The Top 100 Blues Acts of All Time

Blues: Top 100 Acts

These are the top 100 blues acts of all time as determined by aggregating 50 best-of lists focused on blues artists. Click on names to see their entries in the Dave’s Music Database Music Makers Encyclopedia. See other lists of Acts/Music Makers by Genre. 1. Robert Johnson 2. Muddy Waters 3. B.B. King 4. Howlin’ Wolf 5. John Lee Hooker 6. Stevie Ray Vaughan 7. Albert King 8. Buddy Guy 9. Eric Clapton 10. Bessie Smith Robert Johnson 11. T-Bone Walker 12. Leadbelly 13. Son House 14. Lightnin’ Hopkins 15. Freddie King 16. Etta James 17. Elmore James 18. Jimi Hendrix 19. Willie Dixon 20. Ma Rainey Muddy Waters 21. Jimmy Reed 22. Ray Charles 23. Blind Lemon Jefferson 24. Johnny Winter 25. Big Mama Thornton 26. John Mayall 27. Charley Patton 28. Big Bill Broonzy 29. Koko Taylor 30. Little Walter John Lee Hooker 31. Billie Holiday 32. Skip James 33. Sister Rosetta Tharpe 34. Albert Collins 35. Mississippi John Hurt 36. Bonnie Raitt 37. Otis Rush 38. Janis Joplin 39. Joe Bonamassa 40. Lonnie Johnson Howlin’ Wolf 41. W.C. Handy 42. Mamie Smith 43. Taj Mahal 44. Memphis Minnie 45. Bobby “Blue” Bland 46. Sonny Boy Williamson #2 (Rice Miller) 47. Rory Gallagher 48. Peter Green 49. Louis Jordan 50. Reverend Gary Davis B.B. King 51. Sonny Boy Williamson #1 (John Lee Williamson) 52. Robert Cray 53. Paul Butterfield 54. Blind Willie Johnson 55. Big Joe Turner 56. Magic Sam 57. Blind Willie McTell 58. Bukka White 59. Junior Wells 60. Tampa Red Son House 61. Professor Longhair 62. Tommy Johnson 63. Otis Spann 64. Slim Harpo 65. Charles Brown 66. Ruth Brown 67. R.L. Burnside 68. Chuck Berry 69. Arthur “Big Boy” Crudup 70. Mike Bloomfield Stevie Ray Vaughan 71. Mississippi Fred McDowell 72. Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown 73. Brownie McGhee 74. Roosevelt Sykes 75. Luther Allison 76. Blind Boy Fuller 77. Leroy Carr 78. Victoria Spivey 79. Big Joe Williams 80. Little Milton Bessie Smith 81. Arthur “Blind Blake” Phelps 82. J.B. Lenoir 83. Gary Moore 84. Duane Allman 85. John Mayer 86. Keb’ Mo’ 87. Wynonie Harris 88. Robert Nighthawk 89. Ida Cox 90. Bo Diddley Leadbelly 91. Son Seals 92. Hound Dog Taylor 93. Sonny Terry 94. J.B. Hutto 95. Susan Tedeschi 96. Shemekia Copeland 97. Roy Buchanan 98. Dinah Washington 99. Gus Cannon 100. Fats Domino Buddy Guy Resources/Related Links: Dave’s Music Database: Lists of Acts/Music Makers by Genre Dave’s Music Database: Top 50 Blues Albums of All Time Dave’s Music Database: Top 100 Blues Songs of All Time First posted 7/16/2011; last updated 3/16/2026.

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Top 100 Songs from 1920-1929

