Ruth was inspired by watching her daughter Barbara and her friends playing with paper dolls, using make-believe to explore adult life and careers. She recognised there was a gap in the market. Dolls at the time tended to be babies or toddlers, not adults.

The first Barbie cost $3 and sales reached 300,000 in the first year. Demand became so high that Mattel decided to introduce a new doll and in 1961 Barbie was joined by her boyfriend, Ken.

Barbie’s appearance has evolved over the decades to reflect the ideas and fashions of the times. In the 1950s she mirrored the likes of Elizabeth Taylor and Marilyn Monroe, with arched eyebrows and red lips, and clothes designed by fifty of the world’s top designers.

In the 1960s she went sophisticated, inspired by Jackie Kennedy. By the mid-1980s she was sporting shoulder pads and leggings.

A 1959 Barbie doll, February 2016. Image credit: Paolo Bona / Shutterstock.com

Image Credit: Paolo Bona / Shutterstock.com

Throughout her history, Barbie’s face and figure have been the subject of much debate. When she made her debut in the 1950s, Barbie sported a sideways glance. However the growing feminist movement of the 1970s prompted Mattel to make changes and Barbie’s eyes faced forwards for the first time.

But it’s Barbie’s proportions that have faced particular scrutiny. With her long legs, large breasts and tiny waist, Mattel have been accused of presenting an unrealistic vision of the female form and of fostering a negative body image among young girls.

In 2016 Mattel introduced a new range of Barbies, promoting a positive body image and more ethnic diversity. The range features tall and petite body types, as well as a curvier figure. It also introduced seven new skin tones and twenty-four new hairstyles including an afro and curly red hair.

Despite the criticism levelled at Barbie’s appearance, Mattel has always maintained that the doll’s purpose – as envisaged by her creator – is to encourage young girls to be whatever they want to be. Over the years Barbie has embarked on more than 180 different careers.

In 1963 she became an astronaut, in recognition of the first female astronaut Valentina Tereshkova. She took to the skies as an air stewardess throughout the 1970s, and in 1990 became a pilot.

In 2019, Mattel launched a new line of Barbie dolls with disabilities, including a Barbie who uses a wheelchair. Image credit: Shutterstock.com

In 1992 she ran for President (for the first time) and has held various military roles. Since 2011 Barbie has introduced a new career each year that has been under represented by women, including computer engineer and architect.

Throughout her long life, Barbie has made headlines. Who wasn’t shocked by the news in 2004 that she had broken up with her long-time boyfriend Ken! (They reunited in 2011).

Today Barbara Millicent Roberts from the fictional town of Willows in Wisconsin continues to be a dominant force in the fashion doll world, despite growing competition, with annual gross sales in excess of $1 billion.

Early life and musical education

Fanny Cäcilie Mendelssohn Bartholdy was born on 14 November 1805, in Hamburg, Germany. Growing up in a wealthy and intellectually stimulating family, Fanny was born into a world that nurtured her creative inclinations. Her father, Abraham Mendelssohn, a prominent banker, and her mother, Lea Mendelssohn, provided a nurturing environment for Fanny’s musical development.

Fanny received early musical training from her mother and was exposed to influential artists and composers of the time, fostering her love for music.

Musical partnership with Felix Mendelssohn

Fanny’s musical talents soon became apparent, and she formed a strong bond with her younger brother Felix, who was a renowned composer, pianist, organist and conductor. The siblings enjoyed a close and collaborative relationship, frequently engaging in musical exchanges and providing mutual support. They composed music together, and Fanny often offered valuable feedback to Felix on his compositions.

However, societal norms of the time prevented Fanny from pursuing a professional music career with the same level of recognition as her brother. Fanny’s works were frequently included in concerts and performances organised by her younger brother. It is worth noting that Felix often attributed some of Fanny’s compositions to himself, further overshadowing her musical legacy.

Portrait of Felix Mendelssohn by the German painter Eduard Magnus, 1846

Image Credit: Eduard Magnus, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Compositions and musical style

Fanny’s compositions encompassed a wide range of genres, including piano pieces, chamber music, choral works, and songs. Her compositions often exhibited a unique blend of lyricism, emotional depth, and technical complexity, showcasing her exceptional talent.

Notable compositions include her cycle of piano pieces titled Das Jahr (The Year), composed in 1841, which vividly captured the changing moods and seasons. Another notable composition is her choral work Oratorium nach Bildern der Bibel (Oratorio Based on Biblical Images). Composed in 1831, it draws inspiration from various biblical stories and imagery.

Cultural and social constraints

The prevailing attitudes of the era restricted Fanny from sharing her music publicly. Women’s role in society during the 19th century was primarily limited to the private sphere, and pursuing a professional music career was often discouraged. However, her brother Felix recognised her talent and frequently included her compositions in his concerts, often attributing them to himself.

Fanny’s father and later her husband, Wilhelm Hensel, also held conservative views on gender roles, which further impeded her career prospects. Consequently, many of her compositions remained unpublished during her lifetime.

