1920s-1930 Music Essay

What was the Jazz Age in America? Also known as the Roaring Twenties’, it was when American ways were beginning to modernize. Before the stock market had crashed and the Great Depression started, culture was booming in America. Dance was changing rapidly and new styles of dances were being created. Women began to wear shorter clothes, cut their hair, and some even had jobs, while the Flapper girls gave other young women an outlook of freedom. People began to go see films and movie stars became famous worldwide. During the Jazz Age, American culture was changing and Americans were becoming more finically affluent.

Jazz was a hit in the 1920s, African Americans were given credit for leading the jazz industry, the Jazz industry had an amazing impact on many other popular cultures. Jazz was the favorite type of music among the flappers. The Jazz age was known to be powered by the prohibition of alcohol.

During the 1900s, passion of composing music arose and encouraged many young teens to create garage bands and elder to perceive music as career. Famous musicians like Robert Johnson, Bill Monroe, and Elvis Presley were seeking the same. Although many were composing songs, most of them adapted their own versions from many which created a list of similarities and differences between them. Most commonly similar were themes or forms yet some differentiated in delivery style or instrumentation. Many artists got more creative and used similar instruments but give a twist into the sound play. This can be seen in the script or heard in the audio of the songs “Walkin’ Blues” and “Blue Moon of Kentucky” like many others.

The 1940’s was recognized as the era of the common household names such as Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, and Perry Como. Jazz was the strongest music genre in the 40’s era with Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong taking the lead. Radio was the most common way to listen to music back then, but phonograph players were just starting to get affordable for the average wage.

Jazz was the sound track to the 1920’s. Another nickname for the 20’s was the Jazz Age. Jazz was a newly popular style introduced through the Harlem Renaissance when many African Americans were in search of jobs and took up music as an option. Jazz was introduced in the south and quickly traveled all across the eastern coast of the United States. Throughout the jazz age many unforgettable musicians arose in fame composing catchy songs which became the sound track to the 20’s. Many of famous artists were musicians such as Joseph “King Oliver” Oliver,

A.Attention Getter: The 1930’s is a decade that will always be remembered as one of the worst times in American history, but the genre of music that began to flourish during these difficult times will forever be influential. Many turned to music as a coping mechanism during the Great Depression. Jazz became an outlet of expression for the many artists experiencing hardships and it also let countless people forget about their troubles for at least one night by dancing and having a good time.

Jazz music is another thing that had a big hit on the 1920s. “Jazz influenced all aspects of

The 1920s was known as the Jazz Age, Francis Scott Fitzgerald said “it was an age of miracles, it was an age of art, it was an age of excess, and it was an age of satire".

The era of the Roaring Twenties, was a time of great societal change. Many of these changes were greatly influenced by jazz music. During this time, the country was coming out of World War I and the attitude of most people was dark and dismal. Dance and music clubs became tremendously popular in an effort to improve the quality of life for many people.

In the 1920s America was changing we just came home for the first world war and everything from economy to culture changed. The culture changed due to the Jazz Movement in 1929. Jazz became part of everyday culture in America due to its smooth and new sound. The creation of the Jazz movement in america is largely credited to African Americans, because they were the ones who originated it. One of the key people in the Jazz Movement was Louis Armstrong a famous trumpeter, composer, singer and actor who changed the 1920s with his musicianship, his fashion, and he eased the racial tension between blacks and whites at his time.

The Jazz Age which is also referred to as the Roaring Twenties began after World War I took place and lasted until 1929, when the Great Depression began. The 1920s opened up a world of change to Americans; some did not approve and others, especially those in the big cities, celebrated with music and dance every day. There were numerous inventions that were being created throughout the 1920s and because of nationwide advertisement; people all over America were able to buy all the same stuff as one another. But unfortunately, times were different for those that lived in Colorado.

First, the prominent component of 1920s music were the musicians themselves. Numerous people broke into the "Jazz Age" scene with their unique and abstract styles of the genre. A big reason it grew to such an immense popularity was because the music gave everyone pleasure and happiness after WWI. In the novel The Great Gatsby it speaks of Nick hearing "saxophones wailing the hopeless comment of the 'Beale Street Blues'"(Fitzgerald 158). One big-name musician of this time was Louis Armstrong, a singer/trumpet player, an artist of the famous Harlem Renaissance, and the main popularizer of what is known as "scat singing", which is pretty much another word for singing wordless nonsense ("Louis Armstrong"). He was the first African-American to write

Jazz music is a blend of white middle class thoughts and African American traditions. Jazz originated in New Orleans in the beginning of the 1920’s. The Jazz Age was from 1920 through 1929. During the 1920’s, the First World War had just ended in 1918 and the Great Depression was affecting the citizens of the United States. Jazz music and dancing helped people forget about the terrible Great Depression. It gave the citizens a reason to be happy and love life during the 1920’s. The new form of music allowed people to express themselves in new ways. Jazz music was influenced by African American musicians, changed the music industry all over the world, and affected the society.

“Musicians don’t retire; they stop when there’s no music left in them,”-Louis Armstrong, famous musician and entertainer (www.quotationof.com). The 1920s was a prosperous and successful decade. There was a booming economy, a new time of the Jazz Age with Louis Armstrong, the time of superior motion picture with sound, and unfortunately, the devastating crash of the stock market. Overall, the 1920s was incredibly action-packed and most certainly important to America’s history.

     Jazz is a style of music that began and has been revolutionized within the United States. Jazz music first appeared in the city of New Orleans and eventually moved onto Chicago, St. Louis, Kansas City, and New York City. Jazz unites different elements of African, African- American, religious, brass brand, and blues style of music. The music of Jazz, and its changes through the years, is now a form of music that is known and respected throughout this nation and the world.