To give a bit of a background on Aretha Franklin, Aretha was born Memphis Tennessee on March 25, 1942. Her father, C.L. Franklin was a gospel singer, and was a pastor of a Baptist church in Detroit. Aretha lived with a singing family all her life. Her father was known as “the man with the million dollar voice”, and her mother was a well-known gospel singer as well. As a child, Aretha would sing with her two sisters, Carolyn, and Erma, but soon enough, at the age of 14 Aretha had the opportunity to produce her first recordings. As a teenager, Aretha did many tours with her father, and met other singers such as Sam Cooke, a. This ultimately led her to be signed by John Hammond, a famous talent scout . Within a year, Aretha came out …show more content…
The first song is Respect by Aretha Franklin. Originally, the song is written by Otis Redding, but it was released in 1967 by Aretha Franklin. Franklin’s rendition of the song is in fact different from that of Reddings’. In Aretha’s version, she uses horns for the purpose of a faint guitar riff to start the song, and once she starts to sing, she adds a piano, and back up singers to shape the melody. Aretha’s back up singers are very involved in the melody to the point where they become more of a focus, rather than back up vocals. What most separates Aretha’s version from Redding’s version is the addition of a saxophone solo in between the song, and the sudden pause of music when Aretha sings “ R-E-S-P-E-C-T”. Also, Aretha’s pitch during the song changes depending on the lyric. A lyric that she would want people to focus on would be higher in pitch, as well as would use forte to enforce the words the is saying at that moment. Now to focus on the songs composition itself, the music sheet is written on time signature 4/4 and it is played in the C major. It is filled with 8th notes, quarter rests, and there is the use of a triple compound in the bass clef which sounds like “ 1, 2, 3 and a 4”. This is repeated many times throughout the song, as well as changes in keys which goes in the order : C,F,C,F,G,F,G,F,G,F,C7,F,C7,F. The song as a …show more content…
During his childhood, Gaye grew up with a strict reverend father, but he seemed to find a sense of sanity in music. Music became some type of escape for him, and although most of his singing was wrapped around in a church, he was able to learn how to play the piano and drums at a early age. Up until his teenage years, music in his life shifted from gospel music, to doo wop. This transition in music is what got him signed at what we know as Motown Records. In his beginning years, Marvin played for other famous motown singers such as the one and only Stevie Wonder, and this became his ticket to his own success. In 1962 he came out with his single that showed Gaye’s impressive vocal range and started his road to success. During his time at Motown, he became one of the first artist to be in completely control of his music along with Stevie wonder. Marvin even wrote and produces his own album What’s Going on where 3 of his songs reached top 10 singles, with the song What’s Going on reaching number 2 on the top 10 list. One of Marvin’s successes that he is well known for is his Tour called Sexual Healing. Marvin had moved to Europe to focus on his idea of love, and art, and he came up with the song Sexual Healing. At the end of his concert, he would end by stripping down to bikini underwear which ultimately shook people’s reactions towards him. Coming down to the brinks, Marvin became obsessed
There are a lot of songs to choose form when there is songs that break down norms and one that reinforce some. There are songs that mean nothing. Great songs always have a hidden mean behind them even if when listen to them we do not know what they are.
Ella was born in Newport News, Virginia on April 25, 1917. When alled “The First Lady of Song” by some fans. She was known for having beautiful tone, extended range, and great intonation, and famous for her improvisational scat singing. Ella sang during the her most famous song was “A-tiscket A-tasket”. Fitzgerald sang in the period of swing, ballads, and bebop; she made some great albums with other great jazz artists such as Duke Ellington, Count Basie, and Louis Armstrong. She influenced countless American popular singers of the post-swing period and also international performers such as the singer Miriam Makeba. She didn’t really write any of her own songs. Instead she sang songs by other people in a new and great way. The main exception
Bessie life has been made into film in 2015 entitle “Bessie”. One of the number people Bessie inspired was Janis Joplin. Because of her great work “Janis credited Bessie for leading her to singing in the first place” (Suer, 2011). Bessie has used blues and jazz to express her feelings and life. Because Bessie used her music to give a strong message, many music artists was able to relate to her. Like Bessie, Aretha has had a great influence on singer, rappers, and bands. Since she sung gospel and R&B Aretha has had a worldwide influence on past and present artists. Aretha music has been simple and cover by different music artists. She has inspire artists such as Mary J. Blige, Jennifer Hudson, Mariah Carey, Alicia Keys, Adele, and a lot of others singers. Many artist has often used her top hits to cover for shows, auditions, and as a guideline when there are recording. Just like Bessie, Aretha also has a movie about her life and career and the
In Verhsawn Ashanti Young’s article titled, “Nah, We Straight: An argument Against Code Switching,” he makes his objectives clear as he argues against people Right to their own language. The author questions the advantage of standard American English as opposed to other types of English. He refers to those aspect as code switching, which he believes can lead to racist thinking. Code switching, according to Young, calls out for one way of speaking to be omitted in favor of others, based on one's rhetorical situations. The author points out that students are required to translate from Afro-American English or Spanglish to standard English and not the other way around, which is concerning. Youngs method to get around this segregation is the usage
He was born six weeks early with retinopathy of prematurity. It’s an eye disorder which was exacerbated when he receives too much oxygen in an incubator, leading to his blindness. Before the age of 10, he taught himself how to play the harmonica, piano, and drums. Stevie Wonder was discovered by Ronnie White of the Motown band the Miracles as age 11. He then auditioned for Berry Gordy which was the founder of Motown and he signed him to a record deal. In 1962, they renamed Stevie to Little Stevie Wonder. His commitment to his gifted, he was faced with the difficulty of staying on the topic relevant to what he was known for singing. He grew from a bot to a man, and his voice matured into a tenor. In 1971, Stevie Wonder negotiated a new contract with Motown which gave him a lot of control over his records. Over the course throughout the years, he had four outstanding albums. Stevie Wonder created some of the most indelible songs in popular music history. His album Talking Book offered two number one hits. Next was the album Innervision The record featured two socially conscious number one R&B charts. His first finale release of Fulfillingness was inspired after he survived a bad car accident that left him in a coma. He had two number one hits both the pop and R&B on this album as well. After this Stevie Wonder has created many more albums with a lot more number one hits. With Stevie’s
Aretha Franklin is a well known pop, R&B, and gospel singer. She has been nicknamed “The Queen of Soul” and is an internationally known artist and a symbol of pride in the African American community. Her popularity soared in 1967 when she released an album containing songs “I Never Loved a Man”, “Respect”, and “Baby I Love You.” Throughout her career she has achieved fifteen Grammy Awards, Lifetime Achievement Award, National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences Legend Awards, and many Grammy Hall of Fame Awards. In 1987 she became the first woman inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Time magazine chose her as one of the most influential artists and entertainers of the 20th century. She sang at Dr. Martin Luther King’s funeral and at former President Bill Clinton’s inaugural party. Although she has all these accomplishments and awards there are other reasons that have driven Franklin to fame and landed her on the front cover of Time magazine on June 28, 1968. The reasons I believe allowed Aretha Franklin to become so successful are the following: Her family’s involvement with religion, the inspiring people that surrounded her, and the pain she suffered.
Known mostly by her stage names, “Lady Ella”, “The Queen of Jazz”, and “The First Lady of Song”; Ella Jane Fitzgerald, born in Newport News, Virginia on April 25th 1917 was renowned for her improvisational ability in her scat singing. She never
For example, the 1st song “A Good Man is Hard to Find” by Bessie Smith, who of which was nicknamed “Empress of the Blues” was a mainstream African-American female Blues singer. The 2nd song “When you’re smiling” by Louis Armstrong, King of Blues, was an African-American trumpeter, composer, singer, and an occasional actor. Furthermore, he was the most prominent figures in jazz. The final song “East of St.Louis Toodle-oo-” by Duke Ellington is, once again, an African-American composer, pianist, and bandleader of a jazz orchestra that lasted about 50 yrs. Additionally, he was known for his nickname “The King of Jazz”.
Motown’s first #1 hit was “Please Mr. Postman” by the Marvelettes in 1961. The song stayed on the Top Ten charts for 1 week, which was typical for this time period. Gordy, then signed Mary Wells to his flourishing music label. Mary Wells has a string of pop songs that reached on the Top Ten charts. The Distants were signed to his label in 1961 but you might recognize them as The Temptations. Also in 1961, Gordy signed Marvin Gaye, whose most famous song was Let’s Get It On. Gordy signed many artists like The Supremes, The Four Tops, Stevie Wonder, Jimmy and David Ruffin, Gladys Knight and the Pips, The Commodores and The Jackson 5.
Coretta Scott King was born Coretta Scott on April 27th, 1927 in Marion, Alabama to her parents Obadiah and Bernice Scott. She had two siblings. They were a boy named Obadiah and a girl named Edythe and lived on a farm owned by her family. Her education as a little girl included attending a one room elementary school and a bigger high school, that was further away from her home because of the racial segregation in her community, named Lincoln Normal School. Coretta graduated in 1945 and headed off to Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio. There she studied music and got into clubs pertaining to politics dealing with race such as the NAACP chapter of her school. She graduated from Antioch with a Bachelor’s Degree in music and education and shortly afterwards achieved a full scholarship to attend the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston to study concert singing. This is where she met her f...
Aretha Louise Franklin also known as the Queen of Soul was born on March 25, 1942 in Memphis Tennessee. She is known for being a solo singer, and also a very talented pianist. Soul, R&B, Jazz, and Gospel are genres that she sings. Throughout her career she signed with Colombia Records, along with some others, and has released many popular singles that would now be considered classical. Aretha was the first female artist to be introduced into the Rock and Roll Hall of fame. She also had to grow up sooner than many other girls because she had her first child at a very young age. Up until this day Aretha is still alive living at age seventy-two and has won many Grammy awards and is considered one of the most honored artist.
Bessie was born April 15, 1894 in Chattanooga, Tennessee to a part time Baptist preacher, William Smith, and his wife Laura. The family was large and poor. Soon after she was born her father died. Laura lived until Bessie was only nine years old. The remaining children had to learn to take care of themselves. Her sister Viola then raised her. But it was her oldest brother, Clarence, who had the most impact on her. Clarence always encouraged Bessie to learn to sing and dance. After Clarence had joined the Moses Stokes Minstrel Show, Bessie got auditions. Bessie's career began when she was 'discovered' by none other than Ma Rainey when Ma's revue, the Rabbit Foot Minstrels, was passing through Chattanooga around 1912 and she had the occasion to hear young Bessie sing. Ma took Bessie on the road with the show and communicated, consciously or not, the subtleties and intricacies of an ancient and still emerging art form. (Snow).
At age 4, he joined the family musical act as an Elvis impersonator and by his adolescence he was performing impersonating Michael Jackson. He moved to Los Angeles after high school and began writing songs to move his career forward. His career breakthrough began when he was introduced to Phillip Lawrence who helped compose a song that he ended up selling to another artist. He found his success by writing songs made famous by several well-known pop artists including number one hit “Right Round” by Flo Rida and many others that made their way to the top 10