Up until now, our tribute to the Great American Songbook amply proved the important role that film and Broadway played in developing a song’s lasting popularity, with most songs extracted from a show or a movie.

By 1931, though, a few songs started to appear that were written and released as stand-alone product. Songs written for theater and movies were still in the majority, but the music business began to develop a strength of its own, slowly showing that it had enough strength to function without assistance from theatrical performance.

Featured tracks include:

Little White Lies – Dick Haymes

Love for Sale – Tony Bennet and Lady Gaga

Mood Indigo – Frank Sinatra

My Baby Just Cares for Me – Nat King Cole

On the Sunny Side of the Street – Willie Nelson

Puttin’ on the Ritz – Gene Wilder and Peter Boyle

Spring Is Here – Miles Davis

With a Song in My Heart – Ella Fitzgerald

Three Little Words – Duke Ellington

Time on MY Hands – Billie Holiday

You’re Driving Me Crazy – Big Joe Turner

As Time Goes By – Bryan Ferry

Dancing in the Dark – Artie Shaw