Speaking of Hoagy Carmichael, at one point "Stardust" was the most recorded and covered song of all time. (Now it's "Yesterday." There are also 4,000 versions of "Summertime.") It's hard to know what makes this song so special--the integration of the verse and the chorus, which have similar melodic patterns. The perfect "fit" between the lyric and the melody. The melody itself, which its up and down movement and unpredictability. It combines unpredictability and inevitability like few other tunes.

I used to think Ray Charles had written "Georgia on my Mind." I was used to the idea that the singer was the songwriter. Of course I was 14 at the time so there is some excuse. Also, it's the perfect fit between song and singer. It's too bad Louis Armstrong's version isn't more played.