Sound and technology
Tape editing, overdubbing and the LP gave producers new control over performance and sequence.
ERA · KNOWLEDGE GUIDE
1950s
Explore 1950s through technology, music industries, regional scenes and representative recordings—and hear why this decade differs from those around it.
- Recordings
- 234
- Albums and releases
- 54
- Regions
- 5
THE DECADE IN CONTEXT
What happened in this decade?
Rock and roll, modern jazz, R&B and new studio technology reshaped youth culture and the mass market.
People and circulation
Radio, jukeboxes and youth markets moved R&B, country and rock and roll across social boundaries.
Listen by comparing
Compare a live-style recording with a layered studio production and identify what could not happen in one take.
Tape and multitrack recording developedRock and roll entered the mainstreamLPs encouraged album listening
The decade's key question
How did the studio become a creative instrument?
Tape could be edited, copied and overdubbed, while multitrack recording separated performances in time. Producers could reorganize a performance, layer parts and create sounds that had never existed in one room.
MAJOR GENRES
Major genres of the decade
Genre
Classical / Art Music
Subgenre · CLASSICAL / ART MUSIC
Baroque
Subgenre · CLASSICAL / ART MUSIC
Impressionism
Subgenre · R&B / SOUL
Rhythm and Blues
Genre
Country / Folk / Americana
Subgenre · ROCK
Rock and Roll
Subgenre · JAZZ
Hard Bop
Subgenre · TRADITIONAL / REGIONAL MUSIC
Hindustani Classical Music
Subgenre · JAZZ
Swing
AROUND THE WORLD
Sounds from different regions
ARTISTS
Representative artists
Artist·Impressionism
Monique Haas
Artist·Impressionism
Claude Debussy
Artist·Baroque
Orchester Pro Musica Stuttgart
Artist·Baroque
Rolf Reinhardt
Artist·Baroque
Antonio Vivaldi
Artist·Country / Folk / Americana
Elizabeth Cotten
MArtist·Swing
Mel Tormé
Artist·Classical / Art Music
George Gershwin
Artist·Classical / Art Music
Al ‘Jazzbo’ Collins
LISTENING PATH
Hear the decade through these recordings
REFINE THIS VIEWFilter recordings from the 1950s
Genre and region are combined; only options with recordings from the 1950s are shown.
ALBUMS
Representative albums and releases
DECADE GRAPH
View relationship graph1950s relationship map
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