Music Database

People (artists, composers, producers) [9,625]
Works (songs, other track titles): Alphabetical – By year – Geographical [16,939]
Releases (albums, singles, EPs): Alphabetical – By year [1,543]

This database, begun in 1990, contains data about purchased audio recordings we have in our house. It does not include computer files, only physical objects requiring shelf space (CDs, records, and tapes). This version is simplified for public consumption, omitting purely personal information such as storage locations, homemade items, and opinion ratings.

The database itself is not online and the browser does not retrieve current data directly from it. Rather, the browser consists of static Web pages generated by an output program. Uploading the entire browser takes several hours, so updates will be sporadic. If an update is in progress, some links will not work as expected until it finishes.

If a particular recording is represented by a page at mp3lyrics.org and that page reflects the work of Briana Carson, a link to the page is provided wherever that recording is listed.

Some facts about older songs are acquired from the book "Who Wrote That Song?" by Dick and Harriet Jacobs (first edition 1988, second edition 1994).

Top 20

In terms of total playing time, these 20 names currently are the ones most represented in our collection.

1. Todd Rundgren
2. William Shakespeare
3. Frank Zappa
4. John McClure (classical music producer)
5. Ween
6. London Symphony
7. Janis Ian
8. Waylon Jennings
9. Willie Nelson
10. Bill Nelson
11. Igor Stravinsky
12. Robert Fripp
13. Cocteau Twins
14. The Beatles
15. Andrew Lloyd Webber
16. Johnny Cash
17. Leonard Bernstein
18. Steve Reich
19. Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky
20. Led Zeppelin

Alphabetization

• Names and titles beginning with articles are inverted so that the article is at the end, even if the entry is not in English. Example: KLEINE NACHTMUSIK, EINE.
• Titles beginning with THEME FROM are inverted so that these words are at the end, after any inverted articles. Example: SUMMER PLACE, A, THEME FROM.
• All titles begin with a letter. Those that normally would not begin with a letter have been respelled so that they do. Examples:
  • 96 TEARS becomes NINETY-SIX TEARS
  • (THEY LONG TO BE) CLOSE TO YOU becomes CLOSE TO YOU (THEY LONG TO BE)
  • ? (MODERN INDUSTRY) becomes QUESTION MARK (MODERN INDUSTRY)
• Common generic words such as BAND, GROUP, and ORCHESTRA are omitted when they are merely appended to a person's name. For example, "Spencer Davis Group" and "Percy Faith and His Orchestra" are simply reduced to DAVIS, SPENCER and FAITH, PERCY. Less common, more specific words such as TRIO and QUARTET might be included, but still will be alphabetized under the person's last name.

Disambiguation

• Works with the same title are differentiated by a number in brackets after the title, in chronological order. Example: JOY TO THE WORLD [1] (Christmas carol), JOY TO THE WORLD [2] (Hoyt Axton song). We could use something more informative than a number, but doing so would require some reprogramming.
• Albums with the same title are differentiated by the name of the artist in brackets after the title. Example: GREATEST HITS [DAVID ALLAN COE], GREATEST HITS [WAYLON JENNINGS].
• People with the same name might not be differentiated yet. As we become aware of these, we will break them out by adding numbers to them, but there is no easy way to find them all. Example: HARVEY, ALEX [1] (Scot); HARVEY, ALEX [2] (American).
• Different recordings of the same song may include extra words as part of the track title, such as (REMIX). Such extra language is included where reference is made to the specific track, but all such tracks link to the basic song. Example: Clicking on REVOLUTION 1 will take you to the page for REVOLUTION.

Normalization issues

• Most medleys are broken out among the individual songs featured (since each song also may be featured elsewhere apart from the others), but there is no entry for the entire medley as a unit. Example: AQUARIUS/LET THE SUNSHINE IN is not listed as such, but can be found under either song.
• Works that are partially based on another, such as song parodies with new lyrics, have their own entries, with no way of directly accessing the data for the original work (if we have it). In some cases, the work from which another is derived is given in brackets. Example: AUTOMATION [FASCINATION] (FASCINATION itself has an entry, but the entry for AUTOMATION does not link directly to it).

People (artists, composers, producers)
Works (songs, other track titles): Alphabetical – By year – Geographical
Releases (albums, singles, EPs): Alphabetical – By year

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