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Prysmian S.p.A. è un'azienda italiana con sede a Milano, specializzata nella produzione di cavi per applicazioni nel settore dell'energia e delle telecomunicazioni e di fibre ottiche. Prysmian è presente in Nord America con 23 stabilimenti, 48 in Europa, 13 in LATAM, 7 MEAT, 13 APAC.

È il leader mondiale nella produzione di cavi. La società è quotata nell'indice FTSE MIB della Borsa di Milano.

Il 4 dicembre 2017 ha rilevato il 100% del gruppo statunitense General Cable, per poi completare la fusione per incorporazione l'anno successivo, dopo l'approvazione dell'antitrust dei rispettivi Paesi.

Storia

Gli inizi
La società nasce originariamente nel 1879 come Pirelli Cavi e Sistemi. Nel 1881 ottiene l'appalto per la creazione di cavi telegrafici sottomarini per conto del Genio militare.

Nel 1886 apre uno stabilimento per la produzione di cavi sottomarini a La Spezia. Successivamente contribuisce anche alla posa dell'intera rete telegrafica italiana per conto di Telegrafi dello Stato, amministrazione pubblica, e all'installazione della rete elettrica ad uso domestico a Milano. Svolge anche lavori di posa cavi telegrafici nelle colonie dell'Africa Orientale Italiana.

Nel 1925 realizza per Italcable i 5.150 km del cavo telegrafico sottomarino per la comunicazione tra l'Italia e il Sud America. La collaborazione con lo Stato proseguirà con la posa di cavi per la Rete Telefonica Interurbana.

Prysmian
Nel 2005 nasce Prysmian S.r.l. ad opera del gruppo Goldman Sachs, per acquisire le attività di Divisione Cavi e Sistemi di Pirelli & C. S.p.A. che, dopo aver ristrutturato l'organizzazione delle attività all'interno del gruppo, ha deciso di disinvestire dal mercato dei cavi. La cifra pattuita è di 1,5 miliardi di euro, Goldman Sachs versa alla Pirelli 225 milioni, il resto (più di un miliardo) è debito da scaricare sulle spalle della nuova azienda. La società, guidata dal 2005 da Valerio Battista, è da allora una public company.

Dal 3 maggio 2007 è quotata alla Borsa di Milano e dal 24 settembre 2007 è entrata a far parte dell'indice S&P MIB delle principali aziende italiane.

A fine 2009 Goldman Sachs decide di dismettere la sua partecipazione, completata nel marzo 2010.

Nel mese di febbraio del 2011 Prysmian conclude positivamente l'Opa da 840 milioni di euro sull'olandese Draka, sede a Eindhoven e all'epoca numero quattro al mondo nel settore cavi e fibra ottica..

Nel dicembre 2017 acquisisce l'americana (e rivale) General Cable con sede nel Kentucky. Un'operazione da quasi tre miliardi di dollari, tra equity (1,5 miliardi) e debito finanziario. Mettendo assieme la prima società al mondo nel settore cavi per fatturato (la Prysmian) e la quarta (General Cable) nasce un gruppo da oltre 10 miliardi di euro di fatturato, 840 milioni di euro di Ebitda (margine operativo lordo) e 30.000 dipendenti..

Acquisizione di General Cable
Il gruppo General Cable ha una capitalizzazione da 3 miliardi di dollari, e agli azionisti è riservato un premio di prezzo pari all'81% del valore delle quote.

L'acquisizione, approvata all'unanimità dai due cda, genererà una società presente in 50 Paesi con 31.000 dipendenti, e in grado di produrre un fatturato da 11 miliardi di dollari l'anno, in base a stime estratte dal bilancio 2017. Sono previsti costi di integrazione di 220 milioni di dollari. Il prezzo per azione pagato a General Cable è di 30 dollari/azione, a fronte di un dividendo di Prysmian dimezzatosi nel 2011 dopo l'acquisizione di Draka, e stabile a 43 centesimi per azione. Il gruppo General Cable ha un miliardo di dollari di indebitamento.

Già prima società azionaria nel comparto cavi a livello mondiale, con tale fatturato "pro-forma" diventerebbe due volte più grande del secondo principale concorrente. Prysmian ha dichiarato che provvederà ad un aumento di capitale da più di 500 milioni, in vista di ulteriori acquisizioni
.

L'operazione è subordinata all'approvazione delle autorità antitrust dei due Paesi.
Il suo completamento andrebbe a creare una concentrazione di mercato in un settore strategico per la sicurezza pubblica e per lo sviluppo economico, e già costituito da non più di dieci competitori fra Italia, USA e Cina. Altri oligopoli sono presenti nei settori della telefonia fissa e mobile di vari Paesi, in parte dovuta alla stessa esistenza di monopoli naturali.

Attività
La società è leader mondiale nel settore dei sistemi in cavo. Nello specifico, Prysmian si occupa della produzione e della posa di cavi terrestri e sottomarini per la trasmissione e la distribuzione di elettricità, nonché di cavi speciali destinati all'impiego in diversi comparti industriali e di cavi a media e bassa tensione per costruzioni e infrastrutture. Per le telecomunicazioni, il Gruppo produce cavi in rame, cavi ottici e in fibra ottica per la trasmissione di dati, video e voce.

Prysmian si occupa, su richiesta del cliente, anche della progettazione e realizzazione di sistemi chiavi in mano, nonché della manutenzione post-installazione.

Ogni anno, Prysmian investe oltre 100 milioni di euro in ricerca e sviluppo. Questo ha permesso al Gruppo di sviluppare innovazioni quali BendBrightXS 180µm, la più sottile fibra ottica insensibile alla piegatura, e FlexRibbon, che con 6.912 fibre risulta essere il cavo ottico con il più alto numero di fibre del settore.

La società ha sviluppato anche la tecnologia P-Laser per i sistemi in cavo, che unisce maggiore capacità di trasmissione e sostenibilità ambientale, sfruttando materiali 100% riciclabili e tagliando le emissioni di carbonio del 40%.

Entro il 2020, Prysmian ha previsto inoltre un investimento di circa 450 milioni di euro volto ad azzerare nel tempo le emissioni di CO2 del Gruppo e a migliorare la sostenibilità della propria supply chain. Un impegno ambizioso, in linea con gli obiettivi dell'accordo di Parigi, che verrà portato a termine grazie al supporto dell'organizzazione no profit Carbon Trust.

Prysmian ha confermato inoltre per il 2021 il varo della nuova nave posacavi Leonardo da Vinci, che con i suoi 171 metri di lunghezza sarà la più grande al mondo.

In Italia, Prysmian è presente a Merlino, Giovinazzo, Pignataro Maggiore, Quattordio, Livorno, Pozzuoli e Battipaglia.

Dopo l'acquisizione di General Cable è presente in più di 50 paesi con 104 stabilimenti e oltre 28.000 dipendenti.

Azionariato
 BlackRock, Inc. - 5,2%
UBS AG - 4,0%
T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. - 3,9%
Crédit Agricole S.A. - 3,7%
Sun Life Financial, Inc. - 3,2%
AXA S.A. - 3,1%
Schroders PLC - 3,0%
The Vanguard Group, Inc. - 2,8%
Hardman Johnston Global  Advisors LLC - 2,7%
Altri - 68,4%

Dati Nasdaq al gennaio 2021..

Flotta
La flotta di Prysmian è formata da quattro navi posacavi:

 Giulio Verne
 Cable Enterprise
  Ulisse
  Leonardo Da Vinci

Note

Altri progetti

Collegamenti esterni

Aziende di Milano
Aziende multinazionali di cavi
Navi posacavi


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Q: WP submenu doesn't make drop down in my website http://www.nivic.co.il/ there is a menu (at the right side) with submenus, but when I make hover on menu item submenu doesn't appear, but in the code it actually there. Advice me something

A: From what I can tell, you have JavaScript that does this:

*

*Hover over menu item

*Change submenu 'ul' element from "display: none; visibility: hidden;" to "display: block; visibility: visible;"

However, your CSS also has this rule:
.sf-menu ul {
  position: absolute;
  top: -999em;
}

All your submenus are positioned off screen following this rule, and hovering over your top menu items, doesn't change this rule.
If you want your submenus to appear, you need to change the position and top properties when hovering over your top menu items. You should be able to add these properties to your existing rule:
.sf-menu li:hover ul, .sf-menu li.sfHover ul {
  position: relative;
  top: 0;
  /* your existing properties */
}

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Want your teen to do something active these holidays?
To celebrate MIDWEST SURF SCHOOL'S 10TH BIRTHDAY, in association with City of Greater Geraldton, FREE qualified surf lessons will be conducted FOR TEENS at Geraldton Back Beach these school holidays.
Paid Adult and Under 12 year old classes will also be available.
LIMITED PLACES SO BOOK NOW!


