A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given.

The term General is used in two ways: as the generic title for all grades of general officer; and as a specific rank. Since the late twentieth century, the rank of General is usually the highest active rank of a military not at war.

All general officer ranks

The various grades of general officer are at the top of the rank structure. Lower-ranking officers are known as field officers or field-grade officers, and below them are company-grade officers. All officers who commanded more than a single regiment came to be known as "general officers". The word "general" is used in its ordinary sense in English (and other languages) as relating to larger, general, military units, rather than smaller units in particular.

Common systems

There are two common systems of general ranks.

Variations of one form, the old European system, were once used throughout Europe. It is used in the United Kingdom (although it did not originate there), from which it eventually spread to the Commonwealth and the United States of America. The General Officer ranks are named by prefixing General, as an adjective, with field officer ranks, although in some countries the highest general officers are titled Field Marshal or Marshal.

The other is derived from the French Revolution, where generals' ranks are named according to the unit they (theoretically) command.

Old European system {| style="border:1px solid #8888aa; background-color:#f7f8ff; padding:5px; font-size:95%; margin: 0px 12px 12px 0px;" |align="center"| Field Marshal or General Field Marshal |- |align="center"| ''Colonel General'' |- |align="center"| General or Captain General |- |align="center"| Lieutenant General |- |align="center"| Sergeant Major General or Major General |- |align="center"| ''Brigadier (General)'' |}

The system used either a ''brigadier general'' rank, or a ''colonel general'' rank (i.e. exclude one of the italicised ranks.)

The rank of field marshal was used by some countries as the highest rank, while in other countries it was used as a divisional or brigade rank. Many countries (notably pre-revolutionary France and eventually much of Latin America) actually used two brigade command ranks, which is why some countries now use two stars as their brigade general insignia. (Mexico and Argentina still use two brigade command ranks.)

In some nations (particularly in the Commonwealth), the equivalent to Brigadier General is Brigadier, which is not always considered by these armies to be a general officer rank, although it is always treated as equivalent to the rank of Brigadier General for comparative purposes. Unlike other general officers, the brigadier general rank is not derived from a ''field'' rank of brigadier.

The rank of ''major general'' is a shorter form of ''sergeant major general'', and is lower than lieutenant general as a lieutenant outranks a sergeant major, although outranked by a major.

French (Revolutionary) system {| style="border:1px solid #8888aa; background-color:#f7f8ff; padding:5px; font-size:95%; margin: 0px 12px 12px 0px;" |align="center"| Marshal |- |align="center"| Army General |- |align="center"| Corps General |- |align="center"| Divisional General |- |align="center"| Brigade General |} More information about this system can be found on the page: Général.

Other variations

Other nomenclatures for general officers include the titles and ranks:

Adjutant General

Commandant-General

Inspector General

Captain General

General-in-Chief

General of the Army (which is distinct from the title Army General)

General of the Air Force (USA only)

General of the Armies of the United States (of America), a title created for General John J. Pershing, and subsequently granted posthumously to George Washington.

General Admiral (German Navy)

Air General and Aviation General (Chilean Air Force; roughly equivalent to Air Chief Marshal and Air Vice-Marshal respectively)

Wing General and Group General (Mexican Air Force; roughly equivalent to Air Commodore and Acting Air Commodore respectively)

Lieutenant-Colonel General (A Serb rank immediately inferior to Colonel General, and roughly equivalent to Commonwealth/US Major General)

Director General (a common administrative term sometimes used as an appointment in military services)

Director General of National Defence (most senior rank in the Mexican Armed Forces)

Director of Intelligence Bureau (senior most 4 star Indian Police Service post in India)

Controller General (general officer rank in the French National Police)

Prefect General (the most senior rank of the Argentine Naval Prefecture)

Master-General of the Ordnance

In addition to militarily educated generals, there are also generals in medicine and engineering. The rank of most senior chaplain, Chaplain General, is also considered to be a general officer rank.

The specific General rank

In the Old European system, a General, without prefix or suffix (and sometimes referred to informally as a "full general"), is usually the most senior type of general, above Lieutenant General and directly below Field Marshal. Usually it is the most senior peace-time rank, with more senior ranks (for example, Field Marshal) being used only in wartime, or as honorary titles.

In some armies, however, the rank of Captain General, General of the Army, Army General or Colonel General occupied or occupies this position. Depending on circumstances and the army in question, these ranks may be considered to be equivalent to a full General or to a Field Marshal.

The rank of General came about as a "Captain-General", the captain of an army in general (i.e., the whole army). The rank of Captain-General began appearing around the time of the organization of professional armies in the 17th century. In most countries "Captain-General" contracted to just "General".

General ranks by country

The following articles deal with the rank of General, or its equivalent, as it is or was employed in the militaries of those countries.

General (Australia)

General (Canada)

Shang Jiang (China) - People's Republic of China (PRC) and Republic of China (ROC/Taiwan)

Kenraali (Finland)

Kindral (Estonia)

Général (France)

General (Germany)

Obergruppenführer (Nazi Germany, SS rank)

Strategos (Greece)

Aluf (Israel)

Generale (Italy)

Daejang (Korea - DPRK and ROK)

General (Mexico)

Generał (Poland)

Army General (Philippines)

Army General (Russia)

General (Sri Lanka)

General (Sweden)

General (Switzerland)

General (United Kingdom)

General (United States)

Army generals' insignia

Air force generals' insignia

Generals' insignia of disbanded armies

Air Force and Navy equivalents

Some countries (such as the United States) use the General Officer ranks for both the army and the air force; others only use the General Officer ranks for the army, while in the air force they use Air Officers as the equivalent of General Officers. They use the air force rank of Air Chief Marshal as the equivalent of the specific army rank of General. This latter group includes the British Royal Air Force and those based on it (e.g., India, Pakistan, New Zealand, Nigeria, etc.).

In most navies, Flag Officers are the equivalent of General Officers, and the naval rank of Admiral is equivalent to the specific army rank of General. A noteworthy historical exception was the Cromwellian naval rank ''General at sea''. In recent years in the American service there is a tendency to use ''Flag Officer'' and ''Flag Rank'' to refer to generals and admirals of the services collectively.

See also

Général

Generalissimo

List of comparative military ranks

List of Roman generals

Shogun

References

External links

Generals of World War II

Schema-root.org: US Generals News feeds for US Generals in the news

Marines.mil: General Officer Biographies Biographies of US Marine Corps General Officers

Bios & Information on Generals of Western History Information on 10 Generals who influenced Western History

Category:Generals Category:Military ranks

ar:فريق أول (رتبة عسكرية) bn:জেনারেল অফিসার bs:General bg:Генерал ca:General ceb:Heneral cs:Generál da:General de:General et:Kindral el:Στρατηγός es:General eo:Generalo fa:تیمسار fr:Général ko:장군 hr:General io:Generalo id:Jenderal os:Инæлар it:Generale he:גנרל kn:ಜನರಲ್ ka:გენერალი sw:Jenerali lv:Ģenerālis lt:Generolas mk:Генерал mr:जनरल ms:Jeneral nl:Generaal ja:将軍 ce:Инарла no:General nn:General nds:General pl:Generał pt:General ro:General qu:Wamink'a ru:Генерал sq:Gjenerali simple:General officer sk:Generál sl:General sr:Генерал sh:General fi:Kenraali sv:General tl:Heneral tr:General uk:Генерал ur:منصبِ جامع vec:Generałe (exercito) vi:Đại tướng yi:גענעראל zh:將軍 (中國古代)

Coordinates	53°5′20″N17°19′35″N
name	General Levy
background	solo_singer
birth name	Paul Levy
born	28 May 1971
origin	London, UK
instrument	Vocals
genre	Reggae
notable instruments	}}

General Levy (real name Paul Levy) is a London born ragga vocalist, regularly employed on studio tracks by drum and bass DJs. He is best known for the track "Incredible" which he recorded with M-Beat.

Biography

General Levy's first major releases were with the independent Fashion record label who eventually signed a distribution deal with London Records for the re-releases of the tracks he had recorded. He had earlier releases with the producers Lloydy Crucial and Robbo Ranx but these were mainly tracks that were hits on the underground dance scene. General Levy was ostracised by the UK jungle scene in 1994, due to comments he made relating to his collaboration with M-Beat on the seminal "Incredible". He had claimed in an interview with ''The Face'' that "I run jungle at the moment". Many argue that certain artists are lambasted while other artists are able to communicate their feelings without any backlash. "Incredible" was featured in the film ''Ali G Indahouse''.

General Levy introduced and popularized the slang word "booyaka" which has been attributed to "the closest sound to a gunshot", but which Levy claims is a salutation in the jungle scene. Booyaka is the catch-phrase that the character Ali G adopts in the film "Ali G Indahouse". General Levy briefly collaborated with Rocco Barker of Flesh For Lulu in 'The Space Police'. Levy also featured on the song "Only God Can Judge Me" by R&B singer, Mark Morrison.

