Ol’ Man River
   HOME





Ol’ Man River
"Ol' Man River" is a show tune from the 1927 musical ''Show Boat'' with music by Jerome Kern and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, who wrote the song in 1925. The song contrasts the struggles and hardships of African Americans with the endless, uncaring flow of the Mississippi River. It is sung from the point of view of a black stevedore on a showboat,"Lesson: Ol' Man River" (school lesson for Mississippi River), Michael E. Marrapodi, New Covenant Christian School, Ashland, Massachusetts, 2006, webpageMassGeo-River: shows phrase "feared of dyin' " (rather than "skeered" of dying) as sung in earlier recordings. and is the most famous song from the show. The song is meant to be performed in a slow tempo; it is sung complete once in the musical's lengthy first scene by the stevedore "Joe" who travels with the boat, and, in the stage version, is heard four more times in brief reprises. Joe serves as a sort of musical one-man Greek chorus, and the song, when reprised, comments on the act ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Paul Whiteman
Paul Samuel Whiteman (March 28, 1890 – December 29, 1967) was an American Jazz bandleader, composer, orchestral director, and violinist. As the leader of one of the most popular dance bands in the United States during the 1920s and early 1930s, Whiteman produced recordings that were immensely successful, and press notices often referred to him as the "King of Jazz". His most popular recordings include "Whispering (song), Whispering", "Valencia (song), Valencia", "Three O'Clock in the Morning", "In a Little Spanish Town", and "The Parade of the Tin Soldiers, Parade of the Wooden Soldiers". Whiteman led a usually large ensemble and explored many styles of music, such as blending symphonic music and jazz, as in his debut of ''Rhapsody in Blue'' by George Gershwin. Whiteman recorded many jazz and pop standards during his career, including "Wang Wang Blues", "Mississippi Mud", "Rhapsody in Blue", "Wonderful One", "Hot Lips (He's Got Hot Lips When He Plays Jazz)", "Mississippi Suit ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Greek Chorus
A Greek chorus () in the context of ancient Greek tragedy, comedy, satyr plays, is a homogeneous group of performers, who comment with a collective voice on the action of the scene they appear in, or provide necessary insight into action which has taken place offstage. Historically, the chorus consisted of between 12 and 50 players, who variously danced, sang or spoke their lines in unison, and sometimes wore masks. The players used masks to change their emotions while they were performing. History A common theory for the origin of the Greek chorus stems from the ancient Greek poet Arion's invention of the tragedy, the stationary chorus, and satyrs' verses. In Aristotle's ''Poetics,'' he writes that " ragedy'sbeginnings, certainly, were in improvisation utoschediastikês as were also those for comedy, tragedy originating in impromptus by the leaders of dithyrambic choruses, and comedy in those of the leaders of the phallic performances which still remain customary in many ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Broadway Jones (performer)
Broadway Jones, born Henry A. Jones, (April 11, 1888 – November 14, 1948) was an African American singer, musical theatre actor, drummer, band leader, comedian, and nightclub owner. As a vocalist he was known for his performances of jazz music and spirituals. He had a career as a singer and comedian in vaudeville and in night clubs. A native of Florida, he began his career as a jazz drummer and singer in Jacksonville where he was active as early as 1912. By 1915 he was working as a band leader in New York City. He became a well known musical figure in Harlem during the Harlem Renaissance, and operated a jazz nightclub in Harlem in 1923-1924. He was a well known performer in Palm Beach, Florida where he sang regularly from 1915 into the late 1920s; including annual engagements at the Royal Poinciana Hotel. A baritone with a rich large voice, the song "Ol' Man River" from Oscar Hammerstein II and Jerome Kern's ''Show Boat'' (1927) was originally created with him as the intended vo ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Irving Kaufman (singer)
Irving Kaufman (February 8, 1890 – January 3, 1976) was a prolific American early twentieth century singer, recording artist and vaudeville performer. Life and career Kaufman was born Isidore Kaufman in Syracuse, New York, the son of Russian Jewish immigrants. He was a member of ''The Kaufman Brothers'', along with his brothers Phillip and Jack. From 1913 through 1919 Kaufman was part of The Avon Comedy Four, a popular comedy and music group that was formed in 1902. Two of the group's members went on to fame as Smith and Dale. Kaufman began recording in 1914, and recorded for Victor, Columbia, Vocalion, Gennett, Edison, Harmony, as well as all of the dime labels (Banner, Perfect, etc.). Early in his career, when recording for Edison and Victor, he recorded under his own name, but he also used a number of (non-Jewish-sounding) aliases including 'Tom Frawley'. Sometimes, as in the case of several of his 1927 "Broadway Bell-Hops" vocals, he was merely credited as "Voca ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Jules Bledsoe
Julius Lorenzo Cobb Bledsoe (December 29, 1897 – July 14, 1943)
by John Troesser. Retrieved 2013-07-14.
was an American baritone, a leading figure in the Harlem Renaissance, the first major Black opera singer in the United States, and one of the first Black artists to gain regular employment on Broadway (theatre), Broadway.


Early life and education

Jules Bledsoe was born Julius Lorenzo Cobb Bledsoe in Waco, Texas in 1897 or 1898, the only child of Henry L. and Jessie Cobb Bledsoe.Jules Bledsoe Papers
[...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  




Grammy Hall Of Fame
The Grammy Hall of Fame is a hall of fame to honor musical recordings of lasting qualitative or historical significance. Inductees are selected annually by a special member committee of eminent and knowledgeable professionals from all branches of the recording arts. It is compiled by The Recording Academy in the United States, and was established in 1973. Recordings (singles and albums) in all genres are eligible for selection, and must be over 25 years old to be considered. Additions to the list are chosen annually by a committee of recording arts professionals. Alphabetical listing by title: * List of Grammy Hall of Fame Award recipients (A–D) * List of Grammy Hall of Fame Award recipients (E–I) * List of Grammy Hall of Fame Award recipients (J–P) * List of Grammy Hall of Fame Award recipients (Q–Z) See also *Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award The Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award is a special Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referr ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Bass (voice Type)
A bass is a type of classical male singing voice and has the lowest vocal range of all voice types. According to '' The New Grove Dictionary of Opera'', a bass is typically classified as having a vocal range extending from around the second E below middle C to the E above middle C (i.e., E2–E4). Its tessitura, or comfortable range, is normally defined by the outermost lines of the bass clef. Categories of bass voices vary according to national style and classification system. Italians favour subdividing basses into the ''basso cantante'' (singing bass), ''basso buffo'' (comical bass), or the dramatic ''basso profondo'' (deep bass). The American system identifies the bass-baritone, comic bass, lyric bass, and dramatic bass. The German '' Fach'' system offers further distinctions: Spielbass (Bassbuffo), Schwerer Spielbass (Schwerer Bassbuffo), Charakterbass (Bassbariton), and Seriöser Bass. These classifications tend to describe roles rather than singers: it is rare for ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Bix Beiderbecke
Leon Bismark "Bix" Beiderbecke ( ; March 10, 1903 – August 6, 1931) was an American jazz cornetist, pianist and composer. Beiderbecke was one of the most influential jazz soloists of the 1920s, a cornet player noted for an inventive lyrical approach and purity of tone, with such clarity of sound that one contemporary famously described it like "shooting bullets at a bell”. His solos on seminal recordings such as Singin' the Blues (1920 song)#Trumbauer/Beiderbecke Recording, "Singin' the Blues" and "I'm Coming Virginia, I'm Coming, Virginia" (both 1927) demonstrate a gift for extended Jazz improvisation, improvisation that heralded the jazz ballad style, in which jazz solos are an integral part of the composition. Moreover, his use of extended chords and an ability to improvise freely along harmonic as well as melodic lines are echoed in post-WWII developments in jazz. "In a Mist" (1927) is the best known of Beiderbecke's published piano compositions and the only one that he ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Bing Crosby
Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, comedian, entertainer and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwide. Crosby was a leader in record sales, network radio ratings, and motion picture grosses from 1926 to 1977. He was one of the first global cultural icons. Crosby made over 70 feature films and recorded more than 1,600 songs. Crosby's early career coincided with recording innovations that allowed him to develop an intimate singing style that influenced many male singers who followed, such as Frank Sinatra, Perry Como, Dean Martin, Dick Haymes, Elvis Presley, and John Lennon. Yank, the Army Weekly, ''Yank'' magazine said that Crosby was "the person who had done the most for the morale of overseas servicemen" during World War II. In 1948, American polls declared him the "most admired man alive", ahead of Jackie Robinson and Pope Pius XII. I ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Tenor
A tenor is a type of male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. Composers typically write music for this voice in the range from the second B below middle C to the G above middle C (i.e. B2 to G4) in choral music, and from the second B flat below middle C to the C above middle C (B2 to C5) in operatic music, but the range can extend at either end. Subtypes of tenor include the ''leggero'' tenor, lyric tenor, spinto tenor, dramatic tenor, heldentenor, and tenor buffo or . History The name "tenor" derives from the Latin word '' tenere'', which means "to hold". As noted in the "Tenor" article at ''Grove Music Online'': In polyphony between about 1250 and 1500, the enor was thestructurally fundamental (or 'holding') voice, vocal or instrumental; by the 15th century it came to signify the male voice that sang such parts. All other voices were normally calculated in relation to the ten ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Baritone
A baritone is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the bass (voice type), bass and the tenor voice type, voice-types. It is the most common male voice. The term originates from the Greek language, Greek (), meaning "low sounding". Composers typically write music for this voice in the range from the second F below C (musical note), middle C to the F above middle C (i.e. Scientific pitch notation, F2–F4) in choral music, and from the second G below middle C to the G above middle C (G2 to G4) in operatic music, but the range can extend at either end. Subtypes of baritone include the baryton-Martin baritone (light baritone), lyric baritone, ''Kavalierbariton'', Verdi baritone, dramatic baritone, ''baryton-noble'' baritone, and the bass-baritone. History The first use of the term "baritone" emerged as ''baritonans'', late in the 15th century, usually in French Religious music, sacred Polyphony, polyphonic music. At t ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]