It was for stage bands, for dancing, and for a jiving mood of
letting go. Throughout the nation swing re-sounded with the spirit
of good times.
But this pop genre, for a decade America's favorite, arose
during the worst of times, the Great Depression.
From its peak in the 1930s until bebop, r & b, and country
swamped it after World War II, swing defined an American generation
and measured America's musical heartbeat. In its heyday swing
reached a mass audience of very disparate individuals and united
them. They perceived in the tempers and tempos of swing the very
definition of modernity.
A survey of the thirties reveals that the time was indeed the
Swing Era, America's segue into modernity. What social structures
encouraged swing's creation, acceptance, and popularity? "Swing,
That Modern Sound" examines the cultural and historical
significance of swing and tells how and why it achieved its
audience, unified its fans, defined its generation, and, after
World War II, fell into decline.
What fed the music? And, in turn, what did the music feed? This
book shows that swing manifested the kind of up-to-date allure that
the populace craved. Swing sounded modern, happy, optimistic. It
flouted the hardship signals of the Great Depression. The key to
its rise and appeal, this book argues, was its all-out
appropriation of modernity--consumer advertising, the language and
symbols of consumption, and the public's all-too-evident wish for
goods during a period of scarcity.
As it examines the role of race, class, and gender in the
creation of this modern music, "Swing, That Modern Sound" tells how
a music genre came to symbolize the cultural revolution taking
place in America.
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