Popular Culture Review 30.1
In the early twentieth century , popular musicians did not appear in concert halls and there were few large auditoria . Those wanting to see a performer or hear the newest compositions could go out to a restaurant or nightclub with a floor show , or attend an operetta or musical comedy , but those were expensive options and not widely available . New music could be heard in the sheet music sections of department , five and dime , and music stores , but there was nothing exciting about hearing songs auditioned in that way . Vaudeville was consequently the destination of choice for those wanting popular musical entertainment : it was reasonably inexpensive , available coast to coast and it offered the thrill of live performance . Because of this , vaudeville was instrumental in disseminating the new popular music of the early twentieth century , Tin Pan Alley tunes especially , but also ragtime , blues , and , to a limited extent , jazz . Singing acts made up roughly a quarter of all vaudeville performances and they became increasingly important as time went on . Between 1902 and 1906 , 15 % of all acts featured singers ; over the next five years , that number jumped to 25 % and from 1912 to 1922 , it stood at 36 %. The steady concentration on singing evidenced vaudeville ’ s role as the primary venue for listening to live popular music . 21
With well over 10,000 entries in the database , singing was one of the most popular acts on vaudeville . About one-third of all vaudeville singing acts featured a solo performer singing with an accompanist . These kinds of act remained popular because of their simplicity and wide range of appeal . Singing acts generally required little set up or props , so they could be played in front of the curtain while stage crews set up the back for a more complicated act . But despite their simplicity , singing acts were , with comedy skits , the most popular of all vaudeville acts . Song selection was crucial to performers
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