Portal:Record production

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The Record Production Portal

Noted audio engineer Roger Nichols at a vintage Neve recording console

P:RECORD

This portal is focused on music production within the era of written records through sound recordings, digital downloads, and beyond. Its scope includes articles that document the considerations and mechanisms used by, and consistent with, the purview of the production element. As an art form, music predates transcription and simultaneously transcends descriptive limitations. As an industry, music has demonstrated consistent viability over time. The record producer conjoins these potential, and serves as a broker to bridge the demand (spawned by their aspirations) with supply and satisfaction. The results are measurable and attributable, derived from effort and skillful application of craft, to a manifestation of the art in its melodic form. (Read more)

The music industry consists of the individuals and organizations that earn money by writing songs and musical compositions, creating and selling recorded music and sheet music, presenting concerts, as well as the organizations that aid, train, represent and supply music creators. Among the many individuals and organizations that operate in the industry are: the songwriters and composers who write songs and musical compositions; the singers, musicians, conductors, and bandleaders who perform the music; the record labels, music publishers, recording studios, music producers, audio engineers, retail and digital music stores, and performance rights organizations who create and sell recorded music and sheet music; and the booking agents, promoters, music venues, road crew, and audio engineers who help organize and sell concerts. (Read more)

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

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Narayan in Delhi in October 2010

Ram Narayan (IPA: [raːm naːˈɾaːjəɳ]; born 25 December 1927), often referred to with the title Pandit, is an Indian musician who popularised the bowed instrument sarangi as a solo concert instrument in Hindustani classical music and became the first internationally successful sarangi player.

Narayan was born near Udaipur and learned to play the sarangi at an early age. He studied under sarangi players and singers and, as a teenager, worked as a music teacher and travelling musician. All India Radio, Lahore, hired Narayan as an accompanist for vocalists in 1944. He moved to Delhi following the partition of India in 1947, but wishing to go beyond accompaniment and frustrated with his supporting role, Narayan moved to Mumbai in 1949 to work in Indian cinema. (Full article...)
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By the Way is the eighth studio album by the American rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers, released July 9, 2002, on Warner Bros. Records. It sold more than 286,000 copies in its first week, and peaked at number two on the Billboard 200. Singles included "By the Way", "The Zephyr Song", "Can't Stop" and "Universally Speaking". Additionally, "Dosed" was released as a promotional single in the US and Canada. The lyrical subject matter vocalist Anthony Kiedis addresses in By the Way is a divergence from previous Red Hot Chili Peppers albums, with Kiedis taking a more candid and reflective approach to his lyrics.

By the Way was lauded by critics as a departure from the band's previous styles, and is recognized for the melodic and subdued emotions given by the Chili Peppers. Guitarist John Frusciante is credited with writing most of the album's melodies, backing vocal arrangements, bass lines, and guitar progressions, therefore changing the direction of the recording dramatically: "his warm, understated guitar work and his doo-wop style vocal harmonies are king this time around." By the Way contained very little of the signature funk-metal fusion the band had become known for playing. Frusciante has stated that writing "By the Way [was] one of the happiest times in my life." The album went on to sell more than eight million copies worldwide. (Full article...)
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Low is the eleventh studio album by the English musician David Bowie, released on 14 January 1977 through RCA Records. The first of three collaborations with the producer Tony Visconti and the musician Brian Eno that became known as the Berlin Trilogy, the project originated following Bowie's move to France in 1976 with his friend Iggy Pop to rid themselves of their drug addictions. There, Bowie produced and co-wrote Pop's debut studio album, The Idiot, featuring sounds the former would explore on his next record. After completing The Idiot, sessions for Low began at Hérouville's Château d'Hérouville in September 1976 and ended in October at Hansa Studios in West Berlin, where Bowie and Pop had relocated.

An art rock and experimental rock record influenced by German bands such as Tangerine Dream, Neu!, Harmonia and Kraftwerk, Low features Bowie's first explorations in electronic and ambient styles. Side one consists primarily of short, direct avant-pop song-fragments, with mostly downbeat lyrics reflecting Bowie's state of mind, and side two comprises longer, mostly instrumental tracks, conveying musical observations of Berlin. Visconti created the distinctive drum sound using an Eventide H910 Harmonizer, a pitch-shifting device. The cover artwork, a profile of Bowie from the film The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976), was intended as a visual pun, meaning "low profile". (Full article...)
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Madonna in 2023

Madonna Louise Ciccone (/tʃɪˈkoʊni/; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Regarded as the "Queen of Pop", she has been recognized for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting and visual presentation. Madonna's works, which incorporate social, political, sexual, and religious themes, have generated both controversy and critical acclaim. A cultural icon spanning both the 20th and 21st centuries, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame called her one of the most "well-documented figures of the modern age" in 2008. Various scholarly reviews, literature, and art works have been created about her along with an academic mini subdiscipline devoted to her called Madonna studies.

