Songs from the Year 1936

Other Years:

1900s

1910s

1920s

1936

This page lists the top songs of 1936 in the source charts. The way that the various charts are combined to reach this final list is described on the in the site generation page.

Between 1920 and 1940 there are few available charts (at least that we can find). These results should be treated with some caution since, with few exceptions, they are based on fairly subjective charts and biased towards the USA.

During this era music was dominated by a number of "Big Bands" and songs could be attributed to the band leader, the band name, the lead singer or a combination of the them. It is common, for example, to see the same song listed with three different artists. And, just to stop us from getting bored, the success of a song was tied to the sales of sheet music, so a popular song would often be perfomed by many different combinations of singers and bands and the contemporary charts would list the song, without clarifying whose version was the major hit. Where we have found such issues we have attempted to consolidate the entries using the most widely accepted value for the artist in each case.

The top ten song artists of 1936 were:
1:Benny Goodman	3:Bing Crosby	5:Fats Waller	7:Hal Kemp	9:Eddy Duchin
2:Fred Astaire	4:Tommy Dorsey	6:Jan Garber	8:Billie Holiday	10:Shep Fields & his Rippling Rhythm Orchestra

#	Artist	Song Title	Year	Chart Entries
1	Bing Crosby	Pennies From Heaven	1936	US Billboard 1 - 1936 (15 weeks), Your Hit Parade 1 of 1936, US invalid BB 1 of 1936, Grammy Hall of Fame in 2004 (1936), POP 1 of 1936, Oscar in 1936 (film 'Pennies from Heaven') (Nominated), Australian Nostalgia 7 of 1930-1939, Music Imprint 8 of 1930s, nuTsie 23 of 1930s, Europe 32 of the 1930s (1936), RIAA 129, Acclaimed 1222 (1936), RYM 41 of 1936
2	Fred Astaire	The Way You Look Tonight	1936	US Billboard 1 - 1936 (17 weeks), Oscar in 1936 (film 'Swing Time'), Grammy Hall of Fame in 1998 (1936), Your Hit Parade 2 of 1936, US invalid BB 2 of 1936, POP 2 of 1936, Brazil 26 of 1937, Australian Nostalgia 28 of 1930-1939, nuTsie 38 of 1930s, AFI 43, Europe 94 of the 1930s (1936), RYM 40 of 1936, Song of 1936
3	Leadbelly	Goodnight, Irene	1936	Grammy Hall of Fame in 2002 (1936), Library of Congress artifact added 2003 (1933), DDD 4 of 1943, Music Imprint 12 of 1930s, Australian Nostalgia 58 of 1930-1939, RIAA 163, Acclaimed 885 (1936), RYM 2 of 1943
4	Benny Goodman	Goody Goody	1936	US Billboard 1 - 1936 (13 weeks), Your Hit Parade 5 of 1936, US invalid BB 6 of 1936, POP 6 of 1936, Australian Nostalgia 26 of 1930-1939, Brazil 32 of 1936, nuTsie 71 of 1930s, Song of 1936
5	Benny Goodman	Glory of Love	1936	US Billboard 1 - 1936 (15 weeks), Your Hit Parade 3 of 1936, US invalid BB 10 of 1936, POP 10 of 1936, Australian Nostalgia 27 of 1930-1939, Brazil 67 of 1936, nuTsie 96 of 1930s
6	Tommy Dorsey	Alone	1936	US Billboard 1 - 1936 (14 weeks), US invalid BB 3 of 1936, POP 3 of 1936, Your Hit Parade 4 of 1936, Australian Nostalgia 25 of 1930-1939
7	Tommy Dorsey	The Music Goes Round & Round	1936	US Billboard 1 - Dec 1935 (9 weeks), US invalid BB 4 of 1936, POP 4 of 1936, Your Hit Parade 7 of 1936, Australian Nostalgia 41 of 1930-1939, Song of 1935
