Musician

MUSICIAN

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Wwhat is influence? Is it the power that one individual holds to change the world? Is it prestige—the glimmering reputation earned by those who have achieved excellence or superiority? Or is it that sense of immortality bestowed on certain people who, through their lives, their actions, and their accomplishments, have climbed pedestals so high and prominent that they are virtually guaranteed a place in the books of history?

Influence can mean so many things and is therefore hard to define. But this much is clear: in a book such as this, where the subject is influential musicians, an exact definition hardly matters. Such artists may exert themselves in all kinds of ways—through their compositions, lyrics, performances, or even through “extracurricular” activities such as raising funds for charitable causes and organizations.

Just by taking the stage—whether in a local church or on the 50-yard line during halftime at the Super Bowl— musicians have instant influence. They command the ability to make people stop what they are doing—to have them clap, dance, and sing along. If musicians are truly great—be it composer Igor Stravinsky, classic rocker Eric Clapton, hip-hop rapper Jay-Z, “King of Rock and Roll” Elvis Presley, or “King of Juju” King Sunny Ade—their creations have the ability to transcend time and space, culture and nationality.

Simply put, great music is more than just music. It makes us think; it makes us feel. And over twenty, thirty, even hundreds of years, it continues to make us listen. In the world of music, that is influence.

Within these pages readers will also discover how the work of one musician inspired and motivated that of others, sometimes in groundbreaking ways. In 1791, having heard the moving oratorios of George Frideric Handel, Austrian composer Joseph Haydn set to work on his own compositions in this genre, eventually creating a composition believed to be the first musical work written for two languages, in this case, German and English. Haydn also became good friends with musical genius Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, the two composers finding camaraderie in each other’s company and inspiration in each other’s work. Mississippi native Robert Johnson, who legend holds acquired his musical genius by way of having made a deal with the devil, is known to have had a major impact on musicians from Muddy Waters to the Rolling Stones.

Some musicians were inspired by influences beyond music. The art of English painter J. M. W. Turner and French painter Claude Monet struck a chord with seminal French composer Claude Debussy, prompting him to create his orchestral seascape La Mer. Visits to Paris prompted a young George Gershwin to create his famous orchestral composition An American in Paris. And it was John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath that provided the impetus for “Tom Joad,” Woody Guthrie’s classic entry in the American songbook.

There are, of course, those musicians who, as childhood prodigies, seem not to have needed outside influence to exert their own. Frédéric Chopin began playing piano at age seven, gave his first concert a year later, and at age eleven performed for the Russian tsar Alexander I. Mozart, whose life was all too short although with an extra ordinary influence, was composing from the age of five.

Little is known about Johann Sebastian Bach’s early musical education, but in his prime he was recognized by his peers as being a talented harpsichordist, organist, violinist, and singer. He is now recognized as being one of the greatest composers of all time. By bringing together the musical traditions that preceded him and then melding those traditions to create music that was all his own, Bach built his legacy around unique innovation. After his death, students of classical music excavated, analyzed, incorporated, and emulated his work. Today Bach’s “voice” is heard everywhere, from big-city symphony halls to high school auditoriums. It is even heard in the music of Beethoven, who is said to have studied Bach’s works closely. Musicians the world over have been influenced by, and owe a debt of gratitude to, Bach.

Luciano Pavarotti is considered one of the greatest operatic tenors ever. Teaming his athletic vocal range with a lively, energizing personality, Pavarotti earned such popularity over the seven decades of his life that many credit him with single-handedly opening the traditionally upper-class world of opera to the everyday masses. In his prime, Pavarotti performed before live audiences approaching half a million people. He also won five Grammys, sang at the opening ceremony of the 2006 Winter Olympics, and became a fixture, along with Plácido Domingo and José Carreras, in the aptly named traveling opera group “The Three Tenors.” That Pavarotti, who died in 2007, will have a lasting influence on opera is unquestioned. His millions of fans, many of whom would never have listened to opera were it not for him, are a testament to his legacy. So, too, are the new opera singers in line to be his successors. Audiences worldwide will hear a hint of Pavarotti’s voice every time the next generation of tenors performs.

