Canadian
Entertainment
in the 1920’s
Powerpoint by
Luke Poley, Adam Joss
And Skyler Hainer
Music!
• The start of music in the twenties was the end of
the war: the twenties were a time of prosperity,
happiness, and over all joy, which lead to the
creation of jazz, ragtime, and eventually
morphed into blues during the depression, which
paved the way for much of today’s popular
music.
• The Sounds of the twenties, which evolved from
big bands and became smaller groups, were
upbeat, with songs like “Crazy Blues” by Mamie
Smith, “Pine top’s boogie woogie” by pine top
smith, and “Toot Toot Tootsie” by Al Jolson
Publication
• Before the gramophone, live music reigned in
Canada, and the most reliable form of musical
publication was as sheet music
• Some Canadian newspapers even published
periodicals of sheet music, so that other people
could play it.
• In 1918, however, in Lachine Quebec, “Compo
Company” (Canada’s first recording company)
built Canada’s first Pressing plant (which was
the largest of it’s day)
Distribution
• Compo’s pressing plant was originally intended to
service American talent, printing records for several
independent American record sellers, such as Okeh
records, who wanted to expand into Canada.
• During the expansion, with distributers selling American
music to Canadians, Canadian musicians finaly found a
way to shine: Radio
• During the 1920’s, Canada’s first radio stations were
beginning to open, and even though they played less
Canadian music then American music, it still gave
Canadian artists more of a chance to be heard.
Radio
• By 1922, Canada’s first French radio station
existed!
• By 1923, Canada had a grand total of 34 Radio
stations, and they spread hugely after that.
• With the spread of radio, the newly created jazz
spread,
• Jazz was associated primarily with
sophistication, as well as modern times, and
decadency
An early radio station
Citation
• ^ "The Compo Company, History of Recorded Sound in Canada".
Canadian Antique Phonograph Society
• "Compo Company Ltd.". The Canadian Encyclopedia (Historica
Foundation of Canada).
http://thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Param
s=U1ARTU0000771.
• "Songwriters and Songwriting (English Canada)". Historica
Foundation of Canada.
http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&P
arams=U1ARTU0004103.
• Canadian Cultural Policies Chronology 1920's". Canadian Cultural
Policies Chronology
• Before the gold rush: flashbacks to the dawn of the Canadian sound
by Nicholas Jennings, (Yorkville ON: Viking, 1997) (ISBN 0-67087381-0)
Books
• Some of the best selling books of the
1920s were: The Great Gatsby by: F. Scott
Fitzgerald, Winnie-The-Pooh by A.A.
Milne.
• After the Great War people had a lot of
money to spend on stuff like books and
Comics.
Comics
• Comics started out in the later 1920s
around 1928.
• Some of the more popular names were
Tintin, and Le Semaine de Suzette.
• Some of the more popular authors of the
1920s Herge, Alain Saint-Organ and
Pinchon
Newspapers
• Newspapers had two issues one in the
morning and evening.
• Most cities had papers with different
ownerships and editorial policies-usually
Republican and Democrat.
Food
• Food was plentiful and cheap thanks to
the large quantities produced by American
farms.
• 44 hours a week were spent on preparing
meals and cleaning each week
• Gas stoves, electric refridgerators, and
other labor saving devices made food
preparation much easier.
Brothels
• Beginning in the 1920s vice syndicates
moved brothels to the suberbs where law
enforcement was easier to control.
• In the 1920s brothels were frowned upon
but were legal.
• Today brothels have been legalized so that
prostitutes have a safe working
environment
Citations
http://library.thinkquest.org/J0111064/20ente
rtain.htm
http://www.angelfire.com/anime4/sephirothb
adazz/Reports/entertainment.html
http://www.goodreads.com/list/show/39.Best
_Books_of_the_Decade_1920_s
Movies
• Until 1923, Silent movies would often be accompanied
by a piano or organ track.
• In 1923 the first commercial film with a recorded audio
soundtrack was produced.
• It took about 7 years for the talking movies to completely
replace the silent ones.
• Production of ‘The Jazz Singer’ in 1927 changed the
talking movie industry with improved recording
technology.
Movies 2
• Famous characters like Mickey Mouse and
actors like Charlie Chaplain debuted in the
1920’s.
• The three Canadian films produced in the
20’s were Big Timber, Blue Water and The
Great Shadow.
Radios
Radios were the one of the first forms of electronic
entertainment and communication. People used to
rely on radios just like people rely on their phones and
computers now,
In 1920 CFCF is Canada's only radio station with
regular broadcasts. In 2 years, over 800 American
stations are created.
In 1925 a Canadian inventor, Edward Rogers had
created battery-less radios that could be plugged in.
This helped bring radios mainstream.
Radios 2
• Radios could provide many different forms of
entertainment and information such as news,
weather, sports, radio shows and much more.
• In 1929 the AIRD commission recommends
creation of the Canadian Radio Broadcasting
Corporation (CRBC) was created so all radio
broadcasts could be looked after by one national
company. It was then created in 1932.
• This helped bring in a standard for radio stations
and ensured high quality broadcasts.
Influenced Society
• Entertainment was influenced by society
as equally as it influenced society. The
idea of being rebellious was becoming
popular. Girls known as "Flappers" were
quite common. These young (15-30) girls
typically smoked, drank, partied. This
shows how the rebellious ideology of the
1920s was reflected in it's entertainment
and it's people.
Citations
• http://www.mediaawareness.ca/english/resources/issues_resources/cultural_policies/
chronology/cult_policies_chronology.cfm
• http://cbc.radio-canada.ca/history/1920-1939_details.shtml
• http://www.google.ca/imgres?start=12&num=10&um=1&hl=en&rlz=
1C1CHFX_enCA456CA456&biw=1024&bih=707&tbm=isch&tbnid=
GDskIE3bW64rbM:&imgrefurl=http://hrsbstaff.ednet.ns.ca/engramja/
The1920s_files/frame.htm&docid=fgB3ID13Y2lWPM&imgurl=http://h
rsbstaff.ednet.ns.ca/engramja/The1920s_files/master03_backgroun
d.gif&w=534&h=400&ei=EkOET7wnxKODB_6a3O0H&zoom=1&iact
=rc&dur=489&sig=111431848436419473224&page=2&tbnh=157&tb
nw=258&ndsp=17&ved=1t:429,r:3,s:12,i:11&tx=200&ty=82
The End
Thank you for watching. Have a
nice day .