This list includes compositions written in the 1930s that are considered standards by at least one major fake book publication or reference work.
Broadway theatre contributed some of the most popular standards of the 1930s, including George and Ira Gershwin's "Summertime" (1935), Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart's "My Funny Valentine" (1937) and Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II's "All the Things You Are" (1939).
[1] Johnny Green's "Body and Soul" was used in a Broadway show and became a hit after Coleman Hawkins's 1939 recording.
Other influential bandleaders of this period were Benny Goodman, Louis Armstrong, Cab Calloway and Fletcher Henderson.
[3] A fake book is a collection of musical lead sheets intended to help a performer quickly learn new songs.
Richard Rodgers (left) and Lorenz Hart were responsible for a large number of 1930s standards, including "Blue Moon" (1934), "My Romance" (1935) and "My Funny Valentine" (1937).
George Gershwin
's songs have gained lasting popularity among both jazz and pop audiences. Among standards composed by him are "The Man I Love" (1924), "Embraceable You" (1930), "I Got Rhythm" (1930) and "Summertime" (1935).
Virtuoso pianist
Art Tatum
mostly played Broadway and popular standards. He usually radically reworked the songs and had the ability to make standards sound like new compositions. Tatum's influential piano solos include "Tiger Rag", "Willow Weep for Me" and "Over the Rainbow".
Many 1930s standards were popularized by jazz singer Billie Holiday's recordings, including "These Foolish Things", "Embraceable You" and "Yesterdays".
Clarinetist and bandleader Benny Goodman popularized many of the 1930s standards, including "Darn That Dream", "How Deep Is the Ocean", and "Stompin' at the Savoy".