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TEACHING WITH IN TUNE INFLUENCES CONNECTING MUSICIANS THROUGH TIME PHOTOS: (ROYCE) ALEXANDER TAMARGO/GETTY IMAGES, (AVENTURA) GARY GERSHOFF/WIREIMAGE Prince Royce José Manuel Calderón to A major force in Latin pop, PRINCE ROYCE—born Geoffrey Royce Rojas to Dominican par- Like Prince Royce, ents in the New York borough of the Bronx but had strongAVENTURA connections came from to the the Bronx—started making music Dominican Republic. Featuring two cousins (Antony Santos and Henry Santos Jeter) and seriously in his teens. His debut two brothers (Lenny and Mikey Santos), the album, released when he was band captured listeners’ attention in the late UNDER THE 20, topped the Billboard Latin 1990s and early 2000s by blending American Albums chart and went double hip-hop and R&B with the Dominican bachata platinum. His fourth and most re- style made famous by artists like Blas Durán. cent album, 2015’s Double Vision, is his fi rst with primarily English lyrics. Royce has frequently cited the group Aventura as a key early infl uence. BLAS DURÁN’s musical career INFLUENCES began in the Dominican Republic in ne of the most interesting tasks we have at In Tune Monthly is the 1960s, but it was his distinctive use of a four-string electric guitar Whether straight or in the mid-’80s that fi rst put the the constructing of our In uences column. It begins as a kind bachata sound on the international tangled, the lines of map. Before Durán, the genre had of backwards scavenger hunt; we’ll select a current artist mainly used acoustic instruments, artistic inspiration following the example set by (usually someone with a song or album in the charts at the José Manuel Calderón. traced by In Tune’s time of selection), then we’ll hunt down three of that artist’s With 1962’s “Borracho Infl uences page can de Amor,” Dominican influencers, going further back in history for each one. native JOSÉ MANUEL CALDERÓN became became the fi rst person to be drawn further in O record a bachata song. Whether we know the background of the featured artist or not, this The word “bachata” the classroom. exercise is likely to yield surprises. A central question that guides refers to an informal party in the country BY KATE KOENIG and was originally our hunt is: Who has the artist—not a fan, not a critic, not a biog- used to put down the genre (much rapher, but the actual artist—named as an in uence? like country music was once called “hillbilly”). In the ’60s, bachata was gritty folk music. Today, thanks to Prince INFLUENCES CONNECTING MUSICIANS THROUGH TIME Our natural inclination to categorize from generation to generation, while PHOTOS: (PUTH) THADDAEUS MCADAMS/WIREIMAGE, Royce and others, (JOHNSON) EMMET MALLOY, (HARPER) DAVID LEFRANC/GAMMA-RAPHO/ GETTY IMAGES, (TAJ MAHAL)PAUL NATKIN/GETTY IMAGES individual artists by style can lead us to some are born new, the product of it’s evolved into something more Charlie Puth to Taj Mahal shortchange them of their individual back- a unique convergence of styles and modern-sound- ing—an d far more In his teens, Hawaiian native JACK JOHNSON was a professional surfer, grounds. Rather than assume that each artist events. You’ll nd plenty of both but a serious accident at a tournament 22 popular. led him toward a slightly less dangerous career in music. His smooth, laid-back folk- rock songs owe a lot to Bob Dylan, Neil must have been influenced by the older types of artists and genres in these Young, and a man who played guitar on his 2001 debut album: Ben Harper. members of their genre, it’s worth examining pages, but what we nd especially (where it’s possible to do so) the specific intriguing are the lines of in uence that catch Although BEN HARPER is a soulful singer and gifted song- writer, it was his exceptional playing on the Weissenborn lap steel guitar that fi rst got the in uences they drew from their parents, us o guard. Here are three examples from attention of American roots music fans in the late ’80s. One person who noticed Harper’s talent early—and invited him In Tune on his fi rst major tour in 1990— teachers, bandmates, travels, and collabora- past issues of , along with some sug- was bluesman Taj Mahal. tions. Artists’ personal circumstances tend gestions on how you can make use of them to dictate their sound more than the history in your classroom. Born Henry Saint Clair Fredericks, Jr. in 1942, TAJ MAHAL grew up of the genre to which they appear to belong. in Massachusetts, but his interest in the African and Carib- bean foundations of JANUARY 2017: jazz, blues, and rock Some artists are eclectic, drawing inspira- CHARLIE PUTH is a classically trained have made him a true