Berry often imitated Nat king Cole’s crisp vocal lines. Rhythm and Blues are a serious part Chuck Berry’s background; he claims influences from artists including T- Bone Walker, Charlie Christian, and Carl Hogan. Like many musicians, Berry paid his dues working toward musical success and personal failures. As a youth, he had a few run-ins with the law and served time until he was 21 for armed robbery. During his time in jail, Berry joined a Gospel group and practiced his songwriting abilities.
James Marinez ENG 121 September 29, 2013 Prof. Paul Sonny’s Blues, a short story written by James Baldwin, is about the emotional hardships that two brothers are urged to come to an agreement with. Setting during post World War II in Harlem, New York, the narrator is first seen as a character who has many battles to face within himself and the outside world, mainly his brother, Sonny, and his drug addiction. Upon learning his brother’s troubles with the government, the narrator is forced to deal with their lifestyle differences, put aside their hostility for each other, and learn to take care of his younger sibling. Although the two brothers are constantly fighting in the beginning of the short story, it is clearly seen that towards the end both become at peace with one’s inner self
“Sonny Blues” written by James baldwin is a story written in 1957 told in first-person singular narrative style. The story begins with the narrator, who reads about his younger brother named Sonny who has been caught in a heroin bust. The narrator then goes about his day However, he cannot get his mind off Sonny. He thinks about all the boys in his class, who don’t have bright futures and are most likely doing drugs, just like Sonny. Throughout the story the unnamed narrator struggles to embrace sonny for who is, its not until the end of the story when the narrator goes to one of Sonny’s Jazz shows, where he fully understands and truly fathoms who Sonny really is as a person and musician.
The Powers of Music: “Sonny’s Blues” In the short story, “Sonny’s Blues” by James Baldwin the author depicts how a child growing up in a bad neighborhood, the loss of parents, and drug addiction to heroin can cause many harsh realities in one’s life. The main characters include the narrator, which is the unnamed older brother of Sonny, and Sonny whom has been in and out of trouble while battling addiction to heroin. However, in “Sonny’s Blues” the narrator demonstrates that music can be used as an effective way to cope with suffering. After the death of their mother the narrator is left responsible for his younger brother, Sonny; however, the only problem is that Sonny’s brother is currently enlisted in the Army thousands of miles away.
Langston Hughes an African-American writer who was poor and was given very little attention from his parents. He could not understand why he was unable to live with his mother or his father. The feeling of rejection caused him to grow up insecure and unsure of himself. Hughes represented his race in his writings and was the most original of all African-American poets. Langston Hughes enjoyed jazz and the blues.
Although this song, lyrically, seems to be about the slavery of the Jewish people prior to the Common Era, it could be used as a protest song of sorts, updated for the Civil Rights era. It makes sense that African-Americans might identify with this song, as many tend to be quite religious and involved in various types of Christianity. When hearing the song and letting it run through my head a few times, various images came to my mind including slaves in the United States working and singing together with their love of music keeping them going each day and the struggles that Blacks faced in the 1950s and 1960s, being oppressed and discriminated against. The lyrics that give the song its namesake, “let my people go” sounds like a call to action, a plea for peace, and the yearning of freedom. The warning issued in the song, while harsh and something from days long gone, does bring to mind a biblical sense of revenge.
The musician that caught my eye was the saxophonist. He put on a show for the audience and really left you up beat and ready to dance. The key board and drummer were somewhat to themselves, but they all contributed to the overall sound of the band. I got most in to the song “Sway” because it was one that I knew and I could really feel the beat and it definitely had my head nodding. The cultural aspect of the band was just as I imagined.
Under the bleak condition of slavery, African American used music as a way to stay connected with their own African culture, while expressing the painful experiences that they had throughout history. They expressed their emotions and claims toward the racism they were receiving from white Americans into their music, and that has later on entirely spread among American culture. In Africa, drums were originally used as a tool of communication. During the early slave rebellion in America, they used drums in the same way they had been used in their own country: to communicate secretly in the presence of their owners.
Arthur Miller’s “Death of a Salesman” is a tragic story of Willy Loman, the father of what can be considered a typical American family. Willy’s father was never there to teach him the importance of tradition, values, or healthy opinions. Willy has spent his whole life chasing the American dream of wealth and posterity working as a salesman. Now in his sixty’s he is suffering from memory loss, he has lost his job, and has no financial security. He never knew his father so he doesn’t have a good sense of his own identity, he makes poor decisions in raising his son’s by instilling a false sense of what it takes to be successful, and allows them to steal and cheat.
One can surely conclude that without the blues the face of music would be very different today. Originating in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads This form of music dipped into the emotions felt by lonely slaves removed from their families and native land. The first appearance of the blues is often dated after the Emancipation Act of 1863, between 1870 and 1900, a period that coincides with Emancipation and, later, the development of juke joints as places where Blacks went to listen to music, dance, or gamble after a hard day's work. The transition from country to urban blues began in the 1920s, with the Great Migration. The long boom in the aftermath of World War II induced a massive migration of the African American population, from rural small towns from the south to urban cities of the north.