Performance opportunities

Most of her works were performed in private salons, attended by a select circle of friends and family. In the 19th century salons were intimate gatherings held in the homes of prominent women, where influential figures would come together to engage in intellectual and artistic discussions. To circumvent the limitations imposed upon her, Fanny fostered a vibrant salon culture within her home. These salons provided a platform for emerging artists to showcase their talents and ideas, and became hubs of intellectual and cultural activity.

Fanny seized these opportunities to perform her compositions and showcase her musical prowess, receiving recognition and admiration from the artistic community. Fanny also used the salons to support and promote other artists, solidifying her status as a patron of the arts.

Legacy and posthumous recognition

Tragically, Fanny Mendelssohn’s life was cut short when she passed away on 14 May 1847, at the age of 41. Her untimely death occurred in Berlin, Germany, where she had been residing with her family.

The circumstances surrounding Fanny’s passing are believed to be related to a stroke. Reports suggest that she had been in fragile health for some time, suffering from an undisclosed illness that had gradually weakened her.

However, her musical legacy lived on, even if it remained overshadowed for many years. Her compositions, once overlooked, have gradually gained recognition for their artistic merit and influence. In recent decades, efforts to revive and perform her works have gained momentum, helping to shed light on her immense talent and contribution to music history.

Her legacy serves as a testament to the resilience and determination of female artists who defied societal constraints to share their artistic brilliance with the world.

Its composer, Piotr Ilich Tchaikovsky, was a fascinating figure with an intriguing background. Born into an old military family in Russia in 1840, Tchaikovsky initially pursued a career in the civil service due to the lack of opportunities for Western-style musical education in Russia during that time, despite his early interest in music.

A difficult life

Under the relatively liberal rule of Tsar Alexander II, this changed in the 1860s, and Tchaikovsky went to study at the new Conservatory in St Petersburg – where he learned his craft as a composer.

Tchaikovsky’s life was fraught with challenges and personal struggles. Despite his undeniable musical genius, he faced significant obstacles. As a secret homosexual, a fact that was vehemently concealed during the repressive Soviet era, Tchaikovsky struggled with forming meaningful relationships with women, which often ended in failure. Moreover, his music was frequently criticised in Russia for supposedly pandering too much to a Western audience, resulting in harsh reception from his own countrymen.

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, c. 1888 by Émile Reutlinger. Image credit: Émile Reutlinger, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Despite the challenges he faced in his personal life, he created some of the most iconic and enduring pieces in the history of classical music. Among his notable works are the majestic 1812 Overture, the enchanting ballet The Nutcracker, and, of course, the beloved Swan Lake.

German or Slavonic?

The inspiration behind Swan Lake’s storyline has been a subject of much debate among musical experts. While it is commonly believed to be based on Russian folktales and Germanic legends, there is no consensus on the exact mythology that influenced Tchaikovsky’s composition. Some say that it is based on a German folk tale, which is why the character names are Germanic, though others (mainly Russians) argue that much of the dancing is Slavonic and that the swan is a Russian national symbol.

The truth probably lies somewhere in between. In any case, there are both German and Russian tales that tell a similar story, that of a beautiful girl who is turned into a swan by an evil witch and dies hand in hand with a handsome Prince determined to release her from this curse.

The enthusiasm that Tchaikovsky felt while composing this work is evident from the speed in which it was finished after it was commissioned, with the extraordinarily complex ballet being completed in just one year.

A disastrous debut

By the early months of 1877 it was finally ready for performance. Things got off to a bad start. Firstly, the brilliant ballerina Anna Sobeshchanskaya, for whom the main role of Odette had been intended, was removed after a senior official in Moscow accused her of agreeing to marry him, taking all the jewels she received as gifts, selling them, and then running off with someone else.

Anna Sobeshchanskaya as Odette in Julius Reisinger’s original production of Swan Lake, Moscow, 1877.

Image Credit: Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Her replacement, Pelageya Karpakova, was one of the many elements panned when the premier started. The nationalistic critics often disliked the Germanic setting and style of music. The dancing, the orchestra and the sets were all widely ridiculed, and most thought that it was far too complicated for a ballet.

However, despite this rocky start which even Tchaikovsky himself acknowledged, the ballet continued to run in Moscow for a few months, and reviews began to improve when Sobeshchanskaya returned.

Tragically, Tchaikovsky’s life was cut short at the age of 53 when he passed away in 1893, with speculation of suicide surrounding his death. Over the following years the mastery of Tchaikovsky’s score began to be recognised, and demand to see the ballet grew until it reached its present levels of recognition and fame – travelling to London in 1911 and Los Angeles in 1940. Despite the difficulties he faced, Tchaikovsky’s contributions to classical music and his enduring legacy as a renowned composer continue to be celebrated worldwide. His works, including Swan Lake, have become timeless masterpieces that are cherished for their emotional depth, technical brilliance, and profound impact on the world of music.

During this period, jazz musicians like Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington helped popularise the genre and develop new styles like swing and bebop. In the 1950s and 1960s, jazz became more experimental and diverse, with musicians like Miles Davis and John Coltrane pushing the boundaries of the genre and incorporating elements of rock, funk, and other musical styles. Today, jazz remains an important and influential form of music around the world, and continues to evolve and innovate with each new generation of musicians.

