A Song for the 30th Anniversary of the M*A*S*H Finale: “Suicide is Painless”

Sign for M*A*S*H 4077 Image credit

It’s a catchy little song, a little wistful, but ultimately upbeat. Who would think that the title of the M*A*S*H theme song is “Suicide is Painless”?

The story goes, according to IMDB that Johnny Mandel came up with the tune for the original M*A*S*H movie, but no one could come up with lyrics.

So, the director’s son, 14-year-old Mike Altman, gave it a try. The music accompanied a scene about a “painless” dentist, so perhaps the Altman boy wasn’t as emo as it might seem. He was simply working out a poem with a given theme and cadence.

It has some poignant lines: “The sword of time will pierce our skin/ It doesn’t hurt when it begins/ But as it works its way on in/ The pain grows stronger, watch it grin."

The father, Robert Altman made around $75,000 to direct the film. It’s estimated that his son has made about $2,000,000 for the song.

It was a number one hit in England.  My sister’s friend did a student exchange in London, and she brought the song back to us on tape.

The tape is long gone, but now I can download it from the M*A*S*H soundtrack on Freegal.

EGOT in Future for Adele?

Adele collects a 2013 Grammy award for Best Pop Solo Performance Image Credit

Emmy. Grammy. Oscar. Tony. That’s what EGOT stands for. (Although GOTE might be a better arrangement.)

Adele has her Grammy, and last night she picked up her Oscar. All of her albums are available on Freegal.

I would say someone should have her guest on their TV show.  (A very special episode of Walking Dead?) And, surely, someone wants her in their Broadway musical.

I say it’s just a matter of time.

Get Your Own Piece of Pi: Academy Award Goes to Life of Pi



Yay! Life of Pi was my favorite of the whole bunch. Pi’s first two awards—for cinematography  and visual effects—show it’s a visually arresting movie. The award for best soundtrack shows that it’s easy on the ears, too.

And the whole soundtrack is available from Freegal. A few songs at a time, granted, but hey, it’s free.

This just in! Ang Lee wins best director! He deserves it for his incredible breadth. From Sense and Sensibility to a survival/religious story with CGI tigers and 3D--which he'd never done before.

It's well worth watching.

Adele Better Than Streisand? You Can Be the Judge at the Academy Awards

Adele at a concert in January 2009  Image Credit

I was on the phone the other day, teasing my dad about his long-lived crush on the singer Peggy Lee.

“No, it’s Adele now,” he said.

“You know about Adele?” I said. This is a fellow that call me and asks me to do internet research because he’s never been on that new-fangled contraption.

“Why sure,” he said. “She’s better than Streisand.”

I just read that Streisand is performing tonight on the Academy Awards. And Adele will singer her nominated song “Skyfall.” So you can line them up and be the judge: which is better?

And, unlike my dad, you probably have an internet connection and can download Adele’s songs through Freegal. I just checked, and there are dozens and dozens of Streisand’s, too.

Les Miz, Men’s Fragrances, and the Academy Awards

1886 engraving for Victor Hugo's Les Miserables. French illustrator Émile Bayard drew the sketch of Cosette for the first edition. Image Credit

I hadn’t known that the odds for Oscar awards were so thoroughly tracked. If you go to Gold Derby, you’ll find nice little line graphs that track everyone’s odds of winning. 

Argo  is the hands-down favorite, while a Les Miz win is predicted by just 9% of the experts. I’m a fan of Life of Pi, but I am in love with the music of Les Miserables. I just didn’t think the movie came anywhere near living up to the stage version I saw. 

I’ve about worn out my copy of the Broadway recording. And the London Cast recording on Freegal is pretty darn good.

About 15 years ago, my husband and I were encouraged (badgered?) by the sales ladies at the department store to enter their contest for predicting the Academy Awards.

I went with my heart, what I wanted to win. Hubby went with what was likely to win.

His strategy won out, and he won! His enthusiasm was tempered a bit when his prize was delivered—a whole basketful of men’s cologne. Oh, goody.

He tries to remember to put on fragrance at Thanksgiving and Christmas. I think he’s gone through half a bottle, and he has 6 or 7 more.

I think it will truly be a lifetime supply.





