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Popular Songwriters and Songs A celebration of vintage songwriters, singers and songs
Preserving Songs Just My Opinion Music Lectures and Workshops Best Songs of the 20th Century Top 100 Songs of the Century AFI - Top 100 Movie Songs Songs of the Century - The Top Ten Rhapsody in Blue - Is It Really A Song? Favorite Gershwin Songs A GUIDE TO GEORGE GERSHWIN (2nd revised edition, 2004) For the Record - Pop Standards Turn 50 First No. 1 Rock n'Roll Song in the U.S. in 1954 Tony Bennett's First Hit Record in 1951 Song Hit from a Forgotten Movie in 1950 Christmas Songs Old-Time Radio Tune Doc Talks! Birth Anniversaries of Songwriters and Singers - click this link for these names: 2005:
2004:
2002:
2001:
2000:
1999:
CD Reviews - click on this link to read reviews for...
Attention Movie Song Lovers! Order your autographed copy of this useful guide while supply lasts!
A Guide to Film Music - Songs and Scores (2nd edition, PineTree Press, 2002) This revised 2nd edition was written by Roger Hall, who has taught and lectured widely on the subject. The guide is not available in any stores and only available on the Internet. Are you a movie music fan? Then you should get a copy of this newly expanded guide which includes:
Throughout the guide are many illustrations of composer autographs, such as: Bernard Herrmann, Alex North, Max Steiner, Miklos Rozsa, Dimitri Tiomkin and others. There are also songwriter autographs as well, including: Harold Arlen, Sammy Cahn, George and Ira Gershwin, Henry Mancini, Johnny Mercer, Jay Livingston, and others. The title page of the guide has a rare score page from the end credits of E.T., signed by John Williams. Also available is a CD-R with film music examples: "Listener's Guide to Music" This film music guide will be numbered and signed by the author. In a letter to the author, the distinguished film composer Elmer Bernstein has written the following: "I do feel your book is done in a most interesting way. It affords a quick overview of what has not become a very, very broad field. Congratulations!" To order your autographed limited edition copy of A Guide to Film Music while supply lasts, go to: Music Titles from PineTree Press For information and reviews of film songs, go to:
Bookshelf Search
Please help support Popular Songwriters and Songs Order your Books, CDs, DVDs and other products here:
Are you interested in helping to preserve vintage popular songs? Click on this link to read about efforts to celebrate songwriters and songs from the past: To read about songwriter Billy Hill click on this link:
Do you have any special songs written by popular songwriters? You can select your favorite songs and take part in this annual event held in October: You can also join the web group that sponsors Carry A Tune Week. Membership is Free. To join this group, click on this link:
I'm tired of all the hot air of hype blown around by media hounds. They like to sniff around searching for the scent of today's music scene and drooling over the importance of today's rock or rap stars. Many of these singers are either screamers or mumblers. Often they are both! It's as if the song lyrics don't really matter. And maybe it's better because you usually can't understand them anyway! The melodies also aren't very memorable. Contrary to what many critics and columnists write, it's not recent singers who were the greatest performers of popular song in the 20th century. Certainly they have a good deal of talent and were very influential in the last half of the 20th century. But it was the earlier songwriters and singers who set the foundation for the greatest songs of the 20th century. Why? Because they were the best at what they did. They wrote and performed songs about loving and sharing, not about ego and selfishness. These older pop songs still evoke deep emotional responses from listeners, even in today's cold cynical world. Now this may all sound like the rantings of some nostalgic old curmugeon. Well, that's only partly true :-) I was actually raised on early rock n' roll in the 1950's. I grew up enjoying Elvis Presley and other early rock n' rollers. They were fun to listen to and watch. Sometimes, their material was above the usual monotonous rock beat, especially ballads like "Can't Help Falling In Love" (recorded by Elvis) or "Here, There and Everywhere" (recorded by The Beatles). But the rock generation has created few really great standards which can be performed and recorded by other singers. So that's why this web page was set up... To celebrate the great vintage songwriters, songs and singers from the past. Hope you enjoy this tribute page. Let the singing begin!
