Standards

Standards are traditional compositions originating from the 1910s and onward which have become widely known, performed, and recorded across the world. The earliest standards were products of the First World War era, most commonly found in Broadway and Hollywood Show Tunes. With the advent of Big Band/Swing music in the mid 1930s, pop standards took the form of a more soothing performance style with such legendary crooners as Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, and Dean Martin, each backed by standard Jazz orchestration. Non-vocal jazz instrumentalists like Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong were also highly influential in the development of the genre. Because of the expansiveness of the Traditional Pop genre, artists from the time period may also be categorized as swing, Vocal Jazz, or big band. As electric instruments found their way into popular culture in the early 1950s, traditional pop music was quickly overtaken by Rock & Roll, and so with it went the swing and big band eras. Even so, traditional standards were never completely abandoned. The longevity of the music's personal appeal is a primary distinction of the genre. As such, standards of the 1930s and ‘40s remain a staple in modern culture and are covered and performed in lounges, taverns, and inns to this day.