In 1925, "Yes Sir, That's My Baby" topped the charts, The Big Parade packed theaters, a stamp cost 2¢, the average home went for about $7,300.
🎵 Top songs of 1925
"Yes Sir, That's My Baby" — Gene Austin
"I'll See You in My Dreams" — Isham Jones Orchestra
"Sweet Georgia Brown" — Ben Bernie and His Orchestra
🎬 In theaters
The Big Parade
The Gold Rush
The Phantom of the Opera
What things cost in 1925
$0.22
Gallon of gas
2¢
Postage stamp
$0.20
Movie ticket
$0.55
Gallon of milk
$7,300
Average home
$400
New car
$1,425
Household income
A $0.22 gallon of gas in 1925 has the buying power of roughly $4.20 today. A 2¢ stamp is about 38¢, and a 20¢ movie ticket about $3.85.
The biggest moments of 1925
F. Scott Fitzgerald published The Great Gatsby in April 1925, capturing the glitter of the Jazz Age.
The New Yorker magazine debuted in February with its top-hatted mascot Eustace Tilley on the cover.
Flappers, bobbed hair, raccoon coats, and the Charleston defined the height of the Roaring Twenties.
In January and February 1925, relay teams of sled dogs rushed diphtheria serum 674 miles to icebound Nome, Alaska — lead dog Balto got a statue in Central Park before the year was out.
The world's first motel, the Motel Inn, opened in San Luis Obispo, California, welcoming the new breed of automobile traveler.
Walter P. Chrysler founded the Chrysler Corporation in June 1925, and his cars quickly became a byword for engineering.
Toys, TV & trends of 1925
Nashville's WSM Barn Dance, soon renamed the Grand Ole Opry, began broadcasting in November 1925.
Families ordered everything from wristwatches to entire kit houses by mail from the Sears, Roebuck catalog.
Hershey introduced the Mr. Goodbar candy bar, a nickel treat of chocolate and peanuts.
Saturday matinees belonged to cowboy king Tom Mix — kids saved box tops and begged for ten-gallon hats and toy lariats.
A full-blown ukulele craze had sheet-music publishers printing uke chords above the lyrics of nearly every popular song.
If something was terrific it was "the berries," and if all was well, everything was "copacetic."
The music scene
Recording itself was reborn in 1925: Victor and Columbia began using electrical microphones instead of acoustic horns, and suddenly records captured soft crooning, whispering strings, and room-filling orchestras with startling realism. In November, Louis Armstrong led his first Hot Five session in Chicago, kicking off a run of recordings many consider the foundation of jazz solo playing. Sheet-music racks and radio schedules alike bulged with fox-trots and waltzes for a dance-mad public.
At the movies
MGM bet the farm on Ben-Hur, whose chariot race and roughly $4 million cost made it the most expensive film of the silent era — and a colossal hit. Lon Chaney, "the Man of a Thousand Faces," designed his own ghastly Phantom makeup in total secrecy, so the unmasking scene hit 1925 audiences like a thunderclap; ushers reportedly kept smelling salts handy. Films now premiered with searchlights, red carpets, and mobs of fans outside the great picture palaces.
Cartoons kids loved
Ko-Ko Song Car-Tunes with the follow-the-bouncing-ball sing-alongs
Felix the Cat silent shorts
Walt Disney's Alice Comedies
The Fleischer brothers' bouncing-ball shorts turned movie audiences into sing-along choirs, an early hint of how naturally cartoons and music would fit together. Animation was still a New York business run on ink, paint, and punishing schedules — but experiments with sound-on-film cartoons were already quietly under way at the Fleischer studio.
The world in 1925
World population: about 1.9 billion
U.S. President: Calvin Coolidge
The Scopes "Monkey Trial" in Dayton, Tennessee, riveted the nation over the teaching of evolution in schools.
European powers signed the Locarno Treaties in October 1925, raising real hopes for lasting peace on the continent.
The Paris Exposition of decorative arts gave the sleek new style its lasting name: Art Deco.
Norway's capital, Kristiania, officially reclaimed its ancient name of Oslo on January 1, 1925.
1925 birthday questions
How old is someone born in 1925?
Someone born in 1925 turns 101 in 2026 (100 if their birthday has not come round yet).
What was the number one song in 1925?
"Yes Sir, That's My Baby" by Gene Austin was among the biggest hits of 1925.
What movie came out in 1925?
The Big Parade was one of the films packing theaters in 1925.
How much did gas cost in 1925?
A gallon of gas ran about $0.22 in 1925, and a postage stamp cost 2¢.
How much did a house cost in 1925?
The average home went for roughly $7,300 in 1925, against a typical household income of about $1,425.