Portal:Record production

The Record Production Portal

Noted audio engineer Roger Nichols at a vintage Neve recording console

P:RECORDP:RECORD

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)

Refresh with new selections below (purge)

Featured articles - load new batch

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

Image 1

North American cover by Reprise Records

Are You Experienced is the debut studio album by the Jimi Hendrix Experience, released in May 1967. The album was an immediate critical and commercial success, and is widely regarded as one of the greatest albums of all time. It features Jimi Hendrix's innovative approach to songwriting and electric guitar playing, which soon established a new direction in psychedelic and rock music as a whole.

After struggling to earn a living on the R&B circuit as a backing guitarist, Hendrix signed a management and production contract in 1966 with former Animals bassist Chas Chandler and ex-Animals manager Michael Jeffery. Chandler brought Hendrix to London and recruited members for the Jimi Hendrix Experience, a band designed to showcase the guitarist's talents. In late October, after having been rejected by Decca Records, the Experience signed with Track, a new label formed by the Who's managers Kit Lambert and Chris Stamp. Are You Experienced and its preceding singles were recorded over a five-month period from late October 1966 through early April 1967. The album was completed in 16 recording sessions at three London locations: De Lane Lea Studios, CBS Studios, and Olympic Studios. (Full article...)
Image 2
Odyssey Number Five is the fourth studio album by the Australian rock band Powderfinger, produced by Nick DiDia and released on 4 September 2000 by Universal Music. It won the 2001 ARIA Music Award for Highest Selling Album, Best Group and Best Rock Album. The album is the band's shortest yet, focusing on social, political, and emotional issues that had appeared in prior works, especially Internationalist.

The album produced four singles. The most successful, "My Happiness", reached #4 on the ARIA Singles Chart, won the 2001 ARIA Music Award for "Single of the Year", and topped Triple J's Hottest 100 in 2000. The album also featured "These Days", which topped Triple J's Hottest 100 in 1999. The album ranked at number 1 in Triple J's Hottest 100 Australian Albums of All Time poll in 2011. (Full article...)
Image 3
Elderly Instruments is a musical instrument retailer in Lansing, Michigan, United States, with a reputation as a "megastore", a repair shop and a locus for folk music including bluegrass and "twang". Specializing in fretted instruments, including acoustic and electric guitars, banjos, mandolins, and ukuleles, Elderly maintains a selection of odd or rare instruments. Elderly is known as a premier repair shop for fretted instruments, as one of the larger vintage instrument dealers in the United States, and as a major dealer of Martin guitars in particular.

Industry publications, music retail trade, and bluegrass music journals have featured articles about the Elderly repair staff. The company also provides consignment services for rare and vintage instruments. Since its founding in 1972, Elderly has undergone two major expansions: into mail order in 1975 and then into Internet sales in the 1990s. In 2005 it was the subject of a lawsuit by Gibson Guitar Corporation concerning trademark infringement. Today it is recognized internationally for its services and products; its mail order and Internet business account for 65–70 percent of its total revenue. Elderly grossed $12 million in 1999, and by 2007 was grossing $17 million annually. (Full article...)
Image 4

Carey in 2023

Mariah Carey (/məˈraɪə/ mə-RY-ə; born March 27, 1969) is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. Dubbed the "Songbird Supreme", Carey is known for her five-octave vocal range, melismatic singing style, signature use of the whistle register, and diva persona. An influential figure in popular culture, she was ranked as the fifth-greatest singer of all time by Rolling Stone in 2023.

Carey rose to fame with her eponymous debut album (1990) and became the only artist to have their first five singles reach number one in the US, from "Vision of Love" to the title track of her second album Emotions (1991). She achieved international success with the best-selling albums Music Box (1993) and Daydream (1995), before adopting a new image with hip hop-inflected sounds; introduced on the remix to "Fantasy" with Ol' Dirty Bastard, and later embraced on Butterfly (1997) and Rainbow (1999). With eleven consecutive years of US number-one singles, Carey was named by Billboard as the Artist of the Decade. Following a career decline, she made a comeback with The Emancipation of Mimi (2005), her 21st-century bestseller. (Full article...)
Image 5
No Depression, which was released in June 1990, is the first studio album of the American alternative country band Uncle Tupelo. After its formation in the late 1980s, Uncle Tupelo recorded a demo tape titled Not Forever, Just for Now, which received a positive review by the College Media Journal in 1989. The review led to the band signing with what became Rockville Records later that year. The album was recorded with producers Sean Slade and Paul Q. Kolderie at Fort Apache Studios on a budget of US$3,500.

No Depression was critically acclaimed and sold well for an independent release. It sold over 15,000 copies within a year of its release, and its success inspired the roots music magazine No Depression. The record is considered one of the most-important alternative country albums, and its title is often used as a synonym for the alternative country genre after being popularized by No Depression magazine. After regaining the rights to the album through a lawsuit, in 2003, Uncle Tupelo released a remastered version through Legacy Records, expanding it to include six bonus tracks. (Full article...)
Image 6
Title TK is the third studio album by American alternative rock band the Breeders, released on May 20 and 21, 2002 by 4AD in the United Kingdom and Elektra Records in the United States, and on May 10 by P-Vine Records in Japan. The album—whose name means "title to come" in journalistic shorthand—generated three singles: "Off You", "Huffer", and "Son of Three". Title TK reached the top 100 in France, Germany, the UK, and Australia, and number 130 in the US.