Important Message for Vintage Song Lovers Please help support Popular Songwriters and Songs and keep it operating. Order any of these items or from Amazon.com... Music Guides: A Guide to Film Music - Songs and Scores CD-Rs: American Sings, Vol. I: American Revolution to World War I American Sings, Vol. II: Civil War to Cold War Early American Songster: Psalm Tunes to Patriotic Odes
There are also songs from radio programs: IN THE MOOD (Big Band music, songs of the 1950s) RADIO FIRSTS (Top Ten Love Songs, 1920s to 1960s) Thanks for your support!
Order any products from this handy Search at Amazon.com...
Tune Lovers Unite! If you love vintage songs, then you should join The Tune Lovers Society For a limited time membership is FREE. Once you sign up, you can ask questions or make comments on the "Talking Tunes" messageboard. For more information about an annual event held each year in October, click on this link -
For a list of available topics, go to:
Lecture: "It's Magic" - A Centennial Celebration of Songs by Harold Arlen, Dorothy Fields, and Jule Styne Music preservationist and radio host Roger Hall presented an illustrated lecture on Thursday, June 23, 2005 at the Newton Free Library in Newton Centre, Massachusetts. In addition to discussing their life, Mr. Hall played rare recordings of these three songwriters performing their own songs. Each of these songwriters received one Oscar for their movie songs: "Over the Rainbow" (Harold Arlen - E.Y. Harburg, 1939) "The Way You Look Tonight" (Jerome Kern - Dorothy Fields, 1936) "Three Coins in the Fountain" (Jule Styne - Sammy Cahn, 1954) For recommended CDs, see this web page: Popular Songwriters - Birth Anniversaries
Mr. Hall has written two reference books: A Guide to Film Music - Songs and Scores Remembering Radio - Great Songwriters and Singers
Lecture: "Hooray for Hollywood" - Memorable Movie Music Just before the Academy Awards telecast, there were two free lectures on film music presented by Roger Hall, author of A Guide to Film Music and editor of Film Music Review. The lectures were given on February 23, 2004 and Thursday, February 26 at libraries in the Boston area. Both lectures were presented in celebration of the 70th anniversary of the Oscars for Best Film Song & Score, first presented in 1934 . Also featured in lectures were other songs, like "Tangerine" (in tribute to the Jimmy Dorsey centennial), plus these video clips: "Hooray for Hollywood" (Dick Whiting-Johnny Mercer) from HOLLYWOOD HOTEL, 1937 "They Can't Take That Away From Me" (George & Ira Gershwin) from SHALL WE DANCE, 1937 "Breakfast Montage" from CITIZEN KANE, 1941 - score by Bernard Herrmann "The Clock" from HIGH NOON, 1952 - score by Dimitri Tiomkin "Breakfast at Tiffany's" from film of same title, 1961 - score by Henry Mancini "Chattanooga Choo Choo"(Harry Warren-Mack Gordon) from SUN VALLEY SERENADE, 1941 - performed by Glenn Miller and His Orchestra, with Tex Beneke and The Modernaires, Dorothy Dandridge and The Nicholas Brothers. You can get the only two films in which Glenn Miller appeared on 1 CD soundtrack: SUN VALLEY SERENADE (1941) & ORCHESTRA WIVES (1942) For more information about "Hooray for Hollywood" and other programs, go to: For a list of annual movie music awards, go to:
Workshop: "The Sidewalks of New York" On June 7, 2003, Roger Hall led a singing workshop in Rensselaerville, New York. The workshop included these songs: Folk songs: "The Erie Canal"; "So Long It's Been Good to Know Yuh" by Woody Guthrie War songs: "Father and I Went Down to Camp"(Yankee Doodle); "Johnny Has Gone For A Soldier" Patriotic songs: "Ode to George Washington"; "Battle Hymn of the Republic" Religous tunes: "Simple Gifts"(Shaker dance song); "Go Down, Moses" (Afro-American spiritual) Tin Pan Alley songs: "Give My Regards to Broadway"; "The Sidewalks of New York" The workshop was sponsored by the Rensselaerville Historical Society. The songs discussed and sung were either written in manuscript and printed versions or published in New York State between the 1770s and 1950s. Here are a few recommended CDs from that workshop: New York, New York - A Vintage Portrait, 1926-1949 (includes "The Sidewalks of New York") Love is Little: A Sampling of Shaker Spiritual Songs of the Erie Canal (Dady Brothers) For information about who wrote the popular Shaker song, "'Simple Gifts," go to:
See how many of these you remember...
