Saluting the Women of Tin Pan Alley

They say that history is written by the victors, and in the battle between the sexes, it’s all too clear who’s won. The names of countless women have been lost from all fields of endeavor, from business to the arts.

Fortunately, these losses have begun to be reversed as historians and fans dig back to find the stories of women who succeeded against all odds.

An earnest and entertaining--if not terribly in-depth--example of this reclamation is on display tonight in the hourlong “American Masters” presentation of “Yours for a Song: The Women of Tin Pan Alley” on KCET. Its goal is to get you humming along with some of the great hit songs of the 1920s, ‘30s, ‘40s and beyond, and to point out that women wrote the music and/or lyrics to them.

“I Can’t Give You Anything but Love”? Dorothy Fields wrote the lyrics. “Can’t We Be Friends”? That’s Kay Swift. “You Oughta Be in Pictures”? Dana Suesse composed it. “Willow Weep for Me”? Ann Ronell.

The stories of these four women, along with passing mentions of others, are told through interviews with historians, singers (including Michael Feinstein) and family members, interwoven with archival interviews with the women themselves and vintage performances of their songs (by such wonderful stylists as Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra and Rosemary Clooney).

Working alongside--and sometimes with--the likes of Jerome Kern, George Gershwin, Irving Berlin and Cole Porter, the female songwriters drew upon, and contributed to, America’s lively jazz idioms and set toes tapping across the nation, from Broadway to Hollywood. What’s more, they brought female perspectives to American popular music of the time, as in Fields’ lyrics for “A Fine Romance” in the 1936 film “Swing Time,” in which a sulking Ginger Rogers berates a bewildered Fred Astaire for not being more demonstrative with his affection.

Broadway diva Betty Buckley narrates the program, which was produced and directed by Terry Benes. It’s too bad that, by the end, we don’t know the featured songwriters better--but as we hum their tunes, the ladies live on.

* “Yours for a Song: The Women of Tin Pan Alley” airs tonight at 9 on KCET. The network has rated it TV-PG (may be unsuitable for young children).