title: Proto-Germanic language

text: Due to the emergence of a word-initial stress accent, vowels in unstressed syllables were gradually reduced over time, beginning at the very end of the Proto-Germanic period and continuing into the history of the various dialects. Already in Proto-Germanic, word-final and had been lost, and had merged with in unstressed syllables. Vowels in third syllables were also generally lost before dialect diversification began, such as final "-i" of some present tense verb endings, and in "-maz" and "-miz" of the dative plural ending and first person plural present of verbs.


title: Proto-Germanic language

text: Word-final short nasal vowels were however preserved longer, as is reflected Proto-Norse which still preserved word-final "-ą" ("horna" on the Gallehus horns), while the dative plural appears as "-mz" ("gestumz" on the Stentoften Runestone). Somewhat greater reduction is found in Gothic, which lost all final-syllable short vowels except "u". Old High German and Old English initially preserved unstressed "i" and "u", but later lost them in long-stemmed words and then Old High German lost them in many short-stemmed ones as well, by analogy.


title: Proto-Germanic language

text: Old English shows indirect evidence that word-final "-ą" was preserved into the separate history of the language. This can be seen in the infinitive ending "-an" (< *"aną") and the strong past participle ending "-en" (< *"-anaz"). Since the early Old English fronting of to did not occur in nasalized vowels or before back vowels, this created a vowel alternation because the nasality of the back vowel "ą" in the infinitive ending prevented the fronting of the preceding vowel: *"-aną" > *"-an", but *"-anaz" > *"-ænæ" > *"-en". Therefore, the Anglo-Frisian brightening must necessarily have occurred very early in the history of the Anglo-Frisian languages, before the loss of final "-ą".


title: Proto-Germanic language

text: Note that some Proto-Germanic endings have merged in all of the literary languages but are still distinct in runic Proto-Norse, e.g. "*-īz" vs. "*-ijaz" ("þrijōz dohtrīz" "three daughters" in the Tune stone vs. the name "Holtijaz" in the Gallehus horns).


title: Proto-Germanic language

text: Reconstructions are tentative and multiple versions with varying degrees of difference exist. All reconstructed forms are marked with an asterisk (*).


title: Proto-Germanic language

text: It is often asserted that the Germanic languages have a highly reduced system of inflections as compared with Greek, Latin, or Sanskrit. Although this is true to some extent, it is probably due more to the late time of attestation of Germanic than to any inherent "simplicity" of the Germanic languages. As an example, there are less than 500 years between the Gothic Gospels of 360 and the Old High German Tatian of 830, yet Old High German, despite being the most archaic of the West Germanic languages, is missing a large number of archaic features present in Gothic, including dual and passive markings on verbs, reduplication in Class VII strong verb past tenses, the vocative case, and second-position (Wackernagel's Law) clitics. Many more archaic features may have been lost between the Proto-Germanic of 200 BC or so and the attested Gothic language. Furthermore, Proto-Romance and Middle Indic of the fourth century AD—contemporaneous with Gothic—were significantly simpler than Latin and Sanskrit, respectively, and overall probably no more archaic than Gothic. In addition, some parts of the inflectional systems of Greek, Latin, and Sanskrit were innovations that were not present in Proto-Indo-European.


title: Proto-Germanic language

text: Proto-Germanic had six cases, three genders, three numbers, three moods (indicative, subjunctive (PIE optative), imperative), and two voices (active and passive (PIE middle)). This is quite similar to the state of Latin, Greek, and Middle Indic of AD 200.


title: Proto-Germanic language

text: Nouns and adjectives were declined in (at least) six cases: vocative, nominative, accusative, dative, instrumental, genitive. The locative case had merged into the dative case, and the ablative may have merged with either the genitive, dative or instrumental cases. However, sparse remnants of the earlier locative and ablative cases are visible in a few pronominal and adverbial forms. Pronouns were declined similarly, although without a separate vocative form. The instrumental and vocative can be reconstructed only in the singular; the instrumental survives only in the West Germanic languages, and the vocative only in Gothic.


title: Proto-Germanic language

text: Verbs and pronouns had three numbers: singular, dual, and plural. Although the pronominal dual survived into all the oldest languages, the verbal dual survived only into Gothic, and the (presumed) nominal and adjectival dual forms were lost before the oldest records. As in the Italic languages, it may have been lost before Proto-Germanic became a different branch at all.


title: Proto-Germanic language

text: Several sound changes occurred in the history of Proto-Germanic that were triggered only in some environments but not in others. Some of these were grammaticalised while others were still triggered by phonetic rules and were partially allophonic or surface filters.


title: Proto-Germanic language

text: Probably the most far-reaching alternation was between [*f, *þ, *s, *h, *hw] and [*b, *d, *z, *g, *gw], the voiceless and voiced fricatives, known as Grammatischer Wechsel and triggered by the earlier operation of Verner's law. It was found in various environments:


title: Proto-Germanic language

text: Another form of alternation was triggered by the Germanic spirant law, which continued to operate into the separate history of the individual daughter languages. It is found in environments with suffixal -t, including:


title: Proto-Germanic language

text: An alternation not triggered by sound change was Sievers' law, which caused alternation of suffixal -j- and -ij- depending on the length of the preceding part of the morpheme. If preceded within the same morpheme by only short vowel followed by a single consonant, -j- appeared. In all other cases, such as when preceded by a long vowel or diphthong, by two or more consonants, or by more than one syllable, -ij- appeared. The distinction between morphemes and words is important here, as the alternant -j- appeared also in words that contained a distinct suffix that in turn contained -j- in its second syllable. A notable example was the verb suffix *-atjaną, which retained -j- despite being preceded by two syllables in a fully formed word.


title: Proto-Germanic language

text: Related to the above was the alternation between -j- and -i-, and likewise between -ij- and -ī-. This was caused by the earlier loss of -j- before -i-, and appeared whenever an ending was attached to a verb or noun with an -(i)j- suffix (which were numerous). Similar, but much more rare, was an alternation between -aV- and -aiC- from the loss of -j- between two vowels, which appeared in the present subjunctive of verbs: *-aų < *-ajų in the first person, *-ai- in the others. A combination of these two effects created an alternation between -ā- and -ai- found in class 3 weak verbs, with -ā- < -aja- < -əja- and -ai- < -əi- < -əji-.


title: Proto-Germanic language

text: I-mutation was the most important source of vowel alternation, and continued well into the history of the individual daughter languages (although it was either absent or not apparent in Gothic). In Proto-Germanic, only -e- was affected, which was raised by -i- or -j- in the following syllable. Examples are numerous:


title: Proto-Germanic language

text: The system of nominal declensions was largely inherited from PIE. Primary nominal declensions were the stems in /a/, /ō/, /n/, /i/, and /u/. The first three were particularly important and served as the basis of adjectival declension; there was a tendency for nouns of all other classes to be drawn into them. The first two had variants in /ja/ and /wa/, and /jō/ and /wō/, respectively; originally, these were declined exactly like other nouns of the respective class, but later sound changes tended to distinguish these variants as their own subclasses. The /n/ nouns had various subclasses, including /ōn/ (masculine and feminine), /an/ (neuter), and /īn/ (feminine, mostly abstract nouns). There was also a smaller class of root nouns (ending in various consonants), nouns of relationship (ending in /er/), and neuter nouns in /z/ (this class was greatly expanded in German). Present participles, and a few nouns, ended in /nd/. The neuter nouns of all classes differed from the masculines and feminines in their nominative and accusative endings, which were alike.


title: Proto-Germanic language

text: Adjectives agree with the noun they qualify in case, number, and gender. Adjectives evolved into strong and weak declensions, originally with indefinite and definite meaning, respectively. As a result of its definite meaning, the weak form came to be used in the daughter languages in conjunction with demonstratives and definite articles. The terms "strong" and "weak" are based on the later development of these declensions in languages such as German and Old English, where the strong declensions have more distinct endings. In the proto-language, as in Gothic, such terms have no relevance. The strong declension was based on a combination of the nominal /a/ and /ō/ stems with the PIE pronominal endings; the weak declension was based on the nominal /n/ declension.


title: Proto-Germanic language

text: Proto-Germanic originally had two demonstratives (proximal *"hi-"/"hei-"/"he-" 'this', distal *"sa"/"sō"/"þat" 'that') which could serve as both adjectives and pronouns. The proximal was already obsolescent in Gothic (e.g. Goth acc. ', dat. ', neut. ') and appears entirely absent in North Germanic. In the West Germanic languages, it evolved into a third-person pronoun, displacing the inherited "*iz" in the northern languages while being ousted itself in the southern languages (i.e. Old High German). This is the basis of the distinction between English "him"/"her" (with "h-" from the original proximal demonstrative) and German '/"" (lacking "h-").


title: Proto-Germanic language

text: Ultimately, only the distal survived in the function of demonstrative. In most languages, it developed a second role as definite article, and underlies both the English determiners "the" and "that". In the North-West Germanic languages (but not in Gothic), a new proximal demonstrative ('this' as opposed to 'that') evolved by appending "-si" to the distal demonstrative (e.g. Runic Norse nom.sg. "sa-si", gen. "þes-si", dat. "þeim-si"), with complex subsequent developments in the various daughter languages. The new demonstrative underlies the English determiners "this", "these" and "those". (Originally, "these", "those" were dialectal variants of the masculine plural of "this".)


title: Proto-Germanic language

text: Proto-Germanic had only two tenses (past and present), compared to 5–7 in Greek, Latin, Proto-Slavic and Sanskrit. Some of this difference is due to deflexion, featured by a loss of tenses present in Proto-Indo-European. For example, Donald Ringe assumes for Proto-Germanic an early loss of the PIE imperfect aspect (something that also occurred in most other branches), followed by merging of the aspectual categories present-aorist and the mood categories indicative-subjunctive. (This assumption allows him to account for cases where Proto-Germanic has present indicative verb forms that look like PIE aorist subjunctives.)


title: Proto-Germanic language

text: However, many of the tenses of the other languages (e.g. future, future perfect, pluperfect, Latin imperfect) are not cognate with each other and represent separate innovations in each language. For example, the Greek future uses a "-s-" ending, apparently derived from a desiderative construction that in PIE was part of the system of derivational morphology (not the inflectional system); the Sanskrit future uses a "-sy-" ending, from a different desiderative verb construction and often with a different ablaut grade from Greek; while the Latin future uses endings derived either from the PIE subjunctive or from the PIE verb * "to be". Similarly, the Latin imperfect and pluperfect stem from Italic innovations and are not cognate with the corresponding Greek or Sanskrit forms; and while the Greek and Sanskrit pluperfect tenses appear cognate, there are no parallels in any other Indo-European languages, leading to the conclusion that this tense is either a shared Greek-Sanskrit innovation or separate, coincidental developments in the two languages. In this respect, Proto-Germanic can be said to be characterized by the failure to innovate new synthetic tenses as much as the loss of existing tenses. Later Germanic languages did innovate new tenses, derived through periphrastic constructions, with Modern English likely possessing the most elaborated tense system ("Yes, the house will still be being built a month from now"). On the other hand, even the past tense was later lost (or widely lost) in most High German dialects as well as in Afrikaans.