8	Robert Johnson	Cross Road Blues	1936	Grammy Hall of Fame in 1998 (1936), nuTsie 8 of 1930s, Scrobulate 34 of blues, Acclaimed 224 (1936), RIAA 342, Visconti song of 1936, RYM 3 of 1937, Song of 1937, one of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 500
9	Billie Holiday	Summertime	1936	Europe 1 of the 1930s (1936), Jazz Standard 3, US Billboard 12 - 1936 (2 weeks), nuTsie 70 of 1930s, Scrobulate 84 of jazz, RYM 2 of 1936
10	Fred Astaire	A Fine Romance	1936	US Billboard 1 - 1936 (12 weeks), Your Hit Parade 6 of 1936, US invalid BB 12 of 1936, POP 12 of 1936, Australian Nostalgia 40 of 1930-1939, RYM 6 of 1936
11	Shep Fields & his Rippling Rhythm Orchestra	Did I Remember?	1936	US Billboard 1 - 1936 (12 weeks), Oscar in 1936 (film 'Suzy') (Nominated), Your Hit Parade 8 of 1936, US invalid BB 11 of 1936, POP 11 of 1936
12	Fats Waller	It's a Sin to Tell a Lie	1936	US Billboard 1 - 1936 (12 weeks), US invalid BB 7 of 1936, POP 7 of 1936, Your Hit Parade 9 of 1936, nuTsie 56 of 1930s, RYM 37 of 1935
13	Benny Goodman	These Foolish Things (Remind Me of You)	1936	US Billboard 1 - 1936 (13 weeks), US invalid BB 5 of 1936, POP 5 of 1936, Europe 90 of the 1930s (1936)
14	Jan Garber	A Melody From the Sky	1936	US Billboard 1 - 1936 (12 weeks), Oscar in 1936 (film 'The Trail of the Lonesome Pine') (Nominated), US invalid BB 14 of 1936, POP 14 of 1936
15	Marian Anderson	He's Got the Whole World in His Hands	1936	Grammy Hall of Fame in 2008 (1936), Library of Congress artifact added 2003 (1936), nuTsie 89 of 1930s
16	Eddy Duchin	Moon Over Miami	1936	US Billboard 1 - 1936 (11 weeks), US invalid BB 16 of 1936, POP 16 of 1936, Europe 99 of the 1930s (1936)
17	Hal Kemp	There's a Small Hotel	1936	US Billboard 1 - 1936 (15 weeks), US invalid BB 19 of 1936, POP 19 of 1936, Europe 100 of the 1930s (1936)
18	Jimmy Dorsey	Is it True What they Say About Dixie?	1936	US Billboard 1 - 1936 (10 weeks), Your Hit Parade 10 of 1936, US invalid BB 13 of 1936, POP 13 of 1936
19	Guy Lombardo	When Did You Leave Heaven?	1936	US Billboard 1 - 1936 (15 weeks), Oscar in 1936 (film 'Sing, Baby, Sing') (Nominated), Europe 52 of the 1930s (1936)
20	Tommy Dorsey	I'm getting sentimental over you	1936	Grammy Hall of Fame in 1998 (1936), US Billboard 8 - 1936 (4 weeks), nuTsie 44 of 1930s, Acclaimed 1498 (1932)
21	Benny Goodman	Moon Glow	1936	Grammy Hall of Fame in 1998 (1936), US Billboard 8 - 1936 (3 weeks), nuTsie 73 of 1930s, RYM 30 of 1937, Song of 1936
22	Robert Johnson	Sweet Home Chicago	1936	Grammy Hall of Fame in 2014 (1937), Scrobulate 26 of blues, Acclaimed 1582 (1936), RYM 2 of 1937, Song of 1936, one of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 500
23	Fred Astaire	I'm Putting All My Eggs in One Basket	1936	US Billboard 1 - 1936 (10 weeks), US invalid BB 15 of 1936, POP 15 of 1936, RYM 39 of 1936
24	Andy Kirk	Until The Real Thing Comes Along	1936	US Billboard 1 - 1936 (13 weeks), US invalid BB 18 of 1936, POP 18 of 1936, RYM 9 of 1936
25	Jan Garber	A Beautiful Lady in Blue	1936	US Billboard 1 - 1936 (13 weeks), US invalid BB 17 of 1936, POP 17 of 1936
26	Fats Waller	All My Life	1936	US Billboard 1 - 1936 (11 weeks), US invalid BB 20 of 1936, POP 20 of 1936
27	Roy Acuff	Great Speckled Bird	1936	Grammy Hall of Fame in 2009 (1936), US Billboard 13 - 1938 (3 weeks), RYM 91 of 1936, Song of 1936
28	Ray Noble	I've Got You Under My Skin	1936	Oscar in 1936 (film 'Born to Dance') (Nominated), US Billboard 3 - 1936 (13 weeks), Brazil 85 of 1937
