I could go on and on with these patriotic tunes from 1942, but for a capper here's Goodbye Mama, I'm off to Yokohama:
But not every song had a wartime theme. 1942 produced one of my favorite pop songs ever: Glenn Miller's I've Got a Gal (in Kalamazoo).
For more Big Band dazzle, there's Benny Goodman's Jersy Bounce, Glen Miller's Juke Box Saturday Night (again with the Mondernaires), and Jimmy Lunceford's sultry Blues in the Night (this is a really great version of this oft-recorded tune). Oh, and there was Freddie Slack's Cow Cow Boogie:
More? How about Dizzy's Night in Tunisia. And Duke's C Jam Blues?
For my feature song from 1942 I choose "There Will Never Be Another You," which has been recorded countless times over the years by jazz musicians and crooners. The lyrics are by Mack Gordon (who also gave us I've Got a Gal in Kalamazoo & Chattanooga Choo Choo) and music by Harry Warren (who is probably responsible for as many great tunes as anyone in 20th century popular music). The song was introduced by Teddy Powell and His Orchestra in '42, with Peggy Mann on vocals. I really love that version.
And here's a more recent take (in a Swedish accent!).
1941 was a pretty amazing year for popular music. The Big Band sound had gotten very polished and silky at this point, with Glenn Miller, Artie Shaw and Jimmy Dorsey having banner years. The British are at war now, and the U.S. about to be, and this theme shows up in numerous songs this year.
Let's start there. The Andrews Sisters were really hitting their stride with Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy from Company B. Though the States were not yet in the war the first peacetime draft had already been enacted in late 1940, and their song, "I'll Be with You in Appleblossom Time" anticipated the long separation of lovers that the war would bring.
Switching to the Country & Western music from 1941, Bob Wills was on the top of his game: Take Me Back to Tulsa. The great Ernest Tubbs was "Walkin' the Floor Over You."
And on the "Western" side of things, the Sons of the Pioneers were longing for Cool Water.
As for the Blues, the recordings being made in this period were nothing less than amazing. They feel less contrived than much of the popular music of the period. In 1941 Big Bill Broonzy gave us Key to the Highway. Lil Green sang Why Don't You Do Right? (preceding the justly famous Peggy Lee version by several years).
It was such a great period for Blues music, I don't want to miss Jay McShann's rollicking Vine Street Blues (anticipating early Rock and Roll music by about 15 years). Or Big Maceo Merriwether's Worried Life Blues. And the Amazing Memphis Minnie singing the suggestive Me and My Chauffeur (and again the sound of early Rock and Roll in the midst of this).
Okay, but what about the true popular music of the day. That would be Big Band, my friend, and this is its heyday. 1941 produced some of my favorite tunes:
There were numerous hits about going to Harlem in those days. Glen Miller's I Dreamt I Dwelt in Harlem was one, and Gene Krupa's "Let Me Off Uptown" another (with vocals by a young Anita O'Day, and Roy Eldridge on trumpet).
But the greatest of these songs about going to Harlem, and one of the great jazz numbers of all time, is Duke Ellington's Take the A-Train (no lyrics yet on this one, they would come in '42, when the Delta Rhythm Boys release their version).
But the song of the year has to be Billie Holiday's amazing God Bless the Child. This version sounds like it was recorded in a nightclub after hours, with the piano sounding a little distant. I'm guessing it was recorded live in the studio, but in any case it's a highpoint in the history of recorded music.
Of course there are many modern versions of this song to choose from, anything from Blood Sweat and Tears to Tony Bennett. But I always like Annie Lennox.
I have always believed that the 1930s were the best decade ever for both movies and for music. My ten posts on the music of the 1930s were my attempt to both demonstrate that fact and to enjoy some incredible tunes.
I wasn't sure I would move on to the 40s. Although I'm fond of much music from that period, it's not nearly as exciting to me as the previous decade. The Big Band sound begins to decline. Crooners take center stage. The great songwriters are still turning out marvelous songs, but in this decade the jazziness fades away. Or so it has always seemed to me.
But let's find out for sure. In 1940 Bill Munroe is defining Bluegrass music. Country music is still bluesy and swinging. There's some crazy Boogie Woogie music out there, and the great songsmiths are still providing the songbook for amazing interpreters like Ella Fitzgerald.
Let's start on the Country side of things. I knew nothing about Jimmie Davis before I started researching for this post. He was twice governor of Louisana! He had a lot of country hits and apparently wrote some Gospel music as well. One of his big hits from 1940 was You Are My Sunshine.
Two other Southern boys were really hitting their stride about this time. Bob Wills had been recording through the latter half of the 30s, but in 1940 he gave us one of his enduring classics with New San Antonio Rose.
And then there was Bill Monroe. His lasting impact on music is rather remarkable. In 1940 he recorded an old-time tune and gave it his unique signature: Mule Skinner Blues.
But before there was Bluegrass music there was "Mountain folk" or what today might be called Old Time music. Frank Proffitt's Tom Dooley is one example. It's a song the Kingston Trio would later make famous. You can read about Proffitt here.
I'm going to include two songs by Will Bradley, good examples of roadhouse Boogie Woogie music of the period. We're hearing the roots of rock n' roll here.
For Blues music, let's have a little Bukka White: Special Stream Line. I really like that! I didn't know about Bukka White before I started looking for music from 1940. You can read about him here.
Through the early 40s the Big Bands continued doing their thing, and in 1940 Duke Ellington's band produced another enduring jazz classic: In a Melotone. Ella Fitzgerald sang about the 5 o'clock Whistle.
And the Ink Spots sang the praises of coffee with Java Jive.
My song of the year, though, has to be How High the Moon (lyrics by Nancy Hamilton, music by Morgan Lewis). The song became jazz standard of course. The first hit version was by the Benny Goodman Orchestra, with Helen Forrest on vocals.
There are so many great versions of this song. It's one of those songs that jazz performers and crooners seem to really enjoy. Les Paul and Mary Ford would do an iconic version in 1951. And here is a bit from the old Nat King Cole TV show, featuring June Christie on vocals.
