Great American Songbook

The Great American Songbook is the loosely defined canon of significant 20th-century American jazz standards, popular songs, and show tunes.

Definition

According to the Great American Songbook Foundation:

The "Great American Songbook" is the canon of the most important and influential American popular songs and jazz standards from the early 20th century that have stood the test of time in their life and legacy. Often referred to as "American Standards", the songs published during the Golden Age of this genre include those popular and enduring tunes from the 1920s to the 1950s that were created for Broadway theatre, musical theatre, and Hollywood musical film.[1]

Culture writer Martin Chilton defines the term "Great American Songbook" as follows: "Tunes of Broadway musical theatre, Hollywood movie musicals and Tin Pan Alley (the hub of songwriting that was the music publishers' row on New York's West 28th Street)". Chilton adds that these songs "became the core repertoire of jazz musicians" during the period that "stretched roughly from 1920 to 1960".[2]

Although several collections of music have been published under the "Great American Songbook" title, the term does not refer to any actual book or specific list of songs. The Great American Songbook includes standards by Irving Berlin, George Gershwin, Cole Porter, Jerome Kern, Harold Arlen, Johnny Mercer, Hoagy Carmichael, Richard Rodgers, and Oscar Hammerstein II, among others.[3][4][5][6][7]

In Alec Wilder's 1972 study, American Popular Song: The Great Innovators, 1900–1950, the songwriter and critic lists and ranks the artists he believes belong to the Great American Songbook canon. A composer, Wilder emphasized analysis of composers and their creative efforts in this work.[8]

Radio personality Jonathan Schwartz and singer Tony Bennett, both Songbook devotees, have both described this genre as "America's classical music".[9][10]

