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John Phillip Sousa (1854-1932)
John Philip Sousa promoted the American wind-band tradition here and in Europe: an outgrowth of British military bands.
He is known as "The March King" or the "American March King", to distinguish him from his British counterpart, Kenneth J. Alford. -
Joplin (1868-1917)
Scott Joplin was known as the 'King of Ragtime'. In 1899 he composed "Maple Leaf Rag"; which then inspired Charlie Chaplin to be the accompaniment in his 1928 film, 'The Circus'. -
Ives (1874-1954)
Charles Ives was one of the most innovative and original composers.
William Grant Still Jr., Aaron Copland, and Henry Dixon Cowell; all supported Ive's aesthetics and musical ideas. He engaged in a systematic program of experimental music, with musical techniques including polytonality, polyrhythm, tone clusters, aleatoric elements, and quarter tones. -
Dett (1882-1943)
Robert Nathaniel Dett, was a black Canadian/American composer. He composed 'Cave of the Winds March and Two Step'. He also created European Romantic styles of music that were inspired by elements of African-American spirituals. -
Price (1887-1953)
Price became the first black female composer to have a symphony performed by a major American orchestra: Symphony No. 1 in E minor. Florence Price also created orchestral works (including four symphonies and several concertos), chamber works, art songs, works for violin, organ anthems, piano pieces, and spiritual arrangements. -
Boulanger (1887-1979)
Nadia Boulanger taught practically all 20th Century American composers except George Gershwin, whom she refused to let in her class. She also published between 1901 and 1922, comprise 29 songs for solo singer and piano; nine larger-scale vocal works, some with orchestra; five works for instrumental solo (organ, cello, piano); two orchestral works, and an opera. -
Prokofiev (1891-1953)
Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev has composed done seven symphonies, suites, incidental music, five piano concertos, two violin concertos, one cello concerto, operas, ballets, choral music, film scores. He is most well known for "Peter and the Wolf". (1936) -
Sousaphone (1893)
The sousaphone is a brass instrument in the same family as the more widely known tuba. Created around 1893 by J.W. pepper, and John Phillip Sousa. -
Still (1895-1978)
Composed “A Black Pierrot” from Songs of Separation, (published 1949). The text was written by Langston Hughes (1902-1967). -
Cowell (1897-1965)
Henry Cowell was an American composer, music theorist, musicologist, pianist, teacher, and innovator who was drawn to non-Western music. He invented new techniques for playing the piano. Cowell pioneered a compositional approach he called "rhythm-harmony": "Both quartets are polyphonic, and each melodic strand has its own rhythm," he explained. "Even the canon in the first movement of the Romantic has different note-lengths for each voice.". -
Gershwin (1898-1937)
George Gershwin was an American composer and pianist, whose compositions spanned both popular and classical genres. He wrote classical, concert hall music infused with jazz and popular music. He also wrote Broadway, for films, and the concert hall. -
Duke Ellington (1899-1974)
Duke Ellington composed hundreds of tunes, film scores, concertos, concert pieces, and works for the theater. Ellington recorded many Swing Classics. His classical genre compositions (such as his concertos) never gained popularity. -
Galveston Hurricane (1900)
Galveston hurricane leaves an estimated 6,000 to 8,000 dead (Sept. 8). According to the census, the nation's
population numbers nearly 76 million. -
Aaron Copland (1900-1990)
Aaron Copland was an American composer, teacher, critic, conductor, and sponsor of concerts. Copland’s composition style is considered mostly tonal. He did write atonal music, but it is not the popular part of his output. He also taught at Harvard. -
Messiaen-(1908-1992)
Olivier Messiaen was a French composer and teacher, known for putting bird songs into his music. He mostly worked on religious subjects. As a composer, he developed a highly personal style noted for its rhythmic complexity, rich tonal color, and unique harmonic language. -
Carter (1908-2012)
