1951 in Music

• Jan 6 "Pardon Our French" closes at Broadway Theater NYC after 100 performances
• Jan 27 "Peter Pan" closes at Imperial Theater NYC after 320 performances
• Jan 29 "Where's Charley?" opens at Broadway Theater NYC for 56 performances
• Feb 10 "John and Marsha" by Stan Freberg, a parody of daytime soap operas which had only two voices repeating each other's names, peaks at #21 in the USA
• Feb 24 "Bless You All" closes at Mark Hellinger Theater NYC after 84 performances
• Feb 25 "Michael Todd's Peep Show" closes at Winter Garden NYC after 278 performances
• Mar 10 "Where's Charley?" closes at Broadway Theater NYC after 56 performances
• Mar 25 5th Tony Awards: "Guys & Dolls" (musical) & "Rose Tatoo" (play) win

• Mar 29 "King & I" opens at St James Theater NYC for 1246 performances
• Apr 18 "Make a Wish" opens at Winter Garden Theater NYC for 102 performances
• Apr 19 "Tree Grows in Brooklyn" opens at Alvin Theater NYC for 267 performances
• May 5 "Out of This World" closes at New Century Theater NYC after 157 performances
• May 14 Sammy Fain and EY Harburg's musical "Flahooley" opens at Broadhurst Theater NYC for 40 performances
• Jun 14 "Courtin' Time" opens at National Theater NYC for 37 performances
• Jun 17 "Flahooley" closes at Broadhurst Theater NYC after 40 performances


• Jun 21 "17" opens at Broadhurst Theater NYC for 180 performances
• Jul 14 "Courtin' Time" closes at National Theater NYC after 37 performances
• Jul 14 "Make a Wish" closes at Winter Garden Theater NYC after 102 performances
• Jul 19 "2 in the Aisle" opens at Mark Hellinger Theater NYC for 276 performances
• Jul 28 "Kiss Me, Kate" closes at New Century Theater NYC after 1077 performances

• Sep 11 Stravinsky's opera "Rake's Progress," premieres in Venice
• Sep 15 "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" closes at Ziegfeld NYC after 740 performances
• Sep 17 "Borscht Capades" opens at Royale Theater NYC for 90 performances
• Oct 8 "Music in the Air" opens at Ziegfeld Theater NYC for 56 performances

• Nov 12 "Paint Your Wagon" opens at Shubert Theater NYC for 289 performances
• Nov 24 "17" closes at Broadhurst Theater NYC after 180 performances
• Nov 24 "Music in the Air" closes at Ziegfeld Theater NYC after 56 performances
• Dec 1 Benjamin Britten's opera "Billy Budd" premieres in London
• Dec 2 "Borscht Capades" closes at Royale Theater NYC after 90 performances

• Dec 8 "Tree Grows in Brooklyn" closes at Alvin Theater NYC after 267 performances
• Dec 11 "The Wild Side of Life" single recorded by Hank Thompson and His Brazos Valley Boys (Billboard Song of the Year 1952)
• Dec 24 1st televised opera (Amahl & Night Visitor)

Birthdays 1 - 100 of 221

• Jan 4 Peter Haycock, rock guitarist (All Along the Watchtower), (d. 2013)
• Jan 6 Kim Wilson, American musician (Fabulous Thunderbirds), born in Detroit, Michigan
• Jan 8 Paul Dresher, American composer, born in Los Angeles, California
• Jan 9 Crystal Gayle, American country singer (Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue), born in Paintsville, Kentucky
• Jan 12 Chris Bell, American rock guitarist (Big Star), born in Memphis, Tennessee
• Jan 12 Larry Hoppens, American musician (Orleans-Still the One, Dance With Me), born in Long Island, New York (d. 2012)
• Jan 14 William Risrook, rocker (BT Express-Here Comes the Express)