List of songs

Contents
 A · B · C · D · E · F · G · H · I · J · K · L · M · N · O · P · R · S · T · U · V · W · Y · Z 
Alphabetical list of songs with names of composers and lyricists
YearSong titleComposer(s)Lyricist(s)Notes
1933"42nd Street"Harry WarrenAl Dubin
1935"About a Quarter to Nine"Harry WarrenAl Dubin
1944"Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive"Harold ArlenJohnny Mercer
1957"An Affair to Remember (Our Love Affair)"Harry WarrenLeo McCarey and Harold Adamson
1929"Ain't Misbehavin'"Fats WallerAndy Razaf
1927"Ain't She Sweet"Milton AgerJack Yellen[11]
1960"Ain't That a Kick in the Head"Jimmy Van HeusenSammy Cahn
1921"Ain't We Got Fun"Richard A. WhitingRaymond B. Egan and Gus Kahn
1924"Alabamy Bound"Ray HendersonBuddy DeSylva and Bud Green[11][12]
1911"Alexander's Ragtime Band"Irving BerlinIrving Berlin
1921"All by Myself"Irving BerlinIrving Berlin
1934"All I Do Is Dream of You"Nacio Herb BrownArthur Freed[13]
1954"All of You"Cole PorterCole Porter
1939"All or Nothing at All"Arthur AltmanJack Lawrence
1939"All the Things You Are"Jerome KernOscar Hammerstein II
1957"All the Way"Jimmy Van HeusenSammy Cahn
1934"All Through the Night"Cole PorterCole Porter
1947"Almost Like Being in Love"Frederick LoeweAlan Jay Lerner[14]
1932"Alone Together"Arthur SchwartzHoward Dietz[13][15]
1925"Always"Irving BerlinIrving Berlin
1934"Anything Goes"Cole PorterCole Porter
1946"Anything You Can Do (I Can Do Better)"Irving BerlinIrving Berlin
1932"April In Paris"Vernon DukeYip Harburg
1957"April Love"Sammy FainPaul Francis Webster
1956"Around the World"Victor YoungHarold Adamson[11]
1931"As Time Goes By"Herman HupfeldHerman Hupfeld
1941"At Last"Harry WarrenMack Gordon
1946"Autumn Leaves"Joseph KosmaJohnny Mercer
1934"Autumn In New York"Vernon DukeVernon Duke[13]
1949"Baby, It's Cold Outside"Frank LoesserFrank Loesser[16][17]
1949"Bali Ha'i"Richard RodgersOscar Hammerstein II
1929"Basin Street Blues"Spencer WilliamsGlenn Miller
1942"Be Careful! It's My Heart"Irving BerlinIrving Berlin
1935"Begin the Beguine"Cole PorterCole Porter
1959"The Best Is Yet to Come"Cy ColemanCarolyn Leigh
1927"The Best Things in Life Are Free"Ray HendersonBuddy DeSylva and Lew Brown
1940"Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered"Richard RodgersLorenz Hart
1930"Beyond the Blue Horizon"Richard A. WhitingLeo Robin
1930"Bidin' My Time"George GershwinIra Gershwin
1924"Big Bad Bill (Is Sweet William Now)"Milton AgerJack Yellen
1962"Big Spender"Cy ColemanDorothy Fields
1926"The Birth of the Blues"Ray HendersonBuddy DeSylva and Lew Brown
1948"Black Coffee"Sonny BurkePaul Francis Webster
1934"Blame It on My Youth"Oscar LevantEdward Heyman
1953"Blue Gardenia"Lester LeeBob Russell
1934"Blue Moon"Richard RodgersLorenz Hart
1926"Blue Room"Richard RodgersLorenz Hart
1926"Blue Skies"Irving BerlinIrving Berlin
1941"Blues in the Night"Harold ArlenJohnny Mercer
1930"Body and Soul"Johnny GreenEdward Heyman
1941"Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy"Don RayeHughie Prince
1933"Boulevard of Broken Dreams"Harry WarrenAl Dubin
1944"The Boy Next Door"Hugh MartinRalph Blane
1926"Breezin' Along with the Breeze"Haven GillespieHaven Gillespie, Seymour Simons, and Richard Whiting
1932"Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?"Jay GorneyYip Harburg
1947"But Beautiful"Jimmy Van HeusenJohnny Burke[13]
1930"But Not for Me"George GershwinIra Gershwin
1928"Button Up Your Overcoat"Ray HendersonBuddy DeSylva and Lew Brown
1948"Buttons and Bows"Jay LivingstonRay Evans
1967"By the Time I Get to Phoenix"Jimmy WebbJimmy Webb
1926"Bye Bye Blackbird"Ray HendersonMort Dixon
1962"Call Me Irresponsible"Jimmy Van HeusenSammy Cahn
1962"Can't Get Used to Losing You"Doc PomusMort Shuman
1929"Can't We Be Friends?"Paul JamesKay Swift
1933"(The) Carioca"Vincent YoumansEdward Eliscu and Gus Kahn
1922"Carolina in the Morning"Walter DonaldsonGus Kahn
1938"Change Partners"Irving BerlinIrving Berlin
1941"Chattanooga Choo Choo"Harry WarrenMack Gordon
1935"Cheek to Cheek"Irving BerlinIrving Berlin
1945"The Christmas Song"Mel TorméRobert Wells
1959"Climb Every Mountain"Richard RodgersOscar Hammerstein II
1958"Come Fly with Me"Jimmy Van HeusenSammy Cahn
1946"Come Rain or Come Shine"Harold ArlenJohnny Mercer
1954"Count Your Blessings (Instead of Sheep)"Irving BerlinIrving Berlin
1928"Crazy Rhythm"Irving CaesarJoseph Meyer and Roger Wolfe Kahn
1931"Dancing in the Dark"Arthur SchwartzHoward Dietz
1930"Dancing on the Ceiling"Richard RodgersLorenz Hart
1939"Darn That Dream"Jimmy Van HeusenEddie DeLange
1945"Day by Day"Axel StordahlPaul Weston
1939"Day In, Day Out"Rube BloomJohnny Mercer
1963"Days of Wine and Roses"Henry ManciniJohnny Mercer
1942"Dearly Beloved"Jerome KernJohnny Mercer
1949"Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend"Jule StyneLeo Robin
1959"Do-Re-Mi"Richard RodgersOscar Hammerstein II
1932"Don't Blame Me"Jimmy McHughDorothy Fields[13][15]
1934"Don't Fence Me in"Cole PorterRobert Fletcher and Cole Porter
1940"Don't Get Around Much Anymore"Duke EllingtonBob Russell
1962"Don't Make Me Over"Burt BacharachHal David
1964"Don't Rain on My Parade"Jule StyneBob Merrill
1942"Don't Sit Under the Apple Tree"Sam H. SteptLew Brown and Charles Tobias
1944"Dream"Johnny MercerJohnny Mercer[6][17]
1931"Dream a Little Dream of Me"Fabian Andre and Wilbur SchwandtGus Kahn
1933"Easter Parade"Irving BerlinIrving Berlin
