1990 Music Contract Signed Rare Nbc Autograph Charles Neville Today Show
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1990 MUSIC CONTRACT SIGNED RARE NBC AUTOGRAPH CHARLES NEVILLE TODAY SHOW. A GUEST CONTRACT FOR TODAY SHOW Aug 30, 1990 SIGNED BY MUSIC LEGEND CHARLES NEVILLE ON 8.5X11 INCH PAPER Charles Neville was an American R&B and jazz musician best known as part of The Neville Brothers. Known onstage as "Charlie the horn man", his saxophone playing helped earn the group a Grammy Award for best pop instrumental performance.
Charles Neville (December 28, 1938 – April 26, 2018) was an American R&B and jazz musician best known as part of The Neville Brothers. Known onstage as "Charlie the horn man", his saxophone playing helped earn the group a Grammy Award for best pop instrumental performance. Contents 1 Life 2 Discography 3 Further reading 4 References 5 External links Life The second oldest of the four Neville brothers, Charles Neville was born in New Orleans on December 28, 1938 to Arthur Lanon Neville Sr. and Amelia (Landry) Neville and was raised in the Calliope housing project with his musical brothers, Art, Aaron, and Cyril. Their uncle, George "Big Chief Jolly" Landry, was lead singer of the Mardi Gras Indian group The Wild Tchoupitoulas. Charles left home when he was 15 to play saxophone with the Rabbit’s Foot Minstrel Show. When back in New Orleans, he played in the house band at the Dew Drop Inn.[1][2] He served in the Navy from 1956 to 1958 and discovered the music scene on Beale Street while stationed in Memphis, Tennessee, later touring with B.B. King and Bobby (Blue) Bland.[1][2] He joined the band of fellow New Orleanian Larry Williams, but his addiction to heroin landed him short jail terms for the shoplifting that sometimes supported his habit. He finally overcame his addictions in 1986. Beginning in 1963 he served three and a half years at Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola for possession of marijuana. He practiced in the prison music room with other incarcerated New Orleans musicians, notably pianist James Booker and drummer James Black. Moving to New York City after release from prison, he explored modern jazz and toured with Johnnie Taylor, Clarence Carter, and O. V. Wright.[1][2] In 1976 he returned to New Orleans when his maternal uncle, George "Big Chief Jolly" Landry, called Charles and his brothers Art, Aaron, and Cyril together to record with his Mardi Gras Indian group, The Wild Tchoupitoulas. The blend of traditional and funk music on The Wild Tchoupitoulas album (1976) has made it an icon of New Orleans musical culture.[1][2] Shortly afterward, the four brothers formed The Neville Brothers, recording more than a dozen albums and building a worldwide following. For years they were the closing act on the main stage of the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. Charles's saxophone playing was especially notable on the title track of their best-selling album, Yellow Moon, and helped earn the group its only Grammy, for best pop instrumental performance, for the album's, "Healing Chant".[1][2][3] He moved to rural Massachusetts in the 1990s with his wife, Kristin Neville, and children and continued to perform and record with family members and a wide variety of musicians for the rest of his life. His recordings include an album with the groups Diversity, with jazz and classical musicians, and Songcatchers, with Native American musicians. In 2008 he released his own album, reflecting his interests in Eastern spirituality, Safe in Buddha’s Palm. He returned often to New Orleans, playing with his jazz combos at Snug Harbor and with his daughter, jazz and funk singer Charmaine Neville. He also performed with two of his sons, Talyn and Khalif, as the New England Nevilles. After 2012 he toured with Aaron Neville's solo band and appeared with him for Aaron's first performance at the French Quarter Festival in 2017. Charles's last Jazz Fest performance was with Dr. John in 2017.[1][2] He was scheduled to join in "The Neville Family Groove", a musical celebration of the Nevilles at Tipitina's in November 2017, but was by then hospitalized with pancreatic cancer, from which he died on April 26, 2018 at the age of 79 years old.[1][2] Discography See also: The Neville Brothers § Discography 1990 Charles Neville & Diversity (Delta) Diversity 1994 Dreaming in Color (A&M) Songcatchers 2008 Safe in Buddha’s Palm (CD Baby) Charles Neville Charles Neville, the saxophonist in New Orleans’s most celebrated band, the Neville Brothers, died on Friday at his home in Huntington, Mass. He was 79. His family announced his death, of pancreatic cancer, in an online statement. On Facebook, his brother and bandmate Aaron Neville, wrote, “You’ll always be in my heart and soul, like a tattoo.” The Neville Brothers gathered New Orleans’s abundant musical heritage and carried it forward. Art, Aaron, Charles and Cyril Neville formed their band in 1977 and maintained it, amid other projects, until disbanding in 2012. (They reunited for a farewell concert in New Orleans in 2015.) The group melded rhythm and blues, gospel, doo-wop, rock, blues, soul, jazz, funk and New Orleans’s own parade and Mardi Gras rhythms, in songs that mingled a party spirit with social consciousness. Charles Neville — who usually performed in a beret and a tie-dyed shirt, with an irrepressible smile — was the band’s jazz facet, reflecting his decades of experience before the Neville Brothers got started. His soprano saxophone was upfront on the Nevilles’ “Healing Chant,” which won a Grammy Award as best pop instrumental in 1990. Image The Neville Brothers on a visit to New York City in 1989. From left, Cyril, Art, Charles and Aaron. The Neville Brothers on a visit to New York City in 1989. From left, Cyril, Art, Charles and Aaron.Credit...Marty Lederhandler/Associated Press Charles Neville was born in New Orleans on Dec. 28, 1938, the second of the four sons of Arthur Lanon Neville Sr. and Amelia Neville, formerly Landry. At 15, Charles left home to play saxophone with the Rabbit’s Foot Minstrel Show. He went on to work with blues and R&B singers, including Larry Wiliams, Johnny Ace, Big Maybelle, Jimmy Reed and Little Walter. Back in New Orleans, he was a member of the house band at the Dew Drop Inn, working with local and visiting stars. After serving in the Navy from 1956 to 1958, stationed in Memphis, he went on to tour with B. B. King and Bobby (Blue) Bland. Mr. Neville began using heroin in the 1950s, sometimes shoplifting to support his drug use and serving short jail terms. It was a habit he would not completely overcome until 1986. He was arrested on charges of possession of marijuana in 1963 and imprisoned for three and a half years at the Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola. He stayed in practice by playing with other jailed musicians, including the great New Orleans pianist James Booker. Upon his release he moved to New York City. He became involved in modern jazz and toured with soul singers like Johnnie Taylor, Clarence Carter and O. V. Wright. He returned to New Orleans in 1976 for a recording project: “The Wild Tchoupitoulas,” which brought the Mardi Gras Indian tribe led by his uncle George Landry (a. k. a. Big Chief Jolly) into the studio with a band featuring his nephews, the four Neville brothers. The album’s fusion of traditional street chants and funk made it a cornerstone of modern New Orleans music. The brothers decided to keep working together. In New Orleans, the Neville Brothers were a supergroup. Art Neville had sung the 1954 hit “Mardi Gras Mambo” and in 1969 formed the influential New Orleans funk band the Meters, which Cyril Neville later joined. Aaron Neville had a Top 10 pop hit in 1966 with “Tell It Like It Is.” The brothers brought their old repertoires and a growing new one to their concerts, gaining nationwide and worldwide followings on tour. They were the perennial finale on the main stage at the annual New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival and played New Year’s Eve shows at the Fillmore Auditorium in San Francisco. The Neville Brothers recorded more than a dozen studio and live albums, although the only one to sell as many as a half-million copies was “Yellow Moon” (1989). Editors’ Picks A Rap Song Lays Bare Israel’s Jewish-Arab Fracture — and Goes Viral Brilliance, and Heartbreak: The Story of Chris Paul’s Career The Riddle of Riley Keough Continue reading the main story Mr. Neville also recorded with Diversity, a group mixing jazz and classical musicians, and with Native American musicians in the group Songcatchers. He released an album as a leader, “Safe in Buddha’s Palm” — the title reflected his longtime interest in Eastern philosophies — in 2008. In the 1990s he moved to rural Massachusetts, and he performed with his sons, Khalif and Talyn, as the New England Nevilles. But he returned often to New Orleans, and after the Neville Brothers disbanded in 2012 he joined Aaron Neville’s touring band; he also performed in New Orleans with a daughter, the singer Charmaine Neville. Failing health prevented him from joining a Neville family reunion concert in 2017. In addition to his three brothers, he is survived by his wife, Kristin Neville; his sister, Althelgra Neville Gabriel; and his children — Charmaine, Khalif, Talyn, Charlotte, Carlos and Charles Neville; Charlene White, Rowena Alix and Charlestine Jones — as well as numerous grandchildren. nt to use their art the same way I’m trying to use mine. I got that consciousness from Woody Guthrie. People are talking to me, but some of the people I know went through much more than I did. There are 3,000 children missing in New Orleans. [The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children places the figure at 1,300.] Hundreds of bodies are waiting to be identified. The people of New Orleans have been scattered to the four winds. Their lives were determined by people in Washington and Baton Rouge before the storm hit. Without African Americans having ownership, economic equity and the same type of things the French Quarter gets — like tax cuts — the city will never be the same. The 6th, 7th, 8th and 9th Wards should have their own tourist commission. Build our own hotels and restaurants in those areas. The key is ownership. Then I would think about going back and living there. But we’re still practicing American democracy. How can we ever bring it to somebody else? The Meters are an American funk band formed in 1965 in New Orleans by Zigaboo Modeliste (drums), George Porter Jr. (bass), Leo Nocentelli (guitar) and Art Neville (keyboards). The band performed and recorded their own music from the late 1960s until 1977 and played an influential role as backing musicians for other artists, including Lee Dorsey, Robert Palmer, Dr. John, and Allen Toussaint. Their original songs "Cissy Strut" and "Look-Ka Py Py" are considered funk classics.[1] While they rarely enjoyed significant mainstream success, they are considered originators of funk along with artists like James Brown, and their work is influential on many other bands, both their contemporaries and modern musicians.[2][3] Their sound is defined by a combination of tight melodic grooves and syncopated New Orleans "second line" rhythms under highly charged guitar and keyboard riffing.[4][5] The band has been nominated four times for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, most recently in 2017.[6] In 2018 the band was presented with the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.[7] Contents 1 History 1.1 1960s–1970s 1.2 1980s–1990s 1.3 2000s–2010s 2 Members 2.1 The Meters/The Original Meters/The Meter Men 3 Funky Meters Members 3.1 The Funky Meters 4 Discography 5 Influence 6 Awards and honors 7 References 8 Further reading 9 External links History 1960s–1970s Art Neville, the group's frontman, launched a solo career around the New Orleans area in the mid-1950s while still in high school. The Meters formed in 1965 with a line-up of keyboardist and vocalist Art Neville, guitarist Leo Nocentelli, bassist George Porter Jr. and drummer Joseph "Zigaboo" Modeliste. They were later joined by percussionist-vocalist Cyril Neville. The Meters became the house band for Allen Toussaint and his record label, Sansu Enterprises.[8] In 1969 the Meters released "Sophisticated Cissy" and "Cissy Strut", both major R&B chart hits. "Look-Ka Py Py" and "Chicken Strut" were their hits the following year. After a label shift in 1972, the Meters had difficulty returning to the charts, but they worked with Dr. John, Paul McCartney, King Biscuit Boy, Labelle, Robert Palmer and others.[4] In 1975 Paul McCartney invited the Meters to play at the release party for his Venus and Mars album aboard the Queen Mary in Long Beach, California. Mick Jagger of The Rolling Stones was in attendance at the event and was greatly taken with the Meters and their sound.[2](p166)[9] The Rolling Stones invited the band to open for them on their Tour of the Americas '75 and Tour of Europe '76.[4] That same year, the Meters recorded one of their most successful albums, Fire on the Bayou. From 1976 to 77 they played in The Wild Tchoupitoulas with George and Amos Landry and The Neville Brothers. Art and Cyril Neville left the band in early 1977, but The Meters still appeared on Saturday Night Live on March 19, 1977, during the show's second season. After the Nevilles' departure, David Batiste Sr. took over on keyboards while Willie West joined as the band's lead singer. Porter left the group later that year and by 1980 The Meters had officially broken up. After the break-up, Neville continued his career as part of The Neville Brothers, Modeliste toured with Keith Richards and Ron Wood, while Nocentelli and Porter "became in-demand session players and formed new bands."[10] 1980s–1990s In 1989 Art Neville, George Porter Jr. and Leo Nocentelli reunited as The Meters, adding drummer Russell Batiste Jr. to replace Zigaboo Modeliste. Nocentelli left the group in 1994 and was replaced with guitarist Brian Stoltz, formerly of The Neville Brothers. The band was renamed The Funky Meters. They were referred to as "the Funky Meters" as early as 1989. They were billed as such when playing in a tiny venue called Benny's Bar at Valence and Camp streets.[11] 2000s–2010s The Funky Meters continued to play into the 2000s with Stoltz being replaced by Art Neville's son, Ian Neville, from 2007 to 2011 while he went to pursue a solo career. Stoltz returned to the band permanently in 2011.[12] In 2000 a big offer enticed all four original Meters to reunite for a one-night stand at the Warfield Theatre in San Francisco; by this time Modeliste wanted to make the reunion a permanent one, but the other members and their management teams objected.[10] It wasn't until Quint Davis, producer and director of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, got them to "put aside their differences and hammer out the details" and perform at the Festival in 2005.[13] In June 2011 The Original Meters along with Allen Toussaint and Dr. John played the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival in Manchester, Tennessee. The six men performed Dr. John's album Desitively Bonnaroo which was originally recorded with the Meters, to a sold-out crowd. The Original Meters also played a set at the 2011 Voodoo Experience in New Orleans. On May 5, 2012 The Meters returned to New Orleans for a performance to a sold-out crowd at the Howlin' Wolf. In late 2012, Zigaboo Modeliste, Leo Nocentelli, and George Porter Jr. played concerts with Phish keyboardist Page McConnell under the name The Meter Men.[14] During his time off from Phish, Page McConnell has continued to play with Porter Jr., Nocentelli, and Modeliste under the moniker of The Meter Men since those shows in 2012. The Meter Men had performed 16 shows together as of spring 2015, with their third annual appearance as a late night act during New Orleans' Jazz and Heritage Festival.[15][16] In 2014, during The Meter Men's second appearance as a late night act during Jazzfest, the band performed at The Republic on April 26, 2014, after McConnell had headlined the NOLA Jazzfest at the New Orleans Fairgrounds with Phish earlier that day.[17][18] The Meter Men had also played the previous night at The Republic.[19] The states The Meter Men had appeared in as of spring 2015 were Massachusetts, New York, Florida, Pennsylvania, Louisiana, Colorado, and Vermont, with one other performance in Washington, D.C.[20][21][22] As of 2017, The Funky Meters tour consistently performing songs by The Meters, while The Meters perform sporadically. The lineup of Neville, Porter, Nocentelli and Modeliste typically bill themselves as The Original Meters to avoid confusion with The Funky Meters. When not performing with The Original Meters, guitarist Leo Nocentelli leads his own group, The Meters Experience, which also performs the music of The Meters.[23] As of 2018, the most recent performance of the original Meters (with all four of the founding members) took place at the Arroyo Seco Festival in Pasadena, California on June 25, 2017. The song "They All Ask'd for You" from the 1975 album Fire on the Bayou remains popular in the New Orleans region and is the unofficial theme song of the Audubon Zoo.[24] Art Neville announced his retirement from music on December 18, 2018.[25] Neville died on July 22, 2019. Members Current George Porter Jr. – bass, background vocals (1965–1977, 1989–2018, 2020-present)[26] Zigaboo Modeliste – drums, vocals (1965–1977, 2000–2018, 2020-present)[26] Leo Nocentelli – guitar, background vocals (1966[27]–1977, 1989–1994, 2000–2018, 2020-present)[26] Former Art Neville – keyboards, vocals (1965–1977, 1989–2018)[25] Gary Brown − saxophone (1965-1967)[28] "Glen" − drums (1965)[28] Cyril Neville – percussion, vocals (1970–1977) David Batiste, Sr. – keyboards (1977–1980) Willie West – vocals (1977–1980)[29] Russell Batiste Jr. – drums (1989–2000) Brian Stoltz – guitar (1994–2000) Page McConnell − keyboards, background vocals (2012-2014) The Meters/The Original Meters/The Meter Men Funky Meters Members Art Neville – keyboards, vocals (2000-2016) George Porter Jr. – bass, background vocals (2000-2016) Brian Stoltz – guitar (2000–2007, 2011–2016) Ian Neville – guitar (2007–2011) Russell Batiste Jr. – drums (2000–2015) Terrence Houston – drums (2015-2016) The Funky Meters Discography Original studio albums The Meters (1969), Josie JOS-4010 #23 R&B Look-Ka Py Py (1969), Josie JOS-4011 Struttin' (1970), Josie JOS-4012 Cabbage Alley (1972), Reprise MS-2076 Rejuvenation (1974), Reprise MS-2200 Fire on the Bayou (1975), Reprise MS-2228 Trick Bag (1976), Reprise MS-2252 New Directions (1977), Warner Bros. BS-3042 Compilation albums Cissy Strut (1974), Island ILPS-9250 [LP] The Best of The Meters (1975), Virgo SV-12002 [LP] Second Line Strut (1980), Charly R&B CRB-1009 [LP] Here Come The Metermen (1986), Charly R&B CRB-1112 [LP] Struttin' (1987), Charly R&B CD-63 Good Old Funky Music (1990), Rounder CD-2104[30] Funky Miracle (1991), Charly CDNEV-2 [2-CD set] Meters Jam (1992), Rounder CD-2105 Fundamentally Funky (1994), Charly CPCD-8044 Funkify Your Life: The Meters Anthology (1995), Rhino R2-71869 [2-CD set] The Best of The Meters (1996), Mardi Gras MG-1029 The Very Best of The Meters (1997), Rhino R2-72642 Kickback (2001), Sundazed LP-5081/SC-11081 Zony Mash (2003), Sundazed LP-5087/SC-6211 Here Comes the Meter Man (The Complete Josie Recordings 1968–1970) (2011), Charly SNAX627CD [2-CD set] Original Album Series (2014), Rhino 081227961565 [5-CD set], reissues: Cabbage Alley, Rejuvenation, Fire on the Bayou, Trick Bag, New Directions A Message from The Meters: The Complete Josie, Reprise & Warner Bros. Singles 1968–1977 (2016), Real Gone Music RGM-0491 [2-CD set] Live albums Uptown Rulers: The Meters live on the Queen Mary (1975 [rel. 1992]), Rhino R2-70376 Live at the Moonwalker (1993), Lakeside Music LAKE-2022 – as 'The Legendary Meters' Second Helping (Live at the Moonwalker) (1994), Lakeside Music LAKE-2026 – as 'The Legendary Meters' Fiyo at the Fillmore, Volume 1 (2001 [rel. 2003]), Too Funky/Fuel 2000/Varese 030206127522 – as 'The Funky Meters' Original Josie (45-rpm) releases 1001 Sophisticated Cissy // Sehorn's Farm (1968) US # 34 1005 Cissy Strut // Here Comes The Meter Man (1969) US # 23 1008 Ease Back // Ann (1969) US # 61 1013 Dry Spell // Little Old Money Maker (1969) US # 114* 1015 Look-Ka Py Py // This Is My Last Affair (1970) US # 56 1018 Chicken Strut // Hey! Last Minute (1970) US # 50 1021 Hand Clapping Song // Joog (1970) US # 89 1024 A Message From The Meters // Zony Mash (1970) [45rpm release only, not on LP] US # 123** 1026 Stretch Your Rubber Band // Groovy Lady (1971) [45rpm release only, not on LP] 1029 Doodle-Oop (The World Is A Little Bit Under The Weather) // I Need More Time (1971) [45rpm release only, not on LP] US # 124* 1031 Good Old Funky Music // Sassy Lady (1971) [45rpm release only, not on LP] Original Reprise/Warner Bros. (45-rpm) releases REP 1086 Do The Dirt // Smiling (1972) REP 1106 Cabbage Alley // The Flower Song (1972) REP 1135 Chug Chug Chug-A-Log (Push N' Shove), Part 1 // Chug Chug Chug-A-Lug (Push N' Shove), Part 2 (1972) [45rpm release only, not on LP] RPS 1307 Hey Pocky A-Way // Africa (1974) RPS 1314 People Say // Loving You Is On My Mind (1974) RPS 1338 They All Ask'd For You // Running Fast (Long Version) (1975) US # 101* RPS 1357 Disco Is The Thing Today // Mister Moon (1976) RPS 1372 Trick Bag // Find Yourself (1976) WBS 8434 Be My Lady // No More Okey Doke (1977) US # 78 US chart is Billboard unless otherwise noted. * Cash Box singles chart. ** Record World singles chart.[31] Influence According to Brian Knight of The Vermont Review, "In a sense, the Meters defined the basic characteristics of the groove. While Funkadelic, Cameo, James Brown and Sly Stone are synonymous with funk, these artists look to the Meters for the basic-down to earthy and raw sound."[32] Music critique Robert Christgau called the band "totally original" and placed the compilation album Funkify Your Life: The Meters Anthology on his list of top six New Orleans classics.[33][34] The Meters' music has been sampled by musicians around the world, including rap artists Heavy D, LL Cool J and Queen Latifah, Musiq, Big Daddy Kane, Run-DMC, N.W.A, Ice Cube, Scarface, Cypress Hill, EPMD, Public Enemy, A Tribe Called Quest, Beastie Boys, Naughty by Nature, and Tweet.[35] Red Hot Chili Peppers covered the Meters' song "Africa", renamed "Hollywood (Africa)", on their 1985 album Freaky Styley. The eclectic jazz-fusion guitarist Oz Noy has recorded his version of "Cissy Strut" twice. Bands such as the Grateful Dead,[36] KVHW, Steve Kimock Band, Widespread Panic,[37] Rebirth Brass Band, Galactic, Jaco Pastorius and The String Cheese Incident[38] have performed songs by The Meters in their concert rotations. The Meters' songs have been used in the films Two Can Play That Game, Jackie Brown, Drumline, Hancock, Calendar Girls, Hitch, Red, The Best of Enemies, The Kitchen, Beerfest and Another Round.[39] The band's songs were also featured in the television shows The Wire, Ballers and Disjointed as well as the video game Grand Theft Auto IV.[40] Awards and honors In 1970, The Meters were named Best Rhythm and Blues Instrumental Group by both Billboard and Record World magazines.[41] The Meters have been nominated for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame four times since becoming eligible in 1994: 1996, 2012, 2013 and 2017. George Porter Jr. and The Meters were recipients of the Lifetime Achievement Award at the second annual Jammy Awards in 2001.