Events in Music
Music Concert
Jan 1 Johnny Cash plays first of many free concerts behind bars
Johnny Cash
- Jan 2 Roger Sessions' 4th Symphony, premieres
- Feb 4 Lionel Bart's musical "Fings ain't wot they used t'be" premieres
- Feb 10 "Unsinkable Molly Brown" closes at Winter Garden NYC after 532 performances
- Feb 10 Charles Ives' "Lincoln, the Great Commoner" premieres
- Feb 13 "Beg, Borrow or Steal" opens at Martin Beck Theater NYC for 5 performances
- Feb 13 "Saratoga" closes at Winter Garden Theater NYC after 80 performances
- Feb 25 John Cage's "Music for Amplified Toy Pianos" premieres
Event of Interest
Mar 5 Elvis Presley ends 2-year hitch in US Army
Elvis Presley
Music Premiere
Mar 29 Darius Milhaud's 9th Symphony, premieres
Darius Milhaud
- Apr 3 Elvis Presley records ‘It's Now Or Never’, ‘Fever’ and ‘Are You Lonesome Tonight’ at RCA studios in Nashville, Tennessee
- Apr 14 Lee Adams and Charles Strouse's musical "Bye Bye Birdie", starring Dick Van Dyke, Chita Rivera, and Dick Gautier, opens at Martin Beck Theater NYC; runs for 607 performances
Event of Interest
Apr 14 American record company Motown, founded by Berry Gordy Jr., is incorporated as Motown Record Corporation
Berry Gordy
- Apr 15 Guy Carawan sings "We Shall Overcome" to a Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee in Raleigh - popularising the song as a protest anthem
- Apr 20 "From A to Z" opens at Plymouth Theater NYC for 21 performances
- Apr 23 1st performance of Ferde Grofé's "San Francisco Suite"
- Apr 28 "Christine" opens at 46th St Theater NYC for 12 performances
- May 3 Musical "Fantasticks" by Harvey Schmidt and Tom Jones, premieres in NYC (world's longest running musical)
- May 7 "Christine" closes at 46th St Theater NYC after 12 performances
- May 7 "Flower Drum Song" closes at St James Theater NYC after 602 performances
- May 7 "From A to Z" closes at Plymouth Theater NYC after 21 performances
- May 12 Elvis Presley appears on a Frank Sinatra special
- May 14 "At the Drop of a Hat" closes at John Golden NYC after 216 performances
Event of Interest
May 15 Dmitri Shostakovich's 7th String quartet premieres in Leningrad
Dmitri Shostakovich
#1 in the Charts
May 29 Everly Brothers "Cathy's Clown" hits #1
Phil Everly
- Jun 1 "Finian's Rainbow" closes at 46th St Theater NYC after 12 performances
Event of Interest
Jun 6 "Steve Allen Show" last airs on NBC-TV
Steve Allen
Music Recording
Jun 19 Loretta Lynn records "I'm a Honky Tonk Girl"
Loretta Lynn
Event of Interest
Jul 1 Benjamin Britten's cantate "Carmen Baseliense" premieres in Basel
Benjamin Britten
- Jul 2 "Once Upon a Mattress" closes at Alvin Theater NYC after 460 performances
The Twist Dance Craze
Jul 15 Chubby Checker releases his version of "The Twist" in the US (date approximate)
Learn More
Music Recording
Aug 1 Aretha Franklins 1st recording session
Aretha Franklin
Event of Interest
Aug 6 Chubby Checker performs his version of "The Twist" on "The Dick Clark Show" starting a worldwide dance craze
Dick Clark
Chubby Checker
- Aug 8 "Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polkadot Bikini" hits #1
- Aug 18 The Beatles give their 1st public performance at the Indra Club in Hamburg
- Sep 2 William Walton's 2nd Symphony, premieres
- Sep 12 "Vintage '60" opens at Brooks Atkinson Theater NYC for 8 performances
- Sep 17 "Vintage '60" closes at Brooks Atkinson Theater NYC after 8 performances
#1 in the Charts
Sep 19 Chubby Checker's "The Twist" hits #1 on the Billboard Hot 100
Chubby Checker
- Sep 28 "My Heart Has a Mind of Its Own" by Connie Francis hits #1
- Sep 29 "Tell Laura I Love Her" by Ricky Valance peaks at #1 in UK
- Sep 29 "lrma La Douce" opens at Plymouth Theater NYC for 527 performances
- Oct 10 "Laughs & Other Events" opens at Barrymore Theater NYC for 8 performances
- Oct 15 "Laughs & Other Events" closes at Barrymore Theater NYC after 8 performances
- Oct 17 "Tenderloin" opens at 46th St Theater NYC for 216 performances
- Oct 27 Singer Ben E. King records "Spanish Harlem" & "Stand By Me"
- Nov 2 Dmitri Shostakovich's 8th String quartet premieres in Leningrad
- Nov 3 Tammy Grimes' "Unsinkable Molly Brown" opens at Winter Garden NYC for 532 performances
#1 in the Charts
Nov 14 Ray Charles' "Georgia On My Mind" reaches #1
Ray Charles
Event of Interest
Dec 1 Paul McCartney and Pete Best arrested then deported from Hamburg, Germany for accusation of attempted arson.
