“Hipsters Holiday” The Great Christmas Music
The “popular” Christmas song is a relatively modern invention – there were virtually none until 1941, when Irving Berlin opened the floodgates with his classic “White Christmas.” And even as late as 1947, when the now-classic holiday movie MIRACLE ON 34TH STREET was released, all the advertising and promotion avoided any references to Christmas or Santa Claus.
That all changed in the 1950s, thanks to two media forces: popular music and television. This three-part series takes an in-depth look at how the modern concept of the Christmas holiday is largely an invention of popular culture, with a special look at how those two mass-market art forms, the popular song and TV, changed everything, and brought us Christmas as we understand it today. We will take a deep dive into the great songs, the great singers who made them famous, as well as a special program celebrating jazz & blues interpretations of those classic tunes.
That all changed in the 1950s, thanks to two media forces: popular music and television. This three-part series takes an in-depth look at how the modern concept of the Christmas holiday is largely an invention of popular culture, with a special look at how those two mass-market art forms, the popular song and TV, changed everything, and brought us Christmas as we understand it today. We will take a deep dive into the great songs, the great singers who made them famous, as well as a special program celebrating jazz & blues interpretations of those classic tunes.