[42] In 2011, the iconic Meters' song "Cissy Strut" was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.[43][44] In 2013, The Meters received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Big Easy Music Awards.[45] The band was featured on the 2017 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival's commemorative poster.[46] In January 2018, The Meters were honored with a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.[47][48] The Neville Brothers were an American R&B/soul/funk group, formed in 1977 in New Orleans, Louisiana. Contents 1 History 2 Discography 2.1 Singles 2.2 Studio albums 2.3 Live albums 2.4 Compilation albums 2.5 Related albums 3 References 4 External links History The group notion started in 1976, when the four brothers of the Neville family, Art (1937–2019), Charles (1938–2018), Aaron (b. 1941), and Cyril (b. 1948) came together to take part in the recording session of the Wild Tchoupitoulas, a Mardi Gras Indian group led by the Nevilles' uncle, George Landry ("Big Chief Jolly").[1] Their debut album The Neville Brothers was released in 1978 on Capitol Records.[2] In 1987, the group released Uptown on the EMI label, featuring guests including Branford Marsalis, Keith Richards, and Carlos Santana. The following year saw the release of Yellow Moon from A&M Records produced by Daniel Lanois. The track "Healing Chant" from that album won the Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Performance at the 1990 Grammy ceremony.[3] In 1990, the Neville Brothers contributed "In the Still of the Night" to the AIDS benefit album Red Hot + Blue produced by the Red Hot Organization.[4] Also in 1990, they appeared on the bill at that year's Glastonbury Festival.[5] Due to Art Neville devoting more time to his other act, The Meters, the band kept a low profile in the late 1990s onto the early 2000s. They made a comeback in 2004, however, with the album, Walkin' in the Shadow of Life, on Back Porch Records, their first newly recorded effort in five years.[6] All brothers except Charles, a Massachusetts resident, had been living in New Orleans, but following Hurricane Katrina in 2005 Cyril and Aaron moved out of the city. They had not been performing in New Orleans since Katrina hit the city; however, they finally returned to perform there at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival in 2008, being given the closing spot which had been reserved for them for years.[7][8] Infrequently, Aaron's son Ivan Neville (keyboards) and Art's son Ian Neville (electric guitar), both of the band Dumpstaphunk, have played with the Neville Brothers. The final Neville Brothers studio album, titled Walkin' in the Shadow of Life, was released in 2004.[9] The group formally disbanded in 2012 but reunited in 2015 for a farewell concert in New Orleans.[10] Charles Neville died of pancreatic cancer on April 26, 2018, at the age of 79.[11] On June 25, 2019, The New York Times Magazine listed the Neville Brothers among hundreds of artists whose material was reportedly destroyed in the 2008 Universal fire.[12] Art Neville died on July 22, 2019, at the age of 81. A cause of death has not yet been provided.[13] Discography Singles Year Single Peak positions Album US R&B AUS NZ NED GER [14] IRE UK [15] 1978 "Washable Ink / Speed of Light" — — — — — — — The Neville Brothers 1979 "Sweet Honey Dripper / Dance Your Blues Away" — — — — — — — single only 1981 "Sitting In Limbo / Brother John / Iko Iko" — — — — — — — Fiyo On The Bayou 1987 "Whatever It Takes" — — — — — — — Uptown 1989 "Sister Rosa" 75 — 23 — — — — Yellow Moon "Yellow Moon" — 100 — 21 — — — "With God on Our Side" — — — 53 — 26 47 1990 "A Change Is Gonna Come" — — — — — — — "Bird on a Wire" — — 5 — 35 — 72 Brother's Keeper "River of Life" — — — — — — — "Fearless" — — 40 — — — — 1991 "Sons and Daughters" — — — — — — — "Drift Away" — — 19 — — — — Treacherous Too! A History of The Neville Brothers 1992 "Fly Like an Eagle" — 44 8 66 — — — Family Groove "One More Day" — — 29 — — — — "On the Other Side of Paradise" — — — — — — — "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released. Studio albums 1978: The Neville Brothers (Capitol) 1981: Fiyo on the Bayou (A&M) 1987: Uptown (EMI) 1989: Yellow Moon (A&M) 1990: Brother's Keeper (A&M) 1992: Family Groove (A&M) 1995: Mitakuye Oyasin Oyasin/All My Relations (A&M) 1999: Valence Street (Columbia) 2004: Walkin' in the Shadow of Life (Back Porch/EMI) Live albums 1984: Neville-ization (Black Top) 1987: Nevillization 2 (Live at Tipitina's Volume 2) (Spindletop) 1994: Live on Planet Earth (A&M) 1998: Live at Tipitina's (1982) (Rhino) 2010: Authorized Bootleg: Warfield Theatre, San Francisco, CA, February 27, 1989 (A&M) Compilation albums 1986: Treacherous: A History of The Neville Brothers (1955–1985) (Rhino) 1991: Treacherous Too!: A History of the Neville Brothers, Vol. 2 (1955-1987) (Rhino) 1997: The Very Best of the Neville Brothers (Rhino) 1999: Uptown Rulin' – The Best of the Neville Brothers (A&M) 2004: 20th Century Masters – The Millenium Collection: The Best of The Neville Brothers (A&M) 2005: Gold (Hip-O/UMe) Related albums 1976: The Wild Tchoupitoulas (with four of The Neville Brothers) 1997: Wyclef Jean Presents The Carnival by Wyclef Jean (guest appearance on "Mona Lisa") Today (also called The Today Show or informally, NBC News Today) is an American news and talk morning television show that airs on NBC. The program debuted on January 14, 1952. It was the first of its genre on American television and in the world, and after 70 years of broadcasting it is fifth on the list of longest-running United States television series. Originally a weekday two-hour program from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m., it expanded to Sundays in 1987 and Saturdays in 1992. The weekday broadcast expanded to three hours in 2000, and to four hours in 2007 (though over time, the third and fourth hours became distinct entities). Today's dominance was virtually unchallenged by the other networks until the late 1980s, when it was overtaken by ABC's Good Morning America. Today retook the Nielsen ratings lead the week of December 11, 1995, and held onto that position for 852 consecutive weeks until the week of April 9, 2012, when Good Morning America topped it again. Today maintained its No. 2 status behind GMA from the summer of 2012 until it regained the lead in the aftermath of anchor Matt Lauer's departure in November 2017.[2][3] In 2002, Today was ranked No. 17 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time.[4] The entertainment magazine Variety reported the 2016 advertising revenue during the first two hours of the show was $508.8 million.[5] On July 15, 2020, NBC launched Today All Day, a 24-hour digital streaming extension of the program available through its website and Peacock.[6] Contents 1 History 1.1 Founding 1.2 Scheduling history 2 Current weekday showtimes and arrangements 2.1 Local cut-ins 2.2 Satellite radio simulcast 3 Studio 3.1 RCA Exhibition Hall (original studio) 3.2 Studio 3K, Florida Showcase, Studio 8G, and Studio 3B 3.3 Studio 1A 4 On-air staff 4.1 Weekdays 4.1.1 Main show 4.1.2 Third hour 4.1.3 Fourth hour 4.2 Weekends 4.3 Former staff 4.3.1 Anchors 4.3.2 News anchors 4.3.3 Weather anchors 4.3.4 Regular panelists 4.3.5 Today Girls 4.3.6 J. Fred Muggs 5 Transitions 5.1 Pauley to Norville 5.2 Norville to Couric 5.3 Couric to Vieira 5.4 Vieira to Curry 5.5 Curry to Guthrie 5.6 Lauer to Kotb 6 Controversies 6.1 Gumbel's memo 6.2 Selective editing of George Zimmerman 9-1-1 call 6.3 9/11 Moment of Silence omission 6.4 Matt Lauer termination 6.5 Megyn Kelly blackface controversy 7 Expansion 7.1 Current 7.1.1 Weekend Today 7.1.2 Early Today 7.1.3 Today 3rd Hour 7.1.4 Today with Hoda & Jenna 7.1.5 Today All Day 7.2 Former 7.2.1 Later Today 7.2.2 Today's Take 7.2.3 Megyn Kelly Today 7.2.4 Today with Kathie Lee and Hoda 8 Music 9 Ratings 10 International broadcasts 11 See also 12 References 12.1 Notes 12.2 Citations 13 External links History Founding First Today logo, used from 1952 to 1960 First variant of the current logo, introduced in 1974 Logo used from 2009 to 2013 Logo used from 2013 to 2018 The show's first broadcast aired on January 14, 1952 as the brainchild of television executive Sylvester Weaver, who was then vice president of NBC. Weaver was president of the company from 1953 to 1955, during which time Today's late-night companion The Tonight Show premiered. In pre-production, the show's proposed working title was The Rise and Shine Revue.[7] The show was first supervised by Jerome Alan Danzig.[8] Today was the first program of its genre when it premiered with original host Dave Garroway. The program blended national news headlines, interviews with newsmakers, lifestyle features, other light news and gimmicks (including the presence of the chimpanzee J. Fred Muggs who served as the show's mascot during the early years), and local news updates from the network's stations. It has spawned several other shows of a similar type, including ABC's Good Morning America, and CBS' now-defunct The Early Show. In other countries, the format was copied – most notably in the United Kingdom with the BBC's BBC Breakfast and ITV's Good Morning Britain, and in Canada with Your Morning on CTV Television Network. Original host Dave Garroway, with mascot J. Fred Muggs (and companion) in 1954 The set in January 1952 Scheduling history When Today debuted, it was seen live only in the Eastern Time Zone and Central Time Zone, broadcasting for three hours each morning but seen for only two hours in each time zone. Since 1958, Today has only broadcast live on the Eastern Time Zone, and has been on broadcast delay for the five other U.S. time zones (Central, Mountain Time Zone, Pacific Time Zone, Alaska Time Zone and Hawaii–Aleutian Time Zone). Partly to accommodate host Dave Garroway's declining health, the program ceased live broadcasts in September 1959, opting instead to broadcast an edition taped the previous afternoon punctuated with live newscasts each half-hour. The experiment, which drew criticism from many sides, ended when John Chancellor succeeded Garroway in July 1961.[9] Today was a two-hour program for many years, airing from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. in all time zones except for Alaska, Hawaii, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, until NBC expanded the program to three hours (extending the program until 10:00 a.m.) on October 2, 2000. A fourth hour (which extended the program until 11:00 a.m.) was eventually added on September 10, 2007. In August 2013, Today released a mobile app for smartphones and tablets.[10] Current weekday showtimes and arrangements The program airs live in the Eastern Time Zone[11] and on tape delay beginning at 7:00 a.m. in each of the remaining time zones. The remaining three feeds are frequently updated with minor fixes and repairs, and often, correspondents will tape updates that are then edited into the delayed feeds. NBC affiliates in some markets including in the east coast, such as WYFF in Greenville, South Carolina, air the third and fourth hours of Today on tape delay to accommodate live syndicated programmes airing at such times. When breaking news stories warrant, Today will produce a West Coast edition by broadcasting parts of the show live for viewers there. In such an event, the live portion does not typically go beyond the 7:00 a.m. (Pacific Time) half-hour or the bloc before the first set of advertisements. Once completed, the remaining blocs/segments taped from the East Coast edition will follow. Throughout the live segment, the presenters will explicitly make some reference to the show being live on the west coast from time to time until the tape-delayed segments resume. In some instances, when an NBC News Special Report of breaking news or a live event occurs during the Today show time slot in the eastern time zone, the show's anchors will assume hosting responsibilities and the show will go live across all time zones until such time when the Special Report segment finishes. At that point, viewers outside the Eastern Time Zone will return to regularly-scheduled programming (i.e. the segment of the Today show feed already in progress in their corresponding time zone or their local newscast). Local cut-ins During the first two hours of the program, local network affiliates are offered a four-minute window at 26 and 56 minutes past the hour to insert a local newsbreak (which usually also includes a local forecast, and in large and mid-sized markets, a brief traffic report) and local advertisements. Certain NBC affiliates that produce an additional morning newscast for a sister station or digital subchannel may prerecord the local inserts aired during the first one to two hours of Today to focus production responsibilities on just one of their local channels. Satellite radio simulcast Starting in June 2014, SiriusXM began simulcasting Today on a new channel called Today Show Radio, Channel 108, with The Best of Today starting at 6 am (Eastern) and the Today Show's live broadcast from Studio 1A at Rockefeller Center in New York City starting at 7:00 a.m. (Eastern), with a tape delayed broadcast at beginning 7:00 a.m. Pacific time. On Mondays The Hoda Show with Hoda Kotb is broadcast exclusive on the Today Show Radio channel. On Tuesdays Off the Rails with Al Roker, Dylan Dreyer and Sheinelle Jones airs at 1:00 p.m. (Eastern). On Wednesdays The Happy Hour with the producers of Kathie Lee and Hoda airs, and on Thursdays Today Show Confidential with the producers of TODAY airs. The channel also simulcasts NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt at 6:30 p.m. (Eastern) The Today Show Radio service is not currently available on SiriusXM's sister service in Canada and Channel 108 is locked out for Canadian subscribers. Studio This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2012) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) RCA Exhibition Hall (original studio) The Today program first originated from the RCA Exhibition Hall on 49th Street in Manhattan in a space now occupied by the Christie's auction house, just down the block from the present-day studio. The first set placed a functional newsroom in the studio, which Garroway called "the nerve center of the world.” The barrier between backstage and on-stage was virtually nonexistent. Garroway and the on-air staff often walked through the newsroom set. Glimpses of the camera crew and technicians were a frequent occurrence, as were off-screen voices conversing with Garroway. Gradually, machines and personnel were placed behind the scenes to assemble the news and weather reports, and the newsroom was gone by 1955. Studio 3K, Florida Showcase, Studio 8G, and Studio 3B Today is broadcast from Studio 1A in 10 Rockefeller Plaza, to the left of 30 Rockefeller Plaza In the summer of 1958, television manufacturer Philco complained to NBC that staging Today in a studio explicitly called the RCA Exhibition Hall was unfair (RCA owned NBC at the time). The network bowed to the pressure, and on July 7, 1958, Today moved across the street to Studio 3K in the RCA Building, where it remained through the early 1960s. On July 9, 1962, the program returned to a street-side studio in the space then occupied by the Florida Showcase. Each day, the Today production crew would have to move the Florida-related tourism merchandise off the floor and wheel in the Today news set, desks, chairs and cameras. When the show wrapped at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time, the news set would be put away and the tourism merchandise returned to the floor. After three years in the Florida Showcase, Today moved back to the RCA Building on September 13, 1965. The network converted its news programming to all-color broadcasts at that time, and NBC could not justify allocating four (then-expensive) color cameras to the Florida Showcase studio. For the next 20 years, the show occupied a series of studios on the third, sixth, and eighth floors of NBC's headquarters; most notably Studio 3K in the 1970s, Studio 8G (adjacent to Studio 8H, home to Saturday Night Live) in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and finally Studio 3B from 1983 to 1994. Studio 1A Today moved to the new street-side studio on June 20, 1994, providing a link to the show's 1950s origin. Since the debut of the 1990s set, the national morning news programs of each of the major broadcast and cable-news networks have moved street-side – including two of Today's Rockefeller Center neighbors, Fox News' Fox & Friends (at Sixth Avenue) and CNN's since-cancelled American Morning (in the summer of 2005, CNN reversed the trend, abandoning its street-level studio and moving upstairs in the Time Warner Center at Columbus Circle). ABC's Good Morning America broadcasts from Times Square Studios, although only a portion of its studio is street side. The outdoor studio at the Torino Winter Olympic Games, 2006 In 2006, Studio 1A underwent a major renovation to prepare for the upgrade to high-definition television broadcasts. After the departure of Katie Couric and while a new set was readied (during the summer of 2006), the program was broadcast from a temporary outdoor studio in Rockefeller Plaza, the same set that NBC used at the Olympic Games since 2004.[12] During the week of August 28, 2006, the show was moved to a temporary location outside of Studio 1A because MTV was converting the outdoor studio into their red carpet booth for the 2006 MTV Video Music Awards. A mock set was set up in Dateline NBC's studio, which was also used during inclement weather. The program also used a temporary outdoor set at NBC Studios, and MSNBC's Countdown with Keith Olbermann (which joined at Studio 1A in 30 Rock on October 22, 2007). Today set in 2015 On September 13, 2006, Today moved back into the revamped Studio 1A space. The new studio was divided into five different sections on the lower level including an interview area, the couch area, the news desk, the performance/interview/extra space area, and home base, which is where the anchors start the show. A gigantic Panasonic 103-inch plasma display monitor is often used for graphic display backgrounds. A kitchen set is located upstairs from the main studio. The blue background that is seen in the opening of the show in home base moves up and down to allow a view of the outside from the home base. Some minor changes were implemented throughout the early and middle part of 2013, not only in the way that things are presented, but also with modified graphics and minor updates to the set. That year, a new, larger anchor desk was introduced with space to seat all four main anchors (Guthrie, Lauer, Morales and Roker). The new desk brought an end to the "news desk", as the third "news reader" (Morales) now sits at the main anchor desk. Other minor changes included a new larger desk for the third hour. After the August 16, 2013, broadcast, the program vacated Studio 1A, while the space underwent a remodeling with a more modern look with (as stated by executive producer Don Nash) "a lot more bells and whistles to play with.” Studio 1A in 2017 showcasing the 6' x 16' screen On September 16, 2013, Today debuted a new set and graphics package (it was originally set to debut on September 9, 2013, but was delayed one week to complete final design details).[13] The "home base" is located on a platform that can spin 360°, therefore allowing the view and direction of the camera to change depending on the half-hour. A new couch and background was added in the "sofa area" (where the anchors sit and discuss topics). A social media area known as the "Orange Room,” was also added to Studio 1A, which contains screens that display Twitter comments or trending topics,[14] Carson Daly was hired to present segments from the room during the broadcast.[15] Six screens that also connect to one 6' x 16' screen were added in the fashion/special topic area. During its first two days of use, the show transitioned away from its news and entertainment format to a format that emphasized the social interaction of the anchors, Roker and newsreader. The graphics were also overhauled with introduction of the new set (a slightly modified version of this package and the revised logo debuted on Early Today that November, further integrating the early-morning news program's branding with Today). The logo-to-peacock animation was moved from the left corner to the bottom right side corner of the screen. The logo that was first previewed on September 13, 2013, pared down the number of circular arches from five to three with its coloring switching from different variations – generally shades of red, orange and yellow to depict a sunrise – to entirely orange. In September 2015 Today updated the set once again,[16] the update included new floors, a new couch, and a new anchor desk. The new set retains the 360 home base used in the previous design. The new set replaced much of the dark wood colors with lighter colors and removed the emphasis of orange in previous design in favor of orange accents. In February 2018, while Guthrie and Kotb were at the 2018 Winter Olympics, the studio received minor changes including new screens and flooring in the former screen area; and by November of the same year, the Orange Room got a minor change that included a triangular-pattern wall and wooden flooring. On-air staff Weekdays Savannah Guthrie Savannah Guthrie Hoda Kotb Hoda Kotb Al Roker Al Roker Craig Melvin Craig Melvin Carson Daly Carson Daly Sheinelle Jones Sheinelle Jones Dylan Dreyer Dylan Dreyer Jenna Bush Hager Jenna Bush Hager Main show During the week, the flagship hours of Today (7:00 a.m. – 9:00 a.m.) are co-anchored by Savannah Guthrie (2012–present) and Hoda Kotb (2018–present) alongside co-hosts Al Roker (weather anchor, 1996–present), Craig Melvin (news anchor, 2018–present) and Carson Daly (features anchor, 2013–present) Third hour Sheinelle Jones and Dylan Dreyer – who appear on the main show as contributors – serve as the co-hosts (with Roker and Melvin) of 3rd Hour Today at 9:00 a.m. Fourth hour Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager co-host the fourth hour – titled Today with Hoda & Jenna – at 10:00 a.m. Note: 3rd Hour and Hoda & Jenna – while part of the Today show – are their own distinct entities and are listed as such.[17] Weekends Peter Alexander Saturday Co-Anchor Peter Alexander Saturday Co-Anchor Kristen Welker Saturday Co-Anchor Kristen Welker Saturday Co-Anchor Willie Geist Sunday Anchor Willie Geist Sunday Anchor Saturday editions are anchored by Peter Alexander and Kristen Welker alongside co-hosts Joe Fryer (features anchor) and Somara Theodore (weather anchor) from Washington, D.C. Sunday editions are anchored by Willie Geist from New York City. Former staff Today anchors started out as "Communicators". Creator Pat Weaver envisioned a person whose responsibilities would go beyond the bounds of traditional sit-down news anchors. The Communicator would interview, report, moderate dialogue and generally tie the show together into a coherent whole.