See also: 1939 in music, other events of 1940, 1941 in music and the list of 'years in music'.

Contents

1 Events 2 Top hit records 3 Published popular music 4 Classical music 5 Opera 6 Musical theater 7 Musical films 8 Births 9 Deaths

Events

• January - Frank Sinatra joins the Tommy Dorsey orchestra
• July 20 - Billboard magazine publishes its first "Music Popularity Chart"
• May 27 - Quartetto Egie make their debut performance
• November 23 - Dmitri Shostakovich's Piano Quintet is premiered
• December 6 - Arnold Schoenberg's Violin Concerto is premiered
• Thelonius Monk begins performing
• Woody Guthrie's musical career begins
• Quartetto Egie becomes Quartetto Ritmo after a line-up change

Top hit records

• "Careless" - Glenn Miller
• "Frenesi" - Artie Shaw
• "I'll Never Smile Again" - Tommy Dorsey with Frank Sinatra
• "In the Mood" - Glenn Miller
• "Only Forever" - Bing Crosby
• "Sierra Sue" - Bing Crosby
• "Trade Winds" - Bing Crosby
• "Tuxedo Junction" - Glenn Miller
• "When You Wish Upon a Star" - Glenn Miller
• "The Woodpecker Song" - Glenn Miller

Published popular music

• "Ain't It A Shame About Mame" w. Johnny Burke m. James V. Monaco
• "All Over The Place" w.m. Noel Gay
• "All This And Heaven Too" w. Eddie De Lange m. James Van Heusen
• "Along The Santa Fe Trail" w. Al Dubin & Edwina Coolidge m. Will Grosz
• "April Played The Fiddle" w. Johnny Burke m. James V. Monaco
• "Arm In Arm" Church, Bradbury
• "The Bad Humour Man" w. Johnny Mercer m. Jimmy McHugh
• "Beat Me Daddy, Eight To The Bar" w.m. Don Raye, Hugie Prince & Eleanore Sheehy
• "Because Of You" w. Arthur Hammerstein m. Dudley Wilkinson
• "Beneath The Lights Of Home" Grossman, Jurmann
• "Bewitched, Bothered And Bewildered" w. Lorenz Hart m. Richard Rodgers
• "Bless 'Em All" w.m. Jimmie Hughes & Frank Lake
• "Blow, Blow, Thou Winter Wind" Arthur Young, William Shakespeare, Evans
• "Blueberry Hill" w.m. Al Lewis, Larry Stock & Vincent Rose
• "Boog It" w.m. Jack Palmer, Cab Calloway & R. "Buck" Ram
• "The Breeze And I" w. Al Stillman m. Ernesto Lecuona
• "Buds Won't Bud" w. E. Y. Harburg m. Harold Arlen
• "Cabin In The Sky" w. John Latouche m. Vernon Duke
• "The Call Of The Canyon" w.m. Billy Hill
• "Can't Get Indiana Off My Mind" w. Robert De Leon m. Hoagy Carmichael
• "Celery Stalks At Midnight" m. Will Bradley & George Harris
• "Concerto For Cootie" m. Duke Ellington
• "Contrasts" m. Jimmy Dorsey
• "Cotton Tail" m. Duke Ellington
• "Den Of Iniquity" w. Lorenz Hart m. Richard Rodgers
• "Devil May Care" w. Johnny Burke m. Harry Warren
• "Do I Worry?" w.m. Stanley Cowan & Bobby Worth
• "Dolores" w. Frank Loesser m. Louis Alter
• "Down The Road Apiece" w.m. Don Raye
• "Falling Leaves" w. Mack David m. Frankie Carle
• "Ferry Boat Serenade" w. (Eng) Harold Adamson (Ital) Mario Panzeri m. Eldo di Lazzaro
• "The Five O'Clock Whistle" w.m. Josef Myrow, Kim Gannon & Gene Irwin
• "Flamingo" w. Edmund Anderson m. Ted Grouya
• "Fools Rush In" w. Johnny Mercer m. Rube Bloom
• "Friendship" w.m. Cole Porter
• "Give a Little Whistle" w.m. Ned Washington & Leigh Harline, from the film Pinocchio
• "Good For Nothin' Joe" Ted Koehler, Rube Bloom
• "Harlem Nocturne" w. Dick Rogers m. Earle Hagen
• "Hear My Song, Violetta" w. (Ger) Ermenegildo Carosio & Othmar Klose (Eng) Buddy Bernier & Bob Emmerich m. Rudolf Luckesch & Othmar Klose
• "Hi-Diddle-Dee-Dee" w.m. Ned Washington & Leigh Harline, from the film Pinocchio
• "High On A Windy Hill" w.m. Joan Whitney & Alex Kramer
• "How High The Moon" w. Nancy Hamilton m. Morgan Lewis
• "I Haven't Time To Be A Millionaire" w. Johnny Burke m. James V. Monaco
• "I Hear A Rhapsody" w.m. George Fragos, Jack Baker & Dick Gasparre
• "I Hear Music" w. Frank Loesser m. Burton Lane
• "I'm Gonna Move To The Outskirts Of Town" w.m. William Weldon & Andy Razaf
• "I'm Looking For A Guy Who Plays Alto And Baritone And Doubles On A Clarinet And Wears A Size 37 Suit" w.m. Ozzie Nelson
