1942 Music – Pop Standards and Artists

1942 Pop Standards and Artists

1942’s Most Popular and Influential Songs

Bing Crosby
Be careful It’s My Heart
This song, written by Irving Berlin, was originally performed by Bing Crosby in the film Holiday Inn. The film told the story of a performer who gets fed up with life as a stage performer and buys a farm. When he realizes farming is not for him, he turns the farm into an Inn only opened on Holidays so he could be off the rest of the year. This song was written for Valentine’s Day. Three other songs would also come out of this motion picture The title song Holiday Inn also known as Happy Holidays, Easter Parade, and arguably the most popular of all Christmas songs, White Christmas.

Glenn Miller
Don’t Sit Under The Apple Tree With Anyone Else But Me
The history of Don’t Sit Under The Apple Tree is long and varied. Its origins begin in an eighteenth Century English folk song entitled Long Long Ago. Long Long Ago was then transformed into a song entitled Anywhere the Bluebird Goes. The song was written by Sam H. Stept with the lyrics by Lew Brown and Charles Tobias. At the outbreak of World War II, the lyricists came back together to create the song we now know. Glenn Miller made the original recording but several artists would record the song. Though not the original vocalists, The Andrews Sisters would team with Glenn Miller and make the song their own.

Frank Sinatra
Night and Day
Written by Cole Porter for a 1932 musical called the Gay Divorce, the song was first performed by Fred Astaire, and would be performed by him again in the 1934 film version of the show. One of Porter’s claims is that it was the Islamic call to worship that inspired the song, but there are other stories as well. Night and Day would become the title of Cole Porter’s first motion picture Biography.

Kay Kyser
There’ll Be Blue Birds Over The White Cliffs of Dover
This song was written by Walter Kent and Nat Burton in 1941. The song was written during the period of WW II when the Nazi’s and Allies were fighting over Dover during The Battle of Britain and looked forward to the time when there would be peace again. The song was written and first performed before The United States entered the war.

Merry Macs
Praise The Lord And Pass The Ammunition
This song was written in direct response to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. There were many stories that surround the writing of the lyrics. The music was written by Frank Loesser. One of the stories is as follows: An officer in charge of an ammunition line on the USS New Orleans during the attack on Pearl Harbor said that “I heard a voice behind me saying, ‘Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition.’ I turned and saw Chaplain Forgy walking toward me, along the line of men. He was patting them on the back and making that remark to cheer and keep them going. I know it helped me a lot, too.” (Wikipedia)

Mills Brothers
Paper Doll
The song was written by Johnny S Black in 1915 but was not published until 1930. It took another 12 years until the song would become a hit. Unfortunately for Mr. Black, he would die 6 years before his song became the hit he had dreamed of.

Peggy Lee
Somebody Else Is Taking My Place
Ross Morgan is listed as one of the writers of this song, but its real significance is it’s putting Miss Peggy Lee on the charts. With Benny Goodman’s Orchestra and Miss Lee’s vocals the song would stay on the charts at number one for three weeks during 1942. In 1948 when the song was released it became a top thirty song all over again.

Spike Jones
The Fuhrer’s Face

Spike Jones released his song in the early part of 1942 and it became very popular that same year the Walt Disney Studio released a cartoon by the same name that has a version of the song and starred Donald Duck. The cartoon was war propaganda for the selling of war bonds and won The Academy Award for best animated short that year.

Jimmy Dorsey
Tangerine
The song was published in 1941 and written by Victor Schertzinger with lyrics by Johnny Mercer but it was introduced in the 1942 film The Fleets In, which starred Dorothy Lamour and William Holden. Jimmy Dorsey’s version of the song would be the one to make it the charts and it would peak at number one.

Woody Herman
Blues in the Night
Written by Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer, Blues in the Night was written as the title song for a film by the same name. The song was written very quickly and was played at a dinner party hosted by Margaret Whiting whose guests included, Judy Garland Mickey Rooney Mel Torme and Martha Raye. The song was a hit with everyone at the party and would quickly take its place in American Music history.

