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How Did Emmett Miller Affect The 30's

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Music, it helps the world go ‘round. Whatever kind of music you like, how often you listen to it, it's all up to you. Most likely, you will enjoy many different genres. Often times, it helps you express yourself beyond speech. And like the French poet Victor Hugo said, “ music expresses that which cannot be put into words and that cannot remain silent.” This form of expression often helped people of the 20’s and 30’s through dark times just as it does for us today. During the 20’s and 30’s, America was going through rough events such as the Great Depression. Music was a great way to, even for a slight period of time, escape all the problems going on and just relax. Music was so popular because anyone could enjoy it. Male, female, and children …show more content…

It's a genre not only known for its unique sound but also the inspiring people who constructed the specific sound. Two of these important singer/songwriters were Emmett Miller and Louis Armstrong. Many people enjoyed the sound that Emmett Miller produced. Riverfront Times, an online news feed from St. Louis, even felt he had a “one-of-a-kind voice.” Though little is truly known about his years growing up, Miller was thought to have started performing in his early twenties. From there, he gradually moved into a jazz band called “The Georgia Crackers”. His band, accompanied by Tommy Dorsey, Jimmy Dorsey, Gene Krupa, and Eddie Lang, rose to success as many people attracted to their sound while dealing with the Great Depression. Another rising artist during this time was Louis Armstrong. Though he grew up in the rougher areas of New Orleans, Armstrong made it to the top with his “exciting and innovative style of playing that musicians still imitate to this day” (PBS Biography). Mentored by professional trumpet player Joe “King” Oliver, he had no problem gaining popularity in the music industry. By his mid-to-late twenties, Armstrong already made his first recordings and had appeared on Broadway several times. Just like Miller, Louis Armstrong made jazz history, all within a matter of a few decades. The next genre to hit the charts was the ever-so influential style of …show more content…

And though there were many great blues musicians, two stood out the most. These two artists were Bessie Smith and Blind Lemon Jefferson. Bessie Smith, or as most called her, Empress of the Blues, was “unquestionably the greatest female blues singer...of the 1920’s and 30’s” as stated by PBS. Everywhere you went, someone was talking about Bessie Smith. She didn’t start out that way though. As a child, Smith and her brother took to performing on the streets to help their family’s income. Unlike Miller and Armstrong, Smith’s career didn’t fully take off until her early-to-mid thirties. Nevertheless, Smith’s career skyrocketed and is still being acknowledged to this day. Along with Smith, a man referred to as Blind Lemon Jefferson began gaining popularity during this time. Like his name suggests, Jefferson was infact blind. This didn’t stop him from getting where he wanted to go through music. At the young age of only 18, Jefferson met up with the famous Huddie Ledbetter, more commonly known as “Lead Belly”. At this point, Ledbetter became partners with Jefferson and eventually the two scored a contract with Paramount Records (Jefferson, Blind Lemon). From there, Jefferson’s career flourished, resulting in him becoming a legacy in the making, just like Bessie Smith. Both Jefferson and Smith’s approach towards Blues helped shape the way the genre was accepted into

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