Jazz In the Years of World War II

Sounds That Had a Nation Dancing

A Look at Popular Culture in a Broad Sense During the War

Some of the most memorable American popular culture came from the shadowed times of the darkest war in history. In a way that you would expect from popular culture, though, music themes that were written exclusively about the war, the majority of the time, went unnoticed, and the songs that were noticed, did not become very popular. In fact, the only people that seemed to want popular war music were military and government officials. The government formed two committees to attempt to find a war theme that would get the adrenaline pumping for the soldiers, the “National Wartime Music Committee,” and the “Music War Committee.” Both embarrassingly failed in their attempt to do so.

Understandingly, it seemed as if no one, neither soldier nor civilian, wanted to hear depressing songs about the sad times of war. Most people wanted to get their minds off it as much as possible. Understanding this, the music industry kept going on with business as usual. Especially during the early years of the war, the music industry and the movie industry shared an apparent ignorance of the war’s existence in popular hopes that the war and its horrors would go away if people didn’t think about it . Some memorable marks of popular culture that are still relevant today came from the years during World War II, but had nothing to do with the war. In 1939, the American classic, “The Wizard of Oz,” opened in theaters, and along with it, the unforgettable tune, “Over the Rainbow,” topped the music charts. A young man named Frank Sinatra was was getting his highly recognized career off of the ground. Between 1942 and 1944, popular Christmas songs “White Christmas,” ”I’ll Be Home For Christmas,” and “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” were topping the pop charts. And Rodgers and Hammerstein II were starting off their illustrious careers. In all of these cases, (except for Hammerstein II who aided on a committee to help find a war theme fit for pop culture,) these artists and pieces of pop culture held no link to the Second World War. There were some good efforts, but never was there a solid popular war theme that every American could chant to together.

Jazz: The Sounds that Brought a Nation Closer

It has been argued that the time during World War II was one of the most united time periods in U.S. history. While there is a lot of evidence to combat that idea, there is no doubt that progress in equality was made during the time period of World War II for both racial status and gender status. The state of jazz music in the U.S. during that time period shows a good representation of that progress. Jazz was effecting the whole nation, not just the men on the battlefield, but also the hard working people within the nation’s borders that had their own hardships to deal with.

Swing Jazz and Its Powerful Influence On World War II America

During the war, there was no more popular and more influential form of music than swing. Between the time that the war took place, swing had dominated the popular music charts. From its beginnings, swing, as well as many other jazz forms, was born in poor and working-class black neighborhoods. As the style began to evolve and take shape, it began to gain the attention of the white community that liked what it was hearing. White musicians began to adopt it in the later 30s, and by 1940, it was the most popular style of music in the whole United States.

A Quick Lesson On Black Popular Music History

In a general sense, African Americans have faced a lot of hardship due to discrimination in American history. After the times of slavery, African American opportunity in terms of making money and having rights was vacant to the point that for a long time, Black culture would not escape the poor and working classes. Blacks would find many of their opportunities taken or even stolen by whites who had the same qualifications. In terms of the music profession, this was no different. Black musicians have a history throughout the a large portion of the 1900s of having lesser opportunities of promoting their music nationally and/or getting to play with musicians of similar or better quality. There is even a history of white musicians recording and/or playing music created and played by black musicians and getting more popular than those black musicians because it. (Some of these white musicians asked for permission while others didn’t.)

Popular Swing of the War

By the time that the war had begun, Swing had reached the height of its popularity, and it had the United States dancing. Radios and Jukeboxes were among the premiere entertainment of the day. Millions of working Americans after a long day at work were going home and listening to the latest and most popular swing of the day on their radios. As well, millions of Americans were going to restaurants and playing their favorite tracks on a jukebox.

What really brought the swing era into a whole was the rise of what were known as the “Big Bands.” Swing had evolved beyond a few musicians playing as a band into orchestras with entire sections of varying instruments creating large, full, and powerfully dynamic sound. It was the big bands that were usually creating the most popular swing tracks.

America Shows Steps Toward Equality Through the Use of Popular Swing

During this era of swing’s peak in popular music, an interesting glimpse into equality was coming to light. At least in the areas of popular music, it seemed as though for every big white swing artist and every big white swing artist that conducted a big band, there was big black swing artist and a big black swing artist that conducted a big band to counteract it. The first big swing artist to gain real popularity was Duke Ellington, a black pianist, composer, and bandleader whose recognition in the genre would persist for over a decade. Ellington had a slew of top 10 hits, but most of them would come in the 30s. At the same time, beyond the conductor, it was not uncommon to see all black bands, all white bands, or a combination of the two. In that regard, America did not seem to be nitpicky with race, at least on the surface, when choosing what swing music it enjoyed listening to. No other popular music style outside of the jazz subgenres (which included swing) of this era had this characteristic.