1.Deep In The Heart of Texas – Alvino Rey or Bing Crosby or Horace Heidt or Merry Macs
2.Travelin LightPaul Whiteman
3.Moonlight Cocktail – Glenn Miller
4.TangerineJimmy Dorsey or Vaughn Monroe
5.A String of Pearls – Glenn Miler
6.See See Rider Blues – Bea Booze
7.Sleepy LagoonHarry James or Dinah Shore
8.Blues In The Night (My Mama Done Told Me) – Dinah Shore or Woody Herman or Jimmie Lunceford or Cab Calloway or Artie Shaw
9.Jersey Bounce – Benny Goodman or Jimmy Dorsey
10.Mr. Five By Five – Harry James or Freddie Slack and His Orchestra or The Andrews Sisters
11.I Don’t Want To Walk Without You – Harry James with Helen Forrest or Bing Crosby or Dinah shore
12.Jingle Jangle Jingle – Kay Kyser or Merry Macs or Gene Autry or Freddy Martin
13.When The Lights Go On Again (All Over The World) – Vaughn Monroe or Lucky Millinder and His Orchestra
14.There’ll Be Bluebirds Over (The White Cliffs of Dover) – Glenn Miller or Kay Kyser or Kate Smith or Jimmy Dorsey or Sammy Kaye
15.Stormy Monday Blues – Earl Hines
16.Somebody Else Is Taking My Place – Russ Morgan or Benny Goodman (with Peggy Lee)
17.Don’t Sit Under The Apple Tree (With Anyone Else But Me) – Glenn Miller
18.Take It and Git – Andy Kirk and His Clouds of Joy
19.I Said No – Alvino Rey (with Yvonne King) or Jimmy Dorsey
20.Who Wouldn’t Love You – Kay Kyser or Charlie Spivak
21.Der Fuehrer’s Face – Spike Jones
22.I Left My Heart At The Stage Door Canteen – Sammy Kaye
23.American Patrol – Glenn Miller
24.Strip Polka – Kay Kyser or The Andrews Sisters or Johnny Mercer or Alvino Rey
25.Praise The Lord And Pass The Ammunition – Kay Kyser or Merry Macs

Top Artists and Songs of 1942

Alvino Rey
Deep In The Heart of Texas, I Said No
Andrews Sisters
Three Little Sisters, Pennsylvania Polka, Strip Polka
Benny Goodman
Jersey Bounce, Somebody Else Is Taking My Place, Idaho, Solo Flight
Billie Holiday
Travellin’ Light
Bing Crosby
I Don’t Want To Walk Without You, Moonlight Becomes You, Be Careful Its My Heart, Let’s Start the New Year Right, Deep In The Heart of Texas
Charlie Spivak
My Devotion
Dinah Shore
Blues In The Night
Earl Hines
Stormy Monday Blues
Frank Sinatra
Night and Day
Freddy Martin
Rose O’Day (The Filla-Da-Gusha Song), Tonight We Love
Freddy Slack
Cow Cow Boogie, Mr. Five By Five
Glenn Miller
At Last, (I’ve Got a Gal In) Kalamazoo, Moonlight Cocktail, Don’t Sit Under the Apple Tree (With Anyone Else But Me), A String of Pearls, Happy In Love, (There’ll Be Bluebirds Over) the White Cliffs of Dover, American Patrol, Perfida (Tonight), Serenade In Blue, Moonlight Becomes You, Jukebox Saturday Night, Dearly Beloved, Skylark, Everything I Love, Sweet Eloise
Harry Roy
Chattanooga Choo Choo
Harry James
Easter Parade, Sleepy Lagoon, I Don’t Want To Walk Without You, One Dozen Roses, I Cried For You
Horace Heidt
Pennsylvania Polka
Ink Spots
Every Night About This Time
Jimmy Dorsey
Tangerine, Brazil, My Devotion, Just As Though You Were Here, Always In My Heart
Jimmy Lunceford
Blues In The Night
Johnny Mercer
Strip Polka
Kay Kyser
Strip Polka, Who Wouldn’t You Love?, Jingle, Jangle, Jingle, (There’ll Be Bluebirds Over) The White Cliffs of Dover, Praise The Lord and Pass the Ammunition. He Wears a Pair of Silver Wings, Johnny Doughboy Found A Rose In Ireland
Lionel Hampton
Flying Home
Merry Macs
Praise The Lord And Pass The Ammunition
Mills Brothers
Paper Doll
Paul Whiteman and Billie Holiday
Travellin’ Light
Paul Whiteman
Trav’lin Light
Peggy Lee
Somebody Else is Taking My Place
Roy Acuff
Wabash Cannonball
Sammy Kaye
I Left My Heart At The Stagedoor Canteen, Remember Pearl Harbor
Spike Jones
Der Fuhrer’s Face
Tommy Dorsey and Frank Sinatra
Take me
Vaughn Monroe
My Devotion
Vera Lynn
(There’ll Be Bluebirds Over) the White Cliffs of Dover
Woody Herman
Blues In The Night, I’ll Remember April