A show tune is a popular song originally written as part of the score of a "show" (or stage musical), especially if the piece in question has become a "standard", more or less detached in most people's minds from the original context. Particular musicals that have yielded "show tunes" include:
Though show tunes vary in style, they do tend to share common characteristics—they usually fit the context of a story being told in the original musical, t...
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A show tune is a popular song originally written as part of the score of a "show" (or stage musical), especially if the piece in question has become a "standard", more or less detached in most people's minds from the original context. Particular musicals that have yielded "show tunes" include:
Though show tunes vary in style, they do tend to share common characteristics—they usually fit the context of a story being told in the original musical, they are useful in enhancing and heightening choice moments.
Until the late sixties, show tunes dominated popular music: most of the hits of such songwriters as Jerome Kern, Cole Porter, and George Gershwin came from their shows.
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