Corinne Bailey Rae

Corinne Bailey Rae (born 26 February 1979) is an acclaimed English singer and songwriter who released her eponymous debut album in February 2006. Rae was named the number one predicted breakthrough act of 2006 in an annual BBC poll of music critics.[1] The poll's predictions subsequently came true, as she became only the fourth female British act in history to have her first album debut at number one.

Biography
Childhood
Rae was born in Leeds, West Yorkshire, to a West Indian father and an English mother and she was the eldest of three daughters. She used to be racially abused on a regular basis while growing up, even though her verbal attackers mistakenly thought she was of Pakistani origin. She says about the situation, "My sisters and I were different and people used to say, 'Ah, aren't they cute, the little chocolate children, and look at their hair.' "I know they were only being cute but it was over the top. "Then people from other schools would shout, 'Paki' to me because it was the most common racist insult of the time. At least if you're going to do it, get it right. "I used to shout back, 'But my dad isn't from Pakistan, he's from St Kitts - so there.
She began her musical career at school where she studied classical violin before she turned her attention to singing: "I started off singing in church, I suppose, but people think it must have been a gospel church because of the whole, you know, black assumption," she says in reference to her mixed-race background. "But it wasn't gospel at all, it was just your regular Brethren church, very middle-class, where we would sing these harmonies every Sunday. It was always my favorite part of the service, the singing."[2]
Rae later transferred to a Baptist church, where the choir would sing traditional hymns. "We changed the words though," Rae states on her website. "We didn't want to offend the regular churchgoers, now did we?"[2]
Helen
Performing in church broadened Rae's musical horizons, and her love affair with making music was solidified after a local youth leader offered to buy her an electric guitar. In her mid-teens, she became obsessed with rock legends Led Zeppelin, "I loved that band during my teens, (and) I wanted, somehow, to follow in their footsteps, and to create music of my own."[2]
When she was 15, Rae formed an all-female indie group called Helen, which was inspired by similar acts such as Veruca Salt and L7. "It was the first time I'd seen women with guitars. They were kinda sexy - but feminist. I wanted to be like that, at the front of something."[3]
The group raised eyebrows on several fronts; in the white male-dominated world of indie music, they were an all-female group fronted by a mixed-race singer from Leeds. The moniker "Helen" also drew attention, albeit for not all the right reasons: "What can I say? We were 15 years old, and thought that Helen was a cheeky, indie kind of thing to do. It seemed clever at the time. Admittedly, it seems less so now."[2]
The group played many gigs around Leeds, including a memorable performance at Joseph's Well with Leeds-based band Swift, fronted by wildman rocker Royce Dunston. Despite this, the group became the first indie act to be signed to heavy metal record label Roadrunner Records, home to acts such as Slipknot, in 1995. The venture proved to be short-lived however after the bassist became pregnant and the group disbanded. "[Was I] Disappointed? I was gutted! I had no idea what to do next."[2]
University life
After the disappointment of Helen, Rae went on to attend the University of Leeds where she studied an English Literature degree. Whilst at University, she began work as a hatcheck girl on an evening in her local jazz club. Permitted to sing on stage with the jazz band when business was slow, it was there that she discovered a different type of music that sent her on a different musical path: "I kept hearing this jazz and soul stuff and I realized I loved that music too." It was there also that she met saxophone player Jason Rae, whom she eventually married in 2001 at the age of 22. "I was Corinne Bailey. I added on Rae, my husband's name, when I got married. There's no hyphen; stops it being posh!"
Career
Over the space of the next three years, Rae began working on solo material — this time steering away from her indie past and embarking on a more 'soulful' path. She collaborated with Leeds-based funk group The New Mastersounds on the track "Your Love Is Mine", featured on their 2003 album Be Yourself released via One Note Records. The following year she again worked with another Leeds-based group, Homecut Directive, on the song "Come the Revolution", which was the first single from the group's debut album.
In 2004 Rae got a breakthrough when she was approached by Craig David's mentor Mark Hill, from the duo The Artful Dodger, to appear on his new album better luck next time under his new alias, The stiX. The resulting collaboration, "Young And Foolish" was released in April 2005 and brought Rae to the attention of the major record label bosses. Rae released her debut single, "Like a Star", in November 2005 and her first album, Corinne Bailey Rae, in February 2006. In September 2006, Rae scooped two awards at the UK MOBO Awards for "Best UK Newcomer" and "Best UK Female".
Present
After the successful UK launch of her self-titled debut album, Corinne begun a gruelling press tour of Europe.
She has recently announced a string of tour dates for October with tickets for these gigs selling out quickly, however, these dates have since been cancelled and re-arranged for early March. Preliminary plans suggest she will record new material at the end of 2006.
In the June 2006 edition of Q magazine, Corinne can be found singing a cover of Björk's 1993 song "Venus as a Boy".
She was the musical guest on the October 7, 2006 episode of Saturday Night Live with the host being Jaime Pressly. Corinne performed Put Your Records On and Like A Star
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corinne_Bailey_Rae

