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Stan Kenton

Stanley Newcomb Kenton (December 15, 1911 – August 25, 1979) was an American popular music and jazz artist. As a pianist, composer, arranger and band leader, he led an innovative and influential jazz orchestra for almost four decades. Though Kenton had several pop hits from the early 1940s into the 1960s, his music was always forward-looking. Kenton was also a pioneer in the field of jazz education, creating the Stan Kenton Jazz Camp in 1959 at Indiana University.

Early life
Stan Kenton was born on December 15, 1911, in Wichita, Kansas; he had two sisters (Beulah and Erma Mae) born three and eight years after him, respectively. His parents, Floyd and Stella Kenton, moved the family to Colorado, and in 1924, to the Greater Los Angeles Area, settling in suburban Bell, California.

Kenton attended Bell High School; his high-school yearbook picture has the prophetic notation "Old Man Jazz". Kenton started learning piano as a teen from a local pianist and organist. When he was around 15 and in high school, pianist and arranger Ralph Yaw introduced him to the music of Louis Armstrong and Earl Hines. He graduated from high school in 1930.

By the age of 16, Kenton was already playing a regular solo piano gig at a local hamburger eatery for 50 cents a night plus tips; during that time he had his own performing group named "The Bell-Tones". His first arrangement was written during this time for a local eight-piece band that played in nearby Long Beach.

1930s
With little money, Kenton traveled to speakeasys in San Diego and Las Vegas playing piano. By 1932 he was playing with the Francis Gilbert Territory band and would tour through Arizona; he would go on to working with the Everett Hoagland Orchestra in 1933, which would be his first time playing at the Rendezvous Ballroom. He would then play with Russ Plummer, Hal Grayson and eventually got his big break with Gus Arnheim.

In April 1936, Arnheim was reorganizing his band into the style of Benny Goodman's groups and Kenton was to take the piano chair. This is where Kenton would make his first recordings when Arnheim made 14 sides for the Brunswick label in summer of 1937. Once he departed from Gus Arnheim's group, Kenton went back to study with private teachers on both the piano and in composition. In 1938 Kenton would join Vido Musso in a short-lived band, but a very educational experience for him.

From the core of this group came the lineup of the first Stan Kenton groups of the 1940s. Kenton would also go on to working with the NBC House Band and in various Hollywood studios and clubs. Producer George Avakian took notice of Kenton during this time while he worked as the pianist and Assistant Musical Director at the Earl Carroll Theatre Restaurant in Hollywood. Kenton started to get the idea of running his own band from this experience; he created a rehearsal band of his own, which eventually become his group in the 1940s.

1940s
In 1940, Kenton formed his first orchestra. Kenton worked in the early days with his own groups as much more of an arranger than a featured pianist. Although there were no "name" musicians in his first band (with the possible exception of bassist Howard Rumsey and trumpeter Chico Alvarez), Kenton spent the summer of 1941 playing regularly before an audience at the Rendezvous Ballroom on the Balboa Peninsula at Newport Beach, CA. Influenced by Benny Carter and Jimmie Lunceford, the Stan Kenton Orchestra struggled for a time after its initial success. Its Decca recordings were not big sellers and a stint as Bob Hope's backup radio band during the 1943–44 season was an unhappy experience; Les Brown permanently took Kenton's place.

Kenton's first appearance in New York was in February 1942 at the Roseland Ballroom, with the marquee featuring an endorsement by Fred Astaire. By late 1943, with a contract with the newly formed Capitol Records, a popular record in "Eager Beaver", and growing recognition, the Stan Kenton Orchestra was gradually catching on; it developed into one of the best-known West Coast ensembles of the 1940s. Its soloists during the war years included Art Pepper, briefly Stan Getz, altoist Boots Mussulli, and singer Anita O'Day. By 1945, the band had evolved. The songwriter Joe Greene provided the lyrics for hit songs like "And Her Tears Flowed Like Wine" and "Don't Let the Sun Catch You Cryin'". Pete Rugolo became the chief arranger (extending Kenton's ideas), Bob Cooper and Vido Musso offered very different tenor styles, and June Christy was Kenton's new singer; her hits (including "Tampico" and Greene's "Across the Alley from the Alamo") made it possible for Kenton to finance his more ambitious projects.

Artistry in Rhythm
When composer/arranger Pete Rugolo joined the Stan Kenton Orchestra as staff arranger in late 1945 he brought with him his love of jazz, Stravinsky and Bartók. Given free rein by Kenton, Rugolo experimented. Although Kenton himself was already trying experimental scores prior to Rugolo's tenure, it was Rugolo who brought extra jazz and classical influences much needed to move the band forward artistically.

During his first six months on the staff, Rugolo tried to copy Kenton's sound; on encouragement from the leader he explored his own voice. By incorporating compositional techniques borrowed from the modern classical music he studied, Rugolo was a key part of one of Kenton's most fertile and creative periods.

After a string of mostly arrangements, Rugolo turned out three originals that Kenton featured on the band's first album in 1946 (Artistry in Rhythm): "Artistry in Percussion", "Safranski" and "Artistry in Bolero". Added to this mix came "Machito", "Rhythm Incorporated", "Monotony", and "Interlude" in early 1947 (although some were not recorded until later in the year). These compositions, along with June Christy's voice, came to define the Artistry in Rhythm band. Afro-Cuban writing was added to the Kenton book with compositions like Rugolo's "Machito". The resulting instrumentation, utilizing significant amounts of brass, was described as a "wall of sound" (a term later coined independently by Andrew Loog Oldham for Phil Spector's production methods).

The Artistry in Rhythm ensemble was a formative band, with outstanding soloists. By early 1947, the Stan Kenton Orchestra had reached a high point of financial and popular success. They played in the best theaters and ballrooms in America and had numerous hit records. Dances at the ballrooms were typically four hours a night and theater dates generally involved playing mini-concerts between each showing of the movie. This was sometimes five or six a day, stretching from morning to late night. Most days not actually playing were spent in buses or cars. Days off from performing were rare. For Kenton they just allowed for more record signing, radio station interviews, and advertising for Capitol Records. Due to the financial and personal demands, following an April performance in Tuscaloosa, he broke up the Artistry in Rhythm incarnation of Kenton ensembles.

Progressive Jazz
After a hiatus of five months, Kenton formed a new, larger ensemble to present Concerts in Progressive Jazz. Sustaining the ensemble on its own proved mostly attainable but the band still had to fill in its schedule by booking dances and movie theater jobs, especially over the summer.

Pete Rugolo composed and arranged the great bulk of the new music; Kenton declared these works to be Progressive Jazz. A student of famed composer and educator Russ Garcia, Bob Graettinger wrote numerous works for the band, starting with his composition Thermopylae. His ground-breaking composition City of Glass was premiered by the band in Chicago in April 1948, but not recorded for another two and a half years, in a reworked version for the Innovations Orchestra. Ken Hanna, who began the tour as a trumpet player, contributed a few compositions to the new band, including Somnambulism. Kenton contributed no new scores to the Progressive Jazz band, although several of his older works were performed on concerts, including Concerto to End All Concertos, Eager Beaver, Opus in Pastels, and Artistry in Rhythm.

Cuban inflected titles from the Progressive Jazz period include Rugolo's Introduction to a Latin Rhythm, Cuban Carnival, The Peanut Vendor, Journey to Brazil, and Bob Graettinger's Cuban Pastorale. The addition of a full-time bongo player and a Brazilian guitarist in the band enabled Kenton's cadre of composers to explore Afro-Latin rhythms to far greater possibilities.

The Progressive Jazz period lasted 14 months, beginning on September 24, 1947, when the Stan Kenton Orchestra played a concert at the Rendezvous Ballroom. And it ended after the last show at the Paramount Theatre in New York City on December 14, 1948. The band produced only one album and a handful of singles, due to a recording ban by the American Federation of Musicians that lasted the entirety of 1948.

The lone record, "A Presentation of Progressive Jazz", received a 3 out of 4 rating from Tom Herrick in DownBeat. Metronome rated it "C" calling it a "jerry-built jumble of effects and counter-effects" and "this album presents very little that can justifiably be called either jazz or progressive". Billboard scored it 80 out of 100, but declared it "as mumbo-jumbo a collection of cacophony as has ever been loosed on an unsuspecting public.

Many sidemen from the Artistry band returned, but there were significant changes. Laurindo Almeida on classical guitar, and Jack Costanzo on bongos dramatically changed the band's timbre. Both were firsts for the Kenton band, or any jazz band for that matter. The rhythm section included returnees Eddie Safranski (bass) and Shelly Manne (drums), both destined to win first place Down Beat awards.

Four of the five trumpet players returned: Buddy Childers, Ray Wetzel, Chico Alvarez, and Ken Hanna. Al Porcino was added to the already powerhouse section. Conte Candoli joined the band, replacing Porcino, in February 1948.

Kai Winding, star trombonist of the Artistry in Rhythm band, would not be a part of the Progressive Jazz era, except for a few dates on which he subbed. Milt Bernhart came in on lead trombone. And Bart Varsalona returned on bass trombone. Bernhart's first big solo with the Kenton band proved to be a major hit, The Peanut Vendor.

The saxophone section was much improved and modernized. Returning saxophonists included baritone Bob Gioga, holding down his chair since the very start, and Bob Cooper on tenor. With Vido Musso's departure, Cooper and his modernist sound became the featured tenor soloist. Art Pepper came on as second alto, the "jazz" chair. And the new lead alto was George Weidler.

This was genuinely a band of all-stars. They received five first place awards in the Down Beat poll at the end of 1947, and similar awards from the other magazines. The arrangers continued to push the limits of these superb instrumentalists in their compositions. Works from this period are more sophisticated than those written for the Artistry band, and are some of the first and most successful "third stream" compositions.

The band criss-crossed the country, appearing in the nation's top concert venues, including Carnegie Hall, Boston Symphony Hall, Chicago Civic Opera House, Academy of Music (Philadelphia), and the Hollywood Bowl. They had extended stays at New York's Paramount Theatre and Hotel Commodore, Philadelphia's Click, Detroit's Eastwood Gardens, Radio City Theater in Minneapolis, and the Rendezvous Ballroom, a special place in Kenton's musical life.

Kenton's band was the first to present a concert in the famous outdoor arena, the Hollywood Bowl. His concert there on June 12, 1948, drew more than 15,000 people, and was both an artistic and commercial success. Kenton pocketed half of the box office, walking away with US$13,000 for the evening's concert.

The band broke attendance records all across the country. Thanks to Kenton's public relations acumen, he was able to convince concert goers and record buyers of the importance of his music. Comedy numbers and June Christy vocals helped break up the seriousness of the new music.

Kenton's successes did not sit well with everyone. In an essay entitled Economics and Race in Jazz, Leslie B. Rout Jr. wrote: "'The real scourge of the 1946–1949 period was the all-white Stan Kenton band. Dubbing his musical repertoire progressive jazz, Kenton saw his orchestra become the first in jazz history to reach an annual gross of US$1,000,000 in 1948.' (equivalent to $ million in )" Rout contrasted this with the relative lack of critical and public recognition for another leading jazz artist: "'Dizzy Gillespie as the premiere bopper could not be transformed into coin of the realm.'"

