Portal:Record production

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The Record Production Portal

Noted audio engineer Roger Nichols at a vintage Neve recording console

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This portal is focused on music production within the era of written records through sound recordings, digital downloads, and beyond. Its scope includes articles that document the considerations and mechanisms used by, and consistent with, the purview of the production element. As an art form, music predates transcription and simultaneously transcends descriptive limitations. As an industry, music has demonstrated consistent viability over time. The record producer conjoins these potential, and serves as a broker to bridge the demand (spawned by their aspirations) with supply and satisfaction. The results are measurable and attributable, derived from effort and skillful application of craft, to a manifestation of the art in its melodic form. (Read more)

The music industry consists of the individuals and organizations that earn money by writing songs and musical compositions, creating and selling recorded music and sheet music, presenting concerts, as well as the organizations that aid, train, represent and supply music creators. Among the many individuals and organizations that operate in the industry are: the songwriters and composers who write songs and musical compositions; the singers, musicians, conductors, and bandleaders who perform the music; the record labels, music publishers, recording studios, music producers, audio engineers, retail and digital music stores, and performance rights organizations who create and sell recorded music and sheet music; and the booking agents, promoters, music venues, road crew, and audio engineers who help organize and sell concerts. (Read more)

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Featured articles are displayed here, which represent some of the best content on English Wikipedia.

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Tchaikovsky, c. 1888

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (/tʃaɪˈkɒfski/ chy-KOF-skee; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer during the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music would make a lasting impression internationally. Tchaikovsky wrote some of the most popular concert and theatrical music in the current classical repertoire, including the ballets Swan Lake and The Nutcracker, the 1812 Overture, his First Piano Concerto, Violin Concerto, the Romeo and Juliet Overture-Fantasy, several symphonies, and the opera Eugene Onegin.

Although musically precocious, Tchaikovsky was educated for a career as a civil servant as there was little opportunity for a musical career in Russia at the time and no system of public music education. When an opportunity for such an education arose, he entered the nascent Saint Petersburg Conservatory, from which he graduated in 1865. The formal Western-oriented teaching that Tchaikovsky received there set him apart from composers of the contemporary nationalist movement embodied by the Russian composers of The Five with whom his professional relationship was mixed. (Full article...)
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Smith performing in 2003

Steven Paul Smith (August 6, 1969 – October 21, 2003), known as Elliott Smith, was an American musician and singer-songwriter. He was born in Omaha, Nebraska, raised primarily in Texas, and lived much of his life in Portland, Oregon, where he gained popularity. Smith's primary instrument was the guitar, though he also played piano, clarinet, bass guitar, drums, and harmonica. He had a distinctive vocal style in his solo career after Heatmiser, characterized by his "whispery, spiderweb-thin delivery", and often used multi-tracking to create vocal layers, textures, and harmonies that were usually finger picked and recorded with tape.

After playing in the rock band Heatmiser for several years, Smith began his solo career in 1994, with releases on the independent record labels Cavity Search and Kill Rock Stars (KRS). In 1997, he signed a contract with DreamWorks Records, for which he recorded his final two albums. Smith rose to mainstream prominence when his song "Miss Misery"—included in the soundtrack for the film Good Will Hunting (1997)—was nominated for the 1998 Academy Award for Best Original Song. (Full article...)
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A Crow Looked at Me is the eighth studio album by Mount Eerie, a solo project of the American musician Phil Elverum. Released in 2017, it was composed in the aftermath of his 35-year-old wife Geneviève Castrée's diagnosis with pancreatic cancer in 2015, and her death in July 2016. Elverum wrote and recorded the songs over a six-week period in the room where she died, mostly using her instruments. His sparse lyrics and minimalistic musical accompaniment drew influence from a broad range of artists, including the poet Gary Snyder, author Karl Ove Knausgård and songwriter Julie Doiron.

Characterized by lo-fi production and loose instrumentation, A Crow Looked at Me departs from Elverum's earlier and more complex experimental works, but is musically similar to his album Lost Wisdom (2008). The lyrics are presented in a diary-like form and sung in a raw, intimate style. They describe Castrée's illness and death, Elverum's grief, and his relationship with their infant child. The album was deliberately underpromoted, and he at first considered releasing the songs under a name other than Mount Eerie. The singles "Real Death" (January 2017) and "Ravens" (February), were accompanied by a single low key concert. After its release, he undertook well-received tours of North America and Europe, and in 2018 released the album (after), a live performance of the songs. (Full article...)
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Fauré in 1907

The French composer Gabriel Fauré (1845–1924) wrote in many genres, including songs, chamber music, orchestral pieces, and choral works. His compositions for piano, written between the 1860s and the 1920s, include some of his best-known works.

Fauré's major sets of piano works are thirteen nocturnes, thirteen barcarolles, six impromptus, and four valses-caprices. These sets were composed during several decades in his long career, and display the change in his style from uncomplicated youthful charm to a final enigmatic, but sometimes fiery introspection, by way of a turbulent period in his middle years. His other notable piano pieces, including shorter works, or collections composed or published as a set, are Romances sans paroles, Ballade in F♯ major, Mazurka in B♭ major, Thème et variations in C♯ minor, and Huit pièces brèves. For piano duet, Fauré composed the Dolly Suite and, together with his friend and former pupil André Messager, an exuberant parody of Wagner in the short suite Souvenirs de Bayreuth. (Full article...)
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Strapping Young Lad at the Tribute to Flame Fest 2006

Strapping Young Lad (SYL) was a Canadian extreme metal band formed by Devin Townsend in Vancouver in 1994. The band started as a one-man studio project; Townsend played most of the instruments on the 1995 debut album, Heavy as a Really Heavy Thing. By 1997, he had recruited permanent members; this line-up, which consisted of Townsend on vocals and guitar, Jed Simon on guitar, Byron Stroud on bass, and Gene Hoglan on drums, lasted until the band's dissolution.

