January 1949 in Music History

Events in Music

  • Jan 8 "Make Mine Manhattan" closes at Broadhurst Theater NYC after 429 performances
  • Jan 8 "My Romance" closes at Shubert Theater NYC after 95 performances
  • Jan 8 "Small Wonder" closes at Coronet Theater NYC after 134 performances
  • Jan 13 "Along 5th Avenue" opens at Broadhurst Theater NYC for 180 performances

Musical Finale

Jan 16 Benjamin Britten's chamber opera "The Rape of Lucretia" closes at Ziegfeld Theater, NYC, after 23 performances

  • Jan 22 "All for Love" opens at Mark Hellinger Theater NYC for 121 performances

Birthdays in Music

  • Jan 1 Daniel E Gawthrop, American composer
  • Jan 2 Michael "Chick" Churchill, British blues-rock keyboardist (Ten Years After - "I'm Going Home"), born in Ilkeston, Derbyshire, England
  • Jan 5 George Brown, American rock drummer (Kool & the Gang - "Celebration"), born in Jersey City, New Jersey
  • Jan 6 Chris Laurence, British classical, jazz and session double bassist, born in London
  • Jan 7 Marshall Chapman, American country singer, born in Spartanburg, South Carolina
  • Jan 9 Tommy Talton, American session and touring Southern rock guitarist, dobro player, and songwriter (Cowboy), born in Orlando, Florida
  • Jan 11 (Frederick) "Denny" Greene, American singer (Sha Na Na, 1968-84), born in New York, (d. 2015)
  • Jan 11 Daryl Braithwaite, Australian pop singer (Sherbert), born in Melbourne
  • Jan 11 Tom Netherton, singer (Lawrence Welk Show), born in Munich. Germany
  • Jan 12 Kentaro Haneda, Japanese composer, born in Tokyo, Japan (d. 2007)
  • Jan 14 Lamar Williams, American musician (The Allman Brothers Band), born in Gulfport, Mississippi (d. 1983)
  • Jan 14 Maurice T. "Maury" Muehleisen, American musician and songwriter (Jim Croce), born in Trenton, New Jersey (d. 1973)
  • Jan 16 Caroline Munro, British actress (Golden Voyage of Sinbad; Hammer Horror films), and singer ("Tar and Cement"; "Pump Me Up"), born Windsor, England
  • Jan 17 Billy T. James [William James Te Wehi Taitoko], New Zealand Maori comedian and singer (The Billy T. James Show), born in Cambridge, New Zealand (d. 1991)
  • Jan 18 Christian Blackshaw, British concert pianist, born in Cheshire, England
  • Jan 19 Robert Palmer, English singer-songwriter (Power Station), born in Batley, United Kingdom (d. 2003)
  • Jan 22 James "J.P." Pennington, American country-pop singer and guitarist (Exile), born in Berea, Kentucky
  • Jan 22 Steve Perry, American rock vocalist (Journey, 1977-87; 95-97 - "Don't Stop Believin'"; "Open Arms"), born in Hanford, California
  • Jan 22 Vini "Mad Dog" Lopez, American drummer (E Street Band, 1972-74), born in Neptune, New Jersey
  • Jan 24 John Belushi, American comedian (SNL, 1975-80), actor (Animal House), and singer (The Blues Brothers), born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 1982)
  • Jan 26 Derek Holt, British rock guitarist (Curved Air; Climax Blues Band - "Couldn't Get It Right"), born in Stafford, England
  • Jan 27 Jaya Suprana [Phoa Kok Tjiang], Indonesian pianist, composer, conductor, writer, educator, and television presenter, born in Denpasar, Bali
  • Jan 28 Eddie Bayers, American session drummer, based in Nashville, born in Patuxent, Maryland
  • Jan 28 Gene McFadden, American singer, songwriter, and record producer (Philadelphia International Records; McFadden & Whitehead - "Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now"), born in Olanta, South Carolina (d. 2006) [1]
  • Jan 29 Tommy Ramone [Tamás Erdélyi], Hungarian-American rock drummer and bassist (Ramones), born in Budapest, Hungary (d. 2014)
  • Jan 30 William King, American singer, trumpet player, songwriter, guitarist, percussionist, and choreographer (The Commodores - "Lady"), born in Birmingham, Alabama
  • Jan 31 Frank Ricotti, British jazz and session vibraphonist and percussionist, born in London, England

Deaths in Music

  • Jan 9 Amilcare Zanella, Italian composer and conductor, dies at 75
  • Jan 14 Joaquín Turina, Spanish pianist and composer (Rima), dies at 66
  • Jan 25 Emil Axman, Czech composer, dies at 61
  • Jan 27 Boris Asafiev, Russian composer and music critic, dies at 64
  • Jan 28 Gustaf Lazarus Nordqvist, Swedish organist and composer, dies at 62