139-504: Roberta Cleopatra Flack (born February 10, 1937) is a retired American singer who topped the Billboard charts with the No. 1 singles " The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face ", " Killing Me Softly with His Song ", and " Feel Like Makin' Love ". Flack influenced the subgenre of contemporary R&B called quiet storm , and interpreted songs by songwriters such as Leonard Cohen and members of
278-464: A "tent show" section covering traveling shows and a subsection called "Freaks to order". Donaldson also published news articles opposing censorship, supporting productions exhibiting good taste and decrying yellow journalism ." As railroads became more developed, Billboard enabled a mail-forwarding system for traveling entertainers. The location of an entertainer was tracked in the paper's Routes Ahead column, and then Billboard would receive mail on
417-463: A German girlfriend, which precipitated his divorce from Miriam, a minor stockholder and Atlantic's business and publishing manager. By 1958, relations between Abramson and his partners had broken down; in December 1958 a $ 300,000 buy-out was arranged; his stock was split between Nesuhi Ertegun and Abramson's ex-wife Miriam, who had in the meantime remarried to music publisher Freddy Bienstock (later
556-653: A New Orleans distributor phoned Ertegun to obtain Stick McGhee 's "Drinking Wine, Spo-Dee-O-Dee", which was unavailable due to the closing of McGhee's previous label, Harlem Records. Ertegun knew Stick's younger brother Brownie McGhee , with whom Stick happened to be staying, so he contacted the McGhee brothers and re-recorded the song. When released in February 1949, it became Atlantic's first hit, selling 400,000 copies, and reached No. 2 after spending almost six months on
695-426: A No. 4 R&B hit with " Tweedlee Dee ", but a rival version by Georgia Gibbs went to No. 2 on the pop chart. Big Joe Turner's April 1954 song " Shake, Rattle and Roll " was a No. 1 R&B hit, but it only reached No. 22 on the pop chart. Bill Haley & His Comets 's version reached No. 7, selling over one million copies and becoming the bestselling song of the year for Decca. In July 1954, Wexler and Ertegun wrote
834-540: A background in the music industry. Gervino was appointed editor-in-chief in April 2014. An NPR item covered a leaked version of Billboard ' s annual survey, which it said had more gossip and focused on less professional topics than had prior surveys. For example, the magazine polled readers on a lawsuit that singer Kesha filed against her producer, alleging sexual abuse. Gervino was fired in May 2016. A note from Min to
973-604: A cappella performance of the traditional spiritual " Oh Freedom " retitled "Freedom Song" on the original Soul to Soul LP soundtrack is only available in the VHS version of the film. Flack's cover version of " Will You Love Me Tomorrow " hit number 76 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1972. Her Atlantic recordings did not sell particularly well, until actor/director Clint Eastwood chose a song from First Take , " The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face " written by Ewan MacColl , for
1112-512: A close working relationship with Ertegun, who was instrumental in her signing with the label. By 1969, the Atlantic 8000 series (1968–72) consisted of R&B, rock, soul/rock and psychedelic acts. Other releases that year include albums by Aretha Franklin ( Soul '69 ), Led Zeppelin ( Led Zeppelin ), Don Covay ( House of Blue Lights ), Boz Scaggs ( Boz Scaggs ), Roberta Flack ( First Take ), Wilson Pickett ( Hey Jude ), Mott
1251-432: A consistent big seller through the mid-1960s and scored hits on Atlantic into 1968. In 1962 folk music was booming and the label came very close to signing Peter, Paul & Mary ; although Wexler and Ertegun pursued them vigorously the deal fell through at the last minute and they later discovered music publisher Artie Mogull had introduced their manager Albert Grossman to Warner Bros. executive Herman Starr, who had made
1390-621: A dedicated section called Amusement Machines in March 1932. Billboard began covering the motion-picture industry in 1907 but, facing strong competition from Variety , centered its focus on music. It created a radio-broadcasting station in the 1920s. The jukebox industry continued to grow through the Great Depression and was advertised heavily in Billboard , which led to even more editorial focus on music. The proliferation of
1529-503: A different story, so the story played would be determined by the groove in which the stylus happened to land. In late 1947, James Petrillo , head of the American Federation of Musicians , announced an indefinite ban on all recording activities by union musicians, and this came into effect on January 1, 1948. The union action forced Atlantic to use almost all its capital to cut and stockpile enough recordings to last through
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#17327833353781668-430: A donation of $ 1.5 million from Ertegun. In 1952 Atlantic signed Ray Charles, whose hits included " I Got a Woman ", " What'd I Say ", and " Hallelujah I Love Her So ". Later that year The Clovers' " One Mint Julep " reached No. 2. In 1953, after learning that singer Clyde McPhatter had been fired from Billy Ward and His Dominoes and was forming The Drifters , Ertegun signed the group. Their single " Money Honey " became
1807-457: A freelance basis, but within a few years he had been hired as the label's full-time staff engineer. His recordings for Atlantic and Stax influenced pop music. He had more hits than George Martin and Phil Spector combined. Atlantic was one of the first independent labels to make recordings in stereo: Dowd used a portable stereo recorder which ran simultaneously with the studio's existing mono recorder. In 1953 (according to Billboard ) Atlantic
1946-540: A high-tech firm for tracking music airtime. Private investors from Boston Ventures and BPI executives repurchased a two-thirds interest in Billboard Publications for $ 100 million, and more acquisitions followed. In 1993, it created a division known as Billboard Music Group for music-related publications. In 1994, Billboard Publications was sold to Dutch media conglomerate Verenigde Nederlandse Uitgeverijen (VNU) for $ 220 million. VNU acquired
2085-906: A jazz singer. Jerry Wexler said, "we're gonna put her back in church." She rose to fame quickly and was called the Queen of Soul. Wexler oversaw production himself at Fame Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. The result was seven consecutive singles that made both the US Pop and Soul Top 10: " I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You) " (Soul No. 1, Pop No. 9), " Respect " (Soul and Pop No. 1), " Baby, I Love You " (Soul No. 1, Pop No. 4), " (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman " (Soul No. 2, Pop No. 8), " Chain of Fools " (Soul No. 1, Pop No. 2), " Since You've Been Gone " (Soul No. 1, Pop No. 5), and " Think " (Soul No. 1, Pop No. 7). In late 1961, singer Solomon Burke arrived at Jerry Wexler's office unannounced. Wexler
2224-400: A list of top pop stars, including Taylor Swift at #2. In a video released by Billboard under the guise of celebrating her accomplishments, Billboard included a clip from a Kanye West video in which he is offensive and degrading toward her (and shows a wax version of her in bed with him). On November 27, 2024, #billboardisoverparty trended over various social media platforms and Billboard released
2363-843: A long time." The label's office in the Ritz Hotel in Manhattan proved too expensive, so they moved to a room in the Hotel Jefferson. In the early fifties, Atlantic moved from the Hotel Jefferson to offices at 301 West 54th St and then to 356 West 56th St. Atlantic's first recordings were issued in late January 1948 and included "That Old Black Magic" by Tiny Grimes and "The Spider" by Joe Morris. In its early years, Atlantic concentrated on modern jazz although it released some country and western and spoken word recordings. Abramson also produced "Magic Records", children's records with four grooves on each side, each groove containing