1937"Easy Living"Ralph RaingerLeo Robin
1959"Edelweiss"Richard RodgersOscar Hammerstein II
1928"Embraceable You"George GershwinIra Gershwin
1959"Everything's Coming Up Roses"Jule StyneStephen Sondheim
1944"Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye"Cole PorterCole Porter
1930"Exactly Like You"Jimmy McHughDorothy Fields
1938"Falling in Love With Love"Richard RodgersLorenz Hart
1924"Fascinating Rhythm"George GershwinIra Gershwin
1936"A Fine Romance"Jerome KernDorothy Fields[5][18][6][7][17]
1954"Fly Me to the Moon"Bart HowardBart Howard
1937"A Foggy Day"George GershwinIra Gershwin[18][3][5][6][7][17]
1937"The Folks Who Live On the Hill"Jerome KernOscar Hammerstein II
1940"Fools Rush In"Rube BloomJohnny Mercer
1931"For All We Know"J. Fred CootsSam M. Lewis
1945"(I Love You) For Sentimental Reasons"William "Pat" BestIvory "Deek" Watson
1950"From This Moment On"Cole PorterCole Porter
1930"Georgia on My Mind"Hoagy CarmichaelStuart Gorrell[19]
1930"Get Happy"Harold ArlenTed Koehler
1951"Getting to Know You"Richard RodgersOscar Hammerstein
1929"Glad Rag Doll"Milton AgerJack Yellen
1936"Glad to Be Unhappy"Richard RodgersLorenz Hart
1938"God Bless America"Irving BerlinIrving Berlin
1933"The Gold Diggers' Song (We're in the Money)"Harry WarrenAl Dubin
1937"Gone with the Wind"Allie WrubelHerb Magisdson
1939"Good Morning"Nacio Herb BrownArthur Freed
1931"Guilty"Richard A. WhitingGus Kahn
1937"The Gypsy in My Soul"Clay BolandMoe Jaffe
1951"Half as Much"Curley WilliamsCurley Williams
1943"Happiness Is a Thing Called Joe"Harold ArlenYip Harburg
1930"Happy Days Are Here Again"Milton AgerJack Yellen
1949"Happy Talk"Richard RodgersOscar Hammerstein II
1924"Hard Hearted Hannah (The Vamp of Savannah)"Milton AgerJack Yellen, Bob Bigelow, and Charles Bates
1937"Have You Met Miss Jones?"Richard RodgersLorenz Hart
1944"Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas"Hugh MartinRalph Blane
1938"Heart and Soul"Hoagy CarmichaelFrank Loesser[14]
1933"Heat Wave"Irving BerlinIrving Berlin
1937"Heigh-Ho"Frank ChurchillLarry Morey
1964"Hello, Dolly!"Jerry HermanJerry Herman
1951"Hello, Young Lovers"Richard RodgersOscar Hammerstein II
1953"Here's That Rainy Day"Jimmy Van HeusenJohnny Burke
1960"Hey, Look Me Over"Cy ColemanCarolyn Leigh
1929"Honey"Haven GillespieHaven Gillespie, Seymour Simons, and Richard Whiting
1929"Honeysuckle Rose"Fats WallerAndy Razaf[17]
1937"Hooray for Hollywood"Richard A. WhitingJohnny Mercer
1941"How About You?"Burton LaneRalph Freed
1946"How Are Things in Glocca Morra?"Burton LaneYip Harburg
1932"How Deep is the Ocean?"Irving BerlinIrving Berlin
1940"How High the Moon"Morgan LewisNancy Hamilton
1936"I Can't Escape from You"Richard A. WhitingLeo Robin
1936"I Can't Get Started"Vernon DukeIra Gershwin
1928"I Can't Give You Anything But Love"Jimmy McHughDorothy Fields
1939"I Concentrate on You"Cole PorterCole Porter
1956"I Could Have Danced All Night"Frederick LoeweAlan Jay Lerner
1940"I Could Write a Book"Richard RodgersLorenz Hart
1933"I Cover the Waterfront"Johnny GreenEdward Heyman
1939"I Didn't Know What Time It Was"Richard RodgersLorenz Hart
1931"I Don't Know Why (I Just Do)"Fred E. AhlertRoy Turk
1932"I Don't Stand a Ghost of a Chance with You"Victor YoungNed Washington and Bing Crosby
1958"I Enjoy Being a Girl"Richard RodgersOscar Hammerstein II
1944"I Fall in Love Too Easily"Jule StyneSammy Cahn
1931"I Found a Million Dollar Baby"Harry WarrenMort Dixon and Billy Rose
1934"I Get a Kick Out of You"Cole PorterCole Porter
1934"I Got Plenty o' Nuttin'"George GershwinIra Gershwin
1930"I Got Rhythm"George GershwinIra Gershwin
1932"I Gotta Right to Sing the Blues"Harold ArlenTed Koehler
1944"I Guess I'll Hang My Tears Out to Dry"Jule StyneSammy Cahn[11]
1929"I Guess I'll Have to Change My Plan"Arthur SchwartzHoward Dietz
1942"I Had the Craziest Dream"Harry WarrenMack Gordon
1951"I Have Dreamed"Richard RodgersOscar Hammerstein II
1941"I Know Why (And So Do You)"Harry WarrenMack Gordon
1962"I Left My Heart in San Francisco"George CoryDouglass Cross
1933"I Like the Likes of You"Vernon DukeYip Harburg
1934"I Only Have Eyes for You"Harry WarrenAl Dubin
1941"I Remember You"Victor SchertzingerJohnny Mercer
1937"I See Your Face Before Me"Arthur SchwartzHoward Dietz
1951"I Talk to the Trees"Frederick LoeweAlan Jay Lerner
1939"I Thought About You"Jimmy Van HeusenJohnny Mercer
1959"I Wanna Be Around"Johnny MercerJohnny Mercer and Sadie Vimmerstadt
1928"I Wanna Be Loved by You"Herbert StothartBert Kalmar
1925"I Want to Be Happy"Vincent YoumansIrving Caesar
1960"If Ever I Would Leave You"Frederick LoeweAlan Jay Lerner
1947"If I Loved You"Richard RodgersOscar Hammerstein II
1939"If I Only Had a Brain"Harold ArlenYip Harburg
1950"If I Were a Bell"Frank LoesserFrank Loesser
1966"If My Friends Could See Me Now"Cy ColemanDorothy Fields
1943"I'll Be Home for Christmas"Walter KentKim Gannon
1938"I'll Be Seeing You"Sammy FainIrving Kahal
1924"I'll See You in My Dreams"Isham JonesGus Kahn[11][20][21]
1934"I'll String Along with You"Harry WarrenAl Dubin
1944"I'm Beginning to See the Light"Duke EllingtonDon George[14][6][19][17]
1935"I'm in the Mood for Love"Jimmy McHughDorothy Fields
1945"I'm Just a Lucky So-and-So"Duke EllingtonMack David
1921"I'm Just Wild About Harry"Eubie BlakeNoble Sissle
1925"I'm Sitting on Top of the World"Ray HendersonSam M. Lewis and Joe Young
