title: Magic square

text: There are 1,740,800 such 3×3 medjig squares. An easy approach to construct higher order odd medjig square is by wrapping a smaller odd ordered medjig square with a medjig border, just as with even ordered medjig squares. Another approach is to append a row and a column to an even ordered medjig square. Approaches such as the LUX method can also be used. In the example below, a 5×5 medjig square is created by wrapping a medjig border around a 3×3 medjig square given previously:


title: Magic square

text: Solving partially completed magic squares is a popular mathematical pastime. The techniques needed are similar to those used in Sudoku or KenKen puzzles, and involve deducing the values of unfilled squares using logic and permutation group theory (Sudoku grids are "not" magic squares but are based on a related idea called Graeco-Latin squares).


title: Magic square

text: If raising each number to the "n"th power yields another magic square, the result is a bimagic (n = 2), a trimagic (n = 3), or, in general, a multimagic square.


title: Magic square

text: A magic square in which the number of letters in the name of each number in the square generates another magic square is called an alphamagic square.


title: Magic square

text: There are magic squares consisting entirely of primes. Rudolf Ondrejka (1928–2001) discovered the following 3×3 magic square of primes, in this case nine Chen primes:


title: Magic square

text: The following "reversible magic square" has a magic constant of 264 both upside down and right way up:


title: Magic square

text: When the extra constraint is to display some date, especially a birth date, then such magic squares are called birthday magic square. An early instance of such birthday magic square was created by Srinivasa Ramanujan. He created a 4×4 square in which he entered his date of birth in DD-MM-CC-YY format in the top row and the magic happened with additions and subtractions of numbers in squares. Not only do the rows, columns, and diagonals add up to the same number, but the four corners, the four middle squares (17, 9, 24, 89), the first and last rows two middle numbers (12, 18, 86, 23), and the first and last columns two middle numbers (88, 10, 25, 16) all add up to the sum of 139.


title: Magic square

text: Instead of "adding" the numbers in each row, column and diagonal, one can apply some other operation. For example, a multiplicative magic square has a constant "product" of numbers. A multiplicative magic square can be derived from an additive magic square by raising 2 (or any other integer) to the power of each element, because the logarithm of the product of 2 numbers is the sum of logarithm of each. Alternatively, if any 3 numbers in a line are 2, 2 and 2, their product is 2, which is constant if "a"+"b"+"c" is constant, as they would be if "a", "b" and "c" were taken from ordinary (additive) magic square. For example, the original Lo-Shu magic square becomes:


title: Magic square

text: Still using Ali Skalli's non iterative method, it is possible to produce an infinity of multiplicative magic squares of complex numbers belonging to formula_67 set. On the example below, the real and imaginary parts are integer numbers, but they can also belong to the entire set of real numbers formula_68.


title: Magic square

text: Additive-multiplicative magic squares and semimagic squares satisfy properties of both ordinary and multiplicative magic squares and semimagic squares, respectively.


title: Magic square

text: It is unknown if any additive-multiplicative magic squares smaller than 8×8 exist, but it has been proven that no 3×3 or 4×4 additive-multiplicative magic squares and no 3×3 additive-multiplicative semimagic squares exist.


title: Magic square

text: Magic squares may be constructed which contain geometric shapes instead of numbers. Such squares, known as geometric magic squares, were invented and named by Lee Sallows in 2001.


title: Magic square

text: In the example shown the shapes appearing are two dimensional. It was Sallows' discovery that "all" magic squares are geometric, the numbers that appear in numerical magic squares can be interpreted as a shorthand notation which indicates the lengths of straight line segments that are the geometric 'shapes' occurring in the square. That is, numerical magic squares are that special case of a geometric magic square using one dimensional shapes.


title: Magic square

text: In 2017, following initial ideas of William Walkington and Inder Taneja, the first linear area magic square (L-AMS) was constructed by Walter Trump.


title: Magic square

text: Other two dimensional shapes than squares can be considered. The general case is to consider a design with "N" parts to be magic if the "N" parts are labeled with the numbers 1 through "N" and a number of identical sub-designs give the same sum. Examples include magic circles, magic rectangles, magic triangles magic stars, magic hexagons, magic diamonds. Going up in dimension results in magic spheres, magic cylinders, magic cubes, magic parallelepiped, magic solids, and other magic hypercubes.


title: Magic square

text: Possible magic shapes are constrained by the number of equal-sized, equal-sum subsets of the chosen set of labels. For example, if one proposes to form a magic shape labeling the parts with {1, 2, 3, 4}, the sub-designs will have to be labeled with {1,4} and {2,3}.


title: Magic square

text: In 1992, Demirörs, Rafraf, and Tanik published a method for converting some magic squares into "n"-queens solutions, and vice versa.


title: Magic square

text: Magic squares of order 3 through 9, assigned to the seven planets, and described as means to attract the influence of planets and their angels (or demons) during magical practices, can be found in several manuscripts all around Europe starting at least since the 15th century. Among the best known, the "Liber de Angelis", a magical handbook written around 1440, is included in Cambridge Univ. Lib. MS Dd.xi.45. The text of the "Liber de Angelis" is very close to that of "De septem quadraturis planetarum seu quadrati magici", another handbook of planetary image magic contained in the Codex 793 of the Biblioteka Jagiellońska (Ms BJ 793). The magical operations involve engraving the appropriate square on a plate made with the metal assigned to the corresponding planet, as well as performing a variety of rituals. For instance, the 3×3 square, that belongs to Saturn, has to be inscribed on a lead plate. It will, in particular, help women during a difficult childbirth.


title: Magic square

text: In about 1510 Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa wrote "De Occulta Philosophia", drawing on the Hermetic and magical works of Marsilio Ficino and Pico della Mirandola. In its 1531 edition, he expounded on the magical virtues of the seven magical squares of orders 3 to 9, each associated with one of the astrological planets, much in the same way as the older texts did. This book was very influential throughout Europe until the counter-reformation, and Agrippa's magic squares, sometimes called kameas, continue to be used within modern ceremonial magic in much the same way as he first prescribed.


title: Magic square

text: The most common use for these kameas is to provide a pattern upon which to construct the sigils of spirits, angels or demons; the letters of the entity's name are converted into numbers, and lines are traced through the pattern that these successive numbers make on the kamea.


title: Magic square

text: In a magical context, the term "magic square" is also applied to a variety of word squares or number squares found in magical grimoires, including some that do not follow any obvious pattern, and even those with differing numbers of rows and columns. They are generally intended for use as talismans. For instance the following squares are: The Sator square, one of the most famous magic squares found in a number of grimoires including the "Key of Solomon"; a square "to overcome envy", from "The Book of Power"; and two squares from "The Book of the Sacred Magic of Abramelin the Mage", the first to cause the illusion of a superb palace to appear, and the second to be worn on the head of a child during an angelic invocation:


title: Magic square

text: A magic square in a musical composition is not a block of numbers – it is a generating principle, to be learned and known intimately, perceived inwardly as a multi-dimensional projection into that vast (chaotic!) area of the internal ear – the space/time crucible – where music is conceived. ... Projected onto the page, a magic square is a dead, black conglomeration of digits; tune in, and one hears a powerful, orbiting dynamo of musical images, glowing with numen and lumen.


title: Corruption in Ukraine

text: Corruption is widespread in Ukrainian society. In 2012 Ernst & Young put Ukraine among the three most-corrupt nations from 43 surveyed, alongside Colombia and Brazil. In 2015 "The Guardian" called Ukraine "the most corrupt nation in Europe". According to a poll conducted by Ernst & Young in 2017, experts considered Ukraine to be the ninth-most corrupt nation from 53 surveyed. According to Transparency International's 2021 Corruption Perceptions Index, (a scale of least to most corrupt nations), Ukraine ranked 122nd out of 180 countries in 2021, the second most corrupt in Europe, with Russia the most at 136.


title: Corruption in Ukraine

text: United States diplomats described Ukraine under Presidents Kuchma (in office from 1994 to 2005) and Yushchenko (in office from 2005 to 2010) as a kleptocracy, according to WikiLeaks cables.


title: Corruption in Ukraine

text: Ukrainian professor reports that the roots of the Ukrainian corruption stem from the Soviet nature of the Ukrainian political leaders, who used to be integrated into the Communist (ruling elite) before the collapse of the Soviet Union. The politicians created an authoritarian-oligarchic governance regime in Ukraine where the corruption became ubiquitous with no chances to implement a European choice of the Ukrainian people.


title: Corruption in Ukraine

text: Prominent Ukrainian economist performed a comparison of the Ukrainian corruption in a wide global context based on data provided by Transparency International. This research estimated the level of the corruption in Ukraine as comparable to countries of Sub-Saharan Africa with Uganda as the closest counterpart.


title: Corruption in Ukraine

text: In a August 1995 survey by the 41.8% of respondents stated that corruption "is a shameful phenomenon that has no objective grounds" while 36% choose the option that corruption is "a component of social traditions." Respondents from Southern and Western Ukraine more often chose the option of corruption being "a component of social traditions" (42.2% and 43.4%). The option "a shameful phenomenon that has no objective grounds" was more often chosen by respondents in Central Ukraine (47.5%) and Eastern Ukraine (53.45%).


title: Corruption in Ukraine

text: Bribes are given to ensure that public services are delivered either in time or at all. Ukrainians stated they give bribes because they think it is customary and expected. Some of the biggest bribes involve more than US$1 million. According to a 2008 Management Systems International (MSI) sociological survey, the highest corruption levels were found in vehicle inspection (57.5%), the police (54.2%), health care (54%), the courts (49%) and higher education (43.6%). On 8 June 2011, Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych stated that corruption costs the state budget 2.5 billion in revenues annually and that through corrupt dealings in public procurement 10% to 15% (US$7.4 billion) of the state budget "ends up in the pockets of officials".


title: Corruption in Ukraine

text: According to the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the main causes of corruption in Ukraine are a weak justice system and an over-controlling non-transparent government combined with business-political ties and a weak civil society. Corruption is regularly discussed in the Ukrainian media.


title: Corruption in Ukraine

text: In May 2016, the IMF mission chief for Ukraine stated that the reduction of corruption was a key test for continued international support. Some western analysts believe that large foreign loans are not encouraging reform, but enabling the corrupt extraction of funds out of the country. U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland urged Ukraine to start prosecuting corrupt officials: "It's time to start locking up people who have ripped off the Ukrainian population for too long and it is time to eradicate the cancer of corruption".


