Tin Pan Alley

Before the turn of the century the process of making a song into a hit was through the Minstrel Shows and sheet music publishing. Writers published their own songs. 

Chas K Harris self published 'After the Ball', the first hit song in 1892. 

Harry von Tilzer published his own songs but he published as a business.

It was a hit and miss affair until some new publishing firms in New York City overhauled the system around 1890. Around 1902 they collectively became know as Tin Pan Alley. There were untold riches in selling song sheets but only 1 in 200 made it.

Howley-Haviland (Gussie Davis, Cole and Johnson), F A Mills (Irving Jones), Shapiro-Bernstein, Joseph Stern (coon songs, cakewalks and rags, Williams and Walker, Will Tyers, Chris Smith, Cole and Johnson) and M Witmark (Ernest Hogan) all hired staff to write and promote songs. House pianists were employed to demonstrate the wares. Popular personalities endorsed the songs to boost sales. Topical songs each week to keep punters buying. Song writing contests. Travelling salesmen loading the dime store shelves. Demand creation and endless supply. Flashy enticing coloured drawings replaced the old line engraving. A new industry was born. With supporting artists and pluggers. It cost $1,300 to launch a song properly and writers usually got about $50 outright.

Cylinder recordings were seen as competition initially, both to Vaudeville and Tin Pan Alley.
Only 1 in 200 songs succeeded, it was a nasty business. 

The Tearjerkers

An early Tin Pan Alley fad was the 'tearjerker' which was far from jazz and has become so mired in its time it is now forgotten -

Gussie Davis, 1880, a black, wrote some 'refined' songs in 3/4 thinking the black Minstrel songs were too crude for the parlour. Tearjerker songs like 'Cradle's Empty Baby's Gone'* and Paul Dresser's 'The Outcast Unknown'* and 'The Letter that Never Came'* were beginning to sell and Davis cashed in with 'The Fatal Wedding' and 'In the Baggage Coach Ahead'.

The Coon Songs

After the 'tearjerkers' the 'coon songs' took over Tin Pan Alley. These racist musical jokes were about the black folk but not so much the black music. Although their popularity was such that black song writers penned many of the songs. Songs played in the middle class parlours where everyone had a piano and wanted a bit of naughty fun. They had to write what people wanted to play. 

1897 Ernest Hogan, 'All Coons Look Alike to Me', and the coon songs really took off.
Irving Jones (1874-1932) a black comedian who wrote coon songs exclusively. Every white love song and every lullaby had a coon equivalent. 50 titles to his credit. 'Possumala Dance', 'Take Your Clothes Off and Go', 'Get Your Money's Worth', 'Give Me Back dem Clothes', 'If They'd only Fought with Razors in the War', 'I'm Livin' Easy', 'All Birds Look Like Chickens to Me', 'I Feel Like Sendin' Home for Money', 'Under the Chicken Tree', 'The Ragtime Millionaire', 'One More Drink and I'll Tell It All', 'You Needn't Think I'm a Regular Fool', 'Any Old Way You cook Chicken'.
Black Vaudeville with coon songs and ragged melodies was beginning to be labelled degenerate by the turn of the century. All the jokes had been made. By 1905 everyone had had enough.

Mammy songs, darktown strutters and hot chocolates were all to come.

