After spending much of her childhood in foster homes, Monroe began a career as a model, which led to a film contract in 1946. Her early roles were minor, but her performances in The Asphalt Jungle and All About Eve (both 1950) were well received. She was praised for her comedic ability in such films as Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, How to Marry a Millionaire and The Seven Year Itch, and became one of Hollywood’s most popular and glamorous performers.

The typecasting of Monroe’s “dumb blonde” persona limited her career prospects, so she broadened her range. She studied at the Actors Studio and formed Marilyn Monroe Productions. Her dramatic performance in William Inge’s Bus Stop was hailed by critics, and she won a Golden Globe Award for her performance in Some Like it Hot.

The group soon did very well in Europe, where the next two albums, Coming Out and Pastiche, brought a string of top 10 hits. One was a revival of Wayne Shanklin’s “Chanson D’Amour”, which went to number one in the UK in 1977 but failed to chart in the US. These hits were followed by a live album, The Manhattan Transfer Live. It was recorded in the UK and captured the group’s great popularity in Europe at that time. Immediately after that album was recorded, in 1978, Laurel Massé was badly injured in an auto accident and was replaced by Cheryl Bentyne. The line-up has remained the same since then.

Their next recording, Extensions, earned The Manhattan Transfer their second US pop hit: “Twilight Zone/Twilight Tone”, written by Alan Paul and Jay Graydon as a tribute to the 1960s’ CBS television series created by Rod Serling.

In the UK the group is also known for its guest appearances on The Two Ronnies.

Although he is best known for his single “God Bless the USA”, Greenwood also has charted seven Number One hits in his career: “Somebody’s Gonna Love You”, “Going, Going, Gone”, “Dixie Road”, “I Don’t Mind the Thorns (If You’re the Rose)”, “Don’t Underestimate My Love for You”, “Hearts Aren’t Made to Break (They’re Made to Love)”, and “Mornin’ Ride”. His 1983 single “I.O.U.” was also a Top Five hit on the Adult Contemporary charts, and a #53 on the Billboard Hot 100. A 2001 re-release of “God Bless the USA” became his highest charting pop hit, reaching #16 on the Hot 100.

After becoming a police officer, like his father, during the late 1960s,[1] Money began to be interested in music, and eventually ended his law enforcement career in favor of becoming a musician. He moved to Berkeley, California and became a regular at area clubs, where he eventually got enough attention to secure a recording contract with Columbia Records. Later in the 1970s, he charted with singles such as “Baby Hold On” and “Two Tickets to Paradise”. Money continued his successes and took advantage of the MTV music video scene in the early 1980s with his humorous narrative videos for “Shakin’” and “Think I’m in Love”, but his career began to fail him after several unsuccessful releases in the mid-1980s, accompanied by his struggles with drug addiction.

Money made a comeback two years later in 1986 and returned to the mainstream rock spotlight with the album Can’t Hold Back, which featured a Ronnie Spector duet with “Take Me Home Tonight”, which reached the Top 10, along with the hit “I Wanna Go Back”. Money followed the album with another Top 10 hit, late 1988’s “Walk on Water”, but his Top 40 career ended when “I’ll Get By”