[18] Garroway and his successors have all followed that model, with little variation. Now, the hosts are expected to do much the same, and on any given day will talk with correspondents, newsmakers and lifestyle experts; introduce and close each half-hour, conduct special segments (such as cooking or fashion) and go on-assignment to host the program from different locations. Although the "Communicator" nomenclature has since dropped out of favor, the job remains largely the same. Anchors Including Hoda Kotb and Savannah Guthrie, eight men and eight women have served as primary Today hosts since the program's inception:[19] Dave Garroway (January 14, 1952 – June 16, 1961) John Chancellor (July 17, 1961 – September 7, 1962) Hugh Downs (September 10, 1962 – October 8, 1971) Barbara Walters (September 16, 1966 – June 4, 1976) Frank McGee (October 11, 1971 – April 17, 1974) Jim Hartz (July 29, 1974 – August 23, 1976) Tom Brokaw (August 30, 1976 – December 18, 1981) Jane Pauley (October 11, 1976 – December 29, 1989) Bryant Gumbel (January 4, 1982 – January 3, 1997) Deborah Norville (January 8, 1990 – February 22, 1991) Katie Couric (April 5, 1991 – May 31, 2006) Matt Lauer (January 6, 1997 – November 28, 2017) Meredith Vieira (September 13, 2006 – June 8, 2011) Ann Curry (June 9, 2011 – June 28, 2012) Savannah Guthrie (July 9, 2012 – present) Hoda Kotb (January 2, 2018 – present) Host tenures by duration # Host Number of years 1 Matt Lauer 20 years, 331 days 2 Katie Couric 15 years, 60 days 3 Bryant Gumbel 15 years, 3 days 4 Jane Pauley 13 years, 82 days 5 Savannah Guthrie 9 years, 343 days (ongoing) 6 Barbara Walters 9 years, 264 days 7 Dave Garroway 9 years, 156 days 8 Hugh Downs 9 years, 30 days 9 Tom Brokaw 5 years, 111 days 10 Meredith Vieira 4 years, 269 days 11 Hoda Kotb 4 years, 166 days (ongoing) 12 Frank McGee 2 years, 189 days 13 Jim Hartz 2 years, 26 days 14 John Chancellor 1 year, 52 days 15 Deborah Norville 1 year, 45 days 16 Ann Curry 1 year, 20 days Notes: Walters was hired as a Today writer and researcher in 1961, making her first appearance that August with a segment on the Paris fashion show. She was appointed as a "Today Girl" and reporter in October 1964; a Today panelist in September 1966, and became the program's first female co-anchor upon Frank McGee's death in April 1974. Pauley was hired as a Today panelist in 1976, and was promoted to co-anchor when Bryant Gumbel joined the program in 1982. Curry served as the show's Anchor at Large from 2012 to 2015, after her time as a primary host. Guthrie first joined Today as co-host of the third hour, in 2012 she was promoted as co-anchor replacing Ann Curry. News anchors From the show's inception, the idea of providing the latest news headlines has been critical to the function of the program. In that vein, there has always been at least one person on set whose job it is to prepare and deliver newscasts. In 1952, that person was called the "news editor" or (informally) "news chief". In modern parlance, the term "newsreader" or "news anchor" is preferred. Under the two-hour format, four newscasts were delivered, once every half-hour. Presently, there are only two newscasts, delivered at the top of each of the first two hours. Some anchors, including Jim Fleming, Lew Wood, Floyd Kalber and John Palmer, were seasoned journalists before joining the program. Others, including Ann Curry, have used the position to increase their journalistic acumen, at times leaving the newsdesk behind to venture into the field. News anchors have included the following: The program in 1961: John Chancellor, Frank Blair, and Edwin Newman Jim Fleming (1952–1953) Merrill Mueller (1953) Frank Blair (1953–1975) Lew Wood (1975–1976)[20] Floyd Kalber (1976–1979) Tony Guida (1979) No separate news anchor (1979–1981, Tom Brokaw and Jane Pauley read headlines) Chris Wallace and Pauley (1982) John Palmer (1982–1989) Deborah Norville (1989) Faith Daniels (1990–1992) Margaret Larson (1992–1994) Matt Lauer (1994–1997) Ann Curry (1997–2011) Natalie Morales (2011–2016) No separate news anchor (2016–2018, co-anchors read headlines) Craig Melvin (2018–present)[21] Weather anchors For the program's first 25 years, weather reports were delivered by the host or newsreader. Dave Garroway illustrated the day's forecast by drawing fronts and areas of precipitation on a big chalkboard map of the United States, based on information gathered earlier in the morning from the National Weather Service in Washington, D.C. Subsequent hosts John Chancellor and Hugh Downs dropped the chalkboard weather map concept, and instead read a prepared weather summary over a still image of a weather map. When the show converted to all-color broadcasts in 1965, weather maps were prepared and projected on a screen behind Frank Blair, who delivered the forecast immediately after his news summaries.[22] Following Blair's retirement on March 14, 1975, Lew Wood took over the newsreader and weather reporting duties (using Blair's format). When Floyd Kalber became newsreader in 1976, Wood was relegated to weather, sports, roving reporter assignments, and presenting live on-air commercials until his departure in 1978. The weather is reported every half-hour during the program's first two hours, though since Al Roker was named weather reporter on January 26, 1996, an interview is conducted by him in place of the national weather forecast at least once during the show, leaving only the local weather inserts by NBC stations. Prior to Roker, Today weather reporters were Bob Ryan (1978–1980) and Willard Scott (1980–1996). Until Ryan's hiring, no one on the show had practical experience or academic credentials in meteorology. With NBC's purchase of The Weather Channel in 2008, personnel from that network frequently participate in Today forecast segments, at the site of a weather event or from the cable channel's suburban Atlanta headquarters, or as a fill-in for Roker. This lasted until ten years later when TWC was later acquired by Entertainment Studios. NBC owned-and-operated stations and network affiliates are given a 30-second window to insert a local forecast segment into the program following the national weather report; Roker's outcue for the local break is "That's what's going on around the country, here's what's happening in your neck of the woods," although in recent years, this outcue was used during only starting the second half-hour. During the first half hour, Roker simply uses "your local forecast" which appears after a 30-second commercial. Those not watching on an affiliate which provides local weather segments following the outcue (including international viewers, as well as NBC stations that do not have a news department) see a national summary of temperatures on a weather map. The semi-retired Scott, who gained fame through his antics that included costumes and props,[23] still appeared on-air to continue his tradition of wishing "happy birthday" to centenarian. Scott's traditional local cue was "Here's what's happening in your world, even as we speak." He retired completely from television on December 15, 2015. Regular panelists 1973 show panel: Gene Shalit, Barbara Walters and Frank McGee The job of "panelist" has no set definition. Panelist duties can range from conducting interviews to reporting on a number of topics in-studio and in the field. Regular panelists on the program include the following: Jack Lescoulie (1952–1965) Edwin Newman (1952–1984) Barbara Walters (1966–1974, officially titled "co-host" in 1974) Judith Crist (1964–1973) Joe Garagiola Sr. (1967–1973 and 1990–1992) Gene Shalit (1973–2010) Today Girls From 1952 to 1964, a notable member of the cast was a woman, often an entertainer, the Today Girl. Usually, she discussed fashion and lifestyle, reported the weather, covered lighter-fare stories or engaged in verbal jousting with Garroway. Estelle Parsons was the first to hold the job, though her title at the time was "Women's Editor". Upon her departure in 1955, the Today Girl name was adopted. The last to hold the position, Barbara Walters, discussed the job in her autobiography Audition: A Memoir. She wrote that the era was before the feminism, and it was believed that nobody would take a woman seriously reporting "infotainment", Walters described the position as a "tea pourer".[24] In 1966, Walters was promoted to co-anchor alongside Hugh Downs, and the Today Girl position was eliminated. Those who held the position were: Estelle Parsons (official title: "Women's Editor", 1952–1955) Lee Meriwether (1955–1956) Helen O'Connell (1956–1958) Betsy Palmer (1958) Florence Henderson (1959–1960) Joyce Davidson (1960) Pat Fontaine (1962-1963) Maureen O'Sullivan (1964) J. Fred Muggs From 1953 to 1957, the program featured J. Fred Muggs, a chimpanzee whose antics entertained viewers, but frustrated the program's staff, especially Dave Garroway. Also occasionally appearing was J. Fred's "girlfriend" Phoebe B. Beebe. Transitions Pauley to Norville In 1989, Deborah Norville (then anchor of the network's early-morning news program at the time, NBC News at Sunrise) replaced John Palmer at the Today newsdesk, at which point he assumed her previous role on Sunrise. She also began substituting for Tom Brokaw on NBC Nightly News. Shortly after Norville's appointment as Today's news anchor, the decision was made to feature her as an unofficial third host. Whereas Palmer had read the news from a desk separate from where Gumbel and Pauley sat, Norville was seated alongside the program's hosts at the opening and closing of every show. Before long, gossip columns and media observers predicted that NBC would remove Jane Pauley from the program and replace her with Norville in an effort to improve the program's recently declining viewership among young women, the demographic most coveted by morning shows.[25] During this period, Saturday Night Live featured a sketch titled "All About Deborah Norville" (a takeoff on the classic film All About Eve), which depicted Norville as ruthlessly scheming to take Pauley's place as Today co-host. In October 1989, it was announced that 13-year veteran Pauley would leave Today at the end of the year.[26] NBC, as expected, announced that Norville would become co-host. An emotional Norville hugged Pauley on the air after the announcement was made, and many at the network hoped the negative press generated by Norville's increased presence on the program would end. However, this turned out not to be the case. Prior to the announcement of Pauley's departure, much of the criticism had focused on Norville's youth and beauty, with many branding her "the other woman" and a "home wrecker", in a reference to what some felt seemed like her intent on "breaking up" the television marriage of Gumbel and Pauley.[27] The negative press only heightened after the announcement of Pauley's resignation, and Norville was put under a gag order by NBC brass, which prevented her from defending herself from the widespread and erroneous reports that she somehow orchestrated her rise on Today. In January 1990, the new anchor team of Bryant Gumbel and Deborah Norville, minus Jane Pauley, debuted with disastrous results. Nielsen ratings for the program began to plummet. Critics felt that Gumbel and Norville lacked chemistry and many loyal viewers began turning to rival ABC's Good Morning America (GMA). Norville to Couric By the end of 1990, Today, the longtime dominant program, was officially the second-place morning show behind GMA, and most of the blame was pinned on Norville. By the outbreak of the Gulf War in 1991, Norville saw her role as co-host continually minimized. Today aired special editions of the program called "America at War", with Gumbel anchoring most of the show alone. It was not uncommon for Norville not even to appear until the two-hour show's second half-hour. In addition, she was directed not to initiate conversation on the show and only speak when asked a question by Gumbel. Norville left the show for parental leave in February 1991. It was announced that Katie Couric would substitute co-host during Norville's absence. Ratings for the program rose immediately following Norville's departure and Couric's arrival.[28] Midway though her maternity leave, Norville was interviewed by People. In the story, she avoided conversation about her recent trouble on Today, and instead focused on her newborn baby boy. She was photographed breastfeeding her son, a seemingly innocuous event, but NBC management was said to be greatly displeased by this, believing the photo to be "in poor taste". By April 1991, in light of improved ratings on Today and NBC's displeasure at the People photograph, it was announced that Norville would not return to Today and that Katie Couric had been named the program's co-host. Norville, it was disclosed, would continue to be paid in accordance with her contract, although she would no longer appear on any NBC News programs. Couric to Vieira On April 5, 2006, Katie Couric announced on her 15th anniversary as co-host of Today that she would leave the program and NBC News at the end of May to become the new anchor and managing editor of the CBS Evening News. Couric's final broadcast, on May 31, 2006, was dedicated to her 15 years as one of the show's co-hosts, and celebrated her move to the anchor chair at CBS, where she also became a correspondent for the network's Sunday night newsmagazine program 60 Minutes. Couric said during the show, "It's been a pleasure hosting this program, and thank you for fifteen great years." A special video presentation was broadcast, recapping her best moments and news stories on Today during her 15 years with the show. The day after Couric's announcement, Meredith Vieira, then a host of ABC's The View announced on that show that she would take over as Lauer's co-anchor in September. Lauer and Vieira began co-hosting together on September 13, 2006. On June 1, 2006 (the day after Couric's departure), NBC News announced that for the summer of 2006, Today would move to a temporary outdoor studio as Studio 1A was going through renovations to prepare for its switch to high-definition. On that same day, NBC News launched a new advertisement promoting Vieira's arrival. That summer, Couric's anchor seat was filled by various hosts, consisting of Curry, Morales and Campbell Brown (all of whom were considered candidates to replace Couric), until Vieira took over that fall. In March 2010, Vieira signed a contract to keep her with the program until at least September 2011.[29] However, she announced on May 9, 2011, that she would depart as co-host in the following month, but would remain at NBC News as a special correspondent.[30] Vieira to Curry After announcing her resignation, Meredith Vieira departed the program on June 8, 2011. Vieira's spot was filled by the program's longtime news anchor Ann Curry, appearing alongside Matt Lauer as co-host. Correspondent Natalie Morales replaced Curry as news anchor in turn, with Al Roker remaining as the weather anchor. Savannah Guthrie joined Morales and Roker as co-host of the third (9:00 a.m.) hour. Almost a year after her departure, Vieira returned briefly to Today as a special correspondent for events relating to Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee Celebration. On June 5, 2012, she co-presented the show with Lauer from London. Curry to Guthrie NBC revealed on June 28, 2012, that Ann Curry would no longer co-host Today, and would continue to work for NBC News (where she remained until her departure in January 2015), including continuing to appear on Today. Curry's title was changed to "Today Anchor at Large and NBC News National & International Correspondent," with responsibilities including leading a seven-person unit producing content for NBC Nightly News, Dateline NBC, Rock Center with Brian Williams and Today, with occasional anchor duties for Nightly News. Curry also reported for NBC's coverage of the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. On July 9, 2012, Savannah Guthrie succeeded Curry as co-anchor alongside Lauer, Roker and Morales.[31] Ann Curry's final show as co-anchor was subdued compared to the earlier departures of Katie Couric and Meredith Vieira, as it did not include retrospectives of Curry's 15-year run on the program or goodbye to messages from colleagues and celebrities, although Curry – seated alongside Lauer, Natalie Morales and Al Roker in the couch area of the Studio 1A set – gave a tear-filled farewell message to viewers.[32][33] Rumors of Curry's departure from Today began weeks before NBC formally announced that she would no longer be co-host, spurring negative press similar to that resulting from the departure of Jane Pauley and her replacement by Deborah Norville 23 years earlier, as early reports suggested that Matt Lauer had a hand in the program's decision to let Curry go.[34][35][36] Viewership declines for the program that began in the months following Curry becoming co-host precipitated in part due to public criticism over Lauer's alleged involvement in Curry's departure; loyal viewers once again began turning to the competing Good Morning America, which toppled Today's 16-year consecutive run as the top-rated morning news program during the week of April 9, 2012.[2] The public relations problems for Lauer that resulted from the accusations, led then-executive producer Jim Bell to admit responsibility for the negative press, in defense of Lauer, in a series of interviews with The New York Times, The Hollywood Reporter and the Associated Press.[37][38][39] Lauer to Kotb On November 29, 2017, Hoda Kotb became the interim co-anchor after Matt Lauer was terminated. Prior to that, she has been a featured co-anchor of Today, sitting alongside Lauer and Guthrie at the beginning of the second half-hour. She held that position on April 17, 2017, after her return from maternity leave until Lauer's termination on November 29, 2017. On January 2, 2018, her interim status became permanent, making her and Savannah Guthrie the first all-female anchor duo in Today's history and the second all-female anchor duo overall. NBC News Chairman Andrew Lack said in an email that Kotb has "seamlessly stepped" into the position, and with Guthrie, "quickly hit the ground running". "They have an undeniable connection with each other and most importantly, with viewers, a hallmark of Today," Lack added.[40] Just before the holidays, NBC executives offered the job to Kotb.[41] She also continued to co-host the fourth hour of the show, a role she has held since 2007. Controversies Gumbel's memo In 1989, Bryant Gumbel wrote a memo to the program's then-executive producer Marty Ryan, which was critical of other Today personalities, and was leaked to the press. In the memo, Gumbel commented that Willard Scott "holds the show hostage to his assortment of whims, wishes, birthdays and bad taste... This guy is killing us and no one's even trying to rein him in." He commented that Gene Shalit's movie reviews "are often late and his interviews aren't very good".[42] There was enough negative backlash in regard to Gumbel's comments toward Scott that Gumbel was shown reconciling with Scott on Today.[43] Selective editing of George Zimmerman 9-1-1 call After the killing of Trayvon Martin, Today ran a selectively edited version of the 9-1-1 call that George Zimmerman made prior to shooting and killing Martin (which he defended as being committed in self-defense while standing trial for the shooting, for which he was acquitted on charges of murder in July 2013), which had the effect of making Zimmerman appear racist. In a March 2012 edition of the program, Today played a recording of Zimmerman saying, "This guy looks like he's up to no good. He looks black." However, several seconds of the call were cut from the 911 tape, removing Zimmerman's description of Martin, and a question asked to him about the teenager by the 911 operator. In the original, unedited tape, Zimmerman said, "This guy looks like he's up to no good. Or he's on drugs or something. It's raining and he's just walking around, looking about." The operator then asked, "OK, and this guy – is he black, white or Hispanic?", to which Zimmerman answered, "He looks black." The Washington Post wrote that Today's alteration "would more readily paint Zimmerman as a racial profiing. In reality's version, Zimmerman simply answered a question about the race of the person whom he was reporting to the police. Nothing prejudicial at all in responding to such an inquiry... it's a falsehood with repercussions. Much of the public discussion over the past week has settled on how conflicting facts and interpretations call into question whether Zimmerman acted justifiably or criminally... To portray that exchange in a way that wrongs Zimmerman is high editorial malpractice..."[44] Following an internal investigation into the production of the segment, NBC News fired two employees who were involved in the piece, including a producer based at the division's Miami bureau, in April 2012.[45] In December 2012, George Zimmerman filed a defamation lawsuit against NBC for the editing of the 911 call. Florida Circuit Court Judge Debra Nelson dismissed the suit on June 30, 2014, citing that there were "no genuine issues of material fact upon which a reasonable jury could find that the Defendants [NBCUniversal] acted with actual malice," but although Zimmerman could not prove that he was the victim of "actual malice", stated that the malice standard was appropriate since Zimmerman is a public figure.[46] 9/11 Moment of Silence omission On September 11, 2012, Today sparked outrage after the program neglected to interrupt an interview with Keeping Up with the Kardashians co-star Kris Jenner to broadcast the 11th anniversary remembrance ceremonies of the September 11 attacks at 8:46 a.m. Eastern.[47] NBC was the only national television news outlet in the United States that did not interrupt regular programming to broadcast the moment of silence live. While the coverage of the ceremonies was not seen on the NBC network feed in most of the country, the network's New York City flagship owned-and-operated station WNBC interrupted the Today broadcast to run locally produced special coverage of the entire ceremony.[48] Matt Lauer termination On November 29, 2017, NBC terminated Lauer following allegations of "inappropriate sexual behavior". NBC News chairman Andrew Lack announced Lauer's termination, stating: "It represented, after serious review, a clear violation of our company's standards. As a result, we've decided to terminate his employment. While it is the first complaint about his behavior in the over twenty years he's been at NBC News, we were also presented with reason to believe this may not have been an isolated incident. Our highest priority is to create a workplace environment where everyone feels safe and protected, and to ensure that any actions that run counter to our core values are met with consequences, no matter who the offender." Lauer would eventually be replaced by the long-time anchor of Today's 4th Hour, Hoda Kotb.[49] Although NBC did not publicly report or comment on the specifics of the allegations, the entertainment industry publication Variety ran a two-month long investigation involving interviews with Lauer's former NBC colleagues on his behavior towards them, which included lurid accusations of making verbal and typed lewd comments, as well as making suggestive references to a colleague's sexual performance.[50] Megyn Kelly blackface controversy During the episode of October 23, 2018, Megyn Kelly participated in a panel discussion on the appropriateness of blackface in Halloween costume on her morning show Megyn Kelly Today. During the segment, Kelly recollected that "when I was a kid, that was okay as long as you were dressing up as like a character", and added that "[Luann de Lesseps] wants to look like Diana Ross for one day, and I don't know how that got racist on Halloween." Her comments were widely criticized for being interpreted as defense of the practice, which is generally considered to be a derogatory caricature of African-Americans.