America in the 1920's

1. America in the 1920's The Jazz Age

2. The Rise of Jazz Music • In 1922 the first commercial radio station in the USA opened in Pittsburgh • The number of radio stations grew at a rapid rate, and with them, spread the popularity of jazz music • The rise was also helped by the growing production and use of the gramophone • In fact, jazz became the most popular music of the 1920’s!

3. This was the first time white people had been exposed to black music – and millions loved it • Jazz originated in the black neighbourhood of Harlem, New York • Jazz provided an opportunity for black musicians such as Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington • They made big money from nightclub and radio performances

4. The rise of Jazz music also led to new popular dances such as The Charleston, the Jitterbug and the Tango • These high-energy dances were a welcome relief to old ballroom dancing and waltzes of America before World War One

5. But Not Everyone Was So Happy! • “Jazz music causes drunkenness. All sense is lost and animal passions take over in its presence” • “Jazz lyrics, written in Negro brothels, are an offence to women” • “Jazz has a demoralising effect on the human brain, which has been demonstrated by scientists. Jazz stimulates people to do extreme deeds; it is harmful and dangerous” But these feelings and comments only seemed to make jazz music even more popular, particularly among women!

6. Jazz and the Speakeasy Culture • Prohibition jump-started the Jazz Age • During Prohibition, "The parties were bigger…the pace was faster…and the morals were looser." (Novelist F. Scott Fitzgerald) • Mob bosses opened plush nightclubs with exotic floor shows and the hottest bands…At Small's Paradise in Harlem, waiters danced the Charleston, carrying trays loaded down with cocktails • Out in rural America, on Midwestern college campuses, kids drank "bathtub gin" and danced to the hot jazz of ‘Bix and the Wolverines’ • Jazz took the blame for being “an influence for evil in society”