Set List Special - Bruno Mars

Peter Gene Hernandez

October 8, 1985

"Pop icon"

From collaborating with Mark Ronson to Rose to others I am certain, here are highlights about Bruno Mars.

Genres considered - Pop, R&B, Funk, Soul, Reggae, Disco, Rock

Doo-Wops & Hooligans (debut, 2010)

No. 1 singles - "Just the Way You Are," "Grenade," "The Lazy Song"

Certified Gold Japan (digital), Mexico, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain, & Sweden

Certified 5x Gold in Germany 

Certified Platinum in Austria, Belgium, Brazil, & Japan

Certified 2x Platinum in France, Italy, & Switzerland

Certified 3x Platinum in Canada

Certified 4x Platinum in Australia, Ireland, & Singapore

Certified 6x Platinum in Denmark

Certified 7x Platinum in the UK & U.S.

Certified 11z Platinum in New Zealand

Certified 2x Diamond in the Philippines

(Wikipedia)

Unorthodox Jukebox (2nd album, 2012)

No. 1 singles - "Locked Out of Heaven" & "When I Was Your Man"

Certified Gold in Austria & Belgium

Certified Platinum in Brazil, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Portugal, Spain, & Sweden

Certified 2x Platinum in Ireland, Philippines, & Singapore

Certified 3x Platinum in Australia, Canada, Denmark, New Zealand, & the UK

Certified 6x Platinum in the U.S.

Certified Diamond in France

Certified 2x Platinum+Gold in Mexico 

(Wikipedia)

24K Magic (3rd album, 2016)

7 Grammy Awards -

Album of the Year, Record of the Year, Song of the Year

No. 1 single - "That's What I Like" ... "24K Magic"

Certified Gold in Hungary, Japan, & Portugal

Certified Platinum in Australia, Italy, Mexico, the Netherlands, & Spain

Certified 2x Platinum in Denmark, Singapore, & the UK

Certified 3x Platinum in Canada, France, New Zealand, & the U.S.

(Wikipedia)

An Evening with Silk Sonic (Collaborative album, 2021)

Recorded with Anderson Paak, as Silk Sonic duo

"Leave the Door Open" 

- No. 1 on Billboard Hot 100 & 4 Grammy Awards

- Record of the Year & Song of the Year

Certified Gold in Canada, Denmark, France, the Netherlands, New Zealand, & the UK

Certified Platinum in Brazil & the U.S. 

(Wikipedia)

"Die with a Smile" - 2024 duet with Lady Gaga

No. 1 on Billboard Global 200

One of the best-selling music artists of all time - over 130 million records sold worldwide

8 songs reached No. 1 on Billboard Hot 100

15 Grammy Awards

4 Brit Awards

11 American Music Awards

13 Soul Train Awards

3 Guinness World Records

Featured on Music Week's Best Songwriters (2011)

Featured on Billboard's Greatest of All Time Artists (No. 41, 2019)

Featured on Time 100

Featured on Forbes Celebrity 100

No. 1 on Forbes "30 Under 30" (2014)

Billboard Artist of the Year (2013)

Innovator Award - iHeartRadio Music Awards (2017)

Visionary Award - Teen Choice Awards (2017)

6 Diamond-certified songs (first artist to achieve)

(As of 2023, Post Malone holds the record with 9 Diamond certifications.)

"Uptown Funk" 

No. 1 on Billboard Hot 100 & UK Singles Chart

Major impact on pop culture

One of the most recognizable pop songs of the century

Partnerships -

Lacoste sportswear

Fender "Bruno Mars Stratocaster"

(Wikipedia)

What else...

