1940s in music

none For music from an individual year in the 1940s, go to 40 | 41 | 42 | 43 | 44 | 45 | 46 | 47 | 48 | 49 Timeline of musical events In the developed world, swing, big band, jazz, Latin and country music dominated and defined the popular music of the 1940s. After World War II, the big band sounds of the earlier part of the decade had been gradually replaced by crooners and vocal pop. The U.S. and North America Music history of the United States (1940s and 50s) Pop thumb|left|Bing Crosby was the best selling pop artist of the 1940s. Ragtime, a genre that first became popular in the 1890s, was popular through about the 1940s. After its best-known exponent, Scott Joplin, died in 1917, the genre faded. As the 1920s unfolded, jazz rapidly took over as the dominant form of popular music in the United States. thumb|right|200px|Jimmy Dorsey remained at the top of the Billboard number-one singles chart for 32 weeks. In addition, a new form of popular music, crooning, emerged during the early 1930s. Technology played a large part in the development of this style, as electronic sound recording had emerged near the end of the 1920s and replaced the earlier acoustic recording. While singers such as Al Jolson and Billy Murray had recorded songs by yelling into a Victrola horn, as this was the only way to get audible sound with acoustic recording, the new electronic equipment allowed for a softer, more intimate style of singing. Many of the older singers such as Jolson and Murray consequently fell out of favor during the 1930s with changing tastes (although Al Jolson managed a successful career comeback after World War II). Bing Crosby was the leading figure of the crooner sound as well as its most iconic, defining artist. By the 1940s, he was an entertainment superstar who mastered all of the major media formats of the day, movies, radio, and recorded music. Other popular singers of the day included Cab Calloway and Eddie Cantor. right|thumb|200px|Glenn Miller big-band trombonist, arranger, composer, and bandleader in the swing era. thumb|left|Frank Sinatra was one of the best-selling male pop artists of the 1940s. Bandleaders such as the Dorsey Brothers often helped launch the careers of vocalists who went on to gain popularity as solo artists, such as Frank Sinatra, who rose to fame as a singer during this time.1 Sinatra's vast appeal to the "bobby soxers" revealed a whole new audience for popular music, which had generally appealed mainly to adults up to that time, making Sinatra the first teen idol. Sinatra's music mostly attracted young girls to his concerts. This image of a teen idol would also be seen with future artists such as Elvis Presley and The Beatles. Sinatra's massive popularity was also one of the reasons why the big band music declined in popularity; major record companies were looking for crooners and pop singers to attract a youth audience due to his success. Frank Sinatra would go on to become one of the most successful artists of the 1940s and one of the best selling music artists of all time. Sinatra remained relevant through the 1950s and 60s, even with rock music being the dominant form of music in his later years. In the later decades, Sinatra's music would be mostly aimed at an older adult audience. Sinatra remains one of the most respected and critically acclaimed music artists of all time. Big band swing could variably be an instrumental style or accompany a vocalist. In comparison to its loud, brash, rhythmic sound stood the "sweet" bands which played a softer, more melodic style. The most notable of these, in no small part thanks to a long postwar TV career, was the band of Lawrence Welk. Also noteworthy were performances on the radio by the Shep Fields Rippling Rhythm Orchestra and by Guy Lombardo's Royal Canadian Orchestra, which performed a sweet jazz rendition of "Ault Lang Syne" for decades on both radio and television.Encyclopedia of music in the 20th Century Stacey Lee Henderson Lol Routledge Taylor and Francis Group London 2014 379 978-1-135-92946-6 https://books.google.com/books?id=m8W2AgAAQBAJ&pg=PA379 Lombardo Guy Altshul Jack Auld Acquaintance https://archive.org/details/auldacquaintance00lomb registration 1975 Doubleday 978-0-385-02863-9The Big Bands - 4th Edition George T. Simon. Schirmer Trade Books, London, 2012 978-0-85712-812-6"Shep Fields Biography" on Books.google.comEncyclopedia of Recorded Sound. Hoffman, Fred. 2004 Shep Fields at the Empire Room of the Palmer House Hotel on Google BooksAmerica's Music Makers: Big bands and Ballrooms 1912-2011 Jack Behrens.AuthorHouse, Indiana, 2010 p. 95 Shep Fields society band broadcasting on radio from the Palmer House on Books.Google.com Shep Fields Obituary - United Press International Feb. 23, 1981 on UPI.com/Archive While swing bands could be found in most major