Influential still used his free time to
Influential Artists Rock and Roll has been a roller coaster of different sounds, but one thing is that their lyrics are always powerful. All the older artists have always influenced the younger generation. So the music never strays too far away and the performances get crazier and crazier.
Muddy Waters was an influential blues artist in forties, fifties, sixties, and seventies. He started playing the harmonica when he was only five years old and started to get pretty good with it. Then when he turned 17 years old he got his first guitar. Waters taught himself how to play by listening to the blues legend Charley Patton. Something unique about Water’s is that in his early years he worked as a sharecropper in a cotton plantation but he still used his free time to play for the people around town.
Some of his first songs are “Can’t be Satisfied” and “Feel Like Going Home”. In 1943 he moved to Chicago and the next year he received an electric guitar. Waters took off when he was in Chicago. He made recording for record labels RCA, Columbia, and Aristocrat, who is now known as Chess Records. With these labels he made the songs “I’m Your Hoochie Coochie Man” and “Got My Mojo Working”. Then in 1951 he formed a full time band. He made his electric blues sound explode when he went and toured in England. In 1971 he won his first Grammy Award for his album “They Call me Muddy Waters”.
He influenced rock and roll by making the electric guitar more popular and he influenced new artists to bring in a new sound.Johnny Cash started writing songs when he was 12 years old. His mother realized how much he loved music so she got enough money so Johnny could take singing lessons. In 1950 Johnny joined the Air Force and there his love music grew. He started writing songs, he taught himself how to play the guitar, and even played live shows.
In 1954, after Johnny was discharged from the Air Force, he put together a trio with Marshall Grant and Luther Perkins. They went and put on a performance for Sun Records. Johnny played two original songs for them. He played “Cry, Cry, Cry” and “Hey Porter”. In 1963 he wrote one of his most signature songs “Ring of Fire”. A musical influence for Johnny was his mother. He would listen to his mother’s hymns.
Johnny contributed to rock and roll by making 1500 songs and 470 albums. Johnny was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame, the Songwriters’ Hall of Fame, and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Johnny was unique because he wasn’t a better singer than everyone else, but his words were powerful. I chose Johnny because when we did the project over him and he interested me. Johnny was an early rock and roll artist.Bob Dylan was one of the most influential artists of all time. Some of the most famous artists have named Bob Dylan as an influence. Bob was influenced by Little Richie and Elvis Presley.
In 1960 Bob dropped out of college to visit his idol, Woody Guthrie in the hospital. Bob Dylan’s album “The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan” produce some of the most memorable songs in folk rock history. The songs were “Blowin in the Wind” and “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall”. He was important because he influenced all these other artists. He contributed by being so powerful with his words and music and impacting other artists. I chose him because of how influential he was. Metallica is a heavy metal band. Their members consist of James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich, Robert Trujillo, and Kirk Hammet.
Metallica was known for their complex songs and serious lyrics. Their debut album was “Kill ‘Em All” and a well known song in that album was “Seek and Destroy”. In 1986 Metallica’s bus skidded off the road and killed Hammet. Another popular song the band produced was “Enter Sandman”. Metallica was influenced by Black Sabbath. Metallica influences rock and roll by making heavy metal more mainstream. I chose Metallica because we used to always listen to their songs before football games.
David Bowie was a glam rock artist. He first was introduced to music when he started playing saxophone when he was 13. In 1972 David’s album “Ziggy Stardust” made him a star. He would dress in crazy costumes and he would portray himself as Ziggy Stardust. David was influenced by his older brother who was 9 years older than him. David was unique because he dressed up in all these crazy costumes.
He contributed to rock and roll by bringing in all these costumes and insane performances. I chose David because of how unique he was.James Brown was a funk music artist. When he was 16 he stole a car and was put in jail for three years. In prison he met Bobby Byrd and that is who influenced him and got him into music.
He joined a group with Bobby and they made a song “Please, Please, Please”. The song made up to number 6 on the R charts. In the 50s and 60s he performed five to six nights a week and also wrote songs. James was unique because he went from a thief to one of the hardest working musicians. He contributed by making dance moves popular. I chose him because he mastered many dance moves and I can’t dance.
The Jackson 5 was a disco band that consisted of Michael Jackson, Marlon Jackson, Randy Jackson, Tito Jackson, and Jackie Jackson. They were all brothers. Their first four singles made the top of the billboard charts. This band helped Michael Jackson start his solo career. They were all influenced by each other to start a band. They were unique because they were all brothers and had great chemistry. Their most popular song was “It’s Too Late to Change the Time”. They contributed to rock and roll by being so positive and upbeat.
I chose them because this is where Michael Jackson started. They were a disco group. The Sex Pistols were a punk band and their members consisted of John Lydon, Steve Jones, Glen Matlock, and Paul Cook. They were a rebellious group that did not care what society thought.
One of their more popular songs “Anarchy in the U.K.” got to number 38 in the U.K. charts. They were all brought together by Malcolm McLaren and he influenced them to make music. They were unique because of their attitudes. They contributed to rock and roll by influencing other groups to form.
I chose them because of their attitudes.Pearl Jam was a popular grunge band and the artists consisted of Eddie Vedder, Mike McCready, Stone Gossard, and Jeff Ament. As the band got more and more popular they rejected the mainstream attention. In 1994 they made the album “Vitalogy” and their most popular song at the time “Better Man” was made. In 1999 they did a cover of the song “Last Kiss” as a simple Christmas single but it blew up to become one of their most popular songs. Pearl Jam was influenced by bands such as The Who and Led Zeppelin. They were unique because they rejected the attention that came towards them. I chose them because Coach Strack listened to Pearl Jam everyday.
They contributed to rock and roll by being one of the most explosive bands in modern rock and roll history and other bands want to replicate their explosiveness.Tupac was a gangsta rapper that was killed when he was only 25 but his legacy still lives on. He released 11 platinum albums four during his career, and seven after he was killed. Something unique about Tupac was that when he released his third album, “Me Against the World”, he was in jail.
It reached number one on the top 200 billboard charts. Tupac was influenced by his mother Afeni. He was unique because he accomplished so much at such a young age. He contributed to rock and roll by bringing in all these new gangsta rappers and by keeping rap popular.
Many popular rappers nowadays are influenced by Tupac. I chose him because he accomplished a lot for how young he was and it inspires other younger people to do their best.I think that rap is the future for music right now. The younger generation right now only listens to rap music.
I think there will be some different forms of rap music right now.
