Songs of the Century


The "Songs of the Century" list is part of an education project by the Recording Industry Association of America, the National Endowment for the Arts, and Scholastic Inc. that aims to "promote a better understanding of America's musical and cultural heritage" in American schools. Hundreds of voters, who included elected officials, people from the music industry and from the media, teachers, and students, were asked in 2001 by the NEA and the RIAA to choose the top 365 songs of the 20th century with historical significance in mind. RIAA selected the voters, and about 15% of the 1,300 selected voters responded.

The list

The list of the top 25 songs, in the order of votes received. Each song is followed by the name of the artist who made the most notable recording of the song.
RankTitleArtistYear
1"Over the Rainbow"Judy Garland1939
2"White Christmas" Bing Crosby1942
3"This Land Is Your Land"Woody Guthrie1940
4"Respect" Aretha Franklin1967
5"American Pie"Don McLean1972
6"Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" The Andrews Sisters1941
7West Side Story Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim1957
8"Take Me Out to the Ball Game" Billy Murray1908
9"You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" The Righteous Brothers1964
10"The Entertainer"Scott Joplin1902
11"In the Mood" Glenn Miller Orchestra1940
12"Rock Around the Clock" Bill Haley & His Comets1954
13"She Loves You"The Beatles1964
14"You Are My Sunshine"Jimmie Davis1939
15"Mack the Knife" Bobby Darin1959
16" Satisfaction"The Rolling Stones1965
17"Take the 'A' Train" Duke Ellington Orchestra1941
18"Blueberry Hill" Fats Domino1956
19"God Bless America"Kate Smith1938
20"The Stars and Stripes Forever"Sousa's Band1897
21"I Heard It Through the Grapevine" Marvin Gaye1968
22" The Dock of the Bay" Otis Redding1967
23"I Left My Heart in San Francisco" Tony Bennett1962
24"Good Vibrations" The Beach Boys1966
25"Stand by Me" Ben E. King1961

Criticism

, director of the ARChive of Contemporary Music, said pop music genres such as electronic dance music, punk rock, and rap were given short shrift. An informal survey of CBS News producers indicated surprise at some of the choices on the list. NPR's Talk of the Nation highlighted songs that were excluded from the RIAA list but were on a similar list produced by NPR the same year. One song that was highlighted was George Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue".