Synopses & Reviews
The crooner Rudy Vallandeacute;eand#39;s soft, intimate, and sensual vocal delivery simultaneously captivated millions of adoring fans and drew harsh criticism from those threatened by his sensitive masculinity. Although Vallandeacute;e and other crooners reflected the gender fluidity of late-1920s popular culture, their challenge to the Depression eraand#39;s more conservative masculine norms led cultural authorities to stigmatize them as gender and sexual deviants. In Real Men Donand#39;t Sing Allison McCracken outlines crooningand#39;s history from its origins in minstrelsy through its development as the microphone sound most associated with white recording artists, band singers, and radio stars. She charts early croonersandrsquo; rise and fall between 1925 and 1934, contrasting Rudy Vallandeacute;e with Bing Crosby to demonstrate how attempts to contain crooners created and dictated standards of white masculinity for male singers. Unlike Vallandeacute;e, Crosby survived the crooner backlash by adapting his voice and persona to adhere to white middle-class masculine norms. The effects of these norms are felt to this day, as critics continue to question the masculinity of youthful, romantic white male singers. Crooners, McCracken shows, not only were the first pop stars: their short-lived yet massive popularity fundamentally changed American culture.and#160;
Review
andquot;Allison McCracken explores the blurred genders of the croon through intimate historical detail, impeccable research, and a sense of the ever-shifting mores of sexual identity. She understands how technology influences artistry, and how the core of musical seduction remains constant, a voice whispering in the ear, a man singing to a woman in her own lingual.andquot;and#160;
Review
andquot;Allison McCrackenand#39;s subject in this animated and incisive study is less than ten years of swooning Prohibition-era American pop, but sheand#39;ll make you a quick believer that it forever changed what it means to listen to and#39;menand#39; and and#39;womenand#39; singing. Cue up some Rudy Vallandeacute;e and be prepared to never hear the recorded male singing voice the same way again.andquot;and#160;
Synopsis
Allison McCracken charts the rise and fall of crooners between 1925 and 1934, showing how the backlash against croonersand#39; perceived sexual and gender deviance created stylistically masculine norms for white male pop singers that continue to exist today.
About the Author
Allison McCracken is Associate Professor of American Studies at DePaul University.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgmentsand#160; ix
Introductionand#160; 1
1. Putting Over a Song: Crooning, Performance, and Audience n the Acoustic Era, 1880andndash;1920and#160; 37
2. Crooning Goes Electric: Microphone Crooning and the Invention of the Intimate Singing Aesthetic, 1921andndash;1928and#160; 74
3. Falling in Love with a Voice: Rudy Vallandeacute;e and His First Radio Fans, 1928and#160; 126
4. andquot;The Mouth of the Machineandquot;: The Creation of the Crooning Idol, 1929and#160; 160
5. andquot;A Supine Sinking into the Primeval Oozeandquot;: Crooning and Its Discontents, 1929andndash;1933and#160; 208
6. andquot;The Kind of Natural That Workedandquot;: The Crooner Redefined, 1932andndash;1934 (and Beyond)and#160; 264
Conclusionand#160; 311
Notesand#160; 333
Bibliographyand#160; 375
Index