Selena’s Life:

Selena was born on April 16th, 1971 in Lake Jackson. As a child Selena loved performing and by the age of ten she was the lead singer in her families band.  Selena was bilingual. She grew up speaking English, although her father taught her to sing in Spanish. Her father thought it was important to to sing in Spanish in order to connect to the Latino community. Once she started singing in Spanish, she eventually learnt to speak the language fluently. Selena made her recording debut in the 80’s and this was only the beginning for the award winning artist. Selena was very influential and successful and unfortunately her life was taken from her too soon in 1995 when she was murdered by Saldivar. Saldivar was an employee of Selena’s who was about to be fired for embezzling money.

Accomplishments:

• 1987- Selena attended the Tejano Music Awards and was awarded the Best Female Vocalist of the Year and Performer of the Year.
• 1990- Her album was the first Tejano record to achieve gold record status (sold more than 500,000 copies).
• 1993- She won a grammy award for her album.
• 1994- Amor Prohibido was released and went gold.

“At the time of her death, Selena was already a cultural icon and widely beloved role model. Adolescent years spent nursing her musical talent resulted in hit songs, hundreds of thousands of album sales, crossover success, and a Grammy win, all before she turned 23. And 20 years after her death and the film’s subsuquent  release, the singer’s legacy has only grown stronger, bolstered by numerous pop-cultural markers that have popped ip within the last few years.”

After Selena:

The Latino community was devastated after hearing about Selena’s death as was the rest of the world. Although, some may think this would be the end of Selena, the world continues to recognize her to this day.

Her first English album “Dreaming of You” was released and became a huge hit.

In 1997 a film was produced recreating Selena’s life. Jennifer Lopez played the huge role of Selena.

She has a star on the Hollywood walk of fame.

The mayor stated November 3rd to be “Selena Day” in L.A.

Those Influenced:

Selena influenced many artists and individuals. She managed to involve both English and Spanish in her music career and because of this she never lost her roots. Through her music she inspired others and brought people together. The amount of success she achieved in her twenty three years of living is remarkable and she managed to stay humble and kind through it all. Selena should definately be included in the textbook. She is an icon. She was very influential to both female and male artists and individuals and should be showcased. She made an impact on the world and different cultures within.

• In 2017, Kim Kardashian dressed up as Selena for Halloween, as she represented music legends.
• Singer Bruno Mars also paid tribute to Selena while performing in Mexico singing “Dreaming of You”.
• “I am named after her. She was a big deal to my family and growing up from the get-go, I knew who she was and who I was named after. It’s such an honour to be named after someone so amazing.”- Selena Gomez
• “Growing up I loved Selena’s music. I was really young when she passed, so I didn’t know much about her until I got a little older, and when I saw the movie there was some sort of connection… There is something about the movie that was really inspiring to me.”- Demi Lovato
• ” I think she is a legend. I admire her. She was so talented.”- Beyonce

“I Could Fall in Love” by Selena Quintanilla

I chose this song because I thought it was simple but yet truly showed the beauty in her voice. This song was one of her first songs that transitioned her from Spanish to English which is a huge accomplishment. This song goes through the feelings of heartbreak and the emotion of fear and being rejected. This song is filled with emotion and the instrumentation and Selena’s voice really compliment each other. This song won an award for the Tejano Crossover song of the year!

Works Cited:

Blay, Zeba. “17 Artists Inspired By The Divine Glory Of Queen Selena Quintanilla.” Retrieved August 2nd, 2018. 

Desta, Yohana. “Forever Selena: How a Fallen Icon’s Legacy Has Kept Alive.” Retrieved August 2nd, 2018.

Finn, Natalie. “Selena Quintanilla’s Enduring Legacy.” Retrieved August 2nd, 2018.

“Selena Biography.” Retrieved August 2nd, 2018. 

