American Wartime Music Composers - Cohan & Berlin - Term Paper Example

?Cohan & Berlin in a time of War and Peace The two war composers of the 20th century have been chosen in a tumultuous time because of their ability to please both the civilian and enlisted publics. They were considered just as important in a time with war as a time without war. As audiences changed, the composers adapted. They used their war songs which became parts of larger works which is known today as the American genre of "musicals". The paper will investigate their diverse backgrounds and how their songwriting influenced war propaganda and American musicals at the same time. The 20th century was such a juxtaposition of styles, forms, and genres of music that it was difficult to chose two "composers" who had something in common. Perception is one of the most important tools of propaganda. For the first time aural perception was combined with the visual. Audiences became more demanding as the subjective choice of music was more diverse and more complicated . The radio was a significant factor in the mass distribution of different types of music. By World War II, composers of all genre were put in the forefront for the first time in history . Contrary to social believe, composers were highly touched by the effects of the number of deaths of the World War I and the number of deaths by the flue pandemic which closed theaters for almost 3 years. The two World Wars created different levels of propaganda and thus music was used differently. By World War II, audiences expected to be entertained by going to dance halls, jazz bands, musicals, music revues…. As radio was a major form of entertainment in the majority of American households, music stations flourished. By World War II, it was common to go to cinema once a week. The United States War Office had a "Wartime Music Committee". (Sheppard 304) Audiences at home were under the influence that all was going well in both wars and soldiers were played music when they were in the mess hall; saw movies and were fed propaganda that the Americans were winning battles. Music was an important part of the war effort Each soldier was given a book of military songs. Over 9 000 songs were composed from the start of World War 1. Composers and producers were drafted or volunteered to entertain the troops. At the turn of the century, Musical theatre was a juxtaposition of a group of songs with a slight story line. George Cohan (b. 1878 d.1942) was raised in a family of vaudeville performers. (Kenrick) In the early 1900's the US was in a state of economic stability and patriotism. American Musical theater was in its infancy. Vaudeville performances were still common. A group of diverse traveling performers would perform on stage with no continuity in the program. He is quoted as saying his family was making $1 000.00 a week in the late 1800's. (Kenrick)When he came to New York, he began writing and composing his own songs and "sketches". They were the equivalent of musicals but they were simplistic and missed the continuity of full musicals of today. They were a group of songs, perhaps in different keys without any or a few common musical themes. He is considered the father of American Musical Theatre.(Ewan 68) As a proud chauvinist, his song writing was one of the first to be used to promote national cause or "national propaganda". As soon as President Wilson declared war, his most famous song "Over There" became a national hit. (Kenrick) It showed the value of fighting the war. His war songs showed the negative side of staying out of the war. His songs did not take into account the human emotional side of fighting a war. Irving Berlin (1888-1989) was one of many Jewish immigrants who came to the US as a child. He lived in abject poverty. His father was a singer (cantor) in the synagogue so his son would have had vocal religious training. This fact is not to be neglected as a young orthodox Jew he chanted his studies. (Kenrick) Once in the US, his father died within 2 years and as a child I Berlin went to work on the streets to help support his family. Little by little he rose as a singer/waiter before he got a job as a lyric writer. (Kenrick) He composed well over 1500 songs in his life time. His song writing was quite different from Cohan as it was less patriotic and more humanistic as he had come from suffering and made his place in society. His love for America was sincere. In 1917, he composed and wrote the words for God Bless America.(Kenrick) The Anti-immigrant feeling was so strong at the beginning of America's entering WWI, that Wilson asked for Berlin to write Let's all be American's No.(Greenspan 46) He suffered his whole life in not feeling totally American. In old recordings, the listener can tell that he still has some of his old accent. The feeling of the time that American-Jew, American-Italian, or American-Irish were having a hard time being accepted in the arm forces. It was used through the war as a propaganda song as there was so much animosity among the enlisted.(Greenspan 48) In 1917, Berlin joined the army as a song writer, a form of propaganda writing. His Yip Yip Yaphank Revue, written for all branches of the military was rewritten into a musical the following summer as This is the Army. (Matson 5) It was highly successful and served its purpose. It was later put to screen with Ronald Reagan as the principal actor. He wrote God Bless America in 1917 as one of the songs but it was performed only in World War II.(Matson 11) Another song worth mentioning is Oh I hate getting up in the morning. I Berlin wrote this for the soldiers who detested the sound of the bugle in the morning. George Cohan, though he only wrote about 500 songs, was well known for his You're a Grand Old Flag and Yankee Doodle Dandy. Yankee Doodle Dandy is one of the most famous war time musical every brought to screen. (Lewis 18) He later won an academy award for the film rendition. Wartime music in the two World Wars on the European front was used to keep the atrocities from the American population and to appease the troops. Many different types of music were used as it was understand the powerful effect were beyond words. The music was more than just marches.(Howe 92) When the wars finished the songs entered back into the popular song books or became part of the musicals in which they were intended. A conclusion may be drawn that these two composers used their songs to complete their musicals. The songs which were written by two prolific American composers have been mentioned as they served their purpose as Wartime composers and returned back to civilian life to become part of the American musical composers. Music in World War II could no longer be used by the government as a conventional use of propaganda. In World War I, marches were still used. (Cerulo 245) In 1940, it was conflict of interest for the US government to use conventional means to unify both the civilian and military population. The US population was more demanding as cinema had become more popular and the majority of all households had at least one radio post. They no longer wanted to listen to conventional bands and marches. The jazz of Harlem in which President had promoted the Renaissance had its effect all over the world. Swing was popular as was ragtime. Prior to enter World War II, President Roosevelt had had a moratorium on all war music as not to anticipate US participation. The public was in charge of its listening and its composing. The easiest way for the government to take charge over the war songs was to use some of the most important composers, performers and instrumentalists of the period. Works Cited Cerulo Karen, A. Symbols and the World System: National Anthems and Flags. Sociological Forum, Vol. 8, No. 2 (Jun., 1993), pp. 243-247. Springer. Web: 03 July 2011 Ewen, David. A musical comedy is born. The Story of America's Musical Theater. New York: Chilton Company, 1961. pp. 65-76. Web 01 July 2011 Greenspan, Charlotte. Irving Berlin in Hollywood: The Art of Plugging a Song in Film American Music, Vol. 22, No. 1 (Spring, 2004), pp. 40-49. USA: University of Illinois Press. Web 03 July 2011 Howe, Warren P. Early American Military Music. American Music, Vol. 17, No. 1 (Spring, 1999), pp. 87-116. USA: University of Illinois Press. Web: 03 July 2011 Kenrick, John. "Irving Berlin" Who's Who in Musicals: Be-Bl. (2004) Web 01 July 2011 Kenrick, John. "George Cohan" Who's Who in Musicals: Co-Cu. (2004) Web 01 July 2011 Lewis Jacobs, Lewis. World War II and the American Film. Cinema Journal, Vol. 7 (Winter, 1967-1968), pp. 1-21. Texas: University of Texas Press. Web 03 July 2011 Matson, Lowell. Theatre for the Armed Forces in World War II. Educational Theatre Journal, Vol. 6, No. 1 (Mar., 1954), pp. 1-11. USE: The Johns Hopkins University Press .Web 03 July 2011 Read More