Country music is like a river. It expands into different streams and in various locations, but it has the same origin. Country music was invented in America with influences from African people, Europeans, and other groups of people. By the 17th century, Europeans and Africans had folktales, folk songs, and instruments (like the banjo that came from Africa), and Indigenous people had their own folkways too. Folkways continued to exist in the 18th century. By the 19th century, folk music changed. As diverse people traveled, the folk music with instruments from Europe, Africa, and the Mediterranean Basin developed into Appalachian music. America expanded rapidly throughout the North American continent via trade, expansion, and controversy (as tons of American expansion was done by theft, colonialism, and violations of treaties with Native Americans). Folk music traveled westward into the Mississippi River and Louisiana. These areas were a place of massive country music, and these places gave rise to Cajun music. In the Southwestern United States, it was the Rocky Mountains, American frontier, and Rio Grande that acted as a similar backdrop for Native American, Mexican, and cowboy ballads, which resulted in New Mexico music and the development of Western music, and it is directly related to Red Dirt, Texas country, and Tejano music styles. In the Asia-Pacific, the steel guitar sound of country music has its provenance in the music of Hawaii. By the late 1800's and early 1900's, opera, gospel, and folk music were common genres of American society. The Fisk Jubilee Singers was singing Swing Low Sweet Chariot by 1909, and the folklorist Cecil Sharp publishing his study of English Folk Songs from the Southern Appalachians back in 1917. Modern-day country music as we know it is found in the South, and according to the U.S. Congress, it formally recognized Bristol, Tennessee as the Birthplace of Country Music. That is based on the historic Bristol recording sessions of 1927. Yet, there were recordings of country music artists before 1927. For example, the Victor and Okeh recording companies begin recording the first country music artists. Fiddler Eck Robertson records "Arkansas Traveler" and "Sallie Gooden" for Victor Records, becoming the first pure country music artist to make a recording. This was in 1922. In 1924, the WLS Radio in Chicago introduced the National Barn Dance on April 19, 1924.
Cowboy Songs is recorded by Victor Records in August 1925 by Carl T. Sprague. "When the Work's All Done This Fall" became a hit in 1925. By 1927, Ralph Peer of Victor Records began recording a local family act, The Carter Family, in Bristol, Tennessee. A. P. Carter, his wife, Sara, and sister-in-law Maybelle made more than 250 recordings in the next 14 years. The Singing Brakeman, Jimmie Rodgers, is also discovered at Bristol. In addition, the Mountain City Fiddlers Convention, held in 1925, helped to inspire modern country music. Before these, pioneer settlers, in the Great Smoky Mountains region, had developed a rich musical heritage. This era of the 1920's was the first generation of modern-day country music. Music in Atlanta had artists like James Gideon "Gid" Tanner. He had a band called The Skillet Lickers that presented innovative and influential music in string bands of the 1920's and the 1930's.
It has been one hundred and ten years since World War I started. Some people underestimate the legacy and influence of World War One. There is no WWII without World War One. Also, World War One was the first international war of the 20st century that expanded military technology, caused the end of the Ottoman Empire, and was just before the Great Depression globally. It lasted for over 4 years with millions of people who lost their lives. World War One also was a war that dealt with complex alliances. The war had the Allied Powers (filled with France, the UK, America, Italy, Japan, Russia for a time, and other nations) vs. the Central Powers (filled with Germany, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire Bulgaria, and other nations). This war didn't just commence in Europe, but it spread into Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. The war started after one event which was the June 28, 1914 assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand by the Bosnian Serbian man Gavriolo Princip. This war signified the start of the end of many authoritarian monarchies and empires having huge economic and political power in the world. After the Russian October Revolution in 1917 by the Bolsheviks, Russia made peace with the Central Powers in early 1918. The war had a stalemate for years with a massive German offensive in March 1918. The Central Powers were defeated by a successful Allied counter-offensive in 1918 causing a collapse of the German frontline. Tanks, airplanes, biological warfare, and machine guns were utilized in the war. The Armistice of November 11, 1918, the Treaty of Versailles, and the Paris Peace Conference ended World War One. Yet, the weaknesses of the League of Nations contributed to World War II, which started in September 1939. Therefore, World War One was one of the most destructive conflicts in human history that should be analyzed, so lessons can be learned.
