3 ms·
It’s also proof of the existence of Liverpool. In modern times it’s hard for us to understand how musical that area was in the 1910s-1950s. Paul’s dad was a mus
by tomcam 3y ago
It’s also proof of the existence of Liverpool. In modern times it’s hard for us to understand how musical that area was in the 1910s-1950s. Paul’s dad was a musician with pretty wide interests, but more to the point, there were music halls everywhere. Regular people just banged out songs on the piano day after day in many of the homes there. Before skiffle and rock ‘n’ roll there was vaudeville, plenty of it. It was an incredibly musical culture.
- n42 3y agoDoes anyone know where I can learn more about this microcosm?
- tomcam 3y agoThat’s a great question. I had to learn about it indirectly, gathering bits and pieces from novels of the time and offhand mentions in Beatles biographies.
- TheOtherHobbes 3y agoSearch for Vaudeville and Music Hall. They were the Victorian precursors of pop, with their own superstars, top-selling writers, and classic songs - now mostly forgotten. There's quite a bit of Music Hall in McCartney's songs. (Lennon called it "That granny crap.") One of the reasons copyright exists in the form it does is because many Victorian houses had pianos. Without recording technology there was a huge, incredibly profitable market for sheet music of light classics and music hall hits that could be played at home. There's also a series of books by Simon Napier-Bell, who used to be a famous (notorious) pop manager in the 70s to 90s. Three of them are hilarious and frequently disturbing autobiographies and comments on the business. The fourth is Ta-Ra-Ra-Boom-De-Ay, an almost academic account of the music business from the early 18th century. There are some real surprises, and also a lot that's surprisingly familiar.
- tomcam 3y agoCan't wait to read these, thanks. Your answer was so much better than mine!
- acqq 3y ago> The fourth is Ta-Ra-Ra-Boom-De-Ay, an almost academic account of the music business from the early 18th century. https://unbound.com/books/ta-ra-ra-boom-de-ay/ https://unbound.com/books/ta-ra-ra-boom-de-ay/ As much as 44 Chapters, where Chapter 1 starts in 1710 ("a law protecting an author’s rights in his written work – the Statute of Anne") and Chapter 2 is already 19th Century ("The Beginning Of Records")
- tomcam 3y agoReading Ta-Ra-Ra-Boom-De-Ay. Thrilling, and all of $4 to purchase on Unbound.
- Gud 3y agoI would say it still is!! I’m in Liverpool right now for work and live in the city center. There are bars everywhere playing live music, 7 days a week. Everyday is Saturday in Liverpool. I have never seen anything like it!! Liverpool is a very unique place. Liverpool seems to me to be a blend of poor, downtrodden Englishmen and (presumably) middle class foreign exchange students. A perfect storm of musical creativity.
- musicale 3y agoNow I want to visit Liverpool - that sounds phenomenal for anyone who likes music. On a semi-related note - I've heard one reason that Sweden[1] produces so much music is music education; nearly every local authority has a municipal music and arts school[2]. [1] https://sweden.se/culture/arts-design/the-swedish-music-miracle https://sweden.se/culture/arts-design/the-swedish-music-mira... [2] https://eas-music.org/music-education-in-schools-se/ https://eas-music.org/music-education-in-schools-se/