Following multiple changes in personnel after the release of Last Splash (1993), singer and songwriter Kim Deal was the only remaining constant member of the Breeders by 1996. The next year, she returned to the studio in an attempt to record a follow-up album, but her behavior—including drug use and demanding expectations—alienated many of the musicians and engineers with whom she worked. (Full article...)
Image 7
Maxinquaye is the debut studio album by English rapper and producer Tricky, released on 20 February 1995 by 4th & B'way Records, a subsidiary of Island Records. In the years leading up to the album, Tricky had grown frustrated with his limited role in the musical group Massive Attack and wanted to pursue an independent project. Shortly after, he met with vocalist Martina Topley-Bird, who he felt would offer a wider vision to his music, and signed a solo contract with 4th & B'way in 1993. Tricky recorded Maxinquaye the following year primarily at his home studio in London, with Topley-Bird serving as the album's main vocalist, while Alison Goldfrapp, Ragga and Mark Stewart performed additional vocals.

With assistance from fellow producer Mark Saunders, Tricky used dub music techniques and heavily altered samples taken from a variety of sources to produce Maxinquaye. Its resulting groove-oriented downbeat, hazy and fragmented sound incorporates elements from hip hop, soul, rock, ambient techno, reggae and experimental music. Tricky's lyrics throughout the album explore themes of cultural decline, dysfunctional sexual relationships, fear of intimacy and recreational drug use, as he drew on his experiences in British drug culture and the influence of his late mother Maxine Quaye, after whom the album is titled. (Full article...)
Image 8
Lions is the sixth studio album by American rock band the Black Crowes. It was released in 2001 as their first album on V2 Records following their departure from Columbia, and is their only studio album to feature guitarist Audley Freed. Lions was recorded in New York City in January and February of that year, and was produced by Don Was. Bass guitar duties were shared by Rich Robinson and Was, as Greg Rzab had left the band and was not replaced until the tour that followed the release of the album.

The album debuted on the Billboard 200 at its peak position of 20, selling more than 53,000 copies in its first week. Lions received mixed reviews; although the overall sound of the album generally garnered praise, a frequent complaint was the lack of "memorable" songs. The critics who rated Lions lowest considered it a poor imitation of the band's influences, such as Led Zeppelin. (Full article...)
Image 9
Here Is Mariah Carey, also known as Mariah Carey or This Is Mariah Carey, is the third video album by American singer Mariah Carey. It presents Carey performing live at Proctor's Theatre in Schenectady, New York, in July 1993, and also includes non-concert footage. Carey performs ten songs during the video; four are from her third studio album Music Box (1993), which Columbia Records commissioned Here Is Mariah Carey to promote. She is sporadically accompanied by a band, choir, dancers, and string musicians. In creating the stage for the performance, production designers sought inspiration from works by Boris Aronson and Josep Maria Jujol. Lawrence Jordan, who collaborated with Carey on previous occasions, directed the hour-long video.

Approximately 4,500 people attended tapings at Proctor's Theater, and 19 million watched it on television network NBC during its original broadcast on November 25, 1993. Columbia Music Video released it on VHS five days later to generally positive reviews from critics. Although they complimented Carey's voice, many felt the non-concert scenes were redundant. Here Is Mariah Carey peaked at number four on the United States video album chart published by Billboard. Earning a Platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of America, it was one of the best-selling video albums of 1994 and 1995 in that country. The video also spent six weeks at number one on the Official Charts Company's music videos chart in the United Kingdom. (Full article...)
Image 10
"One Tree Hill" is a song by Irish rock band U2 and the ninth track on their 1987 album The Joshua Tree. In March 1988, it was released as the fourth single from the album in New Zealand and Australia, while "In God's Country" was released as the fourth single in North America. "One Tree Hill" charted at number one on the New Zealand Singles Chart and was the country's second-most-successful hit of 1988.

The track was written in memory of Greg Carroll, a New Zealander the band first met in Auckland during the Unforgettable Fire Tour in 1984. He became very close friends with lead singer Bono and later served as a roadie for the group. Carroll was killed in July 1986 in a motorcycle accident in Dublin. After Carroll's tangi (funeral) in New Zealand, Bono wrote the lyrics to "One Tree Hill" in his memory. The lyrics reflect Bono's thoughts at the tangi and during his first night in New Zealand when Carroll took him up Auckland's One Tree Hill. They also pay homage to Chilean singer-songwriter and activist Víctor Jara. Musically, the song was developed in a jam session with producer Brian Eno. The vocals were recorded in a single take, as Bono felt incapable of singing them a second time. (Full article...)
Image 11

Christopher George Latore Wallace (May 21, 1972 – March 9, 1997), better known by his stage names the Notorious B.I.G. or Biggie Smalls, was an American rapper and songwriter. Rooted in the East Coast hip-hop and gangsta rap traditions, he is widely considered one of the greatest rappers of all time. Wallace became known for his distinctive, laidback lyrical delivery, offsetting his lyrics' often grim content. His music was semi-autobiographical, telling of hardship and criminality but also of debauchery and celebration.

