MUSC 1800: Popular Music

Dr. Matthew C. SaundersLakeland Community College

C-1078

The Rise of Broadway

• Prior to the 1920s, Broadway shows were similar to vaudeville and minstrel shows

• “Golden Age” of Broadway began with Kern & Hammerstein’s Showboat in 1927

The Great American Songbook• Song writing still centered on Tin Pan Alley– 1920s and 1930s– Diverse group of composers and lyricists– Songs written for vaudeville, Broadway, and

Hollywood

The Great American Songbook

• Bridge between high-brow and low-brow entertainment

• “Standards”

Tin Pan Alley Song Form• Derived from needs of Broadway shows—a smooth transition from spoken dialogue to song

– Example: Ella Fitzgerald’s recording of George & Ira Gershwin’s, “I Got Rhythm” from Girl Crazy

– Example: Frank Sinatra in Cole Porter’s, “Just One of Those Things” from Jubilee – Example: Gene Autry in Johnny Marks’ “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer”

Verse: Days can be sunny… A-section: I got

rhythm… (8 measures)

A-section: I got daisies…(8 measures)

A-section: I got starlight…(8 measures)

B-section: Old Man Trouble…(8 measures)

Bridge

More Practice with Tin Pan Alley Song Form

• “Jingle-Bell Rock” (performed by Bobby Helms)

• “The Flintstones” (theme by Hoyt Curtin)

• “Heart and Soul” (Carmichael and Loesser) • “This is the Life,” (“Weird Al” Yankovic)