For nearly a century, the iconic Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade has marched through the Manhattan streets, marking the official start of the holiday season. As much a visual feast as a musical showcase, the parade’s legacy of larger-than-life balloons and floats traces the evolution of American pop culture decade after decade.
From high school marching bands to Broadway showstoppers, iconic pop stars, and beyond – the parade’s performances encapsulate a century of musical and cultural trends.
This ever-evolving American tradition has birthed indelible pop culture images, from the Rockettes’ eye-high kicks to Snoopy floating above the skyline each November as families gather around the TV.
Through brassy fanfares, top 40 hits, and showtunes, the Macy’s parade sets the tone for Thanksgiving and the weeks ahead. It reminds us of cherished nostalgia and our common hopes ahead.
Let’s explore the history behind the batons, balloons and box office glamour! What musical magic awaits around the next turn or float?
Table of Contents
The Early Years: Marching Bands and Orchestras
In the early years of the parade, during the 1920s and ‘30s, the live music came from traditional marching bands and orchestras. High school and university marching bands from New York and around the country took part, filling the route with rousing brass numbers and military-style drumlines.
Black-and-white newsreel footage shows crowds packed onto sidewalks as stern conductors lead uniformed band members down the streets of midtown.
It created an atmosphere more like a civic celebration than a pop culture event. The music was stately rather than spirited. The performers were very much ensconced in the fabric of the parade itself, providing its forward momentum rather than stopping to entertain.
The marching bands set the tone and pace, lending an air of tradition and Americana.
As radio technology advanced, some orchestral numbers were played over loudspeakers mounted on early floats, accompanying elaborate moving sculptures like a giant rocket ship or Santa’s sleigh.
But the heart of the music remained the live instrumentalists marching along. They braved the cold each Thanksgiving morning along with everyone else, rosy-cheeked as they powered through frosty brass arrangements in wool uniforms.
The Golden Age: Broadway Debuts
As the parade grew in popularity during the post-World War II “Golden Age” of the 1940s and ‘50s, Broadway musical numbers and performers became a more central element.
Songs and casts from the latest Broadway shows would make splashy public debuts at the parade, with elaborate sets and choreography transplanting a Broadway experience onto the streets.
Legendary composer Irving Berlin even composed special parade-centric tunes that integrated with story-themed floats, like “Santa Claus Is Comin’ To Town” in 1948 and “Dancin’ In the Street” in 1949.
Big stars like Danny Kaye, Harpo Marx, Shirley Temple, and more showed up annually to entertain the crowds and promote Broadway’s latest hits. Curtains would rise on makeshift moving stages, making polished musical performances barely distinguishable from the real theater.
Everything was still live; the performers braved the cold each Thanksgiving morning. But the parade was now a stage as much as a march. Broadway made it an even more theatrical spectacle, influenced heavily by radio shows and cinema. The musical acts had storylines, costumes, dancing choruses, celebrity cameos, and even some primitive special effects.
The 1950s also saw the first major televised broadcasts of the parade, which brought Broadway sensibilities and dramatic flares even more to the forefront. Musical numbers expanded in scale, knowing they were now performing for national TV cameras and streetside audiences.
The 1960s and ‘70s: Pop Acts and TV Influence
As pop music and television continued influencing American culture, they left their mark on the parade. In the 1960s, famous pop acts and the latest sensations made their parade debuts, previewing new hits and showing off elaborate choreographed dance routines. Floats began taking their themes from TV shows and cartoons rather than just Broadway.
The most legendary performance of this era occurred in 1968 when Stevie Wonder sang his newly released hit “I Was Made to Love Her” while playing a red piano in front of a flatbed truck decorated with large snowflakes. This performance exemplified the creative ways pop music was integrated into the parade fabric during this period.
The performances were still theatrical and showmanlike, heavily modeled on television variety shows of the era. Costumed dancers flanked the pop stars, and backup bands wore matching festive outfits. Pre-recording was rarely used, so true live singing was still the norm. The celebrities also rode the whole parade route on the floats rather than just performing brief cameos.