[51] Critics likened Kelly's remarks to a previous incident during her tenure at Fox News Channel, where Kelly asserted that Jesus and Santa Claus were white.[52][53] Later that day, Kelly issued an internal email apologizing for the remarks, stating that "I realize now that such behavior is indeed wrong, and I am sorry", and that "I've never been a 'pc' kind of person — but I understand that we do need to be more sensitive in this day and age. Particularly on race and ethnicity issues which, far from being healed, have been exacerbated in our politics over the past year. This is a time for more understanding, love, sensitivity and honor, and I want to be part of that. I look forward to continuing that discussion."[51] Kelly opened the October 24 episode with a public apology, as well as a follow-up discussion with African-American commentators Amy Holmes and Roland Martin on why blackface is considered controversial.[53][54] The same day, The Hollywood Reporter reported that Kelly had left the Creative Artists Agency, and had hired an attorney. It was also reported that, prior to the incident, Kelly and NBC had been discussing cancelling the program so she could focus more on serving as a correspondent, but that the comments may have an impact on her future at the network. The week's remaining episodes were replaced by encores.[55][56][57] On October 26, 2018, NBC News confirmed the cancellation of Megyn Kelly Today and announced that the show's existing anchors would temporarily fill the third hour.[58] Expansion Current Weekend Today Main article: Weekend Today Today first expanded to weekends on September 20, 1987, with the debut of the Sunday edition. Five years later on August 1, 1992, the Saturday edition made its debut, expanding the program to seven days a week. The Sunday broadcast was originally 90 minutes in length, until the third half-hour being dropped with the expansion of Meet the Press to an hour-long broadcast in 1992; it now airs for one hour, while the Saturday broadcast airs for two hours. The weekend broadcasts continue the Today format of covering breaking news, interviews with newsmakers, reports on a variety of popular-culture and human-interest stories, covering health and finance issues, and national weather reports. NBC feeds the Saturday edition from 7:00 a.m. – 9:00 a.m. (although it is often shortened to air the network's kids' block in full when there is an early start to sports) and the Sunday edition from 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. (both in the Eastern Time Zone), although many of the network's affiliates air local newscasts in those time slots and carry the network broadcast earlier or later in the morning; many NBC affiliates also bookend the Sunday edition with local morning newscasts that immediately precede and follow the program. NBC's New York City, Chicago, San Francisco and Los Angeles owned-and-operated stations air Weekend Today simultaneously (but not live) at 9:00 a.m Eastern, 8:00 a.m. Central and 6:00 a.m. Pacific Time. Weekend editions are tailored to the priorities and interests of weekend viewers – offering special series such as "Saturday Today on the Plaza", featuring live performances by major music acts and Broadway theatrical productions outside the studio throughout the summer. During NBC Olympic broadcasts, the weekday anchors and staff present the majority of the program on both Saturday and Sunday throughout the two weeks to maintain promotional momentum, with limited contributions from the weekend team from New York. Early Today Main article: Early Today The first brand extension of Today was created in 1982. The early morning news program Early Today was conceived as a lead-in for Today, featuring the same anchors as the main program at the time, Bryant Gumbel and Jane Pauley. The half-hour program was fed twice to allow affiliates to carry one or both broadcasts. NBC canceled the program after a year, and replaced it with NBC News at Sunrise, originally anchored by Connie Chung. In April 1999, NBC canceled Sunrise for two brand extensions of Today. One was Early Today which was revived September 7, 1999; the revived program originally was produced by CNBC and focused on business and financial news before switching to general news under the same production staff as MSNBC First Look in 2004. Early Today continues to air on the network, airing live each weekday morning at 3:00 a.m. Eastern Time (with an updated telecast for viewers in the Pacific Time Zone), and on tape delay until 10:00 a.m. Eastern – corresponding with the start time of Today in the Pacific Time Zone – to allow for adjustment in airtimes for other time zones and for certain NBC stations without a local morning newscast to air Early Today in lieu of one. Today 3rd Hour Today Also known as 3rd Hour Today The 3rd Genre Talk show News Program Presented by Craig Melvin Al Roker Sheinelle Jones Dylan Dreyer Production Production location NBC Studios Camera setup Multi-camera Running time 44–52 minutes Release Original release October 29, 2018 – present Chronology Preceded by Megyn Kelly Today Today 3rd Hour (sometimes called The 3rd), the current name for the third hour of Today, features anchors who appear in the first two hours of the program. After Megyn Kelly Today was cancelled on October 26, 2018, NBC announced that Today anchors would host the third hour.[59] The new third hour premiered on October 29, 2018, with Hoda Kotb, Craig Melvin and Al Roker anchoring for the first 20 minutes from Studio 1A, reporting on the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting, with Savannah Guthrie anchoring live from Pittsburgh.[60] At the top of the program, Kotb said: "Today, as you know, we are starting a new chapter in the third hour of our show as it evolves. We want you to know that the entire Today family will continue to bring you informative and important stories, just as we always have."[61] After 20 minutes, the program continued with Jenna Bush Hager from Studio 6A, the former home of Megyn Kelly Today, where broadcasts of the third hour would begin to be based.[62] Since its debut, the third hour has used a modified nameless opening title sequence compared to the other editions of Today. Various other Today and NBC News personalities filled in until January, when it was announced that the official hosts would be Al Roker, Sheinelle Jones, Dylan Dreyer and Craig Melvin. On December 4, 2018, an NBC News spokesperson confirmed that the third hour would move to Studio 1A to streamline the production process and create a more seamless broadcast. The last day at Studio 6A was January 4, 2019, with new broadcasts in Studio 1A beginning on January 7.[63] Today with Hoda & Jenna Main article: Today with Hoda & Jenna Today with Hoda & Jenna premiered on April 8, 2019, as the fourth hour of Today, succeeding Kathie Lee & Hoda.[64] The program is hosted by Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager, and continues to follow a similar format as its predecessor as its own distinct entity.[65] Today All Day On July 15, 2020, NBC launched a digital extension of Today known as Today All Day, which is a streaming video channel on the program's website and Peacock.[6] It features blocks of soft news and lifestyle segments drawn from the program, as well as original content hosted by the program's personalities. NBC plans to eventually widen its distribution via third-party internet TV services in addition to its own.[66] Former Later Today On September 7, 1999, NBC launched Later Today, a talk show that was intended to air immediately following the then two-hour Today. Replacing Leeza (which would continue in first-run syndication for one more year) on the network's morning schedule, Later Today was hosted by Jodi Applegate, Florence Henderson and Asha Blake. The program was cancelled on August 11, 2000, due to lackluster ratings; it was replaced two months later by the third hour of Today, later known as Today's Take. Today's Take Today Also known as The Take Genre Talk Show Presented by Al Roker Ann Curry Natalie Morales Willie Geist Tamron Hall Billy Bush Dylan Dreyer Sheinelle Jones Production Production locations Rockefeller Plaza, Manhattan, New York City Camera setup Multi-camera Running time 44–52 minutes Release Original release November 12, 2012 – September 22, 2017 Chronology Followed by Megyn Kelly Today Today's Take (sometimes called The Take) was the third-hour segment of Today. This "show-within-a-show" had its own anchors (although featuring on-air staff that appears during the first two hours of the program), opening title sequence and theme music. On October 2, 2000, NBC expanded Today to three hours, with the addition of an hour from 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. For its first twelve years, the format of the third hour was originally structured similarly to Today's first two hours, using the same anchors as that portion of the broadcast; separate anchors began to be used for the third hour over time, with only the news anchor (Ann Curry until 2011, then Natalie Morales) and the weather anchor (Al Roker) being shared with the main 7:00 a.m. – 9:00 a.m. block – this was particularly the case during instances where Matt Lauer or his co-host (Katie Couric, then Meredith Vieira from 2006 to 2011, Ann Curry from 2011 to 2012, and finally Savannah Guthrie during the final months of the original format) could not be present for the entire hour due to reporting assignments or personal commitments. Vieira, outside of breaking news situations, was specifically disallowed by contract from any duties in the third hour due to her hosting commitments to the syndicated version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire by Disney–ABC Domestic Television. The network revamped the format of the third hour on November 12, 2012, and gave it the in-program title Today's Take. Roker was joined during the revamped third hour by Natalie Morales and Willie Geist (who had recently joined Today after ending his run as the original anchor of MSNBC's Way Too Early); MSNBC anchor and Today correspondent Tamron Hall was added as a co-host for that hour of the program on February 24, 2014, and Ellie Kemper joined the program on June 29, 2015, as a temporary co-host (until July 17, 2015).[67] With the change, traditional news segments at the beginning of the hour were abandoned in favor of a topical "host chat" format similar to the opening segment of the succeeding fourth hour of the program (with the only difference being that top general news events are discussed somewhat more often, in addition to featuring topical discussions on offbeat and pop culture-related stories and periodic clips from television programs aired the previous night and viral video). Instead, the news segment (titled News with Natalie, anchored by Morales, and alternately titled Today's News on days when Morales is off) is featured prior to the local update cutaways near the end of the first half-hour; national weather segments are also retained following the host chat segments in both half-hours. Beginning in May 2015, the News with Natalie/Today's News segment moved to 9:30 a.m. and the national weather segment to follow and the host chat at 9:30 a.m. was discontinued. On August 22, 2016, both Morales and Geist left Today's Take and former Access Hollywood host Billy Bush officially joined the set. Bush was later suspended and eventually fired from the segment as well as the program following Donald Trump Access Hollywood tape during U.S. Republican and presidential candidate Donald Trump's campaign in October 2016. On February 1, 2017, Hall left Today's Take. Weekend co-anchor Sheinelle Jones and weekend meteorologist Dylan Dreyer filled in as co-hosts alongside Roker until a new morning lineup began in the fall.[68] Today's Take aired its final episode on September 22, 2017, and Megyn Kelly Today replaced it on September 25, 2017. Megyn Kelly Today Main article: Megyn Kelly Today Megyn Kelly Today premiered on September 25, 2017, as a replacement for Today's Take. It was hosted by former Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly, and was structured as a daytime talk show.[69][70][71][72][73][74] In the wake of stable but lower viewership in comparison to the timeslot's predecessor, a desire by Kelly to focus more on her overall role at NBC News, and in the wake of controversy over a recent segment discussing blackface,[75][76] the show was officially cancelled on October 26, 2018.[77][78] Kelly never again appeared on NBC and departed the network three months later. Today with Kathie Lee and Hoda Main article: Today with Hoda & Jenna Today with Kathie Lee and Hoda was the fourth-hour segment of Today hosted by Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb, which aired from April 7, 2008, to April 5, 2019. It replaced the original fourth hour that debuted earlier that fall on September 10, 2007, originally hosted by Ann Curry, Natalie Morales, and Hoda Kotb. The program was its own distinct entity, with its own website and social media presence. The fourth hour does not have news or weather segments or input from the earlier hosts and is structured virtually as a standalone talk show, with an opening "host chat" segment reminiscent of the one popularized by Gifford and Regis Philbin on Live! with Regis and Kathie Lee (which aired on ABC between 1987 and 2000), as well as interviews and features focusing on entertainment, fashion and other topics aimed at female viewers. On December 11, 2018, NBC and Gifford announced that she will be retiring from her position of anchoring the fourth hour in April 2019, her 11th anniversary since joining Today.[79][80] Kotb continues co-anchoring the fourth hour.[81] On February 26, 2019, NBC announced that Jenna Bush Hager, the daughter of former U.S. President George W. Bush would replace Gifford.[82] Music This section may contain an excessive amount of intricate detail that may interest only a particular audience. Please help by spinning off or relocating any relevant information, and removing excessive detail that may be against Wikipedia's inclusion policy. (October 2019) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Today host Dave Garroway selected Les Brown's "Sentimental Journey" as the program's original theme music, which was used during Garroway's entire run from 1952 to 1961. In 1962, when Hugh Downs became host, Django Reinhardt's "Melodie au Crepuscule" was chosen as the new theme; it was replaced in 1963 by "Misty", an instrumental ballad composed by Erroll Garner and performed by Bobby Hackett and John B. Seng.[83] "Misty" served as Today's theme until 1971, when NBC News correspondent Frank McGee joined the show. Composer Ray Ellis penned an instrumental theme entitled "This is Today", a jazzy, up-tempo piece that served as the program's main theme until 1978. Because This is Today closely resembled Stephen Schwartz's song "Day by Day" from the musical Godspell, Schwartz successfully sued for copyright infringement.[84] "This is Today" was revised as a result, with the second version of the piece incorporating the familiar NBC chimes was used until 1981, at the close of the Tom Brokaw–Jane Pauley era.[83] The chimes were also used throughout the program to introduce and conclude segments, usually in combination with the familiar Today sunburst logo. By the time Bryant Gumbel was appointed co-anchor of the program in 1982, a new version of Ellis' "This is Today" theme was introduced, using a looser, more relaxed arrangement that continued to feature the NBC chimes in its melody. A shorter arrangement of "This is Today" was used for the show open (featuring a rotating globe and the Today sunburst) from 1983 to 1985. The main theme was used until 1985, and due to its popularity with viewers was resurrected as the show's secondary theme in January 1993. The 1982 theme later served as the program's official "anniversary" music, used to open and close retrospective segments in the leadup to Today's 60th anniversary in 2012. 1985 saw the end of the synthesizer era at NBC as composer John Williams wrote a series of themes for all NBC News programs, with a cut entitled "The Mission", serving as the principal theme for NBC Nightly News with Tom Brokaw. Williams also composed two themes for Today: an opening fanfare for the program that was derived from the opening of "The Mission", and a two-minute closing theme for the show entitled "Scherzo for Today", a dramatic arrangement that made heavy use of strings and flutes. In the late 1980s, "Scherzo" was played in its entirety multiple times daily during the weather scrolls that ran during local commercial breaks; however, most NBC affiliates preempted these segments with locally slotted advertising. The new Today themes – used in tandem with the show's new opening sequence featuring the Statue of Liberty and a new living room studio set – gave the program a distinctly modern look and sound beginning in September 1985. A series of Williams-penned bumpers featuring "The Mission" signature were also used to open and close segments. "Scherzo for Today" was used as the program's closing theme until 1990, and "The Mission" bumpers were used until 1993 (one of them could be heard as a station break lead-in on NBC's Meet The Press until 2004). Meanwhile, Williams' opening fanfare had opened the program ever since its 1985 introduction, with two brief interruptions; new opening themes were briefly introduced and quickly discarded in the summer of 1994 (to mark the debut of Studio 1A) and in 2004. The fanfare was iconically accompanied by Fred Facey announcing "From NBC News, this is Today… with (anchor) and (anchor)" (with "Live from Studio 1A in Rockefeller Plaza" being added to the introduction on June 20, 1994, when the show moved to its new studio). Although Facey died in April 2003, his introduction of the Couric–Lauer team was used for the duration of Couric's era (except for special editions requiring special introductions). Weekend Today announcer Les Marshak became the new voice of the weekday program on September 13, 2006.[85] A lighter theme employing the NBC chimes was used to open the show's 7:30 a.m. through 9:30 a.m. half-hour segments, and was also used as a closing theme. In March 2013, "The Mission" was replaced with a theme composed by Adam Gubman for Non-Stop Music. Along with Non-Stop Music, Gubman's rebranding could be heard dating back to Today's coverage of the wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton in April 2011. Gubman went on to write music for the network's 2012 election coverage, and continues to provide audio content for Today. Ratings From 1995 to 2012, Today generally beat ABC rival Good Morning America in the Nielsen ratings among all network morning programs. By the week of September 11, 2006, the program earned 6.320 million total viewers, 1.6 million more than the 4.73 million viewers earned by Good Morning America. This gap eventually decreased, as by the week of June 30, 2008, Today was watched by an average of 4.9 million viewers, compared to Good Morning America's 3.8 million.[86] Furthermore, by the week of October 12, 2008, Today's total viewership had gone up to 4.910 million viewers, compared to second place Good Morning America's total viewership of 4.25 million (and significantly above the 2.66 million viewers earned by CBS' The Early Show).[87] For the week above, the third hour (referred as "Today II" by NBC exclusively for Nielsen ratings counts) drew 2.9 million viewers and the fourth hour (referred in Nielsen ratings as "Today III"), delivered 1.7 million. For the week of January 4, 2009, the 8:00 a.m. hour of Today averaged 5.998 million viewers; the 9:00& a.m. hour, meanwhile, averaged 4.447 million total viewers and a 1.4 rating among adults aged 25–54, marking that hour's best ratings since the week of August 11, 2008. The 10:00 a.m. hour averaged 2.412 million total viewers and a .8 rating in the demographic, the highest total viewership for that portion of the program since the week of December 31, 2007.[88] For the week of April 11, 2011, the program passed its 800th consecutive week as the No. 1 rated network morning news program, with 5.662 million total viewers (ahead of Good Morning America by approximately 1.2 million viewers).[89] During the week of April 25, 2011, Today averaged 6.424 million viewers, marking its best weekly total viewership since August 11, 2008, during the 2008 Summer Olympics. This was largely buoyed by the April 29 coverage of the wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton, which earned 9.628 million viewers (beating Good Morning America's coverage by more than 1.6 million viewers), and was also the best single day rating since November 8, 2000, the day after the 2000 presidential election.[90] International broadcasts This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (February 2014) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) NBC News programs, including the live broadcast of Today, are shown daily on the 24-hour news network OSN News in MENA Region. In Australia, NBC Today (the title used in that country to avoid confusion with the local Nine Network program Today) airs an edited 42-minute version of the first two hours from 4:00 a.m. Tuesday to Saturday on the Seven Network (rerun at 9:00 a.m. on sister network 7two). The Today's Take hour (which is abbreviated to the same runtime) only airs Saturdays on the primary channel and Tuesday to Saturday on 7two; while Seven broadcasts the Sunday edition at 5:00 a.m. on Mondays, following Meet The Press. The program was originally trimmed to 63 minutes, with the local news cutaway removed. However, a news ticker appears at the bottom of the screen, containing national headlines, as well as information on the next edition of Seven's morning program Sunrise. A national weather map of Australia is inserted during local affiliate cutaways during the weather segment. Today does not air on the primary regional affiliates Prime7 and GWN7, which instead air infomercial. In the Philippines, Today aired on 9TV (formerly called as Talk TV and Solar News Channel) from 2011 to August 2014; an edited 90-minute version of the weekday editions aired Tuesdays through Saturdays at 5:30 a.m., with a two-hour abbreviated broadcast of the Friday editions airing at 10:00 a.m. local time on Saturdays. Weekend Today airs Saturdays for two hours at 10:00 p.m. and Sundays at 11:00 p.m. local time. The local affiliate cutaways during the weather segment were removed only from the weekday editions. Today with Kathie Lee and Hoda (titled Today's Talk for the TalkTV/SNC/9TV broadcasts) aired Tuesdays to Saturdays at 3:00 a.m. Both shows were removed from the schedule since then, particularly with the relaunch of 9TV as CNN Philippines. Starting November 2, 2020, The show returns to Philippine TV and airs live on TAP TV. In the United Kingdom and Europe, Today aired on Sky News from 1989 to 1993, and on NBC Europe from 1993 to 1998. The show was initially aired live in the afternoon until 1995, when NBC Europe began airing it on a one-day delay the morning after the original U.S. broadcast. In Indonesia, NBC Today is aired on NBC-US at 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. WIB (6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. WIB from March to November) with WNBC local weather exclusively for SVICLOUD TV Box. Aimed for U.S. expatriates in Indonesia. See also List of special editions of Today (American TV program), for editions of the program marking major news events or breaking news coverage
