When I was first given this assignment earlier in the semester, I knew whom I wanted to right about immediately. One of the most recognizable rock stars from the 1980’s and even now, the bassist from Motley Crue, Nikki Sixx. Nikki was born on December 11, 1958 in San Jose, California under the legal name of Frank Carlton Serafino Feranna Jr. He was mostly raised by a single mom and his grandparents after his father left the family. After being abandoned by his mom, Nikki was forced to permanently move in with his grandparents. They relocated many times, and because of this dysfunctional childhood he had, Nikki got himself into trouble. As a teenager living in Idaho, Nikki became a teenage vandal. He broke into people’s houses, shoplifted, …show more content…
and was expelled from school after getting busted for selling drugs. Since his grandparents could not continue to take care of him anymore, so he was sent to Seattle to live with his mom again. While living there, he bought his first bass with the money he got from selling a stolen guitar. He claims to have sleeping outside arenas while bands like Kiss played inside and would dream about playing at venues like that. At the age of 17, he moved to the city of angles, Los Angeles, California.
He wanted to reinvent himself and have a shot at making it big as a musician. It was not exactly instant success; he had several side jobs such as working at a liquor store and selling vacuums. After playing in a couple different bands for about five years, Nikki met drummer Tommy Lee and the two became quick friends. They set out looking for a guitar player and a singer. After finding Mick Mars and Vince Neil, Motley Crue was formed. The band became a huge success and the band was glorifying in the success. Nikki had made it, mansions, fast cars, and beautiful women all came along with the success of being in Motley Crue. The band was also regarded as one of the hardest partying bands of the time. However, this lifestyle was getting the best of Nikki, aside from the partying he became addicted to drugs. Aside from drugs like cocaine and copious amounts of alcohol, he became heavily addicted to heroin. This is when Nikki was creeping into his darkest depths, according to his autobiography The Heroin Diaries, he claims that “alcohol, cocaine…they were just affairs. When I met heroin, it was true love.” It says in the book that Nikki overdosed on heroin about six times. One of the times was when Nikki was hanging out with the Guns N Roses guitar player, Slash. After he overdosed, Slash’s girlfriend took him to the hospital where he was declared dead. In this situation Nikki claims to have seen himself
outside his body while he was on the operating table. After he came to, Nikki walked out of the hospital and hitched a ride back to his house where he proceeded to shoot up again. That Christmas, Nikki spent the holiday alone sitting by Christmas tree with a shotgun. This was Nikki’s abyss where he had reached his lowest point. He said this particular moment let him know that his life was spinning dangerously out of control. It was at this time that Nikki realized it was time to get help, so he checked into rehab. Nikki became clean in 1987 and since has been able to avoid heroin and other drugs and alcohol. No matter who you are, it is always admirable when people are able to overcome something like this. Nikki really turned his life around and continued on with Motley Crue throughout the 1990’s. Today, Motley Crue is one of the highest selling rock bands of all time with over 75 million albums sold according to RIAA. Besides this Nikki has become a father of four kids, he is a New York Times bestseller with his autobiography, has started a second band called Sixx A.M. who has three albums out. On top of the other things he has done, Nikki started a charity called the Covenant House, which is directed for runaway kids that offers everything from health care to education and advocacy. From a runaway kid who had huge aspirations of making it big in the music, to a man who was able to live the dream and battle demons at the same time, I think it is definitely safe to say that Nikki Sixx is definitely hero. As a musician, Nikki is a huge musical influence for many bands and artists who are playing today. He is regarded as one of the most recognizable bassist in hard rock history. He is also the reason why Motley Crue has had the type of success that they have had being the main songwriter of the band. Nikki said he such an incredible drive to succeed and be the best band in the world. Having this struggle for something valuable and important really helped put the band on top of the world. The runaway kid who dreamed about being one of the biggest bands in the world came true. This shows that you can achieve anything if you put in the years of work and determination to reach your goals. I think Nikki’s influence goes even deeper than that though. The way he was able to overcome the kind of addiction that he had is inspiring for anyone who is in the same situation. There is always light at the end of the tunnel no matter how down you may be, there is always hope.
Reymundo was born in Puerto Rico in 1963 in the back of a 1957 Chevy. His mother was married at age sixteen to a man that was seventy-four years of age. Reymundo’s father died when he was almost five years old, therefore he does not have much memory of the relationship that they had. Reymundo has 2 sisters with whom he did not have a relationship with, one sister would always watch out for him, but that was about it. After the death of Reymundo’s father, his mother remarried a guy named Emilio with which she had a daughter for. After Emilio, Pedro came in to the picture with his son Hector. Pedro was an illegal lottery dealer and Hector sold heroin.
America had a successful revolution due to the motley crew, despite the lack of recognition and amenities they received for their contributions. “A Motley Crew in the American Revolution” by Peter Linebaugh and Marcus Rediker highlighted the motley crew for their influence on the American Revolution, and provided information and background generally not given in a standard textbook. The motley crew, comprised of sailors and slaves in a literal sense, and the urban mob in a political sense, paved the way for the American Revolution and the founding documents through rebellions, uprisings, conflicts, protests, and violence. This group of men changed the world in the opposition of forced labor, press-gangs and slavery in particular, through influencing
Swenson, John.” The Story of a Band”. Billboard. 5 Dec. 1998. General Onefile.Web. 16 Apr.2014
When addressing Guitar and his ways of actions, and looking towards the historical figures in the civil rights movement, Guitar's behavior can reflect towards that of Malcolm X. His need to protect the African American community and defend himself against the destruction cause...
There have been many bigshot artists that have gone down in music history over the years. One man in particular, however, will forever be known all over the world for his famous works and amazing stage performances. This man is none other than the one and only Jimi Hendrix. Hendrix altered the style of rock and roll during the late 60’s early 70’s and is widely considered one of the most influential guitar players amongst the music world to this day.
In closing, the undoubtable influence of music, more specifically of Rock ‘n’ Roll on American society is responsible for a number of changes to the status quo. These range from sexual liberation and racial desegregation all culminating with other influences to create an intergenerational identity. Despite the desperate attempts of older generations to smother these influences, these changes ultimately shaped the years that followed, molding the country into what it is today. Along the way these changes as well as individual involvement in them has also eased the lives of many through empowerment and a feeling of community and purpose. Despite a lull and renewal Rock ‘n’ Roll continues to serve as an agent of influence and change in today’s youth culture and continues to burn in the heart of past generations of loyal fans.
In Rock- The History of Rock ‘n’ Roll, Yorke provides a chronological approach to rock and roll from 1877- 1974. Although it is not extremely detailed, a general overview of each year’s music is presented. Throughout the book, many descriptive summaries of individual artists may be found along with classic pictures.
On June 7 of 1943 in Knoxville, TN Nikki Giovanni was officially introduced to the world. Raised in Cincinnati, Ohio Giovanni was brought up as an African American through the Civil Rights Movement. Giovanni has and older sister and a close relationship with her grandmother. Additionally, Giovanni grew up in poverty and tough times. However, Giovanni still remained happy during her childhood. It was when Giovanni went to Austin High school that she began her involvement in the Black Arts Movement. Giovanni was accepted into
The band consist of 8 members, Nathan East bassist/vocals, Andy Fairweather-Low, lead guitar/vocals, Steve Ferrone- drums, Chuck Leavell-key boardist, Ray Cooper- tambourines, Katie Kissoon and Tessa Niles- vocals, and Eric Clapton- composer, rock n roll guitarist, lead vocalist. The band members dressed in casual attire. The band members were professionals, they knew exactly how to orchestrate every chord, they collaborated with the lead singer and each other in ways that wasn’t so noticeable to the audience but they knew which chords to use for every song, the band was a top notch team. The tempo of the songs were a mixture of fast, slow, to a medium style beat. The texture of the songs was homophonic and well put together lyrics. The style of the music was from the 1960s-1970s which genres were rock, blues rock, psychedelic rock, hard rock, jazz and blues.
Ryan, John. “The Seventh Stream: The emergency of rock n roll in American popular music,” (Book reviews) Social Forces (1994): March, p. 927. Star, Alexander. “Hole in Our Soul: The Loss of Beauty and Meaning in American Popular Music” (book reviews)
"Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: Inductees." The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum | RockHall.com. Web. 05 Oct. 2011. .
This article demonstatres how important Kurt Cobain was both as a rock and roll icon and a philosopher. His songs which he recorded himself are still popular today, over 20 years after his death. The author argues how Cobain influences other young artists and his effect on the direction of the music industry.
Rock and Roll is commonly known as the greatest music ever created. Most people do not know that Rock and Roll emerged out of the United States in the 1950s. Artists during this time like Elvis Presley, The Everly Brothers, Buddy Holly, and Bob Dylan were the first major stars among the birth of Rock and Roll in America. Since the 1950s, we have seen a rise in Rock and Roll culture. A peak in the 1960s-1970s was when the world began a musical, political, and social revolution. The revolution takes place during some tense times in the world- The Vietnam War, Political Issues with Cuba, JFK Presidency/Assassination, Malcolm X’s Assassination, Martin Luther King’s Assassination — you name it. The world was in a turmoiled state of mind, but what
9) Stanley, Adam Paul. Remember A Day:An Analysis of Over Twenty Years of American Rock
2. What is the difference between a.. Describe the “rockabilly” sound pioneered by Sun Records in the mid-1950s. The term rockabilly has been used to describe a type of music that was very unique and without a doubt one of the most influential genres of music in the development of rock and roll. Dating back to the 1950’s, Rockabilly was a new and interesting form of music.