phonograph

The Wizard of Menlo Park made a name for himself when he announced his latest invention of a device that could record and play back sound. Thomas Alva Edison had already issued several patents for improvements to the telegraph and telephone that made them more practical, using his proceeds to open the first research and development laboratory at Menlo Park, New Jersey.  It was there that he stumbled upon the machine that would make him famous.  In an experiment to see if he could record a telephone conversation, he used a stylus on a tinfoil cylinder.  He surprised himself when his recording of 'Mary Had a Little Lamb' played back:  “I was never so taken aback in my life. I was always afraid of things that worked the first time.”  

He brought his new invention to magazines to give demonstrations, which brought national recognition and led to his nickname: "The Wizard of Menlo Park".  He shelved the device to work on developing the incandescent light bulb, during which time other inventors made improvements on his revolutionary 'sound writer'.  The phonograph would usher in a new age of music and sound recording.  

'Mary Had a Little Lamb'

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YBXyuY2J20o





The Song of Mr. Phonograph
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SEZWf2torO8





The Bee Gees - Edison





Chumbawamba did their song 'The Wizard of Menlo Park' as a bouncy tribute to the famous inventor.




Thomas Edison - Mary Had A Little Lamb dance remix by Frank O' The Mountain
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OqOJYJcZkoY

saturday night fever

This gigantic discothèque album captured the cultural zeitgeist with its feverish grooves and lush production to become one of the biggest albums of all time.  The film 'Saturday Night Fever' was based on a fictionalized magazine article by Nik Cohn called 'Tribal Rites of the New Saturday Night', in which he drew from the British Mod subculture of the sixties.  Starring John Travolta in a Oscar and Golden Globe nominated performance as a working class Brooklyn youth who escapes his problems by dancing at nightclubs on the weekends. The cross media marketing of the soundtrack with the film created a cultural sensation that brought disco to the mainstream.  Four singles went to number one on the US pop chart, all of them written and produced by the Bee Gees. 

'Saturday Night Fever' went to number one in Australia for three months, and the UK for five months.  In the US, the album spent twenty-four consecutive weeks at the top of the US album chart and has been certified platinum fifteen times for sales of over fifteen million copies.  The album won Grammy Awards for Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Duo Or Group, Producer of the Year, and Album of the Year as well as Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Group for "How Deep Is Your Love" and Best Arrangement Of Voices for "Stayin' Alive".  It also won an American Music Award for Favorite Soul / R&B Album.  'Saturday Night Fever' is the ninth biggest selling album of all time with sales of over forty million copies worldwide.  









http://beegees.com/






movie trailer








"Stayin' Alive" (Bee Gees)
The single went to number four on the R&B chart and number one on the pop chart.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fa9n7GirhsI





"How Deep Is Your Love" (Bee Gees) 
The single went to number one on the adult contemporary and pop charts.





"Night Fever" (Bee Gees) 
The single went to number eight on the R&B chart and number one on the pop chart. 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FECFb1_YdII




"More Than a Woman" (Bee Gees) 




"If I Can't Have You" (Yvonne Elliman) 
The single went to number one on the pop chart.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QI-boBxcMlo






"Jive Talkin'" (Bee Gees) 





"You Should Be Dancing" (Bee Gees) 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_JoZS6LgqYI



"Boogie Shoes" (KC and the Sunshine Band) 
The single hit number thirty-five on the pop chart.





"Disco Inferno" (The Trammps) 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-opY4qcidFk







full album:





Side A
1. "Stayin' Alive" (Bee Gees) Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb & Maurice Gibb Bee Gees, Albhy Galuten, Karl Richardson 4:45
2. "How Deep Is Your Love" (Bee Gees) Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb & Maurice Gibb Bee Gees, Albhy Galuten, Karl Richardson 4:05
3. "Night Fever" (Bee Gees) Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb & Maurice Gibb Bee Gees, Albhy Galuten, Karl Richardson 3:32
4. "More Than a Woman" (Bee Gees) Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb & Maurice Gibb Bee Gees, Albhy Galuten, Karl Richardson 3:18
5. "If I Can't Have You" (Yvonne Elliman) Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb & Maurice Gibb Freddie Perren 3:00
Side B
6. "A Fifth of Beethoven" (Walter Murphy) Murphy (based on Beethoven's Fifth Symphony) Thomas J. Valentino 3:03
7. "More Than a Woman" (Tavares) Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb & Maurice Gibb Perren 3:17
8. "Manhattan Skyline" (David Shire) Shire Shire & Bill Oakes 4:45
9. "Calypso Breakdown" (Ralph MacDonald) William Eaton 7:51
Side C
10. "Night on Disco Mountain" (David Shire) Modest Mussorgsky (arranged by Shire) Shire & Oakes 5:13
11. "Open Sesame" (Kool & the Gang) Robert Bell Kool & the Gang 4:01
12. "Jive Talkin' " (Bee Gees) Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb & Maurice Gibb Arif Mardin 3:44
13. "You Should Be Dancing" (Bee Gees) Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb & Maurice Gibb Bee Gees, Albhy Galuten, Karl Richardson 4:14
14. "Boogie Shoes" (KC and the Sunshine Band) Harry Wayne Casey & Richard Finch Casey & Richard Finch 2:17
Side D
15. "Salsation" (David Shire) Shire Shire & Oakes 3:51
16. "K-Jee" (MFSB) Charlie Hearndon & Harvey Fuqua Bobby Martin & Broadway Eddie 4:13
17. "Disco Inferno" (The Trammps) Leroy Green & Ron Kersey Kersey 10:51

Total length:  1:15:54


Additional songs recorded for the film but not used:
"Emotion" by Samantha Sang
"You Stepped Into My Life" by Bee Gees
"If I Can't Have You" by Bee Gees
"(Our Love) Don't Throw It All Away" by Bee Gees
"Warm Ride" by Bee Gees

how can you mend a broken heart

The Bee Gees had their first American chart topper with this affected tale of heartache. 'How Can You Mend a Broken Heart' was composed when the Gibb brothers reunited after they had each gone their separate ways. The song was offered to Andy Williams, who turned it down; so they recorded it themselves for their album, 'Trafalgar'. Originally credited to Barry and Robin Gibb, Maurice was given a co-writing credit on a 2009 compilation. 'How Can You Mend a Broken Heart' was a number one hit in Canada and the US.

http://beegees.com/

I can think of younger days when living for my life

Was everything a man could want to do.

I could never see tomorrow, but I was never told about the sorrow.

And how can you mend a broken heart?

How can you stop the rain from falling down?

How can you stop the sun from shining?

What makes the world go round?

How can you mend a this broken man?

How can a loser ever win?

Please help me mend my broken heart and let me live again.

I can still feel the breeze that rustles through the trees

And misty memories of days gone by

We could never see tomorrow, no one said a word about the sorrow.

And how can you mend a broken heart?

How can you stop the rain from falling down?

How can you stop the sun from shining?

What makes the world go round?

How can you mend this broken man?

How can a loser ever win?

Please help me mend my broken heart and let me live again.