1940"Imagination"Jimmy Van HeusenJohnny Burke
1926"In a Little Spanish Town"Mabel WayneSam M. Lewis and Joe Young
1935"In a Sentimental Mood"Duke EllingtonManny Kurtz
1951"In the Cool, Cool, Cool of the Evening"Hoagy CarmichaelJohnny Mercer
1937"In the Still of the Night"Cole PorterCole Porter
1955"Innamorata"Harry WarrenJack Brooks
1932"Isn't It Romantic?"Richard RodgersLorenz Hart
1935"It Ain't Necessarily So"George GershwinIra Gershwin
1926"It All Depends on You"Ray HendersonBuddy DeSylva and Lew Brown
1944"It Could Happen to You"Jimmy Van HeusenJohnny Burke
1931"It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)"Duke EllingtonIrving Mills
1924"It Had to Be You"Isham JonesGus Kahn
1941"It Happened in Sun Valley"Harry WarrenMack Gordon
1945"It Might as Well Be Spring"Richard RodgersOscar Hammerstein II
1940"It Never Entered My Mind"Richard RodgersLorenz Hart
1948"It's a Most Unusual Day"Jimmy McHughHarold Adamson
1953"It's All Right with Me"Cole PorterHarold Adamson
1936"It's De-Lovely"Cole PorterCole Porter
1935"It's Easy To Remember"Richard RodgersLorenz Hart
1933"It's Only a Paper Moon"Harold ArlenE.Y. Harburg and Billy Rose
1930"I've Got a Crush on You"George GershwinIra Gershwin
1937"I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm"Irving BerlinIrving Berlin
1932"I've Got the World on a String"Harold ArlenTed Koehler
1936"I've Got You Under My Skin"Cole PorterCole Porter
1962"I've Got Your Number"Cy ColemanCarolyn Leigh
1956"I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face"Frederick LoeweAlan Jay Lerner
1920"The Japanese Sandman"Richard A. WhitingRaymond B. Egan
1938"Jeepers Creepers"Harry WarrenJohnny Mercer
1938"Jumpin' at the Woodside"Count BasieEddie Durham
1956"Just in Time"Jule StyneBetty Comden and Adolph Green
1935"Just One of Those Things"Cole PorterCole Porter
1933"Keep Young and Beautiful"Harry WarrenAl Dubin
1942"(I've Got a Gal in) Kalamazoo"Harry WarrenMack Gordon
1935"A Kiss to Build a Dream On"Harry RubyBert Kalmar and Oscar Hammerstein II[11]
1937"The Lady is a Tramp"Richard RodgersLorenz Hart
1940"The Last Time I Saw Paris"Jerome KernOscar Hammerstein II[22]
1945"Laura"David RaksinJohnny Mercer
1930"Lazy River"Sidney ArodinHoagy Carmichael
1945"Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!"Jule StyneSammy Cahn
1937"Let's Call the Whole Thing Off"George GershwinIra Gershwin
1928"Let's Do It, Let's Fall in Love"Cole PorterCole Porter
1936"Let's Face the Music and Dance"Irving BerlinIrving Berlin
1933"Let's Fall in Love"Harold ArlenTed Koehler
1932"Let's Put Out the Lights (and Go to Sleep)"Herman HupfeldHerman Hupfeld
1944"Like Someone in Love"Jimmy Van HeusenJohnny Burke
1935"Little Girl Blue"Richard RodgersLorenz Hart
1930"Little White Lies"Walter DonaldsonWalter Donaldson[19]
1944"Long Ago (and Far Away)"Jerome KernIra Gershwin[5][18][6][7][17]
1919"Look for the Silver Lining"Jerome KernB.G. DeSylva
1923"Louisville Lou (That Vampin' Lady)"Milton AgerJack Yellen[23]
1930"Love for Sale"Cole PorterCole Porter
1955"Love is a Many-Splendored Thing"Sammy FainPaul Francis Webster
1938"Love Is Here to Stay"George GershwinIra Gershwin
1931"Love Is Sweeping the Country"George GershwinIra Gershwin
1945"Love Letters"Victor YoungEdward Heyman
1931"Love Letters in the Sand"J. Fred CootsNick Kenny and Charles Kenny
1928"Love Me or Leave Me"Walter DonaldsonGus Kahn
1937"Love Walked In"George GershwinIra Gershwin
1932"Lover"Richard RodgersLorenz Hart
1941"Lover Man"Jimmy DavisRam Ramirez
1928"Lover, Come Back to Me"Sigmund RombergOscar Hammerstein II
1950"Luck Be a Lady"Frank LoesserFrank Loesser
1952"Lullaby of Birdland"George ShearingGeorge David Weiss
1935"Lullaby of Broadway"Harry WarrenAl Dubin
1935"Lulu's Back In Town"Harry WarrenAl Dubin
1939"Lydia the Tattooed Lady"Harold ArlenYip Harburg
1932"Mad About the Boy"Noël CowardNoël Coward
1928"Makin' Whoopee"Walter DonaldsonGus Kahn
1953"The Man that Got Away"Harold ArlenIra Gershwin[18][5][6]
1925"Manhattan"Richard RodgersLorenz Hart
1924"The Man I Love"George GershwinIra Gershwin
1927"Me and My Shadow"Al JolsonBilly Rose
1955"Memories Are Made of This"Terry Gilkyson and Richard DehrFrank Miller
1930"Memories of You"Eubie BlakeAndy Razaf
1954"Midnight Sun"Lionel HamptonJohnny Mercer
1932"Mimi"Richard RodgersLorenz Hart
1931"Minnie the Moocher"Cab CallowayIrving Mills and Clarence Gaskill
1935"Miss Brown to You"Richard A. WhitingLeo Robin
1934"Miss Otis Regrets"Cole PorterCole Porter[3][18][5][6][17]
1954"Misty"Erroll GarnerJohnny Burke
1950"Mona Lisa"Jay LivingstonRay Evans
1930"Mood Indigo"Duke EllingtonIrving Mills
1961"Moon River"Henry ManciniJohnny Mercer
1934"Moonglow"Will Hudson and Irving MillsEddie DeLange
1942"Moonlight Becomes You"Jimmy Van HeusenJohnny Burke
1944"Moonlight in Vermont"John BlackburnKarl Suessdorf
1939"Moonlight Serenade"Glenn MillerMitchell Parish
1929"More Than You Know"Vincent YoumansBilly Rose and Edward Eliscu
1945"The More I See You"Harry WarrenMack Gordon
1935"The Most Beautiful Girl in the World"Richard RodgersLorenz Hart
1925"Mountain Greenery"Richard RodgersLorenz Hart
1930"My Baby Just Cares for Me"Walter DonaldsonGus Kahn
1927"My Blue Heaven"Walter DonaldsonGeorge A. Whiting
1949"My Dream Is Yours"Harry WarrenRalph Blane[19][17][13]
1959"My Favorite Things"Richard RodgersOscar Hammerstein II
1949"My Foolish Heart"Victor YoungNed Washington
