Showing posts with label Artie Shaw. Show all posts

Tuesday, June 23, 2026

Big Band Leaders: Top 50+

Big Band Leaders:

Top 50+

Big band was a popular form of music in the first half of the 20th century. It was essentially a jazz orchestra, typically comprised of ten or more musiicans including saxophonists, trumpeters, trombonists, and a rhythm section which might tconsist of guitar, piano, double bass, and drums. By the mid-1930s, swing music, which had a more supple feel than early jazz, became increasingly popular. On the charts, such bands were generally credited to the bandleaders with featured vocalists noted.

This list focuses on those most popular band leaders. It was comprised by aggregating 16 lists focused on the best big band leaders of all time. The list here includes all individuals appearing on 4 or more lists.

See other lists of Acts/Music Makers by Categories.

15 lists:

1. Benny Goodman
2. Count Basie

13 lists:

3. Glenn Miller
4. Duke Ellington

10 lists:

5. Artie Shaw

9 lists:

6. Tommy Dorsey
7. Cab Calloway

8 lists:

8. Louis Armstrong
9. Jimmy Dorsey
10. Harry James
11. Woody Herman

7 lists:

12. Gene Krupa
13. Chick Webb

6 lists:

14. Lionel Hampton
15. 20. Earl Hines

5 lists:

16. Fats Waller
17. Eddy Duchin
18. Kay Kyser
19. Glen Gray
20. Bob Crosby
21. Ozzie Nelson
22. Buddy Rich
23. Fletcher Henderson
24. Jimmie Lunceford
25. Jack Teagarden
26. Charlie Spivak

4 lists:

27. Paul Whiteman
28. Sammy Kaye
29. Isham Jones
30. Freddy Martin

31. Louis Jordan
32. Hal Kemp
33. Ray Noble
34. Russ Morgan
35. Horace Heidt
36. Ted Weems
37. Dizzy Gillespie
38. Stan Kenton
39. Benny Carter
40. Les Brown

41. Frankie Carle
42. Xavier Cugat
43. Bunny Berigan
44. Will Bradley
45. Andy Kirk
46. Red Norvo
47. Claude Thornhill
48. Eddie DeLange
49. Erskine Hawkins
50. Ina Ray Hutton

51. Tony Pastor
52. Jan Savitt

Resources/Related Links:

Dave’s Music Database: Lists of Acts/Music Makers by Categories
Dave’s Music Database: Big Band: Top 100 Songs

First posted 6/23/2026.

Monday, September 6, 2021

Billboard: Best Sellers, 1940-1958

Billboard’s Best Sellers:

1940-1958

Billboard magazine started its best seller chart in 1940. It tracked the songs which sold the most according to surveys of stores which sold music. The chart ran until 1958 when it was merged, along with charts of the biggest DJ hits and jukebox hits, into the Billboard Hot 100.

These, however, were the biggest #1 songs on the Billboard Best Sellers chart from 1940 to 1958. All songs which spent four weeks or more at #1 are listed here. Ties are broken by songs’ overall Dave’s Music Database points.

See other chart-based lists here and specific Billboard lists here.

13 weeks:

