American Sheet Music - A Study of the Social and Cultural Mores of America in Popular Music

Songs

By the early 19^th century sheet music publishing was well established. The period after the Civil War saw an increase in the activities of the music publishing business. The modern process in printing enabled printing companies to publish large numbers of music for mass consumption. This could be called the age of parlor music. In the latter 19th century the music business was centered around the Manhattan area of New York known as ‘Tim Pan Alley." The "Alley" survived until the emergence of the record industry. It is said to have "died" on April 10th, 1954 with the release of Bill Haley’s recording of "Rock Around The Clock."

It is difficult dating some of the early sheet music prior to the enactment of the copyright law of 1871. Many of the early pieces of music were printed on rag rather than pulp wood, making their preservation better.

Before Tin Pan Alley, composing popular music was more of an individual effort or inspiration. The "Alley" changed this by hiring composers to compose and write on demand. Thus the "tunes-smith" was born, writing for specific performers or writing a musical style that was currently selling. Irving Berlin was an example of this, writing a song because a previous song style was selling. Tin Pan Alley also understood that a song’s cover, with either the picture of a performer or an artistic illustration, would help sell piece of sheet music. The cover became a significant element to help sell sheet music.

From the art on the cover of the popular sheet music of the era we can learn many musical and social lessons. It was not only the words that were often a slur and social comment on racial conditions but also the many grotesque pictures and caricatures on the covers. We notice a gradual change in the way the Negro, the Native America Indian, and jazz musicians are depicted on sheet music covers. The covers can be used as an example of the change of attitude of society toward race, religion and social positions which are depicted on their publications. Our purpose in showing these covers (and playing the music) is to show that it is the music that is important and worthy of recognition and performance. We can use the covers as a barometer of our social advancement, for it is in the arts that we can observe our society and its mores, morals and prejudices. Our arts are the final judge of our society and it is the arts that will remain through time.

The Negro slave is depicted in a number of early sheet music covers; from the minstrel shows, the campmeetings and gathering of slaves. From the covers we can gradually observe a more human depiction of the Negro race.

The native American Indian is treated with more grace and beauty, with some of the covers actually works of art. (The record industry would later emulate this cover concept with very artistic jackets for their records.)

The history of jazz can be seen in some covers picturing jazz bands: "The Chicken Walk," written by the first jazz musicians to migrate to Chicago (The Tom Brown Jazz Band); the "Livery Stable Blues," by the group that recorded the first jazz record (The Original Dixieland Jazz Band).

The growth of vaudeville (with the background and help of the minstrel show) was an important factor in the growth of Tin Pan Alley’s legacy. By the time Elvis Presley recorded "Heartbreak Hotel" in 1956, the era of Tin Pan Alley was over. From the late 1950’s each week’s ‘Top Ten’ would be entirely composed of rock and roll numbers which had no great sheet music sales. Popular music became the domain of the teen age record buyer who supported the performance more than the written music.

SALLY COME UP - 1860 - Dan Emmett

The Minstrel show was a popular form of popular entertainment after the Civil War. Both Black and White performers were seen in the minstrels, both wearing blackface. Many popular songs were written for the numerous minstrel troupes that traveled throughout the United States. We will present one - "Sally Come Up" published in 1860 and used in various minstrel shows.

UNCLE JASPER'S JUBILEE - 1899 - E.T.Paull

One of the earliest and most colorful and artistic piano sheet music covers is "Uncle Jasper's Jubilee." The cover is a caricature, which is not realistic nor flattering, but it was what appeared on the sheet music of the late 19th century in America. The covers of piano sheet music were treated as an artistic opportunity as with the covers on a book and were created to excite the curiosity and interest of a potential buyer.

'Jasper' is labeled a 'two-step' and 'cakewalk' and 'dance characterisque' and is entitled a 'Jubilee.' There really is not a group of songs called Jubilees' that show any special musical characteristics other than those of a cakewalk. The early cakewalks are all really examples of ragtime music. Each is a step in the evolution of incorporating Negro rhythms into the march form which develops into what was to be known as rags and jazz.

This song is notable as it was arranged for band by the great cornetist Herbert L. Clarke. Clarke arranged the song, giving the cakewalk genre a very professional endorsement that I am sure helped the general public accept the cakewalk genre as true musical worth and hastened the development of well-educated composers to compose classical rags.

This piece is another example (and a good one) of the march-like feeling of a song that uses the cakewalk rhythm (o o o ).

 SMOKY MOKES - 1899 - A. Holzmann

Abe Holzmann (1874-1939) was born in New York City. He was conservatory trained and was the composer of "Bunch of Blackberries" (1900) that was popularized internationally by J.P. sousa. "Smoky Mokes" became a very popular and successful composition.

