New Worship Songs Added!
Introductory paragraph:
Music in the year 1900 was way different than what it is now. Music, like most anything else, has developed and branched out over time. There were few recordings of any kind yet (Thomas Edison was working on recording cylinders made of tin foil, and later wax), so if you wanted to hear music you had to go to some event, such as a concert by a piano player or a small orchestra. The Victrola (first record player) was introduced in 1906, but it took years for there to be one in every home. There were many missing genres, or styles, of music that you know and love now. There was no rock, no hip-hop, no K-pop, no rap, no country and western, not even any jazz yet. Most songs were either patriotic or written about something that happened like, The Horse Got Out of the Barn, or Old Billy Bob Fell Off the Bridge. One "Christian" song I found was called The Preacher and the Bear. Believe it or not, you'll recognize a few:
1902 - Bill Baily Won't You Come Home
1902 - The Entertainer
1905 - Yankee Doodle Boy
1906 - You're a Grand Old Flag
1908 - Auld Lang Syne (you sing this at New Year's)
1908 - Take Me Out to the Ballgame
One type of music genre was starting to develop. I've been saying that music styles develop over time. But occasionally there is one song that seems to tip the scales and change things. I'm going to use the phrase "watershed moment" quite a bit when talking about music history. At the time, no one knew, but it's easy to look back and point to a song and say, "That song led music interests in a different direction" or "It was the first of it's kind." The first watershed moment I'll reference is The Entertainer by Scott Joplin in 1902. It brought popularity to Ragtime Music. Ragtime then developed over years and eventually morphed into Jazz Music in the late 1910's and early 1920's. Jazz branched out over years and developed into Blues, the Big Band era of the 1930's, and Rhythm and Blues of the 1940's. Out of that and Country Music (1910's) came Rock and Roll of the 1950's. I'll add more info later, but let's take a listen to a few of the early songs!
Watershed moment #1
The Entertainer by Scott Joplin (1902)
Watershed moment #2
Bessie Smith records the first Blues song (1923)
The video clip to the left is of her singing St. Louis Blues in a 1929 movie.
Watershed moment #3
Rhapsody in Blue by George Gershwin (1924)
Some of you piano students may recognize this song. This was a huge moment in music history. People had been enjoying Classical Music for ages. Many rejected the "new" Jazz genre of music. What better way to make something acceptable than by combining it with something already established? In one song, Gershwin combined the Classical style of music with Jazz chords throughout. It was a huge hit and established Jazz as an acceptable form of popular music in the U.S. Take a listen.
This decade saw the rise of individual stars, the development of high-quality film-making, and the Jazz Age gave way to the Big Band Era!
June in January by Bing Crosby (1934)
I found a movie clip from 1934 of a young Bing Crosby singing one of his songs...or singing along with one of his songs, as he had just received a shipment of records from the studio. So in this clip, you get to see how well that film had developed, you get to hear a popular song from one of the rising stars of the time, and you get to see an actual original vinyl record being played. Bing sings along and sometimes harmonizes with his own song. This was high-quality entertainment for the time.
Sing Sing Sing by The Benny Goodman Band (1936)
Sing, Sing, Sing was probably the most popular song of the 1930's. As a bonus, you get to watch legendary dance duo of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers dance to the song. Fred Astaire was generally recognized as the best dancer of the last century. There are still Fred Astaire Dance Studios scattered across the U.S., even in Houston.
When you think of a popular band, you think of a drummer, a guitarist, a bassist, a keyboardist and a few singers. Big bands were...well...bigger. At the beginning of the clip, you'll see Benny Goodman's Big Band and all the instrumentation.
Let's just see how many are actually reading my comments...for an extra grade, tell me, at the beginning of the clip, (1) how many trumpeters on the back row stand up and start playing? --- and at the end of the clip, (2) what do Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers jump over?
