The Radio, Jazz Music, and the Emergence of a National Culture
F. Scott Fitzgerald called the 1920s the Jazz Age, and African Americans gave the age its jazz. Jazz is a type of music based on improvisation. Jazz began in the South and Midwest, making a huge impression in the city of New Orleans. Many cultures and traditions merged together and influenced each other. Jazz also spread with the Great Migration. Louis Armstrong was a trumpet player who became the unofficial ambassador of jazz. He was a trumpet legend that many musicians still look up to and he greatly influenced the development of jazz.
Phonograph records and the radio spread the influence of jazz across the country, and even all the way to Europe (Werner, Levy, Roberts, Taylor, pages 243-44). Not only did the radio allow jazz music to spread around the world, but it also a method of making money through advertising. Radio advertising was one of several proposals for financing radio, and it was controversial. Opposers of radio advertising felt that playing ads on the radio was an invasion of privacy and took away people’s ability to keep the marketplace out of their home. The radio was a very influential part of the Roaring Twenties.
Along with the up and coming love of jazz music and the growing popularity of the radio, came an emergence of a national culture. On farms, people worked from dawn to dusk. At evening, farm families could play games, read, or sing together. Occasionally, they would join other farm families for picnics or games of baseball. In cities, the movie industry rose to new heights in the 1920s. The phonograph and the radio helped produce a standardized culture. America became an incredibly influential country during this time, and has provided a base for the America that we are today (Werner, Levy, Roberts, Taylor, pages 231-33, 243-45).
Phonograph records and the radio spread the influence of jazz across the country, and even all the way to Europe (Werner, Levy, Roberts, Taylor, pages 243-44). Not only did the radio allow jazz music to spread around the world, but it also a method of making money through advertising. Radio advertising was one of several proposals for financing radio, and it was controversial. Opposers of radio advertising felt that playing ads on the radio was an invasion of privacy and took away people’s ability to keep the marketplace out of their home. The radio was a very influential part of the Roaring Twenties.
Along with the up and coming love of jazz music and the growing popularity of the radio, came an emergence of a national culture. On farms, people worked from dawn to dusk. At evening, farm families could play games, read, or sing together. Occasionally, they would join other farm families for picnics or games of baseball. In cities, the movie industry rose to new heights in the 1920s. The phonograph and the radio helped produce a standardized culture. America became an incredibly influential country during this time, and has provided a base for the America that we are today (Werner, Levy, Roberts, Taylor, pages 231-33, 243-45).
Above is a picture of an American family enjoying an evening listening to the
radio together. In the 1920's, the emergence of the radio added to America's
national culture.
radio together. In the 1920's, the emergence of the radio added to America's
national culture.
This video highlights the major musicians of the Jazz Age, including Louis Armstrong (the ambassador of jazz), Eddie Lang, Joe Venuti, Joe Oliver, and Duke Ellington. All of these musicians helped make the Jazz Age the major success that it was.
Louis Armstrong- the unofficial ambassador of jazz. He played trumpet and
was a vocalist who brought much success the Jazz Age.
was a vocalist who brought much success the Jazz Age.