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The Great American Songbook The Singers | Piano, Vocal, Guitar Songbook | 100 Timeless Standards from Iconic Pop Vocalists | Easy Sheet Music Collection for Musicians
(Piano/Vocal/Guitar Songbook). Crooners, wailers, shouters, balladeers some of our greatest pop vocalists have poured their hearts and souls into the musical gems of the Great American Songbook. They sang in nightclubs and concert halls, on television and in films, and left us a legacy of recordings still in play today. Their interpretations entertained us, moved us to tears, and wove lyrics and music into the fabric of our lives, making us see ourselves in these quintessentially American songs. This folio features 100 of these classics by Louis Armstrong (Hello Dolly * What a Wonderful World), Tony Bennett (I Left My Heart in San Francisco), Rosemary Clooney (Count Your Blessings Instead of Sheep), Nat "King" Cole (Route 66), Bing Crosby (True Love), Doris Day (Bewitched), Ella Fitzgerald (How High the Moon), Judy Garland (Rock-a-Bye Your Baby with a Dixie Melody), Dean Martin (Everybody Loves Somebody), Frank Sinatra (Young at Heart), Barbra Streisand (People), Mel Torme (Heart and Soul), and many, many more.
400 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 2007
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Hal Leonard
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Hal Leonard are frequently not credited to an individual author or editor.
Hal Leonard are frequently not credited to an individual author or editor.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
October 18, 2017
A Collection Of American Song
This book, "The Great American Songbook: The Singers" includes sheet music with lyrics, guitar chords, and piano for 100 classical American songs. The subtitle "the Singers" indicates that the songs are organized in the table of contents by the singers who made them famous. (The songs, of course are standards, each of which has been sung by many people.) The book also includes photos and brief single paragraph biographies of the 28 singers featured in the volume. They include, Louis Armstrong, Betty Carter, Perry Como, Bing Crosby, Blosom Dearie, Ella Fitzgerald, Judy Garland, Peggy Lee, Frank Sinatra, Barbara Streisand, Dinah Washington, and more. The composers and lyricists are credited at the top of each song, but there is no specific index for them. There is a separate volume in this series which is arranged by composer.
The volume doesn't explain the much-used term "The Great American Songbook" and it is worth considering what it means. The term does not refer to a book or to a specific song collection per se. Instead it is used to indicate the show tunes largely from Broadway, live theatre, or Hollywood musicals composed roughly in the first half of the 20th Century. The songs are American staples and most of them will be familiar to many listeners. The precise content and number of the songs in the "Great American Songbook" is a matter for judgment. Ella Fitzgerald, among others, has recorded extensively under the title The Great American Songbook. The composers of the songs, included in the Songbook and in this collection include Irving Berlin, Cole Porter, Jerome Kern, Harold Arlen, Walter Donaldson, Richard Rogers, Frank Loesser, and more.
The songs included in this volume represent part of America's broad musical heritage and constitute a substantial achievement. This is not the music I most often play or hear. I try to play classical piano; when I listen to popular music, I turn more often to blues or early rock & roll which are beyond to scope of the Great American Songbook. I found this book prominently displayed in the local library and wanted to take a look and try the music.
The book is thick but fits comfortably on the music stand of a piano. The piano arrangements are well-done. They are self-contained in that the pianist can capture the melodic line of the song and the accompaniment without a vocalist. Thus they are fun and appropriate to play as solos. I sight read most of the pieces with mixed results. As with any music, the songs will take practicing to capture accuracy, tempo, phrasing, and melody. Some of the songs are sophisticated with rhythmic and harmonic changes. I enjoyed working of playing in these styles and trying to learn something of the songs. I needed a break from playing Beethoven and Schubert, as it happened, and this book was refreshing. Working with this collection also reminded me of the continuity of music and of song from, say, Schubert art songs, through the Great American Songbook, through the blues, for example. This book reminded me that it is good to learn broad appreciation and to love as much music as one can.
Some of the songs I enjoyed playing from the collection were, "I could Write a Book", "The Way you Look Tonight", "The Girl that I Marry", "Little White Lies", "A Sunday Kind of Love", "Autumn Leaves", "I'll take Romance"," Heart and Soul", "Unforgettable", "What a Diff'rence a Day Made", "Smoke gets in your Eyes", and more. Each reader is likely to find favorites in this book, together with some surprises.
I found it valuable to work with this book and to broaden my appreciation of American music and the piano. This collection is good for browsing and fun. It is also a good basic accessible collection for those with a serious interest in performing music from the Great American Songbook.
