Postwar Era in Music (1946-1954)

These flashcards are designed to help students understand key vocabulary terms and concepts related to the music industry during the postwar era.

Top 40 Radio Programming

A radio format that focuses on playing the most popular songs repeatedly, adapted by Todd Storz in the early 1950s.

Payola

A practice where record companies pay DJs to play their songs in heavy rotation, which came under legal scrutiny in the mid-1950s.

Crooners

Singers who perform romantic and light music, often backed by orchestral strings, popular during the postwar era.

Overdubbing

A recording technique that allows multiple tracks of sound to be mixed together, pioneered by Les Paul.

BMI

Broadcast Music, Inc., a licensing agency that supports independent artists and new music genres to enter the mainstream.

Vinyl Album

A 12-inch LP disc introduced by Columbia Records in 1948, playing at 33 1/3 RPM and capable of holding over 20 minutes of music per side.

Hillbilly Music

A genre that evolved into mainstream country music, prevalent during the postwar period, associated with rural and southern culture.

Urban Folk

A music style that draws inspiration from traditional folk music, becoming popular on the pop charts in the early 1950s.

Honk-Tonk

A term used to describe a style of country music associated with bars and casual gatherings, popularized by artists like Al Dexter.

The Grand Ole Opry

A famous country music stage concert in Nashville, which significantly contributed to the rise of country music in the postwar era.