From "White Christmas" to Sgt. Pepper: The Conceptual Revolution in Popular Music / David Galenson.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Galenson, David.

Contributor:

National Bureau of Economic Research.

Series:

Working Paper Series (National Bureau of Economic Research) no. w13308.

NBER working paper series no. w13308

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource: illustrations (black and white);

Other Title:

From "White Christmas" to Sgt. Pepper

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, Mass. National Bureau of Economic Research 2007.

Summary:

Irving Berlin, Cole Porter, and other songwriters of the Golden Era wrote popular songs that treated common topics clearly and simply. During the mid-1960s Bob Dylan, John Lennon, and Paul McCartney created a new kind of popular music that was personal and often obscure. This shift, which transformed popular music from an experimental into a conceptual art, produced a distinct change in the creative life cycles of songwriters. Golden Era songwriters were generally at their best during their 30s and 40s, whereas since the mid-'60s popular songwriters have consistently done their best work during their 20s. The revolution in popular music occurred at a time when young innovators were making similar transformations in other arts: Jean-Luc Godard and his fellow New Wave directors created a conceptual revolution in film in the early '60s, just as Andy Warhol and other Pop artists made painting a conceptual activity.

Notes:

Print version record

August 2007.