Events in Music
Event of Interest
Jan 23 Duke Ellington plays at Carnegie Hall in New York City for the first time.
Duke Ellington
Event of Interest
Feb 6 Singer Frank Sinatra debuts on radio's "Your Hit Parade"
Frank Sinatra
- Feb 28 "Porgy & Bess" opens on Broadway with Anne Brown & Todd Duncan
Film Premier
Jul 21 "Stormy Weather", directed by Andrew L. Stone, starring Bill Robinson, Lena Horne and Fats Waller singing "Ain't Misbehavin'" premieres in the US
Bill Robinson
Fats Waller
Music Premiere
Nov 3 Dmitri Shostakovich's 8th Symphony premieres in Moscow
Dmitri Shostakovich
Music Premiere
Dec 3 Howard Hanson's 4th Symphony premieres
Howard Hanson
- Dec 23 1st telecast of a complete opera (Hansel & Gretel), Schenectady, NY
- Dec 31 NYC's Times Square greets Frank Sinatra at Paramount Theater
Birthdays in Music
Birthdays 1 - 100 of 294
- Jan 2 Barış Manço, Turkish singer and television producer (d. 1999)
- Jan 7 Leona Williams, singer/songwriter (Ladies Get the Blues)
- Jan 7 Sir Richard Armstrong, British conductor
- Jan 8 Lee Jackson, rocker (Nice)
- Jan 8 Marcus Hutson, rock vocalist (Whispers)
- Jan 9 Dick Yount, rocker (Harpers Bizarre)
- Jan 9 Kenneth Kelley, US singer (Manhattans, One Life to Live)
- Jan 9 Rob Hoeke, Dutch pianist/singer (Drinking on My Bed)
- Jan 9 Freddie Starr, English comedian and singer
- Jan 11 William Albert Penn, composer
- Jan 13 William Duckworth, composer
- Jan 14 Jose Luis Rodriguez, Venezuelan singer (Dueno De Nada), born in Caracas
- Jan 14 Mariss Jansons, Latvian conductor
- Jan 16 Brian Ferneyhough, composer
- Jan 16 Gavin Bryars, composer
- Jan 16 Ronnie Milsap, American country singer (Legend in My Time), born in Robbinsville, North Carolina
- Jan 17 Chris Montez [Ezekiel Montanez], American guitarist and singer, born in Los Angeles
Janis Joplin
Jan 19 Janis Joplin, American rocker and blues singer-songwriter (Down on Me), born in Port Arthur, Texas (d. 1970)
Janis Joplin
- Jan 20 Farhad Mehrad, Iranian musician
- Jan 23 Jimmy Castor, American pop and funk musician (Troglodyte (Cave Man), Jimmy Castor Bunch), born in NYC, New York (d. 2012)
- Jan 23 Gary Burton, American jazz vibraphonist, composer, and educator, born in Anderson, Indiana
- Jan 26 Jean Knight [Jean Caliste], American soul, funk and R&B singer (Mr Big Stuff), born in New Orleans, Louisiana
- Jan 26 Peter Kenton Winkler, composer
- Jan 28 Dick Taylor, rock vocalist (Pretty Thing-Cry on Me)
- Jan 28 Brian Keenan, American rock drummer (The Chamber Brothers), born in NYC, New York (d. 1985)
- Jan 29 Timothy Andrew James Souster, composer
- Jan 30 Sandy Deane, American rocker (Jay and the Americans), born in Brooklyn, New York
- Feb 2 Peter MacBeth, rocker (Foundations)
- Feb 3 Dennis Edwards, American lead singer of The Temptations (Papa was a Rollin' Stone), born in Fairfield, Alabama (d. 2018)
- Feb 3 Eric Haydock, bassist (Hollies-He Aint Heavy He's My Brother)
- Feb 4 Jimmy Johnson, American session musician and co-founder of the Muscle Shoals Sound Studio, born in Sheffield, Alabama
- Feb 4 Barry Beckett, American keyboardist and record producer (David Hood, Jimmy Johnson, Roger Hawkins), born in Birmingham, Alabama (d. 2009)
- Feb 5 Charles Winfield, Penn, rocker (Blood Sweat & Tears-Spinning Wheel)
- Feb 5 Ivan Alexandrovich Tcherepnin, composer
- Feb 5 Larry Tamblyn, rock guitarist (Standells-Dirty Water)
- Feb 6 Fabian [Fabiano Anthony Forte], American vocalist (Turn Me Loose, Tiger), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Feb 8 Creed Bratton, California, rock guitarist (Grass Roots-Sooner or Later)
- Feb 8 Jose de Almeida Prado, composer
- Feb 9 Barbara Lewis, US vocalist (Hello Stranger)
- Feb 9 Ryland Davies, Welsh tenor, born in Cwm, Gwent
- Feb 10 Ral Donner, [Ralph Stuart], Black Mountain NC, singer (Starfires)
