In the music industry, ever since around 1890, we have seen the concept of "hit songs"; those that sell the most copies or in today's environment, sell the most CDs or get the most radio play. In most cases, "hit" songs come and go. Like a spring snow, they come and are soon gone and forgotten. Some are like a flash in the pan, a very short lived phenomenon, others hang on a little longer, but few endure over a span of years. Fewer yet stay in the popular repertoire for decades.

This month we begin a two part look at enduring hits; classic American songs that have enjoyed continuous popularity for decades, and now, many for over a century! These are songs that are immediately recognized by a large part of the population. Songs that many people could sing with little or no coaching that somehow have become embedded in our culture and have transcended the times in which they were written.

This month (January, 2002), we will begin with a sampling of some of the most memorable songs from the period 1890 - 1910. We will offer many new songs and point you to the many other hits we have already published. Next month, we will look at the period from 1910 to 1920, a period where lasting hits exploded on the scene in numbers never before or since seen in American popular music. We have also added a new "in search of" article that explores the concept of hit songs in more depth and from a contemporary 1910 perspective.

IMPORTANT NOTICE: Sibelius have created an Active-X Scorch player that works with MSIE. In March we implemented the Active-X version and MSIE users who click on a scorch link or cover are automatically directed to a download and registration. Once done, you will not have to go through the download again and all MSIE users will have Scorch functionality. It will only take a minute and you'll be glad you did it! We hope you don't find it to be annoying.

Netscape and Opera users may continue to use the Scorch 2 plug-in player available from Sibelius at the Sibelius download site The Scorch player allows you to fully experience the music at our site. Scorch is a plug in for your browser (or an Active-x player) that will allow you to not only listen to our songs but to view the playing, real time on sheet music WITH LYRICS! Though we often find plug-ins to be annoying, this is one that we guarantee will be well worth the time to download and install. If you are not automatically directed to the Active-x version, download the Scorch player from Sibelius right now, then enjoy an astounding musical experience! The player is available for Mac and PC. Just click on the button below to go to the Sibelius site and get your free plug-in.

WEB-TV USERS! We know that the Scorch player will not work with WEB-TV and will continue to provide midi versions of our songs for you. For your added enjoyment we have now added viewable lyrics to our feature. Simply click the "Lyrics" link to see the full lyrics for the song you are listening to.

As with most of our features, this month's is covered on two separate pages to speed your downloads and to avoid a mile-long page. Be sure to see them BOTH to fully enjoy all of this month's music!