Great American Songbook

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.

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".

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, Lorenz Hart, and Oscar Hammerstein II, among others.

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.

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

List of songs

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,{{hanging indent | {{ubl | | | | | | }}}} but the album reached number 22 on the US Billboard 200 and number 7 in the UK Albums Chart, with sales of 500,000.

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 and continuing into the 21st century. Linda Ronstadt (1983 through 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:

Notes

Including Willie Nelson with Stardust (1978), Dr. John with In a Sentimental Mood (1989), Brian Wilson with Brian Wilson Reimagines Gershwin (2010), Paul McCartney with Kisses on the Bottom (2012), Bob Dylan with Shadows in the Night (2015), Fallen Angels (2016), and Triplicate (2017), and James Taylor with American Standard (2020).}}

References

References

1. "A Great American Songbook Foundation".
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.
4. "The Center for the Performing Arts".
5. "After An Education In American Jazz, A Musician Tackles The Turkish Songbook".
6. (11 February 2015). "'The B Side,' by Ben Yagoda".
7. New York]]''. June 14, 1993. p. 6A.
8. Wilder, Alec. (1990). "American Popular Song: The Great Innovators 1900–1950". Oxford University Press.
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 (magazine).
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. [https://scholarworks.iu.edu/dspace/bitstream/handle/2022/17517/Polit,%20Katherine%20(DM%20Voice).pdf#page=79 "The Great American Songbook In The Classical Voice Studio"]. [[Indiana University]] [[Jacobs School of Music]]. May 2014. p. 73.
12. Murray, Steve. [http://cabaretscenes.org/2017/05/23/michael-feinstein-crooners/ "Michael Feinstein: Crooners"]. CabaretScenes.org. May 23, 2017.
13. Purdy, Stephen. [https://books.google.com/books?id=QIXwCgAAQBAJ&pg=PT115 "Musical Theatre Song: A Comprehensive Course in Selection, Preparation, and Presentation for the Modern Performer"]. [[Bloomsbury Publishing]], 2016. pt. 115.
14. HalLeonard.com]]. Retrieved December 20, 2018.
15. (2009). "Sh-Boom!: The Explosion of Rock 'n' Roll, 1953–1968". [[Morgan James Publishing]].
16. "Cold, Cold Heart - Hank Williams {{!}} Song Info {{!}} AllMusic".
17. Purdy, Stephen. [https://books.google.com/books?id=QIXwCgAAQBAJ&pg=PT32 Musical Theatre Song: A Comprehensive Course in Selection, Preparation, and Presentation for the Modern Performer]. [[Bloomsbury Publishing]], 2016. pt. 32.
18. "Fine and Mellow : Billie Holiday : Lyrics".
19. "[[Great Performances]]". [http://www.pbs.org/wnet/gperf/the-great-american-songbook-introduction/139/ "The Great American Songbook: Introduction"]. "[[PBS]]". March 11, 2003.
20. [https://www.johnnymercerfoundation.org/the-great-american-songbook/ "The Great American Songbook"]. The Johnny Mercer Foundation. Retrieved December 20, 2018.
21. "The Great American Songbook – The Composers".
22. Dicker, Shira. [https://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/23/arts/dance/swing-dance-clubs-go-retro-in-new-york-city.html "Gotta Dance? Swing on Over"]. [[New York Times]]. December 22, 2011.
23. Venutolo, Anthony. [https://www.nj.com/entertainment/tv/index.ssf/2013/11/boardwalk_empire_recap_marriage_hunting.html ""Boardwalk Empire" recap: 'Make a promise to you, break another to myself'"]. "[[NJ.com]]". November 4, 2013.
24. "The Last Time I Saw Paris".
25. "Louisville Lou".
26. "J. Fred Coots, songwriter: reference sources (web and print); selected songs; recordings, videos; miscellany".
27. "Chart History: Ringo Starr".
28. "Ringo Starr". Official Charts.
29. Nick Deriso. (March 27, 2015). "Why Ringo Starr Began His Solo Career With 'Sentimental Journey'". Townsquare Media.
30. James Hall. (March 20, 2020). "Ringo Starr's Sentimental Journey: how an 'embarrassing' solo album helped doom the Beatles". [[The Daily Telegraph]].
31. Ruhlmann, William. "A Little Touch of Schmilsson in the Night".
32. Stephen Holden. (September 4, 1983). "Linda Ronstadt Celebrates The Golden Age of Pop". [[The New York Times]].
33. Deusner, Stephen. (August 15, 2008). "Willie Nelson Stardust: Legacy Edition". Pitchfork Media Inc..
34. "Dr. John: In a Sentimental Mood". allmusic.com.
35. "Brian Wilson Reimagines Gershwin by Brian Wilson".
36. Hermes, Will. (7 February 2012). "Kisses on the Bottom | Album Reviews".
37. Turner, Gustavo. (January 24, 2015). "The secret Sinatra past of Bob Dylan's new album". Los Angeles Times.
38. Petridis, Alexis. (January 29, 2015). "''Shadows in the Night'' review – an unalloyed pleasure". [[The Guardian]].
39. Brown, Helen. (May 13, 2016). "Bob Dylan, Fallen Angels, review -'inhabiting classics with weathered ease'". The Daily Telegraph.
40. (January 31, 2017). "Bob Dylan's First Three-Disc Album — Triplicate — Set For March 31 Release". bobdylan.com.
41. Monger, Timothy. "James Taylor – ''American Standard''".