Frank da CruzA selection that aims to cover the kinds of music that were “in the air” in NYC between 1929 and 1943. The ones marked WWII have a sentimental or inspirational wartime theme. Items marked with * are especially noteworthy. Hit positions are from Wikipedia “year in music” pages. You can sort on any column by clicking on the column heading one or twice. In the Notes column, an underlined phrase in italics is the name of the film where the song premiered. The Video column links to a copy of the song at Youtube or elsewhere. Videos can disappear at any time, or have ads added, and the quality and volume can vary.
fdc@columbia.edu
27 July 2017
[Also see Oval Park 80th Anniversary CDs]
| Year | Artist | Song | Notes | Video | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1929 | Bessie Smith | Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out | Youtube | ||
| 1930 | Ben Selvin Orchestra | Happy Days Are Here Again | FDR's campaign song in 1932 | Youtube | |
| 1931 | Alfredo Brito Orquesta | Siboney | Youtube | ||
| 1932 | Belle Baker | A Shanty in Old Shanty Town | Youtube | ||
| 1932 | Bing Crosby | Brother Can You Spare A Dime | #4 hit of 1932 | Youtube | |
| 1932 | Duke Ellington Orchestra w/ Ivie Anderson | It Don't Mean a Thing If It Ain't Got That Swing | #3 hit of 1932 | Youtube | |
| 1932 | The Spirits of Rhythm | I Got Rhythm | Youtube | ||
| 1933 | Billie Holiday w/ Benny Goodman | Your Mother's Son In Law | Billie Holiday's first recording session | Youtube | |
| 1933 | Billie Holiday w/ Benny Goodman | Riffin the Scotch | Billie Holiday's first recording session | Youtube | |
| 1933 | Duke Ellington Orchestra | Sophisticated Lady | Youtube | ||
| 1933 | Etta Moten | The Carioca | Flying Down to Rio | Youtube | * |
| 1933 | Joan Blondell and Etta Moten | My Forgotten Man | Gold Diggers of 1933 | Youtube | * |
| 1933 | Ginger Rogers | We're In The Money | Gold Diggers of 1933 | Youtube | |
| 1933 | Xavier Cugat w/ Carmen Castillo | Caminito | Youtube | ||
| 1934 | Benny Goodman | Moon Glow | #1 hit of 1934 | Youtube | |
| 1934 | Cab Calloway | (medley) | Hi De Ho | Youtube | |
| 1934 | Cab Calloway | Jitter Bug | Youtube | ||
| 1934 | Chick Webb Orchestra | Stompin at the Savoy | Youtube | ||
| 1934 | Fats Waller | Honeysuckle Rose | Youtube | ||
| 1934 | Ginger Rogers | The Continental | #3 hit of 1934; The Gay Divorcee | Youtube | |
| 1934 | Jimmy Durante | Inka Dinka Doo | Palooka | Youtube | |
| 1935 | Bill Robinson and Shirley Temple | (medley) | The Little Colonel | Youtube | |
| 1935 | Cleo Brown Quartet | Boogie Woogie | Youtube | ||
| 1935 | Cleo Brown Quartet | Breakin in a New Pair of Shoes | Youtube | ||
| 1935 | Cleo Brown Quartet | When Hollywood Goes Black & Tan | Youtube | ||
| 1935 | Fats Waller | It's a Sin to Tell a Lie | Youtube | ||
| 1935 | Fred Astaire | Cheek to Cheek | #1 hit of 1935; Top Hat | Youtube | |
| 1935 | Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers | The Piccolino | Top Hat | Youtube | |
| 1935 | Gumm Sisters (Judy Garland) | La Cucaracha | Youtube | ||
| 1935 | Shirley Temple | Good Ship Lollipop | #3 hit of 1935; Bright Eyes | Youtube | |
| 1935 | Billie Holiday w/ Teddy Wilson | I Wished on the Moon | Youtube | ||
| 1935 | Billie Holiday w/ Teddy Wilson | Miss Brown to You | Youtube | ||
| 1935 | Billie Holiday w/ Teddy Wilson | What A Little Moonlight Can Do | Youtube | ||