When did video games start? Video games started by scientists using research projects. By 1952, British professor A.S. Douglas created OXO. This was known as noughts and crosses or a tic-tac-toe game. It was part of his doctoral dissertation at the University of Cambridge. In 1958, William Higinbotham created "Tennis for Two" on a large analog computer. He connected the oscilloscope screen for the annual visitor's day at the Brookhaven National Laboratory in Upton, New York. In 1962, Steve Russell at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology invented Spacewar!, a computer-based space combat video game for the PDP-1 (Programmed Data Processor-1), then a cutting-edge computer mostly found at universities. It was the first video game that could be played on multiple computer installations. Later, we saw a new era being the start of the creation of the home console. In 1967, developers at Sanders Associates, Inc., led by Ralph Baer, invented a prototype multiplayer, multi-program video game system that could be played on a television. It was known as “The Brown Box.”
Baer, who’s sometimes referred to as Father of Video Games, licensed his device to Magnavox, which sold the system to consumers as the Odyssey, the first video game home console, in 1972. Over the next few years, the old school Odyssey console would commercially fizzle and die out. Yet, one of the Odyssey’s 28 games was the inspiration for Atari’s Pong, the first arcade video game, which the company released in 1972. In 1975, Atari released a home version of Pong, which was as successful as its arcade counterpart. Magnavox, along with Sanders Associates, would later sue Atari for copyright infringement. They settled and became an Odyssey license for over the next 20 years. Magnavox went on to win more than $100 million in copyright lawsuits related to the Odyssey and its video game patents. In 1977, Atari released the Atari 2600 or the Video Computer System). Atari 2600 is a home console that featured joysticks and interchangeable game cartridges that played multi-colored games, effectively kicking off the second generation of video game consoles. By the late 1970's and the early 1980's, more innovations existed in video games. There was the release of Space Invaders arcade game in 1979, there is the launch of Activision, the first third-party game developer (which develops software without making consoles or arcade cabinets), in 1979, and Pac was introduced in America (it was huge in Japan previously). Nintendo created Donkey Kong, which introduced the world to the character of Mario. Microsoft's release of its first Flight Simulator game.
There was the crash of the North American video game industry in 1983 because of many reasons. The reasons for this reality were that there was an oversaturated game console market, competition from computer gaming, and a surplus of over-hyped, low-quality games, such as the infamous E.T., an Atari game based on the eponymous movie. Many people didn't like that video game. There was a bankruptcy of many home computer and video game console companies. The video game home industry began to recover in 1985 when the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), called Famicom in Japan, came to the United States. The NES had improved 8-bit graphics, colors, sound and gameplay over previous consoles.
Nintendo, a Japanese company that began as a playing card manufacturer in 1889, released several important video game franchises still around today, such as Super Mario Bros., The Legend of Zelda, and Metroid. Additionally, Nintendo imposed various regulations on third-party games developed for its system, helping to combat rushed, low-quality software. Third-party developers released many other long-lasting franchises, such as Capcom’s Mega Man, Konami’s Castlevania, Square’s Final Fantasy, and Enix’s Dragon Quest (Square and Enix would later merge to form Square Enix in 2003). In 1989, Nintendo made waves again by popularizing handheld gaming with the release of its 8-bit Game Boy video game device and the often-bundled game Tetris. Over the next 25 years, Nintendo would release some successful successors to the Game Boy, including the Game Boy Color in 1998, Nintendo DS in 2004, and Nintendo 3DS in 2011.