Aretha. Her first name alone is instantly recognizable, conjuring the image and sound of this singular musician. The undeniably sensational Aretha Franklin, better known to many as the “Queen of Soul,” was the first woman to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (1987). An electrifying performer since she premiered as a teenager in the mid-1950s, Aretha Franklin has used her unprecedented vocal talent to stir deep emotions in audiences at venues as varied and far-reaching as Detroit churches, Fillmore West in San Francisco, and the 2009 presidential inauguration of Barack Obama in Washington, D.C. Millions have bought her albums; millions more have not only heard but felt the energy of her voice. With songs such as “Respect,” which she borrowed from Otis Redding in 1967 and then made her own, she instantly defined the women’s rights movement, the Civil Rights movement, and the right of one performer to shout out her soul. A passionate, perennial performer, it is no wonder that she has more Top 40 singles than any other female singer.

The great Irish rock band U2 all but defines what it means to be influential. Bono, the band’s lead singer, is also cofounder of the grassroots advocacy organization ONE and a regular contributor to newspapers. Through ONE, Bono has brought together millions of people committed to fighting extreme poverty and disease, especially in Africa. But it is the band’s rock music, which Bono and a tight-knit group of friends (including David “the Edge” Evans; Larry Mullen, Jr.; and Adam Clayton) started in 1977, that has the most influence. Beginning with their first breakthrough album, War, in 1983, and continuing through How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb in 2004 and No Line on the Horizon in 2009, U2 has over the years created music that is so instantly recognizable as theirs, yet also so innovative and so technologically cutting-edge, that you are practically compelled to listen. Influential? Certainly. How so? That is hard to say. In that they have reduced hunger? In that they have inspired teenagers to pick up an instrument? Or in the music that has followed their lead, from one new band to the next, and which clearly demonstrates a reverence for this celebrity group of post-punk rock stars.

For an example of this type of astronomical influence, consider Bob Dylan. Part American folksinger, part poet, part rock star, and part living icon, Dylan wields lyrics as a soldier wields his sword (or Shakespeare his pen). Throughout his career, Dylan has used the stage to deliver a full range of commentary on the issues of the day. Witty, biting, damning, and always interesting, every word he sings is laced with meaning, and every sentence he speaks comes layered like an onion waiting to be peeled. He sings of love, politics, war, exploration, and exploitation. And if an issue of import is being ignored when it should be front and center, or has been forgotten, Dylan sings about it. With his lyrics, he pulls the world together, even as he rips apart the status quo. Without a doubt, Dylan will continue to be a legend as long as people listen to music.

As for the music experience and its delivery, today is quite different than just a few short years ago. Records and tapes are all but gone, and CDs are on their way out. In the 21st century, we have ear buds and iPods, we download MP3s, and we listen to music online at Web sites such as Pandora, Jango, and YouTube. Music can enter our lives in previously unimagined ways: a new generation is being introduced to musicians and their work via various gaming platforms and programs, from a handheld gaming device such as Game Boy to the simulated guitar-playing experience of Rock Band. Music today is digital. It is fast, at our fingertips, and often it is free. The current profile will undoubtedly change in the future—it always does.

But then again, you can also be sure that much will be the same. We will always listen to music, through whatever device we choose. Music will always be a part of our lives, ringing through our ears even when it is silent and nothing but a memory. People will always sing as they shower, turn it up as they drive, and “tune out” as they try to ignore everything else in their lives. That is music, and that is the influence it has on us.

Those musicians featured in this book span hundreds of years, countless musical genres, and immeasurable distances in style, technique, and purpose. Nevertheless, they have all been, and continue to be, influential. Some are influential because they brought a unique approach to their art that others later followed. Others were leaders of an influential movement in their field—a movement that led future musicians to improvise, change, and ultimately re-create music itself. And still others, through their work, brought about social reform and societal change that has forever shaped the landscape in which we now live.

For these influential people, music was and is life. Tchaikovsky, Stravinsky, Rachmaninoff. Springsteen, Sinatra, Madonna. They devoted their careers to the art, spending countless hours writing, creating, and fine-tuning. They have performed for great crowds, spoken on their beliefs, stood up for just causes, and above all, brought pleasure to the people who have listened. In doing so, each has left a mark, a stamp of influence, on the world.