title: Corruption in Ukraine

text: The biggest recipients of bribery are the police, the health service and the education system. In the late 2000s and early 2010s, around 67% of Ukrainians who had dealt with government said that they had been directly involved in corrupt transactions. In a survey in 2010, 30–49.9% of respondents admitted paying a bribe to a service provider during the past year; in a similar survey in 2007, 18–32% of respondents admitted paying a bribe. A comparable figure for the United Kingdom for 2011 was 1.9%. However, in a different survey in late 2008, only 21% responded that they or anyone living in their household had paid a bribe in any form in the previous 12 months; comparable figures for the US and UK were 2% and 3% respectively. In a GfK survey held in the summer of 2001 43% stated they never personally had given bribes.


title: Corruption in Ukraine

text: In 2013, 74% would not report an incident of corruption; 24% were afraid of consequences, 63% believed it would not make any difference.


title: Corruption in Ukraine

text: In the years after Ukrainian independence, election fraud was widespread, mainly through the use of "administrative resources". On the other hand, according to Taras Kuzio election fraud in Ukraine can only reach five percent of the total vote. Following the initial rounds of voting in the 2004 presidential election, the Supreme Court of Ukraine ruled that due to the scale of the electoral fraud, it was impossible to establish the election results and ordered a revote. Afterwards outright vote rigging diminished, although politicians still claim(ed) election fraud, and administrative tricks to get more votes for a particular party have not vanished. The Ukrainian electorate remains highly skeptical about the honesty of the election process. Any voter who engages in election fraud faces a maximum sentence of two years in jail, though activists say no one has been punished for voter fraud since Ukrainian independence.


title: Corruption in Ukraine

text: United States diplomats have claimed the privatization of several Ukrainian state enterprises were rigged in favor of political friends. On a regional level, corruption has been discovered in connection with land allocation.


title: Corruption in Ukraine

text: Ukrainian politicians have regularly accused each other of corruption while claiming to fight it themselves. After going undercover in the "Reforms for the Future" parliamentary faction in early 2012, Roman Zabzalyuk claimed this faction "bought" its members for "500,000 (for a 'defection' from other parliamentary groups), and then they pay a monthly salary of $20,000-25,000"; in contrast, according to Reforms for the Future, Zabzalyuk had pretended he was "suffering a very serious disease" and the group had managed to raise some $100,000 for Zabzalyuk to undergo surgery in Israel.


title: Corruption in Ukraine

text: Since July 1, 2011, the President, Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada, Prime Minister, Prosecutor General, ministers and other Ukrainian top officials have been liable for prosecution for corruption. Kost Bondarenko (chairman of the board of the Institute of Ukrainian Politics), claims that before 2010, there was an unwritten rule in Ukrainian politics, "No charges were brought against members of the outgoing government, and their successors never had to worry about what tomorrow might bring"; but in 2010 and 2011, "criminal charges were brought against 78 members of the former government; and more than 500 criminal cases have been opened against sitting officials.". However, since 2010 the Ukrainian press brought up thousands of examples of criminal cases in which state officials, as well as politicians and businessmen linked to the ruling Party of Regions, were shown leniency unprecedented for the general population of suspects.


title: Corruption in Ukraine

text: Minister of Internal Affairs Vitaliy Zakharchenko stated in March 2012 that since 2010 about 400 politicians had faced criminal charges in connection with corruption; most of them from the Party of Regions, followed by Bloc Yulia Tymoshenko and Our Ukraine–People's Self-Defense Bloc members. It is unclear how many of those charges have since been proved by the courts.


title: Corruption in Ukraine

text: Ukrainian media, particularly the "Ukrayinska Pravda", regularly unveil a millionaire lifestyle of Ukrainian politicians and public servants, utterly at odds with their declared official incomes.


title: Corruption in Ukraine

text: According to historian Andrew Wilson, as of 2016 progress in reducing corruption was poor. A 2015 survey showed that 72% of adults blamed "corruption of power" for the lack of progress in reform.


title: Corruption in Ukraine

text: An October 2016 requirement for MPs to declare their wealth led to a declared cumulative wealth of about $460 million for the 413 MPs. Reacting to public criticism, MPs cancelled a salary rise that would have doubled their monthly salary. This measure was part of an Anti-Corruption Package passed into law in October 2014, which was a requirement of international financial support for Ukraine and a prerequisite to eligibility for visa-free travel within the European Union.


title: Corruption in Ukraine

text: Several Ukrainian mayors have been suspected of using their posts to serve their own business interests.


title: Corruption in Ukraine

text: Serhiy Odarych, former mayor of Cherkasy, has been suspected of causing a ₴600,000 loss to the city budget.


title: Corruption in Ukraine

text: Ukrainian politicians and analysts have described the system of justice in Ukraine as "rotten to the core" and have complained about political pressure put on judges and corruption. Independent lawyers and human rights activists have complained Ukrainian judges regularly come under pressure to hand down a certain verdict. Ukraine's court system is widely regarded as corrupt. A Ukrainian Justice Ministry survey in 2009 revealed that only 10% of respondents trusted the nation's court system. Less than 30% believed that it was still possible to get a fair trial.


title: Corruption in Ukraine

text: Although judicial independence exists in principle, in practice there is little separation of juridical and political powers. Judges are subjected to pressure by political and business interests.


title: Corruption in Ukraine

text: A 2017 Reuters article quotes then-PM Volodomyr Groysman, saying that "the weakest link in our fight against corruption is the Ukrainian court"; giving an example of 30 judges "with annual salaries ranging from US$10,000-13,000" who own Porsches. As another example, on May 22, 2012, Volodymyr Rokytskyi, Deputy Head of Ukraine's Security Service, was photographed in public wearing a 32,000 luxury wristwatch—despite the fact that its price amounts to his yearly official income—at a joint Ukrainian-American event dedicated to fighting illegal drugs. Ukrainian judges have been arrested while taking bribes.


title: Corruption in Ukraine

text: Critics have also complained that officials and their children (the latter are known as "mazhory") receive favourable sentences compared with common citizens.


title: Corruption in Ukraine

text: "Kyiv Post" reported in November 2018 that several candidates for a post in the new High Anti-Corruption Court of Ukraine were themselves suspected/associated with corruption. AutoMaidan, Dejure and Anti-corruption Action Center criticised the Ethics Council's June 2022 decisions in nominations to and exclusions from the Supreme Council of Justice as including judges tainted in relation to corruption and as unfairly excluding the anti-corruption whistleblower judge Larysa Golnyk.


title: Corruption in Ukraine

text: In 2015 corruption allegations were made against Energoatom, Ukraine's state nuclear power operator. In March 2016, Energoatom's assets and bank accounts were frozen by Ukrainian courts over allegedly unpaid debts, against which Energoatom is appealing.


title: Corruption in Ukraine

text: As of 2016, many of Ukraine's major provincial highways are in very poor condition, with an Ukravtodor official stating that 97% of roads are in need of repair. The road repair budget was set at about ₴20 billion, but corruption causes the budget to be poorly spent.


title: Corruption in Ukraine

text: Higher education in Ukraine is plagued with bribery. In 2011 33% of all students claimed they have encountered corruption in their school, 29% heard about cases of corruption from other students, while 38% had not encountered corruption. According to Transparency International research done in 2008, 47.3% of university students stated that a bribe had been demanded from them; of those, 29% had paid this bribe freely. Students can "buy" a college entry, exam results, marking doctoral and/or master's theses.


title: Corruption in Ukraine

text: Bribes range from US$10 to US$50 for an exam pass to several thousand for entry to a university. According to government sources, bribes vary from US$80 to US$21,500. Salaries of teachers and professors are low in Ukraine compared with other professions; this may cause them to be tempted to demand bribes. According to Ararat Osipian entire corruption hierarchies have formed in Ukraine's colleges and universities. These hierarchies have evolved since the 1990s as the result of uncontrolled and rampant corruption. Ararat claims that corrupt ruling regimes control corrupt universities and force them into compliance, including during the elections. This was aided by universities largely remain Stalinist type bureaucracies, unable to transform.


title: Corruption in Ukraine

text: Until 2015 university autonomy was nonexistent. In 2015 the Ukrainian parliament passed a new law on higher education to give universities more autonomy, including control over their own finances. The aim was to encourage private investment, fundraising and the creation of endowments.


title: Corruption in Ukraine

text: In 2011 the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development stated corruption is a "significant obstacle" to doing business in Ukraine.


title: Corruption in Ukraine

text: Research conducted by Ernst & Young in 2011 and 2012 showed that the practice of top managers accepting bribes increased by 9 percent in 2011 and 15 percent in 2012. Another 4 percent were ready to pay bribes in order to hide the details of their financial performance.


title: Corruption in Ukraine

text: In 2016, politician Natalia Korolevska has estimated that "Corruption has forced business to go in the shadow where now we have 45% of our economy".


title: Corruption in Ukraine

text: The representative of one United Kingdom-based company has claimed non-Ukrainian companies often lose contracts if they will not pay bribes or fail to "out-bribe" their competitors. Ukrainians and business representatives have claimed "Business ventures above a certain level require palm-greasing of some functionary at some level".


title: Corruption in Ukraine

text: In 2012 President Viktor Yanukovych reported that only about 23 percent of social service funds go to those who actually need it. The Ukrainian media have featured many stories revealing that even parliamentarians illegally receive social benefits, fraudulently claiming to be war and Chernobyl veterans.


title: Corruption in Ukraine

text: Though medical care in state-run hospitals is theoretically free for Ukrainians, patients' paying money there to ensure they receive the treatment required is widespread. In June 2012 advocacy groups accused Health Ministry officials of embezzling money that should be used to treat AIDS patients by buying AIDS drugs at hugely inflated prices and then receiving kickbacks.


title: Corruption in Ukraine

text: According to Ararat Osipian due to endemic corruption, Ukraine failed to sustain its economic growth trends. The corruption, perceived as reckless, that marked President Viktor Yanukovich's rule contributed to his downfall in 2014 and left the country's army ill-equipped to counter Russia's invasion of Crimea.


title: Corruption in Ukraine

text: In 2008 Transparency International estimated that 30 to 50 percent of all Ukrainians had faced government corruption. Juhani Grossmann (working for an a.o. Management Systems International project) claimed in 2009 that "Ukrainians pay roughly ₴3.5 billion, or more than US$400 million, in bribes annually." The previous year, he claimed that the figure was US$700 million.


