Easy to Remember: The Great American Songwriters And Their Songs
Today we are featuring music from the “Great American Songbook” — with music by writers including Gershwin, Arlen, Berlin, Kern, Carmichael, Porter and many more, in a programme inspired by William Zinsser’s book on the music of the mid-20th Century, Easy To Remember.
In reality, there is no real definitive “Great American Songbook”: it’s a broad term given to what many commentators regard as the most significant songs of the early to mid-20th Century. Many of the songs started life as Broadway show tunes or, less commonly, were written for film soundtracks, by a range of professional composers such as Irving Berlin, Richard Rodgers, Cole Porter and George Gershwin, who were often part of long-running songwriting partnerships. Later on the songs were often picked up by leading jazz musicians, and today many are jazz standards.
Today’s programme includes many well-known songs from the era, but also a number that are more seldom heard, by composers who perhaps contributed only a song or two to the music of the period.
And don’t forget to tune in at 12 noon or 4pm Pacific/SLT, 8pm or midnight in the UK, for an ALL-NEW episode of our popular Second Life travelogue, “Where Have You Been?” — where Caledonia Skytower and Elrik Merlin look at places to go and things to do around the Second Life grid. This time, we visit The Theatre On The Hill.
Please note that some original period recordings may contain negative stereotypes or language now regarded as offensive. Such materials should be seen in the context of the time period and as a reflection of attitudes of the time. The recordings are part of the historical record, and do not represent the views of Virtual Community Radio.
