1953 in Music

Events in Music

Event of Interest

Jun 14 Elvis Presley graduates from L. C. Humes High School in Memphis, Tennessee

Singer & Cultural Icon Elvis Presley — Singer & Cultural Icon
Elvis Presley

Aug 2 Betty Jack Davis, singer (w/Skeeter Davis), killed in car crash

Film Release

Aug 5 "From Here to Eternity" based on book by James Jones, directed by Fred Zinnemann and starring Burt Lancaster, Montgomery Clift and Frank Sinatra is released (Academy Awards Best Picture 1954)

Actor Burt Lancaster — Actor
Burt Lancaster

Singer and Actor Frank Sinatra — Singer and Actor
Frank Sinatra

Sep 8 "Carnival in Flanders" opens at New Century Theater NY for 6 performances
Sep 12 "Carnival in Flanders" closes at New Century Theater NYC after 6 performances
Sep 19 "Hazel Flagg" closes at Mark Hellinger Theater NYC after 190 performances
Sep 24 "Take a Giant Step" opens on Broadway
Oct 2 "Comedy in Music (Victor Borge)" opens at John Golden NYC for 849 performances
Oct 19 Singer Julius LaRosa is fired on TV by Arthur Godfrey

Event of Interest

Oct 25 Dmitri Shostakovich completes his 10th Symphony

Composer Dmitri Shostakovich — Composer
Dmitri Shostakovich

Nov 6 Masao Oki's symphony "Atomic Bomb" premieres
Nov 13 Dmitri Shostakovich's 4th String Quartet premieres
Nov 25 "Guys & Dolls" closes at 46th St Theater NYC after 1,200 performances
Nov 28 "Wish You Were Here" closes at Imperial Theater NYC after 597 performances
Dec 3 "Kismet" opens at Ziegfeld Theater NYC for 583 performances
Dec 3 Premier of Dmitri Shostakovich' 5th String Quartet
Dec 3 "In the Jailhouse Now" single recorded by Webb Pierce (Billboard Song of the Year 1955)
Dec 10 "John Murray Anderson's Almanac" opens at Imperial NYC for 229 performances
Dec 17 Dmitri Shostakovich's 10th Symphony premieres in Leningrad