Levy featured on many sound systems in the late 1980s and early 1990s such as Java and Tippatone Sound.

Single discography

"Monkey Man" (1993) - UK #75

"Incredible" (1994) - UK #39 †

"Incredible" (1994) (remix) - UK #8 †

"Shake (What Ya Mama Gave Ya)" (2004) - UK #51 ‡

"Bring It On" (Dancehall Party Riddim) (2007) ¶

† Credited to M-Beat featuring General Levy ‡ Credited to General Levy vs Zeus featuring Bally Jagpal ¶ Credited as Ragga Meridional Crew

References

External links

Category:Living people Category:Jamaican reggae musicians Category:British reggae musicians Category:1971 births

de:General Levy fr:General Levy sv:Paul Levy

Coordinates	53°5′20″N17°19′35″N
name	Francesco De Gregori
background	solo_singer
birth date	April 04, 1951
origin	Rome (Italy)
instrument	Vocals, Guitar
genre	Rock
occupation	Singer-songwriter
years active	1972-today
label	RCA Italy, CBS
website	www.francescodegregori.net
notable instruments	}}

Francesco De Gregori (born April 4, 1951) is an Italian singer-songwriter. He is popularly known as "Il Principe Poeta" ("The Poet Prince"), a nickname referring to the elegance of his lyrics.

Biography

1970s

De Gregori was born in Rome to a middle-class family, and spent some of his youth in Pescara before returning to the capital. His elder brother, Luigi, was a musician and had a personal career with the name of Luigi Grechi (the mother's surname), chosen later in order to avoid confusion with the more famous Francesco.

Influenced by Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen and the Italian singer-songwriter Fabrizio de André, De Gregori started to perform his songs (mainly personal translations of American folk songs) at the Folkstudio, in Rome, which was already frequented by his brother. On one occasion De André himself is said to have listened to De Gregori's work and appreciated it.

Later De Gregori formed a band with his friends Antonello Venditti, Mimmo Locasciulli and Giorgio Lo Cascio, who all had success as singer-songwriters in the following years. De Gregori made his debut as a professional singer in 1972 with ''Theorius Campus'', in collaboration with Venditti. The LP included the early masterpiece "Signora Aquilone" ("Kite Lady"), but Venditti had more songs and, having a better voice, earned better consideration by the label. The duo subsequently broke up.

De Gregori's next album, ''Alice non lo sa'' (1973), was a commercial failure. However, the title-track, the mysterious "Alice", scored some success in several popular music shows and is still included amongst his best works today. The 1974 album ''Francesco De Gregori'' (also known as the "Sheep" due to the unusual cover by Gordon Fagetter) showed even more experimental and sometimes obscure lyrics, and again was a failure. RCA Music, however, continued to trust in De Gregori's qualities: this trust was repaid the following year, when De Gregori released one of the most successful Italian LPs of the 1970s, ''Rimmel''. This work contained several of his most famous songs: this time De Gregori's talent for unusual and poetic lyrics intermingled in a more mature way with the music. Lucio Dalla provided musical ideas for "Pablo", the unusual story of an Italian immigrant in Switzerland. Jazzy themes were present in songs like "Quattro cani" ("Four Dogs") and "Le storie di ieri" (The Stories of Yesterday"). The latter, a song about the years of Fascism, had been already released on De André's 1974 album ''Volume 8'', as it had been co-written during a stay in the Genoese singer's Sardinian estate.

''Bufalo Bill'' (1976) confirmed De Gregori's qualities, and contained at least two classics: the eponymous song and "Santa Lucia", the singer's own favourite. However, during a concert held in Milan in 1977, De Gregori, who had always declared his inclination to left-wing ideas and ideals, was fiercely contested by a group of extreme left agitators. In a mock "trial", they accused him of using a left-wing message solely to sell records and insisted that music should be free. De Gregori was at risk of injury in the fray, and decided to quit his musical career. During the following two years he therefore worked as a bookstore and music shop clerk. The episode, known as the "Palalido incident", influenced several works by other Italian singer-songwriters, such as Roberto Vecchioni's "Vaudeville". The "Palalido incident" was one of a number of such incidents. At this time, De Gregori married Alessandra Gobbi whom he had known since High School,and they had two sons, Marco and Federico.

