Music Through the Years
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As time goes by, I’m sure a lot of people have seen many changes in TV shows, in fashion, in cars, in fitness, even in how we pay for things we need! To me, one of the biggest trends would have to be music. It’s something that’s been there since almost the beginning of time and will NEVER go away. I’m into old school rock & roll such as KISS, 80’s songs like “It’s Tricky” by Run DMC, “Shake Your Rump” by the Beastie Boys, “We Didn’t Start the Fire” by Billy Joel. I also love many songs by Elvis Presley, Dolly Parton, and Aretha Franklin. In fact, these are the artists who inspired me to write this blog about music. Though completely different, they all have one thing in common with each other: they changed music forever!
Elvis Presley= The King of Rock & Roll revolutionized the music world by fusing rhythm and blues, gospel, and even country into a unique new sound. And believe it or not, his legendary hip wiggle was highly controversial in the 1950’s and lead to police warnings with Elvis defending it his dance moves as a natural expression, famously saying; “If I don’t dance tonight, maybe I don’t have to shower tonight”. I think Elvis was trying to say that his dancing was as natural as it is to take a shower for him. I grew up taking dance classes and have to agree. For many of us, dancing is as natural as breathing, eating, and talking and is a wonderful way to express yourself!
Dolly Parton= The country rock star who started at the bottom and climbed her way up and broke barriers for women in the country music, creating relatable songs. Many of those songs blended with personal stories such as “Coat of Many Colors”. Dolly even inspired artists such as Miley Cyrus and Taylor Swift. Her song “9-5” was a huge hit as it related to struggles unique to women in the work force. Dolly is still rocking and rolling to this day and if I ever got to meet her, I’d give her a big hug and ask for a picture!!
Aretha Franklin= Similar to Elvis, Aretha fused gospel, jazz, blues into something powerful. She tapped into the feminist and civil rights movements with her hit song-turned-anthem, “Respect”.
Elvis Presley, Dolly Parton, Aretha Franklin are just a few who made their mark on the music world and if it wasn’t for them, I have to wonder how music would be now. Would rap have been invented still? Would the band KISS have ever formed? It’s anyone’s guess. But if they didn’t have the courage to take the risks they did, we might not have had The Beastie Boys, KISS, Rolling Stones, Billy Joel, and so many others.
Music can have a way of making sense of the world around us. Billy Joel’s song “We Didn’t Start the Fire” is an amazing message about how each generation had to face its own hardships. And while we didn’t start the fire, we tried to manage it best we could with what we had.
I can always count on music to inspire me, to express myself, and sometimes help make sense of the world.
Until next time,
Sarah