2502-418: A partnership in Atlantic's rival Imperial Records , he and Wexler convinced Nesuhi to join Atlantic instead. Nesuhi became head of artists and repertoire ( A&R ), led the label's jazz division, and built a roster that included Shorty Rogers , Jimmy Giuffre , Herbie Mann , Les McCann , Charles Mingus , and John Coltrane . By 1958 Atlantic was America's second-largest independent jazz label. Nesuhi
2641-463: A perfunctory apology after receiving extreme backlash. Billboard, being familiar with the brilliance of Ms. Swift’s lyrics, is hopefully listening to Karma. The first issue of Billboard was published in Cincinnati , Ohio by William Donaldson and James Hennegan on November 1, 1894. Initially it covered the advertising and bill-posting industry and was known as Billboard Advertising . At
2780-482: A prescient article for Cash Box devoted to what they called "cat music"; the same month, Atlantic had its first major "crossover" hit on the Billboard pop chart when the " Sh-Boom " by The Chords reached No. 5 (although The Crew-Cuts ' version went to No. 1). Atlantic missed an important signing in 1955 when Sun owner Sam Phillips sold Elvis Presley 's recording contract in a bidding war between labels. Atlantic offered $ 25,000 which, Ertegun later noted, "was all
2919-527: A professional singer-songwriter, Flack returned to Washington, D.C. , and taught at Banneker, Browne, and Rabaut Junior High Schools. She also taught private piano lessons out of her home on Euclid Street, NW in the city. During that time, her music career began to take shape on evenings and weekends in Washington metropolitan area night spots. At the Tivoli Club, she accompanied opera singers at
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#17327833353783058-441: A reputation for toughness. Staff engineer Tom Dowd recalled, "Tokyo Rose was the kindest name some people had for her" and Doc Pomus described her as "an extraordinarily vitriolic woman". When interviewed in 2009, she attributed her reputation to the company's chronic cash-flow shortage: "... most of the problems we had with artists were that they wanted advances, and that was very difficult for us ... we were undercapitalized for
3197-475: A second album of Beatles covers. In 2013, she was reported to be involved in an interpretative album of the Beatles' classics. At age 80, Flack made her most recent recording, Running , the closing credits song of the 2018 feature documentary 3100: Run and Become with music and lyrics by Michael A. Levine . In 1971, Village Voice critic Robert Christgau reported that "Flack is generally regarded as
3336-509: A set of self-study cassette tapes and four television franchises. It also acquired Photo Weekly that year. Over time, subjects that Billboard covered outside of the music world formed the basis of separate publications: Funspot magazine was created in 1957 to cover amusement parks and Amusement Business was created in 1961 to cover outdoor entertainment. In January 1961, Billboard was renamed Billboard Music Week to emphasize its newly exclusive interest in music. Two years later, it
3475-490: A staff producer. Ahmet Ertegun liked him, but Leiber said, "He wasn't likable. He was funny, he was amusing—but he wasn't nice." Wexler disliked him. Miriam Bienstock called him "a pain in the neck". When Spector criticized Bobby Darin's songwriting, Darin had him thrown out of the house. Atlantic tolerated Spector but with diminishing returns. He produced " Twist and Shout " for The Top Notes, and it flopped. Songwriter Bert Berns hated Spector's arrangement and thought it ruined
3614-481: A trade publication for the Broadway theatre industry called Backstage . In 1987, Billboard was sold again to Affiliated Publications for $ 100 million. Billboard Publications Inc. became a subsidiary of Affiliated Publications called BPI Communications. As BPI Communications, it acquired The Hollywood Reporter , Adweek , Marketing Week and Mediaweek , and also purchased Broadcast Data Systems ,
3753-862: Is a member of the Artist Empowerment Coalition, which advocates for artists to have the right to control their creative properties. She is also a spokeswoman for the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals ; her appearance in commercials for the ASPCA featured "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face". The Hyde Leadership Charter School in the Bronx, NYC, runs an after-school music program called "The Roberta Flack School of Music" to provide free music education to underprivileged students in partnership with Flack, who founded
3892-555: Is an American music and entertainment magazine published weekly by Penske Media Corporation . The magazine provides music charts, news, video, opinion, reviews, events and styles related to the music industry . Its music charts include the Hot 100 , the 200 , and the Global 200 , tracking the most popular albums and songs in various music genres. It also hosts events, owns a publishing firm and operates several television shows. Billboard
4031-506: Is considered one of the most reputable sources of music industry news. The website includes the Billboard Charts, news separated by music genre, videos and a separate website. It also compiles lists, hosts a fashion website called Pret-a-Reporter and publishes eight different newsletters. The print magazine's regular sections include: Billboard is known for publishing several annual listicles on its website, in recognition of
4170-535: The Billboard R&;B chart – although McGhee himself earned just $ 10 for the session. Atlantic's fortunes rose rapidly: 187 songs were recorded in 1949, more than three times the amount from the previous two years, and received overtures for a manufacturing and distribution deal with Columbia , which would pay Atlantic a 3% royalty on every copy sold. Ertegun asked about artists' royalties, which he paid, and this surprised Columbia executives, who did not, and
4309-419: The Billboard 200 , which tracks the top-selling albums, has become more popular as an indicator of commercial success. Billboard has also published books in collaboration with Watson-Guptill and a radio and television series called American Top 40, based on Billboard charts. A daily Billboard Bulletin was introduced in February 1997 and Billboard hosts about 20 industry events each year. Billboard
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4448-711: The Clio Awards in advertising and the National Research Group in 1997, as well as Editor & Publisher in 1999. In July 2000, it paid $ 650 million to the publisher Miller Freeman . BPI was combined with other entities in VNU in 2000 to form Bill Communications Inc. By the time CEO Gerald Hobbs retired in 2003, VNU had grown substantially larger, but had a great deal of debt from the acquisitions. An attempted $ 7 billion acquisition of IMS Health in 2005 prompted protests from shareholders that halted
4587-684: The PBS series American Masters opened its 37th season with an hour-long look at her career. On May 13, 2023, Flack received an honorary doctorate from Berklee College of Music. The Grammy Awards are awarded annually by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences . Flack has received four awards from thirteen nominations. The American Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony created by Dick Clark in 1973. Flack has received one award from six nominations. Billboard Magazine Billboard (stylized in lowercase since 2013)
4726-585: The Warner Music Group , and expanded into rock and pop music with releases by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young , Led Zeppelin , and Yes . In 2004, Atlantic and its sister label Elektra were merged into the Atlantic Records Group . Craig Kallman is the chairman of Atlantic. Ahmet Ertegun served as founding chairman until his death on December 14, 2006, at age 83. In 1944, brothers Nesuhi and Ahmet Ertegun remained in
4865-493: The jukebox , phonograph and radio became commonplace. Many topics that it covered became the subjects of new magazines, including Amusement Business in 1961 to cover outdoor entertainment, so that Billboard could focus on music. After Donaldson died in 1925, Billboard was inherited by his and Hennegan's children, who retained ownership until selling it to private investors in 1985. The magazine has since been owned by various parties. Billboard announced on November 26, 2024
