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Music History 1940s |
The time period described was the 1940s and the world was witnessing the radical changes and disruptions created by the Second World War. Suddenly the Japanese invades South East Asia and the entire music industry came to a standstill. Reason was the production of records halted due to shortage of shellac. Then the only available solution before the music industry was to replace the base material. Hence in order to revive this situation an alternative was discovered from a plastic resin derivative of petroleum known as vinyl. It was decided that all future records would be made on vinyl thus marking the beginning of the vinyl years. There was only progress and development in the field of music after the introduction of vinyl record. From the installation of the first secret recording device to the setting up Top-40, the forties indeed demonstrated the ability of the industry to fight the crisis even in the midst of war. Experiments conducted in Germany in 1941 to improve the quality of Magneto phone became successful. The 40s also held a prominent in the Music history of Americans as the US Government commissioned to build the tape recorder in this period. Thus, the 1940s is also accredited for releasing the tape recorder. The turmoil caused by the Second World War reflected in the music of 1940's. The spotlight of the music of the 1940's was jazz and big band styles created by breakthrough artists. In this decade the advent of bebop music in jazz music created significant change in the history of music. During the forties the distress among the people after the Second World War transformed the jazz techniques and attitudes of the people. It led to the evolution of bop, the jazz style without dance and commercial concerns. Significant changes were observed in Children's music during the forties. Songs from animated Disney movies, Cowboy ditties and tunes sung by popular actors of the time were released for children during this decade. Establishments such as Golden records, Young People's Record and Children's Record Guild were created for the purpose of distributing children's music. It is also observed that the combination of the major strands in American music in 1940's eventually led to what we now call the Rock and Roll. The 1940's showcased the talents of artists like Dizzy Gillespie famous for his fast tempo style of jazz combined with scat singing; Cab Calloway popularly known as the "Hi De Ho" guy; Bing Crosby, the entertainer with the aim of improving troop morale; Dorsey Brothers, known for their flair in playing musical instruments such as clarinet and saxophone. In the era of the biggest war history has ever seen music created by theses artists created a positive musical style which helped the world to take their mind off the news of bloodshed. It is indeed surprising that the 1940s music innovated measures such as Armed Forces radio Services for distributing programs to overseas soldiers as an attempt to improve their morale and to promote music. |