Tin Pan Alley was a collection of

music publisher A music publisher is a type of publisher that specializes in distributing music. Music publishers originally published sheet music. When copyright became legally protected, music publishers started to play a role in the management of the intellect ...

s and

songwriter A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music gen ...

s in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

that dominated the popular music of the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It originally referred to a specific place: West 28th Street between Fifth and

Sixth Avenue Sixth Avenue – also known as Avenue of the Americas, although this name is seldom used by New Yorkers, p.24 – is a major thoroughfare in New York City's borough of Manhattan, on which traffic runs northbound, or "uptown". It is commercial ...

s in the Flower District of

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

; a plaque (see below) on the sidewalk on 28th Street between

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

and Sixth commemorates it. In 2019, the

New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) is the New York City agency charged with administering the city's Landmarks Preservation Law. The LPC is responsible for protecting New York City's architecturally, historically, and cu ...

took up the question of preserving five buildings on the north side of the street as a Tin Pan Alley Historic District. The agency designated five buildings (47–55 West 28th Street) individual landmarks on December 10, 2019, after a concerted effort by the "Save Tin Pan Alley" initiative of the 29th Street Neighborhood Association. Following successful protection of these landmarks, project director George Calderaro and other proponents formed the Tin Pan Alley American Popular Music Project to continue and commemorate the legacy of Tin Pan Alley with various advocacy and educational activities. On April 2, 2022, 28th Street between Broadway and 6th Avenue was officially co-named “Tin Pan Alley” by the City of New York in a celebration featuring NYC City Councilmember Erik Bottcher, Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine and representatives from the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission, the Flatiron/23rd Street Partnership and the Tin Pan Alley American Popular Music Project which advocated for the co-naming. The start of Tin Pan Alley is usually dated to about 1885, when a number of music publishers set up shop in the same district of Manhattan. The end of Tin Pan Alley is less clear cut. Some date it to the start of the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

in the 1930s when the

phonograph A phonograph, in its later forms also called a gramophone (as a trademark since 1887, as a generic name in the UK since 1910) or since the 1940s called a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogu ...

, radio, and motion pictures supplanted

sheet music Sheet music is a handwritten or printed form of musical notation that uses List of musical symbols, musical symbols to indicate the pitches, rhythms, or chord (music), chords of a song or instrumental Musical composition, musical piece. Like ...

as the driving force of American popular music, while others consider Tin Pan Alley to have continued into the 1950s when earlier styles of music were upstaged by the rise of rock & roll, which was centered on the

Brill Building The Brill Building is an office building at 1619 Broadway on 49th Street in the New York City borough of Manhattan, just north of Times Square and further uptown from the historic musical Tin Pan Alley neighborhood. It was built in 1931 as t ...

. Brill Building songwriter

Neil Sedaka Neil Sedaka (; born March 13, 1939) is an American singer-songwriter and pianist. Since his music career began in 1957, he has sold millions of records worldwide and has written or co-written over 500 songs for himself and other artists, collabo ...

described his employer as being a natural outgrowth of Tin Pan Alley, in that the older songwriters were still employed in Tin Pan Alley firms while younger songwriters such as Sedaka found work at the Brill Building.

Origin of the name

Various explanations have been advanced to account for the origins of the term "Tin Pan Alley". The most popular account holds that it was originally a derogatory reference by

Monroe H. Rosenfeld Monroe H. "Rosey" Rosenfeld (c.1861 – December 13, 1918) was an American songwriter and journalist. Biography Rosenfeld was born in Richmond, Virginia, the son of German immigrants. By the early 1880s, he was working in New York City as a ...

in the ''

New York Herald The ''New York Herald'' was a large-distribution newspaper based in New York City that existed between 1835 and 1924. At that point it was acquired by its smaller rival the ''New-York Tribune'' to form the '' New York Herald Tribune''. His ...

'' to the collective sound made by many "cheap upright pianos" all playing different tunes being reminiscent of the banging of tin pans in an alleyway.Hamm (1983), p.341 However, no article by Rosenfeld that uses the term has been found.

Simon Napier-Bell Simon Robert Napier-Bell (born 22 April 1939) is an English record producer, music manager, author and journalist. At different times, he has managed artists as diverse as the Yardbirds, John's Children, Marc Bolan, Japan, London, Ultravox, Bon ...

quotes an account of the origin of the name published in a 1930 book about the music business. In this version, popular songwriter

Harry von Tilzer Harry Von Tilzer (born Aaron Gumbinsky, also known as Harry Gumm; 8 July 1872 – 10 January 1946) was an American composer, songwriter, publisher and vaudeville performer. Early life Von Tilzer was born in Detroit, Michigan. His parents, Sarah ...

was being interviewed about the area around 28th Street and Fifth Avenue, where many music publishers had offices. Von Tilzer had modified his expensive Kindler & Collins piano by placing strips of paper down the strings to give the instrument a more percussive sound. The journalist told von Tilzer, "Your Kindler & Collins sounds exactly like a tin can. I'll call the article 'Tin Pan Alley'." In any case, the name was firmly attached by the fall of 1908, when ''The Hampton Magazine'' published an article titled "Tin Pan Alley" about 28th Street. According to the Online Etymology Dictionary, "tin pan" was slang for "a decrepit piano" (1882), and the term came to mean a "hit song writing business" by 1907. With time, the nickname came to describe the American music publishing industry in general. The term then spread to the United Kingdom, where "Tin Pan Alley" is also used to describe

Denmark Street Denmark Street is a street on the edge of London's West End running from Charing Cross Road to St Giles High Street. It is near St Giles in the Fields Church and Tottenham Court Road station. The street was developed in the late 17th centu ...

in London's West End. In the 1920s the street became known as "Britain's Tin Pan Alley" because of its large number of music shops. 47-55 West 28th Street

Origin of song publishing in New York City

In the mid-19th century,

copyright A copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, education ...

control of melodies was not as strict, and publishers would often print their own versions of the songs popular at the time. With stronger copyright protection laws late in the century, songwriters, composers, lyricists, and publishers started working together for their mutual financial benefit. Songwriters would literally bang on the doors of Tin Pan Alley businesses to get new material. The commercial center of the popular music publishing industry changed during the course of the 19th century, starting in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

and moving to

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

and

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

before settling in

under the influence of new and vigorous publishers which concentrated on vocal music. The two most enterprising New York publishers were Willis Woodard and T.B. Harms, the first companies to specialize in popular songs rather than

hymn A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn'' ...

s or

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" also ...

. Naturally, these firms were located in the entertainment district, which, at the time, was centered on

Union Square Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

. Witmark was the first publishing house to move to West 28th Street as the entertainment district gradually shifted uptown, and by the late 1890s most publishers had followed their lead. The biggest music houses established themselves in New York City, but small local publishers – often connected with commercial printers or music stores – continued to flourish throughout the country, and there were important regional music publishing centers in Chicago,

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

, and

. When a tune became a significant local hit, rights to it were usually purchased from the local publisher by one of the big New York firms.

