It is believed that Scott Joplin was on born November 24, 1868. No one really knows the exact date of his birth, but research by ragtime historian Ed Berlin revealed that he was born sometime between June 1867 and January 1868. His information is based on a U.S Census. Scott Joplin’s parents were Florence Givens and Jiles Joplin. They notice Scott Joplin’s music ability at an early age. His mother cleaned houses so that Scott Joplin would have a place to practice his music. His father worked hard to purchase a used piano for Joplin to practice his music at home. Scott Joplin received free piano lessons from a German music teacher, Julius Weiss. She helped him to become well rounded and knowledgeable in classic music. This helped him in creating…
William Christopher Handy (W.C. Handy) was born on November 16, 1873, in a log cabin built by his grandfather. The town was called Florence, Alabama.He was considered the “Father of the Blues.” His parents were Elizabeth Brewer and Charles Barnard Handy. His father was a pastor and much of Handy’s musical style was influenced by the songs he sang and played in church. His father, however, believed that musical instruments were tools of the devil (Wikipedia). This inspired Handy even more to play a musical instrument. For example, he once ran off and bought a guitar without his parent’s permission. When he was a teenager he secretly joined a band. He worked on a “shovel brigade” and was completely amazed by the sounds the shovels made when they struck the iron buggies. This was the starting point of his musical career. His songs were influenced by the sounds around him. He used nature as inspiration.…
Scott Joplin was born in Linden Texas April 1 1860. As a young child Joplin was eager to learn everything about music. When Joplin was in the first grade his teacher gave piano and singing lessons to Joplin. While Joplin was in his teenage years he moved to Sedalia, Missouri began playing in bars and in dance…
Janice Joplin, a singer-songwriter and one of the biggest female rock stars of her time was born in Texas on January 19, 1943. Joplin was an American blues influenced rock singer and known for her powerful, blues-inspired distinctive vocals.…
Starting off with some background with Scott Joplin—Scott Joplin’s actual birthdate unknown, but is estimated to be sometime between 1867 and 1868. His family were formerly slaves and they lived in Texarkana. Joplin taught himself piano in a nearby home owned by white people. Eventually, he was taught by German music teacher, Julius Weiss, who noticed how talented Joplin was. Joplin has lived in many different parts of the United States and has lead would could be considered a successful life. His death date is known, though, as Scott Joplin died April 1, 1917, due to contracting syphilis earlier in his life.…
Scott Joplin, the "King of Ragtime" music, was born near Linden, Texas on November 24, 1868. He moved with his family to Texarkana at the age of about seven.…
Charlie Parker is with no question one of the most influential and important jazz players of the 1940’s. This man had such a talent and passion for playing the saxophone, more specifically the Alto Saxophone. Charlie’s Jazz era was during the Bee-bop phase of jazz. Bee-bop jazz differed from the other types because it used scales instead of chords, had small combos, and was built on rephrases of popular songs. Charlie Parker really helped influence and guide the way for other jazz musicians during the time of bee-bop and will be remembered forever from what his talent brought to the table of Jazz music.…
Thankfully, Louis was born in a city with one of the largest entertainment industries in America. New Orleans had thousands of tourists regularly, coming for fun and staying for music. Even though Armstrong was banned from many places because of his color, he did have the ability to listen to music. As tough as New Orleans was it had one thing in abundance: music. In Louis’s area music was everywhere. The city was filled with dance halls, bands in the “tonks”, and bands parading around in the streets. “Louis could not escape the sound of music. He heard it as he dozed off in his bed at night and he heard it coming out of the “tonks” when he woke up in the morning. He heard it in school during the day when bands marched by outside” (Collier, 9). This constant exposure and growing music sparked something in Louis leading him to his love of jazz and ragtime. Starting at age sixteen Louis would stop in at bars called “tonks” and watch the dancers and listen to the bands play. “He loved it all, and yet it was painful, too, because he yearned to be up there with the musicians, playing the blues and ragtime” (Collier, 40). In one of Armstrong’s favorite tonks, Louis eventually met his mentor Joe “King” Oliver who saw something unique in Armstrong and in 1922 invited him to join a trip to Chicago with his band. At the time Oliver’s band was the best and most influential in all of…