In 1978, however, he returned with another inspired album, ''De Gregori'', containing one of his most famous songs, "Generale". He declared that he felt this song much too important for him to continue staying away from the music world. The following year he joined his old friend Lucio Dalla with a highly successful live tour, entitled ''Banana Republic'', and published a studio LP, ''Viva l'Italia'' featuring American musicians. The title track was later adopted as the Italian Socialist Party song, but De Gregori always opposed this choice.

1980s

After a pause of several years, De Gregori returned with the album ''Titanic'', the first part of which was like a concept album devoted to the famous episode of the sinking of the eponymous liner. The ballad "San Lorenzo", with a rare piano performance by De Gregori, concerns the dramatic episode of the bombing during World War II of the quarter in Rome by Allied planes. The freshness of the music and lyrics made this an outstanding commercial success, as well as earning the praise of critics. ''Titanic'' has been recently declared the best Italian LP of the period 1975-2005, in a poll conducted for the authoritative Italian newspaper ''Il Corriere della Sera''.

The following year de Gregori released a mini-LP containing his most long-standing success, ''La Donna Cannone''. The 1985 album ''Scacchi e tarocchi'' ("Chess and Tarots"), was not as successful, but contained another classic, "La Storia" ("History"). De Gregori's new melancholic inspiration was confirmed by the subsequent ''Terra di nessuno'' ("Nobody's Land"). On the other hand, ''Miramare 19-4-89'' showed a more bitter mood, but again was not as successful as his albums of the 1970s and early 1980s.

1990s and 2000s

De Gregori recovered his bestseller status in 1992 with ''Canzoni d'amore'' ("Love Songs"). In the 1990s he released fewer studio albums than collections and live albums. His next original work was ''Prendere e lasciare'' ("Take and Leave", 1996): from this point his song and his musical performance were marked by an increasing Bob Dylan influence.

''Il bandito e il campione'' of 1993 was a live collection that had remarkable success: the title track, its only studio song, was sung by De Gregori but the lyrics were by his brother Luigi Grechi. The title track of ''La valigia dell'attore'' ("The Actor's Suitcase", 1998) showed De Gregori at the best of his poetical and emotional capabilities again. The rest of the album, however, contained old pieces, plus some Dylan covers.

In 2001 De Gregori released his next studio album, ''Amore nel pomeriggio'' ("Love in the Afternoon") which is unanimously included amongst his best works. The song "Il cuoco di Salò" ("The Cook of Salò"), arranged by Franco Battiato, is one of De Gregori's best and shows his typical attention to "everyday" figures (including outcasts and underdogs) and lives while dealing with historical themes.

''Il fischio del vapore'' ("The Whistle of the Steam", 2002) was a collaboration with the folksinger Giovanna Marini, who had already worked with De Gregori in a song for ''Titanic''. The album is a collection of old popular and social Italian songs from the 19th and the early 20th centuries.

A biography of Francesco De Gregori, "Quello che non so, lo so cantare" ("What I Don't Know, I Know How to Sing"), edited by Enrico Deregibus, was published by Giunti in 2003. In 2005, De Gregori won the Targa Tenco for the best Italian album of the year with ''Pezzi'', an album with strong rock elements. In February 2006, only eleven months after the release of ''Pezzi'', De Gregori released a new studio album, ''Calypsos'', with nine previously unreleased tracks. Amongst these was ''"Cardiologia"'' ("Cardiology"), a song where the Roman singer-songwriter returns to using the words "Ti amo" ("I love you"), more than thirty years after ''"Pezzi di Vetro"'', and the song ''"Per le strade di Roma"'' ("By the Streets of Rome"), which outlines a merciless picture of the Rome of the third millennium, archetypical of the Italy of today.

In November 2006 a triple CD ''Tra un manifesto e lo specchio'' that collected together his most representative tracks was released. As well as the celebrated track ''"Diamante"'' ("Diamond"), this contained pieces written by Zucchero and included on his album Oro incenso e birra ("Gold, Incense and Beer"), a demo of ''"Mannaggia alla musica"'' ("Damn to the Music") from 1979, originally written for Ron and previously presented on the live album ''Bootleg'', and the B-side of the single ''"Viva l'Italia"'' ("Long Live Italy"), the celebrated ''"Banana Republic"'', sung without Lucio Dalla.

