For the love of Branson: The great American songbook

     As we celebrate America’s 250th birthday this year, Branson has its own signature way of commemorating that occasion. Not only do we consider ourselves the most patriotic city in America but we also know a little something about being a music town as well. When you think about all the things that make America special, its songbook, those almost civic hymns that we all know and cherish stand out to me. 

     In fact, I have always had this contention that the very American songbook I am referring to, especially from 1950 to 1990 is the greatest collection of art in human history. Some may think that is housed in the Louvre or even the Library of Congress, but I believe the greatest collection of art has lived for decades on our radios and in our concert halls. 

     The ‘50s, ‘60s, ‘70s, ‘80s, and early ‘90s of American music all had their own flair, but taken together as a whole it became the soundtrack of the entire world. The crossroads of country western, rock & roll, R&B, jazz and the blues made the American genres both unique and complementary of each other. But most of all, people remember the songs. 

     In Branson, we have also gone through different eras of music. The boom of the 1990s brought us those great country stars like Mel Tillis and Roy Clark. However, people often use that fact to diminish what happens on a Branson stage nowadays. And I’m here to tell you, that if you go to a Branson show now, you’ll find that the songs are the star! That’s why Branson has gone from predominantly country to celebrating all kinds of music. A Baby Boomer couple will dance in their seats along to “Signed, Sealed, Delivered” and the ladies will swoon at just about every Elvis tune they hear as they think back to their teenage days growing up all over this country. 

This year, to celebrate America’s semiquincentennial, CBS News compiled a group of experts in the field and musicians alike to come up with the 250 essential American songs. Branson’s own Andy Williams made the list with his iconic “Moon River” and it wouldn’t have been complete without one of the greatest country songs ever written “Wichita Lineman” by Glen Campbell who also owned a theatre in Branson.

The list also included the Americana classics like “This Land Is Your Land” and “The Battle Hymn of the Republic,” along with my personal favorites such as “Come Sail Away” by Styx and “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” iconically performed by Judy Garland. Because, you see, that’s what makes the American songbook so special. It includes iconic tunes from black performers, white performers, men, women and even some children like The Jackson 5. You have songs about this country like “California Dreamin’,” “Georgia On My Mind,” and “New York, New York.” You have songs about cowboys, vagabonds, coal miner’s daughters, fortunate sons and kings of the road. 

  So what brings them all together in one solitary collection? It might be the nostalgia they inspire or the paths they lead us down. Bill Clinton might stand on a convention stage with “Don’t Stop Thinkin’ About Tomorrow” blaring in the background and it might mean different things to different people. But all in all they’re American, all in all they’re as eclectic as we are, and you can hear just about all of them on a Branson stage! 

“Can You Hear the People Sing?” because “Tomorrow, They’ll Be More of Us.”