Songs of the Day
To augment the stereocards on the previous page, I thought I’d add popular songs of the period, several of which my main character, Georgina, hears in her travels in early 20th century New York City. Even before writing the book, I was a huge fan of music from this period and have spent decades collecting sheet music and 78 rpm (rounds per minute) recordings.
These 78s were played on gramophones, invented by Emile Berliner in 1887, which utilized a hand crank to power a spring motor that drove the turntable. Gramophones had quickly superseded Edison’s earlier phonograph, which featured reusable wax discs as opposed to flat vinyl which had a longer playing time and better sound quality. ​
Listening to these recordings today, the scratchy and tinny sound takes some getting used to, and the typical form of a vamp (a short, repeating musical phrase or progression) and introduction is different from what we’re used to. But the tunes are catchy and, depending on the topic, the lyrics can, in turn, be touching or hilarious. So, give them a try!
Selections are divided into World War I-related songs and more traditional popular songs of the day.
Popular Songs of the 1910's
Songs about WWI
