Various

The naive romanticism of the Jazz Age, when, as F. Scott Fitzgerald saw it, "people danced in a champagne haze on the rooftop of the world," was nowhere more clearly reflected than in America's popular music of the 1920s. The banal optimism, the desperate gaiety, the tinsel pretentiousness, the childish excitement, and the innocent beauty of the songs between the end of World War I and the Depression demonstrate how sweet and sad and silly a time it was. The subject matter of the love songs, the "nut" or nonsense novelties, the sentimental ballads, and the "exotic" dance numbers almost never attempted to deal with real events or emotions. As in other decades, the songs were written by hacks, craftsmen, accidentally talented illiterates, and, thankfully, a considerable number of composers and lyricists of extraordinary creative gifts. 

This excellent compilation of some of the most emblematic songs and performers of the Tin Pan Alley era is accompanied by a 36-page booklet with a superb historical essay and copious notes on the songs and performers. Anyone interested in the roots of American popular song will find this anthology of paramount interest. Reissued from the original New World LP.

Whispering (Paul Whiteman and His Ambassador Orchestra); April Showers (Al Jolson); Collegiate (Fred Waring and His Pennsylvanians); Dinah (Ethel Waters); A Good Man Is Hard to Find (Ted Lewis and His Band); Gimme A Little Kiss, Will Ya, Huh? (Jack Smith); 'Deed I Do (Ruth Etting); There'll Be Some Changes Made (Sophie Tucker); Sunday (Cliff Edwards and His Hot Combination); Yes Sir, That's My Baby (Blossom Seeley); Mississippi Mud (The Rhythm Boys, with Paul Whiteman and His Orchestra); My Blue Heaven (Gene Austin); Deep Night (Rudy Vallee and His Connecticut Yankees); Ain't Misbehavin' (Louis Armstrong and His Orchestra)