Researches

Music through the 1940s and 1950s ** DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: **

- Which ethnic groups influenced the music during your assigned decade(s)? - What were the popular or evolving genres of music? Classic Pop, Rock and Roll, Country Music, Folk Music, Gospel, Doo Wop ( In addition, [|doo wop] achieved widespread popularity in the 1950s. Doo wop was a harmonically complex style of choral singing that developed in the streets of major cities like [|Chicago], [|New York City], and, most importantly, [|Baltimore]. Doo wop singers would work [|a cappella] without backing instruments, and practice in hallways of their schools, apartment buildings, or alleys to achieve echo effects on their voices, and lyrics were generally innocent youthful observations on the upsides of teen love and romance. Groups like [|The Crows] ("[|Gee]"), [|The Orioles] ("[|It's Too Soon to Know]") and Brooklyn's [|Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers] ("[|Why Do Fools Fall in Love]") had a string of hit songs that brought the genre to chart domination by 1958 (see [|1958 in music]). [|http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_history_of_the_United_States_(1940s_and_50s)#Bluegrass]

- Who were the famous composers, songwriters and artists? // (Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, Nina Simone (?), Sam Cooke (?)... I found it on Wikipedia, so I don't know if it's reliable.) // // "At the beginning of the decade (1940's), Big Bands dominated popular music. Glenn Miller, Tommy Dorsey, Duke Ellington and Benny Goodman led some of the more famous bands. Eventually, many of the singers with the Big Bands struck out on their own. Bing Crosby's smooth voice made him one of the most popular singer, vying with Frank Sinatra, Dinah Shore, Kate Smith and Perry Como also led the hit parade. Be-Bop and Rhythm and Blues, grew out of big band era toward the end of the decade. Although these were distinctly black sounds, epitomized by Charlie Parker, Dizzie Gillespie, Thelonious Monk, Billy Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald, Woody Herman also performed blues and jazz." //(site: http://kclibrary.lonestar.edu/decade40.html) // "Bing Crosby helped to define the music of the 1940s as well as much of the music today. Most famous for his rendition of "White Christmas", Crosby was a great musical talent during his day and musicians continued to be influenced for several decades, including Frank Sinatra, Perry Como and Dean Martin." //(aceterrier.com/?page_id=1282)

- How does the music of that time directly influence the music of today? // (If Nina Simone was a 40's or 50's singer, we can say that because of her song "Feeling Good", a lot of americans became fans of her now a days. There's a girl called Carly Rose Sonenclar who sang that song on The X-Factor USA. This little girl kind of revived this genre of music through Nina's song) //

- Which type of instruments influenced the music? "In the 1940s the saxophone (ps. I don't know what is the right way to write "saxofone alto" in English), and maybe the jazz itself, rises about Charlie Parker." "The battery suffered a transformation in the 1940s thanks to Sidney Catlett, Kenny Clarke and Max Roach. From a second place, with a simple function to mark time, like happened in the traditional jazz and (rare times) in swing, the battery started to "talk" with the other instruments." (http://www.mundomax.com.br/blog/tag/instrumentos-musicais-do-jazz/) "The 1950s saw the growth in popularity of the electric guitar (developed and popularized by Les Paul)." (wikipedia) Mitch Miller was one of the singers of the 40's and often employed novel and ear-catching arrangements featuring classical instruments (whooping french horns, harpsichord), or sound effects. ( [])

- Culturally, socially, politically and/or economically, what was happening in the U.S. during this time that influenced music in the U.S.? How would you describe the environment in the U.S. at that specific time? //I found it in one of those links th////at were send to us: " This (1940's) was also the era of World War II, and many musical acts strived to reflect the pain that the country was going through while still remaining upbeat and positive about the impending future."// (site: http://www.thepeoplehistory.com/40smusic.html)

1940 "World War II was taking its toll on the people in the United States and abroad, but the performers continued to keep their upbeat styles to help America take their mind off of the news. They not only continued to make fun music, but many of them also took their talents to the troops to keep them entertained and improve their morale. The 1940s positive musical styles helped to give way to the rock ‘n’ roll styles of the decade that was to come." - (Site: http://www.thepeoplehistory.com/40smusic.html)  ** "T ** he 1940's were dominated by World War II. European artists and intellectuals fled to the United States from Hitler and the Holocaust, bringing new ideas created in disillusionment. War production pulled us out of the Great Depression. Women were needed to replace men who had gone off to war, and so the first great exodus of women from the home to the workplace began. Rationing affected the food we ate, the clothes we wore, the toys with which children played." ( http://kclibrary.lonestar.edu/decade40.html)

1950 "The 1950's were a time of changes and the music of the decade both reflected the cultural changes that were happening while still holding on to the societal norms of the past. Following the detrimental effects of World War II, the United States was about to embark on a musical journey that would change the face of music for decades to come. Racial tensions were being strained with the beginning of the civil rights movement and music reflected many of those tensions. Rhythm & Blues (R&B) and Rock 'n' Roll popularized "black" music and many African-American musicians rose to prominence and enjoyed success, but while some were able to reap the benefits of their work, many others were forgotten or denied access to audiences through segregation. A lot of people believe that during the fifties many of the white artists stole music from African-Americans and capitalized on it for their own benefit in a way that the original artists could not. A perfect example of this happening is when Pat Boone was made to cover Little Richard's song "Tutti Frutti" and Boone's version topped higher on the charts, while considered by many to be the inferior version of the song. Others believe that the popularization of R&B and Rock 'n' Roll only helped to bridge the gap between blacks and whites and further the civil rights movement. While those genres paved the way for future music, traditional pop and country music clung to the past with old standards remaining popular and a multitude of covers topping the charts. Either way, this decade was a time of innovation that helped to influence everything that we listen to on the radio today." - (http://www.thepeoplehistory.com/50smusic.html)

"The end of World War II brought thousands of young servicemen back to America to pick up their lives and start new families in new homes with new jobs. With an energy never before experienced, American industry expanded to meet peacetime needs. Americans began buying goods not available during the war, which created corporate expansion and jobs. Growth everywhere." (http://kclibrary.lonestar.edu/decade50.html)