The 1970s continued the previous decade’s trends but added a more funky, rock-and-roll vibe at times, with folks like Barry Manilow belting the big notes. Soul music made its mark, often with R&B stars dueting on classic pop standards rather than their hits. Acts like Donny and Marie Osmond hinting at the upcoming melding pop-country crossover scene.
Throughout it all, Broadway still had a strong presence, now amplified even more by concept musicals and rock operas transforming the Great White Way. Numbers from shows like Hair, Jesus Christ Superstar, Grease, and A Chorus Line brought updated theatrical pizzazz to the parade stages amid the pop stars and teen idols.
Lip-Synching and High-Tech: The 1980s and ’90s
Beginning in the 1980s and continuing today, most musical performances in the parade shifted to lip-synching rather than live singing. Artists would record a special pre-taped track from loudspeakers while pantomiming and dancing along. This allowed for more complex production, backup dancers, pyrotechnics, and choreography that would be difficult with a live band marching down the parade route.
The introduction of the VCR also changed performances, allowing elaborate video and light projections to enhance the visuals and create a more cinematic experience. Occasionally, they’d even include pre-taped cameos and special effects edited into the live spectacular as they rolled along.
Stars like Debbie Gibson brought a pop concert atmosphere to the parade in innovative ways with their float stages resembling music video sets. Rock groups like Kiss leaped aboard the lip-sync train, donning trademark face paint and platform shoes for rock-and-roll pantomime spectacles with amplified backing tracks. Some, like Radio City’s Rockettes, have become parade staples, showing up each Thanksgiving to precision dance in perfect synchronicity to that year’s hot holiday songs.
In recent decades, performances have grown to blockbuster proportions, utilizing flatbed floats that are essentially mobile stages with state-of-the-art video graphics, sound, hydraulics, and more.
Artists can deliver full-blown music videos as they slowly rumble down the parade route. Theatrical narratives, lighting effects, scenic backdrops, and moving parts combine into cinematic spectacles before our eyes and the crowds.
Modern Moves: New Styles and Traditions
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – NOVEMBER 25: Jordan Fisher attends the 95th Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade on November 25, 2021 in New York City.
In the most recent decade, a few new dimensions have been added to the parade’s musical character. Rising pop stars like Zendaya, Jordan Fisher, and Ella Mai have used the event as a high-profile coming-out party for their songs and personal brands on social media.
Country music has also finally made some inroads after being nearly invisible for many years, with acts like Chris Stapleton, Scotty McCreery, and LeAnn Rimes getting prime float real estate.
Hip-hop has also finally made some inroads into the generally family-friendly, broadly appealing entertainment via acts like Salt-N-Pepa, Sean Paul, and artists from the Broadway show Hamilton. While rock used to make regular appearances, pure pop, and R&B voices have taken over as the dominant styles.
Interestingly, retro authenticity has also emerged as traditions solidify in recent years. Performers like Neil Diamond, Diana Ross, Patti Labelle, and stalwarts like the Rockettes continue to give it an “old school cool” throwback style amidst all the high-tech wizardry of newer performers. There’s a reminder that America still likes a little pomp and familiarity with its circumstances from time to time.
Unexpected “only in New York” moments still happen, like the famous Sesame Street float breaking down one year ago and cast members staging an impromptu kickline performance in the middle of the street while repairs were underway. Almost a century later, that plucky live entertainment spirit persists despite all the massive accompanying production.
What’s Next in Musical Magic? Holograms and TikTok Dances?
So, what new frontiers lie ahead in the coming decades? It’s hard to predict precisely which musical artists or high-tech wizardry may dominate future editions. Augmented reality performers interacting with the floats? Projected hologram marching bands? A spotlight dance challenge going viral on TikTok live from Herald Square?
With such a promising past full of unexpected new chapters, we can expect the parade’s musical magic to evolve surprisingly for years. After all, the show must go on!
From marching brass bands of the 1920s to lip-syncing teen pop stars today, the parade’s music has traced an astonishing arc that mirrors larger changes in American culture decade after decade.
Some years, it has been more about intimacy and authenticity, while others have focused on spectacle. But it’s always remained vibrant and unpredictably alive despite the cold, the scale, and the logistics of this massive moving endeavor.
