1960 in Music

• 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 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

• Mar 8 "Greenwillow" opens at Alvin Theater NYC for 95 performances
• Mar 18 5th Eurovision Song Contest: Jacqueline Boyer for France wins singing "Tom Pillibi" in London
• Mar 19 "Redhead" closes at 46th St Theater NYC after 455 performances
• Mar 29 Darius Milhaud's 9th Symphony, premieres
• Apr 3 Elvis Presley records ‘It's Now Or Never’, ‘Fever’ and ‘Are You Lonesome Tonight’ at RCA studios in Nashville, Tennessee
• Apr 14 "Bye Bye Birdie" opens at Martin Beck Theater NYC for 607 performances
• 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 Grofe'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

• May 23 "Finian's Rainbow" opens at 46th St Theater NYC for 12 performances
• May 23 "Got A Girl" by The Four Preps hits #24
• May 28 "Greenwillow" closes at Alvin Theater NYC after 95 performances

• Jun 1 "Finian's Rainbow" closes at 46th St Theater NYC after 12 performances

• Jun 13 "Alley-Oop" by Dyna-Sores peaks at #59
• Jun 18 "Destry Rides Again" closes at Imperial Theater NYC after 472 performances

• Jul 2 "Once Upon a Mattress" closes at Alvin Theater NYC after 460 performances

• Aug 8 "Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polkadot Bikini" hits #1
• Aug 18 The Beatles give their 1st public performance at the Kaiserkeller 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
• Sep 19 Chubby Checker's "Twist" hits #1 on the Billboard Hot 100
• 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

• Dec 3 "Camelot" opens at Majestic Theater NYC for 873 performances

• Dec 16 "Wildcat" opens at Alvin Theater NYC for 172 performances
• Dec 17 "La Plume de Ma Tante" closes at Royale Theater NYC after 835 performances
• Dec 17 "Take Me Along" closes at Shubert Theater NYC after 448 performances

• Dec 26 Musical "Do re mi" with Phil Silvers premieres St James Theater in NYC

Birthdays 1 - 100 of 157

• Jan 4 Michael Stipe, US rock vocalist (REM-Losing My Religion, Stand)
• Jan 10 Samira Said, Moroccan 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