Artie Shaw “Frenesi” (1940)
The Weavers with Gordon Jenkins’ Orchestra “Goodnight Irene” (1950)
12 weeks:
Tommy Dorsey & His Orchestra with Frank Sinatra & the Pied Pipers “I’ll Never Smile Again” (1940)
Francis Craig with Bob Lamm “Near You” (1947)
Ted Weems with Elmo Tanner “Heartaches” (1947)
11 weeks:
Elvis Presley “Don’t Be Cruel” (1956) /
Elvis Presley “Hound Dog” (1956)
Vaughn Monroe “Riders in the Sky (A Cowboy Legend)” (1949)
Johnnie Ray & the Four Lads “Cry” (1951)
Les Paul with Mary Ford “Vaya Con Dios (May God Be with You)” (1953)
Anton Karas “The Third Man Theme” (1950)
10 weeks:
Dinah Shore & Her Harper Valley Boys “Buttons and Bows” (1948)
The Ink Spots “The Gypsy” (1946)
Perry Como “Till the End of Time” (1945)
Vaughn Monroe’s Orchestra “Ballerina” (1947)
Percy Faith with Felicia Sanders “Where Is Your Heart (Song from “Moulin Rouge”)” (1953)
Perez “Prez” Prado “Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White” (1955)
9 weeks:
Les Brown with Doris Day “Sentimental Journey” (1945)
Patti Page “Tennessee Waltz” (1950)
Bing Crosby with John Scottt Trotter’s Orchestra “Swinging on a Star” (1944)
Les Paul & Mary Ford “How High the Moon” (1951)
Guy Mitchell “Singing the Blues” (1956)
Kitty Kallen with Jack Pleis’ Orchestra “Little Things Mean a Lot” (1954)
Peggy Lee with Dave Barbour’s Orchestra “Manana Is Soon Enough for Me” (1948)
Kay Starr “Wheel of Fortune” (1952)
Vera Lynn with Ronald Shaw’s Orchestra “Auf Wiederseh'n Sweetheart” (1952)
Bing Corsby “Only Forever” (1940)
8 weeks:
Bill Haley & the Comets “We’re Gonna Rock Around the Clock” (1954)
Elvis Presley “Heartbreak Hotel” / “I Was the One” (1956)
Elvis Presley “All Shook Up” (1957)
Pee Wee Hunt “Twelfth Street Rag” (1948)
The Andrews Sisters with Vic Schoen’s Orchestra “Rum and Coca-Cola” (1945)
Bing Crosby & the Andrews Sisters “Don’t Fence Me In” (1944)
Tonny Bennett with Percy Faith’s Orchestra “Because of You” (1951)
Frankie Laine with Jud Conlon’s Rhythmaires “That Lucky Old Sun” (1949)
Patti Page “The Doggie in the Window” (1953)
Perry Como with Hugo Winterhalter’s Orchestar “Wanted” (1954)
Eddie Fisher with Hugo Winterhalter’s Orchestra “O Mein Papa (Oh My Papa)” (1953) Frankie Carle with Marjorie Hughes “Rumors Are Flying” (1946)
7 weeks:
Elvis Presley “Jailhouse Rock” (1957)
Tennessee Ernie Ford “Sixteen Tons” (1955)
Nat “King” Cole with Frank DeVol’s Orchestra “Nature Boy” (1948)
Jo Mercer with the Pied Pipers “On the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe” (1945)
The Chordettes “Mr. Sandman” (1954)
Jimmy Dorsey with Bob Eberly & Kitty Kallen “Besame Mucho (Kiss Me Much)” (1944)
Elvis Presley “Let Me Be Your Teddy Bear” (1957)
Evelyn Knight & the Stardusters “A Little Bird Told Me” (1948)
The Crew-Cuts “Sh-Boom” (1954)
Les Brown with Doris Day “My Dreams Are Getting Bigger All the Time” (1945)
Sammy Kaye with Billy Williams “The Old Lamplighter” (1946)
Russ Morgan & the Skylarks “Cruising Down the River on a Sunday Afternoon” (1949)
6 weeks:
Mitch Miller “The Yellow Rose of Texas” (1955)
The McGuire Sisters “Sincerely” (1954)
Frankie Carle & Marjorie Hughes “Oh What It Seemed to Be” (1946)
Tex Williams “Smoke! Smoke! Smoke! (That Cigarette)” (1947)
Frankie Laine & the Muleskinners “Mule Train” (1949)
Rosemary Clooney with Buddy Cole “Hey There” (1954)
Gogi Grant “Thw Wayward Wind” (1956)
Sheb Wooley “The Purple People Eater” (1958)
Kay Kyser with Gloria Wood “Woody Woodpecker” (1948)
Perry Como with Mitchell Ayres Orchestra “If (They Made Me a King)” (1951)
Tony Bennett with Percy Faith’s Orchestra “Rags to Riches” (1953)
Rosemary Clooney “Come on-a My House” (1951)
Tony Bennett with Percy Faith’s Orchestra “Cold Cold Heart” (1951)
5 weeks:
Elvis Presley “Love Me Tender” / “Any Way You Want Me” (1956)
Danny & The Juniors “At the Hop” (1957)
Nat “King” Cole “Mona Lisa” (1950)
Jo Stafford “You Belong to Me” (1952)
Vaughn Monroe “Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!” (1945)
Perry Como “Some Enchanted Evening” (1949)
Domenico Modugno “Volare (Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blue)” (1958)
The Champs “Tequila” (1958)
Pat Boone “Love Letters in the Sand” (1957)
Nat “King” Cole “Too Young” (1951)
Shep Fields with Hal Derwin “South of the Border (Down Mexico Way)” (1939)
Eddy Howard “To Each His Own” (1946)
Bill Hayes “The Ballad of Davy Crockett” (1955)
The Mills Brothers “You Always Hurt the One You Love” (1944)
Dean Martin “Memories Are Made of This” (1955)
Perry Como & the Ramblers with Mitchell Ayres’ Orchestra “Don't Let the Stars Get in Your Eyes” (1952)
Glen Gray with Eugenie Baird “My Heart Tells Me (Should I Believe My Heart?)” (1943)
Teresa Brewer with Jack Pleis’ Orchestra “Till I Waltz Again with You” (1952)
Bing Crosby with John Scott Trotter’s Orchestra “I Love You” (1944)
Patti Page “I Went to Your Wedding” (1954)
Elvis Presley “Don’t” (1958)
Tab Hunter “Young Love” (1956)
Leroy Anderson & His “Pops” Concert Orchestra “Blue Tango” (1951)
4 weeks:
The Everly Brothers “All I Have to Do Is Dream” (1958)
Bing Crosby with John Scott Trotter’s Orchestra “I’ll Be Seeing You” (1944)
The Harmonicats “Peg O’ My Heart” (1947)
Roger Williams “Autumn Leaves” (1955)
Harry James with Dick Haymes “I’ll Get by As Long As I Have You” (1941)
Vic Damone “You’re Breaking My Heart” (1949)
The Andrews Sisters with Gordon Jenkin’s Orchestra “I Can Dream, Can’t I?” (1949)
Dinah Shore “I’ll Walk Alone” (1944)
Red Foley “Chattanoogie Shoe Shine Boy” (1950)
Teresa Brewer with the Dixieland All Stars “Music! Music! Music!” (1950)
Les Baxter “The Poor People of Paris” (1956)
Joni James with Lew Douglas’ Orchestra “Why Don’t You Believe Me” (1952)
Phil Harris with Walter Scharf’s Orchestra “The Thing” (1950)
Nelson Riddle & His Orchestra “Lisbon Antigua” (1955)
Stan Freberg with Daws Butler & June Foray “St. George and the Dragonet” (1953)

Resources and Related Links:

Dave’s Music Database “Other Best-of Billboard lists”
Dave’s Music Database: “Other Chart-Based Lists”
Dave’s Music Database: “USA: #1 Pop Songs, 1890-present”

First posted 9/6/2021.

Monday, April 19, 2021

Big Band: Top 100 Songs

Big Band:

Top 100 Songs

Big Band, or Swing music, was especially popular in the 1930s and ‘40s. They were generally jazz-oriented orchestras led by such dominant names as Jimmy Dorsey, Tommy Dorsey, Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman, and Glenn Miller. In fact, more than 20 of these songs also appear on the DMDB’s Top 100 Jazz Songs list.

This list was created by aggregating 21 lists focused on big band songs.

Click here to see other genre-specific song lists.