At the end of 1948, as the band was fulfilling an extended engagement at the Paramount Theater in New York City, the leader notified his sidemen, his bookers, and the press, that he would be disbanding once more. Kenton's most artistically and commercially successful band ceased to be at the top of their game. On December 14, 1948, the Stan Kenton Orchestra played their last notes for more than a year. They would return with new faces, new music, and a string section.

1950s
After a year's hiatus, in 1950 Kenton assembled the large 39-piece Innovations in Modern Music Orchestra that included 16 strings, a woodwind section, and two French horns. The music was an extension of the works composed and recorded since 1947 by Bob Graettinger, Manny Albam, Franklyn Marks and others. Name jazz musicians such as Maynard Ferguson, Shorty Rogers, Milt Bernhart, John Graas, Art Pepper, Bud Shank, Bob Cooper, Laurindo Almeida, Shelly Manne, and June Christy were part of these musical ensembles. The groups managed two tours during 1950–51, from a commercial standpoint it would be Stan Kenton's first major failure. Kenton soon reverted to a more standard 19-piece lineup.

In order to be more commercially viable, Kenton reformed the band in 1951 to a much more standard instrumentation: five saxes, five trombones, five trumpets, piano, guitar, bass, drums. The charts of such arrangers as Gerry Mulligan, Johnny Richards, and particularly Bill Holman and Bill Russo began to dominate the repertoire. The music was written to better reflect the style of cutting edge, be-bop oriented big bands, such as those of Dizzy Gillespie or Woody Herman. Young, talented players and outstanding jazz soloists such as Maynard Ferguson, Lee Konitz, Conte Candoli, Sal Salvador, and Frank Rosolino made strong contributions to the level of the 1952–53 band. The music composed and arranged during this time was far more tailor-made to contemporary jazz tastes; the 1953 album New Concepts of Artistry in Rhythm is noted as one of the high points in Kenton's career as band leader. Though the band was to have a very strong "concert book", Kenton also made sure the dance book was made new, fresh and contemporary. The album Sketches on Standards from 1953 is an excellent example of Kenton appealing to a wider audience while using the band and Bill Russo's arranging skills to their fullest potential. Even though the personnel changed rather rapidly, Kenton's focus was very clear on where he would lead things musically. By this time producer Lee Gillette worked well in concert with Kenton to create a balanced set of recordings that were both commercially viable and cutting edge musically.

Arguably the most "swinging" band Kenton was to field came when legendary drummer Mel Lewis joined the orchestra in 1954. Kenton's Contemporary Concepts (1955) and Kenton in Hi-Fi (1956) albums during this time are very impressive as a be-bop recording and then a standard dance recording (respectively). Kenton in Hi-Fi's wide popularity and sales benefited from the fact it was his greatest hits of ten years earlier re-recorded in stereo with a contemporary, much higher level band. The album climbed all the way up to #22 on the Billboard album charts and provided much needed revenue at a time when Rock n Roll had started to become the dominant pop music in the United States. It would become more and more difficult for Kenton to alternate between 'dance' and serious 'jazz' albums while staying financially solvent.

During the summer of 1955 (July–September), Kenton was to become the host of the CBS television series Music 55.  While it offered 10 weeks of great exposure to a rapidly expanding television audience, the show failed. It was plagued by poor production techniques and a strange combination of guests that did not work well with what Kenton had envisioned. He ended up being stiff and out of place with what the producers tried to achieve. Kenton had to burn the candle at both ends, flying in to do the show and then flying back to meet his band on the road. The New York production team was limited to using an American Federation of Musicians roster of local players; Kenton wanted his own band to do the show. There would be another attempt for the Kenton organization to place the band on regularly scheduled television programming in 1958. After six Kenton-financed episodes on KTTV in Los Angeles, there would be no sponsors to step up and back the show.

One of the standout projects and recordings for the mid-1950s band is the Cuban Fire! album released in 1956. Though Stan Kenton had recorded earlier hits such as The Peanut Vendor in 1947 with Latin percussionist Machito, as well as many other Latin flavored singles, the Cuban Fire! suite and LP stands as a watershed set of compositions for Johnny Richards' career and an outstanding commercial/artistic achievement for the Kenton orchestra, and a singular landmark in large ensemble Latin jazz recordings. "CUBAN FIRE is completely authentic, the way it combines big-band jazz with genuine Latin-American rhythms." The success of the Cuban Fire! album can be gauged in part by the immediate ascent of Johnny Richards' star after its release; he was suddenly offered a contract by Bethlehem Records to record what would be the first of several recordings with his own groups.

At one point, Kenton faced a controversy in 1956 with comments he made when the band returned from a European tour. The current Critics Poll in Down Beat was now dominated by African-American musicians in virtually every category. The Kenton band was playing in Ontario, Canada, at the time, and Kenton dispatched a telegram which lamented "a new minority, white jazz musicians", and stated his "disgust [with the so-called] literary geniuses of jazz". Jazz critic Leonard Feather responded in the October 3, 1956, issue of Down Beat with an open letter that questioned Kenton's racial views. Feather implied that Kenton's failure to win the Critics Poll was probably the real reason for the complaint, and wondered if racial prejudice was involved. Less than 2% of the more than 600 sidemen with the Kenton band were African American.

By the end of the decade Kenton was with the last incarnation of a 19-piece, 1950s-style Kenton orchestra. Many bands have been called a leader's "best"; this last Kenton 1959 incarnation of the 1950s bands may very well be the best. The group would pull off one of Kenton's most artistic, subtle and introspective recordings, Standards in Silhouette. As trombonist Archie LeCoque recalled of this album of very slow ballads, "...it was hard, but at the time we were all young and straight-ahead, we got through it and (two) albums came out well." By 1959 Stereophonic sound recording was now being fully utilized with all major labels. One of the great triumphs of the Standards in Silhouette album is the mature writing, the combination of the room used, a live group with very few overdubs, and the recording being in full stereo fidelity (and later remastered to digital). Bill Mathieu was highly skeptical of the decision to record his music like Cuban Fire! in a cavernous ballroom. Mathieu adds: "Stan and producer Lee Gillette were absolutely right: the band sounds alive and awake (which is not easy when recording many hours of slow-tempo music in a studio), and most importantly, the players could hear themselves well in the live room. The end result is the band sounds strong and cohesive, and the album is well recorded." This is the last set of studio dates before Kenton would retool the entire orchestra in 1960.

1960s

The Kenton orchestra had been on a slow decline in sales and popularity in the late 1950s with having to compete with newer, popular music artists such as Elvis Presley, Bobby Darin, and The Platters. The nadir of this decline was around 1958 and coincided with a recession that was affecting the entire country. There were far fewer big bands on the road and live music venues were hard to book for the Kenton orchestra. The band would end 1959 beaten up by poor attendance at concerts and having to rely far more on dance halls than real jazz concerts. The band would reform in 1960 with a new look, a new sound, a larger group with a 'mellophonium' section added and an upsurge in Kenton's popularity.

The new instrument was used by Kenton to "bridge the gap" in range, color, and tonality between his trumpet and trombone sections. Essentially it creates a conical, midrange sound that is common in a symphonic setting with a horn (French horn) but the bell of the instrument faces forward. Kenton's 1961 recording The Romantic Approach for Capitol is the first of 11 LPs that would feature the "mellophonium band". Kenton arranged the whole first mellophonium album himself and it was very well received in a September 1961 review in Down Beat.

The Kenton Orchestra from 1960 to 1963 had numerous successes; the band had a relentless recording schedule. The albums Kenton's West Side Story (arrangements by Johnny Richards) and Adventures In Jazz, each won Grammy awards in 1962 and 1963 respectively. Ralph Carmichael wrote a superb set of Christmas charts for Kenton which translated into one of the most popular recordings from the band leader to date: A Merry Christmas!.  Also, Johnny Richards' Adventures in Time suite (recorded in 1962) was the culmination of all things the mellophonium band was capable of. After the Fall 1963 U.S./U.K. tour ended in November, the mellophonium incarnation of Kenton bands was done. The conditions of Stan's divorce from jazz singer Ann Richards was that a judge ordered Stan to take a year off the road to help raise their two children or lose custody altogether. Kenton would not reform another road band for tour until 1965.

Kenton had ties from earlier writing of country/western songs that were a success with Capitol and again he tried his hand in that genre during the early 1960s. In a music market that was becoming increasingly tight, in 1962 he cut the hit single "Mama Sang a Song"; his last Top-40 (No. 32 Billboard, No. 22 Music Vendor). The song was a narration written by country singer Bill Anderson and spoken by Kenton. The single also received a Grammy nomination the following year in the Best Documentary or Spoken Word Recording category. The other attempt he made into that market was the far less successful Stan Kenton! Tex Ritter!, released in 1962 as a full LP.

After the breakup of the mellophonium band, Kenton / Wagner (1964) was an important recording project that Kenton himself arranged, again moving towards "progressive jazz" or third stream music. This album was not a financial success but kept Kenton at the forefront of 'art music' interpretation in the commercial music world. Stan Kenton Conducts the Los Angeles Neophonic Orchestra (1965) was an artistic success that garnered another Grammy nomination for the band leader. During this time Kenton also co-wrote the theme music for the short lived NBC television series Mister Roberts (1965–66).

The 1966–1969 Capitol releases for Stan Kenton were a severe low point for his recording career. Capitol producer Lee Gillette was trying to exploit the money making possibilities of numerous popular hits to include the 1968 musical Hair featuring contemporary rock music. Due to lack of promotion by Capitol, four LPs were financial failures; this would be the last releases for Kenton under the aegis of long time Kenton producer Lee Gillette and Capitol. In fact, by the time it was recorded Kenton had no involvement in the Hair LP except for Kenton's name placed on the jacket cover; Ralph Carmichael and Lennie Niehaus were placed in charge of the project. Two exceptions to this late 1960s period are the Billboard charted single the band cut of the Dragnet theme (1967) and another Kenton presents release featuring the music of composer and ex-bandsman Dee Barton: The Jazz Compositions of Dee Barton (1967). The album featuring Barton's music was another unsung artistic success for the Kenton band though widely unseen commercially by the a music listening public.

1970s
The transition from Capitol to Creative World Records in 1970 was fraught with difficulties during a time when the music business was changing rapidly. As a viable jazz artist who was trying to keep a loyal but dwindling following, Kenton turned to arrangers such as Hank Levy and Bob Curnow to write material that appealed to a younger audience. The first releases for the Creative World label were live concerts and Kenton had the control he wanted over content but lacked substantial resources to engineer, mix, and promote what Capitol underwrote in the past. Kenton would take a big gamble to bypass the current record industry and rely far more on the direct mail lists of jazz fans which the newly formed Creative World label would need to sell records. Kenton also made his print music available to college and high-school stage bands with several publishers. Kenton continued leading and touring with his big band up to his final performance on August 20, 1978, when he disbanded the group due to his failing health.

In June 1973 Bob Curnow had started as the new artists and repertoire manager overseeing the whole operation of the Creative World Records. It was just the year before (in 1972) the Kenton orchestra recorded the National Anthems of the World double LP with 40 arrangements all done by Curnow. As per Curnow himself: "'That was a remarkable and very difficult time for me. I was managing (Stan's) record company with NO experience in business, writing music like mad, living in a new place and culture (Los Angeles was another world), traveling a LOT (out with the band at least 1 week a month) and trying to keep it together at home.'"

