Catchest score ever?

[munkustrap178]

Posted: 6/29/06 at 2:50pm

Yeah, I know this is reaching down pretty deep into the barrel, but we've had thread about underrated scores, best scores, most beautiful scores, etc. etc. etc.

Now what is the single catchiest score in the Broadway musical canon?

Just a few titles to throw out there to get your mind jogging....

KISS ME, KATE
SOUTH PACIFIC
HOW TO SUCCEED IN BUSINESS WITHOUT REALLY TRYING
OLIVER!
HELLO, DOLLY!
FIDDLER ON THE ROOF
SWEET CHARITY
MAME
CABARET
THE WIZ
CHICAGO
ANNIE
JOSEPH AND THE AMAZING TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT
CATS
LA CAGE AUX FOLLES
THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA
RAGTIME
THE PRODUCERS
THOROUGHLY MODERN MILLIE
HAIRSPRAY
AVENUE Q

What do you think?

[bjivie2]

Posted: 6/29/06 at 2:52pm

I would say South Pacific, Oklahoma!, Cats, Hairspray, Avenue Q and 42nd Street. As hard as I try, I can't get most of those songs out of my head after I see them.

[timote316]

Posted: 6/29/06 at 2:54pm

Pretty much any pop score, because that is the intent of pop music, right?

Also, are you just talking about original scores? If not, I believe JERSEY BOYS may be the most catchy, for obvious reasons.

[munkustrap178]

Posted: 6/29/06 at 2:56pm

Original score written specifically for the theatre.

[bwaylvsong]

Posted: 6/29/06 at 2:56pm

For some reason, the catchiest scores are usually the the brassiest ones. I cannot choose one, but here goes:

Kiss Me, Kate
Fiddler
Sweet Charity
Gypsy
Guys and Dolls
Chicago
Oklahoma!

[bjivie2]

Posted: 6/29/06 at 2:56pm

Throw Anything Goes in there too.

I would assume this is an original score, so any jukebox musical would be out. (but then again, Anything Goes would have to be out, too)

[MissNY]

Posted: 6/29/06 at 2:57pm

Hairspray, Wedding Singer, Urinetown

[musicman89]

Posted: 6/29/06 at 3:01pm

Pretty much anything that Jerry Herman has written for the theatre (MAME, LA CAGE AUX FOLLES, HELLO, DOLLY!)

GODSPELL

THE SOUND OF MUSIC (Who does not know these songs?)

[munkustrap178]

Posted: 6/29/06 at 3:03pm

I don't find URINETOWN or THE WEDDING SINGER catchy at all. Except for the first song in the score, THE WEDDING SINGER is just blah.

I agree - the catchiest scores to me are those that are big, brassy, and explosive. My catchiest scores are probably:

HELLO, DOLLY!
MAME
OLIVER!
KISS ME, KATE
FIDDLER ON THE ROOF
SWEET CHARITY
GUYS AND DOLLS
THE KIND AND I
THE SOUND OF MUSIC

[Pippin]

Posted: 6/29/06 at 3:04pm

she loves me

[musicnmath]

Posted: 6/29/06 at 3:04pm

I have to add Zanna!

[BroadwayNick]

Posted: 6/29/06 at 3:05pm

Hairspray has to be one of them! You Can't Stop the Beat has been running in my head ever since I first heard it! I love it!

[gumbo2]

Posted: 6/29/06 at 3:06pm

Avenue Q is really catchy, because they all sound like simple children's, Sesame Street type melodies. A New Brain gets stuck in my head easily too, but that might just be me.

[mejusthavingfun]

Posted: 6/29/06 at 3:08pm

um well Oklahoma is just one of those score that creeps into my brain every single day in some way. It doesn't help the CBS Morning show uses a song as its theme.

I would say Little Shop is one of those scores that just never gets old. So very catchy. "Downtown" is song I can never skip on my ipod no matter what version.

[justagirl2]

Posted: 6/29/06 at 3:09pm

Fiddler on the Roof...who hasn't sung Tradition and Matchmaker repeatedly for 3 days after seeing the movie/show?

[NathanLaneStalker]

Posted: 6/29/06 at 3:11pm

Do-Re-Mi! Many others but that`s all I have time for!

[bwaylvsong]

Posted: 6/29/06 at 3:17pm

Wow, people actually agree with me on this thread!

[SeptemberKel]

Posted: 6/29/06 at 3:23pm

For me: Sweet Charity, Guys and Dolls, Anything Goes, and West Side Story.

Updated On: 6/29/06 at 03:23 PM

[TheMecca]

Posted: 6/29/06 at 3:26pm

I'm gonna jump on the Avenue Q bandwagon BUT I will add a shocking twist...

Some songs from Sweeney Todd, specifically Worst Pies in London, A Little Priest, God That's Good and By The Sea.

[Katurian2]

Posted: 6/29/06 at 3:27pm

ANNIE! Those songs are like mind leeches.

[singtopher]

Posted: 6/29/06 at 3:28pm

I find Jerry Herman's scores to be quite catchy.

[bjivie2]

Posted: 6/29/06 at 3:28pm

Yeah, because all those 3/4, 4/4, 7/8 and 11/12 measures in "God That's Good" are REALLY catchy.

[LifeoftheParty227]

Posted: 6/29/06 at 3:37pm

you really are scraping the bottom of the barrel. And of all people....


But I'll go with it. Hairspray's pretty catchy. Avenue Q is also really catchy too.

[ljay889]

Posted: 6/29/06 at 3:40pm

Definitely Hello, Dolly!, and Sweet Charity for me. Big, brassy, and addictive scores.

[best12bars]

Posted: 6/29/06 at 3:41pm

Ever? For the overall score (not individual songs), I would say...

Oklahoma!
The Sound of Music
Hello, Dolly!
The Music Man

I don't consider the scores to Fiddler, Charity, Kiss Me Kate, Q or even Annie to be universally catchy. Just some of their songs. Some also have tricky intervals or rhythms that your "average Joe" can't do or even remember.

Honestly... the most catchy of late would be Drowsy Chaperone (regardless of many bitchy opinions I've read on this score). I walked out of the theatre remembering at least 5 or 6 of the melodies. That hasn't happened in a long time.

Updated On: 6/29/06 at 03:41 PM