Answer the following questions about Corinne's life:

1) Is Corinne only a singer?
2) When did she start to study music?
3) What musical genre did she sing when she began singing?
4) What were her inspirations?

Now listen to the song and do the following exercises.

1) Complete with the correct words:

Girl, put your ________ on
Tell me your __________ song
You go _______, let your hair down
Sapphire and faded jeans
I _______ you get your dreams
Just go ahead, ____ _____ hair down
You’re ________ find yourself ______________, somehow

2) What is the verb tense of the sentences?

Three little words, sat on my window
We feel afraid, but it’s alright
We’re got it wrong, but it’s alright
When you gonna realize

3) Put the verses in the order

Sat little window on bird three my
Don’t told and need they me to worry
Like sweet came so cinnamon summer
Double-dutch little concrete on the girls

4) Circle the correct answer

Just more / many/ much than I could take
Pity for / from/ at pity’s sake
Some nights kept her / me/ you awake
I thought that I is / was / were stronger
When she / he / you gonna realize
That you don’t even have to try to / in/ at try any longer?
Do / Did / Was what you want

Lyrics

Put Your Records On
Corinne Bailey Rae

Three little birds, sat on my window.
And they told me I don't need to worry.
Summer came like cinnamon
So sweet,
Little girls double-dutch on the concrete.

Maybe sometimes, we've got it wrong, but it's alright
The more things seem to change, the more they stay the same
Oh, don't you hesitate.

Girl, put your records on, tell me your favorite song
You go ahead, let your hair down
Sapphire and faded jeans, I hope you get your dreams,
Just go ahead, let your hair down.

You're gonna find yourself somewhere, somehow.

Blue as the sky, sun burnt and lonely,
Sipping tea in the bar by the roadside,
(just relax, just relax)
Don't you let those other boys fool you,
Got to love that afro hair do.

Maybe sometimes, we feel afraid, but it's alright
The more you stay the same, the more they seem to change.
Don't you think it's strange?

Girl, put your records on, tell me your favorite song
You go ahead, let your hair down
Sapphire and faded jeans, I hope you get your dreams,
Just go ahead, let your hair down.

You're gonna find yourself somewhere, somehow.

Taws more than I could take, pity for pity's sake
Some nights kept me awake, I thought that I was stronger
When you gonna realize, that you don't even have to try any longer?
Do what you want to.

Girl, put your records on, tell me your favorite song
You go ahead, let your hair down
Sapphire and faded jeans, I hope you get your dreams,
Just go ahead, let your hair down.

Girl, put your records on, tell me your favorite song
You go ahead, let your hair down
Sapphire and faded jeans, I hope you get your dreams,
Just go ahead, let your hair down.

Oh, you're gonna find yourself somewhere, somehow

Biography
Answers:

1. No, she isn’t. She is a big songwriter
2. Her first contact with the music is when she was in school. She started with Classical violin
3. She started to sing in her church and it was gospel music
4. She was inspirited by L7 and Veruca Salt.

Song
Answers:

1.
Records
Favorite
Ahead
Hope
Let your
Gonna
Somewhere
2.
Simple Past
Simple Present
Present Perfect
Future
3.
Three little birds, sat on my window
And they told me I don’t need to worry
Summer came like cinnamon, so sweet
Little girls double-dutch on the concrete
4.
More
For
Me
Was
You
To
Do

Created by Juliana Garcia & Priscila França 2° 2006

You can listen to this song here. It can be used for educational purposes ONLY.
Bear in mind that all the musicians live on the sales of their songs. If you appreciate this song,
buy the CD!!!