An Unexpected Life Lesson Although the main characters of "Sonny's Blues," a short story by James Baldwin, are brothers, they have chosen very different lifestyles. Sonny is a drug-addicted product of Harlem who runs the streets chasing after the be-bop subculture, quite possibly the only aspect of his life that is keeping his head above the water. Sonny's older brother, the narrator of the story, whose name is never ... boundaries they were all experiencing. While Sonny was playing the narrator asked the barmaid to send drinks to the bandstand. When the barmaid delivered the drinks, she plac...

• Word Count: 1866
• Approx Pages: 7
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... a concert one night, Willie The Lion' Smith gave Duke an impromptu lesson on harmony. Throughout their musical career, they continued to compliment each other in their songs. (Jones 47) Duke's first composition was a song called "Soda Fountain Rag-. He wrote it while working in the Poodle Dog Café. He was fourteen years old. One night at a tavern, the piano player had taken ill. Duke ... few players: Otto Harwick, on bass and saxophone, Arthur Whetsel on trumpet, Elmer Snowden on banjo, Sonny Greer on drums, and Duke on piano. To receive publicity, Duke had the idea to put an advertise...

• Word Count: 1581
• Approx Pages: 6
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School