In its prime

The song publishers who created Tin Pan Alley frequently had backgrounds as salesmen. Isadore Witmark previously sold water filters and

Leo Feist Leopold Feist (January 3, 1869, New York City – June 21, 1930, Mount Vernon, New York), in 1897 founded and ran a music publishing firm bearing his name. In the 1920s, at the height of the golden age of popular music, his firm was among the seve ...

had sold corsets. Joe Stern and Edward B. Marks had sold neckties and buttons, respectively. The music houses in lower Manhattan were lively places, with a steady stream of songwriters,

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...

and Broadway performers, musicians, and " song pluggers" coming and going. Aspiring songwriters came to demonstrate tunes they hoped to sell. When tunes were purchased from unknowns with no previous hits, the name of someone with the firm was often added as co-composer (in order to keep a higher percentage of royalties within the firm), or all rights to the song were purchased outright for a flat fee (including rights to put someone else's name on the sheet music as the composer). An extraordinary number of Jewish East European immigrants became the music publishers and songwriters on Tin Pan Alley – the most famous being

Irving Berlin Irving Berlin (born Israel Beilin; yi, ישראל ביילין; May 11, 1888 – September 22, 1989) was a Russian-American composer, songwriter and lyricist. His music forms a large part of the Great American Songbook. Born in Imperial Russi ...

. Songwriters who became established producers of successful songs were hired to be on the staff of the music houses. "Song pluggers" were pianists and singers who represented the music publishers, making their living demonstrating songs to promote sales of sheet music. Most music stores had song pluggers on staff. Other pluggers were employed by the publishers to travel and familiarize the public with their new publications. Among the ranks of song pluggers were

George Gershwin George Gershwin (; born Jacob Gershwine; September 26, 1898 – July 11, 1937) was an American composer and pianist whose compositions spanned popular, jazz and classical genres. Among his best-known works are the orchestral compositions ' ...

Harry Warren Harry Warren (born Salvatore Antonio Guaragna; December 24, 1893 – September 22, 1981) was an American composer and the first major American songwriter to write primarily for film. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song ...

Vincent Youmans Vincent Millie Youmans (September 27, 1898 – April 5, 1946) was an American Broadway composer and producer. A leading Broadway composer of his day, Youmans collaborated with virtually all the greatest lyricists on Broadway: Ira Gershwin, Ot ...

and Al Sherman. A more aggressive form of song plugging was known as "booming": it meant buying dozens of tickets for shows, infiltrating the audience and then singing the song to be plugged. At Shapiro Bernstein, Louis Bernstein recalled taking his plugging crew to cycle races at

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylva ...

: "They had 20,000 people there, we had a pianist and a singer with a large horn. We'd sing a song to them thirty times a night. They'd cheer and yell, and we kept pounding away at them. When people walked out, they'd be singing the song. They couldn't help it." When vaudeville performers played New York City, they would often visit various Tin Pan Alley firms to find new songs for their acts. Second- and third-rate performers often paid for rights to use a new song, while famous stars were given free copies of publisher's new numbers or were paid to perform them, the publishers knowing this was valuable advertising. Initially Tin Pan Alley specialized in melodramatic ballads and comic novelty songs, but it embraced the newly popular styles of the

cakewalk The cakewalk was a dance developed from the "prize walks" (dance contests with a cake awarded as the prize) held in the mid-19th century, generally at get-togethers on Black Slavery in the United States, slave plantations before and after End ...

and

ragtime music Ragtime, also spelled rag-time or rag time, is a musical style that flourished from the 1890s to 1910s. Its cardinal trait is its syncopated or "ragged" rhythm. Ragtime was popularized during the early 20th century by composers such as Scott ...

. Later,

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

and

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

were incorporated, although less completely, as Tin Pan Alley was oriented towards producing songs that amateur singers or small town bands could perform from printed music. In the 1910s and 1920s Tin Pan Alley published pop songs and dance numbers created in newly popular jazz and blues styles. Tin Pan Alley plaque crop

Influence on law and business

A group of Tin Pan Alley music houses formed the Music Publishers Association of the United States on June 11, 1895, and unsuccessfully lobbied the

federal government A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government (federalism). In a federation, the self-governin ...

in favor of the Treloar Copyright Bill, which would have changed the term of copyright for published music from 24 to 40 years, renewable for an additional 20 instead of 14 years. The bill, if enacted, would also have included music among the subject matter covered by the Manufacturing clause of the

International Copyright Act of 1891 The International Copyright Act of 1891 (, March 3, 1891) is the first U.S. congressional act that extended limited protection to foreign copyright holders from select nations. Formally known as the "International Copyright Act of 1891", but more ...

. The

American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) () is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization (PRO) that collectively licenses the public performance rights of its members' musical works to venues, broadca ...

(ASCAP) was founded in 1914 to aid and protect the interests of established publishers and composers. New members were only admitted with sponsorship of existing members. The term and established business methodologies associated with Tin Pan Alley persisted into the 1960s when innovative artists like Bob Dylan helped establish new norms. Referring to the dominant conventions of music publishers of the early 20th century, "Tin Pan Alley is gone," Bob Dylan proclaimed in 1985, "I put an end to it. People can record their own songs now." Tin pan alley sign

Contributions to World War II

During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Tin Pan Alley and the federal government teamed up to produce a war song that would inspire the American public to support the fight against the Axis, something they both "seemed to believe ... was vital to the war effort".Smith, Kathleen E. R. (2003). ''God Bless America: Tin Pan Alley Goes to War''. Lexington, Kentucky: University Press of Kentucky. pp. 2–6 The

Office of War Information The United States Office of War Information (OWI) was a United States government agency created during World War II. The OWI operated from June 1942 until September 1945. Through radio broadcasts, newspapers, posters, photographs, films and other ...

was in charge of this project, and believed that Tin Pan Alley contained "a reservoir of talent and competence capable of influencing people's feelings and opinions" that it "might be capable of even greater influence during wartime than that of George M. Cohan's ' Over There' during World War I." In the United States, the song "Over There" has been said to be the most popular and resonant patriotic song associated with World War I. Due to the large fan base of Tin Pan Alley, the government believed that this sector of the music business would be far-reaching in spreading patriotic sentiments. In the United States Congress, congressmen quarreled over a proposal to exempt musicians and other entertainers from the draft in order to remain in the country to boost morale. Stateside, these artists and performers were continuously using available media to promote the war effort and to demonstrate a commitment to victory. However, the proposal was contested by those who strongly believed that only those who provided more substantial contributions to the war effort should benefit from any draft legislation. As the war progressed, those in charge of writing the would-be national war song began to understand that the interest of the public lay elsewhere. Since the music would take up such a large amount of airtime, it was imperative that the writing be consistent with the war message that the radio was carrying throughout the nation. In her book, ''God Bless America: Tin Pan Alley Goes to War'', Kathleen E. R. Smith writes that "escapism seemed to be a high priority for music listeners", leading "the composers of Tin Pan Alley o struggleto write a war song that would appeal both to civilians and the armed forces". By the end of the war, no such song had been produced that could rival hits like "Over There" from World War I. Whether or not the number of songs circulated from Tin Pan Alley between 1939 and 1945 was greater than during the First World War is still debated. In his book ''The Songs That Fought the War: Popular Music and the Home Front'',

John Bush Jones John Bush Jones (August 3, 1940 – December 31, 2019) was an American author, theatre director and critic, educator and scholar. He taught theatre for more than two decades at Brandeis University and wrote widely about musical theatre, publishing ...

cites Jeffrey C. Livingstone as claiming that Tin Pan Alley released more songs during World War I than it did in World War II.John Bush Jones, ''God Bless America: Tin Pan Alley Goes to War'' (Lebanon: University Press of Kentucky, 2003), pp. 32–33 Jones, on the other hand, argues that "there is also strong documentary evidence that the output of American war-related songs during World War II was most probably unsurpassed in any other war".

