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Peggy Guggenheim

Marguerite "Peggy" Guggenheim (August 26, 1898 – December 23, 1979) was an American art collector, bohemian, and socialite. Born to the wealthy New York City Guggenheim family, she was the daughter of Benjamin Guggenheim, who went down with the Titanic in 1912, and the niece of Solomon R. Guggenheim, who established the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation. Guggenheim collected art in Europe and America between 1938 and 1946. She exhibited this collection as she built it. In 1949, she settled in Venice, where she lived and exhibited her collection for the rest of her life. The Peggy Guggenheim Collection is a modern art museum on the Grand Canal in Venice, Italy, and is one of the most visited attractions in Venice.

Early life
Guggenheim's parents were of Ashkenazi Jewish descent. Her mother, Florette Seligman (1870–1937), was a member of the Seligman family. When she turned 21 in 1919, Guggenheim inherited US$2.5 million, equivalent to US$ million in. Guggenheim's father, Benjamin Guggenheim, a member of the Guggenheim family, who died in the sinking of the Titanic, had not amassed a fortune comparable to his siblings; therefore her inheritance was far less than that of her cousins. She had a sister, Barbara Hazel Guggenheim, who became a painter and art collector.

She first worked as a clerk in an avant-garde bookstore, the Sunwise Turn, in Midtown Manhattan, where she became enamored of the members of the bohemian artistic community. In 1920, she went to live in Paris. Once there, she became friendly with avant-garde writers and artists, many of whom were living in poverty in the Montparnasse quarter of the city. Man Ray photographed her, and was, along with Constantin Brâncuși and Marcel Duchamp, a friend whose art she was eventually to promote.

She became close friends with writer Natalie Barney and artist Romaine Brooks and was a regular at Barney's salon. She met Djuna Barnes during this time and in time, became her friend and patron. Barnes wrote her best-known novel, Nightwood, while staying at the Devon country house, Hayford Hall, that Guggenheim had rented for two summers.

Guggenheim urged Emma Goldman to write her autobiography and helped to secure funds for her to live in Saint-Tropez, France, while writing her two volume Living My Life. Guggenheim wrote her autobiography entitled Out of This Century, later revised and re-published as Confessions of an Art Addict that was released in 1946 and is now published by Harper Collins.

Collecting, before World War II
In January 1938, Guggenheim opened a gallery for modern art in London featuring Jean Cocteau drawings in its first show, and she began to collect works of art. Guggenheim often purchased at least one object from each of her exhibitions at the gallery. After the outbreak of World War II, she purchased as much abstract and Surrealist art as possible.

Her first gallery was entitled Guggenheim Jeune, the name ingeniously chosen to associate her gallery with both the epitome of a gallery, the French Bernheim-Jeune, and bearing the name of her own well-known family. The gallery on 30 Cork Street, next to Roland Penrose's and E. L. T. Mesens' show-case for the Surrealist movement, proved to be successful, thanks to many friends who gave advice and who helped to run the gallery. Marcel Duchamp, whom she had known since the early 1920s when she lived in Paris with her first husband Laurence Vail, had introduced Guggenheim to the art world; it was through him that she met many artists during her frequent visits to Paris. He taught her about contemporary art and styles and he conceived several of the exhibitions held at Guggenheim Jeune.

The Cocteau exhibition was followed by exhibitions of Wassily Kandinsky (his first solo exhibition in England), Yves Tanguy, Wolfgang Paalen, several other well-known artists, and some lesser-known artists. Peggy Guggenheim held group exhibitions of sculpture and collage, with the participation of the now-classic moderns Antoine Pevsner, Henry Moore, Henri Laurens, Alexander Calder, Raymond Duchamp-Villon, Constantin Brâncuși, John Ferren, Jean Arp, Max Ernst, Pablo Picasso, Georges Braque, and Kurt Schwitters. She also greatly admired the work of John Tunnard (1900–1971) and is credited with his discovery in mainstream international modernism.

Plans for a museum
When Guggenheim realized that her gallery, although well received, had suffered a loss of £600 in the first year, she decided to spend her money in a more practical way. A museum for contemporary arts was exactly the institution she could envision supporting. Most certainly influencing her were the adventures in Manhattan of her uncle, Solomon R. Guggenheim, who, with the help and encouragement of artist Baroness Hilla von Rebay, had created the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation two years earlier. The main aim of that foundation had been to collect and to further the production of abstract art, resulting in the opening of the Museum of Non-Objective Painting (known after 1952 as the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum) during 1939. Guggenheim closed Guggenheim Jeune with a farewell party on 22 June 1939, at which colour portrait photographs by Gisèle Freund were projected onto the walls. Together with the English art historian and art critic Herbert Read, she started making plans for a Museum of Modern Art in London. She set aside $40,000 for its operating expenses, however, these funds were soon overstretched by the ambitions of the organizers.

In August 1939, Guggenheim left for Paris to negotiate loans of artworks for the first exhibition. In her luggage was a list drawn up by Herbert Read for this occasion. Shortly after her departure the Second World War broke out, and the events following 1 September 1939 made her abandon the scheme, willingly or not. She then "decided now to buy paintings by all the painters who were on Herbert Read's list. Having plenty of time and all the museum's funds at my disposal, I put myself on a regime to buy one picture a day." When finished, she had acquired ten Picassos, forty Ernsts, eight Mirós, four Magrittes, four Ferrens, three Man Rays, three Dalís, one Klee, one Wolfgang Paalen, and one Chagall, among others. In the meantime, she had made new plans and, in April 1940, had rented a large space in the Place Vendôme as a new home for her museum.

Guggenheim had to abandon her plans for a Paris museum a few days before the Germans reached Paris and she fled to the south of France, from where, after months of safeguarding her collection and artist friends, she left Europe for Manhattan in the summer of 1941. There, in the following year, she opened a new gallery—which was partially a museum—at 30 West 57th Street. It was entitled The Art of This Century. Three of its four galleries were dedicated to Cubist and Abstract art, Surrealism, and Kinetic art, with only the fourth, the front room, being a commercial gallery. Guggenheim held other important shows — such as the Exhibition by 31 Women, the first documented all-women art exhibition in the United States of America — at the gallery. This 1943 month-long exhibition gathered together artists ranging from notable figures such as Frida Kahlo, Gypsy Rose Lee, Meret Oppenheim, Leonora Carrington, and Louise Nevelson, to others who were unknown artists in New York. In 2023, art collector Jenna Segal curated The 31 Women Collection, based on the 1943 exhibition. Taking place at Segal's office, the same location as Peggy Guggenheim's Art of This Century Gallery, the exhibition lasted for 31 hours spread out during May 15 to May 21. Aiming to "sharpie women into history", Segal set out to collect works by every artist shown in the original exhibition so that their art could be shared with the world. As of May 2023, 143 works by 30 of the 31 women have been acquired. At the 2023 exhibition, one work per artist was displayed to the public.

Guggenheim's interest in contemporary art was instrumental in advancing the careers of several important modern artists, including the American painters Jackson Pollock and William Congdon, the Austrian surrealist Wolfgang Paalen, the sound poet Ada Verdun Howell, and the German painter Max Ernst, whom she married in December 1941. She had assembled her collection in only seven years.

The collection, after World War II
Following World War II and her 1946 divorce from Max Ernst, she closed The Art of This Century Gallery in 1947 and returned to Europe, deciding to live in Venice, Italy. In 1948, she was invited to exhibit her collection in the disused Greek Pavilion of the Venice Biennale. In 1949, she established her collection in the Palazzo Venier dei Leoni ('unfinished palazzo of the lions') on the Grand Canal.

Her collection became one of the few European collections of modern art to promote a significant number of works by Americans. She became acquainted with painter and sculptor Edward Melcarth, a fellow American hailing from Louisville, Kentucky. Melcarth, known for his figurative paintings and eroticized depictions of the male body, designed Peggy a pair of hand-sculpted bat sunglasses, rising in ranks amongst Guggenheim’s Tanguy earrings and Calder jewelry as the late collector’s signature accessory. In the 1950s she promoted the art of two local painters, Edmondo Bacci and Tancredi Parmeggiani. By the early 1960s, Guggenheim had almost stopped collecting art and began to concentrate on presenting what she owned. She loaned out her collection to museums in Europe and in 1969 to the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in Manhattan, which was named after her uncle. Eventually, she decided to donate her home and her collection to the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, a gift that was concluded inter vivos in 1976, before her death in 1979.

The Peggy Guggenheim Collection is one of the most important museums in Italy for European and American art of the first half of the twentieth century. Works in her collection embrace Cubism, Surrealism, and abstract expressionism.

Guggenheim lived in Venice until her death in Camposampiero near Padua, Italy, following a stroke. Her ashes are interred next to her dogs in the garden of her home, the Palazzo Venier dei Leoni. Later it was renamed as the Nasher Sculpture Garden in the Peggy Guggenheim Collection.

Personal life
According to both Guggenheim and her biographer Anton Gill, while living in Europe, she "slept with 1,000 men". She claimed to have had affairs with numerous artists and writers, and in return, many artists and others have claimed affairs with her. When asked by conductor Thomas Schippers how many husbands she had, she replied, "You mean my own, or other people's?" In her autobiography, Peggy provided the names of some of those lovers, including Yves Tanguy, Roland Penrose, and E. L. T. Mesens.

Her first marriage was to Laurence Vail, a Dada sculptor and writer with whom she had two children, Michael Cedric Sindbad Vail (1923–1986) and Pegeen Vail Guggenheim (1925–1967). They divorced circa 1928 following his affair with writer Kay Boyle, whom he later married. Soon after her first marriage dissolved, she had an affair with John Ferrar Holms, a writer suffering with writer's block who had been a war hero. She then lived with the writer and Communist activist Douglas Garman for several years. Starting in December 1939, she and Samuel Beckett had a brief, but intense affair, and he encouraged her to turn exclusively to modern art. She married her second husband, painter Max Ernst, in 1941 and divorced him in 1946. Among her eight grandchildren is Karole Vail, who was appointed director of the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in 2017.

