It would be remiss of me not to acknowledge the passing of Westport's own Hy Zaret, the prolific Tin Pan Alley lyricist. Although he was most noted for writing the words to the popular 1955 song "Unchained Melody," his work encompassed jingles, Broadway tunes, and songs about science.
In his book The Tin Pan Alley Song Encyclopedia, author Thomas S. Hischak noted that "Unchained Melody" was written by Zaret and composer Alex North for the 1955 movie Unchained. Unlike the film, Zarek's creation went on to have a life of its own. It was performed by Les Baxter, Al Hibbler, the Righteous Brothers, Andy Williams, the Platters, Tom Jones, James Galway, Karen Akers, etc. It was not only an Oscar nominated song but honored by American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers in 2003 as "the most-performed love song of the 1950's."
John Stewart in his work Broadway Musicals, 1944 - 2004, cited his songs in the Broadway shows Blue Holiday (1945), Hear! Hear! (1955), Street Corner Symphony (1997), and the Army Show Hi, Yank! (1944).
To learn more about the songs of Tin Pan Alley, the Library recommends Philip Furia's Poets of Tin Pan Alley, John Shepherd's Tin Pan Alley, and the sound recording Sidewalks of New York: Tin Pan Alley.