- Feb 11 Serge Lama, French singer
- Feb 14 Eric Anderson, American vocalist (Avalanche, Be True to You), born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Feb 14 Maceo Parker, American tenor saxophonist (Parliament-Funkadelic, King's One, Mo' Roots), born in Kinston, North Carolina
- Feb 16 Anthony Dowell, ballet dancer (Royal Ballet), born in London, England
- Feb 19 Lou Christie [Lugee Sacco], American singer-songwriter (Lightning Striking Again), born in Glenwillard, Pennsylvania
- Feb 21 David Geffen, American record producer (Geffen Records, Asylum) and film studio executive (DreamWorks SKG), born in Brooklyn, New York
- Feb 21 Duncan Swift, jazz pianist
- Feb 24 Pablo Milanés, Cuban musician
George Harrison
Feb 25 George Harrison, English pop star and Beatle (Traveling Wilburys-My Sweet Lord), born in Liverpool, England (d. 2001)
George Harrison
- Feb 25 Maryann Amacher, composer
- Feb 26 Bob "Bear" Hite, California, vocalist (Canned Heat-Going Up the Country)
- Feb 26 Paul Cotton, rocker (Poco), born in Los Angeles, California
- Feb 27 Morten Lauridsen, American composer
- Feb 28 Barbara Acklin, [Allen], R&B singer (Love Makes a Woman), born in Chicago, Illinois
- Feb 28 Donnie Iris [Dominic Ierace], American rock musician (The Cruisers), born in Ellwood City, Pennsylvania
- Feb 28 Charles Bernstein, American composer
- Mar 1 Piet Veerman, Dutch rock vocalist/guitarist (Cats-Sailin' Home)
- Mar 2 Tony Meehan [Daniel Meehan], English rocker (Drifters, Vipers), born in London, England
- Mar 2 Stephen Dickman, composer
- Mar 4 Zoltan Jeney, composer
- Mar 5 Lucio Battisti, Italian pop singer and composer, born in Poggio Bustone, Italy (d. 1998)
- Mar 7 Chris White, American rock singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer (The Zombies-Never Even Thought), born in NYC, New York (d. 2015)
- Mar 7 Leon Frank Sylvers, rocker
- Mar 10 Alfred Whitford Lerdahl, composer
- Mar 10 Stephen Montague, composer
- Mar 14 Jim Pons, bassist (Turtles, Mothers of Invention), born in Santa Monica, California
- Mar 15 Sly Stone, Dallas, funk musician (Sly & the Family Stone-Everyday People), born in Denton, Texas
- Mar 21 Vivian Stanshall, songwriter/comic
- Mar 21 Hartmut Haenchen, German conductor
- Mar 22 George Benson, American jazz/blues singer/guitarist (Greatest Love of All), born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Mar 22 Joseph Schwantner, composer
- Mar 22 Keith Relf, British musician and vocalist (the Yardbirds-For Your Love, Renaissance), born in Richmond, England (d. 1976)
- Mar 25 Ronald Jeffers, composer
- Mar 28 Richard Eyre, English film, theatre, television and opera director (National Theatre), born in Barnstaple, Devon, England
- Mar 29 Vangelis [Evángelos Odysséas Papathanassíou], Greek composer and keyboardist (Chariots of Fire), born in Agria, Greece
- Mar 29 Chad Allan [Allan Kowbel], Canadian musician (The Guess Who), born in Winnipeg, Manitoba
- Mar 30 Jay Traynor, American singer (Jay and the Americans), born in Brooklyn, New York (d. 2014)
- Mar 30 Ken Forssi, American musician (Love) (d. 1998)
- Apr 2 Glen Dale, [Richard Garforth], rock vocalist (Fortunes Deal)
- Apr 2 Larry Coryell, American jazz guitarist (11th House), born in Galveston, Texas (d. 2017)
- Apr 3 Richard Manuel, Canadian rock pianist and vocalist (The Band), born in Stratford, Ontario (d. 1986)
- Apr 3 Mario Lavista, Mexican composer and writer, born in Mexico City
- Apr 7 Mick Abrahams, Luton, rock guitarist (Jethro Tull, Blodwyn Pig)
- Apr 7 Roberta Shore, Monterrey Park, California, actress/singer (Virginian)
- Apr 7 Spencer Dryden, rock drummer (Jefferson Airplane-Go Ask Alice), born in NYC, New York
- Apr 9 Terry Knight, rock producer and singer (Grand Funk Railroad), born in Lapeer, Michigan (d. 2004)
