There are few eras marked by social change and upheaval as great as the 1920s. This era of change exhibits itself though its popular genres which were mixtures of different cultures and musical traditions. Jazz was a very popular genre in this era. Jazz began as a union between African and European musical styles. Added into this blend of cultures, Jazz is also highly improvisational. Ragtime was another very prevalent genre of this time. Bouncy piano and classical music inspirations characterize ragtime music. Many background tracks for moving pictures featured ragtime. The blues originated in the deep south in the 1870s. African Americans founded this musical genre, and this built the foundation of early rock music. Each of these genres were backed by cultural subgroups of the 1920s. Poor, most commonly black, musicians played jazz in clubs, and the affluent enjoyed their work. Ragtime had highly mainstream appeal because of its prevalence in moving pictures, but it was most commonly used in comedic settings. Blues, like jazz, was played by the poor, but it was less mainstream than jazz because it was viewed as taboo. In jazz there were many musicians that influenced the genre, Louis Armstrong was one of the most popular. Armstrong was most popular for “What a Wonderful World”, “Hey Dolly”, and “Heebie Jeebies”. Another popular jazz magician was Benny Goodman, his most popular songs included “Sing Sing Sing”, “Moonglow”, and “Let’s Dance”. Another influential genre was ragtime. One popular ragtime Jerry Roll Martin, his most popular songs were “Dead Man Blues”, “The Pearls”, and “Dr. Jazz”.  Another famous ragtime musician was Eubie Blake, His most popular songs were, “Dream Rag”, “Bandana days”, and “Tricky Fingers”. In the 1920’s blues was also a prominent genre, One popular blues artist was Ma Rainey. Her most popular songs were Black Eye Blues, Black Bottom, and Don’t Fish in the Sea.