• "I'm Stepping Out With A Memory Tonight" w. Herb Magidson m. Allie Wrubel
• "Imagination" w. Johnny Burke m. James Van Heusen
• "Intermezzo" w. Robert Henning m. Heinz Provost
• "Is You Is Or Is You Ain't My Baby?" w.m. Billy Austin & Louis Jordan
• "It Never Entered My Mind" w. Lorenz Hart m. Richard Rodgers
• "It Was A Lover And His Lass" w. William Shakespeare m. Arthur Young
• "It's A Big, Wide, Wonderful World" w.m. John Rox
• "It's A Great Day For The Irish" w.m. Roger Edens
• "It's A Lovely Day Tomorrow" w.m. Irving Berlin
• "It's Always You" w. Johnny Burke m. James Van Heusen
• "It's The Same Old Shillelagh" w.m. Pat White
• "I've Got No Strings" "Hi-Diddle-Dee-Dee" w.m. Ned Washington & Leigh Harline, from the film Pinocchio
• "Java Jive" w. Milton Drake m. Ben Oakland
• "Just A Little Bit South Of North Carolina" w.m. Sunny Skylar, Bette Cannon & Arthur Shaftel
• "The Last Time I Saw Paris" w. Oscar Hammerstein II m. Jerome Kern
• "Let The People Sing" w.m. Noel Gay, Ian Grant & Frank Eyton
• "Let There Be Love" w. Ian Grant m. Lionel Rand
• "Let's Be Buddies" w.m. Cole Porter
• "Louisiana Purchase" w.m. Irving Berlin
• "Make It Another Old-Fashioned, Please" w.m. Cole Porter. Introduced by Ethel Merman in the musical Panama Hattie
• "Make-Believe Island" w. Charles Kenny & Nick Kenny m. Will Grosz & Sam Coslow
• "Mamma" w. B. Cherubini m. C. A. Bixio
• "Mister Meadowlark" w. Johnny Mercer m. Walter Donaldson
• "Never No Lament" m. Duke Ellington
• "New San Antonio Rose" w.m. Bob Wills
• "A Nightingale Sang In Berkeley Square" w. Eric Maschwitz m. Manning Sherwin
• "On Behalf Of The Visiting Firemen" w. Johnny Mercer m. Walter Donaldson
• "Only Forever" w. Johnny Burke m. James V. Monaco
• "Our Love Affair" w. Arthur Freed m. Roger Edens
• "Outside Of That, I Love You" Irving Berlin
• "The Pessimistic Character" w. Johnny Burke m. James V. Monaco
• "Playmates" w.m. Saxie Dowell
• "Polka Dots And Moonbeams" w. Johnny Burke m. James Van Heusen
• "Pompton Turnpike" w.m. Will Osborne & Dick Rogers
• "Practice Makes Perfect" w.m. Don Roberts & Ernest Gold
• "Rhumboogie" w.m. Don Raye & Hughie Prince
• "Room 504" Posford, Maschwitz
• "Say It (Over And Over Again)" w. Frank Loesser m. Jimmy McHugh
• "Scrub Me Mama With A Boogie Beat" w.m. Don Raye
• "The Singing Hills" w.m. Mack David, Sammy Mysels & Dick Sanford
• "Six Lessons From Madame La Zonga" w. Charles Newman m. James V. Monaco
• "Summit Ridge Drive" m. Artie Shaw
• "Taking A Chance On Love" w. John Latouche & Ted Fetter m. Vernon Duke
• "There I Go" w. Hy Zaret m. Irving Weiser
• "There's A Boy Coming Home On Leave" w.m. Jimmy Kennedy
• "Trade Winds" w. Charles Tobias m. Cliff Friend
• "Two Dreams Met" w. Mack Gordon m. Harry Warren
• "Wabash Cannon Ball" w.m. A. P. Carter
• "Walkin' Through Mockin' Bird Lane" Lowell Peters, Clarence Jones, John Turner
• "Waltzing In The Clouds" w. Gus Kahn m. Robert Stolz
• "We Could Make Such Beautiful Music" w. Robert Sour m. Henry Manners
• "We Three" w.m. Nelson Cogane, Sammy Mysels & Dick Robertson
• "Well, Did You Evah?" w.m. Cole Porter
• "When The Swallows Come Back To Capistrano" w.m. Leon René
• "When You Wish Upon a Star" w.m. Ned Washington & Leigh Harline, from the film Pinocchio
• "Whispering Grass" w. Fred Fisher m. Doris Fisher
• "The Woodpecker Song" w. (Eng) Harold Adamson (Ital) C. Bruno m. Eldo di Lazzaro
• "Worried Mind" w.m. Jimmie Davis & Ted Daffan
• "Yes, Indeed!" w.m. Sy Oliver
• "Yes, My Darling Daughter" w.m. Jack Lawrence
• "You Are My Sunshine" w.m. Jimmie Davis & Charles Mitchell
• "You Stepped Out Of A Dream" w. Gus Kahn m. Nacio Herb Brown
• "Zip" w. Lorenz Hart m. Richard Rodgers. In the role of reporter Melba Snyder in the Broadway production of Pal Joey, Jean Casto explained that the musings of a striptease artiste may be on a somewhat higher intellectual plane than those of her devotees.

