bits and pieces

Voices Made From Heaven

2012-05-28T13:02:00.002-07:00

Remembering our fallen singers on this Memorial Day. How they made their mark on the Music Industry. How I wish I was old enough to know some of them during their "hay days", but nonetheless, I am in awe as I watch and listen to their performances. So touching and so inspiring and I could only wish that they are still around to share their beautiful and soulful voices with us.

ELVIS PRESLEY "King of Rock and Roll"

Elvis Aaron Presleya (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King". Presley is regarded as one of the most important figures of 20th-century popular culture. He had a versatile voice and unusually wide success encompassing many genres, including country, pop ballads, gospel, and blues. He is the best-selling solo artist in the history of popular music. Nominated for 14 competitive Grammys, he won three, and received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award at age 36. He has been inducted into multiple music halls of fame. Prescription drug abuse severely compromised his health, and he died suddenly in 1977 at the age of 42. Such a loss for a very beautiful singer.

MICHAEL JACKSON "King of Pop"

Michael Joseph Jackson[1] (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Often referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ,[2] Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records. His contribution to music, dance, and fashion, along with a much-publicized personal life, made him a global figure in popular culture for over four decades. The seventh child of the Jackson family, he debuted on the professional music scene along with his brothers as a member of The Jackson 5 in 1964, and began his solo career in 1971. Some of his other achievements include multiple Guinness World Records; 13 Grammy Awards (as well as the Grammy Legend Award and the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award); 26 American Music Awards (more than any other artist, including the "Artist of the Century"); 13 number-one singles in the United States in his solo career (more than any other male artist in the Hot 100 era); and the estimated sale of over 750 million records worldwide. Jackson won hundreds of awards, which made him the most-awarded recording artist in the history of popular music.[3] He was also one of the world's most prominent humanitarians and philanthropists; personally, and through his Heal the World Foundation, he donated more than 300 million dollars in charity, and held the Guinness World Record for having supported the most charities out of any pop star.
Jackson died of acute propofol and benzodiazepine intoxication on June 25, 2009, after suffering from cardiac arrest. The Los Angeles County Coroner ruled his death a homicide, and his personal physician was convicted of involuntary manslaughter. Jackson's death triggered a global outpouring of grief, and as many as one billion people around the world reportedly watched his public memorial service on live television. In March 2010, Sony Music Entertainment signed a $250 million deal with Jackson's estate to retain distribution rights to his recordings until 2017, and to release seven posthumous albums over the decade following his death.

LUTHER VANDROSS "Soulful"

Luther Vandross (April 20, 1951 – July 1, 2005) was an American singer-songwriter and record producer. During his career, Vandross sold over twenty-five million albums and won eight Grammy Awards including Best Male R&B Vocal Performance four times. He won four Grammy Awards in 2004 including the Grammy Award for Song of the Year for the track "Dance with My Father", co-written with Richard Marx.

JOHN DENVER

Henry John Deutschendorf, Jr. (December 31, 1943 – October 12, 1997), known professionally as John Denver, was an American singer/songwriter, activist, and humanitarian. After traveling and living in numerous locations while growing up in his military family, Denver began his music career in folk music groups in the late 1960s. His greatest commercial success was as a solo singer. Throughout his life Denver recorded and released approximately 300 songs, about 200 of which he composed. He performed primarily with an acoustic guitar and sang about his joy in nature, his enthusiasm for music, and relationship trials. Denver's music appeared on a variety of charts including country & western, the Billboard Hot 100, and adult contemporary, in all earning him 12 gold and 4 platinum albums with his signature songs "Sunshine on My Shoulders", "Take Me Home, Country Roads", "Leaving on a Jet Plane", "Rocky Mountain High", "Annie's Song", and "Calypso".

