Biography of Julius Lester (Essay Sample)

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Julius Lester
Julius Lester was a well-known historian, educator and performer. He was also a writer and many of his books have been published are enjoyed by young readers. He tried to make American children read traditional folks and succeeded. He made a significant contribution to the field of children’s literature where many of his writings focused on the African American history of the country as well as the culture and heritage of the past. He was also a good musician who expressed his views on culture and heritage in music. He wrote songs as well as folks which greatly contributed to the teaching of American children the culture and heritage of the country.
Tune based on ‘I Got Rhythm’
The song ‘I got rhythm’ was written in the 1930s by George Gershwin and later came to be highly rated in Jazz music. Over the years, the tune helped the development of improvised Jazz. In the early 1930s, several other tunes were recorded as adaptations of the song ‘I got rhythm’ such as ‘Don’t be that way’ by Chick Webb and ‘Stomp it off’ by Jimmie Lunceford and were the first of many more (Viterbo). It is believed that musicians were advised by their recording executives to write tunes that resembled 'I got rhythm' since the song had been successfully popular. They however had to make rearrangements and adjustments so that they would play for royalties.
George had initially written the tune as a slow ballad which was for an unfinished musical. He later sped the tune's tempo where he added a second beat which made the melody avoid melodic downbeats which gave the song its zing (Viterbo). This happened a year after its release when it was being revised for Girl Crazy