As well as the many famous jazz singers of the 20th century, there were also many influential jazz composers. With so many it’s impossible to name all the greats, but here are five of some of the most prominent and innovative:

Duke Ellington

Duke Ellington was a prolific composer, pianist, and bandleader. With a career that spanned more than 50 years, he is often considered one of the most important and influential figures in the history of jazz.

Born in 1899 in Washington, D.C., Ellington began playing piano as a child and quickly developed a love for music. In the 1920s, he formed his own band, which would become one of the most successful and respected groups in jazz history.

Over the course of his career, Ellington wrote hundreds of original compositions, including jazz standards like ‘Take the A Train’, ‘Mood Indigo’, ‘Sophisticated Lady’ and ‘It Don’t Mean a Thing If it Ain’t Got That Swing’. He also helped to bring jazz to a wider audience through his numerous recordings, film appearances, and tours around the world.

Over his lifetime, Ellington received nine Grammys, along with three more after his death in 1974. His legacy continues to influence and inspire musicians today.

Miles Davis

Miles Davis was a trumpeter, bandleader and composer who was at the forefront of several different innovative styles of jazz throughout his long and influential career.

Born in 1926 in Alton, Illinois, Davis began playing trumpet as a child and quickly developed a unique sound and style, playing without vibrato. He became a leading figure in the development of bebop and cool jazz in the 1940s and 1950s, and his recordings from this period are considered some of the greatest in jazz history. Some of his many iconic jazz compositions include ‘So What’, ‘All Blues’ and ‘Freddie Freeloader’.

Davis in his New York City home, c. 1955–56; photograph by Tom Palumbo

Image Credit: Photograph by Tom Palumbo, via Wikimedia Commons / Malik Shabazz / CC BY-SA 2.0

Davis continued to push the boundaries of jazz throughout his career, experimenting with new styles and incorporating elements of rock, funk, and other musical genres. He was also known for his collaborations with other musicians, including John Coltrane, Herbie Hancock, and Wayne Shorter.

Having overcome a heroin addiction, his final album of the decade, Kind of Blue, is still considered one of the best-selling jazz albums of all time, earning him the opportunity to be the first jazz musician featured on the cover of The Rolling Stones magazine.

Thelonious Monk

Thelonious Monk was a unique and innovative American jazz pianist and composer who helped to shape and define the sound of modern jazz in the 1940s and 1950s.

Born in 1917 in North Carolina, Monk began playing piano at a young age and quickly developed a unique style characterised by dissonant harmonies and angular melodies. He was a member of the bebop movement and played with many of the era’s most influential musicians, including Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie.

Monk’s compositions, including ‘Round Midnight’, ‘Straight, No Chaser’, and ‘Blue Monk’ are considered jazz classics and continue to be widely performed and recorded today. He received numerous awards and honours over the course of his career, including a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1993.

Charles Mingus

Charles Mingus was an American jazz bassist, composer, and bandleader and is widely regarded as one of the most important figures in the history of jazz. He was a major proponent of collective improvisation, and was also known for his virtuosic bass playing, as well as his challenging and complex compositions, which often combined elements of blues, gospel, and classical music.

Mingus began his career in the 1940s playing with some of the leading figures of the bebop era, including Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie. He later formed his own bands and became known for his fiery and sometimes confrontational style of leadership.

Charles Mingus – Bi Centennial, Lower Manhattan, 4 July 1976

Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons / Tom Marcello Webster / CC BY-SA 2.0

Throughout his career, Mingus created a vast and diverse body of work, ranging from hard-swinging blues-based tunes to experimental and avant-garde compositions. His music was known for its emotional intensity, technical virtuosity, and social and political commentary.

Despite struggling with health issues throughout his life, Mingus continued to perform and compose music up until his death in 1979. His music continues to be studied and performed by jazz musicians around the world.

John Coltrane

John Coltrane was an American saxophonist and composer who was known for his technical virtuosity and his ability to push the boundaries and development of jazz in the 1950s and 1960s.

Born in 1926 in North Carolina, Coltrane began his career as a sideman in various jazz groups before joining the Miles Davis Quintet in the late 1950s. He then formed his own group and began experimenting with new, spiritually inspired and innovative styles of jazz, including free jazz and avant-garde jazz.

Coltrane’s recordings from this period, including ‘Giant Steps’, ‘My Favourite Things’ and ‘A Love Supreme’, are considered some of the greatest in jazz history.

‘Heartbreak Hotel’ made him an instant hit, repeatedly played on countless radio stations across America to an eager teenage audience. Its success led to multiple national television appearances alongside a string of controversial live performances, which shocked the nation.

Elvis Presley was renowned for his captivating stage presence and dynamic live performances, which exuded a rebellious and seductive aura. He gained notoriety for his pioneering dance moves, such as his provocative hip gyrations that often sent teenage audiences into a frenzy. His live shows caused significant media attention, and he quickly became a cultural phenomenon.

Here are ten facts about the King of Rock and Roll.

