Inspired by the topic of 1940s songs thread, we now have one for the 1930s.

"Georgia on My Mind" is a song by Hoagy Carmichael and Stuart Gorrell, now often associated with the version by Ray Charles, written in 1930, although it is frequently asserted that the lyrics were written not about the state of Georgia, but rather for Carmichael's sister, Georgia Carmichael.

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"Summertime" is an aria composed by George Gershwin for the 1935 opera Porgy and Bess. The lyrics are by DuBose Heyward, the author of the novel Porgy on which the opera was based, although the song is also co-credited to Ira Gershwin by ASCAP.

The song soon became a popular and much recorded jazz standard, described as "without doubt ... one of the finest songs the composer ever wrote ... Gershwin's highly evocative writing brilliantly mixes elements of jazz and the song styles of negroes in the southeast United States from the early twentieth century." Composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim has characterized Heyward's lyrics for "Summertime" and "My Man's Gone Now" as "the best lyrics in the musical theater". The song is recognized as one of the most covered songs in the history of recorded music, with more than 33,000 covers by groups and solo performers.

In this case, the video of "Summertime" is sung by Billie Holiday from 1935.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYUqbnk7tCY

"Gloomy Sunday", also known as the "Hungarian Suicide Song", is a song composed by Hungarian pianist and composer Rezső Seress and published in 1933. The original lyrics were titled Vége a világnak (The world is ending) and were about despair caused by war, ending in a quiet prayer about people's sins. Poet László Jávor wrote his own lyrics to the song, titled Szomorú vasárnap (Sad Sunday), in which the protagonist wants to commit suicide following his lover's death. The latter lyrics ended up becoming more popular while the former were essentially forgotten. The song was first recorded in Hungarian by Pál Kalmár in 1935. "Gloomy Sunday" was first recorded in English by Hal Kemp in 1936, with lyrics by Sam M. Lewis,and was recorded the same year by Paul Robeson, with lyrics by Desmond Carter. It became well-known throughout much of the English-speaking world after the release of a version by Billie Holiday in 1941. Lewis's lyrics referred to suicide, and the record label described it as the "Hungarian Suicide Song". There is a recurring urban legend which claims that many people have committed suicide while listening to this song.

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"Animal Crackers in My Soup" was a song introduced by Shirley Temple in the 1935 film Curly Top. The lyrics were written by Irving Caesar and Ted Koehler and the music by Ray Henderson, sheet music published by Sam Fox Publishing Company.

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"All or Nothing at All" is a song composed in 1939 by Arthur Altman, with lyrics by Jack Lawrence. Frank Sinatra's 1939 recording of the song became a huge hit in 1943, when it was reissued by Columbia Records during the 1942-44 musicians' strike. The record peaked in the Billboard top two.

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"Russian Lullaby" by Red Norvo and his Orchestra, recorded in 1937.

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"Over the Rainbow" (often referred to as "Somewhere Over the Rainbow") is a classic Academy Award-winning ballad, with music by Harold Arlen and lyrics by E.Y. Harburg. It was written for the 1939 movie The Wizard of Oz, and was sung by actress Judy Garland in her starring role as Dorothy Gale. It soon became her signature song, and one of the most enduring standards of the 20th century. About five minutes into the film, Dorothy sings the song after failing to get her aunt and uncle to listen to her relate an unpleasant incident involving her dog, Toto, and the town spinster, Miss Gulch. Dorothy's Aunt Em tells her to "find yourself a place where you won't get into any trouble." This prompts Dorothy to walk off by herself, musing to Toto, "'Some place where there isn't any trouble.' Do you suppose there is such a place, Toto? There must be. It's not a place you can get to by a boat, or a train. It's far, far away. Behind the moon, beyond the rain..." at which point she begins singing.

