Paul Simon single-handedly changed the world of song writing. His songwriting is among the best, if not the best, of all time. It changed the life of millions of young teenagers who felt more connected with Simon's introverted style of music rather than with Bob Dylan's protest music. Simon was the first to use poetry as a style of songwriting, which has been a prominent feature of current songwriters.
This style started to develop at a young age when Simon teamed up with high school friend, Art Garfunkel. Garfunkel was an excellent writer of songs also, and very well complemented Simon's style. Simon was heavy into doo-ops, teen songs, Elvis Pressley, and harmonicizing. He was also deeply into grass roots types of music, and he is the reason that Lady Smith Black Mambazo ever became quasi popular with their type of African tribal when he put them on the album Graceland.
Paul Simon first picked up a guitar at the age of fourteen, and by the age of sixteen, both Simon and his friend Garfunkel were constantly going to their make-shift studio in Simon's basement. The pair constantly did this until they had mastered mixing and finally put together a demo tape.
Then, finally, the break Simon and Garfunkel had been waiting for had finally come. One song the boys had written together and tried out at school events had been well received, so they decided to lay it down on track for a demo of it. One day at a local studio the pair recorded the song, "Hey, Schoolgirl." In the studio waiting for the next recording spot was a song-plugger named Sid Prosen who had overheard the song and saw great potential in it. He told the boys that he would make "great stars out of them!"
(Humphries, Patrick. Paul Simon: Still Crazy After All These Years. New York: Doubleday, copyright 1988. Page 6) "Hey, Schoolgirl," was quickly released and it was on the Billboard 100 for a couple of months, with its peak at Number 54 and selling 100,000 copies. This got Simon into the mindset that this was what he was going to do with his life, and therefore made his songwriting a thing that he devoted himself to and practiced, and swore that he would not sell out in his songwriting like so many acts of the 50's and 60's.
Music served as an escape for Josh, because, as Hunt vividly describes, being a 15 year old, in the Great Depression was not an easy task. Josh, and his best friend Howie would produce beautiful music, temporarily losing themselves in the exquisite music they created. Josh and Howie were talented past their age, and they were given a role to play for the school assembly. Though their rehearsals were beneficial, they both dreaded the thought of returning home. Sadly, Stefan, Josh’s father did not feel the love he once felt toward music anymore, so he believed Josh should not spend time on luxuries such as music.
In 2016, Bob Dylan won the Nobel prize for literature. Dylan was a famous musician who was always considered to not be the best at playing any one instrument. Dylan was also noted for not being the best vocalist either. So how is it that a musician like Bob Dylan who wasn’t known to be the best at any one instrument or the best vocalist; remain relevant and continue to release music from 1962 all the way until present day, 2018? Many people claim that Dylan’s long lasting fame is due to his ability to move people through his song writing. Bob Dylan attributes his ability to write to inspirational artists such as; Buddy Holly, Lead Belly, early folk musicians, and the book’s; Moby Dick, All Quiet on the Western Front, and The Odyssey. Dylan’s
But even with 2 hit songs, Gordy was far from a financial success. "As a writer, I had issues obtaining cash at the time that I needed it,” he explains. "I was broke even with hit records in certain cases." In one case, a...
Steve Miller was born October 5, 1943 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Steve’s family was very involved with music. His mother was a jazz-influenced singer, and his father was a pathologist that very interested in the world of music. Dr. Miller was friends with many musicians which greatly aided in young Steve’s development in music. One of his father’s friends included Les Paul, who showed Steve some chords on a guitar at the age of five. Les Paul proved to be a very valuable mentor to Steve, and he became a good friend of the family. When Steve was seven his family moved to Dallas, where he was exposed to a different type of artists that usually did not visit Milwaukee. His father took him to see greats such as Hank Williams, Chuck Berry, and Carl Perkins. Steve was particularly drawn to T-Bone Walker, the father of Texas-style electric blues. This proved to be very influential in Steve’s life, and it is evident by the blues-sound that he exhibited in his guitar playing.
