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How the yodel became a joke: the vicissitudes of a musical sign

Abstract Although yodelling has been a part of English-language popular music since the early decades of the 19th century, it lacks prestige in contemporary popular music. This essay charts the change in the yodel's fortunes from its use in the early 19th century as a signifier for ideas relating to a pastoral Golden Age to its present-day association with hillbillies and comic stereotypes. It examines the contexts in which yodelling was most frequently heard in order to elucidate its primary associations and connotations. By examining the changing attitudes towards the ideas associated with yodelling, the essay analyses the gradual decline in the prestige of the yodelled voice.