Showing posts with label Stardust. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Stardust. Show all posts

Wednesday, June 30, 2021

Cover Songs: Top 100

Cover Songs:

Top 100

Cover songs have long been a staple of music, although listeners tend to favor the originals. However, there have been some covers which outshone the original – in some cases, to the point that people may not realize the song with which they’re so familiar is not recorded by the original artist. Here, according to the rankings in Dave’s Music Database, are the top cover songs of all time:

Click here to see other genre-specific song lists.

1. Whitney Houston “I Will Always Love You” (1992)
2. Bill Haley & His Comets “We’re Gonna Rock Around the Clock” (1954)
3. Marvin Gaye “I Heard It Through the Grapevine” (1968)
4. Aretha Franklin “Respect” (1967)
5. Bobby Darin “Mack the Knife” (1959)
6. The Animals “The House of the Rising Sun” (1964)
7. Sinéad O’Connor “Nothing Compares 2 U” (1990)
8. Elton John “Candle in the Wind 1997 (Goodbye England’s Rose)” (1997)
9. Elvis Presley “Hound Dog” (1956)
10. Artie Shaw “Stardust” (1941)

11. Artie Shaw “Begin the Beguine” (1938)
12. Joan Jett & the Blackhearts “I Love Rock and Roll” (1981)
13. Chubby Checker “The Twist” (1960)
14. The Righteous Brothers “Unchained Melody” (1965)
15. Bessie Smith with Louis Armstrong “St. Louis Blues” (1925)
16. Billy Murray with the Haydn Quartet “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” (1908)
17. Al Jolson “Swanee” (1920)
18. Ethel Waters “Stormy Weather (Keeps Rainin' All the Time)” (1933)
19. Gene Austin “My Blue Heaven” (1927)
20. Ray Charles “Georgia on My Mind” (1960)

21. The Kingsmen “Louie Louie” (1963)
22. The Jimi Hendrix Experience “All Along the Watchtower” (1968)
23. Fats Waller “Ain’t Misbehavin’” (1929)
24. Patti Page “Tennessee Waltz” (1950)
25. Bing Crosby “Silent Night” (1935)
26. Haydn Quartet “Sweet Adeline (You’re the Flower of My Heart)” (1904)
27. Elvis Presley “All Shook Up“ (1957)
28. Ray Charles “I Can’t Stop Loving You” (1962)
29. Haydn Quartet “In the Good Old Summertime” (1903)
30. Billie Holiday “Summertime” (1936)

31. Soft Cell “Tainted Love” (1981)
32. Kim Carnes “Bette Davis Eyes” (1981)
33. Dooley Wilson “As Time Goes By” (1942)
34. Etta James “At Last” (1961)
35. Sophie Tucker “Some of These Days” (1911)
36. Elvis Presley “Are You Lonesome Tonight?” (1960)
37. Woody Herman “Blues in the Night (My Mama Done Tol’ Me)” (1941)
38. The Byrds “Mr. Tambourine Man” (1965)
39. Debby Boone “You Light Up My Life” (1977)
40. The Weavers “Goodnight Irene” (1950)

41. Jerry Lee Lewis “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On” (1957)
42. Louis Armstrong “All of Me” (1932)
43. The Flamingos “I Only Have Eyes for You” (1959)
44. Red Nichols “I Got Rhythm” (1930)
45. Vaughn Monroe “Riders in the Sky (A Cowboy Legend)” (1949)
46. Marion Harris “After You’ve Gone” (1919)
47. Pee Wee Hunt “Twelfth Street Rag” (1948)
48. Cyndi Lauper “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” (1983)
49. Larry Clinton with Bea Wain “Deep Purple” (1939)
50. Ben Selvin “Happy Days Are Here Again” (1930)

51. Arthur Collins with Byron Harlan “The Darktown Strutters’ Ball” (1918)
52. Vess Ossman “Maple Leaf Rag” (1907)
53. Run-D.M.C. with Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler & Joe Perry “Walk This Way” (1986)
54. The Harmonicats “Peg O’ My Heart” (1947)
55. Harry MacDonough “Down by the Old Mill Stream” (1911)
56. John McCormack “It’s a Long, Long Way to Tipperary” (1915)
57. Henry Mancini with Audrey Hepburn “Moon River” (1961)
58. Paul Whiteman “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes” (1933)
59. The Beatles “Twist and Shout” (1963)
60. Cliff Edwards “I Can’t Give You Anything But Love” (1928)

61. The Ink Spots “The Gypsy” (1946)
62. Les Paul & Mary Ford “How High the Moon” (1951)
63. Ritchie Valens “La Bamba” (1958)
64. Fats Domino “Blueberry Hill” (1956)
65. Willie Nelson “Always on My Mind” (1982)
66. Glenn Miller “Tuxedo Junction” (1940)
67. The Fifth Dimension “Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In” (1969)
68. Perry Como “Some Enchanted Evening” (1949)
69. Vess Ossman “The Old Folks at Home (Swanee River)” (1900)
70. Harry Nilsson “Without You” (1971)

71. The Five Satins “In the Still of the Nite (I’ll Remember)” (1956)
72. Bunny Berigan “I Can’t Get Started” (1938)
73. Count Basie “April in Paris” (1956)
74. Rudy Vallee “Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?” (1932)
75. Judy Garland with Gene Kelly “For Me and My Gal” (1942)
76. Coleman Hawkins “Body and Soul” (1940)
77. Alma Gluck “Carry Me Back to Old Virginny” (1915)
78. Paul Whiteman “Three O’Clock in the Morning” (1922)
79. Mitch Miller “The Yellow Rose of Texas” (1955)
80. Natalie Imbruglia “Torn” (1997)

81. John Yorke Atlee “Listen to the Mocking Bird (aka “The Mocking Bird”)” (1891)
82. Peerless Quartet “I Didn’t Raise My Boy to Be a Soldier” (1915)
83. Knickerbocker Quartet “Pack Up Your Troubles in Your Old Kit Bag and Smile, Smile, Smile” (1917)
84. Hal McIntyre with Ruth Gaylor “My Funny Valentine” (1945)
85. Fred Astaire “They Can’t Take That Away from Me” (1937)
86. The Tokens “The Lion Sleeps Tonight (Wimoweh)” (1961)
87. Louis Armstrong “When the Saints Go Marching In” (1939)
88. Elvis Presley “That’s All Right, Mama” (1954)
89. The Temptations “Papa Was a Rolling Stone” (1972)
90. Dionne Warwick & Friends “That's What Friends Are For” (1985)

91. Paul Whiteman “My Mammy” (1921)
92. Ada Jones & Billy Murray “Come Josephine in My Flying Machine” (1911)
93. All-4-One “I Swear” (1994)
94. Louis Armstrong “Hello Dolly!” (1964)
95. Fats Waller “Honeysuckle Rose” (1935)
96. Charles Harrison “I’m Always Chasing Rainbows” (1918)
97. Roy Acuff “Wabash Cannonball” (1938)
98. Ray Noble “I’ve Got You Under My Skin” (1936)
99. Ben Selvin “I’m Forever Blowing Bubbles” (1919)
100. Bert Williams “Nobody” (1906)

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First posted 11/23/2018; last updated 6/30/2021.

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Friday, April 16, 2021

Standards of the American Songbook: Top 100

American Songbook Standards:

Top 100 Songs

Songs which have become known as standards or those comprising the great American songbook are generally popular songs from the early 20th century. These are songs from an era when songwriters were more at the forefront, penning songs for theater and film that were often recorded by multiple artists and spawned multiple chart versions.

This list has been created by aggregating 31 lists (see sources at the bottom of the page) which focused on 20th century song titles not recorded by any specific artist. Here are the top 100 songs listed with their songwriters and first year of appearance:

1. Irving Berlin “Alexander’s Ragtime Band” (1911)
2. Cole Porter “Night and Day” (1932)
3. Hoagy Carmichael and Mitchell Parish “Stardust” (1927)
4. W.C. Handy “St. Louis Blues” (1914)
5. Irving Berlin “White Christmas” (1942)
6. Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II “All the Things You Are” (1939)
7. Harold Arlen and E.Y. “Yip” Harburg “Over the Rainbow” (1939)
8. Cole Porter “Begin the Beguine” (1935)
9. George M. Cohan “Give My Regards to Broadway” (1904)
10. George M. Cohan “Over There” (1917)

11. Jimmy McHugh and Dorothy Fields “On the Sunny Side of the Street” (1930)
12. Fats Waller “Ain’t Misbehavin’” (1929)
13. George Gershwin and Irving Caesar “Swanee” (1920)
14. Isham Jones and Gus Kahn “It Had to Be You” (1924)
15. Jimmy McHugh and Dorothy Fields “I Can’t Give You Anything But Love” (1928)
16. Hughie Cannon and Johnnie Queen “Bill Bailey, Won’t You Please Come Home” (1902)
17. George and Ira Gershwin “I Got Rhythm” (1930)
18. Vincent Youmans and Irving Caesar “Tea for Two” (1925)
19. Jerome Kern and Dorothy Fields “The Way You Look Tonight” (1936)
20. Cole Porter “I’ve Got You Under My Skin” (1936)

21. Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II “Ol’ Man River” (1927)
22. Jerome Kern and Otto Harbach “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes” (1933)
23. Harold Arlen and Ted Koehler “Stormy Weather (Keeps Rainin' All the Time)” (1933)
24. Irving Berlin “Cheek to Cheek” (1935)
25. Richard H. Gerard and Harry Armstrong “Sweet Adeline (You’re the Flower of My Heart)” (1903)
26. Duke Ellington, Mitchell Parish, and Irving Mills “Sophisticated Lady” (1933)
27. Gus Kahn, Raymond B. Egan, and Richard Whiting “Ain’t We Got Fun?” (1921)
28. Ernie Burnett and George A. Norton “My Melancholy Baby” (1928)
29. Gus Kahn and Walter Donaldson “Carolina in the Morning” (1923)
30. Kurt Weill, Mark Blitzstein, and Berthold Brecht “Mack the Knife” (1928)

31. Jack Norworth and Albert von Tilzer “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” (1908)
32. Jay Gorney and E.Y. “Yip” Harburg “Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?” (1932)
33. Duke Ellington “Mood Indigo” (1931)
34. Herman Hupfield “As Time Goes By” (1931)
35. Jimmy Monaco and Joseph McCarthy “You Made Me Love You (I Didn't Want to Do It)” (1913)
36. George & Ira Gershwin “They Can’t Take That Away from Me” (1937)
37. Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer “Blues in the Night (My Mama Done Tol’ Me)” (1941)
38. George & Ira Gershwin “Someone to Watch Over Me” (1926)
39. Walter Donaldson and George A. Whiting “My Blue Heaven” (1927)
40. Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart “Manhattan” (1925)

41. Arthur B Sterling and Kerry Mills “Meet Me in St. Louis, Louis” (1904)
42. Irving Berlin “Blue Skies” (1927)
43. Vernon Duke and E.Y. “Yip” Harburg “April in Paris” (1932)
44. Jerome Kern and P.G. Wodehouse “They Didn't Believe Me” (1914)
45. George Meyer, Edgar Leslie, and E. Ray Goetz “For Me and My Gal” (1917)
46. traditional, adapted by Fred Weatherly “Danny Boy” (1913)
47. George M. Cohan “You’re a Grand Old Flag (aka “The Grand Old Rag”)” (1906)
48. Irving Berlin “God Bless America” (1939)
49. Edward Madden and Percy Wenrich “Moonlight Bay” (1912)
50. Irving Berlin “Always” (1926)

51. Harry H. Williams and Egbert Van Alstyne “In the Shade of the Old Apple Tree” (1905)
52. Harry Warren and Al Dubin “I Only Have Eyes for You” (1934)
53. Kurt Weill and Maxwell Anderson “September Song” (1905)
54. Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart “Blue Moon” (1935)
55. John Schonberger, Richard Coburn, and Vincent Rose “Whispering” (1920)
56. Shelton Brooks “Darktown Strutters’ Ball” (1917)
57. Nacio Herb Brown and Arthur Freed “Singin’ in the Rain” (1929)
58. Johnny Green, Eddie Heyman, Robert Sour, and Frank Eyton “Body and Soul” (1930)
59. Hoagy Carmichael and Stuart Gorrell “Georgia on My Mind” (1930)
60. Richard A. Whiting and Raymond B. Egan “Till We Meet Again” (1919)

61. Jimmy McHugh and Dorothy Fields “I’m in the Mood for Love” (1935)
62. Andy Razaf and Joe Garland “In the Mood” (1939)
63. Buddy DeSylva and Louis Silvers “April Showers” (1922)
64. Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart “My Funny Valentine” (1937)
65. Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart “Lover” (1933)
66. Irving Berlin “Oh, How I Hate to Get Up in the Morning” (1918)
67. Fred Fisher “Chicago (That Toddlin’ Town)” (1922)
68. Cole Porter “Just One of Those Things” (1935)
69. Edward Madden and Gus Edwards “By the Light of the Silvery Moon” (1909)
70. George Powell (aka Charles Asaf) and Felix Powell “Pack Up Your Troubles in Your Old Kit Bag and Smile, Smile, Smile” (1915)

71. Alfred Bryan and Fred Fisher “Peg O’ My Heart” (1913)
72. Max Freedman and Jimmy DeKnight “We’re Gonna Rock Around the Clock” (1954)
73. Paul Dresser “My Gal Sal” (1905)
74. Richard Whiting “The Japanese Sandman” (1920)
75. Ren Shields and George Evans “In the Good Old Summertime” (1902)
76. Ren Shields and George Evans “In My Merry Oldsmobile” (1902)
77. Jack Norworth and Nora Bayes “Shine on, Harvest Moon” (1908)
78. Sam M. Lewis, Joe Young, and Jean Schwartz “Rock-a-Bye Your Baby with a Dixie Melody” (1918)
79. Milton Ager and Jack Yellen “Happy Days Are Here Again” (1930)
80. Leigh Harline and Ned Washington “When You Wish Upon a Star” (1940)

81. George M. Cohan “Yankee Doodle Boy” (1905)
82. Leo Friedman and Beth Slater Whitson “Let Me Call You Sweetheart” (1910)
83. Walter Donaldson and Gus Kahn “My Buddy” (1922)
84. George & Ira Gershwin “Summertime” (1935)
85. Shelton Brooks “Some of These Days” (1910)
86. Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer “That Old Black Magic” (1943)
87. Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart “Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered” (1941)
88. Vernon Duke and Ira Gershwin “I Can’t Get Started” (1938)
89. Walter Donaldson and Arthur Fields “The Aba Daba Honeymoon” (1914)
90. Cole Porter “I Get a Kick Out of You” (1934)

91. Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer “Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive” (1945)
92. Harry Warren and Al Dubin “42nd Street” (1933)
93. Jerome Kern and Ira Gershwin “Long Ago and Far Away” (1944)
94. Walter Gross and Jack Lawrence “Tenderly” (1947)
95. Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II “It Might As Well Be Spring” (1945)
96. Nat D. Ayer and Seymour Brown “Oh You Beautiful Doll” (1911)
97. Walter Donaldson, Sam Lewis, and Joy Young “My Mammy (The Sun Shines East, the Sun Shines West)” (1920)
98. George & Ira Gershwin “Embraceable You” (1930)
99. George & Ira Gershwin “The Man I Love” (1928)
100. Turner Layton and Henry Creamer “Way Down Yonder in New Orleans” (1922)

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First posted 4/11/2020; last updated 4/16/2020.

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Tuesday, April 13, 2021

Most-Recorded Songs, 1890-1954: Top 100

Most-Recorded Songs, 1890-1954:

Top 100 Songs

This list comes from Joel Whitburn’s Pop Memories 1890-1954. As it says in the book, “During the pre-rock era, one of the most important indicators of a song’s enduring musical greatness was the number of artists to record it. This list represents the most comprehensive survey ever made of the pre-1955 songs which have been recorded by the most artists (multiple versions by an artist do not count). It encompasses: Edison and Columbia cylinders; all 78s in the extensive collections of the Library of Congress, the New York Public Library, and the Syracuse, Stanford and Yale Uniiversity Libraries; and all new Recordaid listings from the 1950s to the present. Songs written before 1955 but most popular later, such as ‘Misty’ and ‘Autumn Leaves,’ are not included. The year published and the songwriters are shown after the title.”

Note: click here to see other genre-specific song lists.

1. “Silent Night” (1818) by Joseph Muhr and Franz Gruber
2. “St. Louis Blues” (1914) by W.C. Handy
3. “Stardust” (1929) by Hoagy Carmichael and Mitchell Parish
4. “Body and Soul” (1930) by Johnny Green, Ed Heyman, Robert Sauer, and Frank Eyton
5. “Summertime” (1935) by George Gershwin and Dubose Heyward
6. “The Old Folks at Home (Swanee River)” (1851) by Stephen Foster
7. “Tea for Two” (1925) by Vincent Youmans and Irving Caesar
8. “White Christmas” (1942) by Irving Berlin
9. “All the Things You Are” (1939) by Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II
10. “Night and Day” (1932) by Cole Porter

11. “Begin the Beguine” (1935) by Cole Porter
12. “Danny Boy” (1913) by Fred Weatherly (adapted from “Londonberry Air”)
13. “Sweet Georgia Brown” (1925) by Maceo Pinkard, Keneth Casey, and Ben Bernie
14. “The Man I Love” (1924) by George Gershwin and Ira Gershwin
15. “Over the Rainbow” (1939) by Harold Arlen and E.Y. Harburg
16. “Caravan” (1937) by Duke Ellington, Juan Tizol, and Irving Mills
17. “After You’ve Gone” (1918) by Turner Layton and Harry Creamer
18. “Yesterdays” (1933) by Jerome Kern and Otto Harbach
19. “Ain’t Misbehavin’” (1929) by Fats Waller, Harry Brooks, and Andy Razaf
20. “Lover, Come Back to Me” (1928) by Sigmund Romberg and Oscar Hammerstein II

