July 22, 2005 for a May 2004 incident, when he was charged with three counts of assault and battery after jumping into an audience when he was hit by a water bottle.
Lawsuits
Use of image
Jackson filed a lawsuit against an advertising company, Traffix of Pearl River, New York, on July 21, 2007, for using his image in a promotion he said threatened his safety. He was alerted by a staff member to an Internet advertisement on a Myspace page. According to court documents, the advertisement had a cartoon image of the rapper with "Shoot the rapper and you will win $5000 or five ring tones guaranteed". Although the ad did not use his name, the image allegedly resembled him and suggested that he endorsed the product. The lawsuit, calling the ad a "vile, tasteless and despicable" use of Jackson's image which "quite literally call[ed] for violence against him", sought unspecified punitive damages and a permanent injunction against the use of his image without permission.50 Cent Sues over 'Shoot the Rapper'. Fox News (July 20, 2007). Retrieved December 17, 2015.
Use of name
In 2008, Jackson sued Taco Bell over an ad campaign in which it invited him to change his name for one day from 50 Cent to 79 Cent, 89 Cent, or 99 Cent, in line with pricing for some of its items, and they would donate $10,000 to the charity of his choice. The case was settled out of court.
Janitor incident
While walking through Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport in May 2016, Jackson harassed and insulted a janitor at the airport, accusing him of being under the influence. The janitor was a hearing-impaired, autistic teenager named Andrew Farrell. The parents of the janitor had seen the viral video as disrespect and wanted to sue Jackson for his action against their child. The lawsuit was originally over one million dollars, but the parents settled for a $100,000 donation to Autism Speaks and his apology.
Bamba sample
In 2016, a judge declared that Brandon Parrott gave Dr. Dre and 50 Cent the rights to "Bamba" for the song "P.I.M.P."
Other civil and criminal matters
One of his New York homes, purchased for $2.4 million in January 2007 and the center of a lawsuit between Jackson and Shaniqua Tompkins, caught fire on May 30, 2008 while he was filming in Louisiana. On August 5, 2013, Jackson pleaded not guilty to one count of domestic violence and four counts of vandalism in a Los Angeles County court. If convicted of all charges, he faced up to five years in prison and a $46,000 fine. Model-actress Daphne Joy accused Jackson of kicking her and ransacking her bedroom during an argument at her condominium in the Toluca Lake neighborhood of Los Angeles on June 23. He allegedly caused $7,100 in property damage, leaving the scene before police arrived.
Judge Ann Nevins has ordered Jackson back to court because of Instagram messages he made over several months. She said Jackson was not fully clear about his funds and indicated posts of the rapper showing stacks of his money. In March 2016, Jackson claimed that he would no longer use Instagram, electing instead to have his profile page operated by someone else.
In 2020, Jackson was a subject of controversy for his involvement in a viral video of him giving money to a Burger King restaurant in New York City on behalf of a local scammer who was later arrested and charged for Bitcoin scamming and for assaulting and kidnapping his victims on April 24, 2021.
Feuds
Ja Rule
Before he signed with Interscope Records, Jackson engaged in a public dispute with rapper Ja Rule and his label, Murder Inc. Records, saying that a friend robbed jewelry from Ja Rule and the latter accused him of orchestrating the robbery. Ja Rule said that the conflict stemmed from a Queens video shoot, when Jackson did not like seeing him "getting so much love" from the neighborhood. At The Hit Factory in New York in March 2000, Jackson had an altercation with Murder Inc. associates and received three stitches for a stab wound.Smith, Dominic (July 2005). 50 Cent Interview. FHM. Retrieved July 11, 2007. Rapper Black Child claimed responsibility for the stabbing, saying that he acted in self-defense when he thought someone reached for a gun.
An affidavit by an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) agent suggested ties between Murder Inc. and Kenneth "Supreme" McGriff, a New York drug lord suspected of involvement in the murder of Jam Master Jay and Jackson's shooting. An excerpt read:
The end of the Jackson-Ja Rule feud was confirmed in May 2011. According to Ja Rule, "I'm cool. We ain't beefing no more. We'll never collaborate. That's just what it is. You don't have to be at war with somebody, but it's also kind of like U.S. and another country that they may not get along with. We don't gotta go to war, but we're not friends either. But we can coincide inside of a world. He's doing him, and he's not thinking about me, and I'm doing me and I'm not thinking about him."
On August 7, 2015, the feud between the two rappers later reignited when Ja Rule gave a feedback to a social follower via Twitter over a similar feud between Meek Mill and Drake. Enraged, Jackson later responded with photos and comments via Instagram, only siding with Drake. The feud resurfaced three years later on January 19, 2018, when Ja Rule took to Twitter, calling out 50 Cent on social media. 50 Cent responded by purchasing and vacating the first four rows of his concert.
The Game
Although Jackson was close to The Game before the latter released his debut album, The Documentary, they grew apart. After The Documentarys release, Jackson felt that The Game was disloyal for saying that he did not want to participate in G-Unit's feuds with other rappers (such as Nas, Jadakiss and Fat Joe) and his desire to work with artists with which G-Unit was feuding. He said that he wrote six songs for the album and did not receive proper credit, which The Game denied.
Jackson later dismissed The Game from G-Unit on Hot 97. After the announcement, The Game (a guest earlier in the evening) tried to enter the building with his entourage. After they were denied entry, one of his associates was shot in the leg in a confrontation with a group of men leaving the building.Hope, Clover (March 2, 2005). 50 Cent Cancels New York Appearance amid Shooting Inquiry . AllHipHop. Retrieved July 20, 2007. When the situation escalated, the rappers held a joint press conference announcing their reconciliation, and fans were uncertain if the rappers had staged a publicity stunt to boost sales of their recently released albums. After the situation cooled, G-Unit criticized The Game's street credibility and announced that they would not appear on his albums. During a Summer Jam performance The Game announced a boycott of G-Unit, which he called "G-Unot".
After the Summer Jam performance The Game recorded "300 Bars and Runnin'", an extended "diss" of G-Unit and Roc-A-Fella Records, for the mixtape You Know What It Is Vol. 3. Jackson responded with his "Piggy Bank" music video, with The Game as Mr. Potato Head and parodies of other rivals. They have continued attacking each other, with The Game releasing two more mixtapes: Ghost Unit and a mixtape-DVD, Stop Snitchin, Stop Lyin. Jackson superimposed The Game's head on the body of a male stripper for the cover of the Hate It or Love It (G-Unit Radio Part 21) mixtape in response to The Game's pictures of G-Unit dressed as the Village People. The Game, under contract to Aftermath Entertainment, signed with Geffen Records to terminate his contractual obligations with G-Unit (although it is claimed that Jackson pressured Dr. Dre to fire him). G-Unit member Spider Loc has insulted The Game in songs, and the latter released "240 Bars (Spider Joke)" and "100 Bars (The Funeral)" attacking G-Unit and Loc. Jackson's response was "Not Rich, Still Lyin'", mocking The Game. Lloyd Banks replied to the Game on a Rap City freestyle-booth segment, followed by a Game "diss" song ("SoundScan") ridiculing the 13-position drop of Banks' album Rotten Apple on the Billboard 200 chart and its disappointing second-week sales. Banks replied on his mixtape Mo' Money In The Bank Pt. 5: Gang Green Season Continues with "Showtime (The Game's Over)", said that Jackson wrote half of The Documentary and ridiculed The Game's suicidal thoughts.
In October 2006, The Game made a peace overture (which was not immediately answered) to Jackson, but two days later he said on Power 106 that the peace offer was valid for only one day. In several songs on Doctor's Advocate, he implied that the feud was over. He said in July 2009 that the feud had ended with help from Michael Jackson and Diddy, and apologized for his actions. According to Tony Yayo, neither Jackson nor G-Unit accepted his apology and The Game has resumed his calls for a "G-Unot" boycott at concerts. Jackson released "So Disrespectful" on Before I Self Destruct, targeting Jay-Z, The Game and Young Buck. The Game responded with "Shake", poking fun at the music video for Jackson's "Candy Shop".
On August 1, 2016, 50 Cent ended his twelve-year feud with The Game when the two were in the Ace of Diamonds Strip Club and The Game said "What happened, that shit was 12 years ago."
Rick Ross
Although Rick Ross began a feud with Jackson over an alleged incident at the 2008 BET Hip Hop Awards, Jackson told news sources he did not remember seeing Ross there. Later that month Ross' "Mafia Music" was leaked on the Internet, with lyrics apparently disparaging Jackson. Several days later, Jackson released "Officer Ricky (Go Head, Try Me)" in response to "Mafia Music". The following day, Ross appeared on Shade 45 (Eminem's Sirius channel) and told Jackson to come up with something better in 24 hours.
Before leaving for Venezuela, Jackson uploaded a video ("Warning Shot") and the first of a series of "Officer Ricky" cartoons. In early February he uploaded a YouTube video in which he interviewed "Tia", the mother of one of Ross' children; according to her, Ross is in reality a correctional officer. On February 5, 2009, The Game phoned Seattle radio station KUBE. Asked about the dispute between Jackson and Ross, he sided with Jackson and offered to mediate: "Rick Ross, holla at your boy, man" and "50 eating you, boy."
On his album Deeper Than Rap, Ross refers to Jackson in "In Cold Blood" and Jackson's mock funeral is part of the song's video. When the song was released, Ross said that he ended Jackson's career. "Rick Ross is Albert From CB4. You ever seen the movie? He's Albert," Jackson replied in an interview. "It never gets worse than this. You get a guy that was a correctional officer come out and base his entire career on writing material from a drug dealer's perspective such as "Freeway" Ricky Ross." Their feud rekindled at the 2012 BET Hip Hop Awards, where Jackson and G-Unit members Kidd Kidd, Mike Knox, Tony Yayo were seen on video attacking Gunplay (a member of Ross' Maybach Music Group). Gunplay's Maybach Music diamond necklace was stolen during the brawl, and several days later Jackson appeared at a Washington, D.C. bowling alley wearing Gunplay's chain. On January 30, 2013, Jackson tweeted that Ross' attempted drive-by shooting on his birthday three days earlier was "staged".
On August 9, 2020, 50 Cent and Rick Ross ended their feud.
Awards and nominations
Discography
Studio albums
Get Rich or Die Tryin' (2003)
The Massacre (2005)
Curtis (2007)
Before I Self Destruct (2009)
Animal Ambition (2014)
Collaborative albums
Beg for Mercy (with G-Unit) (2003)
T·O·S (Terminate on Sight)'' (with G-Unit) (2008)
Filmography
Film
Television
Appearances
Video games
References
External links
1975 births
20th-century American rappers
21st-century American businesspeople
21st-century American male actors
21st-century American rappers
21st-century African-American male singers
African-American fashion designers
African-American film producers
African-American investors
African-American male actors
African-American male rappers
African-American memoirists
African-American record producers
African-American male songwriters
Aftermath Entertainment artists
American book publishers (people)
American boxing promoters
American businesspeople convicted of crimes
American chairpersons of corporations
American chief executives of food industry companies
American corporate directors
American cosmetics businesspeople
American drink industry businesspeople
American fashion businesspeople
American film producers
American hip hop record producers
American male film actors
American male television actors
American male video game actors
American marketing businesspeople
American memoirists
American mining businesspeople
American music industry executives
American music publishers (people)
American nonprofit businesspeople
American people convicted of drug offenses
American reality television producers
American retail chief executives
American shooting survivors
American television company founders
American television executives
Andrew Jackson High School (Queens) alumni
Brit Award winners
Businesspeople from Queens, New York
Businesspeople in metals
Caroline Records artists
East Coast hip hop musicians
Echo (music award) winners
Gangsta rappers
Grammy Award winners for rap music
G-Unit Records artists
JMJ Records artists
Juno Award for International Album of the Year winners
Living people
Male actors from New York City
People from Jamaica, Queens
Philanthropists from New York (state)
Rappers from New York City
Record producers from New York (state)
Shady Records artists
Shoe designers
Songwriters from New York (state)
Sony Music Publishing artists
Stabbing attacks in the United States
Stabbing survivors
Television producers from New York City
World Music Awards winners
Writers from Queens, New York | true | [
"One Gud Cide was an American hip-hop duo based out of Fort Worth, Texas. Formed in 1991 by Twisted Black and Shawn Jackson the group is revered among many modern rappers for their pioneering approach to portraying urban violence through hip hop. In 2006 Twisted Black was sentenced to 30 years in jail for a fourth offense cocaine conspiracy charge.\n\nHistory\nOne Gud Cide was formed in 1991 by Twisted Black and Shawn Jackson, eventually Evil Seed became a member of the Fort Worth based group. The group's initial progress was slowed when Twisted Black was shot in the face and lost half of his jaw in what he claimed was an assassination attempt. By 1995, the group had achieved underground success with the album Look What The Streets Made, which sold 10,000 copies in less than 30 days. The group's career was interrupted once again when Twisted Black, whose real name is Tommy Burns, was sentenced to three years in prison on a parole violation. Work on the group's follow-up album Contradictions was interrupted by that incident.\n\nContradictions was finished and eventually released in 1999 on Suave House Records. It included contributions from hip hop mainstays like Eightball of Eightball & MJG fame and UGK. In 2002, Evil Seed reported quit the group because Twisted Black was working on his first solo album, eventually entitled Late Bloomer.\n\nTwisted Black's most recent album, Street Fame was released in March 2007 on TVT Records a label with a history of promoting Dirty South artists. Meanwhile, Twisted Black was sentenced to life in prison after being convicted of conspiracy to distribute cocaine.\n\nDiscography\nLook What the Streets Made (1995)\nContradictions (1999)\nContradictions Screwed (2000)\n\nReferences\n\nAfrican-American musical groups\nAmerican hip hop groups\nAmerican musical duos\nHip hop duos\nMusicians from Texas\nMusical groups from Texas\nPeople from Fort Worth, Texas\nGangsta rap groups",
"Appeal to Reason is the fifth studio album by American rock band Rise Against. It was released on October 7, 2008. A melodic hardcore album, Appeal to Reason marked a musical shift from the gritty punk sound that had previously defined the band's career to what some have viewed as a more radio-friendly sound, with greater emphasis on production and bigger, more anthemic choruses. The album's lyrics primarily focus on political issues in the United States, such as the Iraq War and the Bush administration.\n\nRise Against began recording Appeal to Reason in January 2008 at the Blasting Room in Fort Collins, Colorado. Producers Bill Stevenson and Jason Livermore incorporated soft tones into many of the songs to elicit a darker feel to the music. It is the band's first album with guitarist Zach Blair. Appeal to Reason debuted at number three on the Billboard 200, and was Rise Against's highest-charting album until the release of Endgame in 2011. The album sold 64,700 copies in its first week of release, and was eventually certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America, denoting shipments of 500,000 copies.\n\nThe album produced three singles: \"Re-Education (Through Labor)\", \"Audience of One\", and \"Savior\". All three songs charted highly on the Modern Rock Tracks chart; \"Savior\" in particular, held the record for the most consecutive weeks spent on both the Hot Rock Songs and Modern Rock Tracks charts, with sixty-three and sixty-five weeks respectively.\n\nBackground and recording\nIn July 2006, Rise Against released their fourth studio album The Sufferer & the Witness, which became their first album to chart within the top ten on the Billboard 200. To promote the album, Rise Against embarked on an extensive tour that concluded at the Jingle Bell Rock festival in December 2007. That month, the band members reconvened to begin writing and demoing songs for their next album Appeal to Reason. According to bassist Joe Principe, Rise Against recorded Appeal to Reason over a two-month period starting in January 2008, which was the longest the band had ever spent on one album.\n \nAppeal to Reason was recorded at the Blasting Room in Fort Collins, Colorado, with producers Bill Stevenson and Jason Livermore. This was the third album the duo had produced for Rise Against. Lead vocalist Tim McIlrath said: \"Bill and Jason are never content to do whatever they did last month. They always want to do something different...They know us, and they know what we're capable of, they know what sounds like Rise Against, what doesn't sound like Rise Against.\" Livermore wanted to include soft tones to many of the songs, such as using an EBow on \"Whereabouts Unknown\", to elicit a darker feel to the music. For the more aggressive songs, the band members used several amplifier combinations, such as a Bogner and a Marshall Kerry King head. The band members recorded their instruments in different rooms, and the producers used overdubbing to combine the instruments into one song.\n\nAppeal to Reason was the first Rise Against album to feature guitarist Zach Blair, who joined while the band was touring in support of The Sufferer & the Witness. According to Blair, \"I wanted to go in as, If you listen to every record this band (Rise Against) had out, you could tell that Zach Blair played on this record\". He took influence from how Nels Cline sounded on the album Sky Blue Sky when he joined Wilco. Blair was already well acquainted with Stevenson before joining Rise Against, as he and Stevenson were in the band Only Crime from 2003 to 2007. Stevenson helped Blair replicate the sound of past Rise Against guitarists.\n\nMusical style and themes\nFor Rise Against, Appeal to Reason marked a musical shift from the gritty punk rock that had previously defined their career, to a more accessible sound, with greater emphasis on production value. The New York Times felt the album was more tune-oriented than the band's previous works, while John Hanson of Sputnikmusic said that the album is \"'appealing' to a larger audience than old fans will be comfortable with\". Bill Stewart of PopMatters disagreed with these sentiments, writing: \"Appeal to Reason is a Rise Against album. If you possess more than a passing familiarity with the band, I wouldn't even bother scrolling through the rest of this review, and I'd certainly avoid checking out the rating at the end of it—because that first sentence, for better or worse, says everything that needs to be said about this album.\" Critics have characterized the album's music as melodic hardcore, with influences of pop punk.\n\nThe majority of the album's lyrics discuss political issues in the United States. Jeff Miers of The Buffalo News calls the album \"a response to the oppressive vacuousness of the Bush years\". In regards to specific tracks on the album, AllMusic states that Rise Against \"rages against the moral decay rotting the core of the U.S. on the opening 'Collapse (Post-Amerika),' just as they strike out against the slow dumbing down of America on 'Re-Education (Through Labor)'\". In addition to political topics, more personal issues constitute a large portion of the lyrical content. \"Savior\" is about forgiveness and broken relationships, while \"The Dirt Whispered\" is about the need to sacrifice for what a person loves. Bassist Joe Principe said, \"The political side of this band is just that -- it's a side. There are political lyrics. There are social awareness and there are lyrics about the environment. I think if people take the time to read the lyrics, they'll know we're not strictly force feeding you our politics.\"\n\nThe album includes one acoustic song, \"Hero of War\", which is about an Iraq War Veteran looking back on his war experiences. It is described by Rolling Stone as an \"ambivalent aggro-folk track\". McIlrath said of the song, \"I wanted to take the perspective of 'What is the war going to be looked back on as?'\" In another interview McIlrath stated, \"It was a way to document what's going on, like other artists documented for their generation and for generations to come.\" He went on to say, \"There are not many songs...talking about what's going on during eight years of occupation in Iraq. That, combined with meeting active soldiers and retired soldiers at our shows and hearing those stories about what is going on on the ground amid all the bullshit, showed me the differences from what is really happening to what is happening in the news media. I just thought that this needed to go into a song.\"\n\nRelease\nAppeal to Reason was released on October 7, 2008. It was the first Rise Against album to be released by Interscope Records. In the United States, the album peaked at number three on the Billboard 200, making it Rise Against's highest-charting album at the time. The album sold 64,000 copies in its first week of release, and by December 2010, it had sold 482,000 copies. It was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America in March 2011, denoting shipments of 500,000 copies in the United States. When asked about the commercial success of Appeal to Reason, drummer Brandon Barnes said \"It was surprising to us. We are very proud of the CD and happy with how it turned out, but going to No. 3 was big for us.\"\n\nAppeal to Reason was also a commercial success internationally. In Canada, the album reached number one on the Canadian Albums Chart, Rise Against's first album to do so. It was certified double platinum by Music Canada, denoting shipments of 200,000 copies. The album peaked at number seven on the ARIA Top 100 Albums Chart in Australia, and number twenty-one on the Top 100 Albums chart in Germany. It was certified gold in both Australia and Germany, denoting shipments of 35,000 and 100,000 copies respectively. The album peaked in several other countries, including number thirty-four in Austria, number fifty-five in Belgium, number thirty-four in New Zealand, number fifty-one in Sweden, number forty-four in Switzerland, and number sixty-eight in the United Kingdom.\n\nThree songs from Appeal to Reason were released as singles: \"Re-Education (Through Labor)\", \"Audience of One\", and \"Savior\". All three singles charted on the Modern Rock Tracks chart, peaking at number three, four, and three respectively. \"Savior\" in particular, held the record for the most consecutive weeks spent on both the Hot Rock Songs and Modern Rock Tracks charts, with sixty-three and sixty-five weeks respectively.\n\nAccompanying music videos were shot for all three songs. The video for \"Re-Education (Through Labor)\" features the Chicago sect of the Moped Army planting and detonating bombs throughout the city. The video garnered controversy, as some viewers saw this as an act of condoning terrorism. In the \"Audience of One\" video, the members of Rise Against perform on a miniaturized version of the White House lawn, while a child plays with the small figurines. The video deals with various themes, including gay marriage and militarization. The video for \"Savior\" features actors in animal costumes engaging in a mosh pit. Rise Against also produced a video for \"Hero of War\" despite it not being a single. The video follows the song's lyric thread, and features a soldier looking back on his traumatic war experiences.\n\nTo promote the album, Rise Against embarked on the Appeal to Reason tour, which began with United States-based tour with Thrice, Alkaline Trio, and The Gaslight Anthem. Rise Against then co-headlined a 2009 tour with Rancid throughout the summer months, which was followed by a short tour of the United Kingdom in November, supported by the bands Thursday and Poison the Well. Some of the 2009 performances were recorded and compiled in the 2010 DVD Another Station: Another Mile. These performances were interspersed with interviews of the band members about the process of recording an album.\n\nCritical reception\n\nAppeal to Reason received a score of 65 out of 100 on Metacritic's average of ten professional reviews, indicating \"generally favorable reviews\". One of the more positive reviews was by Chris Fallon of AbsolutePunk, who said: \"Appeal to Reason is essentially focused on one big thing: intelligence. There is no fluff here -- the band has put together a fast, smart and generally focused piece of work here.\" Rolling Stone magazine commented on the band's further emergence into the mainstream with Appeal to Reason, and wrote \"Rise Against may be nervous about leaving the underground behind, but with sharp songs like these, they're ready for the rest of the world.\" The A.V. Club Aaron Burgess agreed with this statement, and wrote that uptempo tracks such as \"Savior,\" \"Kotov Syndrome,\" and \"Entertainment\" would convince long time fans that Rise Against had not sold out.\n\nAppeal to Reason also had less positive reception, with most negative reviews criticizing the band's further movement into the mainstream. Entertainment Weekly commented: \"Songs like 'Re-Education (Through Labor)' and 'Entertainment,' which seeks to redress the evils of media manipulation upon the land, are peppy but pretty empty, power-chord downers with little bark or bite.\" PopMatters said \"McIlrath rarely reaches beyond his one-note vocal performance despite apparent and commendable earnestness\". The review further chastised Blair's formulaic three-chord guitar playing through the album. While reviewing Rise Against's next album, Endgame, Alternative Press critic Scott Heisel wrote: \"Sure, it may have sold half a million copies, but Rise Against's Appeal To Reason was, in our humble opinion, a dud. The album was a slow, lumbering affair that seemingly betrayed the band's natural melodic-hardcore predilections for a stronger chance at appealing to the Rock on the Range crowd.\"\n\nTrack listing\nAll lyrics written by Tim McIlrath; all music composed by Rise Against.\n\nPersonnel\nCredits adapted from the liner notes of Appeal to Reason.\n\nRise Against\n Tim McIlrath – Lead singing vocals and Rhythm electric guitar\n Joe Principe – Electric bass guitar and Backing singing vocals\n Zach Blair – Lead electric guitar and Backing singing vocals\n Brandon Barnes – Drum kit\n\nAdditional musicians\nMatt Skiba – Backing singing vocals\nChad Price – Backing singing vocals\n\nProduction\n Bill Stevenson – Producer, engineer\n Jason Livermore – Producer, engineer\n Andrew Berlin – Engineer, additional production\n Evan Peters – A&R coordinator\n Felipe Patino – Additional engineering\n Lee Miles – Additional engineering\n Chris Lord-Alge – Mixer\n Keith Armstrong – Assistant mixer\n Nik Karen – Assistant mixer\n Brad Townsend – Additional engineering\n Ted Jensen – Mastering\n Cliff Feiman – Production manager\n\nCharts and certifications\n\nWeekly charts\n\nYear-end charts\n\nCertifications\n\nReferences\n\nNotes\n\nFootnotes\n\n2008 albums\nAlbums produced by Bill Stevenson (musician)\nDGC Records albums\nInterscope Records albums\nRise Against albums"
] |
[
"50 Cent",
"2002-2006: Rise to fame",
"What was his album when he rise to fame?",
"In 2002, Eminem heard Jackson's Guess Who's Back? CD, received from Jackson's attorney ("
] | C_c5bdd69a096444ff8e00c23e110bdece_0 | Who signed him? | 2 | Who signed 50 Cent? | 50 Cent | In 2002, Eminem heard Jackson's Guess Who's Back? CD, received from Jackson's attorney (who was working with Eminem's manager, Paul Rosenberg). Impressed, Eminem invited Jackson to fly to Los Angeles and introduced him to Dr. Dre. After signing a $1 million record deal, Jackson released No Mercy, No Fear. The mixtape featured one new track, "Wanksta", which appeared on Eminem's 8 Mile soundtrack. Jackson was also signed by Chris Lighty's Violator Management and Sha Money XL's Money Management Group. Jackson released his debut album, Get Rich or Die Tryin' (described by AllMusic as "probably the most hyped debut album by a rap artist in about a decade"), in February 2003. Rolling Stone noted its "dark synth grooves, buzzy keyboards and a persistently funky bounce", with Jackson complementing the production in "an unflappable, laid-back flow". It debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, selling 872,000 copies in its first four days. The lead single, "In da Club" (noted by The Source for its "blaring horns, funky organs, guitar riffs and sparse hand claps"), set a Billboard record as the most listened-to song in radio history within a week. Interscope gave Jackson his own label, G-Unit Records, in 2003. He signed Lloyd Banks, Tony Yayo and Young Buck as members of G-Unit, and The Game was later signed in a joint venture with Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment. In March 2005 Jackson's second commercial album, The Massacre, sold 1.14 million copies in its first four days (the highest in an abbreviated sales cycle) and was number one on the Billboard 200 for six weeks. He was the first solo artist with three singles in the Billboard top five in the same week with "Candy Shop", "Disco Inferno" and "How We Do". According to Rolling Stone, "50's secret weapon is his singing voice - the deceptively amateur-sounding tenor croon that he deploys on almost every chorus". After The Game's departure Jackson signed Olivia and rap veterans Mobb Deep to G-Unit Records, with Spider Loc, M.O.P., 40 Glocc and Young Hot Rod later joining the label, who all eventually departed the label. Jackson expressed an interest in working with rappers other than G-Unit, such as Lil' Scrappy of BME, LL Cool J of Def Jam, Mase of Bad Boy and Freeway of Roc-A-Fella, and recorded with several. CANNOTANSWER | introduced him to Dr. Dre. After signing a $1 million record deal, Jackson released No Mercy, No Fear. | Curtis James Jackson III (born July 6, 1975), known professionally as 50 Cent, is an American rapper, actor and entrepreneur. Known for his impact in the hip hop industry, he has been described as a "master of the nuanced art of lyrical brevity".
Born in the South Jamaica neighborhood of Queens, Jackson began selling drugs at age 12 during the 1980s crack epidemic. He later began pursuing a musical career and in 2000 he produced Power of the Dollar for Columbia Records, but days before the planned release he was shot and the album was never released. In 2002, after 50 Cent released the compilation album Guess Who's Back?, he was discovered by Eminem and signed to Shady Records, under the aegis of Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment and Interscope Records.
With the aid of Eminem and Dr. Dre (who produced his first major-label album Get Rich or Die Tryin'), 50 Cent became one of the world's best selling rappers and rose to prominence as de facto leader of East Coast hip hop group G-Unit. In 2003, he founded G-Unit Records, signing his G-Unit associates Young Buck, Lloyd Banks and Tony Yayo. 50 Cent had similar commercial and critical success with his second album, The Massacre, which was released in 2005. He underwent musical changes by his fifth album, Animal Ambition (2014), and is currently working on his sixth studio album. He executive-produced and starred in the television series Power (2014–2020) and is slated to produce its spin-offs.
50 Cent has sold over 30 million albums worldwide and won several awards, including a Grammy Award, thirteen Billboard Music Awards, six World Music Awards, three American Music Awards and four BET Awards. As an actor, Jackson appeared in the semi-autobiographical film Get Rich or Die Tryin' (2005), the war film Home of the Brave (2006), and the crime thriller film Righteous Kill (2008). 50 Cent was ranked the sixth-best artist of the 2000s and the third-best rapper (behind Eminem and Nelly) by Billboard. Rolling Stone ranked Get Rich or Die Tryin and "In da Club" in its lists of the "100 Best Albums of the 2000s" and "100 Best Songs of the 2000s" at numbers 37 and 13, respectively.
Early life
Jackson was born in the borough of Queens, New York City, and raised in its South Jamaica neighborhood by his mother Sabrina. A drug dealer, Sabrina raised Jackson until she died in a fire when Jackson was 8. (online is excerpt only) Jackson revealed in an interview that his mother was a lesbian. After his mother's death and his father's departure, Jackson was raised by his grandmother.
He began boxing at about age 11, and when he was 14, a neighbor opened a boxing gym for local youth. "When I wasn't killing time in school, I was sparring in the gym or selling crack on the strip," Jackson remembered. He sold crack during primary school. "I was competitive in the ring and hip-hop is competitive too ... I think rappers condition themselves like boxers, so they all kind of feel like they're the champ."
At age 12, Jackson began dealing narcotics when his grandparents thought he was in after-school programs and brought guns and drug money to school. In the tenth grade, he was caught by metal detectors at Andrew Jackson High School: "I was embarrassed that I got arrested like that ... After I got arrested I stopped hiding it. I was telling my grandmother [openly], 'I sell drugs.'"
On June 29, 1994, Jackson was arrested for selling four vials of cocaine to an undercover police officer. He was arrested again three weeks later, when police searched his home and found heroin, ten ounces of crack cocaine, and a starting pistol. Although Jackson was sentenced to three to nine years in prison, he served six months in a boot camp and earned his GED. He has said that he did not use cocaine himself.The Smoking Gun: 50 Cent . The Smoking Gun (February 27, 2003). Accessed May 22, 2007. Jackson adopted the nickname "50 Cent" as a metaphor for change. The name was inspired by Kelvin Martin, a 1980s Brooklyn robber known as "50 Cent"; Jackson chose it "because it says everything I want it to say. I'm the same kind of person 50 Cent was. I provide for myself by any means."
Career
1996–2002: Rise to fame, shooting, and early mixtapes
Jackson began rapping in a friend's basement, where he used turntables to record over instrumentals. In 1996, a friend introduced him to Jam Master Jay of Run-DMC, who was establishing Jam Master Jay Records. Jay taught him how to count bars, write choruses, structure songs, and make records.Tarek, Shams (May 16, 2003). Jamaica's 'Own Bad Guy' 50 Cent Making Good in the Music Biz . Queens Press. Accessed May 22, 2007. Jackson's first appearance was on "React" with Onyx, for their 1998 album Shut 'Em Down. He credited Jam Master Jay for improving his ability to write hooks, and Jay produced Jackson's first (unreleased) album. In 1999, after Jackson left Jam Master Jay, the platinum-selling producers Trackmasters signed him to Columbia Records. They sent him to an upstate New York studio, where he produced thirty-six songs in two weeks; eighteen were included on his 2000 album, Power of the Dollar. Jackson founded Hollow Point Entertainment with former G-Unit member Bang 'Em Smurf.Williams, Houston (February 2004). Bang'em Smurf: Life after G-Unit. AllHipHop. Retrieved July 20, 2007.
Jackson's popularity began to grow after the successful, controversial underground single "How to Rob", which he wrote in a half-hour car ride to a studio.50 Cent. From Pieces to Weight Part 5 . MTV. Accessed May 22, 2007. The track comically describes how he would rob famous artists. Jackson explained the song's rationale: "There's a hundred artists on that label, you gotta separate yourself from that group and make yourself relevant". Rappers Jay-Z, Kurupt, Sticky Fingaz, Big Pun, DMX, Wyclef Jean, and the Wu-Tang Clan responded to the track, and Nas invited Jackson to join him on his Nastradamus tour. Although "How to Rob" was intended to be released with "Thug Love" (with Destiny's Child), two days before he was scheduled to film the "Thug Love" music video, Jackson was shot and hospitalized.
On May 24, 2000, Jackson was attacked by a gunman outside his grandmother's former home in South Jamaica. After getting into a friend's car, he was asked to return to the house to get some jewelry; his son was in the house, and his grandmother was in the front yard. Jackson returned to the back seat of the car, and another car pulled up nearby; an assailant walked up and fired nine shots at close range with a 9mm handgun. Jackson was shot in the hand, arm, hip, both legs, chest, and left cheek. His facial wound resulted in a swollen tongue, the loss of a wisdom tooth and a slightly slurred voice; his friend was wounded in the hand. They were driven to a hospital, where Jackson spent thirteen days. The alleged attacker, Darryl Baum, Mike Tyson's close friend and bodyguard, was killed three weeks later.
Jackson recalled the shooting: "It happens so fast that you don't even get a chance to shoot back .... I was scared the whole time ... I was looking in the rear-view mirror like, 'Oh shit, somebody shot me in the face! It burns, burns, burns.'" In his autobiography, From Pieces to Weight: Once upon a Time in Southside Queens, he wrote: "After I got shot nine times at close range and didn't die, I started to think that I must have a purpose in life ... How much more damage could that shell have done? Give me an inch in this direction or that one, and I'm gone". Jackson used a walker for six weeks and fully recovered after five months. When he left the hospital he stayed in the Poconos with his girlfriend and son, and his workout regime helped him develop a muscular physique.
In the hospital Jackson signed a publishing deal with Columbia Records before he was dropped from the label and blacklisted by the recording industry because of his song, "Ghetto Qu'ran". Unable to work in a U.S. studio, he went to Canada.Weiner, Jonah (April 2005). Dear Superstar: 50 Cent . Blender. Accessed May 22, 2007. With business partner Sha Money XL, Jackson recorded over thirty songs for mixtapes to build a reputation. In a HitQuarters interview, Marc Labelle of Shady Records A&R said that Jackson used the mixtape circuit to his advantage: "He took all the hottest beats from every artist and flipped them with better hooks. They then got into all the markets on the mixtapes and all the mixtape DJs were messing with them." Jackson's popularity increased, and in 2002 he released the mixtape Guess Who's Back?. He then released 50 Cent Is the Future backed by G-Unit, a mixtape revisiting material by Jay-Z and Raphael Saadiq.
===2002–2007: Mainstream breakthrough, Get Rich or Die Tryin''', and The Massacre===
In 2002, Eminem heard Jackson's Guess Who's Back? CD, received from Jackson's attorney (who was working with Eminem's manager, Paul Rosenberg). Impressed, Eminem invited Jackson to fly to Los Angeles and introduced him to Dr. Dre. After signing a $1 million record deal, Jackson released No Mercy, No Fear. The mixtape featured one new track, "Wanksta", which appeared on Eminem's 8 Mile soundtrack. Jackson was also signed by Chris Lighty's Violator Management and Sha Money XL's Money Management Group.
50 Cent released his debut album, Get Rich or Die Tryin' (described by AllMusic as "probably the most hyped debut album by a rap artist in about a decade"), in February 2003. Rolling Stone noted its "dark synth grooves, buzzy keyboards and a persistently funky bounce", with Jackson complementing the production in "an unflappable, laid-back flow". It debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, selling 872,000 copies in its first four days. The lead single, "In da Club" (noted by The Source for its "blaring horns, funky organs, guitar riffs and sparse hand claps"), set a Billboard record as the most listened-to song in radio history within a week.
Interscope gave Jackson his own label, G-Unit Records, in 2003. He signed Lloyd Banks, Tony Yayo and Young Buck as members of G-Unit, and The Game was later signed in a joint venture with Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment. In March 2005, 50 Cent's second commercial album, The Massacre, sold 1.14 million copies in its first four days (the highest in an abbreviated sales cycle) and was number one on the Billboard 200 for six weeks. He was the first solo artist with three singles in the Billboard top five in the same week with "Candy Shop", "Disco Inferno" and "How We Do". According to Rolling Stone, "50's secret weapon is his singing voice - the deceptively amateur-sounding tenor croon that he deploys on almost every chorus".
After The Game's departure Jackson signed Olivia and rap veterans Mobb Deep to G-Unit Records, with Spider Loc, M.O.P., 40 Glocc and Young Hot Rod later joining the label, who all eventually departed the label.Chery, Carl (May 27, 2005). Pulse Report: M.O.P. Signs to G-Unit . SOHH. Retrieved June 22, 2007. Jackson expressed an interest in working with rappers other than G-Unit, such as Lil' Scrappy of BME, LL Cool J of Def Jam, Mase of Bad Boy and Freeway of Roc-A-Fella, and recorded with several.
2007–2010: Curtis, sales battle with Kanye West, and Before I Self Destruct
In September 2007, 50 Cent released his third album, Curtis, which was inspired by his life before Get Rich or Die Tryin. It debuted at number two on the Billboard 200, selling 691,000 copies during its first week. It sold behind Kanye West's Graduation, released the same day; the outcome of this highly-publicized sales battle between Jackson and West has been accredited to the commercial decline of the gangsta rap and "bling era" style that previously dominated mainstream hip-hop.
On the September 10, 2008 episode of Total Request Live, Jackson said his fourth studio album, Before I Self Destruct, would be "done and released in November". He released "Ok, You're Right", produced by Dr. Dre for Before I Self Destruct, on May 18, 2009 and was scheduled to appear in a fall 2009 episode of VH1's Behind the Music. On September 3, 2009, Jackson posted a video for the Soundkillers' Phoenix- produced track, "Flight 187", introducing his mixtape and book (The 50th Law). The song, with lyrics inspiring speculation about tension between Jackson and Jay-Z, was a bonus track on the iTunes version of Before I Self Destruct. Before I Self Destruct was released on November 9, 2009.
2010–2015: New musical directions, new business ventures, and Animal Ambition
In a Contactmusic.com interview, Jackson said he was working on a Eurodance album, Black Magic, inspired by European nightclubs: "First they played hip-hop which suddenly changed to uptempo songs, known as Eurodance". He later said he had changed his next album to The Return of the Heartless Monster after writing different material when he returned home from the Invitation Tour in 2010, shelving Black Magic. On September 3, Jackson supported Eminem on his and Jay-Z's The Home & Home Tour, performing "Crack A Bottle" with Eminem and Dr. Dre amid rumors of tension between Jackson and Dre.
He "recorded 20 songs to a whole different album concept" before putting them aside, wanting his new album to have the "aggression" of Get Rich or Die Tryin. Jackson tweeted that the album was "80 percent done" and fans could expect it in the summer of 2011. It was ultimately delayed a year due to disagreements with Interscope Records, with Jackson saying that he would release it in November 2011 with a different title than Black Magic. Eminem would appear on the album, and Jackson said he was working with new producers such as Boi-1da and Alex da Kid. Cardiak, who produced Lloyd Banks' "Start It Up", confirmed that he produced a song for the upcoming album.
Jackson released a song, "Outlaw", from his fifth album on the Internet on June 16, 2011. The single, produced by Cardiak, was released on iTunes on July 19 (although Jackson tweeted that it was not the album's first single). The rapper planned to write a semi-autobiographical young-adult novel about bullying, different from his previous books which focused on his life and the rules of power. According to the book's publisher, the first-person novel (about a 13-year-old schoolyard bully "who finds redemption as he faces what he's done") was scheduled for publication in January 2012.
In a series of tweets, Jackson said that the delay of his fifth album was due to disagreements with Interscope Records, later suggesting that it would be released in November 2011 with his headphone line (SMS by 50). He speculated to MTV News about not renewing his five-album contract with Interscope: "I don't know ... It will all be clear in the negotiations following me turning this actual album in. And, of course, the performance and how they actually treat the work will determine whether you still want to stay in that position or not."
On June 20, 2011, Jackson announced the release of Before I Self Destruct II after his fifth album. Although he planned to shoot a music video for the fifth album's lead single, "I'm On It", on June 26 the video was never filmed. Jackson told Shade45, "I did four songs in Detroit with Eminem. I did two with Just Blaze, a Boi-1da joint, and I did something with Alex da Kid. We made two that are definite singles and the other two are the kinds of records that we been making, more aimed at my core audience, more aggressive, more of a different kind of energy to it." He released "Street King Energy Track #7" in September 2011 to promote Street King, his charity-based energy drink. An announcement that Jackson was shooting a music video for "Girls Go Wild", the fifth-album lead single featuring Jeremih, was made on September 28, 2011.Music Video News: IN PRODUCTION: 50 Cent f/ Jeremih – Colin Tilley . Video Static (September 28, 2011). Retrieved on October 25, 2011.
Jackson's fifth album, Street King Immortal, was initially scheduled for a summer 2012 release and postponed until November 13. Disagreements with Interscope Records about its release and promotion led to its temporary cancellation. Its first promo single, "New Day" with Dr. Dre and Alicia Keys, was released on July 27. The song was produced by Dr. Dre, mixed by Eminem and written by 50 Cent, Alicia Keys, Royce da 5'9" and Dr. Dre. A solo version by Keys was leaked by her husband, Swizz Beatz. "My Life", the album's second promo single (with Eminem and Maroon 5 lead singer Adam Levine), was released on November 26, 2012.
In January 2014, Jackson said he planned to release Animal Ambition in the first quarter of the year, followed by Street King Immortal. On February 20, he left Shady Records, Aftermath Entertainment, and Interscope, signing with Caroline and Capitol Music Group. According to Jackson, although he owed Interscope another album, he was released from his contract because of his friendship with Eminem and Dr. Dre: "I'm a special case and situation. It's also because of the leverage of having the strong relationships with Eminem and Dr. Dre. They don't want me to be uncomfortable. They value our friendship to the point that they would never want [to jeopardize] it over that little bit of money."
That day, he announced that Animal Ambition would be released on June 3 and released its first track. The song, "Funeral", was released with a video on Forbes.com. Produced by Jake One, it is a continuation of "50 Bars" from a previous album; two more tracks were scheduled for release on March 18. At South by Southwest in Austin, Texas, Jackson performed "Hold On" from the new album. That song and "Don't Worry 'Bout It" were released with accompanying videos on March 18. According to Jackson, prosperity would be a theme of the album: "This project, I had to search for a concept, a really good concept, in my perspective, and that was prosperity. I outlined all the things that would be a part of prosperity, positive and negative [for Animal Ambition]."
2015–present: Street King Immortal, bankruptcy, and departure from Interscope
On May 14, 2015, Jackson revealed in an interview that the first single from Street King Immortal, would be previewed Memorial Day weekend and would likely be released in June. Jackson released "Get Low" on May 20, 2015, as the intended first single from his sixth studio album, Street King Immortal. The song, produced by Remo the Hitmaker, features vocals from fellow American rappers 2 Chainz and T.I., as well as American singer Jeremih. He announced bankruptcy on July 13, 2015.
On March 31, 2017, Interscope Records released 50 Cent's final album for the label, a greatest hits album titled Best Of.
50 Cent was among hundreds of artists whose material was destroyed in the 2008 Universal fire.
In 2020, Jackson led the executive-producer duties for late rapper Pop Smoke's debut album, Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon, having been one of Pop Smoke's biggest inspirations. The album was released on July 3, 2020. Jackson curated the album, desiring to finish it after Pop had died. He contacted many of the artists involved, and also features on one of the album tracks, "The Woo", which became a top ten single.
In 2020, it was reported that Jackson was producing two television series for Starz, an anthology about hip hop and a biographical drama about sports agent Nicole Lynn.
In 2021, he became one of the headliners of the music festival Golden Sand in Riviera Maya.
In a July 2021 interview with The Independent, 50 Cent confirmed that he had officially decided to shelve his Street King Immortal album after it spent a decade in development hell. He even confirmed that he plans to release a completely new project.
In August 2021, he was confirmed to be starring in the upcoming The Expendables film.
On February 13, 2022, 50 Cent was a surprise performer in the Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show.
Awards
Artistry
Jackson cites Boogie Down Productions, Big Daddy Kane, The Juice Crew, EPMD and KRS-One as his rapping influences, while citing LL Cool J as an inspiration behind his writing of "21 Questions". Jackson also states that he drew influences from Nas, Rakim and The Notorious B.I.G. while working on Animal Ambition.
Business ventures
Jackson has had a highly successful business career. He is financially invested in a highly diversified variety of industries. Jackson is now involved in artist and talent management, record, television, and film production, footwear, apparel, fragrances, liquor, video games, mobile apps, book publishing, headphones, along with health drinks and dietary supplements. His broad business and investment portfolio contains investments in a variety of sectors including real estate, financial market investments, mining, boxing promotion, vodka, fragrances, consumer electronics and fashion.
He established his own record label G-Unit Records in 2003 following his mainstream success. In November 2003, he signed a five-year deal with Reebok to distribute a G-Unit Sneakers line for his G-Unit Clothing Company.Leeds, Jeff (December 26, 2004). $50 Million for 50 Cent . The New York Times. Retrieved June 9, 2007. In an interview, Jackson said his businesses had a habit of doing well as he saw all of his ventures both past and present as revolving around his alter ego.
Jackson has also started a book publishing imprint, G-Unit Books on January 4, 2007 at the Time Warner Building in New York. He has written a number of books including a memoir, From Pieces To Weight in 2005 where it sold 73,000 copies in hardcover and 14,000 copies in paperback; a crime novel and a book with Robert Greene titled The 50th Law, an urban take on The 48 Laws of Power. In November 2011, Jackson released 50 Cent's Playground, a young adult fiction novel about a bullied, violent boy and his gay mother.
One of Jackson's first business ventures was a partnership with Glacéau to create an enhanced water drink called Formula 50. In October 2004, Jackson became a beverage investor when he was given a minority share in the company in exchange for becoming a spokesperson after learning that he was a fan of the beverage. The health conscious Jackson noted that he first learned of the product while at a gym in Los Angeles, and stated that "they do such a good job making water taste good." After becoming a minority shareholder and celebrity spokesperson, Jackson worked with the company to create a new grape flavored "Formula 50" variant of VitaminWater and mentioned the drinks in various songs and interviews. In 2007, Coca-Cola purchased Glacéau for $4.1 billion and, according to Forbes, Jackson, who was a minority shareholder, earned $100 million from the deal after taxes.
Though he no longer has an equity stake in the company, Jackson continues to act as a spokesperson for VitaminWater, supporting the product including singing about it at the BET Awards and expressing his excitement over the company's continuing to allow his input on products.
He joined Right Guard to introduce a body spray (Pure 50 RGX) and endorsed Magic Stick condoms, planning to donate part of their proceeds to increasing HIV awareness. Jackson signed a multi-year deal with Steiner Sports to sell his memorabilia, and announced plans for a dietary-supplement company in conjunction with his film Spectacular Regret in August 2007.Jokesta (August 21, 2007). 50 Cent launches dietary supplement company. Def Sounds. Retrieved August 21, 2007.
Jackson has founded two film production companies: G-Unit Films in 2003 and Cheetah Vision in 2008.For The Record: Quick News on Eminem, Ciara, Ludacris, Ne-Yo, Slayer, Marilyn Manson, Nas, Public Enemy & More . MTV (March 23, 2007). Accessed May 22, 2007. Cheetah Vision produces low budget action thrillers for foreign film markets across the world. When G-Unit Films folded, he focused on Cheetah Vision and the company obtained $200 million in funding in 2010. In 2010, Jackson revived G-Unit Films, renaming the company to G-Unit Films and Television Inc. The company has joint ventures with Will Packer's production company Will Packer Productions and Universal Television. In over 18 months, Jackson has sold projects to six different networks. Among them was Power, a STARZ drama in which he not only co-stars but also serves as co-creator and executive producer. Power debuted in June 2014 and was renewed for a second season after one episode.
Jackson serves as a co‐star, co-creator and executive television producer of the STARZ network drama where he signed a 2-year contract with representation coming from the Agency for the Performing Arts. Ratings have been a success for Starz. with the second-season premiere being the highest-ever season with 1.43 million people tuning in live.
In 2002, Jackson filed an application with the United States Patent and Trademark Office to register the term "50 Cent" as a trademark for clothing, sound recordings, and live performances. The application was published in 2003, and registration issued in 2004. He has since filed for additional trademark registrations.
In July 2011, Jackson launched a philanthropic initiative to provide food for one billion starving people in Africa by 2016, joining Pure Growth Partners to introduce Street King. A portion of the proceeds from each Street King purchase would be used to provide a daily meal to an underprivileged child. The partnership coincides with Jackson's goal to feed a billion people in Africa during the next five years. "50 Cent and I share a common vision: to address the world's problems through smart and sustainable business models," said Chris Clarke, founder and CEO of Pure Growth Partners. "With the rampant starvation in Africa and hunger afflicting children worldwide, we need socially responsible businesses that affect real change now more than ever." Jackson said, "I'm inspired by Clarke's vision and innovative approaches to tackling serious issues. It's our mission with Street King to really change children's lives around the world."Langhorne, Cyrus. (August 13, 2011) 50 Cent On "Street King" Global Takeover, "I Need Your Support" . Sohh.Com. Retrieved on October 25, 2011. In 2011, he founded SMS Audio, a consumer-electronics company selling Street by 50 headphones, pledging to donate a portion of their sales to charity. In April 2015, SMS announced new co-branding deals with Reebok and Marvel. It added those to existing partnerships with Walt Disney Parks, Lucasfilm's Star Wars, and Intel.
In 2014, Jackson became a minority shareholder in Effen Vodka, a brand of vodka produced in the Netherlands, when he invested undisclosed amount in the company Sire Spirits LLC. He currently endorses the product via his live concert performances and social media. The rapper was asked to take part in two promotional bottle signings, one in Oak Creek and another in Sun Prairie. Jackson made an appearance at Liquor Warehouse in Syracuse, New York on April 25, 2015 where he reportedly sold 1,400 bottles (277 gallons) of Jackson's signature liquor brand. Liquor Warehouse's owner George Angeloro reportedly stocked 300 cases (1,800 bottles or 357 gallons) of Effen Vodka, which sells for $30 a bottle, prior to the event.
In December 2014, Jackson signed a $78 million deal with FRIGO Revolution Wear, a luxury underwear brand. The joint venture is partnered between Jackson, basketball player Carmelo Anthony, baseball player Derek Jeter and Mathias Ingvarsson, the former president of mattress company Tempur-Pedic. Jackson became the chief fashion designer for the brands single pair of Frigo boxers. In April 2015, Jackson mulled investing in Jamaica, exploring foreign investment opportunities on the island when he met with some local officials and had ongoing discussions on investment opportunities in the Montego Bay resort area.
Investments
Over the years, Jackson invested his earnings from music and celebrity endorsements in an array of privately controlled companies, real estate, and stocks and bonds. A portion of his investments lost value during the 2008 recession. In December 2008, he told the Canadian press that he had been affected by the recession, losing several million dollars in the stock market. Unable to sell his Connecticut mansion, Jackson postponed Before I Self-Destruct due to the severity of the economic downturn.
His Farmington mansion located on 50 Poplar Hill Drive that he tried to sell for years filed for bankruptcy in Connecticut in 2015 listed an asking price for that property in 2012 at $10 million but was valued at $8.3 million in 2015. He first tried to sell the house in 2007 for $18.5 million, and dropped the price several times in the next five years, when it was on and off the market.
In January 2011, Jackson reportedly made $10 million after using Twitter to promote a marketing company which he was part shareholder of. His endorsements company G Unit Brands Inc. revealed through a public SEC filing controls 12.9 per cent of H&H Imports, which is a parent company of TV Goods – the firm responsible for marketing his range of headphones, Sleek by 50 Cent. Jackson bought stock in the company on November 30, 2010, a week after it offered buyers 180 million shares at 17 cents each. Jackson later made a stock recommendation on Twitter, causing its share value to rise from four cents to nearly 50 cents (32p) each, closing on Monday at 39 cents (25p). Jackson was later investigated by the Securities and Exchange Commission for breaching securities laws following his tweet which may have constituted allegations of Insider trading via his Pump and dump stock investment strategy.
In 2013, Jackson became a minority investor in Hang w/, a live video broadcasting mobile app used by dozens of celebrities to broadcast their daily activities and chat with fans. The app was downloaded more than 1 million times since its launch in March 2013 and had more than 1 million users . Other minority celebrity investors include former NFL player Terrell Owens and record producer Timbaland.
Mining and heavy metals
In 2008, Jackson visited a platinum, palladium and iridium mine shaft in South Africa, and met with South African billionaire Patrice Motsepe in talks of purchasing an equity stake in the mine. After his meeting with Motsepe, Jackson considered purchasing equity in the mine and launching his own line of 50 Cent branded platinum.
Boxing promotion
On July 21, 2012, Jackson became a licensed boxing promoter when he formed his new company, TMT (The Money Team). Licensed to promote in New York, he was in the process of being licensed in Nevada (where most major fights are held in the U.S.). A former amateur boxer, Jackson signed gold medalist and former featherweight champion Yuriorkis Gamboa and middleweight Olympic medalist Andre Dirrell. On July 29, 2012, he and the boxer Floyd Mayweather, Jr., signed IBF featherweight champion Billy Dib. They unveiled plans to challenge the box-office dominance of mixed martial arts and change the landscape of boxing with TMT Promotions. Boxer Zab Judah also expressed interest in making a deal with Jackson. In December 2012, Mayweather and Jackson parted company, with Jackson taking over the promotion company and founding SMS Promotions with Gamboa, Dirrell, Dib, James Kirkland, Luis Olivares and Donte Strayhorn in his stable.
Bankruptcy
On July 13, 2015, Jackson filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Connecticut with a debt of $32,509,549.91. On July 17, 2015, the Court issued an order allowing a creditor to proceed with the punitive damages phase of a trial against Jackson in a New York state court, in connection with the alleged release of a private video. His assets were listed as between $10 million and $50 million in his bankruptcy petition, though he testified under oath that he is worth $4.4 million. Citing between $10 million and $50 million in debt, and the same amount in assets. Later in the week, Jackson's bankruptcy lawyers elucidated the court documents that legal fees and judgments exceeding $20 million over the past year were the primary cause of the filing.
His filings listed 32 entities that he has a stake in. The bankruptcy came days after a jury ordered him to pay $5 million to rapper Rick Ross's ex-girlfriend Lastonia Leviston for invading her privacy by posting online a sex tape of her and another man. In addition, Jackson lost a dispute over a failed business deal to come to fruition to his Sleek headphones, where Jackson invested more than $2 million. An ex-partner accused Jackson of later stealing the design of the "Sleek by 50" headphones, prompting a judge to award the partner more than $17.2 million. His Connecticut bankruptcy filing states that he owns seven cars valued at more than $500,000, including a 2010 Rolls Royce and a 1966 Chevrolet Coupe. His expenses of $108,000 a month include $5,000 for gardening along with a monthly income of $185,000, mainly from royalties and income from his external businesses and investments. The court filing says he also owes money to his stylist, his barber, and his fitness coach.
Other details in the bankruptcy documents included information about two deals that sold the right to collect royalties of on-air play of his music. Half the rights to his portfolio were sold to the British independent music publishing company Kobalt Music Group for $3 million and the other half for another $3 million with the sales of his albums allowing Jackson to own 100 percent of the rights to the master recordings while paying only for distribution. Zeisler & Zeisler, a Bridgeport law firm, represented 50 Cent in the bankruptcy, which later resulted in Jackson filing a $75 million lawsuit against his own lawyers. He stated that his lawyers did a terrible job of representing him, specifically citing the fallout of his failed venture with Sleek Audio headphones and accused Garvey Schubert Barer, a Wall Street law firm, of failing to "employ the requisite knowledge and skill necessary to confront the circumstances of the case."
Corporate positions
G-Unity Foundation Inc. – Founder
SMS Audio – CEO, founder
SK Energy – Founder
SMS Promotions – CEO, founder
Sire Spirits – Owner
Effen Vodka – former minority shareholder
Personal life
On October 13, 1996, Jackson's girlfriend, Shaniqua Tompkins, gave birth to son Marquise Jackson. Tompkins later sued Jackson for $50 million, saying he promised to take care of her for life. The suit, with 15 causes of action, was dismissed by a judge who called it "an unfortunate tale of a love relationship gone sour." The two have bickered for years, and have even taken their feud to social media many times.
Marquise's birth changed Jackson's outlook on life: "When my son came into my life, my priorities changed, because I wanted to have the relationship with him that I didn't have with my father". He credited his son for inspiring his career and being the "motivation to go in a different direction". Despite this, the two have endured a fractured relationship that began when Jackson and Tompkins separated in 2008. Their feud has been taken to social media numerous times, including in 2020 when Jackson disclosed that he "used to" love his son. Jackson has a tattooed "Marquise" with an axe on his right biceps ("The axe is 'cause I'm a warrior. I don't want him to be one, though"), and has "50", "Southside" and "Cold World" on his back: "I'm a product of that environment. It's on my back, though, so it's all behind me".
Jackson dated model Daphne Joy and had his second son, Sire Jackson, with her, on September 1, 2012. At the age of two years, Sire modeled for Kidz Safe, a headphone brand for kids, earning $700,000 through his contract.
In 2005, Jackson supported President George W. Bush after rapper Kanye West criticized Bush for a slow response to the victims of Hurricane Katrina. If his felony convictions did not prevent him from voting, he said, he would have voted for the president. Jackson later said that Bush "has less compassion than the average human. By all means, I don't aspire to be like George Bush." In September 2007, he told Time that although he would not endorse a candidate in 2008, he "liked Hillary [Clinton]".
Six months later, the rapper told MTV News that he had switched his support to Barack Obama after hearing him speak, but had lost interest in politics.MTV News, "50 cent Flip-flops: From Clinton to Obama," March 28, 2008 Asked his opinion of President Obama's May 9, 2012 endorsement of gay marriage, Jackson said, "I'm for it ... I've encouraged same-sex activities. I've engaged in fetish areas a couple times." He had been criticized for anti-gay comments in the past.Mariel Concepcion, GLAAD Calls Out 50 Cent For Anti-Gay Tweet , Billboard, September 10, 2010
Despite having numerous songs that reference drug and alcohol usage, Jackson remains teetotal, citing a bad experience with alcohol as his main reason.Forbes noted Jackson's wealth in 2007, ranking him second behind Jay-Z in the rap industry. He lives in a Farmington, Connecticut, mansion formerly owned by ex-boxer Mike Tyson, listing it for sale at $18.5 million to move closer to his son (who lives on Long Island with his ex-girlfriend). The mayor of Bridgeport, Connecticut declared October 12, 2007 "50 Cent Curtis Jackson Day", honoring the rapper with a proclamation and a key to the city. One of Jackson's New York homes, purchased in January 2007 for $2.4 million and the center of a lawsuit between Jackson and Shaniqua Tompkins, caught fire on May 31, 2008 while he was filming in Louisiana.
In December 2008, he told the Canadian press that he had lost several million dollars in the stock market and, unable to sell his Connecticut mansion, had postponed Before I Self-Destruct because of the economic downturn. Jackson won a lawsuit in November 2009 against Taco Bell over the fast-food chain's use of his name without permission.
In 2016, regarding a public feud with rapper Meek Mill, he commented, "You know, he's really not that bright. The easiest thing you can do is bring other people into the statements you're saying, right, while you're writing music."
Jackson endorsed Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton in the run-up for the 2016 U.S. presidential election. He rejected an offer of $500,000 from the Trump campaign to make an appearance on the candidate's behalf. However, he endorsed Donald Trump in 2020, due to his dislike of Joe Biden's tax plans. A week later, he retracted his endorsement, saying on Twitter "Fu*k Donald Trump, I never liked him", and endorsed Biden.
Legal issues, Drugs and assault convictions
On June 29, 1994, Jackson was arrested for selling four vials of cocaine to an undercover police officer. He was arrested again three weeks later, when police searched his home and found heroin, ten ounces of crack cocaine and a starter's pistol. Although Jackson was sentenced to three to nine years in prison, he served six months in a boot camp (where he earned his high-school equivalency diploma). According to him, he did not use cocaine.
Jackson and four members of his entourage were arrested shortly before 2 a.m. on December 31, 2002, when police found a .25-caliber handgun and a .45-caliber pistol in a parked car (which they searched due to its tinted windows) outside a Manhattan nightclub. The rapper was charged with two counts of criminal possession of a weapon.
Jackson was sentenced to two years' probation on July 22, 2005 for a May 2004 incident, when he was charged with three counts of assault and battery after jumping into an audience when he was hit by a water bottle.
Lawsuits
Use of image
Jackson filed a lawsuit against an advertising company, Traffix of Pearl River, New York, on July 21, 2007, for using his image in a promotion he said threatened his safety. He was alerted by a staff member to an Internet advertisement on a Myspace page. According to court documents, the advertisement had a cartoon image of the rapper with "Shoot the rapper and you will win $5000 or five ring tones guaranteed". Although the ad did not use his name, the image allegedly resembled him and suggested that he endorsed the product. The lawsuit, calling the ad a "vile, tasteless and despicable" use of Jackson's image which "quite literally call[ed] for violence against him", sought unspecified punitive damages and a permanent injunction against the use of his image without permission.50 Cent Sues over 'Shoot the Rapper'. Fox News (July 20, 2007). Retrieved December 17, 2015.
Use of name
In 2008, Jackson sued Taco Bell over an ad campaign in which it invited him to change his name for one day from 50 Cent to 79 Cent, 89 Cent, or 99 Cent, in line with pricing for some of its items, and they would donate $10,000 to the charity of his choice. The case was settled out of court.
Janitor incident
While walking through Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport in May 2016, Jackson harassed and insulted a janitor at the airport, accusing him of being under the influence. The janitor was a hearing-impaired, autistic teenager named Andrew Farrell. The parents of the janitor had seen the viral video as disrespect and wanted to sue Jackson for his action against their child. The lawsuit was originally over one million dollars, but the parents settled for a $100,000 donation to Autism Speaks and his apology.
Bamba sample
In 2016, a judge declared that Brandon Parrott gave Dr. Dre and 50 Cent the rights to "Bamba" for the song "P.I.M.P."
Other civil and criminal matters
One of his New York homes, purchased for $2.4 million in January 2007 and the center of a lawsuit between Jackson and Shaniqua Tompkins, caught fire on May 30, 2008 while he was filming in Louisiana. On August 5, 2013, Jackson pleaded not guilty to one count of domestic violence and four counts of vandalism in a Los Angeles County court. If convicted of all charges, he faced up to five years in prison and a $46,000 fine. Model-actress Daphne Joy accused Jackson of kicking her and ransacking her bedroom during an argument at her condominium in the Toluca Lake neighborhood of Los Angeles on June 23. He allegedly caused $7,100 in property damage, leaving the scene before police arrived.
Judge Ann Nevins has ordered Jackson back to court because of Instagram messages he made over several months. She said Jackson was not fully clear about his funds and indicated posts of the rapper showing stacks of his money. In March 2016, Jackson claimed that he would no longer use Instagram, electing instead to have his profile page operated by someone else.
In 2020, Jackson was a subject of controversy for his involvement in a viral video of him giving money to a Burger King restaurant in New York City on behalf of a local scammer who was later arrested and charged for Bitcoin scamming and for assaulting and kidnapping his victims on April 24, 2021.
Feuds
Ja Rule
Before he signed with Interscope Records, Jackson engaged in a public dispute with rapper Ja Rule and his label, Murder Inc. Records, saying that a friend robbed jewelry from Ja Rule and the latter accused him of orchestrating the robbery. Ja Rule said that the conflict stemmed from a Queens video shoot, when Jackson did not like seeing him "getting so much love" from the neighborhood. At The Hit Factory in New York in March 2000, Jackson had an altercation with Murder Inc. associates and received three stitches for a stab wound.Smith, Dominic (July 2005). 50 Cent Interview. FHM. Retrieved July 11, 2007. Rapper Black Child claimed responsibility for the stabbing, saying that he acted in self-defense when he thought someone reached for a gun.
An affidavit by an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) agent suggested ties between Murder Inc. and Kenneth "Supreme" McGriff, a New York drug lord suspected of involvement in the murder of Jam Master Jay and Jackson's shooting. An excerpt read:
The end of the Jackson-Ja Rule feud was confirmed in May 2011. According to Ja Rule, "I'm cool. We ain't beefing no more. We'll never collaborate. That's just what it is. You don't have to be at war with somebody, but it's also kind of like U.S. and another country that they may not get along with. We don't gotta go to war, but we're not friends either. But we can coincide inside of a world. He's doing him, and he's not thinking about me, and I'm doing me and I'm not thinking about him."
On August 7, 2015, the feud between the two rappers later reignited when Ja Rule gave a feedback to a social follower via Twitter over a similar feud between Meek Mill and Drake. Enraged, Jackson later responded with photos and comments via Instagram, only siding with Drake. The feud resurfaced three years later on January 19, 2018, when Ja Rule took to Twitter, calling out 50 Cent on social media. 50 Cent responded by purchasing and vacating the first four rows of his concert.
The Game
Although Jackson was close to The Game before the latter released his debut album, The Documentary, they grew apart. After The Documentarys release, Jackson felt that The Game was disloyal for saying that he did not want to participate in G-Unit's feuds with other rappers (such as Nas, Jadakiss and Fat Joe) and his desire to work with artists with which G-Unit was feuding. He said that he wrote six songs for the album and did not receive proper credit, which The Game denied.
Jackson later dismissed The Game from G-Unit on Hot 97. After the announcement, The Game (a guest earlier in the evening) tried to enter the building with his entourage. After they were denied entry, one of his associates was shot in the leg in a confrontation with a group of men leaving the building.Hope, Clover (March 2, 2005). 50 Cent Cancels New York Appearance amid Shooting Inquiry . AllHipHop. Retrieved July 20, 2007. When the situation escalated, the rappers held a joint press conference announcing their reconciliation, and fans were uncertain if the rappers had staged a publicity stunt to boost sales of their recently released albums. After the situation cooled, G-Unit criticized The Game's street credibility and announced that they would not appear on his albums. During a Summer Jam performance The Game announced a boycott of G-Unit, which he called "G-Unot".
After the Summer Jam performance The Game recorded "300 Bars and Runnin'", an extended "diss" of G-Unit and Roc-A-Fella Records, for the mixtape You Know What It Is Vol. 3. Jackson responded with his "Piggy Bank" music video, with The Game as Mr. Potato Head and parodies of other rivals. They have continued attacking each other, with The Game releasing two more mixtapes: Ghost Unit and a mixtape-DVD, Stop Snitchin, Stop Lyin. Jackson superimposed The Game's head on the body of a male stripper for the cover of the Hate It or Love It (G-Unit Radio Part 21) mixtape in response to The Game's pictures of G-Unit dressed as the Village People. The Game, under contract to Aftermath Entertainment, signed with Geffen Records to terminate his contractual obligations with G-Unit (although it is claimed that Jackson pressured Dr. Dre to fire him). G-Unit member Spider Loc has insulted The Game in songs, and the latter released "240 Bars (Spider Joke)" and "100 Bars (The Funeral)" attacking G-Unit and Loc. Jackson's response was "Not Rich, Still Lyin'", mocking The Game. Lloyd Banks replied to the Game on a Rap City freestyle-booth segment, followed by a Game "diss" song ("SoundScan") ridiculing the 13-position drop of Banks' album Rotten Apple on the Billboard 200 chart and its disappointing second-week sales. Banks replied on his mixtape Mo' Money In The Bank Pt. 5: Gang Green Season Continues with "Showtime (The Game's Over)", said that Jackson wrote half of The Documentary and ridiculed The Game's suicidal thoughts.
In October 2006, The Game made a peace overture (which was not immediately answered) to Jackson, but two days later he said on Power 106 that the peace offer was valid for only one day. In several songs on Doctor's Advocate, he implied that the feud was over. He said in July 2009 that the feud had ended with help from Michael Jackson and Diddy, and apologized for his actions. According to Tony Yayo, neither Jackson nor G-Unit accepted his apology and The Game has resumed his calls for a "G-Unot" boycott at concerts. Jackson released "So Disrespectful" on Before I Self Destruct, targeting Jay-Z, The Game and Young Buck. The Game responded with "Shake", poking fun at the music video for Jackson's "Candy Shop".
On August 1, 2016, 50 Cent ended his twelve-year feud with The Game when the two were in the Ace of Diamonds Strip Club and The Game said "What happened, that shit was 12 years ago."
Rick Ross
Although Rick Ross began a feud with Jackson over an alleged incident at the 2008 BET Hip Hop Awards, Jackson told news sources he did not remember seeing Ross there. Later that month Ross' "Mafia Music" was leaked on the Internet, with lyrics apparently disparaging Jackson. Several days later, Jackson released "Officer Ricky (Go Head, Try Me)" in response to "Mafia Music". The following day, Ross appeared on Shade 45 (Eminem's Sirius channel) and told Jackson to come up with something better in 24 hours.
Before leaving for Venezuela, Jackson uploaded a video ("Warning Shot") and the first of a series of "Officer Ricky" cartoons. In early February he uploaded a YouTube video in which he interviewed "Tia", the mother of one of Ross' children; according to her, Ross is in reality a correctional officer. On February 5, 2009, The Game phoned Seattle radio station KUBE. Asked about the dispute between Jackson and Ross, he sided with Jackson and offered to mediate: "Rick Ross, holla at your boy, man" and "50 eating you, boy."
On his album Deeper Than Rap, Ross refers to Jackson in "In Cold Blood" and Jackson's mock funeral is part of the song's video. When the song was released, Ross said that he ended Jackson's career. "Rick Ross is Albert From CB4. You ever seen the movie? He's Albert," Jackson replied in an interview. "It never gets worse than this. You get a guy that was a correctional officer come out and base his entire career on writing material from a drug dealer's perspective such as "Freeway" Ricky Ross." Their feud rekindled at the 2012 BET Hip Hop Awards, where Jackson and G-Unit members Kidd Kidd, Mike Knox, Tony Yayo were seen on video attacking Gunplay (a member of Ross' Maybach Music Group). Gunplay's Maybach Music diamond necklace was stolen during the brawl, and several days later Jackson appeared at a Washington, D.C. bowling alley wearing Gunplay's chain. On January 30, 2013, Jackson tweeted that Ross' attempted drive-by shooting on his birthday three days earlier was "staged".
On August 9, 2020, 50 Cent and Rick Ross ended their feud.
Awards and nominations
Discography
Studio albums
Get Rich or Die Tryin' (2003)
The Massacre (2005)
Curtis (2007)
Before I Self Destruct (2009)
Animal Ambition (2014)
Collaborative albums
Beg for Mercy (with G-Unit) (2003)
T·O·S (Terminate on Sight)'' (with G-Unit) (2008)
Filmography
Film
Television
Appearances
Video games
References
External links
1975 births
20th-century American rappers
21st-century American businesspeople
21st-century American male actors
21st-century American rappers
21st-century African-American male singers
African-American fashion designers
African-American film producers
African-American investors
African-American male actors
African-American male rappers
African-American memoirists
African-American record producers
African-American male songwriters
Aftermath Entertainment artists
American book publishers (people)
American boxing promoters
American businesspeople convicted of crimes
American chairpersons of corporations
American chief executives of food industry companies
American corporate directors
American cosmetics businesspeople
American drink industry businesspeople
American fashion businesspeople
American film producers
American hip hop record producers
American male film actors
American male television actors
American male video game actors
American marketing businesspeople
American memoirists
American mining businesspeople
American music industry executives
American music publishers (people)
American nonprofit businesspeople
American people convicted of drug offenses
American reality television producers
American retail chief executives
American shooting survivors
American television company founders
American television executives
Andrew Jackson High School (Queens) alumni
Brit Award winners
Businesspeople from Queens, New York
Businesspeople in metals
Caroline Records artists
East Coast hip hop musicians
Echo (music award) winners
Gangsta rappers
Grammy Award winners for rap music
G-Unit Records artists
JMJ Records artists
Juno Award for International Album of the Year winners
Living people
Male actors from New York City
People from Jamaica, Queens
Philanthropists from New York (state)
Rappers from New York City
Record producers from New York (state)
Shady Records artists
Shoe designers
Songwriters from New York (state)
Sony Music Publishing artists
Stabbing attacks in the United States
Stabbing survivors
Television producers from New York City
World Music Awards winners
Writers from Queens, New York | false | [
"Antwan Deandre Applewhite (born December 31, 1985) is a former American football defensive end who played in the National Football League (NFL). He was signed by the San Diego Chargers as an undrafted free agent in 2007. He played college football at San Diego State.\n\nHe was also a member of the San Francisco 49ers, Carolina Panthers, and Miami Dolphins.\n\nEarly years\nHe was an All-area defensive player at Narbonne High School.\n\nProfessional career\n\nSan Diego Chargers\nApplewhite was signed as an undrafted free agent on April 30, 2007 by the National Football League's San Diego Chargers. He was released on September 1, 2007. He was re-signed to the practice squad on November 21.\n\nApplewhite was waived during final cuts in 2008 but was re-signed to the team's practice squad. One game into the season on September 9, he was signed to the active roster after linebacker Shawne Merriman was placed on injured reserve.\n\nSan Francisco 49ers\nOn July 31, 2011, Applewhite signed with the San Francisco 49ers. He was released on September 6.\n\nCarolina Panthers\nThe Carolina Panthers signed him on October 5, 2011. They converted him from Defensive End to rush Linebacker in mainly 3-4 sets. Then the dropped him only to sign him the next day.\n\nMiami Dolphins\nOn August 15, 2013, Applewhite was signed by the Miami Dolphins. Miami released him on August 31, prior to the start of the regular season.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\nSan Diego State Aztecs bio\nSan Diego Chargers bio\n\n1985 births\nLiving people\nPlayers of American football from Los Angeles\nAmerican football defensive ends\nAmerican football linebackers\nSan Diego State Aztecs football players\nSan Diego Chargers players\nSan Francisco 49ers players\nCarolina Panthers players\nMiami Dolphins players\nNarbonne High School alumni",
"Samuele Sereni (born 5 January 1988) is an Italian footballer who plays as a defender.\n\nClub career\nSereni started his career in local Arezzo Gio. He was loaned to fourth-tier Figline for 2 years, before he could made his professional debut in the Lega Pro. On the summer of 2010, Serie B side Grosseto signed him, but he played only 2 match on the second tier. In January, he returned to Lega Pro, to Pisa. He spent here only a half season, before he signed to fourth-tier Mantova. One year later, he returned to Arezzo (at the time fourth-tier), before Rimini signed him. His next club was third-level S.P.A.L., before he was loaned to fellow third level Pavia. In the Lombardian team he scored 3 goals, but started the next season at Mantova. He spent the 2016–17 season at Forlì. In December 2017, after half year without club, he returned to Serie D, as Imolese signed him\nIn September 2020, signing for a lower category team, Olimpic Sansovino (1st Category Toscana). In January 2019, his first club, Arezzo signed him again.\n\nReferences\n\nSources\n \n\n1988 births\nLiving people\nPeople from Castiglion Fibocchi\nSportspeople from Arezzo\nAssociation football defenders\nItalian footballers\nS.S. Arezzo players\nF.C. Grosseto S.S.D. players\nPisa S.C. players\nMantova 1911 players\nRimini F.C. 1912 players\nS.P.A.L. players\nF.C. Pavia players\nForlì F.C. players\nImolese Calcio 1919 players\nSerie B players\nSerie C players\nSerie D players"
] |
[
"50 Cent",
"2002-2006: Rise to fame",
"What was his album when he rise to fame?",
"In 2002, Eminem heard Jackson's Guess Who's Back? CD, received from Jackson's attorney (",
"Who signed him?",
"introduced him to Dr. Dre. After signing a $1 million record deal, Jackson released No Mercy, No Fear."
] | C_c5bdd69a096444ff8e00c23e110bdece_0 | What was the name of his mix tape? | 3 | What was the name of 50 Cent's mix tape? | 50 Cent | In 2002, Eminem heard Jackson's Guess Who's Back? CD, received from Jackson's attorney (who was working with Eminem's manager, Paul Rosenberg). Impressed, Eminem invited Jackson to fly to Los Angeles and introduced him to Dr. Dre. After signing a $1 million record deal, Jackson released No Mercy, No Fear. The mixtape featured one new track, "Wanksta", which appeared on Eminem's 8 Mile soundtrack. Jackson was also signed by Chris Lighty's Violator Management and Sha Money XL's Money Management Group. Jackson released his debut album, Get Rich or Die Tryin' (described by AllMusic as "probably the most hyped debut album by a rap artist in about a decade"), in February 2003. Rolling Stone noted its "dark synth grooves, buzzy keyboards and a persistently funky bounce", with Jackson complementing the production in "an unflappable, laid-back flow". It debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, selling 872,000 copies in its first four days. The lead single, "In da Club" (noted by The Source for its "blaring horns, funky organs, guitar riffs and sparse hand claps"), set a Billboard record as the most listened-to song in radio history within a week. Interscope gave Jackson his own label, G-Unit Records, in 2003. He signed Lloyd Banks, Tony Yayo and Young Buck as members of G-Unit, and The Game was later signed in a joint venture with Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment. In March 2005 Jackson's second commercial album, The Massacre, sold 1.14 million copies in its first four days (the highest in an abbreviated sales cycle) and was number one on the Billboard 200 for six weeks. He was the first solo artist with three singles in the Billboard top five in the same week with "Candy Shop", "Disco Inferno" and "How We Do". According to Rolling Stone, "50's secret weapon is his singing voice - the deceptively amateur-sounding tenor croon that he deploys on almost every chorus". After The Game's departure Jackson signed Olivia and rap veterans Mobb Deep to G-Unit Records, with Spider Loc, M.O.P., 40 Glocc and Young Hot Rod later joining the label, who all eventually departed the label. Jackson expressed an interest in working with rappers other than G-Unit, such as Lil' Scrappy of BME, LL Cool J of Def Jam, Mase of Bad Boy and Freeway of Roc-A-Fella, and recorded with several. CANNOTANSWER | Jackson released No Mercy, No Fear. | Curtis James Jackson III (born July 6, 1975), known professionally as 50 Cent, is an American rapper, actor and entrepreneur. Known for his impact in the hip hop industry, he has been described as a "master of the nuanced art of lyrical brevity".
Born in the South Jamaica neighborhood of Queens, Jackson began selling drugs at age 12 during the 1980s crack epidemic. He later began pursuing a musical career and in 2000 he produced Power of the Dollar for Columbia Records, but days before the planned release he was shot and the album was never released. In 2002, after 50 Cent released the compilation album Guess Who's Back?, he was discovered by Eminem and signed to Shady Records, under the aegis of Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment and Interscope Records.
With the aid of Eminem and Dr. Dre (who produced his first major-label album Get Rich or Die Tryin'), 50 Cent became one of the world's best selling rappers and rose to prominence as de facto leader of East Coast hip hop group G-Unit. In 2003, he founded G-Unit Records, signing his G-Unit associates Young Buck, Lloyd Banks and Tony Yayo. 50 Cent had similar commercial and critical success with his second album, The Massacre, which was released in 2005. He underwent musical changes by his fifth album, Animal Ambition (2014), and is currently working on his sixth studio album. He executive-produced and starred in the television series Power (2014–2020) and is slated to produce its spin-offs.
50 Cent has sold over 30 million albums worldwide and won several awards, including a Grammy Award, thirteen Billboard Music Awards, six World Music Awards, three American Music Awards and four BET Awards. As an actor, Jackson appeared in the semi-autobiographical film Get Rich or Die Tryin' (2005), the war film Home of the Brave (2006), and the crime thriller film Righteous Kill (2008). 50 Cent was ranked the sixth-best artist of the 2000s and the third-best rapper (behind Eminem and Nelly) by Billboard. Rolling Stone ranked Get Rich or Die Tryin and "In da Club" in its lists of the "100 Best Albums of the 2000s" and "100 Best Songs of the 2000s" at numbers 37 and 13, respectively.
Early life
Jackson was born in the borough of Queens, New York City, and raised in its South Jamaica neighborhood by his mother Sabrina. A drug dealer, Sabrina raised Jackson until she died in a fire when Jackson was 8. (online is excerpt only) Jackson revealed in an interview that his mother was a lesbian. After his mother's death and his father's departure, Jackson was raised by his grandmother.
He began boxing at about age 11, and when he was 14, a neighbor opened a boxing gym for local youth. "When I wasn't killing time in school, I was sparring in the gym or selling crack on the strip," Jackson remembered. He sold crack during primary school. "I was competitive in the ring and hip-hop is competitive too ... I think rappers condition themselves like boxers, so they all kind of feel like they're the champ."
At age 12, Jackson began dealing narcotics when his grandparents thought he was in after-school programs and brought guns and drug money to school. In the tenth grade, he was caught by metal detectors at Andrew Jackson High School: "I was embarrassed that I got arrested like that ... After I got arrested I stopped hiding it. I was telling my grandmother [openly], 'I sell drugs.'"
On June 29, 1994, Jackson was arrested for selling four vials of cocaine to an undercover police officer. He was arrested again three weeks later, when police searched his home and found heroin, ten ounces of crack cocaine, and a starting pistol. Although Jackson was sentenced to three to nine years in prison, he served six months in a boot camp and earned his GED. He has said that he did not use cocaine himself.The Smoking Gun: 50 Cent . The Smoking Gun (February 27, 2003). Accessed May 22, 2007. Jackson adopted the nickname "50 Cent" as a metaphor for change. The name was inspired by Kelvin Martin, a 1980s Brooklyn robber known as "50 Cent"; Jackson chose it "because it says everything I want it to say. I'm the same kind of person 50 Cent was. I provide for myself by any means."
Career
1996–2002: Rise to fame, shooting, and early mixtapes
Jackson began rapping in a friend's basement, where he used turntables to record over instrumentals. In 1996, a friend introduced him to Jam Master Jay of Run-DMC, who was establishing Jam Master Jay Records. Jay taught him how to count bars, write choruses, structure songs, and make records.Tarek, Shams (May 16, 2003). Jamaica's 'Own Bad Guy' 50 Cent Making Good in the Music Biz . Queens Press. Accessed May 22, 2007. Jackson's first appearance was on "React" with Onyx, for their 1998 album Shut 'Em Down. He credited Jam Master Jay for improving his ability to write hooks, and Jay produced Jackson's first (unreleased) album. In 1999, after Jackson left Jam Master Jay, the platinum-selling producers Trackmasters signed him to Columbia Records. They sent him to an upstate New York studio, where he produced thirty-six songs in two weeks; eighteen were included on his 2000 album, Power of the Dollar. Jackson founded Hollow Point Entertainment with former G-Unit member Bang 'Em Smurf.Williams, Houston (February 2004). Bang'em Smurf: Life after G-Unit. AllHipHop. Retrieved July 20, 2007.
Jackson's popularity began to grow after the successful, controversial underground single "How to Rob", which he wrote in a half-hour car ride to a studio.50 Cent. From Pieces to Weight Part 5 . MTV. Accessed May 22, 2007. The track comically describes how he would rob famous artists. Jackson explained the song's rationale: "There's a hundred artists on that label, you gotta separate yourself from that group and make yourself relevant". Rappers Jay-Z, Kurupt, Sticky Fingaz, Big Pun, DMX, Wyclef Jean, and the Wu-Tang Clan responded to the track, and Nas invited Jackson to join him on his Nastradamus tour. Although "How to Rob" was intended to be released with "Thug Love" (with Destiny's Child), two days before he was scheduled to film the "Thug Love" music video, Jackson was shot and hospitalized.
On May 24, 2000, Jackson was attacked by a gunman outside his grandmother's former home in South Jamaica. After getting into a friend's car, he was asked to return to the house to get some jewelry; his son was in the house, and his grandmother was in the front yard. Jackson returned to the back seat of the car, and another car pulled up nearby; an assailant walked up and fired nine shots at close range with a 9mm handgun. Jackson was shot in the hand, arm, hip, both legs, chest, and left cheek. His facial wound resulted in a swollen tongue, the loss of a wisdom tooth and a slightly slurred voice; his friend was wounded in the hand. They were driven to a hospital, where Jackson spent thirteen days. The alleged attacker, Darryl Baum, Mike Tyson's close friend and bodyguard, was killed three weeks later.
Jackson recalled the shooting: "It happens so fast that you don't even get a chance to shoot back .... I was scared the whole time ... I was looking in the rear-view mirror like, 'Oh shit, somebody shot me in the face! It burns, burns, burns.'" In his autobiography, From Pieces to Weight: Once upon a Time in Southside Queens, he wrote: "After I got shot nine times at close range and didn't die, I started to think that I must have a purpose in life ... How much more damage could that shell have done? Give me an inch in this direction or that one, and I'm gone". Jackson used a walker for six weeks and fully recovered after five months. When he left the hospital he stayed in the Poconos with his girlfriend and son, and his workout regime helped him develop a muscular physique.
In the hospital Jackson signed a publishing deal with Columbia Records before he was dropped from the label and blacklisted by the recording industry because of his song, "Ghetto Qu'ran". Unable to work in a U.S. studio, he went to Canada.Weiner, Jonah (April 2005). Dear Superstar: 50 Cent . Blender. Accessed May 22, 2007. With business partner Sha Money XL, Jackson recorded over thirty songs for mixtapes to build a reputation. In a HitQuarters interview, Marc Labelle of Shady Records A&R said that Jackson used the mixtape circuit to his advantage: "He took all the hottest beats from every artist and flipped them with better hooks. They then got into all the markets on the mixtapes and all the mixtape DJs were messing with them." Jackson's popularity increased, and in 2002 he released the mixtape Guess Who's Back?. He then released 50 Cent Is the Future backed by G-Unit, a mixtape revisiting material by Jay-Z and Raphael Saadiq.
===2002–2007: Mainstream breakthrough, Get Rich or Die Tryin''', and The Massacre===
In 2002, Eminem heard Jackson's Guess Who's Back? CD, received from Jackson's attorney (who was working with Eminem's manager, Paul Rosenberg). Impressed, Eminem invited Jackson to fly to Los Angeles and introduced him to Dr. Dre. After signing a $1 million record deal, Jackson released No Mercy, No Fear. The mixtape featured one new track, "Wanksta", which appeared on Eminem's 8 Mile soundtrack. Jackson was also signed by Chris Lighty's Violator Management and Sha Money XL's Money Management Group.
50 Cent released his debut album, Get Rich or Die Tryin' (described by AllMusic as "probably the most hyped debut album by a rap artist in about a decade"), in February 2003. Rolling Stone noted its "dark synth grooves, buzzy keyboards and a persistently funky bounce", with Jackson complementing the production in "an unflappable, laid-back flow". It debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, selling 872,000 copies in its first four days. The lead single, "In da Club" (noted by The Source for its "blaring horns, funky organs, guitar riffs and sparse hand claps"), set a Billboard record as the most listened-to song in radio history within a week.
Interscope gave Jackson his own label, G-Unit Records, in 2003. He signed Lloyd Banks, Tony Yayo and Young Buck as members of G-Unit, and The Game was later signed in a joint venture with Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment. In March 2005, 50 Cent's second commercial album, The Massacre, sold 1.14 million copies in its first four days (the highest in an abbreviated sales cycle) and was number one on the Billboard 200 for six weeks. He was the first solo artist with three singles in the Billboard top five in the same week with "Candy Shop", "Disco Inferno" and "How We Do". According to Rolling Stone, "50's secret weapon is his singing voice - the deceptively amateur-sounding tenor croon that he deploys on almost every chorus".
After The Game's departure Jackson signed Olivia and rap veterans Mobb Deep to G-Unit Records, with Spider Loc, M.O.P., 40 Glocc and Young Hot Rod later joining the label, who all eventually departed the label.Chery, Carl (May 27, 2005). Pulse Report: M.O.P. Signs to G-Unit . SOHH. Retrieved June 22, 2007. Jackson expressed an interest in working with rappers other than G-Unit, such as Lil' Scrappy of BME, LL Cool J of Def Jam, Mase of Bad Boy and Freeway of Roc-A-Fella, and recorded with several.
2007–2010: Curtis, sales battle with Kanye West, and Before I Self Destruct
In September 2007, 50 Cent released his third album, Curtis, which was inspired by his life before Get Rich or Die Tryin. It debuted at number two on the Billboard 200, selling 691,000 copies during its first week. It sold behind Kanye West's Graduation, released the same day; the outcome of this highly-publicized sales battle between Jackson and West has been accredited to the commercial decline of the gangsta rap and "bling era" style that previously dominated mainstream hip-hop.
On the September 10, 2008 episode of Total Request Live, Jackson said his fourth studio album, Before I Self Destruct, would be "done and released in November". He released "Ok, You're Right", produced by Dr. Dre for Before I Self Destruct, on May 18, 2009 and was scheduled to appear in a fall 2009 episode of VH1's Behind the Music. On September 3, 2009, Jackson posted a video for the Soundkillers' Phoenix- produced track, "Flight 187", introducing his mixtape and book (The 50th Law). The song, with lyrics inspiring speculation about tension between Jackson and Jay-Z, was a bonus track on the iTunes version of Before I Self Destruct. Before I Self Destruct was released on November 9, 2009.
2010–2015: New musical directions, new business ventures, and Animal Ambition
In a Contactmusic.com interview, Jackson said he was working on a Eurodance album, Black Magic, inspired by European nightclubs: "First they played hip-hop which suddenly changed to uptempo songs, known as Eurodance". He later said he had changed his next album to The Return of the Heartless Monster after writing different material when he returned home from the Invitation Tour in 2010, shelving Black Magic. On September 3, Jackson supported Eminem on his and Jay-Z's The Home & Home Tour, performing "Crack A Bottle" with Eminem and Dr. Dre amid rumors of tension between Jackson and Dre.
He "recorded 20 songs to a whole different album concept" before putting them aside, wanting his new album to have the "aggression" of Get Rich or Die Tryin. Jackson tweeted that the album was "80 percent done" and fans could expect it in the summer of 2011. It was ultimately delayed a year due to disagreements with Interscope Records, with Jackson saying that he would release it in November 2011 with a different title than Black Magic. Eminem would appear on the album, and Jackson said he was working with new producers such as Boi-1da and Alex da Kid. Cardiak, who produced Lloyd Banks' "Start It Up", confirmed that he produced a song for the upcoming album.
Jackson released a song, "Outlaw", from his fifth album on the Internet on June 16, 2011. The single, produced by Cardiak, was released on iTunes on July 19 (although Jackson tweeted that it was not the album's first single). The rapper planned to write a semi-autobiographical young-adult novel about bullying, different from his previous books which focused on his life and the rules of power. According to the book's publisher, the first-person novel (about a 13-year-old schoolyard bully "who finds redemption as he faces what he's done") was scheduled for publication in January 2012.
In a series of tweets, Jackson said that the delay of his fifth album was due to disagreements with Interscope Records, later suggesting that it would be released in November 2011 with his headphone line (SMS by 50). He speculated to MTV News about not renewing his five-album contract with Interscope: "I don't know ... It will all be clear in the negotiations following me turning this actual album in. And, of course, the performance and how they actually treat the work will determine whether you still want to stay in that position or not."
On June 20, 2011, Jackson announced the release of Before I Self Destruct II after his fifth album. Although he planned to shoot a music video for the fifth album's lead single, "I'm On It", on June 26 the video was never filmed. Jackson told Shade45, "I did four songs in Detroit with Eminem. I did two with Just Blaze, a Boi-1da joint, and I did something with Alex da Kid. We made two that are definite singles and the other two are the kinds of records that we been making, more aimed at my core audience, more aggressive, more of a different kind of energy to it." He released "Street King Energy Track #7" in September 2011 to promote Street King, his charity-based energy drink. An announcement that Jackson was shooting a music video for "Girls Go Wild", the fifth-album lead single featuring Jeremih, was made on September 28, 2011.Music Video News: IN PRODUCTION: 50 Cent f/ Jeremih – Colin Tilley . Video Static (September 28, 2011). Retrieved on October 25, 2011.
Jackson's fifth album, Street King Immortal, was initially scheduled for a summer 2012 release and postponed until November 13. Disagreements with Interscope Records about its release and promotion led to its temporary cancellation. Its first promo single, "New Day" with Dr. Dre and Alicia Keys, was released on July 27. The song was produced by Dr. Dre, mixed by Eminem and written by 50 Cent, Alicia Keys, Royce da 5'9" and Dr. Dre. A solo version by Keys was leaked by her husband, Swizz Beatz. "My Life", the album's second promo single (with Eminem and Maroon 5 lead singer Adam Levine), was released on November 26, 2012.
In January 2014, Jackson said he planned to release Animal Ambition in the first quarter of the year, followed by Street King Immortal. On February 20, he left Shady Records, Aftermath Entertainment, and Interscope, signing with Caroline and Capitol Music Group. According to Jackson, although he owed Interscope another album, he was released from his contract because of his friendship with Eminem and Dr. Dre: "I'm a special case and situation. It's also because of the leverage of having the strong relationships with Eminem and Dr. Dre. They don't want me to be uncomfortable. They value our friendship to the point that they would never want [to jeopardize] it over that little bit of money."
That day, he announced that Animal Ambition would be released on June 3 and released its first track. The song, "Funeral", was released with a video on Forbes.com. Produced by Jake One, it is a continuation of "50 Bars" from a previous album; two more tracks were scheduled for release on March 18. At South by Southwest in Austin, Texas, Jackson performed "Hold On" from the new album. That song and "Don't Worry 'Bout It" were released with accompanying videos on March 18. According to Jackson, prosperity would be a theme of the album: "This project, I had to search for a concept, a really good concept, in my perspective, and that was prosperity. I outlined all the things that would be a part of prosperity, positive and negative [for Animal Ambition]."
2015–present: Street King Immortal, bankruptcy, and departure from Interscope
On May 14, 2015, Jackson revealed in an interview that the first single from Street King Immortal, would be previewed Memorial Day weekend and would likely be released in June. Jackson released "Get Low" on May 20, 2015, as the intended first single from his sixth studio album, Street King Immortal. The song, produced by Remo the Hitmaker, features vocals from fellow American rappers 2 Chainz and T.I., as well as American singer Jeremih. He announced bankruptcy on July 13, 2015.
On March 31, 2017, Interscope Records released 50 Cent's final album for the label, a greatest hits album titled Best Of.
50 Cent was among hundreds of artists whose material was destroyed in the 2008 Universal fire.
In 2020, Jackson led the executive-producer duties for late rapper Pop Smoke's debut album, Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon, having been one of Pop Smoke's biggest inspirations. The album was released on July 3, 2020. Jackson curated the album, desiring to finish it after Pop had died. He contacted many of the artists involved, and also features on one of the album tracks, "The Woo", which became a top ten single.
In 2020, it was reported that Jackson was producing two television series for Starz, an anthology about hip hop and a biographical drama about sports agent Nicole Lynn.
In 2021, he became one of the headliners of the music festival Golden Sand in Riviera Maya.
In a July 2021 interview with The Independent, 50 Cent confirmed that he had officially decided to shelve his Street King Immortal album after it spent a decade in development hell. He even confirmed that he plans to release a completely new project.
In August 2021, he was confirmed to be starring in the upcoming The Expendables film.
On February 13, 2022, 50 Cent was a surprise performer in the Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show.
Awards
Artistry
Jackson cites Boogie Down Productions, Big Daddy Kane, The Juice Crew, EPMD and KRS-One as his rapping influences, while citing LL Cool J as an inspiration behind his writing of "21 Questions". Jackson also states that he drew influences from Nas, Rakim and The Notorious B.I.G. while working on Animal Ambition.
Business ventures
Jackson has had a highly successful business career. He is financially invested in a highly diversified variety of industries. Jackson is now involved in artist and talent management, record, television, and film production, footwear, apparel, fragrances, liquor, video games, mobile apps, book publishing, headphones, along with health drinks and dietary supplements. His broad business and investment portfolio contains investments in a variety of sectors including real estate, financial market investments, mining, boxing promotion, vodka, fragrances, consumer electronics and fashion.
He established his own record label G-Unit Records in 2003 following his mainstream success. In November 2003, he signed a five-year deal with Reebok to distribute a G-Unit Sneakers line for his G-Unit Clothing Company.Leeds, Jeff (December 26, 2004). $50 Million for 50 Cent . The New York Times. Retrieved June 9, 2007. In an interview, Jackson said his businesses had a habit of doing well as he saw all of his ventures both past and present as revolving around his alter ego.
Jackson has also started a book publishing imprint, G-Unit Books on January 4, 2007 at the Time Warner Building in New York. He has written a number of books including a memoir, From Pieces To Weight in 2005 where it sold 73,000 copies in hardcover and 14,000 copies in paperback; a crime novel and a book with Robert Greene titled The 50th Law, an urban take on The 48 Laws of Power. In November 2011, Jackson released 50 Cent's Playground, a young adult fiction novel about a bullied, violent boy and his gay mother.
One of Jackson's first business ventures was a partnership with Glacéau to create an enhanced water drink called Formula 50. In October 2004, Jackson became a beverage investor when he was given a minority share in the company in exchange for becoming a spokesperson after learning that he was a fan of the beverage. The health conscious Jackson noted that he first learned of the product while at a gym in Los Angeles, and stated that "they do such a good job making water taste good." After becoming a minority shareholder and celebrity spokesperson, Jackson worked with the company to create a new grape flavored "Formula 50" variant of VitaminWater and mentioned the drinks in various songs and interviews. In 2007, Coca-Cola purchased Glacéau for $4.1 billion and, according to Forbes, Jackson, who was a minority shareholder, earned $100 million from the deal after taxes.
Though he no longer has an equity stake in the company, Jackson continues to act as a spokesperson for VitaminWater, supporting the product including singing about it at the BET Awards and expressing his excitement over the company's continuing to allow his input on products.
He joined Right Guard to introduce a body spray (Pure 50 RGX) and endorsed Magic Stick condoms, planning to donate part of their proceeds to increasing HIV awareness. Jackson signed a multi-year deal with Steiner Sports to sell his memorabilia, and announced plans for a dietary-supplement company in conjunction with his film Spectacular Regret in August 2007.Jokesta (August 21, 2007). 50 Cent launches dietary supplement company. Def Sounds. Retrieved August 21, 2007.
Jackson has founded two film production companies: G-Unit Films in 2003 and Cheetah Vision in 2008.For The Record: Quick News on Eminem, Ciara, Ludacris, Ne-Yo, Slayer, Marilyn Manson, Nas, Public Enemy & More . MTV (March 23, 2007). Accessed May 22, 2007. Cheetah Vision produces low budget action thrillers for foreign film markets across the world. When G-Unit Films folded, he focused on Cheetah Vision and the company obtained $200 million in funding in 2010. In 2010, Jackson revived G-Unit Films, renaming the company to G-Unit Films and Television Inc. The company has joint ventures with Will Packer's production company Will Packer Productions and Universal Television. In over 18 months, Jackson has sold projects to six different networks. Among them was Power, a STARZ drama in which he not only co-stars but also serves as co-creator and executive producer. Power debuted in June 2014 and was renewed for a second season after one episode.
Jackson serves as a co‐star, co-creator and executive television producer of the STARZ network drama where he signed a 2-year contract with representation coming from the Agency for the Performing Arts. Ratings have been a success for Starz. with the second-season premiere being the highest-ever season with 1.43 million people tuning in live.
In 2002, Jackson filed an application with the United States Patent and Trademark Office to register the term "50 Cent" as a trademark for clothing, sound recordings, and live performances. The application was published in 2003, and registration issued in 2004. He has since filed for additional trademark registrations.
In July 2011, Jackson launched a philanthropic initiative to provide food for one billion starving people in Africa by 2016, joining Pure Growth Partners to introduce Street King. A portion of the proceeds from each Street King purchase would be used to provide a daily meal to an underprivileged child. The partnership coincides with Jackson's goal to feed a billion people in Africa during the next five years. "50 Cent and I share a common vision: to address the world's problems through smart and sustainable business models," said Chris Clarke, founder and CEO of Pure Growth Partners. "With the rampant starvation in Africa and hunger afflicting children worldwide, we need socially responsible businesses that affect real change now more than ever." Jackson said, "I'm inspired by Clarke's vision and innovative approaches to tackling serious issues. It's our mission with Street King to really change children's lives around the world."Langhorne, Cyrus. (August 13, 2011) 50 Cent On "Street King" Global Takeover, "I Need Your Support" . Sohh.Com. Retrieved on October 25, 2011. In 2011, he founded SMS Audio, a consumer-electronics company selling Street by 50 headphones, pledging to donate a portion of their sales to charity. In April 2015, SMS announced new co-branding deals with Reebok and Marvel. It added those to existing partnerships with Walt Disney Parks, Lucasfilm's Star Wars, and Intel.
In 2014, Jackson became a minority shareholder in Effen Vodka, a brand of vodka produced in the Netherlands, when he invested undisclosed amount in the company Sire Spirits LLC. He currently endorses the product via his live concert performances and social media. The rapper was asked to take part in two promotional bottle signings, one in Oak Creek and another in Sun Prairie. Jackson made an appearance at Liquor Warehouse in Syracuse, New York on April 25, 2015 where he reportedly sold 1,400 bottles (277 gallons) of Jackson's signature liquor brand. Liquor Warehouse's owner George Angeloro reportedly stocked 300 cases (1,800 bottles or 357 gallons) of Effen Vodka, which sells for $30 a bottle, prior to the event.
In December 2014, Jackson signed a $78 million deal with FRIGO Revolution Wear, a luxury underwear brand. The joint venture is partnered between Jackson, basketball player Carmelo Anthony, baseball player Derek Jeter and Mathias Ingvarsson, the former president of mattress company Tempur-Pedic. Jackson became the chief fashion designer for the brands single pair of Frigo boxers. In April 2015, Jackson mulled investing in Jamaica, exploring foreign investment opportunities on the island when he met with some local officials and had ongoing discussions on investment opportunities in the Montego Bay resort area.
Investments
Over the years, Jackson invested his earnings from music and celebrity endorsements in an array of privately controlled companies, real estate, and stocks and bonds. A portion of his investments lost value during the 2008 recession. In December 2008, he told the Canadian press that he had been affected by the recession, losing several million dollars in the stock market. Unable to sell his Connecticut mansion, Jackson postponed Before I Self-Destruct due to the severity of the economic downturn.
His Farmington mansion located on 50 Poplar Hill Drive that he tried to sell for years filed for bankruptcy in Connecticut in 2015 listed an asking price for that property in 2012 at $10 million but was valued at $8.3 million in 2015. He first tried to sell the house in 2007 for $18.5 million, and dropped the price several times in the next five years, when it was on and off the market.
In January 2011, Jackson reportedly made $10 million after using Twitter to promote a marketing company which he was part shareholder of. His endorsements company G Unit Brands Inc. revealed through a public SEC filing controls 12.9 per cent of H&H Imports, which is a parent company of TV Goods – the firm responsible for marketing his range of headphones, Sleek by 50 Cent. Jackson bought stock in the company on November 30, 2010, a week after it offered buyers 180 million shares at 17 cents each. Jackson later made a stock recommendation on Twitter, causing its share value to rise from four cents to nearly 50 cents (32p) each, closing on Monday at 39 cents (25p). Jackson was later investigated by the Securities and Exchange Commission for breaching securities laws following his tweet which may have constituted allegations of Insider trading via his Pump and dump stock investment strategy.
In 2013, Jackson became a minority investor in Hang w/, a live video broadcasting mobile app used by dozens of celebrities to broadcast their daily activities and chat with fans. The app was downloaded more than 1 million times since its launch in March 2013 and had more than 1 million users . Other minority celebrity investors include former NFL player Terrell Owens and record producer Timbaland.
Mining and heavy metals
In 2008, Jackson visited a platinum, palladium and iridium mine shaft in South Africa, and met with South African billionaire Patrice Motsepe in talks of purchasing an equity stake in the mine. After his meeting with Motsepe, Jackson considered purchasing equity in the mine and launching his own line of 50 Cent branded platinum.
Boxing promotion
On July 21, 2012, Jackson became a licensed boxing promoter when he formed his new company, TMT (The Money Team). Licensed to promote in New York, he was in the process of being licensed in Nevada (where most major fights are held in the U.S.). A former amateur boxer, Jackson signed gold medalist and former featherweight champion Yuriorkis Gamboa and middleweight Olympic medalist Andre Dirrell. On July 29, 2012, he and the boxer Floyd Mayweather, Jr., signed IBF featherweight champion Billy Dib. They unveiled plans to challenge the box-office dominance of mixed martial arts and change the landscape of boxing with TMT Promotions. Boxer Zab Judah also expressed interest in making a deal with Jackson. In December 2012, Mayweather and Jackson parted company, with Jackson taking over the promotion company and founding SMS Promotions with Gamboa, Dirrell, Dib, James Kirkland, Luis Olivares and Donte Strayhorn in his stable.
Bankruptcy
On July 13, 2015, Jackson filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Connecticut with a debt of $32,509,549.91. On July 17, 2015, the Court issued an order allowing a creditor to proceed with the punitive damages phase of a trial against Jackson in a New York state court, in connection with the alleged release of a private video. His assets were listed as between $10 million and $50 million in his bankruptcy petition, though he testified under oath that he is worth $4.4 million. Citing between $10 million and $50 million in debt, and the same amount in assets. Later in the week, Jackson's bankruptcy lawyers elucidated the court documents that legal fees and judgments exceeding $20 million over the past year were the primary cause of the filing.
His filings listed 32 entities that he has a stake in. The bankruptcy came days after a jury ordered him to pay $5 million to rapper Rick Ross's ex-girlfriend Lastonia Leviston for invading her privacy by posting online a sex tape of her and another man. In addition, Jackson lost a dispute over a failed business deal to come to fruition to his Sleek headphones, where Jackson invested more than $2 million. An ex-partner accused Jackson of later stealing the design of the "Sleek by 50" headphones, prompting a judge to award the partner more than $17.2 million. His Connecticut bankruptcy filing states that he owns seven cars valued at more than $500,000, including a 2010 Rolls Royce and a 1966 Chevrolet Coupe. His expenses of $108,000 a month include $5,000 for gardening along with a monthly income of $185,000, mainly from royalties and income from his external businesses and investments. The court filing says he also owes money to his stylist, his barber, and his fitness coach.
Other details in the bankruptcy documents included information about two deals that sold the right to collect royalties of on-air play of his music. Half the rights to his portfolio were sold to the British independent music publishing company Kobalt Music Group for $3 million and the other half for another $3 million with the sales of his albums allowing Jackson to own 100 percent of the rights to the master recordings while paying only for distribution. Zeisler & Zeisler, a Bridgeport law firm, represented 50 Cent in the bankruptcy, which later resulted in Jackson filing a $75 million lawsuit against his own lawyers. He stated that his lawyers did a terrible job of representing him, specifically citing the fallout of his failed venture with Sleek Audio headphones and accused Garvey Schubert Barer, a Wall Street law firm, of failing to "employ the requisite knowledge and skill necessary to confront the circumstances of the case."
Corporate positions
G-Unity Foundation Inc. – Founder
SMS Audio – CEO, founder
SK Energy – Founder
SMS Promotions – CEO, founder
Sire Spirits – Owner
Effen Vodka – former minority shareholder
Personal life
On October 13, 1996, Jackson's girlfriend, Shaniqua Tompkins, gave birth to son Marquise Jackson. Tompkins later sued Jackson for $50 million, saying he promised to take care of her for life. The suit, with 15 causes of action, was dismissed by a judge who called it "an unfortunate tale of a love relationship gone sour." The two have bickered for years, and have even taken their feud to social media many times.
Marquise's birth changed Jackson's outlook on life: "When my son came into my life, my priorities changed, because I wanted to have the relationship with him that I didn't have with my father". He credited his son for inspiring his career and being the "motivation to go in a different direction". Despite this, the two have endured a fractured relationship that began when Jackson and Tompkins separated in 2008. Their feud has been taken to social media numerous times, including in 2020 when Jackson disclosed that he "used to" love his son. Jackson has a tattooed "Marquise" with an axe on his right biceps ("The axe is 'cause I'm a warrior. I don't want him to be one, though"), and has "50", "Southside" and "Cold World" on his back: "I'm a product of that environment. It's on my back, though, so it's all behind me".
Jackson dated model Daphne Joy and had his second son, Sire Jackson, with her, on September 1, 2012. At the age of two years, Sire modeled for Kidz Safe, a headphone brand for kids, earning $700,000 through his contract.
In 2005, Jackson supported President George W. Bush after rapper Kanye West criticized Bush for a slow response to the victims of Hurricane Katrina. If his felony convictions did not prevent him from voting, he said, he would have voted for the president. Jackson later said that Bush "has less compassion than the average human. By all means, I don't aspire to be like George Bush." In September 2007, he told Time that although he would not endorse a candidate in 2008, he "liked Hillary [Clinton]".
Six months later, the rapper told MTV News that he had switched his support to Barack Obama after hearing him speak, but had lost interest in politics.MTV News, "50 cent Flip-flops: From Clinton to Obama," March 28, 2008 Asked his opinion of President Obama's May 9, 2012 endorsement of gay marriage, Jackson said, "I'm for it ... I've encouraged same-sex activities. I've engaged in fetish areas a couple times." He had been criticized for anti-gay comments in the past.Mariel Concepcion, GLAAD Calls Out 50 Cent For Anti-Gay Tweet , Billboard, September 10, 2010
Despite having numerous songs that reference drug and alcohol usage, Jackson remains teetotal, citing a bad experience with alcohol as his main reason.Forbes noted Jackson's wealth in 2007, ranking him second behind Jay-Z in the rap industry. He lives in a Farmington, Connecticut, mansion formerly owned by ex-boxer Mike Tyson, listing it for sale at $18.5 million to move closer to his son (who lives on Long Island with his ex-girlfriend). The mayor of Bridgeport, Connecticut declared October 12, 2007 "50 Cent Curtis Jackson Day", honoring the rapper with a proclamation and a key to the city. One of Jackson's New York homes, purchased in January 2007 for $2.4 million and the center of a lawsuit between Jackson and Shaniqua Tompkins, caught fire on May 31, 2008 while he was filming in Louisiana.
In December 2008, he told the Canadian press that he had lost several million dollars in the stock market and, unable to sell his Connecticut mansion, had postponed Before I Self-Destruct because of the economic downturn. Jackson won a lawsuit in November 2009 against Taco Bell over the fast-food chain's use of his name without permission.
In 2016, regarding a public feud with rapper Meek Mill, he commented, "You know, he's really not that bright. The easiest thing you can do is bring other people into the statements you're saying, right, while you're writing music."
Jackson endorsed Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton in the run-up for the 2016 U.S. presidential election. He rejected an offer of $500,000 from the Trump campaign to make an appearance on the candidate's behalf. However, he endorsed Donald Trump in 2020, due to his dislike of Joe Biden's tax plans. A week later, he retracted his endorsement, saying on Twitter "Fu*k Donald Trump, I never liked him", and endorsed Biden.
Legal issues, Drugs and assault convictions
On June 29, 1994, Jackson was arrested for selling four vials of cocaine to an undercover police officer. He was arrested again three weeks later, when police searched his home and found heroin, ten ounces of crack cocaine and a starter's pistol. Although Jackson was sentenced to three to nine years in prison, he served six months in a boot camp (where he earned his high-school equivalency diploma). According to him, he did not use cocaine.
Jackson and four members of his entourage were arrested shortly before 2 a.m. on December 31, 2002, when police found a .25-caliber handgun and a .45-caliber pistol in a parked car (which they searched due to its tinted windows) outside a Manhattan nightclub. The rapper was charged with two counts of criminal possession of a weapon.
Jackson was sentenced to two years' probation on July 22, 2005 for a May 2004 incident, when he was charged with three counts of assault and battery after jumping into an audience when he was hit by a water bottle.
Lawsuits
Use of image
Jackson filed a lawsuit against an advertising company, Traffix of Pearl River, New York, on July 21, 2007, for using his image in a promotion he said threatened his safety. He was alerted by a staff member to an Internet advertisement on a Myspace page. According to court documents, the advertisement had a cartoon image of the rapper with "Shoot the rapper and you will win $5000 or five ring tones guaranteed". Although the ad did not use his name, the image allegedly resembled him and suggested that he endorsed the product. The lawsuit, calling the ad a "vile, tasteless and despicable" use of Jackson's image which "quite literally call[ed] for violence against him", sought unspecified punitive damages and a permanent injunction against the use of his image without permission.50 Cent Sues over 'Shoot the Rapper'. Fox News (July 20, 2007). Retrieved December 17, 2015.
Use of name
In 2008, Jackson sued Taco Bell over an ad campaign in which it invited him to change his name for one day from 50 Cent to 79 Cent, 89 Cent, or 99 Cent, in line with pricing for some of its items, and they would donate $10,000 to the charity of his choice. The case was settled out of court.
Janitor incident
While walking through Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport in May 2016, Jackson harassed and insulted a janitor at the airport, accusing him of being under the influence. The janitor was a hearing-impaired, autistic teenager named Andrew Farrell. The parents of the janitor had seen the viral video as disrespect and wanted to sue Jackson for his action against their child. The lawsuit was originally over one million dollars, but the parents settled for a $100,000 donation to Autism Speaks and his apology.
Bamba sample
In 2016, a judge declared that Brandon Parrott gave Dr. Dre and 50 Cent the rights to "Bamba" for the song "P.I.M.P."
Other civil and criminal matters
One of his New York homes, purchased for $2.4 million in January 2007 and the center of a lawsuit between Jackson and Shaniqua Tompkins, caught fire on May 30, 2008 while he was filming in Louisiana. On August 5, 2013, Jackson pleaded not guilty to one count of domestic violence and four counts of vandalism in a Los Angeles County court. If convicted of all charges, he faced up to five years in prison and a $46,000 fine. Model-actress Daphne Joy accused Jackson of kicking her and ransacking her bedroom during an argument at her condominium in the Toluca Lake neighborhood of Los Angeles on June 23. He allegedly caused $7,100 in property damage, leaving the scene before police arrived.
Judge Ann Nevins has ordered Jackson back to court because of Instagram messages he made over several months. She said Jackson was not fully clear about his funds and indicated posts of the rapper showing stacks of his money. In March 2016, Jackson claimed that he would no longer use Instagram, electing instead to have his profile page operated by someone else.
In 2020, Jackson was a subject of controversy for his involvement in a viral video of him giving money to a Burger King restaurant in New York City on behalf of a local scammer who was later arrested and charged for Bitcoin scamming and for assaulting and kidnapping his victims on April 24, 2021.
Feuds
Ja Rule
Before he signed with Interscope Records, Jackson engaged in a public dispute with rapper Ja Rule and his label, Murder Inc. Records, saying that a friend robbed jewelry from Ja Rule and the latter accused him of orchestrating the robbery. Ja Rule said that the conflict stemmed from a Queens video shoot, when Jackson did not like seeing him "getting so much love" from the neighborhood. At The Hit Factory in New York in March 2000, Jackson had an altercation with Murder Inc. associates and received three stitches for a stab wound.Smith, Dominic (July 2005). 50 Cent Interview. FHM. Retrieved July 11, 2007. Rapper Black Child claimed responsibility for the stabbing, saying that he acted in self-defense when he thought someone reached for a gun.
An affidavit by an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) agent suggested ties between Murder Inc. and Kenneth "Supreme" McGriff, a New York drug lord suspected of involvement in the murder of Jam Master Jay and Jackson's shooting. An excerpt read:
The end of the Jackson-Ja Rule feud was confirmed in May 2011. According to Ja Rule, "I'm cool. We ain't beefing no more. We'll never collaborate. That's just what it is. You don't have to be at war with somebody, but it's also kind of like U.S. and another country that they may not get along with. We don't gotta go to war, but we're not friends either. But we can coincide inside of a world. He's doing him, and he's not thinking about me, and I'm doing me and I'm not thinking about him."
On August 7, 2015, the feud between the two rappers later reignited when Ja Rule gave a feedback to a social follower via Twitter over a similar feud between Meek Mill and Drake. Enraged, Jackson later responded with photos and comments via Instagram, only siding with Drake. The feud resurfaced three years later on January 19, 2018, when Ja Rule took to Twitter, calling out 50 Cent on social media. 50 Cent responded by purchasing and vacating the first four rows of his concert.
The Game
Although Jackson was close to The Game before the latter released his debut album, The Documentary, they grew apart. After The Documentarys release, Jackson felt that The Game was disloyal for saying that he did not want to participate in G-Unit's feuds with other rappers (such as Nas, Jadakiss and Fat Joe) and his desire to work with artists with which G-Unit was feuding. He said that he wrote six songs for the album and did not receive proper credit, which The Game denied.
Jackson later dismissed The Game from G-Unit on Hot 97. After the announcement, The Game (a guest earlier in the evening) tried to enter the building with his entourage. After they were denied entry, one of his associates was shot in the leg in a confrontation with a group of men leaving the building.Hope, Clover (March 2, 2005). 50 Cent Cancels New York Appearance amid Shooting Inquiry . AllHipHop. Retrieved July 20, 2007. When the situation escalated, the rappers held a joint press conference announcing their reconciliation, and fans were uncertain if the rappers had staged a publicity stunt to boost sales of their recently released albums. After the situation cooled, G-Unit criticized The Game's street credibility and announced that they would not appear on his albums. During a Summer Jam performance The Game announced a boycott of G-Unit, which he called "G-Unot".
After the Summer Jam performance The Game recorded "300 Bars and Runnin'", an extended "diss" of G-Unit and Roc-A-Fella Records, for the mixtape You Know What It Is Vol. 3. Jackson responded with his "Piggy Bank" music video, with The Game as Mr. Potato Head and parodies of other rivals. They have continued attacking each other, with The Game releasing two more mixtapes: Ghost Unit and a mixtape-DVD, Stop Snitchin, Stop Lyin. Jackson superimposed The Game's head on the body of a male stripper for the cover of the Hate It or Love It (G-Unit Radio Part 21) mixtape in response to The Game's pictures of G-Unit dressed as the Village People. The Game, under contract to Aftermath Entertainment, signed with Geffen Records to terminate his contractual obligations with G-Unit (although it is claimed that Jackson pressured Dr. Dre to fire him). G-Unit member Spider Loc has insulted The Game in songs, and the latter released "240 Bars (Spider Joke)" and "100 Bars (The Funeral)" attacking G-Unit and Loc. Jackson's response was "Not Rich, Still Lyin'", mocking The Game. Lloyd Banks replied to the Game on a Rap City freestyle-booth segment, followed by a Game "diss" song ("SoundScan") ridiculing the 13-position drop of Banks' album Rotten Apple on the Billboard 200 chart and its disappointing second-week sales. Banks replied on his mixtape Mo' Money In The Bank Pt. 5: Gang Green Season Continues with "Showtime (The Game's Over)", said that Jackson wrote half of The Documentary and ridiculed The Game's suicidal thoughts.
In October 2006, The Game made a peace overture (which was not immediately answered) to Jackson, but two days later he said on Power 106 that the peace offer was valid for only one day. In several songs on Doctor's Advocate, he implied that the feud was over. He said in July 2009 that the feud had ended with help from Michael Jackson and Diddy, and apologized for his actions. According to Tony Yayo, neither Jackson nor G-Unit accepted his apology and The Game has resumed his calls for a "G-Unot" boycott at concerts. Jackson released "So Disrespectful" on Before I Self Destruct, targeting Jay-Z, The Game and Young Buck. The Game responded with "Shake", poking fun at the music video for Jackson's "Candy Shop".
On August 1, 2016, 50 Cent ended his twelve-year feud with The Game when the two were in the Ace of Diamonds Strip Club and The Game said "What happened, that shit was 12 years ago."
Rick Ross
Although Rick Ross began a feud with Jackson over an alleged incident at the 2008 BET Hip Hop Awards, Jackson told news sources he did not remember seeing Ross there. Later that month Ross' "Mafia Music" was leaked on the Internet, with lyrics apparently disparaging Jackson. Several days later, Jackson released "Officer Ricky (Go Head, Try Me)" in response to "Mafia Music". The following day, Ross appeared on Shade 45 (Eminem's Sirius channel) and told Jackson to come up with something better in 24 hours.
Before leaving for Venezuela, Jackson uploaded a video ("Warning Shot") and the first of a series of "Officer Ricky" cartoons. In early February he uploaded a YouTube video in which he interviewed "Tia", the mother of one of Ross' children; according to her, Ross is in reality a correctional officer. On February 5, 2009, The Game phoned Seattle radio station KUBE. Asked about the dispute between Jackson and Ross, he sided with Jackson and offered to mediate: "Rick Ross, holla at your boy, man" and "50 eating you, boy."
On his album Deeper Than Rap, Ross refers to Jackson in "In Cold Blood" and Jackson's mock funeral is part of the song's video. When the song was released, Ross said that he ended Jackson's career. "Rick Ross is Albert From CB4. You ever seen the movie? He's Albert," Jackson replied in an interview. "It never gets worse than this. You get a guy that was a correctional officer come out and base his entire career on writing material from a drug dealer's perspective such as "Freeway" Ricky Ross." Their feud rekindled at the 2012 BET Hip Hop Awards, where Jackson and G-Unit members Kidd Kidd, Mike Knox, Tony Yayo were seen on video attacking Gunplay (a member of Ross' Maybach Music Group). Gunplay's Maybach Music diamond necklace was stolen during the brawl, and several days later Jackson appeared at a Washington, D.C. bowling alley wearing Gunplay's chain. On January 30, 2013, Jackson tweeted that Ross' attempted drive-by shooting on his birthday three days earlier was "staged".
On August 9, 2020, 50 Cent and Rick Ross ended their feud.
Awards and nominations
Discography
Studio albums
Get Rich or Die Tryin' (2003)
The Massacre (2005)
Curtis (2007)
Before I Self Destruct (2009)
Animal Ambition (2014)
Collaborative albums
Beg for Mercy (with G-Unit) (2003)
T·O·S (Terminate on Sight)'' (with G-Unit) (2008)
Filmography
Film
Television
Appearances
Video games
References
External links
1975 births
20th-century American rappers
21st-century American businesspeople
21st-century American male actors
21st-century American rappers
21st-century African-American male singers
African-American fashion designers
African-American film producers
African-American investors
African-American male actors
African-American male rappers
African-American memoirists
African-American record producers
African-American male songwriters
Aftermath Entertainment artists
American book publishers (people)
American boxing promoters
American businesspeople convicted of crimes
American chairpersons of corporations
American chief executives of food industry companies
American corporate directors
American cosmetics businesspeople
American drink industry businesspeople
American fashion businesspeople
American film producers
American hip hop record producers
American male film actors
American male television actors
American male video game actors
American marketing businesspeople
American memoirists
American mining businesspeople
American music industry executives
American music publishers (people)
American nonprofit businesspeople
American people convicted of drug offenses
American reality television producers
American retail chief executives
American shooting survivors
American television company founders
American television executives
Andrew Jackson High School (Queens) alumni
Brit Award winners
Businesspeople from Queens, New York
Businesspeople in metals
Caroline Records artists
East Coast hip hop musicians
Echo (music award) winners
Gangsta rappers
Grammy Award winners for rap music
G-Unit Records artists
JMJ Records artists
Juno Award for International Album of the Year winners
Living people
Male actors from New York City
People from Jamaica, Queens
Philanthropists from New York (state)
Rappers from New York City
Record producers from New York (state)
Shady Records artists
Shoe designers
Songwriters from New York (state)
Sony Music Publishing artists
Stabbing attacks in the United States
Stabbing survivors
Television producers from New York City
World Music Awards winners
Writers from Queens, New York | true | [
"The Mix Tape, Volume II: 60 Minutes of Funk is a mixtape by American DJ Funkmaster Flex. It was released on February 11, 1997 via Loud/RCA Records, serving as a sequel to his 1995 The Mix Tape Volume 1 (60 Minutes of Funk) and the second installment in his 60 Minute of Funk mixtape series. Like his previous Mix Tape release, this album is a compilation of freestyles and previously released songs mixed together by Funk Flex.\n\nThe album was a success, peaking at 19 on the Billboard 200, an 89-spot increase from his previous album, and No. 2 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, held from the top spot by Erykah Badu's Baduizm. Less than two months after its release, the album was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America for sales of 500,000 copies, becoming the first of four consecutive gold albums for Flex.\n\nTrack listing\n\nCharts\n\nWeekly charts\n\nYear-end charts\n\nCertifications\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n\n1997 albums\nLoud Records albums\nFunkmaster Flex albums\nHip hop compilation albums",
"Williams Mix (1951–1953) is a 4'15\" musique concrete composition by John Cage for eight simultaneously played independent quarter-inch magnetic tapes. The first octophonic music, the piece was created by Cage with the assistance of Earle Brown, Morton Feldman, and David Tudor, using many tape sound sources and a paper score he created for the construction. \"Presignifying the development of algorithmic composition, granular synthesis and sound diffusion,\" it was the third of five pieces completed in the Project for Music for Magnetic Tape (1951–1954), funded by dedicatee architect Paul Williams Jr..\n\nThe material, recorded by Louis and Bebe Barron, was organized in six categories: city, country, electronic, manually produced, wind, and \"small\" sounds; \"subjected...to I Ching manipulations, producing constant jumps from one sound to another or buzzing, scrambled textures of up to sixteen simultaneous layers.\" The 193-page score, \"a full-size drawing of the tape fragments, which served as a 'score' for the splicing,\" is described by Cage as similar to \"a dressmaker's pattern – it literally shows where the tape shall be cut, and you lay the tape on the score itself.\" Thus, like a recipe, the piece may be recreated using different tapes and the score.\n\nThe work was premiered at the 25th Year Retrospective Concert Of The Music Of John Cage on May 15, 1958, and was recorded by Columbia Records producer George Avakian and issued by him on a three-LP set with a booklet including extensive notes and illustrations of scores.\n\nLarry Austin later created a computer program, the \"Williams (re)Mix(er)\", based on an analysis of \"\"Williams Mix\"\", which could \"yield ever-new Williams Mix scores.\" With this software, Austin created Williams (re)Mix[ed] (1997–2000), an octophonic variation of Williams Mix using different sound sources.\n\nIn 2012, Tom Erbe became the first person to recreate \"Williams Mix\" from the original score, entering each tape edit from the 193 page score into the computer, and creating performance software carefully following Cage's notes. Erbe's debut performance of \"Williams Mix\" was on Cage's 100th birthday, September 5, 2012, at Fresh Sound in San Diego. Erbe also created a version of \"Williams Mix\" for clipping.'s 2014 album CLPPNG, using clipping. samples to re-record the work according to the original instructions.\n\nDiscography\n John Cage (1994). The 25 Year Retrospective Concert of the Music of John Cage. Wergo [6247].\n (2000/2005). OHM: The Early Gurus of Electronic Music. Ellipsis Arts [3690].\n Larry Austin (2001). Octo-Mixes, Larry Austin, Octophonic Computer Music, 1996–2001. EMF CD 039.\n John Cage (2010). Fontana Mix. Él.\n Clipping. (2014). Last track on \"Clppng\". Subpop SP1071.\n\nSources\n\nFurther reading\n Schrader, Barry (1982). \"Composing with Cutting and Splicing Techniques: Williams Mix by John Cage\", Introduction to Electro-Acoustic Music. .\n\nElectronic compositions\nCompositions by John Cage\n1953 compositions\nSpatial music"
] |
[
"50 Cent",
"2002-2006: Rise to fame",
"What was his album when he rise to fame?",
"In 2002, Eminem heard Jackson's Guess Who's Back? CD, received from Jackson's attorney (",
"Who signed him?",
"introduced him to Dr. Dre. After signing a $1 million record deal, Jackson released No Mercy, No Fear.",
"What was the name of his mix tape?",
"Jackson released No Mercy, No Fear."
] | C_c5bdd69a096444ff8e00c23e110bdece_0 | What was his debut album? | 4 | What was 50 Cent's debut album? | 50 Cent | In 2002, Eminem heard Jackson's Guess Who's Back? CD, received from Jackson's attorney (who was working with Eminem's manager, Paul Rosenberg). Impressed, Eminem invited Jackson to fly to Los Angeles and introduced him to Dr. Dre. After signing a $1 million record deal, Jackson released No Mercy, No Fear. The mixtape featured one new track, "Wanksta", which appeared on Eminem's 8 Mile soundtrack. Jackson was also signed by Chris Lighty's Violator Management and Sha Money XL's Money Management Group. Jackson released his debut album, Get Rich or Die Tryin' (described by AllMusic as "probably the most hyped debut album by a rap artist in about a decade"), in February 2003. Rolling Stone noted its "dark synth grooves, buzzy keyboards and a persistently funky bounce", with Jackson complementing the production in "an unflappable, laid-back flow". It debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, selling 872,000 copies in its first four days. The lead single, "In da Club" (noted by The Source for its "blaring horns, funky organs, guitar riffs and sparse hand claps"), set a Billboard record as the most listened-to song in radio history within a week. Interscope gave Jackson his own label, G-Unit Records, in 2003. He signed Lloyd Banks, Tony Yayo and Young Buck as members of G-Unit, and The Game was later signed in a joint venture with Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment. In March 2005 Jackson's second commercial album, The Massacre, sold 1.14 million copies in its first four days (the highest in an abbreviated sales cycle) and was number one on the Billboard 200 for six weeks. He was the first solo artist with three singles in the Billboard top five in the same week with "Candy Shop", "Disco Inferno" and "How We Do". According to Rolling Stone, "50's secret weapon is his singing voice - the deceptively amateur-sounding tenor croon that he deploys on almost every chorus". After The Game's departure Jackson signed Olivia and rap veterans Mobb Deep to G-Unit Records, with Spider Loc, M.O.P., 40 Glocc and Young Hot Rod later joining the label, who all eventually departed the label. Jackson expressed an interest in working with rappers other than G-Unit, such as Lil' Scrappy of BME, LL Cool J of Def Jam, Mase of Bad Boy and Freeway of Roc-A-Fella, and recorded with several. CANNOTANSWER | Jackson released his debut album, Get Rich or Die Tryin' ( | Curtis James Jackson III (born July 6, 1975), known professionally as 50 Cent, is an American rapper, actor and entrepreneur. Known for his impact in the hip hop industry, he has been described as a "master of the nuanced art of lyrical brevity".
Born in the South Jamaica neighborhood of Queens, Jackson began selling drugs at age 12 during the 1980s crack epidemic. He later began pursuing a musical career and in 2000 he produced Power of the Dollar for Columbia Records, but days before the planned release he was shot and the album was never released. In 2002, after 50 Cent released the compilation album Guess Who's Back?, he was discovered by Eminem and signed to Shady Records, under the aegis of Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment and Interscope Records.
With the aid of Eminem and Dr. Dre (who produced his first major-label album Get Rich or Die Tryin'), 50 Cent became one of the world's best selling rappers and rose to prominence as de facto leader of East Coast hip hop group G-Unit. In 2003, he founded G-Unit Records, signing his G-Unit associates Young Buck, Lloyd Banks and Tony Yayo. 50 Cent had similar commercial and critical success with his second album, The Massacre, which was released in 2005. He underwent musical changes by his fifth album, Animal Ambition (2014), and is currently working on his sixth studio album. He executive-produced and starred in the television series Power (2014–2020) and is slated to produce its spin-offs.
50 Cent has sold over 30 million albums worldwide and won several awards, including a Grammy Award, thirteen Billboard Music Awards, six World Music Awards, three American Music Awards and four BET Awards. As an actor, Jackson appeared in the semi-autobiographical film Get Rich or Die Tryin' (2005), the war film Home of the Brave (2006), and the crime thriller film Righteous Kill (2008). 50 Cent was ranked the sixth-best artist of the 2000s and the third-best rapper (behind Eminem and Nelly) by Billboard. Rolling Stone ranked Get Rich or Die Tryin and "In da Club" in its lists of the "100 Best Albums of the 2000s" and "100 Best Songs of the 2000s" at numbers 37 and 13, respectively.
Early life
Jackson was born in the borough of Queens, New York City, and raised in its South Jamaica neighborhood by his mother Sabrina. A drug dealer, Sabrina raised Jackson until she died in a fire when Jackson was 8. (online is excerpt only) Jackson revealed in an interview that his mother was a lesbian. After his mother's death and his father's departure, Jackson was raised by his grandmother.
He began boxing at about age 11, and when he was 14, a neighbor opened a boxing gym for local youth. "When I wasn't killing time in school, I was sparring in the gym or selling crack on the strip," Jackson remembered. He sold crack during primary school. "I was competitive in the ring and hip-hop is competitive too ... I think rappers condition themselves like boxers, so they all kind of feel like they're the champ."
At age 12, Jackson began dealing narcotics when his grandparents thought he was in after-school programs and brought guns and drug money to school. In the tenth grade, he was caught by metal detectors at Andrew Jackson High School: "I was embarrassed that I got arrested like that ... After I got arrested I stopped hiding it. I was telling my grandmother [openly], 'I sell drugs.'"
On June 29, 1994, Jackson was arrested for selling four vials of cocaine to an undercover police officer. He was arrested again three weeks later, when police searched his home and found heroin, ten ounces of crack cocaine, and a starting pistol. Although Jackson was sentenced to three to nine years in prison, he served six months in a boot camp and earned his GED. He has said that he did not use cocaine himself.The Smoking Gun: 50 Cent . The Smoking Gun (February 27, 2003). Accessed May 22, 2007. Jackson adopted the nickname "50 Cent" as a metaphor for change. The name was inspired by Kelvin Martin, a 1980s Brooklyn robber known as "50 Cent"; Jackson chose it "because it says everything I want it to say. I'm the same kind of person 50 Cent was. I provide for myself by any means."
Career
1996–2002: Rise to fame, shooting, and early mixtapes
Jackson began rapping in a friend's basement, where he used turntables to record over instrumentals. In 1996, a friend introduced him to Jam Master Jay of Run-DMC, who was establishing Jam Master Jay Records. Jay taught him how to count bars, write choruses, structure songs, and make records.Tarek, Shams (May 16, 2003). Jamaica's 'Own Bad Guy' 50 Cent Making Good in the Music Biz . Queens Press. Accessed May 22, 2007. Jackson's first appearance was on "React" with Onyx, for their 1998 album Shut 'Em Down. He credited Jam Master Jay for improving his ability to write hooks, and Jay produced Jackson's first (unreleased) album. In 1999, after Jackson left Jam Master Jay, the platinum-selling producers Trackmasters signed him to Columbia Records. They sent him to an upstate New York studio, where he produced thirty-six songs in two weeks; eighteen were included on his 2000 album, Power of the Dollar. Jackson founded Hollow Point Entertainment with former G-Unit member Bang 'Em Smurf.Williams, Houston (February 2004). Bang'em Smurf: Life after G-Unit. AllHipHop. Retrieved July 20, 2007.
Jackson's popularity began to grow after the successful, controversial underground single "How to Rob", which he wrote in a half-hour car ride to a studio.50 Cent. From Pieces to Weight Part 5 . MTV. Accessed May 22, 2007. The track comically describes how he would rob famous artists. Jackson explained the song's rationale: "There's a hundred artists on that label, you gotta separate yourself from that group and make yourself relevant". Rappers Jay-Z, Kurupt, Sticky Fingaz, Big Pun, DMX, Wyclef Jean, and the Wu-Tang Clan responded to the track, and Nas invited Jackson to join him on his Nastradamus tour. Although "How to Rob" was intended to be released with "Thug Love" (with Destiny's Child), two days before he was scheduled to film the "Thug Love" music video, Jackson was shot and hospitalized.
On May 24, 2000, Jackson was attacked by a gunman outside his grandmother's former home in South Jamaica. After getting into a friend's car, he was asked to return to the house to get some jewelry; his son was in the house, and his grandmother was in the front yard. Jackson returned to the back seat of the car, and another car pulled up nearby; an assailant walked up and fired nine shots at close range with a 9mm handgun. Jackson was shot in the hand, arm, hip, both legs, chest, and left cheek. His facial wound resulted in a swollen tongue, the loss of a wisdom tooth and a slightly slurred voice; his friend was wounded in the hand. They were driven to a hospital, where Jackson spent thirteen days. The alleged attacker, Darryl Baum, Mike Tyson's close friend and bodyguard, was killed three weeks later.
Jackson recalled the shooting: "It happens so fast that you don't even get a chance to shoot back .... I was scared the whole time ... I was looking in the rear-view mirror like, 'Oh shit, somebody shot me in the face! It burns, burns, burns.'" In his autobiography, From Pieces to Weight: Once upon a Time in Southside Queens, he wrote: "After I got shot nine times at close range and didn't die, I started to think that I must have a purpose in life ... How much more damage could that shell have done? Give me an inch in this direction or that one, and I'm gone". Jackson used a walker for six weeks and fully recovered after five months. When he left the hospital he stayed in the Poconos with his girlfriend and son, and his workout regime helped him develop a muscular physique.
In the hospital Jackson signed a publishing deal with Columbia Records before he was dropped from the label and blacklisted by the recording industry because of his song, "Ghetto Qu'ran". Unable to work in a U.S. studio, he went to Canada.Weiner, Jonah (April 2005). Dear Superstar: 50 Cent . Blender. Accessed May 22, 2007. With business partner Sha Money XL, Jackson recorded over thirty songs for mixtapes to build a reputation. In a HitQuarters interview, Marc Labelle of Shady Records A&R said that Jackson used the mixtape circuit to his advantage: "He took all the hottest beats from every artist and flipped them with better hooks. They then got into all the markets on the mixtapes and all the mixtape DJs were messing with them." Jackson's popularity increased, and in 2002 he released the mixtape Guess Who's Back?. He then released 50 Cent Is the Future backed by G-Unit, a mixtape revisiting material by Jay-Z and Raphael Saadiq.
===2002–2007: Mainstream breakthrough, Get Rich or Die Tryin''', and The Massacre===
In 2002, Eminem heard Jackson's Guess Who's Back? CD, received from Jackson's attorney (who was working with Eminem's manager, Paul Rosenberg). Impressed, Eminem invited Jackson to fly to Los Angeles and introduced him to Dr. Dre. After signing a $1 million record deal, Jackson released No Mercy, No Fear. The mixtape featured one new track, "Wanksta", which appeared on Eminem's 8 Mile soundtrack. Jackson was also signed by Chris Lighty's Violator Management and Sha Money XL's Money Management Group.
50 Cent released his debut album, Get Rich or Die Tryin' (described by AllMusic as "probably the most hyped debut album by a rap artist in about a decade"), in February 2003. Rolling Stone noted its "dark synth grooves, buzzy keyboards and a persistently funky bounce", with Jackson complementing the production in "an unflappable, laid-back flow". It debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, selling 872,000 copies in its first four days. The lead single, "In da Club" (noted by The Source for its "blaring horns, funky organs, guitar riffs and sparse hand claps"), set a Billboard record as the most listened-to song in radio history within a week.
Interscope gave Jackson his own label, G-Unit Records, in 2003. He signed Lloyd Banks, Tony Yayo and Young Buck as members of G-Unit, and The Game was later signed in a joint venture with Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment. In March 2005, 50 Cent's second commercial album, The Massacre, sold 1.14 million copies in its first four days (the highest in an abbreviated sales cycle) and was number one on the Billboard 200 for six weeks. He was the first solo artist with three singles in the Billboard top five in the same week with "Candy Shop", "Disco Inferno" and "How We Do". According to Rolling Stone, "50's secret weapon is his singing voice - the deceptively amateur-sounding tenor croon that he deploys on almost every chorus".
After The Game's departure Jackson signed Olivia and rap veterans Mobb Deep to G-Unit Records, with Spider Loc, M.O.P., 40 Glocc and Young Hot Rod later joining the label, who all eventually departed the label.Chery, Carl (May 27, 2005). Pulse Report: M.O.P. Signs to G-Unit . SOHH. Retrieved June 22, 2007. Jackson expressed an interest in working with rappers other than G-Unit, such as Lil' Scrappy of BME, LL Cool J of Def Jam, Mase of Bad Boy and Freeway of Roc-A-Fella, and recorded with several.
2007–2010: Curtis, sales battle with Kanye West, and Before I Self Destruct
In September 2007, 50 Cent released his third album, Curtis, which was inspired by his life before Get Rich or Die Tryin. It debuted at number two on the Billboard 200, selling 691,000 copies during its first week. It sold behind Kanye West's Graduation, released the same day; the outcome of this highly-publicized sales battle between Jackson and West has been accredited to the commercial decline of the gangsta rap and "bling era" style that previously dominated mainstream hip-hop.
On the September 10, 2008 episode of Total Request Live, Jackson said his fourth studio album, Before I Self Destruct, would be "done and released in November". He released "Ok, You're Right", produced by Dr. Dre for Before I Self Destruct, on May 18, 2009 and was scheduled to appear in a fall 2009 episode of VH1's Behind the Music. On September 3, 2009, Jackson posted a video for the Soundkillers' Phoenix- produced track, "Flight 187", introducing his mixtape and book (The 50th Law). The song, with lyrics inspiring speculation about tension between Jackson and Jay-Z, was a bonus track on the iTunes version of Before I Self Destruct. Before I Self Destruct was released on November 9, 2009.
2010–2015: New musical directions, new business ventures, and Animal Ambition
In a Contactmusic.com interview, Jackson said he was working on a Eurodance album, Black Magic, inspired by European nightclubs: "First they played hip-hop which suddenly changed to uptempo songs, known as Eurodance". He later said he had changed his next album to The Return of the Heartless Monster after writing different material when he returned home from the Invitation Tour in 2010, shelving Black Magic. On September 3, Jackson supported Eminem on his and Jay-Z's The Home & Home Tour, performing "Crack A Bottle" with Eminem and Dr. Dre amid rumors of tension between Jackson and Dre.
He "recorded 20 songs to a whole different album concept" before putting them aside, wanting his new album to have the "aggression" of Get Rich or Die Tryin. Jackson tweeted that the album was "80 percent done" and fans could expect it in the summer of 2011. It was ultimately delayed a year due to disagreements with Interscope Records, with Jackson saying that he would release it in November 2011 with a different title than Black Magic. Eminem would appear on the album, and Jackson said he was working with new producers such as Boi-1da and Alex da Kid. Cardiak, who produced Lloyd Banks' "Start It Up", confirmed that he produced a song for the upcoming album.
Jackson released a song, "Outlaw", from his fifth album on the Internet on June 16, 2011. The single, produced by Cardiak, was released on iTunes on July 19 (although Jackson tweeted that it was not the album's first single). The rapper planned to write a semi-autobiographical young-adult novel about bullying, different from his previous books which focused on his life and the rules of power. According to the book's publisher, the first-person novel (about a 13-year-old schoolyard bully "who finds redemption as he faces what he's done") was scheduled for publication in January 2012.
In a series of tweets, Jackson said that the delay of his fifth album was due to disagreements with Interscope Records, later suggesting that it would be released in November 2011 with his headphone line (SMS by 50). He speculated to MTV News about not renewing his five-album contract with Interscope: "I don't know ... It will all be clear in the negotiations following me turning this actual album in. And, of course, the performance and how they actually treat the work will determine whether you still want to stay in that position or not."
On June 20, 2011, Jackson announced the release of Before I Self Destruct II after his fifth album. Although he planned to shoot a music video for the fifth album's lead single, "I'm On It", on June 26 the video was never filmed. Jackson told Shade45, "I did four songs in Detroit with Eminem. I did two with Just Blaze, a Boi-1da joint, and I did something with Alex da Kid. We made two that are definite singles and the other two are the kinds of records that we been making, more aimed at my core audience, more aggressive, more of a different kind of energy to it." He released "Street King Energy Track #7" in September 2011 to promote Street King, his charity-based energy drink. An announcement that Jackson was shooting a music video for "Girls Go Wild", the fifth-album lead single featuring Jeremih, was made on September 28, 2011.Music Video News: IN PRODUCTION: 50 Cent f/ Jeremih – Colin Tilley . Video Static (September 28, 2011). Retrieved on October 25, 2011.
Jackson's fifth album, Street King Immortal, was initially scheduled for a summer 2012 release and postponed until November 13. Disagreements with Interscope Records about its release and promotion led to its temporary cancellation. Its first promo single, "New Day" with Dr. Dre and Alicia Keys, was released on July 27. The song was produced by Dr. Dre, mixed by Eminem and written by 50 Cent, Alicia Keys, Royce da 5'9" and Dr. Dre. A solo version by Keys was leaked by her husband, Swizz Beatz. "My Life", the album's second promo single (with Eminem and Maroon 5 lead singer Adam Levine), was released on November 26, 2012.
In January 2014, Jackson said he planned to release Animal Ambition in the first quarter of the year, followed by Street King Immortal. On February 20, he left Shady Records, Aftermath Entertainment, and Interscope, signing with Caroline and Capitol Music Group. According to Jackson, although he owed Interscope another album, he was released from his contract because of his friendship with Eminem and Dr. Dre: "I'm a special case and situation. It's also because of the leverage of having the strong relationships with Eminem and Dr. Dre. They don't want me to be uncomfortable. They value our friendship to the point that they would never want [to jeopardize] it over that little bit of money."
That day, he announced that Animal Ambition would be released on June 3 and released its first track. The song, "Funeral", was released with a video on Forbes.com. Produced by Jake One, it is a continuation of "50 Bars" from a previous album; two more tracks were scheduled for release on March 18. At South by Southwest in Austin, Texas, Jackson performed "Hold On" from the new album. That song and "Don't Worry 'Bout It" were released with accompanying videos on March 18. According to Jackson, prosperity would be a theme of the album: "This project, I had to search for a concept, a really good concept, in my perspective, and that was prosperity. I outlined all the things that would be a part of prosperity, positive and negative [for Animal Ambition]."
2015–present: Street King Immortal, bankruptcy, and departure from Interscope
On May 14, 2015, Jackson revealed in an interview that the first single from Street King Immortal, would be previewed Memorial Day weekend and would likely be released in June. Jackson released "Get Low" on May 20, 2015, as the intended first single from his sixth studio album, Street King Immortal. The song, produced by Remo the Hitmaker, features vocals from fellow American rappers 2 Chainz and T.I., as well as American singer Jeremih. He announced bankruptcy on July 13, 2015.
On March 31, 2017, Interscope Records released 50 Cent's final album for the label, a greatest hits album titled Best Of.
50 Cent was among hundreds of artists whose material was destroyed in the 2008 Universal fire.
In 2020, Jackson led the executive-producer duties for late rapper Pop Smoke's debut album, Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon, having been one of Pop Smoke's biggest inspirations. The album was released on July 3, 2020. Jackson curated the album, desiring to finish it after Pop had died. He contacted many of the artists involved, and also features on one of the album tracks, "The Woo", which became a top ten single.
In 2020, it was reported that Jackson was producing two television series for Starz, an anthology about hip hop and a biographical drama about sports agent Nicole Lynn.
In 2021, he became one of the headliners of the music festival Golden Sand in Riviera Maya.
In a July 2021 interview with The Independent, 50 Cent confirmed that he had officially decided to shelve his Street King Immortal album after it spent a decade in development hell. He even confirmed that he plans to release a completely new project.
In August 2021, he was confirmed to be starring in the upcoming The Expendables film.
On February 13, 2022, 50 Cent was a surprise performer in the Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show.
Awards
Artistry
Jackson cites Boogie Down Productions, Big Daddy Kane, The Juice Crew, EPMD and KRS-One as his rapping influences, while citing LL Cool J as an inspiration behind his writing of "21 Questions". Jackson also states that he drew influences from Nas, Rakim and The Notorious B.I.G. while working on Animal Ambition.
Business ventures
Jackson has had a highly successful business career. He is financially invested in a highly diversified variety of industries. Jackson is now involved in artist and talent management, record, television, and film production, footwear, apparel, fragrances, liquor, video games, mobile apps, book publishing, headphones, along with health drinks and dietary supplements. His broad business and investment portfolio contains investments in a variety of sectors including real estate, financial market investments, mining, boxing promotion, vodka, fragrances, consumer electronics and fashion.
He established his own record label G-Unit Records in 2003 following his mainstream success. In November 2003, he signed a five-year deal with Reebok to distribute a G-Unit Sneakers line for his G-Unit Clothing Company.Leeds, Jeff (December 26, 2004). $50 Million for 50 Cent . The New York Times. Retrieved June 9, 2007. In an interview, Jackson said his businesses had a habit of doing well as he saw all of his ventures both past and present as revolving around his alter ego.
Jackson has also started a book publishing imprint, G-Unit Books on January 4, 2007 at the Time Warner Building in New York. He has written a number of books including a memoir, From Pieces To Weight in 2005 where it sold 73,000 copies in hardcover and 14,000 copies in paperback; a crime novel and a book with Robert Greene titled The 50th Law, an urban take on The 48 Laws of Power. In November 2011, Jackson released 50 Cent's Playground, a young adult fiction novel about a bullied, violent boy and his gay mother.
One of Jackson's first business ventures was a partnership with Glacéau to create an enhanced water drink called Formula 50. In October 2004, Jackson became a beverage investor when he was given a minority share in the company in exchange for becoming a spokesperson after learning that he was a fan of the beverage. The health conscious Jackson noted that he first learned of the product while at a gym in Los Angeles, and stated that "they do such a good job making water taste good." After becoming a minority shareholder and celebrity spokesperson, Jackson worked with the company to create a new grape flavored "Formula 50" variant of VitaminWater and mentioned the drinks in various songs and interviews. In 2007, Coca-Cola purchased Glacéau for $4.1 billion and, according to Forbes, Jackson, who was a minority shareholder, earned $100 million from the deal after taxes.
Though he no longer has an equity stake in the company, Jackson continues to act as a spokesperson for VitaminWater, supporting the product including singing about it at the BET Awards and expressing his excitement over the company's continuing to allow his input on products.
He joined Right Guard to introduce a body spray (Pure 50 RGX) and endorsed Magic Stick condoms, planning to donate part of their proceeds to increasing HIV awareness. Jackson signed a multi-year deal with Steiner Sports to sell his memorabilia, and announced plans for a dietary-supplement company in conjunction with his film Spectacular Regret in August 2007.Jokesta (August 21, 2007). 50 Cent launches dietary supplement company. Def Sounds. Retrieved August 21, 2007.
Jackson has founded two film production companies: G-Unit Films in 2003 and Cheetah Vision in 2008.For The Record: Quick News on Eminem, Ciara, Ludacris, Ne-Yo, Slayer, Marilyn Manson, Nas, Public Enemy & More . MTV (March 23, 2007). Accessed May 22, 2007. Cheetah Vision produces low budget action thrillers for foreign film markets across the world. When G-Unit Films folded, he focused on Cheetah Vision and the company obtained $200 million in funding in 2010. In 2010, Jackson revived G-Unit Films, renaming the company to G-Unit Films and Television Inc. The company has joint ventures with Will Packer's production company Will Packer Productions and Universal Television. In over 18 months, Jackson has sold projects to six different networks. Among them was Power, a STARZ drama in which he not only co-stars but also serves as co-creator and executive producer. Power debuted in June 2014 and was renewed for a second season after one episode.
Jackson serves as a co‐star, co-creator and executive television producer of the STARZ network drama where he signed a 2-year contract with representation coming from the Agency for the Performing Arts. Ratings have been a success for Starz. with the second-season premiere being the highest-ever season with 1.43 million people tuning in live.
In 2002, Jackson filed an application with the United States Patent and Trademark Office to register the term "50 Cent" as a trademark for clothing, sound recordings, and live performances. The application was published in 2003, and registration issued in 2004. He has since filed for additional trademark registrations.
In July 2011, Jackson launched a philanthropic initiative to provide food for one billion starving people in Africa by 2016, joining Pure Growth Partners to introduce Street King. A portion of the proceeds from each Street King purchase would be used to provide a daily meal to an underprivileged child. The partnership coincides with Jackson's goal to feed a billion people in Africa during the next five years. "50 Cent and I share a common vision: to address the world's problems through smart and sustainable business models," said Chris Clarke, founder and CEO of Pure Growth Partners. "With the rampant starvation in Africa and hunger afflicting children worldwide, we need socially responsible businesses that affect real change now more than ever." Jackson said, "I'm inspired by Clarke's vision and innovative approaches to tackling serious issues. It's our mission with Street King to really change children's lives around the world."Langhorne, Cyrus. (August 13, 2011) 50 Cent On "Street King" Global Takeover, "I Need Your Support" . Sohh.Com. Retrieved on October 25, 2011. In 2011, he founded SMS Audio, a consumer-electronics company selling Street by 50 headphones, pledging to donate a portion of their sales to charity. In April 2015, SMS announced new co-branding deals with Reebok and Marvel. It added those to existing partnerships with Walt Disney Parks, Lucasfilm's Star Wars, and Intel.
In 2014, Jackson became a minority shareholder in Effen Vodka, a brand of vodka produced in the Netherlands, when he invested undisclosed amount in the company Sire Spirits LLC. He currently endorses the product via his live concert performances and social media. The rapper was asked to take part in two promotional bottle signings, one in Oak Creek and another in Sun Prairie. Jackson made an appearance at Liquor Warehouse in Syracuse, New York on April 25, 2015 where he reportedly sold 1,400 bottles (277 gallons) of Jackson's signature liquor brand. Liquor Warehouse's owner George Angeloro reportedly stocked 300 cases (1,800 bottles or 357 gallons) of Effen Vodka, which sells for $30 a bottle, prior to the event.
In December 2014, Jackson signed a $78 million deal with FRIGO Revolution Wear, a luxury underwear brand. The joint venture is partnered between Jackson, basketball player Carmelo Anthony, baseball player Derek Jeter and Mathias Ingvarsson, the former president of mattress company Tempur-Pedic. Jackson became the chief fashion designer for the brands single pair of Frigo boxers. In April 2015, Jackson mulled investing in Jamaica, exploring foreign investment opportunities on the island when he met with some local officials and had ongoing discussions on investment opportunities in the Montego Bay resort area.
Investments
Over the years, Jackson invested his earnings from music and celebrity endorsements in an array of privately controlled companies, real estate, and stocks and bonds. A portion of his investments lost value during the 2008 recession. In December 2008, he told the Canadian press that he had been affected by the recession, losing several million dollars in the stock market. Unable to sell his Connecticut mansion, Jackson postponed Before I Self-Destruct due to the severity of the economic downturn.
His Farmington mansion located on 50 Poplar Hill Drive that he tried to sell for years filed for bankruptcy in Connecticut in 2015 listed an asking price for that property in 2012 at $10 million but was valued at $8.3 million in 2015. He first tried to sell the house in 2007 for $18.5 million, and dropped the price several times in the next five years, when it was on and off the market.
In January 2011, Jackson reportedly made $10 million after using Twitter to promote a marketing company which he was part shareholder of. His endorsements company G Unit Brands Inc. revealed through a public SEC filing controls 12.9 per cent of H&H Imports, which is a parent company of TV Goods – the firm responsible for marketing his range of headphones, Sleek by 50 Cent. Jackson bought stock in the company on November 30, 2010, a week after it offered buyers 180 million shares at 17 cents each. Jackson later made a stock recommendation on Twitter, causing its share value to rise from four cents to nearly 50 cents (32p) each, closing on Monday at 39 cents (25p). Jackson was later investigated by the Securities and Exchange Commission for breaching securities laws following his tweet which may have constituted allegations of Insider trading via his Pump and dump stock investment strategy.
In 2013, Jackson became a minority investor in Hang w/, a live video broadcasting mobile app used by dozens of celebrities to broadcast their daily activities and chat with fans. The app was downloaded more than 1 million times since its launch in March 2013 and had more than 1 million users . Other minority celebrity investors include former NFL player Terrell Owens and record producer Timbaland.
Mining and heavy metals
In 2008, Jackson visited a platinum, palladium and iridium mine shaft in South Africa, and met with South African billionaire Patrice Motsepe in talks of purchasing an equity stake in the mine. After his meeting with Motsepe, Jackson considered purchasing equity in the mine and launching his own line of 50 Cent branded platinum.
Boxing promotion
On July 21, 2012, Jackson became a licensed boxing promoter when he formed his new company, TMT (The Money Team). Licensed to promote in New York, he was in the process of being licensed in Nevada (where most major fights are held in the U.S.). A former amateur boxer, Jackson signed gold medalist and former featherweight champion Yuriorkis Gamboa and middleweight Olympic medalist Andre Dirrell. On July 29, 2012, he and the boxer Floyd Mayweather, Jr., signed IBF featherweight champion Billy Dib. They unveiled plans to challenge the box-office dominance of mixed martial arts and change the landscape of boxing with TMT Promotions. Boxer Zab Judah also expressed interest in making a deal with Jackson. In December 2012, Mayweather and Jackson parted company, with Jackson taking over the promotion company and founding SMS Promotions with Gamboa, Dirrell, Dib, James Kirkland, Luis Olivares and Donte Strayhorn in his stable.
Bankruptcy
On July 13, 2015, Jackson filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Connecticut with a debt of $32,509,549.91. On July 17, 2015, the Court issued an order allowing a creditor to proceed with the punitive damages phase of a trial against Jackson in a New York state court, in connection with the alleged release of a private video. His assets were listed as between $10 million and $50 million in his bankruptcy petition, though he testified under oath that he is worth $4.4 million. Citing between $10 million and $50 million in debt, and the same amount in assets. Later in the week, Jackson's bankruptcy lawyers elucidated the court documents that legal fees and judgments exceeding $20 million over the past year were the primary cause of the filing.
His filings listed 32 entities that he has a stake in. The bankruptcy came days after a jury ordered him to pay $5 million to rapper Rick Ross's ex-girlfriend Lastonia Leviston for invading her privacy by posting online a sex tape of her and another man. In addition, Jackson lost a dispute over a failed business deal to come to fruition to his Sleek headphones, where Jackson invested more than $2 million. An ex-partner accused Jackson of later stealing the design of the "Sleek by 50" headphones, prompting a judge to award the partner more than $17.2 million. His Connecticut bankruptcy filing states that he owns seven cars valued at more than $500,000, including a 2010 Rolls Royce and a 1966 Chevrolet Coupe. His expenses of $108,000 a month include $5,000 for gardening along with a monthly income of $185,000, mainly from royalties and income from his external businesses and investments. The court filing says he also owes money to his stylist, his barber, and his fitness coach.
Other details in the bankruptcy documents included information about two deals that sold the right to collect royalties of on-air play of his music. Half the rights to his portfolio were sold to the British independent music publishing company Kobalt Music Group for $3 million and the other half for another $3 million with the sales of his albums allowing Jackson to own 100 percent of the rights to the master recordings while paying only for distribution. Zeisler & Zeisler, a Bridgeport law firm, represented 50 Cent in the bankruptcy, which later resulted in Jackson filing a $75 million lawsuit against his own lawyers. He stated that his lawyers did a terrible job of representing him, specifically citing the fallout of his failed venture with Sleek Audio headphones and accused Garvey Schubert Barer, a Wall Street law firm, of failing to "employ the requisite knowledge and skill necessary to confront the circumstances of the case."
Corporate positions
G-Unity Foundation Inc. – Founder
SMS Audio – CEO, founder
SK Energy – Founder
SMS Promotions – CEO, founder
Sire Spirits – Owner
Effen Vodka – former minority shareholder
Personal life
On October 13, 1996, Jackson's girlfriend, Shaniqua Tompkins, gave birth to son Marquise Jackson. Tompkins later sued Jackson for $50 million, saying he promised to take care of her for life. The suit, with 15 causes of action, was dismissed by a judge who called it "an unfortunate tale of a love relationship gone sour." The two have bickered for years, and have even taken their feud to social media many times.
Marquise's birth changed Jackson's outlook on life: "When my son came into my life, my priorities changed, because I wanted to have the relationship with him that I didn't have with my father". He credited his son for inspiring his career and being the "motivation to go in a different direction". Despite this, the two have endured a fractured relationship that began when Jackson and Tompkins separated in 2008. Their feud has been taken to social media numerous times, including in 2020 when Jackson disclosed that he "used to" love his son. Jackson has a tattooed "Marquise" with an axe on his right biceps ("The axe is 'cause I'm a warrior. I don't want him to be one, though"), and has "50", "Southside" and "Cold World" on his back: "I'm a product of that environment. It's on my back, though, so it's all behind me".
Jackson dated model Daphne Joy and had his second son, Sire Jackson, with her, on September 1, 2012. At the age of two years, Sire modeled for Kidz Safe, a headphone brand for kids, earning $700,000 through his contract.
In 2005, Jackson supported President George W. Bush after rapper Kanye West criticized Bush for a slow response to the victims of Hurricane Katrina. If his felony convictions did not prevent him from voting, he said, he would have voted for the president. Jackson later said that Bush "has less compassion than the average human. By all means, I don't aspire to be like George Bush." In September 2007, he told Time that although he would not endorse a candidate in 2008, he "liked Hillary [Clinton]".
Six months later, the rapper told MTV News that he had switched his support to Barack Obama after hearing him speak, but had lost interest in politics.MTV News, "50 cent Flip-flops: From Clinton to Obama," March 28, 2008 Asked his opinion of President Obama's May 9, 2012 endorsement of gay marriage, Jackson said, "I'm for it ... I've encouraged same-sex activities. I've engaged in fetish areas a couple times." He had been criticized for anti-gay comments in the past.Mariel Concepcion, GLAAD Calls Out 50 Cent For Anti-Gay Tweet , Billboard, September 10, 2010
Despite having numerous songs that reference drug and alcohol usage, Jackson remains teetotal, citing a bad experience with alcohol as his main reason.Forbes noted Jackson's wealth in 2007, ranking him second behind Jay-Z in the rap industry. He lives in a Farmington, Connecticut, mansion formerly owned by ex-boxer Mike Tyson, listing it for sale at $18.5 million to move closer to his son (who lives on Long Island with his ex-girlfriend). The mayor of Bridgeport, Connecticut declared October 12, 2007 "50 Cent Curtis Jackson Day", honoring the rapper with a proclamation and a key to the city. One of Jackson's New York homes, purchased in January 2007 for $2.4 million and the center of a lawsuit between Jackson and Shaniqua Tompkins, caught fire on May 31, 2008 while he was filming in Louisiana.
In December 2008, he told the Canadian press that he had lost several million dollars in the stock market and, unable to sell his Connecticut mansion, had postponed Before I Self-Destruct because of the economic downturn. Jackson won a lawsuit in November 2009 against Taco Bell over the fast-food chain's use of his name without permission.
In 2016, regarding a public feud with rapper Meek Mill, he commented, "You know, he's really not that bright. The easiest thing you can do is bring other people into the statements you're saying, right, while you're writing music."
Jackson endorsed Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton in the run-up for the 2016 U.S. presidential election. He rejected an offer of $500,000 from the Trump campaign to make an appearance on the candidate's behalf. However, he endorsed Donald Trump in 2020, due to his dislike of Joe Biden's tax plans. A week later, he retracted his endorsement, saying on Twitter "Fu*k Donald Trump, I never liked him", and endorsed Biden.
Legal issues, Drugs and assault convictions
On June 29, 1994, Jackson was arrested for selling four vials of cocaine to an undercover police officer. He was arrested again three weeks later, when police searched his home and found heroin, ten ounces of crack cocaine and a starter's pistol. Although Jackson was sentenced to three to nine years in prison, he served six months in a boot camp (where he earned his high-school equivalency diploma). According to him, he did not use cocaine.
Jackson and four members of his entourage were arrested shortly before 2 a.m. on December 31, 2002, when police found a .25-caliber handgun and a .45-caliber pistol in a parked car (which they searched due to its tinted windows) outside a Manhattan nightclub. The rapper was charged with two counts of criminal possession of a weapon.
Jackson was sentenced to two years' probation on July 22, 2005 for a May 2004 incident, when he was charged with three counts of assault and battery after jumping into an audience when he was hit by a water bottle.
Lawsuits
Use of image
Jackson filed a lawsuit against an advertising company, Traffix of Pearl River, New York, on July 21, 2007, for using his image in a promotion he said threatened his safety. He was alerted by a staff member to an Internet advertisement on a Myspace page. According to court documents, the advertisement had a cartoon image of the rapper with "Shoot the rapper and you will win $5000 or five ring tones guaranteed". Although the ad did not use his name, the image allegedly resembled him and suggested that he endorsed the product. The lawsuit, calling the ad a "vile, tasteless and despicable" use of Jackson's image which "quite literally call[ed] for violence against him", sought unspecified punitive damages and a permanent injunction against the use of his image without permission.50 Cent Sues over 'Shoot the Rapper'. Fox News (July 20, 2007). Retrieved December 17, 2015.
Use of name
In 2008, Jackson sued Taco Bell over an ad campaign in which it invited him to change his name for one day from 50 Cent to 79 Cent, 89 Cent, or 99 Cent, in line with pricing for some of its items, and they would donate $10,000 to the charity of his choice. The case was settled out of court.
Janitor incident
While walking through Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport in May 2016, Jackson harassed and insulted a janitor at the airport, accusing him of being under the influence. The janitor was a hearing-impaired, autistic teenager named Andrew Farrell. The parents of the janitor had seen the viral video as disrespect and wanted to sue Jackson for his action against their child. The lawsuit was originally over one million dollars, but the parents settled for a $100,000 donation to Autism Speaks and his apology.
Bamba sample
In 2016, a judge declared that Brandon Parrott gave Dr. Dre and 50 Cent the rights to "Bamba" for the song "P.I.M.P."
Other civil and criminal matters
One of his New York homes, purchased for $2.4 million in January 2007 and the center of a lawsuit between Jackson and Shaniqua Tompkins, caught fire on May 30, 2008 while he was filming in Louisiana. On August 5, 2013, Jackson pleaded not guilty to one count of domestic violence and four counts of vandalism in a Los Angeles County court. If convicted of all charges, he faced up to five years in prison and a $46,000 fine. Model-actress Daphne Joy accused Jackson of kicking her and ransacking her bedroom during an argument at her condominium in the Toluca Lake neighborhood of Los Angeles on June 23. He allegedly caused $7,100 in property damage, leaving the scene before police arrived.
Judge Ann Nevins has ordered Jackson back to court because of Instagram messages he made over several months. She said Jackson was not fully clear about his funds and indicated posts of the rapper showing stacks of his money. In March 2016, Jackson claimed that he would no longer use Instagram, electing instead to have his profile page operated by someone else.
In 2020, Jackson was a subject of controversy for his involvement in a viral video of him giving money to a Burger King restaurant in New York City on behalf of a local scammer who was later arrested and charged for Bitcoin scamming and for assaulting and kidnapping his victims on April 24, 2021.
Feuds
Ja Rule
Before he signed with Interscope Records, Jackson engaged in a public dispute with rapper Ja Rule and his label, Murder Inc. Records, saying that a friend robbed jewelry from Ja Rule and the latter accused him of orchestrating the robbery. Ja Rule said that the conflict stemmed from a Queens video shoot, when Jackson did not like seeing him "getting so much love" from the neighborhood. At The Hit Factory in New York in March 2000, Jackson had an altercation with Murder Inc. associates and received three stitches for a stab wound.Smith, Dominic (July 2005). 50 Cent Interview. FHM. Retrieved July 11, 2007. Rapper Black Child claimed responsibility for the stabbing, saying that he acted in self-defense when he thought someone reached for a gun.
An affidavit by an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) agent suggested ties between Murder Inc. and Kenneth "Supreme" McGriff, a New York drug lord suspected of involvement in the murder of Jam Master Jay and Jackson's shooting. An excerpt read:
The end of the Jackson-Ja Rule feud was confirmed in May 2011. According to Ja Rule, "I'm cool. We ain't beefing no more. We'll never collaborate. That's just what it is. You don't have to be at war with somebody, but it's also kind of like U.S. and another country that they may not get along with. We don't gotta go to war, but we're not friends either. But we can coincide inside of a world. He's doing him, and he's not thinking about me, and I'm doing me and I'm not thinking about him."
On August 7, 2015, the feud between the two rappers later reignited when Ja Rule gave a feedback to a social follower via Twitter over a similar feud between Meek Mill and Drake. Enraged, Jackson later responded with photos and comments via Instagram, only siding with Drake. The feud resurfaced three years later on January 19, 2018, when Ja Rule took to Twitter, calling out 50 Cent on social media. 50 Cent responded by purchasing and vacating the first four rows of his concert.
The Game
Although Jackson was close to The Game before the latter released his debut album, The Documentary, they grew apart. After The Documentarys release, Jackson felt that The Game was disloyal for saying that he did not want to participate in G-Unit's feuds with other rappers (such as Nas, Jadakiss and Fat Joe) and his desire to work with artists with which G-Unit was feuding. He said that he wrote six songs for the album and did not receive proper credit, which The Game denied.
Jackson later dismissed The Game from G-Unit on Hot 97. After the announcement, The Game (a guest earlier in the evening) tried to enter the building with his entourage. After they were denied entry, one of his associates was shot in the leg in a confrontation with a group of men leaving the building.Hope, Clover (March 2, 2005). 50 Cent Cancels New York Appearance amid Shooting Inquiry . AllHipHop. Retrieved July 20, 2007. When the situation escalated, the rappers held a joint press conference announcing their reconciliation, and fans were uncertain if the rappers had staged a publicity stunt to boost sales of their recently released albums. After the situation cooled, G-Unit criticized The Game's street credibility and announced that they would not appear on his albums. During a Summer Jam performance The Game announced a boycott of G-Unit, which he called "G-Unot".
After the Summer Jam performance The Game recorded "300 Bars and Runnin'", an extended "diss" of G-Unit and Roc-A-Fella Records, for the mixtape You Know What It Is Vol. 3. Jackson responded with his "Piggy Bank" music video, with The Game as Mr. Potato Head and parodies of other rivals. They have continued attacking each other, with The Game releasing two more mixtapes: Ghost Unit and a mixtape-DVD, Stop Snitchin, Stop Lyin. Jackson superimposed The Game's head on the body of a male stripper for the cover of the Hate It or Love It (G-Unit Radio Part 21) mixtape in response to The Game's pictures of G-Unit dressed as the Village People. The Game, under contract to Aftermath Entertainment, signed with Geffen Records to terminate his contractual obligations with G-Unit (although it is claimed that Jackson pressured Dr. Dre to fire him). G-Unit member Spider Loc has insulted The Game in songs, and the latter released "240 Bars (Spider Joke)" and "100 Bars (The Funeral)" attacking G-Unit and Loc. Jackson's response was "Not Rich, Still Lyin'", mocking The Game. Lloyd Banks replied to the Game on a Rap City freestyle-booth segment, followed by a Game "diss" song ("SoundScan") ridiculing the 13-position drop of Banks' album Rotten Apple on the Billboard 200 chart and its disappointing second-week sales. Banks replied on his mixtape Mo' Money In The Bank Pt. 5: Gang Green Season Continues with "Showtime (The Game's Over)", said that Jackson wrote half of The Documentary and ridiculed The Game's suicidal thoughts.
In October 2006, The Game made a peace overture (which was not immediately answered) to Jackson, but two days later he said on Power 106 that the peace offer was valid for only one day. In several songs on Doctor's Advocate, he implied that the feud was over. He said in July 2009 that the feud had ended with help from Michael Jackson and Diddy, and apologized for his actions. According to Tony Yayo, neither Jackson nor G-Unit accepted his apology and The Game has resumed his calls for a "G-Unot" boycott at concerts. Jackson released "So Disrespectful" on Before I Self Destruct, targeting Jay-Z, The Game and Young Buck. The Game responded with "Shake", poking fun at the music video for Jackson's "Candy Shop".
On August 1, 2016, 50 Cent ended his twelve-year feud with The Game when the two were in the Ace of Diamonds Strip Club and The Game said "What happened, that shit was 12 years ago."
Rick Ross
Although Rick Ross began a feud with Jackson over an alleged incident at the 2008 BET Hip Hop Awards, Jackson told news sources he did not remember seeing Ross there. Later that month Ross' "Mafia Music" was leaked on the Internet, with lyrics apparently disparaging Jackson. Several days later, Jackson released "Officer Ricky (Go Head, Try Me)" in response to "Mafia Music". The following day, Ross appeared on Shade 45 (Eminem's Sirius channel) and told Jackson to come up with something better in 24 hours.
Before leaving for Venezuela, Jackson uploaded a video ("Warning Shot") and the first of a series of "Officer Ricky" cartoons. In early February he uploaded a YouTube video in which he interviewed "Tia", the mother of one of Ross' children; according to her, Ross is in reality a correctional officer. On February 5, 2009, The Game phoned Seattle radio station KUBE. Asked about the dispute between Jackson and Ross, he sided with Jackson and offered to mediate: "Rick Ross, holla at your boy, man" and "50 eating you, boy."
On his album Deeper Than Rap, Ross refers to Jackson in "In Cold Blood" and Jackson's mock funeral is part of the song's video. When the song was released, Ross said that he ended Jackson's career. "Rick Ross is Albert From CB4. You ever seen the movie? He's Albert," Jackson replied in an interview. "It never gets worse than this. You get a guy that was a correctional officer come out and base his entire career on writing material from a drug dealer's perspective such as "Freeway" Ricky Ross." Their feud rekindled at the 2012 BET Hip Hop Awards, where Jackson and G-Unit members Kidd Kidd, Mike Knox, Tony Yayo were seen on video attacking Gunplay (a member of Ross' Maybach Music Group). Gunplay's Maybach Music diamond necklace was stolen during the brawl, and several days later Jackson appeared at a Washington, D.C. bowling alley wearing Gunplay's chain. On January 30, 2013, Jackson tweeted that Ross' attempted drive-by shooting on his birthday three days earlier was "staged".
On August 9, 2020, 50 Cent and Rick Ross ended their feud.
Awards and nominations
Discography
Studio albums
Get Rich or Die Tryin' (2003)
The Massacre (2005)
Curtis (2007)
Before I Self Destruct (2009)
Animal Ambition (2014)
Collaborative albums
Beg for Mercy (with G-Unit) (2003)
T·O·S (Terminate on Sight)'' (with G-Unit) (2008)
Filmography
Film
Television
Appearances
Video games
References
External links
1975 births
20th-century American rappers
21st-century American businesspeople
21st-century American male actors
21st-century American rappers
21st-century African-American male singers
African-American fashion designers
African-American film producers
African-American investors
African-American male actors
African-American male rappers
African-American memoirists
African-American record producers
African-American male songwriters
Aftermath Entertainment artists
American book publishers (people)
American boxing promoters
American businesspeople convicted of crimes
American chairpersons of corporations
American chief executives of food industry companies
American corporate directors
American cosmetics businesspeople
American drink industry businesspeople
American fashion businesspeople
American film producers
American hip hop record producers
American male film actors
American male television actors
American male video game actors
American marketing businesspeople
American memoirists
American mining businesspeople
American music industry executives
American music publishers (people)
American nonprofit businesspeople
American people convicted of drug offenses
American reality television producers
American retail chief executives
American shooting survivors
American television company founders
American television executives
Andrew Jackson High School (Queens) alumni
Brit Award winners
Businesspeople from Queens, New York
Businesspeople in metals
Caroline Records artists
East Coast hip hop musicians
Echo (music award) winners
Gangsta rappers
Grammy Award winners for rap music
G-Unit Records artists
JMJ Records artists
Juno Award for International Album of the Year winners
Living people
Male actors from New York City
People from Jamaica, Queens
Philanthropists from New York (state)
Rappers from New York City
Record producers from New York (state)
Shady Records artists
Shoe designers
Songwriters from New York (state)
Sony Music Publishing artists
Stabbing attacks in the United States
Stabbing survivors
Television producers from New York City
World Music Awards winners
Writers from Queens, New York | false | [
"Sizzlar is the debut studio album by Australian record producer, L D R U. The album was released on 14 July 2017 and peaked at number 66 on the Australian ARIA Albums Chart. A remix album was released in February 2018.\n\nWhen speaking about the album, Carmody said \"Take My\" is his favourite track because \"it's kind of a bit different and out of the norm to what I'd usually do... It was about a one night stand and picking up girls in the club, so it was kind of a fun process to write about.\"\n\nTrack listing\n\nCharts\n\nRelease history\n\nReferences\n\n2017 debut albums\nL D R U albums\nSony Music Australia albums",
"Nobody's Everything is the debut album from country music artist Tucker Beathard. The album was released after a year long battle with his previous record label shelving his planned debut album a year earlier, then titled \"Dear Someone\". \"Nobody's Everything serves as the first part of a double album, part 2 is expected to be released in 2020.\n\nBackground\n\nAfter releasing his debut EP in late 2016, Beathard doubled down work on his debut album.\n\nIn November 2017, Beathard announced his debut album titled \"Dear Someone\", the album was to be released November 17, 2017 but the night before the albums released Beathard announced that the album had been postponed citing creative differences with his then label Dot Records.\n\nAfter the delay of his debut album, Beathard channeled his frustrations via his social media sites. He began leaking demo tracks that he written and recorded and wanted to share with his fans. The first one being the fan favorite \"Chasing You With Whiskey\" in December 2017.\n\nIn January 2018 Beathard was released from his contract with Dot Records, after that Beathard began leaking multiple demos to his social media sites and via his official YouTube account.\n\nFrom January 2018 through early November 2018 Bethard leaked the following demo tracks via his social media sites and YouTube \"Goodbye Amy\", \"New Me\", \"I Don't Miss You Now\", \"Perfect Imperfections\", \"Same Kinda Different\", \"This Life\", \"Ride On\", Caught Me On A Good Night\", \"He Was\", \"Kiss Me With A Lie\", \"Hall of Fame\", \"Nobody's Everything\", \"New Used Oldsmobile\", \"She Ain't Right\", \"Over\", \"Nobody's Everything\", \"You Would Think Of Me\", \"The Closest Thing\",\"Time These Days\", \"Your Dreams\", \"It'd Hurt Me More If You Kept Hanging Around\", \"Smokin' Things\" and \"Better Than Me\".\n\nBeathard stated he wanted to share what he was writing and recorded so his fans could get a feel what his debut album would be like.\n\nOn November 26, 2018 Beathard announced via Rolling Stone that his debut album would be titled \"Nobody's Everything\" and will be released November 30, 2018. The album's title comes from one of the demo tracks Beathard leaked over the summer, however the track is not included on the album.\n\nDuring the announcement Beathard also revealed the lead single would be titled \"Leave Me Alone\" a track a recorded and leaked earlier in the year, Beathard stated the track was a reflection of how he felt during the turmoil with his previous record label.\n\nTrack listing\n\nPersonnel\nCredits provided by AllMusic\n\nTucker Beathard - acoustic guitar, drums, electric guitar, percussion, lead vocals, background vocals\nChris Henderson - electric guitar\nJordan Rigby - bass guitar, background vocals\nRyan Tyndell - acoustic guitar, electric guitar, keyboards, percussion, background vocals\n\nReferences\n\n2018 debut albums\nTucker Beathard albums"
] |
[
"50 Cent",
"2002-2006: Rise to fame",
"What was his album when he rise to fame?",
"In 2002, Eminem heard Jackson's Guess Who's Back? CD, received from Jackson's attorney (",
"Who signed him?",
"introduced him to Dr. Dre. After signing a $1 million record deal, Jackson released No Mercy, No Fear.",
"What was the name of his mix tape?",
"Jackson released No Mercy, No Fear.",
"What was his debut album?",
"Jackson released his debut album, Get Rich or Die Tryin' ("
] | C_c5bdd69a096444ff8e00c23e110bdece_0 | How many copies of the album was sold? | 5 | How many copies of the album Get Rich or Die Tryin by 50 Cent was sold? | 50 Cent | In 2002, Eminem heard Jackson's Guess Who's Back? CD, received from Jackson's attorney (who was working with Eminem's manager, Paul Rosenberg). Impressed, Eminem invited Jackson to fly to Los Angeles and introduced him to Dr. Dre. After signing a $1 million record deal, Jackson released No Mercy, No Fear. The mixtape featured one new track, "Wanksta", which appeared on Eminem's 8 Mile soundtrack. Jackson was also signed by Chris Lighty's Violator Management and Sha Money XL's Money Management Group. Jackson released his debut album, Get Rich or Die Tryin' (described by AllMusic as "probably the most hyped debut album by a rap artist in about a decade"), in February 2003. Rolling Stone noted its "dark synth grooves, buzzy keyboards and a persistently funky bounce", with Jackson complementing the production in "an unflappable, laid-back flow". It debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, selling 872,000 copies in its first four days. The lead single, "In da Club" (noted by The Source for its "blaring horns, funky organs, guitar riffs and sparse hand claps"), set a Billboard record as the most listened-to song in radio history within a week. Interscope gave Jackson his own label, G-Unit Records, in 2003. He signed Lloyd Banks, Tony Yayo and Young Buck as members of G-Unit, and The Game was later signed in a joint venture with Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment. In March 2005 Jackson's second commercial album, The Massacre, sold 1.14 million copies in its first four days (the highest in an abbreviated sales cycle) and was number one on the Billboard 200 for six weeks. He was the first solo artist with three singles in the Billboard top five in the same week with "Candy Shop", "Disco Inferno" and "How We Do". According to Rolling Stone, "50's secret weapon is his singing voice - the deceptively amateur-sounding tenor croon that he deploys on almost every chorus". After The Game's departure Jackson signed Olivia and rap veterans Mobb Deep to G-Unit Records, with Spider Loc, M.O.P., 40 Glocc and Young Hot Rod later joining the label, who all eventually departed the label. Jackson expressed an interest in working with rappers other than G-Unit, such as Lil' Scrappy of BME, LL Cool J of Def Jam, Mase of Bad Boy and Freeway of Roc-A-Fella, and recorded with several. CANNOTANSWER | selling 872,000 copies in its first four days. | Curtis James Jackson III (born July 6, 1975), known professionally as 50 Cent, is an American rapper, actor and entrepreneur. Known for his impact in the hip hop industry, he has been described as a "master of the nuanced art of lyrical brevity".
Born in the South Jamaica neighborhood of Queens, Jackson began selling drugs at age 12 during the 1980s crack epidemic. He later began pursuing a musical career and in 2000 he produced Power of the Dollar for Columbia Records, but days before the planned release he was shot and the album was never released. In 2002, after 50 Cent released the compilation album Guess Who's Back?, he was discovered by Eminem and signed to Shady Records, under the aegis of Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment and Interscope Records.
With the aid of Eminem and Dr. Dre (who produced his first major-label album Get Rich or Die Tryin'), 50 Cent became one of the world's best selling rappers and rose to prominence as de facto leader of East Coast hip hop group G-Unit. In 2003, he founded G-Unit Records, signing his G-Unit associates Young Buck, Lloyd Banks and Tony Yayo. 50 Cent had similar commercial and critical success with his second album, The Massacre, which was released in 2005. He underwent musical changes by his fifth album, Animal Ambition (2014), and is currently working on his sixth studio album. He executive-produced and starred in the television series Power (2014–2020) and is slated to produce its spin-offs.
50 Cent has sold over 30 million albums worldwide and won several awards, including a Grammy Award, thirteen Billboard Music Awards, six World Music Awards, three American Music Awards and four BET Awards. As an actor, Jackson appeared in the semi-autobiographical film Get Rich or Die Tryin' (2005), the war film Home of the Brave (2006), and the crime thriller film Righteous Kill (2008). 50 Cent was ranked the sixth-best artist of the 2000s and the third-best rapper (behind Eminem and Nelly) by Billboard. Rolling Stone ranked Get Rich or Die Tryin and "In da Club" in its lists of the "100 Best Albums of the 2000s" and "100 Best Songs of the 2000s" at numbers 37 and 13, respectively.
Early life
Jackson was born in the borough of Queens, New York City, and raised in its South Jamaica neighborhood by his mother Sabrina. A drug dealer, Sabrina raised Jackson until she died in a fire when Jackson was 8. (online is excerpt only) Jackson revealed in an interview that his mother was a lesbian. After his mother's death and his father's departure, Jackson was raised by his grandmother.
He began boxing at about age 11, and when he was 14, a neighbor opened a boxing gym for local youth. "When I wasn't killing time in school, I was sparring in the gym or selling crack on the strip," Jackson remembered. He sold crack during primary school. "I was competitive in the ring and hip-hop is competitive too ... I think rappers condition themselves like boxers, so they all kind of feel like they're the champ."
At age 12, Jackson began dealing narcotics when his grandparents thought he was in after-school programs and brought guns and drug money to school. In the tenth grade, he was caught by metal detectors at Andrew Jackson High School: "I was embarrassed that I got arrested like that ... After I got arrested I stopped hiding it. I was telling my grandmother [openly], 'I sell drugs.'"
On June 29, 1994, Jackson was arrested for selling four vials of cocaine to an undercover police officer. He was arrested again three weeks later, when police searched his home and found heroin, ten ounces of crack cocaine, and a starting pistol. Although Jackson was sentenced to three to nine years in prison, he served six months in a boot camp and earned his GED. He has said that he did not use cocaine himself.The Smoking Gun: 50 Cent . The Smoking Gun (February 27, 2003). Accessed May 22, 2007. Jackson adopted the nickname "50 Cent" as a metaphor for change. The name was inspired by Kelvin Martin, a 1980s Brooklyn robber known as "50 Cent"; Jackson chose it "because it says everything I want it to say. I'm the same kind of person 50 Cent was. I provide for myself by any means."
Career
1996–2002: Rise to fame, shooting, and early mixtapes
Jackson began rapping in a friend's basement, where he used turntables to record over instrumentals. In 1996, a friend introduced him to Jam Master Jay of Run-DMC, who was establishing Jam Master Jay Records. Jay taught him how to count bars, write choruses, structure songs, and make records.Tarek, Shams (May 16, 2003). Jamaica's 'Own Bad Guy' 50 Cent Making Good in the Music Biz . Queens Press. Accessed May 22, 2007. Jackson's first appearance was on "React" with Onyx, for their 1998 album Shut 'Em Down. He credited Jam Master Jay for improving his ability to write hooks, and Jay produced Jackson's first (unreleased) album. In 1999, after Jackson left Jam Master Jay, the platinum-selling producers Trackmasters signed him to Columbia Records. They sent him to an upstate New York studio, where he produced thirty-six songs in two weeks; eighteen were included on his 2000 album, Power of the Dollar. Jackson founded Hollow Point Entertainment with former G-Unit member Bang 'Em Smurf.Williams, Houston (February 2004). Bang'em Smurf: Life after G-Unit. AllHipHop. Retrieved July 20, 2007.
Jackson's popularity began to grow after the successful, controversial underground single "How to Rob", which he wrote in a half-hour car ride to a studio.50 Cent. From Pieces to Weight Part 5 . MTV. Accessed May 22, 2007. The track comically describes how he would rob famous artists. Jackson explained the song's rationale: "There's a hundred artists on that label, you gotta separate yourself from that group and make yourself relevant". Rappers Jay-Z, Kurupt, Sticky Fingaz, Big Pun, DMX, Wyclef Jean, and the Wu-Tang Clan responded to the track, and Nas invited Jackson to join him on his Nastradamus tour. Although "How to Rob" was intended to be released with "Thug Love" (with Destiny's Child), two days before he was scheduled to film the "Thug Love" music video, Jackson was shot and hospitalized.
On May 24, 2000, Jackson was attacked by a gunman outside his grandmother's former home in South Jamaica. After getting into a friend's car, he was asked to return to the house to get some jewelry; his son was in the house, and his grandmother was in the front yard. Jackson returned to the back seat of the car, and another car pulled up nearby; an assailant walked up and fired nine shots at close range with a 9mm handgun. Jackson was shot in the hand, arm, hip, both legs, chest, and left cheek. His facial wound resulted in a swollen tongue, the loss of a wisdom tooth and a slightly slurred voice; his friend was wounded in the hand. They were driven to a hospital, where Jackson spent thirteen days. The alleged attacker, Darryl Baum, Mike Tyson's close friend and bodyguard, was killed three weeks later.
Jackson recalled the shooting: "It happens so fast that you don't even get a chance to shoot back .... I was scared the whole time ... I was looking in the rear-view mirror like, 'Oh shit, somebody shot me in the face! It burns, burns, burns.'" In his autobiography, From Pieces to Weight: Once upon a Time in Southside Queens, he wrote: "After I got shot nine times at close range and didn't die, I started to think that I must have a purpose in life ... How much more damage could that shell have done? Give me an inch in this direction or that one, and I'm gone". Jackson used a walker for six weeks and fully recovered after five months. When he left the hospital he stayed in the Poconos with his girlfriend and son, and his workout regime helped him develop a muscular physique.
In the hospital Jackson signed a publishing deal with Columbia Records before he was dropped from the label and blacklisted by the recording industry because of his song, "Ghetto Qu'ran". Unable to work in a U.S. studio, he went to Canada.Weiner, Jonah (April 2005). Dear Superstar: 50 Cent . Blender. Accessed May 22, 2007. With business partner Sha Money XL, Jackson recorded over thirty songs for mixtapes to build a reputation. In a HitQuarters interview, Marc Labelle of Shady Records A&R said that Jackson used the mixtape circuit to his advantage: "He took all the hottest beats from every artist and flipped them with better hooks. They then got into all the markets on the mixtapes and all the mixtape DJs were messing with them." Jackson's popularity increased, and in 2002 he released the mixtape Guess Who's Back?. He then released 50 Cent Is the Future backed by G-Unit, a mixtape revisiting material by Jay-Z and Raphael Saadiq.
===2002–2007: Mainstream breakthrough, Get Rich or Die Tryin''', and The Massacre===
In 2002, Eminem heard Jackson's Guess Who's Back? CD, received from Jackson's attorney (who was working with Eminem's manager, Paul Rosenberg). Impressed, Eminem invited Jackson to fly to Los Angeles and introduced him to Dr. Dre. After signing a $1 million record deal, Jackson released No Mercy, No Fear. The mixtape featured one new track, "Wanksta", which appeared on Eminem's 8 Mile soundtrack. Jackson was also signed by Chris Lighty's Violator Management and Sha Money XL's Money Management Group.
50 Cent released his debut album, Get Rich or Die Tryin' (described by AllMusic as "probably the most hyped debut album by a rap artist in about a decade"), in February 2003. Rolling Stone noted its "dark synth grooves, buzzy keyboards and a persistently funky bounce", with Jackson complementing the production in "an unflappable, laid-back flow". It debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, selling 872,000 copies in its first four days. The lead single, "In da Club" (noted by The Source for its "blaring horns, funky organs, guitar riffs and sparse hand claps"), set a Billboard record as the most listened-to song in radio history within a week.
Interscope gave Jackson his own label, G-Unit Records, in 2003. He signed Lloyd Banks, Tony Yayo and Young Buck as members of G-Unit, and The Game was later signed in a joint venture with Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment. In March 2005, 50 Cent's second commercial album, The Massacre, sold 1.14 million copies in its first four days (the highest in an abbreviated sales cycle) and was number one on the Billboard 200 for six weeks. He was the first solo artist with three singles in the Billboard top five in the same week with "Candy Shop", "Disco Inferno" and "How We Do". According to Rolling Stone, "50's secret weapon is his singing voice - the deceptively amateur-sounding tenor croon that he deploys on almost every chorus".
After The Game's departure Jackson signed Olivia and rap veterans Mobb Deep to G-Unit Records, with Spider Loc, M.O.P., 40 Glocc and Young Hot Rod later joining the label, who all eventually departed the label.Chery, Carl (May 27, 2005). Pulse Report: M.O.P. Signs to G-Unit . SOHH. Retrieved June 22, 2007. Jackson expressed an interest in working with rappers other than G-Unit, such as Lil' Scrappy of BME, LL Cool J of Def Jam, Mase of Bad Boy and Freeway of Roc-A-Fella, and recorded with several.
2007–2010: Curtis, sales battle with Kanye West, and Before I Self Destruct
In September 2007, 50 Cent released his third album, Curtis, which was inspired by his life before Get Rich or Die Tryin. It debuted at number two on the Billboard 200, selling 691,000 copies during its first week. It sold behind Kanye West's Graduation, released the same day; the outcome of this highly-publicized sales battle between Jackson and West has been accredited to the commercial decline of the gangsta rap and "bling era" style that previously dominated mainstream hip-hop.
On the September 10, 2008 episode of Total Request Live, Jackson said his fourth studio album, Before I Self Destruct, would be "done and released in November". He released "Ok, You're Right", produced by Dr. Dre for Before I Self Destruct, on May 18, 2009 and was scheduled to appear in a fall 2009 episode of VH1's Behind the Music. On September 3, 2009, Jackson posted a video for the Soundkillers' Phoenix- produced track, "Flight 187", introducing his mixtape and book (The 50th Law). The song, with lyrics inspiring speculation about tension between Jackson and Jay-Z, was a bonus track on the iTunes version of Before I Self Destruct. Before I Self Destruct was released on November 9, 2009.
2010–2015: New musical directions, new business ventures, and Animal Ambition
In a Contactmusic.com interview, Jackson said he was working on a Eurodance album, Black Magic, inspired by European nightclubs: "First they played hip-hop which suddenly changed to uptempo songs, known as Eurodance". He later said he had changed his next album to The Return of the Heartless Monster after writing different material when he returned home from the Invitation Tour in 2010, shelving Black Magic. On September 3, Jackson supported Eminem on his and Jay-Z's The Home & Home Tour, performing "Crack A Bottle" with Eminem and Dr. Dre amid rumors of tension between Jackson and Dre.
He "recorded 20 songs to a whole different album concept" before putting them aside, wanting his new album to have the "aggression" of Get Rich or Die Tryin. Jackson tweeted that the album was "80 percent done" and fans could expect it in the summer of 2011. It was ultimately delayed a year due to disagreements with Interscope Records, with Jackson saying that he would release it in November 2011 with a different title than Black Magic. Eminem would appear on the album, and Jackson said he was working with new producers such as Boi-1da and Alex da Kid. Cardiak, who produced Lloyd Banks' "Start It Up", confirmed that he produced a song for the upcoming album.
Jackson released a song, "Outlaw", from his fifth album on the Internet on June 16, 2011. The single, produced by Cardiak, was released on iTunes on July 19 (although Jackson tweeted that it was not the album's first single). The rapper planned to write a semi-autobiographical young-adult novel about bullying, different from his previous books which focused on his life and the rules of power. According to the book's publisher, the first-person novel (about a 13-year-old schoolyard bully "who finds redemption as he faces what he's done") was scheduled for publication in January 2012.
In a series of tweets, Jackson said that the delay of his fifth album was due to disagreements with Interscope Records, later suggesting that it would be released in November 2011 with his headphone line (SMS by 50). He speculated to MTV News about not renewing his five-album contract with Interscope: "I don't know ... It will all be clear in the negotiations following me turning this actual album in. And, of course, the performance and how they actually treat the work will determine whether you still want to stay in that position or not."
On June 20, 2011, Jackson announced the release of Before I Self Destruct II after his fifth album. Although he planned to shoot a music video for the fifth album's lead single, "I'm On It", on June 26 the video was never filmed. Jackson told Shade45, "I did four songs in Detroit with Eminem. I did two with Just Blaze, a Boi-1da joint, and I did something with Alex da Kid. We made two that are definite singles and the other two are the kinds of records that we been making, more aimed at my core audience, more aggressive, more of a different kind of energy to it." He released "Street King Energy Track #7" in September 2011 to promote Street King, his charity-based energy drink. An announcement that Jackson was shooting a music video for "Girls Go Wild", the fifth-album lead single featuring Jeremih, was made on September 28, 2011.Music Video News: IN PRODUCTION: 50 Cent f/ Jeremih – Colin Tilley . Video Static (September 28, 2011). Retrieved on October 25, 2011.
Jackson's fifth album, Street King Immortal, was initially scheduled for a summer 2012 release and postponed until November 13. Disagreements with Interscope Records about its release and promotion led to its temporary cancellation. Its first promo single, "New Day" with Dr. Dre and Alicia Keys, was released on July 27. The song was produced by Dr. Dre, mixed by Eminem and written by 50 Cent, Alicia Keys, Royce da 5'9" and Dr. Dre. A solo version by Keys was leaked by her husband, Swizz Beatz. "My Life", the album's second promo single (with Eminem and Maroon 5 lead singer Adam Levine), was released on November 26, 2012.
In January 2014, Jackson said he planned to release Animal Ambition in the first quarter of the year, followed by Street King Immortal. On February 20, he left Shady Records, Aftermath Entertainment, and Interscope, signing with Caroline and Capitol Music Group. According to Jackson, although he owed Interscope another album, he was released from his contract because of his friendship with Eminem and Dr. Dre: "I'm a special case and situation. It's also because of the leverage of having the strong relationships with Eminem and Dr. Dre. They don't want me to be uncomfortable. They value our friendship to the point that they would never want [to jeopardize] it over that little bit of money."
That day, he announced that Animal Ambition would be released on June 3 and released its first track. The song, "Funeral", was released with a video on Forbes.com. Produced by Jake One, it is a continuation of "50 Bars" from a previous album; two more tracks were scheduled for release on March 18. At South by Southwest in Austin, Texas, Jackson performed "Hold On" from the new album. That song and "Don't Worry 'Bout It" were released with accompanying videos on March 18. According to Jackson, prosperity would be a theme of the album: "This project, I had to search for a concept, a really good concept, in my perspective, and that was prosperity. I outlined all the things that would be a part of prosperity, positive and negative [for Animal Ambition]."
2015–present: Street King Immortal, bankruptcy, and departure from Interscope
On May 14, 2015, Jackson revealed in an interview that the first single from Street King Immortal, would be previewed Memorial Day weekend and would likely be released in June. Jackson released "Get Low" on May 20, 2015, as the intended first single from his sixth studio album, Street King Immortal. The song, produced by Remo the Hitmaker, features vocals from fellow American rappers 2 Chainz and T.I., as well as American singer Jeremih. He announced bankruptcy on July 13, 2015.
On March 31, 2017, Interscope Records released 50 Cent's final album for the label, a greatest hits album titled Best Of.
50 Cent was among hundreds of artists whose material was destroyed in the 2008 Universal fire.
In 2020, Jackson led the executive-producer duties for late rapper Pop Smoke's debut album, Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon, having been one of Pop Smoke's biggest inspirations. The album was released on July 3, 2020. Jackson curated the album, desiring to finish it after Pop had died. He contacted many of the artists involved, and also features on one of the album tracks, "The Woo", which became a top ten single.
In 2020, it was reported that Jackson was producing two television series for Starz, an anthology about hip hop and a biographical drama about sports agent Nicole Lynn.
In 2021, he became one of the headliners of the music festival Golden Sand in Riviera Maya.
In a July 2021 interview with The Independent, 50 Cent confirmed that he had officially decided to shelve his Street King Immortal album after it spent a decade in development hell. He even confirmed that he plans to release a completely new project.
In August 2021, he was confirmed to be starring in the upcoming The Expendables film.
On February 13, 2022, 50 Cent was a surprise performer in the Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show.
Awards
Artistry
Jackson cites Boogie Down Productions, Big Daddy Kane, The Juice Crew, EPMD and KRS-One as his rapping influences, while citing LL Cool J as an inspiration behind his writing of "21 Questions". Jackson also states that he drew influences from Nas, Rakim and The Notorious B.I.G. while working on Animal Ambition.
