Thanks for your answer, Brian. It's an interesting theory, but you haven't provided any evidence that it's true. l.

From what I've seen over the years, the opposite might in fact be true.

Modern technology allows people to listen to the music that they like much more often, and much more intensely, than was ever possible in the past. This makes it possible for them to memorize much more, and much faster, than every before.

The other night, a friend took me to a dance club (it has been twenty years, at least, since I'd been in one) and I heard the dancers singing along, word for word, with recordings that were so fast that I couldn't even follow them.

More remarkable, there were frequent occasions where the DJ, though use of technology that I have only heard about, cut out the vocal tracks, leaving the MC and the crowd singing to the instrumental track. The MC seemed to be improvising, as well, but I wasn't familiar enough with the material to know.

Something else that I experienced, a number of years ago, still lingers with me to this day, for similar reasons. I was attending a concert by a fairly popular "Alternative Rock" band. It was one of the first concerts in a tour supporting their new album, which had been out for about a week.   I felt a bit on top of things because I'd gotten the album and listened to it a few times.

The crowd sang along with every song, including everything from the new album.

I was surprised, but not as much as I was a few weeks later, when I heard my 8 year old sing the entire album acapella.

So, Brian, before I believe you,I would very much like to see some hard data.

I am also curious to know how many people day know "Lord Bateman", and how many of them learned it by listening over and over to recordings.