When Kenton took to the road during the early 1970s (one in London in 1972) and up to his last tour, he took with him seasoned veteran musicians (John Worster, Willie Maiden, Warren Gale, Graham Ellis, and others) teaming them with relatively unknown young artists, and new arrangements (including those by Hank Levy, Bill Holman, Bob Curnow, Willie Maiden, and Ken Hanna) were used. Many alumni associated with Kenton from this era became educators (Mike Vax, John Von Ohlen, Chuck Carter, Lisa Hittle, and Richard Torres), and a few went on to take their musical careers to the next level, such as Peter Erskine, Douglas Purviance, and Tim Hagans.

Legacy
Kenton was a significant figure on the American musical scene and made an indelible mark on the arranged type of big band jazz. Kenton's music evolved with the times from 1940 through the 1970s. He was at the vanguard of promoting jazz and jazz improvisation through his service as an educator through his Stan Kenton Band Clinics. The "Kenton Style" continues to permeate big bands at the high school and collegiate level, and the framework he designed for the "jazz clinic" is still widely in use today.

Starting in the waning days of the big band era, Kenton found many ways to progress his art form. In his hands the size of the jazz orchestra expanded greatly, at times exceeding forty musicians. The frequency range (high and low notes) was also increased with the use of bass trombones and tuba, and baritone and bass saxophones. The dynamic range was pushed on both ends; the band could play softer and louder than any other big band. Kenton was the primary band leader responsible for moving the big band from the dance hall to the concert hall; one of the most important and successful players in the Third Stream movement.

Interest in his music has experienced somewhat of a resurgence, with critical "rediscovery" of his music and many reissues of his recordings. An alumni band named for him tours, led by lead trumpeter Mike Vax, which performs not only classic Kenton arrangements, but also new music written and performed by the band members (much like Kenton's own groups). Kenton donated his entire library to the music library of North Texas State University (now the University of North Texas), and the Stan Kenton Jazz Recital Hall was named in his honor, although has recently been changed due to concerns over his history of sexual misconduct. His arrangements are now published by Sierra Music Publications.

When compared with the four longest running touring jazz orchestras (Stan Kenton, Woody Herman, Count Basie, and Duke Ellington), Kenton's band had the highest turnover of personnel: Bob Gioga, Buddy Childers, and Dick Shearer are among only the few who played for Kenton for over a decade. Other important soloists such as Lennie Niehaus, Bill Perkins and Chico Alvarez had lengthy stays on the band as well. The full list of notable jazz players, studio musicians, et al. who served a stint is in itself impressive, as is the consistency of the group as a going concern from 1941 right until the decade of Kenton's death in 1979. Kenton's leadership and musical vision marshalled the numerous forces of an evolving and transient diverse set of players and arrangers for nearly four decades.

Personal life
Kenton's birth certificate stated that he was born on December 15, 1911, according to British biographer Michael Sparke.

Kenton was conceived out of wedlock, and his parents told him that he was born on February 19, 1912, two months later than the actual date, to obscure this fact. Kenton believed well into adulthood that the February date was his birthday, and recorded the Birthday In Britain concert album on February 19, 1973.

The true date remained secret, and his grave marker shows the incorrect February birthdate.

Kenton was married three times. He had three children from the first two marriages. His first marriage was to Violet Rhoda Peters in 1935 and lasted 15 years. The couple had a daughter in 1941, Leslie. In her 2010 memoir Love Affair, Leslie Kenton wrote that, from 1952 to 1954 when she was between the ages of 11 and 13, her father sexually abused her. She nonetheless maintained a close relationship with him, though she states that she was emotionally scarred by the experience. She said that the abuse happened when he was drunk. 20 years later he apologized.

In 1955, Stan Kenton married San Diego-born singer Ann Richards, who was 23 years his junior. They had two children. In 1961, Richards posed for a nude layout in Playboy magazine's June 1961 issue. She signed a contract to record with Atco Records, without her husband's knowledge. The Playboy shoot was done without Kenton's knowledge; he found out about it while playing at the Aragon Ballroom in Chicago when handed the magazine by Charles Suter, who was the editor of Down Beat magazine at the time. Richards was not typically on the road with the band, though she had recorded the album Two Much! with Kenton in 1960. Richards filed for divorce in August 1961; it was finalized in 1962. He retained custody of their two children.

Kenton's third marriage was to KABC production assistant Jo Ann Hill, in 1967. This also ended in a separation in 1969 with the divorce following in 1970.

In his later years he lived with his public relations secretary and last business manager, Audree Coke Kenton, though they never married.

Kenton's heavy consumption of alcohol contributed to frequent accidents and the physical difficulties he encountered during the last 10 years of his life.

Kenton's son Lance became a member of the controversial Synanon new-age community in California, and served as one of its "Imperial Marines", a group entrusted with committing violence against former members and others considered enemies of the community. In 1978 he was arrested for helping to put a rattlesnake in the mailbox of an anti-Synanon lawyer, and was sentenced to a year in prison.

Kenton had two serious falls, one in the early 1970s and one in May 1977 whilst on tour in Reading, Pennsylvania, the second of which fractured his skull. On August 17, 1979, he was admitted to Midway Hospital near his home in Los Angeles after a stroke; he died eight days later, on August 25. Kenton was interred in the Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery, Los Angeles.

Gold records and charts (singles and albums)
Gold Records
 * 1944 Artistry in Rhythm (Capitol Records) instrumental
 * 1945 Tampico (Capitol Records) vocal by June Christy and band
 * 1945 Shoo-Fly Pie and Apple Pan Dowdy (Capitol Records) vocal by June Christy and band

Hits as charted singles
(Songs that reached the top of the US or UK charts)

Between 1944 and 1967, Stan Kenton had numerous hits on Billboard's charts.

Hits as charted albums
(Albums charting history with Billboard Magazine)

Wins and honors from major publications
===Grammy Awards ===

 * rowspan="2"|
 * rowspan="2"|West Side Story'' (album)
 * Best Performance by an orchestra - for other than dancing
 * Nominated
 * rowspan="2"|Best Jazz Performance - Large Group (Instrumental)
 * Won
 * rowspan="2"|
 * rowspan="2"|Adventures In Jazz'' (album)
 * Won
 * Best Engineered recording (other than classical and novelty)
 * Nominated
 * style="text-align:center;"|
 * Mama Sang a Song (single)
 * Best Documentary or Spoken Word Recording (other than comedy)
 * Nominated
 * style="text-align:center;"|
 * Artistry in Voices and Brass (album)
 * Best Performance by a Chorus
 * Nominated
 * style="text-align:center;"|
 * Stan Kenton Conducts the Los Angeles Neophonic Orchestra (album)
 * Best Instrumental Jazz Performance, Individual or Group
 * Nominated
 * Best Performance by a Chorus
 * Nominated
 * style="text-align:center;"|
 * Stan Kenton Conducts the Los Angeles Neophonic Orchestra (album)
 * Best Instrumental Jazz Performance, Individual or Group
 * Nominated
 * Nominated

Grammy Hall of Fame

 * rowspan="1"| 1943 ||rowspan="1"| Artistry in Rhythm (with the Stan Kenton Orchestra) || Grammy Hall of Fame (1985) || Inducted
 * rowspan="1"| 1943 ||rowspan="1"| Artistry in Rhythm (with the Stan Kenton Orchestra) || Grammy Hall of Fame (1985) || Inducted

Other awards and honors

 * 1978 – Honorary Doctorate of Music: University of Redlands
 * 1974 – Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters: Drury College
 * 1968 – Honorary Doctorate of Music: Villanova University
 * 1967 – Intercollegiate Music Festival Hall of Fame Award
 * Named to the International Association for Jazz Education Hall of Fame (1980)
 * Honored on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (Recording – 6340 Hollywood Blvd.)
 * "City of Glass" is honored in The Wire's "100 Records That Set The World on Fire" (While No One Was Listening)".

Posthumously honored
EMPixx Awards – Platinum Award in the Documentary Category/Platinum Award in the Use of Music Category.
 * 2011 – Stan Kenton: Artistry In Rhythm- Portrait Of A Jazz Legend (DVD)

United States Library of Congress National Recording Registry
 * Artistry in Rhythm (single) – Stan Kenton – Released:1943 – Inducted: 2011 -	Category: Jazz

Noted band personnel

 * Instrumentalists
 * Pepper Adams
 * Bob Ahern
 * Sam Aleccia
 * Ashley Alexander
 * Laurindo Almeida
 * Alfred "Chico" Alvarez
 * Jim Amlotte
 * John Anderson
 * Buddy Arnold
 * Don Bagley
 * Gabe Baltazar
 * Michael Bard
 * Dave Barduhn
 * Gary Barone
 * Dee Barton
 * Tim Bell
 * Max Bennett
 * Milt Bernhart
 * Bill Briggs
 * Bud Brisbois
 * Ray Brown
 * Bob Burgess
 * Bart Caldarell
 * Tony Campise
 * Frank Capp
 * Conte Candoli
 * Pete Candoli
 * Fred Carter
 * Billy Catalano
 * Bill Chase
 * Buddy Childers
 * Rich Condit
 * Bob Cooper
 * Jack Costanzo
 * Curtis Counce
 * Bob Curnow
 * Quinn Davis
 * Vinnie Dean
 * Jay Daversa
 * Ted Dechter (Trombone)
 * Don Dennis
 * Sam Donahue
 * Red Dorris
 * Peter Erskine
 * Don Fagerquist
 * Maynard Ferguson
 * Mary Fettig
 * Bob Fitzpatrick
 * Dr. William "Bill" Fritz
 * Carl Fontana
 * Chris Galuman
 * Stan Getz
 * Bob Gioga
 * John Graas
 * Benny Green
 * Tim Hagans
 * Ken Hanna
 * Bill Hanna
 * John Harner
 * Dennis Hayslett
 * Gary Henson
 * Phil Herring
 * Skeets Herfurt
 * Lisa Hittle
 * Gary Hobbs
 * Bill Holman
 * Marvin "Doc" Holladay
 * Clay Jenkins
 * Richie Kamuca
 * Melvin Kannel
 * Joel Kaye
 * Red Kelly
 * Jimmy Knepper
 * Bobby Knight
 * Lee Konitz
 * Tom Lacy
 * Scott LaFaro
 * Jack Lake
 * Keith LaMotte
 * Kent Larsen
 * Terry Layne
 * Skip Layton
 * Gary Lefebvre
 * Archie LeCoque
 * Stan Levey
 * Mel Lewis
 * Ramon Lopez
 * Bob Lymperis
 * John Madrid
 * Willie Maiden
 * Shelly Manne
 * Charlie Mariano
 * Al Mattaliano
 * Dave Matthews
 * Jerry McKenzie
 * Dick Meldonian
 * Don Menza
 * Greg Metcalf
 * Eddie Meyers
 * Frank Minear
 * Vido Musso
 * Boots Mussulli
 * Lennie Niehaus
 * Dennis Noday
 * Sam Noto
 * Lloyd Otto
 * Don Paladino
 * John Park
 * Kim Park
 * Art Pepper
 * Bill Perkins
 * Oscar Pettiford
 * Al Porcino
 * Mike Price
 * Douglas Purviance
 * Ray Reed
 * Clyde Reasinger
 * Roy Reynolds
 * Kim Richmond
 * George Roberts
 * Gene Roland
 * Billy Root
 * Frank Rosolino
 * Shorty Rogers
 * Ernie Royal
 * Howard Rumsey
 * Bill Russo
 * Eddie Safranski
 * Sal Salvador
 * Carl Saunders
 * Jay Saunders
 * Dave Schildkraut
 * Paul Severson
 * Bud Shank
 * Dick Shearer
 * Jack Sheldon
 * Kenny Shroyer
 * Gene Siegel
 * Zoot Sims
 * Tom Slaney
 * Dalton Smith
 * Greg Smith
 * Mike Snustead
 * Ed Soph
 * Lloyd Spoon
 * Mike Suter
 * Marvin Stamm
 * Ray Starling
 * Vinnie Tano
 * Lucky Thompson
 * Richard Torres
 * Bill Trujillo
 * Jeff Uusitalo
 * Mike Vaccaro
 * David van Kriedt
 * Bart Varsalona
 * Mike Vax
 * John Von Ohlen
 * George Weidler
 * Ray Wetzel
 * Rick Weathersby
 * Jiggs Whigham
 * Stu Williamson
 * Kai Winding
 * John Worster
 * Alan Yankee
 * Composers and Arrangers
 * Manny Albam
 * Buddy Baker
 * Dave Barduhn
 * Dee Barton
 * Ralph Carmichael
 * Joe Coccia
 * Frank Comstock
 * Bob Curnow
 * Dale Devoe
 * Sam Donahue
 * Wayne Dunston
 * Dennis Farnon
 * Bob Florence
 * Bill Fritz
 * Bob Graettinger
 * Ken Hanna
 * Neal Hefti
 * Bill Holman
 * Gene Howard
 * Hank Levy
 * Willie Maiden
 * Franklyn Marks
 * Bill Mathieu
 * Gerry Mulligan
 * Lennie Niehaus
 * Boots Mussulli
 * Chico O'Farrill
 * Marty Paich
 * Johnny Richards
 * Shorty Rogers
 * Gene Roland
 * Pete Rugolo
 * Bill Russo
 * Paul Severson
 * Charlie Shirley
 * Steve Spiegl
 * Ray Starling
 * Mark Taylor
 * Al Yankee
 * Ralph Yaw
 * Vocalists
 * Ernie Bernhardt
 * Cindy Bradley
 * Kay Brown
 * Helen Carr
 * June Christy
 * Chris Connor
 * Red Dorris
 * Kay Gregory
 * Gene Howard
 * Jay Johnson
 * Eve Knight
 * Kent Larsen
 * Dolly Mitchell
 * The Modern Men
 * Anita O'Day
 * The Pastels
 * Ann Richards
 * Frank Rosolino
 * Gail Sherwood
 * Jan Tober
 * Jean Turner
 * Jerri Winters
 * Ray Wetzel

