The British reissue label Living Era presents 25 vintage popular recordings dating from the middle of the Second World War. Although each of these tunes was popular during the year 1943, the actual timeline covered by the recordings themselves extends from August 31, 1939 to May 9, 1944. As is typical of collections concentrating upon numbers of units sold, pop vocalists represent the greatest number of hits, closely followed by big bands and dance orchestras, with British entertainers in third place and Afro-Americans ...
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The British reissue label Living Era presents 25 vintage popular recordings dating from the middle of the Second World War. Although each of these tunes was popular during the year 1943, the actual timeline covered by the recordings themselves extends from August 31, 1939 to May 9, 1944. As is typical of collections concentrating upon numbers of units sold, pop vocalists represent the greatest number of hits, closely followed by big bands and dance orchestras, with British entertainers in third place and Afro-Americans relegated, one might say, to the back of the bus. Number one pop vocalists for 1943 included Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Hoagy Carmichael, Helen Forrest, Dinah Shore, Peggy Lee, Frances Langford, Bob Eberly, Kitty Kallen, Dick Haymes, the Mills Brothers and the Ink Spots. Bands that scored well with the dancing crowd were of course Glenn Miller and Benny Goodman, Duke Ellington, Jimmy Dorsey and Harry James. Fred Waring & His Pennsylvanians are heard performing a delightful version of "Brazil" that makes one wish that Waring had concentrated more upon instrumentals (Xavier Cugat-styled and otherwise) rather than becoming so morbidly attached to his Glee Club. Since Living Era is based in England, nearly every one of their "Hits" retrospectives includes a certain quantity of British nostalgia from the period in question. The examples included here are sweet and ultra-refined; Leslie "Hutch" Hutchinson sounds a lot like Noël Coward; Alfred Drake sings an air from Rodgers & Hammerstein's Oklahoma; Turner Layton chortles "Question and Answer," a sentimental setting of words by Samuel Taylor Coleridge; Richard Tauber tears out his own heart to serve it up steaming on a silver platter, and Anne Shelton attempts to out-"Marlene" Marlene Dietrich. One of the biggest successes of 1943 was Peggy Lee's rendition of "Why Don't You Do Right?" This record made the Caucasian chanteuse famous practically overnight. She closely based her performance on a record made only months earlier by Afro-American blues woman Lil Green. The song itself first materialized on a 1936 recording by Joe McCoy and the Harlem Hamfats titled "Weed Smoker's Dream." Needless to say, that record never made it to the Hit Parade. ~ arwulf arwulf, Rovi
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Add this copy of Hits of '43 to cart. $6.29, good condition, Sold by Wonder Book - Member ABAA/ILAB rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Frederick, MD, UNITED STATES, published 1995 by ASV/Living Era.