cities during the 1930s–1940s, the most popular and famous were the bands of Glenn Miller, Benny Goodman, and Artie Shaw, which had national followings and sold huge numbers. World War II brought an end to big band swing as many musicians were conscripted into the armed forces and travel restrictions made it hard for bands to tour. In 1944, Glenn Miller was killed when his plane crashed into the English Channel en route to a USO show in France. His death is widely considered to mark the close of the swing era. After the war, a combination of factors such as changing demographics and rapid inflation made large bands unprofitable, so that popular music in the US came to be dominated instead by traditional pop and crooners, as well as bebop and jump blues. Best selling records June 2026 Before the Hot100 was implemented in 1958, Billboard magazine measured a record's performance with three charts, "Best-Selling Popular Retail Records", "Records Most Played By Disk Jockeys" and 'Most-Played Juke Box Records':Molanphy Chris How The Hot 100 Became America's Hit Barometer https://www.npr.org/sections/therecord/2013/08/16/207879695/how-the-hot-100-became-americas-hit-barometer March 14, 2018 All Things Considered NPR August 1, 2013 However, since the latter two charts were not implemented until mid-decade, we focus on 'Best-Selling Retail Records of the 1940s.' Since it consisted of ten positions for most of the decade, only ten per week were recognized. Each week fifteen points were awarded to the number one record, then nine points for number two, eight points for number three, and so on, with one point for number ten. This system balances songs that reach the highest positions, as well as those that had the longest chart runs. Calculations are unaffected by year-end cutoffs as with Billboard (see discussion). Rank Artist Title Label Recorded Released Chart Positions 1 The Mills Brothers "Paper Doll"Decca matrix 70348. Paper doll / Mills Brothers - Discography of American Historical Recordings https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/index.php/matrix/detail/2000298461/70348-Paper_doll 2022-04-16 adp.library.ucsb.edu Decca 18318 1942 2 18 1943 5 22 US Billboard 1943 #1, US Pop #1 for 12 weeks, 40 total weeks, US R&B 1943 #3, Harlem Hit Parade #2 for 5 weeks, 29 total weeks, 287 points, 6,000,000 sales, Grammy Hall of Fame 1998 2 Glenn Miller and His Orchestra "Chattanooga Choo Choo"Victor matrix PBS-061245. Chattanooga choo choo / Tex Beneke; The Four Modernaires; Glenn Miller Orchestra - Discography of American Historical Recordings https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/index.php/matrix/detail/200049105/PBS-061245-Chattanooga_choo_choo 2022-04-12 adp.library.ucsb.edu Bluebird 11230 1941 5 7 1941 7 25 US Billboard 1941 #1, US Pop #1 for 9 weeks, 28 total weeks, 253 points, Grammy Hall of Fame 1996, ASCAP song of 1941 3 Bing Crosby "White Christmas"Decca matrix DLA 3009. White Christmas / Bing Crosby - Discography of American Historical Recordings https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/index.php/matrix/detail/2000269432/DLA_3009-White_Christmas 2022-04-21 adp.library.ucsb.edu Decca 18429 1942 5 29 1942 7 30 US Billboard 1942 #1, US Pop #1 for 14 weeks, 37 total weeks, US R&B 1943 #18, Harlem Hit Parade #1 for 3 weeks, 9 total weeks, 191 points (1942) + 60 pts (43-46) = 251, 2,600,000 sales 1944, 50,000,000 2007,Giddins Gary https://bookshop.org/books/bing-crosby-swinging-on-a-star-the-war-years-1940-1946/9780316887922 Bing Crosby: swinging on a star, the war years, 1940-1946 2018 Little Brown & Company 978-0-316-41234-6 New York English 1057695601 Grammy Hall of Fame 1974 4 Harry James and His Orchestra (Vocal Helen Forrest) "I've Heard That Song Before" Columbia 36668 1942 7 31 1942 12 4 US Billboard 1943 #2, US Pop #1 for 13 weeks, 26 total weeks, US R&B 1943 #26, Harlem Hit Parade #1 for 1 weeks, 10 total weeks, 240 points 5 Francis Craig and His Orchestra "Near You"4 A https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc1633223/m1/#track/2 Bullet 1001 1947 2 1947 3 US Billboard 1947 #1, US Pop #1 for 17 weeks, 25 total weeks, 236 points, sold 2.5 million 6 Freddy Martin and His Orchestra "Piano Concerto In B Flat"Victor matrix PBS-061301. Piano concerto in B flat / Freddy Martin Orchestra - Discography of American Historical Recordings https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/index.php/matrix/detail/200049134/PBS-061301-Piano_concerto_in_B_flat 2022-04-12 adp.library.ucsb.edu Bluebird 11211 1941 6 16 1941 7 3 US Billboard 1941 #2, US Pop #1 for 8 weeks, 26 total weeks, 230 points 7 Artie Shaw and His Orchestra "Frenesi"Victor matrix PBS-042546. Frenesi / Artie Shaw Orchestra - Discography of American Historical Recordings https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/index.php/matrix/detail/200040067/PBS-042546-Frenesi 