TIN PAN LADY! Returns to Germano's by Request
Come See Us at
Germano's Trattoria
Saturday, July 27, 2013
7:30 p.m.
$15 Cover $20 Minimum
Germano's Trattoria
410.752.4515 for Reservations
www.germanostrattoria.com
Germano's Trattoria
Saturday, July 27, 2013
7:30 p.m.
$15 Cover $20 Minimum
Germano's Trattoria
410.752.4515 for Reservations
www.germanostrattoria.com
TIN PAN LADY !
A Few Details . . .
We are all familiar with the names Gershwin, Porter, Kern, Arlen, Berlin, and the other male composers and lyricists who helped shape the growth and development of American popular song during the first half of the 20th century. But where are the women’s names? Between 1920 and 1949, 178 women joined ASCAP (the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers) ; women like Kay Swift, Dorothy Fields, Dana Suesse, and Ann Ronell were among the most influential. Through musical works such as I Can’t Give You Anything But Love, God Bless the Child, How High the Moon, Willow, Weep For Me, and What A Diff’rence a Day Made, women played an important role in shaping what has become known as The Great American Songbook. Through persistence, talent, and sheer love of the music, they broke down countless barriers, opening doors for future women artists in the music industry.
It has been said that the “music of the times was not as much a reflection of the times as it was a reflection of people’s desires for how the times and their life should be.” In a time period that included the popularization of the automobile, the Roaring 20’s, prohibition, the Great Depression, and two world wars, these songs helped an entire nation to endure, to find joy and inspiration, and continue to be loved and performed throughout the world. As women, these writers had their own perspective and brought a unique vision and heart to their music.
Tin Pan Alley – an actual street where the music publishing industry was centered during the first half of the 20th Century. Piano pluggers would play the newest music every day for singers, vaudevillians or any one else who might be interested in performing a song and therefore making it popular so they could sell lots and lots of copies. As you walked down the street, you could hear all the pianos being played, coming out of all the doors and publishing houses, so they sounded much like a number of “tin pans” being banged and jangled along the way. As time went by, this nick name was embraced and refers to the U.S. music industry in general. Beginning in the late 1800’s when music publishers first began to congregate in New York, the Tin Pan Alley era began to dissolve in the 1950’s when rock n’ roll became popular and the nature of songwriting and performance began to change. But the craft of good songwriting continues, with the torch carried by countless women, well known and otherwise.
We are all familiar with the names Gershwin, Porter, Kern, Arlen, Berlin, and the other male composers and lyricists who helped shape the growth and development of American popular song during the first half of the 20th century. But where are the women’s names? Between 1920 and 1949, 178 women joined ASCAP (the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers) ; women like Kay Swift, Dorothy Fields, Dana Suesse, and Ann Ronell were among the most influential. Through musical works such as I Can’t Give You Anything But Love, God Bless the Child, How High the Moon, Willow, Weep For Me, and What A Diff’rence a Day Made, women played an important role in shaping what has become known as The Great American Songbook. Through persistence, talent, and sheer love of the music, they broke down countless barriers, opening doors for future women artists in the music industry.
It has been said that the “music of the times was not as much a reflection of the times as it was a reflection of people’s desires for how the times and their life should be.” In a time period that included the popularization of the automobile, the Roaring 20’s, prohibition, the Great Depression, and two world wars, these songs helped an entire nation to endure, to find joy and inspiration, and continue to be loved and performed throughout the world. As women, these writers had their own perspective and brought a unique vision and heart to their music.
Tin Pan Alley – an actual street where the music publishing industry was centered during the first half of the 20th Century. Piano pluggers would play the newest music every day for singers, vaudevillians or any one else who might be interested in performing a song and therefore making it popular so they could sell lots and lots of copies. As you walked down the street, you could hear all the pianos being played, coming out of all the doors and publishing houses, so they sounded much like a number of “tin pans” being banged and jangled along the way. As time went by, this nick name was embraced and refers to the U.S. music industry in general. Beginning in the late 1800’s when music publishers first began to congregate in New York, the Tin Pan Alley era began to dissolve in the 1950’s when rock n’ roll became popular and the nature of songwriting and performance began to change. But the craft of good songwriting continues, with the torch carried by countless women, well known and otherwise.
A Few Words About Our Ladies ...
Nora Bayes (1880-1928) – Born Dora Goldberg, she was a vaudeville and Broadway performer in the early 1900’s. Billed as “The Greatest Single Woman Singing Comedienne in the World”, she was a flamboyant lover of life. She wrote Shine On, Harvest Moon with her second (of five) husband, Jack Norworth and introduced it in the Ziegfeld Follies of 1908.
Betty Comden (1919-2006) With Adolph Green, she had the longest running creative partnership in theatre history. They began writing satirical comic material and later collaborated with Leonard Bernstein, Jule Styne, Jerome Robbins, Cy Coleman, Gene Kelly, Fred Astaire, Carol Burnett and other stars. “Singing In the Rain” was voted one of the ten best American films ever made.
Evelyn Danzig (1902-1996) – Evelyn had her own radio program in the 1930’s called Treble & Clef and teaming with Jack Segal wrote several songs and two operas for Harry Belafonte.
Dorothy Fields (1905-1974) – Daughter of legendary vaudevillian and theatrical producer Lew Fields (“That’s no lady, that’s my wife!”), Dorothy was pushed to do anything but work in the theater. But her gifts and DNA prevailed and she went on to write the lyrics for hundreds of songs, working with composers Jimmy McHugh, Jerome Kern, Arthur Schwartz, Cy Coleman and others. She is the only woman songwriter of this era to achieve major success in songwriting.
Doris Fisher (1915-2003) – Daughter of composer Fred Fisher, her two brothers, Dan and Marvin Fisher, were also songwriters. Known first as a singer, then writing, she collaborated with her father and Allan Roberts. Her work was popular with orchestras, on the radio and on film.
Irene Franklin (???) – As second leading lady to Helen Morgan in Sweet Adeline, Irene was delighted when Jerome Kern, a rather fast composer to Oscar Hammerstein’s slower paced lyric writing, asked her if she wanted to write her own lyric to her featured song. The result – My Husband’s First Wife – nearly stole the show.
Maria Grever (1894-1951) – Songwriter, composer, singer, pianist – she was the first Mexican woman to become a successful composer, writing many of her songs in Spanish first, then having them translated by lyricists. She performed in concert herself and also wrote special material for film performers and concert singers.
Nancy Hamilton (1908-1985) – Songwriter, singer, actress, author, educated at the Sorbonne in Paris and at Smith College, she appeared on Broadway and wrote special material for Beatrice Lilly. With Morgan Lewis she wrote How High the Moon as a ballad, but because of the compelling harmonic structure, the beboppers loved it and made it popular as a bebop tune.
Irene Higginbotham (1918-1988) – Prolific songwriter and concert pianist, she was related by blood and marriage to several jazz musicians. She worked closely with Billie Holiday and wrote jazz ballads of lost love, as well as early doo wop, jive, comic vaudeville, and dance tunes.
Billie Holiday (1915-1959) -- Known for her heart-wrenching jazz vocals and difficult life, Billie wrote some of her own tunes, including the iconic God Bless The Child.
Vee Lawnhurst (1905-1992) – Born Laura Lowenherz, Vee was a popular pianist long before she began writing songs. With Tot Seymour, they were billed as “the first successful team of girl songwriters in popular music history.” No Other One was featured on Your Hit Parade for 11 weeks in 1935.
Ruth Lowe (1914-1981) – The pianist in Ina Ray Hutton’s all-girl band, The Melodears, she married music publicist Harold Cohen, who after one year of marriage died during a botched surgery. She poured her grief into writing “I’ll Never Smile Again.” She managed to get the tune to Tommy Dorsey which he gave to a young singer named Frank Sinatra – it became his first hit and launched his career.
Dorothy Parker (1893-1967) – An writer who is best known for her wit, her wisecracks, and keen eye for 20th century urban foibles. She won great acclaim for her work in The New Yorker and as a founding member of the Algonquin Round Table. She received two Academy Award nominations, but her career and personal life suffered greatly after being placed on the Hollywood blacklist.
