The, R & B And Jazz Singers

touring her song hit number one on the radio. From their she was famous and

She battled death and fame at the same time and is dealing with the repercussions 20

Not everyone is blessed with musical talent but when someone has an extraordinary ability, he or she should get the chance to please others with it. Sometimes a career can be made out of musical endowment, and that is what Billie Holiday did. Billie had a life that she may not have dreamed of since it started out rough with her mistreatment from adults and discouraging misfortunes, but she was ambitious and that showed through her singing career. Billie could usually adapt to her life’s problems except for her drug addiction and alcohol abuse, which unfortunately led to her demise. She was a talented woman who sang and helped create hit songs that aided her to rise to fame. Billie Holiday bravely stood up to racism, showed the world her talent, and inspired many of her beloved fans, all while continuing to be herself and not allowing the issues in her life hold her back.

A long-haired girl appears onstage with suitcases in hand. We learn to know this girl as Millie. Within the opening song, she is stripped of the old and becomes modern with her new bob and flapper dress. And as I watch Millie find herself in the big city and lose herself in song, I feel myself do the same.

2. "… there was an excitement in her voice that men who had cared for her found difficult to forget: a singing compulsion, a whispered “Listen,” a promise that she had done gay, exciting things just a while since and that there were gay, exciting things hovering in the next hour." (p. 11)

The end of the 1920s was known for the ending of the silent film in Hollywood. With the advancement of sound technology, it has transformed the way we view films in today’s world. It all began with a film called The Jazz Singer, directed by Alan Crosland, starring Al Jolson, Warner Oland, and May McAvoy. The film is about a little boy named Jakie, whose father is a Jewish cantor, and he defied his father by not wanting to follow the family tradition of cantors. He wanted to be a performer, specifically, a jazz singer. One day, he was discovered by his neighbor Moisha and thus he got beat up and kicked out of the house. Jakie vowed to never return home. A decade later, Jackie is a performer with the help of his lover Mary with a new identity by the name of Jack Robin who wears a black face when on stage. One night, his father fell ill and was asked to sing at the synagogue, however, it fell on the same day as his opening show on Broadway. Jakie had to make a tough decision choosing between his family or his career.

Motown is well known for it’s girl and guy groups of the 1960’s such as the Temptations and the Supremes. The songs “Ain’t Too Proud to Beg” by the Temptations and “You Keep Me Hangin’ On” by the Supremes both have a very similar pop/soul sound that represents that of Motown. Both songs have background vocals, which is consistent with Motown’s production style, as the label had more groups than solo artists. Unlike the Stax label, Motown had production teams to create their very polished and uniformed sound that is heard in both songs. The act of being spontaneous was not a practice used by Motown, and can be better identified with the songs produced by Stax.

Etta James, birth name Jamesetta Hawkins, was born on January 25, 1938, in Los Angeles, California to her 14-year-old mother, Dorothy Hawkins, who encouraged her daughter's singing career. James never knew her father. By the age of 5, Etta James was known as a gospel prodigy, by singing in her church choir and on the radio. Then by age 12, she moved north to San Fransico, where she formed a trio and was soon working for a band leader Johnny Otis. Four years later, in 1954, she moved to Los Angeles to record "The Wallflower" with the Otis band. It was that year that she became Etta James, deciding to shorten her name. Her vocal group was dubbed "the Peaches" which also Etta's nickname. James then launched her solo career with such hits as "Good

Bailey, lying to her daughter, explained that she didn’t really like that genre. But in reality, however, the truth was that Kathryn was influenced by her father who often would express that “Reggae was for hooligans who had long hair, broke the laws of God and man, and smoked marijuana all day” (16-17). For this reason, Bailey wasn’t allowed to get closer to her Jamaican roots by listening to reggae music like other individuals in their society. Another example of Kathryn’s being unaware

It is said that this hard lifestyle began to affect her work. Her songs were no longer filled with youthful emotions, but a sort of bitter regret. Even with the change in her music still had a great impact on other artists of her time and later. (www.numberonestars.com, 2010)

Before watching “The Jazz Singer”, I had no idea of its cultural or historical significance. I learned that it was the first motion picture to have synchronized dialogue and words. It set the precedent for cinematography, live voice recordings, and real-time dialogue. The film was based on a short story written only a few years prior. The story was called “The Day of Atonement” and was authored by Samson Raphaelson. The short story was then adapted into an onstage musical in 1925 before finally becoming a full length feature film in 1927.

I remember the day my parents got married. I was pretty young then, but the most vivid thing I can remember is the music they had danced to. The main songs I remember them dancing to was “Let’s Get Married”, by Jagged Edge, and “I Wanna Know”, by Joe, it was my very first introduction to the magic that is R&B. Many things have changed in R&B since the nineteen-nineties. For one, the concept of singing groups died and solo singers took over or they simply left their groups to start solo careers. But nothing has changed as much as the content of R&B itself has changed over my lifetime. The three main changes I noticed in my lifetime take place in the 1900’s, 2000’s, and 2010’s.

One of the most colorful music legends of the 1960's was Janis Joplin. Blues legend Janis Lyn Joplin was born on January 19th 1943, the eldest child of parents Seth and Dorothy Joplin. Janis was born and raised in the small Southern petroleum industry town of Port Arthur, Texas. Her father was a canning factory worker, her mother a registrar at a local business college. Her non-aberrational upbringing coupled with the atmosphere of Port Arthur at the time; generally restrictive, intolerant, and unnurturing must've made even Janis' early childhood difficult. By all accounts, however, Janis seems to have been a "normal" and happy child, who fitted society's usual definition of "pretty". It was in Janis' adolescence that

Music. Everyone enjoys it in some form or fashion. From Bluegrass to Pop to Reggae, there is a genre for every personality. Whether someone is riding their bike, doing their homework, or walking their dog, etc., there are infinite situations in which someone would want to listen to music. The amount of times I have sang in the shower is unprecedented and is just another example of the various applications of music. With the undeniable love of music comes musical icons. People love and aspire to meet or even become like their favorite icons in their lifetime. It is almost like people worship the icons. Posters, t-shirts, wallpapers, comforters, and just about anything else a face could fit on are owned by people with their favorite singer

Daisy Miller is breaking these social norms by constantly associating with different men, drawing the attention of many others and Connie expresses her sexuality by abandoning her friends to spend time with a boy in his car; this ultimately leads to society’s metaphorical murder of these women.