AFI - The Top 100 Movie Songs The American Film Institute's "100 Years...100 Songs" program was telecast on June 22, 2004. In case you missed the television program, here is the list of Top Ten AFI Movie Songs: 1. "Over the Rainbow" - THE WIZARD OF OZ (1939) 2. "As Time Goes By" - CASABLANCA (1942) 3. "Singin' in the Rain" - SINGIN' IN THE RAIN (1952) [originally in HOLLYWOOD REVUE OF 1929] 4. "Moon River" - BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY'S (1961) 5. "White Christmas" - HOLIDAY INN (1942)[later also featured in WHITE CHRISTMAS (1954)] 6. "Mrs. Robinson" - THE GRADUATE (1967) 7. "When You Wish Upon A Star" - PINOCCHIO (1940) 8. "The Way We Were" - THE WAY WE WERE (1973) 9. "Stayin' Alive" - SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER (1977)
10. "The Sound of Music" - THE SOUND OF MUSIC (1965) For the complete list, go to: American Film Institute - 100 Years 100 Songs
Songs of the Century - The Top Ten Have you seen the list of 365 "Songs of the Century" announced by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Recording Industry of America? Did you know that WEST SIDE STORY was a song? Actually it isn't. WEST SIDE STORY is a stage musical with a lot of songs. Why name an entire album to this Songs of the Century list? This great Brodway musical is the highest show listed. But is it fair to list it with the other single songs? Of course not! Why not pick out one of the memorable songs from WEST SIDE STORY, like "Maria" or "Tonight." Then it would be a fairer comparison with the others. Who made the choices for this list of 365 songs? They are not named - probably to protect their sometimes questionable choices. "American Pie" at No. 5? It's a very good song for its era, but it's not that good! I believe a true test for a classic song is that it can be sung by other singers and still reamin memorable. Well, in case you haven't seen the list, here are the Top Ten picks from "Songs of the Century" list: 1. "Over the Rainbow" - Artist: Judy Garland 2. "White Christmas" - Artist: Bing Crosby 3. "This Land is Your Land" - Artist: Woody Guthrie 4. "Respect" - Artist: Aretha Franklin 5. "American Pie" - Artist: Don McLean 6. "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" - Artists: The Andrew Sisters 7. WEST SIDE STORY (original cast album) 8. "Take Me Out To The Ball Game" - Artist: Billy Murray 9. "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" - Artists: The Righteous Brothers 10. "The Entertainer" - Artist: Scott Joplin (piano instrumental) To see the complete listm, go to: www.cnn.com/2001/SHOWBIZ/Music/03/07/list.top.365.songs/index.html
By Roger Hall, The Tune Doc 2004 marked the 80th anniversary of George Gershwin's most famous work, Rhapsody in Blue. It was premiered in Aeolian Hall, New York City in February of 1924, with Paul Whiteman and His Jazz Band and Gershwin as piano soloist. This leads to the following question... Is Rhapsody in Blue Really A Song? In the November/December 1999 issue of Sheet Music Magazine, they listed the 25 "Songs Of The Century" as chosen by their readers. At No. 21 is George Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue. When writing about this Gershwin piece, Edward J. Shanaphy admits that "okay, we won't bother arguing that it's not really a song...." Then why classify it as a song? All definitions I've read state that a song is a vocal composition. Have you heard anyone singing the lyrics to Rhapsody in Blue lately? Of course not. That's because there aren't any lyrics. It was written as an instrumental concert piece. This very popular Gershwin piece should have been disqualified since it's definitely not a song. If you want to see a list of real honest-to-goodness Gershwin songs, see "Music, By George - The Top Ten Songs" (found in A GUIDE TO GEORGE GERSHWIN - listed below). Even though I disagree about the Gershwin Rhapsody being a song, I still think that Sheet Music Magazine is an excellent source for vintage songs and I'm a longtime subscriber. In case you're wondering which songs made the Sheet Music list of Songs of the Century, here's the Top Ten: 1. "Star Dust" (Carmichael/Parish) 2. "God Bless America" (Berlin) 3. "White Christmas" (Berlin) 4. "Begin the Beguine" (Porter) 5. "All the Things You Are" (Kern/Hammerstein) - see Top Ten Favorite Pop Songs 6. "As Time Goes By" (Hupfeld) 7. "Deep Purple" (DeRose/Parish) 8. "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" (Kern/Harbach) 9. "In the Mood" (Razaf/ Garland) - see "IN THE MOOD" (radio program) 10."Over the Rainbow" (Arlen/Harburg) I think that's a very good list of standards. What songs would you pick for your Top Ten? Send your song favorites to:
