SIGNATURE SONG

A 'signature song' is the one song (or, in some cases, one of a few songs) that a popular and well-established singer, or band, is most closely identified with, even if they have had success with a variety of songs. The term is generally ''not'' applied to the successful song of a so-called "one-hit wonder" — an artist who is closely identified with one song because they have had no other successful songs.
Some songs are so iconic and popular that many different singers may share that song as their signature song. A well-known example is Over the Rainbow, which is considered by many to be the most popular song of the twentieth century. It is a ''must'' in many artists' repertoire, and one which they may choose to sing at every concert appearance.
Artists may have different signature songs in different parts of the world depending on where they are praised; or they have more than one, even in one area of the world. In the cases in which an artist or band has more than one signature song, the songs are often from one particular album that was considered their best work. In some cases, there may be a divergence between the artist's most commercially successful song and the song most commonly associated with that artist by the media (e.g. Britney Spears' "...Baby One More Time" and "Oops!... I Did It Again", respectively), resulting in each song receiving references to being the artist's "signature song".
The expression "signature song" is also occasionally used to refer to a recurring song in commercials.
Official songs or anthems for dignitaries also perform a similar function of fanfare and/or association: being played when a particular person or group makes their entrance. An example of this is the President of the United States with "Hail to the Chief".

Contents

Examples of artists and their signature songs

Popular shared signature song

Notes and references

See also

Examples of artists and their signature songs

★ 'Paula Abdul' - "Straight Up"^[1]

★ 'The Andrews Sisters' - "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" [1]

★ 'Bon Jovi' - "Living on a Prayer" [2]

★ 'Tony Bennett' - "I Left My Heart in San Francisco" [3]

★ 'Laura Branigan' - "Gloria" [4]

★ 'Garth Brooks' - "The Dance" [5]

★ 'Jimmy Buffett' - "Margaritaville" [6]

★ 'Carol Burnett' - "Carol's Theme" [7]

★ 'Vanessa Carlton' - "A Thousand Miles" [8]

★ 'Petula Clark' - "Downtown" [9]

★ 'Coolio' - "Gangsta's Paradise" [10]

★ 'Cream' - "Sunshine of Your Love".^[2]

★ 'Billy Ray Cyrus' - "Achy Breaky Heart" [11]

★ 'Daft Punk' - "Da Funk" [12]

★ 'Sammy Davis, Jr.' - "I've Gotta Be Me" [13]

★ 'Deep Purple' - "Smoke on the Water" [14]

★ 'Celine Dion' - "My Heart Will Go On" [15]

★ 'Eagles' - "Hotel California" [16]

★ 'Eazy E' - "Boyz-n-the-Hood" [17]

★ 'Eminem' - "The Real Slim Shady" [18]

★ 'Aretha Franklin' - "Respect"^[3] [19]

★ 'Garbage' - "Only Happy When It Rains" [20]

★ 'Gloria Gaynor' - "I Will Survive" [21]

★ 'Lee Greenwood' - "God Bless the USA" [22]

★ 'Jimi Hendrix' - "Purple Haze" [23]

★ 'Don Ho' - "Tiny Bubbles" [24]

★ 'Bob Hope' - "Thanks for the Memories" [25]

★ 'Lena Horne' - "Stormy Weather" [26]

★ 'Iron Butterfly' - "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" [27]

★ 'Etta James' - "At Last" [28]

★ 'Rick James' - "Super Freak" [29]

★ 'Billy Joel' - "Piano Man" [30]

★ 'Janis Joplin' - "Me and Bobby McGee" [31]

★ 'Ben E. King' - "Stand by Me" [32]

★ 'The Kinks' - "You Really Got Me" [33]

★ 'Gladys Knight & the Pips' - "Midnight Train to Georgia" [34]

★ 'Led Zeppelin' - "Stairway to Heaven" [35]

★ 'Peggy Lee' - "Fever" [36]

★ 'Loretta Lynn' - "Coal Miner's Daughter" [37]

★ 'Madonna' - "Material Girl" [38]

★ 'The Mamas & the Papas' - "California Dreamin'" [39]

★ 'Martina McBride' - "Independence Day" [40]

★ 'Don McLean' - "American Pie" [41]

★ 'Steve Miller Band' - "The Joker" [42]

★ 'Liza Minelli' - "Theme from New York, New York" [43]

★ 'Motörhead' - "Ace of Spades" [44]

★ 'Nirvana' - "Smells Like Teen Spirit" [45]

★ 'N.W.A.' - "Fuck Tha Police" [46]

★ 'Parliament' - "Flash Light" [47]

★ 'Dolly Parton' - "Coat of Many Colors" [48]

★ 'Luciano Pavarotti' - "Nessun dorma" [49]

★ 'Peter, Paul and Mary' - "Puff, the Magic Dragon"[50]

★ 'Édith Piaf' - "La Vie en rose" [51]

★ 'Queen' - "Bohemian Rhapsody"[52]

★ 'Rage Against the Machine' - "Killing in the Name" [53]

★ 'Red Hot Chili Peppers' - "Under the Bridge" [54]

★ 'Lou Rawls' - "You'll Never Find Another Love Like Mine" [55]

★ 'The Righteous Brothers' - "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" [56]

★ 'Vicki Sue Robinson' - "Turn the Beat Around" [57]

★ 'The Rolling Stones' - "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" [58]

★ 'Sade' - "Smooth Operator" [59]

★ 'Frank Sinatra' - "My Way" [60]

★ 'Nancy Sinatra' - "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'" [61]

★ 'Sir Mix-a-Lot' - "Baby Got Back" [62]

★ 'Percy Sledge' - "When a Man Loves a Woman" [63]

★ 'Soft Cell' - "Tainted Love" [64]

★ 'Sonny & Cher' - "I Got You Babe" [65]

★ 'James Taylor' - "Fire and Rain" [66]

★ 'The Temptations' - "My Girl" [67]

★ 'Trio' - "Da Da Da" [68]

★ 'The Ventures' - "Walk Don't Run" [69]

★ 'Andy Williams' - "Moon River" [70]

★ 'The Who' - "My Generation" [71]

★ 'Tammy Wynette' - "Stand By Your Man" [72]

Popular shared signature song

Sometimes a very popular song is shared by more than one singer and it is known as their signature song:
'Over the Rainbow' is an obvious example of such a signature song, having twice been voted as the most popular song of the 20th century (see article):

★ Eva Cassidy [73]

★ Judy Garland [74]

★ Israel Kamakawiwo'ole [75]

★ Katherine McPhee [76]

Notes and references

1. ''World Almanac 2007'' page 237
2. ''McDermott, John. '' (liner notes). 2000, Universal International Music.
3. This is a cover of an Otis Redding song.

See also

★ Signature album

★ Theme music