1954 in Music

• Jan 8 Elvis Presley pays $4 to a Memphis studio & records his 1st two songs, "Casual Love" & "I'll Never Stand in Your Way"
• Jan 14 Sandy Wilson's musical "Boyfriend" premieres in London
• Jan 16 "South Pacific" closes at Majestic Theater NYC after 1928 performances

• Mar 5 "Girl in Pink Tights" opens at Mark Hellinger NYC for 115 performances
• Mar 12 1st performance of Arnold Schoenberg's "Moses und Aaron"
• Mar 20 "King & I" closes at St James Theater NYC after 1246 performances
• Apr 3 "Me & Juliet" closes at Majestic Theater NYC after 358 performances
• Apr 5 Elvis Presley records his debut single "That's All Right"
• Apr 8 "By the Beautiful Sea" opens at Majestic Theater NYC for 270 performances

• Apr 20 "Golden Apple" opens at Alvin Theater NYC for 125 performances
• Apr 30 Darius Milhauds 4th Concert for piano and orchestra premieres in Haifa
• May 13 "Pajama Game" opens at St James Theater NYC for 1063 performances


• Jun 12 "Girl in Pink Tights" closes at Mark Hellinger NYC after 115 performances
• Jun 12 Bill Haley's "Rock Around the Clock" is originally released
• Jun 24 "John Murray Anderson's Almanac" closes at Imperial NYC after 229 performances
• Jul 3 "Wonderful Town" closes at Winter Garden Theater NYC after 559 performances
• Jul 30 Elvis Presley joins the Memphis Federation of Musicians, Local 71
• Aug 7 "Golden Apple" closes at Alvin Theater NYC after 125 performances
• Sep 6 WINS NYC begins playing rock n roll with Alan Freed Show
• Sep 14 Benjamin Britten's opera 'Turn of the Screw' premieres in Venice

• Sep 30 "Boy Friend" opens at Royale Theater NYC for 483 performances
• Oct 11 "On Your Toes" opens at 46th St Theater NYC for 64 performances
• Oct 20 "Peter Pan" opens at Winter Garden Theater NYC for 149 performances
• Nov 4 "Fanny" opens at Majestic Theater NYC for 888 performances
• Nov 27 "By the Beautiful Sea" closes at Majestic Theater NYC after 270 performances
• Dec 2 "Hit the Trail" opens at Mark Hellinger Theater NYC for 4 performances

• Dec 3 William Walton's opera "Troilus & Cressida" premieres in London
• Dec 4 "Hit the Trail" closes at Mark Hellinger Theater NYC after 4 performances
• Dec 4 "On Your Toes" closes at 46th St Theater NYC after 64 performances
• Dec 9 Dmitri Shostakovich appointed honored guest of Royal Swedish Academy of Music
• Dec 27 "Saint of Bleecker Street" opens at Broadway Theater NYC for 92 performances
• Dec 27 Gian Carlo Menotti's opera "Saint" premieres in NYC
• Dec 30 "House of Flowers" opens at Alvin Theater NYC for 165 performances

Birthdays 1 - 100 of 178

• Jan 1 Fr David, rocker, born in Paris, France
• Jan 2 Dawn Silva, American singer (The Brides of Funkenstein, P-Funk)
• Jan 3 Ross The Boss [Ross Friedman], American guitarist (The Dictators), born in the Bronx, New York
• Jan 4 Eugene Chadbourne, American composer and musician
• Jan 5 Bryan Hitt, rocker (REO Speedwagon-Keep on Loving You)
• Jan 9 Lance Hoppens, rocker (Orleans-Still the One, Dance With Me)
• Jan 19 Katey Sagal, singer/actress (Peggy Bundy-Married With Children), born in Los Angeles, California
• Jan 23 Edward Ka-spel, English singer/songwriter (Legendary Pink Dots)
• Jan 23 Franco De Vita, Venezuelan spanish singer (Extranjero), born in Caracas
• Jan 23 Rick Finch, rocker (KC & Sunshine Band-Give It)
• Jan 23 Richard Finch, American composer, producer, engineer, and song arranger (KC and the Sunshine Band), born in Indianapolis, Indiana
• Jan 28 Shawn Murray, rock drummer (Mink Deville)
• Jan 29 Dick Manitoba, vocalist (Dictators)
• Jan 30 Alides Hidding, singer/guitarist (Time Bandits)
• Jan 31 Adrian Vandenberg, Amsterdam Neth, rock guitarist (Whitesnake)
• Feb 1 Chuck Dukowski, American musician (Black Flag)
• Feb 2 Hansi Hinterseer, Austrian singer, actor, former skier
• Feb 5 Cliff Martinez, American musician
• Feb 6 Scott Kempner, "Top Ten" rocker (Del Lords)
• Feb 7 Dieter Bohlen German composer
• Feb 11 Noriyuki Asakura, Japanese composer
• Feb 12 Tzimis Panousis, Greek musician and stand-up comedian

