Various Artists - Songs That Got Us Through WWII

I purchased the songs of WWII CD for my 84 yr old Dad's birthday . . . he and my mother are both enjoying it so much that it's obvious it was a great choice. They told me that they even loaned it to their neighbor to listen to, but made sure he knew they expected it back the next day. Now instead of having the radio or TV on (both of which have little to offer for their age group), they are listening to "THEIR" music in the afternoons.

This excellent album contains eighteen songs that were popular during the WW2 years. The album starts with that well-known hit Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy (performed by The Andrews Sisters), and then moves between jazzy hits (such as G.I. Jive and Yours). I really enjoyed hearing again some of the songs that used to be so close to my father's heart, including Long Ago (And Far Away) and The White Cliffs of Dover.

I must say that I found this to be a very good album. I miss my GI father, who passed away a year ago, and I felt like I captured a little piece of him when I listened to the music he loved all those years ago. So, if you like that great Big Band sound, or want to get a glimpse into the world of WW2, then get this album. I highly recommend it!

Purchased to load onto an MP3 for an older person as a gift. Recipient very pleased

A good CD collection of songs from the 4o's. Recomend this CD for WWII buffs and lovers of songs form the 40's!

I purchased this CD for my Grandmother's Eight-first birthday party. Her family and friends really enjoyed listening to songs from their younger years. It was a big hit. I would highly recommend this CD based on the reactions of those who lived during WWII.

I purchased this because the audio casette (a five star rating) I've had for years was deteriorating. There are songs on this that weren't on the casette, which normally would be a bonus. Regrettably, I have found these songs superfluous and a tad annoying (which is why the rating for the CD is three stars - yes they are that "bad"). The core songs are among the best single collection of WWII songs I've ever some across and you can skip past the others.

This collection has many of the standards from the era. Being of the early baby boom generation, these are songs of my parent's generation. Gave a copy to my mom who could reminisce with these original classics. We also bought one and enjoy the songs, the quality of the recordings and also remembering old songs heard in our childhood.

This CD was received promptly and in great condition. Lots of great songs from WWII era.

This is a truly enjoyable, representative collection of songs heard during the second world war. Very reminiscent, and a real listening pleasure. The album includes a lovely ten-page booklet summarizing the meaning of and need for music during that time, including an overview of the performing groups/vocalists. Wonderful!

We played this CD at a family reunion honoring our elders (who either fought in WWII or were married to those who fought). It was a hit. The tunes ranged from bouncy to sentimental, but all were enjoyable.

i was born in 1961, but like the geeky audiophile that i am, i have eagerly dug into all the decades that have produced recorded music. i always thought that the forties were one of the weaker decades out there when it comes to sonic delights. so why do i love the two volumes of "songs that got us through wwii" so much? rhino records has a lot to do with it. as all audiophiles of the cd age now, rhino is one of the best outfits around when it comes to compilations of music. on these 2 wonderful discs from the forties, they have done it again. pure pleasure is to be had here. one drifts back to another time, across decades, to experience the popular songs of another american culture. this is a perfect introduction to that decade for anyone. having heard these two volumes, i can't wait to give the forties another chance. i am being won over, i think. thanks rhino.

When my mother heard this CD that I played on a recent road trip, she sang along with every one! She loved it so much that I bought one for her, plus the second one in the set. The selections are great (variety of songs and artists) and recording quality very good considering a lot of these were recorded 60 years ago. This is a great CD for anyone over 50 who grew up with this music or listened to their parents play it.

The songs on this CD are the songs I loved listening & singing to when I

was a young teen. Wonderful CD!!!

World War II was the most catastrophic in history. Fifty-five million people were killed in just five years. Music had the power to make people feel better even when life was this rough; and this CD proves it.

The CD starts on a strong upbeat note with The Andrews Sisters belting out "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy." Vic Schoen and his orchestra perform the musical arrangement which packs a big punch! I like this song for its "swing" feel and its playfulness at the same time.

The next song, "I'll Be Seeing You," switches right away to the sadder aspects of war. This classic tearjerker song deals with the pain two lovers or spouses experience when one must go to war. Frank Sinatra sings this beautifully. Other songs that deal with the pain and stress of war include "Don't Get Around Much Anymore" performed flawlessly by Duke Ellington and his Orchestra; "I'll Walk Alone" by Martha Tilton and "I Don't Want To Walk Without You" sung by Helen Forrest with Harry James and his Orchestra.

The CD also gives us songs that express hope for a quick end to the war so that a sense of normalcy can return. I love the beautiful "When The Lights Go On (All Over The World)" and "(There'll Be Bluebirds Over) The White Cliffs Of Dover." These are truly classic pop vocals.

"G.I. Jive" and "Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate The Positive" are great upbeat songs, too. Terrific!

