Problem: Sylvia Jane Hutton (nee Kirby, born December 9, 1956), known simply by her first name Sylvia during the 1980s, is an American country music and country pop singer and songwriter. Some original source books have her birth name as Sylvia Kirby Allen; however, Allen was her first husband's last name. She consequently used only her first name. There was also a point in time that she used Sylvia Rutledge.

The release of her fourth album, Surprise, spurred her second foray into the Adult Contemporary charts, but neither its sound, nor her newly shorn locks courtesy Francesco Scavullo, were well received in country music. Surprise was the last of Sylvia's first four albums to be produced by Tom Collins, who also produced Mandrell, Charley Pride, and Ronnie Milsap. They have been described by critics as too slick for country music.  Her following album, One Step Closer, produced by The Judds' producer Brent Maher, had a more guitar-driven feel to it as opposed to her previously more orchestrated affairs. It was followed up by Sylvia's last top 40 country hit, "Nothin' Ventured, Nothin' Gained", from the unreleased album Knockin Around. The shelving of this album marked the end of Sylvia's tenure with RCA Records. The label did release a Greatest Hits compilation and a single from it titled "Straight from my Heart" (written with Jimmy Fortune of The Statler Brothers). The record received little promotion from RCA and the single charted in the low 60s. In the late 1980s, RCA began streamlining its roster of country-pop artists and the casualties included Sylvia, Dolly Parton, Louise Mandrell, Deborah Allen, Juice Newton, John Denver and Kenny Rogers.  Over an eight-year period, Sylvia crisscrossed America many times with her popular concert performances (over 200 per year), and she was a frequent guest on network television talk shows and specials -- from The Today Show and Good Morning, America to Dick Clark's American Bandstand and the Country Music Awards.  Her decision to stop touring and recording at the end of the 1980s was not fueled by the grueling schedule, as some might guess, but by her desire to bring more of herself to the music, she turned her energies to songwriting.

When did she retire?

Answer with quotes: Her decision to stop touring and recording at the end of the 1980s was not fueled by the grueling schedule,


Problem: Les Paul was born Lester William Polsfuss in Waukesha, Wisconsin, to George and Evelyn (Stutz) Polsfuss. His family was of German ancestry. Paul's mother was related to the founders of Milwaukee's Valentin Blatz Brewing Company and the makers of the Stutz automobile. His parents divorced when he was a child.

In 1965, Paul went into semi-retirement, although he did return to the studio occasionally. He and Ford had divorced at the end of 1964 after she got tired of touring. Paul's most recognizable recordings from then through the mid-1970s were an album for London Records/Phase 4 Stereo, Les Paul Now (1968), on which he updated some of his earlier hits; and two albums comprising a meld of jazz and country improvisation with guitar virtuoso Chet Atkins, backed by some of Nashville's celebrated studio musicians, Chester and Lester (1976) and Guitar Monsters (1978), for RCA Victor.  Paul began suffering from arthritis in the mid-1960s. As he got older, the condition worsened, and in his final years he lost much of the use of his right hand except the ring and pinky fingers. In 1969, he began to lose his hearing. He had difficulty tuning guitars properly due to his ears "misinterpreting" pitch. Frustrated with the quality of most hearing aids, he set to work designing his own and was still at the job when he died. He once joked that "Audio engineers and musicians are the two kinds of people that hearing aid manufacturers fear the most."  He played at slower tempos with a large pick that was easier to hold. In 2006, at the age of 90, he won two Grammy Awards at the 48th Annual Grammy Awards for his album Les Paul & Friends: American Made World Played. He also performed every Monday night with guitarist Lou Pallo, bassist Paul Nowinski (and later, Nicki Parrott), and guitarist Frank Vignola and for a few years, pianist John Colaianni. Paul, Pallo, and Nowinski performed at Fat Tuesdays and at the Iridium Jazz Club on Broadway.  Composer Richard Stein sued Paul for plagiarism, charging that Paul's "Johnny (is the Boy for Me)" was taken from Stein's 1937 song "Sanie cu zurgalai" (Romanian for "Sleigh with Bells"). In 2000, a cover version of "Johnny" by Belgian musical group Vaya Con Dios that credited Paul prompted another action by the Romanian Musical Performing and Mechanical Rights Society.

What were his most recognizable moments?

Answer with quotes: an album for London Records/Phase 4 Stereo,


Problem: Richard Hirschfeld Williams (May 7, 1929 - July 7, 2011) was an American left fielder, third baseman, manager, coach and front office consultant in Major League Baseball. Known especially as a hard-driving, sharp-tongued manager from 1967 to 1969 and from 1971 to 1988, he led teams to three American League pennants, one National League pennant, and two World Series triumphs. He is one of seven managers to win pennants in both major leagues, and joined Bill McKechnie in becoming only the second manager to lead three franchises to the Series. He and Lou Piniella are the only managers in history to lead four teams to seasons of 90 or more wins.

When another perennial loser, the Seattle Mariners, lost 19 of their first 28 games in 1986 under Chuck Cottier, Williams came back to the American League West on May 6 for the first time in almost a decade. The Mariners showed some life that season and almost reached .500 the following season. However, Williams' autocratic managing style no longer played with the new generation of ballplayers. Williams was fired on June 8, 1988 with Seattle 23-33 and in sixth place. It would be his last major-league managing job. Williams' career won-loss totals were 1,571 wins and 1,451 losses over 21 seasons.  In 1989, Williams was named manager of the West Palm Beach Tropics of the Senior Professional Baseball Association, a league featuring mostly former major league players 35 years of age and older. The Tropics went 52-20 in the regular season and ran away with the Southern Division title. Despite their regular season dominance, the Tropics lost 12-4 to the St. Petersburg Pelicans in the league's championship game. The Tropics folded at the end of the season, and the rest of the league folded a year later.  He remained in the game, however, as a special consultant to George Steinbrenner and the New York Yankees. In 1990, Williams published his autobiography, No More Mister Nice Guy. His acrimonious departure in 1969 distanced Williams from the Red Sox for the remainder of the Yawkey ownership period (through 2001), but after the change in ownership and management that followed, he was selected to the team's Hall of Fame in 2006.  Williams's number was recently retired by the Fort Worth Cats. The Cats were a popular minor league team in Fort Worth and Williams played there while he was working his way through the Dodgers system. The Cats merged/disbanded around 1960 but in recent years returned as an independent minor league team. The "New" Cats retired Williams' number.

Did he have any issues managing the Yankees?

Answer with quotes: