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Mannheim SteamrollerMannheim Steamroller is a "18th century classical rock"/New Age group founded by Chip Davis, and specializing in modern recordings of Christmas music. Mannheim Steamroller actually began as an alias for record producer/composer, Chip Davis. Before the fame of Steamroller, Davis had been best known for creating the country music character "C.W. McCall" (of "Convoy" fame) for his friend Bill Fries. And even before Davis "made" McCall a star, he produced an unusual album of classical music performed entirely by Davis, and musical collaborator Jackson Berkey, using electric bass and synthesizers. Since no major label would handle its distribution, Davis founded his own music label, American Gramaphone (a play on the classical record label Deutsche Grammophon), to release the album. The result, Fresh Aire, was released under the pseudonym Mannheim Steamroller, in the hopes of the album being a best seller. Mannheim Steamroller quickly grew into a full band, with Davis on drums, Berkey on keyboards, and Eric Hansen on bass. Berkey's wife Almeda joined them onstage as another keyboardist. Later, Davis collaborated with guitarist/composer Mason Williams for a remake of the 1960s instrumental "Classical Gas", which used the original arrangement. But it was beginning in 1984 that Steamroller found its greatest fame. Davis released his first holiday album, Mannheim Steamroller Christmas, featuring modern contemporary interpretations of yuletide favorites. This was followed by A Fresh Aire Christmas (1988) and Christmas in the Aire (1995). Steamroller had now become one of the most requested Christmas music artists of all time. By the end of 1997, they had released a live album of Christmas music, Mannheim Steamroller Christmas Live. Steamroller had also developed a full-length theatrical motion picture based on their Christmas albums, but the plans fell through. Instead, the following year, they collaborated with Olivia Newton-John for yet another Christmas album, a mostly spoken-word recording called . Their latest Christmas album, Christmas Celebration, was released in 2004. In addition to their Fresh Aire and Christmas collections, Steamroller has released an album of Disney music (1999's Mannheim Steamroller Meets the Mouse), and one celebrating his American heritage (2003's American Spirit, which reunited Chip Davis with C.W. McCall and featured a remake of "Convoy"). The current lineup of the band is: Chip Davis (drums and percussion), Jackson Berkey (keyboards), Almeda Berkey (keyboards), Roxanne Layton (percussion and woodwinds), Ron Cooley (guitar and bass), Arnie Roth (strings), and Chuck Pennington (orchestra conductor). The name "Mannheim Steamroller" comes from an 18th century German musical technique known today as the crescendo. External link
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