Valentine's Day Is for Crooners
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Jazz and the Cultural Transformation of America in the 1920S
Louisiana State University LSU Digital Commons LSU Doctoral Dissertations Graduate School 2003 Jazz and the cultural transformation of America in the 1920s Courtney Patterson Carney Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations Part of the History Commons Recommended Citation Carney, Courtney Patterson, "Jazz and the cultural transformation of America in the 1920s" (2003). LSU Doctoral Dissertations. 176. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations/176 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at LSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in LSU Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized graduate school editor of LSU Digital Commons. For more information, please [email protected]. JAZZ AND THE CULTURAL TRANSFORMATION OF AMERICA IN THE 1920S A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in The Department of History by Courtney Patterson Carney B.A., Baylor University, 1996 M.A., Louisiana State University, 1998 December 2003 For Big ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The real truth about it is no one gets it right The real truth about it is we’re all supposed to try1 Over the course of the last few years I have been in contact with a long list of people, many of whom have had some impact on this dissertation. At the University of Chicago, Deborah Gillaspie and Ray Gadke helped immensely by guiding me through the Chicago Jazz Archive. -
“Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?”—Rudy Vallee (1932) Added to the National Registry: 2013 Essay by Doris Bickford-Swarthout (Guest Post)*
“Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?”—Rudy Vallee (1932) Added to the National Registry: 2013 Essay by Doris Bickford-Swarthout (guest post)* Rudy Vallee The writers said this song was not meant to be a sentimental piece or one for begging. It expressed the frustration, anger and puzzlement of millions of the unemployed and hungry. When the Great Depression hit, working-class veterans of World War I were especially harmed. Back from the war with injuries and loss, they tried to rebuild their lives, only to find, suddenly, that there were no jobs and for many, no homes. Why, they ask? They used to tell me I was building a dream And so I followed the mob When there was earth to plow or guns to bear I was always there right on the job. They used to tell me I was building a dream With peace and glory ahead Why should I be standing in line Just waiting for bread? Once I built a railroad, I made it run Made it race against time Once I built a railroad, now it's done Brother, can you spare a dime? Once I built a tower up to the sun Brick and rivet and lime Once I built a tower, now it's done Brother, can you spare a dime? Rudy Vallee was born Hubert Prior Vallée, July 28, 1901, at Island Pond, Vermont. His family moved to Westport, Maine, where he grew up. His earliest ambition was to play the saxophone in a band. He was a pupil of Rudy Wiedoeft, whom he admired so much that his friends began calling him “Rudy.” The name stuck, and the only time Valle used his birth name was during World War II when he served in the Coast Guard. -
Purches Collection a to Z List of Principal Artists and Performers
Purches Collection A to Z List of Principal Artists and Performers Organization of this list: The principal performer is listed surname first in bold type with role/s in (parentheses); after the forward slash / any associated performers, or groups are listed; for groups using a pseudonym the 'real name’ / identity of group is shown in [square brackets] ; the original Cutter number (assigned to most performers who were primarily featured on the recordings) is listed on the far right hand side. A Aaronson, Irving (Bandleader) - A111 Abrams, Irwin (Bandleader) - A161 Adler, Larry (Harmonica) - A236 Adrian, Lou (Orchestra) / Eddy Howard (Vocal) Adrian's Ramblers (Danceband) / Adrian Rollini (Bandleader) Alamo, Tony (Vocal) / Sammy Kaye (Bandleader) Alberts, Al (Vocal) / The Four Aces (Vocal) Alexander, Archie (Bandleader) / George Barclay (Vocal) Les Allen (Vocal) Alexander, Jeff (Chorus, Choir)/ Bing Crosby (Vocal), Frank Sinatra (Vocal) Alfredo (Bandleader) - A391 Allen, Bob (Vocal) / Hai Kemp (Bandleader) Allen, Fred (Vocal)/ Bing Crosby (Vocal) Allen, Gracie (Comedienne)/ George Bums (Comedian) Allen, Henry 'Red' (Bandleader) - A425 Allen, Les (Vocal) - A427 Allen, Rosalie (Vocal) / Elton Brett (Vocal) Allen, Terry (Vocal) / Red Norvo (Bandleader) Alley, Ben (Vocal) All Star Band - A4412 All Star Orchestra - A4415 All Star Stompers - A4418 Alper, Rose (Vocal) / Joe Loss (Bandleader) Alston, Ovie (Vocal) / Claude Hopkins (Bandleader) Ambassador Trio, The (Vocal) / Gus Arnheim (Bandleader) Ambassadors, The (Danceband) - A491 Ambrose (Bandleader) -
Starr-Waterman American Popular Music Chapter 4: “I Got Rhythm”: the Golden Age of Tin Pan Alley Song, 1920S and 1930S Student Study Outline
