“Listen to the music of the past and you will discover the secrets of history.”

This quote from renowned musician Duke Ellington captures the enduring charm of vintage sheet music from the 1930s. These decades-old pieces of paper hold more than just musical notes; they are remnants of a bygone era, each with its own unique story to tell.

From the jazzy rhythms of the Big Bands to the sentimental ballads of the Great Depression, these treasures offer a glimpse into the cultural zeitgeist of the time.

So please join me as we delve into the world of vintage sheet music covers from the 1930s, along with their corresponding songs.

1930s vintage sheet Music-"Hello Beautiful". Sheet Music Cover, 1931

Source: allposters.com

Note: This is the third post in my ‘Vintage Sheet Music Series’……

Disclosure: Some of the links on my blog from Etsy , eBay are Affiliate Links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.

NOTE: If you click on any of the items featured below and they are not available, don’t fret! Hit the search button and see what else is on the websites. There are 1000’s and 1000’s of items being listed daily.

Vintage Sheet Music from the 1930s

1931 “You Try Somebody Else ( We’ll Be Back Together Again)” by B.G. De Sylva, Lew Brown & Ray Henderson.

I love the illustration of the woman in early 1930s fashions.

1930s Vintage Sheet Music: 1931 "You Try Somebody Else", DeSylva Brown Henderson. The sheet music is featuring an illustration of a woman in 1930s fashions.

Source: Etsy-RicksVintagePlus

“You Try Somebody Else” – Guy Lombardo. Guy’s brother Carmen takes the vocal on a popular De Sylva-Brown-Henderson tune of 1931/32 (Video link).

Further Reading: Guy Lombardo-Canada’s Famous Big Band Leader

1930s (possibly 1936), “Running a Temperature” featuring an image of Ozzie Nelson (as in Ozzie & Harriet) and a mention of his orchestra who had successfully performed it.

1930s vintage sheet music for the song "Running a Temperature". The cover features an image of Ozzie Nelson and his orchestra who had performed the song.

Source: eBay

I cannot find the Ozzie Nelson version so here is one from Jimmie Lunceford & Orchestra (video link).

1939-”Scatter-Brain” featuring ‘Frankie Masters’ on the cover. I love the illustration of the woman being “scatterbrained”.

1930s Vintage Sheet Music: 1939 Scatter-Brain music by Keene-Bean and Frankie Master and illustration of a woman being "scatterbrained".

Source: AbeBooks

“Scatter-Brain” was the most popular song in the country as America was saying “Farewell 1930s–Hello 1940s!” and this was the top-selling version (video link).

1935 sheet music for “Home On The Range”, featured by Jackie Heller on the BBC – For Piano, Guitar, Hawaiian Guitar & Ukelele. Published by Calumet Music Co.

1935 Sheet Music "Home On The Range" - For Piano, Guitar, Hawaiian Guitar & Ukelele - Vintage 1930s Sheet Music

Source: Etsy-CuriousCatVintage

Bing Crosby sings ‘Home on the Range’ A Geffen Records Release; ℗ 1939 UMG Recordings, Inc. (Video Link)

1939-“Moonlight Serenade” by Glenn Miller. What a stunning illustration!

Fun Fact: I walked down the aisles to this song on my Wedding day.

1930s vintage sheet music for Moonlight Serenade by Glenn Miller in 1939 featuring an illustration of a woman in blue.

Source: Pinterest

1939 “Moonlight Serenade”-The iconic Miller theme, recorded on April 4th during the band’s third Bluebird session (video link).

1935-‘”The Wedding of Jack and Jill’. A wonderful cover art featuring Nursery Rhyme characters attending the wedding of Jack and Jill, also with a photo insert of Ben Bernie.

1930s vintage sheet music: 1935-'The Wedding of Jack and Jill'. A wonderful cover art featuring Nursery Rhyme characters attending the wedding of Jack and Jill, also with a photo insert of Ben Bernie.

Source: AbeBooks

Note: Ignore the image on the video, the song is for ‘The Wedding of Jack and Jill” (video link).

1930 Sheet Music “After All You’re All I’m After” by Charles Newman, Victor Young & Sid Lorraine featuring an illustration of a couple in a moonlight embrace.

1930 Sheet Music "After All You're All I'm After" by Charles Newman, Victor Young & Sid Lorraine - Vintage 1930s Sheet Music

Source: Etsy-CuriousCatVintage

“After All You’re All I’m After” 1930 (video link).

“Debutante Waltz” from 1934 – featuring the famous Arthur Murray on the cover as the “creator” of this dance.

Sadly I could not find the song for us to listen too, so we will just have to use our imaginations.

Further Reading: Time To Dance! Vintage Instructions To Get You Dancing In No Time

1930s vintage sheet music: Debutante Waltz from 1934 - featuring Arthur Murray on the Cover and 1930s fashions for evening.

Source: AbeBooks

1932- “I Only Want a Buddy – Not a Sweetheart” sheet music – featuring Maurie Stein on the cover.

I picked this cover because the song title made me giggle.

1930s vintage sheet music for "I only want a buddy not a sweetheart" from 1932.

Source:AbeBooks

1939-“I Only Want A Buddy Not a Sweetheart” the Eddy Howard version ft Dick Jurgens and his Orchestra (video link).

“Goody Goody” is a 1936 popular song composed by Matty Malneck, with lyrics by Johnny Mercer. On the cover is Mary Danis of the Enoch Light’s Orchestra.

My readers may also remember the Frankie Lymon hit version in 1957.

For your listening pleasure, I have added the 1936 song and the Frankie version for you to compare and enjoy (after the cover image).

1930s vintage sheet music: "Goody Goody" is a 1936 popular song composed by Matty Malneck, with lyrics by Johnny Mercer. On the cover is Mary Danis of the Enoch Light’s Orchestra.

Source: Etsy-TDVintageTreasures

A popular recording in 1936 of ‘Goody-Goody’ were by Benny Goodman and his Orchestra (with vocalist Helen Ward), heard below (video link).

Now here is the 1957 with Frankie Lymon featured on the Ed Sullivan show.

What was your favourite version? I personally like them both (video link).

I hope you enjoyed this fun post of design and music. I love doing posts like this because it helps me to discover songs I have never heard of before (and there were several!).

Question! What was your favourite cover or song (or both)? Share in the comments section below. l love hearing from my readers.

Thank you for dropping by!

Liz

I don’t know about you, but I love vintage sheet music from the 1920s thru to the 1940s because the imagery on the cover is always so eye catching. Even if you can’t play a single note, they make great artwork to hang on your wall and display. My plan with the few I own is to do just that, because they are just too beautiful to be kept closed up in an album.

For today’s post I have joined forces with Ottawa Vintage Dealer, PFTPAntiqueSales on Etsy to showcase some of their stunning collection of 1940s Vintage Sheet Music they have for sale in their shop (over 700!)

Let’s take a look at some of my favorite covers (I have also added video links to hear the tunes) and don’t forget to comment at the end what your favs were!

1941 Sheet Music "Daddy" by Bob Troup. — 1941 Sheet Music “Daddy” by Bob Troup

Disclosure: Some of the links on my blog from Etsy are Affiliate Links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.

NOTE: If you click on any of the items featured below and they are not available, don’t fret! Hit the search button and see what else is on Etsy.

Vintage Sheet Music from the 1940s

Sheet music from the musicals that were shown in movie theatres, were a popular purchase during the 1940s (so you are going to see a few in this post). Take home and sing / play your favorite song!

I love this tropical look for the 1942 Sheet Music, “Sing Me a Song of the Islands” from the movie with Betty Grable & Victor Mature.

Hear Betty Grable sing you to sleep below (Video Link for those viewing this via email).

I don’t know if there is any song that the Andrew Sisters sang that was not an instant hit. For instance, the sheet music for the 1941 song, “I’ll Be With You In Apple Blossom Time” went to # 5 in the US charts.

1941 Sheet Music "I'll Be With You In Apple Blossom Time" with the Andrews Sisters

Apple Blossom Time’ was said to put soldiers in tears. Here’s a clip of from that great Abbott & Costello 1941 movie ‘Buck Privates’ with Patty leading the sisters in the famous tune (Video Link).