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You are here: Home / Newscasters / Scarlet Fu
Scarlet Fu
Scarlet Fu is the anchor of "Bloomberg Markets", weekdays from 2-3:30pm ET and co-anchor of "What'd You Miss?", Bloomberg Television's flagship markets program, weekdays from 3:30-5pm ET.
Based in New York, Fu has moderated discussion panels and interviewed business and political leaders for Bloomberg Television, including Indra Nooyi, CEO of PepsiCo Inc. and Tony Blair, former U.K. Prime Minister. Fu covered the demise of Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers and the subsequent global credit crisis in 2008.
Before joining Bloomberg Television in 2007, Fu was a U.S. stocks editor for Bloomberg News. Prior to that, she oversaw Bloomberg News coverage of Asian equities, and reported on the handover of Hong Kong to Chinese rule in 1997. Fu began her journalism career at CNBC Asia in Hong Kong.
Fu graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Cornell University with a bachelor's degree in history and concentration in Asian American Studies. She has also studied Mandarin at Peking and National Taiwan Normal Universities. Bloomberg
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Category Archives: Conferences
Imagining Sameness and Difference in Children's Literature just published
Posted on October 4, 2017 by Andrea Immel
The Little Traveller, or A Sketch of the Various Nations of the World (London: Dean and Munday, ca. 1830).
In October 2013, Cotsen hosted the conference, "Putting the Figure on the Map: Imagining Sameness and Difference for Children." The monograph based on the proceedings, Imagining Sameness and Difference in Children's Literature from the Enlightenment to the Present Day co-edited by Emer O'Sullivan (Leuphana University) and Andrea Immel (Cotsen Children's Library, Princeton University), has just been published by Palgrave Macmillan in the series "Critical Approaches to Children's Literature." It features thirty-seven black-and white illustrations; for color, the e-book must be purchased.
The front cover features a charming illustration of stylishly dressed little Parisians holding hands with Alsatian children in traditional costume from the famous picture book Mon village (1917). While the illustration appears to celebrate friendship, the author/illustrator Oncle Hansi (aka Jean-Jacques Waltz) was only interested in friendship among French-speaking Alsatians and the French. At the time Alsace-Lorraine belonged to Germany and Oncle Hansi cruelly caricatured the German-speaking Alsatians as he worked tirelessly to overthrow German rule so that the region could rejoin France. The propaganda is made palatable by the style of the illustrations and readers now find it difficult to see what the conventions of representation were supposed to communicate.
As O'Sullivan and Immel argue in the introduction, "The identification and evaluation of these conventions concerns practioners–parents, teachers, school librarians, editors, and publishers vetting materials–the process is equally important to literary critics and historians who examine children's books for evidence of a society's attitudes and the way those ideas circulate in order to contextualize them. A nuanced understanding of the what and how and why of portraying sameness and difference is critical to an appreciation of the role of children's books in promoting social change."
The twelve essays by leading scholars from the United States and European Union: the roster includes Amanda M. Brian, Nina Christensen, Gabrielle von Glasenapp, Margaret Higonnet, Cynthia J. Koepp, Gillian Lathey, Silke Meyer, Lara Saguisag, Martina Seifert, and Verena Rutschmann. Texts from Denmark, Germany, France, Russian, and the United States from the last two hundred years are analyzed–not just literary works, but picture books, non-fiction, comics, instructional volumes, novelties with moveable illustrations. This volume does not attempt to offer a comprehensive survey or history of representations of difference in children's literature: rather the contributors "offer a sample of the issues and materials that are a part of this history and the kinds of questions that can and must be asked of them if such a survey or history should be written. By engaging with the past…the authors provide a wider context and a more discerning way to look at diversity and national identify tropes in children's literature today."
Dolls and Sights of the Crystal Palace from the series "Aunt Mavor's Picturebooks for Little Readers." (London; Routledge, 1852).
Lapland Sketches, or Delineations of the Costume, Habits and Peculiarites of Jens Holm and his Wife Karina Christian. Jens and Karina were exhibited at the Egyptian Hall in London. (London: J. Harris and Son, 1822). Cotsen 40103.
Posted in Conferences, English Language Children's Books, French children's books, German-language children's books, Publications, Russian children's books, Scandinavian children's books
Call for papers: Border-Crossing in Children's Literature
Posted on June 14, 2017 by Minjie Chen
Update: Registration is open until June 8, 2018.
The Second International Symposium for Children's Literature &
The Fourth US-China Symposium for Children's Literature
Cotsen Children's Library, Princeton University
The International Symposium for Children's Literature, first held in 2012 as the US-China Symposium for Children's Literature, was born at an exciting moment in children's books and reading in China. Imported/translated picture books and juvenile literature, along with parent-child shared reading practice, were increasingly introduced to rising middle-class Chinese families and rejuvenated the creation of domestic works. The symposium has become an important venue where leading scholars from China, USA, and an expanding list of countries exchange the latest research on children's literature, fertilizing the field with inquiries that cross national, cultural, and linguistic boundaries.
The Cotsen Children's Library is proud to host the Second International Symposium for Children's Literature in 2018. Cotsen is a special collection of international historical children's materials housed within Princeton University Library. It is one of the few institutions, outside East Asia, that house a sizeable and growing research collection of Chinese, Japanese, and Korean books, magazines, manuscripts, original artwork, prints, games, and toys for children's entertainment and education.
The Second International Symposium for Children's Literature seeks to facilitate interchange of ideas on new issues in children's literature research between scholars from East and West. We are particularly interested in two thematic areas.
(1) Children's literature on the screen
Electronic screens have joined paper to carry text, images, and other multimodal contents that entertain, educate, inspire, and stimulate children. Shelby A. Wolf (2014) challenged us to widen literary analysis "to include the interplay of visual, auditory, and interactive opportunities" offered by digital children's literature. We welcome proposals that investigate digital picture books or children's book Apps from dimensions that range from definition to creation, evaluation, criticism, usage, access, response, and impact.
(2) Border-Crossing in Children's Literature
This is a broad area that encompasses multicultural, international, and translated children's literature, in any format and genre, including but not limited to East Asian children's literature, its relationship with global literature, its application in second language education, and East Asian-themed American works.
Submission Timelines
August 14, 2017 — Deadline for submitting abstracts of 300 words for 20-minute presentations (in English or Chinese) to https://goo.gl/forms/rMnzN6Ynkfr1X7f32
September 14, 2017 — Decision notification. The symposium is able to schedule up to 24 presenters into the program.
February 14, 2018 — Deadline for the submission of your paper. The necessity of on-site, simultaneous translation requires that we receive the full text of your presentation with adequate time to have English-Chinese bilingual versions prepared.
Following the symposium, we plan to assemble revised versions of the symposium papers into a book or a special journal issue.
Dr. Minjie Chen
Department of Rare Books and Special Collections
Email: minjiec@princeton.edu
Dr. Qiuying (Lydia) Wang
Professor, Reading/Literacy (K-8)
School of Teaching, Learning and Educational Sciences
Email: qiuying.wang@okstate.edu
Wolf, S. A. (2014). Children's literature on the digital move. The Reading Teacher, 67(6), 413-417.
Posted in Conferences, East Asian children's books


You might feel young and hip eating at at Holler & Dash, and that's by design — from parent company Cracker Barrel. Surprise!
As restaurants work to stand out in an increasingly competitive marketplace, big restaurant chains are diversifying their offerings to appeal to a different audience. This is the first in a Skift Table series dedicated to the stories behind the small names.
Cracker Barrel, the beloved southern chain with its rocking chairs and tchotchkes, isn't exactly a beacon of hip. But buttermilk biscuits, a Cracker Barrel staple, proved strong enough to fuel a concept of its own.. The catch? Customers walking through the door might have no idea that they're eating at a Cracker Barrel concept.
Holler & Dash, the hipper, urban, fast-casual concept from parent Cracker Barrel opened its first location in Birmingham, Alabama in 2016. Breakout concepts aren't exactly a new idea: for decades brands have been creating scaled-down versions of themselves to align with real estate restrictions, or to test the waters in a new market. Holler & Dash is nothing of the sort – in fact, it appears to be the antithesis of its parent brand. Cracker Barrel has always appealed to an older demographic, and has built its corporate identity around rural nostalgia fueled by "country" cooking and retail.
Holler & Dash has created a checklist of millennial-friendly restaurant cues to incorporate into its design. Nonsensical name containing an ampersand? Check. Exposed brick walls and subway tiles? Check. Edison light bulbs in mason jars? Double check.
The chain's website similarly offers no clues to their parentage, and a side-by-side comparison to CrackerBarrel.com is a master class in repackaging. H&D replaces the stodgy corporate format with something more intimate and inviting, with phrasing more akin to a mom and pop than big business. "Our Story," printed in bold on the top of the page, links to a page of photographs of tattooed chefs and their biographies, putting a human face on the company. In contrast, Cracker Barrel offers details about itself in small print at the bottom of the page, broken down into categories like investor relations, tour group booking, and product recalls.
But why biscuits? Why not one of Cracker Barrel's other signature items, such as fried chicken or all-day breakfast? Perhaps because its biscuits, while much loved, aren't instantly recognizable as a Cracker Barrel product. And, more certainly, it's because most of the heavy lifting in launching this concept has already been done for them. Buttermilk biscuits are big business, and have spent over a decade moving from the bread basket to the driving force behind some of the country's most popular independent fast casual concepts.
From proper brick-and-mortars like Oregon's Pine State Biscuits to farmer's market phenoms like Baltimore's Blacksauce Kitchen, the new generation of biscuit houses inspire long lines and sometimes hour -long waits by artfully combining modern aesthetics and social shareability with the from-scratch traditions that originally established biscuits as a cornerstone of American comfort food. Holler & Dash isn't as much a new concept as it is a clone of smaller, successful ones.
As for Holler & Dash, it looks like Cracker Barrel's gamble could be a winning one. Since the opening of its first location, it has opened five more in key markets around the southeast, growing early sales by appealing to an audience whose diets are already biscuit-heavy and, quite importantly, growing their credibility as a true Southern dining experience — no rocking chairs or gift shops required.


