JUKEBOX HITS BEFORE 1950

Before 1950, the world of music was celebrated by Big Bands. Dancing to the orchestra of your choice in person, or in a corner drug store or even in a bar with a jukebox was the main attraction. In person or on the juke box, a cadre of great singers got their big starts as vocalists with one of the orchestras before they became the big stars of the jukebox , in 1950 and beyond, as important solo performing artists.

         "SWING AND SWAY"

               MAY, 1942


 18 WEEKS ON THE HIT PARADE;  BUT MUCH LONGER ON THE JUKEBOXES


 "DADDY"

Introduced in the film, TWO LATINS  FROM MANHATTAN"
SUNG BY MEMBERS OF THE KAYE ORCHESTRA/VERY POPULAR AT THE TIME AND STILL FUN TO LISTEN TO EVEN TODAY.  Contemporary singer Michael Buble' has re-instated the practice of having the members of the band sing along, fun for both performer and the ensemble.
He  was posthumously inducted into the Big Band  and Jazz Hall of Fame in  1992 and  for his contribution to the recording  industry has a star on  the Hollywood Walk of  Fame.

WITH SAMMY KAYE

 In the Broadway  musical, "Bye Bye Birdie", Sammy and his orchestra are mentioned in the words of the song called "KIDS": 

"Why can't they dance like we did,
"What's wrong with Sammy Kaye?"
He was married to jazz singer Julie London, who also recorded a version of the this  song.
From  1937 through 1953, he had over 193 charted hits.

---

       LES BROWN AND HIS BAND OF RENOWN

                   (VOCAL CHORUS BY DORIS DAY)

                      "SENTIMENTAL JOURNEY"

Brown's biggest single hit, and a career-mover for Doris Day (as a team, they recorded over  60 songs together and also appeared in the first video jukeboxes-a forerunner to mtv-with what was called at the time "soundies")

MARCH 3, 1945:

#1 for 10 weeks, it charted for 28 and is still on many jukeboxes. It became the top song of 1945, a fitting finish to the end of World War II, when servicemen were longing for home

               FLIPSIDE:

            "TWILIGHT TIME"    (INSTRUMENTAL)


A little irony: The record that pushed "Journey" out of #1
position was another by Les & Doris, which became #1 for 7
weeks and charted for 16. It, too, is still on many jukeboxes.

"MY DREAMS ARE GETTING BETTER ALL THE TIME"

The combination of Les Brown and Doris Day was a regular fixture on the 1940's jukeboxes. They had 15 Top Ten Hits, and many more which were a staple of the popular music in the mid 40's. Doris was the most popular female band singer (and highest paid female at the time.)

Another big jukebox hit for Les and Doris was their version of a Nat King Cole Christmas Favorite. The Brown/Day  version was a strong  competitor and is still a big favorite. Called "THE CHRISTMAS SONG", it begins:
"Chestnuts roasting on an open fire; Jack Frost nipping on your nose,,,"

ONE OF THE ALL TIME JUKEBOX FAVORITES IS ALSO THE MOST RECORDED SONG IN THE HISTORY OF RECORDED MUSIC, IRVING BERLIN'S "WHITE CHRISTMAS".   IT IS NO MEAN TASK TO COME UP WITH THE VERSION THAT IS THE BIGGEST SELLING RECORD OF ALL TIME BY MR. BING CROSBY. IT IS IN THE TOP 10 EVERY CHRISTMAS SEASON.

THROUGH THE YEARS, HUNDREDS OF OTHER PERFORMING ARTISTS HAVE HOPPED ON THE "WHITE CHRISTMAS" BANDWAGON, AND MANY OF THEM ARE GOOD RENDERINGS. HERE ARE SOME OF THE BETTER ONES WHICH HAVE FOUND THEIR WAY TO THE NATION'S JUKEBOXES DURING THE HOLIDAYS....

