By Maria Gomez
CCC Journalism Program
BLACKWOOD – A rock ’n’ roll show featuring songs by the Beatles was a hit, said many who attended the April 21 event at Camden County College. Professors Michael Billingsley and Robert Smith put together the event, which was part of a series featuring many kinds of music being presented on Monday evenings.
Alongside many of his students, Billingsley presented the styles of playing music by the Beatles. He demonstrated chords with the help of the students and many instruments, such as guitars, bass, piano, ukulele and vocals. The main focus of the event was to show the crowd how the Beatles transitioned throughout time from blues to rock ’n’ roll.
Followed by the demonstration, Billingsley conducted a question-and-answer session with the audience about the Beatles, the music and other great performers from that era. Many questions and comments offered insight about music from those times.
The last part of the show consisted of a video Billingsley showed the audience of all the great singers from the ’60s and ’70s and how they transitioned their music throughout time.
“It was very interesting, to hear about all these great singers and how they changed their music throughout time to try and bring something different to the show business. Some changes were good; some did not turn out so well, I guess that is the beauty of music. You can do whatever you please with it. Billingsley put together a great show that everyone enjoyed,” said Joseph Leone, a guest at the event.
Cassie Fosler, a performer at the event, said, “The only issue I encountered during the show was that I didn’t know when to come in, but I can promise that will be better on our May 5 performance.”
Billingsley said, “Everything did go as planned. In fact, the audience reaction to the information they learned, as well as their enjoyment of my students performing, was better than I could have hoped for. I especially enjoyed discussing the movie with the audience afterwards as they brought up many good points for us to think about.”
The group’s next event will take place in Dennis Flyer Theatre in Lincoln Hall at Camden County College on May 5.
Students perform a Beatles song at the CCC event on rock ’n’ roll on April 21. By Maria Gomez, CCC Journalism Program
