The Top 100 Broadway Songs

Broadway: Top 100 Songs

Since the early part of the 20th century, musicals have fueled American music with some of its most beloved standards. In the first half of the 1900’s, many pop hits were recordings of songs which had originated on the Broadway stage. What follows is a list of the top 100 Broadway songs, as determined by an aggregate of 34 Broadway song collections and best-of lists. The show and the year of its stage premiere are listed after each song. Click here to see other genre-specific song lists. 1. Memory (Cats, 1981) 2. Ol’ Man River (Show Boat, 1927) 3. Some Enchanted Evening (South Pacific, 1949) 4. Tonight (West Side Story, 1957) 5. If I Were a Rich Man (Fiddler on the Roof, 1964) 6. You’ll Never Walk Alone (Carousel, 1945) 7. Send in the Clowns (A Little Night Music, 1973) 8. Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin’ (Oklahoma!, 1943) 9. Seasons of Love (Rent, 1996) 10. What I Did for Love (A Chorus Line, 1975) 11. The Sound of Music (The Sound of Music, 1959) 12. If I Loved You (Carousel, 1945) 13. On the Street Where You Live (My Fair Lady, 1956) 14. All That Jazz (Chicago, 1975) 15. Don’t Cry for Me Argentina (Evita, 1978) 16. The Impossible Dream (Man of La Mancha, 1965) 17. I Don’t Know How to Love Him (Jesus Christ Superstar, 1971) 18. Aquarius (Hair, 1967) 19. I Dreamed a Dream (Les Miserables, 1985) 20. Tomorrow (Annie, 1977) 21. Cabaret (Cabaret, 1966) 22. Defying Gravity (Wicked, 2003) 23. Bewitched, Bothered, & Bewildered (Pal Joey, 1940) 24. The Music of the Night (The Phantom of the Opera, 1986) 25. I Could Have Danced All Night (My Fair Lady, 1956) 26. Climb Ev’ry Mountain (The Sound of Music, 1959) 27. My Favorite Things The Sound of Music, 1959) 28. Till There Was You (The Music Man, 1957) 29. My Funny Valentine (Babes in Arms, 1937) 30. Somewhere (West Side Story, 1957) 31. Oklahoma! (Oklahoma!, 1943) 32. On My Own (Les Miserables, 1985) 33. There’s No Business Like Show Business (Annie Get Your Gun, 1946) 34. I Got Rhythm (Girl Crazy, 1930) 35. Luck Be a Lady (Guys and Dolls, 1950) 36. Put on a Happy Face (Bye Bye Birdie, 1960) 37. Seventy-Six Trombones (The Music Man, 1957) 38. Getting to Know You (The King and I, 1951) 39. Can You Feel the Love Tonight? (The Lion King, 1997) 40. The Time Warp (The Rocky Horror Picture Show, 1973) 41. Hello, Dolly! (Hello, Dolly!, 1964) 42. Do-Re-Mi (The Sound of Music, 1959) 43. Sunrise, Sunset (Fiddler on the Roof, 1964) 44. Day by Day (Godspell, 1971) 45. Shall We Dance? (The King and I, 1951) 46. Can’t Help Lovin’ Dat Man (Show Boat, 1927) 47. If Ever I Would Leave You (Camelot, 