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Touch (1987 Album)

Touch (1987 album)

Touch is the fifth album by singer Laura Branigan, released in 1987 (see 1987 in music). This album marked a change in Branigan's career. Under new management and using a different producer, the singer took a more active role in her work and in the studio. Touch also saw her return to dancefloors with the Stock Aitken and Waterman produced "Shattered Glass," one of her best Hi-NRG performances, and roar well into the Top Forty with a thunderous cover of Jennifer Rush's minor U.S. hit, "Power Of Love", which closed out the year as one of the Top Twenty bestselling singles of the Christmas season. The exquisite "Cry Wolf" was the album's third single, which inspired an evocative video that has the singer move from subdued and measured verses, through a bitter chorus and end in rage, lamenting a loved one's self destruction but vowing not to let it destroy her. The album's most organic production by Branigan, it did not capture attention at pop radio but was a top 30 AC hit.

Track listing

#"Over Love" (Marlette, Shifrin) - 3:49 #"Shadow of Love" (Marlette, Shifrin) - 5:05 #"Angels Calling" (Mullaney, Stone) - 3:47 #"Meaning of the Word" (Freeland, Palombi) - 5:41 #"Power of Love" (Applegate, Derouge, Mende, Rush) - 5:26 #"Shattered Glass" (Coe, Mitchell) - 3:41 #"Whatever I Do" - 4:01 #"Spirit of Love" (Nowels, Shipley, Steinberg) - 4:11 #"The Name Game" (Chase, Ellis) - 4:50 #"Touch" (Marlette, Shifrin) - 4:06 #"Cry Wolf" - 4:49 #"Statue in the Rain" - 4:17

Personnel


- Laura Branigan - vocals, background vocals
- Matt Aitken - guitar, keyboards
- Donna Delory - background vocals
- Coral Gordon - background vocals
- Dennis Henson - background vocals
- Michael Landau - vocals
- Mark Leggett - guitar, keyboards
- Dee Lewis - background vocals
- A. Linn - drums
- Jeff Lorber - keyboards
- Bob Marlette - guitar, drums, keyboards, vocals
- John Nelson - guitar
- John O'Hara - keyboards
- Rick Palombi - drums, keyboards, background vocals
- Kim Scharnberg - strings
- Sue Shifrin - background vocals
- Mike Stock - keyboards, background vocals
- Carlos Vega - drums
- Monalisa Young - background vocals

Production


- Producers: Matt Aitken, Albert Cabrera, David Kershenbaum, Tony Moran, Mike Stock, Pete Waterman
- Engineers: John Guess, David J. Holman, Cliff Jones, Ray Leonard, Mark McGuire
- Mixing: Albert Cabrera, Peter Hammond, David J. Holman, Tony Moran
- Mastering: Bob Ludwig
- Programming: Matt Aitken, David J. Holman, Jeff Lorber, Bob Marlette, Rick Palombi, Mike Stock, Andrew Thomas
- Drum programming: Jeff Lorber, Bob Marlette
- Arranger: Mark Leggett, Jeff Lorber, Bob Marlette, Rick Palombi
- Design: Janis Wilkins
- Art Direction: Janis Wilkins
- Photography: Victoria Pearson
- Hair Stylist: Hugh Ragan

Charts

Album Singles Category:Laura Branigan albums Category:1987 albums

Album (Music)

An album is a collection of related audio tracks, released together commercially in an audio format to the public. The term "record album" originated from the fact that 78 RPM gramophone or phonograph disc records were kept together in a book resembling a photo album. Later, "album" came to refer to a single long-playing 33⅓ RPM 12-inch record of songs or music, since one disc contained as much music as an old-style album of records. The standard industry format for popular music was an album of 12 songs, originally the number related to payment of composer royalties. Now that the vinyl record is archaic, the term "album" is applied to any collection sound recording, including CD, MiniDisc, and cassette. Even a set of tracks released at the same time for distribution on an online music download site is sometimes referred to as an album. Due to the large capacity of new media, the matter of how long an album should be is open to debate. One author suggested at least eight tracks, but there are albums of fewer tracks. According to the rules of the British Charts, a recording counts as an album if either it has at least four tracks or lasts more than 20 minutes. Sometimes shorter albums are referred to as EPs, an abbreviation of extended play. The term "mini-album" may also be used. Returning to the older meaning of the term, there are now albums of compact discs: collections of CDs in a single package. If such a collection is packaged in a box, it is known as a box set.

See also


- Concept album
- Double album
- List of albums
- Single
- ja:アルバム

Laura Branigan

Laura Branigan (July 3, 1957-August 26, 2004 in East Quogue, New York) was a popular American singer/actress from Westchester County, New York, best known in the U.S. for the song "Gloria" (1982). She received the first of four Grammy Award nominations for the song. Branigan introduced the ballad "How Am I Supposed to Live Without You" (1983), making the song a standard, recorded by dozens of artists throughout the world in the years since. "Self Control" (1984) was her biggest-selling album, and the title track became an international Number One hit. Her other hits included "Solitaire," "The Lucky One" and "The Power of Love." She was of Irish and Italian ancestry.

