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50 popular songs in the public domain

The year 1925 was meaning in American history: Calvin Coolidge became president, the Harlem Renaissance was in full swing, the Scopes Trial began, the Chrysler Corporation was founded, and New York Urban center officially became the largest city in the world. Information technology was too a big yr for the arts: F. Scott Fitzgerlad published "The Not bad Gatsby," Virginia Woolf published "Mrs. Dalloway," "Get West" hit theaters, and Jelly Roll Morton had audiences dancing to "Shreveport Stomps." Now, in 2021, those works, and hundreds of others like them, are hitting the public domain.

Being in the public domain means that no one individual or corporation holds intellectual rights to the work any longer. Therefore, the piece of work in question can be used without permission. When work enters the public domain, it becomes, essentially, owned past the public. (There are caveats, of course. If an artist repurposes works in the public domain for something new, for example, the creative person's new work won't fall in the public domain.)

Originally, these works would take been costless to use 75 years afterward publication, or in 2001. However, in 1998, Congress extended the copyright laws an boosted 20 years, keeping these works out of the public domain for that much longer.

In laurels of this year'south class of works—arguably one of the best to date—entering the public domain, Stacker compiled a list of 50 of the most-listened to songs in the Public Domain, chosen from the Public Domain's list of the 698 most pop songs within. From "Happy Birthday" to "Pomp and Circumstance," read on to learn a scrap more nearly these classic songs.

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"After You Get What You Want, Y'all Don't Want Information technology" past Irving Berlin

Irving Berlin is widely considered to be one of the greatest songwriters in American history, with an estimated i,500 songs and twenty original Broadway shows to his name. This particular vocal, "After You Get What You Want, You Don't Desire It," was written for the movie "There's No Business Like Show Business," and performed by the legendary Marilyn Monroe.

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Primal Printing // Getty Images

"Some of These Days" by Shelton Brooks

The vocal "Some of These Days," written by Black ragtime and vaudeville composer Shelton Brooks, was kickoff performed by Sophie Tucker. Brooks was inspired to write the song subsequently overhearing a heated argument between two women in a restaurant that contained the titular line. He got the song in forepart of the caricatural singer'due south eyes by passing information technology through her maid, and, when she performed information technology the next dark, it became an instant striking, with the sheet music eventually selling more than 2 million copies.

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"Darktown Strutters Ball" by Shelton Brooks

Another famous Shelton Brooks vocal that's in the public domain is "Darktown Strutters Ball." The tune, virtually a night out on the town, was one of the earliest crossover hits, becoming immensely pop with Black and white audiences alike. Since its release in 1917, the song has been performed and recorded past dozens of artists and bands, including Bing Crosby and The Beatles.

[Pictured: Original Dixieland Jazz Band in 1917 (L to R) Henry Ragas, Larry Shields, Eddie Edwards, Nick La Rocca and Tony Spargo.]

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"Alabama Jubilee" by George L. Cobb, Jack Yellen

Despite its incredibly racist lyrics, "Alabama Jubilee" has been considered an American standard since its release in 1915. The upbeat vocal tells the story of an African American band preparing for a concert. In 1981, an instrumental version by Roy Clark won the Grammy Accolade for Best State Instrumental Performance.

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"Because" past Guy d'Hardelot, Edward Teschemacher

The overwhelming majority of the songs that are currently in the public domain were written by men, though there are a few exceptions. One such example is "Because," a religious song equanimous by Guy d'Hardelot (the pen name of Helen Rhodes, a French composer and pianist). Edward Teschemacher re-wrote the words in 1902 when the vocal was released to English language-speaking audiences.

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"Jelly Roll Blues" by Jelly Roll Morton

Though the song "Jelly Whorl Blues" may not be easily identifiable, it'southward an important part of American music history as information technology was the first jazz song to exist published equally sheet music. Up until that point, jazz musicians had refused to put their standards down on paper equally the genre thrives on improvisation. The publication of this melody proved that the pieces could exist printed without risking a loss of form, which allowed jazz musicians across the country to learn the foundations of many dissimilar songs and the ground of a canon to begin to form.

