Portal:Record production

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The Record Production Portal

Noted audio engineer Roger Nichols at a vintage Neve recording console

P: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)

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

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The Greencards at Knuckleheads Saloon in Kansas City, Missouri

The Greencards are an American progressive bluegrass band that formed in 2003 in Austin, Texas, and relocated in 2005 to Nashville, Tennessee. The band was founded by Englishman Eamon McLoughlin and Australians Kym Warner and Carol Young. The musicians originally performed in local Austin bars, and soon found increasing acclaim. They released one independent album, Movin' On, in 2003, and two albums, Weather and Water and Viridian, on the Dualtone record label. Their fourth album, Fascination, was released on Sugar Hill in 2009. Their fifth album, The Brick Album (2011), was self-produced with the direct support of their fans. Pre-production donors were recognized with their names inscribed on the "bricks" that make up the cover art.

Their debut album, Movin' On, was the recipient of local Texas awards and charted on Americana radio stations. Country Music Television named their follow-up, Weather and Water, as one of the ten best bluegrass albums of 2005, and The Greencards were invited to tour with Bob Dylan and Willie Nelson in the same year. Viridian would go on to take the number one position on Billboard magazine's Bluegrass Music Chart, making the Greencards the first international band to do so. Viridian was a critically praised album, and was nominated for Best Country Album by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The track "Mucky the Duck" from Viridian was nominated for Best Country Instrumental Performance at the 50th Grammy Awards. (Full article...)
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4 is the fourth solo studio album by American singer-songwriter Beyoncé. It was released on June 24, 2011, by Parkwood Entertainment and Columbia Records.

Following a career hiatus which reignited her creativity, Beyoncé was inspired to create a record with a basis in traditional rhythm and blues that stood apart from contemporary pop. Her collaborations with songwriters and record producers The-Dream, Tricky Stewart and Shea Taylor produced a mellower tone, developing diverse vocal styles and influences from funk, hip hop, and soul music. André 3000 is the sole guest performer. (Full article...)
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The Sex Pistols performing in Paradiso, 1977. From left: Paul Cook, Glen Matlock, Johnny Rotten and Steve Jones.

The Sex Pistols are an English punk rock band formed in London in 1975. Although their initial career lasted just two and a half years, they became one of the most culturally influential acts in popular music. The band initiated the punk movement in the United Kingdom and inspired many later punk, post-punk and alternative rock musicians, while their clothing and hairstyles were a significant influence on the early punk image.

The Sex Pistols' first line-up consisted of vocalist Johnny Rotten (born John Lydon), guitarist Steve Jones, drummer Paul Cook, and bassist Glen Matlock, with Matlock replaced by Sid Vicious (born John Richie) in early 1977. Under the management of Malcolm McLaren, the band gained widespread attention from British press after swearing live on-air during a December 1976 television interview. Their May 1977 single "God Save the Queen", which described the monarchy as a "fascist regime", was released to coincide with national celebrations for the Queen's Silver Jubilee. The song was promptly banned from being played by the BBC and by nearly every independent radio station in Britain, making it the most censored record in British history. (Full article...)
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Metallica at the 2024 Gershwin Prize ceremony. From left to right: Kirk Hammett, Lars Ulrich, Robert Trujillo and James Hetfield.

Metallica is an American heavy metal band. It was formed in Los Angeles in 1981 by vocalist and guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrumentals and aggressive musicianship made them one of the founding "big four" bands of thrash metal, alongside Megadeth, Anthrax and Slayer. Metallica's current lineup comprises founding members and primary songwriters Hetfield and Ulrich, longtime lead guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo. Guitarist Dave Mustaine, who formed Megadeth after being fired from Metallica, and bassists Ron McGovney, Cliff Burton and Jason Newsted are former members of the band.

Metallica first found commercial success with the release of its third album, Master of Puppets (1986), which is cited as one of the heaviest metal albums and the band's best work. The band's next album, ...And Justice for All (1988), gave Metallica its first Grammy Award nomination. Its fifth album, Metallica (1991), was a turning point for the band that saw them transition from their thrash roots; it appealed to a more mainstream audience, achieving substantial commercial success and selling more than 16 million copies in the United States to date, making it the best-selling album of the SoundScan era. After experimenting with different genres and directions in subsequent releases, Metallica returned to its thrash metal roots with its ninth album, Death Magnetic (2008), which drew similar praise to that of the band's earlier albums. The band's eleventh and most recent album, 72 Seasons, was released in 2023. (Full article...)
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Faryl is the debut album by British mezzo-soprano Faryl Smith, released on 9 March 2009 by Universal Classics and Jazz. Smith rose to fame after her appearance on the second series of Britain's Got Talent and signed with Universal after the competition. The album was recorded during December 2008 and January 2009 and features the track "River of Light", a song set to The Blue Danube with new lyrics. Faryl was produced by Jon Cohen, and the backing music was provided by a 60-piece orchestra. As part of the album's promotion, Smith made numerous television and radio appearances and filmed a music video for "River of Light". Around this time, she met with then-Prime Minister Gordon Brown at 10 Downing Street.

After its release, Faryl became the fastest-selling classical solo album in British chart history, selling 20,000 copies in the first four days, and a total of 29,200 copies in the first week, more than any other debut album of a classical singer. Faryl entered the UK Albums Chart at number 6, rising to number 4 the next week, and was the third album by a Britain's Got Talent contestant to reach the top ten in Britain. Smith subsequently embarked on a promotional tour in the US to publicise the album, where it reached number 6 on the classical chart. (Full article...)
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Powderfinger performing "These Days" on the Across the Great Divide tour, September 2007, Sydney.

Left to right: Lachlan Doley (auxiliary musician), Jon Coghill, Darren Middleton, Bernard Fanning, John Collins (obscured), Ian Haug.

Powderfinger were an Australian rock band formed in Brisbane in 1989. From 1992 until their break-up in 2010, the line-up consisted of vocalist Bernard Fanning, guitarists Darren Middleton and Ian Haug, bass guitarist John Collins and drummer Jon Coghill. The group's third studio album Internationalist peaked at No. 1 on the ARIA Albums Chart in September 1998. They followed with four more number-one studio albums in a row: Odyssey Number Five (September 2000), Vulture Street (July 2003), Dream Days at the Hotel Existence (June 2007) and Golden Rule (November 2009). Their top-ten hit singles are "My Happiness" (2000), "(Baby I've Got You) On My Mind" (2003) and "Lost and Running" (2007). Powderfinger earned a total of eighteen ARIA Awards, making them the second-most-awarded band, behind Silverchair. Ten Powderfinger albums and DVDs certified multiple-platinum, with Odyssey Number Five—their most successful album—achieving eightfold platinum certification for shipment of over 560,000 units.

After the release of their first DVD, These Days: Live in Concert (September 2004), and the compilation album Fingerprints: The Best of Powderfinger, 1994–2000 (November 2004), the group announced a hiatus in 2005. The June 2007 announcement of a two-month-long nationwide tour with Silverchair, Across the Great Divide tour, followed the release of Dream Days at the Hotel Existence. Powderfinger were also involved in various philanthropic causes. In 2005, they performed at a WaveAid concert in Sydney, to help raise funds for areas affected by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake. Another performance at the Sydney Opera House in October 2007 raised funds for breast cancer victims and their families. One aim of their Across the Great Divide Tour was to promote the efforts of Reconciliation Australia, and awareness of the gap in life expectancy between Indigenous and non-Indigenous children. In April 2010, Powderfinger announced that they would be breaking up after their Sunsets Farewell Tour, declaring it would be their last, as they had musically said everything they wanted to say. On 13 November 2010, they played their last concert, signifying their disbandment. In November the following year, rock music journalist Dino Scatena and Powderfinger published a biography, Footprints: the inside story of Australia's best loved band. (Full article...)
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"Touch Me I'm Sick" is a song by the American alternative rock band Mudhoney. It was recorded in April 1988 at Seattle's Reciprocal Recording studio with producer Jack Endino. "Touch Me I'm Sick" was released as Mudhoney's debut single by independent record label Sub Pop on August 1, 1988. The song's lyrics, which feature dark humor, are a sarcastic take on issues such as disease and violent sex.

When it was first released, "Touch Me I'm Sick" was a hit on college radio. Its heavily distorted and fuzzy guitars, snarling vocals, blunt bass line and energetic drumming contributed to a dirty sound that influenced many local musicians, and helped develop the nascent Seattle grunge scene. According to AllMusic, "the song's raw, primal energy made it an instant anthem which still stands as one of [grunge's] all-time classics". A staple of Mudhoney's live shows, it remains the band's most recognizable song. (Full article...)
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"What You Waiting For?" is a song by American singer Gwen Stefani from her debut solo studio album, Love. Angel. Music. Baby. (2004). Written by Stefani and Linda Perry, the song is the album's opening track and was released as Stefani's debut solo single. Lyrically, "What You Waiting For?" details Stefani's lack of inspiration and fear of producing the album, as well as her reaction to pressures exerted by her record label. It is primarily an electropop song and introduces Stefani's four backup dancers, the Harajuku Girls, who had a major input into the album's production.

"What You Waiting For?" was released as the album's lead single; according to Stefani, as an "explanation for doing the record". The song was well received by critics and was frequently cited as a highlight of the album. The single was commercially successful, topping the chart in Australia and reaching the top 10 in several countries. It was certified gold in the United States, and was nominated for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance at the 47th Annual Grammy Awards. The song has been remixed a number of times, and was covered by the indie rock band Franz Ferdinand and singer Marina Diamandis. (Full article...)
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House of Music is the fourth and final album by American R&B band Tony! Toni! Toné!, released on November 19, 1996, by Mercury Records. It follows the success of the band's 1993 album Sons of Soul and a hiatus during which each member pursued individual musical projects.

