Real Men Don't Sing: Crooning in American Culture
- Author: McCracken, Allison
A painstakingly researched book, sure in its thesis and apt in its presentation, this versatile study is of immediate appeal to those interested in music but will also be a valuable resource...
Real Men Don't Sing: Crooning in American Culture
- Author: McCracken, Allison
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A painstakingly researched book, sure in its thesis and apt in its presentation, this versatile study is of immediate appeal to those interested in music but will also be a valuable resource...
About
The crooner Rudy VallÉe's soft, intimate, and sensual vocal delivery simultaneously captivated millions of adoring fans and drew harsh criticism from those threatened by his sensitive masculinity. Although VallÉe and other crooners reflected the gender fluidity of late-1920s popular culture, their challenge to the Depression era's more conservative masculine norms led cultural authorities to stigmatize them as gender and sexual deviants. In Real Men Don't Sing Allison McCracken outlines crooning's history from its origins in minstrelsy through its development as the microphone sound most associated with white recording artists, band singers, and radio stars. She charts early crooners’ rise and fall between 1925 and 1934, contrasting Rudy VallÉe with Bing Crosby to demonstrate how attempts to contain crooners created and dictated standards of white masculinity for male singers. Unlike VallÉe, Crosby survived the crooner backlash by adapting his voice and persona to adhere to white middle-class masculine norms. The effects of these norms are felt to this day, as critics continue to question the masculinity of youthful, romantic white male singers. Crooners, McCracken shows, not only were the first pop stars: their short-lived yet massive popularity fundamentally changed American culture.
Contents
- Acknowledgments ix
- Introduction 1
- 1. Putting Over a Song: Crooning, Performance, and Audience in the Acoustic Era, 1880-1920 37
- 2. Crooning Goes Electric: Microphone Crooning and the Invention of the Intimate Singing Aesthetic, 1921-1928 74
- 3. Falling in Love with a Voice: Rudy Vallee and His First Radio Fans, 1928 126
- 4. "The Mouth of the Machine": The Creation of the Crooning Idol, 1929 160
- 5. "A Supine Sinking into the Primeval Ooze": Crooning and Its Discontents, 1929-1933 208
- 6. "The Kind of Natural That Worked": The Crooner Redefined, 1932-1934 (and Beyond) 264
- Conclusion 311
- Notes 333
- Bibliography 375
- Index 411
Awards and reviews
A painstakingly researched book, sure in its thesis and apt in its presentation, this versatile study is of immediate appeal to those interested in music but will also be a valuable resource for those in gender studies, African American studies, American studies, and all concentrations of history. Highly recommended. All readers." -- J. Neal
As befits an academic author, McCracken is primarily concerned with the social aspects of the phenomenon, especially the sexual implications as the style developed in the late 1920s. ... Recommended for readers interested in American social history, popular culture, popular music, and gender studies." -- Bruce R. Schueneman
