Biography Jesse Owens, the son of a sharecropper and grandson of a slave, achieved what no Olympian before him had accomplished. His stunning achievement of four gold medals at the 1936 Olympic games in Berlin has made him the best remembered athlete in Olympic history. The seventh child of Henry and Emma Alexander Owens was named James Cleveland when he was born in Alabama on September 12, 1913. "J.C.", as he was called, was nine when the family moved to Cleveland, Ohio, where his new schoolteacher gave him the name that was to become known around the world. The teacher was told "J.C." when she asked his name to enter in her roll book, but she thought he said "Jesse".
Thelonious Monk Competition 2012 Winners of the Thelonious Monk Competition Announced By NATE CHINEN WASHINGTON –Jamison Ross took first prize in the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Drums Competition, awarded at the Kennedy Center on Sunday night. Mr. Ross, 24, from Jacksonville, Fla., brought a relaxed but commanding sense of swing to his performance with a competition house band, consisting of the saxophonist Jon Gordon, the pianist Geoffrey Keezer and the bassist Rodney Whitaker. His victory reinforces perceptions of the Monk Competition as a proving ground for artists already active professionally. He can be heard on tour with the jazz singer Carmen Lundy, and he works regularly with the saxophonist Wess Anderson. This year’s other two finalists came with their own notable credentials.
The band hired Travis Barker; drummer for supporting act The Aquabats after Travis learned the bands 45 minute set in 20 minutes during a tour date. Just two years later Blink 182 had released their third album titles Enema of The State, this album is acclaimed to be what sent Blink 182 into the height of their popularity and the biggest pop-punk act of the era. Three singles released from the album “What’s My Age Again?” “All The Small Things” and “Adam’s Song” all featured major commercial success. Enema Of The State had reached multi-platinum status in almost no time at all Later after Blink’s first major arena tour and cameo appearance on hit film American Pie, the band released their fourth studio album in 2001 named “Take Off Your Pants And Jacket” which debuted at number 1 in Canada, USA and Germany. The singles “First Date” and “The Rock Show” continued the bands mainstream success.
Lance Armstrong: His Fall from Grace Lance Edward Armstrong was idolized; he was the ultimate superhuman, an Ironman. As a child athlete and national triathlon champion, Armstrong was a definite trailblazer. Armstrong won the Tour de France a record setting seven consecutive times between 1999 and 2005. In October 2006, at the age of 25, he was diagnosed with stage three advanced testicular cancer, yet after extensive surgery and chemotherapy treatments, he beat the cancer and returned to being a professional athlete. In 1997, Armstrong founded the Lance Armstrong Foundation later renamed Livestrong Foundation.
Wanya, together with Shawn Stockman, and Nathan Morris (no relation) formed Boyz II Men as students at the prestigious Philadelphia High School for Creative and Performing Arts. Shawn, born in Philadelphia on September 26, 1972 has helped to make Boyz II Men the best-selling
With a small following, Nirvana took the world by storm with their second album “Nevermind” at the end of 1989 with several hits (Erlewine). On January 11, 1992, the sensation “Smells like Teen Spirit” reached number six on the billboard 100 (Top 100 Hits of 1992). It also made the top ten songs in Britain (Erlewine). Not expecting this outcome, the publishing company sold out of the initial 50,000 copies of the album and had to quickly produce more to meet the demands (Erlewine). When all was said and done, the album had become triple platinum (Erlewine).
With nine studio albums and twenty-five mixtapes, all eyes are on Lil Wayne to see what is bound to come next. Wayne is my favorite choice as a “National Living Treasure” because when people listen and hear what Wayne is speaking about in his songs, they become inspired and motivated. For example, If Lil Wayne talked positively about President Obama in a song, I believe his polls would increase just because the rapper is that influential over his fans. If put to good use I think Wayne could become a very inspirational and motivational speaker, who catches the attention of millions of people. With his most recent album, The Carter IV, selling over three million copies in only five months; all he has to do is say something negative or positive about someone and all of his fans automatically have the same opinion.
Lesane Parish Crooks also known as Tupac Shakur is one of the greatest artist of all time. He still influences the world even after his death. Tupac was born June 16, 1971 in East Harlem New York as the son of active members of the Black Panthers Party. After a few years his family moved to Marin City, California where his rap career began. He started writing lyrics in his High School where he also performed at concerts, the concert led to him being signend with Atron Gregory who set him up as a roadie and backup dancer with the young rap group Digital Underground in 1990.
First, he signed with Atlantic Records after 3 years with Warner Bros. Records ("Wiz Khalifa" April 06, 2013). Later in the year, Khalfa released his first single with Atlantic, Black and Yellow ("Black and Yellow" April 09, 2013). While the song went triple platinum, some think that this is when he began to sell out. He started making music to top charts and become radio station hits instead of his more uncensored style that fans had grown to love. In March of 2011, Wiz released his 3rd studio album Rolling Papers ("Rolling Papers (Wiz Khalifa album)" March 24, 2013).
“We Found Love” Pop star Rihanna has reached new limits in the music world by her combination of artistic talent and scandalous drama. She has eleven number one hits on the Billboard Hot 100. This current sensation has achieved all this success by not necessarily being the most talented, but by having a way of connecting with her audience through catchy beats and sharing her public life. Chris Brown, Rihanna’s ex-boyfriend, assaulted her, which shocked the nation and brought fans to a very personal level with Rihanna. One of her most famous songs, “We Found Love,” remained number one worldwide for over ten weeks.