1. Duke Ellington “Take the ‘A’ Train” (1941)
2. Benny Goodman “Sing, Sing, Sing (With a Swing)” (1938)
3. Glenn Miller “In the Mood” (1939)
4. Glenn Miller “A String of Pearls” (1942)
5. Glenn Miller with Tex Beneke & the Four Modernaires “Chattanooga Choo Choo” (1941)
6. Artie Shaw “Begin the Beguine” (1938)
7. Artie Shaw “Stardust” (1941)
8. Glenn Miller “Tuxedo Junction” (1940)
9. The Andrews Sisters with Vic Schoen’s Orchestra “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy” (1941)
10. Tommy Dorsey with Frank Sinatra “I’ll Never Smile Again” (1940)

11. Glenn Miller “Moonlight Serenade” (1939)
12. Fats Waller “Ain’t Misbehavin’” (1929)
13. Benny Goodman “Stompin’ at the Savoy” (1936)
14. Jimmy Dorsey with Bob Eberly “Tangerine” (1942)
15. Tommy Dorsey “Opus One” (1945)
16. Les Brown’s Orchestra with Doris Day “Sentimental Journey” (1945)
17. Count Basie “One O’Clock Jump” (1937)
18. Woody Herman “At the Woodchoppers’ Ball” (1939)
19. Jimmy McHugh and Dorothy Fields “On the Sunny Side of the Street” (1930)
20. Bobby Darin “Mack the Knife” (1959)

21. Bing Crosby with John Scott Trotter’s Orchestra “I’ll Be Seeing You” (1944)
22. Duke Ellington with Ivie Anderson “It Don’t Mean a Thing if It Ain’t Got That Swing” (1932)
23. Rosemary Clooney “Tenderly” (1952)
24. Cab Calloway “Minnie the Moocher (The Ho Do Ho Song)” (1931)
25. Duke Ellington “Perdido” (1942)
26. Fred Astaire with Leo Reisman’s Orchestra “Night and Day” (1932)
27. Coleman Hawkins “Body and Soul” (1940)
28. Glenn Miller “Pennsylvania 6-5000” (1940)
29. Billie Holiday with Camarata’s Orchestra “Lover Man (Oh, Where Can You Be?)” (1945)
30. Woody Herman “Blues in the Night (My Mama Done Tol’ Me)” (1941)

31. Tommy Dorsey “I’m Getting Sentimental Over You” (1936)
32. Glen Gray “Sunrise Serenade” (1939)
33. Charlie Barnet “Skyliner” (1944)
34. Lionel Hampton “Flying Home” (1940)
35. Benny Goodman “Moonglow” (1934)
36. Jimmy Dorsey with Bob Eberly & Helen O’Connell “Green Eyes (Aquellos Ojos Verdes)” (1941)
37. Glenn Miller with Tex Beneke & Marion Hutton “I’ve Got a Gal in Kalamazoo” (1942)
38. Charlie Barnet “Cherokee (Indian Love Song)” (1939)
39. Duke Ellington “Caravan” (1937)
40. Harry James “You Made Me Love You (I Didn't Want to Do It)” (1941)

41. Bing Crosby “White Christmas” (1942)
42. Judy Garland “Over the Rainbow” (1939)
43. Billie Holiday “Summertime” (1936)
44. The Andrews Sisters “Bei Mir Bist Du Schoen (Means That You're Grand)” (1938)
45. Ella Fitzgerald with Chick Webb “A-Tisket, A-Tasket” (1938)
46. Bunny Berigan “I Can’t Get Started” (1938)
47. Marion Harris “The Man I Love” (1928)
48. Paul Whiteman “Oh, Lady Be Good” (1925)
49. Duke Ellington “Mood Indigo“ (1931)
50. Count Basie “April in Paris” (1956)

51. Billie Holiday “God Bless the Child” (1941)
52. Cab Calloway “Hep! Hep! The Jumpin’ Jive” (1939)
53. Harry James with Frank Sinatra “All or Nothing at All” (1939)
54. Walter Huston “September Song” (1939)
55. Duke Ellington “Satin Doll” (1953)
56. Benny Goodman with Peggy Lee “Why Don’t You Do Right?” (1943)
57. Glenn Miller with Marion Hutton, Tex Beneke, & the Modernaires “Don’t Sit Under the Apple Tree with Anyone Else But Me” (1942)
58. Tommy Dorsey with the Pied Pipers “Let’s Get Away from It All” (1941)
59. Duke Ellington “Solitude” (1934)
60. Paul Whiteman “Song of India” (1921)

61. Benny Goodman “Don’t Be That Way” (1938)
62. Count Basie “Jumpin’ at the Woodside” (1938)
63. Tommy Dorsey with Jo Stafford & Sy Oliver “Yes Indeed!” (1941)
64. Teddy Wilson “Sweet Lorraine” (1935)
65. Johnny Mercer with Jo Stafford & the Pied Pipers “Candy” (1945)
66. Glenn Miller “Skylark” (1942)
67. Ethel Waters “Stormy Weather (Keeps Rainin' All the Time)” (1933)
68. Tommy Dorsey with Jack Leonard “All the Things You Are” (1939)
69. The Andrews Sisters “Rum and Coca-Cola” (1945)
70. Larry Clinton with Bea Wain “Deep Purple” (1939)

71. Artie Shaw “Frenesi” (1940)
72. Jelly Roll Morton “King Porter Stomp” (1923)
73. Dick Haymes with Victor Young’s Orchestra “It Might As Well Be Spring” (1945)
74. Nat “King” Cole with Frank DeVol’s Orchestra “Nature Boy” (1948)
75. Hal Kemp with Bob Allen “Where or When” (1937)
76. Ella Fitzgerald & the Delta Rhythm Boys “It’s Only a Paper Moon” (1945)
77. Roger Wolfe Kahn “Sometimes I’m Happy” (1927)
78. Dooley Wilson “As Time Goes By” (1942)
79. Nat “King” Cole “Straighten Up and Fly Right” (1944)
80. Artie Shaw “Dancing in the Dark” (1941)

81. Nat “King” Cole “Get Your Kicks on Route 66” (1946)
82. Johnny Mercer & the Pied Pipers “On the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe” (1945)
83. Judy Garland with Georgie Stoll’s Orchestra “The Trolley Song” (1944)
84. Tommy Dorsey with Jack Leonard “Marie” (1937)
85. Glenn Miller with Ray Eberle “Fools Rush in Where Angels Fear to Tread” (1940)
86. Benny Goodman with Martha Tilton “And the Angels Sing” (1939)
87. Fred Astaire with Leo Reisman’s Orchestra “Cheek to Cheek” (1935)
88. Jimmy McHugh and Dorothy Fields “I’m in the Mood for Love” (1935)
89. Earl Burtnett with Harry Richman “Puttin’ on the Ritz” (1930)
90. Paul Whitman with George Gershwin “Rhapsody in Blue” (1924)

91. Kate Smith “The Last Time I Saw Paris” (1940)
92. Duke Ellington “Sophisticated Lady” (1933)
93. Perry Como with Russel Case’s Orchestra “If I Loved You” (1945)
94. The Ink Spots “Don’t Get Around Much Anymore” (1943)
95. Horace Heidt with Larry Cotton, Donna Wood, & Don Juans “I Don’t Want to Set the World on Fire’ (1941)
96. Harry James with Helen Forrest “I’ve Heard That Song Before” (1943)
97. Benny Goodman with Helen Forrest “Taking a Chance on Love” (1940)
98. Louis Jordan “Choo Choo Ch’ Boogie” (1946)
99. Tommy Dorsey with Frank Sinatra “Oh, Look at Me Now” (1941)
100. Nat “King” Cole “The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)” (1946)

Resources and Related Links:

Dave’s Music Database: “Other Genre/Category Song Lists

First posted 4/18/2021; last updated 4/19/2021.