Top 100 Songs of the Decade: 1920-1929

These are the top 100 songs from the 1920s 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. Bessie Smith with Louis Armstrong “St. Louis Blues” (1925) 2. Al Jolson “Swanee” (1920) 3. Gene Austin “My Blue Heaven” (1927) 4. Thomas “Fats” Waller “Ain’t Misbehavin’” (1929) 5. Paul Whiteman “Whispering” (1920) 6. Al Jolson "April Showers” (1922) 7. Marion Harris “Tea for Two” (1925) 8. Vernon Dalhart “The Prisoner’s Song” (1925) 9. Ben Selvin “Dardanella” (1920) 10. Isham Jones “It Had to Be You” (1924) 11. Paul Whiteman with Bing Crosby “Ol’ Man River” (1928) 12. Cliff Edwards “I Can’t Give You Anything But Love” (1928) 13. George Olsen with Fran Frey, Bob Rice & Edward Joyce “Always” (1926) 14. Al Jolson “Sonny Boy” (1928) 15. Ben Selvin “Blue Skies” (1927) 16. Van & Schenck “Ain’t We Got Fun?” (1921) 17. Gertrude Lawrence “Someone to Watch Over Me” (1927) 18. Paul Whiteman” Three O’Clock in the Morning” (1922) 19. Ben Bernie “Sweet Georgia Brown” (1925) 20. Nick Lucas “Tip-Toe Thru the Tulips with Me” (1929) 21. Paul Whiteman with George Gershwin “Rhapsody in Blue” (1924) 22. Van & Schenck “Carolina in the Morning” (1923) 23. Gene Austin “My Melancholy Baby” (1928) 24. Al Jolson with Isham Jones “California, Here I Come” (1924) 25. Bessie Smith “Down Hearted Blues” (1923) 26. Gene Austin “Bye Bye, Blackbird” (1926) 27. Gene Austin with Billy Carpenter “Yes Sir! That’s My Baby” (1925) 28. Marion Harris “The Man I Love” (1928) 29. Paul Whiteman “My Mammy” (1921) 30. Cliff Edwards “Singin’ in the Rain” (1929) 31. Billy Jones “Yes! We Have No Bananas” (1923) 32. Eddie Cantor “If You Knew Susie Like I Know Susie” (1925) 33. Wendall Hall “It Ain’t Gonna Rain No Mo’” (1924) 34. Paul Whiteman with Franklyn Baur “Valencia (A Song of Spain)” (1926) 35. Ben Selvin “Manhattan” (1925) 36. Paul Whiteman “What’ll I Do?” (1924) 37. Eddie Cantor “Makin’ Whoopee” (1929) 38. Eddie Cantor “Margie” (1921) 39. Paul Whiteman “The Japanese Sandman” (1920) 40. Isham Jones with Ray Miller & Frank Bessinger “I’ll See You in My Dreams” (1925) 41. Ben Bernie with Scrappy Lambert & Billy Hillpot “Ain’t She Sweet?” (1927) 42. Paul Whiteman “Somebody Loves Me” (1924) 43. Arthur Gibbs & His Gang “Charleston” (1924) 44. Fanny Brice “My Man (Mon Homme)” (1922) 45. Gene Austin with Nat Shilkret & Viola Klaiss “Ramona” (1928) 46. Al Jolson “All Alone” (1925) 47. Paul Whiteman with Jack Fulton, Charles Gaylord, & Austin Young “The Birth of the Blues” (1926) 48. Al Jolson “Toot, Toot, Tootsie! (Goo’bye)” (1922) 49. Marion Harris “Look for the Silver Lining” (1921) 50. Whisperin’ Jack Smith “Me and My Shadow” (1927) 51. George Olsen “Who?” (1926) 52. Jan Garber with Benny Davis “Baby Face” (1926) 53. Ruth Etting “Love Me or Leave Me” (1929) 54. Henry Burr “My Buddy” (1922) 55. Isham Jones “Wabash Blues” (1921) 56. Ted Lewis & His Band “When My Baby Smiles at Me” (1920) 57. Ethel Waters “Am I Blue?” (1929) 58. Jimmie Rodgers “Blue Yodel #1 (T for Texas)” (1928) 59. Ray Miller & His Orchestra “The Sheik of Araby” (1922) 60. Ted Lewis “All by Myself” (1921) 61. Al Jolson “I’m Sitting on Top of the World” (1926) 62. Paul Whiteman “Wang Wang Blues” (1920) 63. Ted Weems “Somebody Stole My Gal” (1924) 64. Mamie Smith & Her Jazz Hounds “Crazy Blues” (1920) 65. Ben Selvin “Chicago (That Toddlin’ Town)” (1922) 66. Ed Gallagher & Al Shean “Mr. Gallagher and Mr. Shean – ‘Positively, Mr. Gallagher?’” (1922) 67. Guy Lombardo with Weston Vaughan “Charmaine!” (1927) 68. Louis Armstrong “West End Blues” (1928) 69. Billy Murray with Ed Smalle “That Old Gang of Mine” (1923) 70. Fanny Brice “Second Hand Rose” (1922) 71. Charles Harrison “I’ll Be with You in Apple Blossom Time” (1920) 72. Paul Whiteman “Parade of the Wooden Soldiers” (1923) 73. Paul Whiteman “Stumbling” (1922) 74. Rudy Vallee “Honey” (1929) 75. Paul Whiteman “Say It with Music” (1921) 76. Gene Austin “Carolina Moon” (1929) 77. Fred Waring with Tom Waring “Ah! Sweet Mystery of Life” (1928) 78. Gene Austin with Nat Shilkret’s Orchestra “Five Foot Two, Eyes of Blue” (1926) 79. Isham Jones “Swingin’ Down the Lane” (1923) 80. Marion Harris “I’m Just Wild about Harry” (1922) 81. Paul Whiteman with Jack Fulton, Charles Gaylord, & Austin Young “Among My Souvenirs” (1928) 82. Al Jolson “When the Red, Red Robin Comes Bob, Bob, Bobbin’ Along” (1926) 83. Ben Bernie with Arthur Fields “Sleepy Time Gal” (1926) 84. John Steel “The Love Nest” (1920) 85. The Carter Family “Wildwood Flower” (1928) 86. Louise Homer “America the Beautiful” (1925) 87. Maurice Chevalier “Louise” (1929) 88. Benny Krueger “I Cried for You” (1923) 89. Paul Whiteman with the Rhythm Boys “Side by Side” (1927) 90. Paul Whiteman “Linger Awhile” (1924) 91. Paul Whiteman “Hot Lips (He's Got Hot Lips When He Plays Jazz)” (1922) 92. Helen Kane with Leonard Joy’s Orchestra “I Wanna Be Loved by You” (1928) 93. Vincent Lopez “I Want to Be Happy” (1924) 94. Al Jolson “Avalon” (1920) 95. Peerless Quartet “Way Down Yonder in New Orleans” (1922) 96. Ben Pollack with Franklyn Baur “Sweet Sue, Just You” (1928) 97. Paul Whiteman with Jack Fulton “Lover, Come Back to Me” (1929) 98. Paul Whiteman “Oh, Lady Be Good” (1925) 99. Aileen Stanley “Everybody Loves My Baby” (1925) 100. Leo Reisman with Ran Weeks “With a Song in My Heart” (1929) Resources/Related Links: Dave’s Music Database: “‘Songs of the Decade’ lists” Dave’s Music Database: “‘Songs of the Year’ lists” First posted 4/4/2012; last updated 10/22/2022.

