November 22:
President John F. Kennedy was assassinated on November 22, 1963. This year marks the fiftieth anniversary of his assassination and as there will be tremendous press coverage of this event I though instead of dwelling on how President Kennedy died, which is indeed a moment almost every American who was old enough at the time still remembers thanks in large part to television coverage, I’d provide some links that focus on his life.
Here’s a link to the official White House page on President Kennedy:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/johnfkennedy
And a link to the official John F. Kennedy Presidential Library website where you can learn more about President Kennedy:
November 23:
Harpo Marx, of Marx Brothers fame, was Adolph Arthur Marx born on November 23, 1888. As a young man he began performing on stage with his brothers Leonard (Chico), Julius (Groucho), Milton (Gummo) and Herbert (Zeppo). The brothers originally put on a singing act but changed to a comedy routine and found they had quite a flair for comedy. And Adolph, who changed his legal first name simply to Arthur during World War II, received the nickname “Harpo” because he played the harp both on and off screen. In addition to playing the harp Harpo was a gifted pantomime who never spoke in the hit films the Marx Brothers made during the period 1929 – 1949.
The Marx Brothers were exceptionally popular during their heyday of the 1930s and 1940s and their comedic antics have influenced many comedians and comedy actors over the years.
Some of their most popular films include “Animal Crackers” from 1930, “Monkey Business” from 1931, “Duck Soup” from 1933 and “A Night at the Opera” from 1935.
Here’s a link to a Bio biography of Harpo Marx:
http://www.biography.com/people/harpo-marx-16242175
A link to the official Harpo Marx website which is maintained by Harpo’s eldest son Bill:
A link to a hilarious pantomimic scene from the I Love Lucy Show which features Harpo and Lucille Ball:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZbL8M3wNxLc
And a link to a YouTube accessed trailer for the Marx Brother’s film “Horse Feathers;”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIMdOY_fwvU
November 24:
Musician, composer and Pulitzer Prize winner Scott Joplin was born on November 24, 1868 in Texarkana, which is located on the border between the states of Texas and Arkansas. Joplin began playing the piano as a child and became a professional musician as a youth. Joplin’s style of piano playing is called “Ragtime” and he became the most popular musician and composer of the genre. Ragtime emerged as a popular style of music during the period 1880-1900. Ragtime again became popular in the 1940s and 1970s and one of Joplin’s songs “The Entertainer,” as recorded for the soundtrack of the Paul Newman/Robert Redford film “The Sting” became a huge hit during the 1970s.
Some of Joplin’s best known songs have become American standards and include: “The Maple Leaf Rag,” “Solace,” “Peacherine Rag,” and “The Entertainer.”
Scott Joplin died in 1917.
Here’s a link to a YouTube clip of Joplin playing his most famous song “The Entertainer” courtesy of a piano roll from 1902:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPmruHc4S9Q
November 26:
Charles M. Schulz was born on November 26, 1922 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Schulz began drawing as a child and new from a young age he wanted to be a cartoonist. And boy, what a cartoonist he became! Charles M. Schultz is the creator of the wildly popular Peanuts comic strip. The Peanuts strip made its debut on October 2, 1950 initially appearing in just seven newspapers. The strip was eventually carried by thousands of newspapers across the globe. Some of the Peanuts group of kids included “Charlie Brown,” his Sister “Sally,” his friend “Linus van Pelt,” Linus’s sister “Lucy,” and his dog “Snoopy.”
The Charlie Brown comic strip was complemented by a series of TV specials during the 1960s and 1970s. The most popular of the Charlie Brown specials has been the perennial favorite “A Charlie Brown Christmas” which airs annual on CBS and which is also available to check out of the library on DVD:
Also of note, the music for the early Charlie Brown TV specials was composed and recorded by the great Jazz pianist Vince Guaraldi and his trio. Particularly of note, is the soundtrack the Vince Guaraldi Trio did for the 1965 Charlie Brown Christmas Special; the album, which is still in print, is also titled “A Charlie Brown Christmas” and features the upbeat theme song “Linus and Lucy.”