Monday, October 26, 2020

Top 100 Songs from 1940-1949

First posted 4/4/2012; last updated 10/26/2020.

Top 100 Songs of the Decade:

1940-1949

These are the top 100 songs from the 1940s according to Dave’s Music Database. Rankings are figured by combining sales figures, chart data, radio airplay, video airplay, streaming figures, awards, and appearances on best-of lists.

Check out other “songs of the decade” lists here.

1. “White Christmas” Bing Crosby with the Ken Darby Singers (1942)
2. “Stardust” Artie Shaw (1941)
3. “Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer” Gene Autry (1949)
4. “Sentimental Journey” Les Brown with Doris Day (1945)
5. “Paper Doll” The Mills Brothers (1943)
6. “As Time Goes By” Dooley Wilson (1942)
7. “Near You” Francis Craig with Bob Lamm (1947)
8. “I’ll Never Smile Again” Tommy Dorsey with Frank Sinatra & The Pied Pipers (1940)
9. “Chattanooga Choo Choo” Glenn Miller with Tex Beneke & the Four Modernaires (1941)
10. “The Christmas Song” Nat “King” Cole (1946)

11. “Riders in the Sky (A Cowboy Legend)” Vaughn Monroe (1949)
12. “Swinging on a Star” Bing Crosby with John Scott Trotter’s Orchestra & the Williams Brothers Quartet (1944)
13. “Body and Soul” Coleman Hawkins (1940)
14. “Buttons and Bows” Dinah Shore and Her Harper Valley Boys (1948)
15. “When You Wish Upon a Star” Cliff Edwards (1940)
16. “Peg O’ My Heart” The Harmonicats (1947)
17. “I’ll Be Seeing You” Bing Crosby with John Scott Trotter’s Orchestra (1944)
18. “Frenesi” Artie Shaw (1940)
19. “The Gypsy” The Ink Spots (1946)
20. “I’ve Heard That Song Before” Harry James with Helen Forrest (1943)

21. “Blues in the Night (My Mama Done Tol’ Me)” Woody Herman (1941)
22. “Some Enchanted Evening” Perry Como (1949)
23. “For Me and My Gal” Judy Garland & Gene Kelly (1942)
24. “Don’t Fence Me In” Bing Crosby with the Andrews Sisters (1944)
25. “Take the ‘A’ Train” Duke Ellington (1941)
26. “Twelfth Street Rag” Pee Wee Hunt (1948)
27. “Nature Boy” Nat “King” Cole with Frank DeVol (1948)
28. “Till the End of Time” Perry Como (1945)
29. “This Land Is Your Land” Woody Guthrie (1944)
30. “You’ll Never Know” Dick Haymes with the Song Spinners (1943)

31. “That Old Black Magic” Glenn Miller with Skip Nelson (1943)
32. “Rum and Coca-Cola” The Andrews Sisters (1945)
33. “Amapola (Pretty Little Poppy)” Jimmy Dorsey with Bob Eberly & Helen O’Connell (1941)
34. “Ac-Cent-Tchu-ate the Positive” Johnny Mercer with the Pied Pipers (1945)
35. “Heartaches” Ted Weems with Elmo Tanner (1947)
36. “Pistol Packin’ Mama” Al Dexter (1943)
37. “Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!” Vaughn Monroe (1945)
38. “Besame Mucho (Kiss Me Much)” Jimmy Dorsey with Bob Eberly & Kitty Kallen (1944)
39. “Ballerina” Vaughn Monroe (1947)
40. “I’m Looking Over a Four-Leaf Clover” Art Mooney (1948)

41. “Sunday, Monday or Always” Bing Crosby with the Ken Darby Singers (1943)
42. “I’ll Get By As Long As I Have You” Harry James with Dick Haymes (1944)
43. “Cruising Down the River” Blue Barron & His Orchestra (1949)
44. “On the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe” Johnny Mercer with the Pied Pipers (1945)
45. “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry” Hank Williams (1949)
46. “Jingle, Jangle, Jingle” Kay Kyser with Harry Babbitt & Julie Conway (1942)
47. “Moonlight Cocktail” Glenn Miller with Ray Eberle & The Modernaires (1942)
48. “I’ve Got a Gal in Kalamazoo” Glenn Miller with Tex Beneke & Marion Hutton (1942)
49. “People Will Say We’re In Love” Bing Crosby with Trudy Erwin (1943)
50. “Oh What It Seemed to Be” Frankie Carle with Marjorie Hughes (1946)

51. “There! I’ve Said It Again” Vaughn Monroe (1945)
52. “That Lucky Old Sun” Frankie Laine with Judd Conlon’s Rhythmaires, Harry Geller’s Orchestra, & Carl Fischer Orchestra (1949)
53. “I Love You for Sentimental Reasons” The Nat “King” Cole Trio (1946)
54. “Tangerine” Jimmy Dorsey’s Orchestra with Bob Eberly & Helen O’Connell (1942)
55. “Daddy” Sammy Kaye (1941)
56. “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy” The Andrews Sisters (1941)
57. “God Bless the Child” Billie Holiday (1941)
58. “Tuxedo Junction” Glenn Miller (1940)
59. “The Trolley Song” Judy Garland (1944)
60. “Fools Rush in Where Angels Fear to Tread” Glenn Miller (1940)

