A 10-member panel co-chaired by John S. Wilson (NY Times jazz writer) and George T. Simon (music authority and record producer)made the selections compromising songs from the works of George Gershwin, Cole Porter, Richard Rodgers, Jerome Kern, Irving Berlin, Harold Arlen, Duke Ellington, and others. Mixed with the Song performances of the All-Star cast was documentary footage of the composers performing their own songs. The Special ends with Dinah Shore singing the panel's choice of their all-time favorite song.