The Music Of The 1940 ' S

The 1950’s represent the beginning of the development of the music industry, as it is known today. It is from here on that the genre of ‘popular music’ existed and began to dominate the charts. Of course, there were acts that existed before the 50’s, and made a good name for them selves, acts like Bing Crosby, but it was in the 50’s that certain artists became household names, and idols to the masses.

Music and dancing helped people keep their mind off of the depression that occurred. People would gather around together to have a good time. In the 1920s-30s Jazz was one of America’s most popular styles of music. One of the famous jazz musicians was Louis Armstrong. Louis Armstrong was a young trumpet player from New Orleans, he was a professional musician starting at the age twelve. People were excited and many jukeboxes and radios could be heard on different streets in America. A young singer named Shirley Temple was one of the most popular children stars in Hollywood. She started acting in short films at only three years of age. Her dancing and singing lead many people to smile and forget about the depression. Shirley sent a message of hope and it had a huge impact on America’s society. She will never be

Music has continued to change throughout each decade, but the 1960s was the most influential decade in the history of music. Starting in the early 1950s, rock music was first introduced. Major record labels were releasing new “cover songs” which were originally made by black artist, but now by white artist (Rock and Roll). These cover songs changed a few lyrics from the original songs to avoid copyright issues and to also make the song more appropriate for the white listeners. The biggest star of the 1950s was Elvis Presley, who was known as the “King of rock n’ roll”.

The social and political context of the 1950’s is crucial to any understanding of the birth of rock n roll.

Rock n Roll was everything the suburban 1950’s were not. While parents of the decade were listening to Frank Sinatra, Perry Como, and the Big Bands. Their children were moving on to a new beat.” (U.S. History) Teenagers started to like this new type of music called rock and roll. It became very popular and artists started to experiment with it which influenced the development of rock n roll throughout the 50’s and 60’s. The experimentation with rock n roll changed music forever and greatly influenced our music today. Rock n roll was mixed with country, rhythm, and blues when this combination happened rock n roll kept developing through the fifties and sixties.

Another thing was the music of the 1940s, the 1940s was the decade of “the crooner” as the other form of entertainment the musical entertainment also played tribute to the war by many popular songs like “God Bless America”. This songs were sometimes were taken to war and it made solders said that the music took them home and they loved it.

The Jazz Age was a cultural movement that took place in America during the 1920 's (also known as "the Roaring Twenties") from which both jazz music and dance emerged. This movement matched with both the equally phenomenal introduction of mainstream radio and the conclusion of World War I. The 1920s was the decade that marked the beginning of the modern music era. Some of the popular music genres were Jazz, Dance Bands, Blues, and Broadway. The decade marked the beginning of independent record companies, smaller operations that weren’t afraid to take a chance on music and artists that the bigger companies shied away from.

Music in 1950s comprised of sweet lyrics, light melodies, feel-good tunes, virtuous and innocuous songs and sensible singers. While parents were listening to the melodies and country music children were attracted to the new beat songs. Rock-n-Roll became popular which was developed newly in 1950s among the high school teenagers. This generation had plenty of time and surplus money compared to the previous generations and could spend money on records and gramophones. The musical style Rock-n-Roll was owned by youth with live performances, lead and follow concerts which influenced the attitudes, lifestyles, fashions and language. Movies during this period were appealing to the families since they reflected the society and the way that families deal with their

The 1930’s was a decade of extremely hard times, following the stock market crash and an extreme depression. In spite of the tremendous hardships in America during this decade, it also became a time of great music that is still remembered today. Jazz music was highly popular in this time, and Billie Holiday was a famous jazz performer. She stood out from many other musicians because of her intense and passionate performances. Jazz arose from “unacceptable” segments of society, but quickly grew like wildfire. We often think of the 1930’s as the decade that jazz became civilized, and famous throughout popular culture through the work of pioneering artists like Billie Holiday. People did not own televisions or cable, so radio was their main source of entertainment, and music during this decade was both up beat and a source of relaxation. “Strange Fruit” defied musical category because it was considered too artsy to be folk, and too explicitly political to fit into jazz. This is why “Strange Fruit” became such a powerful phenomenon. Many other artists later took on this song, changing the genre but still portraying the same message. Nina Simone dramatized “Strange Fruit” in the context of the Civil Rights Movement. More important artists like Jeff Buckley, Rene Marie, Labor Camp Orchestra, and many others made their own rendition on the song, still leaving all of their audiences moved by the powerful imagery of the lyrics.

