Signature song

A signature song is the one song (or, in some cases, one of a few songs) that a popular and well-established recording artist or band is most closely identified with or best known for, even if they have had success with a variety of other songs. There have also been instances where a film actor has acquired a signature song by giving a popular vocal performance in a feature. Signature songs can be the result of spontaneous public identification, or a marketing tool developed by the music industry to promote artists, sell their recordings, and develop a fan base.^[1]

Bands with a signature song often are expected to perform it at every concert appearance.^[2]

Examples

• ABBA – "Dancing Queen"^[3]
• Christina Aguilera - "Beautiful" ^[4]
• AKB48 - "Aitakatta"^[5]
• The Animals – "The House of the Rising Sun"^[6]
• Shirley Bassey – "Goldfinger"^[7]
• Beck – "Loser"^[8]
• Tony Bennett – "I Left My Heart in San Francisco"^[9]
• Chuck Berry – "Johnny B. Goode"^[10]
• Blue Öyster Cult – "(Don't Fear) The Reaper"^[11]
• Bon Jovi – "Livin' on a Prayer"^[12]
• Laura Branigan - "Gloria"^[13]
• Garth Brooks – "The Dance"^[14]
• Jeff Buckley – "Hallelujah"^[15]
• Jimmy Buffett – "Margaritaville"^[16]
• Carol Burnett – "I'm So Glad We Had This Time Together"^[17][18]
• Ray Charles – "What'd I Say"^[19]
• Cheap Trick – "I Want You to Want Me"^[20]
• Petula Clark – "Downtown"^[21]
• Bobby Darin – "Mack the Knife"^[22]
• Sammy Davis, Jr. – "I've Gotta Be Me"^[23]
• Dead Kennedys – "Holiday in Cambodia"^[24]
• Deep Purple – "Smoke on the Water"^[25]
• Marlene Dietrich – "Falling In Love Again"^[26]
• Celine Dion – "My Heart Will Go On"^[27]
• Eagles – "Hotel California"^[28]
• Lee Greenwood – "God Bless the USA"^[29]
• Bob Hope – "Thanks for the Memory"^[30]
• Lena Horne – "Stormy Weather"^[31]
• Iron Butterfly – "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida"^[32]
• Wanda Jackson – "Fujiyama Mama"^[33]
• Etta James – "At Last"^[34]
• Billy Joel – "Piano Man"^[35]
• George Jones – "He Stopped Loving Her Today"^[36]
• Tom Jones – "It's Not Unusual"^[37]
• Journey – "Don't Stop Believin'"^[38]
• The Kinks - "You Really Got Me"^[39]
• Kiss – "Rock and Roll All Nite"^[20]
• Gladys Knight & the Pips – "Midnight Train to Georgia"^[40]
• Cyndi Lauper – "Girls Just Want to Have Fun"^[41]
• Led Zeppelin – "Stairway to Heaven"^[42]
• John Lennon – "Imagine"^[43]
• Jerry Lee Lewis – "Great Balls of Fire"^[44]
• Guy Lombardo – "Auld Lang Syne"^[45]
• Julie London – "Cry Me a River"^[46]
• Loretta Lynn – "Coal Miner's Daughter"^[47]
• Lynyrd Skynyrd - "Free Bird"^[48]
• Barbara Mandrell – "I Was Country When Country Wasn't Cool"^[49]
• Martina McBride – "Independence Day"^[50]
• Men at Work - "Down Under"^[51]
• Bette Midler – "Wind Beneath My Wings"^[52]
• Kylie Minogue – "Can't Get You Out of My Head"^[53]
• The Moody Blues - "Nights in White Satin"^[20]
• Motörhead – "Ace of Spades"^[54]
• Selena – "Como La Flor (song)" ^[55]
• Nirvana – "Smells Like Teen Spirit"^[56]
• Ozzy Osbourne – "Crazy Train"^[57]
• The Pointer Sisters - "I'm So Excited"^[58]
• Otis Redding – "Try a Little Tenderness"^[59]
• Kenny Rogers – "The Gambler"^[60]
• The Rolling Stones – "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction"^[61]
• Savage Garden – "Truly Madly Deeply"^[62]
• Neil Sedaka – "Breaking Up is Hard to Do"^[63]
• Semisonic – "Closing Time"^[64]
• Carly Simon – "You're So Vain"^[65]
• Percy Sledge – "When a Man Loves a Woman"^[66]
• Sonny & Cher – "I Got You Babe"^[67]
• Spice Girls – "Wannabe"^[68]
• Rod Stewart – "Maggie May"^[69]
• Eva Tanguay – "I Don't Care"^[70]
• James Taylor – "Fire and Rain"^[71]
• Shirley Temple – "On the Good Ship Lollipop"^[72]
• Conway Twitty – "Hello Darlin'"^[73]
• The Verve – "Bitter Sweet Symphony"^[74]
• Village People – "Y.M.C.A."^[75]
• Andy Williams – "Moon River"^[76]
• Bert Williams – "Nobody"^[77]
• Amy Winehouse – "Rehab"^[78]
• Tammy Wynette – "Stand By Your Man"^[79]

