School in a Book: Classic Songs and Musical Artists

You know how out of the blue one day you hear a song you used to love and you think, I can’t forget this again. I have to write it down. You start to wonder how many other great songs you’ve let slip from memory. Then you have kids, and you start actively seeking them out so you can pass them on. This list is a good jumping-off point for that process.

It’s highly unlikely that all your favorite songs are listed here. But there are a lot of great ones, and many that you’ll hear here and there throughout your life. Listen to them at the YouTube links provided, absorbing the style of each artist and thinking critically about what you like, what you don’t like, and why. No need to memorize song titles, but a working recall of most of these artists will help you immensely in your many enjoyable music-related conversations to come.

This list is a work in progress; check back for updates.

ESSENTIAL RESOURCES: CLASSIC SONGS AND MUSICAL ARTISTS

Classical Compositions

Toccata and Fugue in D Minor, BWV 565, Johann Sebastian Bach (1600s)
Allegro from Brandenburg Concerto No 3, Johann Sebastian Bach (1600s)
Air from Orchestral Suite No 3, Johann Sebastian Bach (1600s)
Vivace from Double Violin Concerto, Johann Sebastian Bach (1600s)
Ave Maria, Johann Sebastian Bach and Charles Gounod (1600s)
The Hallelujah Chorus from The Messiah, George Frideric Handel (1600s)
Canon, Johann Pachelbel (1600s)
Moonlight Sonata, Ludwig van Beethoven (1700s)
Fur Elise, Ludwig van Beethoven (1700s)
Adagio Sostenuto from Moonlight Sonata, Ludwig van Beethoven (1700s)
Ode to Joy from Symphony No 9, Ludwig van Beethoven (1700s)
Allegro Con Brio from Symphony No 5, Ludwig van Beethoven (1700s)
Overture from The Magic Flute, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1700s)
Reminiscences de Don Juan from Don Giovanni, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1700s)
Overture from The Marriage of Figaro, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1700s)
Adante from Piano Concerto No 21, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1700s)
Rondo Alla Turca from Piano Concerto No 11, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1700s)
Lacrimosa from Requiem Mass, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1700s)
Spring: Allegro from The Four Seasons, Vivaldi (1700s)
Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy from The Nutcracker, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1800s)
Marche from The Nutcracker, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1800s)
Opera 20 Act 2 No 10 Scene (Moderato) from Swan Lake, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1800s)
Opera 20 Act 1 No 2 Valse (Corps de Ballet) from Swan Lake, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1800s)
The 1812 Overture, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1800s)
Tutto nel Mundo from Falstaff, Giuseppe Verdi (1800s)
Overture from The Barber of Seville, Gioachino Rossini (1800s)
Hungarian Dance No 5, Johannes Brahms (1800s)
Spring Waltz, Frederic Chopin (1800s)
Nocturne No 2, Frederic Chopin (1800s)
Clair de Lune, Claude Debussy (1800s)
Symphony No. 9 in E minor, Op. 95/the “From the New World” Symphony from New World Symphony, Antonin Dvorak (1800s)
In the Hall of the Mountain King from Peer Gynt Suite, Edvard Grieg (1800s)
Morning (Hovis Advert) from Peer Gynt Suite, Edvard Grieg (1800s)
Anitra’s Dance from Peer Gynt Suite, Edvard Grieg (1800s)
Hebrides Overture, Mendelssohn (1800s)
Ave Maria, Franz Schubert (1800s)
The Beautiful Blue Danube, Johann Strauss (1800s)
Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves, Giuseppe Verdi (1800s)
The Ride of the Valkyries, Richard Wagner (1800s)
Wedding Chorus from Lohengrin, Richard Wagner (1800s)
Prelude from Carmen, Georges Bizet (1800s)
Habanera from Carmen, Georges Bizet (1800s)
Radetzky March, Johann Strauss (1800s)
Meditation from Thais, Massanet (1800s)
Hebrides Overture (Fingal’s Cave), Mendelssohn (1800s)
Pomp and Circumstance March No 1, Sir Edward Elgar (1800s and 1900s)
Che Gelida Manina from La Boeme, Giacomo Puccini (1800s and 1900s)
Humming Chorus from Madame Butterfly, Giacomo Puccini (1800s and 1900s)
Dance of the Adolescents from The Rite of Spring, Igor Stravinsky (1900s)
O Fortuna from Carmina Burana, Carl Orff (1900s)
Peter and the Wolf, Sergei Prokofiev (1900s)
Glassworks, Philip Glass (1900s)
Interstellar, Hans Zimmer (1900s)
Time, Hans Zimmer (1900s)
Star Wars Theme, John Williams (1900s)
The Metamorphosis, Philip Glass (1900s)

Folk Songs and Spirituals

The Star-Spangled Banner
America, the Beautiful
America (My Country Tis Of Thee)
God Bless America
You’re a Grand Old Flag
The U.S. Air Force Song (Off We Go Into the Wild Blue Yonder)
The Marine’s Hymn
The Battle Hymn of the Republic (Glory Glory Hallelujah)
When the Saints Go Marching In
Amazing Grace
How Great Thou Art
I’ll Fly Away
Kumbaya
He’s Got the Whole World
Swing Low Sweet Chariot
What a Friend We Have in Jesus
This Little Light of Mine
I’ve Got Peace Like a River
Michael, Row the Boat Ashore
Go Tell It on the Mountain
Happy Birthday to You
Oh, Susanna
Coconut
Banana Boat Song (Day-O)
Home on the Range
You Are My Sunshine
Someone’s In the Kitchen With Dinah
Take Me Out to the Ballgame
I’ve Been Workin’ on the Railroad
Alouette
Clementine
On Top of Old Smokey
Yankee Doodle
My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean

Christmas Carols

The First Noel
Joy to the World
Silent Night
The Twelve Days of Christmas
We Three Kings
We Wish You a Merry Christmas
Angels We Have Heard on High
Away in a Manger
Auld Lang Syne
Deck the Halls
God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
O Holy Night
O Little Town of Bethlehem
O Christmas Tree
Oh Come All Ye Faithful
The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting)
Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
What Child Is This?
White Christmas
Holly, Jolly Christmas
I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day
I’ll Be Home for Christmas
I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas
It Came Upon the Midnight Clear
What Child Is This
Ave Maria
Winter Wonderland
The Little Drummer Boy
Here Comes Santa Claus
Jingle Bell Rock
Let It Snow
Jingle Bells
Frosty, the Snowman
Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer
Santa Claus Is Coming to Town

Children’s Songs and Rhymes

The Alphabet Song
Rock-a-Bye Baby
Ba Ba Black Sheep
Mary Had a Little Lamb
Hush, Little Baby
Skidamarink
Skip to My Lou
Knees Up Mother Brown
Down by the Bay
The Itsy Bitsy Spider
Frere Jacques
Lollipop, Lollipop
If You’re Happy and You Know It
Skip to My Lou
The More We Get Together
This Old Man
The Ants Go Marching One By One
Row, Row, Row Your Boat
Five Little Monkeys
Old McDonald
Three Blind Mice
Nick Nack Paddywack
Pop Goes the Weasel
Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush
London Bridge Is Falling Down
She’ll Be Comin’ Round the Mountain
Little Bo Peep
Sing a Song of Sixpence
A Tisket a Tasket
Little Boy Blue
Old King Cole
Little Miss Muffet
The Muffin Man
Over the River and Through the Wood
The Farmer In the Dell
Baby Bumble Bee
BINGO
Do Your Ears Hang Low?
John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt
Where is Thumbkin?
Are You Sleeping, Brother John?
Five Little Ducks
There’s a Hole in the Bucket
Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes
I’m a Little Teapot
The Wheels on the Bus
You’ll Sing a Song
Down By the Riverside
Lavender’s Blue
Where, Oh, Where Has My Little Dog Gone?
How Much Is That Doggy In the Window
The Green Grass Grew All Around
It’s Raining, It’s Pouring