It is also important to acknowledge the hero Sister Ella Fitzgerald. She was born in Newport News, Virginia, which is in the 757. 757 is in the house as that is where I'm from. She was a famous jazz singer. Her scat singing was innovative and creative. She was in movies and television shows. She listened to jazz music from Louis Armstrong, Bing Crosby, and the Boswell Sisters. Fitzgerald performed with Dizzy Gillespie, Ray Brown, Milt Jackson, and Timme Rosenkrantz. She won many awards and had numerous achievements. People of every background and from every political spectrum loved her. They not only loved her talent. They loved her down-to-earth personality and her charisma. Fitzgerald was a civil rights activist; using her talent to break racial barriers across the nation. She was awarded the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People Equal Justice Award and the American Black Achievement Award. In 1993, Fitzgerald established the Ella Fitzgerald Charitable Foundation focusing on charitable grants for four major categories: academic opportunities for children, music education, basic care needs for the less fortunate, medical research revolving around diabetes, heart disease, and vision impairment. She has 13 Grammys. Her goals were to give back and provide opportunities for those "at risk" and less fortunate. In addition, she supported several nonprofit organizations like the American Heart Association, City of Hope, and the Retina Foundation. Ella Fitzgerald was a champion to our community. Rest in Power Sister Ella Fitzgerald.
The 96th Academy Awards took place on March 10, 2024, at the Dolby Theater in Hollywood, Los Angeles. It was a historic award with many new winners and repeat winners. There were 23 categories being awarded that involved films and documentaries released in 2023. The Comedian and television host Jimm Kimmel hosted the show for the fourth time. The nominees for the 96th Academy Awards were announced on January 23, 2024, by actors Zazie Beetz and Jack Quaid at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills. The cultural phenomenon of "Barbenheimer" received a total of twenty-one nominations (eight for Barbie and thirteen for Oppenheimer). The two films competed against each other in six categories, including Best Picture. Christopher Nolan won Best Director. Best Actor was won by Cillian Murphy. Best Actress was won by Emma Stone. Robert Downey Jr. won Best Supporting Actor. This was his first Oscar after decades of handwork. Da'Vine Joy Randolph won Best Supporting Actress. She gave an inspiring, poignant speech about accepting herself and not following illogical beauty standards when beauty is very diverse, not monolithic. Justine Triet and Arthur Harari won Best Original Screenplay Writers. Mstyslav Chernov won Best Documentary Film co-winner, Jonathan Glazer won Best International Feature Film winner, and the Best Animated Feature winners are Hayao Miyazaki and Toshio Suzuki. The Oscar winners of Best Original Song winners are Billie Eilish and Finneas O'Connell. Wes Anderson won Best Live Action Short co-winner, and Ludwig Goransson won Best Original Score winner. The Best Picture film was won by Oppenheimer. The Best Adapted Screenplay was won involving American Fiction with Cord Jefferson. The Best Documentary Feature Film was 20 Days in Mariupol (with Mstyslav Chernov, Michelle Mizner, and Raney Aronson-Rath). The Best Documentary Short Film was The Last Repair Shop with Ben Prodfoot and Kris Bowers. the Best Live Action Short Film was won by The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and the Best Animated Short Film was won by War is Over! Inspired by the Music of John and Yoko. The Best Original Score was Oppenheimer by Ludwig Goransson. The Best Visual Effects was won by Godzilla Minus One – Takashi Yamazaki, Kiyoko Shibuya, Masaki Takahashi, and Tatsuji Nojima. The Academy Honorary Awards was won by Angela Bassett, Mel Brooks, and Carol Littleton. The Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award was won by Michelle Satter.
