Official name	Stockholm
Blank emblem type	Coat of arms
Blank emblem link	Coat of arms of Stockholm
Coordinates region	SE
Pushpin map	Sweden
Subdivision type	Country
Subdivision name	Sweden
Subdivision type3	Municipalities
Subdivision name3
Subdivision type2	County
Subdivision name2	Stockholm County
Subdivision type1	Province
Subdivision name1	Södermanland and Uppland
Established title	First mention
Established date	1252
Established title1	Charter
Established date1	13th century
Area footnotes
Area total km2	188
Area urban km2	381.6
Area metro km2	6519
Population as of	2010-03-31
Population total	851155
Population density km2	auto
Population metro	2063945
Population density metro km2	auto
Population urban	1372565
Population density urban km2	auto
Timezone	CET
Utc offset	+1
Timezone dst	CEST
Utc offset dst	+2
Coordinates display	displayinline,title
Postal code	100 00-200 00
Area code	+46-8
Website	http://www.stockholm.se/ }}

Stockholm ( ()) is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. It is the site of the national Swedish government, the Riksdag (parliament), and the official residence of the Swedish monarch as well as the prime minister. Since 1980, the monarch has resided at Drottningholm Palace outside of Stockholm and uses the Royal Palace of Stockholm as his workplace and official residence. As of 2010, the Stockholm metropolitan area is home to approximately 22% of Sweden's population. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality (2010), 1.37 million in the urban area (2010), and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area (2010).

Founded circa 1250, Stockholm has long been one of Sweden's cultural, media, political, and economic centres. Its strategic location on 14 islands on the south-central east coast of Sweden at the mouth of Lake Mälaren, by the Stockholm archipelago, has been historically important. Stockholm has been nominated by GaWC as a global city, with a ranking of Alpha-. In The 2008 Global Cities Index, Stockholm ranked 24th in the world, 10th in Europe, and first in Scandinavia. Stockholm is known for its beauty, its buildings and architecture, its abundant clean and open water, and its many parks. It is sometimes referred to as ''Venice of the North''.

History

Stockholm's location appears in Norse sagas as Agnafit, and in Heimskringla in connection with the legendary king Agne. The earliest written mention of the name Stockholm dates from 1252, by which time the mines in Bergslagen made it an important site in the iron trade. The first part of the name (''stock'') means log in Swedish, although it may also be connected to an old German word (''Stock'') meaning fortification. The second part of the name (''holm'') means islet, and is thought to refer to the islet Helgeandsholmen in central Stockholm. The city is said to have been founded by Birger Jarl to protect Sweden from a sea invasion by foreign navies and to stop the pillage of towns such as Sigtuna on Lake Mälaren.

Stockholm's core of the present Old Town (Gamla Stan) was built on the central island next to Helgeandsholmen from the mid-13th century onward. The city originally rose to prominence as a result of the Baltic trade of the Hanseatic League. Stockholm developed strong economic and cultural linkages with Lübeck, Hamburg, Gdańsk, Visby, Reval, and Riga during this time. Between 1296 and 1478 Stockholm's City Council was made up of 24 members, half of whom were selected from the town's German-speaking burghers.

The strategic and economic importance of the city made Stockholm an important factor in relations between the Danish Kings of the Kalmar Union and the national independence movement in the 15th century. The Danish King Christian II was able to enter the city in 1520. On 8 November 1520 a massacre of opposition figures called the Stockholm Bloodbath took place and set off further uprisings that eventually led to the breakup of the Kalmar Union. With the accession of Gustav Vasa in 1523 and the establishment of a royal power, the population of Stockholm began to grow, reaching 10,000 by 1600.

The 17th century saw Sweden grow into a major European power, reflected in the development of the city of Stockholm. From 1610 to 1680 the population multiplied sixfold. In 1634 Stockholm became the official capital of the Swedish empire. Trading rules were also created that gave Stockholm an essential monopoly over trade between foreign merchants and other Swedish and Scandinavian territories.

In 1710 a plague killed about 20,000 (36 percent) of the population. After the end of the Great Northern War the city stagnated. Population growth halted and economic growth slowed. The city was in shock after having lost its place as the capital of a Great Power. However Stockholm maintained its role as the political centre of Sweden and continued to develop culturally under Gustav III.

By the second half of the 19th century, Stockholm had regained its leading economic role. New industries emerged and Stockholm was transformed into an important trade and service centre as well as a key gateway point within Sweden. The population also grew dramatically during this time, mainly through immigration. At the end of the century, less than 40% of the residents were Stockholm-born. Settlement began to expand outside the city limits. The 19th century saw the establishment of a number of scientific institutes, including the Karolinska Institute. The General Art and Industrial Exposition was held in 1897.

Stockholm became a modern, technologically advanced, and ethnically diverse city in the latter half of the 20th century. Many historical buildings were torn down during the modernist era, including substantial parts of the historical district of Klara, and replaced with modern architecture. However, in many other parts of Stockholm (such as in Gamla Stan, Södermalm, Östermalm, Kungsholmen and Vasastan), many "old" buildings, blocks and streets built before the modernism and functionalism movements took off in Sweden (around 1930-1935) survived this era of demolition. Throughout the century, many industries shifted away from work-intensive activities into more high-tech and service industry areas.

The city continued to expand with the creation of additional districts such as Rinkeby and Tensta, some with high proportions of immigrants.

Geography

Location

Stockholm is located on Sweden's south-central east coast, where Lake Mälaren meets the Baltic Sea. The central parts of the city consist of fourteen islands that are continuous with the Stockholm archipelago. The geographical city centre is situated on the water, in Riddarfjärden bay. Over 30% of the city area is made up of waterways and another 30% is made up of parks and green spaces.

For details about the other municipalities in the metropolitan area, see the pertinent articles. North of Stockholm Municipality: Järfälla, Solna, Täby, Sollentuna, Lidingö, Upplands Väsby, Österåker, Sigtuna, Sundbyberg, Danderyd, Vallentuna, Ekerö, Upplands-Bro, Vaxholm, and Norrtälje. South of Stockholm: Huddinge, Nacka, Botkyrka, Haninge, Tyresö, Värmdö, Södertälje, Salem, Nykvarn and Nynäshamn.

Stockholm Municipality

Stockholm Municipality is an administrative unit defined by geographical borders. The semi-officially adopted name for the municipality is ''City of Stockholm'' (''Stockholms stad'' in Swedish). As a municipality, the City of Stockholm is subdivided into district councils, which carry responsibility for primary schools, social, leisure and cultural services within their respective areas. The municipality is usually described in terms of its three main parts: Innerstaden (Stockholm City Centre), Söderort (Southern Stockholm) and Västerort (Western Stockholm). The districts of these parts are:

{| |- !Stockholm City Centre !Söderort !Västerort |- style="vertical-align:top;" |

Kungsholmen

Norrmalm

Södermalm

Östermalm

|

Enskede-Årsta-Vantör

Farsta

Hägersten-Liljeholmen

Skarpnäck

Skärholmen

Älvsjö

|

Bromma

Hässelby-Vällingby

Rinkeby-Kista

Spånga-Tensta

|}

The modern centrum Norrmalm, (concentrated around the town square Sergels torg), is the largest shopping district in Sweden. It is the most central part of Stockholm in business and shopping. Östermalm is the most affluent district of Stockholm.

Climate

Stockholm, with a February mean of , depending on the definition used, lies directly on the border between the humid continental and oceanic zones (Köppen ''Dfb'' / ''Cfb''). Due to the city's high northerly latitude, daylight varies widely from more than 18 hours around midsummer, to only around 6 hours in late December. Despite its northern location, Stockholm has relatively mild weather compared to other locations at similar latitude, or even farther south.

Summers are warm and pleasant with average daytime high temperatures of and lows of around , but temperatures could reach on some days. Winters are cold, and sometimes snowy with average temperatures ranging from , and sometimes drop below . Spring and autumn are generally cool to mild.

The climate table below presents weather data from the years 1961 - 1990. According to ongoing measurements, the temperature has increased during the years 1991 - 2009 as compared with the last series. This increase is on annual basis around 1.0 °C (roughly 1.8 °F). Warming is most pronounced during the winter months, with an increase of more than 2.0 °C (around a 3.6 °F - 4 °F increase) in January.

The highest temperature ever recorded in Stockholm was in July 3 1811; the lowest was in January 20 1814. However, the temperature has not dropped to below since January 10, 1987

Annual precipitation is with around 170 wet days and light to moderate rainfall throughout the year. Snow mainly occurs from December through March with some winters bringing plenty of snow, while others are milder with more rain than snow.

Politics and government

Municipalities are responsible for government-mandated duties, and elections for the municipal council are held every four years, parallel to the general elections.

Following the 2010 municipal elections, the seats are divided in the following way: {| |- ! The governing parties ! Parties in opposition |- style="vertical-align:top;" |

The Moderate Party 38

The Liberal People's Party 10

The Christian Democrats 1

The Centre Party 3

|

The Social Democrats 25

The Left Party 8

The Green Party 16

|}

The Mayor of Stockholm is as of April 2008 Sten Nordin from the Moderate Party.

Economy

The vast majority of Stockholm residents work in the service industry, which accounts for roughly 85% of jobs in Stockholm. The almost total absence of heavy industry makes Stockholm one of the world's cleanest metropolises. The last decade has seen a significant number of jobs created in high technology companies. Large employers include IBM, Ericsson, and Electrolux. A major IT centre is located in Kista, in northern Stockholm.

Stockholm is Sweden's financial centre. Major Swedish banks, such as Swedbank, Handelsbanken, and Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken, are headquartered in Stockholm, as are the major insurance companies Skandia and Trygg-Hansa. Stockholm is also home to Sweden's foremost stock exchange, the Stockholm Stock Exchange (''Stockholmsbörsen''). Additionally, about 45% of Swedish companies with more than 200 employees are headquartered in Stockholm. Famous clothes retailer H&M is also headquartered in the city. In recent years, tourism has played an important part in the city's economy. Between 1991–2004, annual overnight stays increased from 4 to 7.7 million.

The largest companies by number of employees:

Education

Research and higher education in the sciences started in Stockholm in the 18th century, with education in medicine and various research institutions such as the Stockholm Observatory. The medical education was eventually formalized in 1811 as the Karolinska Institutet. The Royal Institute of Technology (''Kungliga Tekniska högskolan'', or ''KTH'') was founded in 1827 and is currently Scandinavia's largest higher education institute of technology with 13,000 students. Stockholm University, founded in 1878 with university status granted in 1960, has 52,000 students as of 2008. It also incorporates many historical institutions, such as the Observatory, the Swedish Museum of Natural History, and the botanical garden ''Bergianska trädgården''. The Stockholm School of Economics, founded in 1909, is one of the few private institutions of higher education in Sweden.

In the fine arts, educational institutions include the Royal College of Music, which has a history going back to the conservatory founded as part of the Royal Swedish Academy of Music in 1771, the Royal University College of Fine Arts, which has a similar historical association with the Royal Swedish Academy of Arts and a foundation date of 1735, and the Swedish National Academy of Mime and Acting, which is the continuation of the school of the Royal Dramatic Theatre, once attended by Greta Garbo. Other schools include the design school Konstfack, founded in 1844, the University College of Opera (founded in 1968, but with older roots), the University College of Dance, and the ''Stockholms Musikpedagogiska Institut'' (the University College of Music Education).

The Södertörn University College was founded in 1995 as a multi-disciplinary institution for southern Metropolitan Stockholm, to balance the many institutions located in the northern part of the region.

Other institutes of higher education are:

Military Academy Karlberg, the world's oldest military academy to remain in its original location, inaugurated in 1792 and housed in Karlberg Palace.

Ersta Sköndal University College

The Stockholm School of Theology (''Teologiska Högskolan, Stockholm'')

The Swedish School of Sport and Health Sciences (''Gymnastik- och idrottshögskolan'', or ''GIH'')

Demographics

The Stockholm region is home to around 22% of Sweden's total population, and accounts for about 28% of the gross domestic product. The geographical notion of "Stockholm" has changed throughout the times. By the turn of the 19th century, Stockholm basically consisted of the area today known as City Centre, roughly or 1/5 of the current municipal area. In the ensuing decades several other areas were incorporated (such as Brännkyrka Municipality in 1913, at which time it had 25,000 inhabitants, and Spånga in 1949). The municipal border was established in 1971; with the exception of Hansta, in 1982 purchased by Stockholm Municipality from Sollentuna Municipality and today a nature reserve.

Of the population of 765,044 in 2004, 370,482 were men and 394,562 women. The average age is 39.8 years; 40.5% of the population is between 20 and 44 years. 309,480 people, or 40.4% of the population, over the age 15 were unmarried. 211,115 people, or 27.5% of the population, were married. 85,373, or 11.1% of the population, had been married but divorced. Approximately 26 % of Stockholm's residents are of an immigrant or non-Swedish background. Residents of Stockholm are known as Stockholmers. Some of the suburbs have large populations of immigrants. Some languages spoken in Greater Stockholm beside Swedish, Finnish and English due to large numbers of immigrants are Bosnian, Syriac, Arabic, Turkish, Kurdish, Persian, Dutch, Spanish, Serbian and Croatian.

Historical population

Population in the city of Stockholm from 1570 to present {| |- | valign="top" |

style="background:#efefef;"	Year	Population
1570	9,100
1610	8,900
1630	15,000
1650	35,000
1690	55,000
1730	57,000
1750	60,018
1770	69,000
1800	75,517
1810	65,474
1820	75,569
1830	80,621
1840	84,161
1850	93,070
1860	113,063
1870	136,016

| valign="top" |

style="background:#efefef;"	Year	Population
1880	168,775
1890	246,454
1900	300,624
1910	342,323
1920	419,429
1930	502,207
1940	590,543
1950	745,936
1960	808,294
1970	740,486
1980	647,214
1990	674,452
2000	750,348
2005	771,038
2007	795,163
2008	810,120
2009	829,417
2010	847,073

|}

In the last century, the population of nearby municipalities in Stockholm County has become relevant to mention as well as the population of Stockholm Municipality, as many municipalities form part of the Stockholm urban area and as such are often considered part of the general term "Stockholm".

As of 2010, Stockholm urban area has a population of 1,372,565; (Stockholm 847,991 Huddinge 94,752+; Järfälla 65,968+; Solna 68,038; Sollentuna 60,236+; Botkyrka 54,331+; Haninge 44,889+; Tyresö 39,253+; Sundbyberg 38,220; Nacka 33,057+; Danderyd 25,830+ +these municipalities have larger populations, but not all within the Stockholm urban area).

In the entire Stockholm metropolitan area, with its 26 municipalities, the population reaches more than 2 million inhabitants.

Culture

Apart from being Sweden's capital, Stockholm houses many national cultural institutions. There are two UNESCO World Heritage sites in the Stockholm area: The Royal Palace Drottningholm (within Ekerö Municipality) and the Skogskyrkogården (The Woodland Cemetery).

Stockholm was the 1998 European City of Culture.

Literature

Authors connected to Stockholm include the poet and songwriter Carl Michael Bellman (1740–1795), novelist and dramatist August Strindberg (1849–1912), and novelist Hjalmar Söderberg (1869–1941), all of whom made Stockholm part of their works.

Other authors with notable heritage in Stockholm were the Nobel Prize laureate Eyvind Johnson (1900–1976) and the popular poet and composer Evert Taube (1890–1976). The novelist Per Anders Fogelström (1917–1998) wrote a popular series of historical novels depicting life in Stockholm from the 19th to the mid-20th century.

Architecture

The city's oldest section is "Gamla Stan" (Old Town), located on the original small islands of the city's earliest settlements and still featuring the medieval street layout. Some notable buildings of Gamla Stan are the large German Church (''Tyska kyrkan'') and several mansions and palaces: the ''Riddarhuset'' (the House of Nobility), the Bonde Palace, the Tessin Palace and the Oxenstierna Palace. The oldest building in Stockholm is the Riddarholmskyrkan from the late 13th century. After a fire in 1697 when the original medieval castle was destroyed, Stockholm Palace was erected in a baroque style. Storkyrkan Cathedral, the episcopal seat of the Bishop of Stockholm, stands next to the castle. It was founded in the 13th century but is clad in a baroque exterior dating to the 18th century.

As early as the 15th century, the city had expanded outside of its original borders. Some pre-industrial, small-scale buildings from this era can still be found in Södermalm. During the 19th century and the age of industrialization Stockholm grew rapidly, with plans and architecture inspired by the large cities of the continent such as Berlin and Vienna. Notable works of this time period include public buildings such as the Royal Swedish Opera and private developments such as the luxury housing developments on Strandvägen.

In the 20th century, a nationalistic push spurred a new architectural style inspired by medieval and renaissance ancestry as well as influences of the Jugend/Art Nouveau style. A key landmark of Stockholm, the Stockholm City Hall, was erected 1911-1923 by architect Ragnar Östberg. Other notable works of these times are the Stockholm Public Library and the Forest Cemetery, Skogskyrkogården.

In the 1930s modernism characterized the development of the city as it grew. New residential areas sprang up such as the development on Gärdet while industrial development added to the growth, such as the KF manufacturing industries on Kvarnholmen located in the Nacka Municipality. In the 1950s, suburban development entered a new phase with the introduction of the Stockholm metro. The modernist developments of Vällingby and Farsta were internationally praised. In the 1960s this suburban development continued but with the aesthetic of the times, the industrialized and mass-produced blocks of flats received a large amount of criticism. At the same time that this suburban development was taking place, the most central areas of the inner city were being redesigned, known as ''Norrmalmsregleringen''. Sergels Torg, with its five high-rise office towers was created in the 1960s, followed by the total clearance of large areas to make room for new development projects. The most notable buildings from this period is the ensemble of the House of Culture, City Theatre and National Bank at Sergels Torg, designed by architect Peter Celsing.

In the 1980s, the planning ideas of modernism were starting to be questioned, resulting in suburbs with a denser planning, such as Skarpnäck. In the 1990s this idea was taken further with the development of and old industrial area close to the inner city, resulting in a sort of mix of modernistic and urban planning in the new area of Hammarby Sjöstad.

The municipality has appointed an official "board of beauty" called "Skönhetsrådet" to protect and preserve the beauty of the city.

Stockholm's architecture (along with Visby, Gotland ) provided the inspiration for Japanese anime director Hayao Miyazaki as he sought to evoke an idealized city untouched by World War. His creation, called Koriko, draws directly from what Miyazaki felt was Stockholm's sense of well-established architectural unity, vibrancy, independence, and safety.

One of the most unusual pieces of "architecture" in Stockholm is the ''Jumbohostel'', housed in a converted Boeing 747 located at Stockholm-Arlanda Airport.

Museums

Stockholm is one of the most crowded museum-cities in the world with around 100 museums, visited by millions of people every year. The most renowned national museum is the Nationalmuseum, with Sweden's largest collection of art: 16,000 paintings and 30,000 objects of art handicraft. The collection dates back to the days of Gustav Vasa in the 16th century, and has since been expanded with works by artists such as Rembrandt, and Antoine Watteau, as well as constituting a main part of Sweden's art heritage, manifested in the works of Alexander Roslin, Anders Zorn, Johan Tobias Sergel, Carl Larsson, Carl Fredrik Hill and Ernst Josephson.

The Museum of Modern Art, or Moderna Museet, is Sweden's national museum of modern art. It has works by famous modern artists such as Picasso and Salvador Dalí.

Other notable museums:

Stockholm City Museum

Skansen, the archetype of open-air museums, inaugurated 1891.

Nordic Museum, dedicated to the cultural history and ethnography of Sweden.

Royal Coin Cabinet, dedicated to the history of money.

The Vasa Museum, now with the reconstruction of the missing parts of the Vasa Ship.

Art galleries

Stockholm has a vibrant art scene with a number of internationally recognized art centres and commercial galleries. Amongst others privately sponsored initiatives such as Bonniers Konsthall, Magasin 3, and state supported institutions such as Tensta Konsthall and Index all show leading international and national artists. In the last few years a gallery district has emerged around Hudiksvallsgatan where leading galleries such as Andréhn-Schiptjenko, Brändström & Stene have located. Other important commercial galleries include Nordenhake, Milliken Gallery and Galleri Magnus Karlsson.

Suburbs

The Stockholm suburbs are places with diverse cultural background. Some areas in the inner suburbs, including those of Tensta, Jordbro, Fittja, Husby, Brandbergen, Rinkeby, Kista, Hagsätra, Rågsved, Huddinge, and the outer suburb of Södertälje, have high percentages of immigrants or second generation immigrants. These mainly come from the Middle East (Assyrians, Syriacs, Turks and Kurds) and former Yugoslavia, but there are also immigrants from Africa, Southeast Asia and Latin America. Other parts of the inner suburbs, such as Hässelby, Vällingby, Sollentuna, Täby, Danderyd, Lidingö, Flysta and Hökarängen, as well as some of the suburbs mentioned above, have a majority of ethnic Swedes.

Theatres

Distinguished among Stockholm's many theatres are the Royal Dramatic Theatre (''Kungliga Dramatiska Teatern''), one of Europe's most renowned theatres, and the Royal Swedish Opera, inaugurated in 1773.

Other notable theatres are the Stockholm City Theatre (Stockholms stadsteater), the Peoples Opera (''Folkoperan''), the Modern Theatre of Dance (''Moderna dansteatern''), the China Theatre, the Göta Lejon Theatre, the Mosebacke Theatre, and the Oscar Theatre.

Amusement park

Gröna Lund is an amusement park located on the island of Djurgården. The Amusement park has over 30 attractions and many restaurants. It is a popular tourist attraction and visited by thousands of people every day. It is open from end of April to middle of September. Gröna Lund also serves as a concert venue.

Media

Stockholm is the media centre of Sweden. In Stockholm the hit PC game "Minecraft" was created by Markus 'Notch' Persson in 2009. It has four nation-wide daily newspapers and is also the central location of the publicly funded radio (SR) and television (SVT). In addition, all other major television channels have their base in Stockholm, such as: TV3, TV4, Kanal 5 and TV6. All major magazines are also located to Stockholm, as are the largest literature publisher, the Bonnier group.

Sports

The most popular spectator sports are football and ice hockey. The three most popular teams are AIK, Djurgårdens IF and Hammarby IF. All of these clubs have large amounts of fans and play at fairly large Stadiums.

AIK plays at Råsunda with a capacity of 36.508, but is most likely going to move to the new Swedbank Arena with a capacity of 50.000 which will be completed in 2012 and will be the new National Stadium. However, this is not yet decided, and the fans of AIK are urging the club to buy Råsunda due to strong emotional attachment to the stadium. Swedbank Arena will be built regardless of AIK's involvement. Most of AIK's fans are from the north of Stockholm and from the northern suburbs.

Djurgårdens IF plays at Stockholm Stadion but will move to a New Stadium in the future. The new stadium will have a capacity of 20-25,000 and will be located close to the old one. Tvillingderbyt is the derby between AIK and Djurgården and is often referred to as one of the most passionate derbies in Europe. Both clubs were founded in 1891 in Stockholm: thus the name (the "twin derby").

Hammarby's stadium is located in the south of Stockholm, along with most of its fans. They have been playing at Söderstadion since the early 70s, but are to move to the new Stockholmsarenan with a capacity of 30.000, located 500 metres south of their current stadium.

Historically, the city was the host of the 1912 Summer Olympics. From those days stem the Stockholms Olympiastadion which has since hosted numerous sports events, notably football and athletics. Other major sport arenas are Råsunda Stadium, the national football stadium, and Stockholm Globe Arena, a multi-sport arena and one of the largest spherical buildings in the world.

Beside the 1912 Summer Olympics, Stockholm hosted the 1956 Summer Olympics Equestrian Games. The city was also second runner up in the 2004 Summer Olympics bids.

Stockholm also hosted all but one of the Nordic Games, a winter multi-sport event that predated the Winter Olympics.

Cuisine

There are over 1000 restaurants in Stockholm. Due to immigration, the city has plenty of restaurants with all kinds of food from all over the world such as American fast food, Asian, Italian, Turkish, French, Greek, Scandinavian, Spanish, and Middle Eastern cuisine. Cafeterias and bars are easy to find anywhere in the city.

As of 2009 Stockholm boasts a total of nine Michelin star restaurants, two of which have two stars.

Yearly events

Where the Action Is Tour is a 2-day music festival held in Djurgården in June.

Stockholm Jazz Festival is one of Sweden's oldest festivals. The festival takes place at Skeppsholmen in July. Stockholm Pride is the largest Pride event in the Nordic countries and takes place in the last week of July every year. The Stockholm Pride festival always ends with a parade and in 2007, 50 000 people marched with the parade and about 500 000 watched.

The Stockholm Marathon takes place on a Saturday in early June each year

The Nobel Banquet takes place at Stockholm City Hall every year on December 10

The Stockholm Water Festival (Swe: ''Vattenfestivalen'') was a popular summer festival held annually in Stockholm between 1991 and 1999.

Environment

Green city with a national urban park

Stockholm is one of the cleanest capitals in the world. The city was granted the 2010 European Green Capital Award by the EU Commission and has been celebrated as Europe’s first green capital. Applicant cities were evaluated in several ways: climate change, local transport, public green areas, air quality, noise, waste, water consumption, waste water treatment, sustainable utilisation of land, biodiversity and environmental management. Out of 35 participant cities, eight finalists were chosen: Stockholm, Amsterdam, Bristol, Copenhagen, Freiburg, Hamburg, Münster, and Oslo. Some of the reasons why Stockholm won the 2010 European Green Capital Award were: its integrated administrative system, which ensure that environmental aspects are considered in budgets, operational planning, reporting, and monitoring; its cut in carbon dioxide emissions by 25% per capita in ten years; and its decision towards being fossil fuel free by 2050. Stockholm has long demonstrated concern for the environment. The city’s current environmental program is the fifth since the first one was established in mid-1970s. In 2011, Stockholm will pass the title of European Green Capital to Hamburg, Germany.

Role model

In the beginning of 2010, Stockholm launched the program Professional Study Visits in order to share the city’s green best practices. The program provide visitors with the opportunity to learn how to address issues such as waste management, urban planning, carbon dioxide emissions, and sustainable and efficient transportation system, among others.

According to the European Cities Monitor 2010, Stockholm is the best city in terms of freedom from pollution. Surrounded by 219 nature reserves, Stockholm has around 1,000 green spaces, which corresponds to 30% of the city’s area. Founded in 1995, the Royal National City Park is the world’s first legally protected "national urban park". For a description of the formation process, value assets and implementation of the legal protection of The Royal National Urban Park, see Schantz 2006 The water in Stockholm is so clean that people can dive and fish in the center of city. As for carbon dioxide emissions, the government goal is to have only clean vehicles in the city by 2011.

Transport

Public transport

Stockholm has an extensive public transport system, one that by at least one measure is the most expensive in the world. It consists of the Stockholm Metro (''Tunnelbana''); two urban rail systems, Roslagsbanan and Saltsjöbanan; and a suburban rail system: the Stockholm commuter rail (''pendeltåg''), three light rail systems: Nockebybanan, Lidingöbanan, and Tvärbanan; a tramway: Spårväg City; a large number of bus lines, and the inner-city boat line Djurgårdsfärjan. All the land-based public transport in Stockholm County, except the airport buses/trains, are organized by Storstockholms Lokaltrafik (''SL''), with the operation and maintenance of the public transport services delegated to several contractors, such as MTR who operate the metro and Veolia Transport who operate the suburban railways except for the commuter rail. The archipelago boat traffic is handled by Waxholmsbolaget.

SL has a common ticket system in the entire Stockholm County, which allows for easy travel between different modes of transport. The tickets are of two main types, single ticket and travel cards, both allowing for unlimited travel with SL in the entire Stockholm County for the duration of the ticket validity. Starting April 1, 2007, a new zone system (A, B, C) and price system applies for single tickets. Single tickets are now available in forms of cash ticket, individual unit pre-paid tickets, pre-paid ticket slips of 10, sms-ticket and machine ticket. Cash tickets bought at the point of travel are the most expensive and pre-paid tickets slips of 10 are the cheapest. A single ticket is valid for one hour. The duration of the travel card validity depends on the exact type; they are available from 24 hours up to a year. A 30-day card costs 690 SEK (73 EUR; 115 USD). Tickets of all these types are available with reduced prices for persons under 20 and over 65 years of age.

The City Line Project, or The Green Tunnel

With estimated cost at SEK 16.8 billion (January 2007 price level), which equals to 2.44 billion US dollars, the City Line, an environmentally certified project, comprises a 6 km-long commuter train tunnel (in rock and water) beneath Stockholm, with two new stations (Stockholm City and Stockholm Odenplan), and a 1.4 km-long railway bridge at Årsta. The City Line is being built by the Swedish Transport Administration in co-operation with the City of Stockholm, Stockholm County Council, and Stockholm Transport, SL. As Stockholm Central Station is overloaded, the purpose of this project is to double the city’s track capacity and improve service efficiency. Operations are scheduled to begin in 2017.

