NPR 100—Most Influential Musical Pieces

National Public Radio released “The 100 Most Important American Musical Works of the 20th Century” in 2000 featuring interviews, commentaries and other findings about these classics. The abbreviated list is below, but definitely check out the complete list to hear clips.

1. “Adagio for Strings”—Samuel Barber, 1938. Made famous by the films Platoon and The Elephant Man.
2. “Ain’t That a Shame”—Fats Domino, 1955.
3. “Alexander’s Ragtime Band”—Irving Berlin
4. “All or Nothing At All”—Frank Sinatra, 1939.
5. “Appalachian Spring”—Aaron Copland
6. “As Time Goes By”—Herman Hupfeld, 1931. Made famous by the film Casablanca.
7. “Back in the Saddle Again”—Ray Whitley, 1938. Made famous by the actor Gene Autry.
8. “Blowin’ in the Wind”—Bob Dylan. Made famous by the musical group Peter, Paul and Mary.
9. “Blue Moon of Kentucky”—Bill Monroe, 1946.
10. “Blue Suede Shoes”—Carl Perkins, 1956.
11. “Body and Soul”—Coleman Hawkins, 1939.
12. Born to Run (Album)—Bruce Springsteen, 1975.
13. A Chorus Line (Musical)—Edward Kleban and Marvin Hamlish, 1975.
14. “Coal Miner’s Daughter”—Loretta Lynn
15. “Crazy”—Willie Nelson, 1961. Made famous by the singer Patsy Cline.
16. “Django”—John Lewis (leader of The Modern Jazz Quartet)
17. “Dream a Little Dream of Me”—Cass Elliot and The Mamas and the Papas.
18. Drumming—Steve Reich, 1971.
19. Fiddler on the Roof (Musical)—Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick, 1964.
20. “Fine and Mellow”—Billie Holiday, 1957.
21. “Fire and Rain”—James Taylor, 1970.
22. “Foggy Mountain Breakdown”—Earl Scruggs, 1967. Made famous by the film Bonnie and Clyde.
23. “4:33”—Will Hermes, 1952.
24. “Give My Regards to Broadway”—George M. Cohan, 1904. Made famous by the musical Little Johnny Jones.
25. Gone with the Wind (Film Score)—Max Steiner, 1939.
26. “Good Vibrations”—Brian Wilson. Made famous by the musical group The Beach Boys.
27. Graceland (Album)—Paul Simon.
28. Grand Canyon Suite—Ferde Grofe, 1931.
29. “Great Balls of Fire”—Jerry Lee Lewis
30. “The Great Pretender”—The Platters
31. Guys & Dolls (Musical)—1950.
32. “Hellhound On My Trail”—Robert Johnson, 1937.
33. “Hello, Dolly”—Louis Armstrong, 1963.
34. “His Eye is on the Sparrow”—Mahalia Jackson, mid-1950s.
35. “Hoochie Coochie Man”—Willie Dixon, 1954. Made famous by Muddy Waters.
36. “Hound Dog” & “Don’t be Cruel”—Elvis Presley, 1956.
37. “I Got Rhythm”—George and Ira Gershwin
38. “I Walk the Line”—Rodney Crowell. Made famous by the singer Johnny Cash.
39. “I Wanna Be Sedated”—The Ramones, 1976.
40. “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry”—Hank Williams, 1949.
41. “In the Mood”—Glenn Miller, 1939.
42. “(Goodnight) Irene”—Leadbelly, 1930s. Revived by the singer Pete Seeger.
43. Kind of Blue (Album)—Miles Davis
44. “King Porter Stomp”—Jelly Roll Morton, early 1900s.
45. “Koko”—Charlie Parker
46. “La Bamba”—Richie Valens, 1958.
47. “Let’s Stay Together”—Al Green, 1971.
48. “Light My Fire”—The Doors (Ray Manzarek, John Densmore, Robbie Krieger and Jim Morrison), 1967.
