The Tin Pan Alley Collection

When my mother was a child, long before television and on the cusp of radio, there was a piano in the parlor.  There, every evening, her mother would sit down and start playing a song and everyone would gather around and sing along. At the time “everyone” was composed of servicemen from all over the world–young boys far from home, amassing in England for the D-Day invasion.  My grandmother would send her three lovely daughters (one of whom would become my mother) out into town to round them up.  “And not just the good-looking ones!” she’d often remind them.    

These young men would get a warm welcome, a home-cooked meal (with what the ration books would allow), and a  sing-song around the piano. I know this was meaningful because I inherited the box full of letters they sent my grandmother after D-Day. Some traced a path from the beaches of Normandy to the liberation of Paris. Others came months and months later, from Prisoner of War camps. And a few came from the young men’s  widows, sad but grateful for the kindness.   

In any case, these were the songs those young men had sung around the piano. And, because my mother heard them from her mother,  and I heard them from mine, my children know them as well. They are the songs from Tin Pan Alley—not a place as much as an era, generally bounded by the years 1890 and 1930, but defined by music, and lots of it. 

 At the turn of the century the piano in the parlor was the center of family entertainment and, with a piano in nearly every parlor, the demand for sheet music was huge. Music publishers across the land were in a ruthless race, spurred on by the phenomenal success of “After the Ball,” which sold more than five million copies!   As a result, more than five hundred thousand new songs were produced in the years between 1890 and 1930. And many of those have survived the test of time.  

Though music was being published in major cities all over the country, the era takes its name from the prolific group of publishers who set up shop in Manhattan on West 28th Street, between Broadway and Sixth Avenue. “Tin Pan Alley” was the term used by a reporter to describe the cacophony created by countless, optimistic musicians banging out tunes on pingy pianos for little pay with the hope of a hit that would make his (or her) name a household word. 

It wasn’t long before publishers figured out that exciting cover art could help sell a song just as well as the music inside. They began to engage some of the finest lithographers and artists in the country to create unique (and usually irrelevant) artwork. When Vaudeville became the most effective way to introduce new songs, sheet music covers were decorated with portraits of show business luminaries such as Sophie Tucker on the cover of “The Darktown Strutter’s Ball.”  It was as effective as the picture of a famous athlete on a box of Wheaties. 

 Publishers also hired “song pluggers” to call out the names of their songs as pianists, performing in music and department stores across the country, asked for requests. Gus Edwards was one such song plugger. As a boy, he was hired to sit in the balcony of a Bowery theater and as soon as the performer on stage was finished, Edwards would stand up in the audience and start singing. Edwards went on to become one of Tin Pan Alley’s most prolific songwriters penning, among other songs, “By the Light of the Silvery Moon.”  

It appears we have now come full circle.  Longing for simpler times and meaningful social interaction, people the world over are coming together to share the simple joy of singing together. But today the instrument of choice is not the piano in the parlor, but the humble (and much easier to transport) 4-string ‘ukulele. And what better music to share, than the music we all grew up singing? 

Here are 12 of some of the best-loved songs from that era, in a handy collection of song cards, with the original sheet music covers on one side and the lyrics and chords on the other. They come with a vinyl wallet so they can be taken out and used and not misplaced. And as your song collection grows, you can add to it.  Years of enjoyment for $14.95, plus shipping and handling. (This collection is also available in a gift set for a limited time with our Kani Ka Pila Klip for just $19.95.)  

 

 

NEW!

Purchase a bag of 25 Kani Ka Pila Klips AND 25 Tin Pan Alley Cards (they must all be the same title) for just $89.95.  This is the perfect way to get everyone in your kani ka pila group on the same page, so to speak. AND choose your favorite song(s). (Additional sets of 25 cards are just $24.95 each.)  Be sure to include the title(s) you want in the “comments” when you complete your order.