Mangaluru, Sep 29: Back pain is a very common illness next only to common cold and toothache. It can affect any person at any age and time. Back pain can be due to various causes starting from a simple strain, postural problems, disc prolapse, osteoporosis, spondylosis, infections, tumors, inflammatory disorders, extraspinal causes and sometimes psychological reasons. Disc herniation is a common cause for back pain.
In the human body, the spaces between the backbones are filled with a soft gelatinous material called disc.
Disc prolapse is a disease in which the Intervertebral disc slips from its normal position. This slip can occur when the patient tries to lift a heavyweight and experiences a catch in the back. This slip can also occur after a heavy exertion, prolonged travel or unaccustomed activity or fall. Sometimes, disc prolapse can occur without any reason.
1. Back pain: Back pain may start on its own or after lifting heavy weights. Pain increases on coughing or straining. Sometimes, pain may be severe and there may be difficulty in sitting, standing and walking.
2. Leg pain or sciatica: If the disc prolapse is pressing on the nerves, the patient will get shooting pain in one or both the legs called sciatica.
3. The patient may experience numbness or weakness of one or both the legs.
4. Rarely, there may be difficulty in passing urine or motion. If this happens, it is an emergency because if surgery is not done within 48 hours, the patient will not recover for the rest of the life.
Disc prolapse can be diagnosed by clinical examination. When the leg is lifted straight up, if there is a pain in the leg, it is suggestive of disc prolapse. By examining the muscle power, sensations and reflexes, the doctor is able to diagnose the level of disc prolapse. The diagnosis is confirmed with X-ray and MRI scan.
90 percent of disc prolapse can be cured without any surgery. Non-surgical treatment includes rest, painkillers, belt, traction, exercises and physiotherapy. However, in 10 percent of the cases, surgery is required.
Previously, open surgery (Laminectomy and discectomy) was performed for disc prolapse. However, laminectomy is a destabilizing surgery. The patient needs to stay in the hospital for two weeks and needs to take rest at home for three months. The back and its supporting structures are permanently scarred. The patients continue to have back pain and are disabled for the rest of the life. There are long-term complications such as spinal instability, epidural fibrosis, and recurrent disc prolapse. If there is any complication, it may require spinal fusion. With the advent of microdiscectomy, these complications are less but still persist. The latest surgery for disc prolapse is called transforaminal endoscopic disc surgery which is a keyhole surgery. It is completely different from traditional surgery because it is done through the natural opening in the spine called intervertebral foramen.
8. Daycare procedure. The patient can get discharged in a few hours after surgery.
13. It can be done in patients who are not fit for general anaesthesia.
14. Surgery does not damage the muscles, bone and ligaments of the spine.
15. No scar in the back.
16. No implants or screws.
Generally, surgery is done under local anaesthesia. If the patient wants, it can be done under epidural anaesthesia. Surgery involves two parts. The first part is done under image control to enter the disc using needle, guidewire, dilator and cannula in sequential manner to enter the disc.
The second part is the removal of the disc under vision using the endoscope and various instruments. Once the disc herniation is removed, the patient will experience relief from pain. At the end of surgery, nerve roots and spinal cord are fully relieved of compression.
Thank you Daijiworld for publishing such important news.
I have undergone 2 surgeries (Microdiscotemy) to correct disc prolapse in a span of 27 years. The average time taken to resume normal duties was around 3 months and between 6 months to a year for full recovery.
This type of Keyhole surgery will be beneficial in reducing the time taken for both, treatment as well as recovery.
its a very nice development . 10 years back Dr Janardhan Aithal , TMA Pai Hospital Udupi had done this successfully . He was trained in a exclusive back & spine hospital in Germany.
Great news for suffering patients .. especially in smaller cities like Mangalore !!
Is it possible to operate on patients with 'Cervical Spondylosis' ??


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At Waste Adviser, we strive to bring you the best service at the best price available. We have a wide selection of dumpster sizes in stock in Circle, AK, with flexible & timley pickup and delivery. Give us a call today for all your dumpster rental and roll off needs.
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We're looking forward to celebrating with you in true Christmas style!


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text:
Q: Why would R's nnet return different neural nets on Windows versus Linux? Our research department has created a Shiny app that allows a user to get an event's probability based on selected criteria. It is based on a neural net created at the beginning of the script using the nnet library. I've set up a basic Shiny Server to host the app for production use using CentOS. The developers use RStudio on Windows workstations for development.
We've discovered that, when the researchers copy their app.R script and supporting CSVs to the CentOS box, and view the app in a browser, the app returns significantly different results than what they see on their dev workstations. The app works properly on both environments, but the probabilities are different!
I've compared the resulting nnet in RStudio on both boxes while debugging.  There are significant differences in both the weights and residuals on each OS.  The seeds are the same, since the scripts don't change from one OS to the other.
We've reviewed and matched up the versions of R installed on all boxes - R 3.5.1 (EDIT - 3.6.0).  We've also ensured that all libraries used in the app are at the exact same versions.
We've tried adding encoding args to the read.csv() calls we use, both for Windows-1252 and UTF-8 to ensure it's not an encoding issue.
We've cut down on the precision of the values in the CSV source files, on the off chance that there's a floating point issue since the values natively are 16 digit precision and we didn't know if there was some truncating or rounding that might be involved.
model.data <- read.csv('model.data.csv')

set.seed(110)
cut <- sample(2, nrow(model.data), replace = TRUE, prob = c(.90, .10))
train <- model.data[cut == 1,]
test <- model.data[cut == 2,]

train.x <- train[,-12]
train.y <- train[,12]
test.x <- test[,-12]
test.y <- test[,12]

nn.wp <- nnet(train.x, train.y,
               decay = .10,
               size = 4,
               skip = 1)

Sample data from CSV (~55000 rows):
"TLG","TLG.log","OffLeadBefore","S.Transform","D.x","TG.x","DEZ","OTTO","DeDTTO","eff.time","ADV","OTW"
3600,8.1886891244442,0,0,1,10,75,3,3,0,1.36193576224564,1
3133,8.04974629095219,-3,-0.0535970710596484,1,10,90,2,3,0,-1.36193576224564,0
3109,8.04205641005875,-3,-0.0538035452921865,1,10,63,2,3,0,-1.36193576224564,0

Expected results is that the resulting nnet model should match on both OSes, and thus the app itself would produce correct probabilities.
EDIT
We also verified that the same seeds returned the same values on both boxes as well.