For House of Music, Tony! Toni! Toné! regrouped in 1995 and worked at studios in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Oakland, and Sacramento. Bassist-vocalist Raphael Saadiq, guitarist-vocalist D'wayne Wiggins, and percussionist-keyboardist Timothy Christian Riley worked on songs for the album independently before recording them together as a group. Most of the album was produced by the band; the only song to feature outside production was "Let's Get Down", produced by Saadiq with rapper-producer DJ Quik and G-One. (Full article...)
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The Wiggles lineup in 2022 (L–R: Tsehay Hawkins, Caterina Mete, Lachlan Gillespie, Lucia Field, Simon Pryce, Evie Ferris, Anthony Field, John Pearce)

The Wiggles are an Australian children's music group formed in Sydney in 1991. As of 2022, the group members are Anthony Field, Lachlan Gillespie, Simon Pryce, Tsehay Hawkins, Evie Ferris, John Pearce, Caterina Mete and Lucia Field. The Wiggles were founded in 1991 by Anthony Field, Murray Cook, Jeff Fatt, Greg Page and Phillip Wilcher. Wilcher left the group after their first album. Page retired in 2006 due to ill health and was replaced by understudy Sam Moran, but returned in 2012, replacing Moran. At the end of 2012, Cook, Fatt and Page retired and were replaced by Gillespie, Pryce and Emma Watkins. Cook and Fatt retained their shareholding in the group and all three continued to have input into its creative and production aspects, while engaging in occasional reunion performances. Watkins departed the group in 2021, with the group subsequently adopting an expanded line-up of eight members.

Field and Fatt were members of the Australian pop band the Cockroaches in the 1980s, and Cook was a member of several bands before meeting Field and Page at Macquarie University, where they were studying to become pre-school teachers. In 1991, Field was inspired to create an album of children's music based upon concepts of early childhood education, and he enlisted Cook, Page, and Fatt to assist him. They began touring to promote the album and became so successful, they quit their teaching jobs to perform full-time. The group augmented their act with costumed characters Dorothy the Dinosaur, Henry the Octopus and Wags the Dog, as well as the human character Captain Feathersword, played by Paul Paddick since 1993. Shirley Shawn the Unicorn was later introduced. They originally travelled with a small group of dancers, which later grew into a larger troupe. The group's albums, DVDs and television programs have been produced independently since their inception. The height of their popularity came in the early 2000s, after they broke into the American market. (Full article...)
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The Symphony No. 3, Op. 36, also known as the Symphony of Sorrowful Songs (Polish: Symfonia pieśni żałosnych), is a symphony in three movements composed by Henryk Górecki in Katowice, Poland, between October and December 1976. The work is indicative of the transition between Górecki's earlier dissonant style and his later more tonal style and "represented a stylistic breakthrough: austerely plaintive, emotionally direct and steeped in medieval modes". It was premièred on 4 April 1977, at the Royan International Festival, with Stefania Woytowicz as soprano and Ernest Bour as conductor.

A solo soprano sings Polish texts in each of the three movements. The first is a 15th-century Polish lament of Mary, mother of Jesus; the second a message written on the wall of a Gestapo cell during World War II; and the third a Silesian folk song of a mother searching for her son killed by the Germans in the Silesian uprisings. The first and third movements are written from the perspective of a parent who has lost a child, and the second movement from that of a child separated from a parent. The dominant themes of the symphony are motherhood, despair and suffering. (Full article...)
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Sky Blue Sky is the sixth studio album by the American rock band Wilco, released on May 15, 2007 by Nonesuch Records. Originally announced on January 17, 2007 at a show in Nashville, Tennessee, it was the band's first studio album with guitarist Nels Cline and multi-instrumentalist Pat Sansone. Before its release, the band streamed the entire album on its official website and offered a free download of "What Light". (Full article...)

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... 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 to promote the Buffalo Club, Rising Tide Records sent packages of plastic buffalo to music industry executives in Nashville?
... 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 one critic interpreted a SZA song as being about her fears about the growing influence of AI in the music industry?
... 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?

Born this day

Birthdays in Music: December 25

Bob James, American Grammy Award-winning pianist, turns 85.
Barbara Mandrell, American country music singer, turns 76.
Merry Clayton, American gospel music vocalist who performed Gimme Shelter with Mick Jagger, turns 76.
Joe Louis Walker, American blues guitarist, turns 75.
Annie Lennox, Brit singer of Eurythmics fame, turns 70.
Steve Wariner, American country musician, turns 70.
Robin Campbell, Brit guitarist and vocalist with UB40, turns 70.
Dale Barlow, Australian composer and multi-instrumentalist with (Cedar Walton, Art Blakey, Billy Cobham), turns 65.
Bob Stanley, Brit musician with Saint Etienne, turns 60.
Dmitri Matheny, American trumpeter, turns 59.
Dido, British singer-songwriter, turns 53.
Noel Hogan, Irish guitarist with The Cranberries, turns 53.
Josh Freese, American drummer, turns 52.
Armin van Buuren, Dutch keyboardist, turns 48.
Tuomas Holopainen, Finnish keyboardist, turns 48.
Ferman Akgül, Singer of Turkish rock band maNga, turns 45.
The Veronicas, (born Jessica and Lisa Origliasso) Australian pop music twin sisters, turns 40.

