dbopm :: the database of popular music

Welcome to dbopm :: the database of popular music.

dbopm celebrates the great diversity of popular music, not limited by era or genre.

From the Great American Songbook to English music hall, French chanson, songs from the shows, film themes, operatic arias, folk, blues, pop charts - it's all likely to be represented here.

Origins.

dbopm was created by Martin Hall, following his retirement from the music publishing industry. The data was originally collected in a card index specifically targeting the songs and songwriters of the Great American Songbook era. Building on that base, Martin continued collecting music data while acquiring the skills relevant to building an online database. The data was stored for a while in John Campbell's superlative MS-DOS Masterfile Professional (M-Pro), before it was ultimately moved online.

No frills, no fuss, just the facts.

The site is designed to be fast-loading and easy to use, so you can get straight to the information you need.

Intensively cross-referenced.

The database structure enables easy movement between related items. For example, there are currently 218,503 internal links connecting songs with artists. See our statistics page for more details.

Precise external links.

We have established direct connections to relevant data at other music sites, making dbopm a useful one-stop source for your research.

dbopm is a work-in-progress.

The database is constantly being updated. If you can't find what you're looking for, please let us know!

All verifiable data contributions will be included in future updates.

Please note that data may be subject to change as research is on-going.

Disclaimer: while every reasonable effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the contents of this database, we cannot be responsible for any errors or omissions.

dbopm :: the database of popular music.

Joined-up knowledge. What the Internet was made for.

We want your feedback.

Please send us your comments, questions and data submissions or corrections.

All verifiable data contributions will be included in future updates.

Please also let us know if you have encountered any technical problems while using this site.

The Database of Popular Music is very helpful. We especially appreciate all the cross references and easy access to those references."
-- Marcia Jansen, Sheet Music Specialist, The Michael Feinstein Great American Songbook Initiative.

Navigation through the database is provided by the "Public database access" menu option at the top of the page.
This tabbed page may be retrieved via the "dbopm" (Home) link at the top-left of the page.

Number of records per major database table

Table	Records
Songs	154,086
Artists	24,915
Song/Artist connections	218,503
Songwriters	12,475
Song/Songwriter connections	138,389
Films	4,910
StageShows	3,534
Stage Productions	4,614
Actors	13,079
Film/Actor connections	24,828
StageProduction/Actor connections	17,883

You can help.

dbopm is not a commercial site.

As the database grows, so do the bandwidth costs.

You can show your appreciation and support future development by donating.

No amount is too small.

Martin Hall

Previously unpublished work.

Born In Willenhall, Staffordshire, England in 1945.
Uneducated at Willenhall Comprehensive School. (Thank you, Anthony Crosland.)
Writer of "Do the Dance Now, Davey" recorded by Colin Scot and performed by him in folk clubs up and down the country.
Author of "The Stan Cullis Blues" (Charisma Books, 1974).
Lyricist for "Excuse Me" recorded by Peter Gabriel.
Lyricist for "Starbright Park" recorded by Quantum Jump.
Lyricist for "Redman" recorded by Capability Brown and Rare Bird.
Lyricist for "The Man You Were" recorded by Shirley Horn, Ann Hampton Calloway and others.
Lyricist for John Perry's "Seabird" album, which I still believe should have been titled "The Uncle Seabird Album."
Writer or co-writer of many other songs recorded by a wide variety of artists.
Librettist for "Letters to Lindbergh", a cantata composed by Sir Richard Rodney Bennett.
Founder and sole developer of the database of popular music at www.dbopm.com.