Studio albums

 * Stan Kenton and His Orchestra – McGregor No. LP201 (1941)
 * The Formative Years – Decca No. 589 489-2 (1941–1942)
 * Artistry in Rhythm – Capitol No. BD39 (1946)
 * Encores – Capitol No. 155 (1947)
 * A Presentation of Progressive Jazz – Capitol No. T172 (1947)
 * Metronome Riff (single) – Capitol special pressing (1947)
 * Innovations in Modern Music – Capitol No. 189 (1950)
 * Stan Kenton's Milestones – Capitol No. T190 (through 1950)
 * Stan Kenton Presents – Capitol No. 248 (1950)
 * City of Glass – Capitol No. H353 (1951)
 * New Concepts of Artistry in Rhythm – Capitol 383 (1952)
 * Popular Favorites by Stan Kenton – Capitol No. 421 (1953)
 * Sketches on Standards – Capitol No. 426 (1953)
 * This Modern World – Capitol No. 460 (1953)
 * Portraits on Standards – Capitol No. 462 (1953)
 * Kenton Showcase: The Music of Bill Russo – Capitol No. H525 (1954)
 * Kenton Showcase : The Music of Bill Holman – Capitol No. H526 (1954)
 * Duet (with June Christy) – Capitol No. 656 (1955)
 * Contemporary Concepts – Capitol No. 666 (1955)
 * Kenton in Hi-Fi – Capitol No. 724 (1956)
 * Cuban Fire! – Capitol No. 731 (1956)
 * Kenton with Voices – Capitol No. 810 (1957)
 * Rendezvous with Kenton – Capitol No. 932 (1957)
 * Back to Balboa – Capitol No. 995 (1958)
 * The Ballad Style of Stan Kenton – Capitol No. 1068 (1958)
 * Lush Interlude – Capitol No. 1130 (1958)
 * The Stage Door Swings – Capitol No. 1166 (1958)
 * The Kenton Touch – Capitol No. 1276 (1958)
 * Viva Kenton! – Capitol No. 1305 (1959)
 * Standards in Silhouette – Capitol No. 1394 (1959)
 * Two Much! (with Ann Richards) – Capitol No. 1495 (1960)
 * The Romantic Approach – Capitol No. 1533 (1961)
 * Kenton's West Side Story – Capitol No. 1609 (1961)
 * A Merry Christmas! – Capitol No. 1621 (1961)
 * Sophisticated Approach – Capitol No. 1674 (1961)
 * Adventures in Standards – Creative World No. 1025 (1961 – released 1975)
 * Adventures In Jazz – Capitol No. 1796 (1961)
 * Adventures in Blues – Capitol No. 1985 (1961)
 * Stan Kenton! Tex Ritter! (with Tex Ritter) – Capitol No. 1757 (1962)
 * Adventures in Time – Capitol No. 1844 (1962)
 * Artistry in Bossa Nova – Capitol No. 1931 (1963)
 * Artistry in Voices and Brass – Capitol No. 2132 (1963)
 * Stan Kenton / Jean Turner (with Jean Turner) – Capitol No. 2051 (1963)
 * Kenton / Wagner – Capitol No. 2217 (1964)
 * Stan Kenton Conducts the Los Angeles Neophonic Orchestra – Capitol No. 2424 (1965–1966)
 * Stan Kenton Plays for Today – Capitol No. 2655 (1966–1967)
 * The World We Know – Capitol No. 2810
 * The Jazz Compositions of Dee Barton – Capitol No. 2932 (1967)
 * Finian's Rainbow – Capitol No. 2971 (1968)
 * Hair – Capitol No. ST305 (1969)
 * National Anthems of the World – Creative World No. 1060 (1972)
 * 7.5 on the Richter Scale – Creative World No. 1070 (1973)
 * Stan Kenton Without His Orchestra (solo) – Creative World No. 1071 (1973)
 * Stan Kenton Plays Chicago – Creative World No. 1072 (1974)
 * Fire, Fury and Fun – Creative World No. 1073 (1974)
 * Kenton '76 – Creative World No. 1076 (1976)
 * Journey Into Capricorn – Creative World No. 1077 (1976)

Live albums

 * Stan Kenton Live at Cornell University (1951)
 * Stan Kenton Stompin' at Newport – Pablo #PACD-5312-2 (1957)
 * On the Road with Stan Kenton – Artistry Records #AR-101 (Recorded November 6, 1958, at the Municipal Auditorium, Sarasota, Florida)
 * Kenton Live from the Las Vegas Tropicana – Capitol No. 1460 (1959)
 * Road Show (with June Christy and The Four Freshmen) – Capitol #TBO1327 (1959)
 * Stan Kenton at Ukiah – Status #STCD109 (1959)
 * Stan Kenton in New Jersey – Status #USCD104 (1959)
 * Mellophonium Magic – Status No. CD103 (1962)
 * Mellophonium Moods – Status No. STCD106 (1962)
 * Stan Kenton and His Orchestra at Fountain Street Church Part 1 – Status #DSTS1014 (1968)
 * Stan Kenton and His Orchestra at Fountain Street Church Part 2– Status #DSTS1016 (1968)
 * Private Party – Creative World No. 1014 (1970)
 * Live At Redlands University – Creative World No. 1015 (1970)
 * Live at Brigham Young University – Creative World No. 1039 (1971)
 * Live at Butler University – Creative World No. 1058 (1972)
 * The Stuttgart Experience – Live In Stuttgart – Jazzhaus #JAH-457 (1972)
 * Stan Kenton Today – Live In London – London/Creative World #BP 44179-80 (1972)
 * Birthday in Britain – Creative World #ST 1065 (1973)
 * Flying High in Florida (1972)
 * Live at the London Hilton – Part I & II (1973)
 * Live in Europe (1976)
 * The Lost Concert Vol. 1–2 Recorded at The Cocoanut Grove in Los Angeles, CA on March 18, 1978, posthumous release in 2002 – Jazz Heritage

Compilations

 * Stan Kenton's Milestones (Capitol, 1943–47 [1950])
 * Stan Kenton Classics (Capitol, 1944–47 [1952])
 * The Kenton Era (Capitol, 1940–53 [1955])
 * City of Glass and This Modern World – Capitol No. 736 (1951–1953 [1957])
 * Stan Kenton's Greatest Hits (Capitol, 1943–47 [1965])
 * Stan Kenton On AFRS – Status DSTS1019 (1944–1945)
 * One Night Stand – Magic #DAWE66 (1961–1962)
 * Some Women I've Known – Creative World No. 1029
 * The Fabulous Alumni of Stan Kenton – Capitol No. T 20244 (1970)
 * The Complete Capitol Recordings Of The Holman And Russo Charts – Mosaic MD4-136
 * The Complete Capitol Recordings – Mosaic MD7-163
 * The Peanut Vendor
 * The Jazz Compositions Of Stan Kenton – Creative World No. ST1078 (1945–1973)
 * Street of Dreams – Creative World No. 1079 (1979 vinyl; 1992 CD)
 * The Innovations Orchestra (Capitol, 1950–51 [1997])

On film or television

 * 1941 Zig Me, Baby, With a Gentle Zag (short)
 * 1942 Jammin' in the Panoram (short)
 * 1942 Jealous (short)
 * 1942 Reed Rapture (short)
 * 1944 This Love of Mine (short)
 * 1945 Eager Beaver (short)
 * 1945 I'm Homesick, That's All (short)
 * 1945 It's Been a Long Long Time (short)
 * 1945 Southern Scandal (short)
 * 1945 Tampico (short)
 * 1946 Talk About A Lady (feature film)
 * 1946 Southern Scandal (short)
 * 1947 Let's Make Rhythm (short)
 * 1947 Stan Kenton and His Orchestra (biographical short)
 * 1950 The Ed Sullivan Show (television)
 * 1953 Schlagerparade (movie) Stan Kenton at the Sporthalle in Berlin
 * 1954 Spotlight No. 5 (CBC television, documentary)
 * 1955 Music '55 (television, musical variety)
 * 1956 Happy New Year: A Sunday Spectacular (television)
 * 1956 Juke Box Jury (television, gameshow)
 * 1957 Alan Melville Takes You from A-Z (BBC television)
 * 1957 The Big Record (television)
 * 1958 The Gisele MacKenzie Show (television)
 * 1960 General Electric Theater (television)
 * 1960 Startime (television)
 * 1960 Dixieland Small-Fry (television)
 * 1962 Jazz Scene USA (television)
 * 1962 Music of the 60s (television)
 * 1962 The Lively Ones (television)
 * 1963 The Ed Sullivan Show (television)
 * 1964 The Les Crane Show (television)
 * 1965 Big Bands (WGN-TV television)
 * 1965 Jamboree (television)
 * 1966 The Linkletter Show (television)
 * 1967 The Woody Woodbury Show (television)
 * 1967 The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (television)
 * 1968 Something Special with Mel Torme (television)
 * 1968 The Crusade for Jazz aka Bound To Be Heard (television documentary)
 * 1969 The Substance of Jazz (educational/documentary)
 * 1969 and 1970 The David Frost Show (television)
 * 1968 and 1970 The Mike Douglas Show (television)
 * 1971 The Merv Griffin Show (television)
 * 1972 Sounds of Saturday (BBC television)
 * 1976 Soundstage (television)
 * 1977 Omnibus (BBC television)
 * 2011 Stan Kenton: Artistry In Rhythm- Portrait Of A Jazz Legend (documentary)

Compositions
Stan Kenton's compositions include "Artistry in Rhythm", released as V-Disc No. 285B, "Opus in Pastels", "Artistry Jumps", "Reed Rapture", "Eager Beaver", released on V-Disc 285B, "Fantasy", "Southern Scandal", which was released as V-Disc No. 573B, "Monotony", released as V-Disc No. 854B, in 1948, with a spoken introduction by Kenton, "Harlem Folk Dance", "Painted Rhythm", "Concerto to End All Concertos", "Easy Go", "Concerto for Doghouse", "Shelly Manne", "Balboa Bash", "Flamenco", and "Sunset Tower".