Shane MacGowan (Record production, 1957 –November 30, 2023), Irish guitarist and vocalist with The Pogues, would have turned 67 this year.
Jimmy Buffett (Record production, 1946–September 1, 2023), American singer and songwriter, would have turned 78 this year.
Noel Redding (Record production, 1945 –May 11, 2003), Brit bassist with The Jimi Hendrix Experience, would have turned 79 this year.
Henry Vestine (Record production, 1944 –October 20, 1997), American guitarist with Canned Heat, would have turned 80 this year.
Kenny Everett (Record production, 1944 –April 04, 1995), Brit disc jockey and presenter, would have turned 80 this year.
Trevor Lucas (Record production, 1943 –February 04, 1989), Australian folk music guitarist of Fairport Convention fame, would have turned 81 this year.
Don Pullen (Record production, 1941 –April 22, 1995), American jazz pianist and organist, would have turned 83 this year.
Ronnie Cuber (Record production, 1941–October 07, 2022), American baritone saxophonist, would have turned 83 this year.
Pete Brown (Record production, 1940 –May 19, 2023), Brit lyricist, poet, singer, producer with Cream, would have turned 84 this year.
Don Alias (Record production, 1939 –March 29, 2006), American percussionist, would have turned 85 this year.
O'Kelly Isley, Jr. (Record production, 1937 –March 31, 1986), American soul music performer with The Isley Brothers, would have turned 87 this year.
Ben Dixon (Record production, 1934–November 08, 2018), American drummer, would have turned 90 this year.
Chris Kenner (Record production, 1929 –January 25, 1976), American R&B singer, would have turned 95 this year.
Ernie Andrews (Record production, 1927–February 21, 2022), American vocalist, would have turned 97 this year.
Rick Fay (1926 – 1999), American clarinetist and saxophonist, would have turned 98.
Chris Woods (Record production, 1925 –July 04, 1985), American alto saxophonist, would have turned 99 this year.
Eddie Safranski (Record production, 1918 –January 10, 1974), American bass player, would have turned 106 this year.
Pete Rugolo (Record production, 1915 –October 16, 2011), Sicilian arranger and composer, would have turned 109 this year.
Pat Jenkins (Record production, 1914 –September 02, 2006), American trumpeter, would have turned 110 this year.
Oscar Moore (Record production, 1912 –October 08, 1981), American guitarist, would have turned 112 this year.
Natalino Otto (Record production, 1912 –October 04, 1969), Italian singer, would have turned 112 this year.
Eddie Gibbs (Record production, 1908 –November 12, 1994), American guitarist, would have turned 116 this year.
Cab Calloway (Record production, 1907 –November 18, 1994), American vocalist and bandleader, would have turned 117 this year.
Wayman Carver (Record production, 1905 –May 06, 1967), American flautist, would have turned 119 this year.
Izzy Friedman (Record production, 1903 –November 21, 1981), American clarinetist, would have turned 121 this year.
Merritt Brunies (Record production, 1895 –February 05, 1973), American cornetist, would have turned 129 this year.
Big Jim Robinson (Record production, 1892 –May 04, 1976), American trombonist, would have turned 132 this year.
Kid Ory (Record production, 1886 –January 23, 1973), (born Edward Ory) American trombonist, would have turned 138 this year.
Louis Cottrell, Sr. (Record production, 1878 –October 17, 1927), American drummer, would have turned 146 this year.
Jean-Joseph de Mondonville (Record production, 1711 –October 08, 1772), French composer, would have turned 313 this year.
Grizel Baillie (Record production, 1665 –December 06, 1746), Scottish songwriter, would have turned 359 this year.
Orlando Gibbons (Record production, 1583 –June 05, 1625), Brit composer, would have turned 441 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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Imaginos is the eleventh studio album by the American rock band Blue Öyster Cult. It was released in 1988, and was their last recording with their original record label, CBS/Columbia Records.

