Lara Downes' new album, America Again, comes out Oct. 28. Rik Keller/Courtesy of the artist. hide caption

Frank Sinatra captured by photographer William "PoPsie" Randolph during a 1943 concert. Author Ben Yagoda points to Sinatra as one of the interpreters who helped revive the Great American Songbook. William "PoPsie" Randolph/Courtesy of Riverhead hide caption

American composer Irving Berlin sings his song "God Bless America" in front of Boy Scouts troop members and spectators gathered at a tent in Monticello, New York in 1940. Instead of collecting royalties from "God Bless America," Berlin created a fund that collected and distributed them to the Boy and Girl Scouts. Getty Images hide caption

Composer Irving Berlin, circa 1918. Henry Guttmann/Getty Images hide caption

Composer Irving Berlin. Hulton Archive/Getty Images hide caption

Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers Hulton Archive/Getty Images hide caption