Music of the Great Depression

(Hardback)

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Examines the popular music and great musicians that came to the fore during the Great Depression Prior to the stock market crash of 1929 American music still possessed a distinct tendency towards elitism, as songwriters and composers sought to avoid the mass appeal that critics scorned. During the Depression; however, radio came to dominate the other musical media of the time, and a new era of truly popular music was born. Under the guidance of the great Duke Ellington and a number of other talented and charismatic performers, swing music unified the public consciousness like no other musical form before or since. At the same time the enduring legacies of Woody Guthrie in folk, Aaron Copeland in classical, and George and lra Gershwin on Broadway stand as a testament to the great diversity of tastes and interests that subsisted throughout the Great Depression, and play a part still in our lives today. The lives of these and many other great musicians come alive in this insightful study of the works, artists, and circumstances that contributed to making and performing the music that helped America through one of its most difficult times. Part of the American History through Music series A valuable look at the many roles of music in one of America's darkest periods

Reviews

Comprising brief accounts of nearly every aspect of music in the 1930s, this encyclopedic survey covers popular, folk, and classical music; regional, national, and ethnic styles; and composers, performers, producers, and media.[t]his will be a handy supplementary resource for coursework in music and American studies. Recommended. Lower-/upper-division undergraduates; graduate students; general readers. * Choice *
[A] comprehensive and extensively researched test which covers every facet of American music during the 1930s. There are few scholarly texts which present the topic in such detail [The] book not only builds on this scholarship but also allows a more rounded view of the era to coem to light [A]n extremely useful reference book for the researcher. ^IMusic of the Great Depression^R is an invaluable resource for graduate students and non-specialist academics who wish to April, 1actual awareness of the era. * Journal of American Studies *

Author Bio

WILLIAM H. YOUNG is a freelance writer and independent scholar, who has published books and articles on various subjects of popular culture. NANCY K. YOUNG is an adjunct professor for the Counselor Education Program in the School of Education and Human Development at Lynchburg College.