Business ventures
Jackson has had a highly successful business career. He is financially invested in a highly diversified variety of industries. Jackson is now involved in artist and talent management, record, television, and film production, footwear, apparel, fragrances, liquor, video games, mobile apps, book publishing, headphones, along with health drinks and dietary supplements. His broad business and investment portfolio contains investments in a variety of sectors including real estate, financial market investments, mining, boxing promotion, vodka, fragrances, consumer electronics and fashion.
He established his own record label G-Unit Records in 2003 following his mainstream success. In November 2003, he signed a five-year deal with Reebok to distribute a G-Unit Sneakers line for his G-Unit Clothing Company.Leeds, Jeff (December 26, 2004). $50 Million for 50 Cent . The New York Times. Retrieved June 9, 2007. In an interview, Jackson said his businesses had a habit of doing well as he saw all of his ventures both past and present as revolving around his alter ego.
Jackson has also started a book publishing imprint, G-Unit Books on January 4, 2007 at the Time Warner Building in New York. He has written a number of books including a memoir, From Pieces To Weight in 2005 where it sold 73,000 copies in hardcover and 14,000 copies in paperback; a crime novel and a book with Robert Greene titled The 50th Law, an urban take on The 48 Laws of Power. In November 2011, Jackson released 50 Cent's Playground, a young adult fiction novel about a bullied, violent boy and his gay mother.
One of Jackson's first business ventures was a partnership with Glacéau to create an enhanced water drink called Formula 50. In October 2004, Jackson became a beverage investor when he was given a minority share in the company in exchange for becoming a spokesperson after learning that he was a fan of the beverage. The health conscious Jackson noted that he first learned of the product while at a gym in Los Angeles, and stated that "they do such a good job making water taste good." After becoming a minority shareholder and celebrity spokesperson, Jackson worked with the company to create a new grape flavored "Formula 50" variant of VitaminWater and mentioned the drinks in various songs and interviews. In 2007, Coca-Cola purchased Glacéau for $4.1 billion and, according to Forbes, Jackson, who was a minority shareholder, earned $100 million from the deal after taxes.
Though he no longer has an equity stake in the company, Jackson continues to act as a spokesperson for VitaminWater, supporting the product including singing about it at the BET Awards and expressing his excitement over the company's continuing to allow his input on products.
He joined Right Guard to introduce a body spray (Pure 50 RGX) and endorsed Magic Stick condoms, planning to donate part of their proceeds to increasing HIV awareness. Jackson signed a multi-year deal with Steiner Sports to sell his memorabilia, and announced plans for a dietary-supplement company in conjunction with his film Spectacular Regret in August 2007.Jokesta (August 21, 2007). 50 Cent launches dietary supplement company. Def Sounds. Retrieved August 21, 2007.
Jackson has founded two film production companies: G-Unit Films in 2003 and Cheetah Vision in 2008.For The Record: Quick News on Eminem, Ciara, Ludacris, Ne-Yo, Slayer, Marilyn Manson, Nas, Public Enemy & More . MTV (March 23, 2007). Accessed May 22, 2007. Cheetah Vision produces low budget action thrillers for foreign film markets across the world. When G-Unit Films folded, he focused on Cheetah Vision and the company obtained $200 million in funding in 2010. In 2010, Jackson revived G-Unit Films, renaming the company to G-Unit Films and Television Inc. The company has joint ventures with Will Packer's production company Will Packer Productions and Universal Television. In over 18 months, Jackson has sold projects to six different networks. Among them was Power, a STARZ drama in which he not only co-stars but also serves as co-creator and executive producer. Power debuted in June 2014 and was renewed for a second season after one episode.
Jackson serves as a co‐star, co-creator and executive television producer of the STARZ network drama where he signed a 2-year contract with representation coming from the Agency for the Performing Arts. Ratings have been a success for Starz. with the second-season premiere being the highest-ever season with 1.43 million people tuning in live.
In 2002, Jackson filed an application with the United States Patent and Trademark Office to register the term "50 Cent" as a trademark for clothing, sound recordings, and live performances. The application was published in 2003, and registration issued in 2004. He has since filed for additional trademark registrations.
In July 2011, Jackson launched a philanthropic initiative to provide food for one billion starving people in Africa by 2016, joining Pure Growth Partners to introduce Street King. A portion of the proceeds from each Street King purchase would be used to provide a daily meal to an underprivileged child. The partnership coincides with Jackson's goal to feed a billion people in Africa during the next five years. "50 Cent and I share a common vision: to address the world's problems through smart and sustainable business models," said Chris Clarke, founder and CEO of Pure Growth Partners. "With the rampant starvation in Africa and hunger afflicting children worldwide, we need socially responsible businesses that affect real change now more than ever." Jackson said, "I'm inspired by Clarke's vision and innovative approaches to tackling serious issues. It's our mission with Street King to really change children's lives around the world."Langhorne, Cyrus. (August 13, 2011) 50 Cent On "Street King" Global Takeover, "I Need Your Support" . Sohh.Com. Retrieved on October 25, 2011. In 2011, he founded SMS Audio, a consumer-electronics company selling Street by 50 headphones, pledging to donate a portion of their sales to charity. In April 2015, SMS announced new co-branding deals with Reebok and Marvel. It added those to existing partnerships with Walt Disney Parks, Lucasfilm's Star Wars, and Intel.
In 2014, Jackson became a minority shareholder in Effen Vodka, a brand of vodka produced in the Netherlands, when he invested undisclosed amount in the company Sire Spirits LLC. He currently endorses the product via his live concert performances and social media. The rapper was asked to take part in two promotional bottle signings, one in Oak Creek and another in Sun Prairie. Jackson made an appearance at Liquor Warehouse in Syracuse, New York on April 25, 2015 where he reportedly sold 1,400 bottles (277 gallons) of Jackson's signature liquor brand. Liquor Warehouse's owner George Angeloro reportedly stocked 300 cases (1,800 bottles or 357 gallons) of Effen Vodka, which sells for $30 a bottle, prior to the event.
In December 2014, Jackson signed a $78 million deal with FRIGO Revolution Wear, a luxury underwear brand. The joint venture is partnered between Jackson, basketball player Carmelo Anthony, baseball player Derek Jeter and Mathias Ingvarsson, the former president of mattress company Tempur-Pedic. Jackson became the chief fashion designer for the brands single pair of Frigo boxers. In April 2015, Jackson mulled investing in Jamaica, exploring foreign investment opportunities on the island when he met with some local officials and had ongoing discussions on investment opportunities in the Montego Bay resort area.
Investments
Over the years, Jackson invested his earnings from music and celebrity endorsements in an array of privately controlled companies, real estate, and stocks and bonds. A portion of his investments lost value during the 2008 recession. In December 2008, he told the Canadian press that he had been affected by the recession, losing several million dollars in the stock market. Unable to sell his Connecticut mansion, Jackson postponed Before I Self-Destruct due to the severity of the economic downturn.
His Farmington mansion located on 50 Poplar Hill Drive that he tried to sell for years filed for bankruptcy in Connecticut in 2015 listed an asking price for that property in 2012 at $10 million but was valued at $8.3 million in 2015. He first tried to sell the house in 2007 for $18.5 million, and dropped the price several times in the next five years, when it was on and off the market.
In January 2011, Jackson reportedly made $10 million after using Twitter to promote a marketing company which he was part shareholder of. His endorsements company G Unit Brands Inc. revealed through a public SEC filing controls 12.9 per cent of H&H Imports, which is a parent company of TV Goods – the firm responsible for marketing his range of headphones, Sleek by 50 Cent. Jackson bought stock in the company on November 30, 2010, a week after it offered buyers 180 million shares at 17 cents each. Jackson later made a stock recommendation on Twitter, causing its share value to rise from four cents to nearly 50 cents (32p) each, closing on Monday at 39 cents (25p). Jackson was later investigated by the Securities and Exchange Commission for breaching securities laws following his tweet which may have constituted allegations of Insider trading via his Pump and dump stock investment strategy.
In 2013, Jackson became a minority investor in Hang w/, a live video broadcasting mobile app used by dozens of celebrities to broadcast their daily activities and chat with fans. The app was downloaded more than 1 million times since its launch in March 2013 and had more than 1 million users . Other minority celebrity investors include former NFL player Terrell Owens and record producer Timbaland.
Mining and heavy metals
In 2008, Jackson visited a platinum, palladium and iridium mine shaft in South Africa, and met with South African billionaire Patrice Motsepe in talks of purchasing an equity stake in the mine. After his meeting with Motsepe, Jackson considered purchasing equity in the mine and launching his own line of 50 Cent branded platinum.
Boxing promotion
On July 21, 2012, Jackson became a licensed boxing promoter when he formed his new company, TMT (The Money Team). Licensed to promote in New York, he was in the process of being licensed in Nevada (where most major fights are held in the U.S.). A former amateur boxer, Jackson signed gold medalist and former featherweight champion Yuriorkis Gamboa and middleweight Olympic medalist Andre Dirrell. On July 29, 2012, he and the boxer Floyd Mayweather, Jr., signed IBF featherweight champion Billy Dib. They unveiled plans to challenge the box-office dominance of mixed martial arts and change the landscape of boxing with TMT Promotions. Boxer Zab Judah also expressed interest in making a deal with Jackson. In December 2012, Mayweather and Jackson parted company, with Jackson taking over the promotion company and founding SMS Promotions with Gamboa, Dirrell, Dib, James Kirkland, Luis Olivares and Donte Strayhorn in his stable.
Bankruptcy
On July 13, 2015, Jackson filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Connecticut with a debt of $32,509,549.91. On July 17, 2015, the Court issued an order allowing a creditor to proceed with the punitive damages phase of a trial against Jackson in a New York state court, in connection with the alleged release of a private video. His assets were listed as between $10 million and $50 million in his bankruptcy petition, though he testified under oath that he is worth $4.4 million. Citing between $10 million and $50 million in debt, and the same amount in assets. Later in the week, Jackson's bankruptcy lawyers elucidated the court documents that legal fees and judgments exceeding $20 million over the past year were the primary cause of the filing.
His filings listed 32 entities that he has a stake in. The bankruptcy came days after a jury ordered him to pay $5 million to rapper Rick Ross's ex-girlfriend Lastonia Leviston for invading her privacy by posting online a sex tape of her and another man. In addition, Jackson lost a dispute over a failed business deal to come to fruition to his Sleek headphones, where Jackson invested more than $2 million. An ex-partner accused Jackson of later stealing the design of the "Sleek by 50" headphones, prompting a judge to award the partner more than $17.2 million. His Connecticut bankruptcy filing states that he owns seven cars valued at more than $500,000, including a 2010 Rolls Royce and a 1966 Chevrolet Coupe. His expenses of $108,000 a month include $5,000 for gardening along with a monthly income of $185,000, mainly from royalties and income from his external businesses and investments. The court filing says he also owes money to his stylist, his barber, and his fitness coach.
Other details in the bankruptcy documents included information about two deals that sold the right to collect royalties of on-air play of his music. Half the rights to his portfolio were sold to the British independent music publishing company Kobalt Music Group for $3 million and the other half for another $3 million with the sales of his albums allowing Jackson to own 100 percent of the rights to the master recordings while paying only for distribution. Zeisler & Zeisler, a Bridgeport law firm, represented 50 Cent in the bankruptcy, which later resulted in Jackson filing a $75 million lawsuit against his own lawyers. He stated that his lawyers did a terrible job of representing him, specifically citing the fallout of his failed venture with Sleek Audio headphones and accused Garvey Schubert Barer, a Wall Street law firm, of failing to "employ the requisite knowledge and skill necessary to confront the circumstances of the case."
Corporate positions
G-Unity Foundation Inc. – Founder
SMS Audio – CEO, founder
SK Energy – Founder
SMS Promotions – CEO, founder
Sire Spirits – Owner
Effen Vodka – former minority shareholder
Personal life
On October 13, 1996, Jackson's girlfriend, Shaniqua Tompkins, gave birth to son Marquise Jackson. Tompkins later sued Jackson for $50 million, saying he promised to take care of her for life. The suit, with 15 causes of action, was dismissed by a judge who called it "an unfortunate tale of a love relationship gone sour." The two have bickered for years, and have even taken their feud to social media many times.
Marquise's birth changed Jackson's outlook on life: "When my son came into my life, my priorities changed, because I wanted to have the relationship with him that I didn't have with my father". He credited his son for inspiring his career and being the "motivation to go in a different direction". Despite this, the two have endured a fractured relationship that began when Jackson and Tompkins separated in 2008. Their feud has been taken to social media numerous times, including in 2020 when Jackson disclosed that he "used to" love his son. Jackson has a tattooed "Marquise" with an axe on his right biceps ("The axe is 'cause I'm a warrior. I don't want him to be one, though"), and has "50", "Southside" and "Cold World" on his back: "I'm a product of that environment. It's on my back, though, so it's all behind me".
Jackson dated model Daphne Joy and had his second son, Sire Jackson, with her, on September 1, 2012. At the age of two years, Sire modeled for Kidz Safe, a headphone brand for kids, earning $700,000 through his contract.
In 2005, Jackson supported President George W. Bush after rapper Kanye West criticized Bush for a slow response to the victims of Hurricane Katrina. If his felony convictions did not prevent him from voting, he said, he would have voted for the president. Jackson later said that Bush "has less compassion than the average human. By all means, I don't aspire to be like George Bush." In September 2007, he told Time that although he would not endorse a candidate in 2008, he "liked Hillary [Clinton]".
Six months later, the rapper told MTV News that he had switched his support to Barack Obama after hearing him speak, but had lost interest in politics.MTV News, "50 cent Flip-flops: From Clinton to Obama," March 28, 2008 Asked his opinion of President Obama's May 9, 2012 endorsement of gay marriage, Jackson said, "I'm for it ... I've encouraged same-sex activities. I've engaged in fetish areas a couple times." He had been criticized for anti-gay comments in the past.Mariel Concepcion, GLAAD Calls Out 50 Cent For Anti-Gay Tweet , Billboard, September 10, 2010
Despite having numerous songs that reference drug and alcohol usage, Jackson remains teetotal, citing a bad experience with alcohol as his main reason.Forbes noted Jackson's wealth in 2007, ranking him second behind Jay-Z in the rap industry. He lives in a Farmington, Connecticut, mansion formerly owned by ex-boxer Mike Tyson, listing it for sale at $18.5 million to move closer to his son (who lives on Long Island with his ex-girlfriend). The mayor of Bridgeport, Connecticut declared October 12, 2007 "50 Cent Curtis Jackson Day", honoring the rapper with a proclamation and a key to the city. One of Jackson's New York homes, purchased in January 2007 for $2.4 million and the center of a lawsuit between Jackson and Shaniqua Tompkins, caught fire on May 31, 2008 while he was filming in Louisiana.
In December 2008, he told the Canadian press that he had lost several million dollars in the stock market and, unable to sell his Connecticut mansion, had postponed Before I Self-Destruct because of the economic downturn. Jackson won a lawsuit in November 2009 against Taco Bell over the fast-food chain's use of his name without permission.
In 2016, regarding a public feud with rapper Meek Mill, he commented, "You know, he's really not that bright. The easiest thing you can do is bring other people into the statements you're saying, right, while you're writing music."
Jackson endorsed Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton in the run-up for the 2016 U.S. presidential election. He rejected an offer of $500,000 from the Trump campaign to make an appearance on the candidate's behalf. However, he endorsed Donald Trump in 2020, due to his dislike of Joe Biden's tax plans. A week later, he retracted his endorsement, saying on Twitter "Fu*k Donald Trump, I never liked him", and endorsed Biden.
Legal issues, Drugs and assault convictions
On June 29, 1994, Jackson was arrested for selling four vials of cocaine to an undercover police officer. He was arrested again three weeks later, when police searched his home and found heroin, ten ounces of crack cocaine and a starter's pistol. Although Jackson was sentenced to three to nine years in prison, he served six months in a boot camp (where he earned his high-school equivalency diploma). According to him, he did not use cocaine.
Jackson and four members of his entourage were arrested shortly before 2 a.m. on December 31, 2002, when police found a .25-caliber handgun and a .45-caliber pistol in a parked car (which they searched due to its tinted windows) outside a Manhattan nightclub. The rapper was charged with two counts of criminal possession of a weapon.
Jackson was sentenced to two years' probation on July 22, 2005 for a May 2004 incident, when he was charged with three counts of assault and battery after jumping into an audience when he was hit by a water bottle.
Lawsuits
Use of image
Jackson filed a lawsuit against an advertising company, Traffix of Pearl River, New York, on July 21, 2007, for using his image in a promotion he said threatened his safety. He was alerted by a staff member to an Internet advertisement on a Myspace page. According to court documents, the advertisement had a cartoon image of the rapper with "Shoot the rapper and you will win $5000 or five ring tones guaranteed". Although the ad did not use his name, the image allegedly resembled him and suggested that he endorsed the product. The lawsuit, calling the ad a "vile, tasteless and despicable" use of Jackson's image which "quite literally call[ed] for violence against him", sought unspecified punitive damages and a permanent injunction against the use of his image without permission.50 Cent Sues over 'Shoot the Rapper'. Fox News (July 20, 2007). Retrieved December 17, 2015.
Use of name
In 2008, Jackson sued Taco Bell over an ad campaign in which it invited him to change his name for one day from 50 Cent to 79 Cent, 89 Cent, or 99 Cent, in line with pricing for some of its items, and they would donate $10,000 to the charity of his choice. The case was settled out of court.
Janitor incident
While walking through Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport in May 2016, Jackson harassed and insulted a janitor at the airport, accusing him of being under the influence. The janitor was a hearing-impaired, autistic teenager named Andrew Farrell. The parents of the janitor had seen the viral video as disrespect and wanted to sue Jackson for his action against their child. The lawsuit was originally over one million dollars, but the parents settled for a $100,000 donation to Autism Speaks and his apology.
Bamba sample
In 2016, a judge declared that Brandon Parrott gave Dr. Dre and 50 Cent the rights to "Bamba" for the song "P.I.M.P."
Other civil and criminal matters
One of his New York homes, purchased for $2.4 million in January 2007 and the center of a lawsuit between Jackson and Shaniqua Tompkins, caught fire on May 30, 2008 while he was filming in Louisiana. On August 5, 2013, Jackson pleaded not guilty to one count of domestic violence and four counts of vandalism in a Los Angeles County court. If convicted of all charges, he faced up to five years in prison and a $46,000 fine. Model-actress Daphne Joy accused Jackson of kicking her and ransacking her bedroom during an argument at her condominium in the Toluca Lake neighborhood of Los Angeles on June 23. He allegedly caused $7,100 in property damage, leaving the scene before police arrived.
Judge Ann Nevins has ordered Jackson back to court because of Instagram messages he made over several months. She said Jackson was not fully clear about his funds and indicated posts of the rapper showing stacks of his money. In March 2016, Jackson claimed that he would no longer use Instagram, electing instead to have his profile page operated by someone else.
In 2020, Jackson was a subject of controversy for his involvement in a viral video of him giving money to a Burger King restaurant in New York City on behalf of a local scammer who was later arrested and charged for Bitcoin scamming and for assaulting and kidnapping his victims on April 24, 2021.
Feuds
Ja Rule
Before he signed with Interscope Records, Jackson engaged in a public dispute with rapper Ja Rule and his label, Murder Inc. Records, saying that a friend robbed jewelry from Ja Rule and the latter accused him of orchestrating the robbery. Ja Rule said that the conflict stemmed from a Queens video shoot, when Jackson did not like seeing him "getting so much love" from the neighborhood. At The Hit Factory in New York in March 2000, Jackson had an altercation with Murder Inc. associates and received three stitches for a stab wound.Smith, Dominic (July 2005). 50 Cent Interview. FHM. Retrieved July 11, 2007. Rapper Black Child claimed responsibility for the stabbing, saying that he acted in self-defense when he thought someone reached for a gun.
An affidavit by an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) agent suggested ties between Murder Inc. and Kenneth "Supreme" McGriff, a New York drug lord suspected of involvement in the murder of Jam Master Jay and Jackson's shooting. An excerpt read:
The end of the Jackson-Ja Rule feud was confirmed in May 2011. According to Ja Rule, "I'm cool. We ain't beefing no more. We'll never collaborate. That's just what it is. You don't have to be at war with somebody, but it's also kind of like U.S. and another country that they may not get along with. We don't gotta go to war, but we're not friends either. But we can coincide inside of a world. He's doing him, and he's not thinking about me, and I'm doing me and I'm not thinking about him."
On August 7, 2015, the feud between the two rappers later reignited when Ja Rule gave a feedback to a social follower via Twitter over a similar feud between Meek Mill and Drake. Enraged, Jackson later responded with photos and comments via Instagram, only siding with Drake. The feud resurfaced three years later on January 19, 2018, when Ja Rule took to Twitter, calling out 50 Cent on social media. 50 Cent responded by purchasing and vacating the first four rows of his concert.
The Game
Although Jackson was close to The Game before the latter released his debut album, The Documentary, they grew apart. After The Documentarys release, Jackson felt that The Game was disloyal for saying that he did not want to participate in G-Unit's feuds with other rappers (such as Nas, Jadakiss and Fat Joe) and his desire to work with artists with which G-Unit was feuding. He said that he wrote six songs for the album and did not receive proper credit, which The Game denied.
Jackson later dismissed The Game from G-Unit on Hot 97. After the announcement, The Game (a guest earlier in the evening) tried to enter the building with his entourage. After they were denied entry, one of his associates was shot in the leg in a confrontation with a group of men leaving the building.Hope, Clover (March 2, 2005). 50 Cent Cancels New York Appearance amid Shooting Inquiry . AllHipHop. Retrieved July 20, 2007. When the situation escalated, the rappers held a joint press conference announcing their reconciliation, and fans were uncertain if the rappers had staged a publicity stunt to boost sales of their recently released albums. After the situation cooled, G-Unit criticized The Game's street credibility and announced that they would not appear on his albums. During a Summer Jam performance The Game announced a boycott of G-Unit, which he called "G-Unot".
After the Summer Jam performance The Game recorded "300 Bars and Runnin'", an extended "diss" of G-Unit and Roc-A-Fella Records, for the mixtape You Know What It Is Vol. 3. Jackson responded with his "Piggy Bank" music video, with The Game as Mr. Potato Head and parodies of other rivals. They have continued attacking each other, with The Game releasing two more mixtapes: Ghost Unit and a mixtape-DVD, Stop Snitchin, Stop Lyin. Jackson superimposed The Game's head on the body of a male stripper for the cover of the Hate It or Love It (G-Unit Radio Part 21) mixtape in response to The Game's pictures of G-Unit dressed as the Village People. The Game, under contract to Aftermath Entertainment, signed with Geffen Records to terminate his contractual obligations with G-Unit (although it is claimed that Jackson pressured Dr. Dre to fire him). G-Unit member Spider Loc has insulted The Game in songs, and the latter released "240 Bars (Spider Joke)" and "100 Bars (The Funeral)" attacking G-Unit and Loc. Jackson's response was "Not Rich, Still Lyin'", mocking The Game. Lloyd Banks replied to the Game on a Rap City freestyle-booth segment, followed by a Game "diss" song ("SoundScan") ridiculing the 13-position drop of Banks' album Rotten Apple on the Billboard 200 chart and its disappointing second-week sales. Banks replied on his mixtape Mo' Money In The Bank Pt. 5: Gang Green Season Continues with "Showtime (The Game's Over)", said that Jackson wrote half of The Documentary and ridiculed The Game's suicidal thoughts.
In October 2006, The Game made a peace overture (which was not immediately answered) to Jackson, but two days later he said on Power 106 that the peace offer was valid for only one day. In several songs on Doctor's Advocate, he implied that the feud was over. He said in July 2009 that the feud had ended with help from Michael Jackson and Diddy, and apologized for his actions. According to Tony Yayo, neither Jackson nor G-Unit accepted his apology and The Game has resumed his calls for a "G-Unot" boycott at concerts. Jackson released "So Disrespectful" on Before I Self Destruct, targeting Jay-Z, The Game and Young Buck. The Game responded with "Shake", poking fun at the music video for Jackson's "Candy Shop".
On August 1, 2016, 50 Cent ended his twelve-year feud with The Game when the two were in the Ace of Diamonds Strip Club and The Game said "What happened, that shit was 12 years ago."
Rick Ross
Although Rick Ross began a feud with Jackson over an alleged incident at the 2008 BET Hip Hop Awards, Jackson told news sources he did not remember seeing Ross there. Later that month Ross' "Mafia Music" was leaked on the Internet, with lyrics apparently disparaging Jackson. Several days later, Jackson released "Officer Ricky (Go Head, Try Me)" in response to "Mafia Music". The following day, Ross appeared on Shade 45 (Eminem's Sirius channel) and told Jackson to come up with something better in 24 hours.
Before leaving for Venezuela, Jackson uploaded a video ("Warning Shot") and the first of a series of "Officer Ricky" cartoons. In early February he uploaded a YouTube video in which he interviewed "Tia", the mother of one of Ross' children; according to her, Ross is in reality a correctional officer. On February 5, 2009, The Game phoned Seattle radio station KUBE. Asked about the dispute between Jackson and Ross, he sided with Jackson and offered to mediate: "Rick Ross, holla at your boy, man" and "50 eating you, boy."
On his album Deeper Than Rap, Ross refers to Jackson in "In Cold Blood" and Jackson's mock funeral is part of the song's video. When the song was released, Ross said that he ended Jackson's career. "Rick Ross is Albert From CB4. You ever seen the movie? He's Albert," Jackson replied in an interview. "It never gets worse than this. You get a guy that was a correctional officer come out and base his entire career on writing material from a drug dealer's perspective such as "Freeway" Ricky Ross." Their feud rekindled at the 2012 BET Hip Hop Awards, where Jackson and G-Unit members Kidd Kidd, Mike Knox, Tony Yayo were seen on video attacking Gunplay (a member of Ross' Maybach Music Group). Gunplay's Maybach Music diamond necklace was stolen during the brawl, and several days later Jackson appeared at a Washington, D.C. bowling alley wearing Gunplay's chain. On January 30, 2013, Jackson tweeted that Ross' attempted drive-by shooting on his birthday three days earlier was "staged".
On August 9, 2020, 50 Cent and Rick Ross ended their feud.
Awards and nominations
Discography
Studio albums
Get Rich or Die Tryin' (2003)
The Massacre (2005)
Curtis (2007)
Before I Self Destruct (2009)
Animal Ambition (2014)
Collaborative albums
Beg for Mercy (with G-Unit) (2003)
T·O·S (Terminate on Sight)'' (with G-Unit) (2008)
Filmography
Film
Television
Appearances
Video games
References
External links
1975 births
20th-century American rappers
21st-century American businesspeople
21st-century American male actors
21st-century American rappers
21st-century African-American male singers
African-American fashion designers
African-American film producers
African-American investors
African-American male actors
African-American male rappers
African-American memoirists
African-American record producers
African-American male songwriters
Aftermath Entertainment artists
American book publishers (people)
American boxing promoters
American businesspeople convicted of crimes
American chairpersons of corporations
American chief executives of food industry companies
American corporate directors
American cosmetics businesspeople
American drink industry businesspeople
American fashion businesspeople
American film producers
American hip hop record producers
American male film actors
American male television actors
American male video game actors
American marketing businesspeople
American memoirists
American mining businesspeople
American music industry executives
American music publishers (people)
American nonprofit businesspeople
American people convicted of drug offenses
American reality television producers
American retail chief executives
American shooting survivors
American television company founders
American television executives
Andrew Jackson High School (Queens) alumni
Brit Award winners
Businesspeople from Queens, New York
Businesspeople in metals
Caroline Records artists
East Coast hip hop musicians
Echo (music award) winners
Gangsta rappers
Grammy Award winners for rap music
G-Unit Records artists
JMJ Records artists
Juno Award for International Album of the Year winners
Living people
Male actors from New York City
People from Jamaica, Queens
Philanthropists from New York (state)
Rappers from New York City
Record producers from New York (state)
Shady Records artists
Shoe designers
Songwriters from New York (state)
Sony Music Publishing artists
Stabbing attacks in the United States
Stabbing survivors
Television producers from New York City
World Music Awards winners
Writers from Queens, New York | true | [
"Concentration 20 is the third studio album by Japanese singer Namie Amuro, released July 24, 1997 by Avex Trax. The album's genre is a fusion of styles including pop, dance and rock. Unlike Amuro's previous effort, Sweet 19 Blues, which primarily had lyrics written by Tetsuya Komuro, Concentration 20s lyrics were mostly written by Marc Panther. Komuro did, however, compose and arrange most of the album's songs and wrote the lyrics to three of them.\n\nAfter Amuro's 1996 album Sweet 19 Blues sold in excess of three million copies in Japan and for a brief period was even the best-selling Japanese album of all time, recording for a follow-up album began. Much of the recording of Concentration 20 was done in the United States, primarily in Los Angeles, California.\n\n\"A Walk in the Park\" was released as the album's lead single on November 27, 1996. It was very successful, becoming Amuro's fourth number one single and fourth million-seller. The second single, \"Can You Celebrate?\", was released on February 19, 1997. Used as the theme song for the TV drama Virgin Road, it was an unprecedented commercial success: It sold over 2.7 million physical copies and remains the best-selling physical single by a female soloist in Japanese history, becoming Amuro's fifth number one single and fifth million-seller. It charted for forty-nine weeks and was certified double Million by the RIAJ, her first and only single to receive such a certification. A re-release for Christmas 1997 sold over 400,000 copies itself. The rock-infused third single, \"How to Be a Girl\", reached number one and sold over 770,000 copies, becoming Amuro's sixth number one single.\n\nThe album was a big commercial success. The album entered the Oricon albums chart at number one with first-week sales of 824,980 copies. It charted for 28 weeks, and was the seventh best-selling album of the year, selling nearly two million copies. Combined with the sales of its singles, Concentration 20 has sold around 4.5 million copies.\n\n Background \nTwo months earlier, Amuro had been touring Japan on the Namie Amuro tour 1997 A Walk in the Park. Her previous album, Sweet 19 Blues became the biggest selling album of all time when it was released.\n\nThe same month that the album was released, Amuro toured Japan's four domes in support of it. A few months after the tour, she would announce her pregnancy and pending maternity leave.\n\n Style \nThe album embodies an array of styles including pop, rock and even some reggae. Unlike her previous album which was heavy on the pseudo-R&B side, this album was practically void of it. Concentration 20 took on a more electronic style similar to that of her producer's group, globe. Some argue that the album isn't really a reflection of Amuro, but just goes to demonstrate the talent of Tetsuya Komuro.\n\nOpening the album is the industrial rock influenced, \"Concentration 20 (make you alright).\" The song was unlike anything she had previously released and really embodies the diversity within this project. \"Me Love Peace!!\" was Amuro's first attempt at reggae style music. She would not attempt a similar style again until Queen of Hip-Pop (2005) was released featuring some songs in dancehall and reggaeton fashion. Two of the singles from the album, \"A Walk in the Park\" and \"Can You Celebrate?\" appear on the album subtly remixed. Perhaps the one song that does demonstrate how much of this album was Komuro is \"I Know...\" The song is an instrumental track performed solely by him.\n\n Singles \nThe singles from this album were very successful, two were million sellers and they reached the top spot of the charts.\n\n A Walk in the Park \nReleased four months after the massive success of her first studio album Sweet 19 Blues, it became her fourth number one and million selling single. The single spent 7 weeks into the top 5 and 8 weeks in Top 10 totally.Oricon Weekly Singles Chart of December 16th, 1996Oricon Weekly Singles Chart of December 30th, 1996Oricon Weekly Singles Chart of January 20th, 1997 She performed the song at the Japan Cable Awards in December 1996 and at the Japan Gold Disc Awards in February 1997. A Walk in the Park was the 13th best selling single of the year 1997.\n\n Can You Celebrate? \nAmuro began the year 1997 with her defining single and biggest success to date. The song, a gospel influenced ballad, was released as the second single from the album. It opened at the top spot with over 800,000 copies sold in its first week, the highest first week sales for a single at that time and the 8th highest opening sales of all times for a single in Japan. It spent two consecutive weeks at #1,7 weeks in the top 5 and 8 weeks in Top 10 totally. It was charted for 40 weeks. Can You Celebrate? was the biggest selling single of 1997 and is the 14th best selling single in Japanese music history with sales of over 2.5 million copies. A remix single of the song was also released to commemorate Namie's wedding with Sam and was also successful with about 500,000 units sold. In December 1997, the song helped her to win the Best Single Award at the 39th Japan Record Awards.\n\n How to Be a Girl \nThe third and last single from the album was released in May 1997. How to Be a Girl is Namie's first attempt at rock music. The single still managed to be a commercial success, spending two consecutive weeks at #1 and selling over 770,000 copies, included over 300,000 copies purchased in its opening week. How to Be a Girl was also the 23rd best selling single of 1997.\n\n Tie-ups and theme songs \n\"A Walk in the Park\" and \"Can You Celebrate?\" were both theme songs for Maxell UD commercials and \"Whisper\" was used as the background music for the Maxell MD74 commercial.\n\n\"Can You Celebrate?\" was also the theme song of the Japanese dorama Virgin Road.\n\n\"How to Be a Girl\" was used as background music in four commercials for Sea Breeze products. The first CM was promoting a sun lotion, the second a shampoo, the third a deodorant and the last a moisturizer.\n\n\"No Communication\" was used as background music in a commercial for the DyDo Mistio drinks.\n\n Commercial performance \nConcentration 20 debut at #1 with 824,980 copies sold (Namie's 3rd best first week sales for an album). It was again at the top spot in its 2nd week with 362,440 copies sold. The album stayed in the top 10 for 7 weeks and in the top 20 for 9 weeks. It sold over 1.9 million copies during its chart run and more than 2 million copies in total.\n\n Track listing \n\n Personnel \n Namie Amuro - vocals, background vocals\n Lynn Mabry - background vocals\n Valerie Mayo - background vocals\n Akio Togashi - background vocals, keyboard\n Will Wheaton Jr. - background vocals\n Cozy Kubo - keyboard\n Tetsuya Komuro - backing vocals, guitar, keyboard, synthesizer\n Kazuhiro Matsuo - bass, guitar\n Kenji Sano - bass\n Ataru Sumiyoshi - bass\n Michael Thompson - guitar\n\n Production \n Producers - Tetsuya Komuro\n Mixing - Eddie Delena\n Vocal Direction - Tetsuya Komuro, Kenji Sano\n Photography - Itaru Hirama\n Art Direction - Tycoon Graphics\n\n References \n\n Charts Album' - Oricon Sales Chart (Japan)\n\nNamie Amuro albums\n1997 albums\nAvex Group albums\nAlbums produced by Tetsuya Komuro",
"Played on Pepper is the third studio album by the Danish soft rock band Michael Learns to Rock. It was released on 28 August 1995 by Medley Records in Europe. The first single from the album was \"Someday\" (1995), followed by \"That's Why (You Go Away)\" (1995), \"How Many Hours\" (1996), \"Love Will Never Lie\" (1996).\n\nAs of May 1996, the album had sold 1 million copies worldwide, with 120,000 of them being sold in Denmark.\n\nTrack listing\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\nOfficial website\n\n1995 albums\nMichael Learns to Rock albums"
] |
[
"50 Cent",
"2002-2006: Rise to fame",
"What was his album when he rise to fame?",
"In 2002, Eminem heard Jackson's Guess Who's Back? CD, received from Jackson's attorney (",
"Who signed him?",
"introduced him to Dr. Dre. After signing a $1 million record deal, Jackson released No Mercy, No Fear.",
"What was the name of his mix tape?",
"Jackson released No Mercy, No Fear.",
"What was his debut album?",
"Jackson released his debut album, Get Rich or Die Tryin' (",
"How many copies of the album was sold?",
"selling 872,000 copies in its first four days."
] | C_c5bdd69a096444ff8e00c23e110bdece_0 | What is the best single in the album? | 6 | What is the best single in the album Get Rich or Die Tryin by 50 Cent? | 50 Cent | In 2002, Eminem heard Jackson's Guess Who's Back? CD, received from Jackson's attorney (who was working with Eminem's manager, Paul Rosenberg). Impressed, Eminem invited Jackson to fly to Los Angeles and introduced him to Dr. Dre. After signing a $1 million record deal, Jackson released No Mercy, No Fear. The mixtape featured one new track, "Wanksta", which appeared on Eminem's 8 Mile soundtrack. Jackson was also signed by Chris Lighty's Violator Management and Sha Money XL's Money Management Group. Jackson released his debut album, Get Rich or Die Tryin' (described by AllMusic as "probably the most hyped debut album by a rap artist in about a decade"), in February 2003. Rolling Stone noted its "dark synth grooves, buzzy keyboards and a persistently funky bounce", with Jackson complementing the production in "an unflappable, laid-back flow". It debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, selling 872,000 copies in its first four days. The lead single, "In da Club" (noted by The Source for its "blaring horns, funky organs, guitar riffs and sparse hand claps"), set a Billboard record as the most listened-to song in radio history within a week. Interscope gave Jackson his own label, G-Unit Records, in 2003. He signed Lloyd Banks, Tony Yayo and Young Buck as members of G-Unit, and The Game was later signed in a joint venture with Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment. In March 2005 Jackson's second commercial album, The Massacre, sold 1.14 million copies in its first four days (the highest in an abbreviated sales cycle) and was number one on the Billboard 200 for six weeks. He was the first solo artist with three singles in the Billboard top five in the same week with "Candy Shop", "Disco Inferno" and "How We Do". According to Rolling Stone, "50's secret weapon is his singing voice - the deceptively amateur-sounding tenor croon that he deploys on almost every chorus". After The Game's departure Jackson signed Olivia and rap veterans Mobb Deep to G-Unit Records, with Spider Loc, M.O.P., 40 Glocc and Young Hot Rod later joining the label, who all eventually departed the label. Jackson expressed an interest in working with rappers other than G-Unit, such as Lil' Scrappy of BME, LL Cool J of Def Jam, Mase of Bad Boy and Freeway of Roc-A-Fella, and recorded with several. CANNOTANSWER | The lead single, "In da Club" ( | Curtis James Jackson III (born July 6, 1975), known professionally as 50 Cent, is an American rapper, actor and entrepreneur. Known for his impact in the hip hop industry, he has been described as a "master of the nuanced art of lyrical brevity".
Born in the South Jamaica neighborhood of Queens, Jackson began selling drugs at age 12 during the 1980s crack epidemic. He later began pursuing a musical career and in 2000 he produced Power of the Dollar for Columbia Records, but days before the planned release he was shot and the album was never released. In 2002, after 50 Cent released the compilation album Guess Who's Back?, he was discovered by Eminem and signed to Shady Records, under the aegis of Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment and Interscope Records.
With the aid of Eminem and Dr. Dre (who produced his first major-label album Get Rich or Die Tryin'), 50 Cent became one of the world's best selling rappers and rose to prominence as de facto leader of East Coast hip hop group G-Unit. In 2003, he founded G-Unit Records, signing his G-Unit associates Young Buck, Lloyd Banks and Tony Yayo. 50 Cent had similar commercial and critical success with his second album, The Massacre, which was released in 2005. He underwent musical changes by his fifth album, Animal Ambition (2014), and is currently working on his sixth studio album. He executive-produced and starred in the television series Power (2014–2020) and is slated to produce its spin-offs.
50 Cent has sold over 30 million albums worldwide and won several awards, including a Grammy Award, thirteen Billboard Music Awards, six World Music Awards, three American Music Awards and four BET Awards. As an actor, Jackson appeared in the semi-autobiographical film Get Rich or Die Tryin' (2005), the war film Home of the Brave (2006), and the crime thriller film Righteous Kill (2008). 50 Cent was ranked the sixth-best artist of the 2000s and the third-best rapper (behind Eminem and Nelly) by Billboard. Rolling Stone ranked Get Rich or Die Tryin and "In da Club" in its lists of the "100 Best Albums of the 2000s" and "100 Best Songs of the 2000s" at numbers 37 and 13, respectively.
Early life
Jackson was born in the borough of Queens, New York City, and raised in its South Jamaica neighborhood by his mother Sabrina. A drug dealer, Sabrina raised Jackson until she died in a fire when Jackson was 8. (online is excerpt only) Jackson revealed in an interview that his mother was a lesbian. After his mother's death and his father's departure, Jackson was raised by his grandmother.
He began boxing at about age 11, and when he was 14, a neighbor opened a boxing gym for local youth. "When I wasn't killing time in school, I was sparring in the gym or selling crack on the strip," Jackson remembered. He sold crack during primary school. "I was competitive in the ring and hip-hop is competitive too ... I think rappers condition themselves like boxers, so they all kind of feel like they're the champ."
At age 12, Jackson began dealing narcotics when his grandparents thought he was in after-school programs and brought guns and drug money to school. In the tenth grade, he was caught by metal detectors at Andrew Jackson High School: "I was embarrassed that I got arrested like that ... After I got arrested I stopped hiding it. I was telling my grandmother [openly], 'I sell drugs.'"
On June 29, 1994, Jackson was arrested for selling four vials of cocaine to an undercover police officer. He was arrested again three weeks later, when police searched his home and found heroin, ten ounces of crack cocaine, and a starting pistol. Although Jackson was sentenced to three to nine years in prison, he served six months in a boot camp and earned his GED. He has said that he did not use cocaine himself.The Smoking Gun: 50 Cent . The Smoking Gun (February 27, 2003). Accessed May 22, 2007. Jackson adopted the nickname "50 Cent" as a metaphor for change. The name was inspired by Kelvin Martin, a 1980s Brooklyn robber known as "50 Cent"; Jackson chose it "because it says everything I want it to say. I'm the same kind of person 50 Cent was. I provide for myself by any means."
Career
1996–2002: Rise to fame, shooting, and early mixtapes
Jackson began rapping in a friend's basement, where he used turntables to record over instrumentals. In 1996, a friend introduced him to Jam Master Jay of Run-DMC, who was establishing Jam Master Jay Records. Jay taught him how to count bars, write choruses, structure songs, and make records.Tarek, Shams (May 16, 2003). Jamaica's 'Own Bad Guy' 50 Cent Making Good in the Music Biz . Queens Press. Accessed May 22, 2007. Jackson's first appearance was on "React" with Onyx, for their 1998 album Shut 'Em Down. He credited Jam Master Jay for improving his ability to write hooks, and Jay produced Jackson's first (unreleased) album. In 1999, after Jackson left Jam Master Jay, the platinum-selling producers Trackmasters signed him to Columbia Records. They sent him to an upstate New York studio, where he produced thirty-six songs in two weeks; eighteen were included on his 2000 album, Power of the Dollar. Jackson founded Hollow Point Entertainment with former G-Unit member Bang 'Em Smurf.Williams, Houston (February 2004). Bang'em Smurf: Life after G-Unit. AllHipHop. Retrieved July 20, 2007.
Jackson's popularity began to grow after the successful, controversial underground single "How to Rob", which he wrote in a half-hour car ride to a studio.50 Cent. From Pieces to Weight Part 5 . MTV. Accessed May 22, 2007. The track comically describes how he would rob famous artists. Jackson explained the song's rationale: "There's a hundred artists on that label, you gotta separate yourself from that group and make yourself relevant". Rappers Jay-Z, Kurupt, Sticky Fingaz, Big Pun, DMX, Wyclef Jean, and the Wu-Tang Clan responded to the track, and Nas invited Jackson to join him on his Nastradamus tour. Although "How to Rob" was intended to be released with "Thug Love" (with Destiny's Child), two days before he was scheduled to film the "Thug Love" music video, Jackson was shot and hospitalized.
On May 24, 2000, Jackson was attacked by a gunman outside his grandmother's former home in South Jamaica. After getting into a friend's car, he was asked to return to the house to get some jewelry; his son was in the house, and his grandmother was in the front yard. Jackson returned to the back seat of the car, and another car pulled up nearby; an assailant walked up and fired nine shots at close range with a 9mm handgun. Jackson was shot in the hand, arm, hip, both legs, chest, and left cheek. His facial wound resulted in a swollen tongue, the loss of a wisdom tooth and a slightly slurred voice; his friend was wounded in the hand. They were driven to a hospital, where Jackson spent thirteen days. The alleged attacker, Darryl Baum, Mike Tyson's close friend and bodyguard, was killed three weeks later.
Jackson recalled the shooting: "It happens so fast that you don't even get a chance to shoot back .... I was scared the whole time ... I was looking in the rear-view mirror like, 'Oh shit, somebody shot me in the face! It burns, burns, burns.'" In his autobiography, From Pieces to Weight: Once upon a Time in Southside Queens, he wrote: "After I got shot nine times at close range and didn't die, I started to think that I must have a purpose in life ... How much more damage could that shell have done? Give me an inch in this direction or that one, and I'm gone". Jackson used a walker for six weeks and fully recovered after five months. When he left the hospital he stayed in the Poconos with his girlfriend and son, and his workout regime helped him develop a muscular physique.
In the hospital Jackson signed a publishing deal with Columbia Records before he was dropped from the label and blacklisted by the recording industry because of his song, "Ghetto Qu'ran". Unable to work in a U.S. studio, he went to Canada.Weiner, Jonah (April 2005). Dear Superstar: 50 Cent . Blender. Accessed May 22, 2007. With business partner Sha Money XL, Jackson recorded over thirty songs for mixtapes to build a reputation. In a HitQuarters interview, Marc Labelle of Shady Records A&R said that Jackson used the mixtape circuit to his advantage: "He took all the hottest beats from every artist and flipped them with better hooks. They then got into all the markets on the mixtapes and all the mixtape DJs were messing with them." Jackson's popularity increased, and in 2002 he released the mixtape Guess Who's Back?. He then released 50 Cent Is the Future backed by G-Unit, a mixtape revisiting material by Jay-Z and Raphael Saadiq.
===2002–2007: Mainstream breakthrough, Get Rich or Die Tryin''', and The Massacre===
In 2002, Eminem heard Jackson's Guess Who's Back? CD, received from Jackson's attorney (who was working with Eminem's manager, Paul Rosenberg). Impressed, Eminem invited Jackson to fly to Los Angeles and introduced him to Dr. Dre. After signing a $1 million record deal, Jackson released No Mercy, No Fear. The mixtape featured one new track, "Wanksta", which appeared on Eminem's 8 Mile soundtrack. Jackson was also signed by Chris Lighty's Violator Management and Sha Money XL's Money Management Group.
50 Cent released his debut album, Get Rich or Die Tryin' (described by AllMusic as "probably the most hyped debut album by a rap artist in about a decade"), in February 2003. Rolling Stone noted its "dark synth grooves, buzzy keyboards and a persistently funky bounce", with Jackson complementing the production in "an unflappable, laid-back flow". It debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, selling 872,000 copies in its first four days. The lead single, "In da Club" (noted by The Source for its "blaring horns, funky organs, guitar riffs and sparse hand claps"), set a Billboard record as the most listened-to song in radio history within a week.
Interscope gave Jackson his own label, G-Unit Records, in 2003. He signed Lloyd Banks, Tony Yayo and Young Buck as members of G-Unit, and The Game was later signed in a joint venture with Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment. In March 2005, 50 Cent's second commercial album, The Massacre, sold 1.14 million copies in its first four days (the highest in an abbreviated sales cycle) and was number one on the Billboard 200 for six weeks. He was the first solo artist with three singles in the Billboard top five in the same week with "Candy Shop", "Disco Inferno" and "How We Do". According to Rolling Stone, "50's secret weapon is his singing voice - the deceptively amateur-sounding tenor croon that he deploys on almost every chorus".
After The Game's departure Jackson signed Olivia and rap veterans Mobb Deep to G-Unit Records, with Spider Loc, M.O.P., 40 Glocc and Young Hot Rod later joining the label, who all eventually departed the label.Chery, Carl (May 27, 2005). Pulse Report: M.O.P. Signs to G-Unit . SOHH. Retrieved June 22, 2007. Jackson expressed an interest in working with rappers other than G-Unit, such as Lil' Scrappy of BME, LL Cool J of Def Jam, Mase of Bad Boy and Freeway of Roc-A-Fella, and recorded with several.
2007–2010: Curtis, sales battle with Kanye West, and Before I Self Destruct
In September 2007, 50 Cent released his third album, Curtis, which was inspired by his life before Get Rich or Die Tryin. It debuted at number two on the Billboard 200, selling 691,000 copies during its first week. It sold behind Kanye West's Graduation, released the same day; the outcome of this highly-publicized sales battle between Jackson and West has been accredited to the commercial decline of the gangsta rap and "bling era" style that previously dominated mainstream hip-hop.
On the September 10, 2008 episode of Total Request Live, Jackson said his fourth studio album, Before I Self Destruct, would be "done and released in November". He released "Ok, You're Right", produced by Dr. Dre for Before I Self Destruct, on May 18, 2009 and was scheduled to appear in a fall 2009 episode of VH1's Behind the Music. On September 3, 2009, Jackson posted a video for the Soundkillers' Phoenix- produced track, "Flight 187", introducing his mixtape and book (The 50th Law). The song, with lyrics inspiring speculation about tension between Jackson and Jay-Z, was a bonus track on the iTunes version of Before I Self Destruct. Before I Self Destruct was released on November 9, 2009.
2010–2015: New musical directions, new business ventures, and Animal Ambition
In a Contactmusic.com interview, Jackson said he was working on a Eurodance album, Black Magic, inspired by European nightclubs: "First they played hip-hop which suddenly changed to uptempo songs, known as Eurodance". He later said he had changed his next album to The Return of the Heartless Monster after writing different material when he returned home from the Invitation Tour in 2010, shelving Black Magic. On September 3, Jackson supported Eminem on his and Jay-Z's The Home & Home Tour, performing "Crack A Bottle" with Eminem and Dr. Dre amid rumors of tension between Jackson and Dre.
He "recorded 20 songs to a whole different album concept" before putting them aside, wanting his new album to have the "aggression" of Get Rich or Die Tryin. Jackson tweeted that the album was "80 percent done" and fans could expect it in the summer of 2011. It was ultimately delayed a year due to disagreements with Interscope Records, with Jackson saying that he would release it in November 2011 with a different title than Black Magic. Eminem would appear on the album, and Jackson said he was working with new producers such as Boi-1da and Alex da Kid. Cardiak, who produced Lloyd Banks' "Start It Up", confirmed that he produced a song for the upcoming album.
Jackson released a song, "Outlaw", from his fifth album on the Internet on June 16, 2011. The single, produced by Cardiak, was released on iTunes on July 19 (although Jackson tweeted that it was not the album's first single). The rapper planned to write a semi-autobiographical young-adult novel about bullying, different from his previous books which focused on his life and the rules of power. According to the book's publisher, the first-person novel (about a 13-year-old schoolyard bully "who finds redemption as he faces what he's done") was scheduled for publication in January 2012.
In a series of tweets, Jackson said that the delay of his fifth album was due to disagreements with Interscope Records, later suggesting that it would be released in November 2011 with his headphone line (SMS by 50). He speculated to MTV News about not renewing his five-album contract with Interscope: "I don't know ... It will all be clear in the negotiations following me turning this actual album in. And, of course, the performance and how they actually treat the work will determine whether you still want to stay in that position or not."
On June 20, 2011, Jackson announced the release of Before I Self Destruct II after his fifth album. Although he planned to shoot a music video for the fifth album's lead single, "I'm On It", on June 26 the video was never filmed. Jackson told Shade45, "I did four songs in Detroit with Eminem. I did two with Just Blaze, a Boi-1da joint, and I did something with Alex da Kid. We made two that are definite singles and the other two are the kinds of records that we been making, more aimed at my core audience, more aggressive, more of a different kind of energy to it." He released "Street King Energy Track #7" in September 2011 to promote Street King, his charity-based energy drink. An announcement that Jackson was shooting a music video for "Girls Go Wild", the fifth-album lead single featuring Jeremih, was made on September 28, 2011.Music Video News: IN PRODUCTION: 50 Cent f/ Jeremih – Colin Tilley . Video Static (September 28, 2011). Retrieved on October 25, 2011.
Jackson's fifth album, Street King Immortal, was initially scheduled for a summer 2012 release and postponed until November 13. Disagreements with Interscope Records about its release and promotion led to its temporary cancellation. Its first promo single, "New Day" with Dr. Dre and Alicia Keys, was released on July 27. The song was produced by Dr. Dre, mixed by Eminem and written by 50 Cent, Alicia Keys, Royce da 5'9" and Dr. Dre. A solo version by Keys was leaked by her husband, Swizz Beatz. "My Life", the album's second promo single (with Eminem and Maroon 5 lead singer Adam Levine), was released on November 26, 2012.
In January 2014, Jackson said he planned to release Animal Ambition in the first quarter of the year, followed by Street King Immortal. On February 20, he left Shady Records, Aftermath Entertainment, and Interscope, signing with Caroline and Capitol Music Group. According to Jackson, although he owed Interscope another album, he was released from his contract because of his friendship with Eminem and Dr. Dre: "I'm a special case and situation. It's also because of the leverage of having the strong relationships with Eminem and Dr. Dre. They don't want me to be uncomfortable. They value our friendship to the point that they would never want [to jeopardize] it over that little bit of money."
That day, he announced that Animal Ambition would be released on June 3 and released its first track. The song, "Funeral", was released with a video on Forbes.com. Produced by Jake One, it is a continuation of "50 Bars" from a previous album; two more tracks were scheduled for release on March 18. At South by Southwest in Austin, Texas, Jackson performed "Hold On" from the new album. That song and "Don't Worry 'Bout It" were released with accompanying videos on March 18. According to Jackson, prosperity would be a theme of the album: "This project, I had to search for a concept, a really good concept, in my perspective, and that was prosperity. I outlined all the things that would be a part of prosperity, positive and negative [for Animal Ambition]."
2015–present: Street King Immortal, bankruptcy, and departure from Interscope
On May 14, 2015, Jackson revealed in an interview that the first single from Street King Immortal, would be previewed Memorial Day weekend and would likely be released in June. Jackson released "Get Low" on May 20, 2015, as the intended first single from his sixth studio album, Street King Immortal. The song, produced by Remo the Hitmaker, features vocals from fellow American rappers 2 Chainz and T.I., as well as American singer Jeremih. He announced bankruptcy on July 13, 2015.
On March 31, 2017, Interscope Records released 50 Cent's final album for the label, a greatest hits album titled Best Of.
50 Cent was among hundreds of artists whose material was destroyed in the 2008 Universal fire.
In 2020, Jackson led the executive-producer duties for late rapper Pop Smoke's debut album, Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon, having been one of Pop Smoke's biggest inspirations. The album was released on July 3, 2020. Jackson curated the album, desiring to finish it after Pop had died. He contacted many of the artists involved, and also features on one of the album tracks, "The Woo", which became a top ten single.
In 2020, it was reported that Jackson was producing two television series for Starz, an anthology about hip hop and a biographical drama about sports agent Nicole Lynn.
In 2021, he became one of the headliners of the music festival Golden Sand in Riviera Maya.
In a July 2021 interview with The Independent, 50 Cent confirmed that he had officially decided to shelve his Street King Immortal album after it spent a decade in development hell. He even confirmed that he plans to release a completely new project.
In August 2021, he was confirmed to be starring in the upcoming The Expendables film.
On February 13, 2022, 50 Cent was a surprise performer in the Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show.
Awards
Artistry
Jackson cites Boogie Down Productions, Big Daddy Kane, The Juice Crew, EPMD and KRS-One as his rapping influences, while citing LL Cool J as an inspiration behind his writing of "21 Questions". Jackson also states that he drew influences from Nas, Rakim and The Notorious B.I.G. while working on Animal Ambition.
Business ventures
Jackson has had a highly successful business career. He is financially invested in a highly diversified variety of industries. Jackson is now involved in artist and talent management, record, television, and film production, footwear, apparel, fragrances, liquor, video games, mobile apps, book publishing, headphones, along with health drinks and dietary supplements. His broad business and investment portfolio contains investments in a variety of sectors including real estate, financial market investments, mining, boxing promotion, vodka, fragrances, consumer electronics and fashion.
He established his own record label G-Unit Records in 2003 following his mainstream success. In November 2003, he signed a five-year deal with Reebok to distribute a G-Unit Sneakers line for his G-Unit Clothing Company.Leeds, Jeff (December 26, 2004). $50 Million for 50 Cent . The New York Times. Retrieved June 9, 2007. In an interview, Jackson said his businesses had a habit of doing well as he saw all of his ventures both past and present as revolving around his alter ego.
Jackson has also started a book publishing imprint, G-Unit Books on January 4, 2007 at the Time Warner Building in New York. He has written a number of books including a memoir, From Pieces To Weight in 2005 where it sold 73,000 copies in hardcover and 14,000 copies in paperback; a crime novel and a book with Robert Greene titled The 50th Law, an urban take on The 48 Laws of Power. In November 2011, Jackson released 50 Cent's Playground, a young adult fiction novel about a bullied, violent boy and his gay mother.
One of Jackson's first business ventures was a partnership with Glacéau to create an enhanced water drink called Formula 50. In October 2004, Jackson became a beverage investor when he was given a minority share in the company in exchange for becoming a spokesperson after learning that he was a fan of the beverage. The health conscious Jackson noted that he first learned of the product while at a gym in Los Angeles, and stated that "they do such a good job making water taste good." After becoming a minority shareholder and celebrity spokesperson, Jackson worked with the company to create a new grape flavored "Formula 50" variant of VitaminWater and mentioned the drinks in various songs and interviews. In 2007, Coca-Cola purchased Glacéau for $4.1 billion and, according to Forbes, Jackson, who was a minority shareholder, earned $100 million from the deal after taxes.
Though he no longer has an equity stake in the company, Jackson continues to act as a spokesperson for VitaminWater, supporting the product including singing about it at the BET Awards and expressing his excitement over the company's continuing to allow his input on products.
He joined Right Guard to introduce a body spray (Pure 50 RGX) and endorsed Magic Stick condoms, planning to donate part of their proceeds to increasing HIV awareness. Jackson signed a multi-year deal with Steiner Sports to sell his memorabilia, and announced plans for a dietary-supplement company in conjunction with his film Spectacular Regret in August 2007.Jokesta (August 21, 2007). 50 Cent launches dietary supplement company. Def Sounds. Retrieved August 21, 2007.
Jackson has founded two film production companies: G-Unit Films in 2003 and Cheetah Vision in 2008.For The Record: Quick News on Eminem, Ciara, Ludacris, Ne-Yo, Slayer, Marilyn Manson, Nas, Public Enemy & More . MTV (March 23, 2007). Accessed May 22, 2007. Cheetah Vision produces low budget action thrillers for foreign film markets across the world. When G-Unit Films folded, he focused on Cheetah Vision and the company obtained $200 million in funding in 2010. In 2010, Jackson revived G-Unit Films, renaming the company to G-Unit Films and Television Inc. The company has joint ventures with Will Packer's production company Will Packer Productions and Universal Television. In over 18 months, Jackson has sold projects to six different networks. Among them was Power, a STARZ drama in which he not only co-stars but also serves as co-creator and executive producer. Power debuted in June 2014 and was renewed for a second season after one episode.
Jackson serves as a co‐star, co-creator and executive television producer of the STARZ network drama where he signed a 2-year contract with representation coming from the Agency for the Performing Arts. Ratings have been a success for Starz. with the second-season premiere being the highest-ever season with 1.43 million people tuning in live.
In 2002, Jackson filed an application with the United States Patent and Trademark Office to register the term "50 Cent" as a trademark for clothing, sound recordings, and live performances. The application was published in 2003, and registration issued in 2004. He has since filed for additional trademark registrations.
In July 2011, Jackson launched a philanthropic initiative to provide food for one billion starving people in Africa by 2016, joining Pure Growth Partners to introduce Street King. A portion of the proceeds from each Street King purchase would be used to provide a daily meal to an underprivileged child. The partnership coincides with Jackson's goal to feed a billion people in Africa during the next five years. "50 Cent and I share a common vision: to address the world's problems through smart and sustainable business models," said Chris Clarke, founder and CEO of Pure Growth Partners. "With the rampant starvation in Africa and hunger afflicting children worldwide, we need socially responsible businesses that affect real change now more than ever." Jackson said, "I'm inspired by Clarke's vision and innovative approaches to tackling serious issues. It's our mission with Street King to really change children's lives around the world."Langhorne, Cyrus. (August 13, 2011) 50 Cent On "Street King" Global Takeover, "I Need Your Support" . Sohh.Com. Retrieved on October 25, 2011. In 2011, he founded SMS Audio, a consumer-electronics company selling Street by 50 headphones, pledging to donate a portion of their sales to charity. In April 2015, SMS announced new co-branding deals with Reebok and Marvel. It added those to existing partnerships with Walt Disney Parks, Lucasfilm's Star Wars, and Intel.
In 2014, Jackson became a minority shareholder in Effen Vodka, a brand of vodka produced in the Netherlands, when he invested undisclosed amount in the company Sire Spirits LLC. He currently endorses the product via his live concert performances and social media. The rapper was asked to take part in two promotional bottle signings, one in Oak Creek and another in Sun Prairie. Jackson made an appearance at Liquor Warehouse in Syracuse, New York on April 25, 2015 where he reportedly sold 1,400 bottles (277 gallons) of Jackson's signature liquor brand. Liquor Warehouse's owner George Angeloro reportedly stocked 300 cases (1,800 bottles or 357 gallons) of Effen Vodka, which sells for $30 a bottle, prior to the event.
In December 2014, Jackson signed a $78 million deal with FRIGO Revolution Wear, a luxury underwear brand. The joint venture is partnered between Jackson, basketball player Carmelo Anthony, baseball player Derek Jeter and Mathias Ingvarsson, the former president of mattress company Tempur-Pedic. Jackson became the chief fashion designer for the brands single pair of Frigo boxers. In April 2015, Jackson mulled investing in Jamaica, exploring foreign investment opportunities on the island when he met with some local officials and had ongoing discussions on investment opportunities in the Montego Bay resort area.
Investments
Over the years, Jackson invested his earnings from music and celebrity endorsements in an array of privately controlled companies, real estate, and stocks and bonds. A portion of his investments lost value during the 2008 recession. In December 2008, he told the Canadian press that he had been affected by the recession, losing several million dollars in the stock market. Unable to sell his Connecticut mansion, Jackson postponed Before I Self-Destruct due to the severity of the economic downturn.
His Farmington mansion located on 50 Poplar Hill Drive that he tried to sell for years filed for bankruptcy in Connecticut in 2015 listed an asking price for that property in 2012 at $10 million but was valued at $8.3 million in 2015. He first tried to sell the house in 2007 for $18.5 million, and dropped the price several times in the next five years, when it was on and off the market.
In January 2011, Jackson reportedly made $10 million after using Twitter to promote a marketing company which he was part shareholder of. His endorsements company G Unit Brands Inc. revealed through a public SEC filing controls 12.9 per cent of H&H Imports, which is a parent company of TV Goods – the firm responsible for marketing his range of headphones, Sleek by 50 Cent. Jackson bought stock in the company on November 30, 2010, a week after it offered buyers 180 million shares at 17 cents each. Jackson later made a stock recommendation on Twitter, causing its share value to rise from four cents to nearly 50 cents (32p) each, closing on Monday at 39 cents (25p). Jackson was later investigated by the Securities and Exchange Commission for breaching securities laws following his tweet which may have constituted allegations of Insider trading via his Pump and dump stock investment strategy.
In 2013, Jackson became a minority investor in Hang w/, a live video broadcasting mobile app used by dozens of celebrities to broadcast their daily activities and chat with fans. The app was downloaded more than 1 million times since its launch in March 2013 and had more than 1 million users . Other minority celebrity investors include former NFL player Terrell Owens and record producer Timbaland.
Mining and heavy metals
In 2008, Jackson visited a platinum, palladium and iridium mine shaft in South Africa, and met with South African billionaire Patrice Motsepe in talks of purchasing an equity stake in the mine. After his meeting with Motsepe, Jackson considered purchasing equity in the mine and launching his own line of 50 Cent branded platinum.
Boxing promotion
On July 21, 2012, Jackson became a licensed boxing promoter when he formed his new company, TMT (The Money Team). Licensed to promote in New York, he was in the process of being licensed in Nevada (where most major fights are held in the U.S.). A former amateur boxer, Jackson signed gold medalist and former featherweight champion Yuriorkis Gamboa and middleweight Olympic medalist Andre Dirrell. On July 29, 2012, he and the boxer Floyd Mayweather, Jr., signed IBF featherweight champion Billy Dib. They unveiled plans to challenge the box-office dominance of mixed martial arts and change the landscape of boxing with TMT Promotions. Boxer Zab Judah also expressed interest in making a deal with Jackson. In December 2012, Mayweather and Jackson parted company, with Jackson taking over the promotion company and founding SMS Promotions with Gamboa, Dirrell, Dib, James Kirkland, Luis Olivares and Donte Strayhorn in his stable.
Bankruptcy
On July 13, 2015, Jackson filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Connecticut with a debt of $32,509,549.91. On July 17, 2015, the Court issued an order allowing a creditor to proceed with the punitive damages phase of a trial against Jackson in a New York state court, in connection with the alleged release of a private video. His assets were listed as between $10 million and $50 million in his bankruptcy petition, though he testified under oath that he is worth $4.4 million. Citing between $10 million and $50 million in debt, and the same amount in assets. Later in the week, Jackson's bankruptcy lawyers elucidated the court documents that legal fees and judgments exceeding $20 million over the past year were the primary cause of the filing.
His filings listed 32 entities that he has a stake in. The bankruptcy came days after a jury ordered him to pay $5 million to rapper Rick Ross's ex-girlfriend Lastonia Leviston for invading her privacy by posting online a sex tape of her and another man. In addition, Jackson lost a dispute over a failed business deal to come to fruition to his Sleek headphones, where Jackson invested more than $2 million. An ex-partner accused Jackson of later stealing the design of the "Sleek by 50" headphones, prompting a judge to award the partner more than $17.2 million. His Connecticut bankruptcy filing states that he owns seven cars valued at more than $500,000, including a 2010 Rolls Royce and a 1966 Chevrolet Coupe. His expenses of $108,000 a month include $5,000 for gardening along with a monthly income of $185,000, mainly from royalties and income from his external businesses and investments. The court filing says he also owes money to his stylist, his barber, and his fitness coach.
Other details in the bankruptcy documents included information about two deals that sold the right to collect royalties of on-air play of his music. Half the rights to his portfolio were sold to the British independent music publishing company Kobalt Music Group for $3 million and the other half for another $3 million with the sales of his albums allowing Jackson to own 100 percent of the rights to the master recordings while paying only for distribution. Zeisler & Zeisler, a Bridgeport law firm, represented 50 Cent in the bankruptcy, which later resulted in Jackson filing a $75 million lawsuit against his own lawyers. He stated that his lawyers did a terrible job of representing him, specifically citing the fallout of his failed venture with Sleek Audio headphones and accused Garvey Schubert Barer, a Wall Street law firm, of failing to "employ the requisite knowledge and skill necessary to confront the circumstances of the case."
Corporate positions
G-Unity Foundation Inc. – Founder
SMS Audio – CEO, founder
SK Energy – Founder
SMS Promotions – CEO, founder
Sire Spirits – Owner
Effen Vodka – former minority shareholder
Personal life
On October 13, 1996, Jackson's girlfriend, Shaniqua Tompkins, gave birth to son Marquise Jackson. Tompkins later sued Jackson for $50 million, saying he promised to take care of her for life. The suit, with 15 causes of action, was dismissed by a judge who called it "an unfortunate tale of a love relationship gone sour." The two have bickered for years, and have even taken their feud to social media many times.
Marquise's birth changed Jackson's outlook on life: "When my son came into my life, my priorities changed, because I wanted to have the relationship with him that I didn't have with my father". He credited his son for inspiring his career and being the "motivation to go in a different direction". Despite this, the two have endured a fractured relationship that began when Jackson and Tompkins separated in 2008. Their feud has been taken to social media numerous times, including in 2020 when Jackson disclosed that he "used to" love his son. Jackson has a tattooed "Marquise" with an axe on his right biceps ("The axe is 'cause I'm a warrior. I don't want him to be one, though"), and has "50", "Southside" and "Cold World" on his back: "I'm a product of that environment. It's on my back, though, so it's all behind me".
Jackson dated model Daphne Joy and had his second son, Sire Jackson, with her, on September 1, 2012. At the age of two years, Sire modeled for Kidz Safe, a headphone brand for kids, earning $700,000 through his contract.
In 2005, Jackson supported President George W. Bush after rapper Kanye West criticized Bush for a slow response to the victims of Hurricane Katrina. If his felony convictions did not prevent him from voting, he said, he would have voted for the president. Jackson later said that Bush "has less compassion than the average human. By all means, I don't aspire to be like George Bush." In September 2007, he told Time that although he would not endorse a candidate in 2008, he "liked Hillary [Clinton]".
Six months later, the rapper told MTV News that he had switched his support to Barack Obama after hearing him speak, but had lost interest in politics.MTV News, "50 cent Flip-flops: From Clinton to Obama," March 28, 2008 Asked his opinion of President Obama's May 9, 2012 endorsement of gay marriage, Jackson said, "I'm for it ... I've encouraged same-sex activities. I've engaged in fetish areas a couple times." He had been criticized for anti-gay comments in the past.Mariel Concepcion, GLAAD Calls Out 50 Cent For Anti-Gay Tweet , Billboard, September 10, 2010
Despite having numerous songs that reference drug and alcohol usage, Jackson remains teetotal, citing a bad experience with alcohol as his main reason.Forbes noted Jackson's wealth in 2007, ranking him second behind Jay-Z in the rap industry. He lives in a Farmington, Connecticut, mansion formerly owned by ex-boxer Mike Tyson, listing it for sale at $18.5 million to move closer to his son (who lives on Long Island with his ex-girlfriend). The mayor of Bridgeport, Connecticut declared October 12, 2007 "50 Cent Curtis Jackson Day", honoring the rapper with a proclamation and a key to the city. One of Jackson's New York homes, purchased in January 2007 for $2.4 million and the center of a lawsuit between Jackson and Shaniqua Tompkins, caught fire on May 31, 2008 while he was filming in Louisiana.
In December 2008, he told the Canadian press that he had lost several million dollars in the stock market and, unable to sell his Connecticut mansion, had postponed Before I Self-Destruct because of the economic downturn. Jackson won a lawsuit in November 2009 against Taco Bell over the fast-food chain's use of his name without permission.
In 2016, regarding a public feud with rapper Meek Mill, he commented, "You know, he's really not that bright. The easiest thing you can do is bring other people into the statements you're saying, right, while you're writing music."
Jackson endorsed Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton in the run-up for the 2016 U.S. presidential election. He rejected an offer of $500,000 from the Trump campaign to make an appearance on the candidate's behalf. However, he endorsed Donald Trump in 2020, due to his dislike of Joe Biden's tax plans. A week later, he retracted his endorsement, saying on Twitter "Fu*k Donald Trump, I never liked him", and endorsed Biden.
Legal issues, Drugs and assault convictions
On June 29, 1994, Jackson was arrested for selling four vials of cocaine to an undercover police officer. He was arrested again three weeks later, when police searched his home and found heroin, ten ounces of crack cocaine and a starter's pistol. Although Jackson was sentenced to three to nine years in prison, he served six months in a boot camp (where he earned his high-school equivalency diploma). According to him, he did not use cocaine.
Jackson and four members of his entourage were arrested shortly before 2 a.m. on December 31, 2002, when police found a .25-caliber handgun and a .45-caliber pistol in a parked car (which they searched due to its tinted windows) outside a Manhattan nightclub. The rapper was charged with two counts of criminal possession of a weapon.
Jackson was sentenced to two years' probation on July 22, 2005 for a May 2004 incident, when he was charged with three counts of assault and battery after jumping into an audience when he was hit by a water bottle.
Lawsuits
Use of image
Jackson filed a lawsuit against an advertising company, Traffix of Pearl River, New York, on July 21, 2007, for using his image in a promotion he said threatened his safety. He was alerted by a staff member to an Internet advertisement on a Myspace page. According to court documents, the advertisement had a cartoon image of the rapper with "Shoot the rapper and you will win $5000 or five ring tones guaranteed". Although the ad did not use his name, the image allegedly resembled him and suggested that he endorsed the product. The lawsuit, calling the ad a "vile, tasteless and despicable" use of Jackson's image which "quite literally call[ed] for violence against him", sought unspecified punitive damages and a permanent injunction against the use of his image without permission.50 Cent Sues over 'Shoot the Rapper'. Fox News (July 20, 2007). Retrieved December 17, 2015.
Use of name
In 2008, Jackson sued Taco Bell over an ad campaign in which it invited him to change his name for one day from 50 Cent to 79 Cent, 89 Cent, or 99 Cent, in line with pricing for some of its items, and they would donate $10,000 to the charity of his choice. The case was settled out of court.
Janitor incident
While walking through Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport in May 2016, Jackson harassed and insulted a janitor at the airport, accusing him of being under the influence. The janitor was a hearing-impaired, autistic teenager named Andrew Farrell. The parents of the janitor had seen the viral video as disrespect and wanted to sue Jackson for his action against their child. The lawsuit was originally over one million dollars, but the parents settled for a $100,000 donation to Autism Speaks and his apology.
Bamba sample
In 2016, a judge declared that Brandon Parrott gave Dr. Dre and 50 Cent the rights to "Bamba" for the song "P.I.M.P."
Other civil and criminal matters
One of his New York homes, purchased for $2.4 million in January 2007 and the center of a lawsuit between Jackson and Shaniqua Tompkins, caught fire on May 30, 2008 while he was filming in Louisiana. On August 5, 2013, Jackson pleaded not guilty to one count of domestic violence and four counts of vandalism in a Los Angeles County court. If convicted of all charges, he faced up to five years in prison and a $46,000 fine. Model-actress Daphne Joy accused Jackson of kicking her and ransacking her bedroom during an argument at her condominium in the Toluca Lake neighborhood of Los Angeles on June 23. He allegedly caused $7,100 in property damage, leaving the scene before police arrived.
Judge Ann Nevins has ordered Jackson back to court because of Instagram messages he made over several months. She said Jackson was not fully clear about his funds and indicated posts of the rapper showing stacks of his money. In March 2016, Jackson claimed that he would no longer use Instagram, electing instead to have his profile page operated by someone else.
In 2020, Jackson was a subject of controversy for his involvement in a viral video of him giving money to a Burger King restaurant in New York City on behalf of a local scammer who was later arrested and charged for Bitcoin scamming and for assaulting and kidnapping his victims on April 24, 2021.
Feuds
Ja Rule
Before he signed with Interscope Records, Jackson engaged in a public dispute with rapper Ja Rule and his label, Murder Inc. Records, saying that a friend robbed jewelry from Ja Rule and the latter accused him of orchestrating the robbery. Ja Rule said that the conflict stemmed from a Queens video shoot, when Jackson did not like seeing him "getting so much love" from the neighborhood. At The Hit Factory in New York in March 2000, Jackson had an altercation with Murder Inc. associates and received three stitches for a stab wound.Smith, Dominic (July 2005). 50 Cent Interview. FHM. Retrieved July 11, 2007. Rapper Black Child claimed responsibility for the stabbing, saying that he acted in self-defense when he thought someone reached for a gun.
An affidavit by an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) agent suggested ties between Murder Inc. and Kenneth "Supreme" McGriff, a New York drug lord suspected of involvement in the murder of Jam Master Jay and Jackson's shooting. An excerpt read:
The end of the Jackson-Ja Rule feud was confirmed in May 2011. According to Ja Rule, "I'm cool. We ain't beefing no more. We'll never collaborate. That's just what it is. You don't have to be at war with somebody, but it's also kind of like U.S. and another country that they may not get along with. We don't gotta go to war, but we're not friends either. But we can coincide inside of a world. He's doing him, and he's not thinking about me, and I'm doing me and I'm not thinking about him."
On August 7, 2015, the feud between the two rappers later reignited when Ja Rule gave a feedback to a social follower via Twitter over a similar feud between Meek Mill and Drake. Enraged, Jackson later responded with photos and comments via Instagram, only siding with Drake. The feud resurfaced three years later on January 19, 2018, when Ja Rule took to Twitter, calling out 50 Cent on social media. 50 Cent responded by purchasing and vacating the first four rows of his concert.
The Game
Although Jackson was close to The Game before the latter released his debut album, The Documentary, they grew apart. After The Documentarys release, Jackson felt that The Game was disloyal for saying that he did not want to participate in G-Unit's feuds with other rappers (such as Nas, Jadakiss and Fat Joe) and his desire to work with artists with which G-Unit was feuding. He said that he wrote six songs for the album and did not receive proper credit, which The Game denied.
Jackson later dismissed The Game from G-Unit on Hot 97. After the announcement, The Game (a guest earlier in the evening) tried to enter the building with his entourage. After they were denied entry, one of his associates was shot in the leg in a confrontation with a group of men leaving the building.Hope, Clover (March 2, 2005). 50 Cent Cancels New York Appearance amid Shooting Inquiry . AllHipHop. Retrieved July 20, 2007. When the situation escalated, the rappers held a joint press conference announcing their reconciliation, and fans were uncertain if the rappers had staged a publicity stunt to boost sales of their recently released albums. After the situation cooled, G-Unit criticized The Game's street credibility and announced that they would not appear on his albums. During a Summer Jam performance The Game announced a boycott of G-Unit, which he called "G-Unot".
After the Summer Jam performance The Game recorded "300 Bars and Runnin'", an extended "diss" of G-Unit and Roc-A-Fella Records, for the mixtape You Know What It Is Vol. 3. Jackson responded with his "Piggy Bank" music video, with The Game as Mr. Potato Head and parodies of other rivals. They have continued attacking each other, with The Game releasing two more mixtapes: Ghost Unit and a mixtape-DVD, Stop Snitchin, Stop Lyin. Jackson superimposed The Game's head on the body of a male stripper for the cover of the Hate It or Love It (G-Unit Radio Part 21) mixtape in response to The Game's pictures of G-Unit dressed as the Village People. The Game, under contract to Aftermath Entertainment, signed with Geffen Records to terminate his contractual obligations with G-Unit (although it is claimed that Jackson pressured Dr. Dre to fire him). G-Unit member Spider Loc has insulted The Game in songs, and the latter released "240 Bars (Spider Joke)" and "100 Bars (The Funeral)" attacking G-Unit and Loc. Jackson's response was "Not Rich, Still Lyin'", mocking The Game. Lloyd Banks replied to the Game on a Rap City freestyle-booth segment, followed by a Game "diss" song ("SoundScan") ridiculing the 13-position drop of Banks' album Rotten Apple on the Billboard 200 chart and its disappointing second-week sales. Banks replied on his mixtape Mo' Money In The Bank Pt. 5: Gang Green Season Continues with "Showtime (The Game's Over)", said that Jackson wrote half of The Documentary and ridiculed The Game's suicidal thoughts.
In October 2006, The Game made a peace overture (which was not immediately answered) to Jackson, but two days later he said on Power 106 that the peace offer was valid for only one day. In several songs on Doctor's Advocate, he implied that the feud was over. He said in July 2009 that the feud had ended with help from Michael Jackson and Diddy, and apologized for his actions. According to Tony Yayo, neither Jackson nor G-Unit accepted his apology and The Game has resumed his calls for a "G-Unot" boycott at concerts. Jackson released "So Disrespectful" on Before I Self Destruct, targeting Jay-Z, The Game and Young Buck. The Game responded with "Shake", poking fun at the music video for Jackson's "Candy Shop".
On August 1, 2016, 50 Cent ended his twelve-year feud with The Game when the two were in the Ace of Diamonds Strip Club and The Game said "What happened, that shit was 12 years ago."
Rick Ross
Although Rick Ross began a feud with Jackson over an alleged incident at the 2008 BET Hip Hop Awards, Jackson told news sources he did not remember seeing Ross there. Later that month Ross' "Mafia Music" was leaked on the Internet, with lyrics apparently disparaging Jackson. Several days later, Jackson released "Officer Ricky (Go Head, Try Me)" in response to "Mafia Music". The following day, Ross appeared on Shade 45 (Eminem's Sirius channel) and told Jackson to come up with something better in 24 hours.
Before leaving for Venezuela, Jackson uploaded a video ("Warning Shot") and the first of a series of "Officer Ricky" cartoons. In early February he uploaded a YouTube video in which he interviewed "Tia", the mother of one of Ross' children; according to her, Ross is in reality a correctional officer. On February 5, 2009, The Game phoned Seattle radio station KUBE. Asked about the dispute between Jackson and Ross, he sided with Jackson and offered to mediate: "Rick Ross, holla at your boy, man" and "50 eating you, boy."
On his album Deeper Than Rap, Ross refers to Jackson in "In Cold Blood" and Jackson's mock funeral is part of the song's video. When the song was released, Ross said that he ended Jackson's career. "Rick Ross is Albert From CB4. You ever seen the movie? He's Albert," Jackson replied in an interview. "It never gets worse than this. You get a guy that was a correctional officer come out and base his entire career on writing material from a drug dealer's perspective such as "Freeway" Ricky Ross." Their feud rekindled at the 2012 BET Hip Hop Awards, where Jackson and G-Unit members Kidd Kidd, Mike Knox, Tony Yayo were seen on video attacking Gunplay (a member of Ross' Maybach Music Group). Gunplay's Maybach Music diamond necklace was stolen during the brawl, and several days later Jackson appeared at a Washington, D.C. bowling alley wearing Gunplay's chain. On January 30, 2013, Jackson tweeted that Ross' attempted drive-by shooting on his birthday three days earlier was "staged".
On August 9, 2020, 50 Cent and Rick Ross ended their feud.
Awards and nominations
Discography
Studio albums
Get Rich or Die Tryin' (2003)
The Massacre (2005)
Curtis (2007)
Before I Self Destruct (2009)
Animal Ambition (2014)
Collaborative albums
Beg for Mercy (with G-Unit) (2003)
T·O·S (Terminate on Sight)'' (with G-Unit) (2008)
Filmography
Film
Television
Appearances
Video games
References
External links
1975 births
20th-century American rappers
21st-century American businesspeople
21st-century American male actors
21st-century American rappers
21st-century African-American male singers
African-American fashion designers
African-American film producers
African-American investors
African-American male actors
African-American male rappers
African-American memoirists
African-American record producers
African-American male songwriters
Aftermath Entertainment artists
American book publishers (people)
American boxing promoters
American businesspeople convicted of crimes
American chairpersons of corporations
American chief executives of food industry companies
American corporate directors
American cosmetics businesspeople
American drink industry businesspeople
American fashion businesspeople
American film producers
American hip hop record producers
American male film actors
American male television actors
American male video game actors
American marketing businesspeople
American memoirists
American mining businesspeople
American music industry executives
American music publishers (people)
American nonprofit businesspeople
American people convicted of drug offenses
American reality television producers
American retail chief executives
American shooting survivors
American television company founders
American television executives
Andrew Jackson High School (Queens) alumni
Brit Award winners
Businesspeople from Queens, New York
Businesspeople in metals
Caroline Records artists
East Coast hip hop musicians
Echo (music award) winners
Gangsta rappers
Grammy Award winners for rap music
G-Unit Records artists
JMJ Records artists
Juno Award for International Album of the Year winners
Living people
Male actors from New York City
People from Jamaica, Queens
Philanthropists from New York (state)
Rappers from New York City
Record producers from New York (state)
Shady Records artists
Shoe designers
Songwriters from New York (state)
Sony Music Publishing artists
Stabbing attacks in the United States
Stabbing survivors
Television producers from New York City
World Music Awards winners
Writers from Queens, New York | true | [
"\"What Else Is There?\" is the third single from the Norwegian duo Röyksopp's second album The Understanding. It features the vocals of Karin Dreijer from the Swedish electronica duo The Knife. The album was released in the UK with the help of Astralwerks.\n\nThe single was used in an O2 television advertisement in the Czech Republic and in Slovakia during 2008. It was also used in the 2006 film Cashback and the 2007 film, Meet Bill. Trentemøller's remix of \"What Else is There?\" was featured in an episode of the HBO show Entourage.\n\nThe song was covered by extreme metal band Enslaved as a bonus track for their album E.\n\nThe song was listed as the 375th best song of the 2000s by Pitchfork Media.\n\nOfficial versions\n\"What Else Is There?\" (Album Version) – 5:17\n\"What Else Is There?\" (Radio Edit) – 3:38\n\"What Else Is There?\" (Jacques Lu Cont Radio Mix) – 3:46\n\"What Else Is There?\" (The Emperor Machine Vocal Version) – 8:03\n\"What Else Is There?\" (The Emperor Machine Dub Version) – 7:51\n\"What Else Is There?\" (Thin White Duke Mix) – 8:25\n\"What Else Is There?\" (Thin White Duke Edit) – 4:50\n\"What Else Is There?\" (Thin White Duke Remix) (Radio Edit) – 3:06\n\"What Else Is There?\" (Trentemøller Remix) – 7:42\n\"What Else Is There?\" (Vitalic Remix) – 5:14\n\nResponse\nThe single was officially released on 5 December 2005 in the UK. The single had a limited release on 21 November 2005 to promote the upcoming album. On the UK Singles Chart, it peaked at number 32, while on the UK Dance Chart, it reached number one.\n\nMusic video\nThe music video was directed by Martin de Thurah. It features Norwegian model Marianne Schröder who is shown lip-syncing Dreijer's voice. Schröder is depicted as a floating woman traveling across stormy landscapes and within empty houses. Dreijer makes a cameo appearance as a woman wearing an Elizabethan ruff while dining alone at a festive table.\n\nMovie spots\n\nThe song is also featured in the movie Meet Bill as characters played by Jessica Alba and Aaron Eckhart smoke marijuana while listening to it. It is also part of the end credits music of the film Cashback.\n\nCharts\n\nReferences\n\n2005 singles\nRöyksopp songs\nAstralwerks singles\nSongs written by Svein Berge\nSongs written by Torbjørn Brundtland\n2004 songs\nSongs written by Roger Greenaway\nSongs written by Olof Dreijer\nSongs written by Karin Dreijer",
"This is a list of best-selling albums in the United States of the Nielsen SoundScan era. SoundScan began tracking sales data for Billboard on March 1, 1991. SoundScan data is unrelated to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) certifications, and is based on actual sales while\nthe RIAA's certification process is based on shipments.\n\nBest-sellers (overall)\n\nBest-selling albums by decade\n\n1991–1999\n\n2000–2009\n\n2010–2019\n\nBest-selling albums by year\n\nThe following list includes the annual best-selling albums since 1991, as reported by MRC Data (formerly Nielsen SoundScan). For albums released after 2015, the best-performing album of the year is determined by album-equivalent units consisted of album sales, digital songs sales, and on-demand streaming, while the best-selling album is determined by album sales only.\n\nSingle week best-sellers\n\nThe first album in history to sell a million copies or more in a week is the soundtrack of The Bodyguard by Whitney Houston in 1992; the last album to do so is Reputation by Taylor Swift in 2017. The following is a list of all of the albums that sold at least one million copies in a single week:\n\nSee also\n Album era\nList of best-selling albums in the United States\nList of best-selling albums by year in the United States\n\nReferences\nFootnotes\n\nUnited States, Nielsen SoundScan tracking"
] |
[
"50 Cent",
"2002-2006: Rise to fame",
"What was his album when he rise to fame?",
"In 2002, Eminem heard Jackson's Guess Who's Back? CD, received from Jackson's attorney (",
"Who signed him?",
"introduced him to Dr. Dre. After signing a $1 million record deal, Jackson released No Mercy, No Fear.",
"What was the name of his mix tape?",
"Jackson released No Mercy, No Fear.",
"What was his debut album?",
"Jackson released his debut album, Get Rich or Die Tryin' (",
"How many copies of the album was sold?",
"selling 872,000 copies in its first four days.",
"What is the best single in the album?",
"The lead single, \"In da Club\" ("
] | C_c5bdd69a096444ff8e00c23e110bdece_0 | Did he have a record label? | 7 | Did 50 Cent have a record label? | 50 Cent | In 2002, Eminem heard Jackson's Guess Who's Back? CD, received from Jackson's attorney (who was working with Eminem's manager, Paul Rosenberg). Impressed, Eminem invited Jackson to fly to Los Angeles and introduced him to Dr. Dre. After signing a $1 million record deal, Jackson released No Mercy, No Fear. The mixtape featured one new track, "Wanksta", which appeared on Eminem's 8 Mile soundtrack. Jackson was also signed by Chris Lighty's Violator Management and Sha Money XL's Money Management Group. Jackson released his debut album, Get Rich or Die Tryin' (described by AllMusic as "probably the most hyped debut album by a rap artist in about a decade"), in February 2003. Rolling Stone noted its "dark synth grooves, buzzy keyboards and a persistently funky bounce", with Jackson complementing the production in "an unflappable, laid-back flow". It debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, selling 872,000 copies in its first four days. The lead single, "In da Club" (noted by The Source for its "blaring horns, funky organs, guitar riffs and sparse hand claps"), set a Billboard record as the most listened-to song in radio history within a week. Interscope gave Jackson his own label, G-Unit Records, in 2003. He signed Lloyd Banks, Tony Yayo and Young Buck as members of G-Unit, and The Game was later signed in a joint venture with Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment. In March 2005 Jackson's second commercial album, The Massacre, sold 1.14 million copies in its first four days (the highest in an abbreviated sales cycle) and was number one on the Billboard 200 for six weeks. He was the first solo artist with three singles in the Billboard top five in the same week with "Candy Shop", "Disco Inferno" and "How We Do". According to Rolling Stone, "50's secret weapon is his singing voice - the deceptively amateur-sounding tenor croon that he deploys on almost every chorus". After The Game's departure Jackson signed Olivia and rap veterans Mobb Deep to G-Unit Records, with Spider Loc, M.O.P., 40 Glocc and Young Hot Rod later joining the label, who all eventually departed the label. Jackson expressed an interest in working with rappers other than G-Unit, such as Lil' Scrappy of BME, LL Cool J of Def Jam, Mase of Bad Boy and Freeway of Roc-A-Fella, and recorded with several. CANNOTANSWER | Interscope gave Jackson his own label, G-Unit Records, | Curtis James Jackson III (born July 6, 1975), known professionally as 50 Cent, is an American rapper, actor and entrepreneur. Known for his impact in the hip hop industry, he has been described as a "master of the nuanced art of lyrical brevity".
Born in the South Jamaica neighborhood of Queens, Jackson began selling drugs at age 12 during the 1980s crack epidemic. He later began pursuing a musical career and in 2000 he produced Power of the Dollar for Columbia Records, but days before the planned release he was shot and the album was never released. In 2002, after 50 Cent released the compilation album Guess Who's Back?, he was discovered by Eminem and signed to Shady Records, under the aegis of Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment and Interscope Records.
With the aid of Eminem and Dr. Dre (who produced his first major-label album Get Rich or Die Tryin'), 50 Cent became one of the world's best selling rappers and rose to prominence as de facto leader of East Coast hip hop group G-Unit. In 2003, he founded G-Unit Records, signing his G-Unit associates Young Buck, Lloyd Banks and Tony Yayo. 50 Cent had similar commercial and critical success with his second album, The Massacre, which was released in 2005. He underwent musical changes by his fifth album, Animal Ambition (2014), and is currently working on his sixth studio album. He executive-produced and starred in the television series Power (2014–2020) and is slated to produce its spin-offs.
50 Cent has sold over 30 million albums worldwide and won several awards, including a Grammy Award, thirteen Billboard Music Awards, six World Music Awards, three American Music Awards and four BET Awards. As an actor, Jackson appeared in the semi-autobiographical film Get Rich or Die Tryin' (2005), the war film Home of the Brave (2006), and the crime thriller film Righteous Kill (2008). 50 Cent was ranked the sixth-best artist of the 2000s and the third-best rapper (behind Eminem and Nelly) by Billboard. Rolling Stone ranked Get Rich or Die Tryin and "In da Club" in its lists of the "100 Best Albums of the 2000s" and "100 Best Songs of the 2000s" at numbers 37 and 13, respectively.
Early life
Jackson was born in the borough of Queens, New York City, and raised in its South Jamaica neighborhood by his mother Sabrina. A drug dealer, Sabrina raised Jackson until she died in a fire when Jackson was 8. (online is excerpt only) Jackson revealed in an interview that his mother was a lesbian. After his mother's death and his father's departure, Jackson was raised by his grandmother.
He began boxing at about age 11, and when he was 14, a neighbor opened a boxing gym for local youth. "When I wasn't killing time in school, I was sparring in the gym or selling crack on the strip," Jackson remembered. He sold crack during primary school. "I was competitive in the ring and hip-hop is competitive too ... I think rappers condition themselves like boxers, so they all kind of feel like they're the champ."
At age 12, Jackson began dealing narcotics when his grandparents thought he was in after-school programs and brought guns and drug money to school. In the tenth grade, he was caught by metal detectors at Andrew Jackson High School: "I was embarrassed that I got arrested like that ... After I got arrested I stopped hiding it. I was telling my grandmother [openly], 'I sell drugs.'"
On June 29, 1994, Jackson was arrested for selling four vials of cocaine to an undercover police officer. He was arrested again three weeks later, when police searched his home and found heroin, ten ounces of crack cocaine, and a starting pistol. Although Jackson was sentenced to three to nine years in prison, he served six months in a boot camp and earned his GED. He has said that he did not use cocaine himself.The Smoking Gun: 50 Cent . The Smoking Gun (February 27, 2003). Accessed May 22, 2007. Jackson adopted the nickname "50 Cent" as a metaphor for change. The name was inspired by Kelvin Martin, a 1980s Brooklyn robber known as "50 Cent"; Jackson chose it "because it says everything I want it to say. I'm the same kind of person 50 Cent was. I provide for myself by any means."
Career
1996–2002: Rise to fame, shooting, and early mixtapes
Jackson began rapping in a friend's basement, where he used turntables to record over instrumentals. In 1996, a friend introduced him to Jam Master Jay of Run-DMC, who was establishing Jam Master Jay Records. Jay taught him how to count bars, write choruses, structure songs, and make records.Tarek, Shams (May 16, 2003). Jamaica's 'Own Bad Guy' 50 Cent Making Good in the Music Biz . Queens Press. Accessed May 22, 2007. Jackson's first appearance was on "React" with Onyx, for their 1998 album Shut 'Em Down. He credited Jam Master Jay for improving his ability to write hooks, and Jay produced Jackson's first (unreleased) album. In 1999, after Jackson left Jam Master Jay, the platinum-selling producers Trackmasters signed him to Columbia Records. They sent him to an upstate New York studio, where he produced thirty-six songs in two weeks; eighteen were included on his 2000 album, Power of the Dollar. Jackson founded Hollow Point Entertainment with former G-Unit member Bang 'Em Smurf.Williams, Houston (February 2004). Bang'em Smurf: Life after G-Unit. AllHipHop. Retrieved July 20, 2007.
Jackson's popularity began to grow after the successful, controversial underground single "How to Rob", which he wrote in a half-hour car ride to a studio.50 Cent. From Pieces to Weight Part 5 . MTV. Accessed May 22, 2007. The track comically describes how he would rob famous artists. Jackson explained the song's rationale: "There's a hundred artists on that label, you gotta separate yourself from that group and make yourself relevant". Rappers Jay-Z, Kurupt, Sticky Fingaz, Big Pun, DMX, Wyclef Jean, and the Wu-Tang Clan responded to the track, and Nas invited Jackson to join him on his Nastradamus tour. Although "How to Rob" was intended to be released with "Thug Love" (with Destiny's Child), two days before he was scheduled to film the "Thug Love" music video, Jackson was shot and hospitalized.
On May 24, 2000, Jackson was attacked by a gunman outside his grandmother's former home in South Jamaica. After getting into a friend's car, he was asked to return to the house to get some jewelry; his son was in the house, and his grandmother was in the front yard. Jackson returned to the back seat of the car, and another car pulled up nearby; an assailant walked up and fired nine shots at close range with a 9mm handgun. Jackson was shot in the hand, arm, hip, both legs, chest, and left cheek. His facial wound resulted in a swollen tongue, the loss of a wisdom tooth and a slightly slurred voice; his friend was wounded in the hand. They were driven to a hospital, where Jackson spent thirteen days. The alleged attacker, Darryl Baum, Mike Tyson's close friend and bodyguard, was killed three weeks later.
Jackson recalled the shooting: "It happens so fast that you don't even get a chance to shoot back .... I was scared the whole time ... I was looking in the rear-view mirror like, 'Oh shit, somebody shot me in the face! It burns, burns, burns.'" In his autobiography, From Pieces to Weight: Once upon a Time in Southside Queens, he wrote: "After I got shot nine times at close range and didn't die, I started to think that I must have a purpose in life ... How much more damage could that shell have done? Give me an inch in this direction or that one, and I'm gone". Jackson used a walker for six weeks and fully recovered after five months. When he left the hospital he stayed in the Poconos with his girlfriend and son, and his workout regime helped him develop a muscular physique.
In the hospital Jackson signed a publishing deal with Columbia Records before he was dropped from the label and blacklisted by the recording industry because of his song, "Ghetto Qu'ran". Unable to work in a U.S. studio, he went to Canada.Weiner, Jonah (April 2005). Dear Superstar: 50 Cent . Blender. Accessed May 22, 2007. With business partner Sha Money XL, Jackson recorded over thirty songs for mixtapes to build a reputation. In a HitQuarters interview, Marc Labelle of Shady Records A&R said that Jackson used the mixtape circuit to his advantage: "He took all the hottest beats from every artist and flipped them with better hooks. They then got into all the markets on the mixtapes and all the mixtape DJs were messing with them." Jackson's popularity increased, and in 2002 he released the mixtape Guess Who's Back?. He then released 50 Cent Is the Future backed by G-Unit, a mixtape revisiting material by Jay-Z and Raphael Saadiq.
===2002–2007: Mainstream breakthrough, Get Rich or Die Tryin''', and The Massacre===
In 2002, Eminem heard Jackson's Guess Who's Back? CD, received from Jackson's attorney (who was working with Eminem's manager, Paul Rosenberg). Impressed, Eminem invited Jackson to fly to Los Angeles and introduced him to Dr. Dre. After signing a $1 million record deal, Jackson released No Mercy, No Fear. The mixtape featured one new track, "Wanksta", which appeared on Eminem's 8 Mile soundtrack. Jackson was also signed by Chris Lighty's Violator Management and Sha Money XL's Money Management Group.
50 Cent released his debut album, Get Rich or Die Tryin' (described by AllMusic as "probably the most hyped debut album by a rap artist in about a decade"), in February 2003. Rolling Stone noted its "dark synth grooves, buzzy keyboards and a persistently funky bounce", with Jackson complementing the production in "an unflappable, laid-back flow". It debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, selling 872,000 copies in its first four days. The lead single, "In da Club" (noted by The Source for its "blaring horns, funky organs, guitar riffs and sparse hand claps"), set a Billboard record as the most listened-to song in radio history within a week.
Interscope gave Jackson his own label, G-Unit Records, in 2003. He signed Lloyd Banks, Tony Yayo and Young Buck as members of G-Unit, and The Game was later signed in a joint venture with Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment. In March 2005, 50 Cent's second commercial album, The Massacre, sold 1.14 million copies in its first four days (the highest in an abbreviated sales cycle) and was number one on the Billboard 200 for six weeks. He was the first solo artist with three singles in the Billboard top five in the same week with "Candy Shop", "Disco Inferno" and "How We Do". According to Rolling Stone, "50's secret weapon is his singing voice - the deceptively amateur-sounding tenor croon that he deploys on almost every chorus".
After The Game's departure Jackson signed Olivia and rap veterans Mobb Deep to G-Unit Records, with Spider Loc, M.O.P., 40 Glocc and Young Hot Rod later joining the label, who all eventually departed the label.Chery, Carl (May 27, 2005). Pulse Report: M.O.P. Signs to G-Unit . SOHH. Retrieved June 22, 2007. Jackson expressed an interest in working with rappers other than G-Unit, such as Lil' Scrappy of BME, LL Cool J of Def Jam, Mase of Bad Boy and Freeway of Roc-A-Fella, and recorded with several.
2007–2010: Curtis, sales battle with Kanye West, and Before I Self Destruct
In September 2007, 50 Cent released his third album, Curtis, which was inspired by his life before Get Rich or Die Tryin. It debuted at number two on the Billboard 200, selling 691,000 copies during its first week. It sold behind Kanye West's Graduation, released the same day; the outcome of this highly-publicized sales battle between Jackson and West has been accredited to the commercial decline of the gangsta rap and "bling era" style that previously dominated mainstream hip-hop.
On the September 10, 2008 episode of Total Request Live, Jackson said his fourth studio album, Before I Self Destruct, would be "done and released in November". He released "Ok, You're Right", produced by Dr. Dre for Before I Self Destruct, on May 18, 2009 and was scheduled to appear in a fall 2009 episode of VH1's Behind the Music. On September 3, 2009, Jackson posted a video for the Soundkillers' Phoenix- produced track, "Flight 187", introducing his mixtape and book (The 50th Law). The song, with lyrics inspiring speculation about tension between Jackson and Jay-Z, was a bonus track on the iTunes version of Before I Self Destruct. Before I Self Destruct was released on November 9, 2009.
2010–2015: New musical directions, new business ventures, and Animal Ambition
In a Contactmusic.com interview, Jackson said he was working on a Eurodance album, Black Magic, inspired by European nightclubs: "First they played hip-hop which suddenly changed to uptempo songs, known as Eurodance". He later said he had changed his next album to The Return of the Heartless Monster after writing different material when he returned home from the Invitation Tour in 2010, shelving Black Magic. On September 3, Jackson supported Eminem on his and Jay-Z's The Home & Home Tour, performing "Crack A Bottle" with Eminem and Dr. Dre amid rumors of tension between Jackson and Dre.
He "recorded 20 songs to a whole different album concept" before putting them aside, wanting his new album to have the "aggression" of Get Rich or Die Tryin. Jackson tweeted that the album was "80 percent done" and fans could expect it in the summer of 2011. It was ultimately delayed a year due to disagreements with Interscope Records, with Jackson saying that he would release it in November 2011 with a different title than Black Magic. Eminem would appear on the album, and Jackson said he was working with new producers such as Boi-1da and Alex da Kid. Cardiak, who produced Lloyd Banks' "Start It Up", confirmed that he produced a song for the upcoming album.
Jackson released a song, "Outlaw", from his fifth album on the Internet on June 16, 2011. The single, produced by Cardiak, was released on iTunes on July 19 (although Jackson tweeted that it was not the album's first single). The rapper planned to write a semi-autobiographical young-adult novel about bullying, different from his previous books which focused on his life and the rules of power. According to the book's publisher, the first-person novel (about a 13-year-old schoolyard bully "who finds redemption as he faces what he's done") was scheduled for publication in January 2012.
In a series of tweets, Jackson said that the delay of his fifth album was due to disagreements with Interscope Records, later suggesting that it would be released in November 2011 with his headphone line (SMS by 50). He speculated to MTV News about not renewing his five-album contract with Interscope: "I don't know ... It will all be clear in the negotiations following me turning this actual album in. And, of course, the performance and how they actually treat the work will determine whether you still want to stay in that position or not."
On June 20, 2011, Jackson announced the release of Before I Self Destruct II after his fifth album. Although he planned to shoot a music video for the fifth album's lead single, "I'm On It", on June 26 the video was never filmed. Jackson told Shade45, "I did four songs in Detroit with Eminem. I did two with Just Blaze, a Boi-1da joint, and I did something with Alex da Kid. We made two that are definite singles and the other two are the kinds of records that we been making, more aimed at my core audience, more aggressive, more of a different kind of energy to it." He released "Street King Energy Track #7" in September 2011 to promote Street King, his charity-based energy drink. An announcement that Jackson was shooting a music video for "Girls Go Wild", the fifth-album lead single featuring Jeremih, was made on September 28, 2011.Music Video News: IN PRODUCTION: 50 Cent f/ Jeremih – Colin Tilley . Video Static (September 28, 2011). Retrieved on October 25, 2011.
Jackson's fifth album, Street King Immortal, was initially scheduled for a summer 2012 release and postponed until November 13. Disagreements with Interscope Records about its release and promotion led to its temporary cancellation. Its first promo single, "New Day" with Dr. Dre and Alicia Keys, was released on July 27. The song was produced by Dr. Dre, mixed by Eminem and written by 50 Cent, Alicia Keys, Royce da 5'9" and Dr. Dre. A solo version by Keys was leaked by her husband, Swizz Beatz. "My Life", the album's second promo single (with Eminem and Maroon 5 lead singer Adam Levine), was released on November 26, 2012.
In January 2014, Jackson said he planned to release Animal Ambition in the first quarter of the year, followed by Street King Immortal. On February 20, he left Shady Records, Aftermath Entertainment, and Interscope, signing with Caroline and Capitol Music Group. According to Jackson, although he owed Interscope another album, he was released from his contract because of his friendship with Eminem and Dr. Dre: "I'm a special case and situation. It's also because of the leverage of having the strong relationships with Eminem and Dr. Dre. They don't want me to be uncomfortable. They value our friendship to the point that they would never want [to jeopardize] it over that little bit of money."
That day, he announced that Animal Ambition would be released on June 3 and released its first track. The song, "Funeral", was released with a video on Forbes.com. Produced by Jake One, it is a continuation of "50 Bars" from a previous album; two more tracks were scheduled for release on March 18. At South by Southwest in Austin, Texas, Jackson performed "Hold On" from the new album. That song and "Don't Worry 'Bout It" were released with accompanying videos on March 18. According to Jackson, prosperity would be a theme of the album: "This project, I had to search for a concept, a really good concept, in my perspective, and that was prosperity. I outlined all the things that would be a part of prosperity, positive and negative [for Animal Ambition]."
2015–present: Street King Immortal, bankruptcy, and departure from Interscope
On May 14, 2015, Jackson revealed in an interview that the first single from Street King Immortal, would be previewed Memorial Day weekend and would likely be released in June. Jackson released "Get Low" on May 20, 2015, as the intended first single from his sixth studio album, Street King Immortal. The song, produced by Remo the Hitmaker, features vocals from fellow American rappers 2 Chainz and T.I., as well as American singer Jeremih. He announced bankruptcy on July 13, 2015.
On March 31, 2017, Interscope Records released 50 Cent's final album for the label, a greatest hits album titled Best Of.
50 Cent was among hundreds of artists whose material was destroyed in the 2008 Universal fire.
In 2020, Jackson led the executive-producer duties for late rapper Pop Smoke's debut album, Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon, having been one of Pop Smoke's biggest inspirations. The album was released on July 3, 2020. Jackson curated the album, desiring to finish it after Pop had died. He contacted many of the artists involved, and also features on one of the album tracks, "The Woo", which became a top ten single.
In 2020, it was reported that Jackson was producing two television series for Starz, an anthology about hip hop and a biographical drama about sports agent Nicole Lynn.
In 2021, he became one of the headliners of the music festival Golden Sand in Riviera Maya.
In a July 2021 interview with The Independent, 50 Cent confirmed that he had officially decided to shelve his Street King Immortal album after it spent a decade in development hell. He even confirmed that he plans to release a completely new project.
In August 2021, he was confirmed to be starring in the upcoming The Expendables film.
On February 13, 2022, 50 Cent was a surprise performer in the Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show.
Awards
Artistry
Jackson cites Boogie Down Productions, Big Daddy Kane, The Juice Crew, EPMD and KRS-One as his rapping influences, while citing LL Cool J as an inspiration behind his writing of "21 Questions". Jackson also states that he drew influences from Nas, Rakim and The Notorious B.I.G. while working on Animal Ambition.
Business ventures
Jackson has had a highly successful business career. He is financially invested in a highly diversified variety of industries. Jackson is now involved in artist and talent management, record, television, and film production, footwear, apparel, fragrances, liquor, video games, mobile apps, book publishing, headphones, along with health drinks and dietary supplements. His broad business and investment portfolio contains investments in a variety of sectors including real estate, financial market investments, mining, boxing promotion, vodka, fragrances, consumer electronics and fashion.
He established his own record label G-Unit Records in 2003 following his mainstream success. In November 2003, he signed a five-year deal with Reebok to distribute a G-Unit Sneakers line for his G-Unit Clothing Company.Leeds, Jeff (December 26, 2004). $50 Million for 50 Cent . The New York Times. Retrieved June 9, 2007. In an interview, Jackson said his businesses had a habit of doing well as he saw all of his ventures both past and present as revolving around his alter ego.
Jackson has also started a book publishing imprint, G-Unit Books on January 4, 2007 at the Time Warner Building in New York. He has written a number of books including a memoir, From Pieces To Weight in 2005 where it sold 73,000 copies in hardcover and 14,000 copies in paperback; a crime novel and a book with Robert Greene titled The 50th Law, an urban take on The 48 Laws of Power. In November 2011, Jackson released 50 Cent's Playground, a young adult fiction novel about a bullied, violent boy and his gay mother.
One of Jackson's first business ventures was a partnership with Glacéau to create an enhanced water drink called Formula 50. In October 2004, Jackson became a beverage investor when he was given a minority share in the company in exchange for becoming a spokesperson after learning that he was a fan of the beverage. The health conscious Jackson noted that he first learned of the product while at a gym in Los Angeles, and stated that "they do such a good job making water taste good." After becoming a minority shareholder and celebrity spokesperson, Jackson worked with the company to create a new grape flavored "Formula 50" variant of VitaminWater and mentioned the drinks in various songs and interviews. In 2007, Coca-Cola purchased Glacéau for $4.1 billion and, according to Forbes, Jackson, who was a minority shareholder, earned $100 million from the deal after taxes.
Though he no longer has an equity stake in the company, Jackson continues to act as a spokesperson for VitaminWater, supporting the product including singing about it at the BET Awards and expressing his excitement over the company's continuing to allow his input on products.
He joined Right Guard to introduce a body spray (Pure 50 RGX) and endorsed Magic Stick condoms, planning to donate part of their proceeds to increasing HIV awareness. Jackson signed a multi-year deal with Steiner Sports to sell his memorabilia, and announced plans for a dietary-supplement company in conjunction with his film Spectacular Regret in August 2007.Jokesta (August 21, 2007). 50 Cent launches dietary supplement company. Def Sounds. Retrieved August 21, 2007.
Jackson has founded two film production companies: G-Unit Films in 2003 and Cheetah Vision in 2008.For The Record: Quick News on Eminem, Ciara, Ludacris, Ne-Yo, Slayer, Marilyn Manson, Nas, Public Enemy & More . MTV (March 23, 2007). Accessed May 22, 2007. Cheetah Vision produces low budget action thrillers for foreign film markets across the world. When G-Unit Films folded, he focused on Cheetah Vision and the company obtained $200 million in funding in 2010. In 2010, Jackson revived G-Unit Films, renaming the company to G-Unit Films and Television Inc. The company has joint ventures with Will Packer's production company Will Packer Productions and Universal Television. In over 18 months, Jackson has sold projects to six different networks. Among them was Power, a STARZ drama in which he not only co-stars but also serves as co-creator and executive producer. Power debuted in June 2014 and was renewed for a second season after one episode.
Jackson serves as a co‐star, co-creator and executive television producer of the STARZ network drama where he signed a 2-year contract with representation coming from the Agency for the Performing Arts. Ratings have been a success for Starz. with the second-season premiere being the highest-ever season with 1.43 million people tuning in live.
In 2002, Jackson filed an application with the United States Patent and Trademark Office to register the term "50 Cent" as a trademark for clothing, sound recordings, and live performances. The application was published in 2003, and registration issued in 2004. He has since filed for additional trademark registrations.
In July 2011, Jackson launched a philanthropic initiative to provide food for one billion starving people in Africa by 2016, joining Pure Growth Partners to introduce Street King. A portion of the proceeds from each Street King purchase would be used to provide a daily meal to an underprivileged child. The partnership coincides with Jackson's goal to feed a billion people in Africa during the next five years. "50 Cent and I share a common vision: to address the world's problems through smart and sustainable business models," said Chris Clarke, founder and CEO of Pure Growth Partners. "With the rampant starvation in Africa and hunger afflicting children worldwide, we need socially responsible businesses that affect real change now more than ever." Jackson said, "I'm inspired by Clarke's vision and innovative approaches to tackling serious issues. It's our mission with Street King to really change children's lives around the world."Langhorne, Cyrus. (August 13, 2011) 50 Cent On "Street King" Global Takeover, "I Need Your Support" . Sohh.Com. Retrieved on October 25, 2011. In 2011, he founded SMS Audio, a consumer-electronics company selling Street by 50 headphones, pledging to donate a portion of their sales to charity. In April 2015, SMS announced new co-branding deals with Reebok and Marvel. It added those to existing partnerships with Walt Disney Parks, Lucasfilm's Star Wars, and Intel.
In 2014, Jackson became a minority shareholder in Effen Vodka, a brand of vodka produced in the Netherlands, when he invested undisclosed amount in the company Sire Spirits LLC. He currently endorses the product via his live concert performances and social media. The rapper was asked to take part in two promotional bottle signings, one in Oak Creek and another in Sun Prairie. Jackson made an appearance at Liquor Warehouse in Syracuse, New York on April 25, 2015 where he reportedly sold 1,400 bottles (277 gallons) of Jackson's signature liquor brand. Liquor Warehouse's owner George Angeloro reportedly stocked 300 cases (1,800 bottles or 357 gallons) of Effen Vodka, which sells for $30 a bottle, prior to the event.
In December 2014, Jackson signed a $78 million deal with FRIGO Revolution Wear, a luxury underwear brand. The joint venture is partnered between Jackson, basketball player Carmelo Anthony, baseball player Derek Jeter and Mathias Ingvarsson, the former president of mattress company Tempur-Pedic. Jackson became the chief fashion designer for the brands single pair of Frigo boxers. In April 2015, Jackson mulled investing in Jamaica, exploring foreign investment opportunities on the island when he met with some local officials and had ongoing discussions on investment opportunities in the Montego Bay resort area.
Investments
Over the years, Jackson invested his earnings from music and celebrity endorsements in an array of privately controlled companies, real estate, and stocks and bonds. A portion of his investments lost value during the 2008 recession. In December 2008, he told the Canadian press that he had been affected by the recession, losing several million dollars in the stock market. Unable to sell his Connecticut mansion, Jackson postponed Before I Self-Destruct due to the severity of the economic downturn.
His Farmington mansion located on 50 Poplar Hill Drive that he tried to sell for years filed for bankruptcy in Connecticut in 2015 listed an asking price for that property in 2012 at $10 million but was valued at $8.3 million in 2015. He first tried to sell the house in 2007 for $18.5 million, and dropped the price several times in the next five years, when it was on and off the market.
In January 2011, Jackson reportedly made $10 million after using Twitter to promote a marketing company which he was part shareholder of. His endorsements company G Unit Brands Inc. revealed through a public SEC filing controls 12.9 per cent of H&H Imports, which is a parent company of TV Goods – the firm responsible for marketing his range of headphones, Sleek by 50 Cent. Jackson bought stock in the company on November 30, 2010, a week after it offered buyers 180 million shares at 17 cents each. Jackson later made a stock recommendation on Twitter, causing its share value to rise from four cents to nearly 50 cents (32p) each, closing on Monday at 39 cents (25p). Jackson was later investigated by the Securities and Exchange Commission for breaching securities laws following his tweet which may have constituted allegations of Insider trading via his Pump and dump stock investment strategy.
In 2013, Jackson became a minority investor in Hang w/, a live video broadcasting mobile app used by dozens of celebrities to broadcast their daily activities and chat with fans. The app was downloaded more than 1 million times since its launch in March 2013 and had more than 1 million users . Other minority celebrity investors include former NFL player Terrell Owens and record producer Timbaland.
Mining and heavy metals
In 2008, Jackson visited a platinum, palladium and iridium mine shaft in South Africa, and met with South African billionaire Patrice Motsepe in talks of purchasing an equity stake in the mine. After his meeting with Motsepe, Jackson considered purchasing equity in the mine and launching his own line of 50 Cent branded platinum.
Boxing promotion
On July 21, 2012, Jackson became a licensed boxing promoter when he formed his new company, TMT (The Money Team). Licensed to promote in New York, he was in the process of being licensed in Nevada (where most major fights are held in the U.S.). A former amateur boxer, Jackson signed gold medalist and former featherweight champion Yuriorkis Gamboa and middleweight Olympic medalist Andre Dirrell. On July 29, 2012, he and the boxer Floyd Mayweather, Jr., signed IBF featherweight champion Billy Dib. They unveiled plans to challenge the box-office dominance of mixed martial arts and change the landscape of boxing with TMT Promotions. Boxer Zab Judah also expressed interest in making a deal with Jackson. In December 2012, Mayweather and Jackson parted company, with Jackson taking over the promotion company and founding SMS Promotions with Gamboa, Dirrell, Dib, James Kirkland, Luis Olivares and Donte Strayhorn in his stable.
Bankruptcy
On July 13, 2015, Jackson filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Connecticut with a debt of $32,509,549.91. On July 17, 2015, the Court issued an order allowing a creditor to proceed with the punitive damages phase of a trial against Jackson in a New York state court, in connection with the alleged release of a private video. His assets were listed as between $10 million and $50 million in his bankruptcy petition, though he testified under oath that he is worth $4.4 million. Citing between $10 million and $50 million in debt, and the same amount in assets. Later in the week, Jackson's bankruptcy lawyers elucidated the court documents that legal fees and judgments exceeding $20 million over the past year were the primary cause of the filing.
His filings listed 32 entities that he has a stake in. The bankruptcy came days after a jury ordered him to pay $5 million to rapper Rick Ross's ex-girlfriend Lastonia Leviston for invading her privacy by posting online a sex tape of her and another man. In addition, Jackson lost a dispute over a failed business deal to come to fruition to his Sleek headphones, where Jackson invested more than $2 million. An ex-partner accused Jackson of later stealing the design of the "Sleek by 50" headphones, prompting a judge to award the partner more than $17.2 million. His Connecticut bankruptcy filing states that he owns seven cars valued at more than $500,000, including a 2010 Rolls Royce and a 1966 Chevrolet Coupe. His expenses of $108,000 a month include $5,000 for gardening along with a monthly income of $185,000, mainly from royalties and income from his external businesses and investments. The court filing says he also owes money to his stylist, his barber, and his fitness coach.
Other details in the bankruptcy documents included information about two deals that sold the right to collect royalties of on-air play of his music. Half the rights to his portfolio were sold to the British independent music publishing company Kobalt Music Group for $3 million and the other half for another $3 million with the sales of his albums allowing Jackson to own 100 percent of the rights to the master recordings while paying only for distribution. Zeisler & Zeisler, a Bridgeport law firm, represented 50 Cent in the bankruptcy, which later resulted in Jackson filing a $75 million lawsuit against his own lawyers. He stated that his lawyers did a terrible job of representing him, specifically citing the fallout of his failed venture with Sleek Audio headphones and accused Garvey Schubert Barer, a Wall Street law firm, of failing to "employ the requisite knowledge and skill necessary to confront the circumstances of the case."
Corporate positions
G-Unity Foundation Inc. – Founder
SMS Audio – CEO, founder
SK Energy – Founder
SMS Promotions – CEO, founder
Sire Spirits – Owner
Effen Vodka – former minority shareholder
Personal life
On October 13, 1996, Jackson's girlfriend, Shaniqua Tompkins, gave birth to son Marquise Jackson. Tompkins later sued Jackson for $50 million, saying he promised to take care of her for life. The suit, with 15 causes of action, was dismissed by a judge who called it "an unfortunate tale of a love relationship gone sour." The two have bickered for years, and have even taken their feud to social media many times.
Marquise's birth changed Jackson's outlook on life: "When my son came into my life, my priorities changed, because I wanted to have the relationship with him that I didn't have with my father". He credited his son for inspiring his career and being the "motivation to go in a different direction". Despite this, the two have endured a fractured relationship that began when Jackson and Tompkins separated in 2008. Their feud has been taken to social media numerous times, including in 2020 when Jackson disclosed that he "used to" love his son. Jackson has a tattooed "Marquise" with an axe on his right biceps ("The axe is 'cause I'm a warrior. I don't want him to be one, though"), and has "50", "Southside" and "Cold World" on his back: "I'm a product of that environment. It's on my back, though, so it's all behind me".
Jackson dated model Daphne Joy and had his second son, Sire Jackson, with her, on September 1, 2012. At the age of two years, Sire modeled for Kidz Safe, a headphone brand for kids, earning $700,000 through his contract.
In 2005, Jackson supported President George W. Bush after rapper Kanye West criticized Bush for a slow response to the victims of Hurricane Katrina. If his felony convictions did not prevent him from voting, he said, he would have voted for the president. Jackson later said that Bush "has less compassion than the average human. By all means, I don't aspire to be like George Bush." In September 2007, he told Time that although he would not endorse a candidate in 2008, he "liked Hillary [Clinton]".
Six months later, the rapper told MTV News that he had switched his support to Barack Obama after hearing him speak, but had lost interest in politics.MTV News, "50 cent Flip-flops: From Clinton to Obama," March 28, 2008 Asked his opinion of President Obama's May 9, 2012 endorsement of gay marriage, Jackson said, "I'm for it ... I've encouraged same-sex activities. I've engaged in fetish areas a couple times." He had been criticized for anti-gay comments in the past.Mariel Concepcion, GLAAD Calls Out 50 Cent For Anti-Gay Tweet , Billboard, September 10, 2010
Despite having numerous songs that reference drug and alcohol usage, Jackson remains teetotal, citing a bad experience with alcohol as his main reason.Forbes noted Jackson's wealth in 2007, ranking him second behind Jay-Z in the rap industry. He lives in a Farmington, Connecticut, mansion formerly owned by ex-boxer Mike Tyson, listing it for sale at $18.5 million to move closer to his son (who lives on Long Island with his ex-girlfriend). The mayor of Bridgeport, Connecticut declared October 12, 2007 "50 Cent Curtis Jackson Day", honoring the rapper with a proclamation and a key to the city. One of Jackson's New York homes, purchased in January 2007 for $2.4 million and the center of a lawsuit between Jackson and Shaniqua Tompkins, caught fire on May 31, 2008 while he was filming in Louisiana.
In December 2008, he told the Canadian press that he had lost several million dollars in the stock market and, unable to sell his Connecticut mansion, had postponed Before I Self-Destruct because of the economic downturn. Jackson won a lawsuit in November 2009 against Taco Bell over the fast-food chain's use of his name without permission.
In 2016, regarding a public feud with rapper Meek Mill, he commented, "You know, he's really not that bright. The easiest thing you can do is bring other people into the statements you're saying, right, while you're writing music."
Jackson endorsed Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton in the run-up for the 2016 U.S. presidential election. He rejected an offer of $500,000 from the Trump campaign to make an appearance on the candidate's behalf. However, he endorsed Donald Trump in 2020, due to his dislike of Joe Biden's tax plans. A week later, he retracted his endorsement, saying on Twitter "Fu*k Donald Trump, I never liked him", and endorsed Biden.
Legal issues, Drugs and assault convictions
On June 29, 1994, Jackson was arrested for selling four vials of cocaine to an undercover police officer. He was arrested again three weeks later, when police searched his home and found heroin, ten ounces of crack cocaine and a starter's pistol. Although Jackson was sentenced to three to nine years in prison, he served six months in a boot camp (where he earned his high-school equivalency diploma). According to him, he did not use cocaine.
Jackson and four members of his entourage were arrested shortly before 2 a.m. on December 31, 2002, when police found a .25-caliber handgun and a .45-caliber pistol in a parked car (which they searched due to its tinted windows) outside a Manhattan nightclub. The rapper was charged with two counts of criminal possession of a weapon.
Jackson was sentenced to two years' probation on July 22, 2005 for a May 2004 incident, when he was charged with three counts of assault and battery after jumping into an audience when he was hit by a water bottle.
Lawsuits
Use of image
Jackson filed a lawsuit against an advertising company, Traffix of Pearl River, New York, on July 21, 2007, for using his image in a promotion he said threatened his safety. He was alerted by a staff member to an Internet advertisement on a Myspace page. According to court documents, the advertisement had a cartoon image of the rapper with "Shoot the rapper and you will win $5000 or five ring tones guaranteed". Although the ad did not use his name, the image allegedly resembled him and suggested that he endorsed the product. The lawsuit, calling the ad a "vile, tasteless and despicable" use of Jackson's image which "quite literally call[ed] for violence against him", sought unspecified punitive damages and a permanent injunction against the use of his image without permission.50 Cent Sues over 'Shoot the Rapper'. Fox News (July 20, 2007). Retrieved December 17, 2015.
Use of name
In 2008, Jackson sued Taco Bell over an ad campaign in which it invited him to change his name for one day from 50 Cent to 79 Cent, 89 Cent, or 99 Cent, in line with pricing for some of its items, and they would donate $10,000 to the charity of his choice. The case was settled out of court.
Janitor incident
While walking through Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport in May 2016, Jackson harassed and insulted a janitor at the airport, accusing him of being under the influence. The janitor was a hearing-impaired, autistic teenager named Andrew Farrell. The parents of the janitor had seen the viral video as disrespect and wanted to sue Jackson for his action against their child. The lawsuit was originally over one million dollars, but the parents settled for a $100,000 donation to Autism Speaks and his apology.
Bamba sample
In 2016, a judge declared that Brandon Parrott gave Dr. Dre and 50 Cent the rights to "Bamba" for the song "P.I.M.P."
Other civil and criminal matters
One of his New York homes, purchased for $2.4 million in January 2007 and the center of a lawsuit between Jackson and Shaniqua Tompkins, caught fire on May 30, 2008 while he was filming in Louisiana. On August 5, 2013, Jackson pleaded not guilty to one count of domestic violence and four counts of vandalism in a Los Angeles County court. If convicted of all charges, he faced up to five years in prison and a $46,000 fine. Model-actress Daphne Joy accused Jackson of kicking her and ransacking her bedroom during an argument at her condominium in the Toluca Lake neighborhood of Los Angeles on June 23. He allegedly caused $7,100 in property damage, leaving the scene before police arrived.
Judge Ann Nevins has ordered Jackson back to court because of Instagram messages he made over several months. She said Jackson was not fully clear about his funds and indicated posts of the rapper showing stacks of his money. In March 2016, Jackson claimed that he would no longer use Instagram, electing instead to have his profile page operated by someone else.
In 2020, Jackson was a subject of controversy for his involvement in a viral video of him giving money to a Burger King restaurant in New York City on behalf of a local scammer who was later arrested and charged for Bitcoin scamming and for assaulting and kidnapping his victims on April 24, 2021.
Feuds
Ja Rule
Before he signed with Interscope Records, Jackson engaged in a public dispute with rapper Ja Rule and his label, Murder Inc. Records, saying that a friend robbed jewelry from Ja Rule and the latter accused him of orchestrating the robbery. Ja Rule said that the conflict stemmed from a Queens video shoot, when Jackson did not like seeing him "getting so much love" from the neighborhood. At The Hit Factory in New York in March 2000, Jackson had an altercation with Murder Inc. associates and received three stitches for a stab wound.Smith, Dominic (July 2005). 50 Cent Interview. FHM. Retrieved July 11, 2007. Rapper Black Child claimed responsibility for the stabbing, saying that he acted in self-defense when he thought someone reached for a gun.
An affidavit by an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) agent suggested ties between Murder Inc. and Kenneth "Supreme" McGriff, a New York drug lord suspected of involvement in the murder of Jam Master Jay and Jackson's shooting. An excerpt read:
The end of the Jackson-Ja Rule feud was confirmed in May 2011. According to Ja Rule, "I'm cool. We ain't beefing no more. We'll never collaborate. That's just what it is. You don't have to be at war with somebody, but it's also kind of like U.S. and another country that they may not get along with. We don't gotta go to war, but we're not friends either. But we can coincide inside of a world. He's doing him, and he's not thinking about me, and I'm doing me and I'm not thinking about him."
On August 7, 2015, the feud between the two rappers later reignited when Ja Rule gave a feedback to a social follower via Twitter over a similar feud between Meek Mill and Drake. Enraged, Jackson later responded with photos and comments via Instagram, only siding with Drake. The feud resurfaced three years later on January 19, 2018, when Ja Rule took to Twitter, calling out 50 Cent on social media. 50 Cent responded by purchasing and vacating the first four rows of his concert.
The Game
Although Jackson was close to The Game before the latter released his debut album, The Documentary, they grew apart. After The Documentarys release, Jackson felt that The Game was disloyal for saying that he did not want to participate in G-Unit's feuds with other rappers (such as Nas, Jadakiss and Fat Joe) and his desire to work with artists with which G-Unit was feuding. He said that he wrote six songs for the album and did not receive proper credit, which The Game denied.
Jackson later dismissed The Game from G-Unit on Hot 97. After the announcement, The Game (a guest earlier in the evening) tried to enter the building with his entourage. After they were denied entry, one of his associates was shot in the leg in a confrontation with a group of men leaving the building.Hope, Clover (March 2, 2005). 50 Cent Cancels New York Appearance amid Shooting Inquiry . AllHipHop. Retrieved July 20, 2007. When the situation escalated, the rappers held a joint press conference announcing their reconciliation, and fans were uncertain if the rappers had staged a publicity stunt to boost sales of their recently released albums. After the situation cooled, G-Unit criticized The Game's street credibility and announced that they would not appear on his albums. During a Summer Jam performance The Game announced a boycott of G-Unit, which he called "G-Unot".
After the Summer Jam performance The Game recorded "300 Bars and Runnin'", an extended "diss" of G-Unit and Roc-A-Fella Records, for the mixtape You Know What It Is Vol. 3. Jackson responded with his "Piggy Bank" music video, with The Game as Mr. Potato Head and parodies of other rivals. They have continued attacking each other, with The Game releasing two more mixtapes: Ghost Unit and a mixtape-DVD, Stop Snitchin, Stop Lyin. Jackson superimposed The Game's head on the body of a male stripper for the cover of the Hate It or Love It (G-Unit Radio Part 21) mixtape in response to The Game's pictures of G-Unit dressed as the Village People. The Game, under contract to Aftermath Entertainment, signed with Geffen Records to terminate his contractual obligations with G-Unit (although it is claimed that Jackson pressured Dr. Dre to fire him). G-Unit member Spider Loc has insulted The Game in songs, and the latter released "240 Bars (Spider Joke)" and "100 Bars (The Funeral)" attacking G-Unit and Loc. Jackson's response was "Not Rich, Still Lyin'", mocking The Game. Lloyd Banks replied to the Game on a Rap City freestyle-booth segment, followed by a Game "diss" song ("SoundScan") ridiculing the 13-position drop of Banks' album Rotten Apple on the Billboard 200 chart and its disappointing second-week sales. Banks replied on his mixtape Mo' Money In The Bank Pt. 5: Gang Green Season Continues with "Showtime (The Game's Over)", said that Jackson wrote half of The Documentary and ridiculed The Game's suicidal thoughts.
In October 2006, The Game made a peace overture (which was not immediately answered) to Jackson, but two days later he said on Power 106 that the peace offer was valid for only one day. In several songs on Doctor's Advocate, he implied that the feud was over. He said in July 2009 that the feud had ended with help from Michael Jackson and Diddy, and apologized for his actions. According to Tony Yayo, neither Jackson nor G-Unit accepted his apology and The Game has resumed his calls for a "G-Unot" boycott at concerts. Jackson released "So Disrespectful" on Before I Self Destruct, targeting Jay-Z, The Game and Young Buck. The Game responded with "Shake", poking fun at the music video for Jackson's "Candy Shop".
On August 1, 2016, 50 Cent ended his twelve-year feud with The Game when the two were in the Ace of Diamonds Strip Club and The Game said "What happened, that shit was 12 years ago."
Rick Ross
Although Rick Ross began a feud with Jackson over an alleged incident at the 2008 BET Hip Hop Awards, Jackson told news sources he did not remember seeing Ross there. Later that month Ross' "Mafia Music" was leaked on the Internet, with lyrics apparently disparaging Jackson. Several days later, Jackson released "Officer Ricky (Go Head, Try Me)" in response to "Mafia Music". The following day, Ross appeared on Shade 45 (Eminem's Sirius channel) and told Jackson to come up with something better in 24 hours.
Before leaving for Venezuela, Jackson uploaded a video ("Warning Shot") and the first of a series of "Officer Ricky" cartoons. In early February he uploaded a YouTube video in which he interviewed "Tia", the mother of one of Ross' children; according to her, Ross is in reality a correctional officer. On February 5, 2009, The Game phoned Seattle radio station KUBE. Asked about the dispute between Jackson and Ross, he sided with Jackson and offered to mediate: "Rick Ross, holla at your boy, man" and "50 eating you, boy."
On his album Deeper Than Rap, Ross refers to Jackson in "In Cold Blood" and Jackson's mock funeral is part of the song's video. When the song was released, Ross said that he ended Jackson's career. "Rick Ross is Albert From CB4. You ever seen the movie? He's Albert," Jackson replied in an interview. "It never gets worse than this. You get a guy that was a correctional officer come out and base his entire career on writing material from a drug dealer's perspective such as "Freeway" Ricky Ross." Their feud rekindled at the 2012 BET Hip Hop Awards, where Jackson and G-Unit members Kidd Kidd, Mike Knox, Tony Yayo were seen on video attacking Gunplay (a member of Ross' Maybach Music Group). Gunplay's Maybach Music diamond necklace was stolen during the brawl, and several days later Jackson appeared at a Washington, D.C. bowling alley wearing Gunplay's chain. On January 30, 2013, Jackson tweeted that Ross' attempted drive-by shooting on his birthday three days earlier was "staged".
On August 9, 2020, 50 Cent and Rick Ross ended their feud.
Awards and nominations
Discography
Studio albums
Get Rich or Die Tryin' (2003)
The Massacre (2005)
Curtis (2007)
Before I Self Destruct (2009)
Animal Ambition (2014)
Collaborative albums
Beg for Mercy (with G-Unit) (2003)
T·O·S (Terminate on Sight)'' (with G-Unit) (2008)
Filmography
Film
Television
Appearances
Video games
References
External links
1975 births
20th-century American rappers
21st-century American businesspeople
21st-century American male actors
21st-century American rappers
21st-century African-American male singers
African-American fashion designers
African-American film producers
African-American investors
African-American male actors
African-American male rappers
African-American memoirists
African-American record producers
African-American male songwriters
Aftermath Entertainment artists
American book publishers (people)
American boxing promoters
American businesspeople convicted of crimes
American chairpersons of corporations
American chief executives of food industry companies
American corporate directors
American cosmetics businesspeople
American drink industry businesspeople
American fashion businesspeople
American film producers
American hip hop record producers
American male film actors
American male television actors
American male video game actors
American marketing businesspeople
American memoirists
American mining businesspeople
American music industry executives
American music publishers (people)
American nonprofit businesspeople
American people convicted of drug offenses
American reality television producers
American retail chief executives
American shooting survivors
American television company founders
American television executives
Andrew Jackson High School (Queens) alumni
Brit Award winners
Businesspeople from Queens, New York
Businesspeople in metals
Caroline Records artists
East Coast hip hop musicians
Echo (music award) winners
Gangsta rappers
Grammy Award winners for rap music
G-Unit Records artists
JMJ Records artists
Juno Award for International Album of the Year winners
Living people
Male actors from New York City
People from Jamaica, Queens
Philanthropists from New York (state)
Rappers from New York City
Record producers from New York (state)
Shady Records artists
Shoe designers
Songwriters from New York (state)
Sony Music Publishing artists
Stabbing attacks in the United States
Stabbing survivors
Television producers from New York City
World Music Awards winners
Writers from Queens, New York | true | [
"Fálkinn was an Icelandic record label. The label's only well known original release was Björk's 1977 debut album Björk. Fálkinn is sometimes used as the title for the album as the album did not have an official title.\n\nFálkinn was also the local distributor of EMI, Polygram, and Island Records releases.\n\nReferences\nWhat Is Fálkinn?\nBjörk.com Discography\n\nIcelandic record labels",
"Death Records is a San Francisco-based Lo-Fi/Outsider Pop record label. Founded by Brian Wakefield & Colin Arlen in 2014, the label was created to \"Represent the 'misfits of this city' who have been left behind to fend for themselves\". The label has started an annual festival, Deathstock, to celebrate the labels \"birthday\". Acts such as Gary Wilson, Tomorrow's Tulips & The Memories played the inaugural year.\n\nThe label mainly showcases SF/Bay Area based artists. After trends of many garage rockers moving to Los Angeles, Wakefield did the opposite of most & moved back to S.F after a short stint in L.A. to start this label, as well as working on projects Melted Toys & Emotional.\n\nIt was announced on October 28, 2017, that Death Records was no longer in operation.\n\nReferences\n\nRecord labels based in California\nRecord labels established in 2014\n2014 establishments in California\nPop record labels\nMusic of the San Francisco Bay Area\nDefunct record labels"
] |
[
"50 Cent",
"2002-2006: Rise to fame",
"What was his album when he rise to fame?",
"In 2002, Eminem heard Jackson's Guess Who's Back? CD, received from Jackson's attorney (",
"Who signed him?",
"introduced him to Dr. Dre. After signing a $1 million record deal, Jackson released No Mercy, No Fear.",
"What was the name of his mix tape?",
"Jackson released No Mercy, No Fear.",
"What was his debut album?",
"Jackson released his debut album, Get Rich or Die Tryin' (",
"How many copies of the album was sold?",
"selling 872,000 copies in its first four days.",
"What is the best single in the album?",
"The lead single, \"In da Club\" (",
"Did he have a record label?",
"Interscope gave Jackson his own label, G-Unit Records,"
] | C_c5bdd69a096444ff8e00c23e110bdece_0 | Did he sign anybody under his label? | 8 | Did 50 Cent sign anybody under his label, G-Unit Records? | 50 Cent | In 2002, Eminem heard Jackson's Guess Who's Back? CD, received from Jackson's attorney (who was working with Eminem's manager, Paul Rosenberg). Impressed, Eminem invited Jackson to fly to Los Angeles and introduced him to Dr. Dre. After signing a $1 million record deal, Jackson released No Mercy, No Fear. The mixtape featured one new track, "Wanksta", which appeared on Eminem's 8 Mile soundtrack. Jackson was also signed by Chris Lighty's Violator Management and Sha Money XL's Money Management Group. Jackson released his debut album, Get Rich or Die Tryin' (described by AllMusic as "probably the most hyped debut album by a rap artist in about a decade"), in February 2003. Rolling Stone noted its "dark synth grooves, buzzy keyboards and a persistently funky bounce", with Jackson complementing the production in "an unflappable, laid-back flow". It debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, selling 872,000 copies in its first four days. The lead single, "In da Club" (noted by The Source for its "blaring horns, funky organs, guitar riffs and sparse hand claps"), set a Billboard record as the most listened-to song in radio history within a week. Interscope gave Jackson his own label, G-Unit Records, in 2003. He signed Lloyd Banks, Tony Yayo and Young Buck as members of G-Unit, and The Game was later signed in a joint venture with Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment. In March 2005 Jackson's second commercial album, The Massacre, sold 1.14 million copies in its first four days (the highest in an abbreviated sales cycle) and was number one on the Billboard 200 for six weeks. He was the first solo artist with three singles in the Billboard top five in the same week with "Candy Shop", "Disco Inferno" and "How We Do". According to Rolling Stone, "50's secret weapon is his singing voice - the deceptively amateur-sounding tenor croon that he deploys on almost every chorus". After The Game's departure Jackson signed Olivia and rap veterans Mobb Deep to G-Unit Records, with Spider Loc, M.O.P., 40 Glocc and Young Hot Rod later joining the label, who all eventually departed the label. Jackson expressed an interest in working with rappers other than G-Unit, such as Lil' Scrappy of BME, LL Cool J of Def Jam, Mase of Bad Boy and Freeway of Roc-A-Fella, and recorded with several. CANNOTANSWER | He signed Lloyd Banks, Tony Yayo and Young Buck as members of G-Unit, and The Game | Curtis James Jackson III (born July 6, 1975), known professionally as 50 Cent, is an American rapper, actor and entrepreneur. Known for his impact in the hip hop industry, he has been described as a "master of the nuanced art of lyrical brevity".
Born in the South Jamaica neighborhood of Queens, Jackson began selling drugs at age 12 during the 1980s crack epidemic. He later began pursuing a musical career and in 2000 he produced Power of the Dollar for Columbia Records, but days before the planned release he was shot and the album was never released. In 2002, after 50 Cent released the compilation album Guess Who's Back?, he was discovered by Eminem and signed to Shady Records, under the aegis of Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment and Interscope Records.
With the aid of Eminem and Dr. Dre (who produced his first major-label album Get Rich or Die Tryin'), 50 Cent became one of the world's best selling rappers and rose to prominence as de facto leader of East Coast hip hop group G-Unit. In 2003, he founded G-Unit Records, signing his G-Unit associates Young Buck, Lloyd Banks and Tony Yayo. 50 Cent had similar commercial and critical success with his second album, The Massacre, which was released in 2005. He underwent musical changes by his fifth album, Animal Ambition (2014), and is currently working on his sixth studio album. He executive-produced and starred in the television series Power (2014–2020) and is slated to produce its spin-offs.
50 Cent has sold over 30 million albums worldwide and won several awards, including a Grammy Award, thirteen Billboard Music Awards, six World Music Awards, three American Music Awards and four BET Awards. As an actor, Jackson appeared in the semi-autobiographical film Get Rich or Die Tryin' (2005), the war film Home of the Brave (2006), and the crime thriller film Righteous Kill (2008). 50 Cent was ranked the sixth-best artist of the 2000s and the third-best rapper (behind Eminem and Nelly) by Billboard. Rolling Stone ranked Get Rich or Die Tryin and "In da Club" in its lists of the "100 Best Albums of the 2000s" and "100 Best Songs of the 2000s" at numbers 37 and 13, respectively.
Early life
Jackson was born in the borough of Queens, New York City, and raised in its South Jamaica neighborhood by his mother Sabrina. A drug dealer, Sabrina raised Jackson until she died in a fire when Jackson was 8. (online is excerpt only) Jackson revealed in an interview that his mother was a lesbian. After his mother's death and his father's departure, Jackson was raised by his grandmother.
He began boxing at about age 11, and when he was 14, a neighbor opened a boxing gym for local youth. "When I wasn't killing time in school, I was sparring in the gym or selling crack on the strip," Jackson remembered. He sold crack during primary school. "I was competitive in the ring and hip-hop is competitive too ... I think rappers condition themselves like boxers, so they all kind of feel like they're the champ."
At age 12, Jackson began dealing narcotics when his grandparents thought he was in after-school programs and brought guns and drug money to school. In the tenth grade, he was caught by metal detectors at Andrew Jackson High School: "I was embarrassed that I got arrested like that ... After I got arrested I stopped hiding it. I was telling my grandmother [openly], 'I sell drugs.'"
On June 29, 1994, Jackson was arrested for selling four vials of cocaine to an undercover police officer. He was arrested again three weeks later, when police searched his home and found heroin, ten ounces of crack cocaine, and a starting pistol. Although Jackson was sentenced to three to nine years in prison, he served six months in a boot camp and earned his GED. He has said that he did not use cocaine himself.The Smoking Gun: 50 Cent . The Smoking Gun (February 27, 2003). Accessed May 22, 2007. Jackson adopted the nickname "50 Cent" as a metaphor for change. The name was inspired by Kelvin Martin, a 1980s Brooklyn robber known as "50 Cent"; Jackson chose it "because it says everything I want it to say. I'm the same kind of person 50 Cent was. I provide for myself by any means."
Career
1996–2002: Rise to fame, shooting, and early mixtapes
Jackson began rapping in a friend's basement, where he used turntables to record over instrumentals. In 1996, a friend introduced him to Jam Master Jay of Run-DMC, who was establishing Jam Master Jay Records. Jay taught him how to count bars, write choruses, structure songs, and make records.Tarek, Shams (May 16, 2003). Jamaica's 'Own Bad Guy' 50 Cent Making Good in the Music Biz . Queens Press. Accessed May 22, 2007. Jackson's first appearance was on "React" with Onyx, for their 1998 album Shut 'Em Down. He credited Jam Master Jay for improving his ability to write hooks, and Jay produced Jackson's first (unreleased) album. In 1999, after Jackson left Jam Master Jay, the platinum-selling producers Trackmasters signed him to Columbia Records. They sent him to an upstate New York studio, where he produced thirty-six songs in two weeks; eighteen were included on his 2000 album, Power of the Dollar. Jackson founded Hollow Point Entertainment with former G-Unit member Bang 'Em Smurf.Williams, Houston (February 2004). Bang'em Smurf: Life after G-Unit. AllHipHop. Retrieved July 20, 2007.
Jackson's popularity began to grow after the successful, controversial underground single "How to Rob", which he wrote in a half-hour car ride to a studio.50 Cent. From Pieces to Weight Part 5 . MTV. Accessed May 22, 2007. The track comically describes how he would rob famous artists. Jackson explained the song's rationale: "There's a hundred artists on that label, you gotta separate yourself from that group and make yourself relevant". Rappers Jay-Z, Kurupt, Sticky Fingaz, Big Pun, DMX, Wyclef Jean, and the Wu-Tang Clan responded to the track, and Nas invited Jackson to join him on his Nastradamus tour. Although "How to Rob" was intended to be released with "Thug Love" (with Destiny's Child), two days before he was scheduled to film the "Thug Love" music video, Jackson was shot and hospitalized.
On May 24, 2000, Jackson was attacked by a gunman outside his grandmother's former home in South Jamaica. After getting into a friend's car, he was asked to return to the house to get some jewelry; his son was in the house, and his grandmother was in the front yard. Jackson returned to the back seat of the car, and another car pulled up nearby; an assailant walked up and fired nine shots at close range with a 9mm handgun. Jackson was shot in the hand, arm, hip, both legs, chest, and left cheek. His facial wound resulted in a swollen tongue, the loss of a wisdom tooth and a slightly slurred voice; his friend was wounded in the hand. They were driven to a hospital, where Jackson spent thirteen days. The alleged attacker, Darryl Baum, Mike Tyson's close friend and bodyguard, was killed three weeks later.
Jackson recalled the shooting: "It happens so fast that you don't even get a chance to shoot back .... I was scared the whole time ... I was looking in the rear-view mirror like, 'Oh shit, somebody shot me in the face! It burns, burns, burns.'" In his autobiography, From Pieces to Weight: Once upon a Time in Southside Queens, he wrote: "After I got shot nine times at close range and didn't die, I started to think that I must have a purpose in life ... How much more damage could that shell have done? Give me an inch in this direction or that one, and I'm gone". Jackson used a walker for six weeks and fully recovered after five months. When he left the hospital he stayed in the Poconos with his girlfriend and son, and his workout regime helped him develop a muscular physique.
In the hospital Jackson signed a publishing deal with Columbia Records before he was dropped from the label and blacklisted by the recording industry because of his song, "Ghetto Qu'ran". Unable to work in a U.S. studio, he went to Canada.Weiner, Jonah (April 2005). Dear Superstar: 50 Cent . Blender. Accessed May 22, 2007. With business partner Sha Money XL, Jackson recorded over thirty songs for mixtapes to build a reputation. In a HitQuarters interview, Marc Labelle of Shady Records A&R said that Jackson used the mixtape circuit to his advantage: "He took all the hottest beats from every artist and flipped them with better hooks. They then got into all the markets on the mixtapes and all the mixtape DJs were messing with them." Jackson's popularity increased, and in 2002 he released the mixtape Guess Who's Back?. He then released 50 Cent Is the Future backed by G-Unit, a mixtape revisiting material by Jay-Z and Raphael Saadiq.
===2002–2007: Mainstream breakthrough, Get Rich or Die Tryin''', and The Massacre===
In 2002, Eminem heard Jackson's Guess Who's Back? CD, received from Jackson's attorney (who was working with Eminem's manager, Paul Rosenberg). Impressed, Eminem invited Jackson to fly to Los Angeles and introduced him to Dr. Dre. After signing a $1 million record deal, Jackson released No Mercy, No Fear. The mixtape featured one new track, "Wanksta", which appeared on Eminem's 8 Mile soundtrack. Jackson was also signed by Chris Lighty's Violator Management and Sha Money XL's Money Management Group.
50 Cent released his debut album, Get Rich or Die Tryin' (described by AllMusic as "probably the most hyped debut album by a rap artist in about a decade"), in February 2003. Rolling Stone noted its "dark synth grooves, buzzy keyboards and a persistently funky bounce", with Jackson complementing the production in "an unflappable, laid-back flow". It debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, selling 872,000 copies in its first four days. The lead single, "In da Club" (noted by The Source for its "blaring horns, funky organs, guitar riffs and sparse hand claps"), set a Billboard record as the most listened-to song in radio history within a week.
Interscope gave Jackson his own label, G-Unit Records, in 2003. He signed Lloyd Banks, Tony Yayo and Young Buck as members of G-Unit, and The Game was later signed in a joint venture with Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment. In March 2005, 50 Cent's second commercial album, The Massacre, sold 1.14 million copies in its first four days (the highest in an abbreviated sales cycle) and was number one on the Billboard 200 for six weeks. He was the first solo artist with three singles in the Billboard top five in the same week with "Candy Shop", "Disco Inferno" and "How We Do". According to Rolling Stone, "50's secret weapon is his singing voice - the deceptively amateur-sounding tenor croon that he deploys on almost every chorus".
After The Game's departure Jackson signed Olivia and rap veterans Mobb Deep to G-Unit Records, with Spider Loc, M.O.P., 40 Glocc and Young Hot Rod later joining the label, who all eventually departed the label.Chery, Carl (May 27, 2005). Pulse Report: M.O.P. Signs to G-Unit . SOHH. Retrieved June 22, 2007. Jackson expressed an interest in working with rappers other than G-Unit, such as Lil' Scrappy of BME, LL Cool J of Def Jam, Mase of Bad Boy and Freeway of Roc-A-Fella, and recorded with several.
2007–2010: Curtis, sales battle with Kanye West, and Before I Self Destruct
In September 2007, 50 Cent released his third album, Curtis, which was inspired by his life before Get Rich or Die Tryin. It debuted at number two on the Billboard 200, selling 691,000 copies during its first week. It sold behind Kanye West's Graduation, released the same day; the outcome of this highly-publicized sales battle between Jackson and West has been accredited to the commercial decline of the gangsta rap and "bling era" style that previously dominated mainstream hip-hop.
On the September 10, 2008 episode of Total Request Live, Jackson said his fourth studio album, Before I Self Destruct, would be "done and released in November". He released "Ok, You're Right", produced by Dr. Dre for Before I Self Destruct, on May 18, 2009 and was scheduled to appear in a fall 2009 episode of VH1's Behind the Music. On September 3, 2009, Jackson posted a video for the Soundkillers' Phoenix- produced track, "Flight 187", introducing his mixtape and book (The 50th Law). The song, with lyrics inspiring speculation about tension between Jackson and Jay-Z, was a bonus track on the iTunes version of Before I Self Destruct. Before I Self Destruct was released on November 9, 2009.
2010–2015: New musical directions, new business ventures, and Animal Ambition
In a Contactmusic.com interview, Jackson said he was working on a Eurodance album, Black Magic, inspired by European nightclubs: "First they played hip-hop which suddenly changed to uptempo songs, known as Eurodance". He later said he had changed his next album to The Return of the Heartless Monster after writing different material when he returned home from the Invitation Tour in 2010, shelving Black Magic. On September 3, Jackson supported Eminem on his and Jay-Z's The Home & Home Tour, performing "Crack A Bottle" with Eminem and Dr. Dre amid rumors of tension between Jackson and Dre.
He "recorded 20 songs to a whole different album concept" before putting them aside, wanting his new album to have the "aggression" of Get Rich or Die Tryin. Jackson tweeted that the album was "80 percent done" and fans could expect it in the summer of 2011. It was ultimately delayed a year due to disagreements with Interscope Records, with Jackson saying that he would release it in November 2011 with a different title than Black Magic. Eminem would appear on the album, and Jackson said he was working with new producers such as Boi-1da and Alex da Kid. Cardiak, who produced Lloyd Banks' "Start It Up", confirmed that he produced a song for the upcoming album.
Jackson released a song, "Outlaw", from his fifth album on the Internet on June 16, 2011. The single, produced by Cardiak, was released on iTunes on July 19 (although Jackson tweeted that it was not the album's first single). The rapper planned to write a semi-autobiographical young-adult novel about bullying, different from his previous books which focused on his life and the rules of power. According to the book's publisher, the first-person novel (about a 13-year-old schoolyard bully "who finds redemption as he faces what he's done") was scheduled for publication in January 2012.
In a series of tweets, Jackson said that the delay of his fifth album was due to disagreements with Interscope Records, later suggesting that it would be released in November 2011 with his headphone line (SMS by 50). He speculated to MTV News about not renewing his five-album contract with Interscope: "I don't know ... It will all be clear in the negotiations following me turning this actual album in. And, of course, the performance and how they actually treat the work will determine whether you still want to stay in that position or not."
On June 20, 2011, Jackson announced the release of Before I Self Destruct II after his fifth album. Although he planned to shoot a music video for the fifth album's lead single, "I'm On It", on June 26 the video was never filmed. Jackson told Shade45, "I did four songs in Detroit with Eminem. I did two with Just Blaze, a Boi-1da joint, and I did something with Alex da Kid. We made two that are definite singles and the other two are the kinds of records that we been making, more aimed at my core audience, more aggressive, more of a different kind of energy to it." He released "Street King Energy Track #7" in September 2011 to promote Street King, his charity-based energy drink. An announcement that Jackson was shooting a music video for "Girls Go Wild", the fifth-album lead single featuring Jeremih, was made on September 28, 2011.Music Video News: IN PRODUCTION: 50 Cent f/ Jeremih – Colin Tilley . Video Static (September 28, 2011). Retrieved on October 25, 2011.
Jackson's fifth album, Street King Immortal, was initially scheduled for a summer 2012 release and postponed until November 13. Disagreements with Interscope Records about its release and promotion led to its temporary cancellation. Its first promo single, "New Day" with Dr. Dre and Alicia Keys, was released on July 27. The song was produced by Dr. Dre, mixed by Eminem and written by 50 Cent, Alicia Keys, Royce da 5'9" and Dr. Dre. A solo version by Keys was leaked by her husband, Swizz Beatz. "My Life", the album's second promo single (with Eminem and Maroon 5 lead singer Adam Levine), was released on November 26, 2012.
In January 2014, Jackson said he planned to release Animal Ambition in the first quarter of the year, followed by Street King Immortal. On February 20, he left Shady Records, Aftermath Entertainment, and Interscope, signing with Caroline and Capitol Music Group. According to Jackson, although he owed Interscope another album, he was released from his contract because of his friendship with Eminem and Dr. Dre: "I'm a special case and situation. It's also because of the leverage of having the strong relationships with Eminem and Dr. Dre. They don't want me to be uncomfortable. They value our friendship to the point that they would never want [to jeopardize] it over that little bit of money."
That day, he announced that Animal Ambition would be released on June 3 and released its first track. The song, "Funeral", was released with a video on Forbes.com. Produced by Jake One, it is a continuation of "50 Bars" from a previous album; two more tracks were scheduled for release on March 18. At South by Southwest in Austin, Texas, Jackson performed "Hold On" from the new album. That song and "Don't Worry 'Bout It" were released with accompanying videos on March 18. According to Jackson, prosperity would be a theme of the album: "This project, I had to search for a concept, a really good concept, in my perspective, and that was prosperity. I outlined all the things that would be a part of prosperity, positive and negative [for Animal Ambition]."
2015–present: Street King Immortal, bankruptcy, and departure from Interscope
On May 14, 2015, Jackson revealed in an interview that the first single from Street King Immortal, would be previewed Memorial Day weekend and would likely be released in June. Jackson released "Get Low" on May 20, 2015, as the intended first single from his sixth studio album, Street King Immortal. The song, produced by Remo the Hitmaker, features vocals from fellow American rappers 2 Chainz and T.I., as well as American singer Jeremih. He announced bankruptcy on July 13, 2015.
On March 31, 2017, Interscope Records released 50 Cent's final album for the label, a greatest hits album titled Best Of.
50 Cent was among hundreds of artists whose material was destroyed in the 2008 Universal fire.
In 2020, Jackson led the executive-producer duties for late rapper Pop Smoke's debut album, Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon, having been one of Pop Smoke's biggest inspirations. The album was released on July 3, 2020. Jackson curated the album, desiring to finish it after Pop had died. He contacted many of the artists involved, and also features on one of the album tracks, "The Woo", which became a top ten single.
In 2020, it was reported that Jackson was producing two television series for Starz, an anthology about hip hop and a biographical drama about sports agent Nicole Lynn.
In 2021, he became one of the headliners of the music festival Golden Sand in Riviera Maya.
In a July 2021 interview with The Independent, 50 Cent confirmed that he had officially decided to shelve his Street King Immortal album after it spent a decade in development hell. He even confirmed that he plans to release a completely new project.
In August 2021, he was confirmed to be starring in the upcoming The Expendables film.
On February 13, 2022, 50 Cent was a surprise performer in the Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show.
Awards
Artistry
Jackson cites Boogie Down Productions, Big Daddy Kane, The Juice Crew, EPMD and KRS-One as his rapping influences, while citing LL Cool J as an inspiration behind his writing of "21 Questions". Jackson also states that he drew influences from Nas, Rakim and The Notorious B.I.G. while working on Animal Ambition.
Business ventures
Jackson has had a highly successful business career. He is financially invested in a highly diversified variety of industries. Jackson is now involved in artist and talent management, record, television, and film production, footwear, apparel, fragrances, liquor, video games, mobile apps, book publishing, headphones, along with health drinks and dietary supplements. His broad business and investment portfolio contains investments in a variety of sectors including real estate, financial market investments, mining, boxing promotion, vodka, fragrances, consumer electronics and fashion.
He established his own record label G-Unit Records in 2003 following his mainstream success. In November 2003, he signed a five-year deal with Reebok to distribute a G-Unit Sneakers line for his G-Unit Clothing Company.Leeds, Jeff (December 26, 2004). $50 Million for 50 Cent . The New York Times. Retrieved June 9, 2007. In an interview, Jackson said his businesses had a habit of doing well as he saw all of his ventures both past and present as revolving around his alter ego.
Jackson has also started a book publishing imprint, G-Unit Books on January 4, 2007 at the Time Warner Building in New York. He has written a number of books including a memoir, From Pieces To Weight in 2005 where it sold 73,000 copies in hardcover and 14,000 copies in paperback; a crime novel and a book with Robert Greene titled The 50th Law, an urban take on The 48 Laws of Power. In November 2011, Jackson released 50 Cent's Playground, a young adult fiction novel about a bullied, violent boy and his gay mother.
One of Jackson's first business ventures was a partnership with Glacéau to create an enhanced water drink called Formula 50. In October 2004, Jackson became a beverage investor when he was given a minority share in the company in exchange for becoming a spokesperson after learning that he was a fan of the beverage. The health conscious Jackson noted that he first learned of the product while at a gym in Los Angeles, and stated that "they do such a good job making water taste good." After becoming a minority shareholder and celebrity spokesperson, Jackson worked with the company to create a new grape flavored "Formula 50" variant of VitaminWater and mentioned the drinks in various songs and interviews. In 2007, Coca-Cola purchased Glacéau for $4.1 billion and, according to Forbes, Jackson, who was a minority shareholder, earned $100 million from the deal after taxes.
Though he no longer has an equity stake in the company, Jackson continues to act as a spokesperson for VitaminWater, supporting the product including singing about it at the BET Awards and expressing his excitement over the company's continuing to allow his input on products.
He joined Right Guard to introduce a body spray (Pure 50 RGX) and endorsed Magic Stick condoms, planning to donate part of their proceeds to increasing HIV awareness. Jackson signed a multi-year deal with Steiner Sports to sell his memorabilia, and announced plans for a dietary-supplement company in conjunction with his film Spectacular Regret in August 2007.Jokesta (August 21, 2007). 50 Cent launches dietary supplement company. Def Sounds. Retrieved August 21, 2007.
Jackson has founded two film production companies: G-Unit Films in 2003 and Cheetah Vision in 2008.For The Record: Quick News on Eminem, Ciara, Ludacris, Ne-Yo, Slayer, Marilyn Manson, Nas, Public Enemy & More . MTV (March 23, 2007). Accessed May 22, 2007. Cheetah Vision produces low budget action thrillers for foreign film markets across the world. When G-Unit Films folded, he focused on Cheetah Vision and the company obtained $200 million in funding in 2010. In 2010, Jackson revived G-Unit Films, renaming the company to G-Unit Films and Television Inc. The company has joint ventures with Will Packer's production company Will Packer Productions and Universal Television. In over 18 months, Jackson has sold projects to six different networks. Among them was Power, a STARZ drama in which he not only co-stars but also serves as co-creator and executive producer. Power debuted in June 2014 and was renewed for a second season after one episode.
Jackson serves as a co‐star, co-creator and executive television producer of the STARZ network drama where he signed a 2-year contract with representation coming from the Agency for the Performing Arts. Ratings have been a success for Starz. with the second-season premiere being the highest-ever season with 1.43 million people tuning in live.
In 2002, Jackson filed an application with the United States Patent and Trademark Office to register the term "50 Cent" as a trademark for clothing, sound recordings, and live performances. The application was published in 2003, and registration issued in 2004. He has since filed for additional trademark registrations.
In July 2011, Jackson launched a philanthropic initiative to provide food for one billion starving people in Africa by 2016, joining Pure Growth Partners to introduce Street King. A portion of the proceeds from each Street King purchase would be used to provide a daily meal to an underprivileged child. The partnership coincides with Jackson's goal to feed a billion people in Africa during the next five years. "50 Cent and I share a common vision: to address the world's problems through smart and sustainable business models," said Chris Clarke, founder and CEO of Pure Growth Partners. "With the rampant starvation in Africa and hunger afflicting children worldwide, we need socially responsible businesses that affect real change now more than ever." Jackson said, "I'm inspired by Clarke's vision and innovative approaches to tackling serious issues. It's our mission with Street King to really change children's lives around the world."Langhorne, Cyrus. (August 13, 2011) 50 Cent On "Street King" Global Takeover, "I Need Your Support" . Sohh.Com. Retrieved on October 25, 2011. In 2011, he founded SMS Audio, a consumer-electronics company selling Street by 50 headphones, pledging to donate a portion of their sales to charity. In April 2015, SMS announced new co-branding deals with Reebok and Marvel. It added those to existing partnerships with Walt Disney Parks, Lucasfilm's Star Wars, and Intel.
In 2014, Jackson became a minority shareholder in Effen Vodka, a brand of vodka produced in the Netherlands, when he invested undisclosed amount in the company Sire Spirits LLC. He currently endorses the product via his live concert performances and social media. The rapper was asked to take part in two promotional bottle signings, one in Oak Creek and another in Sun Prairie. Jackson made an appearance at Liquor Warehouse in Syracuse, New York on April 25, 2015 where he reportedly sold 1,400 bottles (277 gallons) of Jackson's signature liquor brand. Liquor Warehouse's owner George Angeloro reportedly stocked 300 cases (1,800 bottles or 357 gallons) of Effen Vodka, which sells for $30 a bottle, prior to the event.
In December 2014, Jackson signed a $78 million deal with FRIGO Revolution Wear, a luxury underwear brand. The joint venture is partnered between Jackson, basketball player Carmelo Anthony, baseball player Derek Jeter and Mathias Ingvarsson, the former president of mattress company Tempur-Pedic. Jackson became the chief fashion designer for the brands single pair of Frigo boxers. In April 2015, Jackson mulled investing in Jamaica, exploring foreign investment opportunities on the island when he met with some local officials and had ongoing discussions on investment opportunities in the Montego Bay resort area.
Investments
Over the years, Jackson invested his earnings from music and celebrity endorsements in an array of privately controlled companies, real estate, and stocks and bonds. A portion of his investments lost value during the 2008 recession. In December 2008, he told the Canadian press that he had been affected by the recession, losing several million dollars in the stock market. Unable to sell his Connecticut mansion, Jackson postponed Before I Self-Destruct due to the severity of the economic downturn.
His Farmington mansion located on 50 Poplar Hill Drive that he tried to sell for years filed for bankruptcy in Connecticut in 2015 listed an asking price for that property in 2012 at $10 million but was valued at $8.3 million in 2015. He first tried to sell the house in 2007 for $18.5 million, and dropped the price several times in the next five years, when it was on and off the market.
In January 2011, Jackson reportedly made $10 million after using Twitter to promote a marketing company which he was part shareholder of. His endorsements company G Unit Brands Inc. revealed through a public SEC filing controls 12.9 per cent of H&H Imports, which is a parent company of TV Goods – the firm responsible for marketing his range of headphones, Sleek by 50 Cent. Jackson bought stock in the company on November 30, 2010, a week after it offered buyers 180 million shares at 17 cents each. Jackson later made a stock recommendation on Twitter, causing its share value to rise from four cents to nearly 50 cents (32p) each, closing on Monday at 39 cents (25p). Jackson was later investigated by the Securities and Exchange Commission for breaching securities laws following his tweet which may have constituted allegations of Insider trading via his Pump and dump stock investment strategy.
In 2013, Jackson became a minority investor in Hang w/, a live video broadcasting mobile app used by dozens of celebrities to broadcast their daily activities and chat with fans. The app was downloaded more than 1 million times since its launch in March 2013 and had more than 1 million users . Other minority celebrity investors include former NFL player Terrell Owens and record producer Timbaland.
Mining and heavy metals
In 2008, Jackson visited a platinum, palladium and iridium mine shaft in South Africa, and met with South African billionaire Patrice Motsepe in talks of purchasing an equity stake in the mine. After his meeting with Motsepe, Jackson considered purchasing equity in the mine and launching his own line of 50 Cent branded platinum.
Boxing promotion
On July 21, 2012, Jackson became a licensed boxing promoter when he formed his new company, TMT (The Money Team). Licensed to promote in New York, he was in the process of being licensed in Nevada (where most major fights are held in the U.S.). A former amateur boxer, Jackson signed gold medalist and former featherweight champion Yuriorkis Gamboa and middleweight Olympic medalist Andre Dirrell. On July 29, 2012, he and the boxer Floyd Mayweather, Jr., signed IBF featherweight champion Billy Dib. They unveiled plans to challenge the box-office dominance of mixed martial arts and change the landscape of boxing with TMT Promotions. Boxer Zab Judah also expressed interest in making a deal with Jackson. In December 2012, Mayweather and Jackson parted company, with Jackson taking over the promotion company and founding SMS Promotions with Gamboa, Dirrell, Dib, James Kirkland, Luis Olivares and Donte Strayhorn in his stable.
Bankruptcy
On July 13, 2015, Jackson filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Connecticut with a debt of $32,509,549.91. On July 17, 2015, the Court issued an order allowing a creditor to proceed with the punitive damages phase of a trial against Jackson in a New York state court, in connection with the alleged release of a private video. His assets were listed as between $10 million and $50 million in his bankruptcy petition, though he testified under oath that he is worth $4.4 million. Citing between $10 million and $50 million in debt, and the same amount in assets. Later in the week, Jackson's bankruptcy lawyers elucidated the court documents that legal fees and judgments exceeding $20 million over the past year were the primary cause of the filing.
His filings listed 32 entities that he has a stake in. The bankruptcy came days after a jury ordered him to pay $5 million to rapper Rick Ross's ex-girlfriend Lastonia Leviston for invading her privacy by posting online a sex tape of her and another man. In addition, Jackson lost a dispute over a failed business deal to come to fruition to his Sleek headphones, where Jackson invested more than $2 million. An ex-partner accused Jackson of later stealing the design of the "Sleek by 50" headphones, prompting a judge to award the partner more than $17.2 million. His Connecticut bankruptcy filing states that he owns seven cars valued at more than $500,000, including a 2010 Rolls Royce and a 1966 Chevrolet Coupe. His expenses of $108,000 a month include $5,000 for gardening along with a monthly income of $185,000, mainly from royalties and income from his external businesses and investments. The court filing says he also owes money to his stylist, his barber, and his fitness coach.
Other details in the bankruptcy documents included information about two deals that sold the right to collect royalties of on-air play of his music. Half the rights to his portfolio were sold to the British independent music publishing company Kobalt Music Group for $3 million and the other half for another $3 million with the sales of his albums allowing Jackson to own 100 percent of the rights to the master recordings while paying only for distribution. Zeisler & Zeisler, a Bridgeport law firm, represented 50 Cent in the bankruptcy, which later resulted in Jackson filing a $75 million lawsuit against his own lawyers. He stated that his lawyers did a terrible job of representing him, specifically citing the fallout of his failed venture with Sleek Audio headphones and accused Garvey Schubert Barer, a Wall Street law firm, of failing to "employ the requisite knowledge and skill necessary to confront the circumstances of the case."
Corporate positions
G-Unity Foundation Inc. – Founder
SMS Audio – CEO, founder
SK Energy – Founder
SMS Promotions – CEO, founder
Sire Spirits – Owner
Effen Vodka – former minority shareholder
Personal life
On October 13, 1996, Jackson's girlfriend, Shaniqua Tompkins, gave birth to son Marquise Jackson. Tompkins later sued Jackson for $50 million, saying he promised to take care of her for life. The suit, with 15 causes of action, was dismissed by a judge who called it "an unfortunate tale of a love relationship gone sour." The two have bickered for years, and have even taken their feud to social media many times.
Marquise's birth changed Jackson's outlook on life: "When my son came into my life, my priorities changed, because I wanted to have the relationship with him that I didn't have with my father". He credited his son for inspiring his career and being the "motivation to go in a different direction". Despite this, the two have endured a fractured relationship that began when Jackson and Tompkins separated in 2008. Their feud has been taken to social media numerous times, including in 2020 when Jackson disclosed that he "used to" love his son. Jackson has a tattooed "Marquise" with an axe on his right biceps ("The axe is 'cause I'm a warrior. I don't want him to be one, though"), and has "50", "Southside" and "Cold World" on his back: "I'm a product of that environment. It's on my back, though, so it's all behind me".
Jackson dated model Daphne Joy and had his second son, Sire Jackson, with her, on September 1, 2012. At the age of two years, Sire modeled for Kidz Safe, a headphone brand for kids, earning $700,000 through his contract.
In 2005, Jackson supported President George W. Bush after rapper Kanye West criticized Bush for a slow response to the victims of Hurricane Katrina. If his felony convictions did not prevent him from voting, he said, he would have voted for the president. Jackson later said that Bush "has less compassion than the average human. By all means, I don't aspire to be like George Bush." In September 2007, he told Time that although he would not endorse a candidate in 2008, he "liked Hillary [Clinton]".
Six months later, the rapper told MTV News that he had switched his support to Barack Obama after hearing him speak, but had lost interest in politics.MTV News, "50 cent Flip-flops: From Clinton to Obama," March 28, 2008 Asked his opinion of President Obama's May 9, 2012 endorsement of gay marriage, Jackson said, "I'm for it ... I've encouraged same-sex activities. I've engaged in fetish areas a couple times." He had been criticized for anti-gay comments in the past.Mariel Concepcion, GLAAD Calls Out 50 Cent For Anti-Gay Tweet , Billboard, September 10, 2010
Despite having numerous songs that reference drug and alcohol usage, Jackson remains teetotal, citing a bad experience with alcohol as his main reason.Forbes noted Jackson's wealth in 2007, ranking him second behind Jay-Z in the rap industry. He lives in a Farmington, Connecticut, mansion formerly owned by ex-boxer Mike Tyson, listing it for sale at $18.5 million to move closer to his son (who lives on Long Island with his ex-girlfriend). The mayor of Bridgeport, Connecticut declared October 12, 2007 "50 Cent Curtis Jackson Day", honoring the rapper with a proclamation and a key to the city. One of Jackson's New York homes, purchased in January 2007 for $2.4 million and the center of a lawsuit between Jackson and Shaniqua Tompkins, caught fire on May 31, 2008 while he was filming in Louisiana.
In December 2008, he told the Canadian press that he had lost several million dollars in the stock market and, unable to sell his Connecticut mansion, had postponed Before I Self-Destruct because of the economic downturn. Jackson won a lawsuit in November 2009 against Taco Bell over the fast-food chain's use of his name without permission.
In 2016, regarding a public feud with rapper Meek Mill, he commented, "You know, he's really not that bright. The easiest thing you can do is bring other people into the statements you're saying, right, while you're writing music."
Jackson endorsed Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton in the run-up for the 2016 U.S. presidential election. He rejected an offer of $500,000 from the Trump campaign to make an appearance on the candidate's behalf. However, he endorsed Donald Trump in 2020, due to his dislike of Joe Biden's tax plans. A week later, he retracted his endorsement, saying on Twitter "Fu*k Donald Trump, I never liked him", and endorsed Biden.
Legal issues, Drugs and assault convictions
On June 29, 1994, Jackson was arrested for selling four vials of cocaine to an undercover police officer. He was arrested again three weeks later, when police searched his home and found heroin, ten ounces of crack cocaine and a starter's pistol. Although Jackson was sentenced to three to nine years in prison, he served six months in a boot camp (where he earned his high-school equivalency diploma). According to him, he did not use cocaine.
Jackson and four members of his entourage were arrested shortly before 2 a.m. on December 31, 2002, when police found a .25-caliber handgun and a .45-caliber pistol in a parked car (which they searched due to its tinted windows) outside a Manhattan nightclub. The rapper was charged with two counts of criminal possession of a weapon.
Jackson was sentenced to two years' probation on July 22, 2005 for a May 2004 incident, when he was charged with three counts of assault and battery after jumping into an audience when he was hit by a water bottle.
Lawsuits
Use of image
Jackson filed a lawsuit against an advertising company, Traffix of Pearl River, New York, on July 21, 2007, for using his image in a promotion he said threatened his safety. He was alerted by a staff member to an Internet advertisement on a Myspace page. According to court documents, the advertisement had a cartoon image of the rapper with "Shoot the rapper and you will win $5000 or five ring tones guaranteed". Although the ad did not use his name, the image allegedly resembled him and suggested that he endorsed the product. The lawsuit, calling the ad a "vile, tasteless and despicable" use of Jackson's image which "quite literally call[ed] for violence against him", sought unspecified punitive damages and a permanent injunction against the use of his image without permission.50 Cent Sues over 'Shoot the Rapper'. Fox News (July 20, 2007). Retrieved December 17, 2015.
Use of name
In 2008, Jackson sued Taco Bell over an ad campaign in which it invited him to change his name for one day from 50 Cent to 79 Cent, 89 Cent, or 99 Cent, in line with pricing for some of its items, and they would donate $10,000 to the charity of his choice. The case was settled out of court.
Janitor incident
While walking through Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport in May 2016, Jackson harassed and insulted a janitor at the airport, accusing him of being under the influence. The janitor was a hearing-impaired, autistic teenager named Andrew Farrell. The parents of the janitor had seen the viral video as disrespect and wanted to sue Jackson for his action against their child. The lawsuit was originally over one million dollars, but the parents settled for a $100,000 donation to Autism Speaks and his apology.
Bamba sample
In 2016, a judge declared that Brandon Parrott gave Dr. Dre and 50 Cent the rights to "Bamba" for the song "P.I.M.P."
Other civil and criminal matters
One of his New York homes, purchased for $2.4 million in January 2007 and the center of a lawsuit between Jackson and Shaniqua Tompkins, caught fire on May 30, 2008 while he was filming in Louisiana. On August 5, 2013, Jackson pleaded not guilty to one count of domestic violence and four counts of vandalism in a Los Angeles County court. If convicted of all charges, he faced up to five years in prison and a $46,000 fine. Model-actress Daphne Joy accused Jackson of kicking her and ransacking her bedroom during an argument at her condominium in the Toluca Lake neighborhood of Los Angeles on June 23. He allegedly caused $7,100 in property damage, leaving the scene before police arrived.
Judge Ann Nevins has ordered Jackson back to court because of Instagram messages he made over several months. She said Jackson was not fully clear about his funds and indicated posts of the rapper showing stacks of his money. In March 2016, Jackson claimed that he would no longer use Instagram, electing instead to have his profile page operated by someone else.
In 2020, Jackson was a subject of controversy for his involvement in a viral video of him giving money to a Burger King restaurant in New York City on behalf of a local scammer who was later arrested and charged for Bitcoin scamming and for assaulting and kidnapping his victims on April 24, 2021.
Feuds
Ja Rule
Before he signed with Interscope Records, Jackson engaged in a public dispute with rapper Ja Rule and his label, Murder Inc. Records, saying that a friend robbed jewelry from Ja Rule and the latter accused him of orchestrating the robbery. Ja Rule said that the conflict stemmed from a Queens video shoot, when Jackson did not like seeing him "getting so much love" from the neighborhood. At The Hit Factory in New York in March 2000, Jackson had an altercation with Murder Inc. associates and received three stitches for a stab wound.Smith, Dominic (July 2005). 50 Cent Interview. FHM. Retrieved July 11, 2007. Rapper Black Child claimed responsibility for the stabbing, saying that he acted in self-defense when he thought someone reached for a gun.
An affidavit by an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) agent suggested ties between Murder Inc. and Kenneth "Supreme" McGriff, a New York drug lord suspected of involvement in the murder of Jam Master Jay and Jackson's shooting. An excerpt read:
The end of the Jackson-Ja Rule feud was confirmed in May 2011. According to Ja Rule, "I'm cool. We ain't beefing no more. We'll never collaborate. That's just what it is. You don't have to be at war with somebody, but it's also kind of like U.S. and another country that they may not get along with. We don't gotta go to war, but we're not friends either. But we can coincide inside of a world. He's doing him, and he's not thinking about me, and I'm doing me and I'm not thinking about him."
On August 7, 2015, the feud between the two rappers later reignited when Ja Rule gave a feedback to a social follower via Twitter over a similar feud between Meek Mill and Drake. Enraged, Jackson later responded with photos and comments via Instagram, only siding with Drake. The feud resurfaced three years later on January 19, 2018, when Ja Rule took to Twitter, calling out 50 Cent on social media. 50 Cent responded by purchasing and vacating the first four rows of his concert.
The Game
Although Jackson was close to The Game before the latter released his debut album, The Documentary, they grew apart. After The Documentarys release, Jackson felt that The Game was disloyal for saying that he did not want to participate in G-Unit's feuds with other rappers (such as Nas, Jadakiss and Fat Joe) and his desire to work with artists with which G-Unit was feuding. He said that he wrote six songs for the album and did not receive proper credit, which The Game denied.
Jackson later dismissed The Game from G-Unit on Hot 97. After the announcement, The Game (a guest earlier in the evening) tried to enter the building with his entourage. After they were denied entry, one of his associates was shot in the leg in a confrontation with a group of men leaving the building.Hope, Clover (March 2, 2005). 50 Cent Cancels New York Appearance amid Shooting Inquiry . AllHipHop. Retrieved July 20, 2007. When the situation escalated, the rappers held a joint press conference announcing their reconciliation, and fans were uncertain if the rappers had staged a publicity stunt to boost sales of their recently released albums. After the situation cooled, G-Unit criticized The Game's street credibility and announced that they would not appear on his albums. During a Summer Jam performance The Game announced a boycott of G-Unit, which he called "G-Unot".
After the Summer Jam performance The Game recorded "300 Bars and Runnin'", an extended "diss" of G-Unit and Roc-A-Fella Records, for the mixtape You Know What It Is Vol. 3. Jackson responded with his "Piggy Bank" music video, with The Game as Mr. Potato Head and parodies of other rivals. They have continued attacking each other, with The Game releasing two more mixtapes: Ghost Unit and a mixtape-DVD, Stop Snitchin, Stop Lyin. Jackson superimposed The Game's head on the body of a male stripper for the cover of the Hate It or Love It (G-Unit Radio Part 21) mixtape in response to The Game's pictures of G-Unit dressed as the Village People. The Game, under contract to Aftermath Entertainment, signed with Geffen Records to terminate his contractual obligations with G-Unit (although it is claimed that Jackson pressured Dr. Dre to fire him). G-Unit member Spider Loc has insulted The Game in songs, and the latter released "240 Bars (Spider Joke)" and "100 Bars (The Funeral)" attacking G-Unit and Loc. Jackson's response was "Not Rich, Still Lyin'", mocking The Game. Lloyd Banks replied to the Game on a Rap City freestyle-booth segment, followed by a Game "diss" song ("SoundScan") ridiculing the 13-position drop of Banks' album Rotten Apple on the Billboard 200 chart and its disappointing second-week sales. Banks replied on his mixtape Mo' Money In The Bank Pt. 5: Gang Green Season Continues with "Showtime (The Game's Over)", said that Jackson wrote half of The Documentary and ridiculed The Game's suicidal thoughts.
In October 2006, The Game made a peace overture (which was not immediately answered) to Jackson, but two days later he said on Power 106 that the peace offer was valid for only one day. In several songs on Doctor's Advocate, he implied that the feud was over. He said in July 2009 that the feud had ended with help from Michael Jackson and Diddy, and apologized for his actions. According to Tony Yayo, neither Jackson nor G-Unit accepted his apology and The Game has resumed his calls for a "G-Unot" boycott at concerts. Jackson released "So Disrespectful" on Before I Self Destruct, targeting Jay-Z, The Game and Young Buck. The Game responded with "Shake", poking fun at the music video for Jackson's "Candy Shop".
On August 1, 2016, 50 Cent ended his twelve-year feud with The Game when the two were in the Ace of Diamonds Strip Club and The Game said "What happened, that shit was 12 years ago."
Rick Ross
Although Rick Ross began a feud with Jackson over an alleged incident at the 2008 BET Hip Hop Awards, Jackson told news sources he did not remember seeing Ross there. Later that month Ross' "Mafia Music" was leaked on the Internet, with lyrics apparently disparaging Jackson. Several days later, Jackson released "Officer Ricky (Go Head, Try Me)" in response to "Mafia Music". The following day, Ross appeared on Shade 45 (Eminem's Sirius channel) and told Jackson to come up with something better in 24 hours.
Before leaving for Venezuela, Jackson uploaded a video ("Warning Shot") and the first of a series of "Officer Ricky" cartoons. In early February he uploaded a YouTube video in which he interviewed "Tia", the mother of one of Ross' children; according to her, Ross is in reality a correctional officer. On February 5, 2009, The Game phoned Seattle radio station KUBE. Asked about the dispute between Jackson and Ross, he sided with Jackson and offered to mediate: "Rick Ross, holla at your boy, man" and "50 eating you, boy."
On his album Deeper Than Rap, Ross refers to Jackson in "In Cold Blood" and Jackson's mock funeral is part of the song's video. When the song was released, Ross said that he ended Jackson's career. "Rick Ross is Albert From CB4. You ever seen the movie? He's Albert," Jackson replied in an interview. "It never gets worse than this. You get a guy that was a correctional officer come out and base his entire career on writing material from a drug dealer's perspective such as "Freeway" Ricky Ross." Their feud rekindled at the 2012 BET Hip Hop Awards, where Jackson and G-Unit members Kidd Kidd, Mike Knox, Tony Yayo were seen on video attacking Gunplay (a member of Ross' Maybach Music Group). Gunplay's Maybach Music diamond necklace was stolen during the brawl, and several days later Jackson appeared at a Washington, D.C. bowling alley wearing Gunplay's chain. On January 30, 2013, Jackson tweeted that Ross' attempted drive-by shooting on his birthday three days earlier was "staged".
On August 9, 2020, 50 Cent and Rick Ross ended their feud.
Awards and nominations
Discography
Studio albums
Get Rich or Die Tryin' (2003)
The Massacre (2005)
Curtis (2007)
Before I Self Destruct (2009)
Animal Ambition (2014)
Collaborative albums
Beg for Mercy (with G-Unit) (2003)
T·O·S (Terminate on Sight)'' (with G-Unit) (2008)
Filmography
Film
Television
Appearances
Video games
References
External links
1975 births
20th-century American rappers
21st-century American businesspeople
21st-century American male actors
21st-century American rappers
21st-century African-American male singers
African-American fashion designers
African-American film producers
African-American investors
African-American male actors
African-American male rappers
African-American memoirists
African-American record producers
African-American male songwriters
Aftermath Entertainment artists
American book publishers (people)
American boxing promoters
American businesspeople convicted of crimes
American chairpersons of corporations
American chief executives of food industry companies
American corporate directors
American cosmetics businesspeople
American drink industry businesspeople
American fashion businesspeople
American film producers
American hip hop record producers
American male film actors
American male television actors
American male video game actors
American marketing businesspeople
American memoirists
American mining businesspeople
American music industry executives
American music publishers (people)
American nonprofit businesspeople
American people convicted of drug offenses
American reality television producers
American retail chief executives
American shooting survivors
American television company founders
American television executives
Andrew Jackson High School (Queens) alumni
Brit Award winners
Businesspeople from Queens, New York
Businesspeople in metals
Caroline Records artists
East Coast hip hop musicians
Echo (music award) winners
Gangsta rappers
Grammy Award winners for rap music
G-Unit Records artists
JMJ Records artists
Juno Award for International Album of the Year winners
Living people
Male actors from New York City
People from Jamaica, Queens
Philanthropists from New York (state)
Rappers from New York City
Record producers from New York (state)
Shady Records artists
Shoe designers
Songwriters from New York (state)
Sony Music Publishing artists
Stabbing attacks in the United States
Stabbing survivors
Television producers from New York City
World Music Awards winners
Writers from Queens, New York | true | [
"anybody's game is the fourth single by the Japanese singer and songwriter Miho Komatsu released under Amemura O-Town Record label. It was released on 14 March 1998. The single reached #9 on the charts in its first week and sold 35,440 copies. It charted for eight weeks and sold 98,990 copies\n\nTrack listing\nAll songs are written and composed by Miho Komatsu and arranged by Hirohito Furui\n\"anybody's game\"\n\n'\"anybody's game\" (instrumental)\n (instrumental)\n\nUse in media\n\"anybody's game\"\nFuji TV program SF as ending theme\nNHK drama series Ojisan Kaizou Kouza as theme song\nKBS music program J-rock Artists Best 50 as opening theme\n\n\"Ichiman Meter no Keshiki\"\nYomiuri TV program Japan International Birdman Rallyas theme song\nShizuoka Asahi Television informational program Sport Paradise as ending theme\nCM song for Iwaki Meisei University's radio\n\nReferences \n\n1998 singles\nMiho Komatsu songs\nSongs written by Miho Komatsu\n1998 songs\nBeing Inc. singles\nAmemura-O-Town Record singles\nSong recordings produced by Daiko Nagato",
"Quest Beat, or ((qb)), is a video game software and videos label by Bandai Co., Ltd. Tetsuya Mizuguchi's Q Entertainment develops the video games for the label. Quest Beat is sometimes listed as ((qb)).\n\nThe main goal of games produced under Quest Beat is \"simplicity.\" They want their games to be \"pick up and play,\" where anybody can understand what to do without needing to read instructions.\n\nGames released\n\nNintendo DS\n Meteos\n\nPlayStation Portable\n Every Extend Extra\n Lumines\n\nSee also\nQ Entertainment\n\nReferences\n\nVideo game companies of Japan"
] |
[
"50 Cent",
"2002-2006: Rise to fame",
"What was his album when he rise to fame?",
"In 2002, Eminem heard Jackson's Guess Who's Back? CD, received from Jackson's attorney (",
"Who signed him?",
"introduced him to Dr. Dre. After signing a $1 million record deal, Jackson released No Mercy, No Fear.",
"What was the name of his mix tape?",
"Jackson released No Mercy, No Fear.",
"What was his debut album?",
"Jackson released his debut album, Get Rich or Die Tryin' (",
"How many copies of the album was sold?",
"selling 872,000 copies in its first four days.",
"What is the best single in the album?",
"The lead single, \"In da Club\" (",
"Did he have a record label?",
"Interscope gave Jackson his own label, G-Unit Records,",
"Did he sign anybody under his label?",
"He signed Lloyd Banks, Tony Yayo and Young Buck as members of G-Unit, and The Game"
] | C_c5bdd69a096444ff8e00c23e110bdece_0 | Which song did they produce? | 9 | Which song did G-Unit Records produce? | 50 Cent | In 2002, Eminem heard Jackson's Guess Who's Back? CD, received from Jackson's attorney (who was working with Eminem's manager, Paul Rosenberg). Impressed, Eminem invited Jackson to fly to Los Angeles and introduced him to Dr. Dre. After signing a $1 million record deal, Jackson released No Mercy, No Fear. The mixtape featured one new track, "Wanksta", which appeared on Eminem's 8 Mile soundtrack. Jackson was also signed by Chris Lighty's Violator Management and Sha Money XL's Money Management Group. Jackson released his debut album, Get Rich or Die Tryin' (described by AllMusic as "probably the most hyped debut album by a rap artist in about a decade"), in February 2003. Rolling Stone noted its "dark synth grooves, buzzy keyboards and a persistently funky bounce", with Jackson complementing the production in "an unflappable, laid-back flow". It debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, selling 872,000 copies in its first four days. The lead single, "In da Club" (noted by The Source for its "blaring horns, funky organs, guitar riffs and sparse hand claps"), set a Billboard record as the most listened-to song in radio history within a week. Interscope gave Jackson his own label, G-Unit Records, in 2003. He signed Lloyd Banks, Tony Yayo and Young Buck as members of G-Unit, and The Game was later signed in a joint venture with Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment. In March 2005 Jackson's second commercial album, The Massacre, sold 1.14 million copies in its first four days (the highest in an abbreviated sales cycle) and was number one on the Billboard 200 for six weeks. He was the first solo artist with three singles in the Billboard top five in the same week with "Candy Shop", "Disco Inferno" and "How We Do". According to Rolling Stone, "50's secret weapon is his singing voice - the deceptively amateur-sounding tenor croon that he deploys on almost every chorus". After The Game's departure Jackson signed Olivia and rap veterans Mobb Deep to G-Unit Records, with Spider Loc, M.O.P., 40 Glocc and Young Hot Rod later joining the label, who all eventually departed the label. Jackson expressed an interest in working with rappers other than G-Unit, such as Lil' Scrappy of BME, LL Cool J of Def Jam, Mase of Bad Boy and Freeway of Roc-A-Fella, and recorded with several. CANNOTANSWER | In March 2005 Jackson's second commercial album, The Massacre, | Curtis James Jackson III (born July 6, 1975), known professionally as 50 Cent, is an American rapper, actor and entrepreneur. Known for his impact in the hip hop industry, he has been described as a "master of the nuanced art of lyrical brevity".
Born in the South Jamaica neighborhood of Queens, Jackson began selling drugs at age 12 during the 1980s crack epidemic. He later began pursuing a musical career and in 2000 he produced Power of the Dollar for Columbia Records, but days before the planned release he was shot and the album was never released. In 2002, after 50 Cent released the compilation album Guess Who's Back?, he was discovered by Eminem and signed to Shady Records, under the aegis of Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment and Interscope Records.
With the aid of Eminem and Dr. Dre (who produced his first major-label album Get Rich or Die Tryin'), 50 Cent became one of the world's best selling rappers and rose to prominence as de facto leader of East Coast hip hop group G-Unit. In 2003, he founded G-Unit Records, signing his G-Unit associates Young Buck, Lloyd Banks and Tony Yayo. 50 Cent had similar commercial and critical success with his second album, The Massacre, which was released in 2005. He underwent musical changes by his fifth album, Animal Ambition (2014), and is currently working on his sixth studio album. He executive-produced and starred in the television series Power (2014–2020) and is slated to produce its spin-offs.
50 Cent has sold over 30 million albums worldwide and won several awards, including a Grammy Award, thirteen Billboard Music Awards, six World Music Awards, three American Music Awards and four BET Awards. As an actor, Jackson appeared in the semi-autobiographical film Get Rich or Die Tryin' (2005), the war film Home of the Brave (2006), and the crime thriller film Righteous Kill (2008). 50 Cent was ranked the sixth-best artist of the 2000s and the third-best rapper (behind Eminem and Nelly) by Billboard. Rolling Stone ranked Get Rich or Die Tryin and "In da Club" in its lists of the "100 Best Albums of the 2000s" and "100 Best Songs of the 2000s" at numbers 37 and 13, respectively.
Early life
Jackson was born in the borough of Queens, New York City, and raised in its South Jamaica neighborhood by his mother Sabrina. A drug dealer, Sabrina raised Jackson until she died in a fire when Jackson was 8. (online is excerpt only) Jackson revealed in an interview that his mother was a lesbian. After his mother's death and his father's departure, Jackson was raised by his grandmother.
He began boxing at about age 11, and when he was 14, a neighbor opened a boxing gym for local youth. "When I wasn't killing time in school, I was sparring in the gym or selling crack on the strip," Jackson remembered. He sold crack during primary school. "I was competitive in the ring and hip-hop is competitive too ... I think rappers condition themselves like boxers, so they all kind of feel like they're the champ."
At age 12, Jackson began dealing narcotics when his grandparents thought he was in after-school programs and brought guns and drug money to school. In the tenth grade, he was caught by metal detectors at Andrew Jackson High School: "I was embarrassed that I got arrested like that ... After I got arrested I stopped hiding it. I was telling my grandmother [openly], 'I sell drugs.'"
On June 29, 1994, Jackson was arrested for selling four vials of cocaine to an undercover police officer. He was arrested again three weeks later, when police searched his home and found heroin, ten ounces of crack cocaine, and a starting pistol. Although Jackson was sentenced to three to nine years in prison, he served six months in a boot camp and earned his GED. He has said that he did not use cocaine himself.The Smoking Gun: 50 Cent . The Smoking Gun (February 27, 2003). Accessed May 22, 2007. Jackson adopted the nickname "50 Cent" as a metaphor for change. The name was inspired by Kelvin Martin, a 1980s Brooklyn robber known as "50 Cent"; Jackson chose it "because it says everything I want it to say. I'm the same kind of person 50 Cent was. I provide for myself by any means."
Career
1996–2002: Rise to fame, shooting, and early mixtapes
Jackson began rapping in a friend's basement, where he used turntables to record over instrumentals. In 1996, a friend introduced him to Jam Master Jay of Run-DMC, who was establishing Jam Master Jay Records. Jay taught him how to count bars, write choruses, structure songs, and make records.Tarek, Shams (May 16, 2003). Jamaica's 'Own Bad Guy' 50 Cent Making Good in the Music Biz . Queens Press. Accessed May 22, 2007. Jackson's first appearance was on "React" with Onyx, for their 1998 album Shut 'Em Down. He credited Jam Master Jay for improving his ability to write hooks, and Jay produced Jackson's first (unreleased) album. In 1999, after Jackson left Jam Master Jay, the platinum-selling producers Trackmasters signed him to Columbia Records. They sent him to an upstate New York studio, where he produced thirty-six songs in two weeks; eighteen were included on his 2000 album, Power of the Dollar. Jackson founded Hollow Point Entertainment with former G-Unit member Bang 'Em Smurf.Williams, Houston (February 2004). Bang'em Smurf: Life after G-Unit. AllHipHop. Retrieved July 20, 2007.
Jackson's popularity began to grow after the successful, controversial underground single "How to Rob", which he wrote in a half-hour car ride to a studio.50 Cent. From Pieces to Weight Part 5 . MTV. Accessed May 22, 2007. The track comically describes how he would rob famous artists. Jackson explained the song's rationale: "There's a hundred artists on that label, you gotta separate yourself from that group and make yourself relevant". Rappers Jay-Z, Kurupt, Sticky Fingaz, Big Pun, DMX, Wyclef Jean, and the Wu-Tang Clan responded to the track, and Nas invited Jackson to join him on his Nastradamus tour. Although "How to Rob" was intended to be released with "Thug Love" (with Destiny's Child), two days before he was scheduled to film the "Thug Love" music video, Jackson was shot and hospitalized.
On May 24, 2000, Jackson was attacked by a gunman outside his grandmother's former home in South Jamaica. After getting into a friend's car, he was asked to return to the house to get some jewelry; his son was in the house, and his grandmother was in the front yard. Jackson returned to the back seat of the car, and another car pulled up nearby; an assailant walked up and fired nine shots at close range with a 9mm handgun. Jackson was shot in the hand, arm, hip, both legs, chest, and left cheek. His facial wound resulted in a swollen tongue, the loss of a wisdom tooth and a slightly slurred voice; his friend was wounded in the hand. They were driven to a hospital, where Jackson spent thirteen days. The alleged attacker, Darryl Baum, Mike Tyson's close friend and bodyguard, was killed three weeks later.
Jackson recalled the shooting: "It happens so fast that you don't even get a chance to shoot back .... I was scared the whole time ... I was looking in the rear-view mirror like, 'Oh shit, somebody shot me in the face! It burns, burns, burns.'" In his autobiography, From Pieces to Weight: Once upon a Time in Southside Queens, he wrote: "After I got shot nine times at close range and didn't die, I started to think that I must have a purpose in life ... How much more damage could that shell have done? Give me an inch in this direction or that one, and I'm gone". Jackson used a walker for six weeks and fully recovered after five months. When he left the hospital he stayed in the Poconos with his girlfriend and son, and his workout regime helped him develop a muscular physique.
In the hospital Jackson signed a publishing deal with Columbia Records before he was dropped from the label and blacklisted by the recording industry because of his song, "Ghetto Qu'ran". Unable to work in a U.S. studio, he went to Canada.Weiner, Jonah (April 2005). Dear Superstar: 50 Cent . Blender. Accessed May 22, 2007. With business partner Sha Money XL, Jackson recorded over thirty songs for mixtapes to build a reputation. In a HitQuarters interview, Marc Labelle of Shady Records A&R said that Jackson used the mixtape circuit to his advantage: "He took all the hottest beats from every artist and flipped them with better hooks. They then got into all the markets on the mixtapes and all the mixtape DJs were messing with them." Jackson's popularity increased, and in 2002 he released the mixtape Guess Who's Back?. He then released 50 Cent Is the Future backed by G-Unit, a mixtape revisiting material by Jay-Z and Raphael Saadiq.
===2002–2007: Mainstream breakthrough, Get Rich or Die Tryin''', and The Massacre===
In 2002, Eminem heard Jackson's Guess Who's Back? CD, received from Jackson's attorney (who was working with Eminem's manager, Paul Rosenberg). Impressed, Eminem invited Jackson to fly to Los Angeles and introduced him to Dr. Dre. After signing a $1 million record deal, Jackson released No Mercy, No Fear. The mixtape featured one new track, "Wanksta", which appeared on Eminem's 8 Mile soundtrack. Jackson was also signed by Chris Lighty's Violator Management and Sha Money XL's Money Management Group.
50 Cent released his debut album, Get Rich or Die Tryin' (described by AllMusic as "probably the most hyped debut album by a rap artist in about a decade"), in February 2003. Rolling Stone noted its "dark synth grooves, buzzy keyboards and a persistently funky bounce", with Jackson complementing the production in "an unflappable, laid-back flow". It debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, selling 872,000 copies in its first four days. The lead single, "In da Club" (noted by The Source for its "blaring horns, funky organs, guitar riffs and sparse hand claps"), set a Billboard record as the most listened-to song in radio history within a week.