Between Riddarholmen and Söder Mälarstrand, the City Line will run through a submerged concrete tunnel. As a green project, the City Line includes the purification of waste water; noise reduction through sound-attenuating tracks; the use of synthetic diesel, which provides users with clean air; and the recycling of excavated rocks.

Roads

Stockholm is at the junction of the European routes E4, E18 and E20. A half-completed motorway ring road exists on the south and west sides of the City Centre.

Congestion charges

Stockholm has a congestion pricing system, Stockholm congestion tax, in use on a permanent basis since August 1, 2007, after having had a seven month trial period in the first half of 2006. The City Centre is within the congestion tax zone. All the entrances and exits of this area have unmanned control points operating with automatic number plate recognition. All vehicles entering or exiting the congestion tax affected area, with a few exceptions, have to pay 10–20 SEK (1.09–2.18 EUR, 1.49–2.98 USD) depending on the time of day between 06:30 and 18:29. The maximum tax amount per vehicle per day is 60 SEK (6.53 EUR, 8.94 USD). Payment is done by various means within 14 days after one has passed one of the control points, one cannot pay at the control points.

After the trial period was over, consultative referendums were held in Stockholm Municipality and several other municipalities in Stockholm County. The then-reigning government (cabinet Persson) stated that they would only take into consideration the results of the referendum in Stockholm Municipality. The opposition parties (Alliance for Sweden) stated that they were to form a cabinet after the general election—which was held the same day as the congestion tax referendums—they would take into consideration the referendums held in several the other municipalities as well, but did not specify more in detail how they would do that. The results of the referendums were that the Stockholm Municipality voted for the congestion tax, but all the other municipalities voted against it. The opposition parties won the general election and a few days before they formed government (cabinet Reinfeldt) they announced that the congestion tax would be reintroduced in Stockholm, but that the revenue would go entirely to road construction in and around Stockholm. During the trial period and according to the agenda of the previous government the revenue went entirely to public transport.

Ferries

Stockholm has regular ferry lines to Helsinki and Turku in Finland (commonly called "Finlandsfärjan"); Tallinn, Estonia; Riga, Latvia, Åland islands and to Saint Petersburg. The large Stockholm archipelago is served by the Waxholmsbolaget archipelago boats.

City bikes

Between April and October, during the warmer months, it is possible to rent Stockholm City Bikes by purchasing a bike card online or through retailers. Cards allow users to rent bikes from any Stockholm City Bikes stand spread across the city and return them in any stand. There are two types of cards: the Season Card (valid from April 1 to October 31) and the 3-day card. When their validity runs out they can be reactivated and are therefore reusable. Bikes can be used for up to three hours per loan and can be rented from Monday to Sunday from 6 am to 10 pm.

Airports

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Stockholm-Arlanda Airport is the largest and busiest airport in Sweden with 18 million passengers in 2007. It is located about 40 km north of Stockholm.

International and domestic:

Stockholm-Arlanda Airport is the primary airport for the region and serves as a hub for Scandinavian Airlines.

Stockholm-Bromma Airport is located about west of Stockholm.

Only international:

Stockholm-Skavsta Airport is located south of Stockholm.

Stockholm-Västerås Airport is located west of Stockholm, in the city of Västerås.

Arlanda Express airport rail link runs between Arlanda Airport and central Stockholm. There are also bus lines, Flygbussarna, that run between central Stockholm and all the airports.

As of 2010 there are no airports specifically for general aviation in the Stockholm area.

Inter-city trains

Stockholm Central Station has train connections to many Swedish cities as well as to Oslo, Norway and Copenhagen, Denmark. The popular X 2000 service to Gothenburg takes three hours. Most of the trains are run by SJ AB.

International rankings

Stockholm often performs well in international rankings, some of which are mentioned below:

In the book ''The Ultimate Guide to International Marathons'' (1997), written by Dennis Craythorn and Rich Hanna, Stockholm Marathon is ranked as the best marathon in the world. In the 2006 European Innovation Scoreboard, prepared by the Maastricht Economic Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (MERIT) and the Joint Research Centre's Institute for the Protection and the Security of the Citizen of the European Commission, Stockholm was ranked as the most innovative city in Europe. In the 2008 World Knowledge Competitiveness Index, published by the Centre for International Competitiveness, Stockholm was ranked as the sixth most competitive region in the world and the most competitive region outside the United States. In the 2006 European Regional Growth Index (E-REGI), published by Jones Lang LaSalle, Stockholm was ranked fifth on the list of European cities with the strongest GDP growth forecast. Stockholm was ranked first in Scandinavia and second outside Central and Eastern Europe. In the 2007 European Cities Monitor, published by Cushman & Wakefield, Stockholm was ranked as the best Nordic city to locate a business. In the same report, Stockholm was ranked first in Europe in terms of freedom from pollution. In a 2007 survey performed by the environmental economist Matthew Kahn for the ''Reader's Digest'' magazine, Stockholm was ranked first on its list of the "greenest" and most "livable" cites in the world. In a 2008 survey published by the ''Reader's Digest'' magazine, Stockholm was ranked fourth in the world and first in Europe on its list of the "world's top ten honest cities". In a 2008 survey published by the ''National Geographic Traveler'' magazine, Gamla stan (the old town) in Stockholm was ranked sixth on its list of rated historic places. In a 2008 survey published by the ''Foreign Policy'' magazine, Stockholm was ranked twenty-fourth on its list of the world's most global cities.

In 2009 Stockholm was awarded the title as European Green Capital 2010 - as the first Green capital ever in the European Green Capital Award scheme.

Twin cities and towns

Bassano del Grappa, Italy Belgrade, Serbia Cali, Colombia Copenhagen, Denmark Helsinki, Finland Istanbul, Turkey Kiev, Ukraine Nuuk, Greenland Oslo, Norway Reykjavík, Iceland Saint Petersburg, Russia Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina Siracusa, Italy Tirana, Albania Tórshavn, Faroe Islands Islamabad, Pakistan

Buildings gallery

See also

Largest European metropolitan areas

List of people connected to Stockholm

Ports of the Baltic Sea

Stockholm syndrome

Stockholmska

References

;Notes

External links

Stockholm - official website

Stockholm Visitors Board - the official visitors' guide

Stockholm travel guide from Wikitravel

Category:Stockholm urban area Category:Metropolitan Stockholm Category:Municipal seats of Stockholm County Category:Swedish municipal seats Category:Populated places in Stockholm County Category:Port cities in Sweden Category:Port cities and towns of the Baltic Sea Category:Capitals in Europe Category:Coastal cities and towns in Sweden Category:Host cities of the Summer Olympic Games Category:European Capitals of Culture Category:IOC Session Host Cities

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Name	Lady Gaga
Alt	Portrait of Lady Gaga
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta
Birth date	March 28, 1986
Birth place	New York City, New York, U.S.
Instrument	Vocals, piano, keyboards
Genre	Pop, dance
Occupation	Singer-songwriter, performance artist, record producer, dancer, businesswoman, activist
Years active	2005–present
Label	Def Jam, Cherrytree, Streamline, Kon Live, Interscope
Website	}}

Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta (; born March 28, 1986), better known by her stage name Lady Gaga, is an American singer and songwriter. Born and raised in New York City, she primarily studied at the Convent of the Sacred Heart and briefly attended New York University's Tisch School of the Arts before withdrawing to focus on her musical career. She began performing in the rock music scene of Manhattan's Lower East Side, and by the end of 2007, was signed with Streamline Records. Employed as a songwriter for the record company, her vocal abilities captured the attention of recording artist Akon, who signed her to his label Kon Live Distribution.

Lady Gaga came to prominence as a recording artist following the release of her debut album ''The Fame'' (2008), which was a critical and commercial success that topped charts around the world and included the international number-one singles "Just Dance" and "Poker Face". After embarking on the Fame Ball Tour, she followed the album with ''The Fame Monster'' (2009), which spawned the worldwide hit singles "Bad Romance", "Telephone" and "Alejandro" and allowed her to embark on the eighteen-month long Monster Ball Tour, which later became one of the highest-grossing concert tours of all time. Her most recent album ''Born This Way'' (2011) topped the charts of most major markets and generated more international chart-topping singles that include "Born This Way", "Judas", "The Edge of Glory", and "Marry The Night". Beside her musical career, she involves herself with humanitarian causes and LGBT activism.

Influenced by such acts as David Bowie, Michael Jackson, Madonna and Queen, Lady Gaga is well-recognized for her flamboyant, diverse and outré contributions to the music industry through fashion, performance and music videos. She has sold an estimated 23 million albums and 64 million singles worldwide, making her one of the best-selling music artists of all time and her singles some of the best-selling worldwide. Her achievements include four ''Guinness World Records'', five Grammy Awards and thirteen MTV Video Music Awards. Lady Gaga has consecutively appeared on ''Billboard'' magazine's Artists of the Year (scoring the definitive title in 2010), is regularly placed on lists composed by ''Forbes'' magazine, and was named one of the most influential people in the world by ''Time'' magazine.

Biography

1986–2004: Early life

Lady Gaga was born Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta on March 28, 1986 in New York City to parents Cynthia (née Bissett) and Joseph Germanotta, an internet entrepreneur. Descending from Italian and more distant French-Canadian roots, Gaga is the elder of two children. Her sister, Natali, a fashion student, was born in 1992. Despite her seemingly affluent upbringing in the family home in Manhattan's Upper West Side, Gaga has stressed that she did not come from a wealthy background, stating that her parents "both came from lower-class families, so we've worked for everything—my mother worked eight to eight out of the house, in telecommunications, and so did my father."

From the age of 11, Gaga – who was raised Roman Catholic – attended the Convent of the Sacred Heart, a private all-girls Roman Catholic school on Manhattan's Upper East Side. She described her academic life in high school as "very dedicated, very studious, very disciplined" but also "a bit insecure": "I used to get made fun of for being either too provocative or too eccentric, so I started to tone it down. I didn't fit in, and I felt like a freak." Acquaintances dispute that she did not fit in at school. "She had a core group of friends; she was a good student. She liked boys a lot, but singing was No. 1," recalled a former high school classmate.

Left-handed Gaga began playing the piano at the age of 4, went on to write her first piano ballad at 13, and started to perform at open mike nights by the age of 14. Her passion for musical theatre brought her lead roles in high school productions, including Adelaide in ''Guys and Dolls'' and Philia in ''A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum''. She also appeared in a very small role as a mischievous classmate in the television drama series ''The Sopranos'' in a 2001 episode titled "The Telltale Moozadell" in addition to unsuccessfully auditioning for parts in New York shows. When her time at the Convent of the Sacred Heart came to an end, her mother encouraged her to apply for the Collaborative Arts Project 21 (CAP21), a musical theatre training conservatory at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. After gaining early admission at 17, she eventually lived in an NYU dorm on 11th Street.

CAP21 prepared her for her future career focus in "music, art, sex and celebrity" where, in addition to sharpening her songwriting skills, she composed essays and analytical papers on art, religion, social issues and politics, including a thesis on pop artists Spencer Tunick and Damien Hirst. With CAP21, she also tried out for and won auditions, including the part of an unsuspecting diner customer where MTV's ''Boiling Points'', a prank reality television show, was being filmed. Notwithstanding these achievements, she felt that she was more creative than some of her classmates. "Once you learn how to think about art, you can teach yourself," she said. By the second semester of her sophomore year, she withdrew to focus on her musical career. Her father agreed to pay her rent for a year, on the condition that she re-enroll at Tisch if unsuccessful. "I left my entire family, got the cheapest apartment I could find, and ate shit until somebody would listen," she remembers.

2005–07: Career beginnings

Settled in a small apartment on Rivington Street towards the summer of 2005, Gaga recorded a couple of songs with hip-hop singer Grandmaster Melle Mel, for an audio book accompanying the children's book ''The Portal in the Park'', by Cricket Casey. She also began a band called the Stefani Germanotta Band (SGBand) with some friends from NYU – guitarist Calvin Pia, bassist Eli Silverman, drummer Alex Beckham and booking manager Frank Fredericks – in September of that year. The band played a mixture of songs: some self-penned alongside classic rock numbers like Led Zeppelin's "D'yer Mak'er". Playing in bars like the Greenwich Village's The Bitter End and the Lower East Side's the Mercury Lounge, the band developed a small fan base and caught the eye of music producer Joe Vulpis. Soon after arranging time in Vulpis' studio in the months that followed, SGBand were selling their extended plays ''Words'' and ''Red and Blue'' at gigs around New York while becoming a local fixture of the downtown Lower East Side club scene.

SGBand reached their career peak at the 2006 Songwriters Hall of Fame New Songwriters Showcase at The Cutting Room in June where Wendy Starland, a singer and model, appeared as a talent scout for music producer Rob Fusari. Starland informed Fusari – who was searching for a female singer to front a new band – of Gaga's ability and contacted her. With SGBand disbanded, Gaga traveled daily to New Jersey to work on songs she had written and compose new material with the music producer. While in collaboration, Fusari compared some of her vocal harmonies to those of Freddie Mercury, lead singer of Queen. It was Fusari who helped create the moniker Gaga after the Queen song "Radio Ga Ga". Gaga was in the process of trying to come up with a stage name when she received a text message from Fusari that read "Lady Gaga." He explained, "Every day, when Stef came to the studio, instead of saying hello, I would start singing 'Radio Ga Ga'. That was her entrance song" and that the text message was the result of a predictive text glitch that changed "radio" to "lady". She texted back, "That's it," and declared, "Don't ever call me Stefani again." ''The New York Post'', however, has reported that this story is incorrect, and that the name resulted from a marketing meeting.

Although the musical relationship between Fusari and Gaga was unsuccessful at first, the pair soon set up a company titled Team Lovechild in which they recorded and produced electropop tracks and sent them to music industry bosses. Joshua Sarubin, the head of A&R at Def Jam Recordings, responded positively and vied for the record company to take a chance on her "unusual and provocative" performance. After having his boss Antonio "L.A." Reid in agreement, Gaga was signed to Def Jam in September 2006 with the intention of having an album ready in nine months. However, she was dropped by the label after only three months – an unfortunate period of her life that would later inspire her treatment for the music video for her 2011 single "Marry the Night". Devastated, Gaga returned to the solace of the family home for Christmas and the nightlife culture of the Lower East Side.

She became increasingly experimental: fascinating herself with emerging neo-burlesque shows, go-go dancing at bars dressed in little more than a bikini in addition to experimenting with drugs. Her father, however, did not understand the reason behind her drug intake and could not look at her for several months. "I was onstage in a thong, with a fringe hanging over my ass thinking that had covered it, lighting hairsprays on fire, go-go dancing to Black Sabbath and singing songs about oral sex. The kids would scream and cheer and then we'd all go grab a beer. It represented freedom to me. I went to a Catholic school but it was on the New York underground that I found myself." It was then when she became romantically involved with a heavy metal drummer in a relationship and break-up she likened to the musical film ''Grease'': "I was his Sandy, and he was my Danny, and I just broke." He later became an inspiration behind some of her later songs.

During this time, she met performance artist Lady Starlight, who helped mold her on-stage persona. Starlight explained that, upon their first meeting, Gaga wanted to perform with her to songs she had recorded with Fusari. Like SGBand, the pair soon began performing at many of the downtown club venues like the Mercury Lounge, The Bitter End, and the Rockwood Music Hall. Their live performance art piece was known as "Lady Gaga and the Starlight Revue" and, billed as "The Ultimate Pop Burlesque Rockshow", was a low-fi tribute to 1970s variety acts. Soon after, the two were invited to play at the 2007 Lollapalooza music festival in August that year. The show was critically acclaimed, and their performance received positive reviews. Having initially focused on avant-garde electronic dance music, Gaga had found her musical niche when she began to incorporate pop melodies and the glam rock of David Bowie and Queen into her music.

While Gaga and Starlight were busy performing, producer Rob Fusari continued to work on the songs he had created with Gaga. Fusari sent these songs to his friend, producer and record executive Vincent Herbert. Herbert was quick to sign her to his label Streamline Records, an imprint of Interscope Records, upon its establishment in 2007. Gaga later credited Herbert as the man who discovered her, adding "I really feel like we made pop history, and we're gonna keep going." Having already served as an apprentice songwriter under an internship at Famous Music Publishing, which was later acquired by Sony/ATV Music Publishing, Gaga subsequently struck a music publishing deal with Sony/ATV. As a result, she was hired to write songs for Britney Spears and labelmates New Kids on the Block, Fergie, and the Pussycat Dolls.

While Gaga was writing at Interscope, singer-songwriter Akon recognized her vocal abilities when she sang a reference vocal for one of his tracks in studio. He then convinced Interscope-Geffen-A&M Chairman and CEO Jimmy Iovine to form a joint deal by having her also sign with his own label Kon Live Distribution, making her his "franchise player." As 2007 came to a close, her former management company introduced her to songwriter and producer RedOne, whom they also managed. The first song she produced with RedOne was "Boys Boys Boys", a mash-up inspired by Mötley Crüe's "Girls, Girls, Girls" and AC/DC's "T.N.T.". Gaga continued her collaboration with RedOne in the recording studio for a week on her debut album; making the chart-topping singles "Just Dance", "Poker Face" and "LoveGame" together. Gaga also joined the roster of Cherrytree Records, an Interscope imprint established by producer and songwriter Martin Kierszenbaum, after co-writing four songs with Kierszenbaum including the singles "Christmas Tree" and "Eh, Eh (Nothing Else I Can Say)". Despite her secure record deal, she admitted that there was fear about her being too "racy", "dance-orientated" and "underground" for the mainstream market. She responded, "My name is Lady Gaga, I've been on the music scene for years, and I'm telling you, this is what's next."

2008–10: ''The Fame'' and ''The Fame Monster''

By 2008, Gaga had relocated to Los Angeles, where she worked extensively with her record label to complete her debut album in addition to setting up her own creative team – modeled on Andy Warhol's Factory – Haus of Gaga. Intensive work continued on the album, combining genres "from Def Leppard drums and hand claps to metal drums on urban tracks" while drawing inspiration from 1980s synthpop and incorporating dance music with clear hooks. ''The Fame'', described as an exploration of her obsession with fame and the intricacies of a rich and famous lifestyle, was first released on August 19, 2008, preceded by lead single "Just Dance" four months earlier. Due to radio play being slow, Gaga supported the releases by performing in the backwaters of Malta and Vietnam in addition to small gay clubs around the United States. She was also billed as a supporting artist on the North American leg of New Kids on the Block's reunion concert tour.

A sleeper hit, "Just Dance" hit the summit of the charts in six countries – Australia, Canada, the Netherlands, Ireland, the United Kingdom, and the United States – in January 2009. The Grammy Award-nominated song provoked the instant success of ''The Fame''. Receiving positive reviews from contemporary critics who commended Gaga's ability to discover a melodious hook and compared her vocal abilities to those of Gwen Stefani, the album went to number-one in countries like the United Kingdom, Canada, Austria, Germany, Switzerland and Ireland while appearing in the top-five in Australia, the United States and fifteen other countries. On ''Billboard'''s Dance/Electronic Albums chart, it stayed at the top spot 106 non-consecutive weeks. Since its release, ''The Fame'' has sold over 12 million copies worldwide. Gaga achieved an even greater unexpected success when "Poker Face", another sleeper hit, reached number-one in almost all major music markets in the world including the United Kingdom and the United States in early 2009. The follow-up single won the award for Best Dance Recording at the 52nd Grammy Awards over nominations for Song of the Year and Record of the Year, while ''The Fame'' was nominated for Album of the Year and won the Grammy Award for Best Dance/Electronica Album. Gaga was the recipient of many other honors in 2009 including the accumulation of 3 of 9 MTV Video Music Awards nominations – she won Best New Artist while the video for her single "Paparazzi" gained the awards for Best Art Direction and Best Special Effects – and ''Billboard'' magazine's Rising Star award. In addition to being an opening act on the Pussycat Dolls' Doll Domination Tour during the first half of 2009 on their legs in Europe and Oceania, she also embarked on her own six-month critically appreciated worldwide concert tour The Fame Ball Tour which ran from March to September 2009.

While she traveled the world on tour, she wrote ''The Fame Monster'', a collection of eight songs, which was released in November 2009. Each song, dealing with the darker side of fame from personal experience, is expressed through a monster metaphor. Its first single "Bad Romance" topped the charts in eighteen countries, while reaching the top-two in the United States, Australia and New Zealand. It made Gaga the first artist in digital history to have three singles (along with "Just Dance" and "Poker Face") to pass the four million mark in digital sales and accrued the Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance while its accompanying music video won the Grammy Award for Best Short Form Music Video at the 53rd Grammy Awards The album's second single "Telephone", which features singer Beyoncé, was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals and became Gaga's fourth UK number-one single while its accompanying music video, although controversial, received a more positive reception from contemporary critics: praising her for "the musicality and showmanship of Michael Jackson and the powerful sexuality and provocative instincts of Madonna." Her following single "Alejandro" paired Gaga with fashion photographer Steven Klein for a music video similarly as controversial – critics complimented its ideas and dark nature but the Catholic League attacked Gaga for her alleged use of blasphemy. Despite the controversy surrounding her music videos, they made Gaga the first artist to gain over one billion viral views on video-sharing website YouTube. Musically, ''The Fame Monster'' has also received abundant success. Equating to the amount of Grammy nominations her debut received, ''The Fame Monster'' garnered a total of six nominations; the album won for Best Pop Vocal Album and earned her a second-consecutive nomination for Album of the Year at the 53rd annual awards ceremony.

The success of the album allowed Gaga to start her second worldwide concert tour, The Monster Ball Tour, just weeks after the release of ''The Fame Monster'' and months after having finished The Fame Ball Tour. Upon finishing in May 2011, the critically acclaimed and commercially accomplished tour ran for over one and a half years and, according to ''Billboard'', grossed $227.4 million, making it one of the highest-grossing concert tours of all time and the highest-grossing for a debut headlining artist. Concerts performed at Madison Square Garden in New York City were filmed for a HBO television special titled ''Lady Gaga Presents the Monster Ball Tour: At Madison Square Garden''. The special accrued one of its five Emmy Award nominations and has since been released on DVD and Blu-ray.

Gaga also performed songs from the album at international events such as the 2009 Royal Variety Performance where she sang "Speechless", a power ballad, in the presence of Queen Elizabeth II; the 52nd Grammy Awards where her opening performance consisted of the song "Poker Face" and a piano duet of "Speechless" in a medley of "Your Song" with Elton John; and the 2010 BRIT Awards where a performance of an acoustic rendition of "Telephone" followed by "Dance in the Dark" dedicated to the late fashion designer and close friend, Alexander McQueen, supplemented her hat-trick win at the awards ceremony.

Other performances may have included her participation in Michael Jackson's This Is It concert series at London's O2 Arena. "I was actually asked to open for Michael on his tour," she stated. "We were going to open for him at the O2 and we were working on making it happen. I believe there was some talk about us, lots of the openers, doing duets with Michael on stage." A realized collaboration with Polaroid started in January 2010. Excited about combining the company with the digital era, Gaga was named Chief Creative Officer for a line of imaging products for the international optic company with the intent of creating fashion, technology and photography products.

Despite a successful debut, Mermaid Music LLC – her production team – was sued in March 2010 by past producer Rob Fusari who claimed that he was entitled to a 20% share of its earnings. Gaga's lawyer, Charles Ortner, described the agreement with Fusari as "unlawful" and declined to comment. Five months later, the New York Supreme Court dismissed both the lawsuit and a countersuit by Gaga. In addition to such strife, Gaga has been tested borderline positive for lupus, but claims not to be affected by the symptoms. The revelations caused considerable dismay amongst her fans, leading to Gaga addressing the matter in an interview with Larry King, saying she hopes to avoid symptoms by maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

2011–present: ''Born This Way''

Gaga's second studio album and third major release ''Born This Way'' was released on May 23, 2011. Described as "a marriage of electronic music with major [...] metal or rock 'n' roll, pop, anthemic style melodies with really sledge-hammering dance beats" and referred to as an album "about what what keeps us up at night and what makes us afraid", she stated. Gaga characterized her new music as "something so much deeper than a wig or lipstick or a fucking meat dress" and upon hearing it, Akon remarked that she is taking music to the "next level". Its arrival followed the release of its eponymous lead single "Born This Way" on February 11, 2011, which was performed live for the first time at the 53rd Grammy Awards two days after its release. The song, dealing with self-acceptance regardless of race or sexual orientation, debuted atop the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, becoming the 19th number-one debut and the 1,000th number-one single in the history of the charts, while selling more than 3 million digital copies in the United States by October 2011. A music video was released for the song, showing Gaga giving birth to a new race amidst surrealistic images; critics noted artistic and cultural references and praised its concept. Gaga lent her vocals elsewhere, pairing with Elton John to record an original duet for the animated feature film ''Gnomeo & Juliet''. The song, titled "Hello, Hello", was released on February 11, 2011, without Gaga's vocals. The duet version was only featured in the film.

Two other singles, "Judas" and "The Edge of Glory", as well as a promotional single, "Hair", were eventually released before the album. The music video for "Judas", in which Gaga portrays Mary Magdalene, and Biblical figures such as Jesus Christ and Judas Iscariot are also featured, was criticized for its religious references; the video, nonetheless, received acclaim for its overall delivery and praise from others who claimed that there was nothing offensive about it. "Judas" additionally peaked within the top ten in several major musical markets. "The Edge of Glory" was intended as a promotional single; nevertheless, due to commercial success in digital outlets, the song was released as a single to critical appreciation, accompanied by a music video. Gaga also undertook a job as a fashion columnist for ''V'', where she wrote about her creative process, her studying of the world of pop culture, and her ability to tune into the evolution of pop-culture meme. Upon release, ''Born This Way'' sold 1.108 million copies in its first week in the United States, debuting atop the ''Billboard'' 200, and topping the charts in more than 20 other countries. The album received generally positive reviews from music critics, who praised its range of different styles as well as her vocals. Later, Lady Gaga went to Sydney to promote ''Born This Way'' with a one-of-a-kind concert at the Sydney Town Hall on July 13, 2011.

She continued her musical endeavors, releasing "You and I" and "Marry the Night" as succeeding singles from ''Born This Way'', as well as recording songs with veteran artists like Cher and Tony Bennett. The song recorded with Bennett is a jazz version of "The Lady Is a Tramp", while Gaga described her duet with Cher as a "massive" and "beautiful" track, which she "wrote a long time ago, and I've never put it on one of my own albums for, really, no particular reason." On August 28, at the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards, Gaga won two awards out of four nominations, and attended the event dressed as Jo Calderone, her male alter-ego. For the 2012 edition of the ''Guinness World Records'', Gaga was listed for Most Followers on Twitter, with over 13 million followers, and "Poker Face" was listed for Most Weeks on US Digital Hot Songs, with 83 weeks. Gaga continued her live appearances, and performed at the celebration of former US president Bill Clinton's 65th Birthday alongside Bono, Stevie Wonder and Usher, among others. She wore a blond wig as a nod to the famous performance of Marilyn Monroe for John F. Kennedy and changed the lyrics to her song "You and I" specifically for the performance. Later on, Gaga won four awards out of six nominations in the main categories at the 2011 MTV Europe Music Awards in November, for Best Female, Biggest Fans, Best Song and Best Video; the latter two with "Born This Way". On November 14, 2011, Gaga and her choreographer and creative director Laurieann Gibson parted ways, after working together for four years. Gibson's assistant Richard Jackson replaced her as Lady Gaga's choreographer.

Gaga released her fourth extended play ''A Very Gaga Holiday'' on November 22, and followed an appearance in her Thanksgiving Day television special entitled ''A Very Gaga Thanksgiving''. The television special was critically acclaimed and attained 5.749 million American viewers upon original airing. The accompanying tour for ''Born This Way'' was materializing, and at the same time Gaga started writing songs for a new record. She further explained to MTV News that she and Garibay were working on the follow-up album to ''Born This Way'' and stated that it was "beginning to flourish".

Artistry

Influences

Gaga's parents, who exposed her to artists like The Beatles, Stevie Wonder, Bruce Springsteen, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin and Elton John, had significant influence on her childhood and, presently, still do. "I am a real family girl. When it comes to love and loyalty, I am very old-fashioned. And I am quite down-to-earth for such an eccentric person," she insists. "I'm quite traditional in the family sense. I've always been that way." According to Gaga, Joanne Germanotta – her aunt who died of lupus aged 19 – lives on through her and inspires all of her music and art. Joanne's date of death is tattooed on Gaga's body and, despite dying 12 years before her birth, Gaga commented, "I really believe I have two hearts. I think I actually carry two souls in my body, and that I'm living out the rest of her life and her goodness – she died a virgin, she died never having experienced all these things that we all get to love and experience in our lives." Another spiritual influence on Gaga has been the Indian physician, public speaker and writer Deepak Chopra. Labeling him a "true inspiration", she stated that "he's always reminded me to work in a life of service to my fans and to fulfill my vision and my destiny" in addition to thinking about Chopra when it comes to her work as a musician: "I want so much for it to go beyond the music for my fans."

