Music Flashcards
Bebop trumpeter
From South Carolina
Supposedly nicknamed for his stage antics
Signature bent trumpet & puffed cheeks (with stretched buccinators)
JOHN BIRKS “DIZZY” GILLESPIE
Wrote or co-wrote “Stardust”, “Georgia On My Mind”, & “Heart & Soul”
HOAGLAND “HOAGY” CARMICHAEL
Conductor
Born in Bombay, India
Musical director of Israel Philharmonic since 1981
ZUBIN MEHTA
Jewish-born German composer
His father renounced Judaism & took the name “Bartholdy”
Sister Fanny also composed
Grandfather Moses was a philosopher
Wrote overture & incidental music for “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”, which is the source of his famous “Wedding March”
Wrote melody that became “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing”
“Lieder ohne worte” (“Songs Without Words”) for piano
“Italian Symphony”
“Scottish Symphony” (inspired by Holyrood in Edinburgh)
FELIX MENDELSSOHN
Jewish Austrian composer
Director of Vienna’s court opera (1897-1907)
Composed 9 symphonies
No. 1 “Titan” (includes a variation of Frere Jacques)
No. 2 “Resurrection”
No. 8 “Symphony of a Thousand”
First spouse of Alma Schindler
Subject of a 1974 Ken Russell film
GUSTAV MAHLER
American composer
“Grand Canyon Suite” (1931), which includes “On the Trail”
“Niagara Falls Suite” (1961)
FERDE GROFE
French composer
“L’apprenti sorcier” (1897), based on a Goethe story and later used in Disney’s Fantasia (1940)
PAUL DUKAS
Austrian (Viennese), 1797-1828
“Ave Maria”
“Unfinished Symphony” (no. 8)
“Trout Quintet”
Popularized lieder, and is considered a master of them
“Gretchen at the Spinning Wheel”, a lied based on Goethe’s Faust
FRANZ SCHUBERT
Remixed the Beatles & Jay-Z into “The Grey Album”
Part of Gnarls Barkley
DANGER MOUSE
BRIAN BURTON
Group consisting of Danger Mouse (Brian Burton) & Cee-Lo Green
“Crazy” (2006)
GNARLS BARKLEY
Coach & judge on The Voice
Mummy in “Hotel Transylvania”
Part of Goodie Mob
“Fuck You”/”Forget You” (2011)
CEE LO GREEN
Atlanta hip-hop group formed by Big Gipp, Khujo, T-Mo, & Cee Lo Green
“Soul Food”
GOODIE MOB
French composer
“The Pearl Fishers” (first full opera)
“Carmen” (1875)
GEORGES BIZET
Bizet opera set in Seville, Spain
A gypsy woman works at a tobacco factory with Mercedes & Frasquita
Don Jose loses her to torero Escamillo, so he stabs her
Arias “Habanera” & “Toreador Song”
Inspired Hammerstein’s “____ Jones”
CARMEN
New York City-born Greek-American soprano
Subject of 1995 play “Master Class” by Terrence Mcnally
Dated Ari Onassis
MARIA CALLAS
Jamaican-American Calypso singer
“Banana Boat (Day-O)” (1956)
Starred in Carmen Jones film with Dorothy Dandridge
HARRY BELAFONTE
New Orleans-born “Queen of Gospel”
MAHALIA JACKSON
Italian tenor
Blind
ANDREA BOCELLI
American contralto
In 1939 was denied right to perform at Constitution Hall by the Daughters of the American Revolution
Gave an Easter Concert at the Lincoln Memorial instead, aided by the Roosevelts & Howard University, where she sang “My Country ‘Tis of Thee”
First black soloist at the Met, 1955
MARIAN ANDERSON
Spanish tenor
Born in Barcelona
Youngest of the “Three Tenors”
JOSE CARRERAS
Spanish tenor
Born in Madrid
Directed LA Opera 2017-2019
Name means “quiet Sunday”
PLACIDO DOMINGO
Italian tenor
Member of the Three Tenors
Previously taught elementary school
Gave a farewell tour in 2004
LUCIANO PAVAROTTI
Soprano from Laurel, Mississippi
Starred in Porgy & Bess in 1952
Achieved world opera fame in the 1960s
First black American to perform at La Scala
LEONTYNE PRICE
American soprano that “invaded” from Georgia
JESSYE NORMAN
New York soprano
Sang as “Bubbles Silverman” as a child
BEVERLY SILLS
Wrote & sang “All By Myself” (1975)
ERIC CARMEN
Philadelphia rock duo
“Kiss on My List”
“You Make My Dreams”
“Rich Girl”
“Out of Touch”
“Method of Modern Love”
“Maneater”
“I Can’t Go For That (No Can Do)”
“Private Eyes”
“Sara Smile”
“Adult Education”
DARYL HALL & JOHN OATES
Italian tenor
One of first to make recordings
Survived the 1906 San Francisco earthquake
ENRICO CARUSO
Tenor
Played “The Great Caruso” (1951) on film
MARIO LANZA
Portuguese-Brazilian 1940s film star
Sang “The Lady in the Tutti Frutti Hat”
Subject of “Bananas is my Business”
CARMEN MIRANDA
American musician
“Walking in Memphis” (1991)
MARC COHN
Spanish cellist, considered the greatest of the 1900s
Spent time in Puerto Rico
San Juan now has a yearly festival in his honour
PABLO CASALS
