Themes Like Old Times II

The eleventh medley in the concert is entitled Themes Like Old Times II. It includes five iconic songs from “Tin Pan Alley” era of American show music. The arrangement was written by Warren Barker (see below) in 1996.

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.

The first song in the medley, “Swanee”, was written in 1919 by George Gershwin, with lyrics by Irving Caesar. The song was written for a New York City revue by Ned Wayburn called Demi Tasse, which opened on 24 October 1919 as part of the inaugural performance of the Capitol Theatre.

The second song in the medley, “For Me and My Gal”, was written in 1917 by George W. Meyer with lyrics by Edgar Leslie and E. Ray Goetz. The song was later used in the 1942 film of the same name, where it is the first song that Jo Hayden (Judy Garland) and Harry Palmer (Gene Kelly) perform together. The Decca single release of the Garland/Kelly version was a major hit in 1942.

The third song in the medley, “Put Your Arms Around Me Honey” by Harry von Tilzer with words by Junie McCree, was originally introduced in the vaudeville circuit before its inclusion in the 1910 Broadway show Madame Sherry. It was later featured in the 1949 film In the Good Old Summertime, sung by Judy Garland.

The fourth song in the medley, “Pretty Baby”, was written by Tony Jackson during the Ragtime era. The song was remembered as being prominent in Jackson’s repertory before he left New Orleans in 1912, but was not published until 1916.

The background as to how the song came to be published has been confused over the years. However, it appears that composer Egbert Van Alstyne and lyricist Gus Kahn were writing partners. While Van Alstyne was serving as the Chicago manager of music publishers Jerome H. Remick & Company, they heard Tony Jackson singing the song one evening at a Chicago nightspot. Van Alstyne and Kahn liked the melody, but felt the lyrics were unsuitable for mass consumption. This resulted in Jackson being paid $250 for the rights to the tune, and Kahn re-writing the lyrics, with Van Alstyne adding a verse, which he took from one of his earlier unsuccessful songs. Jackson’s name was included on the sheet music.

The fifth and final song in the medley, “Tiger Rag”, also known as “Hold That Tiger!”, was recorded and copyrighted by the Original Dixieland Jazz Band in 1917. It is one of the most recorded jazz compositions. It was first copyrighted with music by Nick LaRocca credited with its composition. In subsequent releases, all the members of the Original Dixieland Jazz Band members received authorship credit.

Arranger Warren Barker (1923 -2006) was born in Oakland, California. He attended the University of California at Los Angeles. At the age of 24, he was appointed chief arranger for the National Broadcasting Company’s prime musical program of the time, The Railroad Hour, a position he held for six years. Barker was also associated with 20th Century Fox, Metro Goldwyn-Mayer and Columbia Studios as a composer arranger-conductor for motion pictures and television.

Barker composed and conducted music for more than thirty television series including seven years as composer-conductor for the highly rated comedy series, Bewitched. The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences honored him in 1970 for his original music written for the award winning series, My World and Welcome to It, based on the life of James Thurber. He was a member of the arranging staff for the Oscar winning motion picture Hello Dolly. He also served as conductor-arranger and recording artist for Warner Bros. and Capitol Records.

Barker’s compositions and arrangements have been performed and recorded by a variety of musical artists from Frank Sinatra to the Hollywood Bowl and Cincinnati Pops Orchestras. He received writing commissions from many outstanding music organizations including The United States Air Force Band, The Royal Australian Navy Band, the Northshore Concert Band, and the Norwegian Army Staff Band. Barker wrote or arranged more than 300 pieces for concert band, and we frequently perform pieces by him.

The music for Themes Like Old Times II was provided for the band

by The Tenor Sax Section of 2016, David Luke and Alexis White.