1. He was a twin

Elvis Presley was born in Tupelo, Mississippi, on 8 January 1935, to parents Vernon and Gladys Presley. He was the twin brother of Jesse Garon Presley, who was stillborn. Elvis later changed his middle name, Aaron, to Aron, to more closely match his twin’s middle name. Elvis’s upbringing was characterised by a strong work ethic, a love of family and a deep connection to his roots in the south.

Presley’s family was poor and he grew up in a small two-room house in Tupelo which was barely 400 square feet in size. His father Vernon worked as a truck driver while Gladys was a homemaker.

2. He was hugely influenced by gospel music

Elvis Presley Birthplace, Tupelo, Mississippi, U.S.

Image Credit: Bubba73 / Wikimedia Commons

Elvis’ mother Gladys was a big influence on Elvis’s earliest musical influences as she was a devout gospel music fan. He frequently attended church in Memphis with his family, where the gospel quartet ‘The Blackwood Brothers’ performed. The group’s soothing harmonies and rousing lyrics had a profound influence upon Elvis, who, throughout his career, used gospel groups as his backing singers. Similarly, Elvis warmed up his voice to gospel music.

3. He taught himself to play guitar

In 1945, 10-year-old Elvis entered a youth talent contest in Tupelo, broadcast live on the local radio station. It was Elvis’ first public performance. He came fifth place and won some fair ride tickets. That same year, his parents gifted him a guitar for his birthday, instead of a bicycle which Elvis had requested but proved too expensive. Elvis quickly taught himself to play and as a teenager soon began performing at school concerts and entering local talent contests.

During this time he started to develop his image as a performer, with a style that would prove key to his iconic image: Cuban-collared shirts, pleated trousers and penny loafers became staples. He also started to wear his hair long, which was unusual at the time. He slicked it back with generous amounts of gel in a style that became known as the pompadour.

4. His first record was a present for his mother

In 1953, Presley recorded his first demo acetate at Sun Records in Memphis, Tennessee, primarily as a birthday gift for his mother, Gladys. The owner of the label, Sam Phillips, was impressed with his voice and unique style and gave him a record deal. Sam teamed Presley together with some local musicians and they went on to record Presley’s first single, ‘That’s All Right’, which was released in 1954. It quickly became a hit in the southern United States and marked the beginning of Elvis’ rapid rise to fame as a rock and roll artist.

Elvis soon started to make regular appearances on a local live radio show where he met a promoter and manager known as ‘Colonel’ Tom Parker, who went on to play a fundamental role in the rest of his musical career.

5. He holds the record for the most songs to chart in Billboard’s top 40

Photo of Elvis Presley signing autographs for some young fans in Minneapolis Minnesota. He was in the city for a personal appearance. 1956.

Image Credit: Photographer: Powell F. Krueger (died aged 94 on January 31, 2006), published by The Minneapolis Tribune / Wikimedia Commons

His first album, Elvis Presley, was released in 1956 and featured many of his early hit singles that have since become timeless classics, including ‘Blue Suede Shoes’ and ‘Jailhouse Rock’. He charted over 150 singles on the Billboard Hot 100, and was the first artist to have 5 albums reach number 1.

He released a total of 24 studio albums between 1956 and 1977, and he held the record for the most albums to reach number 1 for over 30 years.

6. He became known as ‘Elvis the Pelvis’

Elvis made one of his earliest television performances on 5 June 1956 on the The Milton Berle Show in a performance that shocked America. The mainstream conservative culture was aghast at Elvis’s trademark gyrating hips and pelvis-shaking dance moves that enraged critics across the country, calling his shows ‘vulgar’ and ‘animalistic’.

On 9 September 1956, Elvis made his debut performance on America’s top television programme of the time, The Ed Sullivan Show, in which he was signed for an unprecedented $50,000 for three appearances. With 60 million viewers tuning in, Elvis’ first performance became the most-watched TV broadcast of the 1950s.

7. He wanted to be known as an actor

Elvis also launched a successful acting career, and aspired to be seen as a serious dramatic actor. He appeared in 31 films between 1956-1973, with some of his most successful films including Jailhouse Rock (1957), King Creole (1958) and Viva Las Vegas (1964).

However, as much as Elvis saw acting as the natural next step to his musical career, he soon became disillusioned with the industry. Under the heavy influence of his manager, Colonel Parker, Elvis was forced to continually appear in a series of musicals with romantic plot-lines, mainly due to the sales of the soundtracks returning a huge profit. However, he was never offered the opportunity to appear in a serious, non-singing role.

8. He served in the United States Army

Elvis Presley poses for the camera during his military service at a US base in Germany, c. 1958.

Image Credit: Vittoriano Rastelli / Wikimedia Commons

Elvis entered the US Army at Memphis, Tennessee in 1958 and received his discharge from the Army Reserve in 1964. He completed advanced military training and served overseas in Germany from 1958-1960. Although his service didn’t last long, it had a profound effect on him privately, launching him into a dark period in his life during which he also lost his mother Gladys. He would later call her death ‘the great tragedy of his life’.

His military career was also the start of the drug addiction that likely contributed to the end of his life, when a fellow sergeant introduced Elvis to amphetamines, which he began taking almost daily.

