Songs from the Year 1940

Other Years:

1940

1941

1942

This page lists the top songs of 1940 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. There is also a set of monthly tables showing the various number ones on any date during 1940.

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.

During this era music was dominated by a number of "Big Bands" and songs could be attributed to the band leader, the band name, the lead singer or a combination of the them. It is common, for example, to see the same song listed with three different artists. And, just to stop us from getting bored, the success of a song was tied to the sales of sheet music, so a popular song would often be perfomed by many different combinations of singers and bands and the contemporary charts would list the song, without clarifying whose version was the major hit. Where we have found such issues we have attempted to consolidate the entries using the most widely accepted value for the artist in each case.

The top five song artists of 1940 were:
1:Glenn Miller	2:The Ink Spots	3:Tommy Dorsey & Frank Sinatra	4:Bing Crosby	5:Tommy Dorsey

#	Artist	Song Title	Year	Chart Entries
1	Glenn Miller	In the Mood	1940	US Billboard 1 - Oct 1939 (30 weeks), Australia 1 for 5 months - Jan 1942, Europe 1 of the 1940s (1940), Grammy Hall of Fame in 1983 (1939), nuTsie 1 of 1930s, US BB 2 of 1940, POP 2 of 1940, RYM 4 of 1939, Scrobulate 4 of swing, Music Imprint 4 of 1940s, Your Hit Parade 7 of 1940, RIAA 11, Brazil 12 of 1941, Holland 15 - Aug 1972 (7 weeks), Belgium 18 - Sep 1972 (2 weeks), DMDB 67 (1939), Acclaimed 477 (1939), Song of 1938, Party 45 of 1999
2	Artie Shaw	Frenesi	1940	US Billboard 1 - 1940 (30 weeks), US 1940s 1 - Aug 1940 (23 weeks), US 1 for 13 weeks - Dec 1940, Grammy Hall of Fame in 2000 (1940), Your Hit Parade 3 of 1940, US BB 6 of 1940, POP 6 of 1940, DDD 7 of 1940, Brazil 10 of 1946, nuTsie 24 of 1940s, Scrobulate 48 of swing, Europe 71 of the 1940s (1940), Song of 1940
3	Tommy Dorsey & Frank Sinatra	I'll Never Smile Again	1940	US Billboard 1 - 1940 (20 weeks), US 1940s 1 - Jul 1940 (15 weeks), US 1 for 12 weeks - Jul 1940, Grammy Hall of Fame in 1982 (1940), DDD 3 of 1940, US BB 8 of 1940, POP 8 of 1940, Europe 17 of the 1940s (1940), Brazil 39 of 1941
4	Bing Crosby	Only Forever	1940	US Billboard 1 - 1940 (20 weeks), US 1940s 1 - Sep 1940 (16 weeks), US 1 for 9 weeks - Oct 1940, Oscar in 1940 (film 'Rhythm on the River') (Nominated), US BB 15 of 1940, Your Hit Parade 15 of 1940, POP 15 of 1940, Europe 24 of the 1940s (1940), DDD 69 of 1940, RYM 87 of 1940
5	Cliff Edwards (Ukelele Ike)	When You Wish Upon a Star	1940	Your Hit Parade 1 of 1940, Oscar in 1940 (film 'Pinocchio'), Grammy Hall of Fame in 2002 (1940), AFI 7, DDD 9 of 1940, US Billboard 10 - 1940 (6 weeks), Music Imprint 11 of 1940s, RYM 20 of 1940, RIAA 55, nuTsie 80 of 1940s, Acclaimed 1090 (1940)
6	Glenn Miller	When You Wish Upon a Star	1940	US Billboard 1 - 1940 (16 weeks), US BB 1 of 1940, POP 1 of 1940, DDD 9 of 1940, RYM 15 of 1940, Brazil 55 of 1940
7	Glenn Miller	The Woodpecker Song	1940	US Billboard 1 - 1940 (16 weeks), Australia 1 for 5 months - Nov 1940, US BB 13 of 1940, POP 13 of 1940, DDD 45 of 1940, RYM 86 of 1940