Ella Fitzgerald, also known as “The First Lady of Song” or “Lady Ella”, was an extraordinary singer highly known in the Harlem Renaissance for her joyful scat singing. Born in Virginia then moving to New York, Fitzgerald grew up during the 1920s and got her breakthrough in the early 1930s. She joined an orchestra/band and produced her first number one single, “A-Tisket, A-Tasket”. Fitzgerald’s contributions to the Harlem Renaissance included her various styles of singing; style of singing that include swing and traditional pop. Fitzgerald is shaped into the woman that she once was through her background, accomplishments, challenges and hardships; she also leaves a legacy that would continue on to influence many generations to come.…
The birth of jazz music is often accredited to African Americans but both black and white Americans are responsible for its immerse rise in popularity. It is present in black vocals, music-spirituals, work songs, field hollers, and the blues. Jazz united people across the world and had powerful meanings about their lives. Jazz music was completed with a trumpet, clarinet, trombone and section of drums. The music was created with passion inspired by people’s lives. Ragtime was a musical style emerged from St. Louis in the late 1890s. The swing was the new style for Jazz. Benny Goodman was the “king of swing.” and he was the first white bandleader to feature black and white musicians playing together in public. There were other different styles…
People who write and share songs have an opportunity many of us only wish we had: a chance to share ideas with our communities and our society. Woody Guthrie was a songwriter, and he used his voice not only to entertain listeners, but also to share messages about many things he thought were important. Woody’s life was a roller coaster of tragedy and fun, difficult and slightly better times. Through his experiences he learned, saw, and thought many things about his country. Woody had ideas to share, and audience to share with, and a genuine, unique voice that helped him to stand out.…
One of the greatest jazz bandleaders, arrangers, recording artist, and composers of all time is none other than Duke Ellington. Born on April 29, 1899 in Washington, D.C., Ellington was destined for musical talent. His family was musically talented; both of his parents could play piano even though neither could read music. Ellington did not grow up in a poor family; and he had educational advantages that many black musicians in his time didn’t have. He received the nickname “Duke” from a fellow classmate, because of his elegant way of dressing and his regal behavior. While in school elementary school, he received piano lessons, and by the time he reached high school, he was already performing locally. He was also a fairly good painter and won a scholarship to the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York. But his art career was overshadowed by his love for music. Music won his heart, so art wasn’t in the picture. At the age of 17, he wrote his first song, “The Soda Fountain Rag”, which was his debut. In 1919, Ellington’s son Mercer was born. With encouragement from Fats Waller, Duke moved to New York with his newly formed group, The Washingtonians. He later formed the Duke Ellington Orchestra, which by 1930 had grown to include 12 musicians. During these early years in New York, Ellington developed skills that he would carry throughout his entire career. He evolved from band member to leader and performed in a variety of clubs. His writing and arranging skills also evolved and became more defined. These new skills would be his unique compositional style. Some of Ellington’s new influences were stride piano players like Willie “The Lion” Smith and James P. Johnson and ragtime piano players.…
Born in Hamlet, North Carolina on September 23, 1926, American Jazz saxophonist, John Coltrane, had transformed the world of Jazz with his unique style and ability to play numerous notes at one time (“John William”). Coltrane was enveloped with music his entire life as he performed in nightclubs and band halls with various well-known musicians such as Dizzy Gillespie, Duke Ellington, and Miles Davis. Although his experience in Jazz eventually led Coltrane to create his own band, his drug addiction held him back during various moments of his career. Becoming one of the most inspirational musicians, John Coltrane’s music and his popularity continued to grow throughout the history of Jazz even after his death.…
My topic is on the dances of the Ragtime era. During this era, many dances like the cakewalk, foxtrot, charleston, moonwalk, samba, waltz, tango, and etc. all began to rise and became more trendy between the years of 1895 to 1918. This era was known for its unexpected rhythmic dance steps. In addition, it became a real entertainment system for many people around the world. Ragtime era was the influential time for early jazz as well.…
Sometimes, defining folk music is relatively simple. Traditional folk music is anonymously written music from a given culture. It is performed by ’’folk’’- the ordinary people in the…