Top 100 Songs Of The 30s

A Color Photo of a Young Bing Crosby
A Color Photo of a Young Bing Crosby

Are you a big fan of the music of the 30’s? If you are you have come to the right place. The top 100 songs of the 30’s will provide you with a listing of the greatest hits from this decade 1930-1939.

The biggest item in the news was the deep depression everyone was experiencing through the United States and the world as many people were out of work. The songs in this era were produced on 78 RPM records which cost about 35 cents at your local store.

However, people were listening to the radio and the music during this period is just marvelous. Many new artists came on the scene like Glenn Miller, Benny Goodman, Bing Crosby, Tommy Dorsey and Jimmy Dorsey plus many others.

The songs were selected using the following criteria:

  • The highest peak position
  • Number of weeks at the peak position
  • Number of weeks on the charts
  • Additional ties broken alphabetically by artist

In unrelated news, now there is a way to preserve your vinyl records and convert them to the CD format. Click here for more information.

Romantic Songs of the 30s
Romantic Songs of the 30s

Interesting Facts About This Era

  • A total of 211 songs reached the coveted #1 peak position in this era.
  • To make this list, the song had to peak at #1 and hold that position for a minimum of 3 weeks.
  • The year of 1937 had the most charted songs with 15.
  • Bing Crosby had the most charted songs with 11 and Guy Lambardo came in second with 10.
  • The biggest selling record of this decade was “Silent Night” by Bing Crosby with 7 million records sold.
  • The song “The Peanut Vendor” by Don Azpiazu holds the longevity title by staying on the charts for 28 weeks.
  • The most recorded song for this decade was “Body And Soul“.
  • For a song to reach the top ten, it had to hold the #1 position for a minimum of 8 weeks.
  • For a song to reach the top 40, it had to hold the #1 position for 5 weeks.
  • In 1938, Ella Fitzgerald’s A Tisket, A Tasket, Will Glahe’s Beer Barrel Polka, and Artie Shaw’s “Begin the Beguine” are the first records to sell over 300,000 copies in ten years with all three reaching the million mark.

The Top 100 Songs 1930-1939

The listing of the top 100 songs will be the title, artist, peak weeks and year of release. Songs with an [I] indicates an instrumental hit.