8	The Ink Spots	We Three (My Echo, My Shadow & Me)	1940	US Billboard 1 - Oct 1940 (15 weeks), US 1940s 3 - Oct 1940 (14 weeks), Your Hit Parade 5 of 1940, POP 5 of 1941, DDD 6 of 1940, US BB 11 of 1941, nuTsie 53 of 1940s, Brazil 94 of 1941
9	Jimmy Dorsey	The Breeze & I	1940	US Billboard 1 - 1940 (14 weeks), US 1940s 2 - Jul 1940 (9 weeks), Your Hit Parade 12 of 1940, DDD 12 of 1940, US BB 14 of 1940, POP 14 of 1940, nuTsie 52 of 1940s, Brazil 58 of 1940
10	Coleman Hawkins	Body & Soul	1940	Grammy Hall of Fame in 1974 (1939), US BB 4 of 1940, POP 4 of 1940, US Billboard 13 - 1940 (6 weeks), nuTsie 16 of 1930s, Your Hit Parade 18 of 1940, RIAA 310, Acclaimed 683 (1939), Song of 1938
11	Glenn Miller	Tuxedo Junction	1940	US Billboard 1 - 1940 (19 weeks), DDD 5 of 1940, US BB 7 of 1940, POP 7 of 1940, RYM 12 of 1940, nuTsie 20 of 1940s, Brazil 61 of 1941
12	Glenn Miller	Blueberry Hill	1940	US Billboard 1 - 1940 (20 weeks), US 1940s 2 - Aug 1940 (14 weeks), US BB 10 of 1940, POP 10 of 1940, Your Hit Parade 13 of 1940, RYM 29 of 1940, DDD 49 of 1940
13	Jimmie Davis	You Are My Sunshine	1940	Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999 (1940), RYM 4 of 1940, DDD 4 of 1940, Music Imprint 5 of 1940s, RIAA 14, nuTsie 30 of 1940s, Acclaimed 677 (1940)
14	Glenn Miller	Pennsylvania 6-5000	1940	RYM 2 of 1940, US Billboard 5 - 1940 (12 weeks), US 1940s 5 - Jul 1940 (6 weeks), DDD 8 of 1940, Your Hit Parade 9 of 1940, Brazil 25 of 1942, nuTsie 43 of 1940s, Song of 1940
15	The Ink Spots	When The Swallows Come Back to Capistrano	1940	US BB 3 of 1940, POP 3 of 1940, US Billboard 4 - 1940 (14 weeks), US 1940s 4 - Aug 1940 (11 weeks), Peel list 4 of 1940, DDD 15 of 1940
16	The Ink Spots	Whispering Grass (Don't Tell the Trees)	1940	Australia 1 for 1 month - Jul 1944, US Billboard 10 - 1940 (10 weeks), US 1940s 10 - Oct 1940 (1 week), DDD 21 of 1940
17	The Ink Spots	Maybe	1940	US Billboard 2 - 1940 (17 weeks), US 1940s 2 - Sep 1940 (14 weeks), DDD 11 of 1940, Your Hit Parade 14 of 1940, Europe 39 of the 1940s (1940), nuTsie 99 of 1940s
18	Bob Wills & his Texas Playboys	New San Antonio Rose	1940	Grammy Hall of Fame in 1998 (1940), DDD 2 of 1940, US Billboard 11 - Nov 1940 (5 weeks), Your Hit Parade 22 of 1941, RYM 23 of 1940, RIAA 316
19	Bing Crosby	Trade Winds	1940	US Billboard 1 - 1940 (17 weeks), US 1940s 2 - Sep 1940 (15 weeks), US BB 17 of 1940, POP 19 of 1940, Your Hit Parade 21 of 1940, DDD 78 of 1940
20	Tommy Dorsey	All the Things You Are	1940	US Billboard 1 - Dec 1939 (13 weeks), Your Hit Parade 4 of 1940, US BB 16 of 1940, POP 17 of 1940, Brazil 31 of 1940
21	The Andrews Sisters	Ferryboat Serenade	1940	US Billboard 1 - 1940 (14 weeks), US 1940s 8 - Dec 1940 (3 weeks), US BB 12 of 1940, POP 12 of 1940, Your Hit Parade 17 of 1940, DDD 79 of 1940
22	Bing Crosby	Sierra Sue	1940	US Billboard 1 - 1940 (14 weeks), US 1940s 3 - Jul 1940 (10 weeks), POP 9 of 1940, Your Hit Parade 10 of 1940, DDD 71 of 1940
23	Glenn Miller	Imagination	1940	US Billboard 1 - 1940 (11 weeks), US 1940s 3 - Jul 1940 (3 weeks), POP 16 of 1940, US BB 20 of 1940, DDD 48 of 1940
