Classic pop

The term classic pop may be used, in general, to refer to any kind of American popular music that either wholly predates the eruption of rock and roll in the mid-1950s, or to any popular music which exists concurrently to rock and roll but originated in a time before the appearance of rock and roll, and its offshoots, as the dominant commercial music of the United States and Western culture.

Related Topics:
Rock and roll - United States - Western culture

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Specifically, however, classic pop refers to the song output of the Broadway and Hollywood show tune writers from approximately World War I to the 1950s, such as Irving Berlin, Harold Arlen, Jerome Kern, George Gershwin and Ira Gershwin, Richard Rogers, Lorenz Hart, Oscar Hammerstein, Johnny Mercer, Dorothy Fields, Hoagy Carmichael, and a host of others. The distinction between classic pop and the popular music of the aforementioned time period lies in an enduring appeal of the greatest of these songs, long after their time of being "chart hits," although methods for measuring commercial appeal changed greatly over the course of the twentieth century. The songs of classic pop may also be said to posess certain ineffable qualities, including but not limited to an ease and memorability of melody, along with wit and charm of lyric. The greatest of the classic pop writers achieved this with regularity, although many classic pop standards, such as "Learning the Blues" by Dolores Silver, were their era's version of one hit wonders, written by individuals never again writing a song that eventually became considered a standard.

Related Topics:
Broadway - Hollywood - Show tune - World War I - Irving Berlin - Harold Arlen - Jerome Kern - George Gershwin - Ira Gershwin - Richard Rogers - Lorenz Hart - Oscar Hammerstein - Johnny Mercer - Dorothy Fields - Hoagy Carmichael - Twentieth century - Dolores Silver - One hit wonders

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The concept of classic pop standards evolved slowly over time, helped along by the tastes of various individuals, most readily jazz performers and popular singers during the early decades of the twentieth century. The person most responsible for promoting the work of the great writers of American popular song as an enduring legacy is Frank Sinatra through his numerous recordings from this body of material, and his resistance to the usual practice by singers in his day of generally recording either current hits or new songs in an attempt to make them hits. Classic pop has also provided a rich vein for myriad jazz artists as well as other jazz and popular singers contemporaneous to Sinatra, most notably Ella Fitzgerald with her famed Songbooks series for Verve Records.

Related Topics:
American popular song - Frank Sinatra - Jazz - Ella Fitzgerald - Verve Records

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The appearance of lounge culture in the mid-1990s in the United States sparked a revival of interest in the music, style, and performers of popular music prior to rock and roll, such as the Rat Pack and recording artists associated with exotica, although the latter has only a cursorial connection with classic pop.

Related Topics:
Lounge - Rat Pack - Exotica

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Performers who work in the style of classic pop after its heyday (during the swing era and into the 1950s) include Harry Connick, Jr. and Michael Buble, as well as those known as cabaret singers such as Andrea Marcovicci and the late Bobby Short. As their careers progress, many artists from the rock and roll era often try their hand at classic pop. Linda Ronstadt, Carly Simon, Joni Mitchell, Cyndi Lauper, and Rod Stewart have all made forays into this territory.

Related Topics:
Swing - Harry Connick, Jr. - Michael Buble - Cabaret - Andrea Marcovicci - Bobby Short - Linda Ronstadt - Carly Simon - Joni Mitchell - Cyndi Lauper - Rod Stewart

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Arguably, the last of the great classic pop songwriters, using rock and roll instrumentation but with arrangements and compositions in the spirit of predecessors from the earlier era, are Burt Bacharach along with his partner Hal David.

Related Topics:
Burt Bacharach - Hal David

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At present, very little serious critical history or historiography exists discussing the legacy of classic pop. Alec Wilder, a songwriter himself, authored a classic in the genre, American Popular Song. Currently prominent is the work of Will Friedwald in his books Jazz Singing, Sinatra! The Song Is You, and .

Related Topics:
Alec Wilder - American Popular Song - Will Friedwald - Jazz Singing - Sinatra! The Song Is You

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