Birthdays in Music

Birthdays 1 - 100 of 180

Jan 1 Alpha Blondy, [Seydou Kone], Ivory coast, reggae singer (Jerusalem)
Jan 1 Kevin Hangon, composer
Jan 1 Rochelle S Abramson, violinist
Jan 1 Greg Carmichael, British guitarist (Acoustic Alchemy)
Jan 5 Steve Archer, American singer (The Archers)
Jan 6 Malcolm Young, guitarist (AC/DC-Highway to Hell), born in Glasgow, Scotland
Jan 7 Earl Wilber Force "Wire" Lindo, rocker (Bob Marley & the Wailers)
Jan 10 Pat Benatar, [Andrezejewski], American singer (Hell Is for Children), born in Brooklyn, New York
Jan 17 Sheila Hutchinson, rocker
Jan 19 Desi Arnaz Jr., American actor (Craig-Here's Lucy, Fakeout, Joyride) and musician, born in Los Angeles, California
Jan 22 Myung-Whun Chung, Seoul South Korea, pianist/conductor (Chung Trio)
Jan 23 Robin Zander, American rock vocalist and guitarist (Cheap Trick-Dream Police), born in Beloit, Wisconsin
Jan 25 Malcolm Green, rocker (Split Enz-I Got You)
Jan 26 Bert Heerink, Amsterdam, rock vocalist
Jan 26 Lucinda Williams, American singer-songwriter (Passionate Kisses, Car Wheels on a Gravel Road), born in Lake Charles, Louisiana
Jan 29 Teresa Teng, Taiwanese singer (d. 1995)
Jan 31 Aart Mol, Dutch bassist (Catapult)
Feb 4 Kitaro, Japanese composer
Feb 10 Carl Joseph Stone, composer
Feb 11 Alan Rubin, music figure (Blues Brothers)
Feb 13 Rico J. Puno, Filipino pop singer
Feb 14 Wayne Siegel, composer
Feb 14 Carmine Rojas, American composer, musical director and bass guitarist (Joe Bonamassa), born in Brooklyn, New York City
Feb 18 Derek Pellicci, rock drummer (Little River Band-Help Is On It's Way)
Feb 18 Nico Arzbach, rock guitarist/singer (Stampei, Dike)
Feb 18 Robin Bachman, Winnipeg, guitarist (BTO-You Aint Seen Nothing Yet)
Feb 20 Riccardo Chailly, conductor (West Berlin Symph Orchestra), born in Milan, Italy
Feb 20 Poison Ivy, American musician (The Cramps)
Feb 22 Graham Lewis, English musician (Wire)
Feb 26 Michael Bolton, Ct, rock vocalist (That's What Love Is All About)
Mar 2 William Simmons, sax/keyboardist (Midnight Star-No Parking)
Mar 3 Dave Amato, rocker (REO Speedwagon-Can't Fight this Feeling)
Mar 7 Jules Shear, rock musician
Mar 7 Kenny Aronoff, American drummer (John Mellencamp), born in Albany, New York
Mar 8 Bob Brozman, American musician
Mar 10 Ronnie Earl [Ronald Horvath], American blues guitarist (The Broadcasters), born in Queens, New York
Mar 11 Bernie LaBarge, Canadian musician
Mar 12 Labamba, [Richard Rosenberg], rocker (Asbury Jukes)
Mar 18 Jamie West-Oram, rocker (Fixx)
Mar 19 Billy Sheehan, rocker (Mr Big-Lean Into It)
Mar 19 Ricky Wilson, rock guitarist (B-52's-Love Shack), born in Athens, Georgia
Mar 21 Shotgun Johnson [Robert], rock drummer (KC & the Sunshine Band-Give it Up)
Mar 23 Chaka Khan [Yvette Marie Stevens], American singer and songwriter (Rufus, I am Every Woman), born in Chicago, Illinois
Mar 26 Michael Bonagura, country singer (Baille & Boys-Oh Heart), born in Newark, New Jersey
Mar 26 William "Billy" Lyall, Scottish musician (Bay City Rollers), born in Edinburgh, Scotland (d. 1989)
Mar 27 Walter "Wally" Stocker, British rock vocalist and guitarist (The Babys- "Missing You"), born in London, England
Mar 31 Greg Martin, singer (Ky Headhunters-Davy Crockett), born in Louisville, Kentucky
Mar 31 Sean Hopper, California, rock keyboardist (Huey Lewis & The News)
Mar 31 Dennis Kamakahi, Grammy Award-winning musician (d. 2014), born in Honolulu, Hawaii
Apr 2 David Robinson, American rock drummer (Cars, The Modern Lovers), born in Malden, Massachusetts
Apr 3 Huub van der Lubbe, Dutch rock singer (Stampei-The Dike), born in Amsterdam
Apr 3 Craig Taubman, Jewish-American singer (Friday Night Live), born in Millington, Tennessee
Apr 6 Christopher Franke, German musician and composer
Apr 6 Patrick Doyle, Scottish film composer (Artemis Fowl, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Thor), born in Uddingston, Scotland
Apr 9 Hal Ketchum, country singer (Small Town Saturday Night), born in Greenwich Village, New York
Apr 10 Terre Roche, American rocker (Roches), born in New York
Apr 11 Branimir "Johnny" Štulić, Croatian rock singer (Azra), born in Skopje, Yugoslavia
Apr 12 Tony James, English rock bassist (Sigue Sigue Sputnik-Love Missile F-111), born in Shepherds Bush, London
Apr 16 Peter Garrett, Australian environmentalist, activist, former politician (Labour Party), and musician (Midnight Oil), born in Wahroonga, Sydney

Rick Moranis

Apr 18 Rick Moranis, Canadian actor (SCTV, Honey I Shrunk the Kids, Spaceballs), born in Toronto, Ontario