Cecil Mack (1883-1944) Gotham-Attucks Music Company bought out Shep Edmonds (1876-1957) who was a vaudevillian, the first black publisher in 1904, he founded Attuchs Music the first of many attempts. He published 'Nobody', Bert Williams' big one. 
Mack was a lyricist himself with a hit, 'Good Morning Carrie'. He absorbed John H Cook Publishing (Will Marion's brother), which had a lot of the Williams and Walker book and had rewarding partnerships - from 'the Sons of Ham' with Tom Lemonier he wrote, 'Miss Hannah from Savannah' and 'The Little Gypsy Maid' with Will Marion Cook, 'Josephine My Jo', 'Please Let Me Sleep', 'Port Rico' and 'Come After Breakfast' with Tim Brymn, 'Teasing' with Albert von Tilzer, 'All In Down and Out', 'Let it Alone', 'You're in the Right Church but the Wrong Pew', 'Down Among the Sugar Cane' with Chris Smith, 'Shine' with Ford Dabney. But in the end they couldn't compete with the white houses and closed in 1911.
With Smith he continued with 'My Country Right or Wrong'* for the Follies 1915 and 'The Camel Walk'. With James P Johnson, 'The Charleston' and 'Old Fashioned Love'.
Music Publishers held the aces, the songsters struggled.
Remick, Feist, Fisher, Harris who would take their song? Rossiter in Chicago? Setchell in Boston? Presser in Philadelphia? ASCAP in 1914 offered some protection.
Black songwriters led the minstrel, tearjerker and coon songs and then they offered a profound sound and feel for new forms and fads, songs and dances of 20th century pop.
Chris Smith (1879-1949) worked with Cecil Mack but was a powerhouse on his own, a master of the rag song to dance song to blues song to jazz song. He started in 1901 with 'Good Morning Carrie'.

Moved to rag songs, 'Monkey Rag', 'That Puzzlin' Rag' and his pop songs got raggier, 'Bean, Beans, Beans'. 'I Want a Little Lovin' Sometimes' and a real blues, 'I've got the Blues but I'm Too Blamed Mean to Cry'. New dances allowed actual physical contact, social dancing had arrived, Chris Smith produced, 'Ballin' the Jack', very savvy. 1914 with Jim Berris 'At the Fox Trot Ball'. 'Down in Honky Tonky Town', 'San Francisco Blues', 'He's Goy My Goat', 'Coolin' the Coffee Pot'*, 'I've got My Habits On', 'Cakewalking Babies from Home'. 
With W C Handy, 'The White Man Said 'twas So'*. With Clarence Williams, 'Shootin' the Pistol'. With Fats Waller, 'Come On and Stomp Stomp Stomp'.

Shelton Brooks (1886-1975) - A vaudeville performer who wrote his own songs and published them with Will Rossiter. Two instant 'standards', 1910 'Some of These Days' with Sophie Tucker (2 million copies), 1917 'Darktown Strutters Ball' (3 million copies).

Brooks produced 'The Plantation Review' in 1922. He starred with Florence Mills in 'Blackbirds of 1926'. 

Chris Smith wrote 200 songs Shelton only 40. 'All Night Long' (a moderate hit in 1912), 'I Wonder where My Easy Rider's Gone' (provoked a response from W C Handy with 'Yellow Dog Blues'), 'Walkin' the Dog' (for the dance craze), 'I want to Shimmie' (provoked Mae West's breast wiggle). 

Maceo Pinkard (1897-1962) - Pinkard had his own publishing business. 'Those Draftin' Blues', 'Stockyard Blues' then his first hit 'Mammy o' Mine'. A raggy jazzy song and the ODJB recorded it in 1919. Big songs were, 'Does My Sweetie Do and How?', 'Sweet Man', 'Desdemona' and 'Sweet Georgia Brown'.
'I Wonder what's become of Joe', 'Gimme a Little Kiss will Ya', 'Sugar', 'I'll be a Friend with Pleasure', 'Them Their Eyes'.

Jo Trent (1892-1954) - mysterious lyricist with Clarence Williams and Fats Waller and Ellington and J Russel Robinson and Peter de Rose. 'Outside of That He's All Right with Me', 'Georgia Bo Bo', 'Blind Man's Buff', 'Rhythm King', 'Muddy Water'.
Andy Razaf (1895-1973) - a flip and jaunty lyricist with Fats Waller. 450 songs to his credit. 'When You're Tired of Me', 'Squeeze Me', 'Louisiana', 'Dusky Stevedore', 'Keepin' Out of Mischief Now', 'The Joint is Jumpin''.
Were 'I Can't Give You Anything but Love' and 'On the Sunny Side of the Street' written by Waller/Razaf??
1929 what a year! 'Hot Feet', 'Hot Chocolates', 'Ain't Misbehavin'', 'Black and Blue', 'S'posin'', 'Honeysuckle Rose'. 
With Joe Davis, 'Blue Turning Grey Over You'. With James P 'A Porter's Love Song to a Chambermaid'. Lyrics were written to Big Band songs like 'In the Mood' or 'Tar Paper Stomp' or 'Hot and Anxious'.
By 1929 the industry was ailing, was free music on the Radio contributing to the demise? Or was it the movies?!

