"Long, Long Ago" is a song dealing with nostalgia, written in 1833 by English composer Thomas Haynes Bayly. Originally called "The Long Ago", its name was apparently changed by the editor Rufus Wilmot Griswold when it was first published, posthumously, in a Philadelphia magazine, along with a collection of other songs and poems by Bayly. The song was well received, and became one of the most popular songs in the United States in 1844.
The first popular recording of the song was that by Geraldine Farrar for the Victor Talking Machine Company in 1913. [1]
In 1939, the tune was given new words (revised slightly in 1941) and a bouncier tempo. It became the 1942 Glenn Miller hit "Don't Sit Under the Apple Tree (with Anyone Else but Me)".
"If I Give My Heart to You" is a popular song written by Jimmy Brewster, Jimmie Crane, and Al Jacobs. The most popular versions of the song were recorded by Doris Day and by Denise Lor; both charted in 1954.
"No, Not Much" is a popular song published in 1955. The music was written by Robert Allen Deitcher, the lyrics by Al Stillman. The most popular version was recorded by The Four Lads. It was one of a large number of Stillman-Allen compositions that were recorded by the quartet.
"Sentimental Me" is a popular song which was written by James T. Morehead and James Cassin and published in 1949.
"I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter" is a 1935 popular song with music by Fred E. Ahlert and lyrics by Joe Young. It has been recorded many times, and has become a standard of the Great American Songbook. It was popularized by Fats Waller, who recorded it in 1935 at the height of his fame.
"Heat Wave" is a popular song written by Irving Berlin for the 1933 musical As Thousands Cheer, and introduced in the show by Ethel Waters.
"Don't Take Your Love from Me" is a popular song written by Henry Nemo and published in 1941. Mildred Bailey first recorded this song in 1940 before publication. It was introduced that year by singer Joan Brooks.
"This Can't Be Love" is a show tune and a popular song from the 1938 Rodgers and Hart musical The Boys from Syracuse when it was sung by Eddie Albert and Marcy Westcott. The lyrics poke fun at the common depiction of love in popular songs as a host of malignant symptoms, saying, "This can't be love because I feel so well."
"It's the Talk of the Town" is a popular song written by Jerry Livingston, the lyrics by Al J. Neiburg and Marty Symes.
"South of the Border Down Mexico Way" is a popular song describing a trip to Mexico, written by Jimmy Kennedy and Michael Carr and published in 1939 for the film of the same name starring country star Gene Autry.
"You'd Be Surprised" is a song written by Irving Berlin in 1919 which Eddie Cantor interpolated it into Ziegfeld's Follies of 1919. Cantor soon recorded it and it became a major hit. Other popular versions in 1920 were by the All-Star Trio and by Irving Kaufman.
"Nobody's Sweetheart", also known as "Nobody's Sweetheart Now" and "You're Nobody's Sweetheart Now", is a popular song, written in 1924, with music by Billy Meyers and Elmer Schoebel, and lyrics by Gus Kahn and Ernie Erdman. The song is a jazz and pop standard.
"Isn't This a Lovely Day?" is a popular song written by Irving Berlin for the 1935 film Top Hat, where it was introduced by Fred Astaire in the scene where his and Ginger Rogers' characters are caught in a gazebo during a rainstorm. The lyric is an example of a song which turns a bad situation into a love song, a common style for Irving Berlin, as in I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm and Let's Have Another Cup of Coffee.
"Oh, How I Miss You Tonight" is a popular song, published in 1925, written by Benny Davis, Joe Burke, and Mark Fisher. Popular recordings of the song in 1925 were by Ben Selvin, Benson Orchestra of Chicago, Lewis James and Irving Kaufman.
"Here in My Arms" is a popular song published in 1925, written by Richard Rodgers with lyrics by Lorenz Hart.
"June in January" is a popular song with music by Ralph Rainger and lyrics by Leo Robin, published in 1934.
"Cabaret" is the title song of the 1966 musical of the same name, sung by the character Sally Bowles. It was composed by John Kander, with lyrics by Fred Ebb.
"Runnin' Wild" is a popular song first composed and recorded in 1922, written by Arthur Harrington Gibbs with lyrics by Joe Grey and Leo Wood.
"Paradise" is a 1931 song with music by Nacio Herb Brown and lyrics by Gordon Clifford. It was first sung by Pola Negri in RKO Pictures' 1932 film A Woman Commands, and has since been heard in many other films, including a memorable performance by Gloria Grahame, in the 1949 Nicholas Ray film A Woman's Secret.
"Then I'll Be Happy" is a jazz standard composed by Cliff Friend, with lyrics by Lew Brown and Sidney Clare. It was first published in 1925. A popular recording in 1926 was by Whispering Jack Smith.
"Love Is the Sweetest Thing" is a popular song written in 1932 by British band leader and singer Ray Noble. Using guest vocalist Al Bowlly, Noble's recording was a big hit on both sides of the Atlantic, bringing Noble his first American success. It was published by Francis, Day & Hunter Ltd. Like most compositions published in the period, its main refrain is preceded with what were then called "sectional verses" or "introductory verses" which are usually omitted from early recordings and modern performances.