In popular culture

 * Guggenheim was portrayed by Amy Madigan in the movie Pollock (2000), directed by and starring Ed Harris, based on the life of Jackson Pollock.
 * A play by Lanie Robertson based on Guggenheim's life, Woman Before a Glass, opened at the Promenade Theatre on Broadway, New York on March 10, 2005. This one-woman show focuses on Guggenheim's later life. Mercedes Ruehl played Guggenheim and received an Obie Award for her performance. In May 2011, the Abingdon Theater Arts Complex in New York featured a revival of the play, starring veteran stage actress Judy Rosenblatt, directed by Austin Pendleton.
 * In Bethan Roberts' first play for radio, My Own Private Gondolier, Guggenheim's troubled daughter, Pegeen, leaves her three children behind when she travels to Venice to spend the summer with her mother. The play was first broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on October 19, 2010; Guggenheim was played by Fiona Shaw; Pegeen was played by Hattie Morahan.
 * In April 2015, a new documentary film, Peggy Guggenheim: Art Addict, began premiering at film festivals, including the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival on July 26, 2015.
 * Guggenheim was portrayed by Jodhi May in the 2023 Netflix television series Transatlantic.

title: Peggy Guggenheim


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Talk:Musicassettes

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license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Talk:Musicassettes


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Body Count (band)

Body Count is an American heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1990. The group is fronted by Ice-T, who first established himself as a rapper but co-founded the group with lead guitarist Ernie C out of their interest in heavy metal music. Ice-T took on the role of vocalist and writing the lyrics for most of Body Count's songs, while Ernie C has been responsible for writing the group's music.

Body Count's self-titled debut album was released on Sire Records in 1992, and garnered much attention due to a controversy around the song "Cop Killer". Their label, Sire Records, and their parent company, Warner Bros. Records, defended the song; however Ice-T chose to remove it from the album because he felt that the controversy had eclipsed the music itself. The group left Sire the following year, and they have since released six more albums.

Three out of the band's original seven members are deceased: D-Roc died from lymphoma, Beatmaster V from leukemia, and Mooseman in a drive-by shooting. Body Count's current lineup includes vocalist Ice-T, guitarists Ernie C and Juan Garcia, bassist Vincent Price, drummer Will "Ill Will" Dorsey Jr., and backing vocalists Sean E Sean and Little Ice (Ice-T's son).

The band received their second Grammy nomination and later won the award at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards in 2021 for Best Metal Performance with their song "Bum Rush" from the album Carnivore.

Pre-formation (1990–1991)
Ice-T's interest in heavy metal stemmed from sharing a room with his cousin Earl, who was a fan of rock music and only listened to the local rock stations. Ice-T particularly enjoyed heavy metal, citing Edgar Winter, Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath as his favorite bands. Ice-T attended Crenshaw High School, where a few classmates shared his interest in the genre, including musicians Ernie C, D-Roc the Executioner, Beatmaster V, and Mooseman. Ice-T began a solo career as a rapper, and later decided to form Body Count with these friends.

The earliest formation of Body Count was in 1989 when Ice-T had Ernie C, Mooseman, and Beatmaster V participated in live instrumentation on Ice-T's album The Iceberg/Freedom of Speech... Just Watch What You Say!. They did live instrumentation on the tracks The Girl Tried To Kill Me, Hit The Deck, and What Ya Wanna Do?

Ice-T co-wrote the band's music and lyrics with lead guitarist Ernie C, and took on the duties of lead vocalist, even though he felt that he did not have a great singing voice. The original line-up consisted of D-Roc on rhythm guitar, Beatmaster V on drums and Mooseman on bass.

Touring and debut album (1991–1992)
Ice-T introduced the band at Lollapalooza in 1991, devoting half of his set to his hip hop songs, and half to Body Count songs, increasing his appeal with both alternative music fans and middle-class teenagers. Some considered the Body Count performances to be the highlight of the tour. The group made its first album appearance on Ice-T's 1991 solo album O.G. Original Gangster. The song, "Body Count", was preceded by a spoken introduction in which Ice-T responds to allegations that he had "sold out" by incorporating rock elements into his rap albums by pointing out that rock music originated with African-American artists such as Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley and Little Richard, in addition to stating that "as far as I'm concerned, music is music. I don't look at it as rock, R&B, or all that kind of stuff. I just look at it as music. [...] I do what I like and I happen to like rock 'n' roll, and I feel sorry for anybody who only listens to one form of music".

Body Count's self-titled debut album was released on Sire/Warner Bros. Records on March 31, 1992. On the strength of the album, Body Count toured internationally, developing a strong following.

Controversy over the song Cop Killer (1992)
The song "Cop Killer", intended to criticize corrupt police officers, encountered controversy, as it was seen as an attack against the entire police force. According to Ice-T, "I thought I was safe. I thought within the world of rock'n'roll, you could be free to write what you want. Hell, I was listening to Talking Heads singin' 'Psycho Killer'. Fuck it, I'll make 'Cop Killer'! But, that was the cross of metal with something that was real. Now we're not just killing your family, we're killing somebody so real that everybody just went, 'oh shit'". The Dallas Police Association and the Combined Law Enforcement Association of Texas launched a campaign to force Warner Bros. Records to withdraw the album. Within a week, they were joined by police organizations across the United States. Some critics argued that the song could cause crime and violence. Many defended the song on the basis of the group's right to freedom of speech. In The Ice Opinion: Who Gives a Fuck, Ice-T wrote that "The people who did have a platform were way off backing me on the First Amendment. That's not where all the anger should have been directed. The anger should have been generated back at the police. [...] Because people jumped on the wrong issue they were able to drive this thing totally through Warner Brothers."

Over the next month, controversy against the band grew. Vice President Dan Quayle branded "Cop Killer" as being "obscene", and President George H.W. Bush publicly denounced any record company that would release such a product. At a Time-Warner shareholders' meeting, actor Charlton Heston stood and read lyrics from the song "KKK Bitch" to an astonished audience and demanded that the company take action. The criticism escalated to the point where death threats were sent to Time-Warner executives, and shareholders threatened to pull out of the company. Finally, Ice-T decided to remove "Cop Killer" from the album of his own volition. In an interview, Ice-T stated that "I didn't want my band to get pigeon-holed as that's the only reason that record sold. It just got outta hand and I was just tired of hearing it. I said, 'fuck it,' I mean they're saying we did it for money, and we didn't. I'd gave the record away, ya know, let's move on, let's get back to real issues, not a record but the cops that are out there killing people."

"Cop Killer" was replaced by a new version of "Freedom of Speech", a song from Ice-T's 1989 solo album The Iceberg/Freedom of Speech... Just Watch What You Say!. The song was re-edited and remixed to give it a more rock-oriented sound. Ice-T left Warner Bros. Records the following year because of disputes over the Ice-T solo album Home Invasion, taking Body Count with him. Despite the controversy, the album received some praise, including A− reviews from Entertainment Weekly and The Village Voice, who later ranked the album among their list of The 40 Best Albums of 1992. Variety reported that the album had sold 480,000 copies by January 29, 1993.

Continued albums: Born Dead, Violent Demise and Murder 4 Hire (1993–2008)
In 1993, Body Count recorded a cover of "Hey Joe" for the Jimi Hendrix tribute album Stone Free: A Tribute to Jimi Hendrix. The band released their second album, Born Dead in 1994 on Virgin Records. Prior to the recording of Body Count's third album Violent Demise: The Last Days (1997), bassist Mooseman left the group and was replaced by Griz. Drummer Beatmaster V died of leukemia soon after the album was completed, and a new drummer named O.T. filled in the position. Bassist Griz left the band later on, and in the meanwhile, former bassist Mooseman was shot in a drive-by shooting in February 2001 after recording an album and preparing for another tour with Iggy Pop in his band the Trolls. In late 2004, rhythm guitarist D-Roc died due to complications from lymphoma, leaving only Ice-T and Ernie C from the original line-up.

Ice-T has stated that "For me, honestly, after something like that, you can either come to a dead stop or you can go on. [...] It was so emotional. We were in the middle of making a new record together and he goes and dies? It was like, 'damn!' Soon enough, though, everybody was like, 'c'mon c'mon you gotta do it.' It was make-or-break. The key essence of Body Count is it's a band made up of friends. It's not about going out and hiring the best drummer or the best guitarist. If we don't know you, you can't be in the band."

In July 2006, Body Count released their fourth album, Murder 4 Hire on the indie record label Escapi Music. Its album cover, featuring Uncle Sam holding a cardboard sign reading "Will Kill for Money", compares the United States military to contract killers. The then-line-up included drummer O.T., bassist Vincent Price and rhythm guitarist Bendrix. The band then took an extended hiatus for a couple of years; in regards to the future of Body Count, Ernie C stated, "We will carry on the band. I don't know if it will be Body Count, but in some form, Ice and I will always play together."

Hiatus, Gears of War 3 soundtrack (2009–2012)
The band's presence between after 2009 was sporadic: On September 6, 2009, Body Count made an appearance at the Vans Warped Tour 15th-anniversary party at Club Nokia in downtown Los Angeles. The group played a 20-minute set, covered Slayer, and closed with their controversial classic "Cop Killer". Also on the bill were NOFX, Katy Perry, Pennywise, Bad Religion and Rise Against. Mike Sullivan of ExploreMusic caught up with Ernie C at the 2010 edition of the Vans Warped Tour. While briefly chatting, Ernie C divulged that the band was recording its fifth studio album. Body Count wrote an exclusive song, "The Gears of War", for the video game Gears of War 3, and performed it at a party promoting the game.

Resurgence: Manslaughter, Bloodlust, Carnivore and Merciless (2013–present)
On December 9, 2012, Ice-T announced on Twitter that Body Count would begin production on a fifth studio album in January 2013. The following day, Ice-T revealed that Body Count has signed with Sumerian Records. Ice-T suggested that the album was going to be titled Rise! or Manslaughter. On May 10, 2013, Ice-T announced that work on the fifth studio album had begun and that it would be titled Manslaughter. The album was released on June 10, 2014. On May 13, 2014, Ice-T played the song "Talk Shit, Get Shot" as a teaser for the new album.

Their sixth album, titled Bloodlust, was released in March 2017 via Century Media Records. On December 28, 2016, Ice-T posted a preview of the first single "No Lives Matter" to Twitter. Guest musicians confirmed to appear on the album are Max Cavalera, Randy Blythe and Dave Mustaine. Upon the release of Bloodlust, it was confirmed that Ice T's son Tracy Marrow Jr, aka Little Ice, is now a part of the band, performing backing vocals.