Interscope gave Jackson his own label, G-Unit Records, in 2003. He signed Lloyd Banks, Tony Yayo and Young Buck as members of G-Unit, and The Game was later signed in a joint venture with Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment. In March 2005, 50 Cent's second commercial album, The Massacre, sold 1.14 million copies in its first four days (the highest in an abbreviated sales cycle) and was number one on the Billboard 200 for six weeks. He was the first solo artist with three singles in the Billboard top five in the same week with "Candy Shop", "Disco Inferno" and "How We Do". According to Rolling Stone, "50's secret weapon is his singing voice - the deceptively amateur-sounding tenor croon that he deploys on almost every chorus".
After The Game's departure Jackson signed Olivia and rap veterans Mobb Deep to G-Unit Records, with Spider Loc, M.O.P., 40 Glocc and Young Hot Rod later joining the label, who all eventually departed the label.Chery, Carl (May 27, 2005). Pulse Report: M.O.P. Signs to G-Unit . SOHH. Retrieved June 22, 2007. Jackson expressed an interest in working with rappers other than G-Unit, such as Lil' Scrappy of BME, LL Cool J of Def Jam, Mase of Bad Boy and Freeway of Roc-A-Fella, and recorded with several.
2007–2010: Curtis, sales battle with Kanye West, and Before I Self Destruct
In September 2007, 50 Cent released his third album, Curtis, which was inspired by his life before Get Rich or Die Tryin. It debuted at number two on the Billboard 200, selling 691,000 copies during its first week. It sold behind Kanye West's Graduation, released the same day; the outcome of this highly-publicized sales battle between Jackson and West has been accredited to the commercial decline of the gangsta rap and "bling era" style that previously dominated mainstream hip-hop.
On the September 10, 2008 episode of Total Request Live, Jackson said his fourth studio album, Before I Self Destruct, would be "done and released in November". He released "Ok, You're Right", produced by Dr. Dre for Before I Self Destruct, on May 18, 2009 and was scheduled to appear in a fall 2009 episode of VH1's Behind the Music. On September 3, 2009, Jackson posted a video for the Soundkillers' Phoenix- produced track, "Flight 187", introducing his mixtape and book (The 50th Law). The song, with lyrics inspiring speculation about tension between Jackson and Jay-Z, was a bonus track on the iTunes version of Before I Self Destruct. Before I Self Destruct was released on November 9, 2009.
2010–2015: New musical directions, new business ventures, and Animal Ambition
In a Contactmusic.com interview, Jackson said he was working on a Eurodance album, Black Magic, inspired by European nightclubs: "First they played hip-hop which suddenly changed to uptempo songs, known as Eurodance". He later said he had changed his next album to The Return of the Heartless Monster after writing different material when he returned home from the Invitation Tour in 2010, shelving Black Magic. On September 3, Jackson supported Eminem on his and Jay-Z's The Home & Home Tour, performing "Crack A Bottle" with Eminem and Dr. Dre amid rumors of tension between Jackson and Dre.
He "recorded 20 songs to a whole different album concept" before putting them aside, wanting his new album to have the "aggression" of Get Rich or Die Tryin. Jackson tweeted that the album was "80 percent done" and fans could expect it in the summer of 2011. It was ultimately delayed a year due to disagreements with Interscope Records, with Jackson saying that he would release it in November 2011 with a different title than Black Magic. Eminem would appear on the album, and Jackson said he was working with new producers such as Boi-1da and Alex da Kid. Cardiak, who produced Lloyd Banks' "Start It Up", confirmed that he produced a song for the upcoming album.
Jackson released a song, "Outlaw", from his fifth album on the Internet on June 16, 2011. The single, produced by Cardiak, was released on iTunes on July 19 (although Jackson tweeted that it was not the album's first single). The rapper planned to write a semi-autobiographical young-adult novel about bullying, different from his previous books which focused on his life and the rules of power. According to the book's publisher, the first-person novel (about a 13-year-old schoolyard bully "who finds redemption as he faces what he's done") was scheduled for publication in January 2012.
In a series of tweets, Jackson said that the delay of his fifth album was due to disagreements with Interscope Records, later suggesting that it would be released in November 2011 with his headphone line (SMS by 50). He speculated to MTV News about not renewing his five-album contract with Interscope: "I don't know ... It will all be clear in the negotiations following me turning this actual album in. And, of course, the performance and how they actually treat the work will determine whether you still want to stay in that position or not."
On June 20, 2011, Jackson announced the release of Before I Self Destruct II after his fifth album. Although he planned to shoot a music video for the fifth album's lead single, "I'm On It", on June 26 the video was never filmed. Jackson told Shade45, "I did four songs in Detroit with Eminem. I did two with Just Blaze, a Boi-1da joint, and I did something with Alex da Kid. We made two that are definite singles and the other two are the kinds of records that we been making, more aimed at my core audience, more aggressive, more of a different kind of energy to it." He released "Street King Energy Track #7" in September 2011 to promote Street King, his charity-based energy drink. An announcement that Jackson was shooting a music video for "Girls Go Wild", the fifth-album lead single featuring Jeremih, was made on September 28, 2011.Music Video News: IN PRODUCTION: 50 Cent f/ Jeremih – Colin Tilley . Video Static (September 28, 2011). Retrieved on October 25, 2011.
Jackson's fifth album, Street King Immortal, was initially scheduled for a summer 2012 release and postponed until November 13. Disagreements with Interscope Records about its release and promotion led to its temporary cancellation. Its first promo single, "New Day" with Dr. Dre and Alicia Keys, was released on July 27. The song was produced by Dr. Dre, mixed by Eminem and written by 50 Cent, Alicia Keys, Royce da 5'9" and Dr. Dre. A solo version by Keys was leaked by her husband, Swizz Beatz. "My Life", the album's second promo single (with Eminem and Maroon 5 lead singer Adam Levine), was released on November 26, 2012.
In January 2014, Jackson said he planned to release Animal Ambition in the first quarter of the year, followed by Street King Immortal. On February 20, he left Shady Records, Aftermath Entertainment, and Interscope, signing with Caroline and Capitol Music Group. According to Jackson, although he owed Interscope another album, he was released from his contract because of his friendship with Eminem and Dr. Dre: "I'm a special case and situation. It's also because of the leverage of having the strong relationships with Eminem and Dr. Dre. They don't want me to be uncomfortable. They value our friendship to the point that they would never want [to jeopardize] it over that little bit of money."
That day, he announced that Animal Ambition would be released on June 3 and released its first track. The song, "Funeral", was released with a video on Forbes.com. Produced by Jake One, it is a continuation of "50 Bars" from a previous album; two more tracks were scheduled for release on March 18. At South by Southwest in Austin, Texas, Jackson performed "Hold On" from the new album. That song and "Don't Worry 'Bout It" were released with accompanying videos on March 18. According to Jackson, prosperity would be a theme of the album: "This project, I had to search for a concept, a really good concept, in my perspective, and that was prosperity. I outlined all the things that would be a part of prosperity, positive and negative [for Animal Ambition]."
2015–present: Street King Immortal, bankruptcy, and departure from Interscope
On May 14, 2015, Jackson revealed in an interview that the first single from Street King Immortal, would be previewed Memorial Day weekend and would likely be released in June. Jackson released "Get Low" on May 20, 2015, as the intended first single from his sixth studio album, Street King Immortal. The song, produced by Remo the Hitmaker, features vocals from fellow American rappers 2 Chainz and T.I., as well as American singer Jeremih. He announced bankruptcy on July 13, 2015.
On March 31, 2017, Interscope Records released 50 Cent's final album for the label, a greatest hits album titled Best Of.
50 Cent was among hundreds of artists whose material was destroyed in the 2008 Universal fire.
In 2020, Jackson led the executive-producer duties for late rapper Pop Smoke's debut album, Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon, having been one of Pop Smoke's biggest inspirations. The album was released on July 3, 2020. Jackson curated the album, desiring to finish it after Pop had died. He contacted many of the artists involved, and also features on one of the album tracks, "The Woo", which became a top ten single.
In 2020, it was reported that Jackson was producing two television series for Starz, an anthology about hip hop and a biographical drama about sports agent Nicole Lynn.
In 2021, he became one of the headliners of the music festival Golden Sand in Riviera Maya.
In a July 2021 interview with The Independent, 50 Cent confirmed that he had officially decided to shelve his Street King Immortal album after it spent a decade in development hell. He even confirmed that he plans to release a completely new project.
In August 2021, he was confirmed to be starring in the upcoming The Expendables film.
On February 13, 2022, 50 Cent was a surprise performer in the Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show.
Awards
Artistry
Jackson cites Boogie Down Productions, Big Daddy Kane, The Juice Crew, EPMD and KRS-One as his rapping influences, while citing LL Cool J as an inspiration behind his writing of "21 Questions". Jackson also states that he drew influences from Nas, Rakim and The Notorious B.I.G. while working on Animal Ambition.
Business ventures
Jackson has had a highly successful business career. He is financially invested in a highly diversified variety of industries. Jackson is now involved in artist and talent management, record, television, and film production, footwear, apparel, fragrances, liquor, video games, mobile apps, book publishing, headphones, along with health drinks and dietary supplements. His broad business and investment portfolio contains investments in a variety of sectors including real estate, financial market investments, mining, boxing promotion, vodka, fragrances, consumer electronics and fashion.
He established his own record label G-Unit Records in 2003 following his mainstream success. In November 2003, he signed a five-year deal with Reebok to distribute a G-Unit Sneakers line for his G-Unit Clothing Company.Leeds, Jeff (December 26, 2004). $50 Million for 50 Cent . The New York Times. Retrieved June 9, 2007. In an interview, Jackson said his businesses had a habit of doing well as he saw all of his ventures both past and present as revolving around his alter ego.
Jackson has also started a book publishing imprint, G-Unit Books on January 4, 2007 at the Time Warner Building in New York. He has written a number of books including a memoir, From Pieces To Weight in 2005 where it sold 73,000 copies in hardcover and 14,000 copies in paperback; a crime novel and a book with Robert Greene titled The 50th Law, an urban take on The 48 Laws of Power. In November 2011, Jackson released 50 Cent's Playground, a young adult fiction novel about a bullied, violent boy and his gay mother.
One of Jackson's first business ventures was a partnership with Glacéau to create an enhanced water drink called Formula 50. In October 2004, Jackson became a beverage investor when he was given a minority share in the company in exchange for becoming a spokesperson after learning that he was a fan of the beverage. The health conscious Jackson noted that he first learned of the product while at a gym in Los Angeles, and stated that "they do such a good job making water taste good." After becoming a minority shareholder and celebrity spokesperson, Jackson worked with the company to create a new grape flavored "Formula 50" variant of VitaminWater and mentioned the drinks in various songs and interviews. In 2007, Coca-Cola purchased Glacéau for $4.1 billion and, according to Forbes, Jackson, who was a minority shareholder, earned $100 million from the deal after taxes.
Though he no longer has an equity stake in the company, Jackson continues to act as a spokesperson for VitaminWater, supporting the product including singing about it at the BET Awards and expressing his excitement over the company's continuing to allow his input on products.
He joined Right Guard to introduce a body spray (Pure 50 RGX) and endorsed Magic Stick condoms, planning to donate part of their proceeds to increasing HIV awareness. Jackson signed a multi-year deal with Steiner Sports to sell his memorabilia, and announced plans for a dietary-supplement company in conjunction with his film Spectacular Regret in August 2007.Jokesta (August 21, 2007). 50 Cent launches dietary supplement company. Def Sounds. Retrieved August 21, 2007.
Jackson has founded two film production companies: G-Unit Films in 2003 and Cheetah Vision in 2008.For The Record: Quick News on Eminem, Ciara, Ludacris, Ne-Yo, Slayer, Marilyn Manson, Nas, Public Enemy & More . MTV (March 23, 2007). Accessed May 22, 2007. Cheetah Vision produces low budget action thrillers for foreign film markets across the world. When G-Unit Films folded, he focused on Cheetah Vision and the company obtained $200 million in funding in 2010. In 2010, Jackson revived G-Unit Films, renaming the company to G-Unit Films and Television Inc. The company has joint ventures with Will Packer's production company Will Packer Productions and Universal Television. In over 18 months, Jackson has sold projects to six different networks. Among them was Power, a STARZ drama in which he not only co-stars but also serves as co-creator and executive producer. Power debuted in June 2014 and was renewed for a second season after one episode.
Jackson serves as a co‐star, co-creator and executive television producer of the STARZ network drama where he signed a 2-year contract with representation coming from the Agency for the Performing Arts. Ratings have been a success for Starz. with the second-season premiere being the highest-ever season with 1.43 million people tuning in live.
In 2002, Jackson filed an application with the United States Patent and Trademark Office to register the term "50 Cent" as a trademark for clothing, sound recordings, and live performances. The application was published in 2003, and registration issued in 2004. He has since filed for additional trademark registrations.
In July 2011, Jackson launched a philanthropic initiative to provide food for one billion starving people in Africa by 2016, joining Pure Growth Partners to introduce Street King. A portion of the proceeds from each Street King purchase would be used to provide a daily meal to an underprivileged child. The partnership coincides with Jackson's goal to feed a billion people in Africa during the next five years. "50 Cent and I share a common vision: to address the world's problems through smart and sustainable business models," said Chris Clarke, founder and CEO of Pure Growth Partners. "With the rampant starvation in Africa and hunger afflicting children worldwide, we need socially responsible businesses that affect real change now more than ever." Jackson said, "I'm inspired by Clarke's vision and innovative approaches to tackling serious issues. It's our mission with Street King to really change children's lives around the world."Langhorne, Cyrus. (August 13, 2011) 50 Cent On "Street King" Global Takeover, "I Need Your Support" . Sohh.Com. Retrieved on October 25, 2011. In 2011, he founded SMS Audio, a consumer-electronics company selling Street by 50 headphones, pledging to donate a portion of their sales to charity. In April 2015, SMS announced new co-branding deals with Reebok and Marvel. It added those to existing partnerships with Walt Disney Parks, Lucasfilm's Star Wars, and Intel.
In 2014, Jackson became a minority shareholder in Effen Vodka, a brand of vodka produced in the Netherlands, when he invested undisclosed amount in the company Sire Spirits LLC. He currently endorses the product via his live concert performances and social media. The rapper was asked to take part in two promotional bottle signings, one in Oak Creek and another in Sun Prairie. Jackson made an appearance at Liquor Warehouse in Syracuse, New York on April 25, 2015 where he reportedly sold 1,400 bottles (277 gallons) of Jackson's signature liquor brand. Liquor Warehouse's owner George Angeloro reportedly stocked 300 cases (1,800 bottles or 357 gallons) of Effen Vodka, which sells for $30 a bottle, prior to the event.
In December 2014, Jackson signed a $78 million deal with FRIGO Revolution Wear, a luxury underwear brand. The joint venture is partnered between Jackson, basketball player Carmelo Anthony, baseball player Derek Jeter and Mathias Ingvarsson, the former president of mattress company Tempur-Pedic. Jackson became the chief fashion designer for the brands single pair of Frigo boxers. In April 2015, Jackson mulled investing in Jamaica, exploring foreign investment opportunities on the island when he met with some local officials and had ongoing discussions on investment opportunities in the Montego Bay resort area.
Investments
Over the years, Jackson invested his earnings from music and celebrity endorsements in an array of privately controlled companies, real estate, and stocks and bonds. A portion of his investments lost value during the 2008 recession. In December 2008, he told the Canadian press that he had been affected by the recession, losing several million dollars in the stock market. Unable to sell his Connecticut mansion, Jackson postponed Before I Self-Destruct due to the severity of the economic downturn.
His Farmington mansion located on 50 Poplar Hill Drive that he tried to sell for years filed for bankruptcy in Connecticut in 2015 listed an asking price for that property in 2012 at $10 million but was valued at $8.3 million in 2015. He first tried to sell the house in 2007 for $18.5 million, and dropped the price several times in the next five years, when it was on and off the market.
In January 2011, Jackson reportedly made $10 million after using Twitter to promote a marketing company which he was part shareholder of. His endorsements company G Unit Brands Inc. revealed through a public SEC filing controls 12.9 per cent of H&H Imports, which is a parent company of TV Goods – the firm responsible for marketing his range of headphones, Sleek by 50 Cent. Jackson bought stock in the company on November 30, 2010, a week after it offered buyers 180 million shares at 17 cents each. Jackson later made a stock recommendation on Twitter, causing its share value to rise from four cents to nearly 50 cents (32p) each, closing on Monday at 39 cents (25p). Jackson was later investigated by the Securities and Exchange Commission for breaching securities laws following his tweet which may have constituted allegations of Insider trading via his Pump and dump stock investment strategy.
In 2013, Jackson became a minority investor in Hang w/, a live video broadcasting mobile app used by dozens of celebrities to broadcast their daily activities and chat with fans. The app was downloaded more than 1 million times since its launch in March 2013 and had more than 1 million users . Other minority celebrity investors include former NFL player Terrell Owens and record producer Timbaland.
Mining and heavy metals
In 2008, Jackson visited a platinum, palladium and iridium mine shaft in South Africa, and met with South African billionaire Patrice Motsepe in talks of purchasing an equity stake in the mine. After his meeting with Motsepe, Jackson considered purchasing equity in the mine and launching his own line of 50 Cent branded platinum.
Boxing promotion
On July 21, 2012, Jackson became a licensed boxing promoter when he formed his new company, TMT (The Money Team). Licensed to promote in New York, he was in the process of being licensed in Nevada (where most major fights are held in the U.S.). A former amateur boxer, Jackson signed gold medalist and former featherweight champion Yuriorkis Gamboa and middleweight Olympic medalist Andre Dirrell. On July 29, 2012, he and the boxer Floyd Mayweather, Jr., signed IBF featherweight champion Billy Dib. They unveiled plans to challenge the box-office dominance of mixed martial arts and change the landscape of boxing with TMT Promotions. Boxer Zab Judah also expressed interest in making a deal with Jackson. In December 2012, Mayweather and Jackson parted company, with Jackson taking over the promotion company and founding SMS Promotions with Gamboa, Dirrell, Dib, James Kirkland, Luis Olivares and Donte Strayhorn in his stable.
Bankruptcy
On July 13, 2015, Jackson filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Connecticut with a debt of $32,509,549.91. On July 17, 2015, the Court issued an order allowing a creditor to proceed with the punitive damages phase of a trial against Jackson in a New York state court, in connection with the alleged release of a private video. His assets were listed as between $10 million and $50 million in his bankruptcy petition, though he testified under oath that he is worth $4.4 million. Citing between $10 million and $50 million in debt, and the same amount in assets. Later in the week, Jackson's bankruptcy lawyers elucidated the court documents that legal fees and judgments exceeding $20 million over the past year were the primary cause of the filing.
His filings listed 32 entities that he has a stake in. The bankruptcy came days after a jury ordered him to pay $5 million to rapper Rick Ross's ex-girlfriend Lastonia Leviston for invading her privacy by posting online a sex tape of her and another man. In addition, Jackson lost a dispute over a failed business deal to come to fruition to his Sleek headphones, where Jackson invested more than $2 million. An ex-partner accused Jackson of later stealing the design of the "Sleek by 50" headphones, prompting a judge to award the partner more than $17.2 million. His Connecticut bankruptcy filing states that he owns seven cars valued at more than $500,000, including a 2010 Rolls Royce and a 1966 Chevrolet Coupe. His expenses of $108,000 a month include $5,000 for gardening along with a monthly income of $185,000, mainly from royalties and income from his external businesses and investments. The court filing says he also owes money to his stylist, his barber, and his fitness coach.
Other details in the bankruptcy documents included information about two deals that sold the right to collect royalties of on-air play of his music. Half the rights to his portfolio were sold to the British independent music publishing company Kobalt Music Group for $3 million and the other half for another $3 million with the sales of his albums allowing Jackson to own 100 percent of the rights to the master recordings while paying only for distribution. Zeisler & Zeisler, a Bridgeport law firm, represented 50 Cent in the bankruptcy, which later resulted in Jackson filing a $75 million lawsuit against his own lawyers. He stated that his lawyers did a terrible job of representing him, specifically citing the fallout of his failed venture with Sleek Audio headphones and accused Garvey Schubert Barer, a Wall Street law firm, of failing to "employ the requisite knowledge and skill necessary to confront the circumstances of the case."
Corporate positions
G-Unity Foundation Inc. – Founder
SMS Audio – CEO, founder
SK Energy – Founder
SMS Promotions – CEO, founder
Sire Spirits – Owner
Effen Vodka – former minority shareholder
Personal life
On October 13, 1996, Jackson's girlfriend, Shaniqua Tompkins, gave birth to son Marquise Jackson. Tompkins later sued Jackson for $50 million, saying he promised to take care of her for life. The suit, with 15 causes of action, was dismissed by a judge who called it "an unfortunate tale of a love relationship gone sour." The two have bickered for years, and have even taken their feud to social media many times.
Marquise's birth changed Jackson's outlook on life: "When my son came into my life, my priorities changed, because I wanted to have the relationship with him that I didn't have with my father". He credited his son for inspiring his career and being the "motivation to go in a different direction". Despite this, the two have endured a fractured relationship that began when Jackson and Tompkins separated in 2008. Their feud has been taken to social media numerous times, including in 2020 when Jackson disclosed that he "used to" love his son. Jackson has a tattooed "Marquise" with an axe on his right biceps ("The axe is 'cause I'm a warrior. I don't want him to be one, though"), and has "50", "Southside" and "Cold World" on his back: "I'm a product of that environment. It's on my back, though, so it's all behind me".
Jackson dated model Daphne Joy and had his second son, Sire Jackson, with her, on September 1, 2012. At the age of two years, Sire modeled for Kidz Safe, a headphone brand for kids, earning $700,000 through his contract.
In 2005, Jackson supported President George W. Bush after rapper Kanye West criticized Bush for a slow response to the victims of Hurricane Katrina. If his felony convictions did not prevent him from voting, he said, he would have voted for the president. Jackson later said that Bush "has less compassion than the average human. By all means, I don't aspire to be like George Bush." In September 2007, he told Time that although he would not endorse a candidate in 2008, he "liked Hillary [Clinton]".
Six months later, the rapper told MTV News that he had switched his support to Barack Obama after hearing him speak, but had lost interest in politics.MTV News, "50 cent Flip-flops: From Clinton to Obama," March 28, 2008 Asked his opinion of President Obama's May 9, 2012 endorsement of gay marriage, Jackson said, "I'm for it ... I've encouraged same-sex activities. I've engaged in fetish areas a couple times." He had been criticized for anti-gay comments in the past.Mariel Concepcion, GLAAD Calls Out 50 Cent For Anti-Gay Tweet , Billboard, September 10, 2010
Despite having numerous songs that reference drug and alcohol usage, Jackson remains teetotal, citing a bad experience with alcohol as his main reason.Forbes noted Jackson's wealth in 2007, ranking him second behind Jay-Z in the rap industry. He lives in a Farmington, Connecticut, mansion formerly owned by ex-boxer Mike Tyson, listing it for sale at $18.5 million to move closer to his son (who lives on Long Island with his ex-girlfriend). The mayor of Bridgeport, Connecticut declared October 12, 2007 "50 Cent Curtis Jackson Day", honoring the rapper with a proclamation and a key to the city. One of Jackson's New York homes, purchased in January 2007 for $2.4 million and the center of a lawsuit between Jackson and Shaniqua Tompkins, caught fire on May 31, 2008 while he was filming in Louisiana.
In December 2008, he told the Canadian press that he had lost several million dollars in the stock market and, unable to sell his Connecticut mansion, had postponed Before I Self-Destruct because of the economic downturn. Jackson won a lawsuit in November 2009 against Taco Bell over the fast-food chain's use of his name without permission.
In 2016, regarding a public feud with rapper Meek Mill, he commented, "You know, he's really not that bright. The easiest thing you can do is bring other people into the statements you're saying, right, while you're writing music."
Jackson endorsed Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton in the run-up for the 2016 U.S. presidential election. He rejected an offer of $500,000 from the Trump campaign to make an appearance on the candidate's behalf. However, he endorsed Donald Trump in 2020, due to his dislike of Joe Biden's tax plans. A week later, he retracted his endorsement, saying on Twitter "Fu*k Donald Trump, I never liked him", and endorsed Biden.
Legal issues, Drugs and assault convictions
On June 29, 1994, Jackson was arrested for selling four vials of cocaine to an undercover police officer. He was arrested again three weeks later, when police searched his home and found heroin, ten ounces of crack cocaine and a starter's pistol. Although Jackson was sentenced to three to nine years in prison, he served six months in a boot camp (where he earned his high-school equivalency diploma). According to him, he did not use cocaine.
Jackson and four members of his entourage were arrested shortly before 2 a.m. on December 31, 2002, when police found a .25-caliber handgun and a .45-caliber pistol in a parked car (which they searched due to its tinted windows) outside a Manhattan nightclub. The rapper was charged with two counts of criminal possession of a weapon.
Jackson was sentenced to two years' probation on July 22, 2005 for a May 2004 incident, when he was charged with three counts of assault and battery after jumping into an audience when he was hit by a water bottle.
Lawsuits
Use of image
Jackson filed a lawsuit against an advertising company, Traffix of Pearl River, New York, on July 21, 2007, for using his image in a promotion he said threatened his safety. He was alerted by a staff member to an Internet advertisement on a Myspace page. According to court documents, the advertisement had a cartoon image of the rapper with "Shoot the rapper and you will win $5000 or five ring tones guaranteed". Although the ad did not use his name, the image allegedly resembled him and suggested that he endorsed the product. The lawsuit, calling the ad a "vile, tasteless and despicable" use of Jackson's image which "quite literally call[ed] for violence against him", sought unspecified punitive damages and a permanent injunction against the use of his image without permission.50 Cent Sues over 'Shoot the Rapper'. Fox News (July 20, 2007). Retrieved December 17, 2015.
Use of name
In 2008, Jackson sued Taco Bell over an ad campaign in which it invited him to change his name for one day from 50 Cent to 79 Cent, 89 Cent, or 99 Cent, in line with pricing for some of its items, and they would donate $10,000 to the charity of his choice. The case was settled out of court.
Janitor incident
While walking through Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport in May 2016, Jackson harassed and insulted a janitor at the airport, accusing him of being under the influence. The janitor was a hearing-impaired, autistic teenager named Andrew Farrell. The parents of the janitor had seen the viral video as disrespect and wanted to sue Jackson for his action against their child. The lawsuit was originally over one million dollars, but the parents settled for a $100,000 donation to Autism Speaks and his apology.
Bamba sample
In 2016, a judge declared that Brandon Parrott gave Dr. Dre and 50 Cent the rights to "Bamba" for the song "P.I.M.P."
Other civil and criminal matters
One of his New York homes, purchased for $2.4 million in January 2007 and the center of a lawsuit between Jackson and Shaniqua Tompkins, caught fire on May 30, 2008 while he was filming in Louisiana. On August 5, 2013, Jackson pleaded not guilty to one count of domestic violence and four counts of vandalism in a Los Angeles County court. If convicted of all charges, he faced up to five years in prison and a $46,000 fine. Model-actress Daphne Joy accused Jackson of kicking her and ransacking her bedroom during an argument at her condominium in the Toluca Lake neighborhood of Los Angeles on June 23. He allegedly caused $7,100 in property damage, leaving the scene before police arrived.
Judge Ann Nevins has ordered Jackson back to court because of Instagram messages he made over several months. She said Jackson was not fully clear about his funds and indicated posts of the rapper showing stacks of his money. In March 2016, Jackson claimed that he would no longer use Instagram, electing instead to have his profile page operated by someone else.
In 2020, Jackson was a subject of controversy for his involvement in a viral video of him giving money to a Burger King restaurant in New York City on behalf of a local scammer who was later arrested and charged for Bitcoin scamming and for assaulting and kidnapping his victims on April 24, 2021.
Feuds
Ja Rule
Before he signed with Interscope Records, Jackson engaged in a public dispute with rapper Ja Rule and his label, Murder Inc. Records, saying that a friend robbed jewelry from Ja Rule and the latter accused him of orchestrating the robbery. Ja Rule said that the conflict stemmed from a Queens video shoot, when Jackson did not like seeing him "getting so much love" from the neighborhood. At The Hit Factory in New York in March 2000, Jackson had an altercation with Murder Inc. associates and received three stitches for a stab wound.Smith, Dominic (July 2005). 50 Cent Interview. FHM. Retrieved July 11, 2007. Rapper Black Child claimed responsibility for the stabbing, saying that he acted in self-defense when he thought someone reached for a gun.
An affidavit by an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) agent suggested ties between Murder Inc. and Kenneth "Supreme" McGriff, a New York drug lord suspected of involvement in the murder of Jam Master Jay and Jackson's shooting. An excerpt read:
The end of the Jackson-Ja Rule feud was confirmed in May 2011. According to Ja Rule, "I'm cool. We ain't beefing no more. We'll never collaborate. That's just what it is. You don't have to be at war with somebody, but it's also kind of like U.S. and another country that they may not get along with. We don't gotta go to war, but we're not friends either. But we can coincide inside of a world. He's doing him, and he's not thinking about me, and I'm doing me and I'm not thinking about him."
On August 7, 2015, the feud between the two rappers later reignited when Ja Rule gave a feedback to a social follower via Twitter over a similar feud between Meek Mill and Drake. Enraged, Jackson later responded with photos and comments via Instagram, only siding with Drake. The feud resurfaced three years later on January 19, 2018, when Ja Rule took to Twitter, calling out 50 Cent on social media. 50 Cent responded by purchasing and vacating the first four rows of his concert.
The Game
Although Jackson was close to The Game before the latter released his debut album, The Documentary, they grew apart. After The Documentarys release, Jackson felt that The Game was disloyal for saying that he did not want to participate in G-Unit's feuds with other rappers (such as Nas, Jadakiss and Fat Joe) and his desire to work with artists with which G-Unit was feuding. He said that he wrote six songs for the album and did not receive proper credit, which The Game denied.
Jackson later dismissed The Game from G-Unit on Hot 97. After the announcement, The Game (a guest earlier in the evening) tried to enter the building with his entourage. After they were denied entry, one of his associates was shot in the leg in a confrontation with a group of men leaving the building.Hope, Clover (March 2, 2005). 50 Cent Cancels New York Appearance amid Shooting Inquiry . AllHipHop. Retrieved July 20, 2007. When the situation escalated, the rappers held a joint press conference announcing their reconciliation, and fans were uncertain if the rappers had staged a publicity stunt to boost sales of their recently released albums. After the situation cooled, G-Unit criticized The Game's street credibility and announced that they would not appear on his albums. During a Summer Jam performance The Game announced a boycott of G-Unit, which he called "G-Unot".
After the Summer Jam performance The Game recorded "300 Bars and Runnin'", an extended "diss" of G-Unit and Roc-A-Fella Records, for the mixtape You Know What It Is Vol. 3. Jackson responded with his "Piggy Bank" music video, with The Game as Mr. Potato Head and parodies of other rivals. They have continued attacking each other, with The Game releasing two more mixtapes: Ghost Unit and a mixtape-DVD, Stop Snitchin, Stop Lyin. Jackson superimposed The Game's head on the body of a male stripper for the cover of the Hate It or Love It (G-Unit Radio Part 21) mixtape in response to The Game's pictures of G-Unit dressed as the Village People. The Game, under contract to Aftermath Entertainment, signed with Geffen Records to terminate his contractual obligations with G-Unit (although it is claimed that Jackson pressured Dr. Dre to fire him). G-Unit member Spider Loc has insulted The Game in songs, and the latter released "240 Bars (Spider Joke)" and "100 Bars (The Funeral)" attacking G-Unit and Loc. Jackson's response was "Not Rich, Still Lyin'", mocking The Game. Lloyd Banks replied to the Game on a Rap City freestyle-booth segment, followed by a Game "diss" song ("SoundScan") ridiculing the 13-position drop of Banks' album Rotten Apple on the Billboard 200 chart and its disappointing second-week sales. Banks replied on his mixtape Mo' Money In The Bank Pt. 5: Gang Green Season Continues with "Showtime (The Game's Over)", said that Jackson wrote half of The Documentary and ridiculed The Game's suicidal thoughts.
In October 2006, The Game made a peace overture (which was not immediately answered) to Jackson, but two days later he said on Power 106 that the peace offer was valid for only one day. In several songs on Doctor's Advocate, he implied that the feud was over. He said in July 2009 that the feud had ended with help from Michael Jackson and Diddy, and apologized for his actions. According to Tony Yayo, neither Jackson nor G-Unit accepted his apology and The Game has resumed his calls for a "G-Unot" boycott at concerts. Jackson released "So Disrespectful" on Before I Self Destruct, targeting Jay-Z, The Game and Young Buck. The Game responded with "Shake", poking fun at the music video for Jackson's "Candy Shop".
On August 1, 2016, 50 Cent ended his twelve-year feud with The Game when the two were in the Ace of Diamonds Strip Club and The Game said "What happened, that shit was 12 years ago."
Rick Ross
Although Rick Ross began a feud with Jackson over an alleged incident at the 2008 BET Hip Hop Awards, Jackson told news sources he did not remember seeing Ross there. Later that month Ross' "Mafia Music" was leaked on the Internet, with lyrics apparently disparaging Jackson. Several days later, Jackson released "Officer Ricky (Go Head, Try Me)" in response to "Mafia Music". The following day, Ross appeared on Shade 45 (Eminem's Sirius channel) and told Jackson to come up with something better in 24 hours.
Before leaving for Venezuela, Jackson uploaded a video ("Warning Shot") and the first of a series of "Officer Ricky" cartoons. In early February he uploaded a YouTube video in which he interviewed "Tia", the mother of one of Ross' children; according to her, Ross is in reality a correctional officer. On February 5, 2009, The Game phoned Seattle radio station KUBE. Asked about the dispute between Jackson and Ross, he sided with Jackson and offered to mediate: "Rick Ross, holla at your boy, man" and "50 eating you, boy."
On his album Deeper Than Rap, Ross refers to Jackson in "In Cold Blood" and Jackson's mock funeral is part of the song's video. When the song was released, Ross said that he ended Jackson's career. "Rick Ross is Albert From CB4. You ever seen the movie? He's Albert," Jackson replied in an interview. "It never gets worse than this. You get a guy that was a correctional officer come out and base his entire career on writing material from a drug dealer's perspective such as "Freeway" Ricky Ross." Their feud rekindled at the 2012 BET Hip Hop Awards, where Jackson and G-Unit members Kidd Kidd, Mike Knox, Tony Yayo were seen on video attacking Gunplay (a member of Ross' Maybach Music Group). Gunplay's Maybach Music diamond necklace was stolen during the brawl, and several days later Jackson appeared at a Washington, D.C. bowling alley wearing Gunplay's chain. On January 30, 2013, Jackson tweeted that Ross' attempted drive-by shooting on his birthday three days earlier was "staged".
On August 9, 2020, 50 Cent and Rick Ross ended their feud.
Awards and nominations
Discography
Studio albums
Get Rich or Die Tryin' (2003)
The Massacre (2005)
Curtis (2007)
Before I Self Destruct (2009)
Animal Ambition (2014)
Collaborative albums
Beg for Mercy (with G-Unit) (2003)
T·O·S (Terminate on Sight)'' (with G-Unit) (2008)
Filmography
Film
Television
Appearances
Video games
References
External links
1975 births
20th-century American rappers
21st-century American businesspeople
21st-century American male actors
21st-century American rappers
21st-century African-American male singers
African-American fashion designers
African-American film producers
African-American investors
African-American male actors
African-American male rappers
African-American memoirists
African-American record producers
African-American male songwriters
Aftermath Entertainment artists
American book publishers (people)
American boxing promoters
American businesspeople convicted of crimes
American chairpersons of corporations
American chief executives of food industry companies
American corporate directors
American cosmetics businesspeople
American drink industry businesspeople
American fashion businesspeople
American film producers
American hip hop record producers
American male film actors
American male television actors
American male video game actors
American marketing businesspeople
American memoirists
American mining businesspeople
American music industry executives
American music publishers (people)
American nonprofit businesspeople
American people convicted of drug offenses
American reality television producers
American retail chief executives
American shooting survivors
American television company founders
American television executives
Andrew Jackson High School (Queens) alumni
Brit Award winners
Businesspeople from Queens, New York
Businesspeople in metals
Caroline Records artists
East Coast hip hop musicians
Echo (music award) winners
Gangsta rappers
Grammy Award winners for rap music
G-Unit Records artists
JMJ Records artists
Juno Award for International Album of the Year winners
Living people
Male actors from New York City
People from Jamaica, Queens
Philanthropists from New York (state)
Rappers from New York City
Record producers from New York (state)
Shady Records artists
Shoe designers
Songwriters from New York (state)
Sony Music Publishing artists
Stabbing attacks in the United States
Stabbing survivors
Television producers from New York City
World Music Awards winners
Writers from Queens, New York | false | [
"\"Nekkoya (Pick Me)\" (; The word 'Naekkeoya' translates to 'You're mine' in Korean ) is a song performed by the contestants of the competition show Produce 48 and serves as the show's theme song. It was released as a digital single on May 10, 2018 by CJ E&M and Stone Music Entertainment, along with a music video.\n\nTrack listing\nDigital downloads as shown on iTunes. The Korean version was listed as the lead track. The piano version was listed separately.\n\nReception\nIn South Korea, the song did not enter the Gaon Digital Chart, but peaked at number 61 on the Mobile Chart and number 100 on the BGM Chart. In Japan, the song did not enter the Billboard Japan Hot 100, but peaked at number 56 on the Japan Hot 100 Download Chart.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n\nProduce 101\n2018 singles\n2018 songs\nKorean-language songs\nElectronic dance music songs\nK-pop songs\nTelevision game show theme songs",
"\"It's Me (Pick Me)\" () is a song by contestants of Produce 101 Season 2 and serves as the theme song of the show. It was released online as a digital single on March 9, 2017 by CJ E&M, along with a music video starring Lee Dae-hwi as chosen center. On the show's official soundtrack, a piano version of the song was released and was played in the season's final episode. It was confirmed that the main vocals for the track were done by only 19 selected trainees and the other trainees did background vocals. The song was re-released by Wanna One, the winning group of Produce 101 Season 2 on their album 1X1=1 (To Be One).\n\nThe song is uptempo electro-pop song and was created by Ryan S. Jhun. It was chosen as one of the most influential and memorable K-pop songs of the year by several industry professionals.\n\nCharts\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n\nProduce 101\n2017 singles\n2017 songs\nKorean-language songs\nElectronic dance music songs\nK-pop songs\nTelevision game show theme songs\nWanna One songs\nSongs written by Emile Ghantous\nSongs written by Ryan S. Jhun"
] |
[
"Ken Kavanaugh",
"Post-war"
] | C_eda7f8250d62473c808321ec2321f58f_0 | what did Ken do after the war? | 1 | What did Ken Kavanaugh do after the war? | Ken Kavanaugh | After the war, he continued his career with the Bears. In 1945 he had 543 yards and six touchdowns, and in 1946 had 337 yards and five touchdowns. Three of his touchdowns in 1946 came in a 27-21 win over the Los Angeles Rams in week seven. The Bears defeated the New York Giants 24-14 in the 1946 NFL Championship Game, which gave Kavanaugh his third league championship with the team. The first touchdown of the game was a 21-yard pass from Luckman to Kavanaugh. After the season, he was named to the United Press All-NFL first team. Kavanaugh had his most productive season statistically in 1947. He had career highs with 32 receptions, 881 yards, and 13 touchdowns. He set a Bears record by recording a receiving touchdown in seven straight games, a streak that began with a three-touchdown game against the Boston Yanks in week six. His 13 receiving touchdowns led the league, and he earned his second straight first-team All-NFL selection from the United Press. Kavanaugh was named to his third straight All-NFL first team in 1948, and he again led the league in receiving touchdowns in 1949, with nine. His most productive single-game yardage performance came in his final season, in 1950 against the Yanks, as he caught eight passes for 177 yards and a touchdown. Kavanaugh spent a total of eight seasons in Chicago. He spent the majority of his career catching passes from quarterbacks Sid Luckman and Johnny Lujack. He remains the Bears' career leader in touchdown receptions, with 50. He also holds franchise records for highest career and single season yards-per-reception. His 13 touchdown receptions in 1947 is a single season Bears record he shares with Dick Gordon, who tied it in 1970. In 1969, Kavanaugh was voted by sportswriters to the NFL 1940s All-Decade Team. The Professional Football Researchers Association named Kavanaugh to the PRFA Hall of Very Good Class of 2009 CANNOTANSWER | After the war, he continued his career with the Bears. | Kenneth William Kavanaugh (November 23, 1916 – January 25, 2007) was an American football player, coach, and scout. He played professionally in the National Football League (NFL) for the Chicago Bears as an end from 1940 to 1950, except for three seasons during which he served in World War II. He led the league in receiving touchdowns twice, and is a member of the NFL 1940s All-Decade Team. He is the Bears' all-time leader in receiving touchdowns, with 50.
Kavanaugh played college football at Louisiana State University for the LSU Tigers, where he was named most valuable player of the Southeastern Conference and a consensus All-American in 1939 after leading the nation in receptions and receiving yards. He was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1963.
Early life and college
Kavanaugh was born in Little Rock, Arkansas. He graduated from Little Rock Central High School in 1936.
Kavanaugh arrived at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana in 1936 and joined the LSU football varsity team in 1937. As an end, he was quickly able to fill the void in the offense left by the departure of two-time All-American Gaynell Tinsley. At , Kavanaugh was a large receiver for his time, and used his size to outreach defenders. Bernie Moore, Kavanaugh's head coach at LSU, said Kavanaugh "was a pass completer rather than a receiver, simply because he'd catch passes no one else could get to." He was named to the Associated Press (AP) All-Southeastern Conference (SEC) second alternate team after the 1937 season. In 1938, the AP named him a first-team All-SEC selection, and he was a second-team selection by the United Press.
In 1939, in a game against Holy Cross, Kavanaugh caught four touchdown passes in the 26–7 win. According to Kavanaugh and teammate Young Bussey, Kavanaugh found four rusty nails on the sideline during the game. The next week against Rice, he found another nail and scored another touchdown to give LSU a 7–0 win. The pattern continued against Loyola and Vanderbilt, as Kavanaugh found two nails before each game and in each scored two touchdowns. A sportswriter for the Baton Rouge Advocate claimed he saw coach Bernie Moore at a local store stocking up on nails before LSU's game against No. 1 Tennessee. Kavanaugh failed to score in the game, however, as the Tigers lost 20–0.
The Nashville Banner named Kavanaugh co-MVP of the Southeastern Conference for 1939 along with Bob Foxx of Tennessee. Kavanaugh was a consensus All-America selection for the 1939 All-America Team, being named to the team by five of the nine official selectors. He was also awarded the Knute Rockne Memorial Trophy by the Washington D.C. Touchdown Club as the nation's lineman of the year, and finished seventh in Heisman Trophy balloting.
Professional
Pre-war
After college, Kavanaugh signed a minor league baseball contract with the St. Louis Cardinals organization for $300 a month. He later signed with the NFL's Chicago Bears after striking a deal with Bears owner George Halas for $300 a game. He played for the Bears during a period in which they were nicknamed the Monsters of the Midway. In the 1940 NFL Championship Game, the Bears defeated the Washington Redskins 73–0, the most lopsided victory in NFL history. Kavanaugh caught the game's only touchdown pass, a 30-yard reception from quarterback Sid Luckman shortly before halftime. The next season, the Bears won the 1941 NFL Championship Game, as they defeated the New York Giants 39–7 and repeated as NFL champions. The final score in the game was a fumble recovery by Kavanaugh on defense, returning the ball 42 yards for a touchdown. In his first two seasons with the Bears, Kavanaugh compiled 23 receptions for 590 yards and nine touchdowns.
World War II
Kavanaugh's career was interrupted by World War II, in which he was a pilot in the European theater. He was a member of the Eighth Air Force's 490th Bombardment Group and 851st Bombardment Squadron, and attained the rank of captain. He flew 30 missions and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal with four oak leaf clusters. Former LSU and Bears teammate Young Bussey was the Bears' only casualty in the war.
Post-war
After the war, he continued his career with the Bears. In 1945 he had 543 yards and six touchdowns, and in 1946 had 337 yards and five touchdowns. Three of his touchdowns in 1946 came in a 27–21 win over the Los Angeles Rams in week seven. The Bears defeated the New York Giants 24–14 in the 1946 NFL Championship Game, which gave Kavanaugh his third league championship with the team. The first touchdown of the game was a 21-yard pass from Luckman to Kavanaugh. After the season, he was named to the United Press All-NFL first team. Kavanaugh had his most productive season statistically in 1947. He had career highs with 32 receptions, 881 yards, and 13 touchdowns. He set a Bears record by recording a receiving touchdown in seven straight games, a streak that began with a three-touchdown game against the Boston Yanks in week six. His 13 receiving touchdowns led the league, and he earned his second straight first-team All-NFL selection from the United Press.
Kavanaugh was named to his third straight All-NFL first team in 1948, and he again led the league in receiving touchdowns in 1949, with nine. His most productive single-game yardage performance came in his final season, in 1950 against the Yanks, as he caught eight passes for 177 yards and a touchdown.
Kavanaugh spent a total of eight seasons in Chicago. He spent the majority of his career catching passes from quarterbacks Sid Luckman and Johnny Lujack. He remains the Bears' career leader in touchdown receptions, with 50. He also holds franchise records for highest career and single season yards-per-reception. His 13 touchdown receptions in 1947 is a single season Bears record he shares with Dick Gordon, who tied it in 1970.
In 1969, Kavanaugh was voted by sportswriters to the NFL 1940s All-Decade Team. The Professional Football Researchers Association named Kavanaugh to the PRFA Hall of Very Good Class of 2009
Coaching career and later life
After he retired from playing, he remained with the Bears for the 1951 season as an ends coach. He was hired by Boston College in 1952 to serve in the same position, until his resignation in 1954. After serving as an assistant at Villanova in 1954, Kavanaugh was hired by the New York Giants in 1955 as ends coach and continued in that position until 1970. He became a scout for the Giants in 1971, serving until his retirement from football in 1999.
His son, Ken Kavanaugh Jr. played at LSU as a tight end. He was drafted by the Giants in the 1972 NFL Draft but did not play professionally.
Kavanaugh died of complications from pneumonia on January 25, 2007, in Sarasota, Florida.
See also
List of National Football League annual receiving touchdowns leaders
List of NCAA major college football yearly receiving leaders
References
Bibliography
External links
1916 births
2007 deaths
American football ends
Chicago Bears players
LSU Tigers football players
Boston College Eagles football coaches
Villanova Wildcats football coaches
New York Giants coaches
New York Giants scouts
All-American college football players
College Football Hall of Fame inductees
United States Army Air Forces pilots of World War II
United States Army Air Forces officers
Recipients of the Air Medal
Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States)
Sportspeople from Little Rock, Arkansas
Players of American football from Arkansas
Deaths from pneumonia in Florida | true | [
"Sack is a five-piece Irish band, based in Dublin. To date the band has released three albums: You Are What You Eat, Butterfly Effect and Adventura Majestica. The band formed after the demise of Lord John White.\n\nTheir first single \"What Did The Christians Ever Do For Us?\" was single of the week in both the NME and Melody Maker. They have supported Morrissey on several world tours taking in mainland Europe, North America, and the UK. Sack have also supported the likes of The Fall, Boo Radleys among others. They have gigged sporadically in recent years and are planning to record new material.\n\nThe band appeared on the Morrissey-endorsed NME CD Songs to Save Your Life, while \"Laughter Lines\" appeared on the soundtrack to the movie Carrie 2: The Rage.\n\nCurrent members\nMartin McCann: lead vocals\nJohn Brereton: guitars\nTony Brereton: drums, backing vocals\nKen Haughton: guitars\nDerek Lee: bass\n\nDiscography\nAlbums \n\n You Are What You Eat (1994) Lemon Records\n Butterfly Effect (1997) Dirt Records\n Adventura Majestica (2001) Jetset Junta Records\n\nSingles \n\n Dilettanti (1993)\n Indian Rope Trick. (1993)\n What Did The Christians Ever Do For Us (1994)\n Latitude (1997)\n Laughter Lines (1998)\n What a Way to Live (2021)\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\nOfficial site\n\nIrish rock music groups\nMusical groups from Dublin (city)\nMusical groups established in 1994",
"Design Flaws of the Human Condition is a novel by Paul Schmidtberger.\n\nBackground\nPublished by Random House in 2007, the novel is an urban comedy of adultery that is an \"assuredly entertaining romp\" \nwhose characters are handled \"with a sympathetic grace.\"\n\nSynopsis\nTwo strangers in New York, Iris and Ken, meet when they find themselves forced into an anger-management class. Iris is there because of a justifiable meltdown on a crowded flight, whereas Ken was caught defacing library books with rude (but very true!) messages about his former boyfriend that he caught in bed with another man.\n\nIris and Ken seem cosmically destined to be friends. What follows is a strikingly original comedy as Ken enlists Iris to infiltrate his ex-boyfriend's life in the hope of discovering that he's miserable.\n\nAnd Iris reciprocates, dispatching Ken to gain himself into the confidence of her own boyfriend, whom she thinks is cheating. But what if Ken's ex-boyfriend isn't crying himself to sleep? What should Iris do when her worst suspicions begin to become true? Just exactly how perfect do we have the right to expect our fellow human beings to be?\n\nThe novel explores such universal themes as anger, betrayal, friendship and loyalty with wisdom, compassion, and a wickedly irreverent sense of humor.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\nBook Review of Design Flaws of the Human Condition, USA Today\nBook Review of Design Flaws of the Human Condition, Publishers Weekly\n Design Flaws of the Human Condition Site\n\n2007 novels\nAdultery in novels\nNovels set in New York City"
] |
[
"Ken Kavanaugh",
"Post-war",
"what did Ken do after the war?",
"After the war, he continued his career with the Bears."
] | C_eda7f8250d62473c808321ec2321f58f_0 | Did he do well with the bears? | 2 | Did Ken Kavanaugh do well with the Bears after the war? | Ken Kavanaugh | After the war, he continued his career with the Bears. In 1945 he had 543 yards and six touchdowns, and in 1946 had 337 yards and five touchdowns. Three of his touchdowns in 1946 came in a 27-21 win over the Los Angeles Rams in week seven. The Bears defeated the New York Giants 24-14 in the 1946 NFL Championship Game, which gave Kavanaugh his third league championship with the team. The first touchdown of the game was a 21-yard pass from Luckman to Kavanaugh. After the season, he was named to the United Press All-NFL first team. Kavanaugh had his most productive season statistically in 1947. He had career highs with 32 receptions, 881 yards, and 13 touchdowns. He set a Bears record by recording a receiving touchdown in seven straight games, a streak that began with a three-touchdown game against the Boston Yanks in week six. His 13 receiving touchdowns led the league, and he earned his second straight first-team All-NFL selection from the United Press. Kavanaugh was named to his third straight All-NFL first team in 1948, and he again led the league in receiving touchdowns in 1949, with nine. His most productive single-game yardage performance came in his final season, in 1950 against the Yanks, as he caught eight passes for 177 yards and a touchdown. Kavanaugh spent a total of eight seasons in Chicago. He spent the majority of his career catching passes from quarterbacks Sid Luckman and Johnny Lujack. He remains the Bears' career leader in touchdown receptions, with 50. He also holds franchise records for highest career and single season yards-per-reception. His 13 touchdown receptions in 1947 is a single season Bears record he shares with Dick Gordon, who tied it in 1970. In 1969, Kavanaugh was voted by sportswriters to the NFL 1940s All-Decade Team. The Professional Football Researchers Association named Kavanaugh to the PRFA Hall of Very Good Class of 2009 CANNOTANSWER | In 1945 he had 543 yards and six touchdowns, and in 1946 had 337 yards and five touchdowns. | Kenneth William Kavanaugh (November 23, 1916 – January 25, 2007) was an American football player, coach, and scout. He played professionally in the National Football League (NFL) for the Chicago Bears as an end from 1940 to 1950, except for three seasons during which he served in World War II. He led the league in receiving touchdowns twice, and is a member of the NFL 1940s All-Decade Team. He is the Bears' all-time leader in receiving touchdowns, with 50.
Kavanaugh played college football at Louisiana State University for the LSU Tigers, where he was named most valuable player of the Southeastern Conference and a consensus All-American in 1939 after leading the nation in receptions and receiving yards. He was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1963.
Early life and college
Kavanaugh was born in Little Rock, Arkansas. He graduated from Little Rock Central High School in 1936.
Kavanaugh arrived at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana in 1936 and joined the LSU football varsity team in 1937. As an end, he was quickly able to fill the void in the offense left by the departure of two-time All-American Gaynell Tinsley. At , Kavanaugh was a large receiver for his time, and used his size to outreach defenders. Bernie Moore, Kavanaugh's head coach at LSU, said Kavanaugh "was a pass completer rather than a receiver, simply because he'd catch passes no one else could get to." He was named to the Associated Press (AP) All-Southeastern Conference (SEC) second alternate team after the 1937 season. In 1938, the AP named him a first-team All-SEC selection, and he was a second-team selection by the United Press.
In 1939, in a game against Holy Cross, Kavanaugh caught four touchdown passes in the 26–7 win. According to Kavanaugh and teammate Young Bussey, Kavanaugh found four rusty nails on the sideline during the game. The next week against Rice, he found another nail and scored another touchdown to give LSU a 7–0 win. The pattern continued against Loyola and Vanderbilt, as Kavanaugh found two nails before each game and in each scored two touchdowns. A sportswriter for the Baton Rouge Advocate claimed he saw coach Bernie Moore at a local store stocking up on nails before LSU's game against No. 1 Tennessee. Kavanaugh failed to score in the game, however, as the Tigers lost 20–0.
The Nashville Banner named Kavanaugh co-MVP of the Southeastern Conference for 1939 along with Bob Foxx of Tennessee. Kavanaugh was a consensus All-America selection for the 1939 All-America Team, being named to the team by five of the nine official selectors. He was also awarded the Knute Rockne Memorial Trophy by the Washington D.C. Touchdown Club as the nation's lineman of the year, and finished seventh in Heisman Trophy balloting.
Professional
Pre-war
After college, Kavanaugh signed a minor league baseball contract with the St. Louis Cardinals organization for $300 a month. He later signed with the NFL's Chicago Bears after striking a deal with Bears owner George Halas for $300 a game. He played for the Bears during a period in which they were nicknamed the Monsters of the Midway. In the 1940 NFL Championship Game, the Bears defeated the Washington Redskins 73–0, the most lopsided victory in NFL history. Kavanaugh caught the game's only touchdown pass, a 30-yard reception from quarterback Sid Luckman shortly before halftime. The next season, the Bears won the 1941 NFL Championship Game, as they defeated the New York Giants 39–7 and repeated as NFL champions. The final score in the game was a fumble recovery by Kavanaugh on defense, returning the ball 42 yards for a touchdown. In his first two seasons with the Bears, Kavanaugh compiled 23 receptions for 590 yards and nine touchdowns.
World War II
Kavanaugh's career was interrupted by World War II, in which he was a pilot in the European theater. He was a member of the Eighth Air Force's 490th Bombardment Group and 851st Bombardment Squadron, and attained the rank of captain. He flew 30 missions and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal with four oak leaf clusters. Former LSU and Bears teammate Young Bussey was the Bears' only casualty in the war.
Post-war
After the war, he continued his career with the Bears. In 1945 he had 543 yards and six touchdowns, and in 1946 had 337 yards and five touchdowns. Three of his touchdowns in 1946 came in a 27–21 win over the Los Angeles Rams in week seven. The Bears defeated the New York Giants 24–14 in the 1946 NFL Championship Game, which gave Kavanaugh his third league championship with the team. The first touchdown of the game was a 21-yard pass from Luckman to Kavanaugh. After the season, he was named to the United Press All-NFL first team. Kavanaugh had his most productive season statistically in 1947. He had career highs with 32 receptions, 881 yards, and 13 touchdowns. He set a Bears record by recording a receiving touchdown in seven straight games, a streak that began with a three-touchdown game against the Boston Yanks in week six. His 13 receiving touchdowns led the league, and he earned his second straight first-team All-NFL selection from the United Press.
Kavanaugh was named to his third straight All-NFL first team in 1948, and he again led the league in receiving touchdowns in 1949, with nine. His most productive single-game yardage performance came in his final season, in 1950 against the Yanks, as he caught eight passes for 177 yards and a touchdown.
Kavanaugh spent a total of eight seasons in Chicago. He spent the majority of his career catching passes from quarterbacks Sid Luckman and Johnny Lujack. He remains the Bears' career leader in touchdown receptions, with 50. He also holds franchise records for highest career and single season yards-per-reception. His 13 touchdown receptions in 1947 is a single season Bears record he shares with Dick Gordon, who tied it in 1970.
In 1969, Kavanaugh was voted by sportswriters to the NFL 1940s All-Decade Team. The Professional Football Researchers Association named Kavanaugh to the PRFA Hall of Very Good Class of 2009
Coaching career and later life
After he retired from playing, he remained with the Bears for the 1951 season as an ends coach. He was hired by Boston College in 1952 to serve in the same position, until his resignation in 1954. After serving as an assistant at Villanova in 1954, Kavanaugh was hired by the New York Giants in 1955 as ends coach and continued in that position until 1970. He became a scout for the Giants in 1971, serving until his retirement from football in 1999.
His son, Ken Kavanaugh Jr. played at LSU as a tight end. He was drafted by the Giants in the 1972 NFL Draft but did not play professionally.
Kavanaugh died of complications from pneumonia on January 25, 2007, in Sarasota, Florida.
See also
List of National Football League annual receiving touchdowns leaders
List of NCAA major college football yearly receiving leaders
References
Bibliography
External links
1916 births
2007 deaths
American football ends
Chicago Bears players
LSU Tigers football players
Boston College Eagles football coaches
Villanova Wildcats football coaches
New York Giants coaches
New York Giants scouts
All-American college football players
College Football Hall of Fame inductees
United States Army Air Forces pilots of World War II
United States Army Air Forces officers
Recipients of the Air Medal
Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States)
Sportspeople from Little Rock, Arkansas
Players of American football from Arkansas
Deaths from pneumonia in Florida | true | [
"The 1937 Chicago Bears season was their 18th regular season completed in the National Football League. The Bears started the season fast, winning their first five games, three of them on the road. After a tie to the Giants and a loss to the Packers, the Bears finished the season strong, winning their last four games. The team was second in scoring offense, behind Green Bay, and led the league in scoring defense.\n\n1937 NFL Draft\n\nSeason highlights\nThe Bear offense relied on a rugged rushing attack and a quick-strike passing game. Sixteen of their 21 offensive touchdowns were through the air and the team averaged a league-leading 18.3 yards per completion. Future hall of fame end Bill Hewitt was gone to Philadelphia and Luke Johnsos did not play so coach Halas relied on young Les McDonald and \"Eggs\" Manske, along with veteran Bill Karr to catch the long ball. Bernie Masterson was still the primary quarterback but rookie Ray Buivid played regularly and showed promise, particularly in the season finale win over the Chicago Cardinals where he became the first player to pass for five touchdowns, and the only rookie to do so until 2015. Ray Nolting led the team in rushing, with Bronko Nagurski and Jack Manders contributing as well. Manders led the league in scoring with 8 field goals and 15 of 20 PATs, finishing with 69 points. The Bears' interior line was their real strong suit, however, with Musso, Stydahar, and Fortmann anchoring the best line in the NFL. Frank Bausch emerged as a top flight center as well. With a consistent offense and a solid defense, the Bears were the class of the West, finishing 2½ games ahead of the Packers and Lions and winning 3 of 4 games against those two teams.\n\nOn October 6, 1937, the team scheduled a charity exhibition game against the Warren Redjackets. Because Warren, Pennsylvania was too small of a city to support such a game, the game was held in Erie, Pennsylvania and Warren's fans were transported to Erie by rail. Chicago won the game 49–7.\n\nFuture Hall of Fame players\nDan Fortmann, guard\nGeorge Musso, tackle\nBronko Nagurski, fullback\nJoe Stydahar, tackle (rookie from West Virginia University)\n\nOther leading players\nFrank Bausch, center (acquired from Boston Redskins)\nRay Buivid, back (rookie from Marquette)\nBill Karr, end\nJack Manders, fullback/kicker\nEdgar Manske, end (acquired from Philadelphia Eagles)\nBernie Masterson, quarterback\nLes McDonald, end (rookie from University of Nebraska)\nKeith Molesworth, halfback\nRay Nolting, halfback (rookie from University of Cincinnati)\nGene Ronzani, back\n\nPlayers departed from 1936\nBill Hewitt, End (went to Philadelphia)\nLuke Johnsos, End (did not play for unknown reasons)\n\nSchedule\n\nNote: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.\n\nStandings\n\nChampionship Game\nThe Bears lost to the Washington Redskins at Wrigley Field 28–21. Rookie Sammy Baugh threw two fourth-quarter touchdown passes to upset the Bears. The Bears quarterbacks were ineffective, completing only 8 of 30 passes for 207 yards. Baugh set several NFL championship game records while completing 17 of 34 passes for 358 yards, three touchdowns and one interception.\n\nReferences\n\nChicago Bears\nChicago Bears seasons\nChicago Bears",
"The Chicago Honey Bears were a cheerleading squad for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League during the late 1970s and early 1980s. The group performed at Bears games at Soldier Field. After Super Bowl XX, the squad was disbanded, and currently, the Bears are one of the seven NFL teams that do not have cheerleaders, along with the Buffalo Bills, Cleveland Browns, Green Bay Packers, New York Giants, Los Angeles Chargers, and the Pittsburgh Steelers.\n\nHistory\n\nIn 1976, after a disastrous 1975 season for the Bears, owner/founder George Halas decided to bring \"dancing girls\" to the Bears, after the success of other cheerleading corps like the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, Washington Redskins Cheerleaders and other squads prompted Halas to get the Bears a squad as well, and requested general manager Jim Finks to find a director. During the search, Finks was given a recommendation for former cheerleader and choreographer Cathy Core, who had recently moved to Chicago from New Jersey. However, when Finks asked Core about choreographing the squad, Core thought it was a prank and hung up. After some verification, Core accepted. During the meeting with Core, Halas stated that \"As long as I’m alive, we will have dancing girls on the sidelines.\" Halas was true to his word, as the Honey Bears were around for the rest of his life until his death in 1983. After 28 girls were selected, they became an instant hit. However, the job did not pay much, as they were only paid $15 a game ($5 for gas, $5 for parking and $5 for uniform cleaning). By 1985, the wage was extended to $20. Despite this, over 5,000 ladies auditioned in 1985. Unlike current squads, the Honey Bears performed more actual cheerleading stunts than dance moves that other squads perform.\n\nIn addition to home games at Soldier Field, the Honey Bears also performed at one away game in Tampa, Florida. The Chicago Honey Bears donated numerous hours of service to charities, as well as made guest appearances on television, including the Richard Simmons Show and the WGN Jerry Lewis Muscular Dystrophy Telethon, and performed and signed autographs at various other events, including at the Great Lakes Naval Station for the Navy servicemen. They did various ads and posters, including a Kodak film ad, a Chicago Buckingham Fountain postcard, a Stroh's beer poster, and a poster of The Chicago Honey Bears official head shots featuring hair and make up by Vidal Sassoon, who was the official hair stylist of the NFL Chicago Honey Bears. Vidal Sassoon selected Chicago Honey Bear line captain and assistant choreographer Sharon Shackelford to be a hair model and he cut, colored and styled her hair live on the Phil Donahue Show. \n\nAside from the Chicago Honey Bears being dancers and cheerleaders, at the Honey Bear auditions, Cathy Core and a panel of judges, including talent agents, narrowed their search by making the contestants display an additional talent, such as singing, playing instruments, acrobatic abilities or other dance forms and talents, before making their final selections of who would be on the squad each season. They also did modeling, including an incident when a member of the squad appeared topless in a Playboy magazine. After this incident, the cheerleaders signed contracts that forbade posing nude and also forbade fraternizing with the Chicago Bears football players except at approved events.\n\nEven though the Honey Bears were a hit, after Halas' death in 1983, his daughter Virginia Halas McCaskey attempted to sever all ties with the group. She believed that they were sexist and degrading to women (she called them \"sex objects\"), as well as them costing up to $50,000 a season. However, McCaskey had to legally honor the group's contract with the team until it expired at the end of the 1985 season. The Chicago Honey Bears had their final performance in Super Bowl XX in the Superdome in New Orleans, performing at halftime to Prince's song Baby I'm a Star.\n\nCore was quoted saying:\n\nGeneral manager Jerry Vainisi stated that the team could possibly replace the squad with a high school band, although the Bears did not wind up doing so. The other factor in the squad's termination, Virginia's son Michael McCaskey, stated that the squad was not an acceptable part of the game day experience.\n\nCurse of the Honey Bears\nSome Bears fans claim that their team lingers under a \"Honey Bear Curse\", as the team still has yet to win a Super Bowl after the group's termination (as of ). The Bears came close in Super Bowl XLI, but lost to the Indianapolis Colts. Despite the Bears not having the Honey Bears, the Bears unveiled a mascot in Staley Da Bear in 2003.\n\nAs of 2021, the Bears have gone 5–11 (.313) in the postseason, compared to the team's 4–3 record during the squad's tenure (.521), as well as 235-254 (.480) in the regular season after the squad's termination, a .30 winning percentage differental than during the squad's existence (82–67). The team had also gone 35–76–1 (.317) in the eight years before the squad's existence.\n\nAttempted revivals\nDespite numerous attempts to bring back the Honey Bears and fan polls supporting the squad 3–1, Virginia McCaskey has let it be known the Bears will not have cheerleaders as long as she owns the team, in addition her children Michael and George McCaskey and her grandchildren have reportedly plan to keep the anti-cheerleading stance when they inherit the team. A small group of Bears fans created an unofficial Honey Bears who appeared at the team's training camp in 2010 as part of the unofficial web page to bring back the squad, which also has petitions that fans can sign to bring back the group.\n\nAnother homage to the Honey Bears is with \"Honey Bear\", a superfan for the Bears done by Lena Duda, who has been active in the Bears stands and tailgate scene since 2007. Honey Bear's \"uniform\" consists of white hot pants, white go-go boots, pom poms, and white vest; all being recreations of the squad's trademark uniforms.\n\nA year after the squad's disbanding, a producer named Greg Schwartz trademarked the name, purchased a federal registration, and eventually turned the once-cheerleading squad into a song and dance group. The group has performed for various Fortune 500 companies and has done modeling.\n\nUniforms\nThe squad's uniforms, like the Bears, experienced very little changes. From the squad's inception in 1976 to 1980, the uniform was a white bodysuit with navy blue sleeves. From 1980 to 1984, the squad once again wore a white bodysuit, but with orange sleeves instead, with the navy blue being moved to the trim. In the group's final year, the uniform was completely revamped, with an orange sequin vest. In cold weather games, the Honey Bears wore an orange tracksuit. Former Indianapolis Colts and Indiana Firebirds cheerleader Carey modeled for prototype Honey Bears uniforms for the unofficial squad website, taking her ideas from current NFL cheerleading squads.\n\nNotable members\n Cathy Core – Director of the NFL Chicago Bears Cheerleaders, Chicago Honey Bear squad and retired Luvabulls Director (Chicago Bulls cheerleaders) Inducted into the Chicagoland Sports Hall of Fame.\n Cheryl Burton – WLS-TV news anchor\nJohn Bittner - Big Bear mascot of the Honey Bears. \n\nFormer Chicago Bear Cheerleaders: Renee Halverson Wright & Carolyn Jollette coauthored “Missing from the Sidelines” The Untold Stories of the Chicago Honey Bears.\n\nReferences\n\nFurther reading\n\nExternal links\n\n ChicagoHoneyBears.net\n Chicago Honey Bear Dancers\n Chicago Honey Bears page on Bears History\n Chicago Honey Bears all-time roster\n\nChicago Bears\nNational Football League cheerleading squads\nPerforming groups established in 1976\nNational Football League controversies\n1976 establishments in Illinois\n1986 disestablishments in Illinois"
] |
[
"Ken Kavanaugh",
"Post-war",
"what did Ken do after the war?",
"After the war, he continued his career with the Bears.",
"Did he do well with the bears?",
"In 1945 he had 543 yards and six touchdowns, and in 1946 had 337 yards and five touchdowns."
] | C_eda7f8250d62473c808321ec2321f58f_0 | did he win any awards? | 3 | Did Ken Kavanaugh win any awards after the war? | Ken Kavanaugh | After the war, he continued his career with the Bears. In 1945 he had 543 yards and six touchdowns, and in 1946 had 337 yards and five touchdowns. Three of his touchdowns in 1946 came in a 27-21 win over the Los Angeles Rams in week seven. The Bears defeated the New York Giants 24-14 in the 1946 NFL Championship Game, which gave Kavanaugh his third league championship with the team. The first touchdown of the game was a 21-yard pass from Luckman to Kavanaugh. After the season, he was named to the United Press All-NFL first team. Kavanaugh had his most productive season statistically in 1947. He had career highs with 32 receptions, 881 yards, and 13 touchdowns. He set a Bears record by recording a receiving touchdown in seven straight games, a streak that began with a three-touchdown game against the Boston Yanks in week six. His 13 receiving touchdowns led the league, and he earned his second straight first-team All-NFL selection from the United Press. Kavanaugh was named to his third straight All-NFL first team in 1948, and he again led the league in receiving touchdowns in 1949, with nine. His most productive single-game yardage performance came in his final season, in 1950 against the Yanks, as he caught eight passes for 177 yards and a touchdown. Kavanaugh spent a total of eight seasons in Chicago. He spent the majority of his career catching passes from quarterbacks Sid Luckman and Johnny Lujack. He remains the Bears' career leader in touchdown receptions, with 50. He also holds franchise records for highest career and single season yards-per-reception. His 13 touchdown receptions in 1947 is a single season Bears record he shares with Dick Gordon, who tied it in 1970. In 1969, Kavanaugh was voted by sportswriters to the NFL 1940s All-Decade Team. The Professional Football Researchers Association named Kavanaugh to the PRFA Hall of Very Good Class of 2009 CANNOTANSWER | In 1969, Kavanaugh was voted by sportswriters to the NFL 1940s All-Decade Team. | Kenneth William Kavanaugh (November 23, 1916 – January 25, 2007) was an American football player, coach, and scout. He played professionally in the National Football League (NFL) for the Chicago Bears as an end from 1940 to 1950, except for three seasons during which he served in World War II. He led the league in receiving touchdowns twice, and is a member of the NFL 1940s All-Decade Team. He is the Bears' all-time leader in receiving touchdowns, with 50.
Kavanaugh played college football at Louisiana State University for the LSU Tigers, where he was named most valuable player of the Southeastern Conference and a consensus All-American in 1939 after leading the nation in receptions and receiving yards. He was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1963.
Early life and college
Kavanaugh was born in Little Rock, Arkansas. He graduated from Little Rock Central High School in 1936.
Kavanaugh arrived at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana in 1936 and joined the LSU football varsity team in 1937. As an end, he was quickly able to fill the void in the offense left by the departure of two-time All-American Gaynell Tinsley. At , Kavanaugh was a large receiver for his time, and used his size to outreach defenders. Bernie Moore, Kavanaugh's head coach at LSU, said Kavanaugh "was a pass completer rather than a receiver, simply because he'd catch passes no one else could get to." He was named to the Associated Press (AP) All-Southeastern Conference (SEC) second alternate team after the 1937 season. In 1938, the AP named him a first-team All-SEC selection, and he was a second-team selection by the United Press.
In 1939, in a game against Holy Cross, Kavanaugh caught four touchdown passes in the 26–7 win. According to Kavanaugh and teammate Young Bussey, Kavanaugh found four rusty nails on the sideline during the game. The next week against Rice, he found another nail and scored another touchdown to give LSU a 7–0 win. The pattern continued against Loyola and Vanderbilt, as Kavanaugh found two nails before each game and in each scored two touchdowns. A sportswriter for the Baton Rouge Advocate claimed he saw coach Bernie Moore at a local store stocking up on nails before LSU's game against No. 1 Tennessee. Kavanaugh failed to score in the game, however, as the Tigers lost 20–0.
The Nashville Banner named Kavanaugh co-MVP of the Southeastern Conference for 1939 along with Bob Foxx of Tennessee. Kavanaugh was a consensus All-America selection for the 1939 All-America Team, being named to the team by five of the nine official selectors. He was also awarded the Knute Rockne Memorial Trophy by the Washington D.C. Touchdown Club as the nation's lineman of the year, and finished seventh in Heisman Trophy balloting.
Professional
Pre-war
After college, Kavanaugh signed a minor league baseball contract with the St. Louis Cardinals organization for $300 a month. He later signed with the NFL's Chicago Bears after striking a deal with Bears owner George Halas for $300 a game. He played for the Bears during a period in which they were nicknamed the Monsters of the Midway. In the 1940 NFL Championship Game, the Bears defeated the Washington Redskins 73–0, the most lopsided victory in NFL history. Kavanaugh caught the game's only touchdown pass, a 30-yard reception from quarterback Sid Luckman shortly before halftime. The next season, the Bears won the 1941 NFL Championship Game, as they defeated the New York Giants 39–7 and repeated as NFL champions. The final score in the game was a fumble recovery by Kavanaugh on defense, returning the ball 42 yards for a touchdown. In his first two seasons with the Bears, Kavanaugh compiled 23 receptions for 590 yards and nine touchdowns.
World War II
Kavanaugh's career was interrupted by World War II, in which he was a pilot in the European theater. He was a member of the Eighth Air Force's 490th Bombardment Group and 851st Bombardment Squadron, and attained the rank of captain. He flew 30 missions and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal with four oak leaf clusters. Former LSU and Bears teammate Young Bussey was the Bears' only casualty in the war.
Post-war
After the war, he continued his career with the Bears. In 1945 he had 543 yards and six touchdowns, and in 1946 had 337 yards and five touchdowns. Three of his touchdowns in 1946 came in a 27–21 win over the Los Angeles Rams in week seven. The Bears defeated the New York Giants 24–14 in the 1946 NFL Championship Game, which gave Kavanaugh his third league championship with the team. The first touchdown of the game was a 21-yard pass from Luckman to Kavanaugh. After the season, he was named to the United Press All-NFL first team. Kavanaugh had his most productive season statistically in 1947. He had career highs with 32 receptions, 881 yards, and 13 touchdowns. He set a Bears record by recording a receiving touchdown in seven straight games, a streak that began with a three-touchdown game against the Boston Yanks in week six. His 13 receiving touchdowns led the league, and he earned his second straight first-team All-NFL selection from the United Press.
Kavanaugh was named to his third straight All-NFL first team in 1948, and he again led the league in receiving touchdowns in 1949, with nine. His most productive single-game yardage performance came in his final season, in 1950 against the Yanks, as he caught eight passes for 177 yards and a touchdown.
Kavanaugh spent a total of eight seasons in Chicago. He spent the majority of his career catching passes from quarterbacks Sid Luckman and Johnny Lujack. He remains the Bears' career leader in touchdown receptions, with 50. He also holds franchise records for highest career and single season yards-per-reception. His 13 touchdown receptions in 1947 is a single season Bears record he shares with Dick Gordon, who tied it in 1970.
In 1969, Kavanaugh was voted by sportswriters to the NFL 1940s All-Decade Team. The Professional Football Researchers Association named Kavanaugh to the PRFA Hall of Very Good Class of 2009
Coaching career and later life
After he retired from playing, he remained with the Bears for the 1951 season as an ends coach. He was hired by Boston College in 1952 to serve in the same position, until his resignation in 1954. After serving as an assistant at Villanova in 1954, Kavanaugh was hired by the New York Giants in 1955 as ends coach and continued in that position until 1970. He became a scout for the Giants in 1971, serving until his retirement from football in 1999.
His son, Ken Kavanaugh Jr. played at LSU as a tight end. He was drafted by the Giants in the 1972 NFL Draft but did not play professionally.
Kavanaugh died of complications from pneumonia on January 25, 2007, in Sarasota, Florida.
See also
List of National Football League annual receiving touchdowns leaders
List of NCAA major college football yearly receiving leaders
References
Bibliography
External links
1916 births
2007 deaths
American football ends
Chicago Bears players
LSU Tigers football players
Boston College Eagles football coaches
Villanova Wildcats football coaches
New York Giants coaches
New York Giants scouts
All-American college football players
College Football Hall of Fame inductees
United States Army Air Forces pilots of World War II
United States Army Air Forces officers
Recipients of the Air Medal
Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States)
Sportspeople from Little Rock, Arkansas
Players of American football from Arkansas
Deaths from pneumonia in Florida | 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"
] |
[
"Ken Kavanaugh",
"Post-war",
"what did Ken do after the war?",
"After the war, he continued his career with the Bears.",
"Did he do well with the bears?",
"In 1945 he had 543 yards and six touchdowns, and in 1946 had 337 yards and five touchdowns.",
"did he win any awards?",
"In 1969, Kavanaugh was voted by sportswriters to the NFL 1940s All-Decade Team."
] | C_eda7f8250d62473c808321ec2321f58f_0 | which teams did he play against? | 4 | Which teams did Ken Kavanaugh play against? | Ken Kavanaugh | After the war, he continued his career with the Bears. In 1945 he had 543 yards and six touchdowns, and in 1946 had 337 yards and five touchdowns. Three of his touchdowns in 1946 came in a 27-21 win over the Los Angeles Rams in week seven. The Bears defeated the New York Giants 24-14 in the 1946 NFL Championship Game, which gave Kavanaugh his third league championship with the team. The first touchdown of the game was a 21-yard pass from Luckman to Kavanaugh. After the season, he was named to the United Press All-NFL first team. Kavanaugh had his most productive season statistically in 1947. He had career highs with 32 receptions, 881 yards, and 13 touchdowns. He set a Bears record by recording a receiving touchdown in seven straight games, a streak that began with a three-touchdown game against the Boston Yanks in week six. His 13 receiving touchdowns led the league, and he earned his second straight first-team All-NFL selection from the United Press. Kavanaugh was named to his third straight All-NFL first team in 1948, and he again led the league in receiving touchdowns in 1949, with nine. His most productive single-game yardage performance came in his final season, in 1950 against the Yanks, as he caught eight passes for 177 yards and a touchdown. Kavanaugh spent a total of eight seasons in Chicago. He spent the majority of his career catching passes from quarterbacks Sid Luckman and Johnny Lujack. He remains the Bears' career leader in touchdown receptions, with 50. He also holds franchise records for highest career and single season yards-per-reception. His 13 touchdown receptions in 1947 is a single season Bears record he shares with Dick Gordon, who tied it in 1970. In 1969, Kavanaugh was voted by sportswriters to the NFL 1940s All-Decade Team. The Professional Football Researchers Association named Kavanaugh to the PRFA Hall of Very Good Class of 2009 CANNOTANSWER | His most productive single-game yardage performance came in his final season, in 1950 against the Yanks, | Kenneth William Kavanaugh (November 23, 1916 – January 25, 2007) was an American football player, coach, and scout. He played professionally in the National Football League (NFL) for the Chicago Bears as an end from 1940 to 1950, except for three seasons during which he served in World War II. He led the league in receiving touchdowns twice, and is a member of the NFL 1940s All-Decade Team. He is the Bears' all-time leader in receiving touchdowns, with 50.
Kavanaugh played college football at Louisiana State University for the LSU Tigers, where he was named most valuable player of the Southeastern Conference and a consensus All-American in 1939 after leading the nation in receptions and receiving yards. He was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1963.
Early life and college
Kavanaugh was born in Little Rock, Arkansas. He graduated from Little Rock Central High School in 1936.
Kavanaugh arrived at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana in 1936 and joined the LSU football varsity team in 1937. As an end, he was quickly able to fill the void in the offense left by the departure of two-time All-American Gaynell Tinsley. At , Kavanaugh was a large receiver for his time, and used his size to outreach defenders. Bernie Moore, Kavanaugh's head coach at LSU, said Kavanaugh "was a pass completer rather than a receiver, simply because he'd catch passes no one else could get to." He was named to the Associated Press (AP) All-Southeastern Conference (SEC) second alternate team after the 1937 season. In 1938, the AP named him a first-team All-SEC selection, and he was a second-team selection by the United Press.
In 1939, in a game against Holy Cross, Kavanaugh caught four touchdown passes in the 26–7 win. According to Kavanaugh and teammate Young Bussey, Kavanaugh found four rusty nails on the sideline during the game. The next week against Rice, he found another nail and scored another touchdown to give LSU a 7–0 win. The pattern continued against Loyola and Vanderbilt, as Kavanaugh found two nails before each game and in each scored two touchdowns. A sportswriter for the Baton Rouge Advocate claimed he saw coach Bernie Moore at a local store stocking up on nails before LSU's game against No. 1 Tennessee. Kavanaugh failed to score in the game, however, as the Tigers lost 20–0.
The Nashville Banner named Kavanaugh co-MVP of the Southeastern Conference for 1939 along with Bob Foxx of Tennessee. Kavanaugh was a consensus All-America selection for the 1939 All-America Team, being named to the team by five of the nine official selectors. He was also awarded the Knute Rockne Memorial Trophy by the Washington D.C. Touchdown Club as the nation's lineman of the year, and finished seventh in Heisman Trophy balloting.
Professional
Pre-war
After college, Kavanaugh signed a minor league baseball contract with the St. Louis Cardinals organization for $300 a month. He later signed with the NFL's Chicago Bears after striking a deal with Bears owner George Halas for $300 a game. He played for the Bears during a period in which they were nicknamed the Monsters of the Midway. In the 1940 NFL Championship Game, the Bears defeated the Washington Redskins 73–0, the most lopsided victory in NFL history. Kavanaugh caught the game's only touchdown pass, a 30-yard reception from quarterback Sid Luckman shortly before halftime. The next season, the Bears won the 1941 NFL Championship Game, as they defeated the New York Giants 39–7 and repeated as NFL champions. The final score in the game was a fumble recovery by Kavanaugh on defense, returning the ball 42 yards for a touchdown. In his first two seasons with the Bears, Kavanaugh compiled 23 receptions for 590 yards and nine touchdowns.
World War II
Kavanaugh's career was interrupted by World War II, in which he was a pilot in the European theater. He was a member of the Eighth Air Force's 490th Bombardment Group and 851st Bombardment Squadron, and attained the rank of captain. He flew 30 missions and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal with four oak leaf clusters. Former LSU and Bears teammate Young Bussey was the Bears' only casualty in the war.
Post-war
After the war, he continued his career with the Bears. In 1945 he had 543 yards and six touchdowns, and in 1946 had 337 yards and five touchdowns. Three of his touchdowns in 1946 came in a 27–21 win over the Los Angeles Rams in week seven. The Bears defeated the New York Giants 24–14 in the 1946 NFL Championship Game, which gave Kavanaugh his third league championship with the team. The first touchdown of the game was a 21-yard pass from Luckman to Kavanaugh. After the season, he was named to the United Press All-NFL first team. Kavanaugh had his most productive season statistically in 1947. He had career highs with 32 receptions, 881 yards, and 13 touchdowns. He set a Bears record by recording a receiving touchdown in seven straight games, a streak that began with a three-touchdown game against the Boston Yanks in week six. His 13 receiving touchdowns led the league, and he earned his second straight first-team All-NFL selection from the United Press.
Kavanaugh was named to his third straight All-NFL first team in 1948, and he again led the league in receiving touchdowns in 1949, with nine. His most productive single-game yardage performance came in his final season, in 1950 against the Yanks, as he caught eight passes for 177 yards and a touchdown.
Kavanaugh spent a total of eight seasons in Chicago. He spent the majority of his career catching passes from quarterbacks Sid Luckman and Johnny Lujack. He remains the Bears' career leader in touchdown receptions, with 50. He also holds franchise records for highest career and single season yards-per-reception. His 13 touchdown receptions in 1947 is a single season Bears record he shares with Dick Gordon, who tied it in 1970.
In 1969, Kavanaugh was voted by sportswriters to the NFL 1940s All-Decade Team. The Professional Football Researchers Association named Kavanaugh to the PRFA Hall of Very Good Class of 2009
Coaching career and later life
After he retired from playing, he remained with the Bears for the 1951 season as an ends coach. He was hired by Boston College in 1952 to serve in the same position, until his resignation in 1954. After serving as an assistant at Villanova in 1954, Kavanaugh was hired by the New York Giants in 1955 as ends coach and continued in that position until 1970. He became a scout for the Giants in 1971, serving until his retirement from football in 1999.
His son, Ken Kavanaugh Jr. played at LSU as a tight end. He was drafted by the Giants in the 1972 NFL Draft but did not play professionally.
Kavanaugh died of complications from pneumonia on January 25, 2007, in Sarasota, Florida.
See also
List of National Football League annual receiving touchdowns leaders
List of NCAA major college football yearly receiving leaders
References
Bibliography
External links
1916 births
2007 deaths
American football ends
Chicago Bears players
LSU Tigers football players
Boston College Eagles football coaches
Villanova Wildcats football coaches
New York Giants coaches
New York Giants scouts
All-American college football players
College Football Hall of Fame inductees
United States Army Air Forces pilots of World War II
United States Army Air Forces officers
Recipients of the Air Medal
Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States)
Sportspeople from Little Rock, Arkansas
Players of American football from Arkansas
Deaths from pneumonia in Florida | 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 South American section of the 1962 FIFA World Cup qualification saw 7 teams competing 3 berths in the finals. Among the 7 teams, Paraguay were drawn to play in the CONMEBOL / CCCF / NAFC Intercontinental Play-off. The remaining 6 teams were divided into 3 groups of 2 teams each. The teams played against each other on a home-and-away basis. The group winners would qualify. Brazil did not participate, as they were granted a spot in the finals after winning the 1958 World Cup and Chile did not participate, as hosts. Venezuela did not enter the tournament.\n\nCONMEBOL Group 1\n\n \n\nArgentina qualified.\n\nCONMEBOL Group 2\n\n \n\nUruguay qualified.\n\nCONMEBOL Group 3\n\n \n\nColombia qualified.\n\nInter-confederation play-offs\n\nGoalscorers\n\n3 goals\n\n Oreste Omar Corbatta\n\n2 goals\n\n Martín Pando\n José Francisco Sanfilippo\n Rubén Héctor Sosa\n Carlos Alberto Raffo\n\n1 goal\n\n Ricardo José Maria Ramaciotti\n Máximo Alcócer\n Wilfredo Camacho\n Eusebio Escobar\n Héctor Garzon González\n Alberto Pedro Spencer\n Faustino Delgado\n Ángel Cabrera\n Luis Alberto Cubilla\n Guillermo Escalada\n\n1 own goal\n\n Romulo Gómez (playing against Argentina)\n\nExternal links \n RSSF.com\n\nCONMEBOL\nFIFA World Cup qualification (CONMEBOL)"
] |
[
"Ken Kavanaugh",
"Post-war",
"what did Ken do after the war?",
"After the war, he continued his career with the Bears.",
"Did he do well with the bears?",
"In 1945 he had 543 yards and six touchdowns, and in 1946 had 337 yards and five touchdowns.",
"did he win any awards?",
"In 1969, Kavanaugh was voted by sportswriters to the NFL 1940s All-Decade Team.",
"which teams did he play against?",
"His most productive single-game yardage performance came in his final season, in 1950 against the Yanks,"
] | C_eda7f8250d62473c808321ec2321f58f_0 | Did they win? | 5 | Did the Bears win against the Yanks in 1950? | Ken Kavanaugh | After the war, he continued his career with the Bears. In 1945 he had 543 yards and six touchdowns, and in 1946 had 337 yards and five touchdowns. Three of his touchdowns in 1946 came in a 27-21 win over the Los Angeles Rams in week seven. The Bears defeated the New York Giants 24-14 in the 1946 NFL Championship Game, which gave Kavanaugh his third league championship with the team. The first touchdown of the game was a 21-yard pass from Luckman to Kavanaugh. After the season, he was named to the United Press All-NFL first team. Kavanaugh had his most productive season statistically in 1947. He had career highs with 32 receptions, 881 yards, and 13 touchdowns. He set a Bears record by recording a receiving touchdown in seven straight games, a streak that began with a three-touchdown game against the Boston Yanks in week six. His 13 receiving touchdowns led the league, and he earned his second straight first-team All-NFL selection from the United Press. Kavanaugh was named to his third straight All-NFL first team in 1948, and he again led the league in receiving touchdowns in 1949, with nine. His most productive single-game yardage performance came in his final season, in 1950 against the Yanks, as he caught eight passes for 177 yards and a touchdown. Kavanaugh spent a total of eight seasons in Chicago. He spent the majority of his career catching passes from quarterbacks Sid Luckman and Johnny Lujack. He remains the Bears' career leader in touchdown receptions, with 50. He also holds franchise records for highest career and single season yards-per-reception. His 13 touchdown receptions in 1947 is a single season Bears record he shares with Dick Gordon, who tied it in 1970. In 1969, Kavanaugh was voted by sportswriters to the NFL 1940s All-Decade Team. The Professional Football Researchers Association named Kavanaugh to the PRFA Hall of Very Good Class of 2009 CANNOTANSWER | CANNOTANSWER | Kenneth William Kavanaugh (November 23, 1916 – January 25, 2007) was an American football player, coach, and scout. He played professionally in the National Football League (NFL) for the Chicago Bears as an end from 1940 to 1950, except for three seasons during which he served in World War II. He led the league in receiving touchdowns twice, and is a member of the NFL 1940s All-Decade Team. He is the Bears' all-time leader in receiving touchdowns, with 50.
Kavanaugh played college football at Louisiana State University for the LSU Tigers, where he was named most valuable player of the Southeastern Conference and a consensus All-American in 1939 after leading the nation in receptions and receiving yards. He was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1963.
Early life and college
Kavanaugh was born in Little Rock, Arkansas. He graduated from Little Rock Central High School in 1936.
Kavanaugh arrived at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana in 1936 and joined the LSU football varsity team in 1937. As an end, he was quickly able to fill the void in the offense left by the departure of two-time All-American Gaynell Tinsley. At , Kavanaugh was a large receiver for his time, and used his size to outreach defenders. Bernie Moore, Kavanaugh's head coach at LSU, said Kavanaugh "was a pass completer rather than a receiver, simply because he'd catch passes no one else could get to." He was named to the Associated Press (AP) All-Southeastern Conference (SEC) second alternate team after the 1937 season. In 1938, the AP named him a first-team All-SEC selection, and he was a second-team selection by the United Press.
In 1939, in a game against Holy Cross, Kavanaugh caught four touchdown passes in the 26–7 win. According to Kavanaugh and teammate Young Bussey, Kavanaugh found four rusty nails on the sideline during the game. The next week against Rice, he found another nail and scored another touchdown to give LSU a 7–0 win. The pattern continued against Loyola and Vanderbilt, as Kavanaugh found two nails before each game and in each scored two touchdowns. A sportswriter for the Baton Rouge Advocate claimed he saw coach Bernie Moore at a local store stocking up on nails before LSU's game against No. 1 Tennessee. Kavanaugh failed to score in the game, however, as the Tigers lost 20–0.
The Nashville Banner named Kavanaugh co-MVP of the Southeastern Conference for 1939 along with Bob Foxx of Tennessee. Kavanaugh was a consensus All-America selection for the 1939 All-America Team, being named to the team by five of the nine official selectors. He was also awarded the Knute Rockne Memorial Trophy by the Washington D.C. Touchdown Club as the nation's lineman of the year, and finished seventh in Heisman Trophy balloting.
Professional
Pre-war
After college, Kavanaugh signed a minor league baseball contract with the St. Louis Cardinals organization for $300 a month. He later signed with the NFL's Chicago Bears after striking a deal with Bears owner George Halas for $300 a game. He played for the Bears during a period in which they were nicknamed the Monsters of the Midway. In the 1940 NFL Championship Game, the Bears defeated the Washington Redskins 73–0, the most lopsided victory in NFL history. Kavanaugh caught the game's only touchdown pass, a 30-yard reception from quarterback Sid Luckman shortly before halftime. The next season, the Bears won the 1941 NFL Championship Game, as they defeated the New York Giants 39–7 and repeated as NFL champions. The final score in the game was a fumble recovery by Kavanaugh on defense, returning the ball 42 yards for a touchdown. In his first two seasons with the Bears, Kavanaugh compiled 23 receptions for 590 yards and nine touchdowns.
World War II
Kavanaugh's career was interrupted by World War II, in which he was a pilot in the European theater. He was a member of the Eighth Air Force's 490th Bombardment Group and 851st Bombardment Squadron, and attained the rank of captain. He flew 30 missions and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal with four oak leaf clusters. Former LSU and Bears teammate Young Bussey was the Bears' only casualty in the war.
Post-war
After the war, he continued his career with the Bears. In 1945 he had 543 yards and six touchdowns, and in 1946 had 337 yards and five touchdowns. Three of his touchdowns in 1946 came in a 27–21 win over the Los Angeles Rams in week seven. The Bears defeated the New York Giants 24–14 in the 1946 NFL Championship Game, which gave Kavanaugh his third league championship with the team. The first touchdown of the game was a 21-yard pass from Luckman to Kavanaugh. After the season, he was named to the United Press All-NFL first team. Kavanaugh had his most productive season statistically in 1947. He had career highs with 32 receptions, 881 yards, and 13 touchdowns. He set a Bears record by recording a receiving touchdown in seven straight games, a streak that began with a three-touchdown game against the Boston Yanks in week six. His 13 receiving touchdowns led the league, and he earned his second straight first-team All-NFL selection from the United Press.
Kavanaugh was named to his third straight All-NFL first team in 1948, and he again led the league in receiving touchdowns in 1949, with nine. His most productive single-game yardage performance came in his final season, in 1950 against the Yanks, as he caught eight passes for 177 yards and a touchdown.
Kavanaugh spent a total of eight seasons in Chicago. He spent the majority of his career catching passes from quarterbacks Sid Luckman and Johnny Lujack. He remains the Bears' career leader in touchdown receptions, with 50. He also holds franchise records for highest career and single season yards-per-reception. His 13 touchdown receptions in 1947 is a single season Bears record he shares with Dick Gordon, who tied it in 1970.
In 1969, Kavanaugh was voted by sportswriters to the NFL 1940s All-Decade Team. The Professional Football Researchers Association named Kavanaugh to the PRFA Hall of Very Good Class of 2009
Coaching career and later life
After he retired from playing, he remained with the Bears for the 1951 season as an ends coach. He was hired by Boston College in 1952 to serve in the same position, until his resignation in 1954. After serving as an assistant at Villanova in 1954, Kavanaugh was hired by the New York Giants in 1955 as ends coach and continued in that position until 1970. He became a scout for the Giants in 1971, serving until his retirement from football in 1999.
His son, Ken Kavanaugh Jr. played at LSU as a tight end. He was drafted by the Giants in the 1972 NFL Draft but did not play professionally.
Kavanaugh died of complications from pneumonia on January 25, 2007, in Sarasota, Florida.
See also
List of National Football League annual receiving touchdowns leaders
List of NCAA major college football yearly receiving leaders
References
Bibliography
External links
1916 births
2007 deaths
American football ends
Chicago Bears players
LSU Tigers football players
Boston College Eagles football coaches
Villanova Wildcats football coaches
New York Giants coaches
New York Giants scouts
All-American college football players
College Football Hall of Fame inductees
United States Army Air Forces pilots of World War II
United States Army Air Forces officers
Recipients of the Air Medal
Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States)
Sportspeople from Little Rock, Arkansas
Players of American football from Arkansas
Deaths from pneumonia in Florida | false | [
"The Gilleys Shield is a trophy symbolising the Open Women's Championship of the Softball Australia organisation (formerly known as the Australian Softball Federation). The competition's full name is the Mack Gilley Shield.\n\nHistory \nIn 1947, Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria participated in the first interstate softball competition in the country. The competition was eventually called the Mack Gilley Shield. For the 2009–2010 season the Shield will for the first time admit the New Zealand White Sox team to the competition.\n\nWinners \nBetween 1947 and 1968, New South Wales did not win a single Mack Gilley Shield. They finally won in 1969, repeating their first-place finish again in 1973, 1981 when they shared the title with Victoria, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991 and 1993. Between the start of the competition and 1995, New South Wales won a total of nine Gilley Shields. This total ranked them third amongst all states.\n\nQueensland won the Mack Gilley Shield in 1963, 1966 and 1968. They won again in 1975, 1983, 1984, 1987, 1992 and 1994. In 2012, Queensland finished third in the Gilley Shield. Between the start of the competition and 1995, Queensland won a total of ten Gilley Shields. This total ranked them second amongst all states.\n\nVictoria won the Mack Gilley Shield in 1947, 1949, 1950, and 1951. They won it again in 1954, 1957 and 1958. They did not win in 1959 but won again in 1960, 1961 and 1962. Queensland won in 1963, but Victoria won again in 1964 and 1965 and 1967. Victoria went on to win again in 1970, 1971, 1972, 1974, 1976, 1977, and shared the title with New South Wales in 1981. They won again in 1982, and 1985. Between the start of the competition and 1995, Victoria won a total of twenty-two Gilley Shields if the 1981 tie with New South Wales is counted. This was twelve more than any other state.\n\nBetween 1947 and 1994, Tasmania did not win a single Mack Gilley Shield.\n\nSouth Australia won the Mack Gilley Shield in 1956. Between 1957 and 1994, they did not win another championship.\n\nWestern Australia won the Mack Gilley Shield in 1952 and 1953. They did not win in 1954 but won it again in 1955. They missed out in winning from 1956 to 1958, before winning again in 1959. They did not win another championship between 1960 and 1994.\n\nBetween 1947 and 1968, the Australian Capital Territory did not win the Mack Gilley Shield. They finally broke their losing streak by winning in 1978, 1979 and 1980. They did not win again between 1981 and 1994.\n\nBetween 1947 and 1968, the Northern Territory did not win the Mack Gilley Shield. They did not win between 1969 and 1994.\n\nHosting \nNew South Wales hosted the Mack Gilley Shield in Sydney in 1950, 1955, 1961, and 1968. Queensland hosted the Mack Gilley Shield in Brisbane in 1947, 1953, 1959 and 1966. Victoria hosted the Mack Gilley Shield in Melbourne in 1949, 1954, 1960 and 1967. Tasmania hosted the Mack Gilley Shield in Hobart in 1958, 1964 and 1985. South Australia hosted the Mack Gilley Shield in Adelaide in 1951, 1956, and 1962. Western Australia hosted the Mack Gilley Shield in Perth in 1952, 1957, and 1963. The Australian Capital Territory hosted the Mack Gilley Shield in Canberra in 1965. Between 1947 and 1968, the Northern Territory did not host the Mack Gilley Shield.\n\nGilleys Shield Awards \nThere are several awards connected with the Shield including the Midge Nelson Medal for the competition's most valuable player, the Lorraine Woolley Medal for pitching and the Sybil turner Medal for the best batting. In 1985, the Nelson Medal was won by K. Dienelt of the Northern Territory and the Woolley Medal was won by L. Evans of Victoria. In 1986, the Nelson Medal was won by H. Strauss of Queensland and the Woolley Medal was won by C. Bruce of New South Wales. In 1987, the Nelson Medal was won by K. Dienelt of the Northern Territory and the Woolley Medal was won by C. Cunderson of Queensland. 1988 was the first year all three medals were awarded. They were won respectively by L. Ward of New South Wales, M. Roche of New South Wales and V. Grant of Western Australia. In 1989, they respectively went to L. Loughman of Victoria, M. Rouche of New South Wales and L. Martin of South Australia. In 1990, they went to K, McCracken of Victoria, M. Rouche of New South Wales, and G. Ledingham of New South Wales.\n\nAWARD NAMES\nMidge Nelson Medal – Most Valuable Player\nRosemary Adey Medal – Rookie of the Year\nLorraine Woolley Medal – Best Pitcher\nSybil Turner Medal – Best Batter\n\nPrevious Individual Award Winners \n2003\nMost Valuable Player – Tanya Harding (QLD)\nRookie of the Year – Melanie Dunne (QLD)\nBest Pitcher – Kelly Hardie (QLD)\nBest Batter – Kerrie Sheehan (NSW)\n2004\nMost Valuable Player – Tanya Harding (QLD\nRookie of the Year – Kylie Cronk (QLD)\nBest Pitcher – Brooke Wilkins (QLD)\nBest Batter – Natalie Titcume (VIC)\n2005\nMost Valuable Player – Natalie Titcume (VIC)\nRookie of the Year – Krystle Rivers (WA)\nBest Pitcher – Jocelyn McCallum (QLD)\nBest Batter – Amanda Doman (QLD)\n2006\nMost Valuable Player – Amanda Doman (QLD)\nRookie of the Year – Nicole Smith (ACT)\nBest Pitcher – Kelly Hardie (QLD)\nBest Batter – Stacey Porter (NSW)\n\nSee also \nSoftball Australia\nASF National Championships\n\nReferences \n\nSoftball competitions in Australia",
"The African National Congress was a political party in Trinidad and Tobago. The party first contested national elections in 1961, when it received just 0.5% of the vote and failed to win a seat. They did not put forward any candidates for the 1966 elections, but returned for the 1971 elections, in which they received 2.4% of the vote, but again failed to win a seat as the People's National Movement won all 36. The party did not contest any further elections.\n\nReferences\n\nDefunct political parties in Trinidad and Tobago"
] |
[
"Ken Kavanaugh",
"Post-war",
"what did Ken do after the war?",
"After the war, he continued his career with the Bears.",
"Did he do well with the bears?",
"In 1945 he had 543 yards and six touchdowns, and in 1946 had 337 yards and five touchdowns.",
"did he win any awards?",
"In 1969, Kavanaugh was voted by sportswriters to the NFL 1940s All-Decade Team.",
"which teams did he play against?",
"His most productive single-game yardage performance came in his final season, in 1950 against the Yanks,",
"Did they win?",
"I don't know."
] | C_eda7f8250d62473c808321ec2321f58f_0 | what were his stats against the Yanks? | 6 | What were Ken Kavanaugh's stats in the game against the Yanks? | Ken Kavanaugh | After the war, he continued his career with the Bears. In 1945 he had 543 yards and six touchdowns, and in 1946 had 337 yards and five touchdowns. Three of his touchdowns in 1946 came in a 27-21 win over the Los Angeles Rams in week seven. The Bears defeated the New York Giants 24-14 in the 1946 NFL Championship Game, which gave Kavanaugh his third league championship with the team. The first touchdown of the game was a 21-yard pass from Luckman to Kavanaugh. After the season, he was named to the United Press All-NFL first team. Kavanaugh had his most productive season statistically in 1947. He had career highs with 32 receptions, 881 yards, and 13 touchdowns. He set a Bears record by recording a receiving touchdown in seven straight games, a streak that began with a three-touchdown game against the Boston Yanks in week six. His 13 receiving touchdowns led the league, and he earned his second straight first-team All-NFL selection from the United Press. Kavanaugh was named to his third straight All-NFL first team in 1948, and he again led the league in receiving touchdowns in 1949, with nine. His most productive single-game yardage performance came in his final season, in 1950 against the Yanks, as he caught eight passes for 177 yards and a touchdown. Kavanaugh spent a total of eight seasons in Chicago. He spent the majority of his career catching passes from quarterbacks Sid Luckman and Johnny Lujack. He remains the Bears' career leader in touchdown receptions, with 50. He also holds franchise records for highest career and single season yards-per-reception. His 13 touchdown receptions in 1947 is a single season Bears record he shares with Dick Gordon, who tied it in 1970. In 1969, Kavanaugh was voted by sportswriters to the NFL 1940s All-Decade Team. The Professional Football Researchers Association named Kavanaugh to the PRFA Hall of Very Good Class of 2009 CANNOTANSWER | as he caught eight passes for 177 yards and a touchdown. | Kenneth William Kavanaugh (November 23, 1916 – January 25, 2007) was an American football player, coach, and scout. He played professionally in the National Football League (NFL) for the Chicago Bears as an end from 1940 to 1950, except for three seasons during which he served in World War II. He led the league in receiving touchdowns twice, and is a member of the NFL 1940s All-Decade Team. He is the Bears' all-time leader in receiving touchdowns, with 50.
Kavanaugh played college football at Louisiana State University for the LSU Tigers, where he was named most valuable player of the Southeastern Conference and a consensus All-American in 1939 after leading the nation in receptions and receiving yards. He was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1963.
Early life and college
Kavanaugh was born in Little Rock, Arkansas. He graduated from Little Rock Central High School in 1936.
Kavanaugh arrived at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana in 1936 and joined the LSU football varsity team in 1937. As an end, he was quickly able to fill the void in the offense left by the departure of two-time All-American Gaynell Tinsley. At , Kavanaugh was a large receiver for his time, and used his size to outreach defenders. Bernie Moore, Kavanaugh's head coach at LSU, said Kavanaugh "was a pass completer rather than a receiver, simply because he'd catch passes no one else could get to." He was named to the Associated Press (AP) All-Southeastern Conference (SEC) second alternate team after the 1937 season. In 1938, the AP named him a first-team All-SEC selection, and he was a second-team selection by the United Press.
In 1939, in a game against Holy Cross, Kavanaugh caught four touchdown passes in the 26–7 win. According to Kavanaugh and teammate Young Bussey, Kavanaugh found four rusty nails on the sideline during the game. The next week against Rice, he found another nail and scored another touchdown to give LSU a 7–0 win. The pattern continued against Loyola and Vanderbilt, as Kavanaugh found two nails before each game and in each scored two touchdowns. A sportswriter for the Baton Rouge Advocate claimed he saw coach Bernie Moore at a local store stocking up on nails before LSU's game against No. 1 Tennessee. Kavanaugh failed to score in the game, however, as the Tigers lost 20–0.
The Nashville Banner named Kavanaugh co-MVP of the Southeastern Conference for 1939 along with Bob Foxx of Tennessee. Kavanaugh was a consensus All-America selection for the 1939 All-America Team, being named to the team by five of the nine official selectors. He was also awarded the Knute Rockne Memorial Trophy by the Washington D.C. Touchdown Club as the nation's lineman of the year, and finished seventh in Heisman Trophy balloting.
Professional
Pre-war
After college, Kavanaugh signed a minor league baseball contract with the St. Louis Cardinals organization for $300 a month. He later signed with the NFL's Chicago Bears after striking a deal with Bears owner George Halas for $300 a game. He played for the Bears during a period in which they were nicknamed the Monsters of the Midway. In the 1940 NFL Championship Game, the Bears defeated the Washington Redskins 73–0, the most lopsided victory in NFL history. Kavanaugh caught the game's only touchdown pass, a 30-yard reception from quarterback Sid Luckman shortly before halftime. The next season, the Bears won the 1941 NFL Championship Game, as they defeated the New York Giants 39–7 and repeated as NFL champions. The final score in the game was a fumble recovery by Kavanaugh on defense, returning the ball 42 yards for a touchdown. In his first two seasons with the Bears, Kavanaugh compiled 23 receptions for 590 yards and nine touchdowns.
World War II
Kavanaugh's career was interrupted by World War II, in which he was a pilot in the European theater. He was a member of the Eighth Air Force's 490th Bombardment Group and 851st Bombardment Squadron, and attained the rank of captain. He flew 30 missions and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal with four oak leaf clusters. Former LSU and Bears teammate Young Bussey was the Bears' only casualty in the war.
Post-war
After the war, he continued his career with the Bears. In 1945 he had 543 yards and six touchdowns, and in 1946 had 337 yards and five touchdowns. Three of his touchdowns in 1946 came in a 27–21 win over the Los Angeles Rams in week seven. The Bears defeated the New York Giants 24–14 in the 1946 NFL Championship Game, which gave Kavanaugh his third league championship with the team. The first touchdown of the game was a 21-yard pass from Luckman to Kavanaugh. After the season, he was named to the United Press All-NFL first team. Kavanaugh had his most productive season statistically in 1947. He had career highs with 32 receptions, 881 yards, and 13 touchdowns. He set a Bears record by recording a receiving touchdown in seven straight games, a streak that began with a three-touchdown game against the Boston Yanks in week six. His 13 receiving touchdowns led the league, and he earned his second straight first-team All-NFL selection from the United Press.
Kavanaugh was named to his third straight All-NFL first team in 1948, and he again led the league in receiving touchdowns in 1949, with nine. His most productive single-game yardage performance came in his final season, in 1950 against the Yanks, as he caught eight passes for 177 yards and a touchdown.
Kavanaugh spent a total of eight seasons in Chicago. He spent the majority of his career catching passes from quarterbacks Sid Luckman and Johnny Lujack. He remains the Bears' career leader in touchdown receptions, with 50. He also holds franchise records for highest career and single season yards-per-reception. His 13 touchdown receptions in 1947 is a single season Bears record he shares with Dick Gordon, who tied it in 1970.
In 1969, Kavanaugh was voted by sportswriters to the NFL 1940s All-Decade Team. The Professional Football Researchers Association named Kavanaugh to the PRFA Hall of Very Good Class of 2009
Coaching career and later life
After he retired from playing, he remained with the Bears for the 1951 season as an ends coach. He was hired by Boston College in 1952 to serve in the same position, until his resignation in 1954. After serving as an assistant at Villanova in 1954, Kavanaugh was hired by the New York Giants in 1955 as ends coach and continued in that position until 1970. He became a scout for the Giants in 1971, serving until his retirement from football in 1999.
His son, Ken Kavanaugh Jr. played at LSU as a tight end. He was drafted by the Giants in the 1972 NFL Draft but did not play professionally.
Kavanaugh died of complications from pneumonia on January 25, 2007, in Sarasota, Florida.
See also
List of National Football League annual receiving touchdowns leaders
List of NCAA major college football yearly receiving leaders
References
Bibliography
External links
1916 births
2007 deaths
American football ends
Chicago Bears players
LSU Tigers football players
Boston College Eagles football coaches
Villanova Wildcats football coaches
New York Giants coaches
New York Giants scouts
All-American college football players
College Football Hall of Fame inductees
United States Army Air Forces pilots of World War II
United States Army Air Forces officers
Recipients of the Air Medal
Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States)
Sportspeople from Little Rock, Arkansas
Players of American football from Arkansas
Deaths from pneumonia in Florida | true | [
"Michael Paul Swistowicz (April 22, 1927 – November 24, 1973) was an American football player who played one season in the National Football League with the New York Yanks and Chicago Cardinals. He was drafted by the New York Yanks in the fifth round of the 1950 NFL Draft. He played college football at the University of Notre Dame and attended Tilden High School in Chicago Illinois. Swistowicz died in 1973 after working out.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\nJust Sports Stats\nCollege stats\n\n1927 births\n1973 deaths\nPlayers of American football from Chicago\nAmerican football running backs\nAmerican football defensive backs\nNotre Dame Fighting Irish football players\nNew York Yanks players\nChicago Cardinals players",
"The New York Yanks were an American football team that played in the National Football League under that name in the 1950 and 1951 seasons.\n\n1949 season\nThe team began in 1944 as the Boston Yanks, owned by Kate Smith's manager, Ted Collins. He wanted a team in New York City, but had to be content with one in Boston after the New York Giants refused to let his new team share the New York area. \n\nIn 1949, however, Collins, suspecting that the All-America Football Conference was on its last legs, got permission to move the Yanks to New York; rather than a formal relocation, however, Collins asked the NFL to fold his Boston franchise and grant him a new one for New York, most likely as a tax write-off. This new team played as the New York Bulldogs and shared the Polo Grounds with the Giants during the 1949 season.\n\nThe 1949 Bulldogs were a disaster on the field (1–10–1) as well as the box office, drawing just 48,007 fans to their six home games, with by far the largest crowd (17,704) coming against the Giants. \n\nThe nadir came during a 13-13 tie with the Washington Redskins on October 30, which drew a meagre 3,678 fans, the third lowest attendance at any professional football game since 1939 (excluding 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic severely limited attendance).\n\n1950 season\nIn 1950, Collins changed his franchise's name to the New York Yanks and moved to Yankee Stadium, essentially merging the woeful Bulldogs with the New York Yankees of the now-defunct AAFC, as part of a deal in which he bought the rights to most of the Yankees players. (Eighteen players from the '49 Yankees played for the Yanks in 1950, while only four players from the 1949 Bulldogs — Joe Domnanovich, Joe Golding, John Nolan and John Rauch — returned.)\n\nAfter splitting their first two games, the Yanks went on a five-game winning streak, putting them on top of the NFL's new National Conference with a 6–1 record. Led by quarterback George Ratterman (who the Yanks acquired after his old team, the Buffalo Bills, failed to be accepted in the NFL-AAFC merger), New York rolled up 190 points in those five victories. (Attendance improved as well; after attracting barely 30,000 total to their first three home games (all Yanks victories), 48,642 showed up for their next home game against Chicago, followed by 42,673 against the Rams.) That proved to be the team's high-water mark, however; a porous defense led to a four-game losing streak that knocked the Yanks out of the race. A win over the expiring Baltimore franchise (playing its last game) upped their final record to 7–5, good enough for third place and a definite improvement over 1949.\n\n1951 season\nThe football Yanks had two future Hall of Fame linemen in Art Donovan and Mike McCormack in 1951.\n\nTheir biggest opponent turned out to be their co-tenants, the baseball Yankees, who won the American League pennant, and did not want the field torn up during the 1951 World Series.\n\nThe Yanks were forced to move their first two home games to Los Angeles and Detroit, both of which were blowout losses. Their next five games resulted in four losses by a total of 16 points and one tie, all but one of which were also played on the road (only four of their 12 games for the season were at home). \n\nWith a 0–6–1 record, the Yanks season was already over, and their attendance crashed in response: their sole home game in that span, a 29–27 loss to Green Bay, drew just 7,351 fans. \n\nThe Yanks finished the 1951 season with only one victory, a 31–28 win in their road game against Green Bay. Their final game, at Yankee Stadium against the Giants, was played on an icy field with a game time temperature of , and drew only 6,658 fans to Yankee Stadium. \n\nThe Yanks lost 27–17 to finish their season at 1–9–2 and last place in the league.\n\nThe end\nAfter only 37,268 people attended their four home games in 1951 (three losses and a tie), the New York Yanks were reported to have been sold back to the league following the season, but it is more likely the franchise was simply cancelled by the NFL. \n\nIn any case, shortly thereafter, a group of Dallas businessmen bought the Yanks' roster and player contracts, though it was ostensibly a new franchise, and moved them to Dallas as the Dallas Texans, playing at the Cotton Bowl. That franchise, in turn, failed after only one season, and the remains were awarded to a Baltimore-based group that used it to start the new Baltimore Colts.\n\nHowever, the NFL and the Colts organization (which relocated to Indianapolis in 1984) do not consider the Colts to be a continuation of the New York Yanks or any other franchise.\n\nFirst round draft selections\n\nPro Football Hall of Famers\n\nNotable players\nBob DeMoss\nBrad Ecklund\nGeorge Ratterman \nJack Russell\nSpec Sanders \nGeorge Taliaferro \nArt Weiner\nBuddy Young\n\nSeason-by-season\n\nYanks Total: 8 - 14 - 2\n\nReferences \n\nAmerican football teams established in 1949\nAmerican football teams disestablished in 1951\nDefunct National Football League teams\nYanks\nDefunct American football teams in New York City\n1949 establishments in New York City\n1951 disestablishments in New York (state)\nSports in the Bronx"
] |
[
"Ken Kavanaugh",
"Post-war",
"what did Ken do after the war?",
"After the war, he continued his career with the Bears.",
"Did he do well with the bears?",
"In 1945 he had 543 yards and six touchdowns, and in 1946 had 337 yards and five touchdowns.",
"did he win any awards?",
"In 1969, Kavanaugh was voted by sportswriters to the NFL 1940s All-Decade Team.",
"which teams did he play against?",
"His most productive single-game yardage performance came in his final season, in 1950 against the Yanks,",
"Did they win?",
"I don't know.",
"what were his stats against the Yanks?",
"as he caught eight passes for 177 yards and a touchdown."
] | C_eda7f8250d62473c808321ec2321f58f_0 | how long was he with Chicago? | 7 | How long was Ken Kavanaugh with the Chicago Bears after the war? | Ken Kavanaugh | After the war, he continued his career with the Bears. In 1945 he had 543 yards and six touchdowns, and in 1946 had 337 yards and five touchdowns. Three of his touchdowns in 1946 came in a 27-21 win over the Los Angeles Rams in week seven. The Bears defeated the New York Giants 24-14 in the 1946 NFL Championship Game, which gave Kavanaugh his third league championship with the team. The first touchdown of the game was a 21-yard pass from Luckman to Kavanaugh. After the season, he was named to the United Press All-NFL first team. Kavanaugh had his most productive season statistically in 1947. He had career highs with 32 receptions, 881 yards, and 13 touchdowns. He set a Bears record by recording a receiving touchdown in seven straight games, a streak that began with a three-touchdown game against the Boston Yanks in week six. His 13 receiving touchdowns led the league, and he earned his second straight first-team All-NFL selection from the United Press. Kavanaugh was named to his third straight All-NFL first team in 1948, and he again led the league in receiving touchdowns in 1949, with nine. His most productive single-game yardage performance came in his final season, in 1950 against the Yanks, as he caught eight passes for 177 yards and a touchdown. Kavanaugh spent a total of eight seasons in Chicago. He spent the majority of his career catching passes from quarterbacks Sid Luckman and Johnny Lujack. He remains the Bears' career leader in touchdown receptions, with 50. He also holds franchise records for highest career and single season yards-per-reception. His 13 touchdown receptions in 1947 is a single season Bears record he shares with Dick Gordon, who tied it in 1970. In 1969, Kavanaugh was voted by sportswriters to the NFL 1940s All-Decade Team. The Professional Football Researchers Association named Kavanaugh to the PRFA Hall of Very Good Class of 2009 CANNOTANSWER | Kavanaugh spent a total of eight seasons in Chicago. | Kenneth William Kavanaugh (November 23, 1916 – January 25, 2007) was an American football player, coach, and scout. He played professionally in the National Football League (NFL) for the Chicago Bears as an end from 1940 to 1950, except for three seasons during which he served in World War II. He led the league in receiving touchdowns twice, and is a member of the NFL 1940s All-Decade Team. He is the Bears' all-time leader in receiving touchdowns, with 50.
Kavanaugh played college football at Louisiana State University for the LSU Tigers, where he was named most valuable player of the Southeastern Conference and a consensus All-American in 1939 after leading the nation in receptions and receiving yards. He was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1963.
Early life and college
Kavanaugh was born in Little Rock, Arkansas. He graduated from Little Rock Central High School in 1936.
Kavanaugh arrived at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana in 1936 and joined the LSU football varsity team in 1937. As an end, he was quickly able to fill the void in the offense left by the departure of two-time All-American Gaynell Tinsley. At , Kavanaugh was a large receiver for his time, and used his size to outreach defenders. Bernie Moore, Kavanaugh's head coach at LSU, said Kavanaugh "was a pass completer rather than a receiver, simply because he'd catch passes no one else could get to." He was named to the Associated Press (AP) All-Southeastern Conference (SEC) second alternate team after the 1937 season. In 1938, the AP named him a first-team All-SEC selection, and he was a second-team selection by the United Press.
In 1939, in a game against Holy Cross, Kavanaugh caught four touchdown passes in the 26–7 win. According to Kavanaugh and teammate Young Bussey, Kavanaugh found four rusty nails on the sideline during the game. The next week against Rice, he found another nail and scored another touchdown to give LSU a 7–0 win. The pattern continued against Loyola and Vanderbilt, as Kavanaugh found two nails before each game and in each scored two touchdowns. A sportswriter for the Baton Rouge Advocate claimed he saw coach Bernie Moore at a local store stocking up on nails before LSU's game against No. 1 Tennessee. Kavanaugh failed to score in the game, however, as the Tigers lost 20–0.
The Nashville Banner named Kavanaugh co-MVP of the Southeastern Conference for 1939 along with Bob Foxx of Tennessee. Kavanaugh was a consensus All-America selection for the 1939 All-America Team, being named to the team by five of the nine official selectors. He was also awarded the Knute Rockne Memorial Trophy by the Washington D.C. Touchdown Club as the nation's lineman of the year, and finished seventh in Heisman Trophy balloting.
Professional
Pre-war
After college, Kavanaugh signed a minor league baseball contract with the St. Louis Cardinals organization for $300 a month. He later signed with the NFL's Chicago Bears after striking a deal with Bears owner George Halas for $300 a game. He played for the Bears during a period in which they were nicknamed the Monsters of the Midway. In the 1940 NFL Championship Game, the Bears defeated the Washington Redskins 73–0, the most lopsided victory in NFL history. Kavanaugh caught the game's only touchdown pass, a 30-yard reception from quarterback Sid Luckman shortly before halftime. The next season, the Bears won the 1941 NFL Championship Game, as they defeated the New York Giants 39–7 and repeated as NFL champions. The final score in the game was a fumble recovery by Kavanaugh on defense, returning the ball 42 yards for a touchdown. In his first two seasons with the Bears, Kavanaugh compiled 23 receptions for 590 yards and nine touchdowns.
World War II
Kavanaugh's career was interrupted by World War II, in which he was a pilot in the European theater. He was a member of the Eighth Air Force's 490th Bombardment Group and 851st Bombardment Squadron, and attained the rank of captain. He flew 30 missions and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal with four oak leaf clusters. Former LSU and Bears teammate Young Bussey was the Bears' only casualty in the war.
Post-war
After the war, he continued his career with the Bears. In 1945 he had 543 yards and six touchdowns, and in 1946 had 337 yards and five touchdowns. Three of his touchdowns in 1946 came in a 27–21 win over the Los Angeles Rams in week seven. The Bears defeated the New York Giants 24–14 in the 1946 NFL Championship Game, which gave Kavanaugh his third league championship with the team. The first touchdown of the game was a 21-yard pass from Luckman to Kavanaugh. After the season, he was named to the United Press All-NFL first team. Kavanaugh had his most productive season statistically in 1947. He had career highs with 32 receptions, 881 yards, and 13 touchdowns. He set a Bears record by recording a receiving touchdown in seven straight games, a streak that began with a three-touchdown game against the Boston Yanks in week six. His 13 receiving touchdowns led the league, and he earned his second straight first-team All-NFL selection from the United Press.
Kavanaugh was named to his third straight All-NFL first team in 1948, and he again led the league in receiving touchdowns in 1949, with nine. His most productive single-game yardage performance came in his final season, in 1950 against the Yanks, as he caught eight passes for 177 yards and a touchdown.
Kavanaugh spent a total of eight seasons in Chicago. He spent the majority of his career catching passes from quarterbacks Sid Luckman and Johnny Lujack. He remains the Bears' career leader in touchdown receptions, with 50. He also holds franchise records for highest career and single season yards-per-reception. His 13 touchdown receptions in 1947 is a single season Bears record he shares with Dick Gordon, who tied it in 1970.
In 1969, Kavanaugh was voted by sportswriters to the NFL 1940s All-Decade Team. The Professional Football Researchers Association named Kavanaugh to the PRFA Hall of Very Good Class of 2009
Coaching career and later life
After he retired from playing, he remained with the Bears for the 1951 season as an ends coach. He was hired by Boston College in 1952 to serve in the same position, until his resignation in 1954. After serving as an assistant at Villanova in 1954, Kavanaugh was hired by the New York Giants in 1955 as ends coach and continued in that position until 1970. He became a scout for the Giants in 1971, serving until his retirement from football in 1999.
His son, Ken Kavanaugh Jr. played at LSU as a tight end. He was drafted by the Giants in the 1972 NFL Draft but did not play professionally.
Kavanaugh died of complications from pneumonia on January 25, 2007, in Sarasota, Florida.
See also
List of National Football League annual receiving touchdowns leaders
List of NCAA major college football yearly receiving leaders
References
Bibliography
External links
1916 births
2007 deaths
American football ends
Chicago Bears players
LSU Tigers football players
Boston College Eagles football coaches
Villanova Wildcats football coaches
New York Giants coaches
New York Giants scouts
All-American college football players
College Football Hall of Fame inductees
United States Army Air Forces pilots of World War II
United States Army Air Forces officers
Recipients of the Air Medal
Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States)
Sportspeople from Little Rock, Arkansas
Players of American football from Arkansas
Deaths from pneumonia in Florida | true | [
"Aaron Freeman (born June 8, 1956) is an American journalist, stand-up comedian, author, cartoonist, and blogger.\n\nCareer\nDuring the 1990s, Freeman was the host of the weekly informational radio program Metropolis which was broadcast in the Midwest. He is also a commentator on NPR's flagship news program, All Things Considered. Freeman co-wrote and directed the stage comedy The Arab/Israeli Comedy Hour. As a stand-up comedian, he is a member of the quartet the Israeli/Palestinian Comedy Tour. Freeman has performed with The Second City and performs with the Second City Theater.\n\nAlong with long-time friend and collaborator Rob Kolson, he created the long-running political and financial comedy Do the White Thing and its sequel Gentlemen Prefer Bonds.\n\nIn 1983, Freeman created and performed the satire Council Wars, which was based on the Chicago City Council when Harold Washington was mayor. For ten years, he hosted the television talk show Talking with Aaron Freeman. He later hosted and was chief science correspondent for Chicago Public Television's science and technology program Chicago Tomorrow.\n\nFreeman performs his one-man shows News Today/Comedy Tonight and Kosher Chitterlings for business groups, Jewish groups, colleges, and associations throughout the United States.\n\nPersonal life \nFreeman was born in Kankakee, Illinois, and is a longtime resident of the Chicago area. He is a convert to Judaism from Roman Catholicism. He is married to artist Sharon Rosenzweig, with whom he collaborates on projects including the comic strip The Comic Torah. He has twin daughters, Artemis and Diana, who were featured with Aaron on This American Life episode 17 Name Change / No Theme, recorded during a trip to Chicago's Navy Pier.\n\nBooks \n How to Say \"I Love You\" in 30 Languages\n Baby Boomers - Acid Rock to Acid Reflux (2006); with Rebecca Rock\n Confessions of a Lottery Ball, the Inside our world of Aaron Freeman (1987), \n ''The Comic Torah\" (2010) with Sharon Rosenzweig\n\nSee also \n\n African-American Jews\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links \n The Comic Torah\n\n1956 births\nLiving people\nAfrican-American male comedians\nAfrican-American comics creators\nAmerican comics creators\nAfrican-American journalists\nAmerican male journalists\nAmerican male comedians\nAmerican bloggers\nAfrican-American Jews\nConverts to Judaism from Roman Catholicism\nWriters from Chicago\nComedians from Illinois\n21st-century American non-fiction writers\n21st-century American comedians\nAmerican male bloggers\n21st-century African-American writers\n20th-century African-American people",
"Brandon Hartson (born October 3, 1989) was an American football long snapper in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Houston.\n\nProfessional career\n\nChicago Bears\nHartson was signed by the Chicago Bears as an undrafted free agent on August 10, 2013 and released by the team on August 30. He re-signed with the Bears on December 30, 2013, and was released on August 31, 2014.\n\nKansas City Chiefs\nHartson signed with the Kansas City Chiefs on January 20, 2015. He was released by the Chiefs on April 16, 2015.\n\nPittsburgh Steelers\nHartson was acquired from waivers by the Pittsburgh Steelers on April 17, 2015 and released by the team on May 9.\n\nTampa Bay Buccaneers\nHartson signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on August 27, 2015. He was released by the Buccaneers on August 30, 2015.\n\nDallas Cowboys\nOn March 31, 2016 Hartson signed with the Dallas Cowboys. He was released by the team on May 16, 2016.\n\nReferences\n\n1989 births\nLiving people\nAmerican football long snappers\nHouston Cougars football players\nChicago Bears players\nKansas City Chiefs players\nPittsburgh Steelers players\nTampa Bay Buccaneers players\nDallas Cowboys players\nPlayers of American football from Texas\nPeople from Houston"
] |
[
"Ken Kavanaugh",
"Post-war",
"what did Ken do after the war?",
"After the war, he continued his career with the Bears.",
"Did he do well with the bears?",
"In 1945 he had 543 yards and six touchdowns, and in 1946 had 337 yards and five touchdowns.",
"did he win any awards?",
"In 1969, Kavanaugh was voted by sportswriters to the NFL 1940s All-Decade Team.",
"which teams did he play against?",
"His most productive single-game yardage performance came in his final season, in 1950 against the Yanks,",
"Did they win?",
"I don't know.",
"what were his stats against the Yanks?",
"as he caught eight passes for 177 yards and a touchdown.",
"how long was he with Chicago?",
"Kavanaugh spent a total of eight seasons in Chicago."
] | C_eda7f8250d62473c808321ec2321f58f_0 | What was his position when with Chicago? | 8 | What was Ken Kavanaugh's position with the Chicago Bears? | Ken Kavanaugh | After the war, he continued his career with the Bears. In 1945 he had 543 yards and six touchdowns, and in 1946 had 337 yards and five touchdowns. Three of his touchdowns in 1946 came in a 27-21 win over the Los Angeles Rams in week seven. The Bears defeated the New York Giants 24-14 in the 1946 NFL Championship Game, which gave Kavanaugh his third league championship with the team. The first touchdown of the game was a 21-yard pass from Luckman to Kavanaugh. After the season, he was named to the United Press All-NFL first team. Kavanaugh had his most productive season statistically in 1947. He had career highs with 32 receptions, 881 yards, and 13 touchdowns. He set a Bears record by recording a receiving touchdown in seven straight games, a streak that began with a three-touchdown game against the Boston Yanks in week six. His 13 receiving touchdowns led the league, and he earned his second straight first-team All-NFL selection from the United Press. Kavanaugh was named to his third straight All-NFL first team in 1948, and he again led the league in receiving touchdowns in 1949, with nine. His most productive single-game yardage performance came in his final season, in 1950 against the Yanks, as he caught eight passes for 177 yards and a touchdown. Kavanaugh spent a total of eight seasons in Chicago. He spent the majority of his career catching passes from quarterbacks Sid Luckman and Johnny Lujack. He remains the Bears' career leader in touchdown receptions, with 50. He also holds franchise records for highest career and single season yards-per-reception. His 13 touchdown receptions in 1947 is a single season Bears record he shares with Dick Gordon, who tied it in 1970. In 1969, Kavanaugh was voted by sportswriters to the NFL 1940s All-Decade Team. The Professional Football Researchers Association named Kavanaugh to the PRFA Hall of Very Good Class of 2009 CANNOTANSWER | He spent the majority of his career catching passes from quarterbacks Sid Luckman and Johnny Lujack. | Kenneth William Kavanaugh (November 23, 1916 – January 25, 2007) was an American football player, coach, and scout. He played professionally in the National Football League (NFL) for the Chicago Bears as an end from 1940 to 1950, except for three seasons during which he served in World War II. He led the league in receiving touchdowns twice, and is a member of the NFL 1940s All-Decade Team. He is the Bears' all-time leader in receiving touchdowns, with 50.
Kavanaugh played college football at Louisiana State University for the LSU Tigers, where he was named most valuable player of the Southeastern Conference and a consensus All-American in 1939 after leading the nation in receptions and receiving yards. He was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1963.
Early life and college
Kavanaugh was born in Little Rock, Arkansas. He graduated from Little Rock Central High School in 1936.
Kavanaugh arrived at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana in 1936 and joined the LSU football varsity team in 1937. As an end, he was quickly able to fill the void in the offense left by the departure of two-time All-American Gaynell Tinsley. At , Kavanaugh was a large receiver for his time, and used his size to outreach defenders. Bernie Moore, Kavanaugh's head coach at LSU, said Kavanaugh "was a pass completer rather than a receiver, simply because he'd catch passes no one else could get to." He was named to the Associated Press (AP) All-Southeastern Conference (SEC) second alternate team after the 1937 season. In 1938, the AP named him a first-team All-SEC selection, and he was a second-team selection by the United Press.
In 1939, in a game against Holy Cross, Kavanaugh caught four touchdown passes in the 26–7 win. According to Kavanaugh and teammate Young Bussey, Kavanaugh found four rusty nails on the sideline during the game. The next week against Rice, he found another nail and scored another touchdown to give LSU a 7–0 win. The pattern continued against Loyola and Vanderbilt, as Kavanaugh found two nails before each game and in each scored two touchdowns. A sportswriter for the Baton Rouge Advocate claimed he saw coach Bernie Moore at a local store stocking up on nails before LSU's game against No. 1 Tennessee. Kavanaugh failed to score in the game, however, as the Tigers lost 20–0.
The Nashville Banner named Kavanaugh co-MVP of the Southeastern Conference for 1939 along with Bob Foxx of Tennessee. Kavanaugh was a consensus All-America selection for the 1939 All-America Team, being named to the team by five of the nine official selectors. He was also awarded the Knute Rockne Memorial Trophy by the Washington D.C. Touchdown Club as the nation's lineman of the year, and finished seventh in Heisman Trophy balloting.
Professional
Pre-war
After college, Kavanaugh signed a minor league baseball contract with the St. Louis Cardinals organization for $300 a month. He later signed with the NFL's Chicago Bears after striking a deal with Bears owner George Halas for $300 a game. He played for the Bears during a period in which they were nicknamed the Monsters of the Midway. In the 1940 NFL Championship Game, the Bears defeated the Washington Redskins 73–0, the most lopsided victory in NFL history. Kavanaugh caught the game's only touchdown pass, a 30-yard reception from quarterback Sid Luckman shortly before halftime. The next season, the Bears won the 1941 NFL Championship Game, as they defeated the New York Giants 39–7 and repeated as NFL champions. The final score in the game was a fumble recovery by Kavanaugh on defense, returning the ball 42 yards for a touchdown. In his first two seasons with the Bears, Kavanaugh compiled 23 receptions for 590 yards and nine touchdowns.
World War II
Kavanaugh's career was interrupted by World War II, in which he was a pilot in the European theater. He was a member of the Eighth Air Force's 490th Bombardment Group and 851st Bombardment Squadron, and attained the rank of captain. He flew 30 missions and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal with four oak leaf clusters. Former LSU and Bears teammate Young Bussey was the Bears' only casualty in the war.
Post-war
After the war, he continued his career with the Bears. In 1945 he had 543 yards and six touchdowns, and in 1946 had 337 yards and five touchdowns. Three of his touchdowns in 1946 came in a 27–21 win over the Los Angeles Rams in week seven. The Bears defeated the New York Giants 24–14 in the 1946 NFL Championship Game, which gave Kavanaugh his third league championship with the team. The first touchdown of the game was a 21-yard pass from Luckman to Kavanaugh. After the season, he was named to the United Press All-NFL first team. Kavanaugh had his most productive season statistically in 1947. He had career highs with 32 receptions, 881 yards, and 13 touchdowns. He set a Bears record by recording a receiving touchdown in seven straight games, a streak that began with a three-touchdown game against the Boston Yanks in week six. His 13 receiving touchdowns led the league, and he earned his second straight first-team All-NFL selection from the United Press.
Kavanaugh was named to his third straight All-NFL first team in 1948, and he again led the league in receiving touchdowns in 1949, with nine. His most productive single-game yardage performance came in his final season, in 1950 against the Yanks, as he caught eight passes for 177 yards and a touchdown.
Kavanaugh spent a total of eight seasons in Chicago. He spent the majority of his career catching passes from quarterbacks Sid Luckman and Johnny Lujack. He remains the Bears' career leader in touchdown receptions, with 50. He also holds franchise records for highest career and single season yards-per-reception. His 13 touchdown receptions in 1947 is a single season Bears record he shares with Dick Gordon, who tied it in 1970.
In 1969, Kavanaugh was voted by sportswriters to the NFL 1940s All-Decade Team. The Professional Football Researchers Association named Kavanaugh to the PRFA Hall of Very Good Class of 2009
Coaching career and later life
After he retired from playing, he remained with the Bears for the 1951 season as an ends coach. He was hired by Boston College in 1952 to serve in the same position, until his resignation in 1954. After serving as an assistant at Villanova in 1954, Kavanaugh was hired by the New York Giants in 1955 as ends coach and continued in that position until 1970. He became a scout for the Giants in 1971, serving until his retirement from football in 1999.
His son, Ken Kavanaugh Jr. played at LSU as a tight end. He was drafted by the Giants in the 1972 NFL Draft but did not play professionally.
Kavanaugh died of complications from pneumonia on January 25, 2007, in Sarasota, Florida.
See also
List of National Football League annual receiving touchdowns leaders
List of NCAA major college football yearly receiving leaders
References
Bibliography
External links
1916 births
2007 deaths
American football ends
Chicago Bears players
LSU Tigers football players
Boston College Eagles football coaches
Villanova Wildcats football coaches
New York Giants coaches
New York Giants scouts
All-American college football players
College Football Hall of Fame inductees
United States Army Air Forces pilots of World War II
United States Army Air Forces officers
Recipients of the Air Medal
Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States)
Sportspeople from Little Rock, Arkansas
Players of American football from Arkansas
Deaths from pneumonia in Florida | true | [
"Marvin Hughitt (August 9, 1837 –– January 6, 1928) was an American railroad tycoon from New York. Interested in telegraphy at a young age, Hughitt quickly mastered the trade and moved to Chicago, Illinois to work. He came to the attention of the St. Louis, Alton and Chicago Railroad, who hired him to coordinate trains. This began a long career in rail, culminating in the presidency of the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad (1887–1910). He also served as president of two of its subsidiary lines, the Fremont, Elkhorn and Missouri Valley and the Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis and Omaha.\n\nBiography\nMarvin Hughitt was born in Genoa, New York, on August 9, 1837. He was raised on the family farm and attended mostly public schools with some schooling in a seminary. Hughitt was interested in the telegraph when it was invented and moved to Auburn, New York to seek a position related to the field. He picked up the trade quickly and was considered a local expert within a year.\n\nWhen he was seventeen, Hughitt moved to Chicago, Illinois. He had heard that the Illinois & Mississippi Telegraph Company was seeking telegraphers, and in 1854 he was hired. He rose through the ranks of the company and was made superintendent of the office under former Supreme Court of Illinois justice John D. Caton. Representatives of the St. Louis, Alton and Chicago Railroad, one of the early railways in Chicago, took notice and offered Hughitt a position as superintendent of telegraph. When the company reorganized in 1861 to become the Chicago & Alton Railroad, Hughitt left the company to take a position as trainmaster for the southern division for the Illinois Central Railroad in Centralia, Illinois.\n\nWith the onset of the Civil War, the railroad's southern division became an critical transportation corridor. Hughitt was responsible for overseeing the massive quantities of troops and supplies from St. Louis, Missouri to Cairo, Illinois over a thirty-six-hour period. He then was tasked with moving the troops to Virginia during another thirty-six-hour shift. The incident brought Hughitt instant notoriety, and the company reassigned him to Chicago to become Assistant Superintendent of the railroad. In 1864, he was named General Superintendent under John M. Douglas. When Douglas retired, Hughitt left the company to become Superintendent of the Pullman Car Company. His stay with the company was brief until he resigned to become Assistant General Manager of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad.\n\nOn February 1, 1872, Hughitt was named General Superintendent of the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad (CNW). He also closely worked with James Henry Howe, the manager of the line, who was generally unfamiliar with railroads. When Howe resigned, and following a short term by Henry H. Porter, Hughitt was named General Manager of the line in 1876. Four years later, the board of directors elected him Second Vice President. In 1882, he was named president of the Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis and Omaha Railway, a feeder line to the CNW. Two years later he accepted the presidency of the Fremont, Elkhorn and Missouri Valley Railroad, another feeder line.\n\nWhen Albert Keep was elected president of the board of directors upon its creation in 1887, Hughitt was elected to the CNW presidency. Hughitt was named a director of the Southern Pacific Railway Company in 1904. He led the CNW until his retirement in 1910. He remained chairman of the board of directors until 1925.\n\nIn his free time, Hughitt enjoyed billiards and had a room in his Prairie Avenue house dedicated to the game. He was a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago, serving a term as its president. He died at his home in Lake Forest, Illinois after a stroke on January 6, 1928.\n\nReferences\n\n1837 births\n1928 deaths\n19th-century American railroad executives\n20th-century American railroad executives\nBusinesspeople from Chicago\nChicago and North Western Railway\nPeople from Genoa, New York\nPeople from Lake Forest, Illinois",
"Eileen \"Ginger\" Gascon (born December 1, 1931) is a former baseball player who played center field and second base in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. She both batted and threw right-handed.\n\nEarly life and career\nBorn in Chicago, Illinois, she lived for around a decade (from when she was 8 until 18) near Wrigley Field. She was the youngest of three sisters. Her Irish immigrant mother was a housewife and her father worked as a truck driver. Since there were very few girls in the neighborhood from the time she turned 10, Gascon had to play ball otherwise she wouldn't have anyone with whom to play. She was pretty good and always went to the division meetings.\n\nGascon studied Education and Psychology at a local college, the Northeastern Illinois State College in Chicago. She used her education to become an elementary teacher for six years and following that, a counselor for 28 years. Since she lived close to the Wrigley Field and her uncle was a policeman who worked at the gate there, Gascon was often given the opportunity to watch Phil Cavarretta, Andy Pafko, etc. Thus began her love for the game. At around 15 years old, Gascon played started playing with the North Town Debs and then the girls started forming groups which was when she went with the Springfield Sallies. With the Sallies, she played second base. Some of her other friends at the time joined the Chicago Colleens. She was recruited from playing in the Chicago playgrounds. In the traveling team she was with Mirtha Marrero and Isabel Alvarez with whom she was able to converse in Spanish since she had studied it in high school.\n\nIn 1949 she played with the traveling team and a year later, she returned to play with Chicago, for the Bluebirds also for a year, playing center field. In 1951, Gascon returned to the Grand Rapids Chicks, thereafter playing a further three years again with the Bluebirds. During this time she was able to work a day job and play ball simultaneously. In addition, she played with the Peoria Redwings.\n\nGascon was the youngest member of the Chicago Queens, at a time when the New Orleans Jacks teams were part of it who really knew what they were doing, producing some of the best pitchers. Connie Wisnwiewski was also in that league, who had also come to the Grand Rapids Chicks. When Gascon played with the Grand Rapids Chicks, it was in the position of center field.\n\nPresent day\nAs of 2018, Gascon still attends Chicago Cubs games and expresses a desire to inspire women to continue to play baseball.\n\nBatting statistics\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n Eileen Gascon All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Retrieved 2019-04-08.\n Gascon, Eileen \"Ginger\" (Interview transcript and video, 2010). Grand Valley State University. Retrieved 2019-04-08.\n\nAll-American Girls Professional Baseball League players\nSpringfield Sallies players\nBattle Creek Belles players\nGrand Rapids Chicks players\nPeoria Redwings players\n1931 births\nLiving people\nBaseball players from Chicago\n21st-century American women"
] |
[
"Ken Kavanaugh",
"Post-war",
"what did Ken do after the war?",
"After the war, he continued his career with the Bears.",
"Did he do well with the bears?",
"In 1945 he had 543 yards and six touchdowns, and in 1946 had 337 yards and five touchdowns.",
"did he win any awards?",
"In 1969, Kavanaugh was voted by sportswriters to the NFL 1940s All-Decade Team.",
"which teams did he play against?",
"His most productive single-game yardage performance came in his final season, in 1950 against the Yanks,",
"Did they win?",
"I don't know.",
"what were his stats against the Yanks?",
"as he caught eight passes for 177 yards and a touchdown.",
"how long was he with Chicago?",
"Kavanaugh spent a total of eight seasons in Chicago.",
"What was his position when with Chicago?",
"He spent the majority of his career catching passes from quarterbacks Sid Luckman and Johnny Lujack."
] | C_eda7f8250d62473c808321ec2321f58f_0 | Did he move to another team after the 8 seasons? | 9 | Did Ken Kavanaugh move to another team other than the Bears after the 8 seasons? | Ken Kavanaugh | After the war, he continued his career with the Bears. In 1945 he had 543 yards and six touchdowns, and in 1946 had 337 yards and five touchdowns. Three of his touchdowns in 1946 came in a 27-21 win over the Los Angeles Rams in week seven. The Bears defeated the New York Giants 24-14 in the 1946 NFL Championship Game, which gave Kavanaugh his third league championship with the team. The first touchdown of the game was a 21-yard pass from Luckman to Kavanaugh. After the season, he was named to the United Press All-NFL first team. Kavanaugh had his most productive season statistically in 1947. He had career highs with 32 receptions, 881 yards, and 13 touchdowns. He set a Bears record by recording a receiving touchdown in seven straight games, a streak that began with a three-touchdown game against the Boston Yanks in week six. His 13 receiving touchdowns led the league, and he earned his second straight first-team All-NFL selection from the United Press. Kavanaugh was named to his third straight All-NFL first team in 1948, and he again led the league in receiving touchdowns in 1949, with nine. His most productive single-game yardage performance came in his final season, in 1950 against the Yanks, as he caught eight passes for 177 yards and a touchdown. Kavanaugh spent a total of eight seasons in Chicago. He spent the majority of his career catching passes from quarterbacks Sid Luckman and Johnny Lujack. He remains the Bears' career leader in touchdown receptions, with 50. He also holds franchise records for highest career and single season yards-per-reception. His 13 touchdown receptions in 1947 is a single season Bears record he shares with Dick Gordon, who tied it in 1970. In 1969, Kavanaugh was voted by sportswriters to the NFL 1940s All-Decade Team. The Professional Football Researchers Association named Kavanaugh to the PRFA Hall of Very Good Class of 2009 CANNOTANSWER | CANNOTANSWER | Kenneth William Kavanaugh (November 23, 1916 – January 25, 2007) was an American football player, coach, and scout. He played professionally in the National Football League (NFL) for the Chicago Bears as an end from 1940 to 1950, except for three seasons during which he served in World War II. He led the league in receiving touchdowns twice, and is a member of the NFL 1940s All-Decade Team. He is the Bears' all-time leader in receiving touchdowns, with 50.
Kavanaugh played college football at Louisiana State University for the LSU Tigers, where he was named most valuable player of the Southeastern Conference and a consensus All-American in 1939 after leading the nation in receptions and receiving yards. He was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1963.
Early life and college
Kavanaugh was born in Little Rock, Arkansas. He graduated from Little Rock Central High School in 1936.
Kavanaugh arrived at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana in 1936 and joined the LSU football varsity team in 1937. As an end, he was quickly able to fill the void in the offense left by the departure of two-time All-American Gaynell Tinsley. At , Kavanaugh was a large receiver for his time, and used his size to outreach defenders. Bernie Moore, Kavanaugh's head coach at LSU, said Kavanaugh "was a pass completer rather than a receiver, simply because he'd catch passes no one else could get to." He was named to the Associated Press (AP) All-Southeastern Conference (SEC) second alternate team after the 1937 season. In 1938, the AP named him a first-team All-SEC selection, and he was a second-team selection by the United Press.
In 1939, in a game against Holy Cross, Kavanaugh caught four touchdown passes in the 26–7 win. According to Kavanaugh and teammate Young Bussey, Kavanaugh found four rusty nails on the sideline during the game. The next week against Rice, he found another nail and scored another touchdown to give LSU a 7–0 win. The pattern continued against Loyola and Vanderbilt, as Kavanaugh found two nails before each game and in each scored two touchdowns. A sportswriter for the Baton Rouge Advocate claimed he saw coach Bernie Moore at a local store stocking up on nails before LSU's game against No. 1 Tennessee. Kavanaugh failed to score in the game, however, as the Tigers lost 20–0.
The Nashville Banner named Kavanaugh co-MVP of the Southeastern Conference for 1939 along with Bob Foxx of Tennessee. Kavanaugh was a consensus All-America selection for the 1939 All-America Team, being named to the team by five of the nine official selectors. He was also awarded the Knute Rockne Memorial Trophy by the Washington D.C. Touchdown Club as the nation's lineman of the year, and finished seventh in Heisman Trophy balloting.
Professional
Pre-war
After college, Kavanaugh signed a minor league baseball contract with the St. Louis Cardinals organization for $300 a month. He later signed with the NFL's Chicago Bears after striking a deal with Bears owner George Halas for $300 a game. He played for the Bears during a period in which they were nicknamed the Monsters of the Midway. In the 1940 NFL Championship Game, the Bears defeated the Washington Redskins 73–0, the most lopsided victory in NFL history. Kavanaugh caught the game's only touchdown pass, a 30-yard reception from quarterback Sid Luckman shortly before halftime. The next season, the Bears won the 1941 NFL Championship Game, as they defeated the New York Giants 39–7 and repeated as NFL champions. The final score in the game was a fumble recovery by Kavanaugh on defense, returning the ball 42 yards for a touchdown. In his first two seasons with the Bears, Kavanaugh compiled 23 receptions for 590 yards and nine touchdowns.
World War II
Kavanaugh's career was interrupted by World War II, in which he was a pilot in the European theater. He was a member of the Eighth Air Force's 490th Bombardment Group and 851st Bombardment Squadron, and attained the rank of captain. He flew 30 missions and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal with four oak leaf clusters. Former LSU and Bears teammate Young Bussey was the Bears' only casualty in the war.
Post-war
After the war, he continued his career with the Bears. In 1945 he had 543 yards and six touchdowns, and in 1946 had 337 yards and five touchdowns. Three of his touchdowns in 1946 came in a 27–21 win over the Los Angeles Rams in week seven. The Bears defeated the New York Giants 24–14 in the 1946 NFL Championship Game, which gave Kavanaugh his third league championship with the team. The first touchdown of the game was a 21-yard pass from Luckman to Kavanaugh. After the season, he was named to the United Press All-NFL first team. Kavanaugh had his most productive season statistically in 1947. He had career highs with 32 receptions, 881 yards, and 13 touchdowns. He set a Bears record by recording a receiving touchdown in seven straight games, a streak that began with a three-touchdown game against the Boston Yanks in week six. His 13 receiving touchdowns led the league, and he earned his second straight first-team All-NFL selection from the United Press.
Kavanaugh was named to his third straight All-NFL first team in 1948, and he again led the league in receiving touchdowns in 1949, with nine. His most productive single-game yardage performance came in his final season, in 1950 against the Yanks, as he caught eight passes for 177 yards and a touchdown.
Kavanaugh spent a total of eight seasons in Chicago. He spent the majority of his career catching passes from quarterbacks Sid Luckman and Johnny Lujack. He remains the Bears' career leader in touchdown receptions, with 50. He also holds franchise records for highest career and single season yards-per-reception. His 13 touchdown receptions in 1947 is a single season Bears record he shares with Dick Gordon, who tied it in 1970.
In 1969, Kavanaugh was voted by sportswriters to the NFL 1940s All-Decade Team. The Professional Football Researchers Association named Kavanaugh to the PRFA Hall of Very Good Class of 2009
Coaching career and later life
After he retired from playing, he remained with the Bears for the 1951 season as an ends coach. He was hired by Boston College in 1952 to serve in the same position, until his resignation in 1954. After serving as an assistant at Villanova in 1954, Kavanaugh was hired by the New York Giants in 1955 as ends coach and continued in that position until 1970. He became a scout for the Giants in 1971, serving until his retirement from football in 1999.
His son, Ken Kavanaugh Jr. played at LSU as a tight end. He was drafted by the Giants in the 1972 NFL Draft but did not play professionally.
Kavanaugh died of complications from pneumonia on January 25, 2007, in Sarasota, Florida.
See also
List of National Football League annual receiving touchdowns leaders
List of NCAA major college football yearly receiving leaders
References
Bibliography
External links
1916 births
2007 deaths
American football ends
Chicago Bears players
LSU Tigers football players
Boston College Eagles football coaches
Villanova Wildcats football coaches
New York Giants coaches
New York Giants scouts
All-American college football players
College Football Hall of Fame inductees
United States Army Air Forces pilots of World War II
United States Army Air Forces officers
Recipients of the Air Medal
Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States)
Sportspeople from Little Rock, Arkansas
Players of American football from Arkansas
Deaths from pneumonia in Florida | false | [
"A lame duck situation generally refers to a time frame between a decision and its implementation.\n\nIt may also refer to:\n\nLame duck (politics), an elected official who is approaching the end of his or her tenure, and especially an official whose successor has already been elected\nLame duck session, a legislative session that takes place after an election but before newly elected members are seated\nLame duck (game design), a player in a game who cannot win, yet remains in the game\nLame Ducks (TV series), a British sitcom\nLame Duck Amendment, an informal name for the Twentieth Amendment to the United States Constitution\nLame duck season, in professional sports, a season prior to or during which a team has announced its intent to relocate to another metropolitan area but will remain in its existing home until the next year. Examples include:\n1995 Cleveland Browns season, in which the team's reorganization in Baltimore was announced midway through\n1996 Houston Oilers season, in which the team's move to Tennessee was announced beforehand\n2017 Oakland Raiders season, in which the team's intent to move to Las Vegas was announced before the season and did not occur until after three full seasons in Oakland\nBrain Donors, a 1992 film originally titled Lame Ducks\n\nru:Хромая утка",
"This is a list of seasons completed by the Columbus Destroyers. The Destroyers were a professional arena football franchise of the Arena Football League (AFL), based in Columbus, Ohio. The team was established in 1999 as the Buffalo Destroyers. Though the Destroyers have never had a winning season in the regular season, the franchise has made the playoffs three times in its history. While in Buffalo, the Destroyers lost both playoff games in which they played. Following the 2003 season, the franchise's then owner Mark Hamister announced that he was moving the team to Columbus. The move was due to Mr. Hamister losing his bid to buy the Buffalo Sabres. If he would have been able to purchase the Sabres he would have had 3 teams in the arena (Sabres NHL, Bandits NLL, Destroyers AFL). The franchise did not fare much better after relocating. However in 2007, the Destroyers qualified for the playoffs as the sixth and lowest seed in the National Conference. They went on to defeat the conference's top three seeds that season, before losing ArenaBowl XXI 55–33. Prior to the 2009 season, the AFL announced that it had suspended operations indefinitely and canceled the 2009 season. The franchise did not return when the league resumed operations in . After moving to Columbus, the Destroyers played its home games in Nationwide Arena.\n\nReferences\nGeneral\n \n \n\nSpecific\n\nArena Football League seasons by team\nColumbus Destroyers seasons\nOhio sports-related lists\nNew York (state) sports-related lists\nColumbus, Ohio-related lists\nBuffalo, New York-related lists"
] |
[
"Ken Kavanaugh",
"Post-war",
"what did Ken do after the war?",
"After the war, he continued his career with the Bears.",
"Did he do well with the bears?",
"In 1945 he had 543 yards and six touchdowns, and in 1946 had 337 yards and five touchdowns.",
"did he win any awards?",
"In 1969, Kavanaugh was voted by sportswriters to the NFL 1940s All-Decade Team.",
"which teams did he play against?",
"His most productive single-game yardage performance came in his final season, in 1950 against the Yanks,",
"Did they win?",
"I don't know.",
"what were his stats against the Yanks?",
"as he caught eight passes for 177 yards and a touchdown.",
"how long was he with Chicago?",
"Kavanaugh spent a total of eight seasons in Chicago.",
"What was his position when with Chicago?",
"He spent the majority of his career catching passes from quarterbacks Sid Luckman and Johnny Lujack.",
"Did he move to another team after the 8 seasons?",
"I don't know."
] | C_eda7f8250d62473c808321ec2321f58f_0 | which other team did he play against? | 10 | Which other team did Ken Kavanaugh play against other than the Yanks? | Ken Kavanaugh | After the war, he continued his career with the Bears. In 1945 he had 543 yards and six touchdowns, and in 1946 had 337 yards and five touchdowns. Three of his touchdowns in 1946 came in a 27-21 win over the Los Angeles Rams in week seven. The Bears defeated the New York Giants 24-14 in the 1946 NFL Championship Game, which gave Kavanaugh his third league championship with the team. The first touchdown of the game was a 21-yard pass from Luckman to Kavanaugh. After the season, he was named to the United Press All-NFL first team. Kavanaugh had his most productive season statistically in 1947. He had career highs with 32 receptions, 881 yards, and 13 touchdowns. He set a Bears record by recording a receiving touchdown in seven straight games, a streak that began with a three-touchdown game against the Boston Yanks in week six. His 13 receiving touchdowns led the league, and he earned his second straight first-team All-NFL selection from the United Press. Kavanaugh was named to his third straight All-NFL first team in 1948, and he again led the league in receiving touchdowns in 1949, with nine. His most productive single-game yardage performance came in his final season, in 1950 against the Yanks, as he caught eight passes for 177 yards and a touchdown. Kavanaugh spent a total of eight seasons in Chicago. He spent the majority of his career catching passes from quarterbacks Sid Luckman and Johnny Lujack. He remains the Bears' career leader in touchdown receptions, with 50. He also holds franchise records for highest career and single season yards-per-reception. His 13 touchdown receptions in 1947 is a single season Bears record he shares with Dick Gordon, who tied it in 1970. In 1969, Kavanaugh was voted by sportswriters to the NFL 1940s All-Decade Team. The Professional Football Researchers Association named Kavanaugh to the PRFA Hall of Very Good Class of 2009 CANNOTANSWER | Los Angeles Rams | Kenneth William Kavanaugh (November 23, 1916 – January 25, 2007) was an American football player, coach, and scout. He played professionally in the National Football League (NFL) for the Chicago Bears as an end from 1940 to 1950, except for three seasons during which he served in World War II. He led the league in receiving touchdowns twice, and is a member of the NFL 1940s All-Decade Team. He is the Bears' all-time leader in receiving touchdowns, with 50.
Kavanaugh played college football at Louisiana State University for the LSU Tigers, where he was named most valuable player of the Southeastern Conference and a consensus All-American in 1939 after leading the nation in receptions and receiving yards. He was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1963.
Early life and college
Kavanaugh was born in Little Rock, Arkansas. He graduated from Little Rock Central High School in 1936.
Kavanaugh arrived at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana in 1936 and joined the LSU football varsity team in 1937. As an end, he was quickly able to fill the void in the offense left by the departure of two-time All-American Gaynell Tinsley. At , Kavanaugh was a large receiver for his time, and used his size to outreach defenders. Bernie Moore, Kavanaugh's head coach at LSU, said Kavanaugh "was a pass completer rather than a receiver, simply because he'd catch passes no one else could get to." He was named to the Associated Press (AP) All-Southeastern Conference (SEC) second alternate team after the 1937 season. In 1938, the AP named him a first-team All-SEC selection, and he was a second-team selection by the United Press.
In 1939, in a game against Holy Cross, Kavanaugh caught four touchdown passes in the 26–7 win. According to Kavanaugh and teammate Young Bussey, Kavanaugh found four rusty nails on the sideline during the game. The next week against Rice, he found another nail and scored another touchdown to give LSU a 7–0 win. The pattern continued against Loyola and Vanderbilt, as Kavanaugh found two nails before each game and in each scored two touchdowns. A sportswriter for the Baton Rouge Advocate claimed he saw coach Bernie Moore at a local store stocking up on nails before LSU's game against No. 1 Tennessee. Kavanaugh failed to score in the game, however, as the Tigers lost 20–0.
The Nashville Banner named Kavanaugh co-MVP of the Southeastern Conference for 1939 along with Bob Foxx of Tennessee. Kavanaugh was a consensus All-America selection for the 1939 All-America Team, being named to the team by five of the nine official selectors. He was also awarded the Knute Rockne Memorial Trophy by the Washington D.C. Touchdown Club as the nation's lineman of the year, and finished seventh in Heisman Trophy balloting.
Professional
Pre-war
After college, Kavanaugh signed a minor league baseball contract with the St. Louis Cardinals organization for $300 a month. He later signed with the NFL's Chicago Bears after striking a deal with Bears owner George Halas for $300 a game. He played for the Bears during a period in which they were nicknamed the Monsters of the Midway. In the 1940 NFL Championship Game, the Bears defeated the Washington Redskins 73–0, the most lopsided victory in NFL history. Kavanaugh caught the game's only touchdown pass, a 30-yard reception from quarterback Sid Luckman shortly before halftime. The next season, the Bears won the 1941 NFL Championship Game, as they defeated the New York Giants 39–7 and repeated as NFL champions. The final score in the game was a fumble recovery by Kavanaugh on defense, returning the ball 42 yards for a touchdown. In his first two seasons with the Bears, Kavanaugh compiled 23 receptions for 590 yards and nine touchdowns.
World War II
Kavanaugh's career was interrupted by World War II, in which he was a pilot in the European theater. He was a member of the Eighth Air Force's 490th Bombardment Group and 851st Bombardment Squadron, and attained the rank of captain. He flew 30 missions and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal with four oak leaf clusters. Former LSU and Bears teammate Young Bussey was the Bears' only casualty in the war.
Post-war
After the war, he continued his career with the Bears. In 1945 he had 543 yards and six touchdowns, and in 1946 had 337 yards and five touchdowns. Three of his touchdowns in 1946 came in a 27–21 win over the Los Angeles Rams in week seven. The Bears defeated the New York Giants 24–14 in the 1946 NFL Championship Game, which gave Kavanaugh his third league championship with the team. The first touchdown of the game was a 21-yard pass from Luckman to Kavanaugh. After the season, he was named to the United Press All-NFL first team. Kavanaugh had his most productive season statistically in 1947. He had career highs with 32 receptions, 881 yards, and 13 touchdowns. He set a Bears record by recording a receiving touchdown in seven straight games, a streak that began with a three-touchdown game against the Boston Yanks in week six. His 13 receiving touchdowns led the league, and he earned his second straight first-team All-NFL selection from the United Press.
Kavanaugh was named to his third straight All-NFL first team in 1948, and he again led the league in receiving touchdowns in 1949, with nine. His most productive single-game yardage performance came in his final season, in 1950 against the Yanks, as he caught eight passes for 177 yards and a touchdown.
Kavanaugh spent a total of eight seasons in Chicago. He spent the majority of his career catching passes from quarterbacks Sid Luckman and Johnny Lujack. He remains the Bears' career leader in touchdown receptions, with 50. He also holds franchise records for highest career and single season yards-per-reception. His 13 touchdown receptions in 1947 is a single season Bears record he shares with Dick Gordon, who tied it in 1970.
In 1969, Kavanaugh was voted by sportswriters to the NFL 1940s All-Decade Team. The Professional Football Researchers Association named Kavanaugh to the PRFA Hall of Very Good Class of 2009
Coaching career and later life
After he retired from playing, he remained with the Bears for the 1951 season as an ends coach. He was hired by Boston College in 1952 to serve in the same position, until his resignation in 1954. After serving as an assistant at Villanova in 1954, Kavanaugh was hired by the New York Giants in 1955 as ends coach and continued in that position until 1970. He became a scout for the Giants in 1971, serving until his retirement from football in 1999.
His son, Ken Kavanaugh Jr. played at LSU as a tight end. He was drafted by the Giants in the 1972 NFL Draft but did not play professionally.
Kavanaugh died of complications from pneumonia on January 25, 2007, in Sarasota, Florida.
See also
List of National Football League annual receiving touchdowns leaders
List of NCAA major college football yearly receiving leaders
References
Bibliography
External links
1916 births
2007 deaths
American football ends
Chicago Bears players
LSU Tigers football players
Boston College Eagles football coaches
Villanova Wildcats football coaches
New York Giants coaches
New York Giants scouts
All-American college football players
College Football Hall of Fame inductees
United States Army Air Forces pilots of World War II
United States Army Air Forces officers
Recipients of the Air Medal
Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States)
Sportspeople from Little Rock, Arkansas
Players of American football from Arkansas
Deaths from pneumonia in Florida | 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",
"is a former Japanese football player. He played for Japan national team.\n\nClub career\nYamaguchi was born in Oita Prefecture on August 1, 1959. After graduating from high school, he joined Mitsubishi Motors in 1978. However he did not play in the game, as he was the team's reserve goalkeeper behind Japan national team player Mitsuhisa Taguchi. He retired in 1984. Eventually he could not play in the game.\n\nNational team career\nIn August 1979, Yamaguchi was selected Japan U-20 national team for 1979 World Youth Championship. However, he did not compete, as he was the team's reserve goalkeeper behind Yasuhito Suzuki. In February 1981, although he did not play at his club, he was selected Japan national team because Japan's manager Saburo Kawabuchi actively appointed young players. On February 19, Yamaguchi debuted for Japan national team against Singapore.\n\nClub statistics\n\nNational team statistics\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n \n \n Japan National Football Team Database\n\n1959 births\nLiving people\nAssociation football people from Ōita Prefecture\nJapanese footballers\nJapan international footballers\nJapan Soccer League players\nUrawa Red Diamonds players\nAssociation football goalkeepers"
] |
[
"Ken Kavanaugh",
"Post-war",
"what did Ken do after the war?",
"After the war, he continued his career with the Bears.",
"Did he do well with the bears?",
"In 1945 he had 543 yards and six touchdowns, and in 1946 had 337 yards and five touchdowns.",
"did he win any awards?",
"In 1969, Kavanaugh was voted by sportswriters to the NFL 1940s All-Decade Team.",
"which teams did he play against?",
"His most productive single-game yardage performance came in his final season, in 1950 against the Yanks,",
"Did they win?",
"I don't know.",
"what were his stats against the Yanks?",
"as he caught eight passes for 177 yards and a touchdown.",
"how long was he with Chicago?",
"Kavanaugh spent a total of eight seasons in Chicago.",
"What was his position when with Chicago?",
"He spent the majority of his career catching passes from quarterbacks Sid Luckman and Johnny Lujack.",
"Did he move to another team after the 8 seasons?",
"I don't know.",
"which other team did he play against?",
"Los Angeles Rams"
] | C_eda7f8250d62473c808321ec2321f58f_0 | Did they ever go to the superbowl? | 11 | Did the Bears ever go to the superbowl? | Ken Kavanaugh | After the war, he continued his career with the Bears. In 1945 he had 543 yards and six touchdowns, and in 1946 had 337 yards and five touchdowns. Three of his touchdowns in 1946 came in a 27-21 win over the Los Angeles Rams in week seven. The Bears defeated the New York Giants 24-14 in the 1946 NFL Championship Game, which gave Kavanaugh his third league championship with the team. The first touchdown of the game was a 21-yard pass from Luckman to Kavanaugh. After the season, he was named to the United Press All-NFL first team. Kavanaugh had his most productive season statistically in 1947. He had career highs with 32 receptions, 881 yards, and 13 touchdowns. He set a Bears record by recording a receiving touchdown in seven straight games, a streak that began with a three-touchdown game against the Boston Yanks in week six. His 13 receiving touchdowns led the league, and he earned his second straight first-team All-NFL selection from the United Press. Kavanaugh was named to his third straight All-NFL first team in 1948, and he again led the league in receiving touchdowns in 1949, with nine. His most productive single-game yardage performance came in his final season, in 1950 against the Yanks, as he caught eight passes for 177 yards and a touchdown. Kavanaugh spent a total of eight seasons in Chicago. He spent the majority of his career catching passes from quarterbacks Sid Luckman and Johnny Lujack. He remains the Bears' career leader in touchdown receptions, with 50. He also holds franchise records for highest career and single season yards-per-reception. His 13 touchdown receptions in 1947 is a single season Bears record he shares with Dick Gordon, who tied it in 1970. In 1969, Kavanaugh was voted by sportswriters to the NFL 1940s All-Decade Team. The Professional Football Researchers Association named Kavanaugh to the PRFA Hall of Very Good Class of 2009 CANNOTANSWER | CANNOTANSWER | Kenneth William Kavanaugh (November 23, 1916 – January 25, 2007) was an American football player, coach, and scout. He played professionally in the National Football League (NFL) for the Chicago Bears as an end from 1940 to 1950, except for three seasons during which he served in World War II. He led the league in receiving touchdowns twice, and is a member of the NFL 1940s All-Decade Team. He is the Bears' all-time leader in receiving touchdowns, with 50.
Kavanaugh played college football at Louisiana State University for the LSU Tigers, where he was named most valuable player of the Southeastern Conference and a consensus All-American in 1939 after leading the nation in receptions and receiving yards. He was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1963.
Early life and college
Kavanaugh was born in Little Rock, Arkansas. He graduated from Little Rock Central High School in 1936.
Kavanaugh arrived at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana in 1936 and joined the LSU football varsity team in 1937. As an end, he was quickly able to fill the void in the offense left by the departure of two-time All-American Gaynell Tinsley. At , Kavanaugh was a large receiver for his time, and used his size to outreach defenders. Bernie Moore, Kavanaugh's head coach at LSU, said Kavanaugh "was a pass completer rather than a receiver, simply because he'd catch passes no one else could get to." He was named to the Associated Press (AP) All-Southeastern Conference (SEC) second alternate team after the 1937 season. In 1938, the AP named him a first-team All-SEC selection, and he was a second-team selection by the United Press.
In 1939, in a game against Holy Cross, Kavanaugh caught four touchdown passes in the 26–7 win. According to Kavanaugh and teammate Young Bussey, Kavanaugh found four rusty nails on the sideline during the game. The next week against Rice, he found another nail and scored another touchdown to give LSU a 7–0 win. The pattern continued against Loyola and Vanderbilt, as Kavanaugh found two nails before each game and in each scored two touchdowns. A sportswriter for the Baton Rouge Advocate claimed he saw coach Bernie Moore at a local store stocking up on nails before LSU's game against No. 1 Tennessee. Kavanaugh failed to score in the game, however, as the Tigers lost 20–0.
The Nashville Banner named Kavanaugh co-MVP of the Southeastern Conference for 1939 along with Bob Foxx of Tennessee. Kavanaugh was a consensus All-America selection for the 1939 All-America Team, being named to the team by five of the nine official selectors. He was also awarded the Knute Rockne Memorial Trophy by the Washington D.C. Touchdown Club as the nation's lineman of the year, and finished seventh in Heisman Trophy balloting.
Professional
Pre-war
After college, Kavanaugh signed a minor league baseball contract with the St. Louis Cardinals organization for $300 a month. He later signed with the NFL's Chicago Bears after striking a deal with Bears owner George Halas for $300 a game. He played for the Bears during a period in which they were nicknamed the Monsters of the Midway. In the 1940 NFL Championship Game, the Bears defeated the Washington Redskins 73–0, the most lopsided victory in NFL history. Kavanaugh caught the game's only touchdown pass, a 30-yard reception from quarterback Sid Luckman shortly before halftime. The next season, the Bears won the 1941 NFL Championship Game, as they defeated the New York Giants 39–7 and repeated as NFL champions. The final score in the game was a fumble recovery by Kavanaugh on defense, returning the ball 42 yards for a touchdown. In his first two seasons with the Bears, Kavanaugh compiled 23 receptions for 590 yards and nine touchdowns.
World War II
Kavanaugh's career was interrupted by World War II, in which he was a pilot in the European theater. He was a member of the Eighth Air Force's 490th Bombardment Group and 851st Bombardment Squadron, and attained the rank of captain. He flew 30 missions and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal with four oak leaf clusters. Former LSU and Bears teammate Young Bussey was the Bears' only casualty in the war.
Post-war
After the war, he continued his career with the Bears. In 1945 he had 543 yards and six touchdowns, and in 1946 had 337 yards and five touchdowns. Three of his touchdowns in 1946 came in a 27–21 win over the Los Angeles Rams in week seven. The Bears defeated the New York Giants 24–14 in the 1946 NFL Championship Game, which gave Kavanaugh his third league championship with the team. The first touchdown of the game was a 21-yard pass from Luckman to Kavanaugh. After the season, he was named to the United Press All-NFL first team. Kavanaugh had his most productive season statistically in 1947. He had career highs with 32 receptions, 881 yards, and 13 touchdowns. He set a Bears record by recording a receiving touchdown in seven straight games, a streak that began with a three-touchdown game against the Boston Yanks in week six. His 13 receiving touchdowns led the league, and he earned his second straight first-team All-NFL selection from the United Press.
Kavanaugh was named to his third straight All-NFL first team in 1948, and he again led the league in receiving touchdowns in 1949, with nine. His most productive single-game yardage performance came in his final season, in 1950 against the Yanks, as he caught eight passes for 177 yards and a touchdown.
Kavanaugh spent a total of eight seasons in Chicago. He spent the majority of his career catching passes from quarterbacks Sid Luckman and Johnny Lujack. He remains the Bears' career leader in touchdown receptions, with 50. He also holds franchise records for highest career and single season yards-per-reception. His 13 touchdown receptions in 1947 is a single season Bears record he shares with Dick Gordon, who tied it in 1970.
In 1969, Kavanaugh was voted by sportswriters to the NFL 1940s All-Decade Team. The Professional Football Researchers Association named Kavanaugh to the PRFA Hall of Very Good Class of 2009
Coaching career and later life
After he retired from playing, he remained with the Bears for the 1951 season as an ends coach. He was hired by Boston College in 1952 to serve in the same position, until his resignation in 1954. After serving as an assistant at Villanova in 1954, Kavanaugh was hired by the New York Giants in 1955 as ends coach and continued in that position until 1970. He became a scout for the Giants in 1971, serving until his retirement from football in 1999.
His son, Ken Kavanaugh Jr. played at LSU as a tight end. He was drafted by the Giants in the 1972 NFL Draft but did not play professionally.
Kavanaugh died of complications from pneumonia on January 25, 2007, in Sarasota, Florida.
See also
List of National Football League annual receiving touchdowns leaders
List of NCAA major college football yearly receiving leaders
References
Bibliography
External links
1916 births
2007 deaths
American football ends
Chicago Bears players
LSU Tigers football players
Boston College Eagles football coaches
Villanova Wildcats football coaches
New York Giants coaches
New York Giants scouts
All-American college football players
College Football Hall of Fame inductees
United States Army Air Forces pilots of World War II
United States Army Air Forces officers
Recipients of the Air Medal
Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States)
Sportspeople from Little Rock, Arkansas
Players of American football from Arkansas
Deaths from pneumonia in Florida | false | [
"Superbowl may refer to:\n A misspelling of Super Bowl, American football championship game\n Superbowl of Debate is a program by the University of Louisville Debate Society to increase minority participation in debate\n Superbowl of Wrestling held in the 1970s\n Super Bowl of Poker held in the 1980s\n The championship game of the Italian Football League was known as the Superbowl italiano until 2014\n A performance venue at the Sun City resort located in South Africa\n The Super Dave Superbowl of Knowledge, a 1994 TV special by Super Dave Osborne",
"\"The One After the Superbowl\" is a double-length episode of the American television sitcom Friends' second season. The episode premiered on NBC on January 28, 1996, as the lead-out for NBC's telecast of Super Bowl XXX. The main storyline of the episode follows Ross, who learns that his former pet monkey Marcel had been employed for a film being shot in New York City, and then tries to get a role in said film as a ploy to reunite with the monkey.\n\nCiting previous failures in the high-profile post-Super Bowl timeslot, NBC deliberately decided against premiering a new series, and instead chose to schedule a high-profile episode of an existing, popular series. It was part of an effort by the network to achieve the \"highest-grossing ad-revenue day in television history.\" The episode featured many guest stars, including Brooke Shields, Chris Isaak, Julia Roberts, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Fred Willard, and Dan Castellaneta.\n\nWith 52.925 million viewers and a 47 percent audience share, \"The One After the Superbowl\" was the most-watched episode of the series, and is the highest-rated Super Bowl lead-out program of all time. The episode itself received mixed reviews, with some critics arguing that the excessive number of guest stars dampened the episode's quality (with several reviews making comparisons to The Love Boat), but others praising it for its funnier moments. Brooke Shields was considered a standout among the guest stars; impressed by her performance, NBC would cast her in the starring role of its new sitcom Suddenly Susan.\n\nPlot\nAfter seeing a monkey in a beer commercial that reminds him of his former pet monkey Marcel, Ross decides to pay a visit to his old pet at the San Diego Zoo during his business trip to California. When Ross cannot find the monkey, the zoo administrator (Fred Willard) tells him that Marcel has died. However, a janitor (Dan Castellaneta) later informs Ross that Marcel was kidnapped and forced into show business and is currently filming a movie in New York. Meanwhile, Joey has to contend with a mentally ill stalker (Brooke Shields) who delusionally thinks that Joey is actually Dr. Drake Ramoray, the character he plays on Days of Our Lives. Despite this, Joey goes on a date with her. She later confronts him when she suspects \"Drake\" is cheating on her with another woman (actually another character in the soap opera). He tells her he is just an actor, but when she does not believe him, the others claim that Joey is \"Drake\"'s evil twin \"Hans\", in order to get her to leave him alone. Phoebe dates Rob (Chris Isaak) who hires her to perform at children's concerts at a local library. However, the songs she sings to the children are disturbing to the attending parents because they tell truths that the children have never heard before. When Rob's attempts to convince Phoebe to tone down her material for her next performances fail, he is forced to fire her, but the children then come to Central Perk to listen to more of Phoebe's songs.\n\nRoss, hoping for a reunion with Marcel, looks for him on the movie set. Joey meanwhile, sucks up to the production assistant to land a part in the movie. While on set, Chandler meets his old childhood friend Susie \"Underpants\" Moss (Julia Roberts) working on the production, with whom he has a colored history; when they were in elementary school, Chandler pulled up Susie's skirt when she was on stage, revealing her panties to the entire school. They arrange a date, Chandler unsuspecting that it is a plot to get revenge. After convincing him to wear her panties, Susie leaves him wearing nothing but the panties in a bathroom stall in the restaurant where they are having dinner. Meanwhile, Monica (Courteney Cox) and Rachel meet the movie's star Jean-Claude Van Damme, and compete for his attention. This creates tension between them, as they both argue over who should get to date him. They both dump him when he tries to convince them to have a threesome with Drew Barrymore. Ross finally reunites with Marcel and Joey lands a small role in the movie, but loses his solitary line after overacting.\n\nProduction\n\nThe first part of \"The One After the Superbowl\" was written by Mike Sikowitz and Jeffrey Astrof, and the second part by Michael Borkow. Both parts were directed by Michael Lembeck. On January 28, 1996, the day the episode aired, executive producer Kevin S. Bright commented: \"It'll be bigger in size and scope than a regular Friends episode. Tonight we go one step beyond.\" At the beginning of January 1996, it was confirmed that Julia Roberts, Brooke Shields, Chris Isaak and Jean-Claude Van Damme would all guest star in \"The One After the Superbowl\". Actors and comedians Fred Willard and Dan Castellaneta also made minor guest appearances in the episode, as the zookeeper and the zoo janitor respectively. Shields was dating future husband Andre Agassi at the time and during filming of the restaurant sequence, he stormed on to the set and according to witnesses had a blazing row with her as he felt she was flirting with Matt Leblanc.\n\nBright commented that Shields' performance was \"a little into silly land\" at first, but it \"eventually turned in a very funny performance.\" Shields commented that when she was asked to appear on the show, she \"said yes basically sight unseen. I don't know where I was on the list. Maybe everybody else said no.\" The writers had difficulty devising jokes that would be funny when Van Damme said them. In order to create \"Van Damme-proof\" jokes, one writer \"would say them in a really horrible French accent, putting the emphasis on the wrong word\". If people laughed, Van Damme was given the joke to perform. One line created in this way was Van Damme's \"I can crack a walnut with my butt.\"\n\nRoberts recorded her scenes from January 6–8, 1996. She had a relationship with cast member Matthew Perry at the time and an audience member said about their on-screen kiss, \"Julia looked at Matt and said 'I'm glad we rehearsed this over the weekend'.\" A sound recordist commented: \"I've seen screen kisses before but this was the best. They really went at it.\" Roberts thought her appearance on the show was \"the most nerve-wracking thing\" she had done since auditioning for Pretty Woman. \"I wanted to be the best I could be. [Perry] is incredibly funny, and you want to inspire that same kind of joy that he does. Then at a certain point at lunch, you go, 'Well, it ain't gonna happen. I'll just try to be cute.'\"\n\nThe decision to air the episode directly after Super Bowl XXX was made by NBC in hopes of making that Sunday the \"highest-grossing ad-revenue day in television history.\" The guest stars were cast to draw more viewers and further increase the advertising revenue. In past years, networks had \"exploited\" the post-Super Bowl time slot to launch new series. NBC made an exception with Friends because they believed it would attract more advertising revenue than a new show. Curt King, press manager for Friends, commented: \"Try to think of the new shows that were premiered after recent Super Bowls and name one that's still around. What we decided to do this year was not to unveil a new show but give people an extra-special version of a show they already like a lot.\"\n\nReception\n\"The One After the Superbowl\" is the most-watched episode in the history of Friends, with a total of 52.9 million viewers tuned in after the Super Bowl ended. The episode generated a 29.5 Nielsen rating and a 47 percent audience share, making it the highest-rated episode of any show ever (scripted or otherwise) to debut after the Super Bowl. The advertising rates for \"The One After the Superbowl\" averaged $600,000 for 30 seconds of commercial time. This was one of the largest advertising rates ever for a sitcom at the time. The episode's director, Michael Lembeck, won the 1996 Emmy Award in the \"Outstanding Individual Achievement in Directing for a Comedy Series\" category for this episode, the only Emmy won by Friends that year.\n\n\"The One After the Superbowl\" received mixed reviews from television critics. Lisa Davis of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram called the guest appearances \"a blatant ploy to boost ratings.\" The Charlotte Observer's Tim Goodman said the episode's \"pathetic infusion of 'star appeal'\" made him \"nauseous\" and commented that the producers \"should just make Bernie Kopell a regular and turn it into the Love Boat all over again.\" Diane Holloway of the Austin American-Statesman also noted the similarities with the television series Love Boat, known for its many guest stars: \"[The episode] had a couple of chuckles, but came off like a young Love Boat.\" Entertainment Weekly called the episode \"fragmented, poorly paced, and only sporadically funny. Cramming the already crowded ensemble with celebs may have been a ratings grabber ... but the results are forced sitcomedy and stilted acting,\" specifically citing Van Damme. Colin Jacobson of DVD Movie Guide wrote that the episode \"feels like nothing more than a big stunt to follow the big game.\" He went on to say that the cameos of Willard and Castellaneta \"offers easily the best parts of the program.\"\n\nShields was praised for her performance. Alan Pergament of The Buffalo News said she \"showed a different side and was the best guest star\" in the episode. Peter Marks of The New York Times commented that Shields' performance was \"so edgy and unbridled\" that she \"stole the episode\" from Roberts and Isaak. Jae-Ha Kim of the Chicago Sun-Times wrote that the chemistry between Perry and Roberts was \"authentic\" and that Shields \"may have found her niche as a sitcom queen.\" Her performance in the episode impressed NBC so much that she was offered her own sitcom, Suddenly Susan, for the network's 1996 fall lineup. In discussion of Shields performance, \nJoanne Ostrow of The Denver Post noted that she \"did a nice turn to help her stalled career.\" She went on to say that Roberts' appearance was \"to little effect\".\n\nOstrow commented that the Monica and Rachel storyline \"was evidence of unfunny, lazy writing.\" Kim, however, thought the storyline offered some \"funny moments.\" Ostrow was complimentary of cast members Lisa Kudrow and David Schwimmer's performances. \"Lisa Kudrow, as Phoebe, singer of truthful folk songs, continues to be a Friends highlight and David Schwimmer can carry off amusing, emotionally tinged moments even opposite a monkey.\" DVD Talk's Earl Cressey named the episode one of the highlights of the second season of Friends. Hal Boedeker of The Orlando Sentinel praised \"The One After the Superbowl\" for being better than most episodes of Friends and \"pleasantly off-the-wall and in keeping with the Friends spirit.\" The authors of Friends Like Us: The Unofficial Guide to Friends wrote that there are \"some lovely moments of slapstick\" in the episode. They called Roberts \"a fine guest-star\", while Van Damme was \"embarrassing\". Pergament said \"The One After the Superbowl\" \"had its moments\", but he thought it felt more like an episode of Seinfeld than an episode of Friends. The Houston Chronicles Ann Hodges gave the episode a more negative review, commenting that the Friends writers \"dropped the ball\" with it: \"Women's underwear, three-way-sex jokes, and a monkey — that was it. The insipid, stupid script was an insult to guest stars like Julia Roberts and Jean-Claude Van Damme.\"\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n\"The One After the Superbowl: Part 1\" at the Internet Movie Database\n\"The One After the Superbowl: Part 2\" at the Internet Movie Database\n\"The One After the Superbowl: Part 2 at the TV.com\n\n1996 American television episodes\nFriends (season 2) episodes\nSuper Bowl lead-out shows\nEmmy Award-winning episodes"
] |
[
"The Stylistics",
"Success: The Bell/Creed years"
] | C_a084fc97977b420f9f868be0473ff7b5_1 | How was it when Bell and Creed were together? | 1 | How was "The Bell/Creed years" when Bell and Creed were together? | The Stylistics | After signing to Avco, the record label approached producer Thom Bell, who had already produced a catalogue of hits for The Delfonics, to work with the group. The Stylistics auditioned for Bell, but he was initially unimpressed. He ultimately agreed to produce the group because he believed in the potential of lead singer, Russell Thompkins, Jr.'s distinctive, nasal high tenor & falsetto voice. Avco gave Bell complete creative control over the Stylistics and he proceeded to focus the group's sound exclusively around Thompkins's voice. On most of the group hits, Bell would have Thompkins sing virtually solo. The first song recorded with Bell and his collaborator, lyricist Linda Creed, was the lush "Stop, Look, Listen". Bell imported techniques he had perfected with The Delfonics and his musical arrangements worked perfectly with Thompkins' falsetto vocals. Their hits from this period --distilled from three albums-- included "Betcha by Golly, Wow" (U.S. #3), "I'm Stone in Love with You", "Break Up to Make Up" (U.S. #5), "You Make Me Feel Brand New" featuring Thompkins singing a rare lead vocal duet with Airrion Love, the aforementioned "Stop, Look, Listen", "You Are Everything", and the Top 20 Pop hit "Rockin' Roll Baby" (U.S. #14). "You Make Me Feel Brand New" was the group's biggest U.S. hit, holding at No. 2 for two weeks just as the spring of 1974 turned to summer, and was one of the group's five U.S. gold singles. The Stylistics' smooth sound also found an easier path on to adult contemporary airwaves than many other soul artists and the group made Billboard magazine's Easy Listening singles chart twelve times from 1971 to 1976, with three entries ("Betcha by Golly, Wow", "You Make Me Feel Brand New", and "You'll Never Get to Heaven (If You Break My Heart)") reaching the Top 10. Every single that Bell produced for the Stylistics was a Top Ten R&B hit, and several--"You Are Everything", "Betcha by Golly Wow!", "I'm Stone in Love with You", "Break Up to Make Up", and "You Make Me Feel Brand New"--were also Top Ten pop chart hits. The group also enjoyed commercial success with big hits with this material throughout Europe. CANNOTANSWER | ". Bell imported techniques he had perfected with The Delfonics and his musical arrangements worked perfectly with Thompkins' falsetto vocals. | The Stylistics are an American, Philadelphia soul group that achieved their greatest chart success in the 1970s. They formed in 1968, with a lineup of singers Russell Thompkins Jr., Herb Murrell, Airrion Love, James Smith and James Dunn. All of their US hits were ballads characterized by the falsetto of Russell Thompkins Jr. and the production of Thom Bell. During the early 1970s, the group had twelve consecutive R&B top ten hits, including "Stop, Look, Listen", "You Are Everything", "Betcha by Golly, Wow", "I'm Stone in Love with You", "Break Up to Make Up" and "You Make Me Feel Brand New", which earned them 5 gold singles and 3 gold albums.
Career
Early years
The Stylistics were created from two Philadelphia groups, The Percussions and The Monarchs. Russell Thompkins Jr., James Smith and Airrion Love came from the Monarchs, and James Dunn and Herb Murrell came from the Percussions. In 1970, the group recorded "You're a Big Girl Now", a song their road manager Marty Bryant co-wrote with Robert Douglas, a member of their backing band Slim and the Boys, and the single became a regional hit for Sebring Records. Producer Bill Perry spent $400 to record the song in the Virtue Studios in Philadelphia. The larger Avco Records soon signed the Stylistics, and the single eventually climbed to No. 7 on the US Billboard R&B chart in early 1971.
Success: The Bell/Creed years
After signing to Avco, the record label approached producer Thom Bell, who had already produced a catalogue of hits for The Delfonics, to work with the group. The Stylistics auditioned for Bell, but he was initially unimpressed. He ultimately agreed to produce the group because he believed in the potential of lead singer Russell Thompkins, Jr.'s distinctive, nasal high tenor and falsetto voice. Avco gave Bell complete creative control over the Stylistics and he proceeded to focus the group's sound exclusively around Thompkins's voice. On most of the group hits, Bell would have Thompkins sing virtually solo.
The first song recorded with Bell and his collaborator, lyricist Linda Creed, was "Stop, Look, Listen".
Their hits from this period — distilled from three albums — included "Betcha by Golly, Wow" (U.S. No. 3), "I'm Stone in Love with You", "Break Up to Make Up" (U.S. No. 5), "You Make Me Feel Brand New" featuring Thompkins singing a lead vocal duet with Airrion Love, "Stop, Look, Listen (To Your Heart)", "You Are Everything" and the Top 20 pop chart hit "Rockin' Roll Baby" (U.S. No. 14). "You Make Me Feel Brand New", the group's biggest U.S. hit, holding at No. 2 for two weeks in 1974, was one of the group's five U.S. gold singles.
The Stylistics also found a path on to adult contemporary airwaves, and the group made Billboard magazine's Easy Listening singles chart twelve times from 1971 to 1976, with three entries ("Betcha by Golly, Wow", "You Make Me Feel Brand New" and "You'll Never Get to Heaven (If You Break My Heart)") reaching the Top 10. Every single that Bell produced for the Stylistics was a Top Ten R&B hit, and several — "You Are Everything", "Betcha by Golly Wow!", "I'm Stone in Love with You", "Break Up to Make Up" and "You Make Me Feel Brand New" — were also Top Ten pop chart hits. The group also enjoyed commercial success with hits with this material throughout Europe.
Changing style: Continuing international success
Thom Bell stopped working with the Stylistics in 1974, and the split proved commercially difficult for the group in the U.S. They struggled to find the right material, although their partnership with label owners Hugo & Luigi as producers and arranger Van McCoy started well, with "Let's Put It All Together" (No. 18 pop, No. 8 R&B) and "Heavy Fallin' Out" (No. 4 R&B, No. 41 pop). Later singles were notably less successful, but as U.S. success began to wane, their popularity in Europe, and especially the United Kingdom, increased. Indeed, the lighter 'pop' sound fashioned by McCoy and Hugo & Luigi gave the group a U.K. No. 1 in 1975 with "Can't Give You Anything (But My Love)". Further successes with "Sing Baby Sing", "Na Na Is The Saddest Word", "Funky Weekend" and "Can't Help Falling in Love" consolidated the group's European popularity. The Stylistics recorded "Disco Baby", "Love is the Answer" and "16 Bars" also. They are one of the few U.S. acts to have two chart-topping greatest hits albums in the U.K.
The Stylistics switched record labels during this period as Avco Records transitioned into H&L Records in 1976. Notwithstanding this, the band began to struggle with increasingly weak material, and although the singles and albums came out as before, by 1978 chart success had vanished; even a move to Mercury in 1978, for two albums produced by Teddy Randazzo, failed to produce any major success. Russell Thompkins Jr. wrote (in the sleevenotes for the re-issue of the 1976 album, Fabulous) that the group began to feel that the music they were recording was becoming dated, and not in keeping with the popular disco sound of the late 1970s.
In 1979, they had a small part in the movie Hair, directed by Miloš Forman, where they play conservative army officers. They double Nell Carter in singing a song called "White Boys".
Later years
In 1980, the group reunited with Thom Bell and signed with Philadelphia International Records subsidiary, TSOP Records. They released the single "Hurry Up This Way Again" that year which brought them back into the R&B Top 20 (peaking at No. 18). Both James Dunn and James Smith departed due to conflicts over the direction of the group; Dunn left before the recording of the album Hurry Up This Way Again (1980) and Smith after the recording of Closer Than Close in 1981. Nevertheless, the group continued, recruiting new member Raymond Johnson, but Johnson departed in 1985, leaving the group as a trio. Love, Murrell and Thompkins continued to tour until 2000, when Thompkins, Jr. left the group.
In 2000, singer Eban Brown (formerly of The Delfonics, The Manhattans, and Ray, Goodman and Brown) replaced Thompkins as lead singer. That same year, tenor singer Van Fields, who had previously sung with the A Cappella group "A Perfect Blend", joined, enabling The Stylistics to grow from a trio back to a quartet. The group was featured live on the DVD The Stylistics Live at the Convocation Center (2006), as well as with other artists of the 1970s on the DVD, 70s Soul Jam.
In 2004, after having left The Stylistics in 2000, former lead singer Thompkins launched his own group called Russell Thompkins Jr, & The New Stylistics, returning with former member Johnson, plus James Ranton and Jonathan Buckson. They were featured on the DVD Old School Soul Party Live!, which was part of the PBS My Music series.
In 2010, they released an album entitled, That Same Way by LAC Management.
In 2011, Fields departed from the group after 11 years, due to creative differences, and was replaced by singer Jason Sharp.
In January 2018, after 18 years with The Stylistics, Brown, who is also a jazz guitarist and composer, announced his departure to concentrate on his solo career. He since performed at venues in the States and overseas as a solo artist. Brown was initially replaced by Michael Muse, and after a few months, he was replaced by former Temptation Barrington "Bo" Henderson.
In 2018, The Stylistics celebrated their 50th. anniversary in the music industry. Their milestone was acknowledged at venues throughout the year during their 50th. Anniversary tour in the States and overseas.
As of 2020, the remaining members of the original group, Love and Murrell were still performing, continuing the Stylistics' legacy with their unit, while Thompkins and his New Stylistics continue to perform as well.
Personnel
Current members
Airrion Love (1968–Present)
Herb Murrell (1968–Present)
Jason Sharp (2011–Present)
Barrington "Bo" Henderson (2018–Present)
Former members
Russell Thompkins, Jr. (Lead) (1968 - 2000)
James Dunn (1968 - 1980)
James Smith (1968 - 1981)
Raymond Johnson (1981 - 1985)
Harold Eban Brown (Lead) (2000 - 2018)
Van Fields (2000 - 2011)
Discography
Awards and recognition
Inductions
In 1994, The Stylistics were inducted into The Philadelphia Music Alliance Walk of Fame.
The Stylistics were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2004.
RIAA Gold Certifications
Between January 1972 and August 1974 The Stylistics were awarded 5 gold singles and 3 gold albums.
January 3, 1972 - Single/"You Are Everything".
April 17, 1972 - Single/"Betcha By Golly Wow".
December 13, 1972 - Single/"I'm Stone In Love With You".
February 16, 1973 - Album/"The Stylistics".
April 6, 1973 - Single/"Break Up To Make Up".
June 14, 1973 - Album/"Round Two".
May 22, 1974 - Single/"You Make Me Feel Brand New".
August 12, 1974 - Album/"Let's Put It All Together".
Film/Television Appearances
The Stylistics television appearances.
Top of the Pops (TV Series)
The Stylistics appeared 10 times on Top of the Pops between 1972 and 1978.
Episode #15.14 (1978)
Episode #14.39 (1977)
Episode #14.15 (1977)
Episode #14.13 (1977)
Episode #13.16 (1976)
Top of the Pops '75: Part 2 (1975)
Episode #11.18 (1974)
Episode #11.4 (1974)
Episode #9.42 (1972)
Episode #9.30 (1972)
The Mike Douglas Show (TV Series)
The Stylistics appeared 6 times on the show between 1972 and 1978.
Episode #17.219 (1978)
Episode #15.217 (1976)
Episode #15.143 (1976)
Episode #14.155 (1975)
Episode #14.40 (1974)
Episode #12.80 (1972)
The Midnight Special (TV Series)
The Stylistics appeared in 4 episodes of the show.
4th appearance (1974)
3rd appearance (1973)
2nd appearance (1973)
1st appearance (1973)
Soul Train TV Series
The Stylistic appeared in 2 episodes of Soul Train.
Episode #10.15 (1984)
Episode #3.27 (1974)
Friday Night with Jonathan Ross (TV Series)
Episode #17.9 (2009)
Showtime at the Apollo TV Series
Episode #17.15 (2004)
Sinbad's "Soul Music Festival: Part 5 1999"
The Stylistics appeared on the TV Special that took place in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands and was aired on HBO
The Vera Lynn Show (TV Series)
Episode #2.1 (1975)
Saturday Night Live TV Series
In 1975, The Stylistics appeared on the 1st season of Saturday Night Live.
Episode #1.8 (1975)
Dinah! TV Series
The Stylistics appeared on the 1st season of The Dinah Shore TV Show.
Episode #1.181 (1974)
Your Hit Parade (TV Series)
Episode #2 (1974)
Don Kirshner's Rock Concert TV Show
Episode #2.3 (1974)
See also
List of soul musicians
List of R&B musicians
List of disco artists (S-Z)
List of people from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Music of Philadelphia
List of artists who reached number one on the UK Singles Chart
List of guests appearing on The Midnight Special
List of performers on Top of the Pops
References
External links
Official website
African-American musical groups
American soul musical groups
Vocal quintets
Musical groups established in 1968
Musical groups from Philadelphia
Philadelphia International Records artists
Ballad music groups
Avco Records artists | false | [
"\"Rockin' Roll Baby\" is a song written by Linda Creed and Thom Bell and performed by The Stylistics. It reached #3 on the U.S. R&B chart, #6 on the UK Singles Chart, #14 on the U.S. pop chart, #44 on the U.S. adult contemporary chart, and #57 on the Canadian pop chart in 1974. It was featured on their 1973 album Rockin' Roll Baby.\n\nThe song was arranged and produced by Thom Bell.\n\nThe song ranked #96 on Billboard magazine's Top 100 singles of 1974.\n\nOther versions\nThe Fleshtones released a version of the song on their 1999 album Hitsburg Revisited.\n\nReferences\n\n1973 songs\n1973 singles\nSongs written by Linda Creed\nSongs written by Thom Bell\nThe Stylistics songs\nAvco Records singles",
"Esmé Creed-Miles (born 5 February 2000) is an English actress, known for starring as the title character in the Amazon Video series Hanna.\n\nEarly life \nCreed-Miles was born in Barnet, England and attended the English boarding school Bedales. She is the daughter of actors Charlie Creed-Miles and Samantha Morton.\n\nCareer \nCreed-Miles began her acting career as little Shirley Temple in the film Mister Lonely (2007) directed by Harmony Korine. Her next film appearance came ten years later when she was cast in Clio Barnard's Dark River. In an interview, Creed-Miles said that she had auditioned for roles in several independent films before she was chosen to star as the eponymous character in Hanna. According to the actress she trained in martial arts six hours a day for months as preparation for her fight scenes in the series. Creed-Miles valued how her role as Hanna enabled her to challenge societal norms about gender and sexuality. Creed-Miles has received positive reviews for her work in the series. The Atlantic noted that she is \"imbuing the character with emotional vulnerability and physical power. Even more striking is how she communicates Hanna’s intelligence, how fleet and observant and hyperalert she is.\"\n\nCreed-Miles is also a musician and feminist.\n\nShe plays the lead in the 2019 films Pond Life and Undercliffe produced by Open Palm Films.\n\nFilmography\n\nFilm\n\nTelevision\n\nAwards and nominations\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links \n \n \n\n2000 births\nLiving people\nPeople from the London Borough of Barnet\nPeople educated at Bedales School\n21st-century English actresses\nEnglish actresses"
] |
[
"The Stylistics",
"Success: The Bell/Creed years",
"How was it when Bell and Creed were together?",
"\". Bell imported techniques he had perfected with The Delfonics and his musical arrangements worked perfectly with Thompkins' falsetto vocals."
