Benny Goodman: Top 100 Songs

First posted 5/30/2012; updated 5/31/2019.

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Jazz clarinetist and bandleader known as “The King of Swing” for ushering in more dance-oriented jazz, fueled by Fletcher Henderson’s arrangements, which appealed to teens. Born Benjamin David Goodman on 5/30/1909 in Chicago, Illinois. Died 6/13/1986. Was in a band by age 14. Worked with Isham Jones, Ted Lewis, Red Nichols, Ben Pollack (25-29), and Ben Selvin. Formed his own band in 1934. He launched the careers of many other jazz musicians including guitarist Charlie Christian and drummer Gene Krupa and was one of the first to lead integrated jazz groups. His 1/16/1938 Carnegie Hall concert in New York is, as All Music Guide’s Bruce Eder called it, “the single most important jazz or popular music concert in history.”

For a complete list of this act’s songs and albums honored by the DMDB, check out the DMDB Music Maker Encyclopedia entry.

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Top 100 Songs

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Dave’s Music Database lists are determined by song’s appearances on best-of lists as well as chart success, sales, radio airplay, streaming, and awards.

MB = Mildred Bailey, HF = Helen Forrest, DH = Dick Haymes, PL = Peggy Lee, MT = Martha Tilton, LT = Louise Tobin, HW = Helen Ward. Songs which peaked at #1 on the U.S. pop charts are noted (#1).

DMDB Top 1%:

1. Sing, Sing, Sing (With a Swing) (1938)
2. These Foolish Things Remind Me of You (w/ HW, 1936) #1
3. Taking a Chance on Love (w/ HF, 1943) #1
4. There’ll Be Some Changes Made (w/ LT, 1941) #1
5. Goody Goody (w/ HW, 1936) #1
6. And the Angels Sing (w/ MF, 1939) #1

DMDB Top 5%:

7. Moonglow (1934) #1
8. Darn That Dream (w/ MB, 1940) #1
9. Don’t Be That Way (1938) #1
10. Jersey Bounce (w/ PL, 1942) #1

11. Goodnight My Love (w/ Ella Fitzgerald, 1937) #1
12. The Glory of Love (w/ HW, 1936) #1
13. This Can’t Be Love (w/ MF, 1938)
14. Somebody Else Is Taking My Place (1942) #1
15. Why Don’t You Do Right? (w/ PL, 1943)
16. Stardust (1936)
17. Stompin’ at the Savoy (1936)
18. I Didn’t Know What Time It Was (w/ LT, 1939)
19. Ev’ry Time We Say Goodbye (w/ Peggy Mann, 1945)
20. You Turned the Tables on Me (w/ HW, 1936) #1

21. St. Louis Blues (1936)
22. Gotta Be This Or That (w/ Dottie Reid, 1945)
23. Blue Moon (w/ HW, 1935)
24. Blues in the Night (My Mama Done Tol’ Me) (w/ PL, 1942)
25. Body and Soul (1935)
26. It’s Been So Long (w/ HW, 1936) #1
27. Blue Skies (w/ Art Lund, 1946)

DMDB Top 10%:

28. Give Me the Simple Life (w/ Liza Morrow, 1946)
29. How High the Moon (w/ HF, 1940)
30. Symphony (w/ Liza Morrow, 1945)

31. This Year’s Kisses (w/ Margaret McRae, 1937) #1
32. I Let a Song Go Out of My Heart (w/ MF, 1938) #1
33. Goodbye (1936)
34. The Way You Look Tonight (w/ PL, 1942)
35. On a Slow Boat to China (1948) 36. Cabin in the Sky (w/ HF, 1943)
37. The Man I Love (1937)
38. After You’ve Gone (1935)
39. Exactly Like You (w/ Lionel Hampton, 1936)
40. How Deep Is the Ocean? (w/ PL, 1941)

41. Bei Mir Bist Du Schoen (Means That You’r-e Grand) (w/ MF, 1938)
42. What’s New? (w/ LT, 1939)
43. Idaho (w/ DH, 1942)
44. The Japanese Sandman (1935)
45. As Long As I Live (1941)
46. Love Me or Leave Me (original, 1934)
47. Love Me or Leave Me (new recording, 1936)
48. Scatter-Brain (w/ LT, 1939)
49. You Can’t Pull the Wool Over My Eyes (w/ HW, 1936)
50. Blue Orchids (w/ LT, 1939)

DMDB Top 20%:

51. I Thought about You (w/ MB, 1939)
52. Sometimes I’m Happy (1935)
53. Flying Home (1939)
54. King Porter Stomp (1935)
55. Intermezzo (Souvenir De Vienne) (w/ HF, 1941)
56. A Gal in Calico (w/ Eve Young, 1947)
57. I Got It Bad and That Ain’t Good (w/ PL, 1941)
58. It’s Only a Paper Moon (1945)
59. For Every Man There’s a Woman (w/ PL, 1948)
60. Please Be Kind (w/ MF, 1938)

