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Chevalier, Maurice

(Encyclopedia)Chevalier, Maurice shəvălˈyā, Fr. mōrēsˈ shəvälyāˈ [key], 1888–1972, French singer and film actor. He made his debut in 1900 singing and dancing at the Casino de Tourelles, Paris. As the ...

koto

(Encyclopedia)koto kōˈtō [key], a Japanese string instrument related in structure to the zither. It consists of an elongated rectangular wooden body, strung lengthwise with 7 to 13 silk strings. The uniformly lo...

Lehmann, Lilli

(Encyclopedia)Lehmann, Lilli lāˈmän [key], 1848–1929, German operatic soprano. She made her debut in 1865 in Prague and in 1870 joined the Royal Opera, Berlin. Her stature as one of the greatest singers of her...

Farinelli, Carlo Broschi

(Encyclopedia)Farinelli, Carlo Broschi kärˈlō brôˈskē färēnĕlˈlē [key], 1705–82, Italian male soprano, greatest of the castrati (see castrato), pupil of Niccolò Porpora, in whose operas he sang (1734...

Watson, Doc

(Encyclopedia)Watson, Doc (Arthel Lane Watson), 1923–2012, American country-music singer and musician, b. Stony Fork, N.C. Blind from infancy, he learned to play the harmonica, banjo, and guitar in his youth. His...

Walker, Albertina

(Encyclopedia)Walker, Albertina, 1929–2010, African-American gospel singer and composer, b. Chicago. A protégé of Mahalia Jackson, she sang with two gospel groups before founding (1951) the Caravans, which, wit...

thrush , in zoology

(Encyclopedia)thrush, bird, common name for members of the Turdidae, a large family of birds found in most parts of the world and noted for their beautiful song. The majority are modestly colored, with spotted unde...

Baez, Joan

(Encyclopedia)Baez, Joan bīpstr;ĕz, bäˈ– [key], 1941–, American folk singer and political activist, b. New York City. Baez began singing traditional folk ballads, blues, and spirituals in Cambridge, Mass., ...

Scruggs, Earl Eugene

(Encyclopedia)Scruggs, Earl Eugene, 1924–2012, American banjo player, b. Flint Hill, N.C. He developed a distinctive syncopated, three-finger style on the five-string banjo that changed the way it is played. From...

Gaye, Marvin

(Encyclopedia) Gaye, Marvin, 1939-1984, African-American singer and songwriter, b. Washington, D.C., as Marvin Pentz Gay Jr. Gaye’s father was a minister, and Gaye...
 

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