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 |  Lady Gaga has been an influential part of the NY music scene in Manhattan, specifically in regards to LGBT rights and activism. New York United States of America |
 | Ethel Waters was a notable jazz musician who was able to shatter ceilings in the way African American women were portrayed in music. New York United States of America |
 | The Cotton Club was a famous place in Harlem where many musicians came together to hang out and make music. 656 W 125th St, New York, NY 10027 |
 | The Log Cabin Club was another notable club for musicians, specifically in bolstering the career of Billie Holiday. 311 East 34th Street New York, United States of America |
 | 254 East 54th Street New York, United States of America |
| New York United States of America |
| Frank Sinatra is a huge icon in terms of NYC music. His song "New York, New York" still serves as one of the biggest anthems of the city. New York United States of America |
 | Tin Pan Alley was an influential part of not only music production in the city during the early twentieth century, but also because of the profound cultural changes it left, such as starting the movement for music licensing and protection. New York United States of America |
 | Pete Seeger was an influential folk musician during the 1950's who was able to use his musical power to write pro-civil right lyrics in his music. An example is his song "We Will Overcome". Queens-Midtown Tunnel New York, United States of America |
| Bob Dylan was also an influential part of the folk music scene in New York City. He made music with political undertones that was able to win him the Nobel Peace Prize in the previous year. Greenwich Village New York City, United States of America |
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When one thinks about the cultural feats of New York City, many iconic symbols may come to mind. One might think of New York as the capital of fashion or maybe as the capital of commerce, but how many people think of New York as the capital of music? Many inspiring musicians from both the past and the present day have gotten their start in this beaming city, comprised of five unique boroughs. Essentially, New York was pivotal in the evolution of popular music between the 1920s to the modern day. Within the last 100 years, music has been transformed, not only through sound, but through various cultural changes, that were facilitated by the growing New York City music arena and the artists that have changed the landscape forever.
When looking back at the rich history of New York’s music scene, it is essential to start with the groundbreaking 1920’s era of jazz. Even if it may seem odd to some, jazz was considered a “pop” genre in the 1920s. Jazz music was influential not only for its sound, but also in regards to the tense racist atmosphere brewing at the time. In Harlem, a notable musician was Ethel Waters, who was “the imperial blues singer and Harlem Renaissance leading light who showed that African-American women could move from ‘race music’ to ‘pop stardom’”1. One of her more notable songs “Am I Blue?” was a satirical play on racism that was plaguing most of America at the time. She once sang on a slave-plantation stage set while holding a bale of cotton, which at the time was considered extremely controversial. However, it ended up opening many doors for African-American performers due to the boldness of the statement she made. Similarly, many places began to spring up in Manhattan to facilitate the growing number of musicians, such as the Cotton Club and The Log Cabin Club. These places were known for collaborating races and classes, and mixing grit and glamour. A prominent performer at the Log Cabin Club, in the 1930s, was Billie Holiday who was known for instantly captivating members of the club when she opened her mouth to sing the classics “Trav’lin” and “Body and Soul”2. From that moment forward, she was put on the map as an iconic symbol for jazz music in the New York area. However, jazz would only be the beginning of the bombastic sounds to take over New York during the 20th century.
In the same vein as the Log Cabin Club, one of the most iconic places for music production in the early 20th century was Tin Pan Alley. Tin Pan Alley was the name given to the collection of New York City music publishers and songwriters who dominated pop music in the United States. Despite its name, Tin Pan Alley was not a specific place, but rather just a collection of places. While the “alley” facilitated the rise of many prominent musicians, one of the most notable cultural and political changes it made was the way corporations and licensing bodies survived in the music industry. Tin Pan Alley allowed for songwriters, such as Barney Young and Gloria Parker, to acquire publishing houses and collect royalties from performances of their songs through Tin Pan Alley3. This would allow for people to attain radio hits, while also making a lucrative profit from the songs they released. Tin Pan Alley was also prominent in changing the perceptions of certain music genres, as well. By the time the 1950’s rolled around, jazz music seemed to have been sidelined as the main recognizable music genre of the city, and instead soft rock and variations of folk seemed to have taken its place. However, along with this change, came anti-pop sentiments that caused people to create a stigma against any other types of music. By the mid to late twentieth century, some scholars argued that, “Too few non-rock forms of popular music were taken seriously”4. Many experts have critiqued the way media handled non-rock forms of music throughout history and have argued that they put it under a microscope and judge it so much more harshly than they would any other kind of genre. It is argued that after the emergence of Tin Pan Alley, many other genres of music were able to be put in the limelight, such as swing and big band music. These cultural changes and genre changes from Tin Pan Alley proved to be very impactful for music, as a whole, moving forward.
