Music of the Golden Age, 1900-1950 and Beyond

The Golden Age of popular music began prior to World War I with composers and lyricists writing hit songs for Tin Pan Alley, for musical plays, for Vaudeville and for radio. It blossomed from the 1920s through the early 1950s, defined by a mood and style filled with rhythm and romance and with memorable, melodic, literate music. Although this work focuses on hit songs by major song writers such as Berlin and Gershwin, Kern and Hammerstein, Rodgers and Porter, major collaborators are included as well. Contemporary songwriters, continuing with the style of the Golden Age include Marvin Hamlisch, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Burt Bacharach and Stevie Wonder. A separate chapter concentrates on celebrities and women of song.