Madonna moved to New York City in 1978 to pursue a career in dance. After performing as a drummer, guitarist, and vocalist in the rock bands Breakfast Club and Emmy, she rose to solo stardom with her 1983 eponymous debut studio album. Madonna followed it with a series of successful albums, including all-time bestsellers Like a Virgin (1984), True Blue (1986), and The Immaculate Collection (1990), the critically acclaimed Like a Prayer (1989), as well as Grammy Award winners Ray of Light (1998) and Confessions on a Dance Floor (2005). She has amassed a catalog of various high-charting songs, including "Holiday", "Like a Virgin", "La Isla Bonita", "Like a Prayer", "Vogue", "Take a Bow", "Frozen", "Music", "Hung Up" and "4 Minutes". (Full article...)
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Backmasking is a recording technique in which a message is recorded backward onto a track that is meant to be played forward. It is a deliberate process, whereas a message found through phonetic reversal may be unintentional.

Artists have used backmasking for artistic, comedic and satiric effect, on both analogue and digital recordings. It has also been used to censor words or phrases for "clean" releases of explicit songs. (Full article...)
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The music of the Lesser Antilles encompasses the music of this chain of small islands making up the eastern and southern portion of the West Indies. Lesser Antillean music is part of the broader category of Caribbean music; much of the folk and popular music is also a part of the Afro-American musical complex, being a mixture of African, European and indigenous American elements. The Lesser Antilles' musical cultures are largely based on the music of African slaves brought by European traders and colonizers. The African musical elements are a hybrid of instruments and styles from numerous West African tribes, while the European slaveholders added their own musics into the mix, as did immigrants from India. In many ways, the Lesser Antilles can be musically divided based on which nation colonized them.

The former British colonies include Trinidad and Tobago, whose calypso style is an especially potent part of the music of the other former British colonies, which also share traditions like the Big Drum dance. The French islands of Martinique and Guadeloupe share the popular zouk style and have also had extensive musical contact with the music of Haiti, itself once a French colony though not part of the Lesser Antilles. The Dutch colonies of Curaçao, Bonaire and Aruba share the combined rhythm popular style. The islands also share a passion for kaseko, a genre of Surinamese music; Suriname and its neighbors Guyana and French Guiana share folk and popular styles that are connected enough to the Antilles and other Caribbean islands that both countries are studied in the broader context of Antillean or Caribbean music. (Full article...)
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Dookie is the third studio album by the American rock band Green Day, released on February 1, 1994, by Reprise Records. The band's major label debut and first collaboration with producer Rob Cavallo, it was recorded in late summer 1993 at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley, California. Written mostly by frontman and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong, the album is largely based on his personal experiences and includes themes such as boredom, anxiety, relationships, and sexuality. It was promoted with four singles: "Longview", "Basket Case", a re-recorded version of "Welcome to Paradise" (which originally appeared on the band's second studio album, 1991's Kerplunk), and "When I Come Around".

After several years of grunge's dominance in popular music, Dookie brought a livelier, more melodic rock sound to the mainstream and propelled Green Day to worldwide fame. Considered one of the defining albums of the 1990s and of punk rock in general, it was also pivotal in solidifying the genre's mainstream popularity. Its influence continued into the new millennium and beyond, being cited as an inspiration by many punk and pop-punk bands, as well as artists from other genres. (Full article...)
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1989 is the fifth studio album by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift, released on October 27, 2014, by Big Machine Records. Inspired by 1980s synth-pop, Swift conceived 1989 to recalibrate her artistry to pop after critics disputed her status as a country musician when she released the cross-genre Red (2012) to country radio. She titled 1989 after her birth year as a symbolic artistic rebirth and enlisted Max Martin, who produced Red's electronic-influenced pop tracks, as co-executive producer.

Swift recorded 1989 at studios across the United States, the United Kingdom, and Sweden with an ensemble including Martin, Shellback, Jack Antonoff, Ryan Tedder, Nathan Chapman, and Imogen Heap. The synth-pop production is characterized by pulsing synthesizers, programmed drum machines, and processed backing vocals with electronic elements, a stark contrast to the acoustic arrangements of Swift's past albums. The songs expand on Swift's autobiographical songwriting and explore failed romance from a lighthearted perspective. (Full article...)
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The Wiggles lineup in 2022 (L–R: Tsehay Hawkins, Caterina Mete, Lachlan Gillespie, Lucia Field, Simon Pryce, Evie Ferris, Anthony Field, John Pearce)

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

Field and Fatt were members of the Australian pop band the Cockroaches in the 1980s, and Cook was a member of several bands before meeting Field and Page at Macquarie University, where they were studying to become pre-school teachers. In 1991, Field was inspired to create an album of children's music based upon concepts of early childhood education, and he enlisted Cook, Page, and Fatt to assist him. They began touring to promote the album and became so successful, they quit their teaching jobs to perform full-time. The group augmented their act with costumed characters Dorothy the Dinosaur, Henry the Octopus and Wags the Dog, as well as the human character Captain Feathersword, played by Paul Paddick since 1993. Shirley Shawn the Unicorn was later introduced. They originally travelled with a small group of dancers, which later grew into a larger troupe. The group's albums, DVDs and television programs have been produced independently since their inception. The height of their popularity came in the early 2000s, after they broke into the American market. (Full article...)
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Bizet photographed by Étienne Carjat (1875)

Georges Bizet (né Alexandre César Léopold Bizet; 25 October 1838 – 3 June 1875) was a French composer of the Romantic era. Best known for his operas in a career cut short by his early death, Bizet achieved few successes before his final work, Carmen, which has become one of the most popular and frequently performed works in the entire opera repertoire.