In May 2018, Ice-T revealed to Loudwire that Body Count would enter the studio around September to start recording tracks for their seventh studio album Carnivore. On the meaning of the album title, the rapper said, "It's basically: 'Fuck vegans.' We figure, anything carnivorous pretty much kicks ass. We're carnivorous! I'm not [really] saying 'Fuck vegans.' Everyone's so pussy right now, [so] we're carnivores". The recording sessions began in April 2019. The title track was released as the first single on December 13. The album was released on March 6, 2020.

On June 22, 2021, Body Count announced on their Facebook page that they had started work on their eighth studio album Merciless. In 2022, it was ranked by Metal Hammer as the 46th most anticipated metal release of that year.

Lyrics
Ice-T's lyrics focus on reality-based themes, including gang life, because he felt it would be scarier than the fantasy-based horror themes of most heavy metal bands. The band's third album, Violent Demise: The Last Days, featured album cover art depicting the hand signs of these gangs. According to Ice-T, "We named the group Body Count because every Sunday night in L.A., I'd watch the news, and the newscasters would tally up the youths killed in gang homicides that week and then just segue to sports. 'Is that all I am,' I thought, 'a body count?'"

When the band's debut album was released, Ice-T defined it as being "a rock album with a rap mentality". Like Ice-T's hip hop albums, the group's material focused on various social and political issues, with songs focusing on topics ranging from police brutality to drug abuse. Ernie C has stated that "We were just a band that played the songs that we knew how to write. Everybody writes about whatever they learned growing up, and we were no exception. Like the Beach Boys sing about the beach, we sing about the way we grew up."

While a good portion of Body Count's lyrics are current issues, Ice-T notes that he also considers Body Count "grindhouse", and that some of the songs are humorous exaggerations of violence; he also expects fans to be able to tell the difference.

Music
Body Count's musical style derives from the dark, ominous tones of traditional heavy metal bands such as Black Sabbath and thrash metal bands such as Slayer, as well as hardcore punk's aggressiveness. According to Ernie C, "We wanted to be a big punk band [...] Our first record is almost a punk record." The presence of a rapper in a heavy metal band has been credited for paving the way for the rise of rap metal and nu metal, even though Ice-T does not rap in most Body Count songs and considers it to solely be a rock band. According to Ernie C, "A lot of rappers want to be in a rock band, but it has to be done sincerely. You can't just get anybody on guitar and expect it to work. [...] Ice and I, on the other hand, really loved the music we were doing, and it showed."

Members
Current
 * Ice-T – lead vocals (1990–present)
 * Ernie C – lead guitar, backing vocals (1990–present)
 * Sean E Sean – turntables, sampler, keyboards, backing vocals (1990–2001, 2008–present)
 * Vincent Price – bass guitar, vocals (2001–present)
 * Ill Will – drums (2008–present)
 * Juan of the Dead – rhythm guitar, backing vocals (2013–present)
 * Little Ice – hype man, backing vocals (2016–present)

Former
 * Beatmaster V – drums (1990–1996; died 1996)
 * Mooseman – bass, backing vocals (1990–1996; died 2001)
 * Sean E. Mac – hype man, backing vocals (1990–2001)
 * D-Roc the Executioner – rhythm guitar, backing vocals (1990–2004; died 2004)
 * Jonathon "the Kidd" James – drums (1996–1997)
 * Griz – bass, backing vocals (1996–2001)
 * O. T. – drums (1997–2008)
 * Bendrix – rhythm guitar, backing vocals (2004–2013)

Videos

 * DVD
 * Murder 4 Hire (2004)
 * Live in L.A. (2005)
 * Smoke Out Festival Presents: Body Count (2005)

 * Music videos

 * The Winner Loses (1992)
 * There Goes the Neighborhood (1992)
 * Body Count's in the House (1992)
 * Hey Joe (1993)
 * Born Dead (1994)
 * Necessary Evil (1994)
 * Medley: Masters of Revenge/Killin' Floor/Drive By/Street Lobotomy (1994)
 * I Used to Love Her (1997)
 * Relationships (2006)
 * Talk Shit, Get Shot (2014)
 * Institutionalized 2014 (2015)
 * No Lives Matter (2017)
 * Black Hoodie (2017)
 * Here I Go Again (2017)
 * Raining in Blood / Postmortem 2017 (2017)
 * The Ski Mask Way (2017)
 * This Is Why We Ride (2017)
 * All Love Is Lost (2018)
 * Bum-Rush (2020)
 * Point the Finger (2020)
 * Thee Critical Beatdown (2020)
 * The Hate Is Real (Version 1) (2021)
 * The Hate Is Real (Version 2) (2021)
 * Psychopath (2024)

title: Body Count (band)


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Emilíana Torrini

Emilíana Torrini Davíðsdóttir (born 16 May 1977) is an Icelandic singer and songwriter. She is best known for her 2009 single "Jungle Drum", her 1999 album Love in the Time of Science, and her performance of "Gollum's Song" for the 2002 film The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers.

Early life
Emilíana was born in Iceland, where she grew up in Kópavogur. Her father, Salvatore Torrini, is Italian (from Naples), while her mother, Anna Stella Snorradóttir, is Icelandic.

Because of name regulations in Iceland at the time, her father had to change his name to "Davíð Eiríksson", which also meant that Emilíana Torrini had to use the surname after her father in the traditional way: Emilíana Davíðsdóttir. A few years later, the name regulations were changed, and she was again allowed to use her original surname.

At the age of seven, she joined a choir as a soprano, until she went to opera school at the age of 15. After being discovered singing in a restaurant in Iceland by Derek Birkett, the owner of One Little Indian Records, Emilíana was asked to visit London to record a song. She decided to stay in London.

Career
Emilíana has been a member of Icelandic artist group GusGus, and contributed vocals to several songs on their debut Polydistortion (1997), most notably "Why". She co-wrote Kylie Minogue's "Slow" and "Someday" from her Body Language album in 2003. She also produced "Slow" along with Dan Carey; the two were nominated for a Best Dance Recording Grammy Award in 2005 for their work on the track. Prior to these, Emilíana contributed vocals to songs on Thievery Corporation's 2002 album The Richest Man in Babylon and was credited with composing the songs "Resolution", "Until The Morning", and "Heaven's Gonna Burn Your Eyes" from that album. Also in 2002, she sang vocals on Paul Oakenfold's song "Hold Your Hand" taken from his Bunkka album.

Her version of Jefferson Airplane's 1967 song "White Rabbit" was used in multiple action and fight scenes in the action film Sucker Punch directed by Zack Snyder.

On 3 June 2013, she revealed to fans that she would release her new album on 9 September 2013 in the UK. The album was released in Ireland, Iceland, Germany, Austria, and Switzerland on 6 September 2013. The new LP is titled Tookah. Emilíana played a number of music festivals in the lead up to the album's release in Russia and Budapest.

On 29 July 2013, Emilíana revealed the radio edition of a new track "Speed of Dark". Three additional tracks were also revealed allowing fans to stream, including "Autumn Sun", "Animal Games", and "Tookah".

Emilíana was featured on Kid Koala's 2017 album Music to Draw To: Satellite, where she sang on seven tracks.

Discography

 * Crouçie d'où là (1995)
 * Merman (1996)
 * Love in the Time of Science (1999)
 * Fisherman's Woman (2005)
 * Me and Armini (2008)
 * Tookah (2013)
 * Racing the Storm with the Colorist Orchestra (2023)
 *  Miss Flower (2024)

title: Emilíana Torrini


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Leftfield

Leftfield are a British electronic music group formed in 1989, a duo of Neil Barnes and Paul Daley (the latter formerly of The Rivals and A Man Called Adam). The duo was influential in the evolution of electronic music in the 1990s, with Mixmag describing them as "the single most influential production team working in British dance music". As with many of their contemporaries, such as The Chemical Brothers and Fatboy Slim, Leftfield are notable for their use of guest vocalists in their works. Among them are Toni Halliday on "Original", Johnny Rotten on "Open Up", Djum Djum on "Afro-Left", Earl 16 and Cheshire Cat on "Release the Pressure", and Grian Chatten of Fontaines D.C. on "Full Way Round". The term progressive house was coined to define their style, a fusion of house with dub and reggae.

There was a hiatus in recording and live performances between 2002 and 2010. When Barnes revived Leftfield, Daley declined to be involved, to focus on his solo career. After touring for a few years, Barnes finished writing new material for a third Leftfield album, Alternative Light Source, which was released in 2015. In 2022, they released their fourth studio album, This Is What We Do.

Formation
Neil Barnes' music career started off as a DJ at The Wag Club while simultaneously playing percussion on a session basis. In 1986, he joined the London School of Samba and played the bateria in the 1986 Notting Hill Carnival. Around 1989, inspired by Afrika Bambaataa, Barnes decided to try his hand at electronic music production, the results of which were the tracks "Not Forgotten" and "More Than I Know", released on Rhythm King Records offshoot label Outer Rhythm. For the remixes of these tracks, Barnes called upon Paul Daley, percussion player with A Man Called Adam and formerly a session musician for the Brand New Heavies and Primal Scream, appearing on their Dixie-Narco EP. Barnes and Daley had previously worked together as percussionists at The Sandals first club, Violets. Described by Barnes as "[t]he sound of 15 years of frustration coming out in one record", the piece was termed "Progressive House" by Mixmag and held significant prominence in nightclubs from 1991 onwards. As their mutual interest in electronic music became clear the pair decided that they would work instead upon Leftfield, once Barnes had extricated himself from his now troublesome contract with Rhythm King's Outer Rhythm subsidiary. The name Leftfield was originally used by Barnes for his first single, with editing/arranging and additional production undertaken by Daley. However, after this, Daley was subsequently involved in remixing "Not Forgotten" and thereafter in the creation of all of Leftfield's work until the band split up in 2002.

During this period, in which the band could not release their own music owing to the legal dispute with Rhythm King, the pair undertook remix work for React 2 Rhythm, I.C.P. (Ice Cool Productions), Supereal, Inner City, Sunscreem, Ultra Naté and provided two remixes to David Bowie's single "Jump They Say". Finally, once the problems with their former label had been sorted out, Leftfield were able to unveil their single "Release the Pressure".

Leftism
Leftfield's first major career break came with the single "Open Up", a collaboration with John Lydon (of Sex Pistols fame) that was soon followed by their debut album, Leftism in 1995, blending dub, breakbeat, and house. It was shortlisted for the 1995 Mercury Music Prize but lost out to Portishead's Dummy. In a 1998 Q magazine poll, readers voted it the eightieth greatest album of all time, while in 2000 Q placed it at number 34 in its list of the 100 Greatest British Albums Ever. The album was re-released in 2000 with a bonus disc of remixes, and again in 2017 as a remastered version with eleven completely new remixes.

Rhythm and Stealth
Their second album, Rhythm and Stealth (1999) maintained a similar style, and featured Roots Manuva, Afrika Bambaataa and MC Cheshire Cat from Birmingham. The album was shortlisted for the Mercury Music Prize in 2000 but lost out to Badly Drawn Boy's The Hour of Bewilderbeast. It reached No. 1 in the UK Albums Chart. The album featured the song "Phat Planet" which featured on Guinness' 1999 advert, Surfer, and "6/8 War" featured on the Volkswagen Lupo Advert 'Demon Baby'. The track "Double Flash" featured in the PlayStation software game Music 2000. Leftfield split in 2002, with both Barnes and Daley planning to work on separate solo projects.

Reformation and Alternative Light Source
Leftfield headlined RockNess in Dores, Scotland in June 2010, Creamfields in Cheshire, England in August 2010, and played the final set on the main stage at Ireland's three-day festival, Electric Picnic in September. Further headline festival shows were announced in the coming weeks. Leftfield is now represented by Neil Barnes on keyboards and drum programming, with a rotating group of vocalists, MC Cheshire Cat, Adam Wren on engineering and programming and Sebastian 'Bid' Beresford on drums. Founding member Paul Daley declined to rejoin, focusing on his solo DJ career.

On 25 March 2015, the new single, "Universal Everything", was premiered on Annie Mac's BBC Radio 1 show. Shortly afterwards the new album was announced via the Leftfield website and social networks, along with UK tour dates for June 2015.

Alternative Light Source, Leftfield's first album in 16 years, was released on 8 June 2015 on Infectious Records. On 1 June 2015 the album premiere was streamed live on Twitter, coupled with conversation via hashtag #leftfieldstream. "Head and Shoulders" features Sleaford Mods on vocals, and its stop-motion and animation hybrid video debuted on Pitchfork on 6 August 2015.

This Is What We Do
A fourth album was declared finished by Barnes via Twitter on 4 February 2022, later revealed to be titled This Is What We Do. It was released on 2 December 2022 on Virgin. It debuted at No. 18 on the UK Albums Chart, before dropping out of the Top 100.

Commercial use of tracks
The song "Phat Planet" was used in the "Surfer" TV advertisement for Guinness, ranked number one in Channel 4's Top 100 Adverts list in 2000. "Phat Planet" was also used in the animated television series Beast Machines: Transformers, the simulation racing games F1 2000 by EA Sports and Racedriver GRID by Codemasters. "Swords" was used in an advertisement for the Irish mobile phone service Eircell. In addition, their song "Release the Pressure" was used on advertisements for the O2 mobile phone network at its launch, and the Kerry Group's Cheestrings snack in 2006. "A Final Hit" was featured on the Trainspotting soundtrack; the b-side "Afro Ride" was also featured on the soundtracks to both wipE'out" and wipE'out" 2097 although it did not appear on the album of the first game.

A white label release called "Snakeblood" was featured on the soundtrack of The Beach (2000). The song was found to have sampled OMD's "Almost" without permission.

The song "Storm 3000" has been used as the theme tune for the BBC television programme Dragons' Den.

Live performances
In June 1996, while the group was playing at Brixton Academy, the sound system caused dust and plaster to fall from the ceiling; subsequently, the group was banned from ever returning to the venue. The ban however was taken by the band as a ban on the sound system and not themselves, which was confirmed when Leftfield returned to Brixton again on Saturday 20 May 2000.

In November and December 2010, Leftfield did a series of dates around the UK and Ireland. Friday 3 December's gig saw more plaster fall from Brixton Academy's ceiling.

Soundtracks and various compilations

 * From the Shallow Grave soundtrack
 * "Shallow Grave" (Featuring Christopher Eccleston)
 * "Release the Dubs"

 * From the Hackers soundtrack:
 * "Inspection (Check One)"
 * "Open Up" (featuring John Lydon)

 * From the wipE'out" soundtrack
 * "Afro Ride" (from the EP Afro-Left)

 * From 104.9 (An XFM Compilation)
 * "Praise"

 * From the Trainspotting soundtrack
 * "A Final Hit"

 * From the Trainspotting#2 soundtrack
 * "A Final Hit" (full-length version)

 * From the wipE'out" 2097 soundtrack
 * "Afro Ride" (from the EP Afro-Left)

 * From the Go soundtrack
 * "Swords" (featuring Nicole Willis) (Original Version)

 * From The Beach soundtrack
 * "Snakeblood"

 * From the Vanilla Sky soundtrack
 * "Afrika Shox"

 * From Beast Machines, and EA Sports F1 2000
 * "Phat Planet"

 * From Lara Croft: Tomb Raider
 * "Song of Life"

title: Leftfield


text:
Spooky (DJs)

Spooky are a British electronic music production and DJ duo consisting of Duncan Forbes and Charlie May.

History
They debuted with Gargantuan in 1993 after signing to Guerilla Records. In 1995 and 1996, they released three EPs (Clank, Stereo and Shunt) on their own Generic Records label, followed quickly in mid-1996 by their second album, Found Sound. Two singles from this album were released: "Fingerbobs" and "Bamboo".

Charlie May collaborated with Sasha on his 1999 Xpander EP and 2000's "Scorchio", and in 2002 he co-produced some tracks on Sasha's Airdrawndagger album. The same year saw the release of "Belong", the first Spooky single on Deviant Records, which Sasha later used on his mix album Involver. A white label single, "Andromeda", was released in 2003

A single entitled "Strange Addiction" was given a limited release in 2005 on Spooky's new self-owned label, spooky.uk.com. "Strange Addiction" featured in a trailer for The Great Global Warming Swindle which broadcast on British television channel Channel 4 in March. This was followed in September 2006 with the release of No Return as a download and promotional CD. Spooky later bought back the rights to their entire back catalogue from the five record companies that previously owned their music, which had all gone out of business.

Albums

 * Gargantuan (1993)
 * Found Sound (1996)
 * Open (2007)

Singles/EPs

 * "Don't Panic" (1992)
 * "Land of Oz" (1992)
 * "Little Bullet" (1992)
 * "Persuasion" (with Billie Ray Martin) (1993)
 * "Schmoo" (1993)
 * Clank EP (1995)
 * Stereo EP (1995)
 * Shunt EP (1996)
 * "Fingerbobs" (1996)
 * "Bamboo" (1996)
 * "Belong" (2002)
 * "Andromeda" (2003)
 * "Strange Addiction" (2005)
 * "No Return" (2006)
 * "New Light" (2007)
 * "Shelter" (2007)
 * "Little Bullet Re-works" (2019)
 * Nebua EP (2019)
 * "Bells of Fury" (2020)

title: Spooky (DJs)


text:
The Neville Brothers

The Neville Brothers were an American R&B/soul/funk group, formed in 1976 in New Orleans, Louisiana.

History
The group notion started in 1976, when the four brothers of the Neville family, Art (1937–2019), Charles (1938–2018), Aaron (b. 1941), and Cyril (b. 1948) came together to take part in the recording session of the Wild Tchoupitoulas, a Mardi Gras Indian group led by the Nevilles' uncle, George Landry ("Big Chief Jolly").

Their debut album The Neville Brothers was released in 1978 on Capitol Records.

In 1987, the group released Uptown on the EMI label, featuring guests including Branford Marsalis, Keith Richards, and Carlos Santana. The following year saw the release of Yellow Moon from A&M Records produced by Daniel Lanois. The track "Healing Chant" from that album won the Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Performance at the 1990 Grammy ceremony.

In 1990, the Neville Brothers contributed "In the Still of the Night" to the AIDS benefit album Red Hot + Blue produced by the Red Hot Organization.

Also in 1990, they appeared on the bill at that year's Glastonbury Festival. Due to Art Neville devoting more time to his other act, The Meters, the band kept a low profile in the late 1990s onto the early 2000s. They made a comeback in 2004, however, with the album, Walkin' in the Shadow of Life, on Back Porch Records, their first newly recorded effort in five years.

All brothers except Charles, a Massachusetts resident, had been living in New Orleans, but following Hurricane Katrina in 2005 Cyril and Aaron moved out of the city. Aaron moved to Austin briefly at the invitation on his friend, the late blues club impresario, Clifford Antone. They had not been performing in New Orleans since Katrina hit the city; however, they finally returned to perform there at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival in 2008, being given the closing spot which had been reserved for them for years.

Infrequently, Aaron's son Ivan Neville (keyboards) and Art's son Ian Neville (electric guitar), both of the band Dumpstaphunk, have played with the Neville Brothers.

The Neville Brothers appear in performance footage in the 2005 documentary film Make It Funky!, which presents a history of New Orleans music and its influence on rhythm and blues, rock and roll, funk and jazz. In the film, they perform "Fire on the Bayou" with guests Ivan and Ian Neville.

The group formally disbanded in 2012 but reunited in 2015 for a farewell concert in New Orleans. Charles Neville died of pancreatic cancer on April 26, 2018, at the age of 79. Art Neville died on July 22, 2019, at the age of 81. A cause of death was not provided.

