Various Artists
Songs That Won The War (4CD)
This 4-CD box set brings together 100 of the most popular and most enduring numbers from the dark years of World War II. Some are rousing and uplifting, even defiant, such as Wish Me Luck As You Wave Me Goodbye and Sing As We Go. Some are hand-on-heart patriotic (There’ll Always Be An England); some, like Beneath The Lights Of Home, are achingly nostalgic.
There are dance tunes and cool jazz, fun and sometimes cheeky humour ( The Trolley Song) and a willingness to find something to smile about even in the deprivations of wartime living and an unquenchable optimism. There’s plenty of romance – lovers together (A Nightingale Sang In Berkeley Square) and lovers separated ( Don’t Sit Under The Apple Tree). But most importantly, there is the hope that defined an era, expressed in those immortal words ‘There’ll be bluebirds over the white cliffs of Dover tomorrow, just you wait and see…’
CD 1
1. Wish Me Luck (As You Wave Me Goodbye), Gracie Fields
2. Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate The Positive, Bing Crosby, The Andrews Sisters, Vic Schoen & His Orchestra
3. The White Cliffs Of Dover, Bebe Daniels, Jay Wilbur and His Band
4. Comin' In On A Wing And A Prayer, Anne Shelton, Ambrose & His Orchestra
5. There'll Always Be An England, Sam Browne
6. Don't Sit Under The Apple Tree, Marion Hutton, Tex Beneke, The Modernaires, Glenn Miller & His Orchestra
7. When The Lights Go On Again, Vera Lynn
8. Kiss Me Goodnight Sergeant Major, Alan Breeze, Billy Cotton & His Band
9. The Trolley Song, Judy Garland, George Stoll & His Orchestra
10. Somewhere In France With You, Chick Henderson, Joe Loss
11. Chattanooga Choo Choo, Paula Kelly, Tex Beneke, The Modernaires, Glenn Miller & His Orchestra
12. When A Boy From Alabama Meets A Girl From Gundagai, Joy Nichols
13. People Will Say We're In Love, Bing Crosby, Trudy Erwin
14. Blue Skies Are Round The Corner, Denny Dennis, Ambrose & His Orchestra
15. Home, Gracie Fields
16. I Left My Heart At The Stage Door Canteen, Turner Layton
17. It's A Pair Of Wings For Me, Nat Gonella & His New Georgians
18. Blues In The Night, Jimmie Lunceford & His Orchestra
19. When That Man Is Dead And Gone, Al Bowlly, Jimmy Messene
20. F.D.R. Jones, Flanagan And Allen
21. Beneath The Lights Of Home, Deanna Durbin
22. Oh, Buddy I'm In Love, Stella Moya, Nat Gonella & His New Georgians
23. Take The "A" Train, Duke Ellington & His Orchestra
24. Elmer's Tune, Glenn Miller & His Orchestra
25. A Nightingale Sang In Berkeley Square, Leslie Hutchinson ('Hutch')
CD 2
1. Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy, The Andrews Sisters
2. Wings Over The Navy, Sam Browne, Lew Stone & His Band
3. A Lovely Way To Spend An Evening, Frank Sinatra
4. I'm Nobody's Baby, Oscar Rabin & His Band
5. On The Sunny Side Of The Street, The Sentimentalists, Tommy Dorsey & His Orchestra
6. Paper Doll, The Mills Brothers
7. Sing As We Go, Gracie Fields
8. Beer Barrel Polka (Roll Out The Barrel), The Guv’nor and the Boys, Leon Cortez & His Coster Pals
9. Our Sergeant Major, George Formby
10. All Alone In Vienna, Vera Lynn
11. Moonlight Serenade, Glenn Miller & His Orchestra
12. Down Forget-Me-Not Lane, Flanagan And Allen
