Post by Ms. Lucy on Aug 12, 2010 2:43:03 GMT -5
Music
Prior to the 1920s a lot of recreational music consisted of playing tunes from published sheet music or musically talented friends or family getting together for a sing-song or jam session. While sheet music was still available during the 1920′s its popularity was slowly declining.
The reasons for the decline in sheet music were the rapid improvement in the quality of phonograph records and the affordability of phonographs and radios due to the introduction of consumer credit. The advantage of phonographs and radios was that you didn’t need a piano or musical talent to enjoy music in your home. It was possible to hear the best orchestras and recording artists in your own home. The old cylindrical music rolls first used on phonographs were being replaced by 78 rpm records that contained a song on each side. Families would gather together in the evening around the radio instead of the piano, guitar, or violin as happened previously.
Classical music was popular with the middle and upper class in particular and was heavily promoted by Victor Records who had an extensive library of classical music recorded by the stars of the day and leading orchestras. Classical music was also played extensively by radio stations all over the country.
As jazz came into its own though, people were making names for themselves, such as:
Joe "King" Oliver
Edward "Kid" Ory
Louis Armstrong:
Bix Beiderbecke
Jelly Roll Morton
Paul Whiteman
Duke Ellington
Earl Hines
The 1920's were Broadway's prime years, with over 50 new musicals opening in just one season. Record numbers of people paid up to $3.50 for a seat at a musical. It was also a decade of incredible artistic developments in the musical theatre.
Even in the 1920's the lights of Broadway lit up the billboards at night in a huge splash of color that was immortalized in song. The dazzling lights were an attraction in their own right that compared with the shows in popularity.
The Broadway shows were produced by showmen who took musical theatre seriously and tried to provide quality entertainment while making a profit at the same time. This attitude kept the musical theatre booming right through the 1920s. Among the hundreds of popular musical comedies that debuted on Broadway in the early 1920s, two classic examples epitomise the Broadway musical of that era – Sally and No, No, Nanette.
Prior to the 1920s a lot of recreational music consisted of playing tunes from published sheet music or musically talented friends or family getting together for a sing-song or jam session. While sheet music was still available during the 1920′s its popularity was slowly declining.
The reasons for the decline in sheet music were the rapid improvement in the quality of phonograph records and the affordability of phonographs and radios due to the introduction of consumer credit. The advantage of phonographs and radios was that you didn’t need a piano or musical talent to enjoy music in your home. It was possible to hear the best orchestras and recording artists in your own home. The old cylindrical music rolls first used on phonographs were being replaced by 78 rpm records that contained a song on each side. Families would gather together in the evening around the radio instead of the piano, guitar, or violin as happened previously.
Classical music was popular with the middle and upper class in particular and was heavily promoted by Victor Records who had an extensive library of classical music recorded by the stars of the day and leading orchestras. Classical music was also played extensively by radio stations all over the country.
As jazz came into its own though, people were making names for themselves, such as:
Joe "King" Oliver
Edward "Kid" Ory
Louis Armstrong:
Bix Beiderbecke
Jelly Roll Morton
Paul Whiteman
Duke Ellington
Earl Hines
The 1920's were Broadway's prime years, with over 50 new musicals opening in just one season. Record numbers of people paid up to $3.50 for a seat at a musical. It was also a decade of incredible artistic developments in the musical theatre.
Even in the 1920's the lights of Broadway lit up the billboards at night in a huge splash of color that was immortalized in song. The dazzling lights were an attraction in their own right that compared with the shows in popularity.
The Broadway shows were produced by showmen who took musical theatre seriously and tried to provide quality entertainment while making a profit at the same time. This attitude kept the musical theatre booming right through the 1920s. Among the hundreds of popular musical comedies that debuted on Broadway in the early 1920s, two classic examples epitomise the Broadway musical of that era – Sally and No, No, Nanette.