Strapping Young Lad's music was characterized by the use of polyrhythmic guitar riffing and drumming, blast beats and wall of sound production. The band's musical direction was mainly determined by Townsend, whose battle with mental health and dark sense of humor were major influences on his songwriting. Townsend was also noted for his eccentric appearance and on-stage behavior, which greatly contributed to the band's intense live performances. (Full article...)
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Hey Y'all is the second studio album by the American singer Elizabeth Cook, released on August 27, 2002, by the Warner Bros. record label. The album was the first time its executive producer, Richard Dodd, had worked in country music. A majority of the songs were written by Cook and the songwriter Hardie McGehee, who shared a music publisher. Prior to Hey Y'all, Cook had independently released her debut studio album, The Blue Album (2000), and performed over 100 times at the Grand Ole Opry. She signed a deal with Atlantic Records but was later transferred to Warner Bros. after AOL-Time Warner closed Atlantic's Nashville office. Hey Y'all was Cook's debut on a major record label.

A country album, Hey Y'all includes influences from other genres, such as gospel, honky-tonk, and pop. The lyrics focus on Cook's childhood and personal life, as well as on more sexual topics. It was recorded at Javeline Studios, the Hum Depot, and Vital Recording in Nashville and Sound Kitchen in Franklin, Tennessee. Reviewers attributed a twangy quality to Cook's voice, which they likened to that of other country singers, including Dolly Parton. (Full article...)
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Song of Innocence is the debut album by American composer and producer David Axelrod. It was released in October 1968 by Capitol Records. In an effort to capitalize on the experimental climate of popular music at the time, Axelrod composed the album as a suite-like tone poem interpreting Songs of Innocence, a 1789 illustrated collection of poems by William Blake. Recording took place at Capitol Studios in Los Angeles with an orchestra and studio musicians from the Wrecking Crew collective, including keyboardist and conductor Don Randi, guitarist Al Casey, bassist Carol Kaye, and drummer Earl Palmer.

An instrumental jazz fusion record, Song of Innocence incorporates elements of classical, rock, funk, pop, and theatre music. Axelrod arranged the music for bass, drums, and string instruments, composing in a rock idiom with tempos centered on such rhythms played by Palmer. He used contrast in his orchestral compositions, interspersing their euphoric psychedelic R&B structures with dramatic, harrowing arrangements to reflect the supernatural themes found in Blake's poems. The resulting music's reverent, psychedelic overtones have been interpreted as evoking the poet's themes of innocence and spirituality. (Full article...)
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Fearless is the second studio album by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. She wrote the majority of the album while touring in 2007–2008 and produced it with Nathan Chapman.

Inspired by Swift's adolescence, Fearless explores love and heartbreak using references to her personal life and fairy tale–inspired lyrical imagery. It features co-writing credits from Liz Rose, Hillary Lindsey, Colbie Caillat, and John Rich. A country pop album, Fearless features acoustic arrangements driven by a wide variety of string instruments such as banjos, fiddles, mandolins, and electric guitars. Its songs follow the standard verse–chorus–bridge form with dynamic bridges and choruses. The elements of pop, folk, and rock of Fearless led to some critics arguing against its categorization as a country album. (Full article...)
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Beecham rehearsing in 1948

Sir Thomas Beecham, 2nd Baronet, CH (29 April 1879 – 8 March 1961) was an English conductor and impresario best known for his association with the London Philharmonic and the Royal Philharmonic orchestras. He was also closely associated with the Liverpool Philharmonic and Hallé orchestras. From the early 20th century until his death, Beecham was a major influence on the musical life of Britain and, according to the BBC, was Britain's first international conductor.

Born to a rich industrial family, Beecham began his career as a conductor in 1899. He used his access to the family fortune to finance opera from the 1910s until the start of the Second World War, staging seasons at Covent Garden, Drury Lane and His Majesty's Theatre with international stars, his own orchestra and a wide repertoire. Among the works he introduced to England were Richard Strauss's Elektra, Salome and Der Rosenkavalier and three operas by Frederick Delius. (Full article...)
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Madonna in October 2023

Madonna Louise Ciccone (/tʃɪˈkoʊni/; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Regarded as the "Queen of Pop", she has been recognized for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting and visual presentation. Madonna's works, which incorporate social, political, sexual, and religious themes, have generated both controversy and critical acclaim. A cultural icon spanning both the 20th and 21st centuries, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame called her one of the most "well-documented figures of the modern age" in 2008. Various scholarly reviews, literature, and art works have been created about her along with an academic mini subdiscipline devoted to her called Madonna studies.

Madonna moved to New York City in 1978 to pursue a career in dance. After performing as a drummer, guitarist, and vocalist in the rock bands Breakfast Club and Emmy & The Emmys, she rose to solo stardom with her 1983 eponymous debut studio album. Madonna followed it with a series of successful albums, including all-time bestsellers Like a Virgin (1984), True Blue (1986), and The Immaculate Collection (1990), the critically acclaimed Like a Prayer (1989), as well as Grammy Award winners Ray of Light (1998) and Confessions on a Dance Floor (2005). She has amassed a catalog of various high-charting songs, including "Holiday", "Like a Virgin", "La Isla Bonita", "Like a Prayer", "Vogue", "Take a Bow", "Frozen", "Music", "Hung Up" and "4 Minutes". (Full article...)
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Atticus Ross (left) and Trent Reznor (right) performing in October 2018

Nine Inch Nails, commonly abbreviated as NIN, stylized as NIИ, is an American industrial rock band formed in Cleveland in 1988. Its members are the singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer Trent Reznor and his frequent collaborator, Atticus Ross. Reznor was previously the only permanent member of the band until Ross was officialized in 2016. The band's debut album, Pretty Hate Machine (1989), was released via TVT Records. After disagreeing with TVT about how to promote the album, the band signed with Interscope Records and released the EP Broken (1992). The following albums, The Downward Spiral (1994) and The Fragile (1999), were released to critical acclaim and commercial success.