Wallace was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York City. In 1993, he became the first artist to sign with Sean Combs's Bad Boy Records and gained recognition for his guest appearances on other artists' singles. His debut studio album, Ready to Die (1994), received acclaim and included the successful singles "Juicy", "Big Poppa", and "One More Chance". Ready to Die made Wallace the central figure of East Coast hip-hop and helped restore its prominence at a time when the West Coast was dominating the genre. In 1995, Wallace was named Rapper of the Year at the Billboard Music Awards, and with his protégé group, Junior M.A.F.I.A.—which included longtime friends like Lil' Kim—released the album Conspiracy. (Full article...)
Image 12

Highway 61 Revisited is the sixth studio album by the American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, released on August 30, 1965, by Columbia Records. Dylan continued the musical approach of his previous album Bringing It All Back Home (1965), using rock musicians as his backing band on every track of the album in a further departure from his primarily acoustic folk sound, except for the closing track, the 11-minute ballad "Desolation Row". Critics have focused on the innovative way Dylan combined driving, blues-based music with the subtlety of poetry to create songs that captured the political and cultural climate of contemporary America. Author Michael Gray argued that, in an important sense, the 1960s "started" with this album.

Preceded by the hit single "Like a Rolling Stone", the album features songs that Dylan has continued to perform live over his long career, including "Ballad of a Thin Man" and the title track. He named the album after the major American highway that connected his birthplace of Duluth, Minnesota, to southern cities famed for their musical heritage, including St. Louis, Memphis, New Orleans, and the Delta blues area of Mississippi. (Full article...)

More featured articles

Did you know (auto-generated) - load new batch

... 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 Light Vessel 95 is now a recording studio?
... that one critic interpreted a SZA song as being about her fears about the growing influence of AI in the music industry?
... 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?
... that to promote the Buffalo Club, Rising Tide Records sent packages of plastic buffalo to music industry executives in Nashville?
... that voice actress Rika Hayashi brought a golf club to the recording studio for Tonbo!, a golf-themed anime series?

Born this day

Birthdays in Music: March 12

Quinn Davis, American alto saxophonist and flautist, turns 82.
Liza Minnelli, American entertainer and Broadway theatre stalwart, turns 80.
James Taylor, American singer-songwriter, turns 78.
Bill Payne, American pianist with Little Feat, turns 77.
Marlon Jackson, American singer with The Jackson 5, turns 69.
Steve Harris, Brit bassist of Iron Maiden fame, turns 69.
Leon Lee Dorsey, American bass player, turns 68.
Graham Coxon, Brit guitarist of Blur fame, turns 57.
Kelle Bryan, Brit girl group vocalist of Eternal fame, turns 51.
Pete Doherty, Brit guitarist with The Libertines and Babyshambles, turns 47.

Mike Gibbins (Record production, 1949–October 04, 2005), (born Michael George Gibbins) Welsh drummer with Badfinger, would have turned 77 this year.
Christina Grimmie (Record production, 1994–June 10, 2016), American singer and former The Voice contestant, would have turned 32 this year.
Brian O'Hara (Record production, 1942 –June 27, 1999), Brit guitarist and vocalist with The Fourmost, would have turned 84 this year.
Al Jarreau (Record production, 1940 –February 12, 2017), American Grammy Award–winningsoul music vocalist, would have turned 86 this year.
Hugh Lawson (Record production, 1935 –March 17, 1997), American hard bop pianist, would have turned 91 this year.
Willie Maiden (Record production, 1928 –May 29, 1976), American arranger and tenor saxophonist, would have turned 98 this year.
Georges Delerue (Record production, 1925 –March 20, 1992), French composer of cinema and television music, would have turned 101 this year.
Leonard Chess (Record production, 1917 –October 16, 1969), American record label executive and founder of Chess Records, would have turned 109 this year.
Paul Weston (Record production, 1912 –September 20, 1996), American composer and conductor, would have turned 114 this year.
Freddy Johnson (Record production, 1904 –March 24, 1961), American swing-based pianist, would have turned 122 this year.

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

Selected albums - load new batch

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

Image 1
Devdas is the soundtrack of the 2002 Indian Hindi-language film of the same name directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali. It was released on 6 March 2002 by Universal Music India. The soundtrack, which was developed for two years, contains nine original songs (composed by Ismail Darbar and Birju Maharaj) and one background score (composed by Monty Sharma), with lyrics by Nusrat Badr and Sameer Anjaan. It stars Shah Rukh Khan, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Madhuri Dixit.

