The Legendary- Johnny Cash and Elvis Presley

This week my post is about two of the most legendary musicians of the 20th century. Ask almost anyone is they have ever heard of them and the answer is yes. This week I will be exploring the history and music of Johnny Cash and Elvis Presley.

Johnny Cash was born in 1932 in Arkansas. He was one of 7 children and as child he worked in the fields with his brother, sisters, and parents. During his hard childhood music was an outlet for the Cash family. His mother would sing folk songs and hymns. When he was 12 and starting playing the guitar and singing his mother saw the greatness in him and scrimped and saved to send him to singing lessons. After Cash went to three his teacher told him to leave and never take lessons again, his voice was so unique and perfect the way it was his teacher did not want to mar it in any way. After Cash graduated from high school he went to Michigan and got a job sweeping the floors at a GM plant, but that wasn’t for him and soon after he joined the Air Force. He was stationed in Germany where is listened in on Soviet radio frequencies. During his stay in Germany he and fellow servicemen formed a band and sang in the clubs. After Cash was discharged he settled in Memphis and married a girl he met during basic training in Texas, Vivian Liberto. He worked as an appliance salesman and formed another music group with some local mechanics. In July 1954 Elvis cut his first record and the mania began. Cash went to the same record company and soon he was cutting records there too. In 1957 his first record hit the sales rack; the father of two girls had just taken his first step into the music world. After his popularity gained he moved his family to California. His tour schedule was crazy; he was performing 300 nights a year. With the intense tour schedule Cash became addicted to alcohol and drugs. Vivian fed up with his addictions filed for divorce and left Cash and took their 4 daughters with her. Cash spiraled out of control and his addictions grew. It wasn’t until 1967 when he met fellow singer June Carter this his life turned around. She helped him beat his addictions and they married in 1968. They had one son. Cash’s career boomed after that, he recorded a lot of music and hosted a TV show. Cash underwent surgery when his body finally began to show the harm he did to it with all the drugs and alcohol. He was inducted into the Rock n’ Roll Hall of Fame in 1992. He continued to record up until his death in 2003. June died in May of 2003 and Cash was quoted saying that that he had to have something to work on or he would have had no reason to live. He lived long enough to finish the album he was working on; he died after it was done. His music will live on forever. His affair with June Carter was made into a movie called Walk the Line. He still influences young musicians today and will forever be remembered as a legend.

Elvis Presley was born in 1935 in Mississippi. His twin brother was a still born at birth, so Elvis was an only child. He was a devoted child. He began playing the guitar at the age of 10 and won his high school talent show. After high school he worked odd jobs and cut his first record in 1954. From there his career boomed. He recorded countless music and appeared in numerous movies. His dance moves while criticized by some helped him grow in fame. His gyrating hips are legendary. Even when he was drafted to serve in World War II did not dampen his popularity. While serving in Germany during World War II he met a young teenager named Priscilla Beaulieu. After leaving in the army in 1960 he resumed his music career and movie career. His popularity began to wane, but in 1968 his first television special revitalized his popularity. In 1967 he married Priscilla and the next year they have a daughter, Lisa Marie. But by the 1970s his marriage was falling apart and they divorced in 1973 and Priscilla gained custody of Lisa Marie. After this his addiction to drugs and alcohol kept growing. After his last performance of his tour in Indianapolis, Indiana he went home to Graceland and died of heart failure in his sleep. He died on August 16, 1977 at the age of 42. His music and dance moves are legendary, fans from all over still travel to Tennessee to visit his home Graceland. He will forever be remembered.

I have heard both songs by Johnny Cash and Elvis Presley before. One of my favorites be Johnny Cash is Ring of Fire. His voice is so gravely and the song has a catchy beat to the song. This song is simplistic in the melody line, but it is still a great song. Sometimes simple is better than all the fast paced licks. I was first introduced to Elvis’s music when I saw the movie Lilo and Stitch. Since then I love his music. I’m not sure I could ever pick a favorite. His music is so retro. It is the early kind of rock and roll and it is simplistic in its style. His music is just great to listen to.



