Musical Trends Over the Century

One Direction; the name itself causes overflowing thoughts in one’s head. With 19 million single and 10 million album sales in the United States, it is virtually impossible not to recognize the name. But ever wonder what the next big thing was 20 years, 30 years, or even 40 years ago? Musical trends have moved from classical, in the late 1800’s-early 1900’s, to blues/jazz in the early 1920’s-late 1940’s, to rock and roll in the mid 1950’s-1990’s, with disco becoming very popular in the mid 1970’s-early 1990’s. Pop has only gained popularity within the last 15 years; in the late 1990’s to the present day. Groups and artists such as the Beatles, Elvis Presley, Elton John, Bing Crosby, and Led Zeppelin have reached the 600 million sales mark, which is, many more sales than many modern groups or artists could expect to sale. Classics like "Satisfaction" by the Rolling Stones, "Johnny B. Goode" by Chuck Berry, "Smells Like Teen Spirit" by Nirvana, "In The Ghetto" by Elvis Presley, "Respect" by Aretha Franklin, "Purple Haze" by Jimi Hendrix, "Paranoid" by Black Sabbath, "When The Levee Breaks" by Led Zeppelin, "Do You Wanna Touch Me" by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, and more will always, be classics. Pop music has swept away any recognition of previous musical trends. If you were to play a classic soul song, or rock and roll song, not many of today’s youth would recognize what was playing.  Pop is a fantastic genre of music; upbeat and fun, but how could millions of people from the 1950’s-1980’s era be wrong? It would be tragic if classic music were to disappear from our radio stations, CD shelves, and iPods forever.

-Gabriella Hall

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The Beatles

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Aretha Franklin

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