2. American Popular Music in all of its various
forms and periods, is one of the
most widespread musical genres in the
history of music. It developed from a
number of sources over a long period of time,
beginning in the 19th
century.
One of the most significant precursors
of American Popular Music was the
early American musical theatre.
3. The American Music Theatre emerged
during the latter half of the 1800s,
deriving its influences from a number of
earlier forms of musical theatre including:
4. European Operettas, such as those composed by the
Viennese “King of Operetta,”
Johann Strauss, Jr., and the
French composer Jacques Offenbach;
6. Burlesque, a form of musical theatre which consisted of
parodies of serious works of art;
7. Vaudeville, a theatrical form of entertainment
in which a series of unrelated performers appeared
together in what later became known as the
Variety Show.
9. During the first decade
of the 20th
century,
the Irish-born
American composer
Victor Herbert
(1859-1924)
established an
American form of operetta
with such shows as
Babes in Toyland
in 1903 and
Naughty Marietta
in 1910.
11. Excerpts from Operettas by
American Composers
“Ah, Sweet Mystery of Life”
from Naughty Marietta
music by Victor Herbert
(composed in 1910 / filmed in 1935)
(begin at 2'26” – end at 3’48”)
(Next Slide)
[Note the brief appearance in this scene at 3'26"
by actor Frank Morgan, who would go on in 1939 to play
the title role in the film, The Wizard of Oz.]
12. Excerpts from Operettas by
American Composers
“Indian Love Call”
from Rose Marie
music by Rudolf Friml / lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II
(composed in 1924 / filmed in 1936)
(Begin at 1’16” – end at 2’12”)
(Next Slide)
13. Excerpts from Operettas by
American Composers
“Stout Hearted Men”
from New Moon
music by Sigmund Romberg/ lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein
(composed in 1928 / filmed in 1940)
(Begin at 0’57”; 3 min.)
(Next Slide)
14. A decade later, the
Irish-American playwright,
composer, lyricist actor,
singer, dancer and
theatrical producer
George M. Cohan
(1878-1942) developed
a new, distinctly American
style of musical comedy.
15. The productions of
Cohan's shows in
New York's Broadway
theaters were
so successful
in the decade before
World War One
that he was known as
"the man who
owned Broadway."
(October 9, 1933)
16. But unlike most of his contemporaries,
such as Victor Herbert, Rudolf Friml
and Sigmund Romberg,
whose music is largely forgotten today,
Cohan's songs are still very much
part of contemporary American culture.
17. Some of Cohan's best remembered songs today
are those that are unabashedly patriotic,
such as "Over There," (which became a sort of
"theme song" of the American soldiers
during both World War I and World War II)
"You're A Grand Old Flag," "Yankee Doodle
Dandy" and "Give My Regards To Broadway"
(1904) which was named by National Public
Radio in 1999 as one of the 100 most important
works of American music of the 20th
century.
18. On the next slide is a brief, but very moving
rendition of that song, performed in an
uncharacteristically slow, almost melancholy style
in a performance by singer Judy Collins. This is
actually a television commercial made by the Visa
company shortly after September 11, 2001.
It shows how deeply this song and other
songs of this genre are imbedded in the
American culture.
19. George M. Cohan is considered the
“Father of the American Musical."
In 1942, a film was made about his
life, featuring actor James Cagney,
(1899-1979) who won an
Academy Award for his portrayal.
In 1968, 26 years after his death, a
musical about the life of Cohan called
George M! was produced on Broadway
in New York. The music and lyrics were,
of course, by the composer himself.
Posters for that show are still being sold
on the Internet and it is frequently still
performed today in high school theatre
productions.
21. George M. Cohan
was one of the
earliest members of
a group of
popular American
composers based in
New York who were
part of what was
known as
"Tin Pan Alley."
22. Tin Pan Alley is the name given to the
collection of New York City music
publishers and songwriters who dominated
the popular music of the United States in
the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
23. The name Tin Pan Alley originally referred to
a specific place:
West 28th Street between
Fifth and Sixth Avenue in Manhattan.
Today, a plaque on the sidewalk on
28th Street between Broadway and
Sixth Avenue commemorates it. This block
is now considered to be part of Manhattan's
"NoMad" neighborhood and the
Flower District of Manhattan.