5004-532: The "bible" of the recording industry. Billboard struggled after its founder William Donaldson died in 1925, and within three years, was once again heading towards bankruptcy . Donaldson's son-in-law Roger Littleford took command in 1928 and "nursed the publication back to health." His sons Bill and Roger became co-publishers in 1946 and inherited the magazine in the late 1970s after Littleford's death. They sold it to private investors in 1985 for an estimated $ 40 million. The investors cut costs and acquired
5143-498: The 1940 Census gives Roberta's age as 3 years old). She grew up in Arlington, Virginia . Growing up in a large, musical family, she often accompanied the choir of Lomax African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church by playing hymns and spirituals on piano, but she also enjoyed going to the " Baptist church down the street" to listen to contemporary gospel music including songs performed by Mahalia Jackson and Sam Cooke . When Flack
5282-442: The 1970s when it signed Bad Company , Led Zeppelin , and Yes . Despite the huge success Atlantic was enjoying with its own artists and through its deal with Stax, by 1967, Jerry Wexler was seriously concerned about the disintegration of the old order of independent record companies; fearing for the label's future, he began agitating for it to be sold to a larger company. Label President Ahmet Ertegun still had no desire to sell, but
5421-577: The 52nd Annual Grammy Awards, singing a duet of "Where Is The Love" with Maxwell . In February 2012, Flack released Let It Be Roberta , an album of Beatles covers including " Hey Jude " and " Let It Be ". It was her first recording in over eight years. Flack knew John Lennon and Yoko Ono , as both lived in The Dakota apartment building in New York City and had apartments next door to each other. Flack has said that she has been asked to do
5560-867: The Arts from Long Island University . Flack was inducted into the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame in 2009. In 2021, Flack was one of the first inductees into the Women Songwriters Hall of Fame . On March 12, 2022, Flack was honored with the DAR Women in American History Award and a restored fire callbox in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Washington DC commemorating her early-career connection to nearby Mr. Henry's neighborhood bar. On 24 January 2023,
5699-615: The Beatles . Flack was the first artist to win the Grammy Award for Record of the Year in two consecutive years: "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" won in 1973 and "Killing Me Softly with His Song" won in 1974 . Flack was born on February 10, 1937, in Black Mountain, North Carolina , to parents Laron Flack, a Veterans Administration draftsman, and Irene (née Council) Flack a church organist (some sources have cited 1939 but
Roberta Flack - Misplaced Pages Continue
5838-609: The Coasters and "What'd I Say" by Ray Charles. Although these were primarily 45rpm mono singles for much of the 1950s Dowd stockpiled his "parallel" stereo takes for future release. In 1968 the label issued History of Rhythm and Blues, Volume 4 in stereo. Stereo versions of Ray Charles "What'd I Say" and "Night Time is the Right Time" were included on the Atlantic anthology The Birth of Soul: The Complete Atlantic Rhythm & Blues Recordings, 1952–1959 . Atlantic's New York studio
5977-554: The Ertegun brothers held the majority of stock while Wexler controlled about 20 percent. Ertegun started lifelong grudges against Leiber and Stoller, and his relationship with Wexler was damaged. Atlantic was doing so well in early 1959 that some scheduled releases were held back, and the company enjoyed two successive months of gross sales of over $ 1 million that summer, thanks to hits by The Coasters, The Drifters, LaVern Baker, Ray Charles, Bobby Darin, and Clyde McPhatter. Months later
6116-481: The Ertegun brothers vice-president of Progressive. Atlantic played a major role in popularizing the genre that Jerry Wexler dubbed rhythm & blues, and it profited handsomely. The market for these records exploded during late 1953 and early 1954 as R&B hits crossed over to the mainstream (i.e. white) audience. In its tenth anniversary feature on Atlantic, Billboard noted, "... a very big R&B record might achieve 250,000 sales, but from this point on (1953–54),
6255-682: The Hollywood Reporter-Billboard Media Group, a unit of the holding company Eldridge Industries . Timothy White was appointed editor-in-chief in 1991, a position that he held until his unexpected death in 2002. White wrote a weekly column promoting music with "artistic merit" while criticizing music with violent or misogynistic themes, and also reworked the publication's music charts. Rather than relying on data from music retailers, new charts used data from store checkout scanners obtained by Nielsen SoundScan . White also wrote in-depth profiles on musicians, but
6394-575: The Hoople ( Mott the Hoople ), and Black Pearl ( Black Pearl ). In 1969, Warner Bros.-Seven Arts was taken over by the Kinney National Company , and in the early 1970s the group was rebadged as Warner Communications . After buying Elektra Records and its sister label Nonesuch Records in 1970, Kinney combined the operations of all of its record labels under a new holding company, WEA , and also known as Warner Music Group . WEA
6533-694: The Hop " made the Top 10 on both the US pop and R&B charts and charted in the UK. " Dream Lover " reached No. 2 in the US and No. 1 in the UK and became a multi-million seller. " Mack the Knife " (1959) went to No. 1 in both the US and the UK, sold over 2 million copies, and won the 1960 Grammy Award for Record of the Year. " Beyond the Sea " became Darin's fourth consecutive Top 10 hit in
6672-506: The Pack " by The Shangri-Las , but Red Bird's finances were precarious. In 1964 they approached Jerry Wexler and proposed a merger with Atlantic. When interviewed in 1990 for Ertegun's biography, Wexler declined to discuss the matter, but Ertegun claimed these negotiations were a plan to buy him out. In September 1964, the Ertegun brothers and Wexler were in the process of buying out the company's other two shareholders, Sabit and Bienstock, and it
6811-490: The R&;B chart. Brown recorded more than eighty songs for Atlantic, becoming its bestselling, most prolific musician of the period. So significant was Brown's success to Atlantic that the label became known colloquially as "The House That Ruth Built". Joe Morris , one of the label's earliest signings, scored a hit with his October 1950 song "Anytime, Anyplace, Anywhere", the first Atlantic record issued in 45rpm format, which
6950-704: The Stax house band resulted in " Green Onions ". The single was issued in August 1962 and became the biggest instrumental hit of the year, reaching No. 1 on the R&B chart and No. 3 on the pop chart, selling over one million copies. Over the next five years Stax and its subsidiary Volt provided Atlantic with many hits, such as " Respect " by Otis Redding, " Knock on Wood " by Eddie Floyd, " Hold On, I'm Comin' " by Sam and Dave, and " Mustang Sally " by Wilson Pickett. Aretha Franklin signed with Atlantic in 1966 after her contract with Columbia expired. Columbia tried to market her as
7089-456: The Stax masters, so the distribution deal ended in May 1968. Atlantic continues to hold the rights to Stax recordings it distributed in the 1960s. In the wake of the takeover, Jerry Wexler's influence in the company rapidly diminished; by his own admission, he and Ertegun had run Atlantic as "utmost despots" but in the new corporate structure, he found himself unwilling to accept the delegation of responsibility that his executive role dictated. He
