"Seems Like Old Times" is a popular song, with music and lyrics by Carmen Lombardo and John Jacob Loeb. The tune was derived from a 1939 song, "It Seems Like Old Times" with music and lyrics by Sam H. Stept and Charles Tobias, recorded by Freddy Martin, Ruby Newman and others.

Seems Like Old Times

"Oh! How I Hate to Get Up in the Morning" is a song written by Irving Berlin in 1918 that gives a comic perspective on military life. Berlin composed the song as an expression of protest against the indignities of Army routine shortly after being drafted into the United States Army in 1918. The song soon made the rounds of camp and became popular with other soldiers, partly because hatred of reveille was universal.

Oh! How I Hate to Get Up in the Morning

"Puttin' On the Ritz" is a song written by Irving Berlin. He wrote it in May 1927 and first published it on December 2, 1929. It was registered as an unpublished song on August 24, 1927 and again on July 27, 1928. It was introduced by Harry Richman and chorus in the musical film Puttin' On the Ritz (1930). According to The Complete Lyrics of Irving Berlin, this was the first song in film to be sung by an interracial ensemble. The title derives from the slang expression "to put on the Ritz", meaning to dress very fashionably. This expression was inspired by the opulent Ritz Hotel in London.

Hit phonograph records of the tune in its original period of popularity of 1929–1930 were recorded by Harry Richman and by Fred Astaire, with whom the song is particularly associated. Every other record label had their own version of this popular song (Columbia, Brunswick, Victor, and all of the dime store labels). Richman's Brunswick version of the song became the number-one selling record in America.

Puttin' On the Ritz

"Say It Isn't So" is a popular torch song by Irving Berlin, published in 1932. The song was written when Berlin was suffering a loss of confidence following several setbacks, and he initially placed the song in a drawer, feeling that it would not be successful. However, one of Berlin's employees, Max Winslow, heard it, and on his own initiative, took it to Rudy Vallée, who was then a major star on radio. Vallee sang it on his radio show and it became an immediate hit.

George Olsen and His Orchestra released a version in 1932 that reached No. 1, and other popular versions in 1932 were by Ozzie Nelson, Connee Boswell and Vallée. Alfredo Antonini and his orchestra collaborated with Victoria Cordova and John Serry Sr. to record the work for Muzak in the 1940s.

Say It Isn't So

"Be Careful, It's My Heart" is a classic song written by the legendary American composer Irving Berlin in 1942. The song was introduced by Bing Crosby in the film "Holiday Inn," where it quickly became a beloved standard. Known for its heartfelt lyrics and smooth melody, "Be Careful, It's My Heart" captures the tender emotions of love and the fragility of giving one's heart to another. The song has been covered by numerous artists over the years, maintaining its status as a timeless piece in the American Songbook.

Be Careful It's My Heart

"Dream a Little Dream of Me" is a 1931 song with music by Fabian Andre and Wilbur Schwandt and lyrics by Gus Kahn. It was first recorded in February 1931 by Ozzie Nelson and His Orchestra, soon followed by Wayne King and His Orchestra with vocals by Ernie Birchill. A popular standard, it has seen well over 400 recorded versions.

The song enjoyed its highest-charting success when it was covered in 1968 by Cass Elliot with the Mamas & the Papas, and followed the same year with a recording by Anita Harris. More than 40 other versions followed, including by the Mills Brothers, Sylvie Vartan, Henry Mancini, the Beautiful South, Blind Guardian, Anne Murray, Ella Fitzgerald, Erasure, Michael Bublé, Tony DeSare, Eddie Vedder, and Italian vocal group Blue Penguin.

Dream a Little Dream of Me

"It's Magic" is a popular song written by Jule Styne, with lyrics by Sammy Cahn, published in 1947. They wrote the song for Doris Day in her Warner Brothers film debut, Romance on the High Seas[1] (retitled It's Magic in the United Kingdom, after the song). In the autumn of 1948 Vic Damone, Tony Martin, Dick Haymes, Gordon MacRae and Sarah Vaughan all charted on Billboard magazine charts with versions of the song, but none as successfully as Day's recording. "It's Magic" received an Academy Award nomination for Best Song, but in March 1949 lost to "Buttons and Bows" by Jay Livingston and Ray Evans.

It's Magic

"Theme from A Summer Place" is a song with lyrics by Mack Discant and music by Max Steiner, written for the 1959 film A Summer Place, which starred Sandra Dee and Troy Donahue. It was recorded for the film as an instrumental by Max Steiner. Originally known as the "Molly and Johnny Theme", this lush extended cue,[1] as orchestrated by Murray Cutter, is not the main title theme of the film, but an oft-heard secondary love theme for the characters played by Dee and Donahue. A subsequent recording by Hugo Winterhalter was the first to use the "Theme From A Summer Place" title. The theme has become a canonical representation of the easy listening genre, and is considered by some to be the definitive easy listening track of all time.[2]

Following its introduction in the film by the Warner Bros. studio orchestra, the theme was recorded by many artists in both instrumental and vocal versions, and has also appeared in a number of subsequent films and television programs. The best-known version of the theme is an instrumental version by Percy Faith and his Orchestra that was a number-one hit for nine weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1960.[3]

A Summer Place

"September in the Rain" is a popular song about nostalgia[1] by Harry Warren and Al Dubin, published in 1937. The song was introduced by James Melton in the film Melody for Two. It has become a standard, having been recorded by many artists since.[2]

There were three charted versions in 1937 by Guy Lombardo, James Melton and Rhythm Wreckers (vocal by Pauline Byrns)

September In The Rain

"The Way We Were" is a song by American singer Barbra Streisand from her fifteenth studio album of the same name. It was released as the album's lead single on September 27, 1973, through Columbia Records. The 7" single was distributed in two different formats, with the standard edition featuring B-side track "What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life?"; the Mexico release instead included an instrumental B-side. The song was written by Alan Bergman, Marilyn Bergman, and Marvin Hamlisch, while production was solely handled by Marty Paich. "The Way We Were" was specifically produced for the record, in addition to three other tracks, including her then-upcoming single "All in Love Is Fair" (1974).

The Way We Were

Praise God From Whom All Blessings Flow

"God Bless America" is an American patriotic song written by Irving Berlin during World War I in 1918 and revised by him in the run-up to World War II in 1938. The later version was notably recorded by Kate Smith, becoming her signature song.[1][2]

"God Bless America" takes the form of a prayer (with introductory lyrics noting that "as we raise our voices, in a solemn prayer") for God's blessing and peace for the nation ("...stand beside her and guide her through the night...").

History
Irving Berlin wrote the song while serving in the U.S. Army at Camp Upton in Yaphank, New York at the end of World War I, but decided that it did not fit in a revue called Yip Yip Yaphank, so he set it aside.[3] The lyrics at that time included the line "Make her victorious on land and foam, God bless America..."[2] as well as "Stand beside her and guide her to the right with the light from above".[4]

Music critic Jody Rosen says that a 1906 Jewish dialect novelty song, "When Mose with His Nose Leads the Band," contains a six-note fragment that is "instantly recognizable as the opening strains of 'God Bless America'". He interprets this as an example of Berlin's "habit of interpolating bits of half-remembered songs into his own numbers."[5] Berlin, born Israel Baline, had himself written several Jewish-themed novelty tunes.[6]

In 1938, with the rise of Adolf Hitler, Berlin, who was Jewish and had arrived in the U.S. from Russia at the age of five, felt it was time to revive it as a "peace song", and it was introduced on an Armistice Day broadcast in 1938, sung by Kate Smith on her radio show.[7] This song has become the performer's calling card. Berlin had made some minor changes; by this time, "to the right" might have been considered a call to the political right, so he substituted "through the night" instead. He also provided an introduction that is now rarely heard but which Smith always used: "While the storm clouds gather far across the sea / Let us swear allegiance to a land that's free / Let us all be grateful for a land so fair, / As we raise our voices in a solemn prayer." (In her first broadcast of the song, Kate Smith sang "that we're far from there" rather than "for a land so fair".)[4] This was changed when Berlin published the sheet music in March 1939.[4]

God Bless America

"Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer" is a song by songwriter Johnny Marks based on the 1939 story Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer published by the Montgomery Ward Company.[3] Gene Autry's recording hit No. 1 on the U.S. charts the week of Christmas 1949.

History
In 1939, Marks' brother-in-law, Robert L. May, created the character Rudolph as an assignment for Montgomery Ward, and Marks decided to adapt the story of Rudolph into a song.[4] English singer-songwriter and entertainer Ian Whitcomb interviewed Marks about the creation of the song in 1972.[5]

The song had an added introduction, paraphrasing the poem "A Visit from Saint Nicholas" (in the public domain by the time the song was written), stating the names of the eight reindeer: "You know Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and Vixen, Comet and Cupid and Donner and Blitzen. But do you recall the most famous reindeer of all?"

The song was first introduced live on New York Radio (WOR) by crooner Harry Brannon in November 1949.[6][7] Gene Autry recorded the song on June 27, 1949,[8] and it was released as a children's record by Columbia Records in September 1949.[9] By November, Columbia had begun pushing the record to the pop music market. It hit No. 1 in the US charts during Christmas 1949.

The song had been suggested as a "B" side for a record Autry was making. He first rejected it, but his wife convinced him to use it. The official date of its No. 1 status was the week ending January 7, 1950, making it the first No. 1 song of the 1950s.[10] Autry's version of the song also holds the distinction of being the only chart-topping hit to fall completely off the chart after reaching No. 1. The success of the Christmas song gave support to Autry's subsequent popular Easter song, "Here Comes Peter Cottontail".[citation needed]

The song was also performed on the December 6, 1949, Fibber McGee and Molly radio broadcast by Teeny (Marian Jordan's little girl character) and the Kingsmen vocal group. The lyrics varied greatly from the Autry version.[11] Autry's recording sold 1.75 million copies its first Christmas season and 1.5 million the following year.[12] In 1969, it was awarded a gold disk by the RIAA for sales of 7 million, which was Columbia's highest-selling record at the time.[13] It eventually sold a total of 12.5 million. Cover versions included, sales exceed 150 million copies, second only to Bing Crosby's "White Christmas".[14][15]

Autry recorded another version of the song in the fall of 1957, and released it the same year through his own record label, Challenge Records. This version featured an accompaniment by a full orchestra and chorus. This was the only other version of the song Autry recorded and released on an album.[16]

In 1959, Chuck Berry released a recording of a sequel, "Run Rudolph Run" (sometimes called "Run Run Rudolph"), originally credited to Berry but subsequent releases are often credited to Marks and Marvin Brodie.

In December 2018, Autry's original version entered the Billboard Hot 100 at No. 36, nearly 70 years after it first charted. It climbed to No. 27 the week ending December 22, 2018.[17] and peaked at No. 16 the week ending January 5, 2019.[18]

In 2024, Gene Autry's recording was inducted into the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress as being ''culturally, historically or aesthetically significant''.

Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer

"Winter Wonderland" is a song written in 1934 by Felix Bernard and lyricist Richard Bernhard Smith. Due to its seasonal theme, it is often regarded as a Christmas song in the Northern Hemisphere. Since its original recording by Richard Himber, it has been covered by over 200 different artists. Its lyrics are about a couple's romance during the winter season.[1]

A later version of "Winter Wonderland" (which was printed in 1947) included a "new children's lyric" that transformed it "from a romantic winter interlude to a seasonal song about playing in the snow". The snowman mentioned in the song's bridge was changed from Parson Brown to a circus clown, and the promises the couple made in the final verse were replaced with lyrics about frolicking. Singers like Johnny Mathis connected both versions, adding a verse and chorus.[2]

History
Smith, a native of Honesdale, Pennsylvania, was reportedly inspired to write the lyrics after seeing Honesdale's Central Park covered in snow. He wrote the lyrics while being treated for tuberculosis in the West Mountain Sanitarium in Scranton.[3]

The song was originally recorded in 1934 for RCA Victor. At the end of a different recording session by Himber and his Hotel Ritz-Carlton Orchestra, with extra time to spare, RCA Victor suggested arranging and recording "Winter Wonderland" using some additional members of its own orchestra, which included Artie Shaw and other established New York City studio musicians.

Guy Lombardo’s version that same year would go on to be one of the biggest hits of 1934.[citation needed]

In Mathis' version, heard on his 1958 LP Merry Christmas, the introduction is sung between the first and the second refrain.

In 1960, Ella Fitzgerald recorded a jazz arrangement of the song for her Verve release, Ella Wishes You a Swinging Christmas.

The song was included on the 1994 compilation album If Every Day Was Like Christmas by Elvis Presley.[4]

In 1999, Ringo Starr recorded a version of Winter Wonderland on Mercury Records release, I Wanna Be Santa Claus.

In 2023, Chlöe covered the song for Amazon Music as part of their Amazon Original Music series. The cover peaked at number 87 on Billboard Hot 100,[5] making her version of the song the first to enter the chart.[6]

In 2023, Laufey covered the song for Spotify as part of their Spotify Singles Holiday series. The cover became the highest-charting version of the song in Canada, Ireland and the United Kingdom.[7]

Winter Wonderland

"Auld Lang Syne" (Scots pronunciation: [ˈɔːl(d) lɑŋ ˈsəi̯n])[a][1] is a Scottish song. In the English-speaking world, it is traditionally sung to bid farewell to the old year at the stroke of midnight on New Year's Eve/Hogmanay. By extension, it is also often heard at funerals, graduations, and as a farewell or ending to other occasions; for instance, many branches of the Scouting movement use it to close jamborees and other functions.[2][3]

The text is a Scots-language poem written by Robert Burns in 1788[4][5] but based on an older Scottish folk song. In 1799, it was set to a traditional pentatonic tune, which has since become standard. "Auld Lang Syne" is listed as numbers 6294 and 13892 in the Roud Folk Song Index.

The poem's Scots title may be translated into standard English as "old long since" or, less literally, "long long ago",[6] "days gone by", "times long past" or "old times". Consequently, "For auld lang syne", as it appears in the first line of the chorus, might be loosely translated as "for the sake of old times".

The phrase "Auld Lang Syne" is also used in similar poems by Robert Ayton (1570–1638), Allan Ramsay (1686–1757), and James Watson (1711), as well as older folk songs predating Burns.[7]

In modern times, Matthew Fitt uses the phrase "in the days of auld lang syne" as the equivalent of "once upon a time" in his retelling of fairy tales in the Scots language.[8]

Auld Lang Syne

"Happy Birthday to You", or simply "Happy Birthday", is a song traditionally sung to celebrate a person's birthday. According to the 1998 Guinness World Records, it is the most recognized song in the English language, followed by "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow". The song's base lyrics have been translated into at least 18 languages.[1] The melody of "Happy Birthday to You" comes from the song "Good Morning to All",[2] which has traditionally been attributed to American sisters Patty and Mildred J. Hill in 1893,[3][4] although the claim that the sisters composed the tune is disputed.[5]

The song is in the public domain in the United States and the European Union. Warner Chappell Music had previously claimed copyright on the song in the US and collected licensing fees for its use; in 2015, the copyright claim was declared invalid and Warner Chappell agreed to pay back $14 million in licensing fees.

History
Patty Hill was a kindergarten principal in Louisville, Kentucky, developing teaching methods at the Little Loomhouse;[6] her sister Mildred was a pianist and composer.[7] The sisters used "Good Morning to All" as a song that young children would find easy to sing.[8] The combination of melody and lyrics in "Happy Birthday to You" first appeared in print in 1912.[9] None of the early appearances of the "Happy Birthday to You" lyrics included credits or copyright notices. The Summy Company registered a copyright in 1935, crediting authors Preston Ware Orem and Mrs. R. R. Forman. In 1988, Warner/Chappell Music purchased the company owning the copyright for US$25 million, with the value of "Happy Birthday" estimated at US$5 million.[10][11] Warner claimed that the United States copyright would not expire until 2030 and that unauthorized public performances of the song were illegal unless royalties were paid. In February 2010, the royalty for a single use was US$700.[12] By one estimate, the song is the highest-earning single song in history.[13] In the European Union, the copyright for the song expired on January 1, 2017.[14]

The American copyright status of "Happy Birthday to You" began to draw more attention with the passage of the Copyright Term Extension Act in 1998. The Supreme Court upheld the Act in Eldred v. Ashcroft in 2003, and Associate Justice Stephen Breyer specifically mentioned "Happy Birthday to You" in his dissenting opinion.[15] American law professor Robert Brauneis extensively researched the song and concluded in 2010 "it is almost certainly no longer under copyright."[16] Good Morning to You Productions sued Warner/Chappell for falsely claiming copyright to the song in 2013.[5][10] In September 2015, a federal judge declared that the Warner/Chappell copyright claim was invalid, ruling that the copyright registration applied only to a specific piano arrangement of the song and not to its lyrics and melody. In 2016, Warner/Chappell settled for $14 million, and the court declared that "Happy Birthday to You" was in the public domain.[17][18]

Happy Birthday to You

"Happy Days Are Here Again" is a 1929 song with music by Milton Ager and lyrics by Jack Yellen.[1] The song is a standard that has been interpreted by various artists. It appeared in the 1930 film Chasing Rainbows and was the campaign song for Franklin D. Roosevelt's 1932 presidential campaign. It is the unofficial anthem of Roosevelt's Democratic Party. Its copyright was renewed in 1956, so it will enter the American public domain on January 1, 2025.[2] Sound recordings from 1929 will follow on January 1, 2030, under the provisions of the Music Modernization Act.

The song is number 47 on the Recording Industry Association of America's list of "Songs of the Century". In 1986 it received an ASCAP Award for 'Most Performed Feature Film Standards on TV'.[1]

Happy Days Are Here Again

"Let Me Call You Sweetheart" is a popular song, with music by Leo Friedman and lyrics by Beth Slater Whitson. The song was published in 1910 and was a huge hit for the Peerless Quartet in 1911. A recording by Arthur Clough was very popular the same year too.[1] A 1924 recording identifies a Spanish title, "Déjame llamarte mía".

The song's recording was selected by the Library of Congress as a 2015 addition to the National Recording Registry, which selects recordings annually that are "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".[2] David Sager acknowledged that the song became a standard only after a convoluted history.[3]

Let Me Call You Sweetheart

"The Man I Love" is a popular standard with music by George Gershwin and lyrics by his brother Ira. Part of the 1924 score for the Gershwin musical comedy Lady, Be Good, the song was deleted from that show and put into the Gershwins' 1927 government satire Strike Up the Band (where it appears as "The Man I Love" and "The Girl I Love"), which closed out-of-town. It was considered for, then rejected from, the 1928 Ziegfeld hit Rosalie.[2]

The song was used as the title of, and was prominently featured in, the 1947 film noir melodrama The Man I Love, starring Ida Lupino and Bruce Bennett.

Like many songs from George and Ira Gershwin, "The Man I Love" is considered part of the Great American Songbook. Composed in AABA form,[3] it was covered on stage and on record by many artists.[4] An early notable performance was by the Benny Goodman Quartet at the Goodman band's 1938 Carnegie Hall Concert (with Benny Goodman on clarinet; Gene Krupa on drums, Teddy Wilson on piano, and Lionel Hampton on vibraphone) - famed not only as part of that historic jazz concert but for being done by one of the first integrated groups of black and white musicians to perform in concert in the United States.[5]

In 1994 the song was recorded by Kate Bush for Larry Adler's The Glory of Gershwin tribute album; released as a single on 18 July 1994,[6][7] it reached number 27 on the UK Singles Chart.[8]

The Girl I Love

"White Christmas" is an Irving Berlin song reminiscing about an old-fashioned Christmas setting. The song was written by Berlin for the 1942 musical film Holiday Inn. The composition won the Academy Award for Best Original Song at the 15th Academy Awards. Bing Crosby's record topped the Billboard chart for 11 weeks in 1942 and returned to the number one position again in December 1943 and 1944. His version would return to the top 40 a dozen times in subsequent years.

Since its release, "White Christmas" has been covered by many artists. The version sung by Bing Crosby is the world's best-selling single (in terms of sales of physical media), with estimated sales in excess of 50 million physical copies worldwide.[3] When the figures for other versions of the song are added to Crosby's, sales of the song exceed 100 million.

White Christmas

"You'd Be Surprised" is a song written by Irving Berlin in 1919 which Eddie Cantor interpolated it into Ziegfeld's Follies of 1919.[1] Cantor soon recorded it and it became a major hit. Other popular versions in 1920 were by the All-Star Trio and by Irving Kaufman.

Jason Paul

Popular tracks