61. I Know That You Know (1936)
62. You’re a Heavenly Thing (w/ HW, 1935)
63. Oh Babe! (1950)
64. China Boy (1936)
65. Afraid to Dream (w/ Betty Van, 1937)
66. The Dixieland Band (w/ HW, 1935)
67. We’ll Meet Again (w/ PL, 1942)
68. Serenade in Blue (w/ DH, 1942)
69. Yours (Quiereme Mucho) (w/ HF, 1941)
70. Basin Street Blues (1934)

71. Bob White (Whatcha Gonna Swing Tonight?) (w/ MF, 1937)
72. Rose of Washington Square (1939)
73. I Want to Be Happy (1937)
74. I Don’t Know Enough About You (w/ Art Lund, 1946)
75. My Sister and I (1941)
76. Basin Street Blues (1934)
77. Air Mail Special (w/ HF, 1941)
78. In a Sentimental Mood (1936)
79. Solo Flight (w/ Charlie Christian, 1941)
80. I’m Gonna Love That Guy (w/ Dottie Reid, 1945)

81. It Isn’t Fair (w/ Buddy Greco, 1950)
82. Can’t Teach My Old Heart New Tricks (w/ MF, 1937)
83. Jingle Bells (1935)
84. Wang Wang Blues (1941)
85. Close As Pages in a Book (w/ Jane Harvey, 1945)
86. Bugle Call Rag (1934)
87. The Flat Foot Floogee (1938)
88. Perfidia (Tonight) (w/ HF, 1941)
89. Clouds (w/ Ray Hendricks, 1935)
90. A String of Pearls (w/ PL, 1942)

91. Lullaby in Rhythm (1938)
92. Stompin’ at the Savoy (new recording, 1937)
93. Organ Grinder’s Swing (1936)
94. Eenie Meenie Miney Mo (w/ HW, 1935)
95. My Honey’s Lovin’ Arms (w/ MF, 1939)
96. Swingtime in the Rockies (1936)
97. No Other One (w/ HW, 1935)
98. I Was Lucky (w/ HW, 1935)
99. I Have Eyes (w/ MT, 1938)
100. I Ain’t Lazy, I’m Just Dreamin’ (w/ Jack Teagarden, 1934)

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Awards:

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50 years ago: Harry James hit #1 with “I’ve Heard That Song Before” for first of 13 weeks

I’ve Heard That Song Before Harry James and Helen Forrest

Writer(s): Jule Styne, Sammy Cahn (see lyrics here) First Charted: January 16, 1943 Peak: 113 US, 14 HP, 18 GA, 11 RB (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 1.25 US Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 0.85 video, 7.09 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: Composer Jule Styne and lyricist Sammy Cahn launched a successful musical writing partnership with this song TY1 about how musical numbers aid listeners in strolling down memory lane and thinking about lost loves. It was featured in the 1942 film, Youth on Parade and landed an Academy Award nomination. The pair went on to write together for numerous films and Broadway musicals, winning an Oscar for the title song of 1954’s Three Coins in the Fountain. Both are Songwriters Hall of Fame inductees. Bob Crosby introduced the song in Youth on Parade, but it was the version by the Harry James’ Orchestra with Helen Forrest on vocals which became the hit. They recorded the song on July 31, 1942, one day before the Musician Union’s ban. WK Their rendition charted in January of 1943 and became the biggest song of the year CPM and one of the biggest #1 hits in history. In the pre-rock era, only Bing Crosby’s “White Christmas” and Francis Craig’s “Near You” spent more weeks atop the charts. James was a trumpeter who’d played with Ben Pollack and then Benny Goodman before starting his own band in 1938. For several years, he charted only with instrumentals. However, in 1941-42, his hits tended to feature vocalists, including Forrest on the #1 song “I Don’t Want to Walk without You.” PM When the Musician Union’s ban disrupted the release of new recordings, Columbia dipped into their vaults and released older recordings by James. The most significant was a 1939 recording of “All or Nothing at All” which featured a then largely-unknown Frank Sinatra. PM James and Forrest recorded “I’ve Heard That Song Before” a day before the strike and Columbia released it five months later. SS Forrest became one of big band’s most popular female singers SS working with Artie Shaw (“They Say,” “Thanks for Everything,” both #1’s) from 1938-39 and then had her own stint with Goodman (“Taking a Chance on Love,” #1) from 1939 to 1941. Her stint with James from 1941-43 was “her happiest band experience” SS thanks to James’ approach at building arrangements around her voice and his horn. SS She also had success recording with Dick Haymes (“Long Ago and Far Away,” #2). Other artists to record the song included Pat Boone, the King Cole Trio, Steve Lawrence, Vera Lynn, Al Martino, Frank Sinatra, Mel Tormé, and Margaret Whiting. WK The song has also been featured in the 1986 Woody Allen movie, Hannah and Her Sisters. Resources: DMDB Encyclopedia entry for Harry James DMDB Encyclopedia entry for Helen Forrest DMDB Encyclopedia entry for Jule Styne DMDB Encyclopedia entry for Sammy Cahn DJ David Jasen (2002). A Century of American Popular Music: 2000 Best-Loved and Remembered Songs (1899-1999). Routledge: Taylor & Francis, Inc. Page 107. SS Steve Sullivan (2013). Encyclopedia of Great Popular Song Recordings (Volumes I & II). Scarecrow Press: Lanham, Maryland. Pages 753-4. TY1 Don Tyler (1985). Hit Parade 1920-1955. Quill: New York, NY. Page 112. CPM Joel Whitburn (1999). A Century of Pop Music. Record Research, Inc.: Menomonee Falls, WI. Page 62. PM Joel Whitburn (1986). Pop Memories 1890-1954. Record Research, Inc: Menomonee Falls, WI. Pages 226-7. WK Wikipedia.org First posted 1/6/2013; last updated 4/5/2023.

