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Thursday, September 19, 2013

Today in World War II History

70 Years Ago—Sept. 19, 1943: Decca Records signs deal with striking musicians’ union, becomes first studio to record in a year.

2 comments:

  1. Wow....why were they on strike? Hard to believe no records for a year..but can totally see how that could happen. Love all the history!

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  2. This was an interesting strike. Basically, the musicians were concerned that recordings took away the demand for live performances - and their livelihood. So yes, for a year, recordings were limited - singers weren't affected, so a cappella recordings became very popular. The musicians ended up shooting themselves in the foot! Before the strike, the big band sound ruled, but during the strike, people gained a taste for the "crooners." Combined with the war, which produced a yearning for softer music, this pretty much killed the big band sound and ushered in a time of singers with light musical back-up.

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