| In memory of the day the music died Feb long but worth the read | | One day in early February 1959, a 13-year-old in New Rochelle, New York, cut open the stack of newspapers he was about to deliver and read that three rock ’n’ roll stars, Buddy Holly, J. P. “The Big Bopper” Richardson, and Ritchie Valens, had died in a plane crash in Iowa. The boy later said he felt “like someone had punched me in the face.” It was a feeling shared by many in America and around the world. Years later, in 1971, that paperboy, Don McLean, would write the song “American Pie,” which gave an enduring name to the event: the Day the Music DiedA reference to the beloved "sock hop".(Leather-soled street shoes tear up wooden basketball floors, and rubber-soled sneakers grip too much for dance moves, so dancers had to take off their shoes.)Man, I dig those rhythm 'n' bluesSome history. Before the popularity of rock and roll, music, like much else in the U. S., was highly segregated. The popular music of black performers for largely black audiences was called, first, "race music", later softened to rhythm and blues. In the early 50s, as they were exposed to it through radio personalities such as Allan Freed, white teenagers began listening, too. Starting around... | |
| | Do you listen to certain albums while writing? | | The albums I listen to while creative writing changes from project to project, and subject matter. Anyway, last fall and during the winter I listened to My Morning Jacket's "It Still Moves" album. I'm not sure what it is about the album, but it just seemed to fit the mood. Maybe it's the wailing vocals. I can't understand most of the words, and that's probably a good thing--either it would distract me more, or I wouldn't like the album as much!I also like listening, every once in awhile, to "The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan."What about you? Do you try to separate the music you commonly listen to while working creatively from the music you listen to while working more academically, or for work?
y segregated. The popular music of black performers for largely black audiences was called, first, "race music", later softened to rhythm and blues. In the early 50s, as they were exposed to it through radio personalities such as Allan Freed, white teenagers began listening, too. Starting around 1954, a number of songs from the rhythm and blues charts began appearing on the overall popular charts as well, but usually in cover versions by established... | |
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