Chapter 11: Pop Music in the 1940s and 1950s
Chapter 11 examines the rise of traditional pop after World War II, when radio, records, film, and television turned vocalists into the biggest stars in American music. Singers such as Louis Armstrong, Frank Sinatra, Doris Day, Nat King Cole, Perry Como, Tony Bennett, and vocal harmony groups popularized standards from Broadway and Tin Pan Alley while introducing new vocal styles that influenced later pop, rhythm and blues, and doo-wop.
Important Terms
Traditional Pop – A style of popular music that emphasized solo vocalists, orchestral accompaniment, and songs from Broadway, Tin Pan Alley, and the Great American Songbook.
Crooning – A soft, intimate vocal style made possible by microphone technology.
Great American Songbook – A collection of popular American songs from Broadway, Tin Pan Alley, film, and musical theater that have remained widely performed.
Pop Standard – A well-known song that continues to be recorded and performed by many different artists.
Interpretation – A performer's individual approach to phrasing, dynamics, tone, and expression when singing an existing song.
Phrasing – The way a performer shapes and delivers musical lines.
Scat Singing – Vocal improvisation using nonsense syllables instead of words.
Falsetto – A vocal register above the normal singing range.
Call-and-Response – A musical exchange in which one singer or group answers another.
Vibrato – A slight, regular variation in pitch used to add expression.
Legato – A smooth style of performance in which notes are connected with little separation.
32-Bar AABA Form – A song structure consisting of four eight-measure sections arranged A-A-B-A.
Novelty Song – A song built around humor, unusual sounds, or a gimmick.
Musical Exoticism – The use of musical ideas that suggest foreign or unfamiliar cultures, often through stylized or stereotypical elements.
Mambo – A Cuban dance and music style that became popular in the United States during the early 1950s.
Overdubbing – A recording technique in which additional vocal or instrumental parts are recorded over an existing track.
Sound-on-Sound Recording – A recording method allowing multiple performances to be layered onto one recording.
Reel-to-Reel Tape Recorder – A tape recording system used to create multitrack recordings before digital technology.
Vocal Harmony Group – A group whose members sing multiple harmony parts together.
Jubilee Music – An African American vocal tradition based on spirituals that often features rhythmic and harmonic variation.
Doo-Wop – A vocal style built around close harmonies, bass vocal lines, and nonsense syllables that became popular during the 1950s.
Multimedia Superstar – A performer who achieves success across recordings, radio, television, film, and live performance.
Artists Discussed
Louis Armstrong – Jazz trumpeter and singer who became one of the leading pop vocalists of the twentieth century.
Frank Sinatra – Pop vocalist whose phrasing and interpretation made him one of the leading singers of the twentieth century.
Tommy Dorsey – Bandleader whose orchestra featured Frank Sinatra.
Dean Martin – Singer and member of the Rat Pack.
Sammy Davis Jr. – Singer, actor, and member of the Rat Pack.
Peter Lawford – Actor and member of the Rat Pack.
Joey Bishop – Entertainer and member of the Rat Pack.
Bing Crosby – Singer whose crooning style influenced later vocalists.
Rat Pack – Entertainment group centered around Frank Sinatra during the late 1950s and early 1960s.
Rosemary Clooney – Singer and actress known for her conversational vocal style.
Pérez Prado – Bandleader who helped popularize the mambo.
Perry Como – Crooner known for his smooth vocal style and long television career.
Tony Bennett – Traditional pop singer known for interpreting the Great American Songbook.
Doris Day – Singer, actress, and television star of the postwar era.
Patti Page – Pop singer known for overdubbing and crossover success.
Les Paul – Guitarist and inventor who pioneered overdubbing and sound-on-sound recording.
Mary Ford – Singer who recorded multitrack performances with Les Paul.
The Boswell Sisters – Vocal trio that blended jazz harmony with pop singing.
Connee Boswell – Lead singer and arranger of the Boswell Sisters.
The Andrews Sisters – Vocal trio known for wartime harmony singing.
Nat King Cole – Singer and pianist who crossed from jazz into mainstream pop.
Natalie Cole – Singer and daughter of Nat King Cole.
The Golden Gate Quartet – Gospel vocal group that influenced later harmony groups.
The Ink Spots – Vocal group that helped establish the ballad style later used in doo-wop.
The Orioles – Vocal harmony group
The Ravens – Vocal harmony group
The Platters – Vocal harmony group
Songs Referenced
"It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)" – Duke Ellington
"Ain't Misbehavin'" – Fats Waller, Harry Brooks, and Andy Razaf
"They Can't Take That Away from Me" – George and Ira Gershwin
"Dream a Little Dream of Me" – Fabian Andre, Wilbur Schwandt, and Gus Kahn
"What a Wonderful World" – George David Weiss and Bob Thiele (as George Douglas)
"I've Got a Crush on You" – George and Ira Gershwin
"I Get a Kick Out of You" – Cole Porter
"Embraceable You" – George and Ira Gershwin
"I've Got You Under My Skin" – Cole Porter
"Come On-a My House" – William Saroyan and Ross Bagdasarian
"Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White" – Louiguy (music) and Jacques Larue (lyrics)
"Beautiful Brown Eyes" – Traditional (popularized by Rosemary Clooney)
"Tenderly" – Walter Gross and Jack Lawrence
"This Ole House" – Stuart Hamblen
"Goodbye Sue" – Perry Como
"Long Ago (And Far Away)" – Jerome Kern and Ira Gershwin
"Till the End of Time" – Buddy Kaye and Ted Mossman (based on Chopin's Polonaise in A-flat Major)
"Surrender" – Perry Como
"Some Enchanted Evening" – Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II
"It's Impossible" – Armando Manzanero (English lyrics by Sid Wayne)
"The Boulevard of Broken Dreams" – Harry Warren, Al Dubin, and Johnny Green
"Because of You" – Arthur Hammerstein and Dudley Wilkinson
"Cold, Cold Heart" – Hank Williams
"Blue Velvet" – Bernie Wayne and Lee Morris
"I Left My Heart in San Francisco" – George Cory and Douglass Cross
"Day After Day" – Axel Stordahl, Paul Weston, and Sammy Cahn
"My Dreams Are Getting Better All the Time" – Marion Hutton (popularized by Doris Day with Les Brown)
"Sentimental Journey" – Bud Green, Les Brown, and Ben Homer
"It's Magic" – Jule Styne and Sammy Cahn
"Que Sera, Sera (Whatever Will Be, Will Be)" – Jay Livingston and Ray Evans
"Confess" – Patti Page
"Tennessee Waltz" – Pee Wee King and Redd Stewart
"How High the Moon" – Morgan Lewis and Nancy Hamilton
"Tiger Rag" – Original Dixieland Jass Band (traditional jazz standard)
"I Went to Your Wedding" – Jessie Mae Robinson
"(How Much Is) That Doggie in the Window?" – Bob Merrill
"Cross Over the Bridge" – Bennie Benjamin and George David Weiss
"When I Take My Sugar to Tea" – Sammy Fain, Irving Kahal, and Pierre Norman
"Bob White (Whatcha Gonna Swing Tonight?)" – Johnny Mercer and Bernie Hanighen
"Alexander's Ragtime Band" – Irving Berlin
"An Apple for the Teacher" – Irving Berlin
"I Cover the Waterfront" – Johnny Green and Edward Heyman
"That Old Feeling" – Sammy Fain and Lew Brown
"Bei Mir Bist Du Schön" – Sholom Secunda and Jacob Jacobs (English adaptation by Sammy Cahn and Saul Chaplin)
"Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" – Don Raye and Hughie Prince
"Rum and Coca-Cola" – Lionel Belasco, Lord Invader (Rupert Grant), and Morey Amsterdam
"Beer Barrel Polka (Roll Out the Barrel)" – Jaromír Vejvoda
"I'll Be with You in Apple Blossom Time" – Albert Von Tilzer and Neville Fleeson
"Straighten Up and Fly Right" – Nat King Cole and Irving Mills
"Nature Boy" – Eden Ahbez
"Mona Lisa" – Ray Evans and Jay Livingston
"Too Young" – Sidney Lippman and Sylvia Dee
"Unforgettable" – Irving Gordon
"Stormy Weather" – Harold Arlen and Ted Koehler
"If I Didn't Care" – Jack Lawrence
"We Three (My Echo, My Shadow and Me)" – Nelson Cogane, Sammy Mysels, and Dick Robertson
"I Don't Want to Set the World on Fire" – Bennie Benjamin, Eddie Durham, Sol Marcus, and Eddie Seiler
"Into Each Life Some Rain Must Fall" – Doris Fisher and Allan Roberts
"To Each His Own" – Jay Livingston and Ray Evans
"For Sentimental Reasons" – William "Pat" Best and Deek Watson
"White Christmas" – Irving Berlin
"People Will Say We're in Love" – Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II
"Harbor Lights" – Jimmy Kennedy and Hugh Williams