Denver further starred in films and several notable television specials in the 1970s and 1980s. In the following decades he continued to record, but also focused on calling attention to environmental issues, lent his vocal support to space exploration, and testified in front of Congress to protest censorship in music. He is known for his love of the state of Colorado, which he sang about numerous times. He lived in Aspen, Colorado, for much of his life, and influenced the governor to name him Poet Laureate of the state in 1974. The Colorado state legislature also adopted "Rocky Mountain High" as one of its state songs in 2007. He was an avid pilot, and died while flying his personal aircraft at the age of 53. Denver was one of the most popular acoustic artists of the 1970s.[1]

KAREN CARPENTER of The Carpenters

The Carpenters were an American vocal and instrumental duo, consisting of siblings Karen and Richard Carpenter. Though often referred to by the public as The Carpenters, the duo's official name on authorized recordings and press materials is simply "Carpenters". During a period in the 1970s when louder and wilder rock was in great demand, Richard and Karen produced a distinctively soft musical style that made them among the best-selling music artists of all time.
Carpenters' melodic pop produced a record-breaking run of hit recordings on the American Top 40 and Adult Contemporary charts, and they became leading sellers in the soft rock, easy listening and adult contemporary genres. Carpenters had three #1 singles on the Billboard Hot 100 and fifteen #1 hits on the Adult Contemporary chart (see The Carpenters discography). In addition, they had twelve top 10 singles (including their #1 hits). To date, Carpenters' album and single sales total more than 100 million units.
During their 14-year career, the Carpenters recorded 11 albums, thirty-one singles, five television specials, and a short-lived television series. They toured in the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, Australia, the Netherlands and Belgium. Their recording career ended with Karen's death in 1983 from cardiac arrest following complications of anorexia nervosa. Extensive news coverage of the circumstances surrounding her death increased public awareness of the consequences of eating disorders

WITHNEY HOUTON "Princes of Pop"

Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American recording artist, actress, producer, and model. In 2009, the Guinness World Records cited her as the most-awarded female act of all-time. Houston was one of the world's best-selling music artists, having sold over 170 million albums, singles and videos worldwide. She released seven studio albums and three movie soundtrack albums, all of which have diamond, multi-platinum, platinum or gold certification. Houston's crossover appeal on the popular music charts, as well as her prominence on MTV, starting with her video for "How Will I Know", influenced several African American female artists to follow in her footsteps.
Houston is the only artist to chart seven consecutive No. 1 Billboard Hot 100 hits. She is the second artist behind Elton John and the only female artist to have two number-one Billboard 200 Album awards (formerly "Top Pop Album") on the Billboard magazine year-end charts. Houston's 1985 debut album Whitney Houston became the best-selling debut album by a female act at the time of its release. The album was named Rolling Stone's best album of 1986, and was ranked at number 254 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. Her second studio album Whitney (1987) became the first album by a female artist to debut at number one on the Billboard 200 albums chart.
Houston's first cting role was as the star of the feature film The Bodyguard (1992). The film's original soundtrack won the 1994 Grammy Award for Album of the Year. Its lead single "I Will Always Love You", became the best-selling single by a female artist in music history. With the album, Houston became the first act (solo or group, male or female) to sell more than a million copies of an album within a single week period under Nielsen SoundScan system. The album makes her the top female act in the top 10 list of the best-selling albums of all time, at number four. Houston continued to star in movies and contribute to their soundtracks, including the films Waiting to Exhale (1995) and The Preacher's Wife (1996). The Preacher's Wife soundtrack became the best-selling gospel album in history.

DONNA SUMMER "Disco Queen"

LaDonna Adrian Gaines (December 31, 1948 – May 17, 2012), known by the stage name Donna Summer, was an American singer and songwriter who gained prominence during the disco era of the late 1970s. She had a mezzo-soprano vocal range, and was a five-time Grammy Award winner. Summer was the first artist to have three consecutive double albums reach number one on the United States Billboard chart, and she also charted four number-one singles in the United States within a 13-month period. Born into a devoutly Christian lower middle class African American family in Boston, Massachusetts, Summer first became involved with singing through church choir groups before joining a number of bands influenced by the Motown Sound. Influenced by the counterculture of the 1960s, she became the front singer of a psychedelic rock band named Crow and moved to New York City. Joining a touring version of the musical Hair, she spent several years living in West Germany, where she married Helmut Sommer, whose surname she adopted as her stage name. Returning to the United States, Summer co-wrote the song "Love to Love You Baby" with Pete Bellotte; music producer Giorgio Moroder convinced her to sing it herself, and it was released to mass commercial success in 1975, particularly on the disco scene. Over the following years, Summer followed this success with a string of other disco hits, such as "I Feel Love", "MacArthur Park", "Hot Stuff" and "No More Tears (Enough is Enough)". Becoming known as the "Queen of Disco", she regularly appeared at the Studio 54 club in New York City, while her music gained a particularly large following within the gay community, for whom she became a gay icon. Struggling with drug addiction and depression, she subsequently became a born-again Christian.

