Benny Goodman

Billie Holiday Also known as “Lady Day” and born Eleanora Fagan, Billie Holiday was one of the most prolific jazz singers of her time and also made a significant contribution to the civil rights movement occurring during her life. She is widely regarded as a unique and important figure in the in the jazz community and has relevance even 50 years after her death. GROWING UP: Billie Holiday was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1915 to Sarah Fagan and Clarence Holiday. She had a very tough…

life. The 1930s was known to be the hardest times of America. Despite the grim decade, music ruled the young and old. In 1938 a traffic of young teens stood in line in front of Paramount Theater to see the ultimate song, “Sing, Sing, Sing” from Benny Goodman (Hard Times, the 30s 136). With music and dance, icons to entertainment, and famous literary works influenced the nation to keep on fighting strong even in those grim time. During the Great Depression, dancing and…

Not only did Hull-House offer educational programs for children who were too young for school, the settlement also provided programs for students as an alternative to public schools and as a place to attend for an extra learning experience. The settlement was known for its academic lectures. The lectures were open to the public free of cost, regardless of the person speaking. Academic lectures ranged in a variety of different topics. Lectures were primarily focused on the arts, literature, life…

ready to take the country by storm. No one could have foreseen the incredible impact that the four quirky boys from Liverpool would make in America, and around the world. “Like certain other key individuals in the history of American pop, such as Benny Goodman, Frank Sinatra, and Elvis Presley, they caused an initial fervor, a “mania” period when teenagers expressed their excitement en masse at their concerts and public appearances.” (McGasko). From teenage rebellion, to crazed fans, and musical…

The Radio is one of the most important means of communication that has affected nearly every single person on the planet. The radio can transmit messages from all over the world in an instant so that a person can listen to what is on it. The history of this device began in the 1800's and continued being developed and improved on as time went by, which was created by different inventors and became the radio as people know it today. Heinrich Hertz discovered radio waves in 1887. The waves moved…

hours at bars and clubs to radio broadcasts in the everyday American’s home, even ballrooms like Savoy and Roseland in New York were common venues for the latest Big Band tunes. The Big Band Boom also brought together the greatest jazz musicians (Benny Goodman, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, and the most famous Glenn Miller) and singers (Ella Fitzgerald, Bing Crosby, and Frank Sinatra). The Big Band Era started seeing a decline in its popularity during the Postwar Big Band Era of the…

Numerous stories of swing musicians are dominated by ethnic, racial, and gendered situations; stories that played an important role in the development of swing. Examples include Artie Shaw’s childhood years on the Lower East Side of New York City where he spent time with migrant children from Eastern Europe and Trummy Young’s youth in the Yamacraw section in Savannah, Georgia where the community that he grew up in was dominated by blacks, Italians, and Chinese. As a decisive player in the…

authors, and poets had to find an outlet to let things go. They turned to music, art, and writing; specifically poetry. White people also enjoyed the beats and rhythm in the music and poetry. Some influential song artists were: Jelly Roll Morton, Benny Goodman, Louis Armstrong and His Hot Five, and many more wonderful artists. ”European and African culture combined together with Blues, Ragtime, Dixie, and Jazz was born” (Alchin). All very outstanding artists. A group of women, called…

was ready to leave Dorsey’s band. Dorsey and Sinatra were very close friends. Dorsey was even the godfather of Frank Sinatra’s daughter. Sadly, the friendship ended when Frank left. By December of the same year, he made $1250 a week with the Benny Goodman band. He was then in the movie Higher and Higher. MGM signed him a five year contract for $260,000 a year in 1946. The movies had caused his music career to hault. His records were 49 of the top 50 list. By 1949, Sinatra’s movies were not…

What does it say about you that when you arrive at a family reunion, people tell you that you are “full of bull” and you actually are? It says that you came from the Bull Family in New York State. The family’s founders William Bull and Sarah Wells created a family that spans ten generations today. Their descendants helped to shape the American Dream. Like many of William and Sarah’s descendants today, they each have to face the struggle of achieving greatness here in America. When Jean Kwok,…