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100 Greatest Swing Era Songs |
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Popular Music In The Time of Big Band & Swing:
The Greatest Songs of The Swing Era (1935-1945) & Its Legacy of Style
Background: The Swing Era was when big band swing music was at its most popular in America between the
years 1935-1945. This music was heard in 3 places mainly. (1) mainstream AM radio ("Your Hit Parade" as so
many formats were entitled back then), (2) the dance and concert halls where the big bands played, or soloists
like Crosby sang & (3) the Armed Forces USO's & canteens.
Symbols: (v) and (I) stand for vocal (present in recording) and Instrumental (all instrumental) respectively.
Noted vocalists or instrumental soloists mentioned made an out-sized contribution to the recording.
Criteria: This list is made up mostly of songs within the "Golden Age of Swing" (1935-1945), plus a few
songs from some of the same artists in the same style recorded shortly after the "Golden Age".
- See below the list for more details. -
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| Last Updated 4-23-08 |
Newly added names are in RED |
Edited By: Tom B. |
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1. Sing, Sing, Sing - Benny Goodman & His Orchestra (1937)
2. Take The A Train - Duke Ellington (1941)
3. In The Mood - Glenn Miller Band (1939)
4. Begin The Beguine - Artie Shaw & His Orchestra (1938)
5. Lover Man (Oh Where Can You Be) - Billie Holiday (1944)
6. White Christmas - Bing Crosby (1942)
7. Stardust - Artie Shaw & His Orchestra (1940)
8. I'll Never Smile Again - Tommy Dorsey Orchestra w/Frank Sinatra & the Pied Pipers (v) (1940)
9. Mack The Knife - Louis Armstrong (1954)
10. Chattanooga Choo-Choo - Glenn Miller Band, w/Tex Benecke & The Modernaires (v) (1941)
11. String of Pearls - Glenn Miller Band (1942)
12. Bei Mir Bist Du Schon - The Andrews Sisters (1937)
13. Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy - The Andrews Sisters (1941)
14. Over The Rainbow - Judy Garland (1939)
15. At The Woodchoppers Ball - Woody Herman Orchestra (1939)
16. Jumpin' At The Woodside - Count Basie Orchestra (1938)
17. T'Ain't Whatcha Do - Jimmie Lunceford Band (1939)
18. One O'Clock Jump - Count Basie Orchestra (1937)
19. Flying Home - Lionel Hampton Band (1942)
20. Tenderly - Randy Brooks & His Orchestra (1946)
21. Sentimental Journey - Les Brown Band w/Doris Day (v) (1945)
22. Satin Doll - Duke Ellington & His Orchestra (1953)
23. Sometimes I'm Happy - Lester Young (I) (1943)
24. Hep Hep The Jumpin' Jive - Cab Calloway & His Orchestra (1939)
25. Solitude - Billie Holiday (1940)
26. Why Don't You Do Right? - Benny Goodman Band w/Peggy Lee (v) (1942)
27. Deep Purple - Larry Clinton Band w/Bea Wain, (v) (1938)
28. The Man I Love - Benny Goodman Quartet (1937)
29. Rum and Coca-Cola - The Andrews Sisters (1945)
30. I Can't Get Started - Bunny Berigan (1937)
31. A Tisket, A Tasket - Ella Fitzgerald w/Chick Webb Band (1937)
32. Stormy Monday Blues - Earl Hines Orchestra, w/Billy Eckstine, vocal (1942)
33. I Don't Want To Set The World On Fire - The Ink Spots (1941)
34. Marie - Tommy Dorsey Band w/Jack Leonard, vocal (1937)
35. Oh! Look At Me Now - Tommy Dorsey Band w/Frank Sinatra & The Pied Pipers (1941)
36. Don't Be That Way - Benny Goodman Orchestra (1938)
37. The Christmas Song - Nat "King" Cole (1946)
38. Nuages - Django Reinhardt (1940)
39. It's Only A Paper Moon - Nat "King" Cole Trio (1944)
40. Frenesi - Artie Shaw & Orchestra, (1940)
41. Glow-Worm - The Mills Brothers (1952)
42. Stompin' At The Savoy - Benny Goodman Orchestra (1937)
43. God Bless The Child - Billie Holiday (1941)
44. Ain't Misbehavin' - Fats Waller (1936)
45. Straighten Up & Fly Right - Nat "King" Cole Trio (1942)
46. Body & Soul - Coleman Hawkins (1939)
47. And The Angels Sing - Benny Goodman Orchestra w/Ziggy Elman (I) & Martha Tilton (v) (1939)
48. I'll Be Seeing You - Tommy Dorsey (Orchestra) w/Frank Sinatra (v) (1940-s, 1944-r)
49. Celery Stalks At Midnight- Will Bradley Orchestra (1940)
50. Skyliner - Charlie Barnet (1944)
51. Song of India - Tommy Dorsey Orchestra (1937)
52. Let's Get Away From It All - Tommy Dorsey Band w/Frank Sinatra, & The Pied Pipers (1941)
53. Taking A Chance On Love - Benny Goodman w/Helen Forrest (v) (1940-s, 1943-r)
54. Long Ago And Far Away - Dick Haymes & Helen Forrest (1944)
55. Tangerine - Jimmy Dorsey Band w/Bob Eberly & Helen O'Connell (v) (1941)
56. Opus One - Tommy Dorsey Orchestra) (1944)
57. It Might As Well Be Spring - Dick Haymes (1945)
58. The Trolley Song - Judy Garland / Jo Stafford (1944) [competing versions]
59. Cherokee - Charlie Barnet (1939)
60. Artistry In Rhythm - Stan Kenton & His Orchestra (1943)
61. If I Didn t Care - The Ink Spots (1939)
62. On The Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe - Johnny Mercer (1946)
