World War II Sheet Music Collection

The music of World War II has been immortalized, considered to be some of the finest in all of pop music history. Its sounds evoke powerful sentiments of patriotism, hope, and romance. But life amid World War II was anything but hearts and flowers. In the absence of family providers, those at home were struggling to make ends meet while the government used music as a political mechanism to influence the populace into standing courageously (Be Patient My Love), buying bonds (Ev'rybody, Ev'ry Payday), and cooperating during a desperate time for the nation (Get Out and Dig, Dig, Dig). One of the first World War II songs to be successful was We Did It Before and We'll Do It Again by George Tobias and Cliff Friend. Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition by Frank Loesser was the first song to register as a best seller on the popularity charts. The Office of War Information cautioned the music industry against using stereotypes and jingoism, fearing it would pose a threat to post war harmony among the nations. Despite warnings, Tin Pan Alley proceeded to crank out songs such as Der Fuehrer's Face, You're a Sap, Mr. Jap, and Let's put the Axe to the Axis. For those far from home and loved ones left behind, songs such as Together and I’ll Be Seeing You linked torn relationships and lent comfort and purpose. Some songs spoke to the war efforts of family members on the home front such as Milkman, Keep Those Bottles Quiet, Rosie the Riveter and Fighting on the Home Front Wins, relating the contributions of women in the homes and factories. Others escaped reality temporarily by listening to tunes like Rum and Coca Cola, Cow-Cow Boogie, and big band sounds like Glenn Miller's In the Mood, reminding them of happier times and juke box Saturday nights.

Presented here are over 350 imprints published primarily between 1939 and 1945, culled from the Sheet Music Collection housed in the LaBudde Special Collections Department of the Miller Nichols Library at the University of Missouri – Kansas City. For more information visit: http://library.umkc.edu/spec-col-collections/sheet-music