Swanee

By George Gershwin & Irving Caesar
1919

Despite all his later accomplishments, this career-making hit for Gershwin would remain the biggest hit of his entire life. Written on a train ride with Caesar one New York afternoon as a parody of Stephen Foster's "Old Folks at Home", it was introduced in the Broadway revue Demi-Tasse. But it wasn't until the legendary Al Jolson heard it played by Gershwin at a party and incorporated it into his show Sinbad that it really took off. The song wound up selling over a million copies of sheet music, and Jolson's recording was number one for nine weeks. The money Gershwin made from it allowed him to leave Tin Pan Alley and focus on an illustrious Broadway career.

Lyrics:

I've been away from you a long time
I never thought I'd miss 'ya so
Somehow I feel, your love is real
Near you I wanna be.

The Birds are singing it is songtime
The banjos strumming soft and low
I know that you yearn for me too, Swanee you're calling me

Swanee - how I love ya, how I love ya 
My dear old Swanee. 
I'd give the world to be 
Among the folks in D-I-X-I-E-ven though my mammy's waiting for me,
Praying for me down by the Swanee. 
The folks up north will see me no more, when I get to that Swanee shore!

Recorded By:

Al Jolson
Judy Garland
Rufus Wainwright
The Muppets
The Temptations

Look for the Silver Lining

By Jerome Kern & B.G DeSylva
1919

Although originally written for the failed musical Zip Goes a Million, this charming early Jazz Age gem was revived in 1920 for the show Sally, in which it was properly introduced by Marilyn Miller. With a lilting melody and an uplifting lyric, it was a natural hit. The International Ladies Garment Workers Union would use it as the basis of their theme song, and it would later be embraced by modern TV viewers thanks to Chet Baker's rendition, which was often used as a theme on Turner Classic Movies.

Lyrics:

As I wash my dishes, I'll be following a plan
Til I see the brightness in every pot and pan
I am sure this point of view will ease the daily grind
So I'll keep repeating in my mind:

Look for the silver lining
Whenever a cloud appears in the blue
Remember, somewhere the sun is shining
And so the right thing to do is make it shine for you

A heart, full of joy and gladness
Will always banish sadness and strife
So always look for the silver lining
And try to find the sunny side of life

Recorded By:

Chet Baker
Aretha Franklin
Susannah McCorkle
Margaret Whiting
Judy Garland

Baby, Won't You Please Come Home?

By Charles Warfield & Clarence Williams
1919

This blues and jazz classic was not officially introduced until 1922, when it was first recorded by Eva Taylor wife of co-composer Williams. Ironically, Warfield would later dispute Williams' authorship, claiming to have written the song alone. It would be made a smash hit in 1923 by the Empress of the Blues herself, Bessie Smith. Truly evocative of an era.

Lyrics:

I've got the blues, I feel so lonely
I'll give the world if I could only
Make you understand
It surely would be grand
I'm gonna telephone my baby
Ask him won't you please come home
'Cause when you're gone, I'm worried all day long

Baby won't you please come home
Baby won't you please come home
I have tried in vain
Ever more to call your name

When you left you broke my heart
That will never make us part
Every hour in the day
You will hear me say
Baby won't you please come home?

Baby won't you please come home
Baby won't you please come home
Cause your mama's all alone
I have tried in vain
Never more to call your name

When you left you broke my heart
That will never make us part
Landlord gettin' worse, I've got to move May the first
Baby won't you please come home, I need money
Baby won't you please come home?

Recorded By:

Django Reinhardt
Louis Armstrong
Lionel Hampton
Sidney Bechet
Ray Charles

The Japanese Sandman

By Richard A. Whiting & Raymond B. Egan
1919

Did you know that this song single-handedly kicked off the modern phenomenon of popular music recording? It's true, and I only discovered it after researching the song, which I recently came across in the new Terry Gilliam film The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus. Apparently, prior to Paul Whiteman's introduction of the tune, basically only classical music and some local folk material was deemed worthy of recording for posterity. But this pop song became the first platinum record, and in so doing ushered in the notion that there was a viable market for recorded performances of pop songs. Prior to that, the main market for pop was in the sale of sheet music.

Lyrics:

Won't you stretch imagination for the moment and come with me
Let us hasten to a nation lying over the western sea
Hide behind the cherry blossoms here's a sight that will please your eyes
There's a baby with a lady of Japan singing lullabies
Night winds breath her sighs here's the Japanese

Just as silent as we came we'll leave the land of the painted fan
Wander lightly or you'll wake the little people of old Japan
May repose and pleasant dreaming be their share while the hours are small
Like an echo of the song I hear the Japanese Sandman
call new days near for all here's the Japanese

Sandman sneaking on with the dew just an old second hand man
He'll buy your old day from you
he will take every sorrow of the day that is through
and he'll give you tomorrow just to start a life anew
then you'll be a bit older in the dawn when you wake
and you'll be a bit bolder with the new day you make
here's the Japanese Sandman trade him silver for gold
just an old second hand man trading new days for old.

Recorded By:

The Andrew Sisters
Artie Shaw
Bix Beiderbecke
Django Reinhardt
Mandy Patinkin

Indian Summer

By Victor Herbert & Al Dubin
1919/1939

The reason for splitting up the dates on this song is that Herbert originally wrote the tune in 1919, but it remained an instrumental until 1939, when Dubin won a contest to decide who would get to add lyrics. It wasn't until then that the song became a standard, introduced by Glenn Miller's orchestra (Ray Eberle singer), and then shortly after taken to number by Tommy Dorsey's orchestra (Frank Sinatra singer). As a standard, it has normally been associated with big bands.

Lyrics:

Summer--
You old Indian summer.
You're the tear that comes after
June-time's laughter.
You see so many dreams that don't come true,
Dreams we fashioned when summertime was new.

You are here to watch over
Some heart that is broken
By a word that somebody
Left unspoken.
You're the ghost of a romance in June going astray,
Fading too soon, thats why I say
Farewell to you, Indian summer.

Recorded By:

Tony Bennett
Gene Krupa
Ella Fitzgerald
Sarah Vaughan
Django Reinhardt

Baby, Won't You Please Come Home?

By Clarence Williams & Charles Warfield
1919

It's believed that pianist Warfield was in actuality this song's sole composer, and Williams--as song publishers sometimes did--took partial credit in exchange for promoting the song. Although written in 1919, the earliest recorded version, to my knowledge, is the 1922 version by Williams' wife Eva Taylor. Bessie Smith, "Empress of the Blues", would make a hit of it the following year. It has since become a signature tune of the Roaring '20s.

Lyrics:

I've got the blues, I feel so lonely.
I'll give the world if I could only
Make you understand
It surely would be grand.
I'm gonna telephone my baby,
Ask him won't you please come home,
'Cause when you're gone, I'm worried all day long.

Baby, won't you please come home?
Baby, won't you please come home?
I have tried in vain
Nevermore to call your name.

When you left you broke my heart,
That will never make us part.
Every hour in the day,
You will hear me say,
Baby won't you please come home.

Recorded By:

The Mills Brothers
Wynton Marsalis
Stan Kenton
Frank Sinatra
Ray Charles