Rough Beginnings It was 1915 and the music scene was just getting hot. New Orleans was busting at the seam with young cats prowling the streets, lurking in seedy after-hours clubs looking to get a wild jam session in before the night was through. An insanely talented and equally arrogant ragtime pianist by the name of Jelly Roll Morton began to play with a different kind of flavor that drove audiences crazy, and with that the invention of Jazz was born. The heavy syncopated beats making your pulse jump, the bluesy lilt of a melody lapping lazily at your senses; this was the time to be alive.
Jazz has shaped the world we know today. Jazz would have never been as popular without the help of the famous musicians: Jelly Roll Morton, Joe King Oliver, Sidney Bechet, Louis Armstrong, and Duke Ellington. These people helped spread the new genre through radio, railroads, and the records that they played. Where did this all start? The jazz age began in New Orleans where a certain King was born.
Johnny Cash was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, actor, and author. He was widely considered one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century and one of the best-selling music artists. He was born on February 26, 1932, in Kingsland, Arizona, he died on September 12, 2003, in Nashville, Tennessee. He had five kids their names are John Carter Cash, Rosanne Cash, Kathy Cash, Cindy Cash, Tara Cash, his wife’s name was June Carter. Johnny Cash 1
Scott Joplin was an American Composer of African American descent, born November 24, 1868, in Northeast Texas. As a child, he took up the piano after trying the guitar for many years. Joplin took to the piano quickly and later became a traveling musician as a teen. He was extremely talented on many different instruments . During his traveling years he developed the basis for ragtime music.
This label I’m most intrigued with is a subsidiary of Universal Music group known as Motown Records. Founded by Berry Gordy, the label was originally known as Tamla Records, but it changed its’ name after suggestions from the Ford assembly line. Now the title Motown fits the city that it was established in, Detroit, Michigan which is also known as the Motor City. Motown Records and its’ artists were influential in the integration of popular music and added soul and culture that had not been seen before. Significance can be found in the fact Motown Records wasn’t simply trying to achieve commercial success, but trying to tell their story and affect the community.
Motown was a music label founded by Berry Gordy Jr. in Detroit, Michigan in 1959. Motown was the first African-American-owned record label to achieve widespread success, and it had a profound impact on American culture. Motown was responsible for introducing the world to the music of African American artists such as The Supremes, Marvin Gaye, and Stevie Wonder. Motown's music was a unique blend of soul, pop, and R&B, and it was characterized by its catchy melodies, smooth harmonies, and polished production. Motown's music was a reflection of the African American experience, and it spoke to a generation of young people who were searching for their own identity.
Motown records was instrumental to creating the vibe of the 60’s. It would produce many hit songs and create powerhouse music groups. It would also go on to shape the rock and roll genre as we know it today. In January of 1959 Berry Gordy would establish Motown Records with an $800 loan from his family and within a few years, would be producing some of the greatest hits of the time.
Ragtime can be defined as a musical genre most noted for its syncopated (“ragged”) rhythm. In the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, ragtime quickly became a known music genre to the public. This new music was composed of a blend
Diana Ross, Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson, Marvin Gaye. What do all of these musical legends have in common? They were all, and continue to be, recognized as legendary superstars in the music industry, whether they are alive or not. But without label-founder Berry Gordy, their stardom would not exist and their unknown reputations would die with them. Motown:
*Jazz music is significant in America because it progressed in many ways. Although, blacks struggled to survive and were economic decline, the development in wealth of pop and rock, there have been many opportunities for the survival of jazz. Jazz has always been important and a part of the American culture. *Jazz music became the platform of nearly all rythmic music and made impact on classic music.
Jazz is most often thought to have been started in the 1920s as this explosive movement, but that is in fact not the case. Starting in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century many African American musicians have started to explore their taste in improvising, and where better to do that than New Orleans (Anderson). Before the 1920s these jazz musicians have already been going around sharing the unique sound, but up until then, jazz had remained majorly in New Orleans. Interestingly during this period, a common jazz band would consist of a cornet, a clarinet, a trombone, and a rhythm section when at this period of time the clarinet is not commonly associated with being a jazz instrument, it moved into being the saxophone rather. A big
Popular Jazz musicians included King Oliver, Louis Armstrong, Kid Ory, and Duke Ellington. No one had quite heard anything like it before in America. Dances were made to accompany the music - mostly to "take advantage" of the upbeat tempo's. Before Jazz became popular in America, it was considered "the devil's music" by some of the public. Some people, like Ernest Newman, "debunked Jazz" in a 1927 magazine article.
“Today, many listeners think of bluegrass as an ancient mountain tradition that dates back to some primitive time in Appalachian history” (Neal, 127). However, bluegrass emerged after World War II, continuing to energize the world of country music through bluegrass artists such as Del McCoury and David Grisman (Neal, 127). Mandolinist, David Grisman and rhythm guitarist Del McCoury, first met each other while Del played banjo for infamous bluegrass artist, Bill Monroe in 1963 (Kang, 15). Over the years, the two continued to play together, eventually forming their show duet, Songs and Stories, featured on November 14, 2015 at UNC-Chapel Hill’s Memorial Hall. As a result, the duet of Del McCoury and David Grisman represent the traditional style
The Jazz Age was a term used by F. Scott Fitzgerald to refer to the 1920s, but it was also a cultural movement that took place in America during this decade. It was also known as “the Roaring Twenties”. This movement coincided with the end of the World War I and the introduction of the mainstream radio. The era ended with the crash of 1929, which caused the Great Depression.
The history, popularity and influence of jazz on human culture make it the seminal American art form. The origins of jazz music are central to its identity and its importance in the American story. Firstly, ragtime
