These are the songs you've been singing your whole life, but you might not know who wrote them...
Setting the Standard: Stories from the Great American Songbook, a new podcast from Warner Chappell Music and Bang/Audiation, explores the stories behind some of the most influential and treasured songs ever written - the songs from the Great American Songbook. Replete with key interviews from a bevy of cultural icons such as Billy Corgan, Michael Feinstein, and Alan Bergman, this podcast grants the listener unparalleled access into the world of this formative era in music history.
Hosted by Joe Levy of Rolling Stone, Billboard, and VH1, each episode focuses on a different legendary songwriter or team, using historical sources intertwined with new interviews with scholars, critics, and family members to tell the stories of their lives, filtered through the lens of their most iconic songs.
EPISODE 1
HARRY WARREN
WRITTEN BY: HARRY WARREN
“At Last”, “Lullaby of Broadway”, “That’s Amore”. These are the songs you have been singing your whole life, and now is your chance to learn about who wrote them! In this week’s episode, come along and listen as we take a deep dive into the life and times of Harry Warren, one of the most prolific composers and lyricists in American musical history.
KEY INTERVIEWS
Billy Corgan (of the Smashing Pumpkins), Michael Feinstein, Julia Riva, Michael Lasser
EPISODE 2
JULE STYNE
WRITTEN BY: JULE STYNE
"People", “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend”, "Everything’s Coming Up Roses". These are the songs you have been singing your whole life, and now is your chance to learn about who wrote them! In this week’s episode, everything’s coming up Jule Styne, one of the undisputed architects of American musical theater.
KEY INTERVIEWS
James Kaplan, Michael Lasser, Alan Bergman, Sondra Lee
EPISODE 3
JOHNNY MERCER
WRITTEN BY: JOHNNY MERCER
“Moon River”, “Days of Wine and Roses”, “Hooray for Hollywood”. These are the songs you have been singing your whole life, and now is your chance to learn about who wrote them! In this week’s episode, we say hooray and honor of the life of four-time Oscar winner Johnny Mercer, preeminent songwriter whose poetic lyrics vividly captured the complexities of human experience.
KEY INTERVIEWS
James Kaplan, Paul Scahill, Alan Bergman, Will Friedwald, Glenn Eskew, Margaret Whiting
EPISODE 4
YIP HARBURG
WRITTEN BY: YIP HARBURG
“Paper Moon”, “Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?”, “Over the Rainbow”. These are the songs you have been singing your whole life, and now is your chance to learn about who wrote them! In this week’s episode, feast your ears on a wealth of knowledge as we pull back the curtain on Yip Harburg, “Broadway’s social conscience” who was unique among his peers for always integrating his worldviews into his shows and songs.
KEY INTERVIEWS
Ernie Harburg, Adam Gopnik, Walter Rimler, Deena Rosenberg, Rufus Wainwright
EPISODE 5
LERNER & LOEWE
WRITTEN BY: LERNER & LOEWE
“Wouldn’t It Be Loverly”, “Get Me to the Church on Time”, “If Ever I Would Leave You”. These are the songs you have been singing your whole life, and now is your chance to learn about who wrote them! This week’s episode is guaranteed to be “loverly”, as we dive headfirst into the life and times of Alan Jay Lerner & Frederick Loewe, one of the greatest songwriting teams in history responsible for the most stylish, sophisticated theater music of the 20th century.
KEY INTERVIEWS
Fred Dannen, Laurence Maslon, Emily Altman, Liza Lerner
EPISODE 6
COLE PORTER
WRITTEN BY: COLE PORTER
“You’re the Top”, “I’ve Got You Under My Skin”, “Night and Day”. These are the songs you have been singing your whole life, and now is your chance to learn about who wrote them! In this week’s episode, you’ll fall freely in love with Cole Porter, the master of melody and lyrics who changed the soundscape and language of American music - and America itself.
KEY INTERVIEWS
Adam Gopnik, Rob Kapilow, Elvis Costello, Justin Tranter
EPISODE 7
GEORGE & IRA GERSHWIN
WRITTEN BY: GEORGE & IRA GERSHWIN
“I Got Rhythm”, “Summertime”, “Rhapsody in Blue”. These are the songs you have been singing your whole life, and now is your chance to learn about who wrote them! In this week’s episode, the men you love are at the forefront: George and Ira Gershwin, brothers who wrote a plethora of immortal songs that both reflected and shaped the dynamic forces of American modernism during the Jazz Age.
KEY INTERVIEWS
Michael Feinstein, Bill Charlap, Anna Chelenza, Gary Giddins, Walter Rimler, Deena Rosenberg, Michael Lasser, Norm Lewis
EPISODE 8
HAROLD ARLEN
WRITTEN BY: HAROLD ARLEN
“Over the Rainbow”, “Get Happy”, “Come Rain or Come Shine”. These are the songs you have been singing your whole life, and now is your chance to learn about who wrote them! A key contributor to the Great American Songbook, composer Harold Arlen penned hundreds of pop tunes, many of which were runaway hits during the 1930s, 40s, and 50s.
KEY INTERVIEWS
Fredric Dannen, Gary Giddins, John Mauceri