Songs from Musicals

Tomorrow (Annie)
Maybe (Annie)
Hard Knock Life (Annie)
Somewhere Over the Rainbow (The Wizard of Oz)
When You Wish Upon a Star (Pinocchio)
Footloose (Footloose)
You’re the One That I Want (Grease)
Summer Days (Grease)
I Could Have Danced All Night (My Fair Lady)
Sunrise, Sunset (Fiddler on the Roof)
Tradition (Fiddler on the Roof)
Oklahoma! (Oklahoma!)
Oh What a Beautiful Morning (Oklahoma!)
I Feel Pretty (West Side Story)
Da-Doo (Little Shop of Horrors)
Skid Row (Little Shop of Horrors)
Beauty and the Beast (Beauty and the Beast)
This Provincial Life (Beauty and the Beast)
Be Our Guest (Beauty and the Beast)
Kiss the Girl (The Little Mermaid)
Spoonful of Sugar (The Sound of Music)
Edelweiss (The Sound of Music)
Sixteen Going on Seventeen (The Sound of Music)
My Favorite Things (The Sound of Music)
Do-Re-Mi (The Sound of Music)
Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious (The Sound of Music)
Moon River (Breakfast at Tiffany’s)
Bali Ha’i (South Pacific)
I’m Gonna Wash That Man Right Outta My Hair (South Pacific)
Sisters (White Christmas)
Anything You Can Do (Annie Get Your Gun)
Sit Down, You’re Rocking’ the Boat (Guys and Dolls)
Singing in the Rain (Singing in the Rain)

Popular Artists

1920s, 30s and 40s

Billie Holiday (Blue Moon; God Bless the Child)
Doris Day (Dream a Little Dream of Me; Que Sera Sera; Perhaps, Perhaps)
Frank Sinatra (My Way; Fly Me to the Moon; New York, New York; That’s Life; I’ve Got the World on a String)
Bing Crosby (Swingin’ on a Star; Let Me Call You Sweetheart)
Sammy Davis Jr. (I’ve Gotta Be Me; Candy Man)

1950s and 60s

Elvis Presley (Can’t Help Falling in Love; Love Me Tender; Blue Suede Shoes; Hound Dog; Jailhouse Rock; Don’t Be Cruel; All Shook Up)
Otis Redding (I’ve Been Loving You too Long [to Stop Now]; [Sittin’ on] the Dock of the Bay; Try a Little Tenderness; I’ve Got Dreams to Remember)
Bill Withers (Just the Two of Us; Lean on Me; Ain’t No Sunshine)
Ella Fitzgerald
Nina Simone (I Ain’t Got No/I Got Life; Sinnerman; I Put a Spell on You)
Etta James (At Last; Something’s Got a Hold on Me)
B.B. King (The Thrill Is Gone; Every Day I Have the Blues)
Louis Armstrong (What a Wonderful World; Cheek to Cheek; Unforgettable)
Miles Davis (Blue in Green; So What)
John Coltrane (A Love Supreme, Parts 1-4; Naima)
Duke Ellington (It Don’t Mean a Thing [If It Ain’t Got That Swing])
Muddy Waters (Mannish Boy)
Sam Cooke (A Change Is Gonna Come; What A Wonderful World/Don’t Know Much About History)
John Lee Hooker (Boom Boom)
Chuck Berry (Johnny B. Goode; No Particular Place to Go; Maybelline; Roll Over Beethoven; Sweet Little Sixteen; You Never Can Tell)
Bobby Darin (Dream Lover)
Buddy Holly (Everyday; That’ll Be the Day; Peggy Sue)
Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers (Why Do Fools Fall in Love)
Frankie Valli (Big Girls Don’t Cry; Walk Like a Man; Can’t Take My Eyes Off You)
Jackie Wilson (Lonely Teardrops; [Your Love Keeps Lifting Me] Higher and Higher)
Jerry Lee Lewis (Great Balls of Fire; Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On)
Patsy Cline (I Fall to Pieces; Walkin’ After Midnight; Crazy)
The Drifters (Under the Boardwalk; Save the Last Dance for Me)
The Everly Brothers (All I Have to Do Is Dream; Bye Bye Love; Wake Up Little Susie)
Four Tops (Reach Out [I’ll Be There]; I Can’t Help Myself [Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch]; Baby I Need Your Loving; Walk Away Renee)
The Isley Brothers (Shout, Parts 1 and 2; This Old Heart of Mine [Is Weak for You])
The Righteous Brothers (Unchained Melody; You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’)
The Ronettes (Be My Baby)
Fats Domino (Blueberry Hill)
The Shirelles (Mama Said; Will You Love Me Tomorrow)
The Spencer Davis Group (Gimme Some Lovin’)
The Staple Singers (I’ll Take You There; Respect Yourself; Let’s Do It Again)
The Supremes/Diana Ross (Baby Love; Where Did Our Love Go; Stop! In the Name of Love; You Keep Me Hanging On; You Can’t Hurry Love; I Hear a Symphony)
The Temptations (My Girl)
Roy Orbison (Only the Lonely; Oh, Pretty Woman)
Little Richard (Good Golly, Miss Molly; Tutti Frutti; Long Tall Sally)
Dion (Teenager in Love, The Wanderer, Runaround Sue, Abraham, Martin and John)
Paul Anka (Put Your Head on My Shoulder)
Wilson Pickett (In the Midnight Hour; Land of a 1,000 Dances; Mustang Sally)