The album took nearly eight years to complete and was originally intended to be the first in a trilogy of solo albums by Blue Öyster Cult drummer and songwriter Albert Bouchard. Bouchard was fired in August 1981, and CBS rejected the album in 1984, but a re-worked version was eventually published as a product of the band. Many guest musicians contributed to the project over this eight-year span, including Joe Satriani, Aldo Nova, and Doors guitarist Robby Krieger, but some band members were barely involved in the recording process. Thus, Imaginos is often considered more as a project of producer and lyricist Sandy Pearlman than as a true album of the band. (Full article...)
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World Painted Blood is the eleventh studio album by American thrash metal band Slayer. It was released through American Recordings and Sony Music on November 3, 2009 and was produced by Greg Fidelman and executively produced by Rick Rubin. It is the band's only album produced by Greg Fidelman and the last album to feature the band’s original lineup including guitarist Jeff Hanneman (who died of liver cirrhosis in 2013) and drummer Dave Lombardo (who was dismissed from Slayer the same year). With much anticipation for the album after 2006's Christ Illusion, members of Slayer began revealing information about the album beginning in early 2009.

There were four different artworks released for the album, each of which completed one-fourth of a map that when put together illustrates the earth painted with red. There are eleven tracks on the album, with origins illustrating death and destruction, war, serial killers, and the Apocalypse. World Painted Blood is the band's final album to be released through American Recordings, as well as the final collaboration between Slayer and label owner Rubin, who had worked with the band as their producer or executive producer since Reign in Blood (1986). (Full article...)
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Taylor Swift is the debut studio album by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. It was released in the United States and Canada on October 24, 2006, and elsewhere on March 18, 2008, through Big Machine Records.

Relocating from Pennsylvania to Nashville, Tennessee, Swift signed with Sony/ATV Tree Music Publishing at 14 to write songs for the album. Her contract with Big Machine in 2005 enabled her to work with the producer Nathan Chapman during her freshman year of high school. Of the 11 tracks that made the album, Swift wrote three by herself and the rest with Robert Ellis Orrall, Brian Maher, Angelo Petraglia, and Liz Rose. Inspired by her outlook on life as a teenager, the lyrics address romantic relationships, friendships, and security. A country album, Taylor Swift incorporates acoustic instruments such as guitars, banjos, and fiddles, and its songs feature pop and pop rock elements. (Full article...)
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Playlist: The Very Best of Destiny's Child is the third compilation album by American R&B girl group Destiny's Child. It was released on October 9, 2012, through Columbia Records matching with the fifteenth anniversary of Destiny's Child's formation. The compilation contained fourteen songs from the group's repertoire consisting of four studio albums.

Upon its release, the received positive reviews from critics who praised its track list featuring the band's most popular songs; however some of them noted the lack of new material as a downside. It peaked at numbers 77 and 17 on the Billboard 200 and the magazine's Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart respectively, becoming the highest ranking release of the playlist album series through Legacy Recordings. (Full article...)
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Xtort (stylized as XTOЯT) is the eighth studio album by German industrial band KMFDM, released on June 25, 1996, by Wax Trax! Records. It was recorded from the end of 1995 through early 1996, shortly after the death of Wax Trax! co-founder and band friend Jim Nash. Xtort features a variety of guest artists from the industrial music scene and studio musicians from other genres, but includes limited participation from core member En Esch.

The album was massively promoted by KMFDM's American label TVT Records, which pressed tens of thousands of copies of its lead single "Power". Frontman Sascha Konietzko created his own form of promotion, issuing a press release that both disparaged and lauded the coming set. Xtort was generally well-received by critics and is the band's highest-charting album to date. After the original release went out of print, a remastered version was released in 2007. (Full article...)
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21st Century Breakdown is the eighth studio album by the American rock band Green Day, released on May 15, 2009, through Reprise Records. Green Day commenced work on the record in January 2006 and forty-five songs were written by vocalist and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong by October 2007, but the band members did not enter studio work until January 2008.

21st Century Breakdown is a concept album/rock opera much like their previous album American Idiot (2004). According to the band, the album is a rumination of "the era in which we live as we question and try to make sense of the selfish manipulation going on around us". The singles "Know Your Enemy" and "21 Guns" exemplify the themes of alienation and politically motivated anger present in the record. (Full article...)
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Slipknot is the debut studio album by American heavy metal band Slipknot. It was released on June 29, 1999, by Roadrunner Records, following a demo containing a few of the songs which had previously been released in 1998. Later, it was reissued in December 1999 with a slightly-altered track listing and mastering as the result of a lawsuit. It was the first release by the band to be produced by Ross Robinson, who sought to refine Slipknot's sound rather than alter the group's musical direction. This is the only album to feature original guitarist Josh Brainard who left at the end of recording in late 1998 while the band was taking a brief break. Jim Root, who recorded two tracks at this point, would appear full time on subsequent albums starting with their next album Iowa.

