Known to fans and admires as the “Godfather of Soul”, “Mr. Dynamite”, “Soul Brother Number One”, and “the Hardest Working Man in Show Business”, James Brown was one of the most influential 20th century music figures, especially when it comes to soul, funk, rhythm & blues, and rap, awing and inspiring millions in a career that lasted some six decades. His energetic vocals and distinctive choreography propelled the popularity of Rhythm and Blues and influenced many artists and genres to come. But it was more than just his unique voice and style that made him stand out as he continually triumphed over adversity and was a beneficent advocate of social and civil rights as well as a proponent of the benefits of childhood education.
From the get go, James Brown faced significant adversity. During the Great Depression on May 3, 1933, James Joe Brown Jr. was born barely clinging to life in rundown one-room shack out in the backwoods of South Carolina, just outside Barnwell and close to the Georgia border (Weinger and White). It was in this small shack that Brown's aunt revived the nearly still born baby who would go on to become one of the the biggest musical icons of the century. After only a few short years, Brown's parents split up when he was four and Brown was sent to Augusta, Georgia to live with his Aunt Honey who worked at a brothel (James Joe Brown Jr.). Growing up black and in poverty during the Great Depression was another hardship Brown had to endure. “A young Brown worked whatever odd jobs he could find, for literally pennies. He danced for the soldiers at nearby Fort Gordon, picked cotton, washed cars and shined shoes” (James Joe Brown Jr.) Brown reflects on tough times growing up stating “I started shining shoes at 3 cents,...
... middle of paper ...
...anthem that “unified and inspired generations” (James Joe Brown Jr.) Brown believed in non violent protests and even told H. Rap Brown of the Black Panther “I'm not going to tell anybody to pick up a gun” (James Joe Brown Jr.) After the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., Brown performed a live concert in Boston that was broadcast throughout the city and as hoped, deterred a significant amount of violence and riots that would have otherwise occurred (James Joe Brown Jr.)
Brown died in 2006 of congestive heart failure which resulted from pneumonia. Tens of thousands, including admirer Micheal Jackson, paid tribute as his horse-drawn carriage made its way through Harlem (James Brown). The “Godfather of Soul” was one of the most influential musical pioneers and cultural forces of the 20th century and served as a key inspiration for generations of artists to come.
To determine what factors Brown had to overcome to become a success, we must look at what was against him. He was a black man in a white dominant society. The only factor that could have made Brown being black any worse was if he grew up in the South. He shows us this through his parents they moved from the South to Harlem to escape its prejudices. Like many black families Brown’s parents wanted to be the first Northern urban generation of Negro’s. He showed the kind of Southern black mentality his parents had with the jobs they took and the way they reacted to his quitting of what they called good paying jobs....
Louis Armstrong created a huge cultural shift that swept over America and changed music forever. It allowed for African-Americans to be a part of the music industry, and even contributed to women’s acceptance in music as well. African- Americans are now a vast majority of our musicians and artists, and are just as appreciated and idolized as white musicians. Louis Armstrong’s love for music and jazz still thrives today among his fans and fans of jazz in general. He is well-known and well-respected, and will never be forgotten in the music industry. Louis Armstrong changed music for the better, and will always be the king of jazz.
Throughout History, there have been many different varieties of music performed. There have also been several American Artists who have made important contributions towards the development of American Music. Many artists out there have made a huge impact not only towards the development of American music but to people as well. Those of which have been a big inspiration to America’s youth throughout this paper, I will focus solely on the life of Etta James.
John Brown became a legend of his time. He was a God fearing, yet violent man and slaveholders saw him as evil, fanatic, a murderer, lunatic, liar, and horse thief. To abolitionists, he was noble and courageous. John Brown was born in 1800 and grew up in the wilderness of Ohio. At seventeen, he left home and soon mastered the arts of farming, tanning, and home building.
