Richard Berry 's Original Versions Of The 1963 Version Recorded By The Kingsmen

This creates a beautiful blending of the two parts together and shows that this song was written to showcase the vocals.

In 1938, “Walkin’ Blues” was recorded and written by the Son House as a blues standard. It incorporated melodic and rhythmic elements from other songs which has a strum anticipating guitar styles of R&R. This song had mournful lyrics with

Billie’s Blues was recorded by American Jazz musician singer and songwriter Eleanora Fagan Gough professionally acknowledged as Billie Holiday in 1936 and released 1999. As a teen, Holiday started singing in clubs in Harlem. Holiday's creativeness of tunes to fit the desire was new. Somewhere in the middle of the twentieth century, Brazilian and Cuban musical influences could be heard in Jazz. It's what I think of as essential singing, something nature herself had brought together and made it well-organized to make the greatest human of cries. She had a worthy intellect of poetic content at her undeveloped age. Listening to her music Holiday had an inspiring impact on jazz music and modern singing when it comes to the Expression, Performing forces and Rhythm of her piece.

As this was a cover version, King probably intended for there to be a specific focus on guitar improvisation, as there are 3 different solo sections in the song.

The blues have deep roots embedded within American history—particularly that of African American history. The history of the blues originated on Southern plantations in the 19th century and was created by slaves, ex-slaves, and descendants of slaves. They were created by individuals who endured great hardship while performing endless hours of arduous labor and blues served as a form of escapism. To these individuals, songs provided them with the strength to persevere through their struggles. Blues songs depicted individuals who persevered in the face of adversity. They were symbols of hope to those squandering in the depths of oppression. In relations to the blues, every song has a story behind it and within every story, there is something to be said. Blues artists, through their struggles, detail how they overcame hardship and laughed at the face of oppression. They defied the rules and in doing so, showed African Americans that they too are beacons of hope for the hopeless. The best blues is instinctive, cathartic, and intensely emotional. From irrepressible bliss to deep sadness, no form of music communicates more genuine emotion than that of the blues. Like many bluesmen of his day, Robert Johnson applied his craft as a lonely traveling musician on street corners and in juke joints. He was a lonely man whose songs romanticized that existence. With Johnson’s unique vocal style, haunting lyrics, and creative guitar techniques, Johnson’s innovation embodied the essence of

Robert Johnson’s “Cross Road Blues” (Crossroads) released in 1937. Robert Johnson is a legend, known as a figure in defining the foundation of the birth of Blues. His blues style was also very influential in the shaping of Rock and Roll. Before his young death at the young age of 27,

This American guitarist, singer, and songwriter is one of the pioneers of rock and roll music and his songs are electrifying and his videos great to view. Chuck Berry whose full name is Charles Edward Anderson came out with such great hits in the 50s as “Maybellene”, “Roll Over Beethoven”, “Rock and Roll Music”, and “Johnny B. Goode”. He performed in such a way which left a lasting impression and greatly influenced rock music.

This soulful beat, legend song Hound Dog, has had many covers as the years have past. The first date recorded was August 13, 1952. Hound Dog, is classified in the classic blues in 1952 and Willie Mae Thornton was the first to press this through the recording studio. This song hit the blues genre of music in the early 1950’s, and later doubled into rhythm and blues before taking off onto rock and roll with Elvis Presley. Fans raved as Elvis moved to the beat of Hound Dog and moved soulfully to the rhythm as Jimi Hendrix pumped out the melody.

A standard form of blues is the 12-bar blues form, typically consisting of three 4-bar phrases and in AAB form. The AAB form refers to a pattern of three phrases. The first two phrases are generally the same, possibly with a slight variation. The last phrase, (phrase B) generally consists of a different melody and lyrics than the first two phrases, adding contrast to a verse or chorus. Robert Johnson’s lyrical phrasing relate to the 12-bar blues form because of his variation on the third phrase, “Asked the Lord above ‘Have mercy, save poor Bob, won’t you please,’” compared to the first two identical phrases, “I went to the crossroad, fell down on my leaves,” (repeated twice). The three phrases in the first chorus are not all exactly four bars each.

“All Along the Watchtower” is known as a classic rock song, but was originally crafted by Bob Dylan in 1967. Artists like Pearl Jam, U2, Dave Matthews Band and Eric Clapton have all covered this song, but notably the most famous version would be Jimi Hendrix’ rendition. A year after the song’s original release, Hendrix covered the unknown Bob Dylan song and propelled its legacy. Both songs draw different artistry and interpretations, but the concept is fundamentally the same.

Even after slavery, African American women are still imprisoned by their inferior role to men. The women could be from different statuses based on job, wealth, or marital status, but they are would find themselves suffering under the rules of their men. The blues “Wild Women Don’t Have the Blues” by Ida Cox and “Mamie’s Blues” by Jelly Roll Morton talk about the challenges of women living during the Harlem Renaissance. The blues surrounded the African American women during this time, and these songs talk about women facing hardships in life because they are second class citizens compared to men.

The song then became globally known through Dick Dale's American surf rock version in 1962 which was initially named "Miserlou”. A variety of versions have been recorded by other successful surf rock bands such as: “The Beach Boys” and “The Ventures”. This song was used in films and other artists’ songs, for example “Pump It” by the Black Eyed Peas, which made Dale’s version more successful and admired.

Although the visionary singer, song writer, Lou Reed, gained his fame in the 70’s, he reached the highest peak of his career with the album “The Blue Mask,” in which he explored the elements of human flaws. With this album, he stripped down from his dramatic work in the 70’s and explored new techniques along with his small, tight-knit band. “The Blue Mask” received excellent reviews from critics and consumers because it allowed listeners to have a personal connection with Reed and showed them a different side apart from the public persona. Overall, the achievements and praise were well deserved for the hard work he and his band put in.

This song was a Richard Berry single from 1955, which The Kingsmen covered in 1963 at Northwestern, Inc., Motion Pictures and Recording, located in Portland. Like many single-take recordings, the track contains an audible error just after the first guitar break. Jack Ely starts singing the second verse too early and stopped himself short, creating a gap that drummer Lynn Easton smoothly filled with a clever drum fill. The band actually weren’t too thrilled with the first take, but for some reason, that was the only one they did, and it became a classic rock song.

This leaves the song open ended, with no set boundaries and allowed oneself to express and reveal individuality through interpretation.