Biography

Branigan studied at the Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City and worked as a waitress while in school. She eventually got a job singing back-up vocals for Leonard Cohen, touring throughout Europe. In 1979 she was signed by Ahmet Ertegun to Atlantic Records, but the label was at first unsure how to categorize Branigan, given the singer's strong dramatic voice with a four octave range. She eventually recorded Branigan, the album containing "Gloria," and the song, originally a hit only in Italy, eventually became an international hit. American radio was not initially receptive to "Gloria"; the song's combination of American and European sound predated the imminent second "British Invasion" of popular music by several months. Embraced by dance clubs, especially gay clubs, it eventually won over American radio stations and propelled the song to become one of the biggest hits of the decade. The album went gold, as well as the single, and then platinum. Her vocal performance of "Gloria" was nominated for a Grammy award, her first of four nominations. In spring of 1983, Branigan released her second album, Branigan 2. By this time, the dramatic European synth-pop sound was on the rise, and appropriately, the singer's stirring vocal performance of the English version of the French song "Solitaire" drove that single to the upper reaches of the charts. In addition to cementing a place in pop history and ensuring she was not a one-hit wonder, her sophomore album's two big hits began the careers for two then-unknowns, who themselves became industry legends: The English translation of "Solitaire" was the first major hit for lyric writer Diane Warren, while the album's second hit single, the ballad "How Am I Supposed to Live Without You?", was the first major hit for its cowriter, Michael Bolton. "How Am I Supposed to Live Without You?" just missed the Top Ten on the Pop charts but spent three weeks at Number One on the Adult Contemporary airplay charts. The year 1984 was the height of the European synth-pop era, but the striking production and sensuous, half-whispered vocals of "Self Control," the title track off Branigan's third album, took the world by storm. The song became her biggest international hit, topping the charts in several countries and was an anthem on radio and dancefloors across the world, most notably West Germany, where it spent 7 weeks at number one. Other pop, dancefloor and adult contemporary hits off the album include the melodic electropop of "The Lucky One" (which won her a Tokyo Music Festival prize), the continental ballad "Ti Amo" and the club hit "Satisfaction." That year, her live show was recorded no less than twice: once for a syndicated radio concert series, and a second time for a concert video. By the time of Branigan's fourth album, 1985's Hold Me, "Self Control" had swept the world and territories that had not previously embraced her began to release her earlier material, from South America to the Middle East to the Pacific Islands. Lead single "Spanish Eddie" was her sixth top 40 hit in two and a half years, but failed to enter the top 20. Subsequent release "Hold Me" was a top 40 dance hit and her introduction of the rock ballad "I Found Someone" (cowritten by Michael Bolton) scored even higher on the AC chart, but neither song was supported by a music video and stalled in the lower reaches of the pop charts. 1987's Touch marked a change in Branigan's career. Under new management and using different producers, Branigan took a more active role in her work and in the studio. The Touch album also saw her return to dancefloors with the Stock/Aitken/Waterman-produced "Shattered Glass," one of her best Hi-NRG performances. The album also included a return to the top 40 with her cover of Jennifer Rush's "Power Of Love," which closed out the year as one of the top 20 bestselling singles of the Christmas season. The album's third single, "Cry Wolf," was considered the album's most organic production, and while it did not capture attention at pop radio, it was a top 30 AC hit. Laura Branigan's 1990 self-titled album brought the singer back to the tops of the Hi-NRG charts and gay dancefloors with "Moonlight on Water" and scored another top 30 AC hit with "Never in a Million Years." Continuing her more active role in studio production, Branigan added producing to her list of credits with her cover of Vicki Sue Robinson's disco-era "Turn the Beat Around." Branigan's seventh album, 1993's Over My Heart, was her most personal and eclectic album, seeing the singer again try a hand at producing, alongside the legendary Phil Ramone. The album's mature personal themes of transcendance over the loss of a loved one, the nature of commitment, and coming to terms with life after a significant relationship was a sadly ironic presaging of the turn of events her own life would take. Not long after the album's release, she largely left the music industry in 1994 to spend more time with her husband, Larry Kruteck, following his diagnosis of colon cancer. He died in 1996, and it was some years before Branigan was ready to fully return to the public sphere. While later years showed Branigan's chart success cooling stateside, she was still in great demand around the world and went on several global tours. She remained especially popular in Australia, South Africa and Chile, where she began the first of several invitational performances in the coveted late-evening slot of the famed Viña Del Mar music festival, televised live before an audience of thousands from an open-air arena in the coastal resort city. Branigan had several official hits collections released in South America, Japan, Germany and South Africa (where, in that country alone, she had warranted three separate volumes of hits collections by 1999); her native United States was the last territory to get its own greatest hits collection. This collection was released in 1995, the 13-track The Best of Branigan. This collection included two new covers, the shimmering "Show Me Heaven," and the fun "Dim All the Lights," which was also released in several remixes. In 2001, about to release remixes of her updated take on the 1980 ABBA hit, "The Winner Takes It All," and working on material for a new album, Branigan's bid to return to the stage was postponed when she broke both of her femurs in a fall from a ladder outside her Westchester County house. In 2002, she made a comeback as Janis Joplin in the off-Broadway musical Love, Janis. The same year, her second official stateside hits collection, The Essentials: Laura Branigan was for some a boon, with the inclusion of the long out-of-print "I Found Someone." Largely comprising similar tracks as her earlier collection, however, and with five of her seven studio albums now out of print, for many fans the definitive collection has yet to be released. In 2004, she enjoyed a final return to a Billboard top ten chart, for Dance Singles Sales, with a 20th anniversary re-recording of her own Italodisco smash, "Self Control." Branigan's hit "Gloria" was first in a long line of covers she recorded that far outdid the success of the originals and were considered by many to be the quintessential versions of those songs. Three of Branigan's hit singles later became even bigger hits for other famous singers, despite their lack of her vocal prowess: "I Found Someone" for Cher in 1987; "How Am I Supposed to Live Without You?" for Michael Bolton in 1989; and "The Power of Love" for Celine Dion in 1994. Most of Branigan's vivid work stood in sharp contrast to the popular opinion that her style of music was mechanized studio contrivance. Receiving rave reviews for her live performances, Laura's legendary voice (two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Gian-Carlo Menotti was her vocal coach) was surrounded on her albums by sharp, tight peformances from some of the best studio musicians in the business, some legends themselves. The likes of guitarists Steve Lukather (Toto), Dan Huff (Giant) and Michael Landau; keyboardists Greg Mathieson, Harold Faltermeyer, Michael Boddicker and Robbie Buchanan; bassists Nathan East and Dennis Belfield (Rufus); drummer Carlos Vega; percussionists Paulinho Da Costa and Lenny Castro; and background vocalists including The Waters Sisters (Maxine & Julia), James Ingram, and Richard Page & Stephen George (Mr. Mister) were all repeat guests. Early producers included Jack White, Mathieson, Buchanan and Faltermeyer. As her stature grew, she attracted Grammy-winning producers including Phil Ramone, Richard Perry and David Kershenbaum. Successful foreign artists sought to work with her, and she performed duets with Australian megastar John Farnham on the heels of his releasing the most successful Australian album to date, as well as Latin pop phenomenon Luis Miguel. She was also a favorite guest performer on several of the most popular talk and music shows of the day, with ultimately as much as a dozen appearances each on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, The Merv Griffin Show, Dick Clark's American Bandstand and Solid Gold. The singer occasionally made acting appearances, first in 1981 in An American Girl in Berlin for German television, and then after the success of "Gloria," guest appearances on American television series such as CHiPs and Automan. She would later do independent films such as Mugsy's Girls (aka Delta Pi, 1985) with the venerable Ruth Gordon, and the Australian film Backstage (1988). She sang on major national television and radio campaigns for products including Dr. Pepper, Coca-Cola and Chrysler, who sponsored her 1985-1986 tour. Her sudden death on August 26, 2004 was attributed to a brain aneurysm, which also caused the deaths of her father and her paternal grandfather. In 2005, a memorial for her friends and fans was held on the anniversary of her death near the Long Island home in which she was caring for her mother at the time of her death. Its success has led to plans for it becoming an annual event, and in future years it is expected to turn into a celebration of her life and the legacy of her passionate vocal performances and the heartfelt connection she made with her fans, who, in several interviews and from the stage, she would refer to as "my other half."

Discography

Official U. S. Album Releases

Selected singles

Figures are for Billboard charts unless otherwise noted ~ (Title unreleased in that format)

Filmography

Movies

Television

Other notable work

Theater

Video games

Controversy

In the early 1970's, Branigan was briefly a lead singer in a band named "Meadow," cowriting and singing a few songs on the band's album The Friend Ship (released 1973). This was before Branigan toured with Leonard Cohen and by the 1980's she refused to acknowledge she ever had any connection with the band Meadow or the 1973 album. In the spring of 1984, academy award-winning film director William Friedkin (French Connection, The Exorcist) became one of the first major directors to shoot a music video, Branigan's "Self Control." Tame not only by today's standards and even by those of a few months later, MTV nevertheless refused to air the clip, despite the song's massive, multiformat popularity (top 5 pop, dance, and adult contemporary), demanding it be re-edited. Branigan stood up against this censorship and for the artistic vision she and auteur Billy Friedkin had conceived, taking to the media to press her case. MTV kept their ban in place all summer long until after the song had peaked and fallen from the top 10. While Branigan's record company recut the video against her better judgment, MTV only aired the version they had requested, a handful of times before dropping it from their playlist. That Christmas on the channel, Madonna was writhing on the floor in a bustier, wedding dress over her head, and being ravaged by lion-headed men in the canals of Venice in "Like A Virgin," and Duran Duran's loinclothed "Wild Boys" were ravaging each other. MTV never apologized, never ceased lowering its threshold of decency, and never promoted a Laura Branigan video again. Mirroring the song's lyrics, the video follows the singer as she prepares for a night out, then walks along stylized city streets, followed by a mysterious man in a white mask. Entering through a door, she is led down a flight of stairs and into a club where an odd cast of characters are caught in something between a dance and an orgy, though all remain fully clothed. Branigan, drawn into the crowd for a moment, chases--or flees from--her desires down a hallway filled with doors and ultimately into a room where the masked man pulls her to him. At the end of the song, she wakes up in bed next to the man, still masked; as the sun streams through the window, he vanishes. By the late 1990's, a website was made using the name laurabranigan.com. After several years it was apparent to many Branigan fans (some of whom call themselves "Branifans" or "Fanigans") this website had no authorized connection to the singer herself. In an effort to provide her and her fans with a more comprehensive and respectful site, a new Laura Branigan fan website at LauraBraniganOnline.com was created in November 2002. Branigan herself endorsed LauraBraniganOnline.com as her sole official website in January 2004. Currently, both websites can be found on the Web

External links


- [http://www.laurabraniganonline.com/ Official Website]
- [http://www.billboard.com/bb/daily/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000620812 Billboard news story: Laura Branigan Dies Of Aneurysm]
- Branigan, Laura Branigan, Laura Branigan, Laura Branigan, Laura Branigan, Laura Branigan, Laura Branigan, Laura Branigan, Laura ja:ローラ・ブラニガン

1987 in music

See also: 1986 in music, other events of 1987, 1988 in music, 1980s in music and the list of 'years in music'