Rock ‘N’ Roll’s birth came after the Great Depression and World War II. It was in the 50’s called the baby boomers that started it all. It expanded the teenage population with 3.4 million babies born. The 1950’s scrap the ideology of a conservative family, where the father is the bread winner and the mother was a stay home mother. The young adults found an escape and enjoyment in Rock ‘N’ Roll.

The radio was used as a distancing agent from others as he listened to it alone, but at the same time it encouraged interaction as he regularly called in to radio stations to win prizes and talk with the hosts. Television brought him closer to his immediate family but pulled him away from the larger world around him, almost the exact opposite of radio. Also, did the fact that radio led to the creation of television impact in any way the amount of jingles and little tunes commercials and shows insisted on? Would there had been less if radio and television were created at more separate times? It is difficult to say. I do know that from the interview I performed it seemed that television had not taken every listener of radio away with its development, not quite like how it sounded when we went over it in class. Concerning what we learned in class I was left surprised that radio had survived at all in today’s television-focused environment. The fact that all three aspects of media, records, radio, and television, were able to coexist relatively easily was definitely interesting and a bit reassuring. There are some forms of media today, like current radio shows, that I would not like seeing disappear under television’s

Frank Sinatra was one of the most if not the most important popular music figure of the 20th century. In a professional career that lasted 60 years, he demonstrated a remarkable ability to maintain his appeal and pursue his musical goals. He came to be known during the swing era of the 1930s and '40s, helped to define the "sing era" of the '40s and '50s, and continued to attract listeners during the rock era that began in the mid-'50s. He scored his first number one hit in 1940 and was still making million-selling recordings in 1994.

The music that was present in World War II was extremely versatile and happy, which helped keep spirits high among everybody. Styles such as swing, blues, and jazz were popular music styles at the time. By the end of 1941, 96.2% of Americans owned radios. This granted greater access to music and information on the war. This is in contrast to World War I, where most citizens of the world were not as connected to the war through radio. In a way, the mass distribution of music was unifying for the American citizens and troops. However, many African-American musical artists used music to highlight the hypocrisy of the Americans fighting for freedom at that time because there was still a lot of segregation and discrimination in the United States and in it’s military.

However, until the 1940’s its use and incorporation was brought to other areas like film music, television, and music itself. Examples of films like “The Day the Earth Stood Still” or “The Lost Weekend” used the Theremin for its soundtrack. Popular songs like “Whole Lotta Love” and “No Quarter” from Led Zeppelin and the Rolling Stones’ album “Between the Buttons” had the help of this instrument. And even in TV programs like “The Big Bang Theory” (The Bus Pants Utilization 2011 episode) and “American Horror Story” (third season) had the use of the Theremin. Such instrument took place in many areas even though it is not widely used today.

During the 1930s, major improvements were made in microphone technology. In 1923, the moving-coil, or "dynamic" microphone was developed by Captain H. J. Round in London for the BBC. This was improved in 1930’s by Alan Blumlein and Herbert Holman who released the HB1A. W. C. Wente and A. C. Thuras at Bell Labs continued to improve on the design in the late 1920's, and applied for a patent in 1931. The ribbon, or "velocity" microphone was introduced by RCA in 1931, believed to have been developed by Harry F. Olson, who essentially reverse-engineered a ribbon speaker. It became one of the most widely used microphones in vocal recording.