- Apr 13 Eve Graham, Scottish singer (The New Seekers), born in Auchterarder, Perth and Kinross
- Apr 15 Riem de Wolff, Indonesian/Dutch singer/guitarist (Blue Diamonds)
- Apr 15 Mighty Sam McClain, American soul and blues singer-songwriter, born in Monroe, Louisiana (d. 2015)
- Apr 16 "Lonesome Dave" Peverett, British rock singer and musician (Foghat, Savoy Brown), born in London, England (d. 2000)
- Apr 17 Roy Estrada, American rocker (Mothers Of Invention), born in Santa Ana, California
- Apr 19 Mike Kelly, rocker (Duprees)
- Apr 20 John Eliot Gardiner, English conductor, born in Fontmell Magna, Dorset
- Apr 22 Mel Carter, singer (Hold Me Thrill Me Kiss Me)
- Apr 23 Hugh Davies, English composer, born in Exmouth, Devon (d. 2005)
- Apr 24 Richard Sterban, American country singer (Oak Ridge Boys-Elvira), born in Camden, New Jersey
- Apr 26 Gary Wright, singer, dream weaver (Spooky Tooth-It's All About)
- Apr 27 Eugene Polyakov, Russian balletmaster (Paris Opera Ballet), born in Moscow (d. 1996)
- Apr 28 Fantastic Johnny C[orley], US singer (Boogaloo down Broadway)
Weddings in Music
- Jul 5 Actress Betty Grable (26) weds big band leader Harry James (27)
Wedding of Interest
Jul 17 One of the world's greatest contraltos Marian Anderson (46) weds architect Orpheus H. Fisher in Bethel, Connecticut
Marian Anderson
- Dec 5 Singer and actress Dinah Shore (27) weds actor George Montgomery (27)
Wedding of Interest
Dec 24 Actor and comedian Carl Reiner (21) weds singer Estelle Lebost (29)
Carl Reiner
Divorces in Music
Divorce of Interest
Jul 7 Heavyweight boxing champ Jack Dempsey (48) divorces broadway singer Hannah Williams (32) after 10 years of marriage
Jack Dempsey
Deaths in Music
- Jan 14 Adolf Sandberger, composer, dies at 78
- Jan 20 Giacomo Benvenuti, composer, dies at 57
- Jan 21 Otakar Sini, composer, dies at 61
- Feb 14 Dora Gerson, German-Jewish actress, cabaret singer, and Holocaust victim (Caravan of Death), dies in Auschwitz concentration camp at 43
- Feb 15 William Victor Harris, American composer, dies at 73
- Feb 17 Armand J. Piron, American jazz violinist and composer, dies at 54
- Mar 19 Vicente Ripolles, composer, dies at 75
- Mar 23 Joseph Moiseyevich Schillinger, composer, dies at 47
- Mar 28 Sergei Vasilievitch Rachmaninov, Russian composer and pianist, dies at 69
- Apr 4 Raoul Laparra, composer, dies at 66
- Apr 14 Geoffrey Turton Shaw, composer, dies at 63
- Apr 15 Raffaele Casimiro Casimiri, composer, dies at 62
- Apr 19 Gustave Doret, Swiss composer, dies at 76
- Apr 29 Joseph Achron, Latvian violinist/composer (Golem suite), dies at 56
- Apr 29 Karl Adrian Wohlfart, composer, dies at 68
- Apr 30 Leo Smit, Dutch composer, dies in Sobibór extermination camp at 42
- May 3 Leslie Heward, composer, dies at 45
- May 12 Albert Stoessel, American composer, dies at 48
- May 29 Hermann Hans Wetzler, German-American composer, dies at 72
- Jul 10 Arthur Nevin, American composer, dies at 72
- Jul 30 Benjamin James Dale, composer, dies at 58
- Aug 12 Georges Martin Witkowski, composer, dies at 76
- Aug 23 Johann Zilcher, German composer, dies at 88
- Sep 15 Hans Ulrich Humpert, composer, dies at 2
- Sep 27 Waclaw Gieburowski, composer, dies at 65
- Oct 2 Robert Nathaniel Dett, composer, dies at 60
- Oct 5 Leon Roppolo, American musician (b. 1902)
- Oct 18 Benedictus H Dancer, botanist, dies at 52
- Oct 22 Josef Venantius von Woss, composer, dies at 80
- Oct 27 Bela Reinitz, composer, dies at 64
- Nov 17 Paul Charles Rene Landormy, composer, dies at 74
- Nov 22 Lorenz Hart, American lyricist, dies at 48
- Nov 22 Pietro Alessandro Yon, composer, dies at 57
- Dec 6 Hermann Löhr, British composer, dies at 72
Fats Waller
Dec 15 Thomas W "Fats" Waller, jazz pianist (Hot Chocolate), dies at 39 in KC Missouri
Fats Waller