Musically, Gaga takes influence from numerous musicians from dance-pop singers like Madonna and Michael Jackson to glam rock artists like David Bowie and Queen whilst employing the theatrics of artists like Andy Warhol and of her musical theatre roots in performance. The Queen song "Radio Ga Ga" inspired her stage name: "I adored Freddie Mercury and Queen had a hit called 'Radio Gaga'. That's why I love the name [...] Freddie was unique—one of the biggest personalities in the whole of pop music," she commented. Gaga receives regular comparisons to recording artist Madonna who admits that she sees herself reflected in Gaga. In response to the comparisons, Gaga stated, "I don't want to sound presumptuous, but I've made it my goal to revolutionize pop music. The last revolution was launched by Madonna 25 years ago" in addition to commenting that "there is really no one that is a more adoring and loving Madonna fan than me. I am the hugest fan personally and professionally." Like Madonna, Gaga has continued to reinvent herself and, over the years of her career, has drawn musical inspiration from a diverse mix of artists including Whitney Houston, Britney Spears, Grace Jones, Cyndi Lauper, Blondie singer Debbie Harry, Scissor Sisters, Prince, Marilyn Manson and Yoko Ono.

Gaga has identified fashion as a major influence and has been stylistically compared to English eccentrics Leigh Bowery and Isabella Blow and to American recording artist Cher. She commented that "as a child, she somehow absorbed Cher's out-there fashion sense and made it her own." She has considered Donatella Versace her muse and the late British fashion designer and close friend Alexander McQueen as an inspiration, admitting that "I miss Lee every time I get dressed" while channeling him in some of her work. Modeled on Andy Warhol's Factory, Gaga has her own creative production team, which she handles personally, called the Haus of Gaga, who create many of her clothes, stage props, and hairdos. Her adoration of fashion came from her mother, who she stated was "always very well kept and beautiful." "When I'm writing music, I'm thinking about the clothes I want to wear on stage. It's all about everything altogether—performance art, pop performance art, fashion. For me, it's everything coming together and being a real story that will bring back the super-fan. I want to bring that back. I want the imagery to be so strong that fans will want to eat and taste and lick every part of us." The Global Language Monitor named "Lady Gaga" as the Top Fashion Buzzword with her trademark "no pants" a close third. ''Entertainment Weekly'' put her outfits on its end of the decade "best-of" list, saying, "Whether it's a dress made of Muppets or strategically placed bubbles, Gaga's outré ensembles brought performance art into the mainstream."

Musical and performance style

Continually experimenting with new musical ideas and images, Gaga's musical and performance style is the subject of much analysis and scrutiny from critics. She professes that she is "liberating" herself by constantly reinventing her sound and image, insisting that she has been drawn to such a practice since her childhood. Vocally, Gaga possesses the range of a contralto and exhibits "overwhelming expression, instinctive vocal phrasing, '80s rock reminiscent chest belts and animalistic vocal ticks" while being able to move through 2.4 octaves. Refusing to lip sync, Gaga – whose range is frequently compared to those of Madonna and Gwen Stefani – has manipulated her vocal style over the course of her career yet considers ''Born This Way'' (2011) "much more vocally up to par with what I've always been capable of." In summation of her voice, ''Entertainment Weekly'' wrote, "There's an immense emotional intelligence behind the way she uses her voice. Almost never does she overwhelm a song with her vocal ability, recognizing instead that artistry is to be found in nuance rather than lung power."

Although her early lyrics have been criticized for lacking intellectual stimulation, "[Gaga] does manage to get you moving and grooving at an almost effortless pace." She admits that her songwriting has been misinterpreted; her friend and blogger Perez Hilton articulated her message in a clearer way: "you write really deep intelligent lyrics with shallow concepts." Gaga opined, "Perez is very intelligent and clearly listened to my record from beginning to end, and he is correct." "I love songwriting. It's so funny – I will just jam around in my underwear or I could be washing my dishes. I wrote several songs just at the piano," she confesses. Gaga believes that "all good music can be played at a piano and still sound like a hit." She has covered a wide variety of topics in her songs: while ''The Fame'' (2008) meditates on the lust for stardom, ''The Fame Monster'' (2009) expresses fame's dark side through monster metaphors. ''Born This Way'' (2011) is sung in English, French, German and Spanish and includes common themes in Gaga's controversial songwriting like love, sex, religion, money, drugs, identity, liberation, sexuality, freedom and individualism.

The structure of her music is said to echo classic 1980s pop and 1990s Europop. Her debut album ''The Fame'' (2008) provoked ''The Sunday Times'' to assert "in combining music, fashion, art and technology, [Gaga] evokes Madonna, Gwen Stefani circa 'Hollaback Girl', Kylie Minogue 2001 or Grace Jones right now" and a critic from ''The Boston Globe'' to comment that she draws "obvious inspirations from Madonna to Gwen Stefani... in [her] girlish but sturdy pipes and bubbly beats." Music critic Simon Reynolds wrote that "Everything about Gaga came from electroclash, except the music, which wasn't particularly 1980s, just ruthlessly catchy naughties pop glazed with Auto-Tune and undergirded with R&B-ish beats." The follow-up ''The Fame Monster'' (2009), saw Gaga's taste for pastiche, drawing on "Seventies arena glam, perky ABBA disco and sugary throwbacks like Stacey Q" while ''Born This Way'' (2011) also draws on the records of her childhood and still has the "electro-sleaze beats and Eurodisco chorus chants" of its predecessor but includes genres as diverse as opera, heavy metal, disco, and rock and roll. "There isn't a subtle moment on the album, but even at its nuttiest, the music is full of wide-awake emotional details," wrote ''Rolling Stone'', who concluded: "The more excessive Gaga gets, the more honest she sounds."

Her performances are described as "highly entertaining and innovative"; the blood-spurting performance of "Paparazzi" at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards was described as "eye-popping" by MTV. She continued the "blood soaked" theme in The Monster Ball Tour, in which she wore a revealing leather corset and is "attacked" by a performer dressed in black who gnaws on her throat, causing "blood" to spurt down her chest, after which she lies "dying" in a pool of blood. Her performances of that scene on tour in England triggered protests from family groups and fans in the aftermath of a local tragedy, in which a taxi driver had murdered 12 people. "What happened in Bradford is very fresh in people's minds and given all the violence which happened in Cumbria just hours earlier, it was insensitive," said Lynn Costello of Mothers Against Violence. Her unconventionality continued at the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards when she performed in drag as her male alter ego, Jo Calderone, and delivered a lovesick monologue before a performance of her song "Yoü and I". Chris Rock has defended her flamboyant and provocative behavior. "Well, she's Lady Gaga," he said. "She's not 'Lady Behave Yourself.' Do you want great behavior from a person named Gaga? Is this what you were expecting?"

Public image

While ''Rolling Stone'' named Gaga the "Queen of Pop" in 2011, public reception of Gaga's music, fashion sense and persona are mixed. Her status as a role model, self-esteem booster for her fans, trailblazer and fashion icon who breathes new life into the industry is by turns affirmed and denied. Gaga's albums have received mostly positive reviews and critics have pointed out her unique place in pop music, the need for new movements in popular culture, the attention Gaga brings to modern social issues, and the inherently subjective nature of her art. In view of her influence on modern culture and her rise to global fame, sociologist Mathieu Deflem of the University of South Carolina has organized a course titled "Lady Gaga and the Sociology of Fame" since the spring of 2011 with the objective of unravelling "some of the sociologically relevant dimensions of the fame of Lady Gaga."

Contrary to her outré style, the ''New York Post'' described her early look as like "a refugee from ''Jersey Shore''" with "big black hair, heavy eye makeup and tight, revealing clothes." Lady Gaga is a natural brunette; she bleached her hair blonde because she was often mistaken for Amy Winehouse. She has nine tattoos on the left side of her body (her father has banned etchings on her right): a unicorn head with a ribbon wrapped around its horn that says "Born This Way"; a small heart with "dad" written inside it; several white roses; a treble clef; three daises; "Tokyo Love" with a little heart; "Little Monsters" written in cursive; a peace symbol, which was inspired by John Lennon, who she stated was her hero; and a curling German script on her left arm quoting the poet Rainer Maria Rilke, her favorite writer, commenting that his "philosophy of solitude" spoke to her. Towards the end of 2008, comparisons were made between the fashions of Lady Gaga and recording artist Christina Aguilera that noted similarities in their styling, hair, and make-up. Aguilera stated that she was "completely unaware of [Gaga]" and "didn't know if it [was] a man or a woman." Lady Gaga released a statement in which she welcomed the comparisons due to the attention providing useful publicity, saying, "She's such a huge star and if anything I should send her flowers, because a lot of people in America didn't know who I was until that whole thing happened. It really put me on the map in a way."

When interviewed by Barbara Walters for her annual ABC News special ''10 Most Fascinating People'' in 2009, Gaga dismissed the claim that she is intersex as an urban legend. Responding to a question on this issue, she stated, "At first it was very strange and everyone sorta said, 'That's really quite a story!' But in a sense, I portray myself in a very androgynous way, and I love androgyny." In addition to Aguilera's statement, comparisons continued into 2010, when Aguilera released the music video of her single "Not Myself Tonight". Critics noted similarities between the song and its accompanying music video with Lady Gaga's video for "Bad Romance". There have also been similar comparisons made between Lady Gaga's style and that of fashion icon Dale Bozzio from the band Missing Persons. Some have considered their respective images to be strikingly parallel although fans of Missing Persons note that Bozzio had pioneered the look more than thirty years earlier. Nonetheless, Gaga was named one of Vogue.com UK's Best Dressed people of 2010 while her stylist, Dazed & Confused creative director Nicola Formichetti, won the Fashion Creator of the Year Award at the British Fashion Awards.

Part of the reasoning for Gaga's Best Dressed achievement was her attire worn to the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards: a dress supplemented by boots, a purse and a hat – each fabricated from the flesh of a dead animal. The dress, named ''Time'' magazine's Fashion Statement of 2010 and more widely known as the "meat dress", received divided opinions – evoking the attention of worldwide media but invoking the fury of animal rights organization PETA. Lady Gaga denied any intention of causing disrespect to any person or organization and wished for the dress to be interpreted as a statement of human rights with focus upon those in the LGBT community. In addition to this unconventionality, in a question posed about the necessary procedure to attach the prosthetics to give the appearance of recent horn-like ridges on her cheekbones, temples, and shoulders, Gaga responded, "They're not prosthetics, they're my bones." She also clarified that they were not the result of plastic surgery, believing such surgery to only be the modern byproduct of fame-induced insecurity to which she does not subscribe. The interviewer's further probing brought Gaga to the conclusion that they are an artistic representation of her inner inspirational light and part of the "performance piece" that is her musical persona: an inevitability of her becoming who she now is. When Gaga briefly met with US president Barack Obama at a Human Rights Campaign fundraiser, he described the interaction as "intimidating" as she was dressed in 16-inch heels making her undoubtedly the tallest woman in the room.

Gaga often refers to her fans as "Little Monsters" and in dedication, has had that inscription tattooed on "the arm that holds my mic." Her treatment of her "Little Monsters" has inspired criticism, due to the highly commercial nature of her music and image. To some, this dichotomy contravenes the concept of outsider culture. Camille Paglia in her 2010 cover story "Lady Gaga and the death of sex" in ''The Sunday Times'' asserts thatGaga "is more an identity thief than an erotic taboo breaker, a mainstream manufactured product who claims to be singing for the freaks, the rebellious and the dispossessed when she is none of those." Writing for ''The Guardian'', Kitty Empire opined that the dichotomy "...allows the viewer to have a 'transgressive' experience without being required to think. At [her performance's] core, though, is the idea that Gaga is at one with the freaks and outcasts. The Monster Ball is where we can all be free. This is arrant nonsense, as the scads of people buying Gaga's cunningly commercial music are not limited to the niche worlds of drag queens and hip night creatures from which she draws her inspiration. But Gaga seems sincere."

Philanthropy

Besides her career in music, Gaga has also contributed to various charities and humanitarian works. In 2011, she launched her own non-profit organization, the Born This Way Foundation, which focuses on youth empowerment and issues like self-confidence, well-being, anti-bullying, mentoring, and career development. "My mother and I have initiated a passion project. We call it the Born This Way Foundation," Gaga said in a statement about the foundation, which takes its name from the eponymous 2011 single and album. "Together we hope to establish a standard of Bravery and Kindness, as well as a community worldwide that protects and nurtures others in the face of bullying and abandonment." The foundation will work with a number of partners, including the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, The California Endowment and the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University.

For natural disasters, Gaga has also helped various relief efforts. Although declining an invitation to appear on the single "We Are the World 25" to benefit victims of the 2010 Haiti earthquake, she donated the proceeds of her January 24, 2010 concert at New York's Radio City Music Hall to the country's reconstruction relief fund. All profits from her official online store on that day were also donated. Gaga announced that an estimated total of $500,000 was collected for the fund. Hours after the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami hit Japan on March 11, 2011, Gaga tweeted a message and a link to Japan Prayer Bracelets. All revenue from a bracelet she designed in conjunction with the company was donated to relief efforts. As of March 29, 2011, the bracelets raised $1.5 million. However, attorney Alyson Oliver filed a lawsuit against Gaga in Detroit in June 2011, noting that the bracelet was subject to a sales tax and an extra $3.99 shipping charge was added to the price. She also believed that not all proceeds from the bracelets would go to the relief efforts, demanding a public accounting of the campaign and refunds for people who had bought the bracelet. Lady Gaga's spokesperson called the lawsuit "meritless" and "misleading". On June 25, 2011, Gaga performed at MTV Japan's charity show in Makuhari Messe, which benefited the Japanese Red Cross.

Gaga also contributes in the fight against HIV and AIDS with the focus upon educating young women about the risks of the disease. In collaboration with Cyndi Lauper, Gaga joined forces with MAC Cosmetics to launch a line of lipstick under their supplementary cosmetic line, Viva Glam. Titled Viva Glam Gaga and Viva Glam Cyndi for each contributor respectively, all net proceeds of the lipstick line were donated to the cosmetic company's campaign to prevent HIV and AIDS worldwide. In a press release, Gaga declared, "I don't want Viva Glam to be just a lipstick you buy to help a cause. I want it to be a reminder when you go out at night to put a condom in your purse right next to your lipstick." The sales of Gaga-endorsed Viva Glam lipstick and lipgloss have raised more than $202 million to fight HIV and AIDS.

With the performance of the bilingual song "Americano" from her second studio album ''Born This Way'' (2011), Gaga jumped into the debate surrounding SB 1070, Arizona's immigration law. She premiered the tune for the first time on the Guadalajara, Mexico stop of her Monster Ball tour telling the local press that she could not "stand by many of the unjust immigration laws" in the United States.

LGBT advocacy

Gaga attributes much of her early success as a mainstream artist to her gay fans and is considered to be a gay icon. Early in her career she had difficulty getting radio airplay, and stated, "The turning point for me was the gay community. I've got so many gay fans and they're so loyal to me and they really lifted me up. They'll always stand by me and I'll always stand by them. It's not an easy thing to create a fanbase." She thanked FlyLife, a Manhattan-based LGBT marketing company with whom her label Interscope works, in the liner notes of ''The Fame'', saying, "I love you so much. You were the first heartbeat in this project, and your support and brilliance means the world to me. I will always fight for the gay community hand in hand with this incredible team." One of her first televised performances was in May 2008 at the NewNowNext Awards, an awards show aired by the LGBT television network Logo, where she sang her song "Just Dance". In June of the same year, she performed the song again at the San Francisco Pride event.

After ''The Fame'' was released, she revealed that the song "Poker Face" was about her bisexuality. In an interview with ''Rolling Stone'', she spoke about how her boyfriends tended to react to her bisexuality, saying "The fact that I'm into women, they're all intimidated by it. It makes them uncomfortable. They're like, 'I don't need to have a threesome. I'm happy with just you'." When she appeared as a guest on ''The Ellen DeGeneres Show'' in May 2009, she praised DeGeneres for being "an inspiration for women and for the gay community". She proclaimed that the October 11, 2009 National Equality March rally on the National Mall was "the single most important event of her career." As she exited, she left with an exultant "Bless God and bless the gays," similar to her 2009 MTV Video Music Awards acceptance speech for Best New Artist a month earlier. At the Human Rights Campaign Dinner, held the same weekend as the rally, she performed a cover of John Lennon's "Imagine" declaring that "I'm not going to [play] one of my songs tonight because tonight is not about me, it's about you." She changed the original lyrics of the song to reflect the death of Matthew Shepard, a college student murdered because of his sexuality.

Gaga attended the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards accompanied by four service members of the United States Armed Forces (Mike Almy, David Hall, Katie Miller and Stacy Vasquez), all of whom, under the United States military's "Don't ask, don't tell" (DADT) policy, had been prohibited from serving openly because of their sexuality. In addition, Gaga wore a dress fabricated from the flesh of a dead animal to the awards ceremony. Gaga wished that the dress, more widely known as the "meat dress", was interpreted as a statement of human rights with focus upon those in the LGBT community adding that "If we don't stand up for what we believe in and if we don't fight for our rights, pretty soon we're going to have as much rights as the meat on our own bones." She later released three videos on YouTube videos urging her fans to contact their Senators in an effort to overturn the policy. In late September 2010 she spoke at the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network's "4the14K" Rally in Deering Oaks Park in Portland, Maine. The name of the rally signified the number – an estimated 14,000 – of service members discharged under the DADT policy at the time. During her remarks, she urged members of the U.S. Senate (and in particular, moderate Republican Senators from Maine, Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins) to vote in favor of legislation that would repeal the DADT policy. Following this event, editors of ''The Advocate'' commented that she had become "the real fierce advocate" for gays and lesbians, one that Barack Obama had promised to be.

Gaga appeared at Europride, a pan-European international event dedicated to LGBT pride, held in Rome in June 2011. In a nearly twenty-minute speech, she criticized the intolerant state of gay rights in many European countries and described homosexuals as "revolutionaries of love" before performing acoustic renderings of "Born This Way" and "The Edge of Glory" in front of thousands at the Circus Maximus. She stated that "Today and every day we fight for freedom. We fight for justice. We beckon for compassion, understanding and above all we want full equality now". Gaga revealed that she is often questioned why she dedicates herself to "gayspeak" and "how gay" she is, to which, she told the audience: "Why is this question, why is this issue so important? My answer is: I am a child of diversity, I am one with my generation, I feel a moral obligation as a woman, or a man, to exercise my revolutionary potential and make the world a better place." She then joked: "On a gay scale from 1 to 10, I'm a Judy Garland fucking 42."

Discography

''The Fame'' (2008)

''The Fame Monster'' (2009)

''Born This Way'' (2011)

Filmography

''Lady Gaga Presents the Monster Ball Tour: At Madison Square Garden'' (2011)

''A Very Gaga Thanksgiving'' (2011)

Concert tours

The Fame Ball Tour (2009)

Fame Kills: Starring Kanye West and Lady Gaga (2009–10) (canceled)

The Monster Ball Tour (2009–11)

See also

List of awards and nominations received by Lady Gaga

Honorific nicknames in popular music

List of best-selling music artists

References

Further reading

Monster Anthems (2011) by Robert Christgau

External links

Slide show ''Vanity Fair''

Category:1986 births Category:American contraltos Category:American dance musicians Category:American electronic musicians Category:American female pop singers Category:American musicians of Italian descent Category:American performance artists Category:American pop singer-songwriters Category:American Roman Catholics Category:Androgyny Category:Bisexual musicians Category:Brit Award winners Category:Echo winners Category:English-language singers Category:Feminist musicians Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Interscope Records artists Category:Keytarists Category:LGBT Christians Category:LGBT musicians from the United States Category:LGBT rights activists from the United States Category:LGBT rights activists Category:Living people Category:People from Manhattan Category:Pseudonymous musicians Category:Singers from New York City Category:Sony/ATV Music Publishing artists Category:Synthpop musicians Category:Tisch School of the Arts alumni Category:Wonky Pop acts

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Name	Dolly Parton
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Dolly Rebecca Parton
Birth date	January 19, 1946
Birth place	Sevierville, Tennessee, U.S.
Genre	Country, country pop, bluegrass, ballad
Instrument	Vocals, Guitar, Banjo, Autoharp, Piano, Drums, Appalachian Dulcimer, Harmonica, Pennywhistle, Finger Nails, Recorder, Fiddle, Bass Guitar, Saxophone
Occupation	Singer-songwriter, record producer, actress, author, philanthropist, musician, businesswoman
Degrees	Honorary musical and humane letters doctorate degree from University of Tennessee
Years active	1957–present |label Goldband (1957–59) Mercury Records (1962–64)Monument (1965–67) RCA (1967–86) CBS (1987–95) Rising Tide (1995–97) Decca (1997–98) Sugar Hill (1999–2006) Dolly (2007–present)
Associated acts	Reba McEntire, Porter Wagoner, Kenny Rogers, Emmylou Harris, Linda Ronstadt, Loretta Lynn, Tammy Wynette, Shania Twain, Juice Newton, Stella Parton, The Larkins, Altan, Billy Ray Cyrus, Miley Cyrus, Willie Nelson, Alison Krauss, Vince Gill, Carrie Underwood
Website	dollypartonmusic.netdollyparton.com }}

Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American singer-songwriter, author, multi-instrumentalist, actress and philanthropist, best known for her work in country music. She is one of the most successful female country artists of all time, garnering the title of "The Queen of Country Music."

Early years

Dolly Parton was born in Sevierville, Tennessee, the fourth of twelve children born to Robert Lee Parton (March 22, 1921 – November 12, 2000) and Avie Lee Parton (née Owens; October 5, 1923 – December 5, 2003). Robert and Avie's children include:

Willadeene Parton (b. March 24, 1940)

David Wilburn Parton (b. March 30, 1942)

Coy Denver Parton (b. August 16, 1943), who named his first daughter Dolly Christina Parton

Dolly Rebecca Parton (b. January 19, 1946)

Robert Lee "Bobby" Parton Jr. (b. February 18, 1948)

Stella Mae Parton, (a singer, b. May 4, 1949)

Cassie Nan Parton (a singer, b. February 12, 1951)

Randel Huston "Randy" Parton (a singer and businessman, b. December 15, 1953)

Larry Gerald Parton (b. July 6, 1955, d. July 6, 1955)

Floyd Parton (a singer-songwriter) and Freida Estelle Parton (a singer) – twins (b. June 1, 1957)

Rachel Ann Parton (an actress, b. August 31, 1959)

Her family was, as she described them, "dirt poor". She described her family's shortness of money in a number of her early songs, notably "Coat of Many Colors" and "In the Good Old Days (When Times Were Bad)". They lived in a rustic, dilapidated one-room cabin in Locust Ridge, Tennessee, a hamlet just north of the Greenbrier Valley in the Locust Ridge area of the Great Smoky Mountains in Sevier County, a predominantly Pentecostal area.

Music formed a major part of her early church experience. She once told an interviewer that her grandfather was a Pentecostal "holy-roller" preacher. Today, when appearing in live concerts, she frequently performs spiritual songs.

Career discovery

Parton began performing as a child, singing on local radio and television programs in the Eastern Tennessee area. By age nine, she was appearing on ''The Cas Walker Show'' on both WIVK Radio and WBIR-TV in Knoxville, Tennessee. At thirteen, she was recording on a small Louisiana label, Goldband Records, and appeared at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Tennessee. It was at the Opry where she first met Johnny Cash who encouraged her to go where her heart took her, and not to care what others thought. The day after she graduated from high school in 1964, Parton moved to Nashville taking many traditional elements of folklore and popular music from East Tennessee with her.

Parton's initial success came as a songwriter, writing two top ten hits with her uncle Bill Owens: Bill Phillips's "Put it Off Until Tomorrow" and Skeeter Davis' 1967 hit "Fuel to the Flame". She also wrote a minor chart hit for Hank Williams Jr during this period. She had signed with Monument Records in late 1965, where she was initially pitched as a bubblegum pop singer, earning only one national-chart single, "Happy, Happy Birthday Baby," which did not crack the Billboard Hot 100.

The label agreed to let Parton sing country music after her composition, "Put It Off Until Tomorrow," as recorded by Bill Phillips (and with Parton, uncredited, on harmony), went to number six on the country music charts in 1966. Her first country single, "Dumb Blonde" (one of the few songs during this era that she recorded but did not write), reached number twenty-four on the country music charts in 1967, followed the same year with "Something Fishy," which went to number seventeen. The two songs anchored her first full-length album, ''Hello, I'm Dolly''.

Marriage

On May 30, 1966, she and Carl Thomas Dean were married in Ringgold, Georgia. She had met Dean at the Wishy-Washy Laundromat two years earlier on her first day in Nashville. His very first words to her were: "Y'all gonna get sunburnt out there, little lady."

Dean, who runs an asphalt road-surface-paving business in Nashville, has always shunned publicity and rarely accompanies her to any events. According to Parton, he has only ever seen her perform once. However, she has also commented in interviews that, although it appears they do not spend much time together, it is simply that nobody sees him. She has also commented on Dean's romantic side claiming that he will often do spontaneous things to surprise her, and sometimes even writes her poems.

The couple partly raised several of Parton's younger siblings at their home in Nashville, leading her nieces and nephews to refer to her as "Aunt Granny". She has no children of her own.

Parton is also the godmother of actress and singer, Miley Cyrus.

The couple are also the sole guardian of a family friend's son whose parents died within two years of each other, though in keeping with the very private nature of the family, not much is known of him.

On May 30, 2011, they celebrated their 45th anniversary. Later, she said, "We're really proud of our marriage. It's the first for both of us. And the last."

Music career

1967–75: Country music success

In 1967, country entertainer Porter Wagoner invited Parton to join his organization, offering her a regular spot on his weekly syndicated television program ''The Porter Wagoner Show'', as well as in his road show.

Initially, much of Wagoner's audience was unhappy that Norma Jean, the performer whom Parton had replaced, had left the show, and was reluctant to accept Parton (sometimes chanting loudly for Norma Jean from the audience). With Wagoner's assistance, however, Parton was eventually accepted. Wagoner also convinced his label, RCA Victor, to sign Parton. RCA decided to protect their investment by releasing her first single as a duet with Wagoner. That song, a cover of Tom Paxton's "The Last Thing on My Mind," released in late 1967, reached the country top ten in January 1968, launching a six-year streak of virtually uninterrupted top ten singles for the pair.

Parton's first solo single for RCA, "Just Because I'm a Woman," was released in the summer of 1968 and was a moderate chart hit, reaching number seventeen. For the remainder of the decade, none of her solo efforts – even "In the Good Old Days (When Times Were Bad)", which later became a standard – were as successful as her duets with Wagoner. The duo was named ''Vocal Group of the Year'' in 1968 by the Country Music Association, but Parton's solo records were continually ignored. Wagoner and Parton were both frustrated by her lack of solo success, because he had a significant financial stake in her future: as of 1969, he was her co-producer and owned nearly half of Owepar, the publishing company Parton had founded with Bill Owens.

By 1970, both Parton and Wagoner had grown frustrated by her lack of solo chart success, and Porter had her record Jimmie Rodgers' "Mule Skinner Blues", a gimmick that worked. The record shot to number three on the charts, followed closely, in February 1971, by her first number-one single, "Joshua." For the next two years, she had a number of solo hits – including her signature song "Coat of Many Colors" (number four in 1971) – in addition to her duets. Though she had successful singles, none of them were blockbusters until "Jolene". Released in late 1973, the song topped the singles chart in February 1974 (it would eventually also chart in the UK, reaching #7 in 1976, representing Parton's first UK success). Parton and Wagoner performed their last duet concert in April 1974, and she ceased appearing on his TV show in mid-1974, though they remained affiliated, with him helping to produce her records through 1976. The pair continued to release duet albums, their final release being 1975's ''Say Forever You'll Be Mine''.

In 1974, her song, "I Will Always Love You," written about her professional break from Wagoner, went to number one on the country music charts. Around the same time, Elvis Presley indicated that he wanted to cover the song. Parton was interested until Presley's manager, Colonel Tom Parker, told her that it was standard procedure for the songwriter to sign over half of the publishing rights to any song Elvis recorded. Parton refused, and that decision is credited with helping to make her many millions of dollars in royalties from the song over the years.

1976–86: Branching out into pop music

From 1974 to 1980, she consistently charted in the country Top 10, with no fewer than eight singles reaching number one. Parton had her own syndicated-television variety show, ''Dolly!'' (1976–1977). During this period, a number, including Rose Maddox, Kitty Wells, Olivia Newton-John, Emmylou Harris, and Linda Ronstadt, covered her songs, and her siblings Randy and Stella all received recording contracts of their own.