During a brilliant student career at the Conservatoire de Paris, Bizet won many prizes, including the prestigious Prix de Rome in 1857. He was recognised as an outstanding pianist, though he chose not to capitalise on this skill and rarely performed in public. Returning to Paris after almost three years in Italy, he found that the main Parisian opera theatres preferred the established classical repertoire to the works of newcomers. His keyboard and orchestral compositions were likewise largely ignored; as a result, his career stalled, and he earned his living mainly by arranging and transcribing the music of others. Restless for success, he began many theatrical projects during the 1860s, most of which were abandoned. Neither of his two operas that reached the stage in this time—Les pêcheurs de perles and La jolie fille de Perth—were immediately successful. (Full article...)
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The London Coliseum, home of The English National Opera

English National Opera (ENO) is a British opera company based in London, resident at the London Coliseum in St Martin's Lane. It is one of the two principal opera companies in London, along with The Royal Opera. ENO's productions are sung in English.

The company's origins were in the late 19th century, when the philanthropist Emma Cons, later assisted by her niece Lilian Baylis, presented theatrical and operatic performances at the Old Vic, for the benefit of local people. Baylis subsequently built up both the opera and the theatre companies, and later added a ballet company; these evolved into the ENO, the Royal National Theatre and The Royal Ballet, respectively. (Full article...)
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The music of Athens, Georgia includes a wide variety of popular music and was an important part of the early evolution of alternative rock and new wave. The city is well known as the home of chart-topping bands like R.E.M., Widespread Panic, The B-52's, and several long-time indie rock groups. Athens hosts the Athens Symphony Orchestra and other music institutions, as well as prominent local music media, such as the college radio station WUOG. Much of the modern Athens music scene relies on students from the large University of Georgia campus in the city. The University sponsors Western classical performances and groups specializing in other styles.

Athens became a center for music in the region during the Civil War and gained further fame in the early twentieth century with the founding of the Morton Theatre, which was a major touring destination for African American performers. The city's local rock music scene can be traced to the 1950s, with live music at Allen's Hamburgers in Normaltown. International attention came in the 1970s when The B–52's began releasing the first of several best-selling recordings. Athens-based rock bands have performed in a wide array of styles, and the city has never had a characteristic style of rock; most of the bands have been united only in their quirky and iconoclastic image. (Full article...)

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Did you know (auto-generated) - load new batch

... that one critic interpreted a SZA song as being about her fears about the growing influence of AI in the music industry?
... that until the release of the documentary Predator: The Secret Scandal of J-Pop, sexual abuse claims involving record producer Johnny Kitagawa went widely unreported in Japanese media?
... that according to Billboard magazine, Laufey created a blueprint for jazz music in the modern music industry and helped push it back into the mainstream?
... that when Divine's song "Lately" topped the Billboard Hot 100 in 1998, it became the first number-one single for the performers, the songwriters, the producers, and the record labels?
... that to promote the Buffalo Club, Rising Tide Records sent packages of plastic buffalo to music industry executives in Nashville?
... that the Guns N' Roses debut studio album Appetite for Destruction was recorded at a recording studio founded by 1970s pop duo Captain & Tennille?

Born this day

Birthdays in Music: August 17

John Seiter, of Spanky and Our Gang, turns 80.
Gary Talley, American vocalist, lead guitarist, electric sitar player for Box Tops, turns 77.
Kevin Rowland, singer, songwriter, and former frontman for Dexys Midnight Runners, turns 71.
Eric Johnson (guitarist, born 1954), American guitarist, turns 70.
Kevin Welch, American singer-songwriter, turns 69.
Colin Moulding, British songwriter, vocalist, and bassist for XTC, turns 69.
Belinda Carlisle, American singer, lead vocalist for The Go-Go's, turns 66.
Gilby Clarke, American musician, singer, and songwriter formerly of Guns N' Roses and Slash's Snakepit, turns 62.
Colin James, Canadian composer and blues guitarist, turns 60.
Maria McKee, American singer of Lone Justice fame, turns 60.
Steve Gorman, American drummer for The Black Crowes, turns 59.
Jill Cunniff, American bassist for Luscious Jackson, turns 58.
Donnie Wahlberg, American actor and member of New Kids On The Block, turns 55.
Posdnuos, (nee Kelvin Mercer) of De La Soul, turns 55.
Claire Richards, British singer with Steps, turns 47.
Lil Pump (born Gazzy Garcia), American rapper, turns 24.