Charles Neville (December 28, 1938 – April 26, 2018) was an American R&B and jazz musician best known as part of The Neville Brothers. Known onstage as "Charlie the horn man", his saxophone playing helped earn the group a Grammy Award for best pop instrumental performance. Contents 1 Life 2 Discography 3 Further reading 4 References 5 External links Life The second oldest of the four Neville brothers, Charles Neville was born in New Orleans on December 28, 1938 to Arthur Lanon Neville Sr. and Amelia (Landry) Neville and was raised in the Calliope housing project with his musical brothers, Art, Aaron, and Cyril. Their uncle, George "Big Chief Jolly" Landry, was lead singer of the Mardi Gras Indian group The Wild Tchoupitoulas. Charles left home when he was 15 to play saxophone with the Rabbit’s Foot Minstrel Show. When back in New Orleans, he played in the house band at the Dew Drop Inn.[1][2] He served in the Navy from 1956 to 1958 and discovered the music scene on Beale Street while stationed in Memphis, Tennessee, later touring with B.B. King and Bobby (Blue) Bland.[1][2] He joined the band of fellow New Orleanian Larry Williams, but his addiction to heroin landed him short jail terms for the shoplifting that sometimes supported his habit. He finally overcame his addictions in 1986. Beginning in 1963 he served three and a half years at Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola for possession of marijuana. He practiced in the prison music room with other incarcerated New Orleans musicians, notably pianist James Booker and drummer James Black. Moving to New York City after release from prison, he explored modern jazz and toured with Johnnie Taylor, Clarence Carter, and O. V. Wright.[1][2] In 1976 he returned to New Orleans when his maternal uncle, George "Big Chief Jolly" Landry, called Charles and his brothers Art, Aaron, and Cyril together to record with his Mardi Gras Indian group, The Wild Tchoupitoulas. The blend of traditional and funk music on The Wild Tchoupitoulas album (1976) has made it an icon of New Orleans musical culture.[1][2] Shortly afterward, the four brothers formed The Neville Brothers, recording more than a dozen albums and building a worldwide following. For years they were the closing act on the main stage of the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. Charles's saxophone playing was especially notable on the title track of their best-selling album, Yellow Moon, and helped earn the group its only Grammy, for best pop instrumental performance, for the album's, "Healing Chant".[1][2][3] He moved to rural Massachusetts in the 1990s with his wife, Kristin Neville, and children and continued to perform and record with family members and a wide variety of musicians for the rest of his life. His recordings include an album with the groups Diversity, with jazz and classical musicians, and Songcatchers, with Native American musicians. In 2008 he released his own album, reflecting his interests in Eastern spirituality, Safe in Buddha’s Palm. He returned often to New Orleans, playing with his jazz combos at Snug Harbor and with his daughter, jazz and funk singer Charmaine Neville. He also performed with two of his sons, Talyn and Khalif, as the New England Nevilles. After 2012 he toured with Aaron Neville's solo band and appeared with him for Aaron's first performance at the French Quarter Festival in 2017. Charles's last Jazz Fest performance was with Dr. John in 2017.[1][2] He was scheduled to join in "The Neville Family Groove", a musical celebration of the Nevilles at Tipitina's in November 2017, but was by then hospitalized with pancreatic cancer, from which he died on April 26, 2018 at the age of 79 years old.[1][2] Discography See also: The Neville Brothers § Discography 1990 Charles Neville & Diversity (Delta) Diversity 1994 Dreaming in Color (A&M) Songcatchers 2008 Safe in Buddha’s Palm (CD Baby) Charles Neville Charles Neville, the saxophonist in New Orleans’s most celebrated band, the Neville Brothers, died on Friday at his home in Huntington, Mass. He was 79. His family announced his death, of pancreatic cancer, in an online statement. On Facebook, his brother and bandmate Aaron Neville, wrote, “You’ll always be in my heart and soul, like a tattoo.” The Neville Brothers gathered New Orleans’s abundant musical heritage and carried it forward. Art, Aaron, Charles and Cyril Neville formed their band in 1977 and maintained it, amid other projects, until disbanding in 2012. (They reunited for a farewell concert in New Orleans in 2015.) The group melded rhythm and blues, gospel, doo-wop, rock, blues, soul, jazz, funk and New Orleans’s own parade and Mardi Gras rhythms, in songs that mingled a party spirit with social consciousness. Charles Neville — who usually performed in a beret and a tie-dyed shirt, with an irrepressible smile — was the band’s jazz facet, reflecting his decades of experience before the Neville Brothers got started. His soprano saxophone was upfront on the Nevilles’ “Healing Chant,” which won a Grammy Award as best pop instrumental in 1990. Image The Neville Brothers on a visit to New York City in 1989. From left, Cyril, Art, Charles and Aaron. The Neville Brothers on a visit to New York City in 1989. From left, Cyril, Art, Charles and Aaron.Credit...Marty Lederhandler/Associated Press Charles Neville was born in New Orleans on Dec. 28, 1938, the second of the four sons of Arthur Lanon Neville Sr. and Amelia Neville, formerly Landry. At 15, Charles left home to play saxophone with the Rabbit’s Foot Minstrel Show. He went on to work with blues and R&B singers, including Larry Wiliams, Johnny Ace, Big Maybelle, Jimmy Reed and Little Walter. Back in New Orleans, he was a member of the house band at the Dew Drop Inn, working with local and visiting stars. After serving in the Navy from 1956 to 1958, stationed in Memphis, he went on to tour with B. B. King and Bobby (Blue) Bland. Mr. Neville began using heroin in the 1950s, sometimes shoplifting to support his drug use and serving short jail terms. It was a habit he would not completely overcome until 1986. He was arrested on charges of possession of marijuana in 1963 and imprisoned for three and a half years at the Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola. He stayed in practice by playing with other jailed musicians, including the great New Orleans pianist James Booker. Upon his release he moved to New York City. He became involved in modern jazz and toured with soul singers like Johnnie Taylor, Clarence Carter and O. V. Wright. He returned to New Orleans in 1976 for a recording project: “The Wild Tchoupitoulas,” which brought the Mardi Gras Indian tribe led by his uncle George Landry (a. k. a. Big Chief Jolly) into the studio with a band featuring his nephews, the four Neville brothers. The album’s fusion of traditional street chants and funk made it a cornerstone of modern New Orleans music. The brothers decided to keep working together. In New Orleans, the Neville Brothers were a supergroup. Art Neville had sung the 1954 hit “Mardi Gras Mambo” and in 1969 formed the influential New Orleans funk band the Meters, which Cyril Neville later joined. Aaron Neville had a Top 10 pop hit in 1966 with “Tell It Like It Is.” The brothers brought their old repertoires and a growing new one to their concerts, gaining nationwide and worldwide followings on tour. They were the perennial finale on the main stage at the annual New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival and played New Year’s Eve shows at the Fillmore Auditorium in San Francisco. The Neville Brothers recorded more than a dozen studio and live albums, although the only one to sell as many as a half-million copies was “Yellow Moon” (1989). Editors’ Picks A Rap Song Lays Bare Israel’s Jewish-Arab Fracture — and Goes Viral Brilliance, and Heartbreak: The Story of Chris Paul’s Career The Riddle of Riley Keough Continue reading the main story Mr. Neville also recorded with Diversity, a group mixing jazz and classical musicians, and with Native American musicians in the group Songcatchers. He released an album as a leader, “Safe in Buddha’s Palm” — the title reflected his longtime interest in Eastern philosophies — in 2008. In the 1990s he moved to rural Massachusetts, and he performed with his sons, Khalif and Talyn, as the New England Nevilles. But he returned often to New Orleans, and after the Neville Brothers disbanded in 2012 he joined Aaron Neville’s touring band; he also performed in New Orleans with a daughter, the singer Charmaine Neville. Failing health prevented him from joining a Neville family reunion concert in 2017. In addition to his three brothers, he is survived by his wife, Kristin Neville; his sister, Althelgra Neville Gabriel; and his children — Charmaine, Khalif, Talyn, Charlotte, Carlos and Charles Neville; Charlene White, Rowena Alix and Charlestine Jones — as well as numerous grandchildren. nt to use their art the same way I’m trying to use mine. I got that consciousness from Woody Guthrie. People are talking to me, but some of the people I know went through much more than I did. There are 3,000 children missing in New Orleans. [The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children places the figure at 1,300.] Hundreds of bodies are waiting to be identified. The people of New Orleans have been scattered to the four winds. Their lives were determined by people in Washington and Baton Rouge before the storm hit. Without African Americans having ownership, economic equity and the same type of things the French Quarter gets — like tax cuts — the city will never be the same. The 6th, 7th, 8th and 9th Wards should have their own tourist commission. Build our own hotels and restaurants in those areas. The key is ownership. Then I would think about going back and living there. But we’re still practicing American democracy. How can we ever bring it to somebody else? The Meters are an American funk band formed in 1965 in New Orleans by Zigaboo Modeliste (drums), George Porter Jr. (bass), Leo Nocentelli (guitar) and Art Neville (keyboards). The band performed and recorded their own music from the late 1960s until 1977 and played an influential role as backing musicians for other artists, including Lee Dorsey, Robert Palmer, Dr. John, and Allen Toussaint. Their original songs "Cissy Strut" and "Look-Ka Py Py" are considered funk classics.[1] While they rarely enjoyed significant mainstream success, they are considered originators of funk along with artists like James Brown, and their work is influential on many other bands, both their contemporaries and modern musicians.[2][3] Their sound is defined by a combination of tight melodic grooves and syncopated New Orleans "second line" rhythms under highly charged guitar and keyboard riffing.[4][5] The band has been nominated four times for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, most recently in 2017.[6] In 2018 the band was presented with the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.[7] Contents 1 History 1.1 1960s–1970s 1.2 1980s–1990s 1.3 2000s–2010s 2 Members 2.1 The Meters/The Original Meters/The Meter Men 3 Funky Meters Members 3.1 The Funky Meters 4 Discography 5 Influence 6 Awards and honors 7 References 8 Further reading 9 External links History 1960s–1970s Art Neville, the group's frontman, launched a solo career around the New Orleans area in the mid-1950s while still in high school. The Meters formed in 1965 with a line-up of keyboardist and vocalist Art Neville, guitarist Leo Nocentelli, bassist George Porter Jr. and drummer Joseph "Zigaboo" Modeliste. They were later joined by percussionist-vocalist Cyril Neville. The Meters became the house band for Allen Toussaint and his record label, Sansu Enterprises.[8] In 1969 the Meters released "Sophisticated Cissy" and "Cissy Strut", both major R&B chart hits. "Look-Ka Py Py" and "Chicken Strut" were their hits the following year. After a label shift in 1972, the Meters had difficulty returning to the charts, but they worked with Dr. John, Paul McCartney, King Biscuit Boy, Labelle, Robert Palmer and others.[4] In 1975 Paul McCartney invited the Meters to play at the release party for his Venus and Mars album aboard the Queen Mary in Long Beach, California. Mick Jagger of The Rolling Stones was in attendance at the event and was greatly taken with the Meters and their sound.[2](p166)[9] The Rolling Stones invited the band to open for them on their Tour of the Americas '75 and Tour of Europe '76.[4] That same year, the Meters recorded one of their most successful albums, Fire on the Bayou. From 1976 to 77 they played in The Wild Tchoupitoulas with George and Amos Landry and The Neville Brothers. Art and Cyril Neville left the band in early 1977, but The Meters still appeared on Saturday Night Live on March 19, 1977, during the show's second season. After the Nevilles' departure, David Batiste Sr. took over on keyboards while Willie West joined as the band's lead singer. Porter left the group later that year and by 1980 The Meters had officially broken up. After the break-up, Neville continued his career as part of The Neville Brothers, Modeliste toured with Keith Richards and Ron Wood, while Nocentelli and Porter "became in-demand session players and formed new bands."[10] 1980s–1990s In 1989 Art Neville, George Porter Jr. and Leo Nocentelli reunited as The Meters, adding drummer Russell Batiste Jr. to replace Zigaboo Modeliste. Nocentelli left the group in 1994 and was replaced with guitarist Brian Stoltz, formerly of The Neville Brothers. The band was renamed The Funky Meters. They were referred to as "the Funky Meters" as early as 1989. They were billed as such when playing in a tiny venue called Benny's Bar at Valence and Camp streets.[11] 2000s–2010s The Funky Meters continued to play into the 2000s with Stoltz being replaced by Art Neville's son, Ian Neville, from 2007 to 2011 while he went to pursue a solo career. Stoltz returned to the band permanently in 2011.[12] In 2000 a big offer enticed all four original Meters to reunite for a one-night stand at the Warfield Theatre in San Francisco; by this time Modeliste wanted to make the reunion a permanent one, but the other members and their management teams objected.[10] It wasn't until Quint Davis, producer and director of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, got them to "put aside their differences and hammer out the details" and perform at the Festival in 2005.[13] In June 2011 The Original Meters along with Allen Toussaint and Dr. John played the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival in Manchester, Tennessee. The six men performed Dr. John's album Desitively Bonnaroo which was originally recorded with the Meters, to a sold-out crowd. The Original Meters also played a set at the 2011 Voodoo Experience in New Orleans. On May 5, 2012 The Meters returned to New Orleans for a performance to a sold-out crowd at the Howlin' Wolf. In late 2012, Zigaboo Modeliste, Leo Nocentelli, and George Porter Jr. played concerts with Phish keyboardist Page McConnell under the name The Meter Men.[14] During his time off from Phish, Page McConnell has continued to play with Porter Jr., Nocentelli, and Modeliste under the moniker of The Meter Men since those shows in 2012. The Meter Men had performed 16 shows together as of spring 2015, with their third annual appearance as a late night act during New Orleans' Jazz and Heritage Festival.[15][16] In 2014, during The Meter Men's second appearance as a late night act during Jazzfest, the band performed at The Republic on April 26, 2014, after McConnell had headlined the NOLA Jazzfest at the New Orleans Fairgrounds with Phish earlier that day.[17][18] The Meter Men had also played the previous night at The Republic.[19] The states The Meter Men had appeared in as of spring 2015 were Massachusetts, New York, Florida, Pennsylvania, Louisiana, Colorado, and Vermont, with one other performance in Washington, D.C.[20][21][22] As of 2017, The Funky Meters tour consistently performing songs by The Meters, while The Meters perform sporadically. The lineup of Neville, Porter, Nocentelli and Modeliste typically bill themselves as The Original Meters to avoid confusion with The Funky Meters. When not performing with The Original Meters, guitarist Leo Nocentelli leads his own group, The Meters Experience, which also performs the music of The Meters.[23] As of 2018, the most recent performance of the original Meters (with all four of the founding members) took place at the Arroyo Seco Festival in Pasadena, California on June 25, 2017. The song "They All Ask'd for You" from the 1975 album Fire on the Bayou remains popular in the New Orleans region and is the unofficial theme song of the Audubon Zoo.[24] Art Neville announced his retirement from music on December 18, 2018.[25] Neville died on July 22, 2019. Members Current George Porter Jr. – bass, background vocals (1965–1977, 1989–2018, 2020-present)[26] Zigaboo Modeliste – drums, vocals (1965–1977, 2000–2018, 2020-present)[26] Leo Nocentelli – guitar, background vocals (1966[27]–1977, 1989–1994, 2000–2018, 2020-present)[26] Former Art Neville – keyboards, vocals (1965–1977, 1989–2018)[25] Gary Brown − saxophone (1965-1967)[28] "Glen" − drums (1965)[28] Cyril Neville – percussion, vocals (1970–1977) David Batiste, Sr. – keyboards (1977–1980) Willie West – vocals (1977–1980)[29] Russell Batiste Jr. – drums (1989–2000) Brian Stoltz – guitar (1994–2000) Page McConnell − keyboards, background vocals (2012-2014) The Meters/The Original Meters/The Meter Men Funky Meters Members Art Neville – keyboards, vocals (2000-2016) George Porter Jr. – bass, background vocals (2000-2016) Brian Stoltz – guitar (2000–2007, 2011–2016) Ian Neville – guitar (2007–2011) Russell Batiste Jr. – drums (2000–2015) Terrence Houston – drums (2015-2016) The Funky Meters Discography Original studio albums The Meters (1969), Josie JOS-4010 #23 R&B Look-Ka Py Py (1969), Josie JOS-4011 Struttin' (1970), Josie JOS-4012 Cabbage Alley (1972), Reprise MS-2076 Rejuvenation (1974), Reprise MS-2200 Fire on the Bayou (1975), Reprise MS-2228 Trick Bag (1976), Reprise MS-2252 New Directions (1977), Warner Bros. BS-3042 Compilation albums Cissy Strut (1974), Island ILPS-9250 [LP] The Best of The Meters (1975), Virgo SV-12002 [LP] Second Line Strut (1980), Charly R&B CRB-1009 [LP] Here Come The Metermen (1986), Charly R&B CRB-1112 [LP] Struttin' (1987), Charly R&B CD-63 Good Old Funky Music (1990), Rounder CD-2104[30] Funky Miracle (1991), Charly CDNEV-2 [2-CD set] Meters Jam (1992), Rounder CD-2105 Fundamentally Funky (1994), Charly CPCD-8044 Funkify Your Life: The Meters Anthology (1995), Rhino R2-71869 [2-CD set] The Best of The Meters (1996), Mardi Gras MG-1029 The Very Best of The Meters (1997), Rhino R2-72642 Kickback (2001), Sundazed LP-5081/SC-11081 Zony Mash (2003), Sundazed LP-5087/SC-6211 Here Comes the Meter Man (The Complete Josie Recordings 1968–1970) (2011), Charly SNAX627CD [2-CD set] Original Album Series (2014), Rhino 081227961565 [5-CD set], reissues: Cabbage Alley, Rejuvenation, Fire on the Bayou, Trick Bag, New Directions A Message from The Meters: The Complete Josie, Reprise & Warner Bros. Singles 1968–1977 (2016), Real Gone Music RGM-0491 [2-CD set] Live albums Uptown Rulers: The Meters live on the Queen Mary (1975 [rel. 1992]), Rhino R2-70376 Live at the Moonwalker (1993), Lakeside Music LAKE-2022 – as 'The Legendary Meters' Second Helping (Live at the Moonwalker) (1994), Lakeside Music LAKE-2026 – as 'The Legendary Meters' Fiyo at the Fillmore, Volume 1 (2001 [rel. 2003]), Too Funky/Fuel 2000/Varese 030206127522 – as 'The Funky Meters' Original Josie (45-rpm) releases 1001 Sophisticated Cissy // Sehorn's Farm (1968) US # 34 1005 Cissy Strut // Here Comes The Meter Man (1969) US # 23 1008 Ease Back // Ann (1969) US # 61 1013 Dry Spell // Little Old Money Maker (1969) US # 114* 1015 Look-Ka Py Py // This Is My Last Affair (1970) US # 56 1018 Chicken Strut // Hey! Last Minute (1970) US # 50 1021 Hand Clapping Song // Joog (1970) US # 89 1024 A Message From The Meters // Zony Mash (1970) [45rpm release only, not on LP] US # 123** 1026 Stretch Your Rubber Band // Groovy Lady (1971) [45rpm release only, not on LP] 1029 Doodle-Oop (The World Is A Little Bit Under The Weather) // I Need More Time (1971) [45rpm release only, not on LP] US # 124* 1031 Good Old Funky Music // Sassy Lady (1971) [45rpm release only, not on LP] Original Reprise/Warner Bros. (45-rpm) releases REP 1086 Do The Dirt // Smiling (1972) REP 1106 Cabbage Alley // The Flower Song (1972) REP 1135 Chug Chug Chug-A-Log (Push N' Shove), Part 1 // Chug Chug Chug-A-Lug (Push N' Shove), Part 2 (1972) [45rpm release only, not on LP] RPS 1307 Hey Pocky A-Way // Africa (1974) RPS 1314 People Say // Loving You Is On My Mind (1974) RPS 1338 They All Ask'd For You // Running Fast (Long Version) (1975) US # 101* RPS 1357 Disco Is The Thing Today // Mister Moon (1976) RPS 1372 Trick Bag // Find Yourself (1976) WBS 8434 Be My Lady // No More Okey Doke (1977) US # 78 US chart is Billboard unless otherwise noted. * Cash Box singles chart. ** Record World singles chart.[31] Influence According to Brian Knight of The Vermont Review, "In a sense, the Meters defined the basic characteristics of the groove. While Funkadelic, Cameo, James Brown and Sly Stone are synonymous with funk, these artists look to the Meters for the basic-down to earthy and raw sound."[32] Music critique Robert Christgau called the band "totally original" and placed the compilation album Funkify Your Life: The Meters Anthology on his list of top six New Orleans classics.[33][34] The Meters' music has been sampled by musicians around the world, including rap artists Heavy D, LL Cool J and Queen Latifah, Musiq, Big Daddy Kane, Run-DMC, N.W.A, Ice Cube, Scarface, Cypress Hill, EPMD, Public Enemy, A Tribe Called Quest, Beastie Boys, Naughty by Nature, and Tweet.[35] Red Hot Chili Peppers covered the Meters' song "Africa", renamed "Hollywood (Africa)", on their 1985 album Freaky Styley. The eclectic jazz-fusion guitarist Oz Noy has recorded his version of "Cissy Strut" twice. Bands such as the Grateful Dead,[36] KVHW, Steve Kimock Band, Widespread Panic,[37] Rebirth Brass Band, Galactic, Jaco Pastorius and The String Cheese Incident[38] have performed songs by The Meters in their concert rotations. The Meters' songs have been used in the films Two Can Play That Game, Jackie Brown, Drumline, Hancock, Calendar Girls, Hitch, Red, The Best of Enemies, The Kitchen, Beerfest and Another Round.[39] The band's songs were also featured in the television shows The Wire, Ballers and Disjointed as well as the video game Grand Theft Auto IV.[40] Awards and honors In 1970, The Meters were named Best Rhythm and Blues Instrumental Group by both Billboard and Record World magazines.[41] The Meters have been nominated for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame four times since becoming eligible in 1994: 1996, 2012, 2013 and 2017. George Porter Jr. and The Meters were recipients of the Lifetime Achievement Award at the second annual Jammy Awards in 2001.[42] In 2011, the iconic Meters' song "Cissy Strut" was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.[43][44] In 2013, The Meters received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Big Easy Music Awards.