29	Hal Kemp	When I'm With You	1936	US Billboard 1 - 1936 (13 weeks), Europe 72 of the 1930s (1936)
30	Marian Anderson	Schubert: Ave Maria	1936	Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999 (1936), RIAA 90, RYM 7 of 1936
31	Eddy Duchin	Take My Heart	1936	US Billboard 1 - 1936 (10 weeks), Europe 81 of the 1930s (1936)
32	Eddy Duchin	I'll Sing You A Thousand Love Songs	1936	US Billboard 1 - 1936 (8 weeks), Europe 95 of the 1930s (1936)
33	Eddy Duchin	Lights Out	1936	US Billboard 1 - 1936 (15 weeks), Europe 96 of the 1930s (1936)
34	Benny Goodman	Stompin' at the Savoy	1936	US Billboard 4 - 1937 (5 weeks), nuTsie 46 of 1930s, Scrobulate 50 of swing, RYM 5 of 1936
35	Billie Holiday	These Foolish Things (Remind Me of You)	1936	US Billboard 5 - 1936 (5 weeks), nuTsie 51 of 1930s, Scrobulate 65 of hi fidelity, Song of 1936
36	Andy Kirk	Lotta Sax Appeal	1936	Peel list 1 of 1936, RYM 24 of 1936
37	Shep Fields & his Rippling Rhythm Orchestra	Easy to Love	1936	US invalid BB 8 of 1936, POP 8 of 1936, US Billboard 13 - 1936 (2 weeks)
38	Bing Crosby	I'm An Old Cowhand	1936	US Billboard 2 - 1936 (13 weeks), Europe 59 of the 1930s (1936)
39	Bing Crosby	Robins & Roses	1936	US Billboard 2 - 1936 (10 weeks), Europe 76 of the 1930s (1936)
40	Eddy Duchin	Pennies From Heaven	1936	US Billboard 2 - Dec 1936 (9 weeks), Brazil 87 of 1937
41	Jimmie Lunceford	Organ Grinder's Swing	1936	US Billboard 2 - 1936 (8 weeks), nuTsie 91 of 1930s
42	Benny Goodman	It's Been So Long	1936	US Billboard 1 - 1936 (13 weeks)
43	Guy Lombardo	Lost	1936	US Billboard 1 - 1936 (13 weeks)
44	Benny Goodman	You Turned the Tables on Me	1936	US Billboard 1 - 1936 (10 weeks)
45	Shep Fields & his Rippling Rhythm Orchestra	In the Chapel in the Moonlight	1936	US Billboard 1 - 1936 (15 weeks)
46	Bob Wills & his Texas Playboys	Steel Guitar Rag	1936	Grammy Hall of Fame in 2011 (1936)
47	Tommy Dorsey	You	1936	US Billboard 1 - 1936 (10 weeks)
48	Joel & Gaucho	Pierro Apaixonado	1936	Brazil 1 of 1936
49	Fats Waller	Until The Real Thing Comes Along	1936	US Billboard 3 - 1936 (7 weeks), nuTsie 79 of 1930s
50	Billie Holiday	A Fine Romance	1936	US Billboard 9 - 1936 (3 weeks), Scrobulate 59 of vocal, Song of 1936
51	Billie Holiday	No Regrets	1936	US Billboard 9 - 1936 (5 weeks), Scrobulate 68 of female vocalist, RYM 16 of 1936
52	Bing Crosby	Would You?	1936	Europe 9 of the 1930s (1936), US Billboard 20 - 1936 (1 week)
53	Hal Kemp	I Can't Get Started	1936	Jazz Standard 5, US Billboard 14 - 1936 (2 weeks)
54	Duke Ellington	Echoes of Harlem	1936	US Billboard 19 - 1936 (1 week), Jazz Standard 969, RYM 3 of 1936
55	Hal Kemp	Gloomy Sunday	1936	US Billboard 4 - 1936 (4 weeks), Jazz Standard 674
56	Tommy Dorsey	Stardust	1936	US Billboard 8 - 1936 (5 weeks), Europe 87 of the 1930s (1936)
57	Tommy Dorsey	San Francisco	1936	US Billboard 10 - 1936 (5 weeks), Brazil 74 of 1936
58	Andy Kirk	Christopher Columbus	1936	US Billboard 2 - 1936 (14 weeks), RYM 49 of 1936
59	Andy Kirk	What Will I Tell My Heart	1936	US Billboard 2 - 1937 (9 weeks), RYM 51 of 1936
60	Fred Astaire	Let Yourself Go	1936	US Billboard 2 - 1936 (12 weeks), RYM 69 of 1936
61	Benny Goodman	Stardust	1936	US Billboard 2 - 1936 (10 weeks), RYM 88 of 1955
62	Bing Crosby	I Can't Escape From You	1936	US Billboard 7 - 1936 (11 weeks), Jazz Standard 726
