Amy Winehouse, the inspirational British singer, and songwriter started off as a young girl with a heavenly voice who then became a worldwide sensation across the world. Amy contributed to the music industry in more ways than one. Her music had a powerful impact on many of her fans and non-fans. It was a combination of pop, jazz, and R&B. She touched the lives of her family, friends, and fans. Her music depicted her life and told a story. The music told of her out-of-control life and how it was taken over by love and drugs. She was a strong, powerful woman and her music will live on forever. Because of her iconic lyrics and powerful vocals, Amy Winehouse captivated the world not only with her music but also with her brief, rebellious, drug-fueled life. …show more content…
Amy Winehouse grew up under a very jazz-influenced background.
She was born on September 14, 1983, in London England. All around Amy, on both sides of her family, there was jazz present. Her uncles on her mother’s side were all jazz musicians and her father would often sing to her (Amy Winehouse Biography). Her father was also very into jazz music when he was a child. He would sing in his family’s band. Amy’s mother claims that Amy and her father were very close. He used to sing Sinatra songs to her every day and that is when her love for music started. Even in school the teachers would scold her to stop signing. (EXCLUSIVE: Amy Winehouse's mother explains why she feels powerless to stop her troubled daughter’s descent into hell of addiction). Also in the Amy Winehouse Biography, it states that her grandmother was once romantically involved with Ronnie Scott, the jazz legend. All of this musical influence around Amy pushed her towards music. Therefore, at the age of 12, she was accepted to Sylvia Young Theatre School (Amy Winehouse Biography). Amy Winehouse, at a young age, was
very Aranda 2 outgoing and had a big personality. It was clear that she was very different than the other students in the school. In the Amy Winehouse Biography, they state that she was kicked out for piercing her nose and apparently not “applying herself”. This is not unlike Amy. She was always known for having a loud fashion sense. However, that same year she became known. According to the same article, a friend of hers passed on a mixtape to a record producer. Her mixtape was passed on to Tyler James, a pop singer, who then passed it on to A&R Records. The album was later passed on to Island/Universal. When they heard her voice, they immediately fell in love. Her voice was powerful and had a certain something about it that made people fall madly in love with it. Amy then went onto making her debut album called “Frank (2003)”. “Frank”, like the rest of her music, directly related to her personal life. Amy once said, “ I won’t write anything unless it is directly personal to me just because, I wouldn’t know how to tell the story right or fill out the song” (Amy Winehouse (Full) The Untold Story- Documentary Channel 5 0:25-0:45). Amy always related her music to her personal life. Every single one of her lyrics has meaning behind it. Her album “Frank” was titled by her idol Frank Sinatra (Amy Winehouse Biography). There was a song mentioned in her documentary called “Should Be Stronger”. This was one of Amy’s most popular songs on her album. The song, “ Should Be Stronger” was based on her ex-boyfriend whom she loved very much. However, although being older he was very immature. Her song talks about her constant struggle with her boyfriend who was seven years older than her but was very wimpy and quick to give up on their relationship like a child. (Amy Winehouse (Full) The Untold Story- Documentary Channel 5 4:25-6:08). Aranda 3 Amy’s debut album won many awards. It was unlike any other music album. The album was raw and had emotion like all of Amy’s album. The album won two Brit Awards after being nominated five times during her lifetime. She also won Best Female Solo Artist and Best Urban Act. Also, the album won double platinum status. The song “Should Be Stronger”, won the Ivor Novello Award. This award is named after entertainer Ivor Novello and Amy received three of these out of five nominations in her lifetime. However, these were not the only awards Amy won (Amy Winehouse Awards). Out of Amy’s two albums, she won a very high amount of awards. She received 23 music awards out of 60 nominations. She won the Echo Music Awards twice. She also received the Elle Style Award, Grammy Awards, Mercury Prizes and more. Amy won five Grammys in one night out of six nominations. She holds the Guinness World Record for Most Grammy Awards Won by a British Female Act. She won the Meteor Music Awards, MOBO Awards, MOJO Awards, MTV European Music Awards, MTV Video Music Awards, MTVU Woodie Awards, Urban Music Awards (Amy Winehouse Awards). This is not even half of the long list of her nominations and awards. Her work was clearly recognized around the world. After Amy’s first album, she left her record company and started writing music her own way. She acquired a brand new look and attitude. She started getting many tattoos and came up with her trademark beehive hairdo and long-winged eyeliner. She wanted to capture a look that resembled the 50s. Her music was very unlike any other at that time, therefore, she needed a look that emulated her music. Amy Winehouse’s music career had just started to flourish when she ran into Blake Fielder-Civil. Blake Fielder-Civil had been a friend of Amy back in grammar school. The
Ruby Bridges was born on September 8, 1954, in Tylertown, Mississippi. When she lived in Mississippi her parents shared cropped lands with her grandparents. When Ruby was six years old her mom thought about her education and wanted to move. In 1960 Abon and lucille (Ruby’s parents) decided to move for a better change in life. Ruby and her parents moved to a good part of town where there would be less discrimination and hate in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Now let’s talk about Alex Morgan’s childhood. This was when she was in her early ages. She was born on July 2, 1989 in San Diamas California, she had grew up in that city with 4 of her family members which are her parents and the other two are her sisters, her sisters names are Jerry and Jury. Her parents name are Micheal T. Morgan and Pamela S. Morgan.
