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From The Civil War
Julia Ward Howe (author of "Battle Hymn of the Republic")
Read about and hear an original version of her song at
BATTLE HYMN OF THE REPUBLIC:
Origins of a Civil War Song
to
The Cold War
Elvis Presley and The Jordanaires
Read more at
Early Elvis
"Without a song, the day would never end..."
These opening lyrics are by Billy Rose and Edward Eliscu from the 1929 song, recorded by Frank Sinatra in 1961, and they describe how important a song
can be in someone's life.Elvis Presley admired the words to this song and quoted them at a press conference. He knew the value of a song to his audience and to himself.
Today much of what we get on radio, TV and movies are the same kind of badly sung songs, with mumbling off-key voices and unmemorable melodies.
Do we really need this type of music ruling our lives?
Is "American Idol" really what we want as the criteria
for the best of our music culture?If you feel differently, you don't have to take it anymore!!
You can replace it with better music.
For example, classic pop songs sung by today's fine stylists,
like Linda Eder or Tony Bennett.Or sung by Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Judy Garland or Ella Fitzgerald --
to name just a few of the many great pop singers from the past.All these singers deserve to be remembered.
There have been thousands of worthwhile American popular songs
written in the past century or so. Why not listen to them?Most new songs today are gushed over by
celebrity-crazed critics and journalists.Many of these songs are here today and forgotten tomorrow,
sung by those with limited vocal ability or musical style.Meanwhile extremely talented songwriters and singers
from earlier decades are being forgotten or ignored.They were part of the
We need to preserve these great songs
for future generations of listeners and musicians.If you really care about saving popular songs from the past,
you can help support the efforts of this web site by
ordering music at the
RED, WHITE AND BLUE
Christmas Hits by Gene, Bing, and Elvis
Also the Top 25 Christmas Hits from the past at
Play Ball!
2008 marked the 100th anniversary of the most popular baseball song:
"Take Me Out To The Ball Game"
A Beautiful Singing Legend
The beautiful lustrous voice of Jo Stafford was a fixture on radio, records and later television during the 1940s and 1950s.
She was born in Coalinga, California on November 12,1917. She first sang with her two sisters but then joined a vocal group known as "The Pied Pipers." They sang with Tommy Dorsey's Orchestra, joined by a skinny young singer,
whose name was Frank Sinatra.Jo Stafford eventually left the group and became a solo recording artist in 1944. Her serene singing of such songs as: "I'll Be Seeing You," "Long Ago (And Far Away)," and "All The Things You Are" became so popular during World War II that she was dubbed by servicemen as "G.I. Jo."
Some of her biggest hits were during the 1950s, including "You Belong To Me" (by Pee Wee King, Redd Stewart & Chilton Price), Jo Stafford's biggest hit. Also the Hank Williams song "Jambalaya," and
"Shrimp Boats" (by Paul Mason Howard & Paul Weston).In the late 1950s, she began a comedy duo with her husband, arranger- conductor Paul Weston. They called themselves Jonathan and Darlene Edwards and portrayed a bad lounge act, singing and playing off key. She received her only Grammy for one of these comedy records in 1961. After recording a parody of the Bee Gees hit "Stayin' Alive" in 1977, she retired from singing, except for a tribute event for Frank Sinatra in 1990.
Jo Stafford died in Century City, California on July 16, 2008. She was 90.
She'll be remembered by those who treasure that clear smooth voice
and simple direct way she had with a song.She was an unforgettable vocalist.
-- Roger Lee Hall, July 2008
Read more about one of the great pop singers from the past at:
Popular Songwriters
and
The Great American Songbook
See a list of songwriters and singers from the past at
Popular Songwriters and The Great American Songbook
Plan to participate in the web survey
by selecting your favorite American tunes for
National Carry A Tune Week 2009
See the tune titles sent in for previous surveys at:
National Carry A Tune Week 2008
National Carry A Tune Week 2007
National Carry A Tune Week 2006
National Carry A Tune Week 2005
After watching the excellent seven-part TV series, THE WAR, produced by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick,
and elegantly written by Geoffrey C. Ward,
you might want to order the music used in this series.
The music is available both in a Deluxe 4 CD Edition with Viewer's Guide and Booklet
a single CD soundtrack...
The War -- 4 CD set with 2 booklets
Disc One: The War (soundtrack, 17 tracks)
Disc Two: Sentimental Journey (Song Hits, 20 tracks)
Disc Three: I'm Beginning To See The Light (Dance Hits, 20 tracks)
Disc Four: Songs Without Words (Classical Music, 10 tracks)
The War -- single soundtrack CD (17 tracks)
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Here are five recommended CDs of music from the World War II Era:
As Time Goes By: World War II Songs
3 CD Set (65 tracks)
Those Were Our Songs: Music of World War II
2 CDs (40 tracks)
G.I. Jukebox: Songs from World War II
1 CD (18 tracks)
Songs That Got Us Through WWII
1 CD (18 tracks)
Songs That Got Us Through WW II, Volume 2
1 CD (18 tracks)
Though there a few factual errors about the early songs and the film clips are often not complete, this is still a very entertaining and enjoyable look
at American songs from the past,
from "Yankee Doodle" to "Jailhouse Rock"
and including such musical stars as
Bing Crosby, Judy Garland, Lena Horne and Gene Kelly:
The Great American Songbook
Hosted by Michael Feinstein
Click here to buy your music and other favorite posters!
Harry Lillis (Bing) Crosby
Born: Tacoma, Washington, 3 May 1903
Died: Madrid, Spain, 14 October 1977
Recommended book: Bing Crosby - A Pocketful of Dreams: The Early Years, 1903-1940 by Gary Giddens (Little, Brown and Company, 2001, 728 pages). Excerpt from the Introduction:
"It is impossible to regard Bing Crosby as a historical figure without considering some of his statistics. If nothing else they reveal his predominance over popular entertainment from Prohibition until the mid-1950s, when his decline as the nation's predominant muse was signaled by the comeback of a newly charged Sinatra and the arrival of Elvis - the former marketed to adults, the latter to their children. During Crosby's reign, that split did not exist.
- He was the first full-time vocalist ever signed to an orchestra.
- He made more studio recordings than any other singer in history (about 400 more than Sinatra).
- He made the most popular record ever, 'White Christmas,' the only single to make American pop charts twenty times, every year but one between 1942 and 1962. In 1998. after a long absence, his 1947 version hit the charts in Britain.
- Between 1927 and 1962 he scored 368 charted records under his own name, plus twenty-eight as vocalist with various bandleaders, for a total of 396. No one else has come close; compare Paul Whiteman (220), Sinatra (209), Elvis (149), Glenn Miller (129), Nat "King" Cole (118), Louis Armstrong (85), the Beatles (68). He scored the most number one hits ever, thirty-eight [38].
In his CD notes to the Crosby Centennial Anthology, Canadian/America Representative of the Crosby Club F.B. (Wig) Wiggins wrote:
During a spectacular career that spanned more than fifty years, Bing Crosby was the best known and most popular singing star of the 20th century, famous the world over as well as in America.Bing was also the first multi-media superstar. In addition to making hundreds of best-selling recordings, he was also one of the biggest stars on radio for three decades, serving as host of popular musical variety shows on each of the major networks. He was also one of the leading actors in Hollywood, being voted number one at the box office for an unequaled five consecutive years (1944 - 1948).
Bing's singing is still unequaled in pop music for its smooth clarity and clean diction.
Even Sinatra was an ardent admirer of Der Bingle.
Let's not only remember him as "The Voice of Christmas."
In fact he could sing any kind of music, from country & western to jazz, from Irish songs to Hawaiian pop tunes, from love ballads to snappy uptempo numbers. He sang them all extremely well in his easygoing distinctive baritone voice.
He was "King of Popular Singers."
Wow, could he sing!
Bravo, Bing!
--Roger Lee Hall, May 2008
Here are some recommended Bing Crosby Single CDs and Sets:
- Bing Crosby: A Centennial Anthology of His Decca Recordings (MCA, 2 CDs - 50 tracks)
- Bing! His Legendary Years, 1931-1957 (MCA, 4 CDs, 1993)
- Bix 'N' Bing (Bix Beiderbecke and Bing Crosby)(ASV Living Era, 1992, 20 tracks)
- Cowboy Country Crosby Style (Jasmine, 2003, 21 tracks)
- Going Hollywood, Vol. 1: 1930-1936 (Jasmine, 1998, 2 CDs)
- Going Hollywood, Vol. 2: 1936-1939 (Jasmine, 2000, 2 CDs)
- Going Hollywood, Vol. 3: 1940-1944 (Jasmine, 2002, 2 CDs)
- Going Hollywood, Vol. 4: 1944-1949 (Jasmine, 2003, 2 CDs)
- I'm an Old Cowhand - Bing Crosby (ASV Living Era, 1995, 25 tracks)
- It's Easy to Remember (Proper Box - 4 CDs, 2002)
Recommended DVDs of Bing Crosby Musicals:
- BIRTH OF THE BLUES/ BLUE SKIES (Double Feature) - Universal
- A CONNECTICUT YANKEE IN KING ARTHUR'S COURT/ THE EMPEROR WALTZ
- RHYTHM ON THE RANGE/ RHYTHM ON THE RIVER (Double Feature) - Universal
- HIGH SOCIETY (1956) - Warner Home Video
- PENNIES FROM HEAVEN (1936) - Columbia Tristar
See how many Bing Crosby songs are on this list:
Top 100 Songs of the 20th Century
To read about Bing's Christmas hit records, go to:
Top Ten Favorite Christmas Songs
For more about Bing Crosby, see these recommended web sites:
Bing Crosby - A Celebration of His Life
Bing's Friends & Collectors Society
Francis Albert Sinatra
Born: Hoboken, New Jersey, 12 December 1915
Died: Los Angeles, California, 14 May 1998
2008 marks the 10th anniversary of the passing of Frank Sinatra.
There are many tributes being paid this year to the memory and music
of this superb popular singer.One of these is a compilation CD with a Frank Sinatra US postage stamp
and titled:Frank Sinatra belongs in that small select group of song stylists,
such as Louis Armstrong, Billie Holliday, Ella Fitzgerald,
and most of all his mentor, Bing Crosby.Contrary to what has been written about the swinging Rat Pack years in Las Vegas in the 1960s, it was Sinatra in the 1950s when he made his finest performances and recordings as a singer.
There are literally hundreds of recordings made by Frank Sinatra over his long career from the 1940s onward and many of them are available
in large CD collections, such as the excellent 6 CD set,Sinatra in Hollywood, 1940-1964
But what if you want just a few CDs of Sinatra songs?
Here are several recommended ones to consider.
First there are two compilations:
The Best of Frank Sinatra - The Capitol Years
Selections taken from The Capitol Years box set, including many of Siantra's hits from the 1950s, including the song generally considered his greatest recording,
"I've Got You Under My Skin" (1956).
A marvelous collection of 20 tracks recorded between 1953 and 1960, including "I've Got The World On A String"; "My Funny Valentine"; "In The Wee Small Hours Of The Morning"; "Witchcraft"; and "Nice N' Easy."
The arrangements are by Nelson Riddle and Billy May.
Here are what many fans think are two of the greatest Sinatra Capitol albums:
In The Wee Small Hours (1998 remastering)/ In The Wee Small Hours (1991 release)
First released in 1954, this was the first Capitol album with Frank Sinatra and Nelson Riddle and the first "concept album" with only ballads included.
Released four years after In The Wee Small Hours, this may be the bleakest album of lonely ballads ever released. Though it is filled with what Sinatra called "suicide songs," this is one of the greatest pop albums of the 1950s. Nelson Riddle's arrangements are beyond belief in their clarity and beauty.
This album is one of Sinatra's greatest performances on record.As much as critics and fans remember the uptempo ring-a-ding songs, just like Elvis,
it was the ballads that best suited Sinatra. He was a supreme master.Both albums ( In The Wee Small Hours and Only the Lonely )
are milestones in pop music history.
-- Roger Lee Hall, May 2008
One of his best known recordings was
"Love Me Tender."Did Elvis Presley actually co-write this song?
Read more at
The Truth Behind "Love Me Tender"
A milestone in his early career was
his national television debut
on "Stage Show"
on January 28, 1956.You can read all about it in a story titled:
"Electric Elvis and Bill Randle."
This story is included in this ebook titled,
Do you have song favorites from the 1950s?
See the lists of 50 song hits at...
Are you a fan of old-time radio and vintage popular songs?
If so, now you can hear some of the great songwriters
performing their own songs. These songwriters are:Harold Arlen
Irving Berlin
George Gershwin
Jerome Kern
Cole PorterIn addition there are the singers too, including:
Fred Astaire
Tony Bennett
Bing Crosby
Judy Garland
Bob Hope & Shirley Ross
The McGuire Sisters
and moreHear all these songwriter and singers on the CD-R which accompanies
this informative reference guide titled,In this guide there is a list of radio shows
with music from 1923 to 1993,
sixty popular radio shows between 1928 and 1958,
and much more.
Spring Sale!
For a limited time, if you order
REMEMBERING RADIO: Great Songwriters and Singers,
you will also receive
a Free additional CD-R
of music from two radio shows:1. GREAT AMERICAN SONGS:
Top Ten Love Songs (February 17, 1989) -
Songs from the 1920s to 1960s including those by
Irving Berlin, Harold Arlen, Rodgers & Hart,
Hoagy Carmichael, Henry Mancini, Johnny Mandel and others.
2. Debut radio program: IN THE MOOD (August 16, 1993) -
Tribute to Elvis Presley and the 1950s.
To order
REMEMBERING RADIO with accompanying CD-R,
and the Free CD-R of music from two radio shows,
go to the
If you have a website on vintage American music
and would like to exchange links,
write to:
American Music Preservation Links
100 Essential Songs (1861-1961)
Pop Song CD reviews - 2007
Pop Song CD reviews - 2006
Remembering 1957
Remembering 1956
You can also join this free web group:
Songs and Songwriters
Items For Sale
To order music collections, songbooks, CDs and musical e-books, go to the
Remember to credit this website!
If you use any original writing on this page for
another web site, article or book,
please give credit toAmerican Music Preservation.com
For any comments or questions, write to:
Please help support the mission of this web site
Use this Search Box for your purchases at Amazon.com...
A Century of
American Songs (1861-1961)
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