2022-06-11 adp.library.ucsb.edu Victor 26542 1940 3 3 1940 3 29 US Billboard 1940 #1, US Pop #1 for 13 weeks, 29 total weeks, 223 points, Grammy Hall of Fame 2000, 1,000,000 soldMurrells Joseph http://archive.org/details/bookofgoldendisc00murr The book of golden discs 1978 London : Barrie & Jenkins Internet Archive 978-0-214-20512-5 8 Vaughn Monroe and His Orchestra "Ballerina"RCA Victor 20-prefix 78rpm numerical listing discography: 20-2000 through 20-2500 https://www.78discography.com/RCA202000.htm 2022-08-24 www.78discography.com RCA Victor 20-2433 1947 8 12 1947 10 US Billboard 1947 #3, US Pop #1 for 10 weeks, 22 total weeks, 222 points 9 Bing Crosby "Swinging on a Star"Decca matrix L 3307. Swinging on a star / Bing Crosby - Discography of American Historical Recordings https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/index.php/matrix/detail/2000269730/L_3307-Swinging_on_a_star 2022-04-23 adp.library.ucsb.edu Decca 18597 1944 2 7 1944 4 US Billboard 1944 #1, US Pop #1 for 9 weeks, 28 total weeks, 219 points, 1,000,000 salesWhitburn Joel Joel Whitburn's Pop Memories 1890-1954 Record Research 1986 10 Vaughn Monroe and His Orchestra "Riders in the Sky (A Cowboy Legend)"RCA Victor 78rpm numerical listing discography: 20-3000 through 20-3500 https://www.78discography.com/RCA203000.htm 2022-07-04 www.78discography.com RCA Victor 20-3411 1949 3 14 1949 5 14 US Billboard 1949 #1, US Pop #1 for 12 weeks, 22 total weeks, US Country 1949 #43, Country #2 for 1 week, 3 total weeks, 218 points 11 Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra (Vocal Frank Sinatra "I'll Never Smile Again"Victor matrix BS-048942. I'll never smile again / The Pied Pipers; Frank Sinatra; Tommy Dorsey Orchestra - Discography of American Historical Recordings https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/index.php/matrix/detail/200043649/BS-048942-Ill_never_smile_again 2022-06-11 adp.library.ucsb.edu Victor 26628 1940 4 23 1940 6 7 US Billboard 1940 #2, US Pop #1 for 12 weeks, 20 total weeks, 216 points 12 Dinah Shore and Her Happy Boys "Buttons and Bows"COLUMBIA 78rpm numerical listing discography: 38000 - 38499 https://www.78discography.com/COL38000.htm 2022-05-03 www.78discography.com Columbia 38284 1947 11 30 1948 8 16 US Billboard 1948 #1, US Pop #1 for 10 weeks, 23 total weeks, 215 points, Grammy Hall of Fame in 1998, sold 2.5 million 13 Les Brown and his Orchestra (Vocal Chorus by Doris Day) "Sentimental Journey"COLUMBIA 78rpm numerical listing discography: 36500 - 37000 https://www.78discography.com/COL36500.htm 2022-05-03 www.78discography.com Columbia 36769 1944 11 20 1945 1 22 US Billboard 1945 #1, US Pop #1 for 8 weeks, 28 total weeks, 213 points, Grammy Hall of Fame in 1998, 1,000,000 sales 14 Pee Wee Hunt Orchestra "Twelfth Street Rag"Capitol 15000 series numerical listing discography https://www.78discography.com/Capitol15000.htm 2022-08-24 www.78discography.com Capitol 15105 1947 11 8 1948 6 US Billboard 1948 #2, US Pop #1 for 8 weeks, 32 total weeks, 211 points 15 Ted Weems and His Orchestra "Heartaches"Decca matrix DLA 1444. Heartaches / Ted Weems Orchestra - Discography of American Historical Recordings https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/index.php/matrix/detail/2000267867/DLA_1444-Heartaches 2022-08-05 adp.library.ucsb.edu Decca 25017 1938 8 23 1946 12 US Billboard 1947 #2, US Pop #1 for 13 weeks, 20 total weeks, 204 points 16 The Ink Spots "The Gypsy"Decca matrix 73387. The gypsy / Ink Spots - Discography of American Historical Recordings https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/index.php/matrix/detail/2000301604/73387-The_gypsy 2022-06-04 adp.library.ucsb.edu Decca 18817 1946 2 19 1946 3 US Billboard 1946 #2, US Pop #1 for 13 weeks, 23 total weeks, US Most-Played Race Records 1946 #6, Race Records #1 for 2 weeks, 13 total weeks, 198 points, 1,000,000 sales 17 Peggy Lee (Dave Barbour Orchestra) "Manana (Is Soon Enough for Me)" Capitol 15022 1947 11 25 1948 1 US Billboard 1948 #3, US Pop #1 for 9 weeks, 21 total weeks, 191 points 18 Perry Como "Till The End Of Time"RCA Victor 78rpm numerical listing discography: 20-1500 - 20-2000 https://www.78discography.com/RCA201500.htm 2022-05-03 www.78discography.com Victor 20-1709 1945 7 3 1945 7 30 US Billboard 1945 #2, US Pop #1 for 9 weeks, 17 total weeks, 189 points, Grammy Hall of Fame in 1998, 1,000,000 sales 19 Bing Crosby "Only Forever"Decca matrix DLA 2033. Only forever / Bing Crosby - Discography of American Historical Recordings https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/index.php/matrix/detail/2000268456/DLA_2033-Only_forever 2022-06-11 adp.library.ucsb.edu Decca 3300 1940 7 3 1940 8 US Billboard 1940 #3, US Pop #1 for 9 weeks, 22 total weeks, 185 points 20 Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters "Don't Fence Me In"Decca matrix L 3475. Don't fence me in / The Andrews Sisters; Bing Crosby - Discography of American Historical Recordings https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/index.php/matrix/detail/2000269898/L_3475-Dont_fence_me_in 2022-04-23 adp.library.ucsb.edu Decca 23364 1944 7 25 1944 11 US Billboard 1944 #2, US Pop #1 for 8 weeks, 21 total weeks, US Most-Played Race Records 1945 #49, Race Records #9 for 1 week, 1 total weeks, 183 points, 1,000,000 sales 21 Johnny Mercer And The Pied Pipers "On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe"Capitol 100 - 499, 78rpm numerical listing discography https://www.78discography.com/Capitol100.htm 2022-04-14 www.78discography.com Capitol 195 1944 12 13 1945 7 US Billboard 1945 #3, US Pop #1 for 7 weeks, 19 total weeks, 182 points 22 Perry Como "Some Enchanted Evening" RCA Victor 20-3402 1949 3 1 1949 4 US Billboard 1949 #5, US Pop #1 for 5 weeks, 26 total weeks, 182 points 23 Glenn Miller and his Orchestra "(I've Got a Gal In) Kalamazoo"Victor matrix PBS-072283. (I've got a gal in) Kalamazoo / Tex Beneke; Glenn Miller Orchestra; Marion Hutton; Modernaires - Discography of American Historical Recordings https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/index.php/matrix/detail/200054404/PBS-072283-Ive_got_a_gal_in_Kalamazoo 2022-04-21 adp.library.ucsb.edu Victor 27934 1942 8 1 1942 9 12 US Billboard 1942 #3, US Pop #1 for 7 weeks, 18 total weeks, 181 points, 1,000,000 sales 24 Andrews Sisters "Rum and Coca-Cola"Decca matrix 72460. Rum and Coca Cola / The Andrews Sisters - Discography of American Historical Recordings https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/index.php/matrix/detail/2000300677/72460-Rum_and_Coca_Cola 2022-05-03 adp.library.ucsb.edu Decca 18636 1944 10 23 1944 12 US Billboard 1945 #5, US Pop #1 for 10 weeks (Juke Box), 21 total weeks, US Most-Played Race Records 1945 #23, Race Records #3 for 1 week, 3 total weeks, 179 points, 1,000,000 sales 25 Glenn Miller and his Orchestra "Moonlight Cocktail"Victor matrix BS-068456. Moonlight cocktail / Ray Eberle; Glenn Miller Orchestra; Modernaires - Discography of American Historical Recordings https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/index.php/matrix/detail/200052624/BS-068456-Moonlight_cocktail 2022-04-21 adp.library.ucsb.edu Bluebird 11401 1941 5 7 1941 7 25 US Billboard 1942 #4, US Pop #1 for 10 weeks, 21 total weeks, 178 points, 1,000,000 sales 26 Harry James and His Orchestra (Vocal Dick Haymes) "I'll Get By (As Long As I Have You)"COLUMBIA 78rpm numerical listing discography: 35200 - 35500 https://www.78discography.com/COL35200.htm 2022-04-23 www.78discography.com Columbia 36698 1941 4 7 1944 3 US Billboard 1944 #3, US Pop #1 for 6 weeks (Juke Box chart), 29 total weeks, 178 points 27 Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra (Vocal Frank Sinatra and Pied Pipers) "There Are Such Things"Victor matrix BS-075400. There are such things / The Pied Pipers; Frank Sinatra; Tommy Dorsey Orchestra - Discography of American Historical Recordings https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/index.php/matrix/detail/200055659/BS-075400-There_are_such_things 2022-04-16 adp.library.ucsb.edu Victor 27974 1942 7 1 1942 7 17 US Billboard 1943 #3, US Pop #1 for 5 weeks, 26 total weeks, US R&B 1943 #22, Harlem Hit Parade #2 for 1 week, 13 total weeks, 176 points, 1,000,000 sales 28 The Andrews Sisters with Gordon Jenkins Orchestra "I Can Dream, Can't I?"Decca matrix 75074. I can dream, can't I? / The Andrews Sisters - Discography of American Historical Recordings https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/index.php/matrix/detail/2000303291/75074-I_can_dream_cant_I 2022-07-13 adp.library.ucsb.edu Decca 24705 1949 7 15 1949 8 22 US Billboard 1949 #3, US Pop #1 for 5 weeks, 25 total weeks, 175 points 29 Bing Crosby "Sunday, Monday or Always"Decca matrix L 3172. Sunday, Monday or always / Bing Crosby - Discography of American Historical Recordings https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/index.php/matrix/detail/2000269595/L_3172-Sunday_Monday_or_always 2022-04-21 adp.library.ucsb.edu Decca 18561 1943 7 2 1943 8 21 US Billboard 1943 #4, US Pop #1 for 7 weeks, 20 total weeks, 174 points, 1,000,000 sales 30 Frankie Laine "That Lucky Old Sun"MERCURY 78rpm numerical listing discography: 5000 - 5500 https://www.78discography.com/Merc050.htm 2022-07-17 www.78discography.com Mercury 5316 1949 6 14 1949 8 19 US Billboard 1949 #2, US Pop #1 for 8 weeks, 22 total weeks, 173 points 31 Dinah Shore "I'll Walk Alone" Victor 20-1586 1944 3 1944 5 US Billboard 1944 #6, US Pop #1 for 4 weeks, 26 total weeks, US R&B 1944 #44, Harlem Hit Parade #10 for 2 weeks, 2 total weeks, CashBox #1, 173 points 32 Vic Damone "You're Breaking