The Jazz Age and Louis Armstrong (The 1920s)
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.
Adolf Hitler’s Book, Mein Kampf, is Published (1925)
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.
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)
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.
Agatha Christie Disappears and Reappears (1926)
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.
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.
Quick Facts
• 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)
• James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (1882 – 1941) introduces his novel, Ulysses. (1922)
• 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)
• George 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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