Mark Salling (Record production, 1982 –January 30, 2018), American actor, musician, singer and composer, would have turned 42 this year.
Sib Hashian (Record production, 1949 –March 22, 2017), drummer for Boston, would have turned 75 this year.
Derek Smith (Record production, 1931 –August 19, 2016), British pianist, would have turned 93 this year.
Thomas Jefferson Anderson, American composer, turns 96.
Sam Butera (Record production, 1927 –June 03, 2009), American saxophonist and bandleader, would have turned 97 this year.
George Melly, British jazz pianist and blues singer, turns 98.
Jack Sperling (Record production, 1922 –February 26, 2004), American big band drummer, would have turned 102 this year.
Wayne Raney (Record production, 1921 –January 23, 1993), American country music singer and harmonica player, would have turned 103 this year.
Betty Cody (Record production, 1921 –July 01, 2014), American country music singer, would have turned 103 this year.
George Duvivier (Record production, 1920 –July 11, 1985), Acclaimed bass player, would have turned 104 this year.
Ike Quebec (Record production, 1918 –January 16, 1963), American tenor saxophone player, would have turned 106 this year.
Larry Clinton (Record production, 1909 –May 02, 1985), American big band composer, bandleader and trumpeter, would have turned 115 this year.
Abram Chasins (Record production, 1903 –June 06, 1987), American classical music composer and pianist, Juilliard graduate, would have turned 121 this year.
Mae West (Record production, 1893 –November 22, 1980), American vaudeville actress, playwright, singer, and screenwriter, would have turned 131 this year.

List of musical events • Anniversaries • More birthdays...

Selected albums - load new batch

These are all Good articles, which meet a core set of high editorial standards.

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Black Beauty: Miles Davis at Fillmore West is a live double album by the American jazz trumpeter, composer, and bandleader Miles Davis. It was recorded on April 10, 1970, at the Fillmore West in San Francisco, shortly after the release of the trumpeter's Bitches Brew album and the recording of Jack Johnson (1971). Black Beauty was produced by Teo Macero, Davis' longtime record producer.
A jazz-rock and fusion album, Black Beauty captured one of Davis' first performances at a rock venue during the early stages of his electric period. At the concert, he led his band—saxophonist Steve Grossman, bassist Dave Holland, keyboardist Chick Corea, drummer Jack DeJohnette, and percussionist Airto Moreira—through one continuously performed set list which functioned as a musical suite for soloists to improvise throughout. He signaled changes from one piece to the next with phrases played on his trumpet.

Black Beauty was first released only in Japan by CBS/Sony in 1973 without individual songs specified in the track listing. Columbia Records, Davis' American record label, had difficulty identifying the compositions for royalty purposes, and the album was not released in the United States until 1997. Critics were generally positive toward Black Beauty, although some were critical of its sound quality and Grossman's solos; Corea said the recording was an accurate document how that particular band of Davis' played live. (Full article...)
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Just Be Free is a demo album released by Warlock Records featuring music recorded by American singer Christina Aguilera. After finishing her run on The All-New Mickey Mouse Club, a then fifteen-year-old Aguilera began recording the album with New Jersey-based producers Robert Allecca and Michael Brown. The pair gave Aguilera the opportunity to use a recording studio and presented her with demo music.

Musically, the album consists of dance style tracks as well as ballads, and saw Aguilera performing Spanish-language songs. The record was conceived to showcase Aguilera's vocals in an effort to reach out to record labels, a venture which actually backfired after the recordings were not very well received among critics. Six years after the completion of the album and Aguilera had achieved mainstream success, Brown and Allecca released the record. Just Be Free has sold over 129,000 copies in the United States. (Full article...)
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The Way We Were: Original Soundtrack Recording is the soundtrack album to the film of the same title by American singer Barbra Streisand. It was released by Columbia Records on January 30, 1974. The soundtrack comprises twelve songs, mostly written by Marvin Hamlisch, three of which are different versions of "The Way We Were". The album was mostly produced by Fred Salem, with the exception of the title track which was produced by Marty Paich. Hamlisch and Salem collaborated to create five new songs for the soundtrack, while the remaining ones are cover songs.

Critically, the staff behind AllMusic awarded the album three out of five stars. It fared well commercially, peaking at numbers 20 and 23 in the United States and Canada, respectively. It also charted in the United Kingdom in 2005. It has since been certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America for sales exceeding 500,000 copies. (Full article...)
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So Far, So Good... So What! is the third studio album by American thrash metal band Megadeth, released on January 19, 1988, by Capitol Records. It was the band's only album recorded with drummer Chuck Behler and guitarist Jeff Young, both of whom were fired from the band in early 1989, several months after the completion of the album's world tour. So Far, So Good... So What! features music performed at fast tempos with technical ability; lyrically, frontman and guitarist Dave Mustaine addresses a variety of topics, including nuclear holocaust and freedom of speech.

So Far, So Good... So What! was well received by critics upon its release, although retrospective analysis has been less favorable. It managed to enter the top-thirty of the Billboard 200 (although it received no commercial radio play), and charted in several other countries as well. The album was eventually certified platinum by the RIAA, and indicated Megadeth's forthcoming emergence from the underground music scene. (Full article...)
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#1 to Infinity is the sixth greatest hits album by American singer-songwriter and producer Mariah Carey. It was released by Sony Music on May 15, 2015. It features Carey's then eighteen US number-one singles on the Billboard Hot 100. A new recording called "Infinity" was released as the only single on April 27, 2015. In January 2015, the singer announced that she had signed a residency deal to perform at The Colosseum at the Caesars Palace hotel in Las Vegas in May and July 2015, (later extended into 2016 and 2017) and would perform all of her number ones. As a result, she decided to re-release her first compilation, 1998's #1's, with an updated list of subsequent chart toppers. Carey promoted the album with her #1 to Infinity residency and with live performances at the Billboard Music Awards, Jimmy Kimmel Live! and Live! with Kelly and Michael. (Full article...)
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Endgame is the sixth studio album by American punk rock band Rise Against. It was released on March 15, 2011, by DGC Records and Interscope Records. A melodic hardcore album, Endgame continues the trend by Rise Against towards more crisp, polished production, which began with the band's previous album Appeal to Reason. Social and political commentary constitute the majority of the lyrical content on Endgame, and a major theme revolves around the end of humanity.

After a lengthy tour in support of Appeal to Reason, Rise Against began recording Endgame in September 2010, with producers Bill Stevenson and Jason Livermore. Endgame debuted at number two on the Billboard 200, with 85,000 copies sold in its first week. It holds the record for the band's highest position on the chart. The album also charted highly in several other countries such as Canada, where it became Rise Against's second consecutive album to reach number one on the Canadian Albums Chart. (Full article...)
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Every Mother Counts 2012 is the second compilation album in Starbucks' annual series, released by Hear Music on May 1, 2012. Featuring thirteen previously unavailable tracks, the album was sold exclusively at Starbucks locations and benefited Christy Turlington's Every Mother Counts foundation, which seeks to increase childbirth safety for mothers. The compilation received a positive critical reception. (Full article...)
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Final Destination 2 is a 2003 American supernatural horror film directed by David R. Ellis. The screenplay was written by J. Mackye Gruber and Eric Bress, based on a story by Gruber, Bress, and series creator Jeffrey Reddick. It is the sequel to the 2000 film Final Destination and the second installment of the Final Destination film series. The film stars Ali Larter, A. J. Cook, and Michael Landes. Cook portrays a woman who "cheats death" after having a premonition of herself and others perishing in a highway pile-up and uses it by saving herself and a handful of people, but is stalked by Death afterwards by means of claiming back their lives which should have been lost in the highway. It also explores the cliffhanger of the preceding film by revealing the fates of the previous survivors.

After the financial success of Final Destination, New Line Cinema contacted Reddick regarding plans for a sequel. Since the original film's crew was unavailable, New Line replaced most of the production team. Filming took place in Vancouver and Okanagan Lake. Final Destination 2 was released on January 31, 2003, and on DVD on July 22, 2003, which includes commentaries, deleted scenes, documentaries, and videos. (Full article...)
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The Complete Studio Albums (1983–2008) is a box set by American singer-songwriter Madonna. It was released by Warner Bros. Records on March 26, 2012, to coincide with the release of her twelfth studio album, MDNA. The eleven-disc box set was released in Europe and Japan, and included all of Madonna's studio albums from the years 1983 to 2008. The album artwork consisted of a collage of the album covers, housed in a gold box. It also included a Parental Advisory sticker due to the original version of the albums Erotica (1992) and American Life (2003). On the same date, Warner Bros. released and reprinted another box set titled Madonna: Original Album Series which included five discs.

After its release, The Complete Studio Albums (1983–2008) received mixed reception from reviewers, who complimented the overall packaging of the box set, but hoped that the record label would have included Madonna's other popular songs that had not been on the original studio albums. The box set charted in multiple nations including Croatia, Finland, France, Italy, Korea, Mexico, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and United Kingdom. It entered the top-ten of the Japanese Oricon album chart. The same week, MDNA was also present in the top-ten, making Madonna the first female artist from a Western country to have two albums in the chart's top-ten. (Full article...)
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Crocodiles is the debut album by the English post-punk band Echo & the Bunnymen. It was released on 18 July 1980 in the United Kingdom and on 17 December 1980 in the United States. The album reached number 17 on the UK Albums Chart. "Pictures on My Wall" and "Rescue" had previously been released as singles.

Recorded at Eden Studios in London and at Rockfield Studios near Monmouth, Crocodiles was produced by Bill Drummond and David Balfe, while Ian Broudie had already produced the single "Rescue". The album received favourable reviews from the music press, receiving four out of five stars by both Rolling Stone and Blender magazines. (Full article...)
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Wings is the fifteenth studio album by Welsh singer Bonnie Tyler. It was released in France on 14 April 2005 by Stick Music, and on 22 May 2006 in the UK under the title Celebrate. The album was produced by Jean Lahcène, under the pseudonym John Stage, at Studio Pasteur in Paris. Two of the tracks were written and produced by Stuart Emerson, with Lorraine Crosby providing guest vocals on "I'll Stand by You". Wings features two re-recordings of Tyler's hits "Total Eclipse of the Heart" and "It's a Heartache", and Tyler is credited as the co-lyricist of several of the album's tracks.

"Louise" was released as the album's only single in 2006. Wings spent two weeks in the French Albums Chart, with a peak placing at no. 133. (Full article...)
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A Ghost Is Born is the fifth studio album by the American rock band Wilco, released on June 22, 2004, by Nonesuch Records. It features singer Jeff Tweedy on lead guitar more than any previous Wilco album. The band streamed the album online free, and offered a five-song EP to purchasers.

Tweedy entered a rehab clinic shortly before the release of the album, delaying its release by two weeks. It also shortened its promotional tour. Despite this, A Ghost Is Borns opening week was the best sales week for the band at the time, and the album was met with positive reviews from major publications such as Rolling Stone and PopMatters. The album earned Wilco a Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album. ('Full article...)

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

Image 1A Mexican son jarocho singer recording tracks at the Tec de Monterrey studios (from Recording studio)
Image 2Control room at the Tec de Monterrey, Mexico City Campus (from Recording studio)
Image 3Donna Summer wearing headphones during a recording session in 1977 (from Recording studio)
Image 4The TEAC 2340, a popular early (1973) home multitrack recorder, four tracks on ¼ inch tape (from Multitrack recording)
Image 5The TASCAM 85 16B analog tape multitrack recorder can record 16 tracks of audio on 1-inch (2.54cm) magnetic tape. Professional analog units of 24 tracks on 2-inch tape were common, with specialty tape heads providing 16 or even 8 tracks on the same tape width, for greater fidelity. (from Multitrack recording)
Image 6Korg D888 eight-track digital recorder (from Multitrack recording)
Image 7The Siemens Studio for Electronic Music c. 1956. (from Recording studio)
Image 8The studio at Ridge Radio in Caterham, England (from Recording studio)
Image 9Scully 280 eight-track recorder at the Stax Museum of American Soul Music (from Multitrack recording)
Image 10Digital audio interface for the Pro Tools computer-based hard disk multitrack recording system. Digital audio quality is measured in data resolution per channel. (from Multitrack recording)
Image 11An audio production facility at An-Najah National University (from Recording studio)
Image 12Hip hop producer and rapper RZA in a music studio with two collaborators. Pictured in the foreground is a synthesizer keyboard and a number of vinyl records; both of these items are key tools that producers and DJs use to create hip hop beats. (from Hip hop production)
Image 13Neve VR60, a multitrack mixing console. Above the console are a range of studio monitor speakers. (from Recording studio)
Image 14Engineers and producers watch a trumpet player from a window in the control room during a recording session. (from Recording studio)
Image 15Danny Knicely records with Furnace Mountain Band in Virginia (2012) (from Recording studio)
Image 16Mixing desk with twenty inputs and eight outputs (from Multitrack recording)
Image 17Allen & Heath GS3000 analog mixing console in a home studio (from Recording studio)
Image 18A selection of instruments at a music studio, including a grand piano (from Recording studio)

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Featured lists have been determined by the Wikipedia community to be the best lists on English Wikipedia.

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Will Young had the best-selling single of the 2000s in the UK, "Evergreen"/"Anything Is Possible".

The UK Singles Chart is a music chart compiled by the Official Charts Company that calculates the best-selling singles of the week in the United Kingdom. Since 2005, the chart has been based on the sales of both physical and digital singles, originally on the condition that the single was available in both formats. In 2007, the rules were changed so that legal downloads of all songs, irrespective of whether a physical copy was available, were eligible to chart.

Between 2000 and 2009, ten singles that reached the top of the singles chart sold more than 1 million copies in the United Kingdom. At the end of the decade, a retrospective chart was compiled by the Official Charts Company to determine the best-selling single of this ten-year period. The title was won by Will Young, the winner of the televised talent competition Pop Idol in 2001, with his double A-side single "Evergreen"/"Anything Is Possible", released in 2002. The single sold just under 1.8 million copies and saw Young finish ahead of fellow Pop Idol finalist Gareth Gates, whose debut single "Unchained Melody" sold 1.34 million copies. Young's single included sales of 1,108,269 copies in its first week, at the time a first-week total that had been bettered only by Elton John's "Candle in the Wind 1997". The X Factor winners Alexandra Burke (5th), and Shayne Ward (8th) and the band formed on Popstars in 2001, Hear'Say (9th), also reached the top ten. Kylie Minogue, Shaggy and Tony Christie were the other solo artists who made the top ten of best-selling singles; Christie's best-seller was a charity single recorded for Comic Relief in 2005. Children's television character Bob the Builder's "Can We Fix It?", voiced by Neil Morrissey, and Band Aid 20's cover of "Do They Know It's Christmas" made up the rest of the top ten singles. (Full article...)
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Garth Brooks achieved four number ones in 1991.

Hot Country Songs is a chart that ranks the top-performing country music songs in the United States, published by Billboard magazine. In 1991, 30 different songs topped the chart, then published under the title Hot Country Singles & Tracks, in 52 issues of the magazine, based on weekly airplay data from country music radio stations compiled by Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems.

George Strait's song "I've Come to Expect It from You" began the year at number one, having held the top position for the last four weeks of 1990. The next week, Garth Brooks achieved the first of his eventual four number ones of the year with his song "Unanswered Prayers". Brooks' four was the most number ones for the year by any act, though Alan Jackson and George Strait would each have three songs reach the top of the chart. Ricky Van Shelton reached number one twice as a solo performer, and once in collaboration with Dolly Parton on her song "Rockin' Years". Three songs spent three weeks each at the top of the chart, the most of any song for the year: "Down Home" by Alabama, "Don't Rock the Jukebox" by Alan Jackson, and "You Know Me Better Than That" by George Strait. (Full article...)
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Sonny James had three number ones in 1969.

Hot Country Songs is a chart that ranks the top-performing country music songs in the United States, published by Billboard magazine. In 1969, 23 different singles topped the chart, which was published at the time under the title Hot Country Singles, in 52 weekly issues of the magazine. Chart placings were based on playlists submitted by country music radio stations and sales reports submitted by stores.

In the issue of Billboard dated January 4, Johnny Cash's single "Daddy Sang Bass" climbed from number 19 to the top spot, replacing "Wichita Lineman" by Glen Campbell. Cash's single remained at number one for six weeks, the longest unbroken run of the year. The singer returned to the top of the chart later in the year with "A Boy Named Sue", which spent five weeks at number one. His cumulative total of eleven weeks atop the chart was the highest by any artist in 1969. Merle Haggard, Sonny James and Buck Owens each reached number one with three different singles, the most by any act. All three of James' chart-toppers were cover versions of successful rock and roll and pop songs from the late 1950s and early 1960s; the singer achieved the majority of his more than 20 country number ones with versions of pop songs. Owens also took a country reworking of a rock and roll classic to the top spot, with a live version of Chuck Berry's 1958 song "Johnny B. Goode". Haggard's three chart-toppers included "Okie from Muskogee", one of the best-known songs of his career. (Full article...)
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Barbara Mandrell topped the chart with "I Was Country When Country Wasn't Cool", which came to be regarded as her signature song.

Hot Country Songs is a chart that ranks the top-performing country music songs in the United States, published by Billboard magazine. In 1981, 48 different singles topped the chart, then published under the title Hot Country Singles, in 52 issues of the magazine, based on playlists submitted by country music radio stations and sales reports submitted by stores.

Alabama, Razzy Bailey, T. G. Sheppard and Hank Williams Jr. tied for the most number ones of the year, with three chart-toppers each. As Alabama's "Feels So Right" was one of the few songs to spend a second week at number one, the band had the highest total number of weeks in the top spot, with four. Ten other acts achieved more than one number one in 1981. Several acts topped the chart for the first time in 1981: Charly McClain with "Who's Cheatin' Who", Sylvia with "Drifter", Rosanne Cash with "Seven Year Ache", Earl Thomas Conley with "Fire and Smoke", Ronnie McDowell with "Older Women", Steve Wariner with "All Roads Lead to You", and the duo of David Frizzell and Shelly West with "You're the Reason God Made Oklahoma". Shelly West's appearance at number one fell between two chart-toppers achieved in 1981 by her mother, Dottie West. (Full article...)
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Madonna had six number ones during the 1980s.

The UK Singles Chart is the official record chart in the United Kingdom. Until 1983, it was compiled weekly by the British Market Research Bureau (BMRB) on behalf of the British record industry with a two-week break each Christmas. The BMRB used motorcycle couriers to collect the sales figures taken up to the close of trade on Saturday. This data was compiled on Monday and given to the BBC on Tuesday to be announced on BBC Radio 1 at lunchtime and later published in Music Week. On 4 January 1983, the chart was taken over by Gallup who expanded the chart from the Top 75 to the Top 100 and began the introduction of computerised tills which automated the data collection process. The chart was based entirely on sales of physical singles from retail outlets and announced on Tuesday until October 1987, when the Top 40 was revealed each Sunday, due to the new automated process.

During the 1980s there were a total of 191 singles which took the UK chart number 1 spot. In terms of number-one singles, Madonna was the most successful single act of the decade, as six of her singles reached the top spot. George Michael had significant involvement with eight number-one singles; with two number-one singles as a solo artist, four as a member of pop duo Wham!, one as a duet with Aretha Franklin and one as a member of charity supergroup Band Aid. The longest duration of a single at number one was nine weeks, achieved by Frankie Goes to Hollywood's "Two Tribes" in 1984. (Full article...)
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Randy Travis spent three weeks at number one with "Forever and Ever, Amen".

Hot Country Songs is a chart that ranks the top-performing country music songs in the United States, published by Billboard magazine. In 1987, 50 different songs topped the chart, then published under the title Hot Country Singles, in 52 issues of the magazine, based on playlists submitted by country music radio stations and sales reports submitted by stores.