1970s

The Beatles (All You Need is Love; Come Together; Hey, Jude; Let It Be; Yesterday; Yellow Submarine; Ticket to Ride; While My Guitar Gently Weeps; With a Little Help From My Friends)
John Lennon (In My Life; Strawberry Fields Forever; Imagine; Happy Christmas [War Is Over])
Aretha Franklin (Respect; [You Make Me Feel Like a] Natural Woman; Chain of Fools; I Say a Little Prayer)
Bob Dylan (Like a Rolling Stone’ Blowing in the Wind; Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door; Mr. Tambourine Man; The Times They Are a-Changin’)
Cat Stevens (Wild World; Morning Has Broken; Cat’s in the Cradle; Where Do the Children Play; Blowin’ in the Wind)
John Denver (Take Me Home, Country Roads; Annie’s Song; Rocky Mountain High; Home Grown Tomatoes)
Willie Nelson (On the Road Again; Mamas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys; Always on My Mind)
Johnny Cash (Ring of Fire; I Walk the Line; Hurt)
Simon and Garfunkel (Bridge Over Troubled Water; Scarborough Fair; Mrs. Robinson; The Sound of Silence)
Peter, Paul and Mary (Puff the Magic Dragon; Blowin’ in the Wind; If I Had a Hammer; Lemon Tree; We Shall Overcome; Leaving on a Jet Plane)
The Carpenters (We’ve Only Just Begun; Close to You; Yesterday Once More; Rainy Days and Mondays)
The Grateful Dead/Jerry Garcia (Workingman’s Dead; Uncle John’s Band)
The Jimi Hendrix Experience/Jimi Hendrix (All Along the Watchtower; Purple Haze)
Janis Joplin (Me and Bobby McGee; Piece of My Heart; Summertime)
Joni Mitchell (Both Sides Now; Help Me; Big Yellow Taxi)
The Doors/Jim Morrison (Light My Fire; People Are Strange; Riders on a Storm; Break on Through to the Other Side)
The Eagles (Hotel California; The Long Run; Take It Easy)
The Byrds (Mr. Tambourine Man; Turn! Turn! Turn!)
James Taylor (Five and Rain; Sweet Baby James; You’ve Got a Friend; Carolina in My Mind)
Neil Young (Cortez the Killer; Rockin’ in the Free World; Sugar Mountain)
Credence Clearwater Revival (Have you Ever Seen the Rain?; Bad Moon Rising; Proud Mary; Who’ll Stop the Rain; Down on the Corner)
Lou Reed (Walk on the Wild Side; Perfect Day)
Sonny and Cher (I Got You Babe)
The Beach Boys (California Girls; Surfin’ USA; I Get Around; Good Vibrations)
The Jackson 5 (I Want You Back)
Nancy Sinatra (These Boots are Made for Walkin’; Bang Bang)
Joe Cocker (With a Little Help From My Friends; You Are So Beautiful)
Al Green (Let’s Stay Together; Love and Happiness; Take Me to the River)
Curtis Mayfield (People Get Ready; Superfly)
James Brown (Get Up [I Feel Like Being a] Sex Machine; I Got You [I Feel Good])
Elvis Costello ([What’s So Funny About] Peace, Love and Understanding)
Marvin Gaye (Let’s Get It On; I Heard It Through the Grapevine; Ain’t No Mountain High Enough; Mercy Mercy Me)
Sam & Dave (Soul Man)
Sly and the Family Stone (Hot Fun in the Summertime; Family Affair)
Smokey Robinson and The Miracles (Cruisin’; You Really Got a Hold on Me)
Kool and the Gang (Jungle Boogie)
Gloria Gaynor (I Will Survive)
Bee Gees (Stayin’ Alive)

