Music

• Mohammad Reza Shajarian

  May 11, 2013 AVA 0 Comments

  Mohammad-Reza Shajarian (Persian: محمدرضا شجريان‎) (born 23 September 1940 in Mashhad, Iran) is an internationally and critically acclaimed Persian traditional singer, composer and ostad (master) of Persian music. He has been called "Iran's greatest living master of traditional Persian music." Shajarian is also known for his skills in Persian calligraphy, and humanitarian activities.

  Shajarian started singing at the age of five, under the supervision of his father, and at the age of twelve, he began studying the traditional classical repertoire known as the Radif. Shajarian started his singing career in 1959 at Radio Khorasan, rising to prominence in the 1960s with his distinct style of singing. His main teachers were Ahmad Ebadi, Esmaeil Mehrtash, Abdollah Davami, and Nour-Ali Boroumand. He also learned the vocal styles of singers from previous generations, including Reza Gholi Mirza Zelli, Fariborz Manouchehri, Ghamar Molouk Vaziri, Eghbal Azar, and Taj Isfahani. When giving a lecture at California State University, Sacramento on March 2, 2012, he was asked what teacher was most influential to his development, and he cited legendary Iranian tar musician Jalil Shahnaz, indicating that Shahnaz' playing style was what he most tried to mimic with his own singing style.

  Shajarian has collaborated with Parviz Meshkatian, Mohammad Reza Lotfi, Hossein Alizadeh, and Faramarz Payvar. He is recognised as skilled singer in the challenging traditional Dastgah style. In 1999 UNESCO in France presented him with the Picasso Award and in 2006 with the UNESCO Mozart Medal.

   

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• Elvis Presley

  May 10, 2013 AVA 0 Comments

  Elvis Aaron Presley was born to Vernon and Gladys Presley in a two-room house in Tupelo, Mississippi, on January 8, 1935. His twin brother, Jessie Garon, was stillborn, leaving Elvis to grow up as an only child. He and his parents moved to Memphis, Tennessee, in 1948, and Elvis graduated from Humes High School there in 1953. 

  
  Elvis’ musical influences were the pop and country music of the time, the gospel music he heard in church and at the all-night gospel sings he frequently attended, and the black R&B he absorbed on historic Beale Street as a Memphis teenager. 
  
  In 1954, Elvis began his singing career with the legendary Sun Records label in Memphis. In late 1955, his recording contract was sold to RCA Victor. By 1956, he was an international sensation. With a sound and style that uniquely combined his diverse musical influences and blurred and challenged the social and racial barriers of the time, he ushered in a whole new era of American music and popular culture. 
  
  He starred in 33 successful films, made history with his television appearances and specials, and knew great acclaim through his many, often record-breaking, live concert performances on tour and in Las Vegas. Globally, he has sold over one billion records, more than any other artist. His American sales have earned him gold, platinum or multi-platinum awards. Among his many awards and accolades were 14 Grammy nominations (3 wins) from the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award which he received at age 36, and his being named One of the Ten Outstanding Young Men of the Nation for 1970 by the United States Jaycees. Without any of the special privileges, his celebrity status might have afforded him, he honorably served his country in the U.S. Army. 
  
  His talent, good looks, sensuality, charisma, and good humor endeared him to millions, as did the humility and human kindness he demonstrated throughout his life. Known the world over by his first name, he is regarded as one of the most important figures of twentieth century popular culture. Elvis died at his Memphis home, Graceland, on August 16, 1977. 
  
  For a fun, interactive walk through Elvis’ life, visit the 75 years of Elvis Timeline developed in celebration of Elvis’ 75th Birthday Celebration.

   

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• ANDY WILLIAMS

  May 10, 2013 AVA 0 Comments

  Andy Williams began his amazing career in his hometown of Wall Lake, Iowa. It was there he began singing with his three brothers in a local Presbyterian church choir that was established by his parents. 

  At the tender age of 8, Andy made his professional singing debut as part of the Williams Brothers Quartet. The brothers became regulars on radio station WHO’s “Iowa’s Barn Dance Show” in Des Moines, Iowa. From there, the brothers continued their radio days being prominently featured on national stations like WLS in Chicago and WLW in Cincinnati.The widespread radio exposure brought the boys a considerable following which eventually caught the attention of Bing Crosby. With Crosby, Andy and his brothers made their first professional recording, Swinging on a Star” which became a tremendous hit in 1944.

       In 1947, Andy and his brothers teamed up with comedienne Kay Thompson ( who also wrote the popular children’s book series “Eloise”) for a successful, trend setting nightclub act. Thompson  and the brothers spend the next few years performing all over the United States and in London.But it all came to an end in 1951 as the group disbanded and each brother went their own way.Andy chose to move to New York and continued to pursue his vocal career.While in New York, Andy became a regular performer on Steve Allen’s “Tonight Show”. For  2 ½ years he appeared on the “Tonight Show” which led to his first recording contract with Cadence Records.​

       It wasn’t long before Andy had his first top 10 hit with “Canadian Sunset”. What followed was a string of hits that included “Butterfly”, “Lonely Street”, “The Village of St. Bernadette”, and “The Hawaiian Wedding Song” for which he received the first of his five Grammy Awards nominations.

