Music Styles of the 30s

Music during the 30s took a big turn during the 30s. During this time of the Great Depression, music was mostly about validation and struggles that the everyday man felt. During the decade, the music became more hopeful as new genres began to emerge taking things from hopelessness to a good sign that things were beginning to improve.

• Latin Music- Latin music was a hot thing of the 30s. With musical persuasion coming from Cuba and other Latin American countries, this dance music was a popular hit all over the country. Although Latin music was slow to catch on, the fast paced beats soon found their way onto the radio, in movies and nightclubs all over America.


• Blues and Jazz- Jazz was really popular during the 30s. The music was largely about the black man's struggles but soon turned into a popular style of music in the 30s because of its true lyrics and simple beat. Toward the end of the decade, the music took on a more soulful feel to it and became known as blues. Blues originated in New Orleans, and was originally thought of as raw music that most did not like. Once the Depression hit and everyone began struggling to make ends meet, more people began to feel the persuasion of blues music and found it helped them carry through the day.


• Folk Music- Folk music is a popular music style that is considered a lasting genre. Although it evolves over the decades, it never goes away. During the 30s, many of the lyrics were about sorrow, loss, and troubled times. Folk music flourished during the 30s largely because people were being paid by the Federal Music Project of the Works Project Association to play concerts and other gigs to help keep up morale in such hard times.