Paul McCartney
Pete Best
Music Premiere
Dec 11 Cy Coleman and Carolyn Leigh's musical "Wildcat" with Lucille Ball premieres in New York City
Lucille Ball
Music Recording
Dec 19 Frank Sinatra's 1st session with Reprise Records (Ring-A-Ding-Ding)
Frank Sinatra
Music Recording
Dec 21 Ornette Coleman records his influential album "Free Jazz: A Collective Improvisation", establishes the name for the Free Jazz sound
Ornette Coleman
Music Premiere
Dec 26 Musical "Do re mi" with Phil Silvers premieres St James Theater in NYC
Phil Silvers
Birthdays in Music
- Jan 4 Michael Stipe, American rock vocalist and songwriter (R.E.M. - "Losing My Religion"; "Stand"; "Everybody Hurts"), born in Decatur, Georgia
- Jan 9 Haukur Tómasson, Icelandic classical composer (Gudruns 4th Song; Strati), born in Reykjavik, Iceland
- Jan 10 Samira Said, Moroccan pop singer, born in Rabat, Morocco
- Jan 15 Aaron Jay Kernis, American composer, born in Bensalem Township, Pennsylvania
- Jan 16 Richard Elliot, Scottish-born American jazz saxophonist (When a Man Loves a Woman cover), born in Glasgow, Scotland
Michael Hutchence
Jan 22 Michael Hutchence, Australian rock vocalist (INXS - "Devil Inside": "New Sensation"), and actor (Dogs in Space), born in Sydney, Australia (d. 1997)
Michael Hutchence
- Jan 26 Charlie Gillingham, American rock Hammond B-3 organ, accordion, piano, and keyboard player (Counting Crows - "Accidentally In Love"), born in Torrance, California
- Jan 29 Cho-Liang Lin, American classical violinist (Queen Sophia prize, 1977), and teacher (Juilliard, 1991-present) born in Hsinchu, Taiwan [1]
- Jan 29 James "JG" Thirlwell, Australian musician, composer and record producer, born in Melbourne
- Feb 4 Tim Booth, British rock singer (James - "Sit Down"), born in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England
- Feb 4 Jonathan Larson, American composer (Rent), born in White Plains, New York (d. 1996)
- Feb 5 Aris Christofellis, Greek countertenor, born in Athens, Greece
- Feb 7 Steve Bronski Scottish rock keyboard player (Bronski Beat - "Smalltown Boy"), born in Glasgow, Scotland
- Feb 9 Holly Johnson, British rock vocalist (Frankie Goes To Hollywood - "Relax"), born in Liverpool, England
- Feb 10 Lionel Cartwright, American country music artist (I Watched it on the Radio, Leap of Faith), born in Gallipolis, Ohio
- Feb 13 Michael Craig, English musician and DJ (Culture Club-Do You Want to Hurt Me), born in Hammersmith, London
- Feb 15 Mikey Craig, English musician and DJ (Culture Club - "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me"), born in Hammersmith, London
- Feb 16 Peter "Pete" Willis, British musician and songwriter (Def Leppard), born in Sheffield, England
- Feb 20 Kee Marcello [Kjell Hilding Löfbom], Swedish rock guitarist (Europe - Final Countdown; Easy Action), born in Ludvika, Sweden
- Feb 21 Steve Wynn, American singer-songwriter (The Dream Syndicate), born in Los Angeles, California
- Feb 26 Jaz Coleman, British musician (Killing Joke), born in Cheltenham, United Kingdom
- Feb 27 Paul Humphreys, English singer & musician (OMD-Crush, Pacific Age), born in London, United Kingdom
- Feb 27 Johnny Roy Van Zant, American rock vocalist (Lynyrd Skynyrd), born in Jacksonville, Florida
- Feb 29 Ian McKenzie Anderson, British musician
- Feb 29 Khaled, Algerian raï musician
- Mar 5 David Tibet, English musician (Current 93)
- Mar 5 Nicolas Launay, British record producer, composer and recording engineer (Yeah Yeah Yeahs; Arcade Fire; Kate Bush; Talking Heads), born in London, England