This decade saw a boom in entertainment, despite the fact that WWII was going on. Several different genres were either developing nicely or just starting out, such as Rhythm and Blues. Remember, even if you don't particularly care for the styles of music, in every era there were brilliant, extremely talented musicians, singers and songwriters. I tried to pull some of the most popular songs of the time period (Billboard #1 hits) from different genres. Enjoy!
I'll Never Smile Again by Tommy Dorsey (1940)
Tommy Dorsey and his brother Jimmy, both had their "orchestras" and produced huge hits throughout the 1940's. The Big Band era of the 1930's transformed into musical groups with names like "Jimmy Dorsey and his Orchestra."
We Three by the Ink Spots (1940)
The Ink Spots are given credit for being a prelude to Rhythm and Blues and even Rock and Roll. If you'll take a listen to the song, you'll hear verse three is spoken. So one could say they are even a very early precursor to rap. Laugh if you want, but I've been telling you all along that musical "movement," the transitioning from one style to another, is a slow, years-long, maybe even decades-long process. One could also say that music transition starting in the late forties, early fifties depended more on technological advances (electric guitar, and later electric keyboards in the sixties) than on any new music ideas.
New San Antonio Rose by Bob Wills (1940)
Here's one for all you Country and Western fans. Bob Will and the Texas Playboys are given credit for starting the "Western Swing" genre. Even though it's country music style, you can hear the influence of the time period Big Bands and Orchestras. These days you won't hear horns being played in a C&W song. Also, there were no steel guitars yet, a staple of the style in current times. My dad loved this stuff so I got an ear full as a kid.
Chattanooga Choo Choo by Glenn Miller and his Orchestra (1941)
The #1 song of 1941. This is Glenn Miller and his Orchestra. Popular orchestras like this are not what you think of when you think of an orchestra today. They were really still just Big Bands. They might have 12-15 members playing different instruments. Today, the Houston Symphony Orchestra has 88 full-time musicians.
Tangerine by Jimmy Dorsey and his Orchestra (1942)
Despite the war and all it's tensions, popular music, much like during The Depression of the 1930's, was alive and well and provided a much-needed distraction. Between 1929 and 1945, the American people went through some of the worst life could throw at us...loss of fortunes, economic downturn, drought, the Dust Bowl, the Great Depression, and finally a World War! It is no wonder people turned to God and church attendance was at an all-time high!
White Christmas by Bing Crosby (1942)
Believe it or not, this is the #1 selling hit of all time. There are many different recordings of White Christmas. I chose, below, a movie version of Bing Crosby visiting a platoon of soldiers during WWII. Even though this is a movie, singers and entertainers actually did this a lot in real life to boost the moral of our soldiers on the battlefield.
Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy by the Andrews Sisters (1941)
The war spawned it's own genre of music...War-Time music! This was the pinnacle, the apogee, the zenith from that era. (I could have just said "the best example," right?)
I Love You by Bing Crosby (1944)
A good example by the person who uploaded this video of America turning to God during the war.
Why Don't You Do Right? by Peggy Lee (1948)
This is a superior example of early Jazz / Rhythm & Blues. Check out her guitarist and pianist as they perform their solos. This has a little Big Band, Orchestras, Jazz, and Rhythm & Blues all rolled into one, a great example of how music develops slowly over time. I hope you are enjoying exploring how we got to the music we all enjoy today!
You Make Me Feel So Young by Frank Sinatra (1951)
The gradual procession of popular music so far has seen Ragtime music of the early 1900's transform into the Jazz Age of the 1920's. Next was the Big Band Era of the 1930's which eased into the "orchestras" of the 1940's. By the 1950's, everyone in America had a TV set, so high-quality entertainment was geared towards television shows. Live entertainment variety shows were the thing. It made individual artists wildly popular. Early variety show music still had the "feel" of Big Bands and Orchestras, as you'll experience by watching this clip of Frank Sinatra.
