- Mannheim Steamroller
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Mannheim Steamroller Genres New Age, holiday music Years active 1974–present Labels American Gramaphone Website MannheimSteamroller.com Members Chip Davis
Bobby Jenkins
Jackson Berkey
Almeda Berkey
Roxanne Layton
Ron Cooley
Arnie Roth
Chuck Penington
Tom SharpeMannheim Steamroller is an American music group founded by Chip Davis and Jackson Berkey, known primarily for its modern recordings of Christmas music. The group has sold 28 million albums in the U.S. alone.[1]
Contents
History
Beginnings
Mannheim Steamroller began as an alias for record producer/composer Chip Davis. The name "Mannheim Steamroller" comes from an 18th-century German musical technique, Mannheim roller (ger.: Mannheimer Walze), a crescendo passage having a rising melodic line over an ostinato bass line, popularized by the Mannheim school of composition. An unrelated point of curiosity is that the city of Mannheim in Germany is where what is popularly regarded as "the first automobile" was invented and manufactured. But in fact before this 1886 event, steam-powered cars had been in use. The first automobile fatality on record happened in 1869, 17 years prior to the Benz gasoline-powered Mannheim invention, so the name of this band serves to remind us of steam cars preceding gasoline cars. Before the fame of Steamroller, Davis had been best known for creating the country music character "C. W. McCall" (of "Convoy" fame) for his friend Bill Fries. Even before Davis made McCall a star, he produced an unusual album of classical music performed entirely by Davis and musical collaborator and keyboardist Jackson Berkey, using electric bass (played by Eric Hansen) and synthesizers.
Since no major label would handle its distribution, Davis founded his own music label, American Gramaphone (a play on the classical record label Deutsche Grammophon), to release the album. The result, Fresh Aire, was released in 1975 under the pseudonym Mannheim Steamroller, in the hopes of the album being a best seller. Fresh Aire II was subsequently released in 1977 and Fresh Aire III was released in 1979. The first four Fresh Aire albums constituted a "four seasons" exploration, with Fresh Aire being spring, Fresh Aire II being fall (less obviously than the others), Fresh Aire III being summer, and Fresh Aire IV being winter. All four of these albums maintained the blend of baroque classical music, light jazz, and a light sense of humor (Davis is credited as playing "more toys" on the Fresh Aire III album credits), and featuring Jackson Berkey's virtuosic keyboard work (for more examples, listen to Berkey's own Sunken Cathedral for master performances of classical works by Debussy, Persichetti and others). Davis and Berkey would use whatever instrument seemed appropriate to the piece, using toy piano on one piece and full pipe organ on another, with copious interleaving of piano and harpsichord.
Davis then moved into exploring some other themes, with Fresh Aire V being subtitled "To the Moon," Fresh Aire VI exploring Greek mythology, Fresh Aire 7 being based on the number 7, and Fresh Aire 8 being based on the theme of infinity. A live tour of the early albums featured a prominent light show and multimedia components, along with spoken poetry by Almeda Berkey. While the music was slightly different from the album versions, the music was played in lockstep at each show, as it had to coordinate the live musicians with recorded tracks of strings and other orchestral parts.
In 1986, Mannheim Steamroller released music composed for a PBS special called Saving the Wildlife, which featured one track from Fresh Aire VI and twelve new tracks. In 1987, Davis collaborated with guitarist/composer Mason Williams for the album Classical Gas. The music was composed entirely by Williams but produced and arranged by Davis. The album opens with a remake of Williams' 1968 instrumental "Classical Gas", which used the original arrangement.
