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. This is generally differentiated from a
one-hit wonder in that the artist usually has had success with other songs as well. A signature song may be a song that spearheads an artist's initial mainstream breakthrough, a song that revitalizes an artist's career, or a song that simply represents a high point in an artist's career. Often, a signature song will feature trademark characteristics of an artist and may encapsulate the artist's particular sound and style. 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] Artists and bands with a signature song are generally expected to perform it at every concert appearance, often as an
encore on concert tours, sometimes being the last song of the setlist.[2]
Written by
Dolly Parton and originally released by her in 1974 with Houston's cover of the song later being recorded as a part of the soundtrack to the film The Bodyguard (1992). Inducted into the
National Recording Registry in 2019.
^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.
^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.
^Green, Alfred (2015). Rhythm Is My Beat: Jazz Guitar Great Freddie Green and the Count Basie Sound. Lanham, Maryland:
Rowman & Littlefield. p. xxvi. 1979 Basie's signature tune, "One O'Clock Jump," is inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.
^"Bauhaus". Metropolis Records. Retrieved May 19, 2018. "Bela Lugosi's Dead" not only became BAUHAUS' signature song, but an anthem for the gothic rock scene which the band is credited for having spawned.
^"Beck's Back". Billboard. March 22, 2005. Retrieved February 3, 2016.
^Mills, Matt (August 18, 2016).
"Interview: DragonForce". www.thenationalstudent.com. Retrieved April 3, 2022.
^Joseph P. Fisher; Brian Flota (2011). The Politics of Post-9/11 Music: Sound, Trauma, and the Music Industry in the Time of Terror. Ashgate Publishing. p. 189.
ISBN978-1-4094-2785-8
^Hogan, Ed (2003).
"'Lorraine Ellison' biography". In Vladimir Bogdanov; John Bush; Chris Woodstra; Stephen Thomas Erlewine (eds.). All Music Guide to Soul: The Definitive Guide to R&B and Soul. San Francisco: Backbeat Books. p. 223.
ISBN0-87930-744-7.
LCCN2003052270.
^Saraswati, Dyah Paramita (April 26, 2020).
"Lagu Religi Ikonik dari Masa ke Masa" [The Evolution of Iconic Religious Songs]. Detik Hot (in Indonesian). Retrieved August 1, 2023.
^"Led Zeppelin emerges victor in Stairway to Heaven plagiarism case". Reuters. reuters.com. October 5, 2020. Retrieved February 14, 2022. (Reuters) - British rock band Led Zeppelin on Monday effectively won a long-running legal battle over claims it stole the opening guitar riff from its signature 1971 song "Stairway to Heaven."
^Dawson, Elisabeth.
"George Strait: 10 Prime Hits". CMT. Retrieved April 29, 2021. You can smell the truck stop coffee when you hear this lonely anthem that became one of Strait's signature songs after it was released in 1983.
^Hermanson, Wendy (May 6, 2019).
"Randy Travis celebrates 60th birthday at Grand Ole Opry". Fox News. Retrieved May 7, 2019. Randy Travis, who turned 60 on Saturday (May 4) made a rare public appearance that evening at Nashville's Grand Ole Opry, where he celebrated on stage with a big smile, and sang the final "Amen" in his signature song "Forever and Ever, Amen."
^Party, D. (2009). Placer Culpable: Shame and Nostalgia in the Chilean 1990s Balada Revival. Latin American Music Review / Revista de Música Latinoamericana, 30(1), 69–98.
http://www.jstor.org/stable/29739175
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. This is generally differentiated from a
one-hit wonder in that the artist usually has had success with other songs as well. A signature song may be a song that spearheads an artist's initial mainstream breakthrough, a song that revitalizes an artist's career, or a song that simply represents a high point in an artist's career. Often, a signature song will feature trademark characteristics of an artist and may encapsulate the artist's particular sound and style. 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] Artists and bands with a signature song are generally expected to perform it at every concert appearance, often as an
encore on concert tours, sometimes being the last song of the setlist.[2]
Written by
Dolly Parton and originally released by her in 1974 with Houston's cover of the song later being recorded as a part of the soundtrack to the film The Bodyguard (1992). Inducted into the
National Recording Registry in 2019.
^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.
^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.
^Green, Alfred (2015). Rhythm Is My Beat: Jazz Guitar Great Freddie Green and the Count Basie Sound. Lanham, Maryland:
Rowman & Littlefield. p. xxvi. 1979 Basie's signature tune, "One O'Clock Jump," is inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.
^"Bauhaus". Metropolis Records. Retrieved May 19, 2018. "Bela Lugosi's Dead" not only became BAUHAUS' signature song, but an anthem for the gothic rock scene which the band is credited for having spawned.
^"Beck's Back". Billboard. March 22, 2005. Retrieved February 3, 2016.
^Mills, Matt (August 18, 2016).
"Interview: DragonForce". www.thenationalstudent.com. Retrieved April 3, 2022.
^Joseph P. Fisher; Brian Flota (2011). The Politics of Post-9/11 Music: Sound, Trauma, and the Music Industry in the Time of Terror. Ashgate Publishing. p. 189.
ISBN978-1-4094-2785-8
^Hogan, Ed (2003).
"'Lorraine Ellison' biography". In Vladimir Bogdanov; John Bush; Chris Woodstra; Stephen Thomas Erlewine (eds.). All Music Guide to Soul: The Definitive Guide to R&B and Soul. San Francisco: Backbeat Books. p. 223.
ISBN0-87930-744-7.
LCCN2003052270.
^Saraswati, Dyah Paramita (April 26, 2020).
"Lagu Religi Ikonik dari Masa ke Masa" [The Evolution of Iconic Religious Songs]. Detik Hot (in Indonesian). Retrieved August 1, 2023.
^"Led Zeppelin emerges victor in Stairway to Heaven plagiarism case". Reuters. reuters.com. October 5, 2020. Retrieved February 14, 2022. (Reuters) - British rock band Led Zeppelin on Monday effectively won a long-running legal battle over claims it stole the opening guitar riff from its signature 1971 song "Stairway to Heaven."
^Dawson, Elisabeth.
"George Strait: 10 Prime Hits". CMT. Retrieved April 29, 2021. You can smell the truck stop coffee when you hear this lonely anthem that became one of Strait's signature songs after it was released in 1983.
^Hermanson, Wendy (May 6, 2019).
"Randy Travis celebrates 60th birthday at Grand Ole Opry". Fox News. Retrieved May 7, 2019. Randy Travis, who turned 60 on Saturday (May 4) made a rare public appearance that evening at Nashville's Grand Ole Opry, where he celebrated on stage with a big smile, and sang the final "Amen" in his signature song "Forever and Ever, Amen."
^Party, D. (2009). Placer Culpable: Shame and Nostalgia in the Chilean 1990s Balada Revival. Latin American Music Review / Revista de Música Latinoamericana, 30(1), 69–98.
http://www.jstor.org/stable/29739175