| 1936 | Billie Holiday w/ Lester Young | I Can't Get Started with You | Youtube | ||
| 1936 | Billie Holiday w/ Artie Shaw | Summertime | #3 hit of 1936 | Youtube | |
| 1936 | Bing Crosby | Pennies from Heaven | #1 hit of 1936; Pennies from Heaven | Youtube | |
| 1936 | Cab Calloway | Copper Colored Gal | Youtube | ||
| 1936 | Cab Calloway | Mr. Toscanini Swing for Minnie | Youtube | ||
| 1936 | Chick Webb Orchestra | Go Harlem | Youtube | ||
| 1936 | Ella Fitzgerald w/ Chick Webb Orchestra | You'll Have to Swing It | a.k.a Mr. Paganini | Youtube | |
| 1936 | Ella Fitzgerald w/ Chick Webb Orchestra | When I Get Low I Get High | Youtube | ||
| 1936 | Django Reinhardt | Django's Tiger | Quintette du Hot Club de France | Youtube | |
| 1936 | Django Reinhardt | Lady Be Good | Quintette du Hot Club de France | Youtube | |
| 1936 | Django Reinhardt | I Can't Give You Anything but Love | Quintette du Hot Club de France | Youtube | |
| 1936 | Martha Raye | Mr. Paganini | Rhythm on the Range | Youtube | |
| 1936 | Mary Lou Williams and The Twelve Clouds of Joy | Walkin and Swingin | Youtube | ||
| 1937 | Septeto Anacaona | Bésame Aquí | (see photo) | Youtube | * |
| 1937 | Septeto Anacaona | Algo Bueno | Youtube | * | |
| 1937 | Benny Goodman | Sing Sing Sing | #1 hit of 1937 | Youtube | * |
| 1937 | Billie Holiday w/ Count Basie | Swing Brother Swing | Youtube | ||
| 1937 | Billie Holiday w/ Teddy Wilson | These Foolish Things | Youtube | ||
| 1937 | Count Basie Orchestra | One O'Clock Jump | #2 hit of 1937 | Youtube | |
| 1937 | Django Reinhardt | In a Sentimental Mood | Quintette du Hot Club de France | Youtube | |
| 1937 | Duke Ellington Orchestra | Caravan | #5 hit of 1937 | Youtube | |
| 1937 | Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers | A Fine Romance | Swing Time | Youtube | |
| 1937 | Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers | Let's Call the Whole Thing Off | Shall We Dance | Youtube | |
| 1938 | Andrews Sisters | Bei Mir Bist Du Schoen | #4 hit of 1938 | Youtube | |
| 1938 | Benny Goodman | Sing Sing Sing | Carnegie Hall Concert version (13 min) | Youtube | * |
| 1938 | Ella Fitzgerald w/ Chick Webb Orchestra | A Tisket a Tasket | Youtube | ||
| 1938 | Ella Fitzgerald w/ Chick Webb Orchestra | Franklin D Roosevelt Jones | Youtube | * | |
| 1938 | Snow White | Whistle While You Work | #3 hit of 1938; Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs | Youtube | |
| 1939 | Coleman Hawkins | Body and Soul | Youtube | ||
| 1939 | Duke Ellington Orchestra | Take the A Train | Youtube | ||
| 1939 | Eleanor Rodríguez | Bolero Sentimental | About the Depression in Puerto Rico | Youtube | |
| 1939 | Fats Waller | Your Feets Too Big | Youtube | ||
| 1939 | Frank Sinatra w/ Harry James Orchestra | All or Nothing at All | Youtube | ||
| 1939 | Ink Spots | If I Didn't Care | The 10th best sellling single of all time | Youtube | |
| 1939 | Judy Garland | Somewhere Over the Rainbow | #1 hit of 1939; The Wizard of Oz | Youtube | |
| 1939 | Marlene Dietrich | Falling in Love Again | The Blue Angel | Youtube | |
| 1939 | MGM Orchestra | Tara's Theme | Gone with the Wind | Youtube | |
| 1939 | Vera Lynn | We'll Meet Again | WWII | Youtube | |
| 1939 | Will Glahé | WPA Polka | Youtube | ||
| 1940 | Billie Holiday and her Orchestra | Body and Soul | Youtube | ||
| 1940 | Frank Sinatra | I'll Be Seeing You | Youtube | ||
| 1940 | Frank Sinatra | Once in a While | Youtube | ||