9. His marriage was controversial

While Elvis was in the army, he met Priscilla Beaulieu in 1959 during a party at his base in Bad Nauheim, Germany. She was 14 at the time. Priscilla’s parents were furious when she returned home late the night of that first meeting, insisting that she never see Elvis again. But the pair kept in touch by phone and some 2 years later she was allowed by her family to fly from Germany to visit him in America.

Eight years after they met, they were married in Las Vegas, Nevada. The wedding was arranged by Presley’s manager Tom Parker to maximise publicity, and featured very few guests. It was over in just eight minutes.

The couple’s daughter, Lisa Marie, was born the following year, in 1968. Although their marriage didn’t last (they divorced in 1973), Elvis and Priscilla remained friends, and raised Lisa Marie together until Elvis’ death in 1977.

10. He died at just 42 years old

Presley passed away on 16 August 1977, aged just 42. He died in the mansion known as Graceland, which is now a museum and a popular tourist attraction. The cause of death was officially ruled as a heart attack, but many believe that it was the result of his long-term drug abuse.

The later years of his career had been dogged by excessive weight gain, and he led a reclusive life for much of the sixties. Presley weighed some 250 pounds in his final years and his live performances slowly began deteriorating, largely due to his addiction to amphetamines and sleeping pills.

Some of music’s biggest names in the 20th century, such as Dionne Warwick, Cilla Black, Tom Jones, Dusty Springfield and band The Carpenters enjoyed chart-busting hits courtesy of Bacharach. The six-time Grammy Award winner and three-time Academy Award winner had, at the time of his death, written 73 US and 52 UK Top 40 hits, and his work has, to date, been recorded by more than 1,000 different artists.

Here’s a breakdown of 10 of his most famous hits.

1. (There’s) Always Something There to Remind Me

First recorded by Dionne Warwick in 1963, this song first charted for soul singer Lou Johnson in the summer of 1964. Sandie Shaw took the song to a number 1 chart position in the same year, while the duo Naked Eyes achieved a number 8 hit with the song in the US two decades later, in 1983.

2. What the World Needs Now is Love

American singer-songwriter Jackie DeShannon performing at the ASCAP Foundation’s “We Write The Songs” concert at the Libary of Congress, Washington DC, May 10, 2011.

Image Credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/ppad/5712895747/ / Wikimedia Commons

One of Bacharach’s most iconic songs, What the World Needs Now is Love quickly became a hit in 1966, reaching number 7 of the US pop charts. Singer Jackie DeShannon performed the song’s message of love and hope, which was not without controversy, since the lyrics contained a subtext that commented upon the Vietnam War. Bacharach continuously used the song as the intro and finale for most of his live performance appearances throughout his career.

3. Alfie

Written to promote the 1966 film of the same name, Alfie was a major hit for Cilla Black in the UK and Dionne Warwick in the US. Though Bacharach and his writing partner, lyricist Hal David, were not entirely keen on writing the song, Bacharach later stated that it was one of his favourite compositions.

4. I Say a Little Prayer

Another Dionne Warwick hit, Say a Little Prayer was written to convey a woman’s concern for her male partner who is serving in the Vietnam War. Bacharach’s recordings with Warwick normally took no more than three takes, Bacharach did ten takes on this 1967 song, yet still disliked it, feeling that it was rushed.

5. The Look of Love

Originally written for the 1967 spoof James Bond film Casino Royale, the song was a hit for English pop singer Dusty Springfield. It is notable for its sensuality and relaxed bossa nova rhythm, and received a Best Song nomination at the 1968 Academy Awards. In 2008, the song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

6. This Guy’s in Love With You

Singer Herb Alpert enjoyed enormous success with this number 1 song in 1968. The song nearly didn’t exist: it was only upon Alpert asking Bacharach whether he had any old compositions that he might like that Bacharach produced the music and lyrics for This Guy’s in Love With You out of his office filing cabinet.

7. I’ll Never Fall in Love Again

Dionne Warwick, 25 April 2009

Image Credit: istolethetv / Wikimedia Commons

Originally written for the 1968 musical ‘Promises, Promises’, this song was later recorded by Dionne Warwick and became a hit, reaching number 6 on the US pop charts. Bacharach claimed that it was the quickest that he had ever written a song: he wrote it just a few days before the opening night of the show, where it became the cult hit of the musical.

8. Do You Know the Way to San Jose

Dionne Warwick’s hit song reached number 10 on the US pop charts in 1968, and has sold some 3.5 million copies to date. The song, which tells the story of a native of San Jose, California returning home after failing to break into the entertainment field in Los Angeles, earned Warwick a Grammy Award.

9. Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head

Originally written for the 1969 film Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, this song was performed by B.J. Thomas and quickly soared to number 1 on the US pop charts, and was the first American number 1 hit of the 1970s. The lyrics describe somebody who overcomes his troubles and worries, and scored an Academy Award win for best song.

10. (They Long To Be) Close to You

Richard Nixon (edited out of the photo) meeting with Karen and Richard Carpenter, 08/01/1972

Image Credit: White House photo by Knudsen, Robert L. / Wikimedia Commons

A huge hit for American duo The Carpenters, (They Long To Be) Close to You reached number 1 in the US pop charts in 1970. It is one of Bacharach’s most famous compositions, owing to its lush harmonies and sophisticated arrangement. It also remains one of the composer’s most covered songs, as well as a fan favourite.