At the start of the year, the song at the top of the charts was "Mind Your Own Business" by Hank Williams Jr. The single had moved into the number one position in the issue of Billboard dated December 27, 1986 and remained in place for a second week in the issue dated January 3. The final number one of the year was "Somewhere Tonight" by Highway 101, which began a two-week run at the top in the issue dated December 26, 1987. Between those two chart-toppers, the only song to spend more than one week at number one was "Forever and Ever, Amen" by Randy Travis, which had a three-week run in the peak position during the summer. The song won both the Grammy Award for Best Country Song and the Academy of Country Music award for Song of the Year. (Full article...)
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Rapper Eminem's "Lose Yourself" was the longest-running number-one single released in 2002.

The Billboard Hot 100 is a chart that ranks the best-performing singles of the United States. Published by Billboard magazine, the data are compiled by Nielsen SoundScan based collectively on each single's weekly physical sales and airplay. In 2002, there were seven singles that topped the chart, the lowest number of singles to top the chart in a single year ever (if the two songs which peaked in 2001 are included, 2002 would have the second lowest number of chart-topping singles in a year, behind 2005). Although nine singles reached number one in fifty-two issues of the magazine in the calendar year, two songs began their peak position in 2001 and are thus excluded.

In 2002, five acts earned their first U.S. number one single, either as a lead artist or featured guest. These artists were Ashanti, Nelly, Kelly Clarkson, and Eminem. Kelly Rowland, despite having hit number one with Destiny's Child, also earns her first number one song as a solo act. In 2002, Ja Rule, Ashanti, and Nelly had two number-one singles in the Billboard Hot 100. (Full article...)
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Kenny Rogers had three number ones in 1978.

Hot Country Songs is a chart that ranks the top-performing country music songs in the United States, published by Billboard magazine. In 1978, 31 different singles topped the chart, then published under the title Hot Country Singles, in 52 issues of the magazine, based on playlists submitted by country music radio stations and sales reports submitted by stores.

Several number ones of 1978 came from artists associated with the so-called outlaw country subgenre, which had emerged as a more hard-edged alternative to the slick production values seen in country music earlier in the 1970s. Two of the most prominent exponents of the outlaw style, Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson, collaborated on the longest-running number one of the year, "Mammas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys", which spent four weeks atop the chart; each also reached number one individually. Jennings' total of seven weeks spent in the top spot was the most by any artist. Nelson was one of only two artists to take three different singles to number one during the year, as he also reached number one with his recordings of two pre-World War II songs, "Georgia on My Mind" and "Blue Skies", taken from Stardust, an album on which he covered a range of pop standards. Kenny Rogers also achieved three number ones, as he topped the listing with "Love or Something Like It", "The Gambler" and "Every Time Two Fools Collide", a collaboration with Dottie West. (Full article...)
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Hot Country Songs is a chart that ranks the top-performing country music songs in the United States, published by Billboard magazine. In 1975, 43 different singles topped the chart, at the time published under the title Hot Country Singles, in 52 issues of the magazine. Chart placings were based on playlists submitted by country music radio stations and sales reports submitted by stores.

Merle Haggard had the most number ones in 1975, taking four different singles to the top spot. The four singles spent a total of five weeks at number one, tying Haggard with Freddy Fender for the highest number of weeks spent atop the chart by a single artist in 1975. When Fender reached number one with "Before the Next Teardrop Falls" in the issue of Billboard dated March 15, he achieved the feat of topping the Hot Country chart with his first hit. The Tex-Mex-influenced song went on to be a crossover success, topping Billboard's all-genre singles chart, the Hot 100, in May. Five other singles released in 1975 reached number one on both charts: "(Hey Won't You Play) Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song" by B.J. Thomas, "Rhinestone Cowboy" by Glen Campbell, both "Thank God I'm a Country Boy" and "I'm Sorry" by John Denver, and "Convoy" by C.W. McCall. "Rhinestone Cowboy" spent three non-consecutive weeks atop the country listing, the only song to spend more than two weeks in the top spot. (Full article...)
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Johnny Cash reached number one in 1976 with the song "One Piece at a Time", about an assembly line worker who constructs his own car using stolen parts from a variety of different models. After the song became successful, an auto shop built the car described in the lyrics. Cash is pictured in the driving seat of the car.

Hot Country Songs is a chart that ranks the top-performing country music songs in the United States, published by Billboard magazine. In 1976, 37 different singles topped the chart, which at the time was published under the title Hot Country Singles, in 52 issues of the magazine. Chart placings were based on playlists submitted by country music radio stations and sales reports submitted by stores.

At the start of the year the song at the top of the chart was "Convoy" by C. W. McCall, its third week at number one. The song remained in the top spot until the issue of Billboard dated January 31, 1976, when it was replaced by "This Time I've Hurt Her More than She Loves Me" by Conway Twitty. "Convoy" also topped the magazine's all-genres singles chart, the Hot 100. It was one of three 1976 country number ones to capitalize on the prevailing fad for citizens band radio (CB), along with "The White Knight" by Cledus Maggard & the Citizen's Band and "Teddy Bear" by Red Sovine. CB also featured, to a lesser extent, in the song "One Piece at a Time", which was the final chart-topper for Country Music Hall of Famer and icon of the genre Johnny Cash. (Full article...)