title: Corruption in Ukraine

text: After his election in late 2004 President Viktor Yushchenko promised a "War on Corruption". Several officials were indeed arrested and/or questioned early 2005 (among them later ministers in the Azarov Government Borys Kolesnikov and Yuri Boyko). Former Security Service of Ukraine Chairman Oleksandr Turchynov claimed that in the summer of 2005 Yushchenko prevented an investigation into allegedly fraudulent practices in the transport of Turkmen natural gas to Ukraine and prevented the arrest of Boyko for abuse of office while heading Naftogaz:


title: Corruption in Ukraine

text: In a 20 September 2005 interview with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, "Turchynov stated that Yushchenko told him in mid-August to stop 'persecuting my men' and that the investigation of RosUkrEnergo was 'creating a conflict with Russian President Vladimir Putin'". A survey conducted in November 2008 showed that 73% of people in Ukraine considered the second Tymoshenko Government's actions against corruption to be ineffective; comparable figures for the U.S. and the UK were 73% and 39%. In a survey in 2001, when Kuchma was president, 80% of Ukrainians "totally/fairly agreed" with the statement: "The present government has no real interest in punishing corruption".


title: Corruption in Ukraine

text: Over the years, several anti-corruption laws have been passed by the Ukrainian parliament. In September 2011 the National Anti-Corruption Committee was introduced.


title: Corruption in Ukraine

text: Like his predecessor Yushchenko, President Viktor Yanukovych (and his Azarov Government) made the fight against corruption a spearhead in his domestic policies. Political opponents of Yanukovych accused him of using his anti-corruption campaign for politically motivated trials; the general public in Ukraine largely shared this view. President Yanukovych denied this.


title: Corruption in Ukraine

text: Kost Bondarenko, chairman of the board of the Institute of Ukrainian Politics, claims the main sponsors of President Yanukovych's Party of Regions are unhappy that some Ukrainian politicians have been criminally charged "because they no longer feel above the law". The International Association of Anti-Corruption Authorities spoke in April 2011 of "remarkable successes in fighting corruption in 2010". The EU Ambassador to Ukraine, Jose Manuel Pinto Teixeira, stated at an investment conference on February 28, 2012, that Yanukovych's pledges of reform "have regrettably produced no such results."


title: Corruption in Ukraine

text: In May 2014, an Anti-Corruption Initiative was established. In December, it appointed Lithuanian economist and former European Commissioner for Taxation and Customs Union, Audit and Anti-Fraud Algirdas Šemeta as Business Ombudsman.


title: Corruption in Ukraine

text: The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU), for carrying out investigations of corruption, was established in June 2014 after its predecessor, the National Anti-Corruption Committee was considered a failure. For designing and implementing systematic change tending to prevent corruption, the National Agency for Prevention of Corruption was created in 2015.


title: Corruption in Ukraine

text: In 2015, President Petro Poroshenko sacked Ihor Kolomoisky — the billionaire governor of the key industrial region of Dnipropetrovsk. It came after armed men suspected of links to Kolomoisky briefly occupied the offices of a state-owned oil firm in the capital Kyiv.


title: Corruption in Ukraine

text: On 14 June 2018, a law came into force requiring that cases concerning corruption be brought directly to the High Anti-Corruption Court of Ukraine. In June 2018 President Poroshenko expected the court to be established before the end of 2018. On 5 September 2019 the High Anti-Corruption Court did start to work.


title: Corruption in Ukraine

text: Due to IMF concern that oligarchs would use the courts to seize bailout money, parliament passed a bill on 13 May 2020 to prevent courts from reversing bank nationalizations. The bill would combat a lawsuit by oligarch Ihor Kolomoisky and others seeking to regain control of PrivatBank, the recipient of a $5.5 billion 2016 bailout and an alleged "money laundering machine" under Kolomoisky.


title: Corruption in Ukraine

text: On 27 October 2020, the Constitutional Court of Ukraine ruled that anti-corruption legislation, including the mandatory electronic declaration of income, was unconstitutional. President Zelensky warned that if parliament did not restore these anti-corruption laws, foreign aid, loans and a visa-free travel to the European Union were at risk. The Governor of the National Bank of Ukraine reported that Ukraine would not receive the scheduled $700 million IMF load before the end of 2020 because of the issue. IMF assessment teams had not visited Kyiv for eight months. A visit was necessary for further IMF loan tranches to be released.


title: Corruption in Ukraine

text: On 4 December 2020, the Ukrainian parliament restored anti-corruption legislation shut down by the court decision, when it reauthorised criminal penalties for officials who provide false information about their incomes. On 29 December 2020 President Volodymyr Zelensky suspended the Constitutional Court's chairperson Oleksandr Tupytskyi for two months in an effort to overturn the court's October 2020 decision.


title: Corruption in Ukraine

text: On 19 July 2022, a commission created for selecting a new head of the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO, which oversees NABU) via an open competition procedure announced Oleksandr Klymenko as the winner of the competition, out of 37 candidates.


title: Corruption in Ukraine

text: According to Ukrainians the most corrupt are the judiciary, the police, public servants, the health service and parliament.


title: Corruption in Ukraine

text: Transparency International produces an annual report listing each country's Corruption Perceptions Index score. This "score relates to perceptions of the degree of corruption as seen by business people and country analysts and, through 2011, ranged between 10 (highly clean) and 0 (highly corrupt)." In the 2010 report, the least corrupt country listed was Denmark with a score of 9.3, and the most corrupt of the 178 countries listed was Somalia with a score of 1.1. From 2012 on, the scores were presented on a 0-100 scale. In the 2016 report, Denmark was still the least corrupt country listed with a score of 90, and Somalia was still the most corrupt of the 176 countries listed, with a score of 10. By comparison, Germany, Luxembourg and the United Kingdom tied as 10th least corrupt countries with a score of 81, and the United States was 18th least corrupt with a score of 74.


title: Corruption in Ukraine

text: The following table lists Ukraine's place in the Corruption Perceptions Index table, based on Transparency International's annual reports from 1999 onward. The methods used in assessing the Index change from year to year, so comparisons between years are difficult.


title: Corruption in Ukraine

text: In 2014's Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index Ukraine was ranked 142nd out of the 175 countries investigated (tied with Uganda and the Comoros).


title: Corruption in Ukraine

text: Note: For 1999 and 2000, the data were listed as 1998 and 1999 respectively. From 2001, the data listed are stated to be for the year of the annual report. Up to 2005, the annual report included some measures of the uncertainty of the index scores; these data were omitted from the annual reports from 2006 onwards, but were contained in the CPI report.


title: Corruption in Ukraine

text: The following table shows average scores from a survey of Ukrainian public perception of corruption in Ukraine's institutions. Comparable figures for the United Kingdom and the United States from surveys for 2009 (for British and American people's perception of corruption in their own countries) are shown at the bottom of the table.


title: Escape from L.A.

text: Escape from L.A. (stylized on-screen as John Carpenter's Escape from L.A.) is a 1996 American post-apocalyptic action film co-written, co-scored, and directed by John Carpenter, co-written and produced by Debra Hill and Kurt Russell, with Russell also starring as Snake Plissken. A sequel to "Escape from New York" (1981), "Escape from L.A." co-stars Steve Buscemi, Stacy Keach, Bruce Campbell, Peter Fonda, and Pam Grier. "Escape from L.A." failed to meet the studio's expectations at the box office, and received polarized reactions from critics. The film later found a strong cult following.


title: Escape from L.A.

text: In 2000, a massive earthquake strikes the city of Los Angeles, cutting it off from the mainland as the San Fernando Valley floods. Declaring that God is punishing Los Angeles for its sins, a theocratic presidential candidate wins election to a lifetime term of office. He orders the United States capital relocated from Washington, D.C. to his hometown of Lynchburg, Virginia and enacts a series of strict morality laws. Violators are given a choice between loss of U.S. citizenship and permanent deportation to the new Los Angeles Island, or repentance and death by electrocution. Escape from the island is made impossible due to a containment wall erected along the mainland shore and a heavy federal police presence monitoring the area.


title: Escape from L.A.

text: By 2013, the U.S. has developed a superweapon known as the "Sword of Damocles," a satellite system capable of targeting electronic devices anywhere in the world and rendering them useless. The president intends to use it to dominate the world by destroying hostile nations' ability to function. His daughter Utopia steals the remote control for the system and escapes to Los Angeles Island in order to deliver it to Cuervo Jones, a Peruvian Shining Path revolutionary. Cuervo has marshaled an invasion force of third world nations and is planning to attack and reclaim the U.S.


title: Escape from L.A.

text: Facing deportation for a series of crimes, Snake Plissken is offered a chance to earn a pardon by traveling to the island and recovering the remote, a task that a previous rescue team failed to accomplish. To force his compliance, the president has one of his officers infect Snake with a virus that will kill him within 10 hours and promises that he will receive the cure upon completing the mission. The president is not concerned with Utopia's safety, regarding her as a traitor.


title: Escape from L.A.

text: Snake is issued equipment and sent to Los Angeles in a one-man submarine. As he explores the island, he meets "Map to the Stars" Eddie, a swindler who sells interactive tours and one of Cuervo's associates. Along the way, Snake is helped by Pipeline, a surfing enthusiast; Taslima, a woman deported for her Muslim faith; and Hershe Las Palmas (formerly Carjack Malone), a trans woman and past criminal associate of Snake's.


title: Escape from L.A.

text: Eddie captures Snake and turns him over to Cuervo, who uses the Sword of Damocles to shut down Lynchburg in retaliation for Snake's presence. Cuervo threatens to inflict the same fate on the rest of the U.S. unless his demands are met. Snake escapes, and teams up with Hershe and her soldiers. They take gliders to the Anaheim staging area, and fights Cuervo at the invasion staging area, the "Happy Kingdom" in Anaheim, taking the remote from him. Eddie alters the remote for his tours to match the real one. Snake, Eddie, Utopia, Hershe, and a group of Hershe's soldiers escape the island in a helicopter. Eddie shoots Cuervo, who fires a rocket launcher at them before dying. Eddie jumps out of the helicopter. Snake and Utopia stay on and radios that the are coming in, after the rocket hits the helicopter.


title: Escape from L.A.

text: At the crash site, the president and his officers find that both Snake and Utopia are carrying remotes and take the one held by Utopia (slipped into her pocket without her noticing), thinking that Snake has switched them. As Utopia is taken to the electric chair, Snake learns that the virus infecting him only causes a severe case of influenza that subsides within hours. The president tries to use Utopia's remote to neutralize an invasion force threatening Florida, but it only plays a recorded introduction to one of Eddie's tours.


title: Escape from L.A.

text: Furious, the president orders his officers to kill Snake on the spot, but he proves to be only a hologram projected from a miniature camera that had been issued to him. Disgusted at the world's never-ending class warfare, he programs the real remote and triggers every satellite in the Sword of Damocles system, deactivating all technology on Earth. Utopia is saved when the power fails just before she can be electrocuted. Snake tosses the now-useless camera aside and lights a cigarette, then blows out the match and mutters, "Welcome to the human race."


title: Escape from L.A.

text: Escape from L.A. was in development for over 10 years. In 1987, screenwriter Coleman Luck was commissioned to write a screenplay for the film with Dino De Laurentiis's company producing. Carpenter later described the script as being "too light, too campy". In time, Carpenter and Kurt Russell met together to write with their long-time collaborator Debra Hill. Carpenter insists that Russell's persistence allowed the film to be made, since "Snake Plissken was a character he loved and wanted to play again." Carpenter credited that same enthusiasm with motivating Russell's work on the script, declaring “I used his passion to do the movie to get him to write more”.


title: Escape from L.A.

text: Carpenter has described Escape from L.A. as both "fun to make" and requiring "months of nights" of work. Carpenter would later recall that the theme park scene, shot at night on a Universal backlot, resulted in a noise complaint from Rick Dees which forced them to cease using live ammunition. CG supervisor David Jones has expressed his distaste for the resulting effects used in the battle, which he described as "a little iffy". Although uncredited, Tony Hawk has claimed that he and fellow professional skateboarder Chris Miller worked as stunt doubles for Peter Fonda and Kurt Russell during the surfing scene. Several scenes were shot in Carson, including the Sunset Boulevard and freeway sequences. The Sunset Boulevard scene was filmed in a landfill, where production staff constructed over one hundred and twenty structures to create a shanty town. In order to create the impression of a crowded post-apocalyptic freeway, two hundred and fifty broken cars were sourced from a junkyard in Ventura.


title: Escape from L.A.

text: The film's score has been released twice, the first on both CD and cassette by Milan Records in 1996 and again as an expanded CD release by specialty label La-La Land Records in 2014 that featured pieces of music that were recorded for but ultimately cut from the film.


title: Escape from L.A.

text: Escape from L.A. was initially released on DVD in the United States on December 15, 1998, and later reissued on September 26, 2017.


title: Escape from L.A.

text: The film was released on Blu-ray by Paramount on May 4, 2010. In 2020, Shout! Factory released a new 4K restoration on Blu-ray. In 2022, the 4K restoration was released on 4K Blu-ray. Upon its release, an English audio encoding error was noted by several reviewers, prompting Paramount to correct the issue in unreleased discs and launch a replacement program for initial purchasers.


title: Escape from L.A.

text: "Escape from L.A." grossed $25,477,365 from its $50 million budget, about as much as its predecessor but little more than half its significantly higher budget.


title: Escape from L.A.

text: The film received mixed reviews and has a 53% approval rating from Rotten Tomatoes based on 57 reviews, with an average score of 5.6/10. The site's consensus reads: ""Escape from L.A." has its moments, although it certainly suffers in comparison to the cult classic that preceded it". Roger Ebert gave the film three-and-a-half stars out of a possible four and wrote that the movie felt it was an attempt to satirize the genre while exploiting it: "["Escape from L.A."] has such manic energy, such a weird, cockeyed vision, that it may work on some moviegoers as satire and on others as the real thing."


title: Escape from L.A.

text: Todd McCarthy of "Variety" wrote, "A cartoonish, cheesy, and surprisingly campy apocalyptic actioner, "John Carpenter's Escape From L.A." is spiked with a number of funny and anarchic ideas, but doesn't begin to pull them together into a coherent whole." Owen Gleiberman of "Entertainment Weekly" rated it C+ and wrote, "Carpenter never was the filmmaker his cult claimed him to be, but in "Escape From L.A.", he at least has the instinct to keep his hero moving, like some leather-biker Candide." Stephen Holden of "The New York Times" wrote that the film's in-jokes "go a long way toward keeping afloat a hopelessly choppy adventure spoof that doesn't even to try to match the ghoulish surrealism of its forerunner."


title: Escape from L.A.

text: Kevin Thomas of the "Los Angeles Times" wrote, "With much humor and high adventure, "John Carpenter's Escape From L.A." brilliantly imagines a Dante-esque vision of the City of Angels." Peter Stack of "The San Francisco Chronicle" rated it 3/4 stars and called it "dark, percussive and perversely fun." Esther Iverem of "The Washington Post" wrote that the film "tries but fails to be an action-hero flick or even a parody of one." Marc Savlov of "The Austin Chronicle" rated it 3/5 stars and wrote, "Loud, rollicking, alternately ultraviolent and hilarious, "Escape from L.A." is Snake redux, and what more do you need, really?" Nigel Floyd of "Time Out London" wrote, "After 15 years of computer-generated effects, apocalyptic sci-fi and Arnie movies with flippant kiss-off lines, the sequel feels hackneyed and pointless." Kim Newman of "Empire" rated it 2/5 stars and wrote, "Apart from a few good characters, this is really not up to scratch in most departments especially the ludicrous plot."


title: Escape from L.A.

text: In a 2013 retrospective, Alan Zilberman of "The Atlantic" called Snake Plissken "a pro-nostalgia antihero, disgusted by the world around him." While contrasting the film's then-futuristic plot elements against modern-day reality, Zilberman writes that the film's ending is more profound today, as Plissken would be annoyed by our fascination with technology, citing the example of two friends who ignore each other while transfixed with their smart phones.


title: Escape from L.A.

text: "Escape from L.A." is better than the first movie. Ten times better. It's got more to it. It's more mature. It's got a lot more to it. I think some people didn't like it because they felt it was a remake, not a sequel... I suppose it's the old question of whether you like "Rio Bravo" or "El Dorado" better? They're essentially the same movie. They both had their strengths and weaknesses. I don't know–you never know why a movie's going to make it or not. People didn't want to see "Escape" that time, but they really didn't want to see "The Thing"... You just wait. You've got to give me a little while. People will say, you know, what was wrong with me?


title: Escape from L.A.

text: He reiterated his statement in another interview: "It is a better movie. It didn’t do what the first one did for some reason. Maybe it was too dark, too nihilistic. I don’t know. They didn’t dig it as much as the first one. It did okay, but it just wasn’t a hit."


title: Escape from L.A.

text: About the cult following, Carpenter said: “I’m just delighted that it’s gaining that popularity. I really dig Escape from L.A., and I always have.“


title: Escape from L.A.

text: A sequel of the movie called "Escape from Earth" was meant to be produced after "Escape from L.A." but the underperformance of the latter changed the plans. According to John Carpenter, "Escape from Earth" would have picked up with Snake Plissken right after the ending of "Escape from L.A.", which saw him activating a superweapon known as the Sword of Damocles: “Escape from Earth was kind of Snake Plissken in a space capsule, flying interstellar. So there’d be a lot of special effects in it. Which I never care about too much. But that’s what it would look like.”


title: Escape from L.A.

text: Marvel Comics released the one-shot "The Adventures of Snake Plissken" in January 1997. The story takes place sometime between "Escape from New York" and his famous Cleveland escape mentioned in "Escape from L.A.". Snake has robbed Atlanta's Centers for Disease Control of some engineered metaviruses and is looking for buyers in Chicago. Finding himself in a deal that's really a set-up, he makes his getaway and exacts revenge on the buyer for ratting him out to the United States Police Force. In the meantime, a government lab has built a robot called ATACS (Autonomous Tracking And Combat System) that can catch criminals by imprinting their personalities upon its program in order to predict and anticipate a specific criminal's every move. The robot's first test subject is Snake. After a brief battle, ATACS copies Snake to the point of fully becoming his personality. Now recognizing the government as the enemy, ATACS sides with Snake. Snake punches the machine and destroys it, reasoning, "I don't need the competition."


title: Escape from L.A.

text: An "Escape from L.A." video game was announced for the Sega Saturn, Sony PlayStation, Panasonic M2, and PC in 1996, but was later cancelled.


title: Scotty McCreery

text: Scott Cooke McCreery (born October 9, 1993) is an American country music singer. He rose to fame after winning the tenth season of "American Idol" on May 25, 2011.


title: Scotty McCreery

text: His debut studio album, "Clear as Day", was released in October 2011 and was certified platinum in the United States. The album includes the top 20 country songs, "I Love You This Big" and "The Trouble with Girls". McCreery released a Christmas album, "Christmas with Scotty McCreery", in October 2012 and it has been certified gold. He released his third album, "See You Tonight", in October 2013. Its title track became his first single to reach the top ten on "Billboard's "Country charts. Setting a new record in July 2017 with his single "Five More Minutes", McCreery became the only country music artist in Country Aircheck/Mediabase history to chart a song without the backing of a record label; it topped "Billboard" in February 2018. His fourth album, "Seasons Change", was released in March 2018 which became McCreery's fourth top 10 album in the United States. His latest album, "Same Truck", was released on September 17, 2021.


title: Scotty McCreery

text: McCreery was born on October 9, 1993, in Garner, North Carolina, the son of Judy (née Cooke) and Michael McCreery. His parents originally planned on naming him Evan, but changed their minds on their way to the hospital. McCreery is of one quarter Puerto Rican descent; his father, a manufacturing systems analyst for Schneider Electric, was born in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico, to a military father and a Puerto Rican mother from San Juan, both of whom later moved to Aberdeen, North Carolina. McCreery's mother is a real estate agent for Fonville Morisey. She also owns a tanning salon in Clayton, North Carolina. McCreery's older sister, Ashley, attended UNC Charlotte. Both were raised in Garner.


title: Scotty McCreery

text: Around the age of five or six, McCreery received a book about Elvis from his grandmother, and Elvis became McCreery's earliest musical influence. He began learning guitar when he was around nine or ten years old.


title: Scotty McCreery

text: McCreery attended Timber Drive Elementary School in Garner, West Lake Middle School in Apex, and Garner Magnet High School . He participated in all three schools' choruses, and he also sang at his middle school graduation. He sang tenor as a freshman in high school, where he was named Rookie of the Year. In his second year, he switched to singing bass and began singing in his church. He also starred in a school production of "Bye Bye Birdie" that year, playing the role of Conrad Birdie. McCreery went on to join a vocal ensemble called Die Meistersingers that was formed by his high school chorus teacher, Meredith Clayton, and with which he performed across the United States.


title: Scotty McCreery

text: In 2009, McCreery won a singing contest called "Clayton Idol", which was held by WQDR-FM at the Clayton Harvest Festival in Clayton, North Carolina. After winning, he held several local shows with the radio station, raising money for sick children. Later the same year, he was one of thirty-six finalists in a contest called Rip the Hallways, which featured teenage vocalists from across North Carolina. On the eve of Valentine's Day, 2010, McCreery performed in a variety show called Gift 4, which was held by the town of Garner. In April of that year, he performed at the second annual Boots, Bands, and Bulls benefit concert. Funds from the concert went to Brittany's Battle, a Garner-based nonprofit that supports those affected by cancer. The concert was held in Raleigh, and country singer Jason Michael Carroll also performed.


