information:classification, information:highlighting
Sentimental ballads

Sentimental ballads, sometimes called "tear-jerkers" or "drawing-room ballads" owing to their popularity with the middle classes, had their origins in the early " Tin Pan Alley " music industry of the later 19th century. They were generally sentimental, narrative, strophic songs published separately or as part of an opera (descendants perhaps of broadside ballads, but with printed music, and usually newly composed). Such songs include "Little Rosewood Casket" (1870), " After the Ball " (1892) and " Danny Boy ". The association with sentimentality led to the term "ballad" being used for slow love songs from the 1950s onwards. Modern variations include " jazz ballads ", " pop ballads ", " rock ballads ", " R&B ballads " and " power ballads ".