title: Proto-Germanic language

text: Verbs in Proto-Germanic were divided into two main groups, called "strong" and "weak", according to the way the past tense is formed. Strong verbs use ablaut (i.e. a different vowel in the stem) and/or reduplication (derived primarily from the Proto-Indo-European perfect), while weak verbs use a dental suffix (now generally held to be a reflex of the reduplicated imperfect of PIE *"dʰeH-" originally "put", in Germanic "do"). Strong verbs were divided into seven main classes while weak verbs were divided into five main classes (although no attested language has more than four classes of weak verbs). Strong verbs generally have no suffix in the present tense, although some have a "-j-" suffix that is a direct continuation of the PIE "-y-" suffix, and a few have an "-n-" suffix or infix that continues the "-n-" infix of PIE. Almost all weak verbs have a present-tense suffix, which varies from class to class. An additional small, but very important, group of verbs formed their present tense from the PIE perfect (and their past tense like weak verbs); for this reason, they are known as preterite-present verbs. All three of the previously mentioned groups of verbs—strong, weak and preterite-present—are derived from PIE thematic verbs; an additional very small group derives from PIE athematic verbs, and one verb "*wiljaną" "to want" forms its present indicative from the PIE optative mood.


title: Proto-Germanic language

text: Proto-Germanic verbs have three moods: indicative, subjunctive and imperative. The subjunctive mood derives from the PIE optative mood. Indicative and subjunctive moods are fully conjugated throughout the present and past, while the imperative mood existed only in the present tense and lacked first-person forms. Proto-Germanic verbs have two voices, active and passive, the latter deriving from the PIE mediopassive voice. The Proto-Germanic passive existed only in the present tense (an inherited feature, as the PIE perfect had no mediopassive). On the evidence of Gothic—the only Germanic language with a reflex of the Proto-Germanic passive—the passive voice had a significantly reduced inflectional system, with a single form used for all persons of the dual and plural. Note that although Old Norse (like modern Faroese and Icelandic) has an inflected mediopassive, it is not inherited from Proto-Germanic, but is an innovation formed by attaching the reflexive pronoun to the active voice.


title: Proto-Germanic language

text: Although most Proto-Germanic strong verbs are formed directly from a verbal root, weak verbs are generally derived from an existing noun, verb or adjective (so-called denominal, deverbal and deadjectival verbs). For example, a significant subclass of Class I weak verbs are (deverbal) causative verbs. These are formed in a way that reflects a direct inheritance from the PIE causative class of verbs. PIE causatives were formed by adding an accented suffix "-éi̯e/éi̯o" to the "o"-grade of a non-derived verb. In Proto-Germanic, causatives are formed by adding a suffix "-j/ij-" (the reflex of PIE "-éi̯e/éi̯o") to the past-tense ablaut (mostly with the reflex of PIE "o"-grade) of a strong verb (the reflex of PIE non-derived verbs), with Verner's Law voicing applied (the reflex of the PIE accent on the "-éi̯e/éi̯o" suffix). Examples:


title: Proto-Germanic language

text: As in other Indo-European languages, a verb in Proto-Germanic could have a preverb attached to it, modifying its meaning (cf. e.g. "*fra-werþaną" "to perish", derived from "*werþaną" "to become"). In Proto-Germanic, the preverb was still a clitic that could be separated from the verb (as also in Gothic, as shown by the behavior of second-position clitics, e.g. "diz-uh-þan-sat" "and then he seized", with clitics "uh" "and" and "þan" "then" interpolated into "dis-sat" "he seized") rather than a bound morpheme that is permanently attached to the verb. At least in Gothic, preverbs could also be stacked one on top of the other (similar to Sanskrit, different from Latin), e.g. "ga-ga-waírþjan" "to reconcile".


title: Proto-Germanic language

text: August Schleicher wrote a fable in the PIE language he had just reconstructed, which, though it has been updated a few times by others, still bears his name. Below is a rendering of this fable into Proto-Germanic.


title: Proto-Germanic language

text: The first is a direct phonetic evolution of the PIE text. It does not take into account various idiomatic and grammatical shifts that occurred over the period. For example, the original text uses the imperfect tense, which disappeared in Proto-Germanic. The second version takes these differences into account, and is therefore closer to the language the Germanic people would have actually spoken.


title: Proto-Germanic language

text: Reconstructed "Proto-Germanic", with more probable grammar and vocabulary derived from later Germanic languages


title: The Mighty Ducks (film)

text: The Mighty Ducks (also known as D1: The Mighty Ducks and in the UK as Champions) is a 1992 American sports comedy-drama film about a youth league hockey team, directed by Stephen Herek and starring Emilio Estevez. It was produced by The Kerner Entertainment Company and Avnet–Kerner Productions and distributed by Walt Disney Pictures. It is the first film in "The Mighty Ducks" film series. In some countries, the home release copies were printed with the title as "The Mighty Ducks Are the Champions" to avoid confusion with the title of .


title: The Mighty Ducks (film)

text: The year after the film's release, Disney founded an NHL hockey team, named the "Mighty Ducks of Anaheim" after the film.


title: The Mighty Ducks (film)

text: Gordon Bombay (Emilio Estevez) is an arrogant but successful Minneapolis defense attorney. After his 30th successful case, he celebrates by going out drinking, but is arrested for drunk driving and sentenced to 500 hours of community service by coaching the local "District 5" Pee-Wee hockey team. Bombay has an unpleasant history with the sport: as a youth in 1973, he was the Hawks’ star player but, struggling with the loss of his father, he missed a penalty shot in the championship game, disappointing his hyper-competitive coach, Jack Reilly (Lane Smith). The Hawks went on to lose in overtime, becoming one of their only championship defeats.


title: The Mighty Ducks (film)

text: Bombay meets the District 5 team, and realizes the children have no practice facility, equipment, or ability. Their first game with Bombay at the helm is against the Hawks. Reilly is still the Hawks' head coach and, despite a nearly unbroken championship streak, remains bitter about Gordon's missed penalty shot. District 5 is soundly defeated as Reilly demands the Hawks run up the score. Bombay berates the team for not listening to him, and the players challenge his authority. For the next match, Bombay tries to teach his team how to dive and draw penalties, which results in another loss – this time to the Jets – angering the team further. Specifically one player Charlie Conway (Joshua Jackson), who refused to fake an injury like Bombay instructed him to. Bombay visits his old mentor Hans (Joss Ackland), who owns a nearby sporting goods store and was in attendance at the game against the Hawks. While there, Bombay recalls that he quit playing hockey after losing his father four months before the championship game, and because Reilly blamed him for the loss due to the missed penalty shot. Hans encourages him to rekindle his childhood passion for the sport by skating in a frozen pond like he did when he was a kid. Realizing the error of his ways, he apologizes to Charlie and his mother at their home.


title: The Mighty Ducks (film)

text: Bombay approaches his boss, Gerald Ducksworth (Josef Sommer), to sponsor the team, allowing them to purchase professional-grade equipment as opposed to the makeshift "tape-to-your-shins" they had, and give Bombay time to teach the players fundamentals. Renamed the Ducks – after Ducksworth – the team fights its next game against the Cardinals to a tie. They recruit three new players: Figure skating siblings Tommy (Danny Tamberelli) and Tammy Duncan (Jane Plank), and slap shot specialist and enforcer Fulton Reed (Elden Henson). The potential of Charlie catches Bombay's eye; he takes Charlie under his wing and teaches him some of the tactics he used playing with the Hawks.


title: The Mighty Ducks (film)

text: Bombay learns that, due to redistricting, the Hawks’ star player Adam Banks (Vincent LaRusso) lives in District Five and should be playing for the Ducks, and threatens Reilly into transferring Banks to the Ducks. After overhearing an out-of-context quote about the team, most of the players walk out (except Charlie and Fulton who form a strong friendship), resulting in a loss on forfeit to the Flames. The Ducks lose faith in Bombay and revert to their old habits except Charlie and Fulton.


title: The Mighty Ducks (film)

text: Ducksworth makes a deal with Reilly for the Hawks to keep Banks, which Bombay, although initially tempted, refuses on the principles of fair play, which Ducksworth berated him about when he started his community service. Left with the choice of letting his team down or being fired from his job, he takes the latter.


title: The Mighty Ducks (film)

text: Bombay manages to regain his players’ trust after they win a crucial match against the Huskies in order to qualify for the playoffs, and Banks – who decided to play with the Ducks rather than not play hockey at all – proves to be an asset though Jesse doesn’t trust him. The Ducks march through the playoffs with wins against the Hornets and the Cardinals, reaching the championship game against the Hawks. Reilly orders his team to injure Banks to force him out of the game; in spite of this, the Ducks manage to tie late in the final period, and Charlie is tripped by a Hawks player as time expires. In precisely the same situation Bombay faced in his youth, Charlie prepares for a game-deciding penalty shot. In stark contrast to Reilly – who told Bombay that if he missed, he was letting everyone down – Bombay tells Charlie to take his best shot and that he will believe in him no matter what. Inspired, Charlie fakes out the goalie with a "triple-deke" Bombay taught him and scores, winning the state championship.


title: The Mighty Ducks (film)

text: The Ducks players and their families race onto the ice in jubilation, where Bombay thanks Hans for his belief in him and Hans tells Bombay he is proud of him; as Gordon is handed and raises the championship trophy, the team all rally around him and chant "Ducks!" repeatedly in triumphant unison. Some days later, Bombay boards a bus to a minor-league tryout, secured for him by the NHL's Basil McRae of the Minnesota North Stars, who played Pee-Wee hockey with him as a youth. Although daunted at the prospect of going up against younger players, he receives the same words of encouragement and advice from the Ducks he had given them, promising to return next season to defend their title.


title: The Mighty Ducks (film)

text: The film was written by Steve Brill, who later sued for royalties for the film. Jake Gyllenhaal turned down the role of Charlie Conway. Emilio Estevez was cast in 1991, after Herek was impressed by his performances in Brat Pack films, "The Outsiders" (1983), "The Breakfast Club" (1985) and "St. Elmo's Fire" (1985).


title: The Mighty Ducks (film)

text: The film grossed $50,752,337 in the United States and Canada, becoming a surprising success with audiences, which in turn inspired two sequels and an (the latter taking on a science fiction angle with actual anthropomorphic ducks). While neither sequel's box-office total matched that of the first movie, they were still financially successful. "The Mighty Ducks" made $54 million in home video rentals according to Video Week magazine in 1992.


