Celine Dion, the youngest of 14 children, was born on March 30th, 1968 in Charlemagne, Quebec, Canada. Charlemagne is on the north shore of the St. Lawrence River, on the east end of the Montreal Island. She has Hazel eyes and is 5 feet 7.5 inches tall. Her qualities are self-determination, professionalism and discipline. She is so disciplined that she has actually spent three weeks without making any sound to give her vocal cords a rest. She does have her failings though. She is sometimes impatient, especially in the mornings. Her lucky number is five. She even keeps a five-cent coin that was minted in 1968, that she found on the ground. Her favorite perfume is Channel #5, and her favorite colors are black, white and red. Celine collects miniature cups and crystal objects. She also collects shoes, having over 400 pairs! She enjoys snow and water skiing, and roller blading. Her second career choice would be to be a professional model, and her favorite musical instrument is a piano. Celine’s favorite female singers are Natalie Cole, Barbara Streisand, and Ginette Reno, and her favorite male singers are Stevie Wonder and Micheal Jackson. Micheal Jackson even sent her a signed photo stating “To Celine with love.';, (Http://www.celineonline.com/bio1.html.) and the hat he wore in the Billy Jean clip, which was also signed. Her first name comes from a song (Celine, sang by Hugues Aufray and written in 1966 by Vline Buggy) that her mother was singing while she was pregnant.
Celine has a large family. Her mother is Therese Tanguay Dion, and her father is Adhemar Dion. She also has eight sisters: Denise, Claudette, Liette, Louise, Ghislaine, Linda, Manon, and Pauline. Her five brothers are Clement, Michel, Jacques, Daniel, and Paul. Paul and Pauline are twins. Celine’s family is very musical. Claudette, and Michel have both recorded albums, and Michel is part of a band named Le Show. Celine’s parents own Le vieux Baril (The Old Barrel), a piano-bar restaurant in their hometown. The children did waitressing and singing for the customers. Adhemar played the accordion and Therese played violin, while the children sang. Celine first stood on top of a table and sang a Ginette Reno song when she was only five! She also sang a song at her brother Michel’s wedding. The town’s people called her “la p’tite Quebecoise';, or “the little Quebecer';. When Celine was 12, she and her mother wrote the song Ce n’etait qu’un reve (It was only a dream).
Selena, “Le Reina de Tejano”, was born on April 16, 1971, in Lake Jackson. She was the youngest of three children of Abraham Quintanilla Jr. and Marcela, his wife. At a young age, Abraham had a strong passion for music that he still has. During the 1950s and 1960s, him and his friends made a group called “Los Dinos” and played at nightclubs and restaurants. Even though his passion for music, he gave it up when he got married and earned a job at Dow Chemical as a shipping clerk.
Celia Cruz was born in a humble neighborhood of Santo Suarez in Havana, Cuba on October 21, 1924. She was one of 14 children. One of her chores was to sing to her youngest sibling to sleep. Her first appearance as a child earned her a pair of shoes from a tourist that was watching. As a teenager she performed in many talent shows at school and community gatherings. Also her aunt took her cousin and her to nightclubs and cabarets. Yet, while her family supported her talent, her father was insisting for Celia to continuing her school so she could become a teacher.
Many people in show business are viewed as role models in our society. Many of these people are just regular men and women that are placed high on a pedestal simply because they can sing or act, hence, becoming all the more famous. Although he was famous and popular in the entertainment world for almost four decades, Frank Sinatra was a singer and actor that had a side to him that not everyone knew. He hid behind the facade of an entirely happy, successful performer, when, in reality, he had many problems that the public was not even aware of. Some of these problems are the same that the average person faces day to day, but many went far deeper than trivial troubles. Some of these specific quandaries had to do with hidden aspects of his personal relationships, hidden connections with criminal elements, and other unknown aspects of his life.
Joan Baez was born on Staten Island in 1941. Her mother’s name was Joan also, and her father’s name was Vincent. She spent a part of her childhood in Iraq because her father had a job there. While she was fourteen, her family moved back to the U.S. and lived in California.
Born February 9, 1942 in Brooklyn, New York as Carole Klein, she was playing the piano by the age of four. While still in high school she was in her first band, the Co-Sines. Carole was a huge fan of Jerry Lieber and Mike Stoller (the duo who penned hits for Elvis Presley, the Coasters and Ben E. King), she became a regular at DJ Alan Freed's local Rock 'N' Roll shows. She met songwriters Paul Simon and Neil Sedaka as well as Gerry Goffin, whom she later forged a writing partnership with, while attending Queens College.
You know she's a Jackson. And you know she's a singer. Of course, you know the girl can dance. You know she's a leading lady in Hollywood. And maybe you still think of her as a cute little girl with a famous last name and big , bright eyes. Do you think she's what she was yesterday? Better think again. As many of her other fans and followers already know, the only label that fits her is… Janet.