It was also during this period that Parton began to embark on a high profile crossover campaign, attempting to aim her music in a more mainstream direction and increase her visibility outside of the confines of country music. In 1976, she signed with the Los Angeles PR firm Katz-Gallin-Morey, working closely with Sandy Gallin, who would serve as her personal manager for the next twenty-five years.

With her 1976 album ''All I Can Do'', co-produced by herself with Porter Wagoner, Parton began taking more of an active role in production, and began specifically aiming her music in a more mainstream, pop direction. Her first entirely self-produced effort, 1977's ''New Harvest ... First Gathering'', highlighted Parton's pop sensibilities, both in terms of choice of songs—the album contained covers of the pop and R&B classics "My Girl" and "Higher and Higher" – and the album's production. While receiving generally favorable reviews, however, the album did not achieve the crossover success Parton had hoped for. Though it topped the country albums charts, it stalled at #71 on the pop albums chart; the album's single, "Light of a Clear Blue Morning" only reached #87 on the Hot 100.

After ''New Harvest'''s disappointing chart performance, Parton turned to high profile pop producer Gary Klein for her next album. The result, 1977's ''Here You Come Again'', became her first million-seller, topping the country albums chart and reaching #20 on the pop albums chart; the Barry Mann-Cynthia Weil-penned "title track" topped the country singles chart, and became Parton's first top-ten single on the pop charts (reaching number three). A second single, the double A-sided single "Two Doors Down"/"It's All Wrong But It's All Right" also topped the country singles chart and crossed over to the pop top twenty. For the remainder of the 1970s and into the early '80s, many of Parton's subsequent singles charted on both pop and country charts, simultaneously. Her albums during this period were developed specifically for pop-crossover success.

In 1978 Parton won a Grammy Award for Best Female Country Vocal Performance for her ''Here You Come Again'' album. She continued to have hits with "Heartbreaker" (1978), "Baby I'm Burning" and "You're the Only One" (both 1979), all of which charted in the pop singles Top 40, and all of which also topped the country-singles chart; 1979's "Sweet Summer Lovin'" became the first Parton single in two years to not top the country singles chart (though it still nonetheless reached the top ten). During this period, Parton's visibility continued to increase, with television appearances in 1977, 1978 and 1979. A highly publicized candid interview on ''The Barbara Walters Special'' in December 1977 (timed to coincide with ''Here You Come Again'''s release) was followed by appearances in 1978 on Cher's ABC television special, and her own joint special with Carol Burnett on CBS, ''Carol and Dolly in Nashville''. She also served as one of three co-hosts (along with Roy Clark and Glen Campbell) on the CBS special ''Fifty Years of Country Music''. In 1979, Parton hosted the NBC special ''The Seventies: An Explosion of Country Music'', performed live at the Ford Theatre in Washington, D.C., and whose audience included President Jimmy Carter.

Parton's commercial success continued to grow during 1980, with three number-one hits in a row: the Donna Summer-written "Starting Over Again", "Old Flames Can't Hold a Candle to You", and "9 to 5", which topped the country and pop charts in early 1981.

With less time to spend songwriting as she focused on a burgeoning film career, during the early 1980s Parton recorded a larger percentage of material from noted pop songwriters, such as Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, Rupert Holmes, Gary Portnoy and Carole Bayer Sager.

"9 to 5", the theme song to the feature film ''Nine to Five'' (1980) Parton starred in along with Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin, not only reached number one on the country charts, but also, in February 1981, reached number one on the pop and the adult-contemporary charts, giving her a triple-number-one hit. Parton became one of the few female country singers to have a number-one single on the country and pop charts simultaneously. It also received an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song.

Parton's singles continued to appear consistently in the country Top 10: between 1981 and 1985, she had 12 Top 10 hits; half of those were number-one singles. Parton continued to make inroads on the pop charts as well with a re-recorded version of "I Will Always Love You" from the feature film ''The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas'' (1982) scraping the Top 50 that year and her duet with Kenny Rogers, "Islands in the Stream" (written by the Bee Gees and produced by Barry Gibb), spent two weeks at number one in 1983. Other chart hits during this period included Parton's chart-topping cover of the 1969 First Edition hit "But You Know I Love You" and "The House of the Rising Sun" (both 1981), "Single Women", "Heartbreak Express" and "Hard Candy Christmas" (1982) and 1983's "Potential New Boyfriend", which was accompanied by one of Parton's first music videos, and which also reached the U.S. dance charts.

She also continued to explore new business and entertainment ventures such as her Dollywood theme park, that opened in 1986 in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.

By the mid-1980s, her record sales were still relatively strong, with "Save the Last Dance for Me", "Downtown", "Tennessee Homesick Blues" (all 1984); "Real Love" (another duet with Kenny Rogers), "Don't Call It Love" (both 1985); and "Think About Love" (1986) all reaching the country-singles Top 10. ("Tennessee Homesick Blues" and "Think About Love" reached number one. "Real Love" also reached number one on the country-singles chart and also became a modest pop-crossover hit). However, RCA Records didn't renew her contract after it expired that year, and she signed with Columbia Records in 1987.

1987–94: Return to country roots

Along with Harris and Ronstadt, she released the decade-in-the-making ''Trio'' (1987) to critical acclaim. The album strongly revitalized Parton's temporarily stalled music career, spending five weeks at number one on Billboard's Country Albums chart, selling several million copies and producing four Top 10 country hits including Phil Spector's "To Know Him Is to Love Him", which went to number one. ''Trio'' won the Grammy Award for Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal and was nominated for a Grammy Award for Album of the Year. In 1987, she revived her television variety show, ''Dolly''.

After a further attempt at pop success with 1987's critically and commercially disappointing ''Rainbow'', Parton refocused on recording country material. ''White Limozeen'' (1989) produced two number-one hits in "Why'd You Come in Here Lookin' Like That" and "Yellow Roses". Although it looked like Parton's career had been revived, it was actually just a brief revival before contemporary country music came in the early 1990s and moved all veteran artists out of the charts.

A duet with Ricky Van Shelton, "Rockin' Years" (1991) reached number one but Parton's greatest commercial fortune of the decade came when Whitney Houston recorded "I Will Always Love You" for the soundtrack of the feature film ''The Bodyguard'' (1992); both the single and the album were massively successful.

She recorded "The Day I Fall In Love" as a duet with James Ingram for the feature film ''Beethoven's 2nd'' (1993). The songwriters (Sager, Ingram, and Clif Mangess) were nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song and Parton and Ingram performed the song on the awards telecast.

Similar to her earlier collabrative album with Harris and Ronstadt, Parton recorded ''Honky Tonk Angels'' (1994) with Loretta Lynn and Tammy Wynette. It was certified as Gold Album by the Recording Industry Association of America and helped revive both Wynette's and Lynn's careers.

Also in 1994, Parton contributed the song "You Gotta Be My Baby" to the AIDS benefit album Red Hot + Country produced by the Red Hot Organization.

1995–present

In 1995 Parton re-recorded "I Will Always Love You" as a duet with Vince Gill on her album ''Something Special'' for which they won the Country Music Association's Vocal Event of the Year Award.

A second and more contemporary collaboration with Harris and Ronstadt, ''Trio II'' (1999), was released and its cover of Neil Young's "After the Gold Rush" won a Grammy Award for Best Country Collaboration with Vocals. Parton was also inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1999.

She recorded a series of critically acclaimed bluegrass albums, beginning with ''The Grass Is Blue'' (1999), winning a Grammy Award for Best Bluegrass Album, and ''Little Sparrow'' (2001), with its cover of Collective Soul's "Shine" winning a Grammy Award for Best Female Country Vocal Performance. The third, ''Halos & Horns'' (2002) included a bluegrass version of the Led Zeppelin classic "Stairway to Heaven".

Parton released ''Those Were The Days'' (2005), her interpretation of hits from the folk-rock era of the late 1960s through the early 1970s. It featured such classics as John Lennon's "Imagine", Cat Stevens's "Where Do the Children Play?", Tommy James's "Crimson and Clover", and Pete Seeger's anti-war song "Where Have All the Flowers Gone?".

Parton earned her second Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song for "Travelin' Thru", which she wrote specifically for the feature film ''Transamerica'' (2005). Because of the song's theme of uncritical acceptance of a transgender woman, Parton received death threats. She also returned to number one on the country charts later in 2005 by lending her distinctive harmonies to the Brad Paisley ballad, "When I Get Where I'm Goin'".

In September 2007, Parton released her first single from her own record company, Dolly Records, entitled, "Better Get to Livin'", which eventually peaked at number forty-eight on the Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart. It was followed by the studio album, "Backwoods Barbie", which was released February 26, 2008, and reached number two on the country charts. The album's debut at number seventeen on the all-genre Billboard 200 albums chart has been the highest in her career. ''Backwoods Barbie'' produced four additional singles, including the title track, which was written as part of her score for ''9 to 5: The Musical'', an adaptation of her feature film ''Nine to Five''.

After the sudden death of Michael Jackson, whom Parton knew personally, she released a video in which she somberly told of her feelings on Jackson and his death.

On October 27, 2009, Parton released a 4-CD box set entitled "Dolly" which features 99 songs and spans most of her career. She is now set to release her second live DVD and album, "Live From London" in October 2009 which was filmed during her sold out 2008 concerts at London's O2 Arena. She is also currently working on a dance-oriented album, "Dance with Dolly", which she hopes to release in 2010.

Longtime friend Billy Ray Cyrus, singer of Brother Clyde, released their self-titled debut album on August 10, 2010. Parton is featured on "The Right Time", which she co-wrote with Cyrus and Morris Joseph Tancredi.

She stated in 2010 that she would like to start recording a country-dance album in November, and that it should be set for release in 2011. On January 6, 2011, Dolly announced her new album would be titled, ''Better Day''. In February 2011, Dolly announced that she would embark on the Better Day World Tour on July 17, 2011, with shows in northern Europe and the United States. The album's lead-off single, "Together You and I," was released on May 26, 2011, and ''Better Day'' was released on June 28, 2011.

In 2011 Dolly voiced the character Dolly Gnome in the British-made animated film Gnomeo and Juliet.

In concert and on tour

Parton toured extensively from the late 1960s until the early 1990s. In the 60's and 70's, Parton toured alongside other country musicians including Porter Wagoner, George Jones and Linda Ronstadt. Parton toured as a headline act in 1977 and 1978 for promote her albums, ''Here You Come Again'' and ''Heartbreaker''. From 1984 to 1985, she toured alongside Kenny Rogers for the "Real Love Tour". She continued touring in 1986 with the "Thinkin' About Love Tour" and in 1989 for the "White Limozeen Tour". Her only tour in the 1990s was the "Eagle When She Files Tour" which was performed in 1991 and 1992. In 2002 she returned to the concert stage; she later went on the Backwoods Barbie Tour in 2008 promoting ''Backwoods Barbie''.

Dollywood Foundation Shows

From the early 1990s through 2001, her concert appearances were primarily limited to one weekend a year at Dollywood to benefit her Dollywood Foundation. The concerts normally followed a theme (similar to a Legends in Concert or, for example, a "fifties-music"-tribute concert). They have also included holiday shows during the Christmas season.

Halos & Horns Tour

After a decade-long absence from touring, Parton decided to return in 2002 with the Halos & Horns Tour, an 18-city, intimate club tour to promote ''Halos & Horns'' (2002). House of Blues Entertainment, Inc. produced the tour and it sold out all its U.S. and European dates (her first in two decades).

Hello, I'm Dolly Tour

She returned to mid-sized-stadium venues in 2004 with her 36-city, U.S. and Canadian Hello, I'm Dolly Tour, a glitzier, more-elaborate stage show than two years earlier. With nearly 140,000 tickets sold, it was the tenth-biggest country tour of the year and grossed more than $6 million.

The Vintage Tour

In late 2005 Parton completed a 40-city tour with The Vintage Tour promoting her new ''Those Were the Days'' (2005).

An Evening with Dolly Parton

Parton scheduled mini concerts in late 2006 throughout the U.S. and Canada as a gear-up to her 17-city, 21-date An Evening with Dolly Parton. Running from March 6 – April 3, 2007, this was her first world tour in many years and her first tour in the United Kingdom since 2002.

The tour sold out in every European city and gained positive reviews. It grossed just over $16 million. The most-noted feature of the shows, despite Parton being 60, was that most in attendance had never seen her in concert before. This, coupled with Parton's European popularity, led to a rapturous reception whenever she took to the stage.

Backwoods Barbie Tour

In 2008 Parton went on the Backwoods Barbie Tour. It was set to begin in the U.S. (February–April 2008) to coincide with the release of ''Backwoods Barbie'' (2008), her first mainstream-country album in 17 years. However, because of back problems she postponed all U.S. dates. The tour started March 28, 2008, with 13 U.S. dates, followed by 17 European shows.

She returned to the U.S. with a concert at Humphrey's By The Bay in San Diego, California, on August 1, 2008. She performed her Backwoods Barbie Tour on August 3, 2008, at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles, California, to a sold-out crowd and standing ovations. From August 1 to November 1, she has scheduled 16 dates on both the east and west coasts of the U.S.

Better Day World Tour

In 2011, Dolly plans to embark on the Better Day World Tour visiting northern Europe, the United States and Australia (for the first time in almost 30 years).

Songwriting

Parton is a successful songwriter, having begun by writing country-music songs with strong elements of folk music, based upon her upbringing in humble mountain surroundings, and reflecting her family's evangelical-Christian background. Her songs "Coat of Many Colors", "I Will Always Love You" and "Jolene" have become classics in the field, as have a number of others. As a songwriter, she is also regarded as one of country music's most-gifted storytellers, with many of her narrative songs based on persons and events from her childhood. On November 4, 2003, Dolly Parton was honored as a BMI Icon at the 2003 BMI Country Awards. She has earned over 35 BMI Pop and Country Awards throughout her prolific songwriting career. In 2001, she was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

In a 2009 interview with CNN's ''Larry King Live'', Parton indicated that she had written "at least 3,000" songs, having written seriously since the age of seven. Parton went on to say that she writes something every day, be it a song or an idea.

Compositions in films and television and covers

Parton's songwriting has been featured prominently in several films.

In addition to the title song for ''Nine to Five'' (1980), she also recorded a second version of "I Will Always Love You" for ''The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas'' (1982). The second version proved to be another number-one country hit and also managed to reach the pop charts going to number 53 in the U.S.

"I Will Always Love You" has been covered by many country artists, including Ronstadt, on ''Prisoner In Disguise'' (1975); Kenny Rogers, on ''Vote for Love'' (1996); and LeAnn Rimes, on ''Unchained Melody: The Early Years'' (1997). Whitney Houston performed it on ''The Bodyguard'' (1992) film soundtrack and her version became the best-selling hit ever both written and performed by a female vocalist, with worldwide sales of over twelve million copies. In addition,the song has been translated into Italian and performed by the Welsh opera singer Katherine Jenkins, a fact referred to by Dolly herself in the Birmingham (UK) concert of the 'Backwoods Barbie' Tour.

As a songwriter, Parton has twice been nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song, for "9 to 5" (1980) and "Travelin' Thru" (2005). "Travelin' Thru" did win as Best Original Song award at the Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards (2005). The song was also nominated for both the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song (2005) and the Broadcast Film Critics Association Award (also known as the Critics' Choice Awards) for Best Song (2005).

A cover version of "Love Is Like A Butterfly", recorded by singer Clare Torry, was used as the theme music for the British TV show ''Butterflies''.

''American Idol'' appearance

The music-competition, reality-television show ''American Idol'' (since 2002) has weekly themes and the April 1–2, 2008, episodes' theme was "Dolly Parton Songs" with the nine then-remaining contestants each singing a Parton composition. Parton participated as a "guest mentor" to the contestants and also performed "Jesus and Gravity" (from ''Backwoods Barbie'' and released as a single in March 2008) receiving a standing ovation from the studio audience.

''9 to 5: The Musical''

Parton wrote the score (and Patricia Resnick wrote the book) for ''9 to 5: The Musical'', a musical-theatre adaptation of Parton's feature film ''Nine to Five'' (1980). The musical ran at the Ahmanson Theatre, Los Angeles, California, in Fall 2008.

It opened on Broadway at the Marquis Theatre in New York City, on April 30, 2009, to mixed reviews. The title track of her ''Backwoods Barbie'' (2008), was written for the musical's character Doralee. Though her score (as well as the musical debut of actress Allison Janney) was praised, the show struggled and closed on September 6, 2009 after 24 previews and 148 performances.

Developing the musical was not an overnight process. According to a broadcast of the public-radio program Studio 360 (October 29, 2005), in October 2005 Parton was in the midst of composing the songs for a Broadway musical-theatre adaptation of the film. In late June 2007, ''9 to 5: the Musical'' was read for industry presentations. The readings starred Megan Hilty, Allison Janney, Stephanie J. Block, Bebe Neuwirth and Marc Kudisch.

Musician

Parton plays the autoharp, banjo, drums, dulcimer, fiddle, guitar, harmonica, flute, pennywhistle and piano. She began composing songs at the age of four, her mother often writing down the music as she heard Parton singing around the house. Parton often describes her talent as having "the gift of rhyme".

Acting career

During the mid-1970s, Parton wanted to expand her audience base. Although her first attempt, the television variety show ''Dolly!'' (1976–1977), had high ratings, it lasted only one season, with Parton requesting to be released from her contract because of the stress it was causing her vocal cords. (She later tried a second television variety show, also entitled ''Dolly'' (1987–1988); it also lasted only one season.)

Film

In her first feature film she portrayed a secretary in a co-starring role with Fonda and Tomlin in ''Nine to Five'' (1980). Parton received Golden Globe Award nominations for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy and New Star Of The Year – Actress.

She also wrote and recorded the biggest solo hit of her career with the film's title song. It received a nomination for Academy Award for Best Song along with a Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Original Song. Released as a single, the song won two Grammy Awards: Best Female Country Vocal Performance and Best Country Song. The song also reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and in was placed number 78 on the American Film Institute's "100 Years... 100 Songs" list released in 2004. Parton was also named Top Female Box Office Star by the Motion Picture Herald in both 1981 and 1982.

Parton's second film ''The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas'' (1982), earned her a second Golden Globe nomination for Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy.

She followed with ''Rhinestone'' (1984), co-starring Sylvester Stallone, and ''Steel Magnolias'' (1989), with an ensemble cast.

The last leading role for Parton was portraying a plainspoken radio-program host (with listeners telephoning in to share their problems) in ''Straight Talk'' (1992), opposite James Woods.

She played an overprotective mother in ''Frank McKlusky, C.I.'' (2002) with Dave Sheridan, Cameron Richardson and Randy Quaid.

Parton played herself in a cameo appearance in ''The Beverly Hillbillies'' (1993) (an adaptation of the long-running television situation comedy of the same name) and also in ''Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous'' (2005) (the sequel to Sandra Bullock's earlier ''Miss Congeniality'' (2000)).

She was featured in ''The Book Lady'' (2008) a documentary about her campaign for children’s literacy and she was expecting to repeat her television role as Hannah's godmother in ''Hannah Montana: The Movie'' (2008) but the character was omitted from the final screenplay.

In 2011 Dolly was in the movie Gnomeo and Juliet, a film about Shakespeare's story of Romeo and Juliet about gnomes.

Parton is set to co-star with Queen Latifah in ''Joyful Noise'', a gospel-choir feature film from Alcon Entertainment, which finished filming in April 2011. In ''Joyful Noise'', Parton will play a choir director's widow who joins forces with Queen Latifah's mother of two teens to save the Pacashau gospel choir after the death of her husband.

Television

In addition to her performing appearances on the Wagoner Show in the 1960s and into the 1970s; her two self-titled television variety shows in the 1970s and 1980s; and on ''American Idol'' in 2008 and other guest appearances, Parton has also acted in television roles. In 1979 she received an Emmy award nomination as "Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Variety Program" for her guest appearance in a Cher special. During the 1980s, she starred in two popular television concert specials: 1983's ''Dolly in London'', filmed live in London's Dominion Theatre, and ''Dolly & Kenny: Real Love'', a 1985 concert special with Kenny Rogers, filmed during their joint concert tour. (Parton and Rogers also filmed a popular 1984 holiday special for CBS, and the two teamed up with Willie Nelson in 1989 for another concert special ''Something Inside So Strong.'')

Parton has appeared as a frequent presenter and performer on a number of awards shows, from the 1960s through the 2010s, and she remains a popular guest on a number of talk shows.

She starred in the television movie ''A Smoky Mountain Christmas'' (1986); ''Unlikely Angel'' (1996), portraying an angel sent back to earth following a deadly car crash; and ''Blue Valley Songbird'' (1999), where her character lives through her music.

Parton has also done voice work for animation for television series, playing herself in the ''Alvin and the Chipmunks'' (episode "Urban Chipmunk", 1983) and the character Katrina Eloise "Murph" Murphy in ''The Magic School Bus'' (episode "The Family Holiday Special", 1994).

Parton has guest starred in a number of sitcoms, including a 1990 episode of ''Designing Women'' (episode "The First Day of the Last Decade of the Entire Twentieth Century") as herself, the guardian movie star of Charlene's baby. She also appeared in the situation comedy series ''Reba'' (episode "Reba's Rules of Real Estate") portraying a real-estate agency owner, and on ''The Simpsons'' (episode "Sunday, Cruddy Sunday", 1999). She also appeared as herself in 2000 on the Halloween episode of Bette Midler's sitcom ''Bette,'' and episode 14 of the Fox sitcom ''Babes'' (which was produced by Sandollar Productions, Parton and Sandy Gallin's joint production company).

Dolly also guest starred on an episode of "The Love Boat."

She also made cameo appearances on the Disney Channel as "Aunt Dolly" visiting Hannah and her family in the fellow Tennessean Miley Cyrus's series ''Hannah Montana'' (episodes "Good Golly, Miss Dolly", 2006, "I Will Always Loathe You", 2007, and "Kiss It All Goodbye", 2010). The role came about because of her real-life relationship as Cyrus's godmother. She was nominated for a Outstanding Guest Actress in Comedy Series.

Businesses

In 1998, Nashville Business ranked her as the wealthiest country-music star.

The Dollywood Company

Parton invested much of her earnings into business ventures in her native East Tennessee, notably Pigeon Forge. She is a co-owner of The Dollywood Company, which operates the theme park Dollywood (a former Silver Dollar City), a dinner theatre, Dolly Parton's Dixie Stampede, and the waterpark, Dollywood's Splash Country, all in Pigeon Forge.

Dollywood is ranked as the 24th-most-popular theme park in the U.S., with about three million visitors annually. The area is a thriving tourist attraction, drawing visitors from large parts of the Southeastern and Midwestern U.S. This region of the U.S., like most areas of Appalachia, had suffered economically for decades; Parton's business investment has helped revitalize the area.

The Dixie Stampede business also has venues in Branson, Missouri, and Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. A former Dixie Stampede location in Orlando, Florida closed in January 2008 after the business's land and building were sold to a developer. Starting in June 2011, the Myrtle beach location became Pirates Voyage Fun, Feast & Adventure; Parton appeared for the opening, and the South Carolina General Assembly declared June 3, 2011 Dolly Parton Day.

Film and television production company

Parton is a co-owner of Sandollar Productions with Sandy Gallin, her former manager. A film-and-television-production company, it produced the ''Common Threads: Stories from the Quilt'' (1989) which won an Academy Award for Best Documentary (Feature); the television series ''Babes'' (1990–1991) and ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' (1997–2003); and the feature films ''Father of the Bride'' (1991), ''Father of the Bride: Part II'' (1995) ''Straight Talk'' (1992) (in which Parton also starred), ''Sabrina'' (1995), among other shows. In a 2009 interview singer Connie Francis revealed that Dolly had been contacting her for years in an attempt to film the singer's life story. Francis turned down Parton's offers as she was already in negotiations with singer Gloria Estefan to produce the film, a collaboration which has now ended.

Other businesses

Briefly from 1987, Parton owned Dockside Plantation, a restaurant in the upscale neighborhood of Hawaii Kai in Honolulu, Hawaii. She also had a "signature line" of wigs from Revlon in the early 1990s. The best-selling style, "Dolly's Own", is still sold by Revlon, albeit under a new style name.

Philanthropic efforts

Since the mid-1980s Parton has supported many charitable efforts, particularly in the area of literacy, primarily through her Dollywood Foundation.

Dolly Parton's Imagination Library

Her literacy program, "Dolly Parton's Imagination Library", a part of the Dollywood Foundation, mails one book per month to each enrolled child from the time of their birth until they enter kindergarten. It began in Sevier County but has now been replicated in 566 counties across thirty-six U.S. states (as well as in Canada). In December 2007 it expanded to Europe with the South Yorkshire town of Rotherham, United Kingdom, being the first British locality to receive the books. The program distributes more than 2.5 million free books to children annually.

In 2006 Parton published a cookbook ''Dolly's Dixie Fixin's: Love, Laughter and Lots of Good Food''. The net profits support the Dollywood Foundation.

Other philanthropy

Dollywood has been noted for bringing jobs and tax revenues to a previously depressed region. She has also worked to raise money on behalf of several other causes, including the American Red Cross and a number of HIV/AIDS-related charities.

In December 2006, Parton pledged $500,000 toward a proposed $90-million hospital and cancer center to be constructed in Sevierville in the name of Dr. Robert F. Thomas, the physician who delivered her; she also announced plans for a benefit concert to raise additional funds for the project. The concert went ahead playing to about 8,000 people.

In May 2009, Parton gave the commencement address at the University of Tennessee. Her speech was about her life lessons, and she encouraged the graduates to never stop dreaming.

Awards and honors

Parton is one of the most-honored female country performers of all time. The Record Industry Association of America has certified 25 of her single or album releases as either Gold Record, Platinum Record or Multi-Platinum Record. She has had 26 songs reach number one on the Billboard country charts, a record for a female artist. She has 42 career-top-10 country albums, a record for any artist, and 110 career-charted singles over the past 40 years. All inclusive sales of singles, albums, hits collections, paid digital downloads and compilation usage during Parton's career have reportedly topped 174 million records around the world.

She has received eight Grammy Awards and a total of 45 Grammy Award nominations. At the 2011 Grammies she was given a Lifetime Achievement Award. At the American Music Awards she has won three awards, but has received 18 nominations. At the Country Music Association, she has received 10 awards and 42 nominations. At the Academy of Country Music, she has won seven awards and 39 nominations. She is one of only six female artists (including Reba McEntire, Barbara Mandrell, Shania Twain, Loretta Lynn, and Taylor Swift), to win the Country Music Association's highest honor, Entertainer of the Year (1978). She has also been nominated for two Academy Awards and a Tony Award.

She was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Recording in 1984, located at 6712 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California; a star on the Nashville Star Walk for Grammy winners; and a bronze sculpture on the courthouse lawn in Sevierville. She has called that statue of herself in her hometown "the greatest honor," because it came from the people who knew her.

Parton was inducted into the Grand Ole Opry in 1969, and in 1986 was named one of ''Ms. Magazine'''s Women of the Year. In 1986, Parton was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. In 1999, Parton received country music's highest honor, an induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame. She received an honorary doctorate degree from Carson-Newman College (Jefferson City, Tennessee) in 1990. This was followed by induction into the National Academy of Popular Music/Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2001. In 2002, Parton ranked number four in ''CMT's 40 Greatest Women of Country Music.''

She was honored in 2003 with a tribute album called ''Just Because I'm a Woman: Songs of Dolly Parton''. The artists who recorded versions of Parton's songs included Melissa Etheridge ("I Will Always Love You"), Alison Krauss ("9 to 5"), Twain ("Coat of Many Colors"), Me'Shell NdegéOcello ("Two Doors Down"), Norah Jones ("The Grass is Blue"), and Sinéad O'Connor ("Dagger Through the Heart"); Parton herself contributed a rerecording of the title song, originally the title song for her first RCA album in 1968. Parton was awarded the Living Legend Medal by the U.S. Library of Congress on April 14, 2004, for her contributions to the cultural heritage of the United States.

This was followed in 2005 with the National Medal of Arts, the highest honor given by the U.S. government for excellence in the arts and is presented by the U.S. President.

On December 3, 2006, Parton received the Kennedy Center Honors from the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts for her lifetime of contributions to the arts. Other 2006 honorees included Zubin Mehta, Steven Spielberg, Smokey Robinson and Andrew Lloyd Webber. During the show, some of country music's biggest names came to show their admiration. Carrie Underwood performed Parton's hit "Islands in the Stream" with Rogers, Parton's original duet partner. Krauss performed "Jolene" and duetted "Coat of Many Colors" with Twain. McEntire and Reese Witherspoon also came to pay tribute.

On November 16, 2010, Parton accepted the Liseberg Applause Award, the theme park industry's most prestigious honor, on behalf of Dollywood theme park during a ceremony held at IAAPA Attractions Expo 2010 in Orlando.

Philanthropy-related honors

In 2003, her efforts to preserve the bald eagle through the American Eagle Foundation's sanctuary at Dollywood earned her the Partnership Award from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Parton received the Woodrow Wilson Award for Public Service from the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars of the Smithsonian Institution at a ceremony in Nashville on November 8, 2007.

