Present. American Rock Singer, Songwriter, Composer, Musician, Actress and Record Producer
Period 1
I Love Rock’N Roll – Joan Jett & the Blackhearts
➢ Dates: 1958 – Present. American rock singer, songwriter, composer, musician, actress and record producer. ➢ Released in 1981. Been covered by many over the years. ➢ Rare (too rare) all female lead singer / guitar for a rock group.
Symphony in E Major – Hans Rott
➢ Dates: 1858-1884. Austrian composer and organist. ➢ He was brought down by mental illness and sent to a mental hospital in 1881. ➢ When he died, had lots of unfinished songs.
September – Earth, Wind & Fire
➢ Dates: Formed in Chicago in 1970, still together. ➢ Song was released in 1978. ➢ Band has won 6 Grammys, and was inducted into the “Rock and Roll” Hall of Fame.
Ornithology – Charlie Parker
➢ Dates: 1920-1955. American Jazz Saxophonist and Composer. ➢ Charlie Parker practiced up to 15 hours a day. ➢ Nickname is “Bird” or “Yard Bird” because he really liked chicken.
Messiah – George Frideric Handel
➢ Dates: 1685-1759 German (and British) composer. ➢ Messiah was first performed in Dublin, Ireland in 1742. ➢ During the “Hallelujah” Chorus, the audience stands as a tradition, it was the King of England who stared this tradition.
I Can See Clearly Now – Johnny Nash
➢ Dates: 1956-present. American reggae and pop singer-songwriter. ➢ Released in 1972 reaching number on one Billboard Charts. ➢ Used in countless movies and TV soundtracks (Cha-Ching $$$$$)
Period 2.
1. Coconut – Harry Nilsson
➢ Dates: 1941-1996, Born in Brooklyn New York ➢ No. 62 in Rolling Stone’s 2015 list of the “100 Greatest Songwriters of all Time” ➢ Popular in the 1960’s and 1970’s
2. Lollipop – Chordettes
➢ Formed in 1947, Sheboygan, Wisconsin. A cappella female singing quartet ➢ “A cappella” means to sing with limited or no instrumentation. ➢ Other famous song they performed was “Mr. Sandman”
3. Bohemian Rhapsody – Queen
➢ Dates: 1970-Present (Freddie Mercury – died 1991_. British rock band. ➢ Was #1 in the UK for 9 weeks in 1975 ➢ Group was given the lifetime achievement award in 2018.
4. Take The “A” Train – Duke Ellington
➢ Dates: 1899-1974, Washington D.C. ➢ Piano player, composer and band leader. ➢ One of the most important jazz composers in music. Helped to make jazz “acceptable” for white audience.
Requiem: II Dies irae – Giuseppe Verdi
➢ Dates: 1813-1901 Italian composer. ➢ Influential Italian Opera composer and influenced modern composition. ➢ Massa da Requiem is a musical setting of the Catholic funeral mass (for opera scene)
Rocket Man – Elton John
➢ Dates: Born 1947, English singer, pianist, and composer ➢ Released in 1972, continues to be a popular song as it is used in many T.V. and Movie soundtracks. ➢ Elton John has been active for over 45 years.
Period 3
1. I Love a Rainy Night – Eddie Rabbit
➢ Dates: 1941-1998. American singer and songwriter. ➢ Wrote many famous songs in the 1970’s. ➢ Song released in 1980, is a “country / contemporary” song.
Marche Militare – Franz Schubert
➢ 1797-1828. Austrian composer. ➢ Wrote 600 Vocal works, seven symphonies, sacred music, operas and a bunch of piano and chamber music. ➢ Just a composer you should know about.
In The Mood – Glenn Miller
➢ Dates: 1904-1944. American big-band trombonist, composer and bandleader. ➢ #1 Hit that topped the charts for 13 week in 1940. ➢ Died in 1944 during World War II while entertaining the troops in France.
Candy Girl – New Edition ➢ Dates: 1983-Present. ➢ Good example of early tech/pop/soul music ➢ Group still performs for ….. old people who want to hear songs they grew up with.
➢ Requiem: II Dies irae – Giuseppe Verdi ➢ ➢ Dates: 1813-1901 Italian composer. ➢ Influential Italian Opera composer and influenced modern composition. ➢ Massa da Requiem is a musical setting of the Catholic funeral mass (for opera scene)
6. Rocket Man – Elton John
➢ Dates: Born 1947, English singer, pianist, and composer ➢ Released in 1972, continues to be a popular song as it is used in many T.V. and Movie soundtracks. ➢ Elton John has been active for over 45 years.
Period 4
Alive – Pearl Jam
➢ Dates: Formed 1990 in Seattle Washington. ➢ Sold over 32 Thousand albums in the U.S. ➢ First of the “Grunge Bands” to become popular in the early 1990’s.
Singing in the Rain – Gene Kelly ➢ Dates: 1912-1996. American dance, actor, singer, film director, producer, and choreographer. ➢ Title song for a musical-romantic comedy of the same name. 1952. ➢ Helped to make musicals a profitable form of movies.
The Wanderer- Dion & The Belmonts
➢ Dates: Formed in 1957 in Bronx, New York City. ➢ Leading American Vocal group of the late 1950’s. ➢ Song released in 1961, rose to #2 on the US billboard charts.
Ciribirbin – Hazy Osterwald
➢ Dates: 1922-2012. Swiss Jazz Band leader, trumpeter and vibraphonist. ➢ Jazz is an American musical form. This is a good example of other parts of the world adapting Jazz styles to their local music. ➢ Funny sound, but not easy to play.
Cello Suite No. 1 in G Major – Johann Sebastian Bach
➢ Dates: 1685-1750. German composer and musician of the Baroque period. ➢ Had 20 Children ➢ This Suite is a very popular Cello composition, preformed all over the world even today.
Rocket Man – Elton John
➢ Dates: Born 1947, English singer, pianist, and composer ➢ Released in 1972, continues to be a popular song as it is used in many T.V. and Movie soundtracks. ➢ Elton John has been active for over 45 years.
Period 6
Come Go with Me – The Del Vikings
➢ Formed in 1955 by the US Air Force in Pittsburgh. ➢ One of the first “Mixed” race groups to gain success in the 1950’s ➢ Released in 1956 on Fee Bee Records.
Pour Some Sugar on Me – Def Leppard
➢ Dates: 1977 – Present. English Rock band. ➢ Part of the New generation of British heavy metal bands that dominated the 1980’s. ➢ Not great musically, not great vocally, just a fun crazy song.
Hello – Lionel Richie
➢ Dates: 1949 – Present. American singer songwriter. ➢ Became famous as the lead singer of the Commodores in 1972 before going solo in 1982. ➢ Released in 1984 and reached number 1 on the charts.
Cry Baby – Janis Joplin
➢ Dates: 1967-1994. American Singer and Songwriter. ➢ Nicknamed “Pearl”. She was the essence of a “Emotional” performer. ➢ Died of drug overdose at the age of 27.
Messiah – George Frideric Handel
➢ Dates: 1685-1759 German (and British) composer. ➢ Messiah was first performed in Dublin, Ireland in 1742. ➢ During the “Hallelujah” Chorus, the audience stands as a tradition, it was the King of England who stared this tradition.
Along Came Betty - Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers
➢ Dates: 1919-1990 American Jazz Drummer and Band leader. ➢ “Along Came Betty” is a jazz standard (Standard: Jazz traditionally performed) ➢ Played with all the big time Bebop jazz musicians during his career.