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• Julie Andrews

  May 10, 2013 AVA 0 Comments

  Julie Andrews is one of the most recognized figures in the entertainment industry. Her legendary career encompasses the Broadway and London stages, blockbuster Hollywood films, award-winning television shows, multiple album releases and concert tours and the world of children’s publishing.

  Born Julia Elizabeth Wells in Walton-on-Thames, Surrey, England, Julie was a child star of the British vaudeville circuit. Her mother, Barbara Wells, was a concert pianist, and her step-father, Ted Andrews, was a tenor, and together the two had a popular double act which toured the country.

  Julie made her stage debut in their act, and at the age of twelve began to perform on her own in variety shows, music hall performances, holiday pantomimes, and on British radio and television. Her school-teacher father, Ted Wells, fostered Julie’s love of reading and writing from an early age – gifts which served her well during her touring years, when her academic education was curtailed by her professional commitments.

  At the age of 19, Julie was pegged to star as Polly Browne in Sandy Wilson’s The Boyfriend on Broadway. She subsequently received critical acclaim for her legendary stage performances starring as Eliza Doolittle (opposite Rex Harrison) in My Fair Lady, and as Queen Guenevere (opposite Richard Burton) in Camelot. She made her motion picture debut in Mary Poppins (which won her an Oscar), and her extensive film career since encompasses such screen classics as The Sound of Music (the highest grossing film of all time), Thoroughly Modern Millie, 10, Victor/Victoria (which she also performed on Broadway a decade later, and which earned her a TonyÒ nomination for Best Actress) and most recently The Princess Diaries and Shrek films.

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• Whitney Houston

  Apr 27, 2013 0 Comments

  Houston performing at Good Morning America in Central Park on September 1, 2009

  Background information

  Birth name: Whitney Elizabeth Houston

  Born:  August 9, 1963 Newark, New Jersey, U.S.

  Died:  February 11, 2012 (aged 48) Beverly Hills, California, U.S.

  Genres R&B, pop, soul, dance, gospel

  Occupations: Singer, actress, model, film producer, record producer, songwriter

  Instruments:  Vocals, piano

  Years active: 1977–2012

  Labels:  Arista, RCA

  Associated acts Cissy Houston, Dionne Warwick, Dee Dee Warwick, Aretha Franklin, Jermaine Jackson, Mariah Carey, Enrique Iglesias, Bobby Brown

  Website: whitneyhouston.com

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• Mahmoud Mohammad Abbas

  Apr 27, 2013 0 Comments

  Mohammad Hisham Mahmoud Mohammad Abbas (Arabic: محمد هشام محمود محمد عباس‎; born September 13, 1963), commonly known as just Hisham Abbas (Egyptian: هشام عباس), is an Egyptian pop singer best known for his hit song "Habibi Dah (Nari Narain)" and his religious song "Asmaa Allah al-husna".

  Biography

  Hisham Abbas was born in Cairo, Egypt. He had his primary education in Dar El Tefl school. Later on he enrolled in American University in Cairo as he graduated with a major in Mechanical Engineering. He decided to pursue art as his profession rather than Engineering.

  Abbas took his first step as a professional singer being a member of "Pats Band" band with his partner in the band Aliaa Saleh and other friends. They covered a number of Egyptian and Arabic classing songs, such as "Halawet Shamsena", "Ala Remesh Oyonha", "El Wala Dah" and more. Then he met up with widely-known producer and singer Hameed El Shaery. They collaborated to produce successful songs that highlighted Abbas' position in the music scene. Songs like "Halal Aleik", "Allah Yesalem Halak", "Habetah", and "Saea Albak".

  Abbas' career bloomed later on to release several songs. He rose in the early 1990s with successful hits like "Wana Wana Wana", "Eineha El Sood", "Ta'ala", "Ya Leila", "Shoofi" and his most successful hit, "Habibi Dah (Nari Narain)" featuring Indian singer Jayashri. Up to this day, he has 10 solo studio albums in his account. He received a number of awards, the most notable one was Orbit's Arabic Song Award in 1997.

  He collaborated later on with Hamid El Shaery several times. Hamid featured him in the hit "Einy" which featured Lebanese model, now singer, Nicole Saba.

   

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• Hassan Sattar

  Apr 27, 2013 0 Comments

  Hassan Sattar (known as Sattar, Persian: ستار ‎) is an Iranian Pop-tenor, Oratorio singer with specialization in both Persian Pop and Classical music. He had gained fame before the Iranian Revolution and became Pahlavi Royal Family court singer up until the political upheavals of the late 1970s. He left Iran in 1978 and has taken residence in the United States since then.

