User:MaryGaulke/sandbox/Kenny Vance requests

Hi! I'm a COI editor, posting on behalf of Kenny Vance with some edit requests.

Lead

 * In the infobox, consider adding "Musical director for Saturday Night Live" and "Music supervisor for Eddie and the Cruisers and Animal House" in the "Known for" parameter.
 * Update "music supervising" to "music supervising and producing" per the article body updates below.

Early career

 * Add after "Vance grew up hanging around the famous Brill Building, the Tin Pan Alley song machine, and started his first vocal group, the Harbor Lites, at 15.":
 * An early single, "Is That Too Much To Ask", experienced local popularity due to radio promotion by disc jockey Cousin Brucie.


 * Add a ref for "He then formed another group and auditioned for Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, who signed them to United Artists Records, and named the group Jay and the Americans.":

Jay and the Americans

 * Add after "Jay and the Americans released fifteen albums, and their first hit was "She Cried", which was released in 1962.":
 * The group's musical style evoked nostalgia for 1950s rock and roll and doo wop.


 * Update
 * The group was the opening act for not only The Beatles' first US performance, but also for The Rolling Stones' first US performance.
 * to
 * The group was the opening act for not only The Beatles' first US performance, in Washington, D.C., but also for the Rolling Stones at Carnegie Hall, the final stop on the Rolling Stones' tour.


 * Update
 * They had many other hit singles in the 60s, and started their own publishing and production company, JATA Enterprises.
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 * They had many other hit singles and an album, Capture the Moment, in the 60s, blending doo wop harmonies with contemporary sounds. They also started their own publishing and production company, JATA Enterprises.


 * Update
 * Their last release was in 1971 and the group broke up in 1973.
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 * In 1969, they self-produced the album Sands of Time, featuring songs originated by the Drifters ("This Magic Moment") and the Ronettes ("Walkin' in the Rain"). Both songs hit the Top 40 singles chart. Their last release was in 1971, and the group broke up in 1974.


 * Add to end of section:
 * In 2017, "Come a Little Bit Closer", a hit for Jay and the Americans in 1964, was featured in the soundtrack for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. The soundtrack album went gold in the U.S. and sold more than 2.5 million copies worldwide.

Steely Dan

 * Update
 * In 1967, the songwriting duo of Walter Becker and Donald Fagen came to the Brill Building to sell their songs, and ended up knocking on Vance's door. Vance liked what he heard, and offered to manage them. The duo arranged horn and string sections for Jay and the Americans and toured with them as bassist and keyboardist, eventually recording demos and masters with Vance in 1969.
 * to
 * In 1967, the songwriting duo of Walter Becker and Donald Fagen came to the Brill Building to sell their songs, and ended up knocking on Vance's door. Vance liked what he heard, and offered to manage and produce them. The duo arranged horn and string sections for Jay and the Americans recordings and toured with them as bassist and keyboardist. Vance produced the soundtrack album for the movie You've Got to Walk It Like You Talk It or You'll Lose That Beat for Becker and Fagen in 1971.


 * Add to end of section:
 * In Steely Dan FAQ: All That's Left to Know About This Elusive Band, Anthony Robustelli wrote, "For all intents and purposes, Vance should be credited as the man who discovered the core of Steely Dan."

Film and television

 * Update
 * After this, Vance began doing session work, producing, and writing music for movies.
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 * After this, Vance began doing session work and producing, including albums by Toni Basil, Danny O'Keefe (American Roulette), and Diane Keaton. He released a solo album, Vance 32, on Atlantic Records in 1975.
 * (It might also make sense to update the section title to "Producing, film, and television".)


 * Update
 * the Eddie and the Cruisers soundtrack album sold triple Platinum.
 * to
 * the soundtrack album of Eddie and the Cruisers, initially a flop as a movie, went triple platinum when the movie became a surprise cult hit.


 * Add immediately after the above:
 * Vance also commissioned much of the soundtrack for The Warriors, including backup vocals from a then-unknown Luther Vandross.


 * Update
 * became the program's musical director in 1980–1981.
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 * became the program's musical director in 1980–1981, booking the show's musical acts.


 * Add to end of section:
 * In addition to his appearance in American Hot Wax, Vance has also played bit parts in films including Eddie and the Cruisers, Billy Bathgate, and Hurlyburly. He also appeared in six Woody Allen films.

1990s-on

 * Update
 * Since then the group has released five more albums, "Lover's Island", Countdown to Love", "Dancing and Romancing", "Oceans of Time", and their holiday album, "Mr. Santa".
 * to
 * Since then the group has released eight more albums, including "Lovers Island", Countdown to Love", "Dancing and Romancing", "Oceans of Time", and their holiday album, "Mr. Santa".


 * Add before "Vance did not perform from 2014 to 2017 for health reasons.":
 * Vance was inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame as part of Jay and the Americans in 2002, and into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame in 2008. In 2012, Hurricane Sandy destroyed Vance's oceanfront home of 38 years in Rockaway Beach, Queens.


 * Add after "Vance did not perform from 2014 to 2017 for health reasons.":
 * Kenny Vance and the Planotones released a new album, "For Your Love", in 2020. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Vance reunited with members of the original Planotones to record "Brave Companions", a song he wrote in tribute first responders, with proceeds donated to the First Responders Children's Foundation. He also directed a documentary, Heart & Soul, about music performers of the doo wop era. Doc NYC selected the film for its "Only In New York" program.

Discography

 * Add to the top of the section:
 * Add
 * 2020: For Your Love

Reception
New section:
 * Vance has received recognition for his role in the history of doo wop and music. Dion DiMucci told Elmore Magazine in 2008, "Kenny Vance...sings like there's a 19-year-old angel inside of him. ... Kenny Vance expresses the heart and soul of doo wop." In 2009, Brooklyn Paper called Vance the "Dylan of Doo-Wop". Radio disc jockey Jerry Blavat said in 2011 that Vance has "the ability to take a song, which was a hit in the '50s or early '60s and with his style make it fashionable for a new audience that hears it in a different way."


 * Vance is in the Vocal Group Hall of Fame as part of Jay and the Americans and in the Long Island Music Hall of Fame.