Shreya Ghoshal made her playback singing debut, following her 2000 meeting with Bhansali at a contest in Sa Re Ga Ma Pa. The composition of Devdas uses several Indian instruments, including basants, dholaks, sarangis, sitars and tablas. The album received positive reviews from music critics, who mostly praised Ghoshal's singing and Darbar's composition. It won several awards, including two National Film Awards and three Filmfare Awards. "Dola Re Dola" and "Maar Dala" are regarded as the best songs from Devdas, being listed as such by several publications. It emerged as the third-highest-selling Bollywood soundtrack album of 2002. (Full article...)
Image 2
Inside Man is a 2006 American crime thriller film directed by Spike Lee and written by Russell Gewirtz. It centers on an elaborate bank heist-turned-hostage situation on Wall Street. The film stars Denzel Washington as Detective Keith Frazier, the NYPD's hostage negotiator, Clive Owen as Dalton Russell, the mastermind who orchestrates the heist, and Jodie Foster as Madeleine White, a Manhattan fixer who becomes involved at the request of the bank's founder Arthur Case (Christopher Plummer) to keep something in his safe deposit box protected from the robbers.

Gewirtz spent five years developing the premise before working on what became his first original screenplay. After he completed the script in 2002, Imagine Entertainment purchased it to be made by Universal Pictures, with Imagine co-founder Ron Howard attached to direct. After Howard stepped down, his business partner Brian Grazer began looking for a new director and ultimately hired Lee. Principal photography took place on location in New York City from June to August 2005. With a $45–60 million budget, it is Lee's most expensive film. (Full article...)
Image 3
HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I, often referred to simply as HIStory, is a double album by the American singer-songwriter Michael Jackson, released on June 20, 1995. It consists of the greatest hits album, HIStory Begins, in addition to his ninth studio album, HIStory Continues. It was Jackson's fifth album released through Epic Records, and the first on his label MJJ Productions. The album includes appearances by Janet Jackson, Shaquille O'Neal, Slash, and the Notorious B.I.G. Its genres span pop, R&B, and hip hop with elements of hard rock and funk rock. Lyrical themes include environmental awareness, isolation, greed, and injustice. Several of the songs on HIStory Continues pertain to the child sexual abuse allegations made against Jackson in 1993 and Jackson's perceived mistreatment by the media.

HIStory debuted at number 1 on the Billboard 200 and in nineteen other countries. Five singles from HIStory were released. The first single from the album, a double A-side of "Scream" (a duet between Jackson and his sister Janet) and "Childhood", was a Top 5 hit on the Billboard Hot 100. "You Are Not Alone" became the first song in history to debut at number one on the Hot 100 and was also Jackson's final US number-one single. Later singles included the protest songs "Earth Song" and "They Don't Care About Us", the latter of which drew accusations of antisemitism. Jackson vehemently denied these accusations. (Full article...)
Image 4
Page Avenue is the debut album by American rock band Story of the Year. Goldfinger frontman John Feldmann, who served as a talent scout for Maverick Records, began working on demos with the band, and eventually for their debut album. Sessions took place at Feldmann's home studio, Foxy Studios in Marina del Rey, California; the group tracked three songs before guitarist Greg Haupt left in November 2002. Guitarist Philip Sneed was drafted in and sessions recommenced in early 2003. The album's release through Maverick Records was pushed back several times to September 16, 2003.

The band toured as part of the Warped Tour before "Until the Day I Die" was released as a radio single. In early 2004, the band supported Linkin Park on their US arena tour; they subsequently worked with Linkin Park's Joe Hahn on a music video for "Anthem of Our Dying Day". The track was released as a single in April 2004, and the group embarked on a headlining US tour. A second stint on the Warped Tour followed, taking a month-long break, and headlining the Nintendo Fusion Tour. A music video was released for "Sidewalks"; the track was released as a single in October. (Full article...)
Image 5
Amor Prohibido (English: Forbidden Love) is the fourth studio album by American singer Selena, released on March 22, 1994, by EMI Latin. Having reached a core fan base, the label aimed to broaden her appeal with the next
studio release. Finding it challenging to write a follow-up hit after "Como la Flor" (1992), Selena's brother A. B. Quintanilla enlisted the assistance from band members Ricky Vela and Pete Astudillo with writing the album's songs. The resulting album has a more mature sound featuring experimental production that blends diverse musical styles from ranchera to hip-hop music. Amor Prohibido is a Tejano cumbia album modernized with a synthesizer-rich delivery using a minimalist style that was quintessential in early 1990s Tejano music.

The album's songs deal with dysfunctional and volatile relationships; its lyrics explore unrequited love, infidelity, and social division. With relatively few love songs, Amor Prohibido narrates a woman's struggles and triumphs following unsuccessful relationships with men who struggle with commitment. The album continued the singer's streak of number-one singles on the United States Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart with the title track "Amor Prohibido"— which became the most successful US Latin single of 1994, a feat she repeated the following year with "No Me Queda Más". Along with the latter, "Bidi Bidi Bom Bom" and "Fotos y Recuerdos" also topped the US Latin chart, and together with "Si Una Vez" are regarded as Selena's signature recordings. (Full article...)
Image 6
Final Destination 2 is a 2003 American supernatural horror film directed by David R. Ellis from a screenplay by J. Mackye Gruber and Eric Bress, based on a story by Gruber, Bress, and Jeffrey Reddick. It is a sequel to Final Destination (2000) and the second installment in the Final Destination film series. The film stars Ali Larter, A. J. Cook, and Michael Landes. The film follows a young woman who saves a group of drivers from a highway pile-up, which she predicted from a premonition. She must find ways to defeat Death after the survivors begin dying in freak accidents.

