Swing Changes: Big-Band Jazz in New Deal America - Paperback

by David W. Stowe (Author)

Bands were playing, people were dancing, the music business was booming. It was the big-band era, and swing was giving a new shape and sound to American culture. Swing Changes looks at New Deal America through its music and shows us how the contradictions and tensions within swing--over race, politics, its own cultural status, the role of women--mirrored those played out in the larger society. Drawing on memoirs, oral histories, newspapers, magazines, recordings, photographs, literature, and films, Swing Changes offers a vibrant picture of American society at a pivotal time, and a new perspective on music as a cultural force.

Back Jacket

Bands were playing, people were dancing, the music business was booming. It was the big-band era, and swing was giving a new shape and sound to American Culture. Swing Changes looks at New Deal America through its music and shows us how the contradictions and tension within swing - over race, politics, its own cultural status, the role of women - mirrored those played out in the larger society.