THE CURE IN LIMA

The Cure in Lima, what an outstanding event it will be on April 17! The British band will perform in Lima, Peru and it is considered to be one of the biggest concerts ever in Lima for several reasons. The Cure is very famous; their songs are widely-recognized among Peruvian people, and this band has a great influence, even above that of Peruvian musicians. First of all, The Cure is a very famous band. Since they began their musical career, their presence has been notable. Three generations of Peruvian people know them, also The Cure is one the most iconic rock groups ever. Next, their songs are widely-recognize among the Peruvian people. During the entire decade of the 80’s The Cure had great songs that became enormously successful. Songs such as “Just like Heaven,” “Friday I am Love,” and “Close to You” reached the best positions in the Peruvian charts Third, The Cure has a great influence, above that of Peruvian musicians. Some bands such as “Dolores Delirio,” have publically declared their devotion toward The Cure. The influence of this band among Peruvian rock groups is very notorious in relationship to their way of creating music. Also, another remarkable influence is its style of appearance Finally, The Cure will perform on April 17 at the National Stadium. 45,000 tickets for this concert will be sold beginning from February 01, and according to Coqui Fernandez, who is The Cure concert organizer, it will be a sold out event. The success of this concert is guaranteed because The Cure and their songs are very prominent in Peru, and also it will be a unique opportunity for many Peruvian musicians to see their biggest influence live.

PAUL MAURIAT

Paul Mauriat was a famous French composer,director and musician. He was born in Marseille, France, in 1925 He began his piano studies when he was only four years old, and finishes these ten years later. After his graduation in the Conservatory, he began his career musical as an orchestra director. Mauriat developed his early career with his own orchestra in the second half of the 40’s. Additionally to it, he was musical director of Charles Aznavour, Mirelle Mathieu, Maurice Chevalier, etc. However, his best songs were played in the 60’s, in fact, “Love is Blue”, his most successful work, became Number 1 for five weeks in the USA, in 1968. Other great song was “un homme et une femme” that was originally composed by Francis Lai and Pierre Barough. This song had delicious arrangements. Most of his records were famous songs already composed; however Mauriat gave to these songs his personal style. Master of the musical genre knowed as “Easy Listening”, he sold 60 million of discs In spite of, and according many of his friends, Paul was humble and kind. He had class. He died in Perpignan, France, in 2006.

MY FAVORITE KINDS OF MUSIC

My favorite kinds of music are Soul, and Rhythm and Blues, and these genres of music have had a great influence in my life for several reasons. I love these because I grew up with this music. Another reason is that some of my better memories are connected to songs of Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Michael Jackson and Michael McDonald. First, I grew up listening to the music of Motown Records, because many years ago, several radio stations often played songs of this recording company. Motown’s songs were a great discovery to me; it was fantastic to listen to the well-composed and beautiful songs of Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, The Temptations and Marvin Gaye. I began to listen Soul music when I was child; I still have records of Marvin Gaye. Second, I relate my best-loved memories with these kinds of music. Indeed, every time that I miss the woman I love, suddenly, I imagine her listening to “One Hundred Ways” by James Ingram. When my wife and I visited Paris, I enjoyed listening to this song in the hotel. My wife, Paris, and music--what great memories! Third, when I come home after a hard day, I want peace and need to relax. How do I find it? It’s very easy for me; I only need to listen to Soul, and Rhythm and Blues, and the world looks better. I only need to start my computer and play "What a Fool Believes," and everything changes. Indeed, I feel like I’m in paradise. In conclusion, there is no greater pleasure for me than listening to my favorite genres of music, Soul and Rhythm and Blues, because when I do, all good feelings come to my heart. These types of music bring peace to my soul, and help me to relax.

