Tillie Doyle
Stevie Ray Vaughan's 'Tin Pan Alley' is a song that captures the essence of a bygone era in American music. The song's title refers to the collection of New York City-based music publishers and songwriters who dominated the industry in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. This era, known as Tin Pan Alley, saw the rise of sheet music as the primary medium for popular music, with vaudeville performers and famous stars alike seeking out new songs from this creative hub. The term Tin Pan Alley itself has an intriguing etymology, possibly stemming from the cacophony of pianos playing different tunes in a small urban area, resembling the banging of tin pans. As we delve into the process of counting in SRV's 'Tin Pan Alley', we'll explore the musical intricacies that bring this historic era to life through his unique style.
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What You'll Learn
Tin Pan Alley's origins
Tin Pan Alley was a collection of music publishers and songwriters in New York City that dominated the popular music of the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The term "Tin Pan Alley" has disputed origins, but it is certainly connected with the unusual method by which these publishing firms advertised their latest songs. In an era before records and radio, publishing companies relied on live performances of their songs to increase the likelihood of their success. One method was to place upright pianos in front of their offices and hire pianists ("song pluggers") to play the latest songs for pedestrians walking past the building.
The most popular account of the origin of the term holds that it was originally a derogatory reference made by Monroe H. Rosenfeld in the New York Herald to the collective sound made by many "cheap upright pianos" all playing different tunes, reminiscent of the banging of tin pans in an alleyway. The Grove Dictionary of American Music also cites Rosenfeld as the originator of the term, dating its first use from 1903. However, no piece by Rosenfeld that employs the phrase has been discovered.
Another theory is that the term was coined by a journalist interviewing songwriter Harry von Tilzer 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'".
Tin Pan Alley was also the birthplace of the modern music industry, with music developed, categorized, and marketed as a commodity for mass distribution in the form of sheet music for the increasing number of home pianos. The publishing companies that populated Tin Pan Alley were different from other publishing companies at the time, many of which had been publishing for over 100 years. These new companies published exclusively popular music, with songs written specifically to appeal to a mass audience of amateur music-makers who would sing and play the songs at home. The style that coalesced around these demands would become known as a "Tin Pan Alley" song, typically featuring an introductory "verse" followed by a "chorus" in AABA form.
The Tin Pan Alley business model and corresponding musical style became the dominant form of mainstream urban pop music in the United States from about 1885 until the emergence of rock and roll in the 1950s. The end of Tin Pan Alley is less clear-cut, with some dating it to the start of the Great Depression in the 1930s when the phonograph, radio, and motion pictures supplanted sheet music as the driving force of American popular music.
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The end of Tin Pan Alley
The end date of the Tin Pan Alley era is ambiguous. Some date it to the start of the Great Depression in the 1930s when the phonograph, radio, and motion pictures replaced sheet music as the driving force of American popular music. 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.
Tin Pan Alley was a collection of music publishers and songwriters in New York City that dominated the popular music of the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It originally referred to a specific location on West 28th Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues in the Flower District of Manhattan. Several buildings on Tin Pan Alley are protected as New York City landmarks, and the section of 28th Street from Fifth to Sixth Avenue is also officially co-named Tin Pan Alley.
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. At the time, the family parlour was the centre of musical activity, and it was the amateur musician that kept instrument shops—and especially music publishers—in business. Tin Pan Alley created a hub of songwriting activity, where freelance composers, as well as those with permanent positions with a publishing house, could work in a potent atmosphere of creativity.
The term and established business methodologies associated with Tin Pan Alley persisted into the 1960s when artists like Bob Dylan helped establish new norms. Referring to the dominant conventions of music publishers of the early 20th century, Dylan proclaimed in 1985, "Tin Pan Alley is gone. I put an end to it. People can record their own songs now."
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The meaning of 'Tin Pan Alley'
Tin Pan Alley is a genre of American popular music that arose in the late 19th century from the American song-publishing industry centred in New York City. The genre took its name from the byname of the street on which the industry was based, being on 28th Street between Fifth Avenue and Broadway in the early 20th century; around Broadway and 32nd Street in the 1920s; and ultimately on Broadway between 42nd and 50th streets. The start of Tin Pan Alley is usually dated to about 1885, when Willis Witmark, founder of one of the first publishing houses to concentrate on popular over religious or classical sheet music, moved to the 28th Street location from Manhattan’s entertainment district. The end of Tin Pan Alley is less clear-cut, with some dating it to the start of the Great Depression in the 1930s when the phonograph, radio, and motion pictures supplanted sheet music as the driving force of American popular music.