For her work in literacy, Parton has received various awards including:

Association of American Publishers – AAP Honors Award (2000)

Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval (2001) (the first time the seal had been awarded to a person)

American Association of School Administrators – Galaxy Award (2002)

National State Teachers of the Year – Chasing Rainbows Award (2002)

Parents as Teachers National Center – Child and Family Advocacy Award (2003)

On May 8, 2009, Parton gave the commencement speech at the commencement ceremony in Knoxville, Tennessee, for the University of Tennessee, Knoxville's College of Arts and Sciences. During the ceremony she received an honorary degree, a doctorate of humane and musical letters, from the university. It was only the second honorary degree to be given by the university and in presenting the degree, the university's chancellor, Jimmy G. Cheek, said, "Because of her career not just as a musician and entertainer, but for her role as a cultural ambassador, philanthropist and lifelong advocate for education, it is fitting that she be honored with an honorary degree from the flagship educational institution of her home state."

Image

Parton has turned down several offers to pose for ''Playboy'' magazine, although she did appear on the cover of ''Playboy'''s October 1978 issue wearing a Playboy bunny outfit, complete with ears (the October 1978 ''Playboy'' issue also featured Lawrence Grobel's extensive and candid interview with Parton, representing one of her earliest high profile interviews with the mainstream press). The association of breasts with Parton's public image is illustrated in the naming of Dolly the sheep after her, since the sheep was cloned from a cell taken from an adult ewe's mammary gland. When Parton was asked whether she minded being an eponym in this way, she joked, "No, there's no such thing as baa-ad publicity."

She has had plastic surgery. On a 2003 broadcast of ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'', Winfrey asked what kind of cosmetic surgery Parton had undergone. Parton stated that she felt that cosmetic surgery was imperative in keeping with her famous image, but jokingly admitted, "If I have one more facelift, I'll have a beard!" Parton has repeatedly joked about her physical image and surgeries, saying, "If I see something sagging, bagging, and dragging, I'm going to nip it, suck it and tuck it. Why should I look like an old barn yard dog if I don't have to?" and "It takes a lot of money to look this cheap." Her breasts also garnered mention of her in several songs in the 1980s and 1990s, including "Dolly Parton's Hits" by Bobby Braddock, "Talk Like Sex" by Kool G Rap and DJ Polo, "Dolly Parton's Tits" by MacLean & MacLean, and "Crazy Rap" by Afroman.

Press agent Lee Solters represented Parton and has remarked that he knew her "since she was flat-chested".

Discography

Studio Albums:

1967: ''Hello, I'm Dolly''

1968: ''Just Because I'm a Woman''

1969: ''In the Good Old Days (When Times Were Bad)''

1969: ''My Blue Ridge Mountain Boy''

1970: ''The Fairest of Them All''

1971: ''Golden Streets of Glory''

1971: ''Joshua''

1971: ''Coat of Many Colors''

1972: ''Touch Your Woman''

1972: ''My Favorite Songwriter: Porter Wagoner''

1973: ''My Tennessee Mountain Home''

1973: ''Bubbling Over''

1974: ''Jolene''

1974: ''Love Is Like a Butterfly''

1975: ''The Bargain Store''

1975: ''Dolly: The Seeker/We Used To''

1976: ''All I Can Do''

1977: ''New Harvest... First Gathering''

1977: ''Here You Come Again''

1978: ''Heartbreaker''

1979: ''Great Balls of Fire''

1980: ''Dolly, Dolly, Dolly''

1980: ''9 to 5 and Odd Jobs''

1982: ''Heartbreak Express''

1983: ''Burlap & Satin''

1984: ''The Great Pretender''

1985: ''Real Love''

1987: ''Rainbow''

1989: ''White Limozeen''

1991: ''Eagle When She Flies''

1993: ''Slow Dancing with the Moon''

1996: ''Something Special''

1996: ''Treasures''

1998: ''Hungry Again''

1999: ''The Grass Is Blue''

2001: ''Little Sparrow''

2002: ''Halos & Horns''

2003: ''For God and Country''

2005: ''Those Were the Days''

2008: ''Backwoods Barbie''

2011: ''Better Day''

Filmography

+ List of film acting performances
Title	Year	Role	Notes	Gross revenue
''Nine to Five''		Doralee Rhodes	Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy	$107,000,000
''''		Mona Stangley	Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy	$72,000,000
! scope="row"		Jake		$32,000,000
''Steel Magnolias''		Truvy Jones		$98,000,000
''Straight Talk''		Shirlee Kenyon		$28,000,000
''''		Herself	cameo appearance	$113,000,000
''Frank McKlusky, C.I.''		Edith McKlusky		$18,000,000
''Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous''		Herself	cameo appearance	$102,000,000
''Gnomeo and Juliet''		Dolly Gnome	voice	$29,000,000
! scope="row"		Herself	Voice cameo
! scope="row"		G.G. Sparrow

+ List of television acting performances
Title	Year	Role	Notes	Episode title
''Dolly and Carol in Nashville''		Trudy/Herself	TV movie
''Lily: Sold Out''		Herself	TV movie
''''		Lorna Davis	TV movie
''Wild Texas Wind''		Thiola "Big T" Rayfield	TV movie
! scope="row"		Betsy Baxter	TV series	Pilot episode, unaired
''Mindin' My Own Business''		Catering business owner	Pilot episode, unaired
''Unlikely Angel''		Ruby Diamond	TV movie
! scope="row"		Katrina Eloise 'Murph' Murphy	TV series	"The Family Holiday Special"
''Blue Valley Songbird''		Leanna Taylor	TV movie
! scope="row"		Dolly Majors	TV series	"Reba's Rules of Real Estate"
''Hannah Montana''		Aunt Dolly	TV series

+ List of television appearances as singer
Title	Year	Role	Notes	Episodes
''''		regular singer		All
''Dolly!''		host and performer		All
''Cher... Special''		herself
''''		herself
! scope="row"		herself		one episode
! scope="row"		host		22 episodes
''Bob Hope's Christmas Special''		herself
''Designing Women''		Herself – The Guardian Movie Star		"The First Day of the Last Decade of the Entire 20th Century: Part 1 & 2"
''Babes''		Herself	Cameo appearance	"Hello Dolly"
''Big Dreams and Broken Hearts: The Dottie West Story''		Herself	Cameo appearance
''Naomi & Wynonna: Love Can Build a Bridge''		Herself
''Get to the Heart: The Barbara Mandrell Story''		Herself	Cameo appearance
''''		Herself		"Sunday, Cruddy Sunday"
''Jackie's Back''		Herself	Cameo appearance
! scope="row"		Herself	Cameo appearance	"Halloween"
''19 Kids and Counting"		Herself	Cameo	"Duggars Go To Dollywood"

See also

Academy of Country Music

Country Music Association

Country Music Hall of Fame

List of country music performers

List of best-selling music artists

Chasing Rainbows

References

Bibliography

Further reading

. . .

External links

dollypartonmusic.net, (official music website)

dollyparton.com, (official website – not fully launched as of December 23, 2009 and requires Adobe Flash)

"Dolly Parton", inductee page at countrymusichalloffame.com Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum's official website

"Dolly Parton" biography at legacyrecordings.com, Legacy Recordings's official website

"Dolly Parton – Interview", posted November 18, 2008, at countrymusicpride.com

"A Conversation with Singer and Actress Dolly Parton", a June 5, 2009, video interview (requires Adobe Flash) from the ''Charlie Rose'' (talk show), a PBS television program, at charlierose.com, Rose's official website

Dolly Parton video interview from the talk show 'Parkinson' at BBC

Dolly-Parton.net, (fansite)

Category:1946 births Category:20th-century actors Category:American buskers Category:American entertainment industry businesspeople Category:American country singers Category:American country singer-songwriters Category:American female singers Category:American female guitarists Category:American film actors Category:American memoirists Category:American musical theatre composers Category:American musical theatre lyricists Category:American Pentecostals Category:American people of Scotch-Irish descent Category:American philanthropists Category:American pop singer-songwriters Category:American sopranos Category:American television actors Category:American television personalities Category:Appalachian culture Category:Country Music Hall of Fame inductees Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Grand Ole Opry members Category:Kennedy Center honorees Category:Living people Category:Musicians from Tennessee Category:People from Sevier County, Tennessee Category:Songwriters Hall of Fame inductees Category:United States National Medal of Arts recipients

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birth name	Whitney Elizabeth Houston
background	solo_singer
born	August 09, 1963Newark, New Jersey, U.S.
origin	East Orange, New Jersey
instrument	Vocals, piano
genre	R&B, pop, dance, soul, gospel
occupation	Singer, actress, model, film producer, record producer, songwriter
years active	1977–present
label	Arista/Sony Music
associated acts	Cissy Houston, Dionne Warwick, Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder, Bobby Brown, Kim Burrell, CeCe Winans, Mariah Carey, Luther Vandross, Jermaine Jackson
website	}}

Whitney Elizabeth Houston (born August 9, 1963) is an American R&B/pop singer, actress, and former fashion model. Houston is the most awarded female act of all time, according to Guinness World Records, and her list of awards include 2 Emmy Awards, 6 Grammy Awards, 30 Billboard Music Awards, 22 American Music Awards, among a total of 415 career awards as of 2010. Houston is also one of the world's best-selling music artists, having sold over 170 million albums and singles worldwide on relatively few releases.

Inspired by several prominent soul singers in her extended family, including mother Cissy Houston and cousins Dionne Warwick and Dee Dee Warwick, as well as her godmother, Aretha Franklin, Houston began singing with New Jersey church's junior gospel choir at age 11. After she began performing alongside her mother in night clubs in the New York City area, she was discovered by Arista Records label head Clive Davis. As of 2011, Houston has released seven studio albums and three movie soundtrack albums, all of which have diamond, multi-platinum, platinum, or gold certification.

Houston's 1985 debut album, ''Whitney Houston'', became the best-selling debut album by a female act at the time of its release. Her second studio album, ''Whitney'' (1987), became the first album by a female artist to debut at number one on the ''Billboard'' 200 albums chart. Houston's crossover appeal on the popular music charts as well as her prominence on MTV, starting with her video for "How Will I Know", enabled several African-American female artists to follow in her success.

Houston's first acting role was as the star of the feature film ''The Bodyguard'' (1992). The movie's original soundtrack won the 1994 Grammy Award for Album of the Year. Its lead single, "I Will Always Love You", became the best-selling single by a female artist in music history. The album makes her the only female act ranked in the list of the top-10 best-selling albums, at number four. Houston continued to star in movies and contribute to soundtracks, including with the films ''Waiting to Exhale'' (1995) and ''The Preacher's Wife'' (1996). Three years after the release of her fourth studio album, ''My Love Is Your Love'' (1998), she renewed her recording contract with Arista Records. She released her fifth studio album, ''Just Whitney'', in 2002, and the Christmas-themed ''One Wish: The Holiday Album'' in 2003. Amid widespread media coverage of personal and professional turmoil, Houston ended her 14-year marriage to singer Bobby Brown in 2006. In 2009, Houston released her seventh studio album, ''I Look To You''.

Biography

1963–76: Early life

Whitney Houston was born in what was then a middle-income neighbourhood of Newark, New Jersey, the third and youngest child of John and gospel singer Cissy Houston. She is mostly African-American, with some Native-American and Dutch ancestry. Her mother, along with cousins Dionne Warwick and the late Dee Dee Warwick and godmother Aretha Franklin were all notable figures in the gospel, rhythm and blues, pop, and soul genres. Houston was raised a Baptist, but was also exposed to the Pentecostal church. After the 1967 Newark riots, the family moved to a middle class area in East Orange, New Jersey when she was four.

At the age of eleven, Houston began to follow in her mother's footsteps and started performing as a soloist in the junior gospel choir at the New Hope Baptist Church in Newark, where she also learned to play the piano. Her first solo performance in the church was "Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah".

When Houston was a teenager, she attended a Catholic girls high school, Mount Saint Dominic Academy, where she met her best friend Robyn Crawford, whom she describes as the "sister she never had." While Houston was still in school, her mother continued to teach her how to sing. In addition to her mother, Franklin, and Warwick, Houston was also exposed to the music of Chaka Khan, Gladys Knight, and Roberta Flack, most of whom would have an impact on her as a singer and performer.

1977–84: Early career

Houston spent some of her teenage years touring nightclubs where her mother Cissy was performing, and she would occasionally get on stage and perform with her. In 1977, at age 14, she was a backup singer on the Michael Zager Band's single "Life's a Party". Zager subsequently offered to obtain a recording contract for the young singer, but Cissy declined, wanting her young daughter to finish school first. Then in 1978, at age 15, Houston sang background vocals on Chaka Khan's hit single "I'm Every Woman", a song she would later turn into a larger hit for herself on her monster-selling ''The Bodyguard'' soundtrack album. She also sang back-up on albums by Lou Rawls and Jermaine Jackson. In the early 1980s, Houston started working as a fashion model after a photographer saw her at Carnegie Hall singing with her mother. She appeared as a lead vocalist on a Paul Jabara album, entitled ''Paul Jabara and Friends'', released by Columbia Records in 1983. She appeared in ''Seventeen'' and became one of the first women of color to grace the cover of the magazine. She was also featured in layouts in the pages ''Glamour'', ''Cosmopolitan'', ''Young Miss'' and appeared in a Canada Dry soft drink TV commercial. Her striking looks and girl-next-door charm made her one of the most sought after teen models of that time. While modeling, she continued her burgeoning recording career by working with producers Ben Dover, Bill Laswell and Martin Bisi on an album they were spearheading called ''One Down'', which was credited to the group Material. For that project, Houston contributed the ballad "Memories". Robert Christgau of ''The Village Voice'' called her contribution "one of the most gorgeous ballads you've ever heard."

Houston had previously been offered several recording agencies (Michael Zager in 1980 and Elektra Records in 1981). In 1983, Gerry Griffith, an A&R representative from Arista Records saw her performing with her mother in a New York City nightclub and was impressed. He convinced Arista's head Clive Davis to make time to see Houston perform. Davis too was impressed and offered a worldwide recording contract which Houston signed. Later that year, she made her national televised debut alongside Davis on ''The Merv Griffin Show''.

Houston signed with Arista in 1983 but did not begin work on her album immediately. The label wanted to make sure no other label signed the singer away. Davis wanted to ensure he had the right material and producers for Houston's debut album. Some producers had to pass on the project due to prior commitments. Houston first recorded a duet with Teddy Pendergrass entitled "Hold Me" which appeared on his album, ''Love Language''. The single was released in 1984 and gave Houston her first taste of success, becoming a Top 5 R&B hit. It would also appear on her debut album in 1985.

1985–86: Rise to prominence

With production from Michael Masser, Kashif, Jermaine Jackson and Narada Michael Walden, Houston's self-titled debut album was released in February 1985. ''Rolling Stone'' magazine praised the new talent, calling her "one of the most exciting new voices in years" while ''The New York Times'' called the album "an impressive, musically conservative showcase for an exceptional vocal talent." The first single, the dance-funk "Someone For Me", failed to chart in the US and UK. The next single, "Thinking About You", reached the top ten of the US R&B Chart, as the album sold modestly. The release of the next single, the soulful ballad "You Give Good Love", peaked at #3 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, and went to #1 on the R&B Charts. As a result, the album began to sell strongly, and Houston continued promoting the album by touring nightclubs in the US. She also began performing on late-night television talk shows, which was not usually accessible to black acts. The jazzy ballad "Saving All My Love for You" was released next and it would become Houston's first #1 hit single in both the US and the UK. She was now an opening act for singer Jeffrey Osborne on his nationwide tour. At the time, MTV had received harsh criticism for not playing enough videos by African-American artists while favoring rock acts. The next single, "How Will I Know", peaked at #1 and introduced Houston to the MTV audience thanks to its video. This would make the singer the second African-American female artist to receive heavy rotation on the network(Donna Summer was the first with "She Works Hard For The Money"). By 1986, a year after its initial release, ''Whitney Houston'' topped the Billboard 200 album chart and stayed there for 14 non-consecutive weeks. The final single, "Greatest Love of All", became Houston's biggest hit at the time after peaking #1 and remaining there for three weeks. At the time, Houston released the best-selling debut album by a female artist. Houston then embarked on her world tour, ''Greatest Love Tour''. The album had become an international success, and was certified 13x Platinum (diamond) in the United States alone, and has sold a total of 25 million copies worldwide.

At the 1986 Grammy Awards, Houston was nominated for three awards including ''Album of the Year''. She was ineligible for the ''Best New Artist'' category due to her previous duet recording with Teddy Pendergrass in 1984. She won her first Grammy award for 'Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female' for "Saving All My Love for You". At the same award show, she performed that Grammy-winning hit; that performance later winning her an Emmy Award for Outstanding Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program. Houston won seven American Music Awards in total in 1986 and 1987, and an MTV Video Music Award. The album's popularity would also carry over to the 1987 Grammy Awards when "Greatest Love of All" would receive a ''Record of the Year'' nomination. Houston's debut album is currently listed as one of ''Rolling Stone's'' 500 Greatest Albums of All Time and on The Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame's Definitive 200 list. Whitney Houston's grand entrance into the music industry is considered one of the 25 musical milestones of the last 25 years, according to ''USA Today''. Following Houston's breakthrough, doors were opened for other African-American female artists such as Janet Jackson and Anita Baker to find notable success in popular music and on MTV.

1987–91: ''Whitney'', ''I'm Your Baby Tonight'' and "The Star Spangled Banner"

Houston’s second album, ''Whitney'', was released in June 1987. The album again featured production from Masser, Kashif and Walden as well as Jellybean Benitez. Many critics complained that the material was too similar to her previous album. ''Rolling Stone'' said, "the narrow channel through which this talent has been directed is frustrating." Still, the album enjoyed commercial success. Houston became the first female artist in music history to debut at number one on the US and UK album chart while also hitting number one or top ten in dozens of other countries around the world. The album's first four singles, "I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)," "Didn't We Almost Have It All," "So Emotional," and "Where Do Broken Hearts Go" all peaked at number one on the US Hot 100, which gave her a total of seven consecutive number one hits, breaking the record of six previously shared by The Beatles and The Bee Gees. ''Whitney'' has been certified 9× Platinum in the US for shipments of over 9 million copies, and has sold a total of 20 million copies worldwide.

At the Grammy Awards in 1988, Houston was nominated for three awards, including ''Album of the Year'', winning her second Grammy for ''Best Female Pop Vocal Performance'' for "I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)". Houston also won two American Music Awards in 1988 and 1989 respectively. Following the release of the album, Houston embarked on the ''Moment of Truth World Tour'' which was one of the ten highest grossing concert tours of 1987. The success of the tour and her albums ranked Houston #8 for the highest earning entertainers list according to ''Forbes Magazine''. She was the highest earning African-American woman and the third highest entertainer after Bill Cosby and Eddie Murphy. The list included her concert grosses during 1986 and 1987.

Houston was a supporter of Nelson Mandela and the anti-apartheid movement. During her modeling days, the singer refused to work with any agencies who did business with the then-apartheid South Africa. In June 1988, during the European leg of her tour, Houston joined other musicians to perform a set at Wembley Stadium in London to celebrate a then-imprisoned Nelson Mandela's 70th birthday. Over 72,000 people attended Wembley Stadium, and over a billion people tuned in worldwide as the rock concert raised over $1 million for charities while bringing awareness to apartheid. Houston then flew back to the US for a concert at Madison Square Garden in New York City in August. The show was a benefit concert that raised a quarter of a million dollars for the United Negro College Fund. In the same year, she recorded a song for NBC's coverage of the 1988 Summer Olympics, "One Moment in Time", which became a Top 5 hit in the US, while reaching number one in the UK and Germany. With her current world tour continuing overseas, Houston was still one of the top 20 highest earning entertainers for 1987–1988 according to ''Forbes'' magazine.

In 1989, Houston formed The Whitney Houston Foundation For Children, a non-profit organization that has raised funds for the needs of children around the world. The organization cares for homelessness, children with cancer or AIDS, and other issues of self-empowerment. With the success of her first two albums, Houston was undoubtedly an international crossover superstar, the most prominent since Michael Jackson, appealing to all demographics. However, some black critics believed she was "selling out". They felt her singing on record lacked the soul that was present during her live concerts. At the 1989 Soul Train Music Awards, when Houston's name was called out for a nomination, a few in the audience jeered. Houston defended herself against the criticism, stating, "If you're gonna have a long career, there's a certain way to do it, and I did it that way. I'm not ashamed of it." Houston took a more urban direction with her third studio album, ''I'm Your Baby Tonight'', released in November 1990. She produced and chose producers for this album and as a result, it featured production and collaborations with L.A. Reid and Babyface, Luther Vandross, and Stevie Wonder. The album showed Houston's versatility on a new batch of tough rhythmic grooves, soulful ballads and up-tempo dance tracks. Reviews were mixed. ''Rolling Stone'' felt it was her "best and most integrated album". while ''Entertainment Weekly'', at the time thought Houston's shift towards an urban direction was "superficial". The album peaked at number three on the Billboard 200 and went on to be certified four times platinum in America while selling twelve million total worldwide. Two of the singles released from the album reached number one in the US.

With America at war, Houston performed "The Star Spangled Banner" at Super Bowl XXV in January 1991. VH1 listed the performance as the 12th greatest moment that rocked TV. Her recording of the song was released as a commercial single, and reached the Top 20 on the US Hot 100, making her the only act to turn the national anthem into a pop hit of that magnitude (Jose Feliciano's version reached #50 in November 1968). Houston donated all her share of the proceeds to the Red Cross. As a result, the singer was named to the Red Cross Board of Governors. Later that year, Houston put together her ''Welcome Home Heroes'' concert with HBO for the soldiers fighting in the Gulf War and their families. The free concert took place at Naval Station Norfolk in Norfolk, Virginia in front of 3,500 servicemen and women. HBO descrambled the concert so that it was free for everyone to watch. Houston's concert gave HBO its highest ratings ever. She then embarked on the I'm Your Baby Tonight World Tour.

1992–94: Marriage to Bobby Brown and ''The Bodyguard''

Throughout the 1980s, Houston was romantically linked to American football star Randall Cunningham and actor Eddie Murphy, whom she dated. She then met R&B singer Bobby Brown at the 1989 Soul Train Music Awards. After a three year courtship, the two were married on July 18, 1992. Nearly a year later, Houston gave birth to their daughter Bobbi Kristina Houston Brown, her first and only child, his fourth. Brown would go on to have several run-ins with the law, including some jail time.

With the commercial success of her albums, movie offers poured in, including offers to work with Robert De Niro, Quincy Jones, and Spike Lee; but Houston felt the time wasn't right. Houston’s first film role was in ''The Bodyguard'', released in 1992 and co-starring Kevin Costner. Houston played Rachel Marron, a star who is stalked by a crazed fan and hires a bodyguard to protect her. ''USA Today'' listed it as one of the 25 most memorable movie moments of the last 25 years. The movie is also notable for not mentioning or needing to explain its interracial aspect. Houston's mainstream appeal allowed people to look at the movie color-blind. Still, controversy arose as some felt the film's ads intentionally hid Houston's face to hide the film's interracial aspect. In an interview with ''Rolling Stone Magazine'' in 1993, the singer commented that "people know who Whitney Houston is—I'm black. You can't hide that fact." Houston received a Razzie Award nomination for Worst Actress. ''The Washington Post'' said Houston is "doing nothing more than playing Houston, comes out largely unscathed if that is possible in so cockamamie an undertaking", and ''The New York Times'' said she lacked passion with her co-star. Despite the film's mixed reviews, it was hugely successful at the box office, grossing more than $121 million in the U.S. and $410 million worldwide, making it one of the top 100 grossing films in film history at its time of release, though it is no longer in the top 100.

The film's soundtrack also enjoyed success. Houston executive produced and contributed six songs for the motion picture's adjoining soundtrack album. ''Rolling Stone'' said it is "nothing more than pleasant, tasteful and urbane". The soundtrack's lead single was "I Will Always Love You", written and originally recorded by Dolly Parton in 1974. The single peaked at number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 for a then-record-breaking 14 weeks, number one on the R&B chart for a then-record-breaking 11 weeks, and number one on the Adult Contemporary charts for five weeks, thus becoming the first single to top those three charts simultaneously for five weeks. The song also hit number-one in many other countries. The soundtrack debuted at #1 and remained there for twenty non-consecutive weeks and became one of the fastest selling albums ever. At one point the soundtrack sold over a million copies within a week, becoming the first album to do so. With the follow-up singles "I'm Every Woman", a Chaka Khan cover, and "I Have Nothing" both peaking in the top five, Houston became the first female artist to ever have three singles in the Top 20 simultaneously. The album was certified 17× platinum in the United States with worldwide sales of 42 million, making ''The Bodyguard'' the only album by a female act on the list of the world's Top 10 best-selling albums. Houston won three Grammys for the album, including two of the Academy's highest honors, Album of the Year and Record of the Year. In addition, she won eight American Music Awards at that year's ceremony, including the Award of Merit, and a BRIT award. Following the success of the project, Houston embarked on another expansive global tour in 1993 and 1994. Her concerts, movie, and recording grosses made her the third highest earning female entertainer of 1993–1994, just behind Oprah Winfrey and Barbra Streisand according to ''Forbes Magazine''. Houston placed in the top five of ''Entertainment Weekly's'' annual "Entertainer of the Year" ranking and was labeled by ''Premier Magazine'' as one of the 100 most powerful people in Hollywood.

In October 1994, Houston attended and performed at a state dinner in the White House honoring newly elected South African president Nelson Mandela. At the end of her world tour, Houston performed three concerts in South Africa to honor President Mandela, playing to over 200,000 people. This would make the singer the first major musician to visit the newly unified and apartheid free nation following Mandela's winning election. The concert was broadcast live on HBO with funds of the concerts being donated to various charities in South Africa. The event was considered the nation's "biggest media event since the inauguration of Nelson Mandela."

1995–97: ''Waiting to Exhale'', ''The Preacher's Wife'' and ''Cinderella''

In 1995, Houston starred alongside Angela Bassett, Loretta Devine, and Lela Rochon in her second film ''Waiting to Exhale'', a motion picture about four African-American women struggling with relationships. Houston plays the lead character Savannah Jackson, a TV producer in love with a married man. She chose the role because she saw the film as "a breakthrough for the image of black women because it presents them both as professionals and as caring mothers". After opening at number one and grossing $67 million in the US at the box office and $81 million worldwide, it proved that a movie primarily targeting a black audience can cross over to success, while paving the way for other all-black movies such as ''How Stella Got Her Groove Back'' and the Tyler Perry movies that have become popular in the 2000s. The film is also notable for its portrayal of black women as strong middle class citizens as opposed to stereotypes. The reviews were mainly positive for the ensemble cast. ''The New York Times'' said "Ms. Houston has shed the defensive hauteur that made her portrayal of a pop star in 'The Bodyguard' seem so distant." Houston was nominated for an NAACP Image Award for "Outstanding Actress In A Motion Picture," but lost to her co-star Bassett.

The film's accompanying soundtrack, ''Waiting to Exhale: Original Soundtrack Album'', was produced by Houston and Babyface. Though Babyface originally wanted Houston to record the entire album, she declined. Instead, she "wanted it to be an album of women with vocal distinction", and thus gathered several African-American female artists for the soundtrack, to go along with the film's strong women message. As a result, the album featured a range of contemporary R&B female recording artists along with Houston, such as Mary J Blige, Aretha Franklin, Toni Braxton, Patti Labelle, and Brandy. Houston's "Exhale (Shoop Shoop)" peaked at #1, and then spent a record eleven weeks at the #2 spot and eight weeks on top of the R&B Charts. "Count On Me", a duet with CeCe Winans, hit the US Top 10; and Houston's third contribution, "Why Does It Hurt So Bad", made the Top 30. The album debuted at #1, and was certified 7× Platinum in the United States, denoting shipments of seven million copies. The soundtrack received strong reviews as ''Entertainment Weekly'' said "the album goes down easy, just as you'd expect from a package framed by Whitney Houston tracks.... the soundtrack waits to exhale, hovering in sensuous suspense" and has since ranked it as one of the 100 Best Movie Soundtracks. ''Newsday'' called it "the most significant R&B record of the decade." Later that year, Houston's children's charity organization was awarded a VH1 Honor for all the charitable work

In 1996, Houston starred in the holiday comedy ''The Preacher's Wife'', with Denzel Washington. She plays a gospel-singing wife of a pastor (Courtney B. Vance). Houston earned $10 million for the role, making her one of the highest paid actress in Hollywood at the time and the highest earning African American actress in Hollywood. The movie, with its all African-American cast, was a moderate success, earning approximately $50 million at the U.S. box offices. The movie gave Houston her strongest reviews so far. ''The San Francisco Chronicle'' said Houston "is rather angelic herself, displaying a divine talent for being virtuous and flirtatious at the same time" and that she "exudes gentle yet spirited warmth, especially when praising the Lord in her gorgeous singing voice." Houston was again nominated for an NAACP Image Award and won for Outstanding Actress In A Motion Picture.

