50 Best Songs of the 1940s

The 50 Best Songs of the 1940s

Musical creativity was expanding at a rapid clip in the 1940s. Even though the industry at large was stunted due to World War II, cultural shifts across the world led to a more introspective point of view, which resulted in a decade filled with invention and individual artistic expression. As such, the Colin’s Review 50 Best Songs of the 1940s represents a diverse range of musicians: old and new, traditional and experimental, conservative and progressive.

Established genres underwent extreme transitions — as big band gave way to bebop, the language of jazz was rewritten by Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie; Delta blues reached a brand new audience when John Lee Hooker and Muddy Waters picked up electric guitars and plugged in to distorted amplifiers; country music became fully grown and fashionable thanks to the emergence of Hank Williams; and “popular” music reached a younger “pop” audience through the burgeoning career of Frank Sinatra. All this led to a significant turning point in 20^th century music.

And so, without further ado, here are the 50 Best Songs of the 1940s.

• #50 – 41
• #40 – 31
• #30 – 21
• #20 – 11
• #10 – 1