After the financial success of Final Destination, New Line Cinema contacted Reddick regarding plans for a sequel. Since the original film's crew was unavailable, New Line replaced most of the production team. Filming took place in Vancouver and Okanagan Lake. (Full article...)
Image 7
Spiritual Machines is the fourth studio album by the Canadian alternative rock band Our Lady Peace, released by Columbia Records in December 2000. Although not initially intended, the project evolved into a conceptual interpretation of futurist and inventor Raymond Kurzweil's 1999 book The Age of Spiritual Machines. Short tracks of spoken dialog from Kurzweil himself are interspersed among the actual songs on the album. The Kurzweil K250 keyboard, one of his inventions, was utilized throughout the recording of the album.

The album was written and recorded in two months while the band was still on tour in support of their previous record, Happiness... Is Not a Fish That You Can Catch, which had only been released 14 months prior. A combination of lead singer-songwriter Raine Maida's prolific songwriting at the time and lead-guitarist Mike Turner's discovery of The Age of Spiritual Machines in a bookstore hurried the completion of the album. The band only took a break from recording to organize and perform at Summersault in 2000. Unlike their previous releases, this one features a more organic, acoustic sound, and less obvious layering and electronic texturing. (Full article...)
Image 8
Kristofferson is the debut album by the singer-songwriter Kris Kristofferson. It was produced by Fred Foster and released in June 1970 by Monument Records. After working a series of temporary jobs, Kristofferson became a helicopter pilot for oil companies in the Gulf of Mexico. While he worked, he wrote songs and pitched them to singers around Music Row in Nashville, Tennessee during his free time. Kristofferson's songs were recorded by country singers Roy Drusky, Jerry Lee Lewis and Roger Miller and later he persuaded Johnny Cash to try his material. Cash invited Kristofferson to perform with him at the Newport Folk Festival, after which Fred Foster signed Kristofferson to Monument Records as a songwriter and recording artist.

Foster included on the sessions Kristofferson's material that other artists had already recorded including "Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down", "Help Me Make It Through the Night" and "Me and Bobby McGee", as well as his new compositions. The arrangements of the songs featured string orchestration, while the themes of the writings included loneliness, love, sexual relations and freedom. (Full article...)
Image 9
AIM is the fifth studio album by English rapper and singer M.I.A. It was released on 9 September 2016 by Interscope and Polydor Records. Prior to its release, M.I.A. claimed that it would be her final album. She worked on the composition and production of the album with a range of collaborators, including Blaqstarr, Diplo, and Skrillex. The album was recorded in various countries, including Jamaica and India, and includes vocal contributions from Dexta Daps and Zayn. As with M.I.A.'s earlier releases, the album mixes Eastern and Western musical influences. Lyrically, several tracks on the album contain themes of borders and refugees.

AIM received mixed to positive reviews from music critics, with some praising certain songs but arguing that the overall album lacked focus. In the US, the album peaked at number 66 on the Billboard 200 albums chart and was her first album not to reach the top 40 since her debut release in 2005, although like her previous three albums AIM topped the magazine's Dance/Electronic Albums chart. (Full article...)
Image 10
Up! Live in Chicago is the third live video album by Canadian singer Shania Twain. Directed and produced by Beth McCarthy-Miller, the concert was held and filmed on July 27, 2003 at Hutchinson Field in the south-side of Grant Park in Chicago, Illinois; over 50,000 people attended. The concert itself differed from that of the Up! Tour (2003–04), featuring a different stage, setlist and production. Behind-the-scenes footage of the singer visiting local landmarks and events was filmed the same week. The concert film premiered on the National Broadcasting Company (NBC) on August 19, 2003. The special was watched by over 8.87 million viewers, becoming the second-most-viewed concert film on television, behind Celine Dion's A New Day ... Live in Las Vegas (2003).

Due to its high television ratings, Up! Live in Chicago was released as a video album on November 18, 2003 by Mercury Records Nashville. Released both in standard DVD packaging and in a jewel case, it featured additional performances not included on the television presentation. The album was also received positively by music critics, who complimented Shania's interaction with the audience; however, some questioned her live singing. The video peaked at number two on Billboard's Top Music Video sales chart, and was certified platinum by the RIAA for shipments of over 100,000 copies in the United States. It was also certified platinum in Australia and gold in Austria and Brazil. Excerpts from Up! Live in Chicago were used as the music videos for "She's Not Just a Pretty Face" (2003) and "It Only Hurts When I'm Breathing" (2004). (Full article...)
Image 11
Cryptic Writings is the seventh studio album by American heavy metal band Megadeth. Released on June 17, 1997, through Capitol Records, it was the band's last studio album to feature drummer Nick Menza. His departure would mark the end of the band's longest lasting lineup to date, having recorded four studio albums. Megadeth decided to produce the record with Dann Huff in Nashville, Tennessee, because they were not satisfied with their previous producer Max Norman. The album features twelve tracks with accessible song structures, specifically aimed for radio airplay. The lyrics were also altered, in order to make the music more inclusive for wider audience. These changes were met with mixed opinions from music critics, who noted the band moving away from their thrash metal roots.