 

Oscar-Winning Songs of the 60’s: “Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head” from Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid

Butch Cassidy of The Wild Bunch   Image Credit

When I was in sixth grade, we sang this song as the finale to our talent show. Heaven knows why. Probably because it’s about defeating “the blues they send to great me” and ends with the line “nothin’s worrying me,” which was a late 60’s mantra, if there ever was one.

And heaven knows why a song about raindrops is used for a story about outlaws.  I guess that since the film is mostly a light hearted romp (yes, I know they ran to their death at the end, but by golly, they had some fun before then), the catchy tune and lyrics underscore the mood.

The photo of Butch Cassidy is interesting because, as the book Outlaws, Mobsters & Crooks tells us:
 “During a trip to Fort Worth, Texas, five members of the Wild Bunch had dressed in new clothes to have their picture taken. As the story goes, Cassidy mailed a copy of the picture to the bank they had just robbed to thank them for their ‘contribution.’ The picture fell into the hands of Pinkerton detectives who were then able to identify the individual outlaws.”

“Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head” by B.J. Thomas is available for download from Freegal, just as easy, free, and legal as ever.

A Song That Won a Grammy and an Oscar: “Theme from Shaft” by Isaac Hayes



The song "Theme from Shaft" won both an Oscar and a Grammy. Image Credit


I was looking through past Oscar winners and saw that “Theme from Shaft” won in 1971. It also won a Grammy that year.

Some of the other Oscar winners seem a little lame now, but Shaft has kept its cool.

It’s on Freegal. I like the version by Henry Mancini.

According to Contemporary Black Biography, (Yes, I read things like that I’m a librarian. It’s well-written, and you can find out a lot of interesting stuff.) Hayes pioneered a unique sound that prefigured the disco movement. And he also used spoken tracks, which he called “rap.”

He also voiced “Chef” for a number of years until he quit abruptly when the show mocked his religion, Scientology. (Though one wonders why he didn’t notice South Park’s equal-opportunity mock-o-rama before.)

This year, another artist is going for the double: Adele.

 Her Grammies are in her pocket, and she’s the favorite for the Oscar.

Source Citation

"Isaac Hayes." Contemporary Black Biography. Vol. 73. Detroit: Gale, 2009. Biography In Context. Web. 22 Feb. 2013.

M*A*S*H Finale’s 30th Anniversary: Goodbye, Farewell, and Amen: Theme from M*A*S*H

Where were you almost 30 years ago, on Feb. 28, 1983, when the television show M*A*S*H aired its final episode “Goodbye, Farewell, and Amen”?

I was in a little flea-ridden basement apartment taking a break from studies and grading English compositions during my final semester as an MA in communication studies.

The show had been a constant during my college days. Whatever else happened in our lives, we all stopped at 10:30 and watched the show about reluctant army docs in America’s “forgotten war” in Korea. It shaped our generation’s thoughts about war and the military and foreign policy.

The entire M*A*S*H* soundtrack is available from Freegal.

If “Skyfall” by Adele Wins the Oscar, It Will Be the First Bond Song to Win

James Bond is muscular and serious now. We have Daniel Craig making a buff new Bond, and Adele putting her heart into the theme song “Skyfall.”
It’s available to download for free from Freegal.

The smart money is on her to win (doesn’t she win everything these days?), and if she does, this will be the first Bond song to win the Academy Award.

Other songs have been nominated (before Adele was even born), but none has ever won before.

The other Oscar-nominated song  available on Freegal is “Nobody Does It Better” by Carly Simon

The Movie with the Tiger and the Boat: “Pi’s Lullabye” by Mychael Danna gets Oscar nom



"Pi's Lullabye" is available for free download. Image source



I loved Life of Pi when I read it. It was an adventure story, yet a spiritual story. And the twist at the ends is good for lots of late-night conversations.

I’m always reluctant to see a movie of a book I’ve loved. They never seem to do it justice. But since the wonderful Ang Lee directed it, I went to see it—in 3D no less.

And, amazingly, it was still wonderful. If you haven’t seen it, I recommend it. It’s so much more nuanced a tale than that other 3D flick Avatar.

The soundtrack, including “Pi’s Lullabye,” penned by Mychael Danna and sung by Bombay Jayashri is available for download from Freegal.  the first song in the language of Tamil to by nominated for an Academy Award.

