20th Annual
National Carry A Tune Week

 

Tunes Chosen

for Tune Week held October 4-10, 2020




 

 

 

List of the tunes chosen
in these categories:

 

I. Patriotic Music

II. Folk Music

III. Religious Music

IV. Popular Music

V. Classical Music

VI. Film Music

 

 

This free online event has been sponsored each year by

The American Tune Lovers Society

 

 

Thank you to those who participated in this Tune Week survey.

Many of the tunes have comments by those who chose them.

A few tunes below have links to other pages on this website.

Most of them have links to YouTube so you watch them.

 

 

Here are the tunes chosen for the
20th Annual National Carry A Tune Week
(click links for YouTube)...

 

 

 

Patriotic Music = 3 tunes

 

From Gail:

"This Land is Your Land" -
words and music by Woody Guthrie (1940) - 1956 copyright version

 

 

 

From Jim:

“The Washington Post” -
by John Philip Sousa (1889) 

I suppose every march is patriotic somewhere or another.  This is among the great ones by “The March King.”

 

 

 

 

From Roger:

“National Emblem March” – music by Edwin Eugene Bagley (1902)

One of my favorite march tunes which I remember happily marching to
as a young cadet in parades at Eastern Military Academy in the 1950s.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Folk Music = 4 tunes

 

 

From Beate:

"Don't Think Twice It's All Right" - lyrics and music by Bob Dylan (1962)

 

 

From Gail:

"M.T.A." - lyrics and music by Jacqueline Steiner and Bess Lomax Hawes (1949)

sung by The  Kingston Trio

I haven’t been on the MBTA or gone to Boston since March.

 

 

 

 

 

From Jim:

“Old Friends” - words and music by Mary McCaslin (1977)

An early leader of the singer-songwriter movement and an influential guitarist.  Mary has been a friend of mine since 1973.

 

 

From Roger:

“Streets of Laredo” –
arranged by Roy Harris (1947)

A favorite western folk song in a wonderful piano arrangement by American composer,
Roy Harris, and beautifully performed by Margaret Ulmer on the American Places CD.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Religious Music = 3 tunes

 

From Gail:

 

From Jim:

“Jesus, Jesus Rest Your Head”


This is a traditional Appalachian Christmas carol collected by John Jacob Niles.

 

From Roger:

 

"Stoughton" - tune by William Billings (1770/
with words from Dr. Isaac Watts

I added the Watts text to this wordless tune since it was a popular one during the time when the Billings tune was written. The tune was first published in Boston in "The New-England Psalm-Singer" (1770) - the first choral collection by an American composer. My edited version was first performed in a concert in 1980.

words by Dr. Isaac Watts

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Popular Music = 4 tunes

 

From Beate:

Suspicious Minds - lyrics and music by Mark James (1968)
- hit recording by Elvis Presley

 

 

 

From Gail:

 

 

 

From Jim:

“All of Me” by Seymour Simons & Gerald Marks (1931)

The best recording I know of this jazzy ballad was by Dinah Washington.  Sinatra also recorded it.

 

From Roger:

"Peace-Lovin' Blues" - words and music by Lee Hall (1965)

One of my earliest pop songs I wrote
while I was stationed in the Army in Germany.
I wrote the song for a highly opinionated girlfriend
from the UK who was then living in Germany.
She did not appreciate my song at all
when I showed her the lyrics which begin:

"Baby, why must you fight, You know if just ain't right,
Like so many times before, I'm gonna tell you once more,
I've got the blues, I've got the blues,
Peace-lovin' blues."

 

 

 

Classical Music = 3 tunes

 

From Gail:

"Make Our Garden Grow" – lyrics and music by Leonard Bernstein
from CANDIDE (1956)

lyrics by Leonard Bernstein

This is from the original cast album of CANDIDE I saw in try out in Boston in 1956. Who knew the show would become so special. We went to see Robert Rounseville who came from our hometown. To me this song is one of hope even though things may not be perfect.

 

 

From Jim:

“El Salon Mexico” by Aaron Copland (1936) - conducted by Aaron Copland

This lively short piece is not so well known as most of his compositions, but it’s distinctively Copland.

 


From Roger:

 

“gentle morning mist” – words and music by Roger Lee Hall(1970)

A composition from my first song cycle, six haiku songs, first performed
in a student recital at Rutgers University in Newark, New Jersey and
included on my CD, "Gentle Peace."

 

 


 

 

 

Film Music = 5 tunes
(Songs and Themes)

 

From Gail:

"Spring, Spring, Spring"  -  lyrics by Johnny Mercer/ music by Gene dePaul
From SEVEN BRIDES FOR SEVEN BROTHERS (1954)

lyrics by Johnny Mercer

sung by Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire    

 

From Jim:

“Hey, There” from THE PAJAMA GAME -
by Richard Adler & Jerry Ross (1954)

This song is from the Broadway musical (1954)
and movie (1957). Rosemary Clooney
and Sammy Davis Jr. had hit records.

 

 

 

From Jocelyn:

Title Song from 3:10 TO YUMA -- words: Ned Washington/ music: George Duning

An evocative theme from one of my favorite westerns -
sung by Frankie Laine on the soundtrack.

 

From Roger:

Love Theme from SPARTACUS – music by Alex North (1960)

One of the most beautiful love themes from any film and very popular with musicians too and many of them are featured on the excellent 6 CD/1 DVD set from Varese Sarabande.


 

From Steve:

Theme from THE HIGH AND THE MIGHTY -
words: Ned Washington/ music: Dimitri Tiomkin (1954)

I’d have to say "The High and the Mighty" -- when I whistle the theme, I feel like Whistling Dan Roman (John Wayne)

 

 

 

 


 

 



 

 

 


National Carry A Tune Week
2020 = 22 tunes chosen

National Carry A Tune Week
2001 to 2020 = 568 tunes chosen

 

 


 

Are you a teacher, musician or music lover?

See this catalogue of CDs for classical, folk, popular and film music at the

American Music Recordings Collection (AMRC)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Sammy Film Music Awards

The longest-running awards for film music recordings

See the complete list -

click here

 

 

 

 

 

 

Centennial Tributes:

Leroy Anderson (classical-crossover composer)

Gene Autry (western singer-songwriter)

Sammy Cahn (lyricist)

Bette Davis (actress, singer)

Jerome Moross (composer)

Miklos Rozsa (film composer)

Walter Schumann (film composer)

Jimmy Stewart (actor, singer)

 

 


 

See the composers listed on the

Tunemaker Hall of Fame

 

 

 

 

 

Please help support the mission of

The American Tune Lovers Society

Order your books, CDs and DVDs at the

CAMP Store

 

 

 

National Carry A Tune Week (Main Page)

 

 

 

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