text:
Googie René born 30 March 1927
Rafael Leon René (March 30, 1927 – November 25, 2007), known as Googie René, was an American musician, bandleader, and songwriter.
Googie Rene is one of those unjustly overlooked musical figures from the rock 'n' roll years. Although he was the backbone of Class Records, Rene has remained something of an "underground" figure amongst the collector fraternity until the release of the "Wham Bam" CD on Ace. He is the son of label owner/songwriter Leon Rene (1902-1982) and was called "Googie" because that was the first word he ever uttered as an infant. By the time Googie graduated from Dorsey High School in the Los Angeles suburb of Baldwin Hills, he was showing all the signs of following in his father's footsteps.
He studied piano, composed songs and gained some firsthand studio experience when Leon Rene invited him along to record dates. But before Googie could get more involved, he had to serve in the US Army/Air Force in Europe. Upon his return in 1950, he found that his father's label, Exclusive Records, had gone bankrupt, but, undaunted, Leon Rene started to prepare a new imprint entitled Class Records.
Googie became primarily responsible for overseeing the new label, which released its first single at the end of 1951, in the short-lived 500 series. However, after the recent upheavals, Leon and Googie, chose to make a quiet start and struck an arrangement with the Bihari Brothers to release the Class product on Modern and RPM.
It was not until September 1956 that Class really got off the ground, with a new 200 series. The second release (Class 201) in that series was "Sad Fool" by the Rollettes (a.k.a as the Dreamers : Gloria Jones, Annette Williams and Fanita Barrett), coupled with "Wham Bam" by the Googie Rene Combo. This rocking instrumental was the start of a long line of singles (in excess of 20 of them, over an 11-year period) by the Combo, which usually contained the cream of the West Coast session men.
The cast includes Plas Johnson and Clifford Scott on saxophone, Earl Palmer on drums and Johnny "Guitar" Watson, Jimmy Nolen and Rene Hall on guitar. The instrumentals run the gamut from 50s rock'n'roll, boogie woogie, jump, latin, to 60s soul-jazz. On some tracks, Googie stands out front on piano, then organ later on, while letting his cohorts take the lead on many others.
Googie was given creative control at Class, which enabled him to develop his own songwriting, arranging, keyboard playing, and production techniques. As can be clearly seen from the progression of sides presented on the "Wham Bam" CD, from the smooth 1956 West Coast jump of Wham Bam to the groovy 1966 Ramsey Lewis
stylings, Googie had the latest chart hits and current trends always in mind when he went into the studio. The influences and inspirations are many and varied.
From a rock & roll point of view, the most interesting releases are those from the 1956-1959 period, especially "Wiggle Tail, Parts 1 & 2" ," "Big Time"/"Midnight" , "Break It Up"/"Side-Track" and "Rock-A Boogie"/"Beautiful Weekend".
It was probably due to the usual marketing/promotion glitches in a less-than-national operation that Googie had only three minor hits : "The Slide, Part 1" (# 20 R&B, early 1961), "Flapjacks, Part 1" (# 25 R&B, 1963) and "Smokey Joe's Lala" (# 77 pop, # 35 R&B, 1966). But as it was a family business, Class didn't turf Googie out when he failed to hit paydirt - he just kept on pushing out the singles plus three LPs. If airplay had been there, it's highly likely he would have had hits during the early years when instrumentals were a staple part of the Top 100 charts, for the recordings were right on the money tune-wise and musicianship-wise.
Googie René died in 2007, aged 80. His son is singer and songwriter Chris Rene.
(Edited mainly from BlackCat Rockabilly)
Labels: Googie René
Randy Brooks born 28 March 1917
Randolph E. "Randy" Brooks (15 Mar 1919 - 21 Mar 1967) was an excellent American swing based trumpeter and band leader, known as "The Golden Trumpet." In 1947, Brooks' version of "Tenderly," became the most requested song in the country.
Brooks got his start at the age of 8, playing in a cornet trio with his parents in the Sanford Salvation Army band. When he was 12, Brooks won a competition for young trumpet players, beating out over 2,000 other entrants. Two years later, at the age of 14, he gained national fame with his appearances on Rudy Vallee's national radio program, where he was asked to be a permanent member of the band. However, he was too young to sit in with the regular brass section, so each week he would perform a classical trumpet solo to rave reviews.
After graduating from Sanford High in 1937, Brooks went to New York City to seek his fortune in the music business. After a few years of playing in other bandleader's orchestras such as Hal Kemp and les Brown, Brooks started his own band in 1944. In 1946, his band began a successful run at New York's famed Roseland Ballroom.
Brooks' band set the record for the longest run at the Roseland, and was named "best new orchestra" for 1946. Besides the gig at the Roseland, the Randy Brooks Band was selected to play the annual "Harvest Moon Festival" at New York's Madison Square Garden. The young Stan Getz was in the band for a short period in 1946.
In 1947, Brooks' band had been named "one of the best bands in the nation" by Downbeat Magazine, a music business publication. Brooks' Decca recordings were gaining nationwide fame. Besides "Tenderly," which sold over a million copies, Brooks also recorded
songs such as: "Don't Let Me Dream," "Moonmist," "Harlem Noctrum," and "Laughing on the Outside (Crying on the Inside)".
Brooks married fellow bandleader Ina Ray Hutton and moved to Los Angeles where tragedy struck.In 1950, as he was at the height of his popularity, Brooks suffered a cerebral stroke which left him partially paralyzed and unable to perform. He briefly returned following rehabilitation, but suffered a second stroke in 1958, and retired in 1961.
He died March 21, 1967 in a fire at his Springvale apartment at the age of 48. Today he is largely forgotten and unfortunately his generally rewarding recordings are mostly out of-print. Randy Brooks deserved much better.
(Edited from AllMusic and mainly from a bio by Paul Auger @ findagrave)
Labels: Randy Brooks
Frankie Ervin born 27 March 1926
Frank Miller "Frankie" Ervin (March 27, 1926 – February 1, 2009) was an American R&B singer who recorded both solo and with vocal groups including Johnny Moore's Three Blazers ("Dragnet Blues", 1953) and The Shields ("You Cheated", 1958).
Ervin was born in Blythe, California. After his father left, his mother moved with her children to Woodville and then Madill, Oklahoma, and encouraged the children (four boys and four girls) to take part in talent shows. They later moved to Ardmore, Oklahoma, where Frankie learned tap dancing, and sang in church. In 1942 he joined his older brothers Jesse and Warren, who were working as a dance act, Skid and Slid, in Fort Worth, Texas. The family moved in 1944 to Los Angeles, where Frankie and Jesse Ervin worked in menial jobs and began performing in clubs on Central Avenue.
In 1951, Frankie Ervin was signed as a singer by Mercury Records, and released the single "High School Baby" / "Got My Shipyard Job Back Again," with Maxwell Davis' band and Jesse Ervin on guitar. The following year, he recorded as featured vocalist with Oscar Moore's Combo, and in 1953 (credited as Frank Evans) recorded with Preston Love's band for Federal Records. Later in the year he recorded "Dragnet Blues" as lead singer with Johnny Moore's Three Blazers, on the Bihari brothers' Modern label. The record company faced legal action from Jack Webb of the Dragnet radio and TV show, for unauthorized use of part of the show's theme, but the case was resolved and the record sold well, reaching number 8 on the Billboard R&B chart.
The Bihari brothers persuaded Ervin to leave Johnny Moore's group and record solo, again with Maxwell Davis' orchestra, but his records were not successful and he returned to touring with the Three Blazers. In early 1955, he recorded "Johnny Ace's Last Letter" with the group. The song purported to be a letter from singer Johnny Ace explaining why he had killed himself; it reached number 15 on the R&B chart. Later in the year, Ervin recorded several Christmas songs with the Blazers, including "Christmas Eve Baby". He also recorded under the name Frankie Day for the Caddy label set up by radio DJ Dick Hugg.
In early 1958, record producer George Motola persuaded Ervin to record the song "You Cheated", which had been first recorded by a white vocal group, The Slades. Ervin was backed by an impromptu studio vocal group comprising Jesse Belvin, Johnny "Guitar" Watson, Tommy "Buster" Williams and "Handsome" Mel Williams, and musicians including guitarist René Hall.
Credited to The Shields - an otherwise non-existent group - and first issued on the Tender label before being reissued by Dot Records, the record reached number 12 on the pop chart later that year, and number 11 on the R&B chart. Ervin toured and appeared on national TV to promote the record, with different singers as his backing vocalists, but the original recording group reconvened in the studio to record less successful follow-ups, including "Nature Boy".
Ervin continued to record occasionally under his own name for small labels in the late 1950s and early 1960s, but with little success. He left the music business in the 1960s, before re-emerging in 1982 with San Francisco band Mitch Woods and his Rocket 88. Following the release of a compilation album of his 1950s material, Dragnet Blues, in 1987, he returned to the recording studio in 1988, to record in Los Angeles with Ernie Freeman's and Charles Brown's bands. He continued to perform from then on, mainly in the San Francisco area.
A compilation of his recordings from the 1950s to the 1990s, You Cheated, You Lied, was released on his own label, Punchline, in 1996.
He died in San Francisco in 2009, aged 82. (Edited from Wikipedia)
Labels: Frankie Ervin
Joe Loco born 26 March 1921
Joe Loco (March 26, 1921 - March 7, 1988) was a Latin pianist, arranger, bandleader and composer; played a leading part in popularizing mambo and other Latin rhythms in the USA during '40s-50s with big bands and his own popular combo.
Joe Loco was born José Estevez Jr. in Manhattan, New York City of Puerto Rican parentage. He started dance and violin tuition at age eight, skipping school at 13 to dance in vaudeville; he was caught by a truant officer and made to attend Harlem High School in 1937, where he learned the basics of trombone and piano: he played trombone with a New York Amateur Symphony but settled on piano. He danced with Chick Webb's band (featuring Ella Fitzgerald) at the Apollo Theatre, and played piano with the bands of Ciro Rimac, the Happy Boys, Enric Madriguera, Xavier Cugat and others.
He was drafted into the U.S. Army Air Force '45-6; after discharge he studied at Juilliard under the G.I. bill. He then free lanced with Latin music's top bands, which included Polito Galindez, Marcelino Guerra, Pupi Campo, and Julio Andino before striking gold with his monstrous hit recording of "Tenderly" in 1952.
Loco 's policy of giving pop standards and original tunes a Latin jazz makeover in a small piano and rhythm group context became a winning formula, securing dates in jazz clubs nationwide as well as Latino community gigs.
Meanwhile Loco kept the albums coming with the under-promoted The Music Of Rafael Hernández and Augustin Lara '57 and The Music Of Gonzalo Curiel and Consuelo Velázquez Vol. 2 '59 on Ansonia. Let's Go Loco and Happy Go Loco on Imperial. He returned to Fantasy for Cha Cha Chá '58, Olé '58, Latin Jewels '59, The Best Of Joe Loco '60 and Pachanga With Joe Loco '61 made with Mongo Santamaria's charanga.
He changed to GNP for Poco Loco With Joe Loco c.1962; he issued Dance! Joe Loco And His Pachanga Band early '60s and Puerto Rico '68 on Liberty/Sunset. He moved to Puerto Rico '68, and worked in San Juan hotels until his death on March 07, 1988.
(Edited from Wikipedia & donaldclarkemusicbox.)
Labels: Joe Loco
Hoyt Axton born 25 March 1938
Hoyt Wayne Axton (March 25, 1938 – October 26, 1999) was an American folk music singer-songwriter, guitarist, and a film and television actor. He became prominent in the early-1960s, establishing himself on the West Coast as a folk singer with an earthy style and powerful voice. As he matured, some of his songwriting became well known throughout the world. Among
them were "Joy to the World", "The Pusher", "No No Song", "Greenback Dollar", "Della and the Dealer", and "Never Been to Spain".
Born in Duncan, Oklahoma, Axton spent his pre-teen years in Comanche, Oklahoma, with his brother, John. His mother, Mae Boren Axton, a songwriter, co-wrote the classic rock 'n' roll song "Heartbreak Hotel", which became the a major hit for Elvis Presley. Some of Hoyt's own songs were also later recorded by Presley. Axton's father, John Thomas Axton, was a naval officer stationed in Jacksonville, Florida; the family joined him there in 1949.
As a child, Axton learned classical piano but, as his mother recalled, "he would start playing boogie in the middle of a lesson". The teenage Axton was swept up in the folk music revival and was inspired by Woody Guthrie.
Axton graduated from Robert E. Lee High School in 1956 and left town after Knauer's Hardware Store burned down on graduation night, a prank gone wrong. He attended Oklahoma State University on a scholarship, and he played football for the school, but he left to enlist in the US Navy.
After his discharge from the navy , he played guitar and sang in San Francisco and Los Angeles clubs before making his first album, The Balladeer, in 1962. It was a year later that he enjoyed his first commercial success, when the Kingston Trio recorded Greenback Dollar, although their version omitted the word "damn" in the chorus.
For Axton, it was the prelude to a lucrative period as a songwriter. In 1964, John Kay, leader of Canadian rock band Steppenwolf, heard Axton perform his anti-drug song The Pusher. Steppenwolf 's version was a hit and later used in the film Easy Rider. Even greater success came in 1970 when Three Dog Night recorded his
