muh

One of the most famous entertainers 1920's, the vocal stylings of this star, who appeared in the first sound film "The Jazz Singer" and was famous for such songs as "April Showers", reflected his background on the stage in the pre-microphone era.

Al Jolson

In the late 1940's, teenage consumers constituted only a very small portion of record-buying consumers in the United States.

False

Swing music rose to popularity in the small clubs and cabarets that became popular in Post-Prohibition America.

False

Tin Pan Alley songs were largely derived from European song writing tradition and demonstrate very little influence from African American genres of music.

False

The Blues is believed to have originated in the late 1800's in:

The Mississippi Delta

Most early 'hillbilly' musicians were not full-time professional musicians, but were also typically employed in other manual labor jobs.

True

The term 'Rhythm and Blues', which was used by Billboard starting in the late 1940's to replace the older 'Race Records' designation, did not initially describe a genre of music but was used more as a catch-all phrase to describe music by black performers targeting black consumers.

True

Whilst a few bands became racially integrated in the Swing Era, nearly all bands were gender-segregated, and as most bands refused to hire women, women musicians began to form their own bands, often referred to as All-Girl Bands.

True

In the late 1940's, the term Country and Western became the new name for what the music industry had used to call ______________ music.

hillbilly

The introduction of mechanically recorded sound introduced the phenomenon of ___________________________, which refers to the decoupling of sounds from their original sources.

schizophonia

Songs in which a series of verses tell an often historical or personal story to a repeating melody are referred to as having a ____________________ form.

strophic

Blues songs are typically organized in recurring cycles of ___________________ bars.

12

Born in Chicago to European Jewish immigrants, this bandleader and clarinetist would become known as the 'King of Swing', had a passion for and commitment to following and honoring the innovations of African American musicians and was the first white band leader to hire African American musicians.

Benny Goodman

Known as the Empress of the Blues, this Chattanooga-born singer dominated the Classic Blues, popular in the 1920's, with such songs as 'St. Louis Blues'.

Bessie Smith

The principal pioneer of Bluegrass music was _______________________, a Kentucky born mandolin player, singer and songwriter who formed a duo with his brother in 1935.

Bill Monroe

Arguably the most famous of the 1930's crooners, ______________________________ 's 1942 rendition of Irving Berlin's "White Christmas" was the best selling record of the era, and in total his records have been estimated to have sold over 300 million copies.

Bing Crosby

One of the first recording stars of the early Country Blues was this Texan, whose most famous song, 'That Black Snake Moan', was typical of many early Country Blues songs in its use of sexual imagery and symbolism.

Blind Lemon Jefferson

One of the most iconic tunes of the Jazz Age, "Minnie the Moocher" catapulted this singer, bandleader, composer, arranger and entertainer to fame in 1931:

Cab Calloway

In the Blues, bars typically consist of 3 beats per bar.

False

The _______________________ Family proved one of the most influential 'hillbilly' musical acts of the pre-WW2 era, their songs invoking traditional values such as family and faith.

Carter

Vernon and Irene ____________________________ were the biggest media stars in the years surrounding WWI, helping to change the course of popular dance and dance music in the United States.

Castle

This form of blues, exemplified by the life and music of Muddy Waters, combined traditional Mississippi Delta Blues with the demands of an urban audience and performing environment, resulting in a music that was at once modern and urban and yet nostalgic, reflecting its rural, southern roots.

Chicago Electric Blues

The _____________________________ Club was a whites-only institution in Harlem that featured the most prominent African American bands, musicians and entertainers of the Jazz Age.

Cotton

Born in New Jersey, this pianist and bandleader helped to establish Kansas City as one of the most prominent musical centers of jazz and swing in the country.

Count Basie

Justo "Don" Azpiazú and his band gave American audiences their first taste of __________________________________ music.

Cuban

With the advent of the Swing Era in 1935, this prominent African American bandleader had already been leading a band for almost 20 years, having risen to fame through his work at Harlem's The Cotton Club in the earlier Jazz Age. Whilst always a renowned musician with a loyal following, his uncompromising artistic integrity and innovative approach towards arranging and composition, as well as the ubiquitous racial bias of the age, lessened his mainstream appeal.

Duke Ellington

in 1913, Vernon and Irene Castle hired African American band director James Reese ___________________ and his Clef Club Orchestra, noting their superior ability to play the syncopated rhythms of ragtime and other dance music that was becoming increasingly popular in the United States.

Europe

Up until the middle of the 19th century, mainstream American music was almost entirely _______________________ in character.

