The Tin Pan Alley Song Encyclopedia

the long version

"Many books have been written about Tin Pan Alley - the colloquial name assigned to popular music before the advent of rock 'n' roll - yet little is available about the individual songs defining this enormously significant style of American music. This encyclopedia of over 1,200 songs written from the mid-19th century through the 1950s provides information and commentary on the music embraced by the American public.". "No other single volume contains as much information on the subject. Author Thomas Hischak provides an exhaustive yet highly readable guide to the songs, their periods, their styles, and their performers. His study explains in layman's language how this music survived over time, and how it came to play such an influential role in American popular culture. Ideal for researchers and browsers alike, this encyclopedia is a long overdue examination of an American musical institution."--BOOK JACKET.