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"King Porter Stomp" past Jelly Roll Morton

Providing the foundation for every Large Band's swing repertoire, "King Porter Stomp" is one of the nearly foundational and essential pieces of music in mod-day jazz. Some other Jelly Roll Morton arrangement, the song contains influences from musical traditions ranging from African to Mediterranian, and classical to marching ring.

[Pictured: American jazz clarinetist Sidney Bechet (1897 - 1959) plays with other musicians at Jelly Scroll Morton's terminal Victor recording session in September 1939.}

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"It Had to Be You lot" by Isham Edgar Jones, Gus Kahn

Ane of the most enduring ballads on our listing and currently in the public domain, "It Had To Be You" is well-nigh an private realizing that despite all of their partner's faults there'south no one else they could have ever been with. Dozens of loftier-profile artists have recorded the song over the intervening decades, including Billie Holiday, Bing Crosby, Doris Day, Ella Fitzgerald, Tony Bennett, and Barbra Streisand.

[Pictured: Billie Vacation at the Downbeat in New York, February 1947.]

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"McNamara'southward Band" by Shamus O'Connor, John J. Stamford

A St. Patrick'south Day staple, "McNamara's Band" was written past a Belfast theater manager for the theater's owner, music hall veteran Baton Ashcroft, as a comedic, Irish character routine. Reportedly, the song is based on a real Fife and Drum band, though the cultural stereotypes were played up for laughs. The near famous version of the song is by Bing Crosby, which was recorded in 1945.

[Pictured: Bing Crosby and Bob Hope perform.]

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Erin Cardigan // Shutterstock

"Camptown Races" by Stephen Foster

Stephen Foster, the composer of well-known folk songs like "Camptown Races" and "Oh! Susanna," is often referred to as the father of American music. This detail song of his, almost a group of pre-Civil War transient workers who are betting on horses in an effort to pocket a little extra coin, was written specifically for minstrel shows. In these racist minstrel shows, white performers would darken their faces and mock the culture and traditions of the Black population, hence the use of African American vernacular.

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"Till We Meet Again" by Richard A. Whiting, Raymond B. Egan

Maybe the most successful ballad to be written during the Kickoff World War, "Till We Run into Again" is about a soldier and his love maxim farewell, promising to meet once more somewhere down the line. An instant hit, five versions of the vocal charted the year afterward its release, and 5 million copies of the canvas music were sold around the world.

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"In that location'south a Long, Long Trail" past Alonzo Elliott, Stoddard Rex

"There's a Long, Long Trail" is another hugely pop World War I song. Written past two Yale students in 1913, the song was a marching melody for British, American, and Canadian troops. It didn't fade away at the close of that conflict either, gaining a second life in shows like "M*A*Southward*H," "It's the Swell Pumpkin, Charlie Brown," and in recordings past artists like Rosemary Clooney and Frank Sinatra.

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"Pack Up Your Troubles in Your Sometime Kit Bag" by Felix Powell, George Asaf

Still some other popular marching song during WWI, "Pack Upwardly Your Troubles in Your Old Kit Bag" was written by brothers Felix Powell and George Henry Powell (under the pen name George Asaf). The vocal won a Tin Pan Alley contest that was explicitly looking for a stirring, morale-edifice song to steady fresh, nervous troops. In the cease, only ane brother wound upwards singing the song on the front lines while the other became a conscientious objector, dodging conscription.

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"It'due south a Long, Long Style to Tipperary" past Jack Gauge, Harry H. Williams

"It's a Long, Long Way to Tipperary" was written in 24 hours to either satisfy a bet or win a competition, depending on which version of history you believe. As a part of a simultaneous quodlibet, the song has a complementary melody to "Pack Up Your Troubles in Your Former Kit Bag" and the two are oftentimes sung in tandem. Equally a event, the wildly successful song likewise became a popular marching tune for British and Irish troops during WWI.

