Edward Richardson

Prof. I

ENG 111 05

10/26/17

Journal #7

Musical Inspirations

Elvis Presley would encourage others that you can be successful in more than one genre of

music. He received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award when he was 36, which shows

that you can accomplish a lot while you are still young. He is inspirational because he was

inducted into 23 different halls of fame. Elvis revolutionized rock and roll by using not only his

voice, but also his body movements when he performed.

Darius Rucker founded his band at the age of 20, which is inspirational to me because that is

around my age, and yet he was already pursuing his dreams. He is an inspiration because he was

the first African American artist to reach #1 on the Hot Country Songs since 1983. He was also

the first African American to win the New Artist Award from the Country Music Association. In

2011, Darius gave the commencement address to the graduating class of the Medical University

of South Carolina. This shows that he came first circle by returning to the college where he

graduated which shows just how far he had come.

Michael Jackson was an inspiration for 40 years for his pop music. He was also an inspiration

by showing others that you do not need instruments to play a song. Michael used beatboxing and

imitated actual instruments himself. He is an inspiration to children because he had been singing
ever since he was a child. He is also an inspiration to other artists because in the 1980s, music

videos were becoming prevalent. Michael took things a step further and added story lines,

dancing, and special effects to turn his videos into works of art.