December 1954 in Music History

Events in Music

Dec 3 Samuel Barber's cantata "Prayers of Kierkegaard" premieres

Dec 3 William Walton's opera "Troilus & Cressida" premieres in London
Dec 4 Musical "Hit the Trail" closes at Mark Hellinger Theater, NYC, after 4 performances

Dec 4 Revival of George Abbott, Richard Rodgers & Lorenz Hart's musical "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 Gian Carlo Menotti's Pulitzer Prize winning opera "The Saint of Bleecker Street" opens at Broadway Theater in ,NYC; runs for 92 performances

Dec 30 Harold Arlen and Truman Capote's musical "House of Flowers" premieres at Alvin Theater, NYC; runs for 165 performances

Dec 2 Danielle Alexander, American country music pianist, born in Fort Worth, Texas
Dec 3 Paul Gregg, American country bassist (Restless Heart - "Big Dreams In A Small Town"; "The Bluest Eyes In Texas"), born in Altus, Oklahoma
Dec 6 Chris Stamey, American musician, born in Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Dec 7 Mike Nolan, Irish singer (Bucks Fizz-My Camera Never Lies), born in Dublin, Republic of Ireland
Dec 9 Jack Sonni, American guitarist (Dire Straits, 1985-88), born in Indiana, Pennsylvania
Dec 9 Kip Hanrahan, American jazz producer (American Clavé), born in the Bronx, New York
Dec 10 Geoff Deane, British pop singer (Modern Romance), born in London
Dec 10 Jack Hues [Jeremy Ryder], British new-wave singer-songwriter (Wang Chung - "Everybody Have Fun Tonight"), born in Gillingham, Kent, England
Dec 11 Guðlaugur Kristinn Óttarsson, Icelandic rock guitarist (Dense Time), and electronic engineer, born in Reykjavík, Iceland
Dec 11 Jermaine Jackson, American singer (Jackson 5 - "ABC"; solo - "Let's Get Serious"), born in Gary, Indiana
Dec 11 Vicki Randle, American singer-songwriter, born in San Francisco, California
Dec 13 John Anderson, American country singer and actor ("I've Got a Feelin'";"Money in the Bank"), born in Apopka, Florida
Dec 13 Steve Forbert, American singer-songwriter ("Romeo's Tune"; "Going Down To Laurel"), born in Meridian, Mississippi
Dec 14 Ib Andersen, Danish ballet dancer, born in Copenhagen

Dec 25 Scottish vocalist (Eurythmics - "Sweet Dreams"; solo - "Why"), born in Aberdeen, Scotland

Dec 25 Robin Campbell, British reggae vocalist andguitarist (UB40 - "Red Red Wine"),born in Birmingham, England
Dec 25 Steve Wariner, American country singer (Small Town Girl), born in Noblesville, Indiana
Dec 26 Palmolive [Paloma Romero McLardy] Spanish-British punk rock drummer and songwriter (The Slits, The Raincoats), born in Melilla, Spain
Dec 26 Peter Woods, American rock guitarist (Romeo Void - '"A Girl in Trouble")
Dec 29 John "JR" Robinson, American session drummer appearing on over 50 Grammy winning recordings, born in Creston, Iowa
Dec 29 Roger Voudouris, American singer-songwriter and guitarist ("Get Used To It"), born in Sacramento, California (d. 2003)
Dec 31 Sylvie Bodorová, Czech contemporary classical composer (Dignitas homini; Ventimiglia), born in České Budějovice, Czechoslovakia (now Czech Republic)

Dec 1 Fred Rose, American songwriter and music publishing executive (Nashville's Acuff-Rose Music), dies of a heart attack at 57
Dec 3 Enrique Soro, Chilean composer, dies at 70
Dec 4 Nina Varzar, wife of Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich, dies at 46
Dec 20 Emilis Melngailis, Latvian choral composer, folklorist, and conductor (Latvian Song and Dance Festival), 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