title: The Mighty Ducks (film)

text: "The Mighty Ducks" received generally lukewarm reviews from critics. It holds a 23% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 30 reviews, with an average rating of 4/10. The site's consensus reads, ""The Mighty Ducks" has feel-good goals, but only scores a penalty shot for predictability". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale.


title: The Mighty Ducks (film)

text: Roger Ebert said the film was "sweet and innocent, and that at a certain level it might appeal to younger kids. I doubt if its ambitions reach much beyond that", and gave it a 2-star rating. Rita Kempley of "The Washington Post" described the film as 'Steven Brill, who has a small role in the film, constructed the screenplay much as one would put together some of those particleboard bookcases from Ikea.'


title: The Mighty Ducks (film)

text: The film was released on VHS on April 14, 1993, DVD on April 11, 2000, and on Blu-ray Disc on May 23, 2017.


title: Barbara Mandrell

text: Barbara Ann Mandrell (born December 25, 1948) is an American country music singer and musician. She is also credited as an actress and author. During the late 1970s and early 1980s, she was considered among country's most successful music artists. She had six number one singles and 25 top ten singles reach the "Billboard" country songs chart. She also hosted her own prime–time television show in the early 1980s that featured music, dance numbers and comedy sketches. Mandrell also played a variety of musical instruments during her career that helped earn her a series of major–industry awards.


title: Barbara Mandrell

text: Mandrell was born in Texas and raised mostly in California. Raised by a musical family, she played an assortment of instruments by the time she reached her teenage years. Her skills on the steel guitar were noticed by country music entertainers, who gave Mandrell her first performance opportunities at age 13. During this period she became a regular on the television program "Town Hall Party" and performed as a musician in shows featuring Johnny Cash and Patsy Cline. Her family formed a band in her late teens which traveled overseas and entertained military bases. After marrying in 1967, Mandrell nearly ended her performing but ultimately decided to pursue a singing career instead. In 1969, she signed her first recording contract as a singer with Columbia Records.


title: Barbara Mandrell

text: In the early 1970s, Mandrell recorded a number of singles that combined country influences with R&B–soul. Her singles made the country charts with regularity. Her most successful of this period were "Tonight My Baby's Coming Home" (1971) and "The Midnight Oil" (1973). In 1975, she moved to ABC–Dot records and reached her commercial breakthrough with country–pop singles like "Sleeping Single in a Double Bed" (1978), "(If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don't Want to Be Right" (1979), "I Was Country When Country Wasn't Cool" (1981) and "One of a Kind Pair of Fools" (1983). She became a headlining concert attraction and won several major–industry awards including the Entertainer of the Year accolade from the Country Music Association.


title: Barbara Mandrell

text: After a 1984 car crash, Mandrell nearly ended her career. In 1985 she returned to recording and had several more top ten country singles during the decade including "Fast Lanes and Country Roads" (1985), "No One Mends a Broken Heart Like You" (1986), and "I Wish I Could Fall in Love Today" (1988). She resumed performing, appearing live in concert and acting on television. Mandrell appeared in several television films and shows during the late 1980s and 1990s like "Burning Rage" and "Empty Nest". She continued recording into the 1990s, releasing several albums for the Capitol label including "No Nonsense" (1991). In 1997, Mandrell announced her retirement from performing and recording. She continued an acting career until 2000. In 2009, she was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame for her work in the industry.


title: Barbara Mandrell

text: Mandrell was born in Houston, Texas. She was the eldest daughter born to parents Mary Ellen and Irby Mandrell. The family later moved to Corpus Christi, Texas, where her father was a police officer and her mother was a music teacher. Mandrell's two sisters, Irlene and Louise, were born in the city. While in Corpus Christi, Mandrell got acquainted with music. She sang and played music regularly at home. She also recalled having a natural ear for hearing music. "I remember once I was at my cousins’ home in Falfurrias. We were playing outside—and I’m talking this is when I’m a little girl—and we were singing, of all things, 'I’ve Been Working on the Railroad.' All of a sudden I started to hear harmony. I began to sing it, and I just thought, 'This is the neatest thing in the world,'" she told "Texas Monthly".


title: Barbara Mandrell

text: In her early childhood, she began performing publicly. Her first recollection of performing in front people was at her family's church singing a rendition of the "Gospel Boogie". In addition to singing, Mandrell also learned several instruments as a small child. Mary Ellen Mandrell taught her daughter how to play the accordion and read music before she entering first grade. When she was six years old, the family moved to Oceanside, California. Irby Mandrell opened his own music store. In her elementary school years, she learned to play saxophone while a part of the school band. During the same period, she started taking lessons on the steel guitar from her father's friend Norman Hamlet. After a year of practice on the instrument, Irby Mandrell took his daughter to a music trade show in Chicago, Illinois. At the program, she performed on the steel guitar. She was heard by country performer Joe Maphis who would help launch Mandrell's early career as a musician.


title: Barbara Mandrell

text: In 1960, Joe Maphis brought eleven-year-old Mandrell onto his country music show in Las Vegas, Nevada. As part of Maphis's act, she performed the steel guitar. Maphis also helped her secure a regular spot on the country music California television program "Town Hall Party". Feeling as if she was the only female musician, Mandrell discovered on "Town Hall Party" that other female instrumentalists also existed: "Men dominated the world of country music, but I looked around and discovered there were more women than you might have thought." On summers off from school, Mandrell routinely went back to Las Vegas to perform. In 1962, she toured country music shows with artists Johnny Cash and Patsy Cline. During the tour, 13-year old Mandrell shared hotel rooms with Cline since she was underage. She also performed steel guitar for Red Foley, Little Jimmy Dickens and Tex Ritter.


title: Barbara Mandrell

text: When she turned 14, her parents formed the Mandrell Family Band with Barbara on steel guitar, mother Mary Ellen on piano, and father Irby on lead vocals. They also hired two outside musicians including drummer Ken Dudney, whom Mandrell would later marry in 1967. The Mandrell Family Band mostly played military bases around the United States and performed a variety of music including songs by The Beatles. While in the band, Mandrell also learned how to play banjo and bass guitar. Mandrell also engaged in other activities during her teenage years. In 1965, she was voted "Miss Oceanside California". She participated in the marching band, chorus and student council. She eventually graduated from high school in 1967.


title: Barbara Mandrell

text: Shortly after high school graduation, Mandrell married Ken Dudney and chose to retire from performing to become a full-time housewife. Her last performance trip was to Vietnam where the Mandrell Family Band entertained the troops fighting in the Vietnam War. Upon returning, Mandrell found out that her husband had been sent temporarily overseas for his Navy pilot career. Feeling alone, Mandrell visited with her parents who had just moved to Nashville, Tennessee. There, the family attended a performance at the "Grand Ole Opry". While watching the show that evening, Mandrell realized that she still wanted to perform. "I wasn't cut out to be in the audience," she recalled in 2003. With father Irby acting as her manager she got the chance to play steel guitar on a show located in the Printer's Alley section of Nashville. In addition to the steel guitar, Mandrell also sang on several selections in the show. Her skills as both a singer and musician caught the attention of six different record companies who offered her a recording contract. This included country music producer Billy Sherrill, who was watching the performance. In 1969, Mandrell signed with Sherill's label Columbia Records as a recording artist.


title: Barbara Mandrell

text: Mandrell started her singing career by cutting covers of R&B–soul selections. Her first Columbia single made America's "Billboard" country songs chart in 1969 called "I've Been Loving You Too Long (To Stop Now)". It was a cover of the Otis Redding original. It was followed by the Billy Sherrill-penned "Playin' Around with Love" (1970). It became her first song to reach the top 20, peaking at number 18 on the "Billboard" country chart. Her next singles were covers of Aretha Franklin's "Do Right Woman, Do Right Man" and Roy Head's "Treat Him Right". In 1971, Mandrell's debut studio album was released through Columbia, also titled "Treat Him Right". The disc included her charting singles between 1969 and 1971, along with covers of songs by Ivory Joe Hunter, Joe South and others. Her early success garnered Mandrell the Top New Female Vocalist award from the Academy of Country Music in 1970 and a membership to the "Grand Ole Opry" in 1972.


title: Barbara Mandrell

text: In 1971, Mandrell's single "Tonight My Baby's Coming Home" was her first to peak in the top ten of the "Billboard" country songs chart. It was followed in 1972 by a cover of Joe Tex's "Show Me", which made the top 20 on the same chart. At the same time, Mandrell started recording with country singer David Houston. Several of their recordings were released as singles and made the country charts in the United States and Canada. Their first single "After Closing Time" reached number six on the "Billboard" country survey and number four on Canada's "RPM" Country songs list. Their duets made the charts several more times between 1970 and 1974, including "I Love You, I Love You" (1973), which climbed into the "Billboard" top ten as well. Their recordings were released on a studio album titled "A Perfect Match".


title: Barbara Mandrell

text: Critics and writers took notice of Mandrell's fusion of country music with R&B and soul. Author Kurt Wolff of "Country Music: The Rough Guide" described her early chart records as "colorful, spirited country soul". Wolff further explained, "The songs weren't exactly all roots and downhome twang, but they were certainly closer to the ground (and the soul) than any of her later, more suburban material." Mary A. Bufwack and Robert K. Oermann highlighted Mandrell's country–soul mix in their 2003 book: "[Mandrell's delivery] gives her vocals a hoarse, urgent quality that she put to good use on 'blue-eyed soul' versions of R&B songs," they noted.


title: Barbara Mandrell

text: In reviewing a Columbia compilation, AllMusic's Greg Adams stated that her early work was "some of the best recordings [Barbara Mandrell] ever made." Some critics found that Mandrell's Columbia material lacked individuality and at times seemed closer resemble that of other Columbia artists. "Sometimes, it seems as if Sherrill isn't quite sure what to do with Mandrell. He keeps her away from anything that could be construed as a good fit for Tammy Wynette, and when the country does turn toward the straight-ahead, it's still soft; Merle Haggard's 'Today I Started Loving You Again' doesn't carry resignation in Barbara's hands, only reassurance," Stephen Thomas Erlewine commented on one of her early LP's.


title: Barbara Mandrell

text: In 1973, Columbia issued what was considered Mandrell's breakthrough record, called "The Midnight Oil". The song told the story of a wife having an affair and lying to her husband about the situation. The single became her second solo top ten hit, reaching number seven on the "Billboard" country chart and number five on the "RPM" country chart. Its corresponding studio album of the same name reached the number eight position on the "Billboard" country LP's chart. In 1974, she reached the top 20 on the country chart with "This Time I Almost Made It", which followed a similar country–soul style as her previous material. Mandrell later reflected to "Biography" about the lack of confidence she felt showcased her Columbia material: "There have been many times when I thought other people might be better singers or better musicians or prettier than me, but then I would hear Daddy's voice telling me to never say never, and I would find a way to squeeze an extra inch or two out of what God had given me." In 1975, she left Columbia's roster.