Following a hiatus, Nine Inch Nails resumed touring in 2005 and released its fourth album With Teeth (2005). Following the release of the next album Year Zero (2007), the band left Interscope after a feud. Nine Inch Nails continued touring and independently released Ghosts I–IV (2008) and The Slip (2008) before a second hiatus. Their eighth album, Hesitation Marks (2013), was followed by a trilogy which consisted of the EPs Not the Actual Events (2016) and Add Violence (2017) and their ninth album Bad Witch (2018). In 2020, Nine Inch Nails simultaneously released two further installments in the Ghosts series: Ghosts V: Together and Ghosts VI: Locusts. The band announced a number of new projects in 2024 through their multimedia company With Teeth. (Full article...)
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Doolittle, the second studio album by the American alternative rock band Pixies, was released on April 17, 1989, on 4AD records. The album was an instant critical success and became the band's breakthrough album. Doolittle was especially well received in Europe, where the British music weeklies Melody Maker and Sounds named it their album of the year. Pixies' main songwriter and lead vocalist Black Francis wrote the idiosyncratic lyrics, which allude to surrealist imagery, biblical violence, and descriptions of torture and death.

The album is praised for its "quiet/loud" dynamic, which was achieved through subdued verses that are founded on Kim Deal's bass patterns and David Lovering's drums. The peaks in tone and volume were achieved through the addition of distorted guitars by Francis and Joey Santiago. This technique influenced the development of early-1990s grunge music; Kurt Cobain said Doolittle was one of his favorite records and that its songs heavily influenced Nirvana's song "Smells Like Teen Spirit". (Full article...)

More featured articles

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... that to promote the Buffalo Club, Rising Tide Records sent packages of plastic buffalo to music industry executives in Nashville?
... that one critic interpreted a SZA song as being about her fears about the growing influence of AI in the music industry?
... that according to Billboard magazine, Laufey created a blueprint for jazz music in the modern music industry and helped push it back into the mainstream?
... that when Divine's song "Lately" topped the Billboard Hot 100 in 1998, it became the first number-one single for the performers, the songwriters, the producers, and the record labels?
... that until the release of the documentary Predator: The Secret Scandal of J-Pop, sexual abuse claims involving record producer Johnny Kitagawa went widely unreported in Japanese media?

Born this day

Birthdays in Music: November 10

Houston Person, American tenor saxophonist, turns 90.
Hubert Laws, American flautist, turns 85.
Andrew Cyrille, American drummer, turns 85.
Tim Rice, English lyricist, turns 80.
Donna Fargo, American singer, turns 79.
Stanton Davis, American trumpeter, turns 79.
Hugh Moffatt, American country music songwriter, turns 76.
Bram Tchaikovsky, Brit vocalist with The Motors, turns 75.
Mario Cipollina, American bassist with Huey Lewis and the News, turns 70.
Chris Joyce, Brit drummer for Simply Red, turns 67.
Frank Maudsley, Brit bassist with A Flock of Seagulls, turns 66.
Massimo Morsello, Italian singer-songwriter, turns 66.
Brooks Williams, American acoustic guitarist/singer-songwriter, turns 66.
Norman Giscombe, Brit musician who scored a hit with Mama Used to Say, turns 63.
Mark Turner, American tenor saxophonist, turns 59.
Steve Mackey, Brit bassist with Pulp, turns 58.
Andrew Vowles, Brit musician with Massive Attack, turns 57.
Derry Brownson, Brit keyboardist with EMF, turns 54.
Warren G, American West Coast hip hop rapper, turns 54.
DJ Ashba, American guitarist from Sixx:A.M., Guns N' Roses, BulletBoys, Pyromantic and Beautiful Creatures, turns 52.
U-God, (born Lamont Hawkins) American rapper with Wu-Tang Clan, turns 54.
Jacqui Abbott, Brit lead vocalist for The Beautiful South, turns 51.
Tha Realest, (born Jevon Jones) American rapper, turns 50.
Jim Adkins, American guitarist and vocalist for Jimmy Eat World, turns 49.
Eve, (born Eve Jihan Jeffers) American rapper, singer, and actress, turns 46.
Chris Joannou, Australian bassist with Silverchair, turns 45.
Miranda Lambert, American singer and Nashville Star 2003 finalist, turns 41.