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#17327833353787228-416: The UK six or seven times every year in search of acts to sign to the label. For much of its early history, Jerry Wexler had been managers of the label, while Ertegun had concentrated on A&R and had less interest in the business side. But that changed after the sale to Warner. Although Ertegun had been forced into accepting the sale, he turned the situation to his advantage. He gained executive control of
7367-700: The US Top 10 with the hit song "Set the Night to Music", a 1991 duet with Jamaican vocalist Maxi Priest that peaked at No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts and No. 2 AC. In 1999, a star with Flack's name was placed on the Hollywood Walk of Fame . In the same year, she gave a concert tour in South Africa ; the final performance was attended by President Nelson Mandela . In 2010, she appeared on
7506-443: The US and UK. He signed with Capitol and moved for Hollywood to attempt a movie career, but hits such as " You Must Have Been a Beautiful Baby " and " Things " continued to benefit Atco through 1962. Darin returned to Atlantic in 1965. In 1965, Atlantic formed a budget label called Clarion Records. 21 albums were released simultaneously in 1965, all of them shown on the back cover of their releases. No further albums were issued as
7645-552: The United States when their mother and sister returned to Turkey after the death of their father Munir Ertegun , Turkey's first ambassador to the U.S. The brothers were fans of jazz and rhythm & blues, amassing a collection of over 15,000 78 RPM records. Ahmet ostensibly stayed in Washington to undertake post-graduate music studies at Georgetown University but immersed himself in the Washington music scene and entered
7784-545: The Warner recording division was booming – by mid-1968 Warner's recording and publishing interests were generating 74% of the group's total profits. The sale of Atlantic Records activated a clause in the distribution agreement with Stax Records calling for renegotiation of the distribution deal and at this point, the Stax partners discovered that the deal gave Atlantic ownership of all the Stax recordings Atlantic distributed. The new Warner owners refused to relinquish ownership of
7923-413: The articles are written by staff writers, while some are written by industry experts. It covers news, gossip, opinion, and music reviews, but its "most enduring and influential creation" is the Billboard charts . The charts track music sales, radio airtime and other data about the most popular songs and albums. The Billboard Hot 100 chart of the top-selling songs was introduced in 1958. Since then,
8062-463: The balance of power had changed since the abortive takeover attempt of 1962; Atlantic's original investor Dr Vahdi Sabit and minority stockholder Miriam Bienstock had both been bought out in September 1964 and the other remaining partner, Nesuhi Ertegun, was eventually convinced to side with Wexler. Since they jointly held more stock, Ahmet was obliged to agree to the sale. In October 1967, Atlantic
8201-1058: The ban, which was expected to continue for at least a year. Ertegun and Abramson spent much of the late 1940s and early 1950s scouring nightclubs in search of talent. Ertegun composed songs under the alias "A. Nugetre", including Big Joe Turner's hit " Chains of Love ", recording them in booths in Times Square, then giving them to an arranger or session musician. Early releases included music by Sidney Bechet , Barney Bigard , The Cardinals , The Clovers , Frank Culley , The Delta Rhythm Boys , Erroll Garner , Dizzy Gillespie , Tiny Grimes , Al Hibbler , Earl Hines , Johnny Hodges , Jackie & Roy , Lead Belly , Meade Lux Lewis , Professor Longhair , Shelly Manne , Howard McGhee , Mabel Mercer , James Moody , Joe Morris , Art Pepper , Django Reinhardt , Pete Rugolo , Pee Wee Russell , Bobby Short , Sylvia Syms , Billy Taylor , Sonny Terry , Big Joe Turner , Jimmy Yancey , Sarah Vaughan , Mal Waldron , and Mary Lou Williams . In early 1949,
8340-575: The biggest R&B hit of the year. Their records created some controversy: the suggestive " Such A Night " was banned by radio station WXYZ in Detroit, Michigan , and "Honey Love" was banned in Memphis, Tennessee but both reached No. 1 on the Billboard R&;B chart. Recording engineer and producer Tom Dowd played a crucial role in Atlantic's success. He initially worked for Atlantic on
8479-494: The co-owner of Satellite, Jim Stewart , who agreed to lease the record to Atlantic for $ 1000 plus a small royalty—the first money the label had ever made. The deal included a $ 5000 payment against a five-year option on all other records. Satellite was renamed Stax after the owners, Stewart and Axton. The deal marked the start of a successful eight-year association between the two labels, giving Stax access to Atlantic's promotions and distribution. Wexler recalled, "We didn't pay for
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#17327833353788618-610: The company began pressing in January 1951. The Clovers' "Don't You Know I Love You" (composed by Ertegun) became the label's first R&B No. 1 in September 1951. A few weeks later, Brown's "Teardrops from My Eyes" became its first million-selling record. She hit No. 1 again in March–April 1952 with " 5-10-15 Hours ". "Daddy Daddy" reached No. 3 in September 1952, and " Mama, He Treats Your Daughter Mean " with Connie Kay on drums reached No. 1 in February and March 1953. After Brown left
8757-445: The company was reeling from the successive loss of its two biggest artists, Bobby Darin and Ray Charles, who together accounted for one-third of sales. Darin moved to Los Angeles and signed with Capitol. Charles signed a contract with ABC-Paramount that included higher royalties, a production deal, profit-sharing, and eventual ownership of his master tapes. "I thought we were going to die", Wexler recalled. In 1990 he and Ertegun disputed
8896-440: The content of Charles's contract, which caused a rift. Ertegun remained friendly with Bobby Darin, who returned to Atlantic in 1966. Ray Charles returned to Atlantic in 1977. In 1960, Atlantic's Memphis distributor Buster Williams contacted Wexler and told him he was pressing large quantities of "Cause I Love You", a duet between Carla Thomas and her father Rufus which was released by the small label Satellite. Wexler contacted
9035-523: The deal was scuttled. On the recommendation of broadcaster Willis Conover , Ertegun and Abramson visited Ruth Brown at the Crystal Caverns club in Washington and invited her to audition for Atlantic. She was injured in a car accident en route to New York City, but Atlantic supported her for nine months and then signed her. "So Long", her first record for the label, was recorded with Eddie Condon 's band on May 25, 1949. The song reached No. 6 on
9174-476: The deal; it eventually agreed to an $ 11 billion takeover bid from investors in 2006. VNU changed its name to Nielsen in 2007, the namesake of a company that it had acquired for $ 2.5 billion in 1999. New CEO Robert Krakoff divested some of the previously owned publications, restructured the organization and planned some acquisitions before dying suddenly in 2007. He was subsequently replaced by Greg Farrar. Nielsen owned Billboard until 2009, when it
9313-601: The depths of soulful heaviness by way of classically-informed technique—is not too easy to claim or make sense with the limited tools that we have in music criticism." Flack's minimalist, classically trained approach to her songs was seen by a number of critics as lacking in grit and uncharacteristic of soul music. According to music scholar Jason King, her work was regularly described with the adjectives "boring", "depressing", "lifeless", "studied", and "calculated"}; in contrast, AllMusic 's Steve Huey said it has been called "classy, urbane, reserved, smooth, and sophisticated". Flack
9452-534: The editorial staff indicated that senior vice president of digital content Mike Bruno would head the editorial department. On June 15, 2016, BillboardPH , the first Billboard chart company in Southeast Asia, mainly in the Philippines, was announced. On September 12, 2016, Billboard expanded into China by launching Billboard China in partnership with Vision Music Ltd. On September 23, 2020, it
