Best Songs of the 40's

We've calculated our favorite songs of the 40s for Weddings to get people on the dance floor!  The 40's were known for big band and jazz styles.  During the 40's era, a popular music style, rock and roll, was just being created and has not made it to the masses.  The 40's are also known as the era of World War II.  Therefore, the music was upbeat to keep people positive and not thinking of the affects of the war.

From the upbeat sounds came a widely popular dance style - the Jitterbug.  For the slower songs, dances included the foxtrot and the waltz.  For a younger miltary generation, the Jitterbug overtook the slower dances because slow dances were seen as boring and outdated.  However, in the mid to late 40's the Jitterbug style recreated itself.  It became less energetic and regenerated itself as the beginning of rock and roll.  Swing was also a popular dance style of the 40's.  Swing dance types include the lindy hop, east coast swing and west coast swing.  Two other popular dances of the 40's were the jive, part of swing, and tap.

Popular big band style music artists from the 40's include Glenn Miller, Tommy Dorsey and Jimmy Dorsey (brothers), Benny Goodman, and Dizzy Gillespie.  40's jazz style music artists include Rosemary Clooney, Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra.  A form of jazz called scat music, also became popular with artists such as Ella Fitzgerald, and Cab Calloway.  According to the Encyclopedia Britanica, scat music is a jazz vocal style using emotive, onomatopoeic, and nonsense syllables instead of words in solo improvisations on a melody.

The 40's were stricken with war ending with the finality of dropping the first nuclear bomb.  The 40's rekindled women going to work as men were off fighting war.  The war also got America out the the depression by creating many jobs.  Popular film stars included actors Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, Clark Gable and Humphrey Bogart.  An invention prominent in the music industry took place in 1949 with the rpm 45 record.  Although tv debut in 1939 - in 1947, commercial television with 13 stations became available to the public.  Radio was the main source for news, music and entertainment in the 40's.  Pin-up girls became icons with GIs, such as Rita Hayworth and Betty Grable.  A new look for women was introduced after the war ended - feminine dresses with long, full skirts, and tight waists.  Men's fashion was at its apex with thier zoot suits.

Our Top 5 40's Era songs for weddings are as follows: 1) Glenn Miller - In The Mood, 2) I Love You For Sentimental Reasons - Nat King Cole, 3) Again - Doris Day, 4) Rum & Coca-Cola - The Andrews Sisters, 5) Sentimental Journey - Les Brown.

Being former wedding DJs, we've calculated a list of our favorite Songs of the 40's. If you have a special song that you think should be added to our list, please add your song suggestion through the comment section below. Be sure to also check out the song lyric link to find song relevance to what you want for in your song choice. Once decided, we provided a link to iTunes to purchase and Amazon.com to purchase and listen to a sample of each song.