He was known as the Father of Jazz. He was most notable as an entertainer, however, he was a soloist that provided improvisations in regards to tunes. Louis Armstrong's “What a Wonderful World” is the first song that comes to many minds when discussing jazz. He is also well known for his scat singing, However, he also had a political side. In his song “What Did I Do To Be So Black and Blue,” Armstrong talks about the color of his skin as a bad thing and how blacks were treated. In World War II he fulfilled by performing for the soldiers during a recording
James Brown was undoubtedly one of the biggest figures of funk music and his music’s subject matter was just as broad and diverse as funk music itself. Yet, one recurring theme was that of hypermasculinity and misogyny. As E. Taylor Atkins points out:
In addition to his playing and nurturing of excellent talent, Miles Davis was quite remarkable in his rare ability to continually evolve. Most jazz musicians generally performed their style early on and spend the rest of their careers refining their sound. In contrast Miles Davis every five years or so would forge ahead, and do to his restless nature he not only played bop but helped found cool jazz, hard bop, modal music, his own unusual brand of the avant-garde and fusion. Jazz history would be much different if Davis had not existed. If Miles Davis had retired in 1960, he would still be famous in jazz history, but he had many accomplishments still to come. In 1991 Miles Davis passed away, he was 65. Jazz lost a man that was more than a god.
It is impossible to think about the influence of jazz without thinking of Miles Davis. He was a game changer and innovator who altered the direction of jazz and transformed the musical landscape more than once. Miles Davis changed the course of jazz in result of his experience with oppression and prejudice. He represented a model for future musicians, and granted listeners a glance into the world of an oppressed American through his music.
Jazz, which evolved from African American folk music, has developed and changed over the last century to become an art form in America. It places particular importance on inventive self interpretation. Rather than relying on a written piece, the artist improvises. Jazz has taken many forms over the past seventy years; there is almost always a single person who can be credited with the evolution of that sound. From Thelonius Monk, and his bebop, to Dizzy Gillespie’s big band, to Miles Davis’ cool jazz, or to John Coltrane’s free jazz; America’s music has been developed and refined countless times through individual experimentation and innovation. In my opinion the most noteworthy artist in the development of modern jazz is John Coltrane. In this paper, I will focus on the way in which Coltrane’s musical originality was related to the sounds of his predecessors and to the tribulations and tragedies of his life.
Through his contribution to early Jazz, he had a direct hand in developing the new field of academic jazz scholarship, although it had been extensively debated on his contribution. None the less, his talent formed a popularity that was surpassed by none, even to the point that once in his career; he was more popular than the Beatles. Undoubtedly, he was the first, if not the only to present Jazz to the public as a form of art. This changed the direction of Jazz to not just leisure listening music, but a teachable and complicated
Early Life in Georgia. The "Godfather of Soul," James Brown, was born James Joe Brown Jr. on May 3, 1933, in a one-room shack in the woods of Barnwell, South Carolina, a few miles east of the Georgia border. When James was a little kid he was a hard working little kid that do anything to help this family. When he was at the age of six year old he was send to live with is Aunt Honey. James find Music when he was little kid. This mother left him when he was four year old, she left with another man, and while Aunt Honey would play something of a maternal role for James, the fact that she ran a brothel and sold moonshine for a living made for anything but a traditional upbringing. It was a lot of people who wanted to play music and learn at the same time they when to
How the Actions of Governor Wise and the State of Virginia in the Case of John Brown may be easily Justified.
Throughout history, and even today, music has shaped America’s culture, society, and even politics. One of the most outstanding and enduring musical movement has been from African American artists, ranging from bebop to jazz to hip-hop to rap. During the 1920’s , jazz artists stepped into the limelight and began their impact on American and even world history. Louis Armstrong was one of the most influential leaders during the Harlem Renaissance and his jazz legacy and impact of American history is everlasting. A master of his craft, Armstrong and his music heavily influenced America’s white and black populations from the 1920’s and up until his death.
Protest and marches were taking place by both blacks and whites together. The power of a community coming together for change was being felt and heard of in the US although violence was not completely gone. The poem Still I Rise, expresses hope by concluding, “Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave, / I am the dream and the hope of the slave. / I rise/ I rise/ I rise (Angelou 39-43). Angelou is comparing herself with the gift, she is the gift that her suffering ancestors left, so she is left with a purpose to make a change and rise not only for herself but for African Americans. In like matter, one of the most known activist is Martin Luther King Jr. who was one of many civil right leaders. King was part of the Massachusetts Boycott, he expanded the civil rights movement, and was always giving marches and speeches for change. His most famous speech is “I Have a Dream”. King was assassinated for defending what he believed for and is still remembered till this
As it mentioned above, the title itself, draws attention to the world-renowned music created by African Americans in the 1920s’ as well as to the book’s jazz-like narrative structure and themes. Jazz is the best-known artistic creation of Harlem Renaissance. “Jazz is the only pure American creation, which shortly after its birth, became America’s most important cultural export”(Ostendorf, 165). It evolved from the blues