Many compositions are collaborations between Stan Kenton and Pete Rugolo, such as "Artistry in Boogie", "Collaboration", and "Theme to the West". Kenton was credited as a co-writer of the 1944 jazz classic "And Her Tears Flowed Like Wine".

Kenton and Drum Corps
Many of the Kenton band's arrangements have been popular with drum corps, where the contrasting dynamics and demanding brass playing are particularly suited to the competitive nature of the activity. Of particular note are Madison Scouts championship-winning performance of Malaguena in 1988, Suncoast Sound's 1986 repertoire based on Adventures in Time, and Blue Devils Drum and Bugle Corps 1992 suite from Cuban Fire.

title: Stan Kenton


text:
Bheki

Bheki (Sanskrit: भेकि) is the name given to a frog that symbolises the sun on the horizon in Sanskrit legend. Related myths can be found in Germanic and Celtic culture.

In the legend, Bheki was originally a beautiful woman. A king asked her to be his wife, so she married him, but only on condition that he should never show her a drop of water. One day she grew tired, and asked for water. The king gave it to her, and she sank out of his sight, just as the sun sinks when it touches the water.

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

title: Bheki


text:
Bobby Lowe

Robert Lincoln Lowe (July 10, 1865 – December 8, 1951), nicknamed "Link", was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) player, coach, and scout. He played for the Boston Beaneaters (1890–1901), Chicago Cubs (1902–1903), Pittsburgh Pirates (1904), and Detroit Tigers (1904–1907). Lowe was the first player in Major League history to hit four home runs in a game, a feat which he accomplished in May 1894. He also tied or set Major League records with 17 total bases in a single game and six hits in a single game. Lowe was a versatile player who played at every position but was principally a second baseman. When he retired in 1907, his career fielding average of .953 at second base was the highest in Major League history.

Lowe also worked as a baseball manager, coach, and scout. He was the player-manager of the Detroit Tigers during the last half of the 1904 season. He was also a player-manager for the Grand Rapids Wolverines in 1908, and coached college baseball in 1907 for the University of Michigan and from 1909 to 1910 for Washington & Jefferson College. Lowe was a scout for the Detroit Tigers in 1911 and 1912.

Early years
Lowe was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in July 1865, two months after the end of the American Civil War and the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. His middle name "Lincoln" likely derives from the historic circumstances immediately preceding his birth. Lowe's father, Robert L. Lowe, was a Pennsylvania native and a railroad engineer. His mother, Jane (or Jennie) Lowe, was an immigrant from Ireland. At the time of the 1870 U.S. Census, at age five, he was living with his parents and four siblings Mary, Eliza (or Lida), John Charles, and Olive B., in Union Township, Lawrence County, Pennsylvania, approximately 50 miles north of Pittsburgh, a township adjoining the city of New Castle. By 1880, Lowe's father had died, and at age 15 he was living with his mother and three siblings in Union Township.

Amateur and minor league baseball
In 1881, Lowe was working as an "office devil" at the Newcastle Courant, a newspaper in New Castle, Pennsylvania. In the summer of 1881, at age 16, he played in a baseball game between the printers and the doctors of New Castle. Charley Powers, who played minor league baseball, was working as a compositor at the Courant and was selected as the captain of the printers. Lowe pleaded for a place on the team, and Powers stationed him in right field. He later recalled that "the kid carried off the honors both in the field and at the bat. I saw at once that he was a born ballplayer."

In 1882, Lowe played with the Archie Reeds, an amateur baseball club in New Castle. He left his job with the Courant in 1883 and, at age 18, took a job as a machinist at Witherow & Co., the largest manufacturing establishment in New Castle. He was the sole support at the time for his mother and youngest sister, Olive, and gave up baseball for several years. Some accounts indicate he also played for Witherow's plant baseball team and for the Neshannocks of New Castle.

In 1886, Charley Powers organized a baseball club in New Castle and persuaded Lowe's employer to allow him to play with the club occasionally. He played catcher and third base for New Castle in 1886 and led the team in batting and baserunning.

Powers and Lowe both signed to play with the Eau Claire, Wisconsin team in the Northwestern League during the summer of 1887. Powers later recalled that the manager of the Eau Claire club, Abe Devine, ran a saloon and refused to use Lowe because he refused to patronize his saloon. Devine sent him back to New Castle, declaring, "That boy can't play ball," but brought him back to Eau Claire after the team's starting third baseman, Charlie Levis, was injured. Lowe was put into the lineup in a game against Milwaukee and drew cheers from the crowd for his defensive play at third base. In his first at-bat, he hit a long home run off Varney Anderson that "sailed far over the center field fence." He appeared in 108 games for Eau Claire in 1887, batting .294 with 47 extra-base hits, 61 stolen bases, 100 runs scored and 240 total bases. He also demonstrated his versatility in the field, playing 51 games in left field, 21 games at shortstop, 17 games in right field, 11 games at third base, 6 games as catcher, and 5 games in center field.

During the 1888 and 1889 baseball seasons, Lowe played for the Milwaukee Brewers and Milwaukee Creams of the Western Association. He hit .246 in 114 games in 1888, and hit .315 in 99 games in 1889.

Boston Beaneaters
After the 1889 baseball season, the Boston Beaneaters purchased Lowe from the Milwaukee Brewers for $700 in a deal that has been described as "one of baseball's biggest bargains." He made his Major League Baseball debut with the Beaneaters on April 19, 1890, and remained with the Beaneaters for 12 years through 1901.

During his years in Boston, Lowe developed a reputation both as a hitter and a fielder. Listed at 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m), 150 pounds (68 kg), he hit right-handed and was considered one of the best second basemen of the 19th century. He was one of only three (along with Kid Nichols and Herman Long) to play on all five of the Beaneaters teams that won pennants in the 1890s.

In 1891, Lowe tied a then major league record with six hits (four singles, a double, and a home run) in six at-bats. Having played mostly in the outfield in 1891 and 1892, he replaced Joe Quinn at second base in 1893 and was the Beaneaters' starting second baseman for eight straight years, from 1893 to 1900.

On May 30, 1894, Lowe became the first major-leaguer to hit four home runs in one game, including two home runs in the third inning. He accomplished the feat in front of a Decoration Day crowd of 8,500 spectators against Elton "Ice Box" Chamberlain of the Cincinnati Reds at Boston's Congress Street Grounds. The Boston Daily Globe reported on the game as follows:"'Bobby Lowe broke all league records with four home runs in succession, and then tied the record for total bases by adding a single, making a total of 17 bases. The hitting of Lowe has never been surpassed in a game. His home runs were on line drives far over the fence, and would be good for four bases on an open prairie. The crowd cheered Bobby every time he came up, and when he responded with a home run even the visitors had to join in the good-natured smile.'" After the game, fans "showered $160 worth of silver on the plate for Lowe." In 1894, he led the National League with 613 at-bats and was among the leaders in fielding and particularly in batting, with 319 total bases (2nd in the league), 17 home runs (2nd in the league), 345 putouts as a second baseman (2nd in the league), 212 hits (4th in the league), 402 assists as a second baseman (4th in the league), and 158 runs scored (5th in the league).

He was part of a Beaneater infield that included Fred Tenney at first base, Lowe at second base, Herman Long at shortstop, and Jimmy Collins at third base, and has been rated by some as "the greatest infield of all time." John McGraw reportedly called Lowe and Long the greatest double-play combination he had seen.

In December 1895, the Boston Daily Globe published a lengthy biography of Lowe, whom the paper described as Boston's "quiet, unassuming but phenomenal second baseman." The Globe noted that the ease with which Lowe played the game led many to understate his value to the club:"'For a grand player, Lowe is seldom given the credit often dished out to his inferiors. His work does not appeal to the bleachers and grandstand like the less natural and clumsy player who is often seen floundering around like a fish out of water, while the crowd enjoy the effort and go home to tell what great playing they saw. 'He is a hard worker,' you will hear them say. Bobby Lowe is not only a hard worker but a conscientious player and an artist of the first magnitude.'" Lowe's annual salary while playing for Boston never exceeded $3,000.

Chicago Cubs
On December 16, 1901, Lowe was purchased by the Chicago Orphans from the Beaneaters. In April 1902, manager Frank Selee named him team captain. He played for the Orphans, renamed the Cubs later that season, for two years. He was the starting second baseman in 1902. Although his batting statistics declined that year (.248 batting average), his .956 fielding percentage, 328 putouts, and 412 assists each ranked second among National League second basemen. In 1903, he became a backup to Johnny Evers at second base, appearing in only 32 games for the Cubs. He was paid a salary of $3,500 per year for his two years in Chicago.

Detroit Tigers
On April 20, 1904, Lowe was purchased by the Pittsburgh Pirates from the Cubs. He appeared in only one game for the Pirates before being sold to the Detroit Tigers on April 30. He was the Tigers' starting second baseman in 140 games that season. His .964 fielding percentage and 328 assists in 1904 were the second-highest among American League second basemen. Halfway through the season, he also became the manager. In 74 games as a player-manager, he led the Tigers to a 30-44 record. Despite solid fielding in 1904, Lowe's offensive output continued to decline as his batting average dropped to .207, 66 points below his career average of .273.

In 1905, Bill Armour took over as Tiger manager, and Lowe stayed on as a part-time player. He was a utility player for the next three seasons, playing all four infield positions and in the outfield. In August 1906, he sustained a broken nose and a fractured jaw after being struck by a foul tip from his own bat during a game in Philadelphia. After the injury, Lowe missed the remainder of the 1906 season and appeared in only 17 games (with 37 at-bats) in 1907, his final year in the major leagues. After that season, The Detroit News wrote that Lowe at age 42 "has not lost his batting eye nor his speed. His arm is just as good as ever and he is a much stronger ball player than many who held down regular jobs in the league this past season."