The album debuted at number 10 on the Billboard 200 and was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in October 1997 for shipping 500,000 copies in the United States. The first 500,000 copies of Cryptic Writings in the U.S. were released with silver background album cover. A remixed and remastered version, featuring four bonus tracks, was released in 2004. Seven years after its original release, the album sold 850,000 copies in the United States and won widespread praise from rock radio programmers. The song "Trust" was nominated for Best Metal Performance at the 1998 Grammy Awards and became the band's highest charting song on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Tracks. (Full article...)
Image 12
Wonderland is the second studio album by teenage mezzo-soprano Faryl Smith, released by Decca Records on 30 November 2009. Smith became famous after her participation in Britain's Got Talent in 2008, and subsequently, aged 13, signed with Universal Classics and Jazz, releasing her debut album, Faryl. Released only a few months afterwards, Wonderland contains a mix of classical and non-classical songs, which were chosen by both Smith and her record label. A concept album, it is based on Alice in Wonderland, and features a digitally produced "duet" with Luciano Pavarotti, who died in 2007, as well as a song set to "Winter", from Vivaldi's Four Seasons. As with Faryl, Wonderland was produced by Jon Cohen.

Smith promoted the album with appearances on television and radio. For the most part, critics responded positively to the album, with praise for Smith's vocals, the song choice and the musical arrangement, but criticism for "the lack of emotional weight". Further, critics observed that Smith's voice had improved since her appearance on Britain's Got Talent. Despite this, Wonderland appeared in the UK Albums Chart for only one week, peaking at 54, proving less successful than Faryl. Smith later rerecorded "The Prayer", her cover of which was originally released on Wonderland, with 22 other classical artists, with proceeds going to charity. (Full article...)

More selected albums

General images - load new batch

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

Image 1Korg D888 eight-track digital recorder (from Multitrack recording)
Image 2Donna Summer wearing headphones during a recording session in 1977 (from Recording studio)
Image 3The TEAC 2340, a popular early (1973) home multitrack recorder, four tracks on ¼ inch tape (from Multitrack recording)
Image 4The 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 8, or even 16 tracks on the same tape width (8 tracks for greater fidelity). (from Multitrack recording)
Image 5Home studio setup (from Recording studio)
Image 6Hip 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 7Danny Knicely records with Furnace Mountain Band in Virginia (2012) (from Recording studio)
Image 8Scully 280 eight-track recorder at the Stax Museum of American Soul Music (from Multitrack recording)
Image 9The studio at Ridge Radio in Caterham, England (from Recording studio)
Image 10Digital 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 11Neve VR60, a multitrack mixing console. Above the console are a range of studio monitor speakers. (from Recording studio)
Image 12A selection of instruments at a music studio, including a grand piano (from Recording studio)
Image 13Mixing desk with twenty inputs and eight outputs (from Multitrack recording)
Image 14The Siemens Studio for Electronic Music c. 1956 (from Recording studio)
Image 15Engineers and producers watch a trumpet player from a window in the control room during a recording session. (from Recording studio)
Image 16Control room at the Tec de Monterrey, Mexico City Campus (from Recording studio)

Featured lists - load new batch

Featured lists have been determined by the Wikipedia community to be the best lists on English Wikipedia.

Image 1
Big & Rich topped the chart for the first time in 2007.

Hot Country Songs is a chart that ranks the top-performing country music songs in the United States, published by Billboard magazine. In 2007, 25 different songs topped the chart in 52 issues of the magazine, based on weekly airplay data from country music radio stations compiled by Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems.

In the first issue of the new year, Brad Paisley reached number one with "She's Everything", replacing "Want To" by Sugarland, which had been number one in the issue dated December 30, 2006. This was the first of three number ones for Paisley in 2007, a feat only matched by Kenny Chesney. Paisley, however, spent significantly less time at number one in 2007, occupying the top spot for five weeks compared to Chesney's twelve. Chesney's song "Never Wanted Nothing More" was the longest-running number one of the year, with five weeks at the top. Acts who achieved their first number ones in 2007 included Canadian band Emerson Drive, whose song "Moments", which topped the chart in June, was the first ever Hot Country Songs number one by a band from Canada. Big & Rich also reached number one for the first and only time, topping the chart with the wedding ballad "Lost in This Moment" in July. (Full article...)
Image 2
Hank Locklin spent 14 consecutive weeks at number one with "Please Help Me, I'm Falling".