Composers and lyricists

Leading Tin Pan Alley composers and lyricists include: *

Milton Ager Milton Ager (October 6, 1893 – May 6, 1979) was an American composer, regarded as one of the top songwriters of the 1920s and 1930s. His most lasting compositions include "Ain't She Sweet?” and “Happy Days Are Here Again”. Biography Ag ...

* Thomas S. Allen *

Harold Arlen Harold Arlen (born Hyman Arluck; February 15, 1905 – April 23, 1986) was an American composer of popular music, who composed over 500 songs, a number of which have become known worldwide. In addition to composing the songs for the 1939 film ...

Ernest Ball Ernest Roland Ball (July 22, 1878 – May 3, 1927) was an American singer and songwriter, most famous for composing the music for the song "When Irish Eyes Are Smiling" in 1912. He was not himself Irish. Early life and education Born in C ...

Harry Barris Harry Barris (November 24, 1905 – December 13, 1962) was an American popular singer and songwriter. He was one of the earliest singers to use "scat singing" in recordings. Barris, one of Paul Whiteman's Rhythm Boys, along with Bing Crosby an ...

Bernard Bierman Bernard Bierman (August 26, 1908 – November 5, 2012) was an American composer of popular songs. Biography Bierman was born in New York City. He studied pre-law and law at NYU and Brooklyn Law School, passing the bar in 1930. He practiced law ...

George Botsford George Botsford (February 24, 1874 – February 1, 1949) was an American composer of ragtime and other forms of music. Early life and education Botsford was born in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, but grew up mostly in Clermont, Iowa. He married s ...

Shelton Brooks Shelton Brooks (May 4, 1886September 6, 1975) was a Canadian-born African American composer of popular music and jazz. He was known for his ragtime and vaudeville style, and wrote some of the biggest hits of the first third of the 20th century. ...

Lew Brown Lew Brown (born Louis Brownstein; December 10, 1893 – February 5, 1958) was a lyricist for popular songs in the United States. During World War I and the Roaring Twenties, he wrote lyrics for several of the top Tin Pan Alley composers, esp ...

Nacio Herb Brown Ignacio Herbert "Nacio Herb" Brown (February 22, 1896 – September 28, 1964) was an American writer of popular songs, movie scores and Broadway theatre music in the 1920s through the early 1950s. Amongst his most enduring work is the scor ...

Irving Caesar Irving Caesar (born Isidor Keiser, July 4, 1895 – December 18, 1996) was an American lyricist and theater composer who wrote lyrics for numerous song standards, including " Swanee", "Sometimes I'm Happy", " Crazy Rhythm", and " Tea for T ...

Sammy Cahn Samuel Cohen (June 18, 1913 – January 15, 1993), known professionally as Sammy Cahn, was an American lyricist, songwriter, and musician. He is best known for his romantic lyrics to films and Broadway songs, as well as stand-alone songs premier ...

Hoagy Carmichael Hoagland Howard Carmichael (November 22, 1899 – December 27, 1981) was an American musician, composer, songwriter, actor and lawyer. Carmichael was one of the most successful Tin Pan Alley songwriters of the 1930s, and was among the first ...

George M. Cohan George Michael Cohan (July 3, 1878November 5, 1942) was an American entertainer, playwright, composer, lyricist, actor, singer, dancer and theatrical producer. Cohan began his career as a child, performing with his parents and sister in a vaudev ...

Con Conrad Con Conrad (born Conrad K. Dober, June 18, 1891 – September 28, 1938) was an American songwriter and producer. Biography Conrad was born in Manhattan, New York, and published his first song, "Down in Dear Old New Orleans", in 1912. Conrad p ...

J. Fred Coots John Frederick Coots (May 2, 1897 – April 8, 1985) was an American songwriter. He composed over 700 popular songs and over a dozen Broadway shows. In 1934, Coots wrote the melody with his then chief collaborator, lyricist Haven Gillespie, for t ...

* Gussie Lord Davis *

Buddy DeSylva George Gard "Buddy" DeSylva (January 27, 1895 – July 11, 1950) was an American songwriter, film producer and record executive. He wrote or co-wrote many popular songs and, along with Johnny Mercer and Glenn Wallichs, he co-founded Capitol Re ...

Walter Donaldson Walter Donaldson (February 15, 1893 – July 15, 1947) was an American prolific popular songwriter and publishing company founder, composing many hit songs of the 1910s to 1940s, that have become standards and form part of the Great American Song ...

Paul Dresser Paul Dresser (born Johann Paul Dreiser Jr.; April 22, 1857 – January 30, 1906) was an American singer, songwriter, and comedic actor of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Dresser performed in traveling minstrel and medicine-wa ...

Dave Dreyer Dave Dreyer (September 22, 1894 in Brooklyn, New York – March 1, 1967 in New York City) was an American composer and pianist. He started off as a pianist with vaudeville greats such as Al Jolson, Sophie Tucker, Belle Baker, and Frank Fay. ...

Al Dubin Alexander Dubin (June 10, 1891 – February 11, 1945) was an American lyricist. He is best known for his collaborations with the composer Harry Warren. Life Al Dubin came from a Russian Jewish family that emigrated to the United States from Swi ...

Vernon Duke Vernon Duke ( 16 January 1969) was a Russian-born American composer/songwriter who also wrote under his birth name, Vladimir Dukelsky. He is best known for "Taking a Chance on Love," with lyrics by Ted Fetter and John Latouche (1940), "I Can't ...

Dorothy Fields Dorothy Fields (July 15, 1904 – March 28, 1974) was an American librettist and lyricist. She wrote over 400 songs for Broadway musicals and films. Her best-known pieces include "The Way You Look Tonight" (1936), "A Fine Romance" (1936), " On t ...

Ted Fio Rito Theodore Salvatore Fiorito (December 20, 1900 – July 22, 1971),DeLong, Thomas A. (1996). ''Radio Stars: An Illustrated Biographical Dictionary of 953 Performers, 1920 through 1960''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . P. 95. known professionally a ...

Max Freedman Max Charles Freedman ( Friedman; January 8, 1893 – October 8, 1962) was an American songwriter and lyricist, best remembered for co-writing the song " Rock Around the Clock" . Background Freedman was born in Philadelphia, and became a radi ...

Cliff Friend Cliff Friend (October 1, 1893 – June 27, 1974) was an accomplished songwriter and pianist. A member of Tin Pan Alley, Friend co-wrote several hits including " Lovesick Blues", "My Blackbirds Are Bluebirds Now" and " The Merry-Go-Round Broke Do ...

Ira Gershwin Ira Gershwin (born Israel Gershovitz; December 6, 1896 – August 17, 1983) was an American lyricist who collaborated with his younger brother, composer George Gershwin, to create some of the most memorable songs in the English language of the 2 ...

