1936 has to be considered a true "banner year" for American music. It was the year of Billie Holiday's early seminal recordings with Teddy Wilson on the Brunswick label, producing exquisite and revolutionary tracks that will be listened to as long as people have ears. 1936 was also the year that Count Basie, after many years of dues-paying, first came to prominence. On top of that, Bob Wills and Bill Monroe made noteworthy early recordings, and bluesman Robert Johnson stepped out of the Mississippi delta and into legend.
And not only that, but it was the year of Let's Have a Tiddly at the Milk Bar, sung by Noel Gay and Nellie Wallace (of the English Music Hall stage). So you see, 1936 wasn't all musical greatness!
Let's start with Bob Wills. He and his band had been playing around Texas for a few years, but they recorded their first tracks in late 1935. He billed himself the King of Western Swing, and that he was. Here's his Steel Guitar Rag, the song that first popularized the steel guitar in Country music!
Keeping with the country sound, the Delmore Brothers had the Nashville Blues. Al Dexter had the Honk Tonk Blues. Jimmie Davis worried that Mama's Gettin' Hot and Papa's Gettin' Cold. And the Monroe Brothers showed up on the New River Train.
Two bluesmen should get our attention for 1936. First, Lead Belly recorded the immortal Good Night, Irene. And of course, Robert Johnson: Crossroads Blues.
Bing Crosby was, as everyone knows, the dominant crooner of the era. He jumped on the "cowboy swing" bandwagon in 1936 with Johnny Mercer's typically facetious I'm an Old Cowhand on the Rio Grande. He also had a big hit with Pennies from Heaven. That's fine, Bing, but step aside. Billie Holiday also recorded Pennies in 1936!
Almost as popular as Bing was dancer/crooner Fred Astaire. He was in the heart of his partnership with Ginger Rogers in 1936. Here they are together singing A Fine Romance (music by Jerome Kern and lyrics by Dorothy Fields).
As for the lady crooners, we had Vera Lynn singing I'm in the Mood for Love.
1936 was the last year for the Boswell Sisters as a group. We're going to miss them (although the Andrews Sisters are on the horizon). The Boswells' final recordings gave us their typically energetic version of Fats Waller's I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter. Also, The Music Goes Round and Round.
But this was the start of the Swing Era, so let's swing! Louis Prima introduced a song that would become famous a couple of years later by Benny Goodman. But for now, let's hear Prima's version of Sing Sing Sing.
Speaking of Benny, he gave us Stardust (there's my obligatory Hoagy Carmichael song for the year) and also These Foolish Things (sung by Helen Ward). That was nice, Benny, but it pales beside Billie's version.
Meanwhile, Louis Armstrong gave us Swing that Music. Count Basie was Swingin' the Blues. Jimmy Dorsey wondered, Is It True What They Say about Dixie? (the answer is, no, but nevermind). And it wouldn't be the '30s if Duke Ellington didn't record a song for the ages: This year he gave us Echoes of Harlem and Caravan. And let's not forget the vocal version of "Caravan" recorded by The Mills Brothers. This video comes from a later year, but it shows them at their mouth-orchestra best!
Which brings us at last to our featured song for 1936. Let's return to those early Billie Holiday recordings, featuring Teddy Wilson on piano. Among the tunes recorded were What a Little Moonlight Can Do, Billie's Blues, and Yankee Doodle Never Went to Town.
And so we come to our featured tune of 1936. Billie put her indelible mark on Summertime (written by George Gershwin and DuBose Heywood for Porgy and Bess). The song has been subject to a multitude of musical interpretations (Guinness claimed it had been recorded 67,591 times as of 2017). From Nina Simone to Willie Nelson, there are many fine versions to choose from, but let's go with this beautifully understated version from Ella Fitzgerald in 1968.
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