![]() ![]() He sang in what was basically his speaking voice, with a unique delivery and sense of phrasing that made him instantly recognizable. “What a Wonderful World” obviously qualifies.Īrmstrong, of course, was one of the originators of jazz, with an innovative ability on the trumpet and an idiosyncratic voice that changed the way so many jazz musicians looked at music. From songs as innocuous as “Happy Birthday to You” to deeper compositions like Paul Simon’s “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” this award is given each year to a song that, for better or worse, has permeated the American consciousness. ![]() To be selected for the Towering Song Award, a composition has to be recognized as “an individual song that has influenced our culture in a unique way over many years.” The first Towering Song Award was given in 1995, for Herman Hupfeld’s “As Time Goes By,” performed in the movie Casablanca by Dooley Wilson as the iconic character of Sam. ![]() Both men are gone now, but the song is what they are best known for in the pop world. He was a somewhat unlikely author of a piece that combined everyday lyrical sentiments with a memorable pop melody, given the fact that he excelled at an art form the general public has never embraced. But Bob Thiele was better known for his background with straight-ahead jazz giants like John Coltrane and Charles Mingus. George David Weiss knew a thing or two about popular songwriting, with a long track record in the big band world and on Broadway. “I see trees of green, red roses too/I see them bloom for me and you/And I think to myself what a wonderful world” – that’s the first verse, and it says more in 25 words than many songs say in their entirety. “What a Wonderful World,” like so many songs that resonate in perpetuity with the masses, expresses simple ideas in a simply constructed piece. Armstrong, sadly, was long dead by this time. In 1988 though, thanks to its inclusion in the Robin Williams movie Good Morning, Vietnam, “What a Wonderful World” finally claimed a spot on the U.S. ![]()
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