“They blew Bieber out of the water”: Mumford & Sons: Babel

Mumford & Sons' album Babel won Album of the Year.

It’s a bit heartening to see where music is going these days. Mumford & Sons’ Babel was the year’s biggest debut.

And it sounds like—well--music. A bunch of guys with banjos and guitars and a whole lot less electronic overlay.

"It blows Bieber out of the water," says Keith Caulfield, Billboard's director of charts. "Mumford isn't a traditional singles act. They appeal to consumers who still want the experience of an album. They have a wide appeal, from young folks who see them on tour to older NPR listeners."

The largest weekly take of 2012 belongs to Adele, another musician who sounds like she’s more interested in voice and other instruments than synthesizers.

Both Mumford & Sons and Adele are available for free download on Freegal.

Source Citation

Gundersen, Edna. "Mumford & Sons' 'Babel' ranks as year's biggest debut." USA Today 4 Oct. 2012: 01D. Gale Biography In Context. Web. 14 Feb. 2013.

“I got a brand new pair of roller skates”: “Brand New Key” by Melanie

Parrot on roller skates bring to mind the song "Brand New Key" by Melanie  Image credit

Back in the 70’s there was a fresh-faced singer named Melanie (one-word name, you know, like Cher) and she had a quirky little pop song named “Brand New Key.”  It’s a fun little song about love and freedom, a perfect fit for the early 70’s. “[I] Don’t go too fast, but I go pretty far” she sings.

 I thought the parrot on skates captured the feeling of the song. It’s available to download on Freegal.

 Here in the 2010’s, my daughter looks at me quizzically when I sing it, no doubt wondering how roller skates can need keys. What, you lock them up so nobody can steel them?

Back then, this is what roller skates looked like:

Rollers skates from the Children's Museum of Indianapolis  Image credit

 

You clamped them onto your shoe and used the key to adjust the length. Even so, they still dislodged at inopportune times, resulting in more than a few skinned knees and hands.

“If you fall, I will catch you”: “Time After Time” from Strictly Ballroom

One of my favorite versions of “Time After Time” comes from the soundtrack of the movie Simply Ballroom, sung by Tara Morice and Mark Williams.

It backs up the requisite musical montage with a simple, yet effective rendition.

It’s available, with a few other Strictly Ballroom tracks, for download from Freegal.

If you haven’t seen the movie, it’s a nice one for people that like dancing and a heartwarming story. I had thought the dancers’ costumes were caricatures and over-the-top. Then I saw an actual ballroom dance competition on PBS and realized…no that’s pretty much how they dress.

It would be a great little Valentine rental.

“I hear the clock tick and think of you”: “Time After Time” by Cyndi Lauper

When my husband and I chose this 80’s tune as “our song” I wondered if we’d chosen something too temporary, a flash-in-the-pan song by an artist who would be relegated to a side note to the big hair and shoulder pads decade that was the 80’s. (Flock of Seagulls anyone?)

Thirty years later, it’s #20 on Top 100 Love Songs. Looks like we did OK. 

Almost all of Lauper’s catalog (over a dozen albums) is available from Freegal.
I had always thought of Cyndi Lauper as a kind of lovable airhead, multicolor hair and raggedy clothes and all. But after reading about her life in Contemporary Musicians, I see why she was inspired to pen a song about persistence—in love, as well as everything else

Here are some of the high and low notes of her career:

·         A child of a single mom who worked as a waitress, Lauper was always singing as an escape

·         Expelled from several Catholic schools

·         Sang on street corners in Greenwich Village

·         Joined a disco group and strained her vocal chords so severely that doctors told her she couldn’t sing again

·         Work with an opera singer to restore her voice

·         Cut an album with her band, Blue Angels.  It didn’t do well, and she declared bankruptcy

·         Started singing at a Japanese bar

·         Met her fiancée and manager who tirelessly promoted her until she was able to release She’s So Unusual which went to the top of the charts

Since then, she’s seen records flop, ended one relationship and started another, and won an Emmy for acting. She’s been nominated for a Grammy for Memphis Blues and appeared on reality shows.

Not content to sink into the shadows of the 80’s, she keeps coming back. Time after time.

Kenny Loggins’ New Band: “Dream” by Blue Sky Riders

I’ve found something free and legal that is not from Freegal. Kenny Loggins is back with a new band, a trio that sings “Americana-tinged” music.