The album spans several genres, but is generally noted for its extensive percussion and overall heavy sound. It was well received by fans and critics alike and was responsible for bringing Slipknot a large increase in popularity. The album peaked at number 51 on the Billboard 200, and has gone on to become certified double platinum in the United States, making it the band's best-selling album. In 2011, it was voted the best debut album of the last 25 years by readers of Metal Hammer magazine. (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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Thirteen (stylized as Th1rt3en) is the thirteenth studio album by American thrash metal band Megadeth. It was first released in Japan on October 27, 2011, and worldwide on November 1, 2011. It is the first Megadeth studio album since The World Needs a Hero (2001) to feature bassist and founding member David Ellefson, who returned to the band in 2010. Thirteen debuted at number 11 on the Billboard 200 chart, selling 42,000 copies in its first week. The album broke into the top 20 in several other markets as well. It has sold about 120,000 copies in the United States as of December 2012. The album has received positive reviews from critics.

The album followed the successful Endgame, released two years previously, and was recorded in late spring 2011. In addition to new material that was written for the album, the band decided to rework and release several older songs, some of which had previously seen release as demos or bonus tracks. Additionally, several of the songs on the album were intended to appear on video game soundtracks, notably "Sudden Death", which appeared as a playable song in the 2010 video game Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock. (Full article...)
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Aphrodite is the eleventh studio album by Australian singer Kylie Minogue. It was released on 30 June 2010 by Parlophone. In 2009, Minogue began working with British electronic music producer Stuart Price, who served as the executive producer of the album. The two collaborated with various producers and writers on the album, including Jake Shears, Calvin Harris, Sebastian Ingrosso and Pascal Gabriel. Aphrodite follows a musical approach similar to Minogue's previous albums and is primarily a dance-pop and disco-pop record. It draws influences from various dance-based genres including electropop, club and rave music.

Aphrodite received generally positive reviews from music critics, many of whom complimented it as a return to form for Minogue, however, some critics were divided on its production. In Australia, Aphrodite peaked at number two on the Australian Albums Chart and was certified platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). In the United Kingdom, the album debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart, earning Minogue the Guinness World Record for achieving the most consecutive decades with top five albums in the country. Additionally, it reached the top five in Belgium, Canada, France, Greece, Spain, and, Switzerland, among others. (Full article...)
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Theatre Royal Drury Lane 8th September 1974 is a 2005 live album by English progressive rock musician Robert Wyatt, documenting a concert on that date at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in London. The concert took place the year after Wyatt had fallen from a fourth-storey window and become paralysed from the waist down. Since the accident, Wyatt has used a wheelchair. The concert remains Wyatt's first and only live performance as a headlining solo artist.

The concert served as the live premiere of Wyatt's studio album Rock Bottom, which had been released a little over a month prior. In addition to the songs from Rock Bottom, the set list included cover of songs by Wyatt's former bands; a performance by Julie Tippetts of her own song, "Mind of a Child"; and most notably, an extended version of "I'm a Believer", a song written by Neil Diamond for American pop-rock band The Monkees. Wyatt had just recorded and released his cover of "I'm a Believer", which became a surprise hit single in the UK. The assembled band, dubbed Robert Wyatt & Friends, included most of the musicians from the Rock Bottom recording sessions and several guests. Robert Wyatt & Friends consisted of Dave Stewart, Laurie Allan, Hugh Hopper of Soft Machine, Mongezi Feza, Gary Windo, Mike Oldfield, Nick Mason of Pink Floyd, Fred Frith of Henry Cow, Julie Tippetts, and Ivor Cutler. The BBC Radio 1 DJ John Peel gave an introduction for Wyatt. (Full article...)
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Standard edition cover

Beyoncé is the fifth studio album by American singer-songwriter Beyoncé. It was released on December 13, 2013, through Parkwood Entertainment and Columbia Records. Created as a visual album, it was released in the middle of the night as a complete surprise. The album and its release are frequently credited with inventing the modern definition of the visual album, being the first surprise album of its kind to have no prior announcement, and provoking the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) to change the day of the week when music is released worldwide from Tuesday to Friday.

Rappers Jay-Z and Drake, singer Frank Ocean, author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and Beyoncé's daughter Blue Ivy Carter appear as guest vocalists on the album. Its initial recording began in New York City, where Beyoncé invited the "world's best" producers and songwriters to live with her in a mansion for a month. During extensive touring the following year, the album changed as she conceived of creating a visual accompaniment to its songs and resumed recording sessions with electronic producer and rock musician Boots. Their collaboration led to more sonically experimental material, which combined contemporary R&B with electronic and soul music. Throughout this period, the album's songs and videos were composed in strict secrecy as Beyoncé devised an unexpected release. Beyoncé's desire to assert her full artistic freedom served as inspiration for the album's dark, personal subject matter, which incorporated feminist themes of sex, monogamy, beauty standards and relationship problems. (Full article...)

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General images - load new batch

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

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

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Katy Perry (pictured)'s "I Kissed a Girl" topped the chart for nine consecutive weeks, tying Madonna's "4 Minutes" for the joint-longest-running number-one single of the year.