61. “The Woodpecker Song” Glenn Miller with Marion Hutton (1940)
62. “It Might As Well Be Spring” Dick Haymes (1945)
63. “There Are Such Things” Tommy Dorsey with Frank Sinatra & The Pied Pipers (1942)
64. “Don’t Sit Under the Apple Tree with Anyone Else But Me” Glenn Miller with Tex Beneke & the Modernaires (1942)
65. “Manana Is Soon Enough for Me” Peggy Lee (1948)
66. “To Each His Own” Eddy Howard (1946)
67. “Smoke! Smoke! Smoke! That Cigarette” Tex Williams (1947)
68. “Taking a Chance on Love” Benny Goodman with Helen Forrest (1940)
69. “Now Is the Hour (Māori Farewell Song)” Bing Crosby with the Ken Darby Singers (1948)
70. “Long Ago and Far Away” Helen Forrest with Dick Haymes (1944)

71. “You’re Breaking My Heart” Vic Damone (1949)
72. “Shoo-Shoo Baby” The Andrews Sisters (1943)
73. “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” Bing Crosby with John Scott Trotter’s Orchestra (1943)
74. “Green Eyes (Aquellos Ojos Verdes)” Jimmy Dorsey with Bob Eberly & Helen O’Connell (1941)
75. “There’ll Be Some Changes Made” Benny Goodman with Louise Tobim (1941)
76. “Move on Up a Little Higher” Mahalia Jackson (1948)
77. “You Always Hurt the One You Love” The Mills Brothers (1944)
78. “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town” Bing Crosby with the Andrews Sisters (1947)
79. “Don’t Get Around Much Anymore” The Ink Spots (1943)
80. “If I Loved You” Perry Como (1945)

81. “Boogie Chillen” John Lee Hooker (1949)
82. “A Tree in the Meadow” Margaret Whiting (1948)
83. “Dream (When You’re Feeling Blue)” The Pied Pipers with Paul Weston (1945)
84. “My Funny Valentine” Hal McIntyre with Ruth Gaylor (1945)
85. “I Can Dream, Can’t I?” The Andrews Sisters (1949)
86. “Mule Train” Frankie Laine & the Muleskinners (1949)
87. “A Little Bird Told Me” Evelyn Knight & Stardusters (1948)
88. “I Had the Craziest Dream” Harry James with Helen Forrest (1943)
89. “Laura” Woody Herman (1945)
90. “I’ll Walk Alone” Dinah Shore (1944)

91. “You Are My Sunshine” Jimmie Davis (1940)
92. “Imagination” Glenn Miller (1940)
93. “Maria Elena” Jimmy Dorsey with Bob Eberly (1941)
94. “Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition ” Kay Kyser with Glee Club (1942)
95. “Five Minutes More” Frank Sinatra (1946)
96. “Oh What a Beautiful Mornin’” Bing Crosby with Trudy Erwin & the Sportsment Glee Club (1943)
97. “It’s Been a Long, Long Time” Bing Crosby with the Les Brown Trio (1945)
98. “On a Slow Boat to China” Kay Kyser with Harry Babbitt & Gloria Wood (1948)
99. “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” Johnny Mercer with Margaret Whiting (1949)
100. “A String of Pearls” Glenn Miller (1942)

Wednesday, March 25, 2020

Top 100 Songs from 1930-1939

First posted 4/4/2012; last updated 3/25/2020.

Top 100 Songs of the Decade:

1930-1939

These are the top 100 songs from the 1930s according to Dave’s Music Database. Rankings are figured by combining sales figures, chart data, radio airplay, video airplay, streaming figures, awards, and appearances on best-of lists.

1. Over the Rainbow...Judy Garland (1939)
2. Night and Day...Fred Astaire with Leo Reisman (1932)
3. In the Mood...Glenn Miller (1939)
4. Cheek to Cheek...Fred Astaire with Leo Reisman (1935)
5. Stormy Weather (Keeps Rainin' All the Time)...Ethel Waters (1933)
6. Begin the Beguine...Artie Shaw (1938)
7. The Way You Look Tonight...Fred Astaire with Johnny Green (1936)
8. Pennies from Heaven...Bing Crosby with George Stoll (1936)
9. A-Tisket, A-Tasket...Ella Fitzgerald with Chick Webb (1938)
10. All the Things You Are...Tommy Dorsey with Jack Leonard (1939)

11. Silent Night...Bing Crosby (1935)
12. Smoke Gets in Your Eyes…Paul Whiteman with Bob Lawrence (1933)
13. Mood Indigo...Duke Ellington (1931)
14. I Got Rhythm...Red Nichols (1930)
15. Deep Purple...Larry Clinton with Bea Wain (1939)
16. Happy Days Are Here Again...Ben Selvin (1930)
17. God Bless America...Kate Smith (1939)
18. Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?...Rudy Vallee (1932)
19. Blue Moon…Glen Gray with Kenny Sargent (1935)
20. I’m in the Mood for Love...Little Jack Little (1935)

21. Strange Fruit...Billie Holiday (1939)
22. On the Sunny Side of the Street...Ted Lewis & His Band (1930)
23. Minnie the Moocher (The Ho De Ho Song)...Cab Calloway (1931)
24. Puttin’ on the Ritz...Harry Richman with Earl Burtnett & His Los Angeles Biltmore Hotel Orchestra (1930)
25. They Can’t Take That Away from Me...Fred Astaire with Johnny Green (1937)
26. The Last Round-Up...George Olsen with Joe Morrison (1933)
27. If I Didn’t Care...The Ink Spots (1939)
28. I’ve Got You Under My Skin...Ray Noble (1936)
29. Sweet Leilani...Bing Crosby with Lani McIntire & His Hawaiians (1937)
30. All or Nothing at All...Harry James with Frank Sinatra (1939)

31. The Peanut Vendor (El Manisero)...Don Azpiazu with Antonio Machin (1930)
32. Sophisticated Lady...Duke Ellington (1933)
33. In a Shanty in Old Shanty Town...Ted Lewis & His Band (1932)
34. Stein Song (University of Maine)...Rudy Vallee (1930)
35. Bei Mir Bist Du Schon (Means That You’re Grand)...The Andrews Sisters (1938)
36. Dinah…Bing Crosby & the Mills Brothers (1932)
37. All of Me...Louis Armstrong (1932)
38. Summertime…Billie Holiday (1936)
39. Moonlight Serenade...Glenn Miller (1939)
40. Goodnight, Sweetheart…Wayne King with Ernie Birchill (1931)