(Where did I learn this? Anyone younger than a Boomer, cover your eyes. The AARP Magazine, that’s where.)

It’s available for download here.

It has Loggins’ imprint, though not as catchy as some of his other tunes.

“Dream” does come with some strings, however. You have to put in your e-mail address to get the download. According to their terms, you will get lots of nice e-mail from the group.

You can get Loggins’ other songs through Freegal, no e-mail required. Just a library card. And the libraries won’t send you any e-mail, unless you want them to.

Freegal includes his greatest hits album. My favorites include “Your Mama Don’t Dance,”  “I’m Alright,” and “Footloose.”
 

Finding Herself : “Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You) by Kelly Clarkson

Clarkson won for Best Pop Vocal Album.

It sounds like a Cinderella story. Texas girl wins contest and becomes national singing star.

But, after her second album didn’t go well, she had to make some moves so that her ideas came across in her records.

"It's pretty heavy, what happened to her,” Reba McEntire told Elle. “She was thrown into the ocean without a life preserver. And she handled it. I don't know that I could have. Back in the day, female artists were told to perform and then go sit in the corner. Thank God for people like Dolly Parton who took charge. Kelly is the same way. She knows what she wants. She's had a rough go of it in the music business. People think she just won Idol and everything else was easy. Not so. She's had to fight."

All the songs on Kelly Clarkson’s Grammy-winning album, Stronger are available for free download from Freegal.

Source Citation

"Kelly Clarkson." Contemporary Musicians. Vol. 53. Detroit: Gale, 2005. Gale Biography In Context. Web. 11 Feb. 2013.

From Vineyard Church to the Grammys: Mumford & Sons

Album of the year. The Big Kahuna.

Mumford & Sons won Album of the Year in 2013

Though it’s considered a British band, founder Marcus Mumford was born in California to ministers at the Vineyard Church, which held that the world was under Satanic domination.

There’s a childhood to inspire you.

Some say their appeal is partly because of their sartorial choices, but more for their music which mixes Contemporary Musicians describes“folk and bluegrass flavors with a good deal of literary ambition.”

Mumford became interested in this music when he received a copy of the soundtrack to O Brother, Where Art Thou? “He considered bluegrass ideas music for traveling. CM tells us "Like John Steinbeck said, a journey is the thing in itself….England doesn't have the wide-open frontiers America has, but with those bluegrass tunes on the car stereo, you are almost there."

Quoting Steinbeck. Literary ambition. Perhaps next will be The Great American Album.

For now, you can get the songs on all their albums free, if you download them from Freegal.


Source:

"Mumford & Sons." Contemporary Musicians. Vol. 74. Detroit: Gale, 2012. Gale Biography In Context. Web. 11 Feb. 2013.

Twister Song Blows Away Grammies: “Blown Away” by Carrie Underwood

Simon Cowell continues to be right. Don’t you hate when that happens? But, as he predicted, Carrie Underwood is the biggest singer ever to come out of American Idol.

I was rooting for Ronnie Dunn’s poignant “Cost of Living.” It does what country music does best: paint a picture with words. (As long as pop nominees have lyrics like “I missed you so, so bad,” there’s not much hope for the genre.)

Underwood’s song took a while to grow on me. I’m not sure I like the tweaking on her voice. But the narrative is satisfying, if chilling.  We’re all glad that s.o.b. of a daddy has been blown away.

Adele-o-Rama: “Set Fire to the Rain”

Adele wins again. And again. And again.

She picked up her first of the night. How many noms does she have this year?

That will probably be how many awards she gets.

First Grammy Win for Mumford & Sons: “Big Easy Express”

Mumford & Sons are Grammy winners in Best Long Form Video

Since the Grammy telecast only shows the presentation of 9 awards, we are left to glean the internet to find out the other winners.

Mumford & Sons won Best Long Form Music Video: "Big Easy Express" Mumford & Sons, Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros & Old Crow Medicine Show.

Songs from Mumford & Sons are available on Freegal.

2013 Grammy Predictions: “Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You)” by Kelly Clarkson

Just got my print edition of Entertainment Weekly, with their Grammy picks inside.
Clarkson’s song is nominated for Record of the Year and song of the year.