My Heart" Mercury 5271 1949 2 15 1949 5 US Billboard 1949 #6, US Pop #1 for 4 weeks, 26 total weeks, 172 points 33 Jimmy Dorsey and His Orchestra "Amapola (Pretty Little Poppy)"Decca matrix 68652. Amapola (voBE, HOC) / Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra - Discography of American Historical Recordings https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/index.php/matrix/detail/2000296765/68652-Amapola_voBE_HOC 2022-04-12 adp.library.ucsb.edu Decca 3629 1941 2 3 1941 2 US Billboard 1941 #3, US Pop #1 for 10 weeks, 18 total weeks, 171 points 34 Swing And Sway With Sammy Kaye "Daddy"Victor matrix BS-063320. Daddy / Kaye Choir; Swing and Sway with Sammy Kaye - Discography of American Historical Recordings https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/index.php/matrix/detail/200049822/BS-063320-Daddy 2022-04-12 adp.library.ucsb.edu Victor 27391 1941 3 31 1941 4 25 US Billboard 1941 #4, US Pop #1 for 8 weeks, 19 total weeks, 170 points 35 The Mills Brothers "You Always Hurt The One You Love"Decca matrix 71812. You always hurt the one you love / Mills Brothers - Discography of American Historical Recordings https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/index.php/matrix/detail/2000300029/71812-You_always_hurt_the_one_you_love 2022-04-23 adp.library.ucsb.edu Decca 18599 1944 2 27 1944 5 US Billboard 1944 #4, US Pop #1 for 5 weeks, 32 total weeks, US R&B 1944 #29, Harlem Hit Parade #5 for 3 weeks, 24 total weeks, 170 points, 1,000,000 sales 36 Bing Crosby "I'll Be Seeing You"Decca matrix L 3318. I'll be seeing you / Bing Crosby - Discography of American Historical Recordings https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/index.php/matrix/detail/2000269741/L_3318-Ill_be_seeing_you 2022-04-23 adp.library.ucsb.edu Decca 18595 1944 2 17 1944 4 US Billboard 1944 #7, US Pop #1 for 4 weeks, 28 total weeks, 168 points 37 Eddy Howard and His Orchestra "To Each His Own"MAJESTIC 78rpm numerical listing discography https://www.78discography.com/Majestic.htm 2022-06-04 www.78discography.com Majestic 7188 1946 4 16 1946 6 US Billboard 1946 #1, US Pop #1 for 8 weeks, 24 total weeks, 167 points, 1,000,000 sales 38 Glen Gray and the Casa Loma Orchestra "My Heart Tells Me (Should I Believe My Heart?)"Decca matrix 71439. My heart tells me / Glen Gray Orchestra - Discography of American Historical Recordings https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/index.php/matrix/detail/2000299656/71439-My_heart_tells_me 2022-04-23 adp.library.ucsb.edu Decca 18567 1943 10 1 1943 11 US Billboard 1944 #8, US Pop #1 for 5 weeks, 24 total weeks, 166 points 39 The Harmonicats "Peg o' My Heart" Vitacoustic 1 1947 3 1947 4 US Billboard 1947 #4, US Pop #1 for 8 weeks, 26 total weeks, 165 points 40 Perry Como "Prisoner of Love" RCA Victor 20-1814 1945 12 18 1946 3 US Billboard 1946 #7, US Pop #1 for 3 weeks, 20 total weeks, 165 points, 1,000,000 sales Jazz thumb|left|Artie Shaw, ca 1947. Photograph by William P. Gottlieb thumb|right|Benny Goodman performing in Stage Door Canteen (1943) In the early 1940s, bebop emerged, led by Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Thelonious Monk and others. It helped to shift jazz from danceable popular music towards a more complex "musician's music." Differing greatly from swing, early bebop divorced itself from dance music, establishing itself more as an art form but lessening its potential popular and commercial value. Since bebop was meant to be listened to, not danced to, it used faster tempos. The swing era lasted until the mid-1940s, and produced popular tunes such as Duke Ellington's "Cotton Tail" (1940) and Billy Strayhorn's "Take the 'A' Train" (1941). When the big bands struggled to keep going during World War II, a shift was happening in jazz in favor of smaller groups. Some swing era musicians, like Louis Jordan, later found popularity in a new kind of music, called "rhythm and blues", that would evolve into rock and roll in the 1950s. By the end of the 1940s, the nervous energy and tension of bebop was replaced with a tendency towards calm and smoothness, that eventually influenced the birth of cool jazz, which favoured long, linear melodic lines in the 1950s. By the 1940s, Dixieland jazz revival musicians like Jimmy McPartland, Eddie Condon and Bud Freeman had become well-known and established their own unique style. Most characteristically, players entered solos against riffing by other horns, and were followed by a closing with the drummer playing a four-bar tag that was then answered by the rest of the band. Some of the most notable Jazz artists of the 1940s include Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Louis Armstrong and also Nat King Cole. Country music thumb|180px|Vaughn Monroe as a guest star in a 1962 Bonanza episode thumb|left|200px|Roy Rogers