European

In the 1920's, radio programs frequently played 'race' music, helping to popularize African American musical genres such as the Blues.

False

This Italian American singer was the most successful crooner after WW2, drawing inspiration from Bing Crosby's intimate, raspy vocal stylings, Italian opera singing and instrument jazz performers.

Frank Sinatra

An enormously successful composer of pop songs, Broadway showtunes and concert music, this composer of such classics as "I've Got Rhythm" and "Rhapsody in Blue" died tragically at age 38.

George Gershwin

Until he enlisted in the Army in 1942 (he died in WW2 in 1944 ), this bandleader's orchestra was the most popular dance band in the world, breaking records for record sales and concert attendance.

Glenn Miller

This legendary singer and songwriter was the most significant figure in post WW2 Country music, drawing inspiration from such figures as Jimmie Rodgers for his rambling man image: although he died at only age 29, his influence upon country and many others genres was dramatic.

Hank Williams

Bandleader James Reese Europe, whilst serving in WWI in the Fifteenth Infantry Regiment of NYNG, was asked by his commander to form a military band. The Regiment (now the 369th Infantry) was transferred to the French Army, which was already integrated at that time. The band, which came to be known as the ________________________, created a sensation in Paris and gave rise to the long standing French enthusiasm for jazz.

Hell Fighters Band

The lyrics to such standards as "I've Got Rhythm" were written by _______________________________________, who frequently collaborated with his younger brother, who composed the music.

Ira Gershwin

Classic songs such as "Cheek to Cheek", God Bless America", and "White Christmas" were written by ______________________________, one of the most successful Tin Pan Alley era composers.

Irving Berlin

"Plantation Songs", descended from Minstrelsy, were very popular around the turn of the 20th century. This ex-Minstrel was the composer of such famous tunes as "Carry Me Back to Old Virginny" and "In the Evening by Moonlight" and also was the first commercially successful black songwriter in the United States.

James A. Bland

Thomas Dartmouth Rice was one of the most famous of the early minstrel show performers, who made famous this minstrel show character and his eponymous song. The character's name was also used to refer to the harsh segregation laws of the pre-civil rights era. The character's name was:

Jim Crow

Early 'Hillbilly' music's biggest recording star, this singer evoked the image of the hard-living, homesick rambling man, an image which would become a mainstay for the genre in decades to come with stars like Hank Williams and Willie Nelson.

Jimmie Rodgers

Known as America's 'March King', this composer is perhaps the most famous brass and military band composer in history, having written such classics as "Stars and Stripes Forever", "The Washington Post" and "El Capitan".

John Philip Sousa

The first commercially successful category of Rhythm and Blues in the late 40's and early 50's was called ___________________ blues, which took their influences from Tin Pan Alley love songs, crooners, urban blues and vocal harmony groups.

Jump

The style of jazz called Swing was developed by black dance bands of the 1920's in Chicago, New York City and:

Kansas City

The invention of magnetic tape in WW2 allowed for the development of new, innovative approaches to recording, such as overdubbing, a technique by which layers of sound were added to recordings. This guitarist and inventor was perhaps the most significant pioneer of this technique.

Les Paul

By the 1920's and 30's, _______________________________ was starting to compete with New York City as the center of entertainment in the United States.

Los Angeles

Born in New Orleans, this cornet/trumpet player moved to Chicago and joined King Joe Oliver's Creole Band before starting his own combo jazz band, the Hot Five (and later the Hot Seven). By the end of the 1920's, he was the most famous jazz musician in the world.

Louis Armstrong

The ___________________ was the most popular Latin dance music in the United States in the early 1950's.

Mambo

This singer's recording of "Crazy Blues" in 1920, and the subsequent high sales of the recording, marked the recording industry's realization of the potential of African American artists to perform well in the market.

Mamie Smith

Since the late 1930's, this company provided businesses with 'easy listening' recordings that were designed to subliminally encourage productivity.

Muzak

This post-WW2 crooner was most successful African American singer of the era, was the first black musician to host his own weekly radio program and the first to have his own television show.

Nat Cole

The 1920's and 30's saw a large proportion of significantly well-known and influential musicians arising from the Jewish central and eastern European immigrant communities from this urban area:

New York City

This new recording label, which had risen to fame through the recording and promotion of 'race' records, was one of the first to take seriously the African American market in the United States, and, a few years later, also became the first label to begin recording and promoting so-called 'hillbilly' music.

Okeh Records

Although later generations may view their music as being a watered down, 'safe' version of jazz, __________________________________ and his all-white Ambassador Orchestra helped to dramatically increase the popularity of jazz throughout the United States in the 1920's.

Paul Whiteman

His life shrouded in mystery, this early blues singer of songs such as 'The Crossroads' became, after his early, untimely and ultimately mysterious death, a musical inspiration for later blues and rock musicians and his life the subject of many myths about the origin of the Blues.

Robert Johnson

Typically backed by a band which included the fiddle, banjo and guitar, this hillbilly singer was the most popular of the Swing Era, and marks the expanding popularity of hillbilly music during the Swing/WW2 era.

Roy Acuff

Known for his seminal ragtime staples "Maple Leaf Rag" and "The Entertainer", this composer was born in Texas but rose to fame working as a pianist and 'rag' composer in St. Louis, helping to establish that city as the musical capital of ragtime (Incidentally - Louisville also had a very vibrant ragtime scene, with a number of important venues down on Chestnut Street - and this composer performed there!).

Scott Joplin

This composer, who wrote such classics as "My Old Kentucky Home", "Oh! Susanna" and "Beautiful Dreamer" is regarded as being the first important composer of American song. Despite the popularity of his songs, he earned little money (most money from sales of his music went to publishers) or fame in his own lifetime and died in poverty at age 37.

Stephan Foster

The first film to successfully use sound was _________________________________, in 1927, featuring vaudevillian Al Jolson performing jazzy tunes in the Minstrel traditional Blackface.

The Jazz Singer

Drawing inspiration from such artists as Woodie Guthrie, this group, led by singer, banjo-player, and political activist Pete Seeger, was the first of the Urban Folk musicians to achieve commercial success. 3 members of the group, including Seeger, were accused of being Communists in the 50's, based on the testimony of an individual who would later serve time for perjury, resulting in a dropped contract and a dramatic fall from popularity.

The Weavers

In the early 19th century, a dense network of music publishers and producers sprung up on 28th Street in New York City. Here, numerous composers and arrangers produced large quantities of popular songs. Popular songs from this era came to be known for the nickname the street acquired due to the 'clanging' of many pianos simultaneously: that nickname and the genre name is _____________________________.

Tin Pan Alley

"Popular Music" is a term that is used to describe music that is mass-produced and disseminated via mass media, draws upon preexisting music traditions and at times is listened to by large numbers of people living in the United States.

True

Although most bands in the Swing Era were racially segregated (all-white or all-black), a few prominent bands began to integrate.

True

Due to the Great Depression and the rise of radio, sales of phonographs plummeted in the late 20's and early 30's, wiping out many recording labels who had specialized in 'race' and 'hillbilly' music.

True

Louis Armstrong's recording of this King Joe Oliver tune in 1928 is regarded as one of the most significant recordings in jazz history, helping to establish jazz as a new genre that could compete with the world's great art music traditions.

West End Blues

This singer/songwriter, who wrote such classics as "This Land is Your Land", was one of the few singers who addressed the plight of workers during the Great Depression in his music.

Woodie Guthrie

Born in Spain and largely raised in Cuba, this bandleader dramatically helped to increase the popularity of Latin music in the United States, and many Latin musicians, including Desi Arnaz of I Love Lucy, got their start performing in his band.

Xavier Cugat

In music, a 'hook' may be defined as:

a memorable musical phrase or riff.

Post-war Country music saw the rise of neo-traditionalist styles, perhaps the most popular of which was a style of Country rooted in the southern string band tradition called _________________________.

bluegrass

Critical listening means that when a person listens to a piece of music, they:

are searching for meaning in music by understanding how music in constructed and how various social factors contribute to the creation and perception of music.

A composer writes the music, and a lyricist write the words. A pre-written song may be reworked to suit a particular performer, including details such as what key a piece should be in, what instruments should play the accompaniment, how many repetitions of various phrases there should be and other musical details that may enhance the performer's ability to successfully carry the song. The person who does this reworking is known as the:

arranger

Developed in rowdy nightspots of the Southwest territory, this style of piano playing centered around loud, powerful, repeated quick rhythmic figures in the lower hand, whilst the upper hand played polyrhythmic patterns. Kansas City Swing bands helped to popularize the style nationwide.

boogie-woogie

Ironically, this dance, which was made popular in minstrel shows in which white actors in blackface mimicked in a derogatory fashion African American culture, featured white performers mocking an African American style of dance, which in truth was derived from slaves parodying the highly stylized movements of dances popular with white slave owners, such as the quadrille. This dance is called a _________________________________.