What began as a holiday promenade to kick off the Christmas shopping season has become an interwoven thread of the American tapestry over nearly a century. For generations of performers, it’s been a coveted milestone and mecca. And for audiences, it’s a comfortingly consistent tradition, even during times of turmoil and change.
So when Thanksgiving morning dawns each year, and we inevitably hear that brassy musical fanfare, we know another joyous tradition is marching down the route, bursting with song and renewal once more. That’s something worth celebrating!
The Parade’s Influence on Pop Culture and Entertainment
Beyond just music, the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade has greatly influenced American pop culture and entertainment. Many iconic images from popular TV shows, movies, and advertising have featured parade floats and balloons.
For example, the famous float of rock star Lucy Ricardo performing with Snoopy and the Red Baron appeared in an episode of I Love Lucy in the 1950s.
More recently, the Will Ferrell holiday comedy film Elf featured Santa’s sleigh parade float as a central character. Ads for products like Coca-Cola have frequently incorporated the familiar visuals of larger-than-life balloons drifting above the Manhattan skyline.
The spectacle of the parade has inspired everything from video games to children’s books to grown-up novels, seeking to capture the uniqueness of the experience.
Seeing the parade in person has become a coveted bucket list for New Yorkers and tourists alike. Entire families plan vacations around Thanksgiving in NYC to take part firsthand rather than watch the broadcast special at home like most Americans.
Behind the Scenes: How Performances Come Together
While the parade may seem effortless in its grand scale, musical acts require months of preparation and coordination beforehand. Parade organizers book performers up to a year in advance, allowing time for a custom float design and intricate logistics planning for the staging.
Most artists choose to lip sync rather than sing live due to outdoor sound challenges on moving floats and complications from street noise and marching bands passing by. So stars pre-record special Thanksgiving parade versions of their songs timed precisely to match each phase of the parade route, accounting for where commercial breaks and other acts will interject.
Backup dancers and choreography need rigorous rehearsals with the floats themselves inside warehouse spaces to allow for contained pyrotechnics, confetti blasts, and lighting cues. Costume designers outfit not just the musical stars but all supporting dancers and characters.
On parade day, performers must brave the cold for hours through delay after delay, persevering through all sorts of technical glitches, from generators blowing to balloons escaping. All while keeping energy levels sky-high for the big television close-up they’ve been waiting all year for.
Iconic Performances Through the Years
While there have been countless musical spectaculars over nearly a century of parades, certain legendary acts stand out for their cultural significance or uniqueness…
In 1974, as the Beatles-inspired “British Invasion” of rock and roll took hold, the United Kingdom made its first and only appearance in parade history. The Grenadier Guards, a British Army regiment with signature bearskin hats, marched down the route playing songs like “God Save the Queen” as a symbol of friendship between nations.
In 1980, as America still negotiated painful gasoline shortages, superstar singer Anne Murray winked at the crisis by performing her hit “Put Your Hand in the Hand” from aboard a colorful old-timey car float with giant tires and oversized gas cans.
Country legend Dolly Parton made history in 1986 as the first performer to take to the skies aboard the first flying apparatus float. Singing classics like “9 to 5,” she soared 30 feet overhead.
And proving the timelessness of their appeal, the Broadway musical Cats stunned 1980s audiences by showcasing an entire troupe of performers dressed in full feline makeup and costumes, dynamically dance-marching and sphinx-posing down the entire route.
The Future Calls
So, what surprising new acts might tap into the parade’s rich legacy of music and entertainment magic in the future?
Imagine a K-pop sensation arriving from Asia, hundreds of teen idols expertly deployed across the route in eye-popping choreography. Or the stars of a recent sci-fi film classic like Avatar debuting parade floats with 3D hologram creatures hovering magically above.
We even could see an artificial intelligence like Lizzo giving a rousing viral rendition from the first driverless vehicle float equipped with light-up wheels choreographed to the lyrics.
One thing we can expect is the unexpected! Much like the history of American music itself, the parade’s songbook still has many pages left to fill for generations to come.