1940 Sheet Music “Blueberry Hill” words and music by Al Lewis, Larry Stock, Vincent Rose.

“Blueberry Hill” is a popular song published in 1940, best remembered for its 1950s rock and roll version by Fats Domino. The music was written by Vincent Rose, the lyrics by Larry Stock and Al Lewis. It was recorded six times in 1940 (Source).

The first recording of Blueberry Hill featuring the Sammy Kaye Orchestra with vocals by Tommy Ryan, released on May 31, 1940 (Video Link).

And now here is the famous Fats Domino version (Video Link)! Which version did you like best?

I LOVE Glenn Miller and I LOVE a good “Moonlight Cocktail”, so this 1942 sheet music is perfect fit for me!

Fun fact about Liz…I walked down the aisle on my wedding day to ‘Moonlight Serenade” by Glenn Miller. I think it’s one of the most romantic songs on the planet!

1942 Sheet Music "Moonlight Cocktail" Introduced by Glenn Miller and his orchestra.

Glenn Miller & His Orchestra With Chorus – Moonlight Cocktail 1942 (Video Link).

1941 Sheet Music for “Bell Bottom Trousers”.

“Bell Bottom Trousers” is a reworking of a folksong “Rosemary Lane”. A sea shanty version has bawdy lyrics, but a clean version of the tune was written in 1944 for modern audiences by bandleader Moe Jaffe (Source).

Check out Guy Lombardo’s Version below (Video Link).

I have blogged about Ina Ray Hutton before because she is so darn fantastic! And here is the 1943 Sheet Music for”What’s the Good Word, Mr. Bluebird” with Ina Ray Hutton on the cover. Love it!

Further Reading: The Blonde Bombshell of Rhythm-Ina Ray Hutton

1943 Sheet Music for"What's the Good Word, Mr. Bluebird" with Ina Ray Hutton on the cover

Sadly, I could not find an Ina Ray version of this song (insert sad face), so here is Betty Bradley singing this fun little tune (Video link).

1942 Sheet Music “Cow Cow Boogie” From the Waltz Lantz Swing Symphony. This cover makes me giggle, it’s so darn cute!

Here is a version by Ella Mae Morse for your enjoyment (Video Link).

Further Reading: Women of the Big Band Era Everyone Should Know-PART 3

1945 sheet music for “It’s a Grand Night for Singing”, from Rodgers & Hammerstein’s “State Fair”.

Who else loves State Fair as much as me? I LOVE this movie so much and it was one of the reasons why I fell in love with 1940s fashions (they are so dreamy in this film).

1945 choice of sheet music from Rodgers & Hammerstein's "State Fair"

Enjoy hearing this beautiful song being sung in this clip from the movie (Video Link).

1946 Sheet Music “Shoo-Fly Pie and Apple Pan Dowdy” featured by Bert Pearl a CBC (Canadian Broadcast Corporation) Artist.

The reasons why I love this sheet music: First up, I love this song for Lindy Hopping too. It’s a cute and fun song to play around on the dance floor with. Secondly, Bert our featured artists is Canadian! And boy does he look innocent haha.

Can any of my Canadian fans confirm if this is the same Bert from the CBC ‘Happy Gang’ radio show?

1946 Sheet Music "Shoo-Fly Pie and Apple Pan Dowdy" featured by Bert Pearl a CBC (Canadian Broadcast Corporation) Artist

No Bert version avail, so here is Bing Crosby and The Charioteers, 1946 version (Video Link).

I’m going to end today’s post with 1940 Sheet Music for “The Woodpecker Song” featured by Glenn Miller and his Orchestra. I spent the weekend at our friends campground and all I heard was woodpeckers pecking away at the trees. It was quite fun to hear!

1940 Sheet Music "The Woodpecker Song" featured by Glenn Miller and his orchestra.

The Woodpecker Song by Glenn Miller & his Orchestra, vocal by Marion Hutton (Video Link).

Happy Shopping and if you all enjoyed this post, please share what your favorite cover and song was in the comments section below.

Further Reading:

Liz

Category: Vintage Sheet Music