] | C_a084fc97977b420f9f868be0473ff7b5_1 | When did they team up? | 2 | When did Bell and Creed team up? | The Stylistics | After signing to Avco, the record label approached producer Thom Bell, who had already produced a catalogue of hits for The Delfonics, to work with the group. The Stylistics auditioned for Bell, but he was initially unimpressed. He ultimately agreed to produce the group because he believed in the potential of lead singer, Russell Thompkins, Jr.'s distinctive, nasal high tenor & falsetto voice. Avco gave Bell complete creative control over the Stylistics and he proceeded to focus the group's sound exclusively around Thompkins's voice. On most of the group hits, Bell would have Thompkins sing virtually solo. The first song recorded with Bell and his collaborator, lyricist Linda Creed, was the lush "Stop, Look, Listen". Bell imported techniques he had perfected with The Delfonics and his musical arrangements worked perfectly with Thompkins' falsetto vocals. Their hits from this period --distilled from three albums-- included "Betcha by Golly, Wow" (U.S. #3), "I'm Stone in Love with You", "Break Up to Make Up" (U.S. #5), "You Make Me Feel Brand New" featuring Thompkins singing a rare lead vocal duet with Airrion Love, the aforementioned "Stop, Look, Listen", "You Are Everything", and the Top 20 Pop hit "Rockin' Roll Baby" (U.S. #14). "You Make Me Feel Brand New" was the group's biggest U.S. hit, holding at No. 2 for two weeks just as the spring of 1974 turned to summer, and was one of the group's five U.S. gold singles. The Stylistics' smooth sound also found an easier path on to adult contemporary airwaves than many other soul artists and the group made Billboard magazine's Easy Listening singles chart twelve times from 1971 to 1976, with three entries ("Betcha by Golly, Wow", "You Make Me Feel Brand New", and "You'll Never Get to Heaven (If You Break My Heart)") reaching the Top 10. Every single that Bell produced for the Stylistics was a Top Ten R&B hit, and several--"You Are Everything", "Betcha by Golly Wow!", "I'm Stone in Love with You", "Break Up to Make Up", and "You Make Me Feel Brand New"--were also Top Ten pop chart hits. The group also enjoyed commercial success with big hits with this material throughout Europe. CANNOTANSWER | 1971 | The Stylistics are an American, Philadelphia soul group that achieved their greatest chart success in the 1970s. They formed in 1968, with a lineup of singers Russell Thompkins Jr., Herb Murrell, Airrion Love, James Smith and James Dunn. All of their US hits were ballads characterized by the falsetto of Russell Thompkins Jr. and the production of Thom Bell. During the early 1970s, the group had twelve consecutive R&B top ten hits, including "Stop, Look, Listen", "You Are Everything", "Betcha by Golly, Wow", "I'm Stone in Love with You", "Break Up to Make Up" and "You Make Me Feel Brand New", which earned them 5 gold singles and 3 gold albums.
Career
Early years
The Stylistics were created from two Philadelphia groups, The Percussions and The Monarchs. Russell Thompkins Jr., James Smith and Airrion Love came from the Monarchs, and James Dunn and Herb Murrell came from the Percussions. In 1970, the group recorded "You're a Big Girl Now", a song their road manager Marty Bryant co-wrote with Robert Douglas, a member of their backing band Slim and the Boys, and the single became a regional hit for Sebring Records. Producer Bill Perry spent $400 to record the song in the Virtue Studios in Philadelphia. The larger Avco Records soon signed the Stylistics, and the single eventually climbed to No. 7 on the US Billboard R&B chart in early 1971.
Success: The Bell/Creed years
After signing to Avco, the record label approached producer Thom Bell, who had already produced a catalogue of hits for The Delfonics, to work with the group. The Stylistics auditioned for Bell, but he was initially unimpressed. He ultimately agreed to produce the group because he believed in the potential of lead singer Russell Thompkins, Jr.'s distinctive, nasal high tenor and falsetto voice. Avco gave Bell complete creative control over the Stylistics and he proceeded to focus the group's sound exclusively around Thompkins's voice. On most of the group hits, Bell would have Thompkins sing virtually solo.
The first song recorded with Bell and his collaborator, lyricist Linda Creed, was "Stop, Look, Listen".
Their hits from this period — distilled from three albums — included "Betcha by Golly, Wow" (U.S. No. 3), "I'm Stone in Love with You", "Break Up to Make Up" (U.S. No. 5), "You Make Me Feel Brand New" featuring Thompkins singing a lead vocal duet with Airrion Love, "Stop, Look, Listen (To Your Heart)", "You Are Everything" and the Top 20 pop chart hit "Rockin' Roll Baby" (U.S. No. 14). "You Make Me Feel Brand New", the group's biggest U.S. hit, holding at No. 2 for two weeks in 1974, was one of the group's five U.S. gold singles.
The Stylistics also found a path on to adult contemporary airwaves, and the group made Billboard magazine's Easy Listening singles chart twelve times from 1971 to 1976, with three entries ("Betcha by Golly, Wow", "You Make Me Feel Brand New" and "You'll Never Get to Heaven (If You Break My Heart)") reaching the Top 10. Every single that Bell produced for the Stylistics was a Top Ten R&B hit, and several — "You Are Everything", "Betcha by Golly Wow!", "I'm Stone in Love with You", "Break Up to Make Up" and "You Make Me Feel Brand New" — were also Top Ten pop chart hits. The group also enjoyed commercial success with hits with this material throughout Europe.
Changing style: Continuing international success
Thom Bell stopped working with the Stylistics in 1974, and the split proved commercially difficult for the group in the U.S. They struggled to find the right material, although their partnership with label owners Hugo & Luigi as producers and arranger Van McCoy started well, with "Let's Put It All Together" (No. 18 pop, No. 8 R&B) and "Heavy Fallin' Out" (No. 4 R&B, No. 41 pop). Later singles were notably less successful, but as U.S. success began to wane, their popularity in Europe, and especially the United Kingdom, increased. Indeed, the lighter 'pop' sound fashioned by McCoy and Hugo & Luigi gave the group a U.K. No. 1 in 1975 with "Can't Give You Anything (But My Love)". Further successes with "Sing Baby Sing", "Na Na Is The Saddest Word", "Funky Weekend" and "Can't Help Falling in Love" consolidated the group's European popularity. The Stylistics recorded "Disco Baby", "Love is the Answer" and "16 Bars" also. They are one of the few U.S. acts to have two chart-topping greatest hits albums in the U.K.
The Stylistics switched record labels during this period as Avco Records transitioned into H&L Records in 1976. Notwithstanding this, the band began to struggle with increasingly weak material, and although the singles and albums came out as before, by 1978 chart success had vanished; even a move to Mercury in 1978, for two albums produced by Teddy Randazzo, failed to produce any major success. Russell Thompkins Jr. wrote (in the sleevenotes for the re-issue of the 1976 album, Fabulous) that the group began to feel that the music they were recording was becoming dated, and not in keeping with the popular disco sound of the late 1970s.
In 1979, they had a small part in the movie Hair, directed by Miloš Forman, where they play conservative army officers. They double Nell Carter in singing a song called "White Boys".
Later years
In 1980, the group reunited with Thom Bell and signed with Philadelphia International Records subsidiary, TSOP Records. They released the single "Hurry Up This Way Again" that year which brought them back into the R&B Top 20 (peaking at No. 18). Both James Dunn and James Smith departed due to conflicts over the direction of the group; Dunn left before the recording of the album Hurry Up This Way Again (1980) and Smith after the recording of Closer Than Close in 1981. Nevertheless, the group continued, recruiting new member Raymond Johnson, but Johnson departed in 1985, leaving the group as a trio. Love, Murrell and Thompkins continued to tour until 2000, when Thompkins, Jr. left the group.
In 2000, singer Eban Brown (formerly of The Delfonics, The Manhattans, and Ray, Goodman and Brown) replaced Thompkins as lead singer. That same year, tenor singer Van Fields, who had previously sung with the A Cappella group "A Perfect Blend", joined, enabling The Stylistics to grow from a trio back to a quartet. The group was featured live on the DVD The Stylistics Live at the Convocation Center (2006), as well as with other artists of the 1970s on the DVD, 70s Soul Jam.
In 2004, after having left The Stylistics in 2000, former lead singer Thompkins launched his own group called Russell Thompkins Jr, & The New Stylistics, returning with former member Johnson, plus James Ranton and Jonathan Buckson. They were featured on the DVD Old School Soul Party Live!, which was part of the PBS My Music series.
In 2010, they released an album entitled, That Same Way by LAC Management.
In 2011, Fields departed from the group after 11 years, due to creative differences, and was replaced by singer Jason Sharp.
In January 2018, after 18 years with The Stylistics, Brown, who is also a jazz guitarist and composer, announced his departure to concentrate on his solo career. He since performed at venues in the States and overseas as a solo artist. Brown was initially replaced by Michael Muse, and after a few months, he was replaced by former Temptation Barrington "Bo" Henderson.
In 2018, The Stylistics celebrated their 50th. anniversary in the music industry. Their milestone was acknowledged at venues throughout the year during their 50th. Anniversary tour in the States and overseas.
As of 2020, the remaining members of the original group, Love and Murrell were still performing, continuing the Stylistics' legacy with their unit, while Thompkins and his New Stylistics continue to perform as well.
Personnel
Current members
Airrion Love (1968–Present)
Herb Murrell (1968–Present)
Jason Sharp (2011–Present)
Barrington "Bo" Henderson (2018–Present)
Former members
Russell Thompkins, Jr. (Lead) (1968 - 2000)
James Dunn (1968 - 1980)
James Smith (1968 - 1981)
Raymond Johnson (1981 - 1985)
Harold Eban Brown (Lead) (2000 - 2018)
Van Fields (2000 - 2011)
Discography
Awards and recognition
Inductions
In 1994, The Stylistics were inducted into The Philadelphia Music Alliance Walk of Fame.
The Stylistics were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2004.
RIAA Gold Certifications
Between January 1972 and August 1974 The Stylistics were awarded 5 gold singles and 3 gold albums.
January 3, 1972 - Single/"You Are Everything".
April 17, 1972 - Single/"Betcha By Golly Wow".
December 13, 1972 - Single/"I'm Stone In Love With You".
February 16, 1973 - Album/"The Stylistics".
April 6, 1973 - Single/"Break Up To Make Up".
June 14, 1973 - Album/"Round Two".
May 22, 1974 - Single/"You Make Me Feel Brand New".
August 12, 1974 - Album/"Let's Put It All Together".
Film/Television Appearances
The Stylistics television appearances.
Top of the Pops (TV Series)
The Stylistics appeared 10 times on Top of the Pops between 1972 and 1978.
Episode #15.14 (1978)
Episode #14.39 (1977)
Episode #14.15 (1977)
Episode #14.13 (1977)
Episode #13.16 (1976)
Top of the Pops '75: Part 2 (1975)
Episode #11.18 (1974)
Episode #11.4 (1974)
Episode #9.42 (1972)
Episode #9.30 (1972)
The Mike Douglas Show (TV Series)
The Stylistics appeared 6 times on the show between 1972 and 1978.
Episode #17.219 (1978)
Episode #15.217 (1976)
Episode #15.143 (1976)
Episode #14.155 (1975)
Episode #14.40 (1974)
Episode #12.80 (1972)
The Midnight Special (TV Series)
The Stylistics appeared in 4 episodes of the show.
4th appearance (1974)
3rd appearance (1973)
2nd appearance (1973)
1st appearance (1973)
Soul Train TV Series
The Stylistic appeared in 2 episodes of Soul Train.
Episode #10.15 (1984)
Episode #3.27 (1974)
Friday Night with Jonathan Ross (TV Series)
Episode #17.9 (2009)
Showtime at the Apollo TV Series
Episode #17.15 (2004)
Sinbad's "Soul Music Festival: Part 5 1999"
The Stylistics appeared on the TV Special that took place in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands and was aired on HBO
The Vera Lynn Show (TV Series)
Episode #2.1 (1975)
Saturday Night Live TV Series
In 1975, The Stylistics appeared on the 1st season of Saturday Night Live.
Episode #1.8 (1975)
Dinah! TV Series
The Stylistics appeared on the 1st season of The Dinah Shore TV Show.
Episode #1.181 (1974)
Your Hit Parade (TV Series)
Episode #2 (1974)
Don Kirshner's Rock Concert TV Show
Episode #2.3 (1974)
See also
List of soul musicians
List of R&B musicians
List of disco artists (S-Z)
List of people from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Music of Philadelphia
List of artists who reached number one on the UK Singles Chart
List of guests appearing on The Midnight Special
List of performers on Top of the Pops
References
External links
Official website
African-American musical groups
American soul musical groups
Vocal quintets
Musical groups established in 1968
Musical groups from Philadelphia
Philadelphia International Records artists
Ballad music groups
Avco Records artists | true | [
"The Sikkim football team is an Indian football team representing Sikkim in the Santosh Trophy.\n\nThey have appeared in the Santosh Trophy finals 4 times.\n\nHistory\nThe Sikkim football team represents Sikkim, a former protectorate and now state of India. When a protectorate, they were not affiliated with FIFA or the Asian Football Confederation, and therefore did not compete for the FIFA World Cup or Asian Cup.\n\nThey compete in the Santosh Trophy as they did when independent, but they have never won the trophy.\n\nCurrent squad\n\nHonours \n B.C. Roy Trophy\n Runners-up (1): 1998–99\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\nList of matches in Roon Ba\n\nFootball in Sikkim\nSantosh Trophy teams",
"Bank FC is a football club based Laos. They last played in the Lao League, the top national football league in Laos in 2011 when they finished runners up to Lao Police Club. They did not participate in the 2012 season. They had previously participated in the Lao League in 2010 when they competed under the name Bank of Lao. Prior to this they appear to have competed in the Lao League under the name Bank in 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007. A team called Banks FC entered the Lao League in 2008 who may be the same team\n\nSponsors\n\nHonours\n\nLao Premier League\nWinners (2): 2001, 2010\nPrime Minister's Cup\nWinners (2): 2010, 2011\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n\nFootball clubs in Laos"
] |
[
"The Stylistics",
"Success: The Bell/Creed years",
"How was it when Bell and Creed were together?",
"\". Bell imported techniques he had perfected with The Delfonics and his musical arrangements worked perfectly with Thompkins' falsetto vocals.",
"When did they team up?",
"1971"
] | C_a084fc97977b420f9f868be0473ff7b5_1 | How did they meet? | 3 | How did Bell and Creed meet? | The Stylistics | After signing to Avco, the record label approached producer Thom Bell, who had already produced a catalogue of hits for The Delfonics, to work with the group. The Stylistics auditioned for Bell, but he was initially unimpressed. He ultimately agreed to produce the group because he believed in the potential of lead singer, Russell Thompkins, Jr.'s distinctive, nasal high tenor & falsetto voice. Avco gave Bell complete creative control over the Stylistics and he proceeded to focus the group's sound exclusively around Thompkins's voice. On most of the group hits, Bell would have Thompkins sing virtually solo. The first song recorded with Bell and his collaborator, lyricist Linda Creed, was the lush "Stop, Look, Listen". Bell imported techniques he had perfected with The Delfonics and his musical arrangements worked perfectly with Thompkins' falsetto vocals. Their hits from this period --distilled from three albums-- included "Betcha by Golly, Wow" (U.S. #3), "I'm Stone in Love with You", "Break Up to Make Up" (U.S. #5), "You Make Me Feel Brand New" featuring Thompkins singing a rare lead vocal duet with Airrion Love, the aforementioned "Stop, Look, Listen", "You Are Everything", and the Top 20 Pop hit "Rockin' Roll Baby" (U.S. #14). "You Make Me Feel Brand New" was the group's biggest U.S. hit, holding at No. 2 for two weeks just as the spring of 1974 turned to summer, and was one of the group's five U.S. gold singles. The Stylistics' smooth sound also found an easier path on to adult contemporary airwaves than many other soul artists and the group made Billboard magazine's Easy Listening singles chart twelve times from 1971 to 1976, with three entries ("Betcha by Golly, Wow", "You Make Me Feel Brand New", and "You'll Never Get to Heaven (If You Break My Heart)") reaching the Top 10. Every single that Bell produced for the Stylistics was a Top Ten R&B hit, and several--"You Are Everything", "Betcha by Golly Wow!", "I'm Stone in Love with You", "Break Up to Make Up", and "You Make Me Feel Brand New"--were also Top Ten pop chart hits. The group also enjoyed commercial success with big hits with this material throughout Europe. CANNOTANSWER | CANNOTANSWER | The Stylistics are an American, Philadelphia soul group that achieved their greatest chart success in the 1970s. They formed in 1968, with a lineup of singers Russell Thompkins Jr., Herb Murrell, Airrion Love, James Smith and James Dunn. All of their US hits were ballads characterized by the falsetto of Russell Thompkins Jr. and the production of Thom Bell. During the early 1970s, the group had twelve consecutive R&B top ten hits, including "Stop, Look, Listen", "You Are Everything", "Betcha by Golly, Wow", "I'm Stone in Love with You", "Break Up to Make Up" and "You Make Me Feel Brand New", which earned them 5 gold singles and 3 gold albums.
Career
Early years
The Stylistics were created from two Philadelphia groups, The Percussions and The Monarchs. Russell Thompkins Jr., James Smith and Airrion Love came from the Monarchs, and James Dunn and Herb Murrell came from the Percussions. In 1970, the group recorded "You're a Big Girl Now", a song their road manager Marty Bryant co-wrote with Robert Douglas, a member of their backing band Slim and the Boys, and the single became a regional hit for Sebring Records. Producer Bill Perry spent $400 to record the song in the Virtue Studios in Philadelphia. The larger Avco Records soon signed the Stylistics, and the single eventually climbed to No. 7 on the US Billboard R&B chart in early 1971.
Success: The Bell/Creed years
After signing to Avco, the record label approached producer Thom Bell, who had already produced a catalogue of hits for The Delfonics, to work with the group. The Stylistics auditioned for Bell, but he was initially unimpressed. He ultimately agreed to produce the group because he believed in the potential of lead singer Russell Thompkins, Jr.'s distinctive, nasal high tenor and falsetto voice. Avco gave Bell complete creative control over the Stylistics and he proceeded to focus the group's sound exclusively around Thompkins's voice. On most of the group hits, Bell would have Thompkins sing virtually solo.
The first song recorded with Bell and his collaborator, lyricist Linda Creed, was "Stop, Look, Listen".
Their hits from this period — distilled from three albums — included "Betcha by Golly, Wow" (U.S. No. 3), "I'm Stone in Love with You", "Break Up to Make Up" (U.S. No. 5), "You Make Me Feel Brand New" featuring Thompkins singing a lead vocal duet with Airrion Love, "Stop, Look, Listen (To Your Heart)", "You Are Everything" and the Top 20 pop chart hit "Rockin' Roll Baby" (U.S. No. 14). "You Make Me Feel Brand New", the group's biggest U.S. hit, holding at No. 2 for two weeks in 1974, was one of the group's five U.S. gold singles.
The Stylistics also found a path on to adult contemporary airwaves, and the group made Billboard magazine's Easy Listening singles chart twelve times from 1971 to 1976, with three entries ("Betcha by Golly, Wow", "You Make Me Feel Brand New" and "You'll Never Get to Heaven (If You Break My Heart)") reaching the Top 10. Every single that Bell produced for the Stylistics was a Top Ten R&B hit, and several — "You Are Everything", "Betcha by Golly Wow!", "I'm Stone in Love with You", "Break Up to Make Up" and "You Make Me Feel Brand New" — were also Top Ten pop chart hits. The group also enjoyed commercial success with hits with this material throughout Europe.
Changing style: Continuing international success
Thom Bell stopped working with the Stylistics in 1974, and the split proved commercially difficult for the group in the U.S. They struggled to find the right material, although their partnership with label owners Hugo & Luigi as producers and arranger Van McCoy started well, with "Let's Put It All Together" (No. 18 pop, No. 8 R&B) and "Heavy Fallin' Out" (No. 4 R&B, No. 41 pop). Later singles were notably less successful, but as U.S. success began to wane, their popularity in Europe, and especially the United Kingdom, increased. Indeed, the lighter 'pop' sound fashioned by McCoy and Hugo & Luigi gave the group a U.K. No. 1 in 1975 with "Can't Give You Anything (But My Love)". Further successes with "Sing Baby Sing", "Na Na Is The Saddest Word", "Funky Weekend" and "Can't Help Falling in Love" consolidated the group's European popularity. The Stylistics recorded "Disco Baby", "Love is the Answer" and "16 Bars" also. They are one of the few U.S. acts to have two chart-topping greatest hits albums in the U.K.
The Stylistics switched record labels during this period as Avco Records transitioned into H&L Records in 1976. Notwithstanding this, the band began to struggle with increasingly weak material, and although the singles and albums came out as before, by 1978 chart success had vanished; even a move to Mercury in 1978, for two albums produced by Teddy Randazzo, failed to produce any major success. Russell Thompkins Jr. wrote (in the sleevenotes for the re-issue of the 1976 album, Fabulous) that the group began to feel that the music they were recording was becoming dated, and not in keeping with the popular disco sound of the late 1970s.
In 1979, they had a small part in the movie Hair, directed by Miloš Forman, where they play conservative army officers. They double Nell Carter in singing a song called "White Boys".
Later years
In 1980, the group reunited with Thom Bell and signed with Philadelphia International Records subsidiary, TSOP Records. They released the single "Hurry Up This Way Again" that year which brought them back into the R&B Top 20 (peaking at No. 18). Both James Dunn and James Smith departed due to conflicts over the direction of the group; Dunn left before the recording of the album Hurry Up This Way Again (1980) and Smith after the recording of Closer Than Close in 1981. Nevertheless, the group continued, recruiting new member Raymond Johnson, but Johnson departed in 1985, leaving the group as a trio. Love, Murrell and Thompkins continued to tour until 2000, when Thompkins, Jr. left the group.
In 2000, singer Eban Brown (formerly of The Delfonics, The Manhattans, and Ray, Goodman and Brown) replaced Thompkins as lead singer. That same year, tenor singer Van Fields, who had previously sung with the A Cappella group "A Perfect Blend", joined, enabling The Stylistics to grow from a trio back to a quartet. The group was featured live on the DVD The Stylistics Live at the Convocation Center (2006), as well as with other artists of the 1970s on the DVD, 70s Soul Jam.
In 2004, after having left The Stylistics in 2000, former lead singer Thompkins launched his own group called Russell Thompkins Jr, & The New Stylistics, returning with former member Johnson, plus James Ranton and Jonathan Buckson. They were featured on the DVD Old School Soul Party Live!, which was part of the PBS My Music series.
In 2010, they released an album entitled, That Same Way by LAC Management.
In 2011, Fields departed from the group after 11 years, due to creative differences, and was replaced by singer Jason Sharp.
In January 2018, after 18 years with The Stylistics, Brown, who is also a jazz guitarist and composer, announced his departure to concentrate on his solo career. He since performed at venues in the States and overseas as a solo artist. Brown was initially replaced by Michael Muse, and after a few months, he was replaced by former Temptation Barrington "Bo" Henderson.
In 2018, The Stylistics celebrated their 50th. anniversary in the music industry. Their milestone was acknowledged at venues throughout the year during their 50th. Anniversary tour in the States and overseas.
As of 2020, the remaining members of the original group, Love and Murrell were still performing, continuing the Stylistics' legacy with their unit, while Thompkins and his New Stylistics continue to perform as well.
Personnel
Current members
Airrion Love (1968–Present)
Herb Murrell (1968–Present)
Jason Sharp (2011–Present)
Barrington "Bo" Henderson (2018–Present)
Former members
Russell Thompkins, Jr. (Lead) (1968 - 2000)
James Dunn (1968 - 1980)
James Smith (1968 - 1981)
Raymond Johnson (1981 - 1985)
Harold Eban Brown (Lead) (2000 - 2018)
Van Fields (2000 - 2011)
Discography
Awards and recognition
Inductions
In 1994, The Stylistics were inducted into The Philadelphia Music Alliance Walk of Fame.
The Stylistics were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2004.
RIAA Gold Certifications
Between January 1972 and August 1974 The Stylistics were awarded 5 gold singles and 3 gold albums.
January 3, 1972 - Single/"You Are Everything".
April 17, 1972 - Single/"Betcha By Golly Wow".
December 13, 1972 - Single/"I'm Stone In Love With You".
February 16, 1973 - Album/"The Stylistics".
April 6, 1973 - Single/"Break Up To Make Up".
June 14, 1973 - Album/"Round Two".
May 22, 1974 - Single/"You Make Me Feel Brand New".
August 12, 1974 - Album/"Let's Put It All Together".
Film/Television Appearances
The Stylistics television appearances.
Top of the Pops (TV Series)
The Stylistics appeared 10 times on Top of the Pops between 1972 and 1978.
Episode #15.14 (1978)
Episode #14.39 (1977)
Episode #14.15 (1977)
Episode #14.13 (1977)
Episode #13.16 (1976)
Top of the Pops '75: Part 2 (1975)
Episode #11.18 (1974)
Episode #11.4 (1974)
Episode #9.42 (1972)
Episode #9.30 (1972)
The Mike Douglas Show (TV Series)
The Stylistics appeared 6 times on the show between 1972 and 1978.
Episode #17.219 (1978)
Episode #15.217 (1976)
Episode #15.143 (1976)
Episode #14.155 (1975)
Episode #14.40 (1974)
Episode #12.80 (1972)
The Midnight Special (TV Series)
The Stylistics appeared in 4 episodes of the show.
4th appearance (1974)
3rd appearance (1973)
2nd appearance (1973)
1st appearance (1973)
Soul Train TV Series
The Stylistic appeared in 2 episodes of Soul Train.
Episode #10.15 (1984)
Episode #3.27 (1974)
Friday Night with Jonathan Ross (TV Series)
Episode #17.9 (2009)
Showtime at the Apollo TV Series
Episode #17.15 (2004)
Sinbad's "Soul Music Festival: Part 5 1999"
The Stylistics appeared on the TV Special that took place in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands and was aired on HBO
The Vera Lynn Show (TV Series)
Episode #2.1 (1975)
Saturday Night Live TV Series
In 1975, The Stylistics appeared on the 1st season of Saturday Night Live.
Episode #1.8 (1975)
Dinah! TV Series
The Stylistics appeared on the 1st season of The Dinah Shore TV Show.
Episode #1.181 (1974)
Your Hit Parade (TV Series)
Episode #2 (1974)
Don Kirshner's Rock Concert TV Show
Episode #2.3 (1974)
See also
List of soul musicians
List of R&B musicians
List of disco artists (S-Z)
List of people from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Music of Philadelphia
List of artists who reached number one on the UK Singles Chart
List of guests appearing on The Midnight Special
List of performers on Top of the Pops
References
External links
Official website
African-American musical groups
American soul musical groups
Vocal quintets
Musical groups established in 1968
Musical groups from Philadelphia
Philadelphia International Records artists
Ballad music groups
Avco Records artists | false | [
"Sarah Kramer is a Canadian vegan cookbook author. She is the best-selling author of How It All Vegan, The Garden of Vegan, La Dolce Vegan! and Vegan A Go-Go!. In 2012, she released Go Vegan! w/Sarah Kramer, one of the world's first vegan cookbook iPhone/iPad apps. \nKramer has written for publications such as Herbivore Magazine, Veg News and Shared Vision. She runs a popular vegan website/blog at govegan.net. She had a small vegan boutique called Sarah's Place that opened in 2011 and closed 2 years later after a diagnosis of breast cancer. Sarah did treatment in 2013 and now works full time at the business Tattoo Zoo that she co-owns with her wife, Geri Kramer in Victoria, BC. Sarah and Geri have a podcast called Meet The Kramers in which they discuss their 25-year marriage in relation to Geri's coming out as a trans woman in 2019.\n\nBooks\n How It All Vegan (with Tanya Barnard) (1999) \n The Garden Of Vegan (with Tanya Barnard) (2003) \n La Dolce Vegan (2005) \n Vegan A Go-Go! (2008) \n How It All Vegan: 10th Anniversary Edition (2009)\n\nPodcast \n\n Meet The Kramers podcast\n\nSee also\n Vegan\n List of vegans\n\nReferences\n\nInterviews and articles\n Article in Shared Vision\n Podcast Interview on Vegan Freak Radio\n Interview with The Cookbook Store\n Interview with Abebooks.com\n\nExternal links\n Meet The Kramers podcast\n Tattoo Zoo\n Sarah's Blog\n GoVegan.net, Sarah's website\n Arsenal Pulp Press, Sarah's publisher\n\nChefs of vegan cuisine\nCanadian women chefs\nCanadian food writers\nYear of birth missing (living people)\nLiving people\nWriters from Regina, Saskatchewan\nCanadian cookbook writers\nVegan cookbook writers",
"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"
] |
[
"The Stylistics",
"Success: The Bell/Creed years",
"How was it when Bell and Creed were together?",
"\". Bell imported techniques he had perfected with The Delfonics and his musical arrangements worked perfectly with Thompkins' falsetto vocals.",
"When did they team up?",
"1971",
"How did they meet?",
"I don't know."
] | C_a084fc97977b420f9f868be0473ff7b5_1 | What was the first thing they produced together? | 4 | What was the first thing Bell and Creed produced together? | The Stylistics | After signing to Avco, the record label approached producer Thom Bell, who had already produced a catalogue of hits for The Delfonics, to work with the group. The Stylistics auditioned for Bell, but he was initially unimpressed. He ultimately agreed to produce the group because he believed in the potential of lead singer, Russell Thompkins, Jr.'s distinctive, nasal high tenor & falsetto voice. Avco gave Bell complete creative control over the Stylistics and he proceeded to focus the group's sound exclusively around Thompkins's voice. On most of the group hits, Bell would have Thompkins sing virtually solo. The first song recorded with Bell and his collaborator, lyricist Linda Creed, was the lush "Stop, Look, Listen". Bell imported techniques he had perfected with The Delfonics and his musical arrangements worked perfectly with Thompkins' falsetto vocals. Their hits from this period --distilled from three albums-- included "Betcha by Golly, Wow" (U.S. #3), "I'm Stone in Love with You", "Break Up to Make Up" (U.S. #5), "You Make Me Feel Brand New" featuring Thompkins singing a rare lead vocal duet with Airrion Love, the aforementioned "Stop, Look, Listen", "You Are Everything", and the Top 20 Pop hit "Rockin' Roll Baby" (U.S. #14). "You Make Me Feel Brand New" was the group's biggest U.S. hit, holding at No. 2 for two weeks just as the spring of 1974 turned to summer, and was one of the group's five U.S. gold singles. The Stylistics' smooth sound also found an easier path on to adult contemporary airwaves than many other soul artists and the group made Billboard magazine's Easy Listening singles chart twelve times from 1971 to 1976, with three entries ("Betcha by Golly, Wow", "You Make Me Feel Brand New", and "You'll Never Get to Heaven (If You Break My Heart)") reaching the Top 10. Every single that Bell produced for the Stylistics was a Top Ten R&B hit, and several--"You Are Everything", "Betcha by Golly Wow!", "I'm Stone in Love with You", "Break Up to Make Up", and "You Make Me Feel Brand New"--were also Top Ten pop chart hits. The group also enjoyed commercial success with big hits with this material throughout Europe. CANNOTANSWER | "Betcha by Golly, Wow" (U.S. #3), " | The Stylistics are an American, Philadelphia soul group that achieved their greatest chart success in the 1970s. They formed in 1968, with a lineup of singers Russell Thompkins Jr., Herb Murrell, Airrion Love, James Smith and James Dunn. All of their US hits were ballads characterized by the falsetto of Russell Thompkins Jr. and the production of Thom Bell. During the early 1970s, the group had twelve consecutive R&B top ten hits, including "Stop, Look, Listen", "You Are Everything", "Betcha by Golly, Wow", "I'm Stone in Love with You", "Break Up to Make Up" and "You Make Me Feel Brand New", which earned them 5 gold singles and 3 gold albums.
Career
Early years
The Stylistics were created from two Philadelphia groups, The Percussions and The Monarchs. Russell Thompkins Jr., James Smith and Airrion Love came from the Monarchs, and James Dunn and Herb Murrell came from the Percussions. In 1970, the group recorded "You're a Big Girl Now", a song their road manager Marty Bryant co-wrote with Robert Douglas, a member of their backing band Slim and the Boys, and the single became a regional hit for Sebring Records. Producer Bill Perry spent $400 to record the song in the Virtue Studios in Philadelphia. The larger Avco Records soon signed the Stylistics, and the single eventually climbed to No. 7 on the US Billboard R&B chart in early 1971.
Success: The Bell/Creed years
After signing to Avco, the record label approached producer Thom Bell, who had already produced a catalogue of hits for The Delfonics, to work with the group. The Stylistics auditioned for Bell, but he was initially unimpressed. He ultimately agreed to produce the group because he believed in the potential of lead singer Russell Thompkins, Jr.'s distinctive, nasal high tenor and falsetto voice. Avco gave Bell complete creative control over the Stylistics and he proceeded to focus the group's sound exclusively around Thompkins's voice. On most of the group hits, Bell would have Thompkins sing virtually solo.
The first song recorded with Bell and his collaborator, lyricist Linda Creed, was "Stop, Look, Listen".
Their hits from this period — distilled from three albums — included "Betcha by Golly, Wow" (U.S. No. 3), "I'm Stone in Love with You", "Break Up to Make Up" (U.S. No. 5), "You Make Me Feel Brand New" featuring Thompkins singing a lead vocal duet with Airrion Love, "Stop, Look, Listen (To Your Heart)", "You Are Everything" and the Top 20 pop chart hit "Rockin' Roll Baby" (U.S. No. 14). "You Make Me Feel Brand New", the group's biggest U.S. hit, holding at No. 2 for two weeks in 1974, was one of the group's five U.S. gold singles.
The Stylistics also found a path on to adult contemporary airwaves, and the group made Billboard magazine's Easy Listening singles chart twelve times from 1971 to 1976, with three entries ("Betcha by Golly, Wow", "You Make Me Feel Brand New" and "You'll Never Get to Heaven (If You Break My Heart)") reaching the Top 10. Every single that Bell produced for the Stylistics was a Top Ten R&B hit, and several — "You Are Everything", "Betcha by Golly Wow!", "I'm Stone in Love with You", "Break Up to Make Up" and "You Make Me Feel Brand New" — were also Top Ten pop chart hits. The group also enjoyed commercial success with hits with this material throughout Europe.
Changing style: Continuing international success
Thom Bell stopped working with the Stylistics in 1974, and the split proved commercially difficult for the group in the U.S. They struggled to find the right material, although their partnership with label owners Hugo & Luigi as producers and arranger Van McCoy started well, with "Let's Put It All Together" (No. 18 pop, No. 8 R&B) and "Heavy Fallin' Out" (No. 4 R&B, No. 41 pop). Later singles were notably less successful, but as U.S. success began to wane, their popularity in Europe, and especially the United Kingdom, increased. Indeed, the lighter 'pop' sound fashioned by McCoy and Hugo & Luigi gave the group a U.K. No. 1 in 1975 with "Can't Give You Anything (But My Love)". Further successes with "Sing Baby Sing", "Na Na Is The Saddest Word", "Funky Weekend" and "Can't Help Falling in Love" consolidated the group's European popularity. The Stylistics recorded "Disco Baby", "Love is the Answer" and "16 Bars" also. They are one of the few U.S. acts to have two chart-topping greatest hits albums in the U.K.
The Stylistics switched record labels during this period as Avco Records transitioned into H&L Records in 1976. Notwithstanding this, the band began to struggle with increasingly weak material, and although the singles and albums came out as before, by 1978 chart success had vanished; even a move to Mercury in 1978, for two albums produced by Teddy Randazzo, failed to produce any major success. Russell Thompkins Jr. wrote (in the sleevenotes for the re-issue of the 1976 album, Fabulous) that the group began to feel that the music they were recording was becoming dated, and not in keeping with the popular disco sound of the late 1970s.
In 1979, they had a small part in the movie Hair, directed by Miloš Forman, where they play conservative army officers. They double Nell Carter in singing a song called "White Boys".
Later years
In 1980, the group reunited with Thom Bell and signed with Philadelphia International Records subsidiary, TSOP Records. They released the single "Hurry Up This Way Again" that year which brought them back into the R&B Top 20 (peaking at No. 18). Both James Dunn and James Smith departed due to conflicts over the direction of the group; Dunn left before the recording of the album Hurry Up This Way Again (1980) and Smith after the recording of Closer Than Close in 1981. Nevertheless, the group continued, recruiting new member Raymond Johnson, but Johnson departed in 1985, leaving the group as a trio. Love, Murrell and Thompkins continued to tour until 2000, when Thompkins, Jr. left the group.
In 2000, singer Eban Brown (formerly of The Delfonics, The Manhattans, and Ray, Goodman and Brown) replaced Thompkins as lead singer. That same year, tenor singer Van Fields, who had previously sung with the A Cappella group "A Perfect Blend", joined, enabling The Stylistics to grow from a trio back to a quartet. The group was featured live on the DVD The Stylistics Live at the Convocation Center (2006), as well as with other artists of the 1970s on the DVD, 70s Soul Jam.
In 2004, after having left The Stylistics in 2000, former lead singer Thompkins launched his own group called Russell Thompkins Jr, & The New Stylistics, returning with former member Johnson, plus James Ranton and Jonathan Buckson. They were featured on the DVD Old School Soul Party Live!, which was part of the PBS My Music series.
In 2010, they released an album entitled, That Same Way by LAC Management.
In 2011, Fields departed from the group after 11 years, due to creative differences, and was replaced by singer Jason Sharp.
In January 2018, after 18 years with The Stylistics, Brown, who is also a jazz guitarist and composer, announced his departure to concentrate on his solo career. He since performed at venues in the States and overseas as a solo artist. Brown was initially replaced by Michael Muse, and after a few months, he was replaced by former Temptation Barrington "Bo" Henderson.
In 2018, The Stylistics celebrated their 50th. anniversary in the music industry. Their milestone was acknowledged at venues throughout the year during their 50th. Anniversary tour in the States and overseas.
As of 2020, the remaining members of the original group, Love and Murrell were still performing, continuing the Stylistics' legacy with their unit, while Thompkins and his New Stylistics continue to perform as well.
Personnel
Current members
Airrion Love (1968–Present)
Herb Murrell (1968–Present)
Jason Sharp (2011–Present)
Barrington "Bo" Henderson (2018–Present)
Former members
Russell Thompkins, Jr. (Lead) (1968 - 2000)
James Dunn (1968 - 1980)
James Smith (1968 - 1981)
Raymond Johnson (1981 - 1985)
Harold Eban Brown (Lead) (2000 - 2018)
Van Fields (2000 - 2011)
Discography
Awards and recognition
Inductions
In 1994, The Stylistics were inducted into The Philadelphia Music Alliance Walk of Fame.
The Stylistics were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2004.
RIAA Gold Certifications
Between January 1972 and August 1974 The Stylistics were awarded 5 gold singles and 3 gold albums.
January 3, 1972 - Single/"You Are Everything".
April 17, 1972 - Single/"Betcha By Golly Wow".
December 13, 1972 - Single/"I'm Stone In Love With You".
February 16, 1973 - Album/"The Stylistics".
April 6, 1973 - Single/"Break Up To Make Up".
June 14, 1973 - Album/"Round Two".
May 22, 1974 - Single/"You Make Me Feel Brand New".
August 12, 1974 - Album/"Let's Put It All Together".
Film/Television Appearances
The Stylistics television appearances.
Top of the Pops (TV Series)
The Stylistics appeared 10 times on Top of the Pops between 1972 and 1978.
Episode #15.14 (1978)
Episode #14.39 (1977)
Episode #14.15 (1977)
Episode #14.13 (1977)
Episode #13.16 (1976)
Top of the Pops '75: Part 2 (1975)
Episode #11.18 (1974)
Episode #11.4 (1974)
Episode #9.42 (1972)
Episode #9.30 (1972)
The Mike Douglas Show (TV Series)
The Stylistics appeared 6 times on the show between 1972 and 1978.
Episode #17.219 (1978)
Episode #15.217 (1976)
Episode #15.143 (1976)
Episode #14.155 (1975)
Episode #14.40 (1974)
Episode #12.80 (1972)
The Midnight Special (TV Series)
The Stylistics appeared in 4 episodes of the show.
4th appearance (1974)
3rd appearance (1973)
2nd appearance (1973)
1st appearance (1973)
Soul Train TV Series
The Stylistic appeared in 2 episodes of Soul Train.
Episode #10.15 (1984)
Episode #3.27 (1974)
Friday Night with Jonathan Ross (TV Series)
Episode #17.9 (2009)
Showtime at the Apollo TV Series
Episode #17.15 (2004)
Sinbad's "Soul Music Festival: Part 5 1999"
The Stylistics appeared on the TV Special that took place in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands and was aired on HBO
The Vera Lynn Show (TV Series)
Episode #2.1 (1975)
Saturday Night Live TV Series
In 1975, The Stylistics appeared on the 1st season of Saturday Night Live.
Episode #1.8 (1975)
Dinah! TV Series
The Stylistics appeared on the 1st season of The Dinah Shore TV Show.
Episode #1.181 (1974)
Your Hit Parade (TV Series)
Episode #2 (1974)
Don Kirshner's Rock Concert TV Show
Episode #2.3 (1974)
See also
List of soul musicians
List of R&B musicians
List of disco artists (S-Z)
List of people from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Music of Philadelphia
List of artists who reached number one on the UK Singles Chart
List of guests appearing on The Midnight Special
List of performers on Top of the Pops
References
External links
Official website
African-American musical groups
American soul musical groups
Vocal quintets
Musical groups established in 1968
Musical groups from Philadelphia
Philadelphia International Records artists
Ballad music groups
Avco Records artists | false | [
"\"Love Is a Sometimes Thing\" is a song written by Jan Howard. It was first recorded by American country singer-songwriter Bill Anderson. It was released as a single in 1970 via Decca Records and became a major hit the same year.\n\nBackground and release\n\"Love Is a Sometimes Thing\" was recorded on October 21, 1969, at the Bradley Studio, located in Nashville, Tennessee. The sessions were produced by Owen Bradley, who would serve as Anderson's producer through most of years with Decca Records. Two additional tracks were recorded during the same recording session: \"Not Really Living at All\" and \"I Don't Have Any Place to Go.\" The song's composer, Jan Howard, was a frequent musical collaborator of Anderson's. Together, they co-wrote Connie Smith's 1970 hit \"I Never Once Stopped Loving You.\" The pair also recorded several duets together, including the number one hit \"For Loving You.\"\n\n\"Love Is a Sometimes Thing\" was released as a single by Decca Records in January 1970. Anderson's backing band, The Po' Boys, received equal billing on the single's release. The song spent 15 weeks on the Billboard Hot Country Singles before reaching number five in May 1970. In Canada, the single reached number 10 on the RPM Country Songs chart. It was later released on his 1970 studio album, also called Love Is a Sometimes Thing.\n\nTrack listings\n7\" vinyl single\n \"Love Is a Sometimes Thing\" – 3:01\n \"And I'm Still Missing You\" – 2:23\n\nChart performance\n\nReferences\n\n1970 singles\n1970 songs\nBill Anderson (singer) songs\nDecca Records singles\nSong recordings produced by Owen Bradley\nSongs written by Jan Howard",
"G.I.T.: Get It Together (a.k.a. Get It Together) is the eighth studio album by the Jackson 5, released in September 1973 for the Motown label.\n\nDuring the group's last years with Motown, the label struggled to come up with material for the group. As a result, the Jackson 5 fell into a period from 1973 to 1974 where they scored no Top 10 singles. By this point, most of the Jackson 5's members, and their manager/father Joseph, were vocally complaining about the group's direction, with Michael becoming the most outspoken. The only member not to complain about Motown's handling of the act was Jermaine, who married Motown head Berry Gordy's daughter Hazel three months after the release of the album. G.I.T.: Get It Together sold over two million copies worldwide.\n\nThe album was arranged by Arthur G. Wright, David Blumberg and James Anthony Carmichael.\n\nNotability\nG.I.T.: Get It Together was the first album to feature lead singer Michael's noticeable growth spurt, now with a slightly deeper, full-fledged tenor singing voice, as he was 14 when the album was recorded and 15 when it came out. The overall sound of the group changed as well. It was also on this album that he first employed what became known as his \"vocal hiccup\", notably on the song \"It's Too Late to Change the Time\". As Motown frowned on any sort of control being relinquished to the group, Michael semi-retired the hiccup until his solo career at Epic Records began in earnest with Off the Wall in 1979.\n\nGet It Together was one of the earliest albums to experiment with a pre-disco sound, released at a time before the genre was mainstream. The album was a breakaway from the group's bubblegum soul sound as they came up with a more funk-oriented album similar to the Temptations' Norman Whitfield-produced albums. Two of Whitfield's Temptations songs — \"You Need Love Like I Do (Don't You)\" and \"Hum Along and Dance\"— appeared on Get It Together. Whitfield's group the Undisputed Truth also recorded the original version of \"Mama, I Got A Brand New Thing (Don't Say No)\", which appears here in a 7-minute long version with all of the Jacksons singing.\n\nThe sequence of songs was also carefully arranged for Get It Together. There was no silence separating one song from the other. Each track flowed together thematically, a technique borrowed from Stevie Wonder's landmark album Music of My Mind, released the year prior.\n\nThe title track, \"Get It Together\", was a modest pop hit for the group reaching No. 28, while the album-closing \"Dancing Machine\" became a smash pop hit, reaching No. 2 on the pop chart and briefly restoring the Jackson 5 back to their former success.\n\nGet It Together was also the first Jackson 5 album to feature all five Jackson brothers sharing lead vocals, giving the album a more group unified aura. Marlon, in particular, is prominently featured on \"Mama, I Got A Brand New Thing\" and Jackie and Tito lead the brothers through \"Hum Along and Dance\". Jackie released a solo album a month later. In addition, the album did not feature production or songwriting from any of the now-disbanded Corporation. Motown head Berry Gordy, a member of the Corporation, was busy expanding his Motown empire into movie ventures, mostly starring Diana Ross.\n\nReception\n\nRolling Stone's Vince Aletti stated that \"it's their most energetic and exciting work since 'ABC,' and an album that should finally break them out of the just-kids market once and for all.\"\n\nTrack listing\nLead vocals are as of noted in superscripts: (a) Michael Jackson, (b) Jermaine Jackson, (c) Jackie Jackson, (d) Tito Jackson, (e) Marlon Jackson.\n\nSide One\n\"Get It Together\" (Hal Davis, Donald Fletcher, Berry Gordy, Mel Larson, Jerry Marcellino) a, b – 2:48\n\"Don't Say Goodbye Again\" (Pam Sawyer, Leon Ware) a – 3:24\n\"Reflections\" (originally by Diana Ross & the Supremes) (Lamont Dozier, Edward Holland, Jr., Brian Holland) a, b – 2:58\n\"Hum Along and Dance\" (originally by the Temptations) (Barrett Strong, Norman Whitfield) a, b, c, d, e – 8:37\n\nSide Two\n\"Mama, I Got A Brand New Thing (Don't Say No)\" (originally by the Undisputed Truth) (Norman Whitfield) a, b, c, d, e – 7:11\n\"It's Too Late to Change the Time\" (Pam Sawyer, Leon Ware) a – 3:57\n\"You Need Love Like I Do (Don't You)\" (originally by Gladys Knight & the Pips) (Barrett Strong, Norman Whitfield) a, b – 3:45\n\"Dancing Machine\" (Hal Davis, Donald Fletcher, Dean Parks) a, b – 3:27\n\nRe-release\nIn 2001, Motown Records remastered all J5 albums in a \"Two Classic Albums/One CD\" series (much like they did in the late 1980s). This album was paired up with Skywriter. The bonus tracks were the outtakes \"Pride and Joy\", \"Love's Gone Bad\" and \"Love Is the Thing You Need\". \"Love Is the Thing You Need\" and \"Pride and Joy\" were released on Joyful Jukebox Music in 1976, and \"Love's Gone Bad\" was released on Boogie'' in 1979.\n\nCharts\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n Get It Together overview at www.jackson5abc.com\n\n1973 albums\nThe Jackson 5 albums\nMotown albums\nAlbums produced by Hal Davis\nAlbums produced by Norman Whitfield"
] |
[
"The Stylistics",
"Success: The Bell/Creed years",
"How was it when Bell and Creed were together?",
"\". Bell imported techniques he had perfected with The Delfonics and his musical arrangements worked perfectly with Thompkins' falsetto vocals.",
"When did they team up?",
"1971",
"How did they meet?",
"I don't know.",
"What was the first thing they produced together?",
"\"Betcha by Golly, Wow\" (U.S. #3), \""
] | C_a084fc97977b420f9f868be0473ff7b5_1 | What album was it on? | 5 | What album was "Betcha by Golly, Wow" on? | The Stylistics | After signing to Avco, the record label approached producer Thom Bell, who had already produced a catalogue of hits for The Delfonics, to work with the group. The Stylistics auditioned for Bell, but he was initially unimpressed. He ultimately agreed to produce the group because he believed in the potential of lead singer, Russell Thompkins, Jr.'s distinctive, nasal high tenor & falsetto voice. Avco gave Bell complete creative control over the Stylistics and he proceeded to focus the group's sound exclusively around Thompkins's voice. On most of the group hits, Bell would have Thompkins sing virtually solo. The first song recorded with Bell and his collaborator, lyricist Linda Creed, was the lush "Stop, Look, Listen". Bell imported techniques he had perfected with The Delfonics and his musical arrangements worked perfectly with Thompkins' falsetto vocals. Their hits from this period --distilled from three albums-- included "Betcha by Golly, Wow" (U.S. #3), "I'm Stone in Love with You", "Break Up to Make Up" (U.S. #5), "You Make Me Feel Brand New" featuring Thompkins singing a rare lead vocal duet with Airrion Love, the aforementioned "Stop, Look, Listen", "You Are Everything", and the Top 20 Pop hit "Rockin' Roll Baby" (U.S. #14). "You Make Me Feel Brand New" was the group's biggest U.S. hit, holding at No. 2 for two weeks just as the spring of 1974 turned to summer, and was one of the group's five U.S. gold singles. The Stylistics' smooth sound also found an easier path on to adult contemporary airwaves than many other soul artists and the group made Billboard magazine's Easy Listening singles chart twelve times from 1971 to 1976, with three entries ("Betcha by Golly, Wow", "You Make Me Feel Brand New", and "You'll Never Get to Heaven (If You Break My Heart)") reaching the Top 10. Every single that Bell produced for the Stylistics was a Top Ten R&B hit, and several--"You Are Everything", "Betcha by Golly Wow!", "I'm Stone in Love with You", "Break Up to Make Up", and "You Make Me Feel Brand New"--were also Top Ten pop chart hits. The group also enjoyed commercial success with big hits with this material throughout Europe. CANNOTANSWER | ), "I'm Stone in Love with You", " | The Stylistics are an American, Philadelphia soul group that achieved their greatest chart success in the 1970s. They formed in 1968, with a lineup of singers Russell Thompkins Jr., Herb Murrell, Airrion Love, James Smith and James Dunn. All of their US hits were ballads characterized by the falsetto of Russell Thompkins Jr. and the production of Thom Bell. During the early 1970s, the group had twelve consecutive R&B top ten hits, including "Stop, Look, Listen", "You Are Everything", "Betcha by Golly, Wow", "I'm Stone in Love with You", "Break Up to Make Up" and "You Make Me Feel Brand New", which earned them 5 gold singles and 3 gold albums.
Career
Early years
The Stylistics were created from two Philadelphia groups, The Percussions and The Monarchs. Russell Thompkins Jr., James Smith and Airrion Love came from the Monarchs, and James Dunn and Herb Murrell came from the Percussions. In 1970, the group recorded "You're a Big Girl Now", a song their road manager Marty Bryant co-wrote with Robert Douglas, a member of their backing band Slim and the Boys, and the single became a regional hit for Sebring Records. Producer Bill Perry spent $400 to record the song in the Virtue Studios in Philadelphia. The larger Avco Records soon signed the Stylistics, and the single eventually climbed to No. 7 on the US Billboard R&B chart in early 1971.
Success: The Bell/Creed years
After signing to Avco, the record label approached producer Thom Bell, who had already produced a catalogue of hits for The Delfonics, to work with the group. The Stylistics auditioned for Bell, but he was initially unimpressed. He ultimately agreed to produce the group because he believed in the potential of lead singer Russell Thompkins, Jr.'s distinctive, nasal high tenor and falsetto voice. Avco gave Bell complete creative control over the Stylistics and he proceeded to focus the group's sound exclusively around Thompkins's voice. On most of the group hits, Bell would have Thompkins sing virtually solo.
The first song recorded with Bell and his collaborator, lyricist Linda Creed, was "Stop, Look, Listen".
Their hits from this period — distilled from three albums — included "Betcha by Golly, Wow" (U.S. No. 3), "I'm Stone in Love with You", "Break Up to Make Up" (U.S. No. 5), "You Make Me Feel Brand New" featuring Thompkins singing a lead vocal duet with Airrion Love, "Stop, Look, Listen (To Your Heart)", "You Are Everything" and the Top 20 pop chart hit "Rockin' Roll Baby" (U.S. No. 14). "You Make Me Feel Brand New", the group's biggest U.S. hit, holding at No. 2 for two weeks in 1974, was one of the group's five U.S. gold singles.
The Stylistics also found a path on to adult contemporary airwaves, and the group made Billboard magazine's Easy Listening singles chart twelve times from 1971 to 1976, with three entries ("Betcha by Golly, Wow", "You Make Me Feel Brand New" and "You'll Never Get to Heaven (If You Break My Heart)") reaching the Top 10. Every single that Bell produced for the Stylistics was a Top Ten R&B hit, and several — "You Are Everything", "Betcha by Golly Wow!", "I'm Stone in Love with You", "Break Up to Make Up" and "You Make Me Feel Brand New" — were also Top Ten pop chart hits. The group also enjoyed commercial success with hits with this material throughout Europe.
Changing style: Continuing international success
Thom Bell stopped working with the Stylistics in 1974, and the split proved commercially difficult for the group in the U.S. They struggled to find the right material, although their partnership with label owners Hugo & Luigi as producers and arranger Van McCoy started well, with "Let's Put It All Together" (No. 18 pop, No. 8 R&B) and "Heavy Fallin' Out" (No. 4 R&B, No. 41 pop). Later singles were notably less successful, but as U.S. success began to wane, their popularity in Europe, and especially the United Kingdom, increased. Indeed, the lighter 'pop' sound fashioned by McCoy and Hugo & Luigi gave the group a U.K. No. 1 in 1975 with "Can't Give You Anything (But My Love)". Further successes with "Sing Baby Sing", "Na Na Is The Saddest Word", "Funky Weekend" and "Can't Help Falling in Love" consolidated the group's European popularity. The Stylistics recorded "Disco Baby", "Love is the Answer" and "16 Bars" also. They are one of the few U.S. acts to have two chart-topping greatest hits albums in the U.K.
The Stylistics switched record labels during this period as Avco Records transitioned into H&L Records in 1976. Notwithstanding this, the band began to struggle with increasingly weak material, and although the singles and albums came out as before, by 1978 chart success had vanished; even a move to Mercury in 1978, for two albums produced by Teddy Randazzo, failed to produce any major success. Russell Thompkins Jr. wrote (in the sleevenotes for the re-issue of the 1976 album, Fabulous) that the group began to feel that the music they were recording was becoming dated, and not in keeping with the popular disco sound of the late 1970s.
In 1979, they had a small part in the movie Hair, directed by Miloš Forman, where they play conservative army officers. They double Nell Carter in singing a song called "White Boys".
Later years
In 1980, the group reunited with Thom Bell and signed with Philadelphia International Records subsidiary, TSOP Records. They released the single "Hurry Up This Way Again" that year which brought them back into the R&B Top 20 (peaking at No. 18). Both James Dunn and James Smith departed due to conflicts over the direction of the group; Dunn left before the recording of the album Hurry Up This Way Again (1980) and Smith after the recording of Closer Than Close in 1981. Nevertheless, the group continued, recruiting new member Raymond Johnson, but Johnson departed in 1985, leaving the group as a trio. Love, Murrell and Thompkins continued to tour until 2000, when Thompkins, Jr. left the group.
In 2000, singer Eban Brown (formerly of The Delfonics, The Manhattans, and Ray, Goodman and Brown) replaced Thompkins as lead singer. That same year, tenor singer Van Fields, who had previously sung with the A Cappella group "A Perfect Blend", joined, enabling The Stylistics to grow from a trio back to a quartet. The group was featured live on the DVD The Stylistics Live at the Convocation Center (2006), as well as with other artists of the 1970s on the DVD, 70s Soul Jam.
In 2004, after having left The Stylistics in 2000, former lead singer Thompkins launched his own group called Russell Thompkins Jr, & The New Stylistics, returning with former member Johnson, plus James Ranton and Jonathan Buckson. They were featured on the DVD Old School Soul Party Live!, which was part of the PBS My Music series.
In 2010, they released an album entitled, That Same Way by LAC Management.
In 2011, Fields departed from the group after 11 years, due to creative differences, and was replaced by singer Jason Sharp.
In January 2018, after 18 years with The Stylistics, Brown, who is also a jazz guitarist and composer, announced his departure to concentrate on his solo career. He since performed at venues in the States and overseas as a solo artist. Brown was initially replaced by Michael Muse, and after a few months, he was replaced by former Temptation Barrington "Bo" Henderson.
In 2018, The Stylistics celebrated their 50th. anniversary in the music industry. Their milestone was acknowledged at venues throughout the year during their 50th. Anniversary tour in the States and overseas.
As of 2020, the remaining members of the original group, Love and Murrell were still performing, continuing the Stylistics' legacy with their unit, while Thompkins and his New Stylistics continue to perform as well.
Personnel
Current members
Airrion Love (1968–Present)
Herb Murrell (1968–Present)
Jason Sharp (2011–Present)
Barrington "Bo" Henderson (2018–Present)
Former members
Russell Thompkins, Jr. (Lead) (1968 - 2000)
James Dunn (1968 - 1980)
James Smith (1968 - 1981)
Raymond Johnson (1981 - 1985)
Harold Eban Brown (Lead) (2000 - 2018)
Van Fields (2000 - 2011)
Discography
Awards and recognition
Inductions
In 1994, The Stylistics were inducted into The Philadelphia Music Alliance Walk of Fame.
The Stylistics were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2004.
RIAA Gold Certifications
Between January 1972 and August 1974 The Stylistics were awarded 5 gold singles and 3 gold albums.
January 3, 1972 - Single/"You Are Everything".
April 17, 1972 - Single/"Betcha By Golly Wow".
December 13, 1972 - Single/"I'm Stone In Love With You".
February 16, 1973 - Album/"The Stylistics".
April 6, 1973 - Single/"Break Up To Make Up".
June 14, 1973 - Album/"Round Two".
May 22, 1974 - Single/"You Make Me Feel Brand New".
August 12, 1974 - Album/"Let's Put It All Together".
Film/Television Appearances
The Stylistics television appearances.
Top of the Pops (TV Series)
The Stylistics appeared 10 times on Top of the Pops between 1972 and 1978.
Episode #15.14 (1978)
Episode #14.39 (1977)
Episode #14.15 (1977)
Episode #14.13 (1977)
Episode #13.16 (1976)
Top of the Pops '75: Part 2 (1975)
Episode #11.18 (1974)
Episode #11.4 (1974)
Episode #9.42 (1972)
Episode #9.30 (1972)
The Mike Douglas Show (TV Series)
The Stylistics appeared 6 times on the show between 1972 and 1978.
Episode #17.219 (1978)
Episode #15.217 (1976)
Episode #15.143 (1976)
Episode #14.155 (1975)
Episode #14.40 (1974)
Episode #12.80 (1972)
The Midnight Special (TV Series)
The Stylistics appeared in 4 episodes of the show.
4th appearance (1974)
3rd appearance (1973)
2nd appearance (1973)
1st appearance (1973)
Soul Train TV Series
The Stylistic appeared in 2 episodes of Soul Train.
Episode #10.15 (1984)
Episode #3.27 (1974)
Friday Night with Jonathan Ross (TV Series)
Episode #17.9 (2009)
Showtime at the Apollo TV Series
Episode #17.15 (2004)
Sinbad's "Soul Music Festival: Part 5 1999"
The Stylistics appeared on the TV Special that took place in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands and was aired on HBO
The Vera Lynn Show (TV Series)
Episode #2.1 (1975)
Saturday Night Live TV Series
In 1975, The Stylistics appeared on the 1st season of Saturday Night Live.
Episode #1.8 (1975)
Dinah! TV Series
The Stylistics appeared on the 1st season of The Dinah Shore TV Show.
Episode #1.181 (1974)
Your Hit Parade (TV Series)
Episode #2 (1974)
Don Kirshner's Rock Concert TV Show
Episode #2.3 (1974)
See also
List of soul musicians
List of R&B musicians
List of disco artists (S-Z)
List of people from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Music of Philadelphia
List of artists who reached number one on the UK Singles Chart
List of guests appearing on The Midnight Special
List of performers on Top of the Pops
References
External links
Official website
African-American musical groups
American soul musical groups
Vocal quintets
Musical groups established in 1968
Musical groups from Philadelphia
Philadelphia International Records artists
Ballad music groups
Avco Records artists | true | [
"Feel What U Feel is a children's album by American musician Lisa Loeb. The album was released on October 7, 2016, and the album's first single was \"Feel What U Feel.\" The album won Best Children's Album at the 60th Annual Grammy Awards.\n\nRelease \nThe album was announced on September 8, 2016 with the release of the lead single \"Feel What U Feel,\" featuring Craig Robinson. The album was then released by Furious Rose Productions on October 7, 2016 as an Amazon Music exclusive.\n\nPromotion \nLisa Loeb Embarked a small tour to promote the Children's album in the Fall of 2016 & Winter of 2017. Despite going on a children's tour, Lisa performed many of her \"Adult\" and \"Older\" songs. Lisa also constantly played her songs on \"Kids Place Live Radio\" for nearly 1 year after release.\n\nSingles \n\"Feel What U Feel\" was released as the album's lead single of September 8, 2016. The second single, \"Moon Star Pie (It's Gunna Be Alright)\" was released on October 7, 2016. The third single, \"Wanna Do Day\" ft. Ed Helms was released on January 12, 2017. The fourth and final single of the album, \"The Sky Is Always Blue\" was released on March 13, 2017.\n\nTrack listing\n\nReferences \n\n2016 albums\nChildren's music albums\nLisa Loeb albums",
"The Project is the third studio album and major label debut by Canadian country music artist Lindsay Ell. It was released by Stoney Creek Records on August 11, 2017. The Project was the number-one selling country album the week of its release. The album was released in physical format in the United Kingdom on March 9, 2018.\n\nSingles\n\"Waiting on You\", the album's lead single, was released on March 24, 2017 as part of Ell's EP, Worth the Wait. The song was released to American country radio on May 29, 2017.\n\nThe second single, \"Criminal\", was released to American country radio on December 11, 2017.\n\nPromotional singles\n\"Champagne\" was released as the album's first promotional single on July 21, 2017. \"Good\" was released as the second promotional single on July 28, 2017.\n\nProduction\nBefore recording the album, Ell was worried about what sort of music she wanted to make and brought her concerns to producer Bush. Upon being asked what her favourite album was, she replied with Continuum by John Mayer. Bush then tasked her with recording the entire album by herself in under three weeks so that she could determine what sounds and production elements she liked, resulting in The Continuum Project which was released separately in 2018.\n\nCritical reception\nMatt Bjorke of Roughstock wrote that Kristian Bush's production \"allowed Lindsay to shine in a way that accentuates every nuanced talent she has as a singer, songwriter and guitarist,\" and called The Project \"a beautiful collection worthy of revisiting time and time again.\" Cillea Houghton of Sounds Like Nashville praised Ell's artistry, writing that \"what makes The Project so compelling is not just the songs themselves, but the fact that they are so unique from one another but still work cohesively.\"\n\nCommercial performance\nThe Project debuted at number 40 on the Billboard 200 chart dated September 2, 2017. On the Top Album Sales component chart, the album debuted at number seven. It also debuted at number four on the Top Country Albums chart, and at number one on the Country Album Sales component chart. The album sold 10,000 copies and 1,000 album-equivalent units in its first week. As of September 2017, the album has sold 14,600 copies in the US.\n\nTrack listing\n\nCharts\n\nRelease history\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n \n\n2017 debut albums\nLindsay Ell albums\nBBR Music Group albums"
] |
[
"The Stylistics",
"Success: The Bell/Creed years",
"How was it when Bell and Creed were together?",
"\". Bell imported techniques he had perfected with The Delfonics and his musical arrangements worked perfectly with Thompkins' falsetto vocals.",
"When did they team up?",
"1971",
"How did they meet?",
"I don't know.",
"What was the first thing they produced together?",
"\"Betcha by Golly, Wow\" (U.S. #3), \"",
"What album was it on?",
"), \"I'm Stone in Love with You\", \""
] | C_a084fc97977b420f9f868be0473ff7b5_1 | Did it do well in the UK? | 6 | Did "I'm Stone in Love with You", do well in the UK? | The Stylistics | After signing to Avco, the record label approached producer Thom Bell, who had already produced a catalogue of hits for The Delfonics, to work with the group. The Stylistics auditioned for Bell, but he was initially unimpressed. He ultimately agreed to produce the group because he believed in the potential of lead singer, Russell Thompkins, Jr.'s distinctive, nasal high tenor & falsetto voice. Avco gave Bell complete creative control over the Stylistics and he proceeded to focus the group's sound exclusively around Thompkins's voice. On most of the group hits, Bell would have Thompkins sing virtually solo. The first song recorded with Bell and his collaborator, lyricist Linda Creed, was the lush "Stop, Look, Listen". Bell imported techniques he had perfected with The Delfonics and his musical arrangements worked perfectly with Thompkins' falsetto vocals. Their hits from this period --distilled from three albums-- included "Betcha by Golly, Wow" (U.S. #3), "I'm Stone in Love with You", "Break Up to Make Up" (U.S. #5), "You Make Me Feel Brand New" featuring Thompkins singing a rare lead vocal duet with Airrion Love, the aforementioned "Stop, Look, Listen", "You Are Everything", and the Top 20 Pop hit "Rockin' Roll Baby" (U.S. #14). "You Make Me Feel Brand New" was the group's biggest U.S. hit, holding at No. 2 for two weeks just as the spring of 1974 turned to summer, and was one of the group's five U.S. gold singles. The Stylistics' smooth sound also found an easier path on to adult contemporary airwaves than many other soul artists and the group made Billboard magazine's Easy Listening singles chart twelve times from 1971 to 1976, with three entries ("Betcha by Golly, Wow", "You Make Me Feel Brand New", and "You'll Never Get to Heaven (If You Break My Heart)") reaching the Top 10. Every single that Bell produced for the Stylistics was a Top Ten R&B hit, and several--"You Are Everything", "Betcha by Golly Wow!", "I'm Stone in Love with You", "Break Up to Make Up", and "You Make Me Feel Brand New"--were also Top Ten pop chart hits. The group also enjoyed commercial success with big hits with this material throughout Europe. CANNOTANSWER | The group also enjoyed commercial success with big hits with this material throughout Europe. | The Stylistics are an American, Philadelphia soul group that achieved their greatest chart success in the 1970s. They formed in 1968, with a lineup of singers Russell Thompkins Jr., Herb Murrell, Airrion Love, James Smith and James Dunn. All of their US hits were ballads characterized by the falsetto of Russell Thompkins Jr. and the production of Thom Bell. During the early 1970s, the group had twelve consecutive R&B top ten hits, including "Stop, Look, Listen", "You Are Everything", "Betcha by Golly, Wow", "I'm Stone in Love with You", "Break Up to Make Up" and "You Make Me Feel Brand New", which earned them 5 gold singles and 3 gold albums.
Career
Early years
The Stylistics were created from two Philadelphia groups, The Percussions and The Monarchs. Russell Thompkins Jr., James Smith and Airrion Love came from the Monarchs, and James Dunn and Herb Murrell came from the Percussions. In 1970, the group recorded "You're a Big Girl Now", a song their road manager Marty Bryant co-wrote with Robert Douglas, a member of their backing band Slim and the Boys, and the single became a regional hit for Sebring Records. Producer Bill Perry spent $400 to record the song in the Virtue Studios in Philadelphia. The larger Avco Records soon signed the Stylistics, and the single eventually climbed to No. 7 on the US Billboard R&B chart in early 1971.
Success: The Bell/Creed years
After signing to Avco, the record label approached producer Thom Bell, who had already produced a catalogue of hits for The Delfonics, to work with the group. The Stylistics auditioned for Bell, but he was initially unimpressed. He ultimately agreed to produce the group because he believed in the potential of lead singer Russell Thompkins, Jr.'s distinctive, nasal high tenor and falsetto voice. Avco gave Bell complete creative control over the Stylistics and he proceeded to focus the group's sound exclusively around Thompkins's voice. On most of the group hits, Bell would have Thompkins sing virtually solo.
The first song recorded with Bell and his collaborator, lyricist Linda Creed, was "Stop, Look, Listen".
Their hits from this period — distilled from three albums — included "Betcha by Golly, Wow" (U.S. No. 3), "I'm Stone in Love with You", "Break Up to Make Up" (U.S. No. 5), "You Make Me Feel Brand New" featuring Thompkins singing a lead vocal duet with Airrion Love, "Stop, Look, Listen (To Your Heart)", "You Are Everything" and the Top 20 pop chart hit "Rockin' Roll Baby" (U.S. No. 14). "You Make Me Feel Brand New", the group's biggest U.S. hit, holding at No. 2 for two weeks in 1974, was one of the group's five U.S. gold singles.
The Stylistics also found a path on to adult contemporary airwaves, and the group made Billboard magazine's Easy Listening singles chart twelve times from 1971 to 1976, with three entries ("Betcha by Golly, Wow", "You Make Me Feel Brand New" and "You'll Never Get to Heaven (If You Break My Heart)") reaching the Top 10. Every single that Bell produced for the Stylistics was a Top Ten R&B hit, and several — "You Are Everything", "Betcha by Golly Wow!", "I'm Stone in Love with You", "Break Up to Make Up" and "You Make Me Feel Brand New" — were also Top Ten pop chart hits. The group also enjoyed commercial success with hits with this material throughout Europe.
Changing style: Continuing international success
Thom Bell stopped working with the Stylistics in 1974, and the split proved commercially difficult for the group in the U.S. They struggled to find the right material, although their partnership with label owners Hugo & Luigi as producers and arranger Van McCoy started well, with "Let's Put It All Together" (No. 18 pop, No. 8 R&B) and "Heavy Fallin' Out" (No. 4 R&B, No. 41 pop). Later singles were notably less successful, but as U.S. success began to wane, their popularity in Europe, and especially the United Kingdom, increased. Indeed, the lighter 'pop' sound fashioned by McCoy and Hugo & Luigi gave the group a U.K. No. 1 in 1975 with "Can't Give You Anything (But My Love)". Further successes with "Sing Baby Sing", "Na Na Is The Saddest Word", "Funky Weekend" and "Can't Help Falling in Love" consolidated the group's European popularity. The Stylistics recorded "Disco Baby", "Love is the Answer" and "16 Bars" also. They are one of the few U.S. acts to have two chart-topping greatest hits albums in the U.K.
The Stylistics switched record labels during this period as Avco Records transitioned into H&L Records in 1976. Notwithstanding this, the band began to struggle with increasingly weak material, and although the singles and albums came out as before, by 1978 chart success had vanished; even a move to Mercury in 1978, for two albums produced by Teddy Randazzo, failed to produce any major success. Russell Thompkins Jr. wrote (in the sleevenotes for the re-issue of the 1976 album, Fabulous) that the group began to feel that the music they were recording was becoming dated, and not in keeping with the popular disco sound of the late 1970s.
In 1979, they had a small part in the movie Hair, directed by Miloš Forman, where they play conservative army officers. They double Nell Carter in singing a song called "White Boys".
Later years
In 1980, the group reunited with Thom Bell and signed with Philadelphia International Records subsidiary, TSOP Records. They released the single "Hurry Up This Way Again" that year which brought them back into the R&B Top 20 (peaking at No. 18). Both James Dunn and James Smith departed due to conflicts over the direction of the group; Dunn left before the recording of the album Hurry Up This Way Again (1980) and Smith after the recording of Closer Than Close in 1981. Nevertheless, the group continued, recruiting new member Raymond Johnson, but Johnson departed in 1985, leaving the group as a trio. Love, Murrell and Thompkins continued to tour until 2000, when Thompkins, Jr. left the group.
In 2000, singer Eban Brown (formerly of The Delfonics, The Manhattans, and Ray, Goodman and Brown) replaced Thompkins as lead singer. That same year, tenor singer Van Fields, who had previously sung with the A Cappella group "A Perfect Blend", joined, enabling The Stylistics to grow from a trio back to a quartet. The group was featured live on the DVD The Stylistics Live at the Convocation Center (2006), as well as with other artists of the 1970s on the DVD, 70s Soul Jam.
In 2004, after having left The Stylistics in 2000, former lead singer Thompkins launched his own group called Russell Thompkins Jr, & The New Stylistics, returning with former member Johnson, plus James Ranton and Jonathan Buckson. They were featured on the DVD Old School Soul Party Live!, which was part of the PBS My Music series.
In 2010, they released an album entitled, That Same Way by LAC Management.
In 2011, Fields departed from the group after 11 years, due to creative differences, and was replaced by singer Jason Sharp.
In January 2018, after 18 years with The Stylistics, Brown, who is also a jazz guitarist and composer, announced his departure to concentrate on his solo career. He since performed at venues in the States and overseas as a solo artist. Brown was initially replaced by Michael Muse, and after a few months, he was replaced by former Temptation Barrington "Bo" Henderson.
In 2018, The Stylistics celebrated their 50th. anniversary in the music industry. Their milestone was acknowledged at venues throughout the year during their 50th. Anniversary tour in the States and overseas.
As of 2020, the remaining members of the original group, Love and Murrell were still performing, continuing the Stylistics' legacy with their unit, while Thompkins and his New Stylistics continue to perform as well.
Personnel
Current members
Airrion Love (1968–Present)
Herb Murrell (1968–Present)
Jason Sharp (2011–Present)
Barrington "Bo" Henderson (2018–Present)
Former members
Russell Thompkins, Jr. (Lead) (1968 - 2000)
James Dunn (1968 - 1980)
James Smith (1968 - 1981)
Raymond Johnson (1981 - 1985)
Harold Eban Brown (Lead) (2000 - 2018)
Van Fields (2000 - 2011)
Discography
Awards and recognition
Inductions
In 1994, The Stylistics were inducted into The Philadelphia Music Alliance Walk of Fame.
The Stylistics were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2004.
RIAA Gold Certifications
Between January 1972 and August 1974 The Stylistics were awarded 5 gold singles and 3 gold albums.
January 3, 1972 - Single/"You Are Everything".
April 17, 1972 - Single/"Betcha By Golly Wow".
December 13, 1972 - Single/"I'm Stone In Love With You".
February 16, 1973 - Album/"The Stylistics".
April 6, 1973 - Single/"Break Up To Make Up".
June 14, 1973 - Album/"Round Two".
May 22, 1974 - Single/"You Make Me Feel Brand New".
August 12, 1974 - Album/"Let's Put It All Together".
Film/Television Appearances
The Stylistics television appearances.
Top of the Pops (TV Series)
The Stylistics appeared 10 times on Top of the Pops between 1972 and 1978.
Episode #15.14 (1978)
Episode #14.39 (1977)
Episode #14.15 (1977)
Episode #14.13 (1977)
Episode #13.16 (1976)
Top of the Pops '75: Part 2 (1975)
Episode #11.18 (1974)
Episode #11.4 (1974)
Episode #9.42 (1972)
Episode #9.30 (1972)
The Mike Douglas Show (TV Series)
The Stylistics appeared 6 times on the show between 1972 and 1978.
Episode #17.219 (1978)
Episode #15.217 (1976)
Episode #15.143 (1976)
Episode #14.155 (1975)
Episode #14.40 (1974)
Episode #12.80 (1972)
The Midnight Special (TV Series)
The Stylistics appeared in 4 episodes of the show.
4th appearance (1974)
3rd appearance (1973)
2nd appearance (1973)
1st appearance (1973)
Soul Train TV Series
The Stylistic appeared in 2 episodes of Soul Train.
Episode #10.15 (1984)
Episode #3.27 (1974)
Friday Night with Jonathan Ross (TV Series)
Episode #17.9 (2009)
Showtime at the Apollo TV Series
Episode #17.15 (2004)
Sinbad's "Soul Music Festival: Part 5 1999"
The Stylistics appeared on the TV Special that took place in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands and was aired on HBO
The Vera Lynn Show (TV Series)
Episode #2.1 (1975)
Saturday Night Live TV Series
In 1975, The Stylistics appeared on the 1st season of Saturday Night Live.
Episode #1.8 (1975)
Dinah! TV Series
The Stylistics appeared on the 1st season of The Dinah Shore TV Show.
Episode #1.181 (1974)
Your Hit Parade (TV Series)
Episode #2 (1974)
Don Kirshner's Rock Concert TV Show
Episode #2.3 (1974)
See also
List of soul musicians
List of R&B musicians
List of disco artists (S-Z)
List of people from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Music of Philadelphia
List of artists who reached number one on the UK Singles Chart
List of guests appearing on The Midnight Special
List of performers on Top of the Pops
References
External links
Official website
African-American musical groups
American soul musical groups
Vocal quintets
Musical groups established in 1968
Musical groups from Philadelphia
Philadelphia International Records artists
Ballad music groups
Avco Records artists | false | [
"Danzel (born Johan Waem, 9 November 1976) is a Belgian musician, best known for his 2004 single \"Pump It Up!\" which reached the top 10 across Europe, including in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Poland, Romania and Switzerland. The single also reached number 11 on the UK Singles Chart and 29 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart. Other singles released have failed to achieve the same level of success.\n\nMusical career\n\"You Are All of That\" was Danzel's first single, released by Ministry of Sound in late 2003. It sampled Sylvester James's Hi-NRG hit \"Do You Wanna Funk\" and reached number 69 on the UK Dance Chart. The single was not promoted outside the UK and Ireland, where it peaked at number 85.\n\n\"Pump It Up!\" was Danzel's second single, remixing a late 1990s hit originally recorded by the Black & White Brothers. The single was released by Ministry of Sound in the UK and did relatively well, selling more than 500,000 copies worldwide. In the singles charts it reached number 11 in the UK, number 7 in Germany, number 11 in France and number 9 in Australia. In the more specific dance and club charts it did even better, reaching number 2 in the UK, number 3 in Australia and number 15 in the US.\n\n\"Put Your Hands Up in the Air!\" was the third single from Danzel, released in 2005. This is a remake of Black & White Brothers' hit song with the same title from 1998. The single was released in the UK in May 2005, but did not chart on the UK Singles Chart, but was a hit on the UK Dance Chart, reaching number 6 as well as becoming a hit in the UK clubs. The single was released one month later in Europe and Asia, but did not generate much interest outside the UK, peaking at #40 in France and #52 in Germany.\n\nDanzel's fourth single, \"My Arms Keep Missing You\" was released again by Ministry of Sound, in the summer of 2006. It was a cover of the 1988 single with the same name by British singer Rick Astley, done with Belgian DJ F.R.A.N.K. The single did not perform as well as \"Pump It Up!\", charting in Australia, peaking at number 74. It was also released in Spain, but only as a physical release. The single had minor success in the clubs of Ibiza. In Spain, the single was included in a summer compilation album called Disco Estrella Volume 9, which was released by the Spanish record label ValeMusic Spain, a subsidiary of SonyBMG Spain. The single was released in late 2006 in the UK, and featured in the UK Dance Chart, peaking at number 9.\n\nDiscography\n\nStudio albums\n 2004 – The Name of the Jam\n 2008 – Unlocked\n\nSingles\n\nReferences\n\n1976 births\nEurodance musicians\nLiving people\nEnglish-language singers from Belgium\nFlemish musicians\nPeople from East Flanders\n21st-century Belgian male singers",
"This article gives the discography for the English rock band The Zutons. Between their formation in 2001 and 2008 they released three studio albums and 14 singles, nine of which entered the top 40 UK singles chart.\n\nThe band released their debut album, entitled \"Who Killed...... The Zutons?\", in April 2004 to critical acclaim and it sold quite well, reaching number 6 in the UK album chart with Platinum status. Five singles were released from the album: \"Pressure Point\", \"You Will You Won't\", \"Remember Me\", \"Don't Ever Think (Too Much)\" and \"Confusion\" all released in 2004 and achieving number 19, number 22, number 39, number 15 and number 37 in the UK singles chart respectively.\n\nIn 2006 The Zutons released their second album, Tired of Hanging Around. It sold very well and reached number 2 in the UK album chart going Platinum. From this album, they released four singles: \"Why Won't You Give Me Your Love?\", \"Valerie\", \"Oh Stacey (Look What You've Done!)\" and \"It's the Little Things We Do\" all in 2006 achieving number 9, number 9, number 24 and number 47, in the UK singles chart respectively.\n\nIn June 2008, the band released their third studio album, \"You Can Do Anything\" which peaked at number 6 in the UK album chart. They released two singles from the album: \"Always Right Behind You\", which reached number 26 in the UK singles chart, and \"What's Your Problem\", which did not chart.\n\nAlbums\n\nStudio albums\n\nLive albums\n\nSingles\n\nNotes\n\nAlbum appearances\n\nReferences\n\n \nDiscographies of British artists\nRock music group discographies"
] |
[
"The Stylistics",
"Success: The Bell/Creed years",
"How was it when Bell and Creed were together?",
"\". Bell imported techniques he had perfected with The Delfonics and his musical arrangements worked perfectly with Thompkins' falsetto vocals.",
"When did they team up?",
"1971",
"How did they meet?",
"I don't know.",
"What was the first thing they produced together?",
"\"Betcha by Golly, Wow\" (U.S. #3), \"",
"What album was it on?",
"), \"I'm Stone in Love with You\", \"",
"Did it do well in the UK?",
"The group also enjoyed commercial success with big hits with this material throughout Europe."
] | C_a084fc97977b420f9f868be0473ff7b5_1 | Did they have other hits? | 7 | Besides commercial success, did Bell and Creed have other hits? | The Stylistics | After signing to Avco, the record label approached producer Thom Bell, who had already produced a catalogue of hits for The Delfonics, to work with the group. The Stylistics auditioned for Bell, but he was initially unimpressed. He ultimately agreed to produce the group because he believed in the potential of lead singer, Russell Thompkins, Jr.'s distinctive, nasal high tenor & falsetto voice. Avco gave Bell complete creative control over the Stylistics and he proceeded to focus the group's sound exclusively around Thompkins's voice. On most of the group hits, Bell would have Thompkins sing virtually solo. The first song recorded with Bell and his collaborator, lyricist Linda Creed, was the lush "Stop, Look, Listen". Bell imported techniques he had perfected with The Delfonics and his musical arrangements worked perfectly with Thompkins' falsetto vocals. Their hits from this period --distilled from three albums-- included "Betcha by Golly, Wow" (U.S. #3), "I'm Stone in Love with You", "Break Up to Make Up" (U.S. #5), "You Make Me Feel Brand New" featuring Thompkins singing a rare lead vocal duet with Airrion Love, the aforementioned "Stop, Look, Listen", "You Are Everything", and the Top 20 Pop hit "Rockin' Roll Baby" (U.S. #14). "You Make Me Feel Brand New" was the group's biggest U.S. hit, holding at No. 2 for two weeks just as the spring of 1974 turned to summer, and was one of the group's five U.S. gold singles. The Stylistics' smooth sound also found an easier path on to adult contemporary airwaves than many other soul artists and the group made Billboard magazine's Easy Listening singles chart twelve times from 1971 to 1976, with three entries ("Betcha by Golly, Wow", "You Make Me Feel Brand New", and "You'll Never Get to Heaven (If You Break My Heart)") reaching the Top 10. Every single that Bell produced for the Stylistics was a Top Ten R&B hit, and several--"You Are Everything", "Betcha by Golly Wow!", "I'm Stone in Love with You", "Break Up to Make Up", and "You Make Me Feel Brand New"--were also Top Ten pop chart hits. The group also enjoyed commercial success with big hits with this material throughout Europe. CANNOTANSWER | You'll Never Get to Heaven (If You Break My Heart)") reaching the Top 10. Every single that Bell produced for the Stylistics was a Top Ten R&B hit, | The Stylistics are an American, Philadelphia soul group that achieved their greatest chart success in the 1970s. They formed in 1968, with a lineup of singers Russell Thompkins Jr., Herb Murrell, Airrion Love, James Smith and James Dunn. All of their US hits were ballads characterized by the falsetto of Russell Thompkins Jr. and the production of Thom Bell. During the early 1970s, the group had twelve consecutive R&B top ten hits, including "Stop, Look, Listen", "You Are Everything", "Betcha by Golly, Wow", "I'm Stone in Love with You", "Break Up to Make Up" and "You Make Me Feel Brand New", which earned them 5 gold singles and 3 gold albums.
Career
Early years
The Stylistics were created from two Philadelphia groups, The Percussions and The Monarchs. Russell Thompkins Jr., James Smith and Airrion Love came from the Monarchs, and James Dunn and Herb Murrell came from the Percussions. In 1970, the group recorded "You're a Big Girl Now", a song their road manager Marty Bryant co-wrote with Robert Douglas, a member of their backing band Slim and the Boys, and the single became a regional hit for Sebring Records. Producer Bill Perry spent $400 to record the song in the Virtue Studios in Philadelphia. The larger Avco Records soon signed the Stylistics, and the single eventually climbed to No. 7 on the US Billboard R&B chart in early 1971.
Success: The Bell/Creed years
After signing to Avco, the record label approached producer Thom Bell, who had already produced a catalogue of hits for The Delfonics, to work with the group. The Stylistics auditioned for Bell, but he was initially unimpressed. He ultimately agreed to produce the group because he believed in the potential of lead singer Russell Thompkins, Jr.'s distinctive, nasal high tenor and falsetto voice. Avco gave Bell complete creative control over the Stylistics and he proceeded to focus the group's sound exclusively around Thompkins's voice. On most of the group hits, Bell would have Thompkins sing virtually solo.
The first song recorded with Bell and his collaborator, lyricist Linda Creed, was "Stop, Look, Listen".
Their hits from this period — distilled from three albums — included "Betcha by Golly, Wow" (U.S. No. 3), "I'm Stone in Love with You", "Break Up to Make Up" (U.S. No. 5), "You Make Me Feel Brand New" featuring Thompkins singing a lead vocal duet with Airrion Love, "Stop, Look, Listen (To Your Heart)", "You Are Everything" and the Top 20 pop chart hit "Rockin' Roll Baby" (U.S. No. 14). "You Make Me Feel Brand New", the group's biggest U.S. hit, holding at No. 2 for two weeks in 1974, was one of the group's five U.S. gold singles.
The Stylistics also found a path on to adult contemporary airwaves, and the group made Billboard magazine's Easy Listening singles chart twelve times from 1971 to 1976, with three entries ("Betcha by Golly, Wow", "You Make Me Feel Brand New" and "You'll Never Get to Heaven (If You Break My Heart)") reaching the Top 10. Every single that Bell produced for the Stylistics was a Top Ten R&B hit, and several — "You Are Everything", "Betcha by Golly Wow!", "I'm Stone in Love with You", "Break Up to Make Up" and "You Make Me Feel Brand New" — were also Top Ten pop chart hits. The group also enjoyed commercial success with hits with this material throughout Europe.
Changing style: Continuing international success
Thom Bell stopped working with the Stylistics in 1974, and the split proved commercially difficult for the group in the U.S. They struggled to find the right material, although their partnership with label owners Hugo & Luigi as producers and arranger Van McCoy started well, with "Let's Put It All Together" (No. 18 pop, No. 8 R&B) and "Heavy Fallin' Out" (No. 4 R&B, No. 41 pop). Later singles were notably less successful, but as U.S. success began to wane, their popularity in Europe, and especially the United Kingdom, increased. Indeed, the lighter 'pop' sound fashioned by McCoy and Hugo & Luigi gave the group a U.K. No. 1 in 1975 with "Can't Give You Anything (But My Love)". Further successes with "Sing Baby Sing", "Na Na Is The Saddest Word", "Funky Weekend" and "Can't Help Falling in Love" consolidated the group's European popularity. The Stylistics recorded "Disco Baby", "Love is the Answer" and "16 Bars" also. They are one of the few U.S. acts to have two chart-topping greatest hits albums in the U.K.
The Stylistics switched record labels during this period as Avco Records transitioned into H&L Records in 1976. Notwithstanding this, the band began to struggle with increasingly weak material, and although the singles and albums came out as before, by 1978 chart success had vanished; even a move to Mercury in 1978, for two albums produced by Teddy Randazzo, failed to produce any major success. Russell Thompkins Jr. wrote (in the sleevenotes for the re-issue of the 1976 album, Fabulous) that the group began to feel that the music they were recording was becoming dated, and not in keeping with the popular disco sound of the late 1970s.
In 1979, they had a small part in the movie Hair, directed by Miloš Forman, where they play conservative army officers. They double Nell Carter in singing a song called "White Boys".
Later years
In 1980, the group reunited with Thom Bell and signed with Philadelphia International Records subsidiary, TSOP Records. They released the single "Hurry Up This Way Again" that year which brought them back into the R&B Top 20 (peaking at No. 18). Both James Dunn and James Smith departed due to conflicts over the direction of the group; Dunn left before the recording of the album Hurry Up This Way Again (1980) and Smith after the recording of Closer Than Close in 1981. Nevertheless, the group continued, recruiting new member Raymond Johnson, but Johnson departed in 1985, leaving the group as a trio. Love, Murrell and Thompkins continued to tour until 2000, when Thompkins, Jr. left the group.
In 2000, singer Eban Brown (formerly of The Delfonics, The Manhattans, and Ray, Goodman and Brown) replaced Thompkins as lead singer. That same year, tenor singer Van Fields, who had previously sung with the A Cappella group "A Perfect Blend", joined, enabling The Stylistics to grow from a trio back to a quartet. The group was featured live on the DVD The Stylistics Live at the Convocation Center (2006), as well as with other artists of the 1970s on the DVD, 70s Soul Jam.
In 2004, after having left The Stylistics in 2000, former lead singer Thompkins launched his own group called Russell Thompkins Jr, & The New Stylistics, returning with former member Johnson, plus James Ranton and Jonathan Buckson. They were featured on the DVD Old School Soul Party Live!, which was part of the PBS My Music series.
In 2010, they released an album entitled, That Same Way by LAC Management.
In 2011, Fields departed from the group after 11 years, due to creative differences, and was replaced by singer Jason Sharp.
In January 2018, after 18 years with The Stylistics, Brown, who is also a jazz guitarist and composer, announced his departure to concentrate on his solo career. He since performed at venues in the States and overseas as a solo artist. Brown was initially replaced by Michael Muse, and after a few months, he was replaced by former Temptation Barrington "Bo" Henderson.
In 2018, The Stylistics celebrated their 50th. anniversary in the music industry. Their milestone was acknowledged at venues throughout the year during their 50th. Anniversary tour in the States and overseas.
As of 2020, the remaining members of the original group, Love and Murrell were still performing, continuing the Stylistics' legacy with their unit, while Thompkins and his New Stylistics continue to perform as well.
Personnel
Current members
Airrion Love (1968–Present)
Herb Murrell (1968–Present)
Jason Sharp (2011–Present)
Barrington "Bo" Henderson (2018–Present)
Former members
Russell Thompkins, Jr. (Lead) (1968 - 2000)
James Dunn (1968 - 1980)
James Smith (1968 - 1981)
Raymond Johnson (1981 - 1985)
Harold Eban Brown (Lead) (2000 - 2018)
Van Fields (2000 - 2011)
Discography
Awards and recognition
Inductions
In 1994, The Stylistics were inducted into The Philadelphia Music Alliance Walk of Fame.
The Stylistics were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2004.
RIAA Gold Certifications
Between January 1972 and August 1974 The Stylistics were awarded 5 gold singles and 3 gold albums.
January 3, 1972 - Single/"You Are Everything".
April 17, 1972 - Single/"Betcha By Golly Wow".
December 13, 1972 - Single/"I'm Stone In Love With You".
February 16, 1973 - Album/"The Stylistics".
April 6, 1973 - Single/"Break Up To Make Up".
June 14, 1973 - Album/"Round Two".
May 22, 1974 - Single/"You Make Me Feel Brand New".
August 12, 1974 - Album/"Let's Put It All Together".
Film/Television Appearances
The Stylistics television appearances.
Top of the Pops (TV Series)
The Stylistics appeared 10 times on Top of the Pops between 1972 and 1978.
Episode #15.14 (1978)
Episode #14.39 (1977)
Episode #14.15 (1977)
Episode #14.13 (1977)
Episode #13.16 (1976)
Top of the Pops '75: Part 2 (1975)
Episode #11.18 (1974)
Episode #11.4 (1974)
Episode #9.42 (1972)
Episode #9.30 (1972)
The Mike Douglas Show (TV Series)
The Stylistics appeared 6 times on the show between 1972 and 1978.
Episode #17.219 (1978)
Episode #15.217 (1976)
Episode #15.143 (1976)
Episode #14.155 (1975)
Episode #14.40 (1974)
Episode #12.80 (1972)
The Midnight Special (TV Series)
The Stylistics appeared in 4 episodes of the show.
4th appearance (1974)
3rd appearance (1973)
2nd appearance (1973)
1st appearance (1973)
Soul Train TV Series
The Stylistic appeared in 2 episodes of Soul Train.
Episode #10.15 (1984)
Episode #3.27 (1974)
Friday Night with Jonathan Ross (TV Series)
Episode #17.9 (2009)
Showtime at the Apollo TV Series
Episode #17.15 (2004)
Sinbad's "Soul Music Festival: Part 5 1999"
The Stylistics appeared on the TV Special that took place in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands and was aired on HBO
The Vera Lynn Show (TV Series)
Episode #2.1 (1975)
Saturday Night Live TV Series
In 1975, The Stylistics appeared on the 1st season of Saturday Night Live.
Episode #1.8 (1975)
Dinah! TV Series
The Stylistics appeared on the 1st season of The Dinah Shore TV Show.
Episode #1.181 (1974)
Your Hit Parade (TV Series)
Episode #2 (1974)
Don Kirshner's Rock Concert TV Show
Episode #2.3 (1974)
See also
List of soul musicians
List of R&B musicians
List of disco artists (S-Z)
List of people from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Music of Philadelphia
List of artists who reached number one on the UK Singles Chart
List of guests appearing on The Midnight Special
List of performers on Top of the Pops
References
External links
Official website
African-American musical groups
American soul musical groups
Vocal quintets
Musical groups established in 1968
Musical groups from Philadelphia
Philadelphia International Records artists
Ballad music groups
Avco Records artists | true | [
"Diamond Rio is an American country music band founded in 1982. Their discography consists of 10 studio albums, 36 singles, six compilation albums, one live album, and 20 music videos. Founded in 1984, Diamond Rio released their self-titled debut album in 1991. \"Meet in the Middle\", the lead-off single, reached number one on the Billboard country singles chart, making the band the first country group in history to have their debut single reach that position.\n\nDiamond Rio charted four additional number one hits: \"How Your Love Makes Me Feel\" (1997), \"One More Day\" (2001), \"Beautiful Mess\" (2002), and \"I Believe\" (2003). The latter three charted in the Top 40 on the Billboard Hot 100, as did 1999's \"Unbelievable\", which was a number two on the country chart. Besides their five number one hits, 14 more charted in the Top 10 on the country format, while \"One More Day\" was also a Top 10 on the Adult Contemporary chart.\n\nDiamond Rio has also recorded ten studio albums, counting a Christmas release. Two of their studio albums (their 1991 self-titled debut and 1994's Love a Little Stronger) have been certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), and five have been certified gold. They have also issued two greatest hits packages, of which the first (1997's Greatest Hits) was certified platinum.\n\nStudio albums\n\n1990s\n\n2000s–2010s\n\nCompilation albums\n\nLive albums\n\nSingles\n\n1990s\n\n2000s–2010s\n\nAs a featured artist\n\nMusic videos\n\nOther appearances\nThe following table denotes other contributions made by Diamond Rio for various compilation albums that were not directly related to the band.\n\nNotes\n\nReferences\n\nCountry music discographies\n \n \nDiscographies of American artists",
"Harvey Hits was an American comic book series, published by Harvey Comics. The series ran from September 1957 to November 1967; in all, 122 issues were published. Harvey Hits was similar to DC Comics' Showcase in that it was an anthology tryout series which often featured characters that did not have their own comic series. Harvey Hits should not be confused with Harvey Comics Hits, which ran in the early 1950s, or Harvey Hits Comics, which ran from 1986-87 during a revival of the Harvey Comics line.\n\nSeveral issues of Harvey Hits are notable. Issue #3 (November 1957) was the first comic book to feature Richie Rich prominently; #7 (March 1958) was the first comic devoted to Wendy, the Good Little Witch.\n\nBesides Richie Rich and Wendy, many other characters featured in Harvey Hits later received their own comic magazine, including Little Sad Sack and Stumbo the Giant.\n\nBy the mid-1960s, Harvey Hits settled on a rotating cast of characters that appeared every few months, including Muttsy, G.I. Juniors, and Gabby Gob. G.I. Juniors were featured in the last issue of Harvey Hits, #122, cover dated November 1967.\n\nIn 2017, a new version of Harvey Hits was published by Joe Books, a Canadian-based publishing house and book packager. The book features art by various artists, including Art Baltazar.\n\nReferences\n\nHarvey Comics titles"
] |
[
"Woody Allen",
"Playwright"
] | C_b56e75307cdb4b078e4681f577bc09fd_1 | What are some works of his? | 1 | What are some works of Woody Allen? | Woody Allen | In 1966, Allen wrote the play Don't Drink the Water. The play starred Lou Jacobi, Kay Medford, Anita Gillette and Allen's future movie co-star Tony Roberts. A film adaptation of the play, directed by Howard Morris, was released in 1969, starring Jackie Gleason. Because he was not particularly happy with the 1969 film version of his play, in 1994, Allen directed and starred in a second version for television, with Michael J. Fox and Mayim Bialik. The next play Allen wrote for Broadway was Play It Again, Sam, in which he also starred. The play opened on February 12, 1969, and ran for 453 performances. It featured Diane Keaton and Roberts. The play was significant to Keaton's budding career, and she has stated she was in "awe" of Allen even before auditioning for her role, which was the first time she met him. During an interview in 2013, Keaton stated that she "fell in love with him right away," adding, "I wanted to be his girlfriend so I did something about it." After co-starring alongside Allen in the subsequent film version of Play It Again, Sam, she would later co-star in Sleeper, Love and Death, Interiors, Manhattan and Annie Hall. "He showed me the ropes and I followed his lead. He is the most disciplined person I know. He works very hard," Keaton has stated. "I find the same thing sexy in a man now as I always have: humor. I love it when they are funny. It's to die for." For its March 21, 1969, issue, Life featured Allen on its cover. In 1981, his play The Floating Light Bulb premiered on Broadway and ran for 65 performances. While receiving mixed reviews, it gave an autobiographical insight into Allen's childhood, specifically his fascination with magic tricks. He has written several one-act plays, including Riverside Drive and Old Saybrook exploring well-known Allen themes. On October 20, 2011, Allen's one-act play Honeymoon Motel opened as part of a larger piece entitled Relatively Speaking on Broadway, with two other one-act plays, one by Ethan Coen and one by Elaine May. CANNOTANSWER | In 1966, Allen wrote the play Don't Drink the Water. | Heywood "Woody" Allen (born Allan Stewart Konigsberg; November 30, 1935) is an American film director, writer, actor, and comedian whose career spans more than six decades and multiple Academy Award-winning films. He began his career writing material for television in the 1950s, working alongside Mel Brooks, Carl Reiner, Larry Gelbart, and Neil Simon. He also published several books featuring short stories and wrote humor pieces for The New Yorker. In the early 1960s, he performed as a stand-up comedian in Greenwich Village alongside Lenny Bruce, Elaine May, Mike Nichols, and Joan Rivers. There he developed a monologue style (rather than traditional jokes) and the persona of an insecure, intellectual, fretful nebbish. He released three comedy albums during the mid to late 1960s, earning a Grammy Award nomination for his 1964 comedy album entitled simply, Woody Allen. In 2004, Comedy Central ranked Allen fourth on a list of the 100 greatest stand-up comedians, while a UK survey ranked Allen the third-greatest comedian.
By the mid-1960s, Allen was writing and directing films, first specializing in slapstick comedies such as Take the Money and Run (1969), Bananas (1971), Sleeper (1973), and Love and Death (1975), before moving into dramatic material influenced by European art cinema during the late 1970s with Interiors (1978), Manhattan (1979), and Stardust Memories (1980), and alternating between comedies and dramas to the present. Allen is often identified as part of the New Hollywood wave of filmmakers of the mid-1960s to late 1970s such as Martin Scorsese, Robert Altman, and Sidney Lumet. He often stars in his films, typically in the persona he developed as a standup. His film Annie Hall (1977), a romantic comedy featuring Allen and his frequent collaborator Diane Keaton, won four Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Actress for Keaton. Critics have called his work from the 1980s his most developed period. Those films include Zelig (1983), Broadway Danny Rose (1984), The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985), Hannah and Her Sisters (1986), Radio Days (1987), Another Woman (1988), and Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989). In the 21st century, many of Allen's films have been set and shot in Europe, including Match Point (2005), Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008), and Midnight in Paris (2011). Allen returned to America gaining acclaim for Blue Jasmine (2013) and Cafe Society (2016).
In 1979, Allen began a professional and personal relationship with actress Mia Farrow, and over a decade-long period they collaborated on 13 films. They separated after Allen began a relationship with Mia's and Andre Previn's adopted daughter Soon-Yi Previn. During the separation, Allen was publicly accused of sexually abusing his daughter, the seven-year-old Dylan. The allegation gained substantial media attention, but Allen was never charged or prosecuted, and he vehemently denied the allegation. Allen married Previn in 1997, and they adopted two children.
Allen has received many accolades and honors, including the most nominations for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, with 16. He has won four Academy Awards, one for Best Director, and three for Best Original Screenplay. He also garnered nine British Academy Film Awards. In 1997, Allen was awarded the BAFTA Fellowship by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts. In 2014, he received the Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award for Lifetime Achievement and a Tony Award nomination for Best Book of a Musical for Bullets over Broadway. In 2015, the Writers Guild of America named his screenplay for Annie Hall first on its list of the "101 Funniest Screenplays". In 2011, PBS televised the film biography Woody Allen: A Documentary on its series American Masters.
Early life
Allen was born in Brooklyn, New York, as Allan Stewart Konigsberg at Mount Eden Hospital in the Bronx, New York City, on November 30, 1935. He is Jewish. Allen's parents were Nettie (née Cherry; 1906–2002), a bookkeeper at her family's delicatessen, and Martin Konigsberg (1900–2001), a jewelry engraver and waiter. His grandparents were immigrants to the U.S. from Austria and the Lithuanian city of Panevėžys. They spoke German, Hebrew and Yiddish. He and his younger sister, film producer Letty, were raised in Brooklyn's Midwood neighborhood. Both of their parents were born and raised on the Lower East Side of Manhattan.
Allen's parents did not get along, and he had an estranged relationship with his authoritarian, ill-tempered mother. He spoke German in his early years. He later joked that he was often sent to inter-faith summer camps when he was young. While attending Hebrew school for eight years, he went to Public School 99 (now the Isaac Asimov School for Science and Literature) and Midwood High School, graduating in 1953. Unlike his comic persona, he was more interested in baseball than school and his strong arm ensured he was picked first for teams. He impressed students with his talent for cards and magic tricks.
Allen wrote jokes (or "gags") for agent David O. Alber to make money, and Alber sold them to newspaper columnists. At age 17, he legally changed his name to Heywood Allen and later began to call himself Woody. According to Allen, his first published joke read: "Woody Allen says he ate at a restaurant that had O.P.S. prices—over people's salaries." He was soon earning more than both of his parents combined. After high school, he attended New York University, studying communication and film in 1953, before dropping out after failing the course "Motion Picture Production". He studied film at City College of New York in 1954, but left during the first semester. He taught himself rather than studying in the classroom. He later taught at The New School and studied with writing teacher Lajos Egri.
Career
Comedy writer
Allen began writing short jokes when he was 15, and the following year began sending them to various Broadway writers to see if they'd be interested in buying any. One of those writers was Abe Burrows, coauthor of Guys and Dolls, who wrote, "Wow! His stuff was dazzling." Burrows then wrote Allen letters of introduction to Sid Caesar, Phil Silvers, and Peter Lind Hayes, who immediately sent Allen a check for just the jokes Burrows included as samples.
As a result of the jokes Allen mailed to various writers, he was invited, then age 19, to join the NBC Writer's Development Program in 1955, followed by a job on The NBC Comedy Hour in Los Angeles. He was later hired as a full-time writer for humorist Herb Shriner, initially earning $25 a week. He began writing scripts for The Ed Sullivan Show, The Tonight Show, specials for Sid Caesar post-Caesar's Hour (1954–1957), and other television shows. By the time he was working for Caesar, he was earning $1,500 a week. He worked alongside Mel Brooks, Carl Reiner, Larry Gelbart, and Neil Simon. He also worked with Danny Simon, whom Allen credits for helping form his writing style. In 1962 alone, he estimated that he wrote twenty thousand jokes for various comics. Allen also wrote for the Candid Camera television show, and appeared in some episodes.
He wrote jokes for the Buddy Hackett sitcom Stanley and for The Pat Boone Chevy Showroom, and in 1958 he co-wrote a few Sid Caesar specials with Larry Gelbart. After writing for many of television's leading comedians and comedy shows, Allen was gaining a reputation as a "genius", composer Mary Rodgers said. When given an assignment for a show he would leave and come back the next day with "reams of paper", according to producer Max Liebman. Similarly, after he wrote for Bob Hope, Hope called him "half a genius".
His daily writing routine could last as long as 15 hours, and he could focus and write anywhere necessary. Dick Cavett was amazed at Allen's capacity to write: "He can go to a typewriter after breakfast and sit there until the sun sets and his head is pounding, interrupting work only for coffee and a brief walk, and then spend the whole evening working." When Allen wrote for other comedians, they would use eight out of ten of his jokes. When he began performing as a stand-up, he was much more selective, typically using only one out of ten jokes. He estimated that to prepare for a 30-minute show, he spent six months of intensive writing. He enjoyed writing, however, despite the work: "Nothing makes me happier than to tear open a ream of paper. And I can't wait to fill it! I love to do it."
Allen started writing short stories and cartoon captions for magazines such as The New Yorker; he was inspired by the tradition of New Yorker humorists S. J. Perelman, George S. Kaufman, Robert Benchley, and Max Shulman, whose material he modernized. His collections of short pieces includes Getting Even, Without Feathers, Side Effects, and Mere Anarchy. His early comic fiction was influenced by the zany, pun-ridden humor of S.J. Perelman. In 2010 Allen released audio versions of his books in which he read 73 selections entitled, The Woody Allen Collection. He was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album.
Stand-up comedian
From 1960 to 1969 Allen performed as a comedian to supplement his comedy writing. He worked in various places around Greenwich Village, including The Bitter End and Cafe Au Go Go, alongside such contemporaries as Lenny Bruce, the team of Mike Nichols and Elaine May, Joan Rivers, George Carlin, Richard Pryor, Dick Cavett, Bill Cosby and Mort Sahl (his personal favorite), as well as such other artists of the day as Bob Dylan and Barbra Streisand. Comedian Milton Berle claims to have suggested to Allen to go into standup comedy and even introduced him at the Village Vanguard. Comedy historian Gerald Nachman writes that Allen, while not the first to do standup, eventually had greater impact than all the others in the 1960s, and redefined standup comedy: "He helped turn it into biting, brutally honest satirical commentary on the cultural and psychological tenor of the times."
After Allen was taken under the wing of his new manager, Jack Rollins, who had recently discovered Nichols and May, Rollins suggested he perform his written jokes as a stand-up. Allen was resistant at first, but after seeing Mort Sahl on stage, he felt safer to give it a try: "I'd never had the nerve to talk about it before. Then Mort Sahl came along with a whole new style of humor, opening up vistas for people like me." Allen made his professional stage debut at the Blue Angel nightclub in Manhattan in October 1960, where comedian Shelley Berman introduced him as a young television writer who would perform his own material.
His early stand-up shows with his different style of humor were not always well received or understood by his audiences. Unlike other comedians, Allen spoke to his audiences in a gentle and conversational style, often appearing to be searching for words, although he was well rehearsed. He acted "normal", dressed casually, and made no attempt to project a stage "personality". And he did not improvise: "I put very little premium on improvisation," he told Studs Terkel. His jokes were created from life experiences, and typically presented with a dead serious demeanor that made them funnier: "I don't think my family liked me. They put a live teddy bear in my crib."
The subjects of his jokes were rarely topical, political or socially relevant. Unlike Bruce and Sahl, he did not discuss current events such as civil rights, women's rights, the Cold War, or Vietnam. And although he was described as a "classic nebbish", he did not tell the standard Jewish jokes of the period. Comedy screenwriter Larry Gelbart compared Allen's style to Elaine May's: "He just styled himself completely after her". Like Nichols and May, he often made fun of intellectuals.
Cavett, who was among the minority to quickly appreciate Allen's style, recalls seeing the Blue Angel audience mostly ignore Allen's monologue: "I recognized immediately that there was no young comedian in the country in the same class with him for sheer brilliance of jokes, and I resented the fact that the audience was too dumb to realize what they were getting." It was his subdued stage presence that eventually became one of Allen's strongest traits, Nachman argues: "The utter absence of showbiz veneer and shtick was the best shtick any comedian had ever devised. This uneasy onstage naturalness became a trademark." When the media finally noticed, writers like The New York Timess Arthur Gelb described Allen's nebbish quality as "Chaplinesque" and "refreshing".
Allen developed an anxious, nervous, and intellectual persona for his stand-up act, a successful move that secured regular gigs for him in nightclubs and on television. He brought innovation to the comedy monologue genre and his stand-up comedy is considered influential. Allen first appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson on November 1, 1963, and over nine years his guest appearances included 17 in the host's chair. He subsequently released three LP albums of live nightclub recordings: the self-titled Woody Allen (1964), Volume 2 (1965), and The Third Woody Allen Album (1968), recorded at a fund-raiser for Senator Eugene McCarthy's presidential run.
In 1965, Allen filmed a half-hour standup special in England for Granada Television, titled The Woody Allen Show in the U.K. and Woody Allen: Standup Comic in the U.S. It is the only complete standup show of Allen's on film. The same year, Allen along with Nichols and May, Barbara Streisand, Carol Channing, Harry Belafonte, Julie Andrews, Carol Burnett, and Alfred Hitchcock took part in Lyndon B. Johnson’s inaugural gala in Washington, D.C., on January 18, 1965. First Lady Lady Bird Johnson described Allen and the event in her published diary, A White House Diary, writing in part, "Woody Allen, that forlorn, undernourished little comedian, stopped shooting a movie in Paris and flew across the Atlantic for about five minutes of jokes".
In 1966, Allen wrote an hourlong musical comedy television special for CBS, Gene Kelly in New York City. It focused on Gene Kelly in a musical tour around Manhattan, dancing along such landmarks as Rockefeller Center, the Plaza Hotel and the Museum of Modern Art, which serve as backdrops for the show's production numbers. Allen appeared in the special alongside Kelly. Guest stars included choreographer Gower Champion, British musical comedy star Tommy Steele, and songstress Damita Jo DeBlanc.
In 1967, Allen hosted a TV special for NBC, Woody Allen Looks at 1967. It featured Liza Minnelli, who acted alongside Allen in some skits; Aretha Franklin, the musical guest; and conservative writer William F. Buckley, the featured guest. In 1969, Allen hosted his first American special for CBS television, The Woody Allen Special, which included skits with Candice Bergen, a musical performance from the 5th Dimension, and an interview between Allen and Billy Graham.
Allen also performed standup comedy on other series, including The Andy Williams Show and The Perry Como Show, where he interacted with other guests and occasionally sang. In 1971, he hosted one of his final Tonight Shows, with guests Bob Hope and James Coco. Hope praised Allen on the show, calling him "one of the finest young talents in show business and a great delight". Life magazine put Allen on the cover of its March 21, 1969, issue.
In 1979, Allen paid tribute to one of his comedy idols, Bob Hope, at the Film Society at Lincoln Center, creating a special for the event titled "My Favorite Comedian" that included clips from Hope's films, selected and narrated by Allen. Hope said of the honor, "It's great to have your past spring up in front of your eyes, especially when it's done by Woody Allen, because he's a near genius. Not a whole genius, but a near genius". Dick Cavett served as the host, but Allen was absent, editing Manhattan. Guests at the event included Diane Keaton, Kurt Vonnegut, and Andy Warhol.
Playwright
In 1966, Allen wrote the play Don't Drink the Water. The play starred Lou Jacobi, Kay Medford, Anita Gillette and Allen's future movie co-star Tony Roberts. A film adaptation of the play, directed by Howard Morris, was released in 1969, starring Jackie Gleason. Because he was not particularly happy with that version, in 1994 Allen directed and starred in a second version for television, with Michael J. Fox and Mayim Bialik.
The next play Allen wrote for Broadway was Play It Again, Sam, in which he also starred. The play opened on February 12, 1969, and ran for 453 performances. It featured Diane Keaton and Roberts. The play was significant to Keaton's budding career, and she has said she was in "awe" of Allen even before auditioning for her role, which was the first time she met him. In a 2013 interview Keaton said that she "fell in love with him right away", adding, "I wanted to be his girlfriend so I did something about it." After co-starring alongside Allen in the subsequent film version of Play It Again, Sam, she later co-starred in Sleeper, Love and Death, Annie Hall, Interiors and Manhattan. "He showed me the ropes and I followed his lead. He is the most disciplined person I know. He works very hard," Keaton has said.
In 1981, Allen's play The Floating Light Bulb, starring Danny Aiello and Bea Arthur, premiered on Broadway and ran for 65 performances. While receiving mixed reviews, it gave autobiographical insight into Allen's childhood, specifically his fascination with magic tricks. The play, set in 1945, is a semi-autobiographical tale of a lower-middle-class family in Brooklyn. New York Times critic Frank Rich gave the play a mild review, writing, "there are a few laughs, a few well-wrought characters, and, in Act II, a beautifully written scene that leads to a moving final curtain". Rich also compared the play to Tennessee Williams's work.
Allen has written several one-act plays off Broadway, including Riverside Drive, Old Saybrook and A Second Hand Memory, at the Variety Arts Theatre.
On March 8, 1995, Allen's one-act play Central Park West opened off-Broadway as a part of a larger piece titled Death Defying Acts, with two other one-act plays, one by David Mamet, and one by Elaine May. Critics described Allen's contribution as "the longest and most substantial of the evening".
On October 20, 2011, Allen's one-act play Honeymoon Motel opened on Broadway as part of a larger piece titled Relatively Speaking, with two other one-act plays, one by Ethan Coen and one by Elaine May.
On March 11, 2014, Allen's musical Bullets over Broadway opened on Broadway at the St. James Theatre. It was directed and choreographed by Susan Stroman and starred Zack Braff, Nick Cordero, and Betsy Wolfe. The production received mixed reviews, with The Hollywood Reporter writing, "this frothy show does provide dazzling art direction and performances, as well as effervescent ensemble numbers." Allen received a Tony Award nomination for Best Book of a Musical. The show received six Tony nominations.
Early films
Allen's first movie was the Charles K. Feldman production What's New, Pussycat? (1965), for which he wrote the screenplay. He was disappointed with the final product, which inspired him to direct every film he wrote thereafter except Play It Again, Sam. Allen's first directorial effort was What's Up, Tiger Lily? (1966, co-written with Mickey Rose), in which an existing Japanese spy movie—Kokusai himitsu keisatsu: Kagi no kagi (1965), "International Secret Police: Key of Keys"—was redubbed in English by Allen and friends with fresh new, comic dialogue. In 1967, Allen played Jimmy Bond in the 007 spoof Casino Royale.
In 1969, Allen directed, starred in, and co-wrote (with Mickey Rose) Take the Money and Run, which he considers his true film directorial debut. The film received positive reviews; critic Vincent Canby of The New York Times wrote, "Allen has made a movie that is, in effect, a feature-length, two-reel comedy—something very special and eccentric and funny." Allen later signed a deal with United Artists to produce several films.
1970s
During the 1970s, Allen directed films that were later known as his "early, funny" work. These include Bananas (1971, co-written with Rose), Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex* (*But Were Afraid to Ask) (1972), Sleeper (1973), and Love and Death (1975). Sleeper was the first of four screenplays co-written by Allen and Marshall Brickman.
In 1972, Allen wrote and starred in the film version of Play It Again, Sam, directed by Herbert Ross and co-starring Diane Keaton. In 1976, he starred as cashier Howard Prince in The Front, directed by Martin Ritt. The Front was a humorous and poignant account of Hollywood blacklisting during the 1950s; Ritt, screenwriter Walter Bernstein, and three of Allen's cast-mates, Samuel "Zero" Mostel, Herschel Bernardi, and Lloyd Gough, had themselves been blacklisted.
Then came two of Allen's most popular films: Annie Hall and Manhattan. Annie Hall (1977) won four Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Actress in a Leading Role for Diane Keaton, Best Original Screenplay and Best Director for Woody Allen. Annie Hall set the standard for modern romantic comedy and ignited a fashion trend with the clothes Keaton wore in the film. In an interview with journalist Katie Couric, Keaton did not deny that Allen wrote the part for her and about her. The film is ranked 35th on the American Film Institute "100 Best Movies" and fourth on the AFI list of the "100 Best Comedies."
In 1979, Allen directed Manhattan, a black-and-white romantic comedy often viewed as an homage to New York City. The film features iconic scenes filmed in New York City, including an opening montage of scenes around the city, and Allen and Keaton's silhouette on a bench by the Queensboro Bridge. As in many Allen films, the main protagonists are upper-middle class writers and academics. Manhattan focuses on the complicated relationship between middle-aged Isaac Davis (Allen) and 17-year-old Tracy (Mariel Hemingway), and co-stars Diane Keaton and Meryl Streep. It was a box office and critical hit, and received two Academy Award nominations, for Hemingway for Best Supporting Actress and for Allen's screenplay.
Keaton, who has made eight movies with Allen, has said, "He just has a mind like nobody else. He's bold. He's got a lot of strength, a lot of courage in terms of his work. And that is what it takes to do something really unique. Along with a genius imagination."
1980s
Allen's films in the 1980s, even the comedies, became somber with philosophical undertones, influenced by European directors, especially Ingmar Bergman and Federico Fellini. Stardust Memories was based on 8½, which it parodies, and Wild Strawberries. A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy was adapted from Smiles of a Summer Night. In Hannah and Her Sisters, part of the film's structure and background is borrowed from Fanny and Alexander. Fellini's Amarcord inspired Radio Days. September resembles Bergman's Autumn Sonata. Another Woman and Crimes and Misdemeanors have elements reminiscent of Wild Strawberries.
Stardust Memories (1980) features Sandy Bates, a successful filmmaker played by Allen, who expresses resentment and scorn for his fans. Overcome by the recent death of a friend from illness, Bates says, "I don't want to make funny movies anymore" and a running gag has various people (including visiting space aliens) telling him that they appreciate his films, "especially the early, funny ones." Allen considers this one of his best films.
A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy (1982) was the first movie Allen made starring Mia Farrow, who stepped into Diane Keaton's role when Keaton was shooting Reds. He next directed Zelig, in which he starred as a man who has the ability to transform his appearance to that of the people surrounding him.
Allen has combined tragic and comic elements in such films as Hannah and Her Sisters (1986) and Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989), in which he tells two stories that connect at the end. He also made three films about show business: Broadway Danny Rose, in which he plays a down-on-his-luck New York show business agent, The Purple Rose of Cairo, set during the Great Depression, in which a movie character comes to life to romance an unhappy housewife, and Radio Days, a film about his childhood in Brooklyn and the importance of the radio. The film co-starred Farrow in a part Allen wrote specifically for her. The Purple Rose of Cairo was named by Time as one of the 100 best films of all time. Allen called it one of his three best films with Stardust Memories and Match Point. By "best" he said he meant they came closest to his vision. In 1989, Allen and directors Francis Ford Coppola and Martin Scorsese made New York Stories, an anthology film about New Yorkers. Allen's short, Oedipus Wrecks, is about a neurotic lawyer and his critical mother. Film critic Vincent Canby of The New York Times praised the segment as a "priceless contribution" to the film.
1990s
Allen's 1991 film Shadows and Fog is a black-and-white homage to the German expressionists and features the music of Kurt Weill. Allen then made his critically acclaimed comedy-drama Husbands and Wives (1992), which received two Oscar nominations: Best Supporting Actress for Judy Davis and Best Original Screenplay for Allen. Manhattan Murder Mystery (1993) combined suspense with dark comedy and marked the return of Diane Keaton, Alan Alda and Anjelica Huston.
He returned to lighter fare such as the showbiz comedy involving mobsters Bullets Over Broadway (1994), which earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Director, followed by a musical, Everyone Says I Love You (1996). The singing and dancing scenes in Everyone Says I Love You are similar to musicals starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. The comedy Mighty Aphrodite (1995), in which Greek drama plays a large role, won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for Mira Sorvino. Allen's 1999 jazz-based comedy-drama Sweet and Lowdown was nominated for two Academy Awards, for Sean Penn (Best Actor) and Samantha Morton (Best Supporting Actress). In contrast to these lighter movies, Allen veered into darker satire toward the end of the decade with Deconstructing Harry (1997) and Celebrity (1998).
During this decade Allen also starred in the television film The Sunshine Boys (1995), based on the Neil Simon play of the same name.
Allen made one sitcom "appearance" via telephone on the show Just Shoot Me! in a 1997 episode, "My Dinner with Woody", that paid tribute to several of his films. He provided the voice of Z in DreamWorks' first animated film, Antz (1998), which featured many actors he had worked with; Allen's character was similar to his earlier roles.
2000s
Small Time Crooks (2000) was Allen's first film with the DreamWorks studio and represented a change in direction: he began giving more interviews and made an attempt to return to his slapstick roots. The film is similar to the 1942 film Larceny, Inc. (from a play by S.J. Perelman). Allen never commented on whether this was deliberate or if his film was in any way inspired by it. Small Time Crooks was a relative financial success, grossing over $17 million domestically, but Allen's next four films foundered at the box office, including Allen's most costly film, The Curse of the Jade Scorpion (with a budget of $26 million). Hollywood Ending, Anything Else, and Melinda and Melinda have "rotten" ratings on film-review website Rotten Tomatoes and each earned less than $4 million domestically. Some critics claimed that Allen's early 2000s films were subpar and expressed concern that his best years were behind him. Others were less harsh; reviewing the little-liked Melinda and Melinda, Roger Ebert wrote, "I cannot escape the suspicion that if Woody had never made a previous film, if each new one was Woody's Sundance debut, it would get a better reception. His reputation is not a dead shark but an albatross, which with admirable economy Allen has arranged for the critics to carry around their own necks."
Match Point (2005) was one of Allen's most successful films of the decade, garnering positive reviews. Set in London, it starred Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Scarlett Johansson. It is markedly darker than Allen's first four films with DreamWorks SKG. In Match Point Allen shifts focus from the intellectual upper class of New York to the moneyed upper class of London. The film earned more than $23 million domestically (more than any of his films in nearly 20 years) and over $62 million in international box office sales. It earned Allen his first Academy Award nomination since 1998, for Best Writing – Original Screenplay, with directing and writing nominations at the Golden Globes, his first Globe nominations since 1987. In a 2006 interview with Premiere Magazine he said it was the best film he had ever made.
Allen reached an agreement to film Vicky Cristina Barcelona in Avilés, Barcelona, and Oviedo, Spain, where shooting started on July 9, 2007. The movie featured Scarlett Johansson, Javier Bardem, Rebecca Hall and Penélope Cruz. The film premiered at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival to rapturous reviews, and became a box office success. Vicky Cristina Barcelona won Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy at the Golden Globe awards. Cruz received the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.
"In the United States things have changed a lot, and it's hard to make good small films now," Allen said in a 2004 interview. "The avaricious studios couldn't care less about good films—if they get a good film they're twice as happy but money-making films are their goal. They only want these $100 million pictures that make $500 million."
In April 2008 he began filming Whatever Works, a film aimed more toward older audiences, starring Larry David, Patricia Clarkson, and Evan Rachel Wood. Released in 2009 and described as a dark comedy, it follows the story of a botched suicide attempt turned messy love triangle. Whatever Works was written by Allen in the 1970s, and David's character was written for Zero Mostel, who died the year Annie Hall came out.
Allen was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2001.
2010s
You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger, filmed in London, stars Antonio Banderas, Josh Brolin, Anthony Hopkins, Anupam Kher, Freida Pinto and Naomi Watts. Filming started in July 2009. It was released theatrically in the US on September 23, 2010, following a Cannes debut in May 2010, and a screening at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 12, 2010.
Allen announced that his next film would be titled Midnight in Paris starring Owen Wilson, Marion Cotillard, Rachel McAdams, Michael Sheen, Corey Stoll, Allison Pill, Tom Hiddleston, Adrien Brody, Kathy Bates, and Carla Bruni, the First Lady of France at the time of production. The film follows a young engaged couple in Paris who see their lives transformed. It debuted at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival on May 12, 2011. Allen said he wanted to "show the city emotionally" during the press conference. "I just wanted it to be the way I saw Paris—Paris through my eyes," he added. The film was almost universally praised, receiving a 93% on Rotten Tomatoes. Midnight in Paris won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay and became his highest-grossing film, making $151 million worldwide on a $17 million budget.
In February 2012, Allen appeared on a panel at the 92nd Street Y in New York City with moderators Dick Cavett and Annette Insdorf, discussing his films and career.
His next film, To Rome with Love, was a Rome-set comedy released in 2012. The film was structured in four vignettes featuring dialogue in both Italian and English. It marked Allen's return to acting since his last role in Scoop.
Blue Jasmine debuted in July 2013. The film is set in San Francisco and New York, and stars Alec Baldwin, Cate Blanchett, Louis C.K., Andrew Dice Clay, Sally Hawkins, and Peter Sarsgaard. Opening to critical acclaim, the film earned Allen another Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay, and Blanchett received the Academy Award for Best Actress. Allen co-starred with John Turturro in Fading Gigolo, written and directed by Turturro, which premiered in September 2013. In 2013 Allen shot the romantic comedy Magic in the Moonlight with Emma Stone, and Colin Firth in Nice, France. The film is set in the 1920s on the French Riviera. The film was a modest financial success, earning $51 million off a budget of $16 million.
From July to August 2014 Allen filmed the mystery drama Irrational Man in Newport, Rhode Island, with Joaquin Phoenix, Emma Stone, Parker Posey and Jamie Blackley. Allen said that this film, as well as the next three he had planned, had the financing and full support of Sony Pictures Classics. His next film, Café Society, starred an ensemble cast, including Jesse Eisenberg, Kristen Stewart, and Blake Lively. Bruce Willis was set to co-star, but was replaced by Steve Carell during filming. The film is distributed by Amazon Studios, and opened the 2016 Cannes Film Festival on May 11, 2016, the third time Allen has opened the festival.
On January 14, 2015, Amazon Studios announced a full-season order for a half-hour Amazon Prime Instant Video series that Allen would write and direct, marking the first time he has developed a television show. Allen said of the series, "I don't know how I got into this. I have no ideas and I'm not sure where to begin. My guess is that Roy Price [the head of Amazon Studios] will regret this." At the 2015 Cannes Film Festival, Allen said, in reference to his upcoming Amazon show, "It was a catastrophic mistake. I don't know what I'm doing. I'm floundering. I expect this to be a cosmic embarrassment." On September 30, 2016, Amazon Video debuted Allen's first television series production, Crisis in Six Scenes. The series is a comedy that takes place during the 1960s. It focuses on the life of a suburban family after a surprise visitor creates chaos among them. It stars Allen alongside Elaine May and Miley Cyrus. Cyrus plays a radical hippie fugitive who sells marijuana.
In September 2016 Allen started filming Wonder Wheel, set in the 1950s in Coney Island, and starring Kate Winslet and Justin Timberlake. The film served as the closing night selection at the 55th New York Film Festival on October 15, 2017, and was theatrically released on December 1, 2017, as the first movie self-distributed to theaters by Amazon Studios.
In 2017, Allen received a standing ovation when he made a rare public appearance at the 45th Annual Life Achievement Tribute award ceremony for Diane Keaton. Before presenting her with the award he spoke about their longtime collaboration and friendship, saying, "From the minute I met her, she was a great, great inspiration to me. Much of what I have accomplished in my life I owe for sure to her".
His film A Rainy Day in New York, starring Timothée Chalamet, Selena Gomez, Elle Fanning, Jude Law, Diego Luna, Liev Schreiber and Rebecca Hall began production in New York in September 2017. Chalamet, Gomez and Hall announced, in the light of the #MeToo movement, that they would be donating their salaries to various charities.
In February 2019 it was announced that Amazon Studios had dropped A Rainy Day in New York and would no longer finance, produce, or distribute films with Allen. He filed a lawsuit for $68 million, alleging Amazon gave "vague reasons" to terminate the contract, dropped the film over "a 25-year old, baseless allegation" and did not make payments. The case was later settled and dismissed. It was released throughout Europe beginning in July 2019, receiving mixed reviews and grossing $20 million at the box office. After over a year of delays, the film was released in the United States on October 9, 2020, by MPI Media Group and Signature Entertainment.
2020s
In May 2019 it was announced that Allen's latest film would be titled Rifkin's Festival, and Variety magazine confirmed that its cast would include Christoph Waltz, Elena Anaya, Louis Garrel, Gina Gershon, Sergi López and Wallace Shawn and it would be produced by Gravier Productions. The film was produced with Mediapro, an independent Spanish TV-film company. Rifkin's Festival completed filming in October 2019. On September 18, 2020, it premiered at the San Sebastián International Film Festival. It has received mixed reviews, though Jessica Kiang of The New York Times called it "to the ravenous captive, like finding an unexpected stash of dessert".
On March 2, 2020, it was announced that Grand Central Publishing would release Allen's autobiography, Apropos of Nothing, on April 7, 2020, This was after it was announced Allen had written a memoir and shopped it around to multiple prominent publishers who rejected it. The book was set to be released in the United States, Canada, Italy, Spain, and France, among others. According to the publisher, the book is a "comprehensive account of Allen's life, both personal and professional, and describes his work in films, theater, television, nightclubs, and print...Allen also writes of his relationships with family, friends, and the loves of his life."
The decision to publish the book was met with backlash from Ronan Farrow, who cut ties with the publisher. Dylan Farrow also responded to the announcement of the release, saying "Hachette's publishing of Woody Allen's memoir is deeply upsetting to me personally and an utter betrayal of my brother." On March 5, 2020, 75 employees of Grand Central Publishing held a walkout to protest the release. On March 6, the publisher announced that it had canceled the book's release and returned the rights to Allen, saying, "The decision to cancel Mr. Allen's book was a difficult one. Over the past few days, HBG leadership had extensive conversations with our staff and others. After listening, we came to the conclusion that moving forward with publication would not be feasible for HBG."
Novelist Stephen King criticized Hachette's decision to withdraw the book, saying it "makes me very uneasy. It's not him; I don't give a damn about Mr. Allen. It's who gets muzzled next that worries me." Executive director of PEN America Suzanne Nossel also criticized the decision. On March 6, 2020, Manuel Carcassonne of the Hachette's French branch, the publishing company Stock, announced it would publish the book if Allen permitted it. On March 23, 2020, Arcade published the memoir in English and La nave di Teseo published it in Italian.
In June 2020, Allen appeared on Alec Baldwin's podcast Here's the Thing and talked about his career as a standup comedian, comedy writer, and filmmaker, as well as his life during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2022, Allen promoted his film Rifkin's Festival and talked about his work, comedy career, and filmmaking in the age of streaming and covid on Leonard Maltin's podcast.
Theatre
While best known for his films, Allen has enjoyed a successful career in theatre, starting as early as 1960, when he wrote sketches for the revue From A to Z. His first great success was Don't Drink the Water, which opened in 1968, and ran for 598 performances for almost two years on Broadway. His success continued with Play It Again, Sam, which opened in 1969, starring Allen and Diane Keaton. The show played for 453 performances and was nominated for three Tony Awards, although none of the nominations were for Allen's writing or acting.
In the 1970s, Allen wrote a number of one-act plays, most notably God and Death, which were published in his 1975 collection Without Feathers. In 1981, Allen's play The Floating Light Bulb opened on Broadway. It was a critical success and a commercial flop. Despite two Tony Award nominations, a Tony win for the acting of Brian Backer (who won the 1981 Theater World Award and a Drama Desk Award for his work), the play only ran for 62 performances. After a long hiatus from the stage, Allen returned to the theatre in 1995 with the one-act Central Park West, an installment in an evening of theatre, Death Defying Acts, that also included new work by David Mamet and Elaine May.
For the next few years, Allen had no direct involvement with the stage, but notable productions of his work were staged. A production of God was staged at The Bank of Brazil Cultural Center in Rio de Janeiro, and theatrical adaptations of Allen's films Bullets Over Broadway and September were produced in Italy and France, respectively, without Allen's involvement. In 1997, rumors of Allen returning to the theatre to write a starring role for his wife Soon-Yi Previn turned out to be false. In 2003, Allen finally returned to the stage with Writer's Block, an evening of two one-acts—Old Saybrook and Riverside Drive—that played Off-Broadway. The production marked his stage-directing debut and sold out the entire run. Also in 2003, reports of Allen writing the book for a musical based on Bullets Over Broadway surfaced, and it opened in New York in 2014. The musical closed on August 24, 2014, after 156 performances and 33 previews.
In 2004, Allen's first full-length play since 1981, A Second Hand Memory, was directed by Allen and enjoyed an extended run Off-Broadway. In June 2007 it was announced that Allen would make two more creative debuts in the theatre, directing a work he did not write and directing an opera—a reinterpretation of Puccini's Gianni Schicchi for the Los Angeles Opera—which debuted at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion on September 6, 2008. Of his direction of the opera, Allen said, "I have no idea what I'm doing." His production of the opera opened the Festival of Two Worlds in Spoleto, Italy, in June 2009.
In October 2011 Allen's one-act play Honeymoon Motel premiered as one in a series of one-act plays on Broadway titled Relatively Speaking. Also contributing to the plays are Elaine May and Ethan Coen with John Turturro directing. It was announced in February 2012 that Allen would adapt Bullets over Broadway into a Broadway musical. It opened on April 10, 2014, and closed on August 24, 2014.
In March 2014 Allen's musical Bullets Over Broadway premiered at the St. James Theatre. The cast included Zach Braff, Nick Cordero and Betsy Wolfe. The show was directed and choreographed by Susan Stroman, known for directing the stage and film productions of Mel Brooks's The Producers. The show drew mixed reviews from critics but received six Tony Award nominations, including one for Allen for Best Book of a Musical.
Jazz band
Allen is a passionate fan of jazz, which appears often in the soundtracks to his films. He began playing clarinet as a child and took his stage name from clarinetist Woody Herman. He has performed publicly at least since the late 1960s, including with the Preservation Hall Jazz Band on the soundtrack of Sleeper.
Woody Allen and his New Orleans Jazz Band have been playing each Monday evening at the Carlyle Hotel in Manhattan for many years specializing in New Orleans jazz from the early 20th century. He plays songs by Sidney Bechet, George Lewis, Johnny Dodds, Jimmie Noone, and Louis Armstrong. The documentary film Wild Man Blues (directed by Barbara Kopple) chronicles a 1996 European tour by Allen and his band, as well as his relationship with Previn. The band released the albums The Bunk Project (1993) and the soundtrack of Wild Man Blues (1997). In a 2011 review of a concert by Allen's jazz band, critic Kirk Silsbee of the Los Angeles Times suggested that Allen should be regarded a competent musical hobbyist with a sincere appreciation for early jazz: "Allen's clarinet won't make anyone forget Sidney Bechet, Barney Bigard or Evan Christopher. His piping tone and strings of staccato notes can't approximate melodic or lyrical phrasing. Still his earnestness and the obvious regard he has for traditional jazz counts for something."
Allen and his band played at the Montreal International Jazz Festival on two consecutive nights in June 2008. For many years he wanted to make a film about the origins of jazz in New Orleans. Tentatively titled American Blues, the film would follow the different careers of Louis Armstrong and Sidney Bechet. Allen stated that the film would cost between $80 and $100 million and is therefore unlikely to be made.
Influence
Allen has said that he was enormously influenced by comedians Bob Hope, Groucho Marx, Mort Sahl, Charlie Chaplin, W.C. Fields, playwright George S. Kaufman and filmmakers Ernst Lubitsch and Ingmar Bergman.
Many comedians have cited Allen as an influence, including Louis C.K., Larry David, Jon Stewart, Chris Rock, Steve Martin, John Mulaney, Bill Hader, Aziz Ansari, Sarah Silverman, Conan O'Brien, Seth MacFarlane, Seth Meyers, Richard Ayoade, Bill Maher, Albert Brooks, John Cleese and Garry Shandling.
Many filmmakers have also cited Allen as an influence, including Wes Anderson, Greta Gerwig, Noah Baumbach, Luca Guadagnino, Nora Ephron, Whit Stillman, Mike Mills, Ira Sachs, Richard Linklater, Charlie Kaufman, Nicole Holofcener, Rebecca Miller, Tamara Jenkins, Alex Ross Perry, Greg Mottola, Lynn Shelton, Lena Dunham, Lawrence Michael Levine, Olivier Assayas, and the Safdie brothers.
Directors who admire Allen's work include Quentin Tarantino, who called him "one of the greatest screenwriters of all time", as well as Martin Scorsese, who said in Woody Allen: A Documentary, "Woody's sensibilities of New York City is one of the reasons why I love his work, but they are extremely foreign to me. It's not another world; it's another planet". Stanley Donen stated he liked Allen's films, Spike Lee has called Allen a "great, great filmmaker" and Pedro Almodóvar has said he admires Allen's work. In 2012, directors Mike Leigh, Asghar Farhadi, and Martin McDonagh respectively included Radio Days (1987), Take the Money and Run (1969), and Manhattan among their Top 10 films for Sight & Sound. Other admirers of his work include Olivia Wilde and Jason Reitman, who staged live readings of Hannah and Her Sisters and Manhattan respectively. Filmmaker Edgar Wright listed five of Allen's films (Take the Money and Run, Bananas, Play It Again, Sam, Sleeper, Annie Hall) in his list of 100 Favorite Comedy films.
Film critics including Roger Ebert and Barry Norman have highly praised Allen's work. In 1980, on Sneak Previews, Siskel and Ebert called Allen and Mel Brooks "the two most successful comedy directors in the world today ... America's two funniest filmmakers." Pauline Kael wrote of Allen that "his comic character is enormously appealing to people partly because he's the smart, urban guy who at the same time is intelligent, is vulnerable, and somehow by his intelligence, he triumphs".
Favorite films
In 2012, Allen participated in the Sight & Sound film polls. Held every ten years to select the greatest films of all time, contemporary directors were asked to select ten films of their choice. Allen's choices, in alphabetical order, were:
The 400 Blows (France, 1959)
8½ (Italy, 1963)
Amarcord (Italy, 1972)
Bicycle Thieves (Italy, 1948)
Citizen Kane (USA, 1941)
The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (France, 1972)
La Grande Illusion (France, 1937)
Paths of Glory (USA, 1957)
Rashomon (Japan, 1950)
The Seventh Seal (Sweden, 1957)
In his 2020 autobiography Apropos of Nothing Allen praised Elia Kazan's A Streetcar Named Desire (1951):
Film activism and preservation
In 1987, Allen joined Ginger Rogers, Sydney Pollack, and Miloš Forman at a Senate Judiciary committee hearing in Washington, D.C., where they each gave testimony against Ted Turner's and other companies' colorizing films without the artists' consent. Only one senator, Patrick Leahy, was present for the testimony. Allen testified:
Allen also spoke about his decisions to make films in black and white, such as Manhattan, Stardust Memories, Broadway Danny Rose, and Zelig. Film director John Huston appeared in a pre-taped video, and Rogers read a statement by Jimmy Stewart criticizing the colorization of his film It's a Wonderful Life.
In 1990, Allen and Martin Scorsese created The Film Foundation, a nonprofit film preservation organization that collaborates with film studios to restore prints of old or damaged films. Allen sat on the foundation's original board of directors alongside Robert Altman, Francis Ford Coppola, Clint Eastwood, Stanley Kubrick, George Lucas, Sydney Pollack, Robert Redford, and Steven Spielberg.
Works
Filmography
Theatrical works
In addition to directing, writing, and acting in films, Allen has written and performed in a number of Broadway theater productions.
Bibliography
Getting Even (1971)
Without Feathers (1975)
Side Effects (1980)
The Insanity Defense: The Complete Prose (2007)
Mere Anarchy (2007)
Apropos of Nothing (2020)
Zero Gravity (TBD)
Discography
Woody Allen (Colpix Records, 1964)
Woody Allen Vol. 2 (Colpix Records, 1965)
The Third Woody Allen Album (Capitol Records, 1968)
The Nightclub Years 1964–1968 (United Artists Records, 1972)
Standup Comic (Casablanca Records, 1978)
Wild Man Blues (RCA Victor, 1998)
Awards and honors
Over his 50-year film career, Allen has received many award nominations. He currently holds the record for the most Academy Award nominations for Best Original Screenplay, with 16 nominations and three wins (Annie Hall, Hannah and Her Sisters, and Midnight in Paris). Allen has been nominated for Best Director seven times and won for Annie Hall. Three of Allen's films have been nominated for Academy Award for Best Picture, Annie Hall, Hannah and Her Sisters, and Midnight in Paris.
Allen famously shuns award ceremonies, citing their subjectivity. His first and only appearance at the Academy Awards was at the 2002 Oscars, where he received a standing ovation. As a New York icon, he had been asked by the Academy to present a film montage of clips of New York City in the movies, which was put together by Nora Ephron, to honor the city after the 9/11 attack.
Allen has received numerous honors including a Honorary Golden Palm from the Cannes Film Festival in 2002 and an Career Golden Lion from the Venice International Film Festival in 1995. He also received a BAFTA Fellowship in 1997, a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Directors Guild of America and a Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award in 2014. He was elected a member of the American Philosophical Society in 2010.
Personal life
Allen has been married three times: to Harlene Rosen from 1956 to 1959, Louise Lasser from 1966 to 1970, and Soon-Yi Previn since 1997. He also had a 12-year relationship with actress Mia Farrow and relationships with Stacey Nelkin and Diane Keaton.
Early marriages and relationships
In 1956, Allen married Harlene Rosen. He was 20 and she was 17. The marriage lasted until 1959. Rosen, whom Allen called "the Dread Mrs. Allen" in his standup act, sued him for defamation as a result of comments he made during a television appearance shortly after their divorce. In his mid-1960s album Standup Comic, Allen said that Rosen had sued him because of a joke he made in an interview. Rosen had been sexually assaulted outside her apartment. According to Allen, the newspapers reported that she had been "violated". In the interview, Allen said, "Knowing my ex-wife, it probably wasn't a moving violation." In an interview on The Dick Cavett Show, Allen repeated his comments and said he had been sued for "$1 million".
In 1966, Allen married Louise Lasser. They divorced in 1970. Lasser provided voice dubbing in Allen's What's Up, Tiger Lily? and appeared in three of his other films: Take the Money and Run, Bananas, and Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex* (*But Were Afraid to Ask). She also appeared briefly in Stardust Memories.
According to the Los Angeles Times, Manhattan was based on Allen's romantic relationship with actress Stacey Nelkin. Her bit part in Annie Hall ended up on the cutting room floor, and their relationship, never publicly acknowledged by Allen, reportedly began when she was 17 and a student at Stuyvesant High School in New York. In December 2018 The Hollywood Reporter interviewed Babi Christina Engelhardt, who said she had an eight-year affair with Allen that began in 1976 when she was 17 years old (they met when she was 16), and that she believes the character of Tracy in Manhattan is a composite of any number of Allen's presumed other real-life young paramours from that period, not necessarily Nelkin or Engelhardt. When asked, Allen declined to comment.
Diane Keaton
In 1969, Allen cast Diane Keaton in his Broadway show Play It Again, Sam. During the run she and Allen became romantically involved. Although they broke up after a year, she continued to star in his films, including Sleeper as a futuristic poet and Love and Death as a composite character based on the novels of Tolstoy and Dostoevsky. Annie Hall was very important in Allen's and Keaton's careers. It is said that the role was written for her, as Keaton's birth name was Diane Hall. She then starred in Interiors as a poet, followed by Manhattan. In 1987, she had a cameo as a nightclub singer in Radio Days, and she was chosen to replace Mia Farrow in Manhattan Murder Mystery after Allen and Farrow began having problems with their relationship. In total Keaton has starred in eight of Allen's films. As of 2018 Keaton and Allen remain close friends. In a rare public appearance, Allen presented Keaton with the AFI Life Achievement Award in 2017.
Mia Farrow
Allen and Mia Farrow met in 1979 and began a relationship in 1980; Farrow starred in 13 of Allen's films from 1982 to 1992. Throughout the relationship they lived in separate apartments on opposite sides of Central Park in Manhattan. Farrow had seven children when they met: three biological sons from her marriage to composer André Previn, three adopted girls (two Vietnamese and one South Korean, Soon-Yi Previn), and an adopted South Korean boy, Moses Farrow.
In 1984, she and Allen tried to conceive a child together; Allen agreed to this on the understanding that he need not be involved in the child's care. When the effort to get pregnant failed, Farrow adopted a baby girl, Dylan Farrow, in July 1985. Allen was not involved in the adoption, but when Dylan arrived he assumed a parental role toward her and began spending more time in Farrow's home. On December 19, 1987, Farrow gave birth to their son Satchel Farrow (later known as Ronan Farrow). According to Allen, his intimate relationship with Mia Farrow ceased completely after Satchel's birth and he was asked to return her apartment key; they maintained a working relationship when they filmed a movie, and he regularly visited Moses, Dylan and Satchel, but he and Mia were only "social companions on those occasions where there'd be a dinner, an event, but after the event she'd go home and I'd go home." In 1991, Farrow wanted to adopt another child. According to a 1993 custody hearing, Allen told her he would not object to another adoption so long as she would agree to his adoption of Dylan and Moses; that adoption was finalized in December 1991. Eric Lax, Allen's biographer, wrote in The New York Times that Allen was "there before they [the children] wake up in the morning, he sees them during the day and he helps put them to bed at night".
Soon-Yi Previn
In 1977, Mia Farrow and André Previn adopted Soon-Yi Previn from Seoul, South Korea. She had been abandoned. The Seoul Family Court established a Family Census Register (legal birth document) on her behalf on December 28, 1976, with a presumptive birth date of October 8, 1970; according to Maureen Orth, a bone scan in the U.S. estimated that she was between five and seven years old. According to Previn, her first friendly interaction with Allen took place when she was injured playing soccer during 11th grade and Allen offered to transport her to school. After her injury, she began attending New York Knicks basketball games with Allen in 1990. They attended more games and by 1991 had become closer. In September 1991, she began studies at Drew University in New Jersey.
In January 1992, Farrow found nude photographs of Previn in Allen's home. Allen, then 56, told Farrow that he had taken the photos the day before, approximately two weeks after he first had sex with Previn. Both Farrow and Allen contacted lawyers shortly after the photographs were discovered. Previn was asked to leave summer camp because she was spending too much time taking calls from a "Mr. Simon", who turned out to be Allen.
In an August 1992 interview with Time Magazine Allen said, "I am not Soon-Yi's father or stepfather", adding, "I've never even lived with Mia. I've never in my entire life slept at Mia's apartment, and I never even used to go over there until my children came along seven years ago. I never had any family dinners over there. I was not a father to her adopted kids in any sense of the word." Adding that Soon-Yi never treated him as a father figure and that he rarely spoke to her before their romantic relationship, Allen seemed to see few or no problems with their relationship.
On August 17, 1992, Allen issued a statement saying that he was in love with Previn. Their relationship became public and "erupted into tabloid headlines and late-night monologues in August 1992."
Allen and Previn were married in Venice, Italy, on December 23, 1997. They have adopted two children, and live in the Carnegie Hill section of Manhattan's Upper East Side.
Sexual abuse allegation
According to court testimony, on August 4, 1992, Allen visited the children at Mia Farrow's home in Bridgewater, Connecticut, while she was shopping with a friend. The next day, that friend's babysitter told her employer that she had seen that "Dylan was sitting on the sofa, and Woody was kneeling on the floor, facing her, with his head in her lap". When Farrow asked Dylan about it, Dylan allegedly said that Allen had touched Dylan's "private part" while they were alone together in the attic. Allen strongly denied the allegation, calling it "an unconscionable and gruesomely damaging manipulation of innocent children for vindictive and self-serving motives". He then began proceedings in New York Supreme Court for sole custody of his and Farrow's son Satchel, as well as Dylan and Moses, their two adopted children. In March 1993, a six-month investigation by the Child Sexual Abuse Clinic of Yale-New Haven Hospital concluded that Dylan had not been sexually abused.
In June 1993, Judge Elliott Wilk rejected Allen's bid for custody and rejected the allegation of sexual abuse. Wilk said he was less certain than the Yale-New Haven team that there was conclusive evidence that there was no sexual abuse and called Allen's conduct with Dylan "grossly inappropriate", although not sexual. In September 1993, the state prosecutor announced that despite having "probable cause”, he would not pursue charges in order "to avoid the unjustifiable risk of exposing a child to the rigors and uncertainties of a questionable prosecution". In October 1993 the New York Child Welfare Agency of the State Department of Social Services closed a 14-month investigation and concluded there was not credible evidence of abuse or maltreatment, and the allegation was unfounded.
In 2014, when Allen received a Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award for Lifetime Achievement, the issue returned to the forefront of media attention, with Mia Farrow and Ronan Farrow making disparaging remarks about Allen on Twitter. On February 1, 2014, New York Times journalist Nicholas Kristof, with Dylan's permission, published a column that included excerpts from a letter Dylan had written to Kristof restating the allegation against Allen, and called out fellow actors who have continued to work in his films. Allen responded to the allegation in an open letter, also in The New York Times, strongly denying it. "Of course, I did not molest Dylan...No one wants to discourage abuse victims from speaking out, but one must bear in mind that sometimes there are people who are falsely accused and that is also a terribly destructive thing", he wrote.
In 2018, Moses Farrow (Mia Farrow's and Allen's adopted son who was present at her Bridgewater house during Allen's visit) published a blog post called "A Son Speaks Out." In the post, Moses recounted a series of instances of alleged physical abuse at the hands of Mia Farrow. He wrote, "It pains me to recall instances in which I witnessed siblings, some blind or physically disabled, dragged down a flight of stairs to be thrown into a bedroom or a closet, then having the door locked from the outside. [Mia] even shut my brother Thaddeus, paraplegic from polio, in an outdoor shed overnight as punishment for a minor transgression".
Moses Farrow also described the relationship between Mia Farrow and Soon-Yi Previn: "Soon-Yi was her most frequent scapegoat […] When Soon-Yi was young, Mia once threw a large porcelain centerpiece at her head. Luckily it missed, but the shattered pieces hit her legs. Years later, Mia beat her with a telephone receiver. Soon-Yi's made it clear that her desire was simply to be left alone, which increasingly became the case. Even if her relationship with Woody was unconventional, it allowed her to escape. Others weren't so lucky."
Moses Farrow also recalls, "The summer between first and second grades… my mother came over to my bed and found a tape measure. She gave me a piercing look that stopped me in my tracks and asked if I had taken it, as she had been looking for it all day. I stood in front of her, frozen. She asked why it was on my bed. I told her I didn't know, that perhaps a workman had left it there. She asked again and again and again. When I didn't give the answer she wanted, she slapped my face, knocking off my glasses. She told me I was lying and directed me to tell my brothers and sisters that I had taken the tape measure. Through my tears I listened to her as she explained that we would rehearse what should have happened. She would walk into the room and I would tell her I was sorry for taking the tape measure, that I had taken it to play with and that I would never do it again. She made me rehearse it at least a half-dozen times. That was the start of her coaching, drilling, scripting, and rehearsing – in essence, brainwashing. I became anxious and fearful."
Works about Allen
From 1976 to 1984 Stuart Hample wrote and drew Inside Woody Allen, a comic strip based on Allen's film persona.
The 1997 documentary Wild Man Blues, directed by Barbara Kopple, focuses on Allen, and other documentaries featuring Allen include the 2002 cable television documentary Woody Allen: A Life in Film, directed by Time film critic Richard Schickel, which interlaces interviews of Allen with clips of his films, and the 1986 short film Meetin' WA, in which Allen is interviewed by French New Wave director Jean-Luc Godard.
In 2011 the PBS series American Masters co-produced the documentary Woody Allen: A Documentary, directed by Robert B. Weide. New interviews provide insight and backstory with Diane Keaton, Scarlett Johansson, Penélope Cruz, Dianne Wiest, Larry David, Chris Rock, Martin Scorsese, Dick Cavett, and Leonard Maltin, among others.
Eric Lax authored the book Woody Allen: A Biography.
In 2015 David Evanier published Woody: The Biography, which was billed as the first new biography of Allen in over a decade.
In early March 2020, Grand Central Publishing, a division of Hachette Book Group, announced that it would be publishing Allen's memoir, Apropos of Nothing, on April 7, 2020. Days later, after employee walkouts, parent company Hachette announced that the title was canceled and rights had reverted to Allen. On March 23, 2020, Skyhorse Publishing announced that it had acquired and released Apropos of Nothing through its Arcade imprint.
In February 2021, HBO released Kirby Dick's and Amy Ziering's four-part documentary Allen v. Farrow, which explores the sexual abuse allegations against Allen. The series drew largely positive reviews from critics. Lorraine Ali of the Los Angeles Times wrote that it "makes a compelling argument that Allen got away with the unthinkable thanks to his fame, money, and revered standing in the world of film—and that a little girl never received justice." Rachel Brodsky wrote in The Independent that the "documentary will sound the death knell for Woody Allen’s career." Hadley Freeman in The Guardian wrote that the series "sets itself up as an investigation but much more resembles PR, as biased and partial as a political candidate’s advert vilifying an opponent in election season." A statement on behalf of Allen and Previn denounced the documentary as "a hatchet job riddled with falsehoods" and said that they were approached two months before it was aired on HBO and "given only a matter of days 'to respond.' Of course, they declined to do so." The filmmakers said they gave Allen and Previn two weeks to comment, which is "more than ample time by journalistic standards."
Notes
References
Works cited
External links
(Fresh Air), June 15, 2009
1935 births
Living people
20th-century American dramatists and playwrights
20th-century American male actors
20th-century American male writers
20th-century American musicians
21st-century American dramatists and playwrights
21st-century American male actors
21st-century American male writers
21st-century American musicians
21st-century clarinetists
American film producers
American humorists
American jazz clarinetists
American male comedy actors
American male dramatists and playwrights
American male film actors
American male jazz musicians
American male musicians
American male non-fiction writers
American male screenwriters
American male short story writers
American people of Austrian-Jewish descent
American people of Lithuanian-Jewish descent
American people of Russian-Jewish descent
American satirists
American short story writers
American stand-up comedians
American Ashkenazi Jews
BAFTA fellows
Best Directing Academy Award winners
Best Director BAFTA Award winners
Best Original Screenplay Academy Award winners
Best Original Screenplay BAFTA Award winners
Best Screenplay BAFTA Award winners
Capitol Records artists
Cecil B. DeMille Award Golden Globe winners
César Award winners
Colpix Records artists
Comedians from New York City
Comedy film directors
David di Donatello winners
Directors Guild of America Award winners
Dixieland clarinetists
Entertainers from the Bronx
Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
Film directors from New York City
Filmmakers who won the Best Film BAFTA Award
Grammy Award winners
Independent Spirit Award winners
Jazz musicians from New York (state)
Jewish American male actors
Jewish American male comedians
Jewish American musicians
Jewish comedy and humor
Jewish dramatists and playwrights
Jewish humorists
Jewish male comedians
Jews and Judaism in New York City
Male actors from New York City
Midwood High School alumni
O. Henry Award winners
People from Midwood, Brooklyn
People from the Upper East Side
Screenwriters from New York (state)
Secular Jews
Tisch School of the Arts alumni
Writers from Brooklyn
Writers Guild of America Award winners | true | [
"Henmaru Machino (町野 変丸 Machino Henmaru, sometimes given as 'Hanmaru', born 1969, Aomori Prefecture) is a Japanese artist, described as the Magritte of the eromanga world, whose works prominently feature themes of bestiality, dysmorphia, hermaphrodism, and body transformation, as well as dozens of other sexual paraphilia. Most of his work has emerged within a paradigm of hentai manga and images, but some has appeared in galleries; several of his pieces were part of Takashi Murakami's traveling Superflat exhibition.\n\nMachino started his career through submitting illustration work to the hentai magazine Manga Hot Milk.\n\nWhile Machino's work defies any easy categorization, it could be said to fall within the Japanese EroGuro (Erotic Grotesque) school, still somewhat loosely defined, which dates back to Dada-influenced, Showa-era Decadence. Some assert that it is pornography of the most extreme variety, and nothing more. While porn-or-art debates have been occurring around a wide variety of works for centuries across the globe, the debates surrounding Machino are unique in that his subject matter is at the far fringes of human sexual experience, and even beyond it, in that much of what he draws could never occur in the real world. While many EroGuro artists create works that could have real-world analogues (S&M, mutilation, etc.), Machino's images of, for example, girls with dozens of phalli sprouting from each of the dozens of breasts that cover their body, are not something any viewer of his work could ever see in life, and thus the issue of \"what is pornography?\" strongly preempts the issue of \"art or pornography?\" in some of his work.\n\nPartial list of works\n\n - Mediax/MD Comics, 1994.\n SM Chokyoshi Hitomi - Unlicensed game for Super Famicom.\n - Issui Sha/Izumi Comics, 1994.\n - East Press, 1996.\n Hōtō ni Atta Eroi Hanashi - Sanwa Shuppan, 1996.\n - Ohta Shuppan/Ohta Comics, 1996.\n - Issui Sha/Izumi Comics, 1997\n - Issui Sha/Izumi Comics, 1998.\n - Ohta Shuppan/Ohta Comics, 1998.\n - Kubo Shoten/World Comics, 1998.\n - Sanwa Shuppan, 1998.\n Nuruemon - Issui Sha/Izumi Comics, 1998.\n Kenzen Hentai Shōjo - Kubo Shoten/World Comics Special, 2002.\n - Sanwa Shuppan, 1997\n - East Press, 1999\n - Issui Sha/Izumi Comics, 199?\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links \n Machino works list (Japanese)\n\nLiving people\nManga artists\nMachino Henmaru\nMachino Henmaru\nEro guro",
"is a collection of Masamune Shirow's full color works. The volume itself is 148 210 mm x 285 mm pages. It encompasses 226 illustrations from 1981 to 1991, 193 of which are in full color. It is a wide ranging collection, as one might expect from a work surveying 10 years of a professional artist’s life. The foreword written by Masamune Shirow indicates that only a small sample of works is not represented, some works done for fanzines, or sent off to other individuals, and 34 color pages were left out from Ghost in the Shell because he felt that might devalue that work. Everything from Appleseed to Orion are well represented in Intron Depot 1, some pictures are reproductions of paintings, others book covers, manga pages, or drafts. One feature of Intron Depot 1 is that all of the works are presented with a small aside from Shirow as to his thoughts on them. Another is that he includes a number of what he considers to be his mistakes, and is generally very critical of his work over all.\n\nThe commentary itself is somewhat whimsical in tone. It might present some seed of inspiration for an image, critique, or ponder the functionality of a pictured object, or provide some perspective on technique, story, or history associated with the work.\n\nIntron Depot 1 in two spots in particular is quite graphic. One panel involves a graphic drawing of a lesbian ménage à trois, and another significant gore. On balance it is a collection of guns, swords, girls, gadgets, cyborgs, and mecha.\n\nChapters\nPoster (3)\nContents (2)\nAppleseed (43)\nBlack Magic (10)\nBlack Magic M-66 (10)\nGame & Etc. (15)\nGhost in the Shell (39)\nDominion (19)\nCover & Etc. (34)\nOrion (17)\nMonochrome (14)\n\nExternal links\n Dark Horse Comics\n\nMasamune Shirow"
] |
[
"Woody Allen",
"Playwright",
"What are some works of his?",
"In 1966, Allen wrote the play Don't Drink the Water."
] | C_b56e75307cdb4b078e4681f577bc09fd_1 | What else did he write in his career? | 2 | What else did Woody Allen write in Allen's career other than Don't Drink the Water? | Woody Allen | In 1966, Allen wrote the play Don't Drink the Water. The play starred Lou Jacobi, Kay Medford, Anita Gillette and Allen's future movie co-star Tony Roberts. A film adaptation of the play, directed by Howard Morris, was released in 1969, starring Jackie Gleason. Because he was not particularly happy with the 1969 film version of his play, in 1994, Allen directed and starred in a second version for television, with Michael J. Fox and Mayim Bialik. The next play Allen wrote for Broadway was Play It Again, Sam, in which he also starred. The play opened on February 12, 1969, and ran for 453 performances. It featured Diane Keaton and Roberts. The play was significant to Keaton's budding career, and she has stated she was in "awe" of Allen even before auditioning for her role, which was the first time she met him. During an interview in 2013, Keaton stated that she "fell in love with him right away," adding, "I wanted to be his girlfriend so I did something about it." After co-starring alongside Allen in the subsequent film version of Play It Again, Sam, she would later co-star in Sleeper, Love and Death, Interiors, Manhattan and Annie Hall. "He showed me the ropes and I followed his lead. He is the most disciplined person I know. He works very hard," Keaton has stated. "I find the same thing sexy in a man now as I always have: humor. I love it when they are funny. It's to die for." For its March 21, 1969, issue, Life featured Allen on its cover. In 1981, his play The Floating Light Bulb premiered on Broadway and ran for 65 performances. While receiving mixed reviews, it gave an autobiographical insight into Allen's childhood, specifically his fascination with magic tricks. He has written several one-act plays, including Riverside Drive and Old Saybrook exploring well-known Allen themes. On October 20, 2011, Allen's one-act play Honeymoon Motel opened as part of a larger piece entitled Relatively Speaking on Broadway, with two other one-act plays, one by Ethan Coen and one by Elaine May. CANNOTANSWER | The next play Allen wrote for Broadway was Play It Again, Sam, | Heywood "Woody" Allen (born Allan Stewart Konigsberg; November 30, 1935) is an American film director, writer, actor, and comedian whose career spans more than six decades and multiple Academy Award-winning films. He began his career writing material for television in the 1950s, working alongside Mel Brooks, Carl Reiner, Larry Gelbart, and Neil Simon. He also published several books featuring short stories and wrote humor pieces for The New Yorker. In the early 1960s, he performed as a stand-up comedian in Greenwich Village alongside Lenny Bruce, Elaine May, Mike Nichols, and Joan Rivers. There he developed a monologue style (rather than traditional jokes) and the persona of an insecure, intellectual, fretful nebbish. He released three comedy albums during the mid to late 1960s, earning a Grammy Award nomination for his 1964 comedy album entitled simply, Woody Allen. In 2004, Comedy Central ranked Allen fourth on a list of the 100 greatest stand-up comedians, while a UK survey ranked Allen the third-greatest comedian.
By the mid-1960s, Allen was writing and directing films, first specializing in slapstick comedies such as Take the Money and Run (1969), Bananas (1971), Sleeper (1973), and Love and Death (1975), before moving into dramatic material influenced by European art cinema during the late 1970s with Interiors (1978), Manhattan (1979), and Stardust Memories (1980), and alternating between comedies and dramas to the present. Allen is often identified as part of the New Hollywood wave of filmmakers of the mid-1960s to late 1970s such as Martin Scorsese, Robert Altman, and Sidney Lumet. He often stars in his films, typically in the persona he developed as a standup. His film Annie Hall (1977), a romantic comedy featuring Allen and his frequent collaborator Diane Keaton, won four Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Actress for Keaton. Critics have called his work from the 1980s his most developed period. Those films include Zelig (1983), Broadway Danny Rose (1984), The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985), Hannah and Her Sisters (1986), Radio Days (1987), Another Woman (1988), and Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989). In the 21st century, many of Allen's films have been set and shot in Europe, including Match Point (2005), Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008), and Midnight in Paris (2011). Allen returned to America gaining acclaim for Blue Jasmine (2013) and Cafe Society (2016).
In 1979, Allen began a professional and personal relationship with actress Mia Farrow, and over a decade-long period they collaborated on 13 films. They separated after Allen began a relationship with Mia's and Andre Previn's adopted daughter Soon-Yi Previn. During the separation, Allen was publicly accused of sexually abusing his daughter, the seven-year-old Dylan. The allegation gained substantial media attention, but Allen was never charged or prosecuted, and he vehemently denied the allegation. Allen married Previn in 1997, and they adopted two children.
Allen has received many accolades and honors, including the most nominations for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, with 16. He has won four Academy Awards, one for Best Director, and three for Best Original Screenplay. He also garnered nine British Academy Film Awards. In 1997, Allen was awarded the BAFTA Fellowship by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts. In 2014, he received the Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award for Lifetime Achievement and a Tony Award nomination for Best Book of a Musical for Bullets over Broadway. In 2015, the Writers Guild of America named his screenplay for Annie Hall first on its list of the "101 Funniest Screenplays". In 2011, PBS televised the film biography Woody Allen: A Documentary on its series American Masters.
Early life
Allen was born in Brooklyn, New York, as Allan Stewart Konigsberg at Mount Eden Hospital in the Bronx, New York City, on November 30, 1935. He is Jewish. Allen's parents were Nettie (née Cherry; 1906–2002), a bookkeeper at her family's delicatessen, and Martin Konigsberg (1900–2001), a jewelry engraver and waiter. His grandparents were immigrants to the U.S. from Austria and the Lithuanian city of Panevėžys. They spoke German, Hebrew and Yiddish. He and his younger sister, film producer Letty, were raised in Brooklyn's Midwood neighborhood. Both of their parents were born and raised on the Lower East Side of Manhattan.
Allen's parents did not get along, and he had an estranged relationship with his authoritarian, ill-tempered mother. He spoke German in his early years. He later joked that he was often sent to inter-faith summer camps when he was young. While attending Hebrew school for eight years, he went to Public School 99 (now the Isaac Asimov School for Science and Literature) and Midwood High School, graduating in 1953. Unlike his comic persona, he was more interested in baseball than school and his strong arm ensured he was picked first for teams. He impressed students with his talent for cards and magic tricks.
Allen wrote jokes (or "gags") for agent David O. Alber to make money, and Alber sold them to newspaper columnists. At age 17, he legally changed his name to Heywood Allen and later began to call himself Woody. According to Allen, his first published joke read: "Woody Allen says he ate at a restaurant that had O.P.S. prices—over people's salaries." He was soon earning more than both of his parents combined. After high school, he attended New York University, studying communication and film in 1953, before dropping out after failing the course "Motion Picture Production". He studied film at City College of New York in 1954, but left during the first semester. He taught himself rather than studying in the classroom. He later taught at The New School and studied with writing teacher Lajos Egri.
Career
Comedy writer
Allen began writing short jokes when he was 15, and the following year began sending them to various Broadway writers to see if they'd be interested in buying any. One of those writers was Abe Burrows, coauthor of Guys and Dolls, who wrote, "Wow! His stuff was dazzling." Burrows then wrote Allen letters of introduction to Sid Caesar, Phil Silvers, and Peter Lind Hayes, who immediately sent Allen a check for just the jokes Burrows included as samples.
As a result of the jokes Allen mailed to various writers, he was invited, then age 19, to join the NBC Writer's Development Program in 1955, followed by a job on The NBC Comedy Hour in Los Angeles. He was later hired as a full-time writer for humorist Herb Shriner, initially earning $25 a week. He began writing scripts for The Ed Sullivan Show, The Tonight Show, specials for Sid Caesar post-Caesar's Hour (1954–1957), and other television shows. By the time he was working for Caesar, he was earning $1,500 a week. He worked alongside Mel Brooks, Carl Reiner, Larry Gelbart, and Neil Simon. He also worked with Danny Simon, whom Allen credits for helping form his writing style. In 1962 alone, he estimated that he wrote twenty thousand jokes for various comics. Allen also wrote for the Candid Camera television show, and appeared in some episodes.
He wrote jokes for the Buddy Hackett sitcom Stanley and for The Pat Boone Chevy Showroom, and in 1958 he co-wrote a few Sid Caesar specials with Larry Gelbart. After writing for many of television's leading comedians and comedy shows, Allen was gaining a reputation as a "genius", composer Mary Rodgers said. When given an assignment for a show he would leave and come back the next day with "reams of paper", according to producer Max Liebman. Similarly, after he wrote for Bob Hope, Hope called him "half a genius".
His daily writing routine could last as long as 15 hours, and he could focus and write anywhere necessary. Dick Cavett was amazed at Allen's capacity to write: "He can go to a typewriter after breakfast and sit there until the sun sets and his head is pounding, interrupting work only for coffee and a brief walk, and then spend the whole evening working." When Allen wrote for other comedians, they would use eight out of ten of his jokes. When he began performing as a stand-up, he was much more selective, typically using only one out of ten jokes. He estimated that to prepare for a 30-minute show, he spent six months of intensive writing. He enjoyed writing, however, despite the work: "Nothing makes me happier than to tear open a ream of paper. And I can't wait to fill it! I love to do it."
Allen started writing short stories and cartoon captions for magazines such as The New Yorker; he was inspired by the tradition of New Yorker humorists S. J. Perelman, George S. Kaufman, Robert Benchley, and Max Shulman, whose material he modernized. His collections of short pieces includes Getting Even, Without Feathers, Side Effects, and Mere Anarchy. His early comic fiction was influenced by the zany, pun-ridden humor of S.J. Perelman. In 2010 Allen released audio versions of his books in which he read 73 selections entitled, The Woody Allen Collection. He was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album.
Stand-up comedian
From 1960 to 1969 Allen performed as a comedian to supplement his comedy writing. He worked in various places around Greenwich Village, including The Bitter End and Cafe Au Go Go, alongside such contemporaries as Lenny Bruce, the team of Mike Nichols and Elaine May, Joan Rivers, George Carlin, Richard Pryor, Dick Cavett, Bill Cosby and Mort Sahl (his personal favorite), as well as such other artists of the day as Bob Dylan and Barbra Streisand. Comedian Milton Berle claims to have suggested to Allen to go into standup comedy and even introduced him at the Village Vanguard. Comedy historian Gerald Nachman writes that Allen, while not the first to do standup, eventually had greater impact than all the others in the 1960s, and redefined standup comedy: "He helped turn it into biting, brutally honest satirical commentary on the cultural and psychological tenor of the times."
After Allen was taken under the wing of his new manager, Jack Rollins, who had recently discovered Nichols and May, Rollins suggested he perform his written jokes as a stand-up. Allen was resistant at first, but after seeing Mort Sahl on stage, he felt safer to give it a try: "I'd never had the nerve to talk about it before. Then Mort Sahl came along with a whole new style of humor, opening up vistas for people like me." Allen made his professional stage debut at the Blue Angel nightclub in Manhattan in October 1960, where comedian Shelley Berman introduced him as a young television writer who would perform his own material.
His early stand-up shows with his different style of humor were not always well received or understood by his audiences. Unlike other comedians, Allen spoke to his audiences in a gentle and conversational style, often appearing to be searching for words, although he was well rehearsed. He acted "normal", dressed casually, and made no attempt to project a stage "personality". And he did not improvise: "I put very little premium on improvisation," he told Studs Terkel. His jokes were created from life experiences, and typically presented with a dead serious demeanor that made them funnier: "I don't think my family liked me. They put a live teddy bear in my crib."
The subjects of his jokes were rarely topical, political or socially relevant. Unlike Bruce and Sahl, he did not discuss current events such as civil rights, women's rights, the Cold War, or Vietnam. And although he was described as a "classic nebbish", he did not tell the standard Jewish jokes of the period. Comedy screenwriter Larry Gelbart compared Allen's style to Elaine May's: "He just styled himself completely after her". Like Nichols and May, he often made fun of intellectuals.
Cavett, who was among the minority to quickly appreciate Allen's style, recalls seeing the Blue Angel audience mostly ignore Allen's monologue: "I recognized immediately that there was no young comedian in the country in the same class with him for sheer brilliance of jokes, and I resented the fact that the audience was too dumb to realize what they were getting." It was his subdued stage presence that eventually became one of Allen's strongest traits, Nachman argues: "The utter absence of showbiz veneer and shtick was the best shtick any comedian had ever devised. This uneasy onstage naturalness became a trademark." When the media finally noticed, writers like The New York Timess Arthur Gelb described Allen's nebbish quality as "Chaplinesque" and "refreshing".
Allen developed an anxious, nervous, and intellectual persona for his stand-up act, a successful move that secured regular gigs for him in nightclubs and on television. He brought innovation to the comedy monologue genre and his stand-up comedy is considered influential. Allen first appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson on November 1, 1963, and over nine years his guest appearances included 17 in the host's chair. He subsequently released three LP albums of live nightclub recordings: the self-titled Woody Allen (1964), Volume 2 (1965), and The Third Woody Allen Album (1968), recorded at a fund-raiser for Senator Eugene McCarthy's presidential run.
In 1965, Allen filmed a half-hour standup special in England for Granada Television, titled The Woody Allen Show in the U.K. and Woody Allen: Standup Comic in the U.S. It is the only complete standup show of Allen's on film. The same year, Allen along with Nichols and May, Barbara Streisand, Carol Channing, Harry Belafonte, Julie Andrews, Carol Burnett, and Alfred Hitchcock took part in Lyndon B. Johnson’s inaugural gala in Washington, D.C., on January 18, 1965. First Lady Lady Bird Johnson described Allen and the event in her published diary, A White House Diary, writing in part, "Woody Allen, that forlorn, undernourished little comedian, stopped shooting a movie in Paris and flew across the Atlantic for about five minutes of jokes".
In 1966, Allen wrote an hourlong musical comedy television special for CBS, Gene Kelly in New York City. It focused on Gene Kelly in a musical tour around Manhattan, dancing along such landmarks as Rockefeller Center, the Plaza Hotel and the Museum of Modern Art, which serve as backdrops for the show's production numbers. Allen appeared in the special alongside Kelly. Guest stars included choreographer Gower Champion, British musical comedy star Tommy Steele, and songstress Damita Jo DeBlanc.
In 1967, Allen hosted a TV special for NBC, Woody Allen Looks at 1967. It featured Liza Minnelli, who acted alongside Allen in some skits; Aretha Franklin, the musical guest; and conservative writer William F. Buckley, the featured guest. In 1969, Allen hosted his first American special for CBS television, The Woody Allen Special, which included skits with Candice Bergen, a musical performance from the 5th Dimension, and an interview between Allen and Billy Graham.
Allen also performed standup comedy on other series, including The Andy Williams Show and The Perry Como Show, where he interacted with other guests and occasionally sang. In 1971, he hosted one of his final Tonight Shows, with guests Bob Hope and James Coco. Hope praised Allen on the show, calling him "one of the finest young talents in show business and a great delight". Life magazine put Allen on the cover of its March 21, 1969, issue.
In 1979, Allen paid tribute to one of his comedy idols, Bob Hope, at the Film Society at Lincoln Center, creating a special for the event titled "My Favorite Comedian" that included clips from Hope's films, selected and narrated by Allen. Hope said of the honor, "It's great to have your past spring up in front of your eyes, especially when it's done by Woody Allen, because he's a near genius. Not a whole genius, but a near genius". Dick Cavett served as the host, but Allen was absent, editing Manhattan. Guests at the event included Diane Keaton, Kurt Vonnegut, and Andy Warhol.
Playwright
In 1966, Allen wrote the play Don't Drink the Water. The play starred Lou Jacobi, Kay Medford, Anita Gillette and Allen's future movie co-star Tony Roberts. A film adaptation of the play, directed by Howard Morris, was released in 1969, starring Jackie Gleason. Because he was not particularly happy with that version, in 1994 Allen directed and starred in a second version for television, with Michael J. Fox and Mayim Bialik.
The next play Allen wrote for Broadway was Play It Again, Sam, in which he also starred. The play opened on February 12, 1969, and ran for 453 performances. It featured Diane Keaton and Roberts. The play was significant to Keaton's budding career, and she has said she was in "awe" of Allen even before auditioning for her role, which was the first time she met him. In a 2013 interview Keaton said that she "fell in love with him right away", adding, "I wanted to be his girlfriend so I did something about it." After co-starring alongside Allen in the subsequent film version of Play It Again, Sam, she later co-starred in Sleeper, Love and Death, Annie Hall, Interiors and Manhattan. "He showed me the ropes and I followed his lead. He is the most disciplined person I know. He works very hard," Keaton has said.
In 1981, Allen's play The Floating Light Bulb, starring Danny Aiello and Bea Arthur, premiered on Broadway and ran for 65 performances. While receiving mixed reviews, it gave autobiographical insight into Allen's childhood, specifically his fascination with magic tricks. The play, set in 1945, is a semi-autobiographical tale of a lower-middle-class family in Brooklyn. New York Times critic Frank Rich gave the play a mild review, writing, "there are a few laughs, a few well-wrought characters, and, in Act II, a beautifully written scene that leads to a moving final curtain". Rich also compared the play to Tennessee Williams's work.
Allen has written several one-act plays off Broadway, including Riverside Drive, Old Saybrook and A Second Hand Memory, at the Variety Arts Theatre.
On March 8, 1995, Allen's one-act play Central Park West opened off-Broadway as a part of a larger piece titled Death Defying Acts, with two other one-act plays, one by David Mamet, and one by Elaine May. Critics described Allen's contribution as "the longest and most substantial of the evening".
On October 20, 2011, Allen's one-act play Honeymoon Motel opened on Broadway as part of a larger piece titled Relatively Speaking, with two other one-act plays, one by Ethan Coen and one by Elaine May.
On March 11, 2014, Allen's musical Bullets over Broadway opened on Broadway at the St. James Theatre. It was directed and choreographed by Susan Stroman and starred Zack Braff, Nick Cordero, and Betsy Wolfe. The production received mixed reviews, with The Hollywood Reporter writing, "this frothy show does provide dazzling art direction and performances, as well as effervescent ensemble numbers." Allen received a Tony Award nomination for Best Book of a Musical. The show received six Tony nominations.
Early films
Allen's first movie was the Charles K. Feldman production What's New, Pussycat? (1965), for which he wrote the screenplay. He was disappointed with the final product, which inspired him to direct every film he wrote thereafter except Play It Again, Sam. Allen's first directorial effort was What's Up, Tiger Lily? (1966, co-written with Mickey Rose), in which an existing Japanese spy movie—Kokusai himitsu keisatsu: Kagi no kagi (1965), "International Secret Police: Key of Keys"—was redubbed in English by Allen and friends with fresh new, comic dialogue. In 1967, Allen played Jimmy Bond in the 007 spoof Casino Royale.
In 1969, Allen directed, starred in, and co-wrote (with Mickey Rose) Take the Money and Run, which he considers his true film directorial debut. The film received positive reviews; critic Vincent Canby of The New York Times wrote, "Allen has made a movie that is, in effect, a feature-length, two-reel comedy—something very special and eccentric and funny." Allen later signed a deal with United Artists to produce several films.
1970s
During the 1970s, Allen directed films that were later known as his "early, funny" work. These include Bananas (1971, co-written with Rose), Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex* (*But Were Afraid to Ask) (1972), Sleeper (1973), and Love and Death (1975). Sleeper was the first of four screenplays co-written by Allen and Marshall Brickman.
In 1972, Allen wrote and starred in the film version of Play It Again, Sam, directed by Herbert Ross and co-starring Diane Keaton. In 1976, he starred as cashier Howard Prince in The Front, directed by Martin Ritt. The Front was a humorous and poignant account of Hollywood blacklisting during the 1950s; Ritt, screenwriter Walter Bernstein, and three of Allen's cast-mates, Samuel "Zero" Mostel, Herschel Bernardi, and Lloyd Gough, had themselves been blacklisted.
Then came two of Allen's most popular films: Annie Hall and Manhattan. Annie Hall (1977) won four Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Actress in a Leading Role for Diane Keaton, Best Original Screenplay and Best Director for Woody Allen. Annie Hall set the standard for modern romantic comedy and ignited a fashion trend with the clothes Keaton wore in the film. In an interview with journalist Katie Couric, Keaton did not deny that Allen wrote the part for her and about her. The film is ranked 35th on the American Film Institute "100 Best Movies" and fourth on the AFI list of the "100 Best Comedies."
In 1979, Allen directed Manhattan, a black-and-white romantic comedy often viewed as an homage to New York City. The film features iconic scenes filmed in New York City, including an opening montage of scenes around the city, and Allen and Keaton's silhouette on a bench by the Queensboro Bridge. As in many Allen films, the main protagonists are upper-middle class writers and academics. Manhattan focuses on the complicated relationship between middle-aged Isaac Davis (Allen) and 17-year-old Tracy (Mariel Hemingway), and co-stars Diane Keaton and Meryl Streep. It was a box office and critical hit, and received two Academy Award nominations, for Hemingway for Best Supporting Actress and for Allen's screenplay.
Keaton, who has made eight movies with Allen, has said, "He just has a mind like nobody else. He's bold. He's got a lot of strength, a lot of courage in terms of his work. And that is what it takes to do something really unique. Along with a genius imagination."
1980s
Allen's films in the 1980s, even the comedies, became somber with philosophical undertones, influenced by European directors, especially Ingmar Bergman and Federico Fellini. Stardust Memories was based on 8½, which it parodies, and Wild Strawberries. A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy was adapted from Smiles of a Summer Night. In Hannah and Her Sisters, part of the film's structure and background is borrowed from Fanny and Alexander. Fellini's Amarcord inspired Radio Days. September resembles Bergman's Autumn Sonata. Another Woman and Crimes and Misdemeanors have elements reminiscent of Wild Strawberries.
Stardust Memories (1980) features Sandy Bates, a successful filmmaker played by Allen, who expresses resentment and scorn for his fans. Overcome by the recent death of a friend from illness, Bates says, "I don't want to make funny movies anymore" and a running gag has various people (including visiting space aliens) telling him that they appreciate his films, "especially the early, funny ones." Allen considers this one of his best films.
A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy (1982) was the first movie Allen made starring Mia Farrow, who stepped into Diane Keaton's role when Keaton was shooting Reds. He next directed Zelig, in which he starred as a man who has the ability to transform his appearance to that of the people surrounding him.
Allen has combined tragic and comic elements in such films as Hannah and Her Sisters (1986) and Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989), in which he tells two stories that connect at the end. He also made three films about show business: Broadway Danny Rose, in which he plays a down-on-his-luck New York show business agent, The Purple Rose of Cairo, set during the Great Depression, in which a movie character comes to life to romance an unhappy housewife, and Radio Days, a film about his childhood in Brooklyn and the importance of the radio. The film co-starred Farrow in a part Allen wrote specifically for her. The Purple Rose of Cairo was named by Time as one of the 100 best films of all time. Allen called it one of his three best films with Stardust Memories and Match Point. By "best" he said he meant they came closest to his vision. In 1989, Allen and directors Francis Ford Coppola and Martin Scorsese made New York Stories, an anthology film about New Yorkers. Allen's short, Oedipus Wrecks, is about a neurotic lawyer and his critical mother. Film critic Vincent Canby of The New York Times praised the segment as a "priceless contribution" to the film.
1990s
Allen's 1991 film Shadows and Fog is a black-and-white homage to the German expressionists and features the music of Kurt Weill. Allen then made his critically acclaimed comedy-drama Husbands and Wives (1992), which received two Oscar nominations: Best Supporting Actress for Judy Davis and Best Original Screenplay for Allen. Manhattan Murder Mystery (1993) combined suspense with dark comedy and marked the return of Diane Keaton, Alan Alda and Anjelica Huston.
He returned to lighter fare such as the showbiz comedy involving mobsters Bullets Over Broadway (1994), which earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Director, followed by a musical, Everyone Says I Love You (1996). The singing and dancing scenes in Everyone Says I Love You are similar to musicals starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. The comedy Mighty Aphrodite (1995), in which Greek drama plays a large role, won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for Mira Sorvino. Allen's 1999 jazz-based comedy-drama Sweet and Lowdown was nominated for two Academy Awards, for Sean Penn (Best Actor) and Samantha Morton (Best Supporting Actress). In contrast to these lighter movies, Allen veered into darker satire toward the end of the decade with Deconstructing Harry (1997) and Celebrity (1998).
During this decade Allen also starred in the television film The Sunshine Boys (1995), based on the Neil Simon play of the same name.
Allen made one sitcom "appearance" via telephone on the show Just Shoot Me! in a 1997 episode, "My Dinner with Woody", that paid tribute to several of his films. He provided the voice of Z in DreamWorks' first animated film, Antz (1998), which featured many actors he had worked with; Allen's character was similar to his earlier roles.
2000s
Small Time Crooks (2000) was Allen's first film with the DreamWorks studio and represented a change in direction: he began giving more interviews and made an attempt to return to his slapstick roots. The film is similar to the 1942 film Larceny, Inc. (from a play by S.J. Perelman). Allen never commented on whether this was deliberate or if his film was in any way inspired by it. Small Time Crooks was a relative financial success, grossing over $17 million domestically, but Allen's next four films foundered at the box office, including Allen's most costly film, The Curse of the Jade Scorpion (with a budget of $26 million). Hollywood Ending, Anything Else, and Melinda and Melinda have "rotten" ratings on film-review website Rotten Tomatoes and each earned less than $4 million domestically. Some critics claimed that Allen's early 2000s films were subpar and expressed concern that his best years were behind him. Others were less harsh; reviewing the little-liked Melinda and Melinda, Roger Ebert wrote, "I cannot escape the suspicion that if Woody had never made a previous film, if each new one was Woody's Sundance debut, it would get a better reception. His reputation is not a dead shark but an albatross, which with admirable economy Allen has arranged for the critics to carry around their own necks."
Match Point (2005) was one of Allen's most successful films of the decade, garnering positive reviews. Set in London, it starred Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Scarlett Johansson. It is markedly darker than Allen's first four films with DreamWorks SKG. In Match Point Allen shifts focus from the intellectual upper class of New York to the moneyed upper class of London. The film earned more than $23 million domestically (more than any of his films in nearly 20 years) and over $62 million in international box office sales. It earned Allen his first Academy Award nomination since 1998, for Best Writing – Original Screenplay, with directing and writing nominations at the Golden Globes, his first Globe nominations since 1987. In a 2006 interview with Premiere Magazine he said it was the best film he had ever made.
Allen reached an agreement to film Vicky Cristina Barcelona in Avilés, Barcelona, and Oviedo, Spain, where shooting started on July 9, 2007. The movie featured Scarlett Johansson, Javier Bardem, Rebecca Hall and Penélope Cruz. The film premiered at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival to rapturous reviews, and became a box office success. Vicky Cristina Barcelona won Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy at the Golden Globe awards. Cruz received the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.
"In the United States things have changed a lot, and it's hard to make good small films now," Allen said in a 2004 interview. "The avaricious studios couldn't care less about good films—if they get a good film they're twice as happy but money-making films are their goal. They only want these $100 million pictures that make $500 million."
In April 2008 he began filming Whatever Works, a film aimed more toward older audiences, starring Larry David, Patricia Clarkson, and Evan Rachel Wood. Released in 2009 and described as a dark comedy, it follows the story of a botched suicide attempt turned messy love triangle. Whatever Works was written by Allen in the 1970s, and David's character was written for Zero Mostel, who died the year Annie Hall came out.
Allen was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2001.
2010s
You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger, filmed in London, stars Antonio Banderas, Josh Brolin, Anthony Hopkins, Anupam Kher, Freida Pinto and Naomi Watts. Filming started in July 2009. It was released theatrically in the US on September 23, 2010, following a Cannes debut in May 2010, and a screening at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 12, 2010.
Allen announced that his next film would be titled Midnight in Paris starring Owen Wilson, Marion Cotillard, Rachel McAdams, Michael Sheen, Corey Stoll, Allison Pill, Tom Hiddleston, Adrien Brody, Kathy Bates, and Carla Bruni, the First Lady of France at the time of production. The film follows a young engaged couple in Paris who see their lives transformed. It debuted at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival on May 12, 2011. Allen said he wanted to "show the city emotionally" during the press conference. "I just wanted it to be the way I saw Paris—Paris through my eyes," he added. The film was almost universally praised, receiving a 93% on Rotten Tomatoes. Midnight in Paris won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay and became his highest-grossing film, making $151 million worldwide on a $17 million budget.
In February 2012, Allen appeared on a panel at the 92nd Street Y in New York City with moderators Dick Cavett and Annette Insdorf, discussing his films and career.
His next film, To Rome with Love, was a Rome-set comedy released in 2012. The film was structured in four vignettes featuring dialogue in both Italian and English. It marked Allen's return to acting since his last role in Scoop.
Blue Jasmine debuted in July 2013. The film is set in San Francisco and New York, and stars Alec Baldwin, Cate Blanchett, Louis C.K., Andrew Dice Clay, Sally Hawkins, and Peter Sarsgaard. Opening to critical acclaim, the film earned Allen another Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay, and Blanchett received the Academy Award for Best Actress. Allen co-starred with John Turturro in Fading Gigolo, written and directed by Turturro, which premiered in September 2013. In 2013 Allen shot the romantic comedy Magic in the Moonlight with Emma Stone, and Colin Firth in Nice, France. The film is set in the 1920s on the French Riviera. The film was a modest financial success, earning $51 million off a budget of $16 million.
From July to August 2014 Allen filmed the mystery drama Irrational Man in Newport, Rhode Island, with Joaquin Phoenix, Emma Stone, Parker Posey and Jamie Blackley. Allen said that this film, as well as the next three he had planned, had the financing and full support of Sony Pictures Classics. His next film, Café Society, starred an ensemble cast, including Jesse Eisenberg, Kristen Stewart, and Blake Lively. Bruce Willis was set to co-star, but was replaced by Steve Carell during filming. The film is distributed by Amazon Studios, and opened the 2016 Cannes Film Festival on May 11, 2016, the third time Allen has opened the festival.
On January 14, 2015, Amazon Studios announced a full-season order for a half-hour Amazon Prime Instant Video series that Allen would write and direct, marking the first time he has developed a television show. Allen said of the series, "I don't know how I got into this. I have no ideas and I'm not sure where to begin. My guess is that Roy Price [the head of Amazon Studios] will regret this." At the 2015 Cannes Film Festival, Allen said, in reference to his upcoming Amazon show, "It was a catastrophic mistake. I don't know what I'm doing. I'm floundering. I expect this to be a cosmic embarrassment." On September 30, 2016, Amazon Video debuted Allen's first television series production, Crisis in Six Scenes. The series is a comedy that takes place during the 1960s. It focuses on the life of a suburban family after a surprise visitor creates chaos among them. It stars Allen alongside Elaine May and Miley Cyrus. Cyrus plays a radical hippie fugitive who sells marijuana.
In September 2016 Allen started filming Wonder Wheel, set in the 1950s in Coney Island, and starring Kate Winslet and Justin Timberlake. The film served as the closing night selection at the 55th New York Film Festival on October 15, 2017, and was theatrically released on December 1, 2017, as the first movie self-distributed to theaters by Amazon Studios.
In 2017, Allen received a standing ovation when he made a rare public appearance at the 45th Annual Life Achievement Tribute award ceremony for Diane Keaton. Before presenting her with the award he spoke about their longtime collaboration and friendship, saying, "From the minute I met her, she was a great, great inspiration to me. Much of what I have accomplished in my life I owe for sure to her".
His film A Rainy Day in New York, starring Timothée Chalamet, Selena Gomez, Elle Fanning, Jude Law, Diego Luna, Liev Schreiber and Rebecca Hall began production in New York in September 2017. Chalamet, Gomez and Hall announced, in the light of the #MeToo movement, that they would be donating their salaries to various charities.
In February 2019 it was announced that Amazon Studios had dropped A Rainy Day in New York and would no longer finance, produce, or distribute films with Allen. He filed a lawsuit for $68 million, alleging Amazon gave "vague reasons" to terminate the contract, dropped the film over "a 25-year old, baseless allegation" and did not make payments. The case was later settled and dismissed. It was released throughout Europe beginning in July 2019, receiving mixed reviews and grossing $20 million at the box office. After over a year of delays, the film was released in the United States on October 9, 2020, by MPI Media Group and Signature Entertainment.
2020s
In May 2019 it was announced that Allen's latest film would be titled Rifkin's Festival, and Variety magazine confirmed that its cast would include Christoph Waltz, Elena Anaya, Louis Garrel, Gina Gershon, Sergi López and Wallace Shawn and it would be produced by Gravier Productions. The film was produced with Mediapro, an independent Spanish TV-film company. Rifkin's Festival completed filming in October 2019. On September 18, 2020, it premiered at the San Sebastián International Film Festival. It has received mixed reviews, though Jessica Kiang of The New York Times called it "to the ravenous captive, like finding an unexpected stash of dessert".
On March 2, 2020, it was announced that Grand Central Publishing would release Allen's autobiography, Apropos of Nothing, on April 7, 2020, This was after it was announced Allen had written a memoir and shopped it around to multiple prominent publishers who rejected it. The book was set to be released in the United States, Canada, Italy, Spain, and France, among others. According to the publisher, the book is a "comprehensive account of Allen's life, both personal and professional, and describes his work in films, theater, television, nightclubs, and print...Allen also writes of his relationships with family, friends, and the loves of his life."
The decision to publish the book was met with backlash from Ronan Farrow, who cut ties with the publisher. Dylan Farrow also responded to the announcement of the release, saying "Hachette's publishing of Woody Allen's memoir is deeply upsetting to me personally and an utter betrayal of my brother." On March 5, 2020, 75 employees of Grand Central Publishing held a walkout to protest the release. On March 6, the publisher announced that it had canceled the book's release and returned the rights to Allen, saying, "The decision to cancel Mr. Allen's book was a difficult one. Over the past few days, HBG leadership had extensive conversations with our staff and others. After listening, we came to the conclusion that moving forward with publication would not be feasible for HBG."
Novelist Stephen King criticized Hachette's decision to withdraw the book, saying it "makes me very uneasy. It's not him; I don't give a damn about Mr. Allen. It's who gets muzzled next that worries me." Executive director of PEN America Suzanne Nossel also criticized the decision. On March 6, 2020, Manuel Carcassonne of the Hachette's French branch, the publishing company Stock, announced it would publish the book if Allen permitted it. On March 23, 2020, Arcade published the memoir in English and La nave di Teseo published it in Italian.
In June 2020, Allen appeared on Alec Baldwin's podcast Here's the Thing and talked about his career as a standup comedian, comedy writer, and filmmaker, as well as his life during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2022, Allen promoted his film Rifkin's Festival and talked about his work, comedy career, and filmmaking in the age of streaming and covid on Leonard Maltin's podcast.
Theatre
While best known for his films, Allen has enjoyed a successful career in theatre, starting as early as 1960, when he wrote sketches for the revue From A to Z. His first great success was Don't Drink the Water, which opened in 1968, and ran for 598 performances for almost two years on Broadway. His success continued with Play It Again, Sam, which opened in 1969, starring Allen and Diane Keaton. The show played for 453 performances and was nominated for three Tony Awards, although none of the nominations were for Allen's writing or acting.
In the 1970s, Allen wrote a number of one-act plays, most notably God and Death, which were published in his 1975 collection Without Feathers. In 1981, Allen's play The Floating Light Bulb opened on Broadway. It was a critical success and a commercial flop. Despite two Tony Award nominations, a Tony win for the acting of Brian Backer (who won the 1981 Theater World Award and a Drama Desk Award for his work), the play only ran for 62 performances. After a long hiatus from the stage, Allen returned to the theatre in 1995 with the one-act Central Park West, an installment in an evening of theatre, Death Defying Acts, that also included new work by David Mamet and Elaine May.
For the next few years, Allen had no direct involvement with the stage, but notable productions of his work were staged. A production of God was staged at The Bank of Brazil Cultural Center in Rio de Janeiro, and theatrical adaptations of Allen's films Bullets Over Broadway and September were produced in Italy and France, respectively, without Allen's involvement. In 1997, rumors of Allen returning to the theatre to write a starring role for his wife Soon-Yi Previn turned out to be false. In 2003, Allen finally returned to the stage with Writer's Block, an evening of two one-acts—Old Saybrook and Riverside Drive—that played Off-Broadway. The production marked his stage-directing debut and sold out the entire run. Also in 2003, reports of Allen writing the book for a musical based on Bullets Over Broadway surfaced, and it opened in New York in 2014. The musical closed on August 24, 2014, after 156 performances and 33 previews.
In 2004, Allen's first full-length play since 1981, A Second Hand Memory, was directed by Allen and enjoyed an extended run Off-Broadway. In June 2007 it was announced that Allen would make two more creative debuts in the theatre, directing a work he did not write and directing an opera—a reinterpretation of Puccini's Gianni Schicchi for the Los Angeles Opera—which debuted at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion on September 6, 2008. Of his direction of the opera, Allen said, "I have no idea what I'm doing." His production of the opera opened the Festival of Two Worlds in Spoleto, Italy, in June 2009.
In October 2011 Allen's one-act play Honeymoon Motel premiered as one in a series of one-act plays on Broadway titled Relatively Speaking. Also contributing to the plays are Elaine May and Ethan Coen with John Turturro directing. It was announced in February 2012 that Allen would adapt Bullets over Broadway into a Broadway musical. It opened on April 10, 2014, and closed on August 24, 2014.
In March 2014 Allen's musical Bullets Over Broadway premiered at the St. James Theatre. The cast included Zach Braff, Nick Cordero and Betsy Wolfe. The show was directed and choreographed by Susan Stroman, known for directing the stage and film productions of Mel Brooks's The Producers. The show drew mixed reviews from critics but received six Tony Award nominations, including one for Allen for Best Book of a Musical.
Jazz band
Allen is a passionate fan of jazz, which appears often in the soundtracks to his films. He began playing clarinet as a child and took his stage name from clarinetist Woody Herman. He has performed publicly at least since the late 1960s, including with the Preservation Hall Jazz Band on the soundtrack of Sleeper.