Ronnie Hammond (Record production, 1950 –March 15, 2011), American vocalist and multi-instrumentalist with Atlanta Rhythm Section, would have turned 74 this year.
Ann Reinking (Record production, 1949 –December 12, 2020), American dancer, would have turned 75 this year.
Greg Lake (Record production, 1948 –December 07, 2016), Brit musician; King Crimson founding member and one-third of Emerson, Lake & Palmer, would have turned 76 this year.
Dave Loggins (Record production, 1947 –July 10, 2024), American singer and songwriter, would have turned 77 this year.
Glen Buxton (Record production, 1947 –October 19, 1997), American guitarist for Alice Cooper, would have turned 77 this year.
Kyu Sakamoto (Record production, 1941 –August 12, 1985), first Japanese musician to top US music charts, would have turned 83 this year.
Screaming Lord Sutch (Record production, 1940 –June 16, 1999), English musician and politician, would have turned 84 this year.
Paul Bley (Record production, 1932 –January 03, 2016), Canadian free jazz pianist, would have turned 92 this year.
Ennio Morricone (Record production, 1928 –July 06, 2020), Italian composer, would have turned 96 this year.
Vince Cattolica (Record production, 1923 –February 18, 2004), Blind clarinetist, would have turned 101 this year.
Arnold Johansson (Record production, 1922–November 24, 2002), American trumpeter, would have turned 102 this year.
Billy May (Record production, 1916 –February 22, 2004), American arranger and trumpeter, would have turned 108 this year.
Jane Froman (Record production, 1907 –April 22, 1980), American actress and singer, would have turned 117 this year.
Arthur Goring Thomas (Record production, 1850 –March 20, 1892), English composer, would have turned 174 this year.
François Couperin (Record production, 1668 –September 11, 1733), French composer, would have turned 356 this year.

List of musical events • Anniversaries • More birthdays...

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These are all Good articles, which meet a core set of high editorial standards.

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So is the fifth studio album by English singer-songwriter Peter Gabriel, released on 19 May 1986 by Charisma Records and Virgin Records. After working on the soundtrack to the film Birdy (1984), producer Daniel Lanois was invited to remain at Gabriel's Somerset home during 1985 to work on his next solo project. Initial sessions for So consisted of Gabriel, Lanois and guitarist David Rhodes, although these grew to include a number of percussionists.

Although Gabriel continued to use the pioneering Fairlight CMI digital sampling synthesizer, songs from these sessions were less experimental than his previous material. Nevertheless, Gabriel drew on various musical influences, fusing pop, soul, and art rock with elements of traditional world music, particularly African and Brazilian styles. It is Gabriel's first non-eponymous album, So representing an "anti-title" that resulted from label pressure to "properly" market his music. Gabriel toured So on the This Way Up tour (1986–1987), with some songs performed at human rights and charity concerts during this period. (Full article...)
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The Warped Ones (狂熱の季節, Kyōnetsu no kisetsu) is a 1960 Japanese Sun Tribe film directed by Koreyoshi Kurahara and starring Tamio Kawachi, Eiji Go, Yuko Chishiro and Noriko Matsumoto. It was produced and distributed by the Nikkatsu Company. The story concerns the young hoodlum Akira, his friends, their transgressions and specifically their revenge on the couple that got him sent to jail, a reporter and his fiancée. When the fiancée finds herself pregnant by Akira she enlists his help with her finance who has become distant since the attack.

Often compared by critics to Breathless (1960) and Rebel Without a Cause (1955), it is a stylistic departure from studio norms, driven by its jazz score and employing filmic techniques described as being as energetic and frantic as its characters. It achieved success in Japan and was followed by Black Sun (1964), featuring many of the same cast, crew and characters, with the addition of acclaimed drummer Max Roach to the soundtrack. Audubon Films released The Warped Ones in the United States in 1963 where it was marketed as a sexploitation film. (Full article...)
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Even Worse is the fifth studio album by the American parody musician "Weird Al" Yankovic, released on April 12, 1988. The album was produced by former The McCoys guitarist Rick Derringer. Recorded between November 1987 and February 1988, this album helped to revitalize Yankovic's career after the critical and commercial failure of his previous album Polka Party! (1986).

The music on Even Worse is built around parodies and pastiches of pop and rock music of the late 1980s. Half of the album is made up of parodies, featuring jabs at Michael Jackson, George Harrison, Tiffany, Los Lobos, and Billy Idol. The other half is original material, featuring several "style parodies" or musical imitations that emulate existing artists. These style parodies include imitations of specific artists such as Oingo Boingo, Beastie Boys, and James Taylor. Even Worse has the distinction of being one of two albums by Yankovic lacking any polka renditions of pop songs or medleys, the other being his self-titled debut album from 1983. This album's title and cover art are spoofs of Michael Jackson's 1987 album Bad. (Full article...)
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Country Grammar is the debut studio album by American rapper and singer Nelly. It was released on June 27, 2000, by Universal Records. The production on the album was handled by Jason "Jay E" Epperson, with additional production by C-Love, Kevin Law, City Spud, Steve "Blast" Wills and Basement Beats. Nelly contributed to all lyrics on the album, with Epperson and City Spud also contributing. With the album's release, Nelly and his “St. Lunatics” crew cemented the St. Louis sound firmly amongst other southern hip hop artists in the year 2000, such as Juvenile, Trina, Ludacris, OutKast, Three 6 Mafia and UGK. Country Grammar also introduced the world to Nelly's unique musical style of pop-rap and radio “singalongs” with a Missouri twang. It was supported by four successful singles: "Country Grammar (Hot Shit)", "E.I.", "Ride wit Me" and "Batter Up". Its lead single, "Country Grammar (Hot Shit)", peaked at number 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 and UK Singles Chart. Its second single "E.I." peaked at number 16 on the Hot 100, number 12 on the UK Singles Chart and number 11 on the ARIA Singles Chart. "Ride wit Me" peaked within the top five on the Hot 100, ARIA Singles Chart, Irish Singles Chart and UK Singles Chart. The album's fourth and final single, "Batter Up" featuring St. Lunatics members Murphy Lee and Ali, achieved moderate chart success.