[45] The band was featured on the 2017 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival's commemorative poster.[46] In January 2018, The Meters were honored with a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.[47][48] The Neville Brothers were an American R&B/soul/funk group, formed in 1977 in New Orleans, Louisiana. Contents 1 History 2 Discography 2.1 Singles 2.2 Studio albums 2.3 Live albums 2.4 Compilation albums 2.5 Related albums 3 References 4 External links History The group notion started in 1976, when the four brothers of the Neville family, Art (1937–2019), Charles (1938–2018), Aaron (b. 1941), and Cyril (b. 1948) came together to take part in the recording session of the Wild Tchoupitoulas, a Mardi Gras Indian group led by the Nevilles' uncle, George Landry ("Big Chief Jolly").[1] Their debut album The Neville Brothers was released in 1978 on Capitol Records.[2] In 1987, the group released Uptown on the EMI label, featuring guests including Branford Marsalis, Keith Richards, and Carlos Santana. The following year saw the release of Yellow Moon from A&M Records produced by Daniel Lanois. The track "Healing Chant" from that album won the Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Performance at the 1990 Grammy ceremony.[3] In 1990, the Neville Brothers contributed "In the Still of the Night" to the AIDS benefit album Red Hot + Blue produced by the Red Hot Organization.[4] Also in 1990, they appeared on the bill at that year's Glastonbury Festival.[5] Due to Art Neville devoting more time to his other act, The Meters, the band kept a low profile in the late 1990s onto the early 2000s. They made a comeback in 2004, however, with the album, Walkin' in the Shadow of Life, on Back Porch Records, their first newly recorded effort in five years.[6] All brothers except Charles, a Massachusetts resident, had been living in New Orleans, but following Hurricane Katrina in 2005 Cyril and Aaron moved out of the city. They had not been performing in New Orleans since Katrina hit the city; however, they finally returned to perform there at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival in 2008, being given the closing spot which had been reserved for them for years.[7][8] Infrequently, Aaron's son Ivan Neville (keyboards) and Art's son Ian Neville (electric guitar), both of the band Dumpstaphunk, have played with the Neville Brothers. The final Neville Brothers studio album, titled Walkin' in the Shadow of Life, was released in 2004.[9] The group formally disbanded in 2012 but reunited in 2015 for a farewell concert in New Orleans.[10] Charles Neville died of pancreatic cancer on April 26, 2018, at the age of 79.[11] On June 25, 2019, The New York Times Magazine listed the Neville Brothers among hundreds of artists whose material was reportedly destroyed in the 2008 Universal fire.[12] Art Neville died on July 22, 2019, at the age of 81. A cause of death has not yet been provided.[13] Discography Singles Year Single Peak positions Album US R&B AUS NZ NED GER [14] IRE UK [15] 1978 "Washable Ink / Speed of Light" — — — — — — — The Neville Brothers 1979 "Sweet Honey Dripper / Dance Your Blues Away" — — — — — — — single only 1981 "Sitting In Limbo / Brother John / Iko Iko" — — — — — — — Fiyo On The Bayou 1987 "Whatever It Takes" — — — — — — — Uptown 1989 "Sister Rosa" 75 — 23 — — — — Yellow Moon "Yellow Moon" — 100 — 21 — — — "With God on Our Side" — — — 53 — 26 47 1990 "A Change Is Gonna Come" — — — — — — — "Bird on a Wire" — — 5 — 35 — 72 Brother's Keeper "River of Life" — — — — — — — "Fearless" — — 40 — — — — 1991 "Sons and Daughters" — — — — — — — "Drift Away" — — 19 — — — — Treacherous Too! A History of The Neville Brothers 1992 "Fly Like an Eagle" — 44 8 66 — — — Family Groove "One More Day" — — 29 — — — — "On the Other Side of Paradise" — — — — — — — "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released. Studio albums 1978: The Neville Brothers (Capitol) 1981: Fiyo on the Bayou (A&M) 1987: Uptown (EMI) 1989: Yellow Moon (A&M) 1990: Brother's Keeper (A&M) 1992: Family Groove (A&M) 1995: Mitakuye Oyasin Oyasin/All My Relations (A&M) 1999: Valence Street (Columbia) 2004: Walkin' in the Shadow of Life (Back Porch/EMI) Live albums 1984: Neville-ization (Black Top) 1987: Nevillization 2 (Live at Tipitina's Volume 2) (Spindletop) 1994: Live on Planet Earth (A&M) 1998: Live at Tipitina's (1982) (Rhino) 2010: Authorized Bootleg: Warfield Theatre, San Francisco, CA, February 27, 1989 (A&M) Compilation albums 1986: Treacherous: A History of The Neville Brothers (1955–1985) (Rhino) 1991: Treacherous Too!: A History of the Neville Brothers, Vol. 2 (1955-1987) (Rhino) 1997: The Very Best of the Neville Brothers (Rhino) 1999: Uptown Rulin' – The Best of the Neville Brothers (A&M) 2004: 20th Century Masters – The Millenium Collection: The Best of The Neville Brothers (A&M) 2005: Gold (Hip-O/UMe) Related albums 1976: The Wild Tchoupitoulas (with four of The Neville Brothers) 1997: Wyclef Jean Presents The Carnival by Wyclef Jean (guest appearance on "Mona Lisa") Today (also called The Today Show or informally, NBC News Today) is an American news and talk morning television show that airs on NBC. The program debuted on January 14, 1952. It was the first of its genre on American television and in the world, and after 70 years of broadcasting it is fifth on the list of longest-running United States television series. Originally a weekday two-hour program from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m., it expanded to Sundays in 1987 and Saturdays in 1992. The weekday broadcast expanded to three hours in 2000, and to four hours in 2007 (though over time, the third and fourth hours became distinct entities). Today's dominance was virtually unchallenged by the other networks until the late 1980s, when it was overtaken by ABC's Good Morning America. Today retook the Nielsen ratings lead the week of December 11, 1995, and held onto that position for 852 consecutive weeks until the week of April 9, 2012, when Good Morning America topped it again. Today maintained its No. 2 status behind GMA from the summer of 2012 until it regained the lead in the aftermath of anchor Matt Lauer's departure in November 2017.[2][3] In 2002, Today was ranked No. 17 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time.[4] The entertainment magazine Variety reported the 2016 advertising revenue during the first two hours of the show was $508.8 million.[5] On July 15, 2020, NBC launched Today All Day, a 24-hour digital streaming extension of the program available through its website and Peacock.[6] Contents 1 History 1.1 Founding 1.2 Scheduling history 2 Current weekday showtimes and arrangements 2.1 Local cut-ins 2.2 Satellite radio simulcast 3 Studio 3.1 RCA Exhibition Hall (original studio) 3.2 Studio 3K, Florida Showcase, Studio 8G, and Studio 3B 3.3 Studio 1A 4 On-air staff 4.1 Weekdays 4.1.1 Main show 4.1.2 Third hour 4.1.3 Fourth hour 4.2 Weekends 4.3 Former staff 4.3.1 Anchors 4.3.2 News anchors 4.3.3 Weather anchors 4.3.4 Regular panelists 4.3.5 Today Girls 4.3.6 J. Fred Muggs 5 Transitions 5.1 Pauley to Norville 5.2 Norville to Couric 5.3 Couric to Vieira 5.4 Vieira to Curry 5.5 Curry to Guthrie 5.6 Lauer to Kotb 6 Controversies 6.1 Gumbel's memo 6.2 Selective editing of George Zimmerman 9-1-1 call 6.3 9/11 Moment of Silence omission 6.4 Matt Lauer termination 6.5 Megyn Kelly blackface controversy 7 Expansion 7.1 Current 7.1.1 Weekend Today 7.1.2 Early Today 7.1.3 Today 3rd Hour 7.1.4 Today with Hoda & Jenna 7.1.5 Today All Day 7.2 Former 7.2.1 Later Today 7.2.2 Today's Take 7.2.3 Megyn Kelly Today 7.2.4 Today with Kathie Lee and Hoda 8 Music 9 Ratings 10 International broadcasts 11 See also 12 References 12.1 Notes 12.2 Citations 13 External links History Founding First Today logo, used from 1952 to 1960 First variant of the current logo, introduced in 1974 Logo used from 2009 to 2013 Logo used from 2013 to 2018 The show's first broadcast aired on January 14, 1952 as the brainchild of television executive Sylvester Weaver, who was then vice president of NBC. Weaver was president of the company from 1953 to 1955, during which time Today's late-night companion The Tonight Show premiered. In pre-production, the show's proposed working title was The Rise and Shine Revue.[7] The show was first supervised by Jerome Alan Danzig.[8] Today was the first program of its genre when it premiered with original host Dave Garroway. The program blended national news headlines, interviews with newsmakers, lifestyle features, other light news and gimmicks (including the presence of the chimpanzee J. Fred Muggs who served as the show's mascot during the early years), and local news updates from the network's stations. It has spawned several other shows of a similar type, including ABC's Good Morning America, and CBS' now-defunct The Early Show. In other countries, the format was copied – most notably in the United Kingdom with the BBC's BBC Breakfast and ITV's Good Morning Britain, and in Canada with Your Morning on CTV Television Network. Original host Dave Garroway, with mascot J. Fred Muggs (and companion) in 1954 The set in January 1952 Scheduling history When Today debuted, it was seen live only in the Eastern Time Zone and Central Time Zone, broadcasting for three hours each morning but seen for only two hours in each time zone. Since 1958, Today has only broadcast live on the Eastern Time Zone, and has been on broadcast delay for the five other U.S. time zones (Central, Mountain Time Zone, Pacific Time Zone, Alaska Time Zone and Hawaii–Aleutian Time Zone). Partly to accommodate host Dave Garroway's declining health, the program ceased live broadcasts in September 1959, opting instead to broadcast an edition taped the previous afternoon punctuated with live newscasts each half-hour. The experiment, which drew criticism from many sides, ended when John Chancellor succeeded Garroway in July 1961.[9] Today was a two-hour program for many years, airing from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. in all time zones except for Alaska, Hawaii, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, until NBC expanded the program to three hours (extending the program until 10:00 a.m.) on October 2, 2000. A fourth hour (which extended the program until 11:00 a.m.) was eventually added on September 10, 2007. In August 2013, Today released a mobile app for smartphones and tablets.[10] Current weekday showtimes and arrangements The program airs live in the Eastern Time Zone[11] and on tape delay beginning at 7:00 a.m. in each of the remaining time zones. The remaining three feeds are frequently updated with minor fixes and repairs, and often, correspondents will tape updates that are then edited into the delayed feeds. NBC affiliates in some markets including in the east coast, such as WYFF in Greenville, South Carolina, air the third and fourth hours of Today on tape delay to accommodate live syndicated programmes airing at such times. When breaking news stories warrant, Today will produce a West Coast edition by broadcasting parts of the show live for viewers there. In such an event, the live portion does not typically go beyond the 7:00 a.m. (Pacific Time) half-hour or the bloc before the first set of advertisements. Once completed, the remaining blocs/segments taped from the East Coast edition will follow. Throughout the live segment, the presenters will explicitly make some reference to the show being live on the west coast from time to time until the tape-delayed segments resume. In some instances, when an NBC News Special Report of breaking news or a live event occurs during the Today show time slot in the eastern time zone, the show's anchors will assume hosting responsibilities and the show will go live across all time zones until such time when the Special Report segment finishes. At that point, viewers outside the Eastern Time Zone will return to regularly-scheduled programming (i.e. the segment of the Today show feed already in progress in their corresponding time zone or their local newscast). Local cut-ins During the first two hours of the program, local network affiliates are offered a four-minute window at 26 and 56 minutes past the hour to insert a local newsbreak (which usually also includes a local forecast, and in large and mid-sized markets, a brief traffic report) and local advertisements. Certain NBC affiliates that produce an additional morning newscast for a sister station or digital subchannel may prerecord the local inserts aired during the first one to two hours of Today to focus production responsibilities on just one of their local channels. Satellite radio simulcast Starting in June 2014, SiriusXM began simulcasting Today on a new channel called Today Show Radio, Channel 108, with The Best of Today starting at 6 am (Eastern) and the Today Show's live broadcast from Studio 1A at Rockefeller Center in New York City starting at 7:00 a.m. (Eastern), with a tape delayed broadcast at beginning 7:00 a.m. Pacific time. On Mondays The Hoda Show with Hoda Kotb is broadcast exclusive on the Today Show Radio channel. On Tuesdays Off the Rails with Al Roker, Dylan Dreyer and Sheinelle Jones airs at 1:00 p.m. (Eastern). On Wednesdays The Happy Hour with the producers of Kathie Lee and Hoda airs, and on Thursdays Today Show Confidential with the producers of TODAY airs. The channel also simulcasts NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt at 6:30 p.m. (Eastern) The Today Show Radio service is not currently available on SiriusXM's sister service in Canada and Channel 108 is locked out for Canadian subscribers. Studio This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2012) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) RCA Exhibition Hall (original studio) The Today program first originated from the RCA Exhibition Hall on 49th Street in Manhattan in a space now occupied by the Christie's auction house, just down the block from the present-day studio. The first set placed a functional newsroom in the studio, which Garroway called "the nerve center of the world.” The barrier between backstage and on-stage was virtually nonexistent. Garroway and the on-air staff often walked through the newsroom set. Glimpses of the camera crew and technicians were a frequent occurrence, as were off-screen voices conversing with Garroway. Gradually, machines and personnel were placed behind the scenes to assemble the news and weather reports, and the newsroom was gone by 1955. Studio 3K, Florida Showcase, Studio 8G, and Studio 3B Today is broadcast from Studio 1A in 10 Rockefeller Plaza, to the left of 30 Rockefeller Plaza In the summer of 1958, television manufacturer Philco complained to NBC that staging Today in a studio explicitly called the RCA Exhibition Hall was unfair (RCA owned NBC at the time). The network bowed to the pressure, and on July 7, 1958, Today moved across the street to Studio 3K in the RCA Building, where it remained through the early 1960s. On July 9, 1962, the program returned to a street-side studio in the space then occupied by the Florida Showcase. Each day, the Today production crew would have to move the Florida-related tourism merchandise off the floor and wheel in the Today news set, desks, chairs and cameras. When the show wrapped at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time, the news set would be put away and the tourism merchandise returned to the floor. After three years in the Florida Showcase, Today moved back to the RCA Building on September 13, 1965. The network converted its news programming to all-color broadcasts at that time, and NBC could not justify allocating four (then-expensive) color cameras to the Florida Showcase studio. For the next 20 years, the show occupied a series of studios on the third, sixth, and eighth floors of NBC's headquarters; most notably Studio 3K in the 1970s, Studio 8G (adjacent to Studio 8H, home to Saturday Night Live) in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and finally Studio 3B from 1983 to 1994. Studio 1A Today moved to the new street-side studio on June 20, 1994, providing a link to the show's 1950s origin. Since the debut of the 1990s set, the national morning news programs of each of the major broadcast and cable-news networks have moved street-side – including two of Today's Rockefeller Center neighbors, Fox News' Fox & Friends (at Sixth Avenue) and CNN's since-cancelled American Morning (in the summer of 2005, CNN reversed the trend, abandoning its street-level studio and moving upstairs in the Time Warner Center at Columbus Circle). ABC's Good Morning America broadcasts from Times Square Studios, although only a portion of its studio is street side. The outdoor studio at the Torino Winter Olympic Games, 2006 In 2006, Studio 1A underwent a major renovation to prepare for the upgrade to high-definition television broadcasts. After the departure of Katie Couric and while a new set was readied (during the summer of 2006), the program was broadcast from a temporary outdoor studio in Rockefeller Plaza, the same set that NBC used at the Olympic Games since 2004.[12] During the week of August 28, 2006, the show was moved to a temporary location outside of Studio 1A because MTV was converting the outdoor studio into their red carpet booth for the 2006 MTV Video Music Awards. A mock set was set up in Dateline NBC's studio, which was also used during inclement weather. The program also used a temporary outdoor set at NBC Studios, and MSNBC's Countdown with Keith Olbermann (which joined at Studio 1A in 30 Rock on October 22, 2007). Today set in 2015 On September 13, 2006, Today moved back into the revamped Studio 1A space. The new studio was divided into five different sections on the lower level including an interview area, the couch area, the news desk, the performance/interview/extra space area, and home base, which is where the anchors start the show. A gigantic Panasonic 103-inch plasma display monitor is often used for graphic display backgrounds. A kitchen set is located upstairs from the main studio. The blue background that is seen in the opening of the show in home base moves up and down to allow a view of the outside from the home base. Some minor changes were implemented throughout the early and middle part of 2013, not only in the way that things are presented, but also with modified graphics and minor updates to the set. That year, a new, larger anchor desk was introduced with space to seat all four main anchors (Guthrie, Lauer, Morales and Roker). The new desk brought an end to the "news desk", as the third "news reader" (Morales) now sits at the main anchor desk. Other minor changes included a new larger desk for the third hour. After the August 16, 2013, broadcast, the program vacated Studio 1A, while the space underwent a remodeling with a more modern look with (as stated by executive producer Don Nash) "a lot more bells and whistles to play with.” Studio 1A in 2017 showcasing the 6' x 16' screen On September 16, 2013, Today debuted a new set and graphics package (it was originally set to debut on September 9, 2013, but was delayed one week to complete final design details).[13] The "home base" is located on a platform that can spin 360°, therefore allowing the view and direction of the camera to change depending on the half-hour. A new couch and background was added in the "sofa area" (where the anchors sit and discuss topics). A social media area known as the "Orange Room,” was also added to Studio 1A, which contains screens that display Twitter comments or trending topics,[14] Carson Daly was hired to present segments from the room during the broadcast.[15] Six screens that also connect to one 6' x 16' screen were added in the fashion/special topic area. During its first two days of use, the show transitioned away from its news and entertainment format to a format that emphasized the social interaction of the anchors, Roker and newsreader. The graphics were also overhauled with introduction of the new set (a slightly modified version of this package and the revised logo debuted on Early Today that November, further integrating the early-morning news program's branding with Today). The logo-to-peacock animation was moved from the left corner to the bottom right side corner of the screen. The logo that was first previewed on September 13, 2013, pared down the number of circular arches from five to three with its coloring switching from different variations – generally shades of red, orange and yellow to depict a sunrise – to entirely orange. In September 2015 Today updated the set once again,[16] the update included new floors, a new couch, and a new anchor desk. The new set retains the 360 home base used in the previous design. The new set replaced much of the dark wood colors with lighter colors and removed the emphasis of orange in previous design in favor of orange accents. In February 2018, while Guthrie and Kotb were at the 2018 Winter Olympics, the studio received minor changes including new screens and flooring in the former screen area; and by November of the same year, the Orange Room got a minor change that included a triangular-pattern wall and wooden flooring. On-air staff Weekdays Savannah Guthrie Savannah Guthrie Hoda Kotb Hoda Kotb Al Roker Al Roker Craig Melvin Craig Melvin Carson Daly Carson Daly Sheinelle Jones Sheinelle Jones Dylan Dreyer Dylan Dreyer Jenna Bush Hager Jenna Bush Hager Main show During the week, the flagship hours of Today (7:00 a.m. – 9:00 a.m.) are co-anchored by Savannah Guthrie (2012–present) and Hoda Kotb (2018–present) alongside co-hosts Al Roker (weather anchor, 1996–present), Craig Melvin (news anchor, 2018–present) and Carson Daly (features anchor, 2013–present) Third hour Sheinelle Jones and Dylan Dreyer – who appear on the main show as contributors – serve as the co-hosts (with Roker and Melvin) of 3rd Hour Today at 9:00 a.m. Fourth hour Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager co-host the fourth hour – titled Today with Hoda & Jenna – at 10:00 a.m. Note: 3rd Hour and Hoda & Jenna – while part of the Today show – are their own distinct entities and are listed as such.[17] Weekends Peter Alexander Saturday Co-Anchor Peter Alexander Saturday Co-Anchor Kristen Welker Saturday Co-Anchor Kristen Welker Saturday Co-Anchor Willie Geist Sunday Anchor Willie Geist Sunday Anchor Saturday editions are anchored by Peter Alexander and Kristen Welker alongside co-hosts Joe Fryer (features anchor) and Somara Theodore (weather anchor) from Washington, D.C. Sunday editions are anchored by Willie Geist from New York City. Former staff Today anchors started out as "Communicators". Creator Pat Weaver envisioned a person whose responsibilities would go beyond the bounds of traditional sit-down news anchors. The Communicator would interview, report, moderate dialogue and generally tie the show together into a coherent whole.