Events


- January 3 - Aretha Franklin becomes the first woman inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
- January 16 - The Beastie Boys become the first act to be censored by American Bandstand.
- January - Steve "Silk" Hurley's innovative "Jack Your Body" becomes the first house music record to top the UK singles chart.
- February 6 - Sonny Bono announces his candidacy for mayor of Palm Springs, California
- February 14–March 7 - Bon Jovi's "Livin' On A Prayer" is the #1 song. It would be 1987's Biggest hit song.
- March 7 - The first five Beatles albums, Please Please Me, With the Beatles, A Hard Day's Night, Beatles for Sale and Help! are released on Compact disc. Capitol Records decides to release the original UK mixes of the Beatles albums, which means that the first four CDs are released in mono. This marks the first time that many of these mono mixes were available in the US.
- March 9 - Carole King is inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in New York City
- March 13 - Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
- March 13 - In the US, Bryan Adams "Heat of the Night" becomes the first single to be commercially released on cassette. Cassette singles become known as cassingles.
- March 27 - Inspired by The Beatles' 1969 rooftop concert, U2 shoots a music video for the song "Where the Streets Have No Name" on a rooftop in Los Angeles, California.
- April 23 - Carole King sues the owner of her record company, Lou Adler, claiming that she is owed more than $400,000 in royalties. King also asks for rights to her old recordings.
- June 27- Whitney Houston's sophomore album Whitney becomes the first album by a female artist to debut at #1 on the Billboard 200.
- September 25 - Matthew Garrison Chapman is born as the first child of Amy Grant and Gary Chapman. Lead Me On, Amy's 1988 album, is said to have been dedicated to Matt.
- October 12 - Twisted Sister breaks up
- October - electronic data gathering completely replaces the old sales diary technique in compiling the UK singles and albums chart.
- October 19 - Mötley Crüe release the song "You're All I Need" as a single. Its lyrics cause MTV to refuse to play its video. Radio stations never play the song either.
- November 13 - Sonny and Cher reunite for a performance on Late Night with David Letterman.
- Social Distortion returns to record Prison Bound
- Jane's Addiction's career begins
- Public Enemy's career starts
- Paul Oakenfold's career begins
- Tori Amos' career begins
- Danzig's career begins
- Gin Blossoms forms
- Mr. Big forms
- Nirvana forms
- Zebra breaks up
- Wham! breaks up
- Hüsker Dü breaks up
- Jane's Addiction signs to Warner Bros
- Winger signs to Atlantic Records
- Kylie Minogue's recording career begins, when her cover version of the Little Eva hit The Loco-Motion spends seven weeks at number one in her native Australia and leads to a contract with UK based record producers Stock Aitken Waterman

Albums released


- Compilation - Accept
- Into the Fire - Bryan Adams
- Classics Live II - Aerosmith
- Permanent Vacation - Aerosmith
- Among The Living - Anthrax
- I'm The Man EP - Anthrax
- Strength of Steel - Anvil
- Raising Fear - Armored Saint
- Eternal Idol - Black Sabbath
- Terror Rising EP - Lizzy Borden
- Visual Lies - Lizzy Borden
- Speed Metal Symphony - Cacophony
- Heaven on Earth - Belinda Carlisle
- Raise Your Fist and Yell - Alice Cooper
- Best Before 1984 - Crass
- Electric - The Cult
- Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me - The Cure
- The Best Of Dalida, Vol. 2 - Dalida (compilation)
- Never Let Me Down - David Bowie
- Hysteria - Def Leppard
- Music for the Masses - Depeche Mode
- You're Living All Over Me - Dinosaur Jr.
- Dream Evil - Dio
- Back For the Attack - Dokken
- The Circus - Erasure
- Paid in Full - Eric B. & Rakim
- White Fields - The Escape Club (debut)
- Death Before Dishonour - The Exploited
- Introduce Yourself - Faith No More
- Faster Pussycat - Faster Pussycat
- Tango in the Night - Fleetwood Mac
- Frehley's Comet - Frehley's Comet
- Official Version - Front 242
- Funhouse - Funhouse
- Once Bitten - Great White
- Rock You To Hell - Grim Reaper (final album)
- 2X4 - Guadalcanal Diary
- Appetite for Destruction - Guns n' Roses (debut)
- I Never Said Goodbye - Sammy Hagar
- Music to Strip By - Half Japanese
- Wild in the Streets - Helix
- Bring the Family - John Hiatt
- Get Close To My Love - Jennifer Holliday
- Warehouse: Songs and Stories - Hüsker Dü (final album)
- Rhyme Pays - Ice-T (debut)
- A More Perfect Union - Icon
- Kick - INXS
- Bad - Michael Jackson
- Jane's Addiction - Jane's Addiction
- Crest of a Knave - Jethro Tull
- Priest... Live! - Judas Priest
- Keel - Keel
- Abigail - King Diamond
- Crazy Nights - KISS
- 1987 (What the Fuck is Going On?) - KLF (Kopyright Liberation Front)/The Jams. Subsequently destroyed after copyright infringement claim
- Shaka Zulu - Ladysmith Black Mambazo
- Trio - Linda Ronstadt, Emmylou Harris, Dolly Parton
- Running in the Family - Level 42
- Bigger and Deffer - LL Cool J
- By the Light of the Moon - Los Lobos
- Ready or Not - solo debut album of Foreigner lead vocalist Lou Gramm
- Hurricane Eyes - Loudness
- Immaculate Deception - Ludichrist
- Strange Weather - Marianne Faithfull
- Deathcrush - Mayhem
- Perfect Timing - McAuley-Schenker Group (first release after Robin McAuley joined and they changed their name)
- Huevos - Meat Puppets
- (The $5.98 EP) Garage Days Re-Revisited - Metallica
- Master of Puppets - Metallica
- Faith - George Michael
- Diesel and Dust - Midnight Oil
- Stereoland - The Modern Art
- Pool It! - The Monkees
- Girls, Girls, Girls - Mötley Crüe
- Rock 'n' Roll - Motörhead
- Escape From Noise - Negativland
- In Dreams: The Greatest Hits - Roy Orbison
- Tribute - Ozzy Osbourne
- Taking Over - Overkill
- Power Metal - Pantera
- Trio (album) - Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris and Linda Ronstadt
- Actually - Pet Shop Boys
- A Momentary Lapse of Reason - Pink Floyd
- Come On Pilgrim - Pixies (debut)
- Sign O' the Times - Prince
- Yo! Bum Rush the Show - Public Enemy
- Halfway to Sanity - The Ramones
- Randy Travis - Randy Travis
- Document - R.E.M.
- Pleased to Meet Me - The Replacements
- Kane Roberts - Kane Roberts (former Alice Cooper guitarist's solo debut)
- I Prefer The Moonlight - Kenny Rogers
- King's Record Shop - Rosanne Cash
- Hold Your Fire - Rush (band)
- Surfing With the Alien - Joe Satriani
- Hall of the Mountain King - Savatage
- Floodland - The Sisters of Mercy
- Cleanse, Fold and Manipulate - Skinny Puppy
- The World Won't Listen - The Smiths (February, compilation)
- Louder than Bombs - The Smiths (March (U.S.)/May (U.K.), compilation)
- Strangeways, Here We Come - The Smiths (September, final studio album)
- The Perfect Prescription - Spaceman 3
- Sister - Sonic Youth
- Substance 1987 - New Order
- Tunnel of Love - Bruce Springsteen
- All Systems Go - Donna Summer
- Make It Last Forever - Keith Sweat
- New Again - TexAns
- Tiffany - Tiffany
- Introducing the Hardline... - Terence Trent D'Arby
- Bridge of Spies - T'Pau
- Love Is for Suckers - Twisted Sister (final album)
- The Joshua Tree - U2
- To the Power of 3 - 3
- Calm Before The Storm - Venom
- Live...in The Raw - W.A.S.P.
- Live...Animal EP W.A.S.P.
- Triumph And Agony - Warlock (final album)
- Whitecross - Whitecross
- Pride - White Lion (2nd album, major label (Atlantic Records) debut)
- Whitesnake - Whitesnake
- Characters - Stevie Wonder
- Contagious - Y&T
- 3.V - Zebra
- Tattooed Beat Messiah - Zodiac Mindwarp & The Love Reaction
- Gluey Porch Treatments - The Melvins
- Go On... - Mr. Mister