Live albums

 * 1984: Neville-ization (Black Top)
 * 1987: Nevillization 2 (Live at Tipitina's Volume 2) (Spindletop)
 * 1994: Live on Planet Earth (A&M)
 * 1998: Live at Tipitina's (1982) (Rhino)
 * 2010: Authorized Bootleg: Warfield Theatre, San Francisco, CA, February 27, 1989 (A&M)

Compilation albums

 * 1986: Treacherous: A History of the Neville Brothers (1955–1985) (Rhino)
 * 1991: Treacherous Too!: A History of the Neville Brothers, Vol. 2 (1955-1987) (Rhino)
 * 1997: The Very Best of the Neville Brothers (Rhino)
 * 1999: Uptown Rulin' – The Best of the Neville Brothers (A&M)
 * 2004: 20th Century Masters – The Millenium Collection: The Best of the Neville Brothers (A&M)
 * 2005: Gold (Hip-O/UMe)

Related albums

 * 1976: The Wild Tchoupitoulas (with four of The Neville Brothers)
 * 1997: Wyclef Jean Presents The Carnival by Wyclef Jean (guest appearance on "Mona Lisa")

title: The Neville Brothers


text:
Billy Ray Cyrus

Billy Ray Cyrus (born August 25, 1961) is an American country singer, songwriter and actor. Having released 16 studio albums and 53 singles since 1992, he is known for his hit single "Achy Breaky Heart", which topped the U.S. Hot Country Songs chart and became the first single ever to achieve triple platinum status in Australia. It was also the best-selling single in the same country in 1992. Due to the song's music video, the line dance rose in popularity.

A multi-platinum selling artist, Cyrus has scored a total of eight top-ten singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. His most successful album to date is his debut Some Gave All, which has been certified 9× multi-platinum in the United States and is the longest time spent by a debut artist and by a country artist at number one on the Billboard 200 (17 consecutive weeks) and most consecutive chart-topping weeks in the SoundScan era. Some Gave All was also the first debut album to enter at number one on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart. The album has also sold more than 20 million copies worldwide and is the best-selling debut album of all time for a solo male artist. Some Gave All was also the best-selling album of 1992 in the US with 4,832,000 copies. During his career he has released 36 charted singles, of which 17 charted in the top 40.

In 2019, Cyrus earned his first number-one single on the US Billboard Hot 100 as a featured artist on a remix of Lil Nas X's song "Old Town Road", which spent a record-breaking nineteen consecutive weeks at the top spot (eighteen of them credited to Cyrus). It also spent a record-breaking twenty consecutive weeks (nineteen of them credited to Cyrus) at the top spot on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and Billboard Hot Rap Songs. The R&B/Hip-hop record has been broken in May 2023 by SZA's "Kill Bill". Thanks to "Old Town Road", Cyrus won his first two Grammy Awards, in the categories Best Pop Duo/Group Performance and Best Music Video.

From 2001 to 2004, Cyrus starred in the television show Doc. The show was about a country doctor who moved from Montana to New York City. From 2006 to 2011, he co-starred in the Disney Channel series Hannah Montana with his daughter Miley Cyrus in the role of the titular character's fictional father Robby Ray Stewart, a clear reference to his real name. From 2016 to 2017, he starred as Vernon Brownmule on the CMT sitcom Still the King.

Early life
Billy Ray Cyrus was born on August 25, 1961, in Flatwoods, Kentucky, to Ron Cyrus, a steelworker who became a politician, and his wife, the former Ruth Ann Casto. Cyrus started singing at the age of four. His parents divorced in 1966. His grandfather was a Pentecostal preacher. Growing up he was surrounded by bluegrass and gospel music as his family are musicians. His right-handed father played guitar, however left-handed Cyrus tried to play his father's guitar, but could not. He attended Georgetown College on a baseball scholarship before changing to music. He dropped out of Georgetown during his junior year, realized he wanted to become a musician after attending a Neil Diamond concert, and set a 10-month goal to start a career. In the 1980s, he played in a band called Sly Dog, before signing a record contract with Mercury Nashville Records. Sly Dog was named after a one-eyed dog that Cyrus owned.

The Mercury Records years
While trying to get a recording contract in Los Angeles, Cyrus suffered many hardships including living in his neighbor's car. However, in 1990, he was signed to PolyGram/Mercury. In the same year he opened for Reba McEntire. Cyrus began to record and write music for his debut album, released in 1992.

Some Gave All was released in 1992. The album became an instant chart and sales success. It debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Top Country Albums, Billboard 200, Canadian Country Albums chart, Canadian Albums Chart, and on the charts of several other countries. The album featured four consecutive top 40 singles on the Hot Country Songs chart from 1992 to 1993, including an album cut, the title track. The most successful single released was "Achy Breaky Heart". It reached No. 1 on the Hot Country Songs chart and was also a hit on the Billboard Hot 100, where it reached No. 4. Uniquely for a country music song it also became an international success, reaching number 1 in Australia and number 3 on the UK Singles Chart. Thanks to the video of this hit, there was the explosion of the line dance into the mainstream, becoming a global craze. Additionally, the singles "Could've Been Me" reached No. 2, "Wher'm I Gonna Live?" reached No. 23, and "She's Not Cryin' Anymore" reached No. 6. Some Gave All was certified 9× multi-platinum in the United States in 1996, and has sold over 20 million copies worldwide.

In 1993, Cyrus and Mercury Records quickly released Cyrus' second studio album, It Won't Be the Last. The album featured four singles, three of which made the top 40. The album debuted at No. 1 on the Country charts, and No. 3 on the Billboard 200. By the end of the year, It Won't Be the Last was certified platinum by the RIAA. The highest-charting single, the lead-off single, "In the Heart of a Woman", charted to No. 3, with "Somebody New" charting to No. 9, "Words By Heart" at No. 12, and "Talk Some" at No. 63. Also in 1993, Cyrus appeared on Dolly Parton's single "Romeo"; though the single only reached 27 on the country singles charts, the accompanying video was popular on CMT.

Cyrus' third studio album, Storm in the Heartland, was released in 1994. It was the final album he recorded for PolyGram, which closed its doors in 1995. The album was not as successful as its predecessors. It only reached No. 11 on the Country albums chart, and only the title track made the top 40 of the Country singles chart. "Deja Blue" was the second single released; however, it only managed to chart to No. 66, and the third and final single, "One Last Thrill", failed to chart at all.

The album managed to be certified gold in the U.S. Before Cyrus started on his next album, he was transferred to Mercury Nashville.

Also in 1994, Cyrus contributed the song "Pictures Don't Lie" to the AIDS benefit album Red Hot + Country produced by the Red Hot Organization.

Cyrus' most critically acclaimed album was 1996's Trail of Tears for Mercury Records. The album debuted at No. 20 on the Country chart. Only two songs made the cut to radio, neither of which hit the top 40. The title track and "Three Little Words" reached No. 69 and No. 65 respectively. The album failed to reach any certification, and was off the charts after only four weeks.

In 1998, Cyrus released his last album for Mercury Records Shot Full of Love. The album became his lowest-peaking album, debuting at No. 32. The first single, "Under the Hood", failed to chart, "Time for Letting Go" hit No. 70, "Busy Man" charted No. 3, and "I Give My Heart to You" reached No. 41. After the single fell from the charts, Cyrus left Mercury and signed with Monument Records in 1999.

His debut album for Monument, Southern Rain, was released in 2000. It debuted at No. 13 on the Country albums chart and No. 102 on the Billboard 200. Five singles were released and all five charted. The lead-off single, "You Won't Be Lonely Now", was the highest-peaking single from the album, charting to No. 17. Other singles include "We the People" (No. 60), "Burn Down the Trailer Park" (No. 43), "Crazy 'Bout You Baby" (No. 58), and the title track (No. 45).

Shift to Christian music
After the singles from Southern Rain finished their chart runs, Cyrus recorded two Christian albums. Both albums, Time Flies and The Other Side, were released in 2003. The first album debuted and peaked at a low No. 56 on the Country album charts. Three singles were released; however, only the final single reached the charts. "Bread Alone", "What Else Is There", and "Back to Memphis" were released, and "Back to Memphis" charted to No. 60.

The second Christian album, The Other Side, was recorded while Cyrus filmed his PAX series, Doc. It debuted at No. 5 on the Top Christian Albums chart, No. 18 Top Country Albums, and No. 131 on Billboard 200. Two of three singles charted – "Face of God" (No. 54) and "The Other Side" (No. 45) – while "Always Sixteen" did not chart.

Disney Entertainment
The album Wanna Be Your Joe was Billy Ray's first country album since 2000's Southern Rain. It was again recorded on a new record label: New Door/UMe Records. It was released while Cyrus was filming the show Hannah Montana. Wanna Be Your Joe made it to No. 24 on the Country charts and No. 113 on the all-genre charts. The album initially sold well, but no hit-single was released. The title track was released as the first single, and was followed by "I Want My Mullet Back", both of which were ignored by country radio. Although not released as a single, a music video was made for the track "Stand", a duet with daughter Miley Cyrus.

Also in 2006, Billy Ray appeared with metal-rock group Metal Skool (now Steel Panther), and performed several songs including "Rebel Yell" by Billy Idol, and the song "I Want My Mullet Back", which appears on Wanna Be Your Joe.

He also sang "The Star Spangled Banner" at Game 5 of the 2006 World Series in St. Louis, Missouri.

Career re-launch
In mid-2007, Cyrus was a celebrity contestant on the 4th season of the show Dancing with the Stars. Cyrus was partnered with Karina Smirnoff. He quickly became a fan favorite. Cyrus and Smirnoff made it to the semi-finals, where they finished in 5th place.

From Cyrus's exposure on Dancing with the Stars and Hannah Montana, his record label pushed up the release date by a month for his new album. Home at Last was released in July 2007 on Walt Disney Records. It debuted at No. 3 on the country charts, making it Cyrus' first top 5 entry since 1993. Beginning sales for the album were very strong; however, the album failed to be certified. The single "Ready, Set, Don't Go", was initially released as a solo single. The solo version made it to No. 33 on the Hot Country Songs chart.

In October 2007, Cyrus and his daughter Miley performed a duet of the song on Dancing with the Stars. The duet debuted at No. 27 on the Country charts and eventually peaked at No. 4 in 2008, giving Billy Ray his first top 5 single since 1999, as well as Miley's first top 5 on any Billboard chart.

Cyrus was a part of the Disney collection Country Sings Disney in 2008. Two of his songs, "Ready, Set, Don't Go" and the Sheryl Crow-penned song "Real Gone", appeared on the album. Billy Ray's version of "Real Gone" was also made into a music video that is in rotation on both CMT and GAC; the song also appears on Back to Tennessee.

