Repertoire and Reception: Radio and Music in St. John’s, Newfoundland, 1930-45
Casual observers might conclude that “Newfoundland music” consisted of variants of Irish and English traditional music and that these forms were undermined by such things as American popular culture during and after the Second World War. This essay examines the broad range of popular music available...
| Published in: | Journal of Canadian Studies |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
| Language: | English |
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University of Toronto Press Inc. (UTPress)
2008
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| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.3138/jcs.42.2.117 https://utpjournals.press/doi/pdf/10.3138/jcs.42.2.117 |
| Summary: | Casual observers might conclude that “Newfoundland music” consisted of variants of Irish and English traditional music and that these forms were undermined by such things as American popular culture during and after the Second World War. This essay examines the broad range of popular music available through the radio and concert hall before the arrival of American troops, and shows that while the occupation of the city by servicemen enhanced the access to American popular culture, it did not introduce something new. People embraced the foreign popular culture as something cosmopolitan and modern. There was a little resistance to American popular culture; Newfoundlanders did not perceive it as threatening a Newfoundland culture, but some people saw music on the radio as a threat to local musical initiative. |
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