Top hits on record


- "Livin' On a Prayer" - Bon Jovi
- "Walk Like An Egyptian" - The Bangles
- "Notorious" - Duran Duran
- "Shake You Down" - Gregory Abbott
- "Everybody Have Fun Tonight" - Wang Chung
- "C'est La Vie" - Robbie Nevil
- "Control" - Janet Jackson
- "The Way It Is" - Bruce Hornsby and the Range
- "War" - Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band
- "At This Moment" - Billy Vera and the Beaters
- "Is This Love" - Survivor
- "Land of Confusion" - Genesis
- "Someday" - Glass Tiger
- "Change of Heart" - Cyndi Lauper
- "Victory" - Kool & the Gang
- "Touch Me" - Samantha Fox
- "Keep Your Hands to Yourself" - Georgia Satellites
- "Will You Still Love Me" - Chicago
- "We're Ready" - Boston
- "Jacob's Ladder" - Huey Lewis and the News
- "Ballerina Girl" - Lionel Richie
- "Behind the Wheel" - Depeche Mode
- "True Faith" - New Order
- "You Got It All" - The Jets
- "Love You Down" - Ready for the World
- "Somewhere Out There" - Linda Ronstadt and J. Ingram
- "Respect Yourself" - Bruce Willis
- "Big Time" - Peter Gabriel
- "Mandolin Rain" - Bruce Hornsby and The Range
- "Lean on Me" - Club Nouveau
- "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now" - Starship
- "Tonight, Tonight, Tonight" - Genesis
- "Come Go with Me" - Exposé Spring
- "The Final Countdown" - Europe
- "Don't Dream It's Over" - Crowded House
- "I Knew You Were Waiting for Me" - Aretha Franklin & George Michael
- "Let's Go" - Wang Chung
- "Midnight Blue" - Lou Gramm
- "The Finer Things" - Steve Winwood
- "Looking for a New Love" - Jody Watley
- "(I Just) Died In Your Arms Tonight" - Cutting Crew
- "New Years Day" - U2
- "Stone Love" - Kool & the Gang
- "Strangelove" - Depeche Mode
- "Heat of the Night" - Bryan Adams
- "Big Love" - Fleetwood Mac
- "You Keep Me Hanging On" - Kim Wilde
- "In Too Deep" - Genesis
- "I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)" - Whitney Houston
- "Why Can't I Be You?" - The Cure Summer
- "Alone" - Heart
- "Songbird" - Kenny G
- "Shakedown" - Bob Seger
- "Point of No Return" - Exposé
- "I Heard a Rumour" - Bananarama
- "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" - U2
- "I Want Your Sex" - George Michael
- "Rhythm Is Going to Get You" - Gloria Estefan & Miami Sound Machine
- "Luka" - Suzanne Vega
- "La Bamba" - Los Lobos
- "Never Let Me Down Again" - Depeche Mode
- "Don't Mean Nothing" - Richard Marx
- "Only in my Dreams" - Debbie Gibson
- "Rock Steady" - The Whispers
- "Here I Go Again" - Whitesnake Autumn
- "I Think We're Alone Now" - Tiffany
- "Heaven Is A Place On Earth" - Belinda Carlisle
- "Faith" - George Michael
- "Hazy Shade of Winter" - The Bangles
- "Where the Streets Have No Name" - U2
- "Bad" - Michael Jackson
- "I Just Can't Stop Loving You" - Michael Jackson and Siedah Garrett
- "Didn't We Almost Have It All" - Whitney Houston
- "Just Like Heaven" - The Cure

Other Singles


- "I Found Someone" - Cher
- "Somebody Save Me" - Cinderella
- "Pour en arriver là" - Dalida
- "Les hommes de ma vie" - Dalida
- "Beds Are Burning" - Midnight Oil
- "In The Dutch Mountains" - The Nits
- "China in your hand" - T'Pau
- "You Can Call Me Al" - Paul Simon
- "Free" - Stryper
- "Hot Love" - Twisted Sister
- "Wait" - White Lion

Published popular music


- "Children Will Listen"     w.m. Stephen Sondheim
- "The Time Of My Life"     w.m. Franke Previte, Donald Markowitz & John DeNicola

Classical music


- Mario Davidovsky - Quartetto for flute, violin, viola and violoncello
- Philip Feeney - Mémoire Imaginaire (ballet)
- Malcolm Forsyth - Songs from the Qu'appelle Valley
- Juan Maria Solare - Doce variaciones 1987 (for piano)
- Joan Tower - Fanfare for the uncommon woman no 1

Opera


- John Adams - Nixon in China
- Friedrich Cerha - Der Rattenfänger (The Pied Piper)
- Judith Weir - A Night at the Chinese Opera

Musical theater


- Anything Goes - Broadway revival
- Bless the Bride - London revival
- Cabaret (Kander and Ebb) - Broadway revival
- Dreamgirls - Broadway revival
- Into the Woods - Broadway production
- Les Misérables - Broadway production
- Oil City Symphony - Broadway production
- Starlight Express (Andrew Lloyd Webber and Richard Stilgoe) - Broadway production

Births


- January 27 - Katy Rose
- January 27 - Ashley Perez Moza
- February 12 - O'Ryan
- March 9 - Bow Wow
- April 10 - Hayley Westenra
- April 11 - Joss Stone
- April 30 - Nikki Webster
- June 16 - Diana DeGarmo
- August 27 - Andrew Benoit
- September 7 - Evan Rachel Wood, Actress
- September 26 - Rosie Munter
- September 28 - Hilary Duff
- September 28 - Chloe Hanslip, violinist

Deaths


- January 10 - Marion Hutton, singer and actress
- January 15 - Ray Bolger, actor, of cancer
- February 4 - Liberace, US pianist
- March 3 - Danny Kaye, actor, singer, dancer and comedian
- March 15 - Don Gant, singer/songwriter, record producer
- March 21 - Dean Paul Martin, singer and actor
- March 21 - Robert Preston, star of The Music Man, Mame, etc.
- March 28 - Maria von Trapp, subject of The Sound of Music
- April 2 - Buddy Rich, brain tumor
- April 7 - Maxine Sullivan, US singer
- May 2 - Larry Clinton - US bandleader and songwriter
- May 3 - Dalida commits suicide
- May 4 - Paul Butterfield, drug overdose
- May 11 - Peter Tosh is murdered
- May 14 - Rita Hayworth, dancer and film star
- May 24 - Hermione Gingold, actress and singer
- June 3 - Andrés Segovia, guitar virtuoso
- June 18 - Kid Thomas Valentine, jazz trumpeter & bandleader
- June 22 - Fred Astaire, dancer, actor and singer
- June 25 - Boudleaux Bryant, Hall of Fame songwriter
- July 1 - Snakefinger, guitarist
- August 14 - Vincent Persichetti, composer
- August 27 - Andrew Benoit-Vocalist
- September 21- Jaco Pastorius, jazz bassist
- September 23 - Bob Fosse, dancer, choreographer and director of musicals
- October 19 - Jacqueline Du Pré, English cellist
- October 28 - Woody Herman, US bandleader
- December 10 - Jascha Heifetz, violinist
- December - Conny Plank, record producer

Awards


- The following artists are inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: The Coasters, Eddie Cochran, Bo Diddley, Aretha Franklin, Marvin Gaye, Bill Haley, B. B. King, Clyde McPhatter, Ricky Nelson, Roy Orbison, Carl Perkins, Smokey Robinson, Big Joe Turner, Muddy Waters, and Jackie Wilson