New label and newfound chart success

In late 2008, his website announced that a new studio album would be released by the end of the year from Lyric Street Records, entitled Back to Tennessee. The album was originally planned to be released on October 21, 2008, but was pushed back to November 18. When the album was not released, it was announced for a January 13, 2009, release. The first single, "Somebody Said a Prayer", debuted at No. 53 in August 2008 and reached No. 33 in November of that year. On March 14, 2009, the album's title track debuted at No. 59 on the country singles chart and a month later on April 7, Back to Tennessee was released. The song only charted to No. 47 after 11 weeks. A third single, "A Good Day", debuted at No. 60 on the country charts for the chart week of September 5, 2009.

It was less successful in its first week out as Home at Last. It only reached No. 13 on the charts and only sold approximately 14,000 copies in its opening week. The album's release date coincided with the release of Hannah Montana: The Movie. The song "Back to Tennessee" was included on the movie's soundtrack, as well as a duet with Miley Cyrus, entitled "Butterfly Fly Away". The latter song would peak at No. 56 on the Billboard Hot 100 and at No. 50 and Canadian Hot 100.

On November 12, 2008, Billy Ray and Miley presented the "Song of the Year" award at the 42nd Annual Country Music Association Awards. Prior to the award show, both Billy Ray and Miley performed on Good Morning America. In December 2008, Cyrus made a cameo in Metro Station's video, "Seventeen Forever".

Shortly after the chart debut of Back to Tennessee's third single, "A Good Day", Cyrus and Lyric Street Records parted ways after only one album.

Cyrus, Phil Vassar, Jeffrey Steele, and John Waite formed a supergroup together in early 2009 called Brother Clyde. On Twitter Cyrus confirmed he was in a supergroup and said they had just cut the first single for their new album, Lately.

On June 30, 2010, Cyrus said about the new alternative rock group Brother Clyde that the old members would be substituted by Samantha Maloney, Jamie Miller, Dan Knight, and Dave Henning. Also, he said that their single, "Lately", was available on iTunes and that their debut album would be out on August 10, 2010.

Post-Brother Clyde, "Old Town Road" remix and popular resurgence
In late 2010, Cyrus suspended his activities in the band Brother Clyde, and announced the release of his new solo patriotic album, entitled I'm American. Initially scheduled to be released in November 2010, it was pushed back to a May 24, 2011, release with a re-recording of "Some Gave All" that featured guest vocals from Darryl Worley, Jamey Johnson and Craig Morgan being released as the lead-off single. However, in April 2011, the single was changed to "Runway Lights". I'm American was released on June 28, 2011. A second single, "Nineteen", was released in August 2011. The song entered the Hot Country Songs chart for the week of October 8, 2011, where it debuted at number 58, becoming Cyrus' first charted single since "A Good Day" in 2009.

Cyrus released the album Change My Mind on October 23, 2012. Its first single, the title track, was released on September 6.

In April 2017, Cyrus told Rolling Stone Country that on his birthday, August 25, he would be known as Cyrus, or "the artist formerly known as Billy Ray", after legally changing his name. Fans did not like this, but on Live with Kelly and Ryan Cyrus said "I'm here to set the record straight. That's the name of the album–'Cyrus'. Then, subtitled, 'Set the Record Straight.'" He assured fans his name would still be Billy Ray.

After Billboard removed American rapper Lil Nas X's country-rap song "Old Town Road" from their Country chart, Cyrus was featured in the remix. The remix rose to number one on the Billboard Hot 100, unseating the original mix of the song and giving Cyrus his first number one song on the Hot 100. "Old Town Road" spent 19 consecutive weeks (18 of those credited to Cyrus) on the Hot 100, breaking the record as the longest running number one song in history, surpassing the record that was previously set by Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men song "One Sweet Day". The song was nominated for various Grammy Awards, winning Best Pop Duo/Group Performance and Best Music Video. In October 2019, the song received a diamond certification by the RIAA, selling over ten million total units in the United States. It became the fastest song to be awarded diamond certification.

Acting career
Cyrus starred in the 1999 independent film Radical Jack. He also had a small part in David Lynch's 2001 film Mulholland Drive as Gene, a pool cleaner who had been having an affair with the wife of Adam Kesher (Justin Theroux). In 2001, Cyrus played the lead role on the PAX (now ION Television) comedy-drama Doc, which became the network's highest-rated show. In 2005, Cyrus expanded his acting career in a stage production of Annie Get Your Gun in Toronto, appearing in the role of Frank Butler.

Cyrus' television credits include The Nanny, Diagnosis Murder, Love Boat, The Next Wave, and TNN's 18 Wheels Of Justice. In 2004, he guest-starred as a limo driver in the episode "The Power of Love" of the Canadian teen drama Degrassi: The Next Generation. Cyrus has also been the subject of many television specials that detail his rise to fame and his career. These include two ABC documentaries, Billy Ray Cyrus: Dreams Come True and Billy Ray Cyrus: A Year on the Road, a VH1 exclusive, as well as the TNN specials I Give My Heart To You, and The Life and Times of Billy Ray Cyrus. In late 2005, Cyrus and his daughter Miley Cyrus began co-starring in the Disney Channel original television series, Hannah Montana, which premiered on March 24, 2006.

In March 2007, Cyrus joined several other celebrities to take part in the fourth season of the US version of Dancing with the Stars. He and his partner Karina Smirnoff, were eliminated in the eighth week (May 8, 2007) after having also placed in the "bottom two" the week before.

Cyrus also starred in Jackie Chan's movie The Spy Next Door. It was shot in Albuquerque, New Mexico and released in January 2010.

Cyrus sits on the advisory board of a conservative group called the Parents Television Council.

In 2010, it was announced that he and his son Trace Cyrus would take part in a new Syfy reality series called UFO: Unbelievably Freakin' Obvious.

Cyrus made his Broadway debut as Billy Flynn in Chicago. He was in the show for a temporary engagement from November 5 to December 23, 2012.

Relationships and family
Cyrus was married to Cindy Smith from 1986 until they divorced in 1991. Cyrus and Smith co-wrote the songs "Wher'm I Gonna Live?" and "Some Gave All", both of which were featured on Cyrus' 1992 debut album Some Gave All.

In 1992, Cyrus became the father of two children with different women: a son, Christopher Cody Cyrus, born to waitress Kristin Luckey, and a daughter, Miley Ray Cyrus, born to Leticia "Tish" Finley. Cyrus pledged to Luckey to support her and their child; she raised their son in South Carolina.

On December 28, 1993, while Finley was pregnant with their second child, the couple were secretly married against the advice of Cyrus' record company. They have three children together, two daughters: Miley Ray Cyrus (born Destiny Hope Cyrus; in 1992) and Noah Lindsey Cyrus (born 2000); and a son, Braison Chance Cyrus (born 1994). He also adopted the two children Finley brought from her previous relationship: daughter Brandi Glenn Cyrus (born 1987), and son Trace Dempsey Cyrus (born Neil Timothy Helson; in 1989). In June 2021, Cyrus became a grandfather for the first time when his son Braison and daughter-in-law Stella (McBride) Cyrus welcomed their first child.

The family lived on a 500 acre farm in Thompson's Station, Tennessee, near Nashville. They moved to Los Angeles for the filming of the Disney Channel original series Hannah Montana in which daughter Miley starred. Brandi also had cameos in the series, in the episodes "Yet Another Side of Me" and "Been Here All Along".

On October 26, 2010, Cyrus filed for divorce in Tennessee, citing irreconcilable differences but in March 2011, Cyrus said he had dropped the divorce proceedings.

On June 13, 2013, Tish filed for divorce after 19 years of marriage, citing irreconcilable differences with Cyrus. In July 2013, the couple was reported to be in therapy and dropped the divorce. In 2017, the second divorce case was officially dismissed by the court since the couple failed to appear. In April 2022, Tish filed for divorce a second time, with the divorce papers revealing that they had been separated for more than two years.

In August 2022, Cyrus became engaged to Australian singer Firerose. The two met over a decade prior on the set of Hannah Montana and in 2021 released "New Day", a collaboration featuring Firerose's vocals and Cyrus on guitar. They were married on October 10, 2023.

On May 22, 2024, Cyrus filed for divorce from Firerose. The couple cited irreconcilable differences as well as inappropriate marital conduct as the reason for the divorce. Cyrus also asked the court to grant him an outright annulment, claiming the marriage was obtained by fraud.

Political views
Although Cyrus's song "We the People" was used as a campaign song by Republican George W. Bush in his 2000 presidential campaign, Cyrus was reported as saying that he had been a lifelong Democrat.

Discography
Studio albums

 * Some Gave All (1992)
 * It Won't Be the Last (1993)
 * Storm in the Heartland (1994)
 * Trail of Tears (1996)
 * Shot Full of Love (1998)
 * Southern Rain (2000)
 * Time Flies (2003)
 * The Other Side (2003)
 * Wanna Be Your Joe (2006)
 * Home at Last (2007)
 * Back to Tennessee (2009)
 * I'm American (2011)
 * Change My Mind (2012)
 * Thin Line (2016)
 * Set the Record Straight (2017)
 * The SnakeDoctor Circus (2019)

title: Billy Ray Cyrus


text:
CBT

CBT most commonly refers to:
 * Cock and ball torture, a sexual activity
 * Cognitive behavioral therapy, a psychotherapeutic approach

CBT or cbt may also refer to:

Broadcasting

 * CBT-FM, a radio station in Grand Falls-Windsor, Canada
 * Certified Broadcast Technologist, a professional title

Businesses

 * Cabot Corp (NYSE:CBT), a chemical manufacturer
 * Cincinnati Bell Telephone, an American telco in Ohio
 * Connecticut Bank and Trust Company, a regional banking institution that merged into Bank of New England

Computing

 * .cbt, an extension for tarred comic book archive files
 * Complete binary tree, a binary tree data structure where all levels are filled
 * Computer-based testing, electronic administering of examinations
 * Computer-based training
 * Core-based trees, a proposal for making IP Multicast scalable by constructing a tree of routers
 * Closed beta test, a beta version released to a select group for testing

Publishing

 * cbt (publisher), Munich, Germany
 * .cbt, a comic book archive file extension
 * Children's Book Trust, Delhi, India
 * Committee on Bible Translation, for the New International Version

Science

 * Center for Biochemical Technology, India
 * Complete binary tree, in computer science
 * Coulomb blockade thermometer, in physics
 * Core body temperature, in biology and medicine

Sport

 * Commonwealth Bank Trophy, in Australian netball
 * Competitive Balance Tax, in Major League Baseball
 * Confederação Brasileira de Tênis (Brazilian Tennis Confederation)

Transport

 * Campaign for Better Transport (disambiguation), several advocacy groups
 * Ceneri Base Tunnel, a railway tunnel in Switzerland
 * Compulsory Basic Training, a British motorcycling certification

Other uses

 * Cadet Basic Training at the United States Military Academy
 * Cock and Ball Torture (band), a German grindcore band

title: CBT


text:
General Post Office, Dublin

The General Post Office (GPO; Ard-Oifig an Phoist) is the former headquarters of An Post — the Irish Post Office. It remains its registered office and the principal post office of Dublin — the capital city of Ireland — and is situated in the centre of O'Connell Street, the city's main thoroughfare. It is one of Ireland's most famous buildings, not least because it served as the headquarters of the leaders of the Easter Rising against British rule in Ireland. It was the last great Georgian public building to be erected in the capital.