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"Keep the Home Fires Burning" by Ivor Novello, Lena Guilbert Ford

The concluding WWI archetype on our listing is "Keep the Home Fires Burning," a melancholy yet hopeful vocal well-nigh missing our loved ones during wartime. More than one million copies of the canvas music were sold during the height of the war, even as money was deficient and budgets for frivolities were minuscule. The song has an enduring cultural impact, especially in its native Slap-up United kingdom of great britain and northern ireland, where information technology is still often used in movies and Telly shows about the fourth dimension period.

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"Casey Jones" by Eddie Newton, T. Lawrence Seibert

Over the years, the lyrics to "Casey Jones" have inverse a number of times, but the song's central story—the real-life tale of a railroad engineer who gave up his life in a train crash in order to avert fifty-fifty more fatalities—has remained the same. Information technology's thought that the first version of the song was written past a friend of Jones, but it was Eddie Newton and T. Lawrence Seibert's version that was first copyrighted. The tune, which was famously covered by Johnny Cash, has established the real Jones as a folk hero.

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Joseph Byron // Wikimedia Commons

"Toyland" by Victor Herbert, Glen MacDonough

Irish-American composer Victor Herbert wrote the song "Toyland" as the piece de resistance for his most successful operetta, "Babes in Toyland." The original vocal is reflective and virtually mournful, a sharp contrast to the upbeat march many of us remember for the 1961 Disney adaptation.

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Grayness Lithographic Visitor // Wikimedia Eatables

"Meet Me in St. Louis, Louis" by Kerry Mills, Andrew Sterling

Described as a comic waltz with a gaggle of extra verses, "Come across Me in St. Louis, Louis" was the unofficial anthem of the 1904 Earth's Fair, which was held in St. Louis, Missouri. The ditty became the basis for the musical film "Run into Me in St. Louis" starring Judy Garland.

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"Entry of the Gladiators" by Julius Fucik

If you've e'er been to a circus it'south likely that y'all've heard Julius Fucik'due south "Entry of the Gladiators," or at least a version of it. The song utilizes chromatic scales to become its distinctive audio and was one of the first to utilise newfangled brass instruments on such a large scale.

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"Charleston" past Cecil Mack, Jimmy Johnson

Kickoff appearing in the 1923 Broadway show, "Running Wild," the song, "Charleston," was composed for the sole purpose of being played during a brand new trip the light fantastic called the Charleston. While the trip the light fantastic did be kickoff, this song increased its popularity and brought it to new heights.

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"Parade of the Wooden Soldiers" by Leon Jessel

A sprightly march orchestrated by German language composer Leon Jessel way back in 1905, "Parade of the Wooden Soldiers" is however a popular holiday song more than a century after. Since its release, the vocal has been used in everything from Broadway shows to movies, performed in concert halls around the world, and become a staple in the Radio City Music Hall Rockettes Christmas Spectacular.

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"Beale Street Blues" by Westward. C. Handy

Westward.C. Handy, known every bit the Male parent of the Blues, is the creative mastermind behind the 1917 hit "Beale Street Blues." The song takes its name from a street in Memphis that makes upward the chief drag of the Blackness entertainment district and served as a sort of goodbye from Handy, who was leaving his longtime habitation to move to New York Urban center and Tin can Pan Alley.

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"Erstwhile Rugged Cantankerous" by George Bennard

The hymn, "Old Rugged Cantankerous," a gospel favorite, has go a staple in the setlists of modernistic country music artists similar Alan Jackson and Carrie Underwood. The song was first published back in 1915 by George Bennard, who was inspired to write it after attending a number of revival meetings.

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"Turkey in the Straw" by Unknown

A fiddle tune that dates back to at least 1834, "Turkey in the Straw" is instantly recognizable to nigh Americans, whether they realize it or not, every bit the ice cream truck jingle. The song has come up under burn in recent years for its overtly racist lyrics and vicious depictions of Blackness Americans, which led to ice cream brand Expert Humor collaborating with Wu-Tang Clan singer RZA to create a brand-new, racism-free jingle for their trucks to utilise.