There are tons of black icons of classical music from the Medieval Age, the 1700's, and beyond to the present. One legend was Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de SAINT Georges. His life has been popularized in the 2022 film called Chevalier (starring Kevin Harrison). Joseph Bologne was an Afro-French violinist, conductor, composer, and soldiers who lived from December 25, 1745, to June 9, 1799. He was a great athlete being a fencer and dancer. He was born in Guadeloupe in the West Indies. He was the first classical composer of African descent to attain widespread acclaim in classical music in Europe. He composed an array of violin concertos, string quartets, sinfonia concertantes, violin duets, sonatas, two symphonies and an assortment of stage works, notably opéra comique. Following the outbreak of the French Revolution in 1789, Saint-Georges left for England. Upon his return to France, he joined the National Guard in Lille and then served as a colonel in the Légion St.-Georges, which comprised "citizens of color." His social and professional ties to prominent figures such as Marie Antoinette and the Duke of Orléans made him a target of the Reign of Terror, culminating in a period of imprisonment spanning at least eleven months. Saint-Georges passed Brissot's request to the British abolitionists, and they complied by translating their publications into French for his fledgling Société des amis des Noirs. There was the artist Thomas Wiggins, William Grant, Maria Corley, and other people. Florence Price (who lived from 1887 to 1953. She was influenced by Dvoarak, Tchaikovsky, and other European Romantic composers) was the first African American woman to have her music performed by a major symphony orchestra – in 1933. A music critic from the Chicago Daily News heard the work, performed by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and declared it “a faultless work, a work that speaks its own message with restraint and yet with passion… worthy of a place in the regular symphonic repertoire.” Scott Joplin, George Bridgetower, Margaret Bonds (who worked with poet Langston Hughes to celebrate African American culture), Samuel Coleridge-Taylor worked hard in classical music too.
Majestic, talented, and determined are accurate descriptions to outline her life spanning eighty years. Diana Ross went from the projects of Detroit, Michigan to be one of the most iconic artists of all time. She influenced every musician of the 21st century directly or indirectly without question. She was born in the Midwestern city of Detroit, Michigan. She was born to Ernestine Ross and Fred Ross Sr. She was the 2nd to six children. Dian Ross grew up in the North End section of Detroit and in Brewster Douglas Housing Projects in Detroit when she was a teenager. Diana Ross was raised Baptist. She attended Cass Technical High School, a four-year college and preparatory magnet school in downtown Detroit. She wanted to be a fashion designer. Diana Ross graduated from Cass Tech in January 1962. From 1959 to 1970, she was in The Supremes as a group member. Back in 1959, they were the Primettes. She worked with the Primes. The Supremes worked hard to promote their songs globally. They helped to make Motown one of the greatest music empires in history. The Supremes once had Barbara Martin. We know about Florence Ballard and Mary Wilson. The Supremes was the most successful group of Motown during the 1960's. They had hits like Baby Love, Where Did Our Love Go, Come See About Me, Stop! in the Name of Love, and Love Child. The Supremes had music about love, relationships, and togetherness. Later, Diana Ross established her own solo career. I'm Still Waiting, was a great song too. Her first American solo hit was Reach Out and Touch Somebody's Hand. Everything is Everything from 1970 was her second solo album. She was in movies like Ladies Sings the Blues (about Billie Holiday) and Mahogany. She made more hits like Love Hangover, Upside Down, Endless Love (in 1981 with Lionel Richie), and Chain Reaction. She was in The Wiz with her friend Michael Jackson. By 1976, Diana Ross was called by Billboard as the Woman Entertainer of the Century. She earned a Special Tony Award in 1977, the Kennedy Center Honors in 2007, and the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2012 and in 2013. She earned the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2016. Many of her children are actress and musicians like Tracee Ellis Ross and Evan. Diana Ross has seven grandchildren. Diana Ross has influenced Beyonce, Michael Jackson, Brandy, Ting Tings, Ledisi, Questlove, and other people. In 1999, she was in the movie Double Platinum with Brandy Norwood. Thank You was her 25th studio album which was released in November of 2021 during the pandemic. She made music and tours as recently as October of 2023. She loves all of her five children.
By Timothy
No comments:
Post a Comment