What Songs Would You Put on a Modern Great American Songbook?

Most "experts(whoever they are?)" categorize the Great American Songbook coming from songs written from 1919-1959. While there is no official list, they often include 270 some songs collected for a jazz musicians "bluebook" and are filled with songs by Gershwin, Porter, Rodgers & Hart, Rodgers & Hammerstein, Berlin, Kern, Johnny Mercer, Harold Arlen and the other great songwriters of the day.

What are some songs written 1960 through today that would be YOUR MUST INCLUDES in a modern Great American Songbook? (these should ideally be songs that an individual male or female singer could do a fantastic rendition of backed only by a piano. guitar or trio)

Updated On: 9/24/17 at 08:23 PM

"Hallelujah" is the only true modern "standard" I can think of, where the song exists as its own being divorced from a single "definitive" performance. Though Leonard Cohen wrote and debuted it, his recording isn't considered the essential one, and every singer worth their salt is expected to try the song eventually- most covering not Cohen's original, but either the John Cale version (see: Rufus Wainwright) or the Jeff Buckley version (see: Justin Timberlake).

As an exercise, I'm gonna sift through a list of every show nominated for best musical since 1961 and name any extremely famous songs that pop in my head. My personal rule to limit myself will be one max per show, and only songs by American composers written for the respective shows (to the best of my knowledge).

Put on a Happy Face

I Believe in You

Hello, Dolly!

People

If I Were a Rich Man

Impossible Dream

Hey, Big Spender

Cabaret

Let the Sunshine In

I'll Never Fall in Love Again

Being Alive

Broadway Baby

Summer Lovin'

Send in the Clowns

Corner of the Sky

Home

What I Did for Love

All That Jazz

Tomorrow

Not While I'm Around

And I Am Telling You

I Am What I Am

Beauty and the Beast

Seasons of Love

Defying Gravity

She Used to Be Mine

hi Hogan

I would agree with you that most of broadway's popular songs from the 1960s on were less the soundtrack of most peoples lives (except for musical lovers like the board members) on than influences from pop music first, movies second, then probably TV and musical theatre after that.

That being said, a number of songs that originated in musicals I think could be considered "modern standards" the criteria of being extremely popular songs in musical theatre, combined with the sheer beauty of the song, recognition by many other artists recording renditions of the song, and popular artists covering the song in their shows

A number of standards I found in the jazz cheat book when i researched them were not THE top hits at their time, they were included because they were popular at some level, sounded great when performed live, and requested by listeners/guests, so they were added to the book. for example, Lets misbehave by cole porter only charted at #18 yet its clearly a porter standard and favorite.

Among the sondheim catalog, I would consider:

Send in the Clowns (actually was a big hit with judy collins)

Being Alive

No One is Alone

Other modern era musical songs to consider could be

Memories from Cats

I dreamed a dream-les miserables



From movies that became musicals, it may make sense to include:

A whole new world

Circle of Life

Beauty and the Beast

Can you feel the love tonight



From Movie Musicals

the theme from New York, New York

the way we were

people

My Favorite Things

All that Jazz



From Pop Music:

yesterday

god only knows

sounds of silence

stand by me

my heart will go on

I will always love you

you are so beautiful

youve lost that lovin' feeling

and many many others....

If only Leonard Cohen and Joni MItchell and Bruce Cockburn weren't Canadian...

Apart from them, so many but here's a short list:

Fast Car, Baby Can I Hold You? Tracy Chapman

Time After Time Cyndi Lauper

Wichita Lineman, Still Within the Sound of My Voice and countless others Jimmy Webb

Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk, Poses etc. Rufus Wainwright (Canadian-American)

This Gun's For Hire, Born to Run among countless others Bruce Springsteen

What's Goin' On? Marvin Gaye

Heard it Through the Grapevine Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong

Sittin' on the Dock of the Bay Otis Redding and Steve Cropper

King of the Road, World's Apart Roger Miller

Mississippi Goddam Nina Simone

Sounds of Silence, America among countless others Paul Simon

Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts, The Times They Are a'Changin' among countless others Bob Dylan

Me and My Arrow, Everybody's Talkin' at Me Harry Nillsson

You Were Always On My Mind Willy Nelson

Boulder to Birmingham Emmylou Harris and Bill Danoff

Girls Just Want to Have Fun Robert Hazzard

I Drove All Night, True Colors, Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly

Knowing When to Leave, Do You Know the Way to San Jose? etc. Bacharach and David

I Still Have That Other Girl, Toledo etc. Bacharach and Costello

Brick, Kate, etc. Ben Folds

Coat of Many Colors, Jolene and countless others Dolly Parton

The Book of Love Stephen Merritt

Send in the Clowns, Sooner or Later etc. Stephen Sondheim

Cabaret, All That Jazz etc. Kander and Ebb

I Don't Want to Know, If He Walked Into My Life etc. Jerry Herman

My Favorite Things, Love, Look Away etc. Rodgers and Hammerstein

Where Do I Go?, Aquarius etc. Ragni and Rado

Everything's Coming Up Roses, All I Need Now is the Girl Styne and Sondheim

Take Good Care of My Baby, Up on the Roof (unless that was the 50s) etc. King and Goffin

It's Too Late, You've Got a Friend etc. Carole King

Sweet Baby James, Fire and Rain among countless others James Taylor

And When I Die, Stony End and countless others Laura Nyro

Society's Child, Stars among many others. Janice Ian

Let's Go Crazy Purple Rain and countless others Prince

Take Me to the River Al Green and Mabon Hodges

Once in a Lifetime Byrne, Weymouth, Eno et all

Updated On: 9/26/17 at 07:44 PM