Christmas music success
But it was beginning in 1984 that Steamroller found its greatest fame. Davis released his first holiday album, Mannheim Steamroller Christmas, featuring modern contemporary interpretations of Yuletide favorites. This was followed by A Fresh Aire Christmas (1988) and Christmas in the Aire (1995), which showcased creative approaches to old carols, as well as some new carol-like compositions. Steamroller had now become one of the most requested Christmas music artists of all time, in part by adopting a very radio-friendly approach. (In addition, their music was featured around Christmastime by Rush Limbaugh, whose conservative talk radio program was gaining popularity around this time.) By the end of 1997, they had released a live album of Christmas music, Mannheim Steamroller Christmas Live. 2001 saw the release of their fourth all-new Christmas album, Christmas Extraordinaire. Christmas Celebration, a compilation of favorite tracks from the previous studio albums (with one new song), was released in 2004. The studio album Christmas Song was released in late 2007 and features guest vocals by Johnny Mathis and Olivia Newton-John. 2008 saw the release of the CD "Christmasville." Their newest release is a 25th anniversary Christmas box set consisting of previously released material.
Musically, as the 1990s progressed Davis moved into the mainstream of "New Age" music with a heavier reliance on synthesized instruments and less humor (titles like "Small Wooden Bach'ses" from Fresh Aire III were not seen, let alone the creative use of a cricket on the same album or the Gregorian chant on Fresh Aire II). His music became closer to the "light jazz" style that gained prominence in the 1990s, especially with the Day Parts albums.
Steamroller developed a full-length theatrical motion picture based on their Christmas albums, but the plans fell through. Instead, the following year, they collaborated with Olivia Newton-John for yet another Christmas album, a mostly spoken-word recording, scored with previously released material called The Christmas Angel: A Family Story. In 2003, they released a CD entitled Halloween.
In addition to their Fresh Aire and Christmas collections, Steamroller has released an album of Disney music (1999's Mannheim Steamroller Meets the Mouse), one celebrating his American heritage (2003's American Spirit, which reunited Chip Davis with C.W. McCall and featured a remake of "Convoy"), and an album "Yellowstone," mixing prior Davis compositions and a series of classical pieces by Ottorino Respighi and others.
Mannheim Steamroller's An American Christmas is a 12-hour nationally broadcast special radio program of music and narrated stories, heard on over 250 stations across the United States. The program is hosted by the group's founder Chip Davis, and is produced and distributed each year by WestStar TalkRadio Network.
In 2008, Chip Davis underwent surgery which prevented him from touring or performing with the band. Rather than force the tour to stop completely while he recovered, Davis opted to hire additional musicians to temporarily replace him. He also decided to create two different lineups of the band, one of which toured in the Midwest, the other on the East Coast.[2]
Discography
The "Fresh Aire" series albums
Year Album Peak Chart Positions RIAA Certification New Age Albums1 Billboard 200 Albums 1975 Fresh Aire Gold 1977 Fresh Aire II Gold 1979 Fresh Aire III Gold 1981 Fresh Aire IV Gold 1983 Fresh Aire V 25 (1994) Gold 1986 Fresh Aire VI 155 Gold 1990 Fresh Aire 7 2 77 Gold 2000 Fresh Aire 8 2 ---- Christmas albums
Year Album Peak Chart Positions RIAA Certification New Age Albums1 Holiday Albums2 Billboard 200 Albums 1984 Mannheim Steamroller Christmas 8 2 50 6x Platinum 1988 A Fresh Aire Christmas 4 1 36 6x Platinum 1995 Christmas in the Aire 1 1 3 4x Platinum 1997 Mannheim Steamroller Christmas Live 1 1 24 Platinum 1998 The Christmas Angel: A Family Story 1 2 25 Platinum 2001 Christmas Extraordinaire 1 1 5 3x Platinum 2004 Christmas Celebration 1 1 19 Platinum 2007 Christmas Song 1 2 5 Platinum 2008 A Candlelight Christmas 1 8 68 ---- 2008 Christmasville 2 8 48 ---- 2009 Christmas: 25th Anniversary Collection 1 6 29 Gold 2011 Christmas Symphony Ambience albums
- Bird Song (2001)
- Summer Song (2001)
- Autumn Song (2003)
- Desert Song (?)