Dave's Music Database Hall of Fame: Music Maker Inductees (December 2021)

Top 20 Jazz Acts Originally posted 12/22/2021. January 22, 2019 marked the 10-year anniversary of the DMDB blog! To honor that, Dave’s Music Database announced its own Hall of Fame. This twelfth class of music maker inductees is comprised of the top jazz acts (see the full top 50 list here). That includes traditional pop and vocal jazz singers as well as jazz musicians and bandleaders. These are the top 20 from that list, minus previous inductees Ella Fitzgerald, Benny Goodman, Billie Holiday, Glenn Miller, and Frank Sinatra. See the full list of music maker inductees here.

Louis Armstrong (1901-1971) Inducted December 2021 as a “Top 20 Jazz Act”

Jazz singer, trumpeter, and bandleader born in Corona, Queens, NY. Nicknamed “Satchmo.” He has been inducted into the Big Band/Jazz Hall of Fame and Downbeat Jazz Hall of Fame. His version of “St. Louis Blues” with Bessie Smith is a DMDB Hall of Fame inductee and in the DMDB book The Top 100 Songs of the Pre-Rock Era. That song, “West End Blues,” “All of Me,” “Hello, Dolly!,” and “What a Wonderful World” rank in the top 1% of all time. The latter is also featured in the DMDB book The Top 100 Songs of the Rock Era. His box set, The Complete Hot Five and Hot Seven Recordings, ranks as one of the top 1000 albums of all time. Read more.