"George Gershwin died on July 11, 1937, but I don't have to believe it if I don't want to" -- John O'Hara O'Hara's famous remark is still true today for the many fans of Gershwin music. Even though the Gerhswin brothers are no longer with us, they live on through their wonderful songs. In 1998, a survey was conducted in celebration of the centennial of George Gershwin's birth on September 26, 1898. You can see the results of the web survey "Music, By George" (Top Ten Favorite Gershwin Songs) in... A GUIDE TO GEORGE GERSHWIN (2nd revised edition, 2004) This handy reference guide is just right for the Gershwin fan. It has lots of useful information, including: I. A detailed chronology of Gershwin's life and music from 1898 to 1937 II. Comments from Contemporaries (Paul Whiteman, Jerome Kern, Ira Gershwin and others) III. Gershwin's Music and Web Survey (Essay - "I Got Rhythm": The Genius of George Gershwin/ Gershwin on Radio/ List of Movie Music/ Web Survey - Top Ten Gershwin Songs) IV. Recommended Books, Recordings, Videotapes/ Two Gershwin Radio Tributes/ About the Author To find out how to order the 2nd edition of this Gershwin guide and also the CD-R of Gershwin radio tributes, go here: Music Titles from PineTree Press
For more music of the 1950s, click on these links: Elvis On Record: The Early Years Top Ten Favorite Pop Songs from the 1950s
By Roger Hall, The Tune Doc This song by James Keys, Claude Feaster, Carl Feaster, Floyd McRae and James Edwards was also first recorded by them under their group name of The Chords. What's the song title? It's "Sh-Boom" and The Chords first version on Cat Records charted on July 3, 1954 -- just 2 days before Elvis Presley's first record, "That's All Right/ Blue Moon of Kentucky" was released on SUN Records. The Chords record of "Sh-Boom" reached No. 5 and was on the Billboard chart for 16 weeks. The white crossover version by The Crew Cuts on Mercury Records first charted on Billboard on July 10, 1954. It was No. 1 for 9 weeks and was on the charts for 20 weeks. Thus "Sh-Boom" was the rock n'roll song to reach No. 1 on the Billboard chart. Later that year Stan Freberg did a parady version of the song. And that's strictly "For the Record." Here is a list of ten hit records from 1954: "Hey There" (Rosemary Clooney) - No. 1 for 6 weeks "The High and the Mighty" (Les Baxter/ Johnny Desmond/ Dimitri Tiomkin/Victor Young --from the movie of the same title) - highest charted version was by Les Baxter at No. 4 "Little Things Mean a Lot" (Kitty Kallen) - No. 1 for 9 weeks "The Man That Got Away" (Judy Garland - for movie, A STAR IS BORN) - reached No. 22 on charts "Mr. Sandman" (The Chordettes) - No. 1 for 7 weeks "Oh! My Papa" (Eddie Fisher) - No. 1 for 8 weeks "Secret Love" (Doris Day - from movie, CALAMITY JANE, 1953) - No. 1 for 4 weeks "Shake, Rattle and Roll" (first multi-crossover hit in the US) - Charles Calhoun's song was a hit in three different recordings:
"Three Coins in the Fountain" (Oscar winning song for 1954) -The song was featured in the film of the same title. For a description of how this song was written, order A GUIDE TO FILM MUSIC. In the film the song written by Jule Styne and Sammy Cahn was smoothly sung by Frank Sinatra. He recorded the song with Nelson Riddle's Orchestra for Capitol Records. Sinatra's recording reached No. 4 on the charts. But the biggest hit of the song was by The Four Aces on Decca Records. Their record first charted on May 22, 1954. It was No. 1 for one week and on the charts for 18 weeks. "Wanted" (Perry Como) - No. 1 for 8 weeks
[most of the above information about Billboard charts from Joel Whitburn's excellent book, Pop Memories, 1890-1954: The History of American Popular Music, 1986.]