The Payola Scandal of 1959

“Payola is the payment of cash or gifts in exchange for airplay.” “Payola” is a contraction of the words “pay” and”Victrola” (LP record player), and entered the English language via the record business. The first court case involving payola was in 1960” (Payola, 2018). Records began to replace live performance as the main way

to hear—and sell—music. And labels recognized that popular disc jockeys could influence sales.Fingers pointed and words flew over payola, but it wasn’t until the TV quiz show scandals of 1958 (most famously, the show Twenty-One was found to be fixed) that the government got seriously involved. Once the “Do you now or have you ever …?” questions began, the jig was up.With the threat of losing their licenses, some radio stations took the precaution of firing disc jockeys who might put them at risk. In November 1959, in closed and open sessions before the U.S. House Oversight Committee, 335 disc jockeys from around the country admitted to having received over $263,000 in “consulting fees.” Freed went down in 1960, and Congress amended the Federal Communications Act to outlaw “under-the-table payments and require broadcasters to disclose if airplay for a song has been purchased.” Payola became a misdemeanor, with a penalty of up to $10,000 in fines and one year in prison (Hutchinson, 2015).

Most Well-Known Disc Jockeys

First you might ask what is a Disc Jockey? The Disc Jockeys were individuals who controlled the airwaves by picking the musical rotation and they had immense amounts of power because of it. “Every time a label had a record that really needed to be pushed, it entered into a devil’s bargain with the disc jockeys”(Kelly, 2016). The two Disc Jockey’s below were both publicly connected to the Payola Scandal in 1959.

Dick Clark

During the 1950s, Dick Clark also began investing in the music publishing and recording business. His business interests grew to include record companies, song publishing houses, and artist

management groups. When the record industry’s “payola” scandal (involving payment in return for airplay) broke in 1959, Clark told a congressional committee he was unaware performers in whom he had interests had received disproportionate play on his programs. He sold his shares back to the corporation, upon ABC’s suggestion that his participation might be considered a conflict of interest (Dick Clark Biography, 2017).

Alan Freed

Freed was accused of having taken such payments, a charge that he denied. Throughout the ensuing witch hunt, Freed steadfastly

maintained that he never played a record he didn’t like. Nonetheless, he was blackballed within the business (“Alan Freed”, 2018).

Payola Today

Unfortunately, as long as there has been a music industry, there have been attempts — both overt and clandestine — to manufacture hits. You can look as far back as the early 20th century, when musicians known as “song pluggers” were paid to promote sheet music. Today, large media companies own most major-market radio stations. Payola investigations in the mid-2000s led to multimillion-dollar settlements by several major label conglomerates, as well as four of the nation’s largest radio station owners (McCabe, 2017). One of the most popular ways to listen to music now is not only radio, but listening to media streamed online.

These streaming applications include popular playlists and the top hits which demonstrate another form of payola. One example of this would be the application called Spotify. To better monetize their free tier, Spotify is testing their new ‘Sponsored Songs’ feature.  The move will allow brands to put their ads in popular playlists, which sounds fine.  But it’ll also allow labels to promote individual songs, a move that introduces some tricky payola issues (Sanchez, 2017). I believe payola to be bad thing. Payola technically decides which artists and what music will succeed or fail. The listeners may not hear the great music that comes from those who cannot afford to promote their music like others can. The overall idea of payola hurts the music businesses morals and honesty.

Works Cited:

“Alan Freed.” Retrieved July 15^th, 2018. https://www.rockhall.com/inductees/alan-freed

“Dick Clark Biography.” A&E Television Networks. April 21th, 2017. Retrieved July 15^th, 2018. https://www.biography.com/people/dick-clark-9249296

Hutchinson, Lydia. “Alan Freed and the Radio Payola Scandal.” Performing Songwriter. August 20, 2015. Retrieved July 15^th, 2018. http://performingsongwriter.com/alan-freed-payola-scandal/

Kelly, Kim. “A Brief History of American Payola.” Noisey. February 14^th, 2016. Retrieved July 15^th, 2018. https://noisey.vice.com/en_us/article/64y8y9/a-brief-history-of-american-payola

McCabe, Allyson. “In an Ever- Changing Music Industry, Cash for Hits Remains a Constant.” January 17, 2017. Retrieved July 15^th, 2018. https://www.npr.org/2017/01/17/509851163/in-an-ever-changing-music-industry-cash-for-hits-remains-a-constant

“Payola.” Retrieved July 15, 2018. https://www.history-of-rock.com/payola.htm

Sanchez, Daniel. “Spotify Introduces a Brand-New Feature: Payola.” Digital Music News. June 20^th, 2017. Retrieved July 15^th, 2018. https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2017/06/20/spotify-sponsored-songs-payola/

Biography:

Although little is known about her early years, scholars believe that Smith was born Mamie Robinson in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1883. By the age of 10 she was working as a vaudeville entertainer and touring with the Four Dancing Mitchells. She continued to tour with various acts throughout her teens. By 1913 at the age of 20 she was living and working in Harlem and soon after married William “Smithy” Smith. She remarried twice after her career took off (Garner, 2018).

