# Choose your favorite of these Great American Songbook composers



## Dustin (Mar 30, 2012)

Hello everyone. I'm curious to know which of the following composers is your favorite composer/lyricist of the Great American Songbook. I haven't included them all but just 5 of the biggest figures I'm interested in.

**Note: I know I forgot the Gershwins in the poll so just vote with your text if that's who you choose.


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## ptr (Jan 22, 2013)

Cole Porter hands down, his songs always put a sun on my skies!

/ptr


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## MagneticGhost (Apr 7, 2013)

Cole Porter for me too


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## Dustin (Mar 30, 2012)

I figure Cole Porter will probably win but I may be wrong. He's possibly my favorite as well but Rodgers and Hart are right there neck and neck with him. Porter and Hart were both just incredibly witty and clever with their lyrics. I mean just look at Porter's "I Get a Kick Out of You" and then you've got R/H's "This Can't Be Love". Brilliant stuff. 

And both Porter and Rodgers are masterful with their melodies.

**Also, I feel ridiculous for leaving off Ira and George Gershwin but they are certainly in contention for my top 3.


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## Manxfeeder (Oct 19, 2010)

Another vote for Cole Porter, just for fecundity. Once he was in the middle of DuBarry Was a Lady, and they needed a new song overnight. Unfortunately, he had a pounding headache. With a little headache powder, he cranked out Give Him the Ooh La La. Not necessarily his best work (unless Blossom Dearie sings it), but the string of verbal puns is remarkable for his time limits.


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## QuietGuy (Mar 1, 2014)

I didn't vote in the poll because I don't want to vote for just ONE of them; I want to vote for ALL of them PLUS the Gershwins. And I'm sure there are a lot of others who belong on that list too, even though they didn't make their fame and fortune writing for Broadway per se. (Goffin/King, Mancini/Mercer, etc.)


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## QuietGuy (Mar 1, 2014)

Dustin said:


> ....and then you've got R/H's "This Can't Be Love". Brilliant stuff.


Yes. Also check Hart's lyric for "To Keep My Love Alive", one of the last lyrics he wrote. Witty and brilliant.


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## Albert7 (Nov 16, 2014)

Ella Fitzgerald singing Cole Porter songbooks are just flawless to me. A1 sauce!


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## elgar's ghost (Aug 8, 2010)

They are all great, but I look forward to the day when the likes of Randy Newman and Tom Waits can join them.


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## Dustin (Mar 30, 2012)

QuietGuy said:


> Yes. Also check Hart's lyric for "To Keep My Love Alive", one of the last lyrics he wrote. Witty and brilliant.


Oh yeah I love that one too! I know it from Ella Fitzgerald.



albertfallickwang said:


> Ella Fitzgerald singing Cole Porter songbooks are just flawless to me. A1 sauce!


Absolutely! Her whole Songbook series is a treasure but especially those earlier ones, including the Cole Porter one. That one, the Rodgers and Hart one, and the the Irving Berlin one are just as good as it gets. I put those albums almost on the same level as Sinatra's Capitol records of the 50's.


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## norman bates (Aug 18, 2010)

elgars ghost said:


> They are all great, but I look forward to the day when the likes of Randy Newman and Tom Waits can join them.


Considering Newman I've listened just an album or two many years ago so I don't know, but about Waits I consider him a arranger of genius much more than a great songwriter (at least in the sense of interesting harmony and melodies).


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## elgar's ghost (Aug 8, 2010)

norman bates said:


> Considering Newman I've listened just an album or two many years ago so I don't know, but about Waits I consider him a arranger of genius much more than a great songwriter (at least in the sense of interesting harmony and melodies).


Yes, I see your point there - and perhaps he's a little too unorthodox to be considered anyway (but what a great wordsmith and moodsetter the man is!)


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## aajj (Dec 28, 2014)

Jimmy McHugh wrote the music for a good number of songs in the "American Songbook." His best known partnership with a lyricist is probably the one with Dorothy Fields. Many of these titles became standards for pop singers as well as jazz musicians. 

I Can't Give You Anything But Love
On the Sunny Side of the Street
Don't Blame Me
Where Are You?
Exactly Like You
I Can't Believe That You're in Love With Me
I Must Have That Man
When My Sugar Walks Down the Street
Let's Get Lost
Diga Diga Doo


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

What? You don't like the Gershwin's?