63. Mr. Five By Five - Ella Mae Morse w/Freddy Slack Band (v) (1942)
64. Blues In The Night - Woody Herman w/his Orchestra (v) (1941)
65. Personality - Johnny Mercer (1945)
66. Skylark - Harry James Band w/Helen Forrest (v) (1942)
67. With The Wind and The Rain In Your Hair - Bob Chester Band w/Delores O'Neal (v) (1940)
68. Salt Peanuts - Dizzy Gillespie w/Charlie Parker (1945)
69. Tuxedo Junction - Erskine Hawkins (1939)
70. Choo-Choo Ch'Boogie - Louis Jordan & His Tympany Five (1946)
71. Yes Indeed! - Tommy Dorsey Band w/Jo Stafford (1941)
72. You Always Hurt The One You Love - The Mills Brothers (1944)
73. Early Autumn - Woody Herman Band w/Stan Getz, trumpet (1948)
74. One For My Baby and One More For The Road - Frank Sinatra (1947)
75. The Blues My Naughty Sweetie Gives To Me - Sidney Bechet & His Hot Six (1951)
76. Lady Day - Artie Shaw Orchestra w/Roy Eldridge (I) (1944)
77. All The Things You Are - Artie Shaw w/Helen Forrest (v) (1939)
78. Don't Take Your Love From Me - Artie Shaw Band w/Lena Horne (v) (1941)
79. The House Of Blue Lights - Ella Mae Morse w/Freddy Slack Orchestra (1946)
80. I've Heard That Song Before - Harry James Band w/Helen Forrest (v) (1942)
81. Moonlight In Vermont - Billy Butterfield & His Orchestra w/Margaret Whiting (v) (1945)
82. Swinging On A Star - Bing Crosby (1944)
83. With A Song In My Heart - Doris Day w/Harry James(1950)
84. The Mole - Harry James Orchestra (1941)
85. Perfidia - Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra (1941)
86. Candy - Johnny Mercer & Jo Stafford (v) (1945)
87. I've Got A Gal In Kalamazoo - Glenn Miller Band, w/Tex Benecke & The Modernaires (1942)
88. Let Me Off Uptown - Gene Krupa Orchestra w/Anita O'Day (v) & Roy Eldridge (I-solo) (1941)
89. Fools Rush In - Tommy Dorsey Orchestra w/Frank Sinatra (v) (1940)
90. It's A Sin To Tell A Lie - Fats Waller (1936)
91. As Time Goes By - Dooley Wilson (1931, re-issued 1942)
92. I Got A Right To Sing The Blues - Jack Teagarden (1939)
93. All Or Nothing At All - Harry James Band w/Frank Sinatra (1939)
94. I'll Walk Alone - Dinah Shore (1943)
95. Green Eyes - Jimmy Dorsey Band w/Bob Eberly & Helen O'Connell (v)(1941)
96. Sweet Lorraine - Nat King Cole Trio (1941)
97. I've Got My Love To Keep Me Warm - Les Brown Orchestra (1946-s, 1949-r)
98. The Man With A Horn - Harry James & His Orchestra (I)(1946)
99. These Foolish Things - Benny Goodman Band w/Helen Ward (v) (1936)
100. On The Sunny Side Of The Street - Tommy Dorsey Band w/The Clark Sisters (v) (1944)
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Benny Goodman
Glenn Miller
Count Basie
Bing Crosby
The Andrews Sisters
Artie Shaw
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Criteria:
I. This list is not a pure Top 40 or Top 100 list from this
era; for example, there is no Country & Western or
much in the way of Blues records on this list.
II. The main, or criteria #1, was: Were these songs
likely to be heard or sung in the main big dance halls
of the day, from Coast to Coast, where dancers did the
swing dances like the Lindy, Jitterbug, L.A. Balboa,
or just hung-out for boy-meets-girl purposes?
III. Why are pure pop songs like "Over The Rainbow"
and others included? Well, for one, many of the
famous big bands of the day, like Glenn Miller, or
Larry Clinton, for example, just to name two, came up
with their own versions of the songs, and surely these
were played and performed and sung before their
audiences and dancers. Bea Wain's version with Larry
Clinton big band made it to #10 on the Hit Parade,
even though of course, only Judy Garland's is
remembered, her mega-selling #1 from the movie.
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IV. It is not supposed to be a pure Jazz list,
and that's why even some pure jazz influential and
significant records of historical jazz importance are
not included. This list is all about "Your Hit
Parade" radio formats, and the live dance or concert
hall (some many numerous ones throughout the country
at the time, like the Glen Island Casino or Rouge Room
at the Hotel Pennsylvania in New York, just to name
two of thousands of performance and dance venues, and
music played or records spun at USO's serving the
fighting GI's overseas.
V. The record has to have either lasting importance
to jazz (and mostly danceable jazz - the big band
stuff mainly), to popular music as a whole, or had to
have been influential to fellow musicians and
songwriters of the day; or it had to have some lasting
impact or critical accolade. Artie Shaw's "Stardust"
was voted #1 popular record of all time by a national
survey of radio DJ's in 1955, for example.
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Disclaimer: There is nothing 'Official' about these lists. They are compiled by the 'editor' using the
stated criteria, and revised considering the competent suggestions of visitors to this website only.
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