A list of hit songs or popular tunes with 12-sting guitar

[Gregory West]

I don't think there exists a list or catalog of songs that feature the 12-string guitar. One of the things that has made the classical guitar endure throughout the centuries is that there is a body of music that everyone learns. The same thing occurs in jazz; everyone learns the standards. The result is that there is a body of music that everyone draws from as a common culture.

I thought it might be a good idea to make a list of recommended listening so each of us can expand our knowledge of the 12-string repertoire. I'm sure there will be some surprising entries. The list could grow quite extensive in time. If we can get it started, perhaps I'll put it into a spreadsheet or database to organize it and make it searchable.

Start with a list of a few of your favorites and add to it when you think of another tune every now and then. I'll bet we come up with a bunch!

[Gregory West]

ARTIST/SONG (In no particular order...just a few are currently on my MP3 player)

Leo Kottke/The Vaseline Machine Gun
" " /The White Ape
" " /Buckaroo
" " /Range
" " /The Room at the Top of the Stairs
The Byrds /Eight Miles High
" " /Turn, Turn, Turn
" " /Hey, Mr. Tambourine Man
Genesis /Dance on a Volcano
" " /Squonk
" " /Cinema Show
" " /Supper's Ready
" " /Turn it On
Leadbelly /Hesitation Blues
" " /Take this Hammer
" " /Goodnight Irene
John Denver/My Sweet Lady
" " /Annie's Song
America /All the Lonely People
" " /Tin Man
" " /Ventura Highway
Supertramp/Sister Moonshine
" " /Give a Little Bit
The Beatles/Hard Day's Night
" " /Ticket to Ride
Gordon Lightfoot/Sundown
" " /Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald
" " /Circle of Steel
" " /Canadian Railroad Trilogy
" " /If You Could Read My Mind
Mary Chapin Carpenter/Passionate Kisses

That's all for now. The list goes on and on....

[Gregory West]

I knew this would happen once I got started....here's a few more.

ARTIST/SONG

Led Zeppelin/When the Levee Breaks
" " /Stairway to Heaven
" " /Thank You
" " /Achilles' Last Stand
" " /Livin' Lovin' Maid

[ruester]

Ian Tyson and Sylvia Fricker, performing as Ian & Sylvia used the 12-string in the 60's
and early 70's..."You Were On My Mind" was perhaps their best known song..The early
albums on Vanguard were a source of great guitar playing.

[Gerry Hinson]

Actually, there is a book which specifically contains several 12-string song and artist lists, as well as alternate tunings used: The Twelve-String Guitar Guide by Mark Hanson (Ansco Publications, 1993); an excellent "guitar case" format book. 12-STRING GUITAR (Hal Leonard) is a 25-song book with transcriptions in score plus tab. Still available in a few places is THE 12-STRING GUITAR AS PLAYED BY LEADBELLY, by Pete Seeger & Julius Lester. I've got the Fred Neil Songbook also. Many Jefferson Airplane Songs feature Paul Kantner's 12-string, and he plays mostly 12-string now with the current Jefferson Starship.

Gerry Hinson

[Bill Tong]

America: Sister Golden Hair
Roy Orbison: Oh, Pretty Woman

[Freeman Keller]

While not quite what you asked for, there has been an 8 page thread on UMGF 12 String Cafe' listing "songs that sound good on a 12 string".

http://theunofficialmartinguitarforum.yuku.com/topic/3318

I just added the 3 cd plus dvd Leadbelly collection to my library - many songs here that I had never heard before. And since I am partial to the sound of a tuned down ladder braced 12 string, I'll add Willie McTell and Barbeque Bob to the old masters, and Paul Geremia and Alvan Youngblood Hart to modern players.