A great deal, actually. These topics and more were closely intertwined, because they all had to do with the straining of 20th-century social forces against 19th-century conventions.
Consider the following facts:
- The most common theme in early pop music was sex.
- The Daisy Bell song (Bicycle Built for Two) helped introduce bicycles, which gave women more freedom than they had ever had before.
- There were many million-sellers before 1915, close to 100 in fact. Many of these songs had sex as the major theme. How could this happen in a society that was still under heavy Victorian influence?
It's all right here in this book.
Read this account that pulls no punches, of the people, the songs, the stories and the society that made up a little bit of that forgotten "musical rain shadow", the history that we never hear about anymore.
CHAPTER OUTLINE FOR SEX, MUSIC & BLOOMERS:
Chapter One - Origins. Popular music started in 1892 when a huge market for music suddenly came into existence. It developed from the Foster tradition, but borrowed heavily from a number of other sources, mainly vaudeville, minstrelsy, and Broadway.
Chapter Two - The First Baby Boom had a decided and profound effect on the emerging music industry. There was a large proportion of first generation Americans directly involved in early popular music, which tended to give it a decidedly international flavor.
Chapter Three - The Piano was the primary media for music. Piano peddlers from Baldwin, Kimball, Steinway, and other companies avidly sold to the public, offering low terms, credit, peace of mind and naturally, happiness. Pianos became the symbol of American cultural fulfillment. Everybody just had to have a piano.
Chapter Four - Sheet Music was the life blood of the industry. An elaborate distribution system existed. There were organized groups of promoters called pluggers, who acted as its chief form of advertisement.
Chapter Five - Recorded Music was an entirely new way of selling song. The media changed the message, and recorded music adapted itself well to the quickly evolving and fast-paced lifestyles of Americans.
Chapter Six - Dancing has always been a fundamental extension of the musical experience. During this early time, the country was in the grip of dance fever with one-steps, two-steps, slow waltzes, and fox trots. Popular music and dance music became virtually indistinguishable.
Chapter Seven - Sex had become a conspicuous and fundamental part of popular music by 1909. Carefully camouflaged behind ambiguous words and fuzzy meanings, the industry was able to lead the country out of its post-Victorian hangover.
Chapter Eight - Women's Rights and popular music were closely associated, as also were women's clothing styles, recreational habits, and moral conduct. The music of the day encouraged independence and self-awareness among women. Bicycles and bloomers played a key part in this unique relationship.
Chapter Nine - A definition of early popular music is presented. It is a musical form strongly based on the Foster tradition and having several other necessary features, such as composition, danceability, words, and story.
Chapter Ten - Songs of this period show the way. This section examines about 20 songs that represent the spirit of early American popular music.
Chapter Eleven - People were so important to the success of this music. A few brief biographies are developed.
Chapter Twelve - Chronology is a good way to see how popular music of the day was well in tune with the rest of history.
Appendix I - A list of sheet music that sold over one million copies
Appendix II - 1000 popular songs. Author's choice.
Appendix III - Top Lyricists. Top 20 lyricists.
Appendix IV - Top Songwriters. Top 20 songwriters.
Appendix V - Recorded Songs. 100 successful recorded songs
Appendix VI - Social Songs. A selection of songs from 1880 to 1915 with their social ranking.
Appendix VII - Who's Who. A list of people involved in the early music industry.
About the author
Index.
