Armstrong's talent helped him break down some of the racial barriers of the time as he played in several mixed race bands and was invited to play in white only clubs. Ellington was a jazz band leader and a pianist. He was an influential figure in the jazz community but he also did a lot for general popular music and dance music. He was also a popular figure who frequented whites only jazz clubs to perform.
A third influential jazz musician of the decade was a white cornetist and pianist named Bix Beiderbecke. Beiderbecke's style contrasted with Armstrong and he is thought to have had an equal influence on the early jazz scene like Armstrong. Many jazz authorities say that two distinct styles of jazz were formed from the s, and the two styles can be traced to the original styles of either Louis Armstrong or Bix Beiderbecke. Armstrong was a highly trained musician and was considered a virtuoso, while Beiderbecke was self-taught and therefore had an unusual style.
Jazz was the defining sound and style of the s and has continued to be a popular art form that has a constantly changing musical landscape. Beiderbecke's famous recordings included 's "Riverboat Shuffle" and 's "Davenport Blues. The first popular blues music began appearing in the late s and early s.
Blues music likely originated earlier than that in the African American communities in the Deep Southern states of the US. Blues music is characterized by repeating chords and s blues focused on a twelve bar structure.
Songs would often chronicle the singers personal troubles and the daily racial problems associated with being African American in the prejudiced and segregated South.
Some blues songs were also witty and comical, a satirical take on a melancholy life. During the Twenties, blues was almost exclusively played by black musicians and was only popular within the black community. One of the most important blues singers of the decade was Mamie Smith. Mamie Smith is credited with making the first recorded blues vocal performance by an African American singer in The song was called "Crazy Blues" and it was hugely popular with an African American audience, helping to create a market for "race records," recordings that were specifically marketed to a black audience.
Another important blues singer from the s was the "Mother of Blues," Ma Rainey. She was also one of the first professional blues recording artists and was known for having a powerful voice. Rainey was suspected by many to be bisexual or lesbian and is thought of as one of the first influential voices in the LGBTQ community as many of her songs openly referenced lesbianism.
She was known for her incredibly strong vocals. A final important figure in s blues music was Blind Lemon Jefferson, a singer and guitarist who had a distinctive style that made him a hugely successful recording artist in the early days of the music industry. It took a decade, but he eventually built a weight-driven lathe, microphone, and a six-foot amplifier rack with parts used in those early recording sessions. The recording equipment presented unique challenges to artists accustomed to ProTools and compressors.
Because the lathe uses a weight-driven pulley system of gears to end the recording, songs must be recorded straight through, in less than three and a half minutes.
A recording of Beck and a gospel chorus performing "Fourteen Rivers, Fourteen Floods" required 14 takes to accommodate the equipment, including one with the microphone in the corner of the room, another beside Beck's guitar, and another with the chorus facing the wall. Many of the artists appearing in the film felt the limitations of recording lathe technology led to a more spontaneous performance.
And some said it provided a connection to the musicians who influenced them. Bringing the Lathe Into the 21st Century. Topics Music recording. Instead of a singer belting out a song so that it could be heard in the back row of a theatre, these belting singers actually sounded terrible in front of a microphone. They had never learned to modulate their tones. Lyrics about Love As musicians experimented with what worked, they learned that a new type of music was possible.
For the first time, emotions could be conveyed with the sound of the voice. Lyrics could be about love and the tones could be intimate and suggestive, as if the performer was whispering the song to each listener. Women loved it, and then as now, women were responsible for spending much of the family budget. As a result, radio quickly got on board with crooners whispering advertisements that segued into whispered love songs.
As the crooners gained popularity on radio, the clubs started booking them to perform live because people wanted to see the faces behind the soft, soothing voices. Change is usually followed by controversy, and this shift was no different. From a totally different camp, singing teachers condemned the style because they felt the American chest would shrink because of lack of lung development.
The economy was doing well and income increased. With that prosperity, families had more leisure time, and a favorite pastime became listening to the radio.
The first radio stations focused on broadcast news, serial stories, and political speeches, but they later included music, weather, and sports. It lasted more than 30 years. Many radio shows of this decade emulated this minstrel-style comedy.
The show helped pave the way for better representation of African Americans in radio and entertainment. Radio in the s also introduced sports programs into the home, which quickly became popular. Music in the s in the United States had variety, to say the least! Jazz, blues, swing, dance band, and ragtime were just a few of the most popular music genres of the decade.
Almost all of these genres originated from the creative work of African Americans influenced by their culture and heritage. Prior to the radio, music could be shared only through sheet music, piano rolls, or live performances. With the use of the radio waves, music of all kinds could easily be introduced to homes across the United States.
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