September 1961 in Music History

Events in Music

  • Sep 8 Nashville-based guitar wizard Hank Garland sustains career-ending injuries in a single vehicle accident near Springfield, Tennessee
  • Sep 22 Polish composer Krzysztof Penderecki's "Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima" premieres at Warsaw Autumn Festival,Andrzej Markowski conducting Krakow Philharmonic
  • Sep 26 "From the Second City" opens at Royale Theater NYC for 87 performances
  • Sep 28 "Purlie Victorious", a farce by Ossie Davis, opens on Broadway

Music Recording

Sep 29 Bob Dylan's 1st recording session-backup harmonica for Caroline Hester


Birthdays in Music

  • Sep 5 Marc-André Hamelin, Canadian concert pianist, born in Montreal, Quebec
  • Sep 6 Pal Waaktaar, Norwegian rock guitarist and vocalist (A-ha), born in Oslo, Norway
  • Sep 6 Scott Travis, American drummer (Judas Priest), born in Norfolk, Virginia
  • Sep 7 Jean-Yves Thibaudet, French concert pianist, born in Lyon, France
  • Sep 7 LeRoi Moore, American saxophonist and songwriter (Dave Matthews Band - "Stay (Wasting Time)"), born in Durham, North Carolina (d. 2008)
  • Sep 11 Elizabeth Daily, American actress (Pee-Wee's Big Adventure; The Powerpuff Girls - "Buttercup"), and pop singer ("Say It, Say It"), born in Los Angeles, California
  • Sep 12 Kadim Al Sahir, Iraqi singer-songwriter (Ana Wa Laila - Me and Laila), born in Mosul, Iraq
  • Sep 12 Mylène Farmer, Canadian-French singer (Cendres de Lune) and actress, born in Montreal, Quebec
  • Sep 13 Dave Mustaine, American heavy metal guitarist and singer (Metallica, 1981-83; Megadeth), born in La Mesa, California
  • Sep 13 KK Null [Kazuyuki Kishino], Japanese musician, born in Tokyo, Japan
  • Sep 16 Bilinda Butcher, British singer (My Bloody Valentine), born in London
  • Sep 17 Ty Tabor, American progressive metal guitarist and singer (King's X), born in Pearl, Mississippi
  • Sep 18 Martin "Frosty" Beedle, British session and touring drummer (Cutting Crew -"(I Just) Died In Your Arms Tonight"), born in North Ferriby, East Yorkshire, England
  • Sep 22 Kofi Burbridge, American blues-rock keyboardist and flute player (Derek Trucks Band, 1999-2019; Tedeschi Trucks Band, 2010-2019), born in The Bronx, New York City (d. 2019)
  • Sep 27 Andy Lau, Hong Kong actor and singer (Internal Affairs), born in Hong Kong
  • Sep 30 Sally Yeh, Hong Kong Canto-pop singer and actress, born in Taipei, Taiwan,

Deaths in Music

  • Sep 2 Greet Koeman, Dutch opera soprano, dies at 54
  • Sep 19 Maurice Delage, French pianist, and composer (Ragamalika; Seven Haikais), dies at 81 [date of passing may be 21 Sept]
  • Sep 21 Maurice Delage, French composer, dies at 81
  • Sep 23 Elmer Diktonius, Finnish poet, composer, and musicologist (Janne Kubrik; Stenkol), dies at 65