Early Recordings, 1900s-30s


Recordings grew in popularity in the first three decades of the 20th century, especially with the widespread acceptance (until mid-century) of 78 RPM discs containing one or two songs. The gradual increase in recorded availability of popular music forms such as Tin Pan Alley, the blues, and country music caused recording sales to supersede sheet music sales by the mid-1920s. World War I sparked a wave of popular Tin Pan Alley-type songs and recordings. These included " K-K-K-Katy (the Stammering Song)," written in Kingston in 1918 by Geoffrey O'Hara and memorably recorded in that year by US pop tenor Billy Murray.

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Pop music, Anglo-Canadian