The 8th May 2020 marks the 75th Anniversary of VE Day - Victory In Europe Day - when the Allied forces formally accepted the unconditional surrender of the armed forces of Nazi Germany, signalling the end of the war in Europe.. This 50-track 2-CD set brings together hit recordings from the USA and UK which were part of that soundtrack to the war effort, and most of which were big chart hits in the USA (the UK did not yet have a records sales chart). From emotional classics like Vera Lynn's We'll Meet Again and White Cliffs Of Dover through the swing hits of Glen Miller which kept people dancing through the dark times, to the songs of longing and the rousing exhortations of patriotic anthems, it captures the unique spirit of the times. It closes with the announcements of the victory by British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and U.S. President Harry S. Truman. Even for those who were not around at the time it's an evocative souvenir to commemorate a key moment in modern history.
3 Wish Me Luck As You Wave Me Goodbye - Gracie Fields
4 God Bless America - Kate Smith
5 I'll Be with You in Apple Blossom Time - Andrews Sisters with Vic Schoen & His Orch
6 Til Reveille - Kay Kyser & His Orchestra with Harry, Ginny, Jack & Max
7 Remember Pearl Harbor - Sammy Kaye
8 Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy - the Andrews Sisters
9 A String of Pearls - Glenn Miller & His Orchestra
10 The White Cliffs of Dover - Vera Lynn
11 I Don't Want to Walk Without You - Harry James & His Orchestra
12 Somebody Else Is Taking My Place - Benny Goodman & His Orchestra with Peggy Lee
13 We'll Be Singing Hallelujah (Marching Through Berlin) - Ethel Merman
14 Johnny Doughboy Found a Rose in Ireland - Guy Lombardo & His Royal Canadians
15 Just As Though You Were Here - Tommy Dorsey & His Orchestra with Frank Sinatra & the Pied Pipers
16 Don't Sit Under the Apple Tree (With Anyone Else But Me) - Glenn Miller & His Orchestra
17 He Wears a Pair of Silver Wings - Kay Kyser & His Orchestra
18 One Dozen Roses - Harry James & His Orchestra with Jimmy Saunders
19 This Is Worth Fighting for - Jimmy Dorsey Orch. with Bob Eberly
20 I Left My Heart at the Stage Door Canteen - Sammy Kaye & His Orchestra
21 When the Lights Go on Again (All Over the World) - Vaughn Monroe & His Orchestra
22 Der Fuehrer's Face - Spike Jones & His City Slickers
23 Praise the Lord & Pass the Ammunition - Kay Kyser & His Orchestra
24 For Me and My Gal - Judy Garland & Gene Kelly
25 You'll Never Know - Dick Haymes & the Song Spinners
- Disc 2 -
1 I've Heard That Song Before - Harry James & Helen Forrest
2 Don't Get Around Much Anymore - Ink Spots
3 I'll Be Home for Christmas - Bing Crosby
4 As Time Goes By - Rudy Vallee
5 Comin' in on a Wing and a Prayer - the Song Spinners
6 My Shining Hour - Glen Gray & the Casa Loma Orch. with Eugenie Baird
7 I'll Be Seeing You - Tommy Dorsey & His Orchestra with Frank Sinatra
8 Long Ago and Far Away - Dick Haymes & Helen Forrest
9 Vict'ry Polka - Bing Crosby & the Andrews Sisters
10 G.I. Jive - Louis Jordan & His Tympany Five
11 I'll Walk Alone - Dinah Shore
12 Goodnight, Wherever You Are - Russ Morgan & His Orch
13 It Had to Be You - Betty Hutton
14 Smoke on the Water - Red Foley
15 Lili Marlene - Anne Shelton
16 There'll Be a Hot Time in the Town of Berlin (When the Yanks Go - Bing Crosby & the Andrews Sisters
17 Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive - Johnny Mercer & the Pied Pipers
18 Sentimental Journey - Les Brown Orch. with Doris Day
19 Bell Bottom Trousers - Tony Pastor & His Orch. with Ruth McCullough
20 Till the End of Time - Perry Como
21 V-Day Stomp - Four Clefs
22 I Can't Begin to Tell You - Bing Crosby with Carmen Cavallero at the Piano
23 It's Been a Long Long Time - Harry James and His Orch. With Kitty Kallen
24 Announcement of Unconditional Surrender Ve Day - Winston Churchill
25 Harry S. Truman Announces Victory Over Germany 1945 - Harry S. Truman
The 8th May 2020 marks the 75th Anniversary of VE Day - Victory In Europe Day - when the Allied forces formally accepted the unconditional surrender of the armed forces of Nazi Germany, signalling the end of the war in Europe.. This 50-track 2-CD set brings together hit recordings from the USA and UK which were part of that soundtrack to the war effort, and most of which were big chart hits in the USA (the UK did not yet have a records sales chart). From emotional classics like Vera Lynn's We'll Meet Again and White Cliffs Of Dover through the swing hits of Glen Miller which kept people dancing through the dark times, to the songs of longing and the rousing exhortations of patriotic anthems, it captures the unique spirit of the times. It closes with the announcements of the victory by British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and U.S. President Harry S. Truman. Even for those who were not around at the time it's an evocative souvenir to commemorate a key moment in modern history.
