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From "White Christmas" to Sgt. Pepper: The Conceptual Revolution in Popular Music

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  • David Galenson

Abstract

Irving Berlin, Cole Porter, and other songwriters of the Golden Era wrote popular songs that treated common topics clearly and simply. During the mid-1960s Bob Dylan, John Lennon, and Paul McCartney created a new kind of popular music that was personal and often obscure. This shift, which transformed popular music from an experimental into a conceptual art, produced a distinct change in the creative life cycles of songwriters. Golden Era songwriters were generally at their best during their 30s and 40s, whereas since the mid-'60s popular songwriters have consistently done their best work during their 20s. The revolution in popular music occurred at a time when young innovators were making similar transformations in other arts: Jean-Luc Godard and his fellow New Wave directors created a conceptual revolution in film in the early '60s, just as Andy Warhol and other Pop artists made painting a conceptual activity.

Suggested Citation

  • David Galenson, 2007. "From "White Christmas" to Sgt. Pepper: The Conceptual Revolution in Popular Music," NBER Working Papers 13308, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:13308
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    1. David W. Galenson, 2009. "You Cannot be Serious: The Conceptual Innovator as Trickster," NBER Chapters, in: Conceptual Revolutions in Twentieth-Century Art, pages 159-183, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    2. David Galenson & Joshua Kotin, 2008. "From the New Wave to the New Hollywood: The Life Cycles of Important Movie Directors from Godard and Truffaut to Spielberg and Eastwood," NBER Working Papers 14150, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
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    Cited by:

    1. David Galenson & Joshua Kotin, 2008. "From the New Wave to the New Hollywood: The Life Cycles of Important Movie Directors from Godard and Truffaut to Spielberg and Eastwood," NBER Working Papers 14150, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.

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      JEL classification:

      • J01 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - General - - - Labor Economics: General

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