world musician. pianist, but the R&B-fl avored pop he’s This singer, song- become known for doesn’t have a lot to writer, and multi- tion from a varied mix of sounds, while PRINCE ROYCE TO do with Mozart or Chopin. That said, he instrumentalist has does play a slick snippet of Rachmaninoff been crossing genre to open the video of his 2016 hit “One Call bounda ries for more than 50 years. Away.” Puth studied jazz at the Manhat- others take a more linear path through the MANUEL CALDERÓN tan School of Music and takes inspiration from a wide range of genres, but he’s singled out the “surf rock” stylings of Jack Johnson as a key infl uence. halls of a genre’s founders and traditionalists. The January 2017 edition of In uences is a 24 In Tune Monthly • April 2017 intunemonthly.com Some genres develop by being passed down perfect illustration of a genre growing 6 DECEMBER 2017 • IN TUNE MONTHLY • TEACHER’S EDITION intunemonthly.com INFLUENCES CONNECTING MUSICIANS THROUGH TIME INFLUENCES CONNECTING MUSICIANS THROUGH TIME PHOTOS: (CARA) ANDREW LIPOVSKY/NBC, (LA HAVAS) GUS STEWART/WIREIMAGE, (BLIGE) JOHN W. FERGUSON/GETTY IMAGES, (KHAN) EBET ROBERTS/REDFERNS PHOTOS: (ROYCE) ALEXANDER TAMARGO/GETTY IMAGES,Alessia Cara to Chaka Khan (AVENTURA) GARY GERSHOFF/WIREIMAGE On her breakout fi rst album, LIANNE LA HAVAS’ ear-grabbing mixture Know-It-All, 20-year-old of soul, jazz, and folk has won her many fans in the last fi ve years, most notably ALESSIA CARA shows a the late Prince, who asked her to sing wisdom beyond her years. Songs on his 2014 album Art Offi cial Age. Not like “Wild Things,” “Scars to Your surprisingly, she’s a Prince fan, but she Beautiful,” and the Top 5 hit says that as a preteen, she made an even “Here” address emotional topics stronger connection with the music of Mary J. Blige. Prince Royce such as peer pressure and self- esteem, sung over compelling R&B beats. Cara acknowledges that her music has many infl uences, but one of the clearest is that of British singer/ José Manuel Calderón to songwriter Lianne La Havas. In the 1990s, MARY J. BLIGE became known as “the Queen of Hip-Hop Soul” on the back of her mega-selling albums What’s the 411?, My Life, and Share My World. Two decades later, she continues A major force in Latin pop, to be one of R&B’s top artists. The telltale combination of smoothness and grit in her singing is reminiscent of one of her key PRINCE ROYCE—born Geoffrey infl uences, Chaka Khan. Royce Rojas to Dominican par- Like Prince Royce, ents in the New York borough of the Bronx but had strongAVENTURA connections came from to the the Bronx—started making music Dominican Republic. Featuring two cousins (Antony Santos and Henry Santos Jeter) and seriously in his teens. His debut CHAKA KHAN fi rst came to two brothers (Lenny and Mikey Santos), the attention in the 1970s as the lead singer of the funk band album, released when he was Rufus. Since then, she has band captured listeners’ attention in the late sold more than 70 million albums worldwide. Khan also 20, topped the Billboard Latin 1990s and early 2000s by blending American has the distinction of being the fi rst major pop artist to UNDER THE include a rapper on one of hip-hop and R&B with the Dominican bachata her songs: 1984’s smash hit Albums chart and went double “I Feel for You,” featuring platinum. His fourth and most re- style made famous by artists like Blas Durán. Grandmaster Melle Mel. cent album, 2015’s Double Vision, is his fi rst with primarily English 20 intunemonthly.com lyrics. Royce has frequently cited the group Aventura as a key early infl uence. INFLUENCES CONNECTING MUSICIANS THROUGH TIME PHOTOS: (RUTH B) SONIA RECCHIA/GETTY IMAGES, (ADELE) DANA EDELSON/NBC, (O’CONNOR) FRANS SCHELLEKENS/REDFERNS, BLAS DURÁN’s musical career (STREISAND) CBS VIA GETTY IMAGES INFLUENCES began in the Dominican Republic in the 1960s, but it was his distinctive Ruth B. to Barbra Streisand use of a four-string electric guitar in the mid-’80s that fi rst put the Best known for her 1990 hit cover of Prince’s “Nothing Compares 2 U,” SINÉAD O’CONNOR combines bachata sound on the international “Lost Boy,” the debut Celtic music, hip-hop, R&B, and single by 21-year-old punk rock in a uniquely haunting map. Before Durán, the genre had Canadian singer/ style. But for her fi rst major songwriter RUTH B., public performance at could be the oddest age 15 (a teacher’s mainly used acoustic instruments, wedding), she sang a song to make 2016’s very different type of pop charts: four One of the most successful song: “Evergreen” by following the example set by minutes of solo piano artists of our time, ADELE Barbra Streisand.

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