Grammy Awards


- Grammy Awards of 1987

Country Music Association Awards

Eurovision Song Contest


- Eurovision Song Contest 1987

Charts

List of No. 1 Hits


- Hot 100 No. 1 Hits of 1987

KROQ


- KROQ Top 106.7 Countdown of 1987
- Category:Years in music

Stock, Aitken and Waterman

Stock Aitken Waterman, sometimes known as SAW, were a British songwriting and record producing trio who had great success during the mid-late 1980s and early 1990s with many of their productions. The three can be considered to be the most successful songwriting and producing partnership of all time, scoring over 200 top 40 UK hits in the mid 1980s to early 1990s. The trio consisted of Mike Stock, Matt Aitken and Pete Waterman. On January 15, 1984, shortly after meeting Aitken and Stock, Waterman asked them to work with him and his recently formed production company, Pete Waterman Limited (PWL). Their initial style was Hi-NRG with a cover version of "You Think You're a Man" by Divine (#16 UK Jul 1984) and "Whatever I Do" by Hazell Dean (#4 UK Jul 1984). They struck gold in March 1985 when "You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)" by Dead or Alive reached number one in UK. However, Pete Waterman has said in interviews that the trio were still in dire financial straits at the time. Following this success their style changed to a more mainstream style of catchy (some would say annoying) bubblegum synth pop, with attractive singers. They typically worked by writing the songs, recording the music with extensive use of synthesizers, drum machines (drums were often credited to "A Linn", a sly reference to the Linn brand of drum machine) and sequencers and then bringing in a singer solely to record the vocal track. Their prodigious, production line-like output led to them being referred to as the hit factory (not to be confused with the record label of the same name) and attracted criticism from many quarters. However, Pete Waterman defended their style by comparing it to the output of Motown in the 1960s. 1960s] Their most successful artist was Kylie Minogue, a young actress from Melbourne, Australia who was well known for her role in the soap opera, Neighbours. Her first 13 singles reached the UK top 10 and her debut "I Should Be So Lucky" spent 5 weeks at number one (in UK). The album Kylie was the highest selling album of 1988, and 5th highest selling album of the decade. They were also responsible for the 1987's highest selling single - Rick Astley's "Never Gonna Give You Up". At the height of their fame, Stock Aitken and Waterman also had a Top Ten hit as themselves with the largely instrumental "Roadblock". They also contributed three tracks to the self titled 1998 album by Queen Sexbox, La Toya Jackson In 1989 they wrote and produced the highest selling album of the year - Jason Donovan's Ten Good Reasons. Donovan was Minogue's co-star in Neighbours and his success for a time equalled hers. In 1988-'89, the trio recorded three tracks with Judas Priest. These tracks were never released, and are said to be in Judas Priest's possession. Another of SAW's most successful hit singles was the 1989 number one single "Ferry 'cross the Mersey" (a charity single featuring The Christians, Holly Johnson, Paul McCartney and Gerry Marsden.) Waterman made no attempt to hide his hostility towards the sampling culture prevalent at the time, and when M/A/R/R/S sampled "Roadblock" for their track "Pump Up the Volume" he was quick to instigate legal action against them. However, he always stated that it was a matter of principle rather than profit and pledged to donate all the royalties from the court case to charity. Pete Waterman's career as a record producer preceded his collaborations with Stock and Aitken, and continued after the demise of the trio as an entity.

List of acts who have performed songs written or produced by SAW


- Andy Paul
- Austin Howard - "I'm The One Who Really Loves You"
- Bananarama
  - produced #1 billboard hit "Venus" (1986), albums "WOW!" and "Please Yourself"
- Big Fun
- Boy Krazy
  - produced album "Boy Krazy" (1993)
- Brilliant
  - produced album "Kiss The Lips of Life"
- Brother Beyond
- Canton - "Stay With Me"
- Carol Hitchcock
- Cliff Richard
- Dead Or Alive
  - produced albums "Youthquake" and "Mad, Bad And Dangerous To Know"
- Divine
  - wrote and produced "I'm So Beautiful", produced "You Think You're A Man"
- Deborah Harry
- Delage
- Dolly Dots
- Donna Summer
- Edwin Starr
- E.G. Daily
- Erik
- Errol Brown
  - produced album "Another place and Time" (1989)
- Fresh
- Georgie Fame
- Girl Talk
- Haywoode
  - produced singles "Getting Closer" (1985) and "You'd Better Not Fool Around" (1985)
- Hazell Dean
  - wrote and produced album "Heart First" and half of the second album "Always"
- I'm Talking
- Jeb Million
- Judas Priest
- Jason Donovan
- Gayle & Gillian Blakeney
- Kakko
- Kylie Minogue
  - wrote and produced 1 and 2 album, partially wrote and produced 3 and 4 album
- La Toya Jackson
- Laura Branigan
  - produced the single/remix "Shattered Glass," wrote and produced "Wherever I Go (Whatever I Do)" from her 1987 album "Touch"
- Lonnie Gordon
  - wrote and produced part of the album "If I Had To stand Alone" (1990)
- Mandy Smith
  - wrote and produced "I Just Can't Wait", "Positive Reaction", "He's My Boy", "You're Never Alone"
- Mel & Kim
  - wrote and produced album "F.L.M."
- Mint Julips
- Michael Davidson
- Michael Prince
- Nancy Davis
- Nick Straker Band
- O'Chi Brown
  - produced album "O'Chi" (1986)
- Pat & Mick
  - produced album "Don't Stop Dancing" (1993)
- Paul Varney
- Pepsi & Shirley
- Phil Fearon
- Precious Wilson
  - "Only THe Strong Survive"
- Princess
  - wrote and produced first album "Princess" (1986)
- Reynolds Girls ("I'd Rather Jack")
- Rick Astley
  - wrote and produced partially 1 and 2 his albums and were responsible for all hits in these albums
- Rin Tin Tin
- Roland Rat
- Romi & Jazz
- Sabrina Salerno
  - wrote and produced song "All of Me" and also made many versions and remixes of her songs.
- Samantha Fox
- Sequal
- Sigue Sigue Sputnik
- Sinitta
  - produced "Toy Boy", "GTO", and "Cross My Broken Heart".
- Slamm
  - wrote and produced "Energize" ,produced "Virginia Plain"
- Splash
- Sybil
- Sonia
  - produced first album "Everybody Knows" (1989)
- Steve Walsh
- Suzette Charles
- Taco
- Thereza Bazar
- The Cool Notes
- The Danse Society
- The Three Degrees
- The Twins
- Tracy Shaw
- Worlds Apart
- WWF Superstars
- Yell!

See also


- List of songs that were written or produced by SAW (in chronological order, including US and UK chart positions)

Trivia


- The ubiquity of their productions led some who were less impressed with their style to re-interpret the abbreviation "SAW" to mean "Stop Aitken Waterman!"
- British experimental music duo Stock, Hausen & Walkman chose their name as a play on words, referencing SAW, composer Karlheinz Stockhausen and the SONY Walkman.

External links


- [http://www.pwl-empire.com/ Pete Waterman Official Site]
- [http://www.stockaitkenwaterman.com/ StockAitkenWaterman.com (nee cafe80s) ]
- [http://members.chello.at/mobius/main.html Mobius' Fan Site]
- [http://www.pwlradio.com/home.php PWL Radio Music Site] Category:British record producers Category:Songwriters Category:Pop musicians

Jennifer Rush

Jennifer Rush is an American singer, best known for the million-selling single "The Power Of Love" (1985). Born Heidi Stern, September 29, 1960 in Queens, New York, she spent her childhood in both New York and Germany. In 1982, she moved back to Wiesbaden, Germany with her father, Maurice Stern, an opera singer, trying to establish a career as a singer, and over the next few years scored hits around Europe with songs such as "25 Lovers", "Come Give Me Your Hand", "Ring of Ice", and "I Come Undone". Her 1985 single "The Power Of Love" was number one in several countries but reached only number 57 in the United States, having to wait until the 90s before achieving success on the AOR scene in her home country. She has had over 50 gold records in total including four double platinum albums. In the late 1980s she scored hits with duets with Elton John, Michael Bolton and Plácido Domingo.