So who was Florence Price?

Early life

Florence Price was born in Arkansas in 1887. Her mother was a music teacher mother and her father a dentist. (Her father had tried to apply to dental schools, but was denied acceptance because he was black. He continued to work as an apprentice until he received certification and was able to practice dentistry – a great feat considering less than a dozen black dentists existed in America at this time.)

Price’s musical talent was evident from an early age, and she gave her first piano performance aged four, reportedly publishing a composition (now lost) aged 11. Her mother encouraged Price in her musical studies, and Price eventually went on to study at the new England Conservatory of Music, one of the most prestigious musical academies in America. She majored in piano and organ, graduating with honours.

By 1910 Price was the head of the music department at Clark Atlanta University in Atlanta, Georgia. She married her husband, Thomas J Price, in 1912, after which they moved back to her home town of Little Rock, Arkansas. Racial tension in the city was rife and escalated to the point where a lynching occurred near Thomas’ office, prompting the family to move to Chicago in 1927.

Study of composition

Price had continued studying composition since her graduation, and published four pieces for piano in 1928. Florence and Thomas divorced in 1931 after he became abusive, leaving Price with two daughters to look after. To make ends meet, she began working as an organist for silent film screenings and composing songs for radio ads.

Price was deeply religious, and often combined African-American church and folk music with musical influences such as Dvořák, Tchaikovsky and other European Romantic composers.

In 1932 she and her housemate, fellow composer Margaret Bonds, entered the Rodman Wanamaker Foundation Awards. Price won first prize in the Contest in Musical Composition for her Piano Sonata in E minor (part of her Symphony in E minor), and also took the third prize. Margaret Bonds took first place in the song category.

Left: Sheet music for ‘Sonata in E minor’. Right: Florence Price

Image Credit: Left: G. Schirmer ISBN 9780793551309 / musicroom.com. Right: IanDagnall Computing / Alamy Stock Photo

Making history

As a result of her first prize, on 15 June 1933, Price made history when she became the first African-American woman to have a symphonic work performed by a major national symphony orchestra. Her winning Symphony in E minor (No 1) was performed by Music Director Frederick Stock and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, launching her into life as a composer.

A music critic from the Chicago Daily News who had heard the performance declared that it was ‘a faultless work, a work that speaks its own message with restraint and yet with passion… worthy of a place in the regular symphonic repertoire.’

Although this premiere brought instant recognition and fame, Price would continue to wage an uphill battle to get her music more widely heard.

The Lincoln Memorial Concerto

On Easter Sunday in 1939, a concert was held on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, with Marian Anderson, a contralto, as the star performer. Because she was black, Anderson hadn’t been allowed to perform in Washington D.C.’s Constitution Hall due to the city’s segregation laws, and the hall rules which proclaimed only white performers could appear there. (The audience in the hall would also be segregated.)

First Lady, Eleanor Roosevelt, stepped in resulting in the outdoor concert. Anderson chose to close the evening with one of Price’s most famous (and haunting) songs, My Soul’s Been Anchored in de Lord. The concert was broadcast on the radio, and consequently, Price’s music reached hundreds of thousands of Americans.

Lincoln Memorial

Image Credit: Arthit Kaeoratanapattama/Shutterstock.com

Legacy

Although Price wrote over 300 pieces of music, her work was largely forgotten (and some of it lost) after she died in 1953.

Unsurprisingly, Price experienced a difficult time making headway in a culture that predominantly defined composers as white, male, and dead. As she herself once wrote to Russian conductor, Dr Koussevitzky,

I have two handicaps – I am a woman; and I have some Negro blood in my veins.

In spite of the battle Price fought for her compositions to be heard in her own lifetime, much of her music is now being rediscovered and finally getting the recognition it deserves.

In the time since the war ended, these songs have evolved into cultural symbols and reminders of the multi-faceted aspects of the conflict, from gallows humour explorations of death to melodies that pine for a lost love at home.

Here are 8 popular soldier songs from World War Two.

1. Lili Marlene (1915, 1939)

Originally written as a poem in 1915 by German soldier Hans Leip, this love song was first released by Lale Andersen in 1939 as as Das Mädchen unter der Laterne (The Girl under the Lantern). The song became popular across Europe and the Mediterranean amongst both Axis and Allied troops during World War Two, since soldiers sang their own edited versions.

2. Over There (1917)

“Over There” (sheet music). Cover, page 1 of 4. 1917.

Image Credit: Duke University / Wikimedia Commons

Written in 1917 by George M. Cohan, Over There was popular with the US military and public during both World War One and World War Two. Designed to encourage men to enlist and fight the ‘Hun’, the song is well known for a line in the chorus: ‘The Yanks are coming’. The song has been revised and re-used in the time since, and though not heavily used during the Vietnam War, it has been used since the September 11 terrorist attacks.