Architecture

The foundation stone of the building, which was designed by Francis Johnston, was laid by the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, Charles Whitworth, 1st Earl Whitworth, on 12 August 1814, attended by the Post-Masters-General, Charles O'Neill, 1st Earl O'Neill and Laurence Parsons, 2nd Earl of Rosse. The structure was completed in the short space of approximately three years at a cost (depending on sources) of between £50,000 and £80,000.

The front elevation is 67.1 metres (220 ft) long. It features a portico (24.4 metres (80 ft) wide) of six fluted Ionic columns, 137.16 centimetres (54 inches) in diameter. The frieze of the entablature is highly enriched. The tympanum of the pediment originally carried the royal arms; following restoration in the 1920s, they were removed. On the acroteria of the pediment are three statues by John Smyth: when facing the building Mercury on the left, with his Caduceus and purse; Fidelity on the right, with a hound at her feet and a key held in her right hand (due to these features it is argued that the statue is in fact of Hecate); and Hibernia in the centre, resting on her spear and holding a harp. The entablature, with the exception of the architrave, is continued along the rest of the front; the frieze, however, is not decorated over the portico. A balustrade surmounts the cornice of the building, which is 15.2 metres (50 ft) from the ground.

With the exception of the portico, which is of Portland stone, the main building is of mountain granite. The elevation has three stories, of which the lower or basement is rusticated. The portico occupies the entire height of the structure.

The GPO Arcade is an art deco style shopping arcade at the rear of the complex, with access from Henry Street and Princes Street North. It was built by the Office of Public Works following the Rising. Local radio station, Millennium 88FM was based here.

History

The General Post Office in Ireland was first located in High Street in Dublin moving to Fishamble Street in 1689, to Sycamore Alley in 1709 and then in 1755 to Peter Bardin's Chocolate House at Fownes Court on the site where the Commercial Buildings used to be (later the Central Bank building). It was afterwards removed to a larger house opposite the Bank of Ireland building on College Green. On 6 January 1818, the new post office in Sackville Street (now O'Connell Street) was opened for business.

During the Easter Rising of 1916, the GPO served as the headquarters of the uprising's leaders. It was from outside this building on 24 April 1916, that Patrick Pearse read out the Proclamation of the Irish Republic. The building was destroyed by fire in the course of the rebellion, save for the granite facade, and not rebuilt until 1929, by the Irish Free State government. An original copy of the Proclamation of the Irish Republic was displayed in the museum at the GPO.

The museum was closed at the end of May 2015 and replaced by a new visitor centre to commemorate the 1916 Rising, "GPO Witness History", in March 2016. The building has remained a symbol of Irish nationalism. In 1935, in commemoration of the Rising, a statue depicting the death of the mythical hero Cúchulainn sculpted by Oliver Sheppard in 1911 was installed at the command post in the centre of the GPO main hall and is now housed in the front of the building. The statue was featured on the Irish ten shilling coin of 1966, marking the fiftieth anniversary of the Rising. Despite its significance in the history of Irish independence, ground rent for the GPO continued to be paid to English and American landlords until the 1980s.

The broadcasting studios of 2RN, which later became Radio Éireann, were located at the GPO from 1928 until 1974. Draws for Prize Bonds are held weekly, on Fridays, in the building.

Nelson's Pillar was located in the centre of O'Connell Street adjacent to the GPO, until it was destroyed by Irish republicans in an explosion in 1966. The Spire of Dublin was erected on the site of the Pillar in 2003.

The Hibernia statue was depicted on the obverse of a commemorative 2 euro coin marking the Centenary of the Easter Rising in 2016.

The postal service An Post moved its headquarters from the General Post Office building to new premises at North Wall Quay in Dublin, in June 2023.

title: General Post Office, Dublin


text:
Talk:Edinburgh Cowgate fire

Sources agree, it was Dec 7th not Dec 6th, e.g. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/2555797.stm -- Hotlorp

I just added a photo, and did become confused when I had it titled The Morning After The Night Before (8th), and my file shows it to have been taken on the 8th, when the report states it should have been the 7th. -- Saintchris

The fire didn't start in a night club, it was a dissused room within the maze of buildings

title: Talk:Edinburgh Cowgate fire


text:
Mother Love Bone

Mother Love Bone was an American rock band that formed in Seattle, Washington in 1988. The band was active from 1988 to 1990. Frontman Andrew Wood's charisma and songwriting helped to catapult the group to the top of the burgeoning Seattle music scene at the time. Wood died shortly before the scheduled release of the band's debut album Apple, resulting in the breakup of the band. The album was released a few months later, though many recollections of demos, b-sides, and live performances were released and given to the general public as well.

As well as being influential to grunge, they are also considered early pioneers in the alternative metal genre.

History
Mother Love Bone was established in 1987 by ex-Green River members Jeff Ament, Bruce Fairweather and Stone Gossard, ex-Malfunkshun frontman Andrew Wood and ex-Ten Minute Warning and The Living drummer Greg Gilmore. The group was formed in 1987 out of the cover band Lords of the Wasteland which featured Wood, Gossard, Ament and Malfunkshun drummer Regan Hagar. By early 1988 the band had added Fairweather, replaced Hagar with drummer Greg Gilmore and changed its name to Mother Love Bone.

This new line-up quickly set about recording and playing shows and by late 1988 had become one of Seattle's more promising bands. Wood's exuberant on-stage personality, outlandish clothes and dreamy lyrics helped bring attention to the band. In the 1996 grunge documentary Hype! Seattle engineer Jack Endino called Wood "the only stand-up comedian frontman in Seattle", a reference to Wood's playful style of interacting with fans.

In November 1988, the band signed to PolyGram subsidiary Polydor/Stardog and recorded their debut EP. As part of their contract, PolyGram created the Stardog Records imprint exclusively for the band. In March 1989, the group issued its debut EP Shine, becoming one of the first of the new crop of Seattle bands to have a release on a major label. The record sold well and rapidly increased the profile of the band. John Book of AllMusic said the "record contributed to the buzz about the Seattle music scene."

In late 1989 the band entered a studio in Sausalito, California to record its debut album Apple. Despite some initial difficulties, the record was on time for its projected March 1990 release. Only days before Apple was slated to be released, frontman Andrew Wood, who had a long history with drug problems, overdosed on heroin. Unresponsive and without signs of brain activity, he was in the hospital on life support for two days to allow friends and family to say goodbye. Wood's death effectively brought the group to an end. The album would see release later that year on July 19, 1990. Kim Neely of Rolling Stone said that the album "succeeds where countless other hard rock albums have failed, capturing the essence of what made Zep immortal – dynamics, kids! – and giving it a unique Nineties spin."

Post-Mother Love Bone
In the months following Wood's death, Gossard and Ament were approached by Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell (who had been Wood's roommate), and asked if they would be interested in recording a single containing two songs he had written in tribute to Wood. The project turned into an entire album and the group took the name Temple of the Dog, a reference to a line in the Mother Love Bone song "Man of Golden Words". Eddie Vedder later joined Mike McCready, Dave Krusen, Gossard, and Ament to form Pearl Jam. Pearl Jam subsequently became one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed rock bands of the 1990s.

Fairweather initially remained inactive but later joined Seattle based psychedelic rock band Love Battery, replacing Tommy Simpson on bass in 1992. He played on three of the band's albums and numerous tours before leaving the band. In 2006 he resurfaced in The Press Corps, with Garrett Shavlik (The Fluid) and Dan Peters (Mudhoney).

Gilmore's profile dropped significantly following Mother Love Bone's demise. Between 1992 and 1994, he drummed with the band Chubby Children, reuniting with former bandmates from 1982–1985, Brian Fox and Garth Brandenburg. Out of the band came a handful of shows and unreleased recordings. He also participated in the reunion of his former band Ten Minute Warning in 1998, and was credited with providing 'inspiration' for the song "Never the Machine Forever" (credited as being written by Kim Thayil) on Soundgarden's studio album, 1996's Down on the Upside. The song initially came out of a jam session Thayil had with Gilmore.

In April 2011, Kevin Wood (Andrew Wood's brother) teamed up with hard rock band Lace Weeper to record Mother Love Bone's "Crown of Thorns" in commemoration of 21 years since Andrew's death. The single was released on Kevin's Wammybox Records.

Reunion concerts
On April 14, 2010, the four surviving members of Mother Love Bone reunited for the first time in 20 years (with friend and fellow Seattle musician Shawn Smith serving as frontman) as part of a sold-out "Brad and Friends" evening at Seattle's Showbox. The songs featured were part of the band's core repertoire from their early days, including "Stardog Champion", "Holy Roller", "Gentle Groove" and a cover of the Argent song "Hold Your Head Up", a favorite encore from the band's early club days around Seattle.

On May 5, 2018, the band again got together and performed 14 songs (including "Hold Your Head Up") during the event at Seattle’s Neptune Theatre. Local singers Shawn Smith (Pigeonhed) and Ohm Johari (Hell’s Belles) shared singing duties.