24	Charlie Barnet	Where Was I?	1940	US Billboard 1 - 1940 (10 weeks), US 1940s 6 - Jul 1940 (1 week), US BB 18 of 1940, POP 21 of 1940, DDD 70 of 1940
25	Judy Garland	I'm Nobody's Baby	1940	US Billboard 3 - 1940 (12 weeks), US 1940s 3 - Aug 1940 (10 weeks), Your Hit Parade 23 of 1940, DDD 72 of 1940, Brazil 99 of 1941
26	Bob Crosby & his Orchestra	Down Argentina Way	1940	US Billboard 2 - Nov 1940 (13 weeks), US 1940s 2 - Dec 1940 (4 weeks), Your Hit Parade 6 of 1940, Brazil 85 of 1941
27	Kate Smith	The Woodpecker Song	1940	Australia 1 for 5 months - Nov 1940, US Billboard 14 - 1940 (5 weeks)
28	Shep Fields & his Rippling Rhythm Orchestra	Down Argentina Way	1940	Australia 1 for 1 month - Sep 1941, US Billboard 18 - 1940 (6 weeks)
29	Glenn Miller	Fools Rush In (Where Angels Fear To Tread)	1940	US Billboard 1 - 1940 (13 weeks), US 1940s 3 - Jul 1940 (7 weeks), POP 22 of 1940, DDD 40 of 1940
30	Vaughn Monroe	There I Go	1940	US Billboard 1 - 1940 (12 weeks), US 1940s 5 - Dec 1940 (4 weeks), US BB 19 of 1941, POP 23 of 1941
31	Glenn Miller	Careless	1940	US Billboard 1 - 1940 (13 weeks), US BB 11 of 1940, POP 11 of 1940, RYM 29 of 1939
32	Mitchell Ayres & his Fashions in Music	Make Believe Island	1940	US Billboard 1 - 1940 (13 weeks), US 1940s 10 - Jul 1940 (1 week), Your Hit Parade 22 of 1940, POP 25 of 1940
33	Duke Ellington	Ko Ko	1940	Grammy Hall of Fame in 2011 (1940), US Billboard 25 - 1940 (1 week), DDD 38 of 1940, RYM 47 of 1940
34	Joe Loss Orchestra	South of the Border (Down Mexico Way)	1940	Australia 1 for 3 months - Jan 1940
35	Joe Loss Orchestra	Blue Orchid	1940	Australia 1 for 3 months - May 1940
36	Carson Robison	South of the Border (Down Mexico Way)	1940	Australia 1 for 3 months - Jan 1940
37	Francisco Alves	Dama das Camelias	1940	Brazil 1 of 1940
38	Joe Loss Orchestra	The Spitfire Song	1940	Peel list 1 of 1940
39	Joe Loss Orchestra	Till the Lights of London Shine Again	1940	Australia 1 for 3 months - Aug 1940
40	Joe Loss Orchestra	Beer Barrel Polka (Roll out the Barrel)	1940	Australia 1 for 1 month - Apr 1940
41	Tommy Dorsey & Frank Sinatra	Our Love Affair	1940	Oscar in 1940 (film 'Strike Up the Band') (Nominated), US Billboard 5 - 1940 (5 weeks), US 1940s 5 - Nov 1940 (3 weeks), US CashBox 47 - Mar 1956 (1 week)
42	Tommy Dorsey	Stardust	1940	US 1940s 7 - Jan 1941 (1 week), US Billboard 8 - 1936 (5 weeks), RYM 42 of 1940, Europe 87 of the 1930s (1936), Song of 1940
43	Will Bradley	Beat Me Daddy, Eight To The Bar	1940	US Billboard 2 - 1940 (22 weeks), US 1940s 2 - Sep 1940 (15 weeks), POP 5 of 1940
44	Bill Monroe	Mule Skinner Blues	1940	Grammy Hall of Fame in 2009 (1940), DDD 22 of 1940, Acclaimed 1580 (1940), one of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 500
45	Tony Martin	It's a Blue World	1940	US Billboard 2 - 1940 (13 weeks), Oscar in 1940 (film 'Music in My Heart') (Nominated), Your Hit Parade 20 of 1940
46	Ella Fitzgerald	Five O'Clock Whistle	1940	US Billboard 9 - Nov 1940 (5 weeks), US 1940s 9 - Jan 1941 (1 week), DDD 18 of 1940, RYM 53 of 1940
47	Erskine Hawkins	Dolemite	1940	US Billboard 10 - 1940 (7 weeks), US 1940s 10 - Sep 1940 (1 week), DDD 74 of 1940, RYM 92 of 1940
48	Edith Piaf	L'accordeoniste	1940	France (Historical) 11 of the 1940s (1940), DDD 44 of 1940, RYM 80 of 1961