The Canadian Hot 100 is a chart that ranks the best-performing singles of Canada. Published by Billboard magazine, its data are similar to Billboard's U.S.-based Hot 100 in that it compiles Nielsen SoundScan based collectively on each single's weekly physical and digital sales, as well as airplay. Canada's airplay chart is compiled with information collected from monitoring more than 100 stations that represent rock, country, adult contemporary and contemporary hit radio genres. The online version of the chart features the Canadian flag next to tracks that qualify as Canadian content.

In 2008, 11 singles topped the chart. Although 12 singles claimed the top spot in 52 issues of the magazine, Timbaland's "Apologize" featuring OneRepublic began its peak position in late 2007, and is thus excluded. Katy Perry and Lady Gaga each earned two number-one singles as a lead artist. Two number-one singles tied for the longest-running chart-topping single of 2008, for nine weeks: Madonna's "4 Minutes" featuring Justin Timberlake and Katy Perry's "I Kissed a Girl", although the former had a non-consecutive run. Other chart-topping singles from 2008 include Flo Rida's "Low" featuring T-Pain, which stayed at number one for eight straight weeks. Rihanna's "Take a Bow" is noted for its jump from seventieth to first place on the Canadian Hot 100, which was the largest upward movement to number one at the time. (Full article...)
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Keith Urban had his first number one in 2001.

Hot Country Songs is a chart that ranks the top-performing country music songs in the United States, published by Billboard magazine. In 2001, 22 different songs topped the chart, then published under the title Hot Country Singles & Tracks, in 52 issues of the magazine, based on weekly airplay data from country music radio stations compiled by Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems.

Singer Tim McGraw's song "My Next Thirty Years" was at number one at the start of the year, having been at the top since the issue dated December 16, 2000, and remained at number one until the issue dated January 20, when it was replaced by "Born to Fly" by Sara Evans. McGraw also topped the chart with "Grown Men Don't Cry" in June and "Angry All the Time" in November. Toby Keith also achieved three number ones in 2001, "You Shouldn't Kiss Me Like This" in March, "I'm Just Talkin' About Tonight" in September and "I Wanna Talk About Me" in November–December, and had the most weeks at number one of any act during the year, with nine. Four acts each topped the charts with two songs, groups Lonestar and Brooks & Dunn and solo artists Jamie O'Neal and Alan Jackson, the latter of whom ended the year at the top of the chart with "Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning)". Jackson's song, written in response to the September 11 attacks and premiered at the 2001 Country Music Association Awards, reached the top spot after just six weeks on the chart, the fastest such rise for four years. It would remain at number one until the chart dated February 2 of the following year. The longest run at number one during 2001 was six weeks, achieved by two songs, "Ain't Nothing 'bout You" by Brooks & Dunn and "I'm Already There" by Lonestar. "Ain't Nothing 'bout You" was ranked number one on Billboard's year-end chart of the most popular country songs, and is the longest-running of the duo's twenty number ones. (Full article...)
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"Good Morning" by PJ Morton & Susan Carol 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...)
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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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Hank Williams (third from right) and his Drifting Cowboys band reached number one for the first time in 1949.

In 1949 Billboard magazine published three charts covering the best-performing country music songs in the United States. At the start of the year, the magazine published two charts covering the genre: Most-Played Juke Box Folk Records, which had appeared in Billboard since 1944, and Best Selling Folk Retail Records, which had debuted in 1948. With effect from the issue of the magazine dated June 25, Billboard began using the term "country and western" for the first time in the titles of the charts, renaming the juke box chart to Most-Played Juke Box (Country & Western) Records and the best sellers chart to Best-Selling Retail Folk (Country & Western) Records. In December the magazine added a third country chart when it began publishing the Country & Western Records Most Played By Folk Disk Jockeys listing. All three charts are considered part of the lineage of the current Hot Country Songs chart, which was first published in 1958.

The artist with the most weeks at number one on the juke box chart was Eddy Arnold, who spent a total of twenty weeks in the top spot with five different songs. On the retail chart, singing cowboy actor Jimmy Wakely had the highest number of total weeks at number one, comprising ten weeks in the top spot with two solo singles and a further thirteen with "Slipping Around", a duet with Margaret Whiting. The ten consecutive weeks which "Slipping Around" spent atop the juke box chart from late October until the end of the year tied with "Don't Rob Another Man's Castle" by Eddy Arnold for the longest unbroken run of the year at number one on that chart, and its spell at number one on the retail chart was the longest run in the peak position on that listing. Arnold's song spent a total of twelve non-consecutive weeks at number one on the juke box chart, the highest cumulative total for any one song. On the retail chart, "Lovesick Blues" by Hank Williams and his Drifting Cowboys spent the most total weeks in the top spot, with sixteen non-consecutive weeks at number one. Wakely and Arnold were the only artists to take more than one song to number one in 1949, a feat which they each achieved on both the juke box and retail charts. (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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The Latin Grammy Hall of Fame is a hall of fame established by the Latin Recording Academy to recognize "early recordings of lasting qualitative or historical significance that were released more than 25 years ago". LARAS is also the same organization that distributes the Latin Grammy Awards. The albums and songs are picked by a panel of recording-arts professionals, such as musicologists and historians, and selected from all major categories of Latin music.

