Technology and The Pandemic: A 1918 Musician’s Crossroad
1 min read
Article by Jack Grace.
1918 was a strange intersection for musicians even before the 1918 Flu Pandemic hit. These were the final times that music would be experienced primarily the way it had been for thousands of years. With the exception of music boxes that evolved into player pianos, music had always been performed live. There was little need for the term, “live music.”
In 1918, radio was in its infancy; there were no official radio stations on air yet. The first US licensed commercial broadcasting radio station (KDKA, Pittsburgh) didn’t begin until November 2nd of 1920.
The phonograph was gaining momentum, but it was hardly in every home at this stage. Recordings were still rather primitive and rarely involved proper microphones. A typical recording session in 1918 might involve musicians crowding around a giant horn, their musical efforts vibrated the needle that directly etched the audio into wax. Low bass sounds were barely audible, and all the higher pitched sounds such as violins, were often faint with almost a ghost-like quality.
Yet, a big, booming, operatic voice could cut through the wax. European tenor Enrico Caruso had the perfect voice for sounding prominent in the new technology, and one of the first recording stars was born. […]