49	Charlie Barnet	Pompton Turnpike	1940	US Billboard 3 - 1940 (13 weeks), US 1940s 3 - Oct 1940 (6 weeks), DDD 19 of 1940
50	Tommy Dorsey & Frank Sinatra	We Three (My Echo, My Shadow & Me)	1940	US Billboard 3 - 1940 (10 weeks), US 1940s 6 - Nov 1940 (5 weeks), DDD 6 of 1940
51	Glenn Miller	When The Swallows Come Back to Capistrano	1940	US Billboard 2 - 1940 (12 weeks), US 1940s 10 - Aug 1940 (1 week), DDD 15 of 1940
52	Tommy Dorsey & Frank Sinatra	Stardust	1940	DDD 1 of 1940, US Billboard 7 - 1941 (5 weeks)
53	Woody Guthrie	Talking Dust Bowl Blues	1940	RYM 1 of 1940, DDD 20 of 1940
54	Woody Guthrie	Blowin' Down This Road	1940	RYM 1 of 1940, DDD 99 of 1940
55	Bukka White	Special Stream Line	1940	Peel list 2 of 1940
56	Orlando Silva	Suplica	1940	Brazil 2 of 1940
57	Glenn Miller	A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square	1940	US Billboard 2 - 1940 (6 weeks), US 1940s 2 - Dec 1940 (6 weeks)
58	Will Bradley	Scrub Me Mama With A Boogie Beat	1940	US Billboard 2 - Nov 1940 (10 weeks), US 1940s 2 - Dec 1940 (7 weeks)
59	The Ink Spots	Java Jive	1940	RYM 3 of 1940, DDD 13 of 1940, US Billboard 15 - Dec 1940 (3 weeks)
60	The Ink Spots	Do I Worry?	1940	RYM 3 of 1940, US Billboard 8 - 1941 (6 weeks), DDD 65 of 1940
61	Dick Robertson & his Orchestra	Ma (He's Making Eyes At Me)	1940	US BB 5 of 1940, US Billboard 12 - 1940 (6 weeks), POP 20 of 1940
62	The Andrews Sisters	Say 'Si Si' (Para Vigo Me Voy)	1940	US Billboard 4 - 1940 (10 weeks), Brazil 83 of 1940
63	Tommy Dorsey & Frank Sinatra	Imagination	1940	US Billboard 8 - 1940 (6 weeks), US 1940s 8 - Jul 1940 (1 week), DDD 48 of 1940
64	Kay Kyser	Playmates	1940	US Billboard 2 - 1940 (14 weeks), US 1940s 4 - Jul 1940 (1 week)
65	Nat Gonella	I'm Nobody's Baby	1940	Peel list 3 of 1940
66	Bando da Lua	O Samba da Minha Terra	1940	Brazil 3 of 1940
67	The Andrews Sisters	Rhumboogie	1940	US Billboard 11 - 1940 (9 weeks), RYM 27 of 1940, DDD 59 of 1940
68	Erskine Hawkins	Five O'Clock Whistle	1940	US Billboard 15 - 1940 (2 weeks), DDD 18 of 1940, RYM 93 of 1940
69	Will Bradley	Celery Stalks At Midnight	1940	US Billboard 19 - 1940 (1 week), POP 24 of 1940, DDD 68 of 1940
70	The Andrews Sisters	South American Way	1940	RYM 16 of 1940, Europe 80 of the 1940s (1949)
71	The Charioteers	So Long	1940	US Billboard 23 - 1940 (1 week), DDD 51 of 1940, RYM 54 of 1940
72	The Andrews Sisters	Beat Me Daddy, Eight To The Bar	1940	US Billboard 2 - Nov 1940 (14 weeks), DDD 14 of 1940
73	Cyro Monteiro	Oh! Seu Oscar	1940	Brazil 4 of 1940
74	Benny Goodman	Seven Come Eleven	1940	Grammy Hall of Fame in 2008 (1940)
75	Sammy Kaye	Dream Valley	1940	US Billboard 1 - Dec 1940 (13 weeks)
76	Bob Chester & his Orchestra	Practice Makes Perfect	1940	US Billboard 3 - 1940 (13 weeks), US 1940s 6 - Oct 1940 (6 weeks)
77	Mildred Bailey	Darn That Dream	1940	US Billboard 1 - 1940 (11 weeks)
78	Jimmy Dorsey	6 Lessons From Madame La Zonga	1940	US Billboard 4 - 1940 (14 weeks), US 1940s 4 - Aug 1940 (3 weeks)
79	Glenn Miller	I'd Know You Anywhere	1940	Oscar in 1940 (film 'You'll Find Out') (Nominated), US Billboard 24 - 1940 (1 week)
80	Connee Boswell	On the Isle of May	1940	US Billboard 3 - 1940 (11 weeks), Your Hit Parade 11 of 1940

