The Top 25 Songs of the Twentieth Century
The “Songs of the Century” list was put together as an music education tool by the Recording Industry of America Association (RIAA), the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), Scholastic Inc. and AOL@School.
The stated goal behind the extensive list of songs is to “promote a better understanding of America’s musical and cultural heritage” in American schools.
The way the songs were picked is a little bit fuzzy, but each was voted in by people in the music industry, the media, teachers, elected officials and students. Each person with a vote was asked to consider "historical significance" when making their selections.
The complete list includes the top 365 songs of the twentieth century as selected by this process.
Unfortunately, the methods used to select the voters has not been revealed and anything with the mark of the RIAA tends to be met with disdain by many. Sure, there are plenty of songs I would have picked over some of these, and the Beatles not appearing in the top 25 seems like a pretty massive blunder (they first appear at #28). But at the end of the day this is a good list.
I have included the top 25 "Songs of the Century" in this playlist.
The Top 25 Songs of The Century
1. Over The Rainbow - Judy Garland
2. White Christmas - Bing Crosby
3. This Land Is Your Land - Woody Guthrie
6. Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy - The Andrews Sisters
7. Maria - Broadway West Side Story Cast
8. Take Me Out To The Ballgame - Harvey Hindermyer
9. You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling - The Righteous Brothers
10. The Entertainer - Scott Joplin
11. In The Mood - Glenn Miller
12. Rock Around The Clock - Bill Haley & The Comets
13. When The Saints Go Marching In - Louis Armstrong
14. You Are My Sunshine - Gene Autry
15. Mack The Knife - Bobby Darin
16. (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction - The Rolling Stones
17. Take The 'A' Train - Duke Ellington
18. Blueberry Hill - Fats Domino
19. God Bless America - Kate Smith
20. Stars And Stripes Forever - John Phillip Sousa
21. I Heard It Through The Grapevine - Marvin Gaye
22. (Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay - Otis Redding
23. I Left My Heart In San Francisco - Tony Bennett
24. Good Vibrations - The Beach Boys
From Robert Johnson to Robert Palmer and Muddy Waters to Roger Waters and waters not quite yet explored, I have loved all of the pirates and angels of this scene.
I have danced and partied and laughed and sang and cried with the best of them. I miss you Mister Rhoads. I miss you Mister Van Zant. Most of all scarecrow I miss you Jimi.
I could name names but that's not the purpose of all of this. God bless you all and never forget why you came here. You chose it. Keep playing that rock and roll. Keep doing what you been told. Save your money for when you get old, got to keep playing that rock and roll.
hmmm
Let's not even talk about the lack of Elvis on this list...