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Center for American Music Preservation
Presents
The list of tunes
chosen during
Carry A Tune Week
October 4-10, 2026
Please help support this yearly free web event
so it may continue
by
ordering music from any of these albums::
AMERICAN PLACES (classical piano)
CELESTIAL PRAISES (folk spirituals)
IT'S MAGIC (popular songs)
AMERICAN PLACES - Musical Travels
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CELESTIAL PRAISES -
A Celebration of Shaker Spirituals
"It's Magic" -
A One Hundredth Birthday Celebration of Sammy Cahn"
Watch on YouTube:
"High Hopes" sung by the whole cast
at the Sammy Cahn Centennial Concert in 2013
or order audio examples
from the
American Music Recordings Collection (AMRC)
List of Tunes
Note: some of the tunes listed below have been chosen in previous years
Unfortunately, only a few people participated in Carry A Tune Week 2026
despite it being announced on Facebook several times.
It appears that either folks are not interested
or
forget to send in even one favorite tune
during Tune Week
Only one person listed ten favorite tunes or themes.
Bravo, Jim!
Thank you to everyone for your tunes and descriptions
Most of the tunes chosen below
have music examples
click the added links for YouTube or other audio files
Patriotic Tunes = 4
"An American Trilogy"
"We Are Coming, Father Abra'am"
"Father and I went down to Camp" (Yankee Doodle)
"Lamentation Over Boston"
From Gail
"An American Trilogy"
Mickey Newbury is a songwriter most famous for a song he arranged, but did not write. One night in Los Angeles, at a time of national distress over war and race issues in the U.S.A., Newbury spontaneously combined a southern anthem (written by a northerner, D.D. Emmett), a northern anthem, and a third song that was originally a Jamaican slave song ("All My Sorrows"). In the audience that night were many celebrities, Odetta, Kris Kristofferson and Barbra Streisand among them. The trio of songs brought tears to Odetta's eyes. It came to be called An American Trilogy, and would be adopted by Elvis Presley as the centerpiece of his later concerts.
This clip is an extra from LIVE AT THE HERMITAGE, the new Mickey Newbury DVD, and features Marie Rhines on violin.
The clip is uploaded with the permission of the Newbury family, and the DVD is available in the store at www.mickeynewbury.com
YouTube examples:
Elvis Presley vocal -
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=u8L4ZZ1fweE&pp=ygUTYW4gYW1lcmljYW4gdHJpbG9neQ%3D%3D
From Jim
"We Are Coming, Father Abra'am" (1864). Lyrics by James S. Gibbons
Music settings by several composers, including L.O. Emerson
and Stephen Foster.
The original poem was in response to President Lincoln's call
for 300.000 Union volunteers in the Civil War.Stephen Foster version -- sung by The Old Stoughton Musical Society Chorus
From Roger
This early patriotic song from the American Revolution was sung to the popular tune of "Yankee Doodle"and unlike other versions that remain anonymous, the words to this song have been credited to Edward Bangs,
a Harvard college student at that time who grduated in 1777 and became a lawyer.
An arrangement was made of this tune by Williams Arms Fisher in the collection
"The Music That Washington Knew" (Oliver Ditson Co., 1931)
That arrangement is sung here by singers from the oldest choral society in the USA, organized in 1786
The Old Stoughton Musical Society Chorus --
"Father and I Went Down To Camp" (Yankee Doodle) (1776)
William Billings (1746-1800)
wrote over 300 tunes
and is considered Father of American Song
My tune choice is this Billings song
one of greatest
early American protest songs:
"Lamentation Over Boston" (1778)
It was supposedly co-written
with Boston's fiery Patriot of the American Revolution, Samuel Adams.