63	Robert Johnson	32 20 Blues	1936	Peel list 3 of 1936, RYM 7 of 1937
64	Ray Noble	The Touch of Your Lips	1936	US Billboard 12 - 1936 (4 weeks), Jazz Standard 474
65	Henry King & his Orchestra	A Fine Romance	1936	US Billboard 13 - 1936 (2 weeks), Jazz Standard 427
66	Jan Garber	I'm Putting All My Eggs in One Basket	1936	US Billboard 14 - 1936 (2 weeks), Jazz Standard 884
67	King Garcia & his Swing Band	Christopher Columbus	1936	US Billboard 16 - 1936 (2 weeks), Jazz Standard 588
68	Frances Langford	Easy to Love	1936	US Billboard 20 - 1936 (1 week), Jazz Standard 122
69	Paul Whiteman	There's a Small Hotel	1936	US Billboard 19 - 1936 (1 week), Jazz Standard 284
70	Benny Goodman	Swingtime in the Rockies	1936	US Billboard 2 - 1936 (5 weeks)
71	Benny Goodman	You Can't Pull The Wool Over My Eyes	1936	US Billboard 2 - 1936 (12 weeks)
72	Tempo King & his Kings of Tempo	I'll Sing You A Thousand Love Songs	1936	US Billboard 2 - 1936 (8 weeks)
73	Vicente Celestino	O ebrio	1936	Brazil 2 of 1936
74	Hutch	These Foolish Things (Remind Me of You)	1936	Peel list 2 of 1936
75	Robert Johnson	Terraplane Blues	1936	Acclaimed 1678 (1936), RYM 1 of 1936, Guardian Folk/ World 11
76	Fred Astaire	Let's Face the Music & Dance	1936	US Billboard 5 - 1936 (11 weeks), RYM 69 of 1936
77	Teddy Wilson (and his Orchestra)	My Melancholy Baby	1936	US Billboard 6 - 1936 (9 weeks), RYM 8 of 1936
78	Fred Astaire	Pick Yourself Up	1936	US Billboard 7 - 1936 (6 weeks), RYM 40 of 1936
79	Guy Lombardo	The Broken Record	1936	US Billboard 3 - 1936 (7 weeks)
80	Lud Gluskin & his Orchestra	She Shall have Music	1936	US Billboard 3 - 1936 (9 weeks)
81	Bing Crosby	South Sea Island Magic	1936	US Billboard 3 - 1936 (8 weeks)
82	Connee Boswell	On the Beach at Bali-Bali	1936	US Billboard 3 - 1936 (8 weeks)
83	Billie Holiday	The Way You Look Tonight	1936	US Billboard 3 - 1936 (5 weeks)
84	Guy Lombardo	The Way You Look Tonight	1936	US Billboard 3 - 1936 (10 weeks)
85	Jan Garber	I'm Shooting High	1936	US Billboard 3 - 1936 (11 weeks)
86	Hal Kemp	A Star Fell Out of Heaven	1936	US Billboard 3 - 1936 (12 weeks)
87	The Boswell Sisters	I'm Gonna Sit Right Down & Write Myself a Letter	1936	US Billboard 3 - 1936 (8 weeks)
88	Jan Garber	I Feel Like a Feather in the Breeze	1936	US Billboard 3 - 1936 (9 weeks)
89	Guy Lombardo	When My Dreamboat Comes Home	1936	US Billboard 3 - Dec 1936 (18 weeks)
90	Hal Kemp	The Touch of Your Lips	1936	US Billboard 3 - 1936 (6 weeks)
91	Orlando Silva	Magoas de Caboclo	1936	Brazil 3 of 1936
92	Duke Ellington	Love Is Like a Cigarette	1936	US Billboard 8 - 1936 (10 weeks), RYM 31 of 1936
93	Duke Ellington	Oh, Babe! Maybe Someday	1936	US Billboard 8 - 1936 (5 weeks), RYM 63 of 1936
94	Louis Armstrong	Lyin' To Myself	1936	US Billboard 10 - 1936 (3 weeks), RYM 35 of 1936
95	Bing Crosby	Let's Call a Heart a Heart	1936	US Billboard 10 - Dec 1936 (4 weeks), RYM 41 of 1936
96	Duke Ellington	Clarinet Lament	1936	US Billboard 12 - 1936 (3 weeks), RYM 3 of 1936
97	Teddy Wilson (and his Orchestra)	Sing Baby Sing	1936	US Billboard 12 - 1936 (5 weeks), RYM 47 of 1936
98	Duke Ellington	Isn't Love the Strangest Thing?	1936	US Billboard 12 - 1936 (3 weeks), RYM 62 of 1936
99	Tampa Red	Let's Get Drunk & Truck	1936	US Billboard 14 - 1936 (4 weeks), RYM 22 of 1936
100	Louis Armstrong	Red Sails in the Sunset	1936	US Billboard 15 - 1936 (2 weeks), RYM 27 of 1936