The CD has a solid ending with the touching "It's Been A Long, Long Time" sung by Kitty Kallen with Harry James and his Orchestra performing the musical arrangement.

The quality of the remastering could be better. Throughout the CD there is a lot of surface noise and it is obvious that these songs were recorded a very long while ago. However, in the liner notes there is a note that these recordings were remastered before superior technology was available to reduce surface noise. I considered giving this CD 4 1/2 stars for this but the songs are so good that this will be a five star review.

Bill Vera contributes an informative essay for the liner notes and there are several great photos of the artists on this CD. You also get the song credits and the date each hit was released. Excellent!

Overall, this is a great CD for people who love American pop classics from the World War II era and big band vocals in general. I highly recommend this CD; and if you like it then I suggest you try volume two of Songs That Got Us Through World War II. May you enjoy this nostalgic CD as much as I did!

SMILE

a surprising delight. the fuzziness of the technology that these gems were originally recorded is not too distracting. I found myself singing along. if you like nostalgic music you will fully enjoy this offering.

I love this CD! It has all those great romantic songs from the 40's era that are so popular.

There is a good variety of "World War II" popular songs by several artists. Some, like the song "Idaho" are not readily found in other collections.

I purchased this as a Christmas gift forr my 80 year old mother...............she absolutely LOVED it!!!!

Rhino has done an excellent job with this collection. This disc was one of my dad's & came to me after his passing, but I've been startled by how much I truly enjoy it. The Andrews Sisters' "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" has long been familiar to me, particularly with the Bette Midler cover that updated the tune. The original pops out joyfully "playing reverie 8 to the bar." Frank Sinatra's voice was in its prime when he sang with Tommy Dorsey & he does sound magnificent on the dreamy "I'll Be Seeing You." Duke Ellington's "Don't Get Around Much Anymore" is a swinging delight from 1943. (I can picture my mom & dad walking down the isle of the chapel that year!) The Mills Brothers were always some of my dad's favorites & I can see why on the touching slow song "Till Then." With our soldiers currently over in Iraq & Afghanistan, the universality of "When the Lights Go On Again (All Over the World)" really struck me. Vaughn Monroe's vocals may sound a bit formal for modern ears, but the melody & sentiment are quite moving. No, we don't have to turn out our lights because of potential air raids as they did in Europe, but we can certainly hope for peace in parts of the world where we daily see civilians being targeted. "Ac-cent-tchu-ate the Positive" by Johnny Mercer is one of those songs I heard sung on many car trips as a child, its philosophy often being quoted at trying times. Louis Armstrong's "I Wonder" is a gorgeous melody with Louis' vocals packing an emotional wallop. Les Brown's "Sentimental Journey" is such a well-known classic melody that this 1945 recording is one that seems to sum up an era. I've been struck by how modern Peggy Lee's phrasing seems to me. While the musical style of "Waiting for the Train to Come In" certainly speaks to 1945, her lovely vocals seem timeless. This collection by Rhino is one I will cherish, not only for my own personal "Sentimental Journey" but because the music still speaks to us today! Enjoy!

No attempt to clean up the pops and scratches. Cleaner sounding CDs are 40's Hits - Great Records of the Decade and Those Were Our Songs: Music of World War II.

Here it is! I was just a little kid when the 2nd WW was going on, but our radio played at least 12 hours a day, and these songs are the ones I remember hearing all the time. The title is absolutely "right on". They are the songs that got us through.In my family we had 3 men in the service, including my father. So songs like the classic, I'll Be Seeing You by Sinatra & Dorsey, and Till Then, by The Mills Brothers were especially poignant for my mother & married sisters whose husbands were overseas. People in my age group and older who enjoy nostalgia, as I do will find themselves taken back to those "scary & yet exciting" days of what was hoped to be the final war. I'll be giving those memories to several people on my Christmas list this year.

It hits you how long ago World War II was when you hear how young Frank Sinatra sounds singing "I'll Be Seeing You" with Tommy Dorsey & His Orchestra. "Songs That Got Us Through WW2" actually begins with a song that came out at the start of 1941, "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" by the Andrews Sisters. The mix here is between songs that were obviously written for the war, such as "When the Lights Go On Again (All Over the World)", "(There'll Be Bluebirds Over) the White Cliffs of Cover" and "Comin' in on a Wing and a Prayer," and those that came to capture the emotions of the time, like "Sentimental Journey,""Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive," and the aforementioned "I'll Be Seeing You." Most of us will recognize vocalists like Peggy Lee and Doris Day, but for me the pair that stand out in this collection are Johnny Mercer, who sings a couple of his own complications including "G.I. Jive" and Jo Stafford, a singer's singer that I have enjoyed discovering in various music collections from the Forties and Fifties. This album provides exactly what it promises, some of the most prominent songs the greatest generation listened to during the war years. There is a second volume of songs from this period, but this is the much stronger collection of the two, although that there is really no reason not to have both.