See also

• Honorific nicknames in popular music
• Magnum opus
• National anthem
• Subject (music)
• Theme music
• Trademark look
• One-hit wonder

References

1. Umphlett, Wiley Lee (2004). The Visual Focus of American Media Culture in the Twentieth Century: The Modern Era, 1893–1945. Fairleigh Dickinson University Press. p. 157. This practice soon began equating performers with signature songs as a way to promote and sell recordings and sheet music as well as establish a cult of fans to market these songs to.
2. Prescott, John (2000). A Career in Show Business: Variety Entertainer. Chicago: Institute for Research. p. 8. And if there's a phrase ... or you have a signature song ... then your audience will probably be disappointed if you don't repeat yourself.
3. Abba Gold. Continuum International Publishing Group. 2004. ISBN 9780826415462.
4. "This Week In Billboard Chart History: Christina Aguilera Tops Pop Songs With 'Beautiful' & More". Billboard. 2014-01-06. Retrieved 2016-26-03. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
5. "Aitakatta * supermerlion". Supermerlion.com. 2006-10-25. Retrieved 2016-02-03.
6. "SEPTEMBER 05, 1964 : “HOUSE OF THE RISING SUN” BY THE ANIMALS TOPS THE U.S. POP CHARTS". History.com. Retrieved 2016-02-03.
7. "Shirley Bassey: New CD for 'Goldfinger' Diva". npr.org. March 15, 2008. Retrieved March 28, 2012.
8. "Beck's Back". Billboard. 2005-03-22. Retrieved 2016-02-03.
9. "His Heart's Still In San Francisco". CBS News. December 21, 2005.
10. Allmusic. Review: "When A Man Loves A Woman". retrieved April 6, 2013.
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12. "Bon Jovi Stunned By Living On A Prayer Success". Contactmusic.com. August 20, 2006. Retrieved February 3, 2013.
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14. "Garth Brooks Official Site". Garthbrooks.com. Retrieved February 3, 2013.
15. "Buckley's Big Voice Built a Loyal Following". NPR. May 29, 2007. Retrieved February 3, 2013.
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17. Mason, Jeff (October 21, 2013). "Carol Burnett honored for comedy chops with Mark Twain Prize". Chicago Tribune. Reuters.
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19. "Ray Charles". Filmbug. Retrieved February 3, 2013.
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25. Deep Purple on allmusic (Made in Japan > Overview)
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34. "Etta James: Biography". Rolling Stone. Retrieved December 5, 2008.
35. "How Billy Joel became the Piano Man". Jun 2, 2014.
36. Cooper, Peter (May 2, 2013). "George Jones' life proved to be a joyful song". USA Today.
37. Song Review by William Ruhlmann. "It's Not Unusual - Tom Jones | Song Info". AllMusic. Retrieved 2016-02-03.
38. Wardlaw, Matt. "Don't Stop Believin' - Journey Guitarist Neal Schon Reflects on the Classic Rock Band's Generation-Spanning Legacy | Music Feature | Cleveland Scene". Clevescene.com. Retrieved 2016-02-03.
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41. "As Cyndi Lauper’s ‘Girls Just Wanna Have Fun’ Turns 30, It’s Embraced By A New Generation". radio.com. June 4, 2013. Retrieved April 13, 2016.
42. "Official band website". Ledzeppelin.com. April 27, 1977. Retrieved November 11, 2011.
43. "Imagine: John Lennon's signature song". Retrieved July 11, 2014.
44. Fish, George. Against the Current, September/October 2007, "Jerry Lee Lewis at 70".
