Dreams

  "Lady" written by Lionel Richie, performed by Kenny Rogers   The song I chose for this blog was "Lady" written by Lionel Richie and performed by Kenny Rogers. I have always loved listening to this song when it comes on the radio. I think it is such a beautiful and well-written song. To me, this song is about finally finding your true love and wanting to spend the rest of your life with them. I believe that Kenny Rogers did a really fantastic job singing this song and Lionel Richie also did a great job in writing this song. It does not surprise me that Lionel Richie composed this song as he is also a wonderful artist and his lyrics go well with the melody. While I was researching this song, I read that Kenny Rogers had wanted Lionel Richie to write him a song for an album. While they were talking, Kenny Rogers was telling Lionel Richie about his wife, Marianne whom he had just married, and was saying how she was such a "lady". That was the idea behind the

  "I Shot the Sheriff"-cover by Eric Clapton       For this blog post, I decided to listen to "I Shot the Sheriff" which is a cover by Eric Clapton of an original tune by Bob Marley. Both versions are good, but I prefer Eric Clapton's version better. I have always loved listening to this song; I think that Eric Clapton is a fantastic artist. This song has a reggae tune to it much like the original version. I do like listening to reggae quite often because most of the songs have more of a soothing feel to the music, but the lyrics are usually very catchy. The beat of this song goes well with Eric Clapton's guitar playing. The song is pretty controversial in itself; it has lyrics that say things like shooting a sheriff and how "his reflexes got the better of him" after he shot him. The emotions of this song seem somewhat depressing, but also seem mysterious as to what is going to happen to the person who shot the sheriff. This song has both a riff an

  "Thank God I'm A Country Boy"-John Denver  The song I chose today was "Thank God I'm A Country Boy" by John Denver. I have always loved listening to this song ever since I first heard it.  I was excited when we got to listen to it during class.   John Denver has been one of my favorite artists for quite a while; I love his voice and a lot of his songs. To me, this song is about living a simple, easy-going life on the farm or out in the country. This song has a happy and upbeat tempo; you can tell by the fiddle playing and John Denver shouting in the song towards the end.  The lyrics and the music go well together because the fiddle has a fast, upbeat country tune while John Denver sings about the good ole' country life.  Towards the end of the song, the fiddle breaks away from its role and the musician who plays the fiddle plays a solo. The target audience is the working-class citizens, especially those who work out on the farm or work in rural areas.

  "Summertime"-Janis Joplin The song I chose this week was Summertime by Janis Joplin. Even though the original artist was Billie Holiday, Janis did a great job covering the song and even put her own twist to it.  Both versions of this song have a blues feel to them.  Janis has such a unique voice that whenever you hear her singing, you immediately know that it is her. This style of music is one of my favorites because it came out during the 60s which is when a lot of great artists and music were popular. About halfway through the song, the guitar breaks away from its traditional role and the guitarist does a guitar solo. The guitarist also did a great job matching the sound of the guitar with Janis's voice. This song has a riff (repeated melodic idea), hook (a musical phrase that is particularly catchy or memorable), and groove (a pattern that channels particular rhythms).  It is a shame that Janis Joplin passed away when she was so young, I believe she would have had ev