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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.
The Great American Songbook, term given to a canon of American popular songs and enduring jazz standards written mainly during the first half of the 20th century. The Songbook is not a physical book, nor is there one definitive list of songs, songwriters, and performers included in its “pages.”
Find Hand-Picked Top Composer Songbook Songs on AllMusic New Releases. Discover. Genres Moods Themes. Blues Classical Country. Electronic Folk International. Pop/Rock ...
- Creating The “Standards” in The Early 20th Century
- What Came First? The Music Or The Lyrics?
- Ella Fitzgerald Explores The Great American Songbook
- Jazz and The Great American Songbook
- Rock’N’Roll Arrives
- The Revival of The Great American Songbook
The “standards” are as popular today as they were more than half a century ago; the music simply transcends the era in which the songs were written. They are characterized by deft and witty lyrics that evoke the very idea of high-society sophistication. There was something about the early 20th Century – the Jazz Age of the 20s, the Great Depression...
So what came first, the music or the lyrics? That depended on the writing team. In general, Richard Rodgers’ music came before Lorenz Hart’s words, but it was the opposite when Rodgers worked with Oscar Hammerstein. Though many of the celebrated compositions were written by a duo (one composing the music and one penning the words), there were three...
Fitzgerald was relaxed throughout the sessions and usually thoroughly prepared before a take (as was Frank Sinatra, who often spent days poring over lyrics) and her only anxious moment came when Duke Ellington arrived at the studio at the last minute with arrangements sketched out on an envelope. Though Fitzgerald burst into tears nothing could hol...
Sometimes a standard began life as a flop, as with “Here’s That Rainy Day.” Jimmy Van Heusen and Johnny Vurke wrote the song for the 1953 musical Carnival In Flanders, but the show closed after just six performances. It was not until Sinatra’s version, six years later, that the song was recognized as a classic, one that would later be recorded by h...
With the arrival of rock’n’roll, music changed fundamentally in the 50s and 60s, a period that coincided with the collapse of the sheet music industry. However, the tradition of fine songwriting partnerships (exemplified by “That’s Entertainment!” creators Arthur Schwartz and Howard Dietz) continued in the post-war era as a new breed of writers beg...
The stunning revival of The Great American Songbook came in the 21st century, but the seeds were sown in the 70s, a time when the singer-songwriter was beginning to hold sway. Credit should be given to Ringo Starr, who was the first “modern” musician to try to breathe new life into the classics. The revitalized trend began with The Beatles’ drummer...
Over 500 song selections from the Great American Songbook. Explore songwriters from Cole Porter to Duke Ellington and themes from optimism to the magic of love.
Find Composer Songbook Albums, Artists and Songs, and Hand-Picked Top Composer Songbook Music on AllMusic.
Feb 1, 2002 · Of America’s many contributions to the arts, the most widely influential—perhaps even more influential than jazz—may ultimately prove to be the body of popular song created during the 20th century by the commercial composers and lyricists who worked on Broadway and Tin Pan Alley and in Hollywood.
