History of African American Music Essay Example for Free

History of African American Music Essay The result is usually described as soul music, a mix of blues, rhythm and blues, and gospel voices. But, if Ray Charles was one of the originators of soul music, Aretha Franklin reshaped it, by bringing even more of her gospel background to bear on secular love songs (Wade and Picardie 27). By combining popular elements with her stunning voice, her great musicianship, and the feeling for a song that she learned in church, Aretha became one of the greatest soul singers to ever live. Aretha Franklin is a well-known pop, Ramp;B, and gospel singer. She has been nicknamed â€Å"The Queen of Soul† and is an internationally known artist and a symbol of pride in the African American community. Her popularity soared in 1967 when she released an album containing songs â€Å"I Never Loved a Man†, â€Å"Respect†, and â€Å"Baby I Love You. † Throughout her career she has achieved fifteen Grammy Awards, Lifetime Achievement Award, National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences Legend Awards, and many Grammy Hall of Fame Awards. In 1987 she became the first woman inducted into the Rock amp; Roll Hall of Fame. Time magazine chose her as one of the most influential artists and entertainers of the 20th century. She sang at Dr. Martin Luther King’s funeral and at former President Bill Clinton’s inaugural party. Although she has all these accomplishments and awards there are other reasons that have driven Franklin to fame and landed her on the front cover of Time magazine on June 28, 1968. The reasons I believe allowed Aretha Franklin to become so successful are the following: Her family’s involvement with religion, the inspiring people that surrounded her, and the pain she suffered. It is clear that because her family’s involvement with religion would be one reason why Aretha Franklin became as famous as a Gospel singer. Some people would say that her love for religion is unbelievable, but after researching her childhood it is very believable. Her father, Reverend Clarence LaVaugh Franklin lived in Shelby Mississippi and preached while living the life of a sharecropper. As soon as he had enough money, he would move to Memphis, Tennessee to become a pastor of two churches. After a couple of years he attended LeMoyne College, and he studied Education and English Literature. With his education he was able to bring a more liberal view to his preaching’s. Then he moved the family to Buffalo, New York. When he had the resources, he moved the family again to Detroit, Michigan were he settled and became a pastor of a churched called New Bethel Baptist Church. He quickly became one of the most famous pastors in the city of Detroit. Aretha was two years old when they made their final move, she would grow up here and grab the emotion of Church and incorporate it into her music. Aretha Franklin’s mom, Barbara V. Skaggers, served as choir director and pianist. Aretha describes her mom as â€Å"a Superb singer, her voice was clear and distinctive†. (Franklin and Ritz, 6) Her parents taught her how to sing with great pride. This was a big issue because the late ‘50s, early ‘60s was a time of turmoil for African Americans. Her father especially tried to instill pride into her. He was a Civil Rights activist and he was a close colleague with Dr. Martin Luther King. With her parents keeping her involved in Church she was bound to become one of the world’s greatest singers. At around age 12, the father recognized Aretha’s talent as a singer. So he took her on the road with his traveling gospel show. This was important because it shows the kind of support Aretha received from her family. It was said, â€Å"She was a spellbinding performer at the age of fourteen. † (Franklin, 3) So her family really supported and inspired her to become a gospel singer. What also made her a great artist was that she had inspiring people all around her. Aretha grew up in Detroit which at the time was a rousing city or a city of hope for the African Americans running away from the brutality of the South. Though Detroit still had its problems such as race riots, many famous musicians grew up there. Also since New Bethel Baptist Church was so prominent, many musicians and political leaders used Reverend Franklin’s pulpit as a platform to sing or speak to the Black’s of Detroit. Aretha was introduced to classical music by Smokey Robinson’s sister Sylvia Burston. She listened to well known local DJ’s like Ruth Brown and Senator Brystal Brown. When Aretha was younger, she would ride her bike to the local park, and on her way home she would stop by a night club where you could here B. B. King perform. She says, â€Å"You could hear the soft sound of his guitar all the way to the sidewalk (Franklin and Ritz, 22). National and local political leaders would give there speeches. Speakers such as Dr. Adam Clayton Powell, Sr. , Dr. Martin Luther King, and Reverend Jesse Jackson would speak powerfully to the church. Aretha was directly influenced by Miriam Anderson, Sammy Davis, and Roy Wilkins. Detroit was overflowing with talent and speakers which I believe also contributed to Aretha’s success. Pain was probably what really drove Aretha Franklin’s success. As stated before, Franklin’s family was highly religious and was continually involved in the Church. But that doesn’t mean that she hadn’t been through a tremendous amount of pain. Early in life her mother and father got a divorce. The father was better suitable to raise Aretha and her four Siblings. The mother moved to Buffalo, New York and tried to make regular visits to see her children. She was supported her children in the best way she could, but when Aretha needed her, she still was not reachable. Matters became worst a few years later when Aretha’s mom dies of a stroke. Aretha described her mom by saying â€Å"she was the absolute lady† (Smith, 3). At age 15 she had her first child and two years later another would come. But Aretha still wanted to go out and be with friends, so her grandmother usually babysat for her periodically. In a time when Black Activism, Feminism, and Sexual Liberation were high, she needed to provide for herself. So when Aretha was old enough and was ready to start performing, she hired a man named Ted White to be her manager. He later became her husband. In the future she would divorce him for a famous actor which would end in divorce, too. Even though in 1968 to 1969, Franklin’s career was rising rapidly. She was still described by her Producer Jerry Wexler as â€Å"a person whose depressions runs deeper than the sea† (Ritchie Unterberger, 3). Then one of Franklin’s highest admirers, gospel giant Mahalia Jackson died. Right after her death a extremely emotional gospel album was released my Aretha â€Å"Amazing Grace† This record was considered to be one of the most emotional records of its time. Much of the pain that Aretha suffered was not really publicized, but still it had to be one of the reasons for her to have such a powerful voice. Aretha Franklin was a successful artist and still inspires musicians today. Her voice is still described as incredible. She has all the awards that she needs to show her talent. Works cited Franklin, Aretha, and David Ritz. Aretha: From These Roots. New York: Villard, 1999. Print. Carroll, Jillian. Aretha Franklin. Chicago: Raintree, 2004. Print

