In "Casablanca" Humphrey Bogart (as Rick) told Dooley Wilson (as Sam) to "play it," and the pianist knew what he meant: "As Time Goes By."
A half-century later, the song is still one of the most requested in dining rooms and piano lounges around the country, though it's not No. 1, according to Jimmy Rudolph, a veteran pianist and composer who performs in the Founders room of Philadelphia's Hotel Atop the Bellevue.Rudolph keeps track. The hotel's guests come from all regions of the country, so he considers his "survey" geographically comprehensive. The songs lean toward Broadway and the standards.
And according to his current list, the most requested are:
1. "Music of the Night"
2. "Memory"
3. "As Time Goes By"
4. "New York, New York"
5. "All I Ask of You
6. "Misty"
7. "Unforgettable"
8. "Somewhere My Love"
9. "Send in the Clowns"
10. "It Had to Be You"