title: Barbara Mandrell

text: In 1975, Mandrell signed a recording contract with ABC–Dot (it was later bought by MCA Records). With producer Tom Collins, Mandrell incorporated a pop production that broadened her appeal with listeners. Her first ABC–Dot single was 1975's "Standing Room", which was her first top five "Billboard" country song. It was followed by the top 20 songs "That's What Friends Are For" and "Midnight Angel". Collins also incorporated R&B elements into her repertoire, which further elevated her commercial success. Her R&B covers of Denise LaSalle's "Married But Not to Each Other" and Shirley Brown's "Woman to Woman" made the American and Canadian country song top five in 1977. "Woman to Woman" was also her first enter the "Billboard" Hot 100. These recordings appeared on her sixth and seventh studio albums, which were also issued in 1977.


title: Barbara Mandrell

text: Mandrell reached her commercial zenith in the late 1970s with songs about infidelity and cheating. In 1978, "Sleeping Single in a Double Bed" was her first single to reach the number one spot on the "Billboard" and "RPM" country charts. It was followed in 1979 by a cover of Luther Ingram's R&B hit "(If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don't Want to Be Right". It also topped the North American country charts and crossed over into the top 40 of the "Billboard" Hot 100 and Canadian pop songs chart. On "Billboard"'s adult contemporary survey, the single reached the top ten. Both tracks appeared on Mandrell's top ten "Billboard" country album "Moods" (1978). Her 1979 album "Just for the Record" was also a top ten "Billboard" LP. "Just for the Record" spawned the country–pop crossover singles "Fooled by a Feeling" and "Years".


title: Barbara Mandrell

text: Now at her career peak, Mandrell became a headlining concert act. Her concert productions included choreography, costume changes and featured Mandrell on multiple musical instruments. One of her headlining performances was turned into a cable television special called "The Lady Is a Champ". She also appeared on national television programs and won the Country Music Association's 1979 Female Vocalist of the Year accolade. Between 1980 and 1982, she and her siblings co-hosted the NBC television series "Barbara Mandrell & the Mandrell Sisters". It helped Mandrell become the first performer to win back–to–back Entertainer of the Year awards from the Country Music Association in both 1980 and 1981. Mandrell's recordings continued having commercial success too. She had top ten country singles with 1980's "Crackers" and "The Best of Strangers". In 1982, MCA issued her first live album, which charted the "Billboard" country albums top five and certified gold in sales from the United States. The disc included a track about staying close to country roots called "I Was Country When Country Wasn't Cool". Released as a single, it was her fourth number one song on the "Billboard" country chart.


title: Barbara Mandrell

text: Mandrell's commercial momentum continued through the early 1980s. Her twelfth studio album "...In Black & White" reached number seven on the country albums list. It was followed by her fourteenth studio record "Spun Gold" (1983), which climbed to number five on the same list. Both discs spawned the number one singles "'Till You're Gone" and "One of a Kind Pair of Fools". Also included were the top ten recordings "Operator, Long Distance Please" and "In Times Like These". Mandrell's 1984 album was also a top ten "Billboard" disc and featured the top five singles "Only a Lonely Heart Knows" and "Happy Birthday Dear Heartache". Mandrell's popularity allowed her to record an album of gospel music in 1982 titled "He Set My Life to Music". The project brought Mandrell her first Grammy awards. She also collaborated on several duets with Lee Greenwood in 1984. The duets were issued on their 1984 studio album "Meant for Each Other", which featured the top five country single "To Me".


title: Barbara Mandrell

text: Despite her popularity and commercial appeal, Mandrell's early–1980s music received mixed reviews. Writer Kurt Wolff found that her 1980s recordings exemplified "a weak attempt to maintain her roots" featuring "garnish productions" that went "head-first into schmaltz". In reviewing her 1983 album, critic Greg Adams commented, ""Spun Gold" contains some bizarre collisions of country music's traditional working-class perspective with disco-era glitz." Meanwhile, writers Mary A. Bufwack and Robert K. Oermann described her early 1980s singles as "powerful heartache songs" whose themes centered around "enduring financial hardship" and "proud-to-be country anthem[s]".


title: Barbara Mandrell

text: In late 1984, Mandrell and her children were involved in a car crash that halted her career for a year. The crash made Mandrell reconsider her professional choices altogether. "I never thought I would ever sing again or be Barbara Mandrell again, or any of that," she later told CNN. She eventually returned to the recording studio in May 1985, which resulted in the 1985 top ten country single "There's No Love in Tennessee". It appeared on Mandrell's "Greatest Hits" compilation, which was also issued in 1985. She returned to the stage for the first time in 1986 at the Los Angeles Universal Amphitheatre, with Dolly Parton serving as her opening act. Her next studio album "Get to the Heart" (1985) spawned the top ten "Billboard" songs "Fast Lanes and Country Roads" and "Angel in Your Arms". Her final album for MCA appeared in 1986 titled "Moments". It spawned the top ten country song "No One Mends a Broken Heart Like You".


title: Barbara Mandrell

text: In 1987, Mandrell signed a new recording contract with EMI America. Her first album with the label was the studio offering "Sure Feels Good" (1987). The disc reached number 24 on the "Billboard" country albums survey. United Press International positively commented that, "Mandrell should be proud of this effort which should put her back on top of the charts." Yet, of its three singles only "Child Support" reached the top 20 of the North American country charts. Mandrell's future singles and albums reached progressively–lower chart positions as a new group of traditionally–oriented country artists began having more commercial success. Yet, Mandrell continued touring and remained a popular concert attraction through the 1980s and 1990s.


title: Barbara Mandrell

text: Mandrell signed with Capitol Records in late 1987. Her first Capitol single was a cover of Ray Price's "I Wish I Could Fall in Love Today", which reached the top five of the American and Canadian singles charts. It was included on her nineteenth studio disc "I'll Be Your Jukebox Tonight" (1988). The project featured a traditional country sound and included production credits for the first time from Fred Foster. It also spawned the top 20 single "My Train of Thought" (1989) and the charting song "Mirror, Mirror". Both songs were her final singles to chart in the United States. Mandrell remained with Capitol until 1991. Her next two Capitol discs were both issued in 1990: "Morning Sun" and "No Nonsense" (distributed through Liberty). For the latter album, Mandrell signed a commercial deal with the No Nonsense panty hose brand. Her final Capitol–Liberty project was issued in 1991 called "Key's in the Mailbox". Mandrell's Capitol recordings found positive reviews from critics. Mary. A Bufwack and Robert K. Oermann found the songs to showcase "strong female lyrics", while Bill Carpenter said her 1991 album exemplified "Heartful soul and contemporary country."


title: Barbara Mandrell

text: Mandrell continued making live performance appearances on network television. She also remained a popular act on the "Grand Ole Opry", including their televised portion of the program. Mandrell also continued recording and releasing new material. In 1994, the New York label Direct Records released two albums of her music. The studio album projects were marketed exclusively through television and appeared on networks such as TNN. That year, the label issued "Acoustic Attitude", which was an album of re-recordings. The label also issued an album of new material that year titled "It Works for Me". The album was reissued on Razor & Tie in 1997, which Mandrell temporarily signed a contract with that year.


title: Barbara Mandrell

text: Also in 1997, Mandrell announced her retirement from touring, recording and performing. In an interview with "Billboard", Mandrell explained that she chose to retire so she could focus on an full–time acting career. She gave her final musical performance in October 1997 at the Grand Ole Opry house. Her final concert was aired on network television. Titled "Barbara Mandrell and the Do-Rites: The Last Dance", premiered on TNN in late 1997. After her retirement, Mandrell sold all of her musical instruments. She now spends time on her family and domestic responsibilities.


title: Barbara Mandrell

text: Mandrell began gaining regular exposure on national television programs. Her television credits from this period included appearances on "The Tonight Show", "American Bandstand" and Bob Hope entertainment specials. Among the highlights was an appearance on a 1979 episode of "The Rockford Files" and co-hosting the 1979 Academy of Country Music Awards. In late 1979 she played herself in the holiday program "Skinflint: A Christmas Carol" alongside several other country artists of the era. The special was a southern American take on the original story of the same name. Fred Guida gave the program a negative review in his book "A Christmas Carol and Its Adaptations": "Unfortunately, "Skinflint" fails to live up to its interesting premise, and the result is one of the lamest "Carol" variations to date."


title: Barbara Mandrell

text: Mandrell was given multiple offers from the NBC network to host her own syndicated show. However, she routinely turned it down. One day, NBC producer Marty Krofft was shown a wallet-sized photograph of Mandrell and her sisters playing different musical instruments. This prompted Krofft to contact Mandrell about offering her a program that she could co–host with her sisters. From his encouragement, she eventually agreed to host a show on his network. In 1980, she was signed by NBC to host a national television variety series. Titled "Barbara Mandrell & the Mandrell Sisters", the show was hosted by Mandrell along with her two sisters Irlene and Louise.


title: Barbara Mandrell

text: Mandrell learned choreography for the show and was routinely featured playing multiple musical instruments. In addition, the Mandrell sisters performed a series of comedy sketches. In their book "The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows", authors Tim Brooks and Earle F. Marsh noted that Barbara often portrayed the "serious, pushy sister" while Irlene was portrayed as the "sexy, vain one". Mandrell often had to push back against NBC executives who insisted that the show feature hay barrels and other features of traditional country-western shows. "They expect you to be barefoot and ignorant," Mandrell commented in 2003. During its peak, it was estimated that the show attracted roughly 40 million viewers per week. For her work, Mandrell was nominated for Best Actress in a Television Musical or Comedy Series by the Golden Globe Awards.


title: Barbara Mandrell

text: Despite the NBC show's success, the constant workload (along with a focus on her music career) caused Mandrell to suffer from burnout. She often had to take extra naps on her tour bus parked next to the television studio. She also had to take Cortisone shots before show tapings so that her vocal chords had less strain. She was urged to quit the show by physicians who warned that she would ultimately suffer from permanent vocal damage. In 1982, Mandrell announced the program would end after a two-year run on NBC. "I'm the only person that I know of that has ever left a television series with a five year contract," she later commented.