infectious, lightweight Joy to the World and Never Been to Spain (which Presley also recorded). Joy to the World was top of the American hit parade for six weeks. Axton toured America with Three Dog Night and treated audiences to his views on the then US president Nixon.
In 1975, Axton's humorous No No Song was a hit for Ringo Starr and he provided numerous songs for country singers such as Lynn Anderson, Glen Campbell and Tanya Tucker in the 1960s and 1970s. His compositions were equally popular with Joan Baez, Tiny Tim and BB King. Axton maintained a parallel career as a singer-songwriter where his idiosyncratic and anti-establishment vision flourished.
He made definitive recordings of the satire You're The Hangnail In My Life; another anti-drug piece, Snowblind Friend; the narrative ballad Delta and the Dealer; and Boney Fingers, a nonsense song in the Guthrie mould. He also worked for the United Nations Children's Fund and for the prisoners' charity Bread and Roses.
Axton also performed from the mid-1960s onwards as a character actor, playing "good old boy" types. He appeared in 20 films including The Black Stallion (1979) and Gremlins (1984). His final role was in King Cobra, released during 1999. His television credits included guest appearances in the series McCloud and The Bionic Woman and as Aaron Southworth in Dallas: The Early Years.
He recorded more than 20 albums of his own work, of which the best was probably Road Songs (1977) where he duetted with Linda Ronstadt. In the 1980s he issued his recordings on his own Jeremiah label. His final albums were Spin of the Wheel, issued in 1991, and Jeremiah Was A Bullfrog, a collection of songs for children.
In 1996 Axton suffered a severe stroke which hampered his mobility. He had to use a wheelchair much of the time afterwards. He died of heart failure on October 26, 1999, at the age of 61 at his home in the Bitterroot Valley near Victor, Montana. Two weeks prior to his death, he suffered a heart attack at his home and another while undergoing surgery.
On November 1, 2007, Axton and his mother were both inducted posthumously into the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame in Muskogee, Oklahoma.
(Edited from the Guardian & Wikipedia)
Labels: Hoyt Axton
Peggy Sue Wright born 25 March 1943
Peggy Sue Wright (née Webb; March 25, 1943) is a country music singer and songwriter, who had brief success as a country singer in the late 1960s. She is the middle sister of two popular country performers, Loretta Lynn and Crystal Gayle. Her older brother Willie "Jay" Lee Webb was a country music singer/songwriter in the 1960s.
Peggy Sue Wright was born Peggy Sue Webb in a log cabin in Butcher Hollow, Kentucky on March 25, 1943. She is the second daughter and the sixth child born to Clara Marie "Clary" (née Ramey; 1912 – 1981) and Melvin Theodore "Ted" Webb (1906 – 1959). Mr. Webb was a coal miner and subsistence farmer.
The family was poor; living hand-to-mouth and relying on her father's meagre income. The seven Webb siblings in addition to Wright:
Melvin "Junior" Webb (December 4, 1929 – July 1, 1993)
Loretta Lynn (née Webb; born April 14, 1932)
Herman Webb (September 3, 1934 – July 28, 2018)
Willie "Jay" Lee Webb (February 12, 1937 – July 31, 1996)
Donald Ray Webb (April 2, 1941 – October 13, 2017)
Betty Ruth Hopkins (née Webb; born 1946)
Crystal Gayle (born Brenda Gail Webb; January 9, 1951)
The family moved to Wabash, Indiana in 1955 due to her father's illness from working in the coal mines; he would die in 1959 of black lung disease. She began performing with Loretta and her brothers at venues around Wabash, Indiana. Wright then became a featured act in Loretta's early shows in the 1960s. She also helped write a few of Loretta's compositions, including "Don't Come Home A' Drinkin' (With Lovin' on Your Mind)."
In 1969, she signed with Decca Records and released her debut single, "I'm Dynamite," which went into the Country Top 30. That same year she released an album of the same name. The second single from that album titled, "I'm Gettin' Tired of Babyin' You" also reached the Top 30.
After Peggy Sue had a hit with her most successful single, "All-American Husband," she left Decca Records after releasing two albums. Next, Wright recorded two albums in the 1970s for two small labels.
Peggy Sue was married twice. Her first marriage was to Douglas Wells (m.1964-div.1968); the second to Sonny Wright (m.1970-). From her first marriage, Peggy had one daughter: Doyletta Gayle; born May 30, 1967. Doyletta Gayle was named after Doyle Wilburn and Wright's sisters: Loretta Lynn and Crystal Gayle. Doyletta became a victim of spousal abuse when she was killed by her spouse on February 22, 1991. From her second marriage, Peggy has a son and daughter: Georgia; born June 30, 1971 (age 47), and Layla; born February 28, 1973 (age 46).
Crystal Gayle, Loretta Lynn & Peggy Sue. (Webb)
After 1970, she didn't appear on the Billboard country charts until 1980. Beginning then, she had a small string of minor hits on her second husband Sonny Wright's label, Doorknob. The couple recoded together and worked on numerous stages included the Grand Old Opry and toured in Europe and the United States.
Peggy with husband Sonny Wright 2016
In 1986 she began performing as a background singer and designing stage costumes for her younger sister, Crystal Gayle.She continues to perform with Gayle today. Occasionally they both join up with older sister Loretta Lynn for a concert at her Hurricane Mills, Tennessee ranch. (Edited from Wikipedia)
Here.s a medley, first song is Crying in the rain (from album Hollywood-Tennessee), second song is Bye bye Love from the Everly Brothers.
Labels: Peggy Sue Wright
Sticks McGhee born 23 March 1918
Granville Henry "Stick" McGhee* (March 23, 1918 – August 15, 1961) was an African-American jump blues guitarist, singer and songwriter, best known for his blues song "Drinkin' Wine, Spo-Dee-O-Dee", which he wrote with J. Mayo Williams. *(Also known as Sticks McGhee)
McGhee was born in Knoxville, Tennessee, and grew up in Kingsport, Tennessee. He received his nickname when he was a child. He used a stick to push a wagon carrying his older brother Brownie McGhee, who had contracted polio. Granville began playing the guitar when he was thirteen years old. After his freshman year he dropped out of high school and worked with his father at the Eastman Kodak subsidiary, Tennessee Eastman Company in Kingsport. In 1940 Granville quit his job and moved to Portsmouth, Virginia, and then to New York City. He entered the military in 1942 and served in the U.S. Army during World War II. After being discharged in 1946, he settled in New York.
In the military, McGhee often played his guitar. One of the songs he performed was "Drinkin' Wine, Spo-Dee-O-Dee". It was one of the earliest prototypical rock-and-roll songs. Cover versions were recorded by Wynonie Harris, Lionel Hampton, Big John Greer, Johnny Burnette, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Mike Bloomfield's Electric Flag (as "Wine"). The song lent its name to the alcoholic fruit drink spodi. In 1946 Granville and Brownie McGhee wrote a version of the song that didn't use profanity. Harlem Records released the new version in January 1947. It sold for 49 cents. It did not get much airplay until two years later, when Stick re-created the song for Atlantic Records.
It was on the Billboard R&B chart for almost half a year, rising to number 2, where it stayed for four weeks. Numerous cover versions of his songs were recorded over the years. The first cover was by Lionel Hampton, featuring Sonny Parker; next was a cover by Wynonie Harris, followed by a hillbilly-bop version by Loy
Gordon & His Pleasant Valley Boys. "Drinkin' Wine, Spo-Dee-O-Dee" continued to be popular throughout the 1950s in cover versions by various artists, including Malcolm Yelvington in 1954, Johnny Burnette in 1957, and Jerry Lee Lewis in 1959.
McGhee continued to make records for Atlantic and created popular songs such as "Tennessee Waltz Blues", "Drank Up All the Wine Last Night", "Venus Blues", "Let's Do It", and "One Monkey Don't Stop No Show", but his music career overall was not successful. McGhee moved from Atlantic to Essex Records, for which he recorded "My Little Rose".
During March of 1950, Sticks recorded with Sonny Terry on harmonica and Harry Van Walls on piano. For the next year McGhee was absent from the recording studio, appearing from time to time in night clubs in New York, New Jersey, and Philadelphia. The next recording session he was on was in New York, but this time for the London Records label, as the British company was trying to tap the American R & B field. Recording as Sticks MsGhee & His Orchestra, he was joined at the session by Al King on sax, Van Walls on piano, Brownie McGhee on guitar, Tom Barney on bass, and Ernest Hayward on drums. The songs were "You Gotta Have Something On The Ball" and "Oh What A Face" released on London.
After one more smash for Atlantic, 1951's "Tennessee Waltz Blues," McGhee moved along to King Records in 1953. There he recorded a number of rock-and-roll songs, such a "Whiskey, Women and Loaded Dice", "Head Happy with Wine", "Jungle Juice", "Six to Eight", "Double Crossin' Liquor", "Dealin' from the Bottom", and "Get Your Mind Out of the Gutter".
However, he was unable to make money from his records, so he left King for Savoy Records in 1955. He retired from the music industry in 1960. In the late '50s McGhee recorded LP album tracks with Sonny Terry for the Folkways and Prestige-Bluesville labels. In 1960 he cut the songs "Sleep in Job" and "Money Fever" in New York with Sonny Terry. The tracks were released on Herald Records. This was McGhee's last recording session.
McGhee died of lung cancer in The Bronx Veteran's Hospital , New York, on August 15, 1961, at the age of forty-three. He left his old guitar to Brownie's son before he died.
(Edited mainly from Wikipedia & AllMusic)
Labels: Stick McGhee
Leo "Bud" Welch born 22 March 1937
Leo "Bud" Welch (March 22, 1932 – December 19, 2017) was an American gospel blues musician and guitarist who didn't make his professional recording debut until he was 82 years old, by which time he was pretty much the last in a line of vernacular Mississippi guitarists who included R.L. Burnside, Junior Kimbrough, and Mississippi Fred McDowell.
Born in Sabougla, Mississippi, Welch grew up on his family's farm in the tiny Calhoun County community. His early influences including listening to the Grand Ole Opry over the radio, and as a teen he learned guitar from an older cousin, L.C. Welch, with whom he formed a trio together with his younger brother, Arlanda. At 18, Welch moved to Grenada, where he played in a group with Alfred Harris and was soon playing at picnics and parties, working his way up to juke joints and clubs, playing mostly blues standards with a gospel edge, raw and urgent. Otherwise, he kept his day job, working over 30
years on a logging crew in the hill country. The influence of the region he called home, his years of musicianship, and his well-lived life blended together to create music that was as unique as he was.
After his conversion to evangelical Christianity, Welch, like McDowell, Rev. Gary Davis, and Blind Willie Johnson before him, developed an iconic, raw, hybridized gospel blues. From the mid-'70s on, Welch was an established gospel performer in Bruce, leading groups including the Sabougla Voices and the Skuna Valley Male Chorus and hosting a gospel TV show on a local station.
Around 1975, when the blues began to wane as a popular music and the gigs began to dry up, Welch switched his sound to gospel, and took his blues riffs and Chuck Berry energy into the churches, developing a raw hybrid style that had the grit and moan of the blues laid under the urgent, passionate energy of call-and-response gospel.
His music recording career started in 2014, after he was secretly recorded performing at his manager's birthday party. An offhand phone call to the Big Legal Mess record label brought him an audition and then a recording contract. Welch took his striking gospel blues into the studio, putting it down straight and with no frills, emerging with a debut album, Sabougla Voices, early in 2014. As part of his deal with Big Legal Mess, Welch promised the label that if they issued his gospel record, he would cut a blues album.
He delivered on it with I Don't Prefer No Blues. The set was produced by Bruce Watson, featured guitar work from Jimbo Mathus, and was issued in early 2015. After touring the globe, appearing in the European documentary Late Blossom Blues, and releasing Live at the Iridium (the only recording to place his gospel and juke joint blues side by side in the same program), Welch entered the recording studio with producer Dan Auerbach and sidemen Swift and Michaels. This line-up cut some 30 tracks live from the studio floor.
Welch fell ill in July, forcing him to cancel many previously booked appearances. His condition deteriorated and he died at his home in Bruce, Mississippi on December 19, 2017, aged 85.
Welch once expressed the satisfaction of his late-blooming career. "I've worked hard in the woods, cutting timber, running a chain saw for thirty-five years, got bit one time by a rattlesnake, but I'm still here. I'm making more money now than I ever did in the cornfields or cottonfields or woods, and I'm happy, I'm proud of what I'm doing. And I believe the Lord is too. The Lord always blessed me to make it over."
(Edited from Wikipedia, AllMusic & Clarion Ledger)
Labels: Leo "Bud" Welch
Jerry Reed born 20 March 1937
Walter Jackson born 19 March 1938
Jean Goldkette born 18 March 1899
Peggy Dell born March 17 1905
Ernest Lane born 16 March 1931
Jimmy McPartland born 15 March 1907
Les Brown born 14 March 1912
Lightnin' Slim born 13 March 1913
Miff Mole born 11 March 1898
Bix Beiderbecke born 10 March 1903
Georgia White born 9 March 1903
Lola Beltrán born 7 March 1932
Lovelace Watkins born 6 March 1938
Lydia MacDonald born 5 March 1923
Don Rendell born 4 March 1926


