Yours for a Song: The Women of Tin Pan Alley

Yours for a Song: The Women of Tin Pan Alley
by Terry Benes

Yours for a Song: The Women of Tin Pan Alley
List Price: $24.98
Our Price: $7.84
You Save: $17.14 (69%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $7.45 (click here)
Category: DVD
See more DVD details


(Click here)
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada

DVD details

Actor: Betty Buckley
Director: Terry Benes
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo; English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo
Format: Black & White, Color, DVD, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 55 minutes
DVD Release Date: 1999-12-28
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Fox Lorber

DVD Reviews of Yours for a Song: The Women of Tin Pan Alley

DVD Review: Four Great Song Writers, Who Happened To Be Women
Summary: 4 Stars

Subtitled "The Women of Tin Pan Alley," it's a fascinating look at several women composers and lyric writers who managed to make a name for themselves in the Twenties and Thirties writing some great popular songs. This was the golden age of American song writing and, like everything else except marriage, was difficult for a woman to break into.

The program, one of the American Masters series on PBS, centers primarily on four women, now almost entirely forgotten except for Dorothy Fields, but all of whom wrote some great standards:

--Dorothy Fields, one the great lyric writers. Her career spanned the mid-Twenties well into the Sixties (collaborating with Cy Coleman on her last two shows, Sweet Charity and, in 1973, Two for the Seesaw). "I'm in the Mood for Love," "The Way You Look Tonight."
--Kay Swift, composer, very much her own woman yet deeply influenced by George Gershwin. "Can't We Be Friends?," "Fine and Dandy."
--Anne Ronell, composer, with a long, Hollywood career. "Willow Weep for Me," "Whose Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf."
--Dana Suesse, composer, who wrote everything from jazz symphonies to pop songs. "You Ought to Be in Pictures," "Whistling in the Dark."

If you're fond of well-written and literate songs, pretty much a thing of the past nowadays, this is a program that should interest you. It features their songs sung by people like Michael Feinstein and Betty Buckley, footage of singers like Ella Fitzgerald and Rosemary Clooney and a trove of historical clips. The program is only 55 minutes, so it's not able to do more than skim the subject matter. The DVD looks very good, including the old clips.

Description of Yours for a Song: The Women of Tin Pan Alley

It's a little known fact that many popular music standards of the Tin Pan Alley era were written by women. But between 1920 and 1949, 178 women joined ASCAP, and Dorothy Fields, Kay Swift, Dana Suesse and Ann Ronell were among the most influential songwriters of the time. Their music was heard everywhere--from the vaudeville stages to Broadway, across the airwaves and at the movies. Yours for a Song pays tribute to the lives and work of these remarkable women. Features Betty Buckley, Michael Feinstein, Robert White, Nora Michaels and others performing their interpretations of classic songs written by the women of Tin Pan Alley. Also includes archival footage, motion picture clips and rarely-seen photographs from the "Golden Age of Songwriting" as well as performance clips of Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald and Perry Como. Songs include: "Yours for a Song," "You Ougtha Be in Pictures," "If My Friends Could See Me Now," "The Way You Look Tonight," "A Fine Romance," "I'm in the Mood for Love," "Willow Weep for Me," "Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?," "Fine and Dandy," "Can't We Be Friends?," "I Can't Give You Anything But Love." 55 minutes.

General DVDs

DVD Video
Bestsellers in General DVDs
Valentino: The Last Emperor ImageValentino: The Last Emperor
PEACE ARCH HOME ENTERTAINMENT; Release date: 2009-09-08; DVD
Best price: $13.00
Price in other shops: $14.99
The Civil War - A Film by Ken Burns ImageThe Civil War - A Film by Ken Burns
BURNS,KEN; Release date: 2004-09-28; DVD
Best price: $35.95
Price in other shops: $99.99
On the Road with Charles Kuralt, Set 1 ImageOn the Road with Charles Kuralt, Set 1
Acorn; Release date: 2009-10-27; DVD
Best price: $27.10
Price in other shops: $39.99
The National Parks: America's Best Idea [Blu-ray] ImageThe National Parks: America's Best Idea [Blu-ray]
Release date: 2009-10-06; DVD
Best price: $68.53
Price in other shops: $129.99
Monty Python: Almost The Truth ImageMonty Python: Almost The Truth
Uni; Release date: 2009-10-27; DVD
Best price: $18.97
Price in other shops: $29.99
The Secret (Extended Edition) ImageThe Secret (Extended Edition)
The Secret; Release date: 2006-10-01; Published: 2006; DVD
Best price: $7.78
Price in other shops: $24.95
The Carter ImageThe Carter
HART SHARP VIDEO; Release date: 2009-11-17; DVD
Best price: $13.85
Price in other shops: $19.99
Ken Burns: National Parks - America's Best Idea ImageKen Burns: National Parks - America's Best Idea
Release date: 2009-10-06; DVD
Best price: $60.95
Price in other shops: $99.99
Planet Earth - The Complete BBC Series ImagePlanet Earth - The Complete BBC Series
Warner Brothers; Release date: 2007-04-24; DVD
Best price: $26.67
Price in other shops: $79.98
Food, Inc. ImageFood, Inc.
MAGNOLIA PICT HM ENT; Release date: 2009-11-03; DVD
Best price: $12.49
Price in other shops: $26.98
Similar DVDs, VHS Video, Audio CDs
Damn Yankees ImageDamn Yankees
VERDON,GWEN; Release date: 2004-10-12; DVD
Best price: $8.98
Price in other shops: $19.98
Alexander's Ragtime Band ImageAlexander's Ragtime Band
POWER,TYRONE; Release date: 2004-09-07; DVD
Best price: $4.98
Price in other shops: $14.98
Stormy Weather ImageStormy Weather
TCFHE; Release date: 2006-01-10; DVD
Best price: $8.25
Price in other shops: $14.98
Hollywood Singing and Dancing: A Musical History - The 1930s ImageHollywood Singing and Dancing: A Musical History - The 1930s
ASTAIRE,FRED; Release date: 2009-03-24; DVD
Best price: $13.66
Price in other shops: $19.99
It's a Pleasure ImageIt's a Pleasure
Release date: 2009-04-07; DVD
Best price: $8.08
Price in other shops: $14.98
Fine and Dandy: The Life and Work of Kay Swift ImageFine and Dandy: The Life and Work of Kay Swift
by Vicki Ohl
Yale University Press; Published: 2004-06-10; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $6.47
Price in other shops: $30.00
The Great American Songbook ImageThe Great American Songbook
FEINSTEIN,MICHAEL; Release date: 2003-04-22; DVD
Best price: $17.30
Price in other shops: $24.98
Biography - Irving Berlin: An American Song (A&E DVD Archives) ImageBiography - Irving Berlin: An American Song (A&E DVD Archives)
A&E; Release date: 2005-07-26; DVD
Best price: $6.80
Price in other shops: $24.95
An Evening with Dorothy Fields ImageDorothy Fields - An Evening with Dorothy Fields
Release date: 1998-05-19; Music CD
Best price: $6.56
Price in other shops: $9.98
Somewhere Over the Rainbow: Harold Arlen ImageSomewhere Over the Rainbow: Harold Arlen
Release date: 1999-07-27; DVD
Best price: $24.99
Compare prices and read customer reviews for more than one million DVD titles.
Oscar 2005 Winners