Given the significance of the event, do you feel Chapman’s choice of music was relevant and effective? Why or why not?

Title: : Women’s Music as Socio-Cultural and Political Platform Be sure that you have answered every question in all parts of the assignment. Provide your own analyses and opinions. Do not use outside sources unless I specifically ask you to. Part 1: Bessie Smith The tragic death of Bessie Smith became a major cultural symbol of how the segregated Jim Crow South brutally treated African-Americans. 1. Research the circumstances of Smith’s death, then summarize your findings (two pages double-spaced). Please do not simply provide a biography: focus instead on her death. 2. Be sure to provide the sources that you used. Part 2: The Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute Concert at Wembley Stadium (1988): Female Musicians as Social and Political Activists The late South-African President Nelson Mandela once said Music is a great blessing. It has the power to elevate and liberate us. It sets people free to dream. It can unite us to sing with one voice. Such is the value of music. (from Tim Master’s BBC article “Nelson Mandela Death: Film Examines Power of Music”, December 6, 2013). Numerous female musicians performed at Wembley Stadium in 1988 for the 70th Birthday Tribute to Nelson Mandela; Tracy Chapman, Whitney Houston, Natalie Cole, Miriam Makeba, and Annie Lennox, among others. Please read each of the following questions carefully before responding. Question #1: The singer-songwriter Tracy Chapman emerged during the late 1980s, at a time when female singer-songwriters were returning to popularity. Throughout her career Chapman has favored music linked with important social and political conflicts or issues: apartheid, Amnesty International, AIDS, poverty, and many more. While Chapman is still performing, her most well-known song “Fast Car” was released in 1988. 1. Choose two of the following songs that Chapman performed at the Mandela tribute concert. All of these songs were initially released on the album Tracy Chapman (1988). a. “Behind the Wall” b. “Talkin’ ‘Bout a Revolution” c. “Fast Car” d. “Across the Lines” 2. Listen to the studio recorded version of each of the two songs that you chose, lyrics in hand. 3. For each song, briefly (1-2 paragraphs) analyze the lyrics of the song. 4. Watch Chapman’s live performance of these two songs at the Mandela concert. 5. For each song that you chose, briefly discuss Chapman’s live performance at the Mandela tribute concert. a. Given the significance of the event, do you feel Chapman’s choice of music was relevant and effective? Why or why not? (one paragraph per song) b. What did you think about Chapman’s performance of each song? (one paragraph per song) Question #2: Choose two of the following performances of songs by female artists at the 1988 Mandela tribute concert. 1. Miriam Makeba and Hugh Masekela, “Soweto Blues” 2. Whitney Houston, “The Greatest Love of All” 3. Jessye Norman (opera star), “Amazing Grace” 4. The Eurythmics featuring Annie Lennox, “Here Comes the Rain Again” For each of the two songs, answer the following questions. a. Do you think the choice of song was relevant and impactful to the Mandela tribute at hand? Why or why not? (one paragraph per song) b. What did you think about the live performance of each song? (one paragraph per song)