NO ONE HAD A TIGHTER REIGN ON THE JUKEBOXES IN THE EARLY 40'S THAN GLENN MILLER AND HIS BAND.  FROM 1935 TILL 1944, THE GLENN  MILLER AGGREGATION HAD OVER 127 CHARTED HITS, ALL OF WHICH MADE IT TO THE NATION'S JUKEBOXES. BUT NONE WERE BIGGER THAN THESE GIGANTIC COIN BOX FAVORITES:

                     JANUARY, 1943
IT PEAKED AT #1 ON THE CHARTS AND WAS A JUKE BOX HIT FOR THE ENTIRE YEAR, 
     THE MILLS BROTHERS SING
            "PAPER DOLL"

HOW ABOUT A SONG WITH A LITTLE HAWAIIAN FLAVOR? THIS ONE WAS THE TOP JUKEBOX HIT FOR 1937 AND WON THE ACADEMY AWARD AS BEST SONG FROM A MOVIE THAT YEAR AS WELL.
    MR. BING CROSBY
  (AND HIS HAWAIIAN COUSINS)
             SING
        "SWEET LEILANI"
              

In the early 1940's, the combination of Jimmy Dorsey and his orchestra with Bob Eberly and Helen O'Connell on the vocals was constantly on our nation's jukeboxes with one hit after another.  The group had a consistent hit formula: Bob would start out singing a song as a ballad, then the orchestra would play a center section, eventually picking up the pace, and Helen would end it as a jump or swing tune. They had many jukebox hits, but the biggest were:

In 1941, more than 6 months on the jukeboxes   ''GREEN EYES''

In 1942, over 5 months on the jukeboxes    "TANGERINE"

As January dawned on 1946, Bing Crosby had just completed a run on the jukeboxes with his now annual offering of "White Christmas" (see above).
By January 1, there were several hit versions of a song called "SYMPHONY" that made their mark on the jukeboxes, the biggest version by Freddy Martin and His Orchestra.
Two Frankies and one Les and Doris battled for superiority on a great love song called "OH WHAT IT SEEMED TO BE". The biggest single sellers were by Frankie Carle and Frank Sinatra; the jukebox smash was by Les Brown with a vocal by Doris Day. Les and Doris had just come off a successful run of the jukeboxes in 1945 with Sentimental Journey and My Dreams Are Getting Better All The Time and that hold on national jukeboxes was to continue for them till Doris left the band in 1947 and then began her control of the jukeboxes on her own. By the end of 1946, Les and Doris would rack up six other top jukebox hits as well as big single sellers on these songs:
"AREN'T YOU GLAD YOU'RE YOU"
"COME TO BABY, DO"
"YOU WON'T BE SATISFIED UNTIL YOU BREAK MY HEART"
"DAY BY DAY" (click on audio player below to hear the song)
"I GOT THE SUN IN THE MORNING (AND THE MOON AT NIGHT)"
"THE WHOLE WORLD IS SINGING MY SONG"

The other smash jukebox hit for 1946 charted on the singles charts as well for 21 weeks, and there were two versions that vied for top sales. Both of them get credit because both versions reached #1.  The song?  "THE GYPSY".  The versions?   THE INK SPOTS   and  DINAH SHORE.

But that was not all for a year rich with jukebox hits that became chart toppers. Both Frank Sinatra and Perry Como each had one of the biggest smashes of their recording careers.  For Frank it was "FIVE MINUTES MORE" and for Perry it was "PRISONER OF LOVE".

BUT THE BIGGEST SONG ON THE JUKEBOXES AND SALES CHARTS OF 1946 WAS NONE OF THOSE MENTIONED ABOVE.  INSTEAD, IT WAS A SONG THAT HAD 3 DIFFERENT VERSIONS VYING FOR THE TOP SPOT AT VARIOUS TIMES DURING THE YEAR.  THE SONG WAS CALLED "TO EACH HIS OWN".  In early August, it was the vocal talents of EDDY HOWARD AND HIS ORCHESTRA that took the song to #1.  By the end of August, it was Freddy Martin back on the charts and jukeboxes with his cover of the song. And by Mid-September, a cover of the song by the INK SPOTS took the lead.

The other major jukebox hit for 1946 (as well as a big seller on singles charts) was a second hit for the orchestra of FRANKIE CARLE on a tune called 'RUMORS ARE FLYING".
Below, Les and Doris perform "Day By Day"

BE SURE TO CHECK OUT OUR "YOUR HIT PARADE" AND  "TOP TEN" PAGES.  THE MAJORITY OF THE SONGS FEATURED THERE WERE ALSO BIG JUKEBOX  HITS