Oscar Hammerstein II Oscar Greeley Clendenning Hammerstein II (; July 12, 1895 – August 23, 1960) was an American lyricist, librettist, theatrical producer, and (usually uncredited) director in the musical theater for almost 40 years. He won eight Ton ...

* E. Y. "Yip" Harburg *

Charles K. Harris Charles Kassel Harris (May 1, 1867 – December 22, 1930) was a well regarded American songwriter of popular music. During his long career, he advanced the relatively new genre, publishing more than 300 songs, often deemed by admirers as ...

Lorenz Hart Lorenz Milton Hart (May 2, 1895 – November 22, 1943) was an American lyricist and half of the Broadway songwriting team Rodgers and Hart. Some of his more famous lyrics include " Blue Moon", " The Lady Is a Tramp", "Manhattan", "Bewitched, Both ...

* Ray Henderson *

James P. Johnson James Price Johnson (February 1, 1894 – November 17, 1955) was an American pianist and composer. A pioneer of stride piano, he was one of the most important pianists in the early era of recording, and like Jelly Roll Morton, one of the key ...

Isham Jones Isham Edgar Jones (January 31, 1894 – October 19, 1956) was an American bandleader, saxophonist, bassist and songwriter. Career Jones was born in Coalton, Ohio, United States, to a musical and mining family. His father, Richard Isham Jones ...

Scott Joplin Scott Joplin ( 1868 – April 1, 1917) was an American composer and pianist. Because of the fame achieved for his ragtime compositions, he was dubbed the "King of Ragtime." During his career, he wrote over 40 original ragtime pieces, one ra ...

Gus Kahn Gustav Gerson Kahn (November 6, 1886October 8, 1941) was an American lyricist who contributed a number of songs to the Great American Songbook, including "Pretty Baby", "Ain't We Got Fun?", "Carolina in the Morning", "Toot, Toot, Tootsie (Goo' By ...

Bert Kalmar Bert Kalmar (February 10, 1884 – September 18, 1947) was an American songwriter, who was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1970. He was also a screenwriter. Biography Kalmar, a native of New York City, left school at an early ag ...

Jerome Kern Jerome David Kern (January 27, 1885 – November 11, 1945) was an American composer of musical theatre and popular music. One of the most important American theatre composers of the early 20th century, he wrote more than 700 songs, used in over ...

Ted Koehler Ted L. Koehler (July 14, 1894 – January 17, 1973) was an American lyricist. He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1972. Life and career Koehler was born in 1894 in Washington, D.C. He started out as a photo-engraver, but w ...

* Al Lewis *

Sam M. Lewis Sam M. Lewis (October 25, 1885 – November 22, 1959) was an American singer and lyricist. Career Lewis was born Samuel M. Levine in New York City, United States. He began his music career by singing in cafés throughout New York City, and be ...

Frank Loesser Frank Henry Loesser (; June 29, 1910 – July 28, 1969) was an American songwriter who wrote the music and lyrics for the Broadway musicals ''Guys and Dolls'' and ''How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying'', among others. He won a Tony ...

Jimmy McHugh James Francis McHugh (July 10, 1894 – May 23, 1969) was an American composer. One of the most prolific songwriters from the 1920s to the 1950s, he is credited with over 500 songs. His songs were recorded by many artists, including Chet Baker, J ...

* F. W. Meacham * Johnny Mercer * Halsey K. Mohr *

Theodora Morse Theodora Morse (July 11, 1883 — November 10, 1953) was an American songwriter and composer. She was a Tin Pan Alley lyricist who collaborated to produce a number of popular songs. Background Alfreda Theodora Strandberg was born in Brooklyn, New ...

Ethelbert Nevin Ethelbert Woodbridge Nevin (November 25, 1862February 17, 1901) was an American pianist and composer. Early life Nevin was born on November 25, 1862, at Vineacre, on the banks of the Ohio River, in Edgeworth, Pennsylvania.Mulkearn, Lois, p. 62 ...

Mitchell Parish Mitchell Parish (born Michael Hyman Pashelinsky; July 10, 1900 – March 31, 1993) was an American lyricist, notably as a writer of songs for stage and screen. Biography Parish was born to a Jewish family in Lithuania, Russian Empire in July 190 ...

* Bernice Petkere *

Maceo Pinkard Maceo Pinkard (June 27, 1897 – July 21, 1962) was an American composer, lyricist, and music publisher. Among his compositions is "Sweet Georgia Brown", a popular standard for decades after its composition and famous as the theme of the Harlem ...

Lew Pollack Lew Pollack (June 16, 1895 – January 18, 1946) was an American song composer and musician active during the 1920s and the 1930s. Career Pollack was born in New York City where he went to DeWitt Clinton High School and was active as a boy sopr ...

Cole Porter Cole Albert Porter (June 9, 1891 – October 15, 1964) was an American composer and songwriter. Many of his songs became standards noted for their witty, urbane lyrics, and many of his scores found success on Broadway and in film. Born to ...

Andy Razaf Andy Razaf (born Andriamanantena Paul Razafinkarefo; December 16, 1895 – February 3, 1973) was an American poet, composer and lyricist of such well-known songs as " Ain't Misbehavin'" and " Honeysuckle Rose". Biography Razaf was born in Washi ...

Richard Rodgers Richard Charles Rodgers (June 28, 1902 – December 30, 1979) was an American Musical composition, composer who worked primarily in musical theater. With 43 Broadway musicals and over 900 songs to his credit, Rodgers was one of the most ...

Harry Ruby Harry Rubenstein (January 27, 1895 – February 23, 1974), known professionally as Harry Ruby, was an American actor, pianist, composer, songwriter and screenwriter, who was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1970.Al Sherman *

Lou Singer Lou may refer to: __NOTOC__ Personal name * Lou (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Lou (German singer) * Lou (French singer) * Lou (surname 娄), the 229th most common surname in China * Lou (surname 楼), the 269th most co ...

* Sunny Skylar *

Ted Snyder Theodore Frank Snyder (August 15, 1881 in Freeport, Illinois – July 16, 1965 in Woodland Hills, California), was an American composer, lyricist, and music publisher. His hits include " The Sheik of Araby" (1921) and " Who's Sorry Now?" (1923). ...

Kay Swift Katharine Faulkner "Kay" Swift (April 19, 1897 – January 28, 1993) was an American composer of popular and classical music, the first woman to score a hit musical completely. Written in 1930, the Broadway musical '' Fine and Dandy'' includes s ...

Edward Teschemacher Edward Frederick Teschemacher (5 February 1876–15 May 1940), was a prolific writer of song lyrics. He was born at Highbury, Middlesex, England and he was educated at Giggleswick School, Settle, North Yorkshire. Name change In November 1914, ...

* Albert Von Tilzer *

Harry Von Tilzer Harry Von Tilzer (born Aaron Gumbinsky, also known as Harry Gumm; 8 July 1872 – 10 January 1946) was an American composer, songwriter, publisher and vaudeville performer. Early life Von Tilzer was born in Detroit, Michigan. His parents, Sarah ...

Fats Waller Thomas Wright "Fats" Waller (May 21, 1904 – December 15, 1943) was an American jazz pianist, organist, composer, violinist, singer, and comedic entertainer. His innovations in the Harlem stride style laid much of the basis for modern jazz pi ...

