Pop Music pre-1950s

MUS 1240

Fall 2014

Minstrelsy

- First form of “American” entertainment- Featured mainly white performers doing parodies of African-American culture

– “Blackface”– George Washington Dixon

• Famous song - “Zip Coon” (1834)

– Thomas Dartmouth Rice (1808-1860)• Famous song - “Jim Crow” (1829)

-Began as a form of satire, enjoyed by racially-mixed crowds in saloons as well as all-white audiences in formal theaters; later in the 19th

century became more of a racially-charged phenomenon using negative stereotypes-Minstrel troupes such as the Virginia Minstrels created a stage performance that set up specific characters.

Stephen Foster

Stephen Foster (1826-1864)

• Most influential songwriter of American popular song in 19th

century• Composed around 200 songs from 1840’s-60’s• Most likely first American to make a living as a songwriter• Ex: “Oh! Susanna”, “Old Folks at Home”, “Jeanie with the Light

Brown Hair”• Foster incorporated Ballads, Italian opera, Minstrel songs, etc. into

his own songs• Foster died at the age of 37, in poverty• Copyright laws at the time were much different

– Did not cover the composers of songs, only the companies which purchased rights to them

– “Oh! Susanna” – sold for $100

John Phillip Sousa

America’s March King

Sousa (1854-1932)

• 2 dozen hit phonograph recordings

• Repertoire mostly written by him

– “Stars and Stripes Forever” (official march of U.S.)

• One of the first to negotiate royalty payments

– Important advocate of copyright reform

Hated recorded music

Vaudeville

• Theater style• Theatrical form descended from music hall shows and

minstrelsy • By the turn of the century, it had become the most

important medium for popularizing Tin Pan Alley songs. • “Variety Show” style

– Vaudeville shows typically consisted of a series of performances presented one after the other without any overarching narrative theme.• Singers, acrobats, comedians, dancers, etc.

• “Will it play in Peoria?” • Separate theaters and booking agencies for Black

performers/audiences– Theater Owners Booking Agency

Scott Joplin - Ragtime

• Best known composer of ragtime music

• Piano player• Improviser• Many of his songs played on a

player piano• Truly a blending of styles

– White march music with syncopation

– Minstrel song influence

• Young white culture began to rebel by participating in the ragtime tradition– Repeats in history over and over

Examples of Ragtime sheet music which used negative racial stereotypes

THE PHONOGRAPH

Invented in 1877 by Thomas EdisonFirst Phonographs – Wax or Foil Cylinders1887 – First Phonograph Disc invented

Emile BerlinerMore durable and cheaper than wax

Two largest American phonograph disc makersColumbia Records (formed 1887)Victor Talking Machine Company (1901)

1902 – 12 in shellac disc introduced78 rpm, could hold up to 4 minutes of musicDouble sided disc in 1904This is what was sold in U.S. until 33 1/3 rpm discs (LP’s) were introduced after WWII in late 1940’s

ACOUSTIC RECORDING

Replaced by electric recording in 1925Sound vibrations converted into an electrical signal before recordingSignal is converted to sound before playbackMagnetic Tape - around 1930, steel wire or steel tape used before 1930

Radio

• 1920: First three commercial radio stations established in U.S.

– Pittsburgh, Detroit, Newark

• 1926: First nationwide radio network – NBC

• 1927: over 1000 radio stations in U.S.

• During Great Depression, people who could not afford phonographs sometimes could afford radio

Film (With Sound!)

• Sound Film (“Talkies”) introduced in 1927– First successful film with sound: The Jazz Singer

• Starting in 1929, the Great Depression wiped out many small studios – larger ones took over

• Up to WWII, film became more of an important venue for popular music; even more so than Broadway or Vaudeville

• By the 30’s, most Tin Pan Alley companies had been bought by Hollywood studios

Origins of Jazz

• Next step after Ragtime and dances influenced by Ragtime (Fox-Trot and Tango)

• New Orleans• Influenced by

– Ragtime– Marching bands– Mardi Gras– Funeral music– French and Italian Opera– Caribbean Music– Tin Pan Alley Songs– African American song traditions (secular and sacred)

“Flappers and Sheiks” –

Jazz Age Fashions

April 1941 South Side Chicago – Example of a “Black and Tan” cabaret

“King of Jazz”

• Paul Whiteman (1890-1967)

• “Safe” version of jazz

• Relationship with George Gershwin

– “Rhapsody in Blue”

• Widened market

• Public relations

Paul Whiteman’s Jazz Orchestra

Tin Pan Alley

• 1890s - rise of the modern American music business.• New York (lower Manhattan) – West 28th St., then later W.

42nd – W. 56th

– “Song pluggers”

• “Tin Pan Alley”• Business based around sheet music • Composers:

– Paul Dresser (1857–1906)– Harry von Tilzer (1872–1946)– James A. Bland (1854–1911)

• First successful African-American composer

– Charles K. Harris (1867–1930)

20’s & 30’s Popular Songs

• Influence of Jewish Immigrants

• Major composers:

– Irving Berlin

– Richard Rodgers

– Cole Porter

– George Gershwin

Irving Berlin

• Most productive of Tin Pan Alley composers• 3-7 songs a week• 1969- catalogue reported 899 songs• Wrote songs for Broadway and Film• Famous Songs:

– “Blue Skies”– “White Christmas”– “God Bless America”– Musical Annie Get your Gun

• “There’s No Business Like Show Business”

Content of Tin Pan Alley Songs

• Did NOT deal with:

– Racism, Unemployment, Fascism

• Comforts of Home

• Romance

– Courtship

– Down to earth language

• Escapist

• Crooning

Tin Pan Alley and Broadway

• Mutual Relationship – “Golden Age of Tin Pan Alley”

• Revues

– Focus on songs and dancing, not plot and characterization

• Musicals as integrated unit comes later

– “Oklahoma” – 1943 Rodgers/Hammerstein

Standards

• Ex: Stephen Foster songs

• Tin Pan Alley songs of 20’s and 30’s became standards

– “My Blue Heaven”

– “April Showers”

– “How Deep Is the Ocean?”

– “I Got Rhythm”

George Gershwin (1898-1937)

• Tragic death at age 38

• Widely known American composer

• Popular songs and classical works– Ex: Rhapsody in Blue

– Porgy and Bess• Opera; used entire cast of classically-trained African-

American musicians

• Jazz influence– Syncopation

– Blue notes