On This Day (1924): Isham Jones “It Had to Be You” hit #1

It Had to Be You Isham Jones

Writer(s): Isham Jones, Gus Kahn (see lyrics here) First Charted: July 19, 1924 Peak: 15 US, 2 GA, 2 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 0.29 video, 0.58 streaming

Awards (Isham Jones): Click on award for more details. Awards (Betty Hutton): Awards (Frank Sinatra): Awards (Harry Connick Jr.):

About the Song: “This is one of the high points in Tin Pan Alley era songwriting” RCG and “one of the most enduringly popular ballads of the 1920s.” SS-589 Unlike many of its Great American Songbook counterparts, “this effortless classic” RCG didn’t “put love and lovers on a pedestal,” TM but opted for the reality of being “smitten in spite of the significant other’s bossy and cranky nature,” TM and acknowledging that “if we’re lucky, we find somebody who loves us and can’t live without us, in spite of our faults.” TM It was a sophisticated song “with grown-up, often witty lyrics that have stood the test of time, are endlessly revived and still sound as good today as they did then.” LW Kahn “uses simple masculine rhymes and short but potent phrases throughout” RCG and “easily captivates all the romance and humanity in a simple, straightforward love song.” RCG Interestingly, the most successful version of the song is Isham Jones’ instrumental recording. Jones took it to #1, as he did eight times total, including with “On the Alamo,” “Swingin’ Down the Lane,” “Spain” and “I’ll See You in My Dreams.” PM While they were all instrumentals, Gus Kahn provided lyrics for all of them, as he also did for classics like “Carolina in the Morning,” “Yes Sir! That’s My Baby,” and “Makin’ Whoopee.” SS The “perennial nightclub favorite” JA charted six times in 1924 alone. It has been recorded hundreds of times, including versions by Tony Bennett, Ray Charles, Nat “King” Cole, Cliff Edwards (#6), Helen Forrest and Dick Haymes (#4), Marion Harris (#3), Earl Hines (#18), Betty Hutton (#5), Vera Lynn, Billy Murray with Aileen Stanley (#8), Harry Nilsson, Kenny Rogers, Artie Shaw (#10), Frank Sinatra, Barbra Streisand, Danny Thomas, John Travolta, Paul Whiteman, Andy Williams. The song has been featured in more than 40 films, including Casablanca (1942), Incendiary Blonde (1944), the Gus Kahn biopic I’ll See You in My Dreams (1951), Annie Hall (1977), and When Harry Met Sally (1989). RCG Resources: DMDB Encyclopedia entry for Gus Kahn DMDB Encyclopedia entry for Betty Hutton DMDB Encyclopedia entry for Harry Connick Jr. DJ David Jasen (2002). A Century of American Popular Music: 2000 Best-Loved and Remembered Songs (1899-1999). Routledge: Taylor & Francis, Inc. Page 103. LW Alan Lewens (2001). Popular Song – Soundtrack of the Century. Billboard Books: New York, NY. Page 48. RCG RimChiGuy.com The Old Songs (1900-1929) SS Steve Sullivan (2013). Encyclopedia of Great Popular Song Recordings (Volumes I & II). Scarecrow Press: Lanham, Maryland. Page 589. TM Time magazine (10/24/2011). “All Time 100 Songs” PM Joel Whitburn (1986). Pop Memories 1890-1954. Record Research, Inc: Menomonee Falls, WI. Page 86. Related Links: First posted 9/6/2016; last updated 9/6/2023.