Apr 19 Rod Morgenstein, American musician (Winger), born in NYC, New York
Apr 22 Juhani Komulainen, Finnish composer
Apr 24 Porter Carroll Jr, drummer (Atlantic Star-Touch a 4 Leaf Clover)
Apr 27 Arielle Dombasle, American-French singer and actress, born in Norwich, Connecticut
Apr 28 Kim Gordon, American musician (Sonic Youth)
Apr 30 Merrill Osmond, singer (Osmond Brothers, Donnie & Marie), born in Ogden, Utah
May 1 Felix Hanemann, rocker (Zebra)
May 1 Glen Ballard, American songwriter and record producer (Alanis Morissette, Michael Jackson), born in Natchez, Mississippi
May 3 Bruce Hall, American rock bassist (Reo Speedwagon), born in Champaign, Illinois
May 3 Van McLain [McElvain], American rock guitarist (Shooting Star), born in Kansas City, Missouri (d. 2018)
May 8 Billy Burnette, rock guitarist (Fleetwood Mac), born in Memphis, Tennessee
May 8 Alex Van Halen, Amsterdam The Netherlands, Dutch drummer (Van Halen)
May 10 Steve Thomas, rocker (Shooting Star)
May 14 Tom Cochrane, Canadian rock vocalist/guitarist (Red Rider), born in Toronto, Ontario
May 15 Mike Oldfield, British musician and composer (Tubular Bells) born in Reading, Berkshire
May 16 Richard Page, rocker (Mr Mister), born in Los Angeles, California
May 17 George Johnson, rocker (Brothers Johnson), born in Los Angeles, California
May 18 [Feliciano] Butch Tavares, rocker (Tavares)
May 24 Mark Rivera, American saxophonist, musical director and corporate entertainment provider (Billy Joel), born in Brooklyn, New York
May 25 Rich Alves, Pleasanton California, singer (Pirates of Miss-Fred Jake)
May 28 Arto Lindsay, rocker/actor (Cookie, Desperately Seeking Susan)

Danny Elfman

May 29 Danny Elfman, American composer (The Simspons Theme), born in Los Angeles, California

May 29 Rick Henderson, singer (Mason Dixon-Karen Comes Around), born in Beaumont, Texas
Jun 4 Jimmy McCulloch, Scottish songwriter and guitarist (Wings), born in Dumbarton (d. 1979)
Jun 4 Paul Samson, British guitarist (Samson) (d. 2002)
Jun 7 Johnny Clegg, South African musician "The White Zulu", born in Bacup, Lancashire
Jun 12 Jonathan "Rocky" Burnette, American rock and roll vocalist ("Tired of Toein' the Line"), born in Memphis, Tennessee
Jun 14 David Thomas, US singer/songwriter (Pere Ubu)
Jun 16 Ian Mosley, Paddington London, drummer (Marillion-Clutching at Straws)
Jun 18 Jerome Smith, American guitarist (KC & the Sunshine Band-Boogie Shoes), born in Miami, Florida (d. 2000)
Jun 19 Larry Dunn, [Dunhill], US keyboardist (Earth Wind & Fire)
Jun 20 Alan Longmuir, Scottish pop-rock musician (Bay City Rollers), born in Edinburgh, Scotland (d. 2018)
Jun 21 Augustus Pablo, Jamaican musician (d. 1999)
Jun 22 Cyndi Lauper, American singer (Girls Just Want To Have Fun, Time After Time), born in NYC, New York
Jun 26 Ralph Ezell, American singer (Shenandoah-Sunday in the South), born in Union, Mississippi
Jun 26 Robert Davi, American actor and opera singer (Die Hard, Gangster Chronicles, License to Kill), born in Queens, New York
Jun 29 Billy Hinsche, American musician (Dino, Desi & Billy), born in Manila, the Philippines
Jun 29 Don Dokken, heavy metal rocker (Dokken-Alone Again)
Jun 29 Colin Hay, Kilwinning, Scotland, Scottish-Australian guitarist and singer (Men At Work)
Jun 30 Hal Lindes, Monterey CA, rocker (Dire Straits)

Weddings in Music

Wedding of Interest

Jun 18 Civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. (24) marries fellow activist and singer Coretta Scott (26)

Wedding of Interest

Jun 19 Singer James Brown (20) weds Velma Warren at Trinity CME Church in Toccoa, Georgia

Wedding of Interest

Jul 6 "James Bond" actor Roger Moore (25) weds Welsh singer Dorothy Squires (38) in Jersey City

Wedding of Interest

Jul 13 Academy award-winning actor José Ferrer (41) weds singer and actress Rosemary Clooney (25) in Durant, Oklahoma

Sep 24 Singer Dick Haymes (35) weds Hollywood actress Rita Hayworth (34) at The Sands hotel-casino in Las Vegas

