It has taken a long while, but at this point, I think you can hear the ‘classic’ element of the Great American Songbook changing significantly.

As 1950 rolled around, the songs acquired a different sense of expression, retaining their universal appeal but taking on a deliberative style that began to sound as though they were frozen in aspic. It took thirty years, but the Songbook was starting to become as much a style as it had been a expressive talent.

Featured tracks include:

Baby It’s Cold Outside – Ray Charles and Betty Carter

My Dream Is Yours – Doris Day

Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend – T-Bone Burnett

My Foolish Heart – Bill Evans

From This Moment On – Sarah Vaughan

In the Cool, Cool, Cool of the Evening – Dean Martin

I Talk to the Trees – The Smothers Brothers

They Call the Wind Mariah – Sam Cooke

Unforgettable – Nat King Cole

When I Fall in Love – The Miles Davis Quintet

Here’s That Rainy Day – Bob Dylan