The Yearly GELT's TOP 1940

Joan Fontaine & Judith Anderson in Rebecca (Alfred Hitchcock, 1940)

Artist of the Year : Frank SINATRA

 Although pampered by his Italian-born parents, the young Francis was anyhow a troublesome boy. Out-of- middle school owing to his bad behavior, he was even arrested still minor together with a married woman, what in that time constituted an offence.

 The fact of missing his lessons had however no effect on his decision to launch into a musical career. He learned by himself to play ukulele whereas his voice already led to foresee real singing abilities. His models were, as for young people of his generation, Bing Crosby and Rudy Vallee. By drawing inspiration from their style, he began performing at night in a bar of Hoboken while working the daytime in a factory or as newspaper boy.

  In 1935, his mother reached to make him hire in a vocal group of the city, the Three Flashes, but despite a first radio hit, he quickly gave up and went back home. His mother picked him up once again a job as waiter at the Rustic Cabin, a big restaurant in Englewood Cliffs (NJ) where he got especially the advantage to liven evenings up.

  He was about to marry Nancy Barbato, the love of his life, when he got pointed out by trumpeter Harry James who attended the place. This one was precisely forming his own band and impressed by the young singer’s talent, he made him sign a first contract in June, 1939 for a series of recordings in Brunswick studios. Sales remained however confidential.

 While performing in November at the Palm House, Chicago, Frank Sinatra met Tommy Dorsey who suggested immediately to hire him to replace his vocalist Jack Leonard, eager to launch into solo career. He did not delay to grab the opportunity and started performing with the band on January 26th, 1940 in Rockford (IL). A particularly prolific year with not less than 40 recorded tracks was soon to follow.

Song of the Year : Time On My Hands performed by Billie Holiday

Music: Vincent Youmans /Lyrics : Harold Adamson & Mack Gordon

It will never enough be said how much Billie Holiday was influential on jazz song. She built at first her musical personality from Bessie Smith, admired for her ability to focus attention, but quickly asserted herself by the unmatched tone of her voice and the way she made the lyrics her own. She got for that rid of the supporting role usually assigned to vocalists by the bandleaders to become prominent on stage.

She also used the microphone to tighten intimate atmosphere, allowing her to strengthen emotion, adding content to the style. She achieved her singer's status by performing as an actress in a drama that she shared, through her voice, with the public.

#	Artist	Title	CT	VIDEO
1	Charlie Barnet	Where Was I feat. Mary Ann  McCall  (Al Dubin)
2	Benny Goodman	How High The Moon feat. Helen  Forrest  (Morgan Lewis/Nancy Hamilton)
3	Billie Holiday	Time On My Hands  (Vicent Youmans/Mack Gordon/Harold  Adamson)
4	Jimmy Dorsey	The Breeze And I feat. Bob Eberly  (Ernest Lecuona/Al Stillman)
5	Ella Fitzgerald & Her  Famous Orchestra	Baby, Won't You Please Come  Home  (Charles Warfield/Clarence Williams)
6	Artie Shaw	Whispers In The Night feat. Anita  Boyer
7	Glenn Miller	A Nightingale Sang In Berkeley  Square feat. Ray Eberle  (Eric Mashwitz/Manning Sherwin)
8	The Andrews Sisters	Beat Me Daddy Eight To The Bar  (Don Raye/Ray McKinley)
9	Jimmie Lunceford	That's Your Red Wagon feat. The  Dandridge Sisters  (Don Raye/Gene DePaul/Richard M. Jones)
10	Bing Crosby	The Moon Comes Over Madison  Square  (Abe Lyman/Arthur Freed/Gus Arnheim)
11	Tommy Dorsey	I'll Never Smile Again feat. Frank  Sinatra &The Pied Pipers  (Ruth Lowe)
12	Benny Goodman	Darn That Dream feat. Mildred  Bailey  (Eddy DeLange/Jimmy Van Heusen)
13	Glenn Miller & His Orchestra	Shake Down The Stars feat. Ray  Eberle  (Eddie Delange/Jimmy Van Heusen)
14	Dinah Shore	Yes, My Darling Daughter  (Jack Lawrence)
15	Cliff Edwards	When You Wish Upon A Star  (Leigh Harline/Ned Washington)
16	Jimmy Dorsey	Amapola feat Helen O'Connell &  Bob Eberly  (Joseph LaCalle)
17	Bing Crosby	Only Forever  (James V. Monaco/Johnny Burke)
18	Charlie Barnet	Six Lessons For Mme  LaZonga feat. Mary Ann McCall  (James V. Monaco/Charles Newman)
19	Gene Krupa	Moments In The Moonlight feat.  Edward Dulany  (Al Hoffman/Irving Gordon/Richard  Himber)
20	Louis Armstrong & The Mills  Brothers	Marie  (Irving Berlin)
21	Ella Fitzgerald & Her  Famous Orchestra	At The Starlit Hour  (Mitchell Parish/Peter De Rose)
22	Jimmie Lunceford	Watcha Know Joe feat. Trummy  Young  (Virgil Stamps/Luther G. Presley)
23	Billie Holiday	I'm Pulling Through  (Arthur Herzog, Jr./Irene Kitchings)
24	Glenn Miller	Give a Little Whistle feat. Marion  Hutton  (Leigh Harline/Ned Washington)
25	The Andrews Sisters	Ferryboat Serenade  (La Piccinina)
26	Tommy Dorsey	Imagination feat Frank Sinatra  (James Van Heusen/Johnny Burke)
27	Judy Garland	I'm Nobody's Baby  (Milton Ager/Benny Davis/Lester Santly)
28	Glenn Miller	Fools Rush In feat. Ray Eberle  (Johnny Mercer/Rube Bloom)
29	Maxine Sullivan	The Hour Of Parting (Gus Kahn/Mischa Spoliansky)
30	Fats Waller	Tain't Nobody's Biz-Ness If I Do  (Clarence Williams/Percy Grainger/Robert  Prince)
31	The Ink Spots	When The Swallows Come Back To  Capistrano  (Leon Rene)
32	The Andrews Sisters	Rhumboogie  (Don Raye/Hughie Prince)
33	Charlie Barnet	Thank Your Stars feat. Mary Ann  McCall  (Abner Silver/Harold Adamson)
34	Cab Calloway	The Worker's Train  (Arthur Shaftel/Cab Calloway/Sunny Kylar)
35	Glenn Miller	Boog It feat. Marion Hutton  (Buck Ram/Cab Calloway/Jack Palmer)
36	Eddie Howard	Wrap our Troubles In Dreams  (Harry Barris/Ted Koehler/Billy Moll)
37	Kay Kyser	Like The Fella Once Said feat.  Sully Mason, Harry Babbitt,  Ginny  Simms & Chorus  (Jimmy McHugh/Johnny Mercer)
38	Tommy Dorsey	Love Lies feat. Frank Sinatra  (Carl Sigman/Joseph Meyer/Ralph Freed)
39	Artie Shaw	Gloomy Sunday feat. Pauline  Byrne  (Laslo Javor/Reszö Seres/Sam M. Lewis)
40	Vaughn Monroe	There I Go  (E.B. Wallace)