• Jan 16 Richard Thompson, American rocker (B. T. Express-Here Comes the Express)
• Jan 19 Martha Davis, American rock singer-songwriter (Motels-Only the Lonely, Shame), born in Berkeley, California
• Jan 20 Ivan Fischer, Hungarian conductor & composer, born in Budapest, Hungary
• Jan 26 Andy Hummell, rock bassist (Big Star), born in Memphis, Tennessee
• Jan 26 David Briggs, rock guitarist (Little River Band-Help is on it's Way)
• Jan 27 Brian Downey, Irish rock drummer (Thin Lizzy-Boys are Back in Town), born in Dublin, Ireland
• Jan 27 Seth Justman, rock keyboardist (J Geils Band-Centerfold), born in Washington, D.C.
• Jan 28 William Nelson Jr, US bassist (Connections & Disconnections)
• Jan 30 Andy Anderson, English drummer (Cure), born in Essex, England
• Jan 30 Phil Collins, English drummer & singer (Genesis-Against All Odds), born in Chiswick, England
• Jan 31 Harry Wayne Casey [K.C.], American musician (KC & Sunshine Band-Give It), born in Opa-locka, Florida
• Jan 31 Phil Manzanera, English musician & record producer (Roxy Music-Let's Stick Together), born in London, United Kingdom
• Jan 31 Dave Benton, Aruban-born musician, born in Oranjestad, Aruba
• Feb 2 Alphonso Johnson, American jazz bassist, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• Feb 4 Dariush Eghbali, Iranian singer and musician
• Feb 5 Elizabeth Swados, American composer & playwright (1972 TONY), born in Buffalo, New York (d. 2016)
• Feb 6 Margo [Margeret Catherine O'Donnell ], Irish singer, born in County Donegal, Ireland
• Feb 9 Dennis "Dee Tee" Thomas, saxophonist (Kool & Gang-Celebration)
• Feb 13 Greg Fulginiti, US recording & mastering engineer, born in North Wildwood, New Jersey
• Feb 14 Michael Doucet, singer/musician (Beausoleil)
• Feb 15 Melissa Manchester, vocalist (Don't Cry Out Loud), born in The Bronx, New York
• Feb 20 Kathy Baillie, country vocalist (Baille Boys-Oh Heart), born in Morristown, New Jersey
• Feb 20 Randy [Wolfe] California, American guitarist (Spirit), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 1997)
• Feb 21 Vince Welnick, American rock keyboardist (The Tubes, Grateful Dead), born in Phoenix, Arizona (d. 2003)
• Feb 27 Steve Harley, English rocker (Come Up & See Me), born in Kent, England
• Feb 28 Bill Cratty, American modern dancer and choreographer (d. 1998)
• Mar 3 Lindsay Cooper, English musician and composer (Henry Cow, News from Babel)
• Mar 4 Chris Rea, English rock guitarist (Fool If You Think It Is Over), born in Middlesbrough, England
• Mar 4 Linda Yamamoto, Japanese singer
• Mar 6 Walter Trout, American blues guitarist and singer-songwriter (Canned Heat, Bluesbreakers), born in Ocean City, New Jersey
• Mar 7 Francis Rocco Prestia, American musician (Tower of Power)
• Mar 12 Jack Green, Scottish musician (T. Rex, The Pretty Things), born in Glasgow
• Mar 16 Ray Benson, country singer (House of Blue Lights), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• Mar 16 Ritchie Teeter, American drummer (The Dictators, Twisted Sister), (d. 2012)
• Mar 17 Scott Gorham, American rock guitarist (Thin Lizzy-21 Guns), born in Glendale, California
• Mar 19 Derek Longmuir, Scottish rock drummer (Bay City Rollers), born in Edinburgh, Scotland
• Mar 20 Guy Perry, rock guitarist/vocalist (Motels-Only the Lonely)
• Mar 20 Jimmie Vaughan, American guitarist (Fabulous Thunderbirds), born in Dallas County, Texas
• Mar 21 Russell Thompkins Jr, US soul singer (Stylistics-Sing Baby Sing)
• Mar 22 Howard Reitzes, Southgate Ca, rocker (Iron Butterfly)
• Mar 24 Dougie Thompson, rocker (Supertramp-Bloody Well Right)
• Mar 25 Bob Pelander, rock keyboardist/vocalist (Michael Stanley Band)
• Mar 25 Maisie Williams, Montserrat, rock vocalist (Boney M)
• Mar 28 Karen Kain, Canadian ballerina, born in Hamilton, Canada
• Mar 28 Matti Pellonpää, Finnish actor and musician, born in Helsinki, Finland (d. 1995)
• Apr 4 Steve Gatlin, American country singer (Gatlin Bros-Broken Lady), born in Olney, Texas
• Apr 6 Ralph Cooper, Australian drummer (Air Supply-All Out of Love)
• Apr 7 Janis Ian [Janis Eddy Fink], American singer-songwriter and folk musician (At Seventeen, Society's Child), born in NYC, New York
• Apr 7 John Dittrich, Union NJ, country singer (Restless Heart-Wheels)
• Apr 8 Mel Schacher, American bassist (Grand Funk Railroad-Some Kind of Wonderful), born in Owosso, Michigan
• Apr 11 Robbie House, American rocker (Snuff)
• Apr 11 Paul Fox, English musician and singer (The Ruts), born in United Kingdom (d. 2007)
• Apr 12 Jakson Spires, American rock drummer (Blackfoot), born in Raleigh, North Carolina
• Apr 13 Max Weinberg, American rock drummer (E Street Band, Conan O'Brien Show), born in Newark, New Jersey
• Apr 13 Peabo Bryson, R&B vocalist (I'm So into You), born in Greenville, South Carolina
• Apr 14 Matima Kinuani Mpiosso, musician
• Apr 14 Julian Lloyd Webber, English cellist
• Apr 16 John Bentley, English bass guitarist (Fabulous Poodles), born in Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire, England
• Apr 16 Björgvin Halldórsson, Icelandic singer, born in Hafnarfjörður, Iceland
• Apr 16 Mordechai Ben David, American Jewish singer, born in Brooklyn, New York
• Apr 20 Luther Vandross, American rock vocalist (Dance with my Father), born in NYC, New York (d. 2005)
• Apr 21 Nicoel Barclay, rocker
• Apr 21 Robert Gotobed, English drummer (Wire)
• Apr 22 Paul Carrack, rock vocalist (Squeeze/Ace-How Long), born in Sheffield, England
• Apr 27 Paul "Ace" Frehley, American heavy metal guitarist (Kiss; Frehley's Comet), born in The Bronx, New York
• May 2 John "Jo" Callis, British punk-rock songwriter and musician (The Rezillos, The Human League), born in Rotherham, England
• May 3 Christopher Cross [Geppert], American singer-songwriter (Arthur's Theme, Sailing), born in San Antonio, Texas
• May 4 Jackie Jackson [Sigmund], American rocker (Jackson 5-ABC), born in Gary, Indiana
• May 4 Colin Bass, British bassist (Camel), born in London
• May 4 Mick Mars [Robert Alan Deal], guitarist (Mötley Crüe), born in Terre Haute, Indiana (alternative date 4 April 1955)
• May 5 Rex Goh, Singaporean-Australian rock guitarist (Air Supply), born in Singapore
• May 7 Carlos Alomar, Puerto Rican-American guitarist, composer, and arranger (David Bowie), born in Ponce, Puerto Rico
• May 8 Chris Frantz, American rock drummer (Talking Heads, Tom Tom Club), born in Fort Campbell, Kentucky
• May 8 Philip Bailey, rocker (Earth Wind & Fire-Shining Star, Easy Lover)
• May 10 Ron Banks, US R&B singer (Dramatics-Whatcha See is Whatcha Get)
• May 13 Paul Thompson, rock drummer (Roxy Music)
• May 14 Jay Beckenstein, saxophonist (Spyro Gyra-Morning Dance)
• May 15 Dennis Frederiksen, rocker (Toto-Roseanna, Africa), (d. 2014)
• May 16 Jonathan Richman, rocker (Modern Lovers-New England, Egyptian Reggae)
• May 19 Joey Ramone, [Jeffrey Hyman], lead singer of the punk rock band The Ramones (Baby I Love You)
• May 23 Judy Rodman, country singer (Girls Ride Horses Too), born in Riverside, California
• May 24 Rob Baker, Canadian rock drummer (Red Rider)
• May 25 Clifford Archer, American bassist (Atlantic Star-Touch a 4 Leaf Clover)
• May 25 Chuck Ruff, American rock drummer (Frankenstein), born in Reno, Nevada (d. 2011)
• May 30 Zdravko Čolić, Yugoslav-Bosnian singer, born in Sarajevo, FPR Yugoslavia
• Jun 2 Steve Brookins, rocker (.38 Special)
• Jun 2 Dave Flett, Scottish rock guitarist (Manfred Mann's Earth Band, Thin Lizzy), born in Aberdeen, Scotland
• Jun 6 Dwight Twilley, country singer (Twilley Don't Mind), born in Tulsa, Oklahoma
• Jun 8 Bonnie Tyler [Gaynor Hopkins], Welsh rocker (Total Eclipse of the Heart), born in Skewen, Neath, Wales
• Jun 8 Tony Rice, American acoustic guitarist
• Jun 9 Benny Neyman, Dutch singer (I Don't Know How)
• Jun 9 James Newton Howard, American film composer