21. “What Is This Thing Called Love?” (1930) by Cole Porter
22. “I Can’t Get Started” (1936) by Vernon Duke and Ira Gershwin
23. “Jingle Bells” (1857) by J.S. Pierpont
24. “I Can’t Give You Anything But Love” (1928) by Jimmy McHugh and Dorothy Fields
25. “My Old Kentucky Home” (1853) by Stephen Foster
26. “When the Saints Go Marching In” (1896) by James Black and Katharine Purvis
27. “Tenderly” (1947) by Walter Gross and Jack Lawrence
28. “Blue Skies” (1927) by Irving Berlin
29. “September Song” (1938) by Kurt Weill and Maxwell Anderson
30. “My Blue Heaven” (1927) by Walter Donaldson and George Whiting

31. “Always” (1925) by Irving Berlin
32. “Tiger Rag” (1917) by Harry DeCosta and Original Dixieland Jazz Band
33. “The Rosary” (1898) by Ethelbert Nevins and Robert Cameron Rogers
34. “Home, Sweet Home” (1823) by Henry Bishop and John Howard Payne
35. Smoke Gets in Your Eyes (1933) by Jerome Kern and Otto Harbach
36. “These Foolish Things Remind Me of You” (1936) by Jack Strachey, Harry Link, and Holt Marvell
37. “Ol’ Man River” (1928) by Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II
38. “Limehouse Blues” (1924) by Philip Braham and Douglas Furber
39. “Sheik of Araby” (1923) by Ted Snyder, Harry B. Smith, and Francis Wheeler
40. “Embraceable You” (1930) by George Gershwin and Ira Gershwin

41. “My Funny Valentine” (1937) by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart
42. “Stormy Weather (Keeps Rainin' All the Time)” (1933) by Harold Arlen and Ted Koehler
43. “Twelfth Street Rag” (1914) by Euday L. Bowman
44. “Blue Moon” (1935) by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart
45. “The Battle Hymn of the Republic” (1863) by Julia Ward Howe and William Steffe
46. “My Melancholy Baby” (1913) by Ernie Burnett and George Norton
47. “I Got Rhythm” (1930) by George Gershwin and Ira Gershwin
48. “Honeysuckle Rose” (1929) by Fats Waller and Anzy Razaf
49. “Love’s Old Sweet Song” (1884) by G. Clifton Bingham and James Mulloy
50. “The Stars and Stripes Forever” (1896) by John Philip Sousa

51. “Where or When” (1937) by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart
52. “Laura” (1945) by David Raskin and Johnny Mercer
53. “Mood Indigo” (1931) by Duke Ellington, Barney Bigard, and Irving Mills
54. “The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)” (1946) by Mel Torme and Robert Wells
55. “Love for Sale” (1930) by Cole Porter
56. “Georgia on My Mind” (1930) by Hoagy Carmichael and Stuart Gorrell
57. “San Antonio Rose” (1938) by Bob Wills
58. “How High the Moon” (1940) by Morgan Lewis and Nancy Hamilton
59. “Someone to Watch Over Me” (1926) by George Gershwin and Ira Gerswhin
60. “I Only Have Eyes for You” (1934) by Harry Warren and Al Dublin

61. “Sweet Sue, Just You” (1928) by Victor Young and Will Harris
62. “The Darktown Strutters’ Ball” (1917) by Shelton Brooks
63. “On the Sunny Side of the Street” (1930) by Jimmy McHugh and Dorothy Fields
64. “Silver Threads Among the Gold” (1877) by Hart P. Danks and Eben Rexford
65. “I’m in the Mood for Love” (1935) by Jimmy McHugh and Dorothy Fields
66. “Deep Purple” (1933) by Peter DeRose and Mitchell Parish
67. “Sometimes I’m Happy” (1925) by Vincent Youmans and Irving Caesar
68. “I’ve Got You Under My Skin” (1934) by Cole Porter
69. “The Star-Spangled Banner” (1814) by Francis Scott Key
70. “Easy to Love” (1936) by Cole Porter

71. “Avalon” (1921) by B.G. DeSylva, Vincent Rose, and Al Jolson
72. “Willow Weep for Me” (1932) by Ann Ronell
73. “Dinah” (1925) by Harry Akst, Sam Lewis, and Joe Young
74. “Moonglow” (1934) by Will Hudson, Eddie DeLange, and Irving Mills
75. “Auld Lang Syne” (1711) adapted by Robert Burns
76. “Carry Me Back to Old Virginny” (1879) by James A. Bland
77. “Alexander’s Ragtime Band” (1911) by Irving Berlin
78. “Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town” (1934) by J. Fred Coots and Haven Gillespie
79. “Basin Street Blues” (1929) by Spencer Williams
80. “Sweet Lorraine” (1935) by Clifford Burwell and Mitchell Parish

81. “I’ll Remember April” (1942) by Don Raye, Gene DePaul, and Patricia Johnston
82. “Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer” (1949) by Johnny Marks
83. “Solitude” (1934) by Duke Ellington
84. “Some of These Days” (1910) by Shelton Brooks
85. “Stella by Starlight” (1947) by Victor Young and Ned Washington
86. “Maple Leaf Rag” (1899) by Scott Joplin
87. “Lover” (1933) by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart
88. “The Way You Look Tonight” (1936) by Jerome Kern and Dorothy Fields
89. “Pennies from Heaven” (1936) by Arthur Johnston and John Burke
90. “Dancing in the Dark” (1931) by Howard Dietz and Arthur Schwartz

91. “Indiana” (1917) by James Hanley and Ballad MacDonald
92. “April in Paris” (1932) by Vernon Duke
93. “As Time Goes By” (1931) by Herman Hupfield
94. “Royal Garden Blues” (1923) by Spencer Williams and Clarence Williams
95. “The Very Thought of You” (1934) by Ray Noble
96. “Lover Man” (1942) by Jimmy Davis, Roger Ramirez, and Jimmy Sherman
97. “Round Midnight” (1947) by Thelonious Monk and Cootie Williams
98. “Perdido” (1942) by Juan Tizol, Ervin Drake, and Hans Lengsfelder
99. “All of Me” (1931) by Seymour Simons and Gerald Marks
100. “What’s New?” (1939) by Johnny Burke and Robert Haggart

Resources and Related Links:
  • Dave’s Music Database: “Other Genre/Category Song Lists
  • Joel Whitburn (1986). Pop Memories 1890-1954. Menomonee Falls, WI; Record Research, Inc. Pages 632-33.

First posted 1/24/2020; last updated 4/13/2021.

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Wednesday, January 22, 2020

Dave's Music Database: Song Inductees (January 2020)

Originally posted 1/22/2020.

In honor of the 10th anniversary of the DMDB blog on January 22, 2019, Dave’s Music Database launched its own Hall of Fame. This is the fifth set of song inductees. These are the ten most-recorded songs from 1890-1954, according to Pop Memories. See full list here. While the list is not focused on a specific act for each song, the inductees are the highest-rated versions of the song in Dave’s Music Database. Not listed here is previous inductee “White Christmas” by Bing Crosby.

Fred Astaire “Night and Day” (1932)

Inducted January 2020 as “Top 10 Most-Recorded Songs from 1890-1954.”

When it comes to standards, this song, which has been called “one of the greatest love ballads ever written,” NPR stands second only to “Star Dust.” MM Cole Porter, whose name is “almost a generic term for witty show songs,” LW wrote it for the Broadway musical Gay Divorce. After Fred Astaire performed it for the show and film, his recording became the first and most successful of seven charting versions between 1932 and 1946. PM Read more.

Bing Crosby “Silent Night” (1935)

Inducted January 2020 as “Top 10 Most-Recorded Songs from 1890-1954.”

Father Joseph Mohr wrote a poem called “Stille Nacht, Heilige Nacht” and his friend Franz Gruber worked it up for guitar SF for performance at the 1818 Christmas Eve service. Since then, it has been translated into more than 44 languages, WK and became the most recorded song of the first half of the 20th century. PM The best known version is the 1935 recording by Bing Crosby with sales estimated as high as 30 million. PM Read more.

Tommy Dorsey “All the Things You Are” (1939)

Inducted January 2020 as “Top 10 Most-Recorded Songs from 1890-1954.”

The Broadway musical comedy Very Warm for May was the last hurrah for famed composer Jerome Kern. Sadly, it was a commercial failure, closing after only 59 performances. SB However, “All the Things You Are” from the show became a #1 hit for Tommy Dorsey and was followed by two more charted version in 1940. In a 1964 Saturday Review poll, more composers named the song as their favorite than any other. TY Read more.

Marion Harris “Tea for Two” (1925)

Inducted January 2020 as “Top 10 Most-Recorded Songs from 1890-1954.”

This was introduced by Louise Groody and John Barker in the Broadway musical comedy No, No, Nanette. JA Marion Harris had the first charted version, taking it to #1 in 1925. It “is one of the most recorded standards of Tin Pan Alley,” JA having been covered by musicians as diverse as Russian classical composer Dmitri Shostakovich and jazz pianist Art Tatum (#18, 1939). Read more.

Coleman Hawkins “Body and Soul” (1940)

Inducted January 2020 as “Top 10 Most-Recorded Songs from 1890-1954.”

“Body and Soul” is “an all-time classic torch song” SF and “the most recorded jazz standard.” WK Multiple versions were recorded, but it was an instrumental version by Coleman Hawkins, who has been called “the father of the tenor saxophone,” NPR’09 which ranks highest. He showed “it was possible to modernize well-worn Tin Pan Alley standards” NPR and it “became one of the most important jazz recordings of all time.” JA Read more.

Billie Holiday “Summertime” (1936)

Inducted January 2020 as “Top 10 Most-Recorded Songs from 1890-1954.”

It has been widely reported and accepted for years that the Beatles’ “Yesterday” is the most recorded song of all time, but its four thousand or so recordings pale compared to the 67,000 of “Summertime,” GW written originally for folk opera Porgy and Bess. The only version to chart in the pre-rock era was Billie Holiday’s 1936 recording (#12). Broadway composer Stephen Sondheim called the lyrics for this and “My Man’s Gone Now” “the best lyrics in the musical theater.” WM Read more.

Vess Ossman “The Old Folks at Home (Swanee River)” (1900)

Inducted January 2020 as “Top 10 Most-Recorded Songs from 1890-1954.”

Stephen Foster wrote and published this minstrel song (also known as “Swanee River”) in 1851. It was the most popular song ever published at that time WM with sheet music sales estimated as high as 20 million. PM Nine versions charted between 1892 and 1937, with Len Spencer being first (#1, 1892). Vess Ossman, however, had the highest-ranked version with his #2 banjo instrumental take on the song. It became Florida’s state song in 1935. Read more.

Artie Shaw “Stardust” (1941)

Inducted January 2020 as “Top 10 Most-Recorded Songs from 1890-1954.”

Hoagy Carmichael’s first major songwriting success NRR was first written as “an up-tempo dance instrumental” NPR but Mitchell Parish added lyrics in 1929. Isham Jones took it to #1 in 1931, but Artie Shaw’s version was rated the favorite record of all time in a 1956 Billboad poll of disc jockeys. PM It has been recorded more than 2000 times LW in more than forty languages. RCG Read more.

Bessie Smith & Louis Armstrong “St. Louis Blues” (1925)

Inducted January 2020 as “Top 10 Most-Recorded Songs from 1890-1954.”