title: Barbara Mandrell

text: Mandrell continued acting following her show's cancellation. In 1984, Mandrell debuted in her first television film titled "Burning Rage". Mandrell played the main role of a geologist who investigates coal mining fires underneath a town in Tennessee. Joe Brown of "The Washington Post" called the film, "an overheated title for what amounts to a lukewarm drama about a natural phenomenon and its effect on a small town." He concluded by commenting on Mandrell's acting performance: "As an actress, Mandrell is likable and natural, but she has little to do here but walk around looking concerned when she's not getting into tepid clinches with [Tom] Wopat". Following her 1984 car crash, a television special of Mandrell's was aired on CBS titled "Barbara Mandrell–Something Special".


title: Barbara Mandrell

text: She also made appearances on talk shows and network programs during the late 1980s and early 1990s. She also was featured in several television commercials for food products. In the early 1990s, she portrayed a character on the television show "Empty Nest". In 1994, Mandrell played a guest role in an episode of ABC's "The Commish". "The Baltimore Sun" described her as playing "a less sympathetic role than usual" in their description of the episode.


title: Barbara Mandrell

text: During the mid 1990s, Mandrell also played roles on the shows "Touched by an Angel", "Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman" and "Baywatch". In 1997, Mandrell gave up her music career to focus on acting full-time. She signed with the Creative Artists Agency, which helped her acquire more television roles. She appeared as a recurring character in the soap opera "Sunset Beach". In 1999, Mandrell played the mother of a deceased son who finds conflict with his "controlling girlfriend". Titled "The Wrong Girl", the television filmed aired on NBC that year. Among Mandrell's final acting credits was 2000's made for television film "Stolen from the Heart".


title: Barbara Mandrell

text: In addition to singing, Mandrell is also known for playing multiple instruments. In her teenage years, she was nicknamed "The Princess of Steel" for become a skillful steel guitar player. In a 2006 interview with CMT, Mandrell explained that she is "proficient" on the steel guitar, alto saxophone, dobro, five-string banjo, and bass. She also said that she can play the guitar and mandolin "if necessary". PBS described Mandrell as "a true prodigy" in reference to her musicianship. "News & Record" found that Mandrell's musicianship can also be found in her live shows: "Those hours are packed with aerobics, as Mandrell dances and prances across the stage, playing several musical instruments and clowning with her Do-Rites band." In reviewing a concert, "The Morning Call" explained, "No Mandrell show would be complete without a demonstration of the singer's musical virtuosity. Playing a mean saxophone and banjo during the course of the evening, Mandrell proved herself to be a talented musician."


title: Barbara Mandrell

text: Mandrell's musical style embeds country music with country–pop, R&B–soul, and gospel. Jason Ankeny of AllMusic found that the most popular era of her career (late 1970s and early 1980s) had a "glitzier, more pop-influenced" sound. Kurt Wolff highlighted a similar theme in his book "Country Music: The Rough Guide": "[Tom] Collins churned out frightfully slick and garnish productions, but Mandrell thrived in her new environment." Hunter Kelly of "Rolling Stone" explained that when Mandrell began incorporating R&B sounds into her style that her career "really kicked into overdrive". Mandrell further explained her reasoning behind incorporating R&B: "To me, country music and R&B music have a lot of similarities, but the one thing that I think is the most important is both genres, just straight ahead, they’re telling you. They’re not making up a story just because it rhymes nicely."


title: Barbara Mandrell

text: Writers found that Mandrell had her greatest commercial success with songs that incorporated subjects of cheating. Mary A. Bufwack and Robert K. Oermann found this to be especially evident after she transitioned to her second record label: "Barbara continued to smolder in sin after moving to the ABC/MCA Records fold in 1975." Kurt Wolff found a similar theme with cheating material: "The subjects of many of Mandrell's songs were also racy for the time, dealing openly with such topics as lust, sexual loneliness, and late night-night love trysts." Wolff further commented, "What's ironic about her subject matter is that Mandrell herself–a devout Christian, mother and wife– always maintained an impeccably clean, family–oriented profile." "I've recorded a lot of cheating songs, but there were a lot of cheating songs I turned down. It depends on the lyrics...God loves prostitutes too," Mandrell further commented.


title: Barbara Mandrell

text: Mandrell's singing voice has also been the subject of discussion amongst writers and critics. Mary Bufwack and Robert Oermann commented that her habit of smoking cigarettes made her voice stand out: "Barbara is a heavy smoker, and this gives her vocals a hoarse, urgent quality that she put to good use on 'blue-eyed soul' versions of R&B songs," they commented in 2003. In 1982, "The Washington Post" highlighted Mandrell's singing in a review of her concert performance: "At other times the gritty edges of her husky voice crackled with R&B flourishes and gospel fervor. It was an impressive display." In 1984, "The Oklahoman" commented on her live singing as well: "She can perform almost anything short of grand opera in fact, if she took a mind to, she probably could do that too (after all, Linda Ronstadt did!)."


title: Barbara Mandrell

text: Mandrell has been widely considered among country music's most successful artists and all–around entertainers. "Perhaps the toughest soldier in the female army that invaded the country charts in the 1970s, Barbara could outwork, outperform, out-talk, and out-smile virtually anyone in show business," wrote Mary A. Bufwack and Robert K. Oermann. Jason Ankeny of AllMusic commented in a similar fashion: "Thanks to a string of hit singles and a popular television variety series, vocalist Barbara Mandrell was arguably the biggest female star in country music in the late '70s and early '80s." Paul Kingsbury, Michael McCall and John Rumble explained that Mandrell, "took her soul–country style to the biggest showrooms of Las Vegas, ruled the country charts during the late 1970s and early 1980s, starred on network TV, and told her story in one of country's best–selling autobiographies".


title: Barbara Mandrell

text: Her influence on future artists has also shaped her legacy. Mandrell has been credited as an influence for Terri Clark, Reba McEntire, and Carly Pearce. McEntire thanked Mandrell in 2009 and spoke about her influence: "I thank you for the things that you’ve taught me, not only musically, but spiritually...And I will always treasure our relationship with all my heart." In 2006, several artists re-recorded several of Mandrell's most popular singles in tribute to her career. The project was titled "She Was Country When Country Wasn't Cool: A Tribute to Barbara Mandrell". It featured of remakes of her songs performed by contemporary country performers such was Kenny Chesney, Sara Evans and LeAnn Rimes.


title: Barbara Mandrell

text: Mandrell has been only one of a few women to win the Country Music Association's Entertainer of the Year award. She was also the first individual to win the accolade in back to back years (1980 and 1981).


title: Barbara Mandrell

text: In 2005, she received the Triple Crown accolade from the Academy of Country Music for winning three major awards from the association. She is only one of several people to have since won the award. In 2009, Mandrell was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. She was inducted that year along with Roy Clark and Charlie McCoy. Her induction was celebrated that year at the Country Music Association Awards where Mandrell gave a speech to thank the industry.


title: Barbara Mandrell

text: Mandrell's legacy was further cemented she released her 1990 autobiography called "" (co-written with writer George Vecsey titled). In 1997, the book was turned into a television movie titled "". She was portrayed in the film by television actress Maureen McCormick. Mandrell briefly made a cameo appearance at the beginning and end of the film.


title: Barbara Mandrell

text: In 2020, American disc jockey and producer Dave Audé partnered with Mandrell to remix her 1978 song "Sleeping Single in a Double Bed". "Rolling Stone" explained that the song was remixed as "the first step in a new effort to bring Barbara Mandrell’s music into the digital age." It was followed by all of Mandrell's LP's being reissued to digital and streaming sites. Her original Columbia, ABC–Dot, MCA, and Capitol albums were all re–released through various digital platforms.


title: Barbara Mandrell

text: In July 2022, Mandrell celebrated 50 years as a member of the Grand Ole Opry. Several Opry members and country artists performed on the stage to honor Mandrell's legacy. Among the artists who performed that night were Suzy Bogguss, Jeannie Seely and Carrie Underwood.


title: Barbara Mandrell

text: Mandrell has been married to former musician and Navy pilot Ken Dudney since 1967. Dudney was originally hired as the drummer for Mandrell's family band. The pair met when she was 14 and he was 21. Dudney was engaged to another woman at the time. However, he broke off the engagement after having feelings for Mandrell. In 2003, Mandrell commented: "I'd dated him since I was 14 and I just couldn't wait to graduate high school so I could be Mrs. Ken Dudney." The pair officially wed in 1967. At the time of their marriage, Dudney gave up his career as a Navy pilot to help further his wife's career. The couple welcomed their first child, Matthew, in 1970, followed by daughter Jaime in 1976. In 1985 Mandrell gave birth to her third child, Nathan.


title: Barbara Mandrell

text: In 1988, Mandrell and her family built a log cabin mansion called the Fontanel Mansion. The home consisted of six bedrooms, 13 bathrooms, two kitchens, five fire places and a helicopter landing pad. It has been considered to be the largest log cabin home in the world. Mandrell sold the home in 2002 in order to downsize. The home was auctioned. It has since been turned into a tourist attraction with a restaurant, a hotel, an outdoor music venue, and an indoor shooting range. Her daughter Jamie was the human resources manager of the mansion until February 2017. She then began a new career with a company that works to place people with addiction issues into appropriate rehabilitation facilities.


title: Barbara Mandrell

text: On September 11, 1984, Mandrell and her two children were involved in a head-on car collision near their Nashville home. The driver of the other car in the crash (19-year-old college student Mark White) was killed instantly. The police report stated that White's car had crossed the center line of the road, causing a head-on collision with Mandrell's Jaguar XJ. Both of Mandrell's children only suffered minor injuries and were released from the hospital shortly following their arrival. Mandrell herself suffered critical injuries from the crash. These injuries included a broken femur, shattered ankle, injured knee and a concussion that left temporary brain damage.


title: Barbara Mandrell

text: Mandrell's injuries from the crash resulted in her suffering from pain throughout her body for months. Much of the physical pain she suffered came from knee injuries. "You can't say she's in terrible pain all the time if the pain she's in is the kind where she`s trying to exceed what that knee will do, trying to make it do its full thing again. Every day she's trying to make it exceed what it did the day before so she can finally get it back to full capacity," said father Irby Mandrell to the "Chicago Tribune".


title: Barbara Mandrell

text: Due to Mandrell's head injuries, she had a temporary shift in personality and experienced memory loss. "I would refer to myself in the third person: 'That was her' or 'She did that' or 'You should have asked her. I can't do that'," she told "The 700 Club". Mandrell's injuries took over a year to fully recover. In an interview with "CMT", she explained that her head injury took about three years to fully recover. She also explained that she still suffers from pain in her ankle. Mandrell credited wearing a seat belt to saving her and her children's lives. She campaigned and filmed television commercials that advocated for the use of seat belts in cars. She also campaigned for arthritis and organ donation. She was also made the honorary chairman of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in 1985.


