The Jazz Age: Popular Music in the 1920's - Research Paper Example

The Jazz Age The Jazz Age was one of the most prominent features in the 1920s and was indeed characterized by several happenings. Jazz music became very popular during this time and many people joined the bandwagon in the jazz culture. Without doubt, the Jazz Age had a lot of influence on the popular culture in America. In any case, this influence was not limited to the United States but was also realized in Britain, France and other countries. The influence of Jazz on pop culture continued over the years and was realized in all aspects of conventional life. While the Jazz age was much influential even in the later years, much of this influence was affected by the great depression in the 1930s. It is however, imperative to emphasize that Jazz music did not really begin in the 1920s but earlier on. The twenties only served as a period when new experiments were conducted and many styles were discovered with respect to the Jazz culture. Real jazz music was born in 1895 as a mixture of Blues and band music which played by African Americans and Creoles in New Orleans. This music was basically played on the old U.S Army music instruments like the marching drums of the cornet. It was basically a matter of improvisation given that most musicians of the day could not read music. Gradually, some white men noticed the popularity of this new trend and became interested. As a result many white people began playing jazz (Barrett, 45). Consequently, there was a fusion of the African and European music which blended to give jazz a new style from which a new culture sprang. Many of the white performers were used to make the culture much popular across the United States (Baraka, 25). The jazz music culture was soon taken over by the white middle class Americans and cities like Chicago and New York became canters for jazz music and culture. The growth and development of the radio industry was further instrumental in encouraging the growth of this culture. The numerous radio stations that sprang up around 1920 made it possible for many Americans to experience many kinds of music without the need to visit clubs. Many radio shows such as “potter palm” enhanced the popularity of jazz music and many people became fans (Barrett, 51). Armature concerts and other jazz performances were common in cities like Chicago. Originally, many African Americans got little airplay as many of the stations and clubs preferred the white jazz musicians (Shaw, 65). However, as the music became popular, artists like Louis Armstrong received much airtime and many big bands were formed. Much of the influence of the jazz music was realized in the 1920s when majority of the youth went against the traditional lifestyle and adopted new ways. The traditional culture was slowly washed away amongst the youth through dressing and other mannerisms. The bold fashion statements (flappers) and new radio concerts were part of the rebellion realized amongst the youth (Barrett, 32). New styles of dancing like the Charleston were introduced by the African Americans and became very popular amongst the younger generations. Many of the youth began to make their hair in strange new ways while also donning sliver and golden slippers. In the same way, the women were not immune from this new wave that took over many of the youth. While there was indeed a lot of opposition from mothers and fathers on the new trend and how they thought it was affecting society, the peak of the women suffrage in the twenties coupled with the introduction of the flapper gave women much liberty to adopt the new culture. The happenings of the First World War led to many women joining the work force and this gave them many possibilities in relation to social life. Many people further advocated for equality and free sexuality and many female musicians emerged. Women musicians like Janis Joplin and Billie Holiday became very popular jazz musicians and were mostly inspired by Bessie Smith who had earlier became famous (Fitzgerald, 89). Nevertheless, there was still much antipathy to the participation of women in music. The influence of jazz music was nevertheless realized as women became active participants in many areas of social life like entertainment which had earlier been preserves for men. In the cities of New York and Chicago, the Jazz age was a period when many people spent much money on entertainment and never worried much. In any case, the economy of the United States was much prosperous and many people were doing well economically. There was a sense of prodigality in the lifestyle of many middle class Americans as a result of the new culture of jazz music (Ward & Burns, 52). Parties and concerts became very popular and these provided opportunities for people to play and listen to live jazz music. The jazz culture was basically associated with extravagance and stringiness was greatly condemned. During much of the jazz age, many African elites preferred classical music and were not impressed by the popularity of jazz. As such, these people increased their listenership of classical music in the hope that jazz would loose much of its popularity. Many classical musicians therefore become popular in their field. This led to the emergence of some great composers in the field such as Herbert Howells and George Gershwin. It was therefore realized that the popularity of jazz music had profound effects on the development of other genres of music as alternatives to this culture (Fitzgerald, 113). The banning of the sale of alcoholic drinks in the 1920 to 1933 encouraged the flourishing of illegal speakeasies which provided platforms for the Jazz age. Many people of the older generation however still regarded the jazz culture as very immoral considering the influence it had on social life (Riggs, 85). The jazz culture was assoiled with indecent values which were totally opposed by the older generation. While the Jazz age was basically an affair of the 1920s, its influence on the popular culture was much profound and continues to be felt today. The jazz age was therefore one of the most influential periods of the 1920s. The culture was however affected much by the Great Depression of the 1930s which affected many families across the world. As a result, many people could not afford a lot of entertainment and the Jazz age slowly diminished. Works Cited Baraka, Imamu. Black music. New York: W. Morrow, 2005. Print. Barrett, Marvin. The jazz age,. New York: Putman, 2003. Print. Fitzgerald, F. Scott. Novels and stories, 1920-1922: This side of paradise ; Flappers and philosophers ; The beautiful and damned ; Tales of the Jazz Age. New York: Literary Classics of the United States :, 2000. Print. Riggs, Kate. Jazz music. Mankato, Minn.: Creative Education, 2008. Print. Shaw, Arnold. The jazz age: popular music in the 1920's. New York: Oxford University Press, 2001. Print. Ward, Geoffrey C., and Ken Burns. Jazz: a history of America's music. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2000. Print. Read More