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"Don't Sit Under the Apple Tree," by Patty, Maxine and Laverne---The Andrews Sisters.
This YouTube clip is from the wartime movie, "Private Buckaroo." It's a little fuzzy, but you may recognize the soldier they drag onstage as Shemp Howard, of the Three Stooges.
I was born in Europe in 1943 so there is no real reason that a person of my generation should be fascinated by WWII music. But I am because I love big bands. So in addition to the excellent recommendations already made I would add the Glenn Miller Army Air Force Band broadcasts. There are plenty of them around.
I grew up in Finland, where German influence had been strong for decades before WWII. That's why certain German WWII songs are familiar to me. Or maybe I should say 1930s songs because Germany produced very little imaginative popular music once Hitler established control.
My absolute favorite from that pre-war era is "Warum," which was sung by Miliza Korjus, an Estonian-born nightingale who made it to Berlin and later to Hollywood. Among the influences of that era was composer Theo Mackeben.
As Hitler tightened the screws, many of Germany's most creative people in theater and popular music left. Those who came to America concentrated in Hollywood where there were so many Germans that when a couple was conversing in a popular restaurant in Hungarian, the next table declared -- in German: "This is Hollywood, speak German."
There is a great book about the incredible influence of people from that wave of German emigres, "Exiled in Paradise." You will be surprised how many of the screenwriters, actors, actresses, composers, musicians, writers and social scientists became famous.
"I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas " sung by Bing Crosby and featured in the 1942 movie " Holiday Inn". One of the best selling songs of all time it struck a chord with the millions of service men / women who were serving far away from home during this holiday period.
I like "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy", but in general regard the second world war as a weak one for music, especially on the heels of WW I which was fought with a much better score playing in the background. "Keep the Home Fires Burning", "Long Way To Tipperary", "Over There", "Mademoiselle From Armentieres", "Oh, It's A Lovely War".....they had some toe tappers to sing while they slaughtered one another.
The American Civil War was also notable for its chart busters..."Dixie", "Bonnie Blue Flag", Battle Hymm of the Republic", "Tenting Tonight", "Battle Cry of Freedom."
"Don't Sit Under the Apple Tree" just doesn't fit with those groups.
In the sixties, at the height of the Cold War, Tom Lehrer considered the the shape the next world war was likely to take and concluded "If any songs are going to come out of World War Three, we'd better start writing them now."
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A great thread