Elliot Carter was an American modernist composer. He was influential as a teacher and as a composer for 50 years. Carter was rooted in vocal music. He has a liking for long, lyrical lines and textures of rhythmically fluid counterpoint, the whole frequently being inspired by extra-musical conceptions. -
Headphones (1910)
Nathaniel Baldwin's constructed, but potent, headphones. -
World War I (1914-1918)
Triple Alliance: Germany, Italy, and Austria-Hungary vs. Triple Entente: Britain, France, and Russia. The United States joined on the side of the Triple Entente in 1917. -
Billie Holiday (1915-1959)
Billie Holiday was one of the leading female jazz singers of her time. She was nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and music partner Lester Young, Holiday had an innovative influence on jazz music and pop singing. -
Bernstein (1918-1990)
Leonard Bernstein was a conductor, composer, teacher, pianist, lecturer, and TV personality. He was among the most important conductors of his time, he was also the first American conductor to receive international acclaim. -
The Cotton Club (1923-1940)
The Cotton Club was an upscale nightclub in Harlem where celebrities, tourists, and high society went to hear the latest new music (in the popular genres. Duke Ellington was the house bandleader. -
Victrola Phonograph (1925)
This Victor product's lid-top feature remains the template for turntable practicality, while ornamental, cabinet-style wood furnishing created an immediate luxury item and future antique. But what made the Orthophonic an improvement on Victor's previous models − and a death knell for Edison and other phonograph manufacturers − was its superior acoustic sound design. These mid-Twenties Victrolas set the precedent that fidelity rules above all, even if the equipment weighs a ton. -
Boulez (1925-2016)
Pierre Boulez is one of the most important composers (and conductors) of the French avant-garde. He was a writer and founder of several musical institutions. He was one of the dominant figures of the post-war classical music world. -
Magnetic Tape (1928)
In 1927, German Austrian engineer Fritz Pfleumer began a trial-and-error process of finding an alternative to magnetic wires. He'd eventually adhere iron oxide powder to thin paper with lacquer and patent the world's first magnetic recording tape, though let's not blame the 8-track's eventual emergence entirely on him. -
Stockhausen (1928-2007)
A German composer, one of the most important; controversial; composers of the 20th and early 21st centuries. He made innovations in electronic music. He composed of a series of small, individually characterized units, either “points” (individual notes), “groups” of notes, or “moments” (discrete musical sections) -
AEG Magnetophon Tape Recorder (1935)
Fritz Pfleumer's magnetic tape was put to good use in 1935, when German electronics-engineering company AEG (Allgemeine Elektricitäts-Gesellschaft) unveiled the first reel-to-reel tape recorder for everyday use. -
World War II (1935-1945)
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis powers. -
"Peter and the Wolf" (1936)
'Peter and the Wolf', a symphonic fairy tale for children, was created and released in 1936 by Russian composer, Sergei Prokofiev. -
Etta James (1938-2012)
Etta James was an American singer who performed in various genres, including blues, R&B, soul, rock and roll, jazz, and gospel. She was also another leading female blues/jazz artist of her time. She is still an icon today! -
Korean War (1950-1953)
Cold war conflict between Communist and non-Communist forces on Korean Peninsula. North
Korean communists invaded South Korea (June 25, 1950). President Truman, without the approval of Congress,
commits American troops to battle (June 27). President Truman removes Gen. Douglas MacArthur as head of
U.S. Far East Command (April 11, 1951). Armistice agreement is signed (July 27, 1953). -
Vietnam War (1955-1975)
The Vietnam War, also known as the Second Indochina War, was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam and South Vietnam. -
West Side Story (1961)
West Side Story; a Romeo and Juliet saga; was released in 1961. Leonard Bernstein composed the music used, with the help of his experience as a conductor of classical music, as a performer of classical music and jazz, and as a teacher, all lead to this special kind of theatrical work. -
JTM45 Amplifier (1962)
The JTM45 Amplifier is the first guitar amplifier made by Marshall. First produced in 1962, it has been called a "seminal" amplifier.