Career statistics and legacy
In his 18-season career in Major League Baseball, Lowe batted .273, with 71 home runs, 989 runs batted in, 1,135 runs, 1,934 hits, 230 doubles, 85 triples, 303 stolen bases, and 474 bases on balls in 1,821 games played. At the time of his retirement, his career fielding average of .953 was the highest for a second baseman, and his totals of 3,336 putouts and 4,171 assists also ranked among the top ten of all-time among second baseman.

In 1911, Fred Tenney wrote a series of articles for The New York Times selecting the greatest player in baseball history at each position. Having picked Johnny Evers at second base, Tenney chose Lowe as the best utility player of all time. He wrote: "Lowe of Boston was one of those baseball phenomeons [sic] who could play any position on the team in first-class style."

In 1932, syndicated sportswriter Whitney Martin wrote a column arguing that Lowe ranked with Bobby Doerr, Joe Gordon, Nap Lajoie, and Eddie Collins as the greatest second basemen of all time. Martin argued that Lowe's accomplishments were overlooked because he played "at a time when the ball had more turtle in it than rabbit." He catalogued a number of Lowe's accomplishments to support the argument:
 * Hit four home runs and a single in one game for 17 total bases.
 * Batted over .300 from 1893 to 1897 "with the dead ball."
 * Made six hits in six at-bats for 10 total bases in another game.
 * Scored six runs in one game on May 3, 1895.
 * Played 34 consecutive games without an error, accepting 165 chances.

Lowe also won a reputation as a gentleman in an era of rough play. Whitney Martin noted that, in his 18-year career, Lowe "never once was fined or thumbed out of a game." At the conclusion of his playing career, The Detroit News wrote: "Lowe was one of the greatest and is today one of the most popular ball players ever in the game. There is no better type of the gentleman in baseball and no one ever heard ought but words of praise for him."

In 1936, the Baseball Hall of Fame appointed a Veteran's Committee to consider candidates from baseball's early years. Lowe ranked 34th in the voting by the Veteran's Committee, trailing Nap Lajoie and Dan Brouthers by a half vote. Of the 33 players who finished ahead of him in the voting, 24 have been inducted into the Hall of Fame, and several players who finished behind Lowe in the voting (including Bobby Wallace, Jesse Burkett, Jake Beckley, Tommy McCarthy, Tim Keefe, and Candy Cummings) have also been inducted into the Hall of Fame.

In the 2001 book The New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract, writer Bill James ranked Lowe as the 56th greatest second baseman of all-time.

Coaching career
In addition to his having been the manager of the Tigers for the last half of the 1904 season, Lowe also coached baseball at the college and minor league level. In 1907, he was hired as the baseball coach for the University of Michigan Wolverines baseball team. In April 1907, a newspaper reported: "Mr. Lowe is the idol of the students at the university and has received the highest possible praise from the college for the excellent manner in which he handles the team." Lowe led the Wolverines to a record of 11-4-1 in 1907.

After his career as a Major League player ended in 1907, Lowe was actively pursued by several minor league teams for coaching positions. He ultimately signed with Grand Rapids Wolverines of the Central League. In March 1908, Lowe expressed optimism that "there is more interest being taken in baseball in different league towns than ever before."

Lowe's final coaching position was as the baseball coach at Washington & Jefferson College in 1909 and 1910.

Later years
After retiring as a player and coach, Lowe continued his affiliation with the game as a scout for the Detroit Tigers in the early 1910s. In February 1912, a syndicated newspaper story reported that Lowe had traveled 20,000 miles as a scout during the prior year, and noted that his itinerary "reads like a cross between a railroad guide and an atlas." Lowe's destinations in 1911 included Hattiesburg, Mississippi, Macon, Georgia, Yazoo City, Mississippi, Montgomery, Alabama, New Orleans, Chicago, Memphis, Atlanta, Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Hannibal, Missouri, Denver, Butte, Montana, Boise, Idaho, Kansas City, Minneapolis, Waterloo, Iowa, Green Bay, Wisconsin, Calgary, and Moose Jaw.

Lowe was married to Harriet Hughes, whose father operated the Leslie Hotel in New Castle. They had no children. After retiring from baseball, Lowe remained in Detroit. In 1920, he was living with his wife and was employed as a "dealer" in real estate. Later, he became an inspector for the City of Detroit Department of Public Works. In 1930, he was living with his wife at the Case De Vine Apartments and was employed as an inspector for the City of Detroit.

Lowe remained "a student and ardent patron of baseball." In 1922, he returned to Boston to play in a veterans baseball game to benefit Boston Children's Hospital. After Lou Gehrig hit four home runs in a game in 1932, Lowe, wearing his old Beaneaters uniform, posed for photographs with Gehrig. Lowe said, "I feel complimented to share the record with so grand a boy." He was 38 years older than Gehrig, but outlived him by 10 years. Two days before his 76th birthday, Lowe attended the 1941 All Star game in Briggs Stadium, Detroit.

In December 1951, Lowe died at his home in Detroit at the age of 86. He was posthumously inducted into the Lawrence County Sports Hall of Fame in 1995.

title: Bobby Lowe


text:
Talk:Dry stone

Dykes?
For goodness sake, who has decided that this thing is called a dry-stone dyke? I've been walking among them most of my life (which is getting to be a long time) and I've never heard it called other than a dry-stone wall (or just occasionally a dry-stone hedge). Maybe this is a regional variation, but in that case we need to have a discussion about which region's version takes priority and why. Can we discuss it here, please? seglea 16:46, 17 May 2004 (UTC)

 * Certainly. I too have lived amongst them for most of my life and have never heard them called anything but dykes. To me walls are something that you find in buildings. Dykes are what you find around fields. But I'm quite happy to discuss it. -- Derek Ross 17:04, 17 May 2004 (UTC)

 * To me a dyke is an earthwork, which might have a path or even a watercourse on top of it. I've had a look at the website of the Dry Stone Walling Association (www.dswa.org.uk) and they talk pretty much consistently about walls, though in one of their leaflets they talk about a "boulder dyke" as an alternative technical term for a single wall (one where the stones run right through from one side to the other).  I can't speak for Scottish usage, and I guess my knowledge of usage in Derbyshire and the north of England might be derived more from books and maps rather than conversation - though I can never remember any of my local friends calling them dykes.  But I live in the southwest, where we have dry stone boundaries on all 3 major moors and quite a few other places, and I've never heard the word "dyke" used of them, though it's available in the sense that it exists within local placenames - but I think always referring to an earthwork.  I'm away from home at present so can't check my books - Crossing would probably be definitive as far as Dartmoor is concerned.  seglea 06:50, 18 May 2004 (UTC)

See

 * http://www.scoraig.com/shantigriha/events/dyking.html
 * http://www.dswa.org.uk/Publications/Leaflets/grants.htm

for usage of dyke.

However looking around the Internet, it seems to me that wall is more widely used than dyke, so it may be better to follow the crowd and make that the main title of the article, changing around the opening paragraph. The main reason for my use of the word is that I feel extremely uncomfortable using the word wall in this context -- for me a dyke is a specific type of wall. Some of the defensive ones may well be large enough to be part drystone, part earthwork and have a path along the top but most of them aren't. I think that the fact that dyke appears in local English placenames, yet not in conversation, is just more evidence of the replacement of Northern English dialects by the standard Southern English dialect throughout England. It hasn't happened in Scotland yet, with the result that dyke is now apparently seen as a Scots word despite its long English history.

The bottom line is that since I wrote most of the current article, you got the usage that I like best. It's perfectly correct and whichever word is used someone's going to be unhappy. Personally I like the terms dyking and dyker which seem to me more specific than walling or waller and snappier than drystone walling or drystone waller. When I write more in this or other articles, I will probably continue to use dyke and its relatives where required since, as far as I'm concerned, this issue is similar to the American/English spelling issue or the date formatting issue: I will accept your usage of dry-stone wall and you should accept my usage of dry-stone dyke.

On the other hand I won't object if people come along behind me and change dyke to wall. It wouldn't be worth the effort of changing it back far less having an edit war over it. -- Derek Ross 15:18, 18 May 2004 (UTC)

 * Actually this looks quite tricky. I am all for conserving regional usages, and could not agree more about needing to stamp on the spread of southernisms into regions where they don't belong.  If "dyke" is the authentic/older usage in the north of England, that is a good argument for giving it priority, because that's the homeland par excellence of these structures.  On the other hand if most people who want to look them up think of them as walls, and that is not actually incorrect, it seems kind of inhospitable to have a redirect.  How about making the main title "dry-stone wall" and beginning by explaining that "dyke" is probably a more exact term - and then of course using predominantly "dyke" through the article as at present?  seglea 17:31, 18 May 2004 (UTC)

Well, dykes are very much "at home" in Scotland and Ireland too, but I take your point. In fact your suggestion sounds like a cunning plan to me! Let's do it. If some kind administrator would delete the dry-stone wall redirect page for us that will allow us to move the dry-stone dyke page to dry-stone wall and we can take it from there. -- Derek Ross 18:55, 18 May 2004 (UTC)

 * I have reorganised the redirect (I'm an admin), and played around with the opening para a bit. There is actually another good reason for talking about them mainly as dykes, in that a wall can be part of a dyke - you can have single wall dykes and double wall dykes, but we surely don't want to have double wall walls... BTW in saying they were most at home in the north of England, I didn't mean to claim them away from Scotland or Ireland (or Wales, come to that); but I was thinking that they original name for them there would have been Gaelic? seglea 06:13, 19 May 2004 (UTC)

That's probably true in Highland Scotland and Ireland. The Scots Gaelic for dyke is gàradh-crìche (literally field-marker, I think). Lowland Scotland is a bit more difficult to say since the locals went from Pictish to Norse/Northumbrian to Scots in some cases and from Pictish to Gaelic to Scots/English in others and Pictish has all but vanished. Of course in the same timescale, the North of England went from Welsh/Brythonic to Northumbrian to English so no doubt another word (argae, clawdd ?) was originally used in England. After all these are very old structures. Given that, I'm quite happy to say that dyke was the "original" term in Scotland and the North of England. I suppose that wall is even older since it's basically derived from Latin vallum whereas dyke is from Germanic dic and the Romans were in Britain before the Germans.