41. 42nd Street...Don Bestor with Dudley Mecum (1933)
42. Let’s Fall in Love...Eddy Duchin with Lew Sherwood (1934)
43. Lover…Paul Whiteman with Jack Fulton (1933)
44. I Can’t Get Started...Bunny Berigan (1938)
45. September Song...Walter Huston (1939)
46. Sing, Sing, Sing (With a Swing)...Benny Goodman (1938)
47. The Very Thought of You...Ray Noble with Al Bowlly (1934)
48. That Old Feeling...Shep Fields with Bob Goday (1937)
49. Winter Wonderland...Guy Lombardo (1934)
50. Wabash Cannonball...Roy Acuff & the Smoky Mountain Boys (1938)

51. Honeysuckle Rose...Thomas “Fats” Waller (1935)
52. Stars Fell on Alabama...Guy Lombardo with Carmen Lombardo (1934)
53. It Don’t Mean a Thing if It Ain’t Got That Swing...Duke Ellington (1932)
54. These Foolish Things Remind Me of You...Benny Goodman with Helen Ward (1936)
55. Lullaby of Broadway...The Dorsey Brothers with Bob Crosby (1935)
56. Jeepers Creepers...Al Donahue with Paula Kelly (1938)
57. How Deep Is the Ocean?...Guy Lombardo with Carmen Lombardo (1932)
58. Once in a While...Tommy Dorsey (1937)
59. September in the Rain…Guy & Carmen Lombardo (1937)
60. Lazy Bones…Ted Lewis (1933)

61. A Fine Romance (A Sarcastic Love Song)…Fred Astaire with Johnny Green & His Orchestra (1936)
62. My Reverie…Larry Clinton with Bea Wain (1938)
63. Isle of Capri…Ray Noble with Al Bowlly (1934)
64. South of the Border (Down Mexico Way)...Shep Fields with Hal Derwin (1939)
65. Out of Nowhere...Bing Crosby with Victor Young (1931)
66. Embraceable You...Red Nichols (1930)
67. June in January…Bing Crosby with George Stoll’s Orchestra (1934)
68. Whistle While You Work...The Seven Dwarfs (1938)
69. What Is This Thing Called Love?...Leo Reisman (1930)
70. Paradise…Leo Reisman with Frances Maddux (1932)

71. Red Sails in the Sunset…Guy & Carmen Lombardo (1935)
72. Where or When…Hal Kemp with Bob Allen (1937)
73. You Must Have Been a Beautiful Baby…Bing Crosby (1938)
74. The Continental (You Kiss While We’re Dancing)…Leo Reisman (1934)
75. Tumbling Tumbleweeds...Sons of the Pioneers (1934)
76. One O’Clock Jump...Count Basie (1937)
77. Little White Lies…Fred Waring with Clare Hanlon (1930)
78. The Old Spinning Wheel...Ray Noble with Al Bowlly (1933)
79. Sweet and Lovely…Gus Arnheim with Donald Novis (1931)
80. Goody Goody…Benny Goodman with Helen Ward (1936)

81. Beer Barrell Polka...Will Glahe (1939)
82. Dream a Little Dream of Me...Wayne King with Ernie Birchill (1931)
83. Alone…Tommy Dorsey with Cliff Weston (1936)
84. Three Little Words...Duke Ellington (1930)
85. And the Angels Sing …Benny Goodman with Martha Tilton (1939)
86. I’ll String Along with You…Ted Fio Rito with Muzzy Marcellino (1934)
87. Music, Maestro, Please...Tommy Dorsey with Edythe Wright (1938)
88. Thanks for the Memory…Shep Fields with Bob Goday (1937)
89. Love for Sale…Libby Holman with Dick Robertson (1931)
90. I Get a Kick Out of You...Johnny Green with Ethel Merman (1934)

91. When the Saints Go Marching In...Louis Armstrong (1939)
92. I Found a Million Dollar Baby in a Five and Ten Cent Store...Fred Waring with Clare Hanlon (1931)
93. You’re Getting to Be a Habit with Me…Bing Crosby with Guy Lombardo’s Orchestra (1933)
94. Cocktails for Two…Duke Ellington (1934)
95. Marie...Tommy Dorsey (1937)
96. Too Marvelous for Words…Bing Crosby with Jimmy Dorsey’s Orchestra (1937)
97. Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?...Bing Crosby with Lennie Hayton’s Orchestra (1932)
98. Exactly Like You...Ruth Etting (1930)
99. The Carioca…Enric Madriguera with Patricia Gillmore (1934)
100. Willow Weep for Me…Paul Whiteman with Irene Taylor (1932)

Monday, November 5, 2018

Today in Music (1938): Artie Shaw’s “Beguin the Beguine” hit #1

Begin the Beguine

Artie Shaw

Writer(s): Cole Porter (see lyrics here)

First Charted: September 3, 1938

Peak: 1⁶ US, 12 GA (Click for codes to charts.)

Sales (in millions): 2.0 US, -- UK, 2.0 world (includes US + UK)

Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 2.85 video, -- streaming

Awards:

Click on award for more details.

About the Song:

“Beguine” refers to a 1930s’ Cuban dance similar to a rumba. The moves, however, are slower and performed slowly and deliberately. Depending on the account one chooses to believe, songwriter Cole Porter experienced it for the first time on a luxury cruise during a stop in Martinique or a Paris dance hall frequented by Martinique imigrants. He adopted the dance’s rhythm for a big production number for Jubilee, a musical comedy which debuted in 1935. ^SB The show only lasted 169 performances, which reportedly didn’t upset Porter. He was, however, annoyed that people preferred “Beguine” to “Just One of Those Things,” another song from the show. He’d not anticipated “Beguine” being a hit. ^SB

That’s not surprising. Although “Porter was a musical master and his songs are among the cream of the musical crop,” ^PS “Begin the Beguine,” didn’t follow conventional hit-making wisdom. Standards typically had thirty-two measures, but “Beguine” stretched to a whopping 108, making it the longest popular song ever written. ^SB The piece also had a lot of words, “a chord progression that goes through several modes and keys, [and] a vocal span three steps beyond the octave.” ^MM