text:
30 Hours on a Bus With No Bathroom
By Lillie Marshall - October 30, 2009 - Updated: 10/30/09
Riddle me this: Let's say you are a budget traveler. Which is the best option to get from Hanoi, Vietnam, to Vientiane, Laos… while still maintaining your sanity?
a) $150 for a one hour flight
b) $40 for a 24 hour sleeper bus
c) $14 for a "20 hour" sitting bus ride which is widely reported to actually take 36 hours.
Ponder… weigh those options…
..And then shake your head in dismay when you hear that I chose the final, most masochistic option. Listen: a month of Vietnam is hardcore enough on the ego– I figured I'd wrap it up with one final, glorious spurt of punishment.
In truth, the endless bus ended up just fine, thanks to a scrunched but stuporific sleep, continued bus hilarity, and the most zany cast of characters possible.
– The 41-year-old British firecracker who wore the sexiest silk, belly-baring outfit I have ever seen a 41-year-old rock, and who spent the whole trip snuggling with her 24-year-old New Zealander love and getting into screaming fights with the Vietnamese men on the bus who had trouble taking her seriously when she said "Stop the bus because I need to go to the toilet NOW!"
– The fact that the bus had no toilet on board, paired with the fact that we stopped a bladder-bursting once every five hours. The majority of these "bathroom" breaks were us screeching to a halt by the side of the road for men to whip out their… you know, and for the women to scamper to create a little "Ladies Room" behind a particularly bushy bush and swap toilet paper stashes.
– The most amazing bevy of five platinum blond Swedish women (pictured, left, hair glinting over the blue seats) who talked all night with their "Uu's" and "Aa's" and were so utterly prepared for the journey that I couldn't help but gape as they ate their full meal of wrapped grains and fruits, then brushed their teeth by the side of the road with their mini water bottles and travel tooth kits.
– The unbelievable contortions we got ourselves into over the 26 hour journey in order to sleep. Please note that giant sacks of rice and those ubiquitous plastic squat stools were squished in the aisles against us. You like the photos of the feet on the windows?
– The fact that a visa into Laos costs $25 to $35 for every nationality, except for Canadians who, inexplicably, have to pay $42! Hahaha! My bus buddy, a Canadian named Vijay, sniffled, "We're a peaceful people! What did we ever do to deserve this?"
– How, the moment we crossed over into Laos, the crackling Vietnamese tension in the air dissipated, and even the palm trees bushed out and relaxed. Limestone mountains rose up, cows mooed, and the sun shone over yellow-green rice fields.
So, after three months of hearing how great little Laos is, and after re-starting my beloved (ha!) anti-malaria pill regimen, I am finally in Laos! I've only spent a few hours in the capital city, Vientiane, but I can affirm that it is every bit as lovely, calm, friendly, DELICIOUS, and inexpensive as everyone says. I can't wait to eat my giant $2 breakfast in front of the Mekong river tomorrow morning! Or rather– brunch, because now that I can fully recline, I'm-a-gonna sleep 'til noon!
Another Reason Travel in Southeast Asia is Easy!
A major goal of this blog is to demonstrate how international travel is far easier and cheaper that most folks think.It is all too easy…
12 Hours on a Sleeping Bus from Nha Trang to Hoi An!
"Be prepared for a long journey," warns the Lonely Planet guidebook, "As the twelve-hour bus ride between Nha Trang and Hoi An is typically described…
Travelers: Visas are Important!
The accompanying (rather unrelated) photos for this article are street scenes from Hanoi, Vietnam (particularly motorcycle sights, which never cease to amaze me) and views…
Filed Under: Budget Travel Secrets, Laos, Laos: Vientiane, Transportation, Vietnam: Hanoi, Vietnam: Northern
Previous Post: « YUM: Eat Vietnamese Bun Bo Nam Bo!
Next Post: Laos is Awesome! »
Myllena F. says
Hi Ms. Marshall! I would never be able to survive a 30-hour bus trip and I admire you for going through that. If I were you, I would've paid 150 dollars for a one hour flight. I understand that $150 might be a lot of money but since the things in Laos aren't that expensive, I would prefer a one hour flight.
Sleither V. says
I would have passed out because that's almost 2 days on a bus and really little space. Also, the bus had no bathroom like you said that's too much for me.
Aaron L. says
WOW! That sounds so frustrating sitting in a bus for a long time without using the restroom. If I was in that situation I would just pay 150 U.S dollars and go on a one hour ride. That was probably a very miserable ride,
Zuzu A. says
Hi Mrs. Marshall! I think it's so crazy how you can't even go to a bathroom on a nearly 2 day bus. I was looking at the choices and it was insane that someone would have to spend $150 on a one hour flight! However, it sounds like everyone would be in better conditions, because they probably wouldn't have to "go" as often. Sounds like a terrible ride but it's worth it!
It was worth it to get to lovely Laos!
I'm planning to do the same trip. How were the roads? Did you have to go through winding roads on mountains?
Or was it an overall, "smooth" ride?
Good question, Victoria! I don't remember, alas, but that region in general has a lot of mountains and winding roads. Good luck and enjoy!
LOL. I have done enough of those epic bus trips to know that now I would most definitely pay for the flight! Those Swedish women seemed to know what they were in for.
Amazing writing – I felt like I was there every step of the way!
Woo hoo! But with more comfortable bathrooms. :)
Adam Pervez says
I love your play-by-play and cast of characters. On my journey the guy next to me, who slept in the aisle since the bus operators cram as many people as possible into the bus, had the nastiest, narliest nails I've ever seen.
Hah!!! Awesome!
Herbert Morales says
I wouldn't be able to survive 30 hours in a bus with no bathroom. I barely can do 8 hours in a bus or car. The worse part is that it is really hard to sleep on a bus.
Lucy Donovan says
I would really hate being on a bus for 20-36 hours, but with no toilet and the constant need to stop for potty breaks must have been torture.
Elizabeth D. says
I would not want to be on that bus with no bathroom for 20 hours! Next time, I will make sure to pack lots of toilet paper and remember not to drink anything.
Kenneth Holman says
I went on a train ride that was three hours long and thought that was tough. I would go crazy just a few hours in!
Abby Murphy says
I don't think I could be on a bus that long. It would drive me crazy!
Traveling Ted says
I think if I had the money I would choose the $150.00, but when you are on the go sometimes that is not an option. The great part about choice # 3 is it makes for a great blog post. I love the way you portrayed the cast of characters. You wouldn't find that lot on a plane.
Thanks, Ted!
Well, I think I would actually die if I were in the bus. With no bathroom I would burst out. Also paying to ride this bus can be expensive to me but without bathroom no way!!! I am not going in there until 30 hours later. The bus look similar to buses in USA but there is people sleeping in the bus. I would puke when like people stick their bare foot out on to the window while sleeping but would it make the bus smell sticky later?
Noelia says
I would never go on a bus for that long.That's a really smart idea though saving up money but I'll take my chances. ^.^
If I were on this bus… I would attack that bus driver like every 5 minutes. Even though I don't have bladder problems, it would feel so uncomfortable to not use the bathroom for about 1 and a half days, STRAIGHT. That would suck. To see someone use the bathroom in the bushes is VERY disturbing. While I am writing this, I just lost my appetite for dinner.
Oh the horror of peeing near a bush. It actually looks somewhat comfy in the bus. But, you're lucky that you saw the beautiful views outside. I love the way you described the passengers, I felt like I was actually there!
CanCan says
Maybe because there is no Canadian Embassy in Laos.
That's a little racist against the Canadians. :)
Rachel Yee says
I would not be patient enough for that LONG bus ride, even to New York City from Boston feels like forever. You must have had a lot of fun with no bathroom for so long.
st says
Hey! I've been there and made option C too! It was such a long journey but truly memorable. I also took the hard seat train from Hanoi to Lao Cai (Sapa)! Hardcore!
Adventurous Kate said…
Hi, Lillie!
I'm so glad I found this blog — thanks for following me on Twitter (@adventurouskate). I'm a Bostonian as well and I hope to go on a RTW a few years from now. Though I've been planning this trip for a long time, I had been wondering how I would get from Hanoi to Laos…this is perfect!
Lillie M. said…
Thanks so very much for your message, Kate. Boston pride!
I hope you find other useful tidbits here, and the main advice I can give about a RTW trip is that it is so much easier and cheaper than you think (plenty of articles here on this), so perhaps you can set of sooner than a few years :)
Thanks again for writing, and I appreciate any help you can give in spreading the word about this site!
– Lillie
Sara A Broers said…
Loved this- great post!
Luddy Sr. said…
Uuuumm choice B looks pretty tempting, but it's hard to meet a good cast of characters that way.
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After delivering the cover earlier this month, A$AP Rocky unveils the tracklist for his sophomore album, At.Long.Last.A$AP.
The album features 18 tracks with a guest list that includes Kanye West, M.I.A., ScHoolboy Q, Lil Wayne, Miguel, Juicy J, UGK, Mos Def, and more.
Danger Mouse and A$AP Yams serve as executive producers for the project, which is due out June 2.


