Popular Music in America from 1900-1934

Music in the 20th century in the last 100 years has gone through several changes during its short life. Every decade a shift of some sort has occurred and the music has taken a different direction, especially with the aging of each generation and the rapid development of new technology and instruments. Different styles and forms have been born, and although I wouldn’t say that any particular style has died out, but each has, more or less, evolved; been replaced by the new music of the day. How many different styles, from the past 100 years, can you think of and name. Take a journey with me back into the past to get some insight of the first thirty plus years of the century; from 1900 to 1936. One must remember that this essay is just a brief overview and will be incomplete and not very detailed according to some, but to others it is definitely a good starting point.
Before we start our journey let’s take a look at how popular music on the radio came about. Popular music in the 20th century started out with Thomas Edison’s invention of the Phonograph, which was in 1865, but didn’t debut until 1889(Laforse 7).
By today’s standards it was a simple contraption that had no electric parts at all and worked entirely on mechanical energy. It’s main component was a metal diaphragm to which a needle or “stylus” was affixed; when this diaphragm was set in motion by sound waves generated by the voice or an instrument , the stylus was also set in motion and, Edison reasoned, could be made to emboss these sound-wave patterns in a suitably strong material, such as tinfoil… In order to record, Edison would crank a small handle on the machine, which would set the cylindrical tinfoil sheet in motion, and at the same time he would speak into it (Laforse 5).
The first ever recorded words into this machine, which was observed by several people, was the words to the childhood nursery rhyme “Mary Had A Little Lamb,” spoken by Edison himself, and after he was finished he played the recording back and it was a success. Several years after this invention, along with refinement, American music, one could say, was born, as well as the recording industry. Although the radio wasn’t invented until 1906, music was being recorded and produced by both Thomas Edison’s company, and another by the inventor of the telephone, Alexander Graham Bell. They dominated the industry until 1920 when another individual, Eldridge R. Johnson, who owned a company called the Victor Talking Machine Company entered into the scene. Recording companies like Columbia Records and RCA didn’t come on to the scene until the 1930’s and ‘40’s (Laforse 5-7).
Around the same time as the phonograph there was also the gramophone, which was very similar to the phonograph in the cylinders that it used and that there were no electric parts. The phonograph was used by Edison’s company, and the gramophone was used by the Berlineer Company, which was associated with the Victor Company. In addition to these two inventions, the TV and the radio came into existence as well, give or take a few years; however, it was music and the radio that were the most popular during that time. There were several reasons for this. First, TV’s were very expensive, and although they were a new invention and peaked people’s interest, in the beginning there was no substance to the programming, so it went through an up and down phase. Another reason was because, in a related manner, the radio provided the cheapest form of entertainment because radios were not as expensive as televisions and once the radio was purchased nothing more had to be done; therefore, it had a lot of success for many years to come (Laforse 17).
Now that we have a little bit of an insight as to how music and radio got started, let’s begin our journey. In the first forty years of the decade, there were about three major styles of music, which consisted of two or three forms each; Country Blues, City Blues, (Jazz) New Orleans Dixieland, Chicago Dixieland, Swing, Ragtime, Stride, and Boogie-Woogie (Megill 11). To a musician of the day, and probably someone with an excellent background in these styles, the difference is probably very drastic, but to a novice there doesn’t seem to be any difference at all; all the styles seem to blend together.
In the beginning of the century the Civil War had just ended several years earlier and music reflected the times. Edison’s Company produced and marketed what was called “coon songs”, or “darky songs.” These were songs that mainly sold to people in the south, were sung by white musicians, and mocked and ridiculed black folk. The lyrics, although highly offensive by today’s standards, were racial but reflected people’s attitudes during that time, as you can see some of the title’s of some of these songs. Please be cautioned, this material can be considered very offensive, but it does give an excellent glimpse of the past, and they are, “ Little Alabama Coon,” “All Coons Look Alike To Me,” “The Ghost of the Banjo Coon,” “Lazy Nigger,” and “The Merry Whistling Darky.” In addition, the lyrics to these songs drive home their ideas. Again, I stress caution…(Laforse 28)

“The Merry Whistling Darky”
Oh, I know a little nigger
Who would whistle in the square
“Dum-dee-dee-dee-dee-deedly-dum,”

Oh, you’re bound to hear him comin’
Round the corner every day,
“Dum-dee-dee-dee-dee-deedly-dum.”