title: Scotty McCreery

text: Growing up, McCreery attended First Baptist Church in Garner. He led the church's youth praise band, Audience of One. In addition to his musical pursuits, McCreery was a member of his high school baseball team. His coach, Derik Goffena said of him, "He doesn't throw terribly hard. His best pitch is a curveball as far as getting people out. If he had to start he probably wouldn't walk more than one or two in a game." McCreery was working as a bagger at Lowes Foods when he auditioned for "American Idol".


title: Scotty McCreery

text: McCreery auditioned for the tenth season of "American Idol" in Milwaukee, at the age of sixteen. He originally planned on auditioning in Nashville, but decided not to when he discovered that the date conflicted with an annual church camp. He sang "Your Man" by Josh Turner and "Put Some Drive in Your Country" by Travis Tritt for his audition, and then reprised "Your Man" for his first Hollywood Week performance. For the subsequent Group Round, he joined with Jacee Badeaux, Frances Coontz, Clint Jun Gamboa, and Monique de los Santos. Calling themselves "The Guaps", they chose to perform "Get Ready" by The Temptations. However, during a late stage of their preparation, Gamboa decided that Badeaux was not contributing enough to the group and forced him to leave. Before the performance, McCreery apologized to the judges for letting this happen. All five singers advanced to the next round.


title: Scotty McCreery

text: For his second Hollywood Week solo performance, McCreery sang "I Hope You Dance" by Lee Ann Womack. He was not familiar with the lyrics and forgot them onstage. Afterward, he said that he did not feel that he deserved to go forward in the competition. The judges decided to give him another chance though, and following a well-received performance of Josh Turner's "Long Black Train", selected him as one of the twenty-four contestants that would move forward to the voting rounds of the competition.


title: Scotty McCreery

text: McCreery did not venture far out of the country genre throughout the competition, although one of his most acclaimed performances was of Carole King's "You've Got a Friend". Taking note of season eight winner Kris Allen's success with a stripped-down version of the rap song "Heartless", McCreery considered doing an acoustic version of a hip-hop or R&B song, such as "So Sick" by Ne-Yo or something by Charlie Wilson. Instead, he went with Montgomery Gentry's "Gone", a country song with rap-like cadences. It was regarded by some as his best moment of the finals.


title: Scotty McCreery

text: On making the Top 3, McCreery and the other remaining finalists earned celebratory hometown visits. While back in Garner, McCreery made an appearance at his high school's prom, threw the first pitch at a baseball game between the North Carolina State Wolfpack and the Florida State Seminoles, and performed for a crowd of around thirty-thousand at Lake Benson Park. He was joined by his guitar teacher, Gary Epperson and Epperson's band, Gavinhart. As McCreery was singing Josh Turner's "Your Man", Turner himself surprised McCreery onstage and joined him for the song.


title: Scotty McCreery

text: McCreery entered the finale with fellow country singer Lauren Alaina, with whom he had shared duets several times that season. This was the youngest match-up in the history of the series. Alaina was sixteen at the time, and McCreery had turned seventeen since auditioning. He went on to become the series' youngest male winner and second youngest winner overall, after season six's Jordin Sparks, who was also seventeen when she won. Because of his age, McCreery had to have one of his parents live with him throughout the competition; usually his mother. They lived in a mansion with the other contestants for a short time, but moved into an apartment of their own before the end of the series.


title: Scotty McCreery

text: McCreery released his coronation single "I Love You This Big" immediately after winning the tenth season of "American Idol". The song entered the "Billboard" Hot Country Songs chart at number 32, becoming the highest debut for a debut single since the chart converted to BDS data the week of January 20, 1990. The song sold 171,404 units in its first week, and was certified gold on August 25, 2011. A music video for the song, shot on Angels Point near Dodger Stadium, was released on August 9, 2011.


title: Scotty McCreery

text: He signed with Mercury Nashville, earning a contract that gave him over $250,000 in advances for recording the first album.


title: Scotty McCreery

text: Both McCreery and Lauren Alaina were invited to present at the CMT Music Awards on June 8, 2011, and they also both performed on the Grand Ole Opry on June 10. McCreery performed "I Love You This Big" and George Strait's song "Check Yes or No." Their trip to Nashville was also featured later in an ABC Special "CMA Music Fest: Country's Night to Rock" where McCreery performed "Your Man" with Josh Turner at the CMA Music Festival.


title: Scotty McCreery

text: McCreery toured with the American Idols LIVE! Tour 2011, which began in West Valley City, Utah on July 6, 2011 and ended in Manila, Philippines on September 21, 2011.


title: Scotty McCreery

text: McCreery recorded Tim McGraw's "Please Remember Me" and it was released on March 8, 2012. It was used as the exit song on the eleventh season of "American Idol".


title: Scotty McCreery

text: McCreery's debut album, "Clear as Day", was released on October 4, 2011. Tracks from the album include a song from Keith Urban, and the title track "Clear as Day". McCreery aimed to include an explicitly Christian song in that album and he included the song "Old King James," which dwells on a Bible being passed down for generations. On October 3, 2011, the day before his debut album was scheduled to be released, GAC premiered a TV special, "Introducing: Scotty McCreery".


title: Scotty McCreery

text: The album sold 197,000 on its debut week, and McCreery made history as the first country act to debut at No. 1 on "Billboard" 200 with their first studio album, as well as the youngest man to open at the top of the chart with his debut release. It reached No. 1 on five separate "Billboard" charts – Billboard 200, Top Current Albums, Digital Albums, Internet Albums, and Top Country Albums. With the debut album "Clear as Day" reaching number one on the Billboard 200, he joined Kelly Clarkson, Ruben Studdard, Clay Aiken, Carrie Underwood, Chris Daughtry and Adam Lambert as the only "Idol" contestants to have a number one album. "Clear as Day" has since been certified platinum with over 1 million units shipped.


title: Scotty McCreery

text: Before the release of his album, a single from this album, "The Trouble with Girls", was premiered on radio on August 30, 2011, and released onto iTunes on September 1, 2011. The news that "The Trouble with Girls", along with the album "Clear as Day", had been certified gold coincided with McCreery's appearance on "Today" on November 23, 2011. The next day, the Thanksgiving Day of 2011, McCreery performed "The Trouble With Girls" at the 85th Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City then headlined the Macy's Great Tree Lighting at Lenox Square Mall in Atlanta in the evening.


title: Scotty McCreery

text: On November 9, 2011, McCreery performed a track from his album, "Walk in the Country", and announced the CMA Radio Stations of the Year honors at the 45th Annual Country Music Association Awards The next day McCreery joined other country stars in Nashville to tape the CMA Country Christmas special that aired on ABC on December 1. He performed "The First Noel", which was included in his Christmas album the following year, during the second annual "CMA Country Christmas".


title: Scotty McCreery

text: On October 19, 2011, McCreery sang the National Anthem in Game 1 of the World Series between the St. Louis Cardinals and Texas Rangers at Busch Stadium in St. Louis. He also performed on the Disney Parks Christmas Day Parade at Walt Disney World on December 25, 2011.


title: Scotty McCreery

text: McCreery was nominated and won the first of his awards at the 2nd Annual American Country Awards on December 5, 2011. He performed his second single at the award show and won in the New Artist category. He also won the Best New Artist award at the ACM Awards on April 1, 2012. He received the Breakthrough Video of the Year Award at the CMT Music Awards on June 6, 2012.


title: Scotty McCreery

text: In 2012, he opened for Brad Paisley along with The Band Perry. The tour kicked off on January 12 with tour dates announced for the first quarter of 2012.


title: Scotty McCreery

text: "Christmas with Scotty McCreery", was released on October 16, 2012. The album includes nine holiday classics and two new holiday songs. It debuted at No. 4 on Billboard 200 with sales of 41,000, and was certified gold on November 26, 2012. The Christmas album was included in the "Scotty McCreery QVC Bundle", which also contains "Clear as Day", released through QVC, and sold 5,000 copies the first week. McCreery also hopes to make more Christmas albums in the future.


title: Scotty McCreery

text: McCreery performed a track from the album, "Holly Jolly Christmas" and "Jingle Bells" in the Christmas in Rockefeller Center special broadcast on NBC on November 28, 2012. He also sang "Winter Wonderland" at the CMA Country Christmas show aired on ABC on December 20, 2012. He performed Santa Claus Is Back in Town and Mary, Did You Know? at the "Christmas in Washington" gala, an annual seasonal celebration benefiting the Children's National Medical Center attended by the President.


title: Scotty McCreery

text: McCreery's second album, "See You Tonight", was released on October 15, 2013. The album was produced by Frank Rogers. Its title track was released in May of that year as the lead single, and became McCreery's first song to reach the top ten on "Billboard"'s Hot Country Songs chart. McCreery wrote the song with Ashley Gorley and Zach Crowell. "Feelin' It" was released as the second single in April 2014 and debuted at number fifty-four on the Country Airplay chart. The single reached the top ten on Billboard Country Airplay.


title: Scotty McCreery

text: In August 2015, McCreery released the single "Southern Belle", which was intended as the lead single for a third Mercury album. The single failed to gain much traction on the radio, peaking at No. 45 on Billboard Country Airplay. On February 3, 2016, it was confirmed that McCreery had parted ways with Mercury. He mentored two semi-finalists during the fifteenth season of "American Idol." McCreery sang with Jeneve Rose Mitchell on "Gone" and with Jenna Renae on his own "See You Tonight". On April 7, 2016, he returned to American Idol for the original series' final show, performing a country medley with Idol alumni Kellie Pickler, Lauren Alaina, Kree Harrison, Bucky Covington, Constantine Maroulis, Ace Young, Diana DeGarmo, and Skylar Laine.


title: Scotty McCreery

text: He wrote a book, "Go Big or Go Home," which was released May 3, 2016. He describes the book as a travelogue about specific memories throughout his life. He went on a book tour.