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"Pomp and Circumstance" by Edward Elgar

At present a staple at every graduation, "Pomp and Circumstance" was originally composed for the coronation of Male monarch Edward VII in 1901. It made the jump from royal anniversary to scholarly ceremony in 1905 when it was played later on Elgar received an honorary doctorate from Yale University (though it was and so used as a recessional, not a processional).

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William P Gottlieb // Library of Congress

"Christmas Day" past Gustav Holst

At vii minutes long, Gustav Holst's "Christmas Day" is i of the longest songs on our list. The holiday piece isn't actually a single song, but rather an original mashup of several archetype carols including "The Beginning Noel," "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen," "Come up Ye Lofty; Come Ye Lonely," and "Proficient Christian Men Rejoice." It remains a popular choral slice, often performed in twelvemonth-stop concerts, to this day.

[Pictured: The Hank D'Amico band in New York Metropolis 1947.]

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"Elsie from Chelsea" by Harry Dacre

A Victorian-era music hall song, "Elsie from Chelsea" is almost an everyday tram ride effectually the city of London. It utilizes parody and humor and often invites audience participation from its original listeners.

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"Dear Sometime Southland" past Turner Layton, Henry Creamer

Turner Layton and Henry Creamer based "Dear Old Southland" on 2 African American spirituals—"Deep River" and "Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Kid"—songs they would have been intimately familiar with. Nine years afterwards they released it, Louis Armstrong and his band recorded information technology and it became the massive hit we know today.

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"By the Waters of Minnetonka" by Thurlow Lieurance

Though he was not Native American himself, Thurlow Lieurance spent a lot of time living amongst the Sioux Indians and adult a beloved for the civilization and its folklore. A huge proponent of the Indianist movement in American music, Lieurance wrote his most famous song, "Past the Waters of Minnetonka" in this mode. The lilting tune is based on a Sioux fable about a brave and maiden who autumn in beloved simply are fated to dice for this love thanks to the aboriginal laws of their tribe.

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"Have Me Out to the Ball Game" past Albert Von Tilzer, Jack Norworth

The 3rd most-frequently sung tune in the United states, behind only "Happy Altogether" and "The Star-Spangled Banner," "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" was written past 2 vaudeville stars in 1908. Neither homo was an avid baseball game fan, and in fact, prior to writing the song neither had ever attended a game. They were inspired by a Manhattan billboard advertising the New York Giants stadium, Polo Grounds. Today, the song (or rather the chorus of the vocal) is traditionally sung during the 7th-inning stretch at every MLB game.

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"When Irish gaelic Eyes Are Smiling" past Ernest Ball, Chauncey Olcott, George Graff

In the 1910s, songs that romanticized both Ireland and its people were incredibly popular in Bang-up Britain and the United States. "When Irish Optics Are Smiling" is peradventure one of the best, and longest-lasting examples of this type of diddy. Though none of its composers or writers could merits whatsoever Irish heritage themselves, the vaudeville-esque melody, which has been recorded by the likes of Bing Crosby and Ronan Tynan, remains ane of the most beloved tributes to the Emerald Isle.

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William P Gottlieb // Library of Congress

"Manhattan" past Rodgers & Hart

Richard Rodgers is one of the biggest figures in American musical theater history, collaborating with other writers on everything from "Oklahoma!" to "The Audio of Music." One of his first forays into the musical theater earth was a revue chosen "The Garrick Gaieties," which he put together with then-partner Lorenz Hart. 1 of the songs in this revue was "Manhattan," a comedy song about a poor young couple trying to brand the best of their NYC honeymoon despite having no money.

[Pictured: Ella Fitzgerald, Airheaded Gillespie, Ray Brown, Milt (Milton) Jackson, and Timmie Rosenkrantz, Downbeat, New York, circa September 1947.]