cakewalk

A repeated melody with a fixed text usually sung in between versus is called a:

chorus

In opposition to the loud, exuberant and exaggerated singing style used by vocalists who rose to fame on the stage, singers in the era of the newly invented microphone (mid 1920's) pioneered a new type of singing, marked by gentle, smooth, intimate tones, called _________________________________.

crooning

In Depression Era America, Tin Pan Alley composers frequently wrote songs about poverty, unemployment, disenfranchisement and the political, social and economic troubles of the day.

false

Jazz emerged in the early 20th century in New York City's Harlem.

false

The first form of entertainment regarded by European audiences to be distinctly American, one that is now typically viewed with a collective of sense shame and embarrassment, was the ___________________________ show.

minstrel

The first machines which made use of phonograph technology (recorded sound) to which the public had access were known as ____________________________, and played music if the user inserted a coin. These machines later became known as "jukeboxes".

nickelodeons

This practice, which became a major, heavily litigated scandal in the mid 1950's, involved record companies paying DJ's to heavily promote their musical products.

payola

A common musical feature of African American genres of music as distinct from European musical styles is the propensity to perform "off-beat" rhythmic patterns, in which musicians methodically and consistently perform in between beats. The musical term for this "off-beat" rhythm is:

syncopation

Although markedly different in style from the original, rural Country Blues, the Classic Blues, performed mainly by female singers in nightclubs and in theaters, was the first form of the Blues to become popular nationally.

true

Brass bands and military bands, always an integral part of the culture and traditions of the United States, achieved enormous popularity in the mid to late 19th and early 20th centuries. During the Civil War, the Union army alone employed 9,000 musicians, whose services ranged from battlefield operations, troop entertainment and cultural outreach.

true

By the 1920's, the music industry began to rely on phonograph sales rather than printed sheet music as the main way to promote artists and songs.

true

Major record labels configure prices such that major, bankable 'stars' who sell millions of albums compensate for many, many other lesser-known artists who do not sell as well and have a smaller following.

true

Many pernicious stereotypes of black Americans were presented and perhaps originated in Minstrel shows, such as the loyal, faithful, subservient servant (the Uncle Tom, for a male, or Mammy, for a female), the independent, lustful, lazy, criminal urban black male, or the highly sexualized, promiscuous young, black woman. Relics of these stereotypical characters can still be seen in American entertainment and culture today.

true

Minstrelsy marked the beginning of a pattern in American music: African American music was repeatedly adopted and appropriated in a watered-down form by European Americans. Similarly, African Americans were influenced by elements of European music, and thus, from about the mid-19th century onwards, American Music as a whole became a unique new blend of European and African musical traditions.

true

Numerous media sources, including the 1930 film The King of Jazz, whitewashed the history of jazz, declaring the music, which in truth originated with African Americans and Creoles, to be the result of the mixing in the United States of various European nationalities.

true

Rising to popularity in the 1880's, ragtime, marked by heavily synocapated rhythmic figures, Latin American inspired rhythms and a more direct musical link to African American musical traditions, is often viewed as a musical stepping stone between minstrelsy and jazz.

true

Some musical genres use dialect as a critical element of their aesthetic and appeal, whereas as other genres and artists shun regional dialects in order to appeal to a broader segment of the populace.

true

The Tin Pan Alley era produced numerous standards, meaning songs that have been in circulation continuously since their initial release.

true

The advent of 'talkies' in the late 1920's led the film industry to recruit talent with vocal capabilities: thus many film stars of the 1930's and 40's had gotten their start in theater, either in Vaudeville on Broadway, and were capable actors, singers and dancers, resulting in a high number of movie musicals which drew upon these talents.

true

The early 20th century saw the rise of new dance music and styles, such as the Turkey Trot and the Fox Trot, which borrowed the syncopated rhythms found in much African American Music. This music was wildly popular, but also found many detractors, who felt that these new dances and new musics were indecent and immoral, and that this new cultural blending would tear apart the fabric of American society.

true

The end of WW2 marked a change not only in the preferences of audiences but in the business of music as well, and Swing music quickly fell out of favor.

true

Tin Pan Alley songs inherited their structure from earlier 19th century forms, fusing AABA form and the verse-chorus to produce a verse-refrain form with an AABA refrain.

true

By the turn of the century, a form of variety entertainment descended from Minstrel Shows and music hall shows became the most important venue for the performance of popular songs. These variety shows, known as _______________________________, remained the most popular form of entertainment in the United States until the rise of the film industry in the 1920's and 30's.

vaudeville