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This group evolved from another group of the same name
that was founded in 1969. After
the first ensemble had disbanded after one album it was re-established
under the same name, with several of the original group members, in
1972. The name of the group was
taken from the novel Manhattan
Transfer, which was written by John Dos Passos
in 1925. They became
internationally acclaimed for their mix of jazz, popular music and big band
sound and their first hit single, "Operator", was a gospel
song. Becoming internationally
successful they steadily had Top 10 hits in the UK
and other European countries and recorded the album The Manhattan Transfer Live in England. The line-up was forced to change in
1978 when the singer Laurel Masse was in a car accident, but it has never
changed since. They have been
the recipients of several Grammy Awards and countless nominations over the
years and in 1981 they made history by being the first to win Grammys in the same year in the "Best Performance
by Group or Duo" in both the pop and jazz categories. Over a period of 32 years
(1975-2007) they have released 24 albums and have made guest appearances on
countless others, while the members of the group also follow their own solo
careers. They have appeared on
many television programmes and in the film soundtracks of Dance With Me, Sharky's
Machine and A League of Their Own. In 1998 they were inducted into the
Vocal Group Hall of Fame.
Members:
Alan Paul (1972-Present)
Janis Siegel
(1972-Present)
Laurel Masse
(1972-1978)
Tim Hauser
(1972-Present)
Cheryl Bentyne (1978-Present)
The Manhattan Transfer Recordings
Body and Soul
(Edward Heyman/Johnny Green/Robert Sour/Frank Eyton)
Twilight
Zone/Twilight Tone (Marius Constant/Jay Graydon/Alan
Paul)
Sources:
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Manhattan_Transfer
- http://imdb.com/name/nm1573436/
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