Italian popular music at the turn of the 20th century was like a small child, ready to absorb the inputs coming from the outside world. It was strongly, and somewhat randomly, influenced by the Opera and by the so called Neapolitan Song and by foreign musical styles. Styles such as the French Café Chantant or the American Charleston.

Then, First World War came and it swept away the world as we knew it. It brought new fears, new concerns, and new anxieties. After the end of the First World War, Italy, like many other European countries, was in a very precarious economic state. And, with the old values of 19th century abruptly upset by the meaningless cruelty of the war, in a very precarious social state too.