Billings cleverly used the opening words of the Psalm 137
which begins: "By the rivers of Babylon"
but Billings changed it to reflect the local Boston conflict
which begins: "By the rivers of Watertown"
(a Massachusetts town)
Here is this early protest song with lyrics included on the page
sung by the Summer Fling Singers
YouTube: "Lamentation Over Boston"
Read about William Billings - Father of American Song -- here
Religious Tunes = 4
"Precious Lord, Take My Hand"
"Lift Every Voice and Sing"
"Creator God, We Give You Thanks""
"Gentle Words"
From Gail
Gospel Song:
"Precious Lord Take My Hand
about this gospel song by Thomas Andrew Dorsey (1938)
YouTube:
From Jim
"Lift Every Voice and Sing" (1900)
Lyrics by James Weldon Johnson,
Music by J. Rosamund Johnson.This uplifting hymn was soon promoted by the NAACP
and is still called
"The Black National Anthem."YouTube: hymn with the lyrics
YouTube: about the hymn
From Roger
"Creator God" (Op. 25)
This choir anthem was based
on a hymn I wrote in 1973 subtitled:
" Hymn to the Environment"In 1993 I arranged it
for SATB Chorus
and dedicated it in memory
of a musician friend, John D. Herr, former Director of
Plymouth Church Choir
who sang it in his memoryYouTube:
"Creator God"
sung by Plymouth Church Choir,
Shaker Heights, Ohio
"Gentle Words" (ca. 1867)
words and tune by
Sister Polly M. Rupe
Shaker Community
at Pleasant Hill, KentuckyThe appealing melody and beautiful poetic words are very meaningful for today in a world in need of many more --
"gentle words kindly spoken"My SATB arrangement
(Op. 7, No. 1)
of this Shaker song:YouTube:
performed by Plymouth Church Choir,
Shaker Heights, Ohio
"
Folk Tunes = 3
"Deportee or "Plane Wreck at Los Gatos"
"Doodle Dandy"
"The Fate of John Burgoyne"
From Jim
"Deportee" or "Plane Wreck at Los Gatos."
Lyrics by Woody Guthrie (1948)
Music by Martin Hoffman (c.1958).The song was made famous by Pete Seeger and
has been recorded by at least 30 musicians.
This lament and protest song for immigrant Mexican workers
is especially relevant today.YouTube:
From Roger
These two folk ballads were included in a webinar
I presented in July 2026 titled:
"Revolutionary Tunes:
Songs of Americas's Fight for Independence"
Two ballads from the American Revolution
"Doodle Dandy" -
a lively folk ballad from
the time of the American Revolutionboth ballads sung by Tony Saletan
accompanied by Irene Saletan and Paul Cole
from an old LP album, "Revolutionary Tea"
Popular Tunes = 6
"The Imposiible Dream"
"All Alone"
"Blue Bayou"
"Try to Remember"
"Crazy"
"Dream World"
From Gail
"The Impossible Dream"
YouTube:
Pat Boone "The Impossible Dream"
at the Roger Williams 100th Commemorative Birthday ConcertYouTube:
From Jim
"All Alone" by Irving Berlin (1924). Even if the lyrics may be "dated" this song but it still sounds good.
YouTube: song sung by Pat Boone
"Blue Bayou" by Roy Orbison (1963). It was one of high tenor Orbison's many hit recordings.
Then Linda Ronstadt made it an even bigger hit in 1977.YouTube: sung by Roy Orbison with lyrics
YouTube: official lyric video with Linda Ronstadt
"Try to Remember" Lyrics by Tom Jones & Music by Harvey Schmidt (1960) from their musical play, "The Fantasticks." There have been popular recordings by many singers, including Ed Ames.
YouTube: sung by Harry Belafonte with the lyrics
YouTube: sung by Ed Ames with lyrics
"Crazy" by Willie Nelson (1961). Nelson made a demo of this song that attracted little attention.
Later in 1961 Patsy Cline's record was an enormous hit and is still popular.
Nelson said that when he was writing this song the working title was "Stupid."
It's hard to believe that would have been a hit!YouTube: sung by Willie Nelson with lyrics
:YouTube: sung by Patsy Cline in 1961:
From Roger
This year is the 60th anniversary
of my first pop song, "Dream World"
It was written while I was in the US Army
stationed in Frankfurt, Germany
and I wrote it at a time when the Berlin Wall was erected
and we were told that a war with Russia mighrt be coming soon.A tape recording was made with three Army buddies:
Jake - lead vocal and guitar
Larry - backup vocal
Roger - backup vocal and bongosHere is the somewhat primitive tape recording
recorded in the Army barracks in 1961 forMy first book in the Memories And Music series
is titled after my first pop song
Classical Themes or Songs = 4
"Overture to CANDIDE"
"A Trumpeter's Lullaby"
"Grand Canyon Suite - On The Trail"
"The dark night is ending"
From Gail
Overture to CANDIDE
YouTube: Candide Overture
From Jim
"A Trumpeter's Lullaby" by Leroy Anderson (1949)
A lovely tune by Anderson that is seldom heard, for some reason. Trumpeters who have recorded it include Wynton Marsalis.