Early pop songs -

The song of the century was composed by Henry Bishop with the poem by John Howard Payne - 'Home Sweet Home'
Thomas A Dorsey (Georgian Tom), a blues singer who moved to Chicago and took Gospel big - 'It's Tight Like That'
1866 J. A. Butterfield - 'When You & I were Young Maggie'
1900 Will D Cobb - 'Good bye Dolly Gray'
1905 Paul Dresser - 'My Gal Sal'
1909 Shelton Brooks, ABCD, a rhythm ballad, Sophie’s theme song - 'Some of These Days'1909 Henry Creamer with Bert Williams - 'That's a Plenty'
Bob King, a one fingered prolific - 'Ice Cream'
1910 Ford Dabney with words by Cecil Mack, made famous by Louis - 'That’s Why they Call Me Shine'1911 Lewis F Muir, new rhythms & it swings - 'Waiting for the Robert E Lee'
1911 Irving Berlin - 'Alexander's Ragtime Band'
1913 James P Johnson with words by Cecil Mack, but who remembers the words ... from ‘Runnin’ Wild’ - 'Charleston'1913 Chris Smith's dance instruction song, a true early swinger - 'Ballin' the Jack'
1915 Abe Olman - 'Down Among the Sheltering Palms'
1916 Tony Jackson, a jaunty little rhythm song - 'Pretty Baby'
1917 Shelton Brooks, massive pop. ODJB's first record - 'Darktown Strutters Ball'
1917 Art Hickman the 1st big section band leader - 'Rose Room'
1917 James Hanley & Ballard MacDonald - 'Indiana'
1918 Lee Roberts & Will Callahan. From ‘The Passing Show of 1918’ – Sigmund Romberg - 'Smiles'1918 Henry Creamer and Turner Layton, outstanding negro vaudeville duo , fast changes, jazz standard, ABAC, Bessie, Al Jolson, Sophie Tucker, Louis - 'After You've Gone'
1918 Bob Carleton, 16 bars of cute innocence - 'Ja Da'
1918 Bert Leighton & Boyd Bunch traditional 12 bar blues - 'Frankie and Johnny'.
1919 Kendis and Brockman - 'I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles'
1919 Spike brothers, Benjamin & John, written by the brothers who recorded Ory's Sunshine orchestra in 1923, King Oliver's Savannah Syncopators hit in 1926 - 'Someday Sweetheart'
1919 Arthur Swanstone - 'Blues My Naughty Sweetie Gives to Me'
1920 Felix Barnard, Johhny Black, with a boogie bass line, did Jerome Kern steal it? - 'Dardanella'
1920 Vincent Rose plus friends, phenomenal success, recorded with 'Avalon' by Whiteman - 'Whispering'
1920 Vincent Rose & Al Jolson, adapted from Tosca - 'Avalon'
1920 Henry Busse, Whiteman's trumpeter - 'Wang Wang Blues'
1920's rent parties skiffle - 'Puttin on the Style'
1920's Brown & von Tilzer - 'Dapper Dan'
1921 'Careless Love' came from everywhere but was 'bagged' by W. C. Handy
1921 Benton Overstreet and Billy Higgins, unpretentious brilliance, the last of the 'simple' songs - 'There'll be some Changes Made'
1921 Creamer & Layton again, from 'Deep River' - 'Dear Old Southland'
1922 the melody stops for the lyrics, Creamer & Layton again - 'Way Down Yonder in New Orleans'
!922 Harrington Gibbs - 'Runnin' Wild'
1922 Gus Kahn, from ‘bombo’ - 'Toot Too Tootsie'1923 Ted Snyder, with Bert Kalmar & Harry Ruby (1957 Connie Francis) - 'Who's Sorry Now'
1924 George Meyer, a rhythm ballad - 'Mandy Make Up Your Mind'
1925 Harry Akst, Al Jolson's accompanist, a relaxed natural - 'Dinah'
1925 Ben Bernie, dixieland changes - 'Sweet Georgia Brown'
1925 Walter Donaldson - 'Yes Sir that's My Baby'
1926 Sam Theard, Louis hit - 'You Rascal You'
1926 Boyd Atkins - 'Heebie Jeebies'