1937"My Funny Valentine"Richard RodgersLorenz Hart
1938"My Heart Belongs to Daddy"Cole PorterCole Porter
1927"My Heart Stood Still"Richard RodgersLorenz Hart
1918"My Mammy"Walter DonaldsonJoe Young and Sam M. Lewis
1953"My One and Only Love"Guy WoodRobert Mellin
1935"My Romance"Richard RodgersLorenz Hart
1925"My Yiddishe Momme"Lew PollackJack Yellen
1928"Nagasaki"Harry WarrenMort Dixon
1938"The Nearness of You"Hoagy CarmichaelNed Washington
1967"Never My Love"Don AddrisiDick Addrisi
1931"Nevertheless"Harry RubyBert Kalmar
1944"New York, New York"Leonard BernsteinBetty Comden and Adolph Green
1937"Nice Work if You Can Get it"George GershwinIra Gershwin
1932"Night and Day"Cole PorterCole Porter
1931"Of Thee I Sing"George GershwinIra Gershwin
1918"Oh! How I Hate to Get Up in the Morning"Irving BerlinIrving Berlin
1943"Oh What a Beautiful Mornin'"Richard RodgersOscar Hammerstein II
1911"Oh, You Beautiful Doll"Seymour BrownNat D. Ayer
1927"Ol' Man River"Jerome KernOscar Hammerstein II
1946"The Old Lamp-Lighter"Nat SimonCharles Tobias
1946"Ole Buttermilk Sky"Hoagy CarmichaelJack Brooks
1965"On a Clear Day (You Can See Forever)"Burton LaneAlan Jay Lerner
1947"On Green Dolphin Street"Bronisław KaperNed Washington
1945"On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe"Harry WarrenJohnny Mercer
1934"On the Good Ship Lollipop"Richard A. WhitingSidney Clare[19]
1956"On the Street Where You Live"Frederick LoeweAlan Jay Lerner
1930"On the Sunny Side of the Street"Jimmy McHughDorothy Fields
1943"One for My Baby"Harold ArlenJohnny Mercer
1962"Our Day Will Come"Mort GarsonBob Hilliard
1944"Out of This World"Harold ArlenJohnny Mercer
1939"Over the Rainbow"Harold ArlenE.Y. Harburg
1929"Pagan Love Song"Nacio Herb BrownArthur Freed
1931"Paradise"Nacio Herb BrownArthur Freed
1956"The Party's Over"Jule StyneBetty Comden and Adolph Green
1936"Pennies From Heaven"Arthur JohnstonJohnny Burke
1964"People"Jule StyneBob Merrill
1943"People Will Say We're in Love"Richard RodgersOscar Hammerstein II
1936"Pick Yourself Up"Jerome KernDorothy Fields
1940"Polka Dots and Moonbeams"Jimmy Van HeusenJohnny Burke
1942"Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition"Frank LoesserFrank Loesser
1919"A Pretty Girl is Like a Melody"Irving BerlinIrving Berlin[18][3][5][6][19]
1930"Puttin' on the Ritz"Irving BerlinIrving Berlin
1953"Rags to Riches"Richard AdlerJerry Ross
1962"Ramblin' Rose"Joe ShermanNoel Sherman
1929"Rockin' Chair"Hoagy CarmichaelHoagy Carmichael
1944"'Round Midnight"Thelonious MonkBernie Hanighen
1944"Rum and Coca-Cola"Lionel BelascoMorey Amsterdam
1927"'S Wonderful"George GershwinIra Gershwin
1934"Santa Claus is Coming to Town"J. Fred CootsHaven Gillespie
1953"Satin Doll"Duke EllingtonJohnny Mercer
1944"Saturday Night (Is the Loneliest Night of the Week)"Jule StyneSammy Cahn
1932"Say It Isn't So"Irving BerlinIrving Berlin
1922"Second Hand Rose"Grant ClarkeJames F. Hanley
1944"Sentimental Journey"Les Brown and Ben HomerBud Green
1935"September in the Rain"Harry WarrenAl Dubin
1938"September Song"Kurt WeillMaxwell Anderson
1942"Serenade in Blue"Harry WarrenMack Gordon
1965"The Shadow of Your Smile"Johnny MandelPaul Francis Webster
1951"Shall We Dance?"Richard RodgersOscar Hammerstein II
1935"She's a Latin from Manhattan"Harry WarrenAl Dubin
1929"She's (He's) Funny That Way"Neil MoretRichard A. Whiting
1929"A Ship Without a Sail"Richard RodgersLorenz Hart[18][19][17][6][7]
1929"Singin' in the Rain"Nacio Herb BrownArthur Freed
1941"Skylark"Hoagy CarmichaelJohnny Mercer
1937"Slap That Bass"George GershwinIra Gershwin
1948"Slow Boat to China"Frank LoesserFrank Loesser
1933"Smoke Gets in Your Eyes"Jerome KernOtto Harbach
1948"So in Love"Cole PorterCole Porter
1949"Some Enchanted Evening"Richard RodgersOscar Hammerstein II
1924"Somebody Loves Me"George GershwinBallard MacDonald and Buddy DeSylva
1937"Someday My Prince Will Come"Frank ChurchillLarry Morey
1926"Someone to Watch Over Me"George GershwinIra Gershwin
1951"Something Wonderful"Richard RodgersOscar Hammerstein II
1954"Something's Gotta Give"Johnny MercerJohnny Mercer
1927"Sometimes I'm Happy"Vincent YoumansIrving Caesar
1932"The Song Is You"Jerome KernOscar Hammerstein II
1928"Sonny Boy"Ray HendersonBuddy DeSylva and Lew Brown
1932"Sophisticated Lady"Duke EllingtonIrving Mills
1959"The Sound of Music"Richard RodgersOscar Hammerstein II
1939"South American Way"Jimmy McHughAl Dubin
1930"Spring Is Here"Richard RodgersLorenz Hart
1925"Squeeze Me"Fats WallerAndy Razaf
1922"Stairway to Paradise"George GershwinIra Gershwin and Buddy DeSylva
1939"Stairway to the Stars"Matty Malneck and Frank SignorelliMitchell Parish
1956"Standing on the Corner"Frank LoesserFrank Loesser
1927"Stardust"Hoagy CarmichaelMitchell Parish
1934"Stars Fell on Alabama"Frank PerkinsMitchell Parish
1944"Stella by Starlight"Victor YoungNed Washington
1948"Steppin' Out with My Baby"Irving BerlinIrving Berlin
1933"Stormy Weather"Harold ArlenTed Koehler
1944"Straighten Up and Fly Right"Nat King Cole and Irving MillsJohnny Mercer
1927"Strike Up the Band"George GershwinIra Gershwin and Millie Raush
1941"A String of Pearls"Jerry GrayEddie DeLange
1934"Summertime"George GershwinDuBose Heyward and Ira Gershwin
1943"The Surrey with the Fringe on Top"Richard RodgersOscar Hammerstein II
1925"Sweet Georgia Brown"Ben Bernie and Maceo PinkardKenneth Casey
