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Aly Weisman June 26, 2014 The Broadway musical "Beautiful" — the true story of Carole King's remarkable rise from behind-the-scenes songwriter to solo stardom — took home three Tony Awards in June, including Best Actress for Jessie Mueller's portrayal of King. "Tapestry" launched Carole King's solo career in 1971, becoming one of the best-selling albums of all time. But what many don't realize about King's career is that the musician began songwriting for other artists in the 1960s, over a decade before she became a famous artist in her own right. King and her then husband, Gerry Goffin, wrote more...

Bobby Womack, the Cleveland-born influential R&B singer-songwriter, died Friday. Although no details have been released about his death, the Los Angeles resident revealed in a interview last year with the BBC that he had Alzheimer's disease. The Associated Press reported he had numerous other health issues, including prostate cancer. Womack, 70, was brought to California from Cleveland by singer Sam Cooke in 1962, after a change in singing style by Womack and his brothers caused their father to throw them out of their home near East 63rd Street and Central Avenue. The boys first largely sang gospel, but when they...

Fans of the blues, this is for you Watch it here

As a new documentary, Afraid of the Dark, and album, The Extraordinary, about Nat King Cole are released, Natalie Cole remembers her father and what it is like to sing his songsIt may be decades since his death, but Nat King Cole remains one of the world's most beloved and influential voices, as well as an iconic pop culture presence whose smooth, confident persona continues to endear him to new generations of fans. As a new documentary, Nat King Cole: Afraid of the Dark, and an album, Nat King Cole: The Extraordinary, are released, his daughter, Grammy Award winner Natalie,...

Once in while, the CNN Travel braintrust blows it -- make that all the time if you happen to be @cnnalwaysblowsit47. Such was the case last year when we published our updated list of the greatest travel songs ever recorded. Sure, we included a few unassailable classics about life on the travel trail. Even @cnnisamoron231 couldn't rage against our inclusion of Willie Nelson's all-time sing-a-long "On the Road Again." But we have to admit, once in a while, @iloathecnn and @cnntroll99 have valid points to make. How exactly did we miss such obvious wanderlust ditties as the Allman Brothers Bands'...

ANDERSON, S.C. — Johnny Mann, the Hollywood composer who worked with the likes of Nat King Cole, Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra, died late Wednesday night in Anderson, according to sources close to the family. They say Mann died at his home. He was 85 years old... Along with being musical director of the original "Alvin and The Chipmunks" TV series, he sang the voice of "Theodore"...

Gerry Goffin, a hit songwriter and former husband of Carole King, died early Thursday. He was 75. Together with King, he wrote such classics as "The Loco-Motion," "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" and "Up on the Roof."

Lyricist Gerry Goffin, who with his then-wife and songwriting partner Carole King wrote such hits as "Will You Love Me Tomorrow," ''(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman," ''Up on the Roof" and "The Loco-Motion," died early Thursday at his home in Los Angeles. He was 75... Goffin, who married King in 1959 while they were in their teens, penned more than 50 top 40 hits, including "Pleasant Valley Sunday" for the Monkees, "Crying in the Rain" by the Everly Brothers, "Some Kind of Wonderful" for the Drifters and "Take Good Care of My Baby" by Bobby Vee. The...

'100 Years of Big Band Jazz in 99 Minutes' will feature the music of Benny Goodman, Count Basie and Robbie Williams, as Pete Long Big Band perform special Cadogan Hall concertMost fans of big band music will have their own favourites, whether that's Benny Goodman, Count Basie or even Robbie Williams. And many of the giants of big band jazz will be represented in an intriguing concert on June 15 at London's Cadogan Hall, when a century of the music will be covered in 99 minutes by the 17-piece Pete Long Big Band. Long, who directs the Big Band at...

The first time I can recall hearing Casey Kasem count down the hits on American Top 40 was on a Sunday in June 1981. Just shy of 10 and in the car with my cousins driving to the beach, I asked them to stop flipping the radio when they landed on Kasem, who was just a couple of songs away from revealing that week’s No. 1 hit. I’d glimpsed Kasem once or twice before that, on America’s Top 10, the television version of his countdown show, which ran on Saturdays after cartoons ended. But hearing Casey on the radio that...

Hollywood and the recording industry, often called the content industry, have a long and ignoble history of opposition to new technology. That list now includes streaming services. The record industry is pushing every button to try to kill off this growing marketplace. Look at Pandora, which had 77 million active listeners at the end of May. During the month those millions and millions of people listened to 1.73 billion hours of Pandora programming, a 28% increase year over year. Wall Street expects Pandora to grow its revenue 38% this year to 900 million – that’s the good news. The bad...

