Tuesday, September 4, 2012

This Week Forgotten Hits Goes Back To School


Remember when kids went back to school AFTER Labor Day?!?!? That was always kind of the benchmark for when summer was over and the new school year was ready to begin ... but for YEARS now, school's been starting earlier (and extending longer) than when we were kids.  

But since we're all about the oldies, we're still doing it the old fashioned way ... and saluting THIS week as "Back To School" Week in Forgotten Hits.   

And it's all being done with a little help from long-time Forgotten Hits Reader (and professional school teacher) Shelley Sweet-Tufano, who has the awesome pleasure of teaching her fifth grade students about the music of the '60's ... now how ultra-cool is THAT gig?!?! And she gets PAID for it, too!!!   

Shelley sent us the final essays of eleven of her students to run in Forgotten Hits. We told her we would ... and then poll our readers to pick the one that best captures the spirit of the era. (We want to see which kids got the most out of their lessons ... so we're looking for comprehension here ... as well as expressive writing ... how well do they convey what they've learned to other people interested in learning about the music of the '60's? ... you get the idea ... but we need YOUR help in determining a winner.)   

Everything's going out exactly as it was written (with no spelling or grammatical corrections) ... and they're also going out "blind" without any students' names ... in fact, WE don't even know who wrote what ... we want you to judge solely on the merit and criteria stated above.   

We'll be running these all week long ... so give them a look-over and then be prepared to vote for YOUR favorites. (Maybe we'll even award the winner a special prize ... like a '60's CD compilation or something!)

Here comes Essay #1:   

THE BEATLES
 
What was your favorite Band of the 60's? Were they a wild band, like The Animals? Or was it a band that has been preforming for a long time, like the Rolling Stones? My favorite band of the 60's was The Beatles!!!  

The Beatles are EPIC. Their songs want to make me get up and start dancing. 

The Beatles are made up of George Harrison, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, and Ringo Starr. The Beatles made a lot of hit songs. Afterward, sadly, they broke up in 1970, so each of them could continue in separate musical careers. Sadly, Paul and Ringo are the only Beatles members that are still alive. John was shot outside his apartment in New York City in 1980. George died of cancer in 2001.

In 1967, the Beatles sent out a broadcast to express love. Their song "All You Need Is Love" was broadcasted to an audience of 400 million - 700 million people. Their preformance were colorized using color photographs taken at the preformance. Their preformance had parts of the French national anthem and some of their other songs. Their preformance was deffinetly a worldwide hit.
Like I said, the Beatles are AWESOME! From writing some of the top hit songs to preforming a worldwide broadcast, the Beatles deffinetly have what it takes to be anyones top choice for the 60's.  

Essay #2: 

1960's
 
What was your favorite band from the British Invasion? Was it the down to earth hard rocker Janis Joplin? Was it the wild crazy Animals? Or was it the shy looking Peter Noone? My favorite band was the Beatles.  

The Beatles were Paul McCartney. Ringo Starr, John Lennon, and George Harrison. This band always sang in Harmony. The beatles were built in Liverpool, in the 1960's. Everyone loved their rock songs. The beatles were very successful in the UK and the US. The Beatles performed on the Ed Sullivan Show. Performing "Help", "She Loves You" and many others. The Beatles made a lot music in their carrer.  

Their music was made for everyone but teens mostly adored this music. The Ed Sullivan show was very popular. So when the Beatles were on the Ed Sullivan Show a lot of people watched so they became more popular. Always Remember the Beatles.  

The Rolling Stones are an English Rock Band formed in London in 1962. The Rolling Stones quickly became successful in North America in the 1960's. They released 22 Studio alblums in the UK, 24 in the US, elevin live in the US and more complications. You might think the Rolling Stones only played Rock. No they played Rock, blues, blues rock, r & b, and rock & roll. It was unique but everyone loved them.   

A big accomplishment for the Rolling Stones was that when they made their alblum "Sticky Fingers" in 1971 began a streak of 8 straight in a row Studio albums reaching #1 in the US. 1 song by the Rolling Stones is "Tell me (you're coming Back). The Rolling Stones had a rock & roll side and also a sweet side.
I love the Rolling Stones.   

Next time you hear the Beatles or the rolling Stones, remember they were big bands and superstars.   

Essay #3   

THE 60'S MUSIC
 
What do you like about the 1960's? Is it about the art and architecture like skyscrapers and paintings? Can it be about fads and fashion such as skateboards and the crew cuts hairstyle for men? How about books and literature for example the The Silent Spring or authors like Maurice Sendak? What I like is the music, specifically the British Invasion.    

What was the British Invasion? Well the British Invasion was mainly British rock n roll that grew rapidly. The British Invasion played a major role in rock n roll. Many British bands from U.K. came to U.S. to perform. It was a mix of rock and roll and blues. It became really famous in the U.S. Their smash hit was "She loves you" sung by the Beatles. The Beatles were also known to be the 1st British group to have long lasting success when they appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show. The other bands followed them once they were on the show. Some of the other bands were The Searchers, Freddie and the Dreamers, The Animals and The Rolling Stones. The British Invasion really did affect the music in the 1960's.  

