Mr. Fasano’s English Class

Get the latest Flash Player to see this player.

Here’s a great video of Simon & Garfunkel performing their version of Edwin Arlington Robinson’s most-anthologized poem, “Richard Cory.” I find it impossible to teach this masterpiece of a poem without using this song as scaffolding. About all I know of this live performance is that it was in 1966.

[Read more →]

Bob Marley, born on this day in 1945 near Kingston, Jamaica, was a singer, guitarist, and composer of reggae music. He made his first record at the age of 19 and in 1965 formed the vocal trio, The Wailers, with Peter Tosh and Bunny Livingstone. Their music developed political themes with an artless lyricism and infectious rhythm, and in the 1970s Marley brought it around the world. He was a disciple of Rastafarianism, and a charismatic spokesman not only for his religion but also his culture and generation. His albums include Catch a Fire (1972), and Uprising (1980), and his most famous songs include “No Woman, No Cry” and “Three Little Birds.”

Click on the arrow below and listen to “Three Little Birds” and see if you like it. I find it relaxing; it puts me in a great mood. The mp3 is from his posthumous compilation album, Legend (1984), the best-selling reggae album ever.

[Read more →]

Get the latest Flash Player to see this player.

Absolutely one of the most creative and original innovators of Rock ‘n’ Roll was a kid from Texas named Buddy Holly, who tragically was killed in a plane crash on this day in 1959, along with Ritchie Valens and “The Big Bopper.” It was a day that’s come to be known as The Day the Music Died. Before Buddy, there was NOBODY who wrote his own songs, arranged them, performed them, produced them and promoted them. Buddy did ALL of that, all by himself, which showed groups like The Beatles and The Rolling Stones that THEY could do it too.

John Lennon once said of Buddy Holly and The Crickets:

EVERY GROUP TRIED TO BE THE CRICKETS. The name BEATLES was directly inspired by CRICKETS (DOUBLE ENTENDRE / INSECTS etc…) I think the greatest effect was on THE SONG WRITING (ESPECIALLY MINE AND PAUL’S)

[Read more →]