ROSÉ & Bruno Mars - APT. (Official Lyric Video)

This Day in Musical History

 November 25th

Billboard Hot 100 - 2023

"Cruel Summer" by Taylor Swift...No. 1

No. 2 - "Lovin On Me" by Jack Harlow

No. 3 - "Paint The Town Red" by Doja Cat

No. 4 - "Snooze" by SZA

No. 5 - "Is It Over Now?" by Taylor Swift

No. 6 - "I Remember Everything" by Zach Bryan (featuring Kacey Musgraves)

No. 7 - "Fast Car" by Luke Combs

No. 8 - "Greedy" by Tate McRae

No. 9 - "Last Night" by Morgan Wallen

No. 10 - "Thinkin' Bout Me" by Morgan Wallen

(Billboard Hot 100)

-------------------------------------------------------------------

"Apt." 

by New Zealand & South Korean singer, Rose and Bruno Mars

Released in October 2024 - Critical acclaim in reviews

Lead single from Rose's debut album, Rosie

Genres considered - Pop, Pop-Punk, Pop Rock, Indie Rock, Electropop

No. 1 on Billboard Global 200

No. 1 on Circle Digital Chart (Top 200 in South Korea)

No. 1 in New Zealand, Australia, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, and Taiwan

Top 10 on Billboard Hot 100 & UK Singles Chart

Certified Gold in Canada and New Zealand

Certified Platinum in Australia

(Wikipedia)

The Sunday Before

Happy Thanksgiving

Mark Ronson - Uptown Funk (Live on SNL) ft. Bruno Mars

"Uptown Funk" live on SNL

Put "happy" in happy holidays!

Music History - November 1963

 1963

Highlights

November 30, 1963 -

The Beatles album, Please Please Me, spent 30 weeks at No. 1 on UK Albums Chart.  On November 22, The Beatles released With the Beatles, becoming No. 1 on the UK Albums Chart.

November Albums Released -

November 11, 1963 

The Miracles Doin' Mickey's Monkey - The Miracles

November 15, 1963

Fun in Acapulco - Elvis Presley 

November 18, 1963

Romantically - Johnny Mathis

November 22, 1963

A Christmas Gift for You from Phil Spector - Phil Spector

With the Beatles - The Beatles

- November Births -

11/1/1963 - Rick Allen (British drummer for Def Leppard)

11/2/1963 - Bobby Dall (American rock bassist for Poison)

11/12/1963 - Sam Lloyd (American actor and singer for The Blanks)

- November Passing -

11/1/1963 - Elsa Maxwell (Songwriter)

11/15/1963 - Fritz Reiner (Hungarian Conductor)

11/19/1963 - Carman Amaya (Flamenco dancer & Singer)

11/26/1963 - Amelita Galli-Curci (Operatic soprano)

11/29/1963 - Ernesto Lecuona (Cuban composer, pianist, bandleader)

(Wikipedia)

5th Annual Grammy Awards - May 15, 1`963

Record of the Year - "I Left My Heart in San Francisco" (Tony Bennett...Second win - Best Solo Vocal Performance, Male)

Album of the Year - The First Family (Vaughn Meader)

Song of the Year - "What Kind of Fool Am I?" (Songwriters - Leslie Bricusse & Anthony Newley ... Performed by Sammy Davis Jr.)

Best New Artist - Robert Goulet

(Wikipedia)

21st Century Pop Culture - Justin Timberlake

 

Justin Randall Timberlake

January 31, 1981

"Prince of Pop"

One of the best-selling recording artists with over 117 million records sold worldwide

Honors -

Solo career - over 32 million albums sold/over 56 million singles sold 

10 Grammy Awards

4 Primetime Emmy Awards

3 Brit Awards

9 Billboard Music Awards

7 American Music Awards

11 MTV Video Music Awards

Contemporary Icon Award by the Songwriters Hall of Fame

MTV's Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award (2013)

Innovator Award at 2015 iHeartRadio Music Awards

Inducted into the Memphis Music Hall of Fame (2015 - Youngest recipient)

Timberlake and the original members of NSYNC received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (2018)

Honorary Doctor of Music from Berklee College of Music (2019)

All of Timberlake's albums certified Platinum or higher by RIAA.

As of 2014, seven songs with over 3 million in digital downloads.

In the U.S. alone, 5 songs at No. 1 on Billboard Hot 100.