[18] Garroway and his successors have all followed that model, with little variation. Now, the hosts are expected to do much the same, and on any given day will talk with correspondents, newsmakers and lifestyle experts; introduce and close each half-hour, conduct special segments (such as cooking or fashion) and go on-assignment to host the program from different locations. Although the "Communicator" nomenclature has since dropped out of favor, the job remains largely the same. Anchors Including Hoda Kotb and Savannah Guthrie, eight men and eight women have served as primary Today hosts since the program's inception:[19] Dave Garroway (January 14, 1952 – June 16, 1961) John Chancellor (July 17, 1961 – September 7, 1962) Hugh Downs (September 10, 1962 – October 8, 1971) Barbara Walters (September 16, 1966 – June 4, 1976) Frank McGee (October 11, 1971 – April 17, 1974) Jim Hartz (July 29, 1974 – August 23, 1976) Tom Brokaw (August 30, 1976 – December 18, 1981) Jane Pauley (October 11, 1976 – December 29, 1989) Bryant Gumbel (January 4, 1982 – January 3, 1997) Deborah Norville (January 8, 1990 – February 22, 1991) Katie Couric (April 5, 1991 – May 31, 2006) Matt Lauer (January 6, 1997 – November 28, 2017) Meredith Vieira (September 13, 2006 – June 8, 2011) Ann Curry (June 9, 2011 – June 28, 2012) Savannah Guthrie (July 9, 2012 – present) Hoda Kotb (January 2, 2018 – present) Host tenures by duration # Host Number of years 1 Matt Lauer 20 years, 331 days 2 Katie Couric 15 years, 60 days 3 Bryant Gumbel 15 years, 3 days 4 Jane Pauley 13 years, 82 days 5 Savannah Guthrie 9 years, 343 days (ongoing) 6 Barbara Walters 9 years, 264 days 7 Dave Garroway 9 years, 156 days 8 Hugh Downs 9 years, 30 days 9 Tom Brokaw 5 years, 111 days 10 Meredith Vieira 4 years, 269 days 11 Hoda Kotb 4 years, 166 days (ongoing) 12 Frank McGee 2 years, 189 days 13 Jim Hartz 2 years, 26 days 14 John Chancellor 1 year, 52 days 15 Deborah Norville 1 year, 45 days 16 Ann Curry 1 year, 20 days Notes: Walters was hired as a Today writer and researcher in 1961, making her first appearance that August with a segment on the Paris fashion show. She was appointed as a "Today Girl" and reporter in October 1964; a Today panelist in September 1966, and became the program's first female co-anchor upon Frank McGee's death in April 1974. Pauley was hired as a Today panelist in 1976, and was promoted to co-anchor when Bryant Gumbel joined the program in 1982. Curry served as the show's Anchor at Large from 2012 to 2015, after her time as a primary host. Guthrie first joined Today as co-host of the third hour, in 2012 she was promoted as co-anchor replacing Ann Curry. News anchors From the show's inception, the idea of providing the latest news headlines has been critical to the function of the program. In that vein, there has always been at least one person on set whose job it is to prepare and deliver newscasts. In 1952, that person was called the "news editor" or (informally) "news chief". In modern parlance, the term "newsreader" or "news anchor" is preferred. Under the two-hour format, four newscasts were delivered, once every half-hour. Presently, there are only two newscasts, delivered at the top of each of the first two hours. Some anchors, including Jim Fleming, Lew Wood, Floyd Kalber and John Palmer, were seasoned journalists before joining the program. Others, including Ann Curry, have used the position to increase their journalistic acumen, at times leaving the newsdesk behind to venture into the field. News anchors have included the following: The program in 1961: John Chancellor, Frank Blair, and Edwin Newman Jim Fleming (1952–1953) Merrill Mueller (1953) Frank Blair (1953–1975) Lew Wood (1975–1976)[20] Floyd Kalber (1976–1979) Tony Guida (1979) No separate news anchor (1979–1981, Tom Brokaw and Jane Pauley read headlines) Chris Wallace and Pauley (1982) John Palmer (1982–1989) Deborah Norville (1989) Faith Daniels (1990–1992) Margaret Larson (1992–1994) Matt Lauer (1994–1997) Ann Curry (1997–2011) Natalie Morales (2011–2016) No separate news anchor (2016–2018, co-anchors read headlines) Craig Melvin (2018–present)[21] Weather anchors For the program's first 25 years, weather reports were delivered by the host or newsreader. Dave Garroway illustrated the day's forecast by drawing fronts and areas of precipitation on a big chalkboard map of the United States, based on information gathered earlier in the morning from the National Weather Service in Washington, D.C. Subsequent hosts John Chancellor and Hugh Downs dropped the chalkboard weather map concept, and instead read a prepared weather summary over a still image of a weather map. When the show converted to all-color broadcasts in 1965, weather maps were prepared and projected on a screen behind Frank Blair, who delivered the forecast immediately after his news summaries.[22] Following Blair's retirement on March 14, 1975, Lew Wood took over the newsreader and weather reporting duties (using Blair's format). When Floyd Kalber became newsreader in 1976, Wood was relegated to weather, sports, roving reporter assignments, and presenting live on-air commercials until his departure in 1978. The weather is reported every half-hour during the program's first two hours, though since Al Roker was named weather reporter on January 26, 1996, an interview is conducted by him in place of the national weather forecast at least once during the show, leaving only the local weather inserts by NBC stations. Prior to Roker, Today weather reporters were Bob Ryan (1978–1980) and Willard Scott (1980–1996). Until Ryan's hiring, no one on the show had practical experience or academic credentials in meteorology. With NBC's purchase of The Weather Channel in 2008, personnel from that network frequently participate in Today forecast segments, at the site of a weather event or from the cable channel's suburban Atlanta headquarters, or as a fill-in for Roker. This lasted until ten years later when TWC was later acquired by Entertainment Studios. NBC owned-and-operated stations and network affiliates are given a 30-second window to insert a local forecast segment into the program following the national weather report; Roker's outcue for the local break is "That's what's going on around the country, here's what's happening in your neck of the woods," although in recent years, this outcue was used during only starting the second half-hour. During the first half hour, Roker simply uses "your local forecast" which appears after a 30-second commercial. Those not watching on an affiliate which provides local weather segments following the outcue (including international viewers, as well as NBC stations that do not have a news department) see a national summary of temperatures on a weather map. The semi-retired Scott, who gained fame through his antics that included costumes and props,[23] still appeared on-air to continue his tradition of wishing "happy birthday" to centenarian. Scott's traditional local cue was "Here's what's happening in your world, even as we speak." He retired completely from television on December 15, 2015. Regular panelists 1973 show panel: Gene Shalit, Barbara Walters and Frank McGee The job of "panelist" has no set definition. Panelist duties can range from conducting interviews to reporting on a number of topics in-studio and in the field. Regular panelists on the program include the following: Jack Lescoulie (1952–1965) Edwin Newman (1952–1984) Barbara Walters (1966–1974, officially titled "co-host" in 1974) Judith Crist (1964–1973) Joe Garagiola Sr. (1967–1973 and 1990–1992) Gene Shalit (1973–2010) Today Girls From 1952 to 1964, a notable member of the cast was a woman, often an entertainer, the Today Girl. Usually, she discussed fashion and lifestyle, reported the weather, covered lighter-fare stories or engaged in verbal jousting with Garroway. Estelle Parsons was the first to hold the job, though her title at the time was "Women's Editor". Upon her departure in 1955, the Today Girl name was adopted. The last to hold the position, Barbara Walters, discussed the job in her autobiography Audition: A Memoir. She wrote that the era was before the feminism, and it was believed that nobody would take a woman seriously reporting "infotainment", Walters described the position as a "tea pourer".[24] In 1966, Walters was promoted to co-anchor alongside Hugh Downs, and the Today Girl position was eliminated. Those who held the position were: Estelle Parsons (official title: "Women's Editor", 1952–1955) Lee Meriwether (1955–1956) Helen O'Connell (1956–1958) Betsy Palmer (1958) Florence Henderson (1959–1960) Joyce Davidson (1960) Pat Fontaine (1962-1963) Maureen O'Sullivan (1964) J. Fred Muggs From 1953 to 1957, the program featured J. Fred Muggs, a chimpanzee whose antics entertained viewers, but frustrated the program's staff, especially Dave Garroway. Also occasionally appearing was J. Fred's "girlfriend" Phoebe B. Beebe. Transitions Pauley to Norville In 1989, Deborah Norville (then anchor of the network's early-morning news program at the time, NBC News at Sunrise) replaced John Palmer at the Today newsdesk, at which point he assumed her previous role on Sunrise. She also began substituting for Tom Brokaw on NBC Nightly News. Shortly after Norville's appointment as Today's news anchor, the decision was made to feature her as an unofficial third host. Whereas Palmer had read the news from a desk separate from where Gumbel and Pauley sat, Norville was seated alongside the program's hosts at the opening and closing of every show. Before long, gossip columns and media observers predicted that NBC would remove Jane Pauley from the program and replace her with Norville in an effort to improve the program's recently declining viewership among young women, the demographic most coveted by morning shows.[25] During this period, Saturday Night Live featured a sketch titled "All About Deborah Norville" (a takeoff on the classic film All About Eve), which depicted Norville as ruthlessly scheming to take Pauley's place as Today co-host. In October 1989, it was announced that 13-year veteran Pauley would leave Today at the end of the year.[26] NBC, as expected, announced that Norville would become co-host. An emotional Norville hugged Pauley on the air after the announcement was made, and many at the network hoped the negative press generated by Norville's increased presence on the program would end. However, this turned out not to be the case. Prior to the announcement of Pauley's departure, much of the criticism had focused on Norville's youth and beauty, with many branding her "the other woman" and a "home wrecker", in a reference to what some felt seemed like her intent on "breaking up" the television marriage of Gumbel and Pauley.[27] The negative press only heightened after the announcement of Pauley's resignation, and Norville was put under a gag order by NBC brass, which prevented her from defending herself from the widespread and erroneous reports that she somehow orchestrated her rise on Today. In January 1990, the new anchor team of Bryant Gumbel and Deborah Norville, minus Jane Pauley, debuted with disastrous results. Nielsen ratings for the program began to plummet. Critics felt that Gumbel and Norville lacked chemistry and many loyal viewers began turning to rival ABC's Good Morning America (GMA). Norville to Couric By the end of 1990, Today, the longtime dominant program, was officially the second-place morning show behind GMA, and most of the blame was pinned on Norville. By the outbreak of the Gulf War in 1991, Norville saw her role as co-host continually minimized. Today aired special editions of the program called "America at War", with Gumbel anchoring most of the show alone. It was not uncommon for Norville not even to appear until the two-hour show's second half-hour. In addition, she was directed not to initiate conversation on the show and only speak when asked a question by Gumbel. Norville left the show for parental leave in February 1991. It was announced that Katie Couric would substitute co-host during Norville's absence. Ratings for the program rose immediately following Norville's departure and Couric's arrival.[28] Midway though her maternity leave, Norville was interviewed by People. In the story, she avoided conversation about her recent trouble on Today, and instead focused on her newborn baby boy. She was photographed breastfeeding her son, a seemingly innocuous event, but NBC management was said to be greatly displeased by this, believing the photo to be "in poor taste". By April 1991, in light of improved ratings on Today and NBC's displeasure at the People photograph, it was announced that Norville would not return to Today and that Katie Couric had been named the program's co-host. Norville, it was disclosed, would continue to be paid in accordance with her contract, although she would no longer appear on any NBC News programs. Couric to Vieira On April 5, 2006, Katie Couric announced on her 15th anniversary as co-host of Today that she would leave the program and NBC News at the end of May to become the new anchor and managing editor of the CBS Evening News. Couric's final broadcast, on May 31, 2006, was dedicated to her 15 years as one of the show's co-hosts, and celebrated her move to the anchor chair at CBS, where she also became a correspondent for the network's Sunday night newsmagazine program 60 Minutes. Couric said during the show, "It's been a pleasure hosting this program, and thank you for fifteen great years." A special video presentation was broadcast, recapping her best moments and news stories on Today during her 15 years with the show. The day after Couric's announcement, Meredith Vieira, then a host of ABC's The View announced on that show that she would take over as Lauer's co-anchor in September. Lauer and Vieira began co-hosting together on September 13, 2006. On June 1, 2006 (the day after Couric's departure), NBC News announced that for the summer of 2006, Today would move to a temporary outdoor studio as Studio 1A was going through renovations to prepare for its switch to high-definition. On that same day, NBC News launched a new advertisement promoting Vieira's arrival. That summer, Couric's anchor seat was filled by various hosts, consisting of Curry, Morales and Campbell Brown (all of whom were considered candidates to replace Couric), until Vieira took over that fall. In March 2010, Vieira signed a contract to keep her with the program until at least September 2011.[29] However, she announced on May 9, 2011, that she would depart as co-host in the following month, but would remain at NBC News as a special correspondent.[30] Vieira to Curry After announcing her resignation, Meredith Vieira departed the program on June 8, 2011. Vieira's spot was filled by the program's longtime news anchor Ann Curry, appearing alongside Matt Lauer as co-host. Correspondent Natalie Morales replaced Curry as news anchor in turn, with Al Roker remaining as the weather anchor. Savannah Guthrie joined Morales and Roker as co-host of the third (9:00 a.m.) hour. Almost a year after her departure, Vieira returned briefly to Today as a special correspondent for events relating to Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee Celebration. On June 5, 2012, she co-presented the show with Lauer from London. Curry to Guthrie NBC revealed on June 28, 2012, that Ann Curry would no longer co-host Today, and would continue to work for NBC News (where she remained until her departure in January 2015), including continuing to appear on Today. Curry's title was changed to "Today Anchor at Large and NBC News National & International Correspondent," with responsibilities including leading a seven-person unit producing content for NBC Nightly News, Dateline NBC, Rock Center with Brian Williams and Today, with occasional anchor duties for Nightly News. Curry also reported for NBC's coverage of the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. On July 9, 2012, Savannah Guthrie succeeded Curry as co-anchor alongside Lauer, Roker and Morales.[31] Ann Curry's final show as co-anchor was subdued compared to the earlier departures of Katie Couric and Meredith Vieira, as it did not include retrospectives of Curry's 15-year run on the program or goodbye to messages from colleagues and celebrities, although Curry – seated alongside Lauer, Natalie Morales and Al Roker in the couch area of the Studio 1A set – gave a tear-filled farewell message to viewers.[32][33] Rumors of Curry's departure from Today began weeks before NBC formally announced that she would no longer be co-host, spurring negative press similar to that resulting from the departure of Jane Pauley and her replacement by Deborah Norville 23 years earlier, as early reports suggested that Matt Lauer had a hand in the program's decision to let Curry go.[34][35][36] Viewership declines for the program that began in the months following Curry becoming co-host precipitated in part due to public criticism over Lauer's alleged involvement in Curry's departure; loyal viewers once again began turning to the competing Good Morning America, which toppled Today's 16-year consecutive run as the top-rated morning news program during the week of April 9, 2012.[2] The public relations problems for Lauer that resulted from the accusations, led then-executive producer Jim Bell to admit responsibility for the negative press, in defense of Lauer, in a series of interviews with The New York Times, The Hollywood Reporter and the Associated Press.[37][38][39] Lauer to Kotb On November 29, 2017, Hoda Kotb became the interim co-anchor after Matt Lauer was terminated. Prior to that, she has been a featured co-anchor of Today, sitting alongside Lauer and Guthrie at the beginning of the second half-hour. She held that position on April 17, 2017, after her return from maternity leave until Lauer's termination on November 29, 2017. On January 2, 2018, her interim status became permanent, making her and Savannah Guthrie the first all-female anchor duo in Today's history and the second all-female anchor duo overall. NBC News Chairman Andrew Lack said in an email that Kotb has "seamlessly stepped" into the position, and with Guthrie, "quickly hit the ground running". "They have an undeniable connection with each other and most importantly, with viewers, a hallmark of Today," Lack added.[40] Just before the holidays, NBC executives offered the job to Kotb.[41] She also continued to co-host the fourth hour of the show, a role she has held since 2007. Controversies Gumbel's memo In 1989, Bryant Gumbel wrote a memo to the program's then-executive producer Marty Ryan, which was critical of other Today personalities, and was leaked to the press. In the memo, Gumbel commented that Willard Scott "holds the show hostage to his assortment of whims, wishes, birthdays and bad taste... This guy is killing us and no one's even trying to rein him in." He commented that Gene Shalit's movie reviews "are often late and his interviews aren't very good".[42] There was enough negative backlash in regard to Gumbel's comments toward Scott that Gumbel was shown reconciling with Scott on Today.[43] Selective editing of George Zimmerman 9-1-1 call After the killing of Trayvon Martin, Today ran a selectively edited version of the 9-1-1 call that George Zimmerman made prior to shooting and killing Martin (which he defended as being committed in self-defense while standing trial for the shooting, for which he was acquitted on charges of murder in July 2013), which had the effect of making Zimmerman appear racist. In a March 2012 edition of the program, Today played a recording of Zimmerman saying, "This guy looks like he's up to no good. He looks black." However, several seconds of the call were cut from the 911 tape, removing Zimmerman's description of Martin, and a question asked to him about the teenager by the 911 operator. In the original, unedited tape, Zimmerman said, "This guy looks like he's up to no good. Or he's on drugs or something. It's raining and he's just walking around, looking about." The operator then asked, "OK, and this guy – is he black, white or Hispanic?", to which Zimmerman answered, "He looks black." The Washington Post wrote that Today's alteration "would more readily paint Zimmerman as a racial profiing. In reality's version, Zimmerman simply answered a question about the race of the person whom he was reporting to the police. Nothing prejudicial at all in responding to such an inquiry... it's a falsehood with repercussions. Much of the public discussion over the past week has settled on how conflicting facts and interpretations call into question whether Zimmerman acted justifiably or criminally... To portray that exchange in a way that wrongs Zimmerman is high editorial malpractice..."[44] Following an internal investigation into the production of the segment, NBC News fired two employees who were involved in the piece, including a producer based at the division's Miami bureau, in April 2012.[45] In December 2012, George Zimmerman filed a defamation lawsuit against NBC for the editing of the 911 call. Florida Circuit Court Judge Debra Nelson dismissed the suit on June 30, 2014, citing that there were "no genuine issues of material fact upon which a reasonable jury could find that the Defendants [NBCUniversal] acted with actual malice," but although Zimmerman could not prove that he was the victim of "actual malice", stated that the malice standard was appropriate since Zimmerman is a public figure.[46] 9/11 Moment of Silence omission On September 11, 2012, Today sparked outrage after the program neglected to interrupt an interview with Keeping Up with the Kardashians co-star Kris Jenner to broadcast the 11th anniversary remembrance ceremonies of the September 11 attacks at 8:46 a.m. Eastern.[47] NBC was the only national television news outlet in the United States that did not interrupt regular programming to broadcast the moment of silence live. While the coverage of the ceremonies was not seen on the NBC network feed in most of the country, the network's New York City flagship owned-and-operated station WNBC interrupted the Today broadcast to run locally produced special coverage of the entire ceremony.[48] Matt Lauer termination On November 29, 2017, NBC terminated Lauer following allegations of "inappropriate sexual behavior". NBC News chairman Andrew Lack announced Lauer's termination, stating: "It represented, after serious review, a clear violation of our company's standards. As a result, we've decided to terminate his employment. While it is the first complaint about his behavior in the over twenty years he's been at NBC News, we were also presented with reason to believe this may not have been an isolated incident. Our highest priority is to create a workplace environment where everyone feels safe and protected, and to ensure that any actions that run counter to our core values are met with consequences, no matter who the offender." Lauer would eventually be replaced by the long-time anchor of Today's 4th Hour, Hoda Kotb.[49] Although NBC did not publicly report or comment on the specifics of the allegations, the entertainment industry publication Variety ran a two-month long investigation involving interviews with Lauer's former NBC colleagues on his behavior towards them, which included lurid accusations of making verbal and typed lewd comments, as well as making suggestive references to a colleague's sexual performance.[50] Megyn Kelly blackface controversy During the episode of October 23, 2018, Megyn Kelly participated in a panel discussion on the appropriateness of blackface in Halloween costume on her morning show Megyn Kelly Today. During the segment, Kelly recollected that "when I was a kid, that was okay as long as you were dressing up as like a character", and added that "[Luann de Lesseps] wants to look like Diana Ross for one day, and I don't know how that got racist on Halloween." Her comments were widely criticized for being interpreted as defense of the practice, which is generally considered to be a derogatory caricature of African-Americans.[51] Critics likened Kelly's remarks to a previous incident during her tenure at Fox News Channel, where Kelly asserted that Jesus and Santa Claus were white.