What’s your favorite song? Sweater Weather? Counting Stars? How about Royals? Although it has always had a place in humanity's cultures and hearts, music wasn’t always as bold, flashy, and prominent as it is in this day and age; it took time to gradually evolve into what we consider to be “popular”, and many believe that one street in New York City was the start of such a great American evolution. Tin Pan Alley, one street among hundreds, and a piece of tragically overlooked American History; dating back to the late 1880's to past World War II, Tin Pan Alley played a critical role in peoples lives and attitudes throughout the early part of the 20th century.
Built in the period of about 1852 to 1853, the buildings that stand to this day along 28th Street in New York City harbor incredible American history (A Brief-ish History of Tin Pan Alley). The first music publishers, thought to be M. Witmark and Sons, "set up shop" after a transition from 14th Street to 49-51 West 28th Street in 1893 (A Brief-sh History of Tin Pan Alley), becoming the first of what would come to be a "... revolving door of musicians, writers, song-sellers, and Broadway and vaudeville performers” (The Daily Guru 2013). The name “Tin Pan Alley” was allegedly traced back to the author of a newspaper article, named Monroe Rosenfield, who compared the sound of all of the cheap pianos played together to the sound of hundreds of people banging tin pots and pans together. As Broadway and vaudeville became more popular than minstrel shows, the writers and producers of Tin Pan Alley sold music to performers to get it to circulate; the process went like this: composers wrote the music, publishers published it, "song pluggers" (salesmen) sold it t...
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...n Alley." Historic Districts Council. Historic Districts Council, 14 Nov 2008. Web. 24 Nov 2013. .
"Artists." Tin Pan Alley: a Legacy of Music. Tin Pan Alley: a Legacy of Music. Web. 24 Nov 2013. .
Reublin, Rick. "America's Music Publishing Industry: The story of Tin Pan Alley." The Parlor Songs Academy. The Parlor Songs Academy, n.d. Web. 24 Nov 2013. .
The Daily Guru (2013, August 6) The History & Importance Of Tin Pan Alley - Music School retrieved November 24, 2013, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SADY_nqKeA0&noredirect=1
Young, Greg and Meyers, Tom. “#95 Tin Pan Alley.” The Bowery Boys History of New York City. 11 Dec. 2009 New York City History: The Bowery Boys. 24 Nov. 2013
For many Americans, country isn’t just a type of music. It’s a lifestyle. From sippin’ sweet tea on the porch, drinking beer at a tailgate or driving a pick up down the backroads, country music has made its way into the hearts and minds of many Americans. It is one of the only truly home grown American art forms. Its relatability and wide appeal has made country music one of the most commercially successful and popular genres in the United States. Using the work of scholars Tichi, Pecknold, and Ellison, I will show how country music grew from its rural southern roots into an integral part of American culture.
As the 1930’s began, the effects of the great depression still ravaged the United States, which in turned caused a dramatic change in the music industry. Membership in the musicians’
In the early 1930’s on the recommendation of Jack Hammond a bandleader named Benny Goodman purchased several tunes from Fletcher Henderson. Up to this point in history what were called “hot tunes” were mostly played publicly by African-American bands, while what were considered “sweet tunes” were played by Jewish and White bands, this remained true even though many “sweet” bands actually preferred the hot tunes by the African –American bands. When Goodman started playing the hot tunes responses were mixed. In 1935, Goodman’s band was scheduled to perform at the Palomar Ballroom in Los Angeles, this required them to travel across t...
Glasser, Ruth, My Music is My Flag: Puerto Rican Musicians in New York and their Communities, 1917-1940. (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1996).
African-American music is a vibrant art form that describes the difficult lives of African American people. This can be proven by examining slave music, which shows its listeners how the slaves felt when they were working, and gives us insight into the problems of slavery; the blues, which expresses the significant connection with American history, discusses what the American spirit looks like and teaches a great deal from the stories it tells; and hip-hop, which started on the streets and includes topics such as misogyny, sex, and black-on-black violence to reveal the reactions to the circumstances faced by modern African Americans.
Before the Second World War began Hollywood’s purpose lied within entertainment for the American people. After the war started, the main focus shifted to wartime propaganda. Film was used to display the war in a way that did not show its true colors—including the censorship of soldier causalities and other negative connotations that are a simple fact of war. There was even a time in which some actors became better known to America than politians. Through films, Hollywood began to make a statement of their anti-Nazi beliefs. They began to make motion pictures for American recruitment into the Army as well as many that supported the war effort, and intended to make other Americans more aware of the war’s effect on the United States, and how people can get involved. Many European countries banned these Hollywood films, as they began to affect not only America but many other countries that were involved in the war as well.
The music industry was impacted tremendously by both the rise and fall of Tin Pan Alley. This was the time in America that we saw the most songwriting done in popular music. It ranged from the 1890s to the 1950s. One of the reasons why Tin Pan Alley had such a huge impact on the popular music world was because of how good the Tin Pan Alley publishers were good at producing, promoting, and selling the popular songs (pg.106, Willoughby). They looked at what kind of music the majority of the population enjoyed and then wrote more songs like that. Also, Tin Pan Alley represented the way songs were written during these years in America. The chorus was always unforgettable with a catchy tune (pg.106, Willoughby). Tin Pan Alley songs, composers, and
Music’s role on society has changed drastically through the course of its history as it has become ever so increasingly expansive. Many of the previous musical movements were only for the wealthy as entertainment
U.S. Congress. Contents of Music and the Lyrics of Records. 99th Congr., 1 sess. 1985.
Music can be traced back into human history to prehistoric eras. To this day archeologists uncover fragments of ancient instruments as well as tablets with carved lyrics buried alongside prominent leaders and highly influential people. This serves as a testament to the importance and power of music, as well as its influence in society. Over its many years of existence, music’s powerful invocation of feelings has allowed it to evolve and serve many purposes, one being inspiring change. American journalist and author Hunter S. Thompson once said, “Music has always been a matter of energy to me, a question of fuel. Sentimental people call it inspiration, but what they really mean is fuel.” This fuel is the very things that powers the influence of Rock ‘n’ Roll on American society, that author Glenn C. Altschuler writes about in his book, “All Shook Up – How Rock ‘n’ Roll Changed America.” Between 1945 and 1965 Rock ‘n’ Roll transformed American society and culture by helping to ease racial integration and launch a sexual revolution while most importantly developing an intergenerational identity.
4. Foreman, (2002). The Hood Comes First: Race, Space, and Place in Rap and Hip hop. Middletown, Conn.: Wesleyan University Press.
Tick, Judith, and Paul E. Beaudoin. Music in the USA: a Documentary Companion. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2008. Print.
Jazz and “boogie-woogie” of the Thirties moved popular music away from the light entertainment of the publishing houses toward a more exciting and dance oriented style that made the swing era a golden age. As the bigger bands died out and the star singers again grabbed the spot light the songwriters again found their services in demand. Without jazz driving it and Americans rebuilding their lives and starting baby booms people were too busy to waste time dancing. Popular music turned back to light sentimental songs and cute novelty music song by polished voices and backed by sweetly generic instrumentals.
Rap Genius. N.p., n.d. Web. The Web. The Web. 01 May 2014.
Stanley-Niaah, Sonjah Nadine. "Dancehall: From Slave Ship to Ghetto." 1-17. Canada: University of Ottawa Press, 2010.