1937"Sweet Leilani"Harry OwensHarry Owens
1928"Sweet Lorraine"Cliff BurwellMitchell Parish
1944"Swinging on a Star"Jimmy Van HeusenJohnny Burke
1939"Take the 'A' Train"Billy StrayhornJoya Sherrill
1940"Taking a Chance on Love"Vernon DukeJohn La Touche and Ted Fetter
1941"Tangerine"Victor SchertzingerJohnny Mercer
1924"Tea for Two"Vincent YoumansIrving Caesar
1933"Temptation"Nacio Herb BrownArthur Freed
1962"Tender is the Night"Sammy FainPaul Francis Webster
1955"(Love Is) The Tender Trap"Jimmy Van HeusenSammy Cahn
1957"Thank Heaven for Little Girls"Frederick LoeweAlan Jay Lerner
1938"Thanks for the Memory"Ralph RaingerLeo Robin
1925"That Certain Feeling"George GershwinIra Gershwin
1942"That Old Black Magic"Harold ArlenJohnny Mercer
1937"That Old Feeling"Sammy FainLew Brown[13]
1953"That's Amore"Harry WarrenJack Brooks
1952"That's Entertainment!"Arthur SchwartzHoward Dietz
1942"There Will Never Be Another You"Harry WarrenMack Gordon
1936"There's a Small Hotel"Richard RodgersLorenz Hart
1946"There's No Business Like Show Business"Irving BerlinIrving Berlin
1936"These Foolish Things (Remind Me of You)"Jack StracheyEric Maschwitz
1951"They Call the Wind Maria"Frederick LoeweAlan Jay Lerner
1937"They Can't Take That Away from Me"George GershwinIra Gershwin
1946"The Things We Did Last Summer"Jule StyneSammy Cahn
1927"Thinking of You"Harry RubyBert Kalmar
1938"This Can't Be Love"Richard RodgersLorenz Hart
1968"This Guy's in Love with You"Burt BacharachHal David
1946"This Heart of Mine"Harry WarrenArthur Freed
1941"This Time the Dream's on Me"Harold ArlenJohnny Mercer
1927"Thou Swell"Richard RodgersLorenz Hart
1930"Three Little Words"Harry RubyBert Kalmar
1931"The Thrill is Gone"Ray HendersonSammy Cahn
1918"Till We Meet Again"Richard A. WhitingRaymond B. Egan
1947"Time After Time"Jule StyneSammy Cahn
1930"Time on My Hands"Vincent YoumansHarold Adamson and Mack Gordon[13]
1929"Tiptoe Through the Tulips"Joe BurkeAl Dubin
1948"Too Darn Hot"Cole PorterCole Porter
1937"Too Marvelous for Words"Richard A. WhitingJohnny Mercer
1935"Top Hat, White Tie and Tails"Irving BerlinIrving Berlin
1913"The Trail of the Lonesome Pine"Harry CarrollBallard MacDonald
1944"The Trolley Song"Hugh MartinRalph Blane
1939"Tuxedo Junction"Erskine Hawkins, Bill Johnson, and Julian DashBuddy Feyne
1938"Two Sleepy People"Hoagy CarmichaelFrank Loesser
1925"Ukulele Lady"Richard A. WhitingGus Kahn
1955"Unchained Melody"Alex NorthHy Zaret
1932"Underneath the Arches"Bud FlanaganBud Flanagan and Reg Connelly
1951"Unforgettable"Irving GordonIrving Gordon
1936"Until the Real Thing Comes Along"Saul ChaplinSammy Cahn
1934"The Very Thought of You"Ray NobleRay Noble
1963"Walk On By"Burt BacharachHal David
1936"The Way You Look Tonight"Jerome KernDorothy Fields
1934"What a Diff'rence a Day Makes"María GreverStanley Adams
1926"What Can I Say After I Say I'm Sorry?"Walter DonaldsonAbe Lyman
1929"What Is This Thing Called Love?"Cole PorterCole Porter
1923"What'll I Do"Irving BerlinIrving Berlin
1952"When I Fall in Love"Victor YoungEdward Heyman
1912"When I Lost You"Irving BerlinIrving Berlin
1940"When You Wish Upon a Star"Leigh HarlineNed Washington
1937"Where Are You?"Jimmy McHughHarold Adamson
1937"Where or When"Richard RodgersLorenz Hart
1937"Whistle While You Work"Frank ChurchillLarry Morey
1942"White Christmas"Irving BerlinIrving Berlin
1923"Who's Sorry Now?"Ted SnyderHarry Ruby and Bert Kalmar
1968"Wichita Lineman"Jimmy WebbJimmy Webb
1934"Winter Wonderland"Felix BernardRichard Bernhard Smith
1957"Witchcraft"Cy ColemanCarolyn Leigh
1930"With a Song in My Heart"Richard RodgersLorenz Hart
1937"With Plenty of Money and You"Harry WarrenAl Dubin
1929"Without a Song"Vincent YoumansBilly Rose and Edward Eliscu
1949"A Wonderful Guy"Richard RodgersOscar Hammerstein II[18][17][6][7]
1930"Would You Like to Take a Walk?"Harry WarrenMort Dixon and Billy Rose
1925"Yes Sir, That's My Baby"Walter DonaldsonGus Kahn
1933"Yesterdays"Jerome KernOtto Harbach
1934"You and the Night and the Music"Arthur SchwartzHoward Dietz
1935"You Are My Lucky Star"Nacio Herb BrownArthur Freed
1932"You Are Too Beautiful"Richard RodgersLorenz Hart
1929"You Do Something to Me"Cole PorterCole Porter
1938"You Go to My Head"J. Fred CootsHaven Gillespie[24]
1946"You Make Me Feel So Young"Josef MyrowMack Gordon
1938"You Must Have Been a Beautiful Baby"Harry WarrenJohnny Mercer
1934"You Oughta Be in Pictures"Dana SuesseEdward Heyman
1940"You Stepped Out of a Dream"Nacio Herb BrownArthur Freed
1928"You Took Advantage of Me"Richard RodgersLorenz Hart
1929"You Were Meant for Me"Nacio Herb BrownArthur Freed
1934"You'd Be So Easy to Love"Cole PorterCole Porter
1942"You'd Be So Nice to Come Home To"Cole PorterCole Porter
1943"You'll Never Know"Harry WarrenMack Gordon
1947"You'll Never Walk Alone"Richard RodgersOscar Hammerstein II
1933"Young and Healthy"Harry WarrenAl Dubin
1953"Young at Heart"Johnny RichardsCarolyn Leigh
1949"Younger Than Springtime"Richard RodgersOscar Hammerstein II
1930"You're Driving Me Crazy"Walter DonaldsonGus Kahn
1933"You're Getting to Be a Habit with Me"Harry WarrenAl Dubin
1931"You're My Everything"Harry WarrenMort Dixon and Joe Young
1928"You're the Cream in My Coffee"Ray HendersonBuddy DeSylva and Lew Brown
1934"You're the Top"Cole PorterCole Porter
1946"Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah"Allie WrubelRay Gilbert