Woody Allen and his New Orleans Jazz Band have been playing each Monday evening at the Carlyle Hotel in Manhattan for many years specializing in New Orleans jazz from the early 20th century. He plays songs by Sidney Bechet, George Lewis, Johnny Dodds, Jimmie Noone, and Louis Armstrong. The documentary film Wild Man Blues (directed by Barbara Kopple) chronicles a 1996 European tour by Allen and his band, as well as his relationship with Previn. The band released the albums The Bunk Project (1993) and the soundtrack of Wild Man Blues (1997). In a 2011 review of a concert by Allen's jazz band, critic Kirk Silsbee of the Los Angeles Times suggested that Allen should be regarded a competent musical hobbyist with a sincere appreciation for early jazz: "Allen's clarinet won't make anyone forget Sidney Bechet, Barney Bigard or Evan Christopher. His piping tone and strings of staccato notes can't approximate melodic or lyrical phrasing. Still his earnestness and the obvious regard he has for traditional jazz counts for something."
Allen and his band played at the Montreal International Jazz Festival on two consecutive nights in June 2008. For many years he wanted to make a film about the origins of jazz in New Orleans. Tentatively titled American Blues, the film would follow the different careers of Louis Armstrong and Sidney Bechet. Allen stated that the film would cost between $80 and $100 million and is therefore unlikely to be made.
Influence
Allen has said that he was enormously influenced by comedians Bob Hope, Groucho Marx, Mort Sahl, Charlie Chaplin, W.C. Fields, playwright George S. Kaufman and filmmakers Ernst Lubitsch and Ingmar Bergman.
Many comedians have cited Allen as an influence, including Louis C.K., Larry David, Jon Stewart, Chris Rock, Steve Martin, John Mulaney, Bill Hader, Aziz Ansari, Sarah Silverman, Conan O'Brien, Seth MacFarlane, Seth Meyers, Richard Ayoade, Bill Maher, Albert Brooks, John Cleese and Garry Shandling.
Many filmmakers have also cited Allen as an influence, including Wes Anderson, Greta Gerwig, Noah Baumbach, Luca Guadagnino, Nora Ephron, Whit Stillman, Mike Mills, Ira Sachs, Richard Linklater, Charlie Kaufman, Nicole Holofcener, Rebecca Miller, Tamara Jenkins, Alex Ross Perry, Greg Mottola, Lynn Shelton, Lena Dunham, Lawrence Michael Levine, Olivier Assayas, and the Safdie brothers.
Directors who admire Allen's work include Quentin Tarantino, who called him "one of the greatest screenwriters of all time", as well as Martin Scorsese, who said in Woody Allen: A Documentary, "Woody's sensibilities of New York City is one of the reasons why I love his work, but they are extremely foreign to me. It's not another world; it's another planet". Stanley Donen stated he liked Allen's films, Spike Lee has called Allen a "great, great filmmaker" and Pedro Almodóvar has said he admires Allen's work. In 2012, directors Mike Leigh, Asghar Farhadi, and Martin McDonagh respectively included Radio Days (1987), Take the Money and Run (1969), and Manhattan among their Top 10 films for Sight & Sound. Other admirers of his work include Olivia Wilde and Jason Reitman, who staged live readings of Hannah and Her Sisters and Manhattan respectively. Filmmaker Edgar Wright listed five of Allen's films (Take the Money and Run, Bananas, Play It Again, Sam, Sleeper, Annie Hall) in his list of 100 Favorite Comedy films.
Film critics including Roger Ebert and Barry Norman have highly praised Allen's work. In 1980, on Sneak Previews, Siskel and Ebert called Allen and Mel Brooks "the two most successful comedy directors in the world today ... America's two funniest filmmakers." Pauline Kael wrote of Allen that "his comic character is enormously appealing to people partly because he's the smart, urban guy who at the same time is intelligent, is vulnerable, and somehow by his intelligence, he triumphs".
Favorite films
In 2012, Allen participated in the Sight & Sound film polls. Held every ten years to select the greatest films of all time, contemporary directors were asked to select ten films of their choice. Allen's choices, in alphabetical order, were:
The 400 Blows (France, 1959)
8½ (Italy, 1963)
Amarcord (Italy, 1972)
Bicycle Thieves (Italy, 1948)
Citizen Kane (USA, 1941)
The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (France, 1972)
La Grande Illusion (France, 1937)
Paths of Glory (USA, 1957)
Rashomon (Japan, 1950)
The Seventh Seal (Sweden, 1957)
In his 2020 autobiography Apropos of Nothing Allen praised Elia Kazan's A Streetcar Named Desire (1951):
Film activism and preservation
In 1987, Allen joined Ginger Rogers, Sydney Pollack, and Miloš Forman at a Senate Judiciary committee hearing in Washington, D.C., where they each gave testimony against Ted Turner's and other companies' colorizing films without the artists' consent. Only one senator, Patrick Leahy, was present for the testimony. Allen testified:
Allen also spoke about his decisions to make films in black and white, such as Manhattan, Stardust Memories, Broadway Danny Rose, and Zelig. Film director John Huston appeared in a pre-taped video, and Rogers read a statement by Jimmy Stewart criticizing the colorization of his film It's a Wonderful Life.
In 1990, Allen and Martin Scorsese created The Film Foundation, a nonprofit film preservation organization that collaborates with film studios to restore prints of old or damaged films. Allen sat on the foundation's original board of directors alongside Robert Altman, Francis Ford Coppola, Clint Eastwood, Stanley Kubrick, George Lucas, Sydney Pollack, Robert Redford, and Steven Spielberg.
Works
Filmography
Theatrical works
In addition to directing, writing, and acting in films, Allen has written and performed in a number of Broadway theater productions.
Bibliography
Getting Even (1971)
Without Feathers (1975)
Side Effects (1980)
The Insanity Defense: The Complete Prose (2007)
Mere Anarchy (2007)
Apropos of Nothing (2020)
Zero Gravity (TBD)
Discography
Woody Allen (Colpix Records, 1964)
Woody Allen Vol. 2 (Colpix Records, 1965)
The Third Woody Allen Album (Capitol Records, 1968)
The Nightclub Years 1964–1968 (United Artists Records, 1972)
Standup Comic (Casablanca Records, 1978)
Wild Man Blues (RCA Victor, 1998)
Awards and honors
Over his 50-year film career, Allen has received many award nominations. He currently holds the record for the most Academy Award nominations for Best Original Screenplay, with 16 nominations and three wins (Annie Hall, Hannah and Her Sisters, and Midnight in Paris). Allen has been nominated for Best Director seven times and won for Annie Hall. Three of Allen's films have been nominated for Academy Award for Best Picture, Annie Hall, Hannah and Her Sisters, and Midnight in Paris.
Allen famously shuns award ceremonies, citing their subjectivity. His first and only appearance at the Academy Awards was at the 2002 Oscars, where he received a standing ovation. As a New York icon, he had been asked by the Academy to present a film montage of clips of New York City in the movies, which was put together by Nora Ephron, to honor the city after the 9/11 attack.
Allen has received numerous honors including a Honorary Golden Palm from the Cannes Film Festival in 2002 and an Career Golden Lion from the Venice International Film Festival in 1995. He also received a BAFTA Fellowship in 1997, a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Directors Guild of America and a Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award in 2014. He was elected a member of the American Philosophical Society in 2010.
Personal life
Allen has been married three times: to Harlene Rosen from 1956 to 1959, Louise Lasser from 1966 to 1970, and Soon-Yi Previn since 1997. He also had a 12-year relationship with actress Mia Farrow and relationships with Stacey Nelkin and Diane Keaton.
Early marriages and relationships
In 1956, Allen married Harlene Rosen. He was 20 and she was 17. The marriage lasted until 1959. Rosen, whom Allen called "the Dread Mrs. Allen" in his standup act, sued him for defamation as a result of comments he made during a television appearance shortly after their divorce. In his mid-1960s album Standup Comic, Allen said that Rosen had sued him because of a joke he made in an interview. Rosen had been sexually assaulted outside her apartment. According to Allen, the newspapers reported that she had been "violated". In the interview, Allen said, "Knowing my ex-wife, it probably wasn't a moving violation." In an interview on The Dick Cavett Show, Allen repeated his comments and said he had been sued for "$1 million".
In 1966, Allen married Louise Lasser. They divorced in 1970. Lasser provided voice dubbing in Allen's What's Up, Tiger Lily? and appeared in three of his other films: Take the Money and Run, Bananas, and Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex* (*But Were Afraid to Ask). She also appeared briefly in Stardust Memories.
According to the Los Angeles Times, Manhattan was based on Allen's romantic relationship with actress Stacey Nelkin. Her bit part in Annie Hall ended up on the cutting room floor, and their relationship, never publicly acknowledged by Allen, reportedly began when she was 17 and a student at Stuyvesant High School in New York. In December 2018 The Hollywood Reporter interviewed Babi Christina Engelhardt, who said she had an eight-year affair with Allen that began in 1976 when she was 17 years old (they met when she was 16), and that she believes the character of Tracy in Manhattan is a composite of any number of Allen's presumed other real-life young paramours from that period, not necessarily Nelkin or Engelhardt. When asked, Allen declined to comment.
Diane Keaton
In 1969, Allen cast Diane Keaton in his Broadway show Play It Again, Sam. During the run she and Allen became romantically involved. Although they broke up after a year, she continued to star in his films, including Sleeper as a futuristic poet and Love and Death as a composite character based on the novels of Tolstoy and Dostoevsky. Annie Hall was very important in Allen's and Keaton's careers. It is said that the role was written for her, as Keaton's birth name was Diane Hall. She then starred in Interiors as a poet, followed by Manhattan. In 1987, she had a cameo as a nightclub singer in Radio Days, and she was chosen to replace Mia Farrow in Manhattan Murder Mystery after Allen and Farrow began having problems with their relationship. In total Keaton has starred in eight of Allen's films. As of 2018 Keaton and Allen remain close friends. In a rare public appearance, Allen presented Keaton with the AFI Life Achievement Award in 2017.
Mia Farrow
Allen and Mia Farrow met in 1979 and began a relationship in 1980; Farrow starred in 13 of Allen's films from 1982 to 1992. Throughout the relationship they lived in separate apartments on opposite sides of Central Park in Manhattan. Farrow had seven children when they met: three biological sons from her marriage to composer André Previn, three adopted girls (two Vietnamese and one South Korean, Soon-Yi Previn), and an adopted South Korean boy, Moses Farrow.
In 1984, she and Allen tried to conceive a child together; Allen agreed to this on the understanding that he need not be involved in the child's care. When the effort to get pregnant failed, Farrow adopted a baby girl, Dylan Farrow, in July 1985. Allen was not involved in the adoption, but when Dylan arrived he assumed a parental role toward her and began spending more time in Farrow's home. On December 19, 1987, Farrow gave birth to their son Satchel Farrow (later known as Ronan Farrow). According to Allen, his intimate relationship with Mia Farrow ceased completely after Satchel's birth and he was asked to return her apartment key; they maintained a working relationship when they filmed a movie, and he regularly visited Moses, Dylan and Satchel, but he and Mia were only "social companions on those occasions where there'd be a dinner, an event, but after the event she'd go home and I'd go home." In 1991, Farrow wanted to adopt another child. According to a 1993 custody hearing, Allen told her he would not object to another adoption so long as she would agree to his adoption of Dylan and Moses; that adoption was finalized in December 1991. Eric Lax, Allen's biographer, wrote in The New York Times that Allen was "there before they [the children] wake up in the morning, he sees them during the day and he helps put them to bed at night".
Soon-Yi Previn
In 1977, Mia Farrow and André Previn adopted Soon-Yi Previn from Seoul, South Korea. She had been abandoned. The Seoul Family Court established a Family Census Register (legal birth document) on her behalf on December 28, 1976, with a presumptive birth date of October 8, 1970; according to Maureen Orth, a bone scan in the U.S. estimated that she was between five and seven years old. According to Previn, her first friendly interaction with Allen took place when she was injured playing soccer during 11th grade and Allen offered to transport her to school. After her injury, she began attending New York Knicks basketball games with Allen in 1990. They attended more games and by 1991 had become closer. In September 1991, she began studies at Drew University in New Jersey.
In January 1992, Farrow found nude photographs of Previn in Allen's home. Allen, then 56, told Farrow that he had taken the photos the day before, approximately two weeks after he first had sex with Previn. Both Farrow and Allen contacted lawyers shortly after the photographs were discovered. Previn was asked to leave summer camp because she was spending too much time taking calls from a "Mr. Simon", who turned out to be Allen.
In an August 1992 interview with Time Magazine Allen said, "I am not Soon-Yi's father or stepfather", adding, "I've never even lived with Mia. I've never in my entire life slept at Mia's apartment, and I never even used to go over there until my children came along seven years ago. I never had any family dinners over there. I was not a father to her adopted kids in any sense of the word." Adding that Soon-Yi never treated him as a father figure and that he rarely spoke to her before their romantic relationship, Allen seemed to see few or no problems with their relationship.
On August 17, 1992, Allen issued a statement saying that he was in love with Previn. Their relationship became public and "erupted into tabloid headlines and late-night monologues in August 1992."
Allen and Previn were married in Venice, Italy, on December 23, 1997. They have adopted two children, and live in the Carnegie Hill section of Manhattan's Upper East Side.
Sexual abuse allegation
According to court testimony, on August 4, 1992, Allen visited the children at Mia Farrow's home in Bridgewater, Connecticut, while she was shopping with a friend. The next day, that friend's babysitter told her employer that she had seen that "Dylan was sitting on the sofa, and Woody was kneeling on the floor, facing her, with his head in her lap". When Farrow asked Dylan about it, Dylan allegedly said that Allen had touched Dylan's "private part" while they were alone together in the attic. Allen strongly denied the allegation, calling it "an unconscionable and gruesomely damaging manipulation of innocent children for vindictive and self-serving motives". He then began proceedings in New York Supreme Court for sole custody of his and Farrow's son Satchel, as well as Dylan and Moses, their two adopted children. In March 1993, a six-month investigation by the Child Sexual Abuse Clinic of Yale-New Haven Hospital concluded that Dylan had not been sexually abused.
In June 1993, Judge Elliott Wilk rejected Allen's bid for custody and rejected the allegation of sexual abuse. Wilk said he was less certain than the Yale-New Haven team that there was conclusive evidence that there was no sexual abuse and called Allen's conduct with Dylan "grossly inappropriate", although not sexual. In September 1993, the state prosecutor announced that despite having "probable cause”, he would not pursue charges in order "to avoid the unjustifiable risk of exposing a child to the rigors and uncertainties of a questionable prosecution". In October 1993 the New York Child Welfare Agency of the State Department of Social Services closed a 14-month investigation and concluded there was not credible evidence of abuse or maltreatment, and the allegation was unfounded.
In 2014, when Allen received a Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award for Lifetime Achievement, the issue returned to the forefront of media attention, with Mia Farrow and Ronan Farrow making disparaging remarks about Allen on Twitter. On February 1, 2014, New York Times journalist Nicholas Kristof, with Dylan's permission, published a column that included excerpts from a letter Dylan had written to Kristof restating the allegation against Allen, and called out fellow actors who have continued to work in his films. Allen responded to the allegation in an open letter, also in The New York Times, strongly denying it. "Of course, I did not molest Dylan...No one wants to discourage abuse victims from speaking out, but one must bear in mind that sometimes there are people who are falsely accused and that is also a terribly destructive thing", he wrote.
In 2018, Moses Farrow (Mia Farrow's and Allen's adopted son who was present at her Bridgewater house during Allen's visit) published a blog post called "A Son Speaks Out." In the post, Moses recounted a series of instances of alleged physical abuse at the hands of Mia Farrow. He wrote, "It pains me to recall instances in which I witnessed siblings, some blind or physically disabled, dragged down a flight of stairs to be thrown into a bedroom or a closet, then having the door locked from the outside. [Mia] even shut my brother Thaddeus, paraplegic from polio, in an outdoor shed overnight as punishment for a minor transgression".
Moses Farrow also described the relationship between Mia Farrow and Soon-Yi Previn: "Soon-Yi was her most frequent scapegoat […] When Soon-Yi was young, Mia once threw a large porcelain centerpiece at her head. Luckily it missed, but the shattered pieces hit her legs. Years later, Mia beat her with a telephone receiver. Soon-Yi's made it clear that her desire was simply to be left alone, which increasingly became the case. Even if her relationship with Woody was unconventional, it allowed her to escape. Others weren't so lucky."
Moses Farrow also recalls, "The summer between first and second grades… my mother came over to my bed and found a tape measure. She gave me a piercing look that stopped me in my tracks and asked if I had taken it, as she had been looking for it all day. I stood in front of her, frozen. She asked why it was on my bed. I told her I didn't know, that perhaps a workman had left it there. She asked again and again and again. When I didn't give the answer she wanted, she slapped my face, knocking off my glasses. She told me I was lying and directed me to tell my brothers and sisters that I had taken the tape measure. Through my tears I listened to her as she explained that we would rehearse what should have happened. She would walk into the room and I would tell her I was sorry for taking the tape measure, that I had taken it to play with and that I would never do it again. She made me rehearse it at least a half-dozen times. That was the start of her coaching, drilling, scripting, and rehearsing – in essence, brainwashing. I became anxious and fearful."
Works about Allen
From 1976 to 1984 Stuart Hample wrote and drew Inside Woody Allen, a comic strip based on Allen's film persona.
The 1997 documentary Wild Man Blues, directed by Barbara Kopple, focuses on Allen, and other documentaries featuring Allen include the 2002 cable television documentary Woody Allen: A Life in Film, directed by Time film critic Richard Schickel, which interlaces interviews of Allen with clips of his films, and the 1986 short film Meetin' WA, in which Allen is interviewed by French New Wave director Jean-Luc Godard.
In 2011 the PBS series American Masters co-produced the documentary Woody Allen: A Documentary, directed by Robert B. Weide. New interviews provide insight and backstory with Diane Keaton, Scarlett Johansson, Penélope Cruz, Dianne Wiest, Larry David, Chris Rock, Martin Scorsese, Dick Cavett, and Leonard Maltin, among others.
Eric Lax authored the book Woody Allen: A Biography.
In 2015 David Evanier published Woody: The Biography, which was billed as the first new biography of Allen in over a decade.
In early March 2020, Grand Central Publishing, a division of Hachette Book Group, announced that it would be publishing Allen's memoir, Apropos of Nothing, on April 7, 2020. Days later, after employee walkouts, parent company Hachette announced that the title was canceled and rights had reverted to Allen. On March 23, 2020, Skyhorse Publishing announced that it had acquired and released Apropos of Nothing through its Arcade imprint.
In February 2021, HBO released Kirby Dick's and Amy Ziering's four-part documentary Allen v. Farrow, which explores the sexual abuse allegations against Allen. The series drew largely positive reviews from critics. Lorraine Ali of the Los Angeles Times wrote that it "makes a compelling argument that Allen got away with the unthinkable thanks to his fame, money, and revered standing in the world of film—and that a little girl never received justice." Rachel Brodsky wrote in The Independent that the "documentary will sound the death knell for Woody Allen’s career." Hadley Freeman in The Guardian wrote that the series "sets itself up as an investigation but much more resembles PR, as biased and partial as a political candidate’s advert vilifying an opponent in election season." A statement on behalf of Allen and Previn denounced the documentary as "a hatchet job riddled with falsehoods" and said that they were approached two months before it was aired on HBO and "given only a matter of days 'to respond.' Of course, they declined to do so." The filmmakers said they gave Allen and Previn two weeks to comment, which is "more than ample time by journalistic standards."
Notes
References
Works cited
External links
(Fresh Air), June 15, 2009
1935 births
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Writers from Brooklyn
Writers Guild of America Award winners | true | [
"Fredrick Else (31 March 193320 July 2015) was an English footballer, who played as a goalkeeper. Else gained over 600 professional appearances in his career playing for three clubs, Preston North End, Blackburn Rovers and Barrow.\n\nClub career\nElse was born in Golborne near Wigan on 31 March 1933. Whilst on national service in the north-east he played for amateur club Axwell Park Colliery Welfare in the Derwent Valley League. He attracted the attention of Football League teams and signed as a junior for Preston North End in 1951, and as a professional in 1953. He made his debut for Preston against Manchester City in 1954, but was restricted to 14 appearances over his first three seasons. He eventually became first choice, displacing George Thompson, and played 238 times for North End. During this time Preston's most successful season came in 1957–58, when the club finished as runners up in Division One.\n\nThe 1960–61 season ended in relegation for Preston and Else was sold to neighbours Blackburn Rovers for £20,000. Else became a first choice for Blackburn straight away and played 221 times for the club. A collarbone injury in 1964–65 resulted in a period out of the game, though Else returned to regain the goalkeeper's jersey at Blackburn. Nonetheless the team were relegated the following season and Else was released. During the summer of 1966 Else signed with Barrow of the Fourth Division. Else became part of Barrow's most successful team, with the side winning promotion to the Third Division in his first season there. Else was Barrow's first choice keeper for the entire period that they were in the third division, and played 148 league matches for the club. He retired from football after Barrow's relegation in 1970 following a leg infection. His final season included a brief stint as caretaker manager at Barrow.\n\nHonours\n Football League Division One Runner-up 1957–1958\n Football League Division Four Promotion 1966–1967\n\nInternational career\nElse has been described by fans of the clubs that he played for as one of the best English goalkeepers never to win a full international cap. He did, however, make one appearance for the England B team in 1957 against Scotland B, as well as participating in a Football Association touring side of 1961.\n\nPersonal life and death\nElse met his wife Marjorie in 1949 in Douglas on the Isle of Man. They married when Else was 22 and Marjorie 20, on 29 October 1955, a Saturday morning. The wedding was held in Marjorie's home town of Blackpool and the date was chosen so that the couple could marry in the morning and Else could then travel either to Deepdale, to play for Preston North End's reserve team, or to Bloomfield Road where Preston's first team was due to be playing Blackpool F.C. In the event Else was selected for the reserves and the couple had to travel by bus to Preston.\n\nAfter retiring from football, Else remained in Barrow-in-Furness, becoming a geography and maths teacher at a local secondary school. He retired from teaching in 1999 and moved to Cyprus, though still attended some Barrow matches. Else died in Barrow-in-Furness on 20 July 2015, aged 82.\n\nReferences\n\n2015 deaths\n1933 births\nBarrow A.F.C. managers\nBarrow A.F.C. players\nBlackburn Rovers F.C. players\nPreston North End F.C. players\nPeople from Golborne\nEnglish footballers\nAssociation football goalkeepers\nSchoolteachers from Cumbria\nEnglish Football League players\nEngland B international footballers\nEnglish football managers",
"Jovan Atanasijev Došenović (, ; 20 October 1781 – 1813) was a Serbian philosopher, poet and translator, one of the first Serbian literary aestheticians.\n\nBiography \nJovan is the son of protoiereus Atanasije Došenović. He was born in Počitelj in Lika or Velika Pisanica. He studied at the University of Padua, where he got his Doctor of Philosophy and other academic degrees. He has lived for a while in his father's home after returning to Lika, and then worked as a bookkeeper in Trieste, in a big shop owned by Dositej Obradović’s friend Draga Teodorović, the wife of a wealthy Serbian merchant. He remained there until 1809 when he went to Pešta to publish his writings. \"Recommend, brother,\" Draga told him at their farewell, \"let them write and work, there is a world in front of [everyone's] eyes.\" \"And as long as we have money,\" Došenović replied happily. In Pešta he printed his anthology of poems; it was Čislenica or Nauka računa (lit. Science of Mathematics), Part I, and he was preparing to publish more to the world. There he got sick but quickly recovered. After this event, the trail on Jovan is lost. However, it is known that in 1811 Došenović was still alive; in 1815 he has been mentioned among deceased Serbian writers. Besides Italian in which he studied, he was able to speak French and German. After finding some information on his work, Jernej Kopitar used to put Došenović’s humble beginnings among best products of Serbian literature of that time, and in literary discussions (via letters sent to friends) he mentioned Došenović’s name several times.\n\nLiterary work and critical review \nJovan Došenović’s poems can be divided by origin, subject, and form. In the first case, he used to translate more than to write on his own. His literary-historical significance is that he appears as the first person who was familiar with someone else's art and poetry and is the first person who started translating poems from other languages. Only this way Serbian readers of that time could get familiar with a variety of poetic forms, seeing that except natural poetry (which was common in renewed Serbian literature) there were other artistic poetry forms and that in fact, this was the most important of all. Došenović cited sources for his translated poems in the prefaces of his books, where he mentions Italians Iacopo Vittorelli (1749–1835) and Giovanni Battista Casti, and Russian Mikhail Lomonosov. It was not vanity dictating him not to tell for a source for every single poem separately. He did not rely on this. The main ideal he was guided by was: is it possible to have different songs in Serbian too? That possibility he believed was completely true, so he tried to make everyone else see his printing. While translating his ideals, he did not want to show them to the Serbian publicity. In them he was trying to find only support column, choosing what he thinks is important for Serbian poetry literature by form and/or content. A subject he used to write about was love or depicting natural beauties; by the form they were anacreontics, sonnets and odes. In every Došenović’s verse it can be seen how hands of poets are being tied and freedom of movement for a used language being cut. He wanted to write poems in the popular language spoken by an ordinary man; generally, he actually did write only in vernacular language. In order to reach a total clearance, he needed to do so much more so that it could be achieved successfully. Orthography was another factor that influenced him as his language was not \"clear\"; however, he strived to make it that way everywhere...\n\nBeginnings of some more specific lyricism in modern Serbian literature is directly related to the poetic work of Došenović. He was the first one to come out with new forms of already mentioned anacreontics, sonnet and even more free odes; he was first to begin translating other eminent poets; he was first to show greater freedom and agility in poetic terms, too. All he did was using the famous collection with the preface of the Serbian literature in large-scale, speaking of aesthetics literature. Thus, the Došenović is one of the first Serbian literary aestheticians.\n\nDošenović did not want to surrender to the way of writing poems in that time; he knew what had to be different; he saw that in other peoples, especially Italians; he wanted to make a Serbian poem really an ode poem; due to the latter, he gets into fights with anything that was slowing down artistic poetry: using form, language and orthography, and making some successes.\n\nWorks\n Učastije radostei iz dolžnija ljubvi G. Mojsesu Miokovicu episk. Karlstadt od strani klira Lickago. Velencze, 1807. \n Čislenica ili nauka računa, Budim, 1809. \n Liriceska pjenija, Budim, 1809. \n Azbukoprotes, Budim, 1810.\n\nSee also \n Serbian literature\n Božidar Knežević\n Vladimir Jovanović\n Svetozar Marković\n Dimitrije Matić\n Konstantin Cukić\n Milan Kujundžić Aberdar\n\nReferences\n\nFurther reading\n\nExternal links \n Riznica srpska — književnost: Jovan Došenović\n\n1781 births\n1813 deaths\nPeople from Gospić\n19th-century Serbian philosophers\nSerbian male poets\nSerbian translators\nAesthetics literature\n19th-century translators\n18th-century translators"
] |
[
"Woody Allen",
"Playwright",
"What are some works of his?",
"In 1966, Allen wrote the play Don't Drink the Water.",
"What else did he write in his career?",
"The next play Allen wrote for Broadway was Play It Again, Sam,"
] | C_b56e75307cdb4b078e4681f577bc09fd_1 | What other plays did he write for Broadway? | 3 | What other plays did Woody Allen write for Broadway other than Don't Drink the Water? | Woody Allen | In 1966, Allen wrote the play Don't Drink the Water. The play starred Lou Jacobi, Kay Medford, Anita Gillette and Allen's future movie co-star Tony Roberts. A film adaptation of the play, directed by Howard Morris, was released in 1969, starring Jackie Gleason. Because he was not particularly happy with the 1969 film version of his play, in 1994, Allen directed and starred in a second version for television, with Michael J. Fox and Mayim Bialik. The next play Allen wrote for Broadway was Play It Again, Sam, in which he also starred. The play opened on February 12, 1969, and ran for 453 performances. It featured Diane Keaton and Roberts. The play was significant to Keaton's budding career, and she has stated she was in "awe" of Allen even before auditioning for her role, which was the first time she met him. During an interview in 2013, Keaton stated that she "fell in love with him right away," adding, "I wanted to be his girlfriend so I did something about it." After co-starring alongside Allen in the subsequent film version of Play It Again, Sam, she would later co-star in Sleeper, Love and Death, Interiors, Manhattan and Annie Hall. "He showed me the ropes and I followed his lead. He is the most disciplined person I know. He works very hard," Keaton has stated. "I find the same thing sexy in a man now as I always have: humor. I love it when they are funny. It's to die for." For its March 21, 1969, issue, Life featured Allen on its cover. In 1981, his play The Floating Light Bulb premiered on Broadway and ran for 65 performances. While receiving mixed reviews, it gave an autobiographical insight into Allen's childhood, specifically his fascination with magic tricks. He has written several one-act plays, including Riverside Drive and Old Saybrook exploring well-known Allen themes. On October 20, 2011, Allen's one-act play Honeymoon Motel opened as part of a larger piece entitled Relatively Speaking on Broadway, with two other one-act plays, one by Ethan Coen and one by Elaine May. CANNOTANSWER | In 1981, his play The Floating Light Bulb premiered on Broadway and ran for 65 performances. | Heywood "Woody" Allen (born Allan Stewart Konigsberg; November 30, 1935) is an American film director, writer, actor, and comedian whose career spans more than six decades and multiple Academy Award-winning films. He began his career writing material for television in the 1950s, working alongside Mel Brooks, Carl Reiner, Larry Gelbart, and Neil Simon. He also published several books featuring short stories and wrote humor pieces for The New Yorker. In the early 1960s, he performed as a stand-up comedian in Greenwich Village alongside Lenny Bruce, Elaine May, Mike Nichols, and Joan Rivers. There he developed a monologue style (rather than traditional jokes) and the persona of an insecure, intellectual, fretful nebbish. He released three comedy albums during the mid to late 1960s, earning a Grammy Award nomination for his 1964 comedy album entitled simply, Woody Allen. In 2004, Comedy Central ranked Allen fourth on a list of the 100 greatest stand-up comedians, while a UK survey ranked Allen the third-greatest comedian.
By the mid-1960s, Allen was writing and directing films, first specializing in slapstick comedies such as Take the Money and Run (1969), Bananas (1971), Sleeper (1973), and Love and Death (1975), before moving into dramatic material influenced by European art cinema during the late 1970s with Interiors (1978), Manhattan (1979), and Stardust Memories (1980), and alternating between comedies and dramas to the present. Allen is often identified as part of the New Hollywood wave of filmmakers of the mid-1960s to late 1970s such as Martin Scorsese, Robert Altman, and Sidney Lumet. He often stars in his films, typically in the persona he developed as a standup. His film Annie Hall (1977), a romantic comedy featuring Allen and his frequent collaborator Diane Keaton, won four Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Actress for Keaton. Critics have called his work from the 1980s his most developed period. Those films include Zelig (1983), Broadway Danny Rose (1984), The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985), Hannah and Her Sisters (1986), Radio Days (1987), Another Woman (1988), and Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989). In the 21st century, many of Allen's films have been set and shot in Europe, including Match Point (2005), Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008), and Midnight in Paris (2011). Allen returned to America gaining acclaim for Blue Jasmine (2013) and Cafe Society (2016).
In 1979, Allen began a professional and personal relationship with actress Mia Farrow, and over a decade-long period they collaborated on 13 films. They separated after Allen began a relationship with Mia's and Andre Previn's adopted daughter Soon-Yi Previn. During the separation, Allen was publicly accused of sexually abusing his daughter, the seven-year-old Dylan. The allegation gained substantial media attention, but Allen was never charged or prosecuted, and he vehemently denied the allegation. Allen married Previn in 1997, and they adopted two children.
Allen has received many accolades and honors, including the most nominations for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, with 16. He has won four Academy Awards, one for Best Director, and three for Best Original Screenplay. He also garnered nine British Academy Film Awards. In 1997, Allen was awarded the BAFTA Fellowship by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts. In 2014, he received the Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award for Lifetime Achievement and a Tony Award nomination for Best Book of a Musical for Bullets over Broadway. In 2015, the Writers Guild of America named his screenplay for Annie Hall first on its list of the "101 Funniest Screenplays". In 2011, PBS televised the film biography Woody Allen: A Documentary on its series American Masters.
Early life
Allen was born in Brooklyn, New York, as Allan Stewart Konigsberg at Mount Eden Hospital in the Bronx, New York City, on November 30, 1935. He is Jewish. Allen's parents were Nettie (née Cherry; 1906–2002), a bookkeeper at her family's delicatessen, and Martin Konigsberg (1900–2001), a jewelry engraver and waiter. His grandparents were immigrants to the U.S. from Austria and the Lithuanian city of Panevėžys. They spoke German, Hebrew and Yiddish. He and his younger sister, film producer Letty, were raised in Brooklyn's Midwood neighborhood. Both of their parents were born and raised on the Lower East Side of Manhattan.
Allen's parents did not get along, and he had an estranged relationship with his authoritarian, ill-tempered mother. He spoke German in his early years. He later joked that he was often sent to inter-faith summer camps when he was young. While attending Hebrew school for eight years, he went to Public School 99 (now the Isaac Asimov School for Science and Literature) and Midwood High School, graduating in 1953. Unlike his comic persona, he was more interested in baseball than school and his strong arm ensured he was picked first for teams. He impressed students with his talent for cards and magic tricks.
Allen wrote jokes (or "gags") for agent David O. Alber to make money, and Alber sold them to newspaper columnists. At age 17, he legally changed his name to Heywood Allen and later began to call himself Woody. According to Allen, his first published joke read: "Woody Allen says he ate at a restaurant that had O.P.S. prices—over people's salaries." He was soon earning more than both of his parents combined. After high school, he attended New York University, studying communication and film in 1953, before dropping out after failing the course "Motion Picture Production". He studied film at City College of New York in 1954, but left during the first semester. He taught himself rather than studying in the classroom. He later taught at The New School and studied with writing teacher Lajos Egri.
Career
Comedy writer
Allen began writing short jokes when he was 15, and the following year began sending them to various Broadway writers to see if they'd be interested in buying any. One of those writers was Abe Burrows, coauthor of Guys and Dolls, who wrote, "Wow! His stuff was dazzling." Burrows then wrote Allen letters of introduction to Sid Caesar, Phil Silvers, and Peter Lind Hayes, who immediately sent Allen a check for just the jokes Burrows included as samples.
As a result of the jokes Allen mailed to various writers, he was invited, then age 19, to join the NBC Writer's Development Program in 1955, followed by a job on The NBC Comedy Hour in Los Angeles. He was later hired as a full-time writer for humorist Herb Shriner, initially earning $25 a week. He began writing scripts for The Ed Sullivan Show, The Tonight Show, specials for Sid Caesar post-Caesar's Hour (1954–1957), and other television shows. By the time he was working for Caesar, he was earning $1,500 a week. He worked alongside Mel Brooks, Carl Reiner, Larry Gelbart, and Neil Simon. He also worked with Danny Simon, whom Allen credits for helping form his writing style. In 1962 alone, he estimated that he wrote twenty thousand jokes for various comics. Allen also wrote for the Candid Camera television show, and appeared in some episodes.
He wrote jokes for the Buddy Hackett sitcom Stanley and for The Pat Boone Chevy Showroom, and in 1958 he co-wrote a few Sid Caesar specials with Larry Gelbart. After writing for many of television's leading comedians and comedy shows, Allen was gaining a reputation as a "genius", composer Mary Rodgers said. When given an assignment for a show he would leave and come back the next day with "reams of paper", according to producer Max Liebman. Similarly, after he wrote for Bob Hope, Hope called him "half a genius".
His daily writing routine could last as long as 15 hours, and he could focus and write anywhere necessary. Dick Cavett was amazed at Allen's capacity to write: "He can go to a typewriter after breakfast and sit there until the sun sets and his head is pounding, interrupting work only for coffee and a brief walk, and then spend the whole evening working." When Allen wrote for other comedians, they would use eight out of ten of his jokes. When he began performing as a stand-up, he was much more selective, typically using only one out of ten jokes. He estimated that to prepare for a 30-minute show, he spent six months of intensive writing. He enjoyed writing, however, despite the work: "Nothing makes me happier than to tear open a ream of paper. And I can't wait to fill it! I love to do it."
Allen started writing short stories and cartoon captions for magazines such as The New Yorker; he was inspired by the tradition of New Yorker humorists S. J. Perelman, George S. Kaufman, Robert Benchley, and Max Shulman, whose material he modernized. His collections of short pieces includes Getting Even, Without Feathers, Side Effects, and Mere Anarchy. His early comic fiction was influenced by the zany, pun-ridden humor of S.J. Perelman. In 2010 Allen released audio versions of his books in which he read 73 selections entitled, The Woody Allen Collection. He was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album.
Stand-up comedian
From 1960 to 1969 Allen performed as a comedian to supplement his comedy writing. He worked in various places around Greenwich Village, including The Bitter End and Cafe Au Go Go, alongside such contemporaries as Lenny Bruce, the team of Mike Nichols and Elaine May, Joan Rivers, George Carlin, Richard Pryor, Dick Cavett, Bill Cosby and Mort Sahl (his personal favorite), as well as such other artists of the day as Bob Dylan and Barbra Streisand. Comedian Milton Berle claims to have suggested to Allen to go into standup comedy and even introduced him at the Village Vanguard. Comedy historian Gerald Nachman writes that Allen, while not the first to do standup, eventually had greater impact than all the others in the 1960s, and redefined standup comedy: "He helped turn it into biting, brutally honest satirical commentary on the cultural and psychological tenor of the times."
After Allen was taken under the wing of his new manager, Jack Rollins, who had recently discovered Nichols and May, Rollins suggested he perform his written jokes as a stand-up. Allen was resistant at first, but after seeing Mort Sahl on stage, he felt safer to give it a try: "I'd never had the nerve to talk about it before. Then Mort Sahl came along with a whole new style of humor, opening up vistas for people like me." Allen made his professional stage debut at the Blue Angel nightclub in Manhattan in October 1960, where comedian Shelley Berman introduced him as a young television writer who would perform his own material.
His early stand-up shows with his different style of humor were not always well received or understood by his audiences. Unlike other comedians, Allen spoke to his audiences in a gentle and conversational style, often appearing to be searching for words, although he was well rehearsed. He acted "normal", dressed casually, and made no attempt to project a stage "personality". And he did not improvise: "I put very little premium on improvisation," he told Studs Terkel. His jokes were created from life experiences, and typically presented with a dead serious demeanor that made them funnier: "I don't think my family liked me. They put a live teddy bear in my crib."
The subjects of his jokes were rarely topical, political or socially relevant. Unlike Bruce and Sahl, he did not discuss current events such as civil rights, women's rights, the Cold War, or Vietnam. And although he was described as a "classic nebbish", he did not tell the standard Jewish jokes of the period. Comedy screenwriter Larry Gelbart compared Allen's style to Elaine May's: "He just styled himself completely after her". Like Nichols and May, he often made fun of intellectuals.
Cavett, who was among the minority to quickly appreciate Allen's style, recalls seeing the Blue Angel audience mostly ignore Allen's monologue: "I recognized immediately that there was no young comedian in the country in the same class with him for sheer brilliance of jokes, and I resented the fact that the audience was too dumb to realize what they were getting." It was his subdued stage presence that eventually became one of Allen's strongest traits, Nachman argues: "The utter absence of showbiz veneer and shtick was the best shtick any comedian had ever devised. This uneasy onstage naturalness became a trademark." When the media finally noticed, writers like The New York Timess Arthur Gelb described Allen's nebbish quality as "Chaplinesque" and "refreshing".
Allen developed an anxious, nervous, and intellectual persona for his stand-up act, a successful move that secured regular gigs for him in nightclubs and on television. He brought innovation to the comedy monologue genre and his stand-up comedy is considered influential. Allen first appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson on November 1, 1963, and over nine years his guest appearances included 17 in the host's chair. He subsequently released three LP albums of live nightclub recordings: the self-titled Woody Allen (1964), Volume 2 (1965), and The Third Woody Allen Album (1968), recorded at a fund-raiser for Senator Eugene McCarthy's presidential run.
In 1965, Allen filmed a half-hour standup special in England for Granada Television, titled The Woody Allen Show in the U.K. and Woody Allen: Standup Comic in the U.S. It is the only complete standup show of Allen's on film. The same year, Allen along with Nichols and May, Barbara Streisand, Carol Channing, Harry Belafonte, Julie Andrews, Carol Burnett, and Alfred Hitchcock took part in Lyndon B. Johnson’s inaugural gala in Washington, D.C., on January 18, 1965. First Lady Lady Bird Johnson described Allen and the event in her published diary, A White House Diary, writing in part, "Woody Allen, that forlorn, undernourished little comedian, stopped shooting a movie in Paris and flew across the Atlantic for about five minutes of jokes".
In 1966, Allen wrote an hourlong musical comedy television special for CBS, Gene Kelly in New York City. It focused on Gene Kelly in a musical tour around Manhattan, dancing along such landmarks as Rockefeller Center, the Plaza Hotel and the Museum of Modern Art, which serve as backdrops for the show's production numbers. Allen appeared in the special alongside Kelly. Guest stars included choreographer Gower Champion, British musical comedy star Tommy Steele, and songstress Damita Jo DeBlanc.
In 1967, Allen hosted a TV special for NBC, Woody Allen Looks at 1967. It featured Liza Minnelli, who acted alongside Allen in some skits; Aretha Franklin, the musical guest; and conservative writer William F. Buckley, the featured guest. In 1969, Allen hosted his first American special for CBS television, The Woody Allen Special, which included skits with Candice Bergen, a musical performance from the 5th Dimension, and an interview between Allen and Billy Graham.
Allen also performed standup comedy on other series, including The Andy Williams Show and The Perry Como Show, where he interacted with other guests and occasionally sang. In 1971, he hosted one of his final Tonight Shows, with guests Bob Hope and James Coco. Hope praised Allen on the show, calling him "one of the finest young talents in show business and a great delight". Life magazine put Allen on the cover of its March 21, 1969, issue.
In 1979, Allen paid tribute to one of his comedy idols, Bob Hope, at the Film Society at Lincoln Center, creating a special for the event titled "My Favorite Comedian" that included clips from Hope's films, selected and narrated by Allen. Hope said of the honor, "It's great to have your past spring up in front of your eyes, especially when it's done by Woody Allen, because he's a near genius. Not a whole genius, but a near genius". Dick Cavett served as the host, but Allen was absent, editing Manhattan. Guests at the event included Diane Keaton, Kurt Vonnegut, and Andy Warhol.
Playwright
In 1966, Allen wrote the play Don't Drink the Water. The play starred Lou Jacobi, Kay Medford, Anita Gillette and Allen's future movie co-star Tony Roberts. A film adaptation of the play, directed by Howard Morris, was released in 1969, starring Jackie Gleason. Because he was not particularly happy with that version, in 1994 Allen directed and starred in a second version for television, with Michael J. Fox and Mayim Bialik.
The next play Allen wrote for Broadway was Play It Again, Sam, in which he also starred. The play opened on February 12, 1969, and ran for 453 performances. It featured Diane Keaton and Roberts. The play was significant to Keaton's budding career, and she has said she was in "awe" of Allen even before auditioning for her role, which was the first time she met him. In a 2013 interview Keaton said that she "fell in love with him right away", adding, "I wanted to be his girlfriend so I did something about it." After co-starring alongside Allen in the subsequent film version of Play It Again, Sam, she later co-starred in Sleeper, Love and Death, Annie Hall, Interiors and Manhattan. "He showed me the ropes and I followed his lead. He is the most disciplined person I know. He works very hard," Keaton has said.
In 1981, Allen's play The Floating Light Bulb, starring Danny Aiello and Bea Arthur, premiered on Broadway and ran for 65 performances. While receiving mixed reviews, it gave autobiographical insight into Allen's childhood, specifically his fascination with magic tricks. The play, set in 1945, is a semi-autobiographical tale of a lower-middle-class family in Brooklyn. New York Times critic Frank Rich gave the play a mild review, writing, "there are a few laughs, a few well-wrought characters, and, in Act II, a beautifully written scene that leads to a moving final curtain". Rich also compared the play to Tennessee Williams's work.
Allen has written several one-act plays off Broadway, including Riverside Drive, Old Saybrook and A Second Hand Memory, at the Variety Arts Theatre.
On March 8, 1995, Allen's one-act play Central Park West opened off-Broadway as a part of a larger piece titled Death Defying Acts, with two other one-act plays, one by David Mamet, and one by Elaine May. Critics described Allen's contribution as "the longest and most substantial of the evening".
On October 20, 2011, Allen's one-act play Honeymoon Motel opened on Broadway as part of a larger piece titled Relatively Speaking, with two other one-act plays, one by Ethan Coen and one by Elaine May.
On March 11, 2014, Allen's musical Bullets over Broadway opened on Broadway at the St. James Theatre. It was directed and choreographed by Susan Stroman and starred Zack Braff, Nick Cordero, and Betsy Wolfe. The production received mixed reviews, with The Hollywood Reporter writing, "this frothy show does provide dazzling art direction and performances, as well as effervescent ensemble numbers." Allen received a Tony Award nomination for Best Book of a Musical. The show received six Tony nominations.
Early films
Allen's first movie was the Charles K. Feldman production What's New, Pussycat? (1965), for which he wrote the screenplay. He was disappointed with the final product, which inspired him to direct every film he wrote thereafter except Play It Again, Sam. Allen's first directorial effort was What's Up, Tiger Lily? (1966, co-written with Mickey Rose), in which an existing Japanese spy movie—Kokusai himitsu keisatsu: Kagi no kagi (1965), "International Secret Police: Key of Keys"—was redubbed in English by Allen and friends with fresh new, comic dialogue. In 1967, Allen played Jimmy Bond in the 007 spoof Casino Royale.
In 1969, Allen directed, starred in, and co-wrote (with Mickey Rose) Take the Money and Run, which he considers his true film directorial debut. The film received positive reviews; critic Vincent Canby of The New York Times wrote, "Allen has made a movie that is, in effect, a feature-length, two-reel comedy—something very special and eccentric and funny." Allen later signed a deal with United Artists to produce several films.
1970s
During the 1970s, Allen directed films that were later known as his "early, funny" work. These include Bananas (1971, co-written with Rose), Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex* (*But Were Afraid to Ask) (1972), Sleeper (1973), and Love and Death (1975). Sleeper was the first of four screenplays co-written by Allen and Marshall Brickman.
In 1972, Allen wrote and starred in the film version of Play It Again, Sam, directed by Herbert Ross and co-starring Diane Keaton. In 1976, he starred as cashier Howard Prince in The Front, directed by Martin Ritt. The Front was a humorous and poignant account of Hollywood blacklisting during the 1950s; Ritt, screenwriter Walter Bernstein, and three of Allen's cast-mates, Samuel "Zero" Mostel, Herschel Bernardi, and Lloyd Gough, had themselves been blacklisted.
Then came two of Allen's most popular films: Annie Hall and Manhattan. Annie Hall (1977) won four Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Actress in a Leading Role for Diane Keaton, Best Original Screenplay and Best Director for Woody Allen. Annie Hall set the standard for modern romantic comedy and ignited a fashion trend with the clothes Keaton wore in the film. In an interview with journalist Katie Couric, Keaton did not deny that Allen wrote the part for her and about her. The film is ranked 35th on the American Film Institute "100 Best Movies" and fourth on the AFI list of the "100 Best Comedies."
In 1979, Allen directed Manhattan, a black-and-white romantic comedy often viewed as an homage to New York City. The film features iconic scenes filmed in New York City, including an opening montage of scenes around the city, and Allen and Keaton's silhouette on a bench by the Queensboro Bridge. As in many Allen films, the main protagonists are upper-middle class writers and academics. Manhattan focuses on the complicated relationship between middle-aged Isaac Davis (Allen) and 17-year-old Tracy (Mariel Hemingway), and co-stars Diane Keaton and Meryl Streep. It was a box office and critical hit, and received two Academy Award nominations, for Hemingway for Best Supporting Actress and for Allen's screenplay.
Keaton, who has made eight movies with Allen, has said, "He just has a mind like nobody else. He's bold. He's got a lot of strength, a lot of courage in terms of his work. And that is what it takes to do something really unique. Along with a genius imagination."
1980s
Allen's films in the 1980s, even the comedies, became somber with philosophical undertones, influenced by European directors, especially Ingmar Bergman and Federico Fellini. Stardust Memories was based on 8½, which it parodies, and Wild Strawberries. A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy was adapted from Smiles of a Summer Night. In Hannah and Her Sisters, part of the film's structure and background is borrowed from Fanny and Alexander. Fellini's Amarcord inspired Radio Days. September resembles Bergman's Autumn Sonata. Another Woman and Crimes and Misdemeanors have elements reminiscent of Wild Strawberries.
Stardust Memories (1980) features Sandy Bates, a successful filmmaker played by Allen, who expresses resentment and scorn for his fans. Overcome by the recent death of a friend from illness, Bates says, "I don't want to make funny movies anymore" and a running gag has various people (including visiting space aliens) telling him that they appreciate his films, "especially the early, funny ones." Allen considers this one of his best films.
A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy (1982) was the first movie Allen made starring Mia Farrow, who stepped into Diane Keaton's role when Keaton was shooting Reds. He next directed Zelig, in which he starred as a man who has the ability to transform his appearance to that of the people surrounding him.
Allen has combined tragic and comic elements in such films as Hannah and Her Sisters (1986) and Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989), in which he tells two stories that connect at the end. He also made three films about show business: Broadway Danny Rose, in which he plays a down-on-his-luck New York show business agent, The Purple Rose of Cairo, set during the Great Depression, in which a movie character comes to life to romance an unhappy housewife, and Radio Days, a film about his childhood in Brooklyn and the importance of the radio. The film co-starred Farrow in a part Allen wrote specifically for her. The Purple Rose of Cairo was named by Time as one of the 100 best films of all time. Allen called it one of his three best films with Stardust Memories and Match Point. By "best" he said he meant they came closest to his vision. In 1989, Allen and directors Francis Ford Coppola and Martin Scorsese made New York Stories, an anthology film about New Yorkers. Allen's short, Oedipus Wrecks, is about a neurotic lawyer and his critical mother. Film critic Vincent Canby of The New York Times praised the segment as a "priceless contribution" to the film.
1990s
Allen's 1991 film Shadows and Fog is a black-and-white homage to the German expressionists and features the music of Kurt Weill. Allen then made his critically acclaimed comedy-drama Husbands and Wives (1992), which received two Oscar nominations: Best Supporting Actress for Judy Davis and Best Original Screenplay for Allen. Manhattan Murder Mystery (1993) combined suspense with dark comedy and marked the return of Diane Keaton, Alan Alda and Anjelica Huston.
He returned to lighter fare such as the showbiz comedy involving mobsters Bullets Over Broadway (1994), which earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Director, followed by a musical, Everyone Says I Love You (1996). The singing and dancing scenes in Everyone Says I Love You are similar to musicals starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. The comedy Mighty Aphrodite (1995), in which Greek drama plays a large role, won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for Mira Sorvino. Allen's 1999 jazz-based comedy-drama Sweet and Lowdown was nominated for two Academy Awards, for Sean Penn (Best Actor) and Samantha Morton (Best Supporting Actress). In contrast to these lighter movies, Allen veered into darker satire toward the end of the decade with Deconstructing Harry (1997) and Celebrity (1998).
During this decade Allen also starred in the television film The Sunshine Boys (1995), based on the Neil Simon play of the same name.
Allen made one sitcom "appearance" via telephone on the show Just Shoot Me! in a 1997 episode, "My Dinner with Woody", that paid tribute to several of his films. He provided the voice of Z in DreamWorks' first animated film, Antz (1998), which featured many actors he had worked with; Allen's character was similar to his earlier roles.
2000s
Small Time Crooks (2000) was Allen's first film with the DreamWorks studio and represented a change in direction: he began giving more interviews and made an attempt to return to his slapstick roots. The film is similar to the 1942 film Larceny, Inc. (from a play by S.J. Perelman). Allen never commented on whether this was deliberate or if his film was in any way inspired by it. Small Time Crooks was a relative financial success, grossing over $17 million domestically, but Allen's next four films foundered at the box office, including Allen's most costly film, The Curse of the Jade Scorpion (with a budget of $26 million). Hollywood Ending, Anything Else, and Melinda and Melinda have "rotten" ratings on film-review website Rotten Tomatoes and each earned less than $4 million domestically. Some critics claimed that Allen's early 2000s films were subpar and expressed concern that his best years were behind him. Others were less harsh; reviewing the little-liked Melinda and Melinda, Roger Ebert wrote, "I cannot escape the suspicion that if Woody had never made a previous film, if each new one was Woody's Sundance debut, it would get a better reception. His reputation is not a dead shark but an albatross, which with admirable economy Allen has arranged for the critics to carry around their own necks."
Match Point (2005) was one of Allen's most successful films of the decade, garnering positive reviews. Set in London, it starred Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Scarlett Johansson. It is markedly darker than Allen's first four films with DreamWorks SKG. In Match Point Allen shifts focus from the intellectual upper class of New York to the moneyed upper class of London. The film earned more than $23 million domestically (more than any of his films in nearly 20 years) and over $62 million in international box office sales. It earned Allen his first Academy Award nomination since 1998, for Best Writing – Original Screenplay, with directing and writing nominations at the Golden Globes, his first Globe nominations since 1987. In a 2006 interview with Premiere Magazine he said it was the best film he had ever made.
Allen reached an agreement to film Vicky Cristina Barcelona in Avilés, Barcelona, and Oviedo, Spain, where shooting started on July 9, 2007. The movie featured Scarlett Johansson, Javier Bardem, Rebecca Hall and Penélope Cruz. The film premiered at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival to rapturous reviews, and became a box office success. Vicky Cristina Barcelona won Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy at the Golden Globe awards. Cruz received the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.
"In the United States things have changed a lot, and it's hard to make good small films now," Allen said in a 2004 interview. "The avaricious studios couldn't care less about good films—if they get a good film they're twice as happy but money-making films are their goal. They only want these $100 million pictures that make $500 million."
In April 2008 he began filming Whatever Works, a film aimed more toward older audiences, starring Larry David, Patricia Clarkson, and Evan Rachel Wood. Released in 2009 and described as a dark comedy, it follows the story of a botched suicide attempt turned messy love triangle. Whatever Works was written by Allen in the 1970s, and David's character was written for Zero Mostel, who died the year Annie Hall came out.
Allen was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2001.
2010s
You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger, filmed in London, stars Antonio Banderas, Josh Brolin, Anthony Hopkins, Anupam Kher, Freida Pinto and Naomi Watts. Filming started in July 2009. It was released theatrically in the US on September 23, 2010, following a Cannes debut in May 2010, and a screening at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 12, 2010.
Allen announced that his next film would be titled Midnight in Paris starring Owen Wilson, Marion Cotillard, Rachel McAdams, Michael Sheen, Corey Stoll, Allison Pill, Tom Hiddleston, Adrien Brody, Kathy Bates, and Carla Bruni, the First Lady of France at the time of production. The film follows a young engaged couple in Paris who see their lives transformed. It debuted at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival on May 12, 2011. Allen said he wanted to "show the city emotionally" during the press conference. "I just wanted it to be the way I saw Paris—Paris through my eyes," he added. The film was almost universally praised, receiving a 93% on Rotten Tomatoes. Midnight in Paris won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay and became his highest-grossing film, making $151 million worldwide on a $17 million budget.
In February 2012, Allen appeared on a panel at the 92nd Street Y in New York City with moderators Dick Cavett and Annette Insdorf, discussing his films and career.
His next film, To Rome with Love, was a Rome-set comedy released in 2012. The film was structured in four vignettes featuring dialogue in both Italian and English. It marked Allen's return to acting since his last role in Scoop.
Blue Jasmine debuted in July 2013. The film is set in San Francisco and New York, and stars Alec Baldwin, Cate Blanchett, Louis C.K., Andrew Dice Clay, Sally Hawkins, and Peter Sarsgaard. Opening to critical acclaim, the film earned Allen another Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay, and Blanchett received the Academy Award for Best Actress. Allen co-starred with John Turturro in Fading Gigolo, written and directed by Turturro, which premiered in September 2013. In 2013 Allen shot the romantic comedy Magic in the Moonlight with Emma Stone, and Colin Firth in Nice, France. The film is set in the 1920s on the French Riviera. The film was a modest financial success, earning $51 million off a budget of $16 million.
From July to August 2014 Allen filmed the mystery drama Irrational Man in Newport, Rhode Island, with Joaquin Phoenix, Emma Stone, Parker Posey and Jamie Blackley. Allen said that this film, as well as the next three he had planned, had the financing and full support of Sony Pictures Classics. His next film, Café Society, starred an ensemble cast, including Jesse Eisenberg, Kristen Stewart, and Blake Lively. Bruce Willis was set to co-star, but was replaced by Steve Carell during filming. The film is distributed by Amazon Studios, and opened the 2016 Cannes Film Festival on May 11, 2016, the third time Allen has opened the festival.
On January 14, 2015, Amazon Studios announced a full-season order for a half-hour Amazon Prime Instant Video series that Allen would write and direct, marking the first time he has developed a television show. Allen said of the series, "I don't know how I got into this. I have no ideas and I'm not sure where to begin. My guess is that Roy Price [the head of Amazon Studios] will regret this." At the 2015 Cannes Film Festival, Allen said, in reference to his upcoming Amazon show, "It was a catastrophic mistake. I don't know what I'm doing. I'm floundering. I expect this to be a cosmic embarrassment." On September 30, 2016, Amazon Video debuted Allen's first television series production, Crisis in Six Scenes. The series is a comedy that takes place during the 1960s. It focuses on the life of a suburban family after a surprise visitor creates chaos among them. It stars Allen alongside Elaine May and Miley Cyrus. Cyrus plays a radical hippie fugitive who sells marijuana.
In September 2016 Allen started filming Wonder Wheel, set in the 1950s in Coney Island, and starring Kate Winslet and Justin Timberlake. The film served as the closing night selection at the 55th New York Film Festival on October 15, 2017, and was theatrically released on December 1, 2017, as the first movie self-distributed to theaters by Amazon Studios.
In 2017, Allen received a standing ovation when he made a rare public appearance at the 45th Annual Life Achievement Tribute award ceremony for Diane Keaton. Before presenting her with the award he spoke about their longtime collaboration and friendship, saying, "From the minute I met her, she was a great, great inspiration to me. Much of what I have accomplished in my life I owe for sure to her".
His film A Rainy Day in New York, starring Timothée Chalamet, Selena Gomez, Elle Fanning, Jude Law, Diego Luna, Liev Schreiber and Rebecca Hall began production in New York in September 2017. Chalamet, Gomez and Hall announced, in the light of the #MeToo movement, that they would be donating their salaries to various charities.
In February 2019 it was announced that Amazon Studios had dropped A Rainy Day in New York and would no longer finance, produce, or distribute films with Allen. He filed a lawsuit for $68 million, alleging Amazon gave "vague reasons" to terminate the contract, dropped the film over "a 25-year old, baseless allegation" and did not make payments. The case was later settled and dismissed. It was released throughout Europe beginning in July 2019, receiving mixed reviews and grossing $20 million at the box office. After over a year of delays, the film was released in the United States on October 9, 2020, by MPI Media Group and Signature Entertainment.
2020s
In May 2019 it was announced that Allen's latest film would be titled Rifkin's Festival, and Variety magazine confirmed that its cast would include Christoph Waltz, Elena Anaya, Louis Garrel, Gina Gershon, Sergi López and Wallace Shawn and it would be produced by Gravier Productions. The film was produced with Mediapro, an independent Spanish TV-film company. Rifkin's Festival completed filming in October 2019. On September 18, 2020, it premiered at the San Sebastián International Film Festival. It has received mixed reviews, though Jessica Kiang of The New York Times called it "to the ravenous captive, like finding an unexpected stash of dessert".
On March 2, 2020, it was announced that Grand Central Publishing would release Allen's autobiography, Apropos of Nothing, on April 7, 2020, This was after it was announced Allen had written a memoir and shopped it around to multiple prominent publishers who rejected it. The book was set to be released in the United States, Canada, Italy, Spain, and France, among others. According to the publisher, the book is a "comprehensive account of Allen's life, both personal and professional, and describes his work in films, theater, television, nightclubs, and print...Allen also writes of his relationships with family, friends, and the loves of his life."
The decision to publish the book was met with backlash from Ronan Farrow, who cut ties with the publisher. Dylan Farrow also responded to the announcement of the release, saying "Hachette's publishing of Woody Allen's memoir is deeply upsetting to me personally and an utter betrayal of my brother." On March 5, 2020, 75 employees of Grand Central Publishing held a walkout to protest the release. On March 6, the publisher announced that it had canceled the book's release and returned the rights to Allen, saying, "The decision to cancel Mr. Allen's book was a difficult one. Over the past few days, HBG leadership had extensive conversations with our staff and others. After listening, we came to the conclusion that moving forward with publication would not be feasible for HBG."
Novelist Stephen King criticized Hachette's decision to withdraw the book, saying it "makes me very uneasy. It's not him; I don't give a damn about Mr. Allen. It's who gets muzzled next that worries me." Executive director of PEN America Suzanne Nossel also criticized the decision. On March 6, 2020, Manuel Carcassonne of the Hachette's French branch, the publishing company Stock, announced it would publish the book if Allen permitted it. On March 23, 2020, Arcade published the memoir in English and La nave di Teseo published it in Italian.
In June 2020, Allen appeared on Alec Baldwin's podcast Here's the Thing and talked about his career as a standup comedian, comedy writer, and filmmaker, as well as his life during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2022, Allen promoted his film Rifkin's Festival and talked about his work, comedy career, and filmmaking in the age of streaming and covid on Leonard Maltin's podcast.
Theatre
While best known for his films, Allen has enjoyed a successful career in theatre, starting as early as 1960, when he wrote sketches for the revue From A to Z. His first great success was Don't Drink the Water, which opened in 1968, and ran for 598 performances for almost two years on Broadway. His success continued with Play It Again, Sam, which opened in 1969, starring Allen and Diane Keaton. The show played for 453 performances and was nominated for three Tony Awards, although none of the nominations were for Allen's writing or acting.
In the 1970s, Allen wrote a number of one-act plays, most notably God and Death, which were published in his 1975 collection Without Feathers. In 1981, Allen's play The Floating Light Bulb opened on Broadway. It was a critical success and a commercial flop. Despite two Tony Award nominations, a Tony win for the acting of Brian Backer (who won the 1981 Theater World Award and a Drama Desk Award for his work), the play only ran for 62 performances. After a long hiatus from the stage, Allen returned to the theatre in 1995 with the one-act Central Park West, an installment in an evening of theatre, Death Defying Acts, that also included new work by David Mamet and Elaine May.
For the next few years, Allen had no direct involvement with the stage, but notable productions of his work were staged. A production of God was staged at The Bank of Brazil Cultural Center in Rio de Janeiro, and theatrical adaptations of Allen's films Bullets Over Broadway and September were produced in Italy and France, respectively, without Allen's involvement. In 1997, rumors of Allen returning to the theatre to write a starring role for his wife Soon-Yi Previn turned out to be false. In 2003, Allen finally returned to the stage with Writer's Block, an evening of two one-acts—Old Saybrook and Riverside Drive—that played Off-Broadway. The production marked his stage-directing debut and sold out the entire run. Also in 2003, reports of Allen writing the book for a musical based on Bullets Over Broadway surfaced, and it opened in New York in 2014. The musical closed on August 24, 2014, after 156 performances and 33 previews.
In 2004, Allen's first full-length play since 1981, A Second Hand Memory, was directed by Allen and enjoyed an extended run Off-Broadway. In June 2007 it was announced that Allen would make two more creative debuts in the theatre, directing a work he did not write and directing an opera—a reinterpretation of Puccini's Gianni Schicchi for the Los Angeles Opera—which debuted at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion on September 6, 2008. Of his direction of the opera, Allen said, "I have no idea what I'm doing." His production of the opera opened the Festival of Two Worlds in Spoleto, Italy, in June 2009.
In October 2011 Allen's one-act play Honeymoon Motel premiered as one in a series of one-act plays on Broadway titled Relatively Speaking. Also contributing to the plays are Elaine May and Ethan Coen with John Turturro directing. It was announced in February 2012 that Allen would adapt Bullets over Broadway into a Broadway musical. It opened on April 10, 2014, and closed on August 24, 2014.
In March 2014 Allen's musical Bullets Over Broadway premiered at the St. James Theatre. The cast included Zach Braff, Nick Cordero and Betsy Wolfe. The show was directed and choreographed by Susan Stroman, known for directing the stage and film productions of Mel Brooks's The Producers. The show drew mixed reviews from critics but received six Tony Award nominations, including one for Allen for Best Book of a Musical.
Jazz band
Allen is a passionate fan of jazz, which appears often in the soundtracks to his films. He began playing clarinet as a child and took his stage name from clarinetist Woody Herman. He has performed publicly at least since the late 1960s, including with the Preservation Hall Jazz Band on the soundtrack of Sleeper.
Woody Allen and his New Orleans Jazz Band have been playing each Monday evening at the Carlyle Hotel in Manhattan for many years specializing in New Orleans jazz from the early 20th century. He plays songs by Sidney Bechet, George Lewis, Johnny Dodds, Jimmie Noone, and Louis Armstrong. The documentary film Wild Man Blues (directed by Barbara Kopple) chronicles a 1996 European tour by Allen and his band, as well as his relationship with Previn. The band released the albums The Bunk Project (1993) and the soundtrack of Wild Man Blues (1997). In a 2011 review of a concert by Allen's jazz band, critic Kirk Silsbee of the Los Angeles Times suggested that Allen should be regarded a competent musical hobbyist with a sincere appreciation for early jazz: "Allen's clarinet won't make anyone forget Sidney Bechet, Barney Bigard or Evan Christopher. His piping tone and strings of staccato notes can't approximate melodic or lyrical phrasing. Still his earnestness and the obvious regard he has for traditional jazz counts for something."
Allen and his band played at the Montreal International Jazz Festival on two consecutive nights in June 2008. For many years he wanted to make a film about the origins of jazz in New Orleans. Tentatively titled American Blues, the film would follow the different careers of Louis Armstrong and Sidney Bechet. Allen stated that the film would cost between $80 and $100 million and is therefore unlikely to be made.
Influence
Allen has said that he was enormously influenced by comedians Bob Hope, Groucho Marx, Mort Sahl, Charlie Chaplin, W.C. Fields, playwright George S. Kaufman and filmmakers Ernst Lubitsch and Ingmar Bergman.
Many comedians have cited Allen as an influence, including Louis C.K., Larry David, Jon Stewart, Chris Rock, Steve Martin, John Mulaney, Bill Hader, Aziz Ansari, Sarah Silverman, Conan O'Brien, Seth MacFarlane, Seth Meyers, Richard Ayoade, Bill Maher, Albert Brooks, John Cleese and Garry Shandling.
Many filmmakers have also cited Allen as an influence, including Wes Anderson, Greta Gerwig, Noah Baumbach, Luca Guadagnino, Nora Ephron, Whit Stillman, Mike Mills, Ira Sachs, Richard Linklater, Charlie Kaufman, Nicole Holofcener, Rebecca Miller, Tamara Jenkins, Alex Ross Perry, Greg Mottola, Lynn Shelton, Lena Dunham, Lawrence Michael Levine, Olivier Assayas, and the Safdie brothers.
Directors who admire Allen's work include Quentin Tarantino, who called him "one of the greatest screenwriters of all time", as well as Martin Scorsese, who said in Woody Allen: A Documentary, "Woody's sensibilities of New York City is one of the reasons why I love his work, but they are extremely foreign to me. It's not another world; it's another planet". Stanley Donen stated he liked Allen's films, Spike Lee has called Allen a "great, great filmmaker" and Pedro Almodóvar has said he admires Allen's work. In 2012, directors Mike Leigh, Asghar Farhadi, and Martin McDonagh respectively included Radio Days (1987), Take the Money and Run (1969), and Manhattan among their Top 10 films for Sight & Sound. Other admirers of his work include Olivia Wilde and Jason Reitman, who staged live readings of Hannah and Her Sisters and Manhattan respectively. Filmmaker Edgar Wright listed five of Allen's films (Take the Money and Run, Bananas, Play It Again, Sam, Sleeper, Annie Hall) in his list of 100 Favorite Comedy films.
Film critics including Roger Ebert and Barry Norman have highly praised Allen's work. In 1980, on Sneak Previews, Siskel and Ebert called Allen and Mel Brooks "the two most successful comedy directors in the world today ... America's two funniest filmmakers." Pauline Kael wrote of Allen that "his comic character is enormously appealing to people partly because he's the smart, urban guy who at the same time is intelligent, is vulnerable, and somehow by his intelligence, he triumphs".
Favorite films
In 2012, Allen participated in the Sight & Sound film polls. Held every ten years to select the greatest films of all time, contemporary directors were asked to select ten films of their choice. Allen's choices, in alphabetical order, were:
The 400 Blows (France, 1959)
8½ (Italy, 1963)
Amarcord (Italy, 1972)
Bicycle Thieves (Italy, 1948)
Citizen Kane (USA, 1941)
The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (France, 1972)
La Grande Illusion (France, 1937)
Paths of Glory (USA, 1957)
Rashomon (Japan, 1950)
The Seventh Seal (Sweden, 1957)
In his 2020 autobiography Apropos of Nothing Allen praised Elia Kazan's A Streetcar Named Desire (1951):
Film activism and preservation
In 1987, Allen joined Ginger Rogers, Sydney Pollack, and Miloš Forman at a Senate Judiciary committee hearing in Washington, D.C., where they each gave testimony against Ted Turner's and other companies' colorizing films without the artists' consent. Only one senator, Patrick Leahy, was present for the testimony. Allen testified:
Allen also spoke about his decisions to make films in black and white, such as Manhattan, Stardust Memories, Broadway Danny Rose, and Zelig. Film director John Huston appeared in a pre-taped video, and Rogers read a statement by Jimmy Stewart criticizing the colorization of his film It's a Wonderful Life.
In 1990, Allen and Martin Scorsese created The Film Foundation, a nonprofit film preservation organization that collaborates with film studios to restore prints of old or damaged films. Allen sat on the foundation's original board of directors alongside Robert Altman, Francis Ford Coppola, Clint Eastwood, Stanley Kubrick, George Lucas, Sydney Pollack, Robert Redford, and Steven Spielberg.
Works
Filmography
Theatrical works
In addition to directing, writing, and acting in films, Allen has written and performed in a number of Broadway theater productions.
Bibliography
Getting Even (1971)
Without Feathers (1975)
Side Effects (1980)
The Insanity Defense: The Complete Prose (2007)
Mere Anarchy (2007)
Apropos of Nothing (2020)
Zero Gravity (TBD)
Discography
Woody Allen (Colpix Records, 1964)
Woody Allen Vol. 2 (Colpix Records, 1965)
The Third Woody Allen Album (Capitol Records, 1968)
The Nightclub Years 1964–1968 (United Artists Records, 1972)
Standup Comic (Casablanca Records, 1978)
Wild Man Blues (RCA Victor, 1998)
Awards and honors
Over his 50-year film career, Allen has received many award nominations. He currently holds the record for the most Academy Award nominations for Best Original Screenplay, with 16 nominations and three wins (Annie Hall, Hannah and Her Sisters, and Midnight in Paris). Allen has been nominated for Best Director seven times and won for Annie Hall. Three of Allen's films have been nominated for Academy Award for Best Picture, Annie Hall, Hannah and Her Sisters, and Midnight in Paris.
Allen famously shuns award ceremonies, citing their subjectivity. His first and only appearance at the Academy Awards was at the 2002 Oscars, where he received a standing ovation. As a New York icon, he had been asked by the Academy to present a film montage of clips of New York City in the movies, which was put together by Nora Ephron, to honor the city after the 9/11 attack.
Allen has received numerous honors including a Honorary Golden Palm from the Cannes Film Festival in 2002 and an Career Golden Lion from the Venice International Film Festival in 1995. He also received a BAFTA Fellowship in 1997, a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Directors Guild of America and a Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award in 2014. He was elected a member of the American Philosophical Society in 2010.
Personal life
Allen has been married three times: to Harlene Rosen from 1956 to 1959, Louise Lasser from 1966 to 1970, and Soon-Yi Previn since 1997. He also had a 12-year relationship with actress Mia Farrow and relationships with Stacey Nelkin and Diane Keaton.
Early marriages and relationships
In 1956, Allen married Harlene Rosen. He was 20 and she was 17. The marriage lasted until 1959. Rosen, whom Allen called "the Dread Mrs. Allen" in his standup act, sued him for defamation as a result of comments he made during a television appearance shortly after their divorce. In his mid-1960s album Standup Comic, Allen said that Rosen had sued him because of a joke he made in an interview. Rosen had been sexually assaulted outside her apartment. According to Allen, the newspapers reported that she had been "violated". In the interview, Allen said, "Knowing my ex-wife, it probably wasn't a moving violation." In an interview on The Dick Cavett Show, Allen repeated his comments and said he had been sued for "$1 million".
In 1966, Allen married Louise Lasser. They divorced in 1970. Lasser provided voice dubbing in Allen's What's Up, Tiger Lily? and appeared in three of his other films: Take the Money and Run, Bananas, and Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex* (*But Were Afraid to Ask). She also appeared briefly in Stardust Memories.
According to the Los Angeles Times, Manhattan was based on Allen's romantic relationship with actress Stacey Nelkin. Her bit part in Annie Hall ended up on the cutting room floor, and their relationship, never publicly acknowledged by Allen, reportedly began when she was 17 and a student at Stuyvesant High School in New York. In December 2018 The Hollywood Reporter interviewed Babi Christina Engelhardt, who said she had an eight-year affair with Allen that began in 1976 when she was 17 years old (they met when she was 16), and that she believes the character of Tracy in Manhattan is a composite of any number of Allen's presumed other real-life young paramours from that period, not necessarily Nelkin or Engelhardt. When asked, Allen declined to comment.
Diane Keaton
In 1969, Allen cast Diane Keaton in his Broadway show Play It Again, Sam. During the run she and Allen became romantically involved. Although they broke up after a year, she continued to star in his films, including Sleeper as a futuristic poet and Love and Death as a composite character based on the novels of Tolstoy and Dostoevsky. Annie Hall was very important in Allen's and Keaton's careers. It is said that the role was written for her, as Keaton's birth name was Diane Hall. She then starred in Interiors as a poet, followed by Manhattan. In 1987, she had a cameo as a nightclub singer in Radio Days, and she was chosen to replace Mia Farrow in Manhattan Murder Mystery after Allen and Farrow began having problems with their relationship. In total Keaton has starred in eight of Allen's films. As of 2018 Keaton and Allen remain close friends. In a rare public appearance, Allen presented Keaton with the AFI Life Achievement Award in 2017.
Mia Farrow
Allen and Mia Farrow met in 1979 and began a relationship in 1980; Farrow starred in 13 of Allen's films from 1982 to 1992. Throughout the relationship they lived in separate apartments on opposite sides of Central Park in Manhattan. Farrow had seven children when they met: three biological sons from her marriage to composer André Previn, three adopted girls (two Vietnamese and one South Korean, Soon-Yi Previn), and an adopted South Korean boy, Moses Farrow.
In 1984, she and Allen tried to conceive a child together; Allen agreed to this on the understanding that he need not be involved in the child's care. When the effort to get pregnant failed, Farrow adopted a baby girl, Dylan Farrow, in July 1985. Allen was not involved in the adoption, but when Dylan arrived he assumed a parental role toward her and began spending more time in Farrow's home. On December 19, 1987, Farrow gave birth to their son Satchel Farrow (later known as Ronan Farrow). According to Allen, his intimate relationship with Mia Farrow ceased completely after Satchel's birth and he was asked to return her apartment key; they maintained a working relationship when they filmed a movie, and he regularly visited Moses, Dylan and Satchel, but he and Mia were only "social companions on those occasions where there'd be a dinner, an event, but after the event she'd go home and I'd go home." In 1991, Farrow wanted to adopt another child. According to a 1993 custody hearing, Allen told her he would not object to another adoption so long as she would agree to his adoption of Dylan and Moses; that adoption was finalized in December 1991. Eric Lax, Allen's biographer, wrote in The New York Times that Allen was "there before they [the children] wake up in the morning, he sees them during the day and he helps put them to bed at night".
Soon-Yi Previn
In 1977, Mia Farrow and André Previn adopted Soon-Yi Previn from Seoul, South Korea. She had been abandoned. The Seoul Family Court established a Family Census Register (legal birth document) on her behalf on December 28, 1976, with a presumptive birth date of October 8, 1970; according to Maureen Orth, a bone scan in the U.S. estimated that she was between five and seven years old. According to Previn, her first friendly interaction with Allen took place when she was injured playing soccer during 11th grade and Allen offered to transport her to school. After her injury, she began attending New York Knicks basketball games with Allen in 1990. They attended more games and by 1991 had become closer. In September 1991, she began studies at Drew University in New Jersey.
In January 1992, Farrow found nude photographs of Previn in Allen's home. Allen, then 56, told Farrow that he had taken the photos the day before, approximately two weeks after he first had sex with Previn. Both Farrow and Allen contacted lawyers shortly after the photographs were discovered. Previn was asked to leave summer camp because she was spending too much time taking calls from a "Mr. Simon", who turned out to be Allen.
In an August 1992 interview with Time Magazine Allen said, "I am not Soon-Yi's father or stepfather", adding, "I've never even lived with Mia. I've never in my entire life slept at Mia's apartment, and I never even used to go over there until my children came along seven years ago. I never had any family dinners over there. I was not a father to her adopted kids in any sense of the word." Adding that Soon-Yi never treated him as a father figure and that he rarely spoke to her before their romantic relationship, Allen seemed to see few or no problems with their relationship.
On August 17, 1992, Allen issued a statement saying that he was in love with Previn. Their relationship became public and "erupted into tabloid headlines and late-night monologues in August 1992."
Allen and Previn were married in Venice, Italy, on December 23, 1997. They have adopted two children, and live in the Carnegie Hill section of Manhattan's Upper East Side.
Sexual abuse allegation
According to court testimony, on August 4, 1992, Allen visited the children at Mia Farrow's home in Bridgewater, Connecticut, while she was shopping with a friend. The next day, that friend's babysitter told her employer that she had seen that "Dylan was sitting on the sofa, and Woody was kneeling on the floor, facing her, with his head in her lap". When Farrow asked Dylan about it, Dylan allegedly said that Allen had touched Dylan's "private part" while they were alone together in the attic. Allen strongly denied the allegation, calling it "an unconscionable and gruesomely damaging manipulation of innocent children for vindictive and self-serving motives". He then began proceedings in New York Supreme Court for sole custody of his and Farrow's son Satchel, as well as Dylan and Moses, their two adopted children. In March 1993, a six-month investigation by the Child Sexual Abuse Clinic of Yale-New Haven Hospital concluded that Dylan had not been sexually abused.
In June 1993, Judge Elliott Wilk rejected Allen's bid for custody and rejected the allegation of sexual abuse. Wilk said he was less certain than the Yale-New Haven team that there was conclusive evidence that there was no sexual abuse and called Allen's conduct with Dylan "grossly inappropriate", although not sexual. In September 1993, the state prosecutor announced that despite having "probable cause”, he would not pursue charges in order "to avoid the unjustifiable risk of exposing a child to the rigors and uncertainties of a questionable prosecution". In October 1993 the New York Child Welfare Agency of the State Department of Social Services closed a 14-month investigation and concluded there was not credible evidence of abuse or maltreatment, and the allegation was unfounded.
In 2014, when Allen received a Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award for Lifetime Achievement, the issue returned to the forefront of media attention, with Mia Farrow and Ronan Farrow making disparaging remarks about Allen on Twitter. On February 1, 2014, New York Times journalist Nicholas Kristof, with Dylan's permission, published a column that included excerpts from a letter Dylan had written to Kristof restating the allegation against Allen, and called out fellow actors who have continued to work in his films. Allen responded to the allegation in an open letter, also in The New York Times, strongly denying it. "Of course, I did not molest Dylan...No one wants to discourage abuse victims from speaking out, but one must bear in mind that sometimes there are people who are falsely accused and that is also a terribly destructive thing", he wrote.
In 2018, Moses Farrow (Mia Farrow's and Allen's adopted son who was present at her Bridgewater house during Allen's visit) published a blog post called "A Son Speaks Out." In the post, Moses recounted a series of instances of alleged physical abuse at the hands of Mia Farrow. He wrote, "It pains me to recall instances in which I witnessed siblings, some blind or physically disabled, dragged down a flight of stairs to be thrown into a bedroom or a closet, then having the door locked from the outside. [Mia] even shut my brother Thaddeus, paraplegic from polio, in an outdoor shed overnight as punishment for a minor transgression".
Moses Farrow also described the relationship between Mia Farrow and Soon-Yi Previn: "Soon-Yi was her most frequent scapegoat […] When Soon-Yi was young, Mia once threw a large porcelain centerpiece at her head. Luckily it missed, but the shattered pieces hit her legs. Years later, Mia beat her with a telephone receiver. Soon-Yi's made it clear that her desire was simply to be left alone, which increasingly became the case. Even if her relationship with Woody was unconventional, it allowed her to escape. Others weren't so lucky."
Moses Farrow also recalls, "The summer between first and second grades… my mother came over to my bed and found a tape measure. She gave me a piercing look that stopped me in my tracks and asked if I had taken it, as she had been looking for it all day. I stood in front of her, frozen. She asked why it was on my bed. I told her I didn't know, that perhaps a workman had left it there. She asked again and again and again. When I didn't give the answer she wanted, she slapped my face, knocking off my glasses. She told me I was lying and directed me to tell my brothers and sisters that I had taken the tape measure. Through my tears I listened to her as she explained that we would rehearse what should have happened. She would walk into the room and I would tell her I was sorry for taking the tape measure, that I had taken it to play with and that I would never do it again. She made me rehearse it at least a half-dozen times. That was the start of her coaching, drilling, scripting, and rehearsing – in essence, brainwashing. I became anxious and fearful."
Works about Allen
From 1976 to 1984 Stuart Hample wrote and drew Inside Woody Allen, a comic strip based on Allen's film persona.
The 1997 documentary Wild Man Blues, directed by Barbara Kopple, focuses on Allen, and other documentaries featuring Allen include the 2002 cable television documentary Woody Allen: A Life in Film, directed by Time film critic Richard Schickel, which interlaces interviews of Allen with clips of his films, and the 1986 short film Meetin' WA, in which Allen is interviewed by French New Wave director Jean-Luc Godard.
In 2011 the PBS series American Masters co-produced the documentary Woody Allen: A Documentary, directed by Robert B. Weide. New interviews provide insight and backstory with Diane Keaton, Scarlett Johansson, Penélope Cruz, Dianne Wiest, Larry David, Chris Rock, Martin Scorsese, Dick Cavett, and Leonard Maltin, among others.
Eric Lax authored the book Woody Allen: A Biography.
In 2015 David Evanier published Woody: The Biography, which was billed as the first new biography of Allen in over a decade.
In early March 2020, Grand Central Publishing, a division of Hachette Book Group, announced that it would be publishing Allen's memoir, Apropos of Nothing, on April 7, 2020. Days later, after employee walkouts, parent company Hachette announced that the title was canceled and rights had reverted to Allen. On March 23, 2020, Skyhorse Publishing announced that it had acquired and released Apropos of Nothing through its Arcade imprint.
In February 2021, HBO released Kirby Dick's and Amy Ziering's four-part documentary Allen v. Farrow, which explores the sexual abuse allegations against Allen. The series drew largely positive reviews from critics. Lorraine Ali of the Los Angeles Times wrote that it "makes a compelling argument that Allen got away with the unthinkable thanks to his fame, money, and revered standing in the world of film—and that a little girl never received justice." Rachel Brodsky wrote in The Independent that the "documentary will sound the death knell for Woody Allen’s career." Hadley Freeman in The Guardian wrote that the series "sets itself up as an investigation but much more resembles PR, as biased and partial as a political candidate’s advert vilifying an opponent in election season." A statement on behalf of Allen and Previn denounced the documentary as "a hatchet job riddled with falsehoods" and said that they were approached two months before it was aired on HBO and "given only a matter of days 'to respond.' Of course, they declined to do so." The filmmakers said they gave Allen and Previn two weeks to comment, which is "more than ample time by journalistic standards."
Notes
References
Works cited
External links
(Fresh Air), June 15, 2009
1935 births
Living people
20th-century American dramatists and playwrights
20th-century American male actors
20th-century American male writers
20th-century American musicians
21st-century American dramatists and playwrights
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American male film actors
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American male musicians
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American male screenwriters
American male short story writers
American people of Austrian-Jewish descent
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American people of Russian-Jewish descent
American satirists
American short story writers
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BAFTA fellows
Best Directing Academy Award winners
Best Director BAFTA Award winners
Best Original Screenplay Academy Award winners
Best Original Screenplay BAFTA Award winners
Best Screenplay BAFTA Award winners
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Cecil B. DeMille Award Golden Globe winners
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Writers Guild of America Award winners | false | [
"The West Side Waltz is a play by Ernest Thompson.\n\nThe play focuses on Margaret Mary Elderdice, an aging, widowed pianist living in a dreary Upper West Side apartment, and her relationships with a prim, virginal violinist neighbor and the young companion who moves in for an extended stay. Thompson was prompted to write the piece when screenwriter George Seaton offered him a grant to write a new play following the success of his previous work, On Golden Pond.\n\nThe play originally was presented off-Broadway in 1978. After three previews, the Broadway production, directed by Noel William, opened on November 19, 1981, at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre. Despite the presence of screen legend Katharine Hepburn, supported by Dorothy Loudon, Regina Baff, and David Margulies, it ran for only 126 performances. Hepburn was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play, but lost to Zoe Caldwell (Medea).\n\nThompson wrote the teleplay for and directed a CBS production that originally aired on Thanksgiving night in 1995. The cast included Shirley MacLaine, Liza Minnelli, Kathy Bates, Jennifer Grey, Estelle Harris, and Robert Pastorelli.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\nInternet Broadway Database listing\nInternet Movie Database listing\n\n1978 plays\nBroadway plays\nAmerican plays\n1995 films",
"Dear Ruth is a successful 1944 Broadway play written by Norman Krasna. It ran for 680 performances.\n\nKrasna had written a serious play, The Man with Blond Hair, which received a tepid response. He said that Moss Hart suggested he write a commercial comedy instead along the lines of Junior Miss. Krasna based the family in the play on that of Groucho Marx, who was a good friend and occasional collaborator.\n\nThe play was named in honor of Krasna's first wife, Ruth.\n\nThe original production of the play was directed by Moss Hart and starred John Dall. It was a big success, running for 680 performances.\n\nFilm rights were sold for a reported $450,000 with the proviso that a movie not be made until the play finished a two-year run. The film, also titled Dear Ruth, premiered on June 10, 1947.\n\nDear Ruth was also published as an Armed Services Edition, distributed to American servicemen during WWII.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n \nReview of Broadway production at Variety\n\n1944 plays\nPlays by Norman Krasna\nBroadway plays\nAmerican plays adapted into films\nPlays set in New York (state)"
] |
[
"Woody Allen",
"Playwright",
"What are some works of his?",
"In 1966, Allen wrote the play Don't Drink the Water.",
"What else did he write in his career?",
"The next play Allen wrote for Broadway was Play It Again, Sam,",
"What other plays did he write for Broadway?",
"In 1981, his play The Floating Light Bulb premiered on Broadway and ran for 65 performances."
] | C_b56e75307cdb4b078e4681f577bc09fd_1 | Has he won any awards for his plays? | 4 | Has Woody Allen won any awards for his plays? | Woody Allen | In 1966, Allen wrote the play Don't Drink the Water. The play starred Lou Jacobi, Kay Medford, Anita Gillette and Allen's future movie co-star Tony Roberts. A film adaptation of the play, directed by Howard Morris, was released in 1969, starring Jackie Gleason. Because he was not particularly happy with the 1969 film version of his play, in 1994, Allen directed and starred in a second version for television, with Michael J. Fox and Mayim Bialik. The next play Allen wrote for Broadway was Play It Again, Sam, in which he also starred. The play opened on February 12, 1969, and ran for 453 performances. It featured Diane Keaton and Roberts. The play was significant to Keaton's budding career, and she has stated she was in "awe" of Allen even before auditioning for her role, which was the first time she met him. During an interview in 2013, Keaton stated that she "fell in love with him right away," adding, "I wanted to be his girlfriend so I did something about it." After co-starring alongside Allen in the subsequent film version of Play It Again, Sam, she would later co-star in Sleeper, Love and Death, Interiors, Manhattan and Annie Hall. "He showed me the ropes and I followed his lead. He is the most disciplined person I know. He works very hard," Keaton has stated. "I find the same thing sexy in a man now as I always have: humor. I love it when they are funny. It's to die for." For its March 21, 1969, issue, Life featured Allen on its cover. In 1981, his play The Floating Light Bulb premiered on Broadway and ran for 65 performances. While receiving mixed reviews, it gave an autobiographical insight into Allen's childhood, specifically his fascination with magic tricks. He has written several one-act plays, including Riverside Drive and Old Saybrook exploring well-known Allen themes. On October 20, 2011, Allen's one-act play Honeymoon Motel opened as part of a larger piece entitled Relatively Speaking on Broadway, with two other one-act plays, one by Ethan Coen and one by Elaine May. CANNOTANSWER | CANNOTANSWER | Heywood "Woody" Allen (born Allan Stewart Konigsberg; November 30, 1935) is an American film director, writer, actor, and comedian whose career spans more than six decades and multiple Academy Award-winning films. He began his career writing material for television in the 1950s, working alongside Mel Brooks, Carl Reiner, Larry Gelbart, and Neil Simon. He also published several books featuring short stories and wrote humor pieces for The New Yorker. In the early 1960s, he performed as a stand-up comedian in Greenwich Village alongside Lenny Bruce, Elaine May, Mike Nichols, and Joan Rivers. There he developed a monologue style (rather than traditional jokes) and the persona of an insecure, intellectual, fretful nebbish. He released three comedy albums during the mid to late 1960s, earning a Grammy Award nomination for his 1964 comedy album entitled simply, Woody Allen. In 2004, Comedy Central ranked Allen fourth on a list of the 100 greatest stand-up comedians, while a UK survey ranked Allen the third-greatest comedian.
By the mid-1960s, Allen was writing and directing films, first specializing in slapstick comedies such as Take the Money and Run (1969), Bananas (1971), Sleeper (1973), and Love and Death (1975), before moving into dramatic material influenced by European art cinema during the late 1970s with Interiors (1978), Manhattan (1979), and Stardust Memories (1980), and alternating between comedies and dramas to the present. Allen is often identified as part of the New Hollywood wave of filmmakers of the mid-1960s to late 1970s such as Martin Scorsese, Robert Altman, and Sidney Lumet. He often stars in his films, typically in the persona he developed as a standup. His film Annie Hall (1977), a romantic comedy featuring Allen and his frequent collaborator Diane Keaton, won four Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Actress for Keaton. Critics have called his work from the 1980s his most developed period. Those films include Zelig (1983), Broadway Danny Rose (1984), The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985), Hannah and Her Sisters (1986), Radio Days (1987), Another Woman (1988), and Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989). In the 21st century, many of Allen's films have been set and shot in Europe, including Match Point (2005), Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008), and Midnight in Paris (2011). Allen returned to America gaining acclaim for Blue Jasmine (2013) and Cafe Society (2016).
In 1979, Allen began a professional and personal relationship with actress Mia Farrow, and over a decade-long period they collaborated on 13 films. They separated after Allen began a relationship with Mia's and Andre Previn's adopted daughter Soon-Yi Previn. During the separation, Allen was publicly accused of sexually abusing his daughter, the seven-year-old Dylan. The allegation gained substantial media attention, but Allen was never charged or prosecuted, and he vehemently denied the allegation. Allen married Previn in 1997, and they adopted two children.
Allen has received many accolades and honors, including the most nominations for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, with 16. He has won four Academy Awards, one for Best Director, and three for Best Original Screenplay. He also garnered nine British Academy Film Awards. In 1997, Allen was awarded the BAFTA Fellowship by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts. In 2014, he received the Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award for Lifetime Achievement and a Tony Award nomination for Best Book of a Musical for Bullets over Broadway. In 2015, the Writers Guild of America named his screenplay for Annie Hall first on its list of the "101 Funniest Screenplays". In 2011, PBS televised the film biography Woody Allen: A Documentary on its series American Masters.
Early life
Allen was born in Brooklyn, New York, as Allan Stewart Konigsberg at Mount Eden Hospital in the Bronx, New York City, on November 30, 1935. He is Jewish. Allen's parents were Nettie (née Cherry; 1906–2002), a bookkeeper at her family's delicatessen, and Martin Konigsberg (1900–2001), a jewelry engraver and waiter. His grandparents were immigrants to the U.S. from Austria and the Lithuanian city of Panevėžys. They spoke German, Hebrew and Yiddish. He and his younger sister, film producer Letty, were raised in Brooklyn's Midwood neighborhood. Both of their parents were born and raised on the Lower East Side of Manhattan.
Allen's parents did not get along, and he had an estranged relationship with his authoritarian, ill-tempered mother. He spoke German in his early years. He later joked that he was often sent to inter-faith summer camps when he was young. While attending Hebrew school for eight years, he went to Public School 99 (now the Isaac Asimov School for Science and Literature) and Midwood High School, graduating in 1953. Unlike his comic persona, he was more interested in baseball than school and his strong arm ensured he was picked first for teams. He impressed students with his talent for cards and magic tricks.
Allen wrote jokes (or "gags") for agent David O. Alber to make money, and Alber sold them to newspaper columnists. At age 17, he legally changed his name to Heywood Allen and later began to call himself Woody. According to Allen, his first published joke read: "Woody Allen says he ate at a restaurant that had O.P.S. prices—over people's salaries." He was soon earning more than both of his parents combined. After high school, he attended New York University, studying communication and film in 1953, before dropping out after failing the course "Motion Picture Production". He studied film at City College of New York in 1954, but left during the first semester. He taught himself rather than studying in the classroom. He later taught at The New School and studied with writing teacher Lajos Egri.
Career
Comedy writer
Allen began writing short jokes when he was 15, and the following year began sending them to various Broadway writers to see if they'd be interested in buying any. One of those writers was Abe Burrows, coauthor of Guys and Dolls, who wrote, "Wow! His stuff was dazzling." Burrows then wrote Allen letters of introduction to Sid Caesar, Phil Silvers, and Peter Lind Hayes, who immediately sent Allen a check for just the jokes Burrows included as samples.
As a result of the jokes Allen mailed to various writers, he was invited, then age 19, to join the NBC Writer's Development Program in 1955, followed by a job on The NBC Comedy Hour in Los Angeles. He was later hired as a full-time writer for humorist Herb Shriner, initially earning $25 a week. He began writing scripts for The Ed Sullivan Show, The Tonight Show, specials for Sid Caesar post-Caesar's Hour (1954–1957), and other television shows. By the time he was working for Caesar, he was earning $1,500 a week. He worked alongside Mel Brooks, Carl Reiner, Larry Gelbart, and Neil Simon. He also worked with Danny Simon, whom Allen credits for helping form his writing style. In 1962 alone, he estimated that he wrote twenty thousand jokes for various comics. Allen also wrote for the Candid Camera television show, and appeared in some episodes.
He wrote jokes for the Buddy Hackett sitcom Stanley and for The Pat Boone Chevy Showroom, and in 1958 he co-wrote a few Sid Caesar specials with Larry Gelbart. After writing for many of television's leading comedians and comedy shows, Allen was gaining a reputation as a "genius", composer Mary Rodgers said. When given an assignment for a show he would leave and come back the next day with "reams of paper", according to producer Max Liebman. Similarly, after he wrote for Bob Hope, Hope called him "half a genius".
His daily writing routine could last as long as 15 hours, and he could focus and write anywhere necessary. Dick Cavett was amazed at Allen's capacity to write: "He can go to a typewriter after breakfast and sit there until the sun sets and his head is pounding, interrupting work only for coffee and a brief walk, and then spend the whole evening working." When Allen wrote for other comedians, they would use eight out of ten of his jokes. When he began performing as a stand-up, he was much more selective, typically using only one out of ten jokes. He estimated that to prepare for a 30-minute show, he spent six months of intensive writing. He enjoyed writing, however, despite the work: "Nothing makes me happier than to tear open a ream of paper. And I can't wait to fill it! I love to do it."
Allen started writing short stories and cartoon captions for magazines such as The New Yorker; he was inspired by the tradition of New Yorker humorists S. J. Perelman, George S. Kaufman, Robert Benchley, and Max Shulman, whose material he modernized. His collections of short pieces includes Getting Even, Without Feathers, Side Effects, and Mere Anarchy. His early comic fiction was influenced by the zany, pun-ridden humor of S.J. Perelman. In 2010 Allen released audio versions of his books in which he read 73 selections entitled, The Woody Allen Collection. He was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album.
Stand-up comedian
From 1960 to 1969 Allen performed as a comedian to supplement his comedy writing. He worked in various places around Greenwich Village, including The Bitter End and Cafe Au Go Go, alongside such contemporaries as Lenny Bruce, the team of Mike Nichols and Elaine May, Joan Rivers, George Carlin, Richard Pryor, Dick Cavett, Bill Cosby and Mort Sahl (his personal favorite), as well as such other artists of the day as Bob Dylan and Barbra Streisand. Comedian Milton Berle claims to have suggested to Allen to go into standup comedy and even introduced him at the Village Vanguard. Comedy historian Gerald Nachman writes that Allen, while not the first to do standup, eventually had greater impact than all the others in the 1960s, and redefined standup comedy: "He helped turn it into biting, brutally honest satirical commentary on the cultural and psychological tenor of the times."
After Allen was taken under the wing of his new manager, Jack Rollins, who had recently discovered Nichols and May, Rollins suggested he perform his written jokes as a stand-up. Allen was resistant at first, but after seeing Mort Sahl on stage, he felt safer to give it a try: "I'd never had the nerve to talk about it before. Then Mort Sahl came along with a whole new style of humor, opening up vistas for people like me." Allen made his professional stage debut at the Blue Angel nightclub in Manhattan in October 1960, where comedian Shelley Berman introduced him as a young television writer who would perform his own material.
His early stand-up shows with his different style of humor were not always well received or understood by his audiences. Unlike other comedians, Allen spoke to his audiences in a gentle and conversational style, often appearing to be searching for words, although he was well rehearsed. He acted "normal", dressed casually, and made no attempt to project a stage "personality". And he did not improvise: "I put very little premium on improvisation," he told Studs Terkel. His jokes were created from life experiences, and typically presented with a dead serious demeanor that made them funnier: "I don't think my family liked me. They put a live teddy bear in my crib."
The subjects of his jokes were rarely topical, political or socially relevant. Unlike Bruce and Sahl, he did not discuss current events such as civil rights, women's rights, the Cold War, or Vietnam. And although he was described as a "classic nebbish", he did not tell the standard Jewish jokes of the period. Comedy screenwriter Larry Gelbart compared Allen's style to Elaine May's: "He just styled himself completely after her". Like Nichols and May, he often made fun of intellectuals.
Cavett, who was among the minority to quickly appreciate Allen's style, recalls seeing the Blue Angel audience mostly ignore Allen's monologue: "I recognized immediately that there was no young comedian in the country in the same class with him for sheer brilliance of jokes, and I resented the fact that the audience was too dumb to realize what they were getting." It was his subdued stage presence that eventually became one of Allen's strongest traits, Nachman argues: "The utter absence of showbiz veneer and shtick was the best shtick any comedian had ever devised. This uneasy onstage naturalness became a trademark." When the media finally noticed, writers like The New York Timess Arthur Gelb described Allen's nebbish quality as "Chaplinesque" and "refreshing".
Allen developed an anxious, nervous, and intellectual persona for his stand-up act, a successful move that secured regular gigs for him in nightclubs and on television. He brought innovation to the comedy monologue genre and his stand-up comedy is considered influential. Allen first appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson on November 1, 1963, and over nine years his guest appearances included 17 in the host's chair. He subsequently released three LP albums of live nightclub recordings: the self-titled Woody Allen (1964), Volume 2 (1965), and The Third Woody Allen Album (1968), recorded at a fund-raiser for Senator Eugene McCarthy's presidential run.
In 1965, Allen filmed a half-hour standup special in England for Granada Television, titled The Woody Allen Show in the U.K. and Woody Allen: Standup Comic in the U.S. It is the only complete standup show of Allen's on film. The same year, Allen along with Nichols and May, Barbara Streisand, Carol Channing, Harry Belafonte, Julie Andrews, Carol Burnett, and Alfred Hitchcock took part in Lyndon B. Johnson’s inaugural gala in Washington, D.C., on January 18, 1965. First Lady Lady Bird Johnson described Allen and the event in her published diary, A White House Diary, writing in part, "Woody Allen, that forlorn, undernourished little comedian, stopped shooting a movie in Paris and flew across the Atlantic for about five minutes of jokes".
In 1966, Allen wrote an hourlong musical comedy television special for CBS, Gene Kelly in New York City. It focused on Gene Kelly in a musical tour around Manhattan, dancing along such landmarks as Rockefeller Center, the Plaza Hotel and the Museum of Modern Art, which serve as backdrops for the show's production numbers. Allen appeared in the special alongside Kelly. Guest stars included choreographer Gower Champion, British musical comedy star Tommy Steele, and songstress Damita Jo DeBlanc.
In 1967, Allen hosted a TV special for NBC, Woody Allen Looks at 1967. It featured Liza Minnelli, who acted alongside Allen in some skits; Aretha Franklin, the musical guest; and conservative writer William F. Buckley, the featured guest. In 1969, Allen hosted his first American special for CBS television, The Woody Allen Special, which included skits with Candice Bergen, a musical performance from the 5th Dimension, and an interview between Allen and Billy Graham.
Allen also performed standup comedy on other series, including The Andy Williams Show and The Perry Como Show, where he interacted with other guests and occasionally sang. In 1971, he hosted one of his final Tonight Shows, with guests Bob Hope and James Coco. Hope praised Allen on the show, calling him "one of the finest young talents in show business and a great delight". Life magazine put Allen on the cover of its March 21, 1969, issue.
In 1979, Allen paid tribute to one of his comedy idols, Bob Hope, at the Film Society at Lincoln Center, creating a special for the event titled "My Favorite Comedian" that included clips from Hope's films, selected and narrated by Allen. Hope said of the honor, "It's great to have your past spring up in front of your eyes, especially when it's done by Woody Allen, because he's a near genius. Not a whole genius, but a near genius". Dick Cavett served as the host, but Allen was absent, editing Manhattan. Guests at the event included Diane Keaton, Kurt Vonnegut, and Andy Warhol.
Playwright
In 1966, Allen wrote the play Don't Drink the Water. The play starred Lou Jacobi, Kay Medford, Anita Gillette and Allen's future movie co-star Tony Roberts. A film adaptation of the play, directed by Howard Morris, was released in 1969, starring Jackie Gleason. Because he was not particularly happy with that version, in 1994 Allen directed and starred in a second version for television, with Michael J. Fox and Mayim Bialik.
The next play Allen wrote for Broadway was Play It Again, Sam, in which he also starred. The play opened on February 12, 1969, and ran for 453 performances. It featured Diane Keaton and Roberts. The play was significant to Keaton's budding career, and she has said she was in "awe" of Allen even before auditioning for her role, which was the first time she met him. In a 2013 interview Keaton said that she "fell in love with him right away", adding, "I wanted to be his girlfriend so I did something about it." After co-starring alongside Allen in the subsequent film version of Play It Again, Sam, she later co-starred in Sleeper, Love and Death, Annie Hall, Interiors and Manhattan. "He showed me the ropes and I followed his lead. He is the most disciplined person I know. He works very hard," Keaton has said.
In 1981, Allen's play The Floating Light Bulb, starring Danny Aiello and Bea Arthur, premiered on Broadway and ran for 65 performances. While receiving mixed reviews, it gave autobiographical insight into Allen's childhood, specifically his fascination with magic tricks. The play, set in 1945, is a semi-autobiographical tale of a lower-middle-class family in Brooklyn. New York Times critic Frank Rich gave the play a mild review, writing, "there are a few laughs, a few well-wrought characters, and, in Act II, a beautifully written scene that leads to a moving final curtain". Rich also compared the play to Tennessee Williams's work.
Allen has written several one-act plays off Broadway, including Riverside Drive, Old Saybrook and A Second Hand Memory, at the Variety Arts Theatre.
On March 8, 1995, Allen's one-act play Central Park West opened off-Broadway as a part of a larger piece titled Death Defying Acts, with two other one-act plays, one by David Mamet, and one by Elaine May. Critics described Allen's contribution as "the longest and most substantial of the evening".
On October 20, 2011, Allen's one-act play Honeymoon Motel opened on Broadway as part of a larger piece titled Relatively Speaking, with two other one-act plays, one by Ethan Coen and one by Elaine May.
On March 11, 2014, Allen's musical Bullets over Broadway opened on Broadway at the St. James Theatre. It was directed and choreographed by Susan Stroman and starred Zack Braff, Nick Cordero, and Betsy Wolfe. The production received mixed reviews, with The Hollywood Reporter writing, "this frothy show does provide dazzling art direction and performances, as well as effervescent ensemble numbers." Allen received a Tony Award nomination for Best Book of a Musical. The show received six Tony nominations.
Early films
Allen's first movie was the Charles K. Feldman production What's New, Pussycat? (1965), for which he wrote the screenplay. He was disappointed with the final product, which inspired him to direct every film he wrote thereafter except Play It Again, Sam. Allen's first directorial effort was What's Up, Tiger Lily? (1966, co-written with Mickey Rose), in which an existing Japanese spy movie—Kokusai himitsu keisatsu: Kagi no kagi (1965), "International Secret Police: Key of Keys"—was redubbed in English by Allen and friends with fresh new, comic dialogue. In 1967, Allen played Jimmy Bond in the 007 spoof Casino Royale.
In 1969, Allen directed, starred in, and co-wrote (with Mickey Rose) Take the Money and Run, which he considers his true film directorial debut. The film received positive reviews; critic Vincent Canby of The New York Times wrote, "Allen has made a movie that is, in effect, a feature-length, two-reel comedy—something very special and eccentric and funny." Allen later signed a deal with United Artists to produce several films.
1970s
During the 1970s, Allen directed films that were later known as his "early, funny" work. These include Bananas (1971, co-written with Rose), Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex* (*But Were Afraid to Ask) (1972), Sleeper (1973), and Love and Death (1975). Sleeper was the first of four screenplays co-written by Allen and Marshall Brickman.
In 1972, Allen wrote and starred in the film version of Play It Again, Sam, directed by Herbert Ross and co-starring Diane Keaton. In 1976, he starred as cashier Howard Prince in The Front, directed by Martin Ritt. The Front was a humorous and poignant account of Hollywood blacklisting during the 1950s; Ritt, screenwriter Walter Bernstein, and three of Allen's cast-mates, Samuel "Zero" Mostel, Herschel Bernardi, and Lloyd Gough, had themselves been blacklisted.
Then came two of Allen's most popular films: Annie Hall and Manhattan. Annie Hall (1977) won four Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Actress in a Leading Role for Diane Keaton, Best Original Screenplay and Best Director for Woody Allen. Annie Hall set the standard for modern romantic comedy and ignited a fashion trend with the clothes Keaton wore in the film. In an interview with journalist Katie Couric, Keaton did not deny that Allen wrote the part for her and about her. The film is ranked 35th on the American Film Institute "100 Best Movies" and fourth on the AFI list of the "100 Best Comedies."
In 1979, Allen directed Manhattan, a black-and-white romantic comedy often viewed as an homage to New York City. The film features iconic scenes filmed in New York City, including an opening montage of scenes around the city, and Allen and Keaton's silhouette on a bench by the Queensboro Bridge. As in many Allen films, the main protagonists are upper-middle class writers and academics. Manhattan focuses on the complicated relationship between middle-aged Isaac Davis (Allen) and 17-year-old Tracy (Mariel Hemingway), and co-stars Diane Keaton and Meryl Streep. It was a box office and critical hit, and received two Academy Award nominations, for Hemingway for Best Supporting Actress and for Allen's screenplay.
Keaton, who has made eight movies with Allen, has said, "He just has a mind like nobody else. He's bold. He's got a lot of strength, a lot of courage in terms of his work. And that is what it takes to do something really unique. Along with a genius imagination."
1980s
Allen's films in the 1980s, even the comedies, became somber with philosophical undertones, influenced by European directors, especially Ingmar Bergman and Federico Fellini. Stardust Memories was based on 8½, which it parodies, and Wild Strawberries. A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy was adapted from Smiles of a Summer Night. In Hannah and Her Sisters, part of the film's structure and background is borrowed from Fanny and Alexander. Fellini's Amarcord inspired Radio Days. September resembles Bergman's Autumn Sonata. Another Woman and Crimes and Misdemeanors have elements reminiscent of Wild Strawberries.
Stardust Memories (1980) features Sandy Bates, a successful filmmaker played by Allen, who expresses resentment and scorn for his fans. Overcome by the recent death of a friend from illness, Bates says, "I don't want to make funny movies anymore" and a running gag has various people (including visiting space aliens) telling him that they appreciate his films, "especially the early, funny ones." Allen considers this one of his best films.
A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy (1982) was the first movie Allen made starring Mia Farrow, who stepped into Diane Keaton's role when Keaton was shooting Reds. He next directed Zelig, in which he starred as a man who has the ability to transform his appearance to that of the people surrounding him.
Allen has combined tragic and comic elements in such films as Hannah and Her Sisters (1986) and Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989), in which he tells two stories that connect at the end. He also made three films about show business: Broadway Danny Rose, in which he plays a down-on-his-luck New York show business agent, The Purple Rose of Cairo, set during the Great Depression, in which a movie character comes to life to romance an unhappy housewife, and Radio Days, a film about his childhood in Brooklyn and the importance of the radio. The film co-starred Farrow in a part Allen wrote specifically for her. The Purple Rose of Cairo was named by Time as one of the 100 best films of all time. Allen called it one of his three best films with Stardust Memories and Match Point. By "best" he said he meant they came closest to his vision. In 1989, Allen and directors Francis Ford Coppola and Martin Scorsese made New York Stories, an anthology film about New Yorkers. Allen's short, Oedipus Wrecks, is about a neurotic lawyer and his critical mother. Film critic Vincent Canby of The New York Times praised the segment as a "priceless contribution" to the film.
1990s
Allen's 1991 film Shadows and Fog is a black-and-white homage to the German expressionists and features the music of Kurt Weill. Allen then made his critically acclaimed comedy-drama Husbands and Wives (1992), which received two Oscar nominations: Best Supporting Actress for Judy Davis and Best Original Screenplay for Allen. Manhattan Murder Mystery (1993) combined suspense with dark comedy and marked the return of Diane Keaton, Alan Alda and Anjelica Huston.
He returned to lighter fare such as the showbiz comedy involving mobsters Bullets Over Broadway (1994), which earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Director, followed by a musical, Everyone Says I Love You (1996). The singing and dancing scenes in Everyone Says I Love You are similar to musicals starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. The comedy Mighty Aphrodite (1995), in which Greek drama plays a large role, won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for Mira Sorvino. Allen's 1999 jazz-based comedy-drama Sweet and Lowdown was nominated for two Academy Awards, for Sean Penn (Best Actor) and Samantha Morton (Best Supporting Actress). In contrast to these lighter movies, Allen veered into darker satire toward the end of the decade with Deconstructing Harry (1997) and Celebrity (1998).
During this decade Allen also starred in the television film The Sunshine Boys (1995), based on the Neil Simon play of the same name.
Allen made one sitcom "appearance" via telephone on the show Just Shoot Me! in a 1997 episode, "My Dinner with Woody", that paid tribute to several of his films. He provided the voice of Z in DreamWorks' first animated film, Antz (1998), which featured many actors he had worked with; Allen's character was similar to his earlier roles.
2000s
Small Time Crooks (2000) was Allen's first film with the DreamWorks studio and represented a change in direction: he began giving more interviews and made an attempt to return to his slapstick roots. The film is similar to the 1942 film Larceny, Inc. (from a play by S.J. Perelman). Allen never commented on whether this was deliberate or if his film was in any way inspired by it. Small Time Crooks was a relative financial success, grossing over $17 million domestically, but Allen's next four films foundered at the box office, including Allen's most costly film, The Curse of the Jade Scorpion (with a budget of $26 million). Hollywood Ending, Anything Else, and Melinda and Melinda have "rotten" ratings on film-review website Rotten Tomatoes and each earned less than $4 million domestically. Some critics claimed that Allen's early 2000s films were subpar and expressed concern that his best years were behind him. Others were less harsh; reviewing the little-liked Melinda and Melinda, Roger Ebert wrote, "I cannot escape the suspicion that if Woody had never made a previous film, if each new one was Woody's Sundance debut, it would get a better reception. His reputation is not a dead shark but an albatross, which with admirable economy Allen has arranged for the critics to carry around their own necks."
Match Point (2005) was one of Allen's most successful films of the decade, garnering positive reviews. Set in London, it starred Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Scarlett Johansson. It is markedly darker than Allen's first four films with DreamWorks SKG. In Match Point Allen shifts focus from the intellectual upper class of New York to the moneyed upper class of London. The film earned more than $23 million domestically (more than any of his films in nearly 20 years) and over $62 million in international box office sales. It earned Allen his first Academy Award nomination since 1998, for Best Writing – Original Screenplay, with directing and writing nominations at the Golden Globes, his first Globe nominations since 1987. In a 2006 interview with Premiere Magazine he said it was the best film he had ever made.
Allen reached an agreement to film Vicky Cristina Barcelona in Avilés, Barcelona, and Oviedo, Spain, where shooting started on July 9, 2007. The movie featured Scarlett Johansson, Javier Bardem, Rebecca Hall and Penélope Cruz. The film premiered at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival to rapturous reviews, and became a box office success. Vicky Cristina Barcelona won Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy at the Golden Globe awards. Cruz received the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.
"In the United States things have changed a lot, and it's hard to make good small films now," Allen said in a 2004 interview. "The avaricious studios couldn't care less about good films—if they get a good film they're twice as happy but money-making films are their goal. They only want these $100 million pictures that make $500 million."
In April 2008 he began filming Whatever Works, a film aimed more toward older audiences, starring Larry David, Patricia Clarkson, and Evan Rachel Wood. Released in 2009 and described as a dark comedy, it follows the story of a botched suicide attempt turned messy love triangle. Whatever Works was written by Allen in the 1970s, and David's character was written for Zero Mostel, who died the year Annie Hall came out.
Allen was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2001.
2010s
You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger, filmed in London, stars Antonio Banderas, Josh Brolin, Anthony Hopkins, Anupam Kher, Freida Pinto and Naomi Watts. Filming started in July 2009. It was released theatrically in the US on September 23, 2010, following a Cannes debut in May 2010, and a screening at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 12, 2010.
Allen announced that his next film would be titled Midnight in Paris starring Owen Wilson, Marion Cotillard, Rachel McAdams, Michael Sheen, Corey Stoll, Allison Pill, Tom Hiddleston, Adrien Brody, Kathy Bates, and Carla Bruni, the First Lady of France at the time of production. The film follows a young engaged couple in Paris who see their lives transformed. It debuted at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival on May 12, 2011. Allen said he wanted to "show the city emotionally" during the press conference. "I just wanted it to be the way I saw Paris—Paris through my eyes," he added. The film was almost universally praised, receiving a 93% on Rotten Tomatoes. Midnight in Paris won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay and became his highest-grossing film, making $151 million worldwide on a $17 million budget.
In February 2012, Allen appeared on a panel at the 92nd Street Y in New York City with moderators Dick Cavett and Annette Insdorf, discussing his films and career.
His next film, To Rome with Love, was a Rome-set comedy released in 2012. The film was structured in four vignettes featuring dialogue in both Italian and English. It marked Allen's return to acting since his last role in Scoop.
Blue Jasmine debuted in July 2013. The film is set in San Francisco and New York, and stars Alec Baldwin, Cate Blanchett, Louis C.K., Andrew Dice Clay, Sally Hawkins, and Peter Sarsgaard. Opening to critical acclaim, the film earned Allen another Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay, and Blanchett received the Academy Award for Best Actress. Allen co-starred with John Turturro in Fading Gigolo, written and directed by Turturro, which premiered in September 2013. In 2013 Allen shot the romantic comedy Magic in the Moonlight with Emma Stone, and Colin Firth in Nice, France. The film is set in the 1920s on the French Riviera. The film was a modest financial success, earning $51 million off a budget of $16 million.
From July to August 2014 Allen filmed the mystery drama Irrational Man in Newport, Rhode Island, with Joaquin Phoenix, Emma Stone, Parker Posey and Jamie Blackley. Allen said that this film, as well as the next three he had planned, had the financing and full support of Sony Pictures Classics. His next film, Café Society, starred an ensemble cast, including Jesse Eisenberg, Kristen Stewart, and Blake Lively. Bruce Willis was set to co-star, but was replaced by Steve Carell during filming. The film is distributed by Amazon Studios, and opened the 2016 Cannes Film Festival on May 11, 2016, the third time Allen has opened the festival.
On January 14, 2015, Amazon Studios announced a full-season order for a half-hour Amazon Prime Instant Video series that Allen would write and direct, marking the first time he has developed a television show. Allen said of the series, "I don't know how I got into this. I have no ideas and I'm not sure where to begin. My guess is that Roy Price [the head of Amazon Studios] will regret this." At the 2015 Cannes Film Festival, Allen said, in reference to his upcoming Amazon show, "It was a catastrophic mistake. I don't know what I'm doing. I'm floundering. I expect this to be a cosmic embarrassment." On September 30, 2016, Amazon Video debuted Allen's first television series production, Crisis in Six Scenes. The series is a comedy that takes place during the 1960s. It focuses on the life of a suburban family after a surprise visitor creates chaos among them. It stars Allen alongside Elaine May and Miley Cyrus. Cyrus plays a radical hippie fugitive who sells marijuana.
In September 2016 Allen started filming Wonder Wheel, set in the 1950s in Coney Island, and starring Kate Winslet and Justin Timberlake. The film served as the closing night selection at the 55th New York Film Festival on October 15, 2017, and was theatrically released on December 1, 2017, as the first movie self-distributed to theaters by Amazon Studios.
In 2017, Allen received a standing ovation when he made a rare public appearance at the 45th Annual Life Achievement Tribute award ceremony for Diane Keaton. Before presenting her with the award he spoke about their longtime collaboration and friendship, saying, "From the minute I met her, she was a great, great inspiration to me. Much of what I have accomplished in my life I owe for sure to her".
His film A Rainy Day in New York, starring Timothée Chalamet, Selena Gomez, Elle Fanning, Jude Law, Diego Luna, Liev Schreiber and Rebecca Hall began production in New York in September 2017. Chalamet, Gomez and Hall announced, in the light of the #MeToo movement, that they would be donating their salaries to various charities.
In February 2019 it was announced that Amazon Studios had dropped A Rainy Day in New York and would no longer finance, produce, or distribute films with Allen. He filed a lawsuit for $68 million, alleging Amazon gave "vague reasons" to terminate the contract, dropped the film over "a 25-year old, baseless allegation" and did not make payments. The case was later settled and dismissed. It was released throughout Europe beginning in July 2019, receiving mixed reviews and grossing $20 million at the box office. After over a year of delays, the film was released in the United States on October 9, 2020, by MPI Media Group and Signature Entertainment.
2020s
In May 2019 it was announced that Allen's latest film would be titled Rifkin's Festival, and Variety magazine confirmed that its cast would include Christoph Waltz, Elena Anaya, Louis Garrel, Gina Gershon, Sergi López and Wallace Shawn and it would be produced by Gravier Productions. The film was produced with Mediapro, an independent Spanish TV-film company. Rifkin's Festival completed filming in October 2019. On September 18, 2020, it premiered at the San Sebastián International Film Festival. It has received mixed reviews, though Jessica Kiang of The New York Times called it "to the ravenous captive, like finding an unexpected stash of dessert".
On March 2, 2020, it was announced that Grand Central Publishing would release Allen's autobiography, Apropos of Nothing, on April 7, 2020, This was after it was announced Allen had written a memoir and shopped it around to multiple prominent publishers who rejected it. The book was set to be released in the United States, Canada, Italy, Spain, and France, among others. According to the publisher, the book is a "comprehensive account of Allen's life, both personal and professional, and describes his work in films, theater, television, nightclubs, and print...Allen also writes of his relationships with family, friends, and the loves of his life."
The decision to publish the book was met with backlash from Ronan Farrow, who cut ties with the publisher. Dylan Farrow also responded to the announcement of the release, saying "Hachette's publishing of Woody Allen's memoir is deeply upsetting to me personally and an utter betrayal of my brother." On March 5, 2020, 75 employees of Grand Central Publishing held a walkout to protest the release. On March 6, the publisher announced that it had canceled the book's release and returned the rights to Allen, saying, "The decision to cancel Mr. Allen's book was a difficult one. Over the past few days, HBG leadership had extensive conversations with our staff and others. After listening, we came to the conclusion that moving forward with publication would not be feasible for HBG."
Novelist Stephen King criticized Hachette's decision to withdraw the book, saying it "makes me very uneasy. It's not him; I don't give a damn about Mr. Allen. It's who gets muzzled next that worries me." Executive director of PEN America Suzanne Nossel also criticized the decision. On March 6, 2020, Manuel Carcassonne of the Hachette's French branch, the publishing company Stock, announced it would publish the book if Allen permitted it. On March 23, 2020, Arcade published the memoir in English and La nave di Teseo published it in Italian.
In June 2020, Allen appeared on Alec Baldwin's podcast Here's the Thing and talked about his career as a standup comedian, comedy writer, and filmmaker, as well as his life during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2022, Allen promoted his film Rifkin's Festival and talked about his work, comedy career, and filmmaking in the age of streaming and covid on Leonard Maltin's podcast.
Theatre
While best known for his films, Allen has enjoyed a successful career in theatre, starting as early as 1960, when he wrote sketches for the revue From A to Z. His first great success was Don't Drink the Water, which opened in 1968, and ran for 598 performances for almost two years on Broadway. His success continued with Play It Again, Sam, which opened in 1969, starring Allen and Diane Keaton. The show played for 453 performances and was nominated for three Tony Awards, although none of the nominations were for Allen's writing or acting.
In the 1970s, Allen wrote a number of one-act plays, most notably God and Death, which were published in his 1975 collection Without Feathers. In 1981, Allen's play The Floating Light Bulb opened on Broadway. It was a critical success and a commercial flop. Despite two Tony Award nominations, a Tony win for the acting of Brian Backer (who won the 1981 Theater World Award and a Drama Desk Award for his work), the play only ran for 62 performances. After a long hiatus from the stage, Allen returned to the theatre in 1995 with the one-act Central Park West, an installment in an evening of theatre, Death Defying Acts, that also included new work by David Mamet and Elaine May.
For the next few years, Allen had no direct involvement with the stage, but notable productions of his work were staged. A production of God was staged at The Bank of Brazil Cultural Center in Rio de Janeiro, and theatrical adaptations of Allen's films Bullets Over Broadway and September were produced in Italy and France, respectively, without Allen's involvement. In 1997, rumors of Allen returning to the theatre to write a starring role for his wife Soon-Yi Previn turned out to be false. In 2003, Allen finally returned to the stage with Writer's Block, an evening of two one-acts—Old Saybrook and Riverside Drive—that played Off-Broadway. The production marked his stage-directing debut and sold out the entire run. Also in 2003, reports of Allen writing the book for a musical based on Bullets Over Broadway surfaced, and it opened in New York in 2014. The musical closed on August 24, 2014, after 156 performances and 33 previews.
In 2004, Allen's first full-length play since 1981, A Second Hand Memory, was directed by Allen and enjoyed an extended run Off-Broadway. In June 2007 it was announced that Allen would make two more creative debuts in the theatre, directing a work he did not write and directing an opera—a reinterpretation of Puccini's Gianni Schicchi for the Los Angeles Opera—which debuted at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion on September 6, 2008. Of his direction of the opera, Allen said, "I have no idea what I'm doing." His production of the opera opened the Festival of Two Worlds in Spoleto, Italy, in June 2009.
In October 2011 Allen's one-act play Honeymoon Motel premiered as one in a series of one-act plays on Broadway titled Relatively Speaking. Also contributing to the plays are Elaine May and Ethan Coen with John Turturro directing. It was announced in February 2012 that Allen would adapt Bullets over Broadway into a Broadway musical. It opened on April 10, 2014, and closed on August 24, 2014.
In March 2014 Allen's musical Bullets Over Broadway premiered at the St. James Theatre. The cast included Zach Braff, Nick Cordero and Betsy Wolfe. The show was directed and choreographed by Susan Stroman, known for directing the stage and film productions of Mel Brooks's The Producers. The show drew mixed reviews from critics but received six Tony Award nominations, including one for Allen for Best Book of a Musical.
Jazz band
Allen is a passionate fan of jazz, which appears often in the soundtracks to his films. He began playing clarinet as a child and took his stage name from clarinetist Woody Herman. He has performed publicly at least since the late 1960s, including with the Preservation Hall Jazz Band on the soundtrack of Sleeper.
Woody Allen and his New Orleans Jazz Band have been playing each Monday evening at the Carlyle Hotel in Manhattan for many years specializing in New Orleans jazz from the early 20th century. He plays songs by Sidney Bechet, George Lewis, Johnny Dodds, Jimmie Noone, and Louis Armstrong. The documentary film Wild Man Blues (directed by Barbara Kopple) chronicles a 1996 European tour by Allen and his band, as well as his relationship with Previn. The band released the albums The Bunk Project (1993) and the soundtrack of Wild Man Blues (1997). In a 2011 review of a concert by Allen's jazz band, critic Kirk Silsbee of the Los Angeles Times suggested that Allen should be regarded a competent musical hobbyist with a sincere appreciation for early jazz: "Allen's clarinet won't make anyone forget Sidney Bechet, Barney Bigard or Evan Christopher. His piping tone and strings of staccato notes can't approximate melodic or lyrical phrasing. Still his earnestness and the obvious regard he has for traditional jazz counts for something."
Allen and his band played at the Montreal International Jazz Festival on two consecutive nights in June 2008. For many years he wanted to make a film about the origins of jazz in New Orleans. Tentatively titled American Blues, the film would follow the different careers of Louis Armstrong and Sidney Bechet. Allen stated that the film would cost between $80 and $100 million and is therefore unlikely to be made.
Influence
Allen has said that he was enormously influenced by comedians Bob Hope, Groucho Marx, Mort Sahl, Charlie Chaplin, W.C. Fields, playwright George S. Kaufman and filmmakers Ernst Lubitsch and Ingmar Bergman.
Many comedians have cited Allen as an influence, including Louis C.K., Larry David, Jon Stewart, Chris Rock, Steve Martin, John Mulaney, Bill Hader, Aziz Ansari, Sarah Silverman, Conan O'Brien, Seth MacFarlane, Seth Meyers, Richard Ayoade, Bill Maher, Albert Brooks, John Cleese and Garry Shandling.
Many filmmakers have also cited Allen as an influence, including Wes Anderson, Greta Gerwig, Noah Baumbach, Luca Guadagnino, Nora Ephron, Whit Stillman, Mike Mills, Ira Sachs, Richard Linklater, Charlie Kaufman, Nicole Holofcener, Rebecca Miller, Tamara Jenkins, Alex Ross Perry, Greg Mottola, Lynn Shelton, Lena Dunham, Lawrence Michael Levine, Olivier Assayas, and the Safdie brothers.
Directors who admire Allen's work include Quentin Tarantino, who called him "one of the greatest screenwriters of all time", as well as Martin Scorsese, who said in Woody Allen: A Documentary, "Woody's sensibilities of New York City is one of the reasons why I love his work, but they are extremely foreign to me. It's not another world; it's another planet". Stanley Donen stated he liked Allen's films, Spike Lee has called Allen a "great, great filmmaker" and Pedro Almodóvar has said he admires Allen's work. In 2012, directors Mike Leigh, Asghar Farhadi, and Martin McDonagh respectively included Radio Days (1987), Take the Money and Run (1969), and Manhattan among their Top 10 films for Sight & Sound. Other admirers of his work include Olivia Wilde and Jason Reitman, who staged live readings of Hannah and Her Sisters and Manhattan respectively. Filmmaker Edgar Wright listed five of Allen's films (Take the Money and Run, Bananas, Play It Again, Sam, Sleeper, Annie Hall) in his list of 100 Favorite Comedy films.
Film critics including Roger Ebert and Barry Norman have highly praised Allen's work. In 1980, on Sneak Previews, Siskel and Ebert called Allen and Mel Brooks "the two most successful comedy directors in the world today ... America's two funniest filmmakers." Pauline Kael wrote of Allen that "his comic character is enormously appealing to people partly because he's the smart, urban guy who at the same time is intelligent, is vulnerable, and somehow by his intelligence, he triumphs".
Favorite films
In 2012, Allen participated in the Sight & Sound film polls. Held every ten years to select the greatest films of all time, contemporary directors were asked to select ten films of their choice. Allen's choices, in alphabetical order, were:
The 400 Blows (France, 1959)
8½ (Italy, 1963)
Amarcord (Italy, 1972)
Bicycle Thieves (Italy, 1948)
Citizen Kane (USA, 1941)
The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (France, 1972)
La Grande Illusion (France, 1937)
Paths of Glory (USA, 1957)
Rashomon (Japan, 1950)
The Seventh Seal (Sweden, 1957)
In his 2020 autobiography Apropos of Nothing Allen praised Elia Kazan's A Streetcar Named Desire (1951):
Film activism and preservation
In 1987, Allen joined Ginger Rogers, Sydney Pollack, and Miloš Forman at a Senate Judiciary committee hearing in Washington, D.C., where they each gave testimony against Ted Turner's and other companies' colorizing films without the artists' consent. Only one senator, Patrick Leahy, was present for the testimony. Allen testified:
Allen also spoke about his decisions to make films in black and white, such as Manhattan, Stardust Memories, Broadway Danny Rose, and Zelig. Film director John Huston appeared in a pre-taped video, and Rogers read a statement by Jimmy Stewart criticizing the colorization of his film It's a Wonderful Life.
In 1990, Allen and Martin Scorsese created The Film Foundation, a nonprofit film preservation organization that collaborates with film studios to restore prints of old or damaged films. Allen sat on the foundation's original board of directors alongside Robert Altman, Francis Ford Coppola, Clint Eastwood, Stanley Kubrick, George Lucas, Sydney Pollack, Robert Redford, and Steven Spielberg.
Works
Filmography
Theatrical works
In addition to directing, writing, and acting in films, Allen has written and performed in a number of Broadway theater productions.
Bibliography
Getting Even (1971)
Without Feathers (1975)
Side Effects (1980)
The Insanity Defense: The Complete Prose (2007)
Mere Anarchy (2007)
Apropos of Nothing (2020)
Zero Gravity (TBD)
Discography
Woody Allen (Colpix Records, 1964)
Woody Allen Vol. 2 (Colpix Records, 1965)
The Third Woody Allen Album (Capitol Records, 1968)
The Nightclub Years 1964–1968 (United Artists Records, 1972)
Standup Comic (Casablanca Records, 1978)
Wild Man Blues (RCA Victor, 1998)
Awards and honors
Over his 50-year film career, Allen has received many award nominations. He currently holds the record for the most Academy Award nominations for Best Original Screenplay, with 16 nominations and three wins (Annie Hall, Hannah and Her Sisters, and Midnight in Paris). Allen has been nominated for Best Director seven times and won for Annie Hall. Three of Allen's films have been nominated for Academy Award for Best Picture, Annie Hall, Hannah and Her Sisters, and Midnight in Paris.
Allen famously shuns award ceremonies, citing their subjectivity. His first and only appearance at the Academy Awards was at the 2002 Oscars, where he received a standing ovation. As a New York icon, he had been asked by the Academy to present a film montage of clips of New York City in the movies, which was put together by Nora Ephron, to honor the city after the 9/11 attack.
Allen has received numerous honors including a Honorary Golden Palm from the Cannes Film Festival in 2002 and an Career Golden Lion from the Venice International Film Festival in 1995. He also received a BAFTA Fellowship in 1997, a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Directors Guild of America and a Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award in 2014. He was elected a member of the American Philosophical Society in 2010.
Personal life
Allen has been married three times: to Harlene Rosen from 1956 to 1959, Louise Lasser from 1966 to 1970, and Soon-Yi Previn since 1997. He also had a 12-year relationship with actress Mia Farrow and relationships with Stacey Nelkin and Diane Keaton.
Early marriages and relationships
In 1956, Allen married Harlene Rosen. He was 20 and she was 17. The marriage lasted until 1959. Rosen, whom Allen called "the Dread Mrs. Allen" in his standup act, sued him for defamation as a result of comments he made during a television appearance shortly after their divorce. In his mid-1960s album Standup Comic, Allen said that Rosen had sued him because of a joke he made in an interview. Rosen had been sexually assaulted outside her apartment. According to Allen, the newspapers reported that she had been "violated". In the interview, Allen said, "Knowing my ex-wife, it probably wasn't a moving violation." In an interview on The Dick Cavett Show, Allen repeated his comments and said he had been sued for "$1 million".
In 1966, Allen married Louise Lasser. They divorced in 1970. Lasser provided voice dubbing in Allen's What's Up, Tiger Lily? and appeared in three of his other films: Take the Money and Run, Bananas, and Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex* (*But Were Afraid to Ask). She also appeared briefly in Stardust Memories.
According to the Los Angeles Times, Manhattan was based on Allen's romantic relationship with actress Stacey Nelkin. Her bit part in Annie Hall ended up on the cutting room floor, and their relationship, never publicly acknowledged by Allen, reportedly began when she was 17 and a student at Stuyvesant High School in New York. In December 2018 The Hollywood Reporter interviewed Babi Christina Engelhardt, who said she had an eight-year affair with Allen that began in 1976 when she was 17 years old (they met when she was 16), and that she believes the character of Tracy in Manhattan is a composite of any number of Allen's presumed other real-life young paramours from that period, not necessarily Nelkin or Engelhardt. When asked, Allen declined to comment.
Diane Keaton
In 1969, Allen cast Diane Keaton in his Broadway show Play It Again, Sam. During the run she and Allen became romantically involved. Although they broke up after a year, she continued to star in his films, including Sleeper as a futuristic poet and Love and Death as a composite character based on the novels of Tolstoy and Dostoevsky. Annie Hall was very important in Allen's and Keaton's careers. It is said that the role was written for her, as Keaton's birth name was Diane Hall. She then starred in Interiors as a poet, followed by Manhattan. In 1987, she had a cameo as a nightclub singer in Radio Days, and she was chosen to replace Mia Farrow in Manhattan Murder Mystery after Allen and Farrow began having problems with their relationship. In total Keaton has starred in eight of Allen's films. As of 2018 Keaton and Allen remain close friends. In a rare public appearance, Allen presented Keaton with the AFI Life Achievement Award in 2017.
Mia Farrow
Allen and Mia Farrow met in 1979 and began a relationship in 1980; Farrow starred in 13 of Allen's films from 1982 to 1992. Throughout the relationship they lived in separate apartments on opposite sides of Central Park in Manhattan. Farrow had seven children when they met: three biological sons from her marriage to composer André Previn, three adopted girls (two Vietnamese and one South Korean, Soon-Yi Previn), and an adopted South Korean boy, Moses Farrow.
In 1984, she and Allen tried to conceive a child together; Allen agreed to this on the understanding that he need not be involved in the child's care. When the effort to get pregnant failed, Farrow adopted a baby girl, Dylan Farrow, in July 1985. Allen was not involved in the adoption, but when Dylan arrived he assumed a parental role toward her and began spending more time in Farrow's home. On December 19, 1987, Farrow gave birth to their son Satchel Farrow (later known as Ronan Farrow). According to Allen, his intimate relationship with Mia Farrow ceased completely after Satchel's birth and he was asked to return her apartment key; they maintained a working relationship when they filmed a movie, and he regularly visited Moses, Dylan and Satchel, but he and Mia were only "social companions on those occasions where there'd be a dinner, an event, but after the event she'd go home and I'd go home." In 1991, Farrow wanted to adopt another child. According to a 1993 custody hearing, Allen told her he would not object to another adoption so long as she would agree to his adoption of Dylan and Moses; that adoption was finalized in December 1991. Eric Lax, Allen's biographer, wrote in The New York Times that Allen was "there before they [the children] wake up in the morning, he sees them during the day and he helps put them to bed at night".
Soon-Yi Previn
In 1977, Mia Farrow and André Previn adopted Soon-Yi Previn from Seoul, South Korea. She had been abandoned. The Seoul Family Court established a Family Census Register (legal birth document) on her behalf on December 28, 1976, with a presumptive birth date of October 8, 1970; according to Maureen Orth, a bone scan in the U.S. estimated that she was between five and seven years old. According to Previn, her first friendly interaction with Allen took place when she was injured playing soccer during 11th grade and Allen offered to transport her to school. After her injury, she began attending New York Knicks basketball games with Allen in 1990. They attended more games and by 1991 had become closer. In September 1991, she began studies at Drew University in New Jersey.
In January 1992, Farrow found nude photographs of Previn in Allen's home. Allen, then 56, told Farrow that he had taken the photos the day before, approximately two weeks after he first had sex with Previn. Both Farrow and Allen contacted lawyers shortly after the photographs were discovered. Previn was asked to leave summer camp because she was spending too much time taking calls from a "Mr. Simon", who turned out to be Allen.
In an August 1992 interview with Time Magazine Allen said, "I am not Soon-Yi's father or stepfather", adding, "I've never even lived with Mia. I've never in my entire life slept at Mia's apartment, and I never even used to go over there until my children came along seven years ago. I never had any family dinners over there. I was not a father to her adopted kids in any sense of the word." Adding that Soon-Yi never treated him as a father figure and that he rarely spoke to her before their romantic relationship, Allen seemed to see few or no problems with their relationship.
On August 17, 1992, Allen issued a statement saying that he was in love with Previn. Their relationship became public and "erupted into tabloid headlines and late-night monologues in August 1992."
Allen and Previn were married in Venice, Italy, on December 23, 1997. They have adopted two children, and live in the Carnegie Hill section of Manhattan's Upper East Side.
Sexual abuse allegation
According to court testimony, on August 4, 1992, Allen visited the children at Mia Farrow's home in Bridgewater, Connecticut, while she was shopping with a friend. The next day, that friend's babysitter told her employer that she had seen that "Dylan was sitting on the sofa, and Woody was kneeling on the floor, facing her, with his head in her lap". When Farrow asked Dylan about it, Dylan allegedly said that Allen had touched Dylan's "private part" while they were alone together in the attic. Allen strongly denied the allegation, calling it "an unconscionable and gruesomely damaging manipulation of innocent children for vindictive and self-serving motives". He then began proceedings in New York Supreme Court for sole custody of his and Farrow's son Satchel, as well as Dylan and Moses, their two adopted children. In March 1993, a six-month investigation by the Child Sexual Abuse Clinic of Yale-New Haven Hospital concluded that Dylan had not been sexually abused.
In June 1993, Judge Elliott Wilk rejected Allen's bid for custody and rejected the allegation of sexual abuse. Wilk said he was less certain than the Yale-New Haven team that there was conclusive evidence that there was no sexual abuse and called Allen's conduct with Dylan "grossly inappropriate", although not sexual. In September 1993, the state prosecutor announced that despite having "probable cause”, he would not pursue charges in order "to avoid the unjustifiable risk of exposing a child to the rigors and uncertainties of a questionable prosecution". In October 1993 the New York Child Welfare Agency of the State Department of Social Services closed a 14-month investigation and concluded there was not credible evidence of abuse or maltreatment, and the allegation was unfounded.
In 2014, when Allen received a Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award for Lifetime Achievement, the issue returned to the forefront of media attention, with Mia Farrow and Ronan Farrow making disparaging remarks about Allen on Twitter. On February 1, 2014, New York Times journalist Nicholas Kristof, with Dylan's permission, published a column that included excerpts from a letter Dylan had written to Kristof restating the allegation against Allen, and called out fellow actors who have continued to work in his films. Allen responded to the allegation in an open letter, also in The New York Times, strongly denying it. "Of course, I did not molest Dylan...No one wants to discourage abuse victims from speaking out, but one must bear in mind that sometimes there are people who are falsely accused and that is also a terribly destructive thing", he wrote.
In 2018, Moses Farrow (Mia Farrow's and Allen's adopted son who was present at her Bridgewater house during Allen's visit) published a blog post called "A Son Speaks Out." In the post, Moses recounted a series of instances of alleged physical abuse at the hands of Mia Farrow. He wrote, "It pains me to recall instances in which I witnessed siblings, some blind or physically disabled, dragged down a flight of stairs to be thrown into a bedroom or a closet, then having the door locked from the outside. [Mia] even shut my brother Thaddeus, paraplegic from polio, in an outdoor shed overnight as punishment for a minor transgression".
Moses Farrow also described the relationship between Mia Farrow and Soon-Yi Previn: "Soon-Yi was her most frequent scapegoat […] When Soon-Yi was young, Mia once threw a large porcelain centerpiece at her head. Luckily it missed, but the shattered pieces hit her legs. Years later, Mia beat her with a telephone receiver. Soon-Yi's made it clear that her desire was simply to be left alone, which increasingly became the case. Even if her relationship with Woody was unconventional, it allowed her to escape. Others weren't so lucky."
Moses Farrow also recalls, "The summer between first and second grades… my mother came over to my bed and found a tape measure. She gave me a piercing look that stopped me in my tracks and asked if I had taken it, as she had been looking for it all day. I stood in front of her, frozen. She asked why it was on my bed. I told her I didn't know, that perhaps a workman had left it there. She asked again and again and again. When I didn't give the answer she wanted, she slapped my face, knocking off my glasses. She told me I was lying and directed me to tell my brothers and sisters that I had taken the tape measure. Through my tears I listened to her as she explained that we would rehearse what should have happened. She would walk into the room and I would tell her I was sorry for taking the tape measure, that I had taken it to play with and that I would never do it again. She made me rehearse it at least a half-dozen times. That was the start of her coaching, drilling, scripting, and rehearsing – in essence, brainwashing. I became anxious and fearful."
Works about Allen
From 1976 to 1984 Stuart Hample wrote and drew Inside Woody Allen, a comic strip based on Allen's film persona.
The 1997 documentary Wild Man Blues, directed by Barbara Kopple, focuses on Allen, and other documentaries featuring Allen include the 2002 cable television documentary Woody Allen: A Life in Film, directed by Time film critic Richard Schickel, which interlaces interviews of Allen with clips of his films, and the 1986 short film Meetin' WA, in which Allen is interviewed by French New Wave director Jean-Luc Godard.
In 2011 the PBS series American Masters co-produced the documentary Woody Allen: A Documentary, directed by Robert B. Weide. New interviews provide insight and backstory with Diane Keaton, Scarlett Johansson, Penélope Cruz, Dianne Wiest, Larry David, Chris Rock, Martin Scorsese, Dick Cavett, and Leonard Maltin, among others.
Eric Lax authored the book Woody Allen: A Biography.
In 2015 David Evanier published Woody: The Biography, which was billed as the first new biography of Allen in over a decade.
In early March 2020, Grand Central Publishing, a division of Hachette Book Group, announced that it would be publishing Allen's memoir, Apropos of Nothing, on April 7, 2020. Days later, after employee walkouts, parent company Hachette announced that the title was canceled and rights had reverted to Allen. On March 23, 2020, Skyhorse Publishing announced that it had acquired and released Apropos of Nothing through its Arcade imprint.
In February 2021, HBO released Kirby Dick's and Amy Ziering's four-part documentary Allen v. Farrow, which explores the sexual abuse allegations against Allen. The series drew largely positive reviews from critics. Lorraine Ali of the Los Angeles Times wrote that it "makes a compelling argument that Allen got away with the unthinkable thanks to his fame, money, and revered standing in the world of film—and that a little girl never received justice." Rachel Brodsky wrote in The Independent that the "documentary will sound the death knell for Woody Allen’s career." Hadley Freeman in The Guardian wrote that the series "sets itself up as an investigation but much more resembles PR, as biased and partial as a political candidate’s advert vilifying an opponent in election season." A statement on behalf of Allen and Previn denounced the documentary as "a hatchet job riddled with falsehoods" and said that they were approached two months before it was aired on HBO and "given only a matter of days 'to respond.' Of course, they declined to do so." The filmmakers said they gave Allen and Previn two weeks to comment, which is "more than ample time by journalistic standards."
Notes
References
Works cited
External links
(Fresh Air), June 15, 2009
1935 births
Living people
20th-century American dramatists and playwrights
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American male dramatists and playwrights
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American people of Austrian-Jewish descent
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BAFTA fellows
Best Directing Academy Award winners
Best Director BAFTA Award winners
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Best Original Screenplay BAFTA Award winners
Best Screenplay BAFTA Award winners
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Cecil B. DeMille Award Golden Globe winners
César Award winners
Colpix Records artists
Comedians from New York City
Comedy film directors
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Entertainers from the Bronx
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Filmmakers who won the Best Film BAFTA Award
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Male actors from New York City
Midwood High School alumni
O. Henry Award winners
People from Midwood, Brooklyn
People from the Upper East Side
Screenwriters from New York (state)
Secular Jews
Tisch School of the Arts alumni
Writers from Brooklyn
Writers Guild of America Award winners | false | [
"The Tony Award for Best Play (formally, the Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre) is an annual award given to the best new (non-musical) play on Broadway, as determined by Tony Award voters. There was no award in the Tonys' first year. All My Sons has been incorrectly categorized as the Best Play of 1947, but it won the Best Author award for Arthur Miller. The following year Mister Roberts received the first Tony Award as Best Play. The award goes to the authors and the producers of the play. Plays that have appeared in previous Broadway productions are instead eligible for Best Revival of a Play.\n\nAward winners\nLegend:\n\n1940s\n\n1950s\n\n1960s\n\n1970s\n\n1980s\n\n1990s\n\n2000s\n\n2010s\n\n2020s\n\nAward records\n\nMultiple awards and nominations\n\nSuperlatives\nBritish writer Tom Stoppard has won this award four times, more than any other playwright. Only seven other writers (Arthur Miller, Terrence McNally, Tony Kushner, Edward Albee, Neil Simon, Yasmina Reza and Peter Shaffer) have won the award more than once, each winning twice.\n\nWith ten nominations, Neil Simon has been nominated for the award more than any other playwright. August Wilson, with nine nominations, comes in second, followed by Tom Stoppard (seven nominations), Edward Albee (six nominations), and Arthur Miller (five nominations).\n\nIn 1994, Tony Kushner became the first playwright to win consecutive Tony Awards for his two-part Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes. Terrence McNally repeated this feat the following two years with his plays Love! Valour! Compassion! and Master Class.\n\nSee also\n Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play\n Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Play\n Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Play\n List of Tony Award and Olivier Award winning plays\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n The American Theatre Wing's Tony Awards official website\n\nTony Awards\nAwards established in 1948\n1948 establishments in the United States",
"Daniel Keene (born 1955) is an Australian playwright whose work has been performed throughout the world.\n\nCareer \nKeene's plays have been performed in Australia, France, Poland and the United States. Many of his plays have been published in French translation.\n\nHe was co-founder with Ariette Taylor of the Keene/Taylor Theatre Project. With her he won the award for Outstanding Contribution to Theatre (Green Room Awards, 1998) and the Kenneth Myer Medallion for the Performing Arts.\n\nKeene is the winner of a number of drama awards in Australia and the 2002 production of his play Terminus, directed by Laurent Laffargue at the TNT in Toulouse and the Théâtre de la Ville in Paris, won the Prix Pierre Jean Jacques Gaultier for best direction.\n\nBibliography\n\nDrama\n All Souls (1993)\n Une heure avant la mort de mon frere (1995)\n Little City (1996)\n Silence Complice / Terminus (1999)\n To Whom It May Concern: And Other Plays (2000)\n Avis aux Interesses (2000)\n Pieces Courtes (2001)\n Half and Half (2002)\n La Marche de l'Architecte / Les Paroles (2002)\n Cinq Hommes / Moitie-Moitie (2003)\n Terminus and Other Plays (2003)\n Paradise: Codes Inconnus 1 (2004)\n The Nightwatchman (2005)\n The Serpent's Teeth: 2 Plays (2008)\n The Cove: 8 Short Works (2009) eight short plays presented by If Theatre and directed by Matt Scholten. Plays included Cafe Table, Somewhere in the Middle of the Night, To Whom It May Concern, A Glass of Twilight, The Morning After, A Death, Two Shanks and The First Train. \n Life Without Me (2010)\n Boxman (2011)\n Photographs of A\n The Long Way Home (2014)\n Mother (2015)\n\nTelevision scripts \n The Hour Before My Brother Dies (1986)\n\nFilm scripts \n Silent Partner (2001)\n Tom White (2004)\n Em4Jay (2006)\n\nAwards \n 1989 winner Victorian Premier's Literary Awards — Louis Esson Prize for Drama for Silent Partner\n 1996 winner Wal Cherry Play of the Year Award for Best Unproduced Play for Beneath Heaven\n 1996 winner Festival Awards for Literature (SA) — Jill Blewett Playwright's Award for Because You are Mine\n 1998 winner Victorian Premier's Literary Awards — Louis Esson Prize for Drama for Every Minute, Every Hour, Every Day: Five Plays\n 2000 winner New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards — Nick Enright Prize for Playwriting for Scissors, Paper, Rock\n 2003 winner New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards — Nick Enright Prize for Playwriting for Half and Half\n 2004 winner Film Critics Circle of Australia — Best Original Screenplay for Tom White\n 2009 winner New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards — Nick Enright Prize for Playwriting for The Serpent's Teeth: Two Plays\n 2011 winner Queensland Premier's Literary Awards — Best Drama Script (Stage) for Life Without Me\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\nDaniel Keene at AusStage\nPersonal website\nDaniel Keene at Australian Script Centre\nInterview at Theatre Notes\nInterview at Australian Stage\n\nAustralian dramatists and playwrights\n1955 births\nLiving people"
] |
[
"Woody Allen",
"Playwright",
"What are some works of his?",
"In 1966, Allen wrote the play Don't Drink the Water.",
"What else did he write in his career?",
"The next play Allen wrote for Broadway was Play It Again, Sam,",
"What other plays did he write for Broadway?",
"In 1981, his play The Floating Light Bulb premiered on Broadway and ran for 65 performances.",
"Has he won any awards for his plays?",
"I don't know."
] | C_b56e75307cdb4b078e4681f577bc09fd_1 | Have any of his plays been turned into films? | 5 | Have any of Woody Allen's plays been turned into films? | Woody Allen | In 1966, Allen wrote the play Don't Drink the Water. The play starred Lou Jacobi, Kay Medford, Anita Gillette and Allen's future movie co-star Tony Roberts. A film adaptation of the play, directed by Howard Morris, was released in 1969, starring Jackie Gleason. Because he was not particularly happy with the 1969 film version of his play, in 1994, Allen directed and starred in a second version for television, with Michael J. Fox and Mayim Bialik. The next play Allen wrote for Broadway was Play It Again, Sam, in which he also starred. The play opened on February 12, 1969, and ran for 453 performances. It featured Diane Keaton and Roberts. The play was significant to Keaton's budding career, and she has stated she was in "awe" of Allen even before auditioning for her role, which was the first time she met him. During an interview in 2013, Keaton stated that she "fell in love with him right away," adding, "I wanted to be his girlfriend so I did something about it." After co-starring alongside Allen in the subsequent film version of Play It Again, Sam, she would later co-star in Sleeper, Love and Death, Interiors, Manhattan and Annie Hall. "He showed me the ropes and I followed his lead. He is the most disciplined person I know. He works very hard," Keaton has stated. "I find the same thing sexy in a man now as I always have: humor. I love it when they are funny. It's to die for." For its March 21, 1969, issue, Life featured Allen on its cover. In 1981, his play The Floating Light Bulb premiered on Broadway and ran for 65 performances. While receiving mixed reviews, it gave an autobiographical insight into Allen's childhood, specifically his fascination with magic tricks. He has written several one-act plays, including Riverside Drive and Old Saybrook exploring well-known Allen themes. On October 20, 2011, Allen's one-act play Honeymoon Motel opened as part of a larger piece entitled Relatively Speaking on Broadway, with two other one-act plays, one by Ethan Coen and one by Elaine May. CANNOTANSWER | A film adaptation of the play, directed by Howard Morris, was released in 1969, | Heywood "Woody" Allen (born Allan Stewart Konigsberg; November 30, 1935) is an American film director, writer, actor, and comedian whose career spans more than six decades and multiple Academy Award-winning films. He began his career writing material for television in the 1950s, working alongside Mel Brooks, Carl Reiner, Larry Gelbart, and Neil Simon. He also published several books featuring short stories and wrote humor pieces for The New Yorker. In the early 1960s, he performed as a stand-up comedian in Greenwich Village alongside Lenny Bruce, Elaine May, Mike Nichols, and Joan Rivers. There he developed a monologue style (rather than traditional jokes) and the persona of an insecure, intellectual, fretful nebbish. He released three comedy albums during the mid to late 1960s, earning a Grammy Award nomination for his 1964 comedy album entitled simply, Woody Allen. In 2004, Comedy Central ranked Allen fourth on a list of the 100 greatest stand-up comedians, while a UK survey ranked Allen the third-greatest comedian.
By the mid-1960s, Allen was writing and directing films, first specializing in slapstick comedies such as Take the Money and Run (1969), Bananas (1971), Sleeper (1973), and Love and Death (1975), before moving into dramatic material influenced by European art cinema during the late 1970s with Interiors (1978), Manhattan (1979), and Stardust Memories (1980), and alternating between comedies and dramas to the present. Allen is often identified as part of the New Hollywood wave of filmmakers of the mid-1960s to late 1970s such as Martin Scorsese, Robert Altman, and Sidney Lumet. He often stars in his films, typically in the persona he developed as a standup. His film Annie Hall (1977), a romantic comedy featuring Allen and his frequent collaborator Diane Keaton, won four Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Actress for Keaton. Critics have called his work from the 1980s his most developed period. Those films include Zelig (1983), Broadway Danny Rose (1984), The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985), Hannah and Her Sisters (1986), Radio Days (1987), Another Woman (1988), and Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989). In the 21st century, many of Allen's films have been set and shot in Europe, including Match Point (2005), Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008), and Midnight in Paris (2011). Allen returned to America gaining acclaim for Blue Jasmine (2013) and Cafe Society (2016).
In 1979, Allen began a professional and personal relationship with actress Mia Farrow, and over a decade-long period they collaborated on 13 films. They separated after Allen began a relationship with Mia's and Andre Previn's adopted daughter Soon-Yi Previn. During the separation, Allen was publicly accused of sexually abusing his daughter, the seven-year-old Dylan. The allegation gained substantial media attention, but Allen was never charged or prosecuted, and he vehemently denied the allegation. Allen married Previn in 1997, and they adopted two children.
Allen has received many accolades and honors, including the most nominations for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, with 16. He has won four Academy Awards, one for Best Director, and three for Best Original Screenplay. He also garnered nine British Academy Film Awards. In 1997, Allen was awarded the BAFTA Fellowship by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts. In 2014, he received the Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award for Lifetime Achievement and a Tony Award nomination for Best Book of a Musical for Bullets over Broadway. In 2015, the Writers Guild of America named his screenplay for Annie Hall first on its list of the "101 Funniest Screenplays". In 2011, PBS televised the film biography Woody Allen: A Documentary on its series American Masters.
Early life
Allen was born in Brooklyn, New York, as Allan Stewart Konigsberg at Mount Eden Hospital in the Bronx, New York City, on November 30, 1935. He is Jewish. Allen's parents were Nettie (née Cherry; 1906–2002), a bookkeeper at her family's delicatessen, and Martin Konigsberg (1900–2001), a jewelry engraver and waiter. His grandparents were immigrants to the U.S. from Austria and the Lithuanian city of Panevėžys. They spoke German, Hebrew and Yiddish. He and his younger sister, film producer Letty, were raised in Brooklyn's Midwood neighborhood. Both of their parents were born and raised on the Lower East Side of Manhattan.
Allen's parents did not get along, and he had an estranged relationship with his authoritarian, ill-tempered mother. He spoke German in his early years. He later joked that he was often sent to inter-faith summer camps when he was young. While attending Hebrew school for eight years, he went to Public School 99 (now the Isaac Asimov School for Science and Literature) and Midwood High School, graduating in 1953. Unlike his comic persona, he was more interested in baseball than school and his strong arm ensured he was picked first for teams. He impressed students with his talent for cards and magic tricks.
Allen wrote jokes (or "gags") for agent David O. Alber to make money, and Alber sold them to newspaper columnists. At age 17, he legally changed his name to Heywood Allen and later began to call himself Woody. According to Allen, his first published joke read: "Woody Allen says he ate at a restaurant that had O.P.S. prices—over people's salaries." He was soon earning more than both of his parents combined. After high school, he attended New York University, studying communication and film in 1953, before dropping out after failing the course "Motion Picture Production". He studied film at City College of New York in 1954, but left during the first semester. He taught himself rather than studying in the classroom. He later taught at The New School and studied with writing teacher Lajos Egri.
Career
Comedy writer
Allen began writing short jokes when he was 15, and the following year began sending them to various Broadway writers to see if they'd be interested in buying any. One of those writers was Abe Burrows, coauthor of Guys and Dolls, who wrote, "Wow! His stuff was dazzling." Burrows then wrote Allen letters of introduction to Sid Caesar, Phil Silvers, and Peter Lind Hayes, who immediately sent Allen a check for just the jokes Burrows included as samples.
As a result of the jokes Allen mailed to various writers, he was invited, then age 19, to join the NBC Writer's Development Program in 1955, followed by a job on The NBC Comedy Hour in Los Angeles. He was later hired as a full-time writer for humorist Herb Shriner, initially earning $25 a week. He began writing scripts for The Ed Sullivan Show, The Tonight Show, specials for Sid Caesar post-Caesar's Hour (1954–1957), and other television shows. By the time he was working for Caesar, he was earning $1,500 a week. He worked alongside Mel Brooks, Carl Reiner, Larry Gelbart, and Neil Simon. He also worked with Danny Simon, whom Allen credits for helping form his writing style. In 1962 alone, he estimated that he wrote twenty thousand jokes for various comics. Allen also wrote for the Candid Camera television show, and appeared in some episodes.
He wrote jokes for the Buddy Hackett sitcom Stanley and for The Pat Boone Chevy Showroom, and in 1958 he co-wrote a few Sid Caesar specials with Larry Gelbart. After writing for many of television's leading comedians and comedy shows, Allen was gaining a reputation as a "genius", composer Mary Rodgers said. When given an assignment for a show he would leave and come back the next day with "reams of paper", according to producer Max Liebman. Similarly, after he wrote for Bob Hope, Hope called him "half a genius".
His daily writing routine could last as long as 15 hours, and he could focus and write anywhere necessary. Dick Cavett was amazed at Allen's capacity to write: "He can go to a typewriter after breakfast and sit there until the sun sets and his head is pounding, interrupting work only for coffee and a brief walk, and then spend the whole evening working." When Allen wrote for other comedians, they would use eight out of ten of his jokes. When he began performing as a stand-up, he was much more selective, typically using only one out of ten jokes. He estimated that to prepare for a 30-minute show, he spent six months of intensive writing. He enjoyed writing, however, despite the work: "Nothing makes me happier than to tear open a ream of paper. And I can't wait to fill it! I love to do it."
Allen started writing short stories and cartoon captions for magazines such as The New Yorker; he was inspired by the tradition of New Yorker humorists S. J. Perelman, George S. Kaufman, Robert Benchley, and Max Shulman, whose material he modernized. His collections of short pieces includes Getting Even, Without Feathers, Side Effects, and Mere Anarchy. His early comic fiction was influenced by the zany, pun-ridden humor of S.J. Perelman. In 2010 Allen released audio versions of his books in which he read 73 selections entitled, The Woody Allen Collection. He was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album.
Stand-up comedian
From 1960 to 1969 Allen performed as a comedian to supplement his comedy writing. He worked in various places around Greenwich Village, including The Bitter End and Cafe Au Go Go, alongside such contemporaries as Lenny Bruce, the team of Mike Nichols and Elaine May, Joan Rivers, George Carlin, Richard Pryor, Dick Cavett, Bill Cosby and Mort Sahl (his personal favorite), as well as such other artists of the day as Bob Dylan and Barbra Streisand. Comedian Milton Berle claims to have suggested to Allen to go into standup comedy and even introduced him at the Village Vanguard. Comedy historian Gerald Nachman writes that Allen, while not the first to do standup, eventually had greater impact than all the others in the 1960s, and redefined standup comedy: "He helped turn it into biting, brutally honest satirical commentary on the cultural and psychological tenor of the times."
After Allen was taken under the wing of his new manager, Jack Rollins, who had recently discovered Nichols and May, Rollins suggested he perform his written jokes as a stand-up. Allen was resistant at first, but after seeing Mort Sahl on stage, he felt safer to give it a try: "I'd never had the nerve to talk about it before. Then Mort Sahl came along with a whole new style of humor, opening up vistas for people like me." Allen made his professional stage debut at the Blue Angel nightclub in Manhattan in October 1960, where comedian Shelley Berman introduced him as a young television writer who would perform his own material.
His early stand-up shows with his different style of humor were not always well received or understood by his audiences. Unlike other comedians, Allen spoke to his audiences in a gentle and conversational style, often appearing to be searching for words, although he was well rehearsed. He acted "normal", dressed casually, and made no attempt to project a stage "personality". And he did not improvise: "I put very little premium on improvisation," he told Studs Terkel. His jokes were created from life experiences, and typically presented with a dead serious demeanor that made them funnier: "I don't think my family liked me. They put a live teddy bear in my crib."
The subjects of his jokes were rarely topical, political or socially relevant. Unlike Bruce and Sahl, he did not discuss current events such as civil rights, women's rights, the Cold War, or Vietnam. And although he was described as a "classic nebbish", he did not tell the standard Jewish jokes of the period. Comedy screenwriter Larry Gelbart compared Allen's style to Elaine May's: "He just styled himself completely after her". Like Nichols and May, he often made fun of intellectuals.
Cavett, who was among the minority to quickly appreciate Allen's style, recalls seeing the Blue Angel audience mostly ignore Allen's monologue: "I recognized immediately that there was no young comedian in the country in the same class with him for sheer brilliance of jokes, and I resented the fact that the audience was too dumb to realize what they were getting." It was his subdued stage presence that eventually became one of Allen's strongest traits, Nachman argues: "The utter absence of showbiz veneer and shtick was the best shtick any comedian had ever devised. This uneasy onstage naturalness became a trademark." When the media finally noticed, writers like The New York Timess Arthur Gelb described Allen's nebbish quality as "Chaplinesque" and "refreshing".
Allen developed an anxious, nervous, and intellectual persona for his stand-up act, a successful move that secured regular gigs for him in nightclubs and on television. He brought innovation to the comedy monologue genre and his stand-up comedy is considered influential. Allen first appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson on November 1, 1963, and over nine years his guest appearances included 17 in the host's chair. He subsequently released three LP albums of live nightclub recordings: the self-titled Woody Allen (1964), Volume 2 (1965), and The Third Woody Allen Album (1968), recorded at a fund-raiser for Senator Eugene McCarthy's presidential run.
In 1965, Allen filmed a half-hour standup special in England for Granada Television, titled The Woody Allen Show in the U.K. and Woody Allen: Standup Comic in the U.S. It is the only complete standup show of Allen's on film. The same year, Allen along with Nichols and May, Barbara Streisand, Carol Channing, Harry Belafonte, Julie Andrews, Carol Burnett, and Alfred Hitchcock took part in Lyndon B. Johnson’s inaugural gala in Washington, D.C., on January 18, 1965. First Lady Lady Bird Johnson described Allen and the event in her published diary, A White House Diary, writing in part, "Woody Allen, that forlorn, undernourished little comedian, stopped shooting a movie in Paris and flew across the Atlantic for about five minutes of jokes".
In 1966, Allen wrote an hourlong musical comedy television special for CBS, Gene Kelly in New York City. It focused on Gene Kelly in a musical tour around Manhattan, dancing along such landmarks as Rockefeller Center, the Plaza Hotel and the Museum of Modern Art, which serve as backdrops for the show's production numbers. Allen appeared in the special alongside Kelly. Guest stars included choreographer Gower Champion, British musical comedy star Tommy Steele, and songstress Damita Jo DeBlanc.
In 1967, Allen hosted a TV special for NBC, Woody Allen Looks at 1967. It featured Liza Minnelli, who acted alongside Allen in some skits; Aretha Franklin, the musical guest; and conservative writer William F. Buckley, the featured guest. In 1969, Allen hosted his first American special for CBS television, The Woody Allen Special, which included skits with Candice Bergen, a musical performance from the 5th Dimension, and an interview between Allen and Billy Graham.
Allen also performed standup comedy on other series, including The Andy Williams Show and The Perry Como Show, where he interacted with other guests and occasionally sang. In 1971, he hosted one of his final Tonight Shows, with guests Bob Hope and James Coco. Hope praised Allen on the show, calling him "one of the finest young talents in show business and a great delight". Life magazine put Allen on the cover of its March 21, 1969, issue.
In 1979, Allen paid tribute to one of his comedy idols, Bob Hope, at the Film Society at Lincoln Center, creating a special for the event titled "My Favorite Comedian" that included clips from Hope's films, selected and narrated by Allen. Hope said of the honor, "It's great to have your past spring up in front of your eyes, especially when it's done by Woody Allen, because he's a near genius. Not a whole genius, but a near genius". Dick Cavett served as the host, but Allen was absent, editing Manhattan. Guests at the event included Diane Keaton, Kurt Vonnegut, and Andy Warhol.
Playwright
In 1966, Allen wrote the play Don't Drink the Water. The play starred Lou Jacobi, Kay Medford, Anita Gillette and Allen's future movie co-star Tony Roberts. A film adaptation of the play, directed by Howard Morris, was released in 1969, starring Jackie Gleason. Because he was not particularly happy with that version, in 1994 Allen directed and starred in a second version for television, with Michael J. Fox and Mayim Bialik.
The next play Allen wrote for Broadway was Play It Again, Sam, in which he also starred. The play opened on February 12, 1969, and ran for 453 performances. It featured Diane Keaton and Roberts. The play was significant to Keaton's budding career, and she has said she was in "awe" of Allen even before auditioning for her role, which was the first time she met him. In a 2013 interview Keaton said that she "fell in love with him right away", adding, "I wanted to be his girlfriend so I did something about it." After co-starring alongside Allen in the subsequent film version of Play It Again, Sam, she later co-starred in Sleeper, Love and Death, Annie Hall, Interiors and Manhattan. "He showed me the ropes and I followed his lead. He is the most disciplined person I know. He works very hard," Keaton has said.
In 1981, Allen's play The Floating Light Bulb, starring Danny Aiello and Bea Arthur, premiered on Broadway and ran for 65 performances. While receiving mixed reviews, it gave autobiographical insight into Allen's childhood, specifically his fascination with magic tricks. The play, set in 1945, is a semi-autobiographical tale of a lower-middle-class family in Brooklyn. New York Times critic Frank Rich gave the play a mild review, writing, "there are a few laughs, a few well-wrought characters, and, in Act II, a beautifully written scene that leads to a moving final curtain". Rich also compared the play to Tennessee Williams's work.
Allen has written several one-act plays off Broadway, including Riverside Drive, Old Saybrook and A Second Hand Memory, at the Variety Arts Theatre.
On March 8, 1995, Allen's one-act play Central Park West opened off-Broadway as a part of a larger piece titled Death Defying Acts, with two other one-act plays, one by David Mamet, and one by Elaine May. Critics described Allen's contribution as "the longest and most substantial of the evening".
On October 20, 2011, Allen's one-act play Honeymoon Motel opened on Broadway as part of a larger piece titled Relatively Speaking, with two other one-act plays, one by Ethan Coen and one by Elaine May.
On March 11, 2014, Allen's musical Bullets over Broadway opened on Broadway at the St. James Theatre. It was directed and choreographed by Susan Stroman and starred Zack Braff, Nick Cordero, and Betsy Wolfe. The production received mixed reviews, with The Hollywood Reporter writing, "this frothy show does provide dazzling art direction and performances, as well as effervescent ensemble numbers." Allen received a Tony Award nomination for Best Book of a Musical. The show received six Tony nominations.
Early films
Allen's first movie was the Charles K. Feldman production What's New, Pussycat? (1965), for which he wrote the screenplay. He was disappointed with the final product, which inspired him to direct every film he wrote thereafter except Play It Again, Sam. Allen's first directorial effort was What's Up, Tiger Lily? (1966, co-written with Mickey Rose), in which an existing Japanese spy movie—Kokusai himitsu keisatsu: Kagi no kagi (1965), "International Secret Police: Key of Keys"—was redubbed in English by Allen and friends with fresh new, comic dialogue. In 1967, Allen played Jimmy Bond in the 007 spoof Casino Royale.
In 1969, Allen directed, starred in, and co-wrote (with Mickey Rose) Take the Money and Run, which he considers his true film directorial debut. The film received positive reviews; critic Vincent Canby of The New York Times wrote, "Allen has made a movie that is, in effect, a feature-length, two-reel comedy—something very special and eccentric and funny." Allen later signed a deal with United Artists to produce several films.
1970s
During the 1970s, Allen directed films that were later known as his "early, funny" work. These include Bananas (1971, co-written with Rose), Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex* (*But Were Afraid to Ask) (1972), Sleeper (1973), and Love and Death (1975). Sleeper was the first of four screenplays co-written by Allen and Marshall Brickman.
In 1972, Allen wrote and starred in the film version of Play It Again, Sam, directed by Herbert Ross and co-starring Diane Keaton. In 1976, he starred as cashier Howard Prince in The Front, directed by Martin Ritt. The Front was a humorous and poignant account of Hollywood blacklisting during the 1950s; Ritt, screenwriter Walter Bernstein, and three of Allen's cast-mates, Samuel "Zero" Mostel, Herschel Bernardi, and Lloyd Gough, had themselves been blacklisted.
Then came two of Allen's most popular films: Annie Hall and Manhattan. Annie Hall (1977) won four Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Actress in a Leading Role for Diane Keaton, Best Original Screenplay and Best Director for Woody Allen. Annie Hall set the standard for modern romantic comedy and ignited a fashion trend with the clothes Keaton wore in the film. In an interview with journalist Katie Couric, Keaton did not deny that Allen wrote the part for her and about her. The film is ranked 35th on the American Film Institute "100 Best Movies" and fourth on the AFI list of the "100 Best Comedies."
In 1979, Allen directed Manhattan, a black-and-white romantic comedy often viewed as an homage to New York City. The film features iconic scenes filmed in New York City, including an opening montage of scenes around the city, and Allen and Keaton's silhouette on a bench by the Queensboro Bridge. As in many Allen films, the main protagonists are upper-middle class writers and academics. Manhattan focuses on the complicated relationship between middle-aged Isaac Davis (Allen) and 17-year-old Tracy (Mariel Hemingway), and co-stars Diane Keaton and Meryl Streep. It was a box office and critical hit, and received two Academy Award nominations, for Hemingway for Best Supporting Actress and for Allen's screenplay.
Keaton, who has made eight movies with Allen, has said, "He just has a mind like nobody else. He's bold. He's got a lot of strength, a lot of courage in terms of his work. And that is what it takes to do something really unique. Along with a genius imagination."
1980s
Allen's films in the 1980s, even the comedies, became somber with philosophical undertones, influenced by European directors, especially Ingmar Bergman and Federico Fellini. Stardust Memories was based on 8½, which it parodies, and Wild Strawberries. A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy was adapted from Smiles of a Summer Night. In Hannah and Her Sisters, part of the film's structure and background is borrowed from Fanny and Alexander. Fellini's Amarcord inspired Radio Days. September resembles Bergman's Autumn Sonata. Another Woman and Crimes and Misdemeanors have elements reminiscent of Wild Strawberries.
Stardust Memories (1980) features Sandy Bates, a successful filmmaker played by Allen, who expresses resentment and scorn for his fans. Overcome by the recent death of a friend from illness, Bates says, "I don't want to make funny movies anymore" and a running gag has various people (including visiting space aliens) telling him that they appreciate his films, "especially the early, funny ones." Allen considers this one of his best films.
A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy (1982) was the first movie Allen made starring Mia Farrow, who stepped into Diane Keaton's role when Keaton was shooting Reds. He next directed Zelig, in which he starred as a man who has the ability to transform his appearance to that of the people surrounding him.
Allen has combined tragic and comic elements in such films as Hannah and Her Sisters (1986) and Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989), in which he tells two stories that connect at the end. He also made three films about show business: Broadway Danny Rose, in which he plays a down-on-his-luck New York show business agent, The Purple Rose of Cairo, set during the Great Depression, in which a movie character comes to life to romance an unhappy housewife, and Radio Days, a film about his childhood in Brooklyn and the importance of the radio. The film co-starred Farrow in a part Allen wrote specifically for her. The Purple Rose of Cairo was named by Time as one of the 100 best films of all time. Allen called it one of his three best films with Stardust Memories and Match Point. By "best" he said he meant they came closest to his vision. In 1989, Allen and directors Francis Ford Coppola and Martin Scorsese made New York Stories, an anthology film about New Yorkers. Allen's short, Oedipus Wrecks, is about a neurotic lawyer and his critical mother. Film critic Vincent Canby of The New York Times praised the segment as a "priceless contribution" to the film.
1990s
Allen's 1991 film Shadows and Fog is a black-and-white homage to the German expressionists and features the music of Kurt Weill. Allen then made his critically acclaimed comedy-drama Husbands and Wives (1992), which received two Oscar nominations: Best Supporting Actress for Judy Davis and Best Original Screenplay for Allen. Manhattan Murder Mystery (1993) combined suspense with dark comedy and marked the return of Diane Keaton, Alan Alda and Anjelica Huston.
He returned to lighter fare such as the showbiz comedy involving mobsters Bullets Over Broadway (1994), which earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Director, followed by a musical, Everyone Says I Love You (1996). The singing and dancing scenes in Everyone Says I Love You are similar to musicals starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. The comedy Mighty Aphrodite (1995), in which Greek drama plays a large role, won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for Mira Sorvino. Allen's 1999 jazz-based comedy-drama Sweet and Lowdown was nominated for two Academy Awards, for Sean Penn (Best Actor) and Samantha Morton (Best Supporting Actress). In contrast to these lighter movies, Allen veered into darker satire toward the end of the decade with Deconstructing Harry (1997) and Celebrity (1998).
During this decade Allen also starred in the television film The Sunshine Boys (1995), based on the Neil Simon play of the same name.
Allen made one sitcom "appearance" via telephone on the show Just Shoot Me! in a 1997 episode, "My Dinner with Woody", that paid tribute to several of his films. He provided the voice of Z in DreamWorks' first animated film, Antz (1998), which featured many actors he had worked with; Allen's character was similar to his earlier roles.
2000s
Small Time Crooks (2000) was Allen's first film with the DreamWorks studio and represented a change in direction: he began giving more interviews and made an attempt to return to his slapstick roots. The film is similar to the 1942 film Larceny, Inc. (from a play by S.J. Perelman). Allen never commented on whether this was deliberate or if his film was in any way inspired by it. Small Time Crooks was a relative financial success, grossing over $17 million domestically, but Allen's next four films foundered at the box office, including Allen's most costly film, The Curse of the Jade Scorpion (with a budget of $26 million). Hollywood Ending, Anything Else, and Melinda and Melinda have "rotten" ratings on film-review website Rotten Tomatoes and each earned less than $4 million domestically. Some critics claimed that Allen's early 2000s films were subpar and expressed concern that his best years were behind him. Others were less harsh; reviewing the little-liked Melinda and Melinda, Roger Ebert wrote, "I cannot escape the suspicion that if Woody had never made a previous film, if each new one was Woody's Sundance debut, it would get a better reception. His reputation is not a dead shark but an albatross, which with admirable economy Allen has arranged for the critics to carry around their own necks."
Match Point (2005) was one of Allen's most successful films of the decade, garnering positive reviews. Set in London, it starred Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Scarlett Johansson. It is markedly darker than Allen's first four films with DreamWorks SKG. In Match Point Allen shifts focus from the intellectual upper class of New York to the moneyed upper class of London. The film earned more than $23 million domestically (more than any of his films in nearly 20 years) and over $62 million in international box office sales. It earned Allen his first Academy Award nomination since 1998, for Best Writing – Original Screenplay, with directing and writing nominations at the Golden Globes, his first Globe nominations since 1987. In a 2006 interview with Premiere Magazine he said it was the best film he had ever made.
Allen reached an agreement to film Vicky Cristina Barcelona in Avilés, Barcelona, and Oviedo, Spain, where shooting started on July 9, 2007. The movie featured Scarlett Johansson, Javier Bardem, Rebecca Hall and Penélope Cruz. The film premiered at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival to rapturous reviews, and became a box office success. Vicky Cristina Barcelona won Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy at the Golden Globe awards. Cruz received the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.
"In the United States things have changed a lot, and it's hard to make good small films now," Allen said in a 2004 interview. "The avaricious studios couldn't care less about good films—if they get a good film they're twice as happy but money-making films are their goal. They only want these $100 million pictures that make $500 million."
In April 2008 he began filming Whatever Works, a film aimed more toward older audiences, starring Larry David, Patricia Clarkson, and Evan Rachel Wood. Released in 2009 and described as a dark comedy, it follows the story of a botched suicide attempt turned messy love triangle. Whatever Works was written by Allen in the 1970s, and David's character was written for Zero Mostel, who died the year Annie Hall came out.
Allen was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2001.
2010s
You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger, filmed in London, stars Antonio Banderas, Josh Brolin, Anthony Hopkins, Anupam Kher, Freida Pinto and Naomi Watts. Filming started in July 2009. It was released theatrically in the US on September 23, 2010, following a Cannes debut in May 2010, and a screening at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 12, 2010.
Allen announced that his next film would be titled Midnight in Paris starring Owen Wilson, Marion Cotillard, Rachel McAdams, Michael Sheen, Corey Stoll, Allison Pill, Tom Hiddleston, Adrien Brody, Kathy Bates, and Carla Bruni, the First Lady of France at the time of production. The film follows a young engaged couple in Paris who see their lives transformed. It debuted at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival on May 12, 2011. Allen said he wanted to "show the city emotionally" during the press conference. "I just wanted it to be the way I saw Paris—Paris through my eyes," he added. The film was almost universally praised, receiving a 93% on Rotten Tomatoes. Midnight in Paris won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay and became his highest-grossing film, making $151 million worldwide on a $17 million budget.
In February 2012, Allen appeared on a panel at the 92nd Street Y in New York City with moderators Dick Cavett and Annette Insdorf, discussing his films and career.
His next film, To Rome with Love, was a Rome-set comedy released in 2012. The film was structured in four vignettes featuring dialogue in both Italian and English. It marked Allen's return to acting since his last role in Scoop.
Blue Jasmine debuted in July 2013. The film is set in San Francisco and New York, and stars Alec Baldwin, Cate Blanchett, Louis C.K., Andrew Dice Clay, Sally Hawkins, and Peter Sarsgaard. Opening to critical acclaim, the film earned Allen another Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay, and Blanchett received the Academy Award for Best Actress. Allen co-starred with John Turturro in Fading Gigolo, written and directed by Turturro, which premiered in September 2013. In 2013 Allen shot the romantic comedy Magic in the Moonlight with Emma Stone, and Colin Firth in Nice, France. The film is set in the 1920s on the French Riviera. The film was a modest financial success, earning $51 million off a budget of $16 million.
From July to August 2014 Allen filmed the mystery drama Irrational Man in Newport, Rhode Island, with Joaquin Phoenix, Emma Stone, Parker Posey and Jamie Blackley. Allen said that this film, as well as the next three he had planned, had the financing and full support of Sony Pictures Classics. His next film, Café Society, starred an ensemble cast, including Jesse Eisenberg, Kristen Stewart, and Blake Lively. Bruce Willis was set to co-star, but was replaced by Steve Carell during filming. The film is distributed by Amazon Studios, and opened the 2016 Cannes Film Festival on May 11, 2016, the third time Allen has opened the festival.
On January 14, 2015, Amazon Studios announced a full-season order for a half-hour Amazon Prime Instant Video series that Allen would write and direct, marking the first time he has developed a television show. Allen said of the series, "I don't know how I got into this. I have no ideas and I'm not sure where to begin. My guess is that Roy Price [the head of Amazon Studios] will regret this." At the 2015 Cannes Film Festival, Allen said, in reference to his upcoming Amazon show, "It was a catastrophic mistake. I don't know what I'm doing. I'm floundering. I expect this to be a cosmic embarrassment." On September 30, 2016, Amazon Video debuted Allen's first television series production, Crisis in Six Scenes. The series is a comedy that takes place during the 1960s. It focuses on the life of a suburban family after a surprise visitor creates chaos among them. It stars Allen alongside Elaine May and Miley Cyrus. Cyrus plays a radical hippie fugitive who sells marijuana.
In September 2016 Allen started filming Wonder Wheel, set in the 1950s in Coney Island, and starring Kate Winslet and Justin Timberlake. The film served as the closing night selection at the 55th New York Film Festival on October 15, 2017, and was theatrically released on December 1, 2017, as the first movie self-distributed to theaters by Amazon Studios.
In 2017, Allen received a standing ovation when he made a rare public appearance at the 45th Annual Life Achievement Tribute award ceremony for Diane Keaton. Before presenting her with the award he spoke about their longtime collaboration and friendship, saying, "From the minute I met her, she was a great, great inspiration to me. Much of what I have accomplished in my life I owe for sure to her".
His film A Rainy Day in New York, starring Timothée Chalamet, Selena Gomez, Elle Fanning, Jude Law, Diego Luna, Liev Schreiber and Rebecca Hall began production in New York in September 2017. Chalamet, Gomez and Hall announced, in the light of the #MeToo movement, that they would be donating their salaries to various charities.
In February 2019 it was announced that Amazon Studios had dropped A Rainy Day in New York and would no longer finance, produce, or distribute films with Allen. He filed a lawsuit for $68 million, alleging Amazon gave "vague reasons" to terminate the contract, dropped the film over "a 25-year old, baseless allegation" and did not make payments. The case was later settled and dismissed. It was released throughout Europe beginning in July 2019, receiving mixed reviews and grossing $20 million at the box office. After over a year of delays, the film was released in the United States on October 9, 2020, by MPI Media Group and Signature Entertainment.
2020s
In May 2019 it was announced that Allen's latest film would be titled Rifkin's Festival, and Variety magazine confirmed that its cast would include Christoph Waltz, Elena Anaya, Louis Garrel, Gina Gershon, Sergi López and Wallace Shawn and it would be produced by Gravier Productions. The film was produced with Mediapro, an independent Spanish TV-film company. Rifkin's Festival completed filming in October 2019. On September 18, 2020, it premiered at the San Sebastián International Film Festival. It has received mixed reviews, though Jessica Kiang of The New York Times called it "to the ravenous captive, like finding an unexpected stash of dessert".
On March 2, 2020, it was announced that Grand Central Publishing would release Allen's autobiography, Apropos of Nothing, on April 7, 2020, This was after it was announced Allen had written a memoir and shopped it around to multiple prominent publishers who rejected it. The book was set to be released in the United States, Canada, Italy, Spain, and France, among others. According to the publisher, the book is a "comprehensive account of Allen's life, both personal and professional, and describes his work in films, theater, television, nightclubs, and print...Allen also writes of his relationships with family, friends, and the loves of his life."
The decision to publish the book was met with backlash from Ronan Farrow, who cut ties with the publisher. Dylan Farrow also responded to the announcement of the release, saying "Hachette's publishing of Woody Allen's memoir is deeply upsetting to me personally and an utter betrayal of my brother." On March 5, 2020, 75 employees of Grand Central Publishing held a walkout to protest the release. On March 6, the publisher announced that it had canceled the book's release and returned the rights to Allen, saying, "The decision to cancel Mr. Allen's book was a difficult one. Over the past few days, HBG leadership had extensive conversations with our staff and others. After listening, we came to the conclusion that moving forward with publication would not be feasible for HBG."
Novelist Stephen King criticized Hachette's decision to withdraw the book, saying it "makes me very uneasy. It's not him; I don't give a damn about Mr. Allen. It's who gets muzzled next that worries me." Executive director of PEN America Suzanne Nossel also criticized the decision. On March 6, 2020, Manuel Carcassonne of the Hachette's French branch, the publishing company Stock, announced it would publish the book if Allen permitted it. On March 23, 2020, Arcade published the memoir in English and La nave di Teseo published it in Italian.
In June 2020, Allen appeared on Alec Baldwin's podcast Here's the Thing and talked about his career as a standup comedian, comedy writer, and filmmaker, as well as his life during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2022, Allen promoted his film Rifkin's Festival and talked about his work, comedy career, and filmmaking in the age of streaming and covid on Leonard Maltin's podcast.
Theatre
While best known for his films, Allen has enjoyed a successful career in theatre, starting as early as 1960, when he wrote sketches for the revue From A to Z. His first great success was Don't Drink the Water, which opened in 1968, and ran for 598 performances for almost two years on Broadway. His success continued with Play It Again, Sam, which opened in 1969, starring Allen and Diane Keaton. The show played for 453 performances and was nominated for three Tony Awards, although none of the nominations were for Allen's writing or acting.
In the 1970s, Allen wrote a number of one-act plays, most notably God and Death, which were published in his 1975 collection Without Feathers. In 1981, Allen's play The Floating Light Bulb opened on Broadway. It was a critical success and a commercial flop. Despite two Tony Award nominations, a Tony win for the acting of Brian Backer (who won the 1981 Theater World Award and a Drama Desk Award for his work), the play only ran for 62 performances. After a long hiatus from the stage, Allen returned to the theatre in 1995 with the one-act Central Park West, an installment in an evening of theatre, Death Defying Acts, that also included new work by David Mamet and Elaine May.
For the next few years, Allen had no direct involvement with the stage, but notable productions of his work were staged. A production of God was staged at The Bank of Brazil Cultural Center in Rio de Janeiro, and theatrical adaptations of Allen's films Bullets Over Broadway and September were produced in Italy and France, respectively, without Allen's involvement. In 1997, rumors of Allen returning to the theatre to write a starring role for his wife Soon-Yi Previn turned out to be false. In 2003, Allen finally returned to the stage with Writer's Block, an evening of two one-acts—Old Saybrook and Riverside Drive—that played Off-Broadway. The production marked his stage-directing debut and sold out the entire run. Also in 2003, reports of Allen writing the book for a musical based on Bullets Over Broadway surfaced, and it opened in New York in 2014. The musical closed on August 24, 2014, after 156 performances and 33 previews.
In 2004, Allen's first full-length play since 1981, A Second Hand Memory, was directed by Allen and enjoyed an extended run Off-Broadway. In June 2007 it was announced that Allen would make two more creative debuts in the theatre, directing a work he did not write and directing an opera—a reinterpretation of Puccini's Gianni Schicchi for the Los Angeles Opera—which debuted at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion on September 6, 2008. Of his direction of the opera, Allen said, "I have no idea what I'm doing." His production of the opera opened the Festival of Two Worlds in Spoleto, Italy, in June 2009.
In October 2011 Allen's one-act play Honeymoon Motel premiered as one in a series of one-act plays on Broadway titled Relatively Speaking. Also contributing to the plays are Elaine May and Ethan Coen with John Turturro directing. It was announced in February 2012 that Allen would adapt Bullets over Broadway into a Broadway musical. It opened on April 10, 2014, and closed on August 24, 2014.
In March 2014 Allen's musical Bullets Over Broadway premiered at the St. James Theatre. The cast included Zach Braff, Nick Cordero and Betsy Wolfe. The show was directed and choreographed by Susan Stroman, known for directing the stage and film productions of Mel Brooks's The Producers. The show drew mixed reviews from critics but received six Tony Award nominations, including one for Allen for Best Book of a Musical.
Jazz band
Allen is a passionate fan of jazz, which appears often in the soundtracks to his films. He began playing clarinet as a child and took his stage name from clarinetist Woody Herman. He has performed publicly at least since the late 1960s, including with the Preservation Hall Jazz Band on the soundtrack of Sleeper.
Woody Allen and his New Orleans Jazz Band have been playing each Monday evening at the Carlyle Hotel in Manhattan for many years specializing in New Orleans jazz from the early 20th century. He plays songs by Sidney Bechet, George Lewis, Johnny Dodds, Jimmie Noone, and Louis Armstrong. The documentary film Wild Man Blues (directed by Barbara Kopple) chronicles a 1996 European tour by Allen and his band, as well as his relationship with Previn. The band released the albums The Bunk Project (1993) and the soundtrack of Wild Man Blues (1997). In a 2011 review of a concert by Allen's jazz band, critic Kirk Silsbee of the Los Angeles Times suggested that Allen should be regarded a competent musical hobbyist with a sincere appreciation for early jazz: "Allen's clarinet won't make anyone forget Sidney Bechet, Barney Bigard or Evan Christopher. His piping tone and strings of staccato notes can't approximate melodic or lyrical phrasing. Still his earnestness and the obvious regard he has for traditional jazz counts for something."
Allen and his band played at the Montreal International Jazz Festival on two consecutive nights in June 2008. For many years he wanted to make a film about the origins of jazz in New Orleans. Tentatively titled American Blues, the film would follow the different careers of Louis Armstrong and Sidney Bechet. Allen stated that the film would cost between $80 and $100 million and is therefore unlikely to be made.
Influence
Allen has said that he was enormously influenced by comedians Bob Hope, Groucho Marx, Mort Sahl, Charlie Chaplin, W.C. Fields, playwright George S. Kaufman and filmmakers Ernst Lubitsch and Ingmar Bergman.
Many comedians have cited Allen as an influence, including Louis C.K., Larry David, Jon Stewart, Chris Rock, Steve Martin, John Mulaney, Bill Hader, Aziz Ansari, Sarah Silverman, Conan O'Brien, Seth MacFarlane, Seth Meyers, Richard Ayoade, Bill Maher, Albert Brooks, John Cleese and Garry Shandling.
Many filmmakers have also cited Allen as an influence, including Wes Anderson, Greta Gerwig, Noah Baumbach, Luca Guadagnino, Nora Ephron, Whit Stillman, Mike Mills, Ira Sachs, Richard Linklater, Charlie Kaufman, Nicole Holofcener, Rebecca Miller, Tamara Jenkins, Alex Ross Perry, Greg Mottola, Lynn Shelton, Lena Dunham, Lawrence Michael Levine, Olivier Assayas, and the Safdie brothers.
Directors who admire Allen's work include Quentin Tarantino, who called him "one of the greatest screenwriters of all time", as well as Martin Scorsese, who said in Woody Allen: A Documentary, "Woody's sensibilities of New York City is one of the reasons why I love his work, but they are extremely foreign to me. It's not another world; it's another planet". Stanley Donen stated he liked Allen's films, Spike Lee has called Allen a "great, great filmmaker" and Pedro Almodóvar has said he admires Allen's work. In 2012, directors Mike Leigh, Asghar Farhadi, and Martin McDonagh respectively included Radio Days (1987), Take the Money and Run (1969), and Manhattan among their Top 10 films for Sight & Sound. Other admirers of his work include Olivia Wilde and Jason Reitman, who staged live readings of Hannah and Her Sisters and Manhattan respectively. Filmmaker Edgar Wright listed five of Allen's films (Take the Money and Run, Bananas, Play It Again, Sam, Sleeper, Annie Hall) in his list of 100 Favorite Comedy films.
Film critics including Roger Ebert and Barry Norman have highly praised Allen's work. In 1980, on Sneak Previews, Siskel and Ebert called Allen and Mel Brooks "the two most successful comedy directors in the world today ... America's two funniest filmmakers." Pauline Kael wrote of Allen that "his comic character is enormously appealing to people partly because he's the smart, urban guy who at the same time is intelligent, is vulnerable, and somehow by his intelligence, he triumphs".
Favorite films
In 2012, Allen participated in the Sight & Sound film polls. Held every ten years to select the greatest films of all time, contemporary directors were asked to select ten films of their choice. Allen's choices, in alphabetical order, were:
The 400 Blows (France, 1959)
8½ (Italy, 1963)
Amarcord (Italy, 1972)
Bicycle Thieves (Italy, 1948)
Citizen Kane (USA, 1941)
The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (France, 1972)
La Grande Illusion (France, 1937)
Paths of Glory (USA, 1957)
Rashomon (Japan, 1950)
The Seventh Seal (Sweden, 1957)
In his 2020 autobiography Apropos of Nothing Allen praised Elia Kazan's A Streetcar Named Desire (1951):
Film activism and preservation
In 1987, Allen joined Ginger Rogers, Sydney Pollack, and Miloš Forman at a Senate Judiciary committee hearing in Washington, D.C., where they each gave testimony against Ted Turner's and other companies' colorizing films without the artists' consent. Only one senator, Patrick Leahy, was present for the testimony. Allen testified:
Allen also spoke about his decisions to make films in black and white, such as Manhattan, Stardust Memories, Broadway Danny Rose, and Zelig. Film director John Huston appeared in a pre-taped video, and Rogers read a statement by Jimmy Stewart criticizing the colorization of his film It's a Wonderful Life.
In 1990, Allen and Martin Scorsese created The Film Foundation, a nonprofit film preservation organization that collaborates with film studios to restore prints of old or damaged films. Allen sat on the foundation's original board of directors alongside Robert Altman, Francis Ford Coppola, Clint Eastwood, Stanley Kubrick, George Lucas, Sydney Pollack, Robert Redford, and Steven Spielberg.
Works
Filmography
Theatrical works
In addition to directing, writing, and acting in films, Allen has written and performed in a number of Broadway theater productions.
Bibliography
Getting Even (1971)
Without Feathers (1975)
Side Effects (1980)
The Insanity Defense: The Complete Prose (2007)
Mere Anarchy (2007)
Apropos of Nothing (2020)
Zero Gravity (TBD)
Discography
Woody Allen (Colpix Records, 1964)
Woody Allen Vol. 2 (Colpix Records, 1965)
The Third Woody Allen Album (Capitol Records, 1968)
The Nightclub Years 1964–1968 (United Artists Records, 1972)
Standup Comic (Casablanca Records, 1978)
Wild Man Blues (RCA Victor, 1998)
Awards and honors
Over his 50-year film career, Allen has received many award nominations. He currently holds the record for the most Academy Award nominations for Best Original Screenplay, with 16 nominations and three wins (Annie Hall, Hannah and Her Sisters, and Midnight in Paris). Allen has been nominated for Best Director seven times and won for Annie Hall. Three of Allen's films have been nominated for Academy Award for Best Picture, Annie Hall, Hannah and Her Sisters, and Midnight in Paris.
Allen famously shuns award ceremonies, citing their subjectivity. His first and only appearance at the Academy Awards was at the 2002 Oscars, where he received a standing ovation. As a New York icon, he had been asked by the Academy to present a film montage of clips of New York City in the movies, which was put together by Nora Ephron, to honor the city after the 9/11 attack.
Allen has received numerous honors including a Honorary Golden Palm from the Cannes Film Festival in 2002 and an Career Golden Lion from the Venice International Film Festival in 1995. He also received a BAFTA Fellowship in 1997, a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Directors Guild of America and a Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award in 2014. He was elected a member of the American Philosophical Society in 2010.
Personal life
Allen has been married three times: to Harlene Rosen from 1956 to 1959, Louise Lasser from 1966 to 1970, and Soon-Yi Previn since 1997. He also had a 12-year relationship with actress Mia Farrow and relationships with Stacey Nelkin and Diane Keaton.
Early marriages and relationships
In 1956, Allen married Harlene Rosen. He was 20 and she was 17. The marriage lasted until 1959. Rosen, whom Allen called "the Dread Mrs. Allen" in his standup act, sued him for defamation as a result of comments he made during a television appearance shortly after their divorce. In his mid-1960s album Standup Comic, Allen said that Rosen had sued him because of a joke he made in an interview. Rosen had been sexually assaulted outside her apartment. According to Allen, the newspapers reported that she had been "violated". In the interview, Allen said, "Knowing my ex-wife, it probably wasn't a moving violation." In an interview on The Dick Cavett Show, Allen repeated his comments and said he had been sued for "$1 million".
In 1966, Allen married Louise Lasser. They divorced in 1970. Lasser provided voice dubbing in Allen's What's Up, Tiger Lily? and appeared in three of his other films: Take the Money and Run, Bananas, and Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex* (*But Were Afraid to Ask). She also appeared briefly in Stardust Memories.
According to the Los Angeles Times, Manhattan was based on Allen's romantic relationship with actress Stacey Nelkin. Her bit part in Annie Hall ended up on the cutting room floor, and their relationship, never publicly acknowledged by Allen, reportedly began when she was 17 and a student at Stuyvesant High School in New York. In December 2018 The Hollywood Reporter interviewed Babi Christina Engelhardt, who said she had an eight-year affair with Allen that began in 1976 when she was 17 years old (they met when she was 16), and that she believes the character of Tracy in Manhattan is a composite of any number of Allen's presumed other real-life young paramours from that period, not necessarily Nelkin or Engelhardt. When asked, Allen declined to comment.
Diane Keaton
In 1969, Allen cast Diane Keaton in his Broadway show Play It Again, Sam. During the run she and Allen became romantically involved. Although they broke up after a year, she continued to star in his films, including Sleeper as a futuristic poet and Love and Death as a composite character based on the novels of Tolstoy and Dostoevsky. Annie Hall was very important in Allen's and Keaton's careers. It is said that the role was written for her, as Keaton's birth name was Diane Hall. She then starred in Interiors as a poet, followed by Manhattan. In 1987, she had a cameo as a nightclub singer in Radio Days, and she was chosen to replace Mia Farrow in Manhattan Murder Mystery after Allen and Farrow began having problems with their relationship. In total Keaton has starred in eight of Allen's films. As of 2018 Keaton and Allen remain close friends. In a rare public appearance, Allen presented Keaton with the AFI Life Achievement Award in 2017.
Mia Farrow
Allen and Mia Farrow met in 1979 and began a relationship in 1980; Farrow starred in 13 of Allen's films from 1982 to 1992. Throughout the relationship they lived in separate apartments on opposite sides of Central Park in Manhattan. Farrow had seven children when they met: three biological sons from her marriage to composer André Previn, three adopted girls (two Vietnamese and one South Korean, Soon-Yi Previn), and an adopted South Korean boy, Moses Farrow.
In 1984, she and Allen tried to conceive a child together; Allen agreed to this on the understanding that he need not be involved in the child's care. When the effort to get pregnant failed, Farrow adopted a baby girl, Dylan Farrow, in July 1985. Allen was not involved in the adoption, but when Dylan arrived he assumed a parental role toward her and began spending more time in Farrow's home. On December 19, 1987, Farrow gave birth to their son Satchel Farrow (later known as Ronan Farrow). According to Allen, his intimate relationship with Mia Farrow ceased completely after Satchel's birth and he was asked to return her apartment key; they maintained a working relationship when they filmed a movie, and he regularly visited Moses, Dylan and Satchel, but he and Mia were only "social companions on those occasions where there'd be a dinner, an event, but after the event she'd go home and I'd go home." In 1991, Farrow wanted to adopt another child. According to a 1993 custody hearing, Allen told her he would not object to another adoption so long as she would agree to his adoption of Dylan and Moses; that adoption was finalized in December 1991. Eric Lax, Allen's biographer, wrote in The New York Times that Allen was "there before they [the children] wake up in the morning, he sees them during the day and he helps put them to bed at night".
