Songs from the Year 1934

Other Years:

1934

1935

1936

This page lists the top songs of 1934 in the source charts. The way that the various charts are combined to reach this final list is described on the in the site generation page.

Between 1920 and 1940 there are few available charts (at least that we can find). These results should be treated with some caution since, with few exceptions, they are based on fairly subjective charts and biased towards the USA.

The top ten song artists of 1934 were:
1:Bing Crosby	3:Paul Whiteman	5:Duke Ellington	7:Leo Reisman	9:Freddy Martin
2:Guy Lombardo	4:Eddy Duchin	6:Ray Noble	8:Glen Gray	10:Fats Waller

#	Artist	Song Title	Year	Chart Entries
1	Paul Whiteman	Smoke Gets in Your Eyes	1934	US Billboard 1 - Dec 1933 (15 weeks), US invalid BB 2 of 1934, POP 2 of 1934, Australian Nostalgia 18 of 1930-1939, Brazil 51 of 1935, nuTsie 72 of 1930s, Europe 80 of the 1930s (1934), RYM 15 of 1934
2	Duke Ellington	Cocktails For Two	1934	US Billboard 1 - 1934 (15 weeks), Grammy Hall of Fame in 2007 (1934), US invalid BB 8 of 1934, POP 8 of 1934, Brazil 22 of 1934, nuTsie 43 of 1930s, Australian Nostalgia 44 of 1930-1939
3	Bing Crosby	Love in Bloom	1934	US Billboard 1 - 1934 (15 weeks), Oscar in 1934 (film 'She Loves Me Not') (Nominated), US invalid BB 19 of 1934, Australian Nostalgia 19 of 1930-1939, POP 19 of 1934, Europe 37 of the 1930s (1934), Brazil 46 of 1934, RYM 60 of 1934
4	Ray Noble	The Very Thought of You	1934	US Billboard 1 - 1934 (14 weeks), Grammy Hall of Fame in 2005 (1934), US invalid BB 10 of 1934, POP 10 of 1934, Brazil 37 of 1934, Australian Nostalgia 42 of 1930-1939, nuTsie 82 of 1930s
5	Leo Reisman	Continental (you Kiss While You're Dancing)	1934	US Billboard 1 - 1934 (7 weeks), Oscar in 1934 (film 'The Gay Divorcee'), US invalid BB 7 of 1934, POP 7 of 1934, Brazil 51 of 1936, Europe 71 of the 1930s (1934)
6	Bing Crosby	June in January	1934	US Billboard 1 - 1934 (12 weeks), Europe 8 of the 1930s (1934), US invalid BB 15 of 1934, POP 15 of 1934, Australian Nostalgia 23 of 1930-1939, Brazil 44 of 1935, RYM 64 of 1934
7	The Sons of the Pioneers	Tumbling Tumbleweeds	1934	Grammy Hall of Fame in 2002 (1934), Library of Congress artifact added 2010 (1934), US Billboard 13 - 1934 (2 weeks), Music Imprint 17 of 1930s, nuTsie 48 of 1930s, RIAA 207, Acclaimed 860 (1934)
8	Guy Lombardo	Winter Wonderland	1934	US invalid BB 1 of 1934, POP 1 of 1934, US Billboard 2 - 1934 (9 weeks), Europe 4 of the 1930s (1934)
9	Eddy Duchin	Let's Fall in Love	1934	US Billboard 1 - 1934 (11 weeks), US invalid BB 13 of 1934, POP 13 of 1934, Brazil 26 of 1934, Australian Nostalgia 46 of 1930-1939, nuTsie 94 of 1930s
10	Fats Waller	Honeysuckle Rose	1934	Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999 (1934), US Billboard 4 - 1937 (4 weeks), Jazz Standard 15, nuTsie 64 of 1930s, Acclaimed 1483 (1934), RYM 2 of 1935, Song of 1936