Starr-Waterman American Popular Music Chapter 4: “I Got Rhythm”: The Golden Age of Tin Pan Alley Song, 1920s and 1930s Student Study Outline I. Influential and Commercially Successful Songs a. Irving Berlin (1888‒1989) b. Richard Rodgers (1902‒1979) c. Cole Porter (1891‒1964) d. George Gershwin (1898‒1938) i. Al Jolson (1886‒1950) II. Tin Pan Alley Song Form a. AABA structure and verse-and-chorus forms b. Verse-refrain form i. Verse ii. Refrain III. Box 4.1: Irving Berlin a. Irving Berlin (1888‒1989) IV. Listening Guide: “’Deed I Do” a. Music by Fred Rose, lyrics by Walter Hirsch; performed by Ruth Etting (1926) i. Tin Pan Alley form: Intro (hook) + Verse + AABA Refrain V. What Were Tin Pan Alley Songs About? a. Popular songs and the musical plays and films in which they appear were designed to help people escape the pressures of daily life 1. Middle-class culture 2. Romantic love a. First-person lyrics b. Crooning VI. Listening Guide: “My Blue Heaven” a. Music by Walter Donaldson, lyrics by George Whiting; published 1924; performed by Gene Austin; recorded 1927 i. Crooners VII. Listening Guide: “April Showers” a. Music by Louis Silvers, lyrics by Buddy DeSylva; published 1921; performed by Al Jolson; recorded 1921 b. Music by Louis Silvers, lyrics by Buddy DeSylva; published 1921; performed by Al Jolson; recorded 1932 VIII. Listening Guide: “How Deep Is the Ocean?” a. Lyrics and music by Irving Berlin; performed by Bing Crosby; recorded 1932 b. Bing Crosby (1904‒1977) c. Minor key to major key IX. -
Published Sheet Music from the Rudy Vallee Collection
Published Sheet Music from the Rudy Vallee Collection The Rudy Vallee collection contains almost 30.000 pieces of sheet music (about two thirds published and the rest manuscripts); about half of the titles are accessible through a database and we are presenting here the first ca. 2000 with full information. Song: 21 Guns for Susie (Boom! Boom! Boom!) Year: 1934 Composer: Myers, Richard Lyricist: Silverman, Al; Leslie, Bob; Leslie, Ken Arranger: Mason, Jack Song: 33rd Division March Year: 1928 Composer: Mader, Carl Song: About a Quarter to Nine From: Go into Your Dance (movie) Year: 1935 Composer: Warren, Harry Lyricist: Dubin, Al Arranger: Weirick, Paul Song: Ace of Clubs, The Year: 1926 Composer: Fiorito, Ted Arranger: Huffer, Fred Song: Ace of Diamonds, The Year: 1926 Composer: Fiorito, Ted Arranger: Huffer, Fred Song: Ace of Spades, The Year: 1926 Composer: Fiorito, Ted Arranger: Huffer, Fred K. Song: Actions (speak louder than words) Year: 1931 Composer: Vallee, Rudy; Himber, Richard; Greenblatt, Ben Lyricist: Vallee, Rudy; Himber, Richard; Greenblatt, Ben Arranger: Prince, Graham Song: Adios Year: 1931 Composer: Madriguera, Enric Lyricist: Woods, Eddie; Madriguera, Enric(Spanish translation) Arranger: Raph, Teddy Song: Adorable From: Adorable (movie) Year: 1933 Composer: Whiting, Richard A. Lyricist: Marion, George, Jr. Arranger: Mason, Jack; Rochette, J. (vocal trio) Song: African Lament (Lamento Africano) Year: 1931 Composer: Lecuona, Ernesto Lyricist: Gilbert, L. Wolfe Arranger: Katzman, Louis Song: African Lament (Lamento Africano) -
Frank's World
Chris Rojek / Frank Sinatra Final Proof 9.7.2004 10:22pm page 7 one FRANK’S WORLD Frank Sinatra was a World War One baby, born in 1915.1 He became a popular music phenomenon during the Second World War. By his own account, audiences adopted and idol- ized him then not merely as an innovative and accomplished vocalist – his first popular sobriquet was ‘‘the Voice’’ – but also as an appealing symbolic surrogate for American troops fighting abroad. In the late 1940s his career suffered a precipitous de- cline. There were four reasons for this. First, the public perception of Sinatra as a family man devoted to his wife, Nancy, and their children, Nancy, Frank Jr and Tina, was tarnished by his high-octane affair with the film star Ava Gardner. The public face of callow charm and steadfast moral virtue that Sinatra and his publicist George Evans concocted during his elevation to celebrity was damaged by his admitted adultery. Sinatra’s reputation for possessing a violent temper – he punched the gossip columnist Lee Mortimer at Ciro’s night- club2 and took to throwing tantrums and hurling abuse at other reporters when the line of questioning took a turn he disap- proved of – became a public issue at this time. Second, servicemen were understandably resentful of Sina- tra’s celebrity status. They regarded it as having been easily achieved while they fought, and their comrades died, overseas. Some members of the media stirred the pot by insinuating that Sinatra pulled strings to avoid the draft. During the war, like most entertainers, Sinatra made a virtue of his patriotism in his stage act and music/film output. -
Rock Around the Clock”: Rock ’N’ Roll, 1954–1959
