Top Songs of the 1940s Rank Song Artist Genre 1 Frenesi Artie Shaw Jazz 2 In The Mood Glenn Miller Jazz 3 I'll Never Smile Again Tommy Dorsey Jazz 4 Only Forever Bing Crosby Jazz 5 Tuxedo Junction Glenn Miller Jazz 6 Woodpecker Song Glenn Miller Jazz 7 Careless Glenn Miller Jazz 8 When You Wish Upon a Star Glenn Miller Jazz 9 Trade Wings Bing Crosby Vocal 10 Ferry Boat Serenade Andrews Sisters Rock
Top Songs of 1941 1 Amapola Jimmy Dorsey Jazz 2 Daddy Sammy Kaye Vocal 3 Piano Concerto Freddy Martin Jazz 4 Chattanooga Choo Choo Glenn Miller Jazz 5 Maria Elena Jimmy Dorsey Jazz 6 Green Eyes Jimmy Dorsey Jazz 7 You and I Glenn Miller Jazz 8 There'll Be Some Changes Made Benny Goodman Jazz 9 There I Go Vaughn Monroe Vocal 10 We Three Ink Spots R&B/ Soul
Top Songs of 1942 1 White Christmas Bing Crosby Holiday 2 Moonlight Cocktail Glenn Miller Jazz 3 Jingle Jangle JIngle Kay Kyser Pop 4 I've got a Gal in Kalamazoo Glenn Miller Jazz 5 Tangerine Jimmy Dorsey Jazz (Those were the only ones.)
Top Songs of 1943 1 I've Heard that Song Before Harry James Jazz 2 Paper Doll Mills Brothers Vocal 3 Pistol Packin' Mama Al Dexter Country 4 Sunday Monday or Always Bing Crosby Vocal 5 You'll Never Know Dick Haymes Jazz 6 There are Such Things Tommy Dorsey Jazz
Top Songs of 1944 1 Swnging on a Star Bing Crosby Vocal 2 Shoo-Shoo Baby Andrews Sisters Vocal 3 Don't Fence Me Bing Crosby/ Andrews Sisters Vocal 4 Besamo Mucho Jimmy Dorsey Vocal 5 I'll Get By Harry James Jazz 6 Mairzy Doats Merry Macs Vocal 7 San Fernando Valley Bing Crosby Vocal 8 I Love You Bing Crosby Vocal 9 You Always Hurt the one You Love Mills Brothers Vocal 10 I'll Walk Alone Dinah Shore Vocal
Top Songs of 1945 1 Rum and Coca-Cola Andrews Sisters Vocal 2 Till the End of Time Perry Como Jazz 3 Sentimental Journey Les Brown Jazz 4 On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe Johnny Mercer Vocal 5 My Dreams Are Getting Better Les Brown Vocal 6 I Can't Begin to Tell You Bing Crosby Pop 7 There I've Said it Again Vaughn Monroe Vocal 8 Chickery Chick Sammy Kaye Children 9 White Christmas Bing Crosby Holiday 10 It's Been a Long Time Bing Crosby Vocal
Top Songs of 1946 1 The Gypsy Ink Spots Vocal 2 Oh What it Seems to Be Frankie Carle Jazz 3 Rumors are Flying Frankie Carle Jazz 4 The Gypsy Dinah Shore Vocal Pop 5 To Each His Own Eddy Howard Jazz 6 Oh What it Seems to Be Frank Sinatra Jazz 7 The Old Lamp Lighter Sammy Kaye Jazz 8 For Sentimental Reasons Nat Cole Vocal 9 Let it Snow Vaughn Monroe Holiday 10 Prisoner of Love Perry Como Pop
Top Songs of 1947 1 Near You Francis Craig Pop 2 Heart Aches Ted Weems Jazz 3 Ballerina Vaughn Monroe Vocal 4 Peg O My Heart Harmonicats Pop 5 Peg O My Heart Buddy Clark Vocal 6 Smoke Smoke Smoke that Cigarette Tex Williams Country 7 Peg O My Heart Three Sums Pop 8 Huggin and Chalkin Hoagy Carmichael Jazz 9 Managua Nicargua Freddy Martin Jazz 10 Open the Door Ricahrd Count Baise Jazz
Top Songs of 1948 1 Buttons and Bows Dinah Shore Vocal Pop 2 Manana Peggy Lee Vocal 3 12th Street Rag Pee Wee Hunt Jazz 4 You Can't be True Dear Ken Griffin Jazz 5 Nature Boy Nat King Cole Pop 6 Woody Woodpecker Kay Kyser Jazz 7 You Call Everbody Darling Al Trace Pop 8 Love Somebody Doris Day Vocal 9 All I Want for Christmas Spike Jones Spoken Word 10 Now is the Hour Bing Crosby Vocal
Top Songs of 1949 1 Riders in the Sky Vaughn Monroe Vocal 2 That Lucky Old Sun Frankie Laine Vocal 3 Cruising Down the River Russ Morgan Jazz 4 Cruising Down the River Blue Barron Pop 5 A Little Bird Told Me Evelyn Knight Blues 6 Mule Train Frankie Laine Vocal 7 Some Enchanted Evening Perry Como Pop 8 You're Breaking my Heart Vic Damone Vocal 9 A You're Adorable Perry Como Pop 10 Slippin Around Margaret Whiting Vocal
Now that you know the top songs thanks to Golden Oldies (if you want to find go to more and click on the tab resources.), you now can learn the facts!!!!!
Behind the Music...... * Live music. * They had big bands. * They emereged from 1930s swing bands. * These bands featured woodwinds( Clarinet aka mini Squidward etc,), big brass ( baritone etc) and percussion (piano drums etc. Practically anything that involves hitting or hands.) *Music was jazzy, danceable and lush. * The most famous band leaders were Benny Goodman, Jimmy Dorsey, Tommy Dorsey, Glenn Miller, Harry James and Artie Shaw. *Jo Stafford, Peggy Lee, Doris Day, Helen Forrest and Dinah Shore were the female singers. *Famous hits from that era were "Chattanooga Choo Choo" and " In the Mood" by Glenn Miller. Another was " Take the 'A' Train" by Duke Ellington. * Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughn were African American singers. *"Goodbye, Momma, I'm off to Yokohama, Praise the Lord(yes please do. Amen Lord Jesus), and Press the Ammunition" were popular songs.