Great American Songbook: Love Songs

Sure, the Beatles were right: love is all you need. But what kind of love would be complete without these all-time classic cuts from the Great American Songbook. Every note is steeped in romance for a one-way ticket to giddy delirium, from Ella Fitzgerald's irresistible "Let's Fall in Love" to Mel Tormé's velveteen "That's All."

Few men can deliver a romantic standard with quite the same authority as the Chairman of the Board, Frank Sinatra — and there's no better proof of that than "Come Fly With Me." However, don't overlook Johnny Hartman's stunning version of David Mann & Bob Hilliard's "In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning."

The list of artists who have recorded "Autumn Leaves" runs longer than a trombone player's arm. The song was originally a French poem set to music in 1946, then given English lyrics by the great Johnny Mercer. From then on, the song cemented itself within the great American tradition. Here, Nat King Cole dusts it with tender melancholy.

The Great American Songbook is chock-full of romance, and its most celebrated composers were so adept at cranking up the love-o-meter that their work thrills the heart to this very day. Try playing Irving Berlin's "Cheek to Cheek" (performed by Fred Astaire in Top Hat) or Richard Rodgers & Lorenz Hart's "My Funny Valentine" (here delivered by Chet Baker) without feeling the urge to blow spontaneous kisses at a stranger. Here are the greatest reasons to get love-struck.