The Big Band Era

Song Number ONE: Benny Goodman carried his unmatched popularity into 1937. This Irving Berlin Song from the film On the Avenue topped the charts for three weeks beginning on January 30. Ten days before F. D. R. had been the first to take the Presidential inaugural oath under the Twentieth Amendment, which moved the date from March 4. The next record session would see the addition of trumpeter Harry James from Ben Pollack's band. Martha Tilton would join the band in August of 1937. The band's greatest days still lay ahead when Margaret McCrae sang about "This Year's Kisses."

Song Number TWO: Guy Lombardo topped the charts for five weeks beginning on March 13 with a number written by his brother Carmen and Edward Heyman. More on the Goodman band which on March 3 opened at the Paramount Theater in New York. By seven a.m the line stretched around the block. Additional police were called in for crowd control. By the third number at the morning show, fans were stomping in the aisles. At day's end, some 21,000 had plunked down their 35 cents to hear one of the five shows. Here the Lombardo Trio cries "Boo-Hoo."

Song Number THREE: In late April, while the Pan American Clipper was making the first commercial trans-Pacific flight to Hong Kong, this number by Nick and Charles Kenny and Norm Ellis topped the charts for three weeks. Teddy Wilson moonlighted leading groups from the Goodman band and from others. This time, using mostly members of the Duke Ellington band: Cootie Wilson-t, Johnny Hodges-as, Harry Carney-cl, Teddy Wilson-p, Allan Reuss-g, John Kirby -sb, and Cozy Cole -d, Teddy had a hit with Billie Holiday doing the vocal to "Carelessly."

Song Number FOUR: This next song topped the charts for two weeks in June with recordings by Shep Fields, Russ Morgan, and Eddy Duchin. Here is the next most popular version by Jimmie Lunceford. That month police smashed picket lines in Monroe, Michigan, while the Duke of Windsor married the woman for whom he had given up the British throne, and Hollywood mourned the death at twenty-six of Jean Harlow, the platinum blonde. In a real novelty romp by Cliff Friend and Dave Franklin, Sy Oliver lends the right touch to " The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down ."

Song Number FIVE: The year ended portentiously when on December 22 Japanese naval aircraft sank the U.S. gunboat Panay anchored in China's Yangtze River. Another portent lay in the top records at year's end, both of which belonged to Tommy Dorsey. This one was tops for seven weeks in October and November. If that weren't enough, another Dorsey hit, "The Dipsy Doodle," was the Number One Chart record for another six weeks at year's end.. This song owed its success to lyricist pro Bud Green who was called in to re-do a song with words and music by Dorsey friend, Michael Edwards. The song had languished in the Dorsey book and was about to be tossed out when Green was called in.. With a grabber for a first line, Jack Leonard and the quartet sing the year's most popular song " Once In A While."

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