Houston recorded and co-produced, with Mervyn Warren, the film's accompanying gospel soundtrack. ''The Preacher's Wife: Original Soundtrack Album'' included six gospel songs with Georgia Mass Choir that were recorded at the Great Star Rising Baptist Church in Atlanta. Houston also duetted with gospel legend Shirley Caesar. The album sold six million copies worldwide and scored hit singles with "I Believe in You and Me" and "Step by Step", becoming the largest selling gospel album of all time. The album received mainly positive reviews. Some critics, such as that of ''USA Today'', noted the presence of her emotional depth, while ''The UK Times'' said "To hear Houston going at full throttle with the 35 piece Georgia Mass Choir struggling to keep up is to realise what her phenomenal voice was made for."

In 1997, Houston's production company changed its name to BrownHouse Productions and was joined by Debra Martin Chase. Their goal was "to show aspects of the lives of African-Americans that have not been brought to the screen before" while improving how African-Americans are portrayed in film and television. Their first project was a made-for-television remake of Rodgers & Hammerstein's ''Cinderella''. In addition to co-producing, Houston starred in the movie as the Fairy Godmother along with Brandy, Jason Alexander, Whoopi Goldberg, and Bernadette Peters. Houston was initially offered the role of Cinderella in 1993, but other projects intervened. The film is notable for its multi-racial cast and nonstereotypical message. An estimated 60 million viewers tuned into the special giving ABC its highest TV ratings in 16 years. The movie received seven Emmy nominations including Outstanding Variety, Musical or Comedy, while winning Outstanding Art Direction in a Variety, Musical or Comedy Special.

Houston and Chase then obtained the rights to the story of Dorothy Dandridge. Houston was to play Dandridge, who was the first African American actress to be nominated for an Oscar. She wanted the story told with dignity and honor. However, Halle Berry also had rights to the project and she got her version going first. Later that year, Houston paid tribute to her idols such as Aretha Franklin, Diana Ross, and Dionne Warwick by performing their hits during the three-night HBO Concert ''Classic Whitney'', live from Washington, D.C. The special raised over $300,000 for the Children's Defense Fund.

1998–2000: ''My Love Is Your Love'' and ''Whitney: The Greatest Hits''

After spending much of the early and mid 1990s working on motion pictures and their adjacent soundtrack albums, Houston's first studio album in eight years, the critically acclaimed ''My Love Is Your Love'', was released in November 1998. Though originally slated to be a greatest hits album with a handful of new songs, recording sessions were so fruitful that a new full-length studio album was released. Recorded and mixed in only six weeks, it featured production from Rodney Jerkins, Wyclef Jean and Missy Elliott. The album debuted at number thirteen in the US. It had a funkier and edgier sound than past releases and saw Houston handling urban dance, hip hop, mid-tempo R&B, reggae, torch songs, and ballads all with great dexterity. The album featured several hit singles: "When You Believe" (US #15, UK #4), a duet with Mariah Carey for 1998s The Prince of Egypt soundtrack, it also became an international hit as it peaked in the Top 10 in several countries and won an Academy Award; "Heartbreak Hotel" (US #2, UK# 25) featured Faith Evans and Kelly Price, and number one on the US R&B chart for seven weeks; "It's Not Right But It's Okay" (US #4, UK #3) won Houston her sixth Grammy Award; "My Love Is Your Love" (US #4, UK #2); and "I Learned from the Best" (US #27, UK #19). These singles became international hits as well, and all the singles, except "When You Believe", became number one hits on the U.S. Dance/Clubplay Chart. The album sold four million copies in America (4× platinum) and a total of eleven million worldwide. The album gave Houston some of her strongest reviews ever. ''Rolling Stone'' said Houston was singing "with a bite in her voice" and ''The Village Voice'' called it "Whitney's sharpest and most satisfying so far". In 1999, Houston participated in ''VH-1's Divas’ Live '99'', alongside Mary J. Blige, Tina Turner, and Cher. The same year, Houston hit the road with her 70 date ''My Love Is Your Love'' worldwide tour. The European leg was Europe's highest grossing arena tour of the year.

In May 2000, ''Whitney: The Greatest Hits'' was released. The double disc set peaked at number five in the United States and reached number one in the United Kingdom. While ballad songs were left unchanged, the album is notable for featuring house/club remixes of many of Houston's up-tempo hits, in place of their original version. Also included on the album were four new songs: "Could I Have This Kiss Forever" (a duet with Enrique Iglesias), "Same Script, Different Cast" (a duet with Deborah Cox), "If I Told You That" (a duet with George Michael), and "Fine". Along with the album, an accompanying DVD was released featuring the music videos to Houston's greatest hits. The greatest hits album was certified triple platinum in the US, with worldwide sales of ten million. Houston and Chase, along with Warner Brothers, were then set to produce a remake of the 1976 film Sparkle about a 1960s singing group of three sisters in Harlem. Aaliyah, who was to star in the remake, was killed in a plane crash in 2001 before production began.

2000–05: ''Just Whitney'', drug allegations and personal struggles

Though Houston was seen as a "good girl" with a perfect image in the '80s and early '90s, by the late '90s, her behavior changed. She was often hours late for interviews, photo shoots and rehearsals, and canceling concerts and talk-show appearances. With the missed performances and weight loss, rumors about Houston using drugs with her husband circulated. On January 11, 2000, airport security guards discovered marijuana in both Houston's and husband Bobby Brown's luggage at a Hawaii airport, but the two boarded the plane and departed before authorities could arrive. Charges were later dropped against her and Brown, but rumors of drug usage between the couple would continue to surface. Two months later, Clive Davis was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Houston had been scheduled to perform at the event, but did not attend. Shortly thereafter, Houston was scheduled to perform at the Academy Awards but was fired from the event by musical director and long time friend Burt Bacharach. Her publicist cited throat problems as the reason for the cancellation. In his book ''The Big Show: High Times and Dirty Dealings Backstage at the Academy Awards'', author Steve Pond revealed that "Houston's voice was shaky, she seemed distracted and jittery, and her attitude was casual, almost defiant," and that while Houston was to sing "Over the Rainbow", she would start singing a different song. Houston later admitted to having been fired. Later that year, Houston's long-time executive assistant and friend, Robyn Crawford, resigned from Houston's management company.

In August 2001, Houston signed the biggest record deal in music history with Arista/BMG. She renewed her contract for $100 million to deliver six new albums, on which she would also earn royalties. She later made an appearance on ''Michael Jackson: 30th Anniversary Special''. Her extremely thin frame further spurred rumors of drug use. Houston's publicist said, "Whitney has been under stress due to family matters, and when she is under stress she doesn't eat." The singer was scheduled for a second performance the following night but canceled. Within weeks, Houston's rendition of "The Star Spangled Banner" would be re-released after the terrorist attacks of September 11. The song peaked at #6 this time on the US Hot 100, topping its previous position. Houston donated her portion of the proceeds.

In 2002, Houston became involved in a legal dispute with John Houston Enterprise. Although the company was started by her father to manage her career, it was now actually run by company president Kevin Skinner. Skinner filed a breach-of-contract lawsuit and sued for $100 million (but lost), stating that Houston owed the company previously unpaid compensation for helping to negotiate her $100 million contract with Arista Records and for sorting out legal matters. Houston stated that her 81-year-old father had nothing to do with the lawsuit. Although Skinner tried to claim otherwise, John Houston never appeared in court. Houston's father later died in February 2003. The lawsuit was dismissed on April 5, 2004, and Skinner was awarded nothing.

Also in 2002, Houston did an interview with Diane Sawyer to promote her then-upcoming album. The interview was the highest-rated television interview in history. During the prime-time special, Houston spoke on topics including rumored drug use and marriage. She was asked about the ongoing drug rumors and replied, "First of all, let's get one thing straight. Crack is cheap. I make too much money to ever smoke crack. Let's get that straight. Okay? We don't do crack. We don't do that. Crack is wack." The line would become infamous. Houston did, however, admit to using other substances at times.

In December 2002, Houston released her fifth studio album, ''Just Whitney...''. The album included productions from then-husband Bobby Brown, as well as Missy Elliott and Babyface, and marked the first time Houston did not produce with Clive Davis as Davis had been released by top management at BMG. Upon its release, ''Just Whitney...'' received mixed reviews. The album debuted at number 9 on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart and it had the highest first week sales of any album Houston had ever released. The four singles released from the album, didn't fare well on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, but became Hot Dance Club Play hits. ''Just Whitney...'' was certified platinum in the United States, and sold approximately three million worldwide.

In late 2003, Houston released her first Christmas album ''One Wish: The Holiday Album'', with a song listing of traditional holiday songs. Houston produced the album with Mervyn Warren and Gordon Chambers. A single titled "One Wish (for Christmas)" reached the Top 20 on the Adult Contemporary chart, and the album was certified gold in the US. Having always been a touring artist, Houston spent most of 2004 touring and performing in Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and Russia. In September 2004, she gave a surprise performance at the World Music Awards, in tribute to long time friend Clive Davis. After the show, Davis and Houston announced plans to go into studio to work on her new album.

In early 2004, husband Bobby Brown starred in his own reality TV program, ''Being Bobby Brown'' (on the Bravo network), which provided a view into the domestic goings-on in the Brown household. Though it was Brown's vehicle, Houston was a prominent figure throughout the show, receiving as much screen time as Brown. The series aired in 2005 and featured Houston in, what some would say, not her most flattering moments. The ''Hollywood Reporter'' said it was "undoubtedly the most disgusting and execrable series ever to ooze its way onto television." Despite the perceived train-wreck nature of the show, the series gave Bravo its highest ratings in its time slot and continued Houston's successful forays into film and television. The show was not renewed for a second season after Houston stated she would no longer appear in it, and Brown and Bravo could not come to an agreement for another season.

2006–present: Return to music, ''I Look to You'' and tour

After years of controversy and turmoil, Houston separated from Bobby Brown in September 2006, filing for divorce the next month. On February 1, 2007, Houston asked the court to fast track their divorce. The divorce was finalized on April 24, 2007, with Houston granted custody of the couple's daughter. Less than a month later, Brown sued Houston in Orange County, California court in an attempt to change the terms of their custody agreement. Brown also sought child and spousal support from Houston. In the lawsuit, Brown claimed that financial and emotional problems prevented him from properly responding to Houston's divorce petition. Brown lost at his court hearing as the judge dismissed his appeal to overrule the custody terms, leaving Houston with full custody and Brown with no spousal support. In March 2007, Clive Davis of Arista Records announced that Houston would begin recording a new album. In October 2007, Arista released another compilation ''The Ultimate Collection'' outside the United States. Houston released her new album, ''I Look to You'', on August 2009. The album's first two singles are "I Look to You" and "Million Dollar Bill". The album entered the Billboard 200 at #1, with Houston's best opening-week sales of 305,000 copies, marking Houston's first number one album since '' The Bodyguard '', and Houston's first studio album to reach number one since 1987's ''Whitney''. Houston gave her first interview in seven years, appearing on Oprah Winfrey's season premiere on September 2009. The interview was billed as "the most anticipated music interview of the decade". The interview was so candid that Whitney admitted using drugs with former husband Bobby Brown describing to Oprah that she "laced marijuana with rock cocaine". Houston has also appeared on European television programs to promote the album. She performed the song "I Look to You" on the German television show ''Wetten Dass.'' Three days later, she performed the worldwide first single from I Look To You, Million Dollar Bill, on the French television show Le Grand Journal. Houston appeared as guest mentor on ''The X Factor'' in the United Kingdom. She performed "Million Dollar Bill" on the following day's results show, completing the song even as a strap in the back of her dress popped open two minutes into the performance. She later commented that she "sang [herself] out of [her] clothes". 200px|thumb|left|Whitney Houston at the [[The O2 Arena (London)|O2 Arena, April 28, 2010, as part of her Nothing but Love World Tour]] The performance was poorly received by the British media, and was variously described as "weird" and "ungracious", "shambolic" and a "flop". Despite this reception, "Million Dollar Bill" jumped to its peak from 14 to number 5 (her first UK top 5 for over a decade), and three weeks after release "I Look to You" went gold. Houston appeared on the Italian version of X Factor, performing the same song "Million Dollar Bill" to good reviews. She was awarded the Gold Certificate for achieving over 50,000 CD sales of "I Look To You" in Italy. In November, Houston performed "I Didn't Know My Own Strength" at the 2009 American Music Awards in Los Angeles, California. Two days later, Houston performed both songs on the Dancing With The Stars season 9 finale. As of December 2009, "I Look to You" has been certified platinum by the RIAA for sales of more than one million copies in the United States. On January 26, 2010, her debut album, was re-released in a special edition entitled ''Whitney Houston – The Deluxe Anniversary Edition''.

Houston later embarked on a world tour, entitled the Nothing But Love Tour. It was her first world tour in over ten years and was announced as a triumphant comeback. However, some poor reviews and rescheduled concerts brought some negative media attention. Houston canceled some concerts due to illness and received widespread negative reviews from fans who were disappointed in the quality of her voice and performance. Some fans reportedly walked out of her concerts.

In January 2010, Houston was nominated for two NAACP Image Awards, one for Best Female Artist and one for Best Music Video. She won the award for Best Music Video for her single "I Look to You." On January 16, she received the BET Honors Award for Entertainer citing her lifetime achievements spanning over 25 years in the industry. The 2010 BET Honors was held at the Warner Theatre in Washington, DC and aired February 1, 2010. Jennifer Hudson and Kim Burrell performed in honor of her, garnering positive reviews. Houston also received a nomination from the Echo Awards, Germany's version of the Grammys, for Best International Artist. In April 2010, the UK newspaper ''The Mirror'' reported that Houston was thinking about recording her eighth studio album and would like to collaborate with will.i.am (of The Black Eyed Peas), her first choice for a collaboration. Houston also performed the song "I Look to You," on the 2011 BET ''Celebration of Gospel'', with gospel–jazz singer Kim Burrell, held at the Staple Center, Los Angeles. The performance aired on January 30, 2011. Early in 2011, she gave an uneven performance in tribute to cousin Dionne Warwick at music mogul Clive Davis' annual pre-Grammy gala. In May 2011, Houston enrolled in rehabilitation center again, as an out-patient, citing drug and alcohol problems. A representative for Houston said that it was a part of Houston's "longstanding recovery process."

Legacy

Voice

Houston is a mezzo-soprano. Her vocal range extends from G below middle C (G₃) to high B-flat (B₅); she can belt out to treble F (F₅). She came in third on MTV's 22 Greatest Voices, and sixth on ''Online Magazine COVE''s list of the 100 Best Pop Vocalists with a score of 48.5/50. In 2008, ''Rolling Stone'' listed Houston as the thirty-fourth of the 100 greatest singers of all time, stating "Her voice is a mammoth, coruscating cry: Few vocalists could get away with opening a song with 45 unaccompanied seconds of singing, but Houston's powerhouse version of Dolly Parton's "I Will Always Love You" is a tour de force." Describing Houston's voice, Mariah Carey states "[She] has a really rich, strong mid-belt that very few people have. She sounds really good, really strong." While in her review of ''I Look To You'', music critic Ann Powers of ''Los Angeles Times'' writes, "[Houston's voice] stands like monuments upon the landscape of 20th century pop, defining the architecture of their times, sheltering the dreams of millions and inspiring the climbing careers of countless imitators," adding "When she was at her best, nothing could match her huge, clean, cool mezzo-soprano."

Houston's vocal stylings have had a significant impact on the music industry. She has been called the "Queen of Pop" for her influence during the 1990s, commercially rivaling Celine Dion and Mariah Carey. Stephen Holden from ''The New York Times'', in his review of Houston's Radio City Music Hall concert on July 20, 1993, praised her attitude as a singer highly, writing "Whitney Houston is one of the few contemporary pop stars of whom it might be said: the voice suffices. While almost every performer whose albums sell in the millions calls upon an entertainer's bag of tricks, from telling jokes to dancing to circus pyrotechnics, Ms. Houston would rather just stand there and sing." He added the comments on her singing style: "Her [Houston's] stylistic trademarks―shivery melismas that ripple up in the middle of a song, twirling embellishments at the ends of phrases that suggest an almost breathless exhilaration―infuse her interpretations with flashes of musical and emotional lightning." Elysa Gardner of ''Los Angeles Times'' in her review for ''The Preacher's Wife Soundtrack'' praised highly for Houston's vocal ability, commenting "She is first and foremost a pop diva―at that, the best one we have. No other female pop star―not Mariah Carey, not Celine Dion, not Barbra Streisand―quite rivals Houston in her exquisite vocal fluidity and purity of tone, and her ability to infuse a lyric with mesmerizing melodrama." Houston is commonly referred to as "The Voice", in reference to her exceptional vocal talent.

Influence

During the 1980s, MTV was coming into its own and received harsh criticism for not playing enough videos by black artists. With Michael Jackson breaking down the color barrier for black male artists, Houston did the same for black female artists. She became one of the few black female artists to receive heavy rotation on the network following the success of the "How Will I Know" video. Following Houston's breakthrough, other African-American female artists, such as Janet Jackson and Anita Baker, were successful in popular music. Baker commented that "Because of what Whitney and Sade did, there was an opening for me... For radio stations, black women singers aren't taboo anymore." Allmusic also noted her contribution to success of black artists on the pop scene, commenting "Houston was able to handle big adult contemporary ballads, effervescent, stylish dance-pop, and slick urban contemporary soul with equal dexterity; the result was an across-the-board appeal that was matched by scant few artists of her era, and helped her become one of the first black artists to find success on MTV in Michael Jackson's wake." ''The New York Times'' stated that "Houston was a major catalyst for a movement within black music that recognized the continuity of soul, pop, jazz and gospel vocal traditions". Richard Corliss of ''TIME'' magazine commented about her first success breaking various barriers as follows; "Of her first album's ten cuts, six were ballads. This chanteuse [Houston] had to fight for air play with hard rockers. The young lady had to stand uncowed in the locker room of macho rock. The soul strutter had to seduce a music audience that anointed few black artists with superstardom. [...] She was a phenomenon waiting to happen, a canny tapping of the listener's yen for a return to the musical middle. And because every new star creates her own genre, her success has helped other blacks, other women, other smooth singers find an avid reception in the pop marketplace." Mary J. Blige said that Houston's inviting her onstage during VH1's ''Divas Live'' show in 1999 "opened doors for [her] all over the world."

According to ''The New York Times'', Houston has "revitalized the tradition of strong gospel-oriented pop-soul singing". Ann Powers of the ''Los Angeles Times'' referred to the singer as a "national treasure". She is what many consider to be a "singer's singer" who has influenced countless other vocalists, both female and male. Similarly, Steve Huey from Allmusic wrote that the shadow of Houston's prodigious technique still looms large over nearly every pop diva and smooth urban soul singer - male or female - in her wake, and spawned a legion of imitators. ''Rolling Stone,'' on her biography, stated that Houston "redefined the image of a female soul icon and inspired singers ranging from Mariah Carey to Rihanna." ''Essence'' ranked Houston the fifth on their list of 50 Most Influential R&B Stars of all time, calling her "the diva to end all divas."

A number of artists have acknowledged Houston as an influence. Mariah Carey, who was often compared to Houston, said, "Houston has been a big influence on me." She later told ''USA Today'' that "none of us would sound the same if Aretha Franklin hadn't ever put out a record, or Whitney Houston hadn't." Brandy stated "The first Whitney Houston CD was genius. That CD introduced the world to her angelic yet powerful voice. Without Whitney half of this generation of singers wouldn't be singing," picking Houston's first album as a work of inspired. Oscar winner Jennifer Hudson cites Houston as her biggest musical influence. She told ''Newsday'' that she learned from Houston the "difference between being able to sing and knowing how to sing". Leona Lewis, who has been called the New Whitney Houston, also cites her as an influence. Lewis stated that she idolized her as a little girl. Kelly Rowland, in an ''Ebony'''s feature articles for celebrationg black music in June 2006, recalled that "[I] wanted to be a singer after I saw Whitney Houston on TV singing 'Greatest Love of All'. I wanted to sing like Whitney Houston in that red dress." She added that "And I have never, ever forgotten that song[Greatest Love of All]. I learned it backward, forward, sideways. The video still brings chills to me. When you wish and pray for something as a kid, you never know what blessings God will give you." Beyoncé Knowles told the ''Globe and Mail'' that Houston "inspired [her] to get up there and do what [she] did." Alicia Keys, in the interview on her new studio album with the ''Billboard'' magazine, also said "Whitney is an artist who inspired me from [the time I was] a little girl." American recording artist Lady Gaga said that Houston has been one of her "vocal idols" for years. In an interview with IBN Live Gaga revealed that she used to listen Houston's version of The Star Spangled Banner over and over again. At the 2011 Grammys, Gaga gave a shout-out to Houston, and said that she wrote the song "Born This Way" thinking about Houston's vocals.

Celine Dion, Toni Braxton, Christina Aguilera, Kelly Clarkson, Britney Spears, Ciara, P!nk, Robin Thicke, Jennifer Hudson, Amerie, Destiny's Child, Regine Velasquez, Lady Gaga, and Charice have all cited Houston as a musical inspiration.

Awards and achievements

Houston is the most awarded female artist of all time, according to Guinness World Records, with 2 Emmy Awards, 6 Grammy Awards, 29 Billboard Music Awards, 22 American Music Awards, among a total of 415 career awards as of 2010. She holds the all-time record for the most AMAs of any female artist and shares the record with Michael Jackson for the most AMAs ever won in a single year (1994) with 8 wins. Houston won a record 11 Billboard Music Awards at its 4th ceremony in 1993. She also has the record for the most WMAs won in a single year, winning five Awards at the 6th World Music Awards in 1994. In May 2003, Houston placed at number three on VH1's list of "50 Greatest Women of the Video Era," behind Madonna and Janet Jackson. She was also ranked at number 116 on their list of the "200 Greatest Pop Culture Icons of All Time." In 2008, ''Billboard'' magazine released a list of the Hot 100 All-Time Top Artists to celebrate the US singles chart's fiftieth anniversary, ranking Houston at number nine. Similarly, she is ranked as one of the Top 100 Greatest Artists of All Time by VH1 in September 2010. In November 2010, ''Billboard'' released its "Top 50 R&B / Hip-Hop Artists of the Past 25 Years" list and ranked Houston at number three whom not only went on to earn eight No. 1 singles on the R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, but also landed five No. 1s on R&B/Hip-Hop Albums.

Houston's debut is currently listed as one of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine and is on Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's Definitive 200 list. In 2004, ''Billboard'' picked the success of her first release on the charts as one of 110 Musical Milestones in its history. Houston's entrance into the music industry is considered one of the 25 musical milestones of the last 25 years, according to ''USA Today'' in 2007. It stated that she paved the way for Mariah Carey’s chart-topping vocal gymnastics. In 1997, the Franklin School in East Orange, New Jersey was renamed to The Whitney E. Houston Academy School of Creative and Performing Arts. In 2001, Houston was the first artist ever to be given a BET Lifetime Achievement Award.

Houston is also one of the world's best-selling music artists, having sold over 170 million albums and singles worldwide. Although she has released relatively few albums, she is ranked as the fourth best-selling female artist in the United States by the Recording Industry Association of America, with 55 million certified albums sold in the US alone.

She holds an Honorary Doctorate in Humanities from Grambling State University, Louisiana.

Discography

''Whitney Houston'' (1985)

''Whitney'' (1987)

''I'm Your Baby Tonight'' (1990)

''My Love Is Your Love'' (1998)

''Just Whitney'' (2002)

''One Wish: The Holiday Album'' (2003)

''I Look to You'' (2009)

Filmography

Film
Year	Title	Role	Notes and awards
1992	''The Bodyguard''	Rachel Marron(Main role)	Nominated — 1993 MTV Movie Award for Best Female PerformanceNominated — 1993 MTV Movie Award for Best Breakthrough PerformanceNominated — 1993 MTV Movie Award for Best On-Screen Duo with co-star Kevin CostnerNominated — 1992 Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Actress
1995	''Waiting to Exhale''	Savannah Jackson(Main role)
1996	''The Preacher's Wife''	Julia Biggs(Main role)	Won — 1997 NAACP Image Award for
Television
Year	Title	Network	Role	Notes
	''[[Gimme a Break!">NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture

Television
Year	Title	Network	Role	Notes
	''[[Gimme a Break!''	NBC	Rita	"Katie's College" (Season 3, Episode 20)
	''Silver Spoons''	NBC	As herself	"Head Over Heels" (Season 4, Episode 1, Air date: September 15, 1985)She performed the edit version of "Saving All My Love for You," changing some of the words—"making love the whole night through" was changed to "holding each other the whole night through"—for the censors on the episode.
			Fairy Godmother
	''Boston Public''	Fox	As herself	She performed her current hit Try it On My Own from the 2002 studio album, Just Whitney.

TV Commercial
Year	Company	Promoting	Country	Notes
	''Dr Pepper/Seven Up''	Canada Dry(soft drink beverage)	United States		* Houston appeared in this commercial before debut as a professional singer and sang the praises of sugar free Canada Dry Ginger Ale.
	''Coca-Cola''	Diet Coke(soft drink beverage)	United States		* Houston sang the Diet Coke theme song, "Just for the taste of it." (see the commercial)
	''Coca-Cola''	Diet Coke(soft drink beverage)	United States		* Houston sang the other version of the Diet Coke advertising slogan at the time, "Just for the taste of it." (see the commercial)	* Outside the United States, the second version of advertising was released, in which "Greatest Love of All" was used as background music. (see the commercial)	1989 MTV Video Music Awards#Video of the Year>Video of the Year winning "This Note's for You" by Neil Young, parodied parts of this advertising to criticize pop/rock stars who make commercial endorsements, most notably Michael Jackson for Pepsi and Houston for Diet Coke, using look-alike for them.
		Electronics(the stereo, TV)	Japan		Keith Thomas (producer)>Keith Thomas. It was released as a CD single in Japan and included in Japanese edition of ''I'm Your Baby Tonight.''
	''AT&T''	Telephone services	United States		* Houston sang its theme song, "True Voice." (see the commercial)

Production
Year	Title	Director	Notes and awards
1997		Robert Iscove	Executive producerNominated — 50th Primetime Emmy Awards
2001		[[Garry Marshall	ProducerWon — 2002 Young Artist Award for Best Family Feature Film - ComedyNominated — 2002 Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Family Film (Live Action) Nominated — 2002 Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Family FilmNominated — 2002 Teen Choice Award for Film - Choice Movie, Comedy
2003		Oz Scott	Producer
2004	''The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement''	Garry Marshall	Producer
2006		Kenny Ortega	Co-executive producer

Tours and concerts

;World tours

''Greatest Love World Tour'' (1986)

''Moment of Truth World Tour'' (1987–88)

''I'm Your Baby Tonight World Tour'' (1991)

''The Bodyguard World Tour'' (1993–94)

''My Love Is Your Love World Tour'' (1999)

''Nothing But Love World Tour'' (2010)

;Regional tours

''Feels So Right Tour'' (1990)

''The Pacific Rim Tour'' (1997)

''The European Tour'' (1998)

''Soul Divas Tour'' (2004)

;Notable concerts

''Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute'' 1988

''Welcome Home Heroes with Whitney Houston'' 1991

''Super Bowl XXV'' 1991

''The Concert for a New South Africa'' 1994

''Classic Whitney Live from Washington, D.C.'' 1997

Further reading

See also

Whitney Houston chart records and achievements

Grammy nominations for Whitney Houston

American Music Award nominations for Whitney Houston

List of best-selling music artists

List of artists who reached number one in the United States

List of artists who reached number one on the U.S. Dance chart

Honorific nicknames in popular music

Melisma

References

External links

Whitney Houston at ''Whitney Info''

Category:Article Feedback Pilot Category:Articles with inconsistent citation formats Category:1963 births Category:African American actors Category:African American female singers Category:American people of Native American descent Category:American people of Dutch descent Category:American dance musicians Category:American female models Category:American film actors Category:American film producers Category:American pop singers Category:American record producers Category:American rhythm and blues singers Category:American mezzo-sopranos Category:Arista Records artists Category:Baptists from the United States Category:English-language singers Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Living people Category:Actors from New Jersey Category:Musicians from New Jersey Category:Participants in American reality television series Category:People from Newark, New Jersey

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name	Eric Clapton
alias	Slowhand
landscape	Yes
background	solo_singer
birth name	Eric Patrick Clapton
born	March 30, 1945Ripley, Surrey, England
instrument	Vocals, guitar
genre	Rock, blues-rock, blues, psychedelic rock, hard rock
occupation	Musician, songwriter, producer, artist
years active	1962–present
label	Warner Bros., Reprise, Polydor, RSO, Atco, Apple, Deram
associated acts	The Yardbirds, John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, Powerhouse, Cream, Free Creek, The Dirty Mac, Blind Faith, J.J. Cale, The Plastic Ono Band, Delaney, Bonnie & Friends, Derek and the Dominos, The Beatles, Phil Collins, The Rolling Stones, Luciano Pavarotti, The Band, Freddie King, B.B. King, Mark Knopfler, Brian Wilson
website	Official website
notable instruments	}}

Eric Patrick Clapton, CBE, (born 1945) is an English guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter. Clapton is the only three-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: once as a solo artist, and separately as a member of The Yardbirds and Cream. Clapton has been referred to as one of the most important and influential guitarists of all time. Clapton ranked fourth in ''Rolling Stone'' magazine's list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time" and fourth in ''Gibson's'' ''Top 50 Guitarists of All Time.''