EW thinks it’s too lightweight to win, but their (anonymous) “Hot 100 Hitmaker” says that it will win record of the year because it is “straightforward and meaningful and a great melody, plus she sings her face off."

Their “Super Producer” thinks it will win Song of the Year because “it’s a great anthem.”

All the songs on her album, Stronger are available for free download from Freegal.

2013 Grammy Predictions: Jack White Blunderbuss

White’s album is nominated for Album of the Year, Best Rock Album and Best Rock Song for “Freedom at 21.”

The man who has recorded with Tom Jones and RZA finally recorded one under his own name.  Three nominations isn’t too shabby.

Nobody at EW is picking him to win. I don’t know; seems that you have to do something for a fellow who names a song “Sixteen Saltines.”

All the songs on Blunderbuss are available for free download from Freegal.

2013 Grammy Predictions: Alabama Shakes as Best New Artist

EW predicts that Frank Ocean will win this category, but their anonymous “Platinum Pop Star” lays out another possible situation “…where the fun. and Frank Ocean camps cancel each other out and all of a sudden Alabama Shakes squeezes in with a win.”

All the songs on their album “Boys & Girls” is available for free download from Freegal.

2013 Grammy Predictions: P!nk The Truth About Love

P!nk’s album is nominated for best pop vocal album. No one is predicting a win for her, but she should get the award for..um..most in-your-face pose.

All of the songs from her new album (as well as her old ones) can be downloaded free from Freegal

2013 Grammy Predictions: Adele “Set Fire to the Rain”

Adele: "Set Fire to the Rain" live at the Royal Albert Hall.

Adele’s song is nominated for Best Pop Solo Perfomance

EW predicts that she will win because “Adele wins these things in her sleep.”

Kelly Clarkson is another Freegal lass nominated here.

You can get the songs on Adele’s 21 or on Clarkson’s Stronger through free download on Freegal.



2013 Grammy Predictions: Fiona Apple The Idler Wheel

Apple’s album is nominated for Best Alternative Music Album.

EW is predicting that she’ll win, “For pure vision, Fiona should take it. Also, we really want to hear her bonkers speech.”

All the songs on The Idler Wheel are available from Freegal.

2013 Grammy Predictions: Four the Record by Miranda Lambert

Lambert’s album was nominated for Best Country Album.

EW thinks it will win the category, but their anonymous experts disagree. “The Platinum Pop Star” thinks Hunter Hayes will win. The “Super Producer” says it will be Zac Brown.

All the songs on Lambert’s Four the Record are available for free download on Freegal.

2013 Grammy Predictions: “Cost of Livin’” by Ronnie Dunn

I’d love it if this song won. Dunn's "hard-working but out-of-work" song has been nominated for Best Country Solo Performance. It’s poignant, evocative, and doesn’t descend into schmaltz.

It’s a good song for getting through hard times.

All the songs on Dunn’s album Ronnie Dunn are available for free download on Freegal.

2013 Grammy Predictions: “Blown Away” by Carrie Underwood

Is Underwood still country’s golden girl? Another in the line of revenge/no-good-man songs, it’s got a strong beat and suitably vivid and vengeful lyrics.

All the songs on Underwood’s album Blown Away are available for free, legal download on Freegal.

2013 Grammy Predictions: “We Take Care of Our Own” and Wrecking Ball by Bruce Springsteen

Spruce’s song is nominated for Best Rock Song, and Best Rock Performance.

EW says “All the whippersnappers here have a shot; still, the Boss will likely prevail.”


Will this anthem that juiced the crowds for Obama be selected? Stay tuned and see.

All the songs on Springsteen’s album are available for free download on Freegal, including the Grammy-nominated “We Take Care of Our Own.”

2013 Grammy Predictions: Mumford & Sons Babel

Mumford & Sons' album Babel has been nominated for album of the year.  (Image credit)

Babel is up for album of the year. EW says that “Mumford are right in the Grammy strike zone. Their other experts are going for fun. and Frank Ocean.

All the songs on Babel are available for free download on Freegal.

Since I live in the Denver area, I can’t resist the Colorado connection. Their new DVD Road to Red Rocks (our excellent outdoor concert venue) is available now.

This House Is Falling Apart: “Anna Sun” by Walk the Moon

Download Walk the Moon's song "Anna Sun" free from Freegal.