9591-721: The first being Cat Records . By the mid-1950s Atlantic had an informal agreement with the French label Barclay , and the two companies regularly exchanged titles, usually jazz recordings. Atlantic also began to get recordings distributed in the United Kingdom, first through EMI on a 'one-off' basis. But in September 1955 Miriam Abramson traveled to the UK and signed a distribution deal with Decca. Miriam recalled, "I would deal with people there who were not really comfortable with women in business, so...we would do business very quickly and get it over with." A subsidiary label, Atco ,
9730-516: The first female and youngest-ever executive editor at Billboard and led its first major redesign since the 1960s, designed by Daniel Stark and Stark Design. During Conniff's tenure, Billboard 's newsstand sales jumped 10%, ad pages climbed 22% and conference registrations rose 76%. In 2005, Billboard expanded its editorial outside the music industry into other areas of digital and mobile entertainment. In 2006, after leading Billboard's radio publication, former ABC News and CNN journalist Scott McKenzie
9869-525: The hit " Ruby Baby " for The Drifters . Record producer Phil Spector moved to New York to work with Leiber and Stoller. He learned his trade at Trey Records, a label in California owned by Lester Sill and Lee Hazlewood and distributed by Atlantic. Sill recommended Spector to Leiber and Stoller, who assigned him to produce " Corrine, Corrina " by Ray Peterson and " Pretty Little Angel Eyes " by Curtis Lee. Both became hits, and Atlantic hired him as
10008-423: The industry began to see million sellers, one after the other, in the R&B field". Billboard said Atlantic's "fresh sound" and the quality of its recordings, arrangements, and musicians was a great advance from standard R&B records. For five years Atlantic "dominated the rhythm and blues chart with its roster of powerhouse artists". Beginning in 1954, Atlantic created or acquired several subsidiary labels,
10147-437: The label and quickly became a major force in the expanding Warner music group. During 1968, Atlantic established a new subsidiary label, Cotillion Records . The label was originally formed as an outlet for blues and deep Southern soul; its first single, Otis Clay 's version of "She's About A Mover", was an R&B hit. Cotillion's catalog quickly expanded to include progressive rock, folk-rock, gospel, jazz and comedy. In 1976,
10286-408: The label and influenced the Warner group. By contrast, Wexler was disenchanted by Atlantic's move into rock; he left in 1975. Wexler's protégé Jerry L. Greenberg replaced him and played a role in Atlantic's success during the 1970s. In seven years, Greenberg went from personal assistant to president of the label. Wexler had hired Greenberg and acted as his mentor, teaching him the daily operations of
10425-469: The label in 1961, her career declined, and she worked as a cleaner and bus driver to support her children. In the 1980s she sued Atlantic for unpaid royalties; although Atlantic, which prided itself on treating artists fairly, had stopped paying royalties to some musicians. Ertegun denied this was intentional. Brown received a voluntary payment of $ 20,000 and founded the Rhythm and Blues Foundation in 1988 with
10564-540: The label lasted less than a year. Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller wrote "Smokey Joe's Cafe", which became a hit for The Robins. Their label Spark was bought by Atlantic, and they were hired as America's first independent record producers, free to produce for other labels. Two members of The Robins formed The Coasters and recorded hits for Atlantic, such as " Down in Mexico " and " Young Blood ". " Yakety Yak " became Atlantic's first No. 1 pop hit. Leiber and Stoller also wrote
10703-413: The label started focusing on disco and R&B. Among its acts were the post-Curtis Mayfield Impressions , Slave , Brook Benton , Jean Knight , Mass Production , Sister Sledge , The Velvet Underground , Stacy Lattisaw , Lou Donaldson , Mylon LeFevre , Stevie Woods , Johnny Gill , Emerson, Lake & Palmer , Garland Green , The Dynamics , The Fabulous Counts , and The Fatback Band . Cotillion
10842-401: The label was deteriorating in 1962. The breaking point came when they asked for a producer's royalty. It was granted informally, but their accountant insisted on a written contract and an audit of Atlantic's accounts. The audit revealed Leiber and Stoller had been underpaid by $ 18,000. Although Leiber considered dropping the matter, Stoller pressed Atlantic for payment. Wexler exploded and replied
10981-420: The label's few R&B albums, reserving the 1200 series for jazz. Joel Dorn became Nesuhi's assistant after his successful production of Hubert Laws ' album The Laws of Jazz . When Abramson returned from military service in 1955, he realized that he had been replaced by Wexler as Ahmet's partner. Abramson did not get along with either Wexler or Nesuhi Ertegun, and he had returned from military service with
11120-407: The lead on a Sherman Brothers song called "Freedom", which featured prominently at the opening and closing of the movie Huckleberry Finn . In the same year, she performed "When We Grow Up" with a teenage Michael Jackson on the 1974 television special, Free to Be... You and Me . Flack had a 1982 hit single with " Making Love ", written by Burt Bacharach (the title track of the 1982 film of
11259-520: The long run, pop lies are improved by vulgarity." Writer and music critic Ann Powers argued in a 2020 piece for NPR that "Flack's presence looms over both R&B and indie "bedroom" pop as if she were one of the astral beings in Ava DuVernay 's version of A Wrinkle In Time . " Jason King argued that she occupies a complex place in popular music, as "the nature of her power as a performer—to generate rapturous, spellbinding mood music and to plumb
11398-399: The magazine on outdoor entertainment such as fairs, carnivals, circuses, vaudeville , and burlesque shows. A section devoted to circuses was introduced in 1900, followed by more prominent coverage of outdoor events in 1901. Billboard also covered topics including regulation, professionalism, economics and new shows. It had a "stage gossip" column covering the private lives of entertainers,
11537-588: The masters...Jim paid for the masters and then he would send us a finished tape and we would put it out. Our costs began at the production level—the pressing, and distribution, and promotion, and advertising." The deal to distribute Satellite's " Last Night " by The Mar-Keys on the Satellite label marked the first time Atlantic began marketing outside tracks on a non-Atlantic label. Atlantic began pressing and distributing Stax records. Wexler sent Tom Dowd to upgrade Stax's recording equipment and facilities. Wexler
11676-592: The money we had then." But they were outbid by RCA 's offer of $ 45,000. In 1990 Ertegun remarked, "The president of RCA at the time had been extensively quoted in Variety damning R&B music as immoral. He soon stopped when RCA signed Elvis Presley." Ahmet's older brother Nesuhi was hired in January 1955. He had been living in Los Angeles for several years and had intermittent contact with his younger brother. But when Ahmet learned that Nesuhi had been offered
11815-568: The most influential executives, artists and companies in the music industry, such as the following: Since 1990 Billboard established the Billboard Music Awards , an awards ceremony honors top album, artist and single in a number of different music genres which achieved the highest results during the year form sales, streaming, radio airplay, touring, and social engagement. The data are taken from Billboard and its data partners, including MRC Data and Next Big Sound . Through
11954-576: The most significant new black woman singer since Aretha Franklin , and at moments she sounds kind, intelligent, and very likable. But she often exhibits the gratuitous gentility you'd expect of someone who says 'between you and I'." Reviewing her body of work from the 1970s, he later argued that the singer "has nothing whatsoever to do with rock and roll or rhythm and blues and almost nothing to do with soul", comparing her middle-of-the-road aesthetic to Barry Manilow but with better taste, which he believed does not necessarily guarantee more enduring music: "In
