Ethel Waters was born on October 31, 1896 in Chester, Pennsylvania. Ethel Waters was an African American blues singer, and gospel vocalist, and actress, who was raised in poverty, she never lived in the same place for more than 15 months. Ethel said she had a difficult childhood, and was never cuddled or liked or understood by my family members. Ethel got married at age 13 years old, but left Her abusive husband, and became a maid in a Philadelphia Hotel. On her 17th birthday, she attended a costume party at a nightclub on Juniper Street, where she was persuaded to sing two songs, her singing impressed the audience so much she was offered work at Lincoln Theater in Baltimore, Maryland, where she earned $10.00 a week, but her manager cheated…
The post-World War II era saw the rise of blues musician and song-writer Jimmy Reed, born Mathis James Reed on a plantation in Dunleith, Mississippi on September 6, 1925. He developed an early understanding of the harmonica and guitar from his close friend Eddie Taylor but never progressed much beyond the fundamentals. They sang together in churches and retained their friendship throughout their careers, as it was Eddie who was responsible for bringing Jimmy’s career to its peak of success. His distinctive yet simple style was easily imitated and therefore resonated with the mainstream audience. His trademark delivery was lazy and downtempo, contrasted by the sharp harmonica bursts and stable guitar loops.…
On December 11, 1926, Willie Mae Thornton was born in Ariton, Alabama to a Baptist minister, and a choir singer. Seeing that she was brought up in a church family, her parents introduced her to music at a very young age. She along with her six other siblings would sing in her church’s choir with their mother, but when her mother died when she was fourteen, she was the only one to pursue a career in singing. Working at the saloon to help with money, Sammy Green soon discovered Willie Mae, and recruited her to his Atlanta-based Hot Harlem Revue. Staying with the band seven years, Willie Mae contributed by singing, drumming, and playing the harmonica.…
Hank Williams Jr. was born in Shreveport, Virginia On May 26th, 1949. He started his singing career at the age of 8 and started performing at shows. Hank discovered a new combination of music by combining southern rock and blues with country music which gave him his own unique style of music. Hank’s father died when Hank was three. That didn’t stop him from being the country music star that he aspired to be.…
The performance in particular that sent her into stardom was her performance at the Monterey Pop festival. Joplin was performing a cover of Big Momma Thorton’s song “Ball and Chain” with her band at the time Big Brother and the Holding Company. Joplin sings the old blues song with such vigor and emotion that people didn’t expect to see from a woman, especially a white woman. African American women had more leeway in the way they performed, allowing them to express themselves individually without being under as much…
Once in high school at the age of 16 he and a few of his friends started making their own music. They were able to schedule their band to play at local events and festivals showing the towns people what talent the group of them had. Their music was only western and country music at the time because that was all people really listened too. The group would soon be known so well throughout the whole town they would play at a festival opening the show for none other than the king of Rock And Roll himself Elvis.…
Louis Armstrong was born on August 4, 1901 in New Orleans, Louisiana. He was born in a very poor part of the city which was called “The Battlefield.” Louis Armstrong’s dad left his family a little bit after he was born and his mom was a prostitute, so he went to live with his grandma. When he was in fifth grade he had to quit school to get a job as a newspaper boy. On New Year’s Eve in 1912 he took his stepdad’s gun and fired it into the air then was arrested and sent to Colored Waif’s home for boys.…
Johnny Cash is a true musician. He was born in 1932 in Kingsland, Arkansas and had 6 other siblings. He travailed on a farm with his family where Cash’s mother would sing folk songs that help inspired Cash’s future career in music. Cash graduated from High School in 1950 and began working in an auto plant in Detroit, Michigan.…
was born on January 15th 1929, in Atlanta. He did very well in high school- he even ending up skipping 9th and 10th grade. He entered college at the age of 15and decided to be a minister. Eventually, he married Coretta Scott, a music student. They had four children.…
Toward the end of your participation in the online discussion for Lesson 3, submit your final assessment of why so many people seem to consider Elvis a seminal figure in rock. Include in your written discussion the role of mass media and its possible influence on cultural fashion. Also include references from the online discussion where appropriate. Be sure to cite your sources. Elvis Presley, also known was the “King of Rock,” played a very important part in the 50s.…
Louis Armstrong was a part of an influential time of the Harlem Renaissance. He played a major role in the Jazz Age, otherwise known as the Roaring Twenties. He helped this time period move forward with this type of jazz. Louis and his group, the Oliver band, brought “swing” to this time period. Louis Armstrong helped start a significant music period (“Louis Armstrong”).…
During the nineteen fifties and nineteen sixties, country music experienced the artistic success known as the “Nashville Sound”. By the nineteen seventies, however, it was nearly impossible for any new artists to get attention, and the ones that did have attention were not allowed to have a say in anything. A group of musicians, later known as the outlaws, decided to change things up. These musicians created an edgy form of hardcore country music that was influenced by rock and roll, folks, and blues that became known as outlaw country music. The two main faces of outlaw country music are Waylon Jennins and Willie Nelson.…
John Philip Sousa was an American composer of the late Romantic era. He is most known today for his role in the American military and for his patriotic marches. Being an American composer greatly influenced his musical style, I think, as his music is very nationalistic. John Philip Sousa was born in Washington D.C. on November 6th, 1854. His father, John Antonio Sousa, was Portuguese and his mother, Maria Elisabeth Trinkaus, was German.…
Rock and Roll Rock and roll was born in the United States in the mid 1950's, crossing racial and geographical lines. This major music genre has spawned many kinds of rock such as: hard, soft, acid, metal, Southern, jazz, blues, punk, pop, gospel, etc. as listed on Wikipedia website of List of rock genres. (Wikipedia.org). According to our textbook, The World of Music, rock and roll was influenced by "R & B and country and western - one especially black, the other white."…
During a period in time where African Americans were physically and systematically oppressed, the Blues gave people hope, a way of grieving or expressing pain. The blues speak out to me, you could literally feel the artist’s pain in blues music. As a result, I choose this genre of music, because it truly intrigues me. Furthermore, “blues music gain popularity through the publication of Memphis Blues in 1912 and St Louis Blues 1914 by W.C. Handy (1873-1958)”…