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## Dustin (Mar 30, 2012)

starthrower said:


> What? You don't like the Gershwin's?


I love the Gershwins. Like I said above, they're in contention for my possible favorite.


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## aajj (Dec 28, 2014)

For sheer quantity of great songs it's difficult to top Cole Porter and the Gershwin brothers. Ira Gershwin deserves credit for supplying lyrics to many of George's most famous songs. 

Porter and Berlin stand apart for writing their own music and lyrics.


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## aajj (Dec 28, 2014)

elgars ghost said:


> They are all great, but I look forward to the day when the likes of Randy Newman and Tom Waits can join them.


I've had the same thought about Holland-Dozier-Holland (Lamont Dozier and Brian and Eddie Holland) for the slew of wonderful songs they wrote for Motown.

Randy Newman is an interesting case and I agree, principally for the unique songwriting on his early albums, particularly _12 Songs, Sail Away _and _Good Old Boys_. But he later became more oriented to the popular market, as witnessed by his many, many, _many _Oscar nominations. For a composite of all this material I think his work may eventually be regarded as part of the "Great American Songbook."


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## elgar's ghost (Aug 8, 2010)

aajj said:


> I've had the same thought about Holland-Dozier-Holland (Lamont Dozier and Brian and Eddie Holland) for the slew of wonderful songs they wrote for Motown.
> 
> Randy Newman is an interesting case and I agree, principally for the unique songwriting on his early albums, particularly _12 Songs, Sail Away _and _Good Old Boys_. But he later became more oriented to the popular market, as witnessed by his many, many, _many _Oscar nominations. For a composite of all this material I think his work may eventually be regarded as part of the "Great American Songbook."


Yes, I was thinking about Newman's output up until, say, Little Criminals? Maybe Jimmy Webb's 60s material is worthy of consideration, too.


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## norman bates (Aug 18, 2010)

aajj said:


> For sheer quantity of great songs it's difficult to top Cole Porter and the Gershwin brothers. Ira Gershwin deserves credit for supplying lyrics to many of George's most famous songs.
> 
> Porter and Berlin stand apart for writing their own music and lyrics.


Berlin didn't write the harmony of his songs


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## Dustin (Mar 30, 2012)

aajj said:


> For sheer quantity of great songs it's difficult to top Cole Porter and the Gershwin brothers. Ira Gershwin deserves credit for supplying lyrics to many of George's most famous songs.
> 
> Porter and Berlin stand apart for writing their own music and lyrics.


I agree it is pretty astounding to have both the immense musical skill AND lyrical ability that Berlin and Porter possessed. Their inside joke: "To think it took two people to write one song!"


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## aajj (Dec 28, 2014)

Ellington belongs here. Some of his "songs" began as instrumental compositions with lyrics added later. 

Some Ellington "hits" that come to mind:
Solitude
I Got it Bad & That Ain't Good
Just Squeeze Me
Sophisticated Lady
Do Nothin' 'Till You Hear From Me
Don't Get Around Much Anymore
I'm Beginning to See the Light
Prelude to a Kiss
I'm Just a Lucky So & So
Come Sunday 

Billy Strayhorn also contributed plenty, with titles such as Lush Life, Take the A Train (again, lyrics added later) and Daydream.


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## Vesteralen (Jul 14, 2011)

I voted Rodgers and Hart.

I get the fascination with Cole Porter and many of the others. No doubt some of them have had a greater impact on the music world.

For me, the best of Porter et al are the clever songs, the ones that engage my mind like a really good joke or a puzzle I just can't stop trying to solve.

Rodgers' music just touches my emotions more, and after all, I am kind of a sap.


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## JACE (Jul 18, 2014)

My vote goes to *Harold Arlen*.

I love every one of these guys. But I love Arlen the most. 

He's got that blues feeling in his music. As a jazz guy, I find it irresistible.

A few faves (copied from wikipedia):

"A Sleepin' Bee" 
"Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea" 
"Blues in the Night" 
"Come Rain or Come Shine"
"If I Only Had a Brain"
"I Gotta Right to Sing the Blues"
"I've Got the World on a String" 
"It's Only a Paper Moon"
"Last Night When We Were Young"
"Let's Fall in Love" 
"My Shining Hour" 
"One for My Baby (and One More for the Road)" 
"Out of This World"
"Over the Rainbow" 
"Stormy Weather" 
"That Old Black Magic" 
"This Time the Dream's on Me"


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## JACE (Jul 18, 2014)

aajj said:


> Ellington belongs here. Some of his "songs" began as instrumental compositions with lyrics added later.
> 
> Some Ellington "hits" that come to mind:
> Solitude
> ...


I love Ellington's compositions *MORE* than any of the "Great American Songbook" composers.

But I'd argue that what Ellington was doing was different than what they were doing.


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## aajj (Dec 28, 2014)

JACE said:


> I love Ellington's compositions *MORE* than any of the "Great American Songbook" composers.
> 
> *But I'd argue that what Ellington was doing was different than what they were doing*.


I absolutely agree. For me, he is one of the great _composers _of the 20th century. As one example, the original recording of "Never No Lament" stands miles above any vocal rendition of "Don't Get Around Much Anymore" I've ever heard - and I've heard many fine ones. But for this thread I was considering the compositions that were transformed into songs when the lyrics were added. Also, just the fact that Ellington brought in lyrics was an attempt to achieve "hit" songs.

For Arlen, you listed "Over the Rainbow" and being a jazz guy. I love _The Wizard of Oz_, but my favorite rendition of the song is a live one by Sarah Vaughan that I first heard on the _Verve Jazz Masters 42_ collection.


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## Bellinilover (Jul 24, 2013)

JACE said:


> My vote goes to *Harold Arlen*.
> 
> I love every one of these guys. But I love Arlen the most.
> 
> ...


I can't think of a single Harold Arlen song I've heard that I don't like, so I voted for him. You'd think the composer of "Over the Rainbow" would be a household name, but you'd be surprised how many people have never heard of Arlen. Two other great songs he wrote are "Ill Wind" and "The Man that Got Away."

Rodgers and Hart would be my second favorite from the list, despite the fact that a couple of their songs get on my nerves ("Thou Swell" -- I can't stand that one). Not so with Arlen.


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

QuietGuy said:


> I didn't vote in the poll because I don't want to vote for just ONE of them; I want to vote for ALL of them PLUS the Gershwins. And I'm sure there are a lot of others who belong on that list too, even though they didn't make their fame and fortune writing for Broadway per se. (Goffin/King, Mancini/Mercer, etc.)


I whole heartedly agree with you :tiphat:


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## Casebearer (Jan 19, 2016)

JACE said:


> My vote goes to *Harold Arlen*.
> 
> I love every one of these guys. But I love Arlen the most.
> 
> ...


As a jazz guy too I was tempted to vote for Harold Arlen (didn't know he composed all that) but in the end I chose Cole Porter because I like perfection.


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## Belowpar (Jan 14, 2015)

Another refusnik. As the quote goes "It would be like picking a favourite of ones children?"

I would certainly add Jerome Kern with Dorothy Fields, Rogers and Hammerstein, Frank Loesser, Lerner and Lowe and Sondheim to the list with the Gershwins.

Love Cole but I would agree with those who say his Genius with words was pure inspiration, but the music showed perspiration.

I do think the term Songbook excludes those who wrote music for them selves. So I would look more favourably on HDH or G&K for inclusion than Randy Newman. Though I do love them all.


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## majlis (Jul 24, 2005)

All of them and many others wote the most beautiful songs ever produced in America. Compared to those, all that came after is third class. And IMHO, rock rotted all.


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## norman bates (Aug 18, 2010)

Belowpar said:


> I do think the term Songbook excludes those who wrote music for them selves.


not necessarily, for instance Hoagy Carmichael and Willard Robison besides being great songwriters performed their own songs.


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## Belowpar (Jan 14, 2015)

norman bates said:


> not necessarily, for instance Hoagy Carmichael and Willard Robison besides being great songwriters performed their own songs.


Ellington, Johnny Mercer mmm back to the drawing board.


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

I have heard of Irving Berlin and Cole Porter, but really have no idea what they did but that it had something to do with music.


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