Count Basie (1904-1984) Inducted December 2021 as a “Top 20 Jazz Act”

Jazz/big band leader and pianist born William James Basie in Red Bank, NJ. Learned to play the organ from Fats Waller. One of only seven recipients of both the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award and Trustees Award. He has been inducted into the Big Band/Jazz Hall of Fame and Downbeat Jazz Hall of Fame. “One O'Clock Jump” and “April in Paris” rank in the top 1% of all time. Read more.

Nat “King” Cole (1919-1965) Inducted December 2021 as a “Top 20 Jazz Act”

Traditional pop singer and pianist born Nathaniel Adams Coles in Montgomery, AL. Inductee in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Big Band/Jazz Hall of Fame and Downbeat Jazz Hall of Fame. He is also a recipient of the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. “The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)” and “Mona Lisa” are in the DMDB book The Top 100 Songs of the Pre-Rock Era. Those two, along with “I Love You for Sentimental Reasons,” “Nature Boy,” and “Too Young” also rank in the top 1% of all time. After his death, his daughter recorded his famous “Unforgettable” song with him as a duet. It is also in the top 1% and won Grammys for Record and Song of the Year. Read more.

John Coltrane (1926-1967) Inducted December 2021 as a “Top 20 Jazz Act”

Jazz musician born in Hamlet, NC. He has been inducted into the Big Band/Jazz Hall of Fame and Downbeat Jazz Hall of Fame. The songs “Giant Steps,” “My Favorite Things,” “In a Sentimental Mood,” “Lush Life,” and “Acknowledgement (A Love Supreme, Part 1)” all rank in the top 100 jazz songs. His album, A Love Supreme, is in the DMDB book The Top 100 Albums of All Time. That album and Giant Steps both rank in the top 1000 albums of all time. Read more.

Miles Davis (1926-1991) Inducted December 2021 as a “Top 20 Jazz Act”

Jazz musician born in Alton, IL. Inductee in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Big Band/Jazz Hall of Fame and Downbeat Jazz Hall of Fame. He is also a recipient of the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. The songs “So What,” “Blues in Green,” and “All Blues” rank in the top 100 jazz songs. All three are featured on Kind of Blue, which is featured in the DMDB book The Top 100 Albums of All Time. That album, as well as Birth of the Cool, Sketches of Spain, In a Silent Way, and Bitches Brew rank in the top 1000 albums of all time. He has been inducted into the Big Band/Jazz Hall of Fame and Downbeat Jazz Hall of Fame. Read more.

Duke Ellington (1899-1974) Inducted December 2021 as a “Top 20 Jazz Act”

Jazz/big band leader and pianist born Edward Kennedy Ellington in Washington, D.C. One of only seven recipients of both the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award and Trustees Award. He has also been inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, Big Band/Jazz Hall of Fame and Downbeat Jazz Hall of Fame. He also won the Pulitzer Prize. “Mood Indigo” and “Take the ‘A’ Train” are DMDB Hall of Fame inductees and are both in the DMDB book The Top 100 Songs of the Pre-Rock Era. Those songs, as well as “It’ Don’t Mean a Thing if It Ain’t Got That Swing” and “Sophisticated Lady” the top 1% of all time. His box set The Blanton-Webster Band and live album At Newport rank in the top 1000 albums of all time. Read more.

Herbie Hancock (1940-) Inducted December 2021 as a “Top 20 Jazz Act”

Hancock was a jazz pianist born in Chicago in 1940. He has been inducted into the Big Band/Jazz Hall of Fame and Downbeat Jazz Hall of Fame. He is a recipient of the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award and a Kennedy Center Honoree. His albums Maiden Voyage and Head Hunters have both been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame and River: The Joni Letters won the Grammy for Album of the Year. Read more.

Woody Herman (1913-1987) Inducted December 2021 as a “Top 20 Jazz Act”

Jazz/big band leader, clarinetist, and composer born in 1913 in Milwaukee. He has been inducted into the Big Band/Jazz Hall of Fame and Downbeat Jazz Hall of Fame. Also a recipient of the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. “Blues in the Night (My Mama Done Tol’ Me)” is featured in the DMDB book The Top 100 Songs of the Pre-Rock Era. “At the Woodchopper’s Ball,” “Early Autumn,” and “Four Brothers” are in the Grammy Hall of Fame. Read more.