Interpreting commercials in todays media :: essays research papers

A good commercial is like a master chef’s recipe. Add the right ingredients and everyone will love it. By definition a commercial is, â€Å"an advertisement broadcast on radio or television.†(Merriam-Webster) I’ll pretend that I never heard that definition because to me a commercial is simply money. If effective, then the product sells. When a product sells; a company makes more money. It’s that simple. In today’s society, everything revolves around money. This is why it’s vital to put effective ads out in the media for consumers to view daily. If your ad doesn’t have the right ingredients, then send it to Emeril Lagasse so he can, â€Å"BAM, Kick it up a notch!† by adding some of the â€Å"six C’s†. For the seventh consecutive year, Anheuser-Busch’s advertising and marketing department has put out the number one rated commercial during the Superbowl. Directed toward light beer drinkers, this year’s ad specifically promotes Budlight. Set up in an airplane, anxious skydivers await for the ok to jump. The ad is connected towards younger men because younger men are doing the jump. The first man jumps without any trouble and the instructor tells the next man it’s his turn. It’s apparent that he’s very nervous because he refuses to jump. Trying to coax him even more, the instructor says, â€Å"Not even for some Budlight†, holding up a six-pack. He then throws the 6 beers out into the open sky, hoping the skydiver will follow in pursuit of the cold beer. Instead, the pilot of the plane leaves his controls, runs to the open door, and jumps without a parachute to retrieve the Budlight. The target line says, â€Å"Fresh, Smooth, Real. Budlight. It’s All Here.† The captioned tagline used here is fine. It is short and sweet, but still clear. As a whole, this advertisement works. Its clear and doesn’t beat around the bush or confuse its audience. Everyone who sees this add knows what the product is. The ad targets the credibility of the drink. Anheuser-Busch is saying hey, if a pilot will jump out of a plane for this beer, it must be pretty damn good stuff. The directed audience is younger men, like many other beers ads. This specific commercial does not contrast other beer products. They have other commercial out to combat their biggest competition, Miller Light Beer. This commercial’s main goal is to connect with its viewers, rather then to put down the competition.