JOHN LENNON, 30 YEARS AFTER

December 8, 1980, thirty-two years ago, I was returning to my home after a trip with my parents. When I came to house, I could see television images that were about a famous musician called John Lennon, who was killed by Mark Chapman in front of his house in "Dakota Building" New York. In this time, I didn’t understand who was Lennon, but several years after this event, I fully knew who this musician was. John Lennon died in The Roosevelt Hospital. The doctors officially certified his death at 11:15 pm the same day. The news of the death of John Lennon traveled the world in a few hours. The tears of all those fans that had grown up listening the songs of John Lennon were mixed with thousands of people gathered outside the artist's house. Lennon's body was cremated days later and the ashes were given to his widow Yoko Ono, who invited his followers to pray for him and share ten minutes of silence in Central Park on December 14. Over two hundred thousand people attended the event in New York. His ashes were scattered in the park although hundreds of tribute acts took place in other cities worldwide. Shortly before his death, after a voluntary retirement, and after several years without having released anything, Lennon returned to the music with the album "Double Fantasy", which was enthusiastically received by the public who had not forgotten him. A copy of this album was autographed by Lennon and was given to Chapman, at 5 pm on the December 8, 1980. 32 years may seem a short time or a lot, but all this time has not only increased the fame and legend of Lennon as one of the greatest musicians in history, leader of the most famous group of the twentieth century, "The Beatles" and composer of memorable songs. The people usually catalog John Lennon in many ways: icon, genius, myth, etc., but above all things he was a musician.

PERCY FAITH

Many years ago, when I was living in Lima City, I enjoyed listening to a musical genre called Easy Listening. In those times there was a very popular radio called “Radio Omega” that played this genre of music. It was a great and sensorial experience. A lot of beautiful melodies were played through Radio Omega and others. Musicians such as Ray Coniff, Paul Mauriat, Henry Mancini and Percy Faith were some of the most important icons of Easy Listening. Among all these musicians, Percy Faith was my favorite composer. Percy Faith was a legendary composer and musician from Canada. He began his musical career very young. In the beginning of his career, Percy Faith studied to play piano, but there was an even that affected his life forever. In 1926,he was injured in a house fire, and for this reason he was in the hospital for several months. This accident affected both of his hands, so he decided to write and compose music. He recorded his records in RCA, Decca Records and CBS Columbia He became very successful and famous in the first halt of the 50’s. His most popular songs of this period were “Delicado,” and “Song from Mouline Rouge.” In spite of the eruption of other genres like Rock and Roll, Faith maintained his popularity and fame. His most famous composition was "Theme from a Summer Place." For this work Faith won a Grammy Award for Best Recording in 1961. Because of the change of musical taste in the American Society, also the appearance of Psychodelic and Folk Music, his popularity decreased in the second half of the 60's. However, Percy Faith won his second Grammy in 1969 for “Love Theme From Romeo and Juliet.”

THREE BROTHERS: THE "BEE GEES"

Once upon a time there were three famous and successful musicians. What were their names? Their first names were Barry, Robin and Maurice, and their last names were Gibb. They were three British brothers that moved to Australia during the 60’s. In this country they developed their musical careers and formed one of the most successful bands ever. This group is known worldwide as the “Bee Gees.” They started to write and compose their songs in the first half of the 60’s, so they created their first hits while they were living in Australia. I clearly remember the first time I heard them 30 years ago. (How time flies!) I had an aunt with several daughters, who had the album "Saturday Night Fever." In 1978, it was impossible to not have heard a song from this soundtrack. But before “disco” became so popular, this wonderful group already had the backing of a solid career, founded several years prior in Australia in Redcliffe, Queensland. In fact, many people today still believe that they are Australian. A good question is what the origin of the name is. The band was originally called "The Rattlesnakes" and after “Wee Johnny Hayes & the Bluecats'. They were presented to a radio station DJ named “Bill Gates”-the racing promoter Bill Goode, who watched their performance at the Brisbane racetrack. Bill Gates met them at the Gibbs’ house, where Mrs. Barbara Gibb and the Gibb Brothers were. Given this situation, Gates said he saw a lot of 'BG' insignia in the room, and that that is what they should be called. The history of this group is usually related to the time before and after its success into “disco” and the huge impact that it had on the world. The Bee Gees composed many songs, 6 of which reached # 1 in the United States during 25 of 32 consecutive weeks. However, many people still maintain their preference for the period between 1967 and 1975, but we already know that this is a matter of taste.