The Great American Songbook: The World's Best-ever Collection of Most Loved Pop Songs

ISBN-10: 1541217705
ISBN-13: 9781541217706
Series: The Great American Songbook
Pages: 318
Language: English
Published: 2017-06-12
Author: Theodore A. Lewis

Description

The Great American Songbook is an attempt, by many, to decide which great songs, often referred to as Standards, developed during the 20th century and into the 21st, belong in the Songbook. Which composers, who wrote this timeless music, should be included? Who are the singers, artists, instrumentalists, who made this music, and themselves, famous deserve Songbook recognition?The search for a more definitive description of The Great American Songbook, and of Standards, continues, as does an on-going debate about their importance and continuing existence. The Songbook concept has been debated for years. But it has yet to be formalized in anyway. No authorized version has been recognized as authentic. It is a sort of a myth, a term used to suggest the most important and impactful American pop songs of the 20th century and beyond.My book has 6 purposes:1. To make the case that the United States, during the 20th century and beyond produced the best and largest collection of pop songs the world has ever heard, from the widest range of genres and with the greatest variety of themes.2. To insure that the Standards not only grow in numbers but also in quality and significance. I want to know, and I would like others to know, more about the songs themselves - - - the wide range of composers that wrote them and the even wider range of singers,( individuals and groups) who sang them.3. To promote and clarify the concept of The Great American Songbook. To help it become a physical reality housed in A Hall Of Fame type facility where recorded year by year, decade by decade, for infinity, are those songs, singers, composers, and related artists loved by so many Americans and others over long periods of time. This is a project of significant historical meaning and an exciting idea. Though it has its detractors, and it's unlikely there will ever be a consensus regarding the contents of The Songbook, the on-going controversy is part of its appeal.4. To take a long, hard, largely appreciative, but still skeptical, look at the many aspects of the pop music industry in America, concentrating on the time period noted. Accurately sizing up our music industry over the years, with its massive internal components, as well as its more recent international developments, is still a work in progress.5. To encourage individual music consumers/collectors to ponder and put together their own songbooks patterned after The Great one. Given the complexities and uncertainties in the pop music field, collectors' choices on top songs are important too. Today practically any pop song, past or present, can be obtained from a wide and increasing variety of sources.6. To present this book from the standpoint of a long-time consumer. The many music books and articles I read and have read come from professional music book writers, specialty music magazines, the arts sections of major newspapers, music critics, the artists themselves and other music insiders. This book also has important contributions from my five adult childrenand my extended family members, 50 of whom participated in a family pop music survey.This consumer's tale, describes my experiences over a 70 year period in the pop music field, from the late 30s as a teen up to the present. Over a span of 51 years and 2 marriages, my wives and I raised 5 children in two different locales, New York City and Detroit - - 2 hotbeds of pop music, I have always had young people in my homes with music on their minds. As the search for fine music and great pop songs goes on, with The Great American Songbook and Standards heavily in the mix, I have a deep belief that my 13 great grandchildren, their generations, and future generations, will all come out singing.