NSYNC formed in 1997 

4 commercially successful albums 

One of the best-selling boy bands of all time with over 70 million in sales worldwide

Justified (debut, 2002)

Solo hits - "Cry Me a River" & "Rock Your Body"

Future Sex/Love Sounds (second album, 2006)

No. 1 on Billboard 200

3 consecutive Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 singles - "SexyBack," "My Love," "What Goes Around...Comes Around"

Debut & second albums sold in excess of 10 million/3x Platinum in the U.S.

No. 1 on nine Billboard Year-End charts (2013)

Billboard Top Male Artist (2014)

No. 5 on Billboard's Greatest of All Time Pop Songs Artists/No. 1 soloist (2017)

No. 25 on Billboard's Top 60 Male Artists of All Time (2018)

Filmography - (Recording break to act in film)

The Love Guru (2008)

The Social Network (2010)

Bad Teacher (2011)

Friends with Benefits (2011)

In Time (2011)

The 20/20 Experience (third album, 2013...Best selling in 2013)

The 20/20 Experience - 2 of 2 (fourth album 2013)

Both peaked at No. 1 on Billboard 200

Billboard Hot 100 Top 10 singles - "Suit & Tie," "Mirrors," Not a Bad Thing"

Voiced "Branch" in the Trolls film franchise

"Can't Stop the Feeling!" - On soundtrack from first film, Timberlake's fifth No. 1 ... Academy Award nomination

Man of the Woods (fifth album, 2018)

No. 1 album

Everything I Thought I Was (sixth album, 2024)

Sixth consecutive Top 5 album

Justin Timberlake's early years, career to date, further honors, and more can be found on Wikipedia.  The source will say the rest of it.  Follow the link above.

Burn It to the Ground

 2024 Presidential Special

Donald J. Trump - 47th

United States Division

Will the country burn itself to the ground?

Special Edition - His & Hers Fashion

 His & Hers Fashion

Her - Beauty in Stone

Blue Sodalite Stretch Bracelet

Sodalite is a gemstone that brings confidence.

White howlite is a gemstone that brings calm.

(The coin bracelet is a custom piece.)

Announcement

Dear readers and passersby,

I will not be available on Monday, November 18th for personal reasons.

With regards to The Wizard of Oz Sunday series - The film airs every November leading up to Thanksgiving.

The Wizard of Oz Honors

The Wizard of Oz is a well known musical fantasy adaptation of the children's fantasy novel written by L. Frank Baum under the working title The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.  

Main Cast -

Judy Garland, Frank Morgan, Ray Bolger, Berg Lahr, Jack Haley, Billie Burke, Margaret Hamilton

The screenplay was written by Noel Langley, Florence Ryerson, & Edgar Allan Woolf.

The musical composition was by Harold Arlen.  The lyrics were written by Edgar "Yip" Harburg.

Awards & Nominations - 

5 Academy Award Nominations ... Best Original Song Win ("Over the Rainbow") ... Best Original Score Win .., Academy Juvenile Award presented to Judy Garland

Box office success ... Fail to profit - $2.7 million budget/$3 million earned ... MGM's most expensive production at the time

1956 television broadcast premiere of the film on CBS ... Most seen film in movie history

Preserved in the United States National Film Registry (1989)

No. 2 on Variety's inaugural 100 Greatest Films of All Time (2022)

"Over the Rainbow" listed on the Recording Industry Association of America's 365 Songs of the Century

From production to release and every aspect in between to create a landmark film receiving global acclaim, The Wizard of Oz has a history that would exhaust this post.  And so read more on Wikipedia where there is so much to learn and explore.

Happy Holidays

Enjoy the holiday season

Happy Holidays

by Lauren Hovis

Sold on Amazon

Music History - November 1956

 1956

Highlights

November 5, 1956 -

Nat King Cole was the first black performer to host a variety show on national television - The Nat King Cole Show.

November 28, 1956 -

After John Lennon's death, Yoko Ono married twice - First to Japanese composer, Toshi Ichiyanagi, and second to American film producer, Anthony Cox.  Neither marriages lasted.  Lennon and Ono were married from 1969 until his passing in 1980.

