Who is your favorite American composer of songs?

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meltzerboy said:
There are a lot to choose from, including Irving Berlin, George Gershwin, Jerome Kern, Cole Porter, Richard Rodgers, Alan Jay Lerner, Johnny Mercer, Noel Coward, Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Foster and, among contemporaries, Ned Rorem, Steven Sondheim, Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Leonard Cohen and many, many more.

Who is your favorite and which of their songs do you like the best?
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Cole Porter is my all time favorite his music is still being performed and recorded. Irving Berlin is in my top 10ten too.
 
Joni Mitchell and Leonard Cohen are Canadian, ya cultural imperialist. (shakes fist)*

*not the one holding the Tim’s double-double
 
meltzerboy said:
No, any and all American composers or songwriters. Hard to go wrong with Irving Berlin.
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Johnny Mercer is another favorite!

When it comes to popular music from the 60’s and 70’s too many to write! Bob Dylan would be one.
 
I would have to say Alan Menken. He composes songs for Disney movies that tend to be quite good. My two favorite songs he composes are “Out There” and “Hellfire” from The Hunchback of Notre Dame. I wish he had also composed Frozen.
 
George Gershwin (and Ira Gershwin writing the lyrics!), Irving Berlin, Rodgers & Hammerstein…all great!
 
On topic:

Roy Orbison — “Only the Lonely”, “Pretty Paper”, “Blue Bayou”, “It’s Over”, “Running Scared”, “Crying”

Joe South — “Rose Garden”, “I Knew You When”, “Hush”, “Games People Play”

Tom Russell — “The Sky Above, The Mud Below”, “Navajo Rug” (with Ian Tyson), “Tonight We Ride”, “Gallo Del Cielo”, “El Llano Estacado”

and although I only know of one song by him, I really like

Townes Van Zandt — “Pancho and Lefty”, especially the lines

“Livin’ on the road, my friend,
Was going to keep you free and clean,
But now you wear your skin like iron,
Your breath’s as hard as kerosene…”

and

“He wore his gun outside his pants
For all the honest world to feel…”

He really could turn a phrase.
 
Roy Orbison — “Only the Lonely”, “Pretty Paper”, “Blue Bayou”, “It’s Over”, “Running Scared”, “Crying”
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yup
 
meltzerboy said:
There are a lot to choose from, including Irving Berlin, George Gershwin, Jerome Kern, Cole Porter, Richard Rodgers, Alan Jay Lerner, Johnny Mercer, Noel Coward, Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Foster and, among contemporaries, Ned Rorem, Steven Sondheim, Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Leonard Cohen and many, many more.

Who is your favorite and which of their songs do you like the best?
Click to expand...
Stephen Foster is THE American composer. What Three Stooges’ fan doesn’t know Swanee River? Who has never heard Oh, Susanna, or I Dream of Jeannie? Anyone who does not own a copy of Beautiful Dreamer a 2004 CD collection of Foster songs done by the likes of John Prine, Beth Nielson Chapman, Ollabelle, Alison Krauss and other greats is not really a true American until he/she has a copy. You should hear this version of Camptown Races! 👍
 
tp3192000 said:
Stephen Foster is THE American composer. What Three Stooges’ fan doesn’t know Swanee River? Who has never heard Oh, Susanna, or I Dream of Jeannie? Anyone who does not own a copy of Beautiful Dreamer a 2004 CD collection of Foster songs done by the likes of John Prine, Beth Nielson Chapman, Ollabelle, Alison Krauss and other greats is not really a true American until he/she has a copy. You should hear this version of Camptown Races! 👍
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I agree. Stephen Foster wrote some truly beautiful songs in the classical mold. There’s an album of his songs with the likes of mezzo Jan DeGaetani and baritone Leslie Guinn with period instrumentation that is wonderful.
 
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