Popular song - Jazz: Sinatra And Crosby (OCR) p120-121

Question 1

The blues was an…on jazz musicians

Answer 1

Important influence

Question 2

Which jazz singers used key features of blues styles in their performances?

Answer 2

Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday

Question 3

When did the singers rule grow in importance?

Answer 3

In the 1930s the singer’s role grew in importance

Question 4

Why did the singers role grow in importance in the 1930s?

Answer 4

As the technology of putting a soundtrack to a movie developed and improved, songs and their singers featured much more in Hollywood films and musicals

Question 5

Singers have always played an important role in…

Answer 5

Jazz

Question 6

Why world many bands have a singer?

Answer 6

They were useful for slower ballads or faster novelty numbers

Question 7

In the 1920s what was one of the main functions for a band?

Answer 7

To provide music for dancing

Question 8

What were characteristics of songs in the 1920s?

Answer 8

A song might be performed as a largely instrumental number, with only one or two verses for the singer

Question 9

How popular were jazz soloists and bands?

Answer 9

There was a large following, people would know the names of bands and individual soloists

Question 10

Did record- buying become more popular?

Answer 10

The record buying public bought more songs and the concept of hit songs developed

Question 11

In the 1940s, what was the most profitable part of the record industry?

Answer 11

Hit songs were beginning to be the most profitable part (the concept of hit songs had developed)

Question 12

What are key features of jazz? 7 things

Answer 12

1) swing and syncopation
2) blues inotation and timbre
3) improvisation
4) Scat
5) Rhythm section
6) Walking Bass
7) Woodwind (known as ‘reeds’) and brass instruments

Question 13

Why were Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra so important?

Answer 13

They were the most important characters in the development of ‘star’ singers

Question 14

Why was Bing Crosby so important?

Answer 14

He was the first singer to successfully develop a singing style for recording, cultivating a natural, relaxed and unforced tone, and showing a real understanding of microphone and recording technology

Question 15

What was Bing Crosbys time like? (RUN)

Answer 15

Natural, relaxed and unforced

Question 16

What was Bing Crosbys early repertoire like?

Answer 16

Witty, syncopated jazz pieces and more romantic numbers

Question 17

Comment on Bing Crosbys singing style in relation to lyrics:

Answer 17

Conveyed emotion without exaggeration or sentimental melodrama

Question 18

Where was Bing Crosbys singing style influenced from?

Answer 18

His singing adopted the style and techniques of jazz, particularly from working with Louis Armstrong

Question 19

What did Crosby adopt from Louis Armstrong?

Answer 19

Armstrong’s scary singing was very influential and Crosby adopted this technique

Question 20

What did Crosby explore in his career?

Answer 20

Major part in the recording, film and television industries

Question 21

How long was Bing’s career?

Answer 21

Long career of over 50 years

Question 22

Frank Sinatra continued Crosbys…

Answer 22

Pioneering work for the next generation of audiences

Question 23

Was Frank Sinatra popular amongst the young?

Answer 23

He became one of the first teen crazes, similar to the latest hysteria over Elvis Presley

Question 24

Which band did Sinatra sing with?

Answer 24

Tommy Dorsey’s band from 1940

Question 25

What did Sinatra learn vocally?

Answer 25

Learnt a legato style and smooth phrasing from singing in long breaths, rather than dividing a line into several short phrases (as 1930s singers tended to do)

Question 26

What are adjectives to describe Sinatra’s singing?

Answer 26

Immediate, natural and intimate

Question 27

What did Sinatra’s vocal style mean for the audience?

Answer 27

It told a story and invited the audience to follow the meaning of words

Question 28

When did Sinatra go solo?

Answer 28

1942

Question 29

In 1942 he developed…

Answer 29

His own lush, romantic style (with help of arranger Axel Stordahl)

Question 30

Why did many of Sinatras songs have a large group of strings?

Answer 30

To create a rich, opulent sound

Question 31

What type of songs did Sinatra sing?

Answer 31

He performed and recorded the standards by the great song composers of the 1920s and 1930s. Other singers followed his lead in the choice of material to sing

Question 32

What happened to Sinatra in the early 1950s?

Answer 32

A decline in popularity

Question 33

After a decline in popularity in the 1950s, what did Sinatra do?

Answer 33

He carried his approach, he recorded a series of albums for Capitol (1953-1961), developing the idea of a concept album to suit the new technology of the LP, the idea of arranging songs in a sequence that made sense as a whole became a model for later recording artists

Question 34

What was Sinatra’s repertoire like?

Answer 34

He had a huge repertoire of songs, including faster numbers, disposing a wide expressive range