1980s

Barbra Streisand (The Way We Were; You Don’t Bring Me Flowers; Don’t Lie to Me)
Bette Midler (From a Distance; I Think It’s Gonna Rain Today; Wind Beneath My Wings)
Billy Joel (Piano Man; New York State of Mind; We Didn’t Start the Fire)
Bob Marley (Don’t Worry Be Happy; Three Little Birds; I Shot the Sheriff; One Love)
Bruce Springsteen (Born in the U.S.A.; Dancin’ in the Dark; Streets of Philadelphia)
Cyndi Lauper (Girls Just Want to Have Fun; True Colors; Time After Time)
David Bowie (Ziggy Stardust; Let’s Dance)
Dolly Parton (I Will Always Love You; 9 to 5)
Gladys Knight (Midnight Train to Georgia; I Heard It Through the Grapevine)
Guns N’ Roses/Axl Rose (Paradise City; Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door; Welcome to the Jungle; November Rain)
Kenny Rogers (The Gambler)
Moody Blues (Nights in White Satin)
Jimmy Cliff (I Can See Clearly Now)
Madonna (Vogue; Like a Virgin; Material Girl; Like A Prayer)
Pink Floyd (Money; Another Brick in the Wall Part 2)
Prince (Kiss; 1999; Purple Rain)
Queen/Freddie Mercury (We Will Rock You; We Are the Champions; Bohemian Rhapsody; Another One Bites the Dust)
The Ramones (Blitzkrieg Bop; Sheena Is a Punk Rocker)
Luther Vandross (Love the One You’re With)
Lionel Richie (Easy; Stuck On You)
Lynyrd Skynyrd (Sweet Home Alabama)
Led Zeppelin (Stairway to Heaven)
Michael Jackson (Thriller; Bad; Black and White; We Are the World; Billie Jean)
The Bangles (Walk Like an Egyptian, Manic Monday; Eternal Flame)
Steppenwolf (Born to Be Wild; Magic Carpet Ride)
Stevie Nicks (Talk to Me)
Stevie Wonder (I Just Called to Say I Love You; Isn’t She Lovely; Signed, Sealed, Delivered)
The Animals (Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood; The House of the Rising Sun)
The Clash (Rock the Casbah; London Calling; Should I Stay or Should I Go)
Neil Diamond (Sweet Caroline)
Roxette (She’s Got the Look)
The Rolling Stones ([I Can’t Get No] Satisfaction; Paint It Black; You Can’t Always Get What You Want)
The Police (Message in a Bottle; Every Breath You Take; Roxanne)
The Who (Baba O’Riley; I Can See For Miles; Won’t Get Fooled Again)
Tina Turner (What’s Love Got to Do With It; Proud Mary, Simply the Best)
Journey (Don’t Stop Believin’)
Nat King Cole (Unforgettable; When I Fall in Love; Mona Lisa)
Natalie Cole (Unforgettable; This Will Be [An Everlasting Love])
Ray Charles (Georgia on My Mind; Night & Day; Hit the Road, Jack; I Got a Woman)
Tony Bennett (Fly Me to the Moon; I Left My Heart in San Francisco)
Diana Ross (I’m Coming Out; Endless Love)
Van Morrison (Brown Eyed Girl; Gloria [Them])

1990s

Whitney Houston (I Will Always Love You; Greatest Love of All; I Have Nothing)
Celine Dion (The Power of Love; My Heart Will Go On)
Eric Clapton (Tears in Heaven; Wonderful Tonight)
Elton John (Can You Feel the Love Tonight; Rocket Man)
Eminem (Slim Shady; Without Me; Not Afraid; Godzilla)
Mariah Carey (I Don’t Wanna Cry; Hero; Vision of Love; Emotions)
Nirvana/Kurt Cobain (Smells Like Teen Spirit; Come As You Are)
Alanis Morissette (Ironic)
Phil Collins (Another Day in Paradise; In the Air Tonight)
Snoop Dogg (Gin and Juice; Drop It Like It’s Hot)
Jay Z (Forever Young)

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