title: Barbara Mandrell

text: Nearly a year later, Mandrell sued the White family for $10.3 million in damages. According to Tennessee state law, Mandrell was required to sue the family of the driver in order to collect from her own insurance company. Her legal team contacted the White family in an effort to inform them that Mandrell did not want money from them but instead needed to do it for legal purposes. The lawsuit created controversy among Mandrell's fans. "I'm not blaming the public...I would have felt the way they felt," she commented in 1995.


title: Barbara Mandrell

text: Barbara Mandrell has won many awards for her work as an entertainer. This includes six accolades from the Academy of Country Music, four from the Country Music Association and two from the Grammy Awards.


title: Mukherjee-Samarth family

text: The Mukherjee-Samarth family is a Hindu Bengali-Marathi family that has been involved in the Hindi film industry since the 1930s, Shobhana Samarth having first acted in a film in 1935. The Mukherjee family was connected to the Samarth family by Tanuja's marriage to Shomu Mukherjee in 1973.


title: Mukherjee-Samarth family

text: The Mukherjee side of the family is a Bengali Hindu Kulin Brahmin family headed by Sashadhar Mukherjee, described as the founder of Filmalaya studios. Sashadhar was married to Ashok Kumar's sister Satirani Ganguly. Their five sons, Rono Mukherjee, Joy Mukherjee, Deb Mukherjee, Shomu Mukherjee and Shubir Mukherjee followed him into the industry. Rono was the director and composer of a single movie. He is also the father of actress Sharbani Mukherjee. Joy and Deb were both actors. Deb's son is director Ayan Mukerji and daughter Sunita is married to director Ashutosh Gowariker. Shomu became a director and producer. He is the father of actresses Kajol and Tanishaa. Chandana Mukherjee was a scholar of her times. She was the eldest among all the Mukherjee children. She got married into Guha Family, landlords of their times. Shubir is also a producer.


title: Mukherjee-Samarth family

text: Sashadhar's elder brother was Ravindramohan Mukherjee. His son, Ram Mukherjee, was a film director and one of the founders of Filmalaya Studios. He died on 22 October 2017. He had two children with his wife Krishna Mukerji, the actress Rani Mukerji, and Raja Mukerji who is a producer.


title: Mukherjee-Samarth family

text: Sashadhar's younger brother, Subodh Mukherjee, was a director. He died on 21 May 2005. He is survived by his wife Kamala, sons Subhash and Sanjay and daughter Gitanjali.


title: Mukherjee-Samarth family

text: The Samarth family is a Marathi Chandraseniya Kayastha Prabhu (CKP) family. Their legacy in films began with Rattan Bai, an actress who acted in one Marathi film. Her daughter Shobhna Samarth (1916-2000), was an actress and appeared in films such as Ram Rajya (1943 ) as Sita. Later she acted in supporting role in films like Love in Simla (1960), which also featured Joy Mukherjee. Shobhna's husband was the film director Kumarsen Samarth, her cousin, Nalini Jaywant, was also an actress.


title: Mukherjee-Samarth family

text: Shobna's daughters are Chatura, Tanuja and Nutan. Tanuja and Nutan carried on the family tradition. Tanuja was a moderate success, but it was Nutan (1936–1991) who became a huge star. She holds the record for the most Filmfare awards won for Best Actress along with her niece Kajol.


title: Mukherjee-Samarth family

text: Tanuja and Nutan's children have also entered the film industry; they are the fourth generation of Samarths to do so. Nutan's son Mohnish Bahl is an actor. Mohnish's daughter Pranutan Bahl is also an actress; Tanuja and Shomu Mukherjee's daughters Kajol and Tanisha are actresses.


title: Mukherjee-Samarth family

text: Ajay Devgan (born: Vishal Veeru Devgan on 2 April 1969) is Kajol's husband, and also an Indian actor, director, and producer, who has established himself as one of the leading actors of Hindi cinema. Devgan has won numerous awards in his career, including two National Film Awards. He is the son of the late director and action choreographer Veeru Devgan.


title: Mukherjee-Samarth family

text: The daughter of actress Tanuja Samarth and filmmaker Shomu Mukherjee, Kajol is one of the most popular actresses in Hindi cinema. She has won six Filmfare awards among them five for Best Actress and one for Best Villain. She was the first woman to win the Filmfare best villain award. She has numerous blockbusters and hits to her name such as "Baazigar" (1993), "Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge" (1995), "" (1997), "Ishq" (1997), "Pyaar To Hona Hi Tha" (1998), "Kuch Kuch Hota Hai" (1998), "Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham" (2001) and "Fanaa" (2006). Her films with Shah Rukh Khan have been huge hits.


title: Mukherjee-Samarth family

text: Kajol is married to actor Ajay Devgn; the couple has a daughter, Nysa, and a son, Yug. For a few years, she focused on her marriage and motherhood, sidelining films. Her comeback film "Fanaa" (2006) with Aamir Khan was hugely successful as was her 2010 release "My Name is Khan". She has also acted in her husband's directorial debut "U Me Aur Hum" (2008).


title: Mukherjee-Samarth family

text: Her younger sister Tanishaa Mukerji, aunt Nutan, grandmother Shobhna, great-grandmother Rattan Bai and cousins Sharbani, Mohnish and Rani are also actors in Hindi cinema, while another cousin, Ayan, is a director, and grandfather, Kumarsen, was a poet.


title: Mukherjee-Samarth family

text: Rani Mukerji is also one of the most popular actresses in Hindi cinema. Rani is the daughter of filmmaker Ram Mukherjee and playback singer Krishna Mukherjee. Her brother is producer Raja Mukherjee. She has worked with Kajol in the 1998 hit "Kuch Kuch Hota Hai". Rani has been nominated for and won various awards. She won seven Filmfare awards and among them two for Best Actress, two for Best Actress (Critics) and three for Best Actress in Supporting Role. She is the first and only actress to receive Best Actress and Best Actress in Supporting Role awards in the same year (50th Filmfare Award) as well as Best Actress and Best Actress (Critics) in the same year (51st Filmfare Award). As an actress, she won the highest number of Filmfare Awards. She is best known for her performance in 2005 cult classic "Black" for which she won several awards. She has several blockbusters to her credit such as "Ghulam" (1998), "Saathiya" (2002), "Chalte Chalte" (2003), "Hum Tum" (2004), "Veer-Zaara" (2004), "Bunty Aur Babli" (2005) "Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna" (2006) and "No One Killed Jessica" (2011). Rani is married to film director, producer, screenwriter and distributor Aditya Chopra. Her comeback women centric films "Mardaani" (2014), "Hichki" (2018) and "Mardaani 2 (2019)" were also successful.


title: Mukherjee-Samarth family

text: Aditya Chopra is an Indian film director and producer, and the CEO of the Yash Raj Films. He is the son of director and producer Yash Chopra and comes from the Chopra-Johar family. He married Rani Mukerji in 2014. He is the director of Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge, Mohabbatein and Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi for which he won numerous awards including Filmfare Awards and National Awards. Chopra's cousins Karan Johar and Vidhu Vinod Chopra are also notable members of his family.


title: Mukherjee-Samarth family

text: Mohnish Bahl is an Indian actor working in the Indian film industry and on Indian television. He is a member of the Mukherjee-Samarth family. His parents were actress Nutan and Rajnish Bahl, a lieutenant commander in the Indian Navy. He is the grandson of actress Shobhna and poet Kumarsen, great-grandson of actress Rattan Bai, nephew of actress Tanuja and cousin of actresses Kajol and Tanishaa Mukerji. A frequent collaborator of Sooraj Barjatya, Bahl has appeared in Barjatya's blockbusters "Maine Pyar Kiya" (1989), "Hum Aapke Hain Koun..!" (1994), "Hum Saath-Saath Hain" (1999), and "Vivah" (2006).


title: Mukherjee-Samarth family

text: Ayan Mukerji (), born in Kolkata, West Bengal, is an Indian film director. He is the son of actor Deb Mukherjee, made his directorial debut with Karan Johar produced "Wake Up Sid" (2009), and won the Filmfare Award for Best Debut Director. He directed his next film, the highly successful "Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani" in 2013. His most ambitious and Bollywood's most anticipated film "" released on 9 September 2022.


title: Mukherjee-Samarth family

text: Ashutosh Gowariker is an Indian film director, actor, writer and producer, known for films such as "Lagaan" (2001), "Swades" (2004) and "Jodhaa Akbar" (2008) among others. He is married to Sunita, former actor Deb Mukherjee's daughter from his first marriage.


title: Mukherjee-Samarth family

text: Pranutan Bahl is an Indian actress and daughter of actors Mohnish Bahl and Ekta Sohini. She is known for films including "Notebook" (2019) and "Helmet" (2021).


title: Melissa Auf der Maur

text: Auf der Maur began performing in 1993 after forming the indie rock band Tinker while she was a student at Concordia University. She was recruited as the bassist for the American alternative rock band Hole in the summer of 1994 and is included on several Hole releases, including the album "Celebrity Skin" (1998). Following her departure from Hole in 1999, Auf der Maur briefly joined The Smashing Pumpkins as a touring member for its 2000 tour and began her solo career; her debut studio album, "Auf der Maur", was released in 2004 on Capitol Records and her second studio album, "Out of Our Minds", was released in 2010 on her own independent record label, PHI–MAdM Music. She has also collaborated with Indochine, Rufus Wainwright, Ric Ocasek and Neverending White Lights.


title: Melissa Auf der Maur

text: Auf der Maur is also a photographer and occasional actress. Her photographs have been included in "National Geographic" and exhibited at Sotheby's. She has acted in "How to Make the Cruelest Month" (1998), "Beyond Borders" (2003) and "Collaborator" (2011). As part of her 2009 multidisciplinary project "Out of Our Minds"—which produced an album, a single, a film and a comic book—Auf der Maur acted as a film and record producer, working alongside her husband and filmmaker Tony Stone. Stone and Auf der Maur are the creative directors and owners of Basilica Hudson, an arts and performance center in Hudson, New York.


title: Melissa Auf der Maur

text: VH1 placed Auf der Maur at number 68 on its list of 100 Greatest Women of Rock & Roll in 2007 and her solo albums have received favorable reviews.


title: Melissa Auf der Maur

text: Auf der Maur was born in Montreal, Quebec, to journalist and politician Nick Auf der Maur and journalist and literary translator Linda Gaboriau. Auf der Maur's father's family was Swiss-German and her mother's was mixed European-American. Gaboriau was born in Boston, Massachusetts, in the United States. As a result, she holds dual Canadian–American citizenship. Auf der Maur's surname translates to English as "on the wall", as "maur" was derived from the German word for "wall" ("die Mauer"). She has stated that her grandmother, Theresia Schaelin-Auf der Maur, was "always pounding my heritage down my throat—reminding me that I'm the last one in North America to further the name".