Albums


- Jennifer Rush (1984)
- Moving (1985)
- Heart over Mind (1987)
- Passion (1988)
- Wings of Desire (1989)
- Jennifer Rush 92 (1992)
- Out of My Hands (1995)
- Credo (1997)
- Mita (2005)

External link

[http://www.jennifer-rush.com/ Jennifer Rush Homepage] Rush, Jennifer



Guitar

A guitar is a stringed musical instrument. It is often played with the fingers of the left hand. The right hand plucks the strings with either the fingers or a plectrum (guitar pick). The sound is produced by vibrating strings, which in turn resonate the body and neck. Guitars may be acoustic, electric (i.e. with electrical amplification) or both. Classical guitars are also present in the guitar family, although they are not as popular as the prior two. Guitars have a body acting mostly as a resonator, which can be hollow in acoustic guitars or solid in most electric guitars, and a neck. Typically, a headstock extends from the neck for tuning. Guitars are made and repaired by luthiers. Guitars are used in a variety of musical styles. Guitars are widely known as a solo classical instrument, and the primary instrument in blues and rock music. rock music, features steel strings.]] __TOC__

History

steel string Instruments similar to what we know as the guitar have been popular for at least 5,000 years. The guitar appears to be derived from earlier instruments known in ancient central Asia. Instruments very similar to the guitar appear in ancient carvings and statues recovered from the old Iranian capitol of Susa. The modern word, guitar, was adopted into English from Spanish, possibly from earlier Greek word kithara. Prospective sources for various names of musical instruments that guitar could be derived from all appear to be a combination of two Indo-European roots: guit-, similar to Sanskrit sangeet meaning "music", and -tar a widely attested root meaning "chord" or "string". The word guitar may also be a Persian loanword to Iberian Arabic. The word qitara is an Arabic name for various members of the lute family that preceded the Western guitar. The name guitar was introduced into Spanish when guitars were brought into Iberia by the Moors after the 10th century. ([http://www.iranian.com/Music/2002/November/Guitar/index.html See related article]). The Spanish vihuela appears to be an intermediate form between the ancestral guitar and the modern guitar, with lute-style tuning and a small, but guitar-like body. It is not clear whether this represents a transitional form or simply a design that combined features from the two families of instruments. (See the article on the lute for further history.) The electric guitar was invented by Adolf Rickenbacker, with the help of George Beauchamp and Paul Berth, in 1931. Rickenbacker was the inventor of the horseshoe-magnet pickup. However, it was Danelectro that first produced electric guitars for the wider public. Danelectro also pioneered tube amp technology.

Parts of the guitar

tube amp Guitar consists of several parts. Refer to appropriate article for description of a part: # Headstock # Nut # Machine heads # Frets # Truss rod # Inlays # Neck # Neck joint # Body # Pickups # Electronics # Bridge # Pickguard

Headstock

Pickups The headstock is located at the end of the guitar neck. It is fitted with the tuning machines for pitch adjusting. Traditional layout of tuners is "3+3" which means 3 top tuners and 3 bottom ones. Some electric guitars feature 6 in-line tuners or even 4+2.

Nut

The nut is a small strip of ivory, bone, plastic, brass, graphite, or other medium-hard material that braces the strings at the joint where the headstock meets the fretboard. It is grooved to hold the strings in place, and it is one of the endpoints of the strings' tension. The material used also affects the sound of the guitar.

Fretboard

Also called the fingerboard, the fretboard is a long plank of wood embedded with metal frets that comprises the top of the neck. It is flat on classical guitars and slightly curved crosswise on acoustic and electric guitars. The curvature of the fretboard is measured by the fretboard radius, which is the radius of a hypothetical circle of which the fretboard's surface constitutes a segment. The smaller the fretboard radius, the more noticably curved the fretboard is. Pinching a string against the fretboard effectively shortens the vibrating length of the string, producing a higher tone (a string, unfingered, will vibrate from the saddle to the nut; once fingered, it will vibrate only along the distance between the saddle and the fret directly before the finger). Fretboards are most commonly made of rosewood, ebony, and maple.

Frets

Frets are metal strips (usually nickel alloy) embedded along the fretboard which are placed in points along the length of string that divide it mathematically. When strings are pressed down behind them, frets shorten the strings' vibrating lengths to produce different pitches- each one spaced a half-step apart on the 12 tone scale. For more on fret spacing, see the Strings and Tuning section below. Frets are usually the first permanent part to wear out on a heavily played electric guitar. They can be re-shaped to a certain extent and can be replaced as needed. Frets also indicate fractions of the length of a string (the string midpoint is at the 12th fret; one-third the length of the string reaches from the nut to the 7th fret, the 7th fret to the 19th, and the 19th to the saddle; one-quarter reaches from nut to fifth to twelfth to twenty-fourth to saddle). This feature is important in playing harmonics. Frets are available in several different gauges, depending on the type of guitar and the player's style.

Truss rod

The truss rod is an adjustable metal rod that runs along the inside of the neck, adjusted by a hex nut or an allen-key bolt usually located either at the headstock (under a cover) or just inside the body of the guitar, underneath the fretboard (accessible through the sound hole). The truss rod counteracts the immense amount of tension the strings place on the neck, bringing the neck back to a straighter position. The truss rod can be adjusted to compensate for changes in the neck wood due to changes in humidity or to compensate for changes in the tension of strings. Tightening the rod will curve the neck back and loosening it will return it forward. Adjusting the truss rod affects the intonation of a guitar as well as affecting the action (the height of the strings from the fingerboard). Some truss rod systems, called "double action" truss systems, will tighten both ways, allowing the neck to be pushed both forward and backward (most truss rods can only be loosened so much, beyond which the bolt will just come loose and the neck will no longer be pulled backward). Classical guitars do not have truss rods, as the nylon strings do not put enough tension on the neck for one to be needed.

Inlays

Inlays are visual elements set into the exterior wood on a guitar. The typical locations for inlay are on the fretboard, headstock, and around the soundhole (called a rosette on acoustic guitars). Inlays range from simple plastic dots on the fretboard to fantastic works of art covering the entire exterior surface of a guitar (front and back). Fretboard inlays are most commonly shaped like dots, diamond shapes, parallelograms, or large blocks in between the frets. Dots are usually inlaid into the upper edge of the fretboard in the same positions, small enough to be visible only to the player. Some manufacturers go beyond these simple shapes and use more creative designs such as lightning bolts or letters and numbers. The simpler inlays are often done in plastic on guitars of recent vintage, but many older, and newer, high-end instruments have inlays made of mother of pearl, abalone, ivory, colored wood or any number of exotic materials. On some low-end guitars, they are just painted. Many classical guitars have no inlays at all; the player himself sometimes will make them with a marker pen or correction fluid. The most popular fretboard inlay scheme involves single inlays on the 3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th, 15th, 17th, 19th, and 21st frets, and double inlays on the 12th, sometimes 7th, and (if present) 24th fret. Pros of such scheme include its symmetry about the 12th fret and symmetry of every half (0-12 and 12-24) about the 7th and 19th frets. However, playing these frets, for example, on E string would yield notes E, G, A, B, C# that barely make a complete musical mode by themselves. A less popular fretboard inlay scheme involves inlays on 3rd, 5th, 7th, 10th, 12th, 15th, 17th, 19th, 22nd and 24th frets. Playing these frets, for example, on E string yields notes E, G, A, B, D that fit perfectly into E minor pentatonic. Such a scheme is very close to piano keys coloring (which involves black coloring for sharps that pentatonic consists of) and of some use on classic guitars. Beyond the fretboard inlay, the headstock and soundhole are also commonly inlaid. The manufacturer's logo is commonly inlaid into the headstock. Sometimes a small design such as a bird or other character or an abstract shape also accompanies the logo. The soundhole designs found on acoustic guitars vary from simple concentric circles to delicate fretwork. Many high-end guitars have more elaborate decorative inlay schemes. Often the edges of the guitar around the neck and body and down the middle of the back are inlaid. The fretboard commonly has a large inlay running across several frets or the entire length of the fretboard, such as a long vine creeping across the fretboard. Most acoustic guitars have an inlay that borders the sides of the fretboard, and some electrics (namely Fender Stratocasters) have a black inlay running on the back of the neck, from about the body to the middle of the neck, commonly referred to as a skunk stripe. Some very limited edition high-end or custom-made guitars have artistic inlay designs that span the entire front (or even the back) of the guitar. These designs use a variety of different materials and are created using techniques borrowed from furniture making. While these designs are often just very elaborate decorations, they are sometimes works of art that even depict a particular theme or a scene. Although these guitars are often constructed from the most exclusive materials, they are generally considered to be collector's items and not intended to be played. Large guitar manufacturers often issue these guitars to celebrate a significant historical milestone.

Neck

A guitar's frets, fretboard, tuners, headstock, and truss rod, all attached to a long wooden extension, collectively comprise its neck. The wood used to make the fretboard will usually differ from the wood in the rest of the neck. The bending stress on the neck is considerable, particularly when heavier gauge strings are used (see Strings and tuning), and the ability of the neck to resist bending (see Truss rod) is important to the guitar's ability to hold a constant pitch during tuning or when strings are fretted. The rigidity of the neck with respect to the body of the guitar is one determinant of a good instrument versus a poor one. Conversely, the ability to change the pitch of the note slightly by deliberately bending the neck forcibly with the fretting arm is a technique occasionally used, particularly in the blues genre and those derived from it, such as rock and roll. The shape of the neck can also vary, from a gentle "C" curve to a more pronounced "V" curve.

Neck joint

This is the point at which the neck is either bolted or glued to the body of the guitar. Almost all acoustic guitars, with the primary exception of Taylors, have glued (or set) necks, while electric guitars are constructed using both types. Set necks usually feature dovetail joints, which offer stability and sustain. Other commonly used neck joints include mortise-and-tenon joints (such as those used by CF Martin & Co. guitars), and Spanish Heel style neck joints (commonly found in classical guitars). Bolt-on necks, though they are historically associated with cheaper instruments, do offer greater flexibility in the guitar's set-up, and allow easier access for neck joint maintenance and repairs. Some very high-end instruments may not have a neck joint at all, having the neck and sides built as one piece and the body built around it.

Body (acoustic guitar)

The body of the instrument is a major determinant of the overall sound for acoustic guitars. The guitar top, or soundboard, is a finely crafted and engineered element often made of spruce, redcedar or mahogany. This thin (often 2 or 3 mm thick) piece of wood, strengthened by different types of internal bracing, is considered to be the most prominent factor in determining the sound quality of a guitar. The majority of the sound is caused by vibration of the guitar top as the energy of the vibrating strings is transferred to it. Different patterns of wood bracing have been used through the years by luthiers; to not only strengthen the top against collapsing under the tremendous stress exerted by the tensioned strings (Torres, Hauser, Ramirez, Fleta being among the most influential designers of their time), but also to affect the resonation of the top. The back and sides are made out of a variety of woods such as mahogany, Indian rosewood and highly regarded Brazilian rosewood (Dalbergia nigra). Each one is chosen for their aesthetic effect and structural strength, and can also play a significant role in determining the instrument's timbre. These are also strengthened with internal bracing, decorated with inlays and purfling, and subjected to a lot of abuse.

Body (electric guitar)

Most electric guitar bodies are made of wood. This wood is rarely one solid piece, as laminating hardwoods in the proper way can produce a body of exceptional strength and superior tone. The most common woods used for electric guitar body construction include maple, basswood, ash, poplar, alder, and mahogany. Many bodies will consist of good sounding but inexpensive woods, like ash, with a "top", or thin layer of another, more attractive wood (such as maple with a natural "flame" pattern) glued to the top of the basic wood. Guitars constructed like this are often called "flame tops". The body is usually carved or routed to accept the other elements, such as the bridge, pickup, neck, and other electronic components. Many higher-end electrics have a nitro-cellulose laquer finish on the top, which promotes resonance.

Resonating chamber

Usually on acoustic guitars, the resonating chamber or sound hole allows the acoustic guitar to be played without amplification. It is normally a round hole in the top of the guitar, though some may have different shapes or multiple holes. This allows the vibrations from the back and sides of the guitar to be pushed forward toward the listener.

Pickups

The electric guitar is usually not very loud when played without an amplifier. Pickups are electronic devices attached to a guitar that detect (or "pick up") string vibrations and allow the sound of the string to be amplified. Pickups are usually placed right underneath the guitar strings. The most common type of pickups contain magnets that are tightly wrapped in copper wire. This allows the pickups to measure the movement of the steel guitar string within the magnetic field above the pickup. Some acoustic guitars also have microphones or pickups built into them for stage work. Pickups work on a similar principle to a generator in that the vibration of the strings causes a small current to be created in the coils surrounding the magnets. This signal is later amplified by an amplifier. However, a new type of pickup, called a [http://www.q-tuner.com/ Q-Tuner] pickup, has been developed that measures the magnetic flux density of multiple magnets located in the pickup. These pickups produce a better tone and pick up harmonic frequencies better than standard pickups, but they cost more and are more difficult to wire. Traditional electric pickups are either single-coil or double-coil. Double-coil pickups are also known as humbuckers for their noise-cancelling ability. The type and model of pickups used can have large effects on the tone of the guitar. Typically, humbuckers are used by guitarists seeking a heavier sound. Some guitars need a battery to power their pickups and/or pre-amp; these guitars are referred to as having "active electronics", as opposed to the typical "passive" circuits. Guitar Synthesisers may have specialist 'cluster' pickups, effectively giving each string its own pickup.

Electronics

On guitars that have them, these components and the wires that connect them allow the player to control some aspects of the sound like volume or tone. These at their simplest consist of passive components such as potentiometers and capacitors, but may also include specialized integrated circuits or other active components requiring batteries for power, for preamplification and signal processing, or even for assistance in tuning. In many cases the electronics have some sort of magnetic shielding to prevent pickup of external interference and noise.

Purfling and Binding

This is the decorative edge found around the body of an acoustic guitar. Its purpose is not merely decorative, however. Because of the construction methods, the edges of the body are typically the weakest point of the acoustic guitar. There is not much wood there, as the sides have to be thin to allow for bending, and the top and back have to be thin to allow the string vibrations to resonate. Trying to connect two thin pieces of wood at a 90 degree angle is an engineering challenge. So to help, the purfling is used. The corners are overbuilt, using a triangular piece of scored wood (called a kerfed lining) on the interior of the instrument to allow it to follow the contours, and is glued in place. During final construction, a small section of the outside corners is carved or routed out and then filled in with the purfling or binding material. In mass produced guitars, the binding or purfling is almost exclusively high quality plastic. Once the purfling is glued in place, it is an integral part of the guitar, and contributes greatly to the durability of the instrument, since plastic tends not to split as wood does upon impact.

Bridge

The main purpose of the bridge on an acoustic guitar is to transfer the vibration from the strings to the soundboard, which vibrates the air inside of the guitar, thereby amplifying the sound produced by the strings. On both electric and acoustic guitars, the bridge holds the strings in place. From there, the variations are astounding. There may be some mechanism for raising or lowering the bridge to adjust the distance between the strings and the fretboard (action), and/or fine-tuning the intonation of the instrument. Some are springloaded and feature a "whammy bar", a removable arm which allows the player to modulate the pitch moving the bridge up and down. The whammy bar is sometimes incorrectly referred to as a "tremolo bar"; unlike the change in pitch that the whammy bar produces, a tremolo is a quick oscillation of the volume. Some bridges allow for alternate tunings at the touch of a button.

Pickguard

Also known as a scratchplate. This is usually a piece of plastic or other laminated material that protects the finish of the top of the guitar. In some electric guitars, the pickups and most of the electronics are mounted on the pickguard. On acoustic guitars and many electric guitars, the pickguard is mounted directly to the guitar top, while on guitars with carved tops (e.g. the Gibson Les Paul), the pickguard is elevated. The Pickguard is more often than not used in styles such as flamenco, which tends to use the guitar as a percussion instrument at times, rather than for instance, a classical guitar. Guitars have frets on the fingerboard to fix the positions of notes and scales, which gives them equal temperament. Consequently, the ratio of the widths of two consecutive frets is the twelfth root of two \sqrt[12], whose numeric value is about 1.059463. The twelfth fret divides the string in two exact halves and the 24th fret (if present) divides the string in half yet again. Every twelve frets represents one octave. Guitars usually have six strings, although there are variations on this, the most common being a twelve-string guitar; the seven string guitar; the ukulele, which has four strings; and the bass guitar, which usually has four strings but also exists in five, six, eight, and twelve-string versions. There are also more exotic models involving multiple necks and pickups. The vihuela, a guitar variation which emerged in 16th century Spain, has six double strings made of gut. 16th century The weight of a string is determined by its diameter and is normally measured in thousandths of an inch. The larger the diameter the heavier the string is (with thinner strings being lighter). Heavier strings require more tension for the same pitch and are consequently harder to hold on to the fretboard. Heavier strings will also produce a louder note and for this reason steel-strung acoustic guitars will normally be strung heavier than electric guitars. On electric guitars, heavier strings may also produce a thicker tone, leading to their use by rhythm guitarists in rock music.

