Whiskey in the Jar-O is a traditional Irish song set in the southern mountains of Ireland. The song is a traditional Irish and Scottish song. The song usually takes place in various Irish locales, especially Kerry, Cork and Lilmoganny. Some performers use other locales, especially those in America. The song tells the story of a Read More
Endless Love
Endless Love was written by Lionel Richie. He originally recorded the popular ballad as a duo with Diana Ross for Motown in 1981. The song remained at number one for nine weeks when it was first released. Billboard named their version as the greatest song duet of all time. The song was used for the Read More
{They Long to Be} Close to You
{They Long to Be} Close to You was written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David. The song was first released in 1963 by Richard Chamberlain as They Long to be Close to You. In 1964, Dionne Warwick recorded a Burt Bacharach arrangement of the song. In 1971, Bacharach recorded his own version of the song. Read More
Love Is a Many Splendored Thing
Love is a Many Splendored Thing was written by Sammy Fain and Paul Francis Webster for the 1955 film by the same name. The song was also used for the soap opera Love Is a Many Splendored Thing, which was based on the movie, and ran from 1967 to 1973. The song won the Oscar Read More
Unchained Melody
Alex North was an American composer who wrote the scores for numerous films such as A Streetcar Named Desire, Cleopatra, Spartacus, and Who’s Afraid of Virginia Wolf? In 1954, he was contacted to write a score for a prison film Unchained. While working on the score, he was asked to write a song based on Read More
The Ballad of Cassey Jones
The song tells the story of train engineer Cassey Jones, who stayed on his locomotive, to try to stop the train from running into another, while his fireman jumps to safety. The song not only preserved his memory but enhanced his legendary status. The song was first sung by Jones friend Wallace Saunders, shortly after Read More
Oh Shenandoah
Oh, Shenandoah is a folk song with unknown origins. The song is believed to date back to the early 19th Century, originating with the Canadian and American fur traders traveling down the Missouri River in canoes. The earliest versions of the song refer to a trader falling in love with a daughter of one of the Read More
Red River Valley
Another popular American folk song is Red River Valley. As with many folk songs the origin is unknown. The earliest known manuscript of the lyrics is titled “The Red River Valley” and has the notations “Nemaha 1879” and “Harlan 1885.” “Nemaha and Harlan are the names of counties in Nebraska and are also the names Read More
On Top of Old Smokey
On Top of Old Smokeyis a song many of my residents enjoy singing. The song is an American folk song, which was passed down through the generations. Only when these songs began to be written down around the early 20th Century, was the song preserved for prosperity. Throughout the years of World War I, Cecil Read More
Let’s Start the New Year Right
Let’s Start the New Year Right is a song by Irving Berlin. The film was written for the movie Holiday Inn, which starred Bing Crosby, Virginia Dale, Marjorie Reynolds and Fred Astaire. The film features each of the holidays throughout the year and Berlin seems to have written this song specifically for the New Year’s Read More