Country Grammar received positive reviews, with critics praising Nelly's vocal style and the album's production. It topped the US Billboard 200 chart for five consecutive weeks, and the US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart for six consecutive weeks. It peaked in the top five on the New Zealand Albums Chart and Australian Albums Chart, as well as the top ten on the Canadian Albums Chart and Dutch Albums Chart. The album was certified three times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ) and Music Canada (MC). The former denoted shipments of 45,000 copies while the latter denoted 300,000 copies. (Full article...)
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Jack Johnson (also known as A Tribute To Jack Johnson on reissues) is a studio album and soundtrack by the American jazz trumpeter, composer, and bandleader Miles Davis. It was released on February 24, 1971, by Columbia Records.

The album was conceived by Davis for Bill Cayton's documentary of the same name, on the life of boxer Jack Johnson. Its two 25-minute-plus tracks were produced from recordings made on February 18 and April 7, 1970, at 30th Street Studio in New York City. Davis was inspired by the political and racial subtext of Johnson's saga as well as the hard rock and funk sounds of his own era, leading a rock-inspired line-up of musicians in the studio: guitarists John McLaughlin and Sonny Sharrock, keyboardists Herbie Hancock and Chick Corea, bass clarinetist Bennie Maupin, electric bassist Michael Henderson, and drummers Jack DeJohnette and Billy Cobham. (Full article...)
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Beautiful Eyes is an extended play (EP) by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift, released as a Walmart exclusive on July 15, 2008, by Big Machine Records. In later years, after the MP3 service got closed down, Walmart transferred the rights to Amazon for their Amazon MP3 service, where it remains exclusively available.

Beautiful Eyes has a primarily country pop sound. It consists of alternate versions of tracks from Swift's 2006 debut album Taylor Swift and two original tracks—"Beautiful Eyes" and "I Heart ?"—which Swift had composed as early as 2006. The physical edition of the EP also features a DVD including music videos of singles from Swift's 2006 album. (Full article...)
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Erotica is the fifth studio album by American singer Madonna, released on October 20, 1992, by Maverick and Sire Records. The album was released simultaneously with Madonna's first book publication Sex, a coffee table book containing explicit photographs of the singer, and marked her first release under Maverick, her own multimedia entertainment company. For the album, the singer enlisted Shep Pettibone and André Betts, with whom she had collaborated on 1990's "Vogue" and The Immaculate Collection.

In mid-1991, Pettibone sent Madonna a three-track demo; she listened to the songs and liked all of them. Afterwards, the two met in New York City to start working on more music. The singer would write the melodies and lyrics on top of the music Pettibone produced in the style of his previous remixes. Erotica has been noted as a concept album about sex and romance in times of HIV/AIDS, with songs that touch "unpleasant" themes such as S&M and homophobia. Additionally, it marked a departure of the dance-oriented nature of Madonna's previous works, incorporating elements of hip-hop, house, techno, and New Jack Swing. (Full article...)
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Black Beauty: Miles Davis at Fillmore West is a live double album by the American jazz trumpeter, composer, and bandleader Miles Davis. It was recorded on April 10, 1970, at the Fillmore West in San Francisco, shortly after the release of the trumpeter's Bitches Brew album and the recording of Jack Johnson (1971). Black Beauty was produced by Teo Macero, Davis' longtime record producer.
A jazz-rock and fusion album, Black Beauty captured one of Davis' first performances at a rock venue during the early stages of his electric period. At the concert, he led his band—saxophonist Steve Grossman, bassist Dave Holland, keyboardist Chick Corea, drummer Jack DeJohnette, and percussionist Airto Moreira—through one continuously performed set list which functioned as a musical suite for soloists to improvise throughout. He signaled changes from one piece to the next with phrases played on his trumpet.

Black Beauty was first released only in Japan by CBS/Sony in 1973 without individual songs specified in the track listing. Columbia Records, Davis' American record label, had difficulty identifying the compositions for royalty purposes, and the album was not released in the United States until 1997. Critics were generally positive toward Black Beauty, although some were critical of its sound quality and Grossman's solos; Corea said the recording was an accurate document how that particular band of Davis' played live. (Full article...)
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Modern Life Is Rubbish is the second studio album by the English alternative rock band Blur, released in May 1993. Although their debut album Leisure (1991) had been commercially successful, Blur faced a severe media backlash soon after its release, and fell out of public favour. After the group returned from an unsuccessful tour of the United States, poorly received live performances and the rising popularity of rival band Suede further diminished Blur's status in the UK.

Under threat of being dropped by Food Records, for their next album Blur underwent an image makeover championed by frontman Damon Albarn. The band incorporated influences from traditional British guitar-pop groups such as the Kinks and the Small Faces, and the resulting sound was melodic and lushly produced, featuring brass, woodwind and backing vocalists. Albarn's lyrics on Modern Life Is Rubbish use "poignant humour and Ray Davies characterisation to investigate the dreams, traditions and prejudices of suburban England", according to writer David Cavanagh. (Full article...)
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Indicud (stylized in all lowercase) is the third studio album by American rapper Kid Cudi. It was released on April 16, 2013, by GOOD Music, Wicked Awesome Records, and Republic Records. It was the first album of Cudi's solo career to not be an installment of his Man on the Moon series. The album's cover artwork was designed by Kid Cudi himself, who also served as an executive producer of Indicud. It was Cudi's goal to make more uptempo and positive music with the album. He described it as a completely new format compared to his previous albums.

The album's record production was handled entirely by Cudi as well, with only record producer Hit-Boy co-producing one track, while Cudi's WZRD bandmate Dot da Genius, provided drums on two. The album features guest appearances from King Chip, Kendrick Lamar, Too Short, RZA, ASAP Rocky, Father John Misty, Michael Bolton and Haim. (Full article...)
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Somewhere Somehow is the fourth studio album by American rock band We the Kings. It is the first album without bassist Drew Thomsen, who was replaced by Charles Trippy. Keyboardist Coley O'Toole was also added into the lineup. After parting ways with S-Curve Records, the group released the single "Just Keep Breathing" in April 2013. Over the next couple of months, the band released "Find You There" and "Any Other Way" as singles before going on the Summer Fest tour. In late September, the band started a campaign to crowd-fund their next album; it eventually received over $149,000 from 2,309 people. The band recorded in Los Angeles, California, working with Blake Healy, Steve Shebby and David Immerman, all of whom co-wrote and produced songs on the album.