Xavier Cugat recorded the song and had a #13 hit with it in 1935. However, it was Artie Shaw’s version three years later which became a #1 ^PM hit and “one of the most popular jazz standards.” ^SB His recording came about when fans kept asking him to play it. He gave it more of a swing feel and debuted it at the Roseland State Ballroom. According to guitarist Al Avola, “The first time we played it we could just feel the vibrations. We knew it was going to be big.” ^SB When Shaw was contracted to record a swing version of Rudolf Friml’s “Indian Love Call,” he did so with the stipulation that he record “Beguine” as the B-side. His hunch paid off; the song became one of the largest-selling instrumental recordings by an American band. ^TY1

Shaw charted with it again in 1942 and Eddie Heywood and Frank Sinatra followed with charting versions in 1945 and 1946 respectively. ^PM The song has also been recorded by Sammy Davis Jr., the Andrews Sisters, the Flamingos, and Johnny Mathis. It was included in the 1946 Cole Porter biopic Night and Day. ^MM In a Billboard Disc Jockey poll, it was rated as the number 5 song of all-time. ^PM

Resources:

^MM Max Morath (2002). The NPR Curious Listener’s Guide to Popular Standards. New York, NY; Penguin Putnam Inc. Page 151.
^PS ParlorSongs.com
^SB Songbook1.wordpress.com
^TY1 Don Tyler (1985). Hit Parade 1920-1955. Quill: New York, NY. Page 181.
^PM Joel Whitburn (1986). Pop Memories 1890-1954. Record Research, Inc: Menomonee Falls, WI. Pages 363, 476.

Thursday, December 22, 2016

The Top 100 Songs of the Pre-Rock Era (1890-1953)

Book:

The Top 100 Songs of the Pre-Rock Era, 1890-1953

Also available through DavesMusicDatabase.com.

The Top 100 Songs of the Pre-Rock Era, 1890-1953 book is available through Amazon or through DavesMusicDatabase.com.

This is a companion book to The Top 100 Songs of the Rock Era, 1954-1999, available at DavesMusicDatabase.com as a standard book or ebook! In the beginning stages of writing that book, my intent was to write a “top 100 songs of all time” book. As I quickly discovered, most lists proclaiming to highlight “the best of all time” seem to be under the impression that music didn’t exist prior to 1950. I decided to retool my project to focus on the rock era and put together another book focused on the “forgotten years.”

This is the result. As always with DMDB lists, the rankings are determined by aggregating multiple best-of lists and factoring in songs’ sales, chart stats, and awards. It should be noted that in the pre-rock era there were often multiple versions of a song. In fact, some best-of lists did not list a specific version. When the latter occurred, all versions of a song were given points. Once all points were compiled, only the top version of a song was included in this list.

1. Bing Crosby “White Christmas” (1942)
2. Judy Garland “Over the Rainbow” (1939)
3. Fre Astaire “Night and Day” (1932)
4. Arthur Collins with Byron Harlan “Alexander’s Ragtime Band” (1911)
5. Glenn Miller “In the Mood” (1939)
6. Artie Shaw “Stardust” (1941)
7. Fred Astaire “Cheek to Cheek” (1935)
8. Bessie Smith with Louis Armstrong “St. Louis Blues” (1925)
9. Gene Austin “My Blue Heaven” (1927)
10. Artie Shaw “Begin the Beguine” (1938)

11. American Quartet “Over There” (1917)
12. Paul Whiteman “Whispering” (1920)
13. Al Jolson “Swanee” (1920)
14. Al Jolson “April Showers” (1922)
15. Ethel Waters “Stormy Weather (Keeps Rainin' All the Time)” (1933)
16. Billy Murray “You’re a Grand Old Flag (aka “The Grand Old Rag”)” (1906)
17. Peerless Quartet “Let Me Call You Sweetheart” (1911)
18. Tommy Dorsey with Jack Leonard “All the Things You Are” (1939)
19. Fred Astaire “The Way You Look Tonight” (1936)
20. Haydn Quartet “Sweet Adeline (You’re the Flower of My Heart)” (1904)

21. Gene Autry “Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer” (1949)
22. Patti Page “Tennessee Waltz” (1950)
23. Bing Crosby “Pennies from Heaven” (1936)
24. The Harmonicats “Peg O’ My Heart” (1947)
25. Dooley Wilson “As Time Goes By” (1942)
26. The Mills Brothers “Paper Doll” (1942)
27. Paul Robeson “Ol’ Man River” (1928)
28. Al Jolson “You Made Me Love You (I Didn't Want to Do It)” (1913)
29. Billy Murray with the Haydn Quartet “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” (1908)
30. Coleman Hawkins “Body and Soul” (1940)

31. American Quartet “Moonlight Bay” (1912)
32. Ben Selvin “Dardanella” (1920)
33. Billy Murray “Meet Me in St. Louis, Louis” (1904)
34. Billy Murray “Give My Regards to Broadway” (1905)
35. Jo Stafford “You Belong to Me” (1952)
36. Billy Murray with Haydn Quartet “By the Light of the Silvery Moon” (1910)
37. Thomas “Fats” Waller “Ain’t Misbehavin’” (1929)
38. The Weavers “Goodnight Irene” (1950)
39. Marion Harris “Tea for Two” (1925)
40. Ella Ftizgerald with Chick Webb “A-Tisket, A-Tasket” (1938)

41. Duke Ellington “Mood Indigo” (1931)
42. Vernon Dalhart “The Prisoner’s Song” (1925)
43. Vaughn Monroe “Riders in the Sky (A Cowboy Legend)” (1949)
44. Haydn Quartet “In the Good Old Summertime” (1903)
45. Les Brown with Doris Day “Sentimental Journey” (1945)
46. Tommy Dorsey with Frank Sinatra “I’ll Never Smile Again” (1940)
47. Francis Craig with Bob Lamm “Near You” (1947)
48. Cliff Edwards I Can’t Give You Anything But Love” (1928)
49. Harry MacDonough with Miss Walton “Shine on, Harvest Moon” (1909)
50. Byron Harlan “School Days (When We Were a Couple of Kids)” (1907)

