From "White Christmas" to Sgt. Pepper
Subtitle: the conceptual revolution in popular music
By: David Galenson.
Contributors: National Bureau of Economic Research.
Series: NBER working paper series -- no. 13308.; Working paper series (National Bureau of Economic Research) -- working paper no. 13308.
Publisher: National Bureau of Economic Research
Published: 2007
Place of publication: Cambridge, Mass
Language: eng
Number of pages: 34
Subjects: Popular music -- History -- 20th century; Conceptual art -- History -- 20th century
Description: Irving Berlin, Cole Porter, and other songwriters of the Golden Era wrote popular songs that treated common topics clearly and simply. During the mid-1960s Bob Dylan, John Lennon, and Paul McCartney created a new kind of popular music that was personal and often obscure. This shift, which transformed popular music from an experimental into a conceptual art, produced a distinct change in the creative life cycles of songwriters. Golden Era songwriters were generally at their best during their 30s and 40s, whereas since the mid-'60s popular songwriters have consistently done their best work during their 20s. The revolution in popular music occurred at a time when young innovators were making similar transformations in other arts: Jean-Luc Godard and his fellow New Wave directors created a conceptual revolution in film in the early '60s, just as Andy Warhol and other Pop artists made painting a conceptual activity.
Notes: "August 2007"

Includes bibliographical references.

Also available in PDF from the NBER world wide web site (www.nber.org).