Hot Country Songs is a chart that ranks the top-performing country music songs in the United States, published by Billboard magazine. In 1960, five different songs topped the chart, which at the time was published under the title Hot C&W Sides, C&W being an abbreviation for country and western. 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 song at number one was "El Paso" by Marty Robbins, the track's third week in the top spot. It held the peak position for the first five weeks of 1960, during which time it also topped the all-genre Hot 100 chart for two weeks. During the remainder of the year, only four other songs reached the top of the Hot C&W Sides listing, three of which each spent twelve or more consecutive weeks at number one. In the issue of Billboard dated February 8, Jim Reeves began a 14-week unbroken run at the top of the chart with "He'll Have to Go", which was immediately followed by a run of the same length by Hank Locklin's "Please Help Me, I'm Falling". Both songs were produced by Chet Atkins, widely seen as the originator of the "Nashville Sound", a new style of country music which eschewed elements of the earlier honky-tonk style in favour of smooth productions which had a broader appeal. Cowboy Copas next spent 12 weeks at number one with "Alabam". Several singles peaked at number two during these songs' extended runs at the top of the chart, including "One More Time" by Ray Price, which spent eight consecutive weeks in second place behind Locklin's song. (Full article...)
Image 3
Lynn Anderson (pictured in 2011) had three number ones in 1971.

Hot Country Songs is a chart that ranks the top-performing country music songs in the United States, published by Billboard magazine. In 1971, 21 different singles topped the chart, at the time published under the title Hot Country Singles, in 52 issues of the magazine, based on playlists submitted by country music radio stations and sales reports supplied by stores.

The first number one of the year was Lynn Anderson's "Rose Garden", which was in its second week at number one in the issue of Billboard dated January 2, and remained at the top for three further weeks before being displaced by "Flesh and Blood" by Johnny Cash. Charley Pride had the highest total number of weeks at number one in 1971, topping the chart for 11 weeks with "I'd Rather Love You", "I'm Just Me" and "Kiss an Angel Good Mornin'". Lynn Anderson and Sonny James also each had three number ones during the year, as did Conway Twitty, who reached the top of the chart with one solo single and two duets with Loretta Lynn. The two singers would go on to achieve a string of duet hits in the 1970s and 1980s. The longest unbroken run at number one in 1971 was achieved by Jerry Reed with "When You're Hot, You're Hot", which spent five consecutive weeks at number one during the summer. (Full article...)
Image 4
Donovan never had a number-one single or number-one album in his native UK; however, his The Universal Soldier EP spent eight weeks at the top of the EP chart.

In the 1950s and 1960s, a "third vinyl format" was introduced alongside long-playing (LP) albums, and singles. The extended play (EP) used the same formats as singles but contained more tracks. Singles were the popular record format at the time – predominantly 10-inch 78 rpm and 7-inch 45 rpm formats – and the first singles chart was published by the New Musical Express in 1952, with many other publications also producing singles charts in the 1950s and 1960s. Record Mirror published the first album chart in 1956, and when Record Retailer began compiling an LP chart on 12 March 1960, they also compiled an EP chart. The EP chart consisted of a top ten, and was expanded to fifteen positions the following week, and twenty the week after that.

EPs "died out in the late 1960s", and Record Retailer reduced the chart to ten positions on 16 April 1966, publishing the final EP chart on 16 December 1967. For six weeks in 1966 and two weeks in December 1967, Record Retailer did not publish EP charts, but they were compiled, and Record Mirror published them; Record Mirror had begun publishing charts compiled by Record Retailer in March 1962, following a decision to stop compiling their own albums and singles charts. (Full article...)
Image 5
Florida Georgia Line's song "Cruise" spent a record-breaking 24 weeks at number one on the Hot Country Songs chart.

Hot Country Songs and Country Airplay are charts that rank the top-performing country music songs in the United States, published by Billboard magazine. Hot Country Songs ranks songs based on digital downloads, streaming, and airplay not only from country stations but from stations of all formats, a methodology introduced in 2012. Country Airplay, which was published for the first time in 2012, is based solely on country radio airplay, a methodology which had previously been used for several decades for Hot Country Songs. In 2013, 10 different songs topped the Hot Country Songs chart and 31 different songs topped Country Airplay in 52 issues of the magazine

At the start of the year, the number one song on the Hot Country Songs listing was "Cruise" by the duo Florida Georgia Line. After falling from the top spot at the end of January, the song rebounded to the top in April, beginning a run of 19 consecutive weeks at number one. Its final total was 24 weeks at the top of the chart, breaking the record which had stood since the 1940s for the most cumulative weeks spent atop one of Billboard's country song charts. This revival of the song's fortunes was due to the late spring release of a remix featuring rapper Nelly, which proved extremely popular on pop music radio. Thanks to the incorporation into the chart's methodology of airplay data from all radio formats, this support from top 40 radio allowed "Cruise" to hold the top spot throughout the summer. The remix did not prove as popular on country radio, however, and by the late summer, the song was in the unusual position of topping the Hot Country Songs chart but receiving so few plays on country stations that it did not appear in the 60-position airplay listing at all. (Full article...)
Image 6
"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...)
Image 7

"Vibes Don't Lie" by Leon Thomas is the most recent recipient

The Grammy Award for Best Traditional R&B Performance is an accolade presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally named the Gramophone Awards, to performers of quality traditional R&B vocal performances. The award was first given in 1999; until 2003, only albums were nominated, now just singles or tracks are. Honors in several categories are presented at the ceremony 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." As of the 67th Annual Grammy Awards, the eligibility criteria for the category was amended to "more accurately represent recordings that embody the classical elements of R&B/soul music, distinguishing them from contemporary interpretations of the genre".

