The Great American Songbook
The Great American Songbook, sometimes alternatively described as "standards", is a form of popular music created mainly in the 20's through the 60's of the past century. To a large extent these songs were associated with Broadway musicals and movies of that era. They were popularized by the giants of music in those decades, such as Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, Nat King Cole , Ella Fitzgerald, Dean Martin, Rosemary Clooney, Margaret Whiting, Doris Day etc. The Great American Songbook was written by Irving Berlin, Rodgers and Hart, Cole Porter, Johnny Mercer, Jimmy Van Heusen, Lerner and Lowe, Henry Mancini, Burt Bacharach, and many more.
Today the Great American Songbook is certainly a niche genre, but it is being kept alive by numerous devotees in both the performing and listening communities.
I've Got you Under My Skin - Frank Sinatra
Come Back To Me - Shirley Horn
My Foolish Heart - Cliff Richard
Anything Goes - Ella Fitzgerald
Moon River - Eric Clapton and Jeff Beck
My Future Just Passed - Margaret Whiting
Where or When - Diana Krall
Zing Went The Strings Of My Heart - Kristin Chenoweth
You'll Never Know - Willie Nelson
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I Thought About You - Susannah McCorkle
In it's day, Stardust was considered one of the great songs of the 20th century.
Nelson's album, ''Stardust'' is a collection of the classics such as Blue Skys, Don't Get Around Much Anymore, and of course this all-time classic.
Interesting choice. Georgia On My Mind was also written by Hoagy Carmichael.
Yes, it was and he did write some classics.
Forget about the war.
Try To Remember - The Brothers Four
If I Only Had A Brain - The Four Freshmen
A House Is Not A Home - Rumer
First recorded in 1962 by Tony Bennett it has been sung by others and some duets with Tony, but no one sings this classic like Tony Bennett.
I remember the first time I ever heard the song.
Our Day Will Come - Amy Winehouse
There once was a Boston radio host by the name of Bill Marlowe. He devoted his entire show to his passion: Singers & Standards. Of course, he loved the originals. It was in the early 70's and Helen Reddy had a song out called "Leave Me Alone" and I happened to be scanning my car radio, when I first heard Marlowe. I heard him say "Leave Me Alone - they ought to bury you!" Then he played Ella Fitzgerald's "Isn't it Romantic. " I got hooked very fast. Whenever I was in my car, I was tuned in to Marlowe.
"A Boston radio icon for much of his fifty year career, Bill was revered for his enthusiastic, emotional, and booming voice and his exceptional musical taste. A native of Boston’s North End, Bill began his career at WCCM Lawrence, moving to WBZ where he championed the songs and singers of the Great American Songbook and jazz vocalists. In later years, Bill was heard on WILD Boston, and WHET, Waltham. In the 1950’s he introduced thousands of listeners to the growing body of work by Frank Sinatra. As one Marlowe fan put it, “It was as if Bill were an extension of Sinatra and a part of the whole performance.” He had close personal relationships with Ella Fitzgerald, Nat King Cole, Sarah Vaughn, Duke Ellington, Sinatra, and countless others. Bill was a connoisseur of good foods, and a critic, and one of the finest salesmen in broadcasting history, he personally tested the products of potential advertisers before agreeing to take them on and to this day is remembered for his emotional ads for a restaurant where “the meat falls off the bone!”
So, yes John, you found it. It was music that put the singer out front. Music that was memorable.
I like this music for a couple big reasons, one is that you dont have to struggle to understand what they are singing. Because the lyrics were so important most of the singing of these tunes is done as clearly as possible. Sometimes there are jazz interpretations that "slur" the words, but that stuff is a little out of the mainstream. The second reason I like the "standards" is because they generally emphasize melody over rhythm , and I like hearing melody emphasized.
As time goes by this music is receding more and more, although there are enough young people performing it to keep it alive for probably at least the rest of our lives, and of course there are the recordings.
As Time Goes By - Peggy Lee
For All We Know - John Pizzarelli