American Popular Music: Swing Era to Early Country & Folk (Units 5-7)

A comprehensive set of vocabulary flashcards covering pivotal people, terms, styles, and events from the Swing Era through early blues, gospel, country, honky-tonk, and bluegrass as detailed in Units 5–7 of the lecture notes.

Swing Era (1935-1945)

Period when big-band swing dominated popular music, beginning with Benny Goodman’s 1935 success at the Palomar Ballroom.

Palomar Ballroom

Los Angeles dance hall where Benny Goodman’s band ignited public enthusiasm for swing on 21 Aug 1935.

Benny Goodman

“King of Swing”; clarinetist-bandleader who popularized big-band swing and helped integrate jazz ensembles.

Fletcher Henderson

Arranger-bandleader whose 1920s New York charts became the blueprint for swing orchestration.

Big-Band Instrumentation

Standard swing lineup of ~15 players: trumpets, trombones, saxophones, guitar, piano, bass, drums.

Four-Beat Swing Rhythm

Steady pulse where bass (walking line) and guitar/drums emphasize all four beats, replacing earlier two-beat feel.

Call-and-Response Riff

Swing device in which brass and reeds trade short, repeated melodic phrases.

Glenn Miller

Trombonist-leader whose hits like “Chattanooga Choo Choo” made swing mass-market; died 1944.

Sweet Music

Softer, mellower big-band style contrasted with upbeat swing during the 1930s-40s.

Small-Group Jazz

Informal combos that jammed after hours; showcased virtuosity in “cutting contests.”

Cutting Contest

Competitive jam session where soloists try to outplay one another.

Head Arrangement

Count Basie’s practice of creating riffs spontaneously and memorizing them instead of using written charts.

Count Basie

Pianist-leader famed for economical piano, powerful rhythm section, and riff-based swing like “Jumpin’ at the Woodside.”

Duke Ellington

Composer-bandleader noted for sophisticated timbres and works such as “Ko-Ko.”

Country Blues

Rural, solo blues tradition from the southern U.S.; later recorded in the 1920s radio era.

Griot

West African storyteller-musician; cultural forerunner of the bluesman.

Blind Willie McTell

Twelve-string guitarist whose street performances linked blues to griot storytelling.

Blind Lemon Jefferson

First country-blues recording star; raw, free-form songs like “Black Snake Moan.”

Delta Blues

Regional Mississippi style typified by Robert Johnson’s intense vocals and slide-guitar.

Robert Johnson

Legendary Delta bluesman; recordings such as “Hellhound on My Trail” influenced rock guitarists.

Hokum

1920s-30s upbeat blues style with humorous, suggestive lyrics; e.g., “It’s Tight Like That.”

Boogie-Woogie

Exuberant piano style with driving left-hand bass patterns; precursor to rock-and-roll rhythm.

“Roll ’Em, Pete”

1936 Joe Turner/Pete Johnson hit that introduced boogie-woogie to a wider audience.

Thomas A. Dorsey

Blues pianist who created modern gospel songwriting, combing sacred lyrics with blues harmony.

Gospel Song

Religious music blending Protestant hymns, spirituals, and blues; offers hopeful “good news.”

Mahalia Jackson

“Queen of Gospel” whose powerful voice popularized songs like “Move On Up a Little Higher.”

Grand Ole Opry

WSM Nashville radio show (since 1925) that became the showcase for country performers.

Hillbilly Music

Early industry term (coined by Ralph Peer) for rural southern white music, precursor to country.

Ralph Peer

Talent scout/producer who commercialized country music, organized the 1927 Bristol Sessions.

Bristol Sessions (1927)

Historic recording project capturing The Carter Family and Jimmie Rodgers—birth of commercial country.

The Carter Family

A.P., Sara, and Maybelle; preserved folk ballads and pioneered “thumb-brush” guitar style.

Maybelle Carter’s Thumb-Brush

Guitar technique playing melody on bass strings while strumming chords on treble strings.