51. Glenn Miller “Chattanooga Choo Choo” (1941)
52. Nat “King” Cole “The Christmas Song” (1946)
53. Isham Jones “It Had to Be You” (1924)
54. Cliff Edwards “When You Wish Upon a Star” (1940)
55. Ben Selvin “Happy Days Are Here Again” (1930)
56. Paul Whiteman with Bob Lawrence “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes” (1933)
57. Original Dixieland Jazz Band “Tiger Rag” (1918)
58. Kate Smith “God Bless America” (1939)
59. Les Paul with Mary Ford “How High the Moon” (1951)
60. Glen Gray with Kenny Sargent “Blue Moon” (1935)

61. Red Nichols “I Got Rhythm” (1930)
62. Nat “King” Cole “Mona Lisa” (1950)
63. Dinah Shore & Her Harper Valley Boys “Buttons and Bows” (1948)
64. Billy Murray “Yankee Doodle Boy” (1905)
65. Henry Burr with Albert Campbell “Till We Meet Again” (1919)
66. Bing Crosby “I’ll Be Seeing You” (1944)
67. Chauncey Olcott “When Irish Eyes Are Smiling” (1913)
68. Arthur Collins “Bill Bailey, Won’t You Please Come Home” (1902)
69. John McCormack “It’s a Long, Long Way to Tipperary” (1915)
70. George Olsen with Fran Frey, Bob Rice, & Edward Joye “Always” (1926)

71. Larry Clinton with Bea Wain “Deep Purple” (1939)
72. The Ink Spots “The Gypsy” (1946)
73. Billie Holiday “Strange Fruit” (1939)
74. Al Jolson “Rock-a-Bye Your Baby with a Dixie Melody” (1918)
75. Byron Harlan “My Gal Sal” (1907)
76. Bing Crosby “Swinging on a Star” (1944)
77. Al Jolson “Sonny Boy” (1928)
78. Byron Harlan “Wait Till the Sun Shines, Nellie” (1906)
79. Van & Schenck “Ain’t We Got Fun?” (1921)
80. Harry James with Helen Forrest “I’ve Heard That Song Before” (1943)

81. Artie Shaw “Frenesi” (1940)
82. American Quartet with Billy Murray “Casey Jones” (1910)
83. Ted Lewis “On the Sunny Side of the Street” (1930)
84. Little Jack Little “I’m in the Mood for Love” (1935)
85. Gertrude Lawrence “Someone to Watch Over Me” (1927)
86. Pee Wee Hunt “Twelfth Street Rag” (1948)
87. Marion Harris “After You’ve Gone” (1919)
88. Perry Como “Some Enchanted Evening” (1949)
89. Judy Garland with Gene Kelly “For Me and My Gal” (1942)
90. Arthur Collins & Byron Harlan “Darktown Strutters’ Ball” (1918)

91. Gene Austin “My Melancholy Baby” (1928)
92. Woody Herman “Blues in the Night (My Mama Done Tol’ Me)” (1941)
93. Henry Burr “I Wonder Who’s Kissing Her Now” (1909)
94. Bing Crosby “Silent Night” (1935)
95. Haydn Quartet “Put on Your Old Grey Bonnet” (1909)
96. Billy Murray “In My Merry Oldsmobile” (1905)
97. Harry MacDonough “Down by the Old Mill Stream” (1911)
98. Ben Selvin “Blue Skies” (1927)
99. Rudy Vallee “Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?” (1932)
100. Duke Ellington “Take the ‘A’ Train” (1941)

Resources and Related Links:

Originally posted 6/23/2012. Last updated 4/3/2021.

Thursday, March 21, 2013

National Recording Registry Adds 25 Recordings: March 21, 2013

image from npr.org

Each year, the Library of Congress announces 25 recordings (albums, songs, radio broadcasts, and other sound recordings) to be added to its National Recording Registry. This year’s entrants are:

“After You've Gone” Marion Harris (1918)
Bacon, Beans and Limousines by Will Rogers (Oct. 18, 1931)
“Begin the Beguine” Artie Shaw (1938)
Begin the Beguine
“You Are My Sunshine” by Jimmie Davis (1940)
D-Day Radio Broadcast, George Hicks (June 5-6, 1944)
“Just Because” by Frank Yankovic & His Yanks (1947)
South Pacific cast album (1949)
Descargas: Cuban Jam Session in Miniature by Israel "Cachao" Lopez Y Su Ritmo Caliente (1957)
Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 performed by Van Cliburn (April 11, 1958)
President's message relayed from Atlas satellite, Dwight D. Eisenhower (Dec. 19, 1958)
A Program of Song by Leontyne Price (1959)
The Shape of Jazz to Come by Ornette Coleman (1959)
“Crossing Chilly Jordan” by The Blackwood Brothers (1960)
“The Twist” by Chubby Checker (1960)
The Twist
Old Time Music at Clarence Ashley’s by Clarence Ashley, Doc Watson, et al. (1960-1962)
Hoodoo Man Blues by Junior Wells (1965)
Sounds of Silence by Simon & Garfunkel (1966)
Cheap Thrills by Big Brother and the Holding Company (1968)
The Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd (1973)
Music Time in Africa by Leo Sarkisian (July 29, 1973)
Wild Tchoupitoulas by The Wild Tchoupitoulas (1976)
Ramones by The Ramones (1976)
Saturday Night Fever soundtrack by The Bee Gees et al (1977)
Einstein on the Beach by Philip Glass and Robert Wilson (1979)
The Audience with Betty Carter by Betty Carter (1980)

Among this list are two songs which rank in the DMDB’s list of the Top 100 Songs of the Pre-Rock Era (“After You’ve Gone” and “Begin the Beguine”), one song which ranks in the DMDB’s list of the Top 100 Songs of the Rock Era (“The Twist”), and four albums which rank in the DMDB’s list of the Top 100 Albums of All Time (South Pacific, Dark Side of the Moon, Ramones, and Saturday Night Fever). For more information on these and other entrants in the National Recording Registry, check out the links below:

Resources and Related Links:

Dave’s Music Database: Top 100 Songs of the Pre-Rock Era, 1890-1953
Dave’s Music Database: Top 100 Songs of the Rock Era, 1954-1999
Dave’s Music Database: Top 100 Albums of All Time
National Recording Registry – master list
USA Today Library of Congress adds 25 recordings to registry by Brian Mansfield (21 March 2013)

Friday, February 7, 1992

Today in Music (1942): Glenn Miller hit #1 with “String of Pearls”