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• Jan 3 Ferdinand [Fred] Barlow, French composer, dies at 69
• Jan 10 Athos Palma, Argentine composer, dies at 59
• Jan 19 Constantin C. Nottara, Romanian composer, dies at 60
• Jan 22 Eastwood Lane, American composer, dies at 71
• Feb 9 Eddy Duchin, American pianist and bandleader (Eddy Duchin Orchestra), dies of acute myelogenous leukemia at 41
• Feb 10 Joseph Bovet, composer, dies at 71
• Feb 17 Nikoghayos Fadeyi Tigranyan, Armenian composer, dies at 94
• Feb 20 Howard Brockway, composer, dies at 80
• Mar 6 Ivor Novello [David Ivor Davies], Welsh composer, writer and actor (Keep the Home Fires Burning, The Truth Game), dies at 58
• Mar 8 John Winter Thompson, composer, dies at 83
• Mar 20 Kathleen Lockhart Manning, American composer, dies at 60
• Mar 22 Willem Mengelberg, Dutch conductor (Concertgebouw Orchestra, NY Philharmonic 1922-30), dies at 79
• Apr 1 Clement D'Hooghe, Belgian composer, dies at 51
• Apr 2 Simon Barere, pianist, dies while perfoming at Carnegie Hall
• Apr 6 Halfdan Cleve, Norwegian composer, dies at 71
• Apr 12 Harold Vincent Milligan, American musician and composer, dies at 62
• Apr 25 Jerzy Fitelberg, composer, dies at 47
• Apr 26 John Alden Carpenter, American composer (Sea Drift), dies at 75
• May 17 Karl Heinrich David, composer, dies at 66
• May 20 Jan Ingenhoven, Dutch composer and conductor, dies at 74
• May 29 Dimitrios Levidis, Greek composer, dies at 66
• May 29 Josef Bohuslav Foerster, composer, dies at 91
• May 29 Robert Kahn, German composer, dies at 85
• Jun 4 Serge Koussevitzky, Russian-American conductor (Boston Symphony), dies at 76
• Jun 17 Carl Vogler, Swiss composer, dies at 77
• Jun 23 Armin Knab, German composer (Wunderhorn), dies at 70
• Jul 6 Josef Hüttel, Czech composer, dies at 57
• Jul 9 Jorgen Bentzon, Danish composer, dies at 54