CHAPTER EIGHT: “ROCK AROUND THE CLOCK”: ROCK ’N’ ROLL, 1954–1959 Chapter Outline I. Rock ’n’ Roll, 1954–1959 A. The advent of rock ’n’ roll during the mid-1950s brought about enormous changes in American popular music. B. Styles previously considered on the margins of mainstream popular music were infiltrating the center and eventually came to dominate it. C. R&B and country music recordings were no longer geared toward a specialized market. 1. Began to be heard on mainstream pop radio 2. Could be purchased nationwide in music stores that catered to the general public D. Misconceptions 1. It is important to not mythologize or endorse common misconceptions about the emergence of rock ’n’ roll. a) Rock ’n’ roll was not a new style of music or even any single style of music. CHAPTER EIGHT: “ROCK AROUND THE CLOCK”: ROCK ’N’ ROLL, 1954–1959 b) The era of rock ’n’ roll was not the first time music was written specifically to appeal to young people. c) Rock ’n’ roll was not the first American music to bring black and white pop styles into close interaction. d) “Rock ’n’ roll” was a designation that was introduced as a commercial and marketing term for the purpose of identifying a new target for music products. II. The Rise of Rhythm & Blues and the Teenage Market A. The target audience for rock ’n’ roll during the 1950s consisted of baby boomers, Americans born after World War II. 1. Relatively young target audience 2. An audience that shared some specific important characteristics of group cultural identity: a) Recovering from the trauma of World War II—return to normalcy b) Growing up in the relative economic stability and prosperity of the 1950s yet under the threat of atomic war between the United States and the USSR CHAPTER EIGHT: “ROCK AROUND THE CLOCK”: ROCK ’N’ ROLL, 1954–1959 c) The first generation to grow up with television—a new outlet for instantaneous nationwide distribution of music d) The Cold War with the Soviet Union was in full swing and fostered the anticommunist movement in the United States. -
Radiodigest3310.Pdf
ocr ~3 fOBER ' BURNS & ALLEN WERE CACA EVEN THEN CAN DANCE MAESTROS DANCE? JEFF MACHAMER • F. C. COOPER RUDY VALLEE • HARRY EVANS REVIEWS HERBERT MITCHELL Famous as a composer, concert soloist on the 'cello, and conductor, Rosario Bourdon has just begun his seventh year as leader of Cities Service Orchestra. Before Mr. Bourdon entered radio he had studied, written, or played music in most of the large countries of the world. He was born in Montreal, in 1881, ROSARIO BOURDON and by the time he was thirteen he had attended the Montclam School and the Jesuit College in Montreal and the Quebec Musical Academy. Then he went to the conservatory in Ghent, Belgium, and at fourteen became soloist with the Kursal Orchestra of Ostend. Mr. Bourdon once worked in a Canadian saw mill and he swears that it was there he first had the idea of becoming a 'cellist. He composes best before breakfast and he likes baseball, football, golf, and tennis. But he says that movie love scenes annoy him to the point of madness. : TALK OF THE AIR What's wrong with Radio? or fourteen-year-old child. I am its own continuity writing field one notable specialist in the serial keep hearing rumors that sure that there is a large group of craft. WE highly intelligent radio listeners, and For this class material it's still de- radio is not all it might be and of that it is advisable to keep this group pending on newspapermen and the you may have read some rather criti- in mind when planning programs." pidp boys, the latter's knack turn- cal statements of programs in the of ing them out in reams being a heavy pages of this magazine. -
“The Stories Behind the Songs”
“The Stories Behind The Songs” John Henderson The Stories Behind The Songs A compilation of “inside stories” behind classic country hits and the artists associated with them John Debbie & John By John Henderson (Arrangement by Debbie Henderson) A fascinating and entertaining look at the life and recording efforts of some of country music’s most talented singers and songwriters 1 Author’s Note My background in country music started before I even reached grade school. I was four years old when my uncle, Jack Henderson, the program director of 50,000 watt KCUL-AM in Fort Worth/Dallas, came to visit my family in 1959. He brought me around one hundred and fifty 45 RPM records from his station (duplicate copies that they no longer needed) and a small record player that played only 45s (not albums). I played those records day and night, completely wore them out. From that point, I wanted to be a disc jockey. But instead of going for the usual “comedic” approach most DJs took, I tried to be more informative by dropping in tidbits of a song’s background, something that always fascinated me. Originally with my “Classic Country Music Stories” site on Facebook (which is still going strong), and now with this book, I can tell the whole story, something that time restraints on radio wouldn’t allow. I began deejaying as a career at the age of sixteen in 1971, most notably at Nashville’s WENO-AM and WKDA- AM, Lakeland, Florida’s WPCV-FM (past winner of the “Radio Station of the Year” award from the Country Music Association), and Springfield, Missouri’s KTTS AM & FM and KWTO-AM, but with syndication and automation which overwhelmed radio some twenty-five years ago, my final DJ position ended in 1992. -