Charles Mingus (1922-1979) Inducted December 2021 as a “Top 20 Jazz Act”

Jazz pianist, bassist, and composer born 1922 in Nogales, Arizona. He has been inducted into the Big Band/Jazz Hall of Fame and Downbeat Jazz Hall of Fame. Also a recipient of the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. Mingus Dynasty and Ah Um are in the Grammy Hall of Fame. The latter is also in the National Recording Registry. Read more.

Thelonious Monk (1917-1982) Inducted December 2021 as a “Top 20 Jazz Act”

Jazz pianist born in Rocky Mount, NC. He has been inducted into the Big Band/Jazz Hall of Fame and Downbeat Jazz Hall of Fame. He is a recipient of the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award and won the Pulitzer Prize. His song “Round Midnight” is in the Grammy Hall of Fame, one of the top 100 jazz songs, and ranks in the top 1% of all time. His albums Genius of Modern Music Vol. 1, Genius of Modern Music, Vol. 2, and Brilliant Corners are all in the Grammy Hall of Fame. Read more.

Artie Shaw (1910-2004) Inducted December 2021 as a “Top 20 Jazz Act”

Jazz clarinetist and bandleader born in 1910 in New York City. He has been inducted into the Big Band/Jazz Hall of Fame and Downbeat Jazz Hall of Fame. Also a recipient of the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. “Begin the Beguine,” “Frenesi,” and “Stardust” are featured in the DMDB book The Top 100 Songs of the Pre-Rock Era. Read more.

Nina Simone (1933-2003) Inducted December 2021 as a “Top 20 Jazz Act”

Jazz/blues singer born 1933 in Tryon, North Carolina. Inductee in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Big Band/Jazz Hall of Fame, and Downbeat Jazz Hall of Fame. Also a recipient of the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. “I Loves You, Porgy” and “To Be Young, Gifted, and Black” are in the Grammy Hall of Fame. “Mississippi Goddam” is in the National Recording Registry. Read more.

Bessie Smith (1894-1937) Inducted December 2021 as a “Top 20 Jazz Act”

Blues singer born in Chattanooga, TN. Known as “The Empress of the Blues.” Inductee in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Blues Hall of Fame, Big Band/Jazz Hall of Fame and Downbeat Jazz Hall of Fame. Recipient of the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. Her version of “St. Louis Blues” with Louis Armstrong is a DMDB Hall of Fame inductee and in the DMDB book The Top 100 Songs of the Pre-Rock Era. That song and “Down Hearted Blues” rank in the top 1% of all time. Her compilation The Essential ranks as one of the top 1000 albums of all time. Read more.

Sarah Vaughan (1924-1990) Inducted December 2021 as a “Top 20 Jazz Act”

Jazz singer born 1924 in Newark, New Jersey. Inductee in the Big Band/Jazz Hall of Fame and Downbeat Jazz Hall of Fame. Also a recipient of the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. “If You Could See Me Now” and “Tenderly” are in the Grammy Hall of Fame, as is her self-titled 1954 album. Read more.

Fats Waller (1904-1943) Inducted December 2021 as a “Top 20 Jazz Act”

Jazz/big band songwriter and pianist born Thomas Wright Waller in New York, NY. Inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, Big Band/Jazz Hall of Fame and Downbeat Jazz Hall of Fame. Also a recipient of the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. “Ain’t Misbehavin’” is a DMDB Hall of Fame inductee and in the DMDB book The Top 100 Songs of the Pre-Rock Era. That song and “Honeysuckle Rose” rank in the top 1% of all time. Both of those songs and “Jitterbug Waltz” are in the Grammy Hall of Fame. Read more.

 

Dave's Music Database Hall of Fame: Album Inductees (Nov. 2020)

Originally posted 11/22/2020. January 22, 2019 marked the 10-year anniversary of the DMDB blog. To honor that, Dave’s Music Database announced its own Hall of Fame. This month marks the eighth group of album inductees. These are the top albums of material recorded prior to 1950. Albums previously inducted which would have been on this list include Bing Crosby’s Merry Christmas, Robert Johnson’s The Complete Recordings, Al Jolson’s Songs He Made Famous, and South Pacific cast album. See the full list of album inductees here.

Louis Armstrong The Complete Hot Five and Hot Seven Recordings (box set: 1925-28) Inducted November 2020 as “Top Albums of Material Recorded Before 1950.”