The British Invasion was full of bands, I mean full! Some were The Animals, The Beatles, Freddie and the Dreamers, The Rolling Stones, The Searchers and many, many more [just can't name them all]. The Beatles were epic and very famous for their music. It would make girls cry. Their best songs were "Love Me Do", Hey Jude" and "Let it be". Those were SOME of the Beatles's top songs. the Animals was also a good band. The Animal's music was known for their gritty, bluesy sound and deep voice. Their signature song was 'House of the Rising Sun" followed by hits such as "We gotta get out of this place", "It's my life" and "Don't be Misunderstood". Now, Freddie and the Dreamers. They had a number of hits from 1963 to 1965. Freddie would sometimes dance around the stage with his arms and legs flying all over the place. Some of their hits were "If you gotta make a Fool of Somebody", "I'm Telling you Now", "You were made for me" and "Over you". There is also The Rolling Stones. They were a really good band. They were ranked #10 on "The Billboard Top All-Time Artists" and 2nd place on the Billboard Hot 100. Their top hits were "Angie", "Sympathy for the Devil" and also "Gimme Shelter". Last but not least we have the band The Searchers. The Searchers top hits were "Sweets for my Sweet", "Needles and Pins" and "Sugar and Spice". Those are some of the band part of the British Invasion!   

See, the British Invasion really was a big part of the 1960s! If affected our music these days. I also learned a lot of the 1960s too. Who knew the bands and what the British Invasion was, until you read this! I found this really interesting. How about you?  

Essay # 4  

THE 1960'S
What band or singer do you like of the 1960's? Could it be the Rolling Stones, a British boy band from London who was a successful band? Or could it be Herman's Hermits, a huge hit band that were young which made the crowd go wild whenever they appeared on stage? Do you adore Janis Joplin, a solo singer that expressed her gruesome childhood in her songs which made the listeners tear? My favorite was not a singer, but a very famous boy band known as the Beatles.    

The members of the Beatles were all unique. Let's start off with Paul McCartney, also known as the person that played the bass with his left hand. Paul McCartney started producing songs at age sixteen, but a majority of them did not get to be a big hit. One of his famous songs was Yesterday. This fabulous song was a very well written hit. The Beatles did sing this song together, and let me point out that they sounded amazing! There has been an abundance of rumors that Paul has died, well don't listen to all of the nonsense! He is still alive and well, in fact he is 69 years old. Let me introduce you to John Lennon who played the rhythm guitar. John was born on October 9, 1940, but sadly died on December 8, 1980. He was shot by a cruel man named Mark David. No one knew why he did such a thing, but my theory was that he either didn't like the idea of the Beatles breaking up or he was just jealous of John's fame.    

Anyways, John Lennon was the person who created the Beatles at his hometown in Liverpool, England with Paul and George. Once Ringo joined the band they were on their way to the road fandom. Speaking of Ringo, let's learn more about him! Ringo Starr is one of the few members of the Bearles who are still alive. If you are wondering Ringo's age is 71. Ringo was the replacement of the original drummer Pete Best. Since Ringo joined the band in the year of 1962 the band went famous. Teenagers all over the world exploded in screams whenever the Beatles sang. After the Beatle's breakup on April 1970, all of the Ringo fans could still listen to him because he became a solo singer. George Harrison is known to me as the diverse instrument Harrison. The reason I think of him this way is because his is the only one who knows how to play crazy instruments from different countries such as the sitar. The original instrument George plays is the lead guitar and he was excellent playing it George Harrison died of throat cancer which later on leaded to lung cancer which took his life on the year of 2001. Do you know why he got different types of cancer? Well, smoking! Back then scientist never knew that smoking cigarettes or chewing tobacco could kill you. On the bright side though, we can at least think that he is living happily after up in heaven with all of the other famous singers and band members.    

Wow! All of the members of the Beatles great!  

The Beatles were such a great hit that they even appeared o the Ed Sullivan Show. The Ed Sullivan Show was something that singers and bands dreamt about being on. Being on this show is like being nominated for the Grammies. The Beatles first appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show on Februaru 9, 1964 to kick off their first time ever U.S. performance and on American TV. About 73 million people watch them perform which was the all time record. Later on that month on February 16, 1964 the Beatles were again invited to be on the Ed Sullivan Show and so they did. This time about 70 million viewers watched them. Last time they were in New York, but this time they performed from Miami Beach, Florida. The songs that they performed were She Loves You, All My Loving, This Boy, I Saw Her Standing There, and I Want to Hold Your Hand. The crowd went crazy that night, so many girls crying and screaming on top of their lungs when the Beatles performed. Beatle Mania was very high that night! For the third time of that month, the Beatles were then again invited to join Ed Sullivan on his show. Ed Sullivan just couldn't get enough of the talented boys. On February 23, 1964 they performed for their third time which broke the all time record of any band or solo singer to perform on the Ed Sullivan Show. The Beatles celebrated by singing Twist and Shout, Please Please Me, and my all time favorite I Want to Hold Your Hand. The Beatles performed on the Ed Sullivan Show a lot, but every second was great!  

The Beatles were a very successful band! Learning about how their unique and being on the Ed Sullivan Show really taught me that even a small thing can become huge history changing things. I can't wait to learn more about the Beatles!    

Essay # 5   

Sadly, Essay Number Five had to be eliminated. At first, Shelley removed the final paragraph as she explains below ... but then she found various other segments copied word-for-word throughout the piece. (Wouldn't it have been funny if the student plagiarized Forgotten Hits for his school paper?!?! lol)
Respecting her wishes, we are NOT going to run Essay #5 ... but we WILL have another batch for you to review tomorrow ... so we'll see you then! (kk)   

I am removing the concluding paragraph on this essay. You can find it word for word on the website. I need to make note of the fact that in 5th grade, we do not focus on conclusions. That is curriculum for 6th grade. We had a one-day lesson for the entire year on conclusions, and only so they could end the writings on their science projects. I am not happy about the plagiarism. We DO cover that. This student is a good writer and needn't have resorted to it, no matter how insecure they were about their ability on conclusions. 'Nuff said.
Shelley  


Sharpen up your red pencils ... we've got lots more to come! (kk)