British cellist
Suffered from MS
Portrayed in 1998 film “Hilary & Jackie”
JACQUELINE DU PRE
American cellist
Born in Paris to Chinese parents
YO-YO MA
American composer
Won an Oscar for “The Heiress” score
“Billy the Kid” ballet
“Fanfare for the Common Man”, from his 3rd symphony
“Rodeo - the Courting at Burnt Ranch” ballet (1942), choreographed by Agnes de Mille
“Appalachian Spring” (1944), choreographed by Martha Graham
AARON COPLAND
New York band
Named from a Dos Passos novel
“Boy From New York City” (1981)
MANHATTAN TRANSFER
Band fronted by Rivers Cuomo
“Buddy Holly”
“Island in the Sun”
“Pork & Beans”
“Say It Ain’t So”
“Undone - the Sweater Song”
WEEZER
Band
“Ain’t No Rest for the Wicked” (2009)
“Shake Me Down”
CAGE THE ELEPHANT
Italian-American composer of TV operas
“Amahl and the Night Visitors” (1951), a Christmas opera referring to the magi Balthasar, Melchior & Kaspar
Partner of Samuel Barber
GIAN CARLO MENOTTI
American composer
“Adagio for Strings” (1936)
Opera “Anthony & Cleopatra” (1966)
Partner of Gian Carlo Menotti
SAMUEL BARBER
German composer
Temporarily married Cosima Liszt
Talked about the “3 Bs” (Bach, Beethoven, Brahms)
HANS VON BULOW
Spanish singer
Father of Enrique
“To All the Girls I’ve Loved Before” (1984), with Willie Nelson
“All of You” (1984), with Diana Ross
JULIO IGLESIAS
Spanish singer
Son of Julio
“Bailamos” (1999, “We Dance”)
“Escape” (2001)
“Hero” (2001)
“Bailando” (2014, “Dancing”)
ENRIQUE IGLESIAS
Hungarian composer & pianist
Popular virtuoso perforomer, toured Europe
Daughter Cosima married Hans von Bulow & Richard Wagner
“Faust Symphony” (1857), including a “Mephistopheles” movement
“Liebestraume” (“Dreams of Love”) (1850)
“Mephisto Waltz(es)”
“Hungarian Rhapsodies”
FRANZ LISZT
German composer
Head of 3rd Reich’s music bureau, though never a Nazi himself
“Elektra” (1903), opera
“Salome” (1905), opera
“Der Rosenkavalier” (“Knight of the Rose”) (1911), opera
“Japanese Festival Music” (1940)
RICHARD STRAUSS
Sang “Harper Valley PTA” (1968), about an angry widow (“My momma socked it to the…”)
Later became a film & a TV series
JEANNIE C. RILEY
Lead singer of Muse
MATT BELLAMY
Swedish soprano 1820-1887
Nicknamed “Nightingale”
Toured in America with PT Barnum (and appears as a character in the 1980 musical “Barnum”)
Friend & inspiration of Hans Christian Andersen, who loved her
JENNY LIND
American jazz & swing singer
“Strange Fruit”
“God Bless the Child”
Played by Diana Ross in “Lady Sings the Blues”, based on her autobiography
BILLIE HOLIDAY
“LADY DAY”
Lead singer of Weezer
RIVERS CUOMO
American singer
“Two Tickets to Paradise” (1977)
“Take Me Home Tonight” (1986)
EDDIE MONEY
(EDWARD MAHONEY)
Lead singer of Led Zeppelin
ROBERT PLANT
1896 tone poem By Richard Strauss
Based on Nietzsche
ALSO SPRACH ZARATHUSTRA
(“THUS SPAKE ZARATHUSTRA”)
Russian composer
Member of the “Five”
“Boris Godunov” (1874), opera based on Pushkin work about czar
“Night on Bald Mountain” (1940)
MODEST MUSSORGSKY
1874 Modest Mussorgsky suite for piano
Later reorchestrated by Ravel
Features “Promenades” between movements
Movements include “Gnome”, “Old Castle”, “Baba Yaga”, and “Unhatched Chicks”
PICTURES AT AN EXHIBITION
Russian composer
Member of the “Five”
“Prince Igor” (completed after his 1887 death by his colleagues)
Opera including “Polovotsian Dances”
Music later adapted for the musical “Kismet” (1953)
ALEXANDER BORODIN
Russian composer
Member of the “Five”
“Scheherezade” suite
“The Snow Maiden” opera
NIKOLAI RIMSKY-KORSAKOV
Composed by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov (1900)
Interlude from “Tale of Tsar Saltan” about a shape-changing prince
Al Hirt’s version was the theme for “The Green Hornet”
FLIGHT OF THE BUMBLEBEE
1960s girl group
“Leader of the Pack”
THE SHANGRI-LAS
American band
“An Old Fashioned Love Song” (“…comin’ down in 3-part harmony”)
“Shambala”
“Joy to the World”
THREE DOG NIGHT
American duo
“Let Your Love Flow” (1976)
BELLAMY BROTHERS
American group
“Flowers on the Wall” (1965)
THE STATLER BROTHERS
English band led by Matt Bellamy
“Black Holes and Reveleations”
MUSE
His father was considered “Father of the Viennese Waltz”
Known himself as the “Waltz King”, though he also composed marches and polkas
Vienna’s Music Director of Royal Court Balls (1863)
“On the Beautiful Blue Danube” (1866)
“Tritsch-Tratsch Polka”
“Emperor Waltz”
“Tales From the Vienna Woods”
JOHANN STRAUSS JR.