Robin Friedman
This book, "The Great American Songbook: The Singers" includes sheet music with lyrics, guitar chords, and piano for 100 classical American songs. The subtitle "the Singers" indicates that the songs are organized in the table of contents by the singers who made them famous. (The songs, of course are standards, each of which has been sung by many people.) The book also includes photos and brief single paragraph biographies of the 28 singers featured in the volume. They include, Louis Armstrong, Betty Carter, Perry Como, Bing Crosby, Blosom Dearie, Ella Fitzgerald, Judy Garland, Peggy Lee, Frank Sinatra, Barbara Streisand, Dinah Washington, and more. The composers and lyricists are credited at the top of each song, but there is no specific index for them. There is a separate volume in this series which is arranged by composer.
The volume doesn't explain the much-used term "The Great American Songbook" and it is worth considering what it means. The term does not refer to a book or to a specific song collection per se. Instead it is used to indicate the show tunes largely from Broadway, live theatre, or Hollywood musicals composed roughly in the first half of the 20th Century. The songs are American staples and most of them will be familiar to many listeners. The precise content and number of the songs in the "Great American Songbook" is a matter for judgment. Ella Fitzgerald, among others, has recorded extensively under the title The Great American Songbook. The composers of the songs, included in the Songbook and in this collection include Irving Berlin, Cole Porter, Jerome Kern, Harold Arlen, Walter Donaldson, Richard Rogers, Frank Loesser, and more.
The songs included in this volume represent part of America's broad musical heritage and constitute a substantial achievement. This is not the music I most often play or hear. I try to play classical piano; when I listen to popular music, I turn more often to blues or early rock & roll which are beyond to scope of the Great American Songbook. I found this book prominently displayed in the local library and wanted to take a look and try the music.
The book is thick but fits comfortably on the music stand of a piano. The piano arrangements are well-done. They are self-contained in that the pianist can capture the melodic line of the song and the accompaniment without a vocalist. Thus they are fun and appropriate to play as solos. I sight read most of the pieces with mixed results. As with any music, the songs will take practicing to capture accuracy, tempo, phrasing, and melody. Some of the songs are sophisticated with rhythmic and harmonic changes. I enjoyed working of playing in these styles and trying to learn something of the songs. I needed a break from playing Beethoven and Schubert, as it happened, and this book was refreshing. Working with this collection also reminded me of the continuity of music and of song from, say, Schubert art songs, through the Great American Songbook, through the blues, for example. This book reminded me that it is good to learn broad appreciation and to love as much music as one can.
Some of the songs I enjoyed playing from the collection were, "I could Write a Book", "The Way you Look Tonight", "The Girl that I Marry", "Little White Lies", "A Sunday Kind of Love", "Autumn Leaves", "I'll take Romance"," Heart and Soul", "Unforgettable", "What a Diff'rence a Day Made", "Smoke gets in your Eyes", and more. Each reader is likely to find favorites in this book, together with some surprises.
I found it valuable to work with this book and to broaden my appreciation of American music and the piano. This collection is good for browsing and fun. It is also a good basic accessible collection for those with a serious interest in performing music from the Great American Songbook.
Robin Friedman
November 5, 2019
This folio contains the sheet music for one hundred well-known, often-performed jazz standards and popular American songs, many from musical theater and film. Arranged according to the singers with whom they are most closely associated, these songs continue to enjoy a lasting familiarity and form a legacy of American music.
A brief biography of each of the singers, thirty-five in all, introduces readers to the vocalists and provides a background for the musical associations. Julie London [“Cry Me a River”], Dinah Shore [“I’ll Walk Alone:],Barbra Streisand [“People”], Tony Bennett [I Left My Heart in San Francisco], Nat “King” Cole [“Route 66”], Dean Martin [“Everybody Loves Somebody”], and Frank Sinatra [“(Love Is) The Tender Trap”] are just a few of the unforgettable singers and songs included here.
Readers are sure to be disappointed that, although the title suggests a focus on singers, there’s nothing more than an all-too-brief biography, nothing more than a brief glimpse, for each of the vocalists included here. Nevertheless, readers interested in these songs and their singers are sure to appreciate this folio.
Recommended.
A brief biography of each of the singers, thirty-five in all, introduces readers to the vocalists and provides a background for the musical associations. Julie London [“Cry Me a River”], Dinah Shore [“I’ll Walk Alone:],Barbra Streisand [“People”], Tony Bennett [I Left My Heart in San Francisco], Nat “King” Cole [“Route 66”], Dean Martin [“Everybody Loves Somebody”], and Frank Sinatra [“(Love Is) The Tender Trap”] are just a few of the unforgettable singers and songs included here.
Readers are sure to be disappointed that, although the title suggests a focus on singers, there’s nothing more than an all-too-brief biography, nothing more than a brief glimpse, for each of the vocalists included here. Nevertheless, readers interested in these songs and their singers are sure to appreciate this folio.
Recommended.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews