Join us in wishing a happy birthday to American country music singer-songwriter Toby Keith, b. 1961. He has sold over 40 million albums worldwide, released sixteen studio albums, and recorded nineteen number one singles on the country music charts, including, “Beer for My Horses,” which features Willie Nelson.
Enjoy this great American song from a great American and
“spend a little more in the store for a tag in the back that says USA.”
Twenty years ago today, U2 released their eighth studio album.
Here are a dozen plus one reasons to love Zooropa.
Watch the music video to the song, “Stay, (Faraway So Close!)” by clicking this link.
Happy Birthday to rocker Stephen Pearcy, b. 1959, best known for his lead vocals of the 80s metal band Ratt. He worked with numerous other bands, collaborated with artists from other music genres, and has recorded as a solo artist.
Enjoy this song from Ratt’s 1984 album Out of the Cellar:
Q: When my daughter practices a popular or folk song, she plays the notes right, but her rhythm is wrong. How can I help her between lessons?
A: Sing the melody that she is practicing. Do so while clapping your hands together at a steady beat without stopping, like a metronome. For example:
“Are you sleeping? Are you sleeping, Brother John? Brother John.” You will notice that the beat after each “John” has no note. You will hear only your hand clap. This beat will have a rest in the written music.
“Morning bells are ringing. Morning bells are ringing.” There are two notes for the first two claps, which are “Morning bells are.” “Ringing” has one clap for each syllable.
“Ding, ding, dong,” is much like “Brother John,” with one clap at the end without a note.
If your child requires visual aids, fold a sheet of paper in half four times to make sixteen rectangles with the folds. Every beat is one rectangle. To see them better, you may want to crayon a large contrasting dot inside each rectangle. Take her hand in yours and together, mark the pulse, touch the crayon dot with her fingertips, while singing the melody. Make sure that you are not tapping the dot for every. single. note. (Do you see what I did there? “Single” would take only one beat but have two notes in its beat.)
When she sits to play the piano, encourage her to sing the melody as you have practiced it together. Many students will not like this idea of singing in front of people, but remind her that singing the melody will help her determine if her playing is correct or not. It makes her a better musician!
Today in music history, 1714, Christoph Willibald Gluck is born in Bavaria, Germany. A trendsetter in operas, Gluck’s work influenced Sacchini, Berlioz, and Wagner among other composers.
Enjoy this song from the opera Alceste, in which courtiers celebrate a king’s unexpected recovery.
Happy Birthday to rocker and Miami native Debbie Harry, b. 1945. She is best known as the lead vocalist for the group Blondie, which had many radio hits such as “Heart of Glass,” “One Way Or Another,” “The Tide is High,” “Rapture,” and “Call Me.”
Celebrate her birthday with “Maria,” a song from Blondie’s 1999 album No Exit:
Today in music history, 1943, Florence Ballard is born. A founding member of the Motown group The Supremes, she was posthumously inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988.
Enjoy her birthday with a top single in which she sings lead:
Happy Birthday to Colin Hay, b. 1953, best known as the lead vocalist of the Australian band Men At Work. Hay was born in Scotland and moved to Australia at age 14 with his family.
Celebrate his birthday with Men At Work’s greatest hit, “Down Under.”
Today in music history, 1902: Birthday of Richard Rodgers, an American composer and winner of several awards of the entertainment industry. Among his works are the beloved musicals Carousel (1945), South Pacific (1949), The King and I (1951), and The Sound of Music (1959). “You’ll Never Walk Alone” from Carousel has been recorded by many performers and is popular with supporters of association football clubs.
Celebrate the anniversary of Rodgers’ birth with Liverpool FC’s 2005 phenomenal comeback.
Today marks the one hundredth anniversary of country artist Elton Britt‘s birth. Born in Arkansas, Britt was a singer, songwriter, and radio and television performer.
Enjoy this little ditty.
