Benny Goodman (May 30, 1909 - June 1986), also known as the “King of Swing”, was a jazz and swing musician who played the clarinet. Born into a family of Russian immigrants, his family would soon have him be one of 11 siblings. Money was always tight for his family, but he went to study music at age 10. He learned to play the clarinet at Kahaleh Jacob Synagogue, where he excelled, starting his professional career in 1921. At age 14, he ended his school career to join the American Federation of Musicians. His popularity began to rise in the 1930s, when his performance of the song “He’s Not Worth Your Tears” was performed on radio. He became a bandleader, being responsible for the creation of a number of hit singles. The Benny Goodman Orchestra
traveled to many places, performing wherever they went. His performances would start the beginning of the swing era. He became a regular performer on the NBC radio show Let’s Dance. Benny’s music also helped tear down pieces of the massive color barrier that was present at the time, as he had one of the first racially integrated bands. Musical history was made in 1938, when his band became one of the first to perform jazz music at Carnegie Hall in New York City. He went on to make a number of films throughout the late 1930s and early 1940s, including Hollywood Hotel, and Syncopation. Benny Goodman basically played until they day he died, his heart failure ending his life mere days after his final performance. Shortly before that, he had received a Lifetime Achievement Grammy Award. His legacy of jazz music has kept his image alive throughout the passing years. In 1996, he appeared on a postage stamp that was part of the Legends of American Music collection.
"Dizzy Gillespie – Jazz and Blues Masters ." american jazz musician . b 1917 . d 1993.
Eleanora Fagan (April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959), professionally known as Billie Holiday, was an American jazz artist and artist musician with a vocation traversing almost thirty years. Nicknamed "Woman Day" by her companion and music accomplice Lester Young, Holiday affected jazz music and pop singing. Her vocal style, firmly propelled by jazz instrumentalists, spearheaded another method for controlling stating and rhythm. She was known for her vocal conveyance and improvisational aptitudes, which compensated for her restricted range and absence of formal music instruction. There were other jazz vocalists with equivalent ability, however Holiday had a voice that caught the consideration of her crowd.
Ella was born in Newport News, Virginia on April 25, 1917. When alled “The First Lady of Song” by some fans. She was known for having beautiful tone, extended range, and great intonation, and famous for her improvisational scat singing. Ella sang during the her most famous song was “A-tiscket A-tasket”. Fitzgerald sang in the period of swing, ballads, and bebop; she made some great albums with other great jazz artists such as Duke Ellington, Count Basie, and Louis Armstrong. She influenced countless American popular singers of the post-swing period and also international performers such as the singer Miriam Makeba. She didn’t really write any of her own songs. Instead she sang songs by other people in a new and great way. The main exception
Though Jelly Roll Morton began his career without formal training, he grew to live an influential life. His piano style, musical notations on paper, and creative compositions thrived in the 1910s and the 1920s and even weaved its way into the later eras as musicians used Morton’s music as the foundation for their own. Even past his death, Jelly Roll Morton remains a legendary figure. His works are meticulously preserved and displayed in the prestigious Smithsonian Museum and universities around the world continue his legacy by teaching students about Jelly Roll Morton and his influential career.
Johnny Cash was born in Kingsland, Arkansas on February 26, 1932 (Enslow 19). He began to take an interest to music when his father bought a radio. His mother loved listening to music and his mother and Johnny would sing songs all throughout the house. Taught by his mother and childhood friend, he learned to play guitar (Enslow 19). Working hard and practicing, he became very good at guitar and singing. However, he grew up through the Great Depression and this was very difficult for him and his family. In Edward Enslow’s “The Man in Black” Johnny Cash states, “We were very poor, and I almost died of starvation as a child.” This quote shows how life was a struggle for Cash in his early life. Facing all the many challenges was difficult for him but he found a way through it. Through his older brother Jack, he was able to cope with his life growing up. Jack was a huge role model to Johnny growing up, he would teach...
The Life of Billy Joel Billy Joel was born on May 9, 1949 in Bronx, New York. He moved at the age of four to a small town on Long Island. This is where at the ripe age of four he discovered the art of music. Originally a classical music fan, Billy Joel honed his skills with classical piano training. This undoubtedly has had a major influence on his life and certainly his music.
