'The Rainbow 5 Quintet's' Songlist
Cole Porter Songs
Dixieland Songs
Songs About New York
A-C, D-H, I-K, L-M,
N-R, S, T-V, W-Z.

A nice lady from Yonkers phoned.

She asked for a list of the songs we play.

She said "Doesn't everyone ask for a playist?"

And I had no say "Actually, No."

I might have truthfully said "No, not in the last fifteen years."

Both of those answers might have been construed as a putdown to a question which I, as a bandleader, might ask a bandleader who I was considering hiring for my fundraiser.

If the first tunes the other bandleader mentioned were "Let Me Go, Lover" and"Heartbreak Hotel", I might reconsider whether this was the right band for me.

A playlist is a list of tunes which a band plays regularly.

It's real hard to get an up-to-date playlist together because:

¥'Regularly' could mean 'once every decade' ¥If a musician is replaced, the replacement musician may not know certain tunes.

¥If we don't play the tune often, we forget it.

¥I don't know what everyone has forgotton since the last time we played it.

¥How many people does it take to forget how much of a song before it becomes unplayable?

¥We constantly learn new tunes

¥etcetera

To request a playlist is prudent.

I know this, and, even though its a big pain to get all the names of all the tunes together for each of the bands and orchestras, and keep it current, I've started the list. Here it is.

This list does not yet have the vocal/non-vocal or orchestrated/non-orchestrated delineation, but its a beginning.

It included the orchestrations I have, the tunes Roy knows, and the tunes we've ever played, with duplicates removed.

I have four o five configurations in which I appear - each with different instrumentation.
Some of these combinations need orchestrations.

Most bands especially arond the New York City area do not use orchestrations. The musicians are of a very high caliber, and know thousands of tunes which they can play without orchestrations, or without any music.

They call it "faking" a tune. All bands around New York know how to do it. When I am working with five or fewer musicians, that's what we do, also.

But when there are more than a few musicians, the music begins to sound sloppy, or even chaotic, without accurately written orchestrations, I once heard one of the world's most prestigious band play the New York Debutante Ball at the Waldorf, and play an entire tune, with both halfs of the band playing different tunes.

No one on the bandstand, or on the dance floor, appeared to notice anything unusual -- especially the gentleman who was leading the band, Some tunes, I may have forgotten to write down here..

Usually, forty library selections are played in an evening, because of intermissions,
added 'head arrangements', speeches, dinner service, etc., etc.

But the question: WHICH forty will be used? And in which sequence! remains
unanswered until the requests of my employers, the abilities of the musicians,
the preferences and abilities of the dancers, the timing of the dinner service,
etc., etc. become known.

The word 'CLUB DATE' is used strictly in New York, and refers not to a location called a 'club', but to a payroll/Local #802/legal distinction. I don't know the origen of the word. It has caused a lot of confusion over the years, expecially with musicians coming into New York from the provinces.

Most 'single engagements ' as opposed to 'steady engagements' Broadway shows, symphony gigs, recording gigs, etc. are booked on a 'this-engagement-only' basis.
In New York City, they are called 'club dates'. Almost all weddings are played as 'club dates'.
Most 'New York' 'Club Date' 'Wedding Bands' do not use or even have orchestrations.
This is fine if there are only four or five musicians.
These are the tunes we do if there are only five or six of us. Even if twenty musicians are in the orchestra, only five or six are playing for the 'from memory' tunes. They are disrespectfully referred to as 'fake tunes'. These are OUR 'fake tunes'.

---

The Rainbow 5 'From Memory' Favorites

(this list is incomplete, and will be updated from time to time)

---

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cole porter All Through the Night
cole porter Anything Goes
cole porter Begin the Beguine
cole porter Easy To Love
cole porter From This Moment On
cole porter I Concentrate On You
cole porter I Get a Kick Out of You
cole porter I Love You
cole porter I've Got You Under My Skin
cole porter In the Still Of the Night
cole porter It's DeLovely
cole porter Just One of Those Things
cole porter Let's Do It
cole porter Love For Sale
cole porter Night and Day
cole porter Ridin' High
cole porter So In Love
cole porter Wunderbar
cole porter You Do Something To Me
cole porter You'd Be So Nice to Come Home To