Diagnosed with lung cancer, Summer died in May 2012, at her home on Manasota Key in Englewood, Florida, after a battle with the disease. She was posthumously described as the "undisputed queen of the Seventies disco boom" who reached the status of "one of the world's leading female singers." Her work with Moroder, particularly "I Feel Love", has also been described as "really the start of electronic dance" music, by Moroder himself.

......let all your memories live by.....

-RIP-

Simply amazing!

2012-03-19T22:12:00.056-07:00

Amazingly talented!

Anthony Evans and Jesse Campbell in The Voice
VIDEO

When you have it, you have it! and nothing and nobody can take that away from you. It's up for you to nurture and develop it in a magnificent way. It's a God given talent and you should share it with the world.

Meet Anthony Evans and Jesse Campbell of The Voice Season 2. The best among the best in the show. Anthony Evans is a Pastor son, who wants to prove something to himself and wants to make his daddy proud. Jesse Campbell is a single dad who hope to give himself and his daughter a fresh start, after being separated to his wife and was homeless. Both were amazing singers but unfortunately, only one will stay to compete in the live show. These two deserves a spot in the show. Too bad for Anthony, way to go Jessie!

Jessica Sanchez

Here's Jesicca Sanchez, American Idol Season 11's Top 13. This girl has it! Amazingly talented. She captured the hearts of the judges and the audience with her song. A heartfelt rendition of "I Will Always Love You" by Whitney Houston, the best performance of the night. If these girl stay humble and focus, she'll go a long way. Goodluck!

See her full performance in American Idol ---> VIDEO

A tribute to my favorite artist-Whitney Houston

2012-03-07T00:22:00.006-08:00

Aug 9, 1963-Feb 11, 2012

Whitney Houston was one of the most awarded recording artist of all time. She was a singer, an actress, a producer, and a model. In 2009, the Guinness World Records cited her as the most-awarded female act of all time.Her awards include two Emmy Awards, six Grammy Awards, 30 Billboard Music Awards, and 22 American Music Awards, among a toal of 415 career awards in her lifetime. Houston was also one of the world's best-selling music artists, having sold over 170 million albums, singles and videos worldwide.

Inspired by prominent soul singers in her family, including her mother Cissy Houston, aunt Dionne Warwick and Dee Dee Warwick, and her godmother Aretha Franklin, Houston began singing with her New Jersey church's junior gospel choir at age 11. After she began performing alongside her mother in night clubs in the New York City area, she was discovered by Arista Records label head Clive Davis.

Houston released seven studio albums and three movie soundtrack albums, all of which have diamond, multi-platinum, platinum or gold certification.

Here are some of her greatest hits:

All at Once (see Video & Lyrics)

All the Man That I Need (see Video & Lyrics)

Count on Me (see Video & Lyrics)
Didn't We Almost Have ItAll(see Video & Lyrics)

The Greatest Love of All (see Video & Lyrics)
How Will I Know (see Video & Lyrics)

I Believe in You and Me (see Video & Lyrics)

I Have Nothing (see Video & Lyrics)

I Know Him So Well (see Video & Lyrics)

I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me) (see Video & Lyrics)

I Will Always Love You (see Video & Lyrics)

I'm Every Woman (see Video & Lyrics)

I'm Your Baby Tonight (see Video & Lyrics)

Miracle (see Video & Lyrics)

One Moment in Time (see Video & Lyrics)

Run to You (see Video & Lyrics)

Saving All My Love for You (see Video & Lyrics)

When You Believe (see Video & Lyrics)

Where Do Broken Hearts Go (see Video & Lyrics)
Star Spangled Banner

Let your memories live on forever Whitney! Rest if you must. You will always be remembered through these beautiful music you've shared to all of us. Thank you and so long!

