Each week I plan to introduce a new time period of music, this being said I thought the most effective way to present these ideas would be by starting with the first decade that experienced nationalized popular music, The Roaring Twenties. Many of you probably remember learning about the era right before the Great Depression: America was just sinking its roots into the great capitalistic culture, people began spending more and buying on margin, new inventions such as the Model T and the radio were flooding the markets with consumer investment. This time also welcomed the idea of Prohibition, with speak easies and flappers defining what fun should be for generations to come. With the new idea of mass media via radios and extra money to spend, the American people were quickly united through music with recordings from Louis Armstrong, Benny Goodman, Duke Ellington, King Oliver, and Jelly Roll Morton. The popular music recorded during this period was intended for the young people of the time: trumpets, trombones, pianos all used differently than they ever had before.
Many of you may think that pop music does not fully represent the culture of the time period, but being known as “pop” it is safe to say it speaks for the majority of a population, and we want to try to get inside the heads of these young people and how the voices of their generation left their mark on the formation of America pop music culture. The analyzation of pop music may include different genres including but not limited to: jazz, rock, country and punk.
The Top 10 Songs of the 1920’s
- Swanee (Al Jolson)
- West End Blues (Louis Armstrong)
- Rhapsody In Blue (Paul Whiteman ft. George Gershwin)
- Ain’t Misbehavin’ (Fats Waller/ Louis Armstrong)
- T For Texas (Jimmie Rodgers)
- In The Jailhouse Now (Jimmie Rodgers)
- The Prisoner’s Song (Vernon Dalhart)
- The St. Louis Blues (Bessie Smith/ Marion Harris)
- Ol’ Man River (Paul Robeson/ Al Jolson)
- Makin’ Whoopee (Andie Cantor/ Paul Whiteman/ Bing Crosby)
Music in the 1920’s, and today, was a way for people to express their struggles but also show portions of American culture and how people interacted in different eras. Like most contemporary music, they sang about heart break and relationships. In Swanee, Jolson sings of how much he’s missed a woman who makes him realize he should be with her, a topic still written about in today’s music. In Makin’ Whoopee, Armstrong sings about the irresponsibleness of mean having children and not staying with the woman to help raise it. These issues when written about today are seen as normal and expected, but in the 1920’s these were new topics that were considered taboo for public radio. This opened the doors to future songs to become racier and use similar scenarios.
Even the melodies and rhythms are similar to pop music today: catchy and upbeat in order to cater to the public. It’s important to listen to how the different instruments have become more and more important in certain time periods. In the ’20s there was a major use of brass, piano, percussion and vocals. We will see as music progresses and changes which instruments are dropped, added, and which remain key elements to pop music.
Works Cited
Hisory.com Staff. “The Roaring Twenties.” History.com. A&E Television Networks, 2010. Web. 10 Sept. 2015.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.