Still, rock and folk music were a pretty domineering force in the New York music scene during the post-war era of the United States. Even though jazz was almost completely off the map after World War II, “jazz and folk musicians shared the same clubs and lofts, and inevitably came to influence each other”5. Even though different genres began to come to the forefront in New York, there was still undoubtedly traces of the former dominant genre in the preceding one. A notable folk musician during the 1960s was Bob Dylan, who created music that was able to serve political messages and anti-war sentiments, as well. He even won a Nobel Peace Prize for the messages he portrayed in his songs. His song “Blowin’ in the Wind”, for instance, was a song aimed directly at the war outbreaks plaguing the world during the twentieth century. To this day, it remains an uplifting anthem for many. It was artists like this that were able to keep folk/rock alive for as long as it was in the city. It was also the reason why people respected that genre more than any other genre because the musicians used their platform to raise awareness to many pressing issues regarding the world.
However, just like with any other genre, folk/rock began to fall back from the top and by the late 1970’s hip-hop began to take center stage. In the late 70’s, disc jockeys began to be commonplace throughout many boroughs in the city, specifically Brooklyn and the Bronx. One of the pioneers in this regard was Grandmaster Flash, who became notable for determining that physically putting a hand on a record while spinning it on a turntable would enhance the sound more than just leaving it there plainly, the way most other DJ’s did at the time. This trademark would go on to be a symbol for the way disc jockeys were portrayed in media for some time. Arguably, the most notable hip-hop Brooklyn native would have to be Jay-Z. When he was just starting out, many people were doubtful of his force as a sheer music icon, but he certainly put those fears to rest. Between his epochal New York inspired mega hit “Empire State of Mind” with Alicia Keys to his provocative private life with wife, Beyoncé, Jay-Z has paved the way for many hip hop acts to prosper after his peak1. Hip hop has truly been a pioneering force in the music industry.
Hip hop was only one genre to grow out of the 1980’s, though, as pop began to catapult to the forefront of New York music and would remain the dominant genre up until today. From the scandalous and controversial acts like Madonna to the girl-next-door pop princess acts like Jennifer Lopez, female divas began dominating the music industry. The 1990’s were known for being a decade of female supremacy in pop. Artists like Mary J. Blige paved the way for R&B as an acceptable means of pop music. She “had a firm sense of the musical past but was firmly of the hip-hop generation”1. She was able to blend some of the previous dominating genres of music into a new form that would inspire many songwriters in the coming years. An intriguing example to analyze of this is Nicki Minaj, who is considered to be a predominantly hip-hop artist, but yet is able to seamlessly blend pop sounds relatively well into her music. Arguably the biggest female rapper in the world today, she has amassed fame and success that has allowed her to gain a spot on the growing map of New York City music and influence all future female rappers to come. However, pop would not just be impactful for its means of changing how music sounded.
Pop music was also inspiring in regards to the LGBT community. Lady Gaga is known for being one of the biggest allies for the LGBTQ population, especially with her song “Born This Way” which serves as an anthem for many of the gay youth population in New York City. Beyond just her activism and incredibly catchy music, Gaga has proven to be a powerful force in the music world. It is also intriguing to note that a quick Google search on who the “new queen of pop” is will lead you directly to Gaga’s Wikipedia page. A study conducted by a Ph.D. student in urban planning was able to conclude “More pop stars were born [in New York] than anywhere else” 6. Pop’s ascent in New York really should come as no shock, considering the diversity of the people who reside in New York City and the overall inclusive message that most pop music preaches. As it currently stands, pop is still the dominant genre in the city.
As New York look towards the future, one thing can be concluded for certain and that is nothing will ever stay the same. In regards to music, the last 100 years have proven to be nothing short of sheer unpredictability. Between the crooning jazz singers of the 1920s like Ethel Waters to the 2010 pop music scene courtesy of Lady Gaga, what is considered “mainstream” music will forever be changing. Music can serve as two main vessels for change; it can serve as a vessel for change in the way certain sounds are made popular to the masses, but it can also serve as a vessel for change in the way certain social issues and cultural issues are brought to the limelight. A city as diverse as New York deserves a music scene that can mirror that diversity!
Notes
- Jody Rosen, “The Encyclopedia of New York Pop Music.” March 23, 2014. Web. Accessed April 1, 2017. http://www.vulture.com/2014/03/encyclopedia-of-new-york-pop-music.html.
- Jody Rosen, “The Town That Put the Pop in Music: A Look Back at 100 Years.” March 23, 2014. Web. Accessed April 1, 2017. http://www.vulture.com/2014/03/100-years-of-new-york-music.html.
- Elizabeth York, “Barney and Gloria: Revisiting Tin Pan Alley.” Notes, 73, no. 3, accessed March 6, 2017, pp. 473-501. EBSCOhost.
- Keir Keightley, Taking Popular Music (and Tin Pan Alley and Jazz) Seriously’ Journal of Popular Music Studies, 22, no. 1, pp. 90-97, accessed March 28, 2017. EBSCOhost.
- Pietro Scaruffi, “Post-war Pop Music in the USA” in A History of Popular Music, Pietro Scaruffi, (Omniware, 2007). Accessed March 6, 2017.
- Richard Florida, “The Geography of Pop Music Superstars.” August 27, 2015. Web. Accessed April 1, 2017. http://www.citylab.com/tech/2015/08/the-geography-of-pop-music-superstars/402445/.