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"Collegiate" by Moe Jaffy, Nat Bonx

While "Collegiate" may not be as wildly popular today equally it was dorsum in the 1920s, information technology however earns a spot on our listing cheers to its historical significance. As information technology turns out, this ditty was the beginning vocal to ever exist recorded electronically (as opposed to being recorded with recording horns). Folks loved the new audio provided by this recording style so much that the rails reached #3 in the nation the year after it was released.

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"Down in the Valley (Birmingham Jail)" by Unknown

Verbal authorship for the folk song "Down in the Valley (Birmingham Jail)" is disputed, though many believe it was penned by Jimmie Tarlton. To hear him tell the story, he wrote the melody while locked up in the Birmingham Jail on moonshine charges. However, critics believe that he co-opted another vocal simply called "Down in the Valley" and just changed or added a handful of lines to arrive his ain.

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Carl Van Vechten // Library of Congress

"Baby, Won't You Please Come Home" past Clarence Williams, Charles Warfield

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"Await for the Silver Lining" by Jerome Kern, Buddy DeSylva

Some songs fare better in their second lives than their starting time, which was certainly the example for "Look for the Silvery Lining." Originally written for the flop of a musical, "Null Goes a Million," the track didn't have any success until it was repurposed for the show, "Sally," and sung by Broadway darling Marilyn Miller. Eventually, the song was recorded past other powerful voices including Judy Garland and Chet Bakery.

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William P Gottlieb // Library of Congress

"Everybody Loves My Baby" by Jack Palmer, Spencer Williams

Jazz is a genre of improvisation, which means very few of the old jazz standards are played exactly the same way today as they were 100 years ago. "Everybody Loves My Baby" may be the exception to that, at least according to jazz scholars and bloggers. The song's well-known lyrics and repetitive melody have led many modernistic-day bands to hold pretty shut to the original recording.

[Pictured: Louis Armstrong and Velma Middleton, Carnegie Hall, New York City, circa February 1947.]

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"Give My Regards to Broadway" by George M. Cohan

The song "Give My Regards to Broadway" first appeared in the 1904 musical, "Footling Johnny Jones." The prove was non a hitting, but the song was, somewhen reappearing in the film "Yankee Doodle Dandy," a 1942 box office smash about the life of composer and thespian George M. Cohan. Its upbeat, catchy tempo has made it a perennial favorite with American audiences.

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New York Globe Telegram/Sunday Paper Collection // Library of Congress

"Yep! Nosotros Have No Bananas" by Frank Silver, Irving Cohn

One of the biggest hits of the 1920s was "Yes! We Have No Bananas," a novelty song written by Frank Silver and Irving Cohn. The tune is supposedly based on an interaction Silver had with a Greek fruit seller on his manner to a performance, though that version of events has been contested over the years. The song became so popular that its title was one of the most widely used phrases in the English-speaking globe for decades.

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Bain News Service // Library of Congress

"Prisoner'south Song" by Guy Massey

The first land music song to sell over a one thousand thousand copies was "Prisoner's Vocal," which was originally performed past Vernon Dalhart. Despite the fact that it was his vocalism that made the vocal such an instant success, Dalhart attributed the tune and sail music to his cousin, Guy Massey, from whom he had first heard it. It's thought that Guy Massey actually heard the song from his blood brother Robert Massey, who had heard information technology from a fellow inmate while serving a jail sentence.

[Pictured: Vocalizer Vernon Dalhart.]

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"National Keepsake March" by East.Due east. Bagley

Considered to be one of America'south best military machine marches, and the just one non written by John Philip Sousa, "National Emblem March" was offset published in 1906. Written by a private citizen, and not a fellow member of the military, the march was able to be copyrighted, though Bagley reportedly didn't hang on to the rights for all that long. Today, portions of the song are used when the color guard presents and retires the flag.

[Pictured: Composer John Philip Sousa in front end of marching ring.]

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Bain News Service // Library of Congress

"Japanese Sandman" by Richard Whiting, Raymond Egan

Ane of the very first songs to sell over one million copies of its sheet music was "Japanese Sandman." Described as an escapist song, the tune tells the story of the Japanese Sandman who takes away your erstwhile days and replaces them with new ones, assuasive you to first life over anew. Massively popular in the 1920s, the song was recorded past both the Paul Whiteman Orchestra and Nora Bayes.

