The Decline Of Music In The 1920's

1920s Music

Did you know that the 1920s has many different names for it such as the Ballyhoo Years, the Roaring Twenties, and the Jazz Age? In the twenties people were listening to the swinging music known as jazz that made the 1920s appear to have a happy, wonderful aura, but not everything was what it seemed to be. Around this time new things were occurring and changes were being made for the better of Americans, but a few of these new occurrences had their downfalls which led to a depressing period as time went on. In spite of this, in the twenties there was jazz music that made the decade brighter during the harder times, for example; Prohibition, the stock market crash, and the beginning the Great Depression.

At the start of the 1920s it was the

decade of change, discovery, and confidence, but near the end of the twenties there were events involved that caused the loss of confidence and optimistic feelings during this time, but some of that loss came near the end of the 1920s.

In 1920 Prohibition started because the 18th amendment of the Constitution made it illegal to have, sell, or make alcohol, but as a result, the ratification of the 18th amendment caused one of the most violent and lawless periods in American history ( Events, Volume 6 ). As a result, Americans created speakeasies which are illegal saloons that required a spoken password to enter, people called bootleggers sold liquor such as moonshine, and people made liquor in their own homes (Events, Volume 6). On October 24, 1929, the stock market crash occurred which destroyed the financial structure and devastated many who had lost a large sum of fortunes. The stock market is a place to purchase

stocks and during the 1920s multiple orders for selling continued to go up while the prices went down rapidly (Hanson, Erica) which caused the New York Stock Exchange to lose a third of its value (Berg, A. Scott). In 1929 the Great Depression began and during this time people lost their jobs, banks closed, and problems started becoming worse, such as economic instability and inadequate government safeguards (Hanson, Erica). The start of the Great Depression was when people became unemployed and the banks were closing due to the use of unethical practices (Hanson, Erica). The majority of these events were part of the major cause of the people of the 1920s losing their confidence and optimistic feelings near the end of the 1920s.

During the 1920s music and dances were becoming popular. One type of music that was becoming a popular genre was jazz and artists such as Al Johnson, the Gershwin brothers, and King Oliver’s Creole Jazz Band, were popular jazz musicians in the 1920s. Some popular songs of the 1920s were: “West End Blues”, “Swanee”, “My Mammy”, and “Fascinatin’ Rhythm” (Berg, A. Scott). In the twenties new dances were becoming popular during the 1920s, such as the Charleston, the shimmy, and the fox-trot (Hanson, Erica). The Charleston is a fast type of dance that became popular in 1923 and it involves intricate positions such as crossing your hands on your knees (Hanson, Erica). In 1927, The Jazz Singer, the first talking movie came out featuring Al Johnson a famous jazz singer of the decade. The Jazz Singer is about the story of a Jewish cantor’s son who wants to become an entertainer (Berg, A. Scott). Jazz music, the Charleston dance, and The Jazz Singer made the decade brighter during the 1920s.

The events of the 1920s had impacts on society, both good and bad. In 1920 when Prohibition started a man named Irving Berlin wrote a song called “I’ll See You in Cuba” (“Broadway”). This song is about a country where a man who wanted a drink could still get a drink after January 1920 (“Broadway”). At the start of Prohibition speakeasies, which were gangster-run nightclubs were created to illegally serve alcohol, listen to jazz music, and allow blacks and whites to socialize (“Early Jazz 1900-1930”). As a result, rival gangs used violence in order to control the business and criminals became rich (Events, Volume 6). At the start of the Great Depression most music businesses started shutting down due to lack of money (“The Great Depression”). However, because the majority of music businesses shut down all kinds of music could be listened to for free, especially jazz (“The Great Depression”).
The twenties had its ups and downs, but music in the jazz age had people swinging to the music during the good and bad times. Jazz in the twenties brightened the feelings of people in the darker times and continued as the decade went on to the 1930s.