A Huge Hit Spends Two Weeks as #1 on the Music Charts

Transcription

1 91 TIGER RAG: A Huge Hit Spends Two Weeks as #1 on the Music Charts The first record of Tiger Rag by the Original Dixieland Jazz Band did not reach a wide audience, but their second version, recorded on March 25, 1918, was a huge hit and spent two weeks in the number one slot on the charts. From 1918 on, Tiger Rag was a staple of the Dixieland repertoire. Tiger Rag is closely linked to the jazz that came out of New Orleans, the result of the melding of Creole and African American cultures. The Creoles represented people of European ancestry born in the New World, Haitian immigrants, and racially mixed individuals. They had lived under the Spanish and French in the Louisiana Territory, and many of them were educated in the European tradition and were Conservatory-trained musicians. On the other hand, the American blacks were freed slaves, many of whom had little or no education and could not read music. They mostly improvised their music based on the blues, work songs, and gospel while the Creoles brought knowledge of European music and formal techniques to the musical melting pot. Tiger Rag was immediately picked up by dance bands and marching bands and was recorded hundreds of times over the next years. Bix Biederbecke recorded it with the Wolverines, Ethel Waters sang it, and the New Orleans Rhythm Kings with Leon Roppolo on clarinet had a hit with it in the 20s. Louis Armstrong recorded Tiger Rag in 1930 with his orchestra. The Washboard Rhythm Kings enjoyed success with their 1931 version; Art Tatum famously recorded it in 1932; and several big bands, including those of Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman, Glenn Miller, and both Dorsey s, featured the tune in the early 30s Multi-tracking guitarist Les Paul and his vocalist/wife Mary Ford revived the tune with their recording in 1952 which rose to number two on the charts. In 2002 Tiger Rag was added to the Library of Congress s National Recording Registry. Edward, the Duke of Windsor: I d rather hear Louis Armstrong play Tiger Rag than wander into Westminster Abbey and find the lost chord.

2 92 A D B E C FASHION Fifty Years of Changing Styles A Walking Dress B Walking Dress C Walking Suit by Worth D Walking Dress E Walking Dress

3 93 Clothing Trends in 1918 The years from 1900 to 1918 were filled with many important influences on clothing customs, including the growing popularity of fashion magazines, the importance of advertising in shaping people's ideas about clothing, the rise in the status of the fashion designer as a trendsetter, and the influence of trends in art and dance. Paris was the center of women's fashion. One of the biggest social factors that influenced fashion was World War I. World War I drained the resources of every country involved, including the major European powers and the United States. Fabrics and materials used for clothing were rationed, and clothing became simpler and less ornamented as a result. Perhaps the biggest impact was on women's dresses, which were made with far less material than ever before. The slim profile demanded by the war became the dominant fashion of the 1920s. The war also brought more women into the workplace than ever before, and women wore new clothing, including the onceforbidden trousers, in the workplace that they later adopted for regular use. Men's suits saw a slimming in profile around the same time as changes in the women's silhouette. Men also took advantage of the greater availability of ready-to-wear clothing, especially the newer, less restrictive forms of underwear that replaced the union suit. They also enjoyed the looser, more casual clothes created for use while playing sports or motoring. London, England, became the center for men.

4 94 Women s Hats s Throughout the 1870 s and 1880 s, hats and bonnets were on a fashion par. Women who wanted a more modest appearance often preferred bonnets s Very tall hats of the mid 1880 s were known as 3-story or flowerpots. They soared atop the hair, appearing as if a roof on the tower of a building. This style originated as a revival of a late 18th century woman s riding hat. That in turn was a copy of a man s style of the same period s Masculine styled clothes and hats entered women s wardrobes in the 1890 s via new forms of sporting and activity clothes. Boaters and Trilbys, previously considered masculine, were now appropriate wear for all but the dressiest of occasions 1900 s In the early Edwardian period, hats were a fashion accessory, rather than a necessity. Most were kept small, sitting on the top of the head atop a pile of hair. More masculine styles had begun to emerge during the 1890s, and some of these were still popular during this period. Bonnets had grown out of style, and women preferred hats that soared above the head s During the 1910 s, hats began to grow again in size. The brims grew increasingly large, often reaching past the wearer s shoulders. To keep these large pieces steady, hat pins, sometimes over a foot long, were used to secure them to the hair. Large plumes and floral pieces adorned hats of this period. During the First World War, however, hats began to decrease in size, fitting closer to the head and sitting low-down on the face, giving the woman a youthful appearance. Hats became plainer, as it was seen as unpatriotic to be concerned with one s appearance during this time. Read More About Fashion: html#ixzz56CUExx4Y

5 95 Women s Fashions Butterick doll clothing: boy doll s military suit, pattern 402, and boy doll s sailor suit, 403. Delineator, December This woman s one-piece dress pattern was available up to size 44. Delineator-May 1918 Butterick-July 1918: Summer Dresses Butterick-Autumn 1918: Girls Jumper Style Dresses Butterick doll clothing: boy doll s military suit, pattern 402, and boy doll s sailor suit, 403. Delineator, December This woman s one-piece dress pattern was available up to size 44.

6 Men s Suits and Hats

7 97 A Sampling of Girls and Boys Clothing 1918 The Butterick Quarterly Spring 1918 Sears Catalog Spring 1918 Girls Day Wear Boys Rompers and Play Suits

8 98 Hairstyles From 1915 to 1918 A look at Mary Pickford and Lilian Gish in silent films from the first decade of the 20th century shows the bouncy girlish styles in vogue. Floppy curls and cupid makeup made them look childish and innocent. World War I halted the fairy tale. Hair dressing was by necessity quick and simpler than the romantic coifs of happier times. The objective was to get it out of the way by piling it up or cropping it off. Busy women ranged further from home in a mobile age and the speed of a bicycle or auto was rough on an elaborate do. Long and Piled Up The war years found women parting the hair in the middle of the head and piling it up low on the back of the head. They let it cover their ears and pinned it with heavy pins or let combs do the work. Off-center parting with a low loose bun was ubiquitous. Small curls were sometimes added at the forehead or around the temples. Another style was to part it on the top and at the middle of the back of the head, pull two ponytails to the sides over the ears and wrap them in two buns covering the ears. Early Bobs The bob, one of the first short haircuts worn by women, is thought of as a 1920s style but first appeared during the war years. It fell just below the ears and was parted on the side. The style was not layered and looked like long hair was simply chopped away below the ears. There was sometimes a shorter bang pushed to one side and sometimes ringlets were set tightly around the face and fingerwaves everywhere else.

9 Bandeaux The style of the period had a Mediterranean look. With the low, loose buns women resembled depictions of ancient Greeks. A bandeau was a natural accessory to add to both dress up and contain the hair-do. The bandeau, practical or decorative, was also used by women who had chosen to have their hair bobbed. The accessory was sometimes worn just at the hairline. Bandeaus were also sometimes elaborate, with bead work and matching combs, or fashioned of fine embellished fabrics and ribbons. More casual examples were simple bands of linen or cotton. 99 Men's Styles Men wore short hair, parted high on the side with short sideburns and short around the ears. They plastered it down with pomade. Some wore the short style combed straight back from the forehead. Facial hair was not sported by World War I era men. Hairstyles and grooming kept an almost military neatness.

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12 102 Decorating Suggestions 1918 Vehicles by Automobile Companies Existing in 2018