The Masses, Not the Classes – Irving Berlin
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The Masses, Not the Classes – Irving Berlin
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Re: The Masses, Not the Classes – Irving Berlin
#2I was hoping to find other comments processing the question of why such a lousy song was a hit beyond what the article describes…
Re: The Masses, Not the Classes – Irving Berlin
#3Great article. The very beginnings of the great river of American popular music.
Things were different 100 years ago. No one listened to music in the car. No one (or almost no one) listened to recorded music at all. A "hit" was a song that a lot of people bought the sheet music for, so they could play it at home.
If you wanted music, you either made it yourself, or you went someplace where other people made it. And not only was rock 'n' roll not invented yet, neither was jazz. Or swing. Or bebop.
Richard Rodgers had the kind of moment most creators can only dream of, when Oklahoma had just opened on Broadway, and the very next morning he heard someone on the street singing Oh, What a Beautiful Morning. It wasn't on the radio; that person had to have heard it live.
Re: The Masses, Not the Classes – Irving Berlin
#4"A pre-history that went back to the first recorded music" is, by definition, part of history, too.
Re: The Masses, Not the Classes – Irving Berlin
#5I was hoping to find other comments processing the question of why such a lousy song was a hit beyond what the article describes…
Because it speaks to the large number of people who engage with music they enjoy and can sing/hum along to easily, not the small group of self-styled "critics" who can only find joy in tearing down?
Re: The Masses, Not the Classes – Irving Berlin
#6I was hoping to find other comments processing the question of why such a lousy song was a hit beyond what the article describes…
Maybe there's some other hit from 1911 that you think was NOT a lousy song?
Come, Josephine, in My Flying Machine
Down by the Old Mill Stream
Oh You Beautiful Doll
I Want a Girl Just Like the Girl That Married Dear Old Dad
Re: The Masses, Not the Classes – Irving Berlin
#7I was hoping to find other comments processing the question of why such a lousy song was a hit beyond what the article describes…
It’s the McDonald’s of music.
Re: The Masses, Not the Classes – Irving Berlin
#8I was hoping to find other comments processing the question of why such a lousy song was a hit beyond what the article describes…
Maybe there's some other hit from 1911 that you think was NOT a lousy song? Come, Josephine, in My Flying Machine Down by the Old Mill Stream Oh You Beautiful Doll I Want a Girl Just Like the Girl That Married Dear Old Dad [1] https://playback.fm/charts/top-100-songs/1911
Down by the Old Mill Stream is nice. I like that one. It's not pretentious or corny, and the harmonies are interesting enough.
Let Me Call You Sweetheart is also totally fine.
But yeah, I get your point. I was like huh "Woodman, Woodman, Spare That Tree" wazzat… oh… um, cringe
Re: The Masses, Not the Classes – Irving Berlin
#9I was hoping to find other comments processing the question of why such a lousy song was a hit beyond what the article describes…
Because it speaks to the large number of people who engage with music they enjoy and can sing/hum along to easily, not the small group of self-styled "critics" who can only find joy in tearing down?
Well, that doesn't explain why it would stand out as such a hit because that explanation would apply to tons of songs that weren't hits or celebrated like that one.
Re: The Masses, Not the Classes – Irving Berlin
#10Earlier quoted context omitted.
Because it speaks to the large number of people who engage with music they enjoy and can sing/hum along to easily, not the small group of self-styled "critics" who can only find joy in tearing down?
Well, that doesn't explain why it would stand out as such a hit because that explanation would apply to tons of songs that weren't hits or celebrated like that one.
It quite literally does, right there in the article.