Throughout the 1930s and 1940s, cowboy songs, or Western music, became widely popular through the romanticization of the cowboy and idealized depictions of the west in Hollywood films. Singing cowboys, such as Roy Rogers and Gene Autry, sang cowboy songs in their films and became popular throughout the United States. Film producers began incorporating fully orchestrated four-part harmonies and sophisticated musical arrangements into their motion pictures. In the post-war period, country music was called "folk" in the trades, and "hillbilly" within the industry.Akenson Charles K. Wolfe James E. 55 https://books.google.com/books?id=Hj9r6l_OZoEC&dq=ted+daffin&pg=PA55 Country Music Goes to War University Press of Kentucky 978-0-8131-7188-3 en In 1944, The Billboard replaced the term "hillbilly" with "folk songs and blues", and switched to "country" or "country and western" in 1949.Cohen Norm https://books.google.com/books?id=AY7St4-8x10C&dq=john+carson+Hallelujah++i'm+A+Bum&pg=PA30 Long Steel Rail: The Railroad in American Folksong 2000 University of Illinois Press 978-0-252-06881-2 en 31 But while cowboy and western music were the most popular styles, a new style – honky tonk – would take root and define the genre of country music for decades to come. The style meshed Western swing and blues music; featured rough, nasal vocals backed by instruments such as the guitar, fiddle, string bass, and steel guitar; and had lyrics that focused on tragic themes of lost love, adultery, loneliness, alcoholism and self-pity. One of the earliest successful practitioners of this style was Ernest Tubb, a Crisp, Texas native who had perfected his style on several Texas radio stations in the mid- to late-1930s. In 1940, he gained a recording contract with Decca Records, and a year later released his standard "Walking the Floor Over You." The single became a hit and sold over one million copies. Allmusic critic David Vinopal called "Walking the Floor Over You" the first honky tonk song that launched the musical genre itself. Vinopal David Ernest Tubb Biography Allmusic artist p24900/biography yes January 3, 2013 As the decade progressed, the style was picked up by Floyd Tillman and Hank Williams, and by the end of the 1940s was the predominant style in country music. thumb|right|200px|Hank Williams Williams, a Butler County, Alabama native, began earning a reputation as both a songwriter and a performing artist. Using traditional honky-tonk themes, Williams grew to become one of the most important country performers of all time. His recording of "Lovesick Blues" (and its flip side, "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry") in 1949 remains a landmark in both country and popular music to this day. But even by the late 1940s, it became well known that Williams drank heavily, and his personal problems would continue to grow as the 1950s dawned. Still, his overall style inspired countless artists in country and other styles of music, including rock music, and his songs would be performed by numerous artists in many styles. thumb|left|200px|The Andrews Sisters On August 25, 1945 Jenny Lou Carson became the first woman to write a No. 1 country music hit when "You Two-Timed Me One Time Too Often," performed by Tex Ritter, reached the top of the Billboard Most Played Juke Box Folk Records. The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944–2006, Second edition Whitburn Joel 2004 Record Research 292 In 1949 Carson had another No. 1 country music hit as a songwriter when "Don't Rob Another Man's Castle," performed by Eddy Arnold, topped the Billboard Folk Best Seller Charts. The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944–2006, Second edition Whitburn Joel Joel Whitburn 2004 Record Research 29 From 1945 to 1955 Carson was one of the most prolific songwriters in country music. Women weren't absent from the scene as vocalists; in fact, the No. 1 song on Billboard magazine's very first Most Played Juke Box Folk Records chart, dated January 8, 1944, saw The Andrews Sisters get co-credit along with Bing Crosby on "Pistol Packin' Mama." In 1949, Margaret Whiting teamed with Jimmy Wakely to have a No. 1 country and pop hit, a cover of the Floyd Tillman song "Slippin' Around." Kitty Wells was a popular concert attraction, performing with her husband Johnnie Wright and his duet partner, Jack Anglin; and Wilma Lee Cooper was prominently featured on recordings with her husband, Stoney. Other popular female acts were Patsy Montana, Martha Carson, The Maddox Brothers and Rose, Molly O'Day with the Cumberland Mountain Folks, and Lulu Belle (of Lulu Belle and Scotty), while Mother Maybelle Carter re-formed the Carter Family with her daughters, Anita, June, and Helen and their popularity would only grow in time. thumb|right|200px|Ralph Stanley Eddy Arnold, known as "The Tennessee Plowboy," became an innovator of crossover music, or music of one particular genre (in this case, country) that was popular among mainstream audiences. His style combined elements of refined honky tonk with popular music sounds, evident on hits like "That's How Much I Love You," "I'll Hold You In My Heart ('Til I Can Hold You In My Arms)," "Anytime" and "Boquet of Roses," and several of these songs charted on both the Billboard country and pop charts. He was so dominant that by 1948, five of that year's six No. 1 songs on Billboards' country chart bore Arnold's name, a record that Charlie Rich would tie 26 years later but otherwise has been unmatched. Arnold would go on to score more than 150 chart hits during a career that spanned until his death in 2008. Other Trends In 1941 Les Paul designed and built the first solid-body electric guitar. In 1942 Bing Crosby recorded and released the single "White Christmas", which became the best-selling single of all time, with estimated sales in excess of 50 million copies worldwide.Guinness Book of Records, 2007 Edition, page 187 https://web.archive.org/web/20150319072130/http://img299.imageshack.us/img299/3315/guinness2007.pdf 2015-03-19 Guinness Book of Records, 2008 Edition, page 181Guinness Book of Records, 2009 Edition, pp. 14, 15 & 169. https://web.archive.org/web/20130226005314/http://img827.imageshack.us/img827/4387/guinness2009.pdf 2013-02-26 In 1948 Columbia Records introduced the 33 1 3 rpm LP ("long playing") record at New York City's Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, featuring 25 minutes of music per side. In 1949 RCA Victor introduced the 45 rpm record, featuring 8 minutes of music. Europe Edith Piaf, Charles Trenet, Tino Rossi, were popular French singers. Popular music in 1940s Europe was profoundly shaped by the social, political, and emotional impact of World War II. Themes of war, ideology, love, longing, and national identity dominated the lyrical content of the period. In France, the chanson tradition flourished, with Édith Piaf emerging as a defining voice. Her songs such as "L'Accordéoniste" (1940) and "La Vie en rose" (1946) reflected both the hardships of wartime and the hopes of postwar recovery. In the United Kingdom, popular music served a morale-boosting function. Vera Lynn, known as "the Forces' Sweetheart," became emblematic of British wartime sentiment with songs like "We'll Meet Again" (1939) and "The White Cliffs of Dover" (1941), both of which conveyed messages of hope and perseverance. In Italy, Nilla Pizzi gained recognition in the late 1940s with romantic and melancholic ballads such as Addio sogni di gloria (1948) and Malinconia (1949), which resonated with a country navigating the aftermath of Fascism and war. Meanwhile, in Spain, traditional forms like flamenco and copla remained culturally significant under the Franco regime. Artists such as Concha Piquer and Manolo Caracol popularized emotionally charged songs including "Ojos verdes" and "La Niña de Fuego", which articulated themes of passion, sorrow, and national heritage. Despite censorship in several countries, American jazz and swing music maintained an underground presence, especially among youth in Nazi-occupied regions. The genre symbolized both cultural resistance and a desire for freedom. Across Europe, popular songs of the 1940s served not only as entertainment but also as a means of emotional survival, collective memory, and postwar identity reconstruction. Latin America thumb|right|200px|Maria Grever The Cuban bolero had traveled to Mexico and the rest of Latin America after its conception, where it became part of their repertoires. Some of the bolero's leading composers have come from nearby countries, most especially the prolific Puerto Rican composer Rafael Hernández, Some Cuban composers of the bolero are listed under Trova. Some successful Mexican bolero composers are María Grever, Gonzalo Curiel Barba, Gabriel Ruiz, and Consuelo Velázquez which song Verdad Amarga (Bitter Truth) was the most popular in Mexico in the year 1948; another example is Mexico's Agustín Lara. María Grever was the first female Mexican composer to achieve international acclaim. Agustin Lara is recognized as one of the most popular songwriters of his era together with Consuelo Velázquez. Mexican artists of the time were: Juan Arvizu,Media Sound & Culture in Latin America & The Caribbean. Editores: Bronfman, Alejandra & Wood, Andrew Grant.University of Pittsburgh Press, Pittsburgh, PA, USA, 2012 Pg. 49 Books.google.com Vea la pág. 49 Nestor Mesta Chayres,El Siglo de Torréon - Néstor Mesta Cháyres Biography on elsiglodetorreon.com https://web.archive.org/web/20200806020051/https://www.elsiglodetorreon.com.mx/noticia/956791.nestor-mesta-chayres.html 2020-08-06 es Lucha Reyes, María Luisa Landín, Fernando Fernández, and