The Giants of Swing in the World War II Era

Swing was already well living its popularity by the time the war started, but at Swing’s height during World War II establishment of the unbreakable masters of popular swing was coming into light. From the early 30s to the late 30s, it was Duke Ellington and his big band that were dominating the popular charts. From the beginning of the war to the end of the war Ellington’s popularity was still strong, but was slowly being replaced by the likes of Harry James, Bob Crosby, Benny Goodman, Woody Herman, Artie Shaw, Tommy Dorsey (who worked closely with Frank Sinatra), and the biggest of them all, Glenn Miller. Glenn Miller had more charted hits throughout World War II than almost all the other artists just mentioned combined. Sadly, in the prime of his outstanding career, Miller had disappeared while flying over the English channel on December 15th, 1944 These are among the artists that transcended touring and recording and began to write for movies, theater, and regular radio shows.

Glenn Miller (1904 –1944)

Hard Times Descend upon Working Jazz Musicians in World War II

Many difficulties, both caused by and not caused by the effects the war, befell upon jazz musicians during World War II. The main places to have found a jazz band playing a show during that time period were at a restaurant, a concert hall that doubled as an eatery, a bar venue, or a dance hall. Due to economic influences during the war, though, establishments were limited in their hours of business, so finding a time slot to be able to play had shrunk. Food rations during the war limited how many customers restaurant businesses received so bands were being hired to play less. Economic changes in transportation limited gig goers. Frequent blackouts shut down some venues totally. A twenty percent, “amusement tax” was instilled to raise military revenue and sought to place an anchor on the foot of venue managers. Also, many jazz bands found a majority of the work they received in time slots at late night venues where people went to unwind. A government enforced curfew from midnight until dawn completely ended ideas of being able to perform then, as well.

If it wasn’t enough to completely desert the amount of places to play and the amount of people to play for (the amount of work to receive,) the military draft effectively deserted the amount of members in a band (amount of workers in that business.) The draft weaned down members of bands big or small, gradually disbanding many bands totally, making the musicians left in the country scramble for work.

Problems Unrelated to War Effects For Musicians During the War

There were two significant events that took place during the war that effected all professional musicians, not just musicians in a specific genre. These events were unrelated to the war, but made the lives of musicians even more difficult. These effects combined with the effects caused by the war made for a truly difficult time for the professional musician. The first stemmed out of a feud between radio stations and a performance rights organization called ASCAP (the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Producers). ASCAP attempts to keep the rights of the writers who are signed to them safe from other people who might perform their works without getting permission from the original writer to do so. Radio stations fought ASCAP in court in 1939 for asking for a payment for each time a radio station played a song by one of their writers. ASCAP lost and large radio corporations decided to form a new performance rights organization in response called BMI (Broadcast Music Incorporated). ASCAP decided to raise fees for all its artists which, in turn, caused a massive boycott of ASCAP music. Between February 1940 and December 1941, all music by ASCAP artists (which made up about eighty percent of music regularly heard on the radio at the time) were not played on the radio. Popular music’s main form of promotion, at the time, was dead, and it remained dead until the boycott was lifted.

Problems Unrelated to War Effects For Musicians During the War (Cont.)

The second significant problematic event that took place was when the AFM (the American Federation of Musicians) hired their new president, James C. Petrillo, in the summer of 1940. He eventually took strong action, demanding radio broadcasters pay fees to play music by AFM members. When radio refused, Petrillo initiated an all-encompassing ban on recording activity for all AFM members. AFM members (which included an extremely large amount artists) were not allowed to make any new recordings from then on until his demands were complied with. Between August of 1942 and September of 1943, the music industry halted. Petrillo allowed old recordings to be played, but no new ones were allowed to be recorded. Only vocalists, whom the AFM did not allow membership for found their ways into the studios, and throughout the time period of the ban, a lot of recorded acapella can be found. This time period, in a largely general sense, was difficult for all musicians in the United States, popular or otherwise. Many musicians had trouble finding places to play and promote themselves, other musicians had trouble being promoted, and others had trouble finding ways to record. Whatever the situation was for each musician, adversity had to be fought by every musician during this time period. Some made it, and others didn’t.