Comments

The comments here are from the the MusicID impact site site. This version is not able to accept comments yet

28 Mar 2020

How did you find data on hit parades year end charts+

The Charts page describes all the sources

4 Feb 2020

#71 Benny Goodman

I think #71 Benny Goodman - "When It's Springtime in The Rockies" should be titled "Swingtime in the Rockies". +Springtime in the Rockies was written by Robert Sauer and Mary Hale Woolsey and was first recorded and released by Bud and Joe Billings in 1929. It was covered by Ian Stewart and His Piano, Slim Whitman, John Gart, Roger Williams and other artists.

Thanks for pulling this site together! - Dr. T

You are correct, that was the spelling correction software being a bit too enthusiastic

30 Jan 2017

# 74 Lselie A Hutchinson

He is the same artist as # 37 Hutch on the 1940 list. I would suggest usingHutch for all of his entries as that is how he was commonly known.

Data fixed, thanks

24 Feb 2016

Marian Anderson - Ave Maria

This recording should be added to this Top 100 of 1936 list. It is on the'RIAA' list (#90). It was also selected for 'Grammy Hall of Fame' in 1999. It is listed there as 'Schubert Ave Maria' by Marian Anderson (which is probably why you didn't have it).

It was missing because the "classical" music in that list is genrally hard to get the right name for and does not show up in any other lists, so we've not done a good job of checking the singles. Thanks for pointing out the missing item, data fixed

18 Dec 2015

Pope's birthday

what was the #1 song on 12/17/36 the Pope's B day?

9 Sep 2015

hank williams sr.

songs of hank Williams in july of 1936

Look at the "Hank Williams" page. No hit before 1947, according to Wikipedia his career started in 1937

15 Aug 2014

Benny Goodman

There are (2) different recordings of Moonglow (#1 in 1934). This one and a 1936recording by Benny Goodman Quartet. The 1936 version was awarded the Grammy Hall of Fame, not this one.

Thanks for clarifying that, but we're not sure how to make that clear in the data (other than including this message on all the pages where this is mentioned)

16 Apr 2014

Song: When did yopu leave Heaven?

When did you leave Heaven?

The song "When Did You Leave Heaven?" was a minor hit for three acts in 1936, Guy Lombardo, Ben Bernie and Henry Allen & his Orchestra

25 Jan 2011

name of song and singer

a garden in italy. has lyrics "come to my garden in italy and sing to me theway you used to do".

(something like that anyway!) 1930's I think.

Thanks for your help

9 Nov 2010

DO YOU KNOW +THIS SONG 1937/38/36?

the song is called I WISH I'D NEVER SEEN SUNSHINE +- SINGER - JIMMIE DAVIS

11 May 2010

DO YOU KNOW +THIS SONG 1937/38/36?

I WISH THAT I'D NEVER SEEN SUNSHINE AND I WISH THAT I'D NEVER SEEN RAIN... I WISH THAT MY SOUL WOULD NEVER GROW OLD FOR THE TEARS THAT I SHED WERE IN VAIN????????? I WISH THAT SOMEONE HAD TOLD ME THAT THE LOVE THAT YOU GAVE WAS UNTRUE OH I WISH THAT I DIED IN MY CRADLE BEFORE I GREW UP TO LOVE YOU

No idea, never heard of it