That same year a man named Walter Bailey purchased the hotel and renamed it to what it is named today the “Lorraine Motel.” Back then the Motel was one of the few that actually allowed African Americans to stay. One day one of Martin Luther King Jr.’s friends had come over to Martin’s Motel room to remind him about family
Bored with his assembly line job, he spent all his free time writing songs. Later, on borrowed money, he bought the home at 2648 W. Grand Blvd. that later became Hitsville USA. Success came quickly. The Motown Revue at New York's Apollo Theater in October, 1962, showed the world that the new Motown sound was a major force to be reckoned with.
As good old Mr. Sinatra said, “If I can make it here, I can make it anywhere.” Francis Albert Sinatra was born on December 12, 1915 in Hoboken, New Jersey. He was the only child of Sicilian immigrants who moved to the states to make a better life for their family. At a young age Sinatra loved music and was influenced by many of the artist of his time such as Bing Crosby and Billie Holiday. As a teenager, he dropped out of high school and began to sing at local night clubs. Radio exposure brought him to the attention of bandleader Harry James, with whom Sinatra made his first recordings, including "All or Nothing at All."
John Coltrane, born 23 September 1926 in a small town in North Carolina, was a dedicated and talented jazz musician. Apart from playing musical instruments and composing new tunes, John served his country by performing in the U. S. Navy Band during WWII. After the war, he became a popular tenor saxophonist. It was his involvement with Jimmy Heath when his passion for experimentation grew, which then lead to performances with Miles Davis, which, in his opinion, was the time when he evolved the most. In 1967, at the age of 41, he was diagnosed with a liver disease and died thereof soon after.
together. In 1963, he scored a huge international hit with his version of “Hello Dolly,” and in 1968 he recorded “What a Wonderful World.” (Biography.com) Later in Armstrong’s life, his health began to dwindle. However, he continued to play and record his music to the best of his ability. On July 6, 1971, he died peacefully in his sleep at his house in Queens, New York – two weeks after his
You could say that was the start of his career as a composer. Menken attended Rochelle High School in his home town and after graduation went to Pre-med school to become a dentist. Lucky for us he later changed his major to music. After college Alen attended the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theater Workshop in New York where he worked at local clubs writing jingles and songs as an accompanist. Alen Menken got his first big break in January of 1979 with Howard Ashman in the Off-Broadway production “God Bless you, Mr. Rosewater.” Three years later he received a Drama Desk Award nomination for Outstanding Music in his Off-Broadway Production “Little Shop of Horrors” and from that in January of 1987 Menken was given his first Oscar nomination for a song with in it called “Mean Green Mother from Outer Space.” In 1990 Menken was nominated for three Oscar nominations and three Golden Globe Nominations and went on to win two of each for his work in the Walt Disney production “The Little Mermaid”.
His first Broadway production, The Man Who Had All the Luck, opened in 1944 and ran for only four performances. After working as a journalist (work that included coverage of World War II) and writing a novel about anti-Semitism, Miller had his first real success on Broadway with All My Sons (1947); he followed this in 1949 with Death of a Salesman. Along with another early play, A View from the Bridge, and The Crucible, these are the plays for which Miller is best known—though he has continued to write successfully, including a 1996 screenplay adaptation of The Crucible for a major motion picture. MILLER’S STYLE: Arthur Miller had a reputation for being obscure. He maintained, and his estate continues to maintain artistic control over his plays.
One artist I admire most, not only in their creativity, but also in technical ability is Django Reinhardt. In the 25 years he was active, he essentially invented a whole new sub genre of jazz and playing styles. When Django was 18, he was badly burnt in a caravan fire and as a result, lost most use of his third and forth fingers on his left hand. This however seemed to be a blessing in disguise as he had to relearn how to play the guitar in a whole new way, creating his unique style. Being a jazz musician in the early to mid 90's, he used acoustic guitars with steel and nylon strings with oddly shaped sound holes taking away more bass than traditional guitars, and giving them an almost staccato sound.
Charles ‘Buddy’ Bolden was born on September 6, 1877. There has been much controversy concerning Buddy’s birth date. In his early years, Buddy would have probably become close with his father, riding along on the wagon acquainting himself with the neighborhood and people who would later influence his life. He probably got his first glimpses of the New Orleans music scene with his father watching parades and attending concerts where brass bands played. Some of the early leaders of the brass bands at this time would have been Thomas S. Kelly, Charlie Jaeger, Frank Dodson, Louis Martin and Sylvester Decker.
Among many of his compositions most successful include: Livin’ thing, Xanadu, Mr Blue Sky, Do Ya, I won’t back down and Free Fallin’. Early Life and Career beginnings Jeff Lynne’s first guitar was bought for him by his father for just 2 pounds, a guitar that he still plays today and the instrument that was to start a incredibly successful career. In 1963 he set up a group that played with only Spanish guitars and cheap electrical instruments to create music, they were originally called “The Rockin’ Hellcats” and after many name changes became “The Andicaps”. In 1964, the other members of the group left and by the end of the same year Lynne left the group himself to join local band “The Chads”. In 1965, Jeff bought a “Bang and Olufsen Beocord 2000 De Luxe stereo reel-to-reel tape recorder.