By Roger Hall, The Tune Doc Back in 1951, a song was featured in a little known movie: I Was an American Spy. The song featured in the movie had actually been written back in 1940, with music by Dudley Wilkinson and words by Arthur Hammerstein - he was the uncle of Oscar Hammerstein II. This song probably wouldn't have been very popular if it wasn't for the singer and the arrangement. As with Nat King Cole's superb rendition of "Mona Lisa" from a year earlier, the 1951 song was made popular by a distinctive singer. In fact this was the singer's first million seller. Do you know the singer yet? Well, the singer was Tony Bennett. His rendition of the song became the No. 1 hit of 1951. If you know Tony's career then you surely remember "Because of You." I'm fortunate to have the original sheet music of this song. I included it in my book: Who remembers the 1951 movie? I don't. But who can forget the memorable recording of "Because of You" by Tony Bennett? It was "because of him" (and also the wonderful smooth arrangement) that this song was such a huge hit in 1951. And that's strictly "For The Record."
By Roger Hall, The Tune Doc Believe it or not, it was fifty years ago that one of the most beautiful ballads was recorded by a very popular singer. What's the song? Let's give a few clues first. The song was written by two established Hollywood songwriters, Jay Livingston and Ray Evans, who had struck it big with "Buttons and Bows" (an Oscar winner in 1948). When they were asked to write a theme song for a spy thriller starring Alan Ladd and Wanda Hendrix called CAPTAIN CAREY USA, they were stumped. How could they get THAT TITLE into a song? They couldn't. Know the song yet? Well let's continue the story... The songwriters wrote their song with a different title and it was used in portions of the film. But they knew it would never sell as a record in that form. They pleaded with popular singer Nat King Cole to record their song. He not only recorded it but the song won the Oscar for the Best Movie Song of 1950. That's really strange since the song was never sung entirely in the film CAPTAIN CAREY USA, and besides, the song was sung in Italian! So, it was Nat's smooth as silk recording that got Jay Livingston and Ray Evans their second Oscar. Do you know the song title yet? Well, let's now keep you in suspense any longer... The song is... "Mona Lisa" Nat's record company planned it as the B side of the record, but "Mona Lisa" got more air play and gradually became a tremendous hit. It came onto the Billboard chart on June 10, 1950 and stayed there for 27 weeks. It was No. 1 for 8 weeks. The song went on to sell 3 million records and was Nat's biggest hit of the 1950s. As Charles K. Wolfe has written about "Mona Lisa": The slow tempo of this performance allows Nat to caress each word, to wrap his voice around it and to create a stylistic tour de force. It is little wonder that Duke Ellington, one of Nat's idols, told him this was the best vocal arrangement he had ever heard. There are many recordings available of Nat's singing "Mona Lisa." A recent one was released on a Capitol CD, with some personal notes by Nat's widow, Maria Cole. The CD, titled "Unforgettable - Nat King Cole," has 25 tracks. Well worth having if you enjoy this superb song stylist. Nat was an original and could sing almost any song with ease. And one of his all-time best recordings was "Mona Lisa" from 1950. And that's strictly "For the Record."
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Top Ten Favorite Christmas Songs, 1930s to 1950s Remembering Christmas Hits by Bing, Gene and Elvis
For information on the radio program featuring vintage songs available on high quality CDRs, go to: To read a description about the fact-filled guide, Remembering Radio: Great Songwriters and Singers, go to:
To see a list of Top 10 Movie Songs of the Past, go to:
Do you want an entertaining program featuring songs and merriment for your group's regular meeting or special function? Then call The Tune Doc for his musical remedy. For more information about Tune Doc's music programs and publications, go to: Music Titles from PineTree Press To discuss a possible program and fees, write to Roger Hall (The Tune Doc) at:
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