Tin Pan Alley was a collection of music publishers and songwriters in New York City that dominated the popular music of the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The term “Tin Pan Alley” refers to the physical location of these music publishers and songwriters. The phrase “tin pan” referred to the sound of pianos being played furiously by "song pluggers", who demonstrated tunes to publishers. Song pluggers were pianists and singers who represented music publishers, making their living demonstrating songs to promote sales of sheet music. Songwriters who became established producers of successful songs were hired to be on the staff of the music houses. Song pluggers worked their way up the ranks to become vital components of the Tin Pan Alley song machine.
There are conflicting explanations regarding the origins of the term "Tin Pan Alley". The most popular account holds that it was originally a derogatory reference made by Monroe H. Rosenfeld in the New York Herald to the collective sound made by many "cheap upright pianos" all playing different tunes, reminiscent of the banging of tin pans in an alleyway. The Grove Dictionary of American Music also cites Rosenfeld as the originator of the term, dating its first use from 1903. However, while an article on Tin Pan Alley can be found in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch from May of that year, this is unattributed and no piece by Rosenfeld that employs the phrase has been discovered.
The American music publishing industry before Tin Pan Alley was largely based on European “art” songs in an effort to get around copyright royalty fees. American music was expensive to produce in the 19th century, which meant only about 10-30% of the music printed in the United States, including New York, was written by American composers. In the 19th century, copyright law was a bit anarchic. There wasn’t a robust central agency to protect the holders of copyrighted music until the establishment of ASCAP (The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers) in 1914. In practice, this meant that if a piece of sheet music was released by Publisher A and became a hit, it could immediately be printed by other publishers, with little or no legal recourse available to the original publisher.
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The location of Tin Pan Alley
Tin Pan Alley was a collection of music publishers and songwriters in New York City that dominated the popular music of the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It originally referred to a specific location on West 28th Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues in the Flower District of Manhattan. Several buildings on Tin Pan Alley are protected as New York City landmarks, and the section of 28th Street from Fifth to Sixth Avenue is also officially co-named Tin Pan Alley.
The start of Tin Pan Alley is usually dated to about 1885 when Willis Witmark, founder of one of the first publishing houses to concentrate on popular over religious or classical sheet music, moved to 28th Street from Manhattan's entertainment district, which was then located about 14 blocks south near Union Square. The end date of the Tin Pan Alley era is ambiguous, but some date it to the start of the Great Depression in the 1930s when the phonograph, radio, and motion pictures supplanted sheet music as the driving force of American popular music.
The term "Tin Pan Alley" is believed to have originated from a derogatory reference made by Monroe H. Rosenfeld in the New York Herald to the collective sound made by many "cheap upright pianos" all playing different tunes, reminiscent of the banging of tin pans in an alleyway. The Grove Dictionary of American Music also cites Rosenfeld as the originator of the term, dating its first use from 1903. However, no piece by Rosenfeld that employs the phrase has been discovered. Another account of the origin of the name, published in a 1930 book about the music business, quotes popular songwriter Harry von Tilzer, who had modified his expensive Kindler & Collins piano by placing strips of paper down the strings to give the instrument a more percussive sound. When a journalist commented on the sound, von Tilzer replied, "Your Kindler & Collins sounds exactly like a tin can. I'll call the article 'Tin Pan Alley'.".
The biggest music houses established themselves in New York City, but small local publishers continued to flourish throughout the country, with important regional music publishing centers in Chicago, New Orleans, St. Louis, and Boston. 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.
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Stevie Ray Vaughan's cover
Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble's cover of "Tin Pan Alley" was written by Bob Geddins Sr. and first released by Jimmy Wilson and His All-Stars in 1953. Vaughan's version was released on the album "Couldn't Stand the Weather" in 1984. The song has also been covered by other artists, including Eddie Taylor, Michael Coleman, Walter Horton, and Ray Agee.
The song "Tin Pan Alley" is named after the collection of music publishers and songwriters in New York City, specifically on West 28th Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues in Manhattan, that dominated popular music in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. This area was known for its many music publishers and the sound of pianos playing different tunes simultaneously, which some likened to the banging of tin pans.
Stevie Ray Vaughan's version of "Tin Pan Alley" showcases his signature guitar sound and has been described as a "bluesy torrent of electric sound." It is a highlight of his live album "In the Beginning," which was released posthumously in 1993, featuring performances from 1980.
The album "In the Beginning" received mixed reviews, with some critics noting that while it showcased Vaughan's unique style, it also exhibited a certain lack of refinement. Nonetheless, the song "Tin Pan Alley" stands out as a memorable track on the album and has become a part of Stevie Ray Vaughan's enduring musical legacy.
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