Read about It and Listen to It -- Tin Pan Alley

Tin Pan Alley

In the late 19th Century and early 20th Century, writing a pop song was big business, much like it is today. Except back then, it came in the form of printed sheet music. Early Tin Pan Alley songs generally reflected the themes of patriotism and unity coming on the heels of the Civil War. In later years, the topics and themes, which Tin Pan Alley composers covered broadened extensively. 

Click on the following links and read about the origins of Tin Pan Alley, where the term came from, and how the music publishing business operated.

Link Links to an external site.  Popular Music, from Wikipedia.

Link Links to an external site.  Links to an external site.America's Music Publishing Industry: The story of Tin Pan Alley

If the Song "I Got Rhythm" had Legs and A Pulse"

Obviously, a song does not sprout legs and travel on its own. Humans do the traveling and take their music with them. Consequently, some songs develop an interesting history or provenance, if you like. Sometimes, they show up in unexpected places or have undergone interesting changes. One such song is "I Got Rhythm."

In 1930 two brothers, George and Ira Gershwin, worked as a team to compose the music and lyrics for "I Got Rhythm," which became one of the more popular hits to come out of the Tin Pan Alley tradition. It was first introduced to the public in a Broadway musical. Then the song ventured into film. Eventually, even jazz musicians used parts of "I Got Rhythm." This goes to show how certain songs become popular and cross over from one genre of music to another.

To illustrate this phenomenon take a look at some of the different renditions of "I Got Rhythm" throughout the life of the song.

First, look at George Gershwin's rendition of the song in 1931 as he plays a solo version of the song on piano.

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From that point on the song kept going and crossed over into many other genres of music, including jazz. Here Sarah Vaughn, a well known jazz vocalist whose career began in the 1940s and extended through the 1970s, sings the song accompanied by a small jazz band.

Listen closely to the lyrics and

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Here is Bing Crosby and Peggy Lee singing the song as a duet accompanied by a Dixieland jazz style big band. As you may know, Crosby was one of the most influential popular entertainers of the 20th Century.

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During the bebop era of jazz in the 1940s, alto saxophonist Charlie Parker performed the song. In this performance, note how little of the actual song they actually play. After a solo piano at the beginning, the musicians play the song only one time through. Then the musicians improvise, using the chord changes from the song as a vehicle for shaping their melodic ideas. If you think the whole approach is abstract, it was. It is one reason why modern jazz or bebop never quite became popular music in the sense that it captured the attention of mainstream listeners as did big band jazz of the 1930s and early 1940s.

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Lastly, this look at the life of "I Got Rhythm" would not be anywhere near complete without considering Ethel Merman's rendition of the song. After all, she sang the song in the original Broadway Links to an external site. production of Girl Crazy.

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