Research Assignment

For this assignment, you will be selecting an artist from blues, country, or gospel to create a webpage presentation that will be added to the class' website. You will present your research to the class, sharing what you learned and playing a song or video of the artist. For the project you must include the following:

• Full name of the artist
• Date of Birth and death
• Style of music most associated with the artist
• Write a few paragraphs about the artist's life and their contribution to American music. Here are some questions to consider:
  • What was their childhood like?
  • What part of the country did they grow up and what was life like there?
  • How did they get their start in music?
  • How were they discovered?
  • Were they popular in their lifetime or only posthumously?
  • What were their most popular songs or pieces?
  • How did people react to their music?
  • Why is their music important for the history of American music?
  • What was their later life like? Did they stay popular? Did they die tragically?
• A photo of the artist or artists rendering
• A sample song (one you think is the best representation of what they are known for).
• You will need to cite your sources. To learn how click here.

Artists:

• Below are the artists to be chosen from. If you click on the photo you will be taken to an audio sample of a performance.