Both ragtime and blues originated from African musicians that incorporated the music and dance of Africa with European music and culture. Some aspects of African music that influenced both styles was emphasis on percussion and the use of an overlay of beats and rhythms to create an additive process (Waldo 9). The work songs of slaves as well as hymnals from African churches influenced both styles, as well. Also, the “suspended” tones that characterize jazz music were devised from the influence of black folk singers who tended to slur or break the third and seventh notes of the musical scale (Haskins). In addition, many of the musicians that played either ragtime or blues was influenced by other musicians they heard. Because there was a lack of musicians and a large amount of work available, musicians who played one style of music often chose to perform other styles in order to make some extra money. In this way, all styles influenced each other and there was a blending of popular genres that influenced the way each style was performed. Although blues and ragtime are two very different styles of music, they emerged around the same time and had an influence on each other’s growth in popularity all throughout
As seniors in 1957, they then started writing their own songs in the Everly Brothers' rock and roll style. The famous duo wrote and composed many number 1’s and were one of the most popular groups on the 1960’s. They worked together until the 1970’s when Paul Simon’s began his own solo career. The song “7 O'clock News/Silent Night”, was a great success, and made a statement about the 60’s. The song begins with the group singing the Christmas carol silent night accompanied by a simple piano melody.
...lliam’s career were 1950and 1951. He was one of the most successful touring acts in country music. Every one of his records charted, except for those issued as “Luke the Drifter” and his religious songs with a female artist named Audrey. His songs had matured greatly since the demos he had submitted to Molly o Day, began finding a wider market than his own recordings of them ever could. Started with “Honky Tonkin” in 1949, his songs had been covered for the pop market, but it was not until Tony Bennett covered “Cold Cold Heart” in 1951 that he had began to recognize as an important popular songwriter. From that point, there was a rush to revise his songs for the pop market. Guy Mitchell, for instance, had a hit with “I Can’t Help It If I’m Still in Love with You”, and the pair of Frankie Lane and Jo Stafford took Hey, Good looking in the pop top ten. (Hank Williams)
Neil Young, who grew up in Ontario, Canada, was drawn into music at a very early age, and throughout his teens he played in several bands and was a mainstay at local folk clubs (Macnie, 2001). He started to build a respectable enough reputation, but didn’t hit upon any commercial recognition until he joined Buffalo Springfield, a band that also featured Stephen Stills, who would become a well-known singer-songwriter in his own right. While perhaps not attaining the success they deserved in term...
Robert quit school as a teen and started working in the cotton fields. Robert left that life to travel and play his music. He began to play the guitar around the age of fifteen. Famous blues men; Charlie Patton and Willie Brown influenced Johnson when he was young. At age 17, Robert married Virginia Travis.
John Schumann is one of the very few songwriters who has changed the way a nation thinks. John first
Although folk music played a big role in most of these artists’ performances, folk links back to the blues, and is similar...
George Helmholtz, as the head of the music department at Lincoln High School, is very determined with his regular students and the gifted musicians of the band. Each semester and year at school he dreams of “leading as fine a band as there was on the face of the earth. And each year it came true”. His certainty that it was true was because he believed there was no greater dream than his. His students were just as confident and in response, they played their hearts out for them. Even the students with “no talent played on guts alone” for Helmholtz.
All types of music require musicians. In the H.R (Harlem Renaissance), there were many who contributed to this new style of music known as jazz. These musicians all have their own style and form. Each of these styles has in some way influenced the evolution of jazz. Louis “Sachmo” Armstrong is recognized as the most famous trumpet player of this time. His “hot bop” style was heard in places like the Cotton Club and the Apollo Theatre. Everyone from all over the country would come to see him. Armstrong recorded such works as I’m in the Mood for Love, and You Rascal you (http://library.thinkquest.org/26656/english/music.html). Another famous person during this era was Coleman Hawkins, a saxophone player. Hawkins is recognized as the first great saxophonists of Jazz. His most famous work was a piece named Body and Soul (http://library.thinkquest.org…). Hawkins has also recorded with artists such as Thelonious Monk and Duke Ellington. Other people such as Bessie Smith, Josephine Baker, Duke Ellington, and “Dizzie” Gillespie have also made many contributions to the development of Jazz.
He had exposure to several different genres growing up in his St. Louis, MO hometown. He heard country from the whites, rhythm & blues (R&B) from mostly blacks, even Latin music. His family environment set him up well for future success while growing up in a middle class home in the middle of the Great Depression of the 1930s. His parents sun...
It wasn’t long for them and others to realize that this musical duo was a perfect match. Paul Simon’s melodic rhyme-making and lyrical abilities were complemented by Art Garfunkel’s vocals and ability to harmonize. Shortly after, the duo discovered the Everly Brothers, a musical group that sang in a style similar to Paul and Art’s, which drove them to releasing their own music under the stage name Tom & Jerry assigned to them by their record studio. “Hey, Schoolgirl”, their first official recording, was a relative hit reaching #49 on the Billboard chart and selling over 100,000 copies.