My Favorite Songs of the 1940s - Part 4 Quiz

Answer: Jump in the Line

Lord Kitchener wrote "Jump in the Line (Shake, Senora)" in 1946. In 1952, Woody Herman recorded it. However, it wasn't until 1961, when Harry Belafonte recorded the song, that it became a hit.

It was made popular again in 1988 when Tim Burton's movie "Beetlejuice" was released. At the end of the movie, Lydia (played by Winona Ryder) dances on the ceiling to the song.

In 2019, "Beatlejuice," the Broadway musical, opened and the song was used for the finale.

Answer: obey

Irving Berlin wrote the song "An Old Fashioned Wedding" for the 1946 Broadway musical "Annie Get Your Gun." It was first sung by Ray Middleton (as Frank Butler) and Ethel Merman (as Annie Oakley). In the 1950 movie version, it was sung by Howard Keel and Betty Hutton.

Since then it has been recorded by others including Tom Wopat, Bernadette Peters, Steve Lawrence and Eddie Gorme.

Answer: Song of the South

Allie Wrubel and Ray Gilbert wrote the song, "Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah" for the 1946 Disney movie "Song of the South." James Baskett sang the Academy Award-winning song in the movie. Baskett played Uncle Remus who narrates the story about Br'er Rabbit.

In 2004, AFI voted it the 47th top song in American movies.

The word "Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah" was invented by Walt Disney. Disney liked to make up nonsense words (such as "Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo"). Since 2020, the song has been associated with racism, and Disney removed it from most of their theme parks.

Other artists have recorded the song, including Sammy Kake & his orchestra, Paula Abdul, and Aly & A.J.

Answer: lane

"Here Comes Santa Claus" was written by Gene Autry, Oakley Haldeman, and Harriet Melka. It was first recorded by Gene Autry. In the original version, Autry says "Santy Claus" instead of "Santa Claus." The song was a top-ten hit.

Gene Autry was in the Santa Claus Lane Parade (now called the Hollywood Christmas Parade) and that inspired him to write the song.

Since then many artists have recorded this song including Elvis Presley, Doris Day, Pentatonix, and the cast of "Glee."

Answer: Grandpa

"I'm My Own Grandpa (also written as "I'm My Own Grandpaw") was written by Dwight Latham and Moe Jaffe in 1947. It's a funny song in which a man explains how though a different combinations of marriages, he became the stepfather to his stepmother. Ultimately dropping the "step" from the words in the song he becomes his own grandpa.

The song was inspired by a passage written by Mark Twain in his "Wit and Humor of the Age," who proved it was possible to be your own grandfather.

Since it was first released it has been recorded by other artists including Guy Lombardo, Phil Harris (under the title "He's His Own Grandpa,"), Jo Stafford, and Ray Stevens.

Answer: Old Devil Moon

Burton Lane and E.Y. Harburg wrote "Old Devil Moon" for Broadway's "Finian's Rainbow" in 1947. The song was first sung by Ella Logan (as Sharon) and Donald Richards (as Woody). In the 1968 movie version it was sung by Petula Clark and Don Francks.

Since then other artists have recorded the song including Margaret Whiting, Sarah Vaughan, Frank Sinatra, and Chet Baker.

Answer: Sixteen Tons

Merle Travis wrote "Sixteen Tons" in 1946. It was first recorded by Travis in 1947. It became a gold record.

The title of the song comes from the idea that a miner normally tended 8-10 tons a day. However, when new miners came on the job, the older miners slacked off, making the newer miners do sixteen tons a day.

In 1955, Tennessee Ernie Ford covered the song. His version reached number one on the charts. It stayed there for four weeks. It is the Ford version that is considered the most successful, and perhaps the best known.

Other artists have also covered the song, such as Frankie Lane, B.B. King & his orchestra, Ewan MacColl with Brian Daly, and Jimmy Dean.

Answer: beautiful

"A You're Adorable" was written in 1948 by Sid Lippman, Buddy Kaye, and Fred Wise. It was recorded by Perry Como with The Fontane Sisters. The song goes through the alphabet telling why "alphabetically speaking you're okay."

Since its release, other artists have covered the song including Jo Stafford with Gordon MacRae, the Tony Pastor orchestra with vocals by the Clooney Sisters, Dean Martin, and Lea Salonga.

It was also sung on "Sesame Street" in the first season.

Answer: It couldn't be worse.

Cole Porter wrote "Another Op'nin, Another Show" in 1948 for the Broadway musical "Kiss Me, Kate." It is the opening number of the show and is sung by the entire cast. While it is now considered a show business anthem (like "There's No Business Like Show Business" from "Annie Get Your Gun") it was not included in the 1953 movie version as a song everyone sings. It is an instrumental within the song "Why Can't You Behave?".

The Muppets sang the song on an episode of "The Muppet Show." Sharon, Lois & Bram sang it on "The Elephant Show," In 2005, Bernadette sang a Tony Award version of the song.

Answer: Cinderella

Al Hoffman, Mac David, and Jerry Livingston wrote "Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo" (also called "The Magic Song") for the 1950 Disney movie "Cinderella." Verna Felton (the voice of the Fairy Godmother) sang the song in the movie. It was nominated for an Oscar for best song in 1951, but lost to Nat King Cole's "Mona Lisa."

In the 2015 live-action remake the song was sung by Helena Bonham Carter.

Other artists such as Ilene Woods, Perry Como, and Jo Stafford with Gordon MacRae have also covered the song.