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dixieland AFTER YOU'VE GONE
dixieland AIN'T MIS BE HAVIN'
dixieland ALL OF ME
dixieland BABY FACE
dixieland BASIN STREET
dixieland BEI MEIR BIST DU SHOEN
dixieland BILL BAILEY
dixieland CAROLINA IN THE MORN ING
dixieland DEEP IN THE HEART OF TEXAS
dixieland DINAH
dixieland EXACTLY LIKE YOU
dixieland GEORGIA
dixieland GLORY HAL LE LU JAH
dixieland HELLO DOLLY
dixieland I WANT A GIRL
dixieland IF I HAD YOU
dixieland INDIANA
dixieland IT HAD TO BE YOU
dixieland MACK THE KNIFE
dixieland MAIRZY DOATS
dixieland MUSKRAT RAMBLE
dixieland MY BLUE HEAVEN
dixieland OLD GREY MARE
dixieland PENNIES FROM HEAVEN
dixieland PETITE FLEUR
dixieland ROYAL GARDEN BLUES
dixieland SAINTS GO MARCHING IN
dixieland SHEIK OF ARABY
dixieland SOMEBODY STOLE MY GAL
dixieland SOUTH RAMPART STREET
dixieland STARS FELL ON ALABAMA
dixieland STRUTTIN WITH SOME BAR BE QUE
dixieland SWEET GEORGIA BROWN
dixieland THAT OLD GANG OF MINE
dixieland THATS A PLENTY
dixieland THE EYES OF TEXAS
dixieland TWELTH STREET RAG
dixieland UNDECIDED
dixieland WALKIN' MY BABY
dixieland WASHINGTON AND LEE SWING
dixieland YES SIR THAT'S MY BABY

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N.Y. AUTUMN IN NEW YORK
N.Y. EASTER PARADE
N.Y. EV'RY STREET'S A BOULEVARD
N.Y. FORTY SECOND STREET
N.Y. GIVE MY REGARDS TO BROADWAY
N.Y. HOW ABOUT YOU
N.Y. I LOVE NEW YORK
N.Y. IN THE RAINBOW ROOM
N.Y. MANHATTAN
N.Y. MANHATTAN SERENADE
N.Y. NATIVE NEW YORKER
N.Y. NEW YOR NEW YORK (ON THE TOWN)
N.Y. NEW YORK STATE OF MIND
N.Y. PENNSYLVANIA 6-5000
N.Y. ROSE OF WASHINGTON SQUARE
N.Y. SIDEWALKS OF NEW YORK / THE BOWREY TAKE ME BACK TO NEW YORK TOWN / IN OLD NEW YORK [V HERBERT]
N.Y. SLAUGHTER ON TENTH AVENUE
N.Y. SPANISH HARLEM
N.Y. SUNDAY IN NEW YORK
N.Y. THE BROOKLYN BRIDGE
N.Y. THE NEW YORK SOUND
N.Y. TIMES SQUARE SHUFFLE
42ND ST

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A-C
Abide with Me
After the Lovin'
AFTER THE LOVING
After You're Gone
Ain't She Sweet?
Airmail Special
Alexander's Ragtime Band
All Night Long
ALL THE THINGS YOU ARE
ALL THE WAY
ALMOST LIKE BEING IN LOVE - F
ALRIGHT OK
Alright, O.K.
Always
ALWAYS ON MY MIND
American Patrol
AMERICAN WALTZ LARA'S THEME,
AMERICAN WALTZ TENESSEE WALTZ,
Amor
And I Love You So
Andante / JC Bach
Anniversary Song
Answer Me, My Love
Any Time, Any Place
Apple Blossom Time
Apple Honey
April Showers
Arist's Life
AROUND THE WORLD - C
As Long as I Live
AS TIME GOES BY
AT LAST - C
At Last/Serenade in Bl
At Long Last Love
At the Jazz Band Ball
Auf Weidershen
Auld Lang Syne
Autumn in New York
Back To Stay
BARBERSHOP FAREWELL, MY CONEY ISLAND BABY
Beautiful Dreamer
BECAUSE OF YOU - Eb
Belle of the Ball
BEWITCHED - ƒb
BIRTH OF BLUES - C
Blue Danube #1
Blue Danube #2
Blue Danube #3
Blue Danube #4
Blue Flame
Blue Moon
BLUE MOON - F
BLUE SKIES - Fm
Blue Tango
Blues
Bob January Playlist
Boogie Blues
Breaking Up is Hard to Do
Bubbles in the Wine
BUT NOT FOR ME -F
BYE BYE BLACKBIRD
Can't Take My Eyes Off
CAN'T TAKE MY EYES OFF OF YOU
Can't Take My Eyes Off You
CANADIAN SUNSET - F
Caravan
Cassation - Haydn
Celebration
Celery Stalks At Mid
CHA CHA CHERRY PINK,
CHA CHA NEVER ON SUNDAY,
CHA CHA TEA FOR TWO,
Champagne Waltz
Change Partners
Charade Foxtrot
Charleston
Cherokee
Chicken Song
Chopin Nocturne
Christmas Song
CLOSE TO YOU
Come in From the Rain
Continental, The
Copenhagen
Country
Cruisin' Down the River
Cuando, Cuando
Cumana

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D-H
Daddy
Dance in an Old-Fashioned Way
Dancing in the Dark
Dansero
Das Ganze Haus ist Schief
Die Fischer von San Juan
Dipsy Doodle
Do Nothing Till You Hear
Does Your Heart
Doin' the Raccoon
DON'CHA GO WAY MAD - C
Don't Be That Way
DON'T TAKE YOUR LOVE FROM ME
Dream
East of the Sun
Edelweiss
Eine Kleine Nachtmusik
El Cumbanchero
Eleanor Rigby
Elk's Parade
EMBRACEBLE YOU - Bb
Enjoy Yourself
EVERGREEN
Evita
fanfares
Fascination
Feelings
first draft
First of January
Fledermaus Polka
Fledermaus Quadrille
FLY ME TO THE MOON - Eb
Flyin' Home
FOGGY DAY - F
FOOLS RUSH IN
For Dancers Only
For Lena And Lenny
For Lenny and Lena
Forty-Second Street
Four Leaf Clover
FOXTROT CHEEK TO CHEEK,
FOXTROT WHERE OR WHEN,
Frenesi
FUNNY VALENTINE - Cm
Gaudeamus Igetuer
German National Anthem
Girl From Ipanema
GIRL FROM IPENEMA
Glocca Morra
God Bless America
Gold and Silver #1
Gold and Silver #2
Goodbye Blue Danube Closer
Goodbye
GOODY GOODY - C
Goofus
GRANADA,
Guantamamera
Hail to the Chief
Harbor Lights
Harlem Nocturne
Havah Negelah
Heartaches
Here, There, Everywhere
HEY THERE - F
Hi Ho Polka
Hi Le Hi Lo
Hilary
HONEYSUCKLE ROSE
Hop Off
Hot Hot Hot
How About You?
How Am I To Know?
How Deep Is Your Love
HOW LONG HAS THIS BEEN GOING ON - C

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I-K
I CAN SEE CLEARLY NOW-no lyrics
I Can't Get Started
I CAN'T GIVE YOU ANYTHING BUT
I Can't Help Loving You
I Could Write a Book
I Didn't Know About You
I Don't Want To Know
I Don't Want to Walk Without You
I Get Ideas
I Got Rhythm
I Love Lucy Merengue
i love paris
I Wanna Be Loved By
I WISH YOU LOVE - F
I Wonder Who's Kissing
I'LL REMEMBER APRIL
I'll Remember April
I'm Beginning to See the Light
I'm Coming Virginia
I'm Just Wild About
I'm Looking Over a Four-
I'm So Excited
I'm Walkin'
I'VE GOT A CRUSH ON YOU - F
I've Got A Crush On You / What's New?
I'VE GOT IT BAD - F
I've Got My Love to Keep
I'VE GOT THE WORLD ON A STRING - F
I've Heard That Song Before
IF I RULED THE WORLD
In a Mellotone
IN A SENTIMENTAL MOOD
In My Soltitude
In the Mood
Indian Love Call
Intermission Riff
Irish Waltzes
Isle of Capri
It Don't Mean a Thing
It Had to Be You
It Looks So Easy
It Only Happens When I
IT'S ALRIGHT WITH ME
IT'S IMPOSSIBLE
Italian Waltzez
ITS ONLY A PAPER MOON - F
Jack, You're Dead
January Time
Jean/Greensleeves
Jennifer's Clarinet
Jersey Bounce
Jetzt gehts los!
Johnson Rag
JOINT IS JUMPIN - Eb
Joint is Jumpin'
Joint is Jumpin'
Josephine
Jumpin' at the Savoy
Jumpin' At The Woodside
Jungle Drums
Just a Gigilo
JUST IN TIME - C
Just Keep On Jumpin'
JUST ONE OF THOSE THINGS
JUST ONE OF THOSE THINGS - Dm
Just the Way You Are
Kaye's Tune
Kentucky Girl
KILLING ME SOFTLY
Killing Me Softly
King Porter Stomp
Kokomo