1960) 48. The Party’s Over (Bells Are Ringing, 1956) 49. Smoke Gets in Your Eyes (Roberta, 1933) 50. As Long As He Needs Me (Oliver!, 1960) image from the odysseyonline.com 51. All the Things You Are (Very Warm for May, 1939) 52. Summertime (Porgy and Bess, 1935) 53. Circle of Life (The Lion King, 1997) 54. Everything’s Coming Up Roses (Gypsy, 1959) 55. Written in the Stars (Aida, 1999) 56. One (Singular Sensation) (A Chorus Line, 1975) 57. Someone to Watch Over Me (Oh, Kay!, 1926) 58. You’re the Top (Anything Goes, 1934) 59. Maria (West Side Story, 1957) 60. I Love Paris (Can-Can, 1953) 61. Hello, Young Lovers (The King and I, 1951) 62. New York, New York (On the Town, 1944) 63. Almost Like Being in Love (Brigadoon, 1947) 64. I Get a Kick Out of You (Anything Goes, 1935) 65. The Lady Is a Tramp (Babes in Arms, 1937) 66. People Will Say We’re in Love (Oklahoma!, 1943) 67. Once in Love with Amy (Where’s Charley?, 1948) 68. Maybe This Time (Cabaret, 1966) 69. You Can’t Stop the Beat (Hairspray, 2002) 70. Falling in Love with Love (The Boys from Syracuse, 1938) 71. Superstar (Jesus Christ Superstar, 1971) 72. Comedy Tonight (A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, 1962) 73. This Is the Moment (Jekyll and Hyde, 1997) 74. People (Funny Girl, 1964) 75. The Flesh Failures/Let the Sunshine In (Hair, 1964) 76. All I Ask of You (The Phantom of the Opera, 1986) 77. Over the Rainbow (The Wizard of Oz, movie: 1939) 78. Edelweiss (The Sound of Music, 1959) 79. Wouldn’t It Be Loverly (My Fair Lady, 1956) 80. Try to Remember (The Fantastics, 1960) 81. Mack the Knife (The Threepenny Opera, 1928) 82. Younger Than Springtime (South Pacific, 1949) 83. Bill (Show Boat, 1927) 84. Summer Nights (Grease, 1972) 85. Hernando’s Hideaway (The Pajama Game, 1954) 86. June Is Bustin’ Out All Over (Carousel, 1945) 87. On a Clear Day You Can See Forever (On a Clear Day You Can See Forever, 1965) 88. I Enjoy Being a Girl (Flower Drum Song, 1958) 89. This Can’t Be Love (The Boys from Syracuse, 1938) 90. The Phantom of the Opera (The Phantom of the Opera, 1986) 91. So in Love (Kiss Me, Kate, 1948) 92. Camelot (Camelot, 1960) 93. Where or When (Babes in Arms, 1937) 94. Close Every Door (Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat, 1972) 95. For Good (Wicked, 2003) 96. There’s a Small Hotel (On Your Toes, 1936) 97. Wheels of a Dream (Ragtime, 1996) 98. Springtime for Hitler (The Producers, 2001) 99. Beauty and the Beast (Beauty and the Beast, 1998) 100. It’s a Hard-Knock Life (Annie, 1977) Resources and Related Links: Dave’s Music Database: “Other Genre/Category Song Lists” First posted 6/27/2016.

