Name________________________________________
71. Stevie Wonder (1950 – present)
Stevie Wonder was Motown’s golden child. In his more than 30 years at Motown, Wonder has been a musical icon: first, as a child prodigy; second, as a young man with a soulful, maturing and multifaceted talent; and finally, as an adult driven by the challenge of realizing his ever-deepening inner visions. Over the course of his career, Wonder has been a true musical pioneer whose work has embraced influences as diverse as reggae and jazz. He created music that sounded startlingly fresh in the Seventies by bending synthesizer technology to his own funky, visionary ends. A true child of the Sixties, the idealistic Wonder’s music has remained inseparable from his spirituality and humanitarian outlook. Over the years he has been a committed advocate of causes ranging from the anti-apartheid movement to advocacy on behalf of blind and mentally challenged children.
Listen to: Sir Duke https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ArgHvssVfF8 (5:08)
As you listen to the music, answer the following questions. Short answers are fine.
· What are the instruments used to make the music? Name as many as you can.
· How does this music make me feel?
· Is there a singer? If yes, are they male or female?
· In what genre does this music best fit?
72. Michael Jackson (1958 - 2009)
Michael Jackson was a singer, songwriter, dancer and celebrity icon with a huge catalog of hit records and countless awards to his credit. Beyond that, he transfixed the world like few entertainers before or since. As a solo performer, he enjoyed a level of superstardom previously known only to Elvis Presley, the Beatles and Frank Sinatra. Jackson became an instant star at age 11 as the cherubic front man in Motown’s phenomenally successful sibling group, the Jackson 5. But that band of brothers, who kicked off their Motown tenure with the unprecedented feat of four consecutive Number One singles in 1970, was just a prelude to the heights that Michael Jackson would scale as a solo artist in the Eighties with the success of Off the Wall, Thriller and Bad. Those three albums – all produced by Quincy Jones - and their accompanying videos, launched Jackson into a high celebrity orbit. It was a trajectory he would maintain well into the Nineties with such multiplatinum releases as Dangerous and HIStory: Past, Present and Future – Book 1. He remains an object of adoration, fascination and speculation even after his death in 2009. Indeed, Jackson surpassed all previous notions of fame to attain a level of iconic attention that was not only awe-inspiring but also daunting and, on some levels, damaging. He has been proclaimed “the biggest-selling artist of all time,” “the single most awarded entertainer the world has ever known,” “the most popular artist in the history of show business,” and “the world’s most famous man.” He was also, by his own reckoning, the “King of Pop.”
Listen to: Compilation https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nkt55Oy-UtE (10:00)
As you listen to the music, answer the following questions. Short answers are fine.
· What are the instruments used to make the music? Name as many as you can.
· How does this music make me feel?
· Is there a singer? If yes, are they male or female?
· In what genre does this music best fit?
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