Chicago 1950s overview

Then the second most populous city in the United States, Chicago had the potential talent and market to sustain a substantial music industry—but it rarely did so. The city did support a vibrant jazz scene during Prohibition and was the leading recording centre for artists supplying the “race” market during the 1930s: Big Bill Broonzy, Georgia Tom (who, as Thomas A. Dorsey, went on to even greater success as a gospel composer), Tampa Red, and...