1940s in music
For music from a year in the 1940s, go to 40 | 41 | 42 | 43 | 44 | 45 | 46 | 47 | 48 | 49
This article includes an overview of the major events and trends in popular music in the 1940s.
In the First World, Swing, Big band, Jazz, Latin and Country music dominated and defined the decade's music.
Ragtime can be described as the first truly American music genre and it remained popular for over 20 years. After its best-known exponent, Scott Joplin, died in 1917, the genre faded. As the 1920s unfolded, jazz rapidly took over as the dominant form of popular music in the US.
But with the and the onset of the Great Depression, the market for music rapidly dried up. Dance halls emptied out and musicians could not find work. By the middle of the 1930s however, with signs of economic recovery approaching, a turnaround in the fortunes of the music industry began. The era of big band swing had started.
In addition, a new form of popular music, crooning, emerged during the early 1930s. Technology played a large part in the development of this style, as electronic sound recording had emerged near the end of the 1920s and replaced the earlier acoustic recording. While singers such as Al Jolson and Billy Murray had recorded songs by yelling into a Victrola horn, as this was the only way to get audible sound with acoustic recording, the new electronic equipment allowed for a softer, more intimate style of singing. Many of the older singers like Jolson and Murray consequently fell out of favor during the 1930s with changing tastes (although Al Jolson managed a successful career comeback after WWII).
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