- Mar 7 Chris Rodriguez, American pop and country session and touring guitarist and vocalist, and contemporary Christian music singer-songwriter, born in The Bronx, New York
- Mar 12 (Christopher) "Kipp" Lennon, American rock singer-songwriter (Venice), born in Venice, California
- Mar 12 Minoru Niihara, Japanese singer
- Mar 12 Maki Nomiya, Japanese singer (Pizzicato Five)
Adam Clayton
Mar 13 Adam Clayton, English-Irish musician and rock bassist (U2 -"I Will Follow"), born in Chinnor, England
Adam Clayton
- Mar 19 Eliane Elias, Brazilian jazz pianist, singer, composer and arranger (Dreamer; Around The City), born in São Paulo, Brazil
- Mar 21 Guy Chadwick, English singer/songwriter (House of Love)
- Mar 21 Robert Sweet, American drummer
- Mar 24 Nena [Gabrielle Kerner], German pop singer ("99 Luftballons"- "99 Red Balloons"), born in Hagen, West Germany
- Mar 25 Steve Norman, British rock saxophone player (Spandau Ballet - "True"), born in London, England
- Apr 3 Arjen Anthony Lucassen, Dutch progressive rock singer-songwriter, and musician (Ayreon), born in Hilversum, Netherlands
- Apr 3 Marie Denise Pelletier, Canadian pop singer (Entre la tête et le cœur), born in Montréal, Québec
- Apr 4 Jane Eaglin, English dramatic soprano, born in Lincoln, England
- Apr 6 Warren Haynes, American rock and blues guitarist (The Allman Brothers Band), born in Asheville, North Carolina
- Apr 6 John Pizzarelli, American jazz guitarist, vocalist, and record producer, born in Paterson, New Jersey
- Apr 10 Katrina Leskanich, American musician and singer (Katrina and the Waves - "Walking On Sunshine"), born in Topeka, Kansas
- Apr 14 Brian Forster, American child actor and fictional drummer (Partridge Family - "Chris" the second one), born in Los Angeles, California
- Apr 18 Mick Sweda, American rocker (Bulletboys), born in Gowanda, New York
- Apr 23 Steve Clark, English rock guitarist (Def Leppard), born in Hillsborough, England (d. 1991)
- Apr 26 Roger Taylor, English rock drummer (Duran Duran-Hungry Like the Wolf), born in Birmingham, England
- Apr 28 Wally Langdon, bassist (Bob Color)
- Apr 29 Gerard Joling, Dutch singer (Love is in Your Eyes)
- Apr 29 Phil King, English bassist
- May 6 Bart de Boer, Dutch guitarist (Ivy Green)
- May 6 John Flansburgh, American musician (They Might Be Giants), born in Lincoln, Massachusetts
- May 6 Phyllis Treigle, American soprano
- May 7 Adam Bernstein, American music video and television director, born in Princeton, New Jersey
- May 8 Eric Brittingham, American rock bassist (Cinderella-Heartbreak Station), born in Salisbury, Maryland
- May 9 Jim Reilly, Northern Irish drummer (Red Rockers), born in Belfast, Northern Ireland
- May 14 Anne Clark, English singer
- May 19 Yazz [Yasmin Evans], singer (Fine Time), born in London, England
- May 20 Susan Cowsill, rock vocalist (The Cowsills - We Can Fly), born in Newport, Rhode Island
- May 24 Guy Fletcher, British musician and keyboardist (Dire Straights), born in Maidstone, Kent
- May 25 Wallace Roney, American post-bop jazz trumpeter, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (d. 2020) [1]
- May 30 Stephen "Tea Tower" Duffy, rocker (Lilac Time-Paradise Song)
- Jun 1 Simon Gallup, English bassist (The Cure)
- Jun 2 Tony Hadley, rock vocalist (Spandau Ballet-True)
- Jun 6 Steve Vai, American rock guitarist (Frank Zappa, David Lee Roth Band, Whitesnake), born in Carle Place, New York
- Jun 8 Mick Hucknall, English singer-songwriter (Simply Red), born in Manchester, England
- Jun 18 West Arkeen, American musician, best known for co-writing several Guns N' Roses songs (It's So Easy, The Garden), born in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France (d. 1997)
