After a couple treks WAY down memory lane this last week (Duke Ellington’s 1941 “Take the ‘A’ Train” and Tommy Dorsey and Frank Sinatra’s 1940 “I’ll Never Smile Again”), the timing was right for a glimpse at the biggest music makers of the pre-rock era. Music makers is an all-encompasing term used to embrace individual performers, groups, songwriters, and others involved in the creation of music. This list is dominated by performers, but there are some notable songwriters and composers on the list. Music makers who debuted from 1954 on were disqualified from this list so don’t look for Elvis Presley and his ilk here! Click on names to see their entries in the Dave’s Music Database Music Makers Encyclopedia.
1. Bing Crosby
2. Frank Sinatra
3. Paul Whiteman Orchestra
4. Tommy Dorsey
5. Benny Goodman
6. Billy Murray
7. Guy Lombardo
8. Louis Armstrong
9. Perry Como
10. Nat “King” Cole
Bing Crosby
11. Glenn Miller
12. Duke Ellington
13. Henry Burr
14. Al Jolson
15. Fats Domino
16. Jimmy Dorsey
17. The Andrews Sisters
18. Byron G. Harlan
19. Arthur Collins
20. Peerless Quartet/Columbia Male Quartet
Frank Sinatra
21. Billie Holiday
22. Ella Fitzgerald
23. Sammy Kaye
24. Harry MacDonough
25. Ben Selvin
26. Ted Lewis & His Band
27. Patti Page
28. Fats Waller
29. Frankie Laine
30. Jo Stafford
Paul Whiteman
31. Mills Brothers
32. Freddy Martin
33. Harry James
34. Eddy Arnold
35. Dinah Shore
36. Muddy Waters
37. Robert Johnson
38. Isham Jones
39. Kay Kyser
40. Leo Reisman
Tommy Dorsey
41. Haydn Quartet
42. Vaughn Monroe Orchestra
43. Rudy Vallee
44. Irving Berlin
45. Glen Gray & The Casa Loma Orchestra
46. George Gershwin
47. Eddie Fisher
48. Ada Jones
49. Gene Austin
50. American Quartet
Benny Goodman
51. Eddy Duchin
52. Artie Shaw
53. Hal Kemp
54. Ray Noble
55. Count Basie
56. Charles Adams Prince/Prince’s Orchestra
57. Jan Garber Orchestra
58. Russ Morgan
59. Ink Spots
60. John McCormack
Billy Murray
61. Fred Waring
62. Ruth Etting
63. Igor Stravinsky
64. Woody Herman
65. George Olsen & His Orchestra
66. Marion Harris
67. Richard Rodgers
68. Doris Day
69. Louis Jordan
70. Enrico Caruso
Guy Lombardo
71. Les Paul
72. Thelonious Monk
73. Gene Autry
74. Dick Haymes
75. Woody Guthrie
76. Albert Campbell
77. Nat Shilkret
78. Cab Calloway
79. Jerome Kern
80. Oscar Hammerstein II
Louis Armstrong
81. Teddy Wilson & His Orchestra
82. Bessie Smith
83. Margaret Whiting
84. Ted Weems Orchestra
85. Dizzy Gillespie
86. Peggy Lee
87. Fred Astaire
88. Rosemary Clooney
89. Horace Heidt
90. Len Spencer
Perry Como
91. Charlie Parker
92. Eddy Howard Orchestra
93. Bob Crosby
94. Shep Fields
95. Marty Robbins
96. Jimmie Rodgers
97. Ira Gershwin
98. Ozzie Nelson
99. Roy Acuff
100. Ben Bernie
Nat “King” Cole
Resources and Related Links:
Also check out Steve Sullivan's take on this list. Steve is a noted chart historian who contributed fantastic research to Joel Whitburn's "Pop Memories 1890-1954" and is working on his own book "The Encyclopedia of Great Popular Song Recordings."
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