Madonna Essays (1454 words) - Madonna, Pop Ballads,

Madonna Madonna Born August 16, 1958 in Bay City, Michigan to a lower-middle class Italian-Catholic household, Madonna Louise Ciccone was the third eldest daughter born. Her father Chrysler engineer Sylvio (Tony) Ciccone and French-Canadienne Madonna Fortin, for whom the future superstar was named ?Veronica? was added to her name for confirmation. While at a young age of five, Madonna's world fell apart as her mother struggled to a long process of breast cancer on December 1, 1963. Gathering strength from the tragedious loss of her mother, Madonna took a role of the head female of the house. She constantly competed with her other siblings for attention and eventually became her father's loved one. Madonna turned her perfect self into a bitter one when Sylvio married Joan Gustafson, the family's housekeeper, three years after his wife's death. The child resented her father's betrayal and wouldn't accept her step-mother authority. While going through tough times, Ms Ciccone developed a passion for the arts. Madonna acted in high school productions, but ultimately dance became her interest in her childhood life. In addition to being a cheerleader, Madonna took up ballet classes while attending Rochester Adams High School. She found a mentor in dance instructor Christopher Flynn, who introduced her to the world of spunkiness and sophistication at Detroit gay clubs. Madonna's wild sexuality made her fly sky high! She went on dates with guys, had her first rape encounter at 14 and toyed with the idea of lesbianism and practiced mutual things with her female classmate. Having excellent academic performance in addition to her dancing skills, Madonna graduated early in 1976 with a dance scholarship to the University of Michigan, where she studied poetry and dance. There, she had her first acquaintance with Steven Bray. Bray was a black drummer in an R&b band , and she began to attend his gigs. Finally, after spending just five semesters at U of M and the encouragement of Flynn, the nineteen-year-old set off to realize her dream. Despite her fathers dreams, Madonna began her world wide adventure, looking for roles where she could not only dance but sing also. Later on back in Queens, the Gilroys started The Breakfast Club in the fall of 1979 with Madonna on drums. That failed when the lead guitarist stopped the band. Madonna went to write and record dance/disco-oriented tracks with Bray and performed them at downtown clubs. She was quickly spotted by DJ Mark Kamins at the latter club. Madonna presented a four-track demo to him, he immediately made a deal and signed contracts. Madonna's self titled debut album was a mixture of sexy attitude, and streetwise sass. Her bare midriff, weird costume jewelry, and her I-don't-care attitude helped to make her unique personality that the world would get to know her as. Her first version of Everybody, released as Madonna's first single at the end of 1982. Her second single camde from the debut album, Physical Attraction also proved to be a club favorite. In June 1983, Madonna had her 3rd club hit with the outstanding, Holiday, which was produced by her new boyfriend, dance pop mix-master John Benitez. The following month, Holiday became her first billboard Top 40 hit. After that happened, Madonna had been certified quadruple-platinum with sales 4.4 million units in the US and 3.3 million units internationally. By the end of 1884, Madonnas second studio album, Like A Virgin was ready to be released. This album featured her songs Material Girl and Dress You Up. The album scored her first #1 hit and gold single in Dec of ?84. To date, Like A Virgin has achieved 10 platinum certifications for sales exceeding 10 million units in the US. Late in 1984, Madonna began working on her first starring role in a film, Susan Seidelman's Desperately Seeking Susan, where she played a naive housewife. It was success in 1985 and brought out her musical talent to the world. In February of of 1985, Madonna made a brief appearance in Vision Quest as a nightclub singer, which scored her the second #1 hit and gold single for her career for the song Crazy For You, which also topped the charts in May. One of Madonna's highlights was meeting Sean Penn in 1985 shooting the video for

Free Essays on John Adams

