Stories in Melody

  For this week's blog I listened to "Hey, Good Lookin'" by Hank Williams. From the very beginning of the song, it has that very distinct "twangy" country feeling. I immediately get the image in my head of a old west small town seen in cowboy movies. Hank Williams' singing has a very bright sound that is in complete contrast to the crooning style that has been popular. The instruments also have that bright country sound. The words in the song reflect the country dialect like when he says "how's about". This song has a very steady beat that remains the same the entire time and also follows the commonly seen AABA pattern. There is a fun instrumental break with a steel guitar and violin that adds to the overall feel of the song.      Hank Williams is often considered one of the most influential country singer-songwriters in history. His song "Hey Good Lookin'" reached #29 in the pop charts and was #1 on the country charts for eig...

           This week I listened to "Taking A Chance on Love" by Benny Goodman featuring Helen Forrest. The songs starts out with a loud, jazzy brass band. Then, the music falls into a slower, more relaxed groove where there is a sort of call and response between the clarinet and trumpet. When Helen Forrest comes in on the vocals, she has a crooning, swung style of singing that adds to the smooth jazz feeling of the song. I quite enjoy listening to her sing accompanied by the band. I think they go together nicely and make the song fun to listen to. There isn't much singing, but the few lyrics in the song are very positive, which was common for the songs during this time period. In the song, it says things like "I'm taking the game up and the ace of hearts is high" and "We'll have our happy ending now taking a chance on love". The song gives a bright outlook on the prospect of love rather than focusing on the possibility of heartbreak. After the...

 This week I listened to "Cheek to Cheek" written by Irving Berlin and performed by Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald. This song has a very relaxed, swung tempo. The band in the background provides that iconic jazz sound and feeling that I found to be quite enjoyable. The lyrics also reinforce the pleasant feeling of the song saying, "I'm in heaven" and "I seem to find the happiness I seek". Louis Armstrong sings with his well known, gravel-y voice. He has such a unique style of voice that is easily recognizable. His tone provides an interesting contrast to Ella Fitzgerald's more clear and flowing tone. Although these two have very different voices, I thought they sung well together. While Ella Fitzgerald is singing alone you can hear Louis Armstrong playing his trumpet in the background, which is no surprise, since he is very famous for his trumpet playing.     This song was originally written in 1935 for the movie Top Hat. In the movie, it is s...

            This week, I listened to "Deed I Do" composed by Fred Rose and performed by Ruth Etting. The song starts out with a nice instrumental with a trumpet playing over the top. Ruth Etting comes in with soft, flowing vocals that, to me, embody the popular sound of singers in the 1920s. It is a very relaxed style of singing that greatly contrasts to that of Ethel Merman who sings with a lot more volume and power. One thing that surprised me when I looked up this song, it that it has been recorded by over 100 various artists since it's initial release in 1927 and has been remade as recently as 2016.   The song has a pleasant sound and feeling that I enjoy. It is the sort of song that I would want to be playing on the record player in my living room during the 1920s. "Deed Do I" repeats the same melody over a few times with varying words. Each of these verses are all very positive as the words talk about the woman's love interest who make...

 Hi, my name is Sharissa. Some of my favorite artists include Tori Kelly, Ben Platt, Dan + Shay, Callum Scott, Kolohe Kai, and Why Don't We.