title: Melissa Auf der Maur

text: Auf der Maur did not meet her father until she was three years old. Gaboriau called Nick Auf der Maur after her daughter began questioning her about her father's identity. Reflecting on the encounter, Auf der Maur said "[my father] realised my mother Linda was the love of his life because she'd offered the gift of this child without any demands. He fell madly in love with her [and] pursued her for two years". Auf der Maur and Gaboriau married in 1978 when Melissa was six years old. The couple divorced in 1979 after which Auf der Maur traveled worldwide with her mother. A portion of Auf der Maur's childhood was spent living in "a circus caravan in Wales, a red post-office box truck in Morocco, and a hut in Kenya" with her mother. During her time in Kenya, she contracted three bouts of malaria and returned to Montreal.


title: Melissa Auf der Maur

text: In Montreal, Auf der Maur attended the Fine Arts Core Education (FACE) School and Moving in New Directions (MIND) High School—both of which are schools of alternative education. At FACE, she was a member of the classical choir and at MIND, she was "part of the small English elite", where she formed friendships with Leonard Cohens daughter Lorca and Rufus Wainwright. At school, she became interested in photography and subsequently attended Concordia University, from which she majored in photography in 1994. At Concordia at age 19, Auf der Maur began working part-time as a DJ at Bifteck, a well-known rock club, where she met several musicians including Steve Durand.


title: Melissa Auf der Maur

text: During her time as a DJ at Bifteck, Auf der Maur met fellow Concordia University student Steve Durand, with whom she formed Tinker in November 1993. Durand assumed guitar duties and Auf der Maur began playing bass, using a Fender Precision Bass that her father had purchased for her 21st birthday. The duo recruited a second guitarist, Jordon Zadorozny, and a drummer and began performing at Montreal venues.


title: Melissa Auf der Maur

text: At a Smashing Pumpkins performance at Les Foufounes Électriques in 1991, Auf der Maur had become friends with vocalist and guitarist Billy Corgan. During the performance, Auf der Maur's roommate heckled the band between songs and threw a beer bottle onstage while the band was performing, leading to "a strangling fist fight" between him and Corgan. Auf der Maur explained:


title: Melissa Auf der Maur

text: Auf der Maur and Corgan became pen pals. Following months of no contact, Auf der Maur sent a letter to Corgan requesting that Tinker open for The Smashing Pumpkins during their next tour date in Montreal. Corgan accepted her request and Tinker performed the largest show of their career, to 2,500 people, opening for The Smashing Pumpkins at Métropolis on November 30, 1993. Corgan, Auf der Maur recalled, "patted me on the back. He said, 'You're a really good bass player. You're going to be in my band one day.' It felt like a dream come true – exactly the kind of confidence boost I needed."


title: Melissa Auf der Maur

text: Tinker had a brief recording career, releasing two 7-inch singles, "Realalie" and "Green Machine", on the independent record label Bear Records in 1994. The group disbanded in summer 1994 after Auf der Maur accepted Courtney Loves invitation to become the bassist for the alternative rock band Hole, a job she initially declined:


title: Melissa Auf der Maur

text: In summer 1994, Hole was in need of a new bassist after the death of Kristen Pfaff. Of her original decision to decline Love's offer to join, Auf der Maur recollected: "I said no because it seemed like a very sad scenario to be going into ... it just seemed like a very sad place", citing Pfaff's death a "red flag" and a reason to not join the band. Upon meeting Love and drummer Patty Schemel, Auf der Maur said she got "a flash of destiny in her eyes" and accepted the offer. She completed her Bachelor of Fine Arts (B.F.A.) at Concordia and was recruited as the bassist for Hole two weeks prior to its performance at the 1994 Reading Festival. "Lou Barlow and Evan Dando were watching from the side of the stage," she recalled. "I probably didn't even move. I just thought, 'As long as I get these parts right, it'll be just fine.'"


title: Melissa Auf der Maur

text: From 1994 to 1995, Auf der Maur toured worldwide with Hole in support of its second studio album, "Live Through This" (1994). On the tour, Auf der Maur was described by guitarist Eric Erlandson as "bringing sunshine to the band" during the "dark and grey" atmosphere of the tour, which was problematic due to the band's recent bereavements—notably the death of Pfaff and Love's husband Kurt Cobain—as well as Love's drug addiction. Auf der Maur befriended Patty Schemel and rented a house with her following the two-year-long tour. The duo began a side project, Constant Comment, and released a split 7-inch single with Red Aunts on Sympathy for the Record Industry featuring the song "Firecrasher". Auf der Maur has since said her friendship and musical compatibility between her and Schemel was based on a "redhead connection"; Schemel has referred to Auf der Maur as her "anchor" during the period following the death of Pfaff and Cobain.


title: Melissa Auf der Maur

text: Auf der Maur was featured on various Hole releases, including the 1996 non-album single "Gold Dust Woman" and on various live tracks on "My Body, the Hand Grenade" (1997). She was featured on the band's third studio album, "Celebrity Skin" (1998), performing bass and co-composing five of the 12 songs. "Celebrity Skin" was a major critical and commercial success; it charted at number 9 in the U.S. "Billboard" 200 albums chart and number 3 in the Canadian Albums Chart, as well its lead single and title track peaking at number 1 on the "Billboard" Modern Rock Tracks chart. It has since been certified platinum in both the U.S. and Canada. Following the tour in support of its release, Auf der Maur left Hole in October 1999 as her five-year contract with the band ended and she wished "to grow in many different directions".


title: Melissa Auf der Maur

text: In June 2009, "NME" reported that Hole was reforming. Love claimed that Auf der Maur was rejoining as bassist to record on her upcoming album "Nobody's Daughter"—which was being rebranded as a Hole album—and performing on the supporting tour. Auf der Maur stated that she was "surprised and disappointed" by the announcement and had no intention of partaking in the reformed band. Despite several legal issues, "Nobody's Daughter" was released as Hole's fourth studio album in April 2010 with Shawn Dailey replacing Auf der Maur as bassist.


title: Melissa Auf der Maur

text: Hole reunited again—with the "Celebrity Skin" line-up of Love, Erlandson, Auf der Maur and Schemel—for a one-off performance at Public Assembly in Brooklyn, New York on April 12, 2012 at an after-party for Schemel's film "Hit So Hard" (2011). Originally Auf der Maur, Erlandson and Schemel were performing as a trio until Love arrived for a spontaneous performance of "Miss World" and "Over the Edge". "The Quietus" reported in April 2014 that the four members had reunited although in subsequent interviews, Love downplayed talk of an imminent reunion. In April 2016, Auf der Maur stated in an interview that she no longer had time or energy for a full-fledged reunion, but would be interested in wrapping up the Hole legacy with a retrospective disc and small set of tour dates.


title: Melissa Auf der Maur

text: Original Smashing Pumpkins bassist D'arcy Wretzky left the band in September 1999 during the recording of the band's fifth studio album, "Machina/The Machines of God" (2000). In October 1999, Auf der Maur was recruited as her replacement by Billy Corgan, with whom she was still friends from her time in Tinker and Hole. "Courtney knew I was leaving to make my solo project," she explained. "But then, coincidentally, the week that I left Hole was the week D'arcy left the Pumpkins. So, within a week, Billy called me and said, 'The stars have aligned: it's time for you to join "my" band.' I "had" to do it."


title: Melissa Auf der Maur

text: Auf der Maur was featured on neither "Machina/The Machines of God" nor "Machina II/The Friends & Enemies of Modern Music" (2000) as Wretzky's remaining bass duties were assumed by Corgan during recording sessions, but she played with the Pumpkins during the "Machina" tour from December 1999 to December 2000. The tour covered North America, Japan, Europe and South Africa and was described by Auf der Maur as "very ambitious". Reflecting on the tour, she said: "they would always be changing arrangements and keys of songs. The work ethic of the Pumpkins is so full-on and so demanding ... joining [the band] was just intense work, much more about work than about emotional experience". She performed at various shows, including the band's final television performance on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" and the band's final show at the Cabaret Metro in Chicago on December 2, 2000, as well as appearing in the band's music videos. Smashing Pumpkins broke up at the end of the year 2000.


title: Melissa Auf der Maur

text: In February 2006, MTV reported that Corgan and drummer Jimmy Chamberlin had signed a new management deal with Azoff Management, with a spokesperson confirming they had signed under The Smashing Pumpkins moniker. In response, Auf der Maur said in a separate interview that "as long as Billy has Jimmy, he can make the essential Pumpkins record, I'm sure" and when asked of her involvement said she was not planning on participating in the reunion but noted that her "services are always there to play [her] favorite songs. If D'arcy is not available, I'm always happy to be second in line". Despite her earlier interest and Wretzky's absence, "The Globe and Mail" reported in April 2007 that Auf Der Maur confirmed she would not be rejoining The Smashing Pumpkins.


title: Melissa Auf der Maur

text: In 2002, Auf der Maur formed a brief project with former Hole drummer Samantha Maloney, Peaches, Paz Lenchantin and Radio Sloan. Adopting the title The Chelsea—named after the Chelsea Hotel in New York where Auf der Maur had lived for a number of years—the band performed one show at Spaceland in Los Angeles, California in February that included original songs and cover versions. Featuring a cover version of Devos "Gates of Steel" and early renditions of songs Auf der Maur would feature on her debut studio album, the show was poorly received due to its "seeming lack of preparation" and "was little more than pleasantly mopey and blurry garage rock" according to a Variety review. Courtney Love subsequently named her backing band The Chelsea, also hiring Maloney and Sloan in the process, while touring for her debut studio album, "America's Sweetheart" (2004).


title: Melissa Auf der Maur

text: Later the same year, Auf der Maur formed Hand of Doom, a Black Sabbath cover band in which she performed lead vocals. The band included bassist Molly Stern, drummer Pedro Yanowitz, turntablist Joey Garfield and guitarist Guy Stevens. In March, the band began performing a select number of shows at established venues in Los Angeles including the Whisky a Go Go, The Troubador and The Viper Room, and released a live album, "Live in Los Angeles" (2002), consisting of recordings from various performances. The album received warm reviews, with AllMusic writer Bradley Torreano describing it as a "fun, groovy, and strangely sensual" record that "finds the soul behind all the years of posturing", adding that "it is Auf der Maur herself who is the very key to the album". Dubbing itself as "art-karaoke", Hand of Doom performed further dates in North America during summer 2002 before disbanding in 2003.


title: Melissa Auf der Maur

text: Returning to Montreal in 2001 after the disbandment of The Smashing Pumpkins, Auf der Maur was unsure about whether or not to continue her music career. In an interview with "Jam!", she said that her "relationship to music had become very army-oriented. I was a soldier, a hard worker who never got enough satisfaction from the music. I didn't know if I was going to make my own record". In late 2001, upon discovering old demo recordings in her home, Auf der Maur decided to pursue a solo career after she had "realized [she] had an entire album's worth of material that had been sitting there for years".