11	Benny Goodman	Moon Glow (1934)	1934	US Billboard 1 - 1934 (15 weeks), US invalid BB 4 of 1934, POP 4 of 1934, Europe 15 of the 1930s (1934), RYM 8 of 1934
12	Guy Lombardo	Stars Fell on Alabama	1934	US Billboard 1 - 1934 (9 weeks), US invalid BB 12 of 1934, POP 12 of 1934, Europe 66 of the 1930s (1934)
13	Enric Madriguera & his Orchestra	The Carioca	1934	US Billboard 1 - 1934 (10 weeks), US invalid BB 20 of 1934, POP 20 of 1934, Brazil 25 of 1934
14	Don Bestor & his Orchestra	42nd Street	1934	US Billboard 1 - 1933 (12 weeks), US invalid BB 6 of 1934, POP 6 of 1934, nuTsie 97 of 1930s
15	Bing Crosby	Little Dutch Mill	1934	US Billboard 1 - 1934 (11 weeks), Europe 36 of the 1930s (1934), Australian Nostalgia 45 of 1930-1939
16	Ted Fio Rito	I'll String Along With You	1934	US Billboard 1 - 1934 (14 weeks), Brazil 40 of 1934, Australian Nostalgia 43 of 1930-1939
17	Scott Wood & his Orchestra	I Only Have Eyes For You	1934	ASCAP song of 1934, Peel list 2 of 1934
18	Ray Noble	Old Spinning Wheel	1934	US Billboard 1 - Oct 1933 (22 weeks), US invalid BB 11 of 1934, POP 11 of 1934
19	Lucienne Boyer	Speak to Me of Love (Parlez-Moi D'amour)	1934	France (Historical) 2 of the 1930s (1930), US Billboard 5 - 1934 (5 weeks), Brazil 91 of 1935
20	Ben Selvin	I Only Have Eyes For You	1934	US Billboard 2 - 1934 (8 weeks), US invalid BB 3 of 1934, POP 3 of 1934
21	Harry Sosnik & his Edgewater Beach Hotel Orchestra	The Carioca	1934	US Billboard 2 - 1934 (8 weeks), Oscar in 1934 (film 'Flying Down to Rio') (Nominated), Brazil 57 of 1934
22	Ted Fio Rito	My Little Grass shack in Kealakekua, Hawaii	1934	US Billboard 1 - 1934 (14 weeks), US invalid BB 14 of 1934, POP 14 of 1934
23	Freddy Martin	I Saw Stars	1934	US Billboard 1 - 1934 (11 weeks), US invalid BB 17 of 1934, POP 17 of 1934
24	Ethel Merman	You're the Top	1934	Grammy Hall of Fame in 2008 (1934), US Billboard 4 - Nov 1934 (9 weeks), Song of 1934
25	Eddy Duchin	I Only Have Eyes For You	1934	POP 3 of 1934, US Billboard 4 - 1934 (12 weeks), Brazil 23 of 1935
26	Grace Moore	One Night of Love	1934	US Billboard 1 - 1934 (10 weeks), Brazil 32 of 1935
27	Paul Whiteman	Wagon Wheels	1934	US Billboard 1 - 1934 (12 weeks), Europe 84 of the 1930s (1934)
28	Chick Webb	Stompin' at the Savoy	1934	US invalid BB 5 of 1934, POP 5 of 1934, US Billboard 10 - 1934 (7 weeks), Song of 1934
29	Jimmy Durante	Inka Dinka Doo	1934	US Billboard 6 - 1934 (4 weeks), Brazil 80 of 1934, nuTsie 100 of 1930s, Song of 1934
30	Lydia Mendoza	Mal Hombre	1934	Library of Congress artifact added 2010 (1934), Visconti song of 1934
31	Freddy Martin	April in Paris	1934	US Billboard 5 - Dec 1933 (7 weeks), US invalid BB 9 of 1934, POP 9 of 1934
32	Rudy Vallee & his Connecticut Yankees	You Oughta Be in Pictures	1934	US Billboard 5 - 1934 (6 weeks), US invalid BB 18 of 1934, POP 18 of 1934