[Pictured: Ring leader and recording star Paul Samuel Whiteman (1890-1967) and his band on a temporary stage on the steps of Federal Hall, 26 Wall Street, New York.]

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"Happy Birthday to You" by Mildred and Patty Hill

According to the "Guinness Volume of World Records," "Happy Altogether to You" is one of the virtually popular, and usually sung, songs in the world. Surprisingly, this simple celebratory tune didn't really starting time out as a birthday song just as a classroom greeting vocal. Kindergarten teacher Patty Hill, and her sister Mildred Hill, set out to write a uncomplicated tune that her students could sing together each morning to starting time their day. Occasionally, the grade would swap out their "good mornings" for "happy birthdays," and the rest is history.

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"Carolina in the Forenoon" by Walter Donaldson, Gus Kahn

Originally written for a Broadway musical revue, "Carolina in the Morning" has become the unofficial country song of both North and South Carolina. The upbeat standard was kickoff written in 1922, but remained popular well into the 1950s, with artists like Bing Crosby, Dean Martin, Danny Kaye, and Judy Garland making recordings of their own.

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Carl Van Vechten // Library of Congress

"Ave Maria" past Johann Sebastian Bach, Charles Gounod

In the mid-1800s, while messing around at domicile ane evening, French composer Charles Gounod superimposed a melody over Bach's famous "Prelude in C." The result was "Ave Maria," a cute vocal that modern listeners hear everywhere from funerals to weddings. Gounod'southward original version of the vocal had no words, as the text of the Latin prayer wasn't added until 1859, right before the first recording.

[Pictured: Singer Marian Anderson.]

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"Own't Nosotros Got Fun" by Richard Whiting, Gus Kahn, Raymond Egan

No other song encompasses the carefree, hedonistic attitude of the 1920s like "Ain't We Got Fun." The foxtrot was so immensely pop a century ago that portions of its lyrics were even included in some of the decade'southward greatest literary works similar "The Smashing Gatsby" (which entered the public domain this year!) and Dorothy Parker'south brusk story "Big Blonde."

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"Jeanie with the Light Chocolate-brown Hair" past Stephen Collins Foster

It is rumored that Stephen Collins Foster wrote his biggest parlor hit, "Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair," in an attempt to win back his estranged wife Jane (who went past Jeanie). Unfortunately, it seems that the vocal, which begins each verse with the lines "I dream of Jeanie…," "I long for Jeanie…," "I sigh for Jeanie…," didn't have the desired event and the couple remained permanently separated.

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"Memphis Blues" by Westward.C. Handy

The song of 1912, "Memphis Blues" was written and self-published by a Black composer and bandleader named Westward.C. Handy. The upbeat, "weird" melody was hugely significant, launching blues as a genre and becoming one of the most requested songs in trip the light fantastic toe halls effectually the country. In fact, the song was and so influential that George Gershwin publicly thanked Handy for inspiring him to write his own masterpiece, "Rhapsody in Blue."

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Carl Van Vechten // Library of Congress

"Rhapsody in Blue" by George Gershwin

A hallmark in American music, George Gershwin'south "Rhapsody in Blue" was a hastily composed piece for a 1924 concert called "Experiment in Modern Music," which was intended to demonstrate that music could be both respectable and jazzy. Get-go with an iconic clarinet glissando, the song established Gershwin as a serious composer and remains a frequently performed song to this day.

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William P Gottlieb // Library of Congress

"When the Saints Go Marching In" by Unknown

Though the exact writer of "When the Saints Go Marching In" is unknown, information technology'south widely believed that the song has its origins in the Commonwealth of the bahamas, and was brought to the The states by enslaved people. The Black spiritual was first made popular past New Orleans jazz bands, who oft played it at a specific point in funeral services. All the same, the song really cemented its place in American culture when Louis Armstrong recorded it in 1938.

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