12093-623: The owner of the Carlin Music / Chappell Music publishing empire). Abramson's departure opened the way for Ahmet Ertegun to take over as president of the label. The roles of the other executives with Abramson's departure were Wexler as executive vice-president and general manager, Nesuhi Ertegun as executive vice-president in charge of the LP department and Miriam Bienstock as vice-president and also president of Atlantic's music publishing arm Progressive Music with Wexler as executive vice-president and
12232-399: The payment would mean the end of their relationship with the label. Leiber and Stoller backed down, but the relationship ended anyway. Their assignment to work on The Drifter's next recording was given to Phil Spector. Leiber and Stoller worked briefly for United Artists , then started Red Bird with George Goldner . They had hits with " Chapel of Love " by The Dixie Cups and " Leader of
12371-813: The phonograph and radio also contributed to its growing music emphasis. Billboard published the first music hit parade on January 4, 1936 and introduced a Record Buying Guide in January 1939. In 1940, it introduced Chart Line, which tracked the best-selling records, and was followed by a chart for jukebox records in 1944 called Music Box Machine. By the 1940s, Billboard was more of a music-industry specialist publication. The number of charts that it published grew after World War II , as new music interests and genres became popular. It had eight charts by 1987, covering different genres and formats, and 28 charts by 1994. By 1943, Billboard had about 100 employees. The magazine's offices moved to Brighton, Ohio in 1946, then to New York City in 1948. A five-column tabloid format
12510-506: The piano. During intermissions, she would sing blues , folk , and pop standards in a back room, accompanying herself on the piano. Later she performed several nights a week at the 1520 Club, again providing her own piano accompaniment. About this time her voice teacher, Frederick "Wilkie" Wilkerson, told her that he saw a brighter future for her in pop music than in the classics. Flack modified her repertoire accordingly and her reputation spread. In 1968 she began singing professionally when she
12649-544: The previous year, 78s had outsold 45s by a ratio of two to one. In February 1953, Herb Abramson was drafted into the U.S. Army. He moved to Germany, where he served in the Army Dental Corps, although he retained his post as president of Atlantic on full pay. Ertegun hired Billboard reporter Jerry Wexler in June 1953. Wexler is credited with coining the term " rhythm & blues " to replace " race music ". He
12788-652: The record business, which was enjoying a resurgence after wartime restrictions on the shellac used in manufacture. He convinced the family dentist, Vahdi Sabit, to invest $ 10,000 and hired Herb Abramson , a dentistry student. Abramson had worked as a part-time A&R manager/producer for Al Green at the jazz label National Records , signing Big Joe Turner and Billy Eckstine . He founded Jubilee in 1946 but had no interest in its most successful musicians. In September 1947, he sold his share in Jubilee to his partner, Jerry Blaine , and invested $ 2,500 in Atlantic. Atlantic
12927-440: The record business. From Ertegun he learned how to treat musicians. In 1968, by Peter Grant flew to New York with tapes of the debut album by British rock band Led Zeppelin . Ertegun and Wexler knew of the group's leader, Jimmy Page, through The Yardbirds , and their favorable opinion was reinforced by Dusty Springfield , who recommended Atlantic sign the band. Atlantic signed the band to an exclusive five-year contract, one of
13066-435: The release of its first recordings in January 1948, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most important American labels, specializing in jazz , R&B , and soul by Aretha Franklin , Ray Charles , Wilson Pickett , Sam and Dave , Ruth Brown and Otis Redding . Its position was greatly improved by its distribution deal with Stax . In 1967, Atlantic became a wholly owned subsidiary of Warner Bros.-Seven Arts , now
13205-561: The same name ), which reached No. 13. She began working with Peabo Bryson with more limited success, charting as high as No. 5 on the R&;B chart (plus No. 16 Pop and No. 4 Adult Contemporary) with " Tonight, I Celebrate My Love " in 1983. In 1986, Flack sang the theme song entitled "Together Through the Years" for the NBC television series Valerie , later known as The Hogan Family . The song
13344-556: The school. From 1966 to 1972, she was married to Steve Novosel . Flack is the aunt of professional ice skater Rory Flack . She is also the godmother of musician Bernard Wright , who died in an accident on May 19, 2022. According to DNA analysis, she is of Cameroonian descent. On April 20, 2018, Flack was appearing onstage at the Apollo Theater at a benefit for the Jazz Foundation of America . She became ill, left
13483-420: The service was discontinued, Billboard was still processing 1,500 letters per week. In 1920, Donaldson controversially hired black journalist James Albert Jackson to write a weekly column devoted to black performers. According to The Business of Culture: Strategic Perspectives on Entertainment and Media , the column identified discrimination against black performers and helped validate their careers. Jackson
13622-897: The song in the film, has remained an admirer and friend of Flack's ever since. It was awarded the Grammy Award for Record of the Year in 1973. In 1983, she recorded the end music to the Dirty Harry film Sudden Impact at Eastwood's request. In 1972, Flack began recording regularly with Donny Hathaway , scoring hits such as the Grammy-winning " Where Is the Love " (1972) and later " The Closer I Get to You " (1978), both million-selling gold singles. Flack and Hathaway recorded several duets together, including two LPs, until Hathaway's 1979 death. On her own Flack scored her second No. 1 hit in 1973, " Killing Me Softly with His Song " written by Charles Fox , Norman Gimbel and Lori Lieberman . It
13761-468: The song, so Berns re-recorded it with The Isley Brothers and it became a hit. During his short time at Atlantic, Spector produced music for LaVern Baker, Ruth Brown, Jean DuShon , and Billy Storm. In 1961, he left the label, returned to Los Angeles, and founded Philles Records with Lester Sill. Spector became one of the most successful record producers of the 1960s. Although Leiber and Stoller wrote many popular songs for Atlantic, their relationship with
13900-403: The sound track of his directorial debut Play Misty for Me ; it became the biggest hit of the year for 1972, spending six consecutive weeks at No. 1 and earning Flack a million-selling Gold disc. It finished the year as Billboard 's top song of 1972. The First Take album also went to No. 1 and eventually sold 1.9 million copies in the United States. Eastwood, who paid $ 2,000 for the use of
14039-579: The stage, and was rushed to the Harlem Hospital Center . In a statement, her manager announced that Flack had had a stroke a few years prior and still was not feeling well, but was "doing fine" and being kept overnight for medical observation . On November 14, 2022, it was announced by a spokesperson that Flack had been diagnosed with ALS and had retired from performing, due to the disease making it "impossible to sing". On May 11, 2017, Roberta Flack received an honorary Doctorate degree in
14178-407: The star's behalf and publish a notice in its Letter-Box column that it had mail for him or her. This service was first introduced in 1904 and became one of Billboard ' s largest sources of profit and celebrity connections. By 1914, 42,000 people were using the service. It was also used as the official address of traveling entertainers for draft letters during World War I . In the 1960s, when
14317-500: The time, billboards, posters, and paper advertisements placed in public spaces were the primary means of advertising. Donaldson handled editorial and advertising, while Hennegan, who owned Hennegan Printing Co., managed magazine production. The first issues were just eight pages long. The paper had columns such as The Bill Room Gossip and The Indefatigable and Tireless Industry of the Bill Poster. A department for agricultural fairs