Josephine Baker Josephine Baker was an African American woman who had to overcome discrimination and abuse in achieving her dream of becoming a singer and dancer. She did this during the 1920s, when African Americans faced great discrimination. She had a hard childhood. Her personal life was not easy to handle. Furthermore, she overcame poverty and racism to achieve her career dream.
You can see her influence in most of today’s art. I grew up on Janet’s music and I simply love each era of her work. To me, Janet is more than a singer, she is a true artist.
Aaliyah Dana Haughton was born on January 16, 1979, in Brooklyn, New York . Raised in Detroit , Michigan . Aaliyah Dana Haughton started voice lessons shortly after she learned to talk As a young actress/singer competed successfully on the television program Star Search at age 11. That same year, she performed with R&B legend Gladys Knight, the former wife of her uncle and manager, Barry Hankerson, at a five-night stand in Las Vegas.
Ethel Waters was born in Chester, Pennsylvania on October 31, 1896. She had a hard life in which she faced rejection from her mother and poverty. Waters' love of singing began as a child when she sang in church choirs but her childhood was cut short when at thirteen she married an abusive man, dropped out of sixth grade, and was divorced a year later. Shortly thereafter, she began working as a maid until two vaudeville producers discovered her while she was singing in a talent contest in 1917. She toured with vaudeville shows, and was billed as "Sweet Mama Stringbean" because of her height and thinness. In 1919, she left the vaudeville circuit and performed in Harlem nightclubs. Two years later she became one of the first black singers to cut a record on the Black Swan Record label with her release of "Down Home Blues" and "Oh, Daddy".
Without a doubt there is one major performer that certainly stands out within our pop culture world. The name of this very famous American icon is, Dolly Parton. Dolly has surpassed any rags to riches story that ever lived. She has touched the lives of so many individuals over many decades through her many talents. Dolly started her career at a very young age and continued fulfilling her life endeavors through country music, pop music, and even acting. This American icon didn’t stop with just her talents, she also gave back to our society through charity, fundraising, and establishing her own theme park. Dolly Parton was brought up in a very poor family, however through much dedication she became the famous icon everyone idolized today.
Around 2003, Winehouse began developing a reputation as an unstable party girl, often showing up to her club or TV performances too drunk to sing a whole set. Even her most popular song “Rehab” is based off her refusal to receive treatment for her drug abuse. Winehouse’s health greatly deteriorated. Her weight dropped to a scary estimate of ninety-five pounds while her skin took on a sickly pallor. Her iconic beehive hair fell dull and limp along with her bold signature makeup. There are countless photographs of the singer walking the streets of London in an incoherent, strung out daze appearing as a shell of her former self. In addition, the drug abuse took a serious mental toll on Winehouse. Her behavior became violent and erratic; on multiple occasions she is documented fighting with fans. The various drugs in Amy’s system distorted her public image, career, but most importantly her
Amy Beach was a very famous and influential composer and pianist from New Hampshire, United States. She fought long and hard to get to where she got in her lifetime. Back in the late 1800’s, it was hard for women to get noticed because they believe that their role in society was to stay at home and take care of the family. Amy Beach defeated all the odds of a female gender role in her lifetime. She became a role model for young girls wanting to become a composer or becoming anything they wanted to be, as long as they fought for it. She has made an enormous impact on music in America. The following paper will discuss Beach’s life, her struggles, her musical training, how her music was shaped by the society she lived in and famous compositions
Maya Angelou is one of most well-known poets ever. Her work is a reflection of her hardships during her childhood and her life as an adult. She expressed many of her opinions through her poetry and other writing. Many of her poems revolve around equality and freedom because she grew up in the segregated era and worked with civil right activist. The poems she writes are to inspire the lives of others. Till this day, Maya Angelou is still continuing to write inspiring poetry.
Maya Angelou is well known today for her poetry. She is a very inspirational woman that poems speak to many young women still today. Maya Angelou is one of those people that everyone loves and not many could ever have anything negative to say. She went through hard times as a child that later made her a better poet.
Whitney Houston is considered one of the greatest singers of our generation. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, she holds the record of being the most rewarded female artist of all time. I chose her as my topic, because she represents resiliency and tenacity, despite her troubled experiences with drugs and her personal life. Whitney Houston comes from a family with an amazing, musical pedigree; her mother, Cissy Houston, was a successful back-up singer for Aretha Franklin and Elvis Presley. Dionne Warwick is her first cousin, and Aretha Franklin is her godmother.
Many people lay claim to affecting modern music as we know it today. One such person is the popular jazz singer Billie Holiday who was know for her upbeat and happy tunes and her powerful emotional voice that captured the ears and attention of anyone listening. Billie Holiday was an African-American jazz with a fiery personality and emotional voice that helped shaped not only music itself, but also brought attention to the racism and injustices toward the African-American people even while living a fragile life.
Fitzgerald was born in Newport News, Virginia, in 1918, but was raised in Yonkers, New York. During her schooling, she studied music, sang in the junior high glee club, and took piano
Amy was born in Enfield, London, in England September 14, 1983. She was raised into a culturally jewish family, but they didn’t consider themselves religious. Amy’s mother was Janis Winehouse, she was a pharmacist. Her father was Mitchell Winehouse. He was a part-time taxi driver. Amy also had an older sibling, Alex. He helped his mother around the house with Amy, at the young age of only four. Growing up in Southgate was rough for Amy and Alex. Amy’s uncles who were professional jazz musicians, she wanted to follow in their footsteps.