"I've Heard that Song Before"
Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Bing Crosby, Glenn Miller, Patsy Cline, the Dorsey brothers, the Andrew Sisters, Benny Goodman, Harry James, Louis Armstrong, Peggy Lee, Sammy Kaye.
Music that defined a generation. A generation that defined music.
Music was simpler then; times, not so much. There was a war going on (didn't you know?) and people were lucky if they could get enough to eat. The world was ten years past the beginning of the Great Depression and was rapidly entering into one of another kind. Music soothed the soul and took the mind off of the world's struggle with lyrics such as "Got a gal in Kalamazoo, don't want to boast but I know she's the toast of Kalamazoo!" [(I've Got a Gal) in Kalamazoo by Glenn Miller]
As the war continued songs started to reflect the state of the world, with lyrics like "Don't sit under the apple tree with anyone else but me 'till I come marchin' home." [Don't Sit Under the Apple Tree by Glenn Miller]. As some of the most respected celebrities in America, such as Glenn Miller, Jimmy Stewart, and Clark Gable, started to enlist, people not affected already by the war started to feel the effects.
It's hard to imagine a world where music doesn't play a vital role in popular culture, but is it really so hard to imagine a world where music isn't influenced by popular culture? As the years drag on, it seems as if music is no longer affected by what is happening around it. As America is entering into another depression, rappers continue to sing about how much money they make and how much they spend. We are in the middle of a war (don't you know?) with seemingly no end in sight, but rock stars still sing about their girlfriends or how much they hate their parents.
Our world is drastically different than our grandparent's world. Divorce, once taboo, is now the norm. Music used to mean something. Now it seems as if no thought goes into the music being played on the radio. President Roosevelt used to host fireside chats in order to assure the public and inform them. Now, sometimes President Bush will issue a State of the Union address that will assure no one and answer no questions.
When I look at my grandparents, I see more than wisdom and years. I see a greater understanding of not just the world, but of themselves. Popular culture is just as much infused into their lives as it is into mine. Sometimes my grandparents will be cooking together in the kitchen and my grandmother will grab my grandfathers tie or shirt and sing to him "You're not handsome, it's true, but when I look at you, I just - oh Johnny, oh Johnny...oh Johnny oh!" [Oh Johnny, Oh Johnny, Oh!, written by Ed Rose] My grandmother will then tell me the story of how, when my grandpa (named John), was young, people would sing that to him. While she is singing and telling me this, my grandfather will blush good-naturedly and sometimes will catch her off guard with a kiss.
Somehow, I cannot imagine singing any song from my childhood to my husband when we are in our seventies. That is not because I won't want to sing to my husband. It will be because they will be no remarkable songs from my childhood to tell stories about.
My grandparents always have stories to tell about songs or movies from their youth and I can't help but think that when I have grandchildren, my stories will be about Lollipop by Lil Wayne and Shake It by Metro Station. Try comparing those to "White Christmas" by Bing Crosby and "Paper Doll" by the Mills Brothers. You can't.
I'm not sure I want the music on the top forty radio to define my generation. What does it mean about us as people that our popular music is socially unaware? I shudder to think of the answer, as I shudder to think of what I'll say when my children or grandchildren ask me why my generations music was so ignorant.
Sources
Billboard
Glenn Miller Orchestra Website
Author's Note: The title of this article is the title of a popular Harry James Orchestra song.