49. “Like a Rolling Stone”—Bob Dylan, 1960s.
50. A Love Supreme (Album)—John Coltrane, 1964.
51. “Mack the Knife”—Louis Armstrong and Bobby Darin
52. “Maybellene”—Chuck Berry, 1955.
53. “Mood Indigo”—Duke Ellington
54. My Fair Lady (Musical)—Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe, 1956.
55. “My Funny Valentine”—Richard Rodgers and Lorenz (Larry) Hart, 1937.
56. “My Girl”—Smokey Robinson, 1964. Made famous by the musical group the Temptations.
57. “Night and Day”—Cole Porter
58. “A Night in Tunisia”—Dizzy Gillespie, 1942.
59. Oklahoma! (Musical)—Richard Rodgers, 1943.
60. “Once in a Lifetime”—Talking Heads, 1980.
61. “One O’Clock Jump”—Count Basie Orchestra, 1937.
62. “Oye Como Va”—Tito Puente. Made famous by the musical group Santana.
63. “Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag”—James Brown, 1960s.
64. “Peggy Sue”—Buddy Holly
65. Porgy & Bess (Opera)—Gershwin brothers opera
66. Psycho (Film Score)—Bernard Hermann, 1960.
67. “Purple Haze”—Jimi Hendrix, 1966.
68. “Rapper’s Delight”—Sugar Hill Gang (Big Bank Hank, Wonder Mike and Master Gee)
69. “Respect”—Otis Redding. Made famous by the singer Aretha Franklin
70. “Rhapsody in Blue”—George Gershwin
71. “Rock Around the Clock”—Bill Haley, 1954.
72. ” ‘Round Midnight”—Thelonious Monk, 1938.
73. “Route 66”—Bobby Troup. Made famous by the singer Nat King Cole.
74. “St. Louis Blues”—W.C. Handy, 1914. Made famous by the 1925 recording by Bessie Smith with cornet accompaniment by Louis Armstrong.
75. Showboat (Musical)—Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein, 1927.
76. “Sing, Sing, Sing”—Benny Goodman and His Orchestra, 1938.
77. “Singin’ in the Rain”
78. “Sittin’ On the Dock of the Bay”—Otis Redding and Steve Cropper
79. “Smells Like Teen Spirit”—Kurt Cobain of Nirvana, 1991.
80. “Stand By Your Man”—Tammy Wynette, 1968.
81. “Star Dust”—Hoagy Carmichael, 1927.
82. “Symphony of Psalms”—Igor Stravinsky, 1929.
83. “Take Five”—The Dave Brubeck Quartet
84. “Take My Hand, Precious Lord”
85. “Take the ‘A’ Train”—Billy Strayhorn, 1938. Made famous by musician Duke Ellington
86. Talking Book (Album)—Stevie Wonder
87. Tapestry (Album)—Carole King
88. “Theme from Shaft“—Isaac Hayes, 1969.
89. “This Land is Your Land”—Woody Guthrie, 1951.
90. “Tom Dooley”—The Kingston Trio, 1958.
91. The Velvet Underground and Nico (Album)—Lou Reed
92. Warner Brothers Cartoon Music—Carl Stalling
93. “We Shall Overcome”—Made famous as a civil rights anthem in the early 1960s.
94. “West End Blues”—Joe King Oliver. Made famous by Louis Armstrong.
95. West Side Story (Musical)—Composer Leonard Bernstein, lyricist Stephen Sondheim, director and choreographer Jerome Robbins, and playwright Arthur Laurents. 1960s.
96. “What’d I Say”—Ray Charles, 1959.
97. “What’s Going On”—Marvin Gaye, 1971.
98. “White Christmas”—Irving Berlin. Made famous by the films Holiday Inn and White Christmas and crooner Bing Crosby.
99. “Wildwood Flower”—The Carter Family
100. The Wizard of Oz (Film Score)—Harold Arlen and Yip Harburg