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!