Well you guys....this last post spilled the beans. My secret's out. No more taking all the credit for myself. The secret to my success is my stellar support system. Aren't my people great?!!! I don't think I can explain how it felt reading all those love letters. Pretty increible. Not to be confused with incredible. It was in-cre-i-ble.
I'm sure I was still riding on the birthday high this morning when I popped out of bed at 5:15 after a restless night of tossing and turning. And probably dreaming that I was winning the Olympics or something like that. NBD. That's how we roll up in here. Anyway, when I was convinced sleep would no longer be visiting me, I threw on some gym clothes. Before making my way out the door, I stopped for a looky in my full length mirror. And truth be told? I thought I was looking good. I don't know, but something about the way my outfit brought out the color in my shoe strings. Or something like that.
And you know, when you get all cocky like that, you're setting yourself up for misfortune. Especially when your pride is derived from your workout clothes since your workout of a few lifts here and there and walking on the treadmill for 8 minutes deserves no kind of award. But that's what we're working with these days in the exercise department. You get what you get and you don't get upset. And you say THANK YOU. Obviously I'm totally cool with the whole "beggars can't be choosers".
So I'm flying high from all yesterday's sugar- and by sugar I mean love- and I think I'm looking all cute in my workout gear (that didn't have a single sweat mark on it post-workout) as I'm making my way into the building for my 7:45 am doctor appointment. And it was at that moment- not a week before when I made the appointment, or Monday when I thought about the appointment, or even this morning when I was on my way to the doctor- that the thought crossed my mind, "I wonder if the doctor takes my insurance." It's times like this that I drive myself absolutely crazy. I mean, for the love of money, how come these thoughts never cross my mind at a timely manner? How do I not think of these simple, important details? I'm not being irresponsible, inconsiderate, ir-anything else. They simply don't cross my mind. Like ever. Or at least until I have my credit card in hand and the secretary is telling me the charges.
I get to the suite and check in and ask if by the off chance their office isn't in my insurance network. Roll the dice, will ya, folks. 50/50 chance. Her response? "No, no, I'm sorry. It's out of network. And if my records are correct, she was out of network for your last baby." How do I not remember these things??? I mean, for real. The audacious conversation with the office manager when I was 33 weeks pregnant, where I'm begging her to let me go to my doctor for in-network costs? The sigh of relief when they say yes? How did these moments not resurface when I was dialing those same numbers to make the doctor appointment?
It's only now.. that I do remember it. When I'm already at the doctor. With an appointment. Desperate to get my IUD out. The secretary assures me, "You can always talk with the doctor when you see her in a minute. She's real good about working with her patients." The only word that comes to my mind is AWKWARD. And maybe tacky. To be seated in her chair, awaiting her services, and slip into a conversation about hooking me up with a discount. Right before she works on my lady parts to boot.
Well let me tell you awkward turns to super awkward when I'm seated on the table, with a children's size 6 miniature apron wrapped around me, not even covering my shriveled double A's. My crotch had a light, pink cotton napkin covering it. I believe I had approximately one foot in the stirrup and one in some other completely unnatural position.
That was the scene we had going on when I had to ask the doctor herself to have mercy on me and hook me up one last time with the in-network prices.
Make no mistake it was as bad as it sounds. But also make no mistake that $500 quickly turned into $100. And lastly, make no mistake in thinking that $400 came for free. That was a steep, steep price. Hard LABOR. And we're not talking about birthing labor. But someone had to do it.
And now here I am, down from my high horse, put in my place. It was a good ride while it lasted!