This has been called “the most important blues song ever written.” LW William Christopher Handy, who became known as “The Father of the Blues,” wrote it in 1914 after hearing a St. Louis woman complaining about her cheating husband. LW 15 versions charted over the next forty years. PM Marion Harris had the greatest success with it in 1920 (#1), PM but Bessie Smith’s version with Louis Armstrong is the highest ranked version. Read more.
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Monday, December 31, 2018

Café Songbook: Top 100 Songs

Café Songbook:

Top 100 Songs

The Café Songbook “Catalog of Songs in the Great American Songbook” is an online catalog of more than 850 standards written primarily by professional songwriters between 1910 and 1965. The website itself appears to have last been updated in 2018, as the copyright is listed as 2009-2018.

The website doesn’t rank the songs but I have created a top 100 ranking by looking at how many other lists the songs are featured on. Publication years for songs and the songwriters are indicated, but no specific artist is attached to each song.

Click here to see other lists from publications and/or organizations.

1. “White Christmas” (1942) by Irving Berlin
2. “Stardust” (1927) by Hoagy Carmichael & Mitchell Parish
3. “Alexander’s Ragtime Band” (1911) by Irving Berlin
4. “St. Louis Blues” (1914) by W.C. Handy
5. “Summertime” (1935) by George Gerswhin, Ira Gershwin, & Dubose Heyward
6. Judy Garland “Over the Rainbow” (1939) by Harold Arlen & E.Y. “Yip” Harburg
7. “Body and Soul” (1930) by Johnny Green, Edward Heyman, Robert Sou, and Frank Eyton
8. “Night and Day” (1932) by Cole Porter
9. “Begin the Beguine” (1938) by Cole Porter
10. “On the Sunny Side of the Street” (1930) by Jimmy McHugh & Dorothy Fields

11. “Ain’t Misbehavin’” (1929) by Fats Waller
12. “Take the ‘A’ Train” (1941) by Billy Strayhorn
13. “All the Things You Are” (1939) by Jerome Kern & Oscar Hammerstein II
14. “The Christmas Song” (1946) by Mel Tormé & Robert Wells
15. “Georgia on My Mind” (1930) by Hoagy Carmichael & Stuart Gorrell
16. “Tea for Two” (1924) by Vincent Youmans & Irving Caesar
17. “Cheek to Cheek” (1935) by Irving Berlin
18. “The Man I Love” (1928) by George & Ira Gershwin
19. “April in Paris” (1932) by Vernon Duke & E.Y. “Yip” Harburg
20. “I Got Rhythm” (1930) by George & Ira Gershwin

21. “My Funny Valentine” (1937) by Richard Rodgers & Lorenz Hart
22. “Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!” (1945) by Jule Styne & Sammy Cahn
23. “Winter Wonderland” (1934) by Felix Bernard & Richard B. Smith
24. “Stormy Weather (Keeps Rainin' All the Time)” (1933) by Harold Arlen & Ted Koehler
25. “You Made Me Love You (I Didn't Want to Do It)” (1913) by Jimmy Monaco & Joseph McCarthy
26. “Mack the Knife” (1928) by Kurt Weill, Mark Blitzstein, & Berthold Brecht
27. “Sophisticated Lady” (1933) by Duke Ellington, Mitchell Parish, & Irving Mills
28. “Mood Indigo” (1931) by Duke Ellington, Barney Bigard, Irving Mills, & Mitchell Parish
29. “Some of These Days” (1910) by Shelton Brooks
30. “Blues in the Night (My Mama Done Tol’ Me)” (1941) by Harold Arlen & Johnny Mercer

31. “Swanee” (1920) by George Gershwin & Iving Caesar
32. “As Time Goes By” (1931) by Herman Hupfield
33. “All of Me” (1931) by Seymour Simons & Gerald Marks
34. “A-Tisket, A-Tasket” (1938) by Ella Fitzgerald & Al Feldman
35. “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” (1944) by Hugh Martin & Ralph Blane
36. “I’m in the Mood for Love” (1935) by Jimmy McHugh & Dorothy Fields
37. “Sweet Georgia Brown” (1925) by Ben Bernie, Kenneth Casey, & Maceo Pinkard
38. “I Can’t Give You Anything But Love” (1928) by Jimmy McHugh & Dorothy Fields
39. “Autumn Leaves” (1955) by Joseph Kosma, Johnny Mercer, & Jacques Prevert
40. “Bye Bye Blackbird” (1926) by Ray Henderson & Mort Dixon

41. “I’ve Got You Under My Skin” (1936) by Cole Porter
42. “My Blue Heaven” (1927) by Walter Donaldson & George A. Whiting
43. “I Can’t Get Started” (1938) by Vernon Duke & Ira Gershwin
44. “Chattanooga Choo Choo” (1941) by Hary Warren & Mack Gordon
45. “Moonlight Serenade” (1939) by Glenn Miller & Mitchell Parish
46. “Stompin’ at the Savoy” (1934) by Benny Goodman, Edgar Sampson, Chick Webb, & Andy Razaf
47. “My Melancholy Baby” (1928) by Ernie Burnett & George A. Norton
48. “The Way You Look Tonight” (1936) by Jerome Kern & Dorothy Fields
49. “Blue Skies” (1927) by Irving Berlin
50. “It Don’t Mean a Thing if It Ain’t Got That Swing” (1932) by Duke Ellington & Irving Mills

51. “It Had to Be You” (1924) by Isham Jones & Gus Kahn
52. “Someone to Watch Over Me” (1926) by George & Ira Gershwin
53. “September Song” (1939) by Kurt Weill & Maxwell Anderson
54. “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes” (1933) by Jerome Kern & Otto Harbach
55. “Blue Moon” (1935) by Richard Rodgers & Lorenz Hart
56. “Tenderly” (1947) by Walter Gross & Jack Lawrence
57. “Dancing in the Dark” (1931) by Athur Schwartz & Howard Dietz
58. “Satin Doll” (1953) by Duke Ellington, Billy Strayhorn, & Johnny Mercer
59. “Ol’ Man River” (1927) by Jerome Kern & Oscar Hammerstein II
60. “Everybody Loves My Baby” (1924) by Spencer Williams & Jack Palmer

