Comment by jhbadger

And from the 1920s to the 1960s, jazz was pop music. It isn't seen quite as highbrow or obscure as opera, but at least in the US, you are far more likely to hear jazz (and opera) on public radio and not commercial stations. It's the standard cycle of popular entertainment from popular entertainment to "art". Charles Dickens wasn't writing "great literature" in his age, he was writing popular literature akin to someone like John Grisham today.