* Richard A. Whiting *

Harry M. Woods Henry MacGregor WoodsIMDb bio for Harry M. Woods
(November 4, 1896 – January 14, 1970) was a

Allie Wrubel Elias Paul "Allie" Wrubel (January 15, 1905 – December 13, 1973) was an American composer and songwriter. Biography Wrubel was born to a Jewish family in Middletown, Connecticut, United States, the son of Regina (née Glasscheib) and Isaac ...

Jack Yellen Jack Selig Yellen (Jacek Jeleń; July 6, 1892 – April 17, 1991) was an American lyricist and screenwriter. He is best remembered for writing the lyrics to the songs "Happy Days Are Here Again", which was used by Franklin Roosevelt as the theme ...

* Joe Young *

Hy Zaret Hy Zaret (born Hyman Harry Zaritsky, August 21, 1907 – July 2, 2007) was an American Tin Pan Alley lyricist and composer who wrote the lyrics of the 1955 hit " Unchained Melody," one of the most recorded songs of the 20th century. Person ...

"Song for Hard Times"
''

Harvard Magazine ''Harvard Magazine'' is an independently edited magazine and separately incorporated affiliate of Harvard University. Aside from ''The Harvard Crimson'', it is the only publication covering the entire university, and also regularly distributed ...

'', May–June 2009

Notable hit songs

Tin Pan Alley's biggest hits included: *"

A Bird in a Gilded Cage "A Bird in a Gilded Cage" is a song composed by Arthur J. Lamb and Harry Von Tilzer. It was a sentimental ballad (or tear-jerker) that became one of the most popular songs of 1900, reportedly selling more than two million copies in sheet music. ...

" (Harry Von Tilzer, 1900) *" After the Ball" (

, 1892) *"

Ain't She Sweet "Ain't She Sweet" is a song composed by Milton Ager, with lyrics by Jack Yellen. It was published in 1927 by Ager, Yellen & Bornstein, Inc. It became popular in the first half of the 20th century and typified the Roaring Twenties. Like ''Happy ...

" (

and

, 1927) *" Alabama Jubilee" (

and

George L. Cobb George Linus Cobb (August 31, 1886 – December 25, 1942) was an American composer. He composed over 200 pieces of music, including ragtimes, marches, and waltzes. He also wrote columns for music trade publications. Career Cobb attended the Sch ...

, 1915) *"

Alexander's Ragtime Band "Alexander's Ragtime Band" is a Tin Pan Alley song by American composer Irving Berlin released in 1911 and is often inaccurately cited as his first global hit. Despite its title, the song is a march as opposed to a rag and contains little sync ...

" (

, 1911) *" All Alone" (

, 1924) *"At a Georgia Campmeeting" (

Kerry Mills Kerry Mills ''(né'' Frederick Allen Mills; 1 February 1869 in Philadelphia – 5 December 1948 in Hawthorne, California), publishing also as F.A. Mills was an American ragtime composer and music publishing executive of popular music during the Ti ...

, 1897) *"

Baby Face Babyface or Baby Face can refer to: Nicknames * Lester Joseph Gillis a.k.a. Baby Face Nelson, an infamous 1930s bank robber * Roosevelt "Baby Face" Willette (1933–1971), an American hard bop and soul-jazz musician * "Baby Face", Jimmy McLarnin ...

" (

Benny Davis Benny Davis (August 21, 1895 - December 20, 1979) was a vaudeville performer and writer of popular songs. Biography Davis started performing in vaudeville in his teens. He began writing songs when working as an accompanist for Blossom Seeley. In ...

and

Harry Akst Harry Akst (August 15, 1894 – March 31, 1963)
- accessed November 19, 2011 was an American Bill Bailey, Won't You Please Come Home "(Won't You Come Home) Bill Bailey", originally titled "Bill Bailey, Won't You Please.... Come Home?" is a popular song published in 1902. It is commonly referred to as simply "Bill Bailey". Its words and music were written by Hughie Cannon, an ...

" (Huey Cannon, 1902) *" By the Light of the Silvery Moon" ( Gus Edwards and Edward Madden, 1909) *"

Carolina in the Morning "Carolina in the Morning" is a popular song with words by Gus Kahn and music by Walter Donaldson, first published in 1922 by Jerome H. Remick & Co. The song debuted on Broadway in the elaborate and risqué musical revue '' The Passing Show of ...

" (

and

, 1922) *"

Come Josephine in My Flying Machine "Come Josephine In My Flying Machine" is a popular song with music by Fred Fisher and lyrics by Alfred Bryan. History First published in 1910, the composition was originally recorded by Blanche Ring and was, for a time, her signature song. Ada Jo ...

" (

Fred Fisher Fred Fisher (born Alfred Breitenbach, September 30, 1875 – January 14, 1942) was a German-born American songwriter and Tin Pan Alley music publisher. Biography Fisher was born in Cologne, Germany. His parents were Max and Theodora Breitenba ...

and Alfred Bryan, 1910) *"

Down by the Old Mill Stream "Down by the Old Mill Stream" is a song written by Tell Taylor. It was one of the most popular songs of the early 20th century. The publisher, Forster Music Publisher, Inc., sold 4 million copies. Background The song was written in 1908 while T ...

" (

Tell Taylor William "Tell" Taylor (aka Tellie ''né'' Tell Roberts;(October 28, 1876 – November 23, 1937). Tell was born October 28, 1876 to Clarinda Jane Roberts (1854-1930) and John Asbury Taylor (1853-1928), on a farm near the Village of Vanlue, Amanda ...

, 1910) *"

Everybody Loves My Baby "Everybody Loves My Baby", also known as "Everybody Loves My Baby, but My Baby Don't Love Nobody but Me", is a popular and jazz standard song composed by Spencer Williams in 1924. Lyrics were written by Jack Palmer. One important early recording ...

" (

Spencer Williams Spencer Williams (October 14, 1889 – July 14, 1965) was an American jazz and popular music composer, pianist, and singer. He is best known for his hit songs " Basin Street Blues", "I Ain't Got Nobody", " Royal Garden Blues", " I've Found a New ...

, 1924) *" For Sentimental Reasons" ( Al Sherman,

Abner Silver Abner Silberman (28 December 1899, in New York City, New York, United States – 24 November 1966) as pen name Abner Silver, was an American songwriter who worked primarily during the Tin Pan Alley era of the craft. Career Usually composing the m ...

and

Edward Heyman Edward Heyman (March 14, 1907October 16, 1981) was an American lyricist and producer, best known for his lyrics to " Body and Soul," "When I Fall in Love," and " For Sentimental Reasons." He also contributed to a number of songs for films. Biogr ...

, 1936) *"

Give My Regards to Broadway "Give My Regards to Broadway" is a song written by George M. Cohan for his musical play ''Little Johnny Jones'' which debuted in 1904 in New York. Cohan, playing the title character, sings this song as his friend is about to sail to Americ ...

" (George M. Cohan, 1904) *"

God Bless America "God Bless America" is an American patriotic song written by Irving Berlin during World War I in 1918 and revised by him in the run up to World War II in 1938. The later version was notably recorded by Kate Smith, becoming her signature s ...

" (Irving Berlin, 1918; revised 1938) *"

Happy Days Are Here Again "Happy Days Are Here Again" is a 1929 song with music by Milton Ager and lyrics by Jack Yellen. The song is a standard that has been interpreted by various artists. It appeared in the 1930 film '' Chasing Rainbows'' and was the campaign song for ...

