Gordon Lightfoot, 1973

One of many hits by this great balladeer from Canada, our gentle neighbor to the north. Ever since my teens, Gordon Lightfoot is the kind of singer/songwriter I'd want to be like if I could. This is not only a great song, but it's really fun to sing and sing along.

Elvis Presley, 1956

You can't do a program of classic popular songs without a couple of songs by 'The King of Rock & Roll'! Written by Otis Blackwell and recorded in 1956 by Elvis, it was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2002 and listed as the 197th best song of all time by Rolling Stone. The B-side was 'Hound Dog'!

Jimmy Buffett, 1977

Anybody seen a salt-shaker around here? This 1977 hit is the unofficial theme song for tropical Florida. Did you know that Elvis was planning to record this, but he died that year before the recording session occurred?

Lenny Long, 1963

Written in 1945 by Buddy Long, this blues ballad has been recorded by numerous artists including Dinah Washington, Andy Williams, and Doris Day. The biggest hit version was recorded in 1963 by Lenny Long and it became his signature song. I love this song because it is both challenging and fun to sing.

Jimmie Rodgers, 1957

This song was written by The Weavers in 1950, who recorded it in 1951, and it has been recorded by several artists since. The version I remember best is Jimmie Rodgers' 1957 hit. It's a great song that always leaves me thinking about how life changes as you go through the chapters.

Patsy Cline, 1962

Written by Willie Nelson in 1961, it was an immediate hit for country music superstar Patsy Cline in 1962 and has been covered by dozens of singers since that. The song's success helped to launch Willie Nelson's own career as a performer and songwriter and is listed as #85 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

Stan Jones, 1948

Stan Jones wrote and recorded this song in 1948, but it has been recorded by over 50 artists since including Vaughn Monroe, Bing Crosby, Frankie Laine, Marty Robbins, Willie Nelson, and Johnny Cash. It has also inspired other songs such as 'Riders in the Storm' by the Doors. It's a really big song! I'm backed up here by a chorus of Dwights.

James Taylor, 1970

This song was written and recorded by the legendary James Taylor. It rose to #3 on the Billboard charts in 1970. I classify it here as a Folk Song, but it's also a good example of 1970's soft rock that audiences love to hear and sing-along with.

Irish Folk Song

The most popular Irish Bad Boy song in my experience. Everybody songs along (and stamps) with the chorus. It would be Balladeer Malpractice to present a set of Irish songs without including this! ... well ... not as much fun anyway.

Traditional Irish Melody

St. Patrick's Day's most frequent request. Written by an English lawyer named Frederic Weatherly, these are the best known lyrics (in the US) to an old Irish tune called Londonderry Air. Thomas Moore, the Irish Poet (not to be confused with Sir/Saint Thomas More, 250 years earlier), also wrote a song to this tune called 'My Gentle Harp'.

Irish-American Ballad

St. Patrick's Day's next most frequent request. It was written in 1912 by Chauncey Olcott & George Graff, Jr. and set to music by Ernest Ball, for a play called 'Isle O' Dreams'. Everybody sings along with the chorus.

Irish Folk Song

Given how many people had to leave Ireland in the mid-19th century to survive, it is not surprising there are so many sad ballads about missing home. This is a particularly haunting example of such a song. Carrickfergus is in County Antrim, Ulster.

Duke Ellington, 1940

This melody was composed by Duke Ellington in 1940 under the name 'Never No Lament'. Lyrics by Bob Russell were added in 1944 and it became an instant popular hit. This song is incredibly fun to sing and audiences love it!

Frank Sinatra, 1956

Written in 1936 by Cole Porter for the movie musical 'Born To Dance', this song was nominated that year for a Best Song Academy Award. It became a signature song for 'The Chairman of Board' in 1956 and then a very different rendition was a big hit for The Four Seasons in 1966.

Neapolitan Song

This song is a mainstay in my 'Little Italy' set, but I often include it in mixed sets because people love to sing along with it. It was written in 1898 by Giovanni Capurro with music composed by Eduardo di Capua and Alfredo Mazzucchi. I find it curious that this song is most commonly portrayed being sung by a Venetian Gondolier even though it is written in the Neapolitan dialect (in Italy's geography, that's like Boston and San Diego).

Sammy Davis, Jr., 1955

This song was written by Johnny Mercer in 1954 for the 1955 film 'Daddy Long Legs' where it was sung by Fred Astaire to Leslie Caron. Recordings by The McGuire Sisters and Sammy Davis, Jr. were released in 1955 and reached #5 and #9 respectively on the Billboard Pop Charts. All the synchopation makes this a particularly fun song to sing, but when I discovered how well it works with this Latin off-beat, it became one of my all-time favorite songs!

Bobby Helms, 1957

Written and recorded in 1957, this is holiday staple. It has been performed and recorded by scores of other artists right up to the present.

Robert Wells & Mel Torme', 1945

Recorded by Nat King Cole in 1946, a Christmas season without hearing this song several times is ... well, just incomplete!

Noel Regney (l) & Gloria Shayne Baker (m), 1962

I love the energy and optimism of this contemporary carol. It's also a great song for a baritone (which is a good way to get my attention)!

Harry Belafonte, 1956

Hey, this is Florida! You gotta have a little 'Island Music' for Christmas! This calypso tune was written by Jester Hairston, a friend of Harry Belafonte's. It has been recorded by a number of other artists.