MU 150 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Eubie Blake, Bessie Smith, Enrico Caruso
Document Summary
Chapter 15: early modern era- music, society and technology. 1910s and 1920s: enormous social changes in america. A sexual revolution that redefined a woman"s place in society: prohibition. A move to eliminate blue mondays : immigration and migration. Large ethnic populations were found in the big cities: most of the great songwriters were jewish or black. Irving berlin, george gershwin, duke ellington, fats waller. First technological revolution: radio, talking pictures, in 1925 the recording industry converts from acoustic to electric with the first use of microphones. Allowed for greater volume in both live and recorded performances and a dramatic improvement in recorded sound: 1927= first talking film. Modern era popular music (time between 2 world wars: much different from popular music at the turn of the century, 3 main reasons. Infusion of black musical features such as riffs, rhythms, instruments and performing style. More open and vibrant sensibility expressed in songs and their performances.
