Some context: Thelonious Sphere Monk was born two years after his sister Marion on October 10, 1917, in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, and was the son of Thelonious and Barbara Monk. His badly written birth certificate misspelled his first name as "Thelious" or "Thelius." It also did not list his middle name, taken from his maternal grandfather, Sphere Batts. A brother, Thomas, was born in January 1920.
In his early teens, Monk toured with an evangelist, playing the church organ, and in his late teens he began to find work playing jazz. In the early to mid-1940s, he was the house pianist at Minton's Playhouse, a Manhattan nightclub. Much of Monk's style was developed during his time at Minton's, when he participated in after-hours cutting contests, which featured many leading jazz soloists of the time. Monk's musical work at Minton's was crucial in the formulation of bebop, which would be furthered along by other artists, including Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Christian, Kenny Clarke, Charlie Parker, and, later, Miles Davis. Monk is believed to be the pianist featured on recordings Jerry Newman made around 1941 at the club. Monk's style at this time was later described as "hard-swinging," with the addition of runs in the style of Art Tatum. Monk's stated influences included Duke Ellington, James P. Johnson, and other early stride pianists. In the documentary Thelonious Monk: Straight, No Chaser, it is stated that Monk lived in the same neighborhood in New York City as Johnson and knew him as a teenager.  Mary Lou Williams, who mentored Monk and his contemporaries, spoke of Monk's rich inventiveness in this period, and how such invention was vital for musicians, since at the time it was common for fellow musicians to incorporate overheard musical ideas into their own works without giving due credit. "So, the boppers worked out a music that was hard to steal. I'll say this for the 'leeches,' though: they tried. I've seen them in Minton's busily writing on their shirt cuffs or scribbling on the tablecloth. And even our own guys, I'm afraid, did not give Monk the credit he had coming. Why, they even stole his idea of the beret and bop glasses."  In 1944 Monk made his first studio recordings with the Coleman Hawkins Quartet. Hawkins was one of the earliest established jazz musicians to promote Monk, and the pianist later returned the favor by inviting Hawkins to join him on a 1957 session with John Coltrane.
What else interesting did he learn?
A: the boppers worked out a music that was hard to steal.
Some context: The Spencer Davis Group are a British rock band formed in Birmingham in 1963, by Spencer Davis with Steve Winwood and his brother, Muff Winwood. Their best known songs include the UK number ones "Somebody Help Me" and "Keep on Running" (both written by reggae musician Jackie Edwards), "I'm a Man" and "Gimme Some Lovin'", which reached #2 in the UK and #7 in the US. Steve Winwood left in 1967 to form Traffic before joining Blind Faith, then forging a career as a solo artist.
The group's first professional recording was a cover version of "Dimples"; at the end of 1965 they gained their first number one single with "Keep On Running". In 1966, they followed this with "Somebody Help Me" and "When I Come Home". They had one single issued in the US on Fontana, as well as "Keep On Running" and "Somebody Help Me" on Atco, but due to lack of promotion, none of these 3 singles got airplay or charted.  For the German market the group released a medley of "Det war in Schoneberg, im Monat Mai" and "Madel ruck ruck ruck an meine grune Seite" (the first is from a 1913 Berlin operetta, the second is a Swabian traditional) as a tribute single for that audience, Davis having studied in West Berlin in the early 1960s.  By the end of 1966 and the beginning of 1967, the group released two more hits, "Gimme Some Lovin'" and "I'm a Man". Both of them sold over one million copies, and were awarded gold record status. These tracks proved to be their two best-known successes, especially in the U.S. (where they had signed to United Artists). Jimmy Miller was their producer.  In 1966 the group starred in The Ghost Goes Gear, a British musical comedy film, directed by Hugh Gladwish, and also starring Sheila White and Nicholas Parsons. The plot involved the group in a stay at the childhood home of their manager, a haunted manor house in the English countryside. The film would later be considered a mistake by Winwood.
When did the Spencer Davis Group achieve their breakthrough?
A: The group's first professional recording was a cover version of "Dimples"; at the end of 1965 they gained their first number one single with "Keep On Running".
Some context: Smith was born Vickie Lynn Hogan in 1967 in Houston, Texas, and raised in Mexia, Texas. She was the daughter of Donald Eugene Hogan (1947-2009) and Virgie Mae Arthur (nee Tabers; b. 1951), who married on February 22, 1967 and divorced on November 4, 1969. She had five half siblings: Donna Hogan, David Tacker Jr., Donnie Hogan, Amy Hogan, and Donald Hart. Smith was raised by her mother and aunt.
In an interview on Late Night with Conan O'Brien, Smith was asked what her "Playmate diet" consisted of. She instantly replied, "fried chicken". In October 2003, she became a spokeswoman for TrimSpa, which allegedly helped her lose a reported 69 pounds (31 kg). TrimSpa diet product company and Smith were sued in a class action lawsuit alleging their marketing of a weight loss pill was false or misleading.  In November 2004, she appeared at the American Music Awards to introduce Kanye West and attracted attention because of her slurred speech and behavior. During her live appearance, she threw her arms up and exclaimed, "Like my body?" Smith murmured other comments and alluded to TrimSpa. The incident became comic material for presenters throughout the rest of the program.  Her appearance was featured in the media the following day. Tabloids speculated that Smith was under the influence of pills or a controlled substance. Her representatives explained that she was in pain due to a series of grueling workouts.  In March 2005, at the first MTV Australia Video Music Awards in Sydney's Luna Park, she spoofed Janet Jackson's wardrobe malfunction by pulling down her dress to reveal both breasts, each covered with the MTV logo.  Smith was also featured in advertisements for the animal rights group PETA. Spoofing Marilyn Monroe's "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend" segment in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, a 2004 ad states "Gentlemen prefer fur-free blondes." Due to her support of the anti-fur movement, in particular her criticism of Canadian seal hunting, PETA began a petition in memory of Smith to the Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper to end the annual tradition. In another ad the following year, Smith posed with her dogs in a campaign against Iams dog food for their alleged cruelty to animals, as well as the manufacturer Procter & Gamble, and sister company Eukanuba.
Did she have more bad public appearances?
A:
Tabloids speculated that Smith was under the influence of pills or a controlled substance. Her representatives explained that she was in pain due to a series of grueling workouts.