The Great American Songbook refers to
the popular music songwriting period between the 1930s and the1950s
when the craft of songwriting reached a remarkable peak of perfection.
Songs came mostly from Hollywood, Broadway and the heartland of America,
and typically featured strong melodies and intricate harmonies
married to carefully crafted lyrics.
A list of the top songwriters in this group includes
Cole Porter, George and Ira Gershwin, Jerome Kern, Irving Berlin,
Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart, Harold Arlen, Hoagy Carmichael,
Johnny Mercer, Duke Ellington, Henry Mancini, Johnny Mandel,
Michel Legrand and Antonio Carlos Jobim.
Through the years, their remarkable songs have been
recorded and performed by the great singers
Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra and Tony Bennett.
Today, Michael Feinstein, Rod Stewart and Diana Krall
are continuing the tradition.
Five Towns College is devoted to preserving and presenting
the Great American Songbook
with the best of Broadway and Hollywood.