Music In The 1930's

My Appeal to American Pop and Jazz Music of the 1930’s

One of the most unifying forces on Earth is music. During the Great Depression in the 1930’s, there was a surge in music that could be enjoyed by the majority of society through the radio. If I were an average consumer of popular music in the 1930’s, the 1930’s songs that would appeal to me are jazz and pop songs. By analyzing my use of the radio and modern pop and jazz songs reminiscent of the pop and jazz of the 1930’s, I can conclude that jazz and pop songs of the 1930’s would appeal the most to me.

One of the reasons I would listen to pop and jazz music is because my main source of music stems from the radio, which was the main source of music for Americans during the Great Depression as well, both of which include pop music. Although the broadcast of popular music has its origins in radio stations first developed in the 1930’s, some of today’s radio stations in still share popular music

One example of this is when the singer asks “if I kiss you...will you pardon me?” (Burke et al.). The title itself is already reminiscent of the theme of escapism present in many popular song sin the 1930’s to enjoy a brief escape from the reality of the Great Depression. The song has a bright and upbeat tone in major key. The combination of the sweet melody with the lyrics paints the listener a picture of a pretty garden with tulips. The scene can easily be found in the lyrics where the singer emphasizes that he wants his lover to “tiptoe through the tulips” and asks them if the singer will be pardoned for “[kissing their lover] in the garden, in the moonlight” (Burke et al.). This romantic song is an excellent example of novelty pop tune of the 1930s: “Tiptoe Through the Tulips” has a sense of absurdity or goofiness in its light-hearted tone while also maintaining a romantic air featuring lyrics between two lovers frolicking