In the mid 1960s, Clapton left the Yardbirds to play blues with John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers. In his one-year stay with Mayall, Clapton gained the nickname "Slowhand", and graffiti in London declared "Clapton is God." Immediately after leaving Mayall, Clapton formed, with drummer Ginger Baker and bassist Jack Bruce, the power trio Cream, in which Clapton played sustained blues improvisations and "arty, blues-based psychedelic pop." For most of the 1970s, Clapton's output bore the influence of the mellow style of J.J. Cale and the reggae of Bob Marley. His version of Marley's "I Shot the Sheriff" helped gain reggae a mass market. Two of his most popular recordings were "Layla", recorded by Derek and the Dominos, and Robert Johnson's "Crossroads", recorded by Cream. A recipient of seventeen Grammy Awards, in 2004 Clapton was awarded a CBE for services to music. In 1998 Clapton, a recovering alcoholic and drug addict, founded the Crossroads Centre on Antigua, a medical facility for recovering substance abusers.

Life and career

Early years

Eric Patrick Clapton was born in Ripley, Surrey, England, the son of 16-year-old Patricia Molly Clapton (b. 1929) and Edward Walter Fryer ( 1920 – 1985), a 24-year-old soldier from Montreal, Quebec. Fryer shipped off to war prior to Clapton's birth and then returned to Canada. Clapton grew up with his grandmother, Rose, and her second husband, Jack Clapp, who was stepfather to Patricia Clapton and her brother Adrian, believing they were his parents and that his mother was actually his older sister. The similarity in surnames gave rise to the erroneous belief that Clapton's real surname is Clapp (Reginald Cecil Clapton was the name of Rose's first husband, Eric Clapton's maternal grandfather). Years later, his mother married another Canadian soldier and moved to Germany, leaving young Eric with his grandparents in Surrey.

Clapton received an acoustic Hoyer guitar, made in Germany, for his 13th birthday, but the inexpensive steel-stringed instrument was difficult to play and he briefly lost interest. Two years later Clapton picked it up again and started playing consistently. Clapton was influenced by the blues from an early age, and practiced long hours to learn the chords of blues music by playing along to the records. He preserved his practice sessions using his portable Grundig reel-to-reel tape recorder, listening to them over and over until he felt he'd got it right.

After leaving school in 1961, Clapton studied at the Kingston College of Art but was dismissed at the end of the academic year because his focus remained on music rather than art. His guitar playing was so advanced that by the age of 16 people were starting to notice him. Around this time Clapton began busking around Kingston, Richmond, and the West End of London. In 1962, Clapton started performing as a duo with fellow blues enthusiast David Brock in the pubs around Surrey. When he was 17 years old Clapton joined his first band, an early British R&B group, "The Roosters", whose other guitarist was Tom McGuinness. He stayed with this band from January through August 1963. In October of that year, Clapton did a seven-gig stint with Casey Jones & The Engineers.

1960s

The Yardbirds and the Bluesbreakers

In October 1963 Clapton joined The Yardbirds, a blues-influenced rock and roll band, and stayed with them until March 1965. Synthesising influences from Chicago blues and leading blues guitarists such as Buddy Guy, Freddie King, and B. B. King, Clapton forged a distinctive style and rapidly became one of the most talked-about guitarists in the British music scene. The band initially played Chess/Checker/Vee-Jay blues numbers and began to attract a large cult following when they took over the Rolling Stones' residency at the Crawdaddy Club in Richmond. They toured England with American bluesman Sonny Boy Williamson II; a joint LP album, recorded in December 1963, was issued in 1965.

It was during this time period that Clapton's Yardbirds rhythm guitarist, Chris Dreja, recalled that whenever Clapton broke a guitar string during a concert, he would stay on stage and replace it. The English audiences would wait out the delay by doing what is called a "slow handclap". Clapton told his official biographer, Ray Coleman, that, "My nickname of 'Slowhand' came from Giorgio Gomelsky. He coined it as a good pun. He kept saying I was a fast player, so he put together the slow handclap phrase into Slowhand as a play on words".

In March 1965 the Yardbirds had their first major hit, "For Your Love", on which Clapton played guitar. The Yardbirds elected to move toward a pop-oriented sound, in part because of the success of "For Your Love", written by pop songwriter-for-hire Graham Gouldman, who had also written hit songs for teen pop outfit Herman's Hermits and The Hollies. Still musically devoted to the blues, Clapton was opposed to the move, and left the band. He recommended fellow guitarist Jimmy Page as his replacement, but Page was at that time unwilling to relinquish his lucrative career as a freelance studio musician, so Page in turn recommended Clapton's successor, Jeff Beck. While Beck and Page played together in the Yardbirds, the trio of Beck, Page, and Clapton were never in the group together. However, the trio did appear on the 12-date benefit tour for Action for Research into Multiple Sclerosis, as well as on the album ''Guitar Boogie''.

Clapton joined John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers in April 1965, only to quit a few months later. In the summer of 1965 he left for Greece with a band called The Glands, which included his old friend Ben Palmer on piano. In November 1965 he rejoined John Mayall. It was during his second Bluesbreakers stint that his passionate playing established Clapton's name as the best blues guitarist on the club circuit. Although Clapton gained world fame for his playing on the influential album, ''Blues Breakers'', this album was not released until Clapton had left the Bluesbreakers for the last time. Having swapped his Fender Telecaster and Vox AC30 amplifier for a 1960 Gibson Les Paul Standard guitar and Marshall amplifier, Clapton's sound and playing inspired a well-publicised graffito that deified him with the famous slogan "Clapton is God". The phrase was spray-painted by an admirer on a wall in an Islington Underground station in the autumn of 1967. The graffiti was captured in a now-famous photograph, in which a dog is urinating on the wall. Clapton is reported to have been embarrassed by the slogan, saying in his ''The South Bank Show'' profile in 1987, "I never accepted that I was the greatest guitar player in the world. I always ''wanted'' to be the greatest guitar player in the world, but that's an ideal, and I accept it as an ideal". The phrase began to appear in other areas of Islington throughout the mid 1960s.

Cream

Clapton left the Bluesbreakers in July 1966 (to be replaced by Peter Green) and formed Cream, one of the earliest supergroups, with Jack Bruce on bass (also of Manfred Mann, the Bluesbreakers, and the Graham Bond Organisation) and Ginger Baker on drums (another member of the Graham Bond Organisation). Before the formation of Cream, Clapton was not well known in the United States; he left the Yardbirds before "For Your Love" hit the American Top Ten, and had yet to perform there. During his time with Cream, Clapton began to develop as a singer, songwriter, and guitarist, though Bruce took most of the lead vocals and wrote the majority of the material with lyricist Pete Brown. Cream's first gig was an unofficial performance at the Twisted Wheel Club in Manchester on 1966 before their full debut two nights later at the National Jazz and Blues Festival in Windsor. Cream established its enduring legend with the high-volume blues jamming and extended solos of their live shows.

In early 1967 Clapton's status as Britain's top guitarist was rivalled by the emergence of Jimi Hendrix, an acid rock-infused guitarist who used wailing feedback and effects pedals to create new sounds for the instrument. Hendrix attended a performance of the newly-formed Cream at the Central London Polytechnic on 1966, during which Hendrix sat in on a double-timed version of "Killing Floor". Top UK stars including Clapton, Pete Townshend, and members of The Rolling Stones and The Beatles avidly attended Hendrix's early club performances. Hendrix's arrival had an immediate and major effect on the next phase of Clapton's career, although Clapton continued to be recognised in UK music polls as the premier guitarist.

Clapton first visited the United States while touring with Cream. In March 1967, Cream performed a nine-show stand at the RKO Theater in New York. They recorded ''Disraeli Gears'' in New York from 1967. Cream's repertoire varied from hard rock ("I Feel Free") to lengthy blues-based instrumental jams ("Spoonful"). ''Disraeli Gears'' featured Clapton's searing guitar lines, Bruce's soaring vocals and prominent, fluid bass playing, and Baker's powerful, polyrhythmic jazz-influenced drumming. Together, Cream's talents secured themselves as an influential power trio.

In 28 months, Cream had become a commercial success, selling millions of records and playing throughout the U.S. and Europe. They redefined the instrumentalist's role in rock and were one of the first blues-rock bands to emphasise musical virtuosity and lengthy jazz-style improvisation sessions. Their U.S. hit singles include "Sunshine of Your Love" (#5, 1968), "White Room" (#6, 1968) and "Crossroads" (#28, 1969) – a live version of Robert Johnson's "Cross Road Blues". Though Cream was hailed as one of the greatest groups of its day, and the adulation of Clapton as a guitar hero reached new heights, the supergroup was short-lived. Drug and alcohol use escalated tension between the three members, and conflicts between Bruce and Baker eventually led to Cream's demise. A strongly critical ''Rolling Stone'' review of a concert of the group's second headlining U.S. tour was another significant factor in the trio's demise, and it affected Clapton profoundly.

Cream's farewell album, ''Goodbye'', featuring live performances recorded at The Forum, Los Angeles, 1968, was released shortly after Cream disbanded; it also featured the studio single "Badge", co-written by Clapton and George Harrison. Clapton met Harrison and became friends with him after the Beatles shared a bill with the Clapton-era Yardbirds at the London Palladium. The close friendship between Clapton and Harrison resulted in Clapton's playing on Harrison's "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" from the Beatles' ''White Album'' (1968). Harrison also released his solo debut album, ''Wonderwall Music'', in 1968. It became the first of many Harrison solo records to feature Clapton on guitar. Clapton would go largely uncredited for his contributions to Harrison's albums due to contractual restraints. The pair would often play live together as each other's guest. A year after Harrison's death in 2001, Clapton helped organise a tribute concert, for which he was musical director.

Cream briefly reunited in 1993 to perform at the ceremony inducting them into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame; a full reunion took place in May 2005, with Clapton, Bruce, and Baker playing four sold-out concerts at London's Royal Albert Hall, and three shows at New York's Madison Square Garden that October. Recordings from the London shows, ''Royal Albert Hall London May 2-3-5-6, 2005'', were released on CD, LP, and DVD in September/December 2005.

Blind Faith & Delaney and Bonnie and Friends

Clapton's next group, Blind Faith (1969), was composed of Cream drummer Ginger Baker, Steve Winwood of Traffic, and Ric Grech of Family, and yielded one LP and one arena-circuit tour. The supergroup debuted before 100,000 fans in London's Hyde Park on 1969. They performed several dates in Scandinavia and began a sold-out American tour in July before their only album was released. The LP ''Blind Faith'' consisted of just six songs, one of them a 15-minute jam entitled "Do What You Like". The album's jacket image of a topless pubescent girl was deemed controversial in the United States and was replaced by a photograph of the band. Blind Faith dissolved after less than seven months.

Clapton subsequently toured as a sideman for an act that had opened for Blind Faith, Delaney and Bonnie and Friends. He also played two dates as a member of The Plastic Ono Band that fall, including a recorded performance at the Toronto Rock and Roll Revival in September 1969 released as the album ''Live Peace in Toronto 1969''. On 15 December 1969 Clapton performed with John Lennon, George Harrison, and others as the Plastic Ono Band at a fundraiser for UNICEF in London.

Delaney Bramlett encouraged Clapton in his singing and writing. During the summer of 1969, Clapton and Bramlett contributed to the ''Music From Free Creek'' "supersession" project. Clapton, appearing as "King Cool" for contractual reasons, played with Dr. John on three songs, joined by Bramlett on two tracks.

Using the Bramletts' backing group and an all-star cast of session players (including Leon Russell and Stephen Stills), Clapton recorded his first solo album during two brief tour hiatuses, fittingly named ''Eric Clapton''. Delaney Bramlett co-wrote six of the songs with Clapton, and Bonnie Bramlett co-wrote "Let It Rain". The album yielded the unexpected U.S. #18 hit, J. J. Cale's "After Midnight". Clapton went with Delaney and Bonnie from the stage to the studio with the Dominos to record George Harrison's ''All Things Must Pass'' in spring 1970. During this busy period, Clapton also recorded with other artists including Dr. John, Leon Russell, Plastic Ono Band, Billy Preston, and Ringo Starr.

1970s

Derek and the Dominos

With the intention to counteract the "star" cult faction that had begun to form around him, Clapton assembled a new band composed of Delaney and Bonnie's former rhythm section, Bobby Whitlock as keyboardist and vocalist, Carl Radle as the bassist, and drummer Jim Gordon, with Clapton playing guitar. It was his intention to show that he need not fill a starring role, and functioned well as a member of an ensemble. Naming the band, "Eric Clapton and Friends" at first, the name "Derek and the Dominos" was a fluke. It occurred when the band's provisional name of "Del and the Dynamos" was misread as Derek and the Dominos. Clapton's biography states that Ashton told Clapton to call the band "Del and the Dominos", since "Del" was his nickname for Eric Clapton. Del and Eric were combined and the final name became "Derek and the Dominos".

Clapton's close friendship with George Harrison brought him into contact with Harrison's wife, Pattie Boyd, with whom he became deeply infatuated. When she spurned his advances, Clapton's unrequited affections prompted most of the material for the Dominos' album, ''Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs'' (1970). Heavily blues-influenced, the album features the twin lead guitars of Allman and Clapton, with Allman's slide guitar as a key ingredient of the sound. Working at Criteria Studios in Miami with Atlantic Records producer Tom Dowd, who had worked with Clapton on Cream's ''Disraeli Gears'', the band recorded a double album.

The album features the hit love song "Layla", inspired by the classical poet of Persian literature, Nizami Ganjavi's ''The Story of Layla and Majnun'', a copy of which Ian Dallas had given to Clapton. The book moved Clapton profoundly, as it was the tale of a young man who fell hopelessly in love with a beautiful, unavailable woman and who went crazy because he could not marry her. The two parts of "Layla" were recorded in separate sessions: the opening guitar section was recorded first, and for the second section, laid down several months later, drummer Jim Gordon composed and played the piano part.

The ''Layla'' LP was actually recorded by a five-piece version of the group, thanks to the unforeseen inclusion of guitarist Duane Allman of The Allman Brothers Band. A few days into the Layla sessions, Dowd—who was also producing the Allmans—invited Clapton to an Allman Brothers outdoor concert in Miami. The two guitarists met first on stage, then played all night in the studio, and became friends. Duane first added his slide guitar to "Tell the Truth" and "Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out". In four days, the five-piece Dominos recorded "Key to the Highway", "Have You Ever Loved a Woman" (a blues standard popularised by Freddie King and others), and "Why Does Love Got to be So Sad". In September, Duane briefly left the sessions for gigs with his own band, and the four-piece Dominos recorded "I Looked Away", "Bell Bottom Blues", and "Keep on Growing". Duane returned to record "I am Yours", "Anyday", and "It's Too Late". On September 9, they recorded Hendrix's "Little Wing" and the title track. The following day, the final track, "It's Too Late", was recorded.

Tragedy dogged the group throughout its brief career. During the sessions, Clapton was devastated by news of the death of Jimi Hendrix; eight days previously the band had cut a cover of "Little Wing" as a tribute to Hendrix. On 1970, one day before Hendrix's death, Clapton had purchased a left-handed Fender Stratocaster that he had planned to give to Hendrix as a birthday gift. Adding to Clapton's woes, the ''Layla'' album received only lukewarm reviews upon release. The shaken group undertook a U.S. tour without Allman, who had returned to the Allman Brothers Band. Despite Clapton's later admission that the tour took place amidst a veritable blizzard of drugs and alcohol, it resulted in the live double album ''In Concert''. The band had recorded several tracks for a second album in London during the spring of 1971 (five of which were released on the Eric Clapton box-set ''Crossroads''), but the results were mediocre.

A second record was in the works when a clashing of egos took place and Clapton walked, thus disbanding the group. Allman was killed in a motorcycle accident on 1971. Although Radle would remain Clapton's bass player until the summer of 1979 (Radle died in May 1980 from the effects of alcohol and narcotics), it would be 2003 before Clapton and Whitlock appeared together again (Clapton guested on Whitlock's appearance on the ''Later with Jools Holland'' show). Another tragic footnote to the Dominos story was the fate of drummer Jim Gordon, who was an undiagnosed schizophrenic and years later murdered his mother during a psychotic episode. Gordon was confined to 16-years-to-life imprisonment, later being moved to a mental institution, where he remains today.

Solo career

Clapton's career successes in the 1970s were in stark contrast to his personal life, which was troubled by romantic longings and drug and alcohol addiction. While suffering his (temporarily) unrequited and intense attraction to Pattie Boyd, he withdrew from recording and touring to isolation in his Surrey, England, residence. There he nursed his heroin addiction, which resulted in a career hiatus interrupted only by the Concert for Bangladesh in August 1971 (where he passed out on stage, was revived, and continued his performance). In January 1973, The Who's Pete Townshend organised a comeback concert for Clapton at London's Rainbow Theatre, aptly titled the "Rainbow Concert", to help Clapton kick his addiction. Clapton would return the favour by playing 'The Preacher' in Ken Russell's film version of The Who's ''Tommy'' in 1975; his appearance in the film (performing "Eyesight to the Blind") is notable as he is clearly wearing a fake beard in some shots, the result of deciding to shave off his real beard after the initial takes in an attempt to force the director to remove his earlier scene from the movie and leave the set.

In 1974, now partnered with Pattie (they would not actually marry until 1979) and no longer using heroin (although starting to drink heavily), Clapton put together a more low-key touring band that included Radle, Miami guitarist George Terry, keyboardist Dick Sims, drummer Jamie Oldaker, and vocalists Yvonne Elliman and Marcy Levy (also known as Marcella Detroit). With this band Clapton recorded ''461 Ocean Boulevard'' (1974), an album with an emphasis on more compact songs and fewer guitar solos; the cover version of "I Shot The Sheriff" was Clapton's first #1 hit and was important in bringing reggae and the music of Bob Marley to a wider audience. The 1975 album ''There's One in Every Crowd'' continued this trend. The album's original title, ''The World's Greatest Guitar Player (There's One In Every Crowd)'', was changed before pressing, as it was felt its ironic intention would be misunderstood. The band toured the world and subsequently released the 1975 live LP, ''E.C. Was Here''. Clapton continued to release albums and toured regularly. Highlights of the period include ''No Reason to Cry'' (a collaboration with Bob Dylan and The Band); ''Slowhand'', which featured "Wonderful Tonight" (another song inspired by Boyd); and a second J.J. Cale cover, "Cocaine". In 1976 he performed, alongside a string of notable guests, to pay tribute to the farewell performance of The Band, filmed in a Martin Scorsese documentary called ''the Last Waltz''.

1980s

In 1981 Clapton was invited by producer Martin Lewis to appear at the Amnesty International benefit ''The Secret Policeman's Other Ball''. Clapton accepted the invitation and teamed up with Jeff Beck to perform a series of duets—reportedly their first-ever billed stage collaboration. Three of the performances were released on the album of the show, and one of the songs was featured in the film. The performances heralded a return to form and prominence for Clapton in the new decade. Many factors had influenced Clapton's comeback, including his "deepening commitment to Christianity", to which he had converted prior to his heroin addiction.

After an embarrassing fishing incident, Clapton finally called his manager and admitted he was an alcoholic. In January 1982 Roger and Clapton flew to Minneapolis – St. Paul; Clapton would be checked in at Hazelden Treatment Center, located in Center City, Minnesota. On the flight over, Clapton indulged in a large number of drinks, for fear he would never be able to drink again. Clapton is quoted as saying from his autobiography, "In the lowest moments of my life, the only reason I didn't commit suicide was that I knew I wouldn't be able to drink anymore if I was dead. It was the only thing I thought was worth living for, and the idea that people were about to try and remove me from alcohol was so terrible that I drank and drank and drank, and they had to practically carry me into the clinic."

After being discharged, it was recommended by doctors of Hazelden that Clapton not partake in any activities that would act as triggers for his alcoholism or stress, until he was fully situated back at Hurtwood. A few months after his discharge, Clapton began working on his next album, against the Hazelden doctors' orders. Working with Tom Dowd, Clapton produced what he thought as his "most forced" album to date, ''Money and Cigarettes''.

In 1984 he performed on Pink Floyd member Roger Waters' solo album, ''The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking'', and went on tour with Waters following the release of the album. Since then Waters and Clapton have had a close relationship. In 2005 they performed together for the Tsunami Relief Fund. In 2006 they performed at the Highclere Castle, in aid of the Countryside Alliance, playing two set pieces of "Wish You Were Here" and "Comfortably Numb". Clapton, now a seasoned charity performer, played at the Live Aid concert on 13 July 1985. When offered a slot close to peak viewing hours, he was apparently flattered. As Clapton recovered from his addictions, his album output continued in the 1980s, including two produced with Phil Collins, 1985's ''Behind the Sun'', which produced the hits "Forever Man" and "She's Waiting", and 1986's ''August''.

''August'' was suffused with Collins's trademark drum and horn sound, and became Clapton's biggest seller in the UK to date, matching his highest chart position, number 3. The album's first track, the hit "It's In The Way That You Use It", was featured in the Tom Cruise – Paul Newman movie ''The Color of Money.'' The horn-peppered "Run" echoed Collins' "Sussudio" and rest of the producer's Genesis/solo output, while "Tearing Us Apart" (with Tina Turner) and the bitter "Miss You" echoed Clapton's angry sound. This rebound kicked off Clapton's two-year period of touring with Collins and their ''August'' collaborates, bassist Nathan East and keyboard player/songwriter Greg Phillinganes. While on tour for ''August'', two concert videos were recorded of the four-man band, ''Eric Clapton Live from Montreux'' and ''Eric Clapton and Friends''. Clapton later remade "After Midnight" as a single and a promotional track for the Michelob beer brand, which had also marketed earlier songs by Collins and Steve Winwood. Clapton won a British Academy Television Award for his collaboration with Michael Kamen on the score for the 1985 BBC Television thriller serial ''Edge of Darkness''. In 1989, Clapton released ''Journeyman'', an album which covered a wide range of styles including blues, jazz, soul and pop. Collaborators included George Harrison, Phil Collins, Daryl Hall, Chaka Khan, Mick Jones, David Sanborn and Robert Cray.

In 1984, while still married to Pattie Boyd, Clapton began a year-long relationship with Yvonne Kelly. The two had a daughter, Ruth, who was born in January 1985, but her existence was kept a secret by her parents. She was not publicly revealed as his child until 1991. Boyd criticised Clapton because he had not revealed the child's existence.

Hurricane Hugo hit Montserrat in 1989, and this resulted in the closure of Sir George Martin and John Burgess's recording studio AIR Montserrat, where Kelly was Managing Director. Kelly and Ruth moved back to England, and stories about Eric's secret daughter began as a result of newspaper articles published at the time. Clapton and Boyd divorced in 1988 following his affair with Italian model Lory Del Santo, who gave birth to their son, Conor, on 1986. Boyd was never able to conceive children, despite attempts at in vitro fertilisation. Their divorce was granted on grounds of "infidelity and unreasonable behaviour."

Clapton was known to date a host of beautiful women, including Krissy Wood (ex-wife of Ron Wood), actress Charlotte Martin, socialite Alice Ormsby-Gore, Paula Boyd (the younger sister of his future wife Pattie), singer Janis Joplin, singer Marianne Faithfull, rock muses Catherine James, Cyrinda Fox, and Geraldine Edwards, the inspiration for Penny Lane in ''Almost Famous'', singer Rosanne Cash, the First Lady of France and former model Carla Bruni, and actresses Patsy Kensit, Sharon Stone, and Alicia Witt.

1990s

The 1990s brought a series of 32 concerts to the Royal Albert Hall, such as the 24 Nights series of concerts that took place around January through February 1990, and February through March 1991. On 1990, fellow blues guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan, who was touring with Clapton, and three members of their road crew were killed in a helicopter crash between concerts. Then, on 1991, Clapton's four-year-old son, Conor, died on impact after a fall from the 53rd-story window of his mother's friend's New York City apartment. He landed on the roof of an adjacent four-story building. Clapton's grief was expressed in the song "Tears in Heaven", which was co-written by Will Jennings. At the 35th Grammy Awards, Clapton received six Grammy Awards for the single "Tears in Heaven" and his ''Unplugged'' album. The album reached number one on the ''Billboard'' 200, and has since been certified Diamond by the RIAA for selling over 10 million copies in the United States.

In October 1992 Clapton was among the dozens of artists performing at Bob Dylan's 30th Anniversary Concert Celebration. Recorded at Madison Square Garden in New York City, the live two-disk CD/DVD captured a show full of celebrities performing classic Dylan songs, before ending with a few performances from Dylan himself. Despite the presence of 10 other guitarists on stage, including George Harrison, Neil Young, Roger McGuinn, Steve Cropper, Tom Petty, and Dylan, Clapton played the lead on a nearly 7-minute version of Dylan's "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" as part of the finale.

While ''Unplugged'' featured Clapton playing acoustic guitar, his 1994 album ''From the Cradle'' contained new versions of old blues standards, highlighted by his electric guitar playing. Clapton's 1996 recording of the Wayne Kirkpatrick/Gordon Kennedy/Tommy Sims tune "Change the World" (featured in the soundtrack of the movie ''Phenomenon'') won the Grammy Award for Song of the Year in 1997, the same year he recorded ''Retail Therapy'' (an album of electronic music with Simon Climie under the pseudonym TDF). The following year, Clapton released the album ''Pilgrim'', the first record featuring new material for almost a decade. Clapton finished the twentieth century with collaborations with Carlos Santana and B. B. King.

In 1996 Clapton had a relationship with singer/songwriter Sheryl Crow. They remain friends, and Clapton appeared as a guest on Crow's Central Park Concert. The duo performed a Cream hit single, "White Room". Later, Clapton and Crow performed an alternate version of "Tulsa Time" with other guitar legends at the Crossroads Guitar Festival in June 2007.

In 1998 Clapton, then 53, met 22-year-old administrative assistant Melia McEnery in Columbus, Ohio, at a party given for him after a performance. He quietly dated her for a year, and went public with the relationship in 1999. They married on 2002 at St Mary Magdalene church in Clapton's birthplace, Ripley. As of 2005 they have three daughters, Julie Rose ( 2001), Ella May ( 2003), and Sophie Belle (||j|1 February}} 2005).

2000s

Following the release of the 2001 record ''Reptile'', Eric performed "Layla" and "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" at the Party at the Palace in 2002. On 29 November of that year the Concert for George was held at the Royal Albert Hall, a tribute to George Harrison, who had died a year earlier of cancer. Clapton was a performer and the musical director. The concert featured Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Jeff Lynne, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Ravi Shankar, Gary Brooker, Billy Preston, Joe Brown and Dhani Harrison. In 2004 Clapton released two albums of covers of songs by legendary bluesman Robert Johnson, ''Me and Mr. Johnson'' and ''Sessions for Robert J''. The same year, ''Rolling Stone'' ranked Clapton #53 on their list of the "100 Greatest Artists of All Time".

On 22 January 2005, Clapton performed in the Tsunami Relief Concert held at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, in aid of the victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake. In May 2005 Eric Clapton, Jack Bruce, and Ginger Baker reunited as Cream for a series of concerts at the Royal Albert Hall in London. Concert recordings were released on CD and DVD. Later, Cream performed in New York at Madison Square Garden. ''Back Home'', Clapton's first album of new original material in nearly five years, was released on Reprise Records on . In 2006 he invited Derek Trucks and Doyle Bramhall II to join his band for his 2006–2007 world tour. Trucks is the third member of the Allman Brothers Band to tour supportng Clapton, the second being pianist/keyboardist Chuck Leavell, who appeared on the ''MTV Unplugged'' album and the ''24 Nights'' performances at the Royal Albert Hall theatre of London in 1990 and 1991, as well as Clapton's 1992 U.S. tour.

On 20 May 2006, Clapton performed with Queen drummer Roger Taylor and former Pink Floyd bassist/songwriter Roger Waters at the Highclere Castle, in support of the Countryside Alliance. On 2006, Clapton made a guest appearance at the Bob Dylan concert in Columbus, Ohio, playing guitar on three songs in Jimmie Vaughan's opening act. A collaboration with guitarist J. J. Cale, titled ''The Road to Escondido'', was released on 2006, featuring Derek Trucks and Billy Preston. The 14-track CD was produced and recorded by the duo in August 2005 in California. The chemistry between Trucks and Clapton convinced him to invite The Derek Trucks Band to open for Clapton's set at his 2007 Crossroads Guitar Festival. Trucks remained on set afterward, performed with Clapton's band throughout his performances, and later embarked on a world tour with him.