1926 De Sylva, Brown & Henderson, what a team!, from George White's scandals of 1926 - 'Birth of the Blues'
1926 De Sylva, Brown & Henderson, from George White's scandals of 1926 - 'Black Bottom'
1927 Walter Melrose & Marty Bloom - 'Willie the Weeper'
1927 Walter Donaldson, Gene Austin sings, biggest hit until Crosby's 'White Christmas' - 'My Blue Heaven'
1927 Walter Donaldson - 'At Sundown'
1927 Donald Heywood, lively rhythm continuous motion song - 'I'm coming Virginia'
1927 Milton Ager & Jack Yellen - 'Ain't She Sweet'
1927 Jimmy McHugh &, this time, Clarence Gaskill - 'I Can't Believe that You're in Love with Me'
1928 Walter Donaldson again - 'Making Whoopee'
1928 Walter Donaldson again - 'Love Me or Leave Me'
1928 Harry Barris, 'the rhythm boys' - 'Mississippi Mud'
1929 Harry Akst, Ethel Waters' song - 'Am I Blue?'
1929 De Sylva, Brown & Henderson - 'Button Up your Overcoat'
1929 Milton Ager & Jack Yellen - 'Happy Days are Here Again'
1929 Walter Donaldson & Edgar Leslie - 'Tain’t No Sin to Take Off your Skin & Dance around in your Bones'1930 Jimmy McHugh & Dorothy Fields - 'On the Sunny Side of the Street'
1930 Jimmy McHugh & Dorothy Fields - 'Exactly Like You'
1931 Gerald Marks & Seymore Simons - 'All of Me'
1931 Leon & Otis Rene & Clarence Muse, C major with the release in E - 'When it's Sleepy Time Down South'
1934 Felix Barnard - 'Winter Wonderland'
1938 Harry Warren - 'Jeepers Creepers'
1941 Gene Autry movie. Vincent Rose, Al Lewis, Larry Stock. A hit with Glen Miller and Ray Eberle. Then Louis, Fats Domino and Elvis - 'Blueberry Hill'
1941 Benny Moten - 'South'
Gerald Marks (also 'all of me') - 'Is it True what they Say about Dixie'
1942 Victor Schertzinger & Jonny Mercer for the film ‘The Fleets In’ - 'Tangerine'James Dempsey & George Mitchell - 'Ace in the Hole'
L Alter & E DeLange - 'Do you Know what it Means to miss New Orleans'
Zez Confrey, a pentatonic tune - 'Stumbling'
Victor Young, the simplest of simple songs but it works! Ref Mrs. Alan Ladd - 'Sweet Sue Just You'
Johnny Green - 'Body & Soul', 'Out of Nowhere', 'I Cover the Waterfront'
Singing the 20th Century -
A list of songs, by year, from 1900 through the late 60's (ending just before the great song wasteland, from which the world has yet to emerge). It is not easy to narrow this down, even to this many songs! This is a very select, and subjective, list. I'm sure yours would be different from mine. It is primarily based, not on how popular the songs were then, but how well they are remembered, and whether my group of people (mostly born by 1940) can successfully sing them. It is also not always clear what year to put them in. I have tried to put them where they were most popular and known. (I confess to using Whitburn's book for some of this. It's well-known that his rankings -- #1 etc. -- are highly suspect, but his time periods should be pretty good.)
1900 When You Were Sweet Sixteen (1898)
A Bird in a Gilded Cage
1901 Just a-Wearyin' for You
1902 Bill Bailey, Won't You Please Come Home
In the Good Old Summer Time
1903 Sweet Adeline (m 1896)
1904 Meet Me in St. Louis, Louis
Goodbye, My Lady Love
Yankee Doodle Boy
Give My Regards to Broadway
1905 In My Merry Oldsmobile
Wait 'Till the Sun Shines, Nellie
1906 You're a Grand Old Flag
1907 School Days
On the Road to Mandalay
1908 Take Me Out to the Ball Game
Shine on, Harvest Moon
