Yolanda’s Genius: On The Road From Cleveland to Chicago

Every road trip should have a soundtrack.   That’s what I think anyway, even if I usually crave the quiet, and even though most of our road trips are spent listening to an audiobook.

I still like to have a musical theme for my road trips, and often a variety of themes. 

Driving to Chicago, in time for the Blues Festival that colors the climax of Yolonda’s Genius (see Kayla’s Review,) I thought about playing the blues.  Instead, we mixed it up with a variety of musical genres, from Jazz to Hip Hop, and we added in a stop at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio.

I think, actually, that this was an inspired way to introduce a story that is about the nature and recognition of musical genius.

On The Beat

When I insisted on playing the audio cd with Hip Hop Speaks to Children: A Celebration of Poetry With a Beat, my kids wanted to know what did Hip Hop had to do with anything.  This wasn’t Rock and Roll, and it wasn’t the Blues.

Then, I asked them to read aloud poems from Poetry for Young People: Langston Hughes.  (See Lesson Plan on Langston Hughes and the Blues.) Well, there was no great revelation, more of a slow buildup of understanding, trying to connect the ideas that lyrics could be poetry, and that vastly “different” musical and literature genres can share common elements and influences.

Both helped set the stage for the next stop on our Yolonda’s Genius Tour.

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame – Cleveland, Ohio

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is huge, and the exhibits suck you in, so that you find yourself spending hours watching documentary videos, listening to songs, or reading informative posters.

I had planned to just spend a couple of hours at the museum, but we ended up spending most of day.  It was that interesting (although my 9yo son wasn’t as much of a fan as my teen daughter and I.) 

Somehow, with promises of free T-shirts, I persuaded both kids to fill out an Activity Guide.  I was glad I did, as this forced them to spend a little time learning about the early influences of Rock and Roll.  Otherwise, I’m sure they would have bypassed The Roots of Rock and Roll: Blues, Gospel, R&B, Country and Folk, even though this was one of the most useful exhibits for understanding the themes in Yolonda’s Genius, especially the idea that genius lies in creating something new out of the old.

We also watched a couple of films – Mystery Train, Kick Out the Jams (with mature content) -  that I thought did a great job of showing how artistic geniuses, those who are breaking new ground, are often not appreciated at home, at least not until they achieve fame elsewhere.  Picture Janis Joplin defiantly returning to her small hometown.

Dancing In The Streets

By the time we arrived in Chicago, we’d already heard the book, and discussed it at length.  Now, it was just time to appreciate the setting, the music, and the food (as Yolonda seemed to try every food tent at the festival!)

And, to pretend for just a moment, to be lost children like Yolonda and Andrew when they were scheming to go backstage.

From Mississippi To Chicago

Checking into the Essex Inn, a stately but moderately priced hotel with a magnificent pool (an important criteria for the kids!), we met a fellow traveler who happened to be one of the headliners at the Blues Festival, Terry “Harmonica” Bean. 

I was tempted to ask him if he’d ever been a misunderstood genius, like Yolonda’s harmonica-playing little brother, but I manage to show a little restraint.  Not much, mind you, but a little.

Our hotel was located across from Grant Park, the site of the several stages that are part of the festival, but Terry is from South, and he would perform on the Mississippi Juke Joint stage.

See, this is where I started seeing those connections, as if I could miss them.  It’s only two years since I took the kids on our first major road trip, a Spring Break vacation spent exploring the subject of Kayla’s state report, Mississippi.

Kayla had decided that what she most wanted to learn about was Elvis Presley, who was born in Tupelo, Mississippi.  As part of that project, we visited the Tupelo museums where we learned about his various musical inspirations, including the folk, country, gospel, and blues influences.

We also drove to the Crossroads, and visited  Morgan Freeman’s Ground Zero Blues Club  and the Blues Museum along the Delta Blues trail, before heading to Sun Studios and Graceland. 

On that road trip, and again on this one, it’s been fascinating to discover the way music connects across geographic and other boundaries, and to see how it is used as a tool for change.

Rock and Roll Resources:

• Rockin’ Lesson Plans – Connecting music with Language Arts and Social Studies.
• General Reference – Popular Music Studies.
• Student Activity Guides – Grade-specific scavenger hunt activity guides.

Related Articles:

• Alex: Review of Yolonda’s Genius
• Kayla: Yolonda’s Genius and her impressions of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Read Across America Road Trip:

• Read Across America Road Trip Begins In NYC
• How To Plan A Read Across America Road Trip
• Reading On The Road

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Tagged as: Chicago, Chicago Blues Festival, Cleveland, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Yolonda's Genius