Korea blues. Le narrazioni della guerra di Corea nella popular music statunitense (1950-1953)

The Korean War had considerable repercussions on everyday civilian life and on the collective imagination of Americans. The world of the “seven notes”, as happened for that of cinema and show business, was not excluded. The musical world’s reception and assimilation of the instances of war were larg...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Gioachino LANOTTE
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Diacronie 2023-03-01
Series:Diacronie. Studi di Storia Contemporanea
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Online Access:http://www.studistorici.com/2023/03/29/lanotte_numero_53/
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Summary:The Korean War had considerable repercussions on everyday civilian life and on the collective imagination of Americans. The world of the “seven notes”, as happened for that of cinema and show business, was not excluded. The musical world’s reception and assimilation of the instances of war were largely influenced by the gloomy and pessimistic hues of that historical period (1950-53). The article analyzes some songs by American songwriters of the time: from the comparative examination of those songs – taken mainly from the country-folk and blues genres – we will show the different orientations of American society with respect to the Korean war, but not only. In fact, the lyrics of the songs give rise to reflections on the condition of the black community in the 1950s and on the tensions of the McCarthyism which, not surprisingly, also affected many exponents of the stars and stripes musical world.
ISSN:2038-0925