| 1940 | Glenn Miller | In the Mood | #1 hit of 1940 | Youtube | |
| 1940 | Ink Spots | We Three | Youtube | ||
| 1940 | Xavier Cugat Orchestra | Perfidia | Youtube | ||
| 1941 | Andrews Sisters | Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy | WWII; Buck Privates | Youtube | |
| 1941 | Andrews Sisters | Gimme Some Skin My Friend | WWII; In the Navy | Youtube | |
| 1941 | Anita O'Day w/ Gene Krupa | Let Me Off Uptown | With Roy Eldredge | Youtube | * |
| 1941 | Anita O'Day w/ Gene Krupa | Skylark | Youtube | * | |
| 1941 | Helen Forrest / Benny Goodman | Smoke Gets in Your Eyes | Youtube | ||
| 1941 | Peggy Lee w/ Benny Goodman | Elmer's Tune | Youtube | ||
| 1941 | Peggy Lee w/ Benny Goodman | Sunny Side of the Street | Youtube | ||
| 1941 | Peggy Lee w/ Benny Goodman | Why Don't You Do Right | Youtube | ||
| 1941 | Billie Holiday and her Orchestra | I Cover the Waterfront | Youtube | ||
| 1941 | Billie Holiday w/ Eddie Heywood | God Bless the Child | #5 hit of 1941 | Youtube | |
| 1941 | The Crows | When I See an Elephant Fly | Dumbo | Youtube | |
| 1941 | Fats Waller | The Joint is Jumpin' | Youtube | ||
| 1941 | Glenn Miller | Chattanooga Choo Choo | #1 hit of 1941 | Youtube | |
| 1941 | Ink Spots | Java Jive | Youtube | ||
| 1941 | Martha Tilton | A Little Jive Is Good For You | Youtube | ||
| 1941 | Vera Lynn | White Cliffs of Dover | WWII | Youtube | |
| 1942 | Andrews Sisters | Don't Sit Under the Apple Tree | WWII; Private Buckaroo | Youtube | |
| 1942 | Andrews Sisters | Six Jerks in a Jeep | WWII; Private Buckaroo | Youtube | |
| 1942 | Anita O'Day w/ Gene Krupa | Harlem on Parade | WWII | Youtube | * |
| 1942 | Peggy Lee w/ Benny Goodman | I Threw a Kiss in Ocean | WWII | Youtube | |
| 1942 | Ella Mae Morse w/ Freddie Slack Orchestra | Cow Cow Boogie | Ride 'Em Cowboy | Youtube | |
| 1942 | Ella Mae Morse w/ Freddie Slack Orchestra | Mister Five by Five | Off the Beaten Track | Youtube | |
| 1942 | Fats Waller | Ain't Misbehavin' | Youtube | ||
| 1942 | Frank Sinatra | Night and Day | Youtube | ||
| 1942 | Glenn Miller | Kalamazoo | #3 hit of 1942 | Youtube | |
| 1942 | Lionel Hampton | Flying Home | Youtube | ||
| 1942 | Machito and his Afro Cubans | Tanga | Youtube | ||
| 1942 | Martha Raye, Carol Landis, Mitzi Mayfair | SNAFU | WWII | Youtube | |
| 1942 | Spike Jones | Der Fuehrer's Face | WWII | Youtube | |
| 1942 | Sy Oliver | Well Git It | Youtube | ||
| 1943 | Andrews Sisters | Here Comes the Navy | WWII; How's About It? | Youtube | |
| 1943 | Cab Calloway, Nicholas Brothers | Jumpin Jive | Stormy Weather | Youtube | |
| 1943 | Ella Mae Morse w/ Freddie Slack Orchestra | Milkman Keep Those Bottles Quiet | WWII | Youtube | |
| 1943 | Ella Mae Morse w/ Dick Walters Orchestra | Shoo Shoo Baby | WWII; Three Cheers for the Boys | Youtube | |
| 1943 | Lena Horne | Stormy Weather | Stormy Weather | Youtube | |
| 1943 | Xavier Cugat Orchestra | Brazil | Youtube |
Bonus videos...
| 1938 | Carnival of Swing, Randall's Island, May 29, 1938 (world's first jazz festival) |
| 1945 | Gene Kelly dancing with Jerry the Mouse from Anchors Aweigh |
| 1947 | The Blues are Brewing, Billie Holiday w/ Louis Armstrong (film) |
| 1962 | Полюшко Поле (Meadowlands), Benny Goodman in Moscow, a tribute to our WWII allies. |
| 2004 | Swing Girls |
| 2012 | Clips of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers synchronized with Benny Goodman's Sing Sing Sing (by O Zamanlar) |
| Tue Sep 5 08:45:08 2017 |