Between 1999 and 2002, this accolade was originally known as Best Traditional R&B Vocal Album. It was renamed in 2003 as Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance. Since 2012, the category has been known as Best Traditional R&B Performance. (Full article...)
Image 8
"I Follow Rivers" by Lykke Li (pictured in 2009) topped the Romanian Top 100 for 12 weeks in 2011 and 2012, making it the song with the most documented weeks at number one in the chart's history.

Founded in 1995, the Romanian Top 100 was the national music chart of Romania. It was compiled by broadcast monitoring services Body M Production A-V (1990s and 2000s) and by Media Forest (2010s), and measured the airplay of songs on radio stations throughout the country. In 2005, the number of radio stations involved was 120. Starting in 2004, the chart was announced during a two-hour radio show which initially emerged from a partnership with teen magazine Bravo. The Romanian Top 100 was also featured in Billboard's Music & Media magazine until 2003, and was—apart from a weekly Kiss FM podcast in the 2010s—announced on its own website. As of 2026, the Romanian Top 100 lacks usable archives, especially for the late 1990s and 2000s.

Over its 17 years of existence, around 150 documented singles reached the number-one position, the first being "You Are Not Alone" by Michael Jackson in 1995. "I Follow Rivers" (2011) by Lykke Li spent 12 weeks at the summit, longer than any other song. The most successful artists were Madonna and Kylie Minogue with six documented number ones each. Multiple artists reached number one with several singles in a calendar year, including the Black Eyed Peas with "Where Is the Love?" and "Shut Up" in 2004. Cleopatra Stratan was four years old when she topped the chart in October 2006 with "Ghiță", making her the youngest artist ever to attain a number one in any country according to Guinness World Records. The Romanian Top 100 ceased publication after its last broadcast on 19 February 2012, and was replaced with the Airplay 100. (Full article...)
Image 9
Dan + Shay began the year at number one on both Hot Country Songs and Country Airplay.

Hot Country Songs and Country Airplay are charts that rank the top-performing country music songs in the United States, published by Billboard magazine. Hot Country Songs ranks songs based on digital downloads, streaming, and airplay not only from country stations but from stations of all formats, a methodology introduced in 2012. Country Airplay, which was published for the first time in 2012, is based solely on country radio airplay, a methodology that had previously been used for several decades for Hot Country Songs. In 2019, 8 different songs topped the Hot Country Songs chart and 32 different songs topped Country Airplay in 52 issues of the magazine.

Both charts began the year with "Speechless" by Dan + Shay retaining the top spot from the final chart of 2018. The song remained atop the airplay chart for the first two weeks of 2019 before being replaced by "Good Girl" by Dustin Lynch, and held the top spot on Hot Country Songs for a further two weeks before Dan + Shay replaced themselves at number one with "Tequila". The latter song broke the record for the longest time taken to climb to number one on the Hot Country Songs chart, reaching the top spot in its 54th week on the listing. It reached the top of the chart more than six months after it had been number one on Country Airplay, and marked the first time for five years that an act had replaced itself at number one on Hot Country Songs. In early March, Luke Combs reached the top of both charts with "Beautiful Crazy" and topped both listings simultaneously for seven weeks. Industry observers reported that the track would have been replaced at number one on Hot Country Songs in early April by rapper Lil Nas X's song "Old Town Road" had Billboard not taken the decision to remove that track after its first week on the listing, contending that it did not sufficiently fit the country genre. This decision caused controversy: one former music label executive claimed that a similar track by a white artist would have been treated differently. (Full article...)
Image 10
Puerto Rican singer Chayanne reached the top of the chart for the first time with "Fuiste un Trozo de Hielo en la Escarcha" in 1989.

The Hot Latin Songs chart (formerly Hot Latin 50 and Hot Latin Tracks), published in Billboard magazine, is a record chart based on Latin music airplay. The data were compiled by the Billboard chart and research department with information from 70 Spanish-language radio stations in the United States and Puerto Rico. Those radio stations were selected based on their number of listeners, and were asked to report their playlists for the week. This information was then entered to the Billboard computer system, and points were tabulated for each song. Before this chart's inception, the Latin music information on the magazine was presented only in the form of the biweekly album sales chart Top Latin Albums, which was divided into Latin Pop, Tropical/Salsa, and Region Mexican and continues to be listed separately.

During the 1980s, 33 songs topped the chart. According to the Billboard electronic database, the first was "La Guirnalda" by Spanish singer Rocío Dúrcal on September 6, 1986. However, in the listings included in the first printed publication of the chart on October 4, 1986, the first number-one song was "Yo No Sé Qué Me Pasó" by Mexican singer-songwriter Juan Gabriel. By the end of that year, another of Gabriel's compositions, "De Mí Enamórate", sung by Daniela Romo, also reached number one. Also in 1986, two Spanish versions of the Italian song "Tutta la vita", performed by Franco and Emmanuel succeeded one another at the top of the chart. Two songs recorded by Spanish singer Julio Iglesias peaked at number one, "Lo Mejor de Tu Vida" and "Que No Se Rompa la Noche". These songs were released from the album Un hombre solo, which received the Grammy Award for Best Latin Pop Performance. (Full article...)