By the 1930’s, radio’s popularity had progressed so far that it remained a pinnacle of entertainment even as motion pictures started to dominate pop culture.

Radio and the movies worked hand in hand, with musicals popularizing radio songs and radio airplay popularizing the films. By this time, a significant level of sophistication became a primary ingredient in popular music. The crude songs that predated 1920 and the simple light fare of the previous decade all but evaporated as jazz morphed into big band swing, while for the first time, popular songwriters treated their work as an art form.

It was at this stage that ‘pop’ music became so nuanced that it grew into what we now refer to as ‘the great American songbook’. Most of these songs were recorded in multiple versions, often by extraordinarily popular and influential artists of the time, but with this show, we will attempt to display the songs as performed in their early, original versions by singers who may not be as well-remembered these days.

Featured tracks include:

Stormy Weather – Harold Arlen & Leo Reisman & his Orchestra

Jitterbug – Cab Calloway

I Only Have Eyes for You – Lew Sherwood

April in Paris – Freddy Martin

Smoke Gets in Your Eyes – Paul Whiteman

Let’s Fall in Love – Eddie Duchin

The Music Goes Round and Round – Edythe Wright

Cheek to Cheek – Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers

Let’s Dance – Benny Goodman

Just One of Those Things – Richard Himber

Life Is a Song – Ruth Etting

Swing Is Here – Gene Krupa

It’s a Sin to Tell a Lie – Fats Waller