Madonna, Prince, and Michael Jackson are all well known artists. I grew up listening to all three because my mom loves them all. Madonna is stll a big symbol in music. She started singing and becoming big in 1982. Michael Jackson has always been a litle strange to me but his music is completely amazing. If Thriller is put on I will always jam out to it. I’m not very familiar with Prince besides hearing my mom playing his music. The only song I am familiar with is Purple Rain.

Everyone recognizes Flav by the massive clocks he wears aroud his neck. I knew Flavor Flav from his reality TV dating show called “Flavor of Love”. He was also in the TV shows The Surreal Life and Strange Love. The generation that listened to 80’s music know him as a part of the music group Public Enemy. In 2011, Flavor Flav opened up his own restuarant called Flav’s Fried Chicken. Flavor Flav is known around the world as an American musician, rapper, actor, televison personality, and a comedian.

Honky Tonk was inspired by the oil bloom in Texas. It was mostly men singing that lived away from their homes and family. They were mostly drinking songs. Johnny Cash and George Jones pushed away the Honky Tonk sensibility.  I grew up listening to George Jones because it was my pap’s favorite artist. George Jones passed away in 2013. At the end of his career he wirked with top producers and musicians but he always remained committed to the “pure country” sound. His music still remains popular.

I really enjoyed studying for this test a lot more than the last test. My favorite songs throughout this test were Tear the Roof Off the Sucker, Blank Generation, The Beatles songs and Beach boys (of course), and Satisfaction. I wish music today was like it was back in the 60s and 70s. Another thing I liked learning about this week was the baseball game that promoted blowing up disco records. That video was jaw-dropping to watch! Everyone and their mothers were flooding into that stadium. I think disco would of been a fun thing to experience, like dress up and attend a disco club, that is something I think I would enjoy.

I was AMAZED that Yes! was mentioned in class. My friend has a crazy internship that she gets to go backstage and work with all different kinds of bands, which is how I met Yes! Two summers ago they were performing in Pittsburgh and I worked with her.  I did not think they were that popular. They were very old but still jammed out and had their fans going crazy!

Even though the Beatles were popular in the 60’s, I would still consider them popular now. They seem to be the only “boy band” that stayed popular and actually made history. My best friend in high school loves the Beatles and has their infamous picture of them crossing the street framed on her wall. She even has their song lyrics “Let it be” tatooed on the back of her neck. They were such a big hit that they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. My favorite song from them would probably be Hey Jude. Really enjoyed learning more about the Beatles in class, extremely entertaining and interesting!

This era of the folk revival really sparked my interest. I never expected music to be made and not made to be sold. The music industry is money hungry and will do anything to sell albums. I also found it awesome that John and Alen Lomax actually went around looking for performers. They even got people out of jail to become famous stars. For example, John Lomax got Leadbelly (who sang Good Night, Irene) out of jail. Leadbelly then went on to become one of the most famous singers of urban folk music.

I am so happy to of did that activity in class, it definitely helped me better understand the songs we have been learning about. Some of the songs I was responsible for was; I Got a Woman, Rocket 88, Sincerely, and Sh-Boom. All of these songs were created in the 50s. I really enjoyed Rocket 88 the best. The significance of the song was made for the freedom and hardship after the war. I also thought that the regular versions of Sincerely and Sh-boom sounded a lot better than the cover versions. I often wonder how the cover versions were more popular back then.

I was so excited to talk about Elvis in class. His musical origins were mostly country, blues, and gospel. He has many great hits and was so famous that they even have the house he lived in as a musuem. I have always been fascinated with Elvis because my grandparents are and I always looked through the pictures they had of Elvis’s house! He started his singing career in 1954 with Sun Records. He even starred in 33 films. In 1970, he was named One of the Ten Outstanding Young Men of the Nation. Sadly, after his divorce in 1973, he became very unwell. Many say it was over heartbreak. He passed away in 1977.

Louis Jordan learned all his music skills from his father. He started from the bottom to having five tunes that sold millions of records. His first professional job is actually where Bessie Smith started out too. He started out playing with The Rabbit Foot Minstrels. I loved that he attracted audiences of whites and blacks. Back then, was very hard to accomplish. He even had whites who would come to “black” theater just to hear him. I found out that his wife’s name was on a few songs and even though they split up and she knew nothing about music, she was still getting money!