Soon-Yi Previn
In 1977, Mia Farrow and André Previn adopted Soon-Yi Previn from Seoul, South Korea. She had been abandoned. The Seoul Family Court established a Family Census Register (legal birth document) on her behalf on December 28, 1976, with a presumptive birth date of October 8, 1970; according to Maureen Orth, a bone scan in the U.S. estimated that she was between five and seven years old. According to Previn, her first friendly interaction with Allen took place when she was injured playing soccer during 11th grade and Allen offered to transport her to school. After her injury, she began attending New York Knicks basketball games with Allen in 1990. They attended more games and by 1991 had become closer. In September 1991, she began studies at Drew University in New Jersey.
In January 1992, Farrow found nude photographs of Previn in Allen's home. Allen, then 56, told Farrow that he had taken the photos the day before, approximately two weeks after he first had sex with Previn. Both Farrow and Allen contacted lawyers shortly after the photographs were discovered. Previn was asked to leave summer camp because she was spending too much time taking calls from a "Mr. Simon", who turned out to be Allen.
In an August 1992 interview with Time Magazine Allen said, "I am not Soon-Yi's father or stepfather", adding, "I've never even lived with Mia. I've never in my entire life slept at Mia's apartment, and I never even used to go over there until my children came along seven years ago. I never had any family dinners over there. I was not a father to her adopted kids in any sense of the word." Adding that Soon-Yi never treated him as a father figure and that he rarely spoke to her before their romantic relationship, Allen seemed to see few or no problems with their relationship.
On August 17, 1992, Allen issued a statement saying that he was in love with Previn. Their relationship became public and "erupted into tabloid headlines and late-night monologues in August 1992."
Allen and Previn were married in Venice, Italy, on December 23, 1997. They have adopted two children, and live in the Carnegie Hill section of Manhattan's Upper East Side.
Sexual abuse allegation
According to court testimony, on August 4, 1992, Allen visited the children at Mia Farrow's home in Bridgewater, Connecticut, while she was shopping with a friend. The next day, that friend's babysitter told her employer that she had seen that "Dylan was sitting on the sofa, and Woody was kneeling on the floor, facing her, with his head in her lap". When Farrow asked Dylan about it, Dylan allegedly said that Allen had touched Dylan's "private part" while they were alone together in the attic. Allen strongly denied the allegation, calling it "an unconscionable and gruesomely damaging manipulation of innocent children for vindictive and self-serving motives". He then began proceedings in New York Supreme Court for sole custody of his and Farrow's son Satchel, as well as Dylan and Moses, their two adopted children. In March 1993, a six-month investigation by the Child Sexual Abuse Clinic of Yale-New Haven Hospital concluded that Dylan had not been sexually abused.
In June 1993, Judge Elliott Wilk rejected Allen's bid for custody and rejected the allegation of sexual abuse. Wilk said he was less certain than the Yale-New Haven team that there was conclusive evidence that there was no sexual abuse and called Allen's conduct with Dylan "grossly inappropriate", although not sexual. In September 1993, the state prosecutor announced that despite having "probable cause”, he would not pursue charges in order "to avoid the unjustifiable risk of exposing a child to the rigors and uncertainties of a questionable prosecution". In October 1993 the New York Child Welfare Agency of the State Department of Social Services closed a 14-month investigation and concluded there was not credible evidence of abuse or maltreatment, and the allegation was unfounded.
In 2014, when Allen received a Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award for Lifetime Achievement, the issue returned to the forefront of media attention, with Mia Farrow and Ronan Farrow making disparaging remarks about Allen on Twitter. On February 1, 2014, New York Times journalist Nicholas Kristof, with Dylan's permission, published a column that included excerpts from a letter Dylan had written to Kristof restating the allegation against Allen, and called out fellow actors who have continued to work in his films. Allen responded to the allegation in an open letter, also in The New York Times, strongly denying it. "Of course, I did not molest Dylan...No one wants to discourage abuse victims from speaking out, but one must bear in mind that sometimes there are people who are falsely accused and that is also a terribly destructive thing", he wrote.
In 2018, Moses Farrow (Mia Farrow's and Allen's adopted son who was present at her Bridgewater house during Allen's visit) published a blog post called "A Son Speaks Out." In the post, Moses recounted a series of instances of alleged physical abuse at the hands of Mia Farrow. He wrote, "It pains me to recall instances in which I witnessed siblings, some blind or physically disabled, dragged down a flight of stairs to be thrown into a bedroom or a closet, then having the door locked from the outside. [Mia] even shut my brother Thaddeus, paraplegic from polio, in an outdoor shed overnight as punishment for a minor transgression".
Moses Farrow also described the relationship between Mia Farrow and Soon-Yi Previn: "Soon-Yi was her most frequent scapegoat […] When Soon-Yi was young, Mia once threw a large porcelain centerpiece at her head. Luckily it missed, but the shattered pieces hit her legs. Years later, Mia beat her with a telephone receiver. Soon-Yi's made it clear that her desire was simply to be left alone, which increasingly became the case. Even if her relationship with Woody was unconventional, it allowed her to escape. Others weren't so lucky."
Moses Farrow also recalls, "The summer between first and second grades… my mother came over to my bed and found a tape measure. She gave me a piercing look that stopped me in my tracks and asked if I had taken it, as she had been looking for it all day. I stood in front of her, frozen. She asked why it was on my bed. I told her I didn't know, that perhaps a workman had left it there. She asked again and again and again. When I didn't give the answer she wanted, she slapped my face, knocking off my glasses. She told me I was lying and directed me to tell my brothers and sisters that I had taken the tape measure. Through my tears I listened to her as she explained that we would rehearse what should have happened. She would walk into the room and I would tell her I was sorry for taking the tape measure, that I had taken it to play with and that I would never do it again. She made me rehearse it at least a half-dozen times. That was the start of her coaching, drilling, scripting, and rehearsing – in essence, brainwashing. I became anxious and fearful."
Works about Allen
From 1976 to 1984 Stuart Hample wrote and drew Inside Woody Allen, a comic strip based on Allen's film persona.
The 1997 documentary Wild Man Blues, directed by Barbara Kopple, focuses on Allen, and other documentaries featuring Allen include the 2002 cable television documentary Woody Allen: A Life in Film, directed by Time film critic Richard Schickel, which interlaces interviews of Allen with clips of his films, and the 1986 short film Meetin' WA, in which Allen is interviewed by French New Wave director Jean-Luc Godard.
In 2011 the PBS series American Masters co-produced the documentary Woody Allen: A Documentary, directed by Robert B. Weide. New interviews provide insight and backstory with Diane Keaton, Scarlett Johansson, Penélope Cruz, Dianne Wiest, Larry David, Chris Rock, Martin Scorsese, Dick Cavett, and Leonard Maltin, among others.
Eric Lax authored the book Woody Allen: A Biography.
In 2015 David Evanier published Woody: The Biography, which was billed as the first new biography of Allen in over a decade.
In early March 2020, Grand Central Publishing, a division of Hachette Book Group, announced that it would be publishing Allen's memoir, Apropos of Nothing, on April 7, 2020. Days later, after employee walkouts, parent company Hachette announced that the title was canceled and rights had reverted to Allen. On March 23, 2020, Skyhorse Publishing announced that it had acquired and released Apropos of Nothing through its Arcade imprint.
In February 2021, HBO released Kirby Dick's and Amy Ziering's four-part documentary Allen v. Farrow, which explores the sexual abuse allegations against Allen. The series drew largely positive reviews from critics. Lorraine Ali of the Los Angeles Times wrote that it "makes a compelling argument that Allen got away with the unthinkable thanks to his fame, money, and revered standing in the world of film—and that a little girl never received justice." Rachel Brodsky wrote in The Independent that the "documentary will sound the death knell for Woody Allen’s career." Hadley Freeman in The Guardian wrote that the series "sets itself up as an investigation but much more resembles PR, as biased and partial as a political candidate’s advert vilifying an opponent in election season." A statement on behalf of Allen and Previn denounced the documentary as "a hatchet job riddled with falsehoods" and said that they were approached two months before it was aired on HBO and "given only a matter of days 'to respond.' Of course, they declined to do so." The filmmakers said they gave Allen and Previn two weeks to comment, which is "more than ample time by journalistic standards."
Notes
References
Works cited
External links
(Fresh Air), June 15, 2009
1935 births
Living people
20th-century American dramatists and playwrights
20th-century American male actors
20th-century American male writers
20th-century American musicians
21st-century American dramatists and playwrights
21st-century American male actors
21st-century American male writers
21st-century American musicians
21st-century clarinetists
American film producers
American humorists
American jazz clarinetists
American male comedy actors
American male dramatists and playwrights
American male film actors
American male jazz musicians
American male musicians
American male non-fiction writers
American male screenwriters
American male short story writers
American people of Austrian-Jewish descent
American people of Lithuanian-Jewish descent
American people of Russian-Jewish descent
American satirists
American short story writers
American stand-up comedians
American Ashkenazi Jews
BAFTA fellows
Best Directing Academy Award winners
Best Director BAFTA Award winners
Best Original Screenplay Academy Award winners
Best Original Screenplay BAFTA Award winners
Best Screenplay BAFTA Award winners
Capitol Records artists
Cecil B. DeMille Award Golden Globe winners
César Award winners
Colpix Records artists
Comedians from New York City
Comedy film directors
David di Donatello winners
Directors Guild of America Award winners
Dixieland clarinetists
Entertainers from the Bronx
Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
Film directors from New York City
Filmmakers who won the Best Film BAFTA Award
Grammy Award winners
Independent Spirit Award winners
Jazz musicians from New York (state)
Jewish American male actors
Jewish American male comedians
Jewish American musicians
Jewish comedy and humor
Jewish dramatists and playwrights
Jewish humorists
Jewish male comedians
Jews and Judaism in New York City
Male actors from New York City
Midwood High School alumni
O. Henry Award winners
People from Midwood, Brooklyn
People from the Upper East Side
Screenwriters from New York (state)
Secular Jews
Tisch School of the Arts alumni
Writers from Brooklyn
Writers Guild of America Award winners | true | [
"Pension Schöller (English:The Schöller Boardinghouse) is a German comedy play by Wilhelm Jacoby and Carl Laufs which was first performed in 1890. The play was originally performed at Wallner Theatre in Berlin and quickly became a staple of German comic literature.\n\nFilm adaptations\nThe play has been turned into films on three occasions, in 1930, 1952 and 1960, all of them directed by George Jacoby. There have also been several television versions.\n\nReferences\n\nBibliography\n Grange, William. Historical Dictionary of German Theater. Scarecrow Press, 2006.\n\nPlays by Wilhelm Jacoby\nPlays by Carl Laufs\n1890 plays\nGerman plays adapted into films",
"Rose By Any Other Name ... is an American Romantic comedy whose plot and title are loosely based on William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. Set in the US around the turn of the 21st century, it gently pokes fun at life, manners, morals as well as the tensions within the modern LGBT and liberal communities. It stars lesbian actress Cathy DeBuono.\n\nSynopsis\nThe story follows the main characters Rose, a comfortably out woman who identifies as lesbian, and Anthony, a decent progressive heterosexual man who serendipitously meet and then unexpectedly find themselves falling for each other. Rose has to navigate the reaction of her friends (they aren't thrilled) and her family (they are) while Anthony too has to deal with his friends who are equally nonplussed.\n\nProduction\nThe story was written and produced by Kyle Schickner, who is a bisexual rights activist as well as being a film producer, writer, director and actor. It began as a successful Off-Off-Broadway Production in 1996 at New York City's Sanford Meisner Theater which was turned into a well received 1997 Indie film by Schickner's FenceSitter Films. In 2008/2009 FenceSitter Films began working with an American Cable TV Network to spin-off Rose by Any Other Name ... into a weekly TV series.\n\nControversy\nAccording to Schickner after production had gotten underway \"at the 11th hour as they were setting up to shoot the pilot the network expressed concern over how the cutting-edge social theme might play with some of their core viewership and decided to look at more data to see what kind of response the show might get\". So with the assistance of American Institute of Bisexuality the project was turned into a Web series with each Webisode being posted on the FenceSitter Films YouTube channel. Episodes 7–9 and 11 are no longer available on said channel due to a successful copyright claim.\n\nSee also\n\n List of media portrayals of bisexuality\n Bisexual community\n Chasing Amy\n Bob & Rose\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n\n1990s romantic comedy films\n1996 plays\n1997 films\nAmerican films\nAmerican LGBT-related television films\nAmerican sex comedy films\nFemale bisexuality in film\nBisexuality-related television series\nAmerican comedy web series\nFilms based on Romeo and Juliet\nLesbian-related films\nLesbian-related television shows\nLGBT-related plays\nLGBT-related controversies in film\nLGBT-related controversies in television\nLGBT-related controversies in plays\nAmerican LGBT-related web series\nModern adaptations of works by William Shakespeare\nPlays and musicals based on Romeo and Juliet\nLive action television shows based on films\nFenceSitter Films films\nLGBT-related adaptations of works by William Shakespeare\n1990s sex comedy films\n1997 comedy films\nLGBT-related romantic comedy films\n1997 LGBT-related films"
] |
[
"Ken Kavanaugh",
"Early life and college"
] | C_8fabeb6b8e844c77b2497d6a8c9ca1e1_1 | Where did Kavanaugh spend his early life? | 1 | Where did Kavanaugh spend his early life? | Ken Kavanaugh | Kavanaugh was born in Little Rock, Arkansas. He graduated from Little Rock Central High School in 1936. Kavanaugh arrived at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana in 1936 and joined the LSU football varsity team in 1937. As an end, he was quickly able to fill the void in the offense left by the departure of two-time All-American Gaynell Tinsley. At 6 feet 3 inches (1.91 m), Kavanaugh was a large receiver for his time, and used his size to outreach defenders. Bernie Moore, Kavanaugh's head coach at LSU, said Kavanaugh "was a pass completer rather than a receiver, simply because he'd catch passes no one else could get to." He was named to the Associated Press (AP) All-Southeastern Conference (SEC) second alternate team after the 1937 season. In 1938, the AP named him a first-team All-SEC selection, and he was a second-team selection by the United Press. In 1939, in a game against Holy Cross, Kavanaugh caught four touchdown passes in the 26-7 win. According to Kavanaugh and teammate Young Bussey, Kavanaugh found four rusty nails on the sideline during the game. The next week against Rice, he found another nail and scored another touchdown to give LSU a 7-0 win. The pattern continued against Loyola and Vanderbilt, as Kavanaugh found two nails before each game and in each scored two touchdowns. A sportswriter for the Baton Rouge Advocate claimed he saw coach Bernie Moore at a local store stocking up on nails before LSU's game against No. 1 Tennessee. Kavanaugh failed to score in the game, however, as the Tigers lost 20-0. The Nashville Banner named Kavanaugh co-MVP of the Southeastern Conference for 1939 along with Bob Foxx of Tennessee. Kavanaugh was a consensus All-America selection for the 1939 All-America Team, being named to the team by five of the nine official selectors. He was also awarded the Knute Rockne Memorial Trophy by the Washington D.C. Touchdown Club as the nation's lineman of the year, and finished seventh in Heisman Trophy balloting. CANNOTANSWER | Kavanaugh was born in Little Rock, Arkansas. He graduated from Little Rock Central High School in 1936. | Kenneth William Kavanaugh (November 23, 1916 – January 25, 2007) was an American football player, coach, and scout. He played professionally in the National Football League (NFL) for the Chicago Bears as an end from 1940 to 1950, except for three seasons during which he served in World War II. He led the league in receiving touchdowns twice, and is a member of the NFL 1940s All-Decade Team. He is the Bears' all-time leader in receiving touchdowns, with 50.
Kavanaugh played college football at Louisiana State University for the LSU Tigers, where he was named most valuable player of the Southeastern Conference and a consensus All-American in 1939 after leading the nation in receptions and receiving yards. He was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1963.
Early life and college
Kavanaugh was born in Little Rock, Arkansas. He graduated from Little Rock Central High School in 1936.
Kavanaugh arrived at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana in 1936 and joined the LSU football varsity team in 1937. As an end, he was quickly able to fill the void in the offense left by the departure of two-time All-American Gaynell Tinsley. At , Kavanaugh was a large receiver for his time, and used his size to outreach defenders. Bernie Moore, Kavanaugh's head coach at LSU, said Kavanaugh "was a pass completer rather than a receiver, simply because he'd catch passes no one else could get to." He was named to the Associated Press (AP) All-Southeastern Conference (SEC) second alternate team after the 1937 season. In 1938, the AP named him a first-team All-SEC selection, and he was a second-team selection by the United Press.
In 1939, in a game against Holy Cross, Kavanaugh caught four touchdown passes in the 26–7 win. According to Kavanaugh and teammate Young Bussey, Kavanaugh found four rusty nails on the sideline during the game. The next week against Rice, he found another nail and scored another touchdown to give LSU a 7–0 win. The pattern continued against Loyola and Vanderbilt, as Kavanaugh found two nails before each game and in each scored two touchdowns. A sportswriter for the Baton Rouge Advocate claimed he saw coach Bernie Moore at a local store stocking up on nails before LSU's game against No. 1 Tennessee. Kavanaugh failed to score in the game, however, as the Tigers lost 20–0.
The Nashville Banner named Kavanaugh co-MVP of the Southeastern Conference for 1939 along with Bob Foxx of Tennessee. Kavanaugh was a consensus All-America selection for the 1939 All-America Team, being named to the team by five of the nine official selectors. He was also awarded the Knute Rockne Memorial Trophy by the Washington D.C. Touchdown Club as the nation's lineman of the year, and finished seventh in Heisman Trophy balloting.
Professional
Pre-war
After college, Kavanaugh signed a minor league baseball contract with the St. Louis Cardinals organization for $300 a month. He later signed with the NFL's Chicago Bears after striking a deal with Bears owner George Halas for $300 a game. He played for the Bears during a period in which they were nicknamed the Monsters of the Midway. In the 1940 NFL Championship Game, the Bears defeated the Washington Redskins 73–0, the most lopsided victory in NFL history. Kavanaugh caught the game's only touchdown pass, a 30-yard reception from quarterback Sid Luckman shortly before halftime. The next season, the Bears won the 1941 NFL Championship Game, as they defeated the New York Giants 39–7 and repeated as NFL champions. The final score in the game was a fumble recovery by Kavanaugh on defense, returning the ball 42 yards for a touchdown. In his first two seasons with the Bears, Kavanaugh compiled 23 receptions for 590 yards and nine touchdowns.
World War II
Kavanaugh's career was interrupted by World War II, in which he was a pilot in the European theater. He was a member of the Eighth Air Force's 490th Bombardment Group and 851st Bombardment Squadron, and attained the rank of captain. He flew 30 missions and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal with four oak leaf clusters. Former LSU and Bears teammate Young Bussey was the Bears' only casualty in the war.
Post-war
After the war, he continued his career with the Bears. In 1945 he had 543 yards and six touchdowns, and in 1946 had 337 yards and five touchdowns. Three of his touchdowns in 1946 came in a 27–21 win over the Los Angeles Rams in week seven. The Bears defeated the New York Giants 24–14 in the 1946 NFL Championship Game, which gave Kavanaugh his third league championship with the team. The first touchdown of the game was a 21-yard pass from Luckman to Kavanaugh. After the season, he was named to the United Press All-NFL first team. Kavanaugh had his most productive season statistically in 1947. He had career highs with 32 receptions, 881 yards, and 13 touchdowns. He set a Bears record by recording a receiving touchdown in seven straight games, a streak that began with a three-touchdown game against the Boston Yanks in week six. His 13 receiving touchdowns led the league, and he earned his second straight first-team All-NFL selection from the United Press.
Kavanaugh was named to his third straight All-NFL first team in 1948, and he again led the league in receiving touchdowns in 1949, with nine. His most productive single-game yardage performance came in his final season, in 1950 against the Yanks, as he caught eight passes for 177 yards and a touchdown.
Kavanaugh spent a total of eight seasons in Chicago. He spent the majority of his career catching passes from quarterbacks Sid Luckman and Johnny Lujack. He remains the Bears' career leader in touchdown receptions, with 50. He also holds franchise records for highest career and single season yards-per-reception. His 13 touchdown receptions in 1947 is a single season Bears record he shares with Dick Gordon, who tied it in 1970.
In 1969, Kavanaugh was voted by sportswriters to the NFL 1940s All-Decade Team. The Professional Football Researchers Association named Kavanaugh to the PRFA Hall of Very Good Class of 2009
Coaching career and later life
After he retired from playing, he remained with the Bears for the 1951 season as an ends coach. He was hired by Boston College in 1952 to serve in the same position, until his resignation in 1954. After serving as an assistant at Villanova in 1954, Kavanaugh was hired by the New York Giants in 1955 as ends coach and continued in that position until 1970. He became a scout for the Giants in 1971, serving until his retirement from football in 1999.
His son, Ken Kavanaugh Jr. played at LSU as a tight end. He was drafted by the Giants in the 1972 NFL Draft but did not play professionally.
Kavanaugh died of complications from pneumonia on January 25, 2007, in Sarasota, Florida.
See also
List of National Football League annual receiving touchdowns leaders
List of NCAA major college football yearly receiving leaders
References
Bibliography
External links
1916 births
2007 deaths
American football ends
Chicago Bears players
LSU Tigers football players
Boston College Eagles football coaches
Villanova Wildcats football coaches
New York Giants coaches
New York Giants scouts
All-American college football players
College Football Hall of Fame inductees
United States Army Air Forces pilots of World War II
United States Army Air Forces officers
Recipients of the Air Medal
Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States)
Sportspeople from Little Rock, Arkansas
Players of American football from Arkansas
Deaths from pneumonia in Florida | true | [
"Ashley Estes Kavanaugh (born November 4, 1974) is an American public official and former political aide. She has been married since 2004 to Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States Brett Kavanaugh.\n\nEarly life and education \nKavanaugh was born in Abilene, Texas. She graduated from Abilene Cooper High School in 1993, where she was a member of the Student Council for three years and played golf for three years. She attended the University of Texas at Austin, beginning in 1993, and graduated in 1997 with a Bachelor of Journalism degree.\n\nIn 2004, she married fellow West Wing staff member Brett Kavanaugh. Both President Bush and First Lady Laura Bush attended the wedding ceremony in Georgetown, Washington, D.C.\n\nCareer\nKavanaugh served as an assistant to George W. Bush from 1996 through 1999, during his tenure as Governor of Texas and in the George W. Bush 2000 presidential campaign. When Bush became President in January 2001, Kavanaugh took the position of Personal Secretary to the President, serving in the position until 2004.\n\nKavanaugh was Director of Special Projects at the George W. Bush Presidential Foundation from 2005 to 2009, and then Media Relations Coordinator at the George W. Bush Presidential Center from 2009 to 2010.\n\nSince 2016, Kavanaugh has served as town manager of the village of Chevy Chase Section Five, Maryland.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links \n\n \n\nPersonal secretaries to the President of the United States\nMoody College of Communication alumni\nTexas Republicans\nLiving people\nPeople from Abilene, Texas\nGeorge W. Bush administration personnel\n20th-century American women\n21st-century American women\n1974 births",
"Patrick Kavanaugh (October 20, 1954 - April 2, 2018) was a composer, conductor, and the author of many books, including Music of the Spheres (Four Brothers Publishing), The Spiritual Lives of the Great Composers (Zondervan), Worship - A Way of Life (Baker Books), Raising Musical Kids (Vine Books), Music of the Great Composers (Zondervan), and Spiritual Moments with the Great Composers (Zondervan), The Music of Angels; A Listener's Guide to Sacred Music, from Chant to Christian Rock (Loyola Press), and Devotions from the World of Music (Cook).\n\nFrom 1984 until his death, he served as the executive director of the Christian Performing Artists' Fellowship. He was also the artistic director of the Masterworks festival, and the conductor of the Symphony of the Lakes.\n\nPatrick Kavanaugh's musical education included a Doctor of Musical Arts and a Master of Music (both from the University of Maryland), and a Bachelor of Music from the Catholic University of America School of Music. He also did extensive Post-Doctoral work in musicology, music theory, and conducting. His teachers included Earle Brown, Conrad Bernier, Mark Wilson, and Lloyd Geisler. As a composer, he currently has eighteen compositions published by Carl Fischer Music, and licensed by Broadcast Music Incorporated. Kavanaugh has composed in a wide variety of genre, from orchestral to chamber music, from opera to electronic music.\n\nHe resided near Winona Lake, Indiana, with his wife, Barbara - a cellist. He died from a heart attack on April 2, 2018.\n\nReferences \n\n• Kavanaugh, Patrick. The Story of the Christian Performing Artists' Fellowship. Winona Lake, IN. Christian Performing Artists' Fellowship.\n\n• The Christian Performing Artists' Fellowship. (2006) MasterWorks Festival Brochure. Winona Lake, IN. Christian Performing Artists' Fellowship.\n\n• Kavanaugh, Patrick: Music of the Spheres. (2011) Four Brothers Publishing.\n\n• Kavanaugh, Patrick: The Spiritual Lives of the Great Composers (1992, 1996) Zondervan.\n\n• Kavanaugh, Patrick: Worship – A Way of Life. (2001) Baker Books.\n\n• Kavanaugh, Patrick: Raising Musical Kids. (1995) Servant Books.\n\n• Kavanaugh, Patrick: Music of the Great Composers. (1993, 1996) Zondervan.\n\n• Kavanaugh, Patrick: Spiritual Moments with the Great Composers. (1995) Zondervan.\n\n• Kavanaugh, Patrick: The Music of Angels. (1999) Loyola Press.\n\n• Kavanaugh, Patrick: Devotions from the World of Music. (2000) Cook Publications.\n\nExternal links \n http://www.PatrickKavanaugh.com\n http://www.MasterWorksFestival.org\n http://www.ChristianPerformingArt.org\n http://www.SymphonyoftheLakes.com\n\n1954 births\n2018 deaths\nAmerican classical musicians\nAmerican composers\nAmerican conductors (music)\nAmerican male conductors (music)\nAmerican electronic musicians\nAmerican male composers\nAmerican male writers\nAmerican music educators\nBenjamin T. Rome School of Music, Drama, and Art alumni"
] |
[
"Ken Kavanaugh",
"Early life and college",
"Where did Kavanaugh spend his early life?",
"Kavanaugh was born in Little Rock, Arkansas. He graduated from Little Rock Central High School in 1936."
] | C_8fabeb6b8e844c77b2497d6a8c9ca1e1_1 | Did he play football in high school? | 2 | Did Kavanaugh play football in high school? | Ken Kavanaugh | Kavanaugh was born in Little Rock, Arkansas. He graduated from Little Rock Central High School in 1936. Kavanaugh arrived at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana in 1936 and joined the LSU football varsity team in 1937. As an end, he was quickly able to fill the void in the offense left by the departure of two-time All-American Gaynell Tinsley. At 6 feet 3 inches (1.91 m), Kavanaugh was a large receiver for his time, and used his size to outreach defenders. Bernie Moore, Kavanaugh's head coach at LSU, said Kavanaugh "was a pass completer rather than a receiver, simply because he'd catch passes no one else could get to." He was named to the Associated Press (AP) All-Southeastern Conference (SEC) second alternate team after the 1937 season. In 1938, the AP named him a first-team All-SEC selection, and he was a second-team selection by the United Press. In 1939, in a game against Holy Cross, Kavanaugh caught four touchdown passes in the 26-7 win. According to Kavanaugh and teammate Young Bussey, Kavanaugh found four rusty nails on the sideline during the game. The next week against Rice, he found another nail and scored another touchdown to give LSU a 7-0 win. The pattern continued against Loyola and Vanderbilt, as Kavanaugh found two nails before each game and in each scored two touchdowns. A sportswriter for the Baton Rouge Advocate claimed he saw coach Bernie Moore at a local store stocking up on nails before LSU's game against No. 1 Tennessee. Kavanaugh failed to score in the game, however, as the Tigers lost 20-0. The Nashville Banner named Kavanaugh co-MVP of the Southeastern Conference for 1939 along with Bob Foxx of Tennessee. Kavanaugh was a consensus All-America selection for the 1939 All-America Team, being named to the team by five of the nine official selectors. He was also awarded the Knute Rockne Memorial Trophy by the Washington D.C. Touchdown Club as the nation's lineman of the year, and finished seventh in Heisman Trophy balloting. CANNOTANSWER | Kavanaugh arrived at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana in 1936 and joined the LSU football varsity team in 1937. | Kenneth William Kavanaugh (November 23, 1916 – January 25, 2007) was an American football player, coach, and scout. He played professionally in the National Football League (NFL) for the Chicago Bears as an end from 1940 to 1950, except for three seasons during which he served in World War II. He led the league in receiving touchdowns twice, and is a member of the NFL 1940s All-Decade Team. He is the Bears' all-time leader in receiving touchdowns, with 50.
Kavanaugh played college football at Louisiana State University for the LSU Tigers, where he was named most valuable player of the Southeastern Conference and a consensus All-American in 1939 after leading the nation in receptions and receiving yards. He was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1963.
Early life and college
Kavanaugh was born in Little Rock, Arkansas. He graduated from Little Rock Central High School in 1936.
Kavanaugh arrived at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana in 1936 and joined the LSU football varsity team in 1937. As an end, he was quickly able to fill the void in the offense left by the departure of two-time All-American Gaynell Tinsley. At , Kavanaugh was a large receiver for his time, and used his size to outreach defenders. Bernie Moore, Kavanaugh's head coach at LSU, said Kavanaugh "was a pass completer rather than a receiver, simply because he'd catch passes no one else could get to." He was named to the Associated Press (AP) All-Southeastern Conference (SEC) second alternate team after the 1937 season. In 1938, the AP named him a first-team All-SEC selection, and he was a second-team selection by the United Press.
In 1939, in a game against Holy Cross, Kavanaugh caught four touchdown passes in the 26–7 win. According to Kavanaugh and teammate Young Bussey, Kavanaugh found four rusty nails on the sideline during the game. The next week against Rice, he found another nail and scored another touchdown to give LSU a 7–0 win. The pattern continued against Loyola and Vanderbilt, as Kavanaugh found two nails before each game and in each scored two touchdowns. A sportswriter for the Baton Rouge Advocate claimed he saw coach Bernie Moore at a local store stocking up on nails before LSU's game against No. 1 Tennessee. Kavanaugh failed to score in the game, however, as the Tigers lost 20–0.
The Nashville Banner named Kavanaugh co-MVP of the Southeastern Conference for 1939 along with Bob Foxx of Tennessee. Kavanaugh was a consensus All-America selection for the 1939 All-America Team, being named to the team by five of the nine official selectors. He was also awarded the Knute Rockne Memorial Trophy by the Washington D.C. Touchdown Club as the nation's lineman of the year, and finished seventh in Heisman Trophy balloting.
Professional
Pre-war
After college, Kavanaugh signed a minor league baseball contract with the St. Louis Cardinals organization for $300 a month. He later signed with the NFL's Chicago Bears after striking a deal with Bears owner George Halas for $300 a game. He played for the Bears during a period in which they were nicknamed the Monsters of the Midway. In the 1940 NFL Championship Game, the Bears defeated the Washington Redskins 73–0, the most lopsided victory in NFL history. Kavanaugh caught the game's only touchdown pass, a 30-yard reception from quarterback Sid Luckman shortly before halftime. The next season, the Bears won the 1941 NFL Championship Game, as they defeated the New York Giants 39–7 and repeated as NFL champions. The final score in the game was a fumble recovery by Kavanaugh on defense, returning the ball 42 yards for a touchdown. In his first two seasons with the Bears, Kavanaugh compiled 23 receptions for 590 yards and nine touchdowns.
World War II
Kavanaugh's career was interrupted by World War II, in which he was a pilot in the European theater. He was a member of the Eighth Air Force's 490th Bombardment Group and 851st Bombardment Squadron, and attained the rank of captain. He flew 30 missions and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal with four oak leaf clusters. Former LSU and Bears teammate Young Bussey was the Bears' only casualty in the war.
Post-war
After the war, he continued his career with the Bears. In 1945 he had 543 yards and six touchdowns, and in 1946 had 337 yards and five touchdowns. Three of his touchdowns in 1946 came in a 27–21 win over the Los Angeles Rams in week seven. The Bears defeated the New York Giants 24–14 in the 1946 NFL Championship Game, which gave Kavanaugh his third league championship with the team. The first touchdown of the game was a 21-yard pass from Luckman to Kavanaugh. After the season, he was named to the United Press All-NFL first team. Kavanaugh had his most productive season statistically in 1947. He had career highs with 32 receptions, 881 yards, and 13 touchdowns. He set a Bears record by recording a receiving touchdown in seven straight games, a streak that began with a three-touchdown game against the Boston Yanks in week six. His 13 receiving touchdowns led the league, and he earned his second straight first-team All-NFL selection from the United Press.
Kavanaugh was named to his third straight All-NFL first team in 1948, and he again led the league in receiving touchdowns in 1949, with nine. His most productive single-game yardage performance came in his final season, in 1950 against the Yanks, as he caught eight passes for 177 yards and a touchdown.
Kavanaugh spent a total of eight seasons in Chicago. He spent the majority of his career catching passes from quarterbacks Sid Luckman and Johnny Lujack. He remains the Bears' career leader in touchdown receptions, with 50. He also holds franchise records for highest career and single season yards-per-reception. His 13 touchdown receptions in 1947 is a single season Bears record he shares with Dick Gordon, who tied it in 1970.
In 1969, Kavanaugh was voted by sportswriters to the NFL 1940s All-Decade Team. The Professional Football Researchers Association named Kavanaugh to the PRFA Hall of Very Good Class of 2009
Coaching career and later life
After he retired from playing, he remained with the Bears for the 1951 season as an ends coach. He was hired by Boston College in 1952 to serve in the same position, until his resignation in 1954. After serving as an assistant at Villanova in 1954, Kavanaugh was hired by the New York Giants in 1955 as ends coach and continued in that position until 1970. He became a scout for the Giants in 1971, serving until his retirement from football in 1999.
His son, Ken Kavanaugh Jr. played at LSU as a tight end. He was drafted by the Giants in the 1972 NFL Draft but did not play professionally.
Kavanaugh died of complications from pneumonia on January 25, 2007, in Sarasota, Florida.
See also
List of National Football League annual receiving touchdowns leaders
List of NCAA major college football yearly receiving leaders
References
Bibliography
External links
1916 births
2007 deaths
American football ends
Chicago Bears players
LSU Tigers football players
Boston College Eagles football coaches
Villanova Wildcats football coaches
New York Giants coaches
New York Giants scouts
All-American college football players
College Football Hall of Fame inductees
United States Army Air Forces pilots of World War II
United States Army Air Forces officers
Recipients of the Air Medal
Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States)
Sportspeople from Little Rock, Arkansas
Players of American football from Arkansas
Deaths from pneumonia in Florida | true | [
"Eric Coss (born June 12, 1963) is a former American football center who played one season for the New York Jets. He was also a top wrestler in college. He was a replacement player.\n\nEarly life\nEric Coss was born on June 12, 1963.\n\nHigh School and College career\n\nHigh School\nHe went to High School at Bethel Park (PA). In high school he was his team's captain. He led them to the 1980 WPIAL Championship game. He was also a two-time All-Conference selection. He was also a wrestler in high school. He was a two-time regional champion. He was also a letterman in track. He went to college at Temple University. He was ranked as a top-15 wrestler in his senior year.\n\nAwards and Honors\n\nHigh School\nBethel Park Athletic Hall of Fame (2011)\n\nFootball\nTwo-Time All-Conference Selection (1980s)\nTeam Captain (1980s)\nBig 33 Game (1980)\n\nWrestling\nTwo-Time Regional Champion (1980s)\n\nCollege\n\nWrestling\nTop-15 Ranked Wrestler (1985)\n\nProfessional career\nCoss was drafted in the 1986 USFL Territorial Draft by the Baltimore Stars but he did not play for them. He also signed with the Dallas Cowboys but did not play for them either. In 1987 he played with the New York Jets as a replacement player and played in 3 games.\n\nLater life\nIn 2011, he was inducted into the Bethel Park Athletic Hall of Fame. His son, Colton, played college football at Pomona College.\n\nReferences\n\n1963 births\nLiving people\nNew York Jets players\nAmerican football centers\nTemple Owls football players\nNational Football League replacement players",
"Michael Eugene Wells (born June 18, 1951) is a former NFL quarterback who played briefly in 1977. He was originally drafted in 1973 by the Minnesota Vikings but did not appear in a Vikings regular-season game. He played for the Cincinnati Bengals in 1977 but saw very limited action.\n\nWells was a high-school football All American at Normal Community High School in Normal, Illinois before going on to play college football at the University of Illinois. He was an all-Big Ten Conference selection in 1972 before being drafted in the fourth round by Minnesota. A three-sport star in high school, he was also selected by the San Diego Padres in the 1969 Major League Baseball Draft, but did not sign and never played professional baseball.\n\n1951 births\nLiving people\nAmerican football quarterbacks\nIllinois Fighting Illini football players\nCincinnati Bengals players"
] |
[
"Ken Kavanaugh",
"Early life and college",
"Where did Kavanaugh spend his early life?",
"Kavanaugh was born in Little Rock, Arkansas. He graduated from Little Rock Central High School in 1936.",
"Did he play football in high school?",
"Kavanaugh arrived at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana in 1936 and joined the LSU football varsity team in 1937."
] | C_8fabeb6b8e844c77b2497d6a8c9ca1e1_1 | What position did he play during college? | 3 | What position did Kavanaugh play during college? | Ken Kavanaugh | Kavanaugh was born in Little Rock, Arkansas. He graduated from Little Rock Central High School in 1936. Kavanaugh arrived at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana in 1936 and joined the LSU football varsity team in 1937. As an end, he was quickly able to fill the void in the offense left by the departure of two-time All-American Gaynell Tinsley. At 6 feet 3 inches (1.91 m), Kavanaugh was a large receiver for his time, and used his size to outreach defenders. Bernie Moore, Kavanaugh's head coach at LSU, said Kavanaugh "was a pass completer rather than a receiver, simply because he'd catch passes no one else could get to." He was named to the Associated Press (AP) All-Southeastern Conference (SEC) second alternate team after the 1937 season. In 1938, the AP named him a first-team All-SEC selection, and he was a second-team selection by the United Press. In 1939, in a game against Holy Cross, Kavanaugh caught four touchdown passes in the 26-7 win. According to Kavanaugh and teammate Young Bussey, Kavanaugh found four rusty nails on the sideline during the game. The next week against Rice, he found another nail and scored another touchdown to give LSU a 7-0 win. The pattern continued against Loyola and Vanderbilt, as Kavanaugh found two nails before each game and in each scored two touchdowns. A sportswriter for the Baton Rouge Advocate claimed he saw coach Bernie Moore at a local store stocking up on nails before LSU's game against No. 1 Tennessee. Kavanaugh failed to score in the game, however, as the Tigers lost 20-0. The Nashville Banner named Kavanaugh co-MVP of the Southeastern Conference for 1939 along with Bob Foxx of Tennessee. Kavanaugh was a consensus All-America selection for the 1939 All-America Team, being named to the team by five of the nine official selectors. He was also awarded the Knute Rockne Memorial Trophy by the Washington D.C. Touchdown Club as the nation's lineman of the year, and finished seventh in Heisman Trophy balloting. CANNOTANSWER | At 6 feet 3 inches (1.91 m), Kavanaugh was a large receiver for his time, and used his size to outreach defenders. | Kenneth William Kavanaugh (November 23, 1916 – January 25, 2007) was an American football player, coach, and scout. He played professionally in the National Football League (NFL) for the Chicago Bears as an end from 1940 to 1950, except for three seasons during which he served in World War II. He led the league in receiving touchdowns twice, and is a member of the NFL 1940s All-Decade Team. He is the Bears' all-time leader in receiving touchdowns, with 50.
Kavanaugh played college football at Louisiana State University for the LSU Tigers, where he was named most valuable player of the Southeastern Conference and a consensus All-American in 1939 after leading the nation in receptions and receiving yards. He was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1963.
Early life and college
Kavanaugh was born in Little Rock, Arkansas. He graduated from Little Rock Central High School in 1936.
Kavanaugh arrived at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana in 1936 and joined the LSU football varsity team in 1937. As an end, he was quickly able to fill the void in the offense left by the departure of two-time All-American Gaynell Tinsley. At , Kavanaugh was a large receiver for his time, and used his size to outreach defenders. Bernie Moore, Kavanaugh's head coach at LSU, said Kavanaugh "was a pass completer rather than a receiver, simply because he'd catch passes no one else could get to." He was named to the Associated Press (AP) All-Southeastern Conference (SEC) second alternate team after the 1937 season. In 1938, the AP named him a first-team All-SEC selection, and he was a second-team selection by the United Press.
In 1939, in a game against Holy Cross, Kavanaugh caught four touchdown passes in the 26–7 win. According to Kavanaugh and teammate Young Bussey, Kavanaugh found four rusty nails on the sideline during the game. The next week against Rice, he found another nail and scored another touchdown to give LSU a 7–0 win. The pattern continued against Loyola and Vanderbilt, as Kavanaugh found two nails before each game and in each scored two touchdowns. A sportswriter for the Baton Rouge Advocate claimed he saw coach Bernie Moore at a local store stocking up on nails before LSU's game against No. 1 Tennessee. Kavanaugh failed to score in the game, however, as the Tigers lost 20–0.
The Nashville Banner named Kavanaugh co-MVP of the Southeastern Conference for 1939 along with Bob Foxx of Tennessee. Kavanaugh was a consensus All-America selection for the 1939 All-America Team, being named to the team by five of the nine official selectors. He was also awarded the Knute Rockne Memorial Trophy by the Washington D.C. Touchdown Club as the nation's lineman of the year, and finished seventh in Heisman Trophy balloting.
Professional
Pre-war
After college, Kavanaugh signed a minor league baseball contract with the St. Louis Cardinals organization for $300 a month. He later signed with the NFL's Chicago Bears after striking a deal with Bears owner George Halas for $300 a game. He played for the Bears during a period in which they were nicknamed the Monsters of the Midway. In the 1940 NFL Championship Game, the Bears defeated the Washington Redskins 73–0, the most lopsided victory in NFL history. Kavanaugh caught the game's only touchdown pass, a 30-yard reception from quarterback Sid Luckman shortly before halftime. The next season, the Bears won the 1941 NFL Championship Game, as they defeated the New York Giants 39–7 and repeated as NFL champions. The final score in the game was a fumble recovery by Kavanaugh on defense, returning the ball 42 yards for a touchdown. In his first two seasons with the Bears, Kavanaugh compiled 23 receptions for 590 yards and nine touchdowns.
World War II
Kavanaugh's career was interrupted by World War II, in which he was a pilot in the European theater. He was a member of the Eighth Air Force's 490th Bombardment Group and 851st Bombardment Squadron, and attained the rank of captain. He flew 30 missions and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal with four oak leaf clusters. Former LSU and Bears teammate Young Bussey was the Bears' only casualty in the war.
Post-war
After the war, he continued his career with the Bears. In 1945 he had 543 yards and six touchdowns, and in 1946 had 337 yards and five touchdowns. Three of his touchdowns in 1946 came in a 27–21 win over the Los Angeles Rams in week seven. The Bears defeated the New York Giants 24–14 in the 1946 NFL Championship Game, which gave Kavanaugh his third league championship with the team. The first touchdown of the game was a 21-yard pass from Luckman to Kavanaugh. After the season, he was named to the United Press All-NFL first team. Kavanaugh had his most productive season statistically in 1947. He had career highs with 32 receptions, 881 yards, and 13 touchdowns. He set a Bears record by recording a receiving touchdown in seven straight games, a streak that began with a three-touchdown game against the Boston Yanks in week six. His 13 receiving touchdowns led the league, and he earned his second straight first-team All-NFL selection from the United Press.
Kavanaugh was named to his third straight All-NFL first team in 1948, and he again led the league in receiving touchdowns in 1949, with nine. His most productive single-game yardage performance came in his final season, in 1950 against the Yanks, as he caught eight passes for 177 yards and a touchdown.
Kavanaugh spent a total of eight seasons in Chicago. He spent the majority of his career catching passes from quarterbacks Sid Luckman and Johnny Lujack. He remains the Bears' career leader in touchdown receptions, with 50. He also holds franchise records for highest career and single season yards-per-reception. His 13 touchdown receptions in 1947 is a single season Bears record he shares with Dick Gordon, who tied it in 1970.
In 1969, Kavanaugh was voted by sportswriters to the NFL 1940s All-Decade Team. The Professional Football Researchers Association named Kavanaugh to the PRFA Hall of Very Good Class of 2009
Coaching career and later life
After he retired from playing, he remained with the Bears for the 1951 season as an ends coach. He was hired by Boston College in 1952 to serve in the same position, until his resignation in 1954. After serving as an assistant at Villanova in 1954, Kavanaugh was hired by the New York Giants in 1955 as ends coach and continued in that position until 1970. He became a scout for the Giants in 1971, serving until his retirement from football in 1999.
His son, Ken Kavanaugh Jr. played at LSU as a tight end. He was drafted by the Giants in the 1972 NFL Draft but did not play professionally.
Kavanaugh died of complications from pneumonia on January 25, 2007, in Sarasota, Florida.
See also
List of National Football League annual receiving touchdowns leaders
List of NCAA major college football yearly receiving leaders
References
Bibliography
External links
1916 births
2007 deaths
American football ends
Chicago Bears players
LSU Tigers football players
Boston College Eagles football coaches
Villanova Wildcats football coaches
New York Giants coaches
New York Giants scouts
All-American college football players
College Football Hall of Fame inductees
United States Army Air Forces pilots of World War II
United States Army Air Forces officers
Recipients of the Air Medal
Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States)
Sportspeople from Little Rock, Arkansas
Players of American football from Arkansas
Deaths from pneumonia in Florida | false | [
"Nelson Raymond Greene (October 7, 1922 – October 2, 2004) was an American football player who played at the tackle position on both offense and defense. He played college football for Tulsa and professional football for the New York Yankees in 1949.\n\nEarly years\nGreene was born in 1922 in Yukno or Shawnee, Oklahoma. He attended Shawnee High School in Oklahoma.\n\nCollege football and military service\nGreene played college football at Tulsa in 1942, 1946, and 1947. His college career was interrupted by service in the United States Marine Corps during World War II. In his final year of college football, he accepted an invitation to play in the 1948 East-West Shrine Game in San Francisco.\n\nProfessional football\nHe was drafted by the New York Giants in the fifth round (34th overall pick) of the 1947 NFL Draft but did not play for the Giants. Instead, he played in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) for the New York Yankees during their 1948 season, appearing in a total of 13 games. He also appeared in nine games for the Paterson Panthers in 1949.\n\nLater years\nHe died in 2004 in Shawnee, Oklahoma, at age 81.\n\nReferences\n\n1922 births\n2004 deaths\nNew York Yankees (AAFC) players\nTulsa Golden Hurricane football players\nPlayers of American football from Oklahoma\nPeople from Shawnee, Oklahoma\nUnited States Marine Corps personnel of World War II",
"George John Kisiday (April 16, 1923 – November 8, 1970) was an American football player who played at the end position. He played college football for Duquesne and Columbia and professional football for the Buffalo Bills and Jersey City Giants.\n\nEarly years\nKisiday was born in 1923 in Ambridge, Pennsylvania. He attended and played football at Ambridge High School.\n\nCollege football and military service\nKisiday played college football for Duquesne at the end position in 1942 and 1947. His college career was interrupted by service in the United States Army during World War II. He transferred to Columbia in 1947 and played at the tackle position for Lou Little's 1947 Columbia Lions football team that was ranked No. 20 in the final AP Poll.\n\nProfessional football\nHe was selected by the New York Giants in the 22nd round (196th overall pick) of the 1947 NFL Draft but did not play for the Giants. Kisiday instead signed in February 1948 to play for the Buffalo Bills of the All-America Football Conference (AAFC). He was recommended to the Bills by Columbia coach Little. He played for the Bills during their 1948 season and appeared in 14 games. He also played in the American Football League for the Jersey City Giants in 1949.\n\nFamily and later years\nAfter his playing career ended, he was hired as an assistant football coach at North Catholic High School in Pittsburgh. He later served as the line coach at the University of Bridgeport. After his coaching career, he served as the recreation director in Ambridge. \n\nKisiday suffered a heart attack in 1962. He subsequently died of an apparent heart attack in 1970 at age 47 in Ambridge.\n\nReferences\n\n1923 births\n1970 deaths\nBuffalo Bills (AAFC) players\nDuquesne Dukes football players\nColumbia Lions football players\nPlayers of American football from Pennsylvania\nPeople from Ambridge, Pennsylvania\nAmerican football ends\nUnited States Army personnel of World War II"
] |
[
"Ken Kavanaugh",
"Early life and college",
"Where did Kavanaugh spend his early life?",
"Kavanaugh was born in Little Rock, Arkansas. He graduated from Little Rock Central High School in 1936.",
"Did he play football in high school?",
"Kavanaugh arrived at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana in 1936 and joined the LSU football varsity team in 1937.",
"What position did he play during college?",
"At 6 feet 3 inches (1.91 m), Kavanaugh was a large receiver for his time, and used his size to outreach defenders."
] | C_8fabeb6b8e844c77b2497d6a8c9ca1e1_1 | Were there any memorable games during his college years? | 4 | Were there any memorable games during Kavanaugh'd college years? | Ken Kavanaugh | Kavanaugh was born in Little Rock, Arkansas. He graduated from Little Rock Central High School in 1936. Kavanaugh arrived at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana in 1936 and joined the LSU football varsity team in 1937. As an end, he was quickly able to fill the void in the offense left by the departure of two-time All-American Gaynell Tinsley. At 6 feet 3 inches (1.91 m), Kavanaugh was a large receiver for his time, and used his size to outreach defenders. Bernie Moore, Kavanaugh's head coach at LSU, said Kavanaugh "was a pass completer rather than a receiver, simply because he'd catch passes no one else could get to." He was named to the Associated Press (AP) All-Southeastern Conference (SEC) second alternate team after the 1937 season. In 1938, the AP named him a first-team All-SEC selection, and he was a second-team selection by the United Press. In 1939, in a game against Holy Cross, Kavanaugh caught four touchdown passes in the 26-7 win. According to Kavanaugh and teammate Young Bussey, Kavanaugh found four rusty nails on the sideline during the game. The next week against Rice, he found another nail and scored another touchdown to give LSU a 7-0 win. The pattern continued against Loyola and Vanderbilt, as Kavanaugh found two nails before each game and in each scored two touchdowns. A sportswriter for the Baton Rouge Advocate claimed he saw coach Bernie Moore at a local store stocking up on nails before LSU's game against No. 1 Tennessee. Kavanaugh failed to score in the game, however, as the Tigers lost 20-0. The Nashville Banner named Kavanaugh co-MVP of the Southeastern Conference for 1939 along with Bob Foxx of Tennessee. Kavanaugh was a consensus All-America selection for the 1939 All-America Team, being named to the team by five of the nine official selectors. He was also awarded the Knute Rockne Memorial Trophy by the Washington D.C. Touchdown Club as the nation's lineman of the year, and finished seventh in Heisman Trophy balloting. CANNOTANSWER | He was named to the Associated Press (AP) All-Southeastern Conference (SEC) second alternate team after the 1937 season. | Kenneth William Kavanaugh (November 23, 1916 – January 25, 2007) was an American football player, coach, and scout. He played professionally in the National Football League (NFL) for the Chicago Bears as an end from 1940 to 1950, except for three seasons during which he served in World War II. He led the league in receiving touchdowns twice, and is a member of the NFL 1940s All-Decade Team. He is the Bears' all-time leader in receiving touchdowns, with 50.
Kavanaugh played college football at Louisiana State University for the LSU Tigers, where he was named most valuable player of the Southeastern Conference and a consensus All-American in 1939 after leading the nation in receptions and receiving yards. He was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1963.
Early life and college
Kavanaugh was born in Little Rock, Arkansas. He graduated from Little Rock Central High School in 1936.
Kavanaugh arrived at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana in 1936 and joined the LSU football varsity team in 1937. As an end, he was quickly able to fill the void in the offense left by the departure of two-time All-American Gaynell Tinsley. At , Kavanaugh was a large receiver for his time, and used his size to outreach defenders. Bernie Moore, Kavanaugh's head coach at LSU, said Kavanaugh "was a pass completer rather than a receiver, simply because he'd catch passes no one else could get to." He was named to the Associated Press (AP) All-Southeastern Conference (SEC) second alternate team after the 1937 season. In 1938, the AP named him a first-team All-SEC selection, and he was a second-team selection by the United Press.
In 1939, in a game against Holy Cross, Kavanaugh caught four touchdown passes in the 26–7 win. According to Kavanaugh and teammate Young Bussey, Kavanaugh found four rusty nails on the sideline during the game. The next week against Rice, he found another nail and scored another touchdown to give LSU a 7–0 win. The pattern continued against Loyola and Vanderbilt, as Kavanaugh found two nails before each game and in each scored two touchdowns. A sportswriter for the Baton Rouge Advocate claimed he saw coach Bernie Moore at a local store stocking up on nails before LSU's game against No. 1 Tennessee. Kavanaugh failed to score in the game, however, as the Tigers lost 20–0.
The Nashville Banner named Kavanaugh co-MVP of the Southeastern Conference for 1939 along with Bob Foxx of Tennessee. Kavanaugh was a consensus All-America selection for the 1939 All-America Team, being named to the team by five of the nine official selectors. He was also awarded the Knute Rockne Memorial Trophy by the Washington D.C. Touchdown Club as the nation's lineman of the year, and finished seventh in Heisman Trophy balloting.
Professional
Pre-war
After college, Kavanaugh signed a minor league baseball contract with the St. Louis Cardinals organization for $300 a month. He later signed with the NFL's Chicago Bears after striking a deal with Bears owner George Halas for $300 a game. He played for the Bears during a period in which they were nicknamed the Monsters of the Midway. In the 1940 NFL Championship Game, the Bears defeated the Washington Redskins 73–0, the most lopsided victory in NFL history. Kavanaugh caught the game's only touchdown pass, a 30-yard reception from quarterback Sid Luckman shortly before halftime. The next season, the Bears won the 1941 NFL Championship Game, as they defeated the New York Giants 39–7 and repeated as NFL champions. The final score in the game was a fumble recovery by Kavanaugh on defense, returning the ball 42 yards for a touchdown. In his first two seasons with the Bears, Kavanaugh compiled 23 receptions for 590 yards and nine touchdowns.
World War II
Kavanaugh's career was interrupted by World War II, in which he was a pilot in the European theater. He was a member of the Eighth Air Force's 490th Bombardment Group and 851st Bombardment Squadron, and attained the rank of captain. He flew 30 missions and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal with four oak leaf clusters. Former LSU and Bears teammate Young Bussey was the Bears' only casualty in the war.
Post-war
After the war, he continued his career with the Bears. In 1945 he had 543 yards and six touchdowns, and in 1946 had 337 yards and five touchdowns. Three of his touchdowns in 1946 came in a 27–21 win over the Los Angeles Rams in week seven. The Bears defeated the New York Giants 24–14 in the 1946 NFL Championship Game, which gave Kavanaugh his third league championship with the team. The first touchdown of the game was a 21-yard pass from Luckman to Kavanaugh. After the season, he was named to the United Press All-NFL first team. Kavanaugh had his most productive season statistically in 1947. He had career highs with 32 receptions, 881 yards, and 13 touchdowns. He set a Bears record by recording a receiving touchdown in seven straight games, a streak that began with a three-touchdown game against the Boston Yanks in week six. His 13 receiving touchdowns led the league, and he earned his second straight first-team All-NFL selection from the United Press.
Kavanaugh was named to his third straight All-NFL first team in 1948, and he again led the league in receiving touchdowns in 1949, with nine. His most productive single-game yardage performance came in his final season, in 1950 against the Yanks, as he caught eight passes for 177 yards and a touchdown.
Kavanaugh spent a total of eight seasons in Chicago. He spent the majority of his career catching passes from quarterbacks Sid Luckman and Johnny Lujack. He remains the Bears' career leader in touchdown receptions, with 50. He also holds franchise records for highest career and single season yards-per-reception. His 13 touchdown receptions in 1947 is a single season Bears record he shares with Dick Gordon, who tied it in 1970.
In 1969, Kavanaugh was voted by sportswriters to the NFL 1940s All-Decade Team. The Professional Football Researchers Association named Kavanaugh to the PRFA Hall of Very Good Class of 2009
Coaching career and later life
After he retired from playing, he remained with the Bears for the 1951 season as an ends coach. He was hired by Boston College in 1952 to serve in the same position, until his resignation in 1954. After serving as an assistant at Villanova in 1954, Kavanaugh was hired by the New York Giants in 1955 as ends coach and continued in that position until 1970. He became a scout for the Giants in 1971, serving until his retirement from football in 1999.
His son, Ken Kavanaugh Jr. played at LSU as a tight end. He was drafted by the Giants in the 1972 NFL Draft but did not play professionally.
Kavanaugh died of complications from pneumonia on January 25, 2007, in Sarasota, Florida.
See also
List of National Football League annual receiving touchdowns leaders
List of NCAA major college football yearly receiving leaders
References
Bibliography
External links
1916 births
2007 deaths
American football ends
Chicago Bears players
LSU Tigers football players
Boston College Eagles football coaches
Villanova Wildcats football coaches
New York Giants coaches
New York Giants scouts
All-American college football players
College Football Hall of Fame inductees
United States Army Air Forces pilots of World War II
United States Army Air Forces officers
Recipients of the Air Medal
Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States)
Sportspeople from Little Rock, Arkansas
Players of American football from Arkansas
Deaths from pneumonia in Florida | true | [
"Larry Nemmers (born July 12, 1943) is a retired educator and better known as a former American football official in the National Football League (NFL). Nemmers made his debut as an NFL official in the 1985 season and continued in this role until the end of the 2007 season. Prior to his officiating career, he was a college football player at Upper Iowa University. Nemmers officiated at Super Bowl XXV, as well as several playoff games.\n\nPersonal\n\nEarly years\nLarry Nemmers, the eldest of nine children, is a native of Waterloo, Iowa and a 1960 graduate of Columbus High School in Waterloo. There he was a good friend of future professional baseball player, Virg Erickson. He later attended Upper Iowa University in Fayette, Iowa, graduating in 1965 with a bachelor's degree in biology. Nemmers also has master's degrees in physics and chemistry, which he received at East Texas State University in Commerce, Texas and in educational administration from Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, Illinois.\n\nFamily\nHe and his wife, Sherry, reside in Springfield, Missouri. He has three sons, Shane, Lance, and Brett, from a previous marriage as well as four grandchildren.\n\nEducation career\nNemmers' career in education began in 1965 and retired in 1994. During his time as an educator, he served as a teacher, textbook publisher, assistant principal, and principal. Since his retirement from education, Nemmers has traveled across the country as a motivational speaker. He was principal of Elgin High School in Elgin, IL from 1982 to 1994.\n\nOfficiating career\n\nEarly years\nAs an educator, Nemmers also began his career in officiating. He officiated both high school football and basketball for 18 years and was selected to officiate in four state final championships. Nemmers also served as the Illinois High School rules interpreter for 15 years.\n\nNemmers moved up to college officiating in 1975 and worked in the Big Ten Conference for nine years, working both football and basketball games. During his college football officiating career, Nemmers officiated in the 1984 Rose Bowl.\n\nNFL career\nNemmers began his NFL officiating career in 1985 as a side judge, and was assigned Super Bowl XXV in 1991, his final game at that position before being promoted to referee for the start of the 1991 NFL season after Jerry Seeman and Jim Tunney announced their retirements. As a referee, he was an alternate for Super Bowl XXXV in 2001. He wore uniform number 20 throughout his entire NFL officiating career.\n\nMemorable games\nNemmers has officiated games which involved a player breaking a statistical record. He was the referee in the January 6, 2002 game that saw Dallas Cowboys running back Emmitt Smith accumulate 1,000 yards rushing in 11 consecutive seasons, breaking a record shared with Detroit Lions running back Barry Sanders.\n\nIn another memorable moment, he was the referee in the November 27, 2005 game that saw New York Giants punter Jeff Feagles set the NFL record for consecutive games with 283, breaking the record held by Minnesota Vikings defensive end Jim Marshall.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\nMissouri Sports Hall of Fame (Accessed August 12, 2006).\n\nLiving people\nBasketball referees\nCollege football officials\nNational Football League officials\nUpper Iowa Peacocks football players\nTexas A&M University–Commerce alumni\nSportspeople from Waterloo, Iowa\nCollege men's basketball referees in the United States\n1943 births",
"Patrick Martin Dillingham (born August 16, 1983) is a former American football quarterback who played for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.\n\nEarly years\nDillingham attended St. Francis High School in Mountain View, California. As a senior, he threw for 1,505 yards with 11 touchdowns.\n\nCollege career\nAfter not seeing any game action as a freshman in 2001, Pat played in seven games and started against Stanford during his Sophomore year. During the 2002 season, Dillingham completed 41 of 81 passes for 434 yards with one touchdown and seven interceptions. Dillingham came off the bench replacing an injured Carlyle Holiday to drive a comeback against Michigan State in the final minutes.\n\nHis most memorable play was during the Boston College game. Coming off an 8–0 start, Notre Dame was heavily favored in a home match up against an unranked opponent. Carlyle Holiday sustained a head injury, forcing Dillingham to take over in the first half. Tied at 7, Dillingham was leading a drive and made it to the red zone. On a scoring drive Dillingham threw a shovel pass to a BC linebacker who returned it 71 yards to score. This was ultimately the decisive touchdown as neither team scored in the second half.\n\nIn his Junior season, Dillingham only saw playing time in a single drive against Stanford.\n\nDillingham is currently the founder and CEO of Windy Hill Spirits.\n\nReferences\n\n Rosenblatt, Richard. \"Eagles Shock No. 4 Notre Dame, 14–7\", Associated Press, South Bend, 2 November 2002.\n\nExternal links\n\n1983 births\nLiving people\nAmerican football quarterbacks\nNotre Dame Fighting Irish football players\nPeople from Portola Valley, California"
] |
[
"Ken Kavanaugh",
"Early life and college",
"Where did Kavanaugh spend his early life?",
"Kavanaugh was born in Little Rock, Arkansas. He graduated from Little Rock Central High School in 1936.",
"Did he play football in high school?",
"Kavanaugh arrived at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana in 1936 and joined the LSU football varsity team in 1937.",
"What position did he play during college?",
"At 6 feet 3 inches (1.91 m), Kavanaugh was a large receiver for his time, and used his size to outreach defenders.",
"Were there any memorable games during his college years?",
"He was named to the Associated Press (AP) All-Southeastern Conference (SEC) second alternate team after the 1937 season."
] | C_8fabeb6b8e844c77b2497d6a8c9ca1e1_1 | What did he study in college? | 5 | What did Kavanaugh's study in college? | Ken Kavanaugh | Kavanaugh was born in Little Rock, Arkansas. He graduated from Little Rock Central High School in 1936. Kavanaugh arrived at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana in 1936 and joined the LSU football varsity team in 1937. As an end, he was quickly able to fill the void in the offense left by the departure of two-time All-American Gaynell Tinsley. At 6 feet 3 inches (1.91 m), Kavanaugh was a large receiver for his time, and used his size to outreach defenders. Bernie Moore, Kavanaugh's head coach at LSU, said Kavanaugh "was a pass completer rather than a receiver, simply because he'd catch passes no one else could get to." He was named to the Associated Press (AP) All-Southeastern Conference (SEC) second alternate team after the 1937 season. In 1938, the AP named him a first-team All-SEC selection, and he was a second-team selection by the United Press. In 1939, in a game against Holy Cross, Kavanaugh caught four touchdown passes in the 26-7 win. According to Kavanaugh and teammate Young Bussey, Kavanaugh found four rusty nails on the sideline during the game. The next week against Rice, he found another nail and scored another touchdown to give LSU a 7-0 win. The pattern continued against Loyola and Vanderbilt, as Kavanaugh found two nails before each game and in each scored two touchdowns. A sportswriter for the Baton Rouge Advocate claimed he saw coach Bernie Moore at a local store stocking up on nails before LSU's game against No. 1 Tennessee. Kavanaugh failed to score in the game, however, as the Tigers lost 20-0. The Nashville Banner named Kavanaugh co-MVP of the Southeastern Conference for 1939 along with Bob Foxx of Tennessee. Kavanaugh was a consensus All-America selection for the 1939 All-America Team, being named to the team by five of the nine official selectors. He was also awarded the Knute Rockne Memorial Trophy by the Washington D.C. Touchdown Club as the nation's lineman of the year, and finished seventh in Heisman Trophy balloting. CANNOTANSWER | CANNOTANSWER | Kenneth William Kavanaugh (November 23, 1916 – January 25, 2007) was an American football player, coach, and scout. He played professionally in the National Football League (NFL) for the Chicago Bears as an end from 1940 to 1950, except for three seasons during which he served in World War II. He led the league in receiving touchdowns twice, and is a member of the NFL 1940s All-Decade Team. He is the Bears' all-time leader in receiving touchdowns, with 50.
Kavanaugh played college football at Louisiana State University for the LSU Tigers, where he was named most valuable player of the Southeastern Conference and a consensus All-American in 1939 after leading the nation in receptions and receiving yards. He was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1963.
Early life and college
Kavanaugh was born in Little Rock, Arkansas. He graduated from Little Rock Central High School in 1936.
Kavanaugh arrived at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana in 1936 and joined the LSU football varsity team in 1937. As an end, he was quickly able to fill the void in the offense left by the departure of two-time All-American Gaynell Tinsley. At , Kavanaugh was a large receiver for his time, and used his size to outreach defenders. Bernie Moore, Kavanaugh's head coach at LSU, said Kavanaugh "was a pass completer rather than a receiver, simply because he'd catch passes no one else could get to." He was named to the Associated Press (AP) All-Southeastern Conference (SEC) second alternate team after the 1937 season. In 1938, the AP named him a first-team All-SEC selection, and he was a second-team selection by the United Press.
In 1939, in a game against Holy Cross, Kavanaugh caught four touchdown passes in the 26–7 win. According to Kavanaugh and teammate Young Bussey, Kavanaugh found four rusty nails on the sideline during the game. The next week against Rice, he found another nail and scored another touchdown to give LSU a 7–0 win. The pattern continued against Loyola and Vanderbilt, as Kavanaugh found two nails before each game and in each scored two touchdowns. A sportswriter for the Baton Rouge Advocate claimed he saw coach Bernie Moore at a local store stocking up on nails before LSU's game against No. 1 Tennessee. Kavanaugh failed to score in the game, however, as the Tigers lost 20–0.
The Nashville Banner named Kavanaugh co-MVP of the Southeastern Conference for 1939 along with Bob Foxx of Tennessee. Kavanaugh was a consensus All-America selection for the 1939 All-America Team, being named to the team by five of the nine official selectors. He was also awarded the Knute Rockne Memorial Trophy by the Washington D.C. Touchdown Club as the nation's lineman of the year, and finished seventh in Heisman Trophy balloting.
Professional
Pre-war
After college, Kavanaugh signed a minor league baseball contract with the St. Louis Cardinals organization for $300 a month. He later signed with the NFL's Chicago Bears after striking a deal with Bears owner George Halas for $300 a game. He played for the Bears during a period in which they were nicknamed the Monsters of the Midway. In the 1940 NFL Championship Game, the Bears defeated the Washington Redskins 73–0, the most lopsided victory in NFL history. Kavanaugh caught the game's only touchdown pass, a 30-yard reception from quarterback Sid Luckman shortly before halftime. The next season, the Bears won the 1941 NFL Championship Game, as they defeated the New York Giants 39–7 and repeated as NFL champions. The final score in the game was a fumble recovery by Kavanaugh on defense, returning the ball 42 yards for a touchdown. In his first two seasons with the Bears, Kavanaugh compiled 23 receptions for 590 yards and nine touchdowns.
World War II
Kavanaugh's career was interrupted by World War II, in which he was a pilot in the European theater. He was a member of the Eighth Air Force's 490th Bombardment Group and 851st Bombardment Squadron, and attained the rank of captain. He flew 30 missions and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal with four oak leaf clusters. Former LSU and Bears teammate Young Bussey was the Bears' only casualty in the war.
Post-war
After the war, he continued his career with the Bears. In 1945 he had 543 yards and six touchdowns, and in 1946 had 337 yards and five touchdowns. Three of his touchdowns in 1946 came in a 27–21 win over the Los Angeles Rams in week seven. The Bears defeated the New York Giants 24–14 in the 1946 NFL Championship Game, which gave Kavanaugh his third league championship with the team. The first touchdown of the game was a 21-yard pass from Luckman to Kavanaugh. After the season, he was named to the United Press All-NFL first team. Kavanaugh had his most productive season statistically in 1947. He had career highs with 32 receptions, 881 yards, and 13 touchdowns. He set a Bears record by recording a receiving touchdown in seven straight games, a streak that began with a three-touchdown game against the Boston Yanks in week six. His 13 receiving touchdowns led the league, and he earned his second straight first-team All-NFL selection from the United Press.
Kavanaugh was named to his third straight All-NFL first team in 1948, and he again led the league in receiving touchdowns in 1949, with nine. His most productive single-game yardage performance came in his final season, in 1950 against the Yanks, as he caught eight passes for 177 yards and a touchdown.
Kavanaugh spent a total of eight seasons in Chicago. He spent the majority of his career catching passes from quarterbacks Sid Luckman and Johnny Lujack. He remains the Bears' career leader in touchdown receptions, with 50. He also holds franchise records for highest career and single season yards-per-reception. His 13 touchdown receptions in 1947 is a single season Bears record he shares with Dick Gordon, who tied it in 1970.
In 1969, Kavanaugh was voted by sportswriters to the NFL 1940s All-Decade Team. The Professional Football Researchers Association named Kavanaugh to the PRFA Hall of Very Good Class of 2009
Coaching career and later life
After he retired from playing, he remained with the Bears for the 1951 season as an ends coach. He was hired by Boston College in 1952 to serve in the same position, until his resignation in 1954. After serving as an assistant at Villanova in 1954, Kavanaugh was hired by the New York Giants in 1955 as ends coach and continued in that position until 1970. He became a scout for the Giants in 1971, serving until his retirement from football in 1999.
His son, Ken Kavanaugh Jr. played at LSU as a tight end. He was drafted by the Giants in the 1972 NFL Draft but did not play professionally.
Kavanaugh died of complications from pneumonia on January 25, 2007, in Sarasota, Florida.
See also
List of National Football League annual receiving touchdowns leaders
List of NCAA major college football yearly receiving leaders
References
Bibliography
External links
1916 births
2007 deaths
American football ends
Chicago Bears players
LSU Tigers football players
Boston College Eagles football coaches
Villanova Wildcats football coaches
New York Giants coaches
New York Giants scouts
All-American college football players
College Football Hall of Fame inductees
United States Army Air Forces pilots of World War II
United States Army Air Forces officers
Recipients of the Air Medal
Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States)
Sportspeople from Little Rock, Arkansas
Players of American football from Arkansas
Deaths from pneumonia in Florida | false | [
"Michael Herman (192912 February 2021) was a former British intelligence officer for GCHQ and academic. He was a former Fellow at Nuffield College and St Antony's College at the University of Oxford, and the founder of the Oxford Intelligence Group. He was the author and/or editor of three books on intelligence, including Intelligence Power in Peace and War, described as \"a key reference point for all those seeking to study the nature, roles and impact of intelligence as a state function, influencing a whole generation of academics drawn to its study.\"\n\nEarly life\nMichael Herman was born in 1929. He was educated at the Scarborough High School and graduated from The Queen's College, Oxford, where he read Modern History. He served in the Intelligence Corps of the British Army in Egypt from 1947 to 1949. Michael Herman died on 12th February 2021.\n\nCareer\nHerman worked for the Government Communications Headquarters from 1952 to 1987. During that period, he also worked as Secretary of the Joint Intelligence Committee in the Cabinet Office and as a staff member of Defence Intelligence. On retiring from GCHQ in 1987, Herman became a Gwilym Gibbon Research Fellow at Nuffield College, Oxford. He was subsequently an Honorary Departmental Fellow in the Department of International Politics at Aberystwyth University in Wales and a Senior Associate Fellow of St. Antony’s College, Oxford. He was also the founding director of the Oxford Intelligence Group. He gave evidence before the Butler Review in 2004. Herman was the recipient of the St Antony's plaque from St Antony's College in 2004, an Honorary Doctorate of Letters from the University of Nottingham in 2005 and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Association for Intelligence Education in 2016.\n\nHerman was the author of two books and the editor of a third book, all of which are about intelligence. His first book, Intelligence Power in Peace and War, was published in 1996. It was reviewed by Percy Cradock in International Affairs, Michael I. Handel in The International History Review, and Jérôme Marchand in Politique étrangère. According to Professor Mark Phythian of the University of Leicester, the book became \"a key reference point for all those seeking to study the nature, roles and impact of intelligence as a state function, influencing a whole generation of academics drawn to its study.\" In 2001, Herman published a second book, Intelligence Services in the Information Age: Theory and Practice. He co-edited Intelligence in the Cold War: What Difference Did It Make? with Gwilym Hughes in 2013.\n\nWorks\n\nReferences\n\n2021 deaths\n1929 births\nAlumni of The Queen's College, Oxford\nGCHQ people\nFellows of Nuffield College, Oxford\nFellows of St Antony's College, Oxford\nAcademics of Aberystwyth University\nBritish historians of espionage",
"Edward Ernest Hughes (7 February 1877 – 23 December 1953) was the first professor of history at University College, Swansea.\n\nLife\nHughes was born on 7 February 1877 in Tywyn, Merionethshire, Wales. As a result of a childhood accident, he was blind in one eye and his other eye was damaged; he compensated by developing his memory and hearing. After studying at Bala Grammar School, he obtained a first-class degree in history from the University College of Wales, Aberystwyth in 1898. He then obtained a second-class honours degree in modern history from Jesus College, Oxford in 1902. He taught history in the boys' school in Llanelli, south Wales before his appointment as lecturer in history at University College, Cardiff, acting as professor during the illness of the incumbent. He lectured on Welsh history for the Workers' Educational Association in Glamorgan at a time when there was no extramural department at the university. He was regarded as a \"gifted story-teller\" and did much to popularise the study of Welsh history.\n\nHe moved to the University College, Swansea when it was founded in 1920 after being persuaded to do so by the principal, Franklin Sibly, who wanted a Welshman who understood what the new college would need to do in an industrial area. Hughes, who was the only Arts lecturer for a time, did much to bring the college to the public's attention. He raised funds by lecturing on Welsh history in the area and donating the proceeds to set up the library of the college. He was appointed the first professor of history in 1926, but continued to lecture (in both Welsh and English) outside the university to classes and societies. He required every student in his department to study some Welsh history, but he had Glyn Roberts (later to be Professor of Welsh History at University College, Bangor) to teach these classes, since Roberts had research qualifications that Hughes could not obtain with his worsening eyesight. Hughes taught the constitutional history of England in the Middle Ages and also Europe after the fall of Rome. He retired in 1944, and died on 23 December 1953.\n\nOutside the university, he was chairman of the Swansea Drama Company (acting and producing as well), and of the Swansea Orpheus Musical Society. He was a council member and drama adjudicator of the National Eisteddfod, served on committees of the University of Wales and was a governor of the National Library of Wales. He also broadcast on the BBC in Wales.\n\nReferences\n\n1877 births\n1953 deaths\nAlumni of Aberystwyth University\nAlumni of Jesus College, Oxford\nAcademics of Cardiff University\nAcademics of Swansea University\nWelsh historians\nPeople from Tywyn"
] |
[
"Ken Kavanaugh",
"Early life and college",
"Where did Kavanaugh spend his early life?",
"Kavanaugh was born in Little Rock, Arkansas. He graduated from Little Rock Central High School in 1936.",
"Did he play football in high school?",
"Kavanaugh arrived at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana in 1936 and joined the LSU football varsity team in 1937.",
"What position did he play during college?",
"At 6 feet 3 inches (1.91 m), Kavanaugh was a large receiver for his time, and used his size to outreach defenders.",
"Were there any memorable games during his college years?",
"He was named to the Associated Press (AP) All-Southeastern Conference (SEC) second alternate team after the 1937 season.",
"What did he study in college?",
"I don't know."
] | C_8fabeb6b8e844c77b2497d6a8c9ca1e1_1 | Tell me more about his family as a child. | 6 | Tell me more about Kavanaugh's family as a child. | Ken Kavanaugh | Kavanaugh was born in Little Rock, Arkansas. He graduated from Little Rock Central High School in 1936. Kavanaugh arrived at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana in 1936 and joined the LSU football varsity team in 1937. As an end, he was quickly able to fill the void in the offense left by the departure of two-time All-American Gaynell Tinsley. At 6 feet 3 inches (1.91 m), Kavanaugh was a large receiver for his time, and used his size to outreach defenders. Bernie Moore, Kavanaugh's head coach at LSU, said Kavanaugh "was a pass completer rather than a receiver, simply because he'd catch passes no one else could get to." He was named to the Associated Press (AP) All-Southeastern Conference (SEC) second alternate team after the 1937 season. In 1938, the AP named him a first-team All-SEC selection, and he was a second-team selection by the United Press. In 1939, in a game against Holy Cross, Kavanaugh caught four touchdown passes in the 26-7 win. According to Kavanaugh and teammate Young Bussey, Kavanaugh found four rusty nails on the sideline during the game. The next week against Rice, he found another nail and scored another touchdown to give LSU a 7-0 win. The pattern continued against Loyola and Vanderbilt, as Kavanaugh found two nails before each game and in each scored two touchdowns. A sportswriter for the Baton Rouge Advocate claimed he saw coach Bernie Moore at a local store stocking up on nails before LSU's game against No. 1 Tennessee. Kavanaugh failed to score in the game, however, as the Tigers lost 20-0. The Nashville Banner named Kavanaugh co-MVP of the Southeastern Conference for 1939 along with Bob Foxx of Tennessee. Kavanaugh was a consensus All-America selection for the 1939 All-America Team, being named to the team by five of the nine official selectors. He was also awarded the Knute Rockne Memorial Trophy by the Washington D.C. Touchdown Club as the nation's lineman of the year, and finished seventh in Heisman Trophy balloting. CANNOTANSWER | CANNOTANSWER | Kenneth William Kavanaugh (November 23, 1916 – January 25, 2007) was an American football player, coach, and scout. He played professionally in the National Football League (NFL) for the Chicago Bears as an end from 1940 to 1950, except for three seasons during which he served in World War II. He led the league in receiving touchdowns twice, and is a member of the NFL 1940s All-Decade Team. He is the Bears' all-time leader in receiving touchdowns, with 50.
Kavanaugh played college football at Louisiana State University for the LSU Tigers, where he was named most valuable player of the Southeastern Conference and a consensus All-American in 1939 after leading the nation in receptions and receiving yards. He was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1963.
Early life and college
Kavanaugh was born in Little Rock, Arkansas. He graduated from Little Rock Central High School in 1936.
Kavanaugh arrived at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana in 1936 and joined the LSU football varsity team in 1937. As an end, he was quickly able to fill the void in the offense left by the departure of two-time All-American Gaynell Tinsley. At , Kavanaugh was a large receiver for his time, and used his size to outreach defenders. Bernie Moore, Kavanaugh's head coach at LSU, said Kavanaugh "was a pass completer rather than a receiver, simply because he'd catch passes no one else could get to." He was named to the Associated Press (AP) All-Southeastern Conference (SEC) second alternate team after the 1937 season. In 1938, the AP named him a first-team All-SEC selection, and he was a second-team selection by the United Press.
In 1939, in a game against Holy Cross, Kavanaugh caught four touchdown passes in the 26–7 win. According to Kavanaugh and teammate Young Bussey, Kavanaugh found four rusty nails on the sideline during the game. The next week against Rice, he found another nail and scored another touchdown to give LSU a 7–0 win. The pattern continued against Loyola and Vanderbilt, as Kavanaugh found two nails before each game and in each scored two touchdowns. A sportswriter for the Baton Rouge Advocate claimed he saw coach Bernie Moore at a local store stocking up on nails before LSU's game against No. 1 Tennessee. Kavanaugh failed to score in the game, however, as the Tigers lost 20–0.
The Nashville Banner named Kavanaugh co-MVP of the Southeastern Conference for 1939 along with Bob Foxx of Tennessee. Kavanaugh was a consensus All-America selection for the 1939 All-America Team, being named to the team by five of the nine official selectors. He was also awarded the Knute Rockne Memorial Trophy by the Washington D.C. Touchdown Club as the nation's lineman of the year, and finished seventh in Heisman Trophy balloting.
Professional
Pre-war
After college, Kavanaugh signed a minor league baseball contract with the St. Louis Cardinals organization for $300 a month. He later signed with the NFL's Chicago Bears after striking a deal with Bears owner George Halas for $300 a game. He played for the Bears during a period in which they were nicknamed the Monsters of the Midway. In the 1940 NFL Championship Game, the Bears defeated the Washington Redskins 73–0, the most lopsided victory in NFL history. Kavanaugh caught the game's only touchdown pass, a 30-yard reception from quarterback Sid Luckman shortly before halftime. The next season, the Bears won the 1941 NFL Championship Game, as they defeated the New York Giants 39–7 and repeated as NFL champions. The final score in the game was a fumble recovery by Kavanaugh on defense, returning the ball 42 yards for a touchdown. In his first two seasons with the Bears, Kavanaugh compiled 23 receptions for 590 yards and nine touchdowns.
World War II
Kavanaugh's career was interrupted by World War II, in which he was a pilot in the European theater. He was a member of the Eighth Air Force's 490th Bombardment Group and 851st Bombardment Squadron, and attained the rank of captain. He flew 30 missions and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal with four oak leaf clusters. Former LSU and Bears teammate Young Bussey was the Bears' only casualty in the war.
Post-war
After the war, he continued his career with the Bears. In 1945 he had 543 yards and six touchdowns, and in 1946 had 337 yards and five touchdowns. Three of his touchdowns in 1946 came in a 27–21 win over the Los Angeles Rams in week seven. The Bears defeated the New York Giants 24–14 in the 1946 NFL Championship Game, which gave Kavanaugh his third league championship with the team. The first touchdown of the game was a 21-yard pass from Luckman to Kavanaugh. After the season, he was named to the United Press All-NFL first team. Kavanaugh had his most productive season statistically in 1947. He had career highs with 32 receptions, 881 yards, and 13 touchdowns. He set a Bears record by recording a receiving touchdown in seven straight games, a streak that began with a three-touchdown game against the Boston Yanks in week six. His 13 receiving touchdowns led the league, and he earned his second straight first-team All-NFL selection from the United Press.
Kavanaugh was named to his third straight All-NFL first team in 1948, and he again led the league in receiving touchdowns in 1949, with nine. His most productive single-game yardage performance came in his final season, in 1950 against the Yanks, as he caught eight passes for 177 yards and a touchdown.
Kavanaugh spent a total of eight seasons in Chicago. He spent the majority of his career catching passes from quarterbacks Sid Luckman and Johnny Lujack. He remains the Bears' career leader in touchdown receptions, with 50. He also holds franchise records for highest career and single season yards-per-reception. His 13 touchdown receptions in 1947 is a single season Bears record he shares with Dick Gordon, who tied it in 1970.
In 1969, Kavanaugh was voted by sportswriters to the NFL 1940s All-Decade Team. The Professional Football Researchers Association named Kavanaugh to the PRFA Hall of Very Good Class of 2009
Coaching career and later life
After he retired from playing, he remained with the Bears for the 1951 season as an ends coach. He was hired by Boston College in 1952 to serve in the same position, until his resignation in 1954. After serving as an assistant at Villanova in 1954, Kavanaugh was hired by the New York Giants in 1955 as ends coach and continued in that position until 1970. He became a scout for the Giants in 1971, serving until his retirement from football in 1999.
His son, Ken Kavanaugh Jr. played at LSU as a tight end. He was drafted by the Giants in the 1972 NFL Draft but did not play professionally.
Kavanaugh died of complications from pneumonia on January 25, 2007, in Sarasota, Florida.
See also
List of National Football League annual receiving touchdowns leaders
List of NCAA major college football yearly receiving leaders
References
Bibliography
External links
1916 births
2007 deaths
American football ends
Chicago Bears players
LSU Tigers football players
Boston College Eagles football coaches
Villanova Wildcats football coaches
New York Giants coaches
New York Giants scouts
All-American college football players
College Football Hall of Fame inductees
United States Army Air Forces pilots of World War II
United States Army Air Forces officers
Recipients of the Air Medal
Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States)
Sportspeople from Little Rock, Arkansas
Players of American football from Arkansas
Deaths from pneumonia in Florida | false | [
"Mary Alice Jones (1898–1980) was an author of religious books for children.\n\nMary Alice Jones was born in Dallas, Texas in 1898. She was involved in religion from an early age, joining the Methodist Church at age 10. She received her initial college education at the University of Texas before attending Northwestern University, earning a master's degree in religious education, and then receiving a Ph.D. from Yale University. She served as the director of children's work for the South Carolina Annual Conference and also for the International Council of Religious Education. She was the first woman teacher at the Yale Divinity School.\n\nShe became a children's book editor at Rand McNally & Company in 1945, before transitioning into writing work, authoring such books as Prayers for Little Children, which sold over 2 million copies, and Tell Me About God.\n\nIn 1951 she left Rand McNally and became the director of children's work for the General Board of Education of the Methodist Church.\n\nBibliography\nTell Me About God (1943)\nTell me About Jesus (1944)\nTell Me About the Bible (1945)\nTell Me About Prayer (1948)\nFirst Prayers for Little Children (1949)\nStories of the Christ Child (1953)\nBible Stories: Old Testament (Elizabeth Webbe illustrator; Chicago: Rand McNally, 1954)\nGod Is Good (Elizabeth Webbe illustrator; Chicago: Rand McNally, 1955)\nPrayers and Graces for a Small Child (Elizabeth Webbe illustrator; Chicago: Rand McNally, 1955)\nTell Me About Heaven (Marjorie Cooper illustrator; Chicago: Rand McNally, 1956)\nTell Me About Christmas (Marjorie Cooper illustrator; Chicago: Rand McNally, 1958)\nThe Baby Jesus (Elizabeth Webbe illustrator; Chicago: Rand McNally, 1961)\nGod Loves Me (Elizabeth Webbe illustrator; Chicago: Rand McNally, 1961)\nTell Me About God's Plan for Me (1965)\nBible Stories for Children (1983)\n\nReferences\n\n1898 births\nAmerican children's writers\nAmerican Methodists\nMethodist writers\nPeople from Dallas\nWriters from Texas\nNorthwestern University alumni\nYale Divinity School faculty\nYear of death missing",
"\"Tell Me There's a Heaven\" is a song by British singer-songwriter Chris Rea, released in 1990 as the third single from his tenth studio album The Road to Hell (1989). It was written by Rea and produced by Rea and Jon Kelly. \"Tell Me There's a Heaven\" reached No. 24 in the UK Singles Chart and remained in the Top 100 for six weeks.\n\nIn 1994, the single was re-issued from Rea's compilation album The Best of Chris Rea. It re-charted at No. 70 in the UK in December 1994. Another re-issue in 2000 saw the song peak at No. 11 on the Ö3 Austria Top 40 chart.\n\nBackground\nRea was inspired to write \"Tell Me There's a Heaven\" after his daughter Josie saw footage of a riot in South Africa on the news, which showed \"this horrible thing of throwing lighted tyres over people\" and \"one guy burning to death\". Rea recalled to Peter Doggett in 2019: \"Joan's [Rea's wife] dad was saying he didn't know what to say to Josie about what she'd seen, so he just said, 'That man has gone to heaven'. And that's how songs happen. I went up to see her and she was safely asleep, so I looked out the window and said to myself, 'Grandad told you there's a heaven, I'd like someone to tell me there's a heaven, too.'\"\n\nIn 1992, the song was used as the soundtrack to a PIF for the NSPCC, juxtaposed with excuses made by child abusers and descriptions of injuries from coroner reports.\n\nCritical reception\nOn its release, Music & Media wrote, \"A slow, gentle and intimate song with some tastefully arranged strings. Perfect for late-night and AC programmers.\" Eleanor Levy of Record Mirror wrote, \"A simple piano backing erupts into a full blown orchestral arrangement as Rea uses a four minute pop song to try to come to terms with the serious subject of child abuse.\" She considered the song to be \"sincere\" and one that avoided being \"over-sentimental\" and \"schmaltzy\", but questioned the suitability of releasing a song \"so obviously written to be heard within the context of an album\" as a single.\n\nIn a review of The Road to Hell, David Law of The Charlatan felt the song \"sums up both Rea's disillusionment and his hopes for the future\", but felt it would have been \"more effective shrouded in simple acoustic guitar and piano\" than the \"John Williams-type soundtrack strings\". Deborah Hornblow of the Hartford Courant described the song as a \"good track\" which \"begs questions a child would ask on seeing the world's unkindness\". John Everson of the Southtown Star considered the song to be \"astounding in emotion and lyrical sweep\".\n\nTrack listing\n\nOriginal release\n7\" single\n \"Tell Me There's a Heaven\" – 6:01\n \"And When She Smiles\" – 3:11\n\n12\" single\n \"Tell Me There's a Heaven\" – 6:01\n \"And When She Smiles\" – 3:11\n \"Curse of the Traveller\" – 6:25\n\nCD single\n \"Tell Me There's a Heaven\" – 6:01\n \"And When She Smiles\" – 3:11\n \"Curse of the Traveller\" – 6:25\n \"Little Blonde Plaits\" – 4:16\n\n1994 release\nCD single\n \"Tell Me There's a Heaven\" – 6:01\n \"Stainsby Girls\" – 4:06\n \"Let's Dance\" – 4:15\n\nCD single (promo release)\n \"Tell Me There's a Heaven\" (Edit) – 4:55\n \"Tell Me There's a Heaven\" (Album Version) – 6:01\n \"Stainsby Girls\" – 4:06\n \"Let's Dance\" – 4:15\n \"Driving Home for Christmas\" – 3:58\n\n2000 release\nCD single\n \"Tell Me There's a Heaven\" – 6:01\n \"Sail Away\" – 4:48\n \"Sandwriting\" – 5:08\n\nPersonnel\nTell Me There's a Heaven\n Chris Rea - vocals, guitars, keyboards\n Max Middleton - keyboards, string arrangement\n Robert Ahwai - bass\n Martin Ditcham - drums, percussion\n\nProduction\n Chris Rea - producer of \"Tell Me There's a Heaven\" and \"And When She Smile\", producer and mixing on \"Curse of the Traveller\", producer of \"Little Blonde Plaits\"\n Jon Kelly - producer of \"Tell Me There's a Heaven\", mixing on \"Curse of the Traveller\"\n Dave Richards - producer of \"And When She Smiles\" and \"Little Blonde Plaits\"\n Neil Amor, Diane BJ Koné - engineers on \"Tell Me There's a Heaven\"\n\nOther\n The Leisure Process - sleeve design\n Christian Charisius - back cover photography\n\nCharts\n\nReferences\n\n1989 songs\n1990 singles\n1994 singles\n2000 singles\nChris Rea songs\nWarner Records singles\nEast West Records singles\nSongs written by Chris Rea"
] |
[
"Ken Kavanaugh",
"Early life and college",
"Where did Kavanaugh spend his early life?",
"Kavanaugh was born in Little Rock, Arkansas. He graduated from Little Rock Central High School in 1936.",
"Did he play football in high school?",
"Kavanaugh arrived at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana in 1936 and joined the LSU football varsity team in 1937.",
"What position did he play during college?",
"At 6 feet 3 inches (1.91 m), Kavanaugh was a large receiver for his time, and used his size to outreach defenders.",
"Were there any memorable games during his college years?",
"He was named to the Associated Press (AP) All-Southeastern Conference (SEC) second alternate team after the 1937 season.",
"What did he study in college?",
"I don't know.",
"Tell me more about his family as a child.",
"I don't know."
] | C_8fabeb6b8e844c77b2497d6a8c9ca1e1_1 | Were there any other awards or recognitions he earned as a college player? | 7 | Besides being named after AP, were there any other awards or recognitions Kavanaugh earn as a college player? | Ken Kavanaugh | Kavanaugh was born in Little Rock, Arkansas. He graduated from Little Rock Central High School in 1936. Kavanaugh arrived at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana in 1936 and joined the LSU football varsity team in 1937. As an end, he was quickly able to fill the void in the offense left by the departure of two-time All-American Gaynell Tinsley. At 6 feet 3 inches (1.91 m), Kavanaugh was a large receiver for his time, and used his size to outreach defenders. Bernie Moore, Kavanaugh's head coach at LSU, said Kavanaugh "was a pass completer rather than a receiver, simply because he'd catch passes no one else could get to." He was named to the Associated Press (AP) All-Southeastern Conference (SEC) second alternate team after the 1937 season. In 1938, the AP named him a first-team All-SEC selection, and he was a second-team selection by the United Press. In 1939, in a game against Holy Cross, Kavanaugh caught four touchdown passes in the 26-7 win. According to Kavanaugh and teammate Young Bussey, Kavanaugh found four rusty nails on the sideline during the game. The next week against Rice, he found another nail and scored another touchdown to give LSU a 7-0 win. The pattern continued against Loyola and Vanderbilt, as Kavanaugh found two nails before each game and in each scored two touchdowns. A sportswriter for the Baton Rouge Advocate claimed he saw coach Bernie Moore at a local store stocking up on nails before LSU's game against No. 1 Tennessee. Kavanaugh failed to score in the game, however, as the Tigers lost 20-0. The Nashville Banner named Kavanaugh co-MVP of the Southeastern Conference for 1939 along with Bob Foxx of Tennessee. Kavanaugh was a consensus All-America selection for the 1939 All-America Team, being named to the team by five of the nine official selectors. He was also awarded the Knute Rockne Memorial Trophy by the Washington D.C. Touchdown Club as the nation's lineman of the year, and finished seventh in Heisman Trophy balloting. CANNOTANSWER | The Nashville Banner named Kavanaugh co-MVP of the Southeastern Conference for 1939 along with Bob Foxx of Tennessee. | Kenneth William Kavanaugh (November 23, 1916 – January 25, 2007) was an American football player, coach, and scout. He played professionally in the National Football League (NFL) for the Chicago Bears as an end from 1940 to 1950, except for three seasons during which he served in World War II. He led the league in receiving touchdowns twice, and is a member of the NFL 1940s All-Decade Team. He is the Bears' all-time leader in receiving touchdowns, with 50.
Kavanaugh played college football at Louisiana State University for the LSU Tigers, where he was named most valuable player of the Southeastern Conference and a consensus All-American in 1939 after leading the nation in receptions and receiving yards. He was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1963.
Early life and college
Kavanaugh was born in Little Rock, Arkansas. He graduated from Little Rock Central High School in 1936.
Kavanaugh arrived at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana in 1936 and joined the LSU football varsity team in 1937. As an end, he was quickly able to fill the void in the offense left by the departure of two-time All-American Gaynell Tinsley. At , Kavanaugh was a large receiver for his time, and used his size to outreach defenders. Bernie Moore, Kavanaugh's head coach at LSU, said Kavanaugh "was a pass completer rather than a receiver, simply because he'd catch passes no one else could get to." He was named to the Associated Press (AP) All-Southeastern Conference (SEC) second alternate team after the 1937 season. In 1938, the AP named him a first-team All-SEC selection, and he was a second-team selection by the United Press.
In 1939, in a game against Holy Cross, Kavanaugh caught four touchdown passes in the 26–7 win. According to Kavanaugh and teammate Young Bussey, Kavanaugh found four rusty nails on the sideline during the game. The next week against Rice, he found another nail and scored another touchdown to give LSU a 7–0 win. The pattern continued against Loyola and Vanderbilt, as Kavanaugh found two nails before each game and in each scored two touchdowns. A sportswriter for the Baton Rouge Advocate claimed he saw coach Bernie Moore at a local store stocking up on nails before LSU's game against No. 1 Tennessee. Kavanaugh failed to score in the game, however, as the Tigers lost 20–0.
The Nashville Banner named Kavanaugh co-MVP of the Southeastern Conference for 1939 along with Bob Foxx of Tennessee. Kavanaugh was a consensus All-America selection for the 1939 All-America Team, being named to the team by five of the nine official selectors. He was also awarded the Knute Rockne Memorial Trophy by the Washington D.C. Touchdown Club as the nation's lineman of the year, and finished seventh in Heisman Trophy balloting.
Professional
Pre-war
After college, Kavanaugh signed a minor league baseball contract with the St. Louis Cardinals organization for $300 a month. He later signed with the NFL's Chicago Bears after striking a deal with Bears owner George Halas for $300 a game. He played for the Bears during a period in which they were nicknamed the Monsters of the Midway. In the 1940 NFL Championship Game, the Bears defeated the Washington Redskins 73–0, the most lopsided victory in NFL history. Kavanaugh caught the game's only touchdown pass, a 30-yard reception from quarterback Sid Luckman shortly before halftime. The next season, the Bears won the 1941 NFL Championship Game, as they defeated the New York Giants 39–7 and repeated as NFL champions. The final score in the game was a fumble recovery by Kavanaugh on defense, returning the ball 42 yards for a touchdown. In his first two seasons with the Bears, Kavanaugh compiled 23 receptions for 590 yards and nine touchdowns.
World War II
Kavanaugh's career was interrupted by World War II, in which he was a pilot in the European theater. He was a member of the Eighth Air Force's 490th Bombardment Group and 851st Bombardment Squadron, and attained the rank of captain. He flew 30 missions and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal with four oak leaf clusters. Former LSU and Bears teammate Young Bussey was the Bears' only casualty in the war.
Post-war
After the war, he continued his career with the Bears. In 1945 he had 543 yards and six touchdowns, and in 1946 had 337 yards and five touchdowns. Three of his touchdowns in 1946 came in a 27–21 win over the Los Angeles Rams in week seven. The Bears defeated the New York Giants 24–14 in the 1946 NFL Championship Game, which gave Kavanaugh his third league championship with the team. The first touchdown of the game was a 21-yard pass from Luckman to Kavanaugh. After the season, he was named to the United Press All-NFL first team. Kavanaugh had his most productive season statistically in 1947. He had career highs with 32 receptions, 881 yards, and 13 touchdowns. He set a Bears record by recording a receiving touchdown in seven straight games, a streak that began with a three-touchdown game against the Boston Yanks in week six. His 13 receiving touchdowns led the league, and he earned his second straight first-team All-NFL selection from the United Press.
Kavanaugh was named to his third straight All-NFL first team in 1948, and he again led the league in receiving touchdowns in 1949, with nine. His most productive single-game yardage performance came in his final season, in 1950 against the Yanks, as he caught eight passes for 177 yards and a touchdown.
Kavanaugh spent a total of eight seasons in Chicago. He spent the majority of his career catching passes from quarterbacks Sid Luckman and Johnny Lujack. He remains the Bears' career leader in touchdown receptions, with 50. He also holds franchise records for highest career and single season yards-per-reception. His 13 touchdown receptions in 1947 is a single season Bears record he shares with Dick Gordon, who tied it in 1970.
In 1969, Kavanaugh was voted by sportswriters to the NFL 1940s All-Decade Team. The Professional Football Researchers Association named Kavanaugh to the PRFA Hall of Very Good Class of 2009
Coaching career and later life
After he retired from playing, he remained with the Bears for the 1951 season as an ends coach. He was hired by Boston College in 1952 to serve in the same position, until his resignation in 1954. After serving as an assistant at Villanova in 1954, Kavanaugh was hired by the New York Giants in 1955 as ends coach and continued in that position until 1970. He became a scout for the Giants in 1971, serving until his retirement from football in 1999.
His son, Ken Kavanaugh Jr. played at LSU as a tight end. He was drafted by the Giants in the 1972 NFL Draft but did not play professionally.
Kavanaugh died of complications from pneumonia on January 25, 2007, in Sarasota, Florida.
See also
List of National Football League annual receiving touchdowns leaders
List of NCAA major college football yearly receiving leaders
References
Bibliography
External links
1916 births
2007 deaths
American football ends
Chicago Bears players
LSU Tigers football players
Boston College Eagles football coaches
Villanova Wildcats football coaches
New York Giants coaches
New York Giants scouts
All-American college football players
College Football Hall of Fame inductees
United States Army Air Forces pilots of World War II
United States Army Air Forces officers
Recipients of the Air Medal
Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States)
Sportspeople from Little Rock, Arkansas
Players of American football from Arkansas
Deaths from pneumonia in Florida | true | [
"The Rudy Awards were two awards given annually by the Rudy Foundation of Henderson, Nevada to the high school and Division I college football players who demonstrate exemplary character, courage, contribution and commitment as members of their teams.\n\nEponym\nThe award is named in the honor of Daniel \"Rudy\" Ruettiger, who is famous as the inspiration for the 1993 film Rudy. Ruettiger strived to attend the University of Notre Dame and to play football for the Fighting Irish. Ruettiger battled with dyslexia and the fact that he was much smaller than an average football player, standing just 5'6\" (1.68 m) and weighing 165 lb (75 kg). Ruettiger eventually overcame these obstacles to gain admission to the University as a transfer and make the football team as a walk-on. In the only play in the only game of his college football career, he recorded a quarterback sack as fans cheered \"RU-DY, RU-DY\". Ruettiger is only one of two players in Fighting Irish history ever to be carried off the field on his teammates' shoulders.\n\nIn 1997, Ruettiger and his wife Cheryl founded the Rudy Foundation. The Rudy Foundation created the Rudy Award Program to benefit children's advocacy programs. The inaugural 2007 College Football Rudy Award was held on January 8, 2008 at the OpryLand Hotel in Nashville, Tennessee. The College Football Rudy Award was created by the Rudy Foundation and annually honors a Division I football player who demonstrates what Ruettiger refers to as \"The Four C's\": character, courage, contribution and commitment as a member of their team.\n\nIn 2009, a High school Rudy Award was established to honor inspirational athletes at the prep level. The annual winner will still exemplify “The Four C’s”: Character, Courage, Contribution and Commitment, just as for the collegiate award. $25,000 in Academic Scholarships will also be awarded to the Winner, two Runners-Up and a Fan Favorite.\n\nEligibility criteria\n\nCollege\nAny Division I college football player that satisfies the following eligibility requirements may be nominated for the college Rudy Award:\n\n• Nominees can be any gender, age, or year in the university (Freshman through Senior).\n• Nominees must be a player on the football team roster at some point during the season of eligibility.\n• Nominees does not have to be a walk-on, as Ruettiger was.\n\nHigh school\nAny high school football player that satisfies the following eligibility requirements may be nominated:\n\n• Nominees can be any gender, age or year in High School (Freshman through Senior).\n• Nominees can play on any level of a high school football team.\n• Nominees must be on the football team at some point during the season of eligibility.\n\nWinners\n\nCollegiate\n\nHigh school\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n College Rudy Award\n High School Rudy Award\n\nCollege football national player awards\nHigh school football trophies and awards in the United States\nAwards established in 2007\n2007 establishments in Nevada",
"This is a list of awards and other recognitions earned by South Korean singer BoA.\n\n\nAwards and nominations\n\nOther accolades\n\nState and cultural honors\n\nListicles\n\nReferences\n\nAwards\nBoA"
] |
[
"Ken Kavanaugh",
"Early life and college",
"Where did Kavanaugh spend his early life?",
"Kavanaugh was born in Little Rock, Arkansas. He graduated from Little Rock Central High School in 1936.",
"Did he play football in high school?",
"Kavanaugh arrived at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana in 1936 and joined the LSU football varsity team in 1937.",
"What position did he play during college?",
"At 6 feet 3 inches (1.91 m), Kavanaugh was a large receiver for his time, and used his size to outreach defenders.",
"Were there any memorable games during his college years?",
"He was named to the Associated Press (AP) All-Southeastern Conference (SEC) second alternate team after the 1937 season.",
"What did he study in college?",
"I don't know.",
"Tell me more about his family as a child.",
"I don't know.",
"Were there any other awards or recognitions he earned as a college player?",
"The Nashville Banner named Kavanaugh co-MVP of the Southeastern Conference for 1939 along with Bob Foxx of Tennessee."
] | C_8fabeb6b8e844c77b2497d6a8c9ca1e1_1 | Where did he go to play football right out of college? | 8 | Where did Kavanaugh go to play football right out of college? | Ken Kavanaugh | Kavanaugh was born in Little Rock, Arkansas. He graduated from Little Rock Central High School in 1936. Kavanaugh arrived at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana in 1936 and joined the LSU football varsity team in 1937. As an end, he was quickly able to fill the void in the offense left by the departure of two-time All-American Gaynell Tinsley. At 6 feet 3 inches (1.91 m), Kavanaugh was a large receiver for his time, and used his size to outreach defenders. Bernie Moore, Kavanaugh's head coach at LSU, said Kavanaugh "was a pass completer rather than a receiver, simply because he'd catch passes no one else could get to." He was named to the Associated Press (AP) All-Southeastern Conference (SEC) second alternate team after the 1937 season. In 1938, the AP named him a first-team All-SEC selection, and he was a second-team selection by the United Press. In 1939, in a game against Holy Cross, Kavanaugh caught four touchdown passes in the 26-7 win. According to Kavanaugh and teammate Young Bussey, Kavanaugh found four rusty nails on the sideline during the game. The next week against Rice, he found another nail and scored another touchdown to give LSU a 7-0 win. The pattern continued against Loyola and Vanderbilt, as Kavanaugh found two nails before each game and in each scored two touchdowns. A sportswriter for the Baton Rouge Advocate claimed he saw coach Bernie Moore at a local store stocking up on nails before LSU's game against No. 1 Tennessee. Kavanaugh failed to score in the game, however, as the Tigers lost 20-0. The Nashville Banner named Kavanaugh co-MVP of the Southeastern Conference for 1939 along with Bob Foxx of Tennessee. Kavanaugh was a consensus All-America selection for the 1939 All-America Team, being named to the team by five of the nine official selectors. He was also awarded the Knute Rockne Memorial Trophy by the Washington D.C. Touchdown Club as the nation's lineman of the year, and finished seventh in Heisman Trophy balloting. CANNOTANSWER | the LSU football varsity team in 1937. | Kenneth William Kavanaugh (November 23, 1916 – January 25, 2007) was an American football player, coach, and scout. He played professionally in the National Football League (NFL) for the Chicago Bears as an end from 1940 to 1950, except for three seasons during which he served in World War II. He led the league in receiving touchdowns twice, and is a member of the NFL 1940s All-Decade Team. He is the Bears' all-time leader in receiving touchdowns, with 50.
Kavanaugh played college football at Louisiana State University for the LSU Tigers, where he was named most valuable player of the Southeastern Conference and a consensus All-American in 1939 after leading the nation in receptions and receiving yards. He was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1963.
Early life and college
Kavanaugh was born in Little Rock, Arkansas. He graduated from Little Rock Central High School in 1936.
Kavanaugh arrived at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana in 1936 and joined the LSU football varsity team in 1937. As an end, he was quickly able to fill the void in the offense left by the departure of two-time All-American Gaynell Tinsley. At , Kavanaugh was a large receiver for his time, and used his size to outreach defenders. Bernie Moore, Kavanaugh's head coach at LSU, said Kavanaugh "was a pass completer rather than a receiver, simply because he'd catch passes no one else could get to." He was named to the Associated Press (AP) All-Southeastern Conference (SEC) second alternate team after the 1937 season. In 1938, the AP named him a first-team All-SEC selection, and he was a second-team selection by the United Press.
In 1939, in a game against Holy Cross, Kavanaugh caught four touchdown passes in the 26–7 win. According to Kavanaugh and teammate Young Bussey, Kavanaugh found four rusty nails on the sideline during the game. The next week against Rice, he found another nail and scored another touchdown to give LSU a 7–0 win. The pattern continued against Loyola and Vanderbilt, as Kavanaugh found two nails before each game and in each scored two touchdowns. A sportswriter for the Baton Rouge Advocate claimed he saw coach Bernie Moore at a local store stocking up on nails before LSU's game against No. 1 Tennessee. Kavanaugh failed to score in the game, however, as the Tigers lost 20–0.
The Nashville Banner named Kavanaugh co-MVP of the Southeastern Conference for 1939 along with Bob Foxx of Tennessee. Kavanaugh was a consensus All-America selection for the 1939 All-America Team, being named to the team by five of the nine official selectors. He was also awarded the Knute Rockne Memorial Trophy by the Washington D.C. Touchdown Club as the nation's lineman of the year, and finished seventh in Heisman Trophy balloting.
Professional
Pre-war
After college, Kavanaugh signed a minor league baseball contract with the St. Louis Cardinals organization for $300 a month. He later signed with the NFL's Chicago Bears after striking a deal with Bears owner George Halas for $300 a game. He played for the Bears during a period in which they were nicknamed the Monsters of the Midway. In the 1940 NFL Championship Game, the Bears defeated the Washington Redskins 73–0, the most lopsided victory in NFL history. Kavanaugh caught the game's only touchdown pass, a 30-yard reception from quarterback Sid Luckman shortly before halftime. The next season, the Bears won the 1941 NFL Championship Game, as they defeated the New York Giants 39–7 and repeated as NFL champions. The final score in the game was a fumble recovery by Kavanaugh on defense, returning the ball 42 yards for a touchdown. In his first two seasons with the Bears, Kavanaugh compiled 23 receptions for 590 yards and nine touchdowns.
World War II
Kavanaugh's career was interrupted by World War II, in which he was a pilot in the European theater. He was a member of the Eighth Air Force's 490th Bombardment Group and 851st Bombardment Squadron, and attained the rank of captain. He flew 30 missions and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal with four oak leaf clusters. Former LSU and Bears teammate Young Bussey was the Bears' only casualty in the war.
Post-war
After the war, he continued his career with the Bears. In 1945 he had 543 yards and six touchdowns, and in 1946 had 337 yards and five touchdowns. Three of his touchdowns in 1946 came in a 27–21 win over the Los Angeles Rams in week seven. The Bears defeated the New York Giants 24–14 in the 1946 NFL Championship Game, which gave Kavanaugh his third league championship with the team. The first touchdown of the game was a 21-yard pass from Luckman to Kavanaugh. After the season, he was named to the United Press All-NFL first team. Kavanaugh had his most productive season statistically in 1947. He had career highs with 32 receptions, 881 yards, and 13 touchdowns. He set a Bears record by recording a receiving touchdown in seven straight games, a streak that began with a three-touchdown game against the Boston Yanks in week six. His 13 receiving touchdowns led the league, and he earned his second straight first-team All-NFL selection from the United Press.
Kavanaugh was named to his third straight All-NFL first team in 1948, and he again led the league in receiving touchdowns in 1949, with nine. His most productive single-game yardage performance came in his final season, in 1950 against the Yanks, as he caught eight passes for 177 yards and a touchdown.
Kavanaugh spent a total of eight seasons in Chicago. He spent the majority of his career catching passes from quarterbacks Sid Luckman and Johnny Lujack. He remains the Bears' career leader in touchdown receptions, with 50. He also holds franchise records for highest career and single season yards-per-reception. His 13 touchdown receptions in 1947 is a single season Bears record he shares with Dick Gordon, who tied it in 1970.
In 1969, Kavanaugh was voted by sportswriters to the NFL 1940s All-Decade Team. The Professional Football Researchers Association named Kavanaugh to the PRFA Hall of Very Good Class of 2009
Coaching career and later life
After he retired from playing, he remained with the Bears for the 1951 season as an ends coach. He was hired by Boston College in 1952 to serve in the same position, until his resignation in 1954. After serving as an assistant at Villanova in 1954, Kavanaugh was hired by the New York Giants in 1955 as ends coach and continued in that position until 1970. He became a scout for the Giants in 1971, serving until his retirement from football in 1999.
His son, Ken Kavanaugh Jr. played at LSU as a tight end. He was drafted by the Giants in the 1972 NFL Draft but did not play professionally.
Kavanaugh died of complications from pneumonia on January 25, 2007, in Sarasota, Florida.
See also
List of National Football League annual receiving touchdowns leaders
List of NCAA major college football yearly receiving leaders
References
Bibliography
External links
1916 births
2007 deaths
American football ends
Chicago Bears players
LSU Tigers football players
Boston College Eagles football coaches
Villanova Wildcats football coaches
New York Giants coaches
New York Giants scouts
All-American college football players
College Football Hall of Fame inductees
United States Army Air Forces pilots of World War II
United States Army Air Forces officers
Recipients of the Air Medal
Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States)
Sportspeople from Little Rock, Arkansas
Players of American football from Arkansas
Deaths from pneumonia in Florida | true | [
"Max J. Starcevich (October 19, 1911August 9, 1990) was a consensus All-American football guard at the University of Washington. Though he was selected by the Brooklyn Dodgers in the third round of the 1937 NFL Draft, Starcevich did not play in the National Football League. He was elected to the University of Washington Hall of Fame in 1989 and to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1990.\n\nEarly years \nBorn in Iowa, of Croat origin, Max Starcevich played high school football in Duluth, Minnesota. After high school he worked two years in a steel mill in Gary, Indiana. Max decided to go to college and attended junior college in Duluth for one year before moving to Seattle to attend the University of Washington. Starcevich was one of the \"Strauss Boys\" who were recruited by Alfred \"Doc\" Strauss. Dr. Alfred Strauss, a renowned surgeon and a pioneer in cancer research, was a Washington alumnus that moved to Chicago when he attended medical school. Over the years he recruited more than 100 football players from the Chicago area to the University of Washington, several of whom became All Americans.\n\nCollege career \nAt the University of Washington, Starcevich, who wore #66, played fullback and tackle before settling in at guard where he excelled. By the end of his career at Washington he lettered three times (1934, '35 and '36 seasons), was named All Pacific Coast Conference twice (1935 and '36 seasons) including first team in 1936, started in the 1937 Rose Bowl, and was named to the first team of the 1936 College Football All-America Team.\nIn Max Starcevich's last football game he started for the collegian team when they beat the defending NFL Champion Green Bay Packers, 6-0, in the 1937 Chicago Tribune All-Star Game. He was elected to the University of Washington Hall of Fame in 1989\n\nLater life \nStarcevich did not play football in the NFL. Instead he started a career as an educator in Seattle, where for 36 years he was a teacher, coach, and high school principal. Max began at Cleveland High and moved to Roosevelt High where he taught social studies. Later he was boy's adviser at Lincoln High. Starcevich stayed involved with football. He was an assistant coach at Cleveland High School (1937). In 1948, he was a Washington assistant coach assigned to the freshmen team under coach Howard Odell. He was also involved in high school football and basketball as an official for 20 years. Another of his passions was environmental conservation. Max was an officer in the Audubon Society.\n\nReferences \n\n1911 births\n1990 deaths\nAll-American college football players\nPeople from Centerville, Iowa\nPlayers of American football from Iowa\nAmerican football guards\nWashington Huskies football players\nCollege Football Hall of Fame inductees\nAmerican people of Croatian descent",
"Carson Brown Strong (born September 14, 1999) is an American football quarterback. He played college football at the University of Nevada.\n\nEarly years\nStrong attended Will C. Wood High School in Vacaville, California. As a junior he passed for 2,732 yards and 26 touchdowns. He did not play his senior season due to a knee injury.\n\nOn June 6, 2017, Strong committed to the University of Nevada, Reno to play college football. Nevada was Strong's only FBS offer despite being a three-star recruit.\n\nCollege career\n\n2018 season\n\nOn August 31, 2018, Strong made his debut at Nevada against Portland State where he rushed for 4 yards in the 72–19 win. He would go on to redshirt his first year at Nevada.\n\n2019 season\n\nStrong was named the starting quarterback for the 2019 season. In 10 starts, he completed 237 of 374 passes for 2,335 yards with 11 touchdowns and seven interceptions. He returned as a starter in 2020.\n\n2020 season\n\nDespite a shortened due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Strong and the Wolf Pack would finish with a 7–2 record and win against Tulane in the 2020 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl. With 9 starts, Strong completed 249 of 355 passes for 2,858 passing yards, 27 touchdowns and 4 interceptions and he won the Mountain West Conference Offensive Player of the Year award in 2020.\n\n2021 season\n\nIn 2021, Strong led the Wolf Pack to an 8–4 record in his best season at Nevada. Strong completed 367 of 523 passes for 4,186 passing yards, 36 touchdowns and 8 interceptions as Strong would win the Mountain West Conference Offensive Player of the Year award again and becoming the fifth player in conference history to win the award in back-to-back years. On December 14, 2021, Strong announced his intenion to opt-out of the 2021 Quick Lane Bowl and to declare for the 2022 NFL Draft.\n\nStatistics\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n \n Nevada Wolf Pack profile\n\n1999 births\nLiving people\nPeople from Vacaville, California\nPlayers of American football from California\nSportspeople from the San Francisco Bay Area\nAmerican football quarterbacks\nNevada Wolf Pack football players"
] |
[
"Ken Kavanaugh",
"Early life and college",
"Where did Kavanaugh spend his early life?",
"Kavanaugh was born in Little Rock, Arkansas. He graduated from Little Rock Central High School in 1936.",
"Did he play football in high school?",
"Kavanaugh arrived at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana in 1936 and joined the LSU football varsity team in 1937.",
"What position did he play during college?",
"At 6 feet 3 inches (1.91 m), Kavanaugh was a large receiver for his time, and used his size to outreach defenders.",
"Were there any memorable games during his college years?",
"He was named to the Associated Press (AP) All-Southeastern Conference (SEC) second alternate team after the 1937 season.",
"What did he study in college?",
"I don't know.",
"Tell me more about his family as a child.",
"I don't know.",
"Were there any other awards or recognitions he earned as a college player?",
"The Nashville Banner named Kavanaugh co-MVP of the Southeastern Conference for 1939 along with Bob Foxx of Tennessee.",
"Where did he go to play football right out of college?",
"the LSU football varsity team in 1937."
] | C_8fabeb6b8e844c77b2497d6a8c9ca1e1_1 | What were his plans after he graduated from college? | 9 | What were Kavanaugh's plans after he graduated from college? | Ken Kavanaugh | Kavanaugh was born in Little Rock, Arkansas. He graduated from Little Rock Central High School in 1936. Kavanaugh arrived at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana in 1936 and joined the LSU football varsity team in 1937. As an end, he was quickly able to fill the void in the offense left by the departure of two-time All-American Gaynell Tinsley. At 6 feet 3 inches (1.91 m), Kavanaugh was a large receiver for his time, and used his size to outreach defenders. Bernie Moore, Kavanaugh's head coach at LSU, said Kavanaugh "was a pass completer rather than a receiver, simply because he'd catch passes no one else could get to." He was named to the Associated Press (AP) All-Southeastern Conference (SEC) second alternate team after the 1937 season. In 1938, the AP named him a first-team All-SEC selection, and he was a second-team selection by the United Press. In 1939, in a game against Holy Cross, Kavanaugh caught four touchdown passes in the 26-7 win. According to Kavanaugh and teammate Young Bussey, Kavanaugh found four rusty nails on the sideline during the game. The next week against Rice, he found another nail and scored another touchdown to give LSU a 7-0 win. The pattern continued against Loyola and Vanderbilt, as Kavanaugh found two nails before each game and in each scored two touchdowns. A sportswriter for the Baton Rouge Advocate claimed he saw coach Bernie Moore at a local store stocking up on nails before LSU's game against No. 1 Tennessee. Kavanaugh failed to score in the game, however, as the Tigers lost 20-0. The Nashville Banner named Kavanaugh co-MVP of the Southeastern Conference for 1939 along with Bob Foxx of Tennessee. Kavanaugh was a consensus All-America selection for the 1939 All-America Team, being named to the team by five of the nine official selectors. He was also awarded the Knute Rockne Memorial Trophy by the Washington D.C. Touchdown Club as the nation's lineman of the year, and finished seventh in Heisman Trophy balloting. CANNOTANSWER | as the nation's lineman of the year, and finished seventh in Heisman Trophy balloting. | Kenneth William Kavanaugh (November 23, 1916 – January 25, 2007) was an American football player, coach, and scout. He played professionally in the National Football League (NFL) for the Chicago Bears as an end from 1940 to 1950, except for three seasons during which he served in World War II. He led the league in receiving touchdowns twice, and is a member of the NFL 1940s All-Decade Team. He is the Bears' all-time leader in receiving touchdowns, with 50.
Kavanaugh played college football at Louisiana State University for the LSU Tigers, where he was named most valuable player of the Southeastern Conference and a consensus All-American in 1939 after leading the nation in receptions and receiving yards. He was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1963.
Early life and college
Kavanaugh was born in Little Rock, Arkansas. He graduated from Little Rock Central High School in 1936.
Kavanaugh arrived at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana in 1936 and joined the LSU football varsity team in 1937. As an end, he was quickly able to fill the void in the offense left by the departure of two-time All-American Gaynell Tinsley. At , Kavanaugh was a large receiver for his time, and used his size to outreach defenders. Bernie Moore, Kavanaugh's head coach at LSU, said Kavanaugh "was a pass completer rather than a receiver, simply because he'd catch passes no one else could get to." He was named to the Associated Press (AP) All-Southeastern Conference (SEC) second alternate team after the 1937 season. In 1938, the AP named him a first-team All-SEC selection, and he was a second-team selection by the United Press.
In 1939, in a game against Holy Cross, Kavanaugh caught four touchdown passes in the 26–7 win. According to Kavanaugh and teammate Young Bussey, Kavanaugh found four rusty nails on the sideline during the game. The next week against Rice, he found another nail and scored another touchdown to give LSU a 7–0 win. The pattern continued against Loyola and Vanderbilt, as Kavanaugh found two nails before each game and in each scored two touchdowns. A sportswriter for the Baton Rouge Advocate claimed he saw coach Bernie Moore at a local store stocking up on nails before LSU's game against No. 1 Tennessee. Kavanaugh failed to score in the game, however, as the Tigers lost 20–0.
The Nashville Banner named Kavanaugh co-MVP of the Southeastern Conference for 1939 along with Bob Foxx of Tennessee. Kavanaugh was a consensus All-America selection for the 1939 All-America Team, being named to the team by five of the nine official selectors. He was also awarded the Knute Rockne Memorial Trophy by the Washington D.C. Touchdown Club as the nation's lineman of the year, and finished seventh in Heisman Trophy balloting.
Professional
Pre-war
After college, Kavanaugh signed a minor league baseball contract with the St. Louis Cardinals organization for $300 a month. He later signed with the NFL's Chicago Bears after striking a deal with Bears owner George Halas for $300 a game. He played for the Bears during a period in which they were nicknamed the Monsters of the Midway. In the 1940 NFL Championship Game, the Bears defeated the Washington Redskins 73–0, the most lopsided victory in NFL history. Kavanaugh caught the game's only touchdown pass, a 30-yard reception from quarterback Sid Luckman shortly before halftime. The next season, the Bears won the 1941 NFL Championship Game, as they defeated the New York Giants 39–7 and repeated as NFL champions. The final score in the game was a fumble recovery by Kavanaugh on defense, returning the ball 42 yards for a touchdown. In his first two seasons with the Bears, Kavanaugh compiled 23 receptions for 590 yards and nine touchdowns.
World War II
Kavanaugh's career was interrupted by World War II, in which he was a pilot in the European theater. He was a member of the Eighth Air Force's 490th Bombardment Group and 851st Bombardment Squadron, and attained the rank of captain. He flew 30 missions and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal with four oak leaf clusters. Former LSU and Bears teammate Young Bussey was the Bears' only casualty in the war.
Post-war
After the war, he continued his career with the Bears. In 1945 he had 543 yards and six touchdowns, and in 1946 had 337 yards and five touchdowns. Three of his touchdowns in 1946 came in a 27–21 win over the Los Angeles Rams in week seven. The Bears defeated the New York Giants 24–14 in the 1946 NFL Championship Game, which gave Kavanaugh his third league championship with the team. The first touchdown of the game was a 21-yard pass from Luckman to Kavanaugh. After the season, he was named to the United Press All-NFL first team. Kavanaugh had his most productive season statistically in 1947. He had career highs with 32 receptions, 881 yards, and 13 touchdowns. He set a Bears record by recording a receiving touchdown in seven straight games, a streak that began with a three-touchdown game against the Boston Yanks in week six. His 13 receiving touchdowns led the league, and he earned his second straight first-team All-NFL selection from the United Press.
Kavanaugh was named to his third straight All-NFL first team in 1948, and he again led the league in receiving touchdowns in 1949, with nine. His most productive single-game yardage performance came in his final season, in 1950 against the Yanks, as he caught eight passes for 177 yards and a touchdown.
Kavanaugh spent a total of eight seasons in Chicago. He spent the majority of his career catching passes from quarterbacks Sid Luckman and Johnny Lujack. He remains the Bears' career leader in touchdown receptions, with 50. He also holds franchise records for highest career and single season yards-per-reception. His 13 touchdown receptions in 1947 is a single season Bears record he shares with Dick Gordon, who tied it in 1970.
In 1969, Kavanaugh was voted by sportswriters to the NFL 1940s All-Decade Team. The Professional Football Researchers Association named Kavanaugh to the PRFA Hall of Very Good Class of 2009
Coaching career and later life
After he retired from playing, he remained with the Bears for the 1951 season as an ends coach. He was hired by Boston College in 1952 to serve in the same position, until his resignation in 1954. After serving as an assistant at Villanova in 1954, Kavanaugh was hired by the New York Giants in 1955 as ends coach and continued in that position until 1970. He became a scout for the Giants in 1971, serving until his retirement from football in 1999.
His son, Ken Kavanaugh Jr. played at LSU as a tight end. He was drafted by the Giants in the 1972 NFL Draft but did not play professionally.
Kavanaugh died of complications from pneumonia on January 25, 2007, in Sarasota, Florida.
See also
List of National Football League annual receiving touchdowns leaders
List of NCAA major college football yearly receiving leaders
References
Bibliography
External links
1916 births
2007 deaths
American football ends
Chicago Bears players
LSU Tigers football players
Boston College Eagles football coaches
Villanova Wildcats football coaches
New York Giants coaches
New York Giants scouts
All-American college football players
College Football Hall of Fame inductees
United States Army Air Forces pilots of World War II
United States Army Air Forces officers
Recipients of the Air Medal
Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States)
Sportspeople from Little Rock, Arkansas
Players of American football from Arkansas
Deaths from pneumonia in Florida | true | [
"General John Nelson Abrams (September 3, 1946 – August 20, 2018) was a United States Army four-star general who commanded the United States Army Training and Doctrine Command from 1998 to 2002.\n\nEarly life and career\nAbrams was born at Fort Knox, Kentucky, on September 3, 1946, the son of General Creighton Abrams and Julia (Harvey) Abrams. He graduated from Frankfurt American High School in 1964, and attended Bowling Green University before deciding to enlist in the United States Army.\n\nAbrams enlisted in the United States Army on January 16, 1966, and after completion of his initial training he attended Officer Candidate School. He graduated on February 3, 1967, with a commission as a second lieutenant of Armor. Abrams was assigned to 2nd Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment at Fort Hood during its training prior to deploying to Vietnam. His Vietnam War combat assignments with the squadron from 1967 to 1969 included platoon leader for B Troop, executive officer for A Troop, commander of A Troop, commander of C Troop, and commander of the squadron's Provisional Rifle Company.\n\nEducation\nAbrams received his Bachelor of Science degree in business administration from Bowling Green University in 1972. He received a Master of Science degree in public administration from Shippensburg University in 1986 as part of his completion of the Army War College. In 2002, he received the honorary degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Military Education and Training from Norwich University.\n\nContinued career\nAbrams' post-Vietnam assignments included instructor in Military Science at the United States Military Academy beginning in 1972. In 1976, he graduated from the United States Army Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth. He commanded 1st Squadron, 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment from 1983 to 1985. Abrams graduated from the United States Army War College in 1986, and then served as assistant chief staff for plans and operations G-3 for the 3rd Armored Division, followed by promotion to colonel and assignment as division chief staff from 1986 to 1988. From 1988 to 1990, Abrams commanded the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment. From 1990 to 1991 he was deputy director for operations, readiness and modernization in the Army's Office of the Deputy Chief Staff for Operations and Plans.\n\nGeneral officer\nAfter promotion to brigadier general, Abrams served as assistant division commander for the 1st Cavalry Division from 1991 to 1993. From 1993 to 1995, he was commander of the 2nd Infantry Division as a major general. Abrams was promoted to lieutenant general in 1995 and assigned as commander of V Corps, which included participation in Operation Joint Endeavor.\n\nHe was deputy commander of the Army's Training and Doctrine Command from 1997 to 1998, and received promotion to general and assignment as TRADOC's commander in 1998. He served until retiring in 2002.\n\nAwards and decorations\nAbrams' awards and decorations included:\n\nPost military\nAfter retiring, Abrams became a military analyst for the Associated Press. He was the president and chief executive officer of John Abrams Learning & Information Systems, Inc., a consulting and technology firm.\n\nAbrams died at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, on August 20, 2018. He was buried at Arlington National Cemetery.\n\nFamily\nAbrams was the son of Julia Berthe Harvey (1915–2003) and General Creighton W. Abrams Jr. His brothers Creighton III and Robert were also army general officers.\n\nHe married Cecilia Bosico in 1969. They were the parents of two daughters, Noël, the wife of Nathan Naylor, and Elizabeth, the wife of Chris Bauernshub.\n\nImages gallery\n\nReferences\n\n1946 births\n2018 deaths\nPeople from Cumberland, Maine\nMilitary personnel from Maine\nUnited States Army generals\nUnited States Army personnel of the Vietnam War\nRecipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army)\nRecipients of the Silver Star\nRecipients of the Legion of Merit\nRecipients of the Air Medal\nBowling Green State University alumni\nShippensburg University of Pennsylvania alumni\nNorwich University alumni\nUnited States Army Command and General Staff College alumni\nUnited States Army War College alumni\nKnights Commander of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany",
"Bill Brotherton is an American politician from Phoenix who was a member of the Arizona Senate 20032007. A Democrat, Brotherton represented District 14. He served in the Arizona House 1998-2003. In 2007 he became a Maricopa County Superior Court judge. Brotherton retired from the bench effective October 31, 2017. He announced in 2017 his plans to run again for a seat in the Arizona House. He lost in the district 30 2018 democratic primary, coming in fourth.\n\nEducation\nHe attended Cortez High School and graduated in 1982. Brotherton has a B.A. in History from Grand Canyon University and a J.D. from the University of Arizona College of Law.\n\nReferences\n\nArizona state senators"
] |
[
"Albrecht Dürer",
"Early life (1471-1490)"
] | C_4a4a9362ff664bba86e8c74ead6078c0_1 | Are his parents names known? | 1 | Are Albrecht Dürer's parents' names known? | Albrecht Dürer | Durer was born on 21 May 1471, third child and second son of his parents, who had at least fourteen and possibly as many as eighteen children. His father, Albrecht Durer the Elder (originally Albrecht Ajtosi), was a successful goldsmith who in 1455 had moved to Nuremberg from Ajtos, near Gyula in Hungary. One of Albrecht's brothers, Hans Durer, was also a painter and trained under him. Another of Albrecht's brothers, Endres Durer, took over their father's business and was a master goldsmith. The German name "Durer" is a translation from the Hungarian, "Ajtosi". Initially, it was "Turer", meaning doormaker, which is "ajtos" in Hungarian (from "ajto", meaning door). A door is featured in the coat-of-arms the family acquired. Albrecht Durer the Younger later changed "Turer", his father's diction of the family's surname, to "Durer", to adapt to the local Nuremberg dialect. Albrecht Durer the Elder married Barbara Holper, the daughter of his master when he himself became a master in 1467. Durer's godfather was Anton Koberger, who left goldsmithing to become a printer and publisher in the year of Durer's birth and quickly became the most successful publisher in Germany, eventually owning twenty-four printing-presses and having many offices in Germany and abroad. Koberger's most famous publication was the Nuremberg Chronicle, published in 1493 in German and Latin editions. It contained an unprecedented 1,809 woodcut illustrations (albeit with many repeated uses of the same block) by the Wolgemut workshop. Durer may have worked on some of these, as the work on the project began while he was with Wolgemut. Because Durer left autobiographical writings and became very famous by his mid-twenties, his life is well documented by several sources. After a few years of school, Durer started to learn the basics of goldsmithing and drawing from his father. Though his father wanted him to continue his training as a goldsmith, he showed such a precocious talent in drawing that he started as an apprentice to Michael Wolgemut at the age of fifteen in 1486. A self-portrait, a drawing in silverpoint, is dated 1484 (Albertina, Vienna) "when I was a child", as his later inscription says. Wolgemut was the leading artist in Nuremberg at the time, with a large workshop producing a variety of works of art, in particular woodcuts for books. Nuremberg was then an important and prosperous city, a centre for publishing and many luxury trades. It had strong links with Italy, especially Venice, a relatively short distance across the Alps. CANNOTANSWER | His father, Albrecht Durer the Elder (originally Albrecht Ajtosi), was a successful goldsmith | Albrecht Dürer (; ; ; 21 May 1471 – 6 April 1528), sometimes spelled in English as Durer (without an umlaut) or Duerer, was a German painter, printmaker, and theorist of the German Renaissance. Born in Nuremberg, Dürer established his reputation and influence across Europe in his twenties due to his high-quality woodcut prints. He was in contact with the major Italian artists of his time, including Raphael, Giovanni Bellini, and Leonardo da Vinci, and from 1512 was patronized by Emperor Maximilian I.
Dürer's vast body of work includes engravings, his preferred technique in his later prints, altarpieces, portraits and self-portraits, watercolours and books. The woodcuts series are more Gothic than the rest of his work. His well-known engravings include the three Meisterstiche (master prints) Knight, Death and the Devil (1513), Saint Jerome in his Study (1514), and Melencolia I (1514). His watercolours mark him as one of the first European landscape artists, while his woodcuts revolutionised the potential of that medium.
Dürer's introduction of classical motifs into Northern art, through his knowledge of Italian artists and German humanists, has secured his reputation as one of the most important figures of the Northern Renaissance. This is reinforced by his theoretical treatises, which involve principles of mathematics, perspective, and ideal proportions.
Biography
Early life (1471–1490)
Dürer was born on 21 May 1471, the third child and second son of Albrecht Dürer the Elder and Barbara Holper, who married in 1467 and had eighteen children together. Albrecht Dürer the Elder (originally Albrecht Ajtósi), was a successful goldsmith who by 1455 had moved to Nuremberg from Ajtós, near Gyula in Hungary. He married Holper, his master's daughter, when he himself qualified as a master. One of Albrecht's brothers, Hans Dürer, was also a painter and trained under him. Another of Albrecht's brothers, Endres Dürer, took over their father's business and was a master goldsmith. The German name "Dürer" is a translation from the Hungarian, "Ajtósi". Initially, it was "Türer", meaning doormaker, which is "ajtós" in Hungarian (from "ajtó", meaning door). A door is featured in the coat-of-arms the family acquired. Albrecht Dürer the Younger later changed "Türer", his father's diction of the family's surname, to "Dürer", to adapt to the local Nuremberg dialect.
Dürer's godfather Anton Koberger left goldsmithing to become a printer and publisher in the year of Dürer's birth. He became the most successful publisher in Germany, eventually owning twenty-four printing-presses and a number of offices in Germany and abroad. Koberger's most famous publication was the Nuremberg Chronicle, published in 1493 in German and Latin editions. It contained an unprecedented 1,809 woodcut illustrations (albeit with many repeated uses of the same block) by the Wolgemut workshop. Dürer may have worked on some of these, as the work on the project began while he was with Wolgemut.
Because Dürer left autobiographical writings and was widely known by his mid-twenties, his life is well documented in several sources. After a few years of school, Dürer learned the basics of goldsmithing and drawing from his father. Though his father wanted him to continue his training as a goldsmith, he showed such a precocious talent in drawing that he started as an apprentice to Michael Wolgemut at the age of fifteen in 1486. A self-portrait, a drawing in silverpoint, is dated 1484 (Albertina, Vienna) "when I was a child", as his later inscription says. The drawing is one of the earliest surviving children's drawings of any kind, and, as Dürer's Opus One, has helped define his oeuvre as deriving from, and always linked to, himself. Wolgemut was the leading artist in Nuremberg at the time, with a large workshop producing a variety of works of art, in particular woodcuts for books. Nuremberg was then an important and prosperous city, a centre for publishing and many luxury trades. It had strong links with Italy, especially Venice, a relatively short distance across the Alps.
Wanderjahre and marriage (1490–1494)
After completing his apprenticeship, Dürer followed the common German custom of taking Wanderjahre—in effect gap years—in which the apprentice learned skills from artists in other areas; Dürer was to spend about four years away. He left in 1490, possibly to work under Martin Schongauer, the leading engraver of Northern Europe, but who died shortly before Dürer's arrival at Colmar in 1492. It is unclear where Dürer travelled in the intervening period, though it is likely that he went to Frankfurt and the Netherlands. In Colmar, Dürer was welcomed by Schongauer's brothers, the goldsmiths Caspar and Paul and the painter Ludwig. In 1493 Dürer went to Strasbourg, where he would have experienced the sculpture of Nikolaus Gerhaert. Dürer's first painted self-portrait (now in the Louvre) was painted at this time, probably to be sent back to his fiancée in Nuremberg.
In early 1492 Dürer travelled to Basel to stay with another brother of Martin Schongauer, the goldsmith Georg. Very soon after his return to Nuremberg, on 7 July 1494, at the age of 23, Dürer was married to Agnes Frey following an arrangement made during his absence. Agnes was the daughter of a prominent brass worker (and amateur harpist) in the city. However, no children resulted from the marriage, and with Albrecht the Dürer name died out. The marriage between Agnes and Albrecht was not a generally happy one, as indicated by the letters of Dürer in which he quipped to Willibald Pirckheimer in an extremely rough tone about his wife. He called her an "old crow" and made other vulgar remarks. Pirckheimer also made no secret of his antipathy towards Agnes, describing her as a miserly shrew with a bitter tongue, who helped cause Dürer's death at a young age. One author speculates that Albrecht was bisexual, if not homosexual, due to several of his works containing themes of homosexual desire, as well as the intimate nature of his correspondence with certain very close male friends.
First journey to Italy (1494–1495)
Within three months of his marriage, Dürer left for Italy, alone, perhaps stimulated by an outbreak of plague in Nuremberg. He made watercolour sketches as he traveled over the Alps. Some have survived and others may be deduced from accurate landscapes of real places in his later work, for example his engraving Nemesis.
In Italy, he went to Venice to study its more advanced artistic world. Through Wolgemut's tutelage, Dürer had learned how to make prints in drypoint and design woodcuts in the German style, based on the works of Schongauer and the Housebook Master. He also would have had access to some Italian works in Germany, but the two visits he made to Italy had an enormous influence on him. He wrote that Giovanni Bellini was the oldest and still the best of the artists in Venice. His drawings and engravings show the influence of others, notably Antonio Pollaiuolo, with his interest in the proportions of the body; Lorenzo di Credi; and Andrea Mantegna, whose work he produced copies of while training. Dürer probably also visited Padua and Mantua on this trip.
Return to Nuremberg (1495–1505)
On his return to Nuremberg in 1495, Dürer opened his own workshop (being married was a requirement for this). Over the next five years, his style increasingly integrated Italian influences into underlying Northern forms. Arguably his best works in the first years of the workshop were his woodcut prints, mostly religious, but including secular scenes such as The Men's Bath House (ca. 1496). These were larger and more finely cut than the great majority of German woodcuts hitherto, and far more complex and balanced in composition.
It is now thought unlikely that Dürer cut any of the woodblocks himself; this task would have been performed by a specialist craftsman. However, his training in Wolgemut's studio, which made many carved and painted altarpieces and both designed and cut woodblocks for woodcut, evidently gave him great understanding of what the technique could be made to produce, and how to work with block cutters. Dürer either drew his design directly onto the woodblock itself, or glued a paper drawing to the block. Either way, his drawings were destroyed during the cutting of the block.
His series of sixteen designs for the Apocalypse is dated 1498, as is his engraving of St. Michael Fighting the Dragon. He made the first seven scenes of the Great Passion in the same year, and a little later, a series of eleven on the Holy Family and saints. The Seven Sorrows Polyptych, commissioned by Frederick III of Saxony in 1496, was executed by Dürer and his assistants c. 1500. In 1502, Dürer's father died. Around 1503–1505 Dürer produced the first 17 of a set illustrating the Life of the Virgin, which he did not finish for some years. Neither these nor the Great Passion were published as sets until several years later, but prints were sold individually in considerable numbers.
During the same period Dürer trained himself in the difficult art of using the burin to make engravings. It is possible he had begun learning this skill during his early training with his father, as it was also an essential skill of the goldsmith. In 1496 he executed the Prodigal Son, which the Italian Renaissance art historian Giorgio Vasari singled out for praise some decades later, noting its Germanic quality. He was soon producing some spectacular and original images, notably Nemesis (1502), The Sea Monster (1498), and Saint Eustace (c. 1501), with a highly detailed landscape background and animals. His landscapes of this period, such as Pond in the Woods and Willow Mill, are quite different from his earlier watercolours. There is a much greater emphasis on capturing atmosphere, rather than depicting topography. He made a number of Madonnas, single religious figures, and small scenes with comic peasant figures. Prints are highly portable and these works made Dürer famous throughout the main artistic centres of Europe within a very few years.
The Venetian artist Jacopo de' Barbari, whom Dürer had met in Venice, visited Nuremberg in 1500, and Dürer said that he learned much about the new developments in perspective, anatomy, and proportion from him. De' Barbari was unwilling to explain everything he knew, so Dürer began his own studies, which would become a lifelong preoccupation. A series of extant drawings show Dürer's experiments in human proportion, leading to the famous engraving of Adam and Eve (1504), which shows his subtlety while using the burin in the texturing of flesh surfaces. This is the only existing engraving signed with his full name.
Dürer created large numbers of preparatory drawings, especially for his paintings and engravings, and many survive, most famously the Betende Hände (Praying Hands) from circa 1508, a study for an apostle in the Heller altarpiece. He continued to make images in watercolour and bodycolour (usually combined), including a number of still lifes of meadow sections or animals, including his Young Hare (1502) and the Great Piece of Turf (1503).
Second journey to Italy (1505–1507)
In Italy, he returned to painting, at first producing a series of works executed in tempera on linen. These include portraits and altarpieces, notably, the Paumgartner altarpiece and the Adoration of the Magi. In early 1506, he returned to Venice and stayed there until the spring of 1507. By this time Dürer's engravings had attained great popularity and were being copied. In Venice he was given a valuable commission from the emigrant German community for the church of San Bartolomeo. This was the altar-piece known as the Adoration of the Virgin or the Feast of Rose Garlands. It includes portraits of members of Venice's German community, but shows a strong Italian influence. It was later acquired by the Emperor Rudolf II and taken to Prague.
Nuremberg and the masterworks (1507–1520)
Despite the regard in which he was held by the Venetians, Dürer returned to Nuremberg by mid-1507, remaining in Germany until 1520. His reputation had spread throughout Europe and he was on friendly terms and in communication with most of the major artists including Raphael.
Between 1507 and 1511 Dürer worked on some of his most celebrated paintings: Adam and Eve (1507), Martyrdom of the Ten Thousand (1508, for Frederick of Saxony), Virgin with the Iris (1508), the altarpiece Assumption of the Virgin (1509, for Jacob Heller of Frankfurt), and Adoration of the Trinity (1511, for Matthaeus Landauer). During this period he also completed two woodcut series, the Great Passion and the Life of the Virgin, both published in 1511 together with a second edition of the Apocalypse series. The post-Venetian woodcuts show Dürer's development of chiaroscuro modelling effects, creating a mid-tone throughout the print to which the highlights and shadows can be contrasted.
Other works from this period include the thirty-seven Little Passion woodcuts, first published in 1511, and a set of fifteen small engravings on the same theme in 1512. Complaining that painting did not make enough money to justify the time spent when compared to his prints, he produced no paintings from 1513 to 1516. In 1513 and 1514 Dürer created his three most famous engravings: Knight, Death and the Devil (1513, probably based on Erasmus's Handbook of a Christian Knight), St. Jerome in His Study, and the much-debated Melencolia I (both 1514, the year Dürer's mother died). Further outstanding pen and ink drawings of Dürer's period of art work of 1513 were drafts for his friend Pirckheimer. These drafts were later used to design Lusterweibchen chandeliers, combining an antler with a wooden sculpture.
In 1515, he created his woodcut of a Rhinoceros which had arrived in Lisbon from a written description and sketch by another artist, without ever seeing the animal himself. An image of the Indian rhinoceros, the image has such force that it remains one of his best-known and was still used in some German school science text-books as late as last century. In the years leading to 1520 he produced a wide range of works, including the woodblocks for the first western printed star charts in 1515 and portraits in tempera on linen in 1516. His only experiments with etching came in this period, producing five between 1515–1516 and a sixth in 1518; a technique he may have abandoned as unsuited to his aesthetic of methodical, classical form.
Patronage of Maximilian I
From 1512, Maximilian I became Dürer's major patron. He commissioned The Triumphal Arch, a vast work printed from 192 separate blocks, the symbolism of which is partly informed by Pirckheimer's translation of Horapollo's Hieroglyphica. The design program and explanations were devised by Johannes Stabius, the architectural design by the master builder and court-painter Jörg Kölderer and the woodcutting itself by Hieronymous Andreae, with Dürer as designer-in-chief. The Arch was followed by The Triumphal Procession, the program of which was worked out in 1512 by Marx Treitz-Saurwein and includes woodcuts by Albrecht Altdorfer and Hans Springinklee, as well as Dürer.
Dürer worked with pen on the marginal images for an edition of the Emperor's printed Prayer-Book; these were quite unknown until facsimiles were published in 1808 as part of the first book published in lithography. Dürer's work on the book was halted for an unknown reason, and the decoration was continued by artists including Lucas Cranach the Elder and Hans Baldung. Dürer also made several portraits of the Emperor, including one shortly before Maximilian's death in 1519.
Maximilian was a very cash-strapped prince who sometimes failed to pay, yet turned out to be Dürer's most important patron. In his court, artists and learned men were respected, which was not common at that time (later, Dürer commented that in Germany, as a non-noble, he was treated a parasite). Pirckheimer (who he met in 1495, before entering the service of Maximilian) was also an important personage in the court and great cultural patron, who had a strong influence on Dürer as his tutor in classical knowledge and humanistic critical methodology, as well as collaborator.
In Maximilian's court, Dürer also collaborated with a great number of other brilliant artists and scholars of the time who became his friends, like Johannes Stabius, Konrad Peutinger, Conrad Celtes, and Hans Tscherte (an imperial architect).
Dürer manifested a strong pride in his ability, as a prince of his profession. One day, the emperor, trying to show Dürer an idea, tried to sketch with the charcoal himself, but always broke it. Dürer took the charcoal from Maximilian's hand, finished the drawing and told him: "This is my scepter."
In another occasion, Maximilian noticed that the ladder Dürer used was too short and unstable, thus told a noble to hold it for him. The noble refused, saying that it was beneath him to serve a non-noble. Maximilian then came to hold the ladder himself, and told the noble that he could make a noble out of a peasant any day, but he could not make an artist like Dürer out of a noble.
Cartographic and astronomical works
Dürer's exploration of space led to a relationship and cooperation with the court astronomer Johannes Stabius. Stabius also often acted as Dürer's and Maximilian's go-between for their financial problems.
In 1515 Dürer and Stabius created the first world map projected on a solid geometric sphere. Also in 1515, Stabius, Dürer and the astronomer Konrad Heinfogel produced the first planispheres of both southern and northerns hemispheres, as well as the first printed celestial maps, which prompted the revival of interest in the field of uranometry throughout Europe.
Journey to the Netherlands (1520–1521)
Maximilian's death came at a time when Dürer was concerned he was losing "my sight and freedom of hand" (perhaps caused by arthritis) and increasingly affected by the writings of Martin Luther. In July 1520 Dürer made his fourth and last major journey, to renew the Imperial pension Maximilian had given him and to secure the patronage of the new emperor, Charles V, who was to be crowned at Aachen. Dürer journeyed with his wife and her maid via the Rhine to Cologne and then to Antwerp, where he was well received and produced numerous drawings in silverpoint, chalk and charcoal. In addition to attending the coronation, he visited Cologne (where he admired the painting of Stefan Lochner), Nijmegen, 's-Hertogenbosch, Bruges (where he saw Michelangelo's Madonna of Bruges), Ghent (where he admired van Eyck's Ghent altarpiece), and Zeeland.
Dürer took a large stock of prints with him and wrote in his diary to whom he gave, exchanged or sold them, and for how much. This provides rare information of the monetary value placed on prints at this time. Unlike paintings, their sale was very rarely documented. While providing valuable documentary evidence, Dürer's Netherlandish diary also reveals that the trip was not a profitable one. For example, Dürer offered his last portrait of Maximilian to his daughter, Margaret of Austria, but eventually traded the picture for some white cloth after Margaret disliked the portrait and declined to accept it. During this trip he also met Bernard van Orley, Jan Provoost, Gerard Horenbout, Jean Mone, Joachim Patinir and Tommaso Vincidor, though he did not, it seems, meet Quentin Matsys.
Having secured his pension, Dürer returned home in July 1521, having caught an undetermined illness, which afflicted him for the rest of his life, and greatly reduced his rate of work.
Final years, Nuremberg (1521–1528)
On his return to Nuremberg, Dürer worked on a number of grand projects with religious themes, including a crucifixion scene and a Sacra conversazione, though neither was completed. This may have been due in part to his declining health, but perhaps also because of the time he gave to the preparation of his theoretical works on geometry and perspective, the proportions of men and horses, and fortification.
However, one consequence of this shift in emphasis was that during the last years of his life, Dürer produced comparatively little as an artist. In painting, there was only a portrait of Hieronymus Holtzschuher, a Madonna and Child (1526), Salvator Mundi (1526), and two panels showing St. John with St. Peter in background and St. Paul with St. Mark in the background. This last great work, the Four Apostles, was given by Dürer to the City of Nuremberg—although he was given 100 guilders in return.
As for engravings, Dürer's work was restricted to portraits and illustrations for his treatise. The portraits include Cardinal-Elector Albert of Mainz; Frederick the Wise, elector of Saxony; the humanist scholar Willibald Pirckheimer; Philipp Melanchthon, and Erasmus of Rotterdam. For those of the Cardinal, Melanchthon, and Dürer's final major work, a drawn portrait of the Nuremberg patrician Ulrich Starck, Dürer depicted the sitters in profile.
Despite complaining of his lack of a formal classical education, Dürer was greatly interested in intellectual matters and learned much from his boyhood friend Willibald Pirckheimer, whom he no doubt consulted on the content of many of his images. He also derived great satisfaction from his friendships and correspondence with Erasmus and other scholars. Dürer succeeded in producing two books during his lifetime. "The Four Books on Measurement" were published at Nuremberg in 1525 and was the first book for adults on mathematics in German, as well as being cited later by Galileo and Kepler. The other, a work on city fortifications, was published in 1527. "The Four Books on Human Proportion" were published posthumously, shortly after his death in 1528.
Dürer died in Nuremberg at the age of 56, leaving an estate valued at 6,874 florins – a considerable sum. He is buried in the Johannisfriedhof cemetery. His large house (purchased in 1509 from the heirs of the astronomer Bernhard Walther), where his workshop was located and where his widow lived until her death in 1539, remains a prominent Nuremberg landmark.
Dürer and the Reformation
Dürer's writings suggest that he may have been sympathetic to Luther's ideas, though it is unclear if he ever left the Catholic Church. Dürer wrote of his desire to draw Luther in his diary in 1520: "And God help me that I may go to Dr. Martin Luther; thus I intend to make a portrait of him with great care and engrave him on a copper plate to create a lasting memorial of the Christian man who helped me overcome so many difficulties." In a letter to Nicholas Kratzer in 1524, Dürer wrote, "because of our Christian faith we have to stand in scorn and danger, for we are reviled and called heretics". Most tellingly, Pirckheimer wrote in a letter to Johann Tscherte in 1530: "I confess that in the beginning I believed in Luther, like our Albert of blessed memory ... but as anyone can see, the situation has become worse." Dürer may even have contributed to the Nuremberg City Council's mandating Lutheran sermons and services in March 1525. Notably, Dürer had contacts with various reformers, such as Zwingli, Andreas Karlstadt, Melanchthon, Erasmus and Cornelius Grapheus from whom Dürer received Luther's Babylonian Captivity in 1520. Yet Erasmus and C. Grapheus are better said to be Catholic change agents. Also, from 1525, "the year that saw the peak and collapse of the Peasants' War, the artist can be seen to distance himself somewhat from the [Lutheran] movement..."
Dürer's later works have also been claimed to show Protestant sympathies. His 1523 The Last Supper woodcut has often been understood to have an evangelical theme, focusing as it does on Christ espousing the Gospel, as well as the inclusion of the Eucharistic cup, an expression of Protestant utraquism, although this interpretation has been questioned. The delaying of the engraving of St Philip, completed in 1523 but not distributed until 1526, may have been due to Dürer's uneasiness with images of saints; even if Dürer was not an iconoclast, in his last years he evaluated and questioned the role of art in religion.
Legacy and influence
Dürer exerted a huge influence on the artists of succeeding generations, especially in printmaking, the medium through which his contemporaries mostly experienced his art, as his paintings were predominantly in private collections located in only a few cities. His success in spreading his reputation across Europe through prints was undoubtedly an inspiration for major artists such as Raphael, Titian, and Parmigianino, all of whom collaborated with printmakers to promote and distribute their work.
His engravings seem to have had an intimidating effect upon his German successors; the "Little Masters" who attempted few large engravings but continued Dürer's themes in small, rather cramped compositions. Lucas van Leyden was the only Northern European engraver to successfully continue to produce large engravings in the first third of the 16th century. The generation of Italian engravers who trained in the shadow of Dürer all either directly copied parts of his landscape backgrounds (Giulio Campagnola, Giovanni Battista Palumba, Benedetto Montagna and Cristofano Robetta), or whole prints (Marcantonio Raimondi and Agostino Veneziano). However, Dürer's influence became less dominant after 1515, when Marcantonio perfected his new engraving style, which in turn travelled over the Alps to also dominate Northern engraving.
In painting, Dürer had relatively little influence in Italy, where probably only his altarpiece in Venice was seen, and his German successors were less effective in blending German and Italian styles. His intense and self-dramatizing self-portraits have continued to have a strong influence up to the present, especially on painters in the 19th and 20th century who desired a more dramatic portrait style. Dürer has never fallen from critical favour, and there have been significant revivals of interest in his works in Germany in the Dürer Renaissance of about 1570 to 1630, in the early nineteenth century, and in German nationalism from 1870 to 1945.
The Lutheran Church commemorates Dürer annually on 6 April, along with Michelangelo, Lucas Cranach the Elder and Hans Burgkmair. The liturgical calendar of the Episcopal Church (United States) remembers him, Cranach and Matthias Grünewald on 5 August.
Theoretical works
In all his theoretical works, in order to communicate his theories in the German language rather than in Latin, Dürer used graphic expressions based on a vernacular, craftsmen's language. For example, "Schneckenlinie" ("snail-line") was his term for a spiral form. Thus, Dürer contributed to the expansion in German prose which Luther had begun with his translation of the Bible.
Four Books on Measurement
Dürer's work on geometry is called the Four Books on Measurement (Underweysung der Messung mit dem Zirckel und Richtscheyt or Instructions for Measuring with Compass and Ruler). The first book focuses on linear geometry. Dürer's geometric constructions include helices, conchoids and epicycloids. He also draws on Apollonius, and Johannes Werner's 'Libellus super viginti duobus elementis conicis' of 1522.
The second book moves onto two-dimensional geometry, i.e. the construction of regular polygons. Here Dürer favours the methods of Ptolemy over Euclid. The third book applies these principles of geometry to architecture, engineering and typography.
In architecture Dürer cites Vitruvius but elaborates his own classical designs and columns. In typography, Dürer depicts the geometric construction of the Latin alphabet, relying on Italian precedent. However, his
construction of the Gothic alphabet is based upon an entirely different modular system. The fourth book completes the progression of the first and second by moving to three-dimensional forms and the construction of polyhedra. Here Dürer discusses the five Platonic solids, as well as seven Archimedean semi-regular solids, as well as several of his own invention.
In all these, Dürer shows the objects as nets. Finally, Dürer discusses the Delian Problem and moves on to the 'construzione legittima', a method of depicting a cube in two dimensions through linear perspective. He is thought to be the first to describe a visualization technique used in modern computers, ray tracing. It was in Bologna that Dürer was taught (possibly by Luca Pacioli or Bramante) the principles of linear perspective, and evidently became familiar with the 'costruzione legittima' in a written description of these principles found only, at this time, in the unpublished treatise of Piero della Francesca. He was also familiar with the 'abbreviated construction' as described by Alberti and the geometrical construction of shadows, a technique of Leonardo da Vinci. Although Dürer made no innovations in these areas, he is notable as the first Northern European to treat matters of visual representation in a scientific way, and with understanding of Euclidean principles. In addition to these geometrical constructions, Dürer discusses in this last book of Underweysung der Messung an assortment of mechanisms for drawing in perspective from models and provides woodcut illustrations of these methods that are often reproduced in discussions of perspective.
Four Books on Human Proportion
Dürer's work on human proportions is called the Four Books on Human Proportion (Vier Bücher von Menschlicher Proportion) of 1528. The first book was mainly composed by 1512/13 and completed by 1523, showing five differently constructed types of both male and female figures, all parts of the body expressed in fractions of the total height. Dürer based these constructions on both Vitruvius and empirical observations of "two to three hundred living persons", in his own words. The second book includes eight further types, broken down not into fractions but an Albertian system, which Dürer probably learned from Francesco di Giorgio's 'De harmonica mundi totius' of 1525. In the third book, Dürer gives principles by which the proportions of the figures can be modified, including the mathematical simulation of convex and concave mirrors; here Dürer also deals with human physiognomy. The fourth book is devoted to the theory of movement.
Appended to the last book, however, is a self-contained essay on aesthetics, which Dürer worked on between 1512 and 1528, and it is here that we learn of his theories concerning 'ideal beauty'. Dürer rejected Alberti's concept of an objective beauty, proposing a relativist notion of beauty based on variety. Nonetheless, Dürer still believed that truth was hidden within nature, and that there were rules which ordered beauty, even though he found it difficult to define the criteria for such a code. In 1512/13 his three criteria were function ('Nutz'), naïve approval ('Wohlgefallen') and the happy medium ('Mittelmass'). However, unlike Alberti and Leonardo, Dürer was most troubled by understanding not just the abstract notions of beauty but also as to how an artist can create beautiful images. Between 1512 and the final draft in 1528, Dürer's belief developed from an understanding of human creativity as spontaneous or inspired to a concept of 'selective inward synthesis'. In other words, that an artist builds on a wealth of visual experiences in order to imagine beautiful things. Dürer's belief in the abilities of a single artist over inspiration prompted him to assert that "one man may sketch something with his pen on half a sheet of paper in one day, or may cut it into a tiny piece of wood with his little iron, and it turns out to be better and more artistic than another's work at which its author labours with the utmost diligence for a whole year".
Book on Fortification
In 1527, Dürer also published Various Lessons on the Fortification of Cities, Castles, and Localities (Etliche Underricht zu Befestigung der Stett, Schloss und Flecken). It was printed in Nuremberg, probably by Hieronymus Andreae and reprinted in 1603 by Johan Janssenn in Arnhem. In 1535 it was also translated into Latin as On Cities, Forts, and Castles, Designed and Strengthened by Several Manners: Presented for the Most Necessary Accommodation of War (De vrbibus, arcibus, castellisque condendis, ac muniendis rationes aliquot : praesenti bellorum necessitati accommodatissimae), published by Christian Wechel (Wecheli/Wechelus) in Paris.
The work is less proscriptively theoretical than his other works, and was soon overshadowed by the Italian theory of polygonal fortification (the trace italienne – see Bastion fort), though his designs seem to have had some influence in the eastern German lands and up into the Baltic States.
Fencing
Dürer created many sketches and woodcuts of soldiers and knights over the course of his life. His most significant martial works, however, were made in 1512 as part of his efforts to secure the patronage of Maximilian I. Using existing manuscripts from the Nuremberg Group as his reference, his workshop produced the extensive Οπλοδιδασκαλια sive Armorvm Tractandorvm Meditatio Alberti Dvreri ("Weapon Training, or Albrecht Dürer's Meditation on the Handling of Weapons", MS 26-232). Another manuscript based on the Nuremberg texts as well as one of Hans Talhoffer's works, the untitled Berlin Picture Book (Libr.Pict.A.83), is also thought to have originated in his workshop around this time. These sketches and watercolors show the same careful attention to detail and human proportion as Dürer's other work, and his illustrations of grappling, long sword, dagger, and messer are among the highest-quality in any fencing manual.
Gallery
List of works
List of paintings by Albrecht Dürer
List of engravings by Albrecht Dürer
List of woodcuts by Albrecht Dürer
References
Notes
Citations
Sources
Bartrum, Giulia. Albrecht Dürer and his Legacy. London: British Museum Press, 2002.
Brand Philip, Lotte; Anzelewsky, Fedja. "The Portrait Diptych of Dürer's parents". Simiolus: Netherlands Quarterly for the History of Art, Volume 10, No. 1, 1978–79. 5–18
Brion, Marcel. Dürer. London: Thames and Hudson, 1960
Harbison, Craig. "Dürer and the Reformation: The Problem of the Re-dating of the St. Philip Engraving". The Art Bulletin, Vol. 58, No. 3, 368–373. September 1976
Koerner, Joseph Leo. The Moment of Self-Portraiture in German Renaissance Art. Chicago/London: University of Chicago Press, 1993.
Landau David; Parshall, Peter. The Renaissance Print. Yale, 1996.
Panofsky, Erwin. The Life and Art of Albrecht Dürer. NJ: Princeton, 1945.
Price, David Hotchkiss. Albrecht Dürer's Renaissance: Humanism, Reformation and the Art of Faith. Michigan, 2003. .
Strauss, Walter L. (ed.). The Complete Engravings, Etchings and Drypoints of Albrecht Durer. Mineola NY: Dover Publications, 1973.
Borchert, Till-Holger. Van Eyck to Dürer: The Influence of Early Netherlandish painting on European Art, 1430–1530. London: Thames & Hudson, 2011.
Wolf, Norbert. Albrecht Dürer. Taschen, 2010.
Hoffmann, Rainer. Im Paradies - Adam und Eva und der Sündenfall - Albrecht Dürers Darstellungen, Böhlau-Verlag, 2021, ISBN 9783412523852
Further reading
Campbell Hutchison, Jane. Albrecht Dürer: A Biography. Princeton University Press, 1990.
Demele, Christine. Dürers Nacktheit – Das Weimarer Selbstbildnis. Rhema Verlag, Münster 2012,
Dürer, Albrecht (translated by R.T. Nichol from the Latin text), Of the Just Shaping of Letters, Dover Publications.
Hart, Vaughan. 'Navel Gazing. On Albrecht Dürer's Adam and Eve (1504)', The International Journal of Arts Theory and History, 2016, vol.12.1 pp. 1–10 https://doi.org/10.18848/2326-9960/CGP/v12i01/1-10
Korolija Fontana-Giusti, Gordana. "The Unconscious and Space: Venice and the work of Albrecht Dürer", in Architecture and the Unconscious, eds. J. Hendrix and L.Holm, Farnham Surrey: Ashgate, 2016. pp. 27–44, .
Wilhelm, Kurth (ed.). The Complete Woodcuts of Albrecht Durer, Dover Publications, 2000.
External links
The Strange World of Albrecht Dürer at the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. 14 November 2010 – 13 March 2011
Dürer Prints Close-up. Made to accompany The Strange World of Albrecht Dürer at the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. 14 November 2010 – 13 March 2011
Albrecht Dürer: Vier Bücher von menschlicher Proportion (Nuremberg, 1528). Selected pages scanned from the original work. Historical Anatomies on the Web. US National Library of Medicine.
"Albrecht Dürer (1471–1528)". In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Albrecht Durer, Exhibition, Albertina, Vienna. 20 September 2019 – 6 January 2020
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"The Saint Thomas Christians of Kerala, in south-west India, have unique naming conventions. Also known as Syrian Malabar Nasranis, they trace their origins to the evangelistic activity of Thomas the Apostle in the 1st century. Their naming conventions differ from both members of other religions in India and Christians in other regions.\n\nSaint Thomas Christian names are biblical in origin and passed on from one generation to the next. Hence male names are usually patronymic and female names are usually matronymic. That is, usually a person's name will include the names of their parents and grandparents, or that of a close blood relative. These names will not include the names of saints, other religious figures, political leaders or foreign names . Family names are also included . Unlike Indian Christians of other denominations, foreign family names are absolutely irrelevant for Saint Thomas Christians as they embraced Christianity long before the arrival of European missionaries in India. So a Nasrani can easily be identified by name, from among other Christians. Even today, this pattern of giving name is visible in almost all Syrian Christian denominations.\n\nHistory\nBefore the arrival of the Portuguese in May 1498, Saint Thomas Christians of Kerala were known to belong to the Margam, a word when translated is ‘The Way’.\n\nIn 1599, Catholic Archbishop Alexio-de-Menezes called a synod at Udayamperoor, in which Christians in and near the kingdom of Cochin attended. Here he decreed that St. Thomas Christians should abandon their ancient naming conventions. They were specifically told not to use the name Easow because it was holy. But, the Saint Thomas Christians ignored this command and had continued with their ancient customs. Even today they do follow this method of naming. Even the Nasranis that did convert to Catholicism (Syrian Catholics) still use the \"old margam\" names. The Latin names are shunned\n\nDuring the 20th century some names were created by joining two or more syllables. For example, Abey (AB), Aji (AG), Bibi (BB), Biji (BG) and so on. Today, several Syrian Christians name their children by Indian names like Deepak, Rahul, Neethu, Asha etc. But by the 21st century more biblical names began to reappear. Thus names like, Isaac, Joshua, David, Saul, Ezekiel, Timothy, appeared on the scene. Generally they still follow the system detailed below.\n\nStandard form of a name\nA name will include the baptismal name (generally the person is known by that name ) and the name of the father. The practice of appending the first name of father to the child's name instead of family name is also followed by Hindus of South India. Examples are given below.\n\nMale names\nTheir names traditionally have a threefold structure.\nFamily or house name – Father’s name – Baptismal name\nThe first two are usually abbreviated to initials.\n\nAnother form is that the name will include the baptismal name (generally the person is called by that name) and the name of his father. The practice of appending the first name of father to the child's name instead of family name is also followed by Hindus of South India. Examples are given below.\n\nAs an example, the name, Thomas Mathew is similar to Shimon bar Jona. which means Shimon son of Jona. In the same way, Thomas Mathew means Thomas son of Mathew. Thomas Mathew is to be addressed as Thomas and not by his father's name.\nHere the correct spelling is ‘’’Mathew’’’ and not ‘’’Matthew’’’ as in English.\n\nAnother form of name is Ryan Thomas Mathew where Ryan is a name chosen by the parents and they usually call him by that name, Thomas is the biblical and baptismal name and Mathew is his father's name.\n\nTheir bishop receives a new name on consecration. This also has a threefold structure.\nHis baptismal name (Sometimes in Syriac form) – the title Mar (in East syriac form) or Mor ( in west Syriac form) – an Episcopal title ( a Biblical name or the name of a Christian father).\n\nFemale names\nAs an example, the name, Rachel Mathew, means Rachel daughter of Mathew. After marriage, father's name is replaced by the husband's name. Rachel Mathew is to be addressed as Rachel and not by her father's name.\n\nAnother naming pattern is Anita Rachel Mathew where Anita is a formal given name chosen by the parents, Rachel is the biblical and baptismal name and Mathew is father's name. The given first names can be of any origin and many Syrian Christians give Indian names like Neethu, Deepa etc. to their children.\n\nUse of initials\nWhen initials are used, abbreviations of the family name or house name (name of the plot where the parents of the child live at the time of birth) and the father's name are given before the given name. For example, the name P.M. Thomas means Palakkappilly (family name), Mathew's (father's name) son, Thomas (given name). His sister's name will be P.M. Rachel.\n\nOther forms\nWhen family name or house name need to be used, it comes first followed by the given name. As an example, A.M. Thomas is, Arimboor Mathew Thomas.\n\nHypocoristic\nHypocoristic (Pet names) are often used in a familiar and friendly manner in informal situations. In more formal situations, the given name is to be used instead. This alludes to the fact that using a person's pet name betokens familiarity.\nPet names for Syrian Christians can be Hindu, Assyrian, Persian or Biblical in origin.\n\nOrder in giving names\n\nFor boys\nMale names are patronymic.\nThe first born is given the name of his paternal grandfather.\nThe second born is given the name of his maternal grandfather.\nThe third born is given the name of one of his uncles.\n\nUsually, Christians in Kerala get baptized by a male or female relative, depending on the baby's gender. When baptized they are given a \"church name\" this church name is usually a typical Christian name. The parents of the baby will also give the child a regular name, these can be common Indian names. It is up to the parents if they want to use the child's church name as their official name, on their birth certificate. Let's say for example there is a boy and his church name is, \"Luke\" but his other name is \"Sanju\" (last name is Joseph) this child's parents can choose to either put his birth name, \"Sanju\" as his official name or, put his church name \"Luke\" as his official name. If they chose option 1, putting Sanju as his official name, he would officially be known as Sanju. When he gets married his family would take his church name Luke as their last name, if he chooses that. If his parents choose option 2, using his church name as his official name, then his friends and family would refer to him as Sanju but at a job interview or at school, people would call him Luke. His wife and family would get the last name Luke.\n\n1.) Sanju Joseph\n\n2.) Luke (Sanju) Joseph\n\nFor girls\nFemale names are matronymic.\nThe first born is given the name of her paternal grandmother.\nThe second born is given the name of her maternal grandmother.\nThe third born is given the name of one of her aunts.\n\nMost Christians in Kerala are baptized so they receive a church name and they have a regular name. It is up to the girl's parents to choose what they do. For example, if a girl's name was Riya, (last name is John) but her church name was Elizabeth, 1.) her parents can choose to put her first name as Riya and use Elizabeth unofficially. 2.) They can put Elizabeth as her official name but friends and family would refer to her as Riya, however at job interviews, school, etc. they would refer to her as Elizabeth. 3.) They can put Riya as her first name and use Elizabeth as her official middle name. Boys cannot do this because their middle name is their family name.\n\n1.) Riya John\n\n2.) Elizabeth (Riya) John\n\n3.) Riya Elizabeth John\n\nChanges\nThe last name (father's name) changes with each generation. The family name would also change if members who move out of their consanguineal family homes with the changing ownership of property upon the death of the patriarch decides to adopt a new name. However, several families claim that they are ancient and their family names have remained unchanged for centuries.\n\nThe Syrian Christians who have migrated to Western nations tend to choose surnames which can either be the family name or the father's name will be used as a surname.\n\nCommon names\nThe mother tongue of Nasranis is Malayalam. So the names given in the following lists are in phonetic spelling. But the first one, given under ‘’Other names,’’ shows how that name is usually written in English. The two lists include the names of a few common names that are in use, and they are not comprehensive. To know the correct pronunciation of these names, see Malayalam script or Tiberian vocalization.\n\nMale names\n\nFemale names\n\nAll the above names are sometimes expanded by adding koch, kunju, kutty and mol before or after each name.\n\nNames are sometimes selected from the Malayalam language, and are used as pet names, like \nChinnamma, Kunjamma, Pennamma, Ponnamma, Thankamma.\n\nTable of kinship terms\n\nSee also\nMalayalam script\nTiberian vocalization\nHebrew name\n\nReferences\n\nSaint Thomas Christians\nNaming conventions",
"Bondada Ruthvik is an ethical hacker and a python programmer \nNow he is preparing the code of \nWi-fi tracking and his target is to stop dark web, he also like to \nWrite python codings.\nAnd his parents names are Prabath(Srinivas), Neelima.\n\nReferences\n\nMasculine given names"
] |
[
"Albrecht Dürer",
"Early life (1471-1490)",
"Are his parents names known?",
"His father, Albrecht Durer the Elder (originally Albrecht Ajtosi), was a successful goldsmith"
] | C_4a4a9362ff664bba86e8c74ead6078c0_1 | Is anything known of his mother? | 2 | Is anything known of Albrecht Dürer's mother? | Albrecht Dürer | Durer was born on 21 May 1471, third child and second son of his parents, who had at least fourteen and possibly as many as eighteen children. His father, Albrecht Durer the Elder (originally Albrecht Ajtosi), was a successful goldsmith who in 1455 had moved to Nuremberg from Ajtos, near Gyula in Hungary. One of Albrecht's brothers, Hans Durer, was also a painter and trained under him. Another of Albrecht's brothers, Endres Durer, took over their father's business and was a master goldsmith. The German name "Durer" is a translation from the Hungarian, "Ajtosi". Initially, it was "Turer", meaning doormaker, which is "ajtos" in Hungarian (from "ajto", meaning door). A door is featured in the coat-of-arms the family acquired. Albrecht Durer the Younger later changed "Turer", his father's diction of the family's surname, to "Durer", to adapt to the local Nuremberg dialect. Albrecht Durer the Elder married Barbara Holper, the daughter of his master when he himself became a master in 1467. Durer's godfather was Anton Koberger, who left goldsmithing to become a printer and publisher in the year of Durer's birth and quickly became the most successful publisher in Germany, eventually owning twenty-four printing-presses and having many offices in Germany and abroad. Koberger's most famous publication was the Nuremberg Chronicle, published in 1493 in German and Latin editions. It contained an unprecedented 1,809 woodcut illustrations (albeit with many repeated uses of the same block) by the Wolgemut workshop. Durer may have worked on some of these, as the work on the project began while he was with Wolgemut. Because Durer left autobiographical writings and became very famous by his mid-twenties, his life is well documented by several sources. After a few years of school, Durer started to learn the basics of goldsmithing and drawing from his father. Though his father wanted him to continue his training as a goldsmith, he showed such a precocious talent in drawing that he started as an apprentice to Michael Wolgemut at the age of fifteen in 1486. A self-portrait, a drawing in silverpoint, is dated 1484 (Albertina, Vienna) "when I was a child", as his later inscription says. Wolgemut was the leading artist in Nuremberg at the time, with a large workshop producing a variety of works of art, in particular woodcuts for books. Nuremberg was then an important and prosperous city, a centre for publishing and many luxury trades. It had strong links with Italy, especially Venice, a relatively short distance across the Alps. CANNOTANSWER | second son of his parents, who had at least fourteen and possibly as many as eighteen children. | Albrecht Dürer (; ; ; 21 May 1471 – 6 April 1528), sometimes spelled in English as Durer (without an umlaut) or Duerer, was a German painter, printmaker, and theorist of the German Renaissance. Born in Nuremberg, Dürer established his reputation and influence across Europe in his twenties due to his high-quality woodcut prints. He was in contact with the major Italian artists of his time, including Raphael, Giovanni Bellini, and Leonardo da Vinci, and from 1512 was patronized by Emperor Maximilian I.
Dürer's vast body of work includes engravings, his preferred technique in his later prints, altarpieces, portraits and self-portraits, watercolours and books. The woodcuts series are more Gothic than the rest of his work. His well-known engravings include the three Meisterstiche (master prints) Knight, Death and the Devil (1513), Saint Jerome in his Study (1514), and Melencolia I (1514). His watercolours mark him as one of the first European landscape artists, while his woodcuts revolutionised the potential of that medium.
Dürer's introduction of classical motifs into Northern art, through his knowledge of Italian artists and German humanists, has secured his reputation as one of the most important figures of the Northern Renaissance. This is reinforced by his theoretical treatises, which involve principles of mathematics, perspective, and ideal proportions.
Biography
Early life (1471–1490)
Dürer was born on 21 May 1471, the third child and second son of Albrecht Dürer the Elder and Barbara Holper, who married in 1467 and had eighteen children together. Albrecht Dürer the Elder (originally Albrecht Ajtósi), was a successful goldsmith who by 1455 had moved to Nuremberg from Ajtós, near Gyula in Hungary. He married Holper, his master's daughter, when he himself qualified as a master. One of Albrecht's brothers, Hans Dürer, was also a painter and trained under him. Another of Albrecht's brothers, Endres Dürer, took over their father's business and was a master goldsmith. The German name "Dürer" is a translation from the Hungarian, "Ajtósi". Initially, it was "Türer", meaning doormaker, which is "ajtós" in Hungarian (from "ajtó", meaning door). A door is featured in the coat-of-arms the family acquired. Albrecht Dürer the Younger later changed "Türer", his father's diction of the family's surname, to "Dürer", to adapt to the local Nuremberg dialect.
Dürer's godfather Anton Koberger left goldsmithing to become a printer and publisher in the year of Dürer's birth. He became the most successful publisher in Germany, eventually owning twenty-four printing-presses and a number of offices in Germany and abroad. Koberger's most famous publication was the Nuremberg Chronicle, published in 1493 in German and Latin editions. It contained an unprecedented 1,809 woodcut illustrations (albeit with many repeated uses of the same block) by the Wolgemut workshop. Dürer may have worked on some of these, as the work on the project began while he was with Wolgemut.
Because Dürer left autobiographical writings and was widely known by his mid-twenties, his life is well documented in several sources. After a few years of school, Dürer learned the basics of goldsmithing and drawing from his father. Though his father wanted him to continue his training as a goldsmith, he showed such a precocious talent in drawing that he started as an apprentice to Michael Wolgemut at the age of fifteen in 1486. A self-portrait, a drawing in silverpoint, is dated 1484 (Albertina, Vienna) "when I was a child", as his later inscription says. The drawing is one of the earliest surviving children's drawings of any kind, and, as Dürer's Opus One, has helped define his oeuvre as deriving from, and always linked to, himself. Wolgemut was the leading artist in Nuremberg at the time, with a large workshop producing a variety of works of art, in particular woodcuts for books. Nuremberg was then an important and prosperous city, a centre for publishing and many luxury trades. It had strong links with Italy, especially Venice, a relatively short distance across the Alps.
Wanderjahre and marriage (1490–1494)
After completing his apprenticeship, Dürer followed the common German custom of taking Wanderjahre—in effect gap years—in which the apprentice learned skills from artists in other areas; Dürer was to spend about four years away. He left in 1490, possibly to work under Martin Schongauer, the leading engraver of Northern Europe, but who died shortly before Dürer's arrival at Colmar in 1492. It is unclear where Dürer travelled in the intervening period, though it is likely that he went to Frankfurt and the Netherlands. In Colmar, Dürer was welcomed by Schongauer's brothers, the goldsmiths Caspar and Paul and the painter Ludwig. In 1493 Dürer went to Strasbourg, where he would have experienced the sculpture of Nikolaus Gerhaert. Dürer's first painted self-portrait (now in the Louvre) was painted at this time, probably to be sent back to his fiancée in Nuremberg.
In early 1492 Dürer travelled to Basel to stay with another brother of Martin Schongauer, the goldsmith Georg. Very soon after his return to Nuremberg, on 7 July 1494, at the age of 23, Dürer was married to Agnes Frey following an arrangement made during his absence. Agnes was the daughter of a prominent brass worker (and amateur harpist) in the city. However, no children resulted from the marriage, and with Albrecht the Dürer name died out. The marriage between Agnes and Albrecht was not a generally happy one, as indicated by the letters of Dürer in which he quipped to Willibald Pirckheimer in an extremely rough tone about his wife. He called her an "old crow" and made other vulgar remarks. Pirckheimer also made no secret of his antipathy towards Agnes, describing her as a miserly shrew with a bitter tongue, who helped cause Dürer's death at a young age. One author speculates that Albrecht was bisexual, if not homosexual, due to several of his works containing themes of homosexual desire, as well as the intimate nature of his correspondence with certain very close male friends.
First journey to Italy (1494–1495)
Within three months of his marriage, Dürer left for Italy, alone, perhaps stimulated by an outbreak of plague in Nuremberg. He made watercolour sketches as he traveled over the Alps. Some have survived and others may be deduced from accurate landscapes of real places in his later work, for example his engraving Nemesis.
In Italy, he went to Venice to study its more advanced artistic world. Through Wolgemut's tutelage, Dürer had learned how to make prints in drypoint and design woodcuts in the German style, based on the works of Schongauer and the Housebook Master. He also would have had access to some Italian works in Germany, but the two visits he made to Italy had an enormous influence on him. He wrote that Giovanni Bellini was the oldest and still the best of the artists in Venice. His drawings and engravings show the influence of others, notably Antonio Pollaiuolo, with his interest in the proportions of the body; Lorenzo di Credi; and Andrea Mantegna, whose work he produced copies of while training. Dürer probably also visited Padua and Mantua on this trip.
Return to Nuremberg (1495–1505)
On his return to Nuremberg in 1495, Dürer opened his own workshop (being married was a requirement for this). Over the next five years, his style increasingly integrated Italian influences into underlying Northern forms. Arguably his best works in the first years of the workshop were his woodcut prints, mostly religious, but including secular scenes such as The Men's Bath House (ca. 1496). These were larger and more finely cut than the great majority of German woodcuts hitherto, and far more complex and balanced in composition.
It is now thought unlikely that Dürer cut any of the woodblocks himself; this task would have been performed by a specialist craftsman. However, his training in Wolgemut's studio, which made many carved and painted altarpieces and both designed and cut woodblocks for woodcut, evidently gave him great understanding of what the technique could be made to produce, and how to work with block cutters. Dürer either drew his design directly onto the woodblock itself, or glued a paper drawing to the block. Either way, his drawings were destroyed during the cutting of the block.
His series of sixteen designs for the Apocalypse is dated 1498, as is his engraving of St. Michael Fighting the Dragon. He made the first seven scenes of the Great Passion in the same year, and a little later, a series of eleven on the Holy Family and saints. The Seven Sorrows Polyptych, commissioned by Frederick III of Saxony in 1496, was executed by Dürer and his assistants c. 1500. In 1502, Dürer's father died. Around 1503–1505 Dürer produced the first 17 of a set illustrating the Life of the Virgin, which he did not finish for some years. Neither these nor the Great Passion were published as sets until several years later, but prints were sold individually in considerable numbers.
During the same period Dürer trained himself in the difficult art of using the burin to make engravings. It is possible he had begun learning this skill during his early training with his father, as it was also an essential skill of the goldsmith. In 1496 he executed the Prodigal Son, which the Italian Renaissance art historian Giorgio Vasari singled out for praise some decades later, noting its Germanic quality. He was soon producing some spectacular and original images, notably Nemesis (1502), The Sea Monster (1498), and Saint Eustace (c. 1501), with a highly detailed landscape background and animals. His landscapes of this period, such as Pond in the Woods and Willow Mill, are quite different from his earlier watercolours. There is a much greater emphasis on capturing atmosphere, rather than depicting topography. He made a number of Madonnas, single religious figures, and small scenes with comic peasant figures. Prints are highly portable and these works made Dürer famous throughout the main artistic centres of Europe within a very few years.
The Venetian artist Jacopo de' Barbari, whom Dürer had met in Venice, visited Nuremberg in 1500, and Dürer said that he learned much about the new developments in perspective, anatomy, and proportion from him. De' Barbari was unwilling to explain everything he knew, so Dürer began his own studies, which would become a lifelong preoccupation. A series of extant drawings show Dürer's experiments in human proportion, leading to the famous engraving of Adam and Eve (1504), which shows his subtlety while using the burin in the texturing of flesh surfaces. This is the only existing engraving signed with his full name.
Dürer created large numbers of preparatory drawings, especially for his paintings and engravings, and many survive, most famously the Betende Hände (Praying Hands) from circa 1508, a study for an apostle in the Heller altarpiece. He continued to make images in watercolour and bodycolour (usually combined), including a number of still lifes of meadow sections or animals, including his Young Hare (1502) and the Great Piece of Turf (1503).
Second journey to Italy (1505–1507)
In Italy, he returned to painting, at first producing a series of works executed in tempera on linen. These include portraits and altarpieces, notably, the Paumgartner altarpiece and the Adoration of the Magi. In early 1506, he returned to Venice and stayed there until the spring of 1507. By this time Dürer's engravings had attained great popularity and were being copied. In Venice he was given a valuable commission from the emigrant German community for the church of San Bartolomeo. This was the altar-piece known as the Adoration of the Virgin or the Feast of Rose Garlands. It includes portraits of members of Venice's German community, but shows a strong Italian influence. It was later acquired by the Emperor Rudolf II and taken to Prague.
Nuremberg and the masterworks (1507–1520)
Despite the regard in which he was held by the Venetians, Dürer returned to Nuremberg by mid-1507, remaining in Germany until 1520. His reputation had spread throughout Europe and he was on friendly terms and in communication with most of the major artists including Raphael.
Between 1507 and 1511 Dürer worked on some of his most celebrated paintings: Adam and Eve (1507), Martyrdom of the Ten Thousand (1508, for Frederick of Saxony), Virgin with the Iris (1508), the altarpiece Assumption of the Virgin (1509, for Jacob Heller of Frankfurt), and Adoration of the Trinity (1511, for Matthaeus Landauer). During this period he also completed two woodcut series, the Great Passion and the Life of the Virgin, both published in 1511 together with a second edition of the Apocalypse series. The post-Venetian woodcuts show Dürer's development of chiaroscuro modelling effects, creating a mid-tone throughout the print to which the highlights and shadows can be contrasted.
Other works from this period include the thirty-seven Little Passion woodcuts, first published in 1511, and a set of fifteen small engravings on the same theme in 1512. Complaining that painting did not make enough money to justify the time spent when compared to his prints, he produced no paintings from 1513 to 1516. In 1513 and 1514 Dürer created his three most famous engravings: Knight, Death and the Devil (1513, probably based on Erasmus's Handbook of a Christian Knight), St. Jerome in His Study, and the much-debated Melencolia I (both 1514, the year Dürer's mother died). Further outstanding pen and ink drawings of Dürer's period of art work of 1513 were drafts for his friend Pirckheimer. These drafts were later used to design Lusterweibchen chandeliers, combining an antler with a wooden sculpture.
In 1515, he created his woodcut of a Rhinoceros which had arrived in Lisbon from a written description and sketch by another artist, without ever seeing the animal himself. An image of the Indian rhinoceros, the image has such force that it remains one of his best-known and was still used in some German school science text-books as late as last century. In the years leading to 1520 he produced a wide range of works, including the woodblocks for the first western printed star charts in 1515 and portraits in tempera on linen in 1516. His only experiments with etching came in this period, producing five between 1515–1516 and a sixth in 1518; a technique he may have abandoned as unsuited to his aesthetic of methodical, classical form.
Patronage of Maximilian I
From 1512, Maximilian I became Dürer's major patron. He commissioned The Triumphal Arch, a vast work printed from 192 separate blocks, the symbolism of which is partly informed by Pirckheimer's translation of Horapollo's Hieroglyphica. The design program and explanations were devised by Johannes Stabius, the architectural design by the master builder and court-painter Jörg Kölderer and the woodcutting itself by Hieronymous Andreae, with Dürer as designer-in-chief. The Arch was followed by The Triumphal Procession, the program of which was worked out in 1512 by Marx Treitz-Saurwein and includes woodcuts by Albrecht Altdorfer and Hans Springinklee, as well as Dürer.
Dürer worked with pen on the marginal images for an edition of the Emperor's printed Prayer-Book; these were quite unknown until facsimiles were published in 1808 as part of the first book published in lithography. Dürer's work on the book was halted for an unknown reason, and the decoration was continued by artists including Lucas Cranach the Elder and Hans Baldung. Dürer also made several portraits of the Emperor, including one shortly before Maximilian's death in 1519.
Maximilian was a very cash-strapped prince who sometimes failed to pay, yet turned out to be Dürer's most important patron. In his court, artists and learned men were respected, which was not common at that time (later, Dürer commented that in Germany, as a non-noble, he was treated a parasite). Pirckheimer (who he met in 1495, before entering the service of Maximilian) was also an important personage in the court and great cultural patron, who had a strong influence on Dürer as his tutor in classical knowledge and humanistic critical methodology, as well as collaborator.
In Maximilian's court, Dürer also collaborated with a great number of other brilliant artists and scholars of the time who became his friends, like Johannes Stabius, Konrad Peutinger, Conrad Celtes, and Hans Tscherte (an imperial architect).
Dürer manifested a strong pride in his ability, as a prince of his profession. One day, the emperor, trying to show Dürer an idea, tried to sketch with the charcoal himself, but always broke it. Dürer took the charcoal from Maximilian's hand, finished the drawing and told him: "This is my scepter."
In another occasion, Maximilian noticed that the ladder Dürer used was too short and unstable, thus told a noble to hold it for him. The noble refused, saying that it was beneath him to serve a non-noble. Maximilian then came to hold the ladder himself, and told the noble that he could make a noble out of a peasant any day, but he could not make an artist like Dürer out of a noble.
Cartographic and astronomical works
Dürer's exploration of space led to a relationship and cooperation with the court astronomer Johannes Stabius. Stabius also often acted as Dürer's and Maximilian's go-between for their financial problems.
In 1515 Dürer and Stabius created the first world map projected on a solid geometric sphere. Also in 1515, Stabius, Dürer and the astronomer Konrad Heinfogel produced the first planispheres of both southern and northerns hemispheres, as well as the first printed celestial maps, which prompted the revival of interest in the field of uranometry throughout Europe.
Journey to the Netherlands (1520–1521)
Maximilian's death came at a time when Dürer was concerned he was losing "my sight and freedom of hand" (perhaps caused by arthritis) and increasingly affected by the writings of Martin Luther. In July 1520 Dürer made his fourth and last major journey, to renew the Imperial pension Maximilian had given him and to secure the patronage of the new emperor, Charles V, who was to be crowned at Aachen. Dürer journeyed with his wife and her maid via the Rhine to Cologne and then to Antwerp, where he was well received and produced numerous drawings in silverpoint, chalk and charcoal. In addition to attending the coronation, he visited Cologne (where he admired the painting of Stefan Lochner), Nijmegen, 's-Hertogenbosch, Bruges (where he saw Michelangelo's Madonna of Bruges), Ghent (where he admired van Eyck's Ghent altarpiece), and Zeeland.
Dürer took a large stock of prints with him and wrote in his diary to whom he gave, exchanged or sold them, and for how much. This provides rare information of the monetary value placed on prints at this time. Unlike paintings, their sale was very rarely documented. While providing valuable documentary evidence, Dürer's Netherlandish diary also reveals that the trip was not a profitable one. For example, Dürer offered his last portrait of Maximilian to his daughter, Margaret of Austria, but eventually traded the picture for some white cloth after Margaret disliked the portrait and declined to accept it. During this trip he also met Bernard van Orley, Jan Provoost, Gerard Horenbout, Jean Mone, Joachim Patinir and Tommaso Vincidor, though he did not, it seems, meet Quentin Matsys.
Having secured his pension, Dürer returned home in July 1521, having caught an undetermined illness, which afflicted him for the rest of his life, and greatly reduced his rate of work.
Final years, Nuremberg (1521–1528)
On his return to Nuremberg, Dürer worked on a number of grand projects with religious themes, including a crucifixion scene and a Sacra conversazione, though neither was completed. This may have been due in part to his declining health, but perhaps also because of the time he gave to the preparation of his theoretical works on geometry and perspective, the proportions of men and horses, and fortification.
However, one consequence of this shift in emphasis was that during the last years of his life, Dürer produced comparatively little as an artist. In painting, there was only a portrait of Hieronymus Holtzschuher, a Madonna and Child (1526), Salvator Mundi (1526), and two panels showing St. John with St. Peter in background and St. Paul with St. Mark in the background. This last great work, the Four Apostles, was given by Dürer to the City of Nuremberg—although he was given 100 guilders in return.
As for engravings, Dürer's work was restricted to portraits and illustrations for his treatise. The portraits include Cardinal-Elector Albert of Mainz; Frederick the Wise, elector of Saxony; the humanist scholar Willibald Pirckheimer; Philipp Melanchthon, and Erasmus of Rotterdam. For those of the Cardinal, Melanchthon, and Dürer's final major work, a drawn portrait of the Nuremberg patrician Ulrich Starck, Dürer depicted the sitters in profile.
Despite complaining of his lack of a formal classical education, Dürer was greatly interested in intellectual matters and learned much from his boyhood friend Willibald Pirckheimer, whom he no doubt consulted on the content of many of his images. He also derived great satisfaction from his friendships and correspondence with Erasmus and other scholars. Dürer succeeded in producing two books during his lifetime. "The Four Books on Measurement" were published at Nuremberg in 1525 and was the first book for adults on mathematics in German, as well as being cited later by Galileo and Kepler. The other, a work on city fortifications, was published in 1527. "The Four Books on Human Proportion" were published posthumously, shortly after his death in 1528.
Dürer died in Nuremberg at the age of 56, leaving an estate valued at 6,874 florins – a considerable sum. He is buried in the Johannisfriedhof cemetery. His large house (purchased in 1509 from the heirs of the astronomer Bernhard Walther), where his workshop was located and where his widow lived until her death in 1539, remains a prominent Nuremberg landmark.
Dürer and the Reformation
Dürer's writings suggest that he may have been sympathetic to Luther's ideas, though it is unclear if he ever left the Catholic Church. Dürer wrote of his desire to draw Luther in his diary in 1520: "And God help me that I may go to Dr. Martin Luther; thus I intend to make a portrait of him with great care and engrave him on a copper plate to create a lasting memorial of the Christian man who helped me overcome so many difficulties." In a letter to Nicholas Kratzer in 1524, Dürer wrote, "because of our Christian faith we have to stand in scorn and danger, for we are reviled and called heretics". Most tellingly, Pirckheimer wrote in a letter to Johann Tscherte in 1530: "I confess that in the beginning I believed in Luther, like our Albert of blessed memory ... but as anyone can see, the situation has become worse." Dürer may even have contributed to the Nuremberg City Council's mandating Lutheran sermons and services in March 1525. Notably, Dürer had contacts with various reformers, such as Zwingli, Andreas Karlstadt, Melanchthon, Erasmus and Cornelius Grapheus from whom Dürer received Luther's Babylonian Captivity in 1520. Yet Erasmus and C. Grapheus are better said to be Catholic change agents. Also, from 1525, "the year that saw the peak and collapse of the Peasants' War, the artist can be seen to distance himself somewhat from the [Lutheran] movement..."
Dürer's later works have also been claimed to show Protestant sympathies. His 1523 The Last Supper woodcut has often been understood to have an evangelical theme, focusing as it does on Christ espousing the Gospel, as well as the inclusion of the Eucharistic cup, an expression of Protestant utraquism, although this interpretation has been questioned. The delaying of the engraving of St Philip, completed in 1523 but not distributed until 1526, may have been due to Dürer's uneasiness with images of saints; even if Dürer was not an iconoclast, in his last years he evaluated and questioned the role of art in religion.
Legacy and influence
Dürer exerted a huge influence on the artists of succeeding generations, especially in printmaking, the medium through which his contemporaries mostly experienced his art, as his paintings were predominantly in private collections located in only a few cities. His success in spreading his reputation across Europe through prints was undoubtedly an inspiration for major artists such as Raphael, Titian, and Parmigianino, all of whom collaborated with printmakers to promote and distribute their work.
His engravings seem to have had an intimidating effect upon his German successors; the "Little Masters" who attempted few large engravings but continued Dürer's themes in small, rather cramped compositions. Lucas van Leyden was the only Northern European engraver to successfully continue to produce large engravings in the first third of the 16th century. The generation of Italian engravers who trained in the shadow of Dürer all either directly copied parts of his landscape backgrounds (Giulio Campagnola, Giovanni Battista Palumba, Benedetto Montagna and Cristofano Robetta), or whole prints (Marcantonio Raimondi and Agostino Veneziano). However, Dürer's influence became less dominant after 1515, when Marcantonio perfected his new engraving style, which in turn travelled over the Alps to also dominate Northern engraving.
In painting, Dürer had relatively little influence in Italy, where probably only his altarpiece in Venice was seen, and his German successors were less effective in blending German and Italian styles. His intense and self-dramatizing self-portraits have continued to have a strong influence up to the present, especially on painters in the 19th and 20th century who desired a more dramatic portrait style. Dürer has never fallen from critical favour, and there have been significant revivals of interest in his works in Germany in the Dürer Renaissance of about 1570 to 1630, in the early nineteenth century, and in German nationalism from 1870 to 1945.
The Lutheran Church commemorates Dürer annually on 6 April, along with Michelangelo, Lucas Cranach the Elder and Hans Burgkmair. The liturgical calendar of the Episcopal Church (United States) remembers him, Cranach and Matthias Grünewald on 5 August.
Theoretical works
In all his theoretical works, in order to communicate his theories in the German language rather than in Latin, Dürer used graphic expressions based on a vernacular, craftsmen's language. For example, "Schneckenlinie" ("snail-line") was his term for a spiral form. Thus, Dürer contributed to the expansion in German prose which Luther had begun with his translation of the Bible.
Four Books on Measurement
Dürer's work on geometry is called the Four Books on Measurement (Underweysung der Messung mit dem Zirckel und Richtscheyt or Instructions for Measuring with Compass and Ruler). The first book focuses on linear geometry. Dürer's geometric constructions include helices, conchoids and epicycloids. He also draws on Apollonius, and Johannes Werner's 'Libellus super viginti duobus elementis conicis' of 1522.
The second book moves onto two-dimensional geometry, i.e. the construction of regular polygons. Here Dürer favours the methods of Ptolemy over Euclid. The third book applies these principles of geometry to architecture, engineering and typography.
In architecture Dürer cites Vitruvius but elaborates his own classical designs and columns. In typography, Dürer depicts the geometric construction of the Latin alphabet, relying on Italian precedent. However, his
construction of the Gothic alphabet is based upon an entirely different modular system. The fourth book completes the progression of the first and second by moving to three-dimensional forms and the construction of polyhedra. Here Dürer discusses the five Platonic solids, as well as seven Archimedean semi-regular solids, as well as several of his own invention.
In all these, Dürer shows the objects as nets. Finally, Dürer discusses the Delian Problem and moves on to the 'construzione legittima', a method of depicting a cube in two dimensions through linear perspective. He is thought to be the first to describe a visualization technique used in modern computers, ray tracing. It was in Bologna that Dürer was taught (possibly by Luca Pacioli or Bramante) the principles of linear perspective, and evidently became familiar with the 'costruzione legittima' in a written description of these principles found only, at this time, in the unpublished treatise of Piero della Francesca. He was also familiar with the 'abbreviated construction' as described by Alberti and the geometrical construction of shadows, a technique of Leonardo da Vinci. Although Dürer made no innovations in these areas, he is notable as the first Northern European to treat matters of visual representation in a scientific way, and with understanding of Euclidean principles. In addition to these geometrical constructions, Dürer discusses in this last book of Underweysung der Messung an assortment of mechanisms for drawing in perspective from models and provides woodcut illustrations of these methods that are often reproduced in discussions of perspective.
