A Brief History of the
HOLLYWOOD MUSIC

THE BEGINNING The year was 1927 and the world of the cinema was ready for something new: sound. The movie was THE JAZZ SINGER and, after its successful opening, Hollywood would never be the same. For the first time a movie was all-talking and all-singing and, while many big stars careers would end in a few years, an exciting new genre began, the Movie Musical. It’s true that the genre wasn’t exclusively American, but no other cinematography matched the magic of Hollywood ’s Golden Age. It may be the hardest genre to achieve perfection, but it’s also the most enjoyable to watch and for me the Hollywood Musical is cinema in its highest art form!

THE 30s

It was in the 30s that it became a Hollywood genre. During that decade Warner Bros produced the fabulous Busby Berkeley’s musical extravaganzas, while at RKO Fred Astaire & Ginger Rogers became the undisputable kings of the genre. Other famous stars of the time were Al Jolson, Alice Faye, Eddie Cantor, Eleanor Powell, Ruby Keeler, Maurice Chevalier and Deanna Durbin. At the MGM studios the team of Jeanette MacDonald & Nelson Eddy were a big hit in a series of operettas and in 1939 that studio would let Judy Garland lead us to the wonderful world of Oz. The big hits of the decade were WHOOPEE!, TOP HAT, BABES IN ARMS, ROMAN SCANDALS, ALEXANDER'S RAGTIME BAND, THE KID FROM SPAIN, SUNNY SIDE UP, ROSE MARIE, 42ND STREET and SWING TIME.

THE 40s

In the 40s the MGM studios became the lead producer of musicals. Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney would team for a series of what they called “the backyard musicals” with choreography by Busby Berkeley. Fred Astaire continued dancing on the screens and soon was part of the galaxy of stars at MGM that also included Gene Kelly, Eleanor Powell, Frank Sinatra, Esther Williams, June Allyson, Lena Horne, Ann Miller and many others, while Vincente Minnelli was the big director of the genre. At Columbia the big genre star was Rita Hayworth and at Fox Alice Faye was joined by Betty Grable, Dan Dailey and Carmen Miranda. Among the big hits were COVER GILR, EASTER PARADE, BLUE SKIES, JOLSON SINGS AGAIN, MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS, MY GAL SAL and THIS IS THE ARMY. 

THE NEW MILLENIUM

What this new century and millennium will bring to the genre remains to be seen. But thanks to the huge hit of the movie version of CHICAGO there’s reason for hope and we also shouldn’t forget that the Hollywood Academy was always fond of musicals. Broadway Musicals like THE PRODUCERS and RENT are expected to open before the end of this year and titles like DREAMGIRLS, BAT BOY and SUSNET BOULEVARD are promised for the near future. There are also a couple of originals in the works, ASPHALT BEACH (with a score by Andrew Lippa) and ENCHANTED (a new animated movie with songs by Alan Menken), so it seems that the Musical is making a comeback.