For more information:

http://www.biography.com/articles/Johnny-Cash-9240610?part=0

http://www.biography.com/articles/Elvis-Presley-9446466



Pictures from:

www.cmt.com/sitewide/assets/img/artists/cash_johnny/photo_gallery/folsom_prison_legacy_collection/johnny_cash_folsom_prison_01_1-x600.jpg

http://www.michaelarnoldart.com/elvis-presley-photograph.jpeg

Rock & Roll-Chuck Berry & The Beatles

This week is dedicated to those legends in Rock &Roll. I choose to write about Chuck Berry who many consider “The Father of Rock & Roll” and The Beatles are one of the most famous groups in the world and was classified as Rock & Roll in the 60’s. So here they are some legends in the Rock & Roll world.

Chuck Berry was born on October 18, 1926 in St. Louis. He was raised in a working-class neighborhood. He was proud of both his African American and Native American ancestry. His early musical influences came from church, the radio, and school. He was sentenced to 3 years in a prison for young offenders for armed robbery when he was in high school. When he was released he worked miscellaneous jobs until he decided to go for a recording contract and he moved to Chicago. He was introduced around and got a recording contract and his first recording session happened in 1955 at the age of 29. His song was in the pop charts for 11 weeks and got as high as number 5, from then on the recorded better and more popular music and toured extensively. As he recorded more music his band took on a rock and roll feel that all the teens loved. At the peak of his popularity he was charged for allegedly transporting and under age female across state lines for immoral purposes. After two trials with racial overtones he was convicted and sent to prison. When he was released again he continued recording music and quickly climbed up the charts again. It was at the time that the British invasion happened and his music influenced some of its prime movers like the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. In 1972 Berry finally got his first number one hit. In the 70s and 80s he recorded every now and then, but he toured a lot and most of the time his band comprised of local musicians. Chuck Berry experimented with a wide variety of genres of music. He was on the fore front of what was new and popular. In 1984 he was awarded the Grammy for lifetime achievement and was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1986. His music is so wide that almost everyone can find a song they fall in love with. He inspired and helped shape so many musicians. Who knows how far music history would have been set back if Chuck Berry hadn’t been here to push the evolution of music with the creation of the genre Rock & Roll.

The Beatles were influenced Berry when they can to the US and were popular during the British invasion. While they were only together for 10 years they are still a big name almost half a century later. The Beatles went through many name changes and people joining and leaving before they became the foursome we know and love today. The group recorded their first song on October 5, 1962. From there the rest is history. They kept recording and by 1963 Beatle mania had hit everyone, they were no longer playing as back up bands and opener in clubs they were the main show. They were in the big time. They became so popular in American because people were ready for happy and fun after mourning the death of John F. Kennedy. They revitalized the waning interest in rock and roll as the big names left and faded from the lime light. The Beatles brought happiness back to Americans and rock and roll into the mainstream. Their rise to fame was so fast that they were blinded by the limelight and egos swelled. They were introduced to drugs and after their manager died from an overdose things went downhill. Ringo left the band because he felt left out and John and Paul fought about who would lead the group. They went up so high so fast that they lost who they really were; simple British boys who just wanted to play music. They will forever be remembered through their music and the many emotions people felt when listening to their music. They are rock and roll legends and will continue in their popularity even though they are no longer together.

I listened to some of my favorites by each of these artists since I had heard them both before. I love Chuck Berry’s Johnny B. Goode after I heard it in a movie on TV. The beat and melody sets toes tapping and everyone can feel the rhythm. It is a light hearted and peppy song. The guitar and the piano together are really good. It’s just a good song to listen to. His other music is similar all face paced and peppy and light.

The Beatles are another favorite of mine when I want to listen to something not made in the last 10 years. Their music is similar to Chuck Berry’s music in stylistically. They are both rock and roll in genre, but The Beatles are mellower in their music. They Beatles aren’t as faced paced as Chuck Berry, at times their music sounds blue grassy. They also used other instruments than the classic rock and roll guitars, drum set, and keyboard. In some of their songs it sounds like there is a harmonica and in others it sounds like there are violins or something similar to that. There music is so innocent in context. There music is about life and not about drugs, sex and alcohol like so much of today’s music is. They are just nice to listen to on a beautiful fall day like today.