“Jazz starts here.” BL “Between 1925 and 1929, Armstrong invented scat singing, defined swing and introduced the jazz solo.” BL “This 4-CD set represents the ‘Rosetta Stone of Jazz’,” JM featuring more than 80 songs, including “West End Blues,” a song which rates in the top 1%, and 10 more top-20 hits. The album is in the National Recording Registry. Read more.

Henry Burr Anthology: The Original King of Pop (compilation: 1903-28) Inducted November 2020 as “Top Albums of Material Recorded Before 1950.”

Burr was “the most popular ballad singer” AR in the “acoustical, pre-[Bing] Crosby, pre-crooner era.” AMG This collection follows “Burr’s career from one of his earliest recordings, made in 1903” AZ “when disc technology was still in its primitive stages, and ends in 1928, during the early electrical recording era.” AR He was “a major influence on Al Jolson, Rudy Vallée, and other pre-Crosby favorites.” AMG This set includes “In the Shade of the Old Apple Tree,” “I Wonder Who’s Kissing Her Now,” “M-O-T-H-E-R (A Word That Means the World to Me),” “Just a Baby’s Prayer at Twilight,” and “My Buddy,” which were all #1 songs that also rank in the the top 1%. Read more.

Duke Ellington The Blanton-Webster Band (box set: 1939-42) Inducted November 2020 as “Top Albums of Material Recorded Before 1950.”

Ellington is “perhaps the single most important creative talent in American popular music history.” JW This set “contains the master takes of all 66 selections recorded by…[his band] during what many historians consider its peak period.” SY It may be “the greatest creative period by any single artist in jazz history.” MG It features more than a dozen top-10 R&B hits from the 1940s, including five consecutive #1 songs and the Grammy Hall of Fame inductee “Take the ‘A’ Train,” which is also featured in the DMDB book The Top 100 Songs of the Pre-Rock Era. The album is in the National Recording Registry. Read more.

George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin, Dubose Heyward (composers) Porgy and Bess (show: 1935) Inducted November 2020 as “Top Albums of Material Recorded Before 1950.”

This “American folk opera” WK started as a novel and then became a play. The story focuses on “African American life…in Charleston, South Carolina, in the early 1920s.” WK It “is admired for Gershwin’s innovative synthesis of European orchestral techniques with American jazz and folk music idioms.” WK Billie Holiday’s recording of the show’s song “Summertime” is in the DMDB Hall of Fame. Read more.

Benny Goodman Carnegie Hall Jazz Concert (live: 1938) Inducted November 2020 as “Top Albums of Material Recorded Before 1950.”

Goodman, known as “The King of Swing,” was “the first real jazz musician to capture a mass bourgeois white audience in America” AZ and the first to stage a full jazz concert at Carnegie Hall. The result is “one of the greatest concerts ever captured on record.” AMG The show featured performances of “Stompin’ at the Savoy,” “Don’t Be That Way,” and “Sing, Sing, Sing (With a Swing),” all ranked in the top 1% of songs. The latter is also in the DMDB Hall of Fame. Read more.

Glenn Miller Glenn Miller (compilation: 1939-42) Inducted November 2020 as “Top Albums of Material Recorded Before 1950.”

This collection was released just months after Miller’s airplane went down in the English Channel. It logged sixteen weeks atop the album chart over the next three years. It includes “In the Mood,” which is featured in the DMDB book The Top 100 Songs of the Pre-Rock Era. That song, as well as “Tuxedo Junction” and “Moonlight Serenade,” also rank in the DMDB’s list of top 100 big band songs and are in the top 1% of all songs. Read more.

Billy Murray Anthology: The Denver Nightingale (compilation: 1903-40) Inducted November 2020 as “Top Albums of Material Recorded Before 1950.”

He was “the best-selling recording artist of the first quarter of the 20th century, but his name and work had fallen into obscurity before his death in 1954.” AMG This compilation is every bit as crucial to understanding music of the 20th century as the Beatles’ One and Elvis Presley’s 30 #1 Hits. 17 of the songs on this set reached #1. That includes the classics Meet Me in St. Louis, Louis,” “In My Merry Oldsmobile,” “Yankee Doodle Boy,” “Give My Regards to Broadway,” “You're a Grand Old Flag,” and “By the Light of the Silvery Moon.” all of which are featured in the Dave’s Music Database book The Top 100 Songs of the Pre-Rock Era. Read more.

