This week we trace two roots of American popular song: the Euro-American folk ballad and the commercial song-publishing machine of Tin Pan Alley. We'll examine how ballads traveled across the Atlantic, transformed in Appalachia and beyond, and were eventually codified by 19th-century collectors — and then see how the emerging music industry of the late 1800s began turning song into a mass-market commodity.
As you listen to the ballads, pay attention to strophic form and the consistency of melodic delivery across verses. How does the singer's emotional restraint differ from more modern performance styles? For the Tin Pan Alley songs, notice the verse-refrain structure and how the lyrics address broad, sentimental themes.