Described as a cakewalk and two-step, we find, in the vocal parts, a text that is in Negro dialect and the song is an example of the lyrics in what were to become known as "Coon songs." Lyrics are by W. Murdoch Lind. The lyrics are typical of many "coon" songs of the era and below we give an example of the lyrics.

    "Sharpen yo' razors, bring yo' ladies down to de old town 
   Dar's going to be a ball, come niggers come one and all.
   De walk fo' de cake will soon be commencin, music will      play
   Dem Smoky Mokes am givin' to cut a dash. 
   Strike up de old ragtime."

There are two versions published with different covers. The vocal copy has a picture of Edna Collins in the foreground with a caricature of a Negro in the background. In the instrumental cover there is a picture of four young Negro lads. The cover reminds us that it can be used as a cakewalk or two-step. Also given on the left of the picture is a statement: "published also as a song with humorous darky text." The given text given above is what is referred to in this statement. The cakewalk/ragtime song was primarily an instrumental form, when the words are added it became the Coon song.

A COON BAND CONTEST - 1899 - Arthur Pryor

Arthur Pryor was the trombonist and one of the arrangers for the Sousa Band. Pryor had a background in popular dance music, playing in his father's dance orchestra. He was mostly responsible for many of Sousa's use of the popular music of his day (Cakewalks, Coon songs, etc.). Pryor published a number of original compositions for the dance orchestras of his time.

This piece illustrates the link between brass band music and Negro type music, i.e. the cakewalk. It was re-issued in 1918 unaltered except for a new, more fashionable descriptive designation 'Jazz fox Trot'. Published in 1899, it is a very good example of the cakewalk genre using the characteristic cakewalk rhythm and syncopation. There is also a very characteristic trombone style with the use of the glissando technique, a sound that was associated with early jazz. The glissando was used earlier by the Gabrieli's in the 16th century in Venice, Italy.

HELLO MY BABY - 1899 - Howard/Emerson

No less than Johann Brahms was a fan of this song. He heard a lady performer playing the banjo and singing this song in a Paris nightclub. He remarked how he really loved the rhythmic structure. Unfortunately Brahms died before he was able to use the rhythm in a composition. Brahms was a great user of syncopation in his music and perhaps, in his way, paved the way for the syncopated rhythmic music of jazz. This arrangement begins with three sections of unfamiliar melodies but ends with the fourth section using the well-known melody of "Hello My Baby." This piece is an example (along with Alexander's Ragtime Band) of the ragtime style filtering into Tin Pan Alley and American popular music. It uses the Cakewalk rhythm in its main melody.

CREOLE BELLES - 1900 - J. B. Lampe

Marked 'arranged for band, orchestra, mandolin, banjo, etc.' Creole Belles was written by J. B. Lampe in 1900 and is described as a "march, two-step." In reality it uses the cakewalk rhythm, using it in 17 out of 20 measures. In section B the main theme is march-like with counterpoint and syncopation. Section C is a repeat of Section A. Section D stresses the Scotch snap (o o ) which appears in early plantation music. There is a transition using counterpoint material of section B that leads to section F, a repeat of section B. it is also march-like. If one play A alone one would say it is a cakewalk. If playing section B one would describe the piece as a march. This illustrates the writing of the era that would continue in jazz pieces written in the late teens and early 20's of the century (example: the trio of "War Cloud" (Fidgety Feet) of the Original Dixieland Jazz Band in 1919).

HIAWATHA - 1901 - Neil Moret (Charles Daniels)

Called "Lizard on a Rail" a half century later by New Orleans jazzmen, Hiawatha was written in 1901. The song caught the public's fancy with its combination of raggy march-like rhythm, coupled with a sentimental and exotic love tale. Soon after publication came a flow of closely derivative pieces containing pathetic India tales to the popular rhythms of ragtime. The composer Charles Daniels remarked: "I conceived the tune riding on a train through Hiawatha, Kansas."

The American Indian, as treated by the song writers of the era was a stereo type figure straight out of a sentimental melodrama. Like the Juliet of Shakespeare we find the Indian woman a simple, virtuous maiden wronged by hard destiny. Daniels uses rumbling rhythms, minor chords and pentatonic harmonies to suggest Indian characteristics.

PEACEFUL HENRY - 1902 - E. H. Kelly

Written in 1902 by E.H. Kelly, it was a 'hit' instrumental piece and is called a slow drag. It was named after an old colored janitor in the basement of a building who was called 'Peaceful henry.' The piece does use tied syncopation to great effect.