Tuning

A variety of different tunings are used. The most common by far, known as "standard tuning" (EADGBE), is as follows:
- sixth (lowest tone) string: E (a minor thirteenth below middle C—82.4Hz)
- fifth string: a (a minor tenth below middle C—110Hz)
- fourth string: d (a minor seventh below middle C—146.8Hz)
- third string: g (a perfect fourth below middle C—196.0Hz)
- second string: b' (a minor second below middle C—246.92Hz)
- first (highest tone) string: e' (a major third above middle C—329.6Hz) Standard tuning has evolved to provide a good compromise between simple fingering for many chords and the ability to play common scales with minimal left hand movement. The separation of adjacent strings by a 5-semitone interval (a perfect fourth) allows the notes of the chromatic scale to be played with each of the four fingers of the left hand controlling one of the first four frets (index finger on fret 1, little finger on fret 4, etc.). It also yields a symmetry and intelligibility to fingering patterns. The major third interval (two whole tones = four semitones = four frets) between the g and b' strings tunes the b' and e' strings a semitone flatter than if the pattern of perfect fourths were followed for all six strings. Though this breaks the fingering pattern of the chromatic scale (though only by making the little finger redundant on the g string) and thus the symmetry, it eases the playing of some often-used chords and scales and it provides more diversity in fingering possibilities. It also means that each open string is on a whole note, allowing it to be the root of a major scale, and that when the guitar is strummed with all strings open (as sometimes happens momentarily during difficult chord changes in frenetic passages of modern songs) it plays a tolerable chord. Some common alternate tunings:
- Symmetry (guitar): E-a-d-g-b'-e', has the same intervals as for a renaissance lute, matches the standard for tablature.
- Open G: D-G-d-g-b'-d', commonly used for blues or slide guitar
- Open D: D-a-d-f#-a'-d', commonly used in blues and folk.
- Open E: E-b-e-g#-b'-e', one step up from open D.
- Open C: C-G-c-g-c'-e', commonly used in country blues and by modern acoustic fingerstylists.
- Drop D: D-a-d-g-b'-e', frequently used in folk music and by metal and alternative-rock bands.
- All Fourths: E-a-d-g-c'-f', like that of the lowest four strings in standard tuning. Removes from the standard tuning the irregularity of the interval of a third between the second and third strings. With regular tunings like this, chords can simply be moved down or across the fretboard, dramatically reducing the number of different finger positions that need to be memorized. The disadvantage is that not all major and minor chords can be played with all six strings at once.
- All Fifths: C-G-d-a'-e'-b", tuning in intervals of fifths like that of a mandolin or a violin. Has a remarkably wide range, though it is difficult to achieve (the high b" makes the first string very taut such that it will break easily), and may not play well on an acoustic guitar (the low C is too low to resonate properly in a standard guitar's body).
- New Standard Tuning: C-G-d-a'-e'-g', the new standard tuning devised by Robert Fripp of King Crimson, used by most Guitar Craft students around the world. The tuning is like all fifths except the first string is dropped from b" to g'.
- DADGAD: D-a-d-g-a'-d' frequently used in Celtic music, and by artists such as Pierre Bensusan.
- Major Third Guitar Tuning: E-G#-c-e-g#'-c', devised in 1960's by jazz guitarist Ralph Patt.
- Drop Tuning/E-flat Tuning: Eb-ab-db-gb-bb'-eb', common in rock music. All the strings are flattened by a half step. Sometimes they are Drop D on top of that, with the sixth string lowered a further half step to D, allowing for fifth chords to be played easier.
- Nashvile Tuning: this is achieved on a high-strung guitar - a guitar strung with only the high strings of a 12-string guitar set. This is known as "Nashville tuning" when the strings are in standard tuning. Each of the six strings can be alternately tuned as low as a whole step lower and as much as a whole step higher without stressing the neck or the strings. With five possible tunings for each string (+2, +1, 0, -1, and -2), there can be as many as 16,575 possible tunings for a six-string guitar, according to Stephen Potts of "GUITAR DNA". Note that a standard guitar sounds one octave below pitch as written in standard notation. That is, the first string in standard tuning plays the E note that is a major third above middle C, and is written on the staff as a major tenth above middle C. There are also tenor guitars, baritone guitars tuned ADGCEA (or GDGCDG, GDGCEA, GCGCEG, etc.) a fifth lower than a standard (prime) guitar, treble guitars tuned a fourth higher than a prime guitar, and contrabass guitars, which are tuned one octave lower than prime guitars.

Acoustic and electric guitar

Broadly speaking, guitars can be divided into 2 categories: # Acoustic guitars: Unlike the electric guitar, the traditional guitar is not dependent on any external device for amplification. The shape and resonance of the guitar itself creates acoustic amplification. However, the unamplified guitar is not a loud instrument, that is, it cannot compete with other instruments commonly found in bands and orchestras, in terms of sheer audible volume. Many acoustic guitars are available today with built-in electronics to enable amplification. There are several subcategories within the acoustic guitar group: classical and flamenco guitars, both of which use nylon and composite strings, and steel string guitars, which includes the flat top, or "folk" guitar, the closely related twelve string guitar, and the arch top guitar. A recent arrival in the acoustic guitar group is the acoustic bass guitar, similar in tuning to the electric bass. ## Renaissance and Baroque guitars: These are the gracile ancestors of the modern classical guitar. They are substantially smaller and more delicate than the classical guitar, and generate a much quieter sound. The strings are paired in courses as in a modern 12 string guitar, but they only have four or five courses of strings rather than six. They were more often used as rhythm instruments in ensembles than as solo instruments, and can often be seen in that role in early music performances. (Gaspar Sanz' Instrucción de Música sobre la Guitarra Española of 1674 constitutes the majority of the surviving solo corpus for the era.) Renaissance and Baroque guitars are easily distinguished because the Renaissance guitar is very plain and the Baroque guitar is very ornate, with inlays all over the neck and body, and a paper-cutout inverted "wedding cake" inside the hole. ## Classical guitars: These are typically strung with nylon strings, played in a seated position and used to play classical music. Flamenco guitars are almost equal in construction, have a sharper sound, and are used in flamenco. In Mexico, the popular mariachi band includes a range of guitars, from the tiny requinto to the guitarron, a guitar larger than a cello, which is tuned in the bass register. The father of the modern classical guitar was Antonio Torres Jurado. ## Flat top guitars: Similar to the classical guitar, however the body size is usually significantly larger than a classical guitar and it has a narrower, reinforced neck and stronger structural design, to sustain the extra tension of steel strings which produce a louder and brighter tone. The acoustic guitar is a staple in folk, Old-time music and blues music. ## Resonator, resophonic or Dobro® guitars: Similar to the flat top guitar in appearance, but with sound produced by a metal resonator mounted in the middle of the top rather than an open sound hole, so that the physical principle of the guitar is actually more similar to the banjo. The purpose of the resonator is to amplify the sound of the guitar; this purpose has been largely superseded by electrical amplification, but the resonator is still played by those desiring its distinctive sound. The type of resonator guitar with a neck with a square cross-section -- called "square neck" -- is usually played face up, on the lap of the seated player, and often with a metal or glass slide. The round neck resonator guitars are normally played in the same fashion as other guitars, although slides are also often used, especially in blues. ## 12 string guitars usually have steel strings and are widely used in folk music, blues and rock and roll. Rather than having only six strings, the 12-string guitar has pairs, like a mandolin. Each pair of strings is tuned either in unison (the two highest) or an octave apart (the others). They are made both in acoustic and electric forms. Big Joe Williams is a a blues musician famous for his 12 string guitar. ##Archtop guitars are steel string, instruments which feature a violin-inspired f-hole design in which the top (and often the back) of the instrument are carved in a curved rather than a flat shape. Lloyd Loar of the Gibson Guitar Corporation invented this variation of guitar after designing a style of mandolin of the same type. The typical Archtop is a hollow body guitar whose form is much like that of a mandolin or violin family instrument and may be acoustic or electric. Some solid body electric guitars are also considered archtop guitars although usually 'Archtop guitar' refers to the hollow body form. Archtop guitars were immediately adopted upon their release by both jazz and country musicians and have remained particularly popular in jazz music, usually using thicker strings (higher guaged round wound and flat wound) than acoustic guitars. Archtops are often louder than a typical dreadnought acoustic guitar. The electric hollow body archtop guitar has a distinct sound among electric guitars and is consequently appropriate for many styles of rock and roll. Many electric archtop guitars intended for use in