text:
By Eric Picard	Ad Technology, Rich Media
Flash Flood Rising
(Originally published in ClickZ, June 2002) by Eric Picard
In recent weeks, I've had a lot of reason to watch the rising Flash floodwaters with great anticipation. Macromedia is on the cusp of realizing the true potential of Flash, a development with encouraging implications for the rich media ad business.
About a month ago, Macromedia announced the release of Flash MX. The advertising world generally ignores new releases of Flash because of the player issues — we can't use the fun features of the new Flash release until the corresponding Flash player hits at least 80 percent market acceptance across all Web users. But this time the capabilities of Flash have undergone a quiet revolution. You need to be aware of the hidden capabilities, because they could change the way you approach building rich media ads. And for those of you who build Web sites or are involved in wireless, iTV, and other interactive initiatives, there is similar change coming.
First, let me share why I'm so intimately familiar with the technology. Much of the strength I see in this Flash release has to do with dynamically generated content. Macromedia has discussed, but not yet announced, an upcoming release of a Flash Real-Time Server system, which will enable the simple creation of dynamic applications in Flash. Bluestreak, a company I co-founded, pioneered this in the advertising space in our Java-based ads way back in 1998. We built ads that were tied to customers' databases, collected and distributed information, and showed real-time content.
I started investigating the integration of Flash more than a year ago. Flash clearly became the winner of the rich media wars when Microsoft removed the JVM from Internet Explorer. Bluestreak needed to dive deep into the Flash technology and see what competitive advantages we could uncover from an ad-serving standpoint.
As part of our investigations, I compared Flash with Java on stability, power, and extensibility. I have to admit being a bit surprised at what I found. Flash isn't just "flashy," it is also a very powerful technology — actually it's very similar to the JVM that enables Java to run in the browser. So, we licked our wounds and gave Macromedia a call. We implemented Flash into our ad server as a natively supported creative format — and tied our existing rich media tracking directly to Flash.
Now Macromedia has released Flash MX and its corresponding Flash 6 player. Find out about the basics of Flash MX at the Macromedia Web site. I'll focus here on the less publicized things that Flash MX can do — and why you should care.
One great resource I came across is a Flash white paper by Macromedia CTO Jeremy Allaire (former CEO of Allaire), which really gives insight into the corporate vision for Flash. Macromedia bought Allaire last year, and the MX suite is one result of this marriage. Flash MX is an integral part of Macromedia's forward-thinking mission. To understand the power of MX, you need to change your view of the current world.
Today we're very HTML-centric about how the Web works. Even nontechnical people are affected by the limitations of HTML — they just don't realize it. Let's look at some of these limitations — and the changes that Flash makes to alleviate each problem.
Dynamically Generated Content
HTML. In HTML, the only kind of content that can be dynamically generated is text (and calls to nondynamic objects, such as images). And if you want to change that content, you need to reload the page.
Flash MX. The possibilities are truly endless with Flash. Anything can be dynamically generated, from graphics to charts and graphs. And the new application interfaces for features such as "Flash Remoting" promise amazing breakthroughs in what can be generated dynamically without refreshing pages.
Examples of use. Imagine a Web application for MapQuest that shows you one map of a city and allows you to drill down as deeply as you'd like within that map — all without refreshing the page. Imagine building charts for a Web-based analytics application that could show any graphical depiction of your data that you can imagine — and that graphic could be interactive, zoomable, and collapsible.
Data Transfer Size and Bandwidth Costs
HTML. When content needs to be updated on an HTML page, the entire page must be refreshed for you to see the change. An immense amount of data must transfer to pass a relatively small piece of data. This means big dollars from a Web-serving standpoint, and in this post-VC-funded world, you'd better believe that your IT department cares about bandwidth costs.
Flash MX. Content within Flash can be dynamically updated without refreshing the page. This means independent chunks of data (text, images, video files, new Flash files, etc.) can be passed into the page without refreshing other content.
Examples of use. Think about the millions of times an hour (across users) pages on a site like E*Trade need to be refreshed to see the text in stock quotes change. With Flash MX, only the text of the individual stock quotes needs to change — nothing else is uploaded or refreshed — saving the publisher lots of money on bandwidth charges and giving the user a much more palatable experience.
Compatibility of Distributed Content
HTML. Every browser version on every OS is slightly different and requires different coding behaviors by the HTML author. Nowhere is this more true than across devices, where the HTML shown on wireless devices and that on Web pages are radically different. This leads to immense development resource issues (just to support browsers, let alone multiple devices) and has a huge impact on quality assurance timelines.
Flash MX. The Flash player is virtually identical across browsers and platforms. In a sense, Flash is more universal than HTML — and truly a more "develop once, play anywhere" technology. Since Flash has a vector graphics engine at its core, it can scale content to any dimension (even to a tiny little cell phone screen) without loss of quality or need to redesign. This is more important given the host of distribution agreements Macromedia has signed with virtually every major device sector — from cell phone makers to cable infrastructure companies to game console manufacturers.
Examples of use. Imagine developing one Web site/application that would work on any platform, any device, any screen size or shape. The costs of supporting dynamic pages across browsers, platforms, and devices in HTML is very high (see the "download map to PDA" link in MapQuest for an example).
I've covered a few of the less publicized features of Flash MX that I don't think most people have heard about, let alone recognized for the revolutionary features they are. But there is a lot more where those came from, and I hope all the designers and developers out there will start cracking their knuckles and jumping into the fray. This is just the beginning.
Note: In my last column I spoke about an atrocious ad unit that was running on MSNBC for an online casino. I was contacted by an MSNBC representative, who stated the ad referenced by my article had been trafficked in error and was implemented unintentionally. Once the company realized the error, it pulled the ad down. In the company rep's words: "We care about our customers and listen to their feedback. As such, we apologize to any customer who encountered this ad and continue to be committed to closely reviewing the methods used to market products on MSN."