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L-M
L'il Darlin'
La Bamba
La Cumpresita
La Paloma
LADY IS A TRAMP
Laughter in the Rain
LAURA
Leap Frog
Leapfrog
Let's Dance
Let's Face the Music
Libiamo
Lilting Music
LINDY DON'T GET AROUND MUCH,
LINDY I'M BEGINNING TO SEE,
LINDY IN THE MOOD,
Little Brown Jug
Little Emperor Waltz
LOVE IS HERE TO STAY
Love is Sweeping The
Love Me Tender
LOVE ME THENDER
LOVE WALKED IN
Love You Madly
LOVE YOU MADLY - Bb
LOVER COME BACK TO ME
Lucky Star
LULLABY OF A BIRDLAND - F
Lulu
Mack the Knife
Mad About the Boy
MAKE SOMEONE HAPPY
Mala Femena
Malaguena
Malaguena
Mambo Jambo
Man with the Horn
Marie
Meistersinger
Memories of You
Memory
MEMORY- C
MERENGUE BLACK ORPHEUS,
MERENGUE LA CRUZ,
MERENGUE UNIVERSAL,
MERENGUE WHAT A DIFFERENCE A DAY MADE,
Merry Widow
metro Metroswing Opener
metro You'd Be So Nice
metro swing A String of Pearls
Mi Cha Cha
Miami Beach Rumbe
Midnight in Moscow
MIGHT AS WELL BE SPRING - G
Mignon Polonaise
MISBEHAVIN'
Miserlou
Mister Five by Five
Mister Lucky
Mister Sandman
MISTY - Eb
Mood Indigo
Moody Chant
MOON RIVER - Eb
Moonglow
Moonlight Serenade.x
MORE
MORE
MORE - C
MORE THAN YOU KNOW
Moton Swing
Music Makers
Music, Maestro, Please
MUSIC, MUSIC MUSIC
Muskrat Ramble
MY ROMANCE

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N-R
N.Y., NY
Native New Yorker
NATURE BOY
Nature Boy
Never Gonna Let You Go
New York NewYork
new york songs
New York State Of
Night Train
Nine Twenty Special
Ninety-four Seconds
Northwest Passage
Object of My Affection
OLD BLACK MAGIC - G
ON A CLEAR DAY
On the Road Again
ON THE STREET WHERE YOU LIVE
ONCE IN A WHILE - Eb
Once in Love with Amy
One
ONE NOTE SAMBA
One O'Clock Jump
Opus #1
Original Dixieland
OUR LOVE IS HERE TO STAY - Eb
OVER THE RAINBOW
Oye Como Va
Pachelbal / Canon
PAPER MOON - F
PASO DOBLE El RELICARIO,
PASO DOBLE LADY OF SPAIN,
Patricia
PEABODY THE SHEIK,
PEABODY WHISPERING,
Perdido
Petite Waltz
Plink Plank Plunk
POLKA CLARINET POLKA,
Pomp & Circumstance
Princess Pat
PUT ON A HAPPY FACE
Put On Your Old Grey
Puttin' on the Ritz
Que Sera
QUIET NIGHTS
Radetzky March
Red Red Wine
Red Roses
Red Roses
REST OF YOUR LIFE
Rigamarole
Rise
Rise
Rock And Roll To Satisfy
Rock Around The Clock
Route 66
RUMBA AMOR,
RUMBA BALLERINA,
RUMBA BESAME MUCHO,
RUMBA SPANISH EYES,
RUMBA SPEAK LOW,