JOHN QUINCY ADAMS Tyson tyhero@penn.com JOHN QUINCY ADAMS John Quincy Adams was born in Braintree (Quincy), Massachusetts on July 11th, 1767. His ancestry lineage was English. Adams’ religion was Unitarian. His father, John Adams, was born in Braintree (Quincy), Massachusetts on October 19th, 1735. He died in Quincy, Massachusetts on July 4th, 1826. He had three major occupations. He was a lawyer, a statesman, and the President of the United States. His mother, Abigail Smith Adams, was born in Weymouth Massachusetts on November 11th, 1744. She died in Quincy, Massachusetts on October 28th, 1818. John Quincy Adams had two brothers: Charles Adams who lived between the years 1770 and 1800, and Thomas Boylston Adams who lived between the years 1772 and 1832. He also had two sisters: Abigail Amelia Adams who lived between the years 1765 and 1813, and Susanna Adams who lived between the years 1768 and 1770. Louisa Catherine Johnson was born in London, England on February 12th, 1775 and she died in Washington DC on May 14t h, 1852. Louisa was the second daughter of Joshua and Catherine Johnson. John Quincy Adams and Louisa Catherine Johnson were married before eleven a.m. on July 26th, 1767 in London, England at the All Hollows Barking Church. They were married by Mr. Hewlett. The portrait on the next page is of Louisa Catherine Adams at age 43. It was painted by Gilbert Stuart in 1818. John Quincy Adams and Louisa Catherine Adams had four children. Their children were George Washington Adams (1801-1812), John Adams (1803-1834), Charles Francis Adams (1807-1886), and Louisa Catherine Adams (1811-1812). John Quincy Adams had plenty of education, which helped him in his election as President. He studied in Paris, Amsterdam, Leyden, and The Hugue. He received his Bachelor of Arts in 1787 from Harvard and studied law from 1788 to 1790 with Theophilus Parsons. His Pre-presidency occupations consisted of being a lawyer and a professor. Thes... Free Essays on John Adams Free Essays on John Adams JOHN QUINCY ADAMS Tyson tyhero@penn.com JOHN QUINCY ADAMS John Quincy Adams was born in Braintree (Quincy), Massachusetts on July 11th, 1767. His ancestry lineage was English. Adams’ religion was Unitarian. His father, John Adams, was born in Braintree (Quincy), Massachusetts on October 19th, 1735. He died in Quincy, Massachusetts on July 4th, 1826. He had three major occupations. He was a lawyer, a statesman, and the President of the United States. His mother, Abigail Smith Adams, was born in Weymouth Massachusetts on November 11th, 1744. She died in Quincy, Massachusetts on October 28th, 1818. John Quincy Adams had two brothers: Charles Adams who lived between the years 1770 and 1800, and Thomas Boylston Adams who lived between the years 1772 and 1832. He also had two sisters: Abigail Amelia Adams who lived between the years 1765 and 1813, and Susanna Adams who lived between the years 1768 and 1770. Louisa Catherine Johnson was born in London, England on February 12th, 1775 and she died in Washington DC on May 14t h, 1852. Louisa was the second daughter of Joshua and Catherine Johnson. John Quincy Adams and Louisa Catherine Johnson were married before eleven a.m. on July 26th, 1767 in London, England at the All Hollows Barking Church. They were married by Mr. Hewlett. The portrait on the next page is of Louisa Catherine Adams at age 43. It was painted by Gilbert Stuart in 1818. John Quincy Adams and Louisa Catherine Adams had four children. Their children were George Washington Adams (1801-1812), John Adams (1803-1834), Charles Francis Adams (1807-1886), and Louisa Catherine Adams (1811-1812). John Quincy Adams had plenty of education, which helped him in his election as President. He studied in Paris, Amsterdam, Leyden, and The Hugue. He received his Bachelor of Arts in 1787 from Harvard and studied law from 1788 to 1790 with Theophilus Parsons. His Pre-presidency occupations consisted of being a lawyer and a professor. Thes... Free Essays on John Adams John Adam’s fear that â€Å"Our struggle [the American attempt to gain independence] has loosened the bands of government everywhere† was based mainly on what he saw as the decline social hierarchy. Adams was afraid that the working people, including women, of America would gain just as much political liberty as they had with civil liberty; that is, they would have just as much right to participate in public affairs as they would to protect themselves and their property. He hoped to keep the wealthy, â€Å"independent† land-owners-the citizens, in political power, and keep a functioning hierarchal society where the working people would have only a moderate level of political liberty. The common person found self worth and self identity in society, by participating in the events of the revolution. Although political liberty did eventually grow for the common person, the elite land-owners still remained the sturdy authority of government. The first American patriots of the revolutionary war were the elite landowners, such as John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and Benjamin Franklin. They were part the conservative Whig party. These men