Divorces in Music

Divorce of Interest

Jul 7 Actor José Ferrer divorces dancer and actress Phyllis Hill after 5 years of marriage

Divorce of Interest

Aug 28 Jazz musician Ella Fitzgerald (36) divorces bass player Ray Brown (27) after 6 years of marriage

Deaths in Music

Hank Williams

Jan 1 Hank Williams, American country singer (Cold Cold Heart), dies at 29

Jan 8 Heinrich Kaspar Schmid, German composer, dies at 78
Jan 10 Theo Mackeben, German pianist/composer (Golden Cage), dies at 56
Jan 12 Simeon Roncal, Bolivian composer, dies at 82
Jan 15 Patrick Vretblad, Swedish composer, dies at 76
Feb 2 Gustav Strube, composer, dies at 85
Feb 25 Jesus Garcia Leoz, composer, dies at 49
Feb 26 Elisabeth "Ilse" Kuyper, Dutch/US (opera)composer, dies
Mar 5 Sergei Prokofiev, Russian composer (Peter and the Wolf), dies at 61
Mar 17 Conrado del Campo y Zabaleta, composer, dies at 73
Mar 26 Albert Spalding, composer, dies at 64
Mar 27 Narciso Garay, Panamanian composer, dies at 76
Mar 30 Roderich Mojsisovics-Mojsvar, composer, dies at 75
May 4 Thomas Tertius Noble, composer, dies at 85

Django Reinhardt

May 16 Django Reinhardt, Belgium born Romani-French jazz guitarist and composer considered the most significant European Jazz musician, dies at 43

May 17 Eric De Lamarter, composer, dies at 73
May 22 Vaclav Klicka, Czech composer, dies at 70
May 30 Dooley Wilson [Arthur Wilson], American musician and actor (Beulah, Casablanca), dies of natural causes at 67
Jun 3 Florence Price, American composer (Wanamaker Prize 1932) and 1st African-American woman to have a composition played by a major orchestra, dies at 66
Jun 10 Grzegorz Fitelberg, Polish composer, dies at 73
Jun 17 Walter Niemann, German composer, dies at 76
Jun 29 Jules van Nuffel, composer, dies at 70
Jun 30 Gote Carlid, Swedish composer, dies at 32
Jul 10 Sidney Homer, composer, dies at 88
Jul 12 Joseph Jongen, Belgian composer, dies at 79
Jul 12 Marie-Alphonse-Nicolas-Joseph Jongen, composer, dies at 79
Jul 17 Bernhard van den Sigtenhorst Meyer, composer, dies at 65
Aug 13 Dmitri Arakishvili, composer, dies at 80
Aug 27 Nicolai Berezowsky, composer, dies at 53
Aug 30 Dimitar Nenov, Bulgarian composer, pianist and architect, dies at 51
Sep 15 Jacques Thibaud, French violinist, dies
Sep 17 Henry Holden Huss, American composer, dies at 91
Sep 21 Roger Quilter, British composer, dies at 75
Oct 3 Arnold Bax, English composer known for his orchestral music (Coronation March), dies at 69
Oct 8 Kathleen Ferrier, English alto singer, dies at 41
Oct 18 Federico Gerdes, composer, dies at 80
Oct 24 Ernest Irving, English composer, dies at 74
Oct 27 Zdzislaw Jachimecki, composer, dies at 71
Oct 29 William Kapell, American pianist and recording artist, dies in a plane crash at 31
Oct 30 Emmerich Kálmán, Hungarian composer of operettas, dies at 71
Nov 4 Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge, composer, dies at 89
Nov 6 John Parsons Beach, American composer, dies at 76
Nov 21 Larry Shields, American jazz clarinetist (Original Dixieland Jazz Band), dies at 60
Nov 24 George Alexander Russell, American organist, composer and the first Frick Professor of Music for Princeton University, dies at 73
Dec 4 Daniel Gregory Mason, composer, dies at 80
Dec 5 Jorge Negrete [Moreno], Mexican singer and actor (The Rebel, La madrina del diablo), dies of hepatitis at 42
Dec 15 Kishio Hirao, composer, dies at 46
Dec 27 Julian Tuwim, Polish poet and lyricist, dies at 59

1952
On This Day in Music
1954