Help: World record for most songs memorized

Subject: World record for most songs memorized
From: wilco
Date: 19 Aug 02 - 01:39 PM

Is five thousand a record? I jam with a fellow regularly who is in his seventies. He retired, after thirty-five years, as a bar musician. He played in Chicago (Illinois USA). He is a very nice guy, and cna play just about any old country song from the 1930's through the 1970's. He says that he used to know around 5000 songs. He's fun to listen to, because someone can ask him to play an old song, and he'll know who wrote it, who recorded it, who played on it, and what was on the "flip side." Sometime, the prople will only remeber a lyric or two. I will ask him about obscure country songs and singers (like Mollie O'Day), and he'll play all of them.

Subject: RE: Help: World record for most songs memorized
From: Genie
Date: 19 Aug 02 - 02:17 PM

Wow, Wilco! I've run into some very knowledgeable old musicians and music lovers (among the many seniors for whom I do music regularly)--and I've memorized over 2000 songs myself, as well as lots of music trivia--but your friend beats all the rest of us by a country mile! (Where do you folks jam, BTW?)

Genie

Subject: RE: Help: World record for most songs memorized
From:
Date: 19 Aug 02 - 02:17 PM

Can you give me a good web site where I can find the lyrics to songs from the 1920s to current. I'm also looking to the lyrics to a song from the early 1920s titled "You Know You Belong to Somebody Else" I have most of the lyrics but am missing a prase or two. Please reply if you can help. Thank you.

Subject: RE: Help: World record for most songs memorized
From: GUEST,Gene
Date: 19 Aug 02 - 07:09 PM

I recently found this cassette set of Early 30s tunes at a thrift shop and converted to MP3s and also burned to CD

EARLY 30s 6 cd

EARLY 30's T1A
T1A-30's - 01-Hot Lips
T1A-30's - 02-You're The Top
T1A-30's - 03-Object Of My Affection
T1A-30's - 04-Blue Moon
T1A-30's - 05-Cocktails For Two
T1A-30's - 06-I Only Have Eyes For You
T1A-30's - 07-Let's Fall In Love
T1A-30's - 08-You Oughta Be In Pictures
T1A-30's - 09-Don't Let It Bother You
T1A-30's - 10-Heat Wave
T1A-30's - 11-P.S. I Love You
T1A-30's - 12-Tumbling Tumbleweeds
T1A-30's - 13-St. Louis Blues
T1A-30's - By A Waterfall

MP3 EARLY 30's T1B

T1B-30's - 01-42nd Street
T1B-30's - 02-Easter Parade
T1B-30's - 03-Sophiscated Lady
T1B-30's - 04-A Dream Walking
T1B-30's - 05-We're In The Money
T1B-30's - 06-It's Only A Paper Moon
T1B-30's - 07-You're Getting To Be A Habit
T1B-30's - 08-Stormy Weather
T1B-30's - 09-Have You Ever Been Lonely
T1B-30's - 10-Smoke Gets In Your Eyes
T1B-30's - 11-Now's The Time To Fall In Love
T1B-30's - 12-Auf Wiedersehn My Dear
T1B-30's - 13-Fit As A Fiddle
T1B-30's - 14-Prisoner Of Love

MP3 EARLY 30's T2A

T2A-30's - 01-Mimi
T2A-30's - 02-Night & Day
T2A-30's - 03-Blue Of Night Meets Gold Of Day
T2A-30's - 04-Willow Weep For Me
T2A-30's - 05-One Hour With You
T2A-30's - 06-Paradise
T2A-30's - 07-All Of Me
T2A-30's - 08-Tiger Rag
T2A-30's - 09-Star Dust
T2A-30's - 10-Sweet & Lovely
T2A-30's - 11-Dancing In The Dark
T2A-30's - 12-Sing Something Simple
T2A-30's - 13-Love Letters In The Sand
T2A-30's -14-I Surrender Dear

MP3 EARLY 30's T2B

T2B-30's - 01-Minnie The Moocher
T2B-30's - 02-I Found A Million Dollar Baby
T2B-30's - 03-Dream A Little Dream Of Me
T2B-30's - 04-I Don't Know Why
T2B-30's - 05-Walking My Baby Back Home
T2B-30's - 06-Would You Like To Take A Walk
T2B-30's - 07-On The Sunny Side Of The Street
T2B-30's - 08-Little White Lies
T2B-30's - 09-Get Happy
T2B-30's - 10-Three Little Words
T2B-30's - 11-Body And Soul
T2B-30's - 12-Beyond The Blue Horizon
T2B-30's - 13-Happy Days Are Here Again
T2B-30's - 14-It's A Lonesome Old Town

MP3 EARLY 30's T3A

T2A-30's -01-Stein Song
T2A-30's -02-Waltz You Saved For Me
T2A-30's -03-Puttin' On The Ritz
T2A-30's -04-Georgia On My Mind
T2A-30's -05-All I Do Is Dream Of You
T2A-30's -06-Muskrat Ramble
T2A-30's -07-Mood Indigo
T2A-30's -08-Anything Goes
T2A-30's -09-Good Night Sweetheart
T2A-30's -10-Au Revoir Pleasant Dreams
T2A-30's -11-Falling In Love Again
T2A-30's -12-Dinah
T2A-30's -13-Stay As Sweet As You Are
T2A-30's -14When I Take My Sugar To Tea

MP3 EARLY 30's T3B

T3B-30's -01-Something To Remember You By
T3B-30's -02-My Melancholy Baby
T3B-30's -03-There Is A Tavern In The Town
T3B-30's -04-There's Nothing Too Good For My Baby
T3B-30's -05-Lazybones
T3B-30's -06-Please Don't Talk About Me
T3B-30's -07-Let Me Call You Sweetheart
T3B-30's -08-Mandy
T3B-30's -09-The Man From The South
T3B-30's -10-I Get A Kick Out Of You
T3B-30's -11-The Very Thought Of You
T3B-30's -12-I Got Rhythm
T3B-30's -13-My Old Flame
T3B-30's -14-Sweet Georgia Brown

Subject: RE: Help: World record for most songs memorized
From: Murray MacLeod
Date: 19 Aug 02 - 07:18 PM

My experience is that very few people can perform more than thirty songs word perfect, guitar backing spot-on , at any given point in time.

I "know" a few hiundred songs, but I wouldn't be able to perform them perfectly without rehearsal.

Npbody has five thousand songs ready to perform at the drop of a hat.

Murray

Subject: RE: Help: World record for most songs memorized
From: Bill D
Date: 19 Aug 02 - 08:29 PM

I know a few who can do easily several hundred...maybe they don't consider them all 'recording ready', but they do them clean and well...my wife, Ferrara, knows an amazing amount, from a LOT of sources...she suprises me constantly..."You mean you know THAT, too?"

Subject: RE: Help: World record for most songs memorized
From: Genie
Date: 19 Aug 02 - 09:05 PM

Actually, where melodies go, I know quite a few pianists and guitarists and even a few violinists/fiddlers who either have "memorized" a ton of songs or who just play really well by ear and can play the melodies beautifully even if they haven't rehearsed the songs recently.

As for singing lyrics and melodies perfectly (i.e., no wrong words or wrong notes), I can probably do that for well over 1000 songs at the drop of a hat (no, not 5000). It's the guitar work I need to rehearse, at least if it's not one of those standard 3 or 4 chord folk or c/w songs. (I play mostly rhythm guitar, though, not lead.)

I don't think the ability to remember melodies and song lyrics perfectly is all that rare -- especially for songs you learn before about the age of 16. Also, some songs' lyrics are easy to remember by virtue of the way the rhyme sequences fit both the story and the melody/rhythm. The more the songwriter uses words and melodic phrases that are clichŽd or rather arbitrary, and the less perfectly the lyrics are wedded to the musical elements of the song, the more it requires pure rote memorization to "remember" the song, and the more likely singers are to subject the lyrics to "the folk process."

Genie

Subject: RE: Help: World record for most songs memorized
From: toadfrog
Date: 19 Aug 02 - 11:26 PM

Genie: I'll have to think about the moral in your third paragraph. But how can you, or I, or anyone without a fixed repertoire of songs written out and available to sing to an audience on command, possibly say within the nearest hundred, or thousand if appropriate, how many they know?

I am inclined to believe that I could sing well in excess of a thousand songs from end to end, and get them right. But gee, how do you ever know something like that? For sure, even if your voice held up, your audience would vanish in an hour, at most!

Subject: RE: Help: World record for most songs memorized
From: Genie
Date: 19 Aug 02 - 11:49 PM

Toadfrog, I once tried to catalog all the songs I knew, and I stopped counting at well over 1000.

Lest you think this is a silly exercise, I play and sing for senior facilities (of all ilks) as an occupation in addition to playing and singing for my church and with various folk organizations. One of the most frustrating things is to go blank in a jam or in an informal sing-along, not being able to think of what song to do next. That's why I decided to make a list. Someday I will probably have a (shortened) list in my gig back, alphabetized within categories. It'll save some of that aggravation of thinking of "the perfect song" after the jam or gig is over.

As for singing 1000 songs non-stop, I'll leave that to you.

¤;-)

PS, I'm not trying to claim any record. My point was that this "talent" of mine is not all that unusual.

Subject: RE: Help: World record for most songs memorized
From: ard mhacha
Date: 20 Aug 02 - 06:58 AM

Our old friend Val Doonican was reputed to have the greatest repetoire of songs than any other person on the show biz scene. Ard Mhacha.

Subject: RE: Help: World record for most songs memorized
From: Hamish
Date: 20 Aug 02 - 07:57 AM

Funnily enough I'd just catalogued my repertoire and was quite pleased to find 120 "ready" of which 90 from memory. But I can remember not so long ago wondering how I was going to get more than a couple ready...

Subject: RE: Help: World record for most songs memorized
From: wilco
Date: 20 Aug 02 - 09:16 AM

In response to the place where we jam in the East Tennessee - North Georgia area, Jack (who knew the 5000 songs) is at the Ringgold Opry in Ringgold (Georgia, USA) every Saturday night. This is mostly a bluegrass location, with about 300 people showing-up, about 2/3 of them musicians. Most of us might have fifty or so songs in our "instant repertoire." I can do the melody line on just about anything that is old-time, country, gospel, or bluegrass;, but the lyrics are entrely another matter. Some people, like Jack, have a gift for recalling the lyrics and the melody. Routinely, he'll do a song that has been requested, and then say, "I haven't done that in thirty years." I can't remember stuff two hours!! Is there some kind of system to learn more songs, to improve your musical memory? Those of you who know hundreds or thousands might have some advice. Thanks!!!

Subject: RE: Help: World record for most songs memorized
From: Murray MacLeod
Date: 20 Aug 02 - 08:18 PM

Genie, I agree, if we are talking about accompanying songs, I have probably 10,000 or more I could do straight off, by ear, no mistakes. Like every song in the charts between 1961 and 1975 for starters, plus God knows howe many traditional.

But I couldn't sing them all ( although I could make a stab at the lyrics in most cases).

Nope, if we are talking concert performance, imaginative and immaculate guitar backing, lyrics memorized perfectly, thirty songs is about the max at any given time.

Not that there is ever going to be any way to prove or disprove this ....

Murray

Subject: RE: Help: World record for most songs memorized
From: GUEST,truer sound
Date: 20 Aug 02 - 09:08 PM

the New York Times article that someone posted on this forum on the death of Lucia Pamela says that Ripleys Believe It or Not credited her with memorizing 10,000 songs. its under Obit/Lucia Pamela

Subject: RE: Help: World record for most songs memorized
From: Genie
Date: 21 Aug 02 - 12:10 AM

Murray, I think there's a big difference between "having memorized a song" and having it rehearsed to the point of "concert performance [with] imaginative and immaculate guitar backing...".

If I can sit down and write the lyrics out to a song, or sing them in my car, without error, I'd say I have committed those songs to memory. The fact that one sometimes goes blank or gets one's tongue twisted during a performance doesn't negate that. (Once in a while I even have some trouble recalling a phone number that I've called hundreds or thousands of times from memory.) Similarly, if I can sing the tune, I obviously know the tune. Complex arrangements are another matter.

