American popular standards are songs written in the first half of the twentieth century that have become important and influential. Typically written between 1920 and 1950, give or take, pop standards are generally recorded and performed by a wide range of musicians. Usually this includes both male and female vocal versions as well as instrumental jazz versions. Also known as the Great American Songbook, these songs truly stand the test of time and are still often recorded and performed today.
I'm going to start this week off with Stardust, written by Hoagy Carmichael in 1927 with lyrics added in 1929 by Mitchell Parish. It was first recorded by Hoagy Carmichael himself in late '27. It has since been recorded well over 1000 times. Stardust has in an interesting melody and flow, and a fairly complicated chord structure. It is quickly becoming one of my favorite standards.
Stardust has been recorded by so many great artists, including John Coltrane, Bob Wills, Django Reinhardt, and Les Paul. Like many standards, it works great both as a vocal and as an instrumental. Many of my favorite musicians have recorded this song. My personal favorite version is Willie Nelson and Wynton Marsalis together for their Live from the Lincoln Jazz Center DVD and accompanying album.
The first recorded version, Hoagy Carmichael and His Pals:
Louis Armstrong recorded a great vocal version in 1931:
Ella Fitzgerald, from here 1954 album Songs in a Mellow Mood:
Willie Nelson recorded an album of standards in 1978 entitled Stardust. The album, which featured the Carmichael/Parish composition, was a huge cross-genre success:
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