- Hit singles in 1956 -

"Que Sera, Sera (Whatever Will Be, Will Be)" - Doris Day

"Blueberry Hill" - Fats Domino

"Hound Dog" - Elvis Presley

"Heartbreak Hotel" - Elvis Presley

"Don't Be Cruel" - Elvis Presley

- November 3, 1956 -

"Love Me Tender" - Elvis Presley

- Loss in November 1956 -

November 1 - Tommy Johnson, Blues musician

November 5 - Art Tatum, Jazz pianist

November 10 - Victor Young, Violinist/Conductor/Composer

November 24 - Guido Cantelli, Conductor

November 26 - Tommy Dorsey, Bandleader

November 30 - 

Ludvik Kuba, Artist & Musician 

Jean Schwartz, Songwriter

(Wikipedia)

21st Century Pop Culture - Christina Aguilera

 

Christina Maria Aguilera

December 18, 1980

Influential figure in music 

Well-known for 4-octave vocal range

"voice of a generation"

"Disney legend"

Genres considered - Pop, R&B, Soul, Hip Hop

Christina Aguilera - Debut album (1999)

No. 1 singles on Billboard Hot 100 -

"Genie in a Bottle," "What a Girl Wants," "Come On Over Baby (All I Want Is You"

Stripped (2002) 

One of the best-selling albums of the 21st Century

Worldwide hits - "Lady Marmalade," "Dirty," "Beautiful"

Starred in the 2010 film, Burlesque, & contributed to the soundtrack

Golden Globe nomination 

One of the best-selling music artists of all time

Over 100 million records sold worldwide 

One of the greatest vocalists of all time - Billboard

One of the most influential Latin artists in the entertainment industry

"Latin explosion" in the early 2000s

- Awards -

- 5 Grammy Awards

(Including Best New Artist at age 19 - one of the youngest to receive)

- 2 Latin Grammy Awards

- 6 ALMA Awards (American Latino Media Arts)

- 2 MTV Video Music Awards

- 1 Billboard Music Award

- 3 Billboard Latin Music Awards

- (Including a Spirit of Hope Award)

- 2 People's Choice Awards

(Including the Inaugural Music Icon Award)

- 3 World Music Awards

- Guinness World Record

- Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame

- Discography -

Christina Aguilera (1999)

Mi Reflejo (2000)

My Kind of Christmas (2000)

Stripped (2002)

Back to Basics (2006)

Bionic (2010)

Lotus (2012)

Liberation (2018)

Aguilera (2022)

- Filmography -

Burlesque (2010)

The Emoji Movie (2017)

Zoe (2018)

(Wikipedia)

One

2024 Presidential Special

Donald J. Trump - 47th

Pledge - "one nation"

Are we really?

Special Edition - His & Hers Fashion

 His & Hers Fashion

His - Kole Royale

Watches

Avalon - Midnight Blue

For Him

- Specs -

Silver case

Quartz movement

Stainless steel

Tri Chronograph feature

Date/Time feature

Water Resistant feature

Taps

Veterans Day 2024

Special Set List Edition

Somewhere Over the Rainbow - The Wizard of Oz (1/8) Movie CLIP (1939) HD

November Tradition

The Wizard of Oz

On TBS

----------

Honors

Entered into the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" (March 2017)

Recording Industry Association of America & National Endowment for the Arts listed "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" No. 1 on Songs of the Century 

American Film Institute - Best movie song on AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs

Towering Song Award by the Songwriters Hall of Fame

(Wikipedia)

Set List Special Edition - In Memory

Janet Thompson-Hovis

April 8, 1925 - November 9, 2021

Social, Intelligent, Explorer, European Guest

- Pop Culture in 1925 -

Jazz Age

- Louis Armstrong & Duke Ellington made first recordings

- "innovative, fun, and carefree"

- "people could dance to it"

Flapper Fashion

- "looser and lighter"

- Skirts to knee length & waistlines down to hips

Movies

- Tales of youth and sexual freedom

- The Phantom of the Opera opened in movie theaters

- Ben-Hur grossed $10,738,000 worldwide

Radio 

- A popular new device

- In 40% of homes by 1930

Other

- The Charleston

- The Great Gatsby

- "Dinah" & "Sweet Georgia Brown" hit songs

Janet was a socialite wherever she traveled.  The better majority of her life, at least in my lifetime, was spent in Southern California and Kauai, Hawaii.  She did travel mainly abroad.  She was close to the iconic fashion designer, Hubert de Givenchy and was a welcomed guest in his French mansion.  They held a lasting bond built with friendship love.  They were meant to be in each other's lives.