Genie

Subject: RE: Help: World record for most songs memorized
From: GUEST,Peter C
Date: 24 Jun 21 - 08:11 AM

Depends on the style of music dosn’t it? If you are only talking about some chords and singing it should be pretty easy to have a large repertoire. I play various fingerstyle genres and I am struggling to memorise 60 songs. I know 25 in my head but can play many of the other songs off the page. A flamenco guitarist said it was really hard to learn a repertoire well and retain it and added that he had lost most of his. So I would be very happy if I ever reach that target.

Subject: RE: Help: World record for most songs memorized
From: GUEST,#
Date: 24 Jun 21 - 11:30 AM

GUEST,[e-mail]
Date: 19 Aug 02 - 02:17 PM

Here's a link to the song lyrics you wanted 19 years back.

https://www.lyricsvault.net/php/artist.php?s=46303#axzz6yiiMx8mB

Subject: RE: Help: World record for most songs memorized
From: GUEST,Roger
Date: 24 Jun 21 - 01:15 PM

Is this not similar to the cab drivers hippocampus. I was a cab driver for around 10 years and I was surprised how easily I managed to learn the streets and routes of a medium sized city, and then recall them without conscious effort.
This is not directly comparable with memorising lyrics and music of course but would likely involve the same part of the brain. A musician who has been at it for years will have songs and tunes programmed into his head.
I can see a song title and recall the melody even though I have not heard it or thought about it for years.
Its a very deep subject.
Roger.

Subject: RE: Help: World record for most songs memorized
From: GUEST,Tunesmith
Date: 26 Jun 21 - 06:05 AM

This reminds me of a old UK Quiz TV show from the 50s, where if contestants could name a song that the resident pianist didn't know, they would win a prize! That was in the days where such a pianist would have an encyclopedic knowledge of what we would now call "The Great American Songbook".

Subject: RE: Help: World record for most songs memorized
From: GUEST,Spoonzy Malone
Date: 26 Jun 21 - 12:11 PM

I reckon I can play my spoons from start to finish on every piece of music ever made, plus I can jam along with all sorts - dogs barking, buses parking, drills drilling, wife snoring, grass growing, teeth grinding, kettle boiling - you name it, I’ll start it, middle it and end it easily enough.

Subject: RE: Help: World record for most songs memorized
From: GUEST,#
Date: 26 Jun 21 - 01:19 PM

Spoonzy, you have prepared yourself to enter the mindset of many bodhran players.

Subject: RE: Help: World record for most songs memorized
From: WalkaboutsVerse
Date: 26 Jun 21 - 01:53 PM

Spoonzy may team up well with a lyrebird, one feels.

Subject: RE: Help: World record for most songs memorized
From: GUEST,#
Date: 27 Jun 21 - 11:23 AM

I think the World Record is actually held by William Stabler Davison Charlesburton VII who was purported to have memorized over 109,423. Sadly, there is no proof for the assertion.

Subject: RE: Help: World record for most songs memorized
From: meself
Date: 27 Jun 21 - 05:26 PM

Ha! I've memorized over 109,424!

Subject: RE: Help: World record for most songs memorized
From: WalkaboutsVerse
Date: 27 Jun 21 - 06:26 PM

...and they say Charles Wesley was prolific in writing more that 6,000 hymns...you might as well add them Meself...certainly not myself - I struggle with 60!

Subject: RE: Help: World record for most songs memorized
From: meself
Date: 27 Jun 21 - 08:23 PM

Thanks - I was looking for new material ... !

Subject: RE: Help: World record for most songs memorized
From: GUEST,#
Date: 27 Jun 21 - 08:29 PM

This is gonna play well.

"Name the person who's memorized the most songs."

"Well, it's meself of course."

Subject: RE: Help: World record for most songs memorized
From: meself
Date: 27 Jun 21 - 10:49 PM

Thank you - it's nice to finally be recognized ... !

Subject: RE: Help: World record for most songs memorized
From: WalkaboutsVerse
Date: 28 Jun 21 - 05:15 AM

Long overdue - as long as that repertoire of yours, Meself.

Subject: RE: Help: World record for most songs memorized
From: JHW
Date: 28 Jun 21 - 03:51 PM

Old pop songs is a strange one. Intros and melodies are so obvious and ability to sing along but on one's own a different story.

For a short while I did 'pick your own set' for bookings. Dished out lists of about a hundred. Was good fun and of course you could do other songs, had to for balance and no-one knew they hadn't been ticked.