Opera by Johann Strauss Jr.
“The Bat”, referring to Dr. Falke’s ridiculed costume
Concerns Prince Orlofsky (often played by a woman)
In it, Champagne is called “King of All Wines”
DIE FLEDERMAUS
American lyricist & librettist
“Brigadoon”
“Camelot”
“My Fair Lady”
ALAN JAY LERNER
Austrian composer
“Brigadoon”
“Camelot”
“My Fair Lady”
FREDERICK LOEWE
English rock band
“Houses of the Holy”
“Physical Graffiti”
“In Through the Out Door”
“Coda”
Disbanded following the drummer’s death
LED ZEPPELIN
Russian-American ballet dancer & actor
Defected & left Bolshoi in 1979
Supporting roles in “Witness”, “Die Hard”, & “The Money Pit”
ALEXANDER GODUNOV
Founder of the Ballets Russes
SERGE DIAGHILEV
American ballet dancer
Osage heritage
Active in 1940s-50s
Married Balanchine; later annulled
Sister of dancer Marjorie
MARIA TALLCHIEF
American choreographer
“Chicago”
“Cabaret”
“Pippin”
“All That Jazz” (based on his life)
Most choreography Tonys with 8
Married Gwen Verdon
BOB FOSSE
American dancer & actress
“Damn Yankees”
“Redhead” (directed by Bob Fosse)
Married Bob Fosse
Played by Michelle Williams in a 2019 FX series
GWEN VERDON
First black female primary for the American Ballet Theater
MISTY COPELAND
American modern dance choreographer
Active for 70 years & 181 works
Taught Betty Ford
Choreographed Copland’s “Appalachian Spring”
MARTHA GRAHAM
American dancer
Pioneer of modern dance
Danced barefoot
Died in a scarf/shawl auto accident
ISADORA DUNCAN
American ballet dancer & choreographer
Niece of director Cecil
Choreographed Copland’s “Rodeo”, “Oklahoma”, and “Brigadoon”
AGNES DE MILLE
Band formed in Maryland, 1996
Twin brothers Benji & Joel Madden
“Lifestyles of the Rich & Famous”
GOOD CHARLOTTE
70s-80s funk/soul band
Included Lionel Richie
“Brick House” (1977)
“Three Times a Lady” (1978)
COMMODORES
Emo band from Nevada
Fronted by Brendon Urie
“I Write Sins Not Tragedies” (2005)
“High Hopes” (2018)
PANIC! AT THE DISCO
They sang “867-5309/Jenny”
TOMMY TUTONE
Number & name in a 1981 Tommy Tutone hit
867-5309/JENNY
Ex-lead singer of Blink-182
TOM DELONGE
Member of Commodores
From Tuskegee, AL
“All Night Long”
“Hello”
“Dancing on the Ceiling”
“Endless Love” with Diana Ross
Wrote Kenny Rogers’ “Lady”
“We Are the World”
LIONEL RICHIE
“Hurts So Good” & “Jack & Diane” from 1982 album “American Fool”
“Pink Houses” (1984)
Co-founded first Farm Aid concert in 1985 with Willie Nelson & Neil Young
JOHN (COUGAR) MELLENCAMP
American bandleader called the “Mambo King”
Died 2000
“Oye Como Va” (1962) (“Listen how it goes”), covered by Santana in 1970
TITO PUENTE
Composer of “Guys & Dolls”
“How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying” (Pulitzer)
“Baby It’s Cold Outside”
“Praise the Lord & Pass the Ammunition”
FRANK LOESSER
Eliminated from “The X-Factor”, later joined One Direction
From Cheshire
Acting debut in “Dunkirk” (2017)
“Adore You” (2019)
“Watermelon Sugar” (2020)
“Fashionable” - wore a Gucci dress on the cover of Vogue in 2020, first lone man to do so
“As It Was” (2022)
HARRY STYLES
Californian pop-punk band
Ex-lead singer Tom DeLonge
Drummer Travis Barker
“What’s My Age Again” (1999)
“All the Small Things” (1999)
“California” (2016)
BLINK-182
1973 hit by Scottish band Stealers Wheel
Mr. Blonde (Michael Madsen) dances to it in “Reservoir Dogs”
“Clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right…”
STUCK IN THE MIDDLE WITH YOU
American band
“Caught Up in You” (1982)
“Hold On Loosely”
.38 SPECIAL
1972 Edgar Winter Group instrumental
Named for its editing process
FRANKENSTEIN
American band
“Free Ride” 1973
“Frankenstein” 1972
EDGAR WINTER GROUP
Japanese-American violinist
Mononymous
MIDORI (GOTO)
Quit One Direction in 2015
“PILLOWTALK” 2016
“I Don’t Wanna Live Forever” with Taylor Swift (50 Shades Darker)
Now mononymous
ZAYN (MALIK)
Lead singer of Panic! At the Disco
BRENDON URIE
Texan pianist
Won Russia’s 1st international Tchaikovsky Competition (1958)
A Fort Worth piano competition is now named for him
VAN CLIBURN
British goth band
Fronted by Peter Murphy
“Bela Lugosi’s Dead” (1979)
BAUHAUS
American blues-rock duo
Dan Auerbach & Patrick Carney
“Lonely Boy” (2011) from album “El Camino”
“Turn Blue” (2014)
THE BLACK KEYS
New Wave group from Athens, Georgia
“Rock Lobster” (1978)
“Private Idaho” (1980) (“You’re livin’ in your own…”)
“Love Shack” (1989)
Named for hairdos of Kate Pierson & Cindy Wilson
THE B-52s
Band fronted by Buck Dharma
“(Don’t Fear) the Reaper”
“Burnin’ For You”
“Godzilla”
BLUE OYSTER CULT
English band
“Tonight, Tonight, Tonight” (1986)
Singer Peter Gabriel left in 1975
Drummer/singer Phil Collins
GENESIS
Singer who left Genesis in 1975
“Sledgehammer” & “In Your Eyes” from album “So” (1986)
“Biko”(1977) about beaten activist Stephen
Wall-E song
PETER GABRIEL
Drummer/singer for Genesis
“In the Air Tonight” from “Face Value” (1981)
“Sussudio” from “No Jacket Required” (1985)
1988 film “Buster”
“You’ll Be in My Heart” frim Disney’s Tarzan
PHIL COLLINS
Born in Kalamata, Greece
New Age keyboardist
“Live at the Acropolis” (1994)
“Ethnicity”
Partner of Linda Evans for 9 years
YANNI
Lively dance from an Italian town
“Spidery” name
Mentioned in “That’s Amore” - a “gay ____”
TARANTELLA
Andalusian dance (Spain)
Associated with Roma
Didn’t always use castanets, but now associated with them
Often danced to guitar
FLAMENCO
Ponchielli’s “Dance of the Hours” from La Giaconda (1876 opera) was used in this 1940 film’s “Dancing Hippos” segment
FANTASIA
Allan Sherman novelty song of 1963
Set to the “Dance of the Hours” from Ponchielli’s “La Giaconda”
HELLO MUDDAH HELLO FADDUH (A LETTER FROM CAMP)
Also called “steam organ” or “steam piano”
Uses air or steam to blow whistles
Associated with circus & carnival music
Named for muse of epic poetry
CALLIOPE
Ram’s horn played in Jewish celebrations, for example during Rosh Hashanah & at the end of Yom Kippur
SHOFAR
Scottish instrument that produces a “skirl”
Composed of windbag, drones, chanters, & sometimes a bellows
BAGPIPES
Name Timothy Mosley took from a boot brand
Producer of Justin Timberlake’s “Cry Me a River”, among others
TIMBALAND
Band with lyrics & bass by Pete Wentz
Named for a Simpsons character
“Dance Dance” (2005)
“Thnks fr th mmrs” (2007)
Album “American Beauty/American Psycho” (2015)
FALL OUT BOY
Bassist/lyricist of Fall Out Boy
Married Ashlee Simpson in 2008 (divorced 2011)
Father of Bronx Mowgli
PETE WENTZ
Italian for “joke”
Often 3rd movement in a Symphony
SCHERZO
Term meaning “pinched/plucked” in Italian
To use fingers instead of bowing the string
PIZZICATO
Possibly from the French or Latin for small or “small steps”
French dance in 3/4 time
Sometimes with “& trio”
Sometimes used as the 3rd movement in a symphony
MINUET
Italian for “going/walking”
A walking pace, about 100 bpm
Between Adagio & Moderato
ANDANTE
2002 film starring Eminem as B-Rabbit
Won best original song Oscar for “Lose Yourself”
8 Mile
American rapper from Detroit
Has 6 best rap album Grammys
Collaborated with Rihanna on “The Monster” & “Love the Way You Lie”
EMINEM
(MARSHALL MATHERS)
American rapper
“Stan” (about a stalker fan)
“Kim” (about his ex)
“Hailie’s Song” (about his daughter)
“Music to Be Murdered By”
EMINEM
(MARSHALL MATHERS)
“Love Song” (2007)
“Brave” (2013)
Wrote music for 2016 stage musical “Waitress”
Peacock series “Girls 5 Eva”
SARAH BAREILLES
Sang “Fight Song” (2015)
RACHEL PLATTEN
“Your Mama Don’t Dance” (1972) duo
KENNY LOGGINS & JIM MESSINA
Without Messina, he was “Footloose” (1984) & in the “Danger Zone” (1986)
KENNY LOGGINS
Cuban-born singer
“Havana” (w/ Young Thug, 2017)
Played Amazon’s “Cinderella” (2021)
CAMILA CABELLO
Caribbean city where Camila Cabello (w/ Young Thug) sings “half my heart is in…”
HAVANA
Canadian singer
“Life of the Party” (2014)
“Stitches” (2016)
“Treat You Better” (2016)
“There’s Nothing Holdin’ Me Back” (2017)
SHAWN MENDES
2019 duet with Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello
SENORITA
Brazilian bossa nova bandleader & band
“Fool on the Hill” (1968, Beatles cover)
“Brasileiro” (1992)
“Mas Que Nada”
“One Note Samba”
SERGIO MENDES & BRASIL ‘66
Puccini’s last completed opera (1918)
Set in Florence
GIANNI SCHICCHI
1896 Puccini opera set in the Latin Quarter of Paris
Characters include Poet Rodolfo, his love Mimi (who has TB), Colline (philosopher), and Marcello (painter)
Inspired Jonathan Larson’s “Rent”
LA BOHEME
1904 Puccini opera set in Nagasaki
American navy man Pinkerton marries (and then leaves) Cio-cio san
After he leaves and she births their son Dolore (Sorrow), she commits seppuku
Suzuki is her maid
Inspired “Miss Saigon” and a play by H. Hwang
MADAMA BUTTERFLY
1805 opera subtitled “Triumph of Marital Love”
Leonore disguises self as title boy to rescue her imprisoned husband Florestan
Beethoven’s sole opera
FIDELIO
Beethoven’s Bagatelle No. 25 in A minor (1810)
Now referred to by its inscription
FUR ELISE
Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No. 14 in C# minor (1801)
Nicknamed after a critic’s comments
MOONLIGHT SONATA
Composer of Fidelio, Fur Elise, & Moonlight Sonata
LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN
Italian composer of Gianni Schicchi, Madama Butterfly, & La Boheme
GIACOMO PUCCINI
Italian composer of La Fanciulla Del West (Girl of the Golden West), Manon Lescaut, Turandot, & Tosca
GIACOMO PUCCINI
Unfinished opera by Puccini, completed posthumously by Alfano
Title character is princess of Peking (Beijing)
She poses 3 riddles for suitors who will win her hand, or die
“Nessun Dorma”
TURANDOT
1800 opera by Puccini set in Rome
Title character is an opera singer, first name Floria
Cavaradossi, a painter, is another character
TOSCA
1910 opera by Puccini
Opened at the Met
Title character is Minnie, who works at a polka saloon
Set during the California gold rush
LA FANCIULLA DEL WEST
GIRL OF THE GOLDEN WEST
The two composers who wrote “Manon” (1884) & “Manon Lescaut” (1893)
JULES MASSENET (Manon)
GIACOMO PUCCINI (Manon Lescaut)
New Zealand soprano of Maori descent
Made a dame
Sang at Charles & Diana’s wedding
KIRI TE KANAWA
Italian conductor (1867-1957)
Directed La Scala in Milan, the New York Philharmonic, & NBC Symphony Orchestra
Conducted scores from his (eidetic) memory
ARTURO TOSCANINI
Song by Labelle, 1974
2001 version by Lil Kim, Pink, Mya, & Christina Aguilera for “Moulin Rouge”
“Voulez vous coucher avec moi ce soir?”
“Gitchie gitchie, ya ya…”
LADY MARMALADE
1964 song by Gerry & the Pacemakers
About a river
FERRY CROSS THE MERSEY
1978 Gerry Rafferty hit “street”
BAKER STREET
1972 Mott the Hoople hit
Written by David Bowie
ALL THE YOUNG DUDES
“Coloring Book” (2016 mixtape)
“The Big Day” (2019 album)
Worked on Kanye’s “Life of Pablo”
Job is in his name
CHANCE THE RAPPER
Novelty Christmas song by Elmo & Patsy
GRANDMA GOT RUN OVER BY A REINDEER
He’s backed by the “Silver Bullet Band”
BOB SEGER
Bob Seger is backed by this “metallic” band
SILVER BULLET BAND
American singer
“Old Time Rock & Roll” (1979)
“Like a Rock” (used in Chevy ads)
“Katmandu”
BOB SEGER (& THE SILVER BULLET BAND)
American singer
“Night Moves” (1976)
“Mainstreet” (1977)
“Against the Wind” (1980)
BOB SEGER (& THE SILVER BULLET BAND)
John Parr sang this film’s title theme in 1985
Subtitled “(Man in Motion)”
ST. ELMO’S FIRE
Philadelphia duo
“He’s the DJ, I’m the Rapper” (1987 album)
Received 1st Grammy for rap performance for “Parents Just Don’t Understand”
“Summertime” (1991)
DJ JAZZY JEFF & THE FRESH PRINCE
Tony Bennett’s signature 1962 tune about a west coast cardiac event
I LEFT MY HEART IN SAN FRANCISCO
Among others, performed duets with Lady Gaga (“Cheek to Cheek”), Amy Winehouse (“Body & Soul”), and Stevie Wonder (“For Once in My Life”)
TONY BENNETT
American singer
“Blue Velvet”
“Rags to Riches”
Records for recording age and career length
First album released 1952
Retired in 2021
TONY BENNETT
Soviet Armenian composer
Ballets “Gayane” (1939) & “Spartacus”
“Ode to Stalin”
ARAM KHACHATURIAN
Famous weapon “dance” from Khachaturian’s 1939 ballet “Gayane”
SABRE DANCE
Antonio de Torres Jurado (1817-1892) was famed for making these
GUITARS
London-born one-named singer
“Thank You” (1998)
Appeared on Eminem’s “Stan”
DIDO
American rapper
“Gettin’ Jiggy Wit It” (1998)
“Pump Ya Brakes” (feat. Snoop Dogg)
“Men in Black” (1997)
“Wild Wild West”
WILL SMITH (THE FRESH PRINCE)
Singer
“Kids in America” (1981)
KIM WILDE
Soft rock duo
“Summer Breeze” (1972)
Previously members of The Champs (“Tequila”, 1958)
(JIM) SEALS & (DASH) CROFTS
British group
“Dog Days Are Over” (2009)
“Shake It Out” (2011)
FLORENCE (WELCH) + THE MACHINE
Singer
Died in 2020
“The Gambler” (1978 album)
“Islands in the Stream (1983) with Dolly
“Lady” (1980) written by Lionel Richie
KENNY ROGERS
English Baroque composer
“The Fairy Queen” (based on Shakespeare’s “Midsummer Night’s Dream”)
“Dido & Aeneas” (1688)
HENRY PURCELL
Henry Purcell opera about a Carthaginian queen & her lover
DIDO & AENEAS
Italian composer
“Il Piccolo Marat” about the reign of terror
“Cavalleria Rusticana” (1890)
PIETRO MASCAGNI
Pietro Mascagni 1-act opera of 1890
Often performed as a double-header with Leoncavallo’s “Pagliacci”
CAVALLERIA RUSTICANA
Common name for a double-header of Mascagni & Leoncavallo
CAV & PAG
(CAVALLERIA RUSTICANA & PAGLIACCI)
