…but would you know it by listening to music from that era? Almost certainly not.

Songwriters were not particularly inspired by the war, and that is most likely because they felt that their job was to distract people from misery. Songwriters almost universally wrote material meant to distract from the horrors of the times, and so most of the ‘Great American Songbook’ from this era tends to be escapist.

Featured tracks include:

Saturday Night (Is the Loneliest Night of the Week) – Frank Sinatra

Sentimental Journey – Ringo Starr

Stella By Starlight – Tony Bennett

Swinging On a Star – Bing Crosby and the Williams Brothers

The Trolly Song - Judy Garland

(I Love You) for Sentimental Reasons – Righteous Brothers

It Might As Well Be Spring – Astrud Gilberto

Laura – Charlie Parker

Lover Letters – Elvis Presley

The More I See You – Chris Montez

On the Atchison, Topeka, and the Santa Fe – Johnny Mercer & The Pied Pipers

Come Rain or Come Shine – James Brown