Talk:Pop standard

Merge
I wrote the article on classic pop, and I agree that a merger with the article on pop standards may be prudent. I must point out, however, that there is a subtle distinction between the two. Pop standards generally refers to the songs themselves, while classic pop refers to the sub-genre as a whole within that of popular music. Therefore, one would state that "The Way You Look Tonight," by Jerome Kern and Dorothy Fields, is a pop standard. One would also state that "The Way You Look Tonight" is an example of classic pop. The style of Rosemary Clooney is that of classic pop, but she is obviously not a pop standard. The two terms are not necessarily interchangeable.

The term classic pop can also refer to a specific time period within which the sub-genre flourished, but the exact duration of that time period is quite debatable. I would tend to place it between the end of the First World War and the beginning of the rock and roll revolution in popular music in the United States, so about 1918 to about 1955. 24.60.181.121 22:22, 4 September 2005


 * I agree with the proposed merge, though it seems nothing has been done about it in a year. The article could easily incorporate an explanation of the terminological distinction mrntioned above. Might it also be worth looking at a further merge with Traditional pop music? --Matthew Humphreys 12:35, 14 September 2006 (UTC)

Names
This article focused most of its attention on Tin Pan Alley/Broadway writers and late era artists, so I added a number of names to this piece. In trying to epitomize the era of pop standards, and their standard-bearers, this list left several seminal artists, composers and bandleaders out.

EG Dinah Shore and Doris Day were formerly anonymous "songbirds", who with Frank Sinatra, began to get fan and critical attention as "lead" singers. Early big bands for instance, might not even list the name of the singer on the record or single them out as individuals.

Nat King Cole, Billie Holiday, Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, and Ella Fitzgerald were not even mentioned once on this list. Appalling, as they all succeeded in crossing jazz over to a diverse and wide audience, and are all considered "standards" or classics themselves.

As far as bandleaders, Nelson Riddle and Guy Lombardo would be considered "safe" artists, but essentially influenced by trendsetters like the Dorseys, Benny Goodman, Cab Calloway and Count Basie.

Arguably, this entire genre had a lot to do with Rudy Vallee's showmanship at plugging songs, and other artists and broadcasters who made radio a platform for major hits - Eddie Cantor, Arthur Godfrey, and "Your Hit Parade".

Essentially, as with rock n' roll, what was once considered "race music" became popularized and sometimes sanitized for a popular audience, and became "standard" through the medium of broadcasting. The article does not convey that, and these points and standards belong in any merged article. 67.10.133.121 06:27, 24 October 2005 (UTC)