Americans had much more leisure time in the 1920s due to the advent of time saving technology in industry and at home. Therefore, the typical middle class American had more opportunity to indulge in the exploding world of mass media and entertainment. Many of the defining features of modern American popular culture emerged during the 1920s. The record chart, novels and book clubs, the radio, the talking picture, and spectator sports all became popular forms of entertainment. Due to the growth of technology, entertainment spanned the country - leading to the first American mass media and uniting the average American like never before.
The revolutionary radio came of age in the 20s, becoming the most powerful communication for news, music, sports, shows, and comedy. The first commercial radio station, KDKA, began broadcasting in 1919. During the 1920s, the nation's airwaves were filled with musical variety shows and comedies. Sales of radios soared from $60 million in 1922 to $426 million in 1929. Radio weakened regional differences and helped create national tastes and lifestyles. When Charles Lindbergh became the first person to fly nonstop across the Atlantic from New York to Paris in 1928, the radio brought this incredible feat into American homes, transforming him into a celebrity overnight.
Movie stars became the ideal for many Americans who flooded the theaters of the nation in record numbers. By 1925, filmmaking had become the nation's fourth largest industry, and there were more than twenty thousand movie houses nationwide. Silent movies were the first to entice the masses, then “talkies” emerged by the end of the decade. Hollywood became the “it” place, and movie stars like Rudolph Valentino and Clara Bow were idolized across the country.
Spectator sports attracted huge audiences in the 1920s. Americans focused on individual superstars, people whose talents or personalities made them appear larger than life. Boxers like Jack Dempsey became national idols. American Gertrude Ederle fascinated the world when she became the first woman to swim the English Channel. Knute Rockne and his "Four Horsemen" at Notre Dame spurred interest in college football, and professional football began during the 1920s with the superstar Red Grange. Baseball drew even bigger crowds than football, thanks to George Herman ("Babe") Ruth, the sport's undisputed superstar. Ruth transformed baseball into the game of the home-run hitter. In 1921, the New York Yankee slugger hit 59 home runs--more than any other team. In 1927, the "Sultan of Swat" hit 60 home runs.
The decade was also known for fads, which became all the rage. Marathon dancing, flagpole sitting, crossword puzzles, doing the Charleston, playing Mahjongg, and the Miss America Pageant were crazes that dominated popular culture.