14456-469: The trio an irresistible offer that gave them complete creative control over the recording and packaging of their music. The mid-1960s British Invasion led Atlantic to change its British distributor. Decca had refused access to its British acts, who usually appeared in the US on the London subsidiary. In 1966, Atlantic signed a licensing deal with Polydor which included the band Cream , whose debut album
14595-553: The university choir. Her direction of a production of Aida received a standing ovation from the Howard University faculty. Flack became a student teacher at a school near Chevy Chase, Maryland . She graduated from Howard University at 19 and began graduate studies in music there, but the sudden death of her father forced her to take a job teaching music and English in Farmville, North Carolina . Before becoming
14734-431: The voice." Very quickly he arranged an audition for her with Atlantic Records , during which she played 42 songs in 3 hours for producer Joel Dorn . In November 1968, she recorded 39 song demos in less than 10 hours. Three months later, Atlantic reportedly recorded Flack's debut album, First Take , in a mere 10 hours. In 1971, Flack participated in the legendary Soul to Soul concert film by Denis Sanders , which
14873-501: The years, Billboard has established several other awards to honor different music genres, live performances, and artists. Since that Billboard established severals awards ceremonies and honors: Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records ) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson . Over the course of its first two decades, starting from
15012-441: Was This Is My Beloved (March 1949), a 10" album of poetry by Walter Benton that was narrated by John Dall with music by Vernon Duke . In 1951, Atlantic was one of the first independent labels to press records in the 45rpm single format. By 1956 the 45 had surpassed the 78 in sales for singles. In April of that year, Miriam (Abramson) Bienstock reported to Billboard that Atlantic was selling 75% of its singles as 45s. During
15151-403: Was a fan of Burke's and had long wanted to sign him so when Burke told Wexler his contract with his former label had expired Wexler replied: "You're home. I'm signing you today". The first song Wexler produced with Burke was "Just Out of Reach", which became a big hit in September 1961. The soul/country & western crossover predated Ray Charles' similar venture by more than 6 months. Burke became
15290-431: Was able to maintain autonomy through the parent company reorganizations and continue to do their own marketing, while WEA handled distribution. Some acts on the Atlantic roster in this period were British (including Led Zeppelin, Genesis, Yes, Bad Company and Phil Collins) and this was largely due to Ertegun. According to Greenberg, Ertegun had long seen the UK as a source of untapped talent. At his urging, Greenberg visited
15429-509: Was adopted in November 1950 and coated paper was first used in Billboard ' s print issues in January 1963, allowing for photojournalism. Billboard Publications Inc. acquired a monthly trade magazine for candy and cigarette machine vendors called Vend , and in the 1950s it acquired an advertising trade publication called Tide . By 1969, Billboard Publications Inc. owned 11 trade and consumer publications, Watson-Guptill Publications,
15568-432: Was also alienated from the "rockoid" white acts that were quickly becoming the label's most profitable commodities and dispirited by the rapidly waning fortunes of the black acts he had championed, such as Ben E. King and Solomon Burke. Wexler ultimately decided to leave New York and move to Florida. Following his departure, Ertegun—who had previously taken little interest in Atlantic's business affairs—took decisive control of
15707-401: Was also in charge of LP production. He was credited with improving the production, packaging, and originality of Atlantic's LPs. He deleted the old '100' and '400' series of 10" albums and the earlier 12" albums in Atlantic's catalog, starting the '1200' series, which sold for $ 4.98, with Shorty Rogers' The Swingin' Mr Rogers . In 1956 he started the '8000' popular series (selling for $ 3.98) for
15846-819: Was also responsible for launching the career of Luther Vandross , who recorded for the label as part of the trio Luther. Cotillion also released the triple-albums soundtrack of the Woodstock festival film in 1970. From 1970 it also distributed Embryo Records , founded by jazz flautist Herbie Mann after his earlier Atlantic contract had expired. In addition to establishing Cotillion, Atlantic began expanding its own roster to include rock, soul/rock, progressive rock, British bands and singer songwriters. Two female artists were personally signed by Wexler, with album releases in 1969, Dusty Springfield ( Dusty in Memphis ) and Lotti Golden ( Motor-Cycle ), although Golden also had
15985-456: Was also used as a label for distributing the company's artists outside North America. In January 1970, Ahmet Ertegun was successful in his executive battle against Warner Bros. Records President Mike Maitland to keep Atlantic Records autonomous and as a result, Maitland was fired by Kinney president Steve Ross . Ertegun recommended Mo Ostin to succeed Maitland as Warner Bros. Records president. With Ertegun's power at Warners now secure, Atlantic
16124-574: Was announced that Penske Media Corporation would assume operations of the MRC Media & Info publications under a joint venture with MRC known as PMRC. The joint venture includes the management of Billboard . On January 13, 2024, Billboard shared the intent to further expand in Asia by announcing the launch of Billboard Korea . Billboard publishes a news website and weekly trade magazine that covers music, video and home entertainment. Most of
16263-536: Was appointed vice-president and purchased 13% of the company's stock. Wexler and Ertegun formed a close partnership which, in collaboration with Tom Dowd, produced thirty R&B hits. Wexler's success for Atlantic was the result of going outside jazz to sign acts who combined jazz, blues, and rhythm and blues, such as Ray Charles, Joe Turner, and Aretha Franklin. Ertegun and Wexler realized many R&B recordings by black musicians were being covered by white performers, often with greater chart success. LaVern Baker had
16402-495: Was awarded both Record of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female at the 1974 Grammy Awards . Its parent album was Flack's biggest-selling disc, eventually earning double platinum certification. In 1974, Flack released " Feel Like Makin' Love ," which became her third and final No. 1 hit to date on the Hot 100; she produced the single and her 1975 album of the same name under the pseudonym Rubina Flake. In 1974, Flack sang
16541-592: Was established in 1896. The Billboard Advertising publication was renamed The Billboard in 1897. After a brief departure over editorial differences, Donaldson purchased Hennegan's interest in the business in 1900 for $ 500 (equal to $ 15,100 today) to save it from bankruptcy. On May 5, Donaldson changed the publication from a monthly to a weekly paper with a greater emphasis on breaking news. He improved editorial quality and opened new offices in New York, Chicago, San Francisco, London, and Paris, and also refocused
16680-399: Was established in 1955 to keep Abramson involved. After a slow start, Atco had considerable success with Bobby Darin . His early releases were unsuccessful, and Abramson planned to drop him. But when Ertegun offered him another chance, the result was " Splish Splash ", which Darin had written in 12 minutes. The song sold 100,000 copies in the first month and became a million-seller. " Queen of
16819-409: Was founded in 1894 by William Donaldson and James Hennegan as a trade publication for bill posters. Donaldson later acquired Hennegan's interest in 1900 for $ 500. In the early years of the 20th century, it covered the entertainment industry, such as circuses, fairs and burlesque shows, and also created a mail service for travelling entertainers. Billboard began focusing more on the music industry as
