The Big Band Era

Song Number ONE: By 1943, the term "G. I." had supplanted the World War I "doughboy" as the slang term applied to the common soldier. The two letters stood for Government Issue which applied to everything in a soldier's life: his rifle, clothing, food, bed -- even the required attitude, so why not to the soldier himself. All this was captured in words and music by Johnny Mercer in this Number One Chart Record from Louis Jordan, oft referred to as the father of rhythm and blues, and his Tympany Five. Here Louis describes, "The G. I. Jive."

Song Number TWO: In 1942, American troops were landed in Northern Ireland. This provided the British with early evidence of the vast pool of fresh manpower about to come to their aid. The seemingly less fortunate situation of troops similarly landed in Iceland led to a sarcastically titled doggeral version titled: "Johnny Doughboy Froze His Nose In Iceland." The following much more cheering words and music written by Al Goodhart and Kay Twomey appeared in the film Johnny Doughboy. The tune was on the "Hit Parade" from May until August 1942, with charted recordings by six bands. The Kay Kyser version was the most popular. Here is Kay with a chorus featuring Harry Babbitt and the trumpet of Merwyn Bogue (Ishkabibble) playing "Johnny Doughboy Found A Rose In Ireland."

Song Number THREE: The U. S. savings bond campaign began on May 1, 1941, with sale of the first bond to President Franklin D. Roosevelt. By its end on January 3, 1946, the various campaigns had garnered over $185 billion to finance the war, check inflation and create a savings pool to support post-war prosperity. Over 85 million Americans had invested in War Bonds, in large part as a way to show their support of the men at war. The big bands contributed their time to these drives and many bands, in this case Jimmy Dorsey, with vocal by Bob Eberly and Helen O'Connell, lent their support by recording Irving Berlin's official song of the United States Treasury savings bond drive: "Any Bonds Today?."

Song Number FOUR: This 1942 offering by E. Y. "Yip" Harberg, Margery Cummings, and Burton Lane was a play not only on the name but also on the first notes of the military "last call" or "taps." Recorded by Tommy Dorsey with vocal by Frank Sinatra and the Pied Pipers, it was introduced by them in the film Ship Ahoy. This light comedy with Eleanor Powell and Red Skelton also introduced the Dorsey rouser, "I'll Take Tallulah," which referred, by the way, to Miss Powell's character in the movie and not the similarly named daughter of the late Speaker of the House of Representatives, William Bankhead. "The Last Call For Love."

Song Number FIVE: A somewhat more pleasant memory of the era was the "Sweater Girl." Curiously, when this phenomenon was immortalized in the motion picture of the same name, it starred Eddie Bracken and June Preisser, not Lana Turner, who had made the sweater famous. Moreover, it was Betty Jane Rhodes who introduced this song with words by Frank Loesser and music by Jule Styne . A Number One Chart Record for Harry James and Helen Forrest, it was also a big hit for Bing Crosby and Dinah Shore. It is easy to tell why when listening to "I Don't Want To Walk Without You."

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