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Larry King is an American singer-songwriter, music producer, and band leader based in Chicago, Illinois. In the late 1980s King was the founder and lead singer of the Los Angeles glam rock band Human Factor, and after moving back to Chicago, founded the Larry King Orchestra in 1997.[1] He founded MFO Entertainment Group a year later, and remains as president of the company.[2] In 1999 King and John Blasucci founded Soleil Moon, an adult contemporary band that has since had two studio releases, and involved session musicians such as the London Symphony Orchestra, Kenny Aronoff (John Cougar Mellencamp), and Todd Sucherman of Styx.[3]

Early life, education

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Larry King was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois.[4] He was involved in the entertainment industry from a young age, and began working as a child actor in television and radio commercials by age seven.[5] Before the age of 13 he had been featured in 52 commercials,[6][2] and began singing and writing music at age 12.[5] As a teen he would sing jingles for television and radio by day and at night he'd work with local bands alongside his brother, who was a drummer.[5] He was also active in musical theater, including a stint as Bobby Kennedy in One Shining Moment at Chicago's Drury Lane Theater.[4]

After high school King attended first the University of Miami and later the University of Wisconsin at Madison.[2] While attending school he began focusing more on music,[5] and wrote over 100 jingles for local and national advertising campaigns.[6]

Music career

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Upon graduating in the late 1980s[6] King moved to Los Angeles, where he formed the band Human Factor. The group was signed to Caliber Records, an independent record label associated with Warner Brothers Distribution.[2] King wrote music, played keyes and performed vocals for the band, which he has described as having a glam rock style with epic pop ballads.[4]

In the early 1990s the Human Factor disbanded and King moved back to Chicago[5] and secured a role as a staff writer and musician for River North Records. He became a session singer for what he described as “every jingle that had a guy screaming his balls off,” including spots for companies such as Gatorade, Long John Silver's, Atomic Fireball/Lemonhead candy,[5] Coca Cola, Pizza Hut, R.C. Cola, and Enterprise Rental Cars. He also was the lead male musical voice on the popular video game You Don't Know Jack[4][2][6] and wrote the rock opera Sins Of The Father, staged by the Winston-Salem Repertory Company in North Carolina.[4]

Larry King Orchestra

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In 1997 King conceptualized and formed The Larry King Orchestra, a society band in Chicago. The original incarnation featured King on vocals and eleven musicians. The band has developed a reputation as a high-end wedding band, and has been featured in CS Brides three times.[7][8][9] On New Years 2010 the band performed at the wedding of NASCAR driver Kyle Busch and Samantha Sarcinella in Chicago.[1]

MFO Entertainment Group

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In 1998 King founded and is president of MFO Entertainment Group, which provides and produces music for studio recordings and live Chicago events like weddings, corporate parties and celebratory functions.[2][2] Larry King Orchestra is managed through MFO Entertainment. He is also president of Mufaro Publishing, Inc.[2] The group performs both original music and cover songs.[2]

Along with sound engineer Steve Weeder he also co-founded The Sound Bank, a recording studio in Northfield, Illinois.[6]

Soleil Moon

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In 1994 King met and befriended jazz musician John Blasucci. They quickly began making music together, eventually forming the band Soleil Moon. On March 2, 1999 they released their first single "World's Apart" on React Entertainment,[10] with King providing vocals.[10] They supported the release with a ten-city promotional tour, and "World's Apart" became a Top 25 Adult Contemporary hit.[4]

Worlds Apart (2000)

After the single's success King and Blasucci began writing a full-length album.[4] Among the studio musicians enlisted to participate in the project were the London Symphony Orchestra, session guitarist Michael Thompson, jazz musician Paul Jackson, Jr., saxaphonist Warren Hill, percussionist Lenny Castro, drummer Kenny Aronoff of John Cougar Mellencamp, and Todd Sucherman of Styx.[3] Many others were also participants in the Larry King Orchestra.[2] Worlds Apart was released on March 7, 2000 under King's label MFO Records.[11] Various tracks from the album[5] including "Willingly" and "Never Say Goodbye" charted on the Adult Contemporary Top 100, peaking at #17 and #22 respectively.[6][2][12][13]

On The Way to Everything (2011)

On February 1, 2011, Soleil Moon released the studio album On The Way To Everything through MFO Entertainment Group. The songs had been recorded periodically since 2001, whenever King and other members found studio time between other projects.[5] A review stated the album blended "bittersweet, melodic ballads, burning hard-rock riffs, percolating R&B grooves, and anything else that happens to suit their fancy, Soleil Moon has made an album about life’s journey, and the conceptual arc is so striking that there’s already been an offer to turn it into a musical."[5]

Discography

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Singles
Albums
  • The Chalice (1997)
  • World's Apart (2000)
  • On The Way to Everything (2011)
Rock operas
  • Sins Of The Fathers (1995)

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Kyle Busch and Samantha Sarcinella". People Magazine. January 17, 2011. Retrieved 2011-07-20.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Larry King: Vocalist/Keys". Larry King Orchestra. Retrieved 2011-07-20.
  3. ^ a b "Soleil Moon - Words Apart". CD Universe. Retrieved 2011-07-20.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g "Soleil Moon: Reviews". L.A.S.Y.S. Inc. Retrieved 2011-07-20.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Soleil Moon on Airplay Direct". Airplay Direct. Retrieved 2011-07-20.
  6. ^ a b c d e f "About". MFO Entertainment Group. Retrieved 2011-07-20.
  7. ^ Hildenbrand, Courtney (August 22, 2008). "Scene Chicago Weddings". CS Brides Magazine. Retrieved 2011-07-20.
  8. ^ Hildrenbrand, Courtney (September 20, 2008). "Scene Chicago Weddings". CS Brides Magazine. Retrieved 2011-07-20.
  9. ^ Taras, Rebecca (March 22, 2008). "Scene Chicago Weddings". CS Brides Magazine. Retrieved 2011-07-20.
  10. ^ a b "Larry King - Worlds Apart CD Single". CD Universe. Retrieved 2011-07-20.
  11. ^ Kipner (1999). "Soleil Moon - Worlds Apart Review". Melodic.net. Retrieved 2011-07-20.
  12. ^ Ellio, Deborah J. (July 31, 2011). "Worlds Apart". Musical Discoveries: Review Digest, Vol. 1, Issue 8. Retrieved 2011-07-20. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  13. ^ "Soleil Moon - 2000 Worlds Apart". Glorydaze Music. February 21, 2008. Retrieved 2011-07-20. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
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