Obstacles of Race:

A newspaper article by a black writer from 1921 talks about the exploitation of black musicians by phonograph companies. The companies used these musicians of color to sell blues music to black record buyers, but still excluded other musicians of color who performed different kinds of music. This picking and choosing of what music to produce and sell contributes to the problem of erasure in black music. There are certain kinds of music that are recorded and preserved, but others aren’t, even if they are equally important (Kenny, 2017).

ALTHOUGH,

Mamie Smith’s record was purchased by black and white consumers and was recognized as a lucrative marketing segment by studios and record company executives (Garner, 2017).

Mamie Smith’s Significance:

Mamie Smith was the first to record blues songs in 1920 with her versions of Perry Bradford’s “Crazy Blues”, and “It’ s Right Here for You” on Okeh Records. The record was a wild success, selling over a million copies in less than a year, and finally ending up selling over two

million copies (Red Hot Jazz, 2018).  Mamie Smith’s music seemed to open up the eyes of those around her. Record companies thought there was a lot of money to be made selling what was then called “race records” to various minority groups in big cities. The success of “Crazy Blues” prompted other record companies to also try to find other female blues singers that could match the sales of “Crazy Blues”. It was a very important record, because it opened the doors of the recording industry to African-Americans, whether they were Blues, Jazz or popular singers or musicians. Smith herself really wasn’t that much of a Blues singer (Red Hot Jazz, 2018).  Mamie Smith’s music was loved for many reasons. “Crazy Blues”, represents the emergence of black female singers into popular music culture and was therefore a very important contribution to black music. Her pioneering musical career paved the way for more successful female blues and jazz artists like “Ma” Rainey, Bessie Smith (no relation), and Billie Holiday (Garner, 2018).

Success:

Smith’s amount of success and talent was unbelievable. Smith found herself suddenly wealthy, and she spent much of her earnings on clothes, jewelry, real estate,

and servants (Garner, 2018). With all this Mamie Smith mania, New York City suddenly became the blues recording capital of the world. Mamie Smith records have enjoyed tremendous sale in all parts of the country.Mamie Smith and her jazz hounds came, saw, and conquered in Chicago during the month of February. She played to large audiences on the South Side at the Avenue Theatre with immense success.In Mamie Smith’s prime, her stage appearances netted her up to $1,500 a week. Bedecked in diamonds, plumes, and a shimmering gown, she could get a standing ovation just by strutting across the stage (Jasobrecht, 2018). Mamie Smith overall made a historic mark on the musical world that lead women in the right direction to pursue their own music.

Crazy Blues

This was a song about being in a relationship and the love and heartbreak that can go along with it. Throughout this song she wears her emotions on her sleeve about the love she has for a man. Although she also expresses that the love isn’t reciprocated and that he doesn’t treat her right. This song is significant because it was the first blues song recorded and was also recorded by a female which was the first step for black female vocalists.

That Thing Called Love

This song was also a very popular hit of Mamie Smith’s and was her first song recored for OKEH Records.  It has a slower pace and is clearly another love song.

Don’t Care Blues

This song opens up with a wide variety of instruments that catches your attention and ear instantly. Immediately when Mamie Smith begins to sing the lyrics speak to you about being down and out.

Works Cited:

Garner, Carla. “Smith, Mamie.” Black Past. Retrieved July 15^th, 2018. http://www.blackpast.org/aah/smith-mamie-1883-1946 

Kenny, Grace. “Mamie Smith’s Crazy Blues.” October 10^th, 2017. Retrieved July 15^th, 2018. https://pages.stolaf.edu/americanmusic/tag/mamie-smith/

“Mamie Smith.” Retrieved July 15^th, 2018. http://www.redhotjazz.com/mamie.html

“Mamie Smith: The First Lady of the Blues.” Retrieved July 15^th, 2018. http://jasobrecht.com/mamie-smith-the-first-lady-of-the-blues/