• Feb 19 Frances Bucholz, rocker (Scorpions-Wind of Change)
• Feb 19 Jamie West-Oram, rock guitarist (Fixx)
• Feb 20 Jon Brant, rock bassist (Cheap Trick)
• Feb 25 John Doe, American musician
• Feb 27 Neal Schon, rock guitarist (Journey-Open Arms, Bad English)
• Mar 1 Janis Gill, singer (Sweethearts of Rodeo-Midnight Girl), born in Torrance, California
• Mar 3 Chris Hughes, English record producer and rock drummer (Adam & The Ants), born in London, England
• Mar 7 Matt Frenette, rock drummer (Loverboy)
• Mar 8 Cheryl Baker, rock vocalist (Bucks Fizz-My Camera Never Lies)
• Mar 9 Charmain Elaine Sylvers, American rocker (The Sylvers), born in Watts, Los Angeles
• Mar 14 Adrian Zmed, actor (TJ Hooker, Dance Fever), born in Chicago, Illinois
• Mar 14 Jann Browne, country singer (Mexican Wind)
• Mar 16 Jimmy Nail, singer/actor (Evita, Spender, Howling II)
• Mar 16 Nancy Wilson, rock guitarist (Heart-Never, What about Love), born in San Francisco, California
• Mar 17 Lesley-Anne Down, actress (A Little Night Music, Moonraker), born in London, England
• Mar 17 Rena Jones, rock vocalist
• Mar 20 Jim Seales, Hamilton Ala, singer (Shenandoah-Sunday in the South)
• Mar 31 Tony Brock, England, rock drummer (Isn't It Time, Every Time I Think of You)
• Apr 1 Jeff Porcaro, drummer/percussionist (Toto-Roxanne, Africa), born in Los Angeles, California
• Apr 1 Susumu Hirasawa, Japanese electropop musician, born in Nakagawa, Adachi, Tokyo
• Apr 3 Elisabetta Brusa, Italian composer, born in Milan
• Apr 4 Michel Camilo, Dominican pianist (Rendezvous), born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
• Apr 5 Stan Ridgway, American singer-songwriter (Wall Of Voodoo), born in Bartsow, California
• Apr 10 Lenny Pickett, American saxophonist and musical director (Saturday Night Live band, Tower of Power), born in Las Cruces, New Mexico
• Apr 12 Pat Travers, Canadian rock guitarist (Puttin' it Straight), born in Toronto, Ontario
• Apr 13 Jimmy Destri, rock keyboardist (Blondie-Heart of Glass, Rapture)
• Apr 13 Niels Olsen, Danish singer
• Apr 15 Emmanuel, spanish singer, born in Mexico City, Mexico
• Apr 17 Michael Sembello, American Grammy-award winning singer-songwriter, composer and producer (Maniac, Flashdance), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• Apr 17 Michael Sembello, American Grammy-award winning singer songwriter, composer and producer (Maniac, Flashdance), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• Apr 18 Kim Stone, bassist (Spyro Gyra-Morning Dance)
• Apr 21 Ebiet G. Ade, Indonesian singer
• Apr 24 Captain Sensible [Ray Burns], English rock bassist (Women & Captains 1st), born in Balham, London
• Apr 24 Jack Blades, American rock bassist (Damn Yankees-Coming of Age, Night Ranger), born in Palm Desert, California
• Apr 25 Rob Crosby, Sumter SC, country singer (She's a Natural)
• Apr 29 Deborah Iyall, rocker (Romeo Void)
• May 1 Ray Parker Jr, rock guitarist/vocalist (Ghostbusters), born in Detroit, Michigan
• May 3 Gary Young, American drummer (Pavement), born in Mamaroneck, New York