Italian composer
“Lucia di Lammermoor” based on Walter Scott, set at Ravenwood Castle
The “Tudor trilogy” of “Anna Bolena” (1830), “Maria Stuarda” (1834), & “Roberto Devereux” (1837, about Elizabeth)
“Lucrezia Borgia”
“Daughter of the Regiment”
GAETANO DONIZETTI
Memphis record label
Named for founders Jim Stewart & Estelle Axton
“Soul Man”, “Green Onions”
Otis Redding
STAX RECORDS
“These Boots Are Made For Walkin’” (1966)
“Sugar Town”
Covered Cher’s “Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)”
Daughter of Frank
Duetted on “Somethin’ Stupid”
NANCY SINATRA
Vocalist
Died in 2017
Married Cher in 1975 after her divorce from Sonny Bono
GREGG ALLMAN
Guitarist
Died in 1971 motorcycle crash
Brother of Gregg
DUANE ALLMAN
American group from Jacksonville
“Ramblin’ Man” (1973)
“Whipping Post” (1969)
“Midnight Rider” (1974)
“Live at Fillmore East” album
ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND
Annual benefit concert
Founded in 1985 by Neil Young, John Mellencamp, & Willie Nelson
First held in Champaign, Illinois
FARM AID
Founded in 1984 by Rick Rubin & Russell Simmons
Worked with LL Cool J & Jay-Z
DEF JAM RECORDINGS
1968 number 1 hit for the Beatles
Written for Julian Lennon by Paul
HEY JUDE
Style of music named for Bill Monroe & his “Boys”
Acoustic string music of Kentucky
BLUEGRASS
Kentucky band for whom a style of acoustic string music is named
BILL MONROE & THE BLUEGRASS BOYS
Charlotte Caffey - lead guitar/keyboards
Belinda Carlisle - lead vocals
Gina Schock - drums
Kathy Valentine - bass guitar
Jane Wiedlin - rhythm guitar
THE GO-GOS
American all-female band
“Beauty & the Beat” (1981 album) - “We Got the Beat”, “Our Lips Are Sealed”
“Vacation” (1982)
2018 musical “Head Over Heels” is based on their music
THE GO-GOS
Outlaw country supergroup
Kris Kristofferson, Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash, & Willie Nelson
1985-1995
THE HIGHWAYMEN
Recorded in 1959 by The Highwaymen (not the country supergroup)
Hit in 1961
Refers to crossing the river Jordan
“Hallelujah”
MICHAEL (ROW THE BOAT ASHORE)
British synth pop duo
“West End Girls”
“Always on My Mind” (1987 version)
PET SHOP BOYS
Musical quartet/trio
Members have included Michelle Williams, Kelly Rowland, & Beyoncé Knowles
DESTINY’S CHILD
Musical group
“Bills, Bills, Bills”
“Say My Name” (1999)
2001 album “Survivor”
“Independent Women, Pt. 1”
“Bootylicious”
DESTINY’S CHILD
New Orleans rock trio
“Good” (1995)
Name might be a Hemingway quote regarding Pound playing the bassoon
BETTER THAN EZRA
Band fronted by Ezra Koenig
“Horchata” (2009)
“Diane Young” (2013)
“Unbelievers” (2013)
“Hudson”
2019 album “Father of the Bride”
“Harmony Hall”
VAMPIRE WEEKEND
American singer
“Don’t Cry Out Loud” (1978)
MELISSA MANCHESTER
Canadian-American singer
Previous member of Buffalo Springfield
Backing band “Crazy Horse”
Occasional member of CSN(Y)
Co-founded Farm Aid
NEIL YOUNG
Singer
“Ohio” (1970) - about Kent State shooting
“Heart of Gold” (1972)
“Sugar Mountain” (1977)
NEIL YOUNG
Canadian-American Singer
“My My, Hey Hey (Out of the Blue)” & “Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black)” from “Rust Never Sleeps” (1979) - quoted by Cobain’s suicide note
“Rockin’ in the Free World” (1989)
NEIL YOUNG
American outlaw country singer
“Whiskey River” (1978, cover)
“Always On My Mind” (1982, cover)
“Mammas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys” (1978, cover with Waylon Jennings)
WILLIE NELSON
American singer
Wrote Patsy Cline’s “Crazy”
Member of supergroup The Highwaymen
Guitar named Trigger
Statue of him in Austin
WILLIE NELSON
Red-headed American singer
“Bloody Mary Morning” (1970)
“Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain” (1975)
“On the Road Again” (1980)
1990s IRS troubles
WILLIE NELSON
1987 U2 album
“Where the Streets Have No Name”
“I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For”
“With or Without You”
“One Tree Hill”
Shares name with a plant & a national park
JOSHUA TREE
Singer, The Mamas & the Papas
“Make Your Own Kind of Music” (1969)
Died 1974
(MAMA) CASS ELLIOT
Singer - “New York, New York” (1977), “My Way” (1969)
Born Francis, in Hoboken, New Jersey 1915
Died 1998, buried in Palm Springs with epitaph “The Best is Yet to Come”
Nicknamed “Chairman of the Board”
FRANK SINATRA
Nathan Detroit in 1955’s “Guys & Dolls” film
Danny Ocean in “Ocean’s 11” (1960)
“The Manchurian Candidate” (1962)
Robbo in “Robin & the 7 Hoods” (1964)
Married 4 times - Nancy Barbato, Ava Gardner (50s), Mia Farrow (60s), & Barbara Marx (1976-death)
Nicknamed “The Voice”
FRANK SINATRA
Singer
“Strangers In the Night” (1966)
“Come Fly With Me” (1958)
“Fly Me to the Moon” (1964)
Founder of Reprise Records, 1960
Nicknamed “Ol’ Blue Eyes”
FRANK SINATRA
American singer
“Mad About You” (1986)
“Heaven Is a Place on Earth” (1987)
Lead singer of The Go-Gos
BELINDA CARLISLE
1961 Barry Mann doo-wop novelty single
Also asks about the “rama” in “rama-lama-ding-dong”
“WHO PUT THE BOMP (IN THE BOMP, BOMP, BOMP)”
With wife Cynthia Weil, he wrote Cass Elliot’s “Make Your Own Kind of Music” & the Animals’ “We Gotta Get Out of This Place”
BARRY MANN
Singer from Brooklyn
“Solitary Man” (1966)
“Kentucky Woman” (1967)
“Girl, You’ll Be a Woman Soon” (1967)
“Song Sung Blue” (1972)
“Forever in Blue Jeans” (1979)
NEIL DIAMOND
American musician
Starred in “The Jazz Singer” (1980)
Wrote “I’m a Believer”
“You Don’t Bring Me Flowers” (1978) with Barbra Streisand
NEIL DIAMOND
American singer
“Cherry, Cherry” (1966)
“Sweet Caroline” (1969)
“I Am… I Said” (1971)
“Heartlight” (1982) based on E.T.
NEIL DIAMOND
American singer
“Killing Me Softly With His Song” (1973)
Grammys for Song & Record of the Year
ROBERTA FLACK
Haitian rapper
Feat. on “Hips Don’t Lie” (Shakira)
Named for John Wycliffe
WYCLEF JEAN
Fugees member
“The Miseducation of _ “ (1998) including “Doo Wop (That Thing)”
Best New Artist Grammy
“Sister Act 2”
LAURYN HILL
Trio of Lauryn Hill, Wyclef Jean, & Pras Michel
“Killing Me Softly” (1996)
“Ready Or Not” (1996)
THE FUGEES
American singer
“Reflection” from Mulan (1998)
“Genie in a Bottle” & “What a Girl Wants” (1999)
“Lady Marmalade” from Moulin Rouge! (2001)
“Beautiful” (2002)
“Candyman” (2006)
CHRISTINA AGUILERA
American singer
Ex-mouseketeer
Feat. on Maroon 5’s “Moves Like Jagger” (2011)
“The Voice” coach (2011-2016)
Starred in “Burlesque” (2010)
CHRISTINA AGUILERA
Accordionist & bandleader from North Dakota
Star of “The ____ Show” (1951-1982) with theme “Bubbles in the Wine”
Played a style known as “champagne music”
Catchphrases “Wunnerful, wunnerful” & “Ah-one, ah-two…”
LAWRENCE WELK
American singer
Born Shaffer Smith
“Time of Our Lives” (2014, with Pitbull)
“Hate That I Love You” (2007, with Rihanna)
Name taken from “The Matrix”
NE-YO
German mid-romantic composer & pianist (1833-1897)
Born in Hamburg
Director of Vienna’s Society of Friends of Music (1872-75)
Wrote 4 symphonies, the 1st of which has been nicknamed (Beethoven’s) “10th”
3rd of Hans von Bulow’s “Three Bs” after Bach & Beethoven
JOHANNES BRAHMS
German mid-romantic composer & pianist (1833-1897)
Wrote “serenades” (1858, Op. 11; 1859, Op. 16), rhapsodies, sonatas
“Overtures” (1880, “Tragic” and “Academic Festival”)
Purportedly fell asleep at a Liszt performance
JOHANNES BRAHMS
Op. 49, No. 4 by Brahms
Also called “Wiegenlied”
1868
Used frequently in pop culture, including The Twilight Zone episode “A Piano in the House”
LULLABY
A set of 21 pieces written in 1869 and 1880 by Brahms
“National” and “terpsichorean”
HUNGARIAN DANCES
1868 work by Brahms (Op. 45)
7 movements, his longest
Written with text from Luther Bible
(A) GERMAN REQUIEM
Single-reed woodwind
Name from Latin, “clear”
Also called a “licorice” or “ebony stick”
Used in Mozart’s “Concerto in A Major” (considered his swan song), Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue”, Stravinsky’s “Ebony Concerto”, and as the cat in “Peter & the Wolf”
Played by Benny Goodman, Artie Shaw, Woody Herman, Woody Allen, & Squidward Tentacles
CLARINET
“Low” 2-word member of the clarinet family
BASSET HORN
String instrument with a flat soundboard & frets
Played in the German & Austrian Alps
Used in the score for “The Third Man”
ZITHER
American rapper & singer
Born Tramar Dillard in Miam-Dade area & named for his home state
“Low” (2007) feat. T-Pain
“Right Round” (2009) feat. Kesha (samples Dead or Alive’s “You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)”)
“Good Feeling”
“Wild Ones” (2012) feat. Sia
“My House” (2015)
FLO RIDA
1985 hit by English band Dead or Alive
Sampled in a hit by Flo Rida & Kesha
YOU SPIN ME ROUND (LIKE A RECORD)
English duo of George Michael & Andrew Ridgeley
“Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go”
“Everything She Wants”
“Careless Whisper” (1984)
Performed in China in 1985, groundbreaking for a Western group
WHAM!