I always want to know where the name comes from. If we can believe Wikipedia, “Walk the Moon” comes from the song “Walking on the Moon” by The Police.

That seems right. When I first heard the band, I thought it had an 80’s sound. What does it sound like? Nylon Magazine describes it as “swirly pop beats, infectious guitar riffs, and loud sing-along choruses.”

Gleaning a few tidbits from Nylon Magazines’ interview:

·         Two of the band member met when they were toddlers

·         “Anna Sun” is about memories from college. That house in the video looks like some of my college houses

·         Anna Sun is the name of one of their college professors.  I’m willing to bet she’s the only prof. to have an indie song named after her.

Walk the Moon has six songs in the Freegal top 100: “anywayican,” “Tightrope,” “Tete-a-Tete,” “Burning Down the House,” “Drunk in the Woods,” and, of course, “Anna Sun.”



Top of Freegal: The Other Songs That Walk Off the Earth Plays

                                Get Walk Off the Earth's "Gang of Rhythm" free from Freegal

Five people. One guitar. Internet sensation. Second only to Psy in views for 2012.

The Ontario band is lighting up the top 100 on Freegal. If you haven’t yet downloaded “Somebody That I Used to Know,” it’s well worth having.

These days, there are so many bands that have one catchy tune, but the rest are pretty blah.

Walk Off the Earth is an exception. The songs from REVO are available on Freegal: “Gang of Rhythm,” “Red Hands,” “Little Boxes,” “From Me To You,” “Speeches,” Summer Vibe,” “Polly,” and of course “Somebody That I Used to Know.”

And, I can't resist. Here's a spoof of “Somebody That I Used to Know.”

Super Bowl 2013: Joan Jett, Survivor, and Ozzy Osbourne

When my husband turned fifty, I put together a little party with a football theme. I also did a little research and put together this site with what I consider the eight best football songs.

Three of them are available for free download on Freegal:

“I Hate Myself for Loving You” by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts

 “Eye of the Tiger” by Survivor

 “Crazy Train” by Ozzy Osbourne

 I’m not sure who to root for, since the Baltimore Ravens beat our Denver Broncos.

 I think I’ll still go for the Ravens since they’re the underdogs. And Denver hasn’t forgotten their Super Bowl shellacking by the 49’ers.

Top of Freegal: Mumford & Sons and Old-Fashioned Stores

Mumford & Sons songs, including "The Cave" are available for free download from Freegal.


It just makes you feel cool to have songs from a group called Mumford & Sons. But you have to ask yourself if they would have done as well if they had gone with their original name “Marcus Mumford & His Merry Men.”

I’m thinking not so much.

Mumford explains the name change, "We called ourselves Mumford & Sons because we liked the idea of an old-fashioned family-owned store that sold cheese and whiskey, cigarettes and tools, stuff you cannot live without."

The Brit bluegrass-style band has lit up Freegal with songs “I Will Wait,” The Cave,” “Lover of the Light,” “Little Lion Man,” “Babel,” “Holland Road,” and “Where Are You Now?” all on the Top 100 downloads.


"Mumford & Sons." Contemporary Musicians. Vol. 74. Detroit: Gale, 2012. Gale Biography In Context. Web. 1 Feb. 2013

Top of Freegal: Adele, Etta James, and Hairstyles

Adele sings "Fool that I Am," the Etta James song that inspired her to become a singer.


Credit Etta James for Adele’s singing career.
 
Although the North Londoner always enjoyed singing (at the age of five, she stood on the table she and belted out the Gabrielle no. 1 hit “Dreams”), she didn’t even think about having a music career until she came across an Etta James CD in the bargain bin.

Get this—she didn’t buy the CD for the music. She bought it because she wanted to show the hairstyle of the front to her hairdresser.

Eventually she decided to actually listen to the music. “When I heard the son ‘Fool that I Am,’ everything changed for me. I never wanted to be a singer until I hear that.”

Serendipitously, James’ song is available to download on Freegal.

Right now, the songs that Adele has on the top 100 include “Skyfall,” Rumour Has It,” “Someone Like You,” and “Rolling in the Deep.”

"Adele." Newsmakers. Vol. 4. Detroit: Gale, 2009. Gale Biography In Context. Web. 1 Feb. 2013.