24.
25. 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 in the 1930s when the
phonograph and radio supplanted sheet
music as the driving force of American
popular music, while others consider Tin Pan
Alley to have continued into the 1950s when
earlier styles of American popular music were
upstaged by the rise of rock & roll.
26. The origins of the name "Tin Pan Alley"
are unclear. The most popular account
holds that it was originally a derogatory
reference in the New York Herald
newspaper referring to the sound made
by many pianos all playing different tunes
at once being exactly like the banging
of many tin pans in an alleyway.
27. With time this nickname was
popularly embraced and many years later
it came to describe the U.S. music industry
in general.
According to popular music author
Katherine Charlton,
“The term ‘Tin Pan Alley’ referred to the
thin, tinny tone quality of cheap upright
pianos used in music publisher's offices."
28. Milton Ager
Thomas S. Allen
Ernest Ball
Irving Berlin
Shelton Brooks
Nacio Herb Brown
Irving Caesar
Hoagy Carmichael
George M. Cohan
Scott Joplin
Con Conrad
J. Fred Coots
Buddy DeSylva
Walter Donaldson
Paul Dresser
Dave Dreyer
Al Dubin
Dorothy Fields
Ted Fio Rito
Max Freedman
Cliff Friend
George Gershwin
Ira Gershwin
Charles K. Harris
James P. Johnson
Isham Jones
Gus Kahn
Jerome Kern
Al Lewis
Sam M. Lewis
F.W Meacham
Johnny Mercer
Theodora Morse
Ethelbert Nevin
Bernice Petkere
Maceo Pinkard
Lew Pollack
Cole Porter
Richard Rodgers
Harry Ruby
Al Sherman
Lou Singer
Ted Snyder
Kay Swift
Albert Von Tilzer
Harry Von Tilzer
Fats Waller
Harry Warren
Richard A. Whiting
Harry M. Woods
Jack Yellen
Vincent Youmans
Joe Young
Hy Zaret
30. Irving Berlin
[1888–1989]
was an American
composer and lyricist of
Russian Jewish heritage,
widely considered one of the
greatest songwriters.
Composed the highest-selling
song in the history of recording,
"White Christmas,"
reported to have sold
over 100 million copies.
31. Jerome Kern
[1885–1945]
was an American composer of
musical theatre and popular
music; composed the music for
the landmark Broadway show,
Showboat in 1927
with songwriting partner
Oscar Hammerstein II.
32. Cole Porter
[1891–1964]
was a highly successful
American composer
and songwriter; composed
hundreds of songs for his
hit Broadway shows in the
1930s, 40s and 50s,
many of which are
considered "standards" today.
33. George Gershwin
[1898–1937]
was an American composer,
songwriter and pianist who
has been cited as the world's
most frequently-performed
composer. George Gershwin
had two careers: first as a
phenomenally successful
songwriter and then later
as a phenomenally successful
composer of classical music.
34. Ira Gershwin
[1896–1983]
was a lyricist and songwriting
partner with his younger brother
George Gershwin.
Together, they wrote dozens
of classic hit songs in the
1920s and 30s. After his
brother's death in 1937,
Ira Gershwin continued writing
hit songs with composers
Harold Arlen and
Arthur Schwartz.
36. Johnny Mercer
[1909–1976]
was a highly prolific American
lyricist, songwriter and singer
who wrote songs
with many composers
including Harold Arlen,
Hoagy Carmichael
and Henry Mancini.
He is said to have had more
hit songs than any other lyricist.
37. Richard Rodgers
[1902–1979]
was an American composer
of classic Broadway shows
including The Sound of Music,
South Pacific, Oklahoma,
Carousel and others.
In his songwriting partnerships
with lyricists Lorenz Hart
and Oscar Hammerstein,
he produced more hit songs
than any other composer.
38. Oscar Hammerstein II
[1895–1960]
was an American lyricist,
librettist, theatrical producer,
and theatre director of musicals
for almost forty years.
His legendary songwriting
partnerships with
Richard Rodgers
and Jerome Kern
changed the tone of
American musical theatre
and American popular music.