The library owns both the Charlie Brown Christmas Special on DVD and the complementary soundtrack by the Vince Guaraldi Trio so you can check them out!
Charles M. Schultz died in 2000.
Here’s a link to Charles Schultz’s New York Times obituary which offers a nice overview of his life:
http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/1126.html
Here’s a link to a YouTube accessed video clip showing a scene from the Charlie Brown Christmas Special:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPG3zSgm_Qo
And a link to a YouTube clip of the song “Linus & Lucy”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6zypc_LhnM
November 28:
Thanksgiving: Thanksgiving is a National Holiday in the United States which honors the first Thanksgiving Dinner held by the early Euro-American colonists from England who settled in what today is Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1620. Those early colonists barely survived their first year in New World; and who owned their survival in large part to the local Wampanoag Indians who showed them how to successfully plant crops in the sandy Massachusetts soil.
President Lincoln made Thanksgiving a national holiday in 1863.
Here’s a link to a History webpage on Thanksgiving:
http://www.history.com/topics/thanksgiving
Rock N’ Roll Hall Fame Inductee Berry Gordy Jr. was born on November 28, 1929 in Detroit, Michigan. As a young man he served in the army and worked as a boxer and record store clerk before turning to songwriting, music production. Gordy founded and managed the Detroit based Motown Music which was located in a building coined “Hitsville USA” because so many Motown songs became hits and so many artists discovered by Berry Gordy recorded their early hits for Motown. Some of the most popular Motown artists include: Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, Marvin Gaye, Mary Wells, Stevie Wonder & The Jackson 5.
To give you an idea of how popular the bright and energetic Motown music was in the ten year period between 1961 – 1971 one hundred a sixty three Motown songs appeared on the pop charts and 28 went to number 1!
Here’s a link to a Rock & Roll Hall of Fame biography of Berry Gordy Jr:
http://rockhall.com/inductees/berry_gordy_jr/bio/
And a link to “Shop Around” which was the first #1 hit for both Motown Records and the musical group Smokey Robinson & The Miracles in 1960; and which offers a good idea of the great music put out by Motown Records in the 1960s and 1970s:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQGXa3FiXKM
Have a great day!
Linda R.
References
Berry Gordy Jr. Biography. Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Online. Accessed November 22, 2013, http://rockhall.com/inductees/berry_gordy_jr/bio/
Boxer, Sarah. (2000, February 14). OBITUARY Charles M. Schulz, ‘Peanuts’ Creator, Dies at 77. New York Times. Online. Accessed Niovember 22, 2013, http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/1126.html
A Charlie Brown Christmas. All Music. Online. Accessed November 22, 2013, http://www.allmusic.com/album/a-charlie-brown-christmas-mw0000649547
Charles M. Schultz Biography. Charles M. Schultz Museum. Online. Accessed November 22, 2013
http://schulzmuseum.org/about-the-man/schulz-biography/
First Thanksgiving. National Geographic Kids. Online. Accessed November 22, 2013, http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/kids/stories/history/first-thanksgiving/
Harpo Marx. Bio. Online. Accessed November 21, 2013, http://www.biography.com/people/harpo-marx-16242175
Harpo’s Place. Online. Accessed November 21, 2013, http://www.harposplace.com/
History. Classic Motown. Online. Accessed November 22, 2013, http://classic.motown.com/history/
Marx Brothers Movies. Marx Brothers. Online. Accessed November 22, 2013, http://www.marx-brothers.org/watching/movies.htm
Scott Joplin. Bio. Online Accessed November 22, 2013, http://www.biography.com/people/scott-joplin-9357953
Thanksgiving. History. Online. Accessed November 22, 2013, http://www.history.com/topics/thanksgiving
The American Dream Starts @ The Southeast Steuben County Library 