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| The Jazz Age
and Louis Armstrong (The 1920's) |
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The Roaring Twenties was alternatively
known as The Jazz Age. This "movement" in which jazz music grew
in popularity by immense standards in the U.S., also influenced
other parts of the world.
Following World War I, around 500,000
African Americans in search of better employment opportunities
moved to the northern part of the United States. With them,
they brought their culture and in New York, the start of the
Harlem Renaissance. During this period of time, the works of
African Americans in fields such as writing and music escalated.
Styles of music including Dixieland and blues became popular
as well.
The Charleston, a lively dance
with origins in South Carolina and African American styles,
became immensely popular. The dance, which can be done solo,
with two, or in a group, received attention after being shown
in Runnin' Wild, a 1923 musical. One man, John Giola,
from New York managed to do the Charleston for 22 hours and
30 minutes! This particular dance was introduced to Europeans
in 1925. Other dances of the era included the Cake-Walk, the
Turkey Trot, the Black Bottom, and the Bunny Hug. With the increased
popularity of dances, events such as dance marathons were also
created.
Throughout the 1920's many people
took an interest in music. They owned pianos, played sheet music,
and listened to records.
One name, arguably one of the most
famous jazz musicians of all time, is worth mentioning. Louis
Daniel Armstrong (1901 - 1971), from New Orleans, Louisiana,
displayed his amazing talents as a trumpeter, cornet player,
and singer during the Jazz Age. He studied and played with a
famed cornet player named Joseph "King Oliver" Oliver (1885
- 1938). Afterwards, he became a member of Fletcher Henderson's
group.
In 1925, "Satchmo," who had learned
to play cornet at the age of twelve, started The Hot Fives.
The band would later gain two more musicians and was appropriately
renamed The Hot Sevens. His wife, Lil, was also a member of
the group and played the piano. The following year, Armstrong
recorded "Heebie Jeebies". "Pops" did not restrict his talents
to just music, however. He also starred in films such as Pennies
from Heaven. He continued working in the last three years
of his life, most of which was spent in hospitals. He died at
home on July 6, 1971.
Some of the many great artists
of that time also included Duke Ellington (1899 - 1974), Joseph
"King Oliver" Oliver (1885 - 1938), Bessie Smith (1894? - 1937),
Benny Goodman (1909 - 1986), and Ma Rainey.
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| Adolf Hitler's
Book, Mein Kampf, is Published (1925)
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In July of 1925, Adolf Hitler (1889
- 1945) issued his autobiography. The book, entitled Mein Kampf
or My Struggle, would have a second volume in 1926; the People's
Edition appeared in 1930. The book, written while Hitler was
imprisoned early in his career, reflected his hatred of Jews,
and his belief that Germans were a superior race. Outside of
Germany the book was not given much notice, a fact the Allies
would soon regret.
Adolf Hitler was born on April
20, 1889, in Austria. He served time in Germany's armed forces
during World War I as a political spy and became a decorated
corporal. He served as leader of the German Workers' Party,
which would later be renamed the National Socialist German Workers'
(Nazi) Party. In 1933, he came to power as chancellor of the
Third Reich. Despite Hitler's doing away with democracy, the
people of Germany applauded his efforts, for they were weary
of the depressed state of affairs that followed Germany's defeat
in World War I. After involving his country in a costly second
world war, geared to make it the predominant world power, Adolf
Hitler committed suicide on April 30, 1945.
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| F.
Scott Fitzgerald Publishes The Great Gatsby (1925) |
| Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald
(1896 - 1940), an American writer and screenwriter, was born on
September 24, 1896, and published his book The Great Gatsby
in 1925. His first novel, This Side of Paradise had been
made available to the public in 1920. His writings often portrayed
people who became successful in the social and financial worlds,
but did not share the same prosperity in their morals. As a perfect
reference to the times, Fizgerald married a flapper named Zelda
Sayre. Before his death in Hollywood on December 21, 1940, his
many writings included over 150 stories and 5 novels. |
| A. A. Milne
Publishes Winnie the Pooh (1926) |
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In October of 1926, British writer
Alan Alexander Milne (1882-1956), published Winnie the Pooh.
Prior to this work, A. A. Milne had also written plays and novels
such as Mr. Pim Passes By and The Red House Mystery. For children
he created When We Were Very Young in 1924. This was the book
in which Winnie-the-Pooh (then Our Teddy Bear or Edward Bear)
first appeared. Milne also featured his young son, Christopher
Robin, Winnie-the-Pooh, and their friends in other works: Now
We Are Six and The House at Pooh Corner. All of Milne's work
for children has been considered classic. His characters are
still widely popular to this day and have been portrayed in
many forms such as movies and toys.
Alan Alexander Milne was born to
John and Sarah Milne on January 18, 1882, in London. He passed
away on January 31, 1956.
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| Agatha
Christie Disappears and Reappears (1926) |
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In December of 1926, the English
writer Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie (1891 - 1976) was
discovered to be missing. Despite the fact that she was later
located at a hotel, the reason for the mystery-writer's disappearance
was never determined.
Christie's mysteries often featured
Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot, who were two detectives. Agatha
Christie had a highly successful career, receiving the 1954
- 1955 New York Drama Critics' Circle Award in honor of her
Witness for the Prosecution. It was made into a movie
in 1957.
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| The Jazz Singer
Becomes the First Talkie (1927) |
| The first film featuring
spoken words was The Jazz Singer. Warner Brothers produced
the talkie in 1927. Al Jolson (1886 - 1950), who was later in
The Singing Fool, spoke the first words. In the previous
year, the company had created a film with music. In 1928, Warner
Brothers moved film making a step further. The Lights of New
York became the first film to feature speech throughout the
entire movie. The arrival of talkies hurt many silent film stars,
but others like Charlie Chaplain were able to continue their work. |
| American writer
Sinclair Lewis, or Harry Sinclair Lewis (1885 - 1951), publishes
Main Street. (1920) |
| Aldous Leonard Huxley (1894
- 1963) publishes Crome Yellow, his first novel. (1921)
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| James Augustine Aloysius
Joyce (1882 - 1941) introduces his novel, Ulysses. (1922)
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| Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky
(1882 - 1971) writes music for Les Noces, a ballet. (1923) |
| T.S. Eliot (1888
- 1965), or Thomas Stearns Eliot, publishes The Waste Land,
a free verse poem. (1922) |
| In New York, George Gershwin's
(1898 - 1937) Rhapsody in Blue is performed. (1924) |
| Harold Ross founds the New
Yorker. (1925) |
| Ernest Miller Hemingway (1899
- 1961) publishes his book, The Sun Also Rises. (1925) |
| Gerorge Bernard Shaw (1856
- 1950) wins the Nobel Prize for Literature. (1925) |
| In Leningrad, Dimitri Shostakovich's
First Symphony is performed. (1926) |
| Maurice Joseph Ravel (1875
- 1937), a French composer, writes Bolero, an orchestral
piece. (1927) |
| Walt Disney (1901 - 1966)
presents Mickey Mouse in Steamboat Willie, a cartoon complete
with sound. Disney provided the voice of the soon-to-be famous
mouse. (1928) |
| Ernest Miller Hemingway (1899
- 1961) publishes A Farewell to Arms. (1929) |
| Charlie Chaplain (1889 -
1977) stars in The Kid, his first full-length film. Other
notable actors at the time included Douglas Fairbanks (1883 -
1939) and Mary Pickford (1893 - 1979). |
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