By Tracey Smith, CBS Sunday Morning | “When we try to think about what does it mean to be American, this almost impossible question, one of the ways we might try and answer that is through music,” said Nate Sloan, a professor of musicology at USC’s Thornton School of Music. “What are the sounds that defined the American experience at different points in time?”
Case in point: Ray Charles singing “America the Beautiful”:
Or “We Shall Overcome,” performed by Mahalia Jackson,
Asked what makes a quintessential American song, Sloan replied, “It has to be something that people can sing along to. I think an American song needs to be communal.”
Here is Bob Dylan, and a crowd, singing “Blowin’ In The Wind” at the Newport Folk Festival in 1963:
“And beyond that, I think an American song can take a lot of different forms,” Sloan said. “I think it can be something that comments on society and our nation in some way.”
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Our 250 “Essential Songs” are online here. Here is just a sample:
https://www.cbsnews.com/projects/2026/sunmo-american-songbook/
Visit Spotify to hear them all.
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3yHvK8g9IJAnpUnZlPBMFO?go=1&sp_cid=ac518831a85ed8671c54731c25efa1e3&utm_source=embed_player_p&utm_medium=desktop&si=f85d94188ab44fb5%3Futm_source%3Dgenerator&nd=1&dlsi=7bce760b4ecb4f50
We’ve also asked a few artists to perform their favorites for us. To begin, Jon Batiste plays “Georgia On My Mind.”
Sara Bareilles performs “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman”:
James Taylor sings “Moon River.”
For more info:
Nate Sloan, associate professor of musicology, Thornton School of Music, University of Southern California
“Switched On Pop: How Popular Music Works, and Why it Matters” by Nate Sloan and Charlie Harding (Oxford University Press), in Hardcover and eBook formats, available via Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Bookshop.org
“Switched On Pop” (Podcast)
Story produced by Reid Orvedahl. Editor: Lauren Barnello.
“Sunday Morning” Essential American Songbook credits: Produced by Emily Lazar, Mark Hudspeth, Liza Monasebian, Young Kim and Robert Marston. Graphic design by Andro Buenta. Design and development by Grace Manthey. Editing and project leadership by Jamie Reysen and John Kelly. Executive Producer, “Sunday Morning”: Rand Morrison.
The most-cited song? “This Land is Your Land.” While nearly all the contributors who chose that song picked Guthrie’s original recording, one selected a 1980 Bruce Springsteen cover performed live at the Nassau Coliseum.
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This story includes lots of videos and recordings of the selected songs:
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-sunday-morning-essential-american-songbook-defining-america-through-its-music/?ftag=CNM-00-10aab4g&eid=2cb35cd3386304065c93556b4826f98e9bf63eb2&ET_CID=559695&ET_RID=65787148
Photo: Nate Sloan | https://music.usc.edu/nate-sloan/
