The Great American Songbook, also known as “American Standards”, is the canon of the most important and influential American songs from the early and mid-20th century. They include the most popular and enduring tunes from the 1910s to the 1950s that were created primarily for Broadway musical productions and Hollywood musical films. The Songbook comprises standards by George Gershwin, Cole Porter, Irving Berlin, Jerome Kern, Harold Arlen Victor Young, Frank Loesser, Richard Rodgers, and many others. In each “Part” we will watch and listen to vocalists and arrangers both past and present interpret these timeless melodies, and we’ll examine how their placement within the context of a musical show or film added to their historical significance and made them truly unforgettable.

Part I
Part I focuses on songs composed and recorded prior to 1930, including such great numbers as Irving Berlin’s “Always”, Hoagy Carmichael’s “Stardust”, James Monaco’s “You Made Me Love You” and George Gershwin’s “Someone to Watch Over Me”.