Songs of the Depression: Boom, Bust & New Deal (1999)

About this title: Bear Family Records presents an 88-track anthology of what are now termed Depression Era phonograph recordings cut between May 31, 1929, and April 10, 1940. This stretch of time takes in the last few months of the U.S.A.'s already flawed and disintegrating prosperity, the devastating Wall Street crash of October 29, 1929, and the nation's agonizingly gradual economic recovery throughout the 1930s. Musically, this massive compilation maps the mainstream mingling of real jazz with the predominant dance band and pop vocal aesthetic of the decade. Even months before the day when, as visiting ... read more

Tracks:

1. Hittin' the Ceiling [Conrad/Goettler/Mit]
2. I'm in the Market for You [Hanley/McCarthy]
3. Happy Days Are Here Again [Yellen/Ager]
4. Song of the Bayou
5. Eddie Cantor's Tips on the Stock Market [Monologue]
6. A Cottage for Sale [Conley/Robison]
7. Get Happy [Arlen/Koehler]
8. Sweeping the Clouds Away [From: Paramount on Parade] [Coslow]
9. Laughing at Life [Kenny/Kenny/Todd/To]
10. It's a Great Life (If You Don't Weaken) [From: Playboy of Paris] [Robin/Chase/Whiting]
11. Cheer Up! Good Times Are Comin' [Klarges/Greer]
12. Cheer Up! Smile! Nertz! [Ballyhoo] [Portnoff/Portnoff]
13. Singing a Vagabond Song [From: Putting on the Ritz] [Burton/Messenheimer]
14. Son of the Sun [From: Luana] [Brennan/Friml]
15. Hallelujah, I'm a Bum [From Hallelujah I'm A Bum] [Rodgers/Hart]
16. Big City Blues [From: Fox Movietone Follies of 1929] [Conrad/Goettler/Mit]
17. There's a Tear for Every Smile in Hollywood [From: Showgirl in ...] [Green/Stept]
18. Ten Cents a Dance [Hart/Rodgers]
19. Cigarettes Cigars [From: Ziegfeld Follies of 1931] [Gordon/Revel]
20. Just a Gigolo [From: Doctor Cheer CBS Radio Transcription] [Casucci/Caesar/Will]
21. Love for Sale [From: The New Yorkers'] [Porter]
22. We Can Live on Love [Dubin/McHugh]
23. There's No Depression in Love [Yellen/Dougherty]
24. Now's the Time to Fall in Love [From: Palmy Days'] [Sherman/Lewis]
25. I'm an Unemployed Sweetheart [Monaco/Leslie/Washi]
26. I Got Five Dollars [From: America's Sweetheart'] [Rodgers/Hart]
27. I Found a Million Dollar Baby (In a Five and Ten Cent Store) [Dixon/Rose/Warren]
28. Last Dollar [Nichols]
29. Here It Is Monday and I've Still Got a Dollar [Sigler/Cleary]
30. Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams (And Dream Your Troubles Away) [Barris/Koehler/Moll]
31. Whistling in the Dark [Boretz/Suesse]
32. Dancing in the Dark [From: The Band Wagon] [Dietz/Schwartz]
33. Alone Together [From: Flying Colors] [Dietz/Schwartz]
34. Life Is Just a Bowl of Cherries [Excerpt from: Gems from: White, ...] [Brown/Henderson]
35. (We've Got To) Put That Sun Back in the Sky [Kahal/Meyer]
36. Shoo the Hoodoo Away [Snyder/Harris]
37. Whistle and Blow Your Blues Away [Lombardo/Young]
38. Headin' for Better Times [Tobias/Mencher]
39. Let's Have Another Cup of Coffee [From: Face the Music] [Berlin]
40. Sittin' on a Rubbish Can [Shawn/Schafer/Burke]

Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is further described below.