Last month (January, 2002) we looked at the emergence of the concept of hit songs and the early popular song hits from the period 1890 to 1910. In addition, we introduced a new "In Search Of" article that explores the history of American popular music and hit songs from the persepective of a contemprary author in 1910. In those features we saw how popular music emerged and grew into an entertainment phenomenon and experienced some of the lasting hits that came from those years.

This month we continue our 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 we will provide a sampling of some of the most memorable songs from the period 1910 - 1920, a period when American music blossomed like never before and the number of hits each year grew by leaps and bounds. This period, perhaps more than any other in our musical development, established the pattern that would define American popular song for the future and resulted in arguably, more enduring hits than any period before and after. We will offer many new songs and point you to the many other hits we have already published. In addition, we will publish the conclusion of the "In Search Of" article from 1910 and add our own observations as to what make a lasting hit.

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!