45. "Welcome to Producers, Inc". Producersinc.com. Retrieved November 11, 2011.
46. "Julie London at Brian's Drive-In Theater". Briansdriveintheater.com. Retrieved November 11, 2011.
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49. "News : 20 Questions With Barbara Mandrell". CMT. October 18, 2006. Retrieved November 11, 2011.
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53. "Can't Get You Out of My Head". rollingstone.com. Archived from the original on December 5, 2013. Retrieved December 16, 2012.
54. Tom Maginnis. "Ace of Spades - Motörhead | Song Info". AllMusic. Retrieved 2016-02-03.
55. "Biography of Selena bio, history, career, evolution, music, Selena Vive". Selenaweb.yaia.com. Retrieved 2016-02-03.
56. "'Nevermind' is ever-covered, spoofed –". Usatoday.com. 2011-09-22. Retrieved 2016-02-03.
57. "Top 10 Ozzy Osbourne Songs". Ultimateclassicrock.com. 2012-12-03. Retrieved 2016-02-03.
58. url=http://www.soulmusic.com/index.asp?S=1&T=38&ART=1525 (2008-01-01). "The Pointer Sisters Appreciation Feature". soulmusic.com.
59. Ian Inglis (2006). Performance and Popular Music: History, |Place and Time. Ashgate. p. 36. 'Try a Little Tenderness' was one of his signature tunes, an old standard that he regularly used to end his concerts.
60. "Flashback: Kenny Rogers Introduces the Gambler". rollingstone.com. November 14, 2014. Retrieved May 6, 2015.
61. "Satisfaction is 'top Stones song'". news.bbc.co.uk. August 17, 2006. Retrieved March 28, 2012.
62. "Whammo.com.au Encyclopedia Entry for Savage Garden|'Savage Garden' entry". Archived from the original on August 13, 2004. Retrieved June 29, 2010.
63. Joe Viglione. "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do - Neil Sedaka | Song Info". AllMusic. Retrieved 2016-02-03.
64. "Semisonic Singer Dan Wilson Explains His 11-Year Rule". Rockdirt.com/. Retrieved August 19, 2013.
65. Paul Simpson. The rough guide to cult pop. p. 83.
66. Steve Hendershot, Chicago Tribune. Percy Sledge is still in love with "When a Man Loves a Woman". October 07, 2005. retrieved April 7, 2013.
67. "Celebrity Lawmaker Wore Renewed Fame Lightly". CNN. Retrieved May 23, 2010.
68. Johnson, Chris. "Mel B: 'I barely speak to the other Spice Girls even though Victoria only lives a few miles away'". London: dailymail.co.uk. Retrieved December 16, 2012.
69. "Sarah McLachlan to perform at autism benefit". Livedaily.com. Retrieved November 11, 2011.
70. Sochen, June (2007). From Mae to Madonna: Women Entertainers in Twentieth-century America. University Press of Kentucky. p. 45. ISBN 9780813129334.
71. "Fire and Rain - James Taylor | Song Info". AllMusic. 1981-05-13. Retrieved 2016-02-03.
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73. "No. 18: Conway Twitty, ‘Hello Darlin” – Top 100 Country Songs". Tasteofcountry.com. Retrieved 2016-02-03.
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75. John Wilson. "The Official Razzie Movie Guide: Enjoying the Best of Hollywoods Worst". Books.google.com. Retrieved 2016-02-03.
76. allmusic (16 Biggest Hits > Overview)
77. "Bert Williams – Free Music Downloads, Videos, Lyrics, CDs, MP3s, Bio, Merchandise and Links". Artistdirect.com. Retrieved November 11, 2011.
78. "Mix104.1". Mix1041.radio.com. July 25, 2011. Retrieved February 3, 2013.
79. Greg Adams (1968-08-28). "Stand by Your Man - Tammy Wynette | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 2016-02-03.