" (

and

, 1930) *" Hearts and Flowers" (Theodore Moses Tobani, 1899) *" Hello Ma Baby (Hello Ma Ragtime Gal)" (Emerson, Howard, and Sterling, 1899) *"

I Cried for You "I Cried for You" is a pop and jazz standard with music written by Gus Arnheim and Abe Lyman, with lyrics by Arthur Freed. It was introduced by Abe Lyman and His Orchestra in 1923. The recording by Benny Krueger and His Orchestra the same year p ...

" (

Arthur Freed Arthur Freed (September 9, 1894 – April 12, 1973) was an American lyricist and Hollywood film producer. He won the Academy Award for Best Picture twice, in 1951 for ''An American in Paris'' and in 1958 for '' Gigi''. Both films were musicals. ...

and

, 1923) *"

I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles "I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles" is a popular American song written in 1918, released in late 1919, becoming a number one hit for Ben Selvin's Novelty Orchestra. It has been revived and adapted over the years, serving as the anthem of Premier Leag ...

" ( John Kellette, 1919) *"In the Baggage Coach Ahead" ( Gussie L. Davis, 1896) *"

In the Good Old Summer Time "In the Good Old Summer Time" is an American Tin Pan Alley song first published in 1902 with music by George Evans and lyrics by Ren Shields. Background Shields and Evans were at first unsuccessful in trying to sell the song to one of New Yor ...

" (Ren Shields and George Evans, 1902) *"

In the Shade of the Old Apple Tree In the Shade of the Old Apple Tree is a popular song dating from 1905. It was written by Harry Williams and Egbert Van Alstyne (music). Popular recordings in 1905 were by Henry Burr; Albert Campbell; Haydn Quartet; and by Arthur Pryor's Band. ...

" (Harry Williams and Egbert van Alstyne, 1905) *"

K-K-K-Katy "K-K-K-Katy" is a World War I-era song written by Canadian American composer Geoffrey O'Hara in 1917 and published in 1918. The sheet music advertised it as "The Sensational Stammering Song Success Sung by the Soldiers and Sailors", as well as "T ...

" (

Geoffrey O'Hara Geoffrey O'Hara (February 2, 1882 – January 31, 1967) was a Canadian American composer, singer and music professor. Early life O'Hara was born in Chatham, Ontario, Canada. He initially planned a military career. O'Hara entered the Royal Milit ...

, 1918) *"

Let Me Call You Sweetheart "Let Me Call You Sweetheart" is a popular song, with music by Leo Friedman and lyrics by Beth Slater Whitson. The song was published in 1910 and was a huge hit for the Peerless Quartet in 1911. A recording by Arthur Clough was very popular the s ...

" (Beth Slater Whitson and Leo Friedman, 1910) *"

Lindbergh (The Eagle of the U.S.A.) "Lindbergh (The Eagle of the U.S.A.)" was a popular song written by famous Tin Pan Alley songwriters, Howard Johnson and Al Sherman in 1927. It chronicles Charles Lindbergh's famous pioneer solo-flight across the Atlantic Ocean in the ''Spirit ...

" ( Al Sherman and Howard Johnson, 1927) *"

Lovesick Blues "Lovesick Blues" is a Tin Pan Alley song, composed by Cliff Friend, with lyrics by Irving Mills. It first appeared in the 1922 musical "Oh, Ernest", and was recorded that year by Elsie Clark and Jack Shea. Emmett Miller recorded it in 1925 and ...

" (

and

Irving Mills Irving Harold Mills (born Isadore Minsky; January 16, 1894 – April 21, 1985) was an American music publisher, musician, lyricist, and jazz artist promoter. He sometimes used the pseudonyms Goody Goodwin and Joe Primrose. Personal Mills was ...

, 1922) *" Mighty Lak' a Rose" (Ethelbert Nevin & Frank L. Stanton, 1901) *"Mister Johnson, Turn Me Loose" (

Ben Harney Benjamin Robertson "Ben" Harney (March 6, 1872 – March 2, 1938) was an American songwriter, entertainer, and pioneer of ragtime music. His 1896 composition "You've Been a Good Old Wagon but You Done Broke Down" is the second ragtime compositi ...

, 1896) *" My Blue Heaven" (Walter Donaldson and George Whiting, 1927) *"

Now's the Time to Fall in Love "Now's The Time To Fall In Love" is a 1931 song from the Depression era written by Tin Pan Alley tunesmiths Al Sherman and Al Lewis. The song was made popular by Eddie Cantor on his weekly radio show. The song takes a positive attitude toward t ...

" ( Al Sherman and Al Lewis, 1931) *"Oh, Donna Clara" (Irving Caesar, 1928) *"

Oh by Jingo! "Oh By Jingo!" (also "Oh By Jingo! Oh By Gee You're The Only Girl For Me"), is a 1919 novelty song by Albert Von Tilzer with lyrics by Lew Brown. The song was featured in the Broadway show " Linger Longer Letty", and became one of the biggest T ...

" (Albert Von Tilzer, 1919) *"

On the Banks of the Wabash, Far Away "On the Banks of the Wabash, Far Away" was among the best-selling songs of the 19th century, earning over $100,000 from sheet music, sheet-music revenues. Written and composed by American songwriter Paul Dresser, it was published by the Tin ...

" (

1897) *" Over There" (George M. Cohan, 1917) *"

Peg o' My Heart "Peg o' My Heart" is a popular song written by Alfred Bryan (words) and Fred Fisher (music). It was published on March 15, 1913 and it featured in the 1913 musical ''Ziegfeld Follies''. The song was first performed publicly by Irving Kaufman ...

" (Fred Fisher and Alfred Bryan, 1913) *" Shine Little Glow Worm" (

Paul Lincke Carl Emil Paul Lincke (7 November 1866 – 3 September 1946) was a German composer and theater conductor. He is considered the "father" of the Berlin operetta. His well-known compositions include "" ("Berlin Air"), the unofficial anthem of Berlin, ...

and Lilla Cayley Robinson, 1907) *"

Shine on Harvest Moon "Shine On, Harvest Moon" is a popular early-1900s song credited to the married vaudeville team Nora Bayes and Jack Norworth. It was one of a series of moon-related Tin Pan Alley songs of the era. The song was debuted by Bayes and Norworth in the ...

" ( Nora Bayes and

Jack Norworth John Godfrey Knauff (January 5, 1879 – September 1, 1959), known professionally as Jack Norworth, was an American songwriter, singer and vaudeville performer. Biography Norworth is credited as writer of a number of Tin Pan Alley hits. He wr ...

, 1908) *"

Some of These Days "Some of These Days" is a popular song, written and composed by Shelton Brooks, published in 1910, and associated with the performer Sophie Tucker. Background Shelton Brooks and "Some of These Days" was brought to Sophie Tucker's attention in 191 ...

" (

, 1911) *" Stardust" (

and

, 1927) *" Swanee" (

, 1919) *"

Sweet Georgia Brown "Sweet Georgia Brown" is a jazz standard composed in 1925 by Ben Bernie and Maceo Pinkard, with lyrics by Kenneth Casey. History Reportedly, Ben Bernie came up with the concept for the song's lyrics – although he is not the credited lyricis ...