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S
S'WONDERFUL - Eb
Saint Thomas
SAMBA ANNA,
SAMBA BRAZIL,
SATIN DOLL - C
Satin Swing
Schšn ist die Liebe im Hafen
SECOND TIME AROUND
Send in the Clowns
SENTIMENTAL JOURNEY
SEPTEMBER IN RAIN - Bb
September Song
Seven-twenty in the Books
Sewanee River
Shanty Town
She Didn't Say/ 12
She's Funny That Way
Shine On, Harvest Moon
Shiney Stockings
Shoenbrunner Waltz
Short You and You
Sing Sing Sing
SING SING SING
Sir Duke
SITTING ON TOP OF THE WORLD - F
Six Dances / Beethoven
Skater's Waltz
Skyliner
Sleepy Time Down South
Sleigh Ride
Small Change
Smoke Rings
Snowfall
Snowfall
So Rare
SOME ENCHANTED EVE NING
Some Enchanted Evening
Someday My Prince Will
Someday, You'll be Sorry
SOMEONE TO WATCH OVER ME - C
SOMETHING
SOMETIMES I'M HAPPY - F
SOPHISTICATED LADY
Sound of Music
South Rampart Street Parade
Southern Comfort
Southern Roses
Speakeasy
star spangled banner
Stardreams
STARDUST
Stars and Stripes
Stayin' Alive
Stealin' Apples
Stomp, The
Stompin' At the Savoy
STORMY WEATHER - Bb
Straighten Up And Fly
STRAIGHTEN UP AND FLY RIGHT
Strictly Instrumen
Strike Up the Band
String Of Pearls
Summer Wind
Sunny Side of the Street
SUNNYSIDE OF THE STREET
Sunrise Highway
Swanee River
Swedish Rhapsody
Sweet Caroline
Sweet Georgia Brown
Sweetest Sounds
Swing Street
Swingtime in The
Swingtime in the Rockies
SYMPHONY SID -
Syncopated Clock

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T-V
Tain't What You Do
Take the 'A' Train
Tales of the Vienna Woods
TANGO JELOUSIE,
TANGO LA CUMPRESITA,
Tango of Roses
TannhaŸser March
Tannhauser Overture
Tarrentella
TEACH ME TONIGHT - Eb
Ten Day Furlough
TENDERLY
Tenessee Waltz
Tennessee Flattop
Tennessee Waltz
Tequilla
Thank Heavens For Little Girls
That Old Gang of Mine
That'll Be the Day
THAT'S ALL
THE BEST THINGS IN LIFE
The Closer I Get to You
The Continental
The Joint Is Jumpin'
The Mooche
THE MORE I SEE YOU
THE NEARNESS OF YOU - Eb
THE SUNNY SIDE OF THE STREET
The Sweetest Sounds
The Time of My Life
THE VERY THOUGHT OF YOU - Ab
The Way You Look Tonight
Them There Eyes
There is No Greater Love
There'll Be Some Changes Made
THESE FOOLISH THINGS
Things Ain't What They Use
THIS IS ALL I ASK
This Nearly Was Mine
Three O'clock in the Morn
Tiger Rag
TIME AFTER TIME - C
Time in a Bottle
Tiptoe Through the Tulips
Tonight We Love
Tritsch Tratsch Polka
Trumpet Cha Cha
TRY A LITTLE TENDERNESS
Tumblin' Tumbleweed
Tuxedo Junction
Two o'Clock Jump
Unforgettable
Universal Merengue
Until I Met You
Untitled Waltz
Vaya Con Dios
VIENNESE WALTZ EMPEROR WALTZ,
VIENNESE WALTZ WALTZ AT MAXIM'S,
Village Swallows
Voices of Spring

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W-Z
Wait Till the Sun Shines,
Waiter Waiter
Waltz / Weber
Waltz At Maxim's
Waltz at Maxims
Waltz of the Flowers
Waltz You Saved
Warschaurer Polka
Water Music #4
WAVE
WAVE - F
Way You Look Tonight
Wedding Music
Wednesday Night Hop
Wein
Welcome to the Quadrille
WHAT KIND OF FOOL AM I
When My Dreamboat Comes
WHEN YOU'RE SMILING
When You're Smiling
Where Did Our Love Go?
Whispering
Who Cares?
Wiffenpoof Song
Wildflower
Wine and Women (new)
Woodchopper's Ball
WORLD ON A STRING - F
Yes We Have No Banannas
Yes, Indeed
Yes, Sir, That's My Baby
Yes, We Have No Bananas
You Are My Lucky Star
YOU ARE MY SUNSHINE - F
You Call It Madness
YOU DO SOMETHING TO ME - F
You Light Up My Life
You Made Me Love You
YOU MAKE ME FEEL SO YOUNG
You Oughta Be in Pictures
You Stepped Out of A
YOU STEPPED OUT OF A DREAM - C
You Took Advantage
YOU TOOK ADVANTAGE OF ME - Eb
You're a Grand Old Flag
You're Just in Love
Yours is My Heart Alone
Zarathustra
Zorba
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About this songlist