Songs of World War II

Few things defined the can-do spirit of America during WWII like its music. There was a song for everything, from keeping up spirits with the jumpin' beats and reveille swing of the Andrews Sisters and "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" to stirring patriotic fervor with Kate Smith's full-bodied take on "God Bless America" to daydreaming about romantic reunions to the Les Brown smash "Sentimental Journey," featuring a sweetly steamy vocal by a young up-and-comer named Doris Day.

March into Next Steps for more WWII musical memories.

When Irving Berlin sang "Oh, How I Hate to Get Up in the Morning," he scored an unofficial anthem for dog-tired servicemen — but the troops weren't the only ones working overtime, as the Four Vagabonds pointed out with their high-harmony ode to working women on the home front, "Rosie the Riveter." Even movie stars pitched in: German-born Marlene Dietrich toured tirelessly with the U.S.O., entertaining the troops of her adopted American homeland with a tender ballad adapted from her youth, "Lily Marlène."

For even more of the best WWII music, soldier on to Deep Cuts.

Before it was his TV theme song, Bob Hope sang "Thanks for the Memory" to U.S. servicemen over the radio airwaves and on his U.S.O. tours all over the world. Back at home the Andrews Sisters swore their undying devotion in the hit tearjerker "I'll Be with You in Apple Blossom Time." Comic bandleader Spike Jones yucked it up on "Sailor with the Navy Blue Eyes," while Gene Autry paid tribute with "Old Soldiers Never Die, They Just Fade Away." Even Southern bluesman Sonny Boy Williamson chimed in with a wailin' "Win the War Blues."

Before there was TV, there was the radio and the living room piano, and for Americans during the years of World War II music was more than just entertainment — it was a thread that helped weave together the fabric of America itself. Our Songs of World War II Essentials brings together the best of the wartime tunes that saw the U.S. through — songs like "I'll Be Seeing You" by Frank Sinatra with Tommy Dorsey & His Orchestra or Peggy Lee's "Waiting for the Train to Come In," which reminded the men overseas that a special someone was keeping the home fires burning. At home, citizens listened to Dick Hyman & Ruby Braff's reverent "America, the Beautiful" to fire up patriotic spirits. Even a Friday night dance came complete with all-American tunes, like Benny Goodman's "Bugle Call Rag."