title: Scotty McCreery

text: McCreery signed a new management deal with Triple 8 on October 24, 2016. McCreery released his new single, "Five More Minutes" to digital retailers and streaming services on May 5, 2017. The song was co-written by McCreery, Frank Rogers, and Monty Criswell, after the passing of his grandfather. On June 12, 2017, McCreery released a music video for the single which includes home videos of his life. "Five More Minutes" is the first song released without a record label to ever chart on the Country Aircheck/Mediabase Top 50. On August 15, 2017, McCreery signed a new label deal with Triple Tigers Records/Sony Music Entertainment. In January 2018, "Five More Minutes" became McCreery's first number one single on the country singles charts. On August 5, 2018, McCreery appeared on "Celebrity Family Feud" and won $25,000 for his charity, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. McCreery released his second single, "This Is It", to digital retailers on March 9, 2018. The single peaked at number one on the Billboard Country Airplay and Mediabase Country charts. McCreery released his third single, "In Between", to radio on April 1, 2019, which later became his third consecutive number one on both the Billboard Country Airplay and Mediabase Country charts.


title: Scotty McCreery

text: "You Time" was released on September 23, 2020 as the first single to his fifth studio album, "Same Truck," which was released on September 17, 2021. "Damn Strait" was released on October 18, 2021 as the second single.


title: Scotty McCreery

text: McCreery is a Christian. He graduated from Garner Magnet High School in 2012, and attended North Carolina State University in Raleigh, North Carolina, pursuing a bachelor's degree in communications. Although he is one fourth Puerto Rican, he does not speak Spanish fluently, and regrets that he did not learn the language when he was younger. In September 2017, McCreery became engaged to his longtime girlfriend Gabi Dugal. They were married on June 16, 2018, in North Carolina. In June 2022, McCreery and his wife Gabi announced that they were expecting their first child, a baby boy, in November. Their son was born on October 24, 2022.


title: Scotty McCreery

text: McCreery said that during his childhood, he listened to Merle Haggard, George Jones, and Conway Twitty; and he cites Elvis Presley as his greatest musical influence.


title: Scotty McCreery

text: McCreery is an avid sports fan and is a particular fan of the Carolina Hurricanes, as well as the Boston Red Sox and New England Patriots — his father having grown up in the Boston area. He is an avid fan of the NC State Wolfpack sports, having been raised in greater Raleigh and attended NC State University.


title: Scotty McCreery

text: McCreery sang the National Anthem before the Patriots AFC divisional game on January 16, 2016. On October 4, 2013, he began blogging for Major League Baseball, continuing to blog for the remainder of the 2013 Major League Baseball season.


title: Scotty McCreery

text: In 2011, McCreery participated in Operation Christmas Child, a program dedicated to donating toys to impoverished children around the world. Every year since then, he has participated in the City of Hope Celebrity Softball Game, which raises funds for cancer research. He performed a benefit concert in November 2012, through which he raised $5,000 for World Vision to help with the Hurricane Sandy relief efforts, and the following year, World Vision acted as the charitable sponsor for McCreery's Weekend Roadtrip Tour (2013). Over the course of a 2013 Major League Baseball ballpark tour, McCreery donated $50,000 to various youth baseball programs across the United States, including Major League Baseball's Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities (RBI) program. McCreery became a National Goodwill Ambassador for the 12.14 Foundation in February 2014. He has an active role in promoting the Foundation's arts program, supporting their fundraising efforts, and creating awareness for their vision and objectives to help the people of Newtown, Connecticut. On December 4, 2014, McCreery performed a benefit concert which raised $60,000 to the foundation. In December 2017, McCreery and other country artists recorded a charity single, a cover of Alabama's "Angels Among Us," to benefit St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. McCreery appeared on "Celebrity Family Feud" on August 5, 2018 and won $25,000 for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.


title: Scotty McCreery

text: In 2017 McCreery received the Order of the Long Leaf Pine, the highest civilian award given by the State of North Carolina. He received the award on stage at a performance at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Tennessee. He was nominated for the award by outgoing governor Pat McCrory and conferred the award by his replacement Roy Cooper.


title: Garage rock

text: Garage rock (sometimes called garage punk or 60s punk) is a raw and energetic style of rock and roll that flourished in the mid-1960s, most notably in the United States and Canada, and has experienced a series of subsequent revivals. The style is characterized by basic chord structures played on electric guitars and other instruments, sometimes distorted through a fuzzbox, as well as often unsophisticated and occasionally aggressive lyrics and delivery. Its name derives from the perception that groups were often made up of young amateurs who rehearsed in the family garage, although many were professional.


title: Garage rock

text: In the US and Canada, surf rock—and later the Beatles and other beat groups of the British Invasion—motivated thousands of young people to form bands between 1963 and 1968. Hundreds of acts produced regional hits, and some had national hits, usually played on AM radio stations. With the advent of psychedelia, numerous garage bands incorporated exotic elements into the genre's primitive stylistic framework. After 1968, as more sophisticated forms of rock music came to dominate the marketplace, garage rock records largely disappeared from national and regional charts, and the movement faded. Other countries in the 1960s experienced similar grass-roots rock movements that have sometimes been characterized as variants of garage rock.


title: Garage rock

text: During the 1960s, garage rock was not recognized as a distinct genre and had no specific name, but critical hindsight in the early 1970s—and especially the 1972 compilation album ""—did much to define and memorialize the style. Between 1971 and 1973, certain American rock critics began to retroactively identify the music as a genre and for several years used the term "punk rock" to describe it, making it the first form of music to bear the description, predating the more familiar use of the term appropriated by the later punk rock movement that it influenced. The term "garage rock" gained favor amongst commentators and devotees during the 1980s. The style has also been referred to as "proto-punk" or in certain instances "frat rock".


title: Garage rock

text: In the early to mid-1980s, several revival scenes emerged featuring acts that consciously attempted to replicate the look and sound of 1960s garage bands. Later in the decade, a louder, more contemporary garage subgenre developed that combined garage rock with modern punk rock and other influences, sometimes using the garage punk label originally and otherwise associated with 1960s garage bands. In the 2000s, a wave of garage-influenced acts associated with the post-punk revival emerged, and some achieved commercial success. Garage rock continues to appeal to musicians and audiences who prefer a "back to basics" or "do-it-yourself" musical approach.


title: Garage rock

text: The term "garage rock", often used in reference to 1960s acts, stems from the perception that many performers were young amateurs who rehearsed in the family garage. While numerous bands were made up of middle-class teenagers from the suburbs, others were from rural or urban areas or were composed of professional musicians in their twenties.


title: Garage rock

text: Referring to the 1960s, Mike Markesich commented "teenage rock & roll groups (i.e. combos) proliferated Everywheresville USA". Though it is impossible to determine how many garage bands were active in the era, their numbers were extensive in what Markesich has characterized as a "cyclonic whirlwind of musical activity like none other". According to Mark Nobles, it is estimated that between 1964 and 1968 over 180,000 bands formed in the United States, and several thousand US garage acts made records during the era.


title: Garage rock

text: Garage bands performed in a variety of venues. Local and regional groups typically played at parties, school dances, and teen clubs. For acts of legal age (and in some cases younger), bars, nightclubs, and college fraternity socials also provided regular engagements. Occasionally, groups had the opportunity to open at shows for famous touring acts. Some garage rock bands went on tour, particularly those better-known, but even more obscure groups sometimes received bookings or airplay beyond their immediate locales. Groups often competed in "battles of the bands", which gave musicians an opportunity to gain exposure and a chance to win a prize, such as free equipment or recording time in a local studio. Contests were held, locally, regionally and nationally, and three of the most prestigious national events were held annually by the Tea Council of the US, the Music Circus, and the United States Junior Chamber.


title: Garage rock

text: Performances often sounded amateurish, naïve, or intentionally raw, with typical themes revolving around the traumas of high school life and songs about "lying girls" being particularly common. The lyrics and delivery were frequently more aggressive than that of the more established acts of the time, often with nasal, growled, or shouted vocals, sometimes punctuated by shrieks or screams at climactic moments of release. Instrumentation was characterized by basic chord structures played on electric guitars or keyboards often distorted through a , teamed with bass and drums. Guitarists sometimes played using aggressive-sounding bar chords or power chords. Portable organs such as the Farfisa were used frequently and harmonicas and hand-held percussion such as tambourines were not uncommon. Occasionally, the tempo was sped up in passages sometimes referred to as "raveups".


title: Garage rock

text: Garage rock acts were diverse in both musical ability and in style, ranging from crude and amateurish to near-studio level musicianship. There were also regional variations in flourishing scenes, such as in California and Texas. The north-western states of Idaho, Washington and Oregon had a distinctly recognizable regional sound with bands such as the Sonics and Paul Revere & the Raiders.


title: Garage rock

text: In the 1960s, garage rock had no name and was not thought of as a genre distinct from other rock and roll of the era. Rock critic and future Patti Smith Group guitarist Lenny Kaye remarked that the period "dashed by so fast that nobody knew much of what to make of it while it was around". In the early 1970s Kaye and other US rock critics, such as Dave Marsh, Lester Bangs, and Greg Shaw, began to retroactively draw attention to the music, speaking nostalgically of mid-1960s garage bands (and subsequent artists then perceived to be their stylistic inheritors) for the first time as a genre.


title: Garage rock

text: "Garage rock" was not the initial name applied to the style. In the early 1970s such critics used the term "punk rock" to characterize it, making it the first musical form to bear the description. While the coinage of the term "punk" in relation to rock music is unknown, it was sometimes used then to describe primitive or rudimentary rock musicianship, but more specifically 1960s garage as a style. In the May 1971 issue of "Creem", Dave Marsh described a performance by ? and the Mysterians as an "exposition of punk rock". Conjuring up the mid-1960s, Lester Bangs in June 1971 wrote: "then punk bands started cropping up who were writing their own songs but taking the Yardbirds' sound and reducing it to this kind of goony fuzztone clatter ... oh, it was beautiful, it was pure folklore, Old America, and sometimes I think those were the best days ever".


title: Garage rock

text: Much of the revival of interest in 1960s garage rock can be traced to the release of the 1972 album "" compiled by Lenny Kaye. In the liner notes, Kaye used "punk rock" as a collective term for 1960s garage bands and also "garage-punk" to describe a song recorded in 1966 by the Shadows of Knight. In the January 1973 "Rolling Stone" review of "Nuggets", Greg Shaw commented: "Punk rock is a fascinating genre ... Punk rock at its best is the closest we came in the 1960s to the original rockabilly spirit of rock & roll." In addition to "Rolling Stone" and "Creem", writings about the genre appeared in various independent "fanzine" publications during the period. In May 1973, Billy Altman launched the short-lived "punk magazine", which pre-dated the more familiar 1975 publication of the same name, but, unlike the later magazine, was largely devoted to discussion of 1960s garage and psychedelic acts. Greg Shaw's seasonal publication, "Who Put the Bomp!", was influential amongst enthusiasts and collectors of the genre in the early 1970s.