He’d whistle night and day,
In his own peculiar way,
Indeed he was as happy as a loon!

And it made him feel so proud
When he whistled out so loud,
“Dum-dee-dee-dee-dee-deedly-dum.”

There were other songs during that time that weren’t, as we would consider today, so offensive, but because they were recorded by Edison’s Company they were still considered to be a “coon song.” A good example of this is a piece called, “Old Folks at Home,” which is a song about a river (Tyler 11). However, not all of the music during that time reflected that same attitude. Patriotic songs also came into existence and some of those songs are well known today, such as The Stars and Stripes Forever (1901); a patriotic march that has become one of the most recorded song of the pre-rock era, Semper Fidelis (1902); another song by John Philip Sousa which eventually became the Marine Corps Hymn, and You’re a Grand Old Flag (1906), which was written by George M. Cohan. Other songs also well known were, Auld Lang Syne (1907), the traditional New Year’s song we sing every year, and When Irish Eyes Are Smiling (1913), an Irish ballad considered to be the most popular of all time (Tyler 14-65).
These songs and the “coon songs” lasted for about fifteen years because of the new style of Ragtime. The Ragtime years can best be associated with WWI; they were between 1915-1919. Why they were called the Ragtime years I cannot answer, but this was a time of war and the people supported their troops, and even sacrificed food and fuel to make sure their boys won. Other historical events of the time were, The Panama Canal opened, The Boy and Girl Scouts were founded, and Congress ratified liquor prohibition. Also, the movie industry started to flourish and baseball was shocked by the “Black Sox” gambling scandal at the 1919 World Series. Some of the popular titles in the day were, Carry Me Back to Old Virginny (1915), Poor Butterfly (1917), and Tiger Rag(1918)(Tyler 73-106).
The Jazz years according to Don Tyler, were from 1920-1929. They are best associated with the Charleston and the Black Bottom. Boy’s and girls were called “jazz babies” and “flappers,” and the women started dressing more provocatively; they wore dresses that the knee could be seen. Legendary names is associated with this type of music are Louis Armstrong, Bix Biederbecke, Sidney Bechet, and Jelly Roll Morton (107). The beginning of Jazz is credited to the Paul Whiteman Band in New Orleans, but according to Jelly Roll Morton, much of the credit should go to Louis Armstrong (Laforse 68). Two popular songs of those times that were popular then that we would probably know today are, It had to be you (1924), and Singin in the Rain (1929)(Tyler 107-68)
The Jazz years continued into the ‘30’s, but the times were way different. The 1920’s were a prosperous time for the country and people were happy, and enjoyed life. The 1930’s however, was characterized by hunger, unemployment, breadlines, and dust storms; The Depression Years. People were down and the music of Jazz helped lift their spirits. Some of the popular songs that could be recognized from that particular time were, I Got Rhythm (1930), and Minnie the Moocher (1931).
So there it is, a trip into the past in order to see where the music that we listen to today has come from. It was quite a learning experience for me, and I hope for you as well. As for the music itself, I’m not going to discuss the music of Swing because that is a different era, but music during the Ragtime, Jazz and Swing eras seem to have the same sound , at least to the novice such as myself, but probably to the musician of the day or someone who is an expert the music is probably drastically different. Please don’t let my opinion skew yours because music speaks differently to everybody.

Laforse, W. Martin, and James A. Drake. Popular Culture and American Life. 1st ed. Chicago: Nelson-Hall 1981.
Megill, D. Donald, and Richard S. Demory. Introduction to Jazz History. 3rd ed. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1993.
Tyler, Don. Hit Songs, 1900-1955: American Popular Music of the Pre-Rock Era. 1st ed. North Carolina: McFarland &Company, Inc. 2007.

Edward Mollohan