Four Books on Human Proportion
Dürer's work on human proportions is called the Four Books on Human Proportion (Vier Bücher von Menschlicher Proportion) of 1528. The first book was mainly composed by 1512/13 and completed by 1523, showing five differently constructed types of both male and female figures, all parts of the body expressed in fractions of the total height. Dürer based these constructions on both Vitruvius and empirical observations of "two to three hundred living persons", in his own words. The second book includes eight further types, broken down not into fractions but an Albertian system, which Dürer probably learned from Francesco di Giorgio's 'De harmonica mundi totius' of 1525. In the third book, Dürer gives principles by which the proportions of the figures can be modified, including the mathematical simulation of convex and concave mirrors; here Dürer also deals with human physiognomy. The fourth book is devoted to the theory of movement.
Appended to the last book, however, is a self-contained essay on aesthetics, which Dürer worked on between 1512 and 1528, and it is here that we learn of his theories concerning 'ideal beauty'. Dürer rejected Alberti's concept of an objective beauty, proposing a relativist notion of beauty based on variety. Nonetheless, Dürer still believed that truth was hidden within nature, and that there were rules which ordered beauty, even though he found it difficult to define the criteria for such a code. In 1512/13 his three criteria were function ('Nutz'), naïve approval ('Wohlgefallen') and the happy medium ('Mittelmass'). However, unlike Alberti and Leonardo, Dürer was most troubled by understanding not just the abstract notions of beauty but also as to how an artist can create beautiful images. Between 1512 and the final draft in 1528, Dürer's belief developed from an understanding of human creativity as spontaneous or inspired to a concept of 'selective inward synthesis'. In other words, that an artist builds on a wealth of visual experiences in order to imagine beautiful things. Dürer's belief in the abilities of a single artist over inspiration prompted him to assert that "one man may sketch something with his pen on half a sheet of paper in one day, or may cut it into a tiny piece of wood with his little iron, and it turns out to be better and more artistic than another's work at which its author labours with the utmost diligence for a whole year".
Book on Fortification
In 1527, Dürer also published Various Lessons on the Fortification of Cities, Castles, and Localities (Etliche Underricht zu Befestigung der Stett, Schloss und Flecken). It was printed in Nuremberg, probably by Hieronymus Andreae and reprinted in 1603 by Johan Janssenn in Arnhem. In 1535 it was also translated into Latin as On Cities, Forts, and Castles, Designed and Strengthened by Several Manners: Presented for the Most Necessary Accommodation of War (De vrbibus, arcibus, castellisque condendis, ac muniendis rationes aliquot : praesenti bellorum necessitati accommodatissimae), published by Christian Wechel (Wecheli/Wechelus) in Paris.
The work is less proscriptively theoretical than his other works, and was soon overshadowed by the Italian theory of polygonal fortification (the trace italienne – see Bastion fort), though his designs seem to have had some influence in the eastern German lands and up into the Baltic States.
Fencing
Dürer created many sketches and woodcuts of soldiers and knights over the course of his life. His most significant martial works, however, were made in 1512 as part of his efforts to secure the patronage of Maximilian I. Using existing manuscripts from the Nuremberg Group as his reference, his workshop produced the extensive Οπλοδιδασκαλια sive Armorvm Tractandorvm Meditatio Alberti Dvreri ("Weapon Training, or Albrecht Dürer's Meditation on the Handling of Weapons", MS 26-232). Another manuscript based on the Nuremberg texts as well as one of Hans Talhoffer's works, the untitled Berlin Picture Book (Libr.Pict.A.83), is also thought to have originated in his workshop around this time. These sketches and watercolors show the same careful attention to detail and human proportion as Dürer's other work, and his illustrations of grappling, long sword, dagger, and messer are among the highest-quality in any fencing manual.
Gallery
List of works
List of paintings by Albrecht Dürer
List of engravings by Albrecht Dürer
List of woodcuts by Albrecht Dürer
References
Notes
Citations
Sources
Bartrum, Giulia. Albrecht Dürer and his Legacy. London: British Museum Press, 2002.
Brand Philip, Lotte; Anzelewsky, Fedja. "The Portrait Diptych of Dürer's parents". Simiolus: Netherlands Quarterly for the History of Art, Volume 10, No. 1, 1978–79. 5–18
Brion, Marcel. Dürer. London: Thames and Hudson, 1960
Harbison, Craig. "Dürer and the Reformation: The Problem of the Re-dating of the St. Philip Engraving". The Art Bulletin, Vol. 58, No. 3, 368–373. September 1976
Koerner, Joseph Leo. The Moment of Self-Portraiture in German Renaissance Art. Chicago/London: University of Chicago Press, 1993.
Landau David; Parshall, Peter. The Renaissance Print. Yale, 1996.
Panofsky, Erwin. The Life and Art of Albrecht Dürer. NJ: Princeton, 1945.
Price, David Hotchkiss. Albrecht Dürer's Renaissance: Humanism, Reformation and the Art of Faith. Michigan, 2003. .
Strauss, Walter L. (ed.). The Complete Engravings, Etchings and Drypoints of Albrecht Durer. Mineola NY: Dover Publications, 1973.
Borchert, Till-Holger. Van Eyck to Dürer: The Influence of Early Netherlandish painting on European Art, 1430–1530. London: Thames & Hudson, 2011.
Wolf, Norbert. Albrecht Dürer. Taschen, 2010.
Hoffmann, Rainer. Im Paradies - Adam und Eva und der Sündenfall - Albrecht Dürers Darstellungen, Böhlau-Verlag, 2021, ISBN 9783412523852
Further reading
Campbell Hutchison, Jane. Albrecht Dürer: A Biography. Princeton University Press, 1990.
Demele, Christine. Dürers Nacktheit – Das Weimarer Selbstbildnis. Rhema Verlag, Münster 2012,
Dürer, Albrecht (translated by R.T. Nichol from the Latin text), Of the Just Shaping of Letters, Dover Publications.
Hart, Vaughan. 'Navel Gazing. On Albrecht Dürer's Adam and Eve (1504)', The International Journal of Arts Theory and History, 2016, vol.12.1 pp. 1–10 https://doi.org/10.18848/2326-9960/CGP/v12i01/1-10
Korolija Fontana-Giusti, Gordana. "The Unconscious and Space: Venice and the work of Albrecht Dürer", in Architecture and the Unconscious, eds. J. Hendrix and L.Holm, Farnham Surrey: Ashgate, 2016. pp. 27–44, .
Wilhelm, Kurth (ed.). The Complete Woodcuts of Albrecht Durer, Dover Publications, 2000.
External links
The Strange World of Albrecht Dürer at the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. 14 November 2010 – 13 March 2011
Dürer Prints Close-up. Made to accompany The Strange World of Albrecht Dürer at the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. 14 November 2010 – 13 March 2011
Albrecht Dürer: Vier Bücher von menschlicher Proportion (Nuremberg, 1528). Selected pages scanned from the original work. Historical Anatomies on the Web. US National Library of Medicine.
"Albrecht Dürer (1471–1528)". In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Albrecht Durer, Exhibition, Albertina, Vienna. 20 September 2019 – 6 January 2020
1471 births
1528 deaths
15th-century engravers
15th-century German painters
16th-century engravers
16th-century German painters
Animal artists
Artist authors
Artists from Nuremberg
Catholic decorative artists
Catholic draughtsmen
Catholic engravers
Catholic painters
German draughtsmen
German engravers
German Lutherans
German male painters
German people of Hungarian descent
German printmakers
German Renaissance painters
German Roman Catholics
Heraldic artists
Manuscript illuminators
Mathematical artists
People celebrated in the Lutheran liturgical calendar
Renaissance engravers
Woodcut designers | false | [
"Federico Caballero is a Filipino epic chanter who is a recipient of the National Living Treasures Award.\n\nLife of Federico Caballero\nBorn on December 25, 1938, Caballero is of the Panay-Bukidnon people from the Central Panay mountains. He is known for his work on the documentation of the oral literature, particularly the ten epics. These epics are rendered in an extinct language related to Kinaray-a.\n\nFederico Caballero who is also called Nong Pedring learned about epics from his mother and his grandmother, Anggoy Omil who would chant these to him and his siblings as a lullaby. When Anggoy and his mother died, he went on to continue the traditions and documented these epics which are referred to as the Labaw Dunggon and Humadapnon epics with researchers. He worked with the Bureau of Nonformal Education, to teach people how to read and write and would promote the tradition of epic chanting despite the initial objection of his children.\n\nHe also worked as the manughusay in his local community, an arbiter who helps resolves disputes and conflicts in the community. He is considered as a bantugan due to his positive influence extending beyond his community. And he is good at doing anything that peoples tell him to do, So he's basically a jack of trade\n\nThe National Commission for Culture and the Arts recognized him as a National Living Treasure in the year 2000 for \"weaving the fabric of oral tradition\".\n\nPersonal life\nCaballero is married to Lucia, who is a binukot a title similar to a princess in Panay-Bukidnon tradition, and has three children.\n\nReferences\n\n1938 births\nLiving people\nNational Living Treasures of the Philippines\n20th-century Filipino male singers\nFilipino folk singers",
"Sonia Fares is a fashion designer and former Miss Lebanon who participated in Miss Universe 1968.\n\nBiography\nSonia Fares was born on September 6, 1949, in Lebanon. She is a native to Beirut, Lebanon. Her father's name is Gerges Fares and her mother's name is Iman Attieh. She is also the mother of Rasha Chammas who is a photographer. She currently resides in a Paris suburb known as Neuilly-sur-Seine.\n\nEducation\nSonia Fares studied fine arts in Lebanon, and she then went on to study fashion in London.\n\nCareer\nSonia Fares is currently a fashion designer. She was a former Miss Lebanon in the year of 1967. She was the owner of her boutique called \"Sonia Fares.\" It was located in the Parisian golden triangle at the Rue Du Boccador. She is recorded to be a supporter of anything entailed to arts and culture.\n\nReferences\n\n1949 births\nLiving people\nLebanese fashion designers\nLebanese beauty pageant winners\nArtists from Beirut\nPeople from Neuilly-sur-Seine\nLebanese emigrants to France\nWomen fashion designers\nMiss Universe 1968 contestants\nMiss World 1967 delegates"
] |
[
"Albrecht Dürer",
"Early life (1471-1490)",
"Are his parents names known?",
"His father, Albrecht Durer the Elder (originally Albrecht Ajtosi), was a successful goldsmith",
"Is anything known of his mother?",
"second son of his parents, who had at least fourteen and possibly as many as eighteen children."
] | C_4a4a9362ff664bba86e8c74ead6078c0_1 | Did he receive any formal education? | 3 | Did Albrecht Dürer receive any formal education? | Albrecht Dürer | Durer was born on 21 May 1471, third child and second son of his parents, who had at least fourteen and possibly as many as eighteen children. His father, Albrecht Durer the Elder (originally Albrecht Ajtosi), was a successful goldsmith who in 1455 had moved to Nuremberg from Ajtos, near Gyula in Hungary. One of Albrecht's brothers, Hans Durer, was also a painter and trained under him. Another of Albrecht's brothers, Endres Durer, took over their father's business and was a master goldsmith. The German name "Durer" is a translation from the Hungarian, "Ajtosi". Initially, it was "Turer", meaning doormaker, which is "ajtos" in Hungarian (from "ajto", meaning door). A door is featured in the coat-of-arms the family acquired. Albrecht Durer the Younger later changed "Turer", his father's diction of the family's surname, to "Durer", to adapt to the local Nuremberg dialect. Albrecht Durer the Elder married Barbara Holper, the daughter of his master when he himself became a master in 1467. Durer's godfather was Anton Koberger, who left goldsmithing to become a printer and publisher in the year of Durer's birth and quickly became the most successful publisher in Germany, eventually owning twenty-four printing-presses and having many offices in Germany and abroad. Koberger's most famous publication was the Nuremberg Chronicle, published in 1493 in German and Latin editions. It contained an unprecedented 1,809 woodcut illustrations (albeit with many repeated uses of the same block) by the Wolgemut workshop. Durer may have worked on some of these, as the work on the project began while he was with Wolgemut. Because Durer left autobiographical writings and became very famous by his mid-twenties, his life is well documented by several sources. After a few years of school, Durer started to learn the basics of goldsmithing and drawing from his father. Though his father wanted him to continue his training as a goldsmith, he showed such a precocious talent in drawing that he started as an apprentice to Michael Wolgemut at the age of fifteen in 1486. A self-portrait, a drawing in silverpoint, is dated 1484 (Albertina, Vienna) "when I was a child", as his later inscription says. Wolgemut was the leading artist in Nuremberg at the time, with a large workshop producing a variety of works of art, in particular woodcuts for books. Nuremberg was then an important and prosperous city, a centre for publishing and many luxury trades. It had strong links with Italy, especially Venice, a relatively short distance across the Alps. CANNOTANSWER | After a few years of school, Durer started to learn the basics of goldsmithing and drawing from his father. | Albrecht Dürer (; ; ; 21 May 1471 – 6 April 1528), sometimes spelled in English as Durer (without an umlaut) or Duerer, was a German painter, printmaker, and theorist of the German Renaissance. Born in Nuremberg, Dürer established his reputation and influence across Europe in his twenties due to his high-quality woodcut prints. He was in contact with the major Italian artists of his time, including Raphael, Giovanni Bellini, and Leonardo da Vinci, and from 1512 was patronized by Emperor Maximilian I.
Dürer's vast body of work includes engravings, his preferred technique in his later prints, altarpieces, portraits and self-portraits, watercolours and books. The woodcuts series are more Gothic than the rest of his work. His well-known engravings include the three Meisterstiche (master prints) Knight, Death and the Devil (1513), Saint Jerome in his Study (1514), and Melencolia I (1514). His watercolours mark him as one of the first European landscape artists, while his woodcuts revolutionised the potential of that medium.
Dürer's introduction of classical motifs into Northern art, through his knowledge of Italian artists and German humanists, has secured his reputation as one of the most important figures of the Northern Renaissance. This is reinforced by his theoretical treatises, which involve principles of mathematics, perspective, and ideal proportions.
Biography
Early life (1471–1490)
Dürer was born on 21 May 1471, the third child and second son of Albrecht Dürer the Elder and Barbara Holper, who married in 1467 and had eighteen children together. Albrecht Dürer the Elder (originally Albrecht Ajtósi), was a successful goldsmith who by 1455 had moved to Nuremberg from Ajtós, near Gyula in Hungary. He married Holper, his master's daughter, when he himself qualified as a master. One of Albrecht's brothers, Hans Dürer, was also a painter and trained under him. Another of Albrecht's brothers, Endres Dürer, took over their father's business and was a master goldsmith. The German name "Dürer" is a translation from the Hungarian, "Ajtósi". Initially, it was "Türer", meaning doormaker, which is "ajtós" in Hungarian (from "ajtó", meaning door). A door is featured in the coat-of-arms the family acquired. Albrecht Dürer the Younger later changed "Türer", his father's diction of the family's surname, to "Dürer", to adapt to the local Nuremberg dialect.
Dürer's godfather Anton Koberger left goldsmithing to become a printer and publisher in the year of Dürer's birth. He became the most successful publisher in Germany, eventually owning twenty-four printing-presses and a number of offices in Germany and abroad. Koberger's most famous publication was the Nuremberg Chronicle, published in 1493 in German and Latin editions. It contained an unprecedented 1,809 woodcut illustrations (albeit with many repeated uses of the same block) by the Wolgemut workshop. Dürer may have worked on some of these, as the work on the project began while he was with Wolgemut.
Because Dürer left autobiographical writings and was widely known by his mid-twenties, his life is well documented in several sources. After a few years of school, Dürer learned the basics of goldsmithing and drawing from his father. Though his father wanted him to continue his training as a goldsmith, he showed such a precocious talent in drawing that he started as an apprentice to Michael Wolgemut at the age of fifteen in 1486. A self-portrait, a drawing in silverpoint, is dated 1484 (Albertina, Vienna) "when I was a child", as his later inscription says. The drawing is one of the earliest surviving children's drawings of any kind, and, as Dürer's Opus One, has helped define his oeuvre as deriving from, and always linked to, himself. Wolgemut was the leading artist in Nuremberg at the time, with a large workshop producing a variety of works of art, in particular woodcuts for books. Nuremberg was then an important and prosperous city, a centre for publishing and many luxury trades. It had strong links with Italy, especially Venice, a relatively short distance across the Alps.
Wanderjahre and marriage (1490–1494)
After completing his apprenticeship, Dürer followed the common German custom of taking Wanderjahre—in effect gap years—in which the apprentice learned skills from artists in other areas; Dürer was to spend about four years away. He left in 1490, possibly to work under Martin Schongauer, the leading engraver of Northern Europe, but who died shortly before Dürer's arrival at Colmar in 1492. It is unclear where Dürer travelled in the intervening period, though it is likely that he went to Frankfurt and the Netherlands. In Colmar, Dürer was welcomed by Schongauer's brothers, the goldsmiths Caspar and Paul and the painter Ludwig. In 1493 Dürer went to Strasbourg, where he would have experienced the sculpture of Nikolaus Gerhaert. Dürer's first painted self-portrait (now in the Louvre) was painted at this time, probably to be sent back to his fiancée in Nuremberg.
In early 1492 Dürer travelled to Basel to stay with another brother of Martin Schongauer, the goldsmith Georg. Very soon after his return to Nuremberg, on 7 July 1494, at the age of 23, Dürer was married to Agnes Frey following an arrangement made during his absence. Agnes was the daughter of a prominent brass worker (and amateur harpist) in the city. However, no children resulted from the marriage, and with Albrecht the Dürer name died out. The marriage between Agnes and Albrecht was not a generally happy one, as indicated by the letters of Dürer in which he quipped to Willibald Pirckheimer in an extremely rough tone about his wife. He called her an "old crow" and made other vulgar remarks. Pirckheimer also made no secret of his antipathy towards Agnes, describing her as a miserly shrew with a bitter tongue, who helped cause Dürer's death at a young age. One author speculates that Albrecht was bisexual, if not homosexual, due to several of his works containing themes of homosexual desire, as well as the intimate nature of his correspondence with certain very close male friends.
First journey to Italy (1494–1495)
Within three months of his marriage, Dürer left for Italy, alone, perhaps stimulated by an outbreak of plague in Nuremberg. He made watercolour sketches as he traveled over the Alps. Some have survived and others may be deduced from accurate landscapes of real places in his later work, for example his engraving Nemesis.
In Italy, he went to Venice to study its more advanced artistic world. Through Wolgemut's tutelage, Dürer had learned how to make prints in drypoint and design woodcuts in the German style, based on the works of Schongauer and the Housebook Master. He also would have had access to some Italian works in Germany, but the two visits he made to Italy had an enormous influence on him. He wrote that Giovanni Bellini was the oldest and still the best of the artists in Venice. His drawings and engravings show the influence of others, notably Antonio Pollaiuolo, with his interest in the proportions of the body; Lorenzo di Credi; and Andrea Mantegna, whose work he produced copies of while training. Dürer probably also visited Padua and Mantua on this trip.
Return to Nuremberg (1495–1505)
On his return to Nuremberg in 1495, Dürer opened his own workshop (being married was a requirement for this). Over the next five years, his style increasingly integrated Italian influences into underlying Northern forms. Arguably his best works in the first years of the workshop were his woodcut prints, mostly religious, but including secular scenes such as The Men's Bath House (ca. 1496). These were larger and more finely cut than the great majority of German woodcuts hitherto, and far more complex and balanced in composition.
It is now thought unlikely that Dürer cut any of the woodblocks himself; this task would have been performed by a specialist craftsman. However, his training in Wolgemut's studio, which made many carved and painted altarpieces and both designed and cut woodblocks for woodcut, evidently gave him great understanding of what the technique could be made to produce, and how to work with block cutters. Dürer either drew his design directly onto the woodblock itself, or glued a paper drawing to the block. Either way, his drawings were destroyed during the cutting of the block.
His series of sixteen designs for the Apocalypse is dated 1498, as is his engraving of St. Michael Fighting the Dragon. He made the first seven scenes of the Great Passion in the same year, and a little later, a series of eleven on the Holy Family and saints. The Seven Sorrows Polyptych, commissioned by Frederick III of Saxony in 1496, was executed by Dürer and his assistants c. 1500. In 1502, Dürer's father died. Around 1503–1505 Dürer produced the first 17 of a set illustrating the Life of the Virgin, which he did not finish for some years. Neither these nor the Great Passion were published as sets until several years later, but prints were sold individually in considerable numbers.
During the same period Dürer trained himself in the difficult art of using the burin to make engravings. It is possible he had begun learning this skill during his early training with his father, as it was also an essential skill of the goldsmith. In 1496 he executed the Prodigal Son, which the Italian Renaissance art historian Giorgio Vasari singled out for praise some decades later, noting its Germanic quality. He was soon producing some spectacular and original images, notably Nemesis (1502), The Sea Monster (1498), and Saint Eustace (c. 1501), with a highly detailed landscape background and animals. His landscapes of this period, such as Pond in the Woods and Willow Mill, are quite different from his earlier watercolours. There is a much greater emphasis on capturing atmosphere, rather than depicting topography. He made a number of Madonnas, single religious figures, and small scenes with comic peasant figures. Prints are highly portable and these works made Dürer famous throughout the main artistic centres of Europe within a very few years.
The Venetian artist Jacopo de' Barbari, whom Dürer had met in Venice, visited Nuremberg in 1500, and Dürer said that he learned much about the new developments in perspective, anatomy, and proportion from him. De' Barbari was unwilling to explain everything he knew, so Dürer began his own studies, which would become a lifelong preoccupation. A series of extant drawings show Dürer's experiments in human proportion, leading to the famous engraving of Adam and Eve (1504), which shows his subtlety while using the burin in the texturing of flesh surfaces. This is the only existing engraving signed with his full name.
Dürer created large numbers of preparatory drawings, especially for his paintings and engravings, and many survive, most famously the Betende Hände (Praying Hands) from circa 1508, a study for an apostle in the Heller altarpiece. He continued to make images in watercolour and bodycolour (usually combined), including a number of still lifes of meadow sections or animals, including his Young Hare (1502) and the Great Piece of Turf (1503).
Second journey to Italy (1505–1507)
In Italy, he returned to painting, at first producing a series of works executed in tempera on linen. These include portraits and altarpieces, notably, the Paumgartner altarpiece and the Adoration of the Magi. In early 1506, he returned to Venice and stayed there until the spring of 1507. By this time Dürer's engravings had attained great popularity and were being copied. In Venice he was given a valuable commission from the emigrant German community for the church of San Bartolomeo. This was the altar-piece known as the Adoration of the Virgin or the Feast of Rose Garlands. It includes portraits of members of Venice's German community, but shows a strong Italian influence. It was later acquired by the Emperor Rudolf II and taken to Prague.
Nuremberg and the masterworks (1507–1520)
Despite the regard in which he was held by the Venetians, Dürer returned to Nuremberg by mid-1507, remaining in Germany until 1520. His reputation had spread throughout Europe and he was on friendly terms and in communication with most of the major artists including Raphael.
Between 1507 and 1511 Dürer worked on some of his most celebrated paintings: Adam and Eve (1507), Martyrdom of the Ten Thousand (1508, for Frederick of Saxony), Virgin with the Iris (1508), the altarpiece Assumption of the Virgin (1509, for Jacob Heller of Frankfurt), and Adoration of the Trinity (1511, for Matthaeus Landauer). During this period he also completed two woodcut series, the Great Passion and the Life of the Virgin, both published in 1511 together with a second edition of the Apocalypse series. The post-Venetian woodcuts show Dürer's development of chiaroscuro modelling effects, creating a mid-tone throughout the print to which the highlights and shadows can be contrasted.
Other works from this period include the thirty-seven Little Passion woodcuts, first published in 1511, and a set of fifteen small engravings on the same theme in 1512. Complaining that painting did not make enough money to justify the time spent when compared to his prints, he produced no paintings from 1513 to 1516. In 1513 and 1514 Dürer created his three most famous engravings: Knight, Death and the Devil (1513, probably based on Erasmus's Handbook of a Christian Knight), St. Jerome in His Study, and the much-debated Melencolia I (both 1514, the year Dürer's mother died). Further outstanding pen and ink drawings of Dürer's period of art work of 1513 were drafts for his friend Pirckheimer. These drafts were later used to design Lusterweibchen chandeliers, combining an antler with a wooden sculpture.
In 1515, he created his woodcut of a Rhinoceros which had arrived in Lisbon from a written description and sketch by another artist, without ever seeing the animal himself. An image of the Indian rhinoceros, the image has such force that it remains one of his best-known and was still used in some German school science text-books as late as last century. In the years leading to 1520 he produced a wide range of works, including the woodblocks for the first western printed star charts in 1515 and portraits in tempera on linen in 1516. His only experiments with etching came in this period, producing five between 1515–1516 and a sixth in 1518; a technique he may have abandoned as unsuited to his aesthetic of methodical, classical form.
Patronage of Maximilian I
From 1512, Maximilian I became Dürer's major patron. He commissioned The Triumphal Arch, a vast work printed from 192 separate blocks, the symbolism of which is partly informed by Pirckheimer's translation of Horapollo's Hieroglyphica. The design program and explanations were devised by Johannes Stabius, the architectural design by the master builder and court-painter Jörg Kölderer and the woodcutting itself by Hieronymous Andreae, with Dürer as designer-in-chief. The Arch was followed by The Triumphal Procession, the program of which was worked out in 1512 by Marx Treitz-Saurwein and includes woodcuts by Albrecht Altdorfer and Hans Springinklee, as well as Dürer.
Dürer worked with pen on the marginal images for an edition of the Emperor's printed Prayer-Book; these were quite unknown until facsimiles were published in 1808 as part of the first book published in lithography. Dürer's work on the book was halted for an unknown reason, and the decoration was continued by artists including Lucas Cranach the Elder and Hans Baldung. Dürer also made several portraits of the Emperor, including one shortly before Maximilian's death in 1519.
Maximilian was a very cash-strapped prince who sometimes failed to pay, yet turned out to be Dürer's most important patron. In his court, artists and learned men were respected, which was not common at that time (later, Dürer commented that in Germany, as a non-noble, he was treated a parasite). Pirckheimer (who he met in 1495, before entering the service of Maximilian) was also an important personage in the court and great cultural patron, who had a strong influence on Dürer as his tutor in classical knowledge and humanistic critical methodology, as well as collaborator.
In Maximilian's court, Dürer also collaborated with a great number of other brilliant artists and scholars of the time who became his friends, like Johannes Stabius, Konrad Peutinger, Conrad Celtes, and Hans Tscherte (an imperial architect).
Dürer manifested a strong pride in his ability, as a prince of his profession. One day, the emperor, trying to show Dürer an idea, tried to sketch with the charcoal himself, but always broke it. Dürer took the charcoal from Maximilian's hand, finished the drawing and told him: "This is my scepter."
In another occasion, Maximilian noticed that the ladder Dürer used was too short and unstable, thus told a noble to hold it for him. The noble refused, saying that it was beneath him to serve a non-noble. Maximilian then came to hold the ladder himself, and told the noble that he could make a noble out of a peasant any day, but he could not make an artist like Dürer out of a noble.
Cartographic and astronomical works
Dürer's exploration of space led to a relationship and cooperation with the court astronomer Johannes Stabius. Stabius also often acted as Dürer's and Maximilian's go-between for their financial problems.
In 1515 Dürer and Stabius created the first world map projected on a solid geometric sphere. Also in 1515, Stabius, Dürer and the astronomer Konrad Heinfogel produced the first planispheres of both southern and northerns hemispheres, as well as the first printed celestial maps, which prompted the revival of interest in the field of uranometry throughout Europe.
Journey to the Netherlands (1520–1521)
Maximilian's death came at a time when Dürer was concerned he was losing "my sight and freedom of hand" (perhaps caused by arthritis) and increasingly affected by the writings of Martin Luther. In July 1520 Dürer made his fourth and last major journey, to renew the Imperial pension Maximilian had given him and to secure the patronage of the new emperor, Charles V, who was to be crowned at Aachen. Dürer journeyed with his wife and her maid via the Rhine to Cologne and then to Antwerp, where he was well received and produced numerous drawings in silverpoint, chalk and charcoal. In addition to attending the coronation, he visited Cologne (where he admired the painting of Stefan Lochner), Nijmegen, 's-Hertogenbosch, Bruges (where he saw Michelangelo's Madonna of Bruges), Ghent (where he admired van Eyck's Ghent altarpiece), and Zeeland.
Dürer took a large stock of prints with him and wrote in his diary to whom he gave, exchanged or sold them, and for how much. This provides rare information of the monetary value placed on prints at this time. Unlike paintings, their sale was very rarely documented. While providing valuable documentary evidence, Dürer's Netherlandish diary also reveals that the trip was not a profitable one. For example, Dürer offered his last portrait of Maximilian to his daughter, Margaret of Austria, but eventually traded the picture for some white cloth after Margaret disliked the portrait and declined to accept it. During this trip he also met Bernard van Orley, Jan Provoost, Gerard Horenbout, Jean Mone, Joachim Patinir and Tommaso Vincidor, though he did not, it seems, meet Quentin Matsys.
Having secured his pension, Dürer returned home in July 1521, having caught an undetermined illness, which afflicted him for the rest of his life, and greatly reduced his rate of work.
Final years, Nuremberg (1521–1528)
On his return to Nuremberg, Dürer worked on a number of grand projects with religious themes, including a crucifixion scene and a Sacra conversazione, though neither was completed. This may have been due in part to his declining health, but perhaps also because of the time he gave to the preparation of his theoretical works on geometry and perspective, the proportions of men and horses, and fortification.
However, one consequence of this shift in emphasis was that during the last years of his life, Dürer produced comparatively little as an artist. In painting, there was only a portrait of Hieronymus Holtzschuher, a Madonna and Child (1526), Salvator Mundi (1526), and two panels showing St. John with St. Peter in background and St. Paul with St. Mark in the background. This last great work, the Four Apostles, was given by Dürer to the City of Nuremberg—although he was given 100 guilders in return.
As for engravings, Dürer's work was restricted to portraits and illustrations for his treatise. The portraits include Cardinal-Elector Albert of Mainz; Frederick the Wise, elector of Saxony; the humanist scholar Willibald Pirckheimer; Philipp Melanchthon, and Erasmus of Rotterdam. For those of the Cardinal, Melanchthon, and Dürer's final major work, a drawn portrait of the Nuremberg patrician Ulrich Starck, Dürer depicted the sitters in profile.
Despite complaining of his lack of a formal classical education, Dürer was greatly interested in intellectual matters and learned much from his boyhood friend Willibald Pirckheimer, whom he no doubt consulted on the content of many of his images. He also derived great satisfaction from his friendships and correspondence with Erasmus and other scholars. Dürer succeeded in producing two books during his lifetime. "The Four Books on Measurement" were published at Nuremberg in 1525 and was the first book for adults on mathematics in German, as well as being cited later by Galileo and Kepler. The other, a work on city fortifications, was published in 1527. "The Four Books on Human Proportion" were published posthumously, shortly after his death in 1528.
Dürer died in Nuremberg at the age of 56, leaving an estate valued at 6,874 florins – a considerable sum. He is buried in the Johannisfriedhof cemetery. His large house (purchased in 1509 from the heirs of the astronomer Bernhard Walther), where his workshop was located and where his widow lived until her death in 1539, remains a prominent Nuremberg landmark.
Dürer and the Reformation
Dürer's writings suggest that he may have been sympathetic to Luther's ideas, though it is unclear if he ever left the Catholic Church. Dürer wrote of his desire to draw Luther in his diary in 1520: "And God help me that I may go to Dr. Martin Luther; thus I intend to make a portrait of him with great care and engrave him on a copper plate to create a lasting memorial of the Christian man who helped me overcome so many difficulties." In a letter to Nicholas Kratzer in 1524, Dürer wrote, "because of our Christian faith we have to stand in scorn and danger, for we are reviled and called heretics". Most tellingly, Pirckheimer wrote in a letter to Johann Tscherte in 1530: "I confess that in the beginning I believed in Luther, like our Albert of blessed memory ... but as anyone can see, the situation has become worse." Dürer may even have contributed to the Nuremberg City Council's mandating Lutheran sermons and services in March 1525. Notably, Dürer had contacts with various reformers, such as Zwingli, Andreas Karlstadt, Melanchthon, Erasmus and Cornelius Grapheus from whom Dürer received Luther's Babylonian Captivity in 1520. Yet Erasmus and C. Grapheus are better said to be Catholic change agents. Also, from 1525, "the year that saw the peak and collapse of the Peasants' War, the artist can be seen to distance himself somewhat from the [Lutheran] movement..."
Dürer's later works have also been claimed to show Protestant sympathies. His 1523 The Last Supper woodcut has often been understood to have an evangelical theme, focusing as it does on Christ espousing the Gospel, as well as the inclusion of the Eucharistic cup, an expression of Protestant utraquism, although this interpretation has been questioned. The delaying of the engraving of St Philip, completed in 1523 but not distributed until 1526, may have been due to Dürer's uneasiness with images of saints; even if Dürer was not an iconoclast, in his last years he evaluated and questioned the role of art in religion.
Legacy and influence
Dürer exerted a huge influence on the artists of succeeding generations, especially in printmaking, the medium through which his contemporaries mostly experienced his art, as his paintings were predominantly in private collections located in only a few cities. His success in spreading his reputation across Europe through prints was undoubtedly an inspiration for major artists such as Raphael, Titian, and Parmigianino, all of whom collaborated with printmakers to promote and distribute their work.
His engravings seem to have had an intimidating effect upon his German successors; the "Little Masters" who attempted few large engravings but continued Dürer's themes in small, rather cramped compositions. Lucas van Leyden was the only Northern European engraver to successfully continue to produce large engravings in the first third of the 16th century. The generation of Italian engravers who trained in the shadow of Dürer all either directly copied parts of his landscape backgrounds (Giulio Campagnola, Giovanni Battista Palumba, Benedetto Montagna and Cristofano Robetta), or whole prints (Marcantonio Raimondi and Agostino Veneziano). However, Dürer's influence became less dominant after 1515, when Marcantonio perfected his new engraving style, which in turn travelled over the Alps to also dominate Northern engraving.
In painting, Dürer had relatively little influence in Italy, where probably only his altarpiece in Venice was seen, and his German successors were less effective in blending German and Italian styles. His intense and self-dramatizing self-portraits have continued to have a strong influence up to the present, especially on painters in the 19th and 20th century who desired a more dramatic portrait style. Dürer has never fallen from critical favour, and there have been significant revivals of interest in his works in Germany in the Dürer Renaissance of about 1570 to 1630, in the early nineteenth century, and in German nationalism from 1870 to 1945.
The Lutheran Church commemorates Dürer annually on 6 April, along with Michelangelo, Lucas Cranach the Elder and Hans Burgkmair. The liturgical calendar of the Episcopal Church (United States) remembers him, Cranach and Matthias Grünewald on 5 August.
Theoretical works
In all his theoretical works, in order to communicate his theories in the German language rather than in Latin, Dürer used graphic expressions based on a vernacular, craftsmen's language. For example, "Schneckenlinie" ("snail-line") was his term for a spiral form. Thus, Dürer contributed to the expansion in German prose which Luther had begun with his translation of the Bible.
Four Books on Measurement
Dürer's work on geometry is called the Four Books on Measurement (Underweysung der Messung mit dem Zirckel und Richtscheyt or Instructions for Measuring with Compass and Ruler). The first book focuses on linear geometry. Dürer's geometric constructions include helices, conchoids and epicycloids. He also draws on Apollonius, and Johannes Werner's 'Libellus super viginti duobus elementis conicis' of 1522.
The second book moves onto two-dimensional geometry, i.e. the construction of regular polygons. Here Dürer favours the methods of Ptolemy over Euclid. The third book applies these principles of geometry to architecture, engineering and typography.
In architecture Dürer cites Vitruvius but elaborates his own classical designs and columns. In typography, Dürer depicts the geometric construction of the Latin alphabet, relying on Italian precedent. However, his
construction of the Gothic alphabet is based upon an entirely different modular system. The fourth book completes the progression of the first and second by moving to three-dimensional forms and the construction of polyhedra. Here Dürer discusses the five Platonic solids, as well as seven Archimedean semi-regular solids, as well as several of his own invention.
In all these, Dürer shows the objects as nets. Finally, Dürer discusses the Delian Problem and moves on to the 'construzione legittima', a method of depicting a cube in two dimensions through linear perspective. He is thought to be the first to describe a visualization technique used in modern computers, ray tracing. It was in Bologna that Dürer was taught (possibly by Luca Pacioli or Bramante) the principles of linear perspective, and evidently became familiar with the 'costruzione legittima' in a written description of these principles found only, at this time, in the unpublished treatise of Piero della Francesca. He was also familiar with the 'abbreviated construction' as described by Alberti and the geometrical construction of shadows, a technique of Leonardo da Vinci. Although Dürer made no innovations in these areas, he is notable as the first Northern European to treat matters of visual representation in a scientific way, and with understanding of Euclidean principles. In addition to these geometrical constructions, Dürer discusses in this last book of Underweysung der Messung an assortment of mechanisms for drawing in perspective from models and provides woodcut illustrations of these methods that are often reproduced in discussions of perspective.
Four Books on Human Proportion
Dürer's work on human proportions is called the Four Books on Human Proportion (Vier Bücher von Menschlicher Proportion) of 1528. The first book was mainly composed by 1512/13 and completed by 1523, showing five differently constructed types of both male and female figures, all parts of the body expressed in fractions of the total height. Dürer based these constructions on both Vitruvius and empirical observations of "two to three hundred living persons", in his own words. The second book includes eight further types, broken down not into fractions but an Albertian system, which Dürer probably learned from Francesco di Giorgio's 'De harmonica mundi totius' of 1525. In the third book, Dürer gives principles by which the proportions of the figures can be modified, including the mathematical simulation of convex and concave mirrors; here Dürer also deals with human physiognomy. The fourth book is devoted to the theory of movement.
Appended to the last book, however, is a self-contained essay on aesthetics, which Dürer worked on between 1512 and 1528, and it is here that we learn of his theories concerning 'ideal beauty'. Dürer rejected Alberti's concept of an objective beauty, proposing a relativist notion of beauty based on variety. Nonetheless, Dürer still believed that truth was hidden within nature, and that there were rules which ordered beauty, even though he found it difficult to define the criteria for such a code. In 1512/13 his three criteria were function ('Nutz'), naïve approval ('Wohlgefallen') and the happy medium ('Mittelmass'). However, unlike Alberti and Leonardo, Dürer was most troubled by understanding not just the abstract notions of beauty but also as to how an artist can create beautiful images. Between 1512 and the final draft in 1528, Dürer's belief developed from an understanding of human creativity as spontaneous or inspired to a concept of 'selective inward synthesis'. In other words, that an artist builds on a wealth of visual experiences in order to imagine beautiful things. Dürer's belief in the abilities of a single artist over inspiration prompted him to assert that "one man may sketch something with his pen on half a sheet of paper in one day, or may cut it into a tiny piece of wood with his little iron, and it turns out to be better and more artistic than another's work at which its author labours with the utmost diligence for a whole year".
Book on Fortification
In 1527, Dürer also published Various Lessons on the Fortification of Cities, Castles, and Localities (Etliche Underricht zu Befestigung der Stett, Schloss und Flecken). It was printed in Nuremberg, probably by Hieronymus Andreae and reprinted in 1603 by Johan Janssenn in Arnhem. In 1535 it was also translated into Latin as On Cities, Forts, and Castles, Designed and Strengthened by Several Manners: Presented for the Most Necessary Accommodation of War (De vrbibus, arcibus, castellisque condendis, ac muniendis rationes aliquot : praesenti bellorum necessitati accommodatissimae), published by Christian Wechel (Wecheli/Wechelus) in Paris.
The work is less proscriptively theoretical than his other works, and was soon overshadowed by the Italian theory of polygonal fortification (the trace italienne – see Bastion fort), though his designs seem to have had some influence in the eastern German lands and up into the Baltic States.
Fencing
Dürer created many sketches and woodcuts of soldiers and knights over the course of his life. His most significant martial works, however, were made in 1512 as part of his efforts to secure the patronage of Maximilian I. Using existing manuscripts from the Nuremberg Group as his reference, his workshop produced the extensive Οπλοδιδασκαλια sive Armorvm Tractandorvm Meditatio Alberti Dvreri ("Weapon Training, or Albrecht Dürer's Meditation on the Handling of Weapons", MS 26-232). Another manuscript based on the Nuremberg texts as well as one of Hans Talhoffer's works, the untitled Berlin Picture Book (Libr.Pict.A.83), is also thought to have originated in his workshop around this time. These sketches and watercolors show the same careful attention to detail and human proportion as Dürer's other work, and his illustrations of grappling, long sword, dagger, and messer are among the highest-quality in any fencing manual.
Gallery
List of works
List of paintings by Albrecht Dürer
List of engravings by Albrecht Dürer
List of woodcuts by Albrecht Dürer
References
Notes
Citations
Sources
Bartrum, Giulia. Albrecht Dürer and his Legacy. London: British Museum Press, 2002.
Brand Philip, Lotte; Anzelewsky, Fedja. "The Portrait Diptych of Dürer's parents". Simiolus: Netherlands Quarterly for the History of Art, Volume 10, No. 1, 1978–79. 5–18
Brion, Marcel. Dürer. London: Thames and Hudson, 1960
Harbison, Craig. "Dürer and the Reformation: The Problem of the Re-dating of the St. Philip Engraving". The Art Bulletin, Vol. 58, No. 3, 368–373. September 1976
Koerner, Joseph Leo. The Moment of Self-Portraiture in German Renaissance Art. Chicago/London: University of Chicago Press, 1993.
Landau David; Parshall, Peter. The Renaissance Print. Yale, 1996.
Panofsky, Erwin. The Life and Art of Albrecht Dürer. NJ: Princeton, 1945.
Price, David Hotchkiss. Albrecht Dürer's Renaissance: Humanism, Reformation and the Art of Faith. Michigan, 2003. .
Strauss, Walter L. (ed.). The Complete Engravings, Etchings and Drypoints of Albrecht Durer. Mineola NY: Dover Publications, 1973.
Borchert, Till-Holger. Van Eyck to Dürer: The Influence of Early Netherlandish painting on European Art, 1430–1530. London: Thames & Hudson, 2011.
Wolf, Norbert. Albrecht Dürer. Taschen, 2010.
Hoffmann, Rainer. Im Paradies - Adam und Eva und der Sündenfall - Albrecht Dürers Darstellungen, Böhlau-Verlag, 2021, ISBN 9783412523852
Further reading
Campbell Hutchison, Jane. Albrecht Dürer: A Biography. Princeton University Press, 1990.
Demele, Christine. Dürers Nacktheit – Das Weimarer Selbstbildnis. Rhema Verlag, Münster 2012,
Dürer, Albrecht (translated by R.T. Nichol from the Latin text), Of the Just Shaping of Letters, Dover Publications.
Hart, Vaughan. 'Navel Gazing. On Albrecht Dürer's Adam and Eve (1504)', The International Journal of Arts Theory and History, 2016, vol.12.1 pp. 1–10 https://doi.org/10.18848/2326-9960/CGP/v12i01/1-10
Korolija Fontana-Giusti, Gordana. "The Unconscious and Space: Venice and the work of Albrecht Dürer", in Architecture and the Unconscious, eds. J. Hendrix and L.Holm, Farnham Surrey: Ashgate, 2016. pp. 27–44, .
Wilhelm, Kurth (ed.). The Complete Woodcuts of Albrecht Durer, Dover Publications, 2000.
External links
The Strange World of Albrecht Dürer at the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. 14 November 2010 – 13 March 2011
Dürer Prints Close-up. Made to accompany The Strange World of Albrecht Dürer at the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. 14 November 2010 – 13 March 2011
Albrecht Dürer: Vier Bücher von menschlicher Proportion (Nuremberg, 1528). Selected pages scanned from the original work. Historical Anatomies on the Web. US National Library of Medicine.
"Albrecht Dürer (1471–1528)". In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Albrecht Durer, Exhibition, Albertina, Vienna. 20 September 2019 – 6 January 2020
1471 births
1528 deaths
15th-century engravers
15th-century German painters
16th-century engravers
16th-century German painters
Animal artists
Artist authors
Artists from Nuremberg
Catholic decorative artists
Catholic draughtsmen
Catholic engravers
Catholic painters
German draughtsmen
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German Lutherans
German male painters
German people of Hungarian descent
German printmakers
German Renaissance painters
German Roman Catholics
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Manuscript illuminators
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People celebrated in the Lutheran liturgical calendar
Renaissance engravers
Woodcut designers | false | [
"Ahmet Uzel (1930–1998) was a Turkish composer. Uzel launched his career in 1948 and penned his first poem and composed music for the first time the same year. Even though he did not receive any formal education in music or literature, he has composed more than 5000 pieces all featuring his own lyrics. Uzel published his work for the first time on January 20, 1994; until then only a few close friends had seen it. The Turkish Radio and Television Corporation repertory includes 300 compositions by Uzel.\n\nSee also \n List of composers of classical Turkish music\n\nReferences\n\nComposers of Ottoman classical music\nComposers of Turkish makam music\n1930 births\n1998 deaths\n20th-century composers",
"Ingunn Arnórsdóttir (12th century; Old Norse: ; Modern Icelandic: ), was an Icelandic scholar. She belonged to the Ásbirningar family clan and was the daughter of Arnórs Ásbjarnarsonar and sister of Kolbeins Arnórssona. She was the first of her gender to receive a formal academic education and to serve as a teacher.\n\nIngunn Arnórsdóttir was a student at the Latin school of Bishop Jón Ögmundsson (reign 1106–1121) at Hólar. She was the only female student at the school and the first woman on Iceland to study Latin and academic subjects and to receive a formal education. After having completed her studies, she became a teacher at the school. She was to have been the teacher of many famous Icelandic men, among them two who later became bishops.\n\nReferences\n\n Zoe Patrice Borovsky, Rocking the Boat: Women in Old Norse Literature, 1994\n\n12th-century Icelandic people\n11th-century births\n12th-century births\nYear of death unknown\n12th-century Icelandic women"
] |
[
"Albrecht Dürer",
"Early life (1471-1490)",
"Are his parents names known?",
"His father, Albrecht Durer the Elder (originally Albrecht Ajtosi), was a successful goldsmith",
"Is anything known of his mother?",
"second son of his parents, who had at least fourteen and possibly as many as eighteen children.",
"Did he receive any formal education?",
"After a few years of school, Durer started to learn the basics of goldsmithing and drawing from his father."
] | C_4a4a9362ff664bba86e8c74ead6078c0_1 | Did he begin wood prints during this time? | 4 | Did Albrecht Dürer begin wood prints during his time learning goldsmithing? | Albrecht Dürer | Durer was born on 21 May 1471, third child and second son of his parents, who had at least fourteen and possibly as many as eighteen children. His father, Albrecht Durer the Elder (originally Albrecht Ajtosi), was a successful goldsmith who in 1455 had moved to Nuremberg from Ajtos, near Gyula in Hungary. One of Albrecht's brothers, Hans Durer, was also a painter and trained under him. Another of Albrecht's brothers, Endres Durer, took over their father's business and was a master goldsmith. The German name "Durer" is a translation from the Hungarian, "Ajtosi". Initially, it was "Turer", meaning doormaker, which is "ajtos" in Hungarian (from "ajto", meaning door). A door is featured in the coat-of-arms the family acquired. Albrecht Durer the Younger later changed "Turer", his father's diction of the family's surname, to "Durer", to adapt to the local Nuremberg dialect. Albrecht Durer the Elder married Barbara Holper, the daughter of his master when he himself became a master in 1467. Durer's godfather was Anton Koberger, who left goldsmithing to become a printer and publisher in the year of Durer's birth and quickly became the most successful publisher in Germany, eventually owning twenty-four printing-presses and having many offices in Germany and abroad. Koberger's most famous publication was the Nuremberg Chronicle, published in 1493 in German and Latin editions. It contained an unprecedented 1,809 woodcut illustrations (albeit with many repeated uses of the same block) by the Wolgemut workshop. Durer may have worked on some of these, as the work on the project began while he was with Wolgemut. Because Durer left autobiographical writings and became very famous by his mid-twenties, his life is well documented by several sources. After a few years of school, Durer started to learn the basics of goldsmithing and drawing from his father. Though his father wanted him to continue his training as a goldsmith, he showed such a precocious talent in drawing that he started as an apprentice to Michael Wolgemut at the age of fifteen in 1486. A self-portrait, a drawing in silverpoint, is dated 1484 (Albertina, Vienna) "when I was a child", as his later inscription says. Wolgemut was the leading artist in Nuremberg at the time, with a large workshop producing a variety of works of art, in particular woodcuts for books. Nuremberg was then an important and prosperous city, a centre for publishing and many luxury trades. It had strong links with Italy, especially Venice, a relatively short distance across the Alps. CANNOTANSWER | he started as an apprentice to Michael Wolgemut at the age of fifteen in 1486. | Albrecht Dürer (; ; ; 21 May 1471 – 6 April 1528), sometimes spelled in English as Durer (without an umlaut) or Duerer, was a German painter, printmaker, and theorist of the German Renaissance. Born in Nuremberg, Dürer established his reputation and influence across Europe in his twenties due to his high-quality woodcut prints. He was in contact with the major Italian artists of his time, including Raphael, Giovanni Bellini, and Leonardo da Vinci, and from 1512 was patronized by Emperor Maximilian I.
Dürer's vast body of work includes engravings, his preferred technique in his later prints, altarpieces, portraits and self-portraits, watercolours and books. The woodcuts series are more Gothic than the rest of his work. His well-known engravings include the three Meisterstiche (master prints) Knight, Death and the Devil (1513), Saint Jerome in his Study (1514), and Melencolia I (1514). His watercolours mark him as one of the first European landscape artists, while his woodcuts revolutionised the potential of that medium.
Dürer's introduction of classical motifs into Northern art, through his knowledge of Italian artists and German humanists, has secured his reputation as one of the most important figures of the Northern Renaissance. This is reinforced by his theoretical treatises, which involve principles of mathematics, perspective, and ideal proportions.
Biography
Early life (1471–1490)
Dürer was born on 21 May 1471, the third child and second son of Albrecht Dürer the Elder and Barbara Holper, who married in 1467 and had eighteen children together. Albrecht Dürer the Elder (originally Albrecht Ajtósi), was a successful goldsmith who by 1455 had moved to Nuremberg from Ajtós, near Gyula in Hungary. He married Holper, his master's daughter, when he himself qualified as a master. One of Albrecht's brothers, Hans Dürer, was also a painter and trained under him. Another of Albrecht's brothers, Endres Dürer, took over their father's business and was a master goldsmith. The German name "Dürer" is a translation from the Hungarian, "Ajtósi". Initially, it was "Türer", meaning doormaker, which is "ajtós" in Hungarian (from "ajtó", meaning door). A door is featured in the coat-of-arms the family acquired. Albrecht Dürer the Younger later changed "Türer", his father's diction of the family's surname, to "Dürer", to adapt to the local Nuremberg dialect.
Dürer's godfather Anton Koberger left goldsmithing to become a printer and publisher in the year of Dürer's birth. He became the most successful publisher in Germany, eventually owning twenty-four printing-presses and a number of offices in Germany and abroad. Koberger's most famous publication was the Nuremberg Chronicle, published in 1493 in German and Latin editions. It contained an unprecedented 1,809 woodcut illustrations (albeit with many repeated uses of the same block) by the Wolgemut workshop. Dürer may have worked on some of these, as the work on the project began while he was with Wolgemut.
Because Dürer left autobiographical writings and was widely known by his mid-twenties, his life is well documented in several sources. After a few years of school, Dürer learned the basics of goldsmithing and drawing from his father. Though his father wanted him to continue his training as a goldsmith, he showed such a precocious talent in drawing that he started as an apprentice to Michael Wolgemut at the age of fifteen in 1486. A self-portrait, a drawing in silverpoint, is dated 1484 (Albertina, Vienna) "when I was a child", as his later inscription says. The drawing is one of the earliest surviving children's drawings of any kind, and, as Dürer's Opus One, has helped define his oeuvre as deriving from, and always linked to, himself. Wolgemut was the leading artist in Nuremberg at the time, with a large workshop producing a variety of works of art, in particular woodcuts for books. Nuremberg was then an important and prosperous city, a centre for publishing and many luxury trades. It had strong links with Italy, especially Venice, a relatively short distance across the Alps.
Wanderjahre and marriage (1490–1494)
After completing his apprenticeship, Dürer followed the common German custom of taking Wanderjahre—in effect gap years—in which the apprentice learned skills from artists in other areas; Dürer was to spend about four years away. He left in 1490, possibly to work under Martin Schongauer, the leading engraver of Northern Europe, but who died shortly before Dürer's arrival at Colmar in 1492. It is unclear where Dürer travelled in the intervening period, though it is likely that he went to Frankfurt and the Netherlands. In Colmar, Dürer was welcomed by Schongauer's brothers, the goldsmiths Caspar and Paul and the painter Ludwig. In 1493 Dürer went to Strasbourg, where he would have experienced the sculpture of Nikolaus Gerhaert. Dürer's first painted self-portrait (now in the Louvre) was painted at this time, probably to be sent back to his fiancée in Nuremberg.
In early 1492 Dürer travelled to Basel to stay with another brother of Martin Schongauer, the goldsmith Georg. Very soon after his return to Nuremberg, on 7 July 1494, at the age of 23, Dürer was married to Agnes Frey following an arrangement made during his absence. Agnes was the daughter of a prominent brass worker (and amateur harpist) in the city. However, no children resulted from the marriage, and with Albrecht the Dürer name died out. The marriage between Agnes and Albrecht was not a generally happy one, as indicated by the letters of Dürer in which he quipped to Willibald Pirckheimer in an extremely rough tone about his wife. He called her an "old crow" and made other vulgar remarks. Pirckheimer also made no secret of his antipathy towards Agnes, describing her as a miserly shrew with a bitter tongue, who helped cause Dürer's death at a young age. One author speculates that Albrecht was bisexual, if not homosexual, due to several of his works containing themes of homosexual desire, as well as the intimate nature of his correspondence with certain very close male friends.
First journey to Italy (1494–1495)
Within three months of his marriage, Dürer left for Italy, alone, perhaps stimulated by an outbreak of plague in Nuremberg. He made watercolour sketches as he traveled over the Alps. Some have survived and others may be deduced from accurate landscapes of real places in his later work, for example his engraving Nemesis.
In Italy, he went to Venice to study its more advanced artistic world. Through Wolgemut's tutelage, Dürer had learned how to make prints in drypoint and design woodcuts in the German style, based on the works of Schongauer and the Housebook Master. He also would have had access to some Italian works in Germany, but the two visits he made to Italy had an enormous influence on him. He wrote that Giovanni Bellini was the oldest and still the best of the artists in Venice. His drawings and engravings show the influence of others, notably Antonio Pollaiuolo, with his interest in the proportions of the body; Lorenzo di Credi; and Andrea Mantegna, whose work he produced copies of while training. Dürer probably also visited Padua and Mantua on this trip.
Return to Nuremberg (1495–1505)
On his return to Nuremberg in 1495, Dürer opened his own workshop (being married was a requirement for this). Over the next five years, his style increasingly integrated Italian influences into underlying Northern forms. Arguably his best works in the first years of the workshop were his woodcut prints, mostly religious, but including secular scenes such as The Men's Bath House (ca. 1496). These were larger and more finely cut than the great majority of German woodcuts hitherto, and far more complex and balanced in composition.
It is now thought unlikely that Dürer cut any of the woodblocks himself; this task would have been performed by a specialist craftsman. However, his training in Wolgemut's studio, which made many carved and painted altarpieces and both designed and cut woodblocks for woodcut, evidently gave him great understanding of what the technique could be made to produce, and how to work with block cutters. Dürer either drew his design directly onto the woodblock itself, or glued a paper drawing to the block. Either way, his drawings were destroyed during the cutting of the block.
His series of sixteen designs for the Apocalypse is dated 1498, as is his engraving of St. Michael Fighting the Dragon. He made the first seven scenes of the Great Passion in the same year, and a little later, a series of eleven on the Holy Family and saints. The Seven Sorrows Polyptych, commissioned by Frederick III of Saxony in 1496, was executed by Dürer and his assistants c. 1500. In 1502, Dürer's father died. Around 1503–1505 Dürer produced the first 17 of a set illustrating the Life of the Virgin, which he did not finish for some years. Neither these nor the Great Passion were published as sets until several years later, but prints were sold individually in considerable numbers.
During the same period Dürer trained himself in the difficult art of using the burin to make engravings. It is possible he had begun learning this skill during his early training with his father, as it was also an essential skill of the goldsmith. In 1496 he executed the Prodigal Son, which the Italian Renaissance art historian Giorgio Vasari singled out for praise some decades later, noting its Germanic quality. He was soon producing some spectacular and original images, notably Nemesis (1502), The Sea Monster (1498), and Saint Eustace (c. 1501), with a highly detailed landscape background and animals. His landscapes of this period, such as Pond in the Woods and Willow Mill, are quite different from his earlier watercolours. There is a much greater emphasis on capturing atmosphere, rather than depicting topography. He made a number of Madonnas, single religious figures, and small scenes with comic peasant figures. Prints are highly portable and these works made Dürer famous throughout the main artistic centres of Europe within a very few years.
The Venetian artist Jacopo de' Barbari, whom Dürer had met in Venice, visited Nuremberg in 1500, and Dürer said that he learned much about the new developments in perspective, anatomy, and proportion from him. De' Barbari was unwilling to explain everything he knew, so Dürer began his own studies, which would become a lifelong preoccupation. A series of extant drawings show Dürer's experiments in human proportion, leading to the famous engraving of Adam and Eve (1504), which shows his subtlety while using the burin in the texturing of flesh surfaces. This is the only existing engraving signed with his full name.
Dürer created large numbers of preparatory drawings, especially for his paintings and engravings, and many survive, most famously the Betende Hände (Praying Hands) from circa 1508, a study for an apostle in the Heller altarpiece. He continued to make images in watercolour and bodycolour (usually combined), including a number of still lifes of meadow sections or animals, including his Young Hare (1502) and the Great Piece of Turf (1503).
Second journey to Italy (1505–1507)
In Italy, he returned to painting, at first producing a series of works executed in tempera on linen. These include portraits and altarpieces, notably, the Paumgartner altarpiece and the Adoration of the Magi. In early 1506, he returned to Venice and stayed there until the spring of 1507. By this time Dürer's engravings had attained great popularity and were being copied. In Venice he was given a valuable commission from the emigrant German community for the church of San Bartolomeo. This was the altar-piece known as the Adoration of the Virgin or the Feast of Rose Garlands. It includes portraits of members of Venice's German community, but shows a strong Italian influence. It was later acquired by the Emperor Rudolf II and taken to Prague.
Nuremberg and the masterworks (1507–1520)
Despite the regard in which he was held by the Venetians, Dürer returned to Nuremberg by mid-1507, remaining in Germany until 1520. His reputation had spread throughout Europe and he was on friendly terms and in communication with most of the major artists including Raphael.
Between 1507 and 1511 Dürer worked on some of his most celebrated paintings: Adam and Eve (1507), Martyrdom of the Ten Thousand (1508, for Frederick of Saxony), Virgin with the Iris (1508), the altarpiece Assumption of the Virgin (1509, for Jacob Heller of Frankfurt), and Adoration of the Trinity (1511, for Matthaeus Landauer). During this period he also completed two woodcut series, the Great Passion and the Life of the Virgin, both published in 1511 together with a second edition of the Apocalypse series. The post-Venetian woodcuts show Dürer's development of chiaroscuro modelling effects, creating a mid-tone throughout the print to which the highlights and shadows can be contrasted.
Other works from this period include the thirty-seven Little Passion woodcuts, first published in 1511, and a set of fifteen small engravings on the same theme in 1512. Complaining that painting did not make enough money to justify the time spent when compared to his prints, he produced no paintings from 1513 to 1516. In 1513 and 1514 Dürer created his three most famous engravings: Knight, Death and the Devil (1513, probably based on Erasmus's Handbook of a Christian Knight), St. Jerome in His Study, and the much-debated Melencolia I (both 1514, the year Dürer's mother died). Further outstanding pen and ink drawings of Dürer's period of art work of 1513 were drafts for his friend Pirckheimer. These drafts were later used to design Lusterweibchen chandeliers, combining an antler with a wooden sculpture.
In 1515, he created his woodcut of a Rhinoceros which had arrived in Lisbon from a written description and sketch by another artist, without ever seeing the animal himself. An image of the Indian rhinoceros, the image has such force that it remains one of his best-known and was still used in some German school science text-books as late as last century. In the years leading to 1520 he produced a wide range of works, including the woodblocks for the first western printed star charts in 1515 and portraits in tempera on linen in 1516. His only experiments with etching came in this period, producing five between 1515–1516 and a sixth in 1518; a technique he may have abandoned as unsuited to his aesthetic of methodical, classical form.
Patronage of Maximilian I
From 1512, Maximilian I became Dürer's major patron. He commissioned The Triumphal Arch, a vast work printed from 192 separate blocks, the symbolism of which is partly informed by Pirckheimer's translation of Horapollo's Hieroglyphica. The design program and explanations were devised by Johannes Stabius, the architectural design by the master builder and court-painter Jörg Kölderer and the woodcutting itself by Hieronymous Andreae, with Dürer as designer-in-chief. The Arch was followed by The Triumphal Procession, the program of which was worked out in 1512 by Marx Treitz-Saurwein and includes woodcuts by Albrecht Altdorfer and Hans Springinklee, as well as Dürer.
Dürer worked with pen on the marginal images for an edition of the Emperor's printed Prayer-Book; these were quite unknown until facsimiles were published in 1808 as part of the first book published in lithography. Dürer's work on the book was halted for an unknown reason, and the decoration was continued by artists including Lucas Cranach the Elder and Hans Baldung. Dürer also made several portraits of the Emperor, including one shortly before Maximilian's death in 1519.
Maximilian was a very cash-strapped prince who sometimes failed to pay, yet turned out to be Dürer's most important patron. In his court, artists and learned men were respected, which was not common at that time (later, Dürer commented that in Germany, as a non-noble, he was treated a parasite). Pirckheimer (who he met in 1495, before entering the service of Maximilian) was also an important personage in the court and great cultural patron, who had a strong influence on Dürer as his tutor in classical knowledge and humanistic critical methodology, as well as collaborator.
In Maximilian's court, Dürer also collaborated with a great number of other brilliant artists and scholars of the time who became his friends, like Johannes Stabius, Konrad Peutinger, Conrad Celtes, and Hans Tscherte (an imperial architect).
Dürer manifested a strong pride in his ability, as a prince of his profession. One day, the emperor, trying to show Dürer an idea, tried to sketch with the charcoal himself, but always broke it. Dürer took the charcoal from Maximilian's hand, finished the drawing and told him: "This is my scepter."
In another occasion, Maximilian noticed that the ladder Dürer used was too short and unstable, thus told a noble to hold it for him. The noble refused, saying that it was beneath him to serve a non-noble. Maximilian then came to hold the ladder himself, and told the noble that he could make a noble out of a peasant any day, but he could not make an artist like Dürer out of a noble.
Cartographic and astronomical works
Dürer's exploration of space led to a relationship and cooperation with the court astronomer Johannes Stabius. Stabius also often acted as Dürer's and Maximilian's go-between for their financial problems.
In 1515 Dürer and Stabius created the first world map projected on a solid geometric sphere. Also in 1515, Stabius, Dürer and the astronomer Konrad Heinfogel produced the first planispheres of both southern and northerns hemispheres, as well as the first printed celestial maps, which prompted the revival of interest in the field of uranometry throughout Europe.
Journey to the Netherlands (1520–1521)
Maximilian's death came at a time when Dürer was concerned he was losing "my sight and freedom of hand" (perhaps caused by arthritis) and increasingly affected by the writings of Martin Luther. In July 1520 Dürer made his fourth and last major journey, to renew the Imperial pension Maximilian had given him and to secure the patronage of the new emperor, Charles V, who was to be crowned at Aachen. Dürer journeyed with his wife and her maid via the Rhine to Cologne and then to Antwerp, where he was well received and produced numerous drawings in silverpoint, chalk and charcoal. In addition to attending the coronation, he visited Cologne (where he admired the painting of Stefan Lochner), Nijmegen, 's-Hertogenbosch, Bruges (where he saw Michelangelo's Madonna of Bruges), Ghent (where he admired van Eyck's Ghent altarpiece), and Zeeland.
Dürer took a large stock of prints with him and wrote in his diary to whom he gave, exchanged or sold them, and for how much. This provides rare information of the monetary value placed on prints at this time. Unlike paintings, their sale was very rarely documented. While providing valuable documentary evidence, Dürer's Netherlandish diary also reveals that the trip was not a profitable one. For example, Dürer offered his last portrait of Maximilian to his daughter, Margaret of Austria, but eventually traded the picture for some white cloth after Margaret disliked the portrait and declined to accept it. During this trip he also met Bernard van Orley, Jan Provoost, Gerard Horenbout, Jean Mone, Joachim Patinir and Tommaso Vincidor, though he did not, it seems, meet Quentin Matsys.
Having secured his pension, Dürer returned home in July 1521, having caught an undetermined illness, which afflicted him for the rest of his life, and greatly reduced his rate of work.
Final years, Nuremberg (1521–1528)
On his return to Nuremberg, Dürer worked on a number of grand projects with religious themes, including a crucifixion scene and a Sacra conversazione, though neither was completed. This may have been due in part to his declining health, but perhaps also because of the time he gave to the preparation of his theoretical works on geometry and perspective, the proportions of men and horses, and fortification.
However, one consequence of this shift in emphasis was that during the last years of his life, Dürer produced comparatively little as an artist. In painting, there was only a portrait of Hieronymus Holtzschuher, a Madonna and Child (1526), Salvator Mundi (1526), and two panels showing St. John with St. Peter in background and St. Paul with St. Mark in the background. This last great work, the Four Apostles, was given by Dürer to the City of Nuremberg—although he was given 100 guilders in return.
As for engravings, Dürer's work was restricted to portraits and illustrations for his treatise. The portraits include Cardinal-Elector Albert of Mainz; Frederick the Wise, elector of Saxony; the humanist scholar Willibald Pirckheimer; Philipp Melanchthon, and Erasmus of Rotterdam. For those of the Cardinal, Melanchthon, and Dürer's final major work, a drawn portrait of the Nuremberg patrician Ulrich Starck, Dürer depicted the sitters in profile.
Despite complaining of his lack of a formal classical education, Dürer was greatly interested in intellectual matters and learned much from his boyhood friend Willibald Pirckheimer, whom he no doubt consulted on the content of many of his images. He also derived great satisfaction from his friendships and correspondence with Erasmus and other scholars. Dürer succeeded in producing two books during his lifetime. "The Four Books on Measurement" were published at Nuremberg in 1525 and was the first book for adults on mathematics in German, as well as being cited later by Galileo and Kepler. The other, a work on city fortifications, was published in 1527. "The Four Books on Human Proportion" were published posthumously, shortly after his death in 1528.
Dürer died in Nuremberg at the age of 56, leaving an estate valued at 6,874 florins – a considerable sum. He is buried in the Johannisfriedhof cemetery. His large house (purchased in 1509 from the heirs of the astronomer Bernhard Walther), where his workshop was located and where his widow lived until her death in 1539, remains a prominent Nuremberg landmark.
Dürer and the Reformation
Dürer's writings suggest that he may have been sympathetic to Luther's ideas, though it is unclear if he ever left the Catholic Church. Dürer wrote of his desire to draw Luther in his diary in 1520: "And God help me that I may go to Dr. Martin Luther; thus I intend to make a portrait of him with great care and engrave him on a copper plate to create a lasting memorial of the Christian man who helped me overcome so many difficulties." In a letter to Nicholas Kratzer in 1524, Dürer wrote, "because of our Christian faith we have to stand in scorn and danger, for we are reviled and called heretics". Most tellingly, Pirckheimer wrote in a letter to Johann Tscherte in 1530: "I confess that in the beginning I believed in Luther, like our Albert of blessed memory ... but as anyone can see, the situation has become worse." Dürer may even have contributed to the Nuremberg City Council's mandating Lutheran sermons and services in March 1525. Notably, Dürer had contacts with various reformers, such as Zwingli, Andreas Karlstadt, Melanchthon, Erasmus and Cornelius Grapheus from whom Dürer received Luther's Babylonian Captivity in 1520. Yet Erasmus and C. Grapheus are better said to be Catholic change agents. Also, from 1525, "the year that saw the peak and collapse of the Peasants' War, the artist can be seen to distance himself somewhat from the [Lutheran] movement..."
Dürer's later works have also been claimed to show Protestant sympathies. His 1523 The Last Supper woodcut has often been understood to have an evangelical theme, focusing as it does on Christ espousing the Gospel, as well as the inclusion of the Eucharistic cup, an expression of Protestant utraquism, although this interpretation has been questioned. The delaying of the engraving of St Philip, completed in 1523 but not distributed until 1526, may have been due to Dürer's uneasiness with images of saints; even if Dürer was not an iconoclast, in his last years he evaluated and questioned the role of art in religion.
Legacy and influence
Dürer exerted a huge influence on the artists of succeeding generations, especially in printmaking, the medium through which his contemporaries mostly experienced his art, as his paintings were predominantly in private collections located in only a few cities. His success in spreading his reputation across Europe through prints was undoubtedly an inspiration for major artists such as Raphael, Titian, and Parmigianino, all of whom collaborated with printmakers to promote and distribute their work.
His engravings seem to have had an intimidating effect upon his German successors; the "Little Masters" who attempted few large engravings but continued Dürer's themes in small, rather cramped compositions. Lucas van Leyden was the only Northern European engraver to successfully continue to produce large engravings in the first third of the 16th century. The generation of Italian engravers who trained in the shadow of Dürer all either directly copied parts of his landscape backgrounds (Giulio Campagnola, Giovanni Battista Palumba, Benedetto Montagna and Cristofano Robetta), or whole prints (Marcantonio Raimondi and Agostino Veneziano). However, Dürer's influence became less dominant after 1515, when Marcantonio perfected his new engraving style, which in turn travelled over the Alps to also dominate Northern engraving.
In painting, Dürer had relatively little influence in Italy, where probably only his altarpiece in Venice was seen, and his German successors were less effective in blending German and Italian styles. His intense and self-dramatizing self-portraits have continued to have a strong influence up to the present, especially on painters in the 19th and 20th century who desired a more dramatic portrait style. Dürer has never fallen from critical favour, and there have been significant revivals of interest in his works in Germany in the Dürer Renaissance of about 1570 to 1630, in the early nineteenth century, and in German nationalism from 1870 to 1945.
The Lutheran Church commemorates Dürer annually on 6 April, along with Michelangelo, Lucas Cranach the Elder and Hans Burgkmair. The liturgical calendar of the Episcopal Church (United States) remembers him, Cranach and Matthias Grünewald on 5 August.
Theoretical works
In all his theoretical works, in order to communicate his theories in the German language rather than in Latin, Dürer used graphic expressions based on a vernacular, craftsmen's language. For example, "Schneckenlinie" ("snail-line") was his term for a spiral form. Thus, Dürer contributed to the expansion in German prose which Luther had begun with his translation of the Bible.
Four Books on Measurement
Dürer's work on geometry is called the Four Books on Measurement (Underweysung der Messung mit dem Zirckel und Richtscheyt or Instructions for Measuring with Compass and Ruler). The first book focuses on linear geometry. Dürer's geometric constructions include helices, conchoids and epicycloids. He also draws on Apollonius, and Johannes Werner's 'Libellus super viginti duobus elementis conicis' of 1522.
The second book moves onto two-dimensional geometry, i.e. the construction of regular polygons. Here Dürer favours the methods of Ptolemy over Euclid. The third book applies these principles of geometry to architecture, engineering and typography.
In architecture Dürer cites Vitruvius but elaborates his own classical designs and columns. In typography, Dürer depicts the geometric construction of the Latin alphabet, relying on Italian precedent. However, his
construction of the Gothic alphabet is based upon an entirely different modular system. The fourth book completes the progression of the first and second by moving to three-dimensional forms and the construction of polyhedra. Here Dürer discusses the five Platonic solids, as well as seven Archimedean semi-regular solids, as well as several of his own invention.
In all these, Dürer shows the objects as nets. Finally, Dürer discusses the Delian Problem and moves on to the 'construzione legittima', a method of depicting a cube in two dimensions through linear perspective. He is thought to be the first to describe a visualization technique used in modern computers, ray tracing. It was in Bologna that Dürer was taught (possibly by Luca Pacioli or Bramante) the principles of linear perspective, and evidently became familiar with the 'costruzione legittima' in a written description of these principles found only, at this time, in the unpublished treatise of Piero della Francesca. He was also familiar with the 'abbreviated construction' as described by Alberti and the geometrical construction of shadows, a technique of Leonardo da Vinci. Although Dürer made no innovations in these areas, he is notable as the first Northern European to treat matters of visual representation in a scientific way, and with understanding of Euclidean principles. In addition to these geometrical constructions, Dürer discusses in this last book of Underweysung der Messung an assortment of mechanisms for drawing in perspective from models and provides woodcut illustrations of these methods that are often reproduced in discussions of perspective.
Four Books on Human Proportion
Dürer's work on human proportions is called the Four Books on Human Proportion (Vier Bücher von Menschlicher Proportion) of 1528. The first book was mainly composed by 1512/13 and completed by 1523, showing five differently constructed types of both male and female figures, all parts of the body expressed in fractions of the total height. Dürer based these constructions on both Vitruvius and empirical observations of "two to three hundred living persons", in his own words. The second book includes eight further types, broken down not into fractions but an Albertian system, which Dürer probably learned from Francesco di Giorgio's 'De harmonica mundi totius' of 1525. In the third book, Dürer gives principles by which the proportions of the figures can be modified, including the mathematical simulation of convex and concave mirrors; here Dürer also deals with human physiognomy. The fourth book is devoted to the theory of movement.
Appended to the last book, however, is a self-contained essay on aesthetics, which Dürer worked on between 1512 and 1528, and it is here that we learn of his theories concerning 'ideal beauty'. Dürer rejected Alberti's concept of an objective beauty, proposing a relativist notion of beauty based on variety. Nonetheless, Dürer still believed that truth was hidden within nature, and that there were rules which ordered beauty, even though he found it difficult to define the criteria for such a code. In 1512/13 his three criteria were function ('Nutz'), naïve approval ('Wohlgefallen') and the happy medium ('Mittelmass'). However, unlike Alberti and Leonardo, Dürer was most troubled by understanding not just the abstract notions of beauty but also as to how an artist can create beautiful images. Between 1512 and the final draft in 1528, Dürer's belief developed from an understanding of human creativity as spontaneous or inspired to a concept of 'selective inward synthesis'. In other words, that an artist builds on a wealth of visual experiences in order to imagine beautiful things. Dürer's belief in the abilities of a single artist over inspiration prompted him to assert that "one man may sketch something with his pen on half a sheet of paper in one day, or may cut it into a tiny piece of wood with his little iron, and it turns out to be better and more artistic than another's work at which its author labours with the utmost diligence for a whole year".
Book on Fortification
In 1527, Dürer also published Various Lessons on the Fortification of Cities, Castles, and Localities (Etliche Underricht zu Befestigung der Stett, Schloss und Flecken). It was printed in Nuremberg, probably by Hieronymus Andreae and reprinted in 1603 by Johan Janssenn in Arnhem. In 1535 it was also translated into Latin as On Cities, Forts, and Castles, Designed and Strengthened by Several Manners: Presented for the Most Necessary Accommodation of War (De vrbibus, arcibus, castellisque condendis, ac muniendis rationes aliquot : praesenti bellorum necessitati accommodatissimae), published by Christian Wechel (Wecheli/Wechelus) in Paris.
The work is less proscriptively theoretical than his other works, and was soon overshadowed by the Italian theory of polygonal fortification (the trace italienne – see Bastion fort), though his designs seem to have had some influence in the eastern German lands and up into the Baltic States.
Fencing
Dürer created many sketches and woodcuts of soldiers and knights over the course of his life. His most significant martial works, however, were made in 1512 as part of his efforts to secure the patronage of Maximilian I. Using existing manuscripts from the Nuremberg Group as his reference, his workshop produced the extensive Οπλοδιδασκαλια sive Armorvm Tractandorvm Meditatio Alberti Dvreri ("Weapon Training, or Albrecht Dürer's Meditation on the Handling of Weapons", MS 26-232). Another manuscript based on the Nuremberg texts as well as one of Hans Talhoffer's works, the untitled Berlin Picture Book (Libr.Pict.A.83), is also thought to have originated in his workshop around this time. These sketches and watercolors show the same careful attention to detail and human proportion as Dürer's other work, and his illustrations of grappling, long sword, dagger, and messer are among the highest-quality in any fencing manual.
Gallery
List of works
List of paintings by Albrecht Dürer
List of engravings by Albrecht Dürer
List of woodcuts by Albrecht Dürer
References
Notes
Citations
Sources
Bartrum, Giulia. Albrecht Dürer and his Legacy. London: British Museum Press, 2002.
Brand Philip, Lotte; Anzelewsky, Fedja. "The Portrait Diptych of Dürer's parents". Simiolus: Netherlands Quarterly for the History of Art, Volume 10, No. 1, 1978–79. 5–18
Brion, Marcel. Dürer. London: Thames and Hudson, 1960
Harbison, Craig. "Dürer and the Reformation: The Problem of the Re-dating of the St. Philip Engraving". The Art Bulletin, Vol. 58, No. 3, 368–373. September 1976
Koerner, Joseph Leo. The Moment of Self-Portraiture in German Renaissance Art. Chicago/London: University of Chicago Press, 1993.
Landau David; Parshall, Peter. The Renaissance Print. Yale, 1996.
Panofsky, Erwin. The Life and Art of Albrecht Dürer. NJ: Princeton, 1945.
Price, David Hotchkiss. Albrecht Dürer's Renaissance: Humanism, Reformation and the Art of Faith. Michigan, 2003. .
Strauss, Walter L. (ed.). The Complete Engravings, Etchings and Drypoints of Albrecht Durer. Mineola NY: Dover Publications, 1973.
Borchert, Till-Holger. Van Eyck to Dürer: The Influence of Early Netherlandish painting on European Art, 1430–1530. London: Thames & Hudson, 2011.
Wolf, Norbert. Albrecht Dürer. Taschen, 2010.
Hoffmann, Rainer. Im Paradies - Adam und Eva und der Sündenfall - Albrecht Dürers Darstellungen, Böhlau-Verlag, 2021, ISBN 9783412523852
Further reading
Campbell Hutchison, Jane. Albrecht Dürer: A Biography. Princeton University Press, 1990.
Demele, Christine. Dürers Nacktheit – Das Weimarer Selbstbildnis. Rhema Verlag, Münster 2012,
Dürer, Albrecht (translated by R.T. Nichol from the Latin text), Of the Just Shaping of Letters, Dover Publications.
Hart, Vaughan. 'Navel Gazing. On Albrecht Dürer's Adam and Eve (1504)', The International Journal of Arts Theory and History, 2016, vol.12.1 pp. 1–10 https://doi.org/10.18848/2326-9960/CGP/v12i01/1-10
Korolija Fontana-Giusti, Gordana. "The Unconscious and Space: Venice and the work of Albrecht Dürer", in Architecture and the Unconscious, eds. J. Hendrix and L.Holm, Farnham Surrey: Ashgate, 2016. pp. 27–44, .
Wilhelm, Kurth (ed.). The Complete Woodcuts of Albrecht Durer, Dover Publications, 2000.
External links
The Strange World of Albrecht Dürer at the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. 14 November 2010 – 13 March 2011
Dürer Prints Close-up. Made to accompany The Strange World of Albrecht Dürer at the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. 14 November 2010 – 13 March 2011
Albrecht Dürer: Vier Bücher von menschlicher Proportion (Nuremberg, 1528). Selected pages scanned from the original work. Historical Anatomies on the Web. US National Library of Medicine.
"Albrecht Dürer (1471–1528)". In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Albrecht Durer, Exhibition, Albertina, Vienna. 20 September 2019 – 6 January 2020
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Renaissance engravers
Woodcut designers | true | [
"Joseph Martin Kronheim (1810–1896) was a German-born lithographer and wood engraver known for founding Kronheim & Co. and working with George Baxter.\n\nBiography\n\nKronheim was born on October 26, 1810 in Magdeburg, Germany. By the age of 22 he resided in Edinburgh, and died at the age of 85 in 1896, in Berlin.\n\nKronheim & Co.\n\nDuring the mid-1860s, Kronheim and Co. printed hundreds of biblical prints, adding to the firm's eventual total output of as many as 5000 different prints.\n\nKronheim & Co. utilized the Baxter process to create prints. Kronheim's chief innovation in the field was the use of zinc instead of wood blocks, which reduced the amount of time needed to complete prints, but resulted in a less shiny finish.\n\nBy 1855, thanks in large part to the firm's use of zinc blocks, Kronheim & Co. had produced over 1000 different prints, including some for the 1855 Paris Exhibition. After the exhibition, Kronheim sold his share of the business to Oscar Frauenknecht.\n\nKronheim retired to Germany and attempted to set up other printing businesses, including an American one. However, these efforts failed, causing Kronheim to lose all of his investments. So, he rejoined Frauenknecht and his old firm, Kronheim & Co., but not as a partner. The firm expanded into Manchester and Glasgow.\n\nIn 1875, due to the rise of steam power and steam lithography machines, Kronheim & Co. ceased using the Baxter process.\n\nKronheim worked under Frauenknecht for Kronheim and Co. until 1887.\n\nLegacy and Criticism\n\nKronheim and Co. produced at least 4000 and as may as 5000 different prints. This immense output has led some critics (such as Courtney Lewis) to assert that his firm was more concerned with quantity than quality. Others, such as author Mike Martin, argue that Kronheim simply preferred a larger subject variety. Martin argues that Kronheim was an important book illustrator, of children's books in particular, and that much of his work was of high quality.\n\nKronheim is best known for his set of four large coaching scene prints, entitled Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter.\n\nIn July 2000, the New Baxter Society held an exhibition sampling Kronheim's work at St. Albans.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n\n \n \nWorks by Joseph Martin Kronheim at Digital Archive (Toronto Public Library)\n \n\n1810 births\n1896 deaths\nGerman lithographers\nGerman wood engravers",
"Dennis Ichiyama is an artist focusing on woodblock prints and former professor of Visual Communications Design at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana..\n\nEarly life and education\nIchiyama attended the University of Hawaii-Manoa where he obtained his B.F.A., having grown up in Hawaii. He went on to get his M.F.A. in Graphic Design from Yale University in 1968, studying under Paul Rand to learn how to create within limitations. From 1976 to 1978, Ichiyama studied as a post-graduate student at Allegemeine Gewerbeschule in Basel, Switzerland.\n\nCareer\nIn 1999, Ichiyama became the designer-in-residence at the Hamilton Wood Type and Printing Museum in Two Rivers, Wisconsin, working with historic wood type.\n\nDuring his career he has received several fellowships and study grants, and many awards in Print, Communication Arts, Creativity, and HO publications' annual design competitions. He has contributed to the book Contemporary Designers. and the book Hamilton Wood Type, A History in Headlines.\n\nIn late 2017, Ichiyama was forced to retire from Purdue University.\n\nArt\nIchiyama's art focuses on woodblock prints. He uses opaque and transparent inks to layer wood block prints of letters on top of one another. By doing this, he creates new shapes and forms within the remaining positive and negative space. His work can be found in many library collections in the US, Zurich, Rome, and Corunda, as well as the National Art Museum and Gallery\n\nIchiyama has also designed a number of commercial trademarks.\n\nReferences\n\nYear of birth missing (living people)\nLiving people\nPurdue University faculty\nYale University alumni\nUniversity of Hawaiʻi alumni\n20th-century American printmakers\nWoodcut designers\nAmerican graphic designers"
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"Albrecht Dürer",
"Early life (1471-1490)",
"Are his parents names known?",
"His father, Albrecht Durer the Elder (originally Albrecht Ajtosi), was a successful goldsmith",
"Is anything known of his mother?",
"second son of his parents, who had at least fourteen and possibly as many as eighteen children.",
"Did he receive any formal education?",
"After a few years of school, Durer started to learn the basics of goldsmithing and drawing from his father.",
"Did he begin wood prints during this time?",
"he started as an apprentice to Michael Wolgemut at the age of fifteen in 1486."
] | C_4a4a9362ff664bba86e8c74ead6078c0_1 | Did he move away when he began his apprenticeship? | 5 | Did Albrecht Dürer move away when he began his apprenticeship to Michael Wolgemut? | Albrecht Dürer | Durer was born on 21 May 1471, third child and second son of his parents, who had at least fourteen and possibly as many as eighteen children. His father, Albrecht Durer the Elder (originally Albrecht Ajtosi), was a successful goldsmith who in 1455 had moved to Nuremberg from Ajtos, near Gyula in Hungary. One of Albrecht's brothers, Hans Durer, was also a painter and trained under him. Another of Albrecht's brothers, Endres Durer, took over their father's business and was a master goldsmith. The German name "Durer" is a translation from the Hungarian, "Ajtosi". Initially, it was "Turer", meaning doormaker, which is "ajtos" in Hungarian (from "ajto", meaning door). A door is featured in the coat-of-arms the family acquired. Albrecht Durer the Younger later changed "Turer", his father's diction of the family's surname, to "Durer", to adapt to the local Nuremberg dialect. Albrecht Durer the Elder married Barbara Holper, the daughter of his master when he himself became a master in 1467. Durer's godfather was Anton Koberger, who left goldsmithing to become a printer and publisher in the year of Durer's birth and quickly became the most successful publisher in Germany, eventually owning twenty-four printing-presses and having many offices in Germany and abroad. Koberger's most famous publication was the Nuremberg Chronicle, published in 1493 in German and Latin editions. It contained an unprecedented 1,809 woodcut illustrations (albeit with many repeated uses of the same block) by the Wolgemut workshop. Durer may have worked on some of these, as the work on the project began while he was with Wolgemut. Because Durer left autobiographical writings and became very famous by his mid-twenties, his life is well documented by several sources. After a few years of school, Durer started to learn the basics of goldsmithing and drawing from his father. Though his father wanted him to continue his training as a goldsmith, he showed such a precocious talent in drawing that he started as an apprentice to Michael Wolgemut at the age of fifteen in 1486. A self-portrait, a drawing in silverpoint, is dated 1484 (Albertina, Vienna) "when I was a child", as his later inscription says. Wolgemut was the leading artist in Nuremberg at the time, with a large workshop producing a variety of works of art, in particular woodcuts for books. Nuremberg was then an important and prosperous city, a centre for publishing and many luxury trades. It had strong links with Italy, especially Venice, a relatively short distance across the Alps. CANNOTANSWER | Wolgemut was the leading artist in Nuremberg at the time, with a large workshop | Albrecht Dürer (; ; ; 21 May 1471 – 6 April 1528), sometimes spelled in English as Durer (without an umlaut) or Duerer, was a German painter, printmaker, and theorist of the German Renaissance. Born in Nuremberg, Dürer established his reputation and influence across Europe in his twenties due to his high-quality woodcut prints. He was in contact with the major Italian artists of his time, including Raphael, Giovanni Bellini, and Leonardo da Vinci, and from 1512 was patronized by Emperor Maximilian I.
Dürer's vast body of work includes engravings, his preferred technique in his later prints, altarpieces, portraits and self-portraits, watercolours and books. The woodcuts series are more Gothic than the rest of his work. His well-known engravings include the three Meisterstiche (master prints) Knight, Death and the Devil (1513), Saint Jerome in his Study (1514), and Melencolia I (1514). His watercolours mark him as one of the first European landscape artists, while his woodcuts revolutionised the potential of that medium.
Dürer's introduction of classical motifs into Northern art, through his knowledge of Italian artists and German humanists, has secured his reputation as one of the most important figures of the Northern Renaissance. This is reinforced by his theoretical treatises, which involve principles of mathematics, perspective, and ideal proportions.
Biography
Early life (1471–1490)
Dürer was born on 21 May 1471, the third child and second son of Albrecht Dürer the Elder and Barbara Holper, who married in 1467 and had eighteen children together. Albrecht Dürer the Elder (originally Albrecht Ajtósi), was a successful goldsmith who by 1455 had moved to Nuremberg from Ajtós, near Gyula in Hungary. He married Holper, his master's daughter, when he himself qualified as a master. One of Albrecht's brothers, Hans Dürer, was also a painter and trained under him. Another of Albrecht's brothers, Endres Dürer, took over their father's business and was a master goldsmith. The German name "Dürer" is a translation from the Hungarian, "Ajtósi". Initially, it was "Türer", meaning doormaker, which is "ajtós" in Hungarian (from "ajtó", meaning door). A door is featured in the coat-of-arms the family acquired. Albrecht Dürer the Younger later changed "Türer", his father's diction of the family's surname, to "Dürer", to adapt to the local Nuremberg dialect.
Dürer's godfather Anton Koberger left goldsmithing to become a printer and publisher in the year of Dürer's birth. He became the most successful publisher in Germany, eventually owning twenty-four printing-presses and a number of offices in Germany and abroad. Koberger's most famous publication was the Nuremberg Chronicle, published in 1493 in German and Latin editions. It contained an unprecedented 1,809 woodcut illustrations (albeit with many repeated uses of the same block) by the Wolgemut workshop. Dürer may have worked on some of these, as the work on the project began while he was with Wolgemut.
Because Dürer left autobiographical writings and was widely known by his mid-twenties, his life is well documented in several sources. After a few years of school, Dürer learned the basics of goldsmithing and drawing from his father. Though his father wanted him to continue his training as a goldsmith, he showed such a precocious talent in drawing that he started as an apprentice to Michael Wolgemut at the age of fifteen in 1486. A self-portrait, a drawing in silverpoint, is dated 1484 (Albertina, Vienna) "when I was a child", as his later inscription says. The drawing is one of the earliest surviving children's drawings of any kind, and, as Dürer's Opus One, has helped define his oeuvre as deriving from, and always linked to, himself. Wolgemut was the leading artist in Nuremberg at the time, with a large workshop producing a variety of works of art, in particular woodcuts for books. Nuremberg was then an important and prosperous city, a centre for publishing and many luxury trades. It had strong links with Italy, especially Venice, a relatively short distance across the Alps.
Wanderjahre and marriage (1490–1494)
After completing his apprenticeship, Dürer followed the common German custom of taking Wanderjahre—in effect gap years—in which the apprentice learned skills from artists in other areas; Dürer was to spend about four years away. He left in 1490, possibly to work under Martin Schongauer, the leading engraver of Northern Europe, but who died shortly before Dürer's arrival at Colmar in 1492. It is unclear where Dürer travelled in the intervening period, though it is likely that he went to Frankfurt and the Netherlands. In Colmar, Dürer was welcomed by Schongauer's brothers, the goldsmiths Caspar and Paul and the painter Ludwig. In 1493 Dürer went to Strasbourg, where he would have experienced the sculpture of Nikolaus Gerhaert. Dürer's first painted self-portrait (now in the Louvre) was painted at this time, probably to be sent back to his fiancée in Nuremberg.
In early 1492 Dürer travelled to Basel to stay with another brother of Martin Schongauer, the goldsmith Georg. Very soon after his return to Nuremberg, on 7 July 1494, at the age of 23, Dürer was married to Agnes Frey following an arrangement made during his absence. Agnes was the daughter of a prominent brass worker (and amateur harpist) in the city. However, no children resulted from the marriage, and with Albrecht the Dürer name died out. The marriage between Agnes and Albrecht was not a generally happy one, as indicated by the letters of Dürer in which he quipped to Willibald Pirckheimer in an extremely rough tone about his wife. He called her an "old crow" and made other vulgar remarks. Pirckheimer also made no secret of his antipathy towards Agnes, describing her as a miserly shrew with a bitter tongue, who helped cause Dürer's death at a young age. One author speculates that Albrecht was bisexual, if not homosexual, due to several of his works containing themes of homosexual desire, as well as the intimate nature of his correspondence with certain very close male friends.
First journey to Italy (1494–1495)
Within three months of his marriage, Dürer left for Italy, alone, perhaps stimulated by an outbreak of plague in Nuremberg. He made watercolour sketches as he traveled over the Alps. Some have survived and others may be deduced from accurate landscapes of real places in his later work, for example his engraving Nemesis.
In Italy, he went to Venice to study its more advanced artistic world. Through Wolgemut's tutelage, Dürer had learned how to make prints in drypoint and design woodcuts in the German style, based on the works of Schongauer and the Housebook Master. He also would have had access to some Italian works in Germany, but the two visits he made to Italy had an enormous influence on him. He wrote that Giovanni Bellini was the oldest and still the best of the artists in Venice. His drawings and engravings show the influence of others, notably Antonio Pollaiuolo, with his interest in the proportions of the body; Lorenzo di Credi; and Andrea Mantegna, whose work he produced copies of while training. Dürer probably also visited Padua and Mantua on this trip.
Return to Nuremberg (1495–1505)
On his return to Nuremberg in 1495, Dürer opened his own workshop (being married was a requirement for this). Over the next five years, his style increasingly integrated Italian influences into underlying Northern forms. Arguably his best works in the first years of the workshop were his woodcut prints, mostly religious, but including secular scenes such as The Men's Bath House (ca. 1496). These were larger and more finely cut than the great majority of German woodcuts hitherto, and far more complex and balanced in composition.
It is now thought unlikely that Dürer cut any of the woodblocks himself; this task would have been performed by a specialist craftsman. However, his training in Wolgemut's studio, which made many carved and painted altarpieces and both designed and cut woodblocks for woodcut, evidently gave him great understanding of what the technique could be made to produce, and how to work with block cutters. Dürer either drew his design directly onto the woodblock itself, or glued a paper drawing to the block. Either way, his drawings were destroyed during the cutting of the block.
His series of sixteen designs for the Apocalypse is dated 1498, as is his engraving of St. Michael Fighting the Dragon. He made the first seven scenes of the Great Passion in the same year, and a little later, a series of eleven on the Holy Family and saints. The Seven Sorrows Polyptych, commissioned by Frederick III of Saxony in 1496, was executed by Dürer and his assistants c. 1500. In 1502, Dürer's father died. Around 1503–1505 Dürer produced the first 17 of a set illustrating the Life of the Virgin, which he did not finish for some years. Neither these nor the Great Passion were published as sets until several years later, but prints were sold individually in considerable numbers.
During the same period Dürer trained himself in the difficult art of using the burin to make engravings. It is possible he had begun learning this skill during his early training with his father, as it was also an essential skill of the goldsmith. In 1496 he executed the Prodigal Son, which the Italian Renaissance art historian Giorgio Vasari singled out for praise some decades later, noting its Germanic quality. He was soon producing some spectacular and original images, notably Nemesis (1502), The Sea Monster (1498), and Saint Eustace (c. 1501), with a highly detailed landscape background and animals. His landscapes of this period, such as Pond in the Woods and Willow Mill, are quite different from his earlier watercolours. There is a much greater emphasis on capturing atmosphere, rather than depicting topography. He made a number of Madonnas, single religious figures, and small scenes with comic peasant figures. Prints are highly portable and these works made Dürer famous throughout the main artistic centres of Europe within a very few years.
The Venetian artist Jacopo de' Barbari, whom Dürer had met in Venice, visited Nuremberg in 1500, and Dürer said that he learned much about the new developments in perspective, anatomy, and proportion from him. De' Barbari was unwilling to explain everything he knew, so Dürer began his own studies, which would become a lifelong preoccupation. A series of extant drawings show Dürer's experiments in human proportion, leading to the famous engraving of Adam and Eve (1504), which shows his subtlety while using the burin in the texturing of flesh surfaces. This is the only existing engraving signed with his full name.
Dürer created large numbers of preparatory drawings, especially for his paintings and engravings, and many survive, most famously the Betende Hände (Praying Hands) from circa 1508, a study for an apostle in the Heller altarpiece. He continued to make images in watercolour and bodycolour (usually combined), including a number of still lifes of meadow sections or animals, including his Young Hare (1502) and the Great Piece of Turf (1503).
Second journey to Italy (1505–1507)
In Italy, he returned to painting, at first producing a series of works executed in tempera on linen. These include portraits and altarpieces, notably, the Paumgartner altarpiece and the Adoration of the Magi. In early 1506, he returned to Venice and stayed there until the spring of 1507. By this time Dürer's engravings had attained great popularity and were being copied. In Venice he was given a valuable commission from the emigrant German community for the church of San Bartolomeo. This was the altar-piece known as the Adoration of the Virgin or the Feast of Rose Garlands. It includes portraits of members of Venice's German community, but shows a strong Italian influence. It was later acquired by the Emperor Rudolf II and taken to Prague.
Nuremberg and the masterworks (1507–1520)
Despite the regard in which he was held by the Venetians, Dürer returned to Nuremberg by mid-1507, remaining in Germany until 1520. His reputation had spread throughout Europe and he was on friendly terms and in communication with most of the major artists including Raphael.
Between 1507 and 1511 Dürer worked on some of his most celebrated paintings: Adam and Eve (1507), Martyrdom of the Ten Thousand (1508, for Frederick of Saxony), Virgin with the Iris (1508), the altarpiece Assumption of the Virgin (1509, for Jacob Heller of Frankfurt), and Adoration of the Trinity (1511, for Matthaeus Landauer). During this period he also completed two woodcut series, the Great Passion and the Life of the Virgin, both published in 1511 together with a second edition of the Apocalypse series. The post-Venetian woodcuts show Dürer's development of chiaroscuro modelling effects, creating a mid-tone throughout the print to which the highlights and shadows can be contrasted.
Other works from this period include the thirty-seven Little Passion woodcuts, first published in 1511, and a set of fifteen small engravings on the same theme in 1512. Complaining that painting did not make enough money to justify the time spent when compared to his prints, he produced no paintings from 1513 to 1516. In 1513 and 1514 Dürer created his three most famous engravings: Knight, Death and the Devil (1513, probably based on Erasmus's Handbook of a Christian Knight), St. Jerome in His Study, and the much-debated Melencolia I (both 1514, the year Dürer's mother died). Further outstanding pen and ink drawings of Dürer's period of art work of 1513 were drafts for his friend Pirckheimer. These drafts were later used to design Lusterweibchen chandeliers, combining an antler with a wooden sculpture.
In 1515, he created his woodcut of a Rhinoceros which had arrived in Lisbon from a written description and sketch by another artist, without ever seeing the animal himself. An image of the Indian rhinoceros, the image has such force that it remains one of his best-known and was still used in some German school science text-books as late as last century. In the years leading to 1520 he produced a wide range of works, including the woodblocks for the first western printed star charts in 1515 and portraits in tempera on linen in 1516. His only experiments with etching came in this period, producing five between 1515–1516 and a sixth in 1518; a technique he may have abandoned as unsuited to his aesthetic of methodical, classical form.
Patronage of Maximilian I
From 1512, Maximilian I became Dürer's major patron. He commissioned The Triumphal Arch, a vast work printed from 192 separate blocks, the symbolism of which is partly informed by Pirckheimer's translation of Horapollo's Hieroglyphica. The design program and explanations were devised by Johannes Stabius, the architectural design by the master builder and court-painter Jörg Kölderer and the woodcutting itself by Hieronymous Andreae, with Dürer as designer-in-chief. The Arch was followed by The Triumphal Procession, the program of which was worked out in 1512 by Marx Treitz-Saurwein and includes woodcuts by Albrecht Altdorfer and Hans Springinklee, as well as Dürer.
Dürer worked with pen on the marginal images for an edition of the Emperor's printed Prayer-Book; these were quite unknown until facsimiles were published in 1808 as part of the first book published in lithography. Dürer's work on the book was halted for an unknown reason, and the decoration was continued by artists including Lucas Cranach the Elder and Hans Baldung. Dürer also made several portraits of the Emperor, including one shortly before Maximilian's death in 1519.
Maximilian was a very cash-strapped prince who sometimes failed to pay, yet turned out to be Dürer's most important patron. In his court, artists and learned men were respected, which was not common at that time (later, Dürer commented that in Germany, as a non-noble, he was treated a parasite). Pirckheimer (who he met in 1495, before entering the service of Maximilian) was also an important personage in the court and great cultural patron, who had a strong influence on Dürer as his tutor in classical knowledge and humanistic critical methodology, as well as collaborator.
In Maximilian's court, Dürer also collaborated with a great number of other brilliant artists and scholars of the time who became his friends, like Johannes Stabius, Konrad Peutinger, Conrad Celtes, and Hans Tscherte (an imperial architect).
Dürer manifested a strong pride in his ability, as a prince of his profession. One day, the emperor, trying to show Dürer an idea, tried to sketch with the charcoal himself, but always broke it. Dürer took the charcoal from Maximilian's hand, finished the drawing and told him: "This is my scepter."
In another occasion, Maximilian noticed that the ladder Dürer used was too short and unstable, thus told a noble to hold it for him. The noble refused, saying that it was beneath him to serve a non-noble. Maximilian then came to hold the ladder himself, and told the noble that he could make a noble out of a peasant any day, but he could not make an artist like Dürer out of a noble.
Cartographic and astronomical works
Dürer's exploration of space led to a relationship and cooperation with the court astronomer Johannes Stabius. Stabius also often acted as Dürer's and Maximilian's go-between for their financial problems.
In 1515 Dürer and Stabius created the first world map projected on a solid geometric sphere. Also in 1515, Stabius, Dürer and the astronomer Konrad Heinfogel produced the first planispheres of both southern and northerns hemispheres, as well as the first printed celestial maps, which prompted the revival of interest in the field of uranometry throughout Europe.
Journey to the Netherlands (1520–1521)
Maximilian's death came at a time when Dürer was concerned he was losing "my sight and freedom of hand" (perhaps caused by arthritis) and increasingly affected by the writings of Martin Luther. In July 1520 Dürer made his fourth and last major journey, to renew the Imperial pension Maximilian had given him and to secure the patronage of the new emperor, Charles V, who was to be crowned at Aachen. Dürer journeyed with his wife and her maid via the Rhine to Cologne and then to Antwerp, where he was well received and produced numerous drawings in silverpoint, chalk and charcoal. In addition to attending the coronation, he visited Cologne (where he admired the painting of Stefan Lochner), Nijmegen, 's-Hertogenbosch, Bruges (where he saw Michelangelo's Madonna of Bruges), Ghent (where he admired van Eyck's Ghent altarpiece), and Zeeland.
Dürer took a large stock of prints with him and wrote in his diary to whom he gave, exchanged or sold them, and for how much. This provides rare information of the monetary value placed on prints at this time. Unlike paintings, their sale was very rarely documented. While providing valuable documentary evidence, Dürer's Netherlandish diary also reveals that the trip was not a profitable one. For example, Dürer offered his last portrait of Maximilian to his daughter, Margaret of Austria, but eventually traded the picture for some white cloth after Margaret disliked the portrait and declined to accept it. During this trip he also met Bernard van Orley, Jan Provoost, Gerard Horenbout, Jean Mone, Joachim Patinir and Tommaso Vincidor, though he did not, it seems, meet Quentin Matsys.
Having secured his pension, Dürer returned home in July 1521, having caught an undetermined illness, which afflicted him for the rest of his life, and greatly reduced his rate of work.
Final years, Nuremberg (1521–1528)
On his return to Nuremberg, Dürer worked on a number of grand projects with religious themes, including a crucifixion scene and a Sacra conversazione, though neither was completed. This may have been due in part to his declining health, but perhaps also because of the time he gave to the preparation of his theoretical works on geometry and perspective, the proportions of men and horses, and fortification.
However, one consequence of this shift in emphasis was that during the last years of his life, Dürer produced comparatively little as an artist. In painting, there was only a portrait of Hieronymus Holtzschuher, a Madonna and Child (1526), Salvator Mundi (1526), and two panels showing St. John with St. Peter in background and St. Paul with St. Mark in the background. This last great work, the Four Apostles, was given by Dürer to the City of Nuremberg—although he was given 100 guilders in return.
As for engravings, Dürer's work was restricted to portraits and illustrations for his treatise. The portraits include Cardinal-Elector Albert of Mainz; Frederick the Wise, elector of Saxony; the humanist scholar Willibald Pirckheimer; Philipp Melanchthon, and Erasmus of Rotterdam. For those of the Cardinal, Melanchthon, and Dürer's final major work, a drawn portrait of the Nuremberg patrician Ulrich Starck, Dürer depicted the sitters in profile.
Despite complaining of his lack of a formal classical education, Dürer was greatly interested in intellectual matters and learned much from his boyhood friend Willibald Pirckheimer, whom he no doubt consulted on the content of many of his images. He also derived great satisfaction from his friendships and correspondence with Erasmus and other scholars. Dürer succeeded in producing two books during his lifetime. "The Four Books on Measurement" were published at Nuremberg in 1525 and was the first book for adults on mathematics in German, as well as being cited later by Galileo and Kepler. The other, a work on city fortifications, was published in 1527. "The Four Books on Human Proportion" were published posthumously, shortly after his death in 1528.
Dürer died in Nuremberg at the age of 56, leaving an estate valued at 6,874 florins – a considerable sum. He is buried in the Johannisfriedhof cemetery. His large house (purchased in 1509 from the heirs of the astronomer Bernhard Walther), where his workshop was located and where his widow lived until her death in 1539, remains a prominent Nuremberg landmark.
Dürer and the Reformation
Dürer's writings suggest that he may have been sympathetic to Luther's ideas, though it is unclear if he ever left the Catholic Church. Dürer wrote of his desire to draw Luther in his diary in 1520: "And God help me that I may go to Dr. Martin Luther; thus I intend to make a portrait of him with great care and engrave him on a copper plate to create a lasting memorial of the Christian man who helped me overcome so many difficulties." In a letter to Nicholas Kratzer in 1524, Dürer wrote, "because of our Christian faith we have to stand in scorn and danger, for we are reviled and called heretics". Most tellingly, Pirckheimer wrote in a letter to Johann Tscherte in 1530: "I confess that in the beginning I believed in Luther, like our Albert of blessed memory ... but as anyone can see, the situation has become worse." Dürer may even have contributed to the Nuremberg City Council's mandating Lutheran sermons and services in March 1525. Notably, Dürer had contacts with various reformers, such as Zwingli, Andreas Karlstadt, Melanchthon, Erasmus and Cornelius Grapheus from whom Dürer received Luther's Babylonian Captivity in 1520. Yet Erasmus and C. Grapheus are better said to be Catholic change agents. Also, from 1525, "the year that saw the peak and collapse of the Peasants' War, the artist can be seen to distance himself somewhat from the [Lutheran] movement..."
Dürer's later works have also been claimed to show Protestant sympathies. His 1523 The Last Supper woodcut has often been understood to have an evangelical theme, focusing as it does on Christ espousing the Gospel, as well as the inclusion of the Eucharistic cup, an expression of Protestant utraquism, although this interpretation has been questioned. The delaying of the engraving of St Philip, completed in 1523 but not distributed until 1526, may have been due to Dürer's uneasiness with images of saints; even if Dürer was not an iconoclast, in his last years he evaluated and questioned the role of art in religion.
Legacy and influence
Dürer exerted a huge influence on the artists of succeeding generations, especially in printmaking, the medium through which his contemporaries mostly experienced his art, as his paintings were predominantly in private collections located in only a few cities. His success in spreading his reputation across Europe through prints was undoubtedly an inspiration for major artists such as Raphael, Titian, and Parmigianino, all of whom collaborated with printmakers to promote and distribute their work.
His engravings seem to have had an intimidating effect upon his German successors; the "Little Masters" who attempted few large engravings but continued Dürer's themes in small, rather cramped compositions. Lucas van Leyden was the only Northern European engraver to successfully continue to produce large engravings in the first third of the 16th century. The generation of Italian engravers who trained in the shadow of Dürer all either directly copied parts of his landscape backgrounds (Giulio Campagnola, Giovanni Battista Palumba, Benedetto Montagna and Cristofano Robetta), or whole prints (Marcantonio Raimondi and Agostino Veneziano). However, Dürer's influence became less dominant after 1515, when Marcantonio perfected his new engraving style, which in turn travelled over the Alps to also dominate Northern engraving.
In painting, Dürer had relatively little influence in Italy, where probably only his altarpiece in Venice was seen, and his German successors were less effective in blending German and Italian styles. His intense and self-dramatizing self-portraits have continued to have a strong influence up to the present, especially on painters in the 19th and 20th century who desired a more dramatic portrait style. Dürer has never fallen from critical favour, and there have been significant revivals of interest in his works in Germany in the Dürer Renaissance of about 1570 to 1630, in the early nineteenth century, and in German nationalism from 1870 to 1945.
The Lutheran Church commemorates Dürer annually on 6 April, along with Michelangelo, Lucas Cranach the Elder and Hans Burgkmair. The liturgical calendar of the Episcopal Church (United States) remembers him, Cranach and Matthias Grünewald on 5 August.
Theoretical works
In all his theoretical works, in order to communicate his theories in the German language rather than in Latin, Dürer used graphic expressions based on a vernacular, craftsmen's language. For example, "Schneckenlinie" ("snail-line") was his term for a spiral form. Thus, Dürer contributed to the expansion in German prose which Luther had begun with his translation of the Bible.
Four Books on Measurement
Dürer's work on geometry is called the Four Books on Measurement (Underweysung der Messung mit dem Zirckel und Richtscheyt or Instructions for Measuring with Compass and Ruler). The first book focuses on linear geometry. Dürer's geometric constructions include helices, conchoids and epicycloids. He also draws on Apollonius, and Johannes Werner's 'Libellus super viginti duobus elementis conicis' of 1522.
The second book moves onto two-dimensional geometry, i.e. the construction of regular polygons. Here Dürer favours the methods of Ptolemy over Euclid. The third book applies these principles of geometry to architecture, engineering and typography.
In architecture Dürer cites Vitruvius but elaborates his own classical designs and columns. In typography, Dürer depicts the geometric construction of the Latin alphabet, relying on Italian precedent. However, his
construction of the Gothic alphabet is based upon an entirely different modular system. The fourth book completes the progression of the first and second by moving to three-dimensional forms and the construction of polyhedra. Here Dürer discusses the five Platonic solids, as well as seven Archimedean semi-regular solids, as well as several of his own invention.
In all these, Dürer shows the objects as nets. Finally, Dürer discusses the Delian Problem and moves on to the 'construzione legittima', a method of depicting a cube in two dimensions through linear perspective. He is thought to be the first to describe a visualization technique used in modern computers, ray tracing. It was in Bologna that Dürer was taught (possibly by Luca Pacioli or Bramante) the principles of linear perspective, and evidently became familiar with the 'costruzione legittima' in a written description of these principles found only, at this time, in the unpublished treatise of Piero della Francesca. He was also familiar with the 'abbreviated construction' as described by Alberti and the geometrical construction of shadows, a technique of Leonardo da Vinci. Although Dürer made no innovations in these areas, he is notable as the first Northern European to treat matters of visual representation in a scientific way, and with understanding of Euclidean principles. In addition to these geometrical constructions, Dürer discusses in this last book of Underweysung der Messung an assortment of mechanisms for drawing in perspective from models and provides woodcut illustrations of these methods that are often reproduced in discussions of perspective.
Four Books on Human Proportion
Dürer's work on human proportions is called the Four Books on Human Proportion (Vier Bücher von Menschlicher Proportion) of 1528. The first book was mainly composed by 1512/13 and completed by 1523, showing five differently constructed types of both male and female figures, all parts of the body expressed in fractions of the total height. Dürer based these constructions on both Vitruvius and empirical observations of "two to three hundred living persons", in his own words. The second book includes eight further types, broken down not into fractions but an Albertian system, which Dürer probably learned from Francesco di Giorgio's 'De harmonica mundi totius' of 1525. In the third book, Dürer gives principles by which the proportions of the figures can be modified, including the mathematical simulation of convex and concave mirrors; here Dürer also deals with human physiognomy. The fourth book is devoted to the theory of movement.
Appended to the last book, however, is a self-contained essay on aesthetics, which Dürer worked on between 1512 and 1528, and it is here that we learn of his theories concerning 'ideal beauty'. Dürer rejected Alberti's concept of an objective beauty, proposing a relativist notion of beauty based on variety. Nonetheless, Dürer still believed that truth was hidden within nature, and that there were rules which ordered beauty, even though he found it difficult to define the criteria for such a code. In 1512/13 his three criteria were function ('Nutz'), naïve approval ('Wohlgefallen') and the happy medium ('Mittelmass'). However, unlike Alberti and Leonardo, Dürer was most troubled by understanding not just the abstract notions of beauty but also as to how an artist can create beautiful images. Between 1512 and the final draft in 1528, Dürer's belief developed from an understanding of human creativity as spontaneous or inspired to a concept of 'selective inward synthesis'. In other words, that an artist builds on a wealth of visual experiences in order to imagine beautiful things. Dürer's belief in the abilities of a single artist over inspiration prompted him to assert that "one man may sketch something with his pen on half a sheet of paper in one day, or may cut it into a tiny piece of wood with his little iron, and it turns out to be better and more artistic than another's work at which its author labours with the utmost diligence for a whole year".
Book on Fortification
In 1527, Dürer also published Various Lessons on the Fortification of Cities, Castles, and Localities (Etliche Underricht zu Befestigung der Stett, Schloss und Flecken). It was printed in Nuremberg, probably by Hieronymus Andreae and reprinted in 1603 by Johan Janssenn in Arnhem. In 1535 it was also translated into Latin as On Cities, Forts, and Castles, Designed and Strengthened by Several Manners: Presented for the Most Necessary Accommodation of War (De vrbibus, arcibus, castellisque condendis, ac muniendis rationes aliquot : praesenti bellorum necessitati accommodatissimae), published by Christian Wechel (Wecheli/Wechelus) in Paris.
The work is less proscriptively theoretical than his other works, and was soon overshadowed by the Italian theory of polygonal fortification (the trace italienne – see Bastion fort), though his designs seem to have had some influence in the eastern German lands and up into the Baltic States.
Fencing
Dürer created many sketches and woodcuts of soldiers and knights over the course of his life. His most significant martial works, however, were made in 1512 as part of his efforts to secure the patronage of Maximilian I. Using existing manuscripts from the Nuremberg Group as his reference, his workshop produced the extensive Οπλοδιδασκαλια sive Armorvm Tractandorvm Meditatio Alberti Dvreri ("Weapon Training, or Albrecht Dürer's Meditation on the Handling of Weapons", MS 26-232). Another manuscript based on the Nuremberg texts as well as one of Hans Talhoffer's works, the untitled Berlin Picture Book (Libr.Pict.A.83), is also thought to have originated in his workshop around this time. These sketches and watercolors show the same careful attention to detail and human proportion as Dürer's other work, and his illustrations of grappling, long sword, dagger, and messer are among the highest-quality in any fencing manual.
Gallery
List of works
List of paintings by Albrecht Dürer
List of engravings by Albrecht Dürer
List of woodcuts by Albrecht Dürer
References
Notes
Citations
Sources
Bartrum, Giulia. Albrecht Dürer and his Legacy. London: British Museum Press, 2002.
Brand Philip, Lotte; Anzelewsky, Fedja. "The Portrait Diptych of Dürer's parents". Simiolus: Netherlands Quarterly for the History of Art, Volume 10, No. 1, 1978–79. 5–18
Brion, Marcel. Dürer. London: Thames and Hudson, 1960
Harbison, Craig. "Dürer and the Reformation: The Problem of the Re-dating of the St. Philip Engraving". The Art Bulletin, Vol. 58, No. 3, 368–373. September 1976
Koerner, Joseph Leo. The Moment of Self-Portraiture in German Renaissance Art. Chicago/London: University of Chicago Press, 1993.
Landau David; Parshall, Peter. The Renaissance Print. Yale, 1996.
Panofsky, Erwin. The Life and Art of Albrecht Dürer. NJ: Princeton, 1945.
Price, David Hotchkiss. Albrecht Dürer's Renaissance: Humanism, Reformation and the Art of Faith. Michigan, 2003. .
Strauss, Walter L. (ed.). The Complete Engravings, Etchings and Drypoints of Albrecht Durer. Mineola NY: Dover Publications, 1973.
Borchert, Till-Holger. Van Eyck to Dürer: The Influence of Early Netherlandish painting on European Art, 1430–1530. London: Thames & Hudson, 2011.
Wolf, Norbert. Albrecht Dürer. Taschen, 2010.
Hoffmann, Rainer. Im Paradies - Adam und Eva und der Sündenfall - Albrecht Dürers Darstellungen, Böhlau-Verlag, 2021, ISBN 9783412523852
Further reading
Campbell Hutchison, Jane. Albrecht Dürer: A Biography. Princeton University Press, 1990.
Demele, Christine. Dürers Nacktheit – Das Weimarer Selbstbildnis. Rhema Verlag, Münster 2012,
Dürer, Albrecht (translated by R.T. Nichol from the Latin text), Of the Just Shaping of Letters, Dover Publications.
Hart, Vaughan. 'Navel Gazing. On Albrecht Dürer's Adam and Eve (1504)', The International Journal of Arts Theory and History, 2016, vol.12.1 pp. 1–10 https://doi.org/10.18848/2326-9960/CGP/v12i01/1-10
Korolija Fontana-Giusti, Gordana. "The Unconscious and Space: Venice and the work of Albrecht Dürer", in Architecture and the Unconscious, eds. J. Hendrix and L.Holm, Farnham Surrey: Ashgate, 2016. pp. 27–44, .
Wilhelm, Kurth (ed.). The Complete Woodcuts of Albrecht Durer, Dover Publications, 2000.
External links
The Strange World of Albrecht Dürer at the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. 14 November 2010 – 13 March 2011
Dürer Prints Close-up. Made to accompany The Strange World of Albrecht Dürer at the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. 14 November 2010 – 13 March 2011
Albrecht Dürer: Vier Bücher von menschlicher Proportion (Nuremberg, 1528). Selected pages scanned from the original work. Historical Anatomies on the Web. US National Library of Medicine.
"Albrecht Dürer (1471–1528)". In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Albrecht Durer, Exhibition, Albertina, Vienna. 20 September 2019 – 6 January 2020
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Woodcut designers | true | [
"Guy Aitchison (born 1968) is a tattoo artist and a painter born in Michigan. Aitchison began painting album covers in 1985 and began tattooing in 1988. He has also released several books. He owns a studio called Hyper Space Studios with his wife, Michele Wortman, who is also a tattoo artist and painter. They were both on TLC's Tattoo Wars in 2007. He is the brother of former LA Ink TV personality, Hannah Aitchison. He was also a guest artist on LA Ink.\nHe gave Rob Zombie his first tattoo in 1989 when he was 21.\n\nGuy Aitchison was already in an apprenticeship at the Jacklich Corporation in the art department by age 17. After completing his apprenticeship he began painting record covers for Vinnie Moore, David Chastain, Apocrypha, Hex, Skatenigs, and mostly for California-based Shrapnel Records. In 1989 he began a tattooing apprenticeship at Bob Oslon’s Custom Tattooing in Chicago for two years. He opened his own tattoo studio, Guilty & Innocent Productions, which remained a top standing shop until 1998 when it shut down so that he could move to the country to focus more on painting.\n\nWorld Wide Tattoo Conference \nIn 2012, Guy Aitchison took part in the first International conference of the Tattoo community where world-class Tattoo Artists such as Bob Tyrrell, Stéphane Chaudesaigues, Joe Capobianco, Jeff Gogue, Alex De Pase, Boris, Nikko Hurtado, Nick Baxter attended seminars on various technical skills.\nThe purpose of this event was to give tattooists the opportunity to improve their level. \nThe 2012 editions of the Worldwide Tattoo Conference took place in Chicago and London.\n\nBooks\nThe Biomechanical Encyclopedia\nReinventing the Tattoo\nOrganica\n\nSee also\nList of tattoo artists\n\nReferences\n\nLiving people\nAmerican tattoo artists\n1968 births\n20th-century American painters\nAmerican male painters\n21st-century American painters\n21st-century male artists\nArtists from Ann Arbor, Michigan\nPainters from Michigan",
"Menios Sakellaropoulos is a Greek journalist and novelist.\n\nCareer\nMenios has worked in journalism since the summer of 1979 when he began to write a column for the athletic daily, Fos, while still a high school student. He studied at the Thrace Law School, but left to pursue a different path as a journalist and writer.\n\nHe did his apprenticeship at the Athens daily newspapers Vradyni, Ethnos, Athlitiki, Sportime and Derby. He then also began to work for television at the state channels ERA and Sport FM. Since 1992 he has been working for Mega channel. He is a member of the Journalists’ Union and the Pan-Hellenic Athletic Press Association.\n\nWorks\n Laura’s Night\n You’re Going to Die, Man!\n The Game Boy – the Fatal 10\n 20 Years of Travel\n\nHis novels are published by Livani Publishing Organization, plus a special diary publication called The Olympic Games: History and Legend.\n\nGreek novelists\nYear of birth missing (living people)\nLiving people"
] |
[
"Albrecht Dürer",
"Early life (1471-1490)",
"Are his parents names known?",
"His father, Albrecht Durer the Elder (originally Albrecht Ajtosi), was a successful goldsmith",
"Is anything known of his mother?",
"second son of his parents, who had at least fourteen and possibly as many as eighteen children.",
"Did he receive any formal education?",
"After a few years of school, Durer started to learn the basics of goldsmithing and drawing from his father.",
"Did he begin wood prints during this time?",
"he started as an apprentice to Michael Wolgemut at the age of fifteen in 1486.",
"Did he move away when he began his apprenticeship?",
"Wolgemut was the leading artist in Nuremberg at the time, with a large workshop"
] | C_4a4a9362ff664bba86e8c74ead6078c0_1 | Did he marry during these years? | 6 | Did Albrecht Dürer marry during his years as an apprentice? | Albrecht Dürer | Durer was born on 21 May 1471, third child and second son of his parents, who had at least fourteen and possibly as many as eighteen children. His father, Albrecht Durer the Elder (originally Albrecht Ajtosi), was a successful goldsmith who in 1455 had moved to Nuremberg from Ajtos, near Gyula in Hungary. One of Albrecht's brothers, Hans Durer, was also a painter and trained under him. Another of Albrecht's brothers, Endres Durer, took over their father's business and was a master goldsmith. The German name "Durer" is a translation from the Hungarian, "Ajtosi". Initially, it was "Turer", meaning doormaker, which is "ajtos" in Hungarian (from "ajto", meaning door). A door is featured in the coat-of-arms the family acquired. Albrecht Durer the Younger later changed "Turer", his father's diction of the family's surname, to "Durer", to adapt to the local Nuremberg dialect. Albrecht Durer the Elder married Barbara Holper, the daughter of his master when he himself became a master in 1467. Durer's godfather was Anton Koberger, who left goldsmithing to become a printer and publisher in the year of Durer's birth and quickly became the most successful publisher in Germany, eventually owning twenty-four printing-presses and having many offices in Germany and abroad. Koberger's most famous publication was the Nuremberg Chronicle, published in 1493 in German and Latin editions. It contained an unprecedented 1,809 woodcut illustrations (albeit with many repeated uses of the same block) by the Wolgemut workshop. Durer may have worked on some of these, as the work on the project began while he was with Wolgemut. Because Durer left autobiographical writings and became very famous by his mid-twenties, his life is well documented by several sources. After a few years of school, Durer started to learn the basics of goldsmithing and drawing from his father. Though his father wanted him to continue his training as a goldsmith, he showed such a precocious talent in drawing that he started as an apprentice to Michael Wolgemut at the age of fifteen in 1486. A self-portrait, a drawing in silverpoint, is dated 1484 (Albertina, Vienna) "when I was a child", as his later inscription says. Wolgemut was the leading artist in Nuremberg at the time, with a large workshop producing a variety of works of art, in particular woodcuts for books. Nuremberg was then an important and prosperous city, a centre for publishing and many luxury trades. It had strong links with Italy, especially Venice, a relatively short distance across the Alps. CANNOTANSWER | Albrecht Durer the Elder married Barbara Holper, the daughter of his master when he himself became a master in 1467. | Albrecht Dürer (; ; ; 21 May 1471 – 6 April 1528), sometimes spelled in English as Durer (without an umlaut) or Duerer, was a German painter, printmaker, and theorist of the German Renaissance. Born in Nuremberg, Dürer established his reputation and influence across Europe in his twenties due to his high-quality woodcut prints. He was in contact with the major Italian artists of his time, including Raphael, Giovanni Bellini, and Leonardo da Vinci, and from 1512 was patronized by Emperor Maximilian I.
Dürer's vast body of work includes engravings, his preferred technique in his later prints, altarpieces, portraits and self-portraits, watercolours and books. The woodcuts series are more Gothic than the rest of his work. His well-known engravings include the three Meisterstiche (master prints) Knight, Death and the Devil (1513), Saint Jerome in his Study (1514), and Melencolia I (1514). His watercolours mark him as one of the first European landscape artists, while his woodcuts revolutionised the potential of that medium.
Dürer's introduction of classical motifs into Northern art, through his knowledge of Italian artists and German humanists, has secured his reputation as one of the most important figures of the Northern Renaissance. This is reinforced by his theoretical treatises, which involve principles of mathematics, perspective, and ideal proportions.
Biography
Early life (1471–1490)
Dürer was born on 21 May 1471, the third child and second son of Albrecht Dürer the Elder and Barbara Holper, who married in 1467 and had eighteen children together. Albrecht Dürer the Elder (originally Albrecht Ajtósi), was a successful goldsmith who by 1455 had moved to Nuremberg from Ajtós, near Gyula in Hungary. He married Holper, his master's daughter, when he himself qualified as a master. One of Albrecht's brothers, Hans Dürer, was also a painter and trained under him. Another of Albrecht's brothers, Endres Dürer, took over their father's business and was a master goldsmith. The German name "Dürer" is a translation from the Hungarian, "Ajtósi". Initially, it was "Türer", meaning doormaker, which is "ajtós" in Hungarian (from "ajtó", meaning door). A door is featured in the coat-of-arms the family acquired. Albrecht Dürer the Younger later changed "Türer", his father's diction of the family's surname, to "Dürer", to adapt to the local Nuremberg dialect.
Dürer's godfather Anton Koberger left goldsmithing to become a printer and publisher in the year of Dürer's birth. He became the most successful publisher in Germany, eventually owning twenty-four printing-presses and a number of offices in Germany and abroad. Koberger's most famous publication was the Nuremberg Chronicle, published in 1493 in German and Latin editions. It contained an unprecedented 1,809 woodcut illustrations (albeit with many repeated uses of the same block) by the Wolgemut workshop. Dürer may have worked on some of these, as the work on the project began while he was with Wolgemut.
Because Dürer left autobiographical writings and was widely known by his mid-twenties, his life is well documented in several sources. After a few years of school, Dürer learned the basics of goldsmithing and drawing from his father. Though his father wanted him to continue his training as a goldsmith, he showed such a precocious talent in drawing that he started as an apprentice to Michael Wolgemut at the age of fifteen in 1486. A self-portrait, a drawing in silverpoint, is dated 1484 (Albertina, Vienna) "when I was a child", as his later inscription says. The drawing is one of the earliest surviving children's drawings of any kind, and, as Dürer's Opus One, has helped define his oeuvre as deriving from, and always linked to, himself. Wolgemut was the leading artist in Nuremberg at the time, with a large workshop producing a variety of works of art, in particular woodcuts for books. Nuremberg was then an important and prosperous city, a centre for publishing and many luxury trades. It had strong links with Italy, especially Venice, a relatively short distance across the Alps.
Wanderjahre and marriage (1490–1494)
After completing his apprenticeship, Dürer followed the common German custom of taking Wanderjahre—in effect gap years—in which the apprentice learned skills from artists in other areas; Dürer was to spend about four years away. He left in 1490, possibly to work under Martin Schongauer, the leading engraver of Northern Europe, but who died shortly before Dürer's arrival at Colmar in 1492. It is unclear where Dürer travelled in the intervening period, though it is likely that he went to Frankfurt and the Netherlands. In Colmar, Dürer was welcomed by Schongauer's brothers, the goldsmiths Caspar and Paul and the painter Ludwig. In 1493 Dürer went to Strasbourg, where he would have experienced the sculpture of Nikolaus Gerhaert. Dürer's first painted self-portrait (now in the Louvre) was painted at this time, probably to be sent back to his fiancée in Nuremberg.
In early 1492 Dürer travelled to Basel to stay with another brother of Martin Schongauer, the goldsmith Georg. Very soon after his return to Nuremberg, on 7 July 1494, at the age of 23, Dürer was married to Agnes Frey following an arrangement made during his absence. Agnes was the daughter of a prominent brass worker (and amateur harpist) in the city. However, no children resulted from the marriage, and with Albrecht the Dürer name died out. The marriage between Agnes and Albrecht was not a generally happy one, as indicated by the letters of Dürer in which he quipped to Willibald Pirckheimer in an extremely rough tone about his wife. He called her an "old crow" and made other vulgar remarks. Pirckheimer also made no secret of his antipathy towards Agnes, describing her as a miserly shrew with a bitter tongue, who helped cause Dürer's death at a young age. One author speculates that Albrecht was bisexual, if not homosexual, due to several of his works containing themes of homosexual desire, as well as the intimate nature of his correspondence with certain very close male friends.
First journey to Italy (1494–1495)
Within three months of his marriage, Dürer left for Italy, alone, perhaps stimulated by an outbreak of plague in Nuremberg. He made watercolour sketches as he traveled over the Alps. Some have survived and others may be deduced from accurate landscapes of real places in his later work, for example his engraving Nemesis.
In Italy, he went to Venice to study its more advanced artistic world. Through Wolgemut's tutelage, Dürer had learned how to make prints in drypoint and design woodcuts in the German style, based on the works of Schongauer and the Housebook Master. He also would have had access to some Italian works in Germany, but the two visits he made to Italy had an enormous influence on him. He wrote that Giovanni Bellini was the oldest and still the best of the artists in Venice. His drawings and engravings show the influence of others, notably Antonio Pollaiuolo, with his interest in the proportions of the body; Lorenzo di Credi; and Andrea Mantegna, whose work he produced copies of while training. Dürer probably also visited Padua and Mantua on this trip.
Return to Nuremberg (1495–1505)
On his return to Nuremberg in 1495, Dürer opened his own workshop (being married was a requirement for this). Over the next five years, his style increasingly integrated Italian influences into underlying Northern forms. Arguably his best works in the first years of the workshop were his woodcut prints, mostly religious, but including secular scenes such as The Men's Bath House (ca. 1496). These were larger and more finely cut than the great majority of German woodcuts hitherto, and far more complex and balanced in composition.
It is now thought unlikely that Dürer cut any of the woodblocks himself; this task would have been performed by a specialist craftsman. However, his training in Wolgemut's studio, which made many carved and painted altarpieces and both designed and cut woodblocks for woodcut, evidently gave him great understanding of what the technique could be made to produce, and how to work with block cutters. Dürer either drew his design directly onto the woodblock itself, or glued a paper drawing to the block. Either way, his drawings were destroyed during the cutting of the block.
His series of sixteen designs for the Apocalypse is dated 1498, as is his engraving of St. Michael Fighting the Dragon. He made the first seven scenes of the Great Passion in the same year, and a little later, a series of eleven on the Holy Family and saints. The Seven Sorrows Polyptych, commissioned by Frederick III of Saxony in 1496, was executed by Dürer and his assistants c. 1500. In 1502, Dürer's father died. Around 1503–1505 Dürer produced the first 17 of a set illustrating the Life of the Virgin, which he did not finish for some years. Neither these nor the Great Passion were published as sets until several years later, but prints were sold individually in considerable numbers.
During the same period Dürer trained himself in the difficult art of using the burin to make engravings. It is possible he had begun learning this skill during his early training with his father, as it was also an essential skill of the goldsmith. In 1496 he executed the Prodigal Son, which the Italian Renaissance art historian Giorgio Vasari singled out for praise some decades later, noting its Germanic quality. He was soon producing some spectacular and original images, notably Nemesis (1502), The Sea Monster (1498), and Saint Eustace (c. 1501), with a highly detailed landscape background and animals. His landscapes of this period, such as Pond in the Woods and Willow Mill, are quite different from his earlier watercolours. There is a much greater emphasis on capturing atmosphere, rather than depicting topography. He made a number of Madonnas, single religious figures, and small scenes with comic peasant figures. Prints are highly portable and these works made Dürer famous throughout the main artistic centres of Europe within a very few years.
The Venetian artist Jacopo de' Barbari, whom Dürer had met in Venice, visited Nuremberg in 1500, and Dürer said that he learned much about the new developments in perspective, anatomy, and proportion from him. De' Barbari was unwilling to explain everything he knew, so Dürer began his own studies, which would become a lifelong preoccupation. A series of extant drawings show Dürer's experiments in human proportion, leading to the famous engraving of Adam and Eve (1504), which shows his subtlety while using the burin in the texturing of flesh surfaces. This is the only existing engraving signed with his full name.
Dürer created large numbers of preparatory drawings, especially for his paintings and engravings, and many survive, most famously the Betende Hände (Praying Hands) from circa 1508, a study for an apostle in the Heller altarpiece. He continued to make images in watercolour and bodycolour (usually combined), including a number of still lifes of meadow sections or animals, including his Young Hare (1502) and the Great Piece of Turf (1503).
Second journey to Italy (1505–1507)
In Italy, he returned to painting, at first producing a series of works executed in tempera on linen. These include portraits and altarpieces, notably, the Paumgartner altarpiece and the Adoration of the Magi. In early 1506, he returned to Venice and stayed there until the spring of 1507. By this time Dürer's engravings had attained great popularity and were being copied. In Venice he was given a valuable commission from the emigrant German community for the church of San Bartolomeo. This was the altar-piece known as the Adoration of the Virgin or the Feast of Rose Garlands. It includes portraits of members of Venice's German community, but shows a strong Italian influence. It was later acquired by the Emperor Rudolf II and taken to Prague.
Nuremberg and the masterworks (1507–1520)
Despite the regard in which he was held by the Venetians, Dürer returned to Nuremberg by mid-1507, remaining in Germany until 1520. His reputation had spread throughout Europe and he was on friendly terms and in communication with most of the major artists including Raphael.
Between 1507 and 1511 Dürer worked on some of his most celebrated paintings: Adam and Eve (1507), Martyrdom of the Ten Thousand (1508, for Frederick of Saxony), Virgin with the Iris (1508), the altarpiece Assumption of the Virgin (1509, for Jacob Heller of Frankfurt), and Adoration of the Trinity (1511, for Matthaeus Landauer). During this period he also completed two woodcut series, the Great Passion and the Life of the Virgin, both published in 1511 together with a second edition of the Apocalypse series. The post-Venetian woodcuts show Dürer's development of chiaroscuro modelling effects, creating a mid-tone throughout the print to which the highlights and shadows can be contrasted.
Other works from this period include the thirty-seven Little Passion woodcuts, first published in 1511, and a set of fifteen small engravings on the same theme in 1512. Complaining that painting did not make enough money to justify the time spent when compared to his prints, he produced no paintings from 1513 to 1516. In 1513 and 1514 Dürer created his three most famous engravings: Knight, Death and the Devil (1513, probably based on Erasmus's Handbook of a Christian Knight), St. Jerome in His Study, and the much-debated Melencolia I (both 1514, the year Dürer's mother died). Further outstanding pen and ink drawings of Dürer's period of art work of 1513 were drafts for his friend Pirckheimer. These drafts were later used to design Lusterweibchen chandeliers, combining an antler with a wooden sculpture.
In 1515, he created his woodcut of a Rhinoceros which had arrived in Lisbon from a written description and sketch by another artist, without ever seeing the animal himself. An image of the Indian rhinoceros, the image has such force that it remains one of his best-known and was still used in some German school science text-books as late as last century. In the years leading to 1520 he produced a wide range of works, including the woodblocks for the first western printed star charts in 1515 and portraits in tempera on linen in 1516. His only experiments with etching came in this period, producing five between 1515–1516 and a sixth in 1518; a technique he may have abandoned as unsuited to his aesthetic of methodical, classical form.
Patronage of Maximilian I
From 1512, Maximilian I became Dürer's major patron. He commissioned The Triumphal Arch, a vast work printed from 192 separate blocks, the symbolism of which is partly informed by Pirckheimer's translation of Horapollo's Hieroglyphica. The design program and explanations were devised by Johannes Stabius, the architectural design by the master builder and court-painter Jörg Kölderer and the woodcutting itself by Hieronymous Andreae, with Dürer as designer-in-chief. The Arch was followed by The Triumphal Procession, the program of which was worked out in 1512 by Marx Treitz-Saurwein and includes woodcuts by Albrecht Altdorfer and Hans Springinklee, as well as Dürer.
Dürer worked with pen on the marginal images for an edition of the Emperor's printed Prayer-Book; these were quite unknown until facsimiles were published in 1808 as part of the first book published in lithography. Dürer's work on the book was halted for an unknown reason, and the decoration was continued by artists including Lucas Cranach the Elder and Hans Baldung. Dürer also made several portraits of the Emperor, including one shortly before Maximilian's death in 1519.
Maximilian was a very cash-strapped prince who sometimes failed to pay, yet turned out to be Dürer's most important patron. In his court, artists and learned men were respected, which was not common at that time (later, Dürer commented that in Germany, as a non-noble, he was treated a parasite). Pirckheimer (who he met in 1495, before entering the service of Maximilian) was also an important personage in the court and great cultural patron, who had a strong influence on Dürer as his tutor in classical knowledge and humanistic critical methodology, as well as collaborator.
In Maximilian's court, Dürer also collaborated with a great number of other brilliant artists and scholars of the time who became his friends, like Johannes Stabius, Konrad Peutinger, Conrad Celtes, and Hans Tscherte (an imperial architect).
Dürer manifested a strong pride in his ability, as a prince of his profession. One day, the emperor, trying to show Dürer an idea, tried to sketch with the charcoal himself, but always broke it. Dürer took the charcoal from Maximilian's hand, finished the drawing and told him: "This is my scepter."
In another occasion, Maximilian noticed that the ladder Dürer used was too short and unstable, thus told a noble to hold it for him. The noble refused, saying that it was beneath him to serve a non-noble. Maximilian then came to hold the ladder himself, and told the noble that he could make a noble out of a peasant any day, but he could not make an artist like Dürer out of a noble.
Cartographic and astronomical works
Dürer's exploration of space led to a relationship and cooperation with the court astronomer Johannes Stabius. Stabius also often acted as Dürer's and Maximilian's go-between for their financial problems.
In 1515 Dürer and Stabius created the first world map projected on a solid geometric sphere. Also in 1515, Stabius, Dürer and the astronomer Konrad Heinfogel produced the first planispheres of both southern and northerns hemispheres, as well as the first printed celestial maps, which prompted the revival of interest in the field of uranometry throughout Europe.
Journey to the Netherlands (1520–1521)
Maximilian's death came at a time when Dürer was concerned he was losing "my sight and freedom of hand" (perhaps caused by arthritis) and increasingly affected by the writings of Martin Luther. In July 1520 Dürer made his fourth and last major journey, to renew the Imperial pension Maximilian had given him and to secure the patronage of the new emperor, Charles V, who was to be crowned at Aachen. Dürer journeyed with his wife and her maid via the Rhine to Cologne and then to Antwerp, where he was well received and produced numerous drawings in silverpoint, chalk and charcoal. In addition to attending the coronation, he visited Cologne (where he admired the painting of Stefan Lochner), Nijmegen, 's-Hertogenbosch, Bruges (where he saw Michelangelo's Madonna of Bruges), Ghent (where he admired van Eyck's Ghent altarpiece), and Zeeland.
Dürer took a large stock of prints with him and wrote in his diary to whom he gave, exchanged or sold them, and for how much. This provides rare information of the monetary value placed on prints at this time. Unlike paintings, their sale was very rarely documented. While providing valuable documentary evidence, Dürer's Netherlandish diary also reveals that the trip was not a profitable one. For example, Dürer offered his last portrait of Maximilian to his daughter, Margaret of Austria, but eventually traded the picture for some white cloth after Margaret disliked the portrait and declined to accept it. During this trip he also met Bernard van Orley, Jan Provoost, Gerard Horenbout, Jean Mone, Joachim Patinir and Tommaso Vincidor, though he did not, it seems, meet Quentin Matsys.
Having secured his pension, Dürer returned home in July 1521, having caught an undetermined illness, which afflicted him for the rest of his life, and greatly reduced his rate of work.
Final years, Nuremberg (1521–1528)
On his return to Nuremberg, Dürer worked on a number of grand projects with religious themes, including a crucifixion scene and a Sacra conversazione, though neither was completed. This may have been due in part to his declining health, but perhaps also because of the time he gave to the preparation of his theoretical works on geometry and perspective, the proportions of men and horses, and fortification.
However, one consequence of this shift in emphasis was that during the last years of his life, Dürer produced comparatively little as an artist. In painting, there was only a portrait of Hieronymus Holtzschuher, a Madonna and Child (1526), Salvator Mundi (1526), and two panels showing St. John with St. Peter in background and St. Paul with St. Mark in the background. This last great work, the Four Apostles, was given by Dürer to the City of Nuremberg—although he was given 100 guilders in return.
As for engravings, Dürer's work was restricted to portraits and illustrations for his treatise. The portraits include Cardinal-Elector Albert of Mainz; Frederick the Wise, elector of Saxony; the humanist scholar Willibald Pirckheimer; Philipp Melanchthon, and Erasmus of Rotterdam. For those of the Cardinal, Melanchthon, and Dürer's final major work, a drawn portrait of the Nuremberg patrician Ulrich Starck, Dürer depicted the sitters in profile.
Despite complaining of his lack of a formal classical education, Dürer was greatly interested in intellectual matters and learned much from his boyhood friend Willibald Pirckheimer, whom he no doubt consulted on the content of many of his images. He also derived great satisfaction from his friendships and correspondence with Erasmus and other scholars. Dürer succeeded in producing two books during his lifetime. "The Four Books on Measurement" were published at Nuremberg in 1525 and was the first book for adults on mathematics in German, as well as being cited later by Galileo and Kepler. The other, a work on city fortifications, was published in 1527. "The Four Books on Human Proportion" were published posthumously, shortly after his death in 1528.
Dürer died in Nuremberg at the age of 56, leaving an estate valued at 6,874 florins – a considerable sum. He is buried in the Johannisfriedhof cemetery. His large house (purchased in 1509 from the heirs of the astronomer Bernhard Walther), where his workshop was located and where his widow lived until her death in 1539, remains a prominent Nuremberg landmark.
Dürer and the Reformation
Dürer's writings suggest that he may have been sympathetic to Luther's ideas, though it is unclear if he ever left the Catholic Church. Dürer wrote of his desire to draw Luther in his diary in 1520: "And God help me that I may go to Dr. Martin Luther; thus I intend to make a portrait of him with great care and engrave him on a copper plate to create a lasting memorial of the Christian man who helped me overcome so many difficulties." In a letter to Nicholas Kratzer in 1524, Dürer wrote, "because of our Christian faith we have to stand in scorn and danger, for we are reviled and called heretics". Most tellingly, Pirckheimer wrote in a letter to Johann Tscherte in 1530: "I confess that in the beginning I believed in Luther, like our Albert of blessed memory ... but as anyone can see, the situation has become worse." Dürer may even have contributed to the Nuremberg City Council's mandating Lutheran sermons and services in March 1525. Notably, Dürer had contacts with various reformers, such as Zwingli, Andreas Karlstadt, Melanchthon, Erasmus and Cornelius Grapheus from whom Dürer received Luther's Babylonian Captivity in 1520. Yet Erasmus and C. Grapheus are better said to be Catholic change agents. Also, from 1525, "the year that saw the peak and collapse of the Peasants' War, the artist can be seen to distance himself somewhat from the [Lutheran] movement..."
Dürer's later works have also been claimed to show Protestant sympathies. His 1523 The Last Supper woodcut has often been understood to have an evangelical theme, focusing as it does on Christ espousing the Gospel, as well as the inclusion of the Eucharistic cup, an expression of Protestant utraquism, although this interpretation has been questioned. The delaying of the engraving of St Philip, completed in 1523 but not distributed until 1526, may have been due to Dürer's uneasiness with images of saints; even if Dürer was not an iconoclast, in his last years he evaluated and questioned the role of art in religion.
Legacy and influence
Dürer exerted a huge influence on the artists of succeeding generations, especially in printmaking, the medium through which his contemporaries mostly experienced his art, as his paintings were predominantly in private collections located in only a few cities. His success in spreading his reputation across Europe through prints was undoubtedly an inspiration for major artists such as Raphael, Titian, and Parmigianino, all of whom collaborated with printmakers to promote and distribute their work.
His engravings seem to have had an intimidating effect upon his German successors; the "Little Masters" who attempted few large engravings but continued Dürer's themes in small, rather cramped compositions. Lucas van Leyden was the only Northern European engraver to successfully continue to produce large engravings in the first third of the 16th century. The generation of Italian engravers who trained in the shadow of Dürer all either directly copied parts of his landscape backgrounds (Giulio Campagnola, Giovanni Battista Palumba, Benedetto Montagna and Cristofano Robetta), or whole prints (Marcantonio Raimondi and Agostino Veneziano). However, Dürer's influence became less dominant after 1515, when Marcantonio perfected his new engraving style, which in turn travelled over the Alps to also dominate Northern engraving.
In painting, Dürer had relatively little influence in Italy, where probably only his altarpiece in Venice was seen, and his German successors were less effective in blending German and Italian styles. His intense and self-dramatizing self-portraits have continued to have a strong influence up to the present, especially on painters in the 19th and 20th century who desired a more dramatic portrait style. Dürer has never fallen from critical favour, and there have been significant revivals of interest in his works in Germany in the Dürer Renaissance of about 1570 to 1630, in the early nineteenth century, and in German nationalism from 1870 to 1945.
The Lutheran Church commemorates Dürer annually on 6 April, along with Michelangelo, Lucas Cranach the Elder and Hans Burgkmair. The liturgical calendar of the Episcopal Church (United States) remembers him, Cranach and Matthias Grünewald on 5 August.
Theoretical works
In all his theoretical works, in order to communicate his theories in the German language rather than in Latin, Dürer used graphic expressions based on a vernacular, craftsmen's language. For example, "Schneckenlinie" ("snail-line") was his term for a spiral form. Thus, Dürer contributed to the expansion in German prose which Luther had begun with his translation of the Bible.
Four Books on Measurement
Dürer's work on geometry is called the Four Books on Measurement (Underweysung der Messung mit dem Zirckel und Richtscheyt or Instructions for Measuring with Compass and Ruler). The first book focuses on linear geometry. Dürer's geometric constructions include helices, conchoids and epicycloids. He also draws on Apollonius, and Johannes Werner's 'Libellus super viginti duobus elementis conicis' of 1522.
The second book moves onto two-dimensional geometry, i.e. the construction of regular polygons. Here Dürer favours the methods of Ptolemy over Euclid. The third book applies these principles of geometry to architecture, engineering and typography.
In architecture Dürer cites Vitruvius but elaborates his own classical designs and columns. In typography, Dürer depicts the geometric construction of the Latin alphabet, relying on Italian precedent. However, his
construction of the Gothic alphabet is based upon an entirely different modular system. The fourth book completes the progression of the first and second by moving to three-dimensional forms and the construction of polyhedra. Here Dürer discusses the five Platonic solids, as well as seven Archimedean semi-regular solids, as well as several of his own invention.
In all these, Dürer shows the objects as nets. Finally, Dürer discusses the Delian Problem and moves on to the 'construzione legittima', a method of depicting a cube in two dimensions through linear perspective. He is thought to be the first to describe a visualization technique used in modern computers, ray tracing. It was in Bologna that Dürer was taught (possibly by Luca Pacioli or Bramante) the principles of linear perspective, and evidently became familiar with the 'costruzione legittima' in a written description of these principles found only, at this time, in the unpublished treatise of Piero della Francesca. He was also familiar with the 'abbreviated construction' as described by Alberti and the geometrical construction of shadows, a technique of Leonardo da Vinci. Although Dürer made no innovations in these areas, he is notable as the first Northern European to treat matters of visual representation in a scientific way, and with understanding of Euclidean principles. In addition to these geometrical constructions, Dürer discusses in this last book of Underweysung der Messung an assortment of mechanisms for drawing in perspective from models and provides woodcut illustrations of these methods that are often reproduced in discussions of perspective.
Four Books on Human Proportion
Dürer's work on human proportions is called the Four Books on Human Proportion (Vier Bücher von Menschlicher Proportion) of 1528. The first book was mainly composed by 1512/13 and completed by 1523, showing five differently constructed types of both male and female figures, all parts of the body expressed in fractions of the total height. Dürer based these constructions on both Vitruvius and empirical observations of "two to three hundred living persons", in his own words. The second book includes eight further types, broken down not into fractions but an Albertian system, which Dürer probably learned from Francesco di Giorgio's 'De harmonica mundi totius' of 1525. In the third book, Dürer gives principles by which the proportions of the figures can be modified, including the mathematical simulation of convex and concave mirrors; here Dürer also deals with human physiognomy. The fourth book is devoted to the theory of movement.
Appended to the last book, however, is a self-contained essay on aesthetics, which Dürer worked on between 1512 and 1528, and it is here that we learn of his theories concerning 'ideal beauty'. Dürer rejected Alberti's concept of an objective beauty, proposing a relativist notion of beauty based on variety. Nonetheless, Dürer still believed that truth was hidden within nature, and that there were rules which ordered beauty, even though he found it difficult to define the criteria for such a code. In 1512/13 his three criteria were function ('Nutz'), naïve approval ('Wohlgefallen') and the happy medium ('Mittelmass'). However, unlike Alberti and Leonardo, Dürer was most troubled by understanding not just the abstract notions of beauty but also as to how an artist can create beautiful images. Between 1512 and the final draft in 1528, Dürer's belief developed from an understanding of human creativity as spontaneous or inspired to a concept of 'selective inward synthesis'. In other words, that an artist builds on a wealth of visual experiences in order to imagine beautiful things. Dürer's belief in the abilities of a single artist over inspiration prompted him to assert that "one man may sketch something with his pen on half a sheet of paper in one day, or may cut it into a tiny piece of wood with his little iron, and it turns out to be better and more artistic than another's work at which its author labours with the utmost diligence for a whole year".
Book on Fortification
In 1527, Dürer also published Various Lessons on the Fortification of Cities, Castles, and Localities (Etliche Underricht zu Befestigung der Stett, Schloss und Flecken). It was printed in Nuremberg, probably by Hieronymus Andreae and reprinted in 1603 by Johan Janssenn in Arnhem. In 1535 it was also translated into Latin as On Cities, Forts, and Castles, Designed and Strengthened by Several Manners: Presented for the Most Necessary Accommodation of War (De vrbibus, arcibus, castellisque condendis, ac muniendis rationes aliquot : praesenti bellorum necessitati accommodatissimae), published by Christian Wechel (Wecheli/Wechelus) in Paris.
The work is less proscriptively theoretical than his other works, and was soon overshadowed by the Italian theory of polygonal fortification (the trace italienne – see Bastion fort), though his designs seem to have had some influence in the eastern German lands and up into the Baltic States.
Fencing
Dürer created many sketches and woodcuts of soldiers and knights over the course of his life. His most significant martial works, however, were made in 1512 as part of his efforts to secure the patronage of Maximilian I. Using existing manuscripts from the Nuremberg Group as his reference, his workshop produced the extensive Οπλοδιδασκαλια sive Armorvm Tractandorvm Meditatio Alberti Dvreri ("Weapon Training, or Albrecht Dürer's Meditation on the Handling of Weapons", MS 26-232). Another manuscript based on the Nuremberg texts as well as one of Hans Talhoffer's works, the untitled Berlin Picture Book (Libr.Pict.A.83), is also thought to have originated in his workshop around this time. These sketches and watercolors show the same careful attention to detail and human proportion as Dürer's other work, and his illustrations of grappling, long sword, dagger, and messer are among the highest-quality in any fencing manual.
Gallery
List of works
List of paintings by Albrecht Dürer
List of engravings by Albrecht Dürer
List of woodcuts by Albrecht Dürer
References
Notes
Citations
Sources
Bartrum, Giulia. Albrecht Dürer and his Legacy. London: British Museum Press, 2002.
Brand Philip, Lotte; Anzelewsky, Fedja. "The Portrait Diptych of Dürer's parents". Simiolus: Netherlands Quarterly for the History of Art, Volume 10, No. 1, 1978–79. 5–18
Brion, Marcel. Dürer. London: Thames and Hudson, 1960
Harbison, Craig. "Dürer and the Reformation: The Problem of the Re-dating of the St. Philip Engraving". The Art Bulletin, Vol. 58, No. 3, 368–373. September 1976
Koerner, Joseph Leo. The Moment of Self-Portraiture in German Renaissance Art. Chicago/London: University of Chicago Press, 1993.
Landau David; Parshall, Peter. The Renaissance Print. Yale, 1996.
Panofsky, Erwin. The Life and Art of Albrecht Dürer. NJ: Princeton, 1945.
Price, David Hotchkiss. Albrecht Dürer's Renaissance: Humanism, Reformation and the Art of Faith. Michigan, 2003. .
Strauss, Walter L. (ed.). The Complete Engravings, Etchings and Drypoints of Albrecht Durer. Mineola NY: Dover Publications, 1973.
Borchert, Till-Holger. Van Eyck to Dürer: The Influence of Early Netherlandish painting on European Art, 1430–1530. London: Thames & Hudson, 2011.
Wolf, Norbert. Albrecht Dürer. Taschen, 2010.
Hoffmann, Rainer. Im Paradies - Adam und Eva und der Sündenfall - Albrecht Dürers Darstellungen, Böhlau-Verlag, 2021, ISBN 9783412523852
Further reading
Campbell Hutchison, Jane. Albrecht Dürer: A Biography. Princeton University Press, 1990.
Demele, Christine. Dürers Nacktheit – Das Weimarer Selbstbildnis. Rhema Verlag, Münster 2012,
Dürer, Albrecht (translated by R.T. Nichol from the Latin text), Of the Just Shaping of Letters, Dover Publications.
Hart, Vaughan. 'Navel Gazing. On Albrecht Dürer's Adam and Eve (1504)', The International Journal of Arts Theory and History, 2016, vol.12.1 pp. 1–10 https://doi.org/10.18848/2326-9960/CGP/v12i01/1-10
Korolija Fontana-Giusti, Gordana. "The Unconscious and Space: Venice and the work of Albrecht Dürer", in Architecture and the Unconscious, eds. J. Hendrix and L.Holm, Farnham Surrey: Ashgate, 2016. pp. 27–44, .
Wilhelm, Kurth (ed.). The Complete Woodcuts of Albrecht Durer, Dover Publications, 2000.
External links
The Strange World of Albrecht Dürer at the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. 14 November 2010 – 13 March 2011
Dürer Prints Close-up. Made to accompany The Strange World of Albrecht Dürer at the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. 14 November 2010 – 13 March 2011
Albrecht Dürer: Vier Bücher von menschlicher Proportion (Nuremberg, 1528). Selected pages scanned from the original work. Historical Anatomies on the Web. US National Library of Medicine.
"Albrecht Dürer (1471–1528)". In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Albrecht Durer, Exhibition, Albertina, Vienna. 20 September 2019 – 6 January 2020
1471 births
1528 deaths
15th-century engravers
15th-century German painters
16th-century engravers
16th-century German painters
Animal artists
Artist authors
Artists from Nuremberg
Catholic decorative artists
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Catholic engravers
Catholic painters
German draughtsmen
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German Lutherans
German male painters
German people of Hungarian descent
German printmakers
German Renaissance painters
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People celebrated in the Lutheran liturgical calendar
Renaissance engravers
Woodcut designers | false | [
"(died 734) was a person in Japan during the Asuka period and the Nara period. She was a daughter of Emperor Tenji. Her mother was Lady Shikobuko, whose father was Oshimi no Miyakko Otatsu. She had an elder brother, Prince Kawashima, and an elder sister, Princess Ōe.\n\nAlthough her sister, Princess Ōe, and other half-sisters were married to Emperor Tenmu or his sons, Izumi did not marry because she was too young. When she reached the age suitable for marriage, she could not marry, because there were no appropriate men among Emperor Tenmu's sons.\n\nIn addition to that condition, her brother Prince Kawashima betrayed Prince Ōtsu and his followers, and they were all punished. Because of that, Prince Kawashima and his relatives became the targets of criticism. After Prince Kawashima and Princess Ōe died several years later, she was completely isolated.\n\nShe was selected by divination as the Saiō in 701 when she was in her thirties, because the Saio of that year, Princess Taki, was suddenly dismissed. In principle, a newly selected Saio was supposed to make preparation by staying in the Abstinence-house near the capital for two years prior to going to Ise. However, she was in the Abstinence-house for over five years from 701 to 706. Also, she stayed in the Saikū in Ise for only half a year and was made to retire from the post. These unprecedented cases might be because of some political intentions.\n\nShe was almost 40 years old when she returned to the capital. She could not marry anyone as she became too old, and lived an unmarried life until she died in 734, in her sixties.\n\nJapanese princesses\n734 deaths\nYear of birth unknown\nSaigū\nDaughters of Japanese emperors",
"I Told You So is a 1970 Ghanaian movie. The movie portrays Ghanaians and their way of life in a satirical style. It also gives insight into the life of a young lady who did not take the advice of her father when about to marry a man, she did not know anything about the man she was going to marry, but rather took her mother's and uncle's advice because of the wealth and power the man has.\n\nThe young lady later finds out that the man she is supposed to marry was an armed robber. She was unhappy of the whole incident. When her dad ask what had happened, she replied that the man she was supposed to marry is an armed robber; her father ended by saying \"I told you so\".\n\nCast\nBobe Cole\nMargret Quainoo (Araba Stamp)\nKweku Crankson (Osuo Abrobor)\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n \n I TOLD YOU SO GHANAIAN MOVIE\n\n1970 films\nGhanaian films"
] |
[
"Albrecht Dürer",
"Early life (1471-1490)",
"Are his parents names known?",
"His father, Albrecht Durer the Elder (originally Albrecht Ajtosi), was a successful goldsmith",
"Is anything known of his mother?",
"second son of his parents, who had at least fourteen and possibly as many as eighteen children.",
"Did he receive any formal education?",
"After a few years of school, Durer started to learn the basics of goldsmithing and drawing from his father.",
"Did he begin wood prints during this time?",
"he started as an apprentice to Michael Wolgemut at the age of fifteen in 1486.",
"Did he move away when he began his apprenticeship?",
"Wolgemut was the leading artist in Nuremberg at the time, with a large workshop",
"Did he marry during these years?",
"Albrecht Durer the Elder married Barbara Holper, the daughter of his master when he himself became a master in 1467."
] | C_4a4a9362ff664bba86e8c74ead6078c0_1 | Did he have children? | 7 | Did Albrecht Dürer have children? | Albrecht Dürer | Durer was born on 21 May 1471, third child and second son of his parents, who had at least fourteen and possibly as many as eighteen children. His father, Albrecht Durer the Elder (originally Albrecht Ajtosi), was a successful goldsmith who in 1455 had moved to Nuremberg from Ajtos, near Gyula in Hungary. One of Albrecht's brothers, Hans Durer, was also a painter and trained under him. Another of Albrecht's brothers, Endres Durer, took over their father's business and was a master goldsmith. The German name "Durer" is a translation from the Hungarian, "Ajtosi". Initially, it was "Turer", meaning doormaker, which is "ajtos" in Hungarian (from "ajto", meaning door). A door is featured in the coat-of-arms the family acquired. Albrecht Durer the Younger later changed "Turer", his father's diction of the family's surname, to "Durer", to adapt to the local Nuremberg dialect. Albrecht Durer the Elder married Barbara Holper, the daughter of his master when he himself became a master in 1467. Durer's godfather was Anton Koberger, who left goldsmithing to become a printer and publisher in the year of Durer's birth and quickly became the most successful publisher in Germany, eventually owning twenty-four printing-presses and having many offices in Germany and abroad. Koberger's most famous publication was the Nuremberg Chronicle, published in 1493 in German and Latin editions. It contained an unprecedented 1,809 woodcut illustrations (albeit with many repeated uses of the same block) by the Wolgemut workshop. Durer may have worked on some of these, as the work on the project began while he was with Wolgemut. Because Durer left autobiographical writings and became very famous by his mid-twenties, his life is well documented by several sources. After a few years of school, Durer started to learn the basics of goldsmithing and drawing from his father. Though his father wanted him to continue his training as a goldsmith, he showed such a precocious talent in drawing that he started as an apprentice to Michael Wolgemut at the age of fifteen in 1486. A self-portrait, a drawing in silverpoint, is dated 1484 (Albertina, Vienna) "when I was a child", as his later inscription says. Wolgemut was the leading artist in Nuremberg at the time, with a large workshop producing a variety of works of art, in particular woodcuts for books. Nuremberg was then an important and prosperous city, a centre for publishing and many luxury trades. It had strong links with Italy, especially Venice, a relatively short distance across the Alps. CANNOTANSWER | CANNOTANSWER | Albrecht Dürer (; ; ; 21 May 1471 – 6 April 1528), sometimes spelled in English as Durer (without an umlaut) or Duerer, was a German painter, printmaker, and theorist of the German Renaissance. Born in Nuremberg, Dürer established his reputation and influence across Europe in his twenties due to his high-quality woodcut prints. He was in contact with the major Italian artists of his time, including Raphael, Giovanni Bellini, and Leonardo da Vinci, and from 1512 was patronized by Emperor Maximilian I.
Dürer's vast body of work includes engravings, his preferred technique in his later prints, altarpieces, portraits and self-portraits, watercolours and books. The woodcuts series are more Gothic than the rest of his work. His well-known engravings include the three Meisterstiche (master prints) Knight, Death and the Devil (1513), Saint Jerome in his Study (1514), and Melencolia I (1514). His watercolours mark him as one of the first European landscape artists, while his woodcuts revolutionised the potential of that medium.
Dürer's introduction of classical motifs into Northern art, through his knowledge of Italian artists and German humanists, has secured his reputation as one of the most important figures of the Northern Renaissance. This is reinforced by his theoretical treatises, which involve principles of mathematics, perspective, and ideal proportions.
Biography
Early life (1471–1490)
Dürer was born on 21 May 1471, the third child and second son of Albrecht Dürer the Elder and Barbara Holper, who married in 1467 and had eighteen children together. Albrecht Dürer the Elder (originally Albrecht Ajtósi), was a successful goldsmith who by 1455 had moved to Nuremberg from Ajtós, near Gyula in Hungary. He married Holper, his master's daughter, when he himself qualified as a master. One of Albrecht's brothers, Hans Dürer, was also a painter and trained under him. Another of Albrecht's brothers, Endres Dürer, took over their father's business and was a master goldsmith. The German name "Dürer" is a translation from the Hungarian, "Ajtósi". Initially, it was "Türer", meaning doormaker, which is "ajtós" in Hungarian (from "ajtó", meaning door). A door is featured in the coat-of-arms the family acquired. Albrecht Dürer the Younger later changed "Türer", his father's diction of the family's surname, to "Dürer", to adapt to the local Nuremberg dialect.
Dürer's godfather Anton Koberger left goldsmithing to become a printer and publisher in the year of Dürer's birth. He became the most successful publisher in Germany, eventually owning twenty-four printing-presses and a number of offices in Germany and abroad. Koberger's most famous publication was the Nuremberg Chronicle, published in 1493 in German and Latin editions. It contained an unprecedented 1,809 woodcut illustrations (albeit with many repeated uses of the same block) by the Wolgemut workshop. Dürer may have worked on some of these, as the work on the project began while he was with Wolgemut.
Because Dürer left autobiographical writings and was widely known by his mid-twenties, his life is well documented in several sources. After a few years of school, Dürer learned the basics of goldsmithing and drawing from his father. Though his father wanted him to continue his training as a goldsmith, he showed such a precocious talent in drawing that he started as an apprentice to Michael Wolgemut at the age of fifteen in 1486. A self-portrait, a drawing in silverpoint, is dated 1484 (Albertina, Vienna) "when I was a child", as his later inscription says. The drawing is one of the earliest surviving children's drawings of any kind, and, as Dürer's Opus One, has helped define his oeuvre as deriving from, and always linked to, himself. Wolgemut was the leading artist in Nuremberg at the time, with a large workshop producing a variety of works of art, in particular woodcuts for books. Nuremberg was then an important and prosperous city, a centre for publishing and many luxury trades. It had strong links with Italy, especially Venice, a relatively short distance across the Alps.
Wanderjahre and marriage (1490–1494)
After completing his apprenticeship, Dürer followed the common German custom of taking Wanderjahre—in effect gap years—in which the apprentice learned skills from artists in other areas; Dürer was to spend about four years away. He left in 1490, possibly to work under Martin Schongauer, the leading engraver of Northern Europe, but who died shortly before Dürer's arrival at Colmar in 1492. It is unclear where Dürer travelled in the intervening period, though it is likely that he went to Frankfurt and the Netherlands. In Colmar, Dürer was welcomed by Schongauer's brothers, the goldsmiths Caspar and Paul and the painter Ludwig. In 1493 Dürer went to Strasbourg, where he would have experienced the sculpture of Nikolaus Gerhaert. Dürer's first painted self-portrait (now in the Louvre) was painted at this time, probably to be sent back to his fiancée in Nuremberg.
In early 1492 Dürer travelled to Basel to stay with another brother of Martin Schongauer, the goldsmith Georg. Very soon after his return to Nuremberg, on 7 July 1494, at the age of 23, Dürer was married to Agnes Frey following an arrangement made during his absence. Agnes was the daughter of a prominent brass worker (and amateur harpist) in the city. However, no children resulted from the marriage, and with Albrecht the Dürer name died out. The marriage between Agnes and Albrecht was not a generally happy one, as indicated by the letters of Dürer in which he quipped to Willibald Pirckheimer in an extremely rough tone about his wife. He called her an "old crow" and made other vulgar remarks. Pirckheimer also made no secret of his antipathy towards Agnes, describing her as a miserly shrew with a bitter tongue, who helped cause Dürer's death at a young age. One author speculates that Albrecht was bisexual, if not homosexual, due to several of his works containing themes of homosexual desire, as well as the intimate nature of his correspondence with certain very close male friends.
First journey to Italy (1494–1495)
Within three months of his marriage, Dürer left for Italy, alone, perhaps stimulated by an outbreak of plague in Nuremberg. He made watercolour sketches as he traveled over the Alps. Some have survived and others may be deduced from accurate landscapes of real places in his later work, for example his engraving Nemesis.
In Italy, he went to Venice to study its more advanced artistic world. Through Wolgemut's tutelage, Dürer had learned how to make prints in drypoint and design woodcuts in the German style, based on the works of Schongauer and the Housebook Master. He also would have had access to some Italian works in Germany, but the two visits he made to Italy had an enormous influence on him. He wrote that Giovanni Bellini was the oldest and still the best of the artists in Venice. His drawings and engravings show the influence of others, notably Antonio Pollaiuolo, with his interest in the proportions of the body; Lorenzo di Credi; and Andrea Mantegna, whose work he produced copies of while training. Dürer probably also visited Padua and Mantua on this trip.
Return to Nuremberg (1495–1505)
On his return to Nuremberg in 1495, Dürer opened his own workshop (being married was a requirement for this). Over the next five years, his style increasingly integrated Italian influences into underlying Northern forms. Arguably his best works in the first years of the workshop were his woodcut prints, mostly religious, but including secular scenes such as The Men's Bath House (ca. 1496). These were larger and more finely cut than the great majority of German woodcuts hitherto, and far more complex and balanced in composition.
It is now thought unlikely that Dürer cut any of the woodblocks himself; this task would have been performed by a specialist craftsman. However, his training in Wolgemut's studio, which made many carved and painted altarpieces and both designed and cut woodblocks for woodcut, evidently gave him great understanding of what the technique could be made to produce, and how to work with block cutters. Dürer either drew his design directly onto the woodblock itself, or glued a paper drawing to the block. Either way, his drawings were destroyed during the cutting of the block.
His series of sixteen designs for the Apocalypse is dated 1498, as is his engraving of St. Michael Fighting the Dragon. He made the first seven scenes of the Great Passion in the same year, and a little later, a series of eleven on the Holy Family and saints. The Seven Sorrows Polyptych, commissioned by Frederick III of Saxony in 1496, was executed by Dürer and his assistants c. 1500. In 1502, Dürer's father died. Around 1503–1505 Dürer produced the first 17 of a set illustrating the Life of the Virgin, which he did not finish for some years. Neither these nor the Great Passion were published as sets until several years later, but prints were sold individually in considerable numbers.
During the same period Dürer trained himself in the difficult art of using the burin to make engravings. It is possible he had begun learning this skill during his early training with his father, as it was also an essential skill of the goldsmith. In 1496 he executed the Prodigal Son, which the Italian Renaissance art historian Giorgio Vasari singled out for praise some decades later, noting its Germanic quality. He was soon producing some spectacular and original images, notably Nemesis (1502), The Sea Monster (1498), and Saint Eustace (c. 1501), with a highly detailed landscape background and animals. His landscapes of this period, such as Pond in the Woods and Willow Mill, are quite different from his earlier watercolours. There is a much greater emphasis on capturing atmosphere, rather than depicting topography. He made a number of Madonnas, single religious figures, and small scenes with comic peasant figures. Prints are highly portable and these works made Dürer famous throughout the main artistic centres of Europe within a very few years.
The Venetian artist Jacopo de' Barbari, whom Dürer had met in Venice, visited Nuremberg in 1500, and Dürer said that he learned much about the new developments in perspective, anatomy, and proportion from him. De' Barbari was unwilling to explain everything he knew, so Dürer began his own studies, which would become a lifelong preoccupation. A series of extant drawings show Dürer's experiments in human proportion, leading to the famous engraving of Adam and Eve (1504), which shows his subtlety while using the burin in the texturing of flesh surfaces. This is the only existing engraving signed with his full name.
Dürer created large numbers of preparatory drawings, especially for his paintings and engravings, and many survive, most famously the Betende Hände (Praying Hands) from circa 1508, a study for an apostle in the Heller altarpiece. He continued to make images in watercolour and bodycolour (usually combined), including a number of still lifes of meadow sections or animals, including his Young Hare (1502) and the Great Piece of Turf (1503).
Second journey to Italy (1505–1507)
In Italy, he returned to painting, at first producing a series of works executed in tempera on linen. These include portraits and altarpieces, notably, the Paumgartner altarpiece and the Adoration of the Magi. In early 1506, he returned to Venice and stayed there until the spring of 1507. By this time Dürer's engravings had attained great popularity and were being copied. In Venice he was given a valuable commission from the emigrant German community for the church of San Bartolomeo. This was the altar-piece known as the Adoration of the Virgin or the Feast of Rose Garlands. It includes portraits of members of Venice's German community, but shows a strong Italian influence. It was later acquired by the Emperor Rudolf II and taken to Prague.
Nuremberg and the masterworks (1507–1520)
Despite the regard in which he was held by the Venetians, Dürer returned to Nuremberg by mid-1507, remaining in Germany until 1520. His reputation had spread throughout Europe and he was on friendly terms and in communication with most of the major artists including Raphael.
Between 1507 and 1511 Dürer worked on some of his most celebrated paintings: Adam and Eve (1507), Martyrdom of the Ten Thousand (1508, for Frederick of Saxony), Virgin with the Iris (1508), the altarpiece Assumption of the Virgin (1509, for Jacob Heller of Frankfurt), and Adoration of the Trinity (1511, for Matthaeus Landauer). During this period he also completed two woodcut series, the Great Passion and the Life of the Virgin, both published in 1511 together with a second edition of the Apocalypse series. The post-Venetian woodcuts show Dürer's development of chiaroscuro modelling effects, creating a mid-tone throughout the print to which the highlights and shadows can be contrasted.
Other works from this period include the thirty-seven Little Passion woodcuts, first published in 1511, and a set of fifteen small engravings on the same theme in 1512. Complaining that painting did not make enough money to justify the time spent when compared to his prints, he produced no paintings from 1513 to 1516. In 1513 and 1514 Dürer created his three most famous engravings: Knight, Death and the Devil (1513, probably based on Erasmus's Handbook of a Christian Knight), St. Jerome in His Study, and the much-debated Melencolia I (both 1514, the year Dürer's mother died). Further outstanding pen and ink drawings of Dürer's period of art work of 1513 were drafts for his friend Pirckheimer. These drafts were later used to design Lusterweibchen chandeliers, combining an antler with a wooden sculpture.
In 1515, he created his woodcut of a Rhinoceros which had arrived in Lisbon from a written description and sketch by another artist, without ever seeing the animal himself. An image of the Indian rhinoceros, the image has such force that it remains one of his best-known and was still used in some German school science text-books as late as last century. In the years leading to 1520 he produced a wide range of works, including the woodblocks for the first western printed star charts in 1515 and portraits in tempera on linen in 1516. His only experiments with etching came in this period, producing five between 1515–1516 and a sixth in 1518; a technique he may have abandoned as unsuited to his aesthetic of methodical, classical form.
Patronage of Maximilian I
From 1512, Maximilian I became Dürer's major patron. He commissioned The Triumphal Arch, a vast work printed from 192 separate blocks, the symbolism of which is partly informed by Pirckheimer's translation of Horapollo's Hieroglyphica. The design program and explanations were devised by Johannes Stabius, the architectural design by the master builder and court-painter Jörg Kölderer and the woodcutting itself by Hieronymous Andreae, with Dürer as designer-in-chief. The Arch was followed by The Triumphal Procession, the program of which was worked out in 1512 by Marx Treitz-Saurwein and includes woodcuts by Albrecht Altdorfer and Hans Springinklee, as well as Dürer.
Dürer worked with pen on the marginal images for an edition of the Emperor's printed Prayer-Book; these were quite unknown until facsimiles were published in 1808 as part of the first book published in lithography. Dürer's work on the book was halted for an unknown reason, and the decoration was continued by artists including Lucas Cranach the Elder and Hans Baldung. Dürer also made several portraits of the Emperor, including one shortly before Maximilian's death in 1519.
Maximilian was a very cash-strapped prince who sometimes failed to pay, yet turned out to be Dürer's most important patron. In his court, artists and learned men were respected, which was not common at that time (later, Dürer commented that in Germany, as a non-noble, he was treated a parasite). Pirckheimer (who he met in 1495, before entering the service of Maximilian) was also an important personage in the court and great cultural patron, who had a strong influence on Dürer as his tutor in classical knowledge and humanistic critical methodology, as well as collaborator.
In Maximilian's court, Dürer also collaborated with a great number of other brilliant artists and scholars of the time who became his friends, like Johannes Stabius, Konrad Peutinger, Conrad Celtes, and Hans Tscherte (an imperial architect).
Dürer manifested a strong pride in his ability, as a prince of his profession. One day, the emperor, trying to show Dürer an idea, tried to sketch with the charcoal himself, but always broke it. Dürer took the charcoal from Maximilian's hand, finished the drawing and told him: "This is my scepter."
In another occasion, Maximilian noticed that the ladder Dürer used was too short and unstable, thus told a noble to hold it for him. The noble refused, saying that it was beneath him to serve a non-noble. Maximilian then came to hold the ladder himself, and told the noble that he could make a noble out of a peasant any day, but he could not make an artist like Dürer out of a noble.
Cartographic and astronomical works
Dürer's exploration of space led to a relationship and cooperation with the court astronomer Johannes Stabius. Stabius also often acted as Dürer's and Maximilian's go-between for their financial problems.
In 1515 Dürer and Stabius created the first world map projected on a solid geometric sphere. Also in 1515, Stabius, Dürer and the astronomer Konrad Heinfogel produced the first planispheres of both southern and northerns hemispheres, as well as the first printed celestial maps, which prompted the revival of interest in the field of uranometry throughout Europe.
Journey to the Netherlands (1520–1521)
Maximilian's death came at a time when Dürer was concerned he was losing "my sight and freedom of hand" (perhaps caused by arthritis) and increasingly affected by the writings of Martin Luther. In July 1520 Dürer made his fourth and last major journey, to renew the Imperial pension Maximilian had given him and to secure the patronage of the new emperor, Charles V, who was to be crowned at Aachen. Dürer journeyed with his wife and her maid via the Rhine to Cologne and then to Antwerp, where he was well received and produced numerous drawings in silverpoint, chalk and charcoal. In addition to attending the coronation, he visited Cologne (where he admired the painting of Stefan Lochner), Nijmegen, 's-Hertogenbosch, Bruges (where he saw Michelangelo's Madonna of Bruges), Ghent (where he admired van Eyck's Ghent altarpiece), and Zeeland.
Dürer took a large stock of prints with him and wrote in his diary to whom he gave, exchanged or sold them, and for how much. This provides rare information of the monetary value placed on prints at this time. Unlike paintings, their sale was very rarely documented. While providing valuable documentary evidence, Dürer's Netherlandish diary also reveals that the trip was not a profitable one. For example, Dürer offered his last portrait of Maximilian to his daughter, Margaret of Austria, but eventually traded the picture for some white cloth after Margaret disliked the portrait and declined to accept it. During this trip he also met Bernard van Orley, Jan Provoost, Gerard Horenbout, Jean Mone, Joachim Patinir and Tommaso Vincidor, though he did not, it seems, meet Quentin Matsys.
Having secured his pension, Dürer returned home in July 1521, having caught an undetermined illness, which afflicted him for the rest of his life, and greatly reduced his rate of work.
Final years, Nuremberg (1521–1528)
On his return to Nuremberg, Dürer worked on a number of grand projects with religious themes, including a crucifixion scene and a Sacra conversazione, though neither was completed. This may have been due in part to his declining health, but perhaps also because of the time he gave to the preparation of his theoretical works on geometry and perspective, the proportions of men and horses, and fortification.
However, one consequence of this shift in emphasis was that during the last years of his life, Dürer produced comparatively little as an artist. In painting, there was only a portrait of Hieronymus Holtzschuher, a Madonna and Child (1526), Salvator Mundi (1526), and two panels showing St. John with St. Peter in background and St. Paul with St. Mark in the background. This last great work, the Four Apostles, was given by Dürer to the City of Nuremberg—although he was given 100 guilders in return.
As for engravings, Dürer's work was restricted to portraits and illustrations for his treatise. The portraits include Cardinal-Elector Albert of Mainz; Frederick the Wise, elector of Saxony; the humanist scholar Willibald Pirckheimer; Philipp Melanchthon, and Erasmus of Rotterdam. For those of the Cardinal, Melanchthon, and Dürer's final major work, a drawn portrait of the Nuremberg patrician Ulrich Starck, Dürer depicted the sitters in profile.
Despite complaining of his lack of a formal classical education, Dürer was greatly interested in intellectual matters and learned much from his boyhood friend Willibald Pirckheimer, whom he no doubt consulted on the content of many of his images. He also derived great satisfaction from his friendships and correspondence with Erasmus and other scholars. Dürer succeeded in producing two books during his lifetime. "The Four Books on Measurement" were published at Nuremberg in 1525 and was the first book for adults on mathematics in German, as well as being cited later by Galileo and Kepler. The other, a work on city fortifications, was published in 1527. "The Four Books on Human Proportion" were published posthumously, shortly after his death in 1528.
Dürer died in Nuremberg at the age of 56, leaving an estate valued at 6,874 florins – a considerable sum. He is buried in the Johannisfriedhof cemetery. His large house (purchased in 1509 from the heirs of the astronomer Bernhard Walther), where his workshop was located and where his widow lived until her death in 1539, remains a prominent Nuremberg landmark.
Dürer and the Reformation
Dürer's writings suggest that he may have been sympathetic to Luther's ideas, though it is unclear if he ever left the Catholic Church. Dürer wrote of his desire to draw Luther in his diary in 1520: "And God help me that I may go to Dr. Martin Luther; thus I intend to make a portrait of him with great care and engrave him on a copper plate to create a lasting memorial of the Christian man who helped me overcome so many difficulties." In a letter to Nicholas Kratzer in 1524, Dürer wrote, "because of our Christian faith we have to stand in scorn and danger, for we are reviled and called heretics". Most tellingly, Pirckheimer wrote in a letter to Johann Tscherte in 1530: "I confess that in the beginning I believed in Luther, like our Albert of blessed memory ... but as anyone can see, the situation has become worse." Dürer may even have contributed to the Nuremberg City Council's mandating Lutheran sermons and services in March 1525. Notably, Dürer had contacts with various reformers, such as Zwingli, Andreas Karlstadt, Melanchthon, Erasmus and Cornelius Grapheus from whom Dürer received Luther's Babylonian Captivity in 1520. Yet Erasmus and C. Grapheus are better said to be Catholic change agents. Also, from 1525, "the year that saw the peak and collapse of the Peasants' War, the artist can be seen to distance himself somewhat from the [Lutheran] movement..."
Dürer's later works have also been claimed to show Protestant sympathies. His 1523 The Last Supper woodcut has often been understood to have an evangelical theme, focusing as it does on Christ espousing the Gospel, as well as the inclusion of the Eucharistic cup, an expression of Protestant utraquism, although this interpretation has been questioned. The delaying of the engraving of St Philip, completed in 1523 but not distributed until 1526, may have been due to Dürer's uneasiness with images of saints; even if Dürer was not an iconoclast, in his last years he evaluated and questioned the role of art in religion.
Legacy and influence
Dürer exerted a huge influence on the artists of succeeding generations, especially in printmaking, the medium through which his contemporaries mostly experienced his art, as his paintings were predominantly in private collections located in only a few cities. His success in spreading his reputation across Europe through prints was undoubtedly an inspiration for major artists such as Raphael, Titian, and Parmigianino, all of whom collaborated with printmakers to promote and distribute their work.
His engravings seem to have had an intimidating effect upon his German successors; the "Little Masters" who attempted few large engravings but continued Dürer's themes in small, rather cramped compositions. Lucas van Leyden was the only Northern European engraver to successfully continue to produce large engravings in the first third of the 16th century. The generation of Italian engravers who trained in the shadow of Dürer all either directly copied parts of his landscape backgrounds (Giulio Campagnola, Giovanni Battista Palumba, Benedetto Montagna and Cristofano Robetta), or whole prints (Marcantonio Raimondi and Agostino Veneziano). However, Dürer's influence became less dominant after 1515, when Marcantonio perfected his new engraving style, which in turn travelled over the Alps to also dominate Northern engraving.
In painting, Dürer had relatively little influence in Italy, where probably only his altarpiece in Venice was seen, and his German successors were less effective in blending German and Italian styles. His intense and self-dramatizing self-portraits have continued to have a strong influence up to the present, especially on painters in the 19th and 20th century who desired a more dramatic portrait style. Dürer has never fallen from critical favour, and there have been significant revivals of interest in his works in Germany in the Dürer Renaissance of about 1570 to 1630, in the early nineteenth century, and in German nationalism from 1870 to 1945.
The Lutheran Church commemorates Dürer annually on 6 April, along with Michelangelo, Lucas Cranach the Elder and Hans Burgkmair. The liturgical calendar of the Episcopal Church (United States) remembers him, Cranach and Matthias Grünewald on 5 August.
Theoretical works
In all his theoretical works, in order to communicate his theories in the German language rather than in Latin, Dürer used graphic expressions based on a vernacular, craftsmen's language. For example, "Schneckenlinie" ("snail-line") was his term for a spiral form. Thus, Dürer contributed to the expansion in German prose which Luther had begun with his translation of the Bible.
Four Books on Measurement
Dürer's work on geometry is called the Four Books on Measurement (Underweysung der Messung mit dem Zirckel und Richtscheyt or Instructions for Measuring with Compass and Ruler). The first book focuses on linear geometry. Dürer's geometric constructions include helices, conchoids and epicycloids. He also draws on Apollonius, and Johannes Werner's 'Libellus super viginti duobus elementis conicis' of 1522.
The second book moves onto two-dimensional geometry, i.e. the construction of regular polygons. Here Dürer favours the methods of Ptolemy over Euclid. The third book applies these principles of geometry to architecture, engineering and typography.
In architecture Dürer cites Vitruvius but elaborates his own classical designs and columns. In typography, Dürer depicts the geometric construction of the Latin alphabet, relying on Italian precedent. However, his
construction of the Gothic alphabet is based upon an entirely different modular system. The fourth book completes the progression of the first and second by moving to three-dimensional forms and the construction of polyhedra. Here Dürer discusses the five Platonic solids, as well as seven Archimedean semi-regular solids, as well as several of his own invention.
In all these, Dürer shows the objects as nets. Finally, Dürer discusses the Delian Problem and moves on to the 'construzione legittima', a method of depicting a cube in two dimensions through linear perspective. He is thought to be the first to describe a visualization technique used in modern computers, ray tracing. It was in Bologna that Dürer was taught (possibly by Luca Pacioli or Bramante) the principles of linear perspective, and evidently became familiar with the 'costruzione legittima' in a written description of these principles found only, at this time, in the unpublished treatise of Piero della Francesca. He was also familiar with the 'abbreviated construction' as described by Alberti and the geometrical construction of shadows, a technique of Leonardo da Vinci. Although Dürer made no innovations in these areas, he is notable as the first Northern European to treat matters of visual representation in a scientific way, and with understanding of Euclidean principles. In addition to these geometrical constructions, Dürer discusses in this last book of Underweysung der Messung an assortment of mechanisms for drawing in perspective from models and provides woodcut illustrations of these methods that are often reproduced in discussions of perspective.
Four Books on Human Proportion
Dürer's work on human proportions is called the Four Books on Human Proportion (Vier Bücher von Menschlicher Proportion) of 1528. The first book was mainly composed by 1512/13 and completed by 1523, showing five differently constructed types of both male and female figures, all parts of the body expressed in fractions of the total height. Dürer based these constructions on both Vitruvius and empirical observations of "two to three hundred living persons", in his own words. The second book includes eight further types, broken down not into fractions but an Albertian system, which Dürer probably learned from Francesco di Giorgio's 'De harmonica mundi totius' of 1525. In the third book, Dürer gives principles by which the proportions of the figures can be modified, including the mathematical simulation of convex and concave mirrors; here Dürer also deals with human physiognomy. The fourth book is devoted to the theory of movement.
Appended to the last book, however, is a self-contained essay on aesthetics, which Dürer worked on between 1512 and 1528, and it is here that we learn of his theories concerning 'ideal beauty'. Dürer rejected Alberti's concept of an objective beauty, proposing a relativist notion of beauty based on variety. Nonetheless, Dürer still believed that truth was hidden within nature, and that there were rules which ordered beauty, even though he found it difficult to define the criteria for such a code. In 1512/13 his three criteria were function ('Nutz'), naïve approval ('Wohlgefallen') and the happy medium ('Mittelmass'). However, unlike Alberti and Leonardo, Dürer was most troubled by understanding not just the abstract notions of beauty but also as to how an artist can create beautiful images. Between 1512 and the final draft in 1528, Dürer's belief developed from an understanding of human creativity as spontaneous or inspired to a concept of 'selective inward synthesis'. In other words, that an artist builds on a wealth of visual experiences in order to imagine beautiful things. Dürer's belief in the abilities of a single artist over inspiration prompted him to assert that "one man may sketch something with his pen on half a sheet of paper in one day, or may cut it into a tiny piece of wood with his little iron, and it turns out to be better and more artistic than another's work at which its author labours with the utmost diligence for a whole year".
Book on Fortification
In 1527, Dürer also published Various Lessons on the Fortification of Cities, Castles, and Localities (Etliche Underricht zu Befestigung der Stett, Schloss und Flecken). It was printed in Nuremberg, probably by Hieronymus Andreae and reprinted in 1603 by Johan Janssenn in Arnhem. In 1535 it was also translated into Latin as On Cities, Forts, and Castles, Designed and Strengthened by Several Manners: Presented for the Most Necessary Accommodation of War (De vrbibus, arcibus, castellisque condendis, ac muniendis rationes aliquot : praesenti bellorum necessitati accommodatissimae), published by Christian Wechel (Wecheli/Wechelus) in Paris.
The work is less proscriptively theoretical than his other works, and was soon overshadowed by the Italian theory of polygonal fortification (the trace italienne – see Bastion fort), though his designs seem to have had some influence in the eastern German lands and up into the Baltic States.
Fencing
Dürer created many sketches and woodcuts of soldiers and knights over the course of his life. His most significant martial works, however, were made in 1512 as part of his efforts to secure the patronage of Maximilian I. Using existing manuscripts from the Nuremberg Group as his reference, his workshop produced the extensive Οπλοδιδασκαλια sive Armorvm Tractandorvm Meditatio Alberti Dvreri ("Weapon Training, or Albrecht Dürer's Meditation on the Handling of Weapons", MS 26-232). Another manuscript based on the Nuremberg texts as well as one of Hans Talhoffer's works, the untitled Berlin Picture Book (Libr.Pict.A.83), is also thought to have originated in his workshop around this time. These sketches and watercolors show the same careful attention to detail and human proportion as Dürer's other work, and his illustrations of grappling, long sword, dagger, and messer are among the highest-quality in any fencing manual.
Gallery
List of works
List of paintings by Albrecht Dürer
List of engravings by Albrecht Dürer
List of woodcuts by Albrecht Dürer
References
Notes
Citations
Sources
Bartrum, Giulia. Albrecht Dürer and his Legacy. London: British Museum Press, 2002.
Brand Philip, Lotte; Anzelewsky, Fedja. "The Portrait Diptych of Dürer's parents". Simiolus: Netherlands Quarterly for the History of Art, Volume 10, No. 1, 1978–79. 5–18
Brion, Marcel. Dürer. London: Thames and Hudson, 1960
Harbison, Craig. "Dürer and the Reformation: The Problem of the Re-dating of the St. Philip Engraving". The Art Bulletin, Vol. 58, No. 3, 368–373. September 1976
Koerner, Joseph Leo. The Moment of Self-Portraiture in German Renaissance Art. Chicago/London: University of Chicago Press, 1993.
Landau David; Parshall, Peter. The Renaissance Print. Yale, 1996.
Panofsky, Erwin. The Life and Art of Albrecht Dürer. NJ: Princeton, 1945.
Price, David Hotchkiss. Albrecht Dürer's Renaissance: Humanism, Reformation and the Art of Faith. Michigan, 2003. .
Strauss, Walter L. (ed.). The Complete Engravings, Etchings and Drypoints of Albrecht Durer. Mineola NY: Dover Publications, 1973.
Borchert, Till-Holger. Van Eyck to Dürer: The Influence of Early Netherlandish painting on European Art, 1430–1530. London: Thames & Hudson, 2011.
Wolf, Norbert. Albrecht Dürer. Taschen, 2010.
Hoffmann, Rainer. Im Paradies - Adam und Eva und der Sündenfall - Albrecht Dürers Darstellungen, Böhlau-Verlag, 2021, ISBN 9783412523852
Further reading
Campbell Hutchison, Jane. Albrecht Dürer: A Biography. Princeton University Press, 1990.
Demele, Christine. Dürers Nacktheit – Das Weimarer Selbstbildnis. Rhema Verlag, Münster 2012,
Dürer, Albrecht (translated by R.T. Nichol from the Latin text), Of the Just Shaping of Letters, Dover Publications.
Hart, Vaughan. 'Navel Gazing. On Albrecht Dürer's Adam and Eve (1504)', The International Journal of Arts Theory and History, 2016, vol.12.1 pp. 1–10 https://doi.org/10.18848/2326-9960/CGP/v12i01/1-10
Korolija Fontana-Giusti, Gordana. "The Unconscious and Space: Venice and the work of Albrecht Dürer", in Architecture and the Unconscious, eds. J. Hendrix and L.Holm, Farnham Surrey: Ashgate, 2016. pp. 27–44, .
Wilhelm, Kurth (ed.). The Complete Woodcuts of Albrecht Durer, Dover Publications, 2000.
External links
The Strange World of Albrecht Dürer at the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. 14 November 2010 – 13 March 2011
Dürer Prints Close-up. Made to accompany The Strange World of Albrecht Dürer at the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. 14 November 2010 – 13 March 2011
Albrecht Dürer: Vier Bücher von menschlicher Proportion (Nuremberg, 1528). Selected pages scanned from the original work. Historical Anatomies on the Web. US National Library of Medicine.
"Albrecht Dürer (1471–1528)". In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Albrecht Durer, Exhibition, Albertina, Vienna. 20 September 2019 – 6 January 2020
1471 births
1528 deaths
15th-century engravers
15th-century German painters
16th-century engravers
16th-century German painters
Animal artists
Artist authors
Artists from Nuremberg
Catholic decorative artists
Catholic draughtsmen
Catholic engravers
Catholic painters
German draughtsmen
German engravers
German Lutherans
German male painters
German people of Hungarian descent
German printmakers
German Renaissance painters
German Roman Catholics
Heraldic artists
Manuscript illuminators
Mathematical artists
People celebrated in the Lutheran liturgical calendar
Renaissance engravers
Woodcut designers | false | [
"Antonio Oposa Jr. is a creative litigator, organizer and activist for environmental legislation in the Philippines. Oposa helped to litigate one of the first class-action suits taken by children to oppose environmentally-harmful actions taken by their government: in the 1990s, he represented 43 children from a local village to stop deforestation around the village that had been authorized by the Philippine government, on the basis that the children's rights would be harmed by the deforestation.\n\nThough the case was initially thrown out in lower courts on the basis that the children did not have legal standing, the Philippine Supreme Court overturned these, affirming the children did have standing; between both legal and legislative action, the deforestation activity was halted. The case inspired several other environmental cases around the globe, with children serving as the plaintiffs to fight for these rights.\n\nFor his actions, Oposa won the 2009 non-categorized Ramon Magsaysay Award for his work. He currently leads The Law of Nature Foundation.\n\nIn 2013, Oposa sued seven individual and government officials for violating Philippines environment laws through noise pollution from sound amplifier during regular benefit dance events.\n\nReferences\n\nLiving people\nFilipino environmentalists\nYear of birth missing (living people)\nPlace of birth missing (living people)",
"Matthew 11:17 is the seventeenth verse in the eleventh chapter of the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament.\n\nContent\nIn the original Greek according to Westcott-Hort for this verse is:\nκαὶ λέγουσιν, Ηὐλήσαμεν ὑμῖν, καὶ οὐκ ὠρχήσασθε· ἐθρηνήσαμεν ὑμῖν, καὶ οὐκ ἐκόψασθε. \n\nIn the King James Version of the Bible the text reads:\nAnd saying, We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned unto you, and ye have not lamented.\n\nThe New International Version translates the passage as:\n\"'We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge and you did not mourn.'\n\nAnalysis\nWitham states that Christ here is represented by the children that piped, while St. John by those that mourned, since Christ did not refuse to eat and converse with sinners.\n\nCommentary from the Church Fathers\nSaint Remigius: \" And straightway He answers Himself, saying, It is like unto children sitting in the market-place, crying unto their fellows, and saying, We have played music to you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned, and ye have not lamented.\"\n\nHilary of Poitiers: \" By the children are meant the Prophets, who preached as children in singleness of meaning, and in the midst of the synagogue, that is in the market-place, reprove them, that when they played to those to whom they had devoted the service of their body, they had not obeyed their words, as the movement of the dancers are regulated by the measures of the music. For the Prophets invited them to make confession by song to God, as it is contained in the song of Moses, of Isaiah, or of David.\"\n\nJerome: \" They say therefore, We have flayed music to you, and ye have not danced; i. e. We have called on you to work good works to our songs, and ye would not. We have lamented and called you to repentance, and this ye would not, rejecting both preaching, as well of exhortation to virtue, as of repentance for sin.\"\n\nSaint Remigius: \" What is that He says, To their fellows? Were the unbelieving Jews then fellows of the Prophets? He speaks thus only because they were sprung of one stock.\"\n\nJerome: \" The children are they of whom Isaiah speaks, Behold I, and the children whom the Lord has given me. (Is. 8:18) These children then sit in the market-place, where are many things for sale, and say,\"\n\nChrysostom: \" We have played music to you, and ye have not danced; that is, I have showed you an unrestricted life, and ye are not convinced; We have mourned unto you, and ye have not lamented; that is, John lived a hard life, and ye heeded him not. Yet does not he speak one thing, and I another, but both speak the same thing, because both have one and the same object. For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, He hath a dæmon. The Son of man came &c.\"\n\nSee also\nWeddings and Funerals\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\nOther translations of Matthew 11:17 at BibleHub\n\n011:17"
] |
[
"Albrecht Dürer",
"Early life (1471-1490)",
"Are his parents names known?",
"His father, Albrecht Durer the Elder (originally Albrecht Ajtosi), was a successful goldsmith",
"Is anything known of his mother?",
"second son of his parents, who had at least fourteen and possibly as many as eighteen children.",
"Did he receive any formal education?",
"After a few years of school, Durer started to learn the basics of goldsmithing and drawing from his father.",
"Did he begin wood prints during this time?",
"he started as an apprentice to Michael Wolgemut at the age of fifteen in 1486.",
"Did he move away when he began his apprenticeship?",
"Wolgemut was the leading artist in Nuremberg at the time, with a large workshop",
"Did he marry during these years?",
"Albrecht Durer the Elder married Barbara Holper, the daughter of his master when he himself became a master in 1467.",
"Did he have children?",
"I don't know."
] | C_4a4a9362ff664bba86e8c74ead6078c0_1 | When did he leave his apprentice work? | 8 | When did Albrecht Dürer leave his apprentice work? | Albrecht Dürer | Durer was born on 21 May 1471, third child and second son of his parents, who had at least fourteen and possibly as many as eighteen children. His father, Albrecht Durer the Elder (originally Albrecht Ajtosi), was a successful goldsmith who in 1455 had moved to Nuremberg from Ajtos, near Gyula in Hungary. One of Albrecht's brothers, Hans Durer, was also a painter and trained under him. Another of Albrecht's brothers, Endres Durer, took over their father's business and was a master goldsmith. The German name "Durer" is a translation from the Hungarian, "Ajtosi". Initially, it was "Turer", meaning doormaker, which is "ajtos" in Hungarian (from "ajto", meaning door). A door is featured in the coat-of-arms the family acquired. Albrecht Durer the Younger later changed "Turer", his father's diction of the family's surname, to "Durer", to adapt to the local Nuremberg dialect. Albrecht Durer the Elder married Barbara Holper, the daughter of his master when he himself became a master in 1467. Durer's godfather was Anton Koberger, who left goldsmithing to become a printer and publisher in the year of Durer's birth and quickly became the most successful publisher in Germany, eventually owning twenty-four printing-presses and having many offices in Germany and abroad. Koberger's most famous publication was the Nuremberg Chronicle, published in 1493 in German and Latin editions. It contained an unprecedented 1,809 woodcut illustrations (albeit with many repeated uses of the same block) by the Wolgemut workshop. Durer may have worked on some of these, as the work on the project began while he was with Wolgemut. Because Durer left autobiographical writings and became very famous by his mid-twenties, his life is well documented by several sources. After a few years of school, Durer started to learn the basics of goldsmithing and drawing from his father. Though his father wanted him to continue his training as a goldsmith, he showed such a precocious talent in drawing that he started as an apprentice to Michael Wolgemut at the age of fifteen in 1486. A self-portrait, a drawing in silverpoint, is dated 1484 (Albertina, Vienna) "when I was a child", as his later inscription says. Wolgemut was the leading artist in Nuremberg at the time, with a large workshop producing a variety of works of art, in particular woodcuts for books. Nuremberg was then an important and prosperous city, a centre for publishing and many luxury trades. It had strong links with Italy, especially Venice, a relatively short distance across the Alps. CANNOTANSWER | CANNOTANSWER | Albrecht Dürer (; ; ; 21 May 1471 – 6 April 1528), sometimes spelled in English as Durer (without an umlaut) or Duerer, was a German painter, printmaker, and theorist of the German Renaissance. Born in Nuremberg, Dürer established his reputation and influence across Europe in his twenties due to his high-quality woodcut prints. He was in contact with the major Italian artists of his time, including Raphael, Giovanni Bellini, and Leonardo da Vinci, and from 1512 was patronized by Emperor Maximilian I.