Dory Langdon Previn (1929?- ) – She worked as a lyricist for motion picture and with her first husband, André Previn received several Academy Award nominations. After their divorce, she continued to create and perform original material. Her lyrics are characterised by originality, irony and honesty in dealing with life’s difficulties.
Ann Ronell (1906-1993) – Born Anna Rosenblatt, she was an ambitious student at Radcliffe when she decided to set up an interview with George Gershwin who told her to her name and got her started as a rehearsal pianist. She was the first woman to make it in the world of film scoring, as well as one of the few songwriters to write both music and lyrics to her songs.
Tot Seymour (1889-1966) – Early in her career as a lyricist she wrote special material for Fannie Bryce, Sophie Tucker, Mae West and other favorites. Then teaming up with Vee Lawnhurst, they had four songs on Your Hit Parade in 1935 alone.
Dana Suesse (1909-1987) – A child prodigy, Dana was known as the “Girl Gershwin” for her extraordinary ability to play the piano Her compositions ranged from classical and big band to popular songs for stage and radio.
Kay Swift (1897-1993) – Perhaps more famous for being George Gershwin’s lover, and the woman he “should” have married, she was an immensely gifted musician, combining classical musical values with the rhythms of swing, jazz and popular music. With her husband, James Warburg, she wrote the first successful musical of the 1930’s and the first full score written by a woman for a Broadway show. She helped Gershwin with orchestrations and after his death, she worked with Ira Gershwin to complete many of his works.
Doris Tauber (?????) – She got her break in the business by serving as Irving Berlin’s secretary, then went on to team up with Maceo Pinkard, also writing Drinkin’ Again with Johnny Mercer.
Jane Brown Thompson (???-1939) – A widow who had literary aspirations all her life, she published a poem in Life Magazine entitled “Except Sometimes” under the name of “J.B.” Years later this poem was passed to Hoagy Carmichael who turned it into I Get Along Without You Very Well (Except Sometimes), but was prevented from publishing it until he received permission from J.B. She was finally located in Philadelphia, but sadly, passed away the night before the song was introduced by Dick Powell on national radio.
Nora Bayes (1880-1928) – Born Dora Goldberg, she was a vaudeville and Broadway performer in the early 1900’s. Billed as “The Greatest Single Woman Singing Comedienne in the World”, she was a flamboyant lover of life. She wrote Shine On, Harvest Moon with her second (of five) husband, Jack Norworth and introduced it in the Ziegfeld Follies of 1908.
Betty Comden (1919-2006) With Adolph Green, she had the longest running creative partnership in theatre history. They began writing satirical comic material and later collaborated with Leonard Bernstein, Jule Styne, Jerome Robbins, Cy Coleman, Gene Kelly, Fred Astaire, Carol Burnett and other stars. “Singing In the Rain” was voted one of the ten best American films ever made.
Evelyn Danzig (1902-1996) – Evelyn had her own radio program in the 1930’s called Treble & Clef and teaming with Jack Segal wrote several songs and two operas for Harry Belafonte.
Dorothy Fields (1905-1974) – Daughter of legendary vaudevillian and theatrical producer Lew Fields (“That’s no lady, that’s my wife!”), Dorothy was pushed to do anything but work in the theater. But her gifts and DNA prevailed and she went on to write the lyrics for hundreds of songs, working with composers Jimmy McHugh, Jerome Kern, Arthur Schwartz, Cy Coleman and others. She is the only woman songwriter of this era to achieve major success in songwriting.
Doris Fisher (1915-2003) – Daughter of composer Fred Fisher, her two brothers, Dan and Marvin Fisher, were also songwriters. Known first as a singer, then writing, she collaborated with her father and Allan Roberts. Her work was popular with orchestras, on the radio and on film.
Irene Franklin (???) – As second leading lady to Helen Morgan in Sweet Adeline, Irene was delighted when Jerome Kern, a rather fast composer to Oscar Hammerstein’s slower paced lyric writing, asked her if she wanted to write her own lyric to her featured song. The result – My Husband’s First Wife – nearly stole the show.