The first inductions were made in 2001 to honor 17 recordings. These included Santana's cover of Tito Puente's "Oye Como Va", Javier Solís's rendition of "Sabor a Mí" and the 1948 performance of Joaquín Rodrigo's Concierto de Aranjuez by Regino Sainz de la Maza and the Orquesta Nacional de España. The inductions have each occurred six years apart from one another. (Full article...)
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Sonny James had three number ones in 1969.

Hot Country Songs is a chart that ranks the top-performing country music songs in the United States, published by Billboard magazine. In 1969, 23 different singles topped the chart, which was published at the time under the title Hot Country Singles, in 52 weekly 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, Johnny Cash's single "Daddy Sang Bass" climbed from number 19 to the top spot, replacing "Wichita Lineman" by Glen Campbell. Cash's single remained at number one for six weeks, the longest unbroken run of the year. The singer returned to the top of the chart later in the year with "A Boy Named Sue", which spent five weeks at number one. His cumulative total of eleven weeks atop the chart was the highest by any artist in 1969. Merle Haggard, Sonny James and Buck Owens each reached number one with three different singles, the most by any act. All three of James' chart-toppers were cover versions of successful rock and roll and pop songs from the late 1950s and early 1960s; the singer achieved the majority of his more than 20 country number ones with versions of pop songs. Owens also took a country reworking of a rock and roll classic to the top spot, with a live version of Chuck Berry's 1958 song "Johnny B. Goode". Haggard's three chart-toppers included "Okie from Muskogee", one of the best-known songs of his career. (Full article...)
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With the issue of Billboard dated August 4, 2018, "Meant to Be" by Bebe Rexha (pictured) and Florida Georgia Line broke the record for the longest run at number one on the Hot Country Songs chart, having been in the top spot for 35 weeks. The song's run at number one ultimately extended to 50 weeks at the top.

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 2018, three different songs topped the Hot Country Songs chart and 33 different songs topped Country Airplay.

The Country Airplay chart began the year with "Like I Loved You" by Brett Young holding the top position, while "Meant to Be" by Bebe Rexha and Florida Georgia Line held the number one spot on Hot Country Songs, continuing a run that had begun on the chart dated December 16, 2017. When "Meant to Be" spent an eleventh week in the top spot in February, it overtook Taylor Swift's "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" as the longest-running number one song on the chart for a lead female artist. In August, the song spent a 35th consecutive week in the top spot and broke the record previously held by 2017's "Body Like a Back Road" by Sam Hunt for the most weeks at number one on the chart. "Meant to Be" ultimately held the top spot on the Hot Country Songs listing until the issue of Billboard dated November 24, 2018, when it was replaced at number one after 50 weeks by "Lose It" by Kane Brown. This was the second number one for Brown after "What Ifs", which had coincidentally ended Hunt's then-record run the previous year. The longest-tenured number one single on Country Airplay in 2018 was "She Got the Best of Me" by Luke Combs, with four weeks spent at the top. (Full article...)
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The Black Eyed Peas' "I Gotta Feeling" was the most-broadcast radio song for eight weeks.

Since July 2009, Israeli broadcast monitoring service Media Forest has been publishing four rankings which list the top ten most-broadcast Romanian and foreign songs on Romanian radio stations and television channels separately on a weekly basis. Nine radio stations—Europa FM, Info Pro, Kiss FM, Magic FM, National FM, Pro FM, Radio 21, Radio România Actualități and Radio ZU—and five television channels—1 Music Channel, Kiss TV, MTV Romania, Party TV and UTV Romania—were taken into consideration for the charts' compilation in 2009. They are based on the number of times tracks are broadcast, determined by acoustic fingerprinting.

Media Forest also releases year-end charts in regards to the radio airplay, listing the most-broadcast songs of Romanian origin of the respective year, weighted by the official audience numbers provided by Asociația pentru Radio Audiență (Romanian Association for Audience Numbers). David Deejay and Dony reached number one on the 2009 ranking with "So Bizarre". In 2009, eight and eleven singles were listed by Media Forest as the most-broadcast tracks on radio and television respectively. The first were "Takin' Back My Love" by Enrique Iglesias and Ciara (radio) and "Undeva-n Balcani" by Puya and George Hora (television) in July 2009. "I Gotta Feeling" by the Black Eyed Peas spent eight weeks as the most-broadcast single on radio stations, longer than any other, while in terms of television airplay, this feat was achieved by Edward Maya and Vika Jigulina's "Stereo Love" with a total of six non-consecutive weeks. "Chica Bomb" by Dan Balan was the final top song of 2009 on both listings. (Full article...)