VOA标准英语2011--Music Awards Honor Blues Artists

Music Awards Honor Blues¹ Artists

The 32nd Annual Blues Music Awards were handed out in Memphis, Tennessee on May 5. The evening had some big winners while the Blues Hall of Fame gained some new members.
Guitar master Buddy² Guy took home five Blues Music Awards, including Song of the Year and Album of the Year, "Living Proof." He also won for Contemporary Blues Album, Contemporary Blues Artist and Entertainer of the Year.
This year's inductees into the Blues Hall of Fame, honored during a ceremony on May 4, included Robert Cray, John Hammond, Big Maybelle, Alberta Hunter, J.B. Lenoir, and singer-songwriter Denise LaSalle.
LaSalle, 71, says her sound has always been a mix of blues, soul and R&B, which made her difficult to categorize at the beginning of her career.
"I used to be called an R&B singer and we then we got pushed into a category of blues singer," she said. "And then the blues people didn't really want to accept my music as blues. I said, ‘What am I then?' So, we got the title ‘soul blues' and we went ahead with soul blues. And then I started doing more and more blues, and everybody started saying, ‘Hey, you're a blues singer.' I said, ‘Well, I'll be a blues singer. It's alright with me.'"
Denise LaSalle is best-remembered for her 1971 million-selling single, "Trapped By A Thing Called Love," a hit, she says, because of some last minute advice in the studio from legendary³ producer Willie Mitchell.
"I wanted to go back and do some vocals⁴ over again. There was something I wanted to do that I forgot to do," she said. "And Willie Mitchell said, ‘You're not going to touch this Denise. This is a smash. This is perfect. Leave it alone.' He said, ‘I'm not going to record anything over. If you want somebody else to cut it you've got to go to another studio. You can't do it here. I said, ‘If this man thinks that much of this tune⁵ I'm going to take his word for it and leave it alone.'"
The 2011 Blues Music Awards featured a total of 26 categories. Other major winners included John Hammond for Acoustic⁶ Artist of the Year; The Nighthawks for Acoustic Album of the Year - "Last Train To Bluesville"; Matt Hill for Best New Artist Debut⁷; Charlie Musselwhite for Traditional Blues - Male Artist of the Year and Best Instrumentalist - Harmonica; Ruthie Foster for Traditional Blues - Female Artist of the Year; and the Derek Trucks Band for Band of the Year. Posthumous⁸ honors went to Solomon Burke, Pinetop Perkins and Robin⁹ Rogers.
For a complete list of winners visit The Blues Foundation.

1 blues   

n.抑郁，沮丧；布鲁斯音乐

参考例句：

• She was in the back of a smoky bar singing the blues.她在烟雾弥漫的酒吧深处唱着布鲁斯歌曲。
• He was in the blues on account of his failure in business.他因事业失败而意志消沉。

2 buddy   

n.（美口）密友，伙伴

参考例句：

• Calm down,buddy.What's the trouble?压压气，老兄。有什么麻烦吗？
• Get out of my way,buddy!别挡道了，你这家伙！

3 legendary   

adj.传奇（中）的，闻名遐迩的；n.传奇（文学）

参考例句：

• Legendary stories are passed down from parents to children.传奇故事是由父母传给孩子们的。
• Odysseus was a legendary Greek hero.奥狄修斯是传说中的希腊英雄。

4 vocals   

（乐曲中的）歌唱部份，声乐部份( vocal的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Also look out for soaring vocals on The Right Man. 另外，也可留意一下《意中人》中的那高亢的唱腔。
• Lazy bass line, lazier drums, lush violins, great piano and incomparable vocals. 懒惰的低音线，较懒惰的鼓，饮小提琴，棒的钢琴和无比的声音。

5 tune   

n.调子；和谐，协调；v.调音，调节，调整

参考例句：

• He'd written a tune,and played it to us on the piano.他写了一段曲子，并在钢琴上弹给我们听。
• The boy beat out a tune on a tin can.那男孩在易拉罐上敲出一首曲子。

6 acoustic   

adj.听觉的，声音的；(乐器)原声的

参考例句：

• The hall has a fine acoustic.这个大厅的传音效果很好。
• Animals use a whole rang of acoustic, visual,and chemical signals in their systems of communication.动物利用各种各样的听觉、视觉和化学信号来进行交流。

7 debut   

n.首次演出，初次露面

参考例句：

• That same year he made his Broadway debut, playing a suave radio journalist.在那同一年里，他初次在百老汇登台，扮演一个温文而雅的电台记者。
• The actress made her debut in the new comedy.这位演员在那出新喜剧中首次登台演出。

8 posthumous   

adj.遗腹的；父亡后出生的；死后的，身后的

参考例句：

• He received a posthumous award for bravery.他表现勇敢，死后受到了嘉奖。
• The legendary actor received a posthumous achievement award.这位传奇男星在过世后获得终身成就奖的肯定。

9 robin   

n.知更鸟，红襟鸟

参考例句：

• The robin is the messenger of spring.知更鸟是报春的使者。
• We knew spring was coming as we had seen a robin.我们看见了一只知更鸟，知道春天要到了。