The Music Of The 1940 S - 1273 Words

The music of the 1940’s was the Big Band sound like Tommy Dorsey, Glenn Miller, Duke Ellington and Benny Goodman. Popular singers were the Andrews Sisters, Kay Kaiser and many other famous ones. There were crooner style singers, including Bing Crosby, whose smooth voice made him one of the most popular singers. There was Frank Sinatra, Dinah Shore, Tony Bennett, Pat Boone, Nat King Cole, Kate Smith and Perry Como. All of these very popular singers led the hit parade. They sang the songs that went with the mood of the country in the early 50s. Many of these crooners became the idols of the decade’s later rock and roll stars, who used their influence to create a unique sound. Nat King Cole was not only one of the first African†¦show more content†¦Radio was the lifeline for Americans in the 1940’s, providing news, music and entertainment, much like television today. Programming included soap operas, quiz shows, children’s hours, mystery stories, drama and sports. Kate Smith and Arthur Godfrey were popular radio hosts. The government relied heavily on radio for propaganda. Like the movies, radio faded in popularity as television became prominent. Many of the most popular radio shows continued on in television, including Red Skelton, Abbott and Costello, Jack Benny, Bob Hope and Truth or Consequences. Although my grandmother was a young child during this time, she still remembers the music very vividly, but what she remembers most was her mother always singing along with the radio and dancing around the house as she performed her household chores. Bing Crosby also was a whistler and her mother could also whistle any tune just as good as he did. She passed this happiness and love for music on to my grandmother. As a matter of fact, both of my grandmother’s grandmothers passed on that love of music to her as well. It didn’t stop there. Along came the 1950’s. This is the decade that gave birth to Rock n Roll. There is no one type of popular ‘50s music. During the decade, soloists and crooners shared the stage with rock and roll, country and western, bluegrass, folk, Cajun and creole music. It’s impossible to pin ‘50s music to any one style.