title: Melissa Auf der Maur

text: Recorded from 2001 to 2003 at various studios in the U.S. and Canada, Auf der Maur's debut studio album "Auf der Maur" was released in February 2004 on Capitol Records. Produced with Chris Goss, Auf der Maur financed the recording sessions herself as she was not signed to a record label at the time of recording and during post-production, her budget ran out and she was unable to mix the album. She accepted a recording contract from Capitol soon afterwards and released "Auf der Maur" to "generally favorable reviews", according to Metacritic. The album's supporting singles—"Followed the Waves", "Real a Lie" and "Taste You"—were moderate successes in the United Kingdom, charting in the Top 40 of the UK Single Charts. As of 2010, "Auf der Maur" sold 200,000 copies worldwide.


title: Melissa Auf der Maur

text: In a 2007 interview with "Billboard", Auf der Maur announced that she had finished recording her second studio album which would be released as part of a multidisciplinary project including a concept film, an album, and a graphic novel to be released in fall 2009. An official website containing teasers of the project, as well as a film trailer, was launched in August 2007 and featured a regular blog updated by Auf der Maur documenting the various stages of the project. Following disputes with Capitol and getting "caught up in some red tape" that delayed the release of the project, Auf der Maur left the label to secure creative control and release her music on "[her] own terms".


title: Melissa Auf der Maur

text: An EP titled "... This Would Be Paradise" was released in November 2008 as a 7-inch and digital download on iTunes. The three-track EP was released on Urbanited Music, an independent record label based in the Netherlands and was released under Auf der Maur's abbreviated name MAdM, which she used for all succeeding releases. A short six-date tour of Canada and northern Europe followed the release of the EP, which featured her first live performances since the 151-date tour in support of "Auf der Maur" in 2004 and 2005.


title: Melissa Auf der Maur

text: In late 2009, Auf der Maur released a single, "Out of Our Minds", and an EP, "OOOM". The single was issued as a free download on her official website; both the single and the EP were self-released on PHI–MAdM Music Inc., her own record label, a division of the Montreal-based PHI Centre Group. Auf der Maur also signed an international distribution deal with Roadrunner Records, who issued the releases outside of North America. Her second studio album, also titled "Out of Our Minds", was released in March 2010 as part of the "OOOM" project. Despite charting in France, Greece, Spain and the UK, the album received mixed reviews. However, in January 2011 "Out of Our Minds" won the Best Indie/Alternative/Hard Rock Album at the Independent Music Awards. In Autumn 2011, Auf der Maur went on maternity leave.


title: Melissa Auf der Maur

text: Auf der Maur briefly toured with former The Cars frontman Ric Ocasek in 1997, after contributing bass and background vocals to his 1997 solo album "Troublizing". She collaborated with French group Indochine on their song "Le Grand Secret", singing a duet in French with Nicola Sirkis, to great acclaim in France. Auf der Maur joined the band on stage to perform the song on various occasions and appeared in the music video for the song. She performed a rare, short, acoustic set of some of her solo songs during an Indochine show in Paris, February 22, 2002. Auf der Maur has contributed bass and backing vocals to childhood friend Rufus Wainwright's album "Poses" and appears in his 1998 video for "April Fools". In 2008, she collaborated with Canadian musician Daniel Victor on his music collaboration project Neverending White Lights. They recorded the song "The World is Darker", for which a video was released in March 2008. Aside from this, she has contributed to albums by artists such as Ryan Adams, Ben Lee, Idaho, The Stills and Fountains of Wayne.


title: Melissa Auf der Maur

text: In 2007, Auf der Maur appeared on the Fountains of Wayne album "Traffic and Weather" singing backing on the track "Someone to Love".


title: Melissa Auf der Maur

text: Auf der Maur was a photography major specializing in self-portraiture at Concordia University when she was invited to join Hole in 1994. Her photos have been published in "Nylon", "Bust", "Mastermind", "National Geographic" and "American Photo", among other magazines. Her photos were also in the exhibition "The Kids are Alright" at Sotheby's in New York City along with photos by Yelena Yemchuk.


title: Melissa Auf der Maur

text: She put together a solo exhibition in 2001, under the name of "Channels", mostly featuring shots of Auf der Maur's life on the road, with a recurring TV theme and shots of hotel TV screens, hence the name "Channels." The exhibition opened September 9, 2001, at Brooklyn's Secret Gallery, but was shut down after the September 11 attacks. It was shown again at O Patro Vys, Montreal, in May 2006.


title: Melissa Auf der Maur

text: In 2004, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation produced a television series called "The Greatest Canadian" which saw 100 Canadian figures nominated for the title of 'the Greatest Canadian'. The list of 100 was narrowed to a group of 10 finalists and a program dedicated to relating the story of, and case for, each nominee was aired on the network. Each nominee was promoted by a Canadian celebrity 'advocate' and Auf der Maur appeared as the advocate for environmentalist David Suzuki, who finished fifth.


title: Melissa Auf der Maur

text: In 2010, she co-founded "Basilica Hudson" with independent film maker Tony Stone, a historical landmark in Hudson, New York converted to an arts and performance venue.


title: Melissa Auf der Maur

text: Auf der Maur is married to indie filmmaker Tony Stone. They have one daughter, born October 2011. The couple own Basilica Hudson, an arts and performance center in Hudson, New York where they live.


title: Amanda Gorman

text: Amanda S. C. Gorman (born March 7, 1998) is an American poet and activist. Her work focuses on issues of oppression, feminism, race, and marginalization, as well as the African diaspora. Gorman was the first person to be named National Youth Poet Laureate. She published the poetry book "The One for Whom Food Is Not Enough" in 2015. In 2021, she delivered her poem "The Hill We Climb" at the inauguration of U.S. President Joe Biden.


title: Amanda Gorman

text: Her inauguration poem generated international acclaim, and shortly thereafter, two of her books achieved best-seller status, and she obtained a professional management contract. In February 2021, Gorman was highlighted in "Time" magazine's 100 Next list under the category of "Phenoms", with a profile written by Lin-Manuel Miranda. That same month, Gorman became the first poet to perform at the Super Bowl, when she delivered her poem "Chorus of the Captains" at Super Bowl LV.


title: Amanda Gorman

text: Born in Los Angeles, California, Gorman was raised by her single mother, Joan Wicks, a 6th-grade English teacher in Watts, with her two siblings. Her twin sister, Gabrielle, is an activist and filmmaker. Gorman has said she grew up in an environment with limited television access. She has described her young self as a "weird child" who enjoyed reading and writing and was encouraged by her mother.


title: Amanda Gorman

text: Gorman has an auditory processing disorder and is hypersensitive to sound. She also had a speech impediment during childhood. Gorman participated in speech therapy during her childhood and Elida Kocharian of "The Harvard Crimson" wrote in 2018, "Gorman doesn't view her speech impediment as a crutch—rather, she sees it as a gift and a strength." Gorman told "The Harvard Gazette" in 2018, "I always saw it as a strength because since I was experiencing these obstacles in terms of my auditory and vocal skills, I became really good at reading and writing. I realized that at a young age when I was reciting the Marianne Deborah Williamson quote that 'Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate, our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure' to my mom." In 2021, Gorman told "CBS This Morning" co-host Anthony Mason that she used songs as a form of speech therapy, and explained, "My favorite thing to practice was the song 'Aaron Burr, Sir,' from "Hamilton" because it is jam-packed with R's. And I said, 'if I can keep up with Leslie in this track, then I am on my way to being able to say this R in a poem."


title: Amanda Gorman

text: Gorman attended New Roads, a private school in Santa Monica, for grades K–12. As a senior, she received a Milken Family Foundation college scholarship. She studied sociology at Harvard College, graduating "cum laude" in 2020 as a member of Phi Beta Kappa. In 2019, Gorman spent a semester studying in Madrid, Spain, supported by IES Abroad.


title: Amanda Gorman

text: Gorman's art and activism focus on issues of oppression, feminism, race, and marginalization, as well as the African diaspora. She has said she was inspired to become a youth delegate for the United Nations in 2013 after watching a speech by Pakistani Nobel Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai. Gorman was chosen as the first youth poet laureate of Los Angeles in 2014. In 2014 it was reported that Gorman was "editing the first draft of a novel the 16‑year‑old has been writing over the last two years." She published the poetry book "The One for Whom Food Is Not Enough" in 2015.


title: Amanda Gorman

text: In 2016, Gorman founded the nonprofit organization One Pen One Page, a youth writing and leadership program. In 2017, she became the first author to be featured on XQ Institute's Book of the Month, a monthly giveaway to share inspiring Gen Z's favorite books. She wrote a tribute for black athletes for Nike and has a book deal with Viking Children's Books to write two children's picture books.


title: Amanda Gorman

text: In 2017, Gorman became the first youth poet to open the literary season for the Library of Congress, and she has read her poetry on MTV. She wrote "In This Place: An American Lyric" for her September 2017 performance at the Library of Congress, which commemorated the inauguration of Tracy K. Smith as Poet Laureate of the United States. The Morgan Library and Museum acquired her poem "In This Place (An American Lyric)" and displayed it in 2018 near works by Elizabeth Bishop.


title: Amanda Gorman

text: While at Harvard, Gorman became the first person to be named National Youth Poet Laureate in April 2017. She was chosen from five finalists. In 2017, Gorman won a $10,000 grant from media company "OZY" in the annual OZY Genius Awards through which 10 college students are given "the opportunity to pursue their outstanding ideas and envisioned innovations".


title: Amanda Gorman

text: In 2017, Gorman said she intends to run for president in 2036, and she has subsequently often repeated this hope. On being selected as one of "Glamour" magazine's 2018 "College Women of the Year", she said: "Seeing the ways that I as a young black woman can inspire people is something I want to continue in politics. I don't want to just speak works; I want to turn them into realities and actions." After she read her poem "The Hill We Climb" at President Joe Biden's inauguration in 2021, Hillary Clinton tweeted her support for Gorman's 2036 aspiration.


title: Amanda Gorman

text: In 2019, Gorman was chosen as one of "The Root" magazine's "Young Futurists", an annual list of "the 25 best and brightest young African-Americans who excel in the fields of social justice and activism, arts and culture, enterprise and corporate innovation, science and technology, and green innovation". She expressed support for abortion rights and "Roe v. Wade" in a 2019 "NowThis News" video which included a pro-choice poem.


title: Amanda Gorman

text: In May 2020, Gorman appeared in an episode of the web series "Some Good News" hosted by John Krasinski, where she had the opportunity to virtually meet Oprah Winfrey and issued a virtual commencement speech to those who could not attend commencements due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S. In 2020, Gorman presented "Earthrise", a poem focused on the climate crisis.