Best Songs of the 40's for Weddings

Song	Artist	Format	Lyrics	iTunes	Amazon
A Night in Tunisia	Dizzy Gillespie	40s	- -
A Tree In The Meadow	Margaret Whiting	40s
Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate The Positive	Bing Crosby & The Andrew Sisters	40s
Again	Doris Day	40s
Amapola (Pretty Little Poppy)	Jimmy Dorsey	40s
Amor	Xavier Cugat & His Orchestra	40s	- -
Anniversary Song	Al Jolson	Rock
Artistry in Rhythm	Stan Kenton	40s	- -
As Time Goes By	Dooley Wilson	40s
Auld Lang Syne	Guy Lombardo	40s
Baby, It's Cold Outside	Margaret Whiting & Johnny Mercer	40s
Ballerina	Vaughn Monroe	40s
Be Careful It's My Heart	Bing Crosby	40s
Besame Mucho	Jimmy Dorsey	40s
Black, Brown and Beige	Duke Ellington	40s	- -
Body and Soul	Coleman Hawkins	40s	- -
Boogie Chillen	John Lee Hooker	40s
Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy	The Andrews Sisters	40s
Brazil	Xavier Cugat & His Orchestra	40s	- -
Buttons And Bows	Dinah Shore	40s
Caldonia	Louis Jordan & His Tympany Five	40s
Chattanooga Choo Choo	Glen Miller	40s
Chattanoogie Shoe Shine Boy	Red Foley	40s
Cruising Down The River	Blue Barron	40s
Daddy	Sammy Kaye	40s
Day By Day	Frank Sinatra	40s
Dear Hearts And Gentle People	Dinah Shore	40s
Dearly Beloved	Rita Hayworth	40s
Doin' What Comes Natur'lly	Dinah Shore	40s
Don't Sit Under The Apple Tree	Glenn Miller Orchestra	40s
Elmer's Tune	Glenn Miller Orchestra	40s
Five Minutes More	Frank Sinatra	40s
Flying Home	Lionel Hampton	40s	- -
Foggy Mountain Breakdown	Earl Scruggs	40s	- -
Frenesi	Artie Shaw	40s	- -
G.I. Jive	Louis Jordan & His Tympany Five	40s
Get Your Kicks On Route 66	Nat King Cole	40s
God Bless the Child	Billie Holiday	40s
Good Rockin' Tonight	Wynonie Harris	40s
Green Eyes	Jimmy Dorsey	40s
Groovin' High	Dizzy Gillespie	40s	- -
I Can Dream, Can't I?	The Andrews Sisters	40s
I Don't Want To Set The World On Fire	The Ink Spots	40s
I Love You For Sentimental Reasons	Nat King Cole	40s
I Love You Truly	Bing Crosby	40s
I'll Be Seeing You	Frank Sinatra & Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra	40s
I'll Dance At Your Wedding	Buddy Clark & Ray Noble & His Orchestra	40s
I'll Get By (As Long as I Have You)	Dick Haymes	40s
I'll Never Smile Again	Tommy Dorsey	40s
I'll Walk Alone	Dinah Shore	40s
I'm Beginning To See The Light	Harry James Orchestra	40s
I'm Looking Over A Four-Leaf Clover	Art Mooney	40s
I'm Making Believe	Ella Fitzgerald and The Ink Spots	40s
Imagination	Glenn Miller Orchestra	40s
In a Sentimental Mood	Duke Ellington	40s	- -
In The Blue of Evening	Frank Sinatra and Tommy Dorsey	40s
In The Mood	Glen Miller	40s	- -
Is You Is Or Is You Ain't (My Baby)	Louis Jordan	40s
I've Got My Love To Keep Me Warm	Les Brown And His Orchestra	40s
I've Heard That Song Before	Harry James	40s
Jersey Bounce	Benny Goodman	40s	- -
Jingle, Jangle, Jingle	Kay Kyser And His Orchestra	40s
Jukebox Saturday Night	Glenn Miller Orchestra	40s
La Vie En Rose	Edith Piaf	40s
Lover Man (Oh Where Can He Be)	Billie Holiday	40s
Maria Elena	Jimmy Dorsey	40s
Moonlight Cocktail	Glenn Miller Orchestra	40s
My Dreams Are Getting Better All the Time	Les Brown	40s
Nature Boy	Nat King Cole	40s
Near You	Francis Craig Orchestra	40s
New San Antonio Rose	Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys	40s	- -
Nuages	Django Reinhardt & Stephanie Grappelli	40s	- -
Oh! What It Seemed To Be	Frank Sinatra	40s
Only Forever	Bing Crosby	40s
Opus One	Tommy Dorsey	40s	- -
Paper Doll	The Mills Brothers	40s
Peg O' My Heart	Buddy Clark	40s
Pennsylvania 6-5000	Glenn Miller	40s	- -
Prisoner Of Love	Perry Como	40s
Rag Mop	Ames Brothers	40s
Round About Midnight	Thelonius Monk	40s	- -;
Rum And Coca-Cola	The Andrews Sisters	40s
Sentimental Journey	Les Brown Band	40s	- -
Sleepy Lagoon	Harry James	40s	- -
Solo Flight	Charlie Christian & Benny Goodman Orchestra	40s	- -
Some Enchanted Evening	Ezio Pinza	40s
Stardust	Artie Shaw	40s	- -
String Of Pearls	Glen Miller	40s	- -
Sunday, Monday or Always	Bing Crosby	40s
Symphony	Benny Goodman And His Orchestra	40s
Take The A Train	Duke Ellington	40s	- -
That's My Desire	Sammy Kaye	40s
The Breeze And I	Jimmy Dorsey	40s
The Old Lamp-Lighter	Sammy Kaye	40s
There! I've Said It Again	Vaughn Monroe	40s
This Land Is Your Land	Woody Guthrie	40s
Till The End Of Time	Perry Como	40s
To Each His Own	Eddy Howard	40s
Tuxedo Junction	Glenn Miller	40s	- -
Twelfth Street Rag	Pee Wee Hunt	40s	- -
When You Wish Upon A Star	Cliff Edwards	40s
You Made Me Love You (I Didn't Want To Do It)	Harry James And His Orchestra	40s	- -
Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah	James Baskett	40s

Best 40s songs list is updated periodically throughout the year. If you have a song that you think should be included, please add your song suggestion through the comment section below.