The rights to Clapton's official memoirs, written by Christopher Simon Sykes and published in 2007, were sold at the 2005 Frankfurt Book Fair for .

On 26 February 2008, it was reported that North Korean officials had invited Clapton to play a concert in the communist state. Clapton's management received the invitation and passed it on to the singer, who agreed in principle and suggested it take place sometime in 2009. Kristen Foster, a spokesperson, said, "Eric Clapton receives numerous offers to play in countries around the world," and "[t]here is no agreement whatsoever for him to play in North Korea."

In 2007 Clapton learned more about his father, a Canadian soldier who left the UK after the war. Although Clapton's grandparents eventually told him the truth about his parentage, he only knew that his father's name was Edward Fryer. This was a source of disquiet for Clapton, as witnessed by his 1998 song "My Father's Eyes". A Montreal journalist named Michael Woloschuk researched Canadian Armed Forces service records and tracked down members of Fryer's family, and finally pieced together the story. He learned that Clapton's father was Edward Walter Fryer, born 1920, in Montreal and died in Newmarket, Ontario. Fryer was a musician (piano and saxophone) and a lifelong drifter who was married several times, had several children, and apparently never knew that he was the father of Eric Clapton. Clapton thanked Woloschuk in an encounter at Macdonald Cartier Airport, in Ottawa, Canada.

In February 2008 Clapton performed with his long-time friend Steve Winwood at Madison Square Garden and guested on his recorded single, "Dirty City", on Winwood's album ''Nine Lives''. The two former Blind Faith bandmates met again for a series of 14 concerts throughout the United States in June 2009.

Clapton's 2008 Summer Tour began on at the Ford Amphitheatre, Tampa Bay, Florida, and then moved to Canada, Ireland, England, Norway, Iceland, Denmark, Poland, Germany, and Monaco. On 2008, he headlined Saturday night for Hard Rock Calling 2008 in London's Hyde Park (previously Hyde Park Calling) with support from Sheryl Crow and John Mayer. In September 2008 Clapton performed at a private charity fundraiser for The Countryside Alliance at Floridita in Soho, London, that included such guests as the London Mayor Boris Johnson.

In March 2009, the Allman Brothers Band (amongst many notable guests) celebrated their 40th year, dedicating their string of concerts to the late Duane Allman on their annual run at the Beacon Theatre. Eric Clapton was one of the performers, with drummer Butch Trucks remarking that the performance was not the typical Allman Brothers experience, given the number and musical styles of the guests who were invited to perform. Songs like "In Memory of Elizabeth Reed" were punctuated with others, including "The Weight", with Levon Helm; Johnny Winter sitting in on Hendrix's "Red House"; and "Layla". On 2009 Clapton appeared as a featured guest at the Royal Albert Hall, playing "Further on Up the Road" with Joe Bonamassa.

Clapton was scheduled to be one of the performers at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 25th anniversary concert in Madison Square Garden on 2009, but cancelled due to gallstone surgery. Van Morrison (who also cancelled) said in an interview that he and Clapton were to do a "couple of songs", but that they would do something else together at "some other stage of the game".

2010

Clapton performed a two-night show with Jeff Beck at London's O2 Arena on 2010. The two former Yardbirds extended their 2010 tour with stops at Madison Square Garden, the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, and the Bell Centre in Montreal. Clapton performed a series of concerts in 11 cities throughout the United States from to 2010. His third European tour with Steve Winwood began on and ended . He then began a short North American tour lasting from to , starting with his third Crossroads Guitar Festival on } in Bridgeview, Illinois. Clapton released a new studio album, ''Clapton'', on 2010 in the United Kingdom and 28 September 2010 in the United States. On 2010, Clapton performed as guest on the Prince's Trust rock gala held at the Royal Albert Hall, supported by the house band for the evening, which included Jools Holland, Midge Ure and Mark King.

On 24 June 2011 Clapton was in concert in with Pino Daniele in Cava de' Tirreni stadium, Italy, with an audience of 15,000 people.

Influences

Clapton cites Freddie King, B.B. King, Albert King, Buddy Guy, and Hubert Sumlin as guitar playing influences. Robert Johnson has influenced Clapton the most profoundly. In 2004 Clapton released CDs and DVDs entitled ''Sessions for Robert Johnson'', featuring Clapton covering Robert Johnson songs using electric and acoustic guitars live and in rehearsal.

Clapton co-authored with others the book ''Discovering Robert Johnson'', in which Clapton said Johnson was

"...the most important blues musician who ever lived. He was true, absolutely, to his own vision, and as deep as I have gotten into the music over the last 30 years, I have never found anything more deeply soulful than Robert Johnson. His music remains the most powerful cry that I think you can find in the human voice, really. ... it seemed to echo something I had always felt."

Legacy

Clapton has been referred to as one of the most important and influential guitarists of all time. Clapton is the only three-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: once as a solo artist, and separately as a member of The Yardbirds and Cream. He ranked fourth in ''Rolling Stone'' magazine's list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time" and fourth in ''Gibson's'' ''Top 50 Guitarists of All Time.''

Guitarists influenced by Clapton include Richie Sambora, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Gary Moore, Duane Allman, Derek Trucks, Eddie Van Halen, Brian May, Orianthi, Brad Paisley, Jonny Buckland, Joe Don Rooney, Alex Lifeson, Jonny Lang, John Mayer, Joe Satriani, Joe Bonamassa, Davy Knowles, and George Harrison.

Guitars

Clapton's choice of electric guitars has been as notable as the man himself; alongside Hank Marvin, The Beatles and Jimi Hendrix, Clapton exerted a crucial and widespread influence in popularising particular models of electric guitar. With the Yardbirds, Clapton played a Fender Telecaster, a Fender Jazzmaster, a double-cutaway Gretsch 6120, and a 1964 Cherry-Red Gibson ES-335. He became exclusively a Gibson player for a period beginning in mid-1965, when he purchased a used Gibson Les Paul Sunburst Standard guitar from a guitar store in London. Clapton commented on the slim profile of the neck, which would indicate it was a 1960 model.

Early during his stint in Cream, Clapton's first Les Paul Standard was stolen. He continued to play Les Pauls exclusively with Cream (one bought from Andy Summers was almost identical to the stolen guitar) until 1967, when he acquired his most famous guitar in this period, a 1964 Gibson SG. Just before Cream's first U.S. appearance in 1967, Clapton's SG, Bruce's Fender VI, and Baker's drum head were all repainted in psychedelic designs created by the visual art collective known as The Fool. In 1968 Clapton bought a Gibson Firebird and started using the 1964 Cherry-Red Gibson ES-335 again. The aforementioned 1964 ES-335 had a storied career. Clapton used it at the last Cream show in November 1968 as well as with Blind Faith, played it sparingly for slide pieces in the 1970s, used it on "Hard Times" from ''Journeyman'', the Hyde Park live concert of 1996, and the ''From the Cradle'' sessions and tour of 1994–95. It was sold for $847,500 at a 2004 auction. Gibson produced a limited run of 250 "Crossroads 335" replicas. The 335 was only the second electric guitar Clapton bought.

In July 1968 Clapton gave George Harrison a red refinished Les Paul. The following September, Clapton played the guitar on the Beatles' studio recording of "While My Guitar Gently Weeps". His SG found its way into the hands of George Harrison's friend Jackie Lomax, who subsequently sold it to musician Todd Rundgren for US$500 in 1972. Rundgren restored the guitar and nicknamed it "Sunny", after "Sunshine of Your Love". He retained it until 2000, when he sold it at an auction for US$150,000. At the 1969 Blind Faith concert in Hyde Park, London Clapton played a Fender Custom Telecaster, which was fitted with "Brownie"s neck.

In late 1969 Clapton made the switch to the Fender Stratocaster. "I had a lot of influences when I took up the Strat. First there was Buddy Holly, and Buddy Guy. Hank Marvin was the first well known person over here in England who was using one, but that wasn't really my kind of music. Steve Winwood had so much credibility, and when he started playing one, I thought, oh, if he can do it, I can do it." The first—used during the recording of ''Eric Clapton''—was "Brownie", which in 1974 became the backup to the most famous of all Clapton's guitars, "Blackie". In November 1970 Eric bought six Fender Stratocasters from the Sho-bud guitar shop in Nashville, Tennessee while on tour with the Dominos. He gave one each to George Harrison, Steve Winwood, and Pete Townshend.

Clapton assembled the best components of the remaining three to create "Blackie", which was his favourite stage guitar until its retirement in 1985. It was first played live 1973 at the Rainbow Concert. Clapton called the 1956/57 Strat a "mongrel". On 2004, Clapton sold "Blackie" at Christie's Auction House, New York, for $959,500 to raise funds for his Crossroads Centre for drug and alcohol addictions. "Brownie" is now on display at the Experience Music Project. The Fender Custom Shop has since produced a limited run of 275 'Blackie' replicas, correct in every detail right down to the 'Duck Brothers' flight case, and artificially aged using Fender's 'Relic' process to simulate years of hard wear. One was presented to Eric upon the model's release and was used for three numbers during a concert at the Royal Albert Hall on 2006.

In 1981 Clapton gave his signed Fender Lead II guitar to the Hard Rock Cafe to designate his. favourite bar stool. Pete Townshend also donated his own Gibson Les Paul guitar, with a note attached: "Mine's as good as his! Love, Pete."

In 1988 Fender honoured Clapton with the introduction of his signature Eric Clapton Stratocaster. These were the first two artist models in the Stratocaster range. Since then, the artist series has grown to include models inspired by Clapton's contemporaries such as Rory Gallagher, Mark Knopfler, Jeff Beck, and Stevie Ray Vaughan, and by those who have influenced him, such as Buddy Guy. Clapton uses Ernie Ball Slinky and Super Slinky strings. Clapton has been honoured with several signature-model 000-sized acoustic guitars made by the American firm of C.F. Martin & Company. The first, of these, introduced in 1995, was a limited edition 000-42EC Eric Clapton signature model with a production run of 461. As of December 2007, Martin had produced seven EC signature models. His 1939 000-42 Martin that he played on the ''Unplugged'' album sold for $791,500 at auction. Clapton plays a custom 000-ECHF Martin these days.

In 1999, Clapton auctioned off some of his guitar collection to raise more than for continuing support of the Crossroads Centre in Antigua, which he founded in 1997. The Crossroads Centre is a treatment base for addictive disorders such as drugs and alcohol. In 2004 Clapton organised and participated in the Crossroads Guitar Festival to benefit the Centre. A second guitar auction, including the "Cream" of Clapton's collection – as well as guitars donated by famous friends – was held on 2004. His Lowden acoustic guitar sold for $41,825. The revenue garnered by this auction at Christie's was US $7,438,624.

In 2010 Eric Clapton announced that he would be auctioning off over 150 items at a New York auction in 2011. Proceeds will benefit his Crossroads Centre in Antigua. Items include Clapton's guitar from the Cream reunion tour in 2005, speaker cabinets used in the early 1970s from his days with Derek and the Dominoes, and some guitars from Jeff Beck, J.J. Cale, and Joe Bonamassa. In March 2011 Clapton raised more than $2.15 million dollars when he auctioned off key items, including a 1984 Gibson hollow body guitar, a Gianni Versace suit from his 1990 concert at the Royal Albert Hall, and a replica of the famous Fender Stratocaster known as "Blackie", which fetched more than $30,000. All proceeds from the auction were donated to Clapton's Crossroads drug and rehabilitation centre in Antigua.

The "woman tone" is the informal term used by Clapton to refer to his distinctive mid- to late-1960s electric guitar sound, created using his Gibson SG solid body guitar (with Humbucker pick-ups) and a Marshall tube amplifier. It is an overdriven sound that is articulate yet thick. It is characterised by being quite distorted (or even achieved with a fuzz) but muted, in contrast to the bright and twangy distortion that most guitarists were using at the time. Many players have tried to duplicate it, usually without success, in part because Clapton's playing technique had a lot to do with the tone.

Among the techniques used to replicate Clapton's sound is a technique by which the amplifier's volume is turned up to full, while the guitar's tone knob is turned down to zero or one.

Perhaps the best examples of the "woman tone" are Clapton's famous riff and solo from Cream's 1967 hit "Sunshine of Your Love". Clapton has explained that he obtained the tone with his Gibson's tone control rolled all the way down, switching to the neck pick-up (closest to the fretboard) and the volume all the way up, with his distortion turned all the way up. The treble, mids and bass controls on the amplifier were also maxed out. Some versions of the "woman tone" may also have involved strategic positioning of Clapton's wah-wah pedal.

Other media appearances

Clapton frequently appears as a guest on the albums of other musicians. For example, he is credited on Dire Straitss ''Brothers in Arms'' album, as he lent Mark Knopfler one of his guitars. He played lead guitar and synthesiser on ''The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking'', Roger Waters' debut solo album. Other media appearances include the Toots & the Maytals album ''True Love'', where he played guitar on the track "Pressure Drop". He can also be heard at the beginning of Frank Zappa's album, ''We're Only in It for the Money'', repeating the phrase, "Are you hung up?" over and over again. In 1985, Clapton appeared on the charity concert Live Aid in Philadelphia with Phil Collins, Tim Renwick, Chris Stainton, Jamie Oldaker, Marcy Levy, Shaun Murphy, and Donald 'Duck' Dunn. In 1988 he played with Dire Straits and Elton John at the Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute at Wembley Stadium and the Prince's Trust rock gala at the Royal Albert Hall. On 1990, Dire Straits, Clapton, and Elton John made a guest appearance in the Nordoff-Robbins charity show held at Knebworth. In 1991 Clapton was featured on Richie Sambora's album, ''Stranger In This Town'', in a song dedicated to him, called "Mr. Bluesman". He contributed guitar and vocals to "Runaway Train", a duet with Elton John on the latter's ''The One'' album the following year.

On 12 September 1996 Clapton played a party for Armani at New York City's Lexington Armory with Greg Phillinganes, Nathan East, and Steve Gadd. Sheryl Crow appeared on one number, performing "Tearing Us Apart", a track from ''August'', which was first performed by Tina Turner during the Prince's Trust All-Star Rock show in 1986. It was Clapton's sole US appearance that year, following the open-air concert held at Hyde Park with Dave Bronze, Andy Fairweather-Low, The Kick Horns, Jerry Portnoy, Chris Stainton, and backing vocalists Katie Kissoon and Tessa Niles. The concert was taped and the footage was released both on VHS video cassette and later, on DVD.

Clapton was featured in the movie version of ''Tommy'', the first full length rock opera, written by The Who. The movie version gave Clapton a cameo appearance as The Preacher, performing Sonny Boy Williamson's song, "Eyesight to the Blind". He appeared in ''Blues Brothers 2000'' as one of the Louisiana Gator Boys. In addition to being in the band, he had a small speaking role. Clapton has appeared in an advertisement for the Mercedes-Benz G-Wagen. In March 2007 Clapton appeared in an advertisement for RealNetwork's Rhapsody online music service. In 2010 Clapton started appearing as a spokesman for T-Mobile, advertising their MyTouch Fender cell phone.

Eric Clapton was compared to God's image in the episode "Holy Crap!" of season two of ''That '70s Show'' when Eric Forman and Steven Hyde are asked by their minister to draw a picture of God.

Political views and advocacy

Clapton is a supporter of the Countryside Alliance, and has played in concerts to raise funds for the organisation and publicly opposed the Labour Party’s ban on fox hunting. A spokesperson for Clapton said, "Eric supports the Countryside Alliance. He doesn't hunt himself, but does enjoy rural pursuits such as fishing and shooting. He supports the Alliance's pursuit to scrap the ban on the basis that he doesn't agree with the state's interference with people's private pursuits."

Controversy over remarks on immigration

On 5 August 1976 Clapton provoked an uproar and lingering controversy when he spoke out against increasing immigration during a concert in Birmingham. Visibly intoxicated, Clapton voiced his support of controversial political candidate Enoch Powell, and announced on stage that Britain was in danger of becoming a "black colony". Clapton was quoted as saying, "I think Enoch's right ... we should send them all back. Throw the wogs out! Keep Britain white!" The latter phrase was at the time a British National Front slogan. Clapton continued:

"I used to be into dope, now I’m into racism. It’s much heavier, man. Fucking wogs, man. Fucking Saudis taking over London. Bastard wogs. Britain is becoming overcrowded and Enoch will stop it and send them all back. The black wogs and coons and Arabs and fucking Jamaicans and fucking (indecipherable) don’t belong here, we don’t want them here. This is England, this is a white country, we don’t want any black wogs and coons living here. We need to make clear to them they are not welcome. England is for white people, man. We are a white country. I don’t want fucking wogs living next to me with their standards. This is Great Britain, a white country, what is happening to us, for fuck's sake? We need to vote for Enoch Powell, he’s a great man, speaking truth. Vote for Enoch, he’s our man, he’s on our side, he’ll look after us. I want all of you here to vote for Enoch, support him, he’s on our side. Enoch for Prime Minister! Throw the wogs out! Keep Britain white!"

This incident, along with some explicitly pro-fascism remarks made around the same time by David Bowie as well as uses of Nazi-related imagery by Sid Vicious and Siouxsie Sioux, were the main catalysts for the creation of Rock Against Racism, which occurred on 1978.

In response to the comments, rock photographer Red Saunders and others published an open letter in ''NME'', ''Melody Maker'', ''Sounds'', and the ''Socialist Worker''. It read "Come on Eric... Own up. Half your music is black. You're rock music's biggest colonist". It concluded, "P.S. Who shot the Sheriff, Eric? It sure as hell wasn't you!"

In an interview from October 1976 with ''Sounds'' magazine, Clapton remarked, "I thought it was quite funny actually. I don't know much about politics. I don't even know if it would be good or bad for him to get in. I don't even know who the Prime Minister is now. I just don't know what came over me that night. It must have been something that happened in the day but it came out in this garbled thing... I thought the whole thing was like Monty Python. There's this rock group playing on-stage and the singer starts talking about politics. It's so stupid. Those people who paid their money sittin' listening to this madman dribbling on and the band meanwhile getting fidgety thinking 'oh dear'."

In a 2004 interview with ''Uncut'', Clapton referred to Powell as "outrageously brave", and stated that his "feeling about this has not changed", because the UK is still "... inviting people in as cheap labour and then putting them in ghettos." In 2004 Clapton told an interviewer for ''Scotland on Sunday'', "There's no way I could be a racist. It would make no sense". In his 2007 autobiography, Clapton called himself "deliberately oblivious to it all" and wrote, "I had never really understood or been directly affected by racial conflict ... when I listened to music, I was disinterested in where the players came from or what colour their skin was. Interesting, then, that 10 years later, I would be labelled a racist ... Since then, I have learnt to keep my opinions to myself. Of course, it might also have had something to do with the fact that Pattie had just been leered at by a member of the Saudi royal family." In a December 2007 interview with Melvin Bragg on ''The South Bank Show'', Clapton reiterated his support for Enoch Powell and again denied that Powell's views were "racist".

Wealth and assets

In 2009 ''Surrey Life Magazine'' ranked Eric Clapton as number 17 in their Sunday Times Rich List, estimating Clapton's fortune at £120 million in assets. This was a compilation of property and income which include a £9 million yacht, "Va Bene" (previously owned by ''F1 Racing'' magazine's Bernie Ecclestone), his back music catalog, his touring income, and his Marshbrook holding company, which had earned him £110 million since 1989, making him one of the 20 richest residents of Surrey, England.

Awards and honours

Year	! Award / Recognition
		*Presented the Silver Clef Award from Princess Michael of Kent for outstanding contribution to British music.
		*Presented with BAFTA for Best Original Television Music for Score of ''Edge of Darkness'' with Michael Kamen.
		*"Tears In Heaven" won three Grammy awards for Song of the Year, Record of the Year, and Male Pop Vocal Performance. Clapton also won Album of the Year and Best Rock Vocal Performance for ''Unplugged'' and Best Rock Song for "Layla".
		*Awarded the Order of the British Empire for services to music.
		*Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for the third time, this time as a solo artist. He was earlier inducted as a member of the bands Cream and The Yardbirds.
		CBE, receiving the award from the Anne, Princess Royal>Princess Royal at Buckingham Palace as part of the New Year's Honours list.
		*Awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award (as a member of Cream)

Football

In 1982 he performed a concert before West Bromwich Albion player John Wile's testimonial game at the Hawthorns, and it is often reported by various sources that Clapton (despite being from London more than 100 miles away) is an Albion supporter. Credence for this notion can be taken from the cover pictures to the "Backless" solo album, where he is seen on the front cover to be wearing a football scarf; the rear cover photograph reveals the slogan "ALBION" on the scarf. It has been reported that the club rejected his offer to invest cash in the club around this time, and that he has since expressed more of an interest in Chelsea.

Clapton's music in film and TV

''Mean Streets'' (1973) – "I Looked Away"

''Purple Haze ''(1983) – "I Feel Free"

''The Hit'' (1984) – Score

''Miami Vice'' (1984–1989) – Four songs over the course of the show's five seasons: "Wonderful Tonight", "Knock On Wood", "She's Waiting", and "Layla"

''Back to the Future'' (1985) – "Heaven Is One Step Away"

''Edge of Darkness'' (1985) – Soundtrack

''The Color of Money'' (1986) – "It's In The Way That You Use It"

''SpaceCamp'' (1986 film) – "Forever Man" plays when Tate Donovan's character arrives at the Space Camp

The German car manufacturer Opel and Vauxhall in the UK used the guitar riff of Clapton's "Layla" in its advertising campaign throughout in 1987–95.

''Lethal Weapon'' (1987) – Soundtrack with Michael Kamen

''Lethal Weapon 2'' (1989) – "Knockin' On Heaven's Door"

''Goodfellas'' (1990) – "Layla" and "Sunshine of Your Love"

''Rush'' (1991) – Clapton wrote the score

''Wayne's World'' (1992) – "Loving your Loving"

''Peter's Friends'' (1992) – "Give Me Strength"

''Lethal Weapon 3'' (1992) – Clapton contributed to the score and co-wrote and co-performed the song "It's Probably Me" with Sting and "Runaway Train" with Elton John.

''True Lies'' (1994) – "Sunshine of Your Love"

''The Simpsons'' episode "Mother Simpson" (1995) – "Sunshine of Your Love"

''Twister'' (1996) – "Motherless Child"

''Phenomenon'' (1996) – "Change the World"

''The Van'' (1996) – Soundtrack

''Happy Gilmore'' (1996) – "Wonderful Tonight"

''Patch Adams'' (1998) – "Let It Rain"

''Lethal Weapon 4'' (1998) – "Pilgrim"

''City of Angels'' (1998) – "Further On Up The Road"

''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' episodes "Band Candy" and "Forever" (1998) – "Tales of Brave Ulysses"

''Runaway Bride'' (1999) – "Blue Eyes Blue"

''The Story of Us'' (1999) – "(I) Get Lost" (featured multiple times)

''Friends'' episode "The One with the Proposal, Part 2" (2000) – "Wonderful Tonight"

''Dancing At The Blue Iguana'' (2000) – "River of Tears"

''A Knight's Tale'' (2001) – "Further On Up The Road"

''Blow'' (2001) – "Strange Brew"

''Friends'' episode "The One Where Rachel Has a Baby, Part Two" (2002) – "River of Tears"

''Futurama'' episode "The 30% Iron Chef" (2002) – "Sunshine of Your Love"

''The Sopranos'' episode "Whitecaps" (2002) – Tony Soprano is seen listening to "Layla" in his Suburban.

''School Of Rock'' (2003) – "Sunshine of Your Love"

''Starsky & Hutch'' (2004) – "Cocaine"

''Anger Management'' (2004) – "Strange Brew"

''Fahrenheit 9/11'' (2004) – "Cocaine"

''Bad News Bears'' (2005) – "Cocaine"

''Lords of Dogtown'' (2005) – "Strange Brew"

''Lord of War'' (2005) – "Cocaine"

''United States of Tara'' episode – "Cocaine"

''The Good Guys'' Episode Silvio's Way – "Layla"

''Due Date'' (2010) – "White Room"

Discography

References

Further reading

On Eric Clapton's career:

* Robin Bextor, ''Eric Clapton: Now & Then'', Carlton Books, 2006, 144 pp.

* Eric Clapton, ''Clapton, The Autobiography'', 2007 and 2008, Broadway Books, 352 pp. / Arrow, 400 pages / Century, 384 pp.

* Eric Clapton, Derek Taylor and Peter Blake, ''24 Nights'', Genesis Publications, 2 volumes, 1992, 198 and 64 pp. Eric Clapton's signed limited edition books, in a Solander box with 2 live CD

* Ray Coleman, ''Clapton!: The Authorized Biography'', Warner Books, 368 pp, or Futura, 336 pages, 1986; originally publ. as "Survivor: The Authorized Biography", Sidgwick & Jackson, 1985, 300 pp.

* Geoffrey Giuliano, Brenda Giuliano and Deborah Lynn Black, ''The Illustrated Eric Clapton'', Sunburst Books, 1994, 96 pp.

* George Harrison, Eric Clapton & al, ''Live in Japan: A celebration of George Harrison’s ‘Rock Legends’ Tour with Eric Clapton Band'', Genesis Publications, 1993, 274 pp. George Harrison's signed limited black leather edition book, in a box with 2 live CD.

* Christopher Hjort w/ a foreword by John Mayall, ''Strange brew: Eric Clapton and the British Blues Boom, 1965–1970'', Jawbone, 2007, 352 pp.

* John Pidgeon, ''Eric Clapton: A Biography'', Panther, 1976, ... pages; rev. & upd. Vermilion, 1985 or 1987, 123 pp.

* Marc Roberty, ''Eric Clapton: The Complete Recording Sessions 1963–1992'', Blandford or St. Martin’s Press, 1993, 192 pp.

* Marc Roberty, ''Slowhand: The Life & Music of Eric Clapton'', Octopus or Harmony, 1991, 176 pp; upd. ed. Crown, 1993, 192 pp.

* Marc Roberty, ''Eric Clapton in His Own Words'', Omnibus Press, 1993, 96 pp.

* Marc Roberty, ''Eric Clapton: The New Visual Documentary'', Omnibus Press, 1990, 128 pp.; rev. ed., 1994, ...pp.; originally publ. as ''Eric Clapton: A Visual Documentary, 1986, ... pp.

* Marc Roberty, ''Clapton: The Complete Chronicle'', Pyramid, 1991, 176 pp. / Mitchell Beazley 1993, 192 pp.

* Marc Roberty, ''Eric Clapton: The Man, the Music and the Memorabilia'', Paper Tiger-Dragon’s World, 1994, 226 pp.

* Marc Roberty, ''The Complete Guide to the Music of Eric Clapton'', Omnibus Press, 1995, 152 pp. CD format; rev. ed., 2005, 128 pp.

* Marc Roberty, ''Eric Clapton'', CD Books, Orion, 1994, ...pp or MBS (Miami), 1996, 120 pp. CD format

* Marc Roberty and Chris Welch, ''Eric Clapton: The Illustrated Disco/Biography'', Omnibus Press, 1984, 80 pp. or Beekman (New York), 1990, ...pp.

* Christopher Sandford, ''Clapton: Edge of Darkness'', Victor Gollancz, 1994, 322 pp.

* Michael Schumacher, ''Crossroads: The Life and Music of Eric Clapton'', Hyperion, 1995, 388 pp.; rev. ed, Time Warner p'backs, 1998, 411 pp.; new ed. titled ''Eric Clapton'', Sphere, 2008, 432 pp.

* Harry Shapiro, ''Eric Clapton: Lost in The Blues'', Guinness Books or Muze, 1992, 256 pp.; rev. ed. Da Capo press, 1193, 225 pp.; originally publ. as ''Slowhand: The Story of Eric Clapton'', Proteus Books, 1985, 160 pp.

* Dave Thompson, ''Cream: The World's First Supergroup'', Virgin Books, 2005, 256 pp.; rev., upd. & illustr. ed. titled ''Cream: How Eric Clapton Took the World By Storm'', 2006, 320 pp.

* Steve Turner, ''Conversations with Eric Clapton'', London: Abacus, 1976, 116 pp.

* Fred Weiler, ''Eric Clapton'', Smithmark-Penguin or Bison Books, 1992, ... pp.

* Chris Welch, ''Cream: Stange Brew'', Castle Communications or Sanctuary or Penguin, 1994, 176 pp.; Backbeat Books, 2000, 192 pp.

''About Clapton's playing and sound'':

External links

Eric Clapton and Steve Winwood at Bucharest (review)

An Interview with Eric Clapton guitar technician Lee Dickson

Article on Bluesbreakers Les Paul

Gibson article on obtaining the "Woman Tone"

Review: Eric Clapton at Floridita

Eric Clapton FAQ

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