61. “After You’ve Gone” (1918) by Turner Layton & Henry Creamer
62. “I’ll Be Seeing You” (1940) by Sammy Fain & Irving Kahal
63. “Oh Lady Be Good” (1924) by George & Ira Gershwin
64. “Always” (1926) by Irving Berlin
65. “Oh, You Beautiful Doll” (1911) by Nat D. Ayer & Seymour Brown
66. “They Can’t Take That Away from Me” (1937) by George & Ira Gerswhin
67. “Baby It’s Cold Outside” (1949) by Frank Loesser
68. “Happy Days Are Here Again” (1930) by Milton Ager & Jack Yellen
69. “It Might As Well Be Spring” (1945) by Richard Rodgers & Oscar Hammerstein II
70. “Puttin’ on the Ritz” (1930) by Irving Berlin

71. “Honeysuckle Rose” (1935) by Fats Walle & Andy Razaf
72. “How High the Moon” (1951) by Morgan Lewis & Nancy Hamilton
73. “I’ll Never Smile Again” (1940) by Ruth Lowe
74. “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy” (1941) by Don Raye & Hughie Prince
75. “Fly Me to the Moon” (1964) by Bart Howard
76. “My Favorite Things” (1959) by Richard Rodgers & Oscar Hammerstein II
77. “Oh, How I Hate to Get Up in the Morning” (1918) by Irving Berlin
78. “What Is This Thing Called Love” (1930) by Cole Porter
79. “Come Rain or Come Shine” (1946) by Harold Arlen & Johnny Mercer
80. “Sometimes I’m Happy” (1935) by Vincent Youmans & Irving Caesar

81. “It’s Only a Paper Moon” (1933) by Harold Arlen, E.Y. “Yip” Harburg, & Billy Rose
82. “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” (1943) by Walter Kent, Kim Gannon, & Buck Ram
83. “I Only Have Eyes for You” (1959) by Harry Warren & Al Dubin
84. “Pennies from Heaven” (1936) by Arthur Johnston & Johnny Burke
85. “Dinah” (1932) by Harry Akst, Sam M. Lewis, & Joe Young
86. “The Nearness of You” (1937) by Hoagy Carmichael & Ned Washington
87. “Tangerine” (1942) by Victor Schertzinger & Johnny Mercer
88. “Ain’t We Got Fun?” (1921) by Gus Kahn, Raymond B. Egan, & Richard A. Whiting
89. “Till We Meet Again” (1919) by Richard A. Whiting & Raymond B. Egan
90. “Chicago (That Toddlin’ Town)” (1922) by Fred Fisher

91. “My Buddy” (1922) by Walter Donaldson & Gus Kahn
92. “Lover” (1933) by Richard Rodgers & Lorenz Hart
93. “I Get a Kick Out of You” (1934) by Cole Porter
94. “Laura” (1945) by David Raskin & Johnny Mercer
95. “How Deep Is the Ocean?” (1932) by Irving Berlin
96. “Where or When” (1937) by Richard Rodgers & Lorenz Hart
97. “Makin’ Whoopee” (1928) by Walter Donaldson & Gus Kahn
98. “Ain’t She Sweet?” (1927) by Mitlon Ager & Jack Yellen
99. “Our Love Is Here to Stay” (1938) by George & Ira Gershwin
100. “Misty” (1954) by Erroll Garner & Johnny Burke

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First posted 12/19/2025.

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Wednesday, March 14, 2012

James J. Fuld The Book of World-Famous Music

James J. Fuld:

The Book of World-Famous Music

First published in 1966, this book offers insights into more than 700 standards. While the songs aren’t ranked, I have created a top 100 ranking by looking at how many other lists the songs in this book appeared on. Publication years for songs are indicated, but no specific artist is attached to each song.

Click here to see other lists from critics and individuals and here to see other lists from publications and/or organizations.

1. “White Christmas” (1942) 2. “Stardust” (1927)
3. “Alexander’s Ragtime Band” (1911)
4. “St. Louis Blues” (1914)
5. “Summertime” (1935)
6. “Over the Rainbow” (1939)
7. “Body and Soul” (1930)
8. “Night and Day” (1932)
9. “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” (1908)
10. “Begin the Beguine” (1935)

11. “Ain’t Misbehavin’” (1929)
12. “All the Things You Are” (1939)
13. “The Battle Hymn of the Republic (aka ‘Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!’)” (1861)
14. “God Bless America” (1939)
15. “When the Saints Go Marching In” (1880)
16. “Over There” (1917)
17. “You’re a Grand Old Flag (aka “The Grand Old Rag”)” (1906)
18. “Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer” (1949)
19. “The Star-Spangled Banner” (1814)
20. “Tea for Two” (1924)

21. “The Man I Love” (1928)
22. “April in Paris” (1932)
23. “Silent Night” (1818)
24. “Bill Bailey, Won’t You Please Come Home?” (1902)
25. “Home on the Range” (1873)
26. “I Got Rhythm” (1930)
27. “America the Beautiful” (1895)
28. “Give My Regards to Broadway” (1904)
29. “Stormy Weather (Keeps Rainin' All the Time)” (1933)
30. “You Made Me Love You (I Didn't Want to Do It)” (1913)

31. “Mack the Knife” (1928)
32. “Sophisticated Lady” (1933)
33. “Jingle Bells” (1857)
34. “Yankee Doodle (aka ‘Yankee Doodle Went to Town’)” (1754)
35. “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” (1806)
36. “Oh! Susanna” (1846)
37. “Darktown Strutters’ Ball” (1917)
38. “Some of These Days” (1911)
39. “Shine on Harvest Moon” (1908)
40. “Old MacDonald Had a Farm” (1706)

41. “Swanee” (1920)
42. “Hello Ma Baby” (1899)
43. “After the Ball” (1892)
44. “As Time Goes By” (1931)
45. “A-Tisket, A-Tasket” (1938)
46. “When Johnny Comes Marching Home” (1863)
47. “Tiger Rag” (1918)
48. “Twelfth Street Rag” (1916)
49. “I Can’t Give You Anything But Love” (1928)
50. “Dixie” (1859)

51. “I’ve Got You Under My Skin” (1936)
52. “My Blue Heaven” (1927)
53. “My Melancholy Baby” (1928)
54. “Rhapsody in Blue” (1924)
55. “I’ve Been Working on the Railroad” (1894)
56. “Someone to Watch Over Me” (1926)
57. “September Song” (1939)
58. “O Come All Ye Faithful (Adeste Fideles)” (1751)
59. “Camptown Races (Gwine to Run All Night)” (1850)
60. “April Showers” (1921)

61. “For Me and My Gal” (1917)
62. “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes” (1933)
63. “By the Light of the Silvery Moon” (1909)
64. “Let Me Call You Sweetheart” (1910)
65. “In the Good Old Summertime” (1902)
66. “Dancing in the Dark” (1941)
67. “Joy to the World” (1719)
68. “Row, Row, Row Your Boat” (1852)
69. “The Yellow Rose of Texas” (1853)
70. “Ol’ Man River” (1927)

71. “Peg O’ My Heart” (1913)
72. “Anchors Aweigh (U.S. Navy Song)” (1906)
73. “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing” (1739)
74. “Sweet Adeline (You’re the Flower of My Heart)” (1903)
75. “Whispering” (1920)
76. “Always” (1926)
77. “Oh, You Beautiful Doll” (1911)
78. “Auld Lang Syne” (1799)
79. “Daisy Bell (A Bicycle Built for Two)” (1892)
80. “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot” (1873)

81. “On Top of Old Smoky” (1841)
82. “She’ll Be Coming ‘Round the Mountain” (1899)
83. “Clementine” (1884)
84. “Happy Days Are Here Again” (1930)
85. “Mary Had a Little Lamb” (1830)
86. “London Bridge is Falling Down” (1744)
87. “Frère Jacques (Are You Sleeping?)” (1780)
88. “The Old Folks at Home (Swanee River)” (1851)
89. “Home Sweet Home” (1823)
90. “Turkey in the Straw” (1820)

91. “Way Down Yonder in New Orleans” (1922)
92. “My Old Kentucky Home” (1853)
93. “Oh, How I Hate to Get Up in the Morning” (1918)
94. “Happy Birthday to You” (1893)
95. “What Is This Thing Called Love?” (1930)
96. “I Want a Girl Just Like the Girl Who Married Dear Old Dad” (1911)
97. “Rock-a-Bye Baby” (1884)
98. “Sometimes I’m Happy” (1927)
99. “Jimmy Crack Corn (The Blue Tail Fly)” (1846)
100. “I Wonder Who’s Kissing Her Now” (1909)

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First posted 12/10/2025.

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Friday, May 12, 1995

50 years ago: Glenn Miller hit #1 for 1st of 16 weeks with self-titled compilation

Glenn Miller (aka “Glenn Miller & His Orchestra”)

Glenn Miller

Charted: March 24, 1945

Recorded: 1939 to 1942

Peak: 116 US

Sales (in millions): 0.5 US

Genre: big band jazz

Tracks:

Song Title (Writers) [time] (date of single release, chart peaks) Click for codes to singles charts.

  1. American Patrol (Frank White Meacham, arranged by Jerry Gray) (7/4/42, 15 US)
  2. Song of the Volga Boatmen (traditional, arranged by Billy Finegan) (2/22/41, 11 US, 10 GA)
  3. Tuxedo Junction (Erskin Hawkins, Bill Johnson, Julian Dash, Buddy Feyne) (2/24/40, 19 US, 7 GA)
  4. In the Mood (arranged by Joe Garland) (10/7/39, 113 US, 9 HP, 5 GA, 13 UK, 120 AU)
  5. Little Brown Jug (arranged by Billy Finegan) (6/17/39, 2 US, 13 UK)
  6. Moonlight Serenade (arranged by Joe Garland) (7/29/39, 3 US, 9 GA, 12 UK)
  7. Stardust (Hoagy Carmichael, arranged by Billy Finegan and Glenn Miller) (10/26/40, 20 US, 8 GA)
  8. Pennsylvania 6-5000 (Jerry Gray, Carl Sigman; arranged by Jerry Gray) (7/6/40, 5 US, 14 GA)

Rating:

4.557 out of 5.00 (average of 6 ratings)

Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Album:

As a bandleader, Glenn Miller experienced tremendous success from 1939 to 1944, landing 69 hits in the top 10. Sixteen of those songs went all the way to #1. In 1942, he volunteered for the U.S. military so he could entertain troops during World War II. While flying to Paris on December 15, 1944, his aircraft disappeared in bad weather over the English Channel.

This collection of some of his most beloved recordings was released posthumously in the days when an album truly was an album. The original compilation appeared as a four-disc, 78 rpm album set – two songs were disc. The set landed at #1 on the Billboard, logging a total of sixteen weeks on top during three separate years (8 weeks in 1945, 5 in 1946, 3 in 1947).

Three of Miller’s chart-topping songs appeared on this collection including In the Mood, which was the biggest hit of 1940 and of Miller’s career. It is one of the best known songs from the big band era. The song first emerged in 1930 as “Tar Paper Stomp” and was recorded by others, including Edgar Hayes and Artie Shaw, before Miller tackled it.

The song ranks at #5 in the Dave’s Music Database book of The Top 100 Songs of the Pre-Rock Era. Also featured in that book at #6 is the recording of Stardust by Artie Shaw. Miller’s version of the song appears on this compilation.

“In the Mood” and another of Miller’s #1 songs on this collection, Tuxedo Junction, rank in the top 1% of songs all time. The song was written by Erskine Hawkins, who titled the song after a club in Birmingham, Alabama, that was part of the circuit played by African American performers. When Miller witnessed the crowd reaction to Erskine’s performance of the song on Christmas Eve in 1939 at the Savoy Ballroom in New York, he decided to record the song.

Three more were top-10 hits, including Moonlight Serenade. It also ranks in the top 1% of all songs and appears in the Dave’s Music Database list of the top 100 big band songs. That list also includes “In the Mood,” “Tuxedo Junction,” and Pennyslvania 6-5000.

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First posted 2/9/2022.

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