" (

, 1925) *"

Take Me Out to the Ball Game "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" is a 1908 Tin Pan Alley song by Jack Norworth and Albert Von Tilzer which has become the unofficial anthem of North American baseball, although neither of its authors had attended a game prior to writing the song ...

" (Albert Von Tilzer, 1908) *"

The Band Played On "The Band Played On", also known (by its refrain) as "Casey Would Waltz with a Strawberry Blonde", is a popular music, popular song. It was written in 1895 in music, 1895 with lyrics by John F. Palmer and music by Charles B. Ward (1865–1917). ...

" (Charles B. Ward and John F. Palmer, 1895) *"

The Darktown Strutters' Ball "Darktown Strutters' Ball" is a popular song by Shelton Brooks, published in 1917. The song has been recorded many times and is considered a popular and jazz standard. There are many variations of the title, including "At the Darktown Strutters' B ...

" (Shelton Brooks, 1917) *"

The Little Lost Child "The Little Lost Child" is a popular song of 1894 by Edward B. Marks and Joseph W. Stern which sold more than two million copies of its sheet music following its promotion as the first ever illustrated song, an early precursor to the music v ...

" (Marks and Stern, 1894) *" The Man Who Broke the Bank at Monte Carlo" (

Charles Coborn Colin Whitton McCallum (4 August 1852 – 23 November 1945), known by his stage name Charles Coborn, was a British music hall singer and comedian. In a long career, Coborn was known largely for two comic songs: "Two Lovely Black Eyes", and " T ...

, 1892) *"

The Sidewalks of New York "The Sidewalks of New York" is a popular song about life in New York City during the 1890s. It was composed in 1894 by vaudeville actor and singer Charles B. Lawlor (June 2, 1852 – May 31, 1925) with lyrics by James W. Blake (September 23, ...

" (Lawlor and Blake, 1894) *"

The Japanese Sandman "The Japanese Sandman" is a song from 1920, composed by Richard A. Whiting and with lyrics by Raymond B. Egan. The song was first popularized in vaudeville by Nora Bayes, and then sold millions of copies as the B-side for Paul Whiteman's song ...

" (1920) *"

There'll Be a Hot Time in the Old Town Tonight "A Hot Time in the Old Town", also titled as "There’ll Be a Hot Time in the Old Town Tonight", is an American popular song, copyrighted and perhaps composed in 1896 by Theodore August Metz with lyrics by Joe Hayden. Metz was the band leader of th ...

" (Joe Hayden and Theodore Mertz, 1896) *"Warmest Baby in the Bunch" (

, 1896) *" Way Down Yonder in New Orleans" (Creamer and

Turner Layton Turner Layton (July 2, 1894 – February 6, 1978), born John Turner Layton, Jr., was an African American songwriter, singer and pianist. He frequently worked with Henry Creamer. Life Born in Washington, D.C., United States, in 1894, he was the s ...

, 1922) *"

Whispering Whispering is an unvoiced mode of phonation in which the vocal cords are abducted so that they do not vibrate; air passes between the arytenoid cartilages to create audible turbulence during speech. Supralaryngeal articulation remains the ...

" (1920) *"

Yes, We Have No Bananas "Yes! We Have No Bananas" is an American novelty song by Frank Silver and Irving Cohn published March 23, 1923. It became a major hit in 1923 (placing No. 1 for five weeks) when it was recorded by Billy Jones, Billy Murray, Arthur Hall, Irv ...

" (Frank Silver and Irving Cohn, 1923) *"

You Gotta Be a Football Hero "You Gotta Be a Football Hero" is a song written by Al Sherman, Buddy Fields and Al Lewis in 1933. It is one of the most widely recorded and performed American football anthems of all time. Recording artists *Fred Waring and his Pennsylvanian ...

" ( Al Sherman, Buddy Fields and Al Lewis, 1933)

In popular culture

*In the 1959–1960 television season,

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

aired a sitcom ''

Love and Marriage "Love and Marriage" is a 1955 song with lyrics by Sammy Cahn and music by Jimmy Van Heusen. It is published by Barton Music Corporation ( ASCAP). Frank Sinatra versions "Love and Marriage" was introduced by Frank Sinatra in the 1955 televi ...

'', based on the fictitious William Harris Music Publishing Company set in Tin Pan Alley.

William Demarest Carl William Demarest (February 27, 1892 – December 27, 1983) was an American character actor, known especially for his roles in screwball comedies by Preston Sturges and for playing Uncle Charley in the sitcom ''My Three Sons'' Demarest, w ...

Stubby Kaye Bernard Solomon Kotzin (November 11, 1918 – December 14, 1997), known as Stubby Kaye, was an American actor, comedian, vaudevillian, and singer, known for his appearances on Broadway and in film musicals. Kaye originated the roles of Nicely-Ni ...

Jeanne Bal Jeanne Bal (May 3, 1928 – April 30, 1996) was an American actress and model who worked primarily in 1960s television. Early years A Chicago native, Bal was an only child, the daughter of Joseph Peter Bal (1899–1981), a Monogram Pictures sc ...

, and Murray Hamilton co-starred in the series, which aired 18 episodes. *In the song " Bob Dylan's Blues" from

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

's 1963 album ''

The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan ''The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan'' is the second studio album by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, released on May 27, 1963 by Columbia Records. Whereas his self-titled debut album ''Bob Dylan'' had contained only two original songs, this album ...

'', he introduces the song, saying, "Unlike most of the songs nowadays that have been written up town in Tin Pan Alley, that's where most of the folk songs come from nowadays, this, this is a song, this wasn't written up there, this was written down somewhere in the United States." *In the song "Bitter Fingers" from the 1975 autobiographical

concept album A concept album is an album whose tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually. This is typically achieved through a single central narrative or theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, or lyrical. Som ...

'' Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy'',

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...

refers to himself and his longtime songwriting partner, lyricist Bernie Taupin, as the "Tin Pan Alley Twins". *

Neil Diamond Neil Leslie Diamond (born January 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. He has sold more than 130 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling musicians of all time. He has had ten No. 1 singles on the Hot 100 and Adul ...

's liner notes ("... tin pan alley died hard, but there was always the music to keep you going ...") indicate that the album ''

Beautiful Noise ''Beautiful Noise'' is the tenth album by Neil Diamond and his third with Columbia Records, released in 1976. "Dry Your Eyes" was performed with The Band at their farewell show and is featured in Martin Scorsese's ''The Last Waltz''. Overvi ...

'' (1976) was intended as a tribute to his days there. *Tin Pan Alley is mentioned in the song " It Never Rains" (1982) by

Dire Straits Dire Straits were a British rock band formed in London in 1977 by Mark Knopfler (lead vocals and lead guitar), David Knopfler (rhythm guitar and backing vocals), John Illsley (bass guitar and backing vocals) and Pick Withers (drums and percuss ...

