Music recorded in 1918
1918 was a year in which total war was winding down to a ceasefire, while epidemics and social unrest simultaneously erupted. During World War I, Russia withdrew from the front lines under the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk with the Central Powers, significantly altering the dynamics of Europe. U.S. President Woodrow Wilson (1856–1924) put forward his "Fourteen Points," laying out a blueprint for a postwar order that included the rejection of secret diplomacy, self-determination, and the idea of a League of Nations.
On the Western Front, the spring 1918 offensive was drawing to a close, and the Allies shifted to the "Hundred Days Offensive." The Battle of Amiens on August 8, 1918, was a remarkable example of mobile warfare combining tanks and aircraft, and German military leader Erich Ludendorff (1865–1937) famously dubbed that day the "Black Day of the German Army." From the end of September onward, Bulgaria, the Ottoman Empire, and the Austro-Hungarian Empire all signed ceasefires, halting hostilities with Germany with the Armistice of Compiègne on November 11, 1918.
The end of the war did not immediately bring about the restoration of "peace," but rather involved the dissolution of the empire and the reorganization of the state. In Germany, a republic was proclaimed on November 9, and Emperor Wilhelm II (1859–1941) abdicated. In the Middle East, the Armistice of Mudros withdrew the Ottoman Empire from the war, and in the Balkans, the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes was established on December 1. Poland designated November 11 as the day it regained its independence, symbolically marking the appointment of Józef Piłsudski (1867–1935) as commander of the military.
At the same time, the 1918-1919 influenza pandemic (known as the Spanish flu) blurred the line between the front and the home front, causing such devastation that the number of deaths worldwide is estimated to exceed the estimated number of deaths from the war. It is estimated that approximately 500 million people, or about one-third of the world's population, were infected, and at least 50 million people died worldwide. The rapid spread of the infection was concentrated in the fall of 1918, leading to the closure of public gatherings, schools, and entertainment facilities in cities and straining the medical system in many places.
On the social side, wartime mobilization and rising prices prompted protest movements and destabilized the political system. In Britain, the Representation of the People Act 1918 expanded universal male suffrage and granted voting rights to women over 30 under certain conditions. In Japan, rising rice prices led to the rice riots (July–September 1918) that spread nationwide, leading to the resignation of the Terauchi Masatake cabinet and the establishment of the Hara Takashi cabinet. Furthermore, the start of the Siberian Intervention indicated that the Russian Civil War and the instability of the postwar order were spreading to East Asia.
The changes of this year also had a direct impact on music and recording media. On April 1st, the Royal Air Force was founded, and aviation technology was incorporated into the national system. On the other hand, the pandemic dealt a blow to the record industry, sales networks, and performances, and it is recorded that the entire talking machine/record industry was affected. In terms of recordings, jazz and dance music were recorded, and several songs recorded by the Original Dixieland Jass Band in 1918 can be found.