The album was announced for release with the title Vitam Regum, before it was changed to Somewhere Somehow a week later. "Art of War" was released as a single in early December. Somewhere Somehow was released on December 16 through Ozone Entertainment. Following a U.S. tour in March 2014, the group toured Japan and Australia, before joining Warped Tour. A music video was released for "That Feeling" in mid-January 2015. Somewhere Somehow peaked at number 44 on the Billboard 200, and reached the top 10 on several other Billboard charts. It also charted in the top 20 on several UK charts. Despite receiving a mixed critical reception, Clark regarded the album as "a huge success!" (Full article...)
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Mit Gas is the second studio album by the musical supergroup Tomahawk. It was released on May 6, 2003, through Ipecac Recordings, a record label co-owned by the band's vocalist Mike Patton (and his partner Greg Werckman). Mit Gas charted in several countries, reaching the top 20 in Norway's VG-lista and the United States' Billboard Independent Albums charts.

Recorded after an unreceptive tour opening for the band Tool, Mit Gas has been described by critics as a more focused and unified album than its predecessor, Tomahawk. The album was supported by a tour alongside Melvins, Skeleton Key, and Dälek. Mit Gas has garnered positive reviews, drawing comparisons to the works of Frank Zappa, Pink Floyd, and Led Zeppelin. (Full article...)

More selected albums

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The following are images from various record production-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Danny Knicely records with Furnace Mountain Band in Virginia (2012) (from Recording studio)
Image 2Control room at the Tec de Monterrey, Mexico City Campus (from Recording studio)
Image 3Hip hop producer and rapper RZA in a music studio with two collaborators. Pictured in the foreground is a synthesizer keyboard and a number of vinyl records; both of these items are key tools that producers and DJs use to create hip hop beats. (from Hip hop production)
Image 4Digital audio interface for the Pro Tools computer-based hard disk multitrack recording system. Digital audio quality is measured in data resolution per channel. (from Multitrack recording)
Image 5The Siemens Studio for Electronic Music c. 1956. (from Recording studio)
Image 6The studio at Ridge Radio in Caterham, England (from Recording studio)
Image 7Donna Summer wearing headphones during a recording session in 1977 (from Recording studio)
Image 8Korg D888 eight-track digital recorder (from Multitrack recording)
Image 9Mixing desk with twenty inputs and eight outputs (from Multitrack recording)
Image 10The TEAC 2340, a popular early (1973) home multitrack recorder, four tracks on ¼ inch tape (from Multitrack recording)
Image 11The TASCAM 85 16B analog tape multitrack recorder can record 16 tracks of audio on 1-inch (2.54cm) magnetic tape. Professional analog units of 24 tracks on 2-inch tape were common, with specialty tape heads providing 16 or even 8 tracks on the same tape width, for greater fidelity. (from Multitrack recording)
Image 12A selection of instruments at a music studio, including a grand piano (from Recording studio)
Image 13Engineers and producers watch a trumpet player from a window in the control room during a recording session. (from Recording studio)
Image 14Scully 280 eight-track recorder at the Stax Museum of American Soul Music (from Multitrack recording)
Image 15Home studio setup (from Recording studio)
Image 16Neve VR60, a multitrack mixing console. Above the console are a range of studio monitor speakers. (from Recording studio)

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Eddy Arnold almost completely dominated the number one spot in 1948.

In 1948, Billboard magazine published two charts specifically covering the top-performing country music songs in the United States. At the start of the year, Billboard's sole ranking of country music recordings was based on the number of times a song had been played in jukeboxes. The Most Played Juke Box Folk Records chart had been published since 1944 and was compiled based on a weekly survey of "a selected group of juke box operators whose locations require folk records". In May, the magazine added a second country music chart, the Best Selling Folk Retail Records listing, based on a similar survey of "a selected group of retail stores, the majority of whose customers purchase folk records". The Juke Box Folk chart was discontinued in 1957 and the Best Sellers chart the following year; both are considered part of the lineage of the magazine's current country music songs charts.

The number-one position on both charts was dominated almost entirely during 1948 by vocalist Eddy Arnold and his backing band the Tennessee Plowboys. One of the biggest country stars of the late 1940s, Arnold was at number one on the jukebox chart at the start of the year with "I'll Hold You in My Heart (Till I Can Hold You in My Arms)", which had been in the top spot for eight weeks in 1947 and remained there for a further thirteen weeks in 1948. This total of 21 weeks at number one set a record for Billboard's country charts which would stand for 65 years, until the duo Florida Georgia Line spent a 22nd week in the top spot with "Cruise" in 2013. "I'll Hold You in My Heart" was replaced in the top spot by another of Arnold's songs, "Anytime", and this in turn was followed by runs at number one by three more of his songs. Between them, the five songs occupied the number-one position through the issue of Billboard dated November 27, meaning that Arnold had topped the chart for more than a year without interruption. In the November 27 issue, another artist topped the chart for the first time in 1948 when Jimmy Wakely's "One Has My Name (The Other Has My Heart)" tied with Arnold's "Just a Little Lovin' (Will Go a Long Way)" for the number one position, before going on to take the top spot outright the following week. Three weeks later, however, Arnold returned to number one in the final issue of the year. (Full article...)
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The Grammy Award for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance (previously called Best Rhythm and Blues Solo Vocal Performance, Female) was an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to female recording artists for quality R&B songs. Awards in several categories are distributed annually by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without regard to album sales or chart position."

