"There's nothing surer; the rich get rich and the poor get poorer." was considered the credo of the roaring 20s. Chicago was hot! Harlem was hot with Jazz and the so-called "devil's music'! (The Cotton Club was open to both whites and blacks and packed nightly.) Jazz was hot! Bessie Smith sang the Blues. But most of the best-selling pop hits were sentimental ballads (I'll Be With You in Apple Blossom Time and I'm Just Wild About Harry), old-fashioned walzes (Three O'Clock in the Morning and Deep in My Heart) , and nonsense songs (Yes, We Have No Bananas and I Wish That I Could Shimmy Like My Sister Kate). Fanny Brice sang Rose of Washington Square and Second Hand Rose in the Ziegfeld Follies and Vaudeville. The Grand Ole Opry was transmitted on the radio from Nashville in 1925. Al Jolson sang his wonderful songs.
There's nothing surer; the rich get rich and the poor get poorer."
Rudolph Valentino
The Silent Screen stars included the chic Rudolph Valentino , sexy Clara Bow. Rudy Vallee sang through his megaphone. The first talking picture, Don Juan, starring John Barrymore premiered on Broadway in 1926. This made movies big business. The first Oscars were given in 1927. First Oscar movie was a Paramount Picture, Wings. Emil Jennings and Janet Gaynor won best acting awards.
Broadway reached an all time peak. Gershwin was hot with An American in Paris, Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein created Show Boat starring Helen Morgan. Fred and Adele Astaire opened in Funny Face. There were 268 plays offered in New York City in the year 1927. This compared with 50-60 in the 1970s.
Radio networks began during this decade: David Sarnoff's NBC and William Paley's CBS both went on the air. Billboard Magazine published its first charts in 1928. Bing Crosby and other crooner singing stars aided their sales with their live and recorded radio performances.