13. You Are My Sunshine, Harry Roy, Marjorie Kingsley, Renee Lister
14. Ma I Miss Your Apple Pie, Sam Browne, Ambrose & His Orchestra
15. The Nearness of You, Leslie Hutchinson ('Hutch')
16. Here's To The Next Time, Henry Hall & His Orchestra
17. My Devotion, Julie Dawn, Eric Winstone & His Band
18. Frenesi, Artie Shaw & His Orchestra
19. Yes, My Darling Daughter, Dinah Shore
20. Moonlight Becomes You, Bing Crosby
21. You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To, Anne Shelton, Ambrose & His Orchestra
22. All Over The Place, Alan Kane
23. A String Of Pearls, Glenn Miller & His Orchestra
24. We Must All Stick Together, Cyril Grantham
25. Bless 'Em All, George Formby
CD 3
1. We'll Meet Again, Vera Lynn
2. They Can’t Black-Out The Moon, Sam Browne, Jay Wilbur and His Band
3. Kiss The Boys Goodbye, Anne Shelton, Ambrose & His Orchestra
4. As Time Goes By [Casablanca], Dooley Wilson
5. Why Don't You Do Right, Peggy Lee, Benny Goodman & His Orchestra
6. Run Rabbit Run, Flanagan And Allen
7. This is the Army, Mister Jones, Irving Berlin
8. I'll Never Smile Again, Joe Loss
9. He Wears A Pair Of Silver Wings, Dinah Shore
10. Somebody Else Is Taking My Place, Peggy Lee
11. A Brown Slouch Hat, Myree Parker
12. In The Mood, Glenn Miller & His Orchestra
13. I'm Sending My Blessings, Rita Williams, Ivy Benson and Her Girls Band
14. Long Ago (And Far Away), Archie Lewis, Geraldo And His Orchestra
15. Till The Lights Of London Shine Again, Chick Henderson
16. The Biggest Aspidistra In The World, Gracie Fields
17. I Fell In Love With An Airman, Tessie O'Shea
18. Amapola, Monte Rey
19. Saturday Night, Frank Sinatra
20. I'll Walk Alone, Mary Martin
21. Time On My Hands, Julie Dawn
22. Jingle Jangle Jingle, The Merry Macs
23. I've Heard That Song Before, Harry James & His Orchestra
24. I've Got Sixpence, Alan Kane
25. Songs the Tommies Sing, Sam Browne
CD 4
1. (We're Gonna Hang Out) The Washing On The Siegfried Line, Flanagan And Allen
2. Praise The Lord And Pass The Ammunition, Harry Kaye
3. Heart Of Gold, Vera Lynn
4. My Prayer, Chick Henderson, Joe Loss & His Band
5. The Very Thought Of You, Al Bowlly, Ray Noble & His Orchestra
6. I've Got A Gal In Kalamazoo, The Andrews Sisters
7. Lili Marlene, Marlene Dietrich
8. This Is Worth Fighting For, Leslie Hutchinson ('Hutch')
9. Pistol Packin' Mama, Bing Crosby, The Andrews Sisters
10. If You Were The Only Girl In The World, Anne Ziegler, Webster Booth
11. Is ’E An Aussie, Lizzie, Is ’E?, Flotsam And Jetsam
12. Adolf, Sam Browne
13. Der Fuehrer’s Face, Carl Grayson
14. It Had To Be You, Billy Ternent & His Band
15. It's A Lovely Day Tomorrow, Al Bowlly
16. It's Foolish But It's Fun, Deanna Durbin
17. Juke Box Saturday Night, Various Artists, Marion Hutton, Tex Beneke, The Modernaires, Glenn Miller & His Orchestra
18. Oh Johnny, Oh Johnny, Oh, Harry Roy’s Tiger Ragamuffins
19. Stardust, Artie Shaw & His Orchestra
20. Ev'ry Night About This Time, Beryl Davis, Geraldo And His Orchestra
21. I Don't Want To Walk Without You, Celia Lipton
22. I'll Get By, Dick Haymes
23. Dear Mom, Swing & Sway with Sammy Kaye
24. The Last Time I Saw Paris, Tony Martin, Victor Young & His Orchestra
25. Wishing Will Make It So, Vera Lynn
