Happy Sunday! Here is a song by soul singer Etta James (January 25, 1938 – January 20, 2012). You can learn more about Etta James here, here and here. You can also listen to one of her most famous songs, “At Last” . Listen to the song, read the lyrics and sing it to a friend. Enjoy…
Read the lyrics below…Read More »
Watch 16-year-old David Thibault from Quebec do an incredible imitation of Elvis Presley. It’s a song originally sung by Elvis called “Blue Christmas” (the lyrics are below):
“Blue Christmas”
I’ll have a blue Christmas without you
I’ll be so blue just thinking about you
Decorations are red on a green Christmas tree
It won’t be the same, dear, if you’re not here with me
And when the blue snowflakes start falling
That’s when those blue memories start calling
You’ll be doing alright with your Christmas of white
But I’ll have a blue, blue, blue, blue Christmas
You’ll be doing alright with your Christmas of white
But I’ll have a blue, blue, blue, blue Christmas
From Simple English Wikipedia:
John Lennon was an English musician, singer and songwriter. He was a member of the English rock band the Beatles. After the Beatles stopped making records in 1970, he lived in the United States with his wife Yoko Ono, and continued his music career up until his death in 1980.
On December 8th 1980, Lennon was shot dead as he was going into his home, by a man named Mark David Chapman who was mentally ill.
Fans all over the world mourned Lennon’s death. It made them feel that a special part of their lives was gone. Many met in New York’s Central Park, near where Lennon and Ono lived, to say their goodbyes. There is now a garden in Central Park in Lennon’s memory called “Strawberry Fields” after one of Lennon’s most popular songs.
Here’s “Strawberry Fields” by the Beatles:
And here’s John Lennon’s most famous solo song, “Imagine”:
Bill Withers is an American singer and song writer. He was born on July 4, 1938 in West Virginia. Bill joined the US Navy when he was 18 and served for 9 years. Afterwards, he moved to California and began his music career. Bill Withers has written some of the most well known songs of our time; “Ain’t No Sunshine“, “Grandma’s Hands“, “Just The Two Of Us” and many more. Below you can listen to Bill sing his song, “Lean On Me”. Also below is a video of the song with lyrics you can read.
Let us know what you think about the song in the comments section.
Is it a happy song or a sad song?
What does the phrase ‘lean on me‘ mean?
Do you have someone to ‘lean on‘ or does someone often ‘lean on‘ you?
What does the phrase ‘swallow your pride’ mean?
Have you ever had to ‘swallow your pride‘?
Listen to some of Bill Withers’ other songs and tell us what you’re favorite is.
Read the lyrics below…Read More »
Lynne Hayden-Findlay, who teachers our weekend classes (W1 & W4), works with the Chelsea Opera Group. This week they are putting on two shows, The Winners and La Pizza,
More information about the operas can be found “here“.
I am the stage director and costume designer for the production, in addition to being co-producer.
University Settlement Adult Literacy students are invited to attend the Friday, Oct 11, 7:30pm performance free of charge at St. Peter’s Church in Chelsea, 346 West 20th Street between 8th & 9th Avenues.
If students wish to attend, they must arrive at the theater between 7pm and 7:15, go to the box office table and say “Lynne sent me!” They can then go in for free.
Here is a song from the Hip-Hop group, Blackalicious. The song goes through words that begin with the letters A, B, C, D, E, F and G. You can listen to the song and read the lyrics below. How many of the words do you know? What new words did learn or have questions about. The man who sings the song is named Gift of Gab. Do you know what it means to have the gift of gab? Do you know someone who has the gift of gab? Let us know in the comments section.
You can read the lyrics below...
This post is from Weekend teacher, David Moss. David is also a Jazz musician, he plays bass. Here is a photo of him at one of our class parties (David is on the left).
Check out David’s new website. You can listen to some music and read his biography. Check back for updates!
Below David tells us about Jazz music and one of his favorite musicians, Miles Davis. You can see some pictures and listen to some music Miles made throughout the years.
Jazz is the only art form invented in the United States. Many other countries can claim to have invented more than just one form of art, but for the U.S., they can only claim Jazz as their unique invention and contribution to the art world. There are several noteworthy musicians who were innovators of Jazz, with Charlie Parker being the main innovator who kicked it off and ignited the flame for the rest of the 20th century. However, another musician who came from St. Louis, Missouri, and “hunted down” Charlie Parker in New York City to join his band when he was only 17 years old, was the trumpet player Miles Davis. Miles continues to be recognized in history as the most influential and famous (most recognized) Jazz musician ever.
Every decade, from the 1940’s up until the time of his death in 1991, Miles tried something new, and “changed with the times” along with how the state of consciousness and culture was changing. He adapted and created music that was relevant to any present time. In the 1940s, he would contribute to Be-Bop, in the 50s it would innovate “cool” music, which was vastly different than any other trumpet player during that time. In the 1960s, he would go on to pioneer the way for hard hitting Hard Bop. The 1970s also saw a radical change with Miles using a lot of electronic instruments, synthesizers and pedals for trumpet. In the 1980s, Miles led the way in the genre of Fusion, continuing to use a lot of Pop electric sounds. The fascinating part of it all was that Miles Davis always sounded like Miles, no matter what configuration or experimentation he would embark in, one always knew that Distinct, personalized tone and sound that Miles had.Miles Davis also helped many other musicians launch their own careers, because basically if you played with Miles Davis, then you had to always be good enough. Miles was renown for choosing the right musicians at the right time for his bands. He thought like an artist, knowing how to use each musician to achieve the effects he desired.Miles Davis and Charlie Parker in the 1940sMiles Davis in the 1980svideo of 1950’s quintet:
