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From: steiny@idsvax.UUCP (Don Steiny)
Newsgroups: net.music
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Lyrics to American Pie (worst song)
Message-ID: <164@idsvax.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 13-Jun-85 01:12:50 EDT
Article-I.D.: idsvax.164
Posted: Thu Jun 13 01:12:50 1985
Date-Received: Thu, 13-Jun-85 06:41:27 EDT
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Organization: Independent Consultant - C/UNIX, Natural Language
Lines: 37

>
> that this song is a CLASSIC.  

	Of what?  Top 40?
> 
> By the way,  what would you say the best song ever is?
> 
	I really never thought that there could be such a
thing, but perhaps "Summertime" from "Porgy and Bess" 
by George Gershwin would be a good candidate.  
This would be based on the fact that
since it was first performed in 1935 to now the song has been
performed by countless musicians in many musical forms.  From
its origin as a show tune it has been performed by jazz
artists, folk artists, and rock artists (Janis Joplin did
an ass-kicking version).   It is a universal song, it trancends
age group, race, musical category, time, and place.  

	If people do interpretations of a song, and many musicians
like a song, so they all know how to play it, the song endures.
"American Pie" is hardly a song that musicians struggle to learn
so they can play with better musicians.    I would consider 
"great songs" songs like "Mood Indigo" and "Caravan"  by Duke 
Ellington (to name two of his great songs),  "Salt Creek,"
"I am a Pilgrim," "16 Tons," and other songs that are widely
known by musicians.   

	One would not expect the folks at the
Cotton Club getting down with a Otis Redding type belting
out "American Pie."  It is hard to imagine anyone but
Don McKlean singing it.   It was a great media event,
but it is hard to argue that it is a good song. 

pesnta!idsvax!steiny
Don Steiny - Computational Linguistics
109 Torrey Pine Terr.  Santa Cruz, Calif. 95060
(408) 425-0832