The Evolution of Popular Music

Within the last 100 years, music has evolved tremendously. We’ve been introduced to new genres and new sounds. Going from one technology to listen to music to the next.

1920's

It’s the 1920’s and the radio and the record player have recently been invented changing technology and how we listen to music forever. “The Charleston” and “the Foxtrot” are the latest dance crazes.

Louis Armstrong had a significant influence on jazz, the genre that would be associated with the 1920’s leading the decade to be dubbed, “The Jazz Age” or “The Golden Age of Jazz”.

In music, there was a style called “scat” which was a collection of nonsense syllables that were sung here and there throughout a song. This music style was made popular by Louis Armstrong.

The blues were another very popular genre in the 1920’s. When we think of someone singing the blues, we think of them singing about the sadness and heartbreak of their life. While the blues were usually about the singer’s personal (or society’s) troubles, some blues sung offered comedy and wit. The blues had a heavy influence on future genres.

Popular artists include Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, and Jelly Roll Morton

1930's

Jazz and the blues gives way to big band and swing — the popular music genres now. Swing is, by far, the most popular dance craze of the decade.

Here’s a song from the 1930’s era you might be familiar with: 😉

“Sing, sing, sing” — Benny Goodman and his Orchestra

Popular music artists include: Benny Goodman, Bing Crosby, Ella Fitzgerald, and Billie Holiday

1940’s

Big band and swing are still the popular music genres. Along with these genres, we are now introduced to the crooners. As the decade wears on, big band has now been replaced with a new genre of music — crooners and pop singers. Crooning is a style of music that is smooth and sung softly and more intimately.

Popular music artists include: Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Doris Day, and Dean Martin

1950’s

The 1950’s was a crucial turning point for music. It was the decade that gave birth to Rock & Roll and what would become the Rock & Roll we know today.

Rock & Roll was a totally new music genre at the time and incorporated the different previous music styles into one changing music forever.

Country Western was another genre that was growing in popularity and forever changing the world of music. We have such artists like Johnny Cash, Patsy Cline, and Hank Williams dominating that genre.

Doo-wop was another genre that has entered the music forefront. It was a style of R&B and involved a lead vocalist with a trio or quartet in the background singing in harmony with each other. It’s quite a refreshing and fun genre to listen to!

Popular artists include: Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Buddy Holly, and Patsy Cline.

1960’s

Rock & Roll is evolving even further as artists experiment with new sounds. Rhythm and blues (R&B) is another highly popular music genre.

Another interesting and refreshing genre of music that was also introduced in the 60’s was surf music. Think The Beach Boys. This was also the decade that gave us the British invasion of the Beatles.

Popular music artists include: The Temptations, The Supremes, The Beatles, and The Rolling Stones.

Here’s one of my favorite songs from the 60’s: 😊

Respect (1967) - Aretha Franklin

1970's

Even more music genres are making their way into people’s lives. We have funk, soul and one particular music genre that many associate with the 70’s. Disco. R&B is still very much holding steady as a popular music genre and is changing even more from what it was in the 60’s.

Rock & Roll is also evolving and branching out into many subgenres of rock.

There is one particular music genre being introduced into the world of music and is just in its infancy — hip hop. It will become far more notable later on.

The 1970’s were a time when music was starting to become transportable forever changing the way we listen to music.

The 8-track is a music technology booming in popularity and by the end of the decade right into the 80’s, the Sony Walkman entered people’s lives.

Popular music artists include: The Bee Gees, Marvin Gaye, Fleetwood Mac, and Led Zeppelin.

New genres of music have made their way into the music sphere changing it forever. Just fifty years or so has been covered, and music has changed tremendously already.

1980’s

New instruments make their way into music which means more new genres! We have the synthesizer — a machine that modifies sounds electronically changing up their frequency and duration. It was actually invented back in 1955 but as the technology evolved, became more recognizable in the 80’s.

It led to a new genre that would be an alternative to rock and a new kind of pop — New Wave. New wave was very diverse and incorporated pop elements with some rock and synth. Some notable new wave artists include: Tears for Fears, Duran Duran, Pet Shop Boys, and Talking Heads.

As for Rock, we had artists like Def Leppard, Kiss, Alice Cooper, and AC/DC revolutionizing the genre more than ever and the music of the 80’s overall.

Listening to music by cassette had reached its prime in the 80’s until the early 90’s. Remember the days of putting together a mixtape?

The 80’s really were a booming and diverse era of music!

Popular music artists include Madonna, Duran Duran, Michael Jackson, and Def Leppard.

1990’s

Hip-hop, rap, and R&B were especially very notable music genres of the 90’s. Music artists were experimenting and blending various genres together. There was a blur between hip-hop and pop for instance.

The 90’s were a new and innovative era for R&B. New artists with new sounds were emerging onto the scene of rhythm and blues: En Vogue, Boyz II Men, TLC, P.M. Dawn …

We also had a new music genre. Grunge, an alternative rock genre. It emerged in the mid 80’s and became more popular in the 90’s. Some well known grunge music artists are Nirvana, Alice in Chains, Stone Temple Pilots, and Foo Fighters.

Popular music artists include Mariah Carey, Boyz II Men, Nirvana, and Destiny’s Child.

2000’s

It was a notable time for hip hop throughout the 2000’s as the genre became even more popular. Another subgenre of rock that’s been increasing in popularity in the early 2000’s and on is heavy metal. It features intense and distorted sounds of the electric guitar.

Here is a fun 2000’s tune from the hip hop and alternative rock genre:

“Feel Good Inc.” (2005) Gorillaz

Artists are experimenting more than ever with different genres, often times mixing them together to create something completely new and innovative.

Two genres I noticed that have been incorporated together are pop and country to create country pop. Some songs today have merged between the lines of being a pop song and a country tune. One such recent example of a song blending country and rock together is Luke Comb’s version of Tracy Chapman’s hit song “Fast Car” (1988). It’s reimagined with country elements while also keeping the pop elements of the original.

Other artists that have blended country and pop together are Taylor Swift, Lady A, Billy Ray Cyrus, and Hunter Hayes.

Not only has music become even more transportable but it has become especially more customizable. People can now listen to their favorite songs and music artists with just a tap of a button.

Feel like listening to some Alice in Chains, Brooks and Dunn, and some Alicia Keys on the same playlist? Go for it!

By the later half of the 2000’s, a new music technology has just been invented — one that I remember just about everyone it seems in high school having — the mp3 player. The most recognizable mp3 player of course is the I Pod.

Popular music artists include: Beyonce, Coldplay, Linkin Park, Eminen, and Matchbox Twenty.

2010’s — Today

There are a wealth of new music genres that I admit I’ve barely stepped foot into. We have indie rock which an alternative rock subgenre released by independent record companies (hence the name), dubstep, house music, and metal core.

Dubstep is an electronic dance genre. It’s usually instrumental and involves a heavy bass with a focus on a repetitive melody.

House music is another subgenre of electronic music. It actually evolved from disco but became especially popular again starting in the 2000’s. Elements of house include a deep baseline, some synthetic and funk and soul vocals.

Metal core is a rock genre that incorporates heavy metal with hard-core punk.

Wow!

If we could just stop here and consider how far we have come with music. It has become so much more than just rock, pop, and country. I mean, can we really categorize a song into one category?

For music and technology, we’ve just entered a time in which we have the capability to stream music on a whim. Music streaming platforms such as Pandora, IHeart Radio, Spotify, and YouTube Music makes listening to whatever music we desire at any time possible. We can create our own playlists merging the unlikely of genres together.

Popular music artists include: Bruno Mars, Ed Sheeran, Imagine Dragons, Katy Perry, and Lady Gaga.

It’s been quite a journey taking a glimpse into how much music has changed. Makes me wonder what the next decades of music are going to be like!

Sources:

https://www.armadamusic.com/news/house-music

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dubstep

https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Metalcore

https://www.masterclass.com/articles/indie-rock-music-guide