brought forth the idea of independence from Great Britain with a Republican state, and there ideas would eventually be written in the Declaration of Independence. They envisioned a free nation in which â€Å"all men are created equal†. But, was this a literal meaning of freedom and equality? Adams was calling simply for new protections against abusive and tyrannical men (Brinkley p.134). These men realized that for the republic to survive the population would have to consist of sturdy, independent, property owners imbued with civic virtue (Brinkley p.136). In effect, these men wanted civil liberty for all, but only total political liberty for those with power and land. They soon had to examine the secondary effects of too much liberty for all. Their new form of government could not s urvive unless there was s... Free Essays on John Adams â€Å"By my constitution, I am but an ordinary man. The times alone have destined me to fame and even these have not been able to give me much.† This quote was written by John Adams into his diary, one quiet night after his presidency. John Adams was born on October 30, 1735, in Braintree, Massechusetts (which is now called Quincy, Massechusetts). He was born to John Adams Senior and to Susanna Adams. John grew up the son of a village preacher and a housewife. He went to the best private schools, and kept his grades up. He was a good kid who grew up to help lead the independence of all Americans everywhere. John Adams married Abigail Smith, and together they had five kids; Abigail, Susanna, John Quincy (6th president), Charles, and Thomas. He was one of the men who nominated George Washington as the 1st President of the United States of America. If John, along with Samuel Adams (his 2nd cousin), did not get involved in the Revolution, the U.S. might still be a set of colonies. John Adams didn’t just talk about independence; he did something about it. He was an inspiration to George Washington himself. His dedication to his country’s independence was part of the backbone of the Revolution, along with all the other great leaders including Thomas Jefferson. Much of his education of politics, that proved to be useful in his life as a Founding Father, was taught to him at Harvard University. John Adams did a lot more than sit around, he helped out by editing the Constitution with Ben Franklin, he became Vice-president to President Washington, and then became the 2nd President of the United States of America. Benjamin Franklin thought of Adams as a good man. He said this about him one day, â€Å"He means well for his country, is always an honest man, often a wise man, but sometimes, and in some things, absolutely out of his senses.† Many people saw Adams as a smart person who always spoke out. Had John Adams fo... Free Essays on John Adams John Adams was born in Braintree, now called Quincy, Massachusettes on October 30, 1735. He graduated from Harvard College in 1755, where he ranked fourteenth out of a class of twenty four people. Adams was the first vice-president and served under George Washington, our first president.Later in 1797, John Adams became our second president serving from 1797 to 1801 with his vice-president being Thomas Jefferson. Adams was the first president to reside in the White House, and the only chief executive whose son served as a president. John was the oldest son of John and Susanna Adams. They lived on a farm in Braintree where John had a deep connection for the family farm. When he was only sixteen years old, he attended Harvard College and graduated with a law degree. In 1758, he began to practice law and met many people who would later influence him as leaders of the Massachusettes Colony. In 1764, John married a lady named Abigal Smith, who he had been seeing for three years. She was the daughter of a minister and together they had five children. In 1818, Abigail passed away after fifty-four years of marriage. On April 30, 1789, John Adams took office as the first vice-president under the authority of George Washington. Adams served for eight years as vice-president even though he often thought it was the "most insignificant office that ever the invention of man contrived". In 1796, John won the presidental electon and was ignagurarted on March 4, 1797 at Federal Hall, Philidelphia. He served only one term, losing in 1800 to Thomas Jefferson. At the age of sixty-six, Adams moved back to his Massachusettes farm where he spent the last twenty-five years of his life. Even though he never participated in the public life again, he took great pleasure in the career of his son John Quincy Adams, who became president in 1824. John Adams died on July 4, 1826, which was the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of I...