Weezer drummer Patrick Wilson showed his multitasking skills during a performance on Friday night in St. Augustine, Florida. Midway through their 2005 hit "Beverly Hills," a floating Frisbee (thrown by a fan we presume) crossed the stage. Wilson casually reaches up, fields the Frisbee and places it in his mouth before eventually discarding it next to his kit - all without missing a beat Needless to say, the crowd went wild. One excited fan posted a video of the incident on Instagram and Twtter to which Weezer singer Rivers Cuomo gave a shout out to, tweeting that this is "one...

Decades ago, during the summer of 1976, I was a sophomore in an art college. The School, Columbus Col. of Art and Design was in Columbus, Ohio, a few miles south of OSU campus where Woody Hayes reigned supreme for years.I usually completed my home assignments with music playing in the background. I had grown tired of the biggest hit for that summer, "You Light Up My Life", by Debbie Boone, daughter of singer Pat Boone. It was and is great recording, but I'd heard it everywhere. I left the AM radio dial and switched to FM .I heard the...

"This is an evocative, lovely and spiritual song. His deep velvet and whiskey voice is the only one that does it justice . No matter how many times I listen to this, I still feel a little chill. .....;

The Girl From Ipanema Also known as Garota de Ipanema. Josh Turner and Larkin Dodgen attempt the Tom Jobim classic that made Bossa Nova popular and launched Astrud Gilberto's singing career. Forgive my Portuguese. Guitar is a Gitane D-500; mics are a pair of Audio Technica AT2050's, camera is a Kodak Playsport. Thanks to Carson McKee (channel: drakeelliot) for helping with the recording. Please feel free to leave thoughts and suggestions!

BRITISH singer/songwriter Dame Vera Lynn is on course to make the top 20 at the age of 97, it's been revealed.The Forces' Sweetheart released 'Vera Lynn: National Treasure - The Ultimate Collection' at the beginning of this week, and it's already flying off the shelves. If the strong sales continue throughout the week, Dame Vera could even make the top ten and will extend her lead as the oldest living artist to figure so high up in the album chart. Her last major chart feat was five years ago when she achieved a number one with an earlier best-of release....

Burton Wilson’s camera was Austin’s memory during the hippie era when, as the saying went, if you could remember it, you weren’t there. The former Vermont farmboy who documented the vibrant scene at the Vulcan Gas Company in the 1960s and the Armadillo World Headquarters in the 1970s passed away Monday morning. He was 95. Wilson got it down while those around him were only concerned with getting down. In the process, he created the defining documents of an enchanting era in Austin’s history. “Burton was one of my mentors,” said photographer Todd V. Wolfson. “He made me want to...

The great funk band Kool and the Gang began 50 years ago in Jersey City, New Jersey. In 1964, brothers Khalis Bayyan, aka Ronald Bell, and Robert “Kool” Bell joined their neighborhood friends Robert “Spike” Mickens, Dennis “Dee Tee” Thomas, Ricky Westfield, George Brown and Charles Smith to form the Jazziacs. As the septet’s name implies, the group’s members were jazz fans. But they also listened to the sophisticated soul music emanating from Detroit’s Motown Records. By the time Kool and the Gang released a self-titled debut album in 1969, the band’s distinctive blend of horn, melody and funk was...

....The graduates at Doral Academy came to their feet when "Mr. 305" himself, Pitbull, took a break from the world stage to take center stage at the ceremony. While Pitbull didn’t go to college, and hardly made it out of high school, he still soared to success. The popular artist tops many music charts and is internationally known. Pitbull, real name Armando Christian Perez, received an honorary degree from Doral College, which shared a ceremony with Doral Academy. “Because of everybody up here, I am you, you are me,” Pitbull said. “I understand your struggle and I understand what you...

Rihanna undoubtedly is one of the most popular female singers in the world and comparatively much younger than Elissa, a renowned Lebanese singer. Rihanna started her singing career in 2005 but in no time she shot to global fame. On the other hand, Elissa is immensely popular in this part of the world. She is known for working in collaboration with well-known Arab and international artists like Ragheb Alama, Cheb Mami, Fadl Shaker, Chris De Burgh and Gerrard Ferrer. She is now considered one of the top singers in the Middle East. Born to a Lebanese father and Syrian mother,...