Eighty years ago

"Approximately 8,000,000 pianos are out of tune in this country as a result of efforts by jazz musicians to bang out modern melodies, according to Charles Deutschmann, president of the National Association of Piano Tuners, who adds that about 4,000,000 of these same pianos are in no condition to be classed as musical instruments."
--The Billboard, March 12, 1927


Other recent highlights of my Billboard research include: an editorial praising--seriously--the wholesome entertainment in minstrelsy; ads that say, "Wanted: Fat People" and then go on to list every other genre of circus freak desired for a sideshow; and references to novelty song titles like "Yes, We Have No Bananas" and lesser hits like "Don't Make a Monkey Out of Me (The Evolution Blues)." I'd say that novelty songs as a genre have all but died out, but that's a hard claim to make since "My Humps" won a Grammy.