music | ReadOasis

Michael Jackson: King of Pop

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ReadOasis Step 3 In March 1983, Motown Records celebrated its 25th anniversary with a major television event. Many Motown artists gave impressive performances, but Michael Jackson upstaged them all when he sang Billie Jean and revealed his signature dance move, the moonwalk. His performance caused many to perceive him... Read more

Experienced in the Blues: Eric Clapton

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ReadOasis Step 2 In June 1999, Eric Clapton sold 100 of his guitars. And his 1956 Fender guitar went for the record price of $497,500. In total, the sale brought in $5 million dollars. And Clapton gave the money to a drug and alcohol clinic that he started. After... Read more

Johnny Cash: The Man in Black (Step 3)

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ReadOasis Step 3 Johnny Cash was a man of great presence, as if born from an ancient legend that reveals the contradictions of human life. Cash died in 2003, but he gave us a vast collection of over 50 years of music. He also created his own genre, between... Read more

The Biggest Band (Step 2)

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By Maria Sonora ReadOasis Step 2 Imagine By Diego Torres Silvestre (Creative Commons) It was a hot August night in New York City, 1965. Two thousand policemen were in charge of security. They watched carefully as 55,000 fans filled Shea Stadium. But this was not for a baseball... Read more

The Most Famous Not a Protest Song (Step 5)

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ReadOasis Step 5 Protest songs speak out against problems in society. We can hear protest songs at pivotal moments of activism in western history, during the civil rights, anti-war, feminist, labor, and environmental movements. Protest singers have also sung about slave emancipation and women's suffrage. Of the many protest... Read more

Sex, Drugs, Death, and Rock and Roll

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ReadOasis Step 2 Wikipedia lists over 100 famous musicians who have died drug related deaths. Maybe fame and fortune forced them to excess. Perhaps the music industry sold them a senseless and crazy image. "Be like me! I'm rich, reckless, and pleasure-seeking. And now I will crash my Ferrari... Read more

The Best Guitarist: Jimi Hendrix

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ReadOasis Step 2 It was the summer of 1967. About 200,000 people came to the small town of Monterey, California. It was time for the Monterey Pop Festival. Over 30 artists were playing 3 days of music. But today, people remember the last night of the show. It was... Read more

Miles Davis, Jazz Legend

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ReadOasis Step 2 Miles Davis (May 26, 1926 – September 28, 1991) was one of the most important musicians of the twentieth century. He helped to develop many styles of modern jazz music. These styles include cool jazz and jazz fusion. Cool jazz has a calm, relaxed, and smooth... Read more

A Musical Money-Making Machine

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ReadOasis Step 3 Carrie Underwood by Eva Rinaldi (Creative Commons) Carrie was a country girl from Checotah, Oklahoma. She lived on a farm, and in the mornings, she would help her father feed the cows. Carrie loved to sing. She started singing at church when she was 3 years... Read more

Music as Medicine

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ReadOasis Step 3 (Part 1) You are watching TV. On the screen, you see the two strong hands of a man. In his left hand, he holds a book of matches. In his right hand, he holds a single match. With his right hand, he strikes the match on... Read more

Music: Good for Your Ears

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ReadOasis Step 2 (Part 1) Clive Wearing sits at the piano. He stretches out his hands and fingers. He takes a deep breath. Then he begins to play. His fingers strike the keys, and the piano hammers hit the strings. The strings vibrate in beautiful harmony and precise rhythm.... Read more

The Most Famous Not a Protest Song (Step 3)

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ReadOasis Step 3 The little boy didn't want to eat chicken. He did not like the flavor and smell, so he protested. He said, "I hate chicken! It tastes bad! I will never eat it -- ever! His mother looked at him and smiled. And she said, "Jimmy, that's... Read more

Isaac Watts: Father of Hymns (Step 2)

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ReadOasis Step 2 A hymn is a song of praise to God. People sing hymns at church services and on special holidays like Christmas. Many famous musicians, such as Beyonce Knowles, Aretha Franklin, Johnny Cash, and Carrie Underwood, learned singing and performing at church. That is, they grew up... Read more

Woodstock: A Symbol of the 1960s (Step 3)

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ReadOasis Step 3 The middle of August marks an extraordinary moment in popular music history. In 1969, about 2,500 residents lived in Bethel, New York. But that summer, there were big ambitions for that small town. Concert promoters were organizing a music festival to take place on a local... Read more

The Biggest Band (Step 3)

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ReadOasis Step 3 It was a hot August night in New York City, 1965. Two thousand policemen in charge of security watched anxiously as 55,000 fans filled Shea Stadium. But this was not for a baseball game; it was for the first ever stadium concert in the history of... Read more

The Guitar Hero

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ReadOasis Step 2 Humans have played instruments like guitars for 5,000 years. The English word "guitar" originally may come from the Indian word, "sitar." Today guitars play a main part in jazz, blues, country, rock, and pop music. They are also used for solo classical music. In popular culture,... Read more

The First Lady of Song

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ReadOasis Step 3 After her mother died, Ella had a lot of trouble. Her grades dropped at school. She couldn't find a good place to live. She became an orphan, a child whose parents are dead and gone. Eventually, she was sent to the New York Training School for... Read more

W.C. Handy: Father of the Blues (Step 2)

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By Maria Sonora ReadOasis Step 2 (Part 1) W.C. Handy at age 19 "Then I saw the beauty of primitive music." W.C. Handy, Father of the Blues W.C. Handy grew up in the southern part of the United States, in a small town in Alabama. His father was a... Read more

The Biggest Band (Step 4)

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ReadOasis Step 4 It was a hot August night in New York City, 1965. Two thousand policemen supervising security watched anxiously as 55,000 fans filled Shea Stadium. But this was not for a baseball game; it was for the first ever stadium concert in the history of rock and... Read more

The Queen of Glamour Rock

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ReadOasis Step 4 "I thought up the name Queen. It's just a name, but it's very royal, and it sounds splendid. It's a strong name, very universal and immediate. It had a lot of visual potential and was open to all sorts of interpretations." Freddie Mercury Queen formed in... Read more