   Biography

  Sattar was one of the six siblings born into an Abadani mother and Azeri father. His fame began at the age of 22 with the release of the theme song Khaneh Bedush for Morad Barghi, a popular television show in Iran. The show made him an instant star. His next hit came with the TV series "Ghesseye Eshq"" made by Mansour Poormand. His signature song is Hamsafar. With over 40 years of fame, Sattar has over 70 hits which include internationally known song of Gol-e Sangam.

   

  Sattar in the 70s

  Sattar has recorded over 350 songs and is among very few Persian singers who in addition to diverse sound of Pop, he performs both Persian Traditional and Classical music professionaly. Sattar has also recorded a number of cover songs in the English language such as 'Feelings', 'A time for us', 'Speak softly, Love' and 'I Believe' to name a few.

   

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• Farhad Mehrad

  Apr 27, 2013 0 Comments

  Farhad Mehrad (Persian: فرهاد مهراد), (January 20, 1944 – August 31, 2002) widely known in Iran as Farhad was an award winning Persian rock singer, songwriter, guitarist, pianist and icon. He rose to prominence among Iranian rock and folk musicians before the Iranian Revolution, but after the revolution he was banned from singing for several years. His first concert after the Iranian Revolution was held in 1993. To this day he is considered one of the most influential, revolutionary, gifted and respected Iranian artists of all time.

  Early life

  Farhad was born in Tehran. His father was Reza Mehrad, an Iranian diplomat who worked in the Arabic countries for the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Being the youngest child, he always behaved differently from his family members and everyone assumed he was trying to act like an adult.

  When Farhad was three years of age, his love for music was noticed when he stayed outside his brother's room, listening to his violin lessons. His family bought Farhad a cello and he started taking lessons. After 3 lessons, his cello broke and as Farhad describes "the instrument broke into pieces so did my soul". That was the end of the cello for Farhad and his love and passion for music ended up to be only listening to his brother playing the violin.

  When he went to school he found a passion for literature. He decided to study literature in high school but with the absence of his father, his uncle forced him to study science despite his weak results on all other subjects other than literature and English language. His interest being ignored; he quit high school in grade 11 because he had no love for what he was studying.

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• Celine Dion

  Apr 10, 2013 0 Comments

  Biography

  

  From humble beginnings in a rural French Canadian home town, Celine Dion has risen to international superstardom like a shooting star. Celine has been called the premier contemporary pop vocalist of the Nineties. She has earned music industry accolades from around the world: Grammy Awards in the US, Juno and Felix Awards in Canada, and a World Music Award recognizing her status as the best-selling female artist of all time. The entire world has seen Celine Dion literally transform herself from a gifted pre-adolescent into an international superstar.

  Born in Charlemagne (a small town 30 miles east of Montreal, Quebec, Canada), Celine is the youngest of 14 children of a highly musical family. Her parents, both musicians, operated a small club, and on weekends, the entire family performed and entertained the local population. From the tender age of 5, Celine sang with her siblings and quickly acquired the ability to perform live. At the age of twelve, together with her mother and one of her brothers, Celine composed a French song which would forever alter the course of her life. The demo tape containing the song was brought to the attention of René Angélil, a well respected personal manager. In January 1981, René was so taken by the voice of the young Celine, that he became determined to make her an internationally known talent - he even mortgaged his house to finance the recording of Celine's debut album! Celine began to receive recognition for her talent in 1982, winning the Gold Medal at the Yamaha World Song Festival in Tokyo, along with the coveted Musician's Award for Top Performer. In 1983, she became the first Canadian ever to receive a Gold Record in France. The streak of recognition had only just begun.

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• Hayedeh

  Apr 6, 2013 0 Comments

  Tehran, Iran (1942 – 1990)

  Hayedeh (Persian: هایده) or Ma’soumeh Dadehbala (Persian: معصومه دده بالا), (April 10, 1942, Tehran, Iran – January 20, 1990, San Francisco) was a persian classical and Pop singer with a contralto vocal range. In a career spanning more than 20 years, she had many hits. More than two decades after her death, Hayedeh is considered one of the most influential and iconic Persian vocalists recognized as one of the most popular 20th century singers. 
  
  Hayedeh was born in Tehran. She is the older sister of another famous Persian singer, Mahasti.
  Hayedeh’s professional career began in 1968 at the age of twenty six as a singer on a persian traditionalmusic Tehran Radio program called “Golhaa-yeh Rangarang” (Colorful Flowers)( گلهای رنگارنگ) directed by Davoud Pirnia. Hayedeh studied Avaz (Persian vocal music) with the famous Persian violinist and composerAli Tajvidi. Hayedeh performed her first hit song “Azadeh” which was composed by Tajvidi on the lyrics of Rahi Mo’ayeri. Performing this work with Golha Orchestra in 1968 at Radio Tehran introduced Hayedeh’s vocal talent to Persians who warmly received it. “Azadeh” which was composed by music by Ali Tajvidi, and was written by Rahi Moayeri was Hayedeh’s first official hit. It was first performed in 1968 on Radio Tehran with the Gol-ha Orchestra and was later released by Ahang-e Rooz Records.

   

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