1 of 32

A History of American Music on Its Postage Stamps�Part II

Doug Hadley

June 2023

2 of 32

All Stamp Images are from my Personal Collection of Music Stamps�

Limited selection of stamps to those issued by USPS between 1938 and 1999. Stamps issued 2000 to present will be featured in Part III.

3 of 32

4 of 32

Stamps featured in Part I of the History of American Music

5 of 32

The Famous American Composers Series Issued 1940: European Influenced Musicians

6 of 32

Early African American Musical Innovators�

7 of 32

Early Jazz and Blues Musicians

8 of 32

Stamps to be featured in Part II

Primarily stamps from the Legends of American Music Series, which is 14 separate sets of se-tenant stamps, issued from 1992 to 1999 celebrating legendary American musicians.
Very attractive to collect in complete sheet format.

9 of 32

10 of 32

American Music in the 20^th Century

Copyright protection
The recording, radio and movie industries
Rise of the musical theater
American classical and operatic traditions
Development of jazz and blues
Gospel singers

11 of 32

Scott #835 – The States ratify the US Constitution 1788

Scott # 835

The United States Constitution explicitly grants Congress the power to create copyright law under Article 1, Section 8, Clause 8, known as the Copyright Clause. Under the Copyright Cause, Congress has the power "To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries."

12 of 32

History of US Copyright Legislation

13 of 32

Copyright protection in the US enforced by organizations such as ASCAP (Scott # 1252)

14 of 32

Scott # 881 – Victor Herbert

15 of 32

Scott 1252 – American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP)

16 of 32

Role of Technology in Developing US Music in the early 20^th Century

Scott #1502 (radio), #1705 (recording), & # 1727 (motion pictures)

17 of 32

Development of the American Musical Theater 1920s-1940s

18 of 32

Jerome Kern - Showboat 1927�First “Book musical”

Jerome Kern – Scott # 2110

Showboat - 2767

Showboat is an American musical that premiered in 1927. The music was written by Jerome Kern, with lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, based on a book by Edna Ferber of the same name that was published in 1926. It is considered the first “book musical”. The musical follows the lives of the performers, stagehands and dock workers on the Cotton Blossom, a Mississippi River show boat, over 40 years from 1887 to 1927. Its themes include racial prejudice and tragic, enduring love. The musical contributed such classic songs as "Ol' Man River", "Make Believe", and "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man". It "was a radical departure in musical storytelling, marrying spectacle with seriousness", compared with the trivial and unrealistic operettas, light musical comedies and "Follies"-type musical revues that defined Broadway in the 1890s and early 20th century.

19 of 32

Rogers and Hammerstein – Oklahoma 1943

Scott 3348 – Rogers and Hammerstein

Scott 2722 - Oklahoma

Oklahoma! is the first musical written by the duo of Rodgers and Hammerstein II. The musical is based on Lynn Riggs’ 1931 play, Green Grow the Lilacs. The original Broadway production opened on March 31, 1943. It was a box office hit and ran for an unprecedented 2,212 performances, later enjoying award-winning revivals, national tours, foreign productions and an Oscar-winning 1955 film adaptation. It has long been a popular choice for school and community productions. This musical, building on the innovations of the earlier Show Boat, epitomized the development of the "book musical", a musical play in which the songs and dances are fully integrated into a well-made story, with serious dramatic goals, that is able to evoke genuine emotions other than amusement. In addition, Oklahoma! features musical themes, or motifs, that recur throughout the work to connect the music and story.A fifteen-minute "dream ballet" reflects Laurey's struggle with her feelings about two men, Curly and Jud, choregraphed by Agnes DeMille..

20 of 32

George Gershwin – Porgy and Bess, 1935�A Broadway Folk Opera Masterpiece

Scott # 1484

Scott # 2768

George Gershwin (1898 – 1937) was an American composer and pianist. He is an important link between classical and jazz musical styles with such popular compositions as “Rhapsody in Blue”, “An American in Paris”, and “Concerto in F for Piano and Orchestra”. He was also a prolific Broadway composer of songs and a song plugger on Tin Pan Alley.

“Porgy and Bess” was his Broadway Folk Opera which was the story of a black lane rag picker living in the slums of Charleston, South Carolina and his women Bess who was a drug addict. Porgy and Bess is an English-language opera by American composer George Gershwin, with a libretto written by author DuBose Heyward and lyricist Ira Gershwin. It was adapted from Dorothy Heyward and DuBose Heyward's play Porgy. It deals with his attempts to rescue Bess from the clutches of Crown, her violent and possessive lover, and Sportin' Life, her drug dealer.

