Friday, October 10, 2008

Blues Guitar - A Brief History


Blues Guitar - A Brief History
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Griff_Hamlin]Griff Hamlin

In the 1920’s and 1930’s, blues guitar players like Blind Lemon Jefferson, Son House, Robert Johnson, and Lonnie Johnson were the influential performers of the day. They used a slide which was often made out of a knife blade or the broken or sawed off neck from a bottle. Most of the music was improvised, and unaccompanied. The form of the songs were loose, and were rarely, if ever, played the same way twice.

As the 1940’s came, the jump blues style characterized by big band music sequestered the guitar to the rhythm section primarily. The primary influence of this era on blues guitar is that it heavily influenced the development of what would later be known as rock and roll, or rhythm and blues.

After World War II in the 1950’s, blues guitar became electrified and amplified. Starting in Chicago, this new electric blues was characterized by the sounds of Howlin’ Wolf, Muddy Waters, and Jimmy Reed. All of these players grew up in Mississippi, but migrated to Chicago. The bands typically had, in addition to the electric guitar, harmonica and a rhythm section of bass and drums. Sometimes there would also be a saxophone, though it would be relegated to a rhythmic support role.

B.B. King and Freddie King were also making names for themselves at this time. They were somewhat unique at the time because they did not make use of the slide to play the guitar. B.B. King has long been considered one of the greatest blues guitar players of all time. Freddie King has often been called the King of the Boogie Woogie guitar.

While Chicago had it’s own sound in the 1950’s, some other artists such as T-Bone Walker and John Lee Hooker were creating what some call the California Blues style. T-Bone Walker was born in Dallas, while Hooker was born in Mississippi. The California Blues Style that they helped to forge was smoother than the Chicago Blues and is somewhat of a melting pot for Chicago Blues, jump blues, and some jazz swing.

Starting in the 1960’s, Caucasian audiences gained more interest in blues guitar thanks in part to the Paul Butterfield Blues Band and what was later to be called the British Blues Movement. Bands such as Fleetwood Mac, Cream, John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers, the Rolling Stone, and the Yardbirds were performing classic blues tunes in addition to their original tunes. Many of these artists inspired American blues-rock artists like Janis Joplin, Jimmy Hendrix, and Johnny Winter.

Meanwhile, in Chicago, Albert King, Buddy Guy, and Luther Allison where creating what is called the West Side style of Chicago Blues. Their bands were dominated by the amplified electric blues guitar and heavily influenced later artists such as Stevie Ray Vaughan, Johnny Lang, and Kenny Wayne Shepherd.

Since the early 1980’s, the blues has enjoyed quite a resurgence in America. The Texas Rock-Blues Style of Stevie Ray Vaughan and The Fabulous Thunderbirds brought the blues to American rock radio stations. Eric Clapton, who originally gained his fame with Cream and John Mayall, continues to make great blues guitar albums and even recently recorded a set of old Robert Johnson classics. Many famous, legendary blues guitar players such as Buddy Guy and B.B. King continue to share the stage with the new generation of blues guitar players like Robert Cray, Joe Bonamassa, and Walter Trout.

Griff Hamlin is a professional guitar player. He has just released Playing Through The Blues, a book on learning to play [http://playingthroughtheblues.com]blues guitar

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Griff_Hamlin http://EzineArticles.com/?Blues-Guitar---A-Brief-History&id=430105

Sunday, October 5, 2008

Sarah Palin, Hockey Mom, Super Hero, Action Figure


Sarah Palin, Hockey Mom, Super Hero, Action Figure
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Mark_Doyle]Mark Doyle

Whether you like her politics or not, Sarah Palin is quite a story. She is the governor of Alaska and the Republican vice presidential nominee in the 2008 presidential election. She was on the Wasilla, Alaska city council from 1992 to 1996 and mayor from 1996 to 2002.

She chaired the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission from 2003 to 2004. She was elected governor of Alaska in November 2006, becoming the first woman and the youngest person to hold the position in Alaska.

All that is very impressive but now she has become something she can be really proud of. That's right Sarah Palin has been immortalized with her own action figure.

Move over Obama and McCain posters and campaign buttons. This may be even bigger than the "I like Ike" campaign button.

Yes the Sarah Palin action figure has arrived. The dolls are the latest in a line of American political candidates who have been immortalized including John McCain and Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.

The Sarah Palin action figure comes in two different styles. The super hero ready to take on Washington, And the business style with a skirt so short it could get her thrown out of any board room.

The doll is made of high quality plastic, it looks just like her, and will no doubt become a collectable. The Sarah Palin action figure may go down in history as the most popular political campaign item of all time. Congratulations to Sarah Palin on her new action figure and place in political memorabilia history.