The Pros and Cons of Affirmative Action

The concept of affirmative action is found in a speech by President Kennedy when he was referring to the government’s responsibility to ensure that affirmative action was taken with regard to equal employment opportunities for individuals regardless of race, creed, color, or national origin. It is interesting that although President Kennedy pioneered the concept of affirmative action, it was President Lyndon Johnson who first applied this concept by taking steps to equalize the presence of individuals in government positions. President Johnson outlined that it was not enough to say that equal employment opportunities existed; it was the government's responsibility to ensure that the positions not only existed, but were being filled by minorities in a commitment to cultural diversity. Directives were put into place as part of this process that not only banned discrimination, but also offered incentives to government contractors who employed a culturally-diverse workforce. Some of the pros of affirmative action, therefore, include increased opportunities for cultural minority groups, such as legislation that strongly urged employers to select minority candidates and contractors (given that they met qualifying criteria) Numerous research studies have been conducted regarding the glass ceiling for women, as well as attempts to determine percentages of cultural identity in the white-collar professional positions (for example). Such studies have identified that there are more Caucasian males in positions of authority at a majority of companies. To rectify this, many agencies established affirmative action plans that were intended to encourage minority applicants, and thus enlarge the pool of qualified applicants from which to draw for available positions. The downside to this, however, was that the legislation that was designed to encourage minority employment fostered the discrimination it sought to eradicate. To weight any individual's application due to demographic information (as cultural information is) results in basic discrimination. One cannot have both options available; either no-one is favored, or everyone is favored. To have two qualified individuals, and then to choose one based upon his or her cultural identity is at its heart discriminatory. At what point are professionals free to choose the best person for the job, without knowing the individual’s cultural identity? In the ideal world, individuals would be interviewed by telephone or by e-mail in such a way as to reveal no identifying information. This would enable the employer to make a decision solely upon an individual’s qualifications and experience for the position, as opposed to fulfilling a criterion for minority employees. This is not, however, practical at this point in time, and so employment rests in the hands of companies who have an ethical obligation to be equitable, if for no other reason. Weighting a decision based upon cultural identity only applies if there is no opportunity for a variety of individuals to apply for a given position. The issue remains, however, that the individuals still need to be qualified for a position. Unfortunately, for whatever reason, there are differing degrees of qualification. No one appreciates being a token employee, yet that is the standard that affirmative action laws have succeeded in achieving. It is ironic that anti-discrimination laws are themselves discriminatory. The concept of fairness and equity for all individuals, then, should apply regardless of cultural identity—not because the company has no racial representation. Even the act of gathering cultural information is discriminatory because that information is being used to discriminate against other well-qualified individuals. All professionals who hire new employees must consider how they can meet equity in employment without discrimination.

Smoking is Harmful and Dangerous - 1087 Words

Smoking is harmful and dangerous for American University in Cairo (AUC) students. Worldwide, tobacco use causes more than 5 million deaths per year (â€Å"Fast Facts†) and this is a large number of smokers that should be decreased. In Egypt, there are 34, 000 deaths each year due smoking, according to the article â€Å"Smoking in Egypt | Egypt Independent†. However, the number of smokers in Egypt is increasing every day and especially among youth. AUC took a first step to protect its students from this danger by banning indoor smoking. AUC banned smoking10 feet from classrooms to maintain a healthier environment .However, it did not decrease the number of smokers on campus so AUC should ban smoking on campus.This essay will prove that smoking should be banned on the AUC campus for several reasons. Firstly, the number of smoking youth is increasing every day because Egypt is a smoking culture and they observe their parents smoking with few changes in health. Secondly, AU C should try to provide a healthier environment for the students and the working faculty because it is its responsibility. Thirdly, ban on smoking will set an example in Egypt to quit smoking and prevent others from this dangerous habit. Finally, AUC students are role models for the Egyptian people so they should become healthier to be more productive. According to the statistics from the state-run Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics, there are about 13 million smokers now in Egypt (Smoking in EgyptShow MoreRelatedShould E-Cigarettes Be Restricted in Public Areas? Essay1598 Words   |  7 Pagesto assist those who are trying to quit smoking or reduce the amount of nicotine that is actually inhaled in the body to make it a safer product for the consumer than actually smoking a cigarette. There is controversy on whether or not this product promotes a safer nicotine habit or stimulates someone to begin smoking habits. 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