Rock Around the Clock by Bill Haley and the Comets (1954)
Just a little bit before Elvis made his debut, pioneering artists were already blazing a trail called Rock and Roll. I find the instrumentation in Bill Haley's band fascinating. Two guitars (the staple instrument of Rock), a steel guitar, a saxophone, an accordion and a double bass (stand up bass). Today's rock bands wouldn't be caught dead with a steel guitar (Country music adopted this instrument), a sax or an accordion. Most would also not have a stand up bass. It's kind of a lost art after the development of the electric bass. Jazz bands still use it. Yet, here they all are, being used in arguably the biggest rock hit until Elvis came along.
Hound Dog by Elvis Presley (1956)
This is the famous (or infamous) clip of Elvis playing Hound Dog on the Ed Sullivan variety show. It was well known that Ed Sullivan did not like Elvis or his style of music, but was kind of forced to have him on the show because of Elvis' overwhelming popularity. He knew everybody in America would watch if he had this rising star on his show. Ed still had major issues with what Elvis did while he was singing. Presley was the first to dance and entertain while he sung. He moved his hips around to the beat, much to the delight of his adoring fans. So, the first time Elvis was on the show, they would only show Elvis from the waist up. Of course the live audience got so see what was going on and they screamed their delight. This clip is unedited and shows what Elvis did to work up all the fans, but if you were watching in 1956, all you would see is from his guitar up. Elvis was not only known as the "King of Rock and Roll," but went on to star in many Hollywood movies, mostly in the 1960's. My sister, of course, had to watch every one of them that came on TV, so I got to see them all, too! He sings in every one of them. They are quite entertaining.
That'll Be the Day by Buddy Holly & the Crickets (1957)
Buddy Holly was from Lubbock, Texas. He was also a wildly popular Rock musician who was a contemporary of Elvis. At the time, he sold about as many records as Elvis, but unfortunately his life ended tragically in an airplane crash on February 3rd, 1959. Also on the plane were two other rock stars (and the pilot). Rock music and America lost Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J.P. Richards (The Big Bopper) in one horrible event. No telling what their careers would have been like if they had continued writing and performing music. You can visit the Buddy Holly Museum in downtown Lubbock.
The Great Pretender by The Platters (1959)
The Platters, formed in 1952, even though they were an African-American vocal group, were still considered to be in the Rock and Roll genre. They had 40 charted singles between 1955 and 1967, four of them reaching the #1 hit in America. They were, without doubt, a sweetheart American band. If you're watching a movie that is about the 1950's or has a "flashback" scene to the era, either this song or Bill Haley's Rock Around the Clock is typically used as the background music.
Just a Closer Walk With Thee by Tennessee Ernie Ford (1958)
As stated, during this window of time, the Variety Show was King. In the early and middle 1950's, Dick Clark's American Band Stand introduced many Rock and Roll acts. The most popular bands would also make it onto the Ed Sullivan Show or the Milton Berle Show. In the later 1950's and into the 1960's, one of the most popular, if not THE most popular variety show was produced by an incredible baritone vocalist named Tennessee Ernie Ford. His voice was unique, beautiful and soothing. During the hour of live entertainment on national TV, they would perform comedy skits, have popular guests who would perform, and of course Tennessee would sing a song or two. He sold millions of records in the secular (non-Christian) market, but this gifted man's heart belonged to God. He was a strong Christian man who could influence people for Jesus on his nationally televised show. And he did just that. At the end of every show, he would sing a church hymn, usually with a choir in the background. In this clip you get to see and hear Tennessee Ernie Ford sing a song about Jesus to his live studio audience and millions of Americans...what a great witness!
Tennessee Ernie Ford (with a bunch of kids) introduces a 1958 Ford on his Christmas TV Special
Watch with me this neat little advertisement that Tennessee "performs" live. When there are kids involved there are usually some surprising, humorous moments. Also interesting is the fact that the Ford Motor Co. wants Mr. Ford to do their ads...smart.
For your Grade for this week, answer the following questions:
What is the name of the boy who gets in the front seat with Tennessee towards the end?
From a Christian / Catholic standpoint (that's you and me), why do you think we don't see good, wholesome, pure, clean, fun TV shows like this one on the air anymore?