Where does one begin a discussion of the popular music of the 1930s? First, we must acknowledge exactly what the subject is. Really, we are discussing popular popular music. That is to say, we are not only discussing music that was intended for mass consumption or the music that the most people liked, but both. The first four entries for each year were among the biggest hits of that year. The fifth song for each year enjoyed marginal success within a particular ethnic or regional group. The scholar is invited to consider why these songs may not have enjoyed mainstream success. Is it because the song is inherently different, or does its similarity suggest that there were other

What do these songs have in common, in addition to popularity? Most of these songs are jazz of some sort. That is to say, most of these songs were performed by jazz bands, though mostly they play a jazz that has been stripped of improvisation. These lists are dominated by pop songs that were produced by the songmakers of "Tin Pan Alley." Musicians and vocalists then breathe life into the songs by jazzing them up. It proved to be a successful formula. Of course, the presence of songs that go against this formula prove that there was room diversity.

This project will tell a great deal about what was going on within the popular music industry in the years between 1930 and 1939. The corpus that this project displays is an excellent cross-section. However, as one finds in any compilation, there are limitations. Certain variables, such as the availability of particular songs or the work of particular artists, as well as some difficult editiorial decisions, have kept some very successful artists out of this compilation. Eddy Duchin, Paul Whiteman, Glenn Miller, Hal Kemp, Shep Fields, Jimmy Dorsey, Glen Gray, Wayne King, and the Boswell Sisters are among artists who were very popular throughout the decade but did not make it into this compilation. In some cases, omission is due to the fact that an artist may have been consistantly successful without ever notching one of the very top hits in any given year.

One may gather that many of these songs were popular largely due to their eccentricity. Some of the hits employ foreign words: "El Manicero" by Don Azpiazu" and "Bei Mir Bist Du Shön" by the Andrews Sisters. Others are full of nonsense: "The Dipsy Doodle" by Edythe Wright and Tommy Dorsey and "Three Little Fishies" by Kay Kyser. At first blush we may be tempted to refer to these as novelty songs.

However, one soon realizes that the real novelty here is the technology. It was novel at the time to have music playing from a radio or phonograph. The technology brought University of Maine college boys to Alabama and it brought Harlem to Illinois in very much the same way that Edward R. Murrow brought London to America.

Finally, we must recognize exactly what we are doing. Many of us would shudder to think of the conclucions that, decades later, scholars would draw about us by studying Britney Speaars and Ricky Martin. While hyperbole must still be avoided, acknowledge the differences in the recording industry. Seventy years ago popular music was still designed for adults; or, more accurately, it was intended to be consumed by everyone. In the 1950s the Rock 'n' Roll era ushered in the concept that the primary audience for popular music was young people. Today, MTV has no concern for the over 25 demographic. It is safe to assume, however, that Bing Crosby, Rudy Vallee, and Ella Fitzgerald appealed about equally to teens, young adults, and their parents.