Groundation

Groundation is American roots reggae band with jazz and dub influences from Sonoma County in Northern California.

It all began in the fall of 1998 by Harrison Stafford, Marcus Urani, and Ryan Newman, Groundation began on the campus of Sonoma State University's Jazz Program. Between 1999 and 2001, Harrison Stafford taught the first course on the History of Reggae Music at Sonoma State University. In 1999, Stafford teamed up with Kris Dilbeck to found Young Tree Records and release Groundation's debut album of the same name. "Groundation" comes from the Rasta term "Grounation." Grounation Day (April 21) is an important Rastafarian holy day, and second after Coronation Day (November 2). It is celebrated in honor of Haile Selassie's 1966 visit to Jamaica.

The 9-piece band creates an altogether new Reggae sound, featuring swirling, jazz/funk inspired horns, stout Latin and African based poly-rhythmics, and soulful harmony vocals. Their concerts utilize live improvisation, in classic jazz fashion, and are renowned for their high energy, communion-type atmosphere. Having gained international notoriety for their progressive fusion style, Groundation regularly headlines major international festivals (Nice Jazz Fest, Summerjam, Sunsplash) and play to huge crowds the world over.


My favorite song`s from Groundation

Lil Wayne

Dwayne Michael Carter aka Lil Wayne grew up in the Hollygrove neighborhood of New Orleans, Louisiana. Carter was born when his mother was 19 years old. His parents were divorced when he was 2, and his father permanently abandoned the family. Carter enrolled in the gifted program of Lafayette Elementary School and in the drama club of Eleanor McMain Secondary School.

When he was eight years old he wrote his first rap song. In the summer of 1991, he met Bryan Williams, rapper and owner of Cash Money Records. Lil Wayne joined Cash Money Records as the youngest member of the label. Carter recorded freestyle raps on Williams's answering machine, leading him to mentor the young Carter and include him in Cash Money distributed songs. He also recorded his first ever collaboration album True Story with rapper B.G. When he was 12, he played the part of the Tin Man in his middle school drama club's production of The Wiz. At age 13, he accidentally shot himself with a 9 mm handgun, and off-duty police officer Robert Hoobler drove him to the hospital. At McMain Magnet School, Carter was an honor student, but he dropped out at the age of 14 to focus on a musical career.

His most successful album, Tha Carter III, was released in 2008 and sold over 1 million copies in the U.S. its first week of release. It included the number-one single named Lollipop and won the Grammy Award for Best Rap Album. Rock album, Rebirth was released in 2010 to primarily negative reception from critics. The album eventually went gold. In March 2010, Lil Wayne began serving an 8-month prison sentence in New York after being convicted of criminal possession of a weapon stemming from an incident in July 2007. While in prison he released another album entitled I Am Not a Human Being in September 2010, featuring Young Money artists such as Drake, Nicki Minaj and Lil Twist. His upcoming 9th studio album, and first since being released from prison, Tha Carter IV, is due to be released on August 29, 2011.

Elvis Presley King of Rock N Roll

Elvis Presley borned on January 8, 1935 and passed away in August 16, 1977. He was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis aka King of Rock and Roll aka the King. He began his career there in 1954 when Sun Records owner Sam Phillips saw in Presley the means to realize his ambition. Accompanied by guitarist Scotty Moore and bassist Bill Black, Presley was one of the originators of rockabilly, an up-tempo, backbeat-driven fusion of country rhythm and blues.

Presley is regarded as one of the most important figures of 20th-century popular culture. He had a versatile voice and unusually wide success encompassing many genres, including country, pop ballads, gospel, and blues. He is the best selling solo artist in the history of popular music.

Colourised version of the popular song from the film in 1957. It's Jail-house Rock...



... and his live performance with song called Suspicious mind (1970)

Nina Simone High Priestess Of Soul

Eunice Kathleen Waymon (February 21, 1933 – April 21, 2003), better known by her stage name Nina Simone, was a piano player, singer, and performer, separately and simultaneously. On stage, Simone moved from gospel to blues, jazz, and folk, to numbers with European classical styling, and Bach-style counterpoint fugues. She incorporated monologues and dialogues with the audience into the program, and often used silence as a musical element. Simone compared it to mass hypnosis. Simone aspired to become a classical pianist while working in a broad range of styles including classical, jazz, blues, soul, folk, R&B, gospel, and pop. Throughout her career, Simone assembled a collection of songs that would become standards in her repertoire (apart from the civil rights songs). These songs were self-written tunes, tributes to works by others with a new arrangement by Simone, or songs written especially for Simone.Simone's bearing and stage presence earned her the title "High priestess of soul".

Listen to the song called "Ain't Got No...I've Got Life", its a great inspiration for people who may be going through hard times. Remember you've got life and can get anything if you believe in yourself and your abilities.




This song was written by the Bee Gees in 1967. Listen to Nina's version, I think a lot of people know's her version. Enjoy