21 of 32

Opera in America

Scott # 2054

- The Metropolitan Opera House

Scott # 2250 - Enrico Caruso

22 of 32

American Opera Stars

Scott 3155 – Richard Tucker

Scott 3157 – Rosa Ponselle

23 of 32

American Classical Music

Scott 3162 Samuel Barber

3164 Charles Ives

Samuel Barber (1910 – 1981) was an American born composer, pianist, conductor, baritone and music educator, and is considered one of the most celebrated composers of the 20^th century. Works include the “Adagio for Strings”, “Medea Dance of Vengeance” and his “Piano Sonata”.

Charles Ives (1874 – 1954) is an American modernist composer. He wasn’t a professional musician as such, as he ran a successful life insurance agency in Connecticut. His music was largely ignored during his lifetime, but eventually became well known in classical circles, thanks to the efforts of musicians such as Aaron Copland, Bernard Hermann, and Leonard Bernstein. His most popular compositions include, “Variations on America for Organ”, “Three Places in New England”, “Concord Piano Sonata” and his four symphonies.

24 of 32

American Conductors

Scott 3159 – Arthur Fiedler

Scott 3158 Leopold Stokowski

Arthur Fiedler (1894 – 1979) was an American conductor. He has a long association with the Boston symphony Orchestra and the Boston Pops Orchestra. Fiedler was sometimes criticized for over-popularizing music, particularly when adapting popular songs or editing portions of the classical repertoire, but he kept performances informal and sometimes self-mocking to attract a bigger audience.

Leopold Stokowski (1882 – 1977) was an American Conductor of British birth and Polish and Irish descent. He is best known for his long association with the Philadelphia Orchestra. But he also had a Hollywood career and featured in the Disney animated film Fantasia where he conducted Bach “Toccata and Fugue”, Stravinsky’s “The Rite of Spring”, Mussorsky “ Night on Bald Mountain”, Beethoven “Pastoral Symphony” and Ponchelli’s unforgettable “Dance of the Hours” featuring a ballet involving hippo ballerinas. There is no better introduction to classical music than this movie! This was also the first movie to be filmed in stereo sound.

25 of 32

26 of 32

Hollywood Film Composers

Scott 3341 – Bernard Herrmann

Scott 3339 – Max Steiner

27 of 32

The Jazz Ambassadors of the 20’s and 30’s

Scott # 2211 Duke Ellington

Scott # 2982 Louis Armstrong

The Jazz Ambassadors is the name often given to jazz musicians who were sponsored by the US State Department to tour Eastern Europe, the Middle East, central and southern Asia and Africa as part of cultural diplomacy initiatives to promote American values globally. Starting in 1956, the State Department began hiring leading American jazz musicians such as Louis Armstrong, Dizzy Gillespie, Dave Brubeck, Benny Goodman and Duke Ellington to be "ambassadors" for the United States overseas, particularly to improve the public image of the US in the light of criticism from the Soviet Union around racial inequality and racial tension.

Duke Ellington (1899 – 1974) was an American jazz composer, pianist and leader of a jazz orchestra from 1923 until the end of his life. He was a master of writing 3-minute compositions for 78 rpm records. He was also an important figure in the Harlem renaissance of the 1920s where he was a band leader at the Cotton Club. His film work includes the 19 minute film, an RKO short in which he played the hero “Duke”. His body of work is very large and includes many jazz standards including “Mood Indigo”, “Solitude”, “In a Sentimental Mood”, and “Sophisticated Lady”.

Louis Armstrong (1901 – 1971) was an American jazz trumpeter and singer, and ranks amongst the most influential of all jazz musicians. He was born and raised in New Orleans at the time that jazz was just beginning. He came into prominence in 1920, initially in Chicago and later in New York. He appeared in many films, including “A Rhapsody in Black and Blue”, “High Society” and “Hello Dolly”. He was given a Grammy award for his performance of “Hello Dolly”. His “Hot Five” recordings of 1925 are some of the greatest jazz recordings of early jazz style.

28 of 32

Big Band Leaders in the 1940’s

Scott # 3097 Tommy & Jimmy Dorsey

Scott #3099 Benny Goodman

The Dorsey Brothers were an American swing studio band that began recording in 1928. In 1934 they formed a touring band Thee was a following out between the brothers, which led to Tommy leaving the band in 1935 to form his own band. In 1945 they reunited to record a V-disc in New York City. The V-disc contained the songs “More Than You Know” and “Brotherly Jump”. They reunited again for the film, “The Fabulous Dorseys” in 1950. Starting in 1954, they had there own TV series “Stage Show, which was produced by Jackie Gleeson. Tommy Dorsey (1905 – 1956), who was a trombonist, died in his bed after taking some sleeping pills and a large meal. Jimmy Dorsey (1904 – 1957) died a year later of Throat cancer. He played clarinet and saxophone.