3. God Bless America (1918)

First recorded by Irving Berlin during World War One, God Bless America was revised by him in 1938 in the run up to World War Two. The revision was because Berlin, as a Russian-Jewish immigrant who had arrived the US aged 5, wanted to respond to the worrying rise of Adolf Hitler and his ideology.

This later version was recorded by Kate Smith, and became her signature song. The song was also later used by the Civil Rights Movement, and also by Christian conservatives to signal their opposition to secular liberalism, in favour of communism or opposition to US involvement in the Vietnam War.

4. I’ll Be Seeing You (1938)

Written by Sammy Fain and Irving Kahal, I’ll Be Seeing You is about the longing that comes with being separated from a loved one. First inserted into the Broadway musical Right This Way, which closed after 15 performances, the song tells the story of a soldier who is excited to see his love again after the war. Though not the first recording of the song, Bing Crosby’s 1944 rendition quickly hit number 1 for the week of 1 July.

5. We’re Going to Hang Out the Washing on the Siegfried Line (1939)

The caption reads: “What was intended to be a formidable trap for advancing allied armies turns out to be an excellent place to dry washing. PFC Anthony Mesinko, Cleveland, Ohio, uses the barbed wire of the ‘impregnable’ Siegfried Line to hang out his clothes.” 15 September 1944.

Image Credit: National Archives and Records Administration; Photo #SC 194510 / Wikimedia Commons

One of the most famous songs sung during World War Two, We’re Going to Hang Out the Washing on the Siegfried Line was written by popular Irish songwriter Jimmy Kennedy, who wrote it while serving as a Captain in the British Expeditionary Force during the early stages of World War Two. A comic show of defiance and morale booster, the Siegfried Line refers to Germany’s fortified western border with France. Commonly sung amongst troops, notable recordings were made by by Flanagan & Allen, Arthur Askey and Vera Lynn.

6. White Cliffs of Dover (1941)

Arguably one of the most famous songs related to World War Two, White Cliffs of Dover was written by Walter Kent and Nat Burton, then first recorded by Vera Lynn in 1941. The song tells the story of a soldier longing to see the white cliffs of Dover again, and after being played repeatedly on the radio to help boost morale, became a hugely popular anthem of hope amongst soldiers.

7. Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy (1941)

Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters, c. 1943.

Image Credit: Ad on page 2 of October 30, 1943 Billboard magazine / Wikimedia Commons

Written by Don Raye and Hughie Prince, Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy is a jump blues song which tells the story of a boy playing his bugle to entertain troops. It was first introduced by The Andrews Sisters in the Abbott and Costello comedy film Buck Privates (1941), and was hugely popular, reaching the top 10 of the US pop singles chart in spring 1941, and later being ranked at number 6 on ‘Songs of the Century’. In addition, Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song.

8. Don’t Sit Under the Apple Tree (With Anyone Else But Me) (1942)

Originally titled Anywhere the Bluebird Goes, the melody was written by Sam H. Stept as an update of a nineteenth-century Enlish folk song named Long, Long Ago. The lyrics were written by Lew Brown and Charles Tobias, and the song debuted in the 1939 Broadway musical Yokel Boy. After the US entered the war in 1941, Brown and Tobias changed the chorus to end with ‘…till I come marching home’.

The song stayed in number one position on ‘Your Hit Parade’ from October 1942 to January 1943, marking it as the longest period for a war song to hold first place.

However, in spite of their universal nature today, the origins of many carols remain obscure. Indeed, it is debated where the word ‘carol’ itself comes from, with some people maintaining that it comes from the French ‘carole‘, or the Latin ‘carula’, meaning a circular dance.

In addition, the very existence of carol singing has been threatened at different points throughout history, such as during the Puritan ban of the feasts of Christmas, Easter and Whitsun between 1644 and 1660.

So where did Christmas carols come from?

Early carols were pre-Christian songs

The earliest songs resembling carols were pagan melodies sung during winter solstice celebrations – normally around 22 December – as people danced around stone circles. To commemorate the birth of Jesus, at the same time of year, Christians later began singing Christian-oriented songs instead of pagan ones.

In 129, a Roman bishop was recorded stating that a song called Angel’s Hymn should be sung at a Christmas service in Rome. In the 4th century, Latin hymns such as Veni redemptor gentium by Ambrose, Archbishop of Milan, became increasingly popular. By the 9th century, composers across Europe had started writing ‘Christmas carols’. However, owing to the fact they were written and sung in Latin, they weren’t universally well-known or even liked.

Trio of musicians playing an aulos, cymbala, and tympanum (mosaic from Pompeii)

Image Credit: Sailko, Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons

In the 9th and 10th centuries, the Christmas sequence (or prose) was introduced to monasteries in northern Europe, and were developed by Bernard of Clairvaux into a series of rhymed stanzas. In the 12th century, a Parisian monk called Adam of Saint Victor began to take music from popular songs to develop what more closely resembles a traditional Christmas carol.

The medieval period popularised carol singing

Francis of Assisi strongly encouraged a tradition of singing Christian songs in regional native languages in 13th century France as part of his ‘nativity plays’, which narrated the story of Christianity via songs or ‘canticles’. Often, these were in English, rather than Latin, meaning ordinary folk could understand and join in the carols.

