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Great Depression Music Essay

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As the economy completely collapsed and citizens looked out for a getaway from their normal and afflicted lives, the Great Depression was in motion. This distraction was made possible by the growing and changing cultures of this time. Music was just one of these forms that has been modified to suit the demands of the American people. Throughout American history, music has been a common form of culture, however, it went through significant changes starting from the Gilded Age to the Great Depression. People were desperate for a sunny day, so they turned to music for optimism and as a means of expressing themselves.
One invention from this era that influenced the Great Depression greatly was the radio. At the beginning of the 1930s, over twelve million American citizens owned a radio. This number later blew up to twenty-eight million by the end of the decade (PBS 1). The radio brought new ways of knowing what was going on worldwide without having to go out and buy a newspaper. “Fireside Chats”, an evening radio show broadcasted by Franklin Roosevelt, was created during this time. FDR used this broadcasting system in order to speak to …show more content…

The music raised hope and gave optimism to others. “Life is a Bowl of Cherries” is just one example of this. In 1931, Lew Brown and Ray Henderson released this song to the public. Reassuring citizens that their financial losses weren’t in the big picture, “You can't take your dough when you go, go, go” was a phrase popularized from this song (Sanders 4). In 1928, Harry McClintock released the song “Big Rock Candy Mountain,” a written fantasy of life away from the depression. The song mentions of lands full of milk and honey, cigarette trees, handouts grown on bushes, and soda water fountains. Dick Robertson’s “If I Ever Get a Job Again” speaks of wishful promises for life post-Depression (Sanders 4). These songs kept people dancing and hoping for a good life after the

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