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The Life You Give: Sammy Davis, Jr. *1925
Sammy Davis, Jr., born December 8, 1925 in New York, New York, was a singer, dancer, and entertainer. At age three Davis began performing in vaudeville with his father and uncle, Will Mastin, in the Will Mastin Trio. Davis studied tap dancing under Bill (“Bojangles”) Robinson but never received a formal education. After serving in…
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Happy Birthday, Ray Shulman *1949 (Gentle Giant)
Ray Shulman was born on December 8 1949, as the younger of three boys to a family of Scottish-Jewish descent in Portsmouth, England. With his brothers, Derek, and Phil, the progressive rock group Gentle Giant was active from 1970 to 1980. Ray was Gentle Giant’s bassist, while also playing trumpet, violin, viola, cello, vocals, drums,…
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The Life You Give: Tom Waits *1949
Tom Waits, born December 7, 1949, in Pomona, California, is a singer-songwriter and actor whose gritty, sometimes romantic depictions of the lives of the urban underclass won him a loyal if limited following and the admiration of critics and prominent musicians who performed and recorded his songs. Born into a middle-class California family but enamoured…
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La Damnation de Faust (Berlioz) premiered today in 1846
“La Damnation de Faust” Opus 24Dramatic Legend for four soloists, children’s chorus, seven-part choir, and orchestra Composer: Hector Berlioz Librettists: Hector Berlioz, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, & Almire GandonnièrePremiere: December 6 1846 On this recording: Kenneth Riegel —- Tenor [Faust]José van Dam —- Bass [Méphistophélès]Frederica von Stade —- Mezzo-soprano [Marguerite] Malcolm King —- Bass [Brander]…
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The Life You Give: Rainer Maria Rilke *1875
Rainer Maria Rilke, born December 4 1875, in Prague, Bohemia, Austria-Hungary [now in Czech Republic] was the poet who became internationally famous with such works as Duino Elegies and Sonnets to Orpheus. Rilke was the only son of a not-too-happy marriage. His father, Josef, a civil servant, was a man frustrated in his career; his…
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