Luis Pérez Meza in the 1940s. In 1948 Perez Prado recorded the first Mambo in Mexico for RCA Victor Genoveva Jimenez was a famous Latin American musician during the late 1940s. right|100px|thumb|Agustin Lara left|100px|thumb|Consuelo Velázquez with Pedro Vargas Other famous performers include Pedro Vargas, Luis Aguilar, Ana María González, Trío Calaveras, Trío Los Panchos, Eva Garza,https://books.google.com/books?id=Qx00pQIkclMC&q=Viva+America&pg=PA166#v=snippet&q=Eva%20garza&f=false Dissonant Divas in Chicana Music: The Limits of la Onda Deborah R. Vargas August 29, 2012 142-178 U of Minnesota Press Google Books 9780816673162 http://frontera.library.ucla.edu/blog/2016/04/artist-biography-eva-garza The Strachwitz Frontera Collection of Mexican and Mexican American Recordings Eva Garza Biography Alfredo Antonini Media Sound & Culture in Latin America & The Caribbean Bronfman Alejandra Wood Andrew Grant University of Pittsburgh Press Pittsburgh 2012 49 978-0-8229-6187-1 https://books.google.com/books?id=ehN4sM0Xy_UC&dq=Alfredo+Antonini+Elsa+Miranda&pg=PA49 Google Books and John Serry Gail E. Lowther Spring 2023 https://www.esm.rochester.edu/sibley/files/John-J-Serry-Sr-Collection.pdf John J. Serry, Sr., Collection Ruth T. Watanabe Special Collections, Sibley Music Library, Eastman School of Music, University of Rochester January 28, 2025 A Pictorial History of Radio Settel Irving Grosset & Dunlap New York 1960 1967 146 67-23789 1475068 Mariachi an ensemble that consists of guitarrón, vihuela, guitar, violins and trumpets. Between 1940 mariachi and rancheras originated in the western states of the country. This folk ensemble performs ranchera, son de mariachi, huapango de mariachi, polka, corrido, and other musical forms. It originated in the southern part of the state of Jalisco during the 19th century.Collins Camille What is the mariachi? http://www.mexconnect.com/articles/1875-what-is-the-mariachi mexconnect.com July 12, 2012 The city of Guadalajara in Jalisco is known as the "Capital of Mariachi".Brown David M. Gilbert woman brings mariachi music to Southeast Valley. http://www.azcentral.com/community/gilbert/articles/2011/09/09/20110909gilbert-woman-brings-mariachi-music-southeast-valley.html July 12, 2012 The Arizona Republic September 9, 2011 The style is now popular throughout Mexico and the Southwestern United States, and is considered representative of Mexican music and culture.Burr Ramiro Mariachis: little-known, much-loved. http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive.mpl/1994_1210658/mariachis-little-known-much-loved.html July 12, 2012 Houston Chronicle June 26, 1994 Jorge Negrete was Mexican actor and singer, one of the greatest actors of the Golden Age of Mexican cinema, he is considered "El Charro Cantor" (The singing charro) in Latin American countries. Asia thumb|right|100px|Shizuko Kasagi In China, the 1940s was the golden era of Mandarin pop songs which were collectively termed 'Shidaiqu', literally "songs of the era". Shanghai Pathe Records, then belonging to EMI, emerged to be the leading record company in China and featured a blend of Chinese melodies and western orchestrations as well as Big Band Jazz elements in arrangements of music, leading to their superseding traditional Chinese operas in radio broadcasts. With the help of growing radio audience in the nation, Shidaiqu successfully became prevalent and listening to Mandarin pop songs was regarded as trendy. Among all Chinese contemporary singers, Zhou Xuan, Yao Li (also known as Hue Lee), Wu Yingyin, Bai Guang, Bai Hong, Gong Qiuxia and Li Xianglan were the seven most famous artists (七大歌星), who gained nationwide popularity. Zhou Xuan was the most representative of all, who later became one of the emblematic and legendary figures in the history of Chinese pop songs. In addition, despite the ravages of the Japanese occupation, there saw an immense development and maturation in the Chinese movie industry. Very often, pop songs were intermingled with episodes in films, providing the audience with multiple entertainment at one time. Nonetheless, little attention was paid on the groundbreaking breakthroughs of Chinese Mandarin pop songs in the 1940s, both by the academia and the community in China as well as Western countries. Shidaiqu had its influence even in Hong Kong and Taiwan music in the 1950s and 1960s as well as in Malaysian and Singaporean Chinese communities. Rose, Rose, I Love you, the renowned song presented by Frankie Laine, and An Autumn Melody, were two symbolic Shidaiqu. In Japan, Nihon Columbia and Nihon Victor were two of the larger record companies. Blues, boogie-woogie and jazz were popular. Ryouichi Hattori was a popular composer, and Shizuko Kasagi was one of the popular singers. See also 1950s in music References 2 Category:20th century in music