Charley Patton Founder of the Delta Blues (compilation: 1929-34) Inducted November 2020 as “Top Albums of Material Recorded Before 1950.”

Patton “was the key figure in the transition between traditional folk and what came to be known as the Mississippi Delta blues.” FH The genre “had an enormous impact…influencing everyone from The Rolling Stones to Cassandra Wilson.” NM “The title of founder might not be exactly accurate” LG but “he was one of the first to be recorded.” NM He sang “in a rough voice that stormed with turmoil. His guitar picking was…skillfully nuanced in expression and, above all, rhythmically imperative.” FH This collection, a Blues Hall of Fame inductee, features “Pony Blues,” which is in the Grammy Hall of Fame and the National Recording Registry. Read more.

Bessie Smith The Essential (compilation: 1923-33) Inducted November 2020 as “Top Albums of Material Recorded Before 1950.”

This collection works its way through Smith’s entire career, from her very first recording session on February 15, 1923 through her final session on November 24, 1933. DA The Empress of the Blues “could sing it all, from the lowdown moan of ‘St. Louis Blues’ and ‘Nobody Knows You When You’re Down and Out’ to her torch treatment of the jazz standard ‘After You’ve Gone.’” CK She was “one of the first true crossover aritsts.” LG Read more.

Various Artists (edited by Harry Smith) Anthology of American Folk Music (box set: 1923-32) Inducted November 2020 as “Top Albums of Material Recorded Before 1950.”

This three-disc set was compiled by musicologist Harry Smith. It is comprised of 84 songs which reintroduce “near-forgotten popular styles of rural American music…to new listeners.” WK It could well be “the most influential document” JB of “the folk & blues revival of the ‘50s and ‘60s” WK by bringing attention to the works of the Carter Family, Blind Lemon Jefferson, Mississippi John Hurt, and others. Read more.

100 years ago: Marion Harris hit #1 with “After You’ve Gone”

After You’ve Gone Marion Harris

Writer(s): Turner Layton, Harry Creamer (see lyrics here) First Charted: January 18, 1919 Peak: 13 US, 7 GA (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): -- US, -- UK, -- world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 0.18 video, -- streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: John Turner Layton, born in Washington, D.C. in 1894, was a rarity in his time – a black composer. He teamed with lyricist Harry Creamer as a vaudeville act PS and they contributed to many Broadway shows. The pair had hits with “Way Down Yonder in New Orleans” (1922) and “Dear Old Southland” (1921), PS but their greatest success came from “After You’ve Gone.” This “sultry ballad” PS has been called “one of the first meaningful torch songs.” MM It featured darker lyrics than the usual Tin Pan Alley fare of the day MM and its timeless melodic style and lyrical construct make it feel like a song which could have been written yesterday. PS From 1918 to 1937, ten different versions of this song hit the top 20. The first, a 1918 rendition by Henry Burr and Albert Campbell, peaked at #2. Billy Murray, Bessie Smith, Sophie Tucker, Paul Whiteman, Louis Armstrong, Benny Goodman, and Lionel Hampton were among the others to chart with the song. PM Because it can easily be improvised over, it has become a favorite of even modern-day jazz-oriented artists, WK being covered by Wynton Marsalis, Harry Connick, Jr., and Jamie Cullum. However, the most successful version was Marion Harris’ 1919 take which went to #1. She became widely known as the first white singer to tackle jazz and blues. From 1916 to 1930, she charted 43 songs, hitting #1 with “St. Louis Blues” (1920), “Look for the Silver Lining” (1921), and “Tea for Two” (1925). PM The song also appeared in film, including For Me and My Gal (1942), Make Mine Music (1946), Jolson Sings Again (1949), The Five Pennies (1959), the Oscar-winning film, All That Jazz (1979), PS and The Aviator (2004). Resources: DMDB Encyclopedia entry for Marion Harris MM Max Morath (2002). The NPR Curious Listener’s Guide to Popular Standards. New York, NY; Penguin Putnam Inc. Page 148. PS ParlorSongs.com Lessons in America’s Popular Music History PM Joel Whitburn (1986). Pop Memories 1890-1954. Record Research, Inc: Menomonee Falls, WI. Pages 196, 467. First posted 2/1/2013; last updated 3/16/2023.