title: Garage rock

text: Though the phrase "punk rock" was the favored generic term in the early 1970s, "garage band" was also mentioned in reference to groups. In "Rolling Stone" in March 1971 John Mendelsohn made an oblique reference to "every last punk teenage garage band having its Own Original Approach". The term "punk rock" was later appropriated by the more commonly-known punk rock movement that emerged in the mid-1970s and is now most commonly applied to groups associated with that movement or who followed in its wake. For the 1960s style, the term "garage rock" came into favor in the 1980s. According to Mike Markesich: "Initially launched into the underground vernacular at the start of the '80s, the garage tag ... slowly sifted its way amid like-minded fans to finally be recognized as a worthy descriptive replacement". The term "garage punk" has also persisted, and style has been referred to as 60s punk" and "proto-punk". "Frat rock" has been used to refer to the R&B- and surf rock- derived garage sounds of certain acts, such as the Kingsmen and others.


title: Garage rock

text: In the late 1950s, the initial impact of rock and roll on mainstream American culture waned as major record companies took a controlling influence and sought to market more conventionally acceptable recordings. Electric musical instruments (particularly guitars) and amplification were becoming more affordable, allowing young musicians to form small groups to perform in front of local audiences of their peers; and in some areas there was a breakdown, especially among radio audiences, of traditional black and white markets, with more white teenagers listening to and purchasing R&B records.


title: Garage rock

text: Numerous young people were inspired by musicians such as Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Bo Diddley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Buddy Holly, and Eddie Cochran, whose recordings of relatively unsophisticated and hard-driving songs from a few years earlier proclaimed personal independence and freedom from parental controls and conservative norms. Ritchie Valens' 1958 hit "La Bamba" helped jump-start the Chicano rock scene in Southern California and provided a three-chord template for the songs of numerous 1960s garage bands. By the end of the 1950s regional scenes were abundant around the country and helped set the stage for garage rock the 1960s.


title: Garage rock

text: Guitarist Link Wray has been cited as an early influence on garage rock and is known for his innovative use of guitar techniques and effects such as power chords and distortion. He is best known for his 1958 instrumental "Rumble", which featured the sound of distorted, "clanging" guitar chords, which anticipated much of what was to come. The combined influences of early-1960s instrumental rock and surf rock also played significant roles in shaping the sound garage rock.


title: Garage rock

text: According to Lester Bangs, "the origins of garage rock as a genre can be traced to California and the Pacific Northwest in the early Sixties". The Pacific Northwest, which encompasses Washington, Oregon, and Idaho, played a critical role in the inception of garage rock, hosting the first scene to produce a sizable number of acts, and pre-dated the British Invasion by several years. The signature garage sound that eventually emerged in the Pacific Northwest is sometimes referred to as "the Northwest Sound" and had its origins in the late 1950s, when a handful of R&B and rock & roll acts sprang up in various cities and towns in an area stretching from Puget Sound to Seattle and Tacoma, and beyond.


title: Garage rock

text: There and elsewhere, groups of teenagers were inspired directly by touring R&B performers such as Johnny Otis and Richard Berry, and began to play cover versions of R&B songs. During the late 1950s and early 1960s other instrumental groups playing in the region, such as the Ventures, formed in 1958 in Tacoma, Washington, who came to specialize in a surf rock sound, and the Frantics from Seattle. The Blue Notes from Tacoma, Washington, fronted by "Rockin' Robin" Roberts, were one of the city's first teenage rock & roll bands. The Wailers (often referred to as the Fabulous Wailers) had national chart hit in 1959, the instrumental "Tall Cool One". After the demise of the Blue Notes, "Rockin' Robin" did a brief stint with the Wailers, and with him on vocals in 1962, they recorded a version of Richard Berry's 1957 song "Louie Louie"—their arrangement became the much-replicated blueprint for practically every band in the region, including Portland's the Kingsmen who went on to achieve a major hit with it the following year.


title: Garage rock

text: Other regional scenes of teenage bands playing R&B-oriented rock were well-established in the early 1960s, several years before the British Invasion, in places such as Texas and the Midwest. At the same time, in southern California surf bands formed, playing raucous guitar- and saxophone-driven instrumentals. Writer Neil Campbell commented: "There were literally thousands of rough-and-ready groups performing in local bars and dance halls throughout the US "prior" to the arrival of the Beatles ... [T]he indigenous popular music which functioned in this way ... was the proto-punk more commonly identified as "garage rock"".


title: Garage rock

text: As a result of cross-pollination between surf rock, hot rod music, and other influences, a new style rock sometimes referred to as "frat rock" emerged, which has been mentioned as an early subgenre of garage rock. The Kingsmen's 1963 off-the-cuff version of "Louie Louie" became the de facto "big bang" for three-chord rock, starting as a regional hit in Seattle, then rising to No. 1 on the national charts and eventually becoming a major success overseas. The group unwittingly became the target of an FBI investigation in response to complaints about the song's alleged use of profanity in its nearly indecipherable lyrics.


title: Garage rock

text: Though often associated with Pacific Northwest acts such as the Kingsmen, frat rock also thrived elsewhere. In 1963 singles by several regional bands from other parts of the United States began appearing on the national charts, including "Surfin' Bird" by the Trashmen from Minneapolis, which essentially fused together parts from two songs previously recorded by the Rivingtons, "The Bird is the Word" and "Papa Oom Mow Mow". "California Sun" by the Rivieras, from South Bend, Indiana followed, becoming a hit in early 1964. Frat rock persisted into the mid-1960s with acts such as the Swingin' Medallions, who had a top twenty hit with "Double Shot (Of My Baby's Love)" in 1966.


title: Garage rock

text: During the mid-1960s garage rock entered its most active period, prompted by the influence of The Beatles and the British Invasion. On February 9, 1964, during their first visit to the United States, the Beatles made an historic appearance on "The Ed Sullivan Show" watched by a record-breaking viewing audience of a nation mourning the recent death of President John F. Kennedy. For many, particularly the young, the Beatles' visit re-ignited the sense of excitement and possibility that had momentarily faded in the wake of the assassination. Much of this new excitement was expressed in rock music, often to the chagrin of parents and elders.


title: Garage rock

text: In the wake of the Beatles' first visit, a subsequent string of successful British beat groups and acts achieved success in America between 1964 and 1966, often referred to in the US as "the British Invasion". Such acts had a profound impact, leading many (often surf or hot rod groups) to respond by altering their style, and countless new bands to form, as teenagers around the country picked up guitars and started bands by the thousands. In many cases, garage bands were particularly influenced by the increasingly bold sound of a second wave of British groups with a harder, blues-based attack, such as The Kinks, The Who, The Animals, The Yardbirds, Small Faces, Pretty Things, Them, and The Rolling Stones often resulting in a raw and primitive sound. Numerous acts sometimes characterized as garage rock formed in countries outside North America, such as England's the Troggs. Their 1966 worldwide hit "Wild Thing" became a staple in countless American garage bands' repertoires. By 1965, the influence of the British Invasion prompted folk musicians such as Bob Dylan and members of the Byrds to adopt the use of electric guitars and amplifiers, resulting in what became termed folk rock. The resulting success of Dylan, the Byrds, and other folk rock acts influenced the sound and approach of numerous garage bands.


title: Garage rock

text: In the wake of the British Invasion garage rock experienced a boom in popularity. With thousands of garage bands active in the US and Canada, hundreds produced regional hits during the period, often receiving airplay on local AM radio stations. Several acts gained wider exposure just long enough to have one or occasionally more national hits in an era rife with "One-Hit Wonders". In 1965 the Beau Brummels broke into the national charts with "Laugh, Laugh", followed by "Just a Little". According to Richie Unterberger, they were perhaps the first American group to pose a successful response to the British Invasion. That year, Sam the Sham & the Pharaohs' "Wooly Bully" went to No. 2, and they followed it up a year later with another No. 2 hit, "Little Red Riding Hood". Also in 1965, the Castaways almost reached "Billboard" top ten with "Liar, Liar", which was later included on the 1972 "Nuggets" compilation. Featuring a lead vocal by Rick Derringer, "Hang On Sloopy" became a No. 1 hit for Indiana's the McCoys, topping the "Billboard" charts in October 1965. They were immediately signed to Bang Records and followed up with another hit in 1966, a cover of "Fever", originally recorded by Little Willie John.


title: Garage rock

text: It is generally agreed that the garage rock boom peaked around 1966. That April, the Outsiders from Cleveland hit No. 5 with "Time Won't Let Me", which was later covered by acts such as Iggy Pop. In July, the Standells from Los Angeles almost made it into the US top ten with "Dirty Water", a song now often associated with Boston. "Psychotic Reaction" by the Count Five went to No. 5 on "Billboard"s Hot 100 and was later memorialized by Lester Bangs in his 1971 piece "Psychotic Reactions and Carburetor Dung".


title: Garage rock

text: "96 Tears" (1966) by Question Mark and the Mysterians, from Saginaw, Michigan, became a No. 1 hit in the US. The song's organ riffs and theme of teenage heartbreak have been mentioned as a landmark recording of the garage rock era and recognized for influencing the works of acts as diverse as the B-52's, the Cramps, and Bruce Springsteen. Two months later, the Music Machine, who reached the top 20 with fuzz guitar-driven "Talk Talk", had a sound and image that helped pave the way for later acts such as the Ramones. The Syndicate of Sound's "Little Girl", which featured a cocksure half-spoken lead vocal set over chiming 12-string guitar chords, reached No. 8 on the "Billboard" charts and was later covered by acts such as the Dead Boys, the Banned, and the Chesterfield Kings. Discovered by a Pittsburgh disc jockey in 1965, the resulting success of "Hanky Panky" by a defunct group, the Shondells, whose membership included Tommy James, revived James' career, where he assembled a new group under the name Tommy James and the Shondells. They followed with twelve more top 40 singles. In 1967, Strawberry Alarm Clock emerged from the garage outfit Thee Sixpence and had a No. 1 hit in 1967 with psychedelic "Incense and Peppermints".


title: Garage rock

text: Garage rock was not an exclusively male phenomenon—it fostered the emergence of all-female bands whose members played their own instruments. One of the first of such acts was New York's Goldie and the Gingerbreads, who appeared at New York's Peppermint Lounge in 1964 and accompanied the Rolling Stones on their American tour the following year. They had a hit in England with a version of "Can't You Hear My Heartbeat". The Continental Co-ets from Fulda, Minnesota, were active from 1963 to 1967 and had a hit in Canada with "I Don't Love You No More". The Pleasure Seekers (later known as Cradle), from Detroit, featured Suzi Quatro and her sisters. Quatro went on to greater fame as a musical solo act and television actress in the 1970s. The Luv'd Ones, also from Michigan, signed with Chicago's Dunwich Records and cut records with a sometimes somber sound, such as "Up Down Sue".