Classical music

• Hanns Eisler - Chamber Symphony
• Olivier Messiaen - Quatuor pour la fin du temps (Quartet For The End Of Time)
• Sergei Rachmaninoff - Symphonic Dances
• William Walton - The Wise Virgins (ballet)

Opera

Musical theater

• Apple Sauce (Music and Lyrics: Michael Carr & Jack Strachey ). London production opened at the Holborn Empire Theatre on August 27 and moved to the London Palladium on March 5, 1941 when the Holburn Empire was destroyed in the blitz. Total run 462 performances.
• The Beggar's Opera (Music and Lyrics: John Gay adapted by Frederic Austin ). London revival opened at the Haymarket Theatre on March 5.
• Cabin In The Sky (Music: Vernon Duke Lyrics: John Latouche Book: Lynn Root ). Broadway production opened on October 25 at the Martin Beck Theatre and ran for 156 perofrmances
• Hold On To Your Hats (Music: Burton Lane Lyrics: E. Y. Harburg Book: Eddie Davis, Guy Bolton and Matt Brooks ). Broadway production opened at the Shubert Theatre on September 11 and ran for 158 performances
• Keep Off The Grass (Music: Jimmy McHugh Lyrics: Al Dubin and Howard Dietz). Broadway revue opened at the Broadhurst Theatre on May 23 and ran for 44 performances
• Louisiana Purchase (Music and Lyrics: Irving Berlin Book: Morrie Ryskind ). Broadway production opened on May 28 at the Imperial Theatre and ran for 444 performances
• Pal Joey (Music: Richard Rogers Lyrics: Lorenz Hart Book: John O'Hara) - Broadway production opened on December 25 at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre and ran for 374 performances
• Panama Hattie (Music and Lyrics: Cole Porter Book: Herbert Fields and B. G. DeSylva). Broadway production opened on October 30 at the 46th Street Theatre and ran for 501 performances
• Walk With Music (Music: Hoagy Carmichael Lyrics: Johnny Mercer Book: Guy Bolton, Parke Levy and Alan Lipscott ). Broadway production opened on June 4 at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre and ran for 55 performances
• White Horse Inn (Music: Ralph Benatzky Lyrics and Book: Harry Graham ). London revival opened at the London Coliseum and ran for 268 performances

