The Poets of Tin Pan Alley: A History of America's Great Lyricists

by Philip Furia

From the turn of the century to the 1960s, the songwriters of Tin Pan Alley dominated American music. Irving Berlin, Cole Porter, George and Ira Gershwin, Rodgers and Hart--even today these giants remain household names, their musicals regularly revived, their methods and styles analyzed and imitated, and their songs the bedrock of jazz and cabaret. In The Poets of Tin Pan Alley Philip Furia offers a unique new perspective on these great songwriters, showing how their poetic lyrics were as important as their brilliant music in shaping a golden age of American popular song.
Furia writes with great perception and understanding as he explores the deft rhymes, inventive imagery, and witty solutions these songwriters used to breathe new life into rigidly established genres. He devotes full chapters to all the greats, including Irving Berlin, Lorenz Hart, Ira Gershwin, Cole Porter, Oscar Hammerstain II, Howard Dietz, E.Y. Harburg, Dorothy Fields, Leo Robin, and Johnny Mercer. Furia also offers a comprehensive survey of other lyricists who wrote for the sheet-music industry, Broadway, Hollywood, and Harlem nightclub revues. This was the era that produced The New Yorker , Don Marquis, Dorothy Parker, and E.B. White--and Furia places the lyrics firmly in this fascinating historical context. In these pages, the lyrics emerge as an important element of American modernism, as the lyricists, like the great modernist poets, took the American vernacular and made it sing.

Genres: Music, History, Poetry, Biography, Nonfiction

336 pages, Paperback

First published October 11, 1990

About the author

Philip Furia was an American author and English literature professor. His books focus on the lyricists of the Tin Pan Alley era.

Reviews

[Marilyn]

These poets helped teach me how to write poetry. I thoroughly enjoyed this highly readable book featuring some of their finest work.

[Michaela · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the music of this era. It was so interesting to have the poetic process the lyricists used explained so well.

[Sharon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this book by a great teacher on the subject!

[David]

Oct. 2023:Dipped into this again. Read the final chapter in the book (on Johnny Mercer) while listening to a podcast on Mercer. Mercer was (so the book says) the last in the long line of Tin Pan Alley greats, and this chapter tells us that Broadway style changes brought by the success of “Oklahoma” contributed greatly to the Alley’s demise, among other reasons.

Now embarked on a deep dive into Johnny Mercer. Will return to this book later.

Deep dive into Johnny Mercer very rewarding. See reviews of two bios and (review to come) book on his complete lyrics.

[Erick · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent book! Furia hit the nail of the head.
Gives background, methods, styles and analysis
of all the great lyricists from the era of 20th century
popular song. A very good book and I'll probably
read it again!

[Steven Karlin · Rating 1 out of 5]

I couldn't finish it. I thought I would love it due to the subject, but it was so incredibly textbook ish and dull.