Anyway, I like your changes to the article. I think that it's looking pretty good now. -- Derek Ross
 * In respect to modern usage of the terms it is interesting to look at the locations of Hadrian's Wall and Offa's Dyke. Rmhermen 20:44, May 19, 2004 (UTC)

Good point. I must admit that Romanised Latin-speaking Britons had crossed my mind. -- Derek Ross 20:51, 19 May 2004 (UTC)

Very UK-centric
The article currently is very UK-centric, even at one point saying that dry-stone walls are most common in Scotland and the north of England, which I'm not sure is actually true. While dry-stone wall societies and enthusiasts are most widespread in the UK, the walls themselves are quite numerous in Greece, Italy, Switzerland, France, and other places. --Delirium 07:23, Apr 17, 2005 (UTC)
 * Please add information about dry-stone dykes in these other parts of the world since you know more about them than I do. -- Derek Ross | Talk 15:16, Apr 17, 2005 (UTC)

 * ive added some info regarding southern africa to address this issue. Anlace 09:35, 8 May 2006 (UTC)

 * Excellent! -- Derek Ross | Talk 14:54, 8 May 2006 (UTC)

 * I'm not sure whether the mention of Zulu is appropriate here, but I shall comment anyway. The Zulu did not exist in 1350 as claimed here. Also, the Zulu are bantu. I don't know enough to correct this, but it certainly was not the Zulu who introduced dry-stone wall wall construction to Southern Africa. A more likely candidate would be the bantu. Halfsnail 08:43, 23 November 2006 (UTC)

 * Regarding Greece, I was told that the stone walls are uses as part of terracing a sloped property. The higher property owner owns and maintains the wall. ..and that is the extent of my knowledge, so I didn't know how to add it. --Gearspring 23:09, 9 May 2006 (UTC)
 * I just found a flickr picture of what I am talking about: http://www.flickr.com/photos/docman/3647350/ --Gearspring 23:21, 9 May 2006 (UTC)
 * gearspring why dont you post the photo within the article and we can see whether it makes a good addition. the article now suffers from lack of photos of high quality drystone work.  i plan to add a photo of a higher quality older wall with known provenance in the next few weeks. cheers Anlace 13:44, 10 May 2006 (UTC)
 * Unfortunately it is not my picture, so I can't give permission.--Gearspring 01:06, 12 May 2006 (UTC)
 * added info on inca. Anlace 13:46, 11 May 2006 (UTC)

merge Rock fence into Dry-stone wall
yes with the surviving name being Dry-stone wall or dyke :} cheers Anlace 15:29, 12 March 2006 (UTC)

 * Agree. I do take issue with the use of the term "dyke" throughout this article. Since the article is now located at "Dry-stone wall" and Google turns up 112,000 hits on that term (compared with 29,800 on "rock fence" and just 645 for "dry-stone dyke"), I suggest that "dry-stone wall" should replace dyke as the preferred term in this article. Cmadler 18:39, 12 March 2006 (UTC)
 * Oh no, not the Google "definition" of common usage again... -- Derek Ross | Talk 05:36, 13 March 2006 (UTC)
 * I'm not arguing that Google is definitive (how would you quantify common usage?). But 112,000 hits v. 645 is a pretty overwhelming argument against using the term "dyke". In the US they are either called walls or fences, depending on the function. Cmadler 13:00, 13 March 2006 (UTC)
 * Given some of the other meanings of Stonewall is it possible that it's some kind of inside joke? Ewlyahoocom 19:08, 12 March 2006 (UTC)

 * i am somewhat open on the nomenclature throughout the article, but one should note there was strong debate over naming the whole article wall over dyke... further the principal ancient walls seem to be primarily in ireland scotland wales and england and only in southern england have i seen it called wall rather than dyke. (note there are other regions of europe where some old walls exist, but they are not either as substantial or old as the widespread use of stone dykes in the uk...would like to hear form others in europe and UK on this subject, cheers Anlace 20:19, 12 March 2006 (UTC)
 * The ancient walls may be primarily in UK (though I question this; is there no dry-stone construction in the Middle East, in Africa, in China?) but modern walls are surely more widespread. Cmadler 13:00, 13 March 2006 (UTC)
 * Yes, there was a debate but we came to an amicable agreement... -- Derek Ross | Talk 05:36, 13 March 2006 (UTC)

 * so as far as the merger, it would seem as though there is consensus to merge rock fence into dry-stone wall. shall we do it? Anlace 02:24, 12 May 2006 (UTC)

 * merger completed of rock fence into dry stone Anlace 07:31, 8 October 2006 (UTC)

 * Good work, Anlace! -- Derek Ross | Talk 05:44, 10 October 2006 (UTC)

Stone walls and Dry-stone walls
I am not convinced that lumping all these stone walls under dry-stone walls is appropriate. Most of the stone walls I see in northern and western Wales are stone faced and earth filled often covered in vegetation and topped with a hedge. More significantly the gaps between the stones are filled with earth which a traditional dry-stone waller would abhor. I would propose that the lead article should be Stone wall which could reference the more specific article Dry-stone wall. The Stone wall article could then include or reference some of the historic walls such as Hadrian's wall and the Antonine wall. Velela 13:46, 22 March 2006 (UTC) Hadrians wall is not drystone it is traditional roman mortared wall using shaped face stone around a rubble core. keep dry and mortared walls separate, but linked.dgunn I agree that we need to separate dry stone walls from other stone walls and what I was proposing was the Stone walls should include both mortared and earth filled and jointed walls leaving Dry-stone wall to be exactly what it says. Velela 10:24, 2 April 2006 (UTC)

In the county of my birth (Derbyshire, UK)the story is told that a stone waller is told never to put down a stone until they have found a place for it - also there is a tendency for the top course of a wall nowadays to be part-cemented. Is this just a feature of Derbyshire (and similar) limestone, where the rocks are often highly irregular? Linuxlad 16:03, 14 April 2006 (UTC)

There are two main forms of stone field boundaries. Dry stone walls which have through stones to bind each side with the other and no earth at all in them, and stone-faced earth banks (or stone banks with earth core) which are known as Cornish hedges in Cornwall, cloddau in Wales and probably something else in Britany, Ireland and West Scotland where they are thought to occur. The main difference is that dry stone walls are usually a rigid structure with the sides often vertical, while Cornish hedges have are build with an inwards curved batter and the sides are independant of each other. Rock fences, sometimes called tombestone walls are usually reckened to be classified within the dry stone wall catagory. There's a lot written about this at www.cornishhedges.com. The meeting point of these problems cannot be "stone walls" : no one will accept it because of the confusion with stone walls as part of a stone-walled building. anaf, 24 April

Lets just be glad we got bricks in this day and age and we don't have to rely on these things huh fellas? -- (unsigned by Anon)

 * The strange thing is that we do still rely on them in this day and age. There are thousands of them around the modern world keeping sheep and cattle from straying, or just plain separating one field from another. -- Derek Ross | Talk 05:53, 10 October 2006 (UTC)

How were Inca walls built?
Is it known how the Inca built those amazing walls? I recall hearing that that's a "lost art", but can find neither a source for that claim nor a how-to nor a recent example. Any of which could be a great addition to this interesting article. 151.201.156.108 04:08, 27 July 2007 (UTC)

Have a look at an extract from "The Inkas: last stage of stone development in the Andes" by F. Menotti at The article goes into some of the details about how the rocks were shaped. Malcolm Lambert (talk) 04:57, 31 July 2008 (UTC)

A Motley crew!
Inca walls do not fall into the same category as drystone walls: they are made of huge blocks whose sides were cut so as to adjust to the nearest stones; besides, Inca walls were used in fortresses or in palaces. Likewise, the stonework of ancient Greek mausoleums has nothing to do with drystone walling. And by the way, the title of the page should be "Dry Stone Construction" or perhaps "Dry Stone Walling", not just "Dry Stone", which can be anything.--86.217.5.13 (talk) 23:38, 15 June 2008 (UTC)

Dry Stone Construction sounds good and encompasses all aspects of the art. Your comment invokes the question, how then to define "dry stone"? The article mentioned above by Menotti gives examples of Inca structures built from un-shaped rocks all the way to their exquisitely jointed walls and squared ashlar type walls. I suppose dry stone means structures built from pieces of stone without the use of mortar. Dry stone structures are flexible while the hardening of mortar turns the whole mortared structure into one monolithic block. After all, most dry stone wallers would have knocked a point or edge off a stone to make it fit nicely. So from this type of rudimentary shaping all the way to the improbably-shaped rocks in some Inca walls there is virtually a continuum of how much each stone has been shaped. So maybe it's the lack of mortar that defines the structure rather than the amount of work gone into shaping some or all of the stones. And, does the structure have to have a vertical dimension? Is random stone paving dry stone construction? I'd say so, but probably has more in common with other types of paving than to other types of dry stone construction. Malcolm Lambert (talk) 05:14, 31 July 2008 (UTC)

I have come across two styles of mortarless stone walls, dressed stone walls, and natural stone walls. Late era Inca stone work is made of dressed stone, but is still set without mortar, and is still 'dry stone'. Natural stone walls are more common it seems,the ones made of smaller rocks that have had little to no work done on the rocks themselves before being placed on the wall. However they still stay together based on variants of the same theory and structural properties, it is just the dressed stone tends to be harder to push over and far harder to make. --Talroth (talk) 16:27, 17 December 2008 (UTC)

confusing lede
My edit to this article, which was reverted by Elnon, resulted from the fact that I miss-understood the wording of the lede. I note he has adusted it slightly, but I'm concerned that it still lacks clarity - partly due to the use of the word fence, and partly due to the claim about dry-stone technology being best known in the construction of terrace-retaining walls.

I think both of the above may be correct in certain localised contexts, but neither are universally valid. I would certainly dispute that dry stone technology is best known in the construction of terrace-retaining walls - based on my own experience of dry stone walling. In many rural areas of Britain there are miles and miles of dry stone field walls, with retaining walls used to a much more limited extent.

The word fence is problematic because it's not one universally used or understood in the context of stone. Some mention should be made of this usage, but the article can be accessed world-wide and, for the sake of universal clarity, a wall should be called a wall.

And, whilst on the subject, the inconsistent hyphenating of dry stone needs looking at. Whilst it doesn't affect the clarity of the article, it is very annoying. Rgds Obscurasky (talk) 11:01, 5 April 2011 (UTC)

 * I agree with all your points. Hope to collaborate in getting both improvement and consensus.  Velella  Velella Talk 11:53, 5 April 2011 (UTC)

"Dry-stone technology is best known as retaining wall construction, but dry stone fences, buildings, bridges, and other structures also exist." The original sentence (to which by the way I have been no party) distinctly referred to retaining walls (see the link). Now after the latest reverting, the sentence reads "Dry-stone technology is best known in the context of wall construction, but dry stone fences, buildings, bridges, and other structures also exist." Now it stands to reason that "wall construction" encompasses both free standing and retaining wall construction, so I am not going to find fault with the rephrasing. Dry stone soil retaining walls are a common occurrence in North Mediterranean countries as any specialist of dry stone construction in those countries knows. What the page obviously needs is a section on the subject. --Elnon (talk) 21:06, 5 April 2011 (UTC)

 * Having seen dry stone walls in the drier parts of Europe and also admired the endless ranks of free-standing drystone walls throughout Wales, Scotland, the Lake District Pennines etc., I understand the issue and agree that it may perhaps need to two separate sections to describe the two distinct forms

Stonehenge
I've reverted a Good faith deletion, regarding Stonehenge. The text does not say it's the largest stone circle, it says it's the largest dry stone structure - the point being that (unlike other stone circles) it has joints (connecting the lintels and uprights).

These are actually mortised (see here) and certainly warrant mention, but I would agree that the text could be improved - perhaps even expanded slightly to make reference to the jointing technique used.

