1942-43 musicians' strike
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On August 1, 1942, the American Federation of Musicians organized a strike against the major recording companies because of disagreements over royalty payments. The strike lasted through the end of 1942 and into 1943, forcing the companies to record without orchestral backups to the popular songs of the day and to release earlier recordings that had not been already released, as well as to reissue records from their back catalogue, and during this period, recordings from as far back as the mid-1920s (the dawn of the electrical recording era) were reissued. (For some recording companies, the strike lasted into 1944, but Decca Records settled in September, 1943.)
Some of the recordings made during this strike, with vocal groups filling the backup role normally filled by orchestras, included:
- "Goodbye Sue" by Perry Como
- "Have I Stayed Away Too Long?" by Perry Como
- "Lili Marlene" by Perry Como
- "Long Ago And Far Away" by Perry Como
- "Sunday, Monday, or Always"
- by Bing Crosby
- by Frank Sinatra
- "You'll Never Know"
- by Frank Sinatra
- by Dick Haymes
[edit] External references
- Reproduction of Down Beat magazine article on the strike