Songs of the Century

The "Songs of the Century" list is part of an education project by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), the National Endowment for the Arts, and Scholastic Inc. that aims to "promote a better understanding of America's musical and cultural heritage" in American schools. Hundreds of voters, who included elected officials, people from the music industry and from the media, teachers, and students, were asked in 2001 by the NEA (National Endowment for the Arts) and the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America)[1] to choose the top 365 songs (not necessarily by Americans) of the 20th century with historical significance in mind. RIAA selected the voters, and about 15% (200) of the 1,300 selected voters responded.[2][3][4]

The list

The list of the top 25 songs, in the order of votes received. Each song is followed by the name of the artist who made the most notable recording of the song.[5]

RankTitleArtistYear
1"Over the Rainbow" (Harold Arlen, Yip Harburg)Judy Garland1939
2"White Christmas" (Irving Berlin)Bing Crosby1942
3"This Land Is Your Land"Woody Guthrie1940
4"Respect" (Otis Redding)Aretha Franklin1967
5"American Pie"Don McLean1972
6"Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" (Don Raye, Hughie Prince)The Andrews Sisters1941
7West Side Story (album)Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim1957
8"Take Me Out to the Ball Game" (Jack Norworth, Albert Von Tilzer)Billy Murray1908
9"You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" (Phil Spector, Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil)The Righteous Brothers1964
10"The Entertainer"Scott Joplin1902
11"In the Mood" (Wingy Manone, Andy Razaf, Joe Garland)Glenn Miller Orchestra1940
12"Rock Around the Clock" (Max C. Freedman, James E. Myers)Bill Haley & His Comets1954
13"When the Saints Go Marching In"Louis Armstrong1938
14"You Are My Sunshine"Jimmie Davis1939
15"Mack the Knife" (Bertholt Brecht)Bobby Darin1959
16"(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction"The Rolling Stones1965
17"Take the 'A' Train" (Joya Sherrill)Duke Ellington Orchestra1941
18"Blueberry Hill" (Larry Stock, Al Lewis)Fats Domino1956
19"God Bless America"Kate Smith1938
20"The Stars and Stripes Forever"Sousa's Band1897
21"I Heard It Through the Grapevine" (Norman Whitfield, Barrett Strong)Marvin Gaye1968
22"(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay" (Redding, Steve Cropper)Otis Redding1967
23"I Left My Heart in San Francisco" (George C. Cory Jr., (Douglass Cross)Tony Bennett1962
24"Good Vibrations" (Brian Wilson, Mike Love)The Beach Boys1966
25"Stand by Me" (Ben E. King, Leiber and Stoller)Ben E. King1961

Criticism

B. George, director of the ARChive of Contemporary Music, said pop music genres such as electronic dance music, punk rock, and rap were given short shrift. An informal survey of CBS News producers indicated surprise at some of the choices on the list.[2] NPR's Talk of the Nation highlighted songs that were excluded from the RIAA list but were on a similar list produced by NPR the same year. One song that was highlighted was George Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue".[6]

References
  1. Whitaker, Dave (March 7, 2001). "Dave's Music Database: The RIAA/NEA's Top 365 Songs of the 20th Century". Davesmusicdatabase.blogspot.com.
  2. "Best Songs Of The Century?". Cbsnews.com. CBS News. February 11, 2009. Retrieved March 9, 2013.
  3. "New song list puts 'Rainbow' way up high". CNN. March 7, 2001. Retrieved September 7, 2018.
  4. "RIAA, NEA Announce Songs of the Century" (Press release). Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). March 2001. Archived from the original on March 24, 2012. Retrieved March 3, 2013.CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  5. "Songs of the Century". CNN. March 7, 2001. Retrieved March 9, 2013.
  6. .Williams, Juan (March 14, 2001). "20th Century's Best Songs". NPR. Talk of the Nation. Retrieved March 9, 2013.
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