Music History: The More Things Change, The More They Stay The Same

Thinking about pop music, the idea that “wow, has music changed” comes quickly to mind.

It’s hard to believe that ragtime piano dominated the musical landscape in 1900 and that by the start of the 21^st century awards were being handed out for the year’s best rap album. But listen closely and you realize that first impressions can be deceiving. A better assessment would be that “the more things change, the more they stay the same” – especially when you consider certain artists, their hit songs, and the kinds of music they’ve recorded.

Think for a start about Al Jolson, the man many called the world's greatest entertainer. He got his start as a black faced burlesque singer in the early 1900’s, and by the late 20’s, had scored more than 80 hit records in a period of 17 years. The depression saw Al’s popularity fade, but he was due for a comeback.

In 1946, The Jolson Story took the world by storm. Al Jolson, by then in his 60’s, provided the vocals and showed that he was still right up there with the new singers on the block (the likes of Perry Como and Doris Day). With that movie, Al had two top 10 hits – “April Showers” and “Swanee”, both of which had been big sellers more than two decades earlier. In using tunes that had already been successful, Al would blaze a trail for many musicians.

He hit number one with a brand new song in the summer of 1947: “The Anniversary Song”. Or was it brand new? The lyrics were, but the melody was based on an old Romanian waltz. "The Anniversary Song" again put Jolson in the top spot from December until March, and he stayed on the charts until the end of the year. It became the second biggest song of the ‘40s – a sure sign that familiar music was the way to go.

By the tenth anniversary of Jolson’s comeback, Rock and Roll was king; indeed a singer a few generations younger carried that very nickname: “The King.” Like Al, Elvis Presley was masterful in adapting music produced for black audiences and lifting it to popularity in white markets.

He did this with “Hound Dog” – a standard among Country and Rhythm and Blues artists (such as Big Mamma Thornton). But Presley’s version was the best selling single of his career and would be given a spot on Rolling Stone’s list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. Elvis Presley was a young rock singer, but he knew pop music had continuity, and songs that had already won over Country or R and B fans would never fail.

His work had a profound affect on four lads from Liverpool – better known as the Beatles. John Lennon once said that: “if there hadn’t been Elvis, there would not have been the Beatles.” Around the same time, Buddy Holly, Chuck Berry, and Little Richard also shaped their sound, with songs like Holly’s “Words of Love”, Little Richard’s “Long Tall Sally”, and Berry’s “Roll over Beethoven.” The Fab Four stayed true to their roots, performing songs by these artists more than any others during their career. They just loved to play the tunes they grew up with, but they were actually setting a trend.

Rock musicians still swap songs, honour their forbearers, and learn from each other – giving pop music a foundation as the years go by.

That consistency is what makes the music great. Today, we are experiencing that in full force with artists like Michael Bublé, who sings standards written during Al Jolson’s era, rockers by Elvis or the Beatles, and other familiar fair – taking full advantage of a long standing trend in music.

It would seem that music built on musical memories is an important part of our culture; or perhaps it’s simply that great singers, songs, and genres never go out of style. I like to think both statements are true.