According to the category description guide for the 52nd Grammy Awards, the award was presented to artists that performed "newly recorded solo R&B vocal performances". Solo numbers by members of an established group were not eligible for the award as "separate entries from the duo or group performances." Albums were also considered for the accolade until 1992. (Full article...)
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Cristian Castro was the first artist to reach number one on the Latin Pop Airplay chart in 1994. He also had the most number one singles in 1995 with three songs.

In October 1994, Billboard magazine established Latin Pop Airplay, a chart that ranks the top-performing songs played on Latin pop radio stations in the United States based on weekly airplay data compiled by Nielsen's Broadcast Data Systems (BDS). It is a subchart of Hot Latin Songs, which lists the best-performing Spanish-language songs in the country. According to Billboard, "Latin pop" refers to pop music sung in Spanish. Five songs topped the chart in 1994 while 16 tracks did the same in 1995. Until November 5, 1994, BDS ran tests charts which only listed the number one song of the week on Billboard's electronic database.

The first song to reach number one on the Latin Pop Airplay chart was "Mañana" by Cristian Castro, which was composed and originally performed by Juan Gabriel. Castro was also the artist with the most number-one songs in 1995 with "Con Tu Amor", "Azul Gris", and "Vuélveme a Querer". The latter song held this position for the longest with 14 weeks. Luis Miguel had two number-one songs on the chart in 1994 with "El Día Que Me Quieras" and "La Media Vuelta", the second of which was the final chart-topper of the year and the first at the start of 1995. He achieved his third number one track in 1995 with "Todo y Nada". The three songs were recorded for the album Segundo Romance (1994), in which Luis Miguel covers ballads from Latin America. Ednita Nazario became the first female artist to have a chart-topper with "Quiero Que Me Hagas el Amor" and achieved her second number one song a year later with "Gata Sin Luna". (Full article...)
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In 1952, Billboard magazine published three charts covering the best-performing country music songs in the United States. At the start of the year, the charts were published under the titles Most-Played Juke Box (Country & Western) Records, Best-Selling Retail Folk (Country & Western) Records and Country & Western Records Most Played By Folk Disk Jockeys. Beginning with the issue of Billboard dated November 15, the titles of the charts were changed to Most Played in Juke Boxes, National Best Sellers, and Most Played By Jockeys respectively, with the genre denoted in an overall page title rather than within the titles of the charts themselves. All three charts are considered part of the lineage of the multimetric Hot Country Songs chart, which was first published in 1958.

In the first issue of Billboard of the year, "Slow Poke" by Pee Wee King retained its place at number one on both the juke box and retail charts from the previous week but was displaced from the top spot on the jockeys chart by Carl Smith's "Let Old Mother Nature Have Her Way". Smith had three number-one country songs in 1952, two of which topped all three listings. Webb Pierce was the only other artist to take as many as three different songs to the top spot in 1952, although none of his songs reached number one on all three charts during the year. The longest-running number one on both the juke box and retail charts was "The Wild Side of Life" by Hank Thompson, which on both listings spent fifteen consecutive weeks in the top spot before being replaced by "It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels" by Kitty Wells. Wells' song, which had been written as an answer song to "The Wild Side of Life", was the first million-selling country single by a female artist and the first Billboard country number one by a solo female. Despite this success, it did not top the jockeys chart, as the song's lyrics were deemed too controversial by some radio stations. (Full article...)
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Flo Rida's first U.S. number-one single "Low" was the longest-running number-one of 2008, topping the chart for 10 consecutive weeks.

The Billboard Hot 100 is a chart that ranks the best-performing singles of the United States. Published by Billboard magazine, the data is compiled by Nielsen SoundScan based collectively on each single's weekly physical and digital sales, and airplay. In 2008, there were 14 singles that topped the chart in 52 issues of the magazine.

Rapper Flo Rida's "Low" was the first number one of the year, and the longest-running single in 2008, staying at number one for 10 consecutive weeks. It is the longest stay at the top for a single since R&B singer Beyoncé's "Irreplaceable" reigned for 10 straight weeks starting in late 2006. "Low" is the best-performing single of 2008 in the United States, ranking number one on Billboard's year end chart of the Top Hot 100 Hits of 2008. Other singles with extended runs at number one include Katy Perry's "I Kissed a Girl", which stayed at the top spot for seven straight weeks, and T.I.'s "Whatever You Like", which topped the chart for seven non-consecutive weeks. (Full article...)
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"Peek-a-Boo" by English rock band Siouxsie and the Banshees was the first song to top the Modern Rock Tracks chart.

Alternative Airplay is a record chart that ranks the most-played songs on American modern rock radio stations. Published by the music industry magazine Billboard, it was created in the midst of the growing popularity of alternative music on rock radio in the late 1980s. As less-established alternative acts were receiving minimal exposure on album-oriented rock (AOR) radio stations, their labels turned to modern rock stations for airplay. Billboard introduced the chart in response to demand within the music industry for consistent information on the commercial performance of alternative music. During the decade, it was known as the Modern Rock Tracks chart and tabulated based on weighted reports from twenty-nine radio stations: eighteen established standard-bearer commercial stations and eleven non-commercial college stations.