title: Garage rock

text: San Francisco's the Ace of Cups became a fixture in the Bay Area scene in the late 1960s. Other notable 1960s female groups were the Daughters of Eve from Chicago and She (previously known as the Hairem) from Sacramento, California. All-female bands were not exclusive to North America. The Liverbirds were a beat group from the Beatles' home city of Liverpool, England, but became best known in Germany, often performing in Hamburg's Star-Club. All-female groups of the 1960s anticipated later acts associated with the 1970s punk movement, such as the Runaways and the Slits.


title: Garage rock

text: In 1964 and 1965 the impact of the Beatles and the British Invasion shifted the musical landscape, presenting not only a challenge, but also a new impetus, as previously established acts in the Pacific Northwest adapted to the new climate, often reaching greater levels of commercial and artistic success, while scores of new bands formed. After relocating to Portland, Paul Revere & the Raiders in 1963 became the first rock-and-roll act to be signed to Columbia Records, but did not achieve their commercial breakthrough until 1965 with the song "Steppin Out", which was followed by string of chart-topping hits such as "Just Like Me" (originally recorded by the Wilde Knights) and "Kicks".


title: Garage rock

text: The Sonics from Tacoma had a raunchy, hard-driving sound that influenced later acts such as Nirvana and the White Stripes. According to Peter Blecha, they "were the unholy practitioners of punk rock long before anyone knew what to call it". Founded in 1960, they eventually enlisted the services of vocalist Gerry Rosalie and saxophonist Rob Lind and proceeded to cut their first single," The Witch" in 1964. The song was re-issued again in 1965, this time with the even more intense "Psycho" on the flip side. They released several albums and are also known for other "high-octane" rockers such as "Cinderella" and "He's Waitin. Prompted by the Sonics, the Wailers entered the mid-1960s with a harder-edged sound in the fuzz-driven "Hang Up" and "Out of Our Tree".


title: Garage rock

text: The Barbarians from Cape Cod, wearing sandals and long hair and cultivating an image of "noble savages", recorded an album and several singles, such as "Are You a Boy or Are You a Girl". In 1964 the group appeared on the "T.A.M.I. Show" on same bill as the Rolling Stones, James Brown. In the film of the show, their drummer, Victor "Moulty" Moulton, is seen holding one of his drumsticks with a prosthetic clamp while playing—the result of a previous accident in which he lost his left hand. In 1966, Moulton recorded "Moulty", a spoken monologue set to music, in which he recounted the travails of his disfigurement, released under the Barbarians' name, but backed by future members of the Band.


title: Garage rock

text: Boston's the Remains (sometimes called Barry & the Remains), led by Barry Tashian, became one of the region's most popular bands and, in addition to issuing five singles and a self-titled album, toured with the Beatles in 1966. Also from Boston, the Rockin' Ramrods released the distortion-driven "She Lied" in 1964, which Rob Fitzpatrick called "a truly spectacular piece of proto-punk, the sort of perfect blend of melody and aggression that the Ramones would go on to transform the planet with a dozen or more years later". The Squires from Bristol, Connecticut, issued a song now regarded as a garage rock classic, "Going All the Way". Garage rock flourished up and down the Atlantic coast, with acts such as the Vagrants, from Long Island, and Richard and the Young Lions from Newark, New Jersey, and the Blues Magoos from the Bronx, who got their start in New York's Greenwich Village scene and had a hit in 1966 with "(We Ain't Got) Nothin' Yet", which appeared on their debut album, "Psychedelic Lollipop", along with a lengthy rendition of the Nashville Teens' "Tobacco Road".


title: Garage rock

text: The garage craze came into full swing in California, particularly in Los Angeles. The Sunset Strip was the center of L.A. nightlife, providing bands with high-profile venues to attract a larger following and possibly capture the attention of record labels looking to sign a new act. Exploitation films such as "Riot on Sunset Strip", "Mondo Hollywood", captured the musical and social milieu of life on the strip. In "Riot on Sunset Strip", several bands make appearances at the Pandora's Box, including the Standells who are seen during the opening credits performing the theme song, as well as San Jose's the Chocolate Watchband. The Seeds and the Leaves were favorites with the "in-crowd" and managed to achieve national hits with songs that have come to be regarded as garage classics: the Seeds with "Pushin' Too Hard" and the Leaves with their version of "Hey Joe", which became a staple in countless bands' repertoires.


title: Garage rock

text: Love, a racially integrated band headed by African-American musician Arthur Lee, was one of the most popular bands in the scene. Their propulsive 1966 proto-punk anthem "7 and 7 Is" was another song often covered by other groups. The Music Machine, led by Sean Bonniwell, employed innovative musical techniques, sometimes building their own custom-made fuzzboxes. Their first album "(Turn On) The Music Machine" featured the hit "Talk Talk". The Electric Prunes were one of the more successful garage bands to incorporate psychedelic influences into their sound, such as in the hit "I Had Too Much to Dream (Last Night)", whose opening featured a buzzing fuzz-toned guitar, and which appeared on their self titled debut LP.<ref name="Unterberger (Liner Notes/Prunes)"></ref> Garage rock was also present in the Latino community of East L.A. The Premiers, who had a hit in 1964 with "Farmer John", and Thee Midniters are considered prominent figures in Chicano rock, as are the San Diego-based, Cannibal & the Headhunters, who had a hit with Chris Kenner's "Land of a Thousand Dances".


title: Garage rock

text: San Jose and the South Bay area had a bustling scene featuring the Chocolate Watchband, the Count Five, and the Syndicate of Sound. The Chocolate Watchband released several singles in 1967, including "Are You Gonna Be There (at the Love In)", which was also featured on their debut album "No Way Out". The album's opening cut was a rendition of "Let's Talk About Girls", previously recorded by the Tongues of Truth (aka the Grodes).


title: Garage rock

text: Chicago, known for electric blues, continued to have a strong recording industry in the 1960s and was also a hotbed of activity for garage rock. Chicago blues as well as the Rolling Stones, the Pretty Things, and the Yardbirds influenced the Shadows of Knight, who recorded for Dunwich Records and were known for a tough, hard-driving sound. In 1966 they had hits with versions of Them's Van Morrison-penned "Gloria" and Bo Diddley's "Oh Yeah", and also released the aggressive "I'm Gonna Make You Mine", which Mike Stax remarked "was recorded live in the studio with the amps cranked beyond distortion, this is 60s punk at its sexually charged, aggressive best." Also recording for Dunwich were the Del-Vetts and the Banshees, who released the cathartic "Project Blue". Other notable Chicago acts were the Little Boy Blues and the New Colony Six.


title: Garage rock

text: Michigan had one of the largest scenes in the country. In early 1966, Detroit's MC5 released a version of "I Can Only Give You Everything" before they went on to greater success at the end of the decade. The Unrelated Segments recorded a string of songs beginning with local hit "The Story Of My Life", followed by "Where You Gonna Go". In 1966, the Litter from Minneapolis released the guitar-overdriven "Action Woman", a song which Michael Hann described as "one of garage's gnarliest, snarliest, most tight-trousered pieces of hormonal aggression".


title: Garage rock

text: In Texas, The 13th Floor Elevators from Austin, featured Roky Erickson on guitar and vocals and are considered one of the prominent bands of the era. They had a regional hit with "You're Gonna Miss Me" and a string of albums, but the band was hampered by drug busts and related legal problems that hastened their demise. Richie Unterberger singled out The Zakary Thaks, from Corpus Christi, for their songwriting skills, and they are best known for the frantic and sped-up "Bad Girl". The Moving Sidewalks, from Houston, featured Billy Gibbons on guitar, later of ZZ Top. The Gentlemen from Dallas cut the fuzz-driven "It's a Cry'n Shame", which in Mike Markesich's "Teenbeat Mayhem" is ranked as one of the top two garage rock songs of all time, second only to "You're Gonna Miss Me", by the 13th Floor Elevators. The Outcasts from San Antonio cut two highly regarded songs, "I'm in Pittsburgh and It's Raining", which became a local hit, and "1523 Blair", that Jason Ankeny described as "Texas psychedelia at its finest".


title: Garage rock

text: The Five Americans were from Durant, Oklahoma, and released a string of singles, such as "Western Union", which became a top 10 US hit in 1967. From Phoenix, Arizona, the Spiders featured Vincent Furnier, later known as Alice Cooper, and eventually adopted that name as the group's moniker. As the Spiders they recorded two singles, most notably "Don't Blow Your Mind", which became a local hit in Phoenix in 1966. The group ventured to Los Angeles in 1967 in hopes of achieving greater success, however they found it not there, but while in Detroit several years later, re-christened as Alice Cooper.


title: Garage rock

text: From Florida, Orlando's We the People came about as the result of the merger of two previous bands and featured songwriters Tommy Talton and Wane Proctor. They recorded a string of self-composed songs, such as primitive rockers, "You Burn Me Upside Down" and "Mirror of my Mind", as well as the esoteric "In the Past", later covered by the Chocolate Watchband. Evil from Miami, had a hard, sometimes thrashing sound and a reputation for musical mayhem, typified in songs such as "From a Curbstone" and "I'm Movin' On".


title: Garage rock

text: Like the United States, Canada experienced a large and vigorous garage rock movement. Vancouver's the Northwest Company, who recorded "Hard to Cry", had a power chord-driven approach. The Painted Ship were known for primal songs such as the angst-ridden "Frustration" and "Little White Lies", which Stansted Montfichet called a "punk classic". Chad Allan and the Reflections from Winnipeg, Manitoba, began in 1962 and had a hit in the mid-1960s, Johnny Kidd & the Pirates' "Shakin' All Over," then went on to greater success in the late 1960s and early 1970s as the Guess Who.


title: Garage rock

text: In 1966 the Ugly Ducklings from Toronto had a hit with "Nothin and toured with the Rolling Stones. The Haunted from Montreal specialized in a gritty blues-based sound influenced by the Rolling Stones and released the single "1–2–5". Two other bands from Toronto were the Paupers and the Mynah Birds. The Paupers released several singles and two albums. The Mynah Birds featured the combination of Rick James on lead vocals and Neil Young on guitar, who both went on to fame as solo acts, as well as Bruce Palmer who later accompanied Young to California to join Buffalo Springfield in 1966. They signed a contract with Motown Records and recorded several songs including "It's My Time".