Lena Horne an honorary lady of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Incorporated was a great artist in the Harlem Renaissance era. Lena abilities to sing and act paved a way for many African Americans. Due to her skin complexion, she receives roles that other African American women couldn’t get. She was the first black female to receive a very long contract with MGM. Her impact encourages many great women singers today because she broke the color barrier in music. I think if it wasn’t for Lena Horne, we wouldn’t have as many women singers and rappers in the music world today.…
Bessie influenced other singers including Aretha Franklin, Nina Simone, Frank Sinatra, Billie Holiday, Dinah Washington and Janis Joplin.…
The way Mary Ann Shadd Cary inspired me is that she accomplished many things. She did many things in two years that not many people do in their lifetime. Also, she did many things that I always wanted to do, like stand up for what I believe in.…
Josephine Baker was living proof that black people could achieve the same fame and fortune as whites without having to give up their personalities or their racial identities. She contributed so much to our society in many forms, such as her talent and her positivity. She truly believed that racial tolerance was unnecessary and that if we worked hard enough slowly but surely the line between races would get smaller and smaller. She worked hard everyday to make sure that she left this planet better than she found up until the day she passed…
The delivery of her performances shared the many struggles and sadness of her difficult life and continue to become a part of so many lives. Holiday’s powerful emotions with which she sang moved anyone that would listen to her. Her unique voice, and improvisation skills, compensated for her lack of musical education. It was she who influenced Frank Sinatra as a young man and who in 1958, told Ebony about her impact: “With few exceptions, every major pop singer in the US during her generation has been touched in some way by her genius…. Lady Day [Billie Holiday] is unquestionably the most important influence on American popular singing in the last twenty years.” (Clarke, pg.96). Her ability to sing without using any words was the major impact on Sinatra many other succeeding singers such as Shelby Lynne, who admired and looked upon Lady Day’s unique talent and gift to convey raw emotion in…
My major is choir. I chose this figure because she inspired me, not with her behavior, but with her talents. Whitney Houston was an important figure because she was an amazing talented lady. Her life wasn’t perfect; she went through many personal and family issues. She was going the right direction until things got bad.…
By most accounts, Bessie Smith was a rough, crude, violent woman. She was also one of the greatest Blues singers of the 1920s. The road that took her to the title “Empress of the Blues” was not an easy one. It was certainly not one of the romantic "rags to riches" tales that Horatio Alger made popular during her time. For a young black woman from the South the journey was anything but easy, and it would require a special kind of person, and Bessie Smith was definitely that. She was a woman who fought for what she believed in and backed down to no one. She had a boundless determination, which sometimes became a flaming hot temper, and no one was exempt from it. Yet these same experiences and temperament also expressed great loyalty to those around her. The entire range, with all its passion, was expressed in her songs, and the way she sang them.…
There are a lot of people in this world, some can be described as extraordinary, or simply extra ordinary. You view people differently than everyone else in this world, and how you let them mold you is exclusive and unique to you and you only. Some influences are negative and some are positive, my most memorable is positive. Nicki Minaj sculpted my life in a way that no one else has or will due to her stance on feminism, hardworking attitude, and contagious confidence.…
Maya Angelou is a phenomenal woman. She was born into a devastating decade, that suffered numerous tragedies. Not only had society shaped her as a woman, she has also shaped our society and influenced many lives. She is still living today, yet I believe her legend will never die. Furthermore I will share with you what motivated her and some of her gratifying experiences. How she was effected by society, and what she did about it. Also how the time period she was born into made her the extraordinary woman she is today.…
EVELYN GLENNIE There are several reasons that I chose Evelyn glennie to talk about, but the main reason is music. I have been in band for 6 years now and choir for 3. Between marching band, concert band, and pep band it is a big part of my life. All of my family loves music too. My mom played percussion, my dad piano and guitar, my sister clarinet, and my brother french horn.…
Duke Ellington inspired me because he showed that if you work hard at what your good at it doesn’t matter the race, you can accomplish it. I am half African-American it knowing that Ellington accomplished so much during his time period makes me proud. It also makes me more determined to accomplish my dreams through hard work. Ellington life also shows all people that you can also follow your dreams now matter if your poor, middle class, or rich you just have to stick to…
Josephine has influenced the works of many modern day entertainers. Singer-songwriter Beyonce has given Josephine credit for being the inspiration of many of…
One of the reason she was so popular was because she became an important figure to overcome racial prejudice in the US during the mid 20th century. In 1934, the daughters of the American Revolution refused to let her perform to an integrated audience in Constitution Hall. This was not allowed because of prejudice. Franklin D. Roosevelt let her sing on the steps of Lincoln memorial in from front of 75,000 people and a radio audience. Plus, she became the first black person to perform at the Metropolitan. In 1939 she was turned down again to sing at the Constitution Hall by the Daughters of the American Revolution.…
Whitney gave the cotton industry, and slavery with it, new life. In this way, Whitney made the…
She defied all odds and became a renowned international artist, she didn't let anyone tell her what to do, she kept her head high through her many injuries and she embraced herself; even the unconventional parts. She suffered greatly throughout her life and still I could only wish that I could have a fraction of the strength she had. She led a community of people to follow their dreams and believe in themselves. She led the female and Latin community into being not just acknowledged as artists, but highly…