In the 1930s, Goodman gradually gained recognition at recording sessions and radio shows in New York City, where he later formed his first band and began performing weekly on NBC’s radio show Let’s Dance (Collier 89). Around this time, Goodman had his first number one hit “Moonglow,” clearly marking his progression as a bandleader (Collier 96). This exposure allowed Goodman to achieve greater national fame that provided the foundation for the beginning of the Swing Era. With a national audience building from his radio performances, Goodman’s upbeat, hot jazz swing style was gaining traction, leading up to a pivotal performance on his band’s tour in Los Angeles that marked the transition to a new era in jazz. At Palomar Ballroom, Goodman and his band performed their new swing music, which combined elements of jazz and popular American dance music (Firestone 204). The gig is generally accepted as the start of the Swing Era, as Goodman’s style of swing music gained overwhelming positive feedback from the audience. Since the performance was broadcasted on national radio, Goodman’s jazz music dominated headlines and catapulted jazz into the forefront of American popular music. As dancers craved the upbeat swing music, bands copied Goodman’s style, which led to the proliferation of swing music and the birth of the Swing Era (“Benny Goodman:
At one point during the fighting there were 39 band leaders in the army. Glen Miller, whose infectious hits like “In the Mood” epitomized the war years, disbanded his own hugely successful [jazz] orchestra, enlisted, and formed an all-star air force unit that some believe was the best band he ever had – and died in 1944 when his airplane disappeared over the English channel.” With the capitol of many bandleaders declining It became inevitable that in order to progress, the jazz ensemble would have to become smaller. Musicians that were not enlisted, but out of work, began to meet up at local clubs and perform, and were often unpaid, but happy to at least be able to play with other musicians. By this time a major change in jazz was afoot, and a young trumpet player named Dizzy Gillespie formed his own small prototype group at the Onyx Club in New York.
He left a rich Jazz heritage for people around the world. People can appreciate the excellence of a grand master from the following classic singles, West End Blues, Savoy Blues, Potato Head Blues, Weather Bird, I'm Not Rough and Heebie Jeebies. Not a jazz musician could be known to win support from a family like him. His works have been reprinted several times in the past thirty years (Gourse and Louis 342).
Ray Charles was known as a pioneer of soul music, a blind genius, and a legend. Even though he was blind, he was very independent and never gave up. He was one of the greatest artists of all time and was admired by many.
In life we tend to see the good in people, try to give them the benefit of the doubt. Some time people do not turn out to be who they say are. In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s short story “Young Goodman Brown”, Young Goodman Brown discovers that his whole village is full of evil people that worship the Lord during the day and worship the devil at night. Throughout the story Young Goodman Brown sees everyone differently and does not know who he can trust. This paper will be analyzing the story “Young Goodman Brown.”
Paul Laurence Dunbar was one of the most popular poets of his day. He was highly regarded for his black dialect poetry, which earned him the title, “poet laureate of his race.” Dunbar’s second book of poetry, Majors and Minors, was even reviewed positively by the famous critic William Dean Howells. However, despite Dunbar’s popularity, he has also been widely criticized for his black dialect poetry. Many scholars and African-Americans have argued that it is an unsympathetic portrait of blackness meant to appease his paying white readership. This thesis discusses the conditions and circumstances that influenced Dunbar to write black dialect poetry. It places the poet’s life and career in the social, economic, and critical context of the mid-to-late nineteenth century.
Charlie Chaplin is one of the most iconic silent screen actors of all time. He devised and brought to fruition several characters that would change the course of the film industry, as it were. Here, we present our list of 15 things you probably didn't know about Charlie Chaplin. Check out part one below, and stay tuned for part two, coming soon!
The era of reformed changes in the United States was between the 1960-70, people fought against the Vietnam War, African Americans fought for civil right, Latinos fought for education improvement, women fought for rights, and John Lennon united them all through music. A monumental part of this era was the music, and John Lennon was the superstar. Lennon won awards ranging from an Oscar to Grammy’s. He was know for his role with The Beatles as while as a sole artist and one of most inspirational song writers of the century. It was though his lyrics that he united people and expressed himself and his own views of the world. However, was it his lyrics that exposed the world to his private life and views? Similar to Loretta Lynn they both suffered
A phenomenon happened in the sixties that are still leaving people to this day scratching their heads. It was an invasion that took the world by storm. I’m not talking about the war in Vietnam, but rather an invasion onto the music scene; four regular guys with not so regular dreams, made girls frenzied and boys jealous. The music was innovative and changed a nation’s thoughts on innocence, drugs, war and peace. They were the Beatles.