Rgds Obscurasky (talk) 07:02, 21 October 2011 (UTC)

Spammed efforts keep getting restored
— Berean Hunter   (talk)  19:23, 14 February 2014 (UTC)
 * Please check this editor's contribs to see that any mention of Muller was spammed into this article. I've removed this twice but have been reverted. That writing wasn't used in this article and was placed promotionally.
 * You've been reverted only once. The book is listed now under the heading "Further reading", not as one of the page's references (which are quasi nonexistent by the way). Apart from that, I see no reason why I could object to your removing spam and non English titles. --Elnon (talk) 20:46, 14 February 2014 (UTC)

 * Revert 1 which restored both the external link spam as well as the book spam
 * Revert 2 which restored the book spam

— Berean Hunter   (talk)  21:06, 14 February 2014 (UTC)
 * The book should be removed because it was spammed into the article. It should not be kept.
 * You're right. Sorry about that oversight. --Elnon (talk) 10:54, 15 February 2014 (UTC)

Dry stone and dry stone walls
While the English article is about dry stone constructions in general, most interwiki articles are about "dry stone walls". Maybe this should be synchronized? -- Egil (talk) 20:46, 5 April 2015 (UTC)

The Washington Monument is drystone. Knowmoore (talk) 06:04, 16 July 2017 (UTC)

 * Your pronouncement should definitely be inscribed in (unmortared) stone.
 * Please see the Washington Monument page on the National Park Service website :
 * "Using a steam-powered elevator that could lift six tons of stone up to a movable 20-foot-tall iron frame replete with a boom and block and tackle systems for setting the stones, the masons inched their way up the monument, building twenty feet of stone and mortar, then moving the iron framework up twenty feet, repeating as they went upward".
 * "At 1:51 p.m. on August 23, 2011, a magnitude 5.8 earthquake struck 90 miles southwest of Washington, D.C. Visitors inside the Washington Monument's observation deck were thrown about by the force of the shaking; falling mortar and pieces of stone caused minor injuries, though all the people inside exited safely".
 * Need I go any further? --Elnon (talk) 12:48, 16 July 2017 (UTC)

"Dry stone walling" or "dry-stone walling"
I carefully converted adjectival uses of "dry stone" before a noun (e.g. "dry stone wall") to add hyphens ("dry-stone wall"). Personally, I think this is simply conventional English, but I was reverted. One of the arguments was that the Dry Stone Walling Association doesn't hyphenate, which I am tempted to counter by reference to WP:TM. It's the stone that's dry, not the wall – hence a hyphen is surely conventional and uncontroversial. I would note that Collins Dictionary hyphenate, and The Accidental Apostrophe: ... And Other Misadventures in Punctuation shares my position: "Come to think of it, dry-stone walls are different from dry stone walls: the former are of a particular type built without mortar; the latter may or may not have mortar but haven't been rained on lately" [original emphasis]. Thoughts? Dave.Dunford (talk) 22:46, 11 April 2018 (UTC)
 * As I said in my explanation for reverting your good faith edit, hyphenation is not an exact science. WP:TM doesn't counter anything; the convention is not to hypenhate in this context. Obscurasky (talk) 00:10, 12 April 2018 (UTC)
 * "The convention is not to hyphenate in this context": my cited sources say differently. But I'm not going to edit-war over a hyphen. Dave.Dunford (talk) 10:14, 12 April 2018 (UTC)

Category:Great Zimbabwe
User:Dimadick and I differ on whether this article belongs in the category Category:Great Zimbabwe. My position is that it plainly doesn't (and if it did, we would logically need to add this article to every category that concerns a dry-stone building). Dimadick's edit suggests that "dry-stone" is a subtopic of Great Zimbabwe, rather than the reality, which is close to the opposite (i.e. that Great Zimbabwe is an example of a dry-stone building). This seems a misuse of categorisation, just it would be to add City to Category:London. Any thoughts? Dave.Dunford (talk) 13:02, 3 January 2024 (UTC)

 * The article's history section specifically states: "Great Zimbabwe in Zimbabwe, Africa, is an acropolis-like large city complex constructed in dry stone from the 11th to the 15th centuries AD.[5] It is the largest of structures of similar construction throughout the area." So it is relevant to the category, and we do not have a category on dry-stone buildings to reverse the relationship as you suggest. One of Wikipedia's problems with undercategorization. Dimadick (talk) 13:05, 3 January 2024 (UTC)
 * Yes, of course Great Zimbabwe is a important dry-stone construction, but that's not the point. The point is your (to put it politely) individual interpretation of how categorisation works, rather than any problem of undercategorization. If you want to create Category:Dry stone buildings and add Great Zimbabwe to it, I'd have absolutely no problem, but adding Dry stone to Category:Great Zimbabwe is simply the wrong way round. Are you going to add Building and Palace and Ruins to Category:Great Zimbabwe as well? By your weird logic, they belong there, and in every other category that references a building, palace or ruin. Dave.Dunford (talk) 13:16, 3 January 2024 (UTC)
 * I see you've decided to edit war. Think about my analogy to City/London above. London is a city, but not all cities are London. Hence, we don't put City in Category:London, we put London in Category:Capitals in Europe and so on. Can you not see the point? Great Zimbabwe is a dry-stone structure, but not all dry-stone structures are Great Zimbabwe. Dave.Dunford (talk) 13:23, 3 January 2024 (UTC)

title: Talk:Dry stone


text:
Malt liquor

Malt liquor is a type of mass market beer with high alcohol content, most closely associated with North America. Legally, it often includes any alcoholic beverage with 5% or more alcohol by volume made with malted barley. In common usage, it refers to beers of high alcohol content, generally above 6%, which are made with ingredients and processes resembling those for American-style lagers.

Manufacture
Malt liquor is a strong lager or ale in which sugar, corn or other adjuncts are added to the malted barley to boost the total amount of fermentable sugars in the wort. This increases the final alcohol concentration without creating a heavier or sweeter taste. Also, it is not heavily hopped, so it is not very bitter.

Brewing and legal definitions
Malt liquor is typically straw to pale amber in color. While traditional premium lager is made primarily from barley, water, and hops, malt liquors tend to make much greater use of inexpensive adjuncts such as corn, rice, or dextrose. Use of these adjuncts, along with the addition of special enzymes, results in a higher percentage of alcohol than an average beer. Higher-alcohol versions, sometimes called "high-gravity" or just "HG", may contain high levels of fusel alcohols, which give off solvent- or fuel-like aromas and flavors.

Owing to inconsistencies in American alcoholic beverage regulations, which can vary from state to state, the term "malt liquor" lacks a stable definition. In some states, malt liquor refers to any alcoholic beverage made by fermenting grain and water; in these states a non-alcoholic beer may also be called a non-alcoholic or non-intoxicating malt liquor. In some states, products labeled "beer" must fall below a certain alcohol content, and beers that exceed the mark must be labeled as "malt liquor". While ordinary beers in the United States average around 4-5% alcohol by volume, malt liquors typically range from 6% up to 9% alcohol by volume. A typical legal definition is Colorado's Rev. Stat. ss. 12-47-103(19), which provides that:

"'Malt Liquors' includes beer and shall be construed to mean any beverage obtained by the alcoholic fermentation of any infusion or decoction of barley, malt, hops or any other similar products, or any combination thereof, in water containing more than three and one fifth percent of alcohol by weight."

Alcohol percentages measured by weight translate into larger figures when re-expressed as alcohol percentages by volume, because ethanol is less dense than water.

History
The term "malt liquor" is documented in England in 1690 as a general term encompassing both beer and ale. The first mention of the term in North America appears in a patent issued by the Canadian government on July 6, 1842, to one G. Riley for "an improved method of brewing ale, beer, porter, and other maltliquors."

The Clix brand is often credited as the first malt liquor made in the United States, granted a patent in 1948. The first widely successful malt liquor brand in America was Country Club, which was produced in the early 1950s by the M. K. Goetz Brewing Company in St. Joseph, Missouri.

Popular brands include Colt 45, St. Ides, Mickey's, Steel Reserve, King Cobra, Olde English 800, Country Club, Magnum, Schlitz Bull, Private Stock, Earthquake, Camo, Hurricane, Natty Daddy, and Icehouse Edge.

Advertising
The core market for malt liquor brewers in the United States in recent decades has been the Black and Hispanic populations. Brewers' use of target marketing in advertising malt liquor primarily to young, inner-city, black males has been controversial, because of the drink's higher alcohol content and the perceived vulnerability of the target audience. Brewers and advertisers have stated that they simply advertise to those who already buy their products. Critics have objected to the targeting of a segment of the population suffering disproportionately from alcohol-related disease and poor access to medical care.

In order to highlight the potency of malt liquor, brand names have stressed powerful imagery such as Colt 45 (a reference to the .45 Colt handgun cartridge), Big Bear, and Power Master, and used slogans such as "It's got more" or "The Real Power". Power and sexual dominance have been common themes in their advertising. Latter-20th-century television commercials for Schlitz Malt Liquor featured an 1800-lb. Brahma bull charging through walls. Ads for Power Master, and the brand name itself, were eventually banned in the United States by regulations against advertising implying the strength of alcoholic beverages.

The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) has reported that African Americans suffer disproportionate rates of cirrhosis of the liver and other alcohol-related health problems. In light of such statistics, African-American community leaders and some health officials have concluded that targeting high-alcohol beverage ads at this segment of the population is unethical and socially irresponsible. In 1991, U.S. Surgeon General Antonia Novello criticized all alcoholic beverage companies for "unabashedly targeting teenagers" with "sexual imagery, cartoons, and rock and rap music" in television and print ads.

Container size
In the American vernacular, a forty-ounce or simply a forty is a glass or plastic bottle that holds 40 USfloz of malt liquor. Malt liquors are commonly sold in 40–fluid ounce bottles, among other sizes, as opposed to the standard 12 USfloz bottle that contains a single serving of beer, although many malt liquors are offered in various volumes.

After the introduction of 40-ounce containers, which contain roughly five standard drinks, "Forties" became a favorite high of many youth in inner-city areas. They have often been mentioned and endorsed by rap stars as well as by punk bands, as in such songs as "40.oz Casualty" by The Casualties, "Rock the 40. Oz." by Leftöver Crack, and "40oz. to Freedom" by Sublime.

Examples of malt liquors sold in forty-ounce bottles include Olde English 800, Colt 45, Mickey's, Camo 40, Earthquake, Black Fist, Country Club, Black Bull, Labatt Blue Dry 6.1/7.1/8.1/9.1/10.1, Labatt Max Ice, WildCat, Molson Dry 6.5/7.5/8.5/10.1, Molson XXX, Private Stock, Big Bear, St. Ides, Steel Reserve 211, B40 Bull Max, King Cobra, and Hurricane. Dogfish Head Brewery has sporadically produced a high-end bottle-conditioned forty called "Liquor de Malt".

At least for a brief period in the mid-1990s, some brands of malt liquor, including Olde English 800, Colt 45, and Mickey's, were available in even larger, 64-ounce glass bottles. Forty-ounce bottles are not permitted in some U.S. states, including Florida, where the largest permissible container of retail malt beverage is 32 usoz.

International
American malt liquor brands are rarely exported to Europe.

American-style malt liquors were made in Britain in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Some were American brands brewed under license, notably Colt 45; some were not. They were generally 5% ABV. They were heavily marketed but failed in the market.

However, similar inexpensive high-alcohol beers are available.

In Italy, beers with more than 14.5 Plato degrees fall into a distinct tax rate known as birra doppio malto (double malt beer). Brewing companies often state this classification on the label. Therefore, the doppio malto indication nearly always identifies a beer that is the rough equivalent strength of a North American malt liquor.

title: Malt liquor