[78-L] Influence of Recordings

[Nicholas Fernandez]

Hi All,

I am interested in the role that 78s and other recordings played in the second half of the 1940s on the popular taste of music. I know it's a little off topic, but I'm hoping that some people on this list will have some insight into the following.

I know that often, due to recording bans and other financial issues, a band, singer or act would perform a work in public for many months before the song would be released on an "official" recording (not counting radio transcriptions). Did this mean that the population at large would be unaware of a work until it was released, or did the listening public tend to learn of new music through concerts, radio broadcasts and transcriptions?

Here's an example: Duke Ellington recorded Transblucency in mid-1946 and performed it in concert as an interlude between Crescendo in Blue and Decrescendo in Blue before it was released as part of the album "Duke Ellington Plays the Blues" in August of 1947, over a year after the work had been premiered. Would it be likely that most of his audience would or would not have been aware of such a work prior to the release of the album?

Thanks in advance for any insight anyone has to offer.

Nick Fernandez