split
stringclasses
1 value
0
stringclasses
1 value
1
stringclasses
1 value
2
stringclasses
1 value
3
stringclasses
1 value
4
stringclasses
1 value
5
stringclasses
1 value
sentence
stringlengths
1
2.56k
other
William Sheridan Allen
other
William Sheridan Allen (October 5, 1932 – March 14, 2013) was an American historian.
other
Allen was born in Evanston, Illinois, and studied at the universities of Michigan, Connecticut, and Minnesota, and in Germany at the Free University of Berlin and the University of Göttingen.
other
"The Nazi Seizure of Power" (1965) was his first book.
other
He also wrote "The Infancy of Nazism" and worked on studies of the effectiveness of Nazi propaganda and of the Social Democratic underground in the Third Reich.
other
He retired in 2001 as professor of history at the State University of New York at Buffalo.
other
Allen wrote two books on Adolf Hitler debunking the assertion that he came to power through violence.
other
Rather, Allen claims, Hitler's Nazi movement "seized power" in an act akin to democratic tactics.
other
His most famous book, "", was written to explain how one city, (Northeim, Germany, in the book with the fictional name of "Thalburg") fell into the Nazi trap.
other
Fed by Nazi propaganda, many people of "Thalburg", especially in the middle classes, in the midst of the Depression saw the Nazis as a way to get their country back to greatness that Hitler and the Nazis promised they would do.
other
The book was widely reviewed and extremely influential.
other
Johnny Mathis
other
John Royce Mathis (born September 30, 1935) is an American singer-songwriter of popular music.
other
Starting his career with singles of standard music, he became highly popular as an album artist, with several dozen of his albums achieving gold or platinum status and 73 making the "Billboard" charts to date.
other
Mathis has received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award and has been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame for three separate recordings.
other
Although he is frequently described as a romantic singer, his discography includes traditional pop, Brazilian and Spanish music, soul, rhythm and blues, show tunes, Tin Pan Alley, soft rock, blues, country music, and even a few disco songs for his album "Mathis Magic" in 1979.
other
Mathis has also recorded six albums of Christmas music.
other
In a 1968 interview, Mathis cited Lena Horne, Nat King Cole, and Bing Crosby among his musical influences.
other
Mathis was born in Gilmer, Texas, on September 30, 1935, the fourth of seven children of Clem Mathis and Mildred Boyd.
other
The family moved to San Francisco, California, settling on 32nd Avenue in the Richmond District, where Mathis grew up.
other
His father had worked in vaudeville, and when he saw his son's talent, he bought an old upright piano for $25 (US$ in dollars) and encouraged him.
other
Mathis began learning songs and routines from his father.
other
His first song was "My Blue Heaven".
other
Mathis started singing and dancing for visitors at home, at school, and at church functions.
other
When he was 13, voice teacher Connie Cox accepted him as her student in exchange for work around her house.
other
Mathis studied with Cox for six years, learning vocal scales and exercises, voice production, classical and operatic singing.
other
The first band he sang with was formed by his high school friend Merl Saunders.
other
Mathis eulogized Saunders at his funeral in 2008, thanking him for giving Mathis his first chance as a singer.
other
Mathis was a star athlete at George Washington High School in San Francisco.
other
He was a high jumper and hurdler, and he played on the basketball team.
other
In 1954, he enrolled at San Francisco State College on an athletic scholarship, intending to become an English teacher and a physical education teacher.
other
While there, Mathis set a high jump record of 6'-5 1/2".
other
This is still one of the college's top jump heights and was only two inches short of the Olympic record at the time.
other
Just as when he was in high school, Mathis's name was frequently mentioned in the sports sections of the Northern California newspapers.
other
He and future NBA star Bill Russell were featured in a 1954 sports section article of the "San Francisco Chronicle" demonstrating their high jumping skills (Russell #1 & Mathis #2 in the City of San Francisco at that time).
other
During one meet at the University of Nevada, Mathis beat Russell's highest jump attempt that day.
other
He was often referred to as "the best all-around athlete to come out of the San Francisco Bay Area."
other
While singing at a Sunday afternoon jam session with a friend's jazz sextet at the Black Hawk Club in San Francisco, Mathis attracted the attention of the club's co-founder, Helen Noga.
other
She became Mathis' music manager, and in September 1955, after Noga had found Mathis a job singing weekends at Ann Dee's 440 Club, she learned that George Avakian, head of Popular Music A&R at Columbia Records, was on vacation near San Francisco.
other
After repeated calls, Noga finally persuaded Avakian to come hear Mathis at the 440 Club.
other
After hearing Mathis sing, Avakian sent his record company a telegram stating: "Have found phenomenal 19-year-old boy who could go all the way.
other
Send blank contracts."
other
At San Francisco State, Mathis had become noteworthy as a high jumper, and in 1956 he was asked to try out for the U.S. Olympic Team that would travel to Melbourne, Australia, that November.
other
Mathis had to decide whether to go to the Olympic trials or to keep his appointment in New York City to make his first recordings.
other
On his father's advice, Mathis opted to embark on a professional singing career.
other
His LP record album was released in late 1956 instead of waiting until the first quarter of 1957.
other
Mathis's first record album, "Johnny Mathis: A New Sound In Popular Song", was a slow-selling jazz album, but Mathis stayed in New York City to sing in nightclubs.
other
His second album was produced by Columbia Records vice-president and record producer Mitch Miller, who helped to define the Mathis sound.
other
Miller preferred that Mathis sing soft, romantic ballads, pairing him up with conductor and music arranger Ray Conniff, and later, Ray Ellis, Glenn Osser, and Robert Mersey.