“Wildwood Flower”

1928 Carter Family recording emblematic of traditional country balladry.

Jimmie Rodgers

“Singing Brakeman”; fused blues, jazz, and yodeling in hits like the “Blue Yodel” series.

General Order 40

1928 Federal Radio Commission mandate reallocating AM frequencies and creating clear-channel stations.

Clear-Channel Station

High-power 10-50 kW AM outlet (e.g., WSM) whose nighttime signal reached distant rural audiences.

Singing Cowboy

1930s film persona (Gene Autry, Roy Rogers) mixing western imagery with country-pop songs.

Gene Autry

Radio-film star whose “South of the Border” typified smooth country-pop crossover.

Western Swing

Dance music merging country string band with jazz & blues; pioneered by Bob Wills.

Bob Wills

Fiddler-bandleader of the Texas Playboys; introduced electric steel guitar to country.

Honky-Tonk

Post-Prohibition barroom country style featuring amplified bands and lyrics about everyday hardship.

Hank Williams

Definitive honky-tonk singer-songwriter; hits include “Lovesick Blues.”

Kitty Wells

First female country superstar; answered male double standards with “It Wasn’t God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels.”

Bluegrass

Virtuosic acoustic country subgenre with high-lonesome vocals and rapid collective improvisation.

Bill Monroe

Mandolinist “Father of Bluegrass”; fronted the Blue Grass Boys from 1939.

Earl Scruggs

Banjo innovator whose three-finger picking defined bluegrass banjo style.

High-Lonesome Sound

Nasal, plaintive vocal quality characteristic of bluegrass singing.

Mandolin Chop

Percussive off-beat strum in bluegrass, alternating with bass to drive rhythm.

Collective Improvisation (Bluegrass)

Jazz-like trade-offs where each acoustic instrument takes fast solos.

“It’s Mighty Dark to Travel”

1947 Bill Monroe song showcasing classic bluegrass lineup and tempo.

Cutting Contest (Jazz)

On-the-spot musical duel common in small-group swing jams.

Syncopated Riff

Short, off-beat melodic pattern integral to swing feel.

Walking Bass Line

Continuous quarter-note bass pattern replacing tuba in swing rhythm sections.

Hi-Hat Cymbal

Drum-set component added in swing era to emphasize backbeats.

Swing vs. Sweet

Commercial division between energetic, riff-based swing and smoother, sentimental dance music.

“Chattanooga Choo Choo”

Glenn Miller’s 1941 hit exemplifying mainstream swing appeal.

Integration in Jazz

Benny Goodman’s 1930s hiring of Teddy Wilson & Lionel Hampton, breaking racial barriers.

Kansas City Jam Scene

After-hours culture fostering small-group swing experimentation and cutting contests.

“Jumpin’ at the Woodside”

Count Basie 1938 classic famed for riff-trading and rhythmic drive.

Twelve-Bar Blues

Common harmonic form (I-IV-I-V-IV-I) underpinning many blues & hokum songs.

Melismatic Singing

Gospel technique of stretching multiple notes over one syllable.

National Convention of Gospel Choirs (1933)

Thomas Dorsey’s organization promoting gospel performance and education.

Boogie-Woogie Left-Hand Pattern

Repeating eight-to-the-bar bass figure driving the style’s momentum.

“Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy”

1941 Andrews Sisters hit introducing boogie-woogie to pop audiences.

Honky-Tonk Beat

Updated two-beat/foxtrot groove with drums, electric guitar, and steel guitar.

Steel Guitar

Electrified slide instrument adding glissando twang to country & western swing.

Archive of American Folk Song

Library of Congress collection (est. 1928) documenting U.S. folk traditions.

Alan & John Lomax

Folklorists who recorded Lead Belly, Woody Guthrie, and other folk artists for the LOC archive.

Woody Guthrie

Oklahoma-born singer who chronicled Dust Bowl struggles; penned “This Land Is Your Land.”

Lead Belly

Huddie Ledbetter; versatile songster recorded in prison—famous for “Goodnight, Irene.”

The Weavers

Pete Seeger’s folk-pop group (1949) that popularized traditional songs before McCarthy blacklisting.