Members

 * Andrew Wood – lead vocals, piano, keyboard, tambourine (1988–1990; died 1990)
 * Bruce Fairweather – lead and rhythm guitar, backing vocals (1988–1990)
 * Stone Gossard – rhythm and lead guitar, backing vocals (1988–1990)
 * Jeff Ament – bass, backing vocals (1988–1990)
 * Greg Gilmore – drums (1988–1990)
 * Regan Hagar - drums (1988)

Music videos

 * 1990: "Stardog Champion"
 * 1990: "Holy Roller"
 * 2016: "Captain Hi-Top"

title: Mother Love Bone


text:
Chico Marx

Leonard Joseph "Chico" Marx (March 22, 1887 – October 11, 1961) was an American comedian, actor and pianist. He was the oldest brother in the Marx Brothers comedy troupe, alongside his brothers Arthur ("Harpo"), Julius ("Groucho"), Milton ("Gummo") and Herbert ("Zeppo"). His persona in the act was that of a charming, uneducated but crafty con artist, seemingly of rural Italian origin, who wore shabby clothes and sported a curly-haired wig and Tyrolean hat. On screen, Chico is often in alliance with Harpo, usually as partners in crime, and is also frequently seen trying to con or outfox Groucho. Leonard was the oldest of the Marx Brothers to live past early childhood, the first-born being Manfred Marx who had died in infancy. In addition to his work as a performer, he played an important role in the management and development of the act in its early years.

Early years
Marx was born in Manhattan, New York City, on March 22, 1887. His parents were Sam Marx (called "Frenchie" throughout his life), and his wife, Minnie Schoenberg Marx. Minnie's brother was vaudeville comedian Al Shean, best known as one half of Gallagher and Shean. The Marx family was Franco-German Jewish. His father was a native of Alsace who worked as a tailor and his mother was from East Frisia in Germany.

Stage persona
Billing himself as Chico (pronounced as "Chicko"), he used an Italian persona for his onstage character. Stereotyped ethnic characters were common with vaudevillians. His questionable Italian ethnicity was specifically referred to twice on film: In their second feature, Animal Crackers, he recognizes someone he knows to be a fish peddler from Czechoslovakia impersonating a respected art collector:

In A Night at the Opera, which begins in Italy, his character, Fiorello, claims not to be Italian, eliciting a surprised look from Groucho:

A scene in the film Go West, in which Chico attempts to placate an Indian chief of whom Groucho has run afoul, has a line that plays a bit on Chico's lack of Italian nationality, but is more or less proper Marxian wordplay:

There are moments, however, where his characters appear to be genuinely Italian; examples include the film The Big Store, in which his character Ravelli runs into an old friend he worked with in Naples (after a brief misunderstanding due to his accent), the film Monkey Business, in which Chico claims his grandfather sailed with Christopher Columbus, and their very first outing The Cocoanuts, where Mr. Hammer (Groucho) asks him if he knew what an auction was, in which he responds "I come from Italy on the Atlantic Auction [Atlantic Ocean]!" Chico's character is often assumed to be dim-witted, as he frequently misunderstands words spoken by other characters (particularly Groucho). However, he often gets the better of the same characters by extorting money from them, either by con or blackmail; again, Groucho is his most frequent target.

Chico was a talented pianist. He originally started playing with only his right hand and fake playing with his left, as his teacher did so herself. Although he took lessons, Chico was a largely self-taught pianist. As a young boy, he gained jobs playing piano to earn money for the Marx family. Sometimes Chico even worked playing in two places at the same time. He would acquire the first job with his piano-playing skills, work for a few nights, and then substitute Harpo on one of the jobs. (During their boyhood, Chico and Harpo looked so much alike that they were often mistaken for each other.)

In the brothers' last film, Love Happy, Chico plays a piano and violin duet with 'Mr. Lyons' (Leon Belasco). Lyons plays some ornate riffs on the violin; Chico comments, "Look-a, Mister Lyons, I know you wanna make a good impression, but please don't-a play better than me!"

In a record album about the Marx Brothers, narrator Gary Owens stated that "although Chico's technique was limited, his repertoire was not." The opposite was true of Harpo, who reportedly could play only two tunes on the piano, which typically thwarted Chico's scam and resulted in both brothers being fired.

Groucho Marx once said that Chico never practiced the pieces he played. Instead, before performances he soaked his fingers in hot water. He was known for 'shooting' the keys of the piano. He played passages with his thumb up and index finger straight, like a gun, as part of the act. Other examples of his keyboard flamboyance are found in Go West (1940), where he plays the piano by rolling an orange over the keys and A Night in Casablanca (1946), where he performs a rendition of "The Beer Barrel Polka".

Chico became the unofficial manager of the Marx Brothers after their mother, Minnie, died in 1929. As manager, he negotiated with the studios to get the brothers a percentage of a film's gross receipts—the first deal of its kind in Hollywood which has become common practice today. Furthermore, it was Chico's connection with Irving Thalberg, head of production at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, that led to Thalberg's signing the Brothers when they were in a career slump after Duck Soup (1933), the last of their films for Paramount.

For a while in the 1930s and 1940s, Chico led a big band. Crooner Mel Tormé began his professional career singing with the Chico Marx Orchestra. Through the 1950s, Chico occasionally appeared on a variety of television anthology shows and some television commercials, most notably with Harpo (and a cameo appearance by Groucho) in "The Incredible Jewelry Robbery", a pantomime episode of General Electric Theater in 1959; This was the final appearance of the three Marx Brothers.

Pronunciation and origin of name
His nickname (acquired during a card game in Galesburg, Illinois in 1914) was originally spelled Chicko. A typesetter accidentally omitted the 'k', so his name became Chico but the Marxes still pronounced it "Chick-oh", although others sometimes mistakenly pronounced it "Cheek-oh". Numerous radio recordings from the 1940s exist in which announcers and fellow actors mispronounce the nickname, but Chico does not correct them. As late as the 1950s, Groucho used the wrong pronunciation for comedic effect. A guest on You Bet Your Life told the quizmaster she grew up around Chico (California) and Groucho responded, "I grew up around Chico myself. You aren't Gummo, are you?" In most interviews, Groucho is heard correctly pronouncing it "Chicko", as in a Dick Cavett episode with Groucho talking to Dan Rowan.

During Groucho's live performance at Carnegie Hall in 1972, he states that his brother got the name Chico because he was a "chicken-chaser" (early 20th century slang for womanizer).

Gambling
As well as being a compulsive womanizer, Chico had a lifelong gambling habit. His favorite gambling pursuits were card games, horse racing, dog racing, and various sports betting. His addiction cost him millions of dollars by his own account. When an interviewer in the late 1930s asked him how much money he had lost from gambling, he answered, "Find out how much money Harpo's got. That's how much I've lost." Gummo Marx, in an interview years after Chico's death, said: "Chico's favorite people were actors who gambled, producers who gambled, and women who screwed." In reference to Chico's well-known promiscuity, George Jessel quipped, "Chico didn't button his fly until he was seventy."

Chico's lifelong gambling addiction compelled him to continue working in show business long after his brothers had retired in comfort from their Hollywood income, and in the early 1940s, he found himself playing in the same small, cheap theater halls in which he had begun his career 30 years earlier. The Marx Brothers' penultimate film, A Night in Casablanca (1946), was made largely for Chico's financial benefit since he had filed for bankruptcy a few years prior. At around this time, the rest of the Marx brothers, finally aware of Chico's out-of-control gambling, took full control over his finances; they took all money away from Chico as he earned it and put him on an allowance to curb his constant betting and gambling. Chico stayed on the allowance until his death.

Chico had a reputation as a world-class pinochle player, a game he and Harpo learned from their father. Groucho said Chico would throw away good cards (with the knowledge of spectators) to make the play "more interesting". Chico's last public appearance was in 1960, playing cards on the television show Championship Bridge. He and his partner lost the game.

Personal life
Chico was married twice. His first marriage was to Betty Karp in 1917. They had a daughter, Maxine (1918–2009). His first marriage was affected by his infidelity, ending in divorce in 1940. He was very close to his daughter Maxine and gave her acting lessons.

Chico's second marriage was to Mary De Vithas. They married in 1958, three years before his death.

Awards and honors
In the 1974 Academy Awards telecast, Jack Lemmon presented Groucho with an honorary Academy Award to a standing ovation. The award was also for Harpo, Chico, and Zeppo, whom Lemmon mentioned by name. It was one of Groucho's last public appearances. "I wish that Harpo and Chico could be here to share with me this great honor," he said, naming the two deceased brothers (Zeppo was still alive at the time and in the audience). Groucho also praised the late Margaret Dumont as a great straight woman who never understood any of his jokes.

Death
Chico died of arteriosclerosis at the age of 74 on October 11, 1961, at his Hollywood home. He was the eldest brother and the first to die. He was survived by his second wife Mary and daughter Maxine (from his first marriage to Betty Karp).

Chico is entombed in the mausoleum at Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California. Chico's brother Gummo is in a crypt across the hall from him.

Portrayals
Actor Michael Tucci portrayed Chico alongside Gabe Kaplan as Groucho in the play Groucho (later released on home video under the title Gabe Kaplan as Groucho) originally broadcast on HBO in 1982.

Actors who have portrayed Chico Marx in stage revivals of the Marx Brothers musical plays include Peter Slutsker, Les Marsden and Matt Roper. Frank Lazarus played Chico in a 1990 radio adaptation of Flywheel, Shyster, and Flywheel.

Filmography

 * Films
 * The Cocoanuts (1929) as Chico
 * Animal Crackers (1930) as Signor Emanuel Ravelli
 * The House That Shadows Built (1931) as Tomalio
 * Monkey Business (1931) as Chico
 * Horse Feathers (1932) as Baravelli
 * Duck Soup (1933) as Chicolini
 * A Night at the Opera (1935) as Fiorello
 * A Day at the Races (1937) as Tony
 * Room Service (1938) as Harry Binelli
 * At The Circus (1939) as Antonio "Tony" Pirelli
 * Go West (1940) as Joe Panello
 * The Big Store (1941) as Ravelli
 * A Night in Casablanca (1946) as Corbaccio
 * Love Happy (1949) as Faustino the Great
 * The Story of Mankind as Monk (uncredited)

Broadway

 * I'll Say She Is
 * The Cocoanuts
 * Animal Crackers

title: Chico Marx