Revivals

In 1970, rock musician Ringo Starr surprised the public by releasing an album of Songbook songs from the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s, Sentimental Journey. Reviews were mostly poor or even disdainful,[25] but the album reached number 22 on the US Billboard 200[26] and number 7 in the UK Albums Chart,[27] with sales of 500,000.[28]

It's a lot of songs that were my initiation to music. It's all the tracks that, when my mother and my father came home from the pub out [of] their heads, they'd sing all these songs.

Ringo Starr[29]

Other pop singers who established themselves in the 1960s or later followed with albums reviving songs from the Great American Songbook, beginning with Harry Nilsson's A Little Touch of Schmilsson in the Night in 1973[30] and continuing into the 21st century.[A] Linda Ronstadt (1983 though 1986), Rod Stewart (2002 through 2005), Bob Dylan (2015 through 2017) and Lady Gaga (2014 and 2021) made several such albums. Of Ronstadt's 1983 album, What's New, her first in a trilogy of standards albums recorded with arranger/conductor Nelson Riddle, Stephen Holden of The New York Times wrote:

What's New isn't the first album by a rock singer to pay tribute to the golden age of pop, but is ... the best and most serious attempt to rehabilitate an idea of pop that Beatlemania and the mass marketing of rock LPs for teen-agers undid in the mid-'60s. During the decade prior to Beatlemania, most of the great band singers and crooners of the '40s and '50s codified a half-century of American pop standards on dozens of albums, many of them now long out-of-print.[31]