• May 4 Julie Budd, American singer (Child of Plenty), born in Brooklyn, New York
• May 4 Pia Zadora, American actress and singer, born in Hoboken, New Jersey
• May 5 Angelo Kimball, rock guitarist (Face To Face), born in Boston, Massachusetts
• May 11 Edgar Riley Jr, rocker (Axe K)
• May 11 Judith Weir, English composer, Master of the Queen's Music, born in Cambridge
• May 13 Johnny Logan, Irish singer and songwriter
• May 18 Wreckless Eric, rocker (Waxworks, Be Stiff)
• May 18 Reinhold Heil, German composer
• May 19 Phil Rudd, Australian rock drummer (AC/DC-Rock 'n Roll Damnation), born in Melbourne, Victoria
• May 20 James Henderson, country singer (Black Oak Arkansas)
• May 20 Guy Hoffman, American musician (Violent Femmes)
• May 21 Marc Ribot, American guitarist (Tom Waits, Elvis Costello, John Zorn), born in Newark, New Jersey
• May 22 Jerry Dammers, keyboardist (Specials-Special)
• May 28 Youri Egorov, Soviet classical pianist (d. 1988)
• May 31 Vicki Sue Robinson, American singer (d. 2000)
• Jun 2 Michael Steele, rocker (Bangles-Eternal Flame, Walk Like an Egyptian)
• Jun 3 Daniel "Dan" Hill, Canadian pop singer and songwriter (Sometimes When We Touch, Can't We Try), born in Toronto, Ontario
• Jun 5 Peter Erskine, jazz drummer (Weather Report)
• Jun 5 Michael "Nicko" McBrain, English heavy metal drummer (Iron Maiden-Powerslave), born in London, England
• Jun 9 Pete Byrne Bath, English rocker (Naked Eyes), born in Bath, Somerset
• Jun 10 Richard "Rich" Hall, American comedian, writer, and musician (Saturday Night Live, Fridays, Not Necessarily the News), born in Alexandria, Virginia
• Jun 11 Johnny Neel, American musician, singer and songwriter (Allman Brothers, Gov't Mule, Dickey Betts), born in Wilmington, Delaware
• Jun 13 Bo [Robert] Donaldson, American rock vocalist (Billy Don't Be a Hero), born in Cincinnati, Ohio
• Jun 13 Jorge Santana, Mexican rock guitarist (Malo), born in Autlán de Navarro
• Jun 13 Rita Cadillac, Brazilian dancer
• Jun 15 Terri Gibbs, blind singer (Somebody's Knockin'), born in Augusta, Georgia
• Jun 16 Gary Roberts, rocker (Boomtown Rats)
• Jun 16 Doane Perry, American musician, composer, and author (Jethro Tull), born in Mt. Kisco, Westchester County, New York
• Jun 18 William Beard, rock drummer (Face To Face)
• Jun 20 Michael Anthony, rock bassist/singer (Van Halen-Pretty Woman)
• Jun 22 Bobby Valentino, rocker (Fabulous Poodles)
• Jun 25 David Paich, American rock keyboardist (Toto-Africa), born in Los Angeles, California
• Jun 28 Ava Barber, country singer (Lawrence Welk Show), born in Knoxville, Tennessee
• Jun 30 Bryn B Burrows, rock drummer (Fabulous Poodles)
• Jul 5 Jimmy Crespo, American guitarist (Aerosmith)
• Jul 9 Debbie Sledge, American vocalist (Sister Sledge-We are Family), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• Jul 10 Gene Holder, American musician (the dBs)
• Jul 10 Neil Tennant, English singer and songwriter (Pet Shop Boy-West End Girl), born in North Shields, Northumberland, England
• Jul 13 Louise Mandrell, country singer (Mandrell Sisters), born in Corpus Christi, Texas

