The musical canon of important and influential popular and jazz standards from early to mid-20th century is known as either the Great American Songbook or alternatively simply the ‘American Standards’.  This cannon is loosely defined but contains the most enduring songs from the 1920s through the 1950s.  This includes songs that were created for Broadway and other musical theater including Hollywood musicals.

These standards have been recorded with vocalists and instrumentalists.  This genre’s top composers include such legendary greats as George Gershwin, Cole Porter, Irving Berlin, Jerome Kern, Harold Arlen, Johnny Mercer, Richard Rodgers and many, many more.  Although admittedly, when I was in music I mostly played fusion, progressive rock and progressive hard rock, there will always be a special place in the hearts of Ally and I.

On learning that Martini in the Morning will be going to a subscription base and no longer be available in Second Life, we talked it over and I have compiled one list of 50 songs on a playlist on youtube that we are making available for all to click on and listen to for several hours of musical pleasure.  The second playlist is in process.  I will post the first list tonight and the other when it is completed.

You may hear the first playlist here:

We hope this will give some, if not all, of you many hours of listening pleasure!