Janet was meant to be in mine.  Janet was my Grammy.  She married into Hovis.  I was born into Hovis.  The Hovis family fractured frequently but at the end of the day there had to be some positive light that kept us together.

She passed away in her bed, in her home, surrounded by loved ones.  For so long I was angry because my grandma passed away alone in a lonely nursing home.  Yet, the privilege Grammy knew through the whole of her life was comforting when her heart beat one last time and she took in one last breath.

Of our many opinionated differences, I still love you Grammy.  You loved.  You cared.  We talked.  We laughed.  

I will always be your love duck.

Music History - November 1929

 1929

Highlights

American Record Corporation founded in 1929 through merger of multi-record companies ... Later acquisition - Columbia Phonographic Company

Joseph Meyer (1894 - 1987) ... Lady Fingers (1929) ... ("California Here I Come" was Meyer's most well known song,  In historic Hollywood, the song was performed by "Lucy and Ricky Ricardo" & "Ethel and Fred Mertz" during their drive from New York to Los Angeles in support of "Ricky's" Hollywood opportunity.)

- History in 20th Century Film -

The Broadway Melody (1929) ... First sound film to win an Academy Award for Best Picture ... One of the early musicals to have Technicolor ... Sparked trend in color that led to screens in 1929-1930 ... Dialogue written by Norman Houston & James Gleason/Directed by Harry Beaumont/Main Cast - Charles King, Anita Page, Bessie Love ... Academy Nominations - Best Director, Best Actress (Bessie Love)

(Wikipedia)

- Highest-Grossing Films in 1929 - 

The Broadway Melody - $2,808,000

The Cock-Eyed World - $2,700,000

Gold Diggers of Broadway - $2,540,000

Sunny Side Up - $2,190,000

Rio Rita - $1,775,000

On with the Show! - $1,741,000

Say It with Songs - $1,715,000

Show Boat - $1,643,000

(I attended a stage performance in Chicago in 1998.)

The Desert Song - $1,549,000

The Hollywood Revue of 1929 - $1,527,000

(Wikipedia)

21st Century Pop Culture - Taylor Swift

Taylor Alison Swift

December 13, 1989

Leading figure in popular music

Taylor Swift began her career as a country singer.  Her albums in this genre include Taylor Swift (2006) and Fearless (2008).

Taylor considered rock with the album Speak Now (2010) and electronic with the album Red (2012).  In 2014, Taylor released the synth pop album 1989.  In 2017, Taylor released the hip-hop album Reputation.

Early Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 singles include "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together," "Shake It Off," "Blank Space," "Bad Blood," & "Look What You Made Me Do."

Taylor's most recent albums include the electropop Lover (2019), the indie folk Folklore (2020) and Evermore (2020), pop Midnights (2022) & The Tortured Poets Department (2024).

Recent No. 1 singles include "Cardigan," "Willow," "All Too Well," "Anti-Hero," "Cruel Summer," "Is It Over Now?", & "Fortnight."

Honors -

- One of the world's best-selling music artists - Record 7 albums selling over one million copies first week

- Highest grossing female touring act ($1.96 billion in ticket sales as of November 2023)

- First billionaire with music as primary income

- World's richest female musician

- Noted in Rolling Stone, Billboard, & Forbes

Forbes' 30 Under 30 in Music (2014)

No. 64 on Forbes' 100 Most Powerful Women (2015)

No. 5 on Forbes' Most Powerful Women in the world (2023)

- Person of the Year, Time (2023)

- Time's 100 Most Influential People in 2010, 2015, & 2019

- Discography is a "critically hailed songbook" (Sam Lansky, Time)

- No. 8 on Billboard's Greatest of All Time Chart

- Woman with the most Billboard 200 No. 1's (14)

- Top Ten Songs (59)

- Top 5 Songs (36)

- First woman to have an album (Fearless) and single ("Shake It Off") to certify Diamond

Awards -

14 Grammy Awards

(4 for Album of the Year - Record)

Primetime Emmy Award

40 American Music Awards (Record)  

39 Billboard Music Awards (Record)

30 MTV Video Music Awards

(5 for Video of the Year - Record)

12 Country Music Association Awards

8 Academy of Country Music Awards 

2 Brit Awards

Achievements -

Grammy Award for Album of the Year - 4 wins

MTV Video Music Award for Video of the Year - 4 wins

IFPI Global Recording Artist of the Year - 4 wins

Recognition -

Nashville Songwriters Association

Songwriters Hall of Fame

National Music Publishers' Association 

Youngest person on Rolling Stone's 100 Greatest Songwriters of All Time (2015...26 years old at the time)

Honorary Doctor in Fine Arts from New York University & Served as commencement speaker on May 18, 2022

Notes -

As of 2019, 50 million album sales & 150 million single sales as well as 114 million in sales globally.  As of 2019 in the U.S. alone, over 37.3 million in sales.

"...profound impact on the music industry, pop culture, and the economy..."

...And her story continues...

(Wikipedia)

Lonely in Your Nightmare (2001 Remaster)

2024 Presidential Special

Donald J. Trump - 47th

I am a Democrat.

Nightmare

Set List Special - Remembering Quincy Jones

Quincy Delight Jones, Jr.

March 14, 1933 - November 3, 2024

Record producer, songwriter, composer, arranger, film & television producer

Known for -

- Arranger & conductor for collaborations with Frank Sinatra & Count Basie

- Produced 3 successful albums by Michael Jackson: Off the Wall (1979), Thriller (1982), Bad (1987)

- Conducted "We Are the World" to raise funds for victims of famine in Ethiopia (1985)

- Composed such film scores as The Pawnbroker (1965), 

In the Heat of the Night (1967), In Cold Blood (1967), The Color Purple (1985), and more

Honors -

- Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Music Composition for a Series (Roots, 1977)

- Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical (The Color Purple, 2016)

- Grammy Legend Award (1992)

- Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award (1995)

(First African-American to receive this award)

- Kennedy Center Honors (2001)

- National Medal of the Arts (2011, Presented by Barack Obama)

- Academy Honorary Award (2024)

 Named one of the most influential jazz musicians of the 20th Century (Time)

Legacy

Academy Award Nominations -

- First African-American to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song ("The Eyes of Love," 1968)

- Academy Award for Best Original Score Nomination (In Cold Blood, 1968)

- First African-American to be nominated twice in the same year

- First African-American to be the musical director and conductor of the Academy Awards (1971)

- Second most Oscar-nominated African-American w/ 7 nominations

Berklee College of Music -

Honorary Doctorate of Music (1983)

American Academy of Achievement -

Golden Plate Award (1984, Presented by Ray Charles)

Government of France -

Commander of  the Legion of Honour (2001)

BET Awards -

Humanitarian Award (2008)

Los Angeles Press Club -

Visionary Award (2014)

Royal Academy of Music, London -

Honorary Doctorate (2015)

Black Music & Entertainment Walk of Fame -

Foundational Inductee (2021)

Composer credit - 34 Films 

1965 - 2024

Composer credit - 6 Television Programs

Musical Director credit - 2 Television Programs

Executive Producer credit - 9 Television Programs

Composer for 5 Music Videos

Producer for 4 Music Videos

Composer/Producer for 2 Music Videos

Conductor/Producer for 1 Music Videos

Music Supervisor for 2 Music Videos

9 Cameo Appearance in Acting

(Wikipedia)

Discography -

16 Studio Albums

24 Soundtrack Albums

3 Live Albums

4 Compilation Albums

6 singles & 6 albums in the Top 40

No. 1 records in three consecutive decades

(1960s, 1970s, 1980s)

7 Gold Certifications (only in the U.S.)

4 Platinum Certifications (only in the U.S.)

1 Gold Certification (Britain)

1 Silver Certification (Britain)

(Wikipedia)