Best Friendship Songs Ever Written

2012-02-12T10:08:00.000-08:00

Twelve beautifully written songs about friendship that are truly uplifting and inspiring. Share any of your favorites if you think they are left out. Enjoy these with your friends.

1. “Bridge Over Troubled Water” by Simon & Garfunkel 1970

It is the fifth and final studio album by Simon & Garfunkel. Released on January 26, 1970 on both Quadraphonic and Stereo formats, it reached No. 1 on Billboard Music Charts pop albums list. It won a Grammy Award for Album of the Year, as well as for Best Engineered Recording, while its title track won the Grammy Award for Record of the Year and Song of the Year in the Grammy Awards of 1971. It has since sold over 25 million copies worldwide.

Watch Video See Lyrics

2. “I'll Be There” by The Jackson 5 - 1970

A soul song written by Berry Gordy, Bob West, Hal Davis, and Willie Hutch, which resulted in two U.S. #1 hit singles: the original 1970 recording by American vocal quintet The Jackson 5 and a 1992 live version by American R&B singers Mariah Carey and Trey Lorenz. The Jackson 5 interpretation was recorded for Motown Records, and released as the first single from their Third Album in 1969. Produced by the songwriters, "I'll Be There" was The Jackson 5's fourth #1 hit in a row ("I Want You Back", "ABC", and "The Love You Save"), making them the first black male group to achieve four consecutive #1 pop hits. "I'll Be There" is also notable as the most successful single released by Motown during its "Detroit era" (1959–1972).

Watch Video See Lyrics

3. “With a Little Help From My Friends” by Beatles - 1967

"With a Little Help from My Friends" (originally titled "A Little Help from My Friends") is a song written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, released on The Beatles album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band in 1967. The song was written for and sung by The Beatles' drummer Ringo Starr as the character "Billy Shears"; it is ranked #304 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

Watch Video See Lyrics

4. “You've Got a Friend” by James Taylor – 1971

This is a song from 1971, originally written and performed by Carole King. It was included in her album Tapestry of 1971, but was made famous by James Taylor's cover version the same year. Taylor's rendition, released as a single from his own 1971 album Mud Slide Slim and the Blue Horizon, reached number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 4 on the UK Singles Chart. The James Taylor version also spent one week at the top of the Easy Listening charts. "You've Got a Friend" won Grammy Awards both for Taylor (Best Male Pop Vocal Performance) and King (Song of the Year). Joni Mitchell sings harmony.

Watch Video See Lyrics

5. “Lean On Me” by Bill Withers - 1972

Song written and released by Bill Withers in 1972. It was his first and only number one on both the soul singles and the Billboard Hot 100. It is ranked number 205 on Rolling Stone's list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". Numerous cover versions have been recorded, and it is one of only nine songs to have scored No. 1 with versions recorded by two different artists. Withers' childhood in the coal mining town of Slab Fork, West Virginia was the inspiration for "Lean on Me", which he wrote after he had moved to Los Angeles and found himself missing the strong community ethic of his hometown. He lived in a decrepit house in the poor section of town.

R&B group Club Nouveau covered the song and took it to number one for two weeks on the Billboard charts in 1987. It also scored number one on the dance charts, and won a Grammy award in 1987 for Bill Withers, as the writer, for Best R&B Song.

Watch Video See Lyrics

6. “Thank You for Being a Friend” by Andrew Gold - 1978

Written by Andrew Gold, who recorded it for his third album, All This and Heaven Too. The single version reached number 25 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1978.

Watch Video See Lyrics

7. “That's What Friends Are For” by Dionne Warwick and Friends – 1986

The song is far better known for its cover version by Dionne Warwick and Friends. A one-off collaboration featuring Gladys Knight, Elton John and Stevie Wonder released as a charity single in the United Kingdom and the United States in 1985, it was recorded as a benefit for American Foundation for AIDS Research, and raised over US$3 million for that cause. The tune peaked at number one for three weeks on the soul chart and for four weeks on the Billboard Hot 100, interestingly becoming the final US number one for all in January 1986 and became Billboard's number one single of 1986. In the U.S. it was certified Gold on 1/15/1986 by the R.I.A.A.