American Culture Suffering Due to Problems Created in the Music Industry During the War

Beyond the problems created for musicians, American culture was suffering due to hardships created for working musicians. Some Americans only escape from the stresses of the war was through radio, recorded music, and live shows that allowed people the chance release their stress. American laborers all had their share of stress be it from unfair work conditions, economic worries, or maybe even worries of a loved one fighting over seas. Nightly radio tunes of the time period after stressful days was, for many, one of only ways of relaxing and being entertained during the time period. With DJs having difficulties finding ways to bring full entertainment value to people at home, especially due to dilemmas having nothing to due with the war, hardworking listeners were being shorted what they deserved.

Being a Black Jazz Musician in the World War II Era

Beyond the surface of popular swing music where many artists and players both black and white seemed to thrive, in the general sense, white musicians received a lot more recognition. Black musicians in the jazz circuit found it problematic to find ways to promote themselves beyond their local areas, to get on to labels, and to find bands that would accept them in a society that favored whites over blacks. Also, a large problem during the time of World War II for black musicians was the draft. Black musicians, prime in their careers, were drafted and had to give up on their career ambitions for a while. This was no different for white musicians, but all black bands who relied on each other because they weren’t accepted in the, more numerous, white bands were torn apart, and the other members, if they didn’t get drafted, had to scramble to find work. Few opportunities existed for black jazz artists during the World War II era, but there were outlets that existed in that of independent labels that were open to experimental music and sought to capitalize on non-generic styles through creative black musicians. This would later prove prosperous in the growth of black music, and the acceptance of black culture.

Being a Woman Jazz Musician in the War World II Era

Women’s culture all over America was finding its way to progress away from formal discrimination during the World War II era. While the draft was an unfortunate truth that was on the minds of all men in the U.S. during the war, it was a tremendous advantage for women. While more and more men were being sent overseas to fight, it was decreasing the population of industry workers. Industries had to find workers to keep up with the war’s production efforts, and a whole population of women, ready to work, were available. At least for the duration of the war, women were being accepted into jobs and professions that they had never been allowed to work in before. In the ways of jazz music, specifically popular style swing, women were finding their ways into bands both large and small. Bands made up of all women were becoming a popular novelty during this time period, some even finding their ways on to big broadcast radio stations like CBS and NBC. While not all of them got popular, many of these women groups formed during this time period in an enthusiastic showing for women’s progress. Unfortunately, this enthusiasm in women’s culture was short lived. Upon returning at the end of the war, war veteran men expected their jobs back, and women were expected to hand them over. Housewives were forced to revert back to life at home, and women that worked for their own living had to return to a life of scrambling to find steady work, usually receiving menial pay. Women’s jazz group popularity fell at the end of the war, and many women that were in mixed gender bands for the duration of the war were finding themselves replaced by a male veteran. All and all, this enthusiasm would not die, but rather be carried on to the Women’s Rights Movement a couple decades later.

A picture of “Rosie the Riveter,” a symbol of women’s empowerment during the war.

Jazz in the Military

While being away from home, men overseas found it difficult, if not, impossible to remain in touch with American culture. But, due to many popular jazzmen being enlisted, sometimes, the music went with it. Some of the popular swing greats like Artie Shaw, Wayne King, Bob Crosby, and Glenn Miller formed or joined their own military bands and performed while on leave or oversea to entertain their comrades.

Also, in 1943, the Office of War Information (OWI) ordered that music records be shipped overseas for the entertainment of the troops. Shellac (which was used to make phonographs at the time) was flimsy and easily breakable, not to mention that much of America’s supply of shellac was being used by the military for other purposes at the time. Vinylite, a precursor to vinyl, was used to create what were known as V-Disks which were a lot more durable than shellac phonographs and could handle the rough journey overseas. This would become the standard recorded music listening format for all recorded music, both in the U.S. and overseas. It would persist as the premiere popular format for decades. Within the 6-year life of this program, 8 million disks were shipped to men overseas. Military men decided they wanted to hear only the most popular tunes of the day, so millions of men overseas were finding themselves listening to and enjoying the most popular swing of the day.