16958-501: Was headlined by Wilson Pickett along with Ike & Tina Turner , Santana , The Staple Singers , Les McCann , Eddie Harris , The Voices of East Harlem , and others. The U.S. delegation of musical artists was invited to perform for the 14th anniversary of African independence in Ghana . The film was digitally reissued on DVD and CD in 2004 but Flack declined permission for her image and recording to be included for unknown reasons. Her
17097-426: Was hired to perform regularly at Mr. Henry's Restaurant, which is on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. Les McCann discovered Flack singing and playing jazz in a Washington, D.C. nightclub. He later said on the liner notes of what would be her first album First Take noted below, "Her voice touched, tapped, trapped, and kicked every emotion I've ever known. I laughed, cried, and screamed for more... she alone had
17236-429: Was impressed by the cooperative atmosphere at the Stax studios and by its racially integrated house band, which he called "an unthinkably great band". He brought Atlantic musicians to Memphis to record. Stewart and Wexler hired Al Bell , a disk jockey at a radio station in Washington D.C., to take over promotion of Stax releases. Bell was the first African-American partner in the label. An after-hours jam by members of
17375-400: Was incorporated in October 1947 and was run by Abramson (president) and Ertegun (vice-president in charge of A&R, production, and promotion). Abramson's wife Miriam ran the label's publishing company, Progressive Music, and did most office duties until 1949 when Atlantic hired its first employee, bookkeeper Francine Wakschal, who remained with the label for the next 49 years. Miriam gained
17514-624: Was named editorial director across all Billboard properties. Conniff launched the Billboard Women in Music event in 2007. Bill Werde was named editorial director in 2008, and was followed by Janice Min in January 2014, also responsible for editorial content at The Hollywood Reporter . The magazine became more of a general-interest music-news source rather than solely an industry trade, covering more celebrity and fashion news. Min hired Tony Gervino as editor although he did not have
17653-402: Was nine, she started taking an interest in playing the piano. During her early teens, Flack excelled at classical piano and Howard University awarded her a full music scholarship. By age 15, she entered Howard University in Washington, D.C. , making her one of the youngest students ever to enroll there. She eventually changed her major from piano to voice and became an assistant conductor of
17792-454: Was not until around 1958 that the single stylus microgroove system (in which the two stereo channels were cut into either side of a single groove) became the industry standard. By the late 1950s stereo LPs and turntables were being introduced. Atlantic's early stereo recordings included "Lover's Question" by Clyde McPhatter, " What Am I Living For " by Chuck Willis , "I Cried a Tear" by LaVern Baker, "Splish Splash" by Bobby Darin, "Yakety Yak" by
17931-556: Was one of eight publications sold to e5 Global Media Holdings. e5 was formed by investment firms Pluribus Capital Management and Guggenheim Partners for the purpose of the acquisition. The following year, the new parent company was renamed Prometheus Global Media . Three years later, Guggenheim Partners acquired Pluribus' share of Prometheus and became the sole owner of Billboard . In December 2015, Guggenheim Digital Media spun out several media brands, including Billboard , to its own executive Todd Boehly . The assets operate under
18070-485: Was proposed that Leiber and Stoller buy Sabit's shares. Leiber, Stoller, Goldner, and Wexler suggested their plan to Ertegun at a lunch meeting at the Plaza Hotel in New York. Leiber and Stoller told Ertegun they had no intention of buying him out, but Ertegun was aggravated by Goldner's attitude and was convinced Wexler was conspiring with them. Wexler told Ertegun if he refused, the deal would be done without him. But
18209-538: Was released by Atco in 1966. In 1967, the group traveled to Atlantic's studio in New York City to record Disraeli Gears with Tom Dowd; it became a Top 5 LP in both the US and the UK, with the single " Sunshine of Your Love " reaching No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100. Wexler dismissed developments in pop music, dubbing the musicians "the rockoids". However, Atlantic profited from moving into rock music in
18348-419: Was renamed to simply Billboard . According to The New Business Journalism , by 1984, Billboard Publications was a "prosperous" conglomerate of trade magazines, and Billboard had become the "undisputed leader" in music-industry news. In the early 1990s, Billboard introduced Billboard Airplay Monitors , a publication for disc jockeys and music programmers. By the end of the 1990s, Billboard dubbed itself
18487-469: Was replaced by Keith Girard, who was subsequently fired in May 2004. Girard and a female employee filed a $ 29 million lawsuit alleging that Billboard fired them unfairly with an intent to damage their reputations and that they experienced sexual harassment, a hostile work environment and a financially motivated lack of editorial integrity. Email evidence suggested that human resources were given special instructions to watch minority employees. The case
18626-411: Was settled out of court in 2006 for an undisclosed sum. In the 2000s, economic decline in the music industry dramatically reduced readership and advertising from Billboard ' s traditional audience. Circulation declined from 40,000 in circulation in the 1990s to less than 17,000 by 2014. The publication's staff and ownership were also undergoing frequent changes. In 2004, Tamara Conniff became
18765-418: Was sold to Warner Bros.-Seven Arts for US$ 17.5 million, although all the partners later agreed that it was a poor deal that greatly undervalued Atlantic's true worth. Initially, Atlantic and Atco operated entirely separately from the group's other labels, Warner Bros. Records and Reprise Records , and management did not interfere with the music division, since the ailing movie division was losing money, while
18904-498: Was the first black critic at a national magazine with a predominantly white audience. According to his grandson, Donaldson also established a policy against identifying performers by their race. Donaldson died in 1925. Billboard ' s editorial content changed focus as technology in recording and playback developed, covering "marvels of modern technology" such as the phonograph and wireless radios. The magazine began covering coin-operated entertainment machines in 1899 and created
19043-573: Was the first in America to install multitrack recording machines, developed by the Ampex company. Bobby Darin's "Splish, Splash" was the first song to be recorded on an 8-track recorder. It was not until the mid-1960s that multitrack recorders became the norm in English studios and EMI's Abbey Road Studios did not install 8-track facilities until 1968. Atlantic entered the LP market early: its first
19182-410: Was the first label to issue commercial LPs recorded in the experimental stereo system called binaural recording . In this system, recordings were made using two microphones, spaced at approximately the distance between the human ears, and the left and right channels were recorded as two separate, parallel grooves. Playing them back required a turntable with a special tone-arm fitted with dual needles; it
19321-407: Was used throughout the show's six seasons. In 1987, Flack supplied the voice of Michael Jackson's mother in the 18-minute short film for " Bad ". Oasis was released in 1988 and failed to make an impact with pop audiences, though the title track reached No. 1 on the R&B chart and a remix of " Uh-Uh Ooh-Ooh Look Out (Here It Comes) " topped the dance chart in 1989. Flack found herself again in
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