1909 Put on Your Old Grey Bonnet
Meet Me Tonight in Dreamland
By the Light of the Silvery Moon
1910 Let Me Call You Sweetheart
Down by the Old Mill Stream
1911 Alexander's Ragtime Band
I Want a Girl Just Like the Girl
Oh, You Beautiful Doll
1912 Moonlight Bay
When Irish Eyes Are Smiling
1913 You Made Me Love You
1914 Too-ra-loo-ra-loo-ral
It's a Long Way to Tipperary (c 1912)
When You Wore a Tulip
Play a Simple Melody
1915 There's a Long, Long Trail a-Winding (c 1913)
1916 Pretty Baby
I Ain't Got Nobody
1917 Pack Up Your Troubles in Your Old Kit Bag (c 1915)
For Me and My Gal
Oh, Johnny, Oh
Over There
Darktown Strutters' Ball
1918 Oh, How I Hate to Get Up in the Morning
I'm Always Chasing Rainbows
Till We Meet Again
Beautiful Ohio
1919 How Ya Gonna Keep 'em Down on the Farm
I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles
A Pretty Girl is Like a Melody
Swanee
1920 I'll Be with You in Apple Blossom Time
Avalon
Margie
1921 Ain't We Got Fun
Peggy O'Neil
I'm Nobody's Baby
April Showers
1922 Chicago
Carolina in the Morning
1923 Swingin' Down the Lane
Yes, We Have No Bananas
Who's Sorry Now
1924 California, Here I Come
What'll I Do
Serenade (Student Prince)
Tea for Two
1925 Sweet Georgia Brown
If You Knew Susie
Yes Sir, That's My Baby
Sleepy Time Gal
Five Foot Two
1926 Bye Bye Blackbird
The Desert Song
1927 Blue Skies
Ain't She Sweet
I'm Looking Over a Four Leaf Clover
Side by Side
My Blue Heaven
Ol' Man River
1928 I Can't Give You Anything but Love
Marie
Button Up Your Overcoat
Stout Hearted Men
Softly, As in a Morning Sunrise
1929 Wedding Bells (Are Breaking up That Old Gang)
Louise
Singin' in the Rain
Star Dust
1930 On the Sunny Side of the Street
Walkin' My Baby Back Home
Georgia on My Mind
1931 Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams
I Found a Million Dollar Baby
When the Moon Comes Over the Mountain
Love Letters in the Sand
Goodnight, Sweetheart
All of Me
Lazy River
1932 Let's Have Another Cup of Coffee
In a Shanty in Old Shanty Town
We Just Couldn't Say Goodbye
The Song Is You
1933 Stormy Weather
It's Only a Paper Moon
Easter Parade
Smoke Gets in Your Eyes
1934 Moonglow
I Only Have Eyes for You
Winter Wonderland
1935 Tumbling Tumbleweeds
Blue Moon
When I Grow Too Old to Dream
I'm in the Mood for Love
I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter
Cheek to Cheek
Red Sails in the Sunset
Summertime
1936 The Glory of Love
These Foolish Things
The Way You Look Tonight
Pennies from Heaven
Whiffenpoof Song (w 1892,1918, m 1894,1936)
1937 I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm
They Can't Take That Away from Me
Where or When
Harbor Lights
That Old Feeling
Once in a While
Nice Work If You Can Get It
1938 Thanks for the Memory
Our Love Is Here to Stay
Love Walked In
Begin the Beguine (c 1935)
Mexicali Rose (c 1923)
Two Sleepy People
1939 September Song
Deep Purple (m 1934)
God Bless America (c 1918,1938)
Beer Barrel Polka (m 1934)
Over the Rainbow
South of the Border
All the Things You Are
1940 Indian Summer (m 1919)
When You Wish Upon a Star
Imagination
Fools Rush In
I'm Back in the Saddle Again
When the Swallows Come Back to Capistrano
1941 The Last Time I Saw Paris
We'll Meet Again (c 1939)
San Antonio Rose
Amapola (m 1923)
You Are My Sunshine
I Don't Want to Set the World on Fire
Chattanooga Choo-choo
White Cliffs of Dover