As such, Franciscan Friars were largely responsible for the spread of Christmas carols across Germany, Italy, Spain and France. In addition, they promoted a style of dancing in a circle with linked hands during carol singing.

The title of England’s oldest surviving carol is debated

Many carols which first became popular, such as Good King Wenceslas and Good Christian Men, Rejoice were printed in a collection of late medieval Latin songs called Piae Cantiones, first published in 1582. Adeste Fideles (or O Come All Ye Faithful) appeared as it is sung today in the mid 18th-century, though the words may have originated in the 13th century.

Indeed, it’s unclear which Christmas carol is the oldest to survive in England; many historians suggest that While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks by Night, which features a 16th century melody and 17th century words, is the oldest. However, it wasn’t conclusively put together until the 19th century, meaning that others cite O Come All Ye Faithful, which was fully completed by the end of the 18th century, as the title holder.

Away in a Manger was falsely attributed to Martin Luther

After the Reformation, carols gained in popularity in countries where Protestantism was taking hold, since Lutheranism strongly encouraged music as a part of worship. Even during the years of the Puritan ‘ban’ on Christmas, secretive religious services were held that included carol singing. The carol Away in A Manger first appeared in various American magazines in the 1880s.

It was claimed that the famous hymn was a 16th century lullaby penned by German reformer Martin Luther, and was known as Luther’s Cradle Song for decades. However, there is very little evidence to support the claim; instead, it was likely first composed or arranged in the 19th century.

Carol singing was revived in Victorian Britain

When the Puritans came to power in the 1640s, Christmas traditions such as carol singing were repressed. However, many were still sung in secret. Nonetheless, carols were mainly unsung until the Victorian era, when two men, William Sandys and Davis Gilbert, collected old Christmas music from villages in England and published a collection of them in Christmas Carols, Ancient and Modern (1833). Carols in the collection included God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen, The First Noel, I Saw Three Ships and Hark! The Herald Angels Sing.

Victorian Christmas Card

Image Credit: Public Domain

From then on, carols were sung as folk songs in venues such as pubs, but they often weren’t considered to be ‘proper’ songs by the middle and upper classes, so weren’t sung in churches. Instead, official carol singers known as ‘Waits’ – named because they sang on Christmas Eve, also known as ‘watchnight’ or ‘waitnight’ – were led by local council or church leaders, and were permitted to take money from the public.

Various other carol collections such as Christmas Carols, New and Old (1871) and Carols Old and Carols New (1916) were met with varied success. However, it was the publication of The Oxford Book of Carols (1928), which was widely used amongst choirs and congregations, that propelled Christmas carols back into the spotlight. It remains in print today.

Although the name sounds as though it had been written especially for a wedding, the Wedding March was first composed for a stage production of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. So how did it become so closely linked to modern wedding ceremonies?

He was a child prodigy

Mendelssohn was born into a wealthy Jewish family in the then-independent city-state of Hamburg in 1811. His family were forced to flee to Berlin as a young child to escape Napoleon’s persecution over the role his banker father had had in breaking the Emperor’s continental blockade.

In the Prussian capital he received a stellar education. In addition, he rubbed shoulders with many leading intellectuals of the time, leading one contemporary to joke that ‘Europe came to Mendelssohn’s drawing room.’

Felix quickly became a well-known child prodigy, and by 1819, the eight-year-old was already studying advanced musical theory. His tutor, Carl Friedrich Zelter, introduced him to earlier styles of Baroque music. Bach’s work in particular went on to exert a particularly profound influence upon Felix’s later career.

Felix Mendelssohn aged 12 (1821) by Carl Joseph Begas. Image credit: Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Image Credit: Carl Joseph Begas, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

By the time he was fourteen, Mendelssohn had written six symphonies, and his career was well under way. His genius came at a price, since he was reportedly highly-strung and prone to huge tantrums.

He was highly-celebrated in Britain

Just a year later, however, he embarked upon a project to write an Overture based on Shakespeare’s comedy A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The final result is regarded to be the first showcase of his true genius.

In the years between re-visiting this work and adding the famous Wedding March, Mendelssohn developed a strong attachment to Britain. After first visiting in 1829, it went on to become a spiritual home where his music was rapturously received. He met Queen Victoria and her husband Albert, the latter whom, as a fellow German, particularly identified with the talented young composer.

It was used at the wedding of Queen Victoria’s daughter

As a result, when the Wedding March was added to the earlier Overture, it was first performed in Tiverton, Devon, for the wedding of Dorothy Carew and Tom Daniel in June 1847.

However, it became widely popular when the Queen’s daughter Victoria selected it for her own marriage in 1858. Perhaps fittingly, she married a Prussian Prince, which thus symbolically united some of the major cultural influences over Mendelssohn’s life.

His work waned in popularity after his death

Mendelssohn did not live to see the triumphant reception of his most famous work. He died in 1847 at the age of just thirty-eight after a series of strokes.

After his death, Europe was gripped by anti-Semitism until way into the 20th century, meaning his fame and reputation suffered. However, his work was later re-recognised and revived, and today he is revered as one of the most significant composers of the Romantic period.