[52][53] Later that day, Kelly issued an internal email apologizing for the remarks, stating that "I realize now that such behavior is indeed wrong, and I am sorry", and that "I've never been a 'pc' kind of person — but I understand that we do need to be more sensitive in this day and age. Particularly on race and ethnicity issues which, far from being healed, have been exacerbated in our politics over the past year. This is a time for more understanding, love, sensitivity and honor, and I want to be part of that. I look forward to continuing that discussion."[51] Kelly opened the October 24 episode with a public apology, as well as a follow-up discussion with African-American commentators Amy Holmes and Roland Martin on why blackface is considered controversial.[53][54] The same day, The Hollywood Reporter reported that Kelly had left the Creative Artists Agency, and had hired an attorney. It was also reported that, prior to the incident, Kelly and NBC had been discussing cancelling the program so she could focus more on serving as a correspondent, but that the comments may have an impact on her future at the network. The week's remaining episodes were replaced by encores.[55][56][57] On October 26, 2018, NBC News confirmed the cancellation of Megyn Kelly Today and announced that the show's existing anchors would temporarily fill the third hour.[58] Expansion Current Weekend Today Main article: Weekend Today Today first expanded to weekends on September 20, 1987, with the debut of the Sunday edition. Five years later on August 1, 1992, the Saturday edition made its debut, expanding the program to seven days a week. The Sunday broadcast was originally 90 minutes in length, until the third half-hour being dropped with the expansion of Meet the Press to an hour-long broadcast in 1992; it now airs for one hour, while the Saturday broadcast airs for two hours. The weekend broadcasts continue the Today format of covering breaking news, interviews with newsmakers, reports on a variety of popular-culture and human-interest stories, covering health and finance issues, and national weather reports. NBC feeds the Saturday edition from 7:00 a.m. – 9:00 a.m. (although it is often shortened to air the network's kids' block in full when there is an early start to sports) and the Sunday edition from 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. (both in the Eastern Time Zone), although many of the network's affiliates air local newscasts in those time slots and carry the network broadcast earlier or later in the morning; many NBC affiliates also bookend the Sunday edition with local morning newscasts that immediately precede and follow the program. NBC's New York City, Chicago, San Francisco and Los Angeles owned-and-operated stations air Weekend Today simultaneously (but not live) at 9:00 a.m Eastern, 8:00 a.m. Central and 6:00 a.m. Pacific Time. Weekend editions are tailored to the priorities and interests of weekend viewers – offering special series such as "Saturday Today on the Plaza", featuring live performances by major music acts and Broadway theatrical productions outside the studio throughout the summer. During NBC Olympic broadcasts, the weekday anchors and staff present the majority of the program on both Saturday and Sunday throughout the two weeks to maintain promotional momentum, with limited contributions from the weekend team from New York. Early Today Main article: Early Today The first brand extension of Today was created in 1982. The early morning news program Early Today was conceived as a lead-in for Today, featuring the same anchors as the main program at the time, Bryant Gumbel and Jane Pauley. The half-hour program was fed twice to allow affiliates to carry one or both broadcasts. NBC canceled the program after a year, and replaced it with NBC News at Sunrise, originally anchored by Connie Chung. In April 1999, NBC canceled Sunrise for two brand extensions of Today. One was Early Today which was revived September 7, 1999; the revived program originally was produced by CNBC and focused on business and financial news before switching to general news under the same production staff as MSNBC First Look in 2004. Early Today continues to air on the network, airing live each weekday morning at 3:00 a.m. Eastern Time (with an updated telecast for viewers in the Pacific Time Zone), and on tape delay until 10:00 a.m. Eastern – corresponding with the start time of Today in the Pacific Time Zone – to allow for adjustment in airtimes for other time zones and for certain NBC stations without a local morning newscast to air Early Today in lieu of one. Today 3rd Hour Today Also known as 3rd Hour Today The 3rd Genre Talk show News Program Presented by Craig Melvin Al Roker Sheinelle Jones Dylan Dreyer Production Production location NBC Studios Camera setup Multi-camera Running time 44–52 minutes Release Original release October 29, 2018 – present Chronology Preceded by Megyn Kelly Today Today 3rd Hour (sometimes called The 3rd), the current name for the third hour of Today, features anchors who appear in the first two hours of the program. After Megyn Kelly Today was cancelled on October 26, 2018, NBC announced that Today anchors would host the third hour.[59] The new third hour premiered on October 29, 2018, with Hoda Kotb, Craig Melvin and Al Roker anchoring for the first 20 minutes from Studio 1A, reporting on the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting, with Savannah Guthrie anchoring live from Pittsburgh.[60] At the top of the program, Kotb said: "Today, as you know, we are starting a new chapter in the third hour of our show as it evolves. We want you to know that the entire Today family will continue to bring you informative and important stories, just as we always have."[61] After 20 minutes, the program continued with Jenna Bush Hager from Studio 6A, the former home of Megyn Kelly Today, where broadcasts of the third hour would begin to be based.[62] Since its debut, the third hour has used a modified nameless opening title sequence compared to the other editions of Today. Various other Today and NBC News personalities filled in until January, when it was announced that the official hosts would be Al Roker, Sheinelle Jones, Dylan Dreyer and Craig Melvin. On December 4, 2018, an NBC News spokesperson confirmed that the third hour would move to Studio 1A to streamline the production process and create a more seamless broadcast. The last day at Studio 6A was January 4, 2019, with new broadcasts in Studio 1A beginning on January 7.[63] Today with Hoda & Jenna Main article: Today with Hoda & Jenna Today with Hoda & Jenna premiered on April 8, 2019, as the fourth hour of Today, succeeding Kathie Lee & Hoda.[64] The program is hosted by Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager, and continues to follow a similar format as its predecessor as its own distinct entity.[65] Today All Day On July 15, 2020, NBC launched a digital extension of Today known as Today All Day, which is a streaming video channel on the program's website and Peacock.[6] It features blocks of soft news and lifestyle segments drawn from the program, as well as original content hosted by the program's personalities. NBC plans to eventually widen its distribution via third-party internet TV services in addition to its own.[66] Former Later Today On September 7, 1999, NBC launched Later Today, a talk show that was intended to air immediately following the then two-hour Today. Replacing Leeza (which would continue in first-run syndication for one more year) on the network's morning schedule, Later Today was hosted by Jodi Applegate, Florence Henderson and Asha Blake. The program was cancelled on August 11, 2000, due to lackluster ratings; it was replaced two months later by the third hour of Today, later known as Today's Take. Today's Take Today Also known as The Take Genre Talk Show Presented by Al Roker Ann Curry Natalie Morales Willie Geist Tamron Hall Billy Bush Dylan Dreyer Sheinelle Jones Production Production locations Rockefeller Plaza, Manhattan, New York City Camera setup Multi-camera Running time 44–52 minutes Release Original release November 12, 2012 – September 22, 2017 Chronology Followed by Megyn Kelly Today Today's Take (sometimes called The Take) was the third-hour segment of Today. This "show-within-a-show" had its own anchors (although featuring on-air staff that appears during the first two hours of the program), opening title sequence and theme music. On October 2, 2000, NBC expanded Today to three hours, with the addition of an hour from 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. For its first twelve years, the format of the third hour was originally structured similarly to Today's first two hours, using the same anchors as that portion of the broadcast; separate anchors began to be used for the third hour over time, with only the news anchor (Ann Curry until 2011, then Natalie Morales) and the weather anchor (Al Roker) being shared with the main 7:00 a.m. – 9:00 a.m. block – this was particularly the case during instances where Matt Lauer or his co-host (Katie Couric, then Meredith Vieira from 2006 to 2011, Ann Curry from 2011 to 2012, and finally Savannah Guthrie during the final months of the original format) could not be present for the entire hour due to reporting assignments or personal commitments. Vieira, outside of breaking news situations, was specifically disallowed by contract from any duties in the third hour due to her hosting commitments to the syndicated version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire by Disney–ABC Domestic Television. The network revamped the format of the third hour on November 12, 2012, and gave it the in-program title Today's Take. Roker was joined during the revamped third hour by Natalie Morales and Willie Geist (who had recently joined Today after ending his run as the original anchor of MSNBC's Way Too Early); MSNBC anchor and Today correspondent Tamron Hall was added as a co-host for that hour of the program on February 24, 2014, and Ellie Kemper joined the program on June 29, 2015, as a temporary co-host (until July 17, 2015).[67] With the change, traditional news segments at the beginning of the hour were abandoned in favor of a topical "host chat" format similar to the opening segment of the succeeding fourth hour of the program (with the only difference being that top general news events are discussed somewhat more often, in addition to featuring topical discussions on offbeat and pop culture-related stories and periodic clips from television programs aired the previous night and viral video). Instead, the news segment (titled News with Natalie, anchored by Morales, and alternately titled Today's News on days when Morales is off) is featured prior to the local update cutaways near the end of the first half-hour; national weather segments are also retained following the host chat segments in both half-hours. Beginning in May 2015, the News with Natalie/Today's News segment moved to 9:30 a.m. and the national weather segment to follow and the host chat at 9:30 a.m. was discontinued. On August 22, 2016, both Morales and Geist left Today's Take and former Access Hollywood host Billy Bush officially joined the set. Bush was later suspended and eventually fired from the segment as well as the program following Donald Trump Access Hollywood tape during U.S. Republican and presidential candidate Donald Trump's campaign in October 2016. On February 1, 2017, Hall left Today's Take. Weekend co-anchor Sheinelle Jones and weekend meteorologist Dylan Dreyer filled in as co-hosts alongside Roker until a new morning lineup began in the fall.[68] Today's Take aired its final episode on September 22, 2017, and Megyn Kelly Today replaced it on September 25, 2017. Megyn Kelly Today Main article: Megyn Kelly Today Megyn Kelly Today premiered on September 25, 2017, as a replacement for Today's Take. It was hosted by former Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly, and was structured as a daytime talk show.[69][70][71][72][73][74] In the wake of stable but lower viewership in comparison to the timeslot's predecessor, a desire by Kelly to focus more on her overall role at NBC News, and in the wake of controversy over a recent segment discussing blackface,[75][76] the show was officially cancelled on October 26, 2018.[77][78] Kelly never again appeared on NBC and departed the network three months later. Today with Kathie Lee and Hoda Main article: Today with Hoda & Jenna Today with Kathie Lee and Hoda was the fourth-hour segment of Today hosted by Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb, which aired from April 7, 2008, to April 5, 2019. It replaced the original fourth hour that debuted earlier that fall on September 10, 2007, originally hosted by Ann Curry, Natalie Morales, and Hoda Kotb. The program was its own distinct entity, with its own website and social media presence. The fourth hour does not have news or weather segments or input from the earlier hosts and is structured virtually as a standalone talk show, with an opening "host chat" segment reminiscent of the one popularized by Gifford and Regis Philbin on Live! with Regis and Kathie Lee (which aired on ABC between 1987 and 2000), as well as interviews and features focusing on entertainment, fashion and other topics aimed at female viewers. On December 11, 2018, NBC and Gifford announced that she will be retiring from her position of anchoring the fourth hour in April 2019, her 11th anniversary since joining Today.[79][80] Kotb continues co-anchoring the fourth hour.[81] On February 26, 2019, NBC announced that Jenna Bush Hager, the daughter of former U.S. President George W. Bush would replace Gifford.[82] Music This section may contain an excessive amount of intricate detail that may interest only a particular audience. Please help by spinning off or relocating any relevant information, and removing excessive detail that may be against Wikipedia's inclusion policy. (October 2019) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Today host Dave Garroway selected Les Brown's "Sentimental Journey" as the program's original theme music, which was used during Garroway's entire run from 1952 to 1961. In 1962, when Hugh Downs became host, Django Reinhardt's "Melodie au Crepuscule" was chosen as the new theme; it was replaced in 1963 by "Misty", an instrumental ballad composed by Erroll Garner and performed by Bobby Hackett and John B. Seng.[83] "Misty" served as Today's theme until 1971, when NBC News correspondent Frank McGee joined the show. Composer Ray Ellis penned an instrumental theme entitled "This is Today", a jazzy, up-tempo piece that served as the program's main theme until 1978. Because This is Today closely resembled Stephen Schwartz's song "Day by Day" from the musical Godspell, Schwartz successfully sued for copyright infringement.[84] "This is Today" was revised as a result, with the second version of the piece incorporating the familiar NBC chimes was used until 1981, at the close of the Tom Brokaw–Jane Pauley era.[83] The chimes were also used throughout the program to introduce and conclude segments, usually in combination with the familiar Today sunburst logo. By the time Bryant Gumbel was appointed co-anchor of the program in 1982, a new version of Ellis' "This is Today" theme was introduced, using a looser, more relaxed arrangement that continued to feature the NBC chimes in its melody. A shorter arrangement of "This is Today" was used for the show open (featuring a rotating globe and the Today sunburst) from 1983 to 1985. The main theme was used until 1985, and due to its popularity with viewers was resurrected as the show's secondary theme in January 1993. The 1982 theme later served as the program's official "anniversary" music, used to open and close retrospective segments in the leadup to Today's 60th anniversary in 2012. 1985 saw the end of the synthesizer era at NBC as composer John Williams wrote a series of themes for all NBC News programs, with a cut entitled "The Mission", serving as the principal theme for NBC Nightly News with Tom Brokaw. Williams also composed two themes for Today: an opening fanfare for the program that was derived from the opening of "The Mission", and a two-minute closing theme for the show entitled "Scherzo for Today", a dramatic arrangement that made heavy use of strings and flutes. In the late 1980s, "Scherzo" was played in its entirety multiple times daily during the weather scrolls that ran during local commercial breaks; however, most NBC affiliates preempted these segments with locally slotted advertising. The new Today themes – used in tandem with the show's new opening sequence featuring the Statue of Liberty and a new living room studio set – gave the program a distinctly modern look and sound beginning in September 1985. A series of Williams-penned bumpers featuring "The Mission" signature were also used to open and close segments. "Scherzo for Today" was used as the program's closing theme until 1990, and "The Mission" bumpers were used until 1993 (one of them could be heard as a station break lead-in on NBC's Meet The Press until 2004). Meanwhile, Williams' opening fanfare had opened the program ever since its 1985 introduction, with two brief interruptions; new opening themes were briefly introduced and quickly discarded in the summer of 1994 (to mark the debut of Studio 1A) and in 2004. The fanfare was iconically accompanied by Fred Facey announcing "From NBC News, this is Today… with (anchor) and (anchor)" (with "Live from Studio 1A in Rockefeller Plaza" being added to the introduction on June 20, 1994, when the show moved to its new studio). Although Facey died in April 2003, his introduction of the Couric–Lauer team was used for the duration of Couric's era (except for special editions requiring special introductions). Weekend Today announcer Les Marshak became the new voice of the weekday program on September 13, 2006.[85] A lighter theme employing the NBC chimes was used to open the show's 7:30 a.m. through 9:30 a.m. half-hour segments, and was also used as a closing theme. In March 2013, "The Mission" was replaced with a theme composed by Adam Gubman for Non-Stop Music. Along with Non-Stop Music, Gubman's rebranding could be heard dating back to Today's coverage of the wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton in April 2011. Gubman went on to write music for the network's 2012 election coverage, and continues to provide audio content for Today. Ratings From 1995 to 2012, Today generally beat ABC rival Good Morning America in the Nielsen ratings among all network morning programs. By the week of September 11, 2006, the program earned 6.320 million total viewers, 1.6 million more than the 4.73 million viewers earned by Good Morning America. This gap eventually decreased, as by the week of June 30, 2008, Today was watched by an average of 4.9 million viewers, compared to Good Morning America's 3.8 million.[86] Furthermore, by the week of October 12, 2008, Today's total viewership had gone up to 4.910 million viewers, compared to second place Good Morning America's total viewership of 4.25 million (and significantly above the 2.66 million viewers earned by CBS' The Early Show).[87] For the week above, the third hour (referred as "Today II" by NBC exclusively for Nielsen ratings counts) drew 2.9 million viewers and the fourth hour (referred in Nielsen ratings as "Today III"), delivered 1.7 million. For the week of January 4, 2009, the 8:00 a.m. hour of Today averaged 5.998 million viewers; the 9:00& a.m. hour, meanwhile, averaged 4.447 million total viewers and a 1.4 rating among adults aged 25–54, marking that hour's best ratings since the week of August 11, 2008. The 10:00 a.m. hour averaged 2.412 million total viewers and a .8 rating in the demographic, the highest total viewership for that portion of the program since the week of December 31, 2007.[88] For the week of April 11, 2011, the program passed its 800th consecutive week as the No. 1 rated network morning news program, with 5.662 million total viewers (ahead of Good Morning America by approximately 1.2 million viewers).[89] During the week of April 25, 2011, Today averaged 6.424 million viewers, marking its best weekly total viewership since August 11, 2008, during the 2008 Summer Olympics. This was largely buoyed by the April 29 coverage of the wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton, which earned 9.628 million viewers (beating Good Morning America's coverage by more than 1.6 million viewers), and was also the best single day rating since November 8, 2000, the day after the 2000 presidential election.[90] International broadcasts This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (February 2014) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) NBC News programs, including the live broadcast of Today, are shown daily on the 24-hour news network OSN News in MENA Region. In Australia, NBC Today (the title used in that country to avoid confusion with the local Nine Network program Today) airs an edited 42-minute version of the first two hours from 4:00 a.m. Tuesday to Saturday on the Seven Network (rerun at 9:00 a.m. on sister network 7two). The Today's Take hour (which is abbreviated to the same runtime) only airs Saturdays on the primary channel and Tuesday to Saturday on 7two; while Seven broadcasts the Sunday edition at 5:00 a.m. on Mondays, following Meet The Press. The program was originally trimmed to 63 minutes, with the local news cutaway removed. However, a news ticker appears at the bottom of the screen, containing national headlines, as well as information on the next edition of Seven's morning program Sunrise. A national weather map of Australia is inserted during local affiliate cutaways during the weather segment. Today does not air on the primary regional affiliates Prime7 and GWN7, which instead air infomercial. In the Philippines, Today aired on 9TV (formerly called as Talk TV and Solar News Channel) from 2011 to August 2014; an edited 90-minute version of the weekday editions aired Tuesdays through Saturdays at 5:30 a.m., with a two-hour abbreviated broadcast of the Friday editions airing at 10:00 a.m. local time on Saturdays. Weekend Today airs Saturdays for two hours at 10:00 p.m. and Sundays at 11:00 p.m. local time. The local affiliate cutaways during the weather segment were removed only from the weekday editions. Today with Kathie Lee and Hoda (titled Today's Talk for the TalkTV/SNC/9TV broadcasts) aired Tuesdays to Saturdays at 3:00 a.m. Both shows were removed from the schedule since then, particularly with the relaunch of 9TV as CNN Philippines. Starting November 2, 2020, The show returns to Philippine TV and airs live on TAP TV. In the United Kingdom and Europe, Today aired on Sky News from 1989 to 1993, and on NBC Europe from 1993 to 1998. The show was initially aired live in the afternoon until 1995, when NBC Europe began airing it on a one-day delay the morning after the original U.S. broadcast. In Indonesia, NBC Today is aired on NBC-US at 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. WIB (6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. WIB from March to November) with WNBC local weather exclusively for SVICLOUD TV Box. Aimed for U.S. expatriates in Indonesia. See also List of special editions of Today (American TV program), for editions of the program marking major news events or breaking news coverage
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