A qualified "Great American Song," must be durable and playable in multiple styles, usually in contexts in which the song is important, the performing artist second, a common circumstance between 1900 and 1960, possibly not so much now when the artist and electronics seem to dominate.

This is one hypothesis from Chris Lewis, Executive Director of Carmel, Indiana's, Great American Songbook Foundation.

For many of us, this conversation is a wonderful walk down memory lane.