Author Description

Sex, Music & Bloomers is a study of popular music during its formative years. At that time the development of a new type of music appropriately called “popular”, evolved directly from the Foster tradition, but enriched itself through the fortuitous use of a number of other musical sources such as vaudeville, minstrelsy, and Broadway. A significant increase in births caused by 30 years of peace, a general movement to the cities, and a perceptible growth in immigration created a consumer market that was hungry for a common music. This new music targeted that need by closely linking itself to the rising middle class and in particular by using a form and content that was most associated with their expectations and fast-moving lifestyles. Other social forces were at work that tended to encourage the growth of popular music. The piano industry was producing more pianos than ever before. America was experiencing a dancing craze that packed many ballrooms where the new music was particularly well suited and enthusiastically welcomed. The women’s rights movement was in full swing and was well supported by this type of music, which shamelessly and enthusiastically celebrated female figures who stepped out of their usual Victorian stereotypes. Songs described the exploits of outgoing and adventuresome women, who were not afraid to make their own way in an unfamiliar environment. Popular music also began to address sexuality. During Victorian times, just about all social manners were indicative of a sexually repressed society, but popular music brazenly began to erode these old standards. By careful use of ambiguous phrases, metaphor, and by suggestive lyrics and rhythm, Tin Pan Alley started to publish and popularize songs that referred to kissing, heavy petting, and even pre-marital sex and adultery, all during a time when moral standards were rapidly being recast. American Popular Music is a type of music first developed by Stephen Foster, and later refin