For more information:


http://www.biography.com/articles/Chuck-Berry-9210488?part=0

http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.nsf/The-Beatles-Biography/9B5665A6978FDF4B4825685D00067CE3

Pictures from:

http://radiorefuge.890m.com/images/berry3.jpg

http://thebeatlemania.googlepages.com/beatles-the-the-beatles-1192706.jpg/beatles-the-the-beatles-1192706-full.jpg

The Blues- Bessie Smith and B.B. King

This week I picked 2 blues artists to write about. I chose Bessie Smith one of the most famous blues singer and sometimes called The Empress of Blues and B.B. King who is a famous blues guitarist.

Bessie Smith was born in 1894 into poverty. She was one of 7 children. Her father died soon after Bessie’s birth and her mom and two brother died before she was 8. After her mother’s death a maiden aunt raised Bessie and her remaining siblings. At a young age Bessie realized her unique voice and sung on street corners for money while her brother played guitar. At the age of 18 she was working in a minstrel show that was not the best environment and led to her future alcoholism. In 1923 Bessie was discovered by a record company and over the course of 8 years recorded at least 160 titles. Her popularity grew fast and she sang with some of the best in the jazz world. Then the Great Depression hit and jazz and blues waned in popularity. It wasn’t until 1937 when America went crazy for swing music that Bessie regained her popularity. She was a very adaptable singer and quickly adapted to singing swing music to support herself. She did marry during her years of fame, but it ended in a bitter divorce in 1929 as she struggled with her addiction to alcohol. Bessie Smith lost her life at the age of 43 when she was in a car accident and died. Over 10 thousand fans attended her funeral. She had become the best selling recording artist of her time. She was referred to as “The Empress of the Blues” because of her phenomenal voice and success singing. She influenced the next generation of jazz singers, most notably Billie Holiday.

B.B. King, born Riley B. King, was born in 1925 in Mississippi. His parents separated when he was little. He lived with his mother until she died. It wasn’t until a few years later that his father found him. King worked on a cotton plantation making $22.50 a week as a child. It was while working on the plantation that his love of blues was created and nurtured. King was quoted later that as he listened to his music then in 1988 that he could hear sounds of his childhood echoing back at him. He sang gospel in the church choir. Even though at the time blues was considered the devil’s music King still listened to recording of early blues musicians. His farm boss loaned him enough money to buy a guitar and take lessons. From there he grew into the famous blues guitarist he is today. He was soon making more money playing on the street corner on Saturday then he made all week at the plantation. He then decided to move to Memphis for the musical environment he dreamed of being a part of in 1948. King served a brief time in the army and afterward moved in with his cousin who was also a blues guitarist. While trying to copy his cousin’s style his own developed. King impressed a local blues musician and was given his own radio show and gigs at a local music establishment. His trio became very famous. They were the known as “the “Beale Street Blues Boy,” which was shortened to “Bee-Bee” and then to his famous initials.” After his growing popularity King decided he wanted to record his music. He recorded a lot of music over his lifetime. In the mid-1950’s he was performing over 300 times a year. He won many awards for his music and played with many other musicians. He played in prisons a lot and he won a Grammy for his recording of a concert at San Quentin. Over his lifetime he was married and divorced twice and had 15 children. He still performs many times a year and his music will live on forever.

I listened to some of B.B. King’s music. His guitar playing is phenomenal. As I watched the youtube videos I could see the joy spread across his face as he played. It was obvious to me how much he loves playing the blues. His music is nice to listen to. It sounds sad and bluesy just by the notes he uses and the rhythms. It is amazing to me how much emotion you can get from the different notes you play and how the rhythm and notes together can paint a picture. B.B. King truly is amazing in my mind and his music is good to listen to when you get in a mood for something sadder.

I also listened to Bessie Smith singing. Her voice is just perfect for the blues. It has a gravelly quality that is nice to listen to. Her voice like B.B. King’s playing expresses so much emotion and feeling. She was a great singer and will influence many young singers over the years. Again, she is good to listen to if you are in the mood for something sadder to listen to.



For more information:

http://www.notablebiographies.com/Sc-St/Smith-Bessie.html

http://www.notablebiographies.com/Jo-Ki/King-B-B.html

Pictures from:

http://www.freewebs.com/birmingham-schools-kick-racism-out/Site%20Pictures/bessie-smith.jpg

http://confessionsofafanboy.com/wp-content/uploads/cover__300rgb.jpg