Who's trying to remember?

The Library of Congress is one among many organizations putting music archives together.

The fruit of their efforts can be viewed here. Performing Arts Encyclopedia 

The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts is home to a wide array of circulating and non-circulating media. This includes music, of course. Their Song Index allows users to search for songs in their collection through a variety of means.

The ARChive of Contemporary Music is a music library, archive and research center here in New York City. Their collection consists of popular music of all cultures and races throughout the world from 1950 to the present. Quite an undertaking! Check out the ARChive

In Memoriam

Not all songs describe a period, some are tied specifically to the way certain individuals have touched our lives.

Elton John's Candle in the Wind was originally written in 1973 in memory of Marilyn Monroe and was rewritten in 1997 to commemorate the life and death of Princess Diana.




Candle in the Wind, Wiki

Lyrics

Living it up in Little Boxes

1963's hit, Little Boxes describes the rise the middle class and suburbia in America.

For more on the song, you can turn to Wikipedia: Little Boxes
                                   or
Western Kentucky University's page on the song: Little Boxes lyrics and more
Charles H. Smith and Nancy Schimmel claim responsibility for the page. They have my thanks. 




The song captures quite well how America had changed after World War II.

The Fire's Still Burning

So you've heard Billy Joel's 1989 hit We Didn't Start the Fire, right?

As Joel was born in 1949, that's when this song begins and it continues to present day, which was 1989 when it was released.

How well versed are you on world history for that 40 year span? You can test yourself later with the lyrics link posted below.

Half of these references meant nothing to me, so I turned to our modern treasure trove of collective knowledge: Wikipedia. And you can, too!

We Didn't Start the Fire on Wikipedia

Now here's the lyrics, courtesy of Metro Lyrics:

Check out the Lyrics Here

Ways to Remember

Hopefully, someone caught my reference to Try to Remember from The Fantasticks. The song has nothing at all to do with this page but when I think of songs as forms of memory, it just pops up.



We remember the songs that were popular in our lifetime. Songs can also remember for us. Like time capsules, certain songs capture what life was like in a particular period.