YouTube: "A Trumpeter's Lullaby" with Wynton Marsalis
"Grand Canyon Suite - On The Trail" by Ferde Grofe (1931)
Grofe was born in New York City to German immigrants and received his music education in Europe. The "Suite" originally was five tone poems inspired by the Grand Canyon, written between 1929 and 1931. The music is dramatically descriptive. Teachers often use its recordings to introduce young pupils to orchestra music. Grofe was a multi-talented musician. He in fact wrote the standard orchestration for George Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue."
YouTube: "Grand Cantyon Suite" - III. On The Trail
YouTube: "Grand Canyon Suite" Complete - Conducted by Ferde Grofe
From Roger
"The dark night is ending" (Op. 19)
I arranged this song based on a Gregorian chant tune
with words from a poem by John Greenleaf Whittier
for my one act play, THE MUSICAL TELEPHONE
which was based on a chapter
from Edward Bellamy's futuristic novel from 1888,
LOOKING BACKWARDMy play features two characters:
Julian West played by Greg Bazaz
Edith Leete played by Dorothy Yanish
Audio example 1:
"The dark night is ending"
from THE MUSICAL TELEPHONE (1988)
sung by Dorothy YanishAudio example 2:
"The dark night is ending'
keyboard arrangement
Film Music = 5
Film - 1776 - "The Egg"
"Stardust" from SLEEPLESS IN SEATTLE & GOODFELLAS
"Gift from the sea" from PAPILLON
"Hooray For Hollywood" from HOLLYWOOD HOTEL
"Song of the Dawn" from THE KING OF JAZZ
From Gail
Film: 1776 - "The Egg"
words & music by Sherman Edwards
Benjamin Franklin (Howard da Silva)
John Adams (William Daniels)
Thomas Jefferson (Ken Howard)They consider the country they're birthing in this song from the film musical based on the
Tony Award winning Broadway show
by Sherman Edwards - a former schoolteacher
From Jim
"Stardust" (1927-28). Music by Hoagy Carmichael, Lyrics by Mitchell Parish.
This poignant love song is universally popular for good reasons.
It has been recorded dozens of times, notably by Frank Sinatra
and Nat King Cole -
YouTube:
"Stardust" with the lyrics
The music has been featured in movies of several types, from
"Sleepless in Seattle" to "Goodfellas."
From K.H.
"Gift from the sea" from PAPILLON (1973)
YouTube:
"Gift from the sea" from PAPILLON
music by Jerry Goldsmith
From Roger
"Hooray For Hollywood"
from HOLLYWOOD HOTEL (1937)I always enjoy hearing this fun movie song
and especially how it is sung in the 1937 movie.I played the song several times on "Music America"
on WGBH radio in Boston
when presenting a program of movie music.
I showed a clip from this movie
to my adult education class
and one senior remembered seeing this movie
when it was first released back in 1937
and she really enjoyed it.
What a memory!This song is also the title of my new illustrated PDF book,
"Hooray For Hollywood"
from HOLLYWOOD HOTEL (1937)YouTube:
From the original film
with the song sung by Johnny "Scat" Davis
with Benny Goodman and His Band
"Song of the Dawn"
Music by Milton Ager/Lyrics by Jack Yellen
This song was featured in the extravagant
early two-strip Technicolor music revue film
THE KING OF JAZZ (1930)Read about this musical revue on Wikipedia
This film included a performance of George Gershwin's
RHAPSODY IN BLUE with Paul Whiteman's Orchestra
who had given the premiere in 1924
"Song of the Dawn"
is sung in the film by John Boles
and the words are meant to express a brighter day ahead
after the Stock Market crash
only a year earlier in 1929.
The song was later recorded
by Bing Crosby with King of Jazz Chorus
YouTube:
"Song of the Dawn" sung by John Boles from THE KING OF JAZZ
"Song of the Dawn" sung by Bing Crosby
Total number of tunes
in the 2026 survey = 26
Total tunes chosen
from 2001 to 2026 = 566
Centennial Tributes:
Leroy Anderson (classical-crossover composer)
Gene Autry (western singer-songwriter)
Walter Schumann (film composer)
Jimmy Stewart (actor, singer)
See this catalogue of AMRC CDs:
American Music Recordings Collection
Please help support the mission of
The American Tune Lovers Society
Order your books, CDs and DVDs at the
Contact - National Carry A Tune Week
© 2026 PineTree Productions. All Rights Reserved for this material.