• Jul 19 Max Ettinger, Jewish-German composer (Jiddische Requiem), dies at 77
• Aug 11 Ebbe Hamerik, Danish composer, dies at 52
• Aug 15 Artur Schnabel, Austrian pianist (Reflections on Music), dies at 69
• Aug 21 Leonard Constant Lambert, English composer (Rio Grande), dies at 45
• Sep 3 Robert Franz Richard Hernried, composer, dies at 67
• Sep 9 Cecil Gray, Scottish composer and music critic, dies at 56
• Sep 9 Gibson Gowland, British actor (Greed, Blind Husbands, The Phantom of the Opera), dies at 74
• Sep 10 Giuseppe Mulè, Italian composer, dies at 66
• Sep 14 Fritz Busch, German conductor, dies at 61
• Sep 15 Jacinto Guerrero, composer, dies at 56
• Sep 17 Jimmy Yancey, American pianist (b. 1898)
• Nov 5 Agrippina J Vaganova, Russian ballet dancer/pegagoge, dies at 72
• Nov 5 Bedrich Antonin Wiedermann, Czech organist and composer, dies at 67
• Nov 9 Resurreccion Maria de Azkue, composer, dies at 87
• Nov 9 Sigmund Romberg, Hungarian/American composer (Blossom Time), dies at 64
• Nov 13 Nikolai Medtner, Russian pianist and composer (Skazi), dies at 71
• Nov 13 Hugo Leichtentritt, composer, dies at 77
• Nov 13 Nikolai Karlovich Metner, composer, dies at 71
• Nov 18 Vaclav Kalik, composer, dies at 60
• Nov 18 Will Vodery, African-American composer, dies at 66
• Dec 1 Felix Petyrek, composer, dies at 59
• Dec 12 Mildred Bailey, American jazz singer (b. 1907)
• Dec 13 Selim Palmgren, Finnish pianist and composer (Daniel Hjort), dies at 73
• Dec 22 Powell Weaver, American composer, dies at 61
• Dec 23 Alfrēds Kalniņš, Latvian composer, dies at 72

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