See also

Notes

  1. ^
    Including Willie Nelson with Stardust (1978),[32] Dr. John with In a Sentimental Mood (1989),[33] Brian Wilson with Brian Wilson Reimagines Gershwin (2010),[34] Paul McCartney with Kisses on the Bottom (2012),[35] Bob Dylan with Shadows in the Night (2015),[36][37] Fallen Angels (2016),[38] and Triplicate (2017),[39] and James Taylor with American Standard (2020).[40]

References

  1. "A Great American Songbook Foundation". The Center For The Performing Arts.
  2. Chilton, Martin (April 3, 2020). "Cover To Cover: The Story Of The Great American Songbook | uDiscover".
  3. Miller, Michael (2008). The Complete Idiot's Guide to Music History. Penguin. p. 175. ISBN 9781440636370.
  4. "The Center for the Performing Arts". The Center For The Performing Arts.
  5. "After An Education In American Jazz, A Musician Tackles The Turkish Songbook". NPR.org.
  6. Feinstein, Michael (February 11, 2015). "'The B Side,' by Ben Yagoda". The New York Times. Retrieved December 13, 2018.
  7. Friedwald, Will. "Jazz Vocalists". New York. June 14, 1993. p. 6A.
  8. Wilder, Alec (1990). American Popular Song: The Great Innovators 1900–1950. New York & Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-501445-6.
  9. Deborah Grace Winer (September 1, 2003). "Girl Singers: From nightclubs and concert halls to recordings, today's best vocalists put a new spin on old favorites". Town & Country. Archived from the original on November 5, 2013. Retrieved September 9, 2012.(subscription required)
  10. Clodfelter, Tim (September 5, 2010). "Tony Bennett says a key to his continued success is being true to the audience". Winston-Salem Journal.
  11. Polit, Katherine. "The Great American Songbook In The Classical Voice Studio". Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. May 2014. p. 73.
  12. Murray, Steve. "Michael Feinstein: Crooners". CabaretScenes.org. May 23, 2017.
  13. Purdy, Stephen. "Musical Theatre Song: A Comprehensive Course in Selection, Preparation, and Presentation for the Modern Performer". Bloomsbury Publishing, 2016. pt. 115.
  14. "The Great American Songbook – The Composers". Retrieved July 20, 2015.
  15. Purdy, Stephen. Musical Theatre Song: A Comprehensive Course in Selection, Preparation, and Presentation for the Modern Performer. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2016. pt. 32.
  16. "The Great American Songbook – The Composers". HalLeonard.com. Retrieved December 20, 2018.
  17. Cole, Clay (2009). Sh-Boom!: The Explosion of Rock 'n' Roll, 1953–1968. Morgan James Publishing. ISBN 9781600377686.
  18. "Great Performances". "The Great American Songbook: Introduction". "PBS". March 11, 2003.
  19. "The Great American Songbook". The Johnny Mercer Foundation. Retrieved December 20, 2018.
  20. Dicker, Shira. "Gotta Dance? Swing on Over". New York Times. December 22, 2011.
  21. Venutolo, Anthony. ""Boardwalk Empire" recap: 'Make a promise to you, break another to myself'". "NJ.com". November 4, 2013.
  22. "The Last Time I Saw Paris". americanhistory.si.edu.
  23. "Louisville Lou". www.loc.gov.
  24. "J. Fred Coots, songwriter: reference sources (web and print); selected songs; recordings, videos; miscellany". Greatamericansongbook.net. Retrieved February 24, 2021.
  25. "Chart History: Ringo Starr". Billboard. Retrieved July 22, 2020.
  26. "Ringo Starr". Official Charts. Retrieved July 22, 2020.
  27. Nick Deriso (March 27, 2015). "Why Ringo Starr Began His Solo Career With 'Sentimental Journey'". Ultimate Classic Rock. Townsquare Media. Retrieved July 22, 2020.
  28. James Hall (March 20, 2020). "Ringo Starr's Sentimental Journey: how an 'embarrassing' solo album helped doom the Beatles". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved July 22, 2020.(subscription required)
  29. Ruhlmann, William. "A Little Touch of Schmilsson in the Night". AllMusic.
  30. Stephen Holden; Dargis, Manohla (September 4, 1983). "Linda Ronstadt Celebrates The Golden Age of Pop". The New York Times. Retrieved May 10, 2007.(subscription required)
  31. Deusner, Stephen (August 15, 2008). "Willie Nelson Stardust: Legacy Edition". Pitchfork Media. Pitchfork Media Inc. Retrieved November 21, 2011.
  32. "Dr. John: In a Sentimental Mood". Allmusic. allmusic.com. Retrieved April 12, 2016.
  33. "Brian Wilson Reimagines Gershwin by Brian Wilson". Metacritic.com.
  34. Hermes, Will (February 7, 2012). "Kisses on the Bottom | Album Reviews". Rolling Stone. Retrieved April 1, 2012.
  35. Turner, Gustavo (January 24, 2015). "The secret Sinatra past of Bob Dylan's new album". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 20, 2017.
  36. Petridis, Alexis (January 29, 2015). "Shadows in the Night review – an unalloyed pleasure". The Guardian. Retrieved February 20, 2017.
  37. Brown, Helen (May 13, 2016). "Bob Dylan, Fallen Angels, review -'inhabiting classics with weathered ease'". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved February 20, 2017.
  38. "Bob Dylan's First Three-Disc Album — Triplicate — Set For March 31 Release". bobdylan.com. January 31, 2017. Archived from the original on February 1, 2017. Retrieved February 20, 2017.
  39. Monger, Timothy. "James Taylor – American Standard". AllMusic.

Further reading

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