Benny Goodman (1909 – 1986) was an American clarinetist and influential big band swing leader. He led one of the most popular swing bands and gave to start to many later musicians. In an era of segregation, he was one of the first band leaders to have an integrate orchestra. He was performed classical music, being a soloist with many symphony orchestras through his lifetime.

29 of 32

Bebop, Modal and Free Jazz in the 50s and 60s

Scott # 2990 - Thelonious Monk

Scott # 2991 - John Coltrane

Thelonious Monk (1917 – 1982) was an American jazz pianist and composer. He had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the standard jazz repertoire, including "'Round Midnight", "Blue Monk", "Straight, No Chaser", "Ruby, My Dear", "In Walked Bud", and "Well, You Needn't". Monk is the second-most-recorded jazz composer after Duke Ellington. Monk's compositions and improvisations feature dissonances and angular melodic twists and are consistent with his unorthodox approach to the piano, which combined a highly percussive attack with abrupt, dramatic use of switched key releases, silences, and hesitations. Monk's distinct look included suits, hats, and sunglasses. He was born in Rocky Mount, North Carolina. Monk started playing the piano at the age of six, taking lessons from a neighbor, Alberta Simmons, who taught him stride playing in the style of Fats Waller, James P. Johnson and Eubie Blake.

John Coltrane (1926 – 1967) was an American jazz saxophonist, bandleader and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Working in the bebop and hard bop idioms early in his career, Coltrane helped pioneer the use of modes and was one of the players at the forefront of free jazz. He led at least fifty recording sessions and appeared on many albums by other musicians, including trumpeter Miles Davis and pianist Thelonious Monk. Over the course of his career, Coltrane's music took on an increasingly spiritual dimension, as exemplified on his most acclaimed album A Love Supreme (1965)

30 of 32

Jazz and Blues Singers

Scott # 2854 Bessie Smith

Scott # 2856 Billie Holiday

Bessie Smith (1894 – 1937) was an American born blues singer during the early jazz age. Nicknamed “Empress of the Blues”, she was the most popular blues and jazz singer of the 1930s and is credited as an influence on many later jazz and blues singers. She had a very successful recording career with Capitol records which unfortunately was cut short by an auto accident that killed her at just 43 years of age.

Billie Holiday (1915 – 1959) was an American born jazz and swing singer, nicknamed “Lady Day”. She had an innovative style and was an influence on both jazz and pop singing styles. Her vocal style was strongly influence by jazz instrumentalist and she pioneered a new way manipulating phasing and tempo. She was recognized for her strong vocal delivery and improvisation. She won four Grammy awards, all of them posthumously. Some of her most famous recordings were “What a Little Moonlight Can Do”, “Summertime”, and “Strange Fruit”. The film “Lady Sings the Blues” an biography film of her life starred Diana Ross. Heer death was very controversial, she was in the hospital in New York for cirrhosis of the liver. Heroin was found in her room and the police came and handcuffed her to her bed. A Grand Jury was summoned and indicted her for narcotics violations. She died July 17, 1937 at the age of 44 of pulmonary edema and heart failure cause by cirrhosis of the liver.

31 of 32

Gospel Singers

Scott # 3216 – Mahalia Jackson

Scott 3219 – Sister Rosetta Tharpe

Mahalia Jackson (1911- 1972) was an American gospel singer widely considered one of the most influential vocalists of the 20th century. With a career spanning 40 years, Jackson was integral to the development and spread of gospel blues in black churches throughout the U.S. During a time when racial segregation was pervasive in American society, she met considerable and unexpected success in a recording career, selling an estimated 22 million records and performing in front of integrated and secular audiences in concert halls around the world. She was the granddaughter of enslaved people, Mahalia was born into poverty in New Orleans.

Sister Rosetta Tharpe (1921- 1973) was an American singer and guitarist. She gained popularity in the 1930s and 1940s with her gospel recordings, characterized by a unique mixture of spiritual lyrics and electric guitar. She was the first great recording star of gospel music, and was among the first gospel musicians to appeal to rhythm and blues and rock and roll audiences, later being referred to as "the original soul sister" and "the Godmother of rock and roll". She influenced early rock-and-roll musicians including Little Richard, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Eric Clapton.

32 of 32

What’s Left to Discover in the History of American Music on Its Stamps (Part III)

Folk Music
Country and Western
Rhythm n’ Blues
Latina Music
Rock n’ Roll
Hip Hop