Who was the first pop star ever?
I say it was Claribel.
Now I know what many of you are thinking: “What about Mozart, Schubert, or Beethoven?”
Yes, all those composers were popular but they do not exist in the tradition of pop music – which is distinct from sacred and classical music.
When I talk about pop music, I’m speaking about that tradition of music that stems from the Chitlin’ Circuit, Vaudeville, and Tin Pan Alley.
Specifically, I’m speaking about composers like Lennon/McCartney, George Gershwin, and Scott Joplin.
But before all of them was a woman from England known as Charlotte Alington Barnard who went by the Tennyson-inspired pseudonym “Claribel”.
Now what specifically qualifies her – of all people – to be the first pop star ever? She was the first composer ever to receive royalties from her music.
Back in the 1860s, Claribel was huge. She wrote over 100 songs, mostly ballads, and people were buying them hand over fist. Performance hall
... show moreWho was the first pop star ever?
I say it was Claribel.
Now I know what many of you are thinking: “What about Mozart, Schubert, or Beethoven?”
Yes, all those composers were popular but they do not exist in the tradition of pop music – which is distinct from sacred and classical music.
When I talk about pop music, I’m speaking about that tradition of music that stems from the Chitlin’ Circuit, Vaudeville, and Tin Pan Alley.
Specifically, I’m speaking about composers like Lennon/McCartney, George Gershwin, and Scott Joplin.
But before all of them was a woman from England known as Charlotte Alington Barnard who went by the Tennyson-inspired pseudonym “Claribel”.
Now what specifically qualifies her – of all people – to be the first pop star ever? She was the first composer ever to receive royalties from her music.
Back in the 1860s, Claribel was huge. She wrote over 100 songs, mostly ballads, and people were buying them hand over fist. Performance halls throughout the English-speaking world sang her songs.
To put it bluntly, she was the Taylor Swift of the 19th century. And sadly, she died at the age of 39 from typhoid fever. Yet in her short life, she changed music forever.
This, right here, is one of her many hits.
youtube.com/watch?v=EXiHAqfPt7…
This version of "Come Back to Erin," a song by Claribel (Charlotte Alington Barnard), was orchestrated ca. 1868 by Charles Koppitz, music director at Selwyn'...
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Sarah Brown
in reply to Chris Trottier • •like this
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Chris Trottier
in reply to Sarah Brown • • •@goatsarah I get what you’re saying but I think it’s important to acknowledge rock music as distinct from the European tradition of music.
So I think the first rock star was Sister Rosetta Tharpe.
youtube.com/watch?v=Y9a49oFalZ…
Sister Rosetta Tharpe- "Didn't It Rain?" Live 1964 (Reelin' In The Years Archive)
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in reply to Chris Trottier • • •@goatsarah I feel she is to Rock what Kraftwerk (and Dolomite) is to hip hop and rap. She’s a very important influence for sure. But she lacks the rock star persona. The whole Elvis/Joan Jett bad influence thing.
Is rock really that distinct? There’s a lot of one thing led to another. Rap wouldn’t exist without four Germans, and blues, soul, jazz, rock, Hendrix forever changed music but is connected to so much.
Gen X-Wing
in reply to Gen X-Wing • • •@goatsarah That said I think that a lot of minority groups haven’t been given credit where credit is due, and we always should strive to do so.
I find the racist snobbery around classical music beyond stupid. It’s just music. Liszt and John Lee Hooker are equally valuable.
Also everyone can play any music. Just look at Eminem, Tosin Abasi, and Ray Chen.
Gen X-Wing
in reply to Sarah Brown • • •@goatsarah My money is always on Paganini. He had it all. He changed music forever (very very few has), he was an extreme virtuoso, he composed, he had people fainting at his shows, pretty sure he’s the origin of violins + devil = selling your soul, and the Pope refused to let him be buried.
He was as metal as anyone in my book.
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C64tone
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𝐉𝐨𝐧 𝐁𝐞𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐫
in reply to Chris Trottier • • •Chris Trottier
in reply to 𝐉𝐨𝐧 𝐁𝐞𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐫 • • •@jonberger I’d personally put Thomas Moore more into the realm of folk music.
What makes Claribel different from Thomas Moore is that she represented a two-fold shift in the music industry.
First, prior to Claribel coming along, composers would sell their copyrights to music publishers. So once the music was published, the composers didn’t own it.
But Claribel also incentivized music publishers to organize concerts for new compositions. Previously, they just printed the music and that was it. Because of Claribel, it became lucrative to promote concerts for commercial music.
It should also be noted that the first magazine ad ever for a song was one written by Claribel.