By Mark Doyle
Go to http://www.killercomedyonline.com to enjoy free comedy clips from top headliners and "Funnier Than Famous" Comics and see the new Sarah Palin Action Figure along with other fun gifts.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Mark_Doyle http://EzineArticles.com/?Sarah-Palin,--Hockey-Mom,-Super-Hero,--Action-Figure&id=1509229

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Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Elvis Aaron Presley - King of Commerce


Elvis Aaron Presley - King of Commerce
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Mark_E_Mason]Mark E Mason

Why do we call Elvis Presley the King of Rock and Roll? After all, Elvis is only the second biggest selling music artist (not the first) of all time in the United States. In this race of musical giants, Elvis finished behind the Beatles. Still, having sold over 118 million units (albums, singles, tapes, and CDs), Elvis is the single biggest selling solo artist in U.S. history. It's not the 18 million records that make Elvis the King. Rather, it's the massive commercial empire that lives on today that

Elvis, whos full name is Elvis Aaron Presley., was born on January 8, 1935. He is the most talked about rock and roll singer ever to hit the charts, and is known by most simply as the King of Rock and Roll. Elvis started out his career singing rhythm and blues, gospel and country and is famous for merging country music with the blues. A musical Jack of all trades, he also sang ballads, pop, folk, as well as opera and jazz.

One thing is certain, Elvis fans love Elvis. People have written volumes about the loyalty of Elvis fans that continues long after his passing. Even university Professors have studied the Elvis fan phenomenon. Patsy Hammontree at the University of Tennessee conducted a study of Elvis' amazing fan following and concluded that it's not just rural aging moms in Tennessee that love Elvis. It doctors, lawyers, truck drivers, engineers, presidents and Kings as well.

Most Elvis fans remember the swagger and the swaying hips, and few realize that Elvis had a very rough childhood. It is said that Elvis' father was not involved in his upbringing, and that his mother struggled to make the ends meet. Eventually, Elvis' father was convicted of forgery and sent to the State Penitentiary in Mississippi. In 1945 Elvis' mom bought him his first guitar valued at less than $15. the rest, as they say, is history.

Now, years after his death, the empire that is Elvis Presley lives on in the form of Elvis parties, Elvis websites, Elvis impersonators and scores of Elvis Presley Collectibles that include such bizarre items as Elvis Presley flashing lapel pins and Elvis Aaron Presley Collectible Neckties. Entire categories dedicated to Elvis Presley autographed items on eBay list hundreds of items for sale in memory of the King. Elvis sightings are common, and there are many people who make a living proving that the King is not dead. A quick search of the word Elvis in Google returns 79 million hits - almost as many records as he sold. The resulting ecommerce is staggering.

No, the measure of this King is not the enormous and wonderful artistic legacy that he left behind. Rather, Elvis is properly crowned the King of Rock and Roll as measured by the economic engine that he still powers today.

It's great to be King! If you are excited about learning more about the history of Elvis Presley, visit us at http://www.historyofelvis.com There you will find more information about the King of Rock and Roll, the life of Elvis Presley, Elvis Collectibles, an Elvis User Community Forum and more. Visit today.

Mark Mason is an internet entrepreneur involved in several on-line ventures, including his [http://www.masonworld.com]internet based marketing blog MasonWorld.com.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Mark_E_Mason http://EzineArticles.com/?Elvis-Aaron-Presley---King-of-Commerce&id=1000467
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Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Angelina Jolie Eats Crickets!


Angelina Jolie Eats Crickets!By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=John_H_Howard]John H Howard
Angelina Jolie is a well known Hollywood actress for her sexy, slim and trim body which she maintains. She first started her strict diet to get herself ready for the popular film named Tomb Raider. Angelina also considers the role very close to her own life and it was the most difficult challenge ever faced in her life. She dedicated herself to regular workouts and strict diets to maintain the figure which was necessary for the role. Apart from this, she also swapped her habits of smoking, cigarettes and drinking with vegetables, soy milk and meat. Earlier she even skipped breakfast and instead drank a cup of coffee and smoked a cigarette.
Something unusual about this celebrity is that she depends on insect diet at times. This is considered to be her passion and for this her husband, Brad Pitt also supports. Once they even served a plate of green crickets for their son. She loved fried cockroaches, crickets and several other insects which are considered to be rich in protein. After all she is in search of new recipes to start cooking these delicacies right at home.
A diet is complete with regular work outs and she is insisted on this with pure hard work to burn out those extra calories. The training schedule included street fighting, kick boxing, canoing and yoga. The special diet which Angelina depended was on steamed beef or sea bass, vegetables and soy milk. Absolutely no sugar at all was used to maintain the body in its real attire.
The final result of her work out showed up on her body with those sexy curves and she was pretty happy about this. She has a slim a trim figure which still makes her look sexy. The body achieved with constant workouts made her work pretty easy for the film Tomb Raider where she had to do the most difficult task of sword fighting, dog sledding, spear throwing and bungee jumping. She was quite new to all these but did great works and practice to attain the reality and experience in the same. Ultimately it reflected in the movie very well. She also strictly neglected the use for another stunt woman as she was pretty confident about her work outs and practice.
Angelina Jolie was successful in her career with her great looks and profile which attracted audience towards her. The hard work she persisted was what paid back to her with a sexy body with visible curves!
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Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=John_H_Howard [http://ezinearticles.com/?Angelina-Jolie-Eats-Crickets!&id=1006273 ]http://EzineArticles.com/?Angelina-Jolie-Eats-Crickets!&id=1006273