A product of the Brill Building hothouse of pop songwriters, ‘We Gotta Get Out Of This Place’ was initially marked up for The Righteous Brothers, who would’ve got the brooding right but never had the grubby, throaty force Eric Burdon brings to the job, nor The Animals’ stealthy blues groove. In the end this just missed out on the UK top spot to The Beatles’‘Help!’ Sometimes ‘The Sounds Of Silence’, sometimes ‘The Sound Of Silence’, depending on which year you’re standing in, Simon And Garfunkel’s first US No.1 started life on the flop debut album ‘Wednesday Morning, 3am’ before being retooled for success without the duo’s permission by producer Tom Wilson. They didn’t complain about the results, and the song found its true resonance in 1967’s The Graduate. You can credit (or, occasionally, blame?) The Shirelles for the invention of the girl group. They would score their signature No.1 in 1960 with ‘Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?’, but ‘I Met Him On A Sunday’ was the first single, a laconic, gorgeous doo-wop call and response that got them signed to Tiara before a Decca licensing deal sent them national.

Disney's "Pocahontas" represented a qualitative step down from previous hits like "The Lion King" and "Beauty and the Beast," but that didn't mean it couldn't still provide fans with a timeless tune. "Colors of the Wind" won Best Original Song at the 1996 Academy Awards. The song was written by Stephen Schwartz and Alan Menken, sung by Judy Kuhn in the film, and by Vanessa Williams during the end credits—and on the hit single. French composer Maurice Jarre produced iconic instrumentals For 1965's "Doctor Zhivago," including "Lara's Theme," a tune that would later provide the basis for the hit song, "Somewhere, My Love." The film won five Oscars at the 1966 Academy Awards, including Best Original Music Score.

#1. The Sound Of Music

- Highest rank on Billboard 200: #1
Nina Simone’s hepcat jazz cut was a cover of a number from the 1930 musical Whoopee! that appeared on her debut album but only made megahit status when it was used for a 1987 Chanel No.5 advert. The walking bass and skipping keys found favour with the late 80s jazz vampires who sent it top 5 in the UK. Proclaimed as a watershed moment in musical theatre history, Show Boat (originally staged in 1927) with a score by Jerome Kern and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, based on Edna Ferber’s novel, was the first time that the music worked together with the play driving the story, rather than being a review. It’s themes of racial prejudice and tragic enduring love and its score that included songs like Can’t Help Lovin’ Dat Man, Make Believe and Ol’Man River made it a hit that continues to entertain audiences today.Did your favourites make the Top 100? Don’t forget to let us know your thoughts in the Comments section below. 100. Fun Home Written as a pledge of marital devotion and penned as a ballad, it was producer Sam Phillips who suggested the breezy, arrangement. Although Cash’s music and career would inhabit darker, more complicated and ornate territory, the simplicity of ‘I Walk The Line’ is one of his most memorable moments. The reverend of the double entendre, Little Richard’s portrait of a good time “ mama” is unforgettable. With a ragtime piano and a crowing vocal, Little Richard creates a sonic romp that suggests there’s a lot more going under the covers than one initially suspects.

The late, great Etta James had hit the skids by the late-60s, frittering away a decent career with a devastating heroin addiction – but there was enough faith in her voice to give her another go on her recovery. Working at Muscle Shoals in Alabama, James delivered ‘At Last’ and this, a real body blow of a standard that loses none of its emotional heft no matter how often it’s covered. Selected items are only available for delivery via the Royal Mail 48® service and other items are available for delivery using this service for a charge. Beggars Banquet’’s opener was Jagger and Richards at their finest; the former swiping bits of Baudelaire for a dance with the devil and the latter suggesting it be set to a samba rhythm. “ Please allow me to introduce myself / I’m a man of wealth and taste”. As invitations to the dancefloor go, they don’t come more compelling.Once and For All" from Newsies. 62. "Revolting Children" from Matilda. 63. "Santa Fe" from Newsies. 64. "Satisfied" from Hamilton. 65. "She Used To Be Mine" from Waitress. 66. "Singin' in the Rain" from Singin' in the Rain. 67. "Til I Hear You Sing" from Love Never Dies. 68. "Tomorrow" from Annie. 69. "The Room Where it Happens" from Hamilton. 70. "Gold" from Once. 71-80 Last week we asked you to vote for your favourite musical theatre numbers. After thousands of submissions, we've compiled your top 100 showtunes of all time below. Weepy Johnnie Ray found his signature tune here, swamping Churchill Kohlman’s song with his sobbing tones and topping the Billboard chart too. It later became a standard, providing teen idol David Cassidy with a bit of emotional heft and giving Crystal Gayle a country chart No.1. For Ray, ‘Cry’ was the start of a long, successful career in music and film. Now most famous for the combination of Ray Charles sample and Jamie Foxx impression that cooked up the gold dust for Kanye West’s stupendous ‘Gold Digger’ in 2005, ‘I Got A Woman’ itself takes inspiration from gospel song ‘It Must Be Jesus’, in the process marking out the territory for what would become soul music.

Bette Midler lent her acting talent and vocal chops to 1988's "Beaches," a film about the on-and-off relationship between two close friends. While her cover of oldies tune "Under the Boardwalk" was used to promote the film in advance, it was "Wind Beneath My Wings" that took the world by storm, peaking at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. It's still considered one of Bette Midler's most popular songs.The songwriting team of Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman wrote the music for "Mary Poppins," winning two Academy Awards and a Grammy. A supremely talented cast brought their melodies and lyrics to life, with memorable songs like '"A Spoonful of Sugar,""Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious," and "Chim Chim Cher-ee." The result is pure whimsical magic. It’s hard to believe the (slightly craggy) Peter Pan of country Willie Nelson was around and writing this old standard at the start of the 60s, but there he was and here was Patsy Cline delivering the performance she’d end up remembered for, a raw, honest but understated turn that came just two years before her death in a plane crash. Elizabeth Cotten got her belated break in 1957 at the grand old age of 62 when her shimmering guitar playing talents were finally spotted by the Seeger family. She’d actually written the mesmeric ‘Freight Train’ when she was 12 – after 50 years in mothballs, it was soon covered by artists including country star Chet Atkins and folkie Joan Baez. French composer Maurice Jarre produced iconic instrumentals For 1965's "Doctor Zhivago," including "Lara's Theme," a tune that would later provide the basis for the hit song, "Somewhere, My Love." The film won five Oscars at the 1966 Academy Awards, including Best Original Music Score.