This is 99% invisible. I'm Roman Mars.

The Great State Podcast one year tell stories of the people and struggles that changed America, one year at a time.

In each episode, host Josh Levine explores a story that you may have forgotten or have a skewed

memory of because you never knew the full context or maybe something you never even

heard of before. They cover everything from the Challenger explosion to that time

someone discovered an image of Jesus in a tortilla. It's really smart and

well made and one of those shows that I'll hear an episode of and I'll think,

oh man it would have been fun to report that story.

They've done four seasons each covering a different year,

1977, 1995, 1986, and 1942.

The 1942 season is the most recent and had a lot of stories that resonated with

what's going on in the world today.

It's an episode from that set that I want to share.

It's called The Day the Music Stopped.

Hey, this is Josh Levine, the host of one year. This week we have a story from senior producer

Evan Chung.

In the final days of July 1942, as American factories were ramping up production,

one industry was busier than ever.

Recording studios were booked solid for days, and nights too.

Producers and performers were working around the clock,

turning out future hit after future hit.

Like this wartime classic, recorded on July 28th

...