- Jun 19 Simon Wright, heavy metal drummer (AC/DC)
- Jun 19 Luke Morley, British rock guitarist (Thunder), born in Chamberwell, London
- Jun 20 John Taylor, English musician (Duran Duran), born in Solihull, Warwickshire
- Jun 22 Arturo O’Farrill, Mexican Latin jazz musician (Four Questions), born in Mexico City, Mexico
- Jun 23 Donald Harrison, American jazz saxophonist, born in New Orleans, Louisiana
- Jun 23 Tatsuya Uemura, Japanese arcade game musician and programmer, born in Japan
- Jun 25 Zorica Kondža, Croatian pop singer (Stijene), born in Split, Yugoslavia
- Jun 26 Zachary Breaux, American jazz guitarist, born in Port Arthur, Texas (d. 1997)
- Jun 29 "The Caveman" Kevin Shirley, South African music producer and mixer (Journey, Iron Maiden, Europe, Led Zeppelin), born in Johannesburg, South Africa
- Jun 30 Murray Cook, Australian children's singer (The Wiggles), born in Cowra, New South Wales, Australia
- Jun 30 Brenden O'Brien, American record producer (Pearl Jam; Stone Temple Pilots; Bruce Springsteen), born in Atlanta, Georgia
- Jul 1 Evelyn "Champagne" King, American disco singer (Shame, I'm in Love), born in The Bronx, New York
- Jul 1 Angélique Kidjo (born July 14, 1960), Beninese singer-songwriter (Djin, Djin; Eve; IFÉ), and human rights activist, born in Ouidah, Republic of Dahomey (now Benin)
- Jul 11 David Baerwald, American singer/songwriter (David + David - Boomtown), born in Oxford, Ohio
- Jul 12 Corynne Charby [Corinne Charbit], French model, actress and pop singer, born in Paris, France
- Jul 14 Ray Herndon, American singer (McBride & Ride-Can I Count on You), born in Scottsdale, Arizona
- Jul 14 Angélique Kidjo, Beninese singer-songwriter "Africa's premier diva", born in Ouidah, French Dahomey
- Jul 14 Jane Lynch, American actress, singer and comedian (Best in Show, Two and a Half Men, Criminal Minds), born in Evergreen Park, Illinois
- Jul 16 Eus van Someren, Dutch pop guitarist (Scene, Blaauw), born in Beverwijk, Netherlands
- Jul 17 Dawn Upshaw, American soprano (Symphony of Sorrowful Songs), born in Nashville, Tennessee
- Jul 22 Jon Oliva, American musician (Savatage; Trans-Siberian Orchestra), born in The Bronx, New York
- Jul 27 Conway Savage, Australian piano and organ player (Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds), born in Victoria, Australia (d. 2018)
- Jul 31 Malcolm Ross, Scottish rock guitarist (Aztec Camera), born in Blantyre, South Lanarkshire, Scotland
- Aug 1 Chuck D [Chuck Ridenhour], US rapper (Public Enemy), born in Queens, New York
- Aug 2 Neal Morse, American musician (Spock's Beard, Transatlantic), born in Van Nuys, Los Angeles
- Aug 2 David Yow, American musician (Scratch Acid, The Jesus Lizard), born in Las Vegas, Nevada
- Aug 4 Robbin Crosby, American heavy metal rock guitarist and vocalist (Ratt-Round & Round), born in La Jolla, California (d. 2002)
- Aug 5 Seth Swirsky, American pop songwriter, born in Connecticut
- Aug 7 Jacquie O'Sullivan, English singer and songwriter (Bananarama-Venus), born in London, United Kingdom
- Aug 12 Morty Black, heavy metal rocker (TNT-7 Seas)
- Aug 13 Koji Kondo, Japanese composer and music director for Nintendo, born in Nagoya, Aichi, Japan
- Aug 14 Sarah Brightman, English actress and singer (Phantom of the Opera), born in Berkhamsted, United Kingdom
Weddings in Music
Wedding of Interest
Nov 13 American entertainer Sammy Davis, Jr. (34) marries Swedish actress May Britt (26) at Temple Israel of Hollywood, California; divorce in 1968
Sammy Davis Jr.