Photo of a Vinylite Disk

Other Important Jazz Styles During the War

The two most important jazz styles to evolve out of the war included Bebop and Rhythm and Blues. Swing during the 1930s to the early 1940s was an immoveable juggernaut in the world of popular jazz, but by the time that the war had ended in the later 1940s, it had become stale and overly genericized in the minds of the U.S.’s popular music listening public. Many of the big popular swing artists had eventually been shipped overseas and had to disband from the bands they led. Upon their returning from the war, their popularity had faded, their reputations had withered, and forming groups that would reestablish themselves back into the public eye had become impossible. Swing was dead, and something had to replace it.

Bebop

The bebop scene was formed in the early 1940s by jazz innovators trumpeter John Birks “Dizzy” Gillespie and saxophonist Charlie Parker, who got their start in the band of the famous jazz pianist, Earl Hines. They presented their style in a small Harlem club that brought in crowds of jazz listeners. As their style caught on, jazz up-and-comers like Lester Young, Thelonious Monk, Max Roach, Oscar Pettiford, and Charlie Christian wanted in on it. Bebop was not easily appreciated at first, and it took a while before it gained any real appreciation at all. Bebop was a musician’s form of music, and even many musicians had trouble appreciating it. While it combined swing and the blues, it also had rhythms and improvised solos that were sporadic, difficult to follow, and most importantly, difficult to dance to. Beats that could be danced to made up what made swing so popular, and even while swing was dying, America still wanted to be able to dance to the music that it was listening to. A couple bebop big bands eventually formed and received moderate recognition, but bebop never fully reached a widely popular status. Even so, it eventually became, and still is, a popularly appreciated style in the jazz community.

John Birks “Dizzy” Gillespie (1917 –1993)

The Birth of Rhythm and Blues

The end of the war also equaled the end of swing as popular as genre. At this time, a problem faced the jazz community as to what would keep jazz in the popular light. Bebop, as new and enthusiastic as it was, was difficult to listen and move to; and while it had its following, America as a whole shied away from it. Rhythm and blues, like other jazz styles that preceded it, was born during local band sessions and in independent label studios. Rhythm and blues was first considered a racial form of music since black artists were the first begin innovating it. Like swing, even though it was tried to be kept an underground genre due to its discriminatory racial status, pioneer rhythm and blues artists like Jay McShann and Louis Jordan caught America’s attention both white and black. Unlike swing, rhythm and blues was new and fresh, and unlike bebop, it was very danceable. Rhythm and blues had simple patterns but those patterns were moveable. It was organized, but not genericized. It kept the jazz-like movability, but the soulfulness of grassroots blues. It was this pioneering time period that would carry this genre on a journey that’s still recognized, and is still shelling out new artists to this day. Less than a decade later, it would find itself being combined with country, another growing popular genre of the time period to form rock and roll, a genre that would come to define not just American popular music, but American popular culture as a whole.

ConclusionWhile the bleak and dark times of war were changing U.S. citizens’ demeanors and lifestyles, the rise of the popular big bands were keeping them company. American laborers had many troubles and worries to face throughout the day, and in order to take their minds off them, millions of Americans could turn on their radios and pull out their record players to listen to the beautiful love songs and driving swing songs of the day. Even the men overseas were sent records to listen to while nesting in the heat of battle. African Americans were getting their first hints of being in the popular light in both movies and music. Many African American musical artists, mostly in the swing genre, were finding themselves being recognized on the popular charts, and millions of Americans, both black and white, were listening to and enjoying music made by African Americans. Women were finding themselves to be more and more prominent to the importance of American progress during World War II, and that sense of importance would be a benefactor in the progress toward the Women’s Rights Movement. This was no different for women musicians, who found more opportunities than ever before throughout the war; this carried down to jazz women who found many opportunities to be in popular big bands. Jazz musicians both in and not in the popular scene fell upon hard times both due and not due to the effects of war, finding troubles recording, promoting, and playing. While the end of the war meant the end of an era, and a return to old standards, America’s boomed economy, due to the benefits that came with being a large factor in winning the war, meant the dawn of a new era when the traditional ideas of labor were changing, and a push for more jobs in the Arts was becoming feasible. This would contribute to the rise and cultivation of popular music that would come with the explosion of rock and roll a decade later.

Works Cited

• Young, William H., and Nancy K. Young. Music of the World War II Era. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 2008. Print.

• Garofalo, Reebee. Rockin' Out: Popular Music in the USA. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1997. Print.

• Rosenzweig, Roy, Nelson Lichtenstein, Joshua Brown, David Jaffee, and Stephen Brier. Who Built America?: Working People and the Nation's History. Boston: Beford/St. Martin's, 2008. Print.