Vallee (Rudy) Papers and Memorabilia, 1917-1984
The University of Maine DigitalCommons@UMaine Finding Aids Special Collections 2015 Vallee (Rudy) Papers and Memorabilia, 1917-1984 Special Collections, Raymond H. Fogler Library, University of Maine Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/findingaids Part of the History Commons Recommended Citation Special Collections, Raymond H. Fogler Library, University of Maine, "Vallee (Rudy) Papers and Memorabilia, 1917-1984" (2015). Finding Aids. Number 37. https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/findingaids/37 This Finding Aid is brought to you for free and open access by the Special Collections at DigitalCommons@UMaine. It has been accepted for inclusion in Finding Aids by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@UMaine. For more information, please contact Special Collections, Fogler Library, 207-581-1686 or [email protected]. Vallée (Rudy) Papers and Memorabilia This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on March 09, 2020. Finding aid written in English. Describing Archives: A Content Standard Raymond H. Fogler Library Special Collections 5729 Raymond H. Fogler Library University of Maine Orono, ME 04469-5729 URL: http://www.library.umaine.edu/speccoll Vallée (Rudy) Papers and Memorabilia Table of Contents Summary Information ......................................................................................................................................... 3 Biographical Note ................................................................................................................................................ -
La Cultura Italiana
LA CULTURA ITALIANA PERRY COMO (1912-2001) This month’s essay looks at the life of another Italian-American popular music artist of the post-World War II era. Famous for his relaxed vocals, cardigan sweaters, and television Christ- mas specials, he was the charming Italian-American whose name became synonymous with “mellow” as he performed through seven decades, starting in the 1930s. His idol, Bing Crosby, once called him “the man who invented casual.” PIERINO RONALD “PERRY” COMO was born on May 12, 1912 in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania. (This month would have been his 107th birthday, and, coincidentally, the 18th anniversary of his death). He was the seventh of 13 children and the first Ameri- can-born child of Pietro Como and Lucia Travaglini, who had both immigrated to the United States in 1910 from Palena, a small town in the Province of Chieti in the Abruzzo region of Italy. (He used to point out to people that he was the seventh son of a seventh son and that this was a good omen in Italian culture). Like many children of Italian immigrants (including my own father), Perry did not begin speaking English until he entered school, since the Comos spoke only Italian at home. Pietro had bought a second-hand organ for $3 soon after they had arrived in America. As soon as Perry was able to toddle, he would head to the instrument, pump the bellows, and play by ear music he had heard. Pietro worked in the Standard Tin Plate factory in Canonsburg, a small town in the coal-mining region that was located 18 miles southwest of Pittsburgh. -
Collection 674 Robert & Laurie Gentry Collection Inventory Box Folder
Collection 674 Robert & Laurie Gentry Collection Inventory Box Folder Description ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Box 1 1 General information about Robert Gentry 2 Interview of Horace Logan at home in Seadrift, TX (4 tapes & transcription) 3 Johnny Horton song book (copy) 4 Claude King information 5 German Battleship Bismark information 6 Skyline Club 7 Johnny Horton album covers 8 Charlie “Cat” Canfield 9 Interview with Billy Walker 10 Researched list of Hank Williams show dates 11 Country Song Roundup magazine – March 1976 12 Johnnie & Jack booklet from CD album 13 Screen shots from Johnny Horton Johnny Reb promotion video 14 Photos of Hank Williams posters and list of Hank Williams publications 15 Photos of Hank Williams items on display at the Tennessee Performing Arts Center 16 Photo of Robert Gentry, Glen Sutton and Merle Kilgore at Tillman Franks book signing 17 Photos (copies) of Johnny Horton fishing trip in Florida 18 Photo of Jay Chevallier speaking at Long seminar 19 Photos of a group that toured Municipal Auditorium 1 Collection 674 Robert & Laurie Gentry Collection Inventory Box Folder Description ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 20 Photos of Tillman Franks book signing 21 Photos of Johnny Horton Ed Sullivan ad, album covers, Austin Skyline Club memento, Cormac record, red vinyl record (CD) 22 Photocopy of How to Write & Sell Songs by Hank Williams