- Ocean Song (?)
- Night Song (?)
- The last three are mentioned in the liner notes for the existing Ambience CDs, but have not yet been released.
Other albums
Year Album Peak Chart Positions RIAA Certification New Age Albums1 Billboard 200 Albums 1986 Saving the Wildlife ---- 1987 Classical Gas Gold 1989 Yellowstone: The Music of Nature 2 167 Gold 1991 Day Parts: Sunday Morning Coffee ---- 1992 Day Parts: Dinner ---- 1992 Day Parts: Party - Music That Cooks ---- 1992 Day Parts: Romance ---- 1993 Chip Davis's Impressions ---- 1993 Day Parts: Sunday Morning Coffee II ---- 1994 To Russia with Love 9 ---- 1995 Day Parts: Party 2 - Music That Cooks ---- 1996 Day Parts: Holiday Musik ---- 1997 Huskers Musik [3] ---- 1998 Chip Davis's Renaissance Holiday ---- 1998 Day Parts: Romance II ---- 1998 Mannheim Steamroller Meets the Mouse 1 89 ---- 1999 25 Year Celebration of Mannheim Steamroller ---- 2002 Romantic Melodies 1 41 ---- 2003 Halloween 1 53 ---- 1 Billboard's "Top New Age Albums" chart became the "New Age Albums" chart in June 2009. 2 Billboard's "Top Holiday Albums" chart became the "Holiday Albums" chart in June 2009.
See also
References
- ^ RIAA
- ^ http://shop.mannheimsteamroller.com/content/Tour.htm
- ^ AEC One Stop Group, Inc.. "Discography — Manheim Steamroller". billboard.com. Nielsen Business Media, Inc.. http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/discography/index.jsp?JSESSIONID=j5FrG7cFzyntJmxL6pwHh7CchnTfMTyx2jHyBJG8hBGyy37G6TsG!24521339&pid=3240&aid=197492. Retrieved 24 November 2007.[dead link]
External links
Fresh Aire series Fresh Aire (1975) · Fresh Aire II (1977) · Fresh Aire III (1979) · Fresh Aire IV (1981) · Fresh Aire V (1983) · Fresh Aire VI (1986) · Fresh Aire 7 (1991) · Fresh Aire 8 (2000)Christmas albums Christmas (1984) · A Fresh Aire Christmas (1988) · Christmas in the Aire (1995) · Christmas Live (1997) · The Christmas Angel: A Family Story (1998) · Christmas Extraordinaire (2001) · Christmas Song (2007) · Christmasville (2008) · Christmas Symphony (2011)Christmas compilations Christmas Celebration (2004) · Christmas Sweet Memories (?) · Trimming the Tree (2007) · Morning Frost (2008) · Christmas 25th Anniversary Collection (2009)Halloween albums Halloween (2003) · Halloween: Monster Mix (2004) · Halloween, Vol. 2: Creatures Collection (2006) · Halloween: Sweet Tooth (2007)Ambience albums Bird Song (2000) · Summer Song (2001) · Autumn Song (2003) · Ocean Song (?) · Night Song (?) · Desert Song (?)Other albums Saving the Wildlife (1986) · Yellowstone: The Music of Nature (1989) · Day Parts: Sunday Morning Coffee (1991) · Day Parts: Dinner (1992) · Day Parts: Party: Music that Cooks (1992) · Day Parts: Romance (1992) · Day Parts: Sunday Morning Coffee II (1993) · To Russia with Love (1994) · Day Parts: Party 2: Music that Cooks (1995) · Huskers Musik (1996) · Day Parts: Romance II (1998) · Mannheim Steamroller Meets the Mouse (1999) · 25 Year Celebration of Mannheim Steamroller (1999) · Romantic Melodies (2001) · American Spirit (2003)Categories:- American classical music groups
- Musical groups from Omaha, Nebraska
- Musical groups established in 1974
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