Retro Music

Old fashioned music is another term used to describe retro music. When we think of old fashioned music we think of rustic and sounds of the twenties and thirties playing on a gramophone, the sounds of the Ted Wallace Orchestra come to mind.

Retro music in the thirties was highly influenced by the Great Depression. Home radios were more commonly seen in households across the world and Jazz music was evolving rapidly. Notable music start in the thirties includes Jerome Kern, Mae West and Bing Crosby. Musicals also started to gain traction and become popular.

Jazz is a great example of iconic vintage music, it was mainly performed by African American communities in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Legends of this genre of music include Nat King Cole, Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holliday. Jazz originates from a culmination of blues, folk, classical and music from western Africa. Jazz is thought to be one of the most artistic musical creations to come from the US, it also marked the end of slavery and became something that both black and white people could enjoy which was pivotal at a time when, although slavery had ended, there was still a divide between these communities.

The eighties are also considered to be a retro music genre. Pop music became a sensation, with the likes of Michael Jackson, Prince and Madonna topping the charts. British pop bands became big hits in the 80s; such as Wham and Duran Duran. New wave also hit the music scene during the 1980s, this old school genre was derived from seventies style punk rock. Synthesizers were commonly used in the production of new wave music in the eighties and cult music channel MTV was born.

Old school music is usually associated with genres such as hip-hop, though nowadays, old school music can refer to as late as the nineties and noughties, especially if speaking with millennials. Old school hip hop is relatively simple rap songs produced from around 1979-1983 and was the earliest style of rap recorded. Artists include Grandmaster Flash, The Sugarhill Gang and Busy Bee Starski.