33	Lucienne Boyer	Hands Across the Table	1934	US Billboard 2 - 1934 (10 weeks), Brazil 99 of 1935
34	Richard Himber & his Orchestra	Stars Fell on Alabama	1934	US Billboard 2 - 1934 (7 weeks), Jazz Standard 238
35	Cole Porter	Anything Goes	1934	Grammy Hall of Fame in 2012 (1934)
36	Jimmie Grier & his Orchestra	Stay as Sweet as You Are	1934	US Billboard 1 - 1934 (8 weeks)
37	Jimmie Grier & his Orchestra	The Object Of My Affection	1934	US Billboard 1 - 1934 (13 weeks)
38	Jan Garber	All I Do Is Dream Of You	1934	US Billboard 1 - 1934 (14 weeks)
39	Tommy Dorsey	If I Could Hear My Mother Pray Again	1934	Library of Congress artifact added 2007 (1934)
40	Gid Tanner	Hawkin's Rag	1934	Peel list 1 of 1934
41	Aurora Miranda & Andre Filho	Cidade Maravilhosa	1934	Brazil 1 of 1934
42	Duke Ellington	Solitude	1934	US Billboard 2 - Oct 1934 (16 weeks), RYM 1 of 1934, Song of 1934
43	Jane Froman	I Only Have Eyes For You	1934	POP 3 of 1934, US Billboard 20 - 1934 (1 week)
44	Bing Crosby	Love Is Just Around the Corner	1934	US Billboard 8 - Dec 1934 (9 weeks), Jazz Standard 821, RYM 64 of 1934
45	Fred Astaire	Flying Down to Rio	1934	US Billboard 6 - 1934 (4 weeks), Brazil 82 of 1935
46	Claude Hopkins & his Orchestra	Three Little Words	1934	US Billboard 15 - 1934 (2 weeks), Jazz Standard 145, Song of 1934
47	Glen Gray	Champagne Waltz	1934	US Billboard 7 - 1934 (8 weeks), Brazil 90 of 1934
48	Emil Velasco	Old Spinning Wheel	1934	US Billboard 9 - 1934 (3 weeks), Brazil 67 of 1934
49	Paul Whiteman	You're the Top	1934	US Billboard 2 - 1934 (10 weeks), RYM 34 of 1934
50	Guy Lombardo	My Old Flame	1934	US Billboard 7 - 1934 (5 weeks), Jazz Standard 101
51	Chick Webb	I Got Ants In My Pants	1934	POP 16 of 1934, US Billboard 20 - 1934 (1 week)
52	Freddy Martin	Then I'll Be Tired of You	1934	US Billboard 12 - 1934 (4 weeks), Jazz Standard 551
53	Will Osborne & his Orchestra	Cocktails For Two	1934	US Billboard 15 - 1934 (2 weeks), Jazz Standard 585
54	Jan Garber	Blame it On My Youth	1934	US Billboard 17 - 1935 (2 weeks), Jazz Standard 857
55	The Dorsey Brothers	You're the Top	1934	US Billboard 17 - 1934 (2 weeks), Jazz Standard 940
56	Paul Whiteman	I Get a Kick Out of You	1934	US Billboard 3 - Dec 1934 (11 weeks), RYM 34 of 1934
57	Duke Ellington	The Saddest Tale	1934	US Billboard 9 - 1934 (3 weeks), RYM 10 of 1934, Song of 1934
58	Guy Lombardo	Riptide	1934	US Billboard 2 - 1934 (6 weeks)
59	Guy Lombardo	Annie Doesn't Live Here Anymore	1934	US Billboard 2 - Nov 1934 (8 weeks)
60	Johnny Green & his Orchestra	Two Cigarettes in the Dark	1934	US Billboard 2 - 1934 (8 weeks)
61	Jolly Coburn & his Orchestra	Continental (you Kiss While You're Dancing)	1934	US Billboard 2 - 1934 (9 weeks)
62	Ben Pollack & his Orchestra	The Beat O' My Heart	1934	US Billboard 2 - 1934 (14 weeks)
63	The Mills Brothers	Sleepy Head	1934	US Billboard 2 - 1934 (9 weeks)
64	Duke Ellington	Moon Glow	1934	US Billboard 2 - 1934 (7 weeks)