Elton John was born Reginald Kenneth Dwight on March 25, 1947 in Middlesex, England (Elton John). He began playing piano when he was four years old and his musical talent blossomed throughout his early childhood. He received a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music when he was only eleven (All Music). After leaving school to start a professional career in music, he performed in a hotel bar before becoming a member of a band known as The Corvettes. Shortly thereafter, the band was reformed as Bluesology and he played keyboard for the group as they traveled and performed throughout the United Kingdom. He created his stage name by combining the names of the band’s saxophonist, Elton Dean, and their lead singer, Long John Baldry—he legally changed his name in 1967 (Elton John).
Janet Jackson was born in Gary Indiana on May 16, 1966. She is a member of the
As the era of War and Depression was coming to a close, a new America was on the rise. Women began taking their place within the role of housewife while teenagers were careless with their actions. Since the Great Depression was over, the economy was booming and all the worries about money were gone. Race and segregation was still a problem and becoming more and more controversial. African Americans were fighting for desegregation, especially in schools such as in the Board v Brown case. While the new era brought on some social changes, many known changes came from one man known as “The King of Rock and Roll”: Elvis Presley. With Market potential on his mind, Sam Phillips of Sun Records was looking for an artist who appealed to both whites and blacks, found just what he was looking for in Elvis, a man with a white face and a black sound. Phillips managed to find an artist who appealed to the largest consumer base; white society. Presley’s music would go on to revolutionize future genres along with the people themselves. Elvis Presley did not only impact fashion, attitude, music and views on race during the 1950s, but also had a profound influence regarding these aspects that can still be seen in today’s society.
Mariah Carey was born March 27, 1970 in Huntington, Long Island, New York. Her parents are Alfred Roy Carey and Patricia Carey who was a voice coach and opera singer. Mariah Carey shocked her family when she inherited her mother's vocals so she began singing lessons at age four. Today she is one of the most known artist but is also a film actress, music producer, songwriter, and she has won many awards. The day after she graduated high school she moved to New York City to pursue her music career. She started her career as a backing vocalist for Brenda K. Starr who gave columbia records Mariah’s demo tape at a party thrown by CBS records. The goal was to give the demo to a man named Jimmy Greenberg but it ended up in the hands of the president of Columbia records, after that her career took off.
Aretha Louise Franklin also known as the Queen of Soul was born on March 25, 1942 in Memphis Tennessee. She is known for being a solo singer, and also a very talented pianist. Soul, R&B, Jazz, and Gospel are genres that she sings. Throughout her career she signed with Colombia Records, along with some others, and has released many popular singles that would now be considered classical. Aretha was the first female artist to be introduced into the Rock and Roll Hall of fame. She also had to grow up sooner than many other girls because she had her first child at a very young age. Up until this day Aretha is still alive living at age seventy-two and has won many Grammy awards and is considered one of the most honored artist.
Modern society has made a sub-culture that lives in a reality that is not real. It is so far from the truth that the inhabitants of this sub-culture so often cannot live in both realities and have become a spectacle for others to marvel at. This sub-culture is made up of entertainers, millionaires, and athletes. The people in this group can range from newborns to death and some live on well after. The specimens that I find an interest in are the young ones that enter into this society not knowing well that their lives will never be the same. Britney Spears was just another victim of the society that brings into their prison.
Princess Diana was known throughout the world as being a well rounded, gorgeous woman, but through all of that she was also a hero in many people’s eyes. Diana was often called Princess Diana by the media and the public, but she did not enjoy such a title and did not personally think of herself as a princess. This is a point Diana herself made to people who referred to her as such. She always had a strong head on her shoulders, no matter what might have been going on at the time. Diana tried to not let various things get her down, even though some could have destroyed her. Diana also spoke with surprising truthfulness about her own personal struggles with bulimia and suicide, giving individuals struggling with these issues a role model of openness and honesty. Princess Diana used her media popularity to bring attention to the needs of the forgotten and needy of the world. She was out to seek a symbol in everyone’s life, life itself.
Taylor Swift was born Taylor Alison Swift (Rawson). She was born on December 13, 1989 (Higgins). She was born in Reading, Pennsylvania (http://pabook.libraries.psu.edu/palitmap/bios/Swift__Taylor.html). “ She grew up in Wyomissing, Pennsylvania”(Rawson). Her mom’s name is Andrea Swift . She is a successful businesswoman. Her dad’s name is Scott Swift. He is a stockbroker. They named her Taylor because her parents did not want discriminated by her gender before anybody met her (Spencer). “ She grew up on a Christmas-tree farm” (http://pabook.libraries.psu.edu/palitmap/bios/Swift__Taylor.html). On the farm, there were” several cats and 7 horses” (Spencer). She rode horses competitively (Spencer). She has a brother, Austin, who is 2 years younger than her (Schartwtz ). Her grandmother was an opera singer (Spencer). That is where Taylor got her talent (Spencer).