Showing results by publisher "Charles River Editors" in Arts & Entertainment

In terms of raw popularity, Bob Marley sold over 20 million albums in a brief career that took him around the globe as, "[T]he first international superstar from the so-called third world." Beginning with the more lighthearted ska style, Marley drew fellow Jamaicans as kindred spirits by adding social commentary to the lyrics. His exaltation of the reggae form, couched in the Rastafari, became an instrument of order and a haven for otherwise directionless youth in Kingston and other communities of Jamaica.

Among the most recognizable and iconic vocal artists known to American society from the mid-20th to the 21st century, baritone Nat King Cole is indelible in the nation's consciousness for such hits as "Mona Lisa" and "Ramblin' Rose" as well as for his rendition of Mel Tormé's famous "Christmas Song", with the opening line known to millions of American households: "Chestnuts roasting on an open fire."

At the end of the 20th century, the American Film Institute compiled a list of the 25 greatest actors and actresses in Hollywood over the past 100 years, but only a select few worked all the way back in the silent era of films, before "talkies" revolutionized the industry at the end of the 1920s. Among them was Mary Pickford, who was ranked 24th, but was arguably the most influential actress when it came to creating the career template for all actresses who followed, from name changes to salary.

Of all the great movie stars, there may be none more enigmatic than Greta Garbo, who remains internationally famous despite the fact her life and career raise more questions than answers. How did a Swedish actress with very little film acting experience in her native land arrive in the United States and achieve instant stardom? Most actresses had to wait years before they were offered starring roles in major films, yet Garbo was ushered to the front of the line and perched atop the MGM pantheon.

In the middle of the 20th century, there was perhaps no leading man as famous and popular as Rock Hudson, who would remain a star over the course of four decades. Today, however, Rock Hudson might be better known for his personal life. Acting in a more conservative era, Hudson struggled to keep his homosexuality out of the news, for fear it would destroy his career, even though many of his Hollywood contemporaries were aware of it.

Today, the name Clint Eastwood conjures up many different and unforgettable images. While many will always associate him as the quintessential Western hero in classics like The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, new generations know him as a critically acclaimed director and even an outspoken conservative firebrand.

Despite a general dearth of African American names rising to musical prominence during the years of Reconstruction, Black talent existed in good measure for both popular and classical genres. And among the most notable musicians celebrated in the present day is composer Scott Joplin, who in his day earned the moniker “King of Ragtime”.

In the opening pages of his seminal book-length study of Alfred Hitchcock, Hitchcock's Films (1965), Robin Wood famously asked, "Why Should We Take Hitchcock Seriously?" Wood then proceeded to offer a detailed examination of Hitchcock's career to that point, arguing that the Master of Suspense belonged among the ranks of the preeminent directors in Hollywood, and that his films were among the most important in American culture.

Woodstock, more accurately entitled the Woodstock Music Festival; An Aquarian Exposition: Three Days of Peace and Music, represents one of the most enduring symbols of the youth movement of America's late 1960s and early '70s. As the public pinnacle of that social phenomenon, the giant festival that overwhelmed a section of an upstate New York farm for a week during a time of national and international upheaval evolved from a typical speculative financial venture to a defining historical monument.

This audiobook analyzes the themes and progression of the composers' most famous works, comparing and contrasting them to each other and other composers' great works.

Vincent van Gogh is undoubtedly one of the most famous artists of all time, and though the critical establishment may not consider him the greatest artist who ever lived, there may be no artist with whom the public has a greater familiarity. Unfortunately, a great deal of that familiarity comes from the circumstances leading up to his death. Of all the things that occurred in van Gogh's tumultuous life and career, the best known thing about him might be that he cut off the lower left lobe of his ear.

With beauty queen looks, once she was discovered, Gene Tierney was almost immediately marked for success as an actress. After just a year on Broadway, she was making her film debut around her 20th birthday. Tierney was a major star in her 20s, was one of World War II's most notable pinups, and was also nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress by the age of 25, but life off the screen continued to cause her problems.

Perhaps no actor has been able to retain their popularity into old age as well as Sean Connery. Despite retiring in 2006, Connery remains a venerable figure who continues to receive accolades for his handsome virility and status within the Hollywood elite. onsidering his personal acclaim as an actor, it is perhaps surprising that despite his status, most of the films in which Connery has appeared are not particularly acclaimed. Even the James Bond franchise initially received a largely lukewarm critical reception.

Hans Memling, a painter from Flanders, is the holder of an unfortunate record. He painted a triptych, The Last Judgment, commissioned by Medici banker Angelo Tani. The paintings were intended for a new chapel in Fiesole in Tuscany, near the city of Florence. However, in April 1472, the ship on which they were being transported from Bruges to Florence was intercepted by Polish privateer and Danzig Town Council leader Paul Beneke.

The pyramids of Egypt are such recognizable symbols of antiquity that for millennia, people have made assumptions about what they are and why they exist, without full consideration of the various meanings these ancient symbolic structures have had over the centuries. Generations have viewed them as symbols of a lost past, which in turn is often portrayed as a world full of romance and mystery.

Some of the most iconic symbols of the Roman Empire that have survived into the modern world today are the arches that Romans erected to commemorate military victories and glorify individual emperors. The story of how arches came to be used throughout the Roman world in such a way is one that involves the evolution of the military and its leaders into the political forces that came to dominate the state. Those arches, along with the triumphs that came to be associated with many of them, were key parts in the process of exhibiting the might of both Rome.

The show represented a simpler time, a world wherein the noses of children and teenagers weren't glued to their phones and the countless distractions of social media. Mister Rogers' Neighborhood was a revolutionary, one-of-a-kind program featuring a host that placed the welfare of children above ratings and profits.

James Dean has been mythologized more than any other actor in history, a development due more to his off-screen personality and conduct than the films he actually starred in. Much of Dean's appeal derives from his humble and ordinary origins, and audiences are drawn to the romance of the Indiana farm boy who catapulted to the top of the motion picture industry in a single year - the same year that would see him die. Of course, James Dean remains well-known for being anything but humble and ordinary.

Despite the enormous esteem he has garnered from virtually every corner of the music world, Jerry Garcia has continued to elude both fans and music historians as they attempt to determine his origins and categorize his art and influence on American music. Part of their difficulty lies in the fact that his work as the frontman for the Grateful Dead, "one of the most prolific and iconic guitarists of the twentieth century", tended toward a blending of the traditional with the experimental.

Of all the great actors of the 20th century, none personifies acting royalty more than Laurence Olivier. Some of this is simply due to the fact that he was actually knighted in 1947, along with a lengthy list of other honors. Of course in addition to the literal sense of the term, there is undeniably a manner in which Olivier qualifies as acting royalty. It is not for nothing that Spencer Tracy once referred to Olivier as "the greatest actor in the English-speaking world".