65	Little Jack Little	You Oughta Be in Pictures	1934	US Billboard 2 - 1934 (9 weeks)
66	Emil Coleman & his Orchestra	Little Man, You've Had a Busy Day	1934	US Billboard 2 - 1934 (7 weeks)
67	Bing Crosby	Good Night, Lovely Little Lady	1934	US Billboard 2 - 1934 (7 weeks)
68	The Mills Brothers	Swing It, Sister	1934	US Billboard 2 - 1934 (6 weeks)
69	Bing Crosby	Love Thy Neighbor	1934	US Billboard 2 - 1934 (11 weeks)
70	Carmen Miranda	Na Batucada da Vida	1934	Brazil 2 of 1934
71	Bing Crosby	Two Cigarettes in the Dark	1934	US Billboard 5 - 1934 (4 weeks), RYM 59 of 1934
72	Cab Calloway & his Cotton Club Orchestra	Chinese Rhythm	1934	US Billboard 6 - 1934 (4 weeks), RYM 77 of 1934
73	Henry Busse & his Orchestra	Hot Lips	1934	US Billboard 3 - 1934 (11 weeks)
74	Enric Madriguera & his Orchestra	True	1934	US Billboard 3 - 1934 (11 weeks)
75	Eddy Duchin	I Never Had a Chance	1934	US Billboard 3 - 1934 (11 weeks)
76	Ray Noble	Blue Danube	1934	US Billboard 3 - Dec 1934 (18 weeks)
77	Leo Reisman	With My Eyes Wide Open I'm Dreaming	1934	US Billboard 3 - 1934 (11 weeks)
78	Rudy Vallee & his Connecticut Yankees	Everything I Have is Yours	1934	US Billboard 3 - 1934 (7 weeks)
79	Leo Reisman	Smoke Gets in Your Eyes	1934	US Billboard 3 - 1934 (6 weeks)
80	Harold Arlen	Ill Wind (You're Blowing Me No Good)	1934	US Billboard 3 - 1934 (6 weeks)
81	Eddy Duchin	Riptide	1934	US Billboard 3 - 1934 (7 weeks)
82	Hal Kemp	For All We Know	1934	US Billboard 3 - 1934 (8 weeks)
83	Chick Webb	What a Shuffle	1934	Peel list 3 of 1934
84	Mario Reis	Agora & Cinza	1934	Brazil 3 of 1934
85	Fats Waller	Don't Let it Bother You	1934	US Billboard 10 - 1934 (5 weeks), Song of 1934
86	Ruth Etting	Smoke Gets in Your Eyes	1934	US Billboard 15 - 1934 (3 weeks), RYM 57 of 1934
87	Bing Crosby	Straight From the Shoulder	1934	US Billboard 16 - 1934 (2 weeks), RYM 60 of 1934
88	Isham Jones	For All We Know	1934	US Billboard 16 - 1934 (2 weeks), RYM 63 of 1934
89	Eddie Cantor	Okay, Toots	1934	US Billboard 19 - 1934 (1 week), Song of 1934
90	Emil Coleman & his Orchestra	Smoke Gets in Your Eyes	1934	US Billboard 4 - 1934 (9 weeks)
91	Bing Crosby	May I	1934	US Billboard 4 - 1934 (6 weeks)
92	Castillian Troubadors	The Carioca	1934	US Billboard 4 - 1934 (9 weeks)
93	Eddy Duchin	Dust on the Moon	1934	US Billboard 4 - 1934 (9 weeks)
94	Eddy Duchin	I've Had My Moments	1934	US Billboard 4 - 1934 (10 weeks)
95	Rudy Vallee & his Connecticut Yankees	Lost in a Fog	1934	US Billboard 4 - 1934 (9 weeks)
96	Paul Whiteman	I Saw Stars	1934	US Billboard 4 - 1934 (6 weeks)
97	Rudy Vallee & his Connecticut Yankees	Orchids in the Moonlight	1934	US Billboard 4 - 1934 (11 weeks)
98	Don Bestor & his Orchestra	A Thousand Goodnights	1934	US Billboard 4 - 1934 (7 weeks)
99	Paul Whiteman	Love in Bloom	1934	US Billboard 4 - 1934 (10 weeks)
100	Bing Crosby	Every Breath I Take	1934	US Billboard 4 - Dec 1934 (7 weeks)