The Modern Rock Tracks chart debuted in the September 10, 1988, issue of Billboard, with the inaugural number-one song being "Peek-a-Boo" by the English band Siouxsie and the Banshees. Upon its debut, several publications noted the presence of more independent artists on Modern Rock Tracks compared to its companion chart, Album Rock Tracks. By the end of the decade, twenty-two songs had topped the chart. The American bands R.E.M. and The B-52's each scored two number-one songs on the Modern Rock Tracks chart during the 1980s, the most for any artist within the decade. The R.E.M. song "Orange Crush" spent the longest period atop the chart during the decade, staying at number one for eight consecutive weeks from November 1988 to January 1989. The final number one of the 1980s was "Blues from a Gun" by the Scottish band The Jesus and Mary Chain. (Full article...)
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Rapper 50 Cent's "In da Club" was one of the longest-running singles of 2003, topping the chart for nine straight weeks. It was also the best-performing single of 2003.

The Billboard Hot 100 is a chart that ranks the best-performing singles in the United States. Published by Billboard magazine, the data are compiled by Nielsen SoundScan based collectively on each single's weekly physical sales, and airplay. In 2003, there were 11 singles that topped the chart.

During the year, ten acts achieved a first U.S. number-one single, either as a lead artist or featured guest. Those acts were B2K, LL Cool J, 50 Cent, Sean Paul, Nate Dogg, Clay Aiken, Murphy Lee, Ludacris, and Shawnna. Beyoncé, despite having hit number one with Destiny's Child, also earns her first number one song as a solo act. P. Diddy, 50 Cent, Sean Paul, and Beyoncé were the only acts to hit number one more than once, each of them reaching number one twice throughout the year. (Full article...)
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Tennessee Ernie Ford's song "Sixteen Tons" ended the year at number one on two of the three charts.

In 1955, Billboard magazine published three charts covering the best-performing country music songs in the United States: Most Played in Juke Boxes, Best Sellers in Stores, and Most Played By Jockeys. The juke box chart was based on a "survey among operators thruout [sic] the country using a high proportion of country and western records", the best sellers chart on a survey of "dealers...with a high volume of country and western records" and the jockeys chart a survey of "top disk jockeys in all key markets". All three charts are considered part of the lineage of the magazine's current country music songs charts.

As in the previous year, the number one position on all three charts was dominated during 1955 by Webb Pierce, the most successful country singer of the mid-1950s. His rendition of "In the Jailhouse Now", an early 20th-century song most associated in the country music field with 1920s country pioneer Jimmie Rodgers, spent 21 weeks at number one on the juke box chart beginning in March. This run tied the record held by Eddy Arnold's "I'll Hold You in My Heart (Till I Can Hold You in My Arms)" (1947–48) and Hank Snow's "I'm Moving On" (1950) for the most weeks spent atop one of Billboard's country charts. The three songs would share the record for more than fifty years until Florida Georgia Line spent a 22nd week at number one on the Hot Country Songs listing in 2013 with "Cruise". "In the Jailhouse Now" was also the longest-running chart-topper of 1955 on both the best sellers and jockeys charts, spending 20 weeks and 15 weeks respectively in the top spot. Pierce's grip on the number one position was strongest on the juke box chart, on which he spent 47 weeks at number one, including one week when he tied for the top spot. Carl Smith (four weeks, including one tied with Pierce), Eddy Arnold (two weeks) and Tennessee Ernie Ford (one week) were the only other artists to top that listing in issues of Billboard with a cover date of 1955. (Full article...)
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Lefty Frizzell had achieved a string of top 10 singles in the early 1950s but had experienced only sporadic success since then. In 1964 "Saginaw, Michigan" became his final number one.

Hot Country Songs is a chart that ranks the top-performing country music songs in the United States, published by Billboard magazine. In 1964, 11 different singles topped the chart, published at the time under the title Hot Country Singles, in 52 issues of the magazine. Chart placings were based on playlists submitted by country music radio stations and sales reports submitted by stores.

In the issue of Billboard dated January 4, the number one position was held by "Love's Gonna Live Here" by Buck Owens, the song's twelfth week in the top spot; the song would remain at number one through the issue dated February 1 for a total run of sixteen consecutive weeks in the top spot. This set a new record for the longest unbroken run at number one on the Hot Country chart which would stand until 2013 when Florida Georgia Line spent a seventeenth consecutive week atop the chart with "Cruise". Owens had three further number ones in 1964, "My Heart Skips a Beat", "Together Again" and "I Don't Care (Just as Long as You Love Me)" and spent a total of twenty weeks at number one during the year, more than twice as many as any other artist. He was the only artist to take more than one single to number one in 1964 and twice replaced himself in the top spot when "My Heart Skips a Beat" was displaced from the top of the chart by "Together Again" before regaining the peak position two weeks later. (Full article...)
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Marc Anthony had the most number one songs of 1996 with five.

Tropical Airplay is a chart that ranks the top-performing songs (regardless of genre or language) on tropical radio stations in the United States, published by Billboard magazine based on weekly airplay data compiled by Nielsen's Broadcast Data Systems. It is a subchart of Hot Latin Songs, which lists the best-performing Spanish-language songs in the country. In 1996, 20 songs topped the chart, in 52 issues of the magazine.

The first number one of the year was "Nadie Como Ella" by Marc Anthony, which had been in the top spot since the issue dated December 23, 1995, and spent a total of three weeks at this position. Marc Anthony was also the artist with most number ones in 1996 with five songs. Víctor Manuelle and Jerry Rivera achieved their first chart-toppers in 1996 and each had two number ones in the year. "Loco de Amor" by Rivera held this position for seven weeks and tied with Frankie Ruiz's song "Ironía" for the longest run at number one. The latter song was named the best-performing track of the year on the Tropical Airplay chart and won the Billboard Latin Music Award for "Tropical/Salsa Hot Latin Track of the Year" in 1997. (Full article...)