Watch Video See Lyrics

8. “Wind Beneath My Wings” by Bette Midler – 1989

Sometimes titled "The Wind Beneath My Wings is written in 1982 by Jeff Silbar and Larry Henley. They recorded a demo of the song, which they gave to musician Bob Montgomery. Montgomery then recorded his own demo version of the song, changing it from the mid-tempo version he was given to a ballad. Silbar and Henley then shopped the song to many artists, eventually resulting in Roger Whittaker becoming the first to release the song commercially. It appeared on his 1982 studio album, also titled Wind Beneath My Wings.

Watch Video See Lyrics

9. “I'll Be There for You” by The Rembrandts – 1995

Recorded by the American pop rock duo The Rembrandts. It is best known as the theme song to the American sitcom Friends, which premiered during 1994 and ended in 2004. The song was also released as the first single from the group's third studio album LP.

Watch Video See Lyrics

10. “Put Your Records On” by Corinne Bailey Rae – 2006

Song by English soul singer–songwriter Corinne Bailey Rae from her debut album, Corinne Bailey Rae (2006). Written by Rae, John Beck, and Steve Chrisanthou, it was released as the album's second single in February and early March 2006 throughout Europe and as the lead single in North America. Released as the album's second single, "Put Your Records On" was a commercial success. It topped the UK R&B Chart and Top 2 in UK Singles Chart. The song has since become a major worldwide hit, and along with Top 70 in the United States.

Watch Video See Lyrics

11. “Umbrella” by Rihanna – 2007

Recorded by Barbadian singer Rihanna, featuring a rap verse by Jay-Z. Written by The-Dream, Christopher Stewart, Kuk Harrell and Jay-Z, and produced by Stewart for Rihanna's third studio album, Good Girl Gone Bad (2007). The song was originally written for recording artist Britney Spears, who rejected it. "Umbrella" is a contemporary R&B, hip hop, and dance-pop song and lyrically it refers to a romantic and platonic relationship and the strength of that relationship. It is generally considered Rihanna's signature song.

Watch Video See Lyrics

12. “STAND BY ME” by Ben E. King

Originally performed by Ben E. King and written by King, Jerry Leiber, and Mike Stoller, based on the spiritual "Lord Stand by Me,", plus two lines rooted in Psalms 46:2-3. There have been over 400 recorded versions of "Stand by Me", including versions by John Lennon, Lady GaGa, Otis Redding, Jimi Hendrix, U2, Usher, Elton John, Pennywise and Prince Royce.

Watch Video See Lyrics

Does Facebook make you sad?

2012-02-07T22:33:00.002-08:00

Are you a member of this extremely popular social networking website? I bet you are, same here. It's been great being part of it, to be able to connect and reconnect with your love ones and friends. See their lives unfolding. I've seen my nephews and nieces as they grow-up through this website. Being thousands of miles away from home, this is one of the best ways of keeping in touch with them.

Recently, I came across this article "Why Facebook Makes You Sad? Pictures posted on site can make people jealous of each others' lives? According to this article, the more hours people spent on Facebook, the stronger was their agreement that others were happier. Looking at happy pictures of others on this hugely popular website gives people an impression that others are "always" happy and having good lives. While users will know that their real friends have ups and downs in their lives, all they have to go on with their fake Facebook 'friends' is a smiling picture. When that distorting effect is multiplied by the hundreds of Facebook friends that people don't actually know, it is easy to see how bitterness can fester, said the study.

Sooo true, I must agree. I had my moments of sadness and jealousy while I was hooked in FB. I did stop also for a while because it made me sick of envy. I even contemplated on deleting my account, but fortunately I did not, otherwise I'll lost contact with my family and friends and that would be the real sad part. A close friend once told me "not everything you see in FB is happy. We all have our own ups and downs". Reality check! She's right! I must admit that I also have a good fair share of life's blessings. So why should I be sad and jealous? Oh well! I forgot to count my blessings. For as long as my family and friends are happy, I am happy for them too.

Stay connected!