Musical films

• The Boys From Syracuse
• If I Had My Way
• Irene
• Little Nellie Kelly
• New Moon
• No, No, Nanette

Births

• January 8 - Little Anthony Gourdine , Little Anthony & The Imperials
• January 22 - Addie Harris , The Shirelles
• January 31 - Sandy Yaguda , Jay & The Americans
• February 2 - Alan Caddy , The Tornados
• February 3- Angelo D'Aleo , Dion and the Belmonts
• February 10 - Roberta Flack
• February 10 - Jimmy Merchant , Frankie Lymon & The Teenagers
• February 11 - Bobby 'Boris' Pickett
• February 19 - Smokey Robinson
• February 20 - Barbara Ellis , The Fleetwoods
• February 28 - Joe South
• February 28 - Marty Sanders , Jay & The Americans
• February 29 - Gretchen Christopher , The Fleetwoods
• March 9 - John Cale
• March 10 - Dean Torrence , Jan and Dean
• March 11 - Mike Hugg , Manfred Mann
• March 12 - Al Jarreau
• March 13 - Daniel Bennie , The Reflections
• March 14 - Loretta Lynn
• March 15 - Phil Lesh, The Grateful Dead
• March 17 - Vito Picone , The Elegants
• March 30 - Astrud Gilberto
• April 12 - Herbie Hancock
• April 13 - Lester Chambers , The Chambers Brothers
• April 17 - Billy Fury
• April 24 - George Tomsco , The Fireballs
• April 26 - Giorgio Moroder
• May 8 - Rick Nelson
• May 15 - Lainie Kazan , US actress and singer
• May 17 - Taj Mahal
• May 19 - Mickey Newbury
• June 7 - Tom Jones
• June 8 - Nancy Sinatra
• June 8 - Sherman Garnes , Frankie Lymon & The Teenagers
• June 11 - Joey Dee
• June 13 - Bobby Freeman
• June 23 - Adam Faith
• June 23 - Diana Trask , Australian singer
• June 26 - Billy Davis Jr. , The Fifth Dimension
• July 7 - Ringo Starr, drummer for The Beatles
• July 16 - Tony Jackson, The Searchers
• July 22 - George Clinton
• August 10 - Bobby Hatfield, The Righteous Brothers
• August 14 - Dash Croft , Seals and Crofts
• August 19 - Johnny Nash
• August 19 - Jonathan Cook , David & Jonathan
• August 20 - John Lantree , The Honeycombs
• September 2 - Jimmy Clanton
• September 7 - Ronnie Dove
• September 9 - Joe Negroni , Frankie Lymon & The Teenagers
• September 11 - Bernie Dwyer , Freddie & The Dreamers
• September 17 - Lamonte McLemore , The Fifth Dimension
• September 18 - Frankie Avalon
• September 19 - Bill Medley , The Righteous Brothers
• October 8 - Fred Cash , The Impressions
• October 9 - John Lennon
• October 14 - Cliff Richard
• October 19 - Larry Chance , The Earls
• October 21 - Jimmy Beaumont , The Skyliners
• October 23 - Fred Marsden , Gerry & The Pacemakers
• October 26 - Keith Hopwood , Herman's Hermits
• November 4 - Delbert McClinton
• November 14 - Fred Garrity , Freddie & the Dreamers
• November 16 - John Ryanes , The Monotones
• November 21 - Dr. John
• November 28 - Bruce Channel
• November 29 - Chuck Mangione
• December 3 - Jim Freeman , The Five Satins
• December 4 - Freddie Cannon
• December 4 - John Cale, The Velvet Underground
• December 11 - David Gates, Bread
• December 12 - Dionne Warwick
• December 17 - Stephen Kovacevich, pianist
• December 19 - Phil Ochs
• December 21 - Frank Zappa
• December 21 - Ray Hildebrand , Paul & Paula
• December 23 - Tim Hardin
• December 23 - Eugene Record , The Chi-Lites
• December 23 - Jorma Kaukonen , Jefferson Airplane, Hot Tuna
• December 26 - Phil Spector

Deaths

• April 18 - Florrie Forde , Australian-born English Music Hall singer
• April 28 - Luisa Tetrazzini, soprano
• August 8 - Johnny Dodds, jazz musician
• December 5 - Jan Kubelik, violinist