Deaths in Music
- Jan 7 Luís Costa, Portuguese composer, dies at 80
- Jan 24 Edwin Fischer, Swiss concert pianist and conductor, dies at 73
- Jan 25 Rutland Boughton, British composer (The Immortal Hour), dies at 82
- Jan 28 Jacques de Menasce, composer, dies at 54
- Feb 2 Jeno Huszka, Hungarian composer, dies at 84
- Feb 3 Ferdinando "Fred" Buscaglione, Italian singer and actor, dies in an automobile accident at 38
- Feb 5 Rudolf Nelson, German composer, dies at 81
- Feb 6 Jesse Belvin, American rock vocalist (Mr Easy), dies at 26 in a car crash
- Feb 9 Ernst von Dohnányi [Dohnányi Ernő], Hungarian composer and conductor, dies at 82
- Feb 22 Hubert Cuypers, composer/choir conductor (Missa Populi), dies at 86
- Feb 24 Jean Binet, composer, dies at 66
- Mar 4 Leonard Warren, American baritone (Met-1939-60), dies on stage at 48
- Mar 27 Ian Whyte, Scottish composer and conductor (BBC Scottish Orchestra), dies at 58
- Mar 30 Joseph Haas, German late romantic opera composer (Tobias Wunderlich, Totenmesse), dies at 81
- Apr 10 Arthur Benjamin, Australian composer (Devil Take Her), dies at 66
- Apr 17 Eddie Cochran, American rock vocalist and guitarist ("Summertime Blues"; "C'Mon Everybody"), dies in a English taxi-car crash at 21
- Apr 25 Ilmari Krohn, Finnish composer, dies at 92
- May 5 Sulho Ranta, Finnish composer, dies at 58
- May 6 Paul Abraham, Hungarian composer (Blume von Hawaii), dies at 67
- May 8 Hugo Alfven, Swedish composer (Midsommarvaka), dies at 88
- May 12 Cecil Armstrong Gibbs, English composer, dies at 70
- Jun 14 Vladimir Nikolayevich Kryukov, Russian composer, dies at 57
- Jun 30 Clarence Cameron White, composer, dies at 79
- Jul 3 Alfred Henry Ackley, American composer, dies at 73
- Jul 9 Edward Burlingame Hill, American composer and educator, dies at 86
- Jul 15 Lawrence Tibbett, American baritone (Metropolitan 1923-50), dies after surgery at 63
- Jul 24 Carl Deis, composer, dies at 77
- Jul 31 Karl Hasse, German composer, dies at 77
- Aug 7 Vaino Hannikainen, composer, dies at 60
- Aug 20 Rudolf Moser, composer, dies at 68
- Aug 23 Oscar Hammerstein II, American lyricist who worked with Richard Rodgers, dies at 65
- Aug 26 Mark Hambourg, Russian-British composer, dies at 81
- Aug 28 Anton Lajovic, Slovenian composer, dies at 81
- Sep 3 Joseph Lamb, American ragtime composer, dies at 72
- Sep 9 Armas Toivo Valdemar Maasalo, Finnish composer and organist, dies at 75
- Sep 9 Jussi Björling, Swedish tenor (b. 1911)
- Sep 12 Jules Buffano, American composer and pianist (Jimmy Durante Show), dies at 62
- Sep 13 Leo Weiner, Hungarian composer (Toldi), dies at 75
- Sep 17 Jose Sancho Marraco, composer, dies at 81
- Sep 20 Michel Brusselmans, composer, dies at 74
- Sep 24 Mátyás Seiber, Hungarian-born British composer (Scherzando), dies at 55
- Oct 2 Jaroslav Doubrava, Czech composer, dies at 51
- Oct 19 Günter Raphael, German composer (Busskantate), dies at 57
- Oct 25 José Padilla, Spanish composer and pianist (La Violetera - City Lights, Ça c'est Paris - Moulin Rouge), dies at 71
- Oct 30 Alfred Hill, Australian-New Zealand composer and conductor (Hinemoa), dies at 90
- Nov 2 Dimitri Mitropoulos, Greek/US conductor/composer, dies at 64
- Nov 5 Johnny Horton, American country and rockabilly singer (The Battle of New Orleans), dies in a car accident at 33
- Nov 7 Alvin Carter, vocalist (Carter Family), dies at 69
- Nov 10 Isadore Freed, composer, dies at 60
- Dec 1 Ion Vasilescu, Romanian composer, dies at 57
- Dec 3 Hermann Stephani, composer, dies at 83
- Dec 7 Clara Haskil, Swiss pianist (b. 1895)
- Dec 31 Semyon Semyonovich Bogatiryov, composer, dies at 70