New music is always a pleasant treat to active listeners, fans and consumers of music. Music has evolved so much since the late 1890’s when we were able to start putting recordings on early phonographs and gramophones. Since then, we could start to listen and relisten to almost ‘perfect’ recordings of songs, allowing the audience to be able to enjoy music without a live band. This allowed artists to now only grow but grow upon each other as they had more access to other musicians now.

cover photo: Aretha Franklin, The Daily Beast 

As music became big and popular, we also started seeing bigger names appear because of this. This golden and new era of music dawned a lot of tradition and sounds that we still hear today. Have you ever wondered why music sounds the way it does today? Or where modern artists get their inspiration from? These early pioneers of recorded music are often left forgotten, however, without some trendsetters and rule breakers back in the early to mid 1900’s, we wouldn’t have many of our favourite artists we have today.

Take Carole King as a huge example in breaking glass ceilings. She is not only regarded as one of the best songwriters of the 20 the century, she is one of the first female singer-songwriters to gain wild success and popularity. She helped lay the ground work for many mainstream successful female artists we have today and grew up listening to. Her talent, dedication and perseverance helped women be heard in what used to be a male centred and dominate industry. Someone like Sister Rosetta Tharpe should also always be remembered. A trend setter in the late 30’s, she was a gospel folk singer wielding a Gibson guitar. She was an influencer for the likes of Elvis, Johnny Cash and Little Richard, who she gave his first stage to.

Other large influential artists such as David Bowie, Aretha Franklin, and Patti Smith, all laid the ground work for the variety of artists we have today. Though there are still many barriers and boundaries artists face on a daily basis, remembering and knowing who came before and understanding their success helps artists overcome their own challenges. Knowing our own history helps us to steer clear of repeating it. The hard work that has been put into the music industry has allowed for even more freedom for artists that may not have been seen early on.

Though only a few names have been listed here, there are so many more great artists who have done amazing, ground breaking work that has led us to where we are today. As all of us are avid seekers and fans of music, it is especially important to know and be grateful for those who came before and paved this path we have now.

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