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• Jan 10 Fred Raymond, Austrian composer, dies at 53
• Jan 11 Oscar Straus, Austrian composer (Brave Soldier), dies at 83
• Jan 13 Roland Diggle, English-born American composer and organist, dies at 69
• Jan 27 Paul-Marie Masson, composer, dies at 71
• Feb 2 Theodor Rogalski, Romanian composer, dies at 52
• Feb 4 Vaclav Vackar, composer, dies at 72
• Feb 5 Vittorio Gnecchi, composer, dies at 77
• Feb 7 Jan Adam Maklakiewicz, composer, dies at 54
• Mar 4 Georg Göhler, German composer (Rückert), dies at 79
• Mar 4 Noel Gay [Reginald Moxon Armitage], British composer (Who's been polishing the Sun), dies at 55
• Mar 6 Louis Zimmermann, Dutch violinist and 1st concert master of Concert building, dies at 80
• Mar 14 Ludomir Michał Rogowski, Polish composer, dies at 72
• Mar 15 Arthur Fickenscher, American composer, dies at 82
• Mar 19 Walter Braunfels, composer, dies at 71
• Mar 21 Harry Lawrence Freeman, African-American composer, dies at 84
• Apr 5 Claude Delvincourt, composer, dies at 66
• Apr 9 Philip Greeley Clapp, composer, dies at 65
• Apr 15 Juan Vicente Lecuna, composer, dies at 54
• May 2 Pauline de Cock-Manifarges, singer, dies at 82
• May 16 Clemens Krauss, Austrian conductor (Vienna State Opera), dies at 61
• May 19 Charles Ives, American composer (Unanswered Question), dies at 79
• May 21 Janos Hammerschlag, composer, dies at 68
• May 28 Achille Longo, Italian composer, dies at 54
• Jun 10 Will Rossiter, composer, dies at 87
• Jun 13 Nikolai Obouhov, composer, dies at 62
• Jun 27 Francis L Casadesus, French violinist/composer/conductor, dies at 83
• Jul 19 Jean Roger-Ducasse, composer, dies at 81
• Aug 2 Rene Amengual, composer, dies at 42
• Aug 8 Gino Tagliapietra, Italian pianist and composer (Antologia di musica antica e moderna per pianoforte), dies at 67
• Aug 13 Hermann W S Waltershausen, German musicologist/composer, dies at 71
• Aug 17 Billy Murray, singer (Denver Nightengale), dies at 77
• Sep 9 Alfred Gradstein, composer, dies at 49
• Sep 10 Peter Anders, German opera singer, dies
• Sep 11 Licinio Refice, composer, dies at 69
• Sep 19 Tibor Harsányi, Hungarian composer, dies at 56
• Oct 5 Flor Alpaerts, Flemish composer (Tyl Uilenspiegel, Pallieter), dies at 78
• Oct 6 Hakon Borresen, composer, dies at 78
• Oct 23 Henri Zagwijn, composer, dies at 76
• Oct 27 Franco Alfano, Italian opera composer (Puccini's Turandot), dies at 78
• Nov 11 John Rosamund Johnson, composer, dies at 81
• Nov 21 Karol Rathaus, composer, dies at 59
• Nov 29 George Robey, English musical theatre actor and comedian, dies at 85
• Nov 29 Dink Johnson, American musician (b. 1892)
• Nov 30 Wilhelm Furtwängler, German conductor (b. 1886)
• Dec 1 Fred Rose, American songwriter and music publishing executive, dies at 57
• Dec 3 Enrique Soro Barriga, composer, dies at 70
• Dec 4 Nina Vasar, wife of Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich, dies
• Dec 20 Emilis Melngailis, composer, dies at 80
• Dec 25 Johnny Ace, American rhythm and blues singer, accidentally shoots himself in the head at 25
• Dec 25 Rosario Scalero, composer, dies at 84
• Dec 31 Peter Van Anrooy, Dutch conductor and composer (Piet Hein Rhapsodie), dies at 75

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