From many years societies are being reflected by the music styles of the time and have evolved with the changes in the world. Not only with society music changes but it also changes with technological advancements as well. The advancements in technology also provides new ways for people to listen music with new emerging styles and genres of music. The way we consume music has dramatically changed in past 70 years from radio to television and records to the internet. Even the inventions in the technology used to build recording tools and musical gadgets has caused what styles and songs are made and popular within the music landscape. In this story we will try to concisely cover the styles of music that were popular since the 1920’s until now.
In 1920’s music was dominated by blues, jazz and the dance bands were popular at the time. Due to destruction in the first World War Twenties music was upbeat and enthusiastic as the economy grew and parties boomed even with ban in the US. It was just beginning of new musical revolution and all things appeared possible.
Popular Genres of 1920’s: Standards, Dance, Blues, Broadway, Jazz, Ragtime.
Popular Artists of 1920’s: Paul Whiteman, Ma Rainey, Duke Ellington, Eddie Cantor
In 1920’s there was depression in very large scale and it also stayed during the 1930s deeply influencing the music of that time. Music like country and blues mirrored the sufferings faced by various while other popular music like swing and big band had an optimistic feeling in the air. Popular music helped very much in providing an escape from the severe situations in Thirties.
Music of 1940’s and 50’s reflected the starting of major social changes in the world . R&B, and pop ruled while television and radio connected US and revealed the variety of artists and styles. Some of the major music celebrities arose in these two decades was Elvis Presley ruling the the minds of young girls.
Disco turn out to be one of the major and most despised styles in music during 1960’s and 70’s. It was so prevalent that many well known artists and bands came with disco melodies to keep up with the trends including artists like Rod Stewart and Blondie. punk rock and Havier rock music also arose during the 1960’s and 70’s.
Popular Genres of 60’s and 70’s: Souther Rock/Country Rock, Country-Pop, Disco/Dance, Punk, Power Pop, Soul etc.
Popular Artists of 60’s and 70’s : The Carpenters, Barry, Diana Ross, Paul Simon, Donna Summer, Rod Stewart, Grand Funk Railroad.
In 1980’s music was radically transformed by Music Television. This meant that music videos became very necessary in order for artists to achieve popularity and sell records. Michael Jackson was one of the most popular artists of the decade because of his creative music videos and talent he introduced the new music standards. Synth pop and Wave were common genres and their electronic sounds fit flawlessly with the starting of the computer age. Hip Hop was also very popular during 1980’s.
Popular Genres of 80’s: Hardcore Punk, New Wave, Gothic Rock, Heavy Metal, Contemporary R&B.
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