Comment on the contents of the 'Songs from the Year 1940' page
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Previous Comments (newest first)

18 May 2013

SONG IN THE EARLY 1940'S

THE TITLE IS "TIME WAS" WHICH TOMMY DORSEY PLAYED WITH FRANK SINATRA

14 Mar 2013

Laizi

"i DANCED WITH A LADY WITH A HOLE INHER STOCKING AND HER KNEES KEPT ON ROCKING...... Title: Dance By The Light Of The Moon by "The Olympics" released in 1960 There might be an earlier version.+

14 Mar 2013

Song And year

some of the words are "Mares eat oats, Does eat oats and little Lames eat ivy" "I would eat ivy too wouldn't you?"

The title to this song is "Mairzy Doats". Popularized by The Merry Macs. It was released in 1944 and reached #4 on the charts. Was also sung by "The King Sisters" and "The Pied Pipers with Jo Stafford+

13 Mar 2013

Trying to locate a song from the 30's or 40's

Can anyone help me out there? I know I'm not very helpful but this was an old war song about a gal who lost her guy in combat. It was called "What will I do" or What'l I do". It goes What'l I do when you are gone away and I'm so blue, what'l I do. What'l I do whith just a photgraph to tell my troubles to. When I'm alone with only dreams of you that can't come true, what'l I do." Thanks to anyone who can help.

Diane

Paul Whiteman and others had a hit in 1924 called "What'll I Do?".