Awards

1988 - Targa Tenco: best album for ''Terra di nessuno''

1989 - Targa Tenco: best album for ''Mira Mare 19.4.89''

1998 - Targa Tenco: best song for ''La valigia dell'attore''

1999 - Targa Tenco: best singer (with Giovanna Marini) for ''Il fischio del vapore''

2005 - Targa Tenco: best album for ''Pezzi''

Discography

''Theorius Campus'' (1972, with Antonello Venditti)

''Alice non lo sa'' (1973)

''Francesco De Gregori'' (1974)

''Rimmel'' (1975)

''Bufalo Bill'' (1976)

''De Gregori'' (1978)

''Banana Republic'' (1979, with Lucio Dalla, live)

''Viva l'Italia'' (1979)

''Titanic'' (1982)

''La Donna Cannone'' (1983, mini-album)

''Scacchi e Tarocchi'' (1985)

''Terra di Nessuno'' (1987)

''Miramare 19-4-89'' (1989)

''Catcher in the Sky'' (1990, live)

''Niente da Capire'' (1990, live)

''Musica leggera'' (1990, live)

''Canzoni d'amore'' (1992)

''Il Bandito e il Campione'' (1993, live)

''Bootleg'' (1994, live)

''Prendere e lasciare'' (1996)

''La valigia dell'attore'' (1997, live)

''Curve nella Memoria'' (1998, collection)

''Amore nel pomeriggio'' (2001)

''Fuoco amico'' (2001, live)

''Il fischio del vapore'' (2002, with Giovanna Marini)

''Mix'' (2003, collection)

''Pezzi'' (2005)

''Calypsos'' (2006)

''Per brevità chiamato artista'' (2008)

External links

Official site of Francesco De Gregori Buonanotte Fiorellino

Category:1951 births Category:Living people Category:Italian singer-songwriters Category:People from Rome (city)

ar:فرانشيسكو دي غريغوري de:Francesco De Gregori es:Francesco de Gregori fr:Francesco De Gregori it:Francesco De Gregori la:Franciscus de Gregori pms:Francesco De Gregori fi:Francesco De Gregori uk:Франческо Де Ґреґорі

"General" Larry Platt (born August 27, 1947) is an American Civil and political rights activist and rapper who gained fame with his performance of "Pants on the Ground" on the ninth season of ''American Idol''. His hit release song "Pants on the Ground" was released on iTunes and received over 150,000 hits. As of April 2011, the video has received over 7.7 million views on YouTube.

Nickname

Platt was not a military general, but rather a civil rights activist in Atlanta. The nickname "General" was given to him by Hosea Williams because of his efforts on behalf of the civil rights movement. The Georgia General Assembly designated September 4 as Larry Platt Day for his "priceless and immeasurable contributions to society", as well as "his great energy and commitment to equality and the protection of the innocent and for his outstanding service to the Atlanta community and the citizens of Georgia." During his audition, Platt wore a pin in support of Troy Anthony Davis.

''American Idol''

During auditions for the ninth season of American Idol in Atlanta, Platt appeared and performed his own original song, "Pants on the Ground". Platt, who at the time was 62, was ineligible to continue due to being over the show's age limit of 28. However, his audition has since become a viral hit, with over 7.7 million views on YouTube. He was invited to perform the song during the finale.

Several celebrities performed the song in the days that followed the original airing of his audition. This included late night talk show host Jimmy Fallon, who performed a version of the song while also impersonating Neil Young on his show ''Late Night with Jimmy Fallon''. NFL quarterback Brett Favre was also caught leading the Minnesota Vikings in a performance of the song in their locker room following their game against the Dallas Cowboys in the 2010 NFL playoffs. ''Today Show'' hosts Meredith Viera, Matt Lauer, Al Roker and Ann Curry also organized a performance of the song. Canadian MLA T.J. Burke also performed a rendition of the song in criticizing Progressive Conservative opposition leader David Alward during a session of the New Brunswick provincial legislature. Platt himself made a subsequent appearance on ABC's ''The View'' on January 18, 2010, performing the song in its entirety. "Pants on the Ground" was also sung on WWE's Royal Rumble 2010 PPV event, in a backstage segment between Teddy Long, Cryme Tyme, Ranjin Singh, and The Great Khali.

Discography

Singles

Year	Single	Peak		Sales
		! width="30"	! width="30"
2010		46	63		* Sales: 150,000

See also

Sagging (fashion)

References

External links

General Larry Platt's Official Website

Category:1947 births Category:American Idol participants Category:American Internet personalities Category:African Americans' rights activists Category:Living people Category:People from Atlanta, Georgia

ja:ラリー・プラット