Dürer's vast body of work includes engravings, his preferred technique in his later prints, altarpieces, portraits and self-portraits, watercolours and books. The woodcuts series are more Gothic than the rest of his work. His well-known engravings include the three Meisterstiche (master prints) Knight, Death and the Devil (1513), Saint Jerome in his Study (1514), and Melencolia I (1514). His watercolours mark him as one of the first European landscape artists, while his woodcuts revolutionised the potential of that medium.
Dürer's introduction of classical motifs into Northern art, through his knowledge of Italian artists and German humanists, has secured his reputation as one of the most important figures of the Northern Renaissance. This is reinforced by his theoretical treatises, which involve principles of mathematics, perspective, and ideal proportions.
Biography
Early life (1471–1490)
Dürer was born on 21 May 1471, the third child and second son of Albrecht Dürer the Elder and Barbara Holper, who married in 1467 and had eighteen children together. Albrecht Dürer the Elder (originally Albrecht Ajtósi), was a successful goldsmith who by 1455 had moved to Nuremberg from Ajtós, near Gyula in Hungary. He married Holper, his master's daughter, when he himself qualified as a master. One of Albrecht's brothers, Hans Dürer, was also a painter and trained under him. Another of Albrecht's brothers, Endres Dürer, took over their father's business and was a master goldsmith. The German name "Dürer" is a translation from the Hungarian, "Ajtósi". Initially, it was "Türer", meaning doormaker, which is "ajtós" in Hungarian (from "ajtó", meaning door). A door is featured in the coat-of-arms the family acquired. Albrecht Dürer the Younger later changed "Türer", his father's diction of the family's surname, to "Dürer", to adapt to the local Nuremberg dialect.
Dürer's godfather Anton Koberger left goldsmithing to become a printer and publisher in the year of Dürer's birth. He became the most successful publisher in Germany, eventually owning twenty-four printing-presses and a number of offices in Germany and abroad. Koberger's most famous publication was the Nuremberg Chronicle, published in 1493 in German and Latin editions. It contained an unprecedented 1,809 woodcut illustrations (albeit with many repeated uses of the same block) by the Wolgemut workshop. Dürer may have worked on some of these, as the work on the project began while he was with Wolgemut.
Because Dürer left autobiographical writings and was widely known by his mid-twenties, his life is well documented in several sources. After a few years of school, Dürer learned the basics of goldsmithing and drawing from his father. Though his father wanted him to continue his training as a goldsmith, he showed such a precocious talent in drawing that he started as an apprentice to Michael Wolgemut at the age of fifteen in 1486. A self-portrait, a drawing in silverpoint, is dated 1484 (Albertina, Vienna) "when I was a child", as his later inscription says. The drawing is one of the earliest surviving children's drawings of any kind, and, as Dürer's Opus One, has helped define his oeuvre as deriving from, and always linked to, himself. Wolgemut was the leading artist in Nuremberg at the time, with a large workshop producing a variety of works of art, in particular woodcuts for books. Nuremberg was then an important and prosperous city, a centre for publishing and many luxury trades. It had strong links with Italy, especially Venice, a relatively short distance across the Alps.
Wanderjahre and marriage (1490–1494)
After completing his apprenticeship, Dürer followed the common German custom of taking Wanderjahre—in effect gap years—in which the apprentice learned skills from artists in other areas; Dürer was to spend about four years away. He left in 1490, possibly to work under Martin Schongauer, the leading engraver of Northern Europe, but who died shortly before Dürer's arrival at Colmar in 1492. It is unclear where Dürer travelled in the intervening period, though it is likely that he went to Frankfurt and the Netherlands. In Colmar, Dürer was welcomed by Schongauer's brothers, the goldsmiths Caspar and Paul and the painter Ludwig. In 1493 Dürer went to Strasbourg, where he would have experienced the sculpture of Nikolaus Gerhaert. Dürer's first painted self-portrait (now in the Louvre) was painted at this time, probably to be sent back to his fiancée in Nuremberg.
In early 1492 Dürer travelled to Basel to stay with another brother of Martin Schongauer, the goldsmith Georg. Very soon after his return to Nuremberg, on 7 July 1494, at the age of 23, Dürer was married to Agnes Frey following an arrangement made during his absence. Agnes was the daughter of a prominent brass worker (and amateur harpist) in the city. However, no children resulted from the marriage, and with Albrecht the Dürer name died out. The marriage between Agnes and Albrecht was not a generally happy one, as indicated by the letters of Dürer in which he quipped to Willibald Pirckheimer in an extremely rough tone about his wife. He called her an "old crow" and made other vulgar remarks. Pirckheimer also made no secret of his antipathy towards Agnes, describing her as a miserly shrew with a bitter tongue, who helped cause Dürer's death at a young age. One author speculates that Albrecht was bisexual, if not homosexual, due to several of his works containing themes of homosexual desire, as well as the intimate nature of his correspondence with certain very close male friends.
First journey to Italy (1494–1495)
Within three months of his marriage, Dürer left for Italy, alone, perhaps stimulated by an outbreak of plague in Nuremberg. He made watercolour sketches as he traveled over the Alps. Some have survived and others may be deduced from accurate landscapes of real places in his later work, for example his engraving Nemesis.
In Italy, he went to Venice to study its more advanced artistic world. Through Wolgemut's tutelage, Dürer had learned how to make prints in drypoint and design woodcuts in the German style, based on the works of Schongauer and the Housebook Master. He also would have had access to some Italian works in Germany, but the two visits he made to Italy had an enormous influence on him. He wrote that Giovanni Bellini was the oldest and still the best of the artists in Venice. His drawings and engravings show the influence of others, notably Antonio Pollaiuolo, with his interest in the proportions of the body; Lorenzo di Credi; and Andrea Mantegna, whose work he produced copies of while training. Dürer probably also visited Padua and Mantua on this trip.
Return to Nuremberg (1495–1505)
On his return to Nuremberg in 1495, Dürer opened his own workshop (being married was a requirement for this). Over the next five years, his style increasingly integrated Italian influences into underlying Northern forms. Arguably his best works in the first years of the workshop were his woodcut prints, mostly religious, but including secular scenes such as The Men's Bath House (ca. 1496). These were larger and more finely cut than the great majority of German woodcuts hitherto, and far more complex and balanced in composition.
It is now thought unlikely that Dürer cut any of the woodblocks himself; this task would have been performed by a specialist craftsman. However, his training in Wolgemut's studio, which made many carved and painted altarpieces and both designed and cut woodblocks for woodcut, evidently gave him great understanding of what the technique could be made to produce, and how to work with block cutters. Dürer either drew his design directly onto the woodblock itself, or glued a paper drawing to the block. Either way, his drawings were destroyed during the cutting of the block.
His series of sixteen designs for the Apocalypse is dated 1498, as is his engraving of St. Michael Fighting the Dragon. He made the first seven scenes of the Great Passion in the same year, and a little later, a series of eleven on the Holy Family and saints. The Seven Sorrows Polyptych, commissioned by Frederick III of Saxony in 1496, was executed by Dürer and his assistants c. 1500. In 1502, Dürer's father died. Around 1503–1505 Dürer produced the first 17 of a set illustrating the Life of the Virgin, which he did not finish for some years. Neither these nor the Great Passion were published as sets until several years later, but prints were sold individually in considerable numbers.
During the same period Dürer trained himself in the difficult art of using the burin to make engravings. It is possible he had begun learning this skill during his early training with his father, as it was also an essential skill of the goldsmith. In 1496 he executed the Prodigal Son, which the Italian Renaissance art historian Giorgio Vasari singled out for praise some decades later, noting its Germanic quality. He was soon producing some spectacular and original images, notably Nemesis (1502), The Sea Monster (1498), and Saint Eustace (c. 1501), with a highly detailed landscape background and animals. His landscapes of this period, such as Pond in the Woods and Willow Mill, are quite different from his earlier watercolours. There is a much greater emphasis on capturing atmosphere, rather than depicting topography. He made a number of Madonnas, single religious figures, and small scenes with comic peasant figures. Prints are highly portable and these works made Dürer famous throughout the main artistic centres of Europe within a very few years.
The Venetian artist Jacopo de' Barbari, whom Dürer had met in Venice, visited Nuremberg in 1500, and Dürer said that he learned much about the new developments in perspective, anatomy, and proportion from him. De' Barbari was unwilling to explain everything he knew, so Dürer began his own studies, which would become a lifelong preoccupation. A series of extant drawings show Dürer's experiments in human proportion, leading to the famous engraving of Adam and Eve (1504), which shows his subtlety while using the burin in the texturing of flesh surfaces. This is the only existing engraving signed with his full name.
Dürer created large numbers of preparatory drawings, especially for his paintings and engravings, and many survive, most famously the Betende Hände (Praying Hands) from circa 1508, a study for an apostle in the Heller altarpiece. He continued to make images in watercolour and bodycolour (usually combined), including a number of still lifes of meadow sections or animals, including his Young Hare (1502) and the Great Piece of Turf (1503).
Second journey to Italy (1505–1507)
In Italy, he returned to painting, at first producing a series of works executed in tempera on linen. These include portraits and altarpieces, notably, the Paumgartner altarpiece and the Adoration of the Magi. In early 1506, he returned to Venice and stayed there until the spring of 1507. By this time Dürer's engravings had attained great popularity and were being copied. In Venice he was given a valuable commission from the emigrant German community for the church of San Bartolomeo. This was the altar-piece known as the Adoration of the Virgin or the Feast of Rose Garlands. It includes portraits of members of Venice's German community, but shows a strong Italian influence. It was later acquired by the Emperor Rudolf II and taken to Prague.
Nuremberg and the masterworks (1507–1520)
Despite the regard in which he was held by the Venetians, Dürer returned to Nuremberg by mid-1507, remaining in Germany until 1520. His reputation had spread throughout Europe and he was on friendly terms and in communication with most of the major artists including Raphael.
Between 1507 and 1511 Dürer worked on some of his most celebrated paintings: Adam and Eve (1507), Martyrdom of the Ten Thousand (1508, for Frederick of Saxony), Virgin with the Iris (1508), the altarpiece Assumption of the Virgin (1509, for Jacob Heller of Frankfurt), and Adoration of the Trinity (1511, for Matthaeus Landauer). During this period he also completed two woodcut series, the Great Passion and the Life of the Virgin, both published in 1511 together with a second edition of the Apocalypse series. The post-Venetian woodcuts show Dürer's development of chiaroscuro modelling effects, creating a mid-tone throughout the print to which the highlights and shadows can be contrasted.
Other works from this period include the thirty-seven Little Passion woodcuts, first published in 1511, and a set of fifteen small engravings on the same theme in 1512. Complaining that painting did not make enough money to justify the time spent when compared to his prints, he produced no paintings from 1513 to 1516. In 1513 and 1514 Dürer created his three most famous engravings: Knight, Death and the Devil (1513, probably based on Erasmus's Handbook of a Christian Knight), St. Jerome in His Study, and the much-debated Melencolia I (both 1514, the year Dürer's mother died). Further outstanding pen and ink drawings of Dürer's period of art work of 1513 were drafts for his friend Pirckheimer. These drafts were later used to design Lusterweibchen chandeliers, combining an antler with a wooden sculpture.
In 1515, he created his woodcut of a Rhinoceros which had arrived in Lisbon from a written description and sketch by another artist, without ever seeing the animal himself. An image of the Indian rhinoceros, the image has such force that it remains one of his best-known and was still used in some German school science text-books as late as last century. In the years leading to 1520 he produced a wide range of works, including the woodblocks for the first western printed star charts in 1515 and portraits in tempera on linen in 1516. His only experiments with etching came in this period, producing five between 1515–1516 and a sixth in 1518; a technique he may have abandoned as unsuited to his aesthetic of methodical, classical form.
Patronage of Maximilian I
From 1512, Maximilian I became Dürer's major patron. He commissioned The Triumphal Arch, a vast work printed from 192 separate blocks, the symbolism of which is partly informed by Pirckheimer's translation of Horapollo's Hieroglyphica. The design program and explanations were devised by Johannes Stabius, the architectural design by the master builder and court-painter Jörg Kölderer and the woodcutting itself by Hieronymous Andreae, with Dürer as designer-in-chief. The Arch was followed by The Triumphal Procession, the program of which was worked out in 1512 by Marx Treitz-Saurwein and includes woodcuts by Albrecht Altdorfer and Hans Springinklee, as well as Dürer.
Dürer worked with pen on the marginal images for an edition of the Emperor's printed Prayer-Book; these were quite unknown until facsimiles were published in 1808 as part of the first book published in lithography. Dürer's work on the book was halted for an unknown reason, and the decoration was continued by artists including Lucas Cranach the Elder and Hans Baldung. Dürer also made several portraits of the Emperor, including one shortly before Maximilian's death in 1519.
Maximilian was a very cash-strapped prince who sometimes failed to pay, yet turned out to be Dürer's most important patron. In his court, artists and learned men were respected, which was not common at that time (later, Dürer commented that in Germany, as a non-noble, he was treated a parasite). Pirckheimer (who he met in 1495, before entering the service of Maximilian) was also an important personage in the court and great cultural patron, who had a strong influence on Dürer as his tutor in classical knowledge and humanistic critical methodology, as well as collaborator.
In Maximilian's court, Dürer also collaborated with a great number of other brilliant artists and scholars of the time who became his friends, like Johannes Stabius, Konrad Peutinger, Conrad Celtes, and Hans Tscherte (an imperial architect).
Dürer manifested a strong pride in his ability, as a prince of his profession. One day, the emperor, trying to show Dürer an idea, tried to sketch with the charcoal himself, but always broke it. Dürer took the charcoal from Maximilian's hand, finished the drawing and told him: "This is my scepter."
In another occasion, Maximilian noticed that the ladder Dürer used was too short and unstable, thus told a noble to hold it for him. The noble refused, saying that it was beneath him to serve a non-noble. Maximilian then came to hold the ladder himself, and told the noble that he could make a noble out of a peasant any day, but he could not make an artist like Dürer out of a noble.
Cartographic and astronomical works
Dürer's exploration of space led to a relationship and cooperation with the court astronomer Johannes Stabius. Stabius also often acted as Dürer's and Maximilian's go-between for their financial problems.
In 1515 Dürer and Stabius created the first world map projected on a solid geometric sphere. Also in 1515, Stabius, Dürer and the astronomer Konrad Heinfogel produced the first planispheres of both southern and northerns hemispheres, as well as the first printed celestial maps, which prompted the revival of interest in the field of uranometry throughout Europe.
Journey to the Netherlands (1520–1521)
Maximilian's death came at a time when Dürer was concerned he was losing "my sight and freedom of hand" (perhaps caused by arthritis) and increasingly affected by the writings of Martin Luther. In July 1520 Dürer made his fourth and last major journey, to renew the Imperial pension Maximilian had given him and to secure the patronage of the new emperor, Charles V, who was to be crowned at Aachen. Dürer journeyed with his wife and her maid via the Rhine to Cologne and then to Antwerp, where he was well received and produced numerous drawings in silverpoint, chalk and charcoal. In addition to attending the coronation, he visited Cologne (where he admired the painting of Stefan Lochner), Nijmegen, 's-Hertogenbosch, Bruges (where he saw Michelangelo's Madonna of Bruges), Ghent (where he admired van Eyck's Ghent altarpiece), and Zeeland.
Dürer took a large stock of prints with him and wrote in his diary to whom he gave, exchanged or sold them, and for how much. This provides rare information of the monetary value placed on prints at this time. Unlike paintings, their sale was very rarely documented. While providing valuable documentary evidence, Dürer's Netherlandish diary also reveals that the trip was not a profitable one. For example, Dürer offered his last portrait of Maximilian to his daughter, Margaret of Austria, but eventually traded the picture for some white cloth after Margaret disliked the portrait and declined to accept it. During this trip he also met Bernard van Orley, Jan Provoost, Gerard Horenbout, Jean Mone, Joachim Patinir and Tommaso Vincidor, though he did not, it seems, meet Quentin Matsys.
Having secured his pension, Dürer returned home in July 1521, having caught an undetermined illness, which afflicted him for the rest of his life, and greatly reduced his rate of work.
Final years, Nuremberg (1521–1528)
On his return to Nuremberg, Dürer worked on a number of grand projects with religious themes, including a crucifixion scene and a Sacra conversazione, though neither was completed. This may have been due in part to his declining health, but perhaps also because of the time he gave to the preparation of his theoretical works on geometry and perspective, the proportions of men and horses, and fortification.
However, one consequence of this shift in emphasis was that during the last years of his life, Dürer produced comparatively little as an artist. In painting, there was only a portrait of Hieronymus Holtzschuher, a Madonna and Child (1526), Salvator Mundi (1526), and two panels showing St. John with St. Peter in background and St. Paul with St. Mark in the background. This last great work, the Four Apostles, was given by Dürer to the City of Nuremberg—although he was given 100 guilders in return.
As for engravings, Dürer's work was restricted to portraits and illustrations for his treatise. The portraits include Cardinal-Elector Albert of Mainz; Frederick the Wise, elector of Saxony; the humanist scholar Willibald Pirckheimer; Philipp Melanchthon, and Erasmus of Rotterdam. For those of the Cardinal, Melanchthon, and Dürer's final major work, a drawn portrait of the Nuremberg patrician Ulrich Starck, Dürer depicted the sitters in profile.
Despite complaining of his lack of a formal classical education, Dürer was greatly interested in intellectual matters and learned much from his boyhood friend Willibald Pirckheimer, whom he no doubt consulted on the content of many of his images. He also derived great satisfaction from his friendships and correspondence with Erasmus and other scholars. Dürer succeeded in producing two books during his lifetime. "The Four Books on Measurement" were published at Nuremberg in 1525 and was the first book for adults on mathematics in German, as well as being cited later by Galileo and Kepler. The other, a work on city fortifications, was published in 1527. "The Four Books on Human Proportion" were published posthumously, shortly after his death in 1528.
Dürer died in Nuremberg at the age of 56, leaving an estate valued at 6,874 florins – a considerable sum. He is buried in the Johannisfriedhof cemetery. His large house (purchased in 1509 from the heirs of the astronomer Bernhard Walther), where his workshop was located and where his widow lived until her death in 1539, remains a prominent Nuremberg landmark.
Dürer and the Reformation
Dürer's writings suggest that he may have been sympathetic to Luther's ideas, though it is unclear if he ever left the Catholic Church. Dürer wrote of his desire to draw Luther in his diary in 1520: "And God help me that I may go to Dr. Martin Luther; thus I intend to make a portrait of him with great care and engrave him on a copper plate to create a lasting memorial of the Christian man who helped me overcome so many difficulties." In a letter to Nicholas Kratzer in 1524, Dürer wrote, "because of our Christian faith we have to stand in scorn and danger, for we are reviled and called heretics". Most tellingly, Pirckheimer wrote in a letter to Johann Tscherte in 1530: "I confess that in the beginning I believed in Luther, like our Albert of blessed memory ... but as anyone can see, the situation has become worse." Dürer may even have contributed to the Nuremberg City Council's mandating Lutheran sermons and services in March 1525. Notably, Dürer had contacts with various reformers, such as Zwingli, Andreas Karlstadt, Melanchthon, Erasmus and Cornelius Grapheus from whom Dürer received Luther's Babylonian Captivity in 1520. Yet Erasmus and C. Grapheus are better said to be Catholic change agents. Also, from 1525, "the year that saw the peak and collapse of the Peasants' War, the artist can be seen to distance himself somewhat from the [Lutheran] movement..."
Dürer's later works have also been claimed to show Protestant sympathies. His 1523 The Last Supper woodcut has often been understood to have an evangelical theme, focusing as it does on Christ espousing the Gospel, as well as the inclusion of the Eucharistic cup, an expression of Protestant utraquism, although this interpretation has been questioned. The delaying of the engraving of St Philip, completed in 1523 but not distributed until 1526, may have been due to Dürer's uneasiness with images of saints; even if Dürer was not an iconoclast, in his last years he evaluated and questioned the role of art in religion.
Legacy and influence
Dürer exerted a huge influence on the artists of succeeding generations, especially in printmaking, the medium through which his contemporaries mostly experienced his art, as his paintings were predominantly in private collections located in only a few cities. His success in spreading his reputation across Europe through prints was undoubtedly an inspiration for major artists such as Raphael, Titian, and Parmigianino, all of whom collaborated with printmakers to promote and distribute their work.
His engravings seem to have had an intimidating effect upon his German successors; the "Little Masters" who attempted few large engravings but continued Dürer's themes in small, rather cramped compositions. Lucas van Leyden was the only Northern European engraver to successfully continue to produce large engravings in the first third of the 16th century. The generation of Italian engravers who trained in the shadow of Dürer all either directly copied parts of his landscape backgrounds (Giulio Campagnola, Giovanni Battista Palumba, Benedetto Montagna and Cristofano Robetta), or whole prints (Marcantonio Raimondi and Agostino Veneziano). However, Dürer's influence became less dominant after 1515, when Marcantonio perfected his new engraving style, which in turn travelled over the Alps to also dominate Northern engraving.
In painting, Dürer had relatively little influence in Italy, where probably only his altarpiece in Venice was seen, and his German successors were less effective in blending German and Italian styles. His intense and self-dramatizing self-portraits have continued to have a strong influence up to the present, especially on painters in the 19th and 20th century who desired a more dramatic portrait style. Dürer has never fallen from critical favour, and there have been significant revivals of interest in his works in Germany in the Dürer Renaissance of about 1570 to 1630, in the early nineteenth century, and in German nationalism from 1870 to 1945.
The Lutheran Church commemorates Dürer annually on 6 April, along with Michelangelo, Lucas Cranach the Elder and Hans Burgkmair. The liturgical calendar of the Episcopal Church (United States) remembers him, Cranach and Matthias Grünewald on 5 August.
Theoretical works
In all his theoretical works, in order to communicate his theories in the German language rather than in Latin, Dürer used graphic expressions based on a vernacular, craftsmen's language. For example, "Schneckenlinie" ("snail-line") was his term for a spiral form. Thus, Dürer contributed to the expansion in German prose which Luther had begun with his translation of the Bible.
Four Books on Measurement
Dürer's work on geometry is called the Four Books on Measurement (Underweysung der Messung mit dem Zirckel und Richtscheyt or Instructions for Measuring with Compass and Ruler). The first book focuses on linear geometry. Dürer's geometric constructions include helices, conchoids and epicycloids. He also draws on Apollonius, and Johannes Werner's 'Libellus super viginti duobus elementis conicis' of 1522.
The second book moves onto two-dimensional geometry, i.e. the construction of regular polygons. Here Dürer favours the methods of Ptolemy over Euclid. The third book applies these principles of geometry to architecture, engineering and typography.
In architecture Dürer cites Vitruvius but elaborates his own classical designs and columns. In typography, Dürer depicts the geometric construction of the Latin alphabet, relying on Italian precedent. However, his
construction of the Gothic alphabet is based upon an entirely different modular system. The fourth book completes the progression of the first and second by moving to three-dimensional forms and the construction of polyhedra. Here Dürer discusses the five Platonic solids, as well as seven Archimedean semi-regular solids, as well as several of his own invention.
In all these, Dürer shows the objects as nets. Finally, Dürer discusses the Delian Problem and moves on to the 'construzione legittima', a method of depicting a cube in two dimensions through linear perspective. He is thought to be the first to describe a visualization technique used in modern computers, ray tracing. It was in Bologna that Dürer was taught (possibly by Luca Pacioli or Bramante) the principles of linear perspective, and evidently became familiar with the 'costruzione legittima' in a written description of these principles found only, at this time, in the unpublished treatise of Piero della Francesca. He was also familiar with the 'abbreviated construction' as described by Alberti and the geometrical construction of shadows, a technique of Leonardo da Vinci. Although Dürer made no innovations in these areas, he is notable as the first Northern European to treat matters of visual representation in a scientific way, and with understanding of Euclidean principles. In addition to these geometrical constructions, Dürer discusses in this last book of Underweysung der Messung an assortment of mechanisms for drawing in perspective from models and provides woodcut illustrations of these methods that are often reproduced in discussions of perspective.
Four Books on Human Proportion
Dürer's work on human proportions is called the Four Books on Human Proportion (Vier Bücher von Menschlicher Proportion) of 1528. The first book was mainly composed by 1512/13 and completed by 1523, showing five differently constructed types of both male and female figures, all parts of the body expressed in fractions of the total height. Dürer based these constructions on both Vitruvius and empirical observations of "two to three hundred living persons", in his own words. The second book includes eight further types, broken down not into fractions but an Albertian system, which Dürer probably learned from Francesco di Giorgio's 'De harmonica mundi totius' of 1525. In the third book, Dürer gives principles by which the proportions of the figures can be modified, including the mathematical simulation of convex and concave mirrors; here Dürer also deals with human physiognomy. The fourth book is devoted to the theory of movement.
Appended to the last book, however, is a self-contained essay on aesthetics, which Dürer worked on between 1512 and 1528, and it is here that we learn of his theories concerning 'ideal beauty'. Dürer rejected Alberti's concept of an objective beauty, proposing a relativist notion of beauty based on variety. Nonetheless, Dürer still believed that truth was hidden within nature, and that there were rules which ordered beauty, even though he found it difficult to define the criteria for such a code. In 1512/13 his three criteria were function ('Nutz'), naïve approval ('Wohlgefallen') and the happy medium ('Mittelmass'). However, unlike Alberti and Leonardo, Dürer was most troubled by understanding not just the abstract notions of beauty but also as to how an artist can create beautiful images. Between 1512 and the final draft in 1528, Dürer's belief developed from an understanding of human creativity as spontaneous or inspired to a concept of 'selective inward synthesis'. In other words, that an artist builds on a wealth of visual experiences in order to imagine beautiful things. Dürer's belief in the abilities of a single artist over inspiration prompted him to assert that "one man may sketch something with his pen on half a sheet of paper in one day, or may cut it into a tiny piece of wood with his little iron, and it turns out to be better and more artistic than another's work at which its author labours with the utmost diligence for a whole year".
Book on Fortification
In 1527, Dürer also published Various Lessons on the Fortification of Cities, Castles, and Localities (Etliche Underricht zu Befestigung der Stett, Schloss und Flecken). It was printed in Nuremberg, probably by Hieronymus Andreae and reprinted in 1603 by Johan Janssenn in Arnhem. In 1535 it was also translated into Latin as On Cities, Forts, and Castles, Designed and Strengthened by Several Manners: Presented for the Most Necessary Accommodation of War (De vrbibus, arcibus, castellisque condendis, ac muniendis rationes aliquot : praesenti bellorum necessitati accommodatissimae), published by Christian Wechel (Wecheli/Wechelus) in Paris.
The work is less proscriptively theoretical than his other works, and was soon overshadowed by the Italian theory of polygonal fortification (the trace italienne – see Bastion fort), though his designs seem to have had some influence in the eastern German lands and up into the Baltic States.
Fencing
Dürer created many sketches and woodcuts of soldiers and knights over the course of his life. His most significant martial works, however, were made in 1512 as part of his efforts to secure the patronage of Maximilian I. Using existing manuscripts from the Nuremberg Group as his reference, his workshop produced the extensive Οπλοδιδασκαλια sive Armorvm Tractandorvm Meditatio Alberti Dvreri ("Weapon Training, or Albrecht Dürer's Meditation on the Handling of Weapons", MS 26-232). Another manuscript based on the Nuremberg texts as well as one of Hans Talhoffer's works, the untitled Berlin Picture Book (Libr.Pict.A.83), is also thought to have originated in his workshop around this time. These sketches and watercolors show the same careful attention to detail and human proportion as Dürer's other work, and his illustrations of grappling, long sword, dagger, and messer are among the highest-quality in any fencing manual.
Gallery
List of works
List of paintings by Albrecht Dürer
List of engravings by Albrecht Dürer
List of woodcuts by Albrecht Dürer
References
Notes
Citations
Sources
Bartrum, Giulia. Albrecht Dürer and his Legacy. London: British Museum Press, 2002.
Brand Philip, Lotte; Anzelewsky, Fedja. "The Portrait Diptych of Dürer's parents". Simiolus: Netherlands Quarterly for the History of Art, Volume 10, No. 1, 1978–79. 5–18
Brion, Marcel. Dürer. London: Thames and Hudson, 1960
Harbison, Craig. "Dürer and the Reformation: The Problem of the Re-dating of the St. Philip Engraving". The Art Bulletin, Vol. 58, No. 3, 368–373. September 1976
Koerner, Joseph Leo. The Moment of Self-Portraiture in German Renaissance Art. Chicago/London: University of Chicago Press, 1993.
Landau David; Parshall, Peter. The Renaissance Print. Yale, 1996.
Panofsky, Erwin. The Life and Art of Albrecht Dürer. NJ: Princeton, 1945.
Price, David Hotchkiss. Albrecht Dürer's Renaissance: Humanism, Reformation and the Art of Faith. Michigan, 2003. .
Strauss, Walter L. (ed.). The Complete Engravings, Etchings and Drypoints of Albrecht Durer. Mineola NY: Dover Publications, 1973.
Borchert, Till-Holger. Van Eyck to Dürer: The Influence of Early Netherlandish painting on European Art, 1430–1530. London: Thames & Hudson, 2011.
Wolf, Norbert. Albrecht Dürer. Taschen, 2010.
Hoffmann, Rainer. Im Paradies - Adam und Eva und der Sündenfall - Albrecht Dürers Darstellungen, Böhlau-Verlag, 2021, ISBN 9783412523852
Further reading
Campbell Hutchison, Jane. Albrecht Dürer: A Biography. Princeton University Press, 1990.
Demele, Christine. Dürers Nacktheit – Das Weimarer Selbstbildnis. Rhema Verlag, Münster 2012,
Dürer, Albrecht (translated by R.T. Nichol from the Latin text), Of the Just Shaping of Letters, Dover Publications.
Hart, Vaughan. 'Navel Gazing. On Albrecht Dürer's Adam and Eve (1504)', The International Journal of Arts Theory and History, 2016, vol.12.1 pp. 1–10 https://doi.org/10.18848/2326-9960/CGP/v12i01/1-10
Korolija Fontana-Giusti, Gordana. "The Unconscious and Space: Venice and the work of Albrecht Dürer", in Architecture and the Unconscious, eds. J. Hendrix and L.Holm, Farnham Surrey: Ashgate, 2016. pp. 27–44, .
Wilhelm, Kurth (ed.). The Complete Woodcuts of Albrecht Durer, Dover Publications, 2000.
External links
The Strange World of Albrecht Dürer at the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. 14 November 2010 – 13 March 2011
Dürer Prints Close-up. Made to accompany The Strange World of Albrecht Dürer at the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. 14 November 2010 – 13 March 2011
Albrecht Dürer: Vier Bücher von menschlicher Proportion (Nuremberg, 1528). Selected pages scanned from the original work. Historical Anatomies on the Web. US National Library of Medicine.
"Albrecht Dürer (1471–1528)". In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Albrecht Durer, Exhibition, Albertina, Vienna. 20 September 2019 – 6 January 2020
1471 births
1528 deaths
15th-century engravers
15th-century German painters
16th-century engravers
16th-century German painters
Animal artists
Artist authors
Artists from Nuremberg
Catholic decorative artists
Catholic draughtsmen
Catholic engravers
Catholic painters
German draughtsmen
German engravers
German Lutherans
German male painters
German people of Hungarian descent
German printmakers
German Renaissance painters
German Roman Catholics
Heraldic artists
Manuscript illuminators
Mathematical artists
People celebrated in the Lutheran liturgical calendar
Renaissance engravers
Woodcut designers | false | [
"Neil Poznansky (born July 25, 1972) is a retired Canadian thoroughbred racing jockey who in 1996 was the National Champion Apprentice Jockey in the United States as well as the National Champion Apprentice Jockey in Canada.\n\nThe Eclipse Award was established in 1971 and the Sovereign Award in 1975. Through 2019 only four others have accomplished that feat. Mickey Walls did it first in 1991 with the second being Emma-Jayne Wilson in 2005 who is still the only female jockey to accomplish the feat. Omar Moreno did it in 2010 and Kazushi Kimura in 2019.\n\nPoznansky successfully followed up his championship year until 2001, when his winners and earnings dropped significantly. Injuries hampered things further and in 2008, he retired from competitive riding to work as an exercise/training rider and was still active in that capacity through 2019.\n\nReferences\n\n1972 births\nCanadian jockeys\nChampion jockeys\nEclipse Award winners\nSovereign Award winners\nSportspeople from Edmonton\nLiving people",
"The New Celebrity Apprentice (also known simply as The Apprentice) was the eighth and final installment of the reality game show The Celebrity Apprentice, thus making it the fifteenth and final installment of The Apprentice as a whole. It aired from January 2 to February 13, 2017. The winner of this season was Matt Iseman.\n\nThe season marked the first and only appearance of Arnold Schwarzenegger, actor and former Governor of California, as host. The show's previous and original host, Donald Trump, stated he opted to leave \"out of respect\" while he was focusing on his presidential campaign. NBC had also begun to cut ties with Trump following controversial remarks he made upon the start of his campaign in 2015. Trump remained as an executive producer through the show's production company, MGM Television.\n\nNBC announced the 16 contestants, as well as advisors Warren Buffett, Tyra Banks, Steve Ballmer, Jessica Alba, and Patrick M. Knapp Schwarzenegger, on January 28, 2016. On December 1, 2016, six more advisors were announced. Those advisers were former The Apprentice winner Leeza Gibbons, celebrity chef Rocco DiSpirito, Extra co-host Tracey Edmonds, The Biggest Loser host Bob Harper, YouTube star iJustine, and \"Moola\" CEO Gemma Godfrey. The season was filmed in Los Angeles.\n\nAlong with the change of host and location, the catch phrase that accompanied a candidate's termination was changed from \"You're fired\" to \"You're terminated\", a reference to one of Schwarzenegger's most famous film roles. Also, instead of sending contestants away in a taxi cab or limousine, Schwarzenegger would send them away with a helicopter, telling them to \"get to the chopper\", a reference to the film Predator.\n\nOn March 3, 2017, Schwarzenegger announced he would leave the show after one season, since he did not like the \"baggage\" attached to the show caused by Trump. On August 3, 2017, NBC announced that the show had been cancelled outright.\n\nCandidates\nThe cast was announced on January 28, 2016.\n\nWeekly results\n\n The candidate was on the winning team.\n The candidate was on the losing team.\n The candidate won the competition and was named the Celebrity Apprentice\n The candidate won as project manager on his/her team.\n The candidate lost as project manager on his/her team.\n The candidate was on the losing team and brought to the final boardroom.\n The candidate was terminated.\n The candidate lost as project manager and was terminated.\n The candidate was disqualified from the competition for breaking the rules.\n The candidate was excused from the task but not terminated.\n\nEpisodes\n\nReception\n\nThe season received an overwhelmingly negative response and President Donald Trump mocked Arnold Schwarzenegger multiple times regarding the season's low ratings, saying he was a poor fit for the show and was not a good host compared to himself. Katz Television Group's Bill Carroll stated, \"Arnold Schwarzenegger was fine, but it was a different dynamic. The Apprentice in the United States was Trump. From the opening credits—the Trump helicopter, the Trump plane, Trump buildings, it was so identified with Trump and his personality that it's difficult to recast.\"\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links \n\n15\nThe Apprentice (American TV series)\n2017 American television seasons\nArnold Schwarzenegger\nTelevision shows filmed in California\nTelevision shows filmed in Nebraska"
] |
[
"Jeff Dunham",
"2009-present"
] | C_12aced0306034efd8cb7f77cc42ae917_0 | What was he doing in 2009? | 1 | What was Jeff Dunham doing in 2009? | Jeff Dunham | In March 2009, Dunham signed a multi-platform deal with Comedy Central. It included a fourth stand-up special to air in 2010, DVDs, a consumer products partnership, a 60-city tour beginning in September 2010, and an order for a television series called The Jeff Dunham Show that premiered on October 22, 2009. Despite having the most-watched premiere in Comedy Central history, and higher average ratings than other shows on that network initially, the show was canceled after only one season, amid poor reviews, dwindling ratings and higher production costs than other Comedy Central shows. Dunham appeared in a guest role with Bubba J on NBC's sictom 30 Rock, playing a ventriloquist named Rick Wayne and his dummy Pumpkin from Stone Mountain, Georgia. In November 2009 Dunham also appeared with Walter in "Hart to Hart", an episode of the Disney Channel series Sonny With a Chance, as two security guards. He appeared in the 2010 Steve Carell/Paul Rudd comedy, Dinner for Schmucks, as Lewis, with a new puppet named Diane. His fourth special, Jeff Dunham: Controlled Chaos, premiered on September 25, 2011, on Comedy Central. His fifth special, Minding the Monsters, which was taped in Savannah, premiered on Comedy Central on October 7, 2012. His sixth special, All Over the Map, which was taped in various international cities, premiered on Comedy Central on November 16, 2014. On March 28, 2014, Country Music Television premiered Achmed Saves America, an animated film starring Achmed the Dead Terrorist. Dunham's seventh special, Unhinged in Hollywood, premiered on September 17, 2015. Rather than premiering on Comedy Central, the special instead aired on NBC. CANNOTANSWER | Dunham signed a multi-platform deal with Comedy Central. | Jeffrey Douglas Dunham (born April 18, 1962) is an American ventriloquist, stand-up comedian and actor who has also appeared on numerous television shows, including Late Show with David Letterman, Comedy Central Presents, The Tonight Show and Sonny With a Chance. He has six specials that run on Comedy Central: Arguing with Myself, Spark of Insanity, Jeff Dunham's Very Special Christmas Special, Controlled Chaos, Minding the Monsters, and All Over the Map. Dunham also starred in The Jeff Dunham Show, a series on the network in 2009.
His style has been described as "a dressed-down, more digestible version of Don Rickles with multiple personality disorder". Time described his characters as "politically incorrect, gratuitously insulting and ill tempered." Dunham has been credited with reviving ventriloquism and doing more to promote the art form than anyone since Edgar Bergen.
Dunham has been called "America's favorite comedian" by Slate. According to the concert industry publication Pollstar, he is the top-grossing standup act in North America and among the most successful acts in Europe as well. As of November 2009, he has sold over four million DVDs, an additional $7 million in merchandise sales, and received more than 350 million hits on YouTube as of October 2009; his introduction of Achmed the Dead Terrorist in Spark of Insanity was ranked as the ninth most watched YouTube video at the time. A Very Special Christmas Special was the most-watched telecast in Comedy Central history, with the DVD selling over 400,000 copies in its first two weeks. Forbes ranked Dunham as the third highest-paid comedian in the United States behind Jerry Seinfeld and Chris Rock and reported that he was one of the highest-earning comics from June 2008 to June 2009, earning approximately $30 million during that period. Dunham also does occasional acting roles. He achieved the Guinness Book of World Records record for "Most tickets sold for a stand-up comedy tour" for his Spark of Insanity tour, performing in 386 venues worldwide.
Early life
Dunham was born on April 18, 1962, in Dallas, Texas. When he was three months old, he was adopted by real estate appraiser Howard Dunham, and his homemaker wife Joyce, who raised him in a devoutly Presbyterian household in an affluent Dallas neighborhood, as an only child.
He began ventriloquism in 1970 at age eight, when his parents gave him a Mortimer Snerd dummy for Christmas, and an accompanying how-to album. The next day he checked out a how-to book on ventriloquism from the library, and explained in 2011 that he still had it, remarking that he was "a thief in the third grade". By the fourth grade, Dunham decided he not only wanted to be a professional ventriloquist, but the best one ever. Dunham began practicing for hours in front of a mirror, studying the routines of Edgar Bergen, and the how-to record Jimmy Nelson's Instant Ventriloquism, finding ventriloquism to be a learned skill, similar to juggling, that anyone with a normal speaking voice can acquire. Dunham has explained that, as an only child, he enjoyed being alone, likening his solitude to a "warm blanket" with which he could explore his own thoughts and ideas, which prepared him for the solitude of living alone when he later moved to Los Angeles as a struggling comedian.
When Dunham was in the sixth grade, he began attending the Vent Haven ConVENTion in Fort Mitchell, Kentucky, an annual international meeting of ventriloquists that includes competitions, where he met Jimmy Nelson in person. Dunham has missed only one ConVENTion since then, in 1977. The organizers of the ConVENTion eventually declared Dunham a "retired champion", ineligible from entering any more competitions, as other attendees were too intimidated to compete against him. The Vent Haven Museum devotes a section to Dunham, alongside Señor Wences and Dunham's idol, Edgar Bergen.
Career
Beginnings
Dunham began performing for audiences as a teenager, in various venues such as school, church, and during his job at Six Flags. By his middle school years, he began to perform for banquets attended by local celebrities such as Dallas Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach, having developed his style of lampooning those he performed for, using the puppets to say things too risque for him to say without them. Dunham's television debut came in 1976 when the still prepubescent performer caught the attention of Dallas reporters like Bill O'Reilly, who interviewed Dunham for a local news story. Dunham later did commercials for Datsun dealerships in Dallas and Tyler while still in high school. While emceeing a high school talent show, he dealt with a heckler, and won over the rest of the audience. During this period he became so associated with his craft that he and one of his dummies "cowrote" a column in the school paper, and he would pose with his dummies for yearbooks as an inexpensive way to acquire professional photos of his act for promotional purposes. He was voted Most Likely to Succeed, and in 1980, after he graduated from high school, Dunham gave himself a career goal of obtaining, within ten years, an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, which was seen as the "holy grail" for comedians.
That year Dunham began attending Baylor University, hoping to graduate with a degree in communications, while performing around campus. He would also fly around the country on weekends, doing up to 100 private shows a year, entertaining corporate customers such as General Electric, whose CEO, Jack Welch, he mocked during his routine. By his junior year in college (1983–84), Dunham was making $70,000 a year, and as word spread of his act, he landed featured spots opening for Bob Hope and George Burns, though he still perceived his act as raw, as he did not have any knowledge of standup comedy beyond his Bill Cosby albums.
He caught a break in 1985 when he was asked to join the Broadway show Sugar Babies with Mickey Rooney and Ann Miller, replacing an outgoing variety act. For the naive and devoutly-raised Dunham, Broadway was a new world filled with beautiful showgirls and crusty stagehands, and his first taste of entertainment industry egos came when Rooney called Dunham into his dressing room, and told him he was there for one reason alone: so that Rooney could change his costumes. He performed at the Westbury Music Fair on Long Island. These early experiences, in which he used characters like José Jalapeño on a Stick, taught him the value of modifying his act regionally, as the jalapeño jokes that worked well in Texas were not as well received by audiences in Long Island. After graduating from Baylor University in 1986, he continued honing his act in comedy clubs in the Southwest with new characters such as Peanut and José Jalapeño, but struggled against the perception he relates from fellow comedians that he was not a true comedian because he relied on props.
His experience at Catch a Rising Star in New York City served as a bitter confirmation of where ventriloquists stood in the comedic food chain, as the emcee at that club gave Dunham little respect. According to Dunham, after he arrived at the club in the evening and informed the emcee that he was a ventriloquist, the emcee reacted with derision, telling Dunham that he would be given a late time slot, and after that time slot came and passed, kept postponing Dunham's stage time until Dunham left the club.
By the end of 1988, Dunham felt his career had gone as far as it could go in Texas, and he moved to Los Angeles, California, never having, as he has commented, "a real job", much to the concern of his parents, who assumed he would relegate his act to local venues such as church groups. When he first arrived in Los Angeles, the comedy in his act bombed. Dunham attributes this initial reaction to his underdeveloped comedy, explaining that while the characters' personalities were developed at that point, his jokes were not. In addition to this, the comedy world was not welcoming to ventriloquists, and his manager, Judi Brown-Marmel, did not use the word "ventriloquist" when finding bookings for him, choosing to present him as a comedy duo. After Dunham became friends with Mike Lacey, owner of The Comedy & Magic Club in Hermosa Beach, Lacey gave Dunham a steady slot at the club, where Dunham sharpened his act by observing the techniques of comedians like Jerry Seinfeld, and taking the advice of colleague Bill Engvall, moving away from his G-rated material toward edgier, more adult themes.
The Tonight Show
At the end of 1988, Dunham was told by James McCawley, a talent booker for The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, that Dunham would be given a spot on the coveted program. Though the 26-year-old Dunham was elated that his 10-year goal was arriving two years early, McCawley later cancelled Dunham's appearance after attending, with Roseanne Barr, a public performance of Dunham's the day before Dunham's scheduled Tonight Show taping. McCawley informed Dunham on the day of the scheduled taping that he had been wrong in his initial assessment of Dunham, whom he now said was not ready for The Tonight Show. Dunham continued to tighten his act in Los Angeles clubs, performing the same six-minute segment with Peanut a total of nine times for McCawley over the next few months. Finally at the Ice-House in Pasadena in April 1990, after Dunham did the same segment, McCawley informed Dunham that he would finally get his Tonight Show appearance. Dunham and Peanut appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson on April 6, 1990, alongside guests Bob Hope and B.B. King. Following his bit, he was invited to sit on Johnny Carson's couch, a mark of approval on Carson's show. Upon sitting down next to Carson's desk, Dunham pulled out Walter, who told Carson sidekick Ed McMahon, "Stop sending me all your damn mail." At the time, Dunham saw his Tonight Show appearance as his big break, but was frustrated at his parents' initial disapproval over Walter's use of the words "hell" and "damn", and he would toil in obscurity for another twelve years, continuing his stand up at venues such as The Improv chain, and appearing in small roles on TV. One of these was a 1996 episode of Ellen, in which he appeared with Walter. Dunham also appeared with Walter in a TV commercial for Hertz. Dunham would appear on The Tonight Show a total of four times, as well as similar TV venues such as Hot Country Nights, appearing in one segment with Reba McEntire. This exposure helped make Dunham a large theater headliner, a rare accomplishment for a ventriloquist, but by the mid-1990s, his television appearances had dwindled, and with them, so did his stage audiences.
Dunham moved back to clubs, more than 200 appearances a year. To maintain a connection with his fan base, he would use question cards that he had audiences fill out for his performances to build a database, which was tailor-made for the burgeoning World Wide Web. Though he was voted Funniest Male Standup at the American Comedy Awards in 1998, his club work kept him away from his wife and daughters between two and three weeks each month, which put a strain on his marriage, and made paying bills for his expanded family difficult. By 2002, Dunham was hoping to obtain more TV work to raise his profile and ease his standup schedule. Such exposure was elusive until a successful appearance on The Best Damn Sports Show Period, where Dunham and Walter made jokes at the expense of co-hosts Tom Arnold, Michael Irvin, John Salley and John Kruk, generating laughter from them, and giving Dunham much-needed exposure. In 2003, Dunham was the frontrunner to replace Jimmy Kimmel on Fox NFL Sunday, but hosts Howie Long and Terry Bradshaw were not amenable to the idea of being upstaged by a puppet, and, as Dunham tells it, did not provide a welcoming atmosphere to Dunham, nor allow him to speak much during his appearance.
First Comedy Central specials
On July 18, 2003, Dunham appeared on Comedy Central Presents, his first solo appearance on Comedy Central. During his half hour piece, he showcased José Jalapeño on a Stick, Walter, an early version of Melvin the Superhero Guy and Peanut, whom Dunham had begun to merchandise into a line of dolls. The appearance was successful, but Comedy Central resisted giving Dunham more airtime, feeling that he was not a good fit for them. By 2005 Dunham decided to gamble on financing his own comedy DVD, Jeff Dunham: Arguing with Myself, which was taped in Santa Ana, California. Dunham's manager, Judi Brown-Marmel, lobbied the network to air it, pointing to Dunham's drawing power and merchandising profits, and arguing that the network needed more diverse content. Surprised by the high ratings of the first Blue Collar Comics concert movie that same year, the network began to reconsider its brand. In late 2006, Comedy Central aired Arguing with Myself, drawing two million viewers when it aired, and selling two million DVDs.
In 2007, Dunham appeared as The Amazing Ken with José Jalapeño on a Stick in the Larry the Cable Guy feature film Delta Farce.
His second special, Jeff Dunham: Spark of Insanity, was taped at the Warner Theater in Washington, D.C. that same year. It served not only to cement Dunham's stardom, but to introduce his most controversial character, Achmed the Dead Terrorist, which became a viral Internet sensation. A clip of Achmed from Insanity attracted over 140 million hits on YouTube, making it the ninth most watched clip on that website as of October 2009.
By 2008, Dunham's characters had crossed language barriers, with his specials dubbed for audiences in various countries such as France, and Dunham attracting requests for performances in South Africa, Australia, Norway, Denmark, China, and the Middle East. Jeff Dunham's Very Special Christmas Special was taped at the Pabst Theater in Milwaukee, Wisconsin that same year, and premiered on Comedy Central on November 16, 2008, watched by 6.6 million people. It became available on DVD and Blu-ray on November 18, 2008. The special's premiere was the highest rated telecast in Comedy Central's history.
In September 2008, his career reached new heights as he began performing in arenas filled with tens of thousands of people. Dunham was somewhat wary of such large venues, but adapted by adjusting the timing of his often rapid exchanges with the puppets so that audience members farthest from the stage could have time to react.
In addition to his comedy specials, Dunham also released his first music album, Don't Come Home for Christmas, on November 4, 2008. It contains original Christmas songs as well as a parody of "Jingle Bells" by Achmed entitled "Jingle Bombs". All the songs, with the exception of "Jingle Bombs", were written and accompanied by Brian Haner, who joined Dunham's act as "Guitar Guy". His first onscreen appearance was in Jeff Dunham's Very Special Christmas Special.
2009–present
In March 2009, Dunham signed a multi-platform deal with Comedy Central. It included a fourth stand-up special to air in 2010, DVDs, a consumer products partnership, a 60-city tour beginning in September 2010, and an order for a television series called The Jeff Dunham Show that premiered on October 22, 2009. Despite having the most-watched premiere in Comedy Central history, and higher average ratings than other shows on that network initially, the show was canceled after only one season, amid poor reviews, dwindling ratings and higher production costs than other Comedy Central shows.
Dunham appeared in a guest role with Bubba J on NBC's sitcom 30 Rock, playing a ventriloquist named Rick Wayne and his dummy Pumpkin from Stone Mountain, Georgia. In November 2009 Dunham also appeared with Walter in "Hart to Hart", an episode of the Disney Channel series Sonny With a Chance, as two security guards. He appeared in the 2010 Steve Carell/Paul Rudd comedy, Dinner for Schmucks, as Lewis, with a new puppet named Diane.
His fourth special, Jeff Dunham: Controlled Chaos, premiered on September 25, 2011, on Comedy Central. His fifth special, Minding the Monsters, which was taped in Savannah, premiered on Comedy Central on October 7, 2012. His sixth special, All Over the Map, which was taped in various international cities, premiered on Comedy Central on November 16, 2014.
On March 28, 2014, Country Music Television premiered Achmed Saves America, an animated film starring Achmed the Dead Terrorist.
Dunham's seventh special, Unhinged in Hollywood, premiered on September 17, 2015. Rather than premiering on Comedy Central, the special instead aired on NBC.
Critical praise and controversy
In January 2008, Dunham was voted by fans the Top Comic in Comedy Central's "Stand-Up Showdown". He is the only person ever to win the "Ventriloquist of the Year" Award twice. He was nominated "Comedian of the Year" by the TNN Music City News Country Awards, and has drawn praise from the Dallas Morning News for his technique and timing. Critics, such as Randee Dawn of The Hollywood Reporter, accused Dunham's characters of being racist caricatures, sexist, and homophobic.
In 2008, a TV commercial for a ringtone which featured Dunham's character Achmed the Dead Terrorist (see Characters below) was banned by the South African Advertising Standards Authority after a complaint was filed by a citizen stating that the ad was offensive to Muslims, and portrayed all Muslims as terrorists. Dunham responded that "Achmed makes it clear in my act that he is not Muslim." However, the ASA noted that the name Achmed was of Arab origin and was one of the names of Muhammad. Dunham responded, "I've skewered whites, blacks, Hispanics, Christians, Jews, Muslims, gays, straights, rednecks, addicts, the elderly, and my wife. As a standup comic, it is my job to make the majority of people laugh, and I believe that comedy is the last true form of free speech ... I'm considering renaming Achmed 'Bill'", he added. Dunham has conceded that he does exhibit particular sensitivity to the "conservative country crowd" or those characterized by "basic Christian values", as they are one of his largest constituencies, and part of his upbringing.
Dunham was heckled and criticized for mocking TV critics during a July 2009 press tour to promote his then-upcoming Comedy Central TV series, The Jeff Dunham Show, as well as Comedy Central programming chief Lauren Correo. In October 2009 The Jeff Dunham Show enjoyed good initial ratings, but was not well liked by critics, some of whom either questioned the wisdom of translating his act into a series, or cited Dunham, his previous specials, or ventriloquism itself as reasons for disliking the show.
J.P. Williams, the producer of the Blue Collar Comedy Tour, has opined that Dunham's act is not funny on its own merits, and that his material gets a greater reaction because of the puppet characters than it would otherwise garner by itself. Blue Collar veteran Bill Engvall, a friend of Dunham's, insists otherwise, saying that Dunham is inherently funny with or without the puppets.
In a 2014 show in Malaysia, the government requested that he not use or name Achmed in his show. Due to the restriction, but to avoid disappointing fans, Achmed was renamed to be "Jacques Merde, the Dead French Terrorist" (Jacques Merde meaning "Jack Shit").
Books
In 2003, BRASMA Publications released Dear Walter, a collection of questions asked of Dunham's fictional curmudgeon at live performances, authored by Dunham and Walter Cummings. His autobiography, All By My Selves: Walter, Peanut, Achmed and Me, was published by Dutton in 2010.
Characters
Recurring characters
Walter
Walter is a retired, grumpy old man with arms always crossed in discontent. Dunham was inspired to create Walter when he watched Bette Davis's final appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, giving her honest, unfiltered candor to Walter, and patterning Walter's frown on Dunham's own. He has a brash, negative and often sarcastic view on today's world. He is a Vietnam War veteran and a former welder, and "doesn't give a damn" about anyone, especially his own wife and certain audience members. Walter appeared in every Comedy Central special. He's been married for several decades. When Dunham asks him if he remembers the happiest moment of his life after Walter tells him he has been married for forty-six years, Walter responds, "Forty-seven years ago!" Dunham created the Walter puppet himself, including both the initial sculpture and the silicone mold, though he eventually began using professional effects companies for the latter stages with his subsequent puppets.
Peanut
Peanut is a hyperactive, purple-skinned "woozle" with white fur covering most of his body, a tuft of green hair on the top of his head, and one sneaker on his left foot. Dunham explains in Arguing with Myself that Peanut is from a small Micronesian island, and that they met in Florida. Peanut's humor is not based on a particular motif or stereotype, as those of the other characters, and he has been described as "the bad kid". He often makes fun of Dunham, and torments and mocks José Jalapeño on a Stick. Touching upon his unusual appearance and personality, he asks Dunham in Arguing with Myself, after Dunham denies ever having done drugs, "Then how the hell did you come up with me?"
José Jalapeño on a Stick
José is a talking jalapeño pepper on a stick who wears a small sombrero. José, who speaks with a thick Spanish accent, is typically paired with Peanut, who often makes fun of José, uses appeals to Latino stereotypes when doing so, and makes fun of his being on a stick. Although José was not Dunham's first puppet, it was the first that Dunham made himself.
Bubba J
Bubba J is a beer-drinking redneck that Dunham describes in Arguing with Myself and A Very Special Christmas Special as "white trash trailer park", and whom Dunham uses for humor centered on such stereotypes. To this end, he frequently does jokes involving Bubba J's love of drinking beer and NASCAR, and his low intelligence. Touching upon such stereotypes, Bubba mentions in Arguing with Myself that he met his wife at a family reunion, and remembers seeing her with a corn dog in one hand, a beer in another, and leaning against a ferris wheel, "making it tilt". Although he does not appear onstage, Bubba appears as the backstage security guard in Controlled Chaos. He was inspired by Edgar Bergen's puppet, Mortimer Snerd.
Achmed the Dead Terrorist
Achmed is the skeletal corpse of an incompetent suicide bomber, whom Dunham uses to satirize the contemporary issue of terrorism. He is known for yelling, "Silence! I keel you!" to Dunham and people laughing in the audience. Achmed first appeared in Spark of Insanity, and has appeared in every Dunham special since then. In Spark of Insanity the audience learns several things about Achmed. When Dunham says that Achmed must be dead because he's a skeleton, Achmed responds, "It's a flesh wound." When Dunham inquires as to how he died, Achmed explains his incompetence with explosives, while also casting aspersions on Dunham's sexual prowess by saying that they both suffer from "premature detonation". Although he frequently mentions working for Osama Bin Laden, Achmed denies being a Muslim and says "Look at my ass! It says 'Made in China'!" He says he is afraid of Walter, partially because he's "one mean son of a bitch" and finds Walter's flatulence to be more potent than Saddam Hussein's mustard gas. In Very Special Christmas Special, he sings a song called "Jingle Bombs".
By June 2009, the sketch in which Dunham introduced Achmed had amassed nearly 200 million views on YouTube. The large, round, articulated eyes of puppets such as Achmed and Achmed Junior are constructed by the same effects artist who created the dinosaur eyes for the Jurassic Park films. The character starred in Achmed Saves America, an animated film that premiered on Country Music Television in March 2014. In the film, which depicts the mishap that led to the character's skeletonization, Achmed finds himself in an American town called Americaville, which he plots to blow up, before developing an affinity for American culture.
Non-recurring and retired characters
Sweet Daddy Dee
Dunham introduces Sweet Daddy Dee in Arguing with Myself as his "new manager". He calls himself a "pimp", which he says stands for "Player In the Management Profession." According to Sweet Daddy, because he is a pimp, that makes Jeff the "ho". When Dunham objects, Daddy Dee points out that Dunham makes people laugh and feel good for a living. When Dunham agrees that this is the case, Daddy Dee says, "You a ho." When Dunham asks what he would say if he told him that he was a comedian only because he enjoyed it, Daddy Dee responds, "You a dumb ho." Unlike Bubba J, he hates NASCAR. Sweet Daddy's headstone is featured in the beginning of the special Minding the Monsters.
Melvin the Superhero Guy
Melvin wears a blue superhero costume, and is used to poke fun at superheroes. When asked about his superhuman powers, he indicates that he has X-ray vision, adding, "I love looking at boobies!" He appears to have no other powers, however: When Dunham asks how far he can fly, he responds, "How far can you throw me?", and when asked if he can stop a bullet like Superman, he responds, "Yeah. Once". Dunham portrays Melvin as unimpressed with other superheroes: When told Superman can leap tall buildings in a single bound, Melvin dismisses him as a "showoff," arguing that he can simply walk around them, observes that Aquaman has the same powers as SpongeBob SquarePants, asserts that the Flash's super speed is derived from methamphetamine, that the Hulk's vaunted ability to get stronger as he gets angrier merely mirrors "every white trash guy on COPS," and makes innuendo about the questionable relationship between Batman and the underage Robin. Melvin's first onscreen appearance was in the July 2003 Comedy Central Presents episode, in which he had small, black, beady eyes. By his next appearance, in Spark of Insanity, he had been modified to have large, blue, crossed eyes. He has an enormous nose, which he claims is his symbol, and whose similarity in shape to that of a penis is alluded to in the act. Dunham sculpted the current version of Melvin's head himself, and hired an effects company called Renegade Effects Groups to create the rubber mold and complete the puppet, before then installing the mechanics himself. Melvin's headstone is featured in the beginning of the special Minding the Monsters. As revealed in the DVD release, this signifies that he will no longer be used.
Little Jeff
Little Jeff is a miniature version of Dunham himself, usually dressed in the same clothes Dunham wears during each show. His first onscreen appearance was in the 1989 television program A&E's An Evening at The Improv. He later appeared in Jeff Dunham: Controlled Chaos as a puppet that Peanut used when attempting his hand at ventriloquism. Peanut named the doll "Little Ugly Ass-Jeff", and uses him to insult Dunham.
Diane
Diane first appeared with Dunham in the 2010 film Dinner for Schmucks as "Debbie", his character's "wife". She made her stand-up debut in Dunham's Identity Crisis Tour 2010.
Achmed Junior
Achmed Junior is the estranged son of Achmed. He was designed by Mad magazine illustrator Tom Richmond. He first appeared during the Identity Crisis Tour 2010, and made his first onscreen appearance in Dunham's fourth special, Jeff Dunham: Controlled Chaos. Like his father, Achmed Junior is the victim of a bomb, which resulted in the destruction of the half of his face and body. He speaks with a British accent because he was raised in Britain after the accident. Much to his father's consternation, he expresses an attraction to Dunham's male stage hand, Marnell, appears on stage to address Achmed's loss of balance. Conflict also stems from the fact that unlike his father, Achmed Junior does not wish to be a suicide bomber.
Seamus
Seamus is a grumpy, beer-drinking, Irish infant who first appears in Relative Disaster, which was filmed in Ireland. Dunham, himself an adopted child, introduces him as a son that he has adopted in order to "pay it forward". Despite being an infant, he is a belligerent heavy drinker, traits with which Dunham pokes fun at Irish stereotypes. Dunham also establishes Seamus as a fan of United States President Donald Trump in order to poke fun at Trump, Hillary Clinton, and the 2016 United States presidential election.
Larry the Adviser
Larry is the personal adviser to Donald Trump. He has unkempt orange hair, big bulgy eyes and has a cigarette in one hand. Jeff lightly shakes him to give the feeling of jitteriness. Larry is constantly on edge and is implied to be unnerved for having worked with Trump for "four hours". He nevertheless "supports" the president.
Others
Other characters that Dunham has voiced include Little Peanut, a miniature version of Peanut that Dunham has used to counter Peanut's use of Little Jeff; and an unseen worm inside a bottle of tequila, both of which he has used, for example, in his appearance on A&E's An Evening at The Improv.
In the 2020 United States presidential election, Dunham adapted the Walter puppet into "Wonald Grump" and "Ben Hiden," caricatures of Donald Trump and Joe Biden, respectively, for a mock debate moderated by Achmed.
Personal life
Dunham met his first wife, Paige Brown, at the Comedy Corner in West Palm Beach, Florida. They began dating in December 1992. In May 1994, Dunham married Brown and adopted her one-and-a-half-year-old daughter, Bree. Their daughters Ashlyn and Kenna were born in 1995 and 1997, respectively. Dunham's time away while performing proved a strain on the marriage, and in November 2008, he filed for divorce. By mid-2009, Dunham was in a relationship with Audrey Murdick, a certified nutritionist, personal trainer, and competition bodybuilder, and on December 25, 2011 they became engaged. On October 12, 2012, the couple married. On May 14, 2015, Dunham announced, via Facebook, that he and Audrey were expecting twin boys. In October, she gave birth to James Jeffrey and Jack Steven.
In addition to building the dummies he uses in his act, Dunham also restores antique ones as a hobby, such as The Umpire, a mechanized dummy built in 1941 to work the plate at a girls' softball game, which went unused and packed away for 50 years before Dunham acquired it in early 2008.
Dunham has harbored a love of helicopters since childhood and is fond of building and flying his own kit helicopters from Rotorway helicopter kits. At the time he finished writing his autobiography in June 2010, he was beginning to build his fourth kit. He is also an aficionado of muscle cars and Apple, Inc. products. According to the July 16, 2012, television documentary The Batmobile, Dunham owns the original Batmobile used in the Tim Burton film Batman, which he had outfitted with Corvette engine to make it street legal.
Tours
Filmography
Documentaries and specials
Acting
References
External links
Jeff Dunham at Comedy Central
1962 births
20th-century American comedians
21st-century American comedians
American adoptees
American male voice actors
American Presbyterians
American puppeteers
American stand-up comedians
Baylor University alumni
Living people
People from Dallas
Male actors from Dallas
Ventriloquists
Puppet designers | true | [
"\"I Love What Love Is Doing to Me\" is a song written by Johnny Cunningham. It was recorded by American country music artist Lynn Anderson and released as a single in 1977 via Columbia Records, becoming a top 40 hit that year.\n\nBackground and release\n\"I Love What Love Is Doing to Me\" was recorded in April 1977 at the Columbia Studio, located in Nashville, Tennessee. The sessions was produced by Glenn Sutton, Anderson's longtime production collaborator at the label and her first husband. It was co-produced by Steve Gibson, making the session Anderson's first experience under the co-production of Gibson. Nine additional tracks were recorded at this particular session, including the major hit \"He Ain't You.\"\n\n\"I Love What Love Is Doing to Me\" was released as a single in May 1977 via Columbia Records. The song spent ten weeks on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart before reaching number 22 in July 1977. The song was issued on Anderson's 1977 studio album I Love What Love Is Doing to Me/He Ain't You.\n\nTrack listings \n7\" vinyl single\n \"I Love What Love Is Doing to Me\" – 2:10\n \"Will I Ever Hear Those Churchbells Ring?\" – 3:32\n\nChart performance\n\nReferences\n\n1977 singles\n1977 songs\nColumbia Records singles\nLynn Anderson songs\nSong recordings produced by Glenn Sutton",
"\"What She's Doing Now\" is a song co-written and recorded by American country music singer Garth Brooks. It was released in December 1991 as the third single from his album Ropin' the Wind. It spent four weeks at the top of the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart. It was co-written by Pat Alger.\n\nContent\nThe song is a ballad about a man who wonders what his former lover is currently doing and what her whereabouts are (\"last I heard she had moved to Boulder\"). While the singer has no idea what she is doing now, he proclaims \"what she's doing now is tearing [him] apart\".\n\nBackground and production\nBrooks provided the following background information on the song in the CD booklet liner notes from The Hits:\n\n\"What She's Doing Now\" was an idea I had a long, long time about a man wondering what a woman was doing. And it was very simple. What is she doing now? Is she hanging out the clothes? Is she running a business? Is she a mother? Is she married? Who is she with? When I told the idea to Pat Alger, he looked at me with a smile and said, 'I wonder if she knows what she's doing now to me?' When I heard that, the bumps went over my arms and the back of my neck, and I knew that he had something. Crystal Gayle cut this song back in 1989. It came back to us for the Ropin' The Wind album. It is a song that has crossed all boundaries and borders around the world. This has made me extremely happy because the greatest gift a writer can ask for is to relate to someone. I can't help but think that this song might relate to a lot of people.\"\n\nOther versions\nWhile Garth Brooks penned the song, he was not the first person to release it. On the 1990 release Ain't Gonna Worry'', Crystal Gayle recorded the song as \"What He's Doing Now\"; her version was not released as a single.\n\nTrack listing\nEuropean CD single\nLiberty CDCL 656\n\"What She's Doing Now\"\n\"Shameless\"\n\"We Bury The Hatchet\"\nUS 7\" Jukebox single\nLiberty S7-57784\n\"What She's Doing Now\"\n\"Friends in Low Places\"\n\nChart positions\n\nYear-end charts\n\nReferences\n\n1991 singles\nCrystal Gayle songs\nGarth Brooks songs\nSongs written by Pat Alger\nSongs written by Garth Brooks\nSong recordings produced by Allen Reynolds\nLiberty Records singles\n1991 songs"
] |
[
"Jeff Dunham",
"2009-present",
"What was he doing in 2009?",
"Dunham signed a multi-platform deal with Comedy Central."
] | C_12aced0306034efd8cb7f77cc42ae917_0 | What was the shows name? | 2 | What was the shows name? | Jeff Dunham | In March 2009, Dunham signed a multi-platform deal with Comedy Central. It included a fourth stand-up special to air in 2010, DVDs, a consumer products partnership, a 60-city tour beginning in September 2010, and an order for a television series called The Jeff Dunham Show that premiered on October 22, 2009. Despite having the most-watched premiere in Comedy Central history, and higher average ratings than other shows on that network initially, the show was canceled after only one season, amid poor reviews, dwindling ratings and higher production costs than other Comedy Central shows. Dunham appeared in a guest role with Bubba J on NBC's sictom 30 Rock, playing a ventriloquist named Rick Wayne and his dummy Pumpkin from Stone Mountain, Georgia. In November 2009 Dunham also appeared with Walter in "Hart to Hart", an episode of the Disney Channel series Sonny With a Chance, as two security guards. He appeared in the 2010 Steve Carell/Paul Rudd comedy, Dinner for Schmucks, as Lewis, with a new puppet named Diane. His fourth special, Jeff Dunham: Controlled Chaos, premiered on September 25, 2011, on Comedy Central. His fifth special, Minding the Monsters, which was taped in Savannah, premiered on Comedy Central on October 7, 2012. His sixth special, All Over the Map, which was taped in various international cities, premiered on Comedy Central on November 16, 2014. On March 28, 2014, Country Music Television premiered Achmed Saves America, an animated film starring Achmed the Dead Terrorist. Dunham's seventh special, Unhinged in Hollywood, premiered on September 17, 2015. Rather than premiering on Comedy Central, the special instead aired on NBC. CANNOTANSWER | The Jeff Dunham Show | Jeffrey Douglas Dunham (born April 18, 1962) is an American ventriloquist, stand-up comedian and actor who has also appeared on numerous television shows, including Late Show with David Letterman, Comedy Central Presents, The Tonight Show and Sonny With a Chance. He has six specials that run on Comedy Central: Arguing with Myself, Spark of Insanity, Jeff Dunham's Very Special Christmas Special, Controlled Chaos, Minding the Monsters, and All Over the Map. Dunham also starred in The Jeff Dunham Show, a series on the network in 2009.
His style has been described as "a dressed-down, more digestible version of Don Rickles with multiple personality disorder". Time described his characters as "politically incorrect, gratuitously insulting and ill tempered." Dunham has been credited with reviving ventriloquism and doing more to promote the art form than anyone since Edgar Bergen.
Dunham has been called "America's favorite comedian" by Slate. According to the concert industry publication Pollstar, he is the top-grossing standup act in North America and among the most successful acts in Europe as well. As of November 2009, he has sold over four million DVDs, an additional $7 million in merchandise sales, and received more than 350 million hits on YouTube as of October 2009; his introduction of Achmed the Dead Terrorist in Spark of Insanity was ranked as the ninth most watched YouTube video at the time. A Very Special Christmas Special was the most-watched telecast in Comedy Central history, with the DVD selling over 400,000 copies in its first two weeks. Forbes ranked Dunham as the third highest-paid comedian in the United States behind Jerry Seinfeld and Chris Rock and reported that he was one of the highest-earning comics from June 2008 to June 2009, earning approximately $30 million during that period. Dunham also does occasional acting roles. He achieved the Guinness Book of World Records record for "Most tickets sold for a stand-up comedy tour" for his Spark of Insanity tour, performing in 386 venues worldwide.
Early life
Dunham was born on April 18, 1962, in Dallas, Texas. When he was three months old, he was adopted by real estate appraiser Howard Dunham, and his homemaker wife Joyce, who raised him in a devoutly Presbyterian household in an affluent Dallas neighborhood, as an only child.
He began ventriloquism in 1970 at age eight, when his parents gave him a Mortimer Snerd dummy for Christmas, and an accompanying how-to album. The next day he checked out a how-to book on ventriloquism from the library, and explained in 2011 that he still had it, remarking that he was "a thief in the third grade". By the fourth grade, Dunham decided he not only wanted to be a professional ventriloquist, but the best one ever. Dunham began practicing for hours in front of a mirror, studying the routines of Edgar Bergen, and the how-to record Jimmy Nelson's Instant Ventriloquism, finding ventriloquism to be a learned skill, similar to juggling, that anyone with a normal speaking voice can acquire. Dunham has explained that, as an only child, he enjoyed being alone, likening his solitude to a "warm blanket" with which he could explore his own thoughts and ideas, which prepared him for the solitude of living alone when he later moved to Los Angeles as a struggling comedian.
When Dunham was in the sixth grade, he began attending the Vent Haven ConVENTion in Fort Mitchell, Kentucky, an annual international meeting of ventriloquists that includes competitions, where he met Jimmy Nelson in person. Dunham has missed only one ConVENTion since then, in 1977. The organizers of the ConVENTion eventually declared Dunham a "retired champion", ineligible from entering any more competitions, as other attendees were too intimidated to compete against him. The Vent Haven Museum devotes a section to Dunham, alongside Señor Wences and Dunham's idol, Edgar Bergen.
Career
Beginnings
Dunham began performing for audiences as a teenager, in various venues such as school, church, and during his job at Six Flags. By his middle school years, he began to perform for banquets attended by local celebrities such as Dallas Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach, having developed his style of lampooning those he performed for, using the puppets to say things too risque for him to say without them. Dunham's television debut came in 1976 when the still prepubescent performer caught the attention of Dallas reporters like Bill O'Reilly, who interviewed Dunham for a local news story. Dunham later did commercials for Datsun dealerships in Dallas and Tyler while still in high school. While emceeing a high school talent show, he dealt with a heckler, and won over the rest of the audience. During this period he became so associated with his craft that he and one of his dummies "cowrote" a column in the school paper, and he would pose with his dummies for yearbooks as an inexpensive way to acquire professional photos of his act for promotional purposes. He was voted Most Likely to Succeed, and in 1980, after he graduated from high school, Dunham gave himself a career goal of obtaining, within ten years, an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, which was seen as the "holy grail" for comedians.
That year Dunham began attending Baylor University, hoping to graduate with a degree in communications, while performing around campus. He would also fly around the country on weekends, doing up to 100 private shows a year, entertaining corporate customers such as General Electric, whose CEO, Jack Welch, he mocked during his routine. By his junior year in college (1983–84), Dunham was making $70,000 a year, and as word spread of his act, he landed featured spots opening for Bob Hope and George Burns, though he still perceived his act as raw, as he did not have any knowledge of standup comedy beyond his Bill Cosby albums.
He caught a break in 1985 when he was asked to join the Broadway show Sugar Babies with Mickey Rooney and Ann Miller, replacing an outgoing variety act. For the naive and devoutly-raised Dunham, Broadway was a new world filled with beautiful showgirls and crusty stagehands, and his first taste of entertainment industry egos came when Rooney called Dunham into his dressing room, and told him he was there for one reason alone: so that Rooney could change his costumes. He performed at the Westbury Music Fair on Long Island. These early experiences, in which he used characters like José Jalapeño on a Stick, taught him the value of modifying his act regionally, as the jalapeño jokes that worked well in Texas were not as well received by audiences in Long Island. After graduating from Baylor University in 1986, he continued honing his act in comedy clubs in the Southwest with new characters such as Peanut and José Jalapeño, but struggled against the perception he relates from fellow comedians that he was not a true comedian because he relied on props.
His experience at Catch a Rising Star in New York City served as a bitter confirmation of where ventriloquists stood in the comedic food chain, as the emcee at that club gave Dunham little respect. According to Dunham, after he arrived at the club in the evening and informed the emcee that he was a ventriloquist, the emcee reacted with derision, telling Dunham that he would be given a late time slot, and after that time slot came and passed, kept postponing Dunham's stage time until Dunham left the club.
By the end of 1988, Dunham felt his career had gone as far as it could go in Texas, and he moved to Los Angeles, California, never having, as he has commented, "a real job", much to the concern of his parents, who assumed he would relegate his act to local venues such as church groups. When he first arrived in Los Angeles, the comedy in his act bombed. Dunham attributes this initial reaction to his underdeveloped comedy, explaining that while the characters' personalities were developed at that point, his jokes were not. In addition to this, the comedy world was not welcoming to ventriloquists, and his manager, Judi Brown-Marmel, did not use the word "ventriloquist" when finding bookings for him, choosing to present him as a comedy duo. After Dunham became friends with Mike Lacey, owner of The Comedy & Magic Club in Hermosa Beach, Lacey gave Dunham a steady slot at the club, where Dunham sharpened his act by observing the techniques of comedians like Jerry Seinfeld, and taking the advice of colleague Bill Engvall, moving away from his G-rated material toward edgier, more adult themes.
The Tonight Show
At the end of 1988, Dunham was told by James McCawley, a talent booker for The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, that Dunham would be given a spot on the coveted program. Though the 26-year-old Dunham was elated that his 10-year goal was arriving two years early, McCawley later cancelled Dunham's appearance after attending, with Roseanne Barr, a public performance of Dunham's the day before Dunham's scheduled Tonight Show taping. McCawley informed Dunham on the day of the scheduled taping that he had been wrong in his initial assessment of Dunham, whom he now said was not ready for The Tonight Show. Dunham continued to tighten his act in Los Angeles clubs, performing the same six-minute segment with Peanut a total of nine times for McCawley over the next few months. Finally at the Ice-House in Pasadena in April 1990, after Dunham did the same segment, McCawley informed Dunham that he would finally get his Tonight Show appearance. Dunham and Peanut appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson on April 6, 1990, alongside guests Bob Hope and B.B. King. Following his bit, he was invited to sit on Johnny Carson's couch, a mark of approval on Carson's show. Upon sitting down next to Carson's desk, Dunham pulled out Walter, who told Carson sidekick Ed McMahon, "Stop sending me all your damn mail." At the time, Dunham saw his Tonight Show appearance as his big break, but was frustrated at his parents' initial disapproval over Walter's use of the words "hell" and "damn", and he would toil in obscurity for another twelve years, continuing his stand up at venues such as The Improv chain, and appearing in small roles on TV. One of these was a 1996 episode of Ellen, in which he appeared with Walter. Dunham also appeared with Walter in a TV commercial for Hertz. Dunham would appear on The Tonight Show a total of four times, as well as similar TV venues such as Hot Country Nights, appearing in one segment with Reba McEntire. This exposure helped make Dunham a large theater headliner, a rare accomplishment for a ventriloquist, but by the mid-1990s, his television appearances had dwindled, and with them, so did his stage audiences.
Dunham moved back to clubs, more than 200 appearances a year. To maintain a connection with his fan base, he would use question cards that he had audiences fill out for his performances to build a database, which was tailor-made for the burgeoning World Wide Web. Though he was voted Funniest Male Standup at the American Comedy Awards in 1998, his club work kept him away from his wife and daughters between two and three weeks each month, which put a strain on his marriage, and made paying bills for his expanded family difficult. By 2002, Dunham was hoping to obtain more TV work to raise his profile and ease his standup schedule. Such exposure was elusive until a successful appearance on The Best Damn Sports Show Period, where Dunham and Walter made jokes at the expense of co-hosts Tom Arnold, Michael Irvin, John Salley and John Kruk, generating laughter from them, and giving Dunham much-needed exposure. In 2003, Dunham was the frontrunner to replace Jimmy Kimmel on Fox NFL Sunday, but hosts Howie Long and Terry Bradshaw were not amenable to the idea of being upstaged by a puppet, and, as Dunham tells it, did not provide a welcoming atmosphere to Dunham, nor allow him to speak much during his appearance.
First Comedy Central specials
On July 18, 2003, Dunham appeared on Comedy Central Presents, his first solo appearance on Comedy Central. During his half hour piece, he showcased José Jalapeño on a Stick, Walter, an early version of Melvin the Superhero Guy and Peanut, whom Dunham had begun to merchandise into a line of dolls. The appearance was successful, but Comedy Central resisted giving Dunham more airtime, feeling that he was not a good fit for them. By 2005 Dunham decided to gamble on financing his own comedy DVD, Jeff Dunham: Arguing with Myself, which was taped in Santa Ana, California. Dunham's manager, Judi Brown-Marmel, lobbied the network to air it, pointing to Dunham's drawing power and merchandising profits, and arguing that the network needed more diverse content. Surprised by the high ratings of the first Blue Collar Comics concert movie that same year, the network began to reconsider its brand. In late 2006, Comedy Central aired Arguing with Myself, drawing two million viewers when it aired, and selling two million DVDs.
In 2007, Dunham appeared as The Amazing Ken with José Jalapeño on a Stick in the Larry the Cable Guy feature film Delta Farce.
His second special, Jeff Dunham: Spark of Insanity, was taped at the Warner Theater in Washington, D.C. that same year. It served not only to cement Dunham's stardom, but to introduce his most controversial character, Achmed the Dead Terrorist, which became a viral Internet sensation. A clip of Achmed from Insanity attracted over 140 million hits on YouTube, making it the ninth most watched clip on that website as of October 2009.
By 2008, Dunham's characters had crossed language barriers, with his specials dubbed for audiences in various countries such as France, and Dunham attracting requests for performances in South Africa, Australia, Norway, Denmark, China, and the Middle East. Jeff Dunham's Very Special Christmas Special was taped at the Pabst Theater in Milwaukee, Wisconsin that same year, and premiered on Comedy Central on November 16, 2008, watched by 6.6 million people. It became available on DVD and Blu-ray on November 18, 2008. The special's premiere was the highest rated telecast in Comedy Central's history.
In September 2008, his career reached new heights as he began performing in arenas filled with tens of thousands of people. Dunham was somewhat wary of such large venues, but adapted by adjusting the timing of his often rapid exchanges with the puppets so that audience members farthest from the stage could have time to react.
In addition to his comedy specials, Dunham also released his first music album, Don't Come Home for Christmas, on November 4, 2008. It contains original Christmas songs as well as a parody of "Jingle Bells" by Achmed entitled "Jingle Bombs". All the songs, with the exception of "Jingle Bombs", were written and accompanied by Brian Haner, who joined Dunham's act as "Guitar Guy". His first onscreen appearance was in Jeff Dunham's Very Special Christmas Special.
2009–present
In March 2009, Dunham signed a multi-platform deal with Comedy Central. It included a fourth stand-up special to air in 2010, DVDs, a consumer products partnership, a 60-city tour beginning in September 2010, and an order for a television series called The Jeff Dunham Show that premiered on October 22, 2009. Despite having the most-watched premiere in Comedy Central history, and higher average ratings than other shows on that network initially, the show was canceled after only one season, amid poor reviews, dwindling ratings and higher production costs than other Comedy Central shows.
Dunham appeared in a guest role with Bubba J on NBC's sitcom 30 Rock, playing a ventriloquist named Rick Wayne and his dummy Pumpkin from Stone Mountain, Georgia. In November 2009 Dunham also appeared with Walter in "Hart to Hart", an episode of the Disney Channel series Sonny With a Chance, as two security guards. He appeared in the 2010 Steve Carell/Paul Rudd comedy, Dinner for Schmucks, as Lewis, with a new puppet named Diane.
His fourth special, Jeff Dunham: Controlled Chaos, premiered on September 25, 2011, on Comedy Central. His fifth special, Minding the Monsters, which was taped in Savannah, premiered on Comedy Central on October 7, 2012. His sixth special, All Over the Map, which was taped in various international cities, premiered on Comedy Central on November 16, 2014.
On March 28, 2014, Country Music Television premiered Achmed Saves America, an animated film starring Achmed the Dead Terrorist.
Dunham's seventh special, Unhinged in Hollywood, premiered on September 17, 2015. Rather than premiering on Comedy Central, the special instead aired on NBC.
Critical praise and controversy
In January 2008, Dunham was voted by fans the Top Comic in Comedy Central's "Stand-Up Showdown". He is the only person ever to win the "Ventriloquist of the Year" Award twice. He was nominated "Comedian of the Year" by the TNN Music City News Country Awards, and has drawn praise from the Dallas Morning News for his technique and timing. Critics, such as Randee Dawn of The Hollywood Reporter, accused Dunham's characters of being racist caricatures, sexist, and homophobic.
In 2008, a TV commercial for a ringtone which featured Dunham's character Achmed the Dead Terrorist (see Characters below) was banned by the South African Advertising Standards Authority after a complaint was filed by a citizen stating that the ad was offensive to Muslims, and portrayed all Muslims as terrorists. Dunham responded that "Achmed makes it clear in my act that he is not Muslim." However, the ASA noted that the name Achmed was of Arab origin and was one of the names of Muhammad. Dunham responded, "I've skewered whites, blacks, Hispanics, Christians, Jews, Muslims, gays, straights, rednecks, addicts, the elderly, and my wife. As a standup comic, it is my job to make the majority of people laugh, and I believe that comedy is the last true form of free speech ... I'm considering renaming Achmed 'Bill'", he added. Dunham has conceded that he does exhibit particular sensitivity to the "conservative country crowd" or those characterized by "basic Christian values", as they are one of his largest constituencies, and part of his upbringing.
Dunham was heckled and criticized for mocking TV critics during a July 2009 press tour to promote his then-upcoming Comedy Central TV series, The Jeff Dunham Show, as well as Comedy Central programming chief Lauren Correo. In October 2009 The Jeff Dunham Show enjoyed good initial ratings, but was not well liked by critics, some of whom either questioned the wisdom of translating his act into a series, or cited Dunham, his previous specials, or ventriloquism itself as reasons for disliking the show.
J.P. Williams, the producer of the Blue Collar Comedy Tour, has opined that Dunham's act is not funny on its own merits, and that his material gets a greater reaction because of the puppet characters than it would otherwise garner by itself. Blue Collar veteran Bill Engvall, a friend of Dunham's, insists otherwise, saying that Dunham is inherently funny with or without the puppets.
In a 2014 show in Malaysia, the government requested that he not use or name Achmed in his show. Due to the restriction, but to avoid disappointing fans, Achmed was renamed to be "Jacques Merde, the Dead French Terrorist" (Jacques Merde meaning "Jack Shit").
Books
In 2003, BRASMA Publications released Dear Walter, a collection of questions asked of Dunham's fictional curmudgeon at live performances, authored by Dunham and Walter Cummings. His autobiography, All By My Selves: Walter, Peanut, Achmed and Me, was published by Dutton in 2010.
Characters
Recurring characters
Walter
Walter is a retired, grumpy old man with arms always crossed in discontent. Dunham was inspired to create Walter when he watched Bette Davis's final appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, giving her honest, unfiltered candor to Walter, and patterning Walter's frown on Dunham's own. He has a brash, negative and often sarcastic view on today's world. He is a Vietnam War veteran and a former welder, and "doesn't give a damn" about anyone, especially his own wife and certain audience members. Walter appeared in every Comedy Central special. He's been married for several decades. When Dunham asks him if he remembers the happiest moment of his life after Walter tells him he has been married for forty-six years, Walter responds, "Forty-seven years ago!" Dunham created the Walter puppet himself, including both the initial sculpture and the silicone mold, though he eventually began using professional effects companies for the latter stages with his subsequent puppets.
Peanut
Peanut is a hyperactive, purple-skinned "woozle" with white fur covering most of his body, a tuft of green hair on the top of his head, and one sneaker on his left foot. Dunham explains in Arguing with Myself that Peanut is from a small Micronesian island, and that they met in Florida. Peanut's humor is not based on a particular motif or stereotype, as those of the other characters, and he has been described as "the bad kid". He often makes fun of Dunham, and torments and mocks José Jalapeño on a Stick. Touching upon his unusual appearance and personality, he asks Dunham in Arguing with Myself, after Dunham denies ever having done drugs, "Then how the hell did you come up with me?"
José Jalapeño on a Stick
José is a talking jalapeño pepper on a stick who wears a small sombrero. José, who speaks with a thick Spanish accent, is typically paired with Peanut, who often makes fun of José, uses appeals to Latino stereotypes when doing so, and makes fun of his being on a stick. Although José was not Dunham's first puppet, it was the first that Dunham made himself.
Bubba J
Bubba J is a beer-drinking redneck that Dunham describes in Arguing with Myself and A Very Special Christmas Special as "white trash trailer park", and whom Dunham uses for humor centered on such stereotypes. To this end, he frequently does jokes involving Bubba J's love of drinking beer and NASCAR, and his low intelligence. Touching upon such stereotypes, Bubba mentions in Arguing with Myself that he met his wife at a family reunion, and remembers seeing her with a corn dog in one hand, a beer in another, and leaning against a ferris wheel, "making it tilt". Although he does not appear onstage, Bubba appears as the backstage security guard in Controlled Chaos. He was inspired by Edgar Bergen's puppet, Mortimer Snerd.
Achmed the Dead Terrorist
Achmed is the skeletal corpse of an incompetent suicide bomber, whom Dunham uses to satirize the contemporary issue of terrorism. He is known for yelling, "Silence! I keel you!" to Dunham and people laughing in the audience. Achmed first appeared in Spark of Insanity, and has appeared in every Dunham special since then. In Spark of Insanity the audience learns several things about Achmed. When Dunham says that Achmed must be dead because he's a skeleton, Achmed responds, "It's a flesh wound." When Dunham inquires as to how he died, Achmed explains his incompetence with explosives, while also casting aspersions on Dunham's sexual prowess by saying that they both suffer from "premature detonation". Although he frequently mentions working for Osama Bin Laden, Achmed denies being a Muslim and says "Look at my ass! It says 'Made in China'!" He says he is afraid of Walter, partially because he's "one mean son of a bitch" and finds Walter's flatulence to be more potent than Saddam Hussein's mustard gas. In Very Special Christmas Special, he sings a song called "Jingle Bombs".
By June 2009, the sketch in which Dunham introduced Achmed had amassed nearly 200 million views on YouTube. The large, round, articulated eyes of puppets such as Achmed and Achmed Junior are constructed by the same effects artist who created the dinosaur eyes for the Jurassic Park films. The character starred in Achmed Saves America, an animated film that premiered on Country Music Television in March 2014. In the film, which depicts the mishap that led to the character's skeletonization, Achmed finds himself in an American town called Americaville, which he plots to blow up, before developing an affinity for American culture.
Non-recurring and retired characters
Sweet Daddy Dee
Dunham introduces Sweet Daddy Dee in Arguing with Myself as his "new manager". He calls himself a "pimp", which he says stands for "Player In the Management Profession." According to Sweet Daddy, because he is a pimp, that makes Jeff the "ho". When Dunham objects, Daddy Dee points out that Dunham makes people laugh and feel good for a living. When Dunham agrees that this is the case, Daddy Dee says, "You a ho." When Dunham asks what he would say if he told him that he was a comedian only because he enjoyed it, Daddy Dee responds, "You a dumb ho." Unlike Bubba J, he hates NASCAR. Sweet Daddy's headstone is featured in the beginning of the special Minding the Monsters.
Melvin the Superhero Guy
Melvin wears a blue superhero costume, and is used to poke fun at superheroes. When asked about his superhuman powers, he indicates that he has X-ray vision, adding, "I love looking at boobies!" He appears to have no other powers, however: When Dunham asks how far he can fly, he responds, "How far can you throw me?", and when asked if he can stop a bullet like Superman, he responds, "Yeah. Once". Dunham portrays Melvin as unimpressed with other superheroes: When told Superman can leap tall buildings in a single bound, Melvin dismisses him as a "showoff," arguing that he can simply walk around them, observes that Aquaman has the same powers as SpongeBob SquarePants, asserts that the Flash's super speed is derived from methamphetamine, that the Hulk's vaunted ability to get stronger as he gets angrier merely mirrors "every white trash guy on COPS," and makes innuendo about the questionable relationship between Batman and the underage Robin. Melvin's first onscreen appearance was in the July 2003 Comedy Central Presents episode, in which he had small, black, beady eyes. By his next appearance, in Spark of Insanity, he had been modified to have large, blue, crossed eyes. He has an enormous nose, which he claims is his symbol, and whose similarity in shape to that of a penis is alluded to in the act. Dunham sculpted the current version of Melvin's head himself, and hired an effects company called Renegade Effects Groups to create the rubber mold and complete the puppet, before then installing the mechanics himself. Melvin's headstone is featured in the beginning of the special Minding the Monsters. As revealed in the DVD release, this signifies that he will no longer be used.
Little Jeff
Little Jeff is a miniature version of Dunham himself, usually dressed in the same clothes Dunham wears during each show. His first onscreen appearance was in the 1989 television program A&E's An Evening at The Improv. He later appeared in Jeff Dunham: Controlled Chaos as a puppet that Peanut used when attempting his hand at ventriloquism. Peanut named the doll "Little Ugly Ass-Jeff", and uses him to insult Dunham.
Diane
Diane first appeared with Dunham in the 2010 film Dinner for Schmucks as "Debbie", his character's "wife". She made her stand-up debut in Dunham's Identity Crisis Tour 2010.
Achmed Junior
Achmed Junior is the estranged son of Achmed. He was designed by Mad magazine illustrator Tom Richmond. He first appeared during the Identity Crisis Tour 2010, and made his first onscreen appearance in Dunham's fourth special, Jeff Dunham: Controlled Chaos. Like his father, Achmed Junior is the victim of a bomb, which resulted in the destruction of the half of his face and body. He speaks with a British accent because he was raised in Britain after the accident. Much to his father's consternation, he expresses an attraction to Dunham's male stage hand, Marnell, appears on stage to address Achmed's loss of balance. Conflict also stems from the fact that unlike his father, Achmed Junior does not wish to be a suicide bomber.
Seamus
Seamus is a grumpy, beer-drinking, Irish infant who first appears in Relative Disaster, which was filmed in Ireland. Dunham, himself an adopted child, introduces him as a son that he has adopted in order to "pay it forward". Despite being an infant, he is a belligerent heavy drinker, traits with which Dunham pokes fun at Irish stereotypes. Dunham also establishes Seamus as a fan of United States President Donald Trump in order to poke fun at Trump, Hillary Clinton, and the 2016 United States presidential election.
Larry the Adviser
Larry is the personal adviser to Donald Trump. He has unkempt orange hair, big bulgy eyes and has a cigarette in one hand. Jeff lightly shakes him to give the feeling of jitteriness. Larry is constantly on edge and is implied to be unnerved for having worked with Trump for "four hours". He nevertheless "supports" the president.
Others
Other characters that Dunham has voiced include Little Peanut, a miniature version of Peanut that Dunham has used to counter Peanut's use of Little Jeff; and an unseen worm inside a bottle of tequila, both of which he has used, for example, in his appearance on A&E's An Evening at The Improv.
In the 2020 United States presidential election, Dunham adapted the Walter puppet into "Wonald Grump" and "Ben Hiden," caricatures of Donald Trump and Joe Biden, respectively, for a mock debate moderated by Achmed.
Personal life
Dunham met his first wife, Paige Brown, at the Comedy Corner in West Palm Beach, Florida. They began dating in December 1992. In May 1994, Dunham married Brown and adopted her one-and-a-half-year-old daughter, Bree. Their daughters Ashlyn and Kenna were born in 1995 and 1997, respectively. Dunham's time away while performing proved a strain on the marriage, and in November 2008, he filed for divorce. By mid-2009, Dunham was in a relationship with Audrey Murdick, a certified nutritionist, personal trainer, and competition bodybuilder, and on December 25, 2011 they became engaged. On October 12, 2012, the couple married. On May 14, 2015, Dunham announced, via Facebook, that he and Audrey were expecting twin boys. In October, she gave birth to James Jeffrey and Jack Steven.
In addition to building the dummies he uses in his act, Dunham also restores antique ones as a hobby, such as The Umpire, a mechanized dummy built in 1941 to work the plate at a girls' softball game, which went unused and packed away for 50 years before Dunham acquired it in early 2008.
Dunham has harbored a love of helicopters since childhood and is fond of building and flying his own kit helicopters from Rotorway helicopter kits. At the time he finished writing his autobiography in June 2010, he was beginning to build his fourth kit. He is also an aficionado of muscle cars and Apple, Inc. products. According to the July 16, 2012, television documentary The Batmobile, Dunham owns the original Batmobile used in the Tim Burton film Batman, which he had outfitted with Corvette engine to make it street legal.
Tours
Filmography
Documentaries and specials
Acting
References
External links
Jeff Dunham at Comedy Central
1962 births
20th-century American comedians
21st-century American comedians
American adoptees
American male voice actors
American Presbyterians
American puppeteers
American stand-up comedians
Baylor University alumni
Living people
People from Dallas
Male actors from Dallas
Ventriloquists
Puppet designers | true | [
"What's My Name? was a 30-minute radio program in the United States. The program was hosted by Arlene Francis and was among the first radio shows to offer cash prizes to contestants.\n\nFormat\nContestants on What's My Name? had to identify a person from a maximum of 10 clues given by the show's two hosts. People to be identified were celebrities and historical characters. In the show's early days, a correct guess on the first clue earned the contestant $10; the amount earned dropped by $1 with each additional clue. In 1948, the top prize was increased to $100, with $50 and $25 prizes, respectively, for identification on the second and third clues.\n\nThe program also involved listener participation to some extent, as listeners could send in questions to be used on the air. People who submitted questions received $10 for each question used.\n\nA review of the first episode of What's My Name? offered little hope for its future, calling it \"a rather drab show.\" The reviewer explained: \"The program got off to a bad start in that the participants, for the most part, were unable to guess the identities of the characters asked for in the game until long after the listeners got the drift of the proceedings.\" The reviewer did, however, note that the show was \"ably conducted by Bud Hulick and Arlene Francis.\"\n\nFrancis was a constant on What's My Name?, serving as the hostess in all eight of its iterations on radio while her male counterparts changed. Hulick was the host in three versions. Other hosts over the years were Fred Uttal, John Reed King, Ward Wilson and Carl Frank. Harry Salter and his orchestra provided the music.\n\nOne source noted that What's My Name? \"helped make a broadcasting fixture out of Arlene Francis.\"\n\nA 1942 review gave What's My Name? a much better evaluation than the earlier review mentioned above. Paul Ackerman wrote in The Billboard, \"Name is well produced, moves quickly and manages to maintain an informal atmosphere directly traceable to Miss Francis's and Mr. King's manner with the contestants.\"\n\nBackground\nWhat's My Name? was the brainchild of radio writers Joe Cross and Ed Byron. An August 1940 magazine article related that, after listening to a program called Professor Quiz, \"the two of them shut themselves up in a hotel room, vowing they wouldn't come out until they'd thought up a game program that was as much fun as Professor Quiz. What's My Name? was the result.\"\n\nTelevision\n\nA version of What's My Name? was incorporated into the Paul Winchell-Jerry Mahoney Show on television. The program (originally titled The Speidel Show after its sponsor) ran from September 18, 1950 to May 23, 1954. In the show's early years, each episode began with a comedy skit featuring Winchell and Mahoney. That skit was followed by a quiz segment, What's My Name?, similar to the radio program. The host for the quiz was Ted Brown.\n\nThe TV version of the quiz failed to achieve the success of its radio predecessor. A review in The Billboard in August 1951 said: Speidel has tried hard all season to combine the very accomplished Paul Winchell and Jerry Mahoney team and the former What's My Name? format into a successful stanza. The attempt has failed and, if anything, the talents of the ventriloquist and his little pal have been blunted by misuse.\"\n\nBy 1953, the What's My Name? component of the Paul Winchell-Jerry Mahoney Show had been removed.\n\nBroadcast Schedule\n\nNote: \"NA\"—information was not listed on the cited page.\n\nReferences \n\nAmerican game shows\n1930s American radio programs\n1940s American radio programs\n1950s American radio programs\nAmerican radio game shows\n1930s American game shows\n1940s American game shows\n1950s American game shows\nMutual Broadcasting System programs\nNBC radio programs\nABC radio programs",
"Tok Casper was the first known king of the petty Maya kingdom of Quiriguá, in what is now south-eastern Guatemala. His name is a nickname, \"Casper\" being Casper the Friendly Ghost whose head shows a certain resemblance to the hieroglyph of unknown meaning that constitutes the second part of the king's Mayan name. \"Tok Casper\" took the throne in 426 AD and was installed by K'inich Yax K'uk' Mo', king of nearby Copán. His successor was a Tutuum Yohl K'inich about whom nothing specific is known.\n\nNotes\n\nReferences\n \n\nKings of Quiriguá\n5th century in Guatemala"
] |
[
"Jeff Dunham",
"2009-present",
"What was he doing in 2009?",
"Dunham signed a multi-platform deal with Comedy Central.",
"What was the shows name?",
"The Jeff Dunham Show"
] | C_12aced0306034efd8cb7f77cc42ae917_0 | How many viewers watched it? | 3 | How many viewers watched the Jeff Dunham show? | Jeff Dunham | In March 2009, Dunham signed a multi-platform deal with Comedy Central. It included a fourth stand-up special to air in 2010, DVDs, a consumer products partnership, a 60-city tour beginning in September 2010, and an order for a television series called The Jeff Dunham Show that premiered on October 22, 2009. Despite having the most-watched premiere in Comedy Central history, and higher average ratings than other shows on that network initially, the show was canceled after only one season, amid poor reviews, dwindling ratings and higher production costs than other Comedy Central shows. Dunham appeared in a guest role with Bubba J on NBC's sictom 30 Rock, playing a ventriloquist named Rick Wayne and his dummy Pumpkin from Stone Mountain, Georgia. In November 2009 Dunham also appeared with Walter in "Hart to Hart", an episode of the Disney Channel series Sonny With a Chance, as two security guards. He appeared in the 2010 Steve Carell/Paul Rudd comedy, Dinner for Schmucks, as Lewis, with a new puppet named Diane. His fourth special, Jeff Dunham: Controlled Chaos, premiered on September 25, 2011, on Comedy Central. His fifth special, Minding the Monsters, which was taped in Savannah, premiered on Comedy Central on October 7, 2012. His sixth special, All Over the Map, which was taped in various international cities, premiered on Comedy Central on November 16, 2014. On March 28, 2014, Country Music Television premiered Achmed Saves America, an animated film starring Achmed the Dead Terrorist. Dunham's seventh special, Unhinged in Hollywood, premiered on September 17, 2015. Rather than premiering on Comedy Central, the special instead aired on NBC. CANNOTANSWER | Despite having the most-watched premiere in Comedy Central history, and higher average ratings than other shows on that network initially, the show was canceled | Jeffrey Douglas Dunham (born April 18, 1962) is an American ventriloquist, stand-up comedian and actor who has also appeared on numerous television shows, including Late Show with David Letterman, Comedy Central Presents, The Tonight Show and Sonny With a Chance. He has six specials that run on Comedy Central: Arguing with Myself, Spark of Insanity, Jeff Dunham's Very Special Christmas Special, Controlled Chaos, Minding the Monsters, and All Over the Map. Dunham also starred in The Jeff Dunham Show, a series on the network in 2009.
His style has been described as "a dressed-down, more digestible version of Don Rickles with multiple personality disorder". Time described his characters as "politically incorrect, gratuitously insulting and ill tempered." Dunham has been credited with reviving ventriloquism and doing more to promote the art form than anyone since Edgar Bergen.
Dunham has been called "America's favorite comedian" by Slate. According to the concert industry publication Pollstar, he is the top-grossing standup act in North America and among the most successful acts in Europe as well. As of November 2009, he has sold over four million DVDs, an additional $7 million in merchandise sales, and received more than 350 million hits on YouTube as of October 2009; his introduction of Achmed the Dead Terrorist in Spark of Insanity was ranked as the ninth most watched YouTube video at the time. A Very Special Christmas Special was the most-watched telecast in Comedy Central history, with the DVD selling over 400,000 copies in its first two weeks. Forbes ranked Dunham as the third highest-paid comedian in the United States behind Jerry Seinfeld and Chris Rock and reported that he was one of the highest-earning comics from June 2008 to June 2009, earning approximately $30 million during that period. Dunham also does occasional acting roles. He achieved the Guinness Book of World Records record for "Most tickets sold for a stand-up comedy tour" for his Spark of Insanity tour, performing in 386 venues worldwide.
Early life
Dunham was born on April 18, 1962, in Dallas, Texas. When he was three months old, he was adopted by real estate appraiser Howard Dunham, and his homemaker wife Joyce, who raised him in a devoutly Presbyterian household in an affluent Dallas neighborhood, as an only child.
He began ventriloquism in 1970 at age eight, when his parents gave him a Mortimer Snerd dummy for Christmas, and an accompanying how-to album. The next day he checked out a how-to book on ventriloquism from the library, and explained in 2011 that he still had it, remarking that he was "a thief in the third grade". By the fourth grade, Dunham decided he not only wanted to be a professional ventriloquist, but the best one ever. Dunham began practicing for hours in front of a mirror, studying the routines of Edgar Bergen, and the how-to record Jimmy Nelson's Instant Ventriloquism, finding ventriloquism to be a learned skill, similar to juggling, that anyone with a normal speaking voice can acquire. Dunham has explained that, as an only child, he enjoyed being alone, likening his solitude to a "warm blanket" with which he could explore his own thoughts and ideas, which prepared him for the solitude of living alone when he later moved to Los Angeles as a struggling comedian.
When Dunham was in the sixth grade, he began attending the Vent Haven ConVENTion in Fort Mitchell, Kentucky, an annual international meeting of ventriloquists that includes competitions, where he met Jimmy Nelson in person. Dunham has missed only one ConVENTion since then, in 1977. The organizers of the ConVENTion eventually declared Dunham a "retired champion", ineligible from entering any more competitions, as other attendees were too intimidated to compete against him. The Vent Haven Museum devotes a section to Dunham, alongside Señor Wences and Dunham's idol, Edgar Bergen.
Career
Beginnings
Dunham began performing for audiences as a teenager, in various venues such as school, church, and during his job at Six Flags. By his middle school years, he began to perform for banquets attended by local celebrities such as Dallas Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach, having developed his style of lampooning those he performed for, using the puppets to say things too risque for him to say without them. Dunham's television debut came in 1976 when the still prepubescent performer caught the attention of Dallas reporters like Bill O'Reilly, who interviewed Dunham for a local news story. Dunham later did commercials for Datsun dealerships in Dallas and Tyler while still in high school. While emceeing a high school talent show, he dealt with a heckler, and won over the rest of the audience. During this period he became so associated with his craft that he and one of his dummies "cowrote" a column in the school paper, and he would pose with his dummies for yearbooks as an inexpensive way to acquire professional photos of his act for promotional purposes. He was voted Most Likely to Succeed, and in 1980, after he graduated from high school, Dunham gave himself a career goal of obtaining, within ten years, an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, which was seen as the "holy grail" for comedians.
That year Dunham began attending Baylor University, hoping to graduate with a degree in communications, while performing around campus. He would also fly around the country on weekends, doing up to 100 private shows a year, entertaining corporate customers such as General Electric, whose CEO, Jack Welch, he mocked during his routine. By his junior year in college (1983–84), Dunham was making $70,000 a year, and as word spread of his act, he landed featured spots opening for Bob Hope and George Burns, though he still perceived his act as raw, as he did not have any knowledge of standup comedy beyond his Bill Cosby albums.
He caught a break in 1985 when he was asked to join the Broadway show Sugar Babies with Mickey Rooney and Ann Miller, replacing an outgoing variety act. For the naive and devoutly-raised Dunham, Broadway was a new world filled with beautiful showgirls and crusty stagehands, and his first taste of entertainment industry egos came when Rooney called Dunham into his dressing room, and told him he was there for one reason alone: so that Rooney could change his costumes. He performed at the Westbury Music Fair on Long Island. These early experiences, in which he used characters like José Jalapeño on a Stick, taught him the value of modifying his act regionally, as the jalapeño jokes that worked well in Texas were not as well received by audiences in Long Island. After graduating from Baylor University in 1986, he continued honing his act in comedy clubs in the Southwest with new characters such as Peanut and José Jalapeño, but struggled against the perception he relates from fellow comedians that he was not a true comedian because he relied on props.
His experience at Catch a Rising Star in New York City served as a bitter confirmation of where ventriloquists stood in the comedic food chain, as the emcee at that club gave Dunham little respect. According to Dunham, after he arrived at the club in the evening and informed the emcee that he was a ventriloquist, the emcee reacted with derision, telling Dunham that he would be given a late time slot, and after that time slot came and passed, kept postponing Dunham's stage time until Dunham left the club.
By the end of 1988, Dunham felt his career had gone as far as it could go in Texas, and he moved to Los Angeles, California, never having, as he has commented, "a real job", much to the concern of his parents, who assumed he would relegate his act to local venues such as church groups. When he first arrived in Los Angeles, the comedy in his act bombed. Dunham attributes this initial reaction to his underdeveloped comedy, explaining that while the characters' personalities were developed at that point, his jokes were not. In addition to this, the comedy world was not welcoming to ventriloquists, and his manager, Judi Brown-Marmel, did not use the word "ventriloquist" when finding bookings for him, choosing to present him as a comedy duo. After Dunham became friends with Mike Lacey, owner of The Comedy & Magic Club in Hermosa Beach, Lacey gave Dunham a steady slot at the club, where Dunham sharpened his act by observing the techniques of comedians like Jerry Seinfeld, and taking the advice of colleague Bill Engvall, moving away from his G-rated material toward edgier, more adult themes.
The Tonight Show
At the end of 1988, Dunham was told by James McCawley, a talent booker for The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, that Dunham would be given a spot on the coveted program. Though the 26-year-old Dunham was elated that his 10-year goal was arriving two years early, McCawley later cancelled Dunham's appearance after attending, with Roseanne Barr, a public performance of Dunham's the day before Dunham's scheduled Tonight Show taping. McCawley informed Dunham on the day of the scheduled taping that he had been wrong in his initial assessment of Dunham, whom he now said was not ready for The Tonight Show. Dunham continued to tighten his act in Los Angeles clubs, performing the same six-minute segment with Peanut a total of nine times for McCawley over the next few months. Finally at the Ice-House in Pasadena in April 1990, after Dunham did the same segment, McCawley informed Dunham that he would finally get his Tonight Show appearance. Dunham and Peanut appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson on April 6, 1990, alongside guests Bob Hope and B.B. King. Following his bit, he was invited to sit on Johnny Carson's couch, a mark of approval on Carson's show. Upon sitting down next to Carson's desk, Dunham pulled out Walter, who told Carson sidekick Ed McMahon, "Stop sending me all your damn mail." At the time, Dunham saw his Tonight Show appearance as his big break, but was frustrated at his parents' initial disapproval over Walter's use of the words "hell" and "damn", and he would toil in obscurity for another twelve years, continuing his stand up at venues such as The Improv chain, and appearing in small roles on TV. One of these was a 1996 episode of Ellen, in which he appeared with Walter. Dunham also appeared with Walter in a TV commercial for Hertz. Dunham would appear on The Tonight Show a total of four times, as well as similar TV venues such as Hot Country Nights, appearing in one segment with Reba McEntire. This exposure helped make Dunham a large theater headliner, a rare accomplishment for a ventriloquist, but by the mid-1990s, his television appearances had dwindled, and with them, so did his stage audiences.
Dunham moved back to clubs, more than 200 appearances a year. To maintain a connection with his fan base, he would use question cards that he had audiences fill out for his performances to build a database, which was tailor-made for the burgeoning World Wide Web. Though he was voted Funniest Male Standup at the American Comedy Awards in 1998, his club work kept him away from his wife and daughters between two and three weeks each month, which put a strain on his marriage, and made paying bills for his expanded family difficult. By 2002, Dunham was hoping to obtain more TV work to raise his profile and ease his standup schedule. Such exposure was elusive until a successful appearance on The Best Damn Sports Show Period, where Dunham and Walter made jokes at the expense of co-hosts Tom Arnold, Michael Irvin, John Salley and John Kruk, generating laughter from them, and giving Dunham much-needed exposure. In 2003, Dunham was the frontrunner to replace Jimmy Kimmel on Fox NFL Sunday, but hosts Howie Long and Terry Bradshaw were not amenable to the idea of being upstaged by a puppet, and, as Dunham tells it, did not provide a welcoming atmosphere to Dunham, nor allow him to speak much during his appearance.
First Comedy Central specials
On July 18, 2003, Dunham appeared on Comedy Central Presents, his first solo appearance on Comedy Central. During his half hour piece, he showcased José Jalapeño on a Stick, Walter, an early version of Melvin the Superhero Guy and Peanut, whom Dunham had begun to merchandise into a line of dolls. The appearance was successful, but Comedy Central resisted giving Dunham more airtime, feeling that he was not a good fit for them. By 2005 Dunham decided to gamble on financing his own comedy DVD, Jeff Dunham: Arguing with Myself, which was taped in Santa Ana, California. Dunham's manager, Judi Brown-Marmel, lobbied the network to air it, pointing to Dunham's drawing power and merchandising profits, and arguing that the network needed more diverse content. Surprised by the high ratings of the first Blue Collar Comics concert movie that same year, the network began to reconsider its brand. In late 2006, Comedy Central aired Arguing with Myself, drawing two million viewers when it aired, and selling two million DVDs.
In 2007, Dunham appeared as The Amazing Ken with José Jalapeño on a Stick in the Larry the Cable Guy feature film Delta Farce.
His second special, Jeff Dunham: Spark of Insanity, was taped at the Warner Theater in Washington, D.C. that same year. It served not only to cement Dunham's stardom, but to introduce his most controversial character, Achmed the Dead Terrorist, which became a viral Internet sensation. A clip of Achmed from Insanity attracted over 140 million hits on YouTube, making it the ninth most watched clip on that website as of October 2009.
By 2008, Dunham's characters had crossed language barriers, with his specials dubbed for audiences in various countries such as France, and Dunham attracting requests for performances in South Africa, Australia, Norway, Denmark, China, and the Middle East. Jeff Dunham's Very Special Christmas Special was taped at the Pabst Theater in Milwaukee, Wisconsin that same year, and premiered on Comedy Central on November 16, 2008, watched by 6.6 million people. It became available on DVD and Blu-ray on November 18, 2008. The special's premiere was the highest rated telecast in Comedy Central's history.
In September 2008, his career reached new heights as he began performing in arenas filled with tens of thousands of people. Dunham was somewhat wary of such large venues, but adapted by adjusting the timing of his often rapid exchanges with the puppets so that audience members farthest from the stage could have time to react.
In addition to his comedy specials, Dunham also released his first music album, Don't Come Home for Christmas, on November 4, 2008. It contains original Christmas songs as well as a parody of "Jingle Bells" by Achmed entitled "Jingle Bombs". All the songs, with the exception of "Jingle Bombs", were written and accompanied by Brian Haner, who joined Dunham's act as "Guitar Guy". His first onscreen appearance was in Jeff Dunham's Very Special Christmas Special.
2009–present
In March 2009, Dunham signed a multi-platform deal with Comedy Central. It included a fourth stand-up special to air in 2010, DVDs, a consumer products partnership, a 60-city tour beginning in September 2010, and an order for a television series called The Jeff Dunham Show that premiered on October 22, 2009. Despite having the most-watched premiere in Comedy Central history, and higher average ratings than other shows on that network initially, the show was canceled after only one season, amid poor reviews, dwindling ratings and higher production costs than other Comedy Central shows.
Dunham appeared in a guest role with Bubba J on NBC's sitcom 30 Rock, playing a ventriloquist named Rick Wayne and his dummy Pumpkin from Stone Mountain, Georgia. In November 2009 Dunham also appeared with Walter in "Hart to Hart", an episode of the Disney Channel series Sonny With a Chance, as two security guards. He appeared in the 2010 Steve Carell/Paul Rudd comedy, Dinner for Schmucks, as Lewis, with a new puppet named Diane.
His fourth special, Jeff Dunham: Controlled Chaos, premiered on September 25, 2011, on Comedy Central. His fifth special, Minding the Monsters, which was taped in Savannah, premiered on Comedy Central on October 7, 2012. His sixth special, All Over the Map, which was taped in various international cities, premiered on Comedy Central on November 16, 2014.
On March 28, 2014, Country Music Television premiered Achmed Saves America, an animated film starring Achmed the Dead Terrorist.
Dunham's seventh special, Unhinged in Hollywood, premiered on September 17, 2015. Rather than premiering on Comedy Central, the special instead aired on NBC.
Critical praise and controversy
In January 2008, Dunham was voted by fans the Top Comic in Comedy Central's "Stand-Up Showdown". He is the only person ever to win the "Ventriloquist of the Year" Award twice. He was nominated "Comedian of the Year" by the TNN Music City News Country Awards, and has drawn praise from the Dallas Morning News for his technique and timing. Critics, such as Randee Dawn of The Hollywood Reporter, accused Dunham's characters of being racist caricatures, sexist, and homophobic.
In 2008, a TV commercial for a ringtone which featured Dunham's character Achmed the Dead Terrorist (see Characters below) was banned by the South African Advertising Standards Authority after a complaint was filed by a citizen stating that the ad was offensive to Muslims, and portrayed all Muslims as terrorists. Dunham responded that "Achmed makes it clear in my act that he is not Muslim." However, the ASA noted that the name Achmed was of Arab origin and was one of the names of Muhammad. Dunham responded, "I've skewered whites, blacks, Hispanics, Christians, Jews, Muslims, gays, straights, rednecks, addicts, the elderly, and my wife. As a standup comic, it is my job to make the majority of people laugh, and I believe that comedy is the last true form of free speech ... I'm considering renaming Achmed 'Bill'", he added. Dunham has conceded that he does exhibit particular sensitivity to the "conservative country crowd" or those characterized by "basic Christian values", as they are one of his largest constituencies, and part of his upbringing.
Dunham was heckled and criticized for mocking TV critics during a July 2009 press tour to promote his then-upcoming Comedy Central TV series, The Jeff Dunham Show, as well as Comedy Central programming chief Lauren Correo. In October 2009 The Jeff Dunham Show enjoyed good initial ratings, but was not well liked by critics, some of whom either questioned the wisdom of translating his act into a series, or cited Dunham, his previous specials, or ventriloquism itself as reasons for disliking the show.
J.P. Williams, the producer of the Blue Collar Comedy Tour, has opined that Dunham's act is not funny on its own merits, and that his material gets a greater reaction because of the puppet characters than it would otherwise garner by itself. Blue Collar veteran Bill Engvall, a friend of Dunham's, insists otherwise, saying that Dunham is inherently funny with or without the puppets.
In a 2014 show in Malaysia, the government requested that he not use or name Achmed in his show. Due to the restriction, but to avoid disappointing fans, Achmed was renamed to be "Jacques Merde, the Dead French Terrorist" (Jacques Merde meaning "Jack Shit").
Books
In 2003, BRASMA Publications released Dear Walter, a collection of questions asked of Dunham's fictional curmudgeon at live performances, authored by Dunham and Walter Cummings. His autobiography, All By My Selves: Walter, Peanut, Achmed and Me, was published by Dutton in 2010.
Characters
Recurring characters
Walter
Walter is a retired, grumpy old man with arms always crossed in discontent. Dunham was inspired to create Walter when he watched Bette Davis's final appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, giving her honest, unfiltered candor to Walter, and patterning Walter's frown on Dunham's own. He has a brash, negative and often sarcastic view on today's world. He is a Vietnam War veteran and a former welder, and "doesn't give a damn" about anyone, especially his own wife and certain audience members. Walter appeared in every Comedy Central special. He's been married for several decades. When Dunham asks him if he remembers the happiest moment of his life after Walter tells him he has been married for forty-six years, Walter responds, "Forty-seven years ago!" Dunham created the Walter puppet himself, including both the initial sculpture and the silicone mold, though he eventually began using professional effects companies for the latter stages with his subsequent puppets.
Peanut
Peanut is a hyperactive, purple-skinned "woozle" with white fur covering most of his body, a tuft of green hair on the top of his head, and one sneaker on his left foot. Dunham explains in Arguing with Myself that Peanut is from a small Micronesian island, and that they met in Florida. Peanut's humor is not based on a particular motif or stereotype, as those of the other characters, and he has been described as "the bad kid". He often makes fun of Dunham, and torments and mocks José Jalapeño on a Stick. Touching upon his unusual appearance and personality, he asks Dunham in Arguing with Myself, after Dunham denies ever having done drugs, "Then how the hell did you come up with me?"
José Jalapeño on a Stick
José is a talking jalapeño pepper on a stick who wears a small sombrero. José, who speaks with a thick Spanish accent, is typically paired with Peanut, who often makes fun of José, uses appeals to Latino stereotypes when doing so, and makes fun of his being on a stick. Although José was not Dunham's first puppet, it was the first that Dunham made himself.
Bubba J
Bubba J is a beer-drinking redneck that Dunham describes in Arguing with Myself and A Very Special Christmas Special as "white trash trailer park", and whom Dunham uses for humor centered on such stereotypes. To this end, he frequently does jokes involving Bubba J's love of drinking beer and NASCAR, and his low intelligence. Touching upon such stereotypes, Bubba mentions in Arguing with Myself that he met his wife at a family reunion, and remembers seeing her with a corn dog in one hand, a beer in another, and leaning against a ferris wheel, "making it tilt". Although he does not appear onstage, Bubba appears as the backstage security guard in Controlled Chaos. He was inspired by Edgar Bergen's puppet, Mortimer Snerd.
Achmed the Dead Terrorist
Achmed is the skeletal corpse of an incompetent suicide bomber, whom Dunham uses to satirize the contemporary issue of terrorism. He is known for yelling, "Silence! I keel you!" to Dunham and people laughing in the audience. Achmed first appeared in Spark of Insanity, and has appeared in every Dunham special since then. In Spark of Insanity the audience learns several things about Achmed. When Dunham says that Achmed must be dead because he's a skeleton, Achmed responds, "It's a flesh wound." When Dunham inquires as to how he died, Achmed explains his incompetence with explosives, while also casting aspersions on Dunham's sexual prowess by saying that they both suffer from "premature detonation". Although he frequently mentions working for Osama Bin Laden, Achmed denies being a Muslim and says "Look at my ass! It says 'Made in China'!" He says he is afraid of Walter, partially because he's "one mean son of a bitch" and finds Walter's flatulence to be more potent than Saddam Hussein's mustard gas. In Very Special Christmas Special, he sings a song called "Jingle Bombs".
By June 2009, the sketch in which Dunham introduced Achmed had amassed nearly 200 million views on YouTube. The large, round, articulated eyes of puppets such as Achmed and Achmed Junior are constructed by the same effects artist who created the dinosaur eyes for the Jurassic Park films. The character starred in Achmed Saves America, an animated film that premiered on Country Music Television in March 2014. In the film, which depicts the mishap that led to the character's skeletonization, Achmed finds himself in an American town called Americaville, which he plots to blow up, before developing an affinity for American culture.
Non-recurring and retired characters
Sweet Daddy Dee
Dunham introduces Sweet Daddy Dee in Arguing with Myself as his "new manager". He calls himself a "pimp", which he says stands for "Player In the Management Profession." According to Sweet Daddy, because he is a pimp, that makes Jeff the "ho". When Dunham objects, Daddy Dee points out that Dunham makes people laugh and feel good for a living. When Dunham agrees that this is the case, Daddy Dee says, "You a ho." When Dunham asks what he would say if he told him that he was a comedian only because he enjoyed it, Daddy Dee responds, "You a dumb ho." Unlike Bubba J, he hates NASCAR. Sweet Daddy's headstone is featured in the beginning of the special Minding the Monsters.
Melvin the Superhero Guy
Melvin wears a blue superhero costume, and is used to poke fun at superheroes. When asked about his superhuman powers, he indicates that he has X-ray vision, adding, "I love looking at boobies!" He appears to have no other powers, however: When Dunham asks how far he can fly, he responds, "How far can you throw me?", and when asked if he can stop a bullet like Superman, he responds, "Yeah. Once". Dunham portrays Melvin as unimpressed with other superheroes: When told Superman can leap tall buildings in a single bound, Melvin dismisses him as a "showoff," arguing that he can simply walk around them, observes that Aquaman has the same powers as SpongeBob SquarePants, asserts that the Flash's super speed is derived from methamphetamine, that the Hulk's vaunted ability to get stronger as he gets angrier merely mirrors "every white trash guy on COPS," and makes innuendo about the questionable relationship between Batman and the underage Robin. Melvin's first onscreen appearance was in the July 2003 Comedy Central Presents episode, in which he had small, black, beady eyes. By his next appearance, in Spark of Insanity, he had been modified to have large, blue, crossed eyes. He has an enormous nose, which he claims is his symbol, and whose similarity in shape to that of a penis is alluded to in the act. Dunham sculpted the current version of Melvin's head himself, and hired an effects company called Renegade Effects Groups to create the rubber mold and complete the puppet, before then installing the mechanics himself. Melvin's headstone is featured in the beginning of the special Minding the Monsters. As revealed in the DVD release, this signifies that he will no longer be used.
Little Jeff
Little Jeff is a miniature version of Dunham himself, usually dressed in the same clothes Dunham wears during each show. His first onscreen appearance was in the 1989 television program A&E's An Evening at The Improv. He later appeared in Jeff Dunham: Controlled Chaos as a puppet that Peanut used when attempting his hand at ventriloquism. Peanut named the doll "Little Ugly Ass-Jeff", and uses him to insult Dunham.
Diane
Diane first appeared with Dunham in the 2010 film Dinner for Schmucks as "Debbie", his character's "wife". She made her stand-up debut in Dunham's Identity Crisis Tour 2010.
Achmed Junior
Achmed Junior is the estranged son of Achmed. He was designed by Mad magazine illustrator Tom Richmond. He first appeared during the Identity Crisis Tour 2010, and made his first onscreen appearance in Dunham's fourth special, Jeff Dunham: Controlled Chaos. Like his father, Achmed Junior is the victim of a bomb, which resulted in the destruction of the half of his face and body. He speaks with a British accent because he was raised in Britain after the accident. Much to his father's consternation, he expresses an attraction to Dunham's male stage hand, Marnell, appears on stage to address Achmed's loss of balance. Conflict also stems from the fact that unlike his father, Achmed Junior does not wish to be a suicide bomber.
Seamus
Seamus is a grumpy, beer-drinking, Irish infant who first appears in Relative Disaster, which was filmed in Ireland. Dunham, himself an adopted child, introduces him as a son that he has adopted in order to "pay it forward". Despite being an infant, he is a belligerent heavy drinker, traits with which Dunham pokes fun at Irish stereotypes. Dunham also establishes Seamus as a fan of United States President Donald Trump in order to poke fun at Trump, Hillary Clinton, and the 2016 United States presidential election.
Larry the Adviser
Larry is the personal adviser to Donald Trump. He has unkempt orange hair, big bulgy eyes and has a cigarette in one hand. Jeff lightly shakes him to give the feeling of jitteriness. Larry is constantly on edge and is implied to be unnerved for having worked with Trump for "four hours". He nevertheless "supports" the president.
Others
Other characters that Dunham has voiced include Little Peanut, a miniature version of Peanut that Dunham has used to counter Peanut's use of Little Jeff; and an unseen worm inside a bottle of tequila, both of which he has used, for example, in his appearance on A&E's An Evening at The Improv.
In the 2020 United States presidential election, Dunham adapted the Walter puppet into "Wonald Grump" and "Ben Hiden," caricatures of Donald Trump and Joe Biden, respectively, for a mock debate moderated by Achmed.
Personal life
Dunham met his first wife, Paige Brown, at the Comedy Corner in West Palm Beach, Florida. They began dating in December 1992. In May 1994, Dunham married Brown and adopted her one-and-a-half-year-old daughter, Bree. Their daughters Ashlyn and Kenna were born in 1995 and 1997, respectively. Dunham's time away while performing proved a strain on the marriage, and in November 2008, he filed for divorce. By mid-2009, Dunham was in a relationship with Audrey Murdick, a certified nutritionist, personal trainer, and competition bodybuilder, and on December 25, 2011 they became engaged. On October 12, 2012, the couple married. On May 14, 2015, Dunham announced, via Facebook, that he and Audrey were expecting twin boys. In October, she gave birth to James Jeffrey and Jack Steven.
In addition to building the dummies he uses in his act, Dunham also restores antique ones as a hobby, such as The Umpire, a mechanized dummy built in 1941 to work the plate at a girls' softball game, which went unused and packed away for 50 years before Dunham acquired it in early 2008.
Dunham has harbored a love of helicopters since childhood and is fond of building and flying his own kit helicopters from Rotorway helicopter kits. At the time he finished writing his autobiography in June 2010, he was beginning to build his fourth kit. He is also an aficionado of muscle cars and Apple, Inc. products. According to the July 16, 2012, television documentary The Batmobile, Dunham owns the original Batmobile used in the Tim Burton film Batman, which he had outfitted with Corvette engine to make it street legal.
Tours
Filmography
Documentaries and specials
Acting
References
External links
Jeff Dunham at Comedy Central
1962 births
20th-century American comedians
21st-century American comedians
American adoptees
American male voice actors
American Presbyterians
American puppeteers
American stand-up comedians
Baylor University alumni
Living people
People from Dallas
Male actors from Dallas
Ventriloquists
Puppet designers | true | [
"\"Watch While I Revise the World\" is the 160th episode of the ABC television series, Desperate Housewives. It was the third episode of the show's eighth season and was broadcast on October 9, 2011.\n\nPlot\nAs Susan and Carlos bond over their feelings of guilt at the murder of Gabrielle's stepfather, Mike begins to think that the two are having an affair, and Bree suspects that her detective boyfriend, Chuck, may secretly be investigating her. As her marriage continues to crumble, the tables are turned on Lynette when her usually relationship-challenged sister Lydia (guest star Sarah Paulson) comes to town and announces she's engaged. Meanwhile, after asking Renee to help his daughter, Jenny, go shopping for her first bra, Lee fears that the child is starting to bond more with Renee and becoming more distant from him.\n\nReception\nAccording to Nielsen ratings, \"Watch While I Revise the World\" was watched by 8.63 million viewers and held 2.8 rating/7 share among viewers between 18 and 49 years of age. The episode was outperformed by Sunday Night Football on NBC, which averaged 22.05 million viewers and an 8.9 rating/22 share, The Good Wife on CBS, which was watched by 10.28 million viewers but held a 2.1 rating/5 share and Family Guy on Fox which was watched by 6.99 million viewers and held 3.5 rating in the 18-49 demographic. This episode was the least watched episode in terms of total viewers in the history of the show until the air date of next episode, School of Hard Knocks, although the episode was the most watched scripted program of the night in the 18-49 demographic. The episode gained an additional 2.0 million viewers and 0.9 rating in the week following the original broadcast due to DVR recordings.\n\nNotes\nAlthough credited, Doug Savant (Tom Scavo) and Madison De La Garza (Juanita Solis) do not appear in this episode.\nThe title is from the song \"Beautiful\" from \"Sunday in the Park With George\" by Stephen Sondheim\n\nInternational titles\nItalian:Segreti Svelati (Secrets revealed)\nGerman: Falsche Vorstellungen (Wrong Idea)\nPolish: Patrz jak rewiduje świat (Watch how I change the world)\n\nReferences\n\n2011 American television episodes\nDesperate Housewives (season 8) episodes",
"Halv åtta hos mig (Swedish for Half past seven in my home) is a TV4 television programme shown in Sweden, first broadcast on 6 October 2008. The show is based on the ITV Studios television format Come Dine With Me broadcast on Channel 4 UK. The show has four amateur chefs competing against each other hosting a dinner party for the other contestants. Each competitor then rates the host's performance with the winner winning a 15,000 SEK cash prize. An element of comedy is added to the show through comedian Morgan Alling, who provides a sarcastic narration. The show was previously hosted by comedian Helge Skoog.\n\nSeries 1: Autumn 2008\n\nThe last four episodes of the first series were shown over two weeks on 1, 2, 8 and 9 December 2008. The final episode had 373,000 viewers.\n\nSeries 2: Spring 2009\n\nSeries 5: Autumn 2010\n\nSeries 6: Spring 2011\n\nSeries 7: Autumn 2011\n\n415,000 viewers watched the first episode of series 2, with 502,000 watching the final episode.\n\n438,000 viewers watched the first episode of series 3, with 863,000 watching the final episode.\n\n833,000 viewers watched the first episode of series 4, with 880,000 watching the episode shown on Wednesday 3 February 2010.\n\n788, 000 viewers watched 5 October 2010 episode with a 24.8% share of all viewers. It was the most-watched non-news programme of the day.\n\nReferences\n\n2008 Swedish television series debuts\nTV4 (Sweden) original programming\nSwedish reality television series\nCome Dine With Me"
] |
[
"Jeff Dunham",
"2009-present",
"What was he doing in 2009?",
"Dunham signed a multi-platform deal with Comedy Central.",
"What was the shows name?",
"The Jeff Dunham Show",
"How many viewers watched it?",
"Despite having the most-watched premiere in Comedy Central history, and higher average ratings than other shows on that network initially, the show was canceled"
] | C_12aced0306034efd8cb7f77cc42ae917_0 | Why was it canceled? | 4 | Why was the Jeff Dunham show canceled? | Jeff Dunham | In March 2009, Dunham signed a multi-platform deal with Comedy Central. It included a fourth stand-up special to air in 2010, DVDs, a consumer products partnership, a 60-city tour beginning in September 2010, and an order for a television series called The Jeff Dunham Show that premiered on October 22, 2009. Despite having the most-watched premiere in Comedy Central history, and higher average ratings than other shows on that network initially, the show was canceled after only one season, amid poor reviews, dwindling ratings and higher production costs than other Comedy Central shows. Dunham appeared in a guest role with Bubba J on NBC's sictom 30 Rock, playing a ventriloquist named Rick Wayne and his dummy Pumpkin from Stone Mountain, Georgia. In November 2009 Dunham also appeared with Walter in "Hart to Hart", an episode of the Disney Channel series Sonny With a Chance, as two security guards. He appeared in the 2010 Steve Carell/Paul Rudd comedy, Dinner for Schmucks, as Lewis, with a new puppet named Diane. His fourth special, Jeff Dunham: Controlled Chaos, premiered on September 25, 2011, on Comedy Central. His fifth special, Minding the Monsters, which was taped in Savannah, premiered on Comedy Central on October 7, 2012. His sixth special, All Over the Map, which was taped in various international cities, premiered on Comedy Central on November 16, 2014. On March 28, 2014, Country Music Television premiered Achmed Saves America, an animated film starring Achmed the Dead Terrorist. Dunham's seventh special, Unhinged in Hollywood, premiered on September 17, 2015. Rather than premiering on Comedy Central, the special instead aired on NBC. CANNOTANSWER | amid poor reviews, dwindling ratings and higher production costs than other Comedy Central shows. | Jeffrey Douglas Dunham (born April 18, 1962) is an American ventriloquist, stand-up comedian and actor who has also appeared on numerous television shows, including Late Show with David Letterman, Comedy Central Presents, The Tonight Show and Sonny With a Chance. He has six specials that run on Comedy Central: Arguing with Myself, Spark of Insanity, Jeff Dunham's Very Special Christmas Special, Controlled Chaos, Minding the Monsters, and All Over the Map. Dunham also starred in The Jeff Dunham Show, a series on the network in 2009.
His style has been described as "a dressed-down, more digestible version of Don Rickles with multiple personality disorder". Time described his characters as "politically incorrect, gratuitously insulting and ill tempered." Dunham has been credited with reviving ventriloquism and doing more to promote the art form than anyone since Edgar Bergen.
Dunham has been called "America's favorite comedian" by Slate. According to the concert industry publication Pollstar, he is the top-grossing standup act in North America and among the most successful acts in Europe as well. As of November 2009, he has sold over four million DVDs, an additional $7 million in merchandise sales, and received more than 350 million hits on YouTube as of October 2009; his introduction of Achmed the Dead Terrorist in Spark of Insanity was ranked as the ninth most watched YouTube video at the time. A Very Special Christmas Special was the most-watched telecast in Comedy Central history, with the DVD selling over 400,000 copies in its first two weeks. Forbes ranked Dunham as the third highest-paid comedian in the United States behind Jerry Seinfeld and Chris Rock and reported that he was one of the highest-earning comics from June 2008 to June 2009, earning approximately $30 million during that period. Dunham also does occasional acting roles. He achieved the Guinness Book of World Records record for "Most tickets sold for a stand-up comedy tour" for his Spark of Insanity tour, performing in 386 venues worldwide.
Early life
Dunham was born on April 18, 1962, in Dallas, Texas. When he was three months old, he was adopted by real estate appraiser Howard Dunham, and his homemaker wife Joyce, who raised him in a devoutly Presbyterian household in an affluent Dallas neighborhood, as an only child.
He began ventriloquism in 1970 at age eight, when his parents gave him a Mortimer Snerd dummy for Christmas, and an accompanying how-to album. The next day he checked out a how-to book on ventriloquism from the library, and explained in 2011 that he still had it, remarking that he was "a thief in the third grade". By the fourth grade, Dunham decided he not only wanted to be a professional ventriloquist, but the best one ever. Dunham began practicing for hours in front of a mirror, studying the routines of Edgar Bergen, and the how-to record Jimmy Nelson's Instant Ventriloquism, finding ventriloquism to be a learned skill, similar to juggling, that anyone with a normal speaking voice can acquire. Dunham has explained that, as an only child, he enjoyed being alone, likening his solitude to a "warm blanket" with which he could explore his own thoughts and ideas, which prepared him for the solitude of living alone when he later moved to Los Angeles as a struggling comedian.
When Dunham was in the sixth grade, he began attending the Vent Haven ConVENTion in Fort Mitchell, Kentucky, an annual international meeting of ventriloquists that includes competitions, where he met Jimmy Nelson in person. Dunham has missed only one ConVENTion since then, in 1977. The organizers of the ConVENTion eventually declared Dunham a "retired champion", ineligible from entering any more competitions, as other attendees were too intimidated to compete against him. The Vent Haven Museum devotes a section to Dunham, alongside Señor Wences and Dunham's idol, Edgar Bergen.
Career
Beginnings
Dunham began performing for audiences as a teenager, in various venues such as school, church, and during his job at Six Flags. By his middle school years, he began to perform for banquets attended by local celebrities such as Dallas Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach, having developed his style of lampooning those he performed for, using the puppets to say things too risque for him to say without them. Dunham's television debut came in 1976 when the still prepubescent performer caught the attention of Dallas reporters like Bill O'Reilly, who interviewed Dunham for a local news story. Dunham later did commercials for Datsun dealerships in Dallas and Tyler while still in high school. While emceeing a high school talent show, he dealt with a heckler, and won over the rest of the audience. During this period he became so associated with his craft that he and one of his dummies "cowrote" a column in the school paper, and he would pose with his dummies for yearbooks as an inexpensive way to acquire professional photos of his act for promotional purposes. He was voted Most Likely to Succeed, and in 1980, after he graduated from high school, Dunham gave himself a career goal of obtaining, within ten years, an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, which was seen as the "holy grail" for comedians.
That year Dunham began attending Baylor University, hoping to graduate with a degree in communications, while performing around campus. He would also fly around the country on weekends, doing up to 100 private shows a year, entertaining corporate customers such as General Electric, whose CEO, Jack Welch, he mocked during his routine. By his junior year in college (1983–84), Dunham was making $70,000 a year, and as word spread of his act, he landed featured spots opening for Bob Hope and George Burns, though he still perceived his act as raw, as he did not have any knowledge of standup comedy beyond his Bill Cosby albums.
He caught a break in 1985 when he was asked to join the Broadway show Sugar Babies with Mickey Rooney and Ann Miller, replacing an outgoing variety act. For the naive and devoutly-raised Dunham, Broadway was a new world filled with beautiful showgirls and crusty stagehands, and his first taste of entertainment industry egos came when Rooney called Dunham into his dressing room, and told him he was there for one reason alone: so that Rooney could change his costumes. He performed at the Westbury Music Fair on Long Island. These early experiences, in which he used characters like José Jalapeño on a Stick, taught him the value of modifying his act regionally, as the jalapeño jokes that worked well in Texas were not as well received by audiences in Long Island. After graduating from Baylor University in 1986, he continued honing his act in comedy clubs in the Southwest with new characters such as Peanut and José Jalapeño, but struggled against the perception he relates from fellow comedians that he was not a true comedian because he relied on props.
His experience at Catch a Rising Star in New York City served as a bitter confirmation of where ventriloquists stood in the comedic food chain, as the emcee at that club gave Dunham little respect. According to Dunham, after he arrived at the club in the evening and informed the emcee that he was a ventriloquist, the emcee reacted with derision, telling Dunham that he would be given a late time slot, and after that time slot came and passed, kept postponing Dunham's stage time until Dunham left the club.
By the end of 1988, Dunham felt his career had gone as far as it could go in Texas, and he moved to Los Angeles, California, never having, as he has commented, "a real job", much to the concern of his parents, who assumed he would relegate his act to local venues such as church groups. When he first arrived in Los Angeles, the comedy in his act bombed. Dunham attributes this initial reaction to his underdeveloped comedy, explaining that while the characters' personalities were developed at that point, his jokes were not. In addition to this, the comedy world was not welcoming to ventriloquists, and his manager, Judi Brown-Marmel, did not use the word "ventriloquist" when finding bookings for him, choosing to present him as a comedy duo. After Dunham became friends with Mike Lacey, owner of The Comedy & Magic Club in Hermosa Beach, Lacey gave Dunham a steady slot at the club, where Dunham sharpened his act by observing the techniques of comedians like Jerry Seinfeld, and taking the advice of colleague Bill Engvall, moving away from his G-rated material toward edgier, more adult themes.
The Tonight Show
At the end of 1988, Dunham was told by James McCawley, a talent booker for The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, that Dunham would be given a spot on the coveted program. Though the 26-year-old Dunham was elated that his 10-year goal was arriving two years early, McCawley later cancelled Dunham's appearance after attending, with Roseanne Barr, a public performance of Dunham's the day before Dunham's scheduled Tonight Show taping. McCawley informed Dunham on the day of the scheduled taping that he had been wrong in his initial assessment of Dunham, whom he now said was not ready for The Tonight Show. Dunham continued to tighten his act in Los Angeles clubs, performing the same six-minute segment with Peanut a total of nine times for McCawley over the next few months. Finally at the Ice-House in Pasadena in April 1990, after Dunham did the same segment, McCawley informed Dunham that he would finally get his Tonight Show appearance. Dunham and Peanut appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson on April 6, 1990, alongside guests Bob Hope and B.B. King. Following his bit, he was invited to sit on Johnny Carson's couch, a mark of approval on Carson's show. Upon sitting down next to Carson's desk, Dunham pulled out Walter, who told Carson sidekick Ed McMahon, "Stop sending me all your damn mail." At the time, Dunham saw his Tonight Show appearance as his big break, but was frustrated at his parents' initial disapproval over Walter's use of the words "hell" and "damn", and he would toil in obscurity for another twelve years, continuing his stand up at venues such as The Improv chain, and appearing in small roles on TV. One of these was a 1996 episode of Ellen, in which he appeared with Walter. Dunham also appeared with Walter in a TV commercial for Hertz. Dunham would appear on The Tonight Show a total of four times, as well as similar TV venues such as Hot Country Nights, appearing in one segment with Reba McEntire. This exposure helped make Dunham a large theater headliner, a rare accomplishment for a ventriloquist, but by the mid-1990s, his television appearances had dwindled, and with them, so did his stage audiences.
Dunham moved back to clubs, more than 200 appearances a year. To maintain a connection with his fan base, he would use question cards that he had audiences fill out for his performances to build a database, which was tailor-made for the burgeoning World Wide Web. Though he was voted Funniest Male Standup at the American Comedy Awards in 1998, his club work kept him away from his wife and daughters between two and three weeks each month, which put a strain on his marriage, and made paying bills for his expanded family difficult. By 2002, Dunham was hoping to obtain more TV work to raise his profile and ease his standup schedule. Such exposure was elusive until a successful appearance on The Best Damn Sports Show Period, where Dunham and Walter made jokes at the expense of co-hosts Tom Arnold, Michael Irvin, John Salley and John Kruk, generating laughter from them, and giving Dunham much-needed exposure. In 2003, Dunham was the frontrunner to replace Jimmy Kimmel on Fox NFL Sunday, but hosts Howie Long and Terry Bradshaw were not amenable to the idea of being upstaged by a puppet, and, as Dunham tells it, did not provide a welcoming atmosphere to Dunham, nor allow him to speak much during his appearance.
First Comedy Central specials
On July 18, 2003, Dunham appeared on Comedy Central Presents, his first solo appearance on Comedy Central. During his half hour piece, he showcased José Jalapeño on a Stick, Walter, an early version of Melvin the Superhero Guy and Peanut, whom Dunham had begun to merchandise into a line of dolls. The appearance was successful, but Comedy Central resisted giving Dunham more airtime, feeling that he was not a good fit for them. By 2005 Dunham decided to gamble on financing his own comedy DVD, Jeff Dunham: Arguing with Myself, which was taped in Santa Ana, California. Dunham's manager, Judi Brown-Marmel, lobbied the network to air it, pointing to Dunham's drawing power and merchandising profits, and arguing that the network needed more diverse content. Surprised by the high ratings of the first Blue Collar Comics concert movie that same year, the network began to reconsider its brand. In late 2006, Comedy Central aired Arguing with Myself, drawing two million viewers when it aired, and selling two million DVDs.
In 2007, Dunham appeared as The Amazing Ken with José Jalapeño on a Stick in the Larry the Cable Guy feature film Delta Farce.
His second special, Jeff Dunham: Spark of Insanity, was taped at the Warner Theater in Washington, D.C. that same year. It served not only to cement Dunham's stardom, but to introduce his most controversial character, Achmed the Dead Terrorist, which became a viral Internet sensation. A clip of Achmed from Insanity attracted over 140 million hits on YouTube, making it the ninth most watched clip on that website as of October 2009.
By 2008, Dunham's characters had crossed language barriers, with his specials dubbed for audiences in various countries such as France, and Dunham attracting requests for performances in South Africa, Australia, Norway, Denmark, China, and the Middle East. Jeff Dunham's Very Special Christmas Special was taped at the Pabst Theater in Milwaukee, Wisconsin that same year, and premiered on Comedy Central on November 16, 2008, watched by 6.6 million people. It became available on DVD and Blu-ray on November 18, 2008. The special's premiere was the highest rated telecast in Comedy Central's history.
In September 2008, his career reached new heights as he began performing in arenas filled with tens of thousands of people. Dunham was somewhat wary of such large venues, but adapted by adjusting the timing of his often rapid exchanges with the puppets so that audience members farthest from the stage could have time to react.
In addition to his comedy specials, Dunham also released his first music album, Don't Come Home for Christmas, on November 4, 2008. It contains original Christmas songs as well as a parody of "Jingle Bells" by Achmed entitled "Jingle Bombs". All the songs, with the exception of "Jingle Bombs", were written and accompanied by Brian Haner, who joined Dunham's act as "Guitar Guy". His first onscreen appearance was in Jeff Dunham's Very Special Christmas Special.
2009–present
In March 2009, Dunham signed a multi-platform deal with Comedy Central. It included a fourth stand-up special to air in 2010, DVDs, a consumer products partnership, a 60-city tour beginning in September 2010, and an order for a television series called The Jeff Dunham Show that premiered on October 22, 2009. Despite having the most-watched premiere in Comedy Central history, and higher average ratings than other shows on that network initially, the show was canceled after only one season, amid poor reviews, dwindling ratings and higher production costs than other Comedy Central shows.
Dunham appeared in a guest role with Bubba J on NBC's sitcom 30 Rock, playing a ventriloquist named Rick Wayne and his dummy Pumpkin from Stone Mountain, Georgia. In November 2009 Dunham also appeared with Walter in "Hart to Hart", an episode of the Disney Channel series Sonny With a Chance, as two security guards. He appeared in the 2010 Steve Carell/Paul Rudd comedy, Dinner for Schmucks, as Lewis, with a new puppet named Diane.
His fourth special, Jeff Dunham: Controlled Chaos, premiered on September 25, 2011, on Comedy Central. His fifth special, Minding the Monsters, which was taped in Savannah, premiered on Comedy Central on October 7, 2012. His sixth special, All Over the Map, which was taped in various international cities, premiered on Comedy Central on November 16, 2014.
On March 28, 2014, Country Music Television premiered Achmed Saves America, an animated film starring Achmed the Dead Terrorist.
Dunham's seventh special, Unhinged in Hollywood, premiered on September 17, 2015. Rather than premiering on Comedy Central, the special instead aired on NBC.
Critical praise and controversy
In January 2008, Dunham was voted by fans the Top Comic in Comedy Central's "Stand-Up Showdown". He is the only person ever to win the "Ventriloquist of the Year" Award twice. He was nominated "Comedian of the Year" by the TNN Music City News Country Awards, and has drawn praise from the Dallas Morning News for his technique and timing. Critics, such as Randee Dawn of The Hollywood Reporter, accused Dunham's characters of being racist caricatures, sexist, and homophobic.
In 2008, a TV commercial for a ringtone which featured Dunham's character Achmed the Dead Terrorist (see Characters below) was banned by the South African Advertising Standards Authority after a complaint was filed by a citizen stating that the ad was offensive to Muslims, and portrayed all Muslims as terrorists. Dunham responded that "Achmed makes it clear in my act that he is not Muslim." However, the ASA noted that the name Achmed was of Arab origin and was one of the names of Muhammad. Dunham responded, "I've skewered whites, blacks, Hispanics, Christians, Jews, Muslims, gays, straights, rednecks, addicts, the elderly, and my wife. As a standup comic, it is my job to make the majority of people laugh, and I believe that comedy is the last true form of free speech ... I'm considering renaming Achmed 'Bill'", he added. Dunham has conceded that he does exhibit particular sensitivity to the "conservative country crowd" or those characterized by "basic Christian values", as they are one of his largest constituencies, and part of his upbringing.
Dunham was heckled and criticized for mocking TV critics during a July 2009 press tour to promote his then-upcoming Comedy Central TV series, The Jeff Dunham Show, as well as Comedy Central programming chief Lauren Correo. In October 2009 The Jeff Dunham Show enjoyed good initial ratings, but was not well liked by critics, some of whom either questioned the wisdom of translating his act into a series, or cited Dunham, his previous specials, or ventriloquism itself as reasons for disliking the show.
J.P. Williams, the producer of the Blue Collar Comedy Tour, has opined that Dunham's act is not funny on its own merits, and that his material gets a greater reaction because of the puppet characters than it would otherwise garner by itself. Blue Collar veteran Bill Engvall, a friend of Dunham's, insists otherwise, saying that Dunham is inherently funny with or without the puppets.
In a 2014 show in Malaysia, the government requested that he not use or name Achmed in his show. Due to the restriction, but to avoid disappointing fans, Achmed was renamed to be "Jacques Merde, the Dead French Terrorist" (Jacques Merde meaning "Jack Shit").
Books
In 2003, BRASMA Publications released Dear Walter, a collection of questions asked of Dunham's fictional curmudgeon at live performances, authored by Dunham and Walter Cummings. His autobiography, All By My Selves: Walter, Peanut, Achmed and Me, was published by Dutton in 2010.
Characters
Recurring characters
Walter
Walter is a retired, grumpy old man with arms always crossed in discontent. Dunham was inspired to create Walter when he watched Bette Davis's final appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, giving her honest, unfiltered candor to Walter, and patterning Walter's frown on Dunham's own. He has a brash, negative and often sarcastic view on today's world. He is a Vietnam War veteran and a former welder, and "doesn't give a damn" about anyone, especially his own wife and certain audience members. Walter appeared in every Comedy Central special. He's been married for several decades. When Dunham asks him if he remembers the happiest moment of his life after Walter tells him he has been married for forty-six years, Walter responds, "Forty-seven years ago!" Dunham created the Walter puppet himself, including both the initial sculpture and the silicone mold, though he eventually began using professional effects companies for the latter stages with his subsequent puppets.
Peanut
Peanut is a hyperactive, purple-skinned "woozle" with white fur covering most of his body, a tuft of green hair on the top of his head, and one sneaker on his left foot. Dunham explains in Arguing with Myself that Peanut is from a small Micronesian island, and that they met in Florida. Peanut's humor is not based on a particular motif or stereotype, as those of the other characters, and he has been described as "the bad kid". He often makes fun of Dunham, and torments and mocks José Jalapeño on a Stick. Touching upon his unusual appearance and personality, he asks Dunham in Arguing with Myself, after Dunham denies ever having done drugs, "Then how the hell did you come up with me?"
José Jalapeño on a Stick
José is a talking jalapeño pepper on a stick who wears a small sombrero. José, who speaks with a thick Spanish accent, is typically paired with Peanut, who often makes fun of José, uses appeals to Latino stereotypes when doing so, and makes fun of his being on a stick. Although José was not Dunham's first puppet, it was the first that Dunham made himself.
Bubba J
Bubba J is a beer-drinking redneck that Dunham describes in Arguing with Myself and A Very Special Christmas Special as "white trash trailer park", and whom Dunham uses for humor centered on such stereotypes. To this end, he frequently does jokes involving Bubba J's love of drinking beer and NASCAR, and his low intelligence. Touching upon such stereotypes, Bubba mentions in Arguing with Myself that he met his wife at a family reunion, and remembers seeing her with a corn dog in one hand, a beer in another, and leaning against a ferris wheel, "making it tilt". Although he does not appear onstage, Bubba appears as the backstage security guard in Controlled Chaos. He was inspired by Edgar Bergen's puppet, Mortimer Snerd.
Achmed the Dead Terrorist
Achmed is the skeletal corpse of an incompetent suicide bomber, whom Dunham uses to satirize the contemporary issue of terrorism. He is known for yelling, "Silence! I keel you!" to Dunham and people laughing in the audience. Achmed first appeared in Spark of Insanity, and has appeared in every Dunham special since then. In Spark of Insanity the audience learns several things about Achmed. When Dunham says that Achmed must be dead because he's a skeleton, Achmed responds, "It's a flesh wound." When Dunham inquires as to how he died, Achmed explains his incompetence with explosives, while also casting aspersions on Dunham's sexual prowess by saying that they both suffer from "premature detonation". Although he frequently mentions working for Osama Bin Laden, Achmed denies being a Muslim and says "Look at my ass! It says 'Made in China'!" He says he is afraid of Walter, partially because he's "one mean son of a bitch" and finds Walter's flatulence to be more potent than Saddam Hussein's mustard gas. In Very Special Christmas Special, he sings a song called "Jingle Bombs".
By June 2009, the sketch in which Dunham introduced Achmed had amassed nearly 200 million views on YouTube. The large, round, articulated eyes of puppets such as Achmed and Achmed Junior are constructed by the same effects artist who created the dinosaur eyes for the Jurassic Park films. The character starred in Achmed Saves America, an animated film that premiered on Country Music Television in March 2014. In the film, which depicts the mishap that led to the character's skeletonization, Achmed finds himself in an American town called Americaville, which he plots to blow up, before developing an affinity for American culture.
Non-recurring and retired characters
Sweet Daddy Dee
Dunham introduces Sweet Daddy Dee in Arguing with Myself as his "new manager". He calls himself a "pimp", which he says stands for "Player In the Management Profession." According to Sweet Daddy, because he is a pimp, that makes Jeff the "ho". When Dunham objects, Daddy Dee points out that Dunham makes people laugh and feel good for a living. When Dunham agrees that this is the case, Daddy Dee says, "You a ho." When Dunham asks what he would say if he told him that he was a comedian only because he enjoyed it, Daddy Dee responds, "You a dumb ho." Unlike Bubba J, he hates NASCAR. Sweet Daddy's headstone is featured in the beginning of the special Minding the Monsters.
Melvin the Superhero Guy
Melvin wears a blue superhero costume, and is used to poke fun at superheroes. When asked about his superhuman powers, he indicates that he has X-ray vision, adding, "I love looking at boobies!" He appears to have no other powers, however: When Dunham asks how far he can fly, he responds, "How far can you throw me?", and when asked if he can stop a bullet like Superman, he responds, "Yeah. Once". Dunham portrays Melvin as unimpressed with other superheroes: When told Superman can leap tall buildings in a single bound, Melvin dismisses him as a "showoff," arguing that he can simply walk around them, observes that Aquaman has the same powers as SpongeBob SquarePants, asserts that the Flash's super speed is derived from methamphetamine, that the Hulk's vaunted ability to get stronger as he gets angrier merely mirrors "every white trash guy on COPS," and makes innuendo about the questionable relationship between Batman and the underage Robin. Melvin's first onscreen appearance was in the July 2003 Comedy Central Presents episode, in which he had small, black, beady eyes. By his next appearance, in Spark of Insanity, he had been modified to have large, blue, crossed eyes. He has an enormous nose, which he claims is his symbol, and whose similarity in shape to that of a penis is alluded to in the act. Dunham sculpted the current version of Melvin's head himself, and hired an effects company called Renegade Effects Groups to create the rubber mold and complete the puppet, before then installing the mechanics himself. Melvin's headstone is featured in the beginning of the special Minding the Monsters. As revealed in the DVD release, this signifies that he will no longer be used.
Little Jeff
Little Jeff is a miniature version of Dunham himself, usually dressed in the same clothes Dunham wears during each show. His first onscreen appearance was in the 1989 television program A&E's An Evening at The Improv. He later appeared in Jeff Dunham: Controlled Chaos as a puppet that Peanut used when attempting his hand at ventriloquism. Peanut named the doll "Little Ugly Ass-Jeff", and uses him to insult Dunham.
Diane
Diane first appeared with Dunham in the 2010 film Dinner for Schmucks as "Debbie", his character's "wife". She made her stand-up debut in Dunham's Identity Crisis Tour 2010.
Achmed Junior
Achmed Junior is the estranged son of Achmed. He was designed by Mad magazine illustrator Tom Richmond. He first appeared during the Identity Crisis Tour 2010, and made his first onscreen appearance in Dunham's fourth special, Jeff Dunham: Controlled Chaos. Like his father, Achmed Junior is the victim of a bomb, which resulted in the destruction of the half of his face and body. He speaks with a British accent because he was raised in Britain after the accident. Much to his father's consternation, he expresses an attraction to Dunham's male stage hand, Marnell, appears on stage to address Achmed's loss of balance. Conflict also stems from the fact that unlike his father, Achmed Junior does not wish to be a suicide bomber.
Seamus
Seamus is a grumpy, beer-drinking, Irish infant who first appears in Relative Disaster, which was filmed in Ireland. Dunham, himself an adopted child, introduces him as a son that he has adopted in order to "pay it forward". Despite being an infant, he is a belligerent heavy drinker, traits with which Dunham pokes fun at Irish stereotypes. Dunham also establishes Seamus as a fan of United States President Donald Trump in order to poke fun at Trump, Hillary Clinton, and the 2016 United States presidential election.
Larry the Adviser
Larry is the personal adviser to Donald Trump. He has unkempt orange hair, big bulgy eyes and has a cigarette in one hand. Jeff lightly shakes him to give the feeling of jitteriness. Larry is constantly on edge and is implied to be unnerved for having worked with Trump for "four hours". He nevertheless "supports" the president.
Others
Other characters that Dunham has voiced include Little Peanut, a miniature version of Peanut that Dunham has used to counter Peanut's use of Little Jeff; and an unseen worm inside a bottle of tequila, both of which he has used, for example, in his appearance on A&E's An Evening at The Improv.
In the 2020 United States presidential election, Dunham adapted the Walter puppet into "Wonald Grump" and "Ben Hiden," caricatures of Donald Trump and Joe Biden, respectively, for a mock debate moderated by Achmed.
Personal life
Dunham met his first wife, Paige Brown, at the Comedy Corner in West Palm Beach, Florida. They began dating in December 1992. In May 1994, Dunham married Brown and adopted her one-and-a-half-year-old daughter, Bree. Their daughters Ashlyn and Kenna were born in 1995 and 1997, respectively. Dunham's time away while performing proved a strain on the marriage, and in November 2008, he filed for divorce. By mid-2009, Dunham was in a relationship with Audrey Murdick, a certified nutritionist, personal trainer, and competition bodybuilder, and on December 25, 2011 they became engaged. On October 12, 2012, the couple married. On May 14, 2015, Dunham announced, via Facebook, that he and Audrey were expecting twin boys. In October, she gave birth to James Jeffrey and Jack Steven.
In addition to building the dummies he uses in his act, Dunham also restores antique ones as a hobby, such as The Umpire, a mechanized dummy built in 1941 to work the plate at a girls' softball game, which went unused and packed away for 50 years before Dunham acquired it in early 2008.
Dunham has harbored a love of helicopters since childhood and is fond of building and flying his own kit helicopters from Rotorway helicopter kits. At the time he finished writing his autobiography in June 2010, he was beginning to build his fourth kit. He is also an aficionado of muscle cars and Apple, Inc. products. According to the July 16, 2012, television documentary The Batmobile, Dunham owns the original Batmobile used in the Tim Burton film Batman, which he had outfitted with Corvette engine to make it street legal.
Tours
Filmography
Documentaries and specials
Acting
References
External links
Jeff Dunham at Comedy Central
1962 births
20th-century American comedians
21st-century American comedians
American adoptees
American male voice actors
American Presbyterians
American puppeteers
American stand-up comedians
Baylor University alumni
Living people
People from Dallas
Male actors from Dallas
Ventriloquists
Puppet designers | true | [
"Emily's Reasons Why Not is a television series starring Heather Graham. The show, which was based on the novel of the same name by Carrie Gerlach, published in August 2004, was canceled by its broadcaster, ABC, after a single airing on January 9, 2006. The story revolves around Emily Sanders, a successful career woman in Los Angeles who has been unsuccessful dating. She seeks help from a therapist who recommends that Emily make a list of ten reasons why each of her dating relationships has failed.\n\nThe series premise centered on Emily (Graham), an editor of self-help books who is unable to find success in romance. In the premiere episode she ends a bad relationship and adopts a new rule for her romances: if she can list five reasons to break up with a guy, then she does so. Emily gets help from her friends, among them Josh, whose character is strongly based on gay stereotypes. The show was widely considered a less risqué copycat of Sex and the City.\n\nFirst episode\nIn the first episode, she is convinced that the man she was dating was gay when he was actually a devout Mormon practicing chastity before marriage. His open virginity is presented through gay stereotypes, and his preferred sport, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is described as \"the gayest sport there is\" by Emily's former boyfriend.\n\nCritical reception\nIt was reported that ABC committed to the show before seeing a script. Despite heavy promotion by both Sony Pictures Television and ABC, and a viewing average of 6.2 million viewers, the show was pulled after the first episode due to negative reception; production was stopped after filming six episodes. ABC was said to have spent millions on promotion, including airtime, billboards and radio ads, and considered Emily to be the \"linchpin\" of the network's post-football Monday-night schedule. The promotion was so heavy and the cancellation so abrupt that some magazines found themselves carrying cover stories about a canceled show. After viewing it, ABC's entertainment president suggested that they considered the show lackluster and unlikely to improve. The New York Times attributed the cancellation in part to the extremely unappealing nature of the main character and the portrayal by Graham.\n\nIn 2006, all six episodes of the show aired on Spain's pay-TV channel Cosmopolitan under the title Cinco razones (para no salir contigo) (\"Five Reasons (to not go out with you)\"), on Sony Entertainment Television (Latin America), on ORF1 in Austria, and on POP TV in Slovenia. It also aired on the cable/satellite channel, FOX Life, in Japan in 2007, titled in Japanese as .\n\nCast\n Emily Sanders (Heather Graham)\n Reilly Harvey (Nadia Dajani)\n Midas O'Shay (James Patrick Stuart)\n Josh (Khary Payton)\n Glitter Cho (Smith Cho)\n\nEpisodes\n\nHome media\nEmily's Reasons Why Not – The Complete Series was released on DVD on May 1, 2012. All six episodes produced were included in the set.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n \n \n Washington Post article in which the programming chief at ABC discusses why the show was canceled and why it got as far as it did.\n\nAmerican Broadcasting Company original programming\n2006 American television series debuts\n2006 American television series endings\n2000s American single-camera sitcoms\nTelevision shows based on American novels\nTelevision series by Sony Pictures Television\nTelevision shows set in Los Angeles",
"The 2015 World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series season was the 37th season of the winged sprint car series in North America. The season began with the DIRTcar Nationals at Volusia Speedway Park on February 13, and ended with the Bad Boy Buggies World of Outlaws World Finals at The Dirt Track at Charlotte on November 8. Donny Schatz entered the season as the defending series champion, and clinched the 2015 championship, his seventh overall, after a second-place finish in the National Open at Williams Grove Speedway on October 4.\n\nFull-time teams and drivers\n\nSchedule and results\n\n ≠ indicates the race was canceled\n ≈ indicates the race was a non-points event\n\nSchedule notes and changes\n April 24 race at Devil's Bowl Speedway was canceled due to weather conditions.\n Night 2 of the Morgan Cup (May 16) at Williams Grove Speedway was canceled due to weather conditions.\n May 25 race at Lawrenceburg Speedway was postponed due to weather conditions. The race was rescheduled for October 16.\n NAPA Auto Parts Rumble in Michigan (May 30) at I-96 Speedway was postponed due to weather conditions. The race was rescheduled for June 24.\n O'Reilly Auto Parts presents the Outlaws at Lakeside (June 6) at Lakeside Speedway was postponed due to weather conditions. The race was rescheduled for July 1.\n June 26 race at 34 Raceway was canceled due to weather conditions.\n Brad Doty Classic (July 16) at Limaland Motorsports Park was canceled due to weather conditions.\n July 31 race at Brockville Ontario Speedway was canceled due to weather conditions.\n August 1 race at Autodrome Drummond was canceled due to weather conditions.\n Night 1 of the Monster Meltdown (September 5) at Skagit Speedway was canceled due to weather conditions.\n The Arnold Motor Supply Shootout (September 18) at Clay County Fairgrounds was canceled due to weather conditions.\n Nights 1 and 2 of the National Open (October 1 & October 2) at Williams Grove Speedway were canceled due to weather conditions.\n Night 3 of the National Open (October 3) at Williams Grove Speedway was postponed due to weather conditions. The race was rescheduled for October 4.\n October 25 race at Weedsport Speedway was canceled due to weather conditions.\n Night 3 of the Bad Boy Buggies World of Outlaws World Finals at The Dirt Track at Charlotte was postponed due to weather conditions. The race was rescheduled for November 8.\n\nChampionship Standings\n\nDriver Standings\n\nTeam Standings\n\nReferences\n\nWorld of Outlaws Sprint Car seasons\nWorld of Outlaws Sprint Car Series\nWorld of Outlaws Sprint Car Series"
] |
[
"Jeff Dunham",
"2009-present",
"What was he doing in 2009?",
"Dunham signed a multi-platform deal with Comedy Central.",
"What was the shows name?",
"The Jeff Dunham Show",
"How many viewers watched it?",
"Despite having the most-watched premiere in Comedy Central history, and higher average ratings than other shows on that network initially, the show was canceled",
"Why was it canceled?",
"amid poor reviews, dwindling ratings and higher production costs than other Comedy Central shows."
] | C_12aced0306034efd8cb7f77cc42ae917_0 | What did he do afterward? | 5 | What did Jeff Dunham do afterward? | Jeff Dunham | In March 2009, Dunham signed a multi-platform deal with Comedy Central. It included a fourth stand-up special to air in 2010, DVDs, a consumer products partnership, a 60-city tour beginning in September 2010, and an order for a television series called The Jeff Dunham Show that premiered on October 22, 2009. Despite having the most-watched premiere in Comedy Central history, and higher average ratings than other shows on that network initially, the show was canceled after only one season, amid poor reviews, dwindling ratings and higher production costs than other Comedy Central shows. Dunham appeared in a guest role with Bubba J on NBC's sictom 30 Rock, playing a ventriloquist named Rick Wayne and his dummy Pumpkin from Stone Mountain, Georgia. In November 2009 Dunham also appeared with Walter in "Hart to Hart", an episode of the Disney Channel series Sonny With a Chance, as two security guards. He appeared in the 2010 Steve Carell/Paul Rudd comedy, Dinner for Schmucks, as Lewis, with a new puppet named Diane. His fourth special, Jeff Dunham: Controlled Chaos, premiered on September 25, 2011, on Comedy Central. His fifth special, Minding the Monsters, which was taped in Savannah, premiered on Comedy Central on October 7, 2012. His sixth special, All Over the Map, which was taped in various international cities, premiered on Comedy Central on November 16, 2014. On March 28, 2014, Country Music Television premiered Achmed Saves America, an animated film starring Achmed the Dead Terrorist. Dunham's seventh special, Unhinged in Hollywood, premiered on September 17, 2015. Rather than premiering on Comedy Central, the special instead aired on NBC. CANNOTANSWER | Dunham appeared in a guest role with Bubba J on NBC's sictom 30 Rock, | Jeffrey Douglas Dunham (born April 18, 1962) is an American ventriloquist, stand-up comedian and actor who has also appeared on numerous television shows, including Late Show with David Letterman, Comedy Central Presents, The Tonight Show and Sonny With a Chance. He has six specials that run on Comedy Central: Arguing with Myself, Spark of Insanity, Jeff Dunham's Very Special Christmas Special, Controlled Chaos, Minding the Monsters, and All Over the Map. Dunham also starred in The Jeff Dunham Show, a series on the network in 2009.
His style has been described as "a dressed-down, more digestible version of Don Rickles with multiple personality disorder". Time described his characters as "politically incorrect, gratuitously insulting and ill tempered." Dunham has been credited with reviving ventriloquism and doing more to promote the art form than anyone since Edgar Bergen.
Dunham has been called "America's favorite comedian" by Slate. According to the concert industry publication Pollstar, he is the top-grossing standup act in North America and among the most successful acts in Europe as well. As of November 2009, he has sold over four million DVDs, an additional $7 million in merchandise sales, and received more than 350 million hits on YouTube as of October 2009; his introduction of Achmed the Dead Terrorist in Spark of Insanity was ranked as the ninth most watched YouTube video at the time. A Very Special Christmas Special was the most-watched telecast in Comedy Central history, with the DVD selling over 400,000 copies in its first two weeks. Forbes ranked Dunham as the third highest-paid comedian in the United States behind Jerry Seinfeld and Chris Rock and reported that he was one of the highest-earning comics from June 2008 to June 2009, earning approximately $30 million during that period. Dunham also does occasional acting roles. He achieved the Guinness Book of World Records record for "Most tickets sold for a stand-up comedy tour" for his Spark of Insanity tour, performing in 386 venues worldwide.
Early life
Dunham was born on April 18, 1962, in Dallas, Texas. When he was three months old, he was adopted by real estate appraiser Howard Dunham, and his homemaker wife Joyce, who raised him in a devoutly Presbyterian household in an affluent Dallas neighborhood, as an only child.
He began ventriloquism in 1970 at age eight, when his parents gave him a Mortimer Snerd dummy for Christmas, and an accompanying how-to album. The next day he checked out a how-to book on ventriloquism from the library, and explained in 2011 that he still had it, remarking that he was "a thief in the third grade". By the fourth grade, Dunham decided he not only wanted to be a professional ventriloquist, but the best one ever. Dunham began practicing for hours in front of a mirror, studying the routines of Edgar Bergen, and the how-to record Jimmy Nelson's Instant Ventriloquism, finding ventriloquism to be a learned skill, similar to juggling, that anyone with a normal speaking voice can acquire. Dunham has explained that, as an only child, he enjoyed being alone, likening his solitude to a "warm blanket" with which he could explore his own thoughts and ideas, which prepared him for the solitude of living alone when he later moved to Los Angeles as a struggling comedian.
When Dunham was in the sixth grade, he began attending the Vent Haven ConVENTion in Fort Mitchell, Kentucky, an annual international meeting of ventriloquists that includes competitions, where he met Jimmy Nelson in person. Dunham has missed only one ConVENTion since then, in 1977. The organizers of the ConVENTion eventually declared Dunham a "retired champion", ineligible from entering any more competitions, as other attendees were too intimidated to compete against him. The Vent Haven Museum devotes a section to Dunham, alongside Señor Wences and Dunham's idol, Edgar Bergen.
Career
Beginnings
Dunham began performing for audiences as a teenager, in various venues such as school, church, and during his job at Six Flags. By his middle school years, he began to perform for banquets attended by local celebrities such as Dallas Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach, having developed his style of lampooning those he performed for, using the puppets to say things too risque for him to say without them. Dunham's television debut came in 1976 when the still prepubescent performer caught the attention of Dallas reporters like Bill O'Reilly, who interviewed Dunham for a local news story. Dunham later did commercials for Datsun dealerships in Dallas and Tyler while still in high school. While emceeing a high school talent show, he dealt with a heckler, and won over the rest of the audience. During this period he became so associated with his craft that he and one of his dummies "cowrote" a column in the school paper, and he would pose with his dummies for yearbooks as an inexpensive way to acquire professional photos of his act for promotional purposes. He was voted Most Likely to Succeed, and in 1980, after he graduated from high school, Dunham gave himself a career goal of obtaining, within ten years, an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, which was seen as the "holy grail" for comedians.
That year Dunham began attending Baylor University, hoping to graduate with a degree in communications, while performing around campus. He would also fly around the country on weekends, doing up to 100 private shows a year, entertaining corporate customers such as General Electric, whose CEO, Jack Welch, he mocked during his routine. By his junior year in college (1983–84), Dunham was making $70,000 a year, and as word spread of his act, he landed featured spots opening for Bob Hope and George Burns, though he still perceived his act as raw, as he did not have any knowledge of standup comedy beyond his Bill Cosby albums.
He caught a break in 1985 when he was asked to join the Broadway show Sugar Babies with Mickey Rooney and Ann Miller, replacing an outgoing variety act. For the naive and devoutly-raised Dunham, Broadway was a new world filled with beautiful showgirls and crusty stagehands, and his first taste of entertainment industry egos came when Rooney called Dunham into his dressing room, and told him he was there for one reason alone: so that Rooney could change his costumes. He performed at the Westbury Music Fair on Long Island. These early experiences, in which he used characters like José Jalapeño on a Stick, taught him the value of modifying his act regionally, as the jalapeño jokes that worked well in Texas were not as well received by audiences in Long Island. After graduating from Baylor University in 1986, he continued honing his act in comedy clubs in the Southwest with new characters such as Peanut and José Jalapeño, but struggled against the perception he relates from fellow comedians that he was not a true comedian because he relied on props.
His experience at Catch a Rising Star in New York City served as a bitter confirmation of where ventriloquists stood in the comedic food chain, as the emcee at that club gave Dunham little respect. According to Dunham, after he arrived at the club in the evening and informed the emcee that he was a ventriloquist, the emcee reacted with derision, telling Dunham that he would be given a late time slot, and after that time slot came and passed, kept postponing Dunham's stage time until Dunham left the club.
By the end of 1988, Dunham felt his career had gone as far as it could go in Texas, and he moved to Los Angeles, California, never having, as he has commented, "a real job", much to the concern of his parents, who assumed he would relegate his act to local venues such as church groups. When he first arrived in Los Angeles, the comedy in his act bombed. Dunham attributes this initial reaction to his underdeveloped comedy, explaining that while the characters' personalities were developed at that point, his jokes were not. In addition to this, the comedy world was not welcoming to ventriloquists, and his manager, Judi Brown-Marmel, did not use the word "ventriloquist" when finding bookings for him, choosing to present him as a comedy duo. After Dunham became friends with Mike Lacey, owner of The Comedy & Magic Club in Hermosa Beach, Lacey gave Dunham a steady slot at the club, where Dunham sharpened his act by observing the techniques of comedians like Jerry Seinfeld, and taking the advice of colleague Bill Engvall, moving away from his G-rated material toward edgier, more adult themes.
The Tonight Show
At the end of 1988, Dunham was told by James McCawley, a talent booker for The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, that Dunham would be given a spot on the coveted program. Though the 26-year-old Dunham was elated that his 10-year goal was arriving two years early, McCawley later cancelled Dunham's appearance after attending, with Roseanne Barr, a public performance of Dunham's the day before Dunham's scheduled Tonight Show taping. McCawley informed Dunham on the day of the scheduled taping that he had been wrong in his initial assessment of Dunham, whom he now said was not ready for The Tonight Show. Dunham continued to tighten his act in Los Angeles clubs, performing the same six-minute segment with Peanut a total of nine times for McCawley over the next few months. Finally at the Ice-House in Pasadena in April 1990, after Dunham did the same segment, McCawley informed Dunham that he would finally get his Tonight Show appearance. Dunham and Peanut appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson on April 6, 1990, alongside guests Bob Hope and B.B. King. Following his bit, he was invited to sit on Johnny Carson's couch, a mark of approval on Carson's show. Upon sitting down next to Carson's desk, Dunham pulled out Walter, who told Carson sidekick Ed McMahon, "Stop sending me all your damn mail." At the time, Dunham saw his Tonight Show appearance as his big break, but was frustrated at his parents' initial disapproval over Walter's use of the words "hell" and "damn", and he would toil in obscurity for another twelve years, continuing his stand up at venues such as The Improv chain, and appearing in small roles on TV. One of these was a 1996 episode of Ellen, in which he appeared with Walter. Dunham also appeared with Walter in a TV commercial for Hertz. Dunham would appear on The Tonight Show a total of four times, as well as similar TV venues such as Hot Country Nights, appearing in one segment with Reba McEntire. This exposure helped make Dunham a large theater headliner, a rare accomplishment for a ventriloquist, but by the mid-1990s, his television appearances had dwindled, and with them, so did his stage audiences.
Dunham moved back to clubs, more than 200 appearances a year. To maintain a connection with his fan base, he would use question cards that he had audiences fill out for his performances to build a database, which was tailor-made for the burgeoning World Wide Web. Though he was voted Funniest Male Standup at the American Comedy Awards in 1998, his club work kept him away from his wife and daughters between two and three weeks each month, which put a strain on his marriage, and made paying bills for his expanded family difficult. By 2002, Dunham was hoping to obtain more TV work to raise his profile and ease his standup schedule. Such exposure was elusive until a successful appearance on The Best Damn Sports Show Period, where Dunham and Walter made jokes at the expense of co-hosts Tom Arnold, Michael Irvin, John Salley and John Kruk, generating laughter from them, and giving Dunham much-needed exposure. In 2003, Dunham was the frontrunner to replace Jimmy Kimmel on Fox NFL Sunday, but hosts Howie Long and Terry Bradshaw were not amenable to the idea of being upstaged by a puppet, and, as Dunham tells it, did not provide a welcoming atmosphere to Dunham, nor allow him to speak much during his appearance.
First Comedy Central specials
On July 18, 2003, Dunham appeared on Comedy Central Presents, his first solo appearance on Comedy Central. During his half hour piece, he showcased José Jalapeño on a Stick, Walter, an early version of Melvin the Superhero Guy and Peanut, whom Dunham had begun to merchandise into a line of dolls. The appearance was successful, but Comedy Central resisted giving Dunham more airtime, feeling that he was not a good fit for them. By 2005 Dunham decided to gamble on financing his own comedy DVD, Jeff Dunham: Arguing with Myself, which was taped in Santa Ana, California. Dunham's manager, Judi Brown-Marmel, lobbied the network to air it, pointing to Dunham's drawing power and merchandising profits, and arguing that the network needed more diverse content. Surprised by the high ratings of the first Blue Collar Comics concert movie that same year, the network began to reconsider its brand. In late 2006, Comedy Central aired Arguing with Myself, drawing two million viewers when it aired, and selling two million DVDs.
In 2007, Dunham appeared as The Amazing Ken with José Jalapeño on a Stick in the Larry the Cable Guy feature film Delta Farce.
His second special, Jeff Dunham: Spark of Insanity, was taped at the Warner Theater in Washington, D.C. that same year. It served not only to cement Dunham's stardom, but to introduce his most controversial character, Achmed the Dead Terrorist, which became a viral Internet sensation. A clip of Achmed from Insanity attracted over 140 million hits on YouTube, making it the ninth most watched clip on that website as of October 2009.
By 2008, Dunham's characters had crossed language barriers, with his specials dubbed for audiences in various countries such as France, and Dunham attracting requests for performances in South Africa, Australia, Norway, Denmark, China, and the Middle East. Jeff Dunham's Very Special Christmas Special was taped at the Pabst Theater in Milwaukee, Wisconsin that same year, and premiered on Comedy Central on November 16, 2008, watched by 6.6 million people. It became available on DVD and Blu-ray on November 18, 2008. The special's premiere was the highest rated telecast in Comedy Central's history.
In September 2008, his career reached new heights as he began performing in arenas filled with tens of thousands of people. Dunham was somewhat wary of such large venues, but adapted by adjusting the timing of his often rapid exchanges with the puppets so that audience members farthest from the stage could have time to react.
In addition to his comedy specials, Dunham also released his first music album, Don't Come Home for Christmas, on November 4, 2008. It contains original Christmas songs as well as a parody of "Jingle Bells" by Achmed entitled "Jingle Bombs". All the songs, with the exception of "Jingle Bombs", were written and accompanied by Brian Haner, who joined Dunham's act as "Guitar Guy". His first onscreen appearance was in Jeff Dunham's Very Special Christmas Special.
2009–present
In March 2009, Dunham signed a multi-platform deal with Comedy Central. It included a fourth stand-up special to air in 2010, DVDs, a consumer products partnership, a 60-city tour beginning in September 2010, and an order for a television series called The Jeff Dunham Show that premiered on October 22, 2009. Despite having the most-watched premiere in Comedy Central history, and higher average ratings than other shows on that network initially, the show was canceled after only one season, amid poor reviews, dwindling ratings and higher production costs than other Comedy Central shows.
Dunham appeared in a guest role with Bubba J on NBC's sitcom 30 Rock, playing a ventriloquist named Rick Wayne and his dummy Pumpkin from Stone Mountain, Georgia. In November 2009 Dunham also appeared with Walter in "Hart to Hart", an episode of the Disney Channel series Sonny With a Chance, as two security guards. He appeared in the 2010 Steve Carell/Paul Rudd comedy, Dinner for Schmucks, as Lewis, with a new puppet named Diane.
His fourth special, Jeff Dunham: Controlled Chaos, premiered on September 25, 2011, on Comedy Central. His fifth special, Minding the Monsters, which was taped in Savannah, premiered on Comedy Central on October 7, 2012. His sixth special, All Over the Map, which was taped in various international cities, premiered on Comedy Central on November 16, 2014.
On March 28, 2014, Country Music Television premiered Achmed Saves America, an animated film starring Achmed the Dead Terrorist.
Dunham's seventh special, Unhinged in Hollywood, premiered on September 17, 2015. Rather than premiering on Comedy Central, the special instead aired on NBC.
Critical praise and controversy
In January 2008, Dunham was voted by fans the Top Comic in Comedy Central's "Stand-Up Showdown". He is the only person ever to win the "Ventriloquist of the Year" Award twice. He was nominated "Comedian of the Year" by the TNN Music City News Country Awards, and has drawn praise from the Dallas Morning News for his technique and timing. Critics, such as Randee Dawn of The Hollywood Reporter, accused Dunham's characters of being racist caricatures, sexist, and homophobic.
In 2008, a TV commercial for a ringtone which featured Dunham's character Achmed the Dead Terrorist (see Characters below) was banned by the South African Advertising Standards Authority after a complaint was filed by a citizen stating that the ad was offensive to Muslims, and portrayed all Muslims as terrorists. Dunham responded that "Achmed makes it clear in my act that he is not Muslim." However, the ASA noted that the name Achmed was of Arab origin and was one of the names of Muhammad. Dunham responded, "I've skewered whites, blacks, Hispanics, Christians, Jews, Muslims, gays, straights, rednecks, addicts, the elderly, and my wife. As a standup comic, it is my job to make the majority of people laugh, and I believe that comedy is the last true form of free speech ... I'm considering renaming Achmed 'Bill'", he added. Dunham has conceded that he does exhibit particular sensitivity to the "conservative country crowd" or those characterized by "basic Christian values", as they are one of his largest constituencies, and part of his upbringing.
Dunham was heckled and criticized for mocking TV critics during a July 2009 press tour to promote his then-upcoming Comedy Central TV series, The Jeff Dunham Show, as well as Comedy Central programming chief Lauren Correo. In October 2009 The Jeff Dunham Show enjoyed good initial ratings, but was not well liked by critics, some of whom either questioned the wisdom of translating his act into a series, or cited Dunham, his previous specials, or ventriloquism itself as reasons for disliking the show.
J.P. Williams, the producer of the Blue Collar Comedy Tour, has opined that Dunham's act is not funny on its own merits, and that his material gets a greater reaction because of the puppet characters than it would otherwise garner by itself. Blue Collar veteran Bill Engvall, a friend of Dunham's, insists otherwise, saying that Dunham is inherently funny with or without the puppets.
In a 2014 show in Malaysia, the government requested that he not use or name Achmed in his show. Due to the restriction, but to avoid disappointing fans, Achmed was renamed to be "Jacques Merde, the Dead French Terrorist" (Jacques Merde meaning "Jack Shit").
Books
In 2003, BRASMA Publications released Dear Walter, a collection of questions asked of Dunham's fictional curmudgeon at live performances, authored by Dunham and Walter Cummings. His autobiography, All By My Selves: Walter, Peanut, Achmed and Me, was published by Dutton in 2010.
Characters
Recurring characters
Walter
Walter is a retired, grumpy old man with arms always crossed in discontent. Dunham was inspired to create Walter when he watched Bette Davis's final appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, giving her honest, unfiltered candor to Walter, and patterning Walter's frown on Dunham's own. He has a brash, negative and often sarcastic view on today's world. He is a Vietnam War veteran and a former welder, and "doesn't give a damn" about anyone, especially his own wife and certain audience members. Walter appeared in every Comedy Central special. He's been married for several decades. When Dunham asks him if he remembers the happiest moment of his life after Walter tells him he has been married for forty-six years, Walter responds, "Forty-seven years ago!" Dunham created the Walter puppet himself, including both the initial sculpture and the silicone mold, though he eventually began using professional effects companies for the latter stages with his subsequent puppets.
Peanut
Peanut is a hyperactive, purple-skinned "woozle" with white fur covering most of his body, a tuft of green hair on the top of his head, and one sneaker on his left foot. Dunham explains in Arguing with Myself that Peanut is from a small Micronesian island, and that they met in Florida. Peanut's humor is not based on a particular motif or stereotype, as those of the other characters, and he has been described as "the bad kid". He often makes fun of Dunham, and torments and mocks José Jalapeño on a Stick. Touching upon his unusual appearance and personality, he asks Dunham in Arguing with Myself, after Dunham denies ever having done drugs, "Then how the hell did you come up with me?"
José Jalapeño on a Stick
José is a talking jalapeño pepper on a stick who wears a small sombrero. José, who speaks with a thick Spanish accent, is typically paired with Peanut, who often makes fun of José, uses appeals to Latino stereotypes when doing so, and makes fun of his being on a stick. Although José was not Dunham's first puppet, it was the first that Dunham made himself.
Bubba J
Bubba J is a beer-drinking redneck that Dunham describes in Arguing with Myself and A Very Special Christmas Special as "white trash trailer park", and whom Dunham uses for humor centered on such stereotypes. To this end, he frequently does jokes involving Bubba J's love of drinking beer and NASCAR, and his low intelligence. Touching upon such stereotypes, Bubba mentions in Arguing with Myself that he met his wife at a family reunion, and remembers seeing her with a corn dog in one hand, a beer in another, and leaning against a ferris wheel, "making it tilt". Although he does not appear onstage, Bubba appears as the backstage security guard in Controlled Chaos. He was inspired by Edgar Bergen's puppet, Mortimer Snerd.
Achmed the Dead Terrorist
Achmed is the skeletal corpse of an incompetent suicide bomber, whom Dunham uses to satirize the contemporary issue of terrorism. He is known for yelling, "Silence! I keel you!" to Dunham and people laughing in the audience. Achmed first appeared in Spark of Insanity, and has appeared in every Dunham special since then. In Spark of Insanity the audience learns several things about Achmed. When Dunham says that Achmed must be dead because he's a skeleton, Achmed responds, "It's a flesh wound." When Dunham inquires as to how he died, Achmed explains his incompetence with explosives, while also casting aspersions on Dunham's sexual prowess by saying that they both suffer from "premature detonation". Although he frequently mentions working for Osama Bin Laden, Achmed denies being a Muslim and says "Look at my ass! It says 'Made in China'!" He says he is afraid of Walter, partially because he's "one mean son of a bitch" and finds Walter's flatulence to be more potent than Saddam Hussein's mustard gas. In Very Special Christmas Special, he sings a song called "Jingle Bombs".
By June 2009, the sketch in which Dunham introduced Achmed had amassed nearly 200 million views on YouTube. The large, round, articulated eyes of puppets such as Achmed and Achmed Junior are constructed by the same effects artist who created the dinosaur eyes for the Jurassic Park films. The character starred in Achmed Saves America, an animated film that premiered on Country Music Television in March 2014. In the film, which depicts the mishap that led to the character's skeletonization, Achmed finds himself in an American town called Americaville, which he plots to blow up, before developing an affinity for American culture.
Non-recurring and retired characters
Sweet Daddy Dee
Dunham introduces Sweet Daddy Dee in Arguing with Myself as his "new manager". He calls himself a "pimp", which he says stands for "Player In the Management Profession." According to Sweet Daddy, because he is a pimp, that makes Jeff the "ho". When Dunham objects, Daddy Dee points out that Dunham makes people laugh and feel good for a living. When Dunham agrees that this is the case, Daddy Dee says, "You a ho." When Dunham asks what he would say if he told him that he was a comedian only because he enjoyed it, Daddy Dee responds, "You a dumb ho." Unlike Bubba J, he hates NASCAR. Sweet Daddy's headstone is featured in the beginning of the special Minding the Monsters.
Melvin the Superhero Guy
Melvin wears a blue superhero costume, and is used to poke fun at superheroes. When asked about his superhuman powers, he indicates that he has X-ray vision, adding, "I love looking at boobies!" He appears to have no other powers, however: When Dunham asks how far he can fly, he responds, "How far can you throw me?", and when asked if he can stop a bullet like Superman, he responds, "Yeah. Once". Dunham portrays Melvin as unimpressed with other superheroes: When told Superman can leap tall buildings in a single bound, Melvin dismisses him as a "showoff," arguing that he can simply walk around them, observes that Aquaman has the same powers as SpongeBob SquarePants, asserts that the Flash's super speed is derived from methamphetamine, that the Hulk's vaunted ability to get stronger as he gets angrier merely mirrors "every white trash guy on COPS," and makes innuendo about the questionable relationship between Batman and the underage Robin. Melvin's first onscreen appearance was in the July 2003 Comedy Central Presents episode, in which he had small, black, beady eyes. By his next appearance, in Spark of Insanity, he had been modified to have large, blue, crossed eyes. He has an enormous nose, which he claims is his symbol, and whose similarity in shape to that of a penis is alluded to in the act. Dunham sculpted the current version of Melvin's head himself, and hired an effects company called Renegade Effects Groups to create the rubber mold and complete the puppet, before then installing the mechanics himself. Melvin's headstone is featured in the beginning of the special Minding the Monsters. As revealed in the DVD release, this signifies that he will no longer be used.
Little Jeff
Little Jeff is a miniature version of Dunham himself, usually dressed in the same clothes Dunham wears during each show. His first onscreen appearance was in the 1989 television program A&E's An Evening at The Improv. He later appeared in Jeff Dunham: Controlled Chaos as a puppet that Peanut used when attempting his hand at ventriloquism. Peanut named the doll "Little Ugly Ass-Jeff", and uses him to insult Dunham.
Diane
Diane first appeared with Dunham in the 2010 film Dinner for Schmucks as "Debbie", his character's "wife". She made her stand-up debut in Dunham's Identity Crisis Tour 2010.
Achmed Junior
Achmed Junior is the estranged son of Achmed. He was designed by Mad magazine illustrator Tom Richmond. He first appeared during the Identity Crisis Tour 2010, and made his first onscreen appearance in Dunham's fourth special, Jeff Dunham: Controlled Chaos. Like his father, Achmed Junior is the victim of a bomb, which resulted in the destruction of the half of his face and body. He speaks with a British accent because he was raised in Britain after the accident. Much to his father's consternation, he expresses an attraction to Dunham's male stage hand, Marnell, appears on stage to address Achmed's loss of balance. Conflict also stems from the fact that unlike his father, Achmed Junior does not wish to be a suicide bomber.
Seamus
Seamus is a grumpy, beer-drinking, Irish infant who first appears in Relative Disaster, which was filmed in Ireland. Dunham, himself an adopted child, introduces him as a son that he has adopted in order to "pay it forward". Despite being an infant, he is a belligerent heavy drinker, traits with which Dunham pokes fun at Irish stereotypes. Dunham also establishes Seamus as a fan of United States President Donald Trump in order to poke fun at Trump, Hillary Clinton, and the 2016 United States presidential election.
Larry the Adviser
Larry is the personal adviser to Donald Trump. He has unkempt orange hair, big bulgy eyes and has a cigarette in one hand. Jeff lightly shakes him to give the feeling of jitteriness. Larry is constantly on edge and is implied to be unnerved for having worked with Trump for "four hours". He nevertheless "supports" the president.
Others
Other characters that Dunham has voiced include Little Peanut, a miniature version of Peanut that Dunham has used to counter Peanut's use of Little Jeff; and an unseen worm inside a bottle of tequila, both of which he has used, for example, in his appearance on A&E's An Evening at The Improv.
In the 2020 United States presidential election, Dunham adapted the Walter puppet into "Wonald Grump" and "Ben Hiden," caricatures of Donald Trump and Joe Biden, respectively, for a mock debate moderated by Achmed.
Personal life
Dunham met his first wife, Paige Brown, at the Comedy Corner in West Palm Beach, Florida. They began dating in December 1992. In May 1994, Dunham married Brown and adopted her one-and-a-half-year-old daughter, Bree. Their daughters Ashlyn and Kenna were born in 1995 and 1997, respectively. Dunham's time away while performing proved a strain on the marriage, and in November 2008, he filed for divorce. By mid-2009, Dunham was in a relationship with Audrey Murdick, a certified nutritionist, personal trainer, and competition bodybuilder, and on December 25, 2011 they became engaged. On October 12, 2012, the couple married. On May 14, 2015, Dunham announced, via Facebook, that he and Audrey were expecting twin boys. In October, she gave birth to James Jeffrey and Jack Steven.
In addition to building the dummies he uses in his act, Dunham also restores antique ones as a hobby, such as The Umpire, a mechanized dummy built in 1941 to work the plate at a girls' softball game, which went unused and packed away for 50 years before Dunham acquired it in early 2008.
Dunham has harbored a love of helicopters since childhood and is fond of building and flying his own kit helicopters from Rotorway helicopter kits. At the time he finished writing his autobiography in June 2010, he was beginning to build his fourth kit. He is also an aficionado of muscle cars and Apple, Inc. products. According to the July 16, 2012, television documentary The Batmobile, Dunham owns the original Batmobile used in the Tim Burton film Batman, which he had outfitted with Corvette engine to make it street legal.
Tours
Filmography
Documentaries and specials
Acting
References
External links
Jeff Dunham at Comedy Central
1962 births
20th-century American comedians
21st-century American comedians
American adoptees
American male voice actors
American Presbyterians
American puppeteers
American stand-up comedians
Baylor University alumni
Living people
People from Dallas
Male actors from Dallas
Ventriloquists
Puppet designers | false | [
"\"What Did I Do to You?\" is a song recorded by British singer Lisa Stansfield for her 1989 album, Affection. It was written by Stansfield, Ian Devaney and Andy Morris, and produced by Devaney and Morris. The song was released as the fourth European single on 30 April 1990. It included three previously unreleased songs written by Stansfield, Devaney and Morris: \"My Apple Heart,\" \"Lay Me Down\" and \"Something's Happenin'.\" \"What Did I Do to You?\" was remixed by Mark Saunders and by the Grammy Award-winning American house music DJ and producer, David Morales. The single became a top forty hit in the European countries reaching number eighteen in Finland, number twenty in Ireland and number twenty-five in the United Kingdom. \"What Did I Do to You?\" was also released in Japan.\n\nIn 2014, the remixes of \"What Did I Do to You?\" were included on the deluxe 2CD + DVD re-release of Affection and on People Hold On ... The Remix Anthology. They were also featured on The Collection 1989–2003 box set (2014), including previously unreleased Red Zone Mix by David Morales.\n\nCritical reception\nThe song received positive reviews from music critics. Matthew Hocter from Albumism viewed it as a \"upbeat offering\". David Giles from Music Week said it is \"beautifully performed\" by Stansfield. A reviewer from Reading Eagle wrote that \"What Did I Do to You?\" \"would be right at home on the \"Saturday Night Fever\" soundtrack.\"\n\nMusic video\nA music video was produced to promote the single, directed by Philip Richardson, who had previously directed the videos for \"All Around the World\" and \"Live Together\". It features Stansfield with her kiss curls, dressed in a white outfit and performing with her band on a stage in front of a jumping audience. The video was later published on Stansfield's official YouTube channel in November 2009. It has amassed more than 1,6 million views as of October 2021.\n\nTrack listings\n\n European/UK 7\" single\n\"What Did I Do to You?\" (Mark Saunders Remix Edit) – 4:20\n\"Something's Happenin'\" – 3:59\n\n European/UK/Japanese CD single\n\"What Did I Do to You?\" (Mark Saunders Remix Edit) – 4:20\n\"My Apple Heart\" – 5:19\n\"Lay Me Down\" – 4:17\n\"Something's Happenin'\" – 3:59\n\n UK 10\" single\n\"What Did I Do to You?\" (Mark Saunders Remix) – 5:52\n\"My Apple Heart\" – 5:19\n\"Lay Me Down\" – 4:17\n\"Something's Happenin'\" – 3:59\n\n European/UK 12\" single\n\"What Did I Do to You?\" (Morales Mix) – 7:59\n\"My Apple Heart\" – 4:22\n\"Lay Me Down\" – 3:19\n\"Something's Happenin'\" – 3:15\n\n UK 12\" promotional single\n\"What Did I Do to You?\" (Morales Mix) – 7:59\n\"What Did I Do to You?\" (Anti Poll Tax Dub) – 6:31\n\n Other remixes\n\"What Did I Do to You?\" (Red Zone Mix) – 7:45\n\nCharts\n\nReferences\n\nLisa Stansfield songs\n1990 singles\nSongs written by Lisa Stansfield\n1989 songs\nArista Records singles\nSongs written by Ian Devaney\nSongs written by Andy Morris (musician)",
"\"What Would Steve Do?\" is the second single released by Mumm-Ra on Columbia Records, which was released on February 19, 2007. It is a re-recorded version of the self-release they did in April 2006. It reached #40 in the UK Singles Chart, making it their highest charting single.\n\nTrack listings\nAll songs written by Mumm-Ra.\n\nCD\n\"What Would Steve Do?\"\n\"Cute As\"\n\"Without You\"\n\n7\"\n\"What Would Steve Do?\"\n\"What Would Steve Do? (Floorboard Mix)\"\n\nGatefold 7\"\n\"What Would Steve Do?\"\n\"Cute As\"\n\nReferences\n\n2007 singles\nMumm-Ra (band) songs\n2006 songs\nColumbia Records singles"
] |
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