1942 Don't Sit Under the Apple Tree
I Left My Heart at the Stagedoor Canteen
Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition
White Christmas
1943 I've Heard That Song Before
As Time Goes By (c 1931)
Oh What a Beautiful Morning
I'll Be Home for Christmas
1944 I'll Be Seeing You (c 1938)
Swinging on a Star
I'll Walk Alone
Don't Fence Me In
1945 Rum and Coca Cola (m 1906, w 1943)
Candy
Laura
Sentimental Journey
There, I've Said It Again
If I Loved You
On the Atchison, Topeka, and the Santa Fe
It's Been a Long, Long Time
Let It Snow
1946 Seems Like Old Times
There's No Business Like Show Business
To Each His Own
Zip-a-dee-doo-dah
The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting)
1947 Anniversary Song (m 1880)
How Are Things in Glocca Morra
My Adobe Hacienda (c 1941)
Almost Like Being in Love (/Heather on the Hill /There But for You)
1948 Now Is the Hour (m 1913, w ~1936)
Buttons and Bows
On a Slow Boat to China
Lavender Blue
1949 Far Away Places
Cruising Down the River (c 1945)
Forever and Ever (m 1947)
Ghost Riders in the Sky
Some Enchanted Evening
Sleigh Ride
1950 I've Got a Lovely Bunch of Cocoanuts
Music! Music! Music! (Put Another Nickel In)
Enjoy Yourself (It's Later Than You Think)
My Foolish Heart
Dearie
Goodnight Irene (c by 1933)
The Tennessee Waltz (c 1948)
1951 So Long, It's Been Good to Know You (c 1939)
Mockin' Bird Hill
On Top of Old Smoky (c by 1916)
Hello Young Lovers
Cold Cold Heart
Slow Poke
1952 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Smokey the Bear
High Noon
Glow Worm (m 1902, w 1907,1952)
Don't Let the Stars Get in Your Eyes
Silver Bells
1953 Hi-Lili Hi-Lo
Vaya con Dios
I Love Paris
Istanbul
That's Amore
Stranger in Paradise (m 1888)
Heart of My Heart (c 1926)
1954 Oh My Papa
Young at Heart
Three Coins in the Fountain
The Happy Wanderer
Hernando's Hideaway
This Ole House
Mister Sandman
Home for the Holidays
1955 Open Up Your Heart (and Let the Sun Shine In)
Ballad of Davy Crockett
The Yellow Rose of Texas (c 1853)
Moments to Remember
Sixteen Tons (c 1947)
1956 The Wayward Wind
Wouldn't It Be Loverly (/I Could Have Danced/On the Street)
I Walk the Line
Que sera sera
Tonight You Belong to Me (c 1926)
Blueberry Hill (c 1940)
1957 Marianne (c by 1952)
A White Sport Coat
It's Not for Me to Say
Tammy
Jamaica Farewell (older)
1958 Seventy-six Trombones (/Lida Rose/Till There Was You)
Twenty-six Miles
He's Got the Whole World in His Hands (c by 1927)
All I Have to Do Is Dream
Purple People Eater
Tom Dooley (c 1868)
Tonight (/Maria)
1959 Battle of New Orleans (m 1815)
Waterloo
The M.T.A. (w 1948, m by 1924)
Misty (c 1955)
The Sound of Music
1960 El Paso
Everybody's Somebody's Fool
Save the Last Dance for Me
Try To Remember
Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow
1961 Love Makes the World Go 'Round
Moon River
1962 Where Have All the Flowers Gone
I Left My Heart in San Francisco
This Land Is Your Land (w ~1956?, m old)
1963 Puff, the Magic Dragon
Detroit City
Blowin' in the Wind
1964 Sunrise, Sunset
The Last Thing on My Mind
1965 Downtown
King of the Road
Chim-Chim Cheree
Yesterday
England Swings
Sound of Silence
1966 Spanish Eyes
California Dreamin'
Strangers in the Night
Somewhere My Love
1967 Green, Green Grass of Home
Tiny Bubbles
1968 The Unicorn
Little Green Apples
Both Sides Now
Those Were the Days (w 1962, m old)