A slow drag is defined as 'a deliberately or unintentional attempt to sing or play slightly behind the beat. As articulated by the rhythm section or implied by the playing of the rest of the ensemble. Its' style is difficult to interpret by an ensemble. It was published by a Detroit Press and has a picture of a Negro youth on the cover.

GRIZZLY BEAR - 1910 - George Botsford

What is called a secondary rag contains a cross-rhythm meter - a technique in classical music called Hemiola. George Botsford was a protégé of Irving Berlin and Berlin stated that he lent a hand to Botsford in the writing of "Grizzly Bear." Botsford, born in 1874, in Sioux Falls, South Dakota and wrote this rag in 1910. Berlin is given credit for the lyrics of the song. In this piece we find the use of the cakewalk rhythm with an interesting use of staccato in the trio. There is a return of the cakewalk rhythm in the last four measures.

RED WING - 1907 - Kerry Mills

Often more than one cover art was used. Such is the case with "Red Wing." One is marked "Indian Fable/Love Song," and the other "An Indian Intermezzo." The song became a big hit and was written by Kerry Mills, a very popular and famous composer of popular music. The art work on the cover of both are beautiful with one possessing a beautiful Indian Maiden with mountains in the background - is worthy of a portrait that might be framed and hung. Both contain lyrics with one having a final chorus for male quartet.

ALEXANDER'S RAGTIME BAND - 1911 - Irving Berlin

One of the most popular and influential pieces of the early 20th century, Alexander's Ragtime Band paved the way for the beginnings of the famous "Tin Pan Alley." Berlin was primarily a popular songwriter and whatever was selling was the style of his next composition. Alexander was the name used when people of authority would call a Negro band leader, thus the name of the song as typical of the Negro jazz band. It is played in the original arrangement published in 1911. Listen to quotes musically from "Swanee River" and "Dixie."

MEMPHIS BLUES - 1912 - W.C. Handy

The story of "Memphis Blues" is of particular interest. In 1909 the battle for the Memphis mayoralty was three-cornered, the corners being Messrs. Williams, Talbert and E.H. Crump. There were also three leading Negro bands in Memphis: Eckford's, Bynum's and Handy's.  These three bands were engaged for the election to demonstrate to the public the executive ability of their respective employers. Handy wrote a blues, "Mr. Crump," for the campaign. The song was so accepted that its new form won immediate recognition for both its composer and the winner of the mayoralty - Mr. Crump.

The song was characterized as nothing short of a masterpiece; in sheer melodic beauty, in the vividness of its characterization, and in the deftness of its polyphony and structure. The enthusiast assures us that this song deserves to rank among the best of all time.

JOGO BLUES (ST. LOUIS BLUES) - 1913 - W. C. Handy

Much of the early music published for dance bands consisted of old riffs and melodies that had been played for years by older musicians. As an example: "Tar Baby Stomp" became "In the Mood;" "Rusty Nail Blues" became "Tin Roof Blues;" "Praline" became "Tiger Rag." An old blues riff "Jogo Blues" theme eventually became "St. Louis Blues."

A year before the publication of "St. Louis Blues" W. C. Handy published a song called "Jogo Blues" that used the melody of St. Louis blues. Further theoretical evidence is found in the title "Jogo" meaning "colored" or the slang word used for a Negro.

I'M SORRY I MADE YOU CRY - 1918 - N.J. Clesi

This song, by New Orleans composer N.J. Clesi, became a national hit. The arrangement is marked a 'jazz fox trot' and includes a verse that leads to the better known chorus that became a well-known melody. It also includes what is marked a trio that returns to the main melody for the fine. Written for society orchestra using the newly popular instrument, the saxophone.

It is interesting to note the style of the arrangement. The melody, a very good one when sung as a solo song, is played with out the syncopation and jazzy treatment found in this arrangement and the first and trio sections are never used. To sell a composition during the jazz age many songs were given the 'jazz' treatment as they would be used for dancing and the length of a song was extended as the dance needed to be longer than just a chorus or two by a singer.

BROADWAY BLUES - 191 5 - Walsh

Featured by the famous vaudevillian Sophie Tucker and her jazz band, Broadway Blues is an early example of a category of popular songs that were labeled blues but were not in the traditional 12 bar blues form. The first section (after a four bar introduction and a two bar vamp) is in 16 bar song form. The beginning figure uses the cakewalk rhythm and the Scotch Snap and the use, although sparingly, of the blues scale. The chorus first figure presented is very reminiscent of the St. Louis Blues.

This type of music was typical of the songs that were sung on the vaudeville circuit and by stars like Sophie Tucker. She was classified as a type of singer known as a "Coon Shouter. "She uses a jazz band of her own when she did her presentation, this band traveling with her.

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