. *The

Bob Geddins Robert L. Geddins (February 6, 1913 – February 16, 1991) was an American San Francisco Bay Area blues and rhythm and blues musician and record producer. Geddins was born in Highbank, Texas, United States, a town ten miles south of Marlin, who c ...

blues song "Tin Pan Alley (aka The Roughest Place in Town)", recorded by Jimmy Wilson, was a top 10 hit on the R&B chart in 1953Santelli, Robert (2001). Penguin Books, p. 524 and became a popular song among

West Coast blues West Coast blues is a type of blues music influenced by jazz and jump blues, with strong piano-dominated sounds and jazzy guitar solos, which originated from Texas blues players who relocated to California in the 1940s. West Coast blues also ...

performers.Herzhaft, Gérard (1992). ''Encyclopedia of the Blues''. University of Arkansas Press, p. 475 The song was also covered by Stevie Ray Vaughan. *The song "Tin Pan Alley" by

The Apples in Stereo The Apples in Stereo, styled as The Apples in stereo, are an American pop/rock band associated with Elephant 6 Collective, a group of bands also including Neutral Milk Hotel, The Olivia Tremor Control, Elf Power, Of Montreal, and Circulatory S ...

. *Tin Pan Alley of the 1960s was discussed by

Robbie Robertson Jaime Royal "Robbie" Robertson, OC (born July 5, 1943), is a Canadian musician. He is best known for his work as lead guitarist and songwriter for the Band, and for his career as a solo recording artist. With the deaths of Richard Manuel in ...

of The Band in the

Martin Scorsese Martin Charles Scorsese ( , ; born November 17, 1942) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter and actor. Scorsese emerged as one of the major figures of the New Hollywood era. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominatio ...

film of The Band's final concert in 1976, ''

The Last Waltz ''The Last Waltz'' was a concert by the Canadian-American rock group The Band, held on American Thanksgiving Day, November 25, 1976, at Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco. ''The Last Waltz'' was advertised as The Band's "farewell concert a ...

''. *In the 1970s to early 1980s, a

Times Square Times Square is a major commercial intersection, tourist destination, entertainment hub, and neighborhood in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is formed by the junction of Broadway, Seventh Avenue, and 42nd Street. Together with adjacent ...

bar named Tin Pan Alley, its owners, Steve d'Agroso and Maggie Smith, and many of its patrons were the real-life inspiration for the HBO series ''The Deuce''. The bar was renamed The Hi-Hat in the series. *The song "

Who Are You ''Who Are You'' is the eighth studio album by English rock band the Who, released on 18 August 1978 by Polydor Records in the United Kingdom and MCA Records in the United States. Although the album received mixed reviews from critics, it was a ...

" by

The Who The Who are an English rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup consisted of lead singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist and singer Pete Townshend, bass guitarist and singer John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They are considered ...

has the stanza "I stretched back and I hiccupped / And looked back on my busy day / Eleven hours in the Tin Pan / God, there's got to be another way", which references a long legal meeting with music publisher

Allen Klein Allen Klein (December 18, 1931 July 4, 2009) was an American businessman whose aggressive negotiation tactics affected industry standards for compensating recording artists. He founded ABKCO Music & Records Incorporated. Klein increased profits ...

.Spray, Angie (February 11, 2015
"Who Are You and Moon's death"
''Rockapedia'' *In ''

Soul Music Soul music is a popular music genre that originated in the African American community throughout the United States in the late 1950s and early 1960s. It has its roots in African-American gospel music and rhythm and blues. Soul music became po ...

'' by

Terry Pratchett Sir Terence David John Pratchett (28 April 1948 – 12 March 2015) was an English humourist, satirist, and author of fantasy novels, especially comical works. He is best known for his ''Discworld'' series of 41 novels. Pratchett's first nov ...

, in which rock and roll music is introduced to the magical, medieval

Discworld ''Discworld'' is a comic fantasy"Humorous Fantasy" in David Pringle, ed., ''The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Fantasy'' (pp.31-33). London, Carlton,2006. book series written by the English author Terry Pratchett, set on the Discworld, a flat pla ...

, Tin Lid Alley in

Ankh-Morpork Ankh-Morpork is a fictional city-state which features prominently in Terry Pratchett's ''Discworld'' fantasy novels. Overview Pratchett describes Ankh-Morpork as the biggest city in Discworld and its corrupt mercantile capital. In ''The Art of ...

is the location of the Guild of Musicians which effectively operates as a protection racket, charging new members $75 for admission and brutally clamping down on unlicensed musicians.

References

Notes Bibliography *Bloom, Ken. ''The American Songbook: The Singers, the Songwriters, and the Songs''. New York: Black Dog and Leventhal, 2005. *Charlton, Katherine (2011). ''Rock music style: a history''. New York: McGraw Hill. *Forte, Allen. ''Listening to Classic American Popular Songs''. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2001. *. *. *Goldberg, Isaac. ''Tin Pan Alley, A Chronicle of American Music''. New York: Frederick Ungar, 930 1961. *Hajduk, John C. "Tin Pan Alley on the March: Popular Music, World War II, and the Quest for a Great War Song." Popular Music and Society 26.4 (2003): 497–512. * Hamm, Charles. ''Music in the New World''. New York: Norton, 1983. *Jasen, David A. ''Tin Pan Alley: The Composers, the Songs, the Performers and Their Times''. New York: Donald I. Fine, Primus, 1988. *Jasen, David A., and Gene Jones. ''Spreadin’ Rhythm Around: Black Popular Songwriters, 1880–1930''. New York: Schirmer Books, 1998. * *Marks, Edward B., as told to Abbott J. Liebling. ''They All Sang: From Tony Pastor to Rudy Vallée''. New York: Viking Press, 1934. *Morath, Max. ''The NPR Curious Listener’s Guide to Popular Standards''. New York: Penguin Putnam, Berkley Publishing, a Perigree Book, 2002. * *Sanjek, Russell. ''American Popular Music and Its Business: The First Four Hundred Years, Volume III, From 1900 to 1984''. New York: Oxford University Press, 1988. *Sanjek, Russell. ''From Print to Plastic: Publishing and Promoting America’s Popular Music, 1900–1980''. I.S.A.M. Monographs: Number 20. Brooklyn: Institute for Studies in American Music, Conservatory of Music, Brooklyn College, City University of New York, 1983. *Smith, Kathleen E. R. ''God Bless America: Tin Pan Alley Goes to War''. Lexington, Ky: University Press of Kentucky, 2003. *Tawa, Nicholas E. ''The Way to Tin Pan Alley: American Popular Song, 1866–1910''. New York: Schirmer Books, 1990. * Whitcomb, Ian ''After the Ball: Pop Music from Rag to Rock''. New York: Proscenium Publishers, 1986, reprint of Penguin Press, 1972. *Wilder, Alec. ''American Popular Song: The Great Innovators, 1900–1950''. London: Oxford University Press, 1972. *Zinsser, William. ''Easy to Remember: The Great American Songwriters and Their Songs''. Jaffrey, NH: David R. Godine, 2000. Further reading * Scheurer, Timothy E.
''American Popular Music: The nineteenth century and Tin Pan Alley''
Bowling Green State University, Popular Press, 1989 (Volume I) * Scheurer, Timothy E.
''American Popular Music: The age of rock''
Bowling Green State University, Popular Press, 1989 (Volume II)

External links

Tin Pan Alley American Popular Music ProjectParlor Songs: History of Tin Pan Alley
{{Authority control American styles of music Music organizations based in the United States Music of New York City Cultural history of New York City Popular music Vaudeville tropes 20th century in New York City