Acrobat's highly popular "America's Greatest Hits" series has so far focused on the 1950s and '60s, but there is a clear demand for collections which address earlier years, and so this collection starts at the very beginning of the 1940s with what was the very first year of the record sales charts. In July 1940, Billboard began to publish the "Best Selling Popular Retail Records" Top 10 on a weekly basis, and this collection comprises every record which appeared in that chart from July through to December of 1940. Inevitably, it includes records by a number of the top swing orchestras of the day including Glenn Miller, Tommy Dorsey, Artie Shaw and Charlie Barnet, along with their featured singers, notably Frank Sinatra's early hits with Tommy Dorsey, as well as hits by top vocalists like Bing Crosby, Judy Garland and Ella Fitzgerald. Alongside those are doowop records by Ink Spots, and some fine boogie-woogie hits as well, and the 47 titles featured make up a great-value 2-CD set which provide an entertaining snapshot of the dawn of the chart era. Once again, there are detailed background notes on every record in a 5,000 word booklet.
Track Listing
Disc 1:
- Tommy Dorsey & His Orch. with Frank Sinatra & The Pied Pipers - I'll Never Smile Again
- Jimmy Dorsey & His Orchestra with Bob Eberly - The Breeze And I
- Glenn Miller & His Orchestra with Ray Eberle - Imagination
- Kay Kyser &Â His Orchestra with Sully Mason & His Playmates - Playmates
- Glenn Miller & His Orchestra with Ray Eberle - Fools Rush In
- Charlie Barnet & His Orchestra with Mary Ann McCall - Where Was I'
- Glenn Miller & His Orch. - Pennsylvania 6-5000
- Bing Crosby with John Scott Trotter & His Orch. - Sierra Sue
- Mitchell Ayres & His Fashions In Music with Mary Ann Mercer - Make-Believe Island
- Glenn Miller & His Orchestra with Ray Eberle - The Nearness Of You
- Ink Spots - When The Swallows Come Back To Capistrano
- Artie Shaw & His Orchestra - Frenesi
- Judy Garland - I'm Nobody's Baby
- Glenn Miller & His Orchestra with Ray Eberle - Blueberry Hill
- Jimmy Dorsey & His Orchestra with Helen O'Connell - Six Lessons From Madame La Zonga
- Kate Smith - God Bless America
- Ink Spots - Maybe
- Erskine Hawkins and His Orchestra - Dolimite
- Bing Crosby With Dick McIntyre and His Harmony Hawaiians - Trade Winds
- Bing Crosby with John Scott Trotter & His Orch. - Only Forever
Disc 2:
- Will Bradley & His Orchestra feat. Ray McKinley & Freddie Slack - Beat Me Daddy (Eight To The Bar) Pt. 1
- Glenn Miller & His Orch. with Jack Lathrop - Crosstown
- Ink Spots - Whispering Grass (Don't Tell The Trees)
- Bob Chester & His Orchestra with Al Stuart - Practice Makes Perfect
- Ink Spots - We Three
- Charlie Barnet & His orch. - Pompton Turnpike
- Kay Kyser & His orch. with Ginny, Harry, Jack & Max - Ferry-Boat Serenade
- Tommy Dorsey & Frank Sinatra - Our Love Affair
- Glenn Miller & His Orchestra with Ray Eberle - The Call Of The Canyon
- Leo Reisman & His orch. with Sara Horn - Down Argentina Way
- Glenn Miller & His Orchestra with Ray Eberle - A Handful Of Stars
- Will Bradley & His Orchestra feat. Ray McKinley - Scrub Me Mama With A Boogie Beat
- Andrews Sisters with Vic Schoen & His Orch. - Ferry-Boat Serenade (La Piccinina)
- Glenn Miller & His Orchestra with Ray Eberle - A Nightingale Sang In Berkeley Square
- Will Bradley Trio with Ray McKinley - Down The Road A Piece
- Vaughn Monroe & His Orch. - There I Go
- Tommy Dorsey & His Orch. with Frank Sinatra & The Pied Pipers - Star Dust
- Ella Fitzgerald & Her Famous Orchestra - Five O'Clock Whistle
|