• Jan 26 Charlie Gillingham, American musician (Counting Crows)
• Jan 29 Cho-Liang Lin, Taiwan, violinist (Queen Sophia 1st prize)
• Jan 29 Eddie Jackson, bassist (Queensryche-Breaking the Silence)
• Jan 29 J. G. Thirlwell, Australian-born musician
• Feb 4 Tim Booth, British singer (Heat, The World's End), born in Leeds, England
• Feb 4 Jonathan Larson, American composer (Rent), born in White Plains, New York (d. 1996)
• Feb 5 Aris Christofellis, Greek countertenor
• Feb 7 Steve Bronski, rock synthesizer (Bronski Beat-Smalltown Boy)
• Feb 9 Holly Johnson, rock vocalist (Frankie Goes To Hollywood), 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 musician and singer (Europe-Final Countdown, Easy Action), born in Ludvika, Sweden
• Feb 21 Steve Wynn, American singer (
• Feb 26 Jaz Coleman, British musician (Killing Joke), born in Cheltenham
• Feb 27 Bolik Dahan, Suriname singer/radio host (Radio KBC)
• Feb 27 Paul Humphreys, rock synthesizer (OMD-Crush, Pacific Age)
• 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 (YYeah Yeah Yeahs, Arcade Fire, Kate Bush, Talking Heads), born in London, England
• Mar 12 Kipp Lennon, American singer
• Mar 12 Minoru Niihara, Japanese singer
• Mar 12 Maki Nomiya, Japanese singer (Pizzicato Five)
• Mar 13 Adam Clayton, English-Irish musician and rock bassist (U2-I Will Follow), born in Chinnor, England
• Mar 21 Guy Chadwick, English singer/songwriter (House of Love)
• Mar 21 Robert Sweet, American drummer
• Mar 22 Laurie Sargent, rock vocalist (Face To Face)
• Mar 24 Nena, German pop singer
• Mar 25 Steve Norman, rock sax (Spandau Ballet-True), born in London, England
• Apr 3 Arjen Anthony Lucassen, Dutch singer and songwriter, born in Hilversum, Netherlands
• Apr 3 Marie Denise Pelletier, Canadian singer (Entre la tête et le cœur), born in Montréal, Québec, Canada
• Apr 4 Jane Eaglin, English dramatic soprano, born in Lincoln, England
• Apr 6 Warren Haynes, rock and blues guitarist (The Allman Brothers Band), born in Asheville, North Carolina
• Apr 10 Katrina Leskanich, American musician and singer (Katrina and the Waves), born in Topeka, Kansas
• Apr 14 Brian Forster, rocker (Partridge Family Drums)
• Apr 18 Ocl Sweda, rocker (Bulletboys)
• 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 Larry Steinbachek, rock synthesizer (Bronski Beat-Smalltown Boy)
• May 6 John Flansburgh, American musician
• 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 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 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, Carle Place, New York, American guitarist (Frank Zappa, David Lee Roth Band, Whitesnake)
• Jun 8 Mick Hucknall, rocker (Simply Red-Every Time We Say Goodbye)
• 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 guitarist
• Jun 20 John Taylor, English musician (Duran Duran), born in Solihull, Warwickshire
• 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 Kevin "The Caveman" Shirley, South African music producer, born in Johannesburg, South Africa
• 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)
• Jul 1 Evelyn "Champagne" King, disco singer (Shame, I'm in Love), born in The Bronx, New York
• Jul 11 David Baerwald American songwriter/composer
• Jul 12 Corynne Charby [Corinne Charbit], French model, actress and pop singer, born in Paris, France
• Jul 14 Ray Herndon, Scottsdale Ar, singer (McBride & Ride-Can I Count on You)
• Jul 16 Eus van Someren, Dutch pop guitarist (Scene, Blaauw), born in Beverwijk, Netherlands
• Jul 17 Dawn Upshaw, American soprano
• Jul 22 Jon Oliva, American musician (Savatage)
• 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)
• Aug 2 David Yow, American musician (Scratch Acid, The Jesus Lizard)
• Aug 4 Robbin Crosby, American heavy metal rock guitarist/vocals (Ratt-Round & Round), born in La Jolla, California (d. 2002)
• Aug 5 Calvin Hayes, British musician (Johnny Hates Jazz)
• Aug 5 Mike Nocito, American rocker (Johnny Hates Jazz), born in Wiesbaden, West Germany
• Aug 5 Seth Swirsky, American songwriter
• Aug 7 Jacquie O'Sullivan, rocker (Bananarama-Venus)
• Aug 12 Morty Black, heavy metal rocker (TNT-7 Seas)
• Aug 13 Koji Kondo, Japanese composer
• Aug 14 Sarah Brightman, actress/singer (Phantom of the Opera)
• Aug 14 Cecilia Gasdia, Italian soprano
• Aug 16 Flood [Marc Ellis], British record producer and audio engineer, born in London, England
• Aug 17 Stephan Eicher, Swiss singer
• Aug 19 Dan "Woody" Woodgate, rocker
• Aug 26 Branford Marsalis, jazz saxophonist (Bring on the Night, Tonight Show)
• Aug 26 Nancy Martinez, rocker
• Aug 30 Chalino Sánchez, Mexican musician, born in Alturas Del Sur Culiacan, Sinaloa, Mexico (d. 1992)

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• Jan 31 Songwriter Adolph Green marries actress/singer Phyllis Newman in NYC
• Jun 6 Singer-actress Eartha Kitt (33) weds Bill McDonald

• Jan 7 Luís Costa, Portuguese composer, dies at 80
• 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, composer, dies at 81
• Feb 6 Jesse Belvin, rocker, dies at 26 in a car crash
• Feb 9 Ernő Dohnányi, 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 opera composer (Totenmesse), dies at 81
• Mar 31 Joseph Haas, German (opera)composer (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 (C'Mon Everybody), dies at 21 in a car crash
• Apr 25 Ilmari Henrik Reinhold Krohn, 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, 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 Mervil Tibbett, baritone, 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, composer, dies at 81
• Aug 28 Anton Lajovic, 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 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, composer (Scherzando), dies at 55
• Oct 2 Jaroslav Doubrava, Czech composer, dies at 51
• Oct 19 Gunther AR 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, New Zealand Australian composer (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, 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

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