other
In late 1956, Mathis recorded two of his most popular songs: "Wonderful!
other
Wonderful!"
other
and "It's Not for Me to Say".
other
Also that year, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer signed him up to sing the latter song in the movie "Lizzie" (1957).
other
His appearance on the popular TV program "The Ed Sullivan Show" in June 1957 helped increase his popularity.
other
Later in 1957, he released "Chances Are" which became his second single to sell 1 million.
other
In November 1957, he released "Wild Is the Wind" which featured in the film of the same name and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song.
other
He performed the song at the ceremony in March 1958.
other
The week before his appearance at the Academy Awards, "Johnny's Greatest Hits" was released.
other
The album spent an unprecedented 490 consecutive weeks through 1967 (nine and a half years) on the "Billboard" top 200 album charts including three weeks at number one.
other
It held the record for the most number of weeks on the top Billboard 200 albums in the US for 15 years until Pink Floyd's "The Dark Side of the Moon" reached 491 weeks in October 1983.
other
Later in 1958, Mathis made his second film appearance for 20th Century Fox, singing the song "A Certain Smile" in the film of that title.
other
The song was also nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song.
other
By the end of the year, he was set to earn $1 million a year.
other
Critics called him "the velvet voice".
other
During the summer of 1958, Mathis left San Francisco with the Nogas, who sold their interest in the Black Hawk club that year, and moved to Beverly Hills, California, where the Nogas bought a house.
other
Mathis lived with the family.
other
Mathis appeared on ABC's "The Pat Boone Chevy Showroom" on January 1, 1959.
other
Mathis had two of his biggest hits in 1962 and 1963, with "Gina" (#6) and "What Will Mary Say" (#9).
other
In October 1964, Mathis sued Noga to void their management arrangement, which Noga fought with a counterclaim in December 1964.
other
Mathis purchased a mansion in Hollywood Hills, which was originally built by billionaire Howard Hughes in 1946, where he still maintains a residence.
other
After splitting from Noga, Mathis established Jon Mat Records, Inc., incorporated in California on May 11, 1967, to produce his recordings (previously, he founded Global Records, Inc. to produce his Mercury albums), and Rojon Productions, Inc., incorporated in California on September 30, 1964, to handle all of his conc...
other
His new manager and business partner was Ray Haughn, who, until his death in September 1984, helped guide Mathis's career.
other
Since that time, Mathis has taken sole responsibility for it.
other
While Mathis continued to make music, the ascent of the Beatles and early 1970s album rock kept his adult contemporary recordings out of the pop singles charts, until he experienced a career renaissance in the late 1970s.
other
Johnny Mathis had a 1976 Christmas number one single in the UK with the song "When a Child Is Born".
other
In 1978, Mathis recorded "Too Much, Too Little, Too Late" with singer Deniece Williams.
other
The lyrics and music were arranged by Nat Kipner and John McIntyre Vallins.
other
Released as a single in 1978, it reached number one on the U.S.
other
Billboard Hot 100 pop chart, number nine on the Canadian Singles Chart and number three on the UK Singles Chart.
other
It also topped the US R&B and adult contemporary charts.
other
"Too Much, Too Little, Too Late" was certified gold and silver in the US and in the UK by the RIAA and the British Phonographic Industry respectively.
other
It was his first number one hit since his 1957 chart-topping "Chances Are".
other
The duo released a follow-up duet, "You're All I Need to Get By," peaking at number 47 on the Hot 100.
other
The success of the duets with Williams prompted Mathis to record duets with a variety of partners, including Dionne Warwick, Natalie Cole, Gladys Knight, Jane Olivor, Stephanie Lawrence, and Nana Mouskouri.
other
A compilation album also called "Too Much, Too Little, Too Late", released by Sony Music in 1995 featured the title track among other songs by Mathis and Williams.
other
During 1980–81, Mathis recorded an album with Chic's Bernard Edwards and Nile Rodgers, "I Love My Lady", which remained unreleased in its entirety until its 2017 appearance in the 68 disc collection .
other
Three tracks had appeared on a Chic box set in 2010 and a fourth, the title track, on Mathis' "Ultimate Collection" in 2011 and the Chic Organization's "Up All Night" in 2013.
other
Mathis returned to the British Top 30 album chart in 2007 with the Sony BMG release "The Very Best of Johnny Mathis" in 2008 with the CD "A Night to Remember" and again in 2011 with "The Ultimate Collection"
other
Mathis continues to perform live, but from 2000 forward, he limited his concert performances to about fifty to sixty per year.
other
He is one of the very last pop singers who travels with his own full orchestra (as opposed to a band).
other
Mathis, Bob Dylan, Barbra Streisand, and Bruce Springsteen carry the distinction of having the longest tenure of any recording artist on the Columbia label.
other
With the exception of a four-year break to record for Mercury Records in the mid-1960s, he has been with Columbia Records throughout his career, from 1956 to 1963 and from 1968 to the present.
other
(Dylan spent a couple of years at Asylum Records then re-signed with Columbia; Streisand and Springsteen have never left Columbia.)
other
He has had five of his albums on the "Billboard" charts simultaneously, an achievement equaled by only two other singers: Frank Sinatra and Barry Manilow.
other
He has released 200 singles and had 71 songs charted around the world.
other
Pieces of music from numerous Mathis albums continue to be used in motion pictures and television.
other
For example, "Chances Are" was played during an extraterrestrial visit in the film "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" (1977).
other
"Wonderful!
other
Wonderful!"
other
was used in "The X-Files" episode "Home", albeit performed by a sound-alike singer.