Whilst ‘Tin Pan Alley’ wasn’t a specific address or time period, it captures an era of prolific composers in 20th Century America. In this article, Chicago-based singer and Nerd Mountain host Christy Bennet, looks at the sometimes-forgotten women who were responsible for many of these popular songs.
Tin Pan Alley was never a specific address or time period; it described an era (1886-1956 for the purposes of this article) where one could hear song demonstrators playing out-of-tune pianos from every startup publishing house in New York City. As if each building was filled with people banging on tin pans.
When searching through music history books about this era, one can rarely find mention of the women who were part of the industry that created most of the songs in the Great American Songbook.
Despite the fact that the publishing decision-makers were white men, several women did break through the glass ceiling. Many of their songs are well-known and regularly performed today, yet their stories and their names go unheard.
Here are ten women whose names you should know as well as Gershwin, Cole Porter and Rogers and Hart…
Bernice Petkere (August 11, 1901 – January 7, 2000)
Bernice Petkere was born in Chicago, Illinois. She began her career at a very young age performing in an act with her aunt called the Baby Dolls.
She studied voice at the Henshaw Conservatory of Music. After graduating, she became a piano demonstrator for the publishing house Waterson, Berlin & Snyder. She married Edward Conne and began writing music.
In 1931, she wrote her first hit song, Starlight. Bing Crosby was the first to record it, and Irving Berlin, now running his own publishing house, published it. She continued to compose popular music in the 30s.
In 1938, she divorced her first husband and married singer and CBS music director Freddie Berens a few years later. The couple moved to Los Angeles, California, hoping to get into the movie industry.
The first film Bernice composed music for was “Ice Follies of 1939,” featuring Jimmy Stewart and Betty Davis. Bernice continued to write music for the rest of her life.
Bernice Petkere songs
Lullaby of the Leaves
Close Your Eyes
Starlight
Ann Ronell (December 25, 1905 — December 25, 1993)
Ann Ronell was born Ann Rosenblatt in Omaha, Nebraska. She attended Ratcliffe College and wrote music reviews for the school paper while there.
Her first big break came when she interviewed George Gershwin, who was so impressed by her work that he told her to look him up when she graduated and moved to New York.
She took him up on the offer, and he helped her get work as a rehearsal pianist for Whoopie and The New Moon.
From there, she continued to write for musicals, operas, and films for the rest of her life.