It was constrained businessmen who were yearning for something lighthearted and convivial, they would sing these songs associated with their childhood. There was a widespread sense, you could find this now as well, that the nation was in decline, that life was not as simple as it had been in the 1890s, 1910s.

Gage Averill

Categorized in : Living

Until the early part of the 20th century, barbershop had a strong connection to black informal singing, the music was rooted in black communities. Of course, there's a lot of white nostalgic music that actually comes out of black culture.