Duke Ellington 78rpm
Duke Ellington 78rpm

Rank     Title/Artist/Peak Weeks()/Year of Release

  1. Cheek To Cheek / Fred Astaire (11) 1935
  2. Sweet Leilani / Bing Crosby (10) 1937
  3. In A Shanty In Old Shanty Town / Ted Lewis & His Band (10) 1932
  4. Stein Song / Rudy Vallee (10) 1930
  5. A-Tisket, A Tasket / Ella Fitzgerald (10) 1938
  6. Night And Day / Fred Astaire (10) 1932
  7. Pennies From Heaven / Bing Crosby (10) 1936
  8. The Last Round-Up / George Olsen (9) 1933
  9. Deep Purple / Larry Clinton (9) 1939
  10. Stormy Weather / Leo Reisman (8)  1933
  11. My Reverie / Larry Clinton (8) 1938
  12. Scatter-Brain / Frankie Masters (8) 1939
  13. The Peanut Vendor / Don Azpiazu (7) 1931
  14. Isle Of Capri / Ray Noble (7) 1935
  15. Over The Rainbow / Glenn Miller (7) 1939
  16. Good Night, Sweetheart / Wayne King (7) 1931
  17. Once In A While / Tommy Dorsey (7) 1937
  18. June In January / Bing Crosby (7) 1934
  19. Dancing With Tears In My Eyes / Nat Shilkret (7) 1930
  20. Music, Mistro, Please / Tommy Dorsey (6) 1938
  21. Begin The Beguine [I] / Artie Shaw (6) 1938
  22. The Way You Look Tonight / Fred Astaire (6) 1936
  23. Paradise / Leo Reisman (6) 1932
  24. Please / Bing Crosby (6) 1932
  25. The Dipsy Doodle / Tommy Dorsey (6) 1937
  26. The Glory Of Love / Benny Goodman (6) 1936
  27. Love In Bloom / Bing Crosby (6) 1934
  28. Smoke Gets In Your Eyes / Paul Whiteman (6) 1934
  29. Body And Soul / Paul Whiteman (6) 1930
  30. Alone / Tommy Dorsey (6) 1936
  31. Sweet And Lovely / Gus Arnheim (6) 1931
  32. Ti-Pi-Pin / Hoarce Heidt (6) 1938
  33. Goody-Goody / Benny Goodman (6) 1936
  34. Little White Lies / Fred Waring (6) 1930
  35. South Of The Border / Shep Fields (5) 1939
  36. It Looks Like Rain In Cherry Blossom Lane / Guy Lombardo (5) 1937
  37. Love Is The Sweetest Thing / Ray Noble (5) 1933
  38. Cocktails For Two [I] / Duke Ellington (5) 1934
  39. And The Angels Sing / Benny Goodman (5) 1939
  40. The Very Thought Of You / Ray Noble (5) 1934
  41. I’ll String Along With You / Ted Fio Rito (5) 1934
  42. Jeepers Creepers / Al Donohue (5) 1939
  43. Don’t Be That Way [I] / Benny Goodman (5) 1938
  44. Boo Hoo / Guy Lombardo (5) 1937
  45. A Fine Romance / Fred Astaire (5) 1936
  46. Little Dutch Mill / Bing Crosby (5) 1934
  47. Let’s Fall In Love / Eddy Duchin (5) 1934
  48. Bei Mir Bist Du Schoen / Andrews Sisters (5) 1938
  49. The Music Goes Round And Round / Tommy Dorsey (5) 1936
  50. We Just Couldn’t Say Goodbye / Guy Lombardo (5) 1932
  51. When I Grow Too Old To Dream / Glen Gray (4) 1935
  52. Beer Barrel Polka / Will Glahe (4) 1939
  53. I’ve Got A Pockful Of Dreams / Bing Crosby (4) 1938
  54. Moon Love / Glenn Miller (4) 1939
  55. September In The Rain / Guy Lombardo (4) 1937
  56. Red Sails In The Sunset / Guy Lombardo (4) 1935
  57. Cry, Baby, Cry / Larry Clinton (4) 1938
  58. Wishing / Glenn Miller (4) 1939
  59. Thanks For The Memory / Shep Fields (4) 1938
  60. That Old Feeling / Shep Fields (4) 1937
  61. Lovely To Look At / Eddy Duchin (4) 1935
  62. You’re Getting To Be A Habit With Me / Bing Crosby (4) 1933
  63. Stairway To The Stars / Glenn Miller (4) 1939
  64. Goodnight, My Love / Benny Goodman (4) 1937
  65. Whispers In The Dark / Bob Crosby (4) 1937
  66. Tiger Rag / Mills Brothers (4) 1931
  67. Says My Heart / Red Norvo (4) 1938
  68. It’s A Sin To Tell A Lie / Fats Wailer (4) 1936
  69. Did I Remember? / Shep Fields (4) 1936
  70. Dream A Little Dream Of Me / Wayne King (4) 1931
  71. You’re Driving Me Crazy / Guy Lombardo (4) 1930
  72. The Moon Got In My Eyes / Bing Crosby (4) 1937
  73. I Saw Stars / Freddy Martin (4) 1934
  74. Lazybones / Ted Lewis & His Band (4) 1933
  75. Is It True What They Say About Dixie? / Jimmy Dorsey (4) 1936
  76. She’s A Latin From Manhattan / Victor Young (4) 1935
  77. One Night Of Love / Grace Moore (4) 1934
  78. Stars Fell On Alabama / Guy Lombardo (4) 1934
  79. This Year’s Kisses / Hal Kemp (4) 1937
  80. The Old Spinning Wheel / Ray Nobel (3) 1934
  81. I Let A Song Go By Without My Heart / Duke Ellington (3) 1938
  82. Love Walked In / Sammy Kaye (3) 1938
  83. A Sailboat In The Moonlight / Guy Lombardo (3) 1937
  84. I Won’t Dance / Eddy Duchin (3) 1935
  85. I’m In The Mood For Love / Little Jack Little (3) 1935
  86. In A Little Gypsy Tea Room / Bob Crosby (3) 1935
  87. Truckin’ / Fats Wailer (3) 1935
  88. Three Little Words / Duke Ellington (3) 1930
  89. Carelessly / Teddy Wilson (3) 1937
  90. A Melody From The Sky / Jan Garber (3) 1936
  91. Forty Second Street / Don Bestor (3) 1933
  92. Satan Takes A Holiday [I] / Tommy Dorsey (3) 1937
  93. Moon Over Miami / Eddy Duchin (3) 1936
  94. The Music Goes Round And Round / Riley Farley (3) 1936
  95. Stormy Weather / Ethel Waters (3) 1933
  96. By The River St. Marie / Guy Lombardo (3) 1931
  97. When It’s Springtime In The Rockies / Ben Selvin (3) 1930
  98. This Year’s Kisses / Benny Goodman (3) 1937
  99. The Man With The Mandolin / Glenn Miller (3) 1939
  100. Paradise / Guy Lombardo (3) 1932

Go back to the top 100 songs of all time.

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