What was "Tin Pan Alley"?

Tin Pan Alley was a collection of music publishers and songwriters in New York City that dominated the popular music of the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Originally, it referred to a specific location on West 28th Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues in the Flower District of Manhattan, as commemorated by a plaque on 28th Street between Broadway and Sixth. Several buildings on Tin Pan Alley are protected as New York City designated landmarks, and the section of 28th Street from Fifth to Sixth Avenue is also officially co-named Tin Pan Alley.

The start of Tin Pan Alley is usually dated to about 1885, when a number of music publishers set up shop in the same district of Manhattan. The end of Tin Pan Alley is fuzzy but is attributed to the advent of Rock and Roll music.

There are conflicting explanations regarding the origins of the term "Tin Pan Alley". The most popular account holds that it was originally a derogatory reference made by journalist Monroe H. Rosenfeld in the "New York Herald" to the collective sound made by many "cheap upright pianos" all playing different tunes being reminiscent of the banging of tin pans in an alleyway.

Songs from Tin Pan Alley include, "Ain't She Sweet", "Down By The Old Mill Stream", "By The Light of the Silvery Moon", "God Bless America", "In the Good Old Summer Time", "Let Me Call You Sweetheart", "Stardust", "Swanee", "Sweet Georgia Brown", and many more.