Portuguese-Canadian singer
Album “Whoa, Nelly!” (2000) includes “I’m Like a Bird”
“Promiscuous” (2006) feat. Timbaland
“Say It Right” (2006)
NELLY FURTADO
British/Irish trio of Keren Woodward, Sara Dallin, & Siobhan Fahey
“Cruel Summer” (1984)
“Venus” (1986)
BANANARAMA
British singer born Georgios Panayiotou
Member of Wham!
“I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)” (1987) - duet with Aretha Franklin
Album “Faith” (1987) includes “Father Figure” & “I Want Your Sex”
“Freedom! ‘90” (1990)
“Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me” (1991) - duet with Elton John
Died in 2016 at Christmas
GEORGE MICHAEL
American singer & actress
Currently holds the record for most Grammy awards (32)
Former member of Destiny’s Child
Spouse of Jay-Z (Shawn Carter) - sometimes credited together as “The Carters”
Mother of Blue Ivy and twins Rumi & Sir
BEYONCE (KNOWLES-CARTER)
American singer & actress
Foxxy Cleopatra in “Austin Powers in: Goldmember” (2002)
Deena Jones in “Dreamgirls” (2006)
Etta James in “Cadillac Records” (2008)
Nala in “The Lion King” (2019)
Produced the musical films “Lemonade” (2016), “Homecoming” (2019), & “Black Is King” (2020)
BEYONCE (KNOWLES-CARTER)
American singer
Album “Dangerously In Love” (2003) includes “Me Myself & I” and Crazy In Love” (feat. Jay-Z)
Album “I Am… Sasha Fierce” (2008) includes “Halo”, “If I Were a Boy”, and “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)”
Album “Lemonade” (2016) includes “Sorry” and “6 Inch” (feat. The Weeknd)
Featured on Lady Gaga’s “Telephone” (2009)
Other songs include “Run the World (Girls)” (2011), “Drunk In Love” (2013), and “Break My Soul” (2022)
BEYONCE (KNOWLES-CARTER)
Romanian musician who plays the nai/panpipes/syrinx
“Master of the Pan Flute”
GHEORGHE ZAMFIR
American doo-wop group
Named for a Ford model
“Rama Lama Ding Dong” (1958)
THE EDSELS
American songwriter
“Let’s Do It, Let’s Fall In Love” (from “Paris” 1928)
“I Love Paris” (from “Can-Can”, 1953)
“I Get a Kick Out of You”, “You’re the Top”, & “Anything Goes” (from “Anything Goes” 1934)
“Kiss Me, Kate” (1948)
COLE PORTER
American songwriter
“Night and Day” (from “The Gay Divorcee” 1932)
“It’s De-Lovely” (from “Red, Hot, & Blue” 1936)
“Don’t Fence Me In” (1934)
“I’ve Got You Under My Skin” (from “Born to Dance” 1936)
Portrayed by Cary Grant in “Night & Day” (1946) and Kevin Kline in “De-Lovely” (2004)
COLE PORTER
Duo of Anderson.Paak & Bruno Mars
“Leave the Door Open” (2021) - Grammy for Record of the Year & Song of the Year
SILK SONIC
Also called “Bangtan Boys” or “Bulletproof Boy Scouts”
South Korean boy band
“DNA” (2017 - not to be confused with 2019 Backstreet Boys album “DNA”)
“Love Yourself: Answer” (2018 album)
“Dynamite” (2020)
BTS
American latin-pop band
Included Gloria & Emilio Estefan
“Conga” (1985)
“Rhythm is Gonna Get You” (1987)
MIAMI SOUND MACHINE
American singer & pianist
“Lawyers, Guns, & Money” (1978)
“Werewolves of London” (1978)
WARREN ZEVON
EGOT - winning American actress & singer
Supporting actress Oscar as Effie White in Dreamgirls (2006)
“And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going”
JENNIFER HUDSON
American band
“Come Sail Away” (1977)
“Babe” (1980)
“Mr. Roboto” (1983)
STYX
British band named for its keyboardist
“Quinn the Eskimo”/”Mighty Quinn” (1968) by Bob Dylan
MANFRED MANN
“Mighty Eskimo” in a Manfred Mann song
QUINN
Manfred Mann’s 2nd group
Covered Springsteen’s “Blinded By the Light” (1976)
MANFRED MANN’S EARTH BAND
Welsh singer
Nee Gaynor Hopkins
“Total Eclips of the Heart” (1983)
“Holding Out for a Hero” (Footloose, 1984)
BONNIE TYLER
