Mageth

(Although, was the phonograph invented before the 20th century?)

Yes.

JerryM

Quite true. I stand corrected. Marconi got the credit (and, it seems, the Nobel Prize) because he had the connections and wherewithal to make wireless a going concern. Tesla invented the induction coil that made radio transmission possible. But his work also was done in the 1890's, so I guess it really doesn't qualify as a 20th century event.

bocajeff

Yeah that song Signs was definitely the greatest contribution to 20th century music.

cjack

Tough question with no definitive answer, but here's a few to chew on...

Robert Johnson. In a lot of ways, his myth has outgrown his music, but those 29 songs still encompass almost everything that is "the blues."

Les Paul. Not for the electric guitar, but for multi-track recording. That clever invention changed music forever.

Louis Jordan. A pre-cursor of rock & roll who's influence is often overlooked.

I'll see your Gershwin and Ellington, and raise you an Irving Berlin.


And finally, some nameless DJ in New York who went beyond just playing records, and started playing the turntables as instruments. Whoever he is, he's radically changed the musical landscape of the past quarter-century.

Bree

Is there one specific person who started the rap movement? Or did that sort of evolve?

elwoodblues

Personal choice: Gershwin.

Objective choice: Marconi/Tesla.

Overgrowngoblin

If I remember correctly it started in 1979 with the hit Rapper�s Delight by The Sugarhill Gang.

mongrel

Tiny Tim!

*mongrel tiptoes away...*

August Spies

I believe that was simply the most famous one, not actually the first.

Friar Bellows

I would nominate John Cage's 4'33" (a pity it didn't last longer than that).

P.S. Tesla was offered the Nobel Prize but rejected it because he was loathe to share it with Edison (long story). And Tesla did a lot of important work in the 1900's as well.