Previous Comments

Previous Comments (newest first)

10 Dec 2020

39 Tommy Dorsey+

Hey guys, i m making a big playlist, thank you for all the good work. HIT 39it s not tommy dorsey but thomas a. dorsey. sadly though so far i cant seem to find a good audio on the internet. now u giving me a headache cause i m gonna have to go through the few hits i have to make sure they belong to the right dorsey. lots of bioux

10 Aug 2015

Chick Webb

Chick Web - I Got Ants In My Pants - correct: I Can't Dance (I Got Ants in My Pants)

Cheers Walter

You need to read the FAQ about song titles.

5 Jul 2015

Benny Goodman - Moonglow

I would suggest that you list it the same way you have listed Enrico Caruso'stwo recordings of Vesti La Giubba of 1905 and 1907 - two separate listings.

The entries have been split. Thanks

30 Jun 2015

Russ Columbo

You've left out Russ Columbo, who along with Bing, was the greatest crooner ofthe early 30's. Only his tragic death in September of that year precluded a star that would have paralleled Bing's career.

However unfairly we only list acts with lots of hits.

Even then we have four of his 11 hits listed on the site

15 Aug 2014

Benny Goodman

There are (2) different recordings of Moonglow (#1 in 1934). This one and a 1936recording by Benny Goodman Quartet. The 1936 version was awarded the Grammy Hall of Fame, not this one.

Thanks for clarifying that, but we're not sure how to make that clear in the data (other than including this message on all the pages where this is mentioned)

2 Dec 2013

DOES THIS HELP??

19 Jun 2013

Real estate Papa, you ain't gonna subdivide me

by West and Perillo, revived by Janet Kline (Paradise Wobble cd) I'm looking for the lyrics. thanks!

3 Mar 2013

U dont have Henry hall

We have not found any UK based charts from the 1930s. So he doesn't have enough entries to make the list.

The two songs that we do have are "Bird Song At Eventide" in 1926 and "Play to Me, Gypsy" from 1934.

30 Sep 2012

Songs for Nana

My Grandmother graduated from High School in 1934. I'm using your list to make her a playlist to listen to and tell me her memories

Thank you!

23 Feb 2012

The Very Thought of You

Shouldn't the artist of no. 6 songs "The Very thought of you" be listed as Al Bowlly instead of Ray Noble. Because Ray Noble is doing the orchestration for the songs and the vocal is by Al Bowlly.

If you list this song under Ray Noble, then Bing crosby's June in January should be listed under Georgie Stoll...

Of coz, Bing Crosby command more attention compare to Al Bowlly. But Al Bowlly is a crooner in his own right...what do you think?

During the 1930s and 1940s the charts were normally based on the sales of sheet music, so it was the song that was a hit NOT the recording. When people like Whitburn (in the USA) and Kent (in Australia) retrospectively calculated charts for the period they tried to assign an artist to each song (to make these charts comparable with the ones from the 1950s and after). The way the artists have been assigned are inconsistent (sometimes the singer, sometimes the band leader and sometimes the band). Of course this is further complicated for us because we enforce consistency between charts from different countries.

So, yes, you have a good point. What we've tried to achieve is, firstly consistency across all the various input charts, and secondly being as close to the interpretation of the most notable charts as possible. Unfortunately these goals conflict with each other and the result is a compromise.

In the particular case you mention Ray Noble is better known than Al Bowlly and Bing Crosby better known than Georgie Stoll. So following the original sources leads to a result that is just about OK. We hope that there is enough detail here for those who are interested to track the originals on sites like discogs, musicbrainz and rateyourmusic where the full details can be examined.

We believe that our unique contribution is the consolidation of data from many different sources, requiring a level of simplification that an expert, such as yourself, might balk at. We feel that the result, while imperfect, is good enough to justify the approach.

22 Jan 2012

love all the music from the big band era that was music!!

31 Dec 2011

# 34 Carioca

This was also a #2 US Billboard Hit.

Thanks for the info, the title AND the artist were different, but we see that your correction is justified.

Thanks for the suggestion

30 Aug 2011

1934

great to see songs from the year my Dad was born. I like many of them too. Very detailed.

30 Dec 2010

This is a great way for me to show my grandchildren what music was like when I was a kid. It brings back memories...

30 Dec 2010

Love it! :)

30 Dec 2010

This is great!

What an amazing way to bring back all my old memories. I still have my records.

20 Dec 2010

Very nice and organized. Five stars!!

7 Dec 2010

Dancing to unforgetable songs

They just don't write song lyrics nowadays like these anymore, it's a shame young people won't have the remantic memories of slow dancing to most of these.

Most of these songs' lyrics are instilled in my head. I still remember the words to most of them. Will our children be able to say that of the songs of today? Don't think so!