16 Feb 2013

song from 1930-1940's

would you know who sang "but where are you" my mum and her sisters listening and singing along to this and it would be lovely to get a copy if possible. + Thanks

Ozzie Nelson & his Orchestra had a hit with "But Where Are You?" in 1936

11 Feb 2013

song and year

some of the words are "Mares eat oats, Does eat oats and little Lames eat ivy" "I would eat ivy too wouldn't you?"

23 Jan 2013

Laizi

LOOKING FOR A SONG THE WORDS I REMEMBER +"i DANCED WITH A LADY WITH A HOLE INHER STOCKING AND HER KNEES KEPT ON ROCKING......

11 Dec 2012

The +Percolater song

I would wake up to this song every school day in 1945, 1946. It was the theme song for a raido station in Detroit, WWJ, WJR, or WXYZ. Mom listened to it every morning while she got ready for work, about 6 AM. Thats when I woke up to get ready for school. I do not know the name of the song or who played it. It sounded like the coffee pot, percolater, was making coffee.

Does anybody know the name of the song, who played it?

Thanks for your help. Jim

26 Oct 2012

i am looking for comedy song flying saucers

I am looking for comedy song flying saucers

We have entries for:

Buchanan & Goodman - "Flying Saucer" (1956) Billy Lee Riley - "Flying Saucer Rock & Roll" (1957) Ella Fitzgerald - "Two Little Men in a Flying Saucer" (1951)

14 Oct 2012

50 cent piece

Looking for a song called 50 cent piece: +It begins " I took my girl to a dance one night, It was a social hop. +We danced till the lights went out and the music had to stop. +I took her to a restaurant, the smallest (finest) in the state, etc.

11 Jun 2012

X Marks The Spot

I have been looking for a song that was recorded on a Recordio disc off the radio. One side had Kate Smith singing "Tradewinds",and the other side had a male vocalist with what sounds like "X Marks The Spot". I don't know who recorded it;"X marks the spot,where my heart did reside,untill you came along,and took it for a one way ride,Once it used to be,mine exclusively,now what have I got?,ooh ooh darlin you,x marks the spot". I assume it was from 1940,the same year as Kate Smith recorded "Tradewinds".

4 May 2012

Fly me to the moon

I am looking for that song for my Mother in Law. She loves it. I can'tremember the year tho. I think it was in 1940's or 50's? Please help us out. Thank you

If you had tried searching from the box at the top right you would have found that Frank Sinatra, Modern Talking, Blank & Jones, Sinead O'Connor, Bobby Womack, Tony Bennett, Sam & Bill and LaVern Baker had hits with the song. Joe Harnell & his Orchestra had a hit in 1962 with "Fly Me To The Moon Bossa Nova".

Most of those are available from Amazon or iTunes

7 Apr 2012

Movie that the song, "Tell me a tale that I delighted to hear..."

I do not know which year the movie was made. I saw it as a child in the 1950's. Thanks

26 Feb 2012

Looking for a song

The words are "Women do get weary" is it called "Try a little tenderness". I love the songs of this period as they have words which make sense and tunes that have great harmonies.

Thank You, Bernard Bloch.

In the Otis Redding (1966) version the words are "young girls they do get weary". According to Wikipedia the song was written in 1932 and first recorded by Ray Nobel.

We have entries for Ray Noble (Peel list 2 of 1932), Ted Lewis & his Orchestra (US Billboard 6 - 1933 (10 weeks)), Ruth Etting (US Billboard 16 - 1933 (2 weeks)), Frank Sinatra (Peel list 2 of 1947, RYM 64 of 1945) and Aretha Franklin (US Billboard 100 - Sep 1962 (1 week)) that predate Otis Redding's 1966 version.

27 Jan 2012

I am looking for a song only a Rose I give to you

31 Dec 2011

# 31 Make Believe Land

The Correct title is Make Believe Island

That looks right, the data has been adjusted thanks for the suggestion

7 Jul 2011

looking for you are my sunshine 1920 or 30

The song "You Are My Sunshine" was first recorded in 1939. It was written by Jimmie Davis & Charles Mitchell.

The most famous version was by Jimmie Davis (1940) - Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999 (1940), RYM 4 of 1940, Music Imprint 5 of 1940s, RIAA 14, nuTsie 30 of 1940s, Acclaimed 677 (1940)

Other versions in various charts were:

Gene Autry "You Are My Sunshine" (1941) - RYM 8 of 1941, US Billboard 23 - 1941 (1 week)

Bing Crosby "You Are My Sunshine" (1941) - US Billboard 19 - 1941 (1 week)

Ferko String Band "You Are My Sunshine" (1955) - US CashBox 44 - Sep 1955 (2 weeks)

Carl McVoy "You Are My Sunshine" (1958) - Canada 39 - Jul 1958 (5 weeks)

Johnny & The Hurricanes "You Are My Sunshine" (1960) - US Billboard 91 - Dec 1960 (1 week)

Ray Charles "You Are My Sunshine" (1962) - US Billboard 7 - Nov 1962 (12 weeks), Flanders 13 - Jan 1963 (1 month), Canada 22 - Nov 1962 (6 weeks), US CashBox 84 of 1963, US Radio 96 of 1962 (peak 7 4 weeks)

Mitch Ryder & The Detroit Wheels "You Are My Sunshine" (1967) - US Billboard 88 - Oct 1967 (3 weeks)

Kiriman "You Are My Sunshine" (1997) - Austria 13 - Jun 1997 (3 weeks)

30 Dec 2010

Love it! :)

9 Aug 2010

63 Tommy Dorsey Only Forever

Is the following sound:

63 Tommy Dorsey Only Forever

63 Tommy Dorsey & Frank Sinatra Only Forever

Thanks.

Lin

During this period songs were often not officially assigned to an artist at all, most charts focused on the sale of sheet music so it was the song, not the particular version that was listed.

Most charts have tried, retrospectively, to assign songs to the performers, however this is confusing since some songs are assigned to band leaders (like Eddy Duchin), some are assigned to singers (like Bing Crosby) and some are assigned to both (which would fit your suggestion of Tommy Dorsey & Frank Sinatra). We, of course, then have to work out a consistent value that works across all the charts.

Looking at this case in detail we see that the 1940s listing suggests that the song is by "Tommy Dorsey & Frank Sinatra", however the normally more reliable Bullfrog listing has it as "Tommy Dorsey & His Orchestra (Vocal Allan Storr)". It seems the song was released with Allan Storr on vocals but with a B-Side of "Trade Winds" on which Frank Sinatra sang (which is listed elsewhere).

So the evidence would seem to refute your suggestion that Frank Sinatra was the singer. In that case the song would be listed under "Tommy Dorsey" since Allan Storr was not a widely known vocalist in his own right (like Sinatra).

26 Jul 2010

Yours

I'm looking for a song called "Yours" from 1940, or possibly earlier (but not much). It was my aunt and uncle's favorite song. I've been asked to sing it at their 70th Wedding Anniversary in November.

We suspect that the song you are after became a hit in early 1941, although probably it was around before then. Like all songs of the period it was recorded by a number of artists, for example Benny Goodman, Helen Forrest and Vaughn Monroe all had hits with it.

The most successful version was by Jimmy Dorsey, it reached number 2 in the Billboard charts. Some sources have the title as "Yours (Quierme Mucho)".

If you search for "Jimmy Dorsey Yours" on iTunes or Amazon you should be able to get a copy.

5 May 2010

Full orchestra scores for the above 60 tunes.+

The Symphony of the Hills, located in Kerrville TX is planning a pops concertand would like to feature major 1940 instrumental artists with full orchestra background. We were thinking of inviting top University of North Texas Universities Jazz Band to act as performing soloist.

Where can we get full orchesta scores for the tunes listed above?

That's a really good question, we have no idea. This site lists the songs we don't have the sheet music (or the mp3s or photos...)

We would suggest that searching for specific songs might help, for example you could perhaps try searching for "In the Mood sheet music"