Maria Grever (1894-1951) – Songwriter, composer, singer, pianist – she was the first Mexican woman to become a successful composer, writing many of her songs in Spanish first, then having them translated by lyricists. She performed in concert herself and also wrote special material for film performers and concert singers.
Nancy Hamilton (1908-1985) – Songwriter, singer, actress, author, educated at the Sorbonne in Paris and at Smith College, she appeared on Broadway and wrote special material for Beatrice Lilly. With Morgan Lewis she wrote How High the Moon as a ballad, but because of the compelling harmonic structure, the beboppers loved it and made it popular as a bebop tune.
Irene Higginbotham (1918-1988) – Prolific songwriter and concert pianist, she was related by blood and marriage to several jazz musicians. She worked closely with Billie Holiday and wrote jazz ballads of lost love, as well as early doo wop, jive, comic vaudeville, and dance tunes.
Billie Holiday (1915-1959) -- Known for her heart-wrenching jazz vocals and difficult life, Billie wrote some of her own tunes, including the iconic God Bless The Child.
Vee Lawnhurst (1905-1992) – Born Laura Lowenherz, Vee was a popular pianist long before she began writing songs. With Tot Seymour, they were billed as “the first successful team of girl songwriters in popular music history.” No Other One was featured on Your Hit Parade for 11 weeks in 1935.
Ruth Lowe (1914-1981) – The pianist in Ina Ray Hutton’s all-girl band, The Melodears, she married music publicist Harold Cohen, who after one year of marriage died during a botched surgery. She poured her grief into writing “I’ll Never Smile Again.” She managed to get the tune to Tommy Dorsey which he gave to a young singer named Frank Sinatra – it became his first hit and launched his career.
Dorothy Parker (1893-1967) – An writer who is best known for her wit, her wisecracks, and keen eye for 20th century urban foibles. She won great acclaim for her work in The New Yorker and as a founding member of the Algonquin Round Table. She received two Academy Award nominations, but her career and personal life suffered greatly after being placed on the Hollywood blacklist.
Dory Langdon Previn (1929?- ) – She worked as a lyricist for motion picture and with her first husband, André Previn received several Academy Award nominations. After their divorce, she continued to create and perform original material. Her lyrics are characterised by originality, irony and honesty in dealing with life’s difficulties.
Ann Ronell (1906-1993) – Born Anna Rosenblatt, she was an ambitious student at Radcliffe when she decided to set up an interview with George Gershwin who told her to her name and got her started as a rehearsal pianist. She was the first woman to make it in the world of film scoring, as well as one of the few songwriters to write both music and lyrics to her songs.
Tot Seymour (1889-1966) – Early in her career as a lyricist she wrote special material for Fannie Bryce, Sophie Tucker, Mae West and other favorites. Then teaming up with Vee Lawnhurst, they had four songs on Your Hit Parade in 1935 alone.
Dana Suesse (1909-1987) – A child prodigy, Dana was known as the “Girl Gershwin” for her extraordinary ability to play the piano Her compositions ranged from classical and big band to popular songs for stage and radio.
Kay Swift (1897-1993) – Perhaps more famous for being George Gershwin’s lover, and the woman he “should” have married, she was an immensely gifted musician, combining classical musical values with the rhythms of swing, jazz and popular music. With her husband, James Warburg, she wrote the first successful musical of the 1930’s and the first full score written by a woman for a Broadway show. She helped Gershwin with orchestrations and after his death, she worked with Ira Gershwin to complete many of his works.
Doris Tauber (?????) – She got her break in the business by serving as Irving Berlin’s secretary, then went on to team up with Maceo Pinkard, also writing Drinkin’ Again with Johnny Mercer.
Jane Brown Thompson (???-1939) – A widow who had literary aspirations all her life, she published a poem in Life Magazine entitled “Except Sometimes” under the name of “J.B.” Years later this poem was passed to Hoagy Carmichael who turned it into I Get Along Without You Very Well (Except Sometimes), but was prevented from publishing it until he received permission from J.B. She was finally located in Philadelphia, but sadly, passed away the night before the song was introduced by Dick Powell on national radio.