50 years ago: Carousel opened on Broadway

Carousel Richard Rodgers (music), Oscar Hammerstein II (lyrics)

Cast Album

Stage Debut: April 19, 1945 Recorded: May 11-21, 1945 Charted: July 21, 1945 Peak: 16 US Sales (in millions): -- Genre: show tunes

Soundtrack

Charted: February 25, 1956 Peak: 2 US, 16 UK Sales (in millions): 1.0 US Genre: show tunes

Songs on Cast Album: Song Title (Performers) Waltz Suite: Carousel (CAROUSEL ORCHESTRA) You’re a Queer One, Julie Jordan/ Mister Snow (JEAN DARLING/ JAN CLAYTON) If I Loved You (JAN CLAYTON/ JOHN RAITT) June Is Bustin’ Out All Over When the Children Are Asleep Blow High, Blow Low (MURVYN VYE) Soliloquy A Real Nice Clambake There’s Nothin’ So Bad for a Woman c What’s the Use of Won’rin’ (MURVYN VYE/ CONNIE BAXTER/ JAN CLAYTON) The Highest Judge of All c/ You’ll Never Walk Alone Songs only on cast album. Songs on Soundtrack: Song Title (Performers) Carousel Waltz (ORCHESTRA) You’re a Queer One, Julie Jordan (BARBARA RUICK/ SHIRLEY JONES) Mister Snow (BARBARA RUICK) If I Loved You (SHIRLEY JONES/ GORDON MacRAE) June Is Bustin’ Out All Over (CLARAMAE TURNER/ BARBARA RUICK/ MIXED CHORUS) Soliloquy (GORDON MacRAE) Blow High, Blow Low (CAMERON MITCHELL/ MEN’S CHORUS) When the Children Are Asleep (ROBERT ROUNSEVILLE/ BARBARA RUICK) A Real Nice Clambake (BARBARA RUICK/ CLARAMAE TURNER/ MIXED CHORUS) Stonecutters Cut It on Stone (CAMERON MITCHELL/ MIXED CHORUS) s What’s the Use of Won’rin’ (SHIRLEY JONES/ MIXED CHORUS) You’ll Never Walk Alone (CLARAMAE TURNER) If I Loved You (Reprise) (GORDON MacRAE) s You’ll Never Walk Alone (Finale) (SHIRLEY JONES/ MIXED CHORUS) s s Songs only on soundtrack. Singles/Hit Songs: As was common in the pre-rock era, songs from musicals were often recorded by artists not associated with the musical and released as singles. Here are some of the most notable hit singles resulting from the show: ”If I Loved You” – Perry Como (#3, 1945), Frank Sinatra (#7, 1945), Bing Crosby (#8, 1945), Harry James (#8, 1945), Roy Hamilton (#26, 1954) ”You’ll Never Walk Alone” – Frank Sinatra (#9, 1945), Judy Garland (#21, 1946), Roy Hamilton (#21, 1954) ”June Is Bustin’ Out All Over” – Hildegarde with Guy Lombardo (#11, 1945)

Rating: 4.503 out of 5.00 (average of 11 ratings for cast album and soundtrack combined) Awards (Cast Album and Soundtrack): (Click on award to learn more).

About the Show: “Decca Records scored a significant commercial success with its album of songs from Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II’s first musical, Oklahoma!, performed by members of the original cast. So, the label was interested in releasing a similar recording of the songwriters’ next musical, Carousel.” WR “The new show was a darker effort than Oklahoma!, based on the tragic play Liliom, even though Hammerstein had the two leads marry and considerably softened the ending. One element he did retain was the story’s lustiness, especially evident in one of the score’s hit songs, June Is Bustin’ out All Over.” WR “Rodgers’ music was characteristically tuneful, and the cast, led by John Raitt in his Broadway debut, was excellent. The score produced standards in the hits If I Loved You and You’ll Never Walk Alone, as well as the epic Soliloquy, a revolutionary recitative in which Raitt, as Billy Bigelow, undergoes a character transformation as he anticipates the birth of his child.” WR “Rodgers and Hammerstein’s stature, and the show’s outstanding music, helped it to a Broadway run of 890 performances after it opened in New York in 1945. The cast recording shared in this success; it topped the recently instituted album charts, and Decca (later succeeded by MCA) kept it in print through a series of reissues over the years.” WR The soundtrack “benefits from Gordon MacRae’s powerful performance in the lead role of Billy Bigelow. MacRae was cast in the role when director Henry King’s first choice, Frank Sinatra, fell through, and is clearly the highlight of the recording.” EC “Not every cast member is as reliable. Shirley Jones as Bigelow’s wife has a tendency to overact her songs in a way that is more grating on record than in the film. The same mugging plagues the performance of the chorus on the classic song ‘June Is Bustin’ out All Over.’” EC “The other major chorus numbers don’t require overacting to be grating. Some critics complained that the film was missing some of the best songs from the Broadway version of Carousel. The problem may not have been that songs were cut, but that they cut the wrong songs. The tedious ‘Soliloquy’ is probably necessary to advance the action, but it’s certainly not as tuneful as the absent Blow High, Blow Low. And surely the show would hold up without the dopey A Real Nice Clambake. No doubt most fans would happily exchange it for a few more reprises of ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone.’” EC Notes: A reissue of the cast album added alternate versions of “You’re a Queer One, Julie Jordan/ Mister Snow,” “There’s Nothin’ So Bad for a Woman/ What’s the Use of Won’rin’,” and “Waltz Suite: Carousel.”

Resources and Related Links: EC Evan Cater, All Music Guide s WR William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide c Other Related DMDB Pages: First posted 12/1/2009; last updated 12/21/2021.