Music

During the 1930's music was all over. Jazz was a major part of the music and was just about everywhere such as the famous cotton clubs. Jazz was started just before the 30's and was started by primarily African American artists. Some have considered it the first truly American music, blues combined with African polyrythms created this new sensation. starting in New Orleans, it was played in bars where both African Americans and whites could go to enjoy the music. big bands were also very popular, as well as what some may call the most popular song of that time period, "It Don't Mean a Thing (if it ain't got that swing)". Some of the other popular artist's of the time included: Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman, Glenn Miller, and Tommy Dorsey.

During the 1930's America was still struggling with the great depression, and music took a hit because many people were not into the music industry, simply because it didn't pay very well. This left the music industry dry, so the government came up with a plan to get it back on track, it became known as the Federal Music Project. The government began hiring, training, and retraining musicians to get music back into daily life. The music projects goal was simply to bring back high standards of musicianship, as well as to teach the public how to appreciate musical culture.

Also during the 1930's many famous songs even today were released. In 1939 Kate Smith released a new song that would be heard for many generations all the way until today, "God Bless America". In 1931, the Star Spangled Banner was announced to be the United States National Anthem. With the Great Depression, many people did not have the money to get out, which was about the time when the radio reached its peak, by 1939 about 80% of every home in America had radio. After that, radios were primarily used for music but also served other purposes such as Franklin Roosevelt's famous "Fireside Chats".