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"Strange Fruit" originated as a poem written by American writer, teacher and songwriter Abel Meeropol under his pseudonym Lewis Allan, as a protest against lynchings. In the poem, Meeropol expressed his horror at lynchings, inspired by Lawrence Beitler's photograph of the 1930 lynching of Thomas Shipp and Abram Smith in Marion, Indiana. He published the poem under the title "Bitter Fruit" in 1937 in The New York Teacher, a union magazine. Though Meeropol had asked others (notably Earl Robinson) to set his poems to music, he set "Strange Fruit" to music himself. His protest song gained a certain success in and around New York. Meeropol, his wife, and black vocalist Laura Duncan performed it at Madison Square Garden. Reports say that Robert Gordon, who was directing Billie Holiday's show at Cafe Society, heard the song at Madison Square Garden and introduced it to her. Holiday first performed the song at Cafe Society in 1939. She said that singing it made her fearful of retaliation but, because its imagery reminded her of her father, she continued to sing the piece, making it a regular part of her live performances.

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Harry Roy & His Orchestra - My Girl's Pussy (1931)  :o

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WIfcKy-VcXo

;D

Harry Roy & His Orchestra - My Girl's Pussy (1931)  :o

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WIfcKy-VcXo

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The Ink Spots - If I Didn't Care (1939)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UC_VzbtRGr0

(This was Fred Sanford's favorite song, and he often sang it on Sanford and Son.)

“Sing, Sing, Sing (With a Swing)” is a 1936 song written and composed by Louis Prima, who first recorded it with the New Orleans Gang and released it in March 1936 as a 78, Brunswick 7628, with "It's Been So Long" as the B side. It is strongly identified with the Big Band and Swing eras. Though it has lyrics, which Prima wrote, it was performed as an instrumental by Fletcher Henderson and, most famously, by Benny Goodman in 1937.

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"Our Love" is 1939 song that was recorded by Frank Sinatra and was his first recording. Some sources have said that this song was recorded a day before Sinatra married his first wife Nancy or a month later in March.The song is based on music from Tchaikovsky's "Romeo & Juliet Overture".

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"We'll Meet Again" is a 1939 British song made famous by singer Vera Lynn with music and lyrics composed and written by Ross Parker and Hughie Charles. The song is one of the most famous songs of the Second World War era, and resonated with soldiers going off to fight and their families and sweethearts. The assertion that "we'll meet again" is optimistic, as many soldiers did not survive to see their loved ones again.

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"A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square" is a romantic British popular song written in 1939 with lyrics by Eric Maschwitz and music by Manning Sherwin.

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"We'll Meet Again" is a 1939 British song made famous by singer Vera Lynn with music and lyrics composed and written by Ross Parker and Hughie Charles. The song is one of the most famous songs of the Second World War era, and resonated with soldiers going off to fight and their families and sweethearts. The assertion that "we'll meet again" is optimistic, as many soldiers did not survive to see their loved ones again.

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Special birthday greetings to Dame Vera Lynn, for she is 100 today!

"A Tisket A Tasket" is a nursery rhyme first recorded in America in the late nineteenth century. It was used as the basis for a very successful and highly regarded 1938 recording by Ella Fitzgerald. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 13188. The song was a major hit of the "pre-chart" era, reaching number one in Billboard's sheet music and Record Buying Guide (jukebox) charts, also number 1 on "Your Hit Parade".


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Not actually a 1930's song, but a great parody of one from 1980.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Nc1gTbe2KI

(You'll probably be singing the chorus all day tomorrow.  ;D)

Good Morning is a song by Nacio Herb Brown (music) and Arthur Freed (lyrics) written for the 1939 film Babes in Arms and performed by Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney. Its best known performance was in the 1952 hit musical film Singin' in the Rain, where it was sung by Debbie Reynolds, Gene Kelly and Donald O'Connor. In 2004 the version in Singin' in the Rain finished at #72 on AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs survey of the top tunes in American cinema.

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"Tico-Tico no fubá" ("sparrow in the cornmeal", or, literally, "rufous-collared sparrow in the cornmeal") is a Brazilian choro song written by Zequinha de Abreu in 1917. Its original title was "Tico-Tico no farelo" ("sparrow in the bran"), but since Brazilian guitarist Américo Jacomino "Canhoto" (